Two Hours With the New Jack Bauer

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jack Bauer fighting terrorists, kicking butt, and saving America from imminent doom. The writer’s strike and Kiefer Sutherland’s stint in jail left 24 fanatics without a fix for over a year and a half. But when 24 finally returns with a two-hour special titled 24: Redemption, it’ll be nothing like what viewers remember.

When we first see Jack Bauer, he is in the fictional country of Sangala, in Africa. Since we last saw him looking out into the abyss of his uncertain future, he has fled the United States to avoid a Senate subcommittee subpoena regarding an investigation into illegal detention and torture. To escape his past, a jaded Jack has come to Africa and taken up shop at a boys’ school.

While most of the show’s plotlines have revolved around defeating terrorists, this special focuses on Jack’s mission to save the boys at his school from being kidnapped by the opposition army during a military coup. Despite the fact that Jack has retreated to Africa, he can’t seem to stop himself from killing the bad guys and saving the innocent.

Even though Jack is still up to his old tricks, there is no mention of the other 24 cast members, like Chloe or Bill Buchanan. Instead, Redemption showcases some new cast members and characters, including Jon Voight and Cherry Jones, who plays president Allison Taylor. We first see Taylor on her inauguration day back in the U.S., where she clashes with outgoing President Noah Daniels. Taylor is painted as an idealist, which may hint at challenges she will face this season. 24 also makes a big statement by having its new president be a woman. Maybe they were betting on a Hillary win, but then again, they’ve already done the “black president” thing.

With 24 out of viewers’ hearts and minds for so long, it’s interesting that the creators chose to come back with such a different focus. Sutherland has said that the episode was inspired by the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, but it’s rare for 24 to tackle global politics rather than domestic terrorism. It’s possible that the creators are moving away from the terrorism issue because of the incoming Obama administration. While Bush has certainly made the so-called War on Terror one of his administration’s top priorities, it might be the case that Obama focuses more on the global scheme of things.

There are also other thematic departures. Highlighting problems in Africa is not only a move away from the Bush agenda, but also a more globalized and humane take on what’s important. It works to portray Jack in a more philanthropic light, which is a significant humanizing factor, considering that his violence and cruelty seem to carry through from the previous season.

With all the new directions 24 seems to be taking this year, it’s worth wondering whether this season will even resemble what we’ve come to expect from the show. This new approach could be a breath of fresh air into a series stuck in a rut, or it could leave us itching for another terrorist threat.