Very mild spoiler alert about the new season of 24, set to be unleashed next January: "When appropriate," according to the Fox website, season 7 will incorporate "the issue of global warming and the importance of carbon emission reduction into storylines."
It’s high time. For six seasons now, you can’t help but have noticed that Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland, pictured) has been cavalier about turning all the lights off whenever he leaves the room. Maybe now, he’ll be washing his clothes in cold water and upgrading to compact fluorescent light bulbs. (At least he hasn’t been wasting too much water in the bathroom, since he appears able to go for a whole day without bathing or flushing a toilet.) But really — what could this mean for the show? This season, will Jack be up to his neck in flooded coastlines?
This tidbit about plot was buried in bigger news about the show’s production: it’s going green. In an effort to get viewers (and other Hollywood productions) thinking about climate change, 24‘s producers are forsaking diesel power for biodiesel and plain old electricity, they’re giving their location scouts Priuses, and they’re gonna e-mail top-secret scripts and notes instead of deliver them via black SUV. The goal, they say, is a 24 season 7 finale that’s entirely "carbon neutral." All kidding aside (since global warming probably will kill us all), it’s a noble goal. Still, you gotta wonder: is the show trying to make it up to lefties who’ve been turned off by all the torture on 24? How long can Fox News pundits keep belittling carbon neutrality when their favorite Fox drama — as well as their boss, Rupert Murdoch — is committed to it? And can a global-warming storyline win back 24 fans who thought season 6 was dullsville?
Well, this news sounds kind of weird for the show, but I’ll stick around and see what happens, whether the show is global warming aware or not. It sounds too gimmicky if you ask me, but if the 24 producers and writers at least make a decent season to make up for the tragedy that was season 6, I don’t care what they do.
One thing worries me about the e-mail thing: did Hollywood learn nothing from Shaymalan? After The Sixth Sense, he had to hand deliver scripts because someone discovered Unbreakable’s script and posted it online. Unless they want people to find their written notes, that’s a bad move.
Now I’ve been a fan of “24″ since the second season, but I’ve gotta say that the show seems to be scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas when it makes global warming an important plot point. Honestly, I wouldn’t be terribly upset at this point if they decided to end the show within the next two years. We’ve had some good times, but they can’t go on forever, as season six showed us.
My God, does this mean Al Gore is going to be running CTU?
Knew that Oscar would go to his head…
The news about season seven attempting carbon neutrality(sp?) is fantastic. It is awesome hearing that the concern for this is not limited to a grassroots set of people who are switching to Priuses and CFL, but that big industries are doing the same. That being said, I have about 3/4s of season six sitting on my PVR and I am in no rush to watch it. I have loved the show since the beginning, but I feel that it lost its mojo when we found out that Jack’s brother was an evil genius.
An entire season about global warming? I wonder what else is on?
I seriously doubt that the main plot will be “about” global warming. It will be alluded to at some point during the season, but it won’t be the “major theme” of the season.
A sidebar-I don’t know if fans know this, but there’s a 24 comic called Midnight Sun that follows Jack’s efforts to capture a group of eco-terrorists in Alaska who plan to sabotage the oil reserves with a oil-eating bacteria.
COOL! So next season not only will Jack Bauer be fighting a pretend country of terrorists, he’ll be fighting a pretend phenomenon!
Wow, I did not even THINK to relate Fox News/conservatism/”global warming doesn’t exist” to this new “liberal” way of doing television. If only other tv productions did this…and than so did everyone in America…
At least someone is setting an example!!
Can Jack Bauer switch all the lights in CTU to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs in time before the electric bill comes? Can Chloe build a green laptop that reduces energy consumption? Wait and see!! (Sound of the clock ticking forward).
IWANT TOCHAYASDJN
I say again, if they get rid of Chloe, that would make me VERY happy!
That sounds so retarded.
When 24 goes Green, the terrorists have won! FOX you have let me down…
i love this movie, i am in love with Jack Bauer. I cant wait to kiss him in real life.
Clara.