I have a strange affliction when it comes to the television that I watch… if you hook me in the beginning, I almost always stay loyal until the end, even if your show jumps the shark… somehow waiting for that early magic to return. Occasionally it happens, most of the time it doesn’t.

24 is one such show. When it debuted back in 2001 it was television like you’ve never seen it before. All events occur in real time. It was exciting and fresh. Season 2 wasn’t bad either, still exciting and fresh… but from there, 24 seemed to turn into Groundhog Day… each major threat bigger than the last, each villain scarier than last seasons… but it grew more and more to be just the same retreaded plot line, and one hallmark of 24 was that you could fly a 757 through the holes in the plot.

The series finale last night was no exception. Dalia Hassan believes her husbands lover about the Russian involvement with no trepidation whatsoever? After killing everyone in his path over the last 3 episodes, including the disemboweling of Renee Walkers killer, Jack is going to let Logan aide Jason Pillar live after he gets him into the parking garage? Jack sews up a knife wound with a paper clip and some dental floss and then gets shot twice and we’re supposed to believe he still has enough strength to go all Mike Tyson on Pillar’s ear?

On and on… but that’s 24, it’s all about the action, the hunt… the most boring aspects of this show were always when the action stopped. But when Jack was screaming into some bad guys face, spit flying from his mouth, rage causing his trigger finger to twitch… this was when things always hit their stride. In a way I’ll miss it a little, but it was time for this one to walk off into the sunset…

Unfortunately, Jack didn’t go out in the much preferable blaze of glory. This as well would have taken more imagination. Not in the day and age of the movie based on the television show though… in our world, there’s no way 20th Century Fox kills off this potential cash cow… plus I don’t know how strong this show would be in syndication as you really have to see any given season in order… but what’s to come will come… and regarding the movie, sad to say, I’ll most likely be in the theater to see it.