For Rick Hancock…

**This was written at the request of my wonderful teacher Rick Hancock.

24 is a show that premiered in 2001 and will be ending in May 2010.

This show has run for eight seasons and almost 200 episodes. At the time it goes off the air, it will be the longest running espionage-based television drama ever.

24 centers on Special Agent Jack Bauer who works for the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) in Los Angeles. Through out the series, Bauer must prevent multiple terrorist attack plots, including Presidential assassination attempts, nuclear, biological and chemical threats, as well as cyber threats.

I think the most fascinating thing about this show is the fact that it is presented in “real time,” meaning that every minute of airtime corresponds with every minute of these fictituious characters’ lives. Each episode of the season represents one hour in a day.

Changes to the main cast are made every season, so it’s near impossible to list just a few main stars. Keifer Sutherland (Bauer) is in fact the only character to ever appear in every episode.  

The show, while a crowd favorite, is very tricky to get into. It’s not the kind of show you can just pick up with in its fourth or fifth season. This is definitely one that you have to watch from the beginning.

Either way, this Golden Globe award winning show has proven to be a favorite among dramatic television, and one of Rick Hancock’s favorite shows. So enjoy these last few weeks, Rick! Then you’ll have to find something else. (Luckily, he has this blog to look at for references to other shows.)

USA Wins Again!

USA Network is pretty much famous for producing one amazingly good original series after another. Such examples include Monk, Burn Notice, Psych and most recently Royal Pains and White Collar.

The common demoinator with all these shows? A male lead.

USA currently has only one show with a female lead, In Plain Sight which has been mentioned on Don’t Touch That Dial. This July, however, USA will be introducing a new female lead show: Covert Affairs.

I heard about this show via Twitter, where I (and everyone else) can follow USA Network at @USA_Network. I watched the trailer and immediately knew it was a show I was going to be very much into.

Peter Gallagher

For one thing, the female lead they’ve chosen is Piper Perabo whom I still love from Coyote Ugly. It also includes Peter Gallagher (The OC and Californication) and Kari Matchett (24 and Leverage). The other men in the show include hottie Eion Bailey (Band of Brothers) and adorable Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty).

The show revolves around Piper’s character, Annie Walker, a new CIA trainee who gets promoted in order to catch her ex-boyfriend (Bailey). Acting as her “guide through life” is a blind tech-ops expert (Gorham), Auggie Anderson. Annie is also surrounded by her boss, CIA Director Arthur Campbell (Gallagher), and his wife/senior agent Joan Campbell (Matchett).

The cast seems excellent – all with primed television experience – and the tone of the show has been described as “Alias Meets Chuck.” The trailer shows a fun, sexy tone and features a kick-ass female lead, which this network could definitely benefit from. (Not that any of the male lead shows are bad. In fact, they make up two of my personal favorite shows.)

Covert Affairs premieres in July 2010 on USA Network.