24-Season 2 (Complete) (2002) |
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24-Season 2 (Complete) (2002) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action |
Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio Audio Commentary-Cast And Crew Deleted Scenes Alternative Version-Alternate Takes Featurette-"On The Button" - The Destruction Of CTU Featurette-Behind The Scenes-24 Exposed Part 1 Featurette-Behind The Scenes-24 Exposed Part 2 Multiple Angles-Episode #6 - The Interrogation |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
| Running Time | 1183:54 (Case: 1080) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (7) |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Jon Cassar Rodney Charters Davis Guggenheim Stephen Hopkins |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Twentieth Century Fox |
Starring |
Kiefer Sutherland Leslie Hope Sarah Wynter Sarah Clarke Elisha Cuthbert Xander Berkeley Dennis Haysbert Penny Johnson Carlos Bernard Reiko Aylesworth James Badge Dale |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $129.95 | Music |
Sean Callery John Frusciante Gustavo Santaolalla |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | Yes | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
When 24 burst onto the small screen it caused quite a stir due to the show's interesting and rather revolutionary format. As the title implies, the show takes place over 24 hours in almost real-time, allowing the viewer to follow events in a synchronised manner. Season 2 is no different and has the producers sticking with the recipe that made the first season a worldwide hit.
Kiefer Sutherland is also back as the main character, and the other cast members that premiered in Season 1 also get to play the same characters. Sarah Wynter is a new face on the show. She plays the part of Kate Warner and is given a sizable chunk of the show to work with. The show practically has a 48 hour timeline when you combine the 2 series, but that is not to say that you must watch the first season to enjoy the second. Sure there are a lot of moments where this series refers to events in the past shows, but this information can be gleaned as you go along.
One of the "features" of the show is the use of split screens. Several different scenes can be shown from the same time-line, which is particularly used during those crucial moments where everything is happening at once. Alternatively, they are used to keep the show's momentum going by offering you an update on some of the other characters and their progress. At regular intervals there are two, three or sometimes as many as four windows shown on a black background with either multiple camera angles of the one scene or scenes from the multiple plot lines that are running at any one time.
There was one thing that was more apparent in this season that its predecessor and that was the use of rapid camera movements. It's a common trick to deceive the eye into thinking the action is faster or more rapid than it really is. At times, the rapid camera movements made the show look like an episode of NYPD Blue which did detract at times.
For those who missed the first season of the show, check out Hugh's initial review.
Each episode is a total of one hour of the story's progress, but keep in mind that the episodes have been designed for TV audiences so whilst an hour of the show's timeline progresses, only around 40 minutes of real time passes to allow time for commercial breaks. This is quite obvious with the black screens every 15 minutes or so when the timeline at the bottom of the screen moves along a good 5 minutes each time.
Contains references to Season 1 episodes;
(SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is still coming to grips with the loss of his wife, Teri (Leslie Hope) and desperately attempting to cope with life as a single father to his only daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert). Jack has also left active duty with the Los Angeles branch of the Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU). When President Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) is notified by special agents that there is a potential threat to national security, he calls upon CTU and Jack because the President may require his skills (again). From a separate source, CTU have been tipped off that a nuclear bomb is set to detonate somewhere in Los Angeles within the next 24 hours.
There are a swag of plot twists and turns, some of which I saw a mile away, but the hidden and sharp left turns really made this series so much better than the first. This is one of those rare instances when the sequel eclipses the original.
Rather than present a heap of plot spoilers, the complete episode guide can be read at the Fox "24" site for those who must know. Instead, here is a summary of what is contained on each disc along with any extras and run times.
DISC 1
DISC 2
DISC 3
DISC 4
DISC 5
DISC 6
DISC 7 - Extras
The transfer is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer we have been presented with for this season is for the most part clear and remains quite sharp. Shadow detail is handled well and the evening and early morning scenes are always handled with care and provide enough detail to clearly make out the actors and objects. The biggest single problem that I found on every disc was grain. For the whole first episode I was impressed with the quality, and then I got to 4:16 during the 9am - 10am episode and was confronted with a veritable sea of grain. The transfer then returns to clarity only to have grain thrust back at the viewer at 39:42. It continues to crop up at different points within the episodes. Some of the worst grain can be seen in 11am - 12pm at 18:28 and 29:09, 3pm - 4pm at 22:43, 1am - 2am at 25:00 or at 25:29 where it is at an extreme level. The 7am - 8am episode contains a large number of shots that are affected. The extras disc also contains a lot of grain, especially for the scenes shot outdoors during scouting. I can only assume that a lower quality camera was used, but this is not specifically commented on in the extras. There is some low level noise as well.
The colours are a little oversaturated at times because the producers wanted to remove the typical "film" look and present a more unique image to viewers. Whilst the change was subtle, the unaltered images can be seen during each Deleted Scene where the original 35mm film stock is used without any post production changes being applied.
There were some MPEG artefacts in this series, with the biggest problem being posterization. In every instance there was a light source that caused this particular artefact to become quite noticeable. Typical examples can be seen in 3pm - 4pm from 27:17 where the radiating lines are on the walls, or in 8pm - 9pm at 18:33 at the end of a torch light. During 1am - 2am it is intermittent from the first frame until around 25:00 where the grain that I mentioned earlier appears and 6am - 7am also contains a little. Aliasing is something that is very rare and very mild when it does occur. Film artefacts are also very rare and the first one that was clearly viable didn't show up until the 11am - 12pm episode at 20:42. The next obvious artefact was a hair in the 5am - 6am episode at 8:00, but other than that the film was well maintained and relatively blemish free.
The only subtitles available are English for the Hearing Impaired. At every point that I checked the subtitles they were almost exact and are the most accurate representation of the spoken word that I have come across to date. Most DVD titles seem to shortcut this feature, but not in this particular instance.
These discs are RSDL-formatted, with the layer change being impossible to locate. I can only surmise that the breaks have been placed in between episodes.
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
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The first 6 discs which contain the complete 24 hours of the show have an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The seventh disc contains all of the extras and is limited to an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded soundtrack. It should be noted that if you elect to watch the Deleted Scenes as part of any of the main features then the audio for the additional footage is only in English Dolby Digital 2.0, surround-encoded.
The dialogue was clear and easy to understand except at 12am - 1pm from 38:48 where the Vice President is difficult to hear for no obvious reason.
Audio sync was an issue during the 8pm - 9pm episode at 25:11 for the last word of the sentence where the actor's lips stop as the word is "spoken".
The theme music is the same as the first season and just as catchy. As always, the music provides an excellent match to the on-screen action. The peaks and troughs of sound have been mixed well across the 5.1 channels and definitely added to the visual power of the on-screen action. The dialogue, effects and score are perfectly balanced. The volume levels did not drown out the dialogue at any point during the movie.
The surround channels were very well used for ambience, music and special effects. There are good directional effects throughout each feature but predominately the directional effects are presented across the front soundstage. When rear action does happen, though, precise sound placement follows.
The subwoofer gets a run during the Introduction of each episode. Other than that, bass is predominantly output via the main channels with little being pushed specifically to the .1 channel.
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The menu allows you to play all episodes that are on the disc in one hit or you can select them individually.
One thing I did find irritating with the menu is the graphics that were used. They were usually key scenes or plot spoilers - after the first two discs, I ended up trying to avoid looking at the next spoiler before I got the pleasure of watching it. The disc authors would have been better off using more generic images of actors' faces or some such rather than a crucial scene or ending.
The menu design is themed around the movie. It is 16x9 enhanced. The main menu features an animated clip from the movie and Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded audio.As there are multiple plot spoilers in this feature, especially to do with the ending, make sure you DO NOT watch it until you have seen all Season 2 episodes.
This was a fantastic featurette, given the length and depth that this show deserves. Joel Surnow (Co-creator / Executive Producer), Howard Gordon (Executive Producer), Robert Cochran (Co-creator / Executive Producer), Jon Cassar (Producer / Director) as well as cast and crew give an incredibly detailed and informative view of the movie. I found the section to do with the script and pre-production meeting for the last episode very interesting. They explain the many methods and tracking systems they put on each copy of the script so if it ever was released early they knew who to hunt down. At 8:20, the crew try and find a location for the last episode and all of this outdoor footage is of very bad quality with heavy grain. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and has Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded sound.
Another interesting feature. This time you get a chance to use that rarely touched "Angle" button on your DVD remote control. Most of 24 was shot using 2 cameras, and this particular scene took 24 different camera setups for this small amount of footage. You get to see either the 2 angles presented on-screen at the same time, or you can toggle between each angle at your leisure. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and has Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded sound.
There are a staggering 45 Deleted Scenes or Alternate Takes on this disc which total 60:31 just on their own. Together with the other extras, that's a total of 169:38.
The extras for each hour are included and selectable from each disc's submenu. You can choose if you want to see the Deleted Scenes reinserted back into the main feature or you can view these scenes separately. All these extras are also available on the last disc which is handy if you are trying to find a particular extra without fishing through all the discs individually. Some are worthy of viewing and others were left out for obvious reasons. As these scenes are only provided with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, they are easy to pick up.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;
24 is a fantastic show and this DVD collection does it proud. I cannot wait for the next instalment to see what trouble Jack gets himself into next time around.
The video quality is great with minimal issues.
The audio quality is superb with frequent use of the rears and it is overall a well-balanced soundtrack.
There are plenty of extras and with the exception of the Multi-Angle option, all worthy of viewing more than once.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Denon DVD-1600, using RGB output |
| Display | Loewe Aconda 9381ZW. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
| Amplification | Denon AVR-2802 Dolby EX/DTS ES Discrete |
| Speakers | Whatmough Classic Series C31 (Mains); C06 (Centre); M10 (Rears); Magnat Vector Needle Sub25A Active SubWoofer |