The longest day on TV has returned, and not many things have changed.
Sure, Jack Bauer is now Eric Carter, Kiefer Sutherland is now Corey Hawkins, and it’s now 2017 instead of the early 2000s, but not much else has changed. 24 is still obviously 24, colon or no colon, down to the clock, the split screens, and that oh-so-familiar 24 transition noise.
Tonight’s premiere of Legacy introduced us to Eric, an ex-Army ranger who hates terrorism, and who also happens to be the target of a bunch of terrorists who want revenge for a major death the ranger squad was responsible for. Everyone in his squad has been murdered, along with their families, but thanks to his quick thinking, his gun skills, and his friends in the CTU, that most likely will not happen to him.
That first hour of Eric being chased by men with vaguely foreign accents felt so very 24 that it was both comforting and almost a little boring. Here are just a few of the things we’re pretty sure we’ve seen before:
The hero’s got marriage issues: Eric’s wife Nicole (Anna Diop) started taking her birth control again, after she stopped for two weeks. He thought she was ready for a kid. She thinks he’s been acting strange since he came back to the US after his tour of duty, and she’s tired of all this running and hiding they’ve been doing. Now, she’s angry that she has to go hang out with Eric’s drug kingpin brother while he runs away from terrorists all day! Jack Bauer’s job put quite a bit of stress on his marriage to Teri, too…
There’s another mole! CTU’s many moles were often the big problem on the original 24, and now there seems to be another one who gave up the names and locations of all of Eric’s squad to the terrorist group. It could be Teddy Sears, and if it’s not (or even if he is), he’s going to be pretty unhappy when he wakes up from being tased by Miranda Otto…
The teens are at it again: Apparently we’ve learned nothing from the trials and tribulations of Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert), and someone still thinks teens make sense as a major subplot. A vaguely accented teen girl is being accused of a terrorist plot by some brave boy at school, and somehow, her teacher/boyfriend is involved. Not sure where this is going, but can we all agree it’s a little weird?
There’s a new comedic sidekick: Goodbye Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub), hello Andy (Dan Bucatinsky). We love Bucatinsky and we love a little comedy in our dramas, but it’s going to be hard for Andy to fill Chloe’s much-loved shoes.
Keep your politics close: Of course Miranda Otto’s character—Rebecca, the retiring head of the CTU—is married to the guy running for president (Jimmy Smits). Politics and political conflicts of interest are 24’s bread and butter, and we can only imagine how convenient that campaign will be for this new series.
The bad guys look familiar: Even all these years later, most of the bad guys are still unfortunate stereotypes. Some things really never change. Hopefully all is not as it seems?
Eric’s good with a gun: Eric’s no Jack Bauer (yet), but the action is certainly not missing from this reboot. That fight around (and under) that bit rolling pipe felt very Indiana Jones, and we were digging it.
While so far it still feels a little bit like we’re waiting for Kiefer Sutherland to show up, this show has all the potential to be just as loved as the original 24. The elements are certainly present. We just think we need to see more.
What did you think? Sound off in the comments! (Also, how weird was it to be watching 24 and seeing Prison Break promos? It’s the early 2000s all over again!)
Starting tomorrow, 24: Legacy will air Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.
