24: The Power of Bauer

FOX can tease with their promo taglines to their heart’s desire, as long as they understand the heavy truth behind that statement. "The Power of Bauer" isn’t just catchy, it’s right on. Audiences feel the power of Jack Bauer, and without Kiefer Sutherland starring as CTU’s best agent, "24" is a Bond film without James Bond.

Jack is often called the American James Bond, but "24" isn’t Bond; it’s got more grit, guts, violence, and palpable political turmoil than viewers can stand to do without, earning the real time series a reputation for being the television equivalent of crack. The addiction isn’t just to the politics though; it’s to the characters. And, "24" has no trouble killing them off. It’s what makes the show so shocking and unpredictable, making it as refreshing to watch as it is dangerous.

From the beginning, Jack and President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) were the two lead characters, the guys we couldn’t help but cheer for, the ones that kept us coming back, because we absolutely had to know what happened to them and most of all what they were going to do next. Then, last season, in a bold move only "24" could pull off, they killed David Palmer. Assassinated in the first five minutes of the season after four years as a pivotal character, Day Five became all about getting justice for the late great former President Palmer.

The trailer for next week’s episode of "24" shows a teaser that certainly bodes badly for Jack, but does it foretell his death? Well, the fact that Jack has come back more times than Jesus has a running joke all its own among "24" junkies, but the series is built on defying convention, and what greater convention is there than you cannot kill your main character?

Sure, "24" could probably survive without Jack, but consider a few things first. FOX’s "The X-Files" suffered a huge loss when David Duchovny left. Viewers dropped off en masse instantly. Then, if you think comics, what is the Justice League without Superman? Take Batman out of the equation if you want to weigh how much of a blow Palmer’s death was, and take away half the Justice League or the X-Men and it’s the same unsatisfying imbalance. Who’s left? Not that there aren’t still old and new major players that can step up to the plate in their absence. (Robert Patrick held his own as Agent John Doggitt, but who actually tuned in to notice after Mulder was gone?) But, are these secondary players really going to be able to fill the gaping hole, especially when the missing characters carried the bulk of the audience and the best of the action?

Maybe that’s going a little too far, because after all, there’s no real evidence they’re even seriously thinking about doing such a thing, and there is more to "24" than Jack. But, honestly, Jack just is "24." Kiefer Sutherland made Jack Bauer, and Jack made the show. He made us watch, he got us addicted, he is our Superman, our Wolverine, our James Bond, and he transcends conventions and expectations of our heroes. Fans see Jack as a man going up against impossible odds and winning. He gives viewers hope, carries that refusal to surrender and that courage we all admire and need to see.

Jack Bauer does have the power. We believe in him. He’s a symbol. And killing him would crush that larger than life character like an insignificant bug and crush us with him. With "24" it’s anyone’s guess what’s going to happen, but if they think they can just groom Rick Schroeder to be the next Bauer or if they ever consider killing Jack off permanently during the run of the series, then it’s devastatingly clear that they don’t know Jack.