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transience ranks every notable character from "24" -- the top 10. (spoilers)

PLAYlNGTHEGAME | Posted 6/4/2010 8:58:46 PM | message detail | filter | #101
bill was great with jack during the first few episodes, solid throughout the season, then great again with jack when they attacked the oil rig at the end
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transients (tc) | Posted 6/4/2010 10:10:35 PM | message detail | filter | #102
3. Bill Buchanan
Season(s): 4, 5, 6, 7
Bio: http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Bill_Buchanan

"Chloe, we're in an active code. We don't have time for your personality disorder, you understand me?"

The best CTU director in 24 history -- better than Mason, better than Chappelle, better than Michelle, better than Tony, even better than Jack. Buchanan came to CTU from DISTRICT and was the man set up to come between Tony and Michelle. Needless to say, nobody had high hopes.

So who knew he would be this awesome? Bill doesn't know Jack or Tony at all, yet manages to work with them. Within mere hours, he's letting Jack resign so he can torture a suspect. Even when Jack goes behind his back with the Lee Jong extraction, Buchanan does the rational thing and helps them cover it up. When Tony is taken prisoner, Bill does the one thing other CTU directors never learned: he calls Jack. The result is Tony staying alive.

Bill always makes the right decision. He gets put into custody by Lynn in season 5 and later gets tossed by Karen Hayes and Miles Papazian, but during the time when Bill is in charge, things run smoothly. At the end of the season, he invites Chloe over and gets arrested to preserve Jack's mission. Bill is someone that knows what he's supposed to do, but will deviate if he needs to. He won't go completely offbook like Jack would, but he bends to accommodate him because he knows that what Jack is doing is necessary.

Buchanan shines in day 6. He is absolutely awesome in the opening hours - comforting Jack when he sees him, assuring him that no one important to him will know about his sacrifice and then flipping the hell out on Chloe and Morris when they try to use a private satellite to track him. "DON'T THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE MOURNING JACK BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT" -- such a killer line. When Karen Hayes relieves him of his duty, CTU suffers badly. Everyone is lost without him, especially Nadia.

But that's okay because Buchanan's best moments were still coming. Buchanan tracks the vehicle where Jack is being held and walks up to him unarmed. Jack knows him out and the Jack/Bill tag team begins. Buchanan is awesome this whole time -- Bill with a gun is something we never thought we'd see, but he's awesome there too. When Jack drops into the water from the chopper, Bill knows that he doesn't want to be found and calls it off immediately. Bill just knows.

Season 7 has Jack, Tony and Bill working together. I love the scene of them in the van because it was the only time when they were all together besides the end of season 4 where Buchanan had yet to be established as totally awesome. What an all-star team. Buchanan ends up spending the day with President Taylor and Ethan, offering up ideas and consoling the President when her husband is shot. When Jack is arrested for torturing Burnett, he appeals to Bill to let him go and Bill says that he can't. Bill is right, but you knew right then that his time was coming. He went against Jack Bauer.

Minutes later, Juma attacks the white house and Jack comes up with a plan to set everyone free. Buchanan knows that he's not Jack and can't do what Jack can. "You're the only one I know who can do this, Jack." And just like that, Buchanan was gone, sacrificing himself to take down Juma. I still haven't recovered from this silent clock. I think I watched that whole episode depressed as hell. I knew he was about to die but I still wasn't happy with it. I loved Bill Buchanan.
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xyzzy
KleenexTissue50 | Posted 6/4/2010 10:31:42 PM | message detail | filter | #103
Bill is top tier for sure.

Shame he didn't stick around to the series's conclusion.
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The Beginning | Posted 6/4/2010 10:34:09 PM | message detail | filter | #104
Only two acceptable choices will be 1 and 2. Well done.
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Shoenin_Kakashi | Posted 6/4/2010 10:40:25 PM | message detail | filter | #105
*cries like a woman*

You were a good one Bill ;_;>
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Rich_Hamilton | Posted 6/4/2010 10:59:06 PM | message detail | filter | #106
I'm going to go for the upset and go with David over Jack.
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transients (tc) | Posted 6/4/2010 10:59:46 PM | message detail | filter | #107
you know, this topic makes me want to rewatch season 7. I might need to do this sooner rather than later. I don't have a solid opinion on it and it has some killer scenes.
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xyzzy
LordEmbok | Posted 6/4/2010 11:01:37 PM | message detail | filter | #108
yeah it did the same for me too, though i still have to watch s8 <_<

thinking about it for a while now and i'm okay with bill > tony. he really was consistently awesome.
Rich_Hamilton | Posted 6/4/2010 11:02:59 PM | message detail | filter | #109
Personally, season 7 Tony is my favorite Tony and my favorite Tony scene in the final episode.

These people think they can take everything away from us, Jack! Somebody had to stop 'em! And what did you do, huh? You ran away! That's right, you ran away Jack! You're one of them now! Congratulations! How would Teri feel about that, huh Jack?! Huh?! You lost your nerve! You're a coward Jack!
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Naye745 | Posted 6/4/2010 11:11:41 PM | message detail | filter | #110
tony, palmer, and jack would be my top 3, basically tied for first

so bill seems a bit out of place for me there

not that he isn't good or anything but he wasn't quite that high tier
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The Beginning | Posted 6/4/2010 11:13:12 PM | message detail | filter | #111
S7 was soooo much better during the rewatch for some reason.
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Rich_Hamilton | Posted 6/4/2010 11:13:13 PM | message detail | filter | #112
I like George more than Bill

*runs away*
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GreatWallofUK | Posted 6/4/2010 11:21:27 PM | message detail | filter | #113
It really is insane how good this list was till the top 6. (the Evil Palmer overranking and Nina underranking not withstanding of course)

Then it just plummeted off the map.

HTH is David still here.

I really believe we are about to go

2 Jack
1 Palmer
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The Beginning | Posted 6/4/2010 11:42:56 PM | message detail | filter | #114
Can you rationally explain any hatred toward Palmer?
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GreatWallofUK | Posted 6/4/2010 11:46:37 PM | message detail | filter | #115

From: The Beginning | #114
Can you rationally explain any hatred toward Palmer?




I don't hate him at all. I had my my #4, he was an incredible character portrayed by one of 24's best actors.

That said, he is absolutely NOTHING compared to Logan, Tony, and Jack.

What really gets me is Bill though.

Great character to be sure, definite top 10, legit argument for top 5. Not top 3, and should not be before Logan and Tony.
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LordEmbok | Posted 6/4/2010 11:48:59 PM | message detail | filter | #116
really though if you put bill over logan you might as well shoot up a building, it's just as bad
LordEmbok | Posted 6/4/2010 11:51:45 PM | message detail | filter | #117
i bet tranny was the one behind the bhopal incident too
Not Dave | Posted 6/5/2010 12:12:48 AM | message detail | filter | #118
bill's death was the most hard-hitting of the series for me, i think. that guy was a pro.
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ND
WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:14:15 AM | message detail | filter | #119
I'm leaning more Hassan's death, even though he wasn't as good a character. Mainly because how shocking it was.
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Not Dave | Posted 6/5/2010 12:16:07 AM | message detail | filter | #120
yeah, hassan's death is definitely right up there, but bill had the four-season history of being a cool dude going for him.

hassan's was the most shocking for sure, and was one of the very best 24 moments just in how crazy it was and everything that lead up to it, then jack's and taylor's reactions.
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ND
GreatWallofUK | Posted 6/5/2010 12:16:48 AM | message detail | filter | #121
Terri's death was one of the most shocking in TV history. Before that no one killed off main characters like that, it just was unheard of.

The only reason shows like LOST even exist (which is actually a bad thing to credit 24 for) is because of the end of Season 1.
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Not Dave | Posted 6/5/2010 12:18:32 AM | message detail | filter | #122
yeah, terri's was aces. that really made 24.

argh i have to rewatch the series at some point, haven't seen anything since the airing dates.
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ND
WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:25:02 AM | message detail | filter | #123
Problem with Teri's death was that I already knew it happened. So that takes away so of the sting. Keep in mind I watched 5, 6, 7, 4, and 3 before I got around to 1.
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KleenexTissue50 | Posted 6/5/2010 12:27:17 AM | message detail | filter | #124
Bill's death didn't hit me that hard for some reason.

Maybe it was because it seemed so obvious that it was going to happen (the episode prior to 7x13 had me 100% convinced that either Aaron or Bill were going to die in the near future).

I think Teri's death takes this one.
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WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:27:42 AM | message detail | filter | #125
some of the sting*
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Not Dave | Posted 6/5/2010 12:29:14 AM | message detail | filter | #126
yeah, i knew it was going to happen but it still hit really hard for some reason. i guess i just really liked bill.

teri's was hard-hitting, but more in a "holy **** did that just happen" way, and not the "aww man one of my very favorite characters just sacrificed himself" way.
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ND
KleenexTissue50 | Posted 6/5/2010 12:33:11 AM | message detail | filter | #127
Yeah I guess I can understand that. I like Bill a lot, but even then for some reason I had trouble getting too affected by it. I wanted to, but I wasn't. Might have been because it happened in the middle of the episode and 2 minutes later things were moving again. If it was an end of the episode thing, I might have felt differently.
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WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:34:43 AM | message detail | filter | #128
It also didn't help that I didn't care much for Teri as a character. She was OK and I understand the importance both for the show and for Jack's character, but I'd definitely put Hassan and Bill's deaths higher because, well, I liked them a lot more.
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KleenexTissue50 | Posted 6/5/2010 12:35:08 AM | message detail | filter | #129
Now, it would have been a totally different story of Chloe had gotten killed at some point.

That would have absolutely crushed me.
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Not Dave | Posted 6/5/2010 12:36:00 AM | message detail | filter | #130
i have no idea how i would have reacted to chloe's death.

edgars times thirty, really
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ND
WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:37:09 AM | message detail | filter | #131
Depends on when it would have happened. If it was during this season, it would be pretty soul-crushing. Season 6? Not quite as bad.
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WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:38:03 AM | message detail | filter | #132
Do you think when they created the Chloe character in season 3 they ever thought "This is going to be Jack's most reliable associate."
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Not Dave | Posted 6/5/2010 12:38:36 AM | message detail | filter | #133
they were probably planning for her to be a mole or something ridiculous like that at the time
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ND
SenpaiDessus | Posted 6/5/2010 12:42:18 AM | message detail | filter | #134
bill's death... it wasn't hard-hitting, but it was great. i knew bill's time was up, and i was honestly happy to see him go out like a champ rather than a chump like curtis. actually, i still don't think i've totally wrapped my brain around the fact that bill is legitimately dead, because he feels like someone who lived in a past era rather than someone who died in this era.

if that makes any sense.
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WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:43:35 AM | message detail | filter | #135
Imagine if in season 6 or 7 it turned out she actually was a CTU mole. Wouldn't make a damn bit of sense, but still.
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WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:44:45 AM | message detail | filter | #136

From: SenpaiDessus | #134
bill's death... it wasn't hard-hitting, but it was great. i knew bill's time was up, and i was honestly happy to see him go out like a champ rather than a chump like curtis. actually, i still don't think i've totally wrapped my brain around the fact that bill is legitimately dead, because he feels like someone who lived in a past era rather than someone who died in this era.

if that makes any sense.


Nah, I think there's 3 distinct eras in 24.

Season 1-3
Season 4-6
Season 7-8
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LordEmbok | Posted 6/5/2010 12:47:43 AM | message detail | filter | #137
1-6 to 7-8 is way more significant a change than 1-3 to 4-6.
SenpaiDessus | Posted 6/5/2010 12:50:18 AM | message detail | filter | #138
1-6 to 7-8 is way more significant a change than 1-3 to 4-6.

easy to say for you, you watched 7 and 8 semi-live and 1-6 all in a row... i think S7 has a ton more in common with S5 than S4 has with, say, S3 personally.
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LordEmbok | Posted 6/5/2010 12:51:04 AM | message detail | filter | #139

From: SenpaiDessus | #138
1-6 to 7-8 is way more significant a change than 1-3 to 4-6.

easy to say for you, you watched 7 and 8 semi-live and 1-6 all in a row.


really now
The Beginning | Posted 6/5/2010 12:52:29 AM | message detail | filter | #140
You can definitely break up 24 for into three sets of trilogies...

1-3, 4-6, 7-8+I'm guessing the movie.
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SenpaiDessus | Posted 6/5/2010 12:52:41 AM | message detail | filter | #141
also i wouldn't have minded chloe's death after S6. she peaked S5 undoubtedly and has kinda been sliding/cruising since. she's great support, but she hasn't been up at that level for some time, so she doesn't shine as brightly now.

1) Jack Bauer
Tony Almeida
Charles Logan
David Palmer
5) Bill Buchanan
Jonas Hodges
Habib Marwan
Cheng Zhi
Chloe O'Brian
10) Abu Fayed
Hamri Al-Assad
Renee Walker
Allison Taylor
Wayne Palmer
15) Omar Hassan
George Mason
Curtis Manning
Ira Gaines
Tarin Faroush
20) Colonel Ike Dubaku
Aaron Pierce
Samir Mehran
Vladimir Bierko
Henry Taylor
25) Ethan Kanin
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WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:53:26 AM | message detail | filter | #142
Season 4-6 aka the bill years

I guess the biggest problem with lumping those three seasons is that you've got one of the best seasons surrounded by two of the worst.
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GreatWallofUK | Posted 6/5/2010 12:53:33 AM | message detail | filter | #143
1
2-4
5-8


That seems about right to me, although I could see spliting 5-8 into 2 different 2 season blocks, what with everything taking place outside LA in those, and the tone being noticeably different.


That said, no other season is remotely like season 1.
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Not Dave | Posted 6/5/2010 12:53:51 AM | message detail | filter | #144
whoa henry taylor
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WARMACHlNE | Posted 6/5/2010 12:54:16 AM | message detail | filter | #145
I'd say season 8 Chloe was top-tier. She was running CTU and doing it semi-competently!
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GreatWallofUK | Posted 6/5/2010 12:55:05 AM | message detail | filter | #146

From: SenpaiDessus | #141
also i wouldn't have minded chloe's death after S6. she peaked S5 undoubtedly and has kinda been sliding/cruising since. she's great support, but she hasn't been up at that level for some time, so she doesn't shine as brightly now.

1) Jack Bauer
Tony Almeida
Charles Logan
David Palmer
5) Bill Buchanan
Jonas Hodges
Habib Marwan
Cheng Zhi
Chloe O'Brian
10) Abu Fayed
Hamri Al-Assad
Renee Walker
Allison Taylor
Wayne Palmer
15) Omar Hassan
George Mason
Curtis Manning
Ira Gaines
Tarin Faroush
20) Colonel Ike Dubaku
Aaron Pierce
Samir Mehran
Vladimir Bierko
Henry Taylor
25) Ethan Kanin




ctrl-F Henderson.


WTH?
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SenpaiDessus | Posted 6/5/2010 12:58:58 AM | message detail | filter | #147
no season is quite like S1, but S2 and S3 feature similar casts, similar layout for CTU, and similar levels of technology (aka chloe hax isn't as 'up there').
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The Beginning | Posted 6/5/2010 1:00:22 AM | message detail | filter | #148
1
2-4
5-8


That seems about right to me, although I could see spliting 5-8 into 2 different 2 season blocks, what with everything taking place outside LA in those, and the tone being noticeably different.


That said, no other season is remotely like season 1.


I agree with this production wise, but overarching plot wise I still think it's 1-3, 4-6, 7-Movie.

Most blatant trilogy is Seasons 4-6, opening and closing with Audrey, story of Jack vs. China...
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GreatWallofUK | Posted 6/5/2010 1:01:52 AM | message detail | filter | #149

From: SenpaiDessus | #147
no season is quite like S1, but S2 and S3 feature similar casts, similar layout for CTU, and similar levels of technology (aka chloe hax isn't as 'up there').




The cast and scenery might be the same, but the show is absolute night and day.


No other season has a tone like season 1, which makes sense, the pivotal moment of the whole series is the very end of season 1, and it changes the show forever. In season 1 everyone is human, including Jack Bauer (the dude eats and sleeps) that all dies at the same time as Terri, from season 2 on the show is no longer about a pretty talented everyman....the show becomes about watching a virtual deity.
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SenpaiDessus | Posted 6/5/2010 1:03:16 AM | message detail | filter | #150
don't forget redemption before S7!

Most blatant trilogy is Seasons 4-6, opening and closing with Audrey, story of Jack vs. China...

S4 and S5 spent a lot of time trying to 'shed' what S3 couldn't tie up, though.

i think the middle trilogy defined my 24 experience. 7 and 8 both rank in the top half of seasons, but with 4 better than 1-3, 5 better than 4, and 6 being the worst of all, it was an interseasonal (as opposed to intraseasonal) roller coaster ride for me.
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