Fans of the Fox sitcom 24 can rejoice…kind of. It was recently announced that instead of making fans of the show wait until 2009 and before airing any new episodes that producers of the Emmy award winning show have started working on a two hour prequel to set the stage for season 7 of 24. The special episode is set to air Sunday November 23rd and the new season will launch in January 2009.
I like what Fox is doing for the fans here but it’s only airing about a month before the season will start. Why not break the 2 hour prequel in to four 30 minute episodes and air them weekly in December or one in each month from September to December. At least if they did that, it would give the audience a bit more to look forward to and help them get back in to their 24 groove. This whole prequel roughly a month before the season starts seems like a real tease. It’s comparable to getting a lap dance because you’ve got this beautiful girl grinding on your lap but you aren’t allowed to touch her. Except in the case of 24 you’ve got this one episode of a show that people have been waiting on forever, they just get a little taste and then it’s over for a little bit. Now that I think of it, it might not be like getting a lap dance at all, but at least I know what I’m doing after work tonight.
As much as it must have killed fans of 24, I liked that Fox decided not to air a partial season of the show. It must have been a tough decision considering it is one of their biggest and most popular shows. It pissed a lot of fans off originally but I think when it comes down to it they’ll appreciate getting to watch the season uninterrupted. Nothing is more annoying than a show like ‘The Hills’ that airs half a season, breaks for 3 months and then airs the second half of the season. Not that I watch ‘The Hills’ or anything but I have heard they pull that kind of crap.
If you’re a 24 fan then mark November 23rd on your calendar because you have been very patient in waiting for new episodes. In fact some of you may have actually worn out DVD’s of previous seasons trying to keep yourself from going through withdrawal but hopefully they have enough left in them to last you until the prequel.
