24: Legacy: Show must find its own path and not follow the original
What did we expect from 24: Legacy? Were we expecting them to be in outer space or have the show set in 2056 with a futuristic feel to it? No, but I was hoping for something else. Jack Bauer is gone, where to, I have no idea. Last we saw of him he was getting into a helicopter and that was that. Now we have an entirely new cast of agents and tech nerds but it’s the same goal; stop the terrorist.
We get it, we love it but, we been here before. Too many times. If I wanted to relive one of my favorite shows I could tune to ABC and watch Quantico. When the news broke that 24 was coming back I was excited. I figured they were about to break the barrier again and do something TV has yet to see. Well, they failed. Instead of Jack, we have an African-American hero in Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins) who now has to save the world after his group of Rangers were killed off.
Ok, we’re only two episodes in but the similarities to the original are starting to show and that’s not good. I love a good action show and Legacy looks to deliver in that but the storyline is so carbon-copyish that it’s turning me off. Hawkins is married, he gets threatened and sends is wife somewhere for protection in the hands of his brother in which he stole his wife from. His brother has a girlfriend that keeps giving Hawkins’ wife the side eye and you can sense where that is going. The girlfriend is setting up the brother to be killed, it’s too messy already.
There is a presidential campaign going on where the former CTU leader, Rebecca Ingram heads back for a quick meeting only to get caught up in the new terrorist attack which forces her to miss her husband’s fund-raiser. The Senator, John Donovan (Jimmy Smits) was told that his right-hand person, Nilaa Mizrani (Sheila Vand) was seen years ago outside a mosque and when confronted she give Donovon some lame excuse and he brushes it off. Oh yeah, like we can’t see the double cross coming there.
There’s a student in school that’s teaming up with a teacher to help create a chemical that will surely be used for a bomb. Man, this show needs more creativity. The most obvious part is the setup. The original had so much backstabbing going in that it kept us in suspense but Legacy is setting us up for the same climax. Who will set Hawkins up? Will it be Ingram, his brother, his wife, Keith Mullins, Donavon, I mean the list is endless but we been here before and we sort of know what to expect.
I still love the show but maybe it’s because I miss the original so much that I am willing to lower my standards. Legacy has potential but it must find a way to create its own path.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
