24 - Season Five DVD Credits:

Region: 1

24 - Season Five DVD Release Date: 5th December 2006

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24 - Season Five DVD Review:

The DVD menus have seen an upgrade this time around, finally giving viewers the “play all” episode on the discs. This is helpful for two reasons; first because it doesn’t allow for the accidental viewing of the individual episode menu which often features a photo from the episode which can give hints to plot twists before even watching the episode. The second reason that this new feature is helpful is because once you put a disc of 24 in the DVD player there is little chance that it will come out until each episode on the disc has been watched.

Season five shocked fans with the most explosive season opener yet, continuing from a surprising end to season four which had Jack forced to fake his own death and disappear. The opening episode results in the death of two long time characters on the show as well as some incredible action before we are even an hour into the day. The action stays consistently good through out the season, and as always each episode is bound to leave you wanting more.

Season five is one of the best seasons in years for the show, but there is a strange theme running through this season. Almost as if to enact revenge on all of the manipulative and conniving women of past seasons, season five is surprisingly cruel to the women characters. The first lady is actually smarter than the president, a reverse on the previous administration, but she often suffers for her attempt to do right by the country. Her husband doesn’t believe that there was a conspiracy to kill David Palmer and as a result is about to send her to a mental institution, then later in the season he nearly sacrifices her life to terrorists. Meanwhile Jack’s return has all sorts of problems for the women in his life, including Kim, a now shell-shocked dull character who is dating her shrink. Season five is so oddly aggressive towards women that there is even a sequence written that allows Jack to interrogate a women he loves about her past, and possible affairs. It is tied into the terrorist attacks, so we accept it, but the fact that he is able to unleash whatever questions he wants with her helpless seems like a bitter man’s dream.

As well as abused women, season five has problems with the government. Just as often as they are fighting the terrorists they are also fighting the government, led by a weak president. This just gives Jack more to fight, but he is the post-9/11 superhero and always comes out on top. He is an American hero each season, which keeps the show going with great success, even so much as to inspire a film which will be released in 2008. This season takes great joy in creating bad political figures and weasel-like government employees.

Twenty-four episodes are fit onto six discs, with a few special features as well. There are commentary tracks on eleven out of the twenty four episodes as well as deleted scenes on twelve episodes, but the real special features are on the seventh disc. There is a DVD exclusive Season 6 prequel, which is the best of the inter-season segments created yet. There are a number of short featurettes, and deleted scenes. There are many of the same special features, but they are much better than they have been on past DVDs.

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24 - Season Five DVD review written by: Ryan Izay