Tuesday, March 21, 2006

24

I've been watching this season of 24 on Fox. I can't seem to find any commentary on the fact that this season's plot (so far) is something that sounds like a leftwing conspiracy theory about the Bush administration. Consider:

  • The main problem is that a Russian separatist group somehow got its hands on nerve gas here in America. How did this happen? Turns out that there was an adviser to the President who (along with persons unknown) deliberately gave the nerve gas to the Russian terrorists, with the notion of booby-trapping it to go off inside their camp back in Chechnya (I think).

    When asked to defend his actions, the adviser said (and I paraphrase): "This was the perfect way to prove that there are WMDs in the Middle Eastern region, thus giving us an excuse to boost our presence and control the oil there."

  • The President is weak, waffling, and easily manipulated. In the past couple of episodes, the Vice-President -- who appears to be smarter, more resolute, and more authoritative -- has convinced the President to declare martial law in Los Angeles (which is where the Russian terrorists are). The President's wife and his chief of staff tried to convince the President that this was outside the law (I believe they referred to the need for Congressional approval).

    Nonetheless, the President followed the Vice-President's advice. In last night's episode, after a news report saying that experts were debating the legality of the President's action, the Vice-President told the President that he had his "legal staff working on it." In another scene, the Vice-President actually said something like, "I've got it under control."


Anyway, the whole season thus far feels like something that a leftwing conspiracy theorist would put together to satirize the Bush administration -- and it's on Fox. I'm not complaining about this at all, but I'm surprised that I can't find more commentary about it.

1 Comments:

Blogger Loquitur Veritatem said...

I've noticed it, too, and also wondered about the lack of commentary. It could be just a coincidence, of course, just as it's a "coincidence" that 24's focus has shifted away from Arab terrorists. I guess that makes me a conspiracy theorist.

Mitigating factor: The actor who plays President Logan bears a passing resemblance to Richard Nixon. Perhaps this season is a very belated bout of Nixon-bashing.

3:21 PM  

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