24: Season Seven DVD Collection [DVD]

Great series. Worth watching

Season 7 was the first season back after a near 2 year hiatus of '24' being off our screens due to the writer's strike of the time. Before I start on Season 7 I'd like to mention that people say Season 6 was one of the worst seasons of 24, but I simply don't see it, personally I think Season 8 the final season was the worst of 24 in my honest opinion - as most final seasons of tv shows are - but to this show's credit, and it deserves a lot of praise for this, no matter what I think of the last two seasons compared to seasons 1-6 the show itself was never at any point anything less than phenomenal with a pure entertainment value that many a show fail to reach. So when I say the last 2 seasons weren't as good I am of course comparing it directly to it's own award winning material at it's very best. 24 has always been simply on another level of immersion and intensity. The show is extremely addictive.Season 7 opens up with Jack Bauer having returned to America to face charges in Washington DC of among other things the violation of human rights while in the line of duty, at which point as the hearing is about to begin Bauer is granted temporary leave due to his assistance being required by the FBI to which Jack reluctantly agrees to help when a shocking revelation is uncovered at the FBI headquarters which explains the FBI's need for Jack Bauer specifically. The threat on this day to start with is what's called a CIP device which is used to breach the United States firewall security which controls everything from street lights to air traffic control electronics, as well as many other critical infrastructure control. And terrorists have this device. There's a heck of a lot more to it than this of course this is simply the first act of a 3 act season essentially. There are 24 episodes in the season, each episode is 1 hour of the day told in real time. Hence the name '24'.This blu ray release is pretty good. The picture quality while not the best I've ever seen certainly isn't bad at all. The sound quality on the other hand more than makes up for it, every episode in glorious DTS Master HD! And it sounds as good as it suggests let me tell you. Especially if you have an audio setup in your home capable of keeping up with it.Picture quality - 7/10:Not bad at all, but I've seen a lot better from the format.Audio quality - 10/10:Simply stunning, especially on this show. If you've only heard 24 on the television broadcast you do not know what you're missing out on with the hd master track on blu ray. Unreal.Extra features - 7/10:Standard fare here, there's quite a lot of audio commentaries which is great and there's a couple other bonus features like a Making Of and Music Of 24, reason I give it 7/10 is because there's no audio commentary here from Kiefer Sutherland who plays Jack Bauer and there's a lot of recycling going on with some cast & crew appearing on different episodes commentaries in particular is Annie Wershching who plays FBI agent Renee Walker she's on a lot of the commentary tracks if not most of them.Packaging - 9/10:Nice packaging, well made. Discs press out easily enough and are well labelled and placed. I'm especially pleased with the outer slip case that the box set case resides in as sometimes these can be a nightmare to slide out again. Not here the casing slides in and out with ease which is always good.Ultimately is 24 Season 7 worth your £40 ? From a show quality standpoint it's a definite yes. From a blu ray complete package perspective it's also a sure fire yes given the standout audio which apart from the show itself is the standout jewell in this blu ray's crown for sure. This blu ray 24: Season 7 box set comes as very highly recommended to absolutely anybody, both fans of the show and first time chancers alike. Though honestly first timers I'd advise to start with the Season 1 DVD first as it's cheaper and introduces you to the show.

I have been a big fan of 24 since Season 4 (yes, sadly Season 4 was my first one) so I instantly got hooked into this series after buying the box sets to catch up, and subsequently watched Seasons 5 and 6 aswell. Season 5, in my opinion, was as strong as any series in the history of the show and while Season 6 was good overall, it lacked something and the ending was a bit of a disappointment. I have a soft spot for Season 5 because it was so strong overall, and it was the first really, properly strong series that I actually watched on TV.So Season 7 had alot to live up to, especially as the writers brought Tony Almeida back and placed him in full view in the preview trailers before the series was aired (Tonys re-emergence as a character was their big play for this season from the very beginning, they didn't attempt to hide him as a surprise inclusion at all). I think most fans were delighted to see him back and were curious as to his role, as I was.The story to 24 Season 7 begins with Jack in trouble for his relentless torturing of suspects over the years, when the FBI come calling for his assistance as it seems an all too familiar face is back and is plotting to take revenge against the US. For Jack, his mission is clear - take this man down. However, as the series goes on, it turns out that this terrorist attack on the US isn't quite what it seems after all...I have to say the writers did a great job with this series. They brought in a female partner, as such, for Jack in the shape of Renee Walker. In the early part of the series, they really made Jack out to be an almost heartless killing machine, and used Renee to show him up as this type of person at several points throughout the series, then ended the series with Jacks actual humanity very much intact and playing a major part in the story as a whole. Jack and Renees partnership is a major factor of this season and both the writers and the actors did an excellent job with all aspects of their often conflicting personal ideas and opinions. The plot to Season 7 itself twists and turns its way with several REALLY good and completely unforseeable twists aswell - I know a few of them really shocked me and I have seen all the series up to now. I don't want to get too much into story details as many of you may not have seen the series but all I can conclude on is this - I have already stated my love for Season 5 which, for me at least, was a brilliant series and one of the best since the show first aired. Season 7 is right back on track with the action, drama, suspense, and sheer brilliance of storytelling that made me love 24 in the first place. It very much makes up for the minor step backwards from Season 6. This series brings back everything we love about 24 into one neat and tidy little package. At the end of every episode of Season 7, you just cannot resist moving onto the next one - an addiction which was sadly lacking in several parts of Season 6.Highly recommended from me... this is a great series and as a 24 fan, I have to say that I very much loved it 5/5