10 Most Ludicrous Things To Ever Happen On 24

Dammit! What is this mess?

24 TV Show
Fox

In order for a bombastic action thriller to work, audiences have to suspend their disbelief. If we pulled apart every plot twist that involved a random betrayal or a surprise solution in the eleventh hour, we'd never get any enjoyment out of anything on screen. And yet, sometimes TV shows take advantage of that generosity, and goes off the rails a little too far.

24 is a brilliant show. There's no denying it was seminal for early 2000s entertainment as it ticked the boxes of contemporary entertainment.

Gung-ho action? Check! A cavalcade of conspiracies and shadowy organisations? Check! A sexy Kiefer Sutherland seeing every object as a weapon, and every body-part as something to break? Double-Check!

But it also went into the shark-infested waters of lunacy. After 9 explosive seasons, 24 most certainly accumulated its fair share of plot outlines so nonsensical even the writers of Riverdale would laugh them out a pitch meeting. And while it would be easier to disregard the whole show as baffling now that we've had more mature counter-terrorist content since, it's better to isolate those crazy moments away from the series as a whole (and celebrate them for their idiocy).

In this list, we'll be taking a look at ten of the daftest, craziest, weirdest and wildest moments from 24 that made even the most hardcore fan roll their eyes in dispair.

10. Too Much Apocalypse In One Day - Season 4

24 TV Show
FOX

In any day of 24, there will be multiple threats and incidents for the CTU team to tango with; usually occurring in short-episodic arcs, these plot-threads play a part in the bigger picture threat that takes place in the day. Like stepping stones if you will.

Now don't get me wrong, Day Four is still one of the better seasons in 24, and is a great reboot/refresh for the series overall as it kicks off a whole new multi-seasonal saga. The only problem is, Day Four can't seem to make its mind up on what the actual threat is.

The season starts off with the Secretary of Defence being kidnapped and his trial by execution live-streamed on the web. Soon after, the fallout of the SoD abduction leads to an electronic macguffin being used to force meltdowns of nuclear power plants across America. Later on a band of rogue mercenaries set off an EMP, turning the streets of LA into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. This is only a blip in the Matrix, as a stealth fighter is stolen and quickly shoots down Air Force One. The nuclear launch codes are stolen, and subsequently a missile is launched in the climax.

All of this happens in one freaking day! If any fan of 24 were to line up the events of the season concurrently, they'd find a cavalcade of mayhem that would hurt anyone's head. Everything was a distraction for the next plot, and the villains never had one single endgame.

Contributor

I overthink a lot of things. Will talk about pretty much anything for a great length of time. I'm obsessed with General Slocum from the 2002 Spider-Man film. I have questions that were never answered in that entire trilogy!