TV
The Family Guy
The Family Guy is,
hands down, the funniest show on television. For those that have never
seen it,
a lazy way to describe it is as a more edgy Simpsons but, honestly, such a descriptor does not
do it
justice. 
It is
like The Simpsons,
of course, at least in format—an animated family show with short,
sharp, quick
absurdist quips, requiring a deep knowledge of American popular
culture, one that
deconstructs the format itself while moving the story into completely
unexpected directions. Two key
characters on The Family Guy
are completely
different
from The Simpsons—of
the
four non-parental figures in the family, one is a straight-playing
talking dog and the
other is
an over-intellectualized baby in diapers with a snooty British accent.
If the rest of the family is supposed to represent some blue collar
archetype, the dog (Brian) and the baby (Stewie) represent a weird
highbrow (but firmly middle class) aesthetic that is constantly in
clash with
everybody else's philistine view of American life. And yes,
it ups the absurdity, profanity, and offensiveness factors by several
orders
without resorting (solely) to slapstick. The show is more offensive
than the most
twisted darkest fantasy you've ever had. But ultimately, it's hard to
describe, and there is no guarantee that you will like The
Family Guy if you like (or
dislike) The Simpsons.
But if you
can stand to laugh at the most insane TV family that ever existed, give
it a
chance. The only bad thing about The
Family Guy—it's on Fox TV. Here's an
interview with Family Guy
creator Seth MacFarlane
at The Onion
from early 2005.
24
"Jack Bauer is the
Man" (by Anonymous Fan)
The Fox show 24 is apparently the
number one rated TV show in the country as
of this writing. It is somewhat shocking to me, then, that I would be a
big fan
of something most of the rest of the Heartland is swallowing on a
weekly basis.
And then, to make matters worse, I actually think Jack Bauer is a
decent human
being with an acceptable code of ethics. 
His
behavior—especially if you are a CTU agent—is always, always the
morally right thing to do. This
is what
we are being led to believe, and there are critics who think the
message of
this show, and Jack Baurer's behavior in particular, is morally
corrupt. Well,
so be it. It's fiction.
This whole obsession of mine began when I
accidentally
watched an episode in the middle of season one, before his wife was
killed by
the legendary female bad agent, Nina. After that, I decided I had to
find out
what was going to happen so I began renting each season's DVD, first
finishing
season 1, then on to season 2, then season 3, and finally, after two
months,
season 4. Admittedly, the various plot lines are now swimming in my
brain
without much specifics. And so I'm qualifying myself before I argue
that
Jack
Bauer has a moral code of ethics that I actually accept and understand.
He
is The
Man. But before you argue with me, let me give you a few reasons why.
Jack Bauer has personal relationships that are
tender and
caring. He has a daughter who he tried, albeit
unsuccessfully, to
protect (and thank God she was gone after season 2, what a fracking bad
actress
she was and so annoying). He has romantic relationships that also
depict him
positively. He's not an asshole, at least in his personal life. Yet,
there is
the *other* side of Bauer, a ruthless thug who will torture anyone to
get the
information he needs to save the world, or at least LA. He tortured CTU
agents,
his lover's ex-husband (that one seemed very understandable though),
and then
the occasional not innocent
victim. But
even his torture is acceptable, since, after all, he does it only for
short
periods of time, since he has an uncanny ability to determine what
limits must
be used to obtain the information he needs from his victim. But most
importantly, his torture is *justified* because he is, always, always,
right.
His torture leads to necessary information that eventually saves the
world, or
at least LA, from destruction (ever read Tool?). He puts his own life
as
less
important than the lives of the unknown innocents (in LA) who he must
save. In
fact, Jack Bauer's behavior suggests that his moral code is actually
higher
than that of all others, that saving innocent lives comes before every
thing
else, and
this is why, of course, he is The Man. And yes, he's a murderer but
he's also a
loving dad, caring husband and boyfriend, a hero & patriot. He's
basically
someone you want either as a fellow gang member or as the CEO of a
company you
own lots of stock in. He's like a male version of Martha
Stewart, who
similarly, put her company ahead of her own personal life and
relationships.
With that, I hope to put an end to all criticism
of the putative
immorality of his behavior. And thank the gods that no such
organization such
as CTU or agent such as Jack Bauer really exists---a government
organization so
effective that it could exterminate an imminent terrorist threat within
24
hours would definitely be reading this article in Fred.
For another view on 24, see
"Network Sadism: Is Fox's 24
an Advertisement for Torture?" at Pop
Matters.