Jack Bauer 's next mission ... mainland counterfeiters
A friend went to Shenzhen early this week and bought the entire current season of Kiefer Sutherland's hit TV series 24 for less than HK$200.
Boy, you really have to give it to the counterfeiters on the mainland. The DVDs (pictured) are high-quality stuff. Well, I won't give away the ending because ... I couldn't get to the end.
It's not because of any moral qualms on my part or a technical glitch, but once you start watching too closely how the plot is strung together, your attention begins to wander and you start paying attention to Sutherland's receding hairline compared to the way it was in previous seasons. So, yes, the episodes should be watched week after week, the way TVB has meant it to be, and not one fake disc after another.
But this has given me an idea for the next season. Now that counterfeiting has become a key bone of contention in Sino-US relations, it should be the theme for the next 24.
Here, Jack Bauer gets ejected, again, from CTU because of all the diplomatic incidents he has provoked in the current season to stop five nuclear bombs from exploding on US soils. No US government agency will touch him because he has become radioactive, politically speaking.
So he ends up with a low-ranking desk job with US customs, after saving his country from destruction on numerous occasions.
While pushing papers and handling shipping documents, he uncovers the mother of all counterfeiting scams that involves corrupt officials in the Chinese government. The Chinese president, an upright man, is not in on it and is about to land in Washington to sign a treaty with his US counterpart to crack down on counterfeiters. A conspiracy is afoot to assassinate him and ... well you get the picture.
This will tie nicely with previous seasons in which, you will remember, Jack was given up by his own government and ended up being imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese for two years.
He survived intact at the start of the current season, and was miraculously in top form as a CTU field agent less than two hours after being released by just having a change of clothes and a close shave. This new plotline will give Jack an excuse to catch up with his Chinese tormentors.
Torture, after all, is an integral part of every 24 series, and western stereotype has it that we Chinese are very skilful at it. OK, Fox TV, just give me US$1 million to work as a consultant. I am ready to quit my job and put my 'journalistic' expertise on counterfeit mainland goods at your disposal.
