I finished watching the season one DVD collection of “24” this afternoon, or, as I like to call it, “18” since each episode is only 40 minutes long (see over at Terra Nova for some of their thoughts on what the 20 minutes of ads is doing to the viewing figures). I can see why the show did so well... each episode really kept me wanting to watch the next. I watched the first two eps a couple of nights after the DVD arrived, then fourteen episodes in one go last weekend. I finished up the rest today after the Malaysian Grand Prix was over today.

There's some flaws in the thing, such as people “disappearing” from the story as if they were booked for a couple of episodes only (such as Mandy the lesbian über-terrorist) and sometimes the plot felt slowed or speeded in order to fit it into 24 hours exactly. And I think the casting of Victor Drazen was a bit of a mistake (even if it was a nod to Flashback) since it kind of spoiled the reveal of the prisoner (“OMG... they caught Dennis Hopper!!!” but I liked it enough to spring for the two subsequent DVD collections on Amazon.