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| Will Bauer battle atop Big Ben? You’ll hafta watch |
LONDON–#JackIsBack! That’s the way Fox wants to promote the return of Jack Bauer on Twitter. Another way they’re hoping to promote 24: Live Another Day, the new, 12-part re-launch of the 24 franchise, is by bringing reporters to the West London studios for interviews.
This week, I’m here with correspondents from Spain, Israel, Australia, Norway and, or course, The UK.
When you think about it, what better city in the world to host a series all about real time than in London, where time is set each day. The new series will be set four years after Season 8 seemed to mark an end to Bauer’s anything goes, anti-terrorist adventures.
Reporters this week are witnessing work on the 6th episode, the half-way point in the new run. The series is still being told in real time, although the shorter schedule will allow the producers to skip an hour here or there in order to get to 24 hours by the end of it.
There was explosions and gunfire on the set Monday and that’s about all Fox will allow for now. (All reporters had to sign a non-disclosure agreement holding details about Season Nine back until the series commences May 4 on Fox and Global).
I don’t think it is spoiling things to say Bauer is still being played by Kiefer Sutherland, who looked in fighting shape.
Back behind the camera is executive producer/director Jon Cassar, the Canadian-trained director who has helmed almost half the episodes shot so far.
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| London has its own version of the Blue Hen Group |
Cassar was bust scouting locations Monday and there are no end to them in London. I jumped on one of those double decker bus tours after the interviews wrapped and nearly twisted my neck off trying to keep up with all the historical points of interest the tour guide kept spitting out.
Feeling compelled to check into the TV options back in the hotel room (hey, the site is still called TV Feeds My Family), I was amazed at the 300+ channels available to guests. Many channels are multicultural, offering windows on TV in Africa, The Middle East, China and Russia. There are so many soccer channels it was possible to imagine what Rogers’ makeover of their services with hockey will look like next season.
The rather posh May Fair Hotel–surrounded by Rolls and Aston Martin dealerships–also offers guests a nifty,smart-TV way to bypass the networks and hop directly to YouTube, Google Talk, PlayJam and other goodies.
You could even bypass 24. As Jack Bauer would say, “Dammit!”
