24: Season 5 "Gag Reel"

I realize that the 24 buzz is presently all about Season 6, the nuke explosion, the dysfunctional Bauer family, etc., but I'm still laughing about some very hilarious material on the "Bonus Material" DVD of the Season 5 Box-set entitled Supporting Players. The reason it is so funny can be generally explained by noting how Hollywood folks live charmed lives which are quite different than the rest of us. So when they talk about their eccentricities in a kind of matter-of-fact way in a documentary setting, it comes off sounding like Waiting for Guffman, even though all these folks have real acting talent as opposed to the imagined talent of the Christopher Guest comedy masterpiece.

A common theme of the piece is that acting on the 24 set is different than other TV shows, which is easy to believe since the show is so much different than standard boob-tube fare. My laughs started when James Morrison (Bill Buchanan) starts by describing working on the set of 24 as having to jump aboard a "100-mile an hour train". The insight seems to match other dramatic ways of stating "Hey, as an actor I finally had to do some actual work on a show!"

After a few minutes, the viewer realizes that he is being bombarded by what I have always called theater-speak; the segment is punctuated by words like "organic", "intense" and "fluid" which the audience knows by context have got to be good things, but otherwise misses the precise meaning.

Sean Astin, who appears as a guest in Season 5, continues the tradition of metaphor and hyperbole by revealing that his initial response to a 24 opportunity was "Yeah, I'd kill to be on the show!". He gets his chance via an introduction from his chiropractor rather than a murder. He also expresses the view that the work is so intense that some days on the set he was hoping his character would hurry up and get knocked off already so he could get out of some work. Half-jokingly, I'm sure.

Jude Ciccolella (Mike Novick) reveals his second life as a folk musician. As a folk fan myself, I was intrigued and tracked down and purchased a rare copy of his Haunted CD. I'm not going to provide a full review the CD here though. Or any review, really. (Believe me when I say it, Mr. Ciccolella would truly breathe a sigh of relief if he heard that announcement.) He echoes the views of both Astin, Morrison and Kim Raver (who disappointingly doesn't delve into her work on Sesame Street when she was 7 years old) that Kiefer is the hardest-working actor they've run into yet. At this point, Ciccolella utters what is arguably the best line in the piece: "Not only is he talented, but he actually shows up for work!" What a concept! Well I have to say I'm glad that most real-life first responders, anti-terrorist units and emergency room staffers have mastered that important aspect of hard work long ago.

Later we hear more from Morrison -- it turns out he is a Yoga instructor, and he explains that his "Yoga informs everything" he does.

Glenn Morshower gets on the screen next and explains how he turns on a Southern accent for the part of Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce. I remember thinking, "Sorry, Glenn, but you're talking with a Southern accent currently, I hate to say." But then the biggest no-no-say-it-ain't-so-please! moment comes when Morshower talks about his other career as a ... drum roll... Motivational Speaker! (Cue the tortured scream.) But he's still a great actor and I love to watch him play Pierce. I'll just have to block that tidbit of esoteric knowledge if he reappears in Season 6. I mean, even more so than Television Actor, isn't Motivational Speaker about the most opposite career of Secret Service Agent of which you can think?

It's fun to get a little bit of Gen X mockery in at a show I must admit that I love. All right, a lot of mockery. And I don't just love it; I'm thoroughly addicted.