Well, here we go, yet another blog about one of the great television shows ending it’s series run. But I’m not here to discuss the finale or debate whether or not this show ended on a high note ( well, not really anyway ). What I really wanted to do was pay respect to the post production of one of the recent shows whose decided to pack it in after many years of entertaining us all, that show was 24. As an editor myself, one of the many draws that had me watching 24 for the last eight seasons was the way the stories were told from an editing standpoint. I’ve never seen a show that did such a unique and brilliant job of bringing in it’s story lines and make such creative use of split screens as 24 did. When the show first aired, I was completely enthralled with the originality of how it displayed real time and made use of multiple screen shots. Now after eight seasons, I can actually say that I feel that this show should go down in the annals of television as one of the most original and creative of it’s kind ( at least certainly from an editing standpoint ) .
As I said previously, I’m not here to debate or compare other prime time television shows in terms of which were “better”, there are already plenty of blogs and message boards for that. Rather, I would prefer to put concept / story aside and focus primarily on the post production. The origins of 24’s unique and rapid fire editing style have been made well known, well, at least if your an editor that is. The fact that the show has notused any slow motion techniques and only one flashback ( used in the finale of season 1 ) has demonstrated the commitment from the creative team behind this series for showing events in “real time”. To be able to constantly show the “real time” display of events for eight seasons is a monumental achievement in itself, of course writing takes an equal part in that accolade since you need to keep the story tight and to the minute but I strongly feel that it’s use of editing is what has keep the adrenaline up and the series moving.
The editing on 24 was the unique vision of Heydar Adel, Scott Powell, and Chris Willingham. These three have been working in with the show since it’s inception in 2001 with Chris Willingham leaving after 2005. The show has received numerous well deserved editing awards and nominations and has been called by some to be the most “innovative and original” drama of it’s kind. But alas, all good things come to an end. And 24 has recently rapped it’s 8 season run with a finale that combined the best of the series into a 2 hour send off which will make way for a feature film. It’s sad to see the show come to an end, but it has certainly paved the way for future shows to follow it’s lead in exciting and original storytelling. The editor’s of 24 deserve full credit for inspiring me to be better and encouraging all of us that with a little bit of patience and creative injection you can turn something that could be ordinary into the extraordinary.
Cheers boys, you did it!
