Oh right, forgot about the 2x4... good point. Suffice to say Bauer is like insane awesome. Bauer > Macguyver.
Yeah, remember that one time when he filled a tin can with bullets and pieces of wood to set it on fire so he could use it as a diversion?
And when he died that one time and came back to life?
And when he overcame a drug addiction just by being super pissed off?
And when he evaded the FBI, CIA, Police, US Army, National Guard, and CTU?
And when he stopped a massive organization from killing millions single-handedly... six times?
Also:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brigadier-gen-david-r-irvine/what-jack-bauer-has-not-d_b_159963.htmlI taught interrogation and the law of war for 18 years to U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine interrogators. The truth is that torture is just as likely to lead to false information or no information, not solid intelligence. History is replete with victims who have refused to talk or lied or died under torture. American torture has killed or addled suspects who might have provided vital intelligence if interrogated humanely. One problem with TV fiction is that viewers assume that if Jack Bauer can break some fingers and crack the case in an hour, anyone could.
Unfortunately that is exactly the message that some have gleaned from this program. After watching torture work over and over again, some junior soldiers (and, sadly, some very senior policy makers who ought to know better) have copied the tactics they have seen on "24" and other action programs, according to evidence gathered by journalists and Human Rights First. Military educators have also reported that "24" is "one of the biggest problems" they have in their classrooms.
If "24" is going to continue to show so much torture - they have shown 89 scenes of torture in their first six seasons - I would like to see abusive interrogation techniques portrayed in a more realistic and nuanced fashion so that people do not walk away from the program with the impression that this stuff works. What if an episode focused around false information that was gathered through torture, for example?