TV Confessions

I got sucked into the new season of 24; I hope I'm not the only one. Even if you haven't been following 24, you might have come across the associated advertisement that Channel 7 has been running: the one where Kiefer Sutherland, on behalf of the show's producers, reminds the great TV audience that American muslims are right behind the war on terrorism.

I haven't seen too much comment on the ads, apart from some fairly predictable comments in the Age Green Guide along the usual lines - "it's all too silly for words." That's not an opinion I share; I think the ad is inadequate and there are quite a few more announcements I'd like to see the put to air. Here's one that ought to have preceded most of the episodes I've seen so far:

"Tonight's episode of 24 features scenes depicting the successful use of torture to extract information from unco-operative subjects. The producers of 24 would like to remind viewers that no reputable authorities regard the use of torture as an effective means of obtaining truthful information. Our writers were just too lazy to come up with anything better."