24 Marathon

For the non-fans, “24” is an American TV series with Federal Agent Jack Bauer the main character. There are a total of 8 seasons, each has 24 episodes covering 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration. Well, true that it was the finale of the series last year, but if you thought “24” was OVER, you couldn’t have been any wrong-er.

CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit – The Unit of all Units in America) have just recruited 100 of the most die-hard “24” fans to celebrate the DVD release of "24" The Complete Series by participating a "24" Marathon Fanfest in Hollywood, California.

Started at 20:00 the day before yesterday (2 December 2010), participants have been watching back-to-back Jack (continuous episodes of “24” starting with season one), until there is only one fan remaining. The winning fan will potentially set a new world record for longest TV viewing (currently just over 3 days) and receive $10,000 in cold, hard cash. But for your information, it probably isn’t as easy as it sounds. Rumour is that, after just one day, there are only over 50 people left out of the 100.

How long could you last? How much 24 can you handle at once? My personal record stands at about 12 or 13 hours – more than half of season 7 in one sitting. Mind you, we resumed the second half after only a few hours of sleeping, so we actually watched the whole of it in just over one day. But that’s nothing compared to the marathon taking place right now in Hollywood: 150 hours of “24” and they will have to experience the pleasure of hearing Jack Bauer say “Dammit!” and “Wheeeeeere!?!?!?!” an estimated 5 million times.

Now, preparing for a “24” marathon takes a lot of mental toughness. Seasons vary wildly in quality. The few proud marathoners who actually survive the first four seasons — roughly 72 hours of TV-watching — will then have to suffer through the orgy of Beloved Character Deaths at the start of season 5, which in their sleep-deprived state might cause suicidal depression. Don’t even TRY to imagine how they’ll be when they get to season 8 (remember what happened to Renee Walker??? and the grand finale of good-byes?). Well, invisible peeps please tell us, how long could you last in a “24” marathon? Do you have a personal record that you’re proud of?

In the mean time, watch the marathoners in action:




H.N.