24 Panel: Comic-Con 2008

Although, 24 isn't the traditional type of show for the Comic-Con crowd, the line for their second Comic-Con appearance was massive. Perhaps the promise of Actor/Executive Producer Kiefer Sutherland's (Jack Bauer) presence was an encouragement?

As promised, Kiefer made his way to the stage, joined by Writer/Executive Producer Manny Coto, Director Jon Cassar, Writer/Executive Producer Howard Gordon, Actor Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeda), Writer/Executive Producer Evan Katz, Writer/Executive Producer David Fury and two new Writers one of which is the brother of Manny Coto.

They started the panel with a clip from 'Exile', which looked really exciting! The 2-hour prequel takes place in South Africa after the end of season 6 and before the first episode of season 7. The scene showed Jack trying to help some South African children to the embassy to escape being forced into the army. This being Jack Bauer's life, the 5-minute clip was packed with excitement and, the inevitable gunfire. They talked about how impressed they were with the South African actors that were hired for the shoot, specifically the little boy featured in the clip with Jack.

When asked about the effect of the writer's strike on the show they said it gave them the opportunity to "flesh out" the stories. Newbie Carlos Coto said that it will be great working with his brother, but nothing can prepare you for working on the show.

You may have noticed that actor Carlos Bernard's presence on the panel, even though his character is dead. Well, guess what? He's back! Much to the pleasure of the fans in attendance. The panel was asked how it was having Carlos' character back. Howard Gordon said that Manny Coto and David Fury insisted that Tony Almeda come back. Kiefer then mentioned how hard it is to work with great actors who "die". And he said the way Tony is brought back is "very 24".

What's going to happen in season 7? "Carlos is gonna die" says Kiefer. At that Carlos stands up, take the cash out of his pocket and tosses it to him. Then Kiefer says you can expect what you enjoy about the show.

Here, they opened it up to questions from the audience. When asked about all of the guns on the show, Kiefer quipped "No one yells at the prop guys". He then went on to say that the gadgets that they have on the show don't exist, but all of the guns are real, just modified to only shoot blanks.

One fan asked if they were concerned that they might alienate viewers because of all the violence and torture and the involvement of children in the situations. This one was thrown to David Fury, who had been sitting quietly until then. "I have to tackle the controversial subjects." He explained that as a fictional TV show, they don't really deal with the ramifications of the violence and torture. But, this was the first time they put children in danger. This statement brought loud groans from the audience. "OK, ok, we put children in danger. It makes good drama."

What is Kiefer's favorite episode? He says they haven't made it yet. Carlos disagreed "I hate that answer. My favorite episode is in this season."

Another fan said that it looks like Tony will be "more evil" when he comes back. How does Carlos feel about that? Carlos thought it was an "organic change" and that it felt natural. How does Kiefer feel about Evil Tony? "I got to shoot at him and tackle him. I loved it."

A 24 movie in the near future? Howard Gordon says don't mess with a good thing, at least while they're still on the air.

Why did the producers pick South Africa as a location for 'Exile'? Howard says it's pretty much the only geographic location they hadn't used yet. And although they didn't plan it, it s a story that needs to be told. (i.e., children being press-ganged into the army.)

The next fan at the mic asked Kiefer if all the 'dammit's' are scripted and would he say "Dammit, Cameron!"? Kiefer was quick to accommodate. He then went on to explain that since you can't curse on network TV, he needed a word to express his frustration. He felt that 'dammit' worked well, whether facing his 16-year-old daughter or a nuclear bomb. But, he started to cut back on it when he heard about the drinking game. Manny Coto mentioned a day when Jack said 'Dammit, dammit, dammit!' after which Kiefer noted "That'll be fun for the drinking game." His question answered, the fan started to walk back to his seat, when Kiefer yelled "Dammit, Cameron! Don't walk away from me!" to riotous applause.

What was the coolest thing Kiefer's done on the show? Chopping that guys head off in Season 2, he says.

The next fan, obviously from the Los Angeles area, asked "How do you get from the valley to downtown in 2 minutes?" We are asked to understand that on 24, they are REALLY light traffic days.

Then Evan Katz talked about some of the upcoming guest stars, including Jon Voight, Cherry Jones and Janeane Garofalo.

To wrap up the panel, Kiefer thanked all of the fans for their continuing support, saying that 24 has been the greatest experience of his life. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You all rock!"

The season 7 prequel 'Exile', will air November 23, 2008, with the new season starting in January 2009.

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