Popular Culture WI: TV show "24" with no War on Terror?

Hey everyone,

In honor of the announcement made by FOX to make this season of the hit TV show "24" it's last here's a WI.

How would the show have developed had the events of 9/11 not happened? Would it have taken off like it did in OTL?
 
It's a tightly written show with good action sequences and a decent level of suspense, so I suspect that it would have still gained a loyal following. I doubt that it would have caught the public's attention to such a great degree for the first season or two, or become a part of the national dialogue to the extent that it did.

I also think that we would have seen Muslim terrorists dropped quickly after complaints from various anti-Defamation organizations in favor of homegrown Oklahoma City-style terrorists.
 

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It's a tightly written show with good action sequences and a decent level of suspense, so I suspect that it would have still gained a loyal following. I doubt that it would have caught the public's attention to such a great degree for the first season or two, or become a part of the national dialogue to the extent that it did.

I also think that we would have seen Muslim terrorists dropped quickly after complaints from various anti-Defamation organizations in favor of homegrown Oklahoma City-style terrorists.

I agree. Not to mention that Homeland Security will not feature so heavily into the plots.

We might see antagonists like homegrown terrorists, organized crime types (thought they touched on that this season), and lower-key threats- more like assassinations or kidnappings than nukes or nerve gas.
 
I agree. Not to mention that Homeland Security will not feature so heavily into the plots.

We might see antagonists like homegrown terrorists, organized crime types (thought they touched on that this season), and lower-key threats- more like assassinations or kidnappings than nukes or nerve gas.
There would probably be all that included, but I wouldn't completely count out Muslim extremist terrorists. They'd likely appear, especially if there are more USS Cole type incidents. Probably a very even mix of baddies.

Looking at the history of the show, there are actually fewer Muslim tpye opponenets than popular consciousness suggests. The Chinese are the enemy in one season, an internal conspiracy the next, and so on.
 
Well, it goes like this:

Season 1: Serbians

Season 2: Muslims but with a cabal of oil company heads and European arms dealers behind it all.

Season 3: First the Mexican Mafia, then Brits (it was weird).

Season 4: Muslims

Season 5: Russians

Season 6: Muslims, Russians and Chinese.

Season 7: Africans, then Blackwater types.

So actually, Muslims weren't as much of a presence on the show as is.
 
Actually, Muslims make it on the bad guys list 3 out of 7 times, more than any other, so 9/11 actually does make a big impact on 24
 
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