Don't get me wrong. 24 is an extremely intelligent, addicting, well-written, and well-acted show. Though it can get very repetative, it is consistently moving and engaging. However, it is an adults-only program that has extreme violence and other graphic content. Going into this show, I thought that its TV-14 rating would be the equivalent of a PG-13. Far from it. The show's graphic content is hard R rated, and I would rather my kids watch certain R-rated movies than this show. Please note, however, that I haven't seen every episode of the show, so the content listed should be considered a minimum. The show's violence is consistently bloody, graphic, and disturbing. People are shot in every imaginable area of the body with spurting or spraying gore. Also, people are stabbed, exploded, or electrocuted graphically. Dead bodies made gorey with disease are shown. Jack Bauer uses common-place items like books and pens to fight people and often kill them. Main characters with whom the audience sympathizes are frequently killed brutally entirely on-screen. Rape and sexual assault are never shown, but sometimes implied and spoken about. Jack has to resort to gruesome measures to get the information he needs, including digging into people's deceased bodies with his bare hands (squirting blood is seen). Torture is also a main point of the show. Though the show's star, Kiefer Sutherland, is very anti-torture off-screen, the act of torture is never looked down upon in the actual series. People are shot, injected with chemicals, beaten within an inch of their lives, and dismembered (all on-screen) in order to get info. Several people's families (including children) are killed before their eyes. All of these actions are done by authority figures in the government. Sex is limited to brief implied trysts or flashes of skin (never any explicit nudity). Some extra-marital affairs are spoken about, sometimes quite frankly. "D**n" and "SOB" are used almost constantly, but that's the extent of language. The series also has the R-rated equivalency of drug use. We see people (including Jack) do drugs very graphically and disturbingly. One lady, dressed as a prostitute, is shown nearly nude in a disheveled room, injecting heroin into her foot veins while laughing hysterically (due to being high). Now, this content alone probably wouldn't get an "off" rating if it weren't for the messages that accompanied it. Though the show features many positive aspects, like sacrifice and bravery, the main message of the series seems to be "no one is incorruptible." Even squeaky-clean characters resort to violence and blackmail in order to get their way, and often get away with it. Jack Bauer keeps no one alive, and leaves a monumental body trail wherever he goes. The movie almost seems to promote the violence and torture it contains. All in all, this is a good show for adults only. It will only give bad messages to kids. I have no idea how it evaded a TV-MA rating. PLEASE NOTE: The series gets more graphic and violent as it goes on, but once kids start season 1, they won't want to stop due to the show's addictive nature.

I've watched the show on A&E to catch up. It's a very good show! I can describe the show in one line. Addictive.

Parents, the review is correct - this series is addictive. My wife and I jokingly call it the "meth of tv shows". We are "catching up" on viewing by watching the DVD sets, and find that we are often watching 4 episodes at a time. The show definitely has a lot of violence and adult-themed situations, where choices have to be made that are not always the safest, but believed to best for all concerned. And because parents have different attitudes towards some of this type of material as it relates to their own children, we would recommend that they watch it themselves first, before making a decision about whether their children should see it.

15s for violence and language

I love it so much, Yes, It may contain terrorism, but it is great. Jack can sometimes be a good role model, at other times, he isn't. I can't say there's anything else that's inappropriate about it. Check it out yourself, see what you think!

My husband and I watched all 8 seasons of 24. We really liked them. Hubby absolutely LOVED them! Actually, I did too, but they got more violent as time went on so it bothered me more. I don't think it is appropriate for kids at all. Any ages. Murder, shooting, drug use, Blood, torture, etc. etc. Season 8 is by far the most goriest---mostly the first half of the season. I don't recommend it for anyone not an adult. My hubby and I would gather with another couple and watch it each week. It was a fun experience.

since im a kid i dont like it cuz i thought it was an action. but a great show for adults

24 is very violent, and Jack tortures people, which I might remind you is a war crime, in order to save the country, and protect the very principles which he is defying through his torture. Is it not better to die standing up for one's principles than to survive by defying each and every one of them? The show also employs and exploits the viewers' us vs them mentality, portraying foreigners as the bad guys, never home-grown terror, and encouraging America's irrational fear of the Islamic faith. Also, as a side note, do these people never stop to pee?

This show should be banned from kids not in double digits, and watched carefully by children under thirteen. The violence is extreme, sex is not that bad, neither is language. Drugs are clearly visible. So far I have never seen a very positive episode, though I am only on the 5th episode of the first season. Jack (his name is awesome) is a good person in the big scheme of things, but has made some poor choices. Though all of this may tell you this is an awful show, it is very good. Watch it with pre-teens, adults.