Mad respect to 24

I've never seen it. But I hear that 24 is a great show. I've been meaning to watch it and Prison Break. I just haven't gotten around to it.

However, I know enough about the show to know that crazy mad action takes place in a 24-hour period.

Which, by the way, is insanity.

It's also the epitome of action adventure - cars blowing up, people being kidnapped, and the world on the brink of war all before breakfast. If the life of a secret service person were truly like that we'd have to pay them millions of dollars a year. And the career span of individuals in the SS would be like, a month!

The merits of the show's action adventurism isn't what amazes me. The tiny details that the show's producers and writers must tend to does.

Keeping in mind that Jack Bauer is going through all of these trials in one day, how in the world do they keep the wardrobe fresh? Or pay attention to things like time of day or season. After all, they aren't actually filming it all in one day.

As I go over my copy edits, the reality of managing the details of 24 comes to mind.

Man, I have A LOT of little details that must be kept consistent from DRAMA to TWISTED. More than I realized.

There's the name of the school's concession stand. True, it may not make another appearance until book three or thirty-five...but I still need to call it the same thing and describe it the same way.

There are the names of several incrdibly minor charcters who round out the student body.

The name and description of one character, who was minor in DRAMA but may play a larger role in TWISTED.

There are catchphrases and little inside jokes between the best friends that I made up on the fly and now need to incorporate to keep their clique-language unique to them.

Oh my God. What was I thinking?

24 has a whole staff of people to keep them straight. But, it's just me trying to keep up with the details of the DRB.

If someone mistakenly puts Keifer Sutherland in a blue plaid shirt for a scene, despite the fact that the entire season he's been wearing blue and white gingham...heehee...the thought of Keifer in gingham cracks me up.

Anyway, but I'm saying, that's a huge mistake. But how many people are in wardrobe to catch such a thing before the man walks on set? And if they happen to miss it (they'll get fired) someone in production will catch it.

Hell, Keifer might even say, "Dude, where's the gingham shirt?"

Who, I ask you? Who will catch my series' faux pas? And my editor and the copy editor at Kensington don't count. I meant before the mss gets that far!

Creating a pretend world with not so pretend details is a challenge. I have a newfound respect for shows like 24 that make it look easy.