Welcome To Elizabeth's Place!: Kiefer Sutherland of "24" on Fox

Kiefer Sutherland's Return To Television Gets Cautious Praise

Kiefer Sutherland can't have felt anything but pressure as his first major TV role since 10 phenomenal years spent on '24' aired for the first time last night (26 January 2012).
Fans and critics were certainly eager to see how the Canadian actor was going to follow up what has come to be known as one of the iconic TV characters of the 21st century in secret agent Jack Bauer.
'Touch,' which sees Sutherland playing a single father of a mute son who sees things other cannot, aired last night for the first time - and the answer to whether he's managed to follow up what may be career defining role successfully?
A cautious yes, according to the critics.
Newsday was effusive in its praise, saying the program was "A bit melodramatic, a bit manipulative, Touch is still one of the best pilots of the 2011-12 season to date," and others were similar praiseworthy though understandably a little more cautious given it was the pilot episode.
"It's Mr. Sutherland's portrayal of the father--unyielding in his effort to break through to his mute child and grasp what he's trying to say with his numbers--that is the heart of this story, the power likely to sustain this promising enterprise," said the Wall Street Journal, whilst
TV Guide said "[Touch is] emotionally compelling but wildly fantastical and undeniably manipulative."Not all were enthused though, The New York Times commented "The 11-year-old boy at the center of the story has never spoken and is also the show's narrator.
It's a perfectly acceptable device, if not a particularly interesting one in this case," whilst the Los Angeles Times weren't fans at all, stating "Ironically, given a show that so clearly wants to touch its audience--from that weighty one-word title on down--we have met, apart from Martin, hardly a single character who incorporates more than the hint of an actual person.
"Contactmusic

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Kiefer Sutherland of "24" on Fox

Q: Do you still have the sentiment that the loyal fan base is what has allowed 24 to keep going?
A: That's what I'm so grateful for. The prequel (the TV movie 24: Redemption) was a real testament to that. We didn't know what was going to happen. Last year, it was like a perfect storm, with three or four different elements coming together to make it impossible for us to air. People have stood by our show from the very beginning, and we owe a great debt to them.

Q:Did you have giant reservations about the show's new season being delayed?
A: One of the most disappointing things, obviously, was when we realized the (writers)
strike was going to go on long enough that we wouldn't be able to get back on track in time to air last January. I agreed with the decision Fox made, mainly because there's really no other time the show could run without interruption, given their sports schedule with things like the World Series and the Super Bowl.

Q:How do you feel about the series recently hitting its 150th episode?
A: It's so funny; I'm sure we have done that. We hit 100, I know that, and I remember that being a big deal that we all acknowledged. I don't think we did anything for the 150th, we were just so focused on getting through this season. Because we've had the time we've had to make it, if this isn't the best season of 24 yet, we're in trouble.