Hollywood recently made a road trip to San Diego to shoot the heart-stopping season finale of Fox Television’s acclaimed drama series, “24.”
Producer\/Unit Production Manager Michael Klick explained that the storyline called for scenes to take place on a nuclear submarine, and since there were no subs in Los Angeles, he called upon the resources at Naval Base Point Loma.
“I called (the base) and told them I had a wild request,” Klick said. “The Navy had a lot of concerns based on our story ideas. We didn’t know for sure until a week beforehand [if they would agree].”
Eventually producers were given the go-ahead, and cast and crew trekked to Point Loma last month for four long days of filming.
Lt. Erik Reynolds, public affairs officer for Commander Submarine Squadron 11 at the Point Loma base, handled Navy concerns and provided technical advice.
Realism was the goal.
“Changes I made were fairly minor,” Reynolds said. “I would tell them, ‘That’s not how a sailor would speak,’ or make sure a character had the right haircut and to just make sure that the Navy was portrayed correctly.”
The working relationship proved to be just as valuable as the actual submarine.
“The folks at the Navy base were all extremely helpful,” Klick said. “They had good ideas to change or adjust the story. It was very sensitive all the way through.”
The set, shrouded in enough secrecy to cause envy at the CIA, was the USS Topeka “” just back from a six-month deployment.
“We let the studio use the Topeka since it had just returned and would be the least affected,” Reynolds said.
The sub was scheduled for a month-long maintenance period and the shooting of the show did not affect the other subs on base.
“They got lucky,” Reynolds said.
Several sailors got lucky as well and were cast as extras.
“The sailors had a great time,” Reynolds added. “One of my goals was for the Topeka guys to get most of the [extra] work.”
Reynolds said that he was impressed with the professionalism, friendliness and hard work displayed by cast and crew.
“Even Keifer [Sutherland] would stop whenever he could to talk to people,” he said.
Sutherland plays counter terrorist agent Jack Bauer, the lead character.
“We were fascinated with how they do business, and they were fascinated with us,” Reynolds said.
Klick agreed, adding that it was interesting being on a sub.
“Everybody was asking a lot of questions. They were welcoming, friendly, flexible and cooperative. The entire experience was outstanding,” he said.
The actual filming on the sub was no easy task.
“We shot through small holes with no extra lighting,” said Klick. “We approached it more like a documentary.”
Cameras were hand-held with extra equipment carried in backpacks.
“As few people as possible went down in the sub,” he said.
Fruitless attempts to pry story information from Klick, such as why Jack Bauer was on a submarine resulted in, “Well, you know it wasn’t a birthday party that gets Jack Bauer on a submarine.”
Klick did share his ideas on the reasons for the show’s success.
“The show moves so quickly; it’s unpredictable; it’s a visceral ride for sure. And people like Jack Bauer as a man of action,” he said. “He’s a take-charge kind of guy who’s willing to risk everything.”
Fans of the show avidly agree.
“I like the pace, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s the fastest hour on television today,” said Jerry Hanlon, an Ocean Beach visitor. “There are multiple plots and twists. Just when you think you know what’s happening, everything changes.”
The show has become known for its unique format, where the entire season takes place in one day, with each episode a real-time hour. And unlike most other TV series, once the season begins, there are no repeats thrown in during non-sweeps weeks to annoy loyal viewers.
Finishing up the series’ fifth season, which included the 100th episode, the show has been nominated for 39 Emmy Awards and nine Golden Globe Awards, earning wins for Best Television Series (Drama), and a Best Actor award for Sutherland.
True to form, this season’s premier shocked viewers with the assassination of an ex-president and much-loved character played by Dennis Haysbert, drawing Jack Bauer out of hiding “” for a while. The season’s twists and turns ultimately lead Bauer to a submarine, where the day and the season comes to an end.
Are any of the characters safe in the season finale? Klick’s answer: “You know I can’t tell you that.”
He did make a promise, though.
“It will be like nothing you’ve ever seen on network TV,” he said.
The two-hour season finale airs Monday, May 22 at 8 p.m. on FOX.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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