Last Wednesday, Kiefer Sutherland made his return to primetime television after a two-year hiatus. As the star of "24" for eight seasons, Sutherland made a great name for himself as Jack Bauer, the terrorist-killing superhero who saved America countless times over the years, with the tagline "Events occur in real time."
Well, Jack Bauer is no more, and Sutherland is now the star of the Fox series "Touch," in which he portrays Martin Bohm, a New York journalist-turned-baggage handler whose wife died in the September 11th attacks. His mute son, Jake, is able to predict the future using numbers. The concept is far from that of "24," and Sutherland's character is far different from Bauer, but the show does have some strong points.
Jake has a penchant for climbing electrical towers and constantly being called down by the authorities and his father. This, among other places, is where the difference between Bohm and Bauer is most evident. Gone is the red faced screaming and vicious threatening. Instead, there is a calm, compassionate coaxing down performed by the elder Bohm, and a slightly frustrated but understanding Martin is soon in control again.
In another scene, Bohm is beaten and pushed on the hood of a car, something that would never have happened in Sutherland's old job. His almost meek appearance here really throws the viewer a curve ball because of previous associations between Sutherland and primetime dramas, but it is a good depiction of Bohm's personality – one of compassion, getting the short end of the stick and, at the end of the day, being underappreciated.
Although he is constantly struggling to provide a stable situation for his son, Social Services does not see it, and tries to take him away. They eventually do, but only after a stern warning from Bohm to not touch Jake unless they want him to be on the ceiling for the next few hours.
The show goes back and forth between the Middle East, Asia, and New York, something that may throw the viewer off and cause some confusion. At the end of the day, however, it all adds up and the connection is established between the locations. Jake, while mute, has a psychic quality about him that provides the backbone for the pilot, and will apparently do the same for the remainder of the first season. The first episode was not without holes, but it was entertaining. The show will begin regularly on March 19, in "24's" old time slot, 9 p.m. on Monday nights.
