24 Executive Producer Howard Gordon visits USC


On Thursday Feb. 17, The Viterbi School of Engineering hosted a panel discussion with Howard Gordon, executive producer of the hit TV show 24. The conversation was moderated by Ms. Lucy Hood, former President of Fox Mobile Entertainment and current Executive Director of the Institute for Communication Technology Management at the Marshall School of Business.  Among the many topics that were discussed, Gordon focused on the implications that come with producing a show like 24 that so heavily relies on the facts of engineering.

Executive Producer Howard Gordon has impacted the world of television programming with a variety of hits.

An ’84 Princeton graduate with an international relations degree, Gordon turned his attention toward creative writing after leaving college.  He then worked on shows like Angel, Beauty and the Beast, X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer before striking gold with his brainchild, 24.

“It was more alchemy than engineering.  It was the perfect accident,” Gordon said.

The panel discussion focused on how the limitations of computer engineering were a not a factor in the production of 24.  If they could imagine a situation that demanded a certain technology, they would simply create it.

“It was my way of fantasizing about the life of a secret agent,” Gordon mentioned when describing the writing process.

The students of Viterbi responded to Gordon’s comments with some of their own, sharing their current projects in the making. Gordon’s interest in the technological advents of this generation was widely felt as the conversation turned more towards the impact of computer science than 24.  He joked with students about his ineptness with the iPhone, describing his knowledge of computers as “a step above a chisel and a stone.”

In regards to 24, Kiefer Sutherland’s Emmy Award-winning character Jack Bauer was not the center of attention but the character of Chloe O’Brian was discussed in much detail.  The engineering students identified themselves with the computer scientist and the discussion revolved mostly around her.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, the discussion between a Hollywood producer and engineering students became very interactive.  With ideas being bounced back and forth, both the engineering students and Howard Gordon were beneficiaries from the unique night.

1 reply
  1. USC Dad
    USC Dad says:

    Not quite Polymathic but can be considered interdisciplinary
    BTW I never watched “24” TV Series. Too busy I guess for
    Broadcast TV

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