Kevin Coon, Victor Lopez and Farris Hodo beat out 100 other hopefuls to win the "24" Marathon Challenge, a contest to see who could watch continuous episodes of the award-wining television series "24" starring Kiefer Sutherland the longest to set a new Guinness World Records achievement.
The marathon, sponsored by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to celebrate the release of "24" The Complete Series DVD box set, saw 100 contestants enter a plexi-glass cube to watch "back-to-back Jack" until the last "24" fan remained awake and alert. The marathon began officially at 9:30 p.m. PST on Thursday, December 2, and Guinness World Records adjudicator Kimberly Patrick certified that Coon, Lopez and Hodo set a new Guinness World Record of 86 hours, 6 minutes and 41 seconds of continuous television watching shortly after 11:30 a.m. PST on Monday, December 6. In a surprise twist to the contest, each contestant was awarded $10,000 and shares the new Guinness World Records title. Every participant in the marathon challenge was awarded a "24" complete series box set as a runner-up prize.
Coon, of San Francisco, plans to use the grand prize money to fix his Jeep Wrangler that has been out of service since the summer. Lopez, of Los Angeles, who has played the guitar for 10 years, said he wants to purchase guitars for the Boys & Girls Club where he works as well as buy himself a new Mockingbird BC Rich Electric guitar. Hodo, also of Los Angeles, plans to do some extra Christmas shopping for his family, take care of bills and treat his wife to a nice sushi dinner.
The previous Guinness World Records title holder was Efraim Van Oeveren of the Netherlands, set in 2009. During the "24" Marathon Challenge, participants had to stay awake while watching the hit television series on a plasma screen measuring 6 feet high and 14 feet across. Guinness World Records rules allow for a 10-minute break for every two hours of TV viewing completed, during which time they could exit the theater, take restroom breaks and call friends and family. Some techniques to help them stay awake included dousing themselves in cold water, smoking and pushups.
"If there is one group of people that I know that can break that (Guinness World Records), it is you...the 24 fans," said "24" producer and star Kiefer Sutherland in a video message to the participants. Throughout the marathon, cast and crew from the eight seasons came by to keep the challengers motivated including Gregory Itzin, Carlos Bernard, John Cassar, Carlo Rota, Necar Zadegan, Lou Diamond Phillips and Nazneen Contractor. Fans entered the competition through the official "24" fan page on Facebook. Fans living outside Los Angeles were still able to catch all the videos, photos, participant profiles and updates online at Facebook.com/24 and via Twitter.com.
Fans can relive every heart-pounding second of television's groundbreaking show when "24" The Complete Series DVD box set arrives at retail on December 14 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. "24" The Complete Series is a must-have collectible box set that includes all eight seasons on 56-discs and is bursting with bonus features including deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, a comprehensive retrospective, an epilogue to the series and much more. Additionally, the final season of "24" arrives to Blu-ray and DVD on December 14 with extended and never-before-seen bonus footage.
