Jack is back!  Long time fans of the Fox show 24 were treated with a 4 hour premier to the new series Sunday and Monday night (1/11 and 1/12).

CTU is no more.  The president’s son committed suicide; her husband is convinced it was murder.  Tony Almeida didn’t die and is really pissed at the American government.  Jack is set to appear in front of a Senate committee to answer questions about his unique interrogation techniques.  U.S. forces prepare to go in to war torn Sangala, Africa, to stop rebel forces from ethnic cleansing.

In typical 24-fashion, all is not as it appears to be.  Tony is a bad guy and Jack has to capture him; then he isn’t and Jack has to set him free.  The President’s husband finally believes his son committed suicide, but then finds out he did not.  As luck would have it, Sangalan rebel forces led by General Juma are threatening to kill thousands of U.S. citizens using a device that got the past the government’s firewall (should have called the Geek Squad).

It is a good thing that Fox starts the season with the first four hours in two nights.  The show has a rather detail storyline that
(Photo credit:  Kelsey  McNeal/FOX) takes some time to set up.    If they only started with one episode I think many people would tune out the following week.  With four, viewers are able to get a good idea what the show is going to be about, and can see enough to get really interested.

The cast has many familiar faces and some new.  Janeane Garofalo plays manic, anxiety ridden computer geek Janis Gold of the FBI set to rival the talented Chloe.  Jon Voight made a small appearance; great choice to play the bad politician.  Whoever it is that plays the rebel leader has been cast as an evil bad guy in hundreds of movies and shows; great job in type casting.

This season does not start out nearly as action packed as past seasons.  The action is sure to come.  It just would not be 24 if Jack did not hook up electric cords to someone’s nipples, if bad guys did not get killed, and if lots of inanimate objects did not get blown up/ shot up/ or otherwise destroyed in truly amazing fashion.

Fans of the show will simply be glad it is back.  They are accustomed to the show needing a little time to really get rolling.   New comers- give it another week or two; you’ll love it.  Soon enough you’ll realize that Jack Bauer is the man we all wish we could be.  He doesn’t take any crap from anyone, can dish it out as well as take it, and is man enough to stand up and say,” hell yes I did it and if need be I would do it again!”

Keep kicking ass Jack!