24 On Fox: Jack's Back!

The Fox Network's hit 24 is widely acclaimed as the best action drama on TV. Telling it's pulse-quickening stories in "real time" Fox's 24 stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, a whatever-it-takes counter-terrorism expert, and co-stars Carlos Bernard, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Kim Raver as his spy network colleagues and personal allies.

With the ticking clock literally and figuratively haunting the series, 24 has won the Fox Network prestige, awards and, each season, growing TV ratings. With it's non-stop action, ever-rising tension, and unbelievable plot twists, including the jaw-dropping deaths of many leading characters, 24 is in a class by itself.

Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochrane, 24 each season tells the story of Jack Bauer's race against time. Each season, Bauer and the CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) must quash a devastating threat to national security. It may be a virus, a nuke, an assassination plot. Each episode, save the season premiere, represents one hour of a "real time" day in Bauer's life. Fans never know what's coming on 24, hour to hour, episode to episode, as the tension builds to a boiling point fueled by car chases, shoot-outs, kidnappings, explosions, murders, and betrayals.

As Bauer, Sutherland, 2006 SAG Award winner for best lead actor in TV, proves his worth in every episode. Despite the run-and-gun nature of 24, he's asked to play a range of emotions and roles: the worried father, the stoic soldier who faces death, the grim torturer, the pained beat-down victim, the relieved agent who's done his job. His charisma and intensity fire up every scene.

While the Fox drama has occasionally been criticized for having some weak supporting roles, it's also been praised for filling the show with very strong ones. Along with Almeida (Bernard) and Chloe (Rajskub) other 24 stalwarts have included Michelle Dessler (Reiko Alyseworth) Almeida's wife and colleague and Dennis Haysbert as President Palmer, Bauer's boss. Elisha Cuthbert spent several seasons playing Jack's daughter, Kim, who briefly worked for the CTU.

Villains have a special place on 24. Penny Johnson Jerald was standout for several seasons as Palmer's Lady MacBeth-like wife, Sherry. Jack's terrorist adversaries have included crime lords, Serbian assassins and Middle Eastern terrorists brought to TV life by actors like Dennis Hopper, Tony-nominee Zeljko Ivanek and Oscar-nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo. Of course the ultimate 24 villain is Nina Meyers (Sarah Clarke) who, well, rent season 1, and see for yourself...

As momentum is important on this show, the Fox network has begun airing 24 at the mid-season mark, so it doesn't have to interrupt the flow. In past season, 24 has interrupted its own flow sometimes with sideplots that are too drawn out and on occasion, all the amazing action of the show can really force a suspension of disbelief. But overall every second is made to count on 24. It's one of the best shows on TV.

Fans of 24 may enjoy these websites:

GENERAL SITES

Official 24 Site: www.fox.com
Official site with info on the show, actors, and upcoming episodes.

24 On The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)
Search "24" in the massive online database for info on all the "24" stars, past and present, including Keifer Sutherland, Carlos Bernard and the various people who've played characters who've gone to meet their maker. Check out facts about the show's behind-the-scenes crew and voice your thoughts on the site's 24 message board.

Television Without Pity (televisionwithoutpity.com)
On a show like 24, you don't want to miss a moment. If you do, check out the TWoP recaps for extensive play-by-play on the show, with a healthy dose of critique. Check out their FAQ list for show-related questions and take part in 24 discussion in their drama forum.

24Online (www.twentyfouronline.com)
This site is great for people looking to catch up on past seasons, as it's archives include great recaps of the past "days" including many details and a timeline format. There's also a substantial news/updates page and a forum. Hosted by fan-sites.org, there's also a lot of images and screenshots for 24 fans to check out. And, each season's worth of recaps comes with character and actor bios for the significant players. Lots of stuff to check out!

24 Weblog (www.24weblog.com)
Despite it's non-UK extension, this blog, looks like it's UK based, has screen caps and news items from the current season, even though it's not airing over in the UK yet.It also has a long list of links to other blogs, sites and 24 forums. Very organized despite not having too much in the way of recaps.

24 Addict (http://www.24addict.com/)
The main page of this site is a running blog on the webmaster's 24-related responses. There are also two extensive photo galleries: one which leads to mini galleries of Jack Bauer and the show, and one which links to smaller galleries of star Keifer Sutherland. Also fans will find tons of screen caps here from all seasons.

Almeida Is God (www.almeidaisgod.com)
This is a very extensive site with all sorts of Tony Aleida/Carlos Bernad items ranging from screen caps and dialogue bits from every episode (!) of all four past seasons, to trivia, drinking games, FAQs, all sorts of info on the character of Tony, including a lengthy character synopsis of all he's done since the show began, his associates, even a "personell file" type list of all different elements of his professional background. If Carols Bernard has ever seen this site, I think he'd be very humbled...or scared.

24 Fanatic (http://www.24.tvheaven.com/)
This site has recaps of past seasons, news, forums, and tons of images. Recaps of past seasons also include extensive character/actor guides with images for each of the major and more important supporting players. There's also an extras section with buying info on the dvds and other 24 items.

INTERNATIONAL SITES:
Jack Bauer and the CTU fight international criminals, but 24 has legions of international fans.

Italian: Jack Rules (www.jackrules.altervista.org)
A fan site with Jack info, we're guessing. It requires some software installation to check it out so we passed.

German: CTU-Germany (http://www.ctu-germany.com/)
English section titles may help those of us who don't sprechen ze deutsch to navigate this site which has pictures, recaps and forums. However, the content is decidedly German language.

More German: 24 Fans (www.24fans.de)
This site includes pictures, multimedia, a fan forum, fan fiction, write-ups on characters and actors by season and a lot of other stuff that we're sure German 24 fans like. No David Hasselhoff, though.

Latin America: 24.LA (http://www.24la.net/)
Habla Espanol? If so, you'll enoy this site which has an image gallery, a forum, spoilers, extras like wallpaper, news items, audio clips, video clips, y mas.

UK: 24Fans.com (www.24fans.com)
This site bills itself was "an international fansite dedicated to the brilliant show 24". It's neatly organized main page gives visitors news on 24's airing schedule and other items like dvd and pc game releases and pieces of recent Kiefer Sutherland interviews. Links lead to a forum, a photo gallery, and multimedia links to trailers of episodes of the show. If you're a trailer fan, there you go. An Extras section offers links to 24 ringtones and wallpaper. There's also a link to a UK fansite.