24 Review:
"8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m." (Episode 7.01) and "9:00 a.m. - 10 a.m." (Episode 7.02)

Fun fact: It's been 24 months since the beginning of the previous season of 24. And boy, did Season Six start with a bang...literally. Remember, the dirty-bomb attack outside L.A., this occurring right after our tortured hero Jack Bauer shooting and killing lovable good guy and show-staple Curtis?

Yeah, it's been quite a while, hasn't it? Due to the writer's strike, some shows experienced shorter seasons last year; 24 had nothing. Last November, Fox and the show's creators were kind enough to give fans a two-hour event called "Redemption," which serves as a bridge between seasons six and seven. Here, we see Jack on the run in a fictional African country called Sengala, where the U.S. government finally catches up with him and serves him a federal subpoena to appear before the Senate. While it was an entertaining enough watch for fans needing something, it lacked that sense of urgency, where every hard-hitting beat of the clock matters.

And so, finally, Kiefer Sutherland returns as Jack Bauer in the seventh season of what must be considered one of the most intense hours in television history. He goes before the Senate to be grilled by people who obviously don't know what it takes to get the job done. This is something on which fans of the show, liberal and conservative alike, have given Jack a pass. Because, let's face it, if he were to go all PC like Denzel Washington in The Seige, especially in a post 9/11 world, people would've turned off a long time ago. Nevertheless, not three minutes into the hearing and, well, you guessed it: He's needed to go back in the field. The developer of the Homeland Security firewall was kidnapped! And, something else: Jack knows one of the men behind it. An old friend, Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), who, if you remember, supposedly died in the fifth season. Because of the ad campaign even before the writer's strike, this wasn't a surprise. In fact, there wasn't anything too shocking in the first two hours Sunday night.

At this point, the Counter Terrorism Unit (or CTU) in L.A. is no longer in existence. The only familiar faces (so far) are those of Jack and Tony, and if you're desperate, the chief of staff from Season Six. Teaming up with auburn-haired FBI agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching, and possibly a much-deserved romance for the country's #1 weapon against terror?) to hunt down his former confidant, Jack wastes no time getting back in rhythm, threatening insubordinate suspects with BIC Round Stics and naturally, with a good, old-fashioned sidearm.

Still, even with Tony hacked into air traffic control causing a near two-plane collision (a la Die Hard 2: Die Harder), most of the first two hours is more setup. Newly elected president Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) is about to invade Sengala to stop genocide. As you might expect, the country is divided, and even the secretary of state has his doubts. She presses forward, (sound vaguely familiar?) suspecting there might be a link between the soon-to-be invasion and the homegrown terror plot. Of course, in the world of 24, there are no coincidences.

Near the end of the second hour, Jack and Renee catch Tony. The preview for tonight's two hours presents an interesting dilemma: How will Jack interrogate Tony? Not only is he his close friend, but he also had the same training as Jack. Also, we're promised our first big surprise of the season tonight. That sounds about right, as the dirty bomb and Curtis' death also occurred the second night last season. In other words, 24 fans, it'd probably be a good idea to block off 8-10 p.m.

Strangely enough, Janeane Garofalo signed on this season as a Chloe-type-personality at the FBI. Should be interesting to see what happens when the real Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) returns.