How many more sleeps until 24 begins????

So the trailer for the new season of 24 is out and it looks fantastic.

I have to admit, I did not jump on the 24 bandwagon until after season 1 was finished. You have to understand, I am a baseball fan which means I watch the World Series on FOX. If FOX knows how to do one thing, it's promote its own product. So before the first season, during the World Series, we had to put up with endless promos. So much so, that even before the first episode, I was already sick of the show. Same thing with House, which goes to show how stupid I was, now I watch both shows religiously.

It was after season 1 of 24 that J-Mac and I borrowed the complete season on DVD from Jayman. Neither of us were all that enthused to watch it but late one night...we decided to watch the first episode. Four hours later, we were still watching it, completely enthralled.

We did the same for season 2 and I liked having to wait until the end of each season to watch them as opposed to watching an hour (with commercials) and then having to wait another week.
During season 3, everything changed as I started working at a television station. Everyone talked about the show and I could not avoid hearing what was happening every week. So I jumped on board to watch it on a weekly basis.

By this time, J-Mac had stopped watching the show but I still, to this day, watch it faithfully.

Top 5 Things I Like About 24
1. The programming of the show. Instead of beginning it in September and then having the shows sporadically aired throughout the season (taking time off for holidays and the MLB playoffs), it begins in January and runs straight through till June. Every week a new episode with no repeats. You have to like that kind of predictability. The fact that Lost doesn't do that is one of the reasons I no longer watch that show.

2. The shocking twists. Every season, all bets are off. Main characters die without mercy. At least half a dozen times a year, I literally gasp aloud when something absolutely crazy and unpredictable happens.

3. The cast turnover. With main characters dying and things like that, new characters are introduced all the time. For this upcoming season, James Cromwell, Regina King, Kal Penn, Rena Sofer, Harry Lennix and Peter MacNicol have all been added. Last year, additions like Jean Smart, Sean Astin, Julian Sands and Peter Weller proved pivotal to that season's success.

4. The acting of Kiefer Sutherland. I am not saying Kiefer is an acting genius. But he is perfectly cast as the put-upon Jack Bauer. He hangs that weary and beaten down look better than any other actor on the planet.

5. The underrated Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian. Is there a better written character on television? She is inappropriate, insincere and sarcastic. In other words, she is like people we all know we are forced to work with in real life. Her character grounds the show and gives it comic relief while still staying in context.

Thinking about 24 relieves my depression of the ongoing crisis that is Studio 60 On Sunset Strip. This week's episode was the strongest one since the pilot but still, not enough people are watching it. To make things worse, the similarly themed sitcom 30 Rock has started and people seem to be watching that a lot. To be honest, it is more jokey and less realistic than Studio 60 but it has a powerful comedic presence with Alec Baldwin. If he is on screen, I am watching it. Other than him, I don't think the show is very good. But, perhaps, I am just being bitter.