24-- A TV Sherpa's eye view

Tonight is another big episode of 24. I don't usually examine non-cable TV, but I am just so jazzed about 24. I'm not sure what year (season, day?) it is on (maybe the 4th?) and it may seem old hat. Jack saves the world. Then Jack saves the world again, then, next season, Jack saves the world. What is he going to do this year? Early guess is that he is going to save the world somehow. And, every year he either gets killed, or comes close to it. He has fought terrorists, the Chinese government, drug runners, and even more terrorists funded by the Russian Communists. He has been attacked by various assassins and hit squads, yet Jack always manages to escape. I don't know how they do it, but the writers manage to keep the show exciting for me. Just when I think nothing new can happen, bam! a whole new direction opens up. Jack's family, his brother and father, are now part of the plot. And Jack opened up a fresh can of whoopass on his brother to get him to talk. Jack even killed one of his best friends during one episode. Jack can fly helicopters and planes, and he is skilled in every weapon along with the ability to disarm every bomb he has ever encountered. Ok, once he had a dirty bomb that he couldn't disarm, so he took it on a small plane and was willing to sacrifice himself by flying into an unpopulated area and exploding it so now one else got hurt. Jack has seen his wife killed, and any women who come into his life are quickly made into targets, so he is a loner.Jack has neither eaten nor gone to the bathroom in any 24 hour period! That is a man focused on his mission.When he calls the President, he gets right through. So far, 24 has assassinated one president and is preparing to off another. They have impeached and removed from office a third president. Intrigue and dirty dealing all around all the way up to the White House and beyond.
Jack has been an enemy of the state, a captive of the Chinese government, and a hero to us all.24 is one of my favorite shows of all time. It is exciting and unusually unpredicatable.I rate it 9.837