US TV

'24' Day 7: S07E01/2 - 8am to 10am

Published Monday, Jan 12 2009, 23:00 GMT | By Ben Rawson-Jones | 10 comments

The wait was most definitely worth it. The first two hours of Day Seven are 24 at its thrilling best, full of intrigue, twists and nailbiting moments.

"What the hell happened to you Tony?" asks a distraught Jack Bauer when reunited with his old pal, echoing our own thoughts. However the plot pans out, Carlos Bernard makes Tony's shift from hero to villain utterly convincing, and the build-up to the pair's reunion is expertly handled and well paced.

The plot certainly bears similarities to Die Hard 4.0, in which terrorists gain control of technology, but it's nonetheless a terrifying scenario. Given the bloodshed in past seasons of 24, you never know whether the planes will emerge safely from the ordeal until the final moment when Tony asks the pilot to pull up.

Recent television movie 24: Redemption has nicely set up a few simmering subplots, most notably involving the mystery surrounding the death of President Taylor's son and the influence of General Juma and the Sangalese regime. Furthermore, Annie Wersching is a superb addition to the cast as Agent Walker, who complements Jack superbly.

The underlying premise of Jack Bauer's trial also adds an extra dimension to the show, as in many ways 24 is in the dock after the poor quality of the previous season. On the evidence so far, the resurgent drama is definitely guilty - of being damn fine television.

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JR, on January 20th, 2009
Same old 24 rubbish. For how long are they going to string out the same old formula? "Jack's in trouble with the authorities. Oh no, now they need him so he's off the hook. And now he's going to off the books to torture people!" - i'm very very bored of it. And the storyline with Chloe, Bill and Tony is just so bad it makes me want to cry. No surprised by the DS score of 4 stars though - they'll give anything a good score.

Seaneeboy, Leeds, on January 15th, 2009
A real return to form for Jack and the gang. Lessons have been learned from Day 6 and the script and direction was spot on. Nice filmic effect on the image too, rather than the garish cartoony last series. One tiny criticism... The tension could have been a bit stronger in the plane scene - suffering from it's legacy of too many times just blowing stuff up, but the shot of the plane pulling up at the last minute was terrific. Lets hope the rest of the series lives up to the promise!

Johnny Kalifornia, London, on January 14th, 2009
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree....! CTU has gone, but has been replaced by the FBI - and guess what - the FBI's been compromised!!! Also, as usual, the show settles the previous 'how's Jack gonna get out of this' cliffhanger from the tv movie, the same way it always does - oh he's been pulled out of the dock by the FBI, same way he was pulled out of China by the US government...!! I will keep watching for now, but it all seemed like yet another re-tread - what more shocking twists or events can there be, than what has gone before? We'll see...

Carri-Ann Wells Belfast, on January 14th, 2009
OK I think I'm goin' to get linched for saying this but I was a tiny bit disappointed. Just a wee bit I kinda missed the whole CTU get up and theres lots of new characters. Maybe I just don't like change!!!!! Don't get me wrong the plot is genius I can tell we are in for a brilliant series to come!!

Will, Aberdeen, on January 13th, 2009
24 is definitely back with a bang - and this time they didnt need to destroy a suburb with a nuke to get the bang! Definitely one of the best 24 season openings - not than any have been bad, really. And some awesome quotes. Cant wait for more. Jack is Back.

Ben, Lancashire, on January 13th, 2009
Wow wow wow! Fantastic opening to what promises to be an amazing series. It helps to have watched Redemption but like the writers have said it is not nessecery. Can't wait for Chloe to come back and Carlos Bernard as Tony is an extremly welcome return. Bravo! Roll on next week? Why does America get it a week before us????

Craig, Portsmouth, on January 13th, 2009
"On the evidence so far, the resurgent drama is definitely guilty - of being damn fine television." haha :D I totally agree, it was a pretty awesome opening episode. Looking forward to the rest of the season!

Simon, Reading, on January 13th, 2009
Oh my god! I cannot remember the last time I saw something so spectacular on television...I have to say that this double episode premiere completely smacks Season 6 off the face of the earth...the action was thrilling, the shock twists were superb, the tension was intense and to top it all off, 24 has been completely restructured, coupled with an immensely sexy FBI agent in the form of Renee Walker; a woman who will give Jack Bauer a run for his money!!! The subplots were also brilliant, and I cannot wait for next week!!! I conclude in saying, xxxx religion, worship Jack Bauer!!!

Marco, on January 13th, 2009
Jack Bauers the man. He even represents himself in court.

Lynne Guthrie, on January 13th, 2009
Loved it - well worth the alomst 2 yrs wait! cant wait till next week I wont more now! Tony is so good as a baddie!

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