Frak me!! 24 might actually be good next season!

I used to love 24. I hope to again.

Strangely, my mom turned me on to the once sterling series. She was obsessed with the first season, and I would listen to her go on and on about a so called Jack Bauer and what a bad-ass he was and while it sounded mildly interesting, I don't like to get invested in series mid-season. So I filed it away in my head as something to check out down the road.

Then, in preparation for a leisurely summer in Cape Cod with my ex, I purchased the first season on a whim and Oh. My. god. Obsession. The first season TOTALLY blew me away and remains in my mind one of the best seasons of television ever produced. For about two weeks my ex and I would stay up way too late into the night nervously clutching each other as Jack Bauer rode in like a one man army, shooting first and asking questions later. And cutting off thumbs. Everything about it was just amazing. The then-fresh counting clock. The crazy action scenes. The techno-cool CTU. The cliff-hangers (just one more episode. . .?) The torture! The twists and double crosses (remember when Kim's friend's "dad" enters her hospital room and smothers her? Chills!) This woman:
the pre-Obama black presidential candidate, the devastating ending. It was like an emotionally gripping, unrelenting triple A action flick. Yeah, I liked it that much.

I became a rabid fan. I named my cat Chloe. Then, like another stalwart fav of mine I recently commented on (cough, cough, Lost), season by season, 24 slowly and painfully descended into a parody of itself. It all felt recycled, forced and overdone. Jack tortues another terrorist. Ho-hum. His family is in danger? Shocking! A double agent in CTU? Yawn.


But now, I see a light bright new dawn. Two things have me really feeling hopeful. The first: 24 is moving to New York City. I don't know why they didn't do this 7 seasons ago. While LA worked well for the first season, the locations quickly grew stale and the wide distances they theoretically traveled in like 4 minutes broke the realism of the show. Plus, LA is well. . .LA. Do terrorists really care that much about blowing stuff up there? Threatening New York will really bring back the sense of danger and realism that has hurt the show in recent seasons.

Second, and more exciting, is the addition of Katee Sackhoff to the cast. For those who don't know Ms. Sackhoff, she played the intractable Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica. For those of you who haven't seen BSG, well, you should. Michael Ausiello is reporting on ew.com that the BSG alum will play Dana Walsh, "a highly respected and down-to-earth data analyst at the new and improved New York branch of CTU." Sackhoff was far and away my favorite actress from BSG (well, except for Michelle Forbes' hardcore lesbian Admiral Gale), but she did have a lot to work with, seeing that Starbuck was one of the most compelling roles from the show.
It would be a shame if Walsh doesn't get to see some action in the field, as it's always a hoot seeing Sackhoff be a bad mother (shut yo mouth!). That said, if Walsh is written as a more mild mannered role, it will be interesting to see if Katee can stretch her acting legs and break out of her woman-with-a-chip-on-her-shoulder mold. Still, she'll be working with Chloe, and anyone in that role will need serious balls. Finally, while it was certainly a lot of fun watching Starbuck bed every hot boy toy on Galactica, this woman is screaming for a meaty lesbian role. Freddie Prinze. Jr. as her love interest? C'mon guys, you can do better than that. Or can you? I'll be tuning in to see if 24 can resurrect itself next season. Will you?