CLOCKING ON WITH BAUER (From Warrington Guardian)

CLOCKING ON WITH BAUER

JACK'S back, but all's not well with the world of the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles.

At the start of the fourth series of '24' (Sky One) recognisable faces were few and far between. Tony is presumably languishing in jail for putting wife before country in the last series, and said wife Michelle has also flown the coop.

Apparently Jack's dippy daughter Kim has set up home away from LA with one-handed former field agent Chase, who is now working for a private security firm. If they think that will prevent her from causing trouble at some time during the current drama, they are flying in the face of all the evidence accumulated over three series.

Chloe, the slightly unhinged computer buff, is now the only surviving member of the old crew and she seems to be on a collision course with new CTU boss Erin Driscoll. "I don't trust Driscoll. I trust you," she told Jack. So did Ryan Chappelle, Chloe, and look what happened to him!

Driscoll, a 'cold fish' type, apparently sacked Bauer 18 months previously for his heroin addiction, despite the fact that he had just prevented a plague virus from being released.

Since then a disconcertingly smart-suited Jack has been working for James Heller, the Secretary of State for Defence, in 'DC' (or Washington, as we would say on this side of the 'pond'). He has also fallen in love with Audrey Raines, the daughter of his boss. The woman is doomed!

As always with '24', the various strands of the new drama burst on to the screen in quickfire fashion. We have a scary Muslim couple, Navi and Dina Araz, and their teenage son Behrooz, who have the appearance of a typical affluent American family but are at the heart of a terrorist plot. The son's neglected girlfriend Debbie entered the fray as an embryo Kimmy, 'sleepwalking' into dangerous situations at the drop of a baseball cap. Surely Jack deserves a break from bimbos!

Terrorists have kidnapped Heller and his daughter, and are threatening to try and execute the defence chief in three hours. This message was relayed to the world via the internet in a chilling reminder of the real life hostage broadcasts from the Middle East.

At the fringe of the main drama we have the characters of Heller's son Richard, an anti-war protestor, and computer hacker Andrew Page, whose fate was hanging by a thread at the end of the second episode.

Fortunately, Jack is now on the case, having been reinstated temporarily by Driscoll. What took her so long? Seasoned followers of the mighty Bauer know that when it comes to saving the world, there's only one man for the job.

SOAP POSER:

JUST what EastEnders needed - a new family with a gangster at the head! Johnny Allen and his brood are set to join the motley collection of petty criminals, work-shy losers, dysfunctional children, murderers and benefit cheats now living in the square. There is barely a character to whom the average person can relate but plenty with the potential to make any law-abiding citizen reach for the remote control in a fit of righteous annoyance. Not the ideal way of attracting an audience, I would venture!