This strong series comes back through strong and exciting events that look quite different during the eighth season. The season begins. The counterterrorism unit wants a former FBI agent, Rene Walker, to infiltrate a Russian gang that is selling weapons-grade uranium to assassins. On the other hand, there is a race by Jack and Chloe with time to try to thwart the assassination of the President of the Islamic Republic.
The new season gives the series a superficial makeover, moving the locale to New York, resurrecting CTU with a shiny new office - and new cast members.
As always, however, it's Kiefer who commands the attention, particularly in a climactic character arc that sees him transform into a perma-torturing one-man army.
The show's writers have repeated themselves so many times that by now even the most generous, most deliriously inventive allegorical reading of the series wouldn't be able to extract much beyond an indecisive libertarian populism.
Fox's 24 is a little creaky getting out of bed to start its eighth season. But once it wakes up, it reminds us that no current TV show is better at action-adventure.
Any long-time fan of the drama has to smile and subtly pump his/her fist at the countdown, the multiple on-screen boxes and all the familiar reminders that one of the best produced shows is back on TV.
