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Fans of 24's unique blend of violence, tension and breakneck action can rejoice; a TV special is about to hit our screens, and 'day seven' follows. But is the world turning against a show whose questionable ethics appear to condone torture? Robert Hanks reports
It is seven years since 24 first rampaged on to our television screens - or six days, depending on how you look at it. Since then, Jack Bauer, the show's preternaturally tough hero, has conquered the world, or at any rate pistol-whipped it and threatened its loved ones until it gives him what he wants.
24 is one of the most successful dramas in television history, with a devoted fan-base, millions of DVD sales around the world, widespread critical acclaim and a couple of mantelpieces full of awards. One of those mantelpieces needs to be reserved for Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Bauer: before 24, he was better known as an answer to trivia questions and a useful link man in games of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon than for his acting (here's a trivia question: name any three films Sutherland starred in between Flatliners in 1993 and the first season of 24 in 2001 - The Last Days of Frankie the Fly ring any bells?). 24 made him a megastar; he's paid a reported $10m a year, has been nominated for an Emmy for every season, and has taken home a dozen other awards, from Teen Choice and MTV to the Screen Actors' Guild and a Golden Globe.
On Monday night, after a long delay occasioned by the screenwriters' strike in America, Bauer returns in a two-hour special, 24: Redemption, setting the scene for a fully fledged series that begins in January. That's redemption for Jack Bauer, now exiled in Africa, atoning for some of the sins committed in previous series by helping an old comrade who now runs a school for former child-soldiers; but redemption too, maybe, for a television show that has started to lose some of its shine, with complaints from fans and critics about repetitive, convoluted and unconvincing story-lines and a swelling growl of discontent at the viciousness of the show's underlying morality.
24's shtick is that it takes place in real time - Real Time...