Breathless Bauer Saves The World Again

SPOILER ALERT: Jack Bauer will save the day, Los Angeles, California, the USA, the world, and, quite possibly, the future of the human race. Again. Tune in for series four of ‘24’ to discover how.

I’m hooked on ‘24’, more than any TV series I can recall. I blame and thank Tom junior for that.

Kiefer Sutherland plays Jack Bauer with a breathless intensity – an intensity which makes The Da Vinci Code seem as pedestrian as Chelmsford’s shopping centre.

For those incognoscenti – where have you been the last four years? – ‘24’ is an American TV thriller series based around the LA Counter Terrorist Unit. Bauer has saved the President’s life, thwarted dastardly plots threatening nuclear and chemical chaos and destruction. And, like many heroes, he breaks most of the rules in the as yet unwritten book. He has no problem with the devil’s alternative, but you would not want him to babysit your kids.

He is a one-man band, and no matter how many aides the Arab terrorists can call upon in Series Four – they’ve already used sufficient to defend a small nation – only a fool would bet against the Bauer boy.

The action takes place over 24 hours in real time – an hour per episode. The production unit time the adverts to perfection; no action of any relevance takes place during the ads, so one can assume this is when agent Bauer eats or goes to the loo.

Like Bauer, Dan Brown’s hero – Dr Robert Langdon of Harvard University – rarely eats or requires a bathroom break. Maybe there are no suitable ad slots in his books.

Tom Hanks pipped Sutherland to the role of Langdon in the forthcoming movie of The Da Vinci Code (May 2006 scheduled release date). Actually, I have no idea whether or not Sutherland was considered.

"Tom Hanks is one of the biggest stars in the world today," said John Calley, one of the producers. "He has all the intelligence, wry sophistication, everyman charm and talent required to bring this role to life and it's hard to imagine a more perfect fit for the character of Robert Langdon, who Dan Brown created with such compelling care in his bestseller."

Hanks will probably go to the loo before the movie. I advise you to, too.