Jack is back!

I was looking forward to the next 12 hours in the life of Jack Bauer (24: Live Another Day). For most of the 24 seasons, it was a regular staple in the Siccardi household. Karen and I would watch it together as Jack battled the ne’er do wells with cunning exploits. And there were always plot twists, with “good guys” turning out bad and bad guys ending up being a means to an end. Jack always packed a lot of punch into 24 hours.

And it was always fun to watch Karen react to the action, adventure, twists, betrayals. I think I liked that more than the show.

We would watch the latest hour segment, recap it for days and look forward to the next chapter a few days in advance. After the season concluded, Karen was first in line to get the DVDs to keep the excitement forever. She had a 24 screensaver and mouse pad and the mere mention of the number would pump her up. She loved cartoons about Jack Bauer, 24 and even parodies.

As I watched the two hour premier Monday, though, part of the spark was missing. Part of it was because of the four year hiatus, which meant I had to figure out who these people were, what their relationships were with Jack and what had intervened over the four years that made Jack a reclusive off the grid operative.

But I think part of it was because there was no one sitting next to me. When I got lost in the script, Karen would always bring me back up to speed … “You remember, back in Season 4 …”

I would have preferred a prequel to this season’s opener — you know, a brief recap on how Jack went from cause celebre to wanted terrorist and fugitive. It would have been nice to fill in some of the missing four years between assignments.

So, 24 turned into an extra-believable escapism adventure for two hours as I tried to fill in the gaps and remember back four years, but thus far, it has been passionless on my part.

I always liked the “real time” format and the haunting ticking clock. Of course, a lot always happened to Jack in those 60 minutes. This week, for example, he was involved in a firefight with the CIA, taken into custody, transported to CIA headquarters and processed for interrogation — all in 20 minutes.  In the next 27 minutes, he is able to overtake his guards, penetrate the special ops room, free his former sidekick Chloe O’Brien from her drug induced interrogation, get into another firefight and escape with a mighty blast and the help of a Serbian mercenary.

The second hour started delving into this season’s plot … protection of the president, in London to justify the U.S. use of drones, which, of course, have been remotely compromised and hacked by a rogue terrorist.

It will be interesting to see how Jack and Chloe save the day … who can be trusted … how the love of his life Audrey {whom he literally drove to the insane asylum four years ago} reacts to his return {she is the president’s daughter and married to his chief of staff} … when and if his daughter Kim rejoins the cast … How CIA Agent Kate fits in {she recognized Jack wasn’t caught, but wanted to be caught … and isn’t afraid to break some rules}.

I should have watched at least the ending hours of Season 8 before delving into Live Another Day. That might have gotten me more involved. But, then again, Season 8 was watched without Karen as well … and she was a large part of why I enjoyed watching Jack.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Find work that makes you happy. If you can change the world in the process all the better.