Without spoiling anything, I can say that the 15-minute opening of tonight's chilling first episode is such a grabber (particularly for long-time fans) that I was clutching the edge of my chair. In fact, it's really hard to write with any specificity about this edition of ``24'' because it would give away those first 15 minutes. So let's just say that once the train starts hurtling down the tracks, it's moving at such speed that you're not going to want to jump.
As usual, much of the power comes from Sutherland, who is giving one of the richest performances in TV history as Bauer. But there are also all manner of intriguing characters swirling around him -- both returning figures and newcomers.
The wonderful Mary Lynn Rajskub is back as computer whiz Chloe O'Brian, one of the few who know Jack Bauer isn't dead. So are Kim Raver as Audrey Raines, the government official who was Jack's main squeeze last year, and, yes, Elisha Cuthbert as Jack's always-in-peril daughter, Kim. (Both think Bauer is no longer among the living.)
The most notable newcomers in the first few hours are Jean Smart -- giving a very smart performance as mentally unbalanced Martha Logan, the wife of wimpy President Charles Logan -- and Sean Astin of ``Lord of the Rings'' fame as a wily bureaucrat who takes over CTU.
In the end, perhaps the telling line in the four hours comes from Chloe O'Brian. With Bauer in the middle of yet another seemingly impossible crisis, she turns to an incredulous observer and says, ``Relax, he's really good at this.''
So, it turns out, are the people involved in the making of ``24.''