24 - Live Another Day, Episodes 1 and 2

After four years, Jack's back and it's business as usual. A lot has been made of this new 24 being a fresh start, a chance for newbies to jump on board and that the show is NOT just Season 9 but a high profile mini-series, labelled 'event television'. On the evidence of this opening two episodes, I was hard pressed to see the difference: yes, we're in London instead of the USA but the narrative was as familiar as an old pair of slippers (because, basically, it's been made by exactly the same people that made the last few seasons). The credits are the same, the music's the same, the sets look the same, there's a number of returning cast members and the once innovative split screen is still there. The thing is, where once this was trend setting, it now seems rather quaint, like a TV reunion for fans rather than a bold new reintroduction. This was solid, enjoyable TV but in a nostalgic way, not a trail blazing one.

We start with a CIA squad in London following up a lead and finding Jack Bauer sleeping rough. Good old Kiefer Sutherland (a few more lines, a bit more grey but basically still the taciturn short hard bastard he's always been) is soon punching people and running about before he is captured. Back at the CIA station in the capital, former agent Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahvski), about to leave for America following a scandal over her late husband selling secrets to the Chinese, smells a rat. Why didn't Bauer try to flee over the rooftops? It's as if he wanted to be caught. Chief Steve Navarro (Benjamin Bratt) has to hand Jack over to the Special Activities section for some handy info gathering torture. They need quick information as, with Jack's past as a rogue (don't forget he was this close to assassinating the Russian premier last time we saw him), there could be a connection to the visit to London by President James Heller (William Devane) and his attempts to keep a drone base on English soil. The President, accompanied by daughter Audrey (Kim Raver) and her husband and Chief of Staff Mark Boudreau (Tate Donovan), is not in the best form however, suffering from some form of memory loss, possibly Alzheimers. Poor old Audrey - when last Jack was part of her life, she ended up catatonic, such was the strain of living in Jack's world. How long before she's dragged in again? Poor Kim Raver, she's either hounded by Jack or Tom Neville over on Revolution. What's a girl to do?

Jack, meanwhile, is in Special Activities, the last place any sane person would want to end up and, of course, the place Jack wanted to be all along. He's after old colleague Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and here we get the most horrifying part of the new series: Chloe's new look. Gaze in horror as Chloe reveals her Lisbeth Salander inspired hairdo, make-up and clothes. This is meant to convey how much Chloe has changed, having lost her job and family after helping Jack escape at the end of Season 8. However, all this proves is that the wardrobe department need firing. She looks utterly ridiculous. Jack is soon breaking her out and with the help of some Serbian nutter he's brought along, blown huge holes in the CIA base, injuring dozens, and spirited Chloe away. However, this is all part of Jack's convoluted plan - to trail Chloe back to her Julian Assange type guru, the Free Information hacker King Adrian Cross (Michael Wincott). Jack's Serbian pal asked him why he couldn't just ask for Chloe's help as she was his friend. "I don't have any friends," he growls, stony faced.

I can't help but wonder what a viewer new to 24 would make of all this. Fans like me know how Jack has suffered, how he's lost his wife, contact with his daughter Kim (Navarro informs Jack he has another grandchild, a boy this time) and his last love Renee but Sutherland is remote to the point of absence here, and doesn't even speak for the first 45 minutes. His actions also endanger the lives of countless innocents. I've grown to love Jack but if this was the first time I'd met him, I'd doubt I'd want to stay in his company. Once again, this 24 feels like a direct continuation and one that is better enjoyed if you have an established knowledge of the show and the events of the later seasons. If you didn't know Jack's tragic backstory, you'd find it hard to find him sympathetic.

Anyway, back to the plot. Jack wants to find Derek Yates, a talented hacker he suspects is involved in a plan to assassinate Heller. I love that the hacker is called Derek, an attempt by the producers to give us some English names. I hope to meet at least one Colin, Dave and Terry before the end of the series. Tracking Yates to a heroin den on a rough estate ("You'd call it the Projects," Cross helpfully adds for the American audience), Chloe goes along to offer tech support. However, wily Kate back at the CIA base is on to their phones and has persuaded Navarro to reinstate her to hunt Bauer down. This didn't go down well with Erik, the guy who though he was replacing her. Yates, meanwhile (accompanied by his hot Eastern European girlfriend) has written some software that can take over a drone from the control of its operator. He uses a drone to kill some US and UK soldiers in Afghanistan and frame the young operator for it, in an attempt to scupper the US/UK relationship. Derek wants to sell the tech to Margo (which makes one imagine Penelope Keith is the criminal mastermind but its better than that - yes, Margo is Mrs Stark herself from Game of Thrones!) but Jack arriving and killing most of the heroin dealers (led by 'Basher', you've gotta love it) leads to him doing a runner. Kate arrives, a fire fight breaks out and Jack and Chloe escape, up a suburban road with all the green recycle bins out - how English. The episode ends with Derek planning to sell the tech to a different bidder and then being killed by his girl who whips off her wig and whips on a cut glass accent to become Margo's daughter. Yup, it's as bonkers as ever.

If you've always loved 24 then Live Another Day will give you a pleasant jolt of nostalgia. For new viewers, I'm not sure if these two episodes do enough to make you feel anything other than you'd wandered into a private party. Jack is great when he's running and punching and shouting but the character has to be more than that. We need to see him hurting and suffering and for that, Audrey has to get involved. We also need to have more of Stephen Fry as the producers' wonderfully stereotypical idea of what an ideal Prime Minister would look and sound like. It's great to have Bauer back but the series needs to give us more than just the usual tricks in a new location.