Jack gets through another rough day on ‘24’

Brainwash Bauer
Of course, that could change next season. One way of doing so would be to have Bauer return after an extended stay in a Chinese prison, with the expectation of his former captors that he would be a brainwashed agent of Beijing.

One of the character's attributes is his ability to get people to trust him who have no logical reason to do so; sometimes it seems like he could talk Fox News into running a gushing Bill Clinton biopic. If his trustworthiness is brought into question, both for other characters and the audience in general, it would go a long way towards keeping this show at the forefront of the pop culture landscape. It would be something different, at least for those who never saw "The Manchurian Candidate" or its mediocre 2004 remake.

But it would be a huge risk as well, because it would mess with the central appeal of the show; the notion of Jack Bauer as hero.

The appeal of "24" was initially its format, as the program broke new ground in spending an entire season focused on just one day in the life of its central character. Soon, however, the attraction became the character itself. In a post-9/11 world where the country was looking for heroic figures, Bauer fit the bill as a protagonist who was capable of protecting the USA from whatever the bad guys had in store.

So far in the "24" universe, Bauer has saved truth, justice and the American way in pretty much every conceivable fashion. He's stopped nuclear bombs and nerve gas, biological weapons and armed assaults. He's taken on corrupt presidents, drug lords, and terrorist masterminds. He's faked his own death and survived a suicide mission. Oh, and he's executed a former boss in each of the last two seasons, which is something Buchanan should probably be worried about.

For most people, a record like that would bring vacation plans and a job change. For Bauer, it tends to bring the same old thing happening again a few months later. So far, that's been successful at gaining a wide viewership, but at some point it's going to go the way of the "Die Hard" sequels and the audience is going to start rolling its eyes and wondering how the protagonist always seems to find himself in such a mess.

On the show, Bauer has an incredible power of persuasion, and always seems to convince everyone not explicitly evil to trust him within a few moments of their introduction. The show's writers and producers may need to utilize that power to convince its audience of its relevance next season. If not, at some point the audience may switch to a program that offers its viewers a better payoff than beloved characters ending the season in mortal danger. In television, as on "24," the clock is always ticking.

Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.

MORE FROM DRAMA

'The Tudors' turns bloodier in season 2

'The Tudors' turns bloodier in season 2 Michael — or is it Kevin — returns to 'Lost' Typo puts 'ER's' Julianna Margulies back on TV 'Wire' creator reflects on show's end Quiz: Is there a true fan in the ‘House’? How well do you know ‘CSI’s’ Gil Grissom?   Add Drama headlines to your news reader: