Synchronize watches. “24” returns with a bountiful four hours – two tonight, two more Monday – rearranging the cast and returning Jack Bauer to clock another day.
Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) is back, 7-9 p.m. on Fox (KDVR-Channel 31) both nights, not a moment too soon for national security or desperate viewers.
A security breach in the breathtaking first minutes of tonight’s premiere launches “Day 5.” No spoilers here, except to say that a subplot involving Jean Smart is a highlight of what promises to be a compelling fifth season.
Smart (“Designing Women”) plays first lady Martha Logan, a colorful insider reminiscent of one of political Washington’s memorable supporting players, Watergate gabber Martha Mitchell. It doesn’t hurt that Gregory Itzin, as President Charles Logan, looks Nixonian.
In a nod to Watergate gossip, “24’s” Martha is heavily medicated and dismissed by her husband and his advisers as delusional. But she’s clearly onto something big. The first lady is smarter and less crazy than everyone thinks.
In the 1970s during Watergate, Martha Mitchell, the wife of John Mitchell, Nixon’s attorney general, was noted for calling Woodward and Bernstein and other reporters in the middle of the night to rat out Nixon. In turn, the White House leaked dirt on Martha’s drinking problem and painted her as an unstable nut case.
In “24,” the first lady is aware that documents are being doctored, facts are being shaded, and a coverup is in progress. Getting anyone to believe her will be difficult.
Once again, “24” proves its taut “real time” device is perfectly applied to plot lines involving domestic terrorism. The reverberations from entertainment to real-life crises remain unsettling. As mock “breaking news” updates from Fox News Channel play on screens throughout the Logans’ Western White House and at CTU (Counter-Terrorism Unit) headquarters – no CNN in these parts – the threat of the moment feels all too real.
At a time of continuing fears of terrorist attacks, hostage situations, phone-tapping and security gaps, the raw material is ripe for exploitation. “24” effectively exploits our worries while giving us a hero to cheer.
While the cast shake-up means an end to certain familiar characters, be thankful that Mary Lynn Rajskub continues as the permanently cranky but competent Chloe O’Brien.
As a way to spark interest in the new season – and to let ABC’s “Lost” know it doesn’t have the field to itself – Fox produced extra material, never broadcast but available for purchase in another medium. Sutherland and Rajskub appeared in a 10-minute “prequel” included on the Season 4 DVD, which went on sale last month. Consider this an increasingly common way to “extend the brand,” and connect the dots between the broadcast, the Internet and other gizmos.
The clip, sponsored by Toyota and built around a car chase, was designed as a way to give more rabid fans a “sneak peak” into Jack’s movements since he faked his death and went into hiding.
According to a Fox release, “Set 14 months after the events of Season 4, and four months prior to the events of the upcoming Season 5, the short film begins with a clandestine meeting between Jack Bauer, who has been working and living deep undercover, and his CTU colleague Chloe O’Brien, and ends with a high-speed pursuit between Bauer and an unknown enemy.”
Like everyone seeking ways to add new content to established shows in order to entice actively searching consumers, “24’s” producers know it’s no longer enough to crank out a solid television product. Extra minutes on DVD and extra audio and video downloads on the Internet are becoming expected inducements. And like every sponsor looking for ways to connect with audiences, Toyota knows a name-brand car chase is smart product placement.
Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, “24” has promising life beyond the small screen. That’s not counting a planned feature film based on the series, which remains an intention but not a done deal.
The producers are learning what hard-core fans have known all along: Not only are viewers capable of following the intricate plot lines and expanding casts, they demand more.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-820-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
