At this time of year, when TV shows are being canceled faster than you can say “My Own Worst Enemy,” anticipation is building for returning favorites.
“24,” “Lost” and “American Idol” are due in January. After a slow fall ’08 in the wake of the writers strike, midseason is finally approaching.
To set up the seventh season of “24,” delayed a full year by the strike, Fox tonight offers the appetite-whetting “24: Redemption.”
This prequel is a fast-paced shot of Third World intrigue, male bonding, anti-terrorist hero worship and Washington backstabbing in the post-Bush age. It does its job well.
“24: Redemption” will air at 7 p.m. on KDVR-Channel 31.
Beyond putting Keifer Sutherland back in action, the highlight is Robert Carlyle (“The Full Monty”), who plays mentor to Sutherland’s intrepid Jack Bauer. Carlyle’s appealing intensity serves to humanize Bauer/ Sutherland.
The two-hour installment, which plays in “real time” like the weekly episodes, was shot on location in South Africa, standing in for the fictional country of Sangala. The time is a few months before the dawn of “Day 7.”
Bauer is wanted by the U.S. government for a grab bag of crimes, including episodes of torture committed during his time undercover at the Counter-Terrorist Unit. He has sworn off the spy game, working as a missionary at a school in Africa, content to lead a quiet life.
Luckily for us, quiet life and Jack Bauer don’t jibe.
Jack is called upon to stop a warlord from rounding up orphaned kids and drafting them into his militia.
Given America’s tarnished standing in the world, given Bauer’s past abuses and guilty conscience, given that the TV audience is desperate for some shoot-’em-up TV action … how can the tough guy not oblige? He can’t say no to those kids. Before long, he’s acting as a decoy and punching bag for the warlord’s thugs.
Meanwhile, in Washington, it’s inauguration day for President-elect Allison Taylor (the wonderful Cherry Jones), but evil genius Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight) is already planning to create an international crisis to derail the new administration. He’s joined by State Department bureaucrat Frank Tramell (Gill Bellows), an underling with a long history of making life difficult for Jack.
As always, “24’s” fiction packs rich allusions to fact. Here, the imagery summons a wealth of nonfiction memories: helicopters lifting Americans off the U.S. Embassy roof in Saigon while locals clamor at the gates; Idi Amin’s abusive rule; chronicles of the Lost Boys of Sudan; and reports of weasely behavior by United Nations observers on the ground.
Having already showcased an African-American president, “24” moves on to the first female president, potentially hitting metaphoric notes that may resonate as the public adjusts to the Obama administration’s historic firsts.
Here’s hoping this series attains new relevance in its seventh season. “24’s” Day 7 debuts over two nights, Sunday and Monday, Jan. 11-12.
“48 Hours Mystery.”
On Saturday, “48 Hours” expands to two hours to cover the Tim Masters tragedy, a high-profile Colorado case that’s made headlines for decades.
A jury in 1999 convicted Timothy Masters of stabbing a Fort Collins woman, Peggy Hettrick, to death in 1987. Jim Broderick, a detective at the time, was the lead investigator when the case was presented to the jury. The defense said Broderick became obsessed with the case, conducting a single-minded, psychologically relentless investigation.
A judge threw out Masters’ conviction in January after DNA tests failed to connect him to the crime and after hearings raised questions about how the case was prosecuted.
The “48 Hours” retelling will air Saturday, 8-10 p.m. on KCNC-Channel 4.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
