24: Season 4
At this point in time I would tie it with Season 3 as the best yet, the main reason being that it has a focus from the first episode on until the end, and doesn’t twist twenty different ways from Sunday to overdo with the villains. Many props go to having the season’s BigBad (Arnold Vosloo) introduced early on and keeping him a viable threat all the way to the finale. Vosloo does a good job in the part with his natural charisma, easily coming off better than Season 1’s Dennis Hopper and Season 2’s Tobin Bell. The main cast regulars are good to see again, with Kiefer’s Jack Bauer still showing how superhuman he is, Carlos Bernard’s Tony Almeida still having his back, Reiko Aylesworth’s Michelle Dessler as hot as ever, Dennis Haysbert’s David Palmer coming in late in the game and still kicking ass, and of course Mary Lynn Rasjukub’s Chloe O’Brien saving the day in her own way and even starting her own body count. Among the newcomers, Curtis Manning was pretty cool in his own badass way, Erin Driscoll was irritating but gets dropped halfway thru, Audrey Raines is passable as Jack’s new love interest, Edgar Stiles comes off as a good foil to Chloe, and Bill Buchanan makes a solid debut as the new CTU boss. But it’s William Devane’s Secretary Of Defense Heller that winds up kicking the most ass, especially in the early episodes when he’s held hostage. Top it off with a late-hour appearance by Mia Kirshner’s notorious Mandy, and you have some great stuff. Another top-flight season by perhaps the greatest TV show ever…
9/10