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Transmitted:	Oct 2001 - May 2010
Country of origin:	USA
Genre:	Corruption, terrorism, deceit, action
Starring:	Kiefer Sutherland, Carlos Bernard, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Rating:	5/5
No. of seasons:	8

What a show this is.
The basic setup is this: Jack Bauer is a CTU - Counter Terrorism Unit - agent who is haunted by both a troubled past and, as the series progresses, events that transpire throughout his life, which could hardly be described as humdrum.
As a CTU agent it is Jack's job to, seemingly, single-handedly save America from all manner of unpleasantness from various unsavoury organisations and individuals.
Each series takes place over one day. 24 episodes a series, one hour an episode, the idea being that it runs in real time. As a result, the action switches from place to place with rapid fire regularity, engendering a sense of breathless pace and nonstop action. This is the shows great strength. You simply don't have time to get bored as, just as a scenario starts to flag they throw another bombshell at you.
Relentless and remorseless, no one character is safe (except maybe Jack!), and this is another of the shows great positives. Lead characters drop like flies, people you thought were 'goodies' turn out to be the exact opposite, and basically nothing is quite as it seems.
For adrenaline fuelled, high-octane viewing, this is hard to beat, though don't expect any sense of realism.
Highly recommended.

Find an episode guide here.