This review isn't too stressful for me since I don't have to give a numerical rating, so I can just rant freely without having to justify myself.

This is a great show (based on seasons 1 and 2, as I have not season 3). And this comes from someone that thinks most TV shows suck unbelievably. I watched both seasons on DVD, which is probably a lot better than doing so by tuning in every week.

The gimmick: Each episode represents exactly one real-time hour (I suppose unimportant stuff like going to the bathroom happens during the commercial breaks). There are 24 episodes.

The main character is Jack Bauer, government operative / hardass. The other main character is David Palmer -- a black candidate for President. The two don't meet much, but, once they get to know each other, they respect one another and work together. The first season presents a credible attack on Palmer's life -- all while Jack's family is kidnapped by fearsome terrorists. The second season goes all out and puts a nuclear bomb smack in the middle of L.A.

The plot twists early and often, and the pace really doesn't let up much. The first few hours of day 1 are probably some of the best TV of all time. The viewer really has no idea what's going on, and the direction and writing mine this potential beautifully. You can almost feel the deserted Los Angeles night, as Jack tries to untangle the mysteries that pop up from behind every corner of his investigation. The show also has a high-tech feel to it, as CTU (Jack's government organization) is full of all kinds of gadgets to try to make his job easier (or, at turns, more difficult).

The strengths of the show are many. Kiefer Sutherland does a wonderful job as Jack, and Dennis Haysbert as Palmer. Sarah Clarke, as Kiefer's ambiguously aligned coworker Nina Myers, is probably the best actor here, other than Sutherland. She just seems innately _real_. Xander Berkeley and company provide good support. However, I must say that a couple of the major characters are either bad actors or bad characters. Notably, Marie Warner from day 2 is the worst actor on the show, whose only adequate work comes during the times when she is being tortured. Penny Johnson may not be a bad actress, but her character (Palmer's wife) is so annoying that I'm forced to turn away from the speakers whenever she speaks. In general, though, the acting is top-notch. The show is cleverly edited, using lots of frames with several things going on in a split screen; the lighting is expertly done at night and otherwise. The music is absolutely outstanding.

The show has some problems, which will be hard to overlook -- but you'll still be glued to the screen. Firstly, season 1 is so intense at first, that when things slow down a bit you start gasping for more. At times like this, the dialogue turns decidedly melodramatic -- sometimes over the top. The solution of the season 1 mystery is adequate, but the final plot twist (end of hour 23) makes absolute NO sense. However, the ending is top notch. Day 2 is much more consistent (and, IMO, the better season of the two). The pacing is insane all throughout day 2, until a certain key event occurs; but the pace picks up quickly, again. But, day 2 has its own Achilles' heel: Jack's daughter Kim (a sexy Elisha Cuthbert) goes through contrived adventures with a wife-beater, the law, Kevin Dillon, and ...a cougar. Yes, a cougar. The reviewer that noted this as "just giving the character something to do" is absolutely right. I guess the tension is supposed to come from the fact that Kim Bauer is trying to get out of L.A. because she knows a nuclear strike is coming, but, really -- JACK is trying to find the bomb PERSONALLY, so he's in more immediate danger, and caring about the daughter just seems superfluous.

Nevertheless, this is TV to die for. Don't miss it.