First of all this is one of the best TV shows in the world and the fact that its ended means that its the end of an era.

Season 1 was the best season in my opinion it introduced Jack Bauer, Kim Bauer, Teri Bauer, Tony Almedia, Nina Myers and all the other characters that die in the next episode. The first 12 episodes follow 1 act and thats for Jack to get his wife and daughter back while trying to avoid the authorities, now even though this plot device is overused in subsequent seasons for some reason it still thrills you because you want to see how Jack can achieve his goal. The end of the season had a plot point that was to be mentioned in every season from then on, Teri dying wasn't just to give Jack a reason to decent into his personal hell, it was what defined the show the fact that anything can happen, even when other characters died it was Teri's death that shocked us the most.

Season 2 takes place a year and a half after season 1 and we see a visibly depressed Jack trying to cope with his inner demons and while trying to maintain a relationship with his daugther, he is then thrust in to action by the threat of a nuclear bomb and Nina returns which proves to be difficult for Jack and we are unclear of his motives when she is involved. Its also introduces Reiko Aylesworth who ends up marrying Tony, ahh how sweet. Season 2 isn't better then 1 but is certainly watchable and has epic moments that until the end will bring all the characters together.

Season 3 was a personal season for Jack not only was he addicted to heroin but his daughter was dating Chase who was a filed agent and Jack warned him that, this line of work is one to have a relationship in and he should know. It has one of the most epic scenes in the series when he finally kills Nina, at first i thought that because of this it was the end of the series but it only proved that other enemies will never get to the heights of Nina and never affect Jack on such a personal level. and at the need of the season we see Jack have a minor breakdown form all the stuff that has happened to him through the day.

Season 4 was the re-boot season and was a bit sterile but it showed that happy ending means that there is more to come, Tony and Michelle are separated but they get back together at the end and it re-introduced Mandy a villein that still hasn't been killed, and the whole story again was about a nuclear missile and it introduced other charatcers that made it into other seasons and this was the last time President Palmer would do president things and the Chinese story line which carried into other seasons. Overall season 4 is a good season and a taster of what will happen in season 5.

Season 5 started with a shock, the death of President Palmer, while we have been use to see people die i don't think any 24 fan ever really got over his death and this proved to be a risky pay off because season 5 is considered to best season and while its a very good season its not the best in my opinion. one thing i did like about this series is that the conspiracy is so deep it last for the 2 seasons that followed. And with the death of Michelle Dessler and Tony Almedia, how could the show possibly recover from that.

Season 6 i don't know why this got such a bad reception its a good season, the viewer is much like Jack at this point: battered, bruised and broken. There's a atmosphere of isolation in season 6 because its the first season when no other original characters is in it apart from Jack, but that adds to the epicness, this season we see more of Jacks family and find they are involved with the conspiracy that was in 5. The plot may be similar to season 2 but what made it different was the fact that the bomb went off this time killing 12,000 people. and it also had the killing of Curtis Manning and the score to accompany his death was perfect.

Season 7 was a weird season because it felt like it had been four years since we last saw Jack and his shannagins. This season was good because it saw to return of Tony who was after all the betrayals finding the man who was behind season 5, but Tony was much more darker then previous season and when you compare the tony of 7 to the tony of 1-5 it make you sympathy's for him and how much of himself he lost, he is what Jack never became, i think the reason Jack never became a terrorist is because he had Kim and she was the stone that kept him grounded. Needless to say this season is full of twists and turns and Renee.

Season 8 or The Final season had a lot to live up to and it didn't fail it had one of the most epic stories ever and what i like about this season was that it wasn't just about weapons that could kill millions it was about a treaty that was going to be signed by lier's and this is the pay off of killing Palmer in 5 because if he had lived season 8 would never have happened and Jack is given an emotional and suitable send off for the series and i wouldn't have had it any other way.

10/10