Ostensibly a government procedural, bordering on a parody of the self-important histrionics of this genre, 24 tells a much simpler, yet more profound story, against a backdrop of national security with the fate of civilization (and a few political careers) on the line. 24 is about those awful days we all have, that start out bad and just keep getting worse, where nothing seems to go right until the very end, and even then it takes days (the offseason months) to recover.

Jack Bauer, an everyman with top security clearance and a federal badge, personifies the everymen and everywomen in the audience who have had days so terrible they'll never forget. His stories are our stories: betrayal by our friends and coworkers, office politics, bureaucratic nonsense, and all kinds of mishaps designed to thwart us in our fight of the good fight.