Yay! After almost two years, Jack Bauer's finally back to chew bubble gum and kick ass -- and he's all out of bubble gum!

The following takes place between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.:

Fox's popular hit 24 came back with a vengeance Sunday night with a 2-hour premiere, followed by 2-more hours last night! And vengeance was the name of the game -- the government wanted tried to extract their vengeance on Jack (Keifer Sutherland) by cross-examining his torturous motives from last season with a full Senate subcommittee hearing. In a you-can't-handle-the-truth kinda way, Jack set them straight about how far he is willing to go to stop terrorism!

Unfortunately for the Senate, the FBI interrupted because Jack was much needed for a matter of National Security!! Is there any other kind ... ooohh I feel another bad day coming on!

Within the first 20 minutes of the show, we find out that the reason Jack is sooo needed is because the person orchestrating this latest threat is none other than ... wait for it ...

TONY ALMEIDA!! Jack's formerly dead BFF and CTU partner who died two seasons ago -- Yes, DIED!!


Welcome Back Tony, we missed ya!

A clearly emotional Jack accepted the challenge and along with a sexy female FBI agent, went about the task of finding Tony. Tony appears to be in charge of a group that has acquired a suspicous CIP device (WTH?) with the capabilities of crashing airplanes all over the country, and demonstrates this ability by causing a near-miss (wouldn't that be a near-hit if the planes never actually touched?).

By the end of Sunday night's show, a clearly broken-hearted Jack captured his former BFF and Tony was taken into FBI custody, thereby setting up the tension for last night.

The following takes place between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Jack offers to torture Tony so the FBI might have a chance to find the CIP device. Tony tells Jack, "Deep Sky," which obviously means something to him.

(Sorry, I'm not going to get into too much detail, because Fox provides awesome episode rundowns, much better than I ever could, but I'm just trying to give an overview).

Jack, recognizing this as a former CTU code, calls a phone number and gets thru to -- OH Yeah!! -- his former boss and head of CTU, Bill Buchanan. And Bill just happens to be with -- are you sitting down? --- Jack's former super IT-geek Chloe!


Nobody scouls like you, Chloe

Bill convinces Jack that Tony is not a terrorist, just working under deep cover to bring down the cell. Next, he asks Jack to break Tony out of custody -- which he does, of course. Bill picks them up and explains everything to Jack (refer to Fox episode guide for more info). Anyway, Tony is on the good side and the Jack/Tony Bromance is back on ...

The gang is all back together and seeking to disband the terrorists, but first, they must get Tony back in. Tony tells Jack he works for a man named David Emerson, who is putting everything in place for Colonel Dubaku in Sangala. OK, here's where watching 24: Redemption would come in handy.

Col. Dubaku is the one who gave Jack all that trouble in last fall's TV movie. Things are going to Hell in Sangala, and the US is trying not to get involved. However, innocent lives are again being threatened, the Prez's son didn't commit suicide, he was murdered, and somewhere in her administration and the FBI there's a leak .... and I'm as totally into it as ever!!!

Tony gets Jack in with Emerson's crew and everything's fallin' into place for another exciting season!

tick, tock, tick, tock
11:59:56
11:59:57
11:59:58
11:59:59
12:00:00

Till next week ...

Visit http://www.fox.com/24/recaps/season7/index.htm for detailed episode guide and/or to watch the entire episode.

OK, I must apologize, and really, there's no excuse, but I'm totally losing it over the Twilight Mania. This film just can't open soon enough!! It's occupying all my free time. I was off yesterday for my birthday and spent the majority of the day on the computer, watching videos of cast interviews (OK, I'll admit it, mostly of star Robert Pattinson), and then spent last night trying to watch streaming video of the live premiere in Los Angeles, which was just as insane as RPattz' appearance in King of Prussia last week. The live feed was craptastic by the way ...
In case you missed it and are interested, it's all over youtube. I won't bother posting any links here. Anyway, my apologies again, to anyone who took my advice and watched MTV's Spoilers last Friday night. I'm sure you were as disappointed as I was. It was promo-ed as a Twilight Special, with 15 minutes of footage from the movie. Actually it was 15 minutes of footage from upcoming movies - including the Wayans' latest Dance Movie, The Watchmen, and I can't remember the rest, with only a short new scene from Twilight.

Bella and her vamp, Edward
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past two weeks, you've probably heard of this "little" movie, based on a best-selling book series, about a 17-yr.-old girl who falls in love with a unbearably gorgeous vampire. Unlike True Blood, which could sometimes make Jenna Jamison blush, Twilight's romance is sexually tame, to say the least. The couple in question can never get too close, or the vampire's natural instincts might kick in and he'll kill her. Still, it's the romance that has set its fans on fire, not to mention the visually perfect Edward Cullen, played by British actor Robert Pattinson. The film has been offered up as the new Harry Potter, and Pattinson, oddly enough, is best known for bringing tragic Cedric Diggory to life onscreen in Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire. Poor Cedric was the first big character to be killed off in the wildly popular books.

Poor Cedric
Twilight, the original book in the series, was released in the summer of 2005. The series gained strong recognition when the third edition, Eclipse, knocked Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows out of the No. 1 spot on the NY Times Best Seller list after only 2 1/2 weeks. I only discovered it while on vacation last August. I finished the first book in a day and by the end of the week, had devoured the other three (and these aren't short books, we're talking 500-750 pgs.). So began my obsession ... all hopefully culminating this Friday when the film opens nationwide. I took the day off, originally to see Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince, which was supposed to open that day (while Twilight was originally opening Dec. 12). Going to see Harry on opening is a tradition between my sister and myself, since we both read the Potter series at the same time.
Anyway, for some reason (execs say it's not because of Twilight) Warner Bros. moved Harry to next July, and Summit Entertainment saw a great opportunity to open Twilight sooner and in more theaters, making it the most anticipated movie of the holiday season. Only time and box office results will tell if it lives up to the hype and if the sequels (already in pre-production) will be made.
In the meantime, Twilight's so huge that South Park will be parodying it on this week's episode Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
If you still need more info on Twilight visit http://www.twilightthemovie.com/
The author, Mormon housewife Stephenie Meyer, also has a great Twilight website, visit http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/


OK, I'll try to keep my Twilight fixation in check and get on to other things. Like the other "big" movie opening this weekend ... only this one can be viewed from the comfort of home.
Yes, that's right, I'm talking about Fox's 24: Redemption! Jack's back and in a big way Sunday night at 8 p.m. when he takes on terrorists in Africa.

It's been nearly 18 months since we've seen Keifer Sutherland's popular character save the world, and Fox is hoping fans haven't forgotten. Last season's 24 was a victim of the infamous writers' strike and had to be pushed back to January 2009. 24: Redemption is kind of a bridge between Seasons 6 and 7 (Jan. 11). I like to think of it as an appetizer for us 24 devotees, and all the ladies who need their Jack Bauer fix!
For those of you who haven't discovered this clever, if far-fetched show, yet, 24 is told in "real time," with each episode representing one hour of a day in the life of CTU agent (though not anymore) Jack Bauer gone horribly wrong. Fans know, when this guy has a bad day, he REALLY has a BAD DAY!!
Why I love Jack Bauer:
He literally saves the world, in 24 hours - every time!
He can do anything with a cell phone! Like literally, rule the world if he wanted to!
He never goes to the bathroom -- ever!
He always gets thru to the President, no matter where, 'cuz he always gets cell reception!
He was a devoted friend to President Palmer, the coolest, sexiest TV prez we've ever had!
He takes care of his fellow agents - Chloe, especially!
He still loves Audrey, although he seemingly kissed her good-bye last season!
He never needs to eat!
He has that sexy, gruff voice that always says, "Mr. President, this is Jack Bauer!"
Last season, he survived a nuclear blast!
And the No. 1 reason I love Jack Bauer:

Hell, he died a few seasons back, got his heart shocked back to life, and was up and running after the terrorists in a matter of minutes!

For more info on 24: Redemption visit http://www.fox.com/24/trailer/

Just a reminder, tonight's episode of The Biggest Loser: Families looks like a doosy! It airs from 8-10 pm on NBC.
Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta Series Finale bows at 10 p.m.
Tropic Thunder arrives on DVD today. Go rent it, you'll have a great laugh. It's the one with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and a really, really tan Robert Downey Jr. starring as "actors" making a war film in the jungles of Asia, only to find themselves stuck in a real war situation. The principals are all hilarious, however, it's Tom Cruise's role as the studio head that will leave you rolling on the floor!

Black, Stiller, and yes, that's Downey on the right!
You can view the trailer here http://www.tropicthunder.com/

Also out on DVD today is the animated Wall-E and the teen chick flick Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Haven't seen either (but I am planning to), so can't really comment.

Later.