Multiple storylines have been a staple of 24 since Day One. In many cases they serve the show well by keeping it fast-paced. The best ones dovetail with the main story arc in some way to give it a new wrinkle or a different perspective. One of the better examples is Martha Logan's mental illness in Day Five. Her character was a constant wildcard in President Logan's White House.

The bad ones, however, do nothing but take up time better spent in other areas and end up dragging the whole story down. The ubiquitous CTU-staffer-with-a-secret often falls in this category. Nina Myers is the sterling exception to this rule: her character not only had a devastating effect on the main story, but the ramifications of her actions caused fallout that trickled down over several seasons.

Unfortunately, other characters of this type simply make us scream at our TV and pray for their quick death so we can get on with the rest of the story. There's no better example than this season's Dana/Jenny and her "mysterious past". Fans often disagree over elements of the show but this season they're passionately united in disliking this story thread, and with each episode I find myself more and more at the forefront of this charge.

Where do I begin dissecting what's wrong with this subplot? First of all, it calls for a suspension of disbelief that extends even beyond the leap we often have to make with this show. We're asked to believe that Dana was able to recreate herself so thoroughly that she passed the rigorous background check required to work for a Federal agency, yet her low-life ex-boyfriend tracked her down with no trouble at all. Second, her secret is not even all that interesting. Young female with a wild, ex-con past rehabilitates herself? That's too trite to pass muster for a Lifetime movie.

The biggest reason this doesn't work is that Dana has absolutely no rooting value. Other than her Big Secret, her character is a total blank. She's engaged to field agent Cole Ortiz yet they've had almost no scenes together so we have zero sense of their relationship. We know she's a data analyst but she's done nothing of importance at CTU. We have no investment in this character to make us care whether she lives, dies, or simply disappears.

Fashion experts advise that when you're ready to go out you should look in a full-length mirror and remove one accessory. 24's writers might do well to follow this concept and realize that sometimes there's simply one storyline too many.