Jack Bauer has returned to our lives.  The world feels a little bit safer, no?  24: Redemption aired last night, and as I stated in my review, the prequel movie was an effective reintroduction to the series and to the character, if not a complete success as a stand-alone film.  24: Redemption is best viewed as a prologue to season 7, which will premiere in January.  From everything I've heard from 24 fans and their reaction to the movie, the collective 24 fans' appetites have been whetted.  And, really, that's all that FOX could hope for.  Jack Bauer is back on the television landscape, and we now have a little bit better idea of what to expect going into season 7. 

Here are some thoughts about what 24: Redemption helped us learn about the upcoming season.

Jack's State of Mind:

Jack has been out and about for a few years now.  He's clearly done a lot of thinking about his lot in life.  After all his life pondering, Jack has come to the conclusion that he has done little wrong.  He is indignant about being accused of any wrongdoing.  He is a stubborn man, that Jack.  Not that he should be guilty about his past actions, but I thought it was interesting that he showed little to no regret over his past. 

The Bad Guys:

The jury is still out on Jonas Hodges, as played by Jon Voight.  He's sleazy as all hell, but what his motivations are remain unclear.  He could just be in it for the money.  However, he's financing military coups in Africa, which seems a weird way to make money.  Still, his angle is cloudy.  We'll learn more of his motivations sometime in the beginning of season 7, I presume.  However, it's hard to go wrong with Jon Voight as a 24 villain.  It just seems like perfect casting.  We also have General Juma, as played by cult hero Tony Todd.  As we saw in the preview, Juma will be stateside come the beginning of season 7.  Either he will be an ally of Hodges, or he will be a threat.  Fun fact – Tony Todd actually had a small role in 24's third season as Detective Norris.  Is this the first instance of re-casting on 24?  I'd imagine so. 

The New President: 

Cherry Jones' Allison Taylor seems like she'll be a reasonable president.  Interestingly, Taylor has to be a Republican.  We know this because David Palmer was a Democrat, which means his brother Wayne was also a Democrat, and thus his VP Noah Daniels also had to be one.  If Taylor is one of the “good” presidents on 24, it will be the first instance of 24 having a good Republican president.  But, still – it's hard to get a read on her sensibilities just yet. 

What are your thoughts?  What else did we learn about season 7 from 24: Redemption?


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)