Another day in the life of Jack Bauer

I am a TV series " addict and feel " no shame " admitting that I can sit in front of the television for hours. Admittedly, DVDs are better than actually watching the shows live because you get instant gratification and can just pop in the next disc instead of waiting for the following week to find out whether or not your hero is going to live (usually they do!).

I have proclaimed my love for certain TV series in the past, such as The Amazing Race, Alias (which is still my all-time favorite; sadly, it’s cancelled… sob!), Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sex and the City, among others. I easily get engrossed in a show when I find the storyline decent and sometimes stay up for hours on end watching to see what happens. When I bought the last season of Alias I think I watched it all in the span of three days. Sleep was scarce and I only left the house when absolutely necessary. When it was over it was like waking up from a dream, that moment when you kind of realize you’re back in the real world again.

In any case, a TV series can totally keep me company at home when I’m bored and I have nothing to do. As Alias is over, I’m lucky that a new crop of shows has sprung up to take its place. One of these is Prison Break starring the gorgeous Wentworth Miller (who doesn’t love him, right, ladies?). I watched season one of this series almost continuously and I quickly got to know all the characters. Now, as season two is still ongoing in the US I can’t wait until it’s complete to catch up with Michael Schofield and Lincoln Burrows and find out what happens to them next.

There’s also Entourage which has kind of replaced Sex and the City on HBO. This show gives you a hilarious glimpse into the guy psyche, a gender reversal from Carrie Bradshaw and her gang. With an excellent cast including my personal favorite, Jeremy Piven, Entourage is a cheeky ride through the mind of the modern male and his closest friends. Except this time it’s kind of blown out of proportion because the male in question happens to be rich and famous. It’s hilarious, though, and full of the best one-liners… God bless Ari and Lloyd! ("I can’t promise you that, Lloyd, but I can promise to apologize after").

Another TV show I’m completely into now is the new smash hit Heroes. I kept hearing good things about this show and finally over Christmas break I got the DVDs to see what all the fuss was about. And I have to say, I was not disappointed. Heroes is awesome! It’s about a motley crew of people who suddenly realize that they are not like everyone else — they all have superpowers. But it’s not your conventional X-Men/Justice League type of group. These people are regular folks who just so happen to be able to fly or predict the future. They don’t know what to do with the powers they have; they kind of just muddle through and try to do the right thing. I particularly love the geeky little Japanese boy Hiro who can alter the space-time continuum.

Yet, while these shows are undoubtedly good and keep me entertained, there has only been one other series that has truly helped fill the void Alias left behind … and that’s 24! Yes, although this Jack Bauer franchise has been around for about as long as Alias, I never truly got into the world of CTU while I was still deeply immersed in the world of the CIA. But all that changed when Sydney Bristow decided to retire. Suddenly I had more time on my hands and I could finally catch up with what was happening at the Counter Terrorist Unit.

I had watched 24 up to the second season when I decided to get back into the real-time TV show. That’s another thing that makes the events of 24 so phenomenal — the fact that they unfold in real time, over the course of a single day — 24 episodes per season, each one an hour long. That’s never been done before and I can imagine how hard it is to plan out and film the series. But it works flawlessly and continues to wow critics and audiences alike. In either case, I finally got my hands on seasons three, four and five and settled down to get caught up.

And my goodness, what a roller coaster ride it was. For anyone who hasn’t seen 24, let me just say — you are missing out! The incredible Kiefer Sutherland series is a constant blood pressure-rising saga that has you cheering and crying and cursing all at the same time. You’re dying to know what happens next at the very moment each episode ends. Plus, the more you watch, the more deeply immersed you get and the more connected you feel to all the characters. I found myself totally in love with Tony and I practically cheered at one point when he came running through the garage door. And you find yourself keeping your fingers crossed that Jack makes it out alive. It’s so realistic that when you finish watching you’re convinced Jack Bauer is the only man who can save the world. Osama Bin Laden, look out!

And I’m so happy now because last Jan. 14 in the US, the sixth season of 24 started and I seriously debated whether to watch it as it airs or wait until the season finishes, so I could watch back-to-back episodes. But that was not really an option because, when my boyfriend pressed play that fateful night, that was the end of waiting. Now, as we watch weekly episodes, we curse every time the clock on the screen nears the 50-minute mark… I’m telling you, it’s like a drug that you only get a little bit of each week — just enough to survive, but also enough to give you withdrawal symptoms. Ah, that’s how I like my TV series.