You haven't heard of "24"!?

I found "24" when I was searching for a replacement for "The Sopranos." It's a TV show on Fox, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, a field agent working at (or with) the L.A. office of "CTU", the Counter-Terrorism Unit of the US Government. The premise is that the shows are set in "real time" -- each season consists of 24 one-hour segments that cover a single 24 hour period in which a country-threatening terrorist threat (nuclear, plague, etc.) surfaces and is ultimately resolved thanks to the efforts of our hero and his associates.

Two illustrations as to how addictive the show is:

1. I started watching the show only this season, its fourth. After about two episodes I went out and bought Seasons 1-3. The only other TV I've ever bought is early seasons of The Sopranos.

2. Friends who began watching this season as well immediately began begging me to lend them Seasons 1-3. Several have wound up watching an entire season over the course of a weekend. Once you start, you can't stop.

There are characters you love and characters you love to hate. Every time one character appeared, I found myself yelling at the television, "Kill that bitch."

The show's not perfect. It tends to be marred by ridiculous or sappy subplots -- ten million people are about to be incinerated and one of the characters must confront another about their relationship "Now!"

According to the blurb at the end, the next season is scheduled to begin January 2006. Mark your calendar.