Ahh, 24. I'm not sure if watching Jack Bauer kick terrorist ass counts as an American pastime yet, but after six seasons, it sure counts for something. Ever since FOX came up with the brilliant plan of airing 24 with consecutive episodes from start to finish in January (starting with season four), the 24 DVD releases have become a staple of the Christmas season.

Despite the general consensus that season six was a disappointment, I still say cut it some slack -- season five was a huge act to follow. While the DVD set is nothing revolutionary, it's still worth buying. Factor in the WGA strike's impact on season seven, and this might be the only 24 fix we get in a while. So let's get to it.

Packaging: Same as season five, your MSRP of $59.99 gets you seven discs packaged in four of those flimsy, thin DVD jewel cases that most TV set releases come in now. Gone are the big, cardboard fold-outs that stretch the length of a full size bed when opened all the way. Discs one though six contain the season, four episodes per disc. Disc seven has all the special features.

One thing the savvy 24 fan will notice immediately is the picture on the front of the set. Not since the DVD release of season one have we only seen Jack's menacing stare. Seasons two through five all have Bauer, straight faced, pointing a gun at you, the consumer on some part of the package. I doubt the intent was to go for a friendlier, less violent Jack Bauer (I mean... c'mon), but it's still an interesting choice. Add in the faded American flag behind his head... "Buy this DVD set. Or the terrorists win."

Picture and Sound: Exactly what you'd expect. Widescreen presentation along with Dolby 5.1 surround. Standard English, Spanish, and French subtitles. I haven't seen anything that says there are BluRay or HD-DVD releases coming out. However, for those of us with HD TV sets we could be worse off. It comes 16x9 (1.78) so it won't look horrible on our screens.

Special Features: The biggest (and most sorely missed) bonus is the lack of a season seven prequel. Granted, it exists in the form of something else (I'll get to that), but it's not the same. I always liked the Ford (or Toyota) sponsored commercials mini-episodes that gave us a glimpse of Jack transitioning from one day to the next. Not this time. Here's what you do get though:

• Season 7 Preview: A huge waste of time. Nothing more than a short, 15 second montage of scenes from season six... telling you to tune in for season seven. Yawn.
• Extended and Deleted Scenes: These are always one of my favorite parts of the 24 DVDs. There's always so many of them (this time, 23) and the commentary is generally very good. My only gripe is that none of the insight comes from executive producer/director Jon Cassar this time around. He always had great things to say about the stuff that didn't make the cut. Instead, commentary is provided by co-executive producer Stephen Kronish, co-producer Paul Gadd, and editor Scott Powell. One deleted scene will probably catch your eye (the alternate ending), but it's far less exciting than you'd expect. I'm not giving anything away by spoiling it. After Jack leaves the Heller residence at the end of the season, he approaches the water and rather than just stare off into the horizon as the broadcast episode depicted, he instead dismantles his gun and chucks it into the ocean. See... no big deal.
• 24's Special Effects Make-up; Inside the Writer's Room; The Technology of 24: These three featurettes are nothing worthwhile really. There's something to their effect on all the 24 DVD releases and none of it really breaks new ground.
• Opening with a Bang: A short featurette on the opening scenes of the season premiere when a terrorist blows up a city bus in downtown Los Angeles. I enjoyed this more than the other three mini-docs if only because it was more about this season in general. It actually reminded me a lot of the featurette on the season two DVD set about how they blew up CTU. Most enjoyable part? Watching director Jon Cassar and his stunt coordinators plan out the scene using chalked-out street lines and Hot Wheels cars.
• "Cameo" - Rick Gervais: I really didn't know what to make of this at first. It's a short spoof featuring a scene with President Wayne Palmer speaking with some Middle Eastern diplomat and Gervais is in the back of the Oval Office as some sort of White House aide. The camera keeps cutting back to him as Palmer and Karen Hayes discuss policy. Then out of nowhere, Gervais starts snickering and saying things liked "Penis!" and "Call Jack Bauer!" It gets better though. After he tires of Gervais' presence, Palmer finally gives in: "Well f*ck me. Call him now." Hilarious.
• 24 - Webcast Diaries: These are a collection of short behind-the-scenes docs. It's really nothing new for those that regularly watch this type of stuff on DVD extras. However, if there's one thing to take away from this, watch the one about storming Abu Fayed's apartment. It's crazy to see how much goes into one action scene, especially when you see how many different things Sutherland has to remember. It's like one big intricate dance, watching the room blow up and him move through it.
• 24 - Mobisodes: "Day 6 Debrief": Many have already seen these and this was what I was talking about earlier when I said it was this DVD set's answer to the prequel. These mobisodes aired online and on Sprint phones at the conclusion of season six and followed Jack 35 hours after the season ended. They're worth watching once, but in terms of setting up the next season? No so much. You'd be better off just watching the trailer for season seven... if you still could.
• Public Service Announcement from Kiefer Sutherland: The Kief comes on just talks about global warming and how the production crew of 24 is going to do everything it can to go green. This was probably shot months ago, so it would have been far funnier if he came out and started preaching about the pitfalls of drinking and driving. Karma, anyone?
• Prison Break Season 2 Premiere Episode Preview: Um... that aired in August... 2006. While still a few months overdue, wouldn't it have made a bit more sense to have a teaser trailer for the season three premiere? I don't get this one at all. Waste of space.
• 24 DVD-ROM Exclusives: This is one of the coolest features the set offers, especially since I don't believe 24 has done this before. Too bad it's worthless until season seven premieres. Whenever that happens, who knows if they'll even do this still. Anyway, you're supposed to be able to pop disc seven into your computer and access exclusive stuff after each new season seven episode airs. Hold your breath.

And there you have it. Worth buying? Yeah, probably. A mediocre season of 24 is still better than a lot of things on TV. The set hits store shelves tomorrow, Tuesday, December 4.