(S08E10) Jack hit the streets last night on a bloody mission to expose everyone responsible for his pain. Was Dana was right when she said that Jack wouldn't stop until he's hunted down and killed everyone involved in the conspiracy, 'Kill Bill' style? I'm starting to think the answer is yes.

To echo Jane's review from last week ... I'm really starting to enjoy '24' again. This episode and last week's ep were quite awesome. I didn't like seeing Renee die a few weeks back, but her death seems to have given Jack and the show a much clearer focus and a sharper edge.

I'm loving watching Charles Logan pull the president's strings like a weasely little puppeteer. Can we all just agree that Prez Taylor has completely lost her marbles? I think we all knew she was in for a big fall once she got in bed with Logan. Ethan Kanin had the right idea getting out while the gettin' was good. Torture, lies, terrorism. He doesn't want to be connected to that awful mess.

The clock is ticking down, all too quickly, to the May 24 '24' series finale, and while we're still in the thick of action with Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and President Taylor (Cherry Jones), some of the show's greatest characters, and their portrayers, have come and gone. What have Nina Myers, Michelle Dessler and Tony Almeida -- a.k.a. Sarah Clarke, Reiko Aylesworth and Carlos Bernard -- been up to since their days at CTU? What is President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) doing hanging out with that big baddie Habib Marwan (Arnold Vosloo) ? And what new primetime fella does Teri Bauer (Leslie Hope) have her eye on now? Read on for all the scoop ...

(S08E19) "I just want the people who are responsible for this to be held accountable. All I need to do is expose them." - Jack to Chloe

Jane here, filling in for Mike. I was actually reviewing '24' at the beginning of the season, but found the storyline so preposterous that Mike graciously agreed to take it off my hands.

Somewhere between then and now, the show has gotten much better -- more interesting and less ridiculous. In fact, last week, my nephew emailed me and said the show's gotten better lately, especially with the return of Charles Logan. I wholeheartedly agree. Not that Logan's any less of a weasel, but that's what I love about him.

"It's good to be back in the game, even if it's through the rear entrance." – Charles Logan

(S08E18) Things got ugly last night on '24.' Jack Bauer threatened the lives of women and children, brutally smacked the smirk off Dana Walsh's face, and President Taylor decided to turn a blind eye to the Russian conspiracy.

(S08E17) Hour 17 began on a downbeat and ended with a major tragedy. At least Chloe was finally recognized as the CTU's best and brightest rock star. That was a sweet moment in a sluggish episode full of predictable developments and a senseless "shocking" ending.

Head after the jump for the spoils. And fair warning: get ready for some major whining about this episode.

'24' is almost over, but Jack Bauer is about to face one of his toughest challenges yet -- trying to start a romantic relationship with Annie Wersching's Renee Walker.

Jack and Renee take a well-deserved break from kicking bad guy ass to explore their romantic feelings for each other on tonight's much-anticipated episode.

I recently got a chance to talk with Wersching, who plays Renee on '24,' about tonight's big ep. We also talked about the fan reaction to her character and where Renee might be headed after the show ends. Wersching stayed mum about whether things would actually "work out" between Jack and Renee, but she promised that the show's final hours would deliver some surprising twists and turns that no one, not even Jack Bauer, could see coming.

Head after the jump for the interview.

Here's tonight's TV lineup (all times Eastern). All shows mentioned are new, unless otherwise noted.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Dancing With the Stars' -- Two hours
CBS: 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Rules of Engagement'
The CW: 'Life Unexpected'
FOX: 'House' -- Finally!
BBC America: 'Top Gear'
Cartoon Network: 'Adventure Time With Finn & Jake'
Nick: 'Glen Martin, DDS'
TLC: 'Little People, Big World' -- Two 30-minute episodes

9:00 to 10:00
CBS: 'Two and a Half Men' and 'The Big Bang Theory'
The CW: 'Gossip Girl'
FOX: '24'
NBC: 'Trauma'
A&E: 'Intervention'
Cartoon Network: '6TEEN'
TLC: 'Ultimate Cake Off'
TruTV: 'Operation Repo' (starts at 9:30)

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'Castle'
CBS: 'CSI: Miami'
A&E: 'Runaway Squad' -- Two 30-minute episodes
FX: 'Damages'
MTV: 'True Life'
Oxygen: 'Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood'
Showtime: 'Nurse Jackie' and 'United States of Tara'
TNT: 'Saving Grace'
Travel: 'Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'

Check your local TV listings for more information. After the jump, the late night talk shows.

If you ask most people, the idea of being President of the United States is likely one of the best jobs ever. Every little kid is told if he or she works hard, some day they could be the Commander in Chief. And yet, if you have been watching the eight seasons of '24,' there is probably no worse career choice than running America while Jack Bauer is handling a CTU assignment. In fact, when you look back on the presidents who have inhabited the White House during Jack's tenure, being the most powerful world leader is a high-risk profession that's not for the faint of heart.

Unlike other television series that have taken viewers inside the Oval Office, '24' presents the president in crisis mode, so perhaps it's a bit unfair to compare. Still, if you had your choice, you'd rather be Jed Bartlett on 'The West Wing' than Wayne Palmer or any other '24' president. Here are three reasons why the worst job on '24' is President of the United States:

(S08E16) The second hour of Fox's '24' double-bill kicked off with the hunt for the CTU mole. This was probably the stronger episode of the two that aired last night, considering the shocking development that ended the hour. This season still feels like its rehashing old plots and twists, but a few of tonight's scenes and images will probably be burned into the memories of fans for some time to come.

Head after the jump for the spoils.

(S08E15) The sun finally came up over Jack Bauer and crew last night on '24'. And with it came the first of two exciting if ultimately empty-feeling hours of the veteran real-time drama.

I use the word empty to describe these episodes because I'm no longer very invested in the story. '24' lost me a few weeks ago, even before Dana so inelegantly stuffed Stephen Root's dead body behind a CTU wall panel. Like I typed last week, the twists feel cheap, the stakes arbitrary, and the real-time gimmick has gotten stale.

At this point I'm mostly watching for the tightly edited procedural elements, the action scenes, and Kiefer Sutherland's sturdy performance. That stuff is solid -- so solid that it almost makes up for the lack of compelling drama and the unbelievable plot developments this season.

Head after the jump for spoilers, and remember to check out our recap of the next hour when it goes live.

While watching the two family sitcoms on ABC last night, 'The Middle' and 'Modern Family,' it seemed to me that they were funnier than usual because the writers took the effort to incorporate topical, timely elements into the scripts. On 'The Middle,' it was all about basketball and the NCAA Final Four. On 'Modern Family,' it was the highly anticipated release of the Apple iPad.

Now, while Joel thought the latter was an overdone commercial that may have been penned by Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself, my reaction was completely the opposite. And some critics agreed with me, too.

The idea that Phil would be obsessing about the latest technology was in keeping with the character. Phil's been established as a techie guy, a geekster of the first order. Why wouldn't he be an early adopter of the iPad considering that it is being touted as the next big thing?

(S08E14) Judging by tonight's ep, it looks like we can expect more lunacy and lazy story developments as '24' heads into its final hours. It's probably best for the show to end its run after this season. At this point, '24' is merely recycling its once startling twists and turns, and the real-time gimmick has gotten stale. We have a new locale and a few new names and faces, but the tricks are all the same, and the suspense feels manufactured, cheap and forced. Fans can see the twists coming from hours away, even when they're as unbelievable and over the top as they have been this year.

Jack Bauer is long overdue for a trip to the big screen. Hopefully, the tired real-time dramatic device that has outworn its welcome on TV won't shackle the character once he jumps to the movies. I'd much rather see Kiefer battling the baddies in a dense, smartly paced thriller than sit through another ridiculous real-time setup.

The news that '24' is coming to an end with the finale of this season wasn't as big a shock as some might have thought a few years back. After all, the ratings were down and some folks wondered if '24' had jumped the you-know-what. Still, when a great show calls it a day, it's a sad time for television.

At least in the finale, '24' will be bringing on some big names to gussy up the finish. 'ER's' Eriq La Salle will appear in the last two '24' episodes, for instance. Eriq will not be playing a surgeon asked to stitch together the remaining limbs of Jack Bauer before shipping him off to Kim in California. In fact, he won't be in scrubs at all.

Last spring, Fox TV did something pretty radical. It decided to air the first episode of a new fall series in May. That was a long lead time for a series, but Fox was confident in the new program. The show was called 'Glee' and the success of that preview coupled with the breakout status when it officially re-premiered in September made Fox's year.

And the guy who gets credit for that and now a new three-year extension is entertainment chief Kevin Reilly. Here's an executive who was dumped by NBC -- great move, Jeff Zucker -- and has done really well at Fox. It's not only 'Glee,' but that's the most flashy, current ratings and pop culture hit.

There's been a lot of talk lately about whether or not FOX would renew '24' for another year or if NBC could pick up the show if FOX didn't want it. Now here's the answer to at least the first of those questions: '24' has been canceled.

Star Mary Lynn Rajskub announced on Twitter that this is the last season of the long-running show. No word yet on if NBC still wants the show or if FOX is still interested in the big-screen movie that they were interested in doing at one point. I'm sure we'll hear more about all of this in the coming days.

Update: NBC won't pick up the show, but they're making a big-screen film.