To tie us over until 24's seventh season premieres in January 2009 (it's closer than we think), Fox is appeasing us with The Rookie, five-minute webisodes following the adventures of American Counter Terrorism agent Jason Blaine, played by Jeremy Valdez. Check out Keith's post about The Rookie here.

It all ties in with the TV series. Blaine was first seen in 24's fifth season aboard a Russian sub. "If Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne had a love child, it would be Jason Blaine," says co-writer Kevin Townsend in an Associated Press story. "He's a younger, more ambitious, less experienced -- but no less talented -- version of those two characters."

Ok, that's kind of a creepy way to put it, but we get it. Now in its third phase, titled Day 3 - Extraction, the web series finds Blaine sent to Mexico City to rescue his mentor, Alton Maxwell (Eric Beck), who's been kidnapped by drug czar, Estaban Salazar. Remember him? The Salazar brothers were introduced to us in 24's third season.

We've got a long wait ahead of us until the seventh season of 24 (holy crap, it's been six seasons already?) hits the network -- January 2009, to be exact. Until then we have the reported two-hour prequel movie coming sometime this year. And until then, we have further webisodes of The Rookie. From the official description:

"The Rookie: Day 3 Extraction digital shorts chronicle the further adventures of American Counter Terrorism agent, Jason Blaine. Set within the same high-stakes world as 24, Blaine races against the clock to try rescue his boss, who is kidnapped by a nefarious drug cartel. This year's digital shorts will be released in six chapters, with each lasting three to four minutes."

Below we have the exclusive on the new episode, before it appears on the official site next week.