Yesterday, the leaders of America gathered in Washington, D.C. for a health care summit. It was an effort to gnash out the differences between the proponents for a comprehensive health care bill and those who think the current proposed legislation is a waste of paper. We're not weighing in on the debate, other than to say it's a damn serious subject and one that needs solutions, not rhetoric.

But as a television production, the health care summit was a snoozefest. Whether you like any of the political personalities involved, it didn't change the fact that while Chris Matthews was giddy about the political theater, it was dreary TV.

"Son, you'd better put that down, or you're gonna get hurt." Oh, Jack. It doesn't take much for us to fall back in love with you. All you have to do is kick some butt, toss out some one-liners and rescue the girl.

But did you really think you could just turn your back on that guy and walk away? This isn't 'Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions.' This is '24' (Mon., 9PM ET on Fox), the show where if there's a taser to be given, you'll be on the receiving end of it.

You should know that by now, Jack. Who do you think you are? The world's hero or something?

Watch the video after the jump.

(S08E09) Now the clock is really ticking.

Farhad's crew raised the stakes for the season with a plan to set off a radiological bomb in New York. And things finally erupted in a big way with the Dana/Kevin/Cole storyline. Jack got Renee out of the hot seat, but it cost him his plane ride back to his family (again).

The moral of this episode? You just can't trust anyone these days.

Josef stabbed his daddy in the back by stealing the nuclear rods, only to get gunned down by Farhad and friends. Looking to make a big bloody statement, Farhad's goons double-crossed their boss with a plot to use the rods as a weapon. And Weiss set Renee up to take the fall for the mission's failure (I never trusted that guy). Let's talk about that last development.

(S08E08) "Hey! Why you gotta focus on the negative?" - Kevin to Dana/Jenny

He was stabbed, beaten, electro-shocked and strung up like a side of beef, but that didn't stop Jack from busting out of the basement of doom with relative ease. Luckily for Jack, it seemed like Bazhaev's goons forgot to bind his legs. (Why do bad guys always forget to bind the legs?) Our hero only had to employ some fancy footwork to crack his torturer's neck and escape.

Then, like some tiny feral jungle creature, Jack pounced on another goon, bit him on the neck and drained him of his blood!

OK, maybe that last part happened a little differently, but seeing skinny little Jack jump that chubby baddie was like watching a vampire bat attacking a cow. It was the funniest moment of the season so far.

Oh man, Jack Bauer is getting tortured – again! That poor guy has had enough shock treatments to be in a 1950s insane asylum. Not only that, but he's already been stabbed in the gut this season.

We feel for the guy, but he always manages to spring back into action and overpower the bad guys. If '24' (Mon., 9PM ET on FOX) is on its last legs, we suggest that Freddie Prinze, Jr. take over the saving-the-world duties. We love you, Jack, but let Freddie carry some of the burden! And Cole Ortiz is a really cool name, too.

Watch the video after the jump.

Looks like Jack Bauer's attempt to foil the latest evil doings by the bad guys in only '24' hours as hit a snag. Production on the show has been halted while star Kiefer Sutherland has surgery to repair a ruptured cyst near his kidney. The cyst actually ruptured last week while he was filming the FOX show. He'll return to the show next week and they say that there shouldn't be any interruption in episodes for the rest of the season.

A ruptured cyst near a kidney sounds like an incredibly major medical problem to me, something that would take a long time to recover from (especially if you have to go into filming scenes where you are hanging from a helicopter, fighting, and jumping off of buildings), but I guess medicine and surgery has come a long way.

With '24' in its eighth season, the future of the show is up in the air. E Online has an article summarizing all the potential futures of the show, including that '24' movie we keep hearing about.

This entire situation sounds like Fox is hedging its bets. '24' remains a big ratings winner and they want a few options available. In their perfect ideal, Fox would likely want to continue the series with Kiefer Sutherland in the lead, possibly having Freddie Prinze, Jr. in a spin-off series.

As a consolation prize, they would continue '24' with Freddie rather than Kiefer and possibly have Jack Bauer move to the movies (although that didn't work out so great for the final seasons of 'The X-Files'). If it is decided to kill off Jack Bauer (as has been rumored before), then the movie could always take place before that happens.

For now, enjoy season eight!

I'm not talking about a TV movie a la '24: Redemption,' I'm talking about an adventure that Jack Bauer will have on the big screen. TV Guide is reporting that a screenwriter has been hired to write the '24' movie. Billy Ray, who wrote the movies 'Shattered Glass,' 'State of Play,' the remake of 'Westworld' as well as many episodes of the mid-90s sci-fi series 'Earth 2,' is going to do the screenplay for the movie.

Of course, since this is a big screen movie of a small screen show, they have to do something a little "larger," so Jack won't be saving Los Angeles or New York or even Ottumwa, Iowa. This movie will be set in London, which means Jack will have to get used to saving the world in 24 hours several hours ahead of when he did it here in the United States. Also, any car chases or car explosions will now take place on the other side of the road.

[Watch '24' and other shows at SlashControl.]

We can't say we've been all that thrilled about this season of '24' (Mon., 9PM on FOX). In fact, it's just a shadow of its former self.

But one scene in last night's episode offered a glimmer of hope that perhaps all is not lost. After getting knocked around by Vladimir, Renee, who's been mostly a simpering wimp thus far, picked up a knife and stabbed him smack in the eye! And then in the chest! Multiple times! Stab! Stab! Stab!

But, uh oh. Clearly, she didn't mean to stab Jack, too. She just got caught up in the moment of unbridled revenge! Then again, it's just another day in the life of poor, tortured Jack.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S08E07) I'm going to whine a lot about this episode, so that's just a little warning to anyone absolutely loving this season of '24.' But first, let's talk about the great scene where Renee goes ballistic, stabs Vladimir, then accidentally stabs Jack. Then Jack takes the knife out and hurls it at the other guy coming in the door. Awesome!

Ok, now for the bad stuff. For one thing, I thought we were going to get to see Renee kick some major butt this season. So far, she's just a wimpy female with a big fat vengeance chip on her shoulder who still gets knocked around by the bad guys (excepting that awesome scene noted above). Come on, Renee! I want a female Jack Bauer, not some sniveling sap!

What is going on with Jack Bauer? Have you been watching '24' this season, the first time set in New York City? There were high expectations that this might be the best season yet for '24' because we'd be seeing a lean, mean, older Jack who has been through the wringer and knows all the tricks and turns of the business. Comparisons were made to Jason Bourne, but with the Bauer edge.

Unfortunately, we're not seeing the vim and vigor of 'The Bourne Identity' or any of the other Bourne pictures. We're not even seeing the quality of '24' from seasons past. Instead, '24' has turned into something else entirely -- an empty shell of its former self. It's time to call it a day for '24.' The show has definitely jumped the you-know-what.

(S08E06) "If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, we don't do that anymore." - Hastings to Jack, on using unsavory methods with the Russians

Oh, snap. The Russians may have bought Renee's cover, but that doesn't mean she's out of danger. Just the opposite, especially given the fact that she's a loose cannon and doesn't seem to care whether she lives or dies at this point. Or maybe that's not necessarily true.

(S08E05) "I think this operation just blew up." - Jack

I think this season just blew up. After loving the first four hours in last week's two-night 24 premiere, hour five of Jack Bauer's eighth bad day crashed and burned pretty hard. While the main plot involving Jack and Renee is worth watching, it still has one big glaring misstep that I had a hard time getting over last night. As for the rest of the minor subplots? We can only hope they tie in to the rest of the story, because right now, very little of it is interesting.

(S08E03/S08E04) "Renee, I know where you are and it's a dark place." - Jack

24's two-night four-hour season premiere continued tonight with the season's third and fourth hours and, by the end of it, we finally got a pretty clear picture of what the larger threat is and where it's headed... at least until next week.

Renee finally made an appearance, Hassan didn't get taken out, and Hastings figured out that Chloe actually knows what she's talking about. But was any of that enough to make up for the numerous shortcomings this season has already displayed?

'24' season 8 premiered last night, and it took all of about 15 minutes before Jack Bauer was getting in someone's face and watching a helicopter blow up on a rooftop -- even though he's "retired." Oh, how we've missed you, Jack!

What's more, he actually has something to live for, now that he's back in daughter Kim's life and scoring one-on-one time with his sweet granddaughter. Last season was just meh for us, but we can't wait to see what happens this season.

Watch the video from TV's Top 5! after the jump.