Has '24' finally started to run out of time?

The Orlando Sentinel (MCT) - Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has done the impossible so often on "24" that the routine may be wearing out.

The seventh season of the Fox thriller starts with four hours _ at 8 p.m. EDT Sunday and Monday _ and some compelling plots. Terrorists threaten U.S. airliners by tapping into air-traffic control. A new U.S. president, Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), juggles that crisis and another in Africa. The first gentleman, Henry Taylor (Colm Feore), broods about a family tragedy. And Jack is drafted to help the FBI.

The first big hurdle: Will you buy that Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) has miraculously returned from the dead?

Then "24" starts plopping Jack in increasingly incredible situations. The Counter Terrorist Unit is gone, and Jack must improvise in battling vast villainy. The plot twists pile up, and the action scenes can turn preposterous.

Oh, well, few series have been as entertaining as "24." The show must rebound from its sixth season, which went off the rails by exploring Jack's family history. Fox, responding to the writers strike, kept the drama off the air last season. The rousing movie "24: Redemption," which aired in November, suggested the show had bounced back.

And now I'm not so sure. I'm not writing off "24." The sixth season started strongly and petered out. Maybe this season will reverse that process.

The actors offer reasons to hope. Oscar-winner Jon Voight waits in the wings as a new villain. Spicing up the early hours are Janeane Garofalo, Jeffrey Nordling and Annie Wersching (as FBI agent Renee Walker). As the president, Jones has a determined, compassionate style. Mary Lynn Rajskub returns as quirky, brilliant Chloe.

She has her old moves, but does "24"? That's the biggest mystery of all.

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Hal Boedeker: hboedeker@orlandosentinel.com

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© 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).