The series 24 endured a lot ...

Question: The series 24 endured a lot of scrutiny last year — and for good reason. I do not accept that "Graem" is Jack's brother who accidently let terrorists arm a bomb. I do not accept that Chloe is just an exposition whore. I do not accept that the second that Jack is done with Fayed, he receives a call from Cheng. But I think 24 can always land on its feet. (Season 4 was horrible, Season 5 amazing.) What do you make of the show's production delays? Are they just scrambling to get a story together, or do they need time to do it right? I would be lying if I said I was calm and confident in this new season, but with the recent additions of Janeane Garofalo, Colm Feore and Rhys Coiro (from Entourage) maybe there is hope. Or maybe I'm just lost.
Answer: Because 24 doesn't premiere until January, it has the luxury of time, which it seems to be using this year, to work things out before they get so far along in production that course correction becomes more difficult. When I heard of the production delay, I actually felt relief. Creating a show like this is way harder than it looks, and no one (least of all those involved in the production) wants things to go off the rails the way it did last season, when it all began to feel so routine. So I have hope for the new season, and I can't wait to see Cherry Jones (a marvelous stage actress too rarely seen on film and TV) as the new president. Just the thought that the show has unshackled itself from the CTU cave gives me hope.