FOURLORN

Fans of 24 — including yours truly and TV Guide critic Matt Roush — are fuming over an all-too-revealing promo Fox aired Wednesday teasing next week's episode. The clip showed a major character tumbling down a stairwell, apparently to his/her death. (We won't spoil it for those who were lucky enough to miss it.) For a show that prides itself on maintaining a veil of secrecy around its plotlines, the spoiler appeared to be a shocking gaffe. "24 is a series that zigs where other series zag," a network rep responds to TV Guide Online. "You can never be sure where the show is going to go, so watching every episode is critical to seeing how character plot points are actually resolved." Responds Roush: "This is acceptable only if said character doesn't actually fall down the stairwell." In other words, he/she better be dreaming! (For more from Roush on this, click here.) Ironically, the tell-all teaser aired just weeks after TV Guide Online personally pleaded with Fox entertainment president Gail Berman to stop giving so much away in the 24 promos. "We have definitely heard that before," she told us at the time. "We're going to try and be mindful of that. I'll take that to heart." And by taking that to heart, she apparently meant, "I'll continue to ruin the show for everyone! Mwhahaha!"