It's about time.

        Nine weeks after Labor Day, Fox finally premieres 24 (9 p.m. Tuesday, Channels 19, 45),the most innovative drama of the fall — and in many TV seasons.

        Kiefer Sutherland (A Few Good Men, The Three Musketeers) stars as Jack Bauer, the head of the CIA's counter-terrorist team. He has 24 hours to stop an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate on the California primary election day.

Cast of 24 includes Elisha Cuthbert (left), Leslie Hope, Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert and Sarah Clarke. (Fox photo) | ZOOM |

        Each one-hour episode plays out in real time, representing an hour in a 24-hour day.

        With the clock ticking, Jack's life suddenly becomes more complicated: His 15-year-old daughter (Elisha Cuthbert) can't be accounted for, and Jack's boss warns him not to trust CIA superiors or co-workers, because they may be involved in the plot to kill this liberal Democrat who would gut the spy agency.

        “Until we get a better handle on things, don't trust anybody — not even your own people,” Jack is told by a superior.

        What more could go wrong?

        His chief of staff and former lover (Sarah Clarke) senses that Jack isn't telling the truth; the wife (Leslie Hope) Jack recently reconciled with decides to cruise Los Angeles looking for their daughter; and a CIA district director lies to Jack about the source of critical information.

        About that time, the candidate (Dennis Haysbert, Now & Again)discovers that an old political scandal may resurface and damage his campaign.

        And then viewers learn that the assassin flying on a jumbo jet into Los Angeles has a time bomb.

        Tick, tick, tick . . .

Teen-age daughters

November premieres

TV series premiering this month:     24: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Channels 19, 45.     NYPD Blue: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Channels 9, 2.     Temptation Island 2: 9 p.m. Wednesday, then moves to 9 p.m. Thursday, Channels 19, 45.     Family Guy: 8 p.m. Thursday, Channels 19, 45.     The Tick: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Channels 19, 45.     King of the Hill: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11, Channels 19, 45.     The Simpsons: 8 p.m. Nov. 11, Channels 19, 45.     Malcolm in the Middle: 8:30 p.m. Nov. 11, Channels 19, 45.     The X-Files: 9 p.m. Nov. 11, Channels 19, 45.     Bernie Mac: 8:30 p.m. Nov. 14, Channels 19, 45.     Titus: 9:30 p.m. Nov. 14, Channels 19, 45.

        This is a real edge-of-your-seat thriller put together by Joel Surnow (La Femme Nikita), Robert Cochran (JAG), and Imagine Television's Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (Apollo 13, Bowfinger, Psycho).

        From the beginning, Mr. Surnow and Mr. Cochran had wanted to do a “real-time” series with an attempted murder and a personal crisis. Being the parents of teen-age daughters, they decided on the subplot about a runaway daughter.

        “That seemed to amp up the stakes of everything about 10 notches,” says Mr. Surnow, who also has written for Wiseguy and Miami Vice.

        The teen-age daughter also intrigued Mr. Sutherland enough to star in his first TV series.

        “The (clock) device was not the most attractive thing to me at first,” Mr. Sutherland says. “I thought the characters were developed really well. I also have a teen-age daughter. (And) the crisis between your professional responsibilities and your personal responsibilities, those were the things that attracted me.”

        It's about time, he says, to do a TV series.

        “I started watching television more regularly over the last five or six years. I saw huge steps — specifically in the hour drama — from Law & Order to NYPD Blue and The X-Files,” says Mr. Sutherland, 34, who made his movie debut at 18 in Max Dugan Returns (1983).

        “I saw a lot of exciting things being done (on TV), and couldn't really figure out why it was not an option for me,” he says.

Most competitive hour

        His series debuts against one of his favorites, NYPD Blue, which returns for a ninth season an hour earlier than usual.

        As with any show, the success of 24 is a matter of time — and 9 p.m. Tuesday has become TV's most competitive hour. 24 will compete with NBC's Frasier and Scrubs; CBS' surprisingly strong The Guardian; ABC's NYPD Blue; WB's new Smallville; and UPN's Roswell.

        So Fox, and its sister FX channel, has scheduled to air the 24 pilot four times: at 9 p.m. Tuesday and 9 p.m. Friday on Channels 19, 45; and at 11 p.m. next Sunday and 10 p.m. Nov. 12 on FX.

        For viewers, it's also about time. Will we commit to a 24-week serialized murder plot? We didn't for Steven Bochco's Murder One, a 22-week ABC series about a single murder trial.

        “Murder One was a legal case. It was very cerebral,” Mr. Surnow says. 24 “is much more of an action show.”

        All the 24 audience needs to know is two things: “Kiefer is trying to stop the president from being shot. He's trying to find his daughter,” Mr. Surnow says. “If you get that, you get the show.”

        If that's so, why spend time watching the first 23 shows? Why not just wait until No. 24?

        “There are so many twists and turns with this thriller, and so many different tributaries that the characters can go down,” executive producer Tony Krantz says. “Each episode will have a payoff in itself.”

        It's about time, too, when Fox Broadcasting executives decide what to do with 24. Fox has bought only 13 episodes, a typical half-season order for a new series. What happens if ratings are bad, and Fox cuts its losses and doesn't order all 24?

        “We would try to figure it out early enough and tie it up after 13, and change the name of the show.” Mr. Surnow promises. “No, we're preparing for success. We are not preparing for failure.”

        The clock starts ticking Tuesday. It's about time.

        Contact John Kiesewetter by phone: 768-8519; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: jkiesewetter@enquirer.com.
       
       

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