The clock begins its countdown as 24: Live Another Day Season 1 Episode 1 brings Jack Bauer back after four years and - dammit! - things haven't gone well for Jack. 

Jack Bauer is considered a terrorist... but not to worry. Even though his country wants him behind bars, shipped off to Russia or dead, Jack is still risking everything to save the President of the United States.

Why? Because he's Jack Bauer dammit!

This season looks like it's going to be 24's version of the drone wars, as terrorist take control of US drones on foreign soil and take out an American/British convoy, then plan to assassinate the President of the United States. 

There are plenty of new characters as the CIA in London is now tracking Jack but they seem kind of clueless as to the plot against the President. 

The moment Agent Kate Morgan said the best escape route was the roof and Jack went the other way, I knew his plan was to get caught.  I just didn't know why yet. 

As much as I love actress Yvonne Strahovski, I kept being reminded of Sarah Wynter's character Kate Warner from 24 Season 2 and it was completely distracting. Was I the only one? 

Back to this Kate. In the real world I'd assume that any CIA agent whose spouse sells secrets to the Chinese would be fired immediately whether they knew about it or not, but this is TV so I'll let that one go.

Kate Morgan is obviously the smartest person in the room while Agent Erik has the biggest attitude as he's more interested in shoving her out the door than in doing his job. 

When Agent Steve Navarro pulled Kate off the case after she shared her theory that Jack was really there because he wanted to be, I began to wonder if he was working with Jack. Why not check out her suspicion? Why kick Kate to the curb a week early?

But never mind. Let's get back to the characters we know and love. 

It's been 4 years since we've seen Chloe O'Brian and now she's sporting a goth/punk look as a Free Information Hacker who released thousands of classified Department of Defense documents to the world. A lot has changed.

At one point Chloe snaps at Jack in this 24 Live Another Day quote…

You don't get to judge me Jack. Not after what I've been through.

Chloe

• Permalink: You don't get to judge me Jack. Not after what I've been through.

What exactly has she been through? As Kate mentioned and as seen on the extras on the original 24 series dvds, Chloe was arrested after she helped Jack escape at the end of the original series but we have no idea what occurred after that.  From the looks of things I'm going to guess it wasn't good.

The even bigger question is where is her husband Morris and their son Prescott? Neither she nor Jack mentioned them at all in the first two hours and I can only hope they're both still alive.

I've always been a fan of William Devane so I'm thrilled they decided to bring back James Heller as the President. Jack obviously still thinks highly of him but as usual it is the people surrounding the president that may be the most dangerous, especially as Heller appears to be in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's or something similar. 

The return of Heller's daughter Audrey Raines also made me smile as she was Jack's most unforgettable love interest, even if she did end up in a catatonic state after things went badly.

The problem is that Audrey is now married to the Chief of Staff, Mark Boudreau who claims he stood by Audrey's side through three years of psychiatric care. He's not about to let anyone even mention Bauer's name in front of her. As a matter of fact, he'd hand Jack over to the Russians and let him disappear forever if he could.

If he truly loves Audrey it's a little hard to blame him for feeling that way but it's unclear if he's really on Heller's side or running his own agenda. 

On 24, no one can ever be trusted. Too bad Derek Yates never realized that. I figured his girlfriend was probably more than the bimbo she appeared if for no other reason than Derek wasn't nearly handsome enough or rich enough to warrant that much attention.

The knife through the head in the bathroom was pretty brutal though. Looks like Margot trained her daughter well. This is a mother / daughter team not to be messed with and Jack doesn't even know they're out there yet.

The Damn it! and Explosion tallies were pretty low starting out…but I blame the lack of expletives on Jack being silent for three quarters of the first hour.

• Damn it! count = 3
• Explosion count = 3

I didn't realize how much I missed Jack until I had him back even if it is for a limited run. Get ready for this summer's roller coaster ride 24 fans. The clock is ticking.

Your turn TV Fanatics, what did you think of the premiere of 24: Live Another Day?

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.