Where have you gone, Jack Bauer, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you?

I blogged in November that the January premier of Season 7 of 24 would be delayed due to the Hollywood writers strike. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that there have been other problems behind the scenes which may keep the new season from premiering until as late as 2009.

“Ratings dropped by a third over the course of last year's sixth season. Producers would later experience trouble casting roles, once some of the most desirable in television, because the actors disapproved of the show's depiction of torture. "The fear and wish-fulfillment the show represented after 9/11 ended up boomeranging against us," says the show's head writer, Howard Gordon. "We were suddenly facing a blowback from current events."

Last spring, Fox executives asked producers to come up with a plan for what to do with their onetime crown jewel. The producers decided to take the radical -- and rarely attempted -- step of reinventing the show. While some fans complained "24" had grown too formulaic, the producers also grudgingly saw the importance of wrestling the show from its ties to an unpopular conflict.

The result: "24" is nowhere to be found on the TV schedule. For weeks the show's producers tried to reconcile the show's premise with the new public mood. Should Jack atone for his sins? Is Jack bad? The script rewrites and philosophical crises left the show so far behind schedule that when the Hollywood writers went on strike in November, Fox had no choice but to delay its premiere date. The show could premiere this summer, next fall or as late as January 2009.”

I like 24 because it gives a real life depiction of the domestic war on terror. It illustrates the craftiness of our enemy and the decisions the real life Jack Bauers face to save lives and foil terrorist plots. Jack makes personal sacrifices (as depicted on the show) by basing decisions on protecting his nation rather than protecting his personal interests. Instead of recoiling at his torture of informants, I rejoice at seeing an American hero who works hard to save the lives of Americans, many of whom he will never meet, will never know of his actions, and if they were to become informed of his actions will probably demand that he be tried before a Congressional committee.

That, my dear readers, is why I watch and follow the show. And I will continue to do so as long as Jack continues to be Jack.