I’m going to steal a quote from one of my coworkers (I’d say a good 1/3 of my office is hooked on the show ):

Kiefer Sutherland plays Bauer, CTU’s toughest counterterrorist hombre, as an Americanized, cowboy version of James Bond: more brutal, more determined, more prone to extreme measures. Bauer is the sort of guy who, even after more than a year in hiding, still answers an innocuous knock on the door with a Glock held behind his back. Supervisors, bureaucracy, and regulations are merely obstacles to be bulldozed. He doesn’t just ignore the rulebook; he shreds it, incinerates the scraps, and blows up the building the incinerator is in on the way out.
- National Review

Spoilers about tonite:
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Tonite’s ending was classic Jack Bauer, he doesn’t need CTU. He’ll just infiltrate the White House’s security and get to the (very) evil Presidential advisor himself. And I think I’m starting to like Sam the hobbit… though I always had a funny feeling about Spenser. My prediction: Mike Novick helps Jack get in.