The Final Countdown; Its nerve-jangling plot has already packed in

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Aug 18, 2002 | by Graeme Virtue

You can also download the liquid crystal font that's come to symbolise the programme (although, frankly, it would be easier to go down the Post Office and buy a letraset).

There's currently some tension in the online community as the series has finished its run in America. The dramatic climax still has Yanks chattering like chimpanzees, while desperate Brits tiptoe round message threads; desperately trying to find out about the finale without blowing any of the huge twists.

However, they're on safer ground talking about the wealth of inconsistencies. Like, how come the show's called 24 when the clock runs in 12-hour format? Why does Jack never get stuck in traffic whilst racing to meet another vital deadline in the sooty sprawl of Los Angeles? Why does nobody ever really eat, drink or go to the toilet? And whatever happened to lesbian assassin Mandy, who spectacularly blew up a 747 in the first hour and then promptly vanished? This sort of thing can go on for hours.

In fact, most fans delight in picking apart the utterly implausible plot twists, but in an eyeblink will also defend the show against accusations of being preposterous. Take last Sunday's penultimate episode; it was revealed, in a few terse Serbian sentences barked on a cellphone, that Jack's only true confidante, Nina, had been part of the labrynthine conspiracy all along.

Of course, if you spool back through the day to all the times Nina went out on a limb to protect Jack - and even got took a bullet for him, for crikey's sake - it makes absolutely no sense. But what a sizzling twist! And these melodramatic flourishes are somehow insulated by the severe atmosphere that pervades 24; the lavish production design, the steely cinematography, the whiplash pacing, the fact that - unlike almost every other action hero - Jack Bauer never, ever cracks any funnies. He takes the whole thing pretty darn seriously and (thanks largely to Sutherland's dignified, gravelly performance) so do we.

So what'll happen when time finally runs out? Immediately after the last episode tonight there's a live interactive debate on BBC Choice, but the fact that it's being chaired by Liquid News eye candy Claudia Winkleman suggests it won't be the forensic hair-splitting postmortem the show arguably deserves. The entire series will be available on DVD from tomorrow, which should combat most withdrawal symptoms. But the only real fix is going to be the second series; currently filming in LA and scheduled to premiere on October 29 in the US. Rumours suggest that it will centre around a nuclear attack on Los Angeles orchestrated by Hezbollah, but the only confirmed details are that Melissa Gilbert - one of the kids from Little House On The Prairie - will join the cast, and that the action starts at 8am rather than midnight. Beyond that, we'll just have to wait until the series pops up on the BBC early next year. It's tough. Every day suddenly feels like it's six months long The final episode of 24 is on BBC2 tonight at 10pm. 24 - The Postmortem follows immediately on BBC Choice. The entire first series is released on DVD tomorrow Twists and shouts: the five most astonishing revelations so far 12.54am