“24”: What Will FOX Do?

Sunday night, as my fiancé and I were watching the end of the NFC playoff game on FOX, he pointed out the graphic in the lower left-hand corner of the screen…

“Look at that ‘Terminator’ countdown clock,” he said. “That’s so annoying.”

And that’s when it hit me. “That’s supposed to be the ‘24’ clock,” I told him.

Yes, my friends, Sunday should have been the season premiere of “24.” But, of course, it wasn’t thanks to that wonderful phenomenon known as the Writers’ Strike.

But to be perfectly honest, my nerves are so shot these days, I don’t think I could even watch it anyway…

So what is the plan for its return?

I was concerned that at some point in the next few months, FOX would haul out the eight completed episodes and show them; but Michael Ausiello said today that’s not going to happen.

However, according to Ausiello, it is possible that FOX would do a 10 to 14 episode “mini-season” in the fall, followed by another 10 to 14 episode “mini-season” with a completely different plot in the spring.

This, of course, would destroy the 24-hour format that is the show’s backbone; but the other alternative FOX is faced with is waiting until January 2009—17 months after the last episode aired.

To be honest, I’m not sure what to think here. I don’t want the show to lose all of its momentum and be forgotten. Yet, I don’t really want to give up the 24-hour format.

Man, does this strike stink or what?