TVSquad

To tie us over until 24's seventh season premieres in January 2009 (it's closer than we think), Fox is appeasing us with The Rookie, five-minute webisodes following the adventures of American Counter Terrorism agent Jason Blaine, played by Jeremy Valdez. Check out Keith's post about The Rookie here.

It all ties in with the TV series. Blaine was first seen in 24's fifth season aboard a Russian sub. "If Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne had a love child, it would be Jason Blaine," says co-writer Kevin Townsend in an Associated Press story. "He's a younger, more ambitious, less experienced -- but no less talented -- version of those two characters."

Ok, that's kind of a creepy way to put it, but we get it. Now in its third phase, titled Day 3 - Extraction, the web series finds Blaine sent to Mexico City to rescue his mentor, Alton Maxwell (Eric Beck), who's been kidnapped by drug czar, Estaban Salazar. Remember him? The Salazar brothers were introduced to us in 24's third season.

The webisodes can be seen at http://www.DegreeRookie.com, or on-demand through Comcast and DirecTV. Yes, the webisodes feature embedded advertising for Degree Men deodorant. The idea is to make marketing look like entertainment, but they're not fooling us. It's advertising. Ok, with some entertainment thrown in to keep us coming back. They've even included a Degree spokesman -- Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals -- who appears as an FBI surveillance expert.

The real 24 went into production on April 22 in Los Angeles. Eight episodes of season seven were completed in late 2007 prior to the writer's strike, including a shoot in Washington, D.C.

Here's what we know: Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) is being investigated by the Senate for crimes against humanity (Excuse me? Hasn't he saved the world 153 times?). While in Washington, FBI agent Renee Walker brings him in to deal with a series of possible terrorist attacks instigated by former CTU agent Tony Almeida, previously presumed dead (hmmm). "Jack's thrust into this mystery of how Tony is still alive, and why is he trying to bring down this country?," explains 24 executive producer Manny Coto.

A two-hour prequel TV movie is expected to air this fall, which will bring Bauer to Africa and lead him -- and us -- into season seven. "He's a soul in turmoil and has been moving from place to place trying to find somewhere he can be at peace," Coto says. "But he winds up in Africa in the middle of a military coup."

Meanwhile, Bauer is subpoenaed to appear before the Senate hearing while in Africa, but he's reluctant to go. "He's not running away from anything," Coto says. "It's because they've taken everything from him, but they won't let them take his freedom."

It's amazing to think about where this series started and how it continues with the same intensity year after year (we hope). But are the webisodes and the 2-hour movie enough to keep us hooked? Do you think the series will lose viewers by the time it comes back in January? Will you be watching? And more importantly, do you think Tony Almeida is still alive?