TVSquad

You know, I thought we didn't have Charles Logan to kick around anymore. You know, the Nixonian disgraced President from 24? Well, I was wrong. 24 has cast Gregory Itzin to reprise Charles Logan in the upcoming new season.

Itzin -- who's currently been a semi-regular on The Mentalist -- was Emmy-nominated for President Logan, and he really gave it all the shadings and complexities of a dark, corrupt politician. He was a guy you loved to hate, but he had a soft spot and that was his love for his wife. His unbalanced spouse, Martha. When last seen on the show, Martha had stabbed Charles.

*Warning, spoilers ahead from the recent 24 episode*

Jean Smart's Martha Logan was given the best lines during the 13th hour of 24's sixth season. In fact, the former first lady's character may have been given some of the most campy, over-the-top bits of dialog from all five-and-a-half seasons of 24.

While some viewers -- okay, at least me -- are hoping that Martha Logan will stick around, her lines, which were delivered with gusto, are a big reason why Martha's a much more compelling character than, say, Marilyn Bauer, Josh Bauer, Graem "Plastic Wrap" Bauer, Milo Pressman and Sandra Palmer.

Here are five choice Martha lines from the latest episode:

(S06E13) *Warning, spoilers ahead from the new episode*

What do you get when you mix together the following ingredients:

A blended shirt that doesn't wrinkle, a mysterious Denver connection, raspberries and kiwi from Mel's, a bungalow, a mental institution, Russian carnage, getting "stirred up" and Ricky Schroder?

A heck of a good 24 episode . . . though I must admit to laughing at scenes where the show's creators likely weren't going for guffaws. But when you bring back three old characters and put them in an awkward (Man was it awkward!) love triangle and sprinkle in some potential world destruction via nuclear bombs, you gotta chuckle, at least a little bit.

*Warning, spoilers ahead*

While a great deal of media attention is focused on the first appearance of Ricky Schroder as CTU agent Mike Doyle on tonight's episode of 24, here are three reasons why the reappearance of the Logans (and Aaron too) can provide a much needed jump-start to reinvigorate season six:

1. Jean Smart. As First Lady Martha Logan last season, she vacillated between being weepy and drugged up, to being fearless. The unsung hero of season five -- who gathered evidence to implicate her treasonous husband, President Charles Logan, even bedding him to keep his suspions at bay -- Martha Logan is, in short, a fantastic character. Smart didn't get nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for nothin'.

And just as soon as we've all sat down and taken a deep breath from the first night of action and adventure, we're given a second double dose of the 24 serum last night. While not as shocking as the first night, it was pretty much just as explosive. Jack is hiding out in the airport in his quest to save his girlfriend's son, Derek, and a number of other travelers who are threatened with death by the terrorists, and the CTU team now knows that he's in action and running the scene. We're also introduced to a new character, Lynn, played by Sean Astin. He's immediately thrown into the fray, or more specifically throws himself into it, by effectively taking over the CTU offices from Buchanan.

One by one, hostages are being executed by the terrorists, who want Logan to halt signing off on a treaty with Russia. The details of the treaty are unclear at this point, and Logan is facing pressure from all directions, all while barking orders to Mike Novick about "fixing" the situation. All the while, his wife is searching for another way to find the conversation she had with David Palmer the night before, the chat that was "altered" on the recording Logan played for her. Thankfully, it turns out his overall antics may be in her favor, as there are apparently transcribed copies of every phone conversation kept in a storage room on the premises.