TVSquad

It's been a long time coming, but 24 is finally coming back. After a mediocre sixth season, followed by endless news about the re-invigorated season seven, it all got pushed aside. Kiefer Sutherland went to jail. Production was delayed. Oh right... and don't forget the WGA Strike. I hear that played a role, too.

FOX has announced that as with seasons past, 24 will return with a two-night, four-hour premiere on Sunday, January 11th, and Monday, January 12th. Plus, there's the two-hour movie Redemption airing later this month on Sunday, November 23rd. That's a lot of 24 to look forward to.

If you aren't excited yet, wait'll you see what Jack does to Tony "the clock wasn't silent" Almeida in the latest trailer for Day 7.

Even if season 7 of 24 won't air for another 9 months, it doesn't mean we can't get our hopes up when the first official cast picture leaks on the web. Mind you, it may have been out for weeks but today was the first time I saw it thanks to a tip who sent us to SlashFlim.com.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who had never seen this cast picture before which is why I decided to share it with you all and take this opportunity to review what we know, including spoilers, about the seventh season of the FOX drama, including that two-hour prequel that will air this fall.

Spoilers coming up!

In mid-April, we reported that the '24' producers were studying potential story lines for the seventh season of the FOX hit series, one featuring Quebec's separatists. About two weeks later, it was confirmed that Jack would go through his next action-packed awful day in a different scenery. In early July, we learned that writers had planned to have the action set in Africa and the U.S. but that the network sent them back to the drawing board because that story line would be too expensive. Eventually, official spoilers started to leak and FOX announced the names of actors joining the show (more after the jump).

But yesterday, FOX sent out a press release so juicy that it had some people pinch themselves to make sure they weren't dreaming!

Spoilers after the jump!

Here's an interesting casting choice: Janeane Garofalo is joining 24. According to TV Guide, she'll be a regular cast member on the next season. Her character is a government agent who will be investigating Jack Bauer and his CTU co-workers. I can imagine her playing someone Jack (and the rest of the audience) really hates.

This is Garofalo's first return to mainstream television since she her role as Louise Thornton on The West Wing in 2004-2005. She also starred in a dramatic pilot for CBS called Law Dogs, but it has not been picked up by the network.

So, 24 fans, does the news about Janeane get you more excited for the next season? Or, would you rather have a decent plot line this time around rather than celebrity casting?

Janeane Garofalo has landed a gig in an untitled pilot at CBS. The show is being produced by Barry Schindel and Scott Free Productions, the same people behind CBS' successful Numb3rs. But wait... while I like the idea of getting Janeane back on our TV on a regular basis, and I'm interested to see the Numb3rs team take another shot, what little we know about this show doesn't sound good.

Reportedly, "Garofalo will play the quirky, sassy head of the public defender's office who bears the scars of having made it in what is essentially a man's world." Ugh. It sounds like Shark, shorter, with boobs and more estrogen. I'll give anything with Garofalo in it a shot, but haven't we seen too much of this show already?

It might be time to call a halt to new shows based on doctors, lawyers, and cops for a little while. Not forever, but maybe venture out and see what the rest of the world spends their day doing.

I had the pleasure of checking out the first couple episodes of the new animated series for Comedy Central from comedians David Cross and Jon Benjamin called Freak Show. Don't worry, though, I'm not going to give away any specific details, but I'll try to give you an idea of what to expect.

The Freak Squad is comprised of a group of circus freaks, each with their own unique power. Tuck and Benny, the siamese twins (voiced by Benjamin and Cross) have the power of separation; the Bearded Clam (Janeane Garofalo) shoots blinding bitch juice; the World's Tallest Nebraskan (Brian Stack, a writer and performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien) can shrink up to six inches; Primi, the Premature Baby, has the power of pinpoint vomiting; and Log Cabin Republican, the only gay member of the squad, can transform into Burly Bear, a large, hirsute man in S&M garb. Log Cabin Republican is voiced by Jon Glaser, also a writer and performer on Conan.

(S01E07) Along with Mary Tyler Moore and Amy Sedaris, I've always had a crush on Janeane Garofalo. I remember being happy when this episode came on, since I had loved her standup and her work on The Ben Stiller Show (with Andy Dick). She plays Nancy, Dave's ex-girlfriend who seems nice on the outside but is really kind of a nut. She comes to New York City to be with Dave, who never quite told her that they were officially broken up.

Meanwhile, Jimmy meets a business and technology "visionary" named Tom at a conference and arranges for him to be interviewed by Bill, but that doesn't turn out quite as Jimmy or Dave had hoped...

First up tonight is a nice opening with Martin Sheen, a short tribute to John Spencer explaining what type of person he was like and that tonight is the first in five remaining episodes that will feature Spencer.

Tonight's ep mostly centers around Leo and how he is screwing up the prep for the vice presidential debate. That stuff is really interesting, but it's surrounded by these really lame domestic scenes with Matt Santos and his family. Eh. They aren't bad for some other show (I guess), but it's just not the whip-smart show The West Wing used to be. Still, Spencer's performance, the stuff about the inner workings of the debate prep, and that one scene with Josh and Toby on the phone (Josh: "I forget, in D.C., can felons vote?......Too soon?" Toby: "Little bit.") make it all worthwhile.