Last year when I heard that Maxine Peake and Ian David Whatshisface wouldn't be returning to Shameless for it's 4th season, I was a bit gutted. Kev and Veronica over the first three seasons have played a pretty big role in the show so I thought it would be a very difficult task filling their shoes. But I must say, having the Maguires move in next door to the Gallaghers is a pure stroke of genius by the writers. From what we've already seen of the Maguires, we have gotten the impression that they're just a gang of thugs - they still are of course but the introduction of Jamie Maguire looks like a step forward to, dare I say it, criminal decency (I'm aware this isn't a phrase but I really didn't know how to word that sentence).

I did enjoy watching the Chatsworth estate's fear of the released murdering Maguire and is it me or did he look way too young to be a convicte murderer and to have served 10 years? At what age did Paddy have his son murder people and this episode really makes you think what kind of parents the Maguires are. The only one without violent tendencies it seems is Mandy, and even she isn't exactly a good girl having a baby at 18. And also, it's blatantly obvious that Jamie and Kelly will be rocking each other's jailhouses pretty soon. I liked the pervert interactions between the two, but was Kelly always this much of a bike last year?

Jamie Maguire is hot though. Nice butt. And when Paddy was on the horse and Stan came round asking if they had seen a missing horse to which he replied "no", I was in stitches.
And so we move onto the plot with Monica/Sheila/Frank. Now firstly, what is unbelievable is that these two women are fighting over Frank Gallagher. Frank Gallagher for god's sake! He's not exactly fit. I loved the Kill Bill fantasy at the beginning with Sheila in an The Bride-esque outfit, and I just think Sheila is absolutely hilarious. Norma is also a good addition and I thought the conversation between she and Sheila on the toilet was a good touch to the episode until Frank entered naked. I also loved the fight in the changing room with Sheila's "Are you bisexual or are you just gay?" in that Sheila tone of hers. However, I do find Monica slightly annoying in that she is not just a complete and total slag but she's using her children as an excuse to be nearer to Frank.

And why are the Gallagher kids so underused this series so far? Ian in particular has had nothing of any real importance to do except for be an extra, as is the same with Carl and Lip appeared in about 2 scenes tonight. After quite a substantial amount of screentime last week, Sue and Marty completely disappeared this week. What's going on? Many people have been against this season so far and this could be the reason why potentially.

And finally, Season 2's on in the UK and this episode is the one to kick it off. And what a fine episode it is too, with a plane crash taking central focus and Meredith too drunk to function. This is all due to Derek of course, the egotistical surgeon who's chose Addison over her but to be honest Derek Shepherd is probably the biggest wanker on TV. I don't understand why he would fail to inform Meredith of his marital status. Or maybe he's just an idiot who deserves absolutely no happiness whatsoever.

His breakdown at the end of this episode seems very trivial. The case he's handled, the two strangers on the pole, bought a tear to my eye so I understand that but I think it also represents something (just like everything else on this show) - that whatever Derek's choice, one of his ladies is gonna get hurt. But the case itself is quite awful to watch especially at the end when Meredith makes the decision to keep treating a deceased Bonnie, and her cries of "we're just gonna leave her" were quite emotional and well-written.

I don't consider myself a particularly evil person but boy, was I happy when "oh honey, we fiiiiine" women died. She was funny at first, but by the time she died that woman was the most annoying patient on this show. It doesn't help that Alex is an A* doodle (proved later with the leg), but the way he reacted just proved that he is in fact someone who falls hard and recovers quickly.

And as for Cristina's leg hunt, that was pretty funny especially her conversation with Burke. However, I can't really help but feel that she's gotten over losing her baby pretty quickly. Both she and Burke.

My opinion on Izzie changes within each episode, but I quite like this developing working relationship she appears to have with Addison. She was the one who first went to Addison about Cristina's pregnancy (right?), and I like that Addison sees something in Izzie. In fact, I really like Addison and I think she could develop into a really good character if the writers work hard enough with her. But I like these two, and I liked the best friends they were treating and their situation too.

Richard and Derek "tension" ... yawn.

Erin Driscoll's Skatepark CTU is starting to grow on me a little -- it was hard dealing with newbies like Michelle, Paula, Gael, Chloe and Adam at first, remember. But I like Curtis a lot, despite his idiotic devotion to Driscoll and her Idiot Ideas ("hey, let's torture the Secretary of Defense's son!"). If this is how Driscoll functions with the slightest bit of pressure or unforeseen circumstance, she needs to be removed. Stat. Torture Richard? Task CTU to apprehend Jack? With Heller kidnapped? Come on! Ryan Chapelle and George Mason at their toadiest moments were superior to this woman by leaps and bounds. At times, you'd think she was being deliberately obstructionist, but the sad thing is unlike most characters on the show, I know immediately she's no mole -- she's just damn incompetent. Even if Richard does have something, I think it's unacceptable.

Mary-Lynn Rajskub is extremely affecting here now that she's one of the few characters we are familiar with and feel we can rely on -- to be in that position with Chloe O'Brien is a strange thing. I've now seen her in a lot of things, including Legally Blonde, and she has a knack for playing the thoughtless neurotic. I've never seen her cry or be vulnerable, until now. She did very well, and I do love me some Chloe after last year -- she has some dimension. But her blaming Jack for Andrew's injuries after Jack went out of his usual Jack way just to save her friend was classic Chloe. I love her.

It's interesting to me that while Chloe is one of our few reliables, the new CTU seems to have bred a lot of Chloe/Chappelle/Carrie-types -- people focused on petty things often thoughtlessly obstructionist simply because they're more interested in covering their own asses or caught up in their own crap and neuroses. Look at Sarah (let me kill her. Like now, I hate the woman), and Marianne (love Aisha Tyler, but you can tell this character's a mole from a mile off), and especially Driscoll. Chloe, on the other hand, is at least focused on goals -- these guys are just a joke squad. Though I could grow to love Curtis and Edgar.

I actually have very little problem with Debbie, other than it's an annoying plot point. Nice enough girl.

Shohreh Agadashoo is incredible. Those eyes. They are amazing. The Araz family are rivetting.

24 is essentially a show which is built around trust and that you should be careful who you trust. This was first established at the end of Day 1 when Nina Myers was revealed as the Drazen's mole inside CTU, and since then there have been other moles within CTU, the government and government agencies.

But can you really blame Chloe for not being able to trust Erin Driscoll? Although we have only known the character for an hour, it's clear that she is always at risk of slipping up and lets her personal beliefs and opinions of people get in the way of the job. However, it seems that Driscoll is really being tested by Jack as she realises that Jack is (successfully) trying to undermine her authority and Chloe is helping him. Driscoll retaliates by refusing his reinstatement until Jack threatens her, but it's clear Driscoll knows Jack is right.

This episode is essentially about highlighting the power struggles between the employees of the Counter Terrorist Unit, whether it be between Erin Driscoll and Jack Bauer or the feud for control between Jack Bauer and Ronnie Lobell later in the episode. If of course these people had watched the previous 3 seasons of 24, they wouldn't have any problems with Jack's methods. But they obviously didn't. However, I think it's good that Chloe is still able to trust Jack even though it's likely she's had barely any contact with him over the last year - and I think the pairing of Jack and Chloe vs. CTU is quite interesting to watch.

Driscoll should really take note that it's thanks to Jack that CTU have a lead in Andrew Paige, and also that Jack got the information about the Heller kidnapping after Driscoll and Ronnie (oh, dreadful Ronnie) had been interrogating him for half an hour. Lukas Hotaas is good in the role of Andrew Paige and his last conversation with his mother is performed well, as well as his fear at being hunted down by terrorists.

The scene at the train station where Ronnie is shot had me in hysterics. The car chase part of it wasn't exactly splendid and even Shawn Doyle couldn't make a good performance out of his death scene. Doyle is so awful in the role, it's hilarious. And the fact that Ronnie just managed to get Jack the handcuff keys (what was Ronnie thinking handcuffing Jack to the pipes?) before he died was rubbish. Get real.

What I don't understand is how Kalil (is this the terrorist's name? I'm not sure) managed to hack into Andrew or Chloe's phone and therefore reach Andrew before CTU did. I guess terrorists have everything easy.

One terrorist who isn't getting everything is 17-year-old Behrooz Araz, as he is asked by his father to deliver a briefcase to where Omar is holding Secretary Heller and Audrey Raines. Dina, as a mother, is obviously worried over whether Behrooz is able to complete the task (it's just a briefcase, right?) - but this isn't out of motherly concern. It's because she and her husband Navi are sociopaths. Terribly heartless, horrible and grotesque (especially Navi as later episode show Dina may just have a conscience), you have to feel sorry for Behrooz after being raised in a family like this. Especially as it seems that Debbie, Behrooz's girlfriend, is the next in line for the death pool after she sees the warehouse.

As for the goings-on at the warehouse, Heller's fatherly conern for Audrey is quite nice. So why does Audrey keep sabotaging her chances of survival?

As he leaves the school, Jack Bauer goes to his car and cries in the last scene of Day 3. He has obviously just seen 18 months into the future, a day with more disaster and more lives lost than Day 2 and 3 put together.

The beginning of the episode is unclear as Day 4 begins at 7:00am, yet it is still dark when the plane crashes. At first I thought this may have to do with timezones until I realised that LA is the furthest west of America and the last timezone ... I think.

Wow, I've already confused myself and I only just started writing this review.

Whether the train crash was supposed to take place at another time wasn't clear to me and - as stunning as the crash was (the special effects on this show amaze me constantly) - it was also confusing. Then there was Shariq, who was also confusing as he had a considerably bigger physical build than the man on the motorbike who retrieved the suitcase. So who was the man on the motorbike? The casting people and stunt teams really have to pay attention to things like this.

But that's about my only real criticism for the episode as I thought this was a great beginning to the season. I wasn't overly impressed with Season 3 and hadn't seen Season 2 so really I was looking for a good follow-up to the premiere of Season 1 (and also of Season 5 as I watched this season after Season 5 finished. Which inevitably was a mistake). Season 4 has obviously taken the approach of "out with the old, in with the new" as we have a new set of CTU staff (although we still have the beloved Chloe), a new CTU building (with an uncanny resemblence to a skate park), President Keeler is now in charge, a delicious new set of terrorists and most importantly, Jack has a new life.

18 months on from Day 3, Jack Bauer is now working for Secretary of Defense James Heller while he indulges in a seedy relationship with Heller's daughter, Audrey. Despite the fact that Audrey inevitably grows into a great character (see Day 5), one can't help but feel the hostility towards her in this episode that a lot of other fans have felt. The scene in the hotel room felt kinda cliche, but it set the tone for Jack's personal journey throughout Day 4.

The new CTU staff are average at best, although they need time to improve. On first impressions, there's no real character in these new employees that Erin Driscoll - CTU's new head honcho - has hired. In fact, Driscoll herself doesn't seem to have one. Despite this, Driscoll is the kind of boss who obviously has her favourites (Sarah) and the ones who she has to tolerate (Chloe) which isn't the best attitude for the CTU head honcho to have, which is proved through Driscoll's ignorance of Chloe's lead.

Chloe continues to get the best lines, even into this season. "Sarah, stop trying to be Driscoll's pet" made me crack up, because Sarah is just repulsive and a new employee that I can live without. If I was watching Day 4 before I'd seen Day 5, I probably wouldn't really have an opinion on the characters of Edgar and Curtis. And you just know that Ronnie will conveniently die in order for Jack to retake his place.

As for our new set of terrorists, forget Nina Myers. Forget Sherry Palmer. The delightfully creepy Araz family have taken center stage, and they are the most creepy villains in 24's history, especially Dina. With a house interior worthy of a space on Wisteria Lane and uneasy family relationships (the Araz elders aren't happy that Behrooz is dating an American girl), the Araz clan seem like they could just be any family. What their neighbours don't know is that they have a deep involvement in the events that are about to take place. Shohreh Aghdashloo and Nestor Serrano are a wonderful pairing together, and Jonathan Ahdout is quite a skilled young actor himself. By the end of the episode, you just want to be at an Araz family meal.

The main leads established at the end of the episode are Andrew Paige and Richard Heller. One can't help but wonder why the terrorists kidnapped Audrey instead of killing her too, as it seems that it's only Secretary Heller they want. Something tells me that Richard Heller, similarly to Britney Spears, isn't all that innocent.

I think this episode was a great set up for the upcoming episodes. Though the situations are similar, i.e. kidnapping, a CTU worker helping Jack without the boss' knowing, the episode really moved at a fast pace. I think it was one of 24's best premieres.

Loved it when Jack took down the guard, shot his knee in order to extract the information. Classic disobedient out of line Jack.

This season sure is promising, and it can only get better from here. Or can it?