Personally, I'm not a fan. It's just a little too much--all Jack Bauer seems to do is run around yelling "NOOOOOOOOO" as yet another thing goes wrong. And there's always a mole. It seems to me that they make it up as they go along, with no plan as to the direction of the plot from week to week.
That said, a lot of people like the show. Jack Bauer is a man of action and is not PC in the least. You might want to rent the earlier seasons to watch from Hour 1, because you'd never catch up if you start in the middle of the season.
Many people call it the greatest show ever--I call it mildly entertaining at first, then more and more annoying as the season progresses, until the point where I can't watch it anymore.
I have to agree, I gave it up after two seasons.
Some years back I watched a movie (Real Time???) which covered ninety minutes of a man's life. His wife and children were captured by terrorists. He was given a gun and told his family would be released if he assassinated the First Lady at an upcoming press conference. The show had dramatic tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. A ninety minute movie about ninety minutes in the life of a reluctant hit man.
24 on the other hand takes one day and dribbles it out an hour at a time (actually 40 minutes discounting the commercials) over a period of months. If I recall correctly during the first two years they even went into reruns for a month or so to drag it out still further. To me it was just one big yawn. The only mysterious part of the show was that none of the protagonists needed to eat, drink, or go to the restroom (ever!). The dynamic of the show is bass ackward and if you can’t guess that Jack Bauer is gonna win come hell or high water there is no hope for you.
I remember a short lived series w/ James Garner, returning home to the southwest after the Spanish/American war. He became the sheriff of "Nickels" Arizona. The series was canceled and in the last episode Jim was shot dead, they had his funeral and a big party at the saloon, then they laid him away in boot hill. Thus precluding any chance for reruns!
Regards,
GtG