24: Season Five DVD Collection - Region 2 DVD

Set eighteen months after the dramatic finale to Season Four, things get off to a shocking and pulsating beginning. You won’t find plot spoilers in this review, yet it’s as if the writers realised they had some serious carpet-pulling to do to keep the show’s audience intrigued once again. Set, as usual, over the course of one single day, there’s then a slight lull in the first third, before things spring ferociously into life. Make no mistake: if you can overcome the usual need to suspend elements of your disbelief, this is the best series of 24 since the first, and as it winds near to its equally dramatic conclusions, it’s simply hard to take your eyes off it.

Joining the usual cast too is a procession of familiar names. Peter Weller (Roboocop), Sean Astin (The Lord Of The Rings) and C Thomas Howell (The Hitcher) are among those doing their curriculum vitae no harm, but the acting honours are taken by the wonderful combination of President Logan and his first lady, played by Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart.

With a denouement that sets up a sparkling sixth season, this fifth series of 24 is a genuinely significant achievement. It’s packed full of surprises, isn’t afraid to take a few risks, and as all good thrillers should, it keeps you on the edge of your seat for far longer than is comfortable. A superb show, very much on top form.--Simon Brew