'24'

Jack's back, and this time it's personal.

Who am I kidding? It's quite often personal for Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), a Forrest Gump among federal agents, always in the wrong place at the right time.

But before he can get there this season, he faces a new test: Raising himself from the dead. At the end of last season, Jack faked his own death, but once again events call him to the service of his country.

It's the most thrilling premiere hour of "24" yet, with many fan favorites -- former President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), Michelle Dessler (Reiko Aylesworth), former Jack love interest Audrey Raines (Kim Raver) and Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) -- back for the start of another long day.

What's refreshing about "24" is that there's a new story every season, so even if you've never watched before, you can still get caught up in this year's tale of Whoa! And the first hours of this season, especially, are a roller-coaster thrill ride, particularly for longtime viewers who know so many of the familiar characters, even those in small roles, like presidential aide Mike Novick (Jude Ciccolella) or Secret Service Agent Pierce (Glen Morshower).

Fox rolls out the series with two hours of edge-of-your-seat storytelling Sunday at 8 p.m. and another two hours Monday at 8 p.m.

On the personal front -- and let's never forget that "24" is as much a soap opera as it is a thriller -- Chloe is sleeping with a new CTU agent, Spencer (Jonah Lotan), a natural, let's-not-relinquish-the-tension-too-soon roadblock in the path of her destiny: Love with fellow CTU geek Edgar (Louis Lombardi).

Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) continues to run CTU, reporting to weak-willed President Logan (Gregory Itzin), whose mentally unstable wife, Martha (Jean Smart, in a wonderful character turn), will play a pivotal role.

Jack has been living under the alias "Frank," romancing a single mom (Connie Britton) and enduring the quizzes of her stringy-haired suspicious 15-year-old son. Unlike with his own daughter, Kim, expected to return later this season, Jack doesn't put up with Derek (Brady Corbet) so easily, telling the brat, "The only reason you're still conscious is I don't wanna carry you!"

Yep, Jack's back. Be glad.

'CRUMBS'

On the one hand, you have to applaud ABC's "Crumbs" (9:30 tonight) for daring to be different. It's not the standard yuk-yuk-yuck sitcom. It deals with issues and themes -- mental illness, coming out as gay, the death of a child -- that you're unlikely to see explored with any seriousness in most comedies.

At the same time, I can't imagine why ABC's programmers opted to schedule this sometimes serious, mature sitcom after family-friendly "Dancing with the Stars." The two programs seem incompatible.

Fred Savage stars as Mitch Crumb, a gay and closeted Hollywood screenwriter who returns to his hometown in time to see his mother, Suzanne (Jane Curtin), released from a mental hospital where she was recovering from a nervous breakdown that followed the death of another son and her husband's philandering.

"Well, that would make my nervous breakdown almost worth it!" Suzanne says, exuberantly, when Mitch says he'll return home in time for her release.

Mitch's skirt-chasing brother, Jody (Eddie McClintock), resents Mitch's success and being left behind to run the family restaurant. It was in the restaurant that Crumb patriarch Billy (William Devane) met the woman, a restaurant critic, whom he left Suzanne for.

Some viewers may find some of the jokes in poor taste, whether they're about mental health (Mitch says he hasn't told his grandfather, who has the beginnings of Alzheimer's, that he's gay because, "I'd have to come out to him twice a week") or sanitary conditions at the restaurant (a future episode strongly implies that Jody uses his penis to check the temperature of a hamburger, dangerous as that may sound). But that's par for the course in sitcoms these days.

"Crumbs" elicits laughs from time to time, but given the subject matter, I still think this particular story would have been better told as a comedic drama than as the occasionally dramatic comedy that it is.

'HUSTLE'

Broadcast networks long ago gave up on Saturday night, opting for reruns or movies in place of original programming, so any opportunity to watch new episodes of a series are welcome. And "Hustle," premiering at 10 p.m. Saturday on AMC, is an especially welcome treat.

Admittedly, "Hustle," a British import, seems like an odd fit with AMC, which hasn't offered a quality original scripted series since canceling Pittsburgh-set radio station comedy-drama "Remember WENN" in 1998. No matter, "Hustle" is a fun cat-and-mouse caper about Robin Hoodish cons in London. It definitely has the "Ocean's Eleven" hey-we're-cool-and-not-hurting-anyone-who-doesn't-deserve-it-vibe.

American actor Robert Vaughn plays the wise veteran of a crew of con artists whose leader, Mickey Stone (Adrian Lester), was recently released from prison (he's also suffering from heartache after his wife cheated on him). Beautiful Stacie (Jaime Murray) is the bait, Ash (Robert Glenister) is the tech-savvy con, and Danny Blue (Marc Warren) is the eager newcomer.

Created and written by Tony Jordan, this week's premiere shows off the con artists' skills, and they're quite impressive at not only conning each other, but possibly viewers, too. It's an entertaining hour sure to appeal to fans of A&E's equally fast-paced British import "MI-5" (due back with original episodes later in '06). But instead of cheering for the authorities, viewers will be hoping for the best for these con artists with hearts of gold (or at least bronze).