Picks and Pans Review: Time's Up, Jack Bauer!

By Tom Gliatto

UPDATED 05/31/2010 at 01:00 AM EDT • Originally published 05/31/2010 at 01:00 AM EDT

You can't say FOX's 24 has covered much ground: With the series' finale May 24, that'll be a total of eight days in eight seasons. And counterterrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has seemed as stuck in a rut as anyone on Mad Men. Except he gets really mad: In these last weeks, he's like a special-ops Sweeney Todd, slicing up enemies. The two-hour conclusion brings no genuine shocks, but 24 remains a post-9/11 landmark: "If you see something, say something," daringly packaged as TV entertainment.