NewsdayVerne Gay

Four immensely enjoyable hours. Alas, I can't speak to what happens during the remaining 20.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Though the premiere's twists are not as shocking as in years past, better ones are coming, and quickly. Trust me, the show has not lost its ability to surprise--or even to make you gasp.

People WeeklyTom Gliatto

After two flabby seasons, the Fox action series is back in bang-up shape. [25 Jan 2010, p.41]

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

That plot crystallizes through a pair of two-hour episodes, Sunday and Monday nights, and at times it crystallizes slowly.

Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz

It's an old story rolled out with all the power of the new--meticulously plotted, irresistibly suspenseful.

Deseret NewsScott D. Pierce

The first four hours are good. Very good. Certainly, 24 fans will enjoy them.

Chicago Sun-TimesPaige Wiser

The new season is solid - things really get good once Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) returns and contributes her unique expertise. But overall, I do have a few complaints.

Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker

You can never tell how the uneven days of 24 will vary in quality, but here's hoping the show keeps doing all the right things it does in these opening hours.

San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesChuck Barney

For some, it has become a mostly predictable, tired pattern that causes eyes to roll. But for those who can still check their critical capacities at the door--even after seven seasons--24 continues to make for pulse-pounding, nail-biting comfort food.

TV GuideMatt Roush

Stick around past the disappointing opening night, and on Monday, you’ll get a terrific third-hour cliffhanger and, in hour four, the arrival of a seriously damaged Renee Walker (Annie Wersching), who contributes to a shocking climax that, in fabled 24 tradition, leaves you wanting more.

PopMattersCynthia Fuchs

If it’s not an ingenious or very new device (see: Nina, Tony, Curtis, et. al.), the damaged soul who is Jack’s Self Reflected re-raises and continues to complicate the questions that are typically understood as resolved in Jack. Patriotism and heroism, bad choices and hideous torture in the name of a big picture: it’s 24 repeating.

VarietyBrian Lowry

24" works best when the show doesn't take itself too seriously -- incorporating just enough sobering geopolitics to establish a credible foundation before indulging in wild flights of counterespionage fancy. Moreover, having one villain drive the plot for a handful of episodes before being supplanted by another has added greater satisfaction and closure to the program's high-wire storytelling.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

Despite the repetitions, the first four episodes are slick, fast-paced and engrossing, but that’s not new either.

Washington PostHank Stuever

Well, here's "24" again, with a renewed sense of dot-connecting purpose (fictional, yet symbolic) and a two-night premiere, Sunday and Monday -- a rollicking four-hour chunk in which the series seems on track to rediscover some of its original verve.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

From these four hours it's clear there are few new stories or twists for the show to employ. It's time has come and gone.

Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker

This “24″ seems more realistic than usual, and it offers many exciting moments. Yet there are many familiar distractions that underscore how “24″ has aged. All in all, the new season is a mixed bag.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

The show's few interesting actors get little to do and the new characters aren't that compelling. Pass.

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

By the third episode, though, we've gone off the rails with another low-level blackmailer somehow getting over on an employee at the supposedly powerful and secretive CTU, and with Jack getting caught up in a plot-delaying detour that's even dumber than the survivalist who held Kim hostage for a few episodes in season two.

SalonHeather Havrilesky

In short, after watching the first four hours, I can tell you that the eighth season of 24 does not look good. You know how much I adore this stupid show, but please, don't waste your time.