24-live-another-day-kiefer-sutherlandIt seemed a little desperate when they first announced that they were reviving “24” (Fox, 8 p.m.) after four years, giving it another chance especially since no other Fox drama since then had the same impact. The question of whether it would be viable or a throwback to Bush era terrorist fighting is answered with nearly the first beep of that clock in tonight’s return.

Kiefer Sutherland’s seething and thoroughly humorless Jack Bauer, we learn, has been living underground for four years — and that’s why he hasn’t been on TV! At the same time he can’t help to re-emerge and try to prevent a catastrophe that he alone knows about. To do so, he has to spring an old ally from the clutches of the CIA in London, where this all takes place and it’s Chloe O’Brian, more pained, gaunt and mad than she ever was at CTU. By now, she’s in with a group of underground Edward Snowden-style information hackers.

And to bring this further into the current age, the focus seems to be on drones, just as earlier seasons of “24” used to be about torture.  The makers of “24” haven’t exactly been idle these past few years, so they bring some of the same things they brought to “Homeland” back to network TV — the relentless pacing, the immediacy of the camera work, the compelling music and all the story elements that made the show so good in its original incarnation, from strong casting to those touches of office politics indicated by the raising of an eyebrow or the turn of the head.

A number of characters from past seasons return including William Devane’s former defense secretary, who has now become a President fighting forgetfulness; his daughter and Jack’s ex, Audrey (Kim Raver), is with him. And Tate Donovan has been added as an aide who has married her. Inside the CIA, it’s Benjamin Bratt holding down the fort, on the final days of a capable agent played by Yvonne Strahovski, much more convincing here than she ever was in “Chuck,” and further remarkable in that this is just one of two returning shows tonight in which she will make an indelible impression.

It’s amazing that “24” keeps its original format — running in real time, but cheats this time in that the series will only have half as many episodes. They will pick which 12 they’ll illustrate, but it will still be within the course of a single day. Doing this will prevent the series from having the plot sidetracks that sometimes bogged down the action in past seasons.

Even with its five-minute commercial breaks, “24: Live Another Day” is much better than anyone could have expected, and promises to bring some zing to TV’s spring.