Every guy grows up with a favorite movie or TV hero.

For me, it was Indiana Jones. I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when I was five years old, and I can't wait until the fourth movie comes out next summer. I hate to say it, 24 fans, but Indy will always trump Jack Bauer in my mind.

Fans of 24 do have a good case for Bauer, though. I have to face the facts; Indiana Jones doesn't have a list of the top 100 reasons why he is such a badass.

While reading through that list, I came across "reason # 76," and it made me think. How does Jack Bauer stack up against the rest? The quote reads:

"Superman's only weakness is kryptonite. Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness."

If Superman fought Jack Bauer, who would win?

I hate to conflict with "the list," but it would undoubtedly be Superman. His superhuman strength - specifically his ability to stop a bullet in a single bound - would be no match for Bauer. Let's face it, the only chance Jack would have would be to outsmart Superman and you can't outsmart Superman. Why? Because he's Superman.

He would probably have a better chance against a guy like Batman. To be honest, though, I can't see Bauer shooting or punching through Batman's body armor. Plus, Jack doesn't have a sweet ride like the batmobile. The batmobile puts Batman at an extreme advantage before the fight even starts.

Maybe it's unfair to match Jack Bauer against super heroes. The only one he could really beat is Captain Planet and maybe Spiderman. I'll get to that later. There are plenty of action heroes that Jack would be more evenly matched against.

Bond has a significant advantage over Bauer, however, because of his relationship with Q. In each new Bond film, James gets a new car stacked with missiles, ejection seats and countermeasures. Bond also always gets the girl. Jack has yet to get Audrey.

Bauer might have more of a chance with Indiana Jones. Both have similar fighting styles. They punch with brute force and will jump into every fight if they need to. Bauer would only have to pull out a snake to scare Indy. On the other hand, Jones was able to shoot through four Nazis while battling a tank.

John McClane of the Die Hard series would probably be Bauer's best match. They both have catch phrases etched with profanity. "Damn it!" for Jack and "Yippe Kiayaee " for McClane. They are also both men of the law.

Bauer is on network television, so it's a bit unfair to judge against him on the profanity thing, but McClane's catch phrase is much better.

Though many will claim I'm too tough on Jack, I still like him. He's a classic hero. He's tough, wins with brute force and doesn't take crap from anyone. Jack represents a hero archetype that seems to be disappearing these days.

What happened to the tough guy? I like Tobey Maguire as an actor, but I have a hard time comparing him with the likes of Harrison Ford, Sean Connery or Bruce Willis. I never was a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings series either. I'd like to see Frodo survive a torture session with Jack.

Luckily, the man's man is making a comeback. Jack Bauer is signed on until 2010, Die Hard 4 is coming out soon and Indiana Jones 4 begins shooting this summer.

Speaking of projects in development, anyone want to buy an idea for a television show pitting action stars against one another?

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I never watched Silver Spoons. I was too young. Come to think of it, I wasn't even born when it was on TV. I just remember Ricky Schroder - 24's Mike Doyle - making his big comeback as Detective Danny Sorenson on NYPD Blue.

It must be weird for all those "Gen-Xers" who grew up watching little Ricky Stratton to see him all grown up killing terrorists, and yes, arresting Jack Bauer.

Like it or not, Ricky isn't that little rich boy he once was. Today he's taking on tougher roles working the streets of New York and defending the United States from threats abroad. He's hardly what we pictured Ricky Stratton to grow up into.

On 24, nobody is sure what to think of Schroder's character, Mike Doyle. At first it looked as if he was an ultra conservative, potentially racist, do anything to get the job done action hero. Well, that's still mostly the same, but we now know he's not a racist.

As I mentioned in a previous column, it's very uncertain whether Doyle is a friend or an enemy. Viewers are now voting on the 24 website on whether Doyle is Jack Bauer's closest ally or his most threatening enemy. Currently, the vote is 53% to 47% in favor of Doyle being a friend.

The vote is close. Despite the cheesy dialogue and overt seriousness of the show, I have to give credit to the writers for introducing such a tricky and unpredictable character to the cast.

The good guys and bad guys are usually clear-cut. We know Cheng is bad and Bauer is good. There are even those characters that we think are good, but turn out being bad. Rarely, though, are there characters that we're completely unsure about. Every moment Doyle is on the screen, we don't know whether or not he is working for the good guys, the bad guys or if he has his own agenda.

I have my skeptical moments. Every time someone mentions Denver or whenever he starts a fight with someone at CTU it crosses my mind that he could be a bad guy. He always seems to make up for it, though. He admitted he was wrong about arresting Nadia, and he even proved to her he isn't a racist.

Most likely, Doyle is a good guy. He seems to be the type of guy that follows the rules so closely that, in some cases, it works against him. A perfect example of this is the situation with Nadia. He probably got beat up a lot in school.

Final Verdict: Ricky Schroder's character, Mike Doyle, is a good guy. Though he can be annoying - as many characters on 24 can be - he's just following protocol.

It'll turn out that whatever happened in Denver wasn't that bad. In fact, I bet he actually did something good. You'll see; he's the jerky tough guy with the heart of gold.

How could they cast 'lil ole Ricky Stratton as anything else?

They got me.

I'm usually pretty good at picking up the tricks thrown by the writers of 24, but they tricked my twice in the first 25 minutes of last night's episode.

At the end of last week's episode, it looked as if President Palmer was going to go through with a nuclear strike against Fayed's country.

It should be obvious that Palmer wouldn't do this, but one can't help be skeptical with the President's current situation. That was obviously played up early in the episode when the director cut to Palmer's shaking hand and accented the President as he slammed his hand on the table and yelled at the ambassador.

I should've seen beyond the purple haze. Palmer is a Palmer. He can't do anything wrong. Just like it's impossible for Jack to actually be dead, it's equally impossible for Wayne Palmer to make a decision like we thought he was going to make at the end of last week's episode.

The bomb? A dud. Palmer's iron fist? A bluff. In case you missed it, Palmer wanted his adversaries to think he launched a nuke to persuade them to purge terrorist supporters in their government. It worked and you got me. Congrats.

How does that old saying go? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

I'm sorry to say, shame on me.

The brilliant - but often dialogue challenged - writers of 24 fooled me for the second time a short 15 minutes after they fooled me with Palmer.

As Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and Silver Spoons (Ricky Schroder) transport Fayed to a new facility, Jack narrowly avoids hitting an armored vehicle, sending his van tumbling in the middle of the road. Big Surprise! The armored vehicle is filled with "terrorists" who take Fayed back and shoot Silver Spoons and Bauer.

It was obvious Jack wasn't dead. Anyone who believes Jack is EVER dead doesn't deserve to watch the show. I had no idea, however, that the whole thing was a setup to get Fayed to lead CTU to the nuclear weapons.

Bravo, 24.
At least they didn't fool me three times. Then, I'd really be an idiot. Though it was intended to be the most surprising plot point of the show, it was something that many saw coming.

Audrey is still alive.

Thanks to Jack Bauer single-handedly taking on about eight terrorists and engaging in a fight to the death with Fayed, the weapons are secure and the terrorist threat is neutralized. It would seem everything is finished. Jack saved the world…again!

But it can't end there. Now, there's the situation with Audrey.

It's 24. Do you expect any less? The surprises keep on coming.

Everyone knows Jack Bauer. Even if you don't watch 24, you undoubtedly have a friend that watches it religiously. It's hard to find someone these days that hasn't at least seen 50 of the "Top 100 Random Jack Bauer Facts."*

Oddly enough, much of last night's episode was void of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). Yes, the terrorist-killing, torture-tested, nuclear bomb-preventing superhero we all love appeared mostly in phone conversations with CTU.

In the end, of course, Jack led the sting operation against Fayed and successfully captured the terrorist...and kicking him in the face. But, he was absent compared to most episodes.

Last night's episode focuses mainly on Vice President Daniels' attempt to regain control over President Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside). In a previous episode, Palmer was almost fatally injured by Daniels' men in a covert attack spearheaded by Daniels (Powers Booth) and some of his more radical supporters. Just before he can utilize his new powers as commander-in-chief, Palmer is stirred out of his coma and retakes his position as president.

Palmer is forced to put up a fight to keep Daniels from asserting power over him and the issue is pushed to the brink of being heard by the Supreme Court. All the while, Palmer is shot up with adrenaline to keep fit enough to hold office.

It's hard to think of Bauer amid all the action taking place in the bunker beneath the White House. Not really, but the drama is captivating.

At the end of the episode, we watch as the extra adrenaline in Palmer's system causes him to believe that a nuclear attack is, in fact, necessary to defend the country. He ends up making the costly mistake he was taken out of a coma to avoid. This is Wayne Palmer's brain on drugs.

There's also the drama at CTU between Ricky Schroder - we'll call him "Silver Spoons" - and everyone else. Should we trust him? Is he a bad guy? What's the deal with Denver?

In light of recent events, it's looking more and more like he's the rough and tough badass with a heart of gold. There are moments where you love to hate him, but he always regains our trust with a hint of kindness.

After forcing Nadia (Marisol Nichols) to steal information from Milo's computer, Silver Spoons disposes of the information she obtained as quickly as he asked her to betray her friend. And he's not a racist either! I find the fact that he's well read in all major religious texts a bit trite.

Just because political drama and old child stars are grabbing our attention, it doesn't mean Sutherland should call his agent and start looking for a new job. Arguably, the most exciting part of last night's episode was the final chase of Gredenko and Fayed. I especially liked when the Russian hacked off his arm.

24 without Bauer would be like the Patriots without Brady or The Godfather without Pacino. Sure there are other great parts that keep our attention, but Bauer is the glue that holds it all together...well, all except Gredenko's arm.

As No. 34 on the "Top 100 Random Jack Bauer Facts" states:

"Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas."

*...but if you haven't, http://www.notrly.com/jackbauer/index.php?topthirty.

Unless you're watching a cartoon, the stereotypical mustache twirling, ultra-evil villain is never the bad guy that scares you the most. In fact, the scariest and most evil bad guys of all are the ones that are so bad they think their actions are good.

Click here to read the rest of 24's Biggest Villain Isn't Who You Think

Jack Bauer gets angry, but he can usually keep his cool. Normally it takes family betrayal to get him to the point where he will do something as rash as torturing his brother or driving a knife through someone's leg.

Click here to read the rest of 24: Audrey Kicks the Blogging Bucket

It's nice to see the Russians back in the action adventure story.

When Regan asked Gorbechev to tear down the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union eventually fell, Cold War spy thriller fans around the country knew their favorite genre was on its way out.

Click here to read the rest of 24: Old Enemies Die Hard... Sometimes Never at All

It finally happened.

On Monday night's episode of 24, Chloe pursued her investigation into Morris' alcoholism. His recent poor performance on the job made her worry that he had gone back to the bottle. As far as we know, he hasn't. He took a few sips, but has spit each one out.

Click here to read the rest of Toilet Humor on 24

24 has its share of tough guys, but there are also a hoard of pathetic characters that drive the audience insane.

Mostly, I'm talking about the group of adolescent Jack Bauer wannabes who constantly make me want to jump through the screen and shake them silly. They do nothing but cause problems, and simply, drive everyone nuts. And in the end, Jack is always forced to go out of his way to save them... too bad.

Click here to read the rest of 24: Characters That Drive You Nuts

It would be like Cheers without the bar or Seinfeld without Monk's. Torture scenes have become such an integral part of 24 that they embody the very essence of the show.

Click here to read the rest of Watching 24 is Torture

What once was the object of America's affection is now third in the ratings.

Don't get me wrong, Fox's 24 is still one of the most popular shows on television, but audiences are starting to stray from Fox on Monday nights. For the past few weeks, NBC's Heroes has controlled the ratings, with the occasional victory by 24. Last Tuesday morning, however, executives at Fox found their once surefire ratings-grabber in third place at the 9 p.m. spot.

Click here to read the rest of 24: No Longer Tops in American Hearts

There's been a lot of talk and blogging buzz over whether 24 is "conservative propaganda." Simply put, it's not.

Click here to read the rest of 24 Conservative? I Don't Think So.

There are plenty of TV serials on today, but none have achieved the prominence of 24.

Last fall, Fox tried to recreate the success of 24 with the new serial, Vanished. The show mimicked 24 by leaving audiences on the edge of their seats with new twists and turns, but had a hard time getting viewers to tune in regularly. While Jack Bauer brought 33 million viewers to Fox last weekend, Vanished is finishing its run on some MySpace page on the Internet.

Click here to read the rest of Topping the List: Why 24 is the Best Serial on Television

I watched the first two episodes in its first season in 2001. After missing episodes three and four, I found myself slightly confused. Well, I was more than slightly confused. I was so confused that I didn't watch an episode until last Friday when I forced myself onto the couch for a 2-day marathon of season five.

Click here to read the rest of Fox's 24 isn't simply a TV show. It's a lifestyle.

Pasadena, CA - After you detonate a nuclear weapon in Southern California and leave viewers shaken by the indelible image of a mushroom cloud rising uncomfortably close (as mushroom clouds go) to the city of Los Angeles, what do you do next?

Click here to read the rest of Kiefer Sutherland and Executive Producer Howard Gordon on the Future of 24