Favre is gone, but Jack's back

Packers fans lost Brett Favre this week, but "24'' fans get Jack back ... this year!

Wire services today are citing a report by The Hollywood Reporter that “24” producers are developing a two-hour prequel to bridge the gap between the show’s sixth and seventh seasons. The best part? The trade magazine says it would air this fall, ahead of the expected January 2009 premiere for the new season.

Whew. And just when it looked like 2008 was going to be Jack-less. And just when that tedious time-traveling Desmond episode of "Lost'' about did me in.

The writers' strike halted production of the new season of "24'' with eight episodes in the can. When the strike was resolved, FOX said the show wouldn't return until early 2009 when all 24 episodes could run consecutively through May. That would've meant TWO YEARS between the starts of seasons six and seven. For fans who have grown accustomed to watching every tick of the clock, that sounded like an eternity.

According to reports, the prequel will lay the groundwork for what is expected to be a very different season of "24.'' (After last year's disappointing season, different would be good.)

The seventh season will move the action from Los Angeles to Washington and will force Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer to operate outside CTU. (Hey, where does that leave Chloe?) Cherry Jones will join the cast as the first female President of the United States.

-- Kendra Meinert, kmeinert@greenbaypressgazette.com