Season 5 of 24

With Season 4 having just ended, there's already a steady flow of information coming in about Season 5... and what an amazing season it promises to be. Heh. Let's review what has been posted over at The 24 Insider (WARNING: THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS):

• The scheduled production start date for season five is July 26th.
• RUMOR: I’m hearing that the season will start off with the terrorist bombing of a “high-value target”. It’s unclear if the high-value target is a person or a building but it's looking more and more like a combination of both a prominent building and a high-ranking government official who will be among the many killed in the terrorist attack. There are several other scenarios I’ve heard rumblings about and every single one of them has the same concept of a terrorist bombing of a building with extremely strong international ties. They are also thinking about bringing back a former character to be among the many dead in the massive explosion.
• The new season has already been in pre-production since April. New writers Manny Coto and David Fury are quickly getting accustomed to writing a real-time script. 24 has sought out the advice of novelist Richard Marcinko and he is playing an advisory role in the shaping of season five’s story. 24 sent out casting calls for a major female role in April and the role has already been cast but the actress hasn’t been revealed.
• What happens next on "24" is one of the most guarded secrets in Hollywood -- but Vince Flynn has some answers. The best-selling Twin Cities-based author of political thrillers like "Transfer of Power" and "Term Limits" spent a week in Los Angeles recently, helping creators of the unpredictable Fox drama come up with future story lines. He'll go back in late summer or early fall to help wrap up some of the stories and possibly even pen a script. Flynn wouldn't dare give away any major revelations but he did let slip that some major characters get blown up in next season's opener.
• "We'll pick Jack up in a very different place, roughly a year later. Of course, the show is the show, so it won't be long before he's back in the saddle. But we'll explore a little bit of what he's been doing with his life and the situation he's gotten himself into. That will certainly have an impact on his behavior when he gets involved in the streets".
  Source - Quote from 24 writer/producer Robert Cochran from TvGuide interview
• Jack, Chloe and Curtis will be back.

Looks like we're in for another great season. First off we get a bombing of a "high-value target." Haven't seen that one yet. We might also get to see a former major (?) character die in the explosion... we can only hope it's Defense Secretary Heller. And as for Flynn helping the unpredictable show with new storylines... are they talking about the same show in season four? Because that was pretty damn predicatble.

Of course Jack is coming back, why wouldn't he. I don't mind Curtis coming back, but Chloe??? At this point I'm thinking she's just a fan-favorite, or something. There's no way someone with her character flaws would be in such an important position at CTU.

As for Jack getting back in the saddle... c'mon! Switch it up already! Make Jack work from the outside the whole season. Make it seem like he really is dead. Or do something I heard someone else mention, make season five about Jack escaping from the US Government into another country. I'd like to see an entire change of pace from the show.

More as information becomes available.