Setting aside Morning Musume for a while, I had a very enjoyable TV viewing moment Monday night. American TV, not "downloaded and burnt to VCD format" Japanese TV.

It was the latest episode of 24 - I think they're six, seven hours into season four. Anyway, Jack and his lady friend are trapped in a building by terrorists. Because they're under attack at a place where only people from the Counter Terrorist Unit knew he'd be, Jack places a cel phone call to the "only person I trust".

And that got my mind racing. First I thought it meant the return of Jack's daughter, who's still perhaps best remembered for almost being attacked by a mountain lion. Then I figured it was Chase, his loyal partner from last season whose arm Jack chopped off to save the world. A part of me suspected it may be a way to bring back Dennis Haysbert's character, but how can you call in an ex-president of the United States to a shootout?

So I steeled myself, watch some patented 24-style violence (which is always excellent, but can be too much of a good thing), and Jack is out of ammo, out of options, terrorists coming in for the kill -

When the cavalry arrives, guns blazing...

And it turns out to be Tony Almeida.

Wow. I stood up and cheered. It was great seeing Tony back. For those who remember last season, he placed his career and the whole country in jeopardy when he did what the bad guys wanted him to do so that his wife could be safe. He ended the season with his wife but with no prospect of remaining as head of CTU.

But now he's back! If only for a while. (On 24, everyone is ultimately expendable. I fully expect to see Jack Bauer killed in the middle of a season at some point down the road, maybe seasons seven or eight.) And I'm just overjoyed. While I was watching the new season of 24 with some interest, now I'm hooked and want to find out how long Tony will last, what he's been up to, where his wife is.

But why is this so important, what chords did this struck in me?

Part of it was the narrative itself: Tony was disgraced at the end of Season Three and makes a return that redeems him.

Part of it was the characterization. For Jack to say that Tony is the one person he can trust means a great deal for someone as cautious - even paranoid - as Jack. But then, Tony had gone through the same thing Jack did - that is, be manipulated by bad guys to save his loved ones - but ultimately chose to do what was right, to place himself in Jack's hands. (In 24, the only right decision is to place yourself in Jack's hand, trusting blindly it will all turn out well.)

And part of it was the back story of the show. Season Four ended up being a clearing-out of just about the entire cast from previous episodes. Keifer Sutherland is the only one who's been there from Season One - the ones who survived up to Season Three were all jettisoned, their story arcs apparently completed to varying degrees of satisfaction. The only other notable returnee this time around was Chloe, the tech at CTU, and she only started with Season Three. So in that sense, to see another familiar face return, a face who'd done the seventy-two hours previous to this season and who had a history with Jack that's as deep and as conflicted and as complex as Tony's, was a great move.

And again, for Jack to say Tony's the one person Jack trusts - well, that just brings out how deep and complex the relationship had been and will continue to be.

Tony's return was such a great moment, my wife called me up - she was in Kailua at the time, watching the show with friends - and asked if I saw it. The last time she called about a TV show was when Matsudaira Ken was on KIKU, and before that... well, nothing comes to mind.

This was great television. Moments like these re-affirm my love for pop culture and all the visceral thrills it can dish out.

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