3 reasons to like 24 again

FOX's political thriller 24 returned to airwaves again. After many hit-and-miss seasons, the show revamped itself once again, moving from Los Angeles to the nation's capitol. CTU is, in effect, gone. The FBI is now the government agency in focus now. The fictional U.S. government -- already having had two African-American presidents -- has now had elected its first female president. A growing overseas genocide is eclipsing her term, one full of political intrigue, spies and moles. 

With the new landscape, new locations and new political term comes an almost entirely new cast of characters. Here are the top three most interesting characters to be seen in this new season:

President Allison Taylor (portrayed by Cherry Jones)

Presumably, Taylor will be given a larger role in the show in future hours, because she is essentially just there on the show to look pretty. And yet, Cherry Jones makes the most out of the scenes she gets, playing a POTUS who is not quite power-hungry, not yet beaten down by the demands of the office. She brings a serious presence to the office. Jones plays Taylor as a thinking woman, a smart intellectual, one who does not make uninformed decisions. (Which, to clarify, is rare in the 24verse.) Taylor is more a contemporary of David Palmer than any of the show's other dozen presidents.

Janis Gold (portrayed by Janeane Garofalo)

Much ado has been made out of the fact that Garofalo is playing a neurotic computer whiz, similar to the show's resident computer nerd, Chloe. However, if you needed an example of how these two are different: Janis Gold uses a PC, Chloe O'Brian uses a Mac. Garofalo gives an incredibly restrained performance of a neurotic, slightly paranoid and very emotional computer programmer. She doesn't give the biting insults to her co-workers like Chloe. Instead, she either reminds them to do their job, or, tries to help them out. The writing, and Garofalo's performance, makes me intrigued to see more of Janis, to figure out what makes her tick.

Agent Renee Walker (portrayed by Annie Wersching)

It would be very easy to portray a tough-as-nails FBI agent as an emotionless robot. So often the tough women are portrayed as empty inside, without a care in the world except their careers. Wersching took her character and made her human. She has a job to do, but, like Bauer, she cares more about doing what's right than going by the rules. While there is yet not much depth to her character (perhaps a romantic entanglement with a boss?), Agent Walker may prove to be one of the most valuable additions to the show in recent seasons.