The new series of 24 has been a long time coming, but finally we’ve been given our first look at Jack Bauer in his latest escapade.

We last saw Jack staring out to sea after a confrontation with the father of his estranged, and now extremely disturbed, girlfriend Audrey Raines. As the final clock counted down at the end of season 6, we were treated to a silent clock, usually reserved only for the death of a major character, so did this mean a departure from the formula that had come before?

All the talk seemed to point that way. Talking about season 7, producer Michael Loceff had stated that “what we are going for, is really taking this to the personal level,” suggesting a move away from nuclear and other such WMD’s, something that 24 desperately needed to do.

If ever a great show was in danger of becoming stale, 24 was a prime example. Since season 3, the plot lines had become worryingly similar, the villains worryingly formulaic. Season 7 needed to change that.

True the first peek last autumn had started to suggest a change in tact, with the revelation that Tony Almeida was to return from the dead as a villain, but other aspects did cause concern. The idea of terrorists taking control of the nations computer systems is a straight lift from Die Hard 4. The hope was that this would be the tip of the iceberg.

Signs weren’t great though. The original plot for Season 7 had wanted to place part of the storyline in Africa, something that the budget could not cover. Howard Gordon spoke about it on Ifmagazine.com, saying that;

“We sent Jack Bauer to Africa and I wrote a script that honestly did not work. Before the network even saw it at the studio level, we were getting kick-back from the idea, especially once we budgeted what Africa would cost. It was a combination of the studio was not enthusiastic to shoot there for budgetary purposes and creatively, it didn’t feel like it warranted pushing our case. One day, at the IHOP, I sat across Joel and Bob and we all agreed this story wasn’t working and retooled it two weeks ago.”

A two week storyline for a show of 24’s complexity sent shivers down a few peoples spines.

Thankfully though, it seems that the Writers Strike has been a blessing in disguise. To cover the near 18 month gap, they commissioned a prequel episode, which we now know is to be called 24:Exile. The premise being that Jack Bauer is in Africa, attempting to find himself.

So what does the newly leaked trailer suggest?

First of all we get the back story. A new female President is being sworn in, played by Cherry Jones, but this being 24, nothing is ever simple. The return of the excellent Peter MacNicol as Tom Lennox heralds the reveal of the plot line – an imminent coup in an African state.

The adventure then turns to Africa, with more than a hint of Blood Diamond, only without Leonardo DiCaprio’s closet case lead. A quick glimpse of Robert Carlyle begging for help, and then of course help appears in the silhouetted form of Jack Bauer. Cue the gratuitous violence we expect from Bauer, but interspersed this time with a real sense of tenderness that hasn’t been seen in the show for many a long time. There’s also a tantalizing glimpse of Jon Voight who’s been signed up to play the villain for the coming season, and although he say’s nothing, he has that same silently menacing look he donned so well in Mission Impossible.

That’s the reason I feel that 24 season 7 is going to hit the spot it missed for so long. If the makers can go back to balancing Jack Bauer the hardened killer, with Jack Bauer the human being, they might just get back on track, and away from the formulaic disappointment they conjured for the last few outings. One thing’s for certain, I can’t wait for November 23rd.