Jason Unger

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"24" will be getting a two-hour movie that prequels Season 7 this fall, the Hollywood Reporter is reporting.

The movie, designed to bridge the two-year gap between Seasons 6 and 7, is targeted to air in the fall, leading to the January return of the real-time drama. On Wednesday, "24" producers began securing the show's core cast members for the film.

I guess Fox didn't listen to my idea for National 24 day, but this is pretty big news.

So, now that there is SOME news, let the speculation begin…

- Will it be a two-hour "real-time" affair? Or will it stray from 24's standard time model?
- Is this the 24 movie that was supposed to come out? Or is that still happening?
- What will the prequel bring that we don't already know about Season 7? Most of the times, the prequels on the DVDs don't do much at all for the season.

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely looking forward to it. But is this just a way to "apologize" to fans for the lack of Jack Bauer in 2008? Or will it actually mean something to the show?

By now, you've surely heard that the writer's strike is over, and your favorite TV shows will be back on the air relatively soon.

Great news, right?

Well, not if you're a fan of 24.

Jack Bauer won't be showing up until January 2009, keeping with the show's decision to run the entire season uninterrupted. So we have to wait another 11 months to finally get season 7, which was first teased back during the '07 World Series.

Here's an idea, Fox.

Finish shooting season 7 now. Come Memorial Day, run the entire season in one day. Literally.

It'll be National 24 day. Everyone will watch it the way it's meant to be watched.

There's a huge chunk of 24 fans who wait out the entire season, then buy the DVDs and watch them back-to-back. The show's set in one day — let's make it as realistic as possible.

Do you know how much money you could charge for commercials for this? A lot. True 24 fans will be watching.

You'll never do it, but it would be sweet.

Nina Myers couldn't do it. Stephen Saunders couldn't do it. Hell, even Habib Marwan couldn't do it.

It took a disagreement between the Writer's Guild of America and Hollywood executives to kill Jack Bauer, and it took way less than 24 hours.

When Fox announced they were shelving the 7th season of 24 because of the writer's strike, I expected them to have reversed the decision a short time later.

It didn't happen.

So what am I doing instead of watching 24? Catching up on another great show recently canceled, Veronica Mars. It's sort of like high-school Alias without the ass kicking.

Let's have a moment of silence for what would have been the premiere of the 7th season, normally a 2-night event starting on Sunday.

(image via IDWID)

Since the WGA strike has pushed back the next season of 24 "indefinitely," it's refreshing to see some original content featuring our favorite hero, Jack Bauer.

Best. Parody. Ever.

"Dammit, George. You picked up while I was doing the Internet."

"He's got total control of our GeoCities page."

Those were the days …