The show itself is of course magnificent for the most part. Innovative, exciting and very well acted. A landmark in modern TV drama, despite a brief drop -off in quality in some of the late afternoon episodes. The DVD picture quality is wonderfully sharp, and the sound is nicely crisp.

Important to note if you are buying this package having not seen the show before (having heard about it from others but too late to join in watching it on TV) that there are spoilers all over the presentation. the enclosed booklet includes short summaries of every episode and not much else, so don't look at it until you've seen the whole show. Similarly the menus feature clips from the show which is nice to watch if you aren't worried about information being given away, as the clips on the menu for each disc tend to reveal major plot points.

Also, the DVD extras are actually pretty poor. The alternative ending is dull and obviously only shot to keep the true ending secret. The teaser for season 2 comprises only Kiefer Sutherland talking in very vague terms about the general concept of 24, with no real information about the second series.

Worst of all is the fact that the footage on the discs is only the footage that was originally broadcast IN THE US. In the UK the broadcast footage included an extra couple of minutes for each of the episodes 7pm - 12pm. This footage contained scenes that was cut from the US broadcast for adverts, whereas in the UK 24 was shown on the BBC where there are no adverts.

These scenes ranged from nice additions to important points: one cut scene had a major impact on the crucial events in the final episode and another even greatly improved the climactic battle between Jack and the bad guys.

Fox haven't included this footage on the DVD versions in either the UK or the US, meaning that us poor Brits have scenes that we miss and this has led to calls for a recall and replacement with the full footage. For the US viewer, this is actually worse, in that you are never going to see these great scenes. There are no running time issues on DVD, unlike on TV, so why not let those fans willing to pay for the box set have bonus footage integrated into their box sets?

Bizarrely, this doesn't affect the VHS British release of 24, only the DVD, so if you want those extra scenes you'll need a PAL compatible TV and VCR.

Why not drop Fox an email congratulating them on making such a great show and asking for them to include the full footage as was broadcast on the BBC?

First, let me say, they had me at 24.

This is one of the best shows I have had the pleasure of viewing. I was fortunate enough to watch this series live from the very beginning, and it grips me soo.

If you want a show that can cause a heart attack, this is that show. It has me on the edge of my seat, and in all reality, has my heart racing! (no other show except prison break and dexter has ever done this to me).

You cant stop watching the show, but most people looking at this review could care less what I think about the show, and want to know what I think about the special edition, so lets get started!

The alternate ending. is it new? yes, is it good? not even, quite possibly the worst thing I have ever watched (no, it is not badly acted, nor shot, in fact, it is technically sound, but the ending is not an ending, I do not wish to spoil anything, but to say it stunk would be a vast understatement!)

Basically the whole set is the same as the original I'm sure you have on your shelf. Disc 7 is new, and has your extended scenes, and 2 extra documentary's.

The extra documentary's are nice, and worth watching, but not necessarily worth buying over your other version.

The case is beautiful, it has a clock on it that says 24, you can press a button and it resets to 0 and counts up, which is cool.

The housing of the dvds looks nice, with a fresh art design. The art is pretty much the same (on the dvds).

Last, but not least, the discs are housed in a cardboard container, 2 of my discs exhibit scratches, and 1 was out of the sleeve entirely.

I have bought other dvds in the past using cardboard containers, and the result is the same. Not good for housing dvds.

Your best bet is to buy the dvds, get the scratched ones resurfaced, and store in other cases, or inside of a cd case.

Again, the show is the same, and one of the best things you can view. if you do not own 24 season 1, this one is a no brainier.

If you have all seasons and have watched them many times (as I have) this still gives you nothing.

The show is a 5 out of 5. This release is a 4.5 out of 5 (half a star gone due to inferior packing)

For people who own the previous version, give this a pass, and pick up the eventual blu-ray.

maybe a slight spoiler? but I think not, read next paragraph at your own risk.

The alternate ending (the main reason I bought it) sucks, it just ends, nothing happens! if you have seen season 1, you know what happens in the end, here, nothing happens. and by nothing I mean nothing at all.

It's just after midnight at the Bauer home. They're getting ready for bed when Jack gets a phone call asking him to report to work at the Counter Terrorism Unit in Los Angeles. There he's briefed on a plot to assassinate Presidential candidate David Palmer. Meanwhile, his daughter Kim has snuck out of the house to meet some guys who are bad news. His wife Terri is finding trouble searching for Kim. And Palmer is facing a crisis of his own concerning something in his family's past he didn't even know about. It's going to be a long day for everyone.

This thriller series is innovative. Each episode represents just one hour in the day. I wasn't sure they could pull if off, but the writers managed to keep all the plots going and make the gaps between seeing characters believable. It quickly turned into a weekly addiction that had me glued to my seat and dreading commercials more then normal. Some of the plots loose steam in the afternoon, but it builds up tension again for the climax, which was the best hour of television last season, period.

Unfortunately, this set wasn't all it could have been. They removed the "previously on 24" recaps, which are very useful if you just want to pop a random disc into the machine. Ironically, they also don't have a play all feature, which would go well with no recaps. The worst thing, in my opinion, is the lack of chapter breaks in each episode. The season 1 intro (on the last disc) is ok and includes a mention of this season. Of course, at this point, we're far beyond anything they would have told us in the set. The best feature is the alternate ending. While (to my surprise) I prefer the original, it's nice to see what might have been. As you would expect, the picture and audio quality are top notch.

It's a shame this great show didn't get the DVD treatment it deserved. I'm willing to overlook the lack of extras because of timing, but the lack of the recap & chapter breaks really bothers me. Even so, it's a good set of a great show worth using to catch up or remember this innovative program.