There have been many moments to unintentionally chuckle at during the previous seven series of 24 (Sky One, Sun, 9pm): Jim from Neighbours conducting a political coup to claim the US presidency; Kim Bauer being kidnapped every second episode (was I hallucinating or did a mountain puma once take her hostage while she fled the manic attentions of spooky old Kevin Dillon?); Jack Bauer’s unerring ability at being tortured to within millimetres of his life before hurtling off skyscrapers towards a terrorist cell minutes later. But none of that can touch the screamingly funny segment in this latest season when Kiefer donned some heavy Harry Potter-like specs to ‘transform’ himself into a German nuke arms dealer.

In all honesty, CTU could have been shut down after three series and we would not have been any the wiser, for each subsequent season has followed almost identical patterns: some dodgy terrorists (East European/Islamic/the odd slimy Brit or homegrown militia types) get hold of nerve gas/nuclear rods/a deadly virus and threaten to decimate a major US conurbation. An ever reluctant Jack gets the old fire in his belly only when he gets to pull out some fingernails, and a character you thought had died four years ago will show up in a major ‘twist’. Though since day one’s murder of Jack’s wife, we’ve simply come to expect the unexpected. A ten-minute split-sequence of Chloe taking a dump, Renee doing her nails and Pres Taylor tucking into some cold cuts is the only thing that would have veteran 24ophiles sitting up in shock.