Because of the writers strike, Fox is shaking up its lineup in the new year. "24," for one, is out of the lineup. Details after the jump …

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Official announcement after the jump. It notes that Jack Bauer "faces trial for his actions in the pursuit of justice." Which, given his actions, could make for a verrrrry long trial.

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From TV Guide, after the jump …

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This from Fox today:

As the clock ticks toward the climactic final two hours of 24’s Season Six on Monday, May 21 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), FOX has extended the Emmy Award-winning series for two additional seasons through 2008-2009.

24 was last year’s most Emmy Award-winning television series with five Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kiefer Sutherland) and Outstanding Drama Series. The show promises to combine its unique and trend-setting format with compelling new elements. Each episode will cover one hour of real time, and the season’s entire story will take place in one terrifying day. Viewers again will follow Jack Bauer through a day that none of them will ever forget.

With this season disappointing many fans, there have been reports of a shakeup at the show, which I suppose explains the reference to "compelling new elements."

A little later I expect to have some comments on last night's "Veronica Mars" and "Gilmore Girls," as well as the "Idol" performances.

Caught up with "24" yesterday and this morning, and I have to say the absurdity of it is so brazen that I'm almost amused. As near as I could tell, exactly one southern California street was clogged by panic-stricken drivers. Jack's own driving attempts, as well as those of other characters, for the most part were blissfully unimpeded.

Then there was the seeming lack of real alarm about the nuke and the radiation — oh, it's blowing somewhere else! Sort of like the second-season nuke, which was put aside almost immediately after it happened. Jack moved on, and so did the show.

And I can't overlook Jack's latest Prince Hamlet move, the I-can't-go-on-I-must-go-on attitude (all right, that's more Samuel Beckett) that didn't make CTU think Jack was a little too unsteady to deal with THE BEST CLUE THEY HAD!

Finally, speaking of clues, anyone else think they were blatantly signalling that Jack's brother's kid is actually Jack's?

On "Studio 60," maybe I was just tired but I did laugh at Dolphin Girl. Beyond that, not too thrilled about the episode. The whole Danny-chasing-Jordan thing is getting way too creepy. And when so many plot threads were hanging with 10 minutes to go, I started thinking, "Rats, a two-parter." Not least because nothing was interesting enough to justify a second part.

Then again, I may also be reacting to recent reports of Aaron Sorkin playing Mr. Crankypants during the January TV press tour. Check out my friend Alan Sepinwall's account here.

From the morning e-mail:

Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actor James Cromwell (“Babe,” “Six Feet Under”) and Emmy Award-winning actor Eddie Izzard (“Dress to Kill,” “My Super Ex-Girlfriend”) join the season six cast of 24, this year’s most Emmy Award-winning television series, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kiefer Sutherland) and Outstanding Drama Series. The clock for “Day Six” will begin to tick in January, Mondays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

The highly respected Cromwell will recur this season as PHILLIP BAUER, the estranged father of JACK BAUER (Sutherland), while British actor/comedian Izzard will portray a villainous accomplice, DARREN McCARTHY. In addition to Cromwell and Izzard, newcomers joining the pulse-pounding thriller include Kal Penn (“Harold & Kumar”), Marisol Nichols (“In Justice”), Alexander Siddig (“Syriana”) and Harry Lennix (“Commander in Chief”). Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota will reprise their respective roles as CTU contractors MILO PRESSMAN and MORRIS O’BRIAN.

Season five concluded with a battered and bloodied Bauer captured by Chinese government agents and headed for points unknown. Season six picks up 20 months later. Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), the strong-minded brother of the late President David Palmer, is now himself the President of the

United States

, while his sister, Sandra Palmer (Regina King), is a determined and powerful advocacy lawyer. After a series of horrific terrorist attacks, Palmer and his team of advisors, KAREN Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) and THOMAS LENNOX (Peter MacNicol) – as well as CTU colleagues CHLOE O’BRIAN (Mary Lynn Rajskub), CURTIS MANNING (Roger Cross) and BILL BUCHANAN (James Morrison) – begin an unthinkable, nail-biting day.

I don't as a rule watch "24" every week because the ridiculousness of it eventually overwhelms my mild enjoyment of the action when I have to wait seven days between episodes. DVD boxes, gobbled as quickly as a box of Sugar Babies, are a much better way to go.

But I did tune in for the two-hour finale and found it better than the "Alias" farewell, even if "Alias" wasn't quite as preposterous.

For one thing, I actually knew what was going on in "24," not always the case with "Alias's" even more convoluted plotting. "24" came up with a nifty cliffhanger finish for the season, with Bauer captured and carried off by the Chinese. Jean Smart, as the acting First Lady, was a great addition to the cast — consider the look on her face when she gets seductive with her murderous husband, and the look near the end when she has seen to his comeuppance.

At the same time, though, you have any scene where Chloe has to frown and worry about dire consequences, always presented so seriously but comical in its redundancy. The action can get really nuts — Jack hanging onto a bar but still able to snap a villain's neck with his legs, for instance. And, at the end of a day that includes an assassination, terrorists on the loose and the fall of the president, isn't just a little bit weird that two top anti-terrorism officials get a bit flirty?

But the show really falls apart when we stop and think about Jack Bauer, what he does and how he gets away with it. I don't mean that he has to be realistic, just that he should be consistent. This is a guy who has matter-of-factly put bullets into more people than I can list. The title of president shouldn't make him wimp out. If I see him to pull a gun to interrogate a villain, even a high-titled one, I expect either answers or a big old pool of blood.

I don't know if I have said this before, but "Lost's" episode tonight reminded me once again how the show is sometimes like watching Sugar Ray Leonard against Marvin Hagler — Leonard hanging back, letting Hagler dominate most of a round, then revving up in the final moments to impress the judges. While there were many good things in the episode, which focused on Mr. Eko, it felt a little too methodical at first. Eko's back story was interesting enough, and there was a nice twist ending the speculation that he had actually been on the drug plane. Still,it was as if it knew the audience had been away for a long time (since the show had gone through an extended rerun period) and needed to be brought gently back into the story. (The recap telecast preceding it was part of that re-entry process, of course, and I saw first-hand how important those shows are. As we caught the remainder of the recap, my wife looked at one scene and said, "I forgot that!") And I have to say that the smoky entity just looked silly,

But when it kicks in, gosh it kicks in, and it did so in the closing scenes tonight. The images in the camp, for one thing, suggested that the survivors are no longer just people in the same situation; they're a community, living in their own small town, and they have begun to build lives where the idea of being rescued is no longer front and center. And there was the bending of our emotions, from sadness over Charlie's exile, to the evidence that Charlie's demons may be far stronger than even the most cynical of viewers thought.

I was even more impressed by "Lost" after watching the first hour of the new season of "24." You're going to see a grittier, grimier, pulpier Jack Bauer, but this show is only peripherally a character portrait. There are currents of politics, with clear allusions to the Nixon era, but it will always sacrifice political meditation for the sake of melodramatic action. The first hour includes the deaths of two significant characters, and nostril-flaring on a level that recalls daytime dramas at their most overwrought. I have three episodes to go before I pass judgment on "24's" start; still, at this point, it feels even sillier than in previous years.

I'm not usually one to give away plot developments. But a letter from Fox made me want to.

A letter accompanying the four-hour season premiere of "24" did not stop at asking that I "do not divulge to your readers the events of the first 10 minutes in the first hour." It also said:

"[T]his mailing is being sent exclusively to critics for review purposes; please do not share this DVD copy with other television reporters, others on staff of your publication, family members or friends." (Bold-face and underlining are Fox's.)

Good grief, how paranoid can a network be? It's as if the White House decided to threaten the leakers of Fox plots. Next thing you know, the network's going to put a warrantless tap on my DVR.

As was the case with Simon Cowell's rumored departure from "American Idol," talk about Fox moving around telecasts of "Idol" proved premature. Cowell is back, as is noted below, and "Idol" will remain a Tuesday/Wednesday fixture.

Fox planned changes in January because it is bringing back "Idol" and "24," and they eat up time slots. So changes are being made: "Bones" moves to Wednesday, "Killer Instinct" is done, "Prison Break" will return in March and reality gets yet another watch-stars-fall-down show with the premiere of "Skating With Celebrities."

Sorry, I needed a moment. That title always makes me giggle.

Anyway, here's the Fox lowdown for early 2006, first on a nightly basis, then show by show.

Mondays — "Skating With Celebrities" at 8 p.m. from Jan. 23 into March, when "Prison Break" returns. "24" will be at 9 p.m. as of Jan. 23 but will have a four-hour premiere before that.

Tuesdays — "American Idol" at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 17 (two-hour telecast), "House" remains in the 9 p.m. slot (except for that Jan. 17 pre-emption, obviously).

Wednesdays — "American Idol" audition episodes at 8 p.m. beginning Jan. 18. Special premiere of "Skating With Celebrities" follows on Jan. 18; "Bones" gets the 9 p.m. slot as of Jan. 25, for the weeks when "Idol" is still running hour-long audition shows on Wednesdays; when "Idol" goes to half-hour results shows, "Bones" will probably drop to 8 p.m., with "Idol" at 9 and something else at 9:30. (Fox still has some half-hour backup shows in the wings.)

Thursdays — "The O.C." at 8 p.m., with "Reunion" at 9 p.m. until its series finale on Feb. 2. (Fox is calling it a season finale, but it hasn't ordered more episodes of the show beyond its original 13.) The 9 p.m. hour will then probably go to specials during February sweeps, with "That '70s Show" and "Stacked" taking over 9 p.m. as of March 2.

Fridays — "Bernie Mac," "Malcolm in the Middle" and, as of Jan. 6, "Trading Spouses." "Killer Instinct" has its last telecast on Friday.

Saturdays — Still "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted."

Sundays — Comedy reruns at 7, followed by "King of the Hill," "The Simpsons," "The War at Home," "Family Guy" and "American Dad."

I know, a lot of that is confusing. I had to call a Fox rep to sort some of it out and fill in a few blanks. To make it clearer, here's a show-by-show breakdown of those making moves. ("House," "The O.C.," the early-Friday comedies and the Saturday and Sunday lineups stand pat.)

– "24" comes back with a four-hour premiere on Sunday, Jan. 15, and Monday, Jan.16, before settling into the 9 p.m. Monday slot on Jan. 23.

– "American Idol" has a two-hour premiere at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, followed by a new hour at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18. It will then settle in at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the audition shows. Once it goes to half-hour results shows on Wednesdays, those will probably move up to 9 p.m. Wednesday.

– "Bones" will move to 9 p.m. Wednesdays as of Jan. 25, as long as "American Idol" is doing one-hour telecasts at 8 p.m. Wednesdays. When "Idol" goes to half-hours, "Bones" will probably move to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

– "Killer Instinct" is done after this Friday's telecast.

– "Nanny 911" does not have a time slot in the early '06 lineup but may pop up as filler on occasion, and will be available if another show falters.

– "Prison Break" will be back at 8 p.m. Mondays with a replay of the "fall finale" on March 13, followed by new episodes beginning March 20.

– "Reunion" will stay at 9 p.m. Thursdays until Feb. 2, when it will have its finale.

– "Skating With Celebrities" will have a special premiere at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, following "American Idol." It will then air at 8 p.m. Mondays beginning Jan. 23.

– "Stacked" takes a break from mid-January to March 2, when it returns at 9:30 p.m. Thursdays.

– "That '70s Show" takes a break from mid-January to March 2, when it returns at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

– "Trading Spouses" moves to Fridays at 9 p.m. as of Jan. 6.