AndyUK

A nuclear bomb will go off somewhere in Los Angeles in some point over the day and it is Jack Bauer's job to find it before that happens. The second season of the show provides more of the same and is great again, with it being noticeable that the whole season was planned out in advance, unlike the first time around. The main plot was topical then and is still topical today, with the Iraq War still fresh in everyone's minds. Whereas the first season was personal to Bauer, this is more about protecting his country and his and Palmer's stories are again gripping, with some of the supporting characters also getting great arcs. The subplot involving Kim Bauer and her quest to stop an abusive father, which has nothing to do with the main story and flits from one different, unrelated situation to another isn't particularly great but it doesn't spoil the season

''Right now, terrorists are planning to assassinate a presidential candidate. My wife and daughter have been kidnapped... and people that I work with may be involved in both. I'm Federal Agent Jack Bauer, and this is the longest day of my life.''. That intro sums up the plot of the first season of 24. Having an entire season of a show take place over the space of a day in real time was a terrific idea and it makes for a fantastically entertaining show. The show moves at a breakneck speed, full of action, tension and unpredictable twists and turns around every corner. That makes it very addictive. This first season isn't perfect, a couple of plot points are recycled a little too much for my tastes and some of the subplots in the second half of the season to keep Bauer's wife and daughter relevant are not on a par with the main plot but the rest of it is just so good that this doesn't matter. Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Haybert both light up the screen and help make the stories of Jack Bauer and David Palmer so gripping.

This season is very well done and an improvement on the first. There is a memorable cameo from Christopher Reeve in ''Rosetta'' Lionel Luthor's presence is a lot bigger in this season which in turn adds to Lex's character and while most of the episodes are still fairly standalone, there is an arc running through this season about Clark learning where he came from. All of this makes for a better show.

The first season of Smallville provides our first glimpse at Tom Welling's Clark Kent growing up. It is very fun, despite the fact that it has no real arc to speak of and most of the episodes are based around high school monsters of the week. The interactions between the characters and the great cast involved keep it interesting, such as the developing friendship between Clark and Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor and Luthor's own awkward relationship with his father Lionel. The highlights are probably ''X-Ray'' and the finale ''Tempest'', which ends the season on several riveting cliffhangers.

The final season of the show certainly turns up the heat, it is epic and the two part finale ''End of Days'' and ''Chosen'' certainly ends the show on a high. It goes back to its roots and also has a clear arc from the start involving an entity called The First, a villain that first appeared in the third season and can take the form of any dead person. It did have a couple of problems with it, the teenage Potential Slayers that it introduces are a little annoying and offputting for a show that thrives so much because of its characters and I did feel that the season focused so much on Spike so much that some of the original characters were neglected a little bit but as with basically every season the show ever had, it is still strong and a worthy final chapter.

A much darker season due to it dealing with the aftermath of the previous one. There are very few light hearted episodes, the characters go through hell and the comic relief that there is is provided by the villains the Trio, which divides opinion a bit. Overall, I thought that this was a strong season but it took a while to really get going. There is no real obvious arc until the last five episodes or so. However, those last few episodes are worth the wait. ''Once More, with Feeling'', the famous musical episode and ''Normal Again'', where a demon tries to convince Buffy that she has imagined her life in Sunnydale also stand out.

The series returns to its best with a bang here, with a truly epic season. It starts by introducing Buffy's sister Dawn in a very innovative, unique way and follows the story of the villain Glory, played by Claire Kramer and her quest to find a mysterious key. That is the main arc but there is also a subplot involving Buffy's mother Joyce and that is just as riveting as the main story and produces the episode ''The Body'', which is one of the best episodes of TV I've seen. The finale, ''The Gift' is another brilliant episode.

This season certainly isn't as strong as the two that came before but it is still high quality. It follows the cast as they move away from high school and onto college. The main arc of the season involves the Initiative, a secret government group that capture demons and one of their is Buffy's new love interest, Riley Finn, played by Mark Blucas. This arc, as well as the villain, Adam aren't bad but they're not on the same level as what came before and a couple of episodes, namely ''Beer Bad'' and ''Where The Wild Things Are'' are amongst the shows worst but there are some truly outstanding standalone episodes. ''Hush'', where everyone's voice is taken away resulting in the episode being without dialogue is a brilliant piece of television, ''Fear Itself'' is another terrific Halloween based episode and the two parter ''This Year's Girl'' and ''Who Are You'', where Buffy and Faith swap bodies, is also very memorable.

Another fantastic season and the season where everything came together as a whole. It ties up the high school years of the show with a bang. The villain is The Mayor, played by Harry Groener and he is fantastic, managing to be both hillarious and threatening the same time. The season also introduces Faith, another slayer played by Eliza Duskhu and she provides a very interesting alternative to Buffy. I don't think this series quite hit the heights that the second season in terms of its main storyline but it is very, very consistent with few if any bad episodes. The highlights for me were the episode 'Consequences', which deals with the aftermath of killing a person, 'Dobblegangland' which shows what Sunnydale would have been like had Buffy never moved there and 'The Zeppo', which focuses on a day in the life of Xander while the rest of the cast are trying to stop the end of the world.

A fantastic season that eclipses the first in almost every way. The first half is very similar to the first, dealing with a lot of fun monster of the week episodes but it does introduce two brilliantly entertaining villains in the English vampires Spike and Druscilla. It is the second half where the show really kicks into gear with the story of Buffy and Angel. This arc provides some truly epic episodes of television and is still for my money, the most memorable arc in the seven year history of the show.

The first season of the show isn't quite up to the standard the show would set in the future but it is still very fun. It focuses on a ''high school is hell'' theme and is very much a monster of the week series. However, the great cast, characters,dialogue and humour that would make the show so beloved are all there from the start and the episodes that do form an arc, such as Angel, Nightmares and Prophecy Girl all show the potential that the show had in the future.