’24’ fans speculate on final hour

Somebody’s going to die tonight on 24 — though Tristate fans of the Fox thriller don’t agree on who it will be.

It could be Victor Drazen (Dennis Hopper), the Balkan war criminal who has plotted to kill CIA agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and presidential candidate David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert). Or Nina Myers (Sara Clarke), the CIA mole known to the Drazens as “Yalena,” who has double-crossed Jack. Or others.

No one is safe — except Jack — according to Enquirer readers’ predictions for the season finale today (9 p.m., Channels 19, 45). Here are their theories:

• Holly Stein, Batavia: “There will be a shootout, and both Teri and Nina will die, (after) Nina has been exposed as the mole. I think Nina’s probably the girlfriend or wife of Drazen’s son. Jack will not be able to capture Victor Drazen, so Dennis Hopper will be back next season.”
• Steve Short, Goshen: “Teri finds out about Nina being the mole and kills Nina. I also think that the senator still has someone in his party who is on the Drazens’ side. Tony Almeda (Jack and Nina’s co-worker) will help Jack get to the bottom of things, and he takes out George Mason (acting CIA boss).”
• April Bolton, downtown: “Jack will capture nemesis Drazen and expose co-worker Nina as the mole. Palmer will be found to have been a part of the whole dastardly plot, because he is the least likely to be suspected.”
• Brian Bates, Milford: “The Drazens’ attempt to assassinate Palmer will fail, but his manipulating wife, Sherry, will be killed. Traitor Nina/Yalena will be discovered … and Jack will kill his former lover. Jack will finally be reunited with his wife, Teri, and daughter, Kimberly. Jack will end the show with the line we’ve heard at the beginning of each episode: “This is the longest day of my life.’ ”
• Skyler James Steinman, Bellevue: “Jack will end up finishing the mission he was given 10 years before: Victor Drazen will be eliminated. Before dying, Drazen will order Nina to terminate Teri. Nina will carry out her orders, and in a strange twist of fate, Jack will lose his wife and child, which he did to Drazen the decade before. I say this because it would be much more interesting in future seasons to see the protagonist deal with the lingering effects of being a widower and a single father (daughter Kim survives). Once Nina has finished with Teri, she will commit suicide — much like the first mole did. I think another assassination attempt is coming (on Palmer), and it is possible that they will succeed this time (talk about surprises). Either that, or someone in his family will either be killed or commit suicide. One final prediction: 24‘s bold format of having each show represent one hour in one day will be no more. It was possible for viewers to suspend their disbelief for one hellish day, but how many more days like this are likely to occur to the same man? What if this show runs five seasons? Or seven?”

24 more: Good news! Not only has Fox renewed 24 for next season, but programmers insist the “real time” format won’t change. (Trade publications had predicted 24 would be changed so that each show encapsulated a 24-hour day.)

Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman announced Thursday that 24 next season again will be 24 episodes chronicling a day in the life of Jack Bauer. “We ultimately concluded that this was what the show was,” she said in a conference call.

The 24 producers have “laid out an arc for next season that blew us away. It really clarified for us that this was the way to go,” she says. (Trade publications speculate that for next season, President Palmer will send Jack on a secret CIA mission.)

Jack will be back — but she wouldn’t discuss other cast members until after tonight’s show. “I’ll be happy to talk about it after that,” she says.