'24' is best new show of the year

'24' Airs: 8 p.m., Fox (Channel 4) Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Leslie Hope, Elisha Cuthbert, Sarah Clarke, Penny Johnson Jerald, Tanya Wright Most closely resembles: "The West Wing" as timed by the "60 Minutes" stopwatch Aaron's advice: Watch it! Best new show of the fall. Jack Bauer (Sutherland) is one of the government's top counter-terrorist agents. It's 12:01 on the morning of the California presidential primary, and, shades of Bobby Kennedy, he's just learned a terrorist group has put a hit on the main contender (Haysbert), who happens to be African-American. At almost the exact same moment, his daughter (Cuthbert) sneaks out her window and vanishes with a friend. Bauer has two crises to track at the same time, and we will watch him at work, minute by minute - except, of course, for commercial breaks - for 24 hours. The show is written to simulate real time; thus, the first episode of "24" takes place from midnight to 1 a.m. on primary day, the second episode covers 1 to 2 a.m. and so on for 24 episodes, or one long, thrilling, gripping day. Or so we hope, after seeing the not-to-be-missed first episode. Although there really are only two main story lines, each episode has no fewer than six stories to keep track of, full of suspense and action-packed (without seeming like a big-bang action movie). There's a lot going on in "24," but you have to pay attention to truly appreciate it. I predict "24" will have a lot of viewers' undivided attention this fall. Aaron Barnhart's fall TV preview is online at www.kansascity.com. @ART CAPTION:Kiefer Sutherland in '24' @ART CREDIT:Fox @ART:Photo (color)