Jack Bauer can take down evil terrorists, defuse bombs, survive nasty acts of torture and make it through an entire day without a potty break. But apparently, he’s powerless against striking writers.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the labor stoppage, Fox has decided to postpone the debut of its spy thriller. “24″ was originally scheduled to launch its seventh season on Jan. 13, but you can now scratch that.

EW.com reported that the series will finish shooting through episode 8 before halting production later this month. The show will likely be rescheduled at a time when this season’s episodes can be seen in consecutive weeks.

So is this strike starting to piss you off yet?

To fill the void, Fox has scheduled the premiere of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” for Jan. 13 and 14. “American Idol” will also return Jan. 15 and 16 for a two-night, four-hour debut.

Is Hiro running from the disappointing “Heroes” finale?

Maybe I’ve been spoiled by past episodes, or maybe I’m just becoming jaded. but I wasn’t exactly blown away by last night’s season finales of “24″ and “Heroes.”

“24″ closed out an underwhelming campaign with an underwhelming two-hour capper that featured a beautifully shot — and explosive — battle on an oil platform in the middle of the ocean, but offered little in the way of emotional power. Even the final showdown between Jack and evil Papa Bauer (on the platform) lacked oomph.

And unlike past seasons, there was no breath-taking twist and/or surprise at the end. A glum Jack simply went to visit a sleeping Audrey, decided it was best that she never lay eyes on him again, and then marched out to the edge of a bluff. There, he gazed out over the raging Pacific, presumably contemplating his next move (Good God, he wasn’t thinking about jumping, was he?).

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I wrote a cover piece for our A&E section today on television’s proliferation of nuclear-related imagery and apocalyptic scenarios. We’ve seen mushroom clouds sprout up in “Jericho” and “24.” Meanwhile, shows such as “Heroes,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “Sleeper Cell” have all dabbled in doom-and-boom storytelling.

So what’s going on here? I hope you’ll check out the story, which includes comments from “Jericho”’s Skeet Ulrich, as well as input from pop-culture experts.

“24″ has just turned into “Jericho.” A mushroom cloud has sprouted on the horizon. There’s panic in the streets. Crazed people are running around. We expect Skeet Ulrich to appear — squinting — at any moment now.

Last night’s episode picked up with with the devastation in Valencia (See post below), but some of us — including Chloe — are still mourning the shocking death of Curtis. “Why do people I know keep dying?” she wonders.

If you haven’t seen the episode yet, STOP READING IMMEDIATELY, because we’re still reeling from the latest whiplash-inducing plot twist:

The little bald dude is JACK”S BROTHER! (And you thought he died on “ER”). Bet you didn’t see that one coming. And there’s more family dysfunction just around the corner as James Cromwell comes on next week as Papa Bauer.

Just one other observation: Is it just me, or does the main terrorist guy look a little like Michael Stipe of R.E.M.?

So the mushroom cloud has sprouted on “24″ (and I’m sure we’ll learn of mass casualties in tonight’s episode), but meanwhile, we’re wondering: Why Valencia, that quiet bedroom community just above Los Angeles?

Not that I have any particular attachment to Valencia, although I’ve made many a restroom stop there on my sojurns to Hollywood (They keep the McDonald’s fairly clean). And I do love all those stomach-churning roller coasters at the Magic Mountain amusement park. … So does this mean I can’t ride the Viper or Colossus anymore?

Los Angeles Daily News Entertainment writer Robert Loman is even more confounded than me. He lives in Valencia and is quite disturbed by this dreadful turn of events. To check out his amusing column, click here.

Is your head still spinning from those first four turbo-charged episodes of “24″? Or did your TiVo screw up and totally fail to record them?

You can catch them again (or for the first time) on DVD — as we speak. Yes, Fox has made the first four hours of “24″ available on a quick-turnaround DVD for $15. Even Jack Bauer would have to be impressed by that kind of beat-the-clock efficiency.

More numbers: “24″ drew an audience of 15.7 million for its premiere on Sunday. It was the show’s second-highest debut behind last season’s 17 million.

Plan to be here every week to discuss the show as it unfolds.

The TV Freak was truly freaking out earlier this week when he realized that we were only days away from the Season 6 premiere of “24″ and the preview DVD from Fox had yet to arrive.

Turns out the ultra valuable cargo got lost (?) in the mail. Fortunately, the good folks in the Fox publicity department rushed out another DVD (containing the first 4 episodes), which I watched yesterday with great interest. (As an added bonus, they tossed in a “24″ coffee mug!)

The screener came with a letter containing the usual warnings/urgings to critics to refrain from revealing any key plot points. It also noted that each disc has been “watermarked” with our personal information to prevent us from downloading/copying/selling them. I half expected to be told the disc would self-destruct 5 seconds after viewing.

All this paranoia created some anxiety. If I talk too much, I figure Jack Bauer will hunt me down. And after seeing how ruthless he can be in these episodes, I don’t want to risk that.

We’ll have a review of “24″ in Saturday’s TimeOut, but for now, here are a few things we can point out about the upcoming season:

– Season picks up 20 months after Season 5 left off. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) has been in Chinese captivity all this time, getting abused and beaten. Meanwhile, the U.S. has been victimized by a series of escalating terrorist attacks. Obviously, we need Jack back!

– The new president Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside) makes a secret deal to have Jack released. But there are dire consequences for Jack that are attached to the deal. (What are the consequences? Can’t say).

– The post-captivity Jack Bauer is a broken man. He’s moody. He’s detached. He’s indifferent. Most importantly, he has lost his confidence. “I don’t know how to do this anymore,” he says as his new mission gets under way.

– This sullen demeanor, at least in the beginning, makes “24″ darker and more somber than usual. While the tension meter is still very high, this season’s opening hours don’t contain the same gasp-per-minute rate of last season. Instead, there’s more of a sense of dread.

– New castmembers include Peter MacNicol, who plays a boorish chief of staff who is ready to trample all over the Constitution to protect the country’s “freedom.” We’ll also get to meet Jack’s estranged father, played by James Cromwell, although he’s not in these first four episodes. Also absent, but scheduled to appear later are Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart, who wowed us last season as the deluded prez and his loopy wife. In addition, Regina Taylor makes a strong first impression as Wayne Palmer’s sister — a forceful lawyer who will cause problems for the prez down the road.

– Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) seems to be glammed up this year with a new hairdo and duds. She spends much of these first hours trying to rein in her prickly ex-husband (Carlo Rota), who is constantly feuding with his CTU boss (Eric Balfour).

– In addition to all the action-thriller fireworks, “24″ seems determined to stir up some political debate. There is much attention to the loss of civil liberties in times of crisis (with shades of the WWII Japanese internment, MacNicol’s character pushes to set up detention camps for Arab-Americans), and to issues such as racial profiling.

– The show hasn’t lost its ability to startle and surprise. There are at least two shockers in these first four hours that sent my jaw crashing to the floor. I’m not about to spill the beans, though, because I’m obviously under CTU surveilance.

Madonna checks in with Oprah today to talk publicly for the first time about her plans to adopt a 1-year-old boy from Malawi, but I realize some of you on this blog are more interested to know what’s up with Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) of “24.”

The Emmy-winning show doesn’t return for its sixth season until January, but Fox decided to whet our appetites this week with an extended preview clip. I’ve watched it three times already, so here’s my field report:

– The late David Palmer’s brother (and former principal of Sunnydale High School) is now the president. The Biscuit from “Ally McBeal” appears to be one of his aides.

– Terrorists are once again wreaking havoc in America, but this time their attacks are spead across various cities — not just L.A. There are lots of explosions and lots of people yelling stuff. Meanwhile, Chloe looks as uptight as ever.

– The breathless narrator informs us that — you guessed it — “our only hope lies with one man!!!!”

– That man was last seen in custody of the Chinese and being brutally tortured. But apparently some kind of deal is made to transport Jack back to America so that he can be used as a bargaining chip with the bad guys. When he returns, he looks like a street vagrant, complete with a long scraggly beard.

– There is much talk about how Jack needs to die (”He must be sacrificed!”) in order to save the nation. Yes, Jack is our Christ-like Savior! … But somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen. There are, after all, future seasons to produce and even a “24″ movie in the works. Yes, Jack needs to live — not only to keep us safe from evil dirtbags, but to keep cash flowing into the Fox coffers.