I'm curious as to what everyone's favorite season of the show is. I have a feeling from comments of other people on boards like this, from friends I know who watch the show, and from articles in the press, that Season 4 seemed to be the majority's favorite season. So I am just curious as to what a poll would show.

Personally, and I am probably in a minority here, but Season 3 was the most enjoyable season for me. I really enjoyed the threat being a biological one. I liked that Nina was still around. I thought it was funny that Kim was working at CTU and it was the best use of her character in any of the seasons. Sherry Palmer was still in the picture, what a great character. I liked Chase and the fact that Jack had a partner whom he could trust and who looked up to him. The introduction of Chloe!!!! I love Chloe. and I really really like the fact that the threat we are introduced to in the first episode, is the same threat we are dealing with during the 24th hour. No other season has done that really. The threat usually changes about 3 or 4 times. The last episode of the third season was the most fulfilling for me as well.

I understand why people liked season 4 so much. It was nicely orchestrated and it worked well.... but Season 4 was when I started to notice recycling of ideas in a sometimes annoying way. I do love the show though and think its the most exciting thing that has ever been on television. I can't really rank the rest of the seasons as they pretty much come up as a 4-way tie for second place for me, but season 3 does stand out as my favorite season thus far. I really really like Season 5 so far, so it may easily become my second favorite if it can keep up this pace and intensity.

Season 1 was the only season with genuine mystery, suspense and purpose for real-time. Each season after that got progressively worse with all the 24 cliche crutches (moles, snipers, torturing, guys dying a second before they're to reveal a key secret, boring B-plots, twists that make no logical sense other than to shock the audience, etc.). The bigger the threat got, the more absurd the storyline became.

Season 4 was by far the worst season of 24 -- it was basically a parody of itself. Because of how braindead Season 4 was, I also can see why a lot of people liked it the best.

Probably Season 1. The current season has been better than a lot of the nonsense they churned out in recent seasons, but it's missing Haysbert, the only other compelling performer other than Sutherland. Add to that no scantily clad Kim, and it just doesn't measure up. The second half of Season 1 was pretty bad (I can't "remember" what happened in episode 17), and the finale was hilariously over-the-top, but on the whole it was probably the best up to this point.

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I just got into 24 after catching the premiere of Season 5 back in January and over the past 3 months I've watched through Seasons One-Four. I JUST finished Season Four last night and that was by far the best season, IMO.

There were quite a few stretches in seasons one-three where I tolerated the show (S1: Teri's amnesia, S2: Kim's Cougar, S3: Anything Chase does) but did not love it. That all changed in Season Four. During S4 I was on the edge of my seat for just about every episode, loved every character, and the finale was one of the best season finales for a TV show that I have ever seen. I absolutely loved the music that played during the ending montage (While Palmer was leaving the White House for the final time and a presumed dead Jack was being driven out of CTU) and the final scene of Jack walking into the sunrise was just great. The show could've ended there and I would've been perfectly happy.

Plus Season Four didn't have Kim in it. Thank the gods. The only reason S5 might not surpass it is because she's back now.

So for me, Season Four was by far the best season.

So I guess I'm braindead in Legolas' opinion. But who gives a crap what an elf thinks?

Season 1

Teri, Nina and Kim (before the bad hair of season 3) all gave me the hot. It could have used more Tony though.

If season one had stopped around episode 12-13, I would've picked that. Sure the revelation about Nina was a moment, but it was painful to get to. 2-4 weren't great, but i'm definitely diggin' this season more than those..

So far it's a tie, Season 1 and 5 have been the most addictive bits of TV I've ever seen. (Save for Season 1 of Lost, which is the only show I've watched 13 hours in a row.) Come to think of it, I'm leaning toward Season 1, despite it's flaws, I never knew what to expect.

You know it's kinda tough for me to pick. I liked the first half of S1 a lot. The big switch about 8 hrs into S3 was awesome, as was the outbreak in the hotel I thought, then it started going downhill. I liked the constant escalation of threat in S4. I'm really enjoying this season the most so far as none of the eps have sucked as of yet (but Kim's back, so as Wednesday Adams said, "Wait.").

You know what none of the seasons have had so far? (No, not a mole) An overriding Baddie; a worthy adversary to Jack Bauer who proves worthy of hours of pursuit and whose death is actually well deserved and satisfying. The show has never had a James Bond-type main villain who is the clear mastermind behind all the danger. I'm getting a little frustrated with having hours of time invested in pursuit of somebody who seems pure evil and then having him casually offed by his secret superior. It's a little sad that so far the two most memorable villains have been Nina and Sherry. Maybe Robocop will still turn out to be that guy...

Season 1 for me. Aside from the amnesia, it was the most consistent season thus far.

Season 2 had the weak final 1/3 with the absurd invoking of the 25th amendment and WWIII on the verge of being started literally overnight.

Season 3 had a really bad first 2/3's with the Salazar's and Nina being forced into the storyline(I honestly didn't give a damn when Jack finally offed her). Not to mention Palmer's stupid subplot with his brother and Alan Miliken's wife. Once the virus was released in the hotel though, the show was as great as it's ever been(before losing some momentum in the final 2 episodes).

Season 4 was for the most part consistently entertaining and thrilling......but it was also by far the most ridiculous and implausible, even by this show's standards. If there was ever a season that exemplified how the writers are making it up as they go, Season 4 is it.

Season 5 is only halfway over, but it's shaping up to be the best since Season 1. Bringing in David Fury and Manny Coto was a great move by the producers. For the first time in years, it really feels like they know where they're going with the storyline and not just winging it. Plus they've managed to salvage previously annoying characters(Audrey and President Logan) while introducing intriguing new ones(Martha Logan and Christopher Henderson).

Season 1 minus the amnesia story.