Tony comes back to '24,' despite being dead

Perhaps it’s the “Ugly Betty” influence on television. Or maybe the producers of “24” just couldn’t get enough of Laura Spencer’s brief return to “General Hospital” last year.

When “24” has its seventh season premiere on Jan. 13, Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) will somehow be miraculously resurrected. We use the term “miraculously” because, even though executive producer Howard Gordon declared in a Fox news release today that Tony’s fate was “uncertain,” we’re pretty certain we saw Tony taking his last breath in Jack Bauer’s arms in Season 5.

This belief was further reinforced when we interviewed Gordon, Bernard and star Kiefer Sutherland, and they all expressed how sad they were that Jack no longer had his running buddy. But they all agreed that it was in the service of telling a good story.

What could that good story be now? According to Fox, the season opens with Jack on trial in Washington, D.C., for his actions in the pursuit of justice. CTU no longer exists and there is a woman, played by Cherry Jones, running the White House. The only thing stated about Tony’s return is that it is “shocking.”

In lieu of facts, let's spin some fan-fiction:

So that he could go on special assignment in Timbuktu, CTU faked Tony’s death. In his new location, he met a Russian spy, they fell in love, and she was kidnapped and taken to South Africa.

Trying to rescue her, Tony almost died when an RPG blew up the boat he was driving. His lover assumed he was dead and went back to Russia. Months later, Tony washed up on the shores of Cape Verde and was taken in by a monastery when they discovered he had amnesia. With no memories of his past life, Tony became a priest and was sent to Russia, where one day, walking through a market, he ran into his spy lover. One look into her eyes and it all came back.

They joined the Peace Corps and started adopting African babies. But then her past caught up with her and she was killed. Tony had no choice but to pack up his family and head back to Los Angeles.

When he hears that Jack is on trial, he flies to D.C., marches into the courtroom and screams, “Jack Bauer es inocente!”

Update:

The producers have spoken: The answers are all in the silent clock.

You will recall that when lovable Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi) died in the episode right after Tony Almeida took his last breath, there was a sad, sad silent clock that marked the passing of our favorite CTU analyst.

There was no such clock when Tony died in Jack's arms and this was deliberate, executive producer Howard Gordon wrote in an e-mail to The Times this afternoon.

"We didn't give him the silent clock because we always wanted to keep alive the possibility for some kind of (admittedly) miraculous resurrection ... which we will explain," Gordon wrote. "He's definitely NOT the Almeida we once knew."

The horror! Could it be his Evil Twin?

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

(Photo courtesy Robert Voets / Fox)

Comments

[Fara]

Tony returns -- that's all that matters! Season six was a sad, sad affair without him and I am SO looking forward to season 7 now, whereas before, I wasn't as excited about it. Jack and Tony are back, baby! Bring it on! =)

[Lindsay]

I really love Tony, he was my favorite character but I am not interested in seeing him come back only to be the bad guy and ruin everything we used to love him for. I am not happy that they 'killed' him off in the first place, but I would rather remember him as a great person who loved his wife and fought the good fight, instead of a corrupted enemy we don't recognize. My hope is that he starts off as the bad guy but eventually gets back to being himself. But somehow I don’t think the producers will be that generous.

[Teresa]

I've got it all figured out. There's a little crossover action going:

On [the Brit sci-fi series] "Torchwood," they had an alien glove that could bring the dead back to life. The glove was destroyed at the end of the episode, but one of the characters dryly noted, "The thing about gloves is they come in pairs."

So, somebody got hold of that other "Torchwood" glove and used it to bring Tony back to life in "24."

Next up, Jack Bauer meets Captain Jack Harkness!

=)

[NGT]

Not only is Tony back but the biggest SHOCKER is that there is a new villian in season 7 and it is someone seaking revenge since being in hiding since season 3, two people its rumoured to be are females so this time the leader will infact female which we've never really seen before so it could be Nina back again or even better Sheri palmer.

[Applesauce]

whatever happened to that assasin girl that took tried to kill palmer at the end of season 2, and took tony hostage in season 4?

[Abdur-Rahman]

Those who are making fun of the writer's decision of Tony coming back as the bad guy should stop. They haven't even watched the season yet so how can they judge it? HOW can someone judge a show like 24 with its twists and turns? It's ridiculous!

[Paul]

I didn't think Curtis has died after Jack shot him - in fact I was pretty surprised when you see Jack getting told that he had died

[blinky]

Who cares how or why, emperor almeida is coming back! And having watched the trailer, a hell of a lot cuter too. I think we should just see how it goes, if it's crap it's crap, just stop watching it.

[georgie2000]

I think Tony is a big part of the show and I hope that whatever mistake he makes in this season he gets a pardon somehow, he was missed in the 6th, and his trademark...YEAH...