I wake up and glance at the calendar; ití¢â‚¬â„¢s Monday. Usually, thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s cause for everyone to pull the covers over their heads and go back to sleep dreaming of Tuesday. But not for me: I spend Mondays with a smile on my face secure in the knowledge that in a few hours Ií¢â‚¬â„¢ll be watching another episode of my favourite show, 24.

In the impossible event that you doní¢â‚¬â„¢t know, 24 is a show that follows the exploits of Jack Bauer, an American counter-terrorist agent with the fictional Counter Terrorist unit. Every show covers an hour in real time. Ití¢â‚¬â„¢s now into its sixth season, and is still causing controversy by tackling sticky global issues. Mainstream media is rife with Muslim stereotypes, and 24 is no different. This season, the show has come under significant criticism from Islamic groups for making the villain of the series an Islamic terrorist. While ití¢â‚¬â„¢s true that the Muslim as villain motif is beyond clichíƒ ©, the show has also taken great pains to play up all aspects of the spectrum through its characters. Most compelling is the portrayal of an Muslim-American, a leader of a fictional Islamic rights organization. In the current season of 24, heí¢â‚¬â„¢s been thrown in a detention facility, and asked by the F.B.I to spy on his fellow Muslims for any attachment to the current threat.

In Canada, recently, the Supreme Court struck down a portion of the anti-terror legislation allowing for indefinite detention of terror suspects, and the basic debate focused over the question of giving rights up for the sake of national security, a debate thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s taken place globally, and which has also unsurprisingly found its way onto 24.

American generals, politicians of both parties, and boots-on-the-ground soldiers have all publicly expressed their love for 24, though some military brass have leveled heavy criticism at 24í¢â‚¬â„¢s depiction of torture, suggesting that the way it is used in the show is tantamount to approval of the practice. Of course, the irony of American military types condemning a fictional show for fictional representations of real-life torture is a little mindboggling, particularly given the Bush Administrationí¢â‚¬â„¢s public approval of certain torture practice. This may speak more to an inability to distinguish fact from fiction, but in an era when Jon Stewartí¢â‚¬â„¢s daily show competes for viewers with Fox News, ití¢â‚¬â„¢s hardly surprising.

In any case, 24 is an amazing piece of entertainment. And while critics will most likely continue trashing the show for its depiction of the world around it, ití¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to take that criticism to heart. Beyond stereotypical depictions of Muslims and slightly flattering depictions of torture, the show is endlessly watchable. And in a world where we are bombarded everyday with Muslim stereotypes and told that torture is okay, could you ask for a better diversion?