I think the creators of 24 got a ton of publicity when Obama was elected, that a lot of researchers felt that 24 "got the public used to an African-American president" and that it has great power. 24 was also quoted quite a lot in the torture discussions in the US government. So I think 24 is feeling the weight of all that responsibility and is trying to ease off a bit on the "Jack does whatever he wants to" stuff.
When we have our DVR filled with a number of shows, I always put 24 off to last. I find they put in gratuitous violence just for the shock value and I don't enjoy it. Also some of the plot twists are truly outrageous and those always bother me, when it is nonsensical just to make the storyline work.
For example, you have a hard core guy who is willing to kill his own son, who is ruthless and out for money. He's been doing this all his life, it is a core part of him. But then one little deal goes wrong and suddenly he's a limp noodle?? That makes no sense.
