Swag watch has been on an unintentional hiatus around these parts. Blame for this lies mostly in a lack of bloated summer movies, the marketing budgets for which allow for totally ridiculous wastes of money on things like a Love Guru magic 8-ball.

But now the TV industry is getting its post-strike footing back. So if you heard a girlish glee that sounded like it was coming from the intersection of Jackson and State, then it was probably me when the screener of the two-hour, four-part premiere of 24 arrived in the TOC offices along with this Jack Bauer action figure from McFarlane Toys. (Those who exist within the nexus of the Venn diagram of “people with man-crushes on Kiefer Sutherland” and “people who like action figures” will no doubt remember Sutherland’s talk-show anecdote about why it’s taken so long for a faux-Bauer to come to the shelves of your local nerd hangout: He set the last one on fire, further proving what our EIC said to me last week: Kiefer is exactly the kind of drinker with whom you’d like to drink.)

Anyway, as you can see this action figure comes with its own mini-24 playset, and features Bauer in stalking-horse mode. There don’t seem to be any other playsets you buy, but that’s what your imagination is for. And hey, the little boxes move.

Unfortunately, there’s not much “action” in this action figure (and trust me, I know from playing with action figures). Though he’s carrying a Messenger Bag of Justice, neither of Bauer’s legs move so getting him from place to place within 24 hours is going to be a challenge. The arms articulate at the shoulders, but only the left hand rotates. Finally, you can take the gun out of his right hand, but since it doesn’t fit in the holster on his side, you can tell—much like his TV counterpart—that the gun is supposed to stay there.

On the plus side, since you can move his arms and left hand, you can manipulate your Jack Bauer into performing the “Alas, poor Yorick” scene from Hamlet (at right), which is something you can’t say about the CSI action figures. Suck it, Grissom.

24 returns to television on January 11 at 7pm. Look for next-day recaps all season on the TOC blog.