Kim Bauer = Carmen Electra.  From about 1996 - 2005, Carmen Electra was the safety net.  If Maxim or FHM or Stuff could not find anyone to put on the cover of the magazine, they went to Electra.  She was a safe bet - always nice looking, a little on the skanky side, and no one ever got annoyed that she was on the cover of a magazine.  But then again, you also did not do a double-take as you walked by.  It was Electra, she was always on the covers.  If Alyssa Milano dropped out, they would say, “It’s OK, we can call Carmen Electra!”

Kim Bauer is 24’s Carmen Electra.  The writers can’t figure out a way to put Jack in a precarious situation.  What we do???  Hey, let’s have Kim get kidnapped or at least threatened to be harmed.  Now Jack’s back is against the wall - yes!  We can’t figure out a plot to make it through the last 4 episodes - hey, what if we put Kim Bauer in a scenario where she might be maimed?  Done!

But you know,  we did not cancel our subscription toMaxim just because they had the same hot girl on the cover every other month.  And likewise, we keep watching 24.  If it works, we guess - it works.