Carlos Bernard

KEEPING the free world free is no easy task, but for Carlos Bernard's "24" character Tony Almeida, it's all in a day's work. The Fox series opens its fifth season Sunday and Monday with a pair of two-hour episodes, so filming for the 43-year-old Chicago-born actor, who lives in Laurel Canyon with actress-wife Sharisse Baker-Bernard and their young daughter, is already in high gear. Sounds as if he could use at least 24 hours off. Open till 3 but ...

KEEPING the free world free is no easy task, but for Carlos Bernard's "24" character Tony Almeida, it's all in a day's work. The Fox series opens its fifth season Sunday and Monday with a pair of two-hour episodes, so filming for the 43-year-old Chicago-born actor, who lives in Laurel Canyon with actress-wife Sharisse Baker-Bernard and their young daughter, is already in high gear. Sounds as if he could use at least 24 hours off. Open till 3 but ...

Don't despair. With the globe in such turmoil, escapism through entertainment is just the ticket to lift spirits and soften worry lines. Who needs nerve-jangling reality when it's possible to unwind tranquilly with television and float off into dreamy fantasy the likes of this? Terrorists are about to explode a nuclear device in Los Angeles! Yes ... Jack's back. Have I already determined who are the new moles inside L.A.'s branch of the federal Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU)? Of course.

Don't despair. With the globe in such turmoil, escapism through entertainment is just the ticket to lift spirits and soften worry lines. Who needs nerve-jangling reality when it's possible to unwind tranquilly with television and float off into dreamy fantasy the likes of this? Terrorists are about to explode a nuclear device in Los Angeles! Yes ... Jack's back. Have I already determined who are the new moles inside L.A.'s branch of the federal Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU)? Of course.

Two Oxnard men arrested after a Bank of America branch was robbed in Ventura on Jan. 22 have been indicted on federal charges for separate heists, the FBI said Wednesday. A Los Angeles grand jury earlier this month returned an indictment against Carlos Bernard Chacon, 29, who was described by witnesses in the Ventura robbery, said Charlie Parsons, special agent in charge in the FBI's Los Angeles office.

An Oxnard man was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for robbing a Port Hueneme bank last year, the FBI said Thursday. Arnold Gilbert Valdivia, 32, pleaded guilty to robbing the Bank of America on West Channel Islands Boulevard on Dec. 24 in exchange for the dismissal of two other charges, officials said. Valdivia had also been charged by a federal grand jury with robbing a Westlake Bank of America on Jan. 12 and a Home Savings branch in Santa Maria on Jan. 15.

"The Extra Mile," a seminar about Hollywood casting, will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. at Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, L.A., as a fundraiser for Cecily Adams, a veteran film and television casting director and longtime Theatre West member who is battling cancer.

Two Oxnard men were indicted by federal grand juries for their roles in bank robberies, the FBI said Tuesday. Tommy Santos Miramontes, 28, is accused of robbing the California Federal Bank at 2900 Saviers Road in Oxnard on Feb. 2, FBI Special Agent Charlie Parsons said. Miramontes already was in custody on unrelated charges, Parsons said. Also indicted was Arnold Gilbert Valdivia, 31, who is accused of robbing the Bank of America at 9493 Telephone Road in Ventura on Jan.

A Van Nuys man who admitted robbing a Westlake Village bank last November has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison, the FBI announced. Lynn Charles Smith, 40, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday for the Nov. 30 robbery of the Westlake Village branch of Security Pacific Bank, said FBI Special Agent Gary Auer. During the robbery, Smith used a note to order a teller to hand over large bills to him, Auer said.

SERIES American Idol: Last season's champ Kris Allen returns to perform on a new episode of the talent competition (8 p.m. Fox). SoCal Connected: A new edition of the newsmagazine profiles a former insurance broker who contracted cancer but was then denied medical coverage (8 p.m. KCET). Behind Bars: This new documentary series about America's jails debuts with three back-to-back episodes (8, 9 and 10 p.m. Discovery). Kitchen Nightmares: Chef Gordon Ramsay works his makeover magic on an Italian restaurant in Lancaster in this new episode (9 p.m. Fox)

MT. EMMY: To reach the pinnacle or, in this case, the golden Emmy, wrap yourself in raves and pack lots of buzz. Altitude readings are by Greg Braxton, Maria Elena Fernandez and Tom O'Neil. PEAKING THE DARK SIDE: Katey Sagal is best known for playing mothers on sitcoms such as "Married . . . With Children" and "8 Simple Rules." But her dramatic turn as a potentially lethal matriarch of a motorcycle gang in FX's "Sons of Anarchy" has us all shivery.

"I'm Jack Bauer, and this is the third-longest day of my life." Fox's favorite hard-luck superagent is going to regret calling in sick as the drama "24" returns for a third season Tuesday. Fox again presents the season premiere commercial-free. As before, each episode is an hour in a full day (albeit one mysteriously free of traffic jams and bathroom breaks), and Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is called upon to save the nation from imminent disaster.