In what surely would be his most difficult mission, can 24's Jack Bauer save Fox 35? The WOFL folks think so, deciding to mimic the start of the drama in the start of their 10 p.m. news on Monday night. Complete with the split screens, the digital clock counting down and the accompanying sound effects, Fox 35 tried to piggy-back on the hype of the show by changing the traditional start of its newscast. (Watch the opening here.)

Of course, 24 is a fictional drama -- and Fox's late newscast is just drama, albeit cheesy. The 24 takeoff previewed these stories on Fox 35's News at 10:

• "Fake firepower for very real heists. Why are crooks making the change from real guns?"
• "Liftoff for Pluto tomorrow. Should you worry about radiation on board?"
• "What does it feel like to be attacked by a great white and live?"
• "Plus, a vampire for governor?"

Stations have tried to carry over themes from movies, miniseries and TV shows to their newscasts before, but I must say that Fox 35's presentation on Monday took this concept to a new level.

Fox's late newscast has been very fluffy lately. The station is taking a very soft approach to the news, as you can see from the lineup above. On one hand, I think it's good that WOFL is trying to do something different. On the other, I cringe when I think that if these are the stories Fox 35 is doing now, what will they be covering for sweeps?

Maybe the newscast will start with Cale, Shelly and Glenn singing ala American Idol. Too bad Simon wouldn't be nearby to tell them what he thinks of their newscasts' direction.