Will the upcoming eighth season of 24, which premieres on Fox on Jan. 17, be the series’ last? I’m going to choose to be in denial about that for now …

But DigitalSpy.com does have a first bit of footage from the new season, and it finds a retired (whut?!) Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) trying to spend some quality time with his granddaughter, only to be dragged back into another CTU/gotta-save-the-world-again emergency. Yes, every time he thinks he’s out, they keep pulling him back …

There are lots of familiar faces in the clip – Renee/Girl Jack (Annie Wersching)! President Taylor (Emmy winner Cherry Jones)! Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub)! Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert)! – as well as some new faces, like a man (played by The Shield‘s great Benito Martinez) desperately seeking Jack’s help, Freddie Prinze Jr.‘s new CTU operative Cole Ortiz, Mykelti Williamson as new CTU honcho Brian Hastings and some doofus who dares to ask the question, “Who the hell is Jack Bauer?” Oh, he’ll soon find out. Oh yes … he will soon find out.

One other cast standout: The kid playing Jack’s granddaughter, who you may recognize from what is one of the most annoying TV commercials ever: The Van De Kamp’s fish commercial in which the tot rudely chastizes her mother for feeding her minced fish. Let’s hope she’s far less annoying on 24, because grandpa or not, Jack Bauer simply won’t put up with that kind of sass!

PS – There’s another sneak peek at the new season available at YouTube, a shaky, poor quality clip someone filmed at San Diego Comic Con last summer. Again, the quality is bad (and much of it is flipped 90 degrees, making it a dizzying viewing experience), but it does provide more of a look at the new CTU offices, as well as a small preview of Dana Walsh, the new CTU character played by Battlestar Galactica‘s Katee Sackhoff.

How excited are you for the new season of 24? And do you think/hope/dread that it will be the show’s final season?