24 is back on TV, thank God, and so's Downton Abbey

If you are among the lucky ones who grew up in this land of plenty, it's unlikely you'll be familiar with the joys of the British job centre. Mostly located in grey, uninspiring office blocks, these bureaus of despair are where the desperate go in search of dead-end, minimum-wage jobs. For unemployed "yoof" surviving on Pot Noodles and pennies, the job centre can be soul-crushing and, judging by the premiere of sitcom The Job Lot (BBC Entertainment, Tuesday at 9pm), not the greatest place to work either.

The series is set in bleak West Midlands job centre Brownall House, which is managed by the neurotic Trish (far right; Sarah Hadland, Miranda). Against the grind of nine-to-five clerical work, the staff while away the hours bickering and gossiping, sparing hardly a thought for the centre's clients.

Resentful office clerk Karl (Russell Tovey, Gavin & Stacey) is on the verge of quitting; even his daily biscuit-munching rituals fail to relieve the boredom - until a new temp arrives to brighten up his day, that is. Meanwhile, the dour, work-shy Angela (Jo Enright; Life's Too Short) has returned to her jobsworth ways, having been victorious at a work tribunal, heaping more stress onto her close-to-breaking manager.

If you're thinking the premise sounds familiar, you may be recalling the squabbles and rivalries that plagued life at Wernham Hogg, the fictional paper merchants led by maverick middle-manager David Brent, in Ricky Gervais' The Office. But whereas Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant derived much of their humour from poignant observation and subtle pathos (and the wonderfully cringeworthy Brent), The Job Lot is littered with lazy sitcom cliches and has a weak storyline. While the characters are likeable enough and there are a few on-the-nose moments of bureaucratic frustration, ultimately - much like it's aimless staff - The Job Lot lacks any obvious ambition.

If the inhabitants of Brownall House think they're having a tough time of it, they should try stepping into the size tens of former counterterrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). Returning to our screens this week is 24 (subtitled Live Another Day; TVB Pearl, Tuesday at 10.40pm), the ninth terribly unfortunate day in Bauer's eventful life.

After taking a well-earned break from the world of professional back-stabbing, the falsely accused Bauer (how many times has the poor man had to prove himself innocent?) is on the run once again, now being hunted by the CIA across London. Rumours of an imminent attack on the American president have linked Bauer to the planned assassination. Declining the agency's offer to pop in for tea and some light afternoon torture, Bauer manages to single-handedly take out a crack squad of fully armed operatives before being subdued by his former employer. Of course, this being 24, nothing is as it seems; can Bauer really be the enemy this time or does he have a hidden agenda?