Has 24 Jumped the Shark?

I was asked last week at bowling if "24" had "Jumped the shark" yet. According to Wikipedia, "Jumping the shark is a metaphor that was originally used to denote the tipping point at which a TV series is deemed to have passed its peak, or has introduced plot twists that are illogical in terms of everything that has preceded them." It comes from Happy Days, when Richie Cunningham was gone and some of them moved to California, where Fonzie water ski jumped over a shark, despite never having water skied before.

24 has always been on the edge of reality, pushing the boundaries of what we can actually believe. I mean, how many times has Jack Bauer died already and been brought back to life? Plus, if you've ever been in LA, you know it is impossible to drive across the entire city on surface streets in 10 minutes. But the show is still pretty close to the original quality it started out as.

However... it now appears they are going to assassinate another president, who happens to be the brother of the previously assassinated president. Ok, they're starting to push it now. I'm starting to feel like they have pushed it as far as they can and in order to 1-up the previous seasons they have to go beyond what is believable and I fear it's the start of the end.

This can only end one way. Just like "The X-files", it will have to end in a blockbuster movie. Unlike X-files however, it won't be to try to deliver answers and close the story. It will most likely have to be an even more spectacular and unbelievable scenario. My question is how is that possible? I mean, they've already detonated nukes in LA this season. What's next? End of the world? Global warming? Will Al Gore have to come in to save Jack? Will Dr. Evil be involved? Will he have his sharks with lasers?

At that point I think it's safe to assume they will have jumped the shark (laser included).