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24 (TV series)

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24 is a current U.S. television action/drama series, produced by the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide. It is named 24 because the action on the show occurs in "real-time", with each season covering the events of one day in the life of Jack Bauer and his colleagues at the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles. Every episode in a season covers the events of one hour in that day (hence 24 episodes per season). 24 makes frequent use of split-screens to show the actions of various characters concurrently.

24 was created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran (La Femme Nikita), and premiered in 2001.

Overview

24 is a thriller shown in "real-time", with each minute of airtime corresponding to a minute in the lives of the characters. This real-time nature is emphasized via the ticking of an on-screen digital clock. Subtracting for U.S. advertising breaks, an episode actually lasts around 44 minutes. Action that takes place during the adverts is not shown.

The "real-time" technique is not frequently seen in television series, but it is not new. For example, the "real-time" format was used in an episode of M*A*S*H. In film, the technique dates back to at least 1949, with the film noir The Set-Up. 24 also borrows its use of split-screen techniques from Timecode, a film released in 2000, to show events in two different places at once. Despite not having invented the "real-time" and split-screen techniques, 24's techniques are still seen as innovative, undoubtedly being the most extensive use of these techniques to date.

24 has received both critical and popular acclaim, becoming a true "watercooler" show (i.e., a TV show that everyone talks about the next day). However the necessities of its format sometimes lead to egregious padding and some manifest absurdities (for example, traffic jams are surprisingly uncommon for a show set mostly in Southern California). The show is notable for its unusually accurate approach to technology (although many have found season 3 to be less accurate than its predecessors) and its realistic characters.

At first sight, it may seem as if characters rarely eat, rest, or take bathroom breaks - and this is a common complaint made by people who haven't seen the show - but in fact, due to the sheer number of storylines, characters will usually only be seen for at most 15 minutes per episode, so there is plenty of time for these things to happen offscreen.

In the first season, Kiefer Sutherland, who plays the main character Jack Bauer, won a Golden Globe for his performances; Surnow and Cochran (the creators of the show) won an Emmy Award. In 2004, the show won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series. 24 won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing For A Series, Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series, and Outstanding Stunt Coordination.

Syndication

24 is syndicated worldwide, being broadcast in the following countries:

Cast

See List of characters in 24 for a more thorough list.

Main cast

  • There have been hints that some of the main cast who are not returning full-time in season 4 (Cuthbert, Haysbert, Bernard, Aylesworth and Dale) may make re-appearances as guest stars.

Recurring cast

The following are semi-regular cast members who were only credited as guest stars. In order of appearance:

Season synopses

Every season so far follows a similar format, centering around a central threat posed by terrorists. Surprise sacrifices, backstabbings, and other plot twists are common. Besides the central threat, each season has several major subplots that span the majority of the episodes, interwoven with the main plot. Throughout each season, Jack Bauer faces drastic personal anguish in addition to his tasks to stop the terrorists. Each season starts at a different time of the day in Pacific Standard Time.

Template:Spoiler

Season 1

The first season (2001–2002) revolves around an assassination attempt on Senator David Palmer, an African American candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination, on the day of the California Primary. The central character is Jack Bauer, a former Delta Force member who now works for the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) in Los Angeles. Bauer becomes personally as well as professionally involved when his wife and daughter are kidnapped by the people behind the assassination.

Major subplots:

  • A mole at CTU is sabotaging efforts to stop the assassination
  • Kim and Teri Bauer are kidnapped
  • Political scandals threaten to erupt, centered around Senator Palmer's son killing his sister's rapist
  • Jack's personal anguish: worried about the safety of his family

The season starts and ends at: 12:00am (midnight - LA time); the action begins in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (4:00pm, Kuala Lumpur time). Although it is not clear what year the series is set in, presumably it is for the 2004 election.

The season has a dramatic and unexpected ending: the death of Teri Bauer. Many fans were dismayed by this sudden plot twist, while others applauded 24's genre-defying willingness to kill major characters with little warning. As a consolation to fans who hated the fact that Teri died, the producers filmed an alternate ending in which Teri, Kim, and Jack are reunited. This alternate ending is available on the Season 1 DVD boxed set, although it is noticeably less dramatic than the actual ending aired.

Season 2

The second season (2002–2003) takes place a year and a half later and follows the work of now-President David Palmer and agent Jack Bauer to stop terrorists from detonating a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles.

Major subplots:

The season starts and ends at: 8:00am (LA time); the action begins in Seoul, South Korea (midnight, Seoul time).

After the nuclear bomb is disposed of safely, the story focuses on the United States' retaliation against the people responsible for constructing it. A recorded conversation between a terrorist involved with the bomb and high-ranking officials of three Middle Eastern countries (which are never specified) is used to implicate those countries in the plot. However, Palmer is reluctant to order military action against them until he has absolute proof that the recording is genuine. Several members of his staff then vote to relieve Palmer of his position under Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, believing his hesitation to be a sign of indecision and weakness. The Vice-President then orders military strikes against the three countries to continue.

Jack, Michelle and Tony race to find the evidence that the recording is a forgery, and they eventually discover that a group of American businessmen fabricated it in order to wage war with the Middle East so that they could benefit from rocketing oil prices that would result. The strikes are called off and Palmer is reinstated as President after the proof is produced, and Palmer then tells his staff that he believes that the strictest evidence of hostile intent is required before waging war. The entire storyline has thinly veiled references to President Bush's foreign policy in the Middle East following the September 11th attacks and the "three Middle Eastern countries" could be a reference to the Axis of Evil.

Like the first season, the second ends with a surprise twist. The nuclear bomb situation is resolved without massive loss of life, but President Palmer collapses after being attacked with a biological weapon, presumably in an assassination attempt. Viewers were forced to wait until the third season to see whether Palmer survived the attack. The sudden shift from nuclear to biological also foreshadows events in the third season, which centers around the threat of an engineered virus being set loose on the general public.

Season 3

The third season (2003–2004) takes place three years after the second season and centers around the threat of a deadly virus being released in Los Angeles while President Palmer is visiting to participate in a debate with his chief opponent in his re-election campaign.

Major subplots:

  • President Palmer faces scandal during his re-election campaign
  • Strained romantic relationships between Tony and Michelle, Kim and Chase
  • Jack's personal anguish: recovering from a heroin addiction that he developed as part of an undercover operation

The season starts and ends at: 1:00pm (LA time). This is the first season where the action starts in the United States.

The driver's license of a 19-year-old character in the third season, Kyle Singer, shows his date of birth as 1987, thus setting the third season in 2006 or 2007, with the first season therefore being in 2002 or 2003. However, some believe that since the first and third seasons fall in Presidential election years, it could be a mistake and the seasons actually take place in 2000, 2002 and 2004. However, like The West Wing it is possible that elections in the 24-world do not coincide with ours.

Unlike the first two seasons, the third does not end with a sudden plot twist. It is also the first season which has not concluded with a silent timer, though the silent timer was used earlier in the season when Jack was forced by the terrorists to murder his boss, Ryan Chapelle. Despite the lack of a last-minute plot twist, important events occur at the end of the third season that have major consequences for the next season. First, Jack chops Chase's hand off with an axe to detach a timed-release device containing the virus that was secured to Chase's wrist, thus saving both their lives. Second, Tony turns himself in to the authorities for his role in helping the terrorist mastermind escape in order to save his wife's life. Third, President Palmer decides not to run for re-election due to his ex-wife Sherry being murdered under suspicious circumstances.

One of the greatest successes of the first season was that any one of the characters could have been good or evil. To bring back this feel, and to revamp the show, the producers decided not to renew the contracts of most of the cast. Thus, many fans see the first three seasons as a trilogy of sorts.

Season 4

Season 4 (2005) will premiere on 9 January 2005. Based in part on the success of their earlier summer programs such as The O.C., the Fox Network decided to implement a year-round schedule, and have decided to air the entire season, without any hiatuses, over 21 weeks - with double episodes airing at the beginning, middle and end.

Kiefer Sutherland will be the only main cast member returning but Mary Lynn Rajskub, whose recurring CTU techie character Chloe caused a stir among fans, will be back for at least a few episodes. Geoff Pierson, who played Presidential candidate John Keeler, will also have a part in the season - presumably as the President. The producers have also hinted that some of the cast members from previous seasons may guest star.

Alberta Watson and William Devane will join the main cast, while recurring cast members will include Kim Raver and Shohreh Agdashloo.

Some story-line details (possibly containing minor spoilers) from the Season 4 premiere are available. [1]

Miscellaneous information

  • Alberta Watson was hired for the first season but was ill and couldn't work, so her character was recast with Tamara Tunie and renamed Alberta. Watson later joined the cast in season four.
  • A graphic novel based on the show and titled One Shot was published in July 2004. Its story is set prior to the first season of the show, and details Jack Bauer's first day on the job at CTU, involving debriefing a former terrorist from the IRA and later defending her life from her former associates.
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