24 (season 4)

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24 Season Four
Kiefer Sutherland and Kim Raver

Season Four, also known as Day 4 of the television series 24 premiered on January 9, 2005 and aired its season finale on May 23, 2005.

The Season Four storyline starts and ends at 7:00 AM.

A 10-minute prequel to the season was available exclusively to the American audience with the third season DVD. It was broadcast on Sky One in the UK before the showing of the fourth season in that country. It was also available in UK release of the fourth season DVD.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Season overview
- 1.1 Major plots and subplots
- 1.2 Characters of Season 4
2 Season notes
3 List of episodes
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Season overview

Season Four (2005) is set 18 months after Season Three. Judging by the theories proposed for the dates of previous seasons, the events of the day would appear to take place in March 2010.

Jack is now working for Secretary of Defense James Heller after being fired by CTU, caught up in an elaborate terrorist plot which involves both men and the daughter of Heller, Audrey Raines, who doubles as her father's chief policy assistant and Jack's lover (while separated from her husband). Jack must work with CTU and Erin Driscoll, the new Chief Director of CTU and the woman who fired him, to uncover what is happening. Again, one or more moles are revealed to be working inside CTU, aiding the terrorists.

Unlike previous seasons, which focused on a singular threat, multiple enemies, and conspiracies, this season is based around one main enemy, a terrorist named Habib Marwan who controls a series of Middle Eastern terrorist cells that launch a series of attacks against the United States. This was somewhat accidental; Marwan was originally intended to only appear in six episodes, but the producers were so impressed by Arnold Vosloo's performance that Marwan became the season's main villain, and stayed that way right up to the final hours of the season. During Season Five, however, there seems to be some implication that some of the masterminds behind the crisis in Day 5 may have been secretly involved in the incidents of Day 4.

Day 4 also takes a different approach in its storytelling. Rather than two large acts, this season is divided into several smaller acts depending on what terrorist threat Marwan came up with.

The kidnapping and planned broadcast of the execution of the Secretary of Defense.
Nuclear power plants across America are sent into a forced meltdown.
Terrorists steal a stealth fighter to shoot down Air Force One.
Jack and Marwan scramble to get a hold of the nuclear football.
The terrorists steal and launch a nuclear missile.

[edit] Major plots and subplots

The bombing of a commuter train
- which allows the theft of a device known as the Dobsen-type Override which could be used to take control of (and meltdown) United States nuclear power plants.
The kidnapping of Secretary of Defense James Heller and Audrey Raines
- which is broadcast over the Internet
- both hostages were rescued by CTU before their executions could take place
- the use of the override requires a surge in Internet traffic, presumably to brute-force security at nuclear plants nationwide, as the attempt is masked by the Internet chaos caused by the mass streaming of videos regarding the kidnapping of the Secretary of Defense and his near-execution
The override being used, causing a meltdown in the San Gabriel Island reactor
- Edgar Stiles' mother's death, as a handicapped resident of the island
- Distracts CTU director Erin Driscoll from checking on her daughter, who commits suicide.
- in an effort to cover-up their complicity and erase computer records, the defense contractor that developed the override activates an EMP that also causes a blackout over an 8-square mile section of downtown Los Angeles.
The resulting turmoil allows a stealth fighter to be stolen from an Air Force base in Southern California
The stolen stealth fighter shoots down Air Force One, which is hit and crashes into the Mojave Desert.
- almost killing President Keeler in the process and elevating the Vice-President Charles Logan under the 25th Amendment.
- the crash is used to steal the nuclear football from the crash site.
A nuclear warhead in Iowa is stolen and fired at Los Angeles before its nuclear code can be deactivated
The diplomatic problem with People's Republic of China
- a Chinese national at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles is revealed to be complicit and is captured by CTU. In the process, the Chinese Consul is killed, leading to a serious diplomatic problem with China
- the Chinese government begins investigating the raid at the Chinese Consulate and begins to suspect CTU's involvement
- Logan's administration attempts to frame Jack Bauer as acting against authorization by the US Government
- David Palmer warns Jack that someone in the administration is trying to have Jack conveniently killed, causing Jack to perform a pseudocide with four conspirators: David, Michelle Dessler, Tony Almeida, and Chloe O'Brian.

[edit] Characters of Season 4

See article List of 24 characters.

[edit] Season notes

[edit] Continuous airing

The Fox Network decided to implement a year-round schedule because episodes of the show would be broadcast irregularly due to the fact that Fox had recently obtained the rights to air the World Series for several years. Thus, FOX chose to air all 24 episodes, without any hiatuses, over 19 weeks beginning mid-season—with double episodes airing twice in the first week, and again at the end of the season. Utilizing the extended planning session that this opportunity afforded the writers, they attempted to map out the season like never before, but as the season wore on, they eventually fell back to writing on an episode by episode basis, without any planning or foreknowledge.

This was particularly evident in the way the story was told. Unlike previous seasons, which all began with the discovery of the threat and went through the investigation, the containment of the threat and followed the aftermath, Season Four began with no one knowing what the threat was to be, and the characters—and audience—were kept in the dark for several episodes.

However, this is debatable, as at least one source has claimed that the writers plan forward five episodes at a time, while a newspaper article stated that Season Four's later premiere date has allowed the creators to go back to previous episodes and fill in continuity errors and plot holes, making the episode transitions more fluid and realistic.

[edit] Cast

When the season began, every character from the first three seasons was absent except for Jack Bauer, President Keeler (Palmer's Republican opponent in season 3), and Chloe O'Brian. However, as the season went on several characters came back, including Tony Almeida (for 18 episodes), Michelle Dessler (13 episodes), Mike Novick (8 episodes), David Palmer (6 episodes), Aaron Pierce (2 episodes), and even Mandy, the assassin from seasons 1 and 2 (3 episodes).

Season Four provided viewers with several new characters. One of the new characters, Erin Driscoll, is involved in a subplot that involves her daughter's schizophrenia. Driscoll's daughter, Maya, ends up committing suicide. As a result, Driscoll is forced to leave CTU.

The season also played with the cast line-up in a way no previous seasons had done. The season began with Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Raver, Alberta Watson and William Devane as the main cast. Watson left after twelve episodes, Lana Parrilla — upgraded from a recurring to main character in episode six — was gone by episode thirteen, and Roger Cross was then put into the main cast. Devane then left after episode fourteen since he was filming for Stargate SG-1 at the time, and then returned briefly later in the season.

Stars

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
Kim Raver as Audrey Raines
Alberta Watson as Erin Driscoll
Roger Cross as Curtis Manning
William Devane as Secretary of Defense James Heller
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian

Recurring

Lana Parrilla as Sarah Gavin
James Morrison as Bill Buchanan
Louis Lombardi as Edgar Stiles
Aisha Tyler as Marianne Taylor
Geoff Pierson as President John Keeler
Gregory Itzin as President Charles Logan
Jude Ciccolella as Chief of Staff Mike Novick
Glenn Morshower as Agent Aaron Pierce
James Frain as Paul Raines
Arnold Vosloo as Habib Marwan
Nestor Serrano as Navi Araz
Jonathan Ahdout as Behrooz Araz
Mia Kirshner as Mandy
Ned Vaughn as Mitch Anderson
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dina Araz

Special Guest Stars

Special Guest Appearance by

Dennis Haysbert as President David Palmer

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

[edit] Depiction of torture

Although torture, used by both the U.S. and its opponents, had been depicted in previous seasons, there was noticeably more of it in Season 4, and the characters seemed on the whole much less disturbed by it.

In the wake of the real-life Abu Ghraib scandal and similar allegations at other U.S. military facilities housing suspected terrorists, some commentators accused[1] the show of legitimizing the use of torture in the war on terror. Many viewers were upset with the torture of subjects such as Sarah Gavin and Behrooz Araz, who were not hiding anything. They also criticize the show's position that essentially the torture helped exonerate them.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Kiefer Sutherland commented on the show's use of torture and how it relates to the recent controversies over government sanctioned torture. "Do I personally believe that the police or any of these other legal agencies that are working for this government should be entitled to interrogate people and do the things that I do on the show? No, I do not." [2]

[edit] List of episodes

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#	US Airdate	Prod. Code	Time	Written By	Directed By
3	January 10, 2005	4AFF03	09:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	Evan Katz	Brad Turner

4	January 10, 2005	4AFF04	10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.	Stephen Kronish	Brad Turner

5	January 17, 2005	4AFF05	11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.	Peter M. Lenkov	Jon Cassar

6	January 24, 2005	4AFF06	12:00 p.m. - 01:00 p.m.	Matt Michnovetz	Jon Cassar

7	January 31, 2005	4AFF07	01:00 p.m. - 02:00 p.m.	Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff	Ken Girotti

8	February 7, 2005	4AFF08	02:00 p.m. - 03:00 p.m.	Stephen Kronish, Peter M. Lenkov	Ken Girotti

9	February 14, 2005	4AFF09	03:00 p.m. - 04:00 p.m.	Howard Gordon, Evan Katz	Brad Turner

10	February 21, 2005	4AFF10	04:00 p.m. - 05:00 p.m.	Stephen Kronish, Peter M. Lenkov	Brad Turner

11	February 28, 2005	4AFF11	05:00 p.m. - 06:00 p.m.	Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff	Jon Cassar

12	March 7, 2005	4AFF12	06:00 p.m. - 07:00 p.m.	Howard Gordon, Evan Katz	Jon Cassar

13	March 14, 2005	4AFF13	07:00 p.m. - 08:00 p.m.	Anna Cofell	Rodney Charters

14	March 21, 2005	4AFF14	08:00 p.m. - 09:00 p.m.	Howard Gordon, Evan Katz	Tim Iacofano

15	March 28, 2005	4AFF15	09:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.	Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff	Bryan Spicer

16	April 4, 2005	4AFF16	10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.	Howard Gordon, Evan Katz	Jon Cassar

17	April 11, 2005	4AFF17	11:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.	Duppy Demetrius	Jon Cassar

18	April 18, 2005	4AFF18	12:00 a.m. - 01:00 a.m.	Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff	Jon Cassar

19	April 25, 2005	4AFF19	01:00 a.m. - 02:00 a.m.	Howard Gordon, Evan Katz	Bryan Spicer

20	May 2, 2005	4AFF20	02:00 a.m. - 03:00 a.m.	Peter M. Lenkov	Bryan Spicer

21	May 9, 2005	4AFF21	03:00 a.m. - 04:00 a.m.	Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff	Kevin Hooks

22	May 16, 2005	4AFF22	04:00 a.m. - 05:00 a.m.	Matt Michnovetz, Duppy Demetrius	Kevin Hooks

23	May 23, 2005	4AFF23	05:00 a.m. - 06:00 a.m.	Sam Montgomery	Jon Cassar

24	May 23, 2005	4AFF24	06:00 a.m. - 07:00 a.m.	Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon	Jon Cassar

[edit] Trivia

Shohreh Aghdashloo and Jonathan Ahdout, who play Dina and Behrooz Araz, also played mother and son in the film House of Sand and Fog.

In the fourteenth episode of the season, Dina is presented by Marwan with the opportunity to prove her allegiance to Marwan's cause. This is reminiscent of the third season, when Jack was challenged by the Salazars to shoot colleague Chase. Unfortunately for Dina, she turned the gun on Marwan at the last moment, only to find the chamber was empty. Marwan promptly orders her to be killed.