Jack Bauer
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| 24 character | |
|---|---|
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| Jack Bauer | |
| Gender | Male |
| Jobs held | Acting Dir. of Field Ops., CTU LA Special Asst. to Sec. of Defense Dir. of Field Ops., CTU LA Special Agent in Charge, CTU LA LAPD SWAT Officer, US Army — Combat Applications Group, Delta Force Counter Terrorist Group CIA Case Officer, Clandestine Services |
| Affiliation | CTU DOD |
| Family | Kim Bauer (Daughter) Phillip Bauer (Father) Graem Bauer (Brother) (Deceased) Carol (Sister-In-Law) Marilyn Bauer (Sister-In-Law) Josh Bauer (Nephew) |
| Spouse | Teri Bauer (Deceased) |
| Current status | Active |
| Portrayed by | Kiefer Sutherland |
| Seasons | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
Jack Bauer is the protagonist of the American television series 24, in which he has trained and worked in various capacities as a government agent, including US Army Delta Force, LAPD SWAT, and finally the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) Los Angeles. He is a key member of the latter and has prevented major terrorist attacks on the United States throughout the series, saving both civilians and government leaders. On many occasions the character has done so at great personal expense, as those he has thwarted have targeted him and his loved ones many times. Kiefer Sutherland portrays Jack Bauer in the television show and video game, and in 2006 signed on for at least three further seasons. [1]
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[edit] Appearances
As the principal character in 24, Jack plays a prominent role in the television series and the video game. Jack is the main protagonist of the 24 series and the books, and has appeared in every episode to date. He is the only character to have done so.
[edit] 24 television series
Jack Bauer was born in California, the son of Phillip Bauer. After high school, he enrolled at UCLA, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Art. He went on to receive his Master of Science in Criminology and Law from UC Berkeley[2].
After completing his schooling, and after joining the U.S. Army and tuning his skills as a soldier, he was asked to join the U.S. Army's elite special forces unit Delta Force, was offered a membership to the elite army brigade "Coral Snake", and worked as a Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team member. It is also known that Bauer did work for the CIA before being seconded to the Counter Terrorist Unit. While at CTU, he was the Team Leader for an action known as Operation Proteus and the Section Captain during the incident of the Hotel Los Angeles attack[3]. He later uncovered evidence that three CTU agents, including his mentor Christopher Henderson, were taking bribes. Jack gained a reputation as a whistleblower and lost favor with the CTU hierarchy[4].
Jack was married to Teri Bauer; the couple had one daughter, Kim Bauer. After Teri's death at the hands of Nina Myers, a rift grew between Kim and Jack, not closing until eighteen months later. Jack also broke off contact with his father, Phillip Bauer, shortly after the funeral.
Throughout the course of 24, Jack has been the subject of "blowback" (when a past operation comes back to haunt him in some way) a total of four times. The first was in Day 1, with Jack being the target of the Drazen family (also targeted: Senator David Palmer and Robert Ellis). The second was in Day 3, when one of Jack's former collegues, Stephen Saunders, a former MI6 and Special Air Service operative, tried to release a weaponized virus in the United States. The third occurred in Day 5, when Jack was abducted by Cheng Zhi after taking part in a covert operation on the Chinese Embassy in Day 4. The latest blowback occurs in Day 6, when terrorist Abu Fayed demands Jack's death after Jack tortured and killed his brother in Beirut during an operation in 1999.
[edit] 24: The Game
24: The Game takes place between Day 2 and 3. Jack begins waiting outside the ship where terrorists are going to realease a Richin Bomb in the water supply. A CTU Team triggers an alarm causing Jack and his team to storm the ship. Jack and his team finds the whole ship's crew dead in a cargo hold. He runs into an enemy from his past, known as Peter Madsen. It is unclear what the story is between them, but it is stated that he framed Jack's family for a vile crime, this is hinted with Jack saying to him: "Eight years ago, my family wasn't involved". Most likley it's hinted that Madsen was under Jack's command either in the army or in an SWAT team, and Madsen betrayed Jack. Madsen kidnaps Jack's daughter Kim, and later Kate Warner. Jack finally kills Madsen in the end when he tries to escape.
[edit] 24 (Film)
Kiefer Sutherland will portray Jack Bauer in a 24 Film in 2008.
[edit] Other media
Jack Bauer has been referenced in other television shows, both subtly and obviously. In an episode of House, also on FOX, Dr. Gregory House responds to an emergency situation by saying sarcastically, "Oh, a level three! Maybe we should call Jack Bauer."
Bauer will appear in the season finale of the 18th season of The Simpsons with Chloe O'Brian as part of Springfield Elementary's new Counter Truancy Unit.[5]
Bauer was also referenced in the Degrassi: The Next Generation Season 6 episode "Working for the Weekend." The 3rd episode in "Family Guy"'s "Stewie Griffin Movie", the episode begins with Kiefer saying 'previously on Family Guy', then goes into the split-screen "24" intro.
[edit] Skills
Jack's service at CTU and in various prior jobs has given him many relevant survival skills. He is an expert shooter and is competent in hand to hand combat. He is also a capable pilot (both airplanes and helicopters). On many occasions he has demonstrated that he is a ruthless and efficient interrogator of suspected terrorists, relying on his knowledge and experience of human psychology (and anatomy), and has also shown remarkable ability at resisting torture when subjected to it himself.
Jack has some knowledge of foreign languages. He is seen speaking Spanish briefly in Season 1 and Russian in Season 6. He also understands some Serbian, which he presumably learned for a mission he undertook in Kosovo.
[edit] Characteristics
Bauer's behavior and actions are consistent with doing that which has to be done to protect the United States and its citizens to the point of giving his own life. He appears to be entirely utilitarian and consequentialist in his moral thinking: when innocent lives are in danger he behaves as though obtaining a desired result is more important than how he obtains it, and he frequently performs controversial actions if he thinks they will achieve an important goal. His philosophy was perhaps best expressed after he shot and beheaded with a hacksaw a witness in front of George Mason, then-CTU Special Agent in Charge. George expressed dismay at Jack's extreme action, and Jack replied: "That's the problem with people like you, George. You want results, but you never want to get your hands dirty." Lying, torture, theft, and even shooting his friends like he did to fellow CTU agent Curtis Manning in Day 6 are all viable options to Jack, a stark contrast to the vast majority of fictional heroes. Comparisons with the very people he battles are inevitable. As stated by George Mason in Day 1, "Rules don't apply to Jack Bauer. He does what he wants, when he wants, and he doesn't care whose life it affects."
Jack's work brings with it dangers that occasionally put his and his family's life on the line, as well as the lives of those close to him, in order to serve the greater good. In one instance, he was forced to choose between defying a terrorist with a biological weapon or killing one of his superiors, Regional Director Ryan Chappelle. Despite efforts to locate the terrorist before the deadline, Bauer was forced to execute Chappelle to prevent the release of the weapon. In the fourth season, Bauer drew the ire of the Chinese government when he infiltrated and extracted a Chinese scientist named Lee Jong from the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, which resulted in the death of the Chinese Consul. Lee was shot during the raid and needed immediate medical attention. At CTU, Bauer learned that the sole doctor was already working on Paul Raines, estranged husband of Audrey Raines (Jack's girlfriend) who earlier in the series had saved Jack's life. Much to Audrey's horror, Bauer drew his weapon and ordered the doctor to abandon Paul Raines and begin surgery on Lee. Raines went into cardiac arrest and died shortly afterward. Information from Lee though led to Bauer preventing a nuclear explosion in Los Angeles.
Jack is rarely seen showing remorse for such actions until after the crisis has passed. This is largely due to his emotional suppression necessary to complete the task at hand. He has on occasion revealed his more vulnerable side, including notable scenes like at the end of Day One when he starts crying while holding his wifes dead body, the end of Day 3 when he breaks down crying after the traumatic events of the day and while holding Tony Almeida's lifeless body in the middle of Day 5. However his ability to suppress has been brought into question in Day Six when, after Jack is forced to kill Curtis Manning, he vomits and breaks down in tears, telling Buchanan that he believes he is no longer able to perform his duties.
However, there are limits to the sacrifices Jack is willing to make in the line of duty. When it was discovered terrorists were preparing to release a canister of nerve gas in a crowded shopping mall, Jack was ordered by his superior Lynn McGill to let the terrorists carry out the attack, which would have led to hundreds of deaths, and then follow them in the hopes of recovering the other nerve gas containers they had stolen. Jack refused and stopped the attack, even against the rationalization that a few hundred deaths were nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands of deaths the rest of the nerve gas could inflict.
Jack exhibits no fear of death, specifying in Day 6 that he would willingly die for something worthwhile. He has volunteered for suicide missions in the past, ranging from crashing a plane with a nuclear bomb in the desert on Day 2, to asking his Chinese captors on Day 5 to kill him instead of interrogating him for years, knowing that he would never speak. On Day 6, Bauer offered no resistance when he was released from Chinese custody only to learn he was a bargaining chip for a known terrorist. Only when he learned that CTU was fooled by terrorists and that his death would amount to nothing did he begin to resist and escape his captors.
Following the death of his wife at the end of Season 1, he seemed to live a life that had little personal purpose. To Jack Bauer, there is no separation of his personal life and his duty. As he said to Chase Edmunds, his partner during Season 3: "You cannot do this job and have a normal life at the same time."[6].
[edit] Weapons and Equipment
Jack has carried two pistols throughout the entire run of the series. In Days 1 and 2, he carried a SIG P228. Later, in Days 3-6, he had a Heckler & Koch USP Compact, chambered in 9mm. He also has used several different weapons occasionaly, usually taken from terrorists. These include (in approximate order of experience) the regular Heckler & Koch USP, the Beretta M92FS, the Smith & Wesson Model 60, the Colt M4A1, the MAC 10, the Heckler & Koch G3, the Heckler & Koch SR9T, the Smith & Wesson Model 66, the Accuracy International AWP, the AKMS, the Ruger Mini-14, the Heckler & Koch P2000, the Mossberg 590 and its Mariner variant, the SIG P225, the Heckler & Koch SL8, the SIG P229R, the Mossberg 500, and the Makarov PM. He also uses several knives, including the Microtech Halo III and improvised knives such as a pair of surgical scissors.
[edit] Concept and creation
[edit] Character creation
The writers of 24 collaborated with Sutherland to create the part of "an all around awesome guy." Sutherland is also an executive producer of 24. [1]
[edit] Kiefer Sutherland
Joel Surnow commented that they did not have any actors in mind for the part; "We didn’t really know who it was. We were casting a lot of people and then we heard Kiefer Sutherland’s name and thought, that’s Jack Bauer."[1] Initially Kiefer Sutherland had reservations about playing Jack Bauer, stating, "I thought, 'This is really clever and different, so there's no way they're going to pick it up. But I could use the money, and no one will ever see it'."[7]
In 24, Sutherland must produce around 18 hours of film each season, "which is like making 12 movies, so there are going to be mistakes along the way, but I am incredibly surprised by how many things work well as a result of working at that pace."[7]
Sutherland signed a contract to play the role of Bauer for three more seasons for 40 million USD. Reactions by critics to his performance have been very positive with five Emmy nominations and a win in 2006 for his work in Season 5. He also won a Golden Globe for the role in 2002.[8]
The actor was reportedly horrified to learn that the series 24 had influenced some U.S. Army personnel to think that torture is acceptable.[9]. Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan visited the set of 24 in February 2007 to urge the show's makers to reduce the number of torture scenes[10] and Sutherland accepted an invitation from the U.S. military to teach West Point cadets it is wrong to torture prisoners.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Stephen M. Silverman (2004-10-06). Kiefer Sutherland: $40 Million Man. Retrieved on August 23, 2006.
- ^ From the official book: The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU
- ^ Jack Bauer's Official Character Page FOX
- ^ Season 1 Jack Bauer: I am the last guy you want to bring something like this to. I built a case against three of our own agents for taking bribes. If there's a conspiracy inside the agency to kill David Palmer, I'll never get anywhere near it.
- ^ Move over, Jack Bauer... Here is new CTU agent Homer Simpson!. newsleader.com (January 1, 2006). Retrieved on October 8, 2006.
- ^ Season 3 Jack: You don't think so? What the hell do you know? My wife died because of this job, and I almost lost Kim too, I'm not gonna let that happen again. I will do everything I have to to protect her do you understand me? Everything. (sighs) Damn it Chase, you cannot have a normal life and do this job at the same time.
- ^ a b Joel Schumacher (2004-02-01). Kiefer Sutherland: he's been around Hollywood for more than 20 years, but these days, this bold talent has them counting the minutes. Interview. Retrieved on August 20, 2006.
- ^ Sutherland 'signs up for more 24'. BBC (2006-04-10). Retrieved on August 21, 2006.
- ^ The Huffington Post
- ^ Independent.co.uk
- ^ Hollywood.com.
[edit] External links
| Counter Terrorist Unit Staff on 24 |
| Jack Bauer | Kim Bauer | Tony Almeida | Nina Myers | George Mason | Richard Walsh | Jamey Farrell Milo Pressman | Ryan Chappelle | Michelle Dessler | Tom Baker | Brad Hammond | Carrie Turner Chloe O'Brian | Chase Edmunds | Adam Kaufman | Gael Ortega | Erin Driscoll | Curtis Manning Edgar Stiles | Sarah Gavin | Marianne Taylor | Bill Buchanan | Lynn McGill | Karen Hayes Miles Papazian | Morris O'Brian | Nadia Yassir | Mike Doyle | Minor Agents |
