24 (season 5)

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24 Season 5

Season 5 Cast
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Original run January 15, 2006 – May 22, 2006
No. of episodes 24
DVD release date December 5, 2006 (NTSC)
Previous season 24 (season 4)
Next season 24 (season 6)

Season Five, also known as Day 5 of the television series 24 premiered on January 15, 2006 and aired its season finale on May 22, 2006.

The Season Five storyline starts and ends at 7:00 a.m. It is the same time frame as the previous season.

A 10-minute prequel to the season was available with the fourth season DVD.[1] It was broadcast on Sky One in the United Kingdom before the showing of the fifth season.

Contents

[edit] Season Overview

Season Five (2006) is set 18 months after Season Four.

After the events in Season Four, Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer is now working as a day-to-day laborer at an oil refinery under the alias "Frank Flynn" in Mojave, California. Jack is renting a room north of Los Angeles from Diane Huxley, a single mother, and her 15-year-old son Derek.

Season Five is supposed to be a monumental day in Charles Logan's presidency. He is scheduled to sign an anti-terrorism alliance treaty with Russian President Yuri Suvarov at his retreat in Hidden Valley, California. This is believed to be the motive behind most of the day's events, as the Russian-separatist terrorists (presumably Chechen, although this is never stated explicitly) who carry out the day's attacks believe the treaty will increase the suffering of their people.

Later, it is found out that the day’s events are part of a massive government conspiracy. U.S. President Charles Logan, Chief of Staff Walt Cummings, Defense Department contractor Christopher Henderson, and a group of mysterious men who monitor and influence the actions of Logan from an undisclosed location, led by a man identified only as "Graham" (sic) who possibly was the one who made Jack come out from hiding, are all involved. Their initial plan was to release nerve gas on Russian terrorists and to use that as an excuse to invoke the military clauses of the anti-terrorism treaty, allowing Logan to secure American petroleum interests in Central Asia. Former President David Palmer begins to find this out and is assassinated to keep him quiet; his death becomes the main motivating factor in Jack's crusade (completely aside from how he is framed for the killing). As he states several times over the course of the day, "This is personal."

[edit] Major Plots

Much like previous seasons, the season can be divided into several acts:

  • Episodes 1-2: Jack Bauer is framed for the murders of his close friends: former US President David Palmer and ex-CTU agent Michelle Dessler, along with the attempted murders of her husband and fellow ex-CTU agent Tony Almeida and CTU analyst Chloe O'Brian.
  • Episodes 3-4: Terrorists, led by James Nathanson, use the above plot as a diversion to take 40 people hostage inside Ontario International Airport in California.
  • Episodes 5-15: Terrorists, led by Vladimir Bierko, use the above plot as a diversion to steal 20 canisters of Sentox VX1 nerve gas. The gas is deployed at the following locations: Sunrise Hills Shopping Mall (resulting in 11 fatalities out of several hundred shoppers); Tyler Memorial Hospital (completely unsuccessful due to the actions of CTU and Curtis Manning); CTU (successfully killing 40% of personnel—56 deaths—including Edgar Stiles and Lynn McGill); Wilshire Gas Co. (completely unsuccessful; 16 of the remaining 17 canisters are destroyed, and Bierko captured). Meanwhile, CTU traces the Sentox nerve gas back to the company which manufactured it, Omicron International; this company is led, among others, by Christopher Henderson. Jack successfully apprehends him, but he manages to escape in the aftermath of the Sentox attack on CTU, taking out Tony Almeida in the process.
  • Episodes 16-21: Believing (incorrectly) that all remaining nerve gas was incinerated at Wilshire, Jack moves to bring the guilty parties to justice. Through the assistance of Wayne Palmer (David Palmer's brother) and Evelyn Martin (Special Assistant to the First Lady), Jack discovers that President Logan is responsible for the attacks. Unbeknownst to everyone else, there is a secret group of men who monitor and influence the actions of Logan, led by a man known only as Graem. Jack finally obtains a recording that implicates Logan; however, it is later corrupted by Miles Papazian at CTU (for the purpose of ingratiating himself to President Logan), rendering it useless.
  • Episodes 22-23: Bierko escapes CTU custody, and uses his last nerve gas container to take over a Russian submarine and gain control of twelve multiple-warhead non-nuclear missiles, each one capable of wiping out approximately seven city blocks. After cutting a deal with Christopher Henderson, Jack and Henderson together stop the attack from the submarine, and kill Bierko and his men. During a final standoff, Jack kills Henderson as well.
  • Episodes 23-24: Jack devises a plan with Chloe to implicate President Logan. Jack kidnaps President Logan, and attempts to get a confession. Jack fails, but unbeknowest to everyone besides himself, the First Lady, Mike Novick, Aaron Pierce, and Chloe, his attempt is merely a diversion to place a listening device on the President. The First Lady then gets Logan to confess to her everything that has happened; Chloe plays this new recording to the Attorney General, and the Secret Service and Federal Marshals take Logan into custody.
  • Final Twist: Jack gets captured by the Chinese who have learned he is still alive. They still want him for the death of the Chinese Consul who was killed in Season 4, and presumably, to extract U.S. government and military secrets for the Chinese government. The season ends with Jack being taken away on a Chinese cargo ship, seemingly destined for Shanghai, moving slowly out into the realms of the Pacific Ocean. This is a reference to the end of Season 4, where the Chinese embassy threatens the CTU agent with transport in a Chinese cargo ship and spending the rest of his life in a slave labor camp.

[edit] Subplots

  • Jack comes into contact with people who thought he was dead, including his daughter Kim Bauer and girlfriend Audrey Raines.
    • Jack's attempt to reconnect with Kim is unsuccessful; she wants nothing to do with him because of the fact that being around her father brings chaos to those close to him.
    • Jack and Audrey reunite as a couple.
  • The First Lady attempts to correct the President's perceived mistakes.
  • The Vice President convinces the president to impose martial law on the city of Los Angeles without approval from Congress.
  • Bill Buchanan's authority at CTU undermined first by Lynn McGill and then by Karen Hayes, though both eventually come around to his way of thinking.
  • Chloe, and later Audrey go against their superiors to help Jack, leading to officials from the Department of Homeland Security attempting to use Audrey to their advantage.
  • Homeland Security divides internally when Karen Hayes begins aiding Jack, going behind Homeland & her assistant Miles Papazian.
  • Chloe has to cope with the death of Edgar Stiles. In addition, the work colleague she earlier slept with turns out to be an undercover internal-affairs agent under the supervision of Walt Cummings.

[edit] Prequel of Season 5

One year after Day 4, Jack and Chloe meet at a fenced-in scrap yard in Chicago, Illinois. Jack's hair is long and stubble has grown over his usually clean face. He is wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, and makes sure the hood is up when he gets out of the car. As Chloe turns the corner where Jack is hiding, he grabs her and asks if she was followed. She assures him that she wasn't.

Chloe explains that three days ago, someone remotely hacked into her computer and saw that she had accessed Jack's autopsy report. Jack becomes frustrated and asks why she didn't erase all files related to him. Chloe insists she deleted the files but fears the hacker who infiltrated her hard drive would realize that Jack wasn't dead after learning she'd been accessing the autopsy report and was also in contact with an undercover operative in Chicago. Chloe urges Jack to leave town immediately to which he agrees.

As she walks back towards her car, Jack asks about his daughter, Kim. Chloe explains that Kim was heartbroken over Jack's supposed death, but is doing better now that a year has passed. Jack returns to his car and a motorcycle drives past him. Jack gets back in his car and watches suspiciously as the motorcyclist turns around. Jack and the motorcyclist each rev their engines. Jack checks his rear view mirror and puts his car in reverse.

The motorcyclist looks to his right, and suddenly a black car speeds out from another side street. Jack floors the gas and races backwards as the car chases him down. He turns around and attempts to lose the car in traffic. Jack pulls into another junk yard and the car follows. Jack speeds towards a forklift and jerks his car to the right at the last second. The black car also turns, but loses traction and slides into the blades of the forklift, which are midway off the ground, impaling the driver.

Jack drives back out of the scrap yard while the unknown man on the motorcycle continues to watch him.

[edit] Season Notes

[edit] Characters

This is a list of the main cast for Season 5. See List of 24 characters for a more thorough list.

Stars

Special Guest Stars

Recurring

Special Guest Appearance by

[edit] Deaths

This season is notable for having many cast members killed off. This sparked some outrage with fans, especially since most of the characters were well-liked. Major deaths included David Palmer, Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler, and Edgar Stiles. Other minor characters who died were Walt Cummings and Lynn McGill. Aaron Pierce was also going to be terminated, but a plea from his portrayer Glenn Morshower saved him, making Pierce the only character other than Jack Bauer to appear in and live through all of the first six seasons of the series.[2]

The main cause of controversy centered on the fact that Edgar Stiles received a silent clock, while Tony Almeida did not.[citation needed] As a result many viewers believed Tony had only fallen asleep from the apparently lethal injection he received.[citation needed] On September 21st 2007 it was revealed that Tony Almeida will return for season 7, apparently corroborating this theory.[3]

[edit] Reception

Although Season 5 was a massive hit in the USA and UK; In New Zealand, the show was rescheduled from the primetime airing on Friday 8:30pm to after the 8:30pm film on Saturday, from Episode 15 because of the lack of viewers. It was replaced by a season one repeat of House. Later in TV Guide's Best on the Box top 20 TV shows of the year, 24 was rated the 9th best show on TV for 2006 in New Zealand.

7:00AM-8:00AM was the most watched episode and premiere in 24's history. It debuted with 17 million viewers, with a 7.3 Nielsen Rating in the 18-49 male demographic. Combined with 8:00AM-9:00AM, which had 15.5 million watchers and a 6.3 in the 18-49 age group, 34 million viewers have watched the complete season premiere.[4] Reviews of 7:00AM-8:00AM were almost universally positive, with a score of 89/100 from Metacritic.[5] In positive light Hollywood Reporter called the episode, "heart-pounding, mesmerizing adventure unlike anything else up or down the dial." while praising the new and returning actors, giving it a perfect 100,[6] likewise USA Today also gave 7:00AM-8:00AM a 100 and praising Kiefer Sutherland, who portrayed Jack Bauer.[7]

New York Times giving it a 70 out of a possible 100, citing using L.A. as the same key location for five seasons saying, "all the villains, be they Islamic fundamentalists, drug smugglers, American oil brokers or Russian separatists, keep picking Los Angeles as a target for attack.".[8] The Boston Globe gave it an 80, praising returning performances and strong plot.[9]

[edit] Emmy Nominations

Season Five of 24 was nominated for twelve Emmy awards, becoming the most nominated series. The nominations were:

  • Outstanding Drama Series - WON
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kiefer Sutherland) - WON
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Gregory Itzin)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Jean Smart)
  • Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series ("9:00 PM - 10:00 PM")
  • Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (7:00AM-8:00AM)[10][11] - WON
  • Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (7:00AM-8:00AM)[10]
  • Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series ("9:00 AM - 10:00 AM") - WON
  • Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) ("6:00 AM - 7:00 AM") - WON
  • Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series ("9:00 PM - 10:00 PM")
  • Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series (7:00AM-8:00AM)[10]
  • Outstanding Stunt Coordination ("9:00 AM - 10:00 AM")

[edit] Episodes

Series # Episode # Title Directed by Written by Production Original airdate
97 1 "7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m."  Jon Cassar Howard Gordon 5AFF01 January 15, 2006
Eighteen months after faking his death, Jack Bauer, who's assumed the name Frank Flynn, returns to Los Angeles after the four people who know he's alive come under attack. President Logan prepares to sign an important arms treaty with the President of Russia. First Lady Martha Logan is disturbed about the morning's events. Jack learns that he's being framed for the attacks. 
98 2 "8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m."  Jon Cassar Evan Katz 5AFF02 January 15, 2006
Jack and Chloe infiltrate Wayne Palmer's penthouse at the hotel in hopes of finding a lead. Martha tries to convince her husband that she had a conversation with Palmer the night before. Cummings' ally — Nathanson — launches the next phase of his plan at the Ontario Airport. 
99 3 "9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m."  Brad Turner Manny Coto 5AFF03 January 16, 2006
Jack conceals himself in the airport hangar, surveying the Russian separatists and feeding information to Curtis and his assault team. The terrorists continue to execute hostages in an attempt to make President Logan give in to their demands to nullify the treaty. Martha discovers that all the traces of her conversation with David Palmer might not have been erased. 
100 4 "10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m."  Brad Turner Michael Loceff & Joel Surnow 5AFF04 January 16, 2006
Jack is captured by the terrorists, who use Derek as leverage to force him to compromise CTU's assault team. Logan refuses to give in to the terrorists' demands. However, the airport incident turns out to be a diversionary cover for an arms deal. Martha continues to try convince her husband that the phone call was real, but Walt interferes. A new representative from Division arrives at CTU and begins to undermine Buchanan's authority. 
101 5 "11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m."  Jon Cassar Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff 5AFF05 January 23, 2006
Jack returns to CTU and has an emotional reunion with Audrey, while Curtis tracks the Russians and the stolen military-grade Sentox nerve gas. Cummings sends in an assassin to silence Jack. Chloe discovers that Spenser has an agenda at CTU. Walt convinces Logan to send Martha to be institutionalized when she tells them of the attacks against her. 
102 6 "12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m."  Jon Cassar David Fury 5AFF06 January 30, 2006
Jack meets with Mike Novick in hopes of gathering evidence against Cummings. Martha begs Aaron for help while Walt thinks that he is forcing Logan into aiding him with his complicity with the terrorists. Buchanan butts heads with Lynn over a decision to violate the President's orders, while the Russian separatists attempt to escape with the nerve gas. 
103 7 "1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m."  Brad Turner Manny Coto 5AFF07 February 6, 2006
Jack learns of a man named Jacob Rossler, who has links to Erwich. Charles Logan, Mike Novick and Martha Logan discuss the best way to handle the Walt Cummings situation. Eriwch tries to get the canisters to open. Lynn has personal problems that draw him away from work and Chloe O'Brian fires Spencer. 
104 8 "2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m."  Brad Turner Evan Katz & Robert Cochran 5AFF08 February 13, 2006
Jack poses as Rossler, the programmer, and manages to trace one of the Sentox nerve gas canisters, but he goes against the President's orders when the terrorists target a shopping mall. President Logan and Martha argue when she learns that he intends to cover up the real reason for Walt Cummings's suicide. 
105 9 "3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m."  Tim Iacofano Howard Gordon & David Fury 5AFF09 February 20, 2006
Vladimir Bierko kills Ivan Erwich. Jack obtains a data chip from Nathanson, Cummings' middleman. Chloe finds the name Omicron Corporation on the chip. Lynn figures out that everyone at CTU is working behind his back and has Buchanan taken into custody. Logan decides to give Bierko the route to the Suvarovs' motorcade. Martha jumps in their car at the last moment. 
106 10 "4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m."  Tim Iacofano Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff 5AFF10 February 27, 2006
Jack meets Christopher Henderson at Omicron and almost gets blown up. Audrey convinces Curtis to have Lynn held on the grounds that he is mentally unfit to run CTU. Bierko attacks the Suvarovs, but Aaron Pierce saves the day. 
107 11 "5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m."  Jon Cassar Nicole Ranadive 5AFF11 March 6, 2006
Jack Bauer interrogates Henderson's wife, Lynn tries to get his keycard back as terrorists plan to release the nerve gas in a hospital. Tony wakes up and asks about Michelle's fate. Meanwhile the First Lady tries to avoid the President. 
108 12 "6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m."  Jon Cassar Duppy Demetrius & Matt Michnovetz 5AFF12 March 6, 2006
Jack Bauer has to deal with his daughter's return, a former mentor who has information he needs, and a terrorist attack on CTU. Meanwhile, President Logan debates Martial Law with Vice President Hal Gardner. 
109 13 "7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m."  Brad Turner Michael Loceff & Joel Surnow 5AFF13 March 13, 2006
Jack Bauer and the rest of CTU take action to protect the remaining isolated areas and plan escape tactics. Chloe wrestles with her grief over Edgar's death, while Tony contemplates revenge on Henderson. Martha bolsters Logan's judgment as he face faces political pressure from Hal Gardner. 
110 14 "8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m."  Brad Turner Evan Katz & Howard Gordon 5AFF14 March 20, 2006
CTU investigates a new lead on Bierko, but finds resistance from German intelligence officer Theo Stoller. Martha Logan is skeptical of the administration's move for a curfew. New Homeland Security officials attempt to change operating protocol involving Chloe O'Brian and Bill Buchanan. Meanwhile, Wayne Palmer has some information he has to get to Aaron Pierce that someone doesn't want getting out. 
111 15 "9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m."  Jon Cassar David Ehrman 5AFF15 March 27, 2006
Jack is forced to interrogate Audrey when he learned that she might be connected to Bierko and the terrorists. Wayne Palmer and Aaron Pierce flee from armed men who have orders from Christopher Henderson to kill them. Vladimir Bierko and his men execute the next phase of attacks by targeting a gas company and releasing the Sentox gas throughout Los Angeles. 
112 16 "10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m."  Jon Cassar Manny Coto & Sam Montgomery 5AFF16 April 3, 2006
Jack teams up with Wayne Palmer to help David Palmer's source in the White House: Martha Logan's aide, Evelyn Martin. Hal Gardner has a run in with Wayne, and Jack suspects the Vice President might be behind the days events. Audrey Raines goes along with a plan to remove Bill Buchanan from power in order to keep Chloe O'Brian at CTU to assist Jack. 
113 17 "11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m."  Brad Turner David Fury 5AFF17 April 10, 2006
New discoveries regarding the day's horrific events keep Jack Bauer away from CTU, whose agenda Department of Homeland Security is ordered to reprioritize. Chloe O'Brian and Audrey Raines team together to assist with field operations and the investigation takes an unexpected turn. 
114 18 "12:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m."  Brad Turner Howard Gordon 5AFF18 April 17, 2006
Although President Charles Logan claims the country is no longer under attack, martial law is still enforced and CTU remains under intense pressure to find the remaining fugitives. Meanwhile, Jack Bauer, Audrey Raines and Secretary of Defense James Heller reunite for a pivotal meeting. 
115 19 "1:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m."  Dwight Little Craig Van Sickle & Steven Long Mitchell 5AFF19 April 24, 2006
While Jack comes closer to obtaining the recording from Christopher Henderson, tensions at the President's retreat escalate as Martha grows suspicious of her husband. Meanwhile, Heller and Curtis help in the struggle against Henderson. A surprising new ally joins Buchanan and O'Brian as they continue to assist Jack, and a new antagonist is revealed. 
116 20 "2:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m."  Dwight Little Michael Loceff & Joel Surnow 5AFF20 May 1, 2006
Although Karen wishes to help Buchanan, he is still taken into CTU to maintain the cover while Chloe escapes. Meanwhile, Jack hijacks a plane in search for the recording that Henderson handed off. At the retreat, Martha grows increasingly unstable, causing further dispute between Logan and Mike. Graem continues to manipulate Logan into taking drastic measures. 
117 21 "3:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m."  Brad Turner Manny Coto 5AFF21 May 8, 2006
With Graem's help, Logan decides to launch one final attempt to secure the recording that implicates him in the conspiracy surrounding the day's events. At CTU, several agents begin working with Jack, Chloe, and Buchanan. Tensions continue to rise in Logan's retreat as the President contemplates suicide. Meanwhile, Bierko is transported to another facility, and Miles attempts to further his career by making a key decision. 
118 22 "4:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m."  Brad Turner Sam Montgomery & David Fury 5AFF22 May 15, 2006
Jack, Chloe, Bill, and Karen realize that the recording was erased by Miles. However, CTU is soon forced to switch tracks and focus on a new threat: Bierko escaped, and he plans to seize another powerful weapon. With the new threat quickly approaching, Jack must use Christopher Henderson in a delicate sting operation. Meanwhile, the drama at the retreat turns deadly. 
119 23 "5:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m."  Jon Cassar Howard Gordon & Evan Katz 5AFF23 May 22, 2006
While Jack and Henderson secure a missile submarine seized by Bierko, Martha and Aaron form an alliance with Mike Novick. Meanwhile, Logan prepares to leave for Palmer's sendoff, which Jack exploits to his advantage after he settles his other personal vendetta against Henderson. 
120 24 "6:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m."  Jon Cassar Robert Cochran 5AFF24 May 22, 2006
After Bierko and Henderson are killed, Mike, Aaron, Martha, and Jack conspire to kidnap President Logan as part of a plan to secure a confession about the original conspiracy behind the day's events. When Jack's gambit fails, Martha and Chloe initiate a back-up plan to incriminate the President. Meanwhile, Jack's plan to disappear again is put at risk when someone from his past re-enters the picture. 

[edit] References

  1. ^ Breaking News - ACTION-PACKED 10-MINUTE PREQUEL LEADS INTO NEW SEASON OF "24" | TheFutonCritic.com
  2. ^ TV week interview
  3. ^ Howard Gordon on the Return of Carlos Bernard
  4. ^ "24 Season Five Premiere Pulls Record Ratings", Hollywood North Report Robert Falconer, January 19, 2006. 
  5. ^ "24 (Fox) - Reviews from Metacritic", Metacritic, January 2006 - May 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-25. 
  6. ^ "24", The Hollywood Reporter, Barry Garron, January 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-25. 
  7. ^ "Opener doesn't waste a second", USA Today, Robert Bianco, January 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-25. 
  8. ^ "TV Weekend: Back From the Dead, a Secret Agent Is Ready to Save the World Again", New York Times, Alessandra Stanley, January 13, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-25. 
  9. ^ "'24' works overtime to open season", The Boston Globe, Matthew Gilbert, January 14, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-25. 
  10. ^ a b c "Summary of muiltiple Emmy wins in 2005", Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, July 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-08. 
  11. ^ "58th Annual Primetime Emmy winners", Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, August 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-08. 

[edit] External links

Wiki 24 has information related to: Season 5
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24 Season 5 Characters