Day 4: 6:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m.
- Episode aired May 23, 2005
- TV-14
- 42m
Jack must hunt down Habib Marwan and stop the nuclear bomb that is nearing its target which is Los Angeles. The Chinese demand Jack after Bern's confession and President Logan makes a hasty ... Read allJack must hunt down Habib Marwan and stop the nuclear bomb that is nearing its target which is Los Angeles. The Chinese demand Jack after Bern's confession and President Logan makes a hasty decision on how to handle the situation.Jack must hunt down Habib Marwan and stop the nuclear bomb that is nearing its target which is Los Angeles. The Chinese demand Jack after Bern's confession and President Logan makes a hasty decision on how to handle the situation.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series.
- GoofsBill says he's contacting the Air Force, but the aircraft shown is an F-18. Only the Marines and Navy flew that plane, not USAF.
- Quotes
Tony Almeida: [Jack has faked his own death rather than being taken prisoner in China. Tony, Chloe and Michelle are trying to revive him after the Chinese bought the cover] Come on Jack!
[Shocking Jack]
Tony Almeida: Come on Jack, stay with me. Jack!
Michelle Dessler: [Crying] Jack Please!
Chloe: Come on Jack!
[Tony takes a syringe and injects right into Jack's heart and Jack awakens]
Jack Bauer: [to Tony] Thanks Tony.
[Looks at all of them]
Jack Bauer: You do know that from now on we can't have any communication. You and President Palmer are the only four who know I'm alive and it has to be that way.
[Chloe and Michelle are crying. Tony and Jack shake hands and give a hug. Jack gets up and leaves]
Although the even number seasons of 24 are generally considered to be the weaker (in a reversal of the Star Trek film rule of thumb) this season was an enjoyable return for Jack Bauer in this popular series. The plot repeats the lesson learnt for series 3 by not really trying to go for one story that lasts 24 hours (as in the start directly relates to the end) but rather by having a series of mini-stories that lead into one another before the main narrative settles in for the second half. By doing this the series reduces the drag effect and is able to keep things moving constantly by introducing the next problem as soon as one is settled and never putting too much on one set of bad guys. Of course this has its downsides and those that don't like the series are right in their criticisms of its writing, because it does leave lots of holes and illogical moments in the wake of its constant motion forward. In this series it does struggle by having too many people die where they could have helped solve things and at times it felt like this was a lazy device being used by the writers which I suppose it was. It also had some difficulties with parts dragging a bit or seemingly using the problems of minor characters to try and pad out the story despite these being very much side issues. That said the series did produce plenty of action and cliff-hangers, which is really what the fans came for and generally it kept things moving really well.
As ever Sutherland is brilliant in a performance that is hardly the most intimate character study you'll ever see but more than does the job within what the show is trying to do. Whether shouting or talking quietly while looking around, he is easily the heart of the show and he has grown into a character that I find it easy to follow no matter how unlikely the action. As always his support cast is mixed with those who are trying to develop their own characters and those who are basically just villains and red herrings. Haysbert is good as Palmer while Bernard is a welcome return as Tony and he works well with Aylesworth. The villains were pretty basic throughout and it is easy to see why Muslim groups objected to the caricatures (although not forgivable that Fox rolled over to give their objections airtime). Nobody is really bad and, like I said, they all pretty much are ticking boxes that are the same each series apart from the ethnicity and the motivations. Itzin is a nice addition and yet again Rajskub is on good form as Chloe who everyone loves for her sneering wonderfulness.
Overall series 4 was enjoyable and managed to do what the whole show does well, which is cover the plot weaknesses with plenty of energy and forward motion. The cast work well and the script makes it look easy (despite the jumps and weak spots). Not the strongest series perhaps but still good and one that fans will easily enjoy.
- bob the moo
- Aug 14, 2006
Details
- Runtime42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.82 : 1