Charles Logan (24)
Template:24 character Charles Logan is a fictional character played by Gregory Itzin in the television series 24. During the show's fourth season, Logan is the American Vice President who is sworn into office as Acting President after President John Keeler is critically injured in a terrorist attack. Although Itzin physically resembles Richard Nixon and shares some of the same physical mannerisms, series creator Joel Surnow said in an interview with talk radio host Rush Limbaugh that the resemblance is purely a coincidence. [1]
Itzin was nominated for a 2006 Supporting Actor Emmy Award for this role (losing to Alan Alda).
Prior to Day 4
Before ascending to the Vice Presidency, Logan was the Lieutenant Governor of California and before that a Representative in the California State Legislature for Santa Barbara.
He previously was the Vice President of Western Energy Coal & Reserve and later CEO, where he gained the honor of being named Energy CEO of the Year. Before joining that company he had been the Director of Pacific Nuclear Energy.
Logan has a BA degree in History from Princeton University.
Early in Season 5, Logan's wife Martha mentions that she was often consulted by Logan while he was in Congress. Although Logan's bio [2] on the FOX 24 website suggests he served in the California State Legislature, Martha mentions in Episode 2 of Day 5 that he served as a U.S. Representative in Washington, D.C. during at least one of David Palmer's terms in the United States Congress, where he first met the Logans.
Characteristics
The actor, Itzin, portrays Logan as an "abject coward" of a President, incapable of making a quick decision and agonizing and second-guessing the results thereafter. He relies on the recommendations of his advisors and panics when the advisors do not offer enough advice. In real life, Itzin is often commended for his portrayal of a weak President. Logan played his part as an undercover conspirator brilliantly, coming out as a shock when the news was first released. [3]
After Season 5 revealed that Logan was behind the backfiring conspiracy, show executive producer Evan Katz said that the President was more of a man hiding a secret and was just being a little smarter about how he projects himself. Star Kiefer Sutherland also noted that people like Logan who are underestimated can become very dangerous because it gives them a sort of cover. [4]
Overall, reaction was mixed to the revelation that Logan was one of the main villains. Many praised the revelation as one of the show's better plot twists. Others criticized the twist as nothing more than shock value, and speculated how Logan could not have been involved in the conspiracy.
In the commentary for the show's fifth season DVD, Itzin mentions how he had developed an extensive backstory for Logan, with the help of Jean Smart, who played his wife Martha. Among other things, he decided that Logan was the son of a distinguished military and political leader. Logan's father physically abused him as a child, which Logan references twice in the finale; first when he tells Jack that he's a lot tougher than he appears to be, then again when he warns Martha that she doesn't know what pain is.
The backstory also included the Logans' son, who died tragically in his twenties several years ago (which might have been the cause of Martha's mental breakdown). Throughout the day, Logan carried a small chain in his pocket which had been a gift from his son, though most shots that show the chain (such as when his pockets are emptied when Jack interrogates him) were cut for time.
His appearances in the sixth season show Logan as a man who is deeply sorry about his actions in the previous season. Logan has all but stated he is now a born again Christian and is searching for redemption. While he has shown to no ulterior motives so far, both President Wayne Palmer and Logan's ex-wife Martha have understandably shown doubt as to whether Logan has truly changed. His recent actions have, once again, mirrored that of Richard Nixon, who himself became more religious and deeply sorrowful about his criminal activities in the years following the Watergate scandal.
Day 4
Logan was in Washington D.C. when it was learned that Captain Mitch Anderson, a disgraced Air Force pilot working for terrorist leader Habib Marwan, had commandeered a stealth fighter with the intention of shooting down Air Force One. President John Keeler contacted Logan, telling him that if the worst should occur, to consider Keeler a casualty and continue forward. Logan was visibly troubled by this and assured Keeler it would not come to that, apparently as much for his own peace of mind as the President's.
Unfortunately efforts to neutralize the stealth fighter or to convince its pilot to stand down in time failed. The stealth fighter was shot down by Air Force One's escort planes but not before Anderson managed to score an indirect missile hit on Air Force One. The fatally damaged plane made a crash-landing and the President's status was not immediately known. Though President Keeler was located alive, his injuries were critical and required immediate attention. With President Keeler incapacitated, the cabinet unanimously voted to invoke the 25th Amendment, appointing Logan Acting President with full executive authority.
Immediately after being sworn in, Logan was informed by one of his senior advisors Mike Novick that Marwan and his people had managed to recover several of the codes to the nation's nuclear arsenal. While Marwan's people managed to steal a nuclear warhead and successfully launched it on board a missile, government forces, in particular the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles, were desperately tracking Marwan.
Leadership difficulties
Unfortunately, Logan soon proved unprepared for the grave responsibility that had been thrust upon him or for the grave threat he had inherited. One clear example of this occurred when CTU personnel arrested Joe Prado, an American civilian who had worked for Marwan. After an attorney on Prado's behalf demanded that he be charged with a crime or released, Logan seemed hesitant to face the political risk of continuing to detain Prado, despite the insistence of CTU and of Mike Novick that Prado was their only link to Marwan and their only hope of finding him in time.
Unwilling to let Logan waste precious time while coming to a decision, CTU agent Jack Bauer convinced his superiors to release Prado, then, acting on his own, proceeded to torture Prado until he revealed one of Marwan's hiding places. Logan, furious that Bauer had acted without his approval, dispatched the Secret Service to arrest him. Unfortunately they reached Bauer during an operation to capture Marwan and their interruption allowed Marwan to escape.
For a time, at least, Logan appeared to admit his own inability to govern during this crisis. In response, Novick suggested recruiting someone as an advisor who had faced similar crises in the past and prevailed: former President David Palmer.
Though Logan initially welcomed Palmer's counsel, as hours passed, Logan became increasingly isolated while Palmer and Novick would assume a more active role in leading the search for Marwan. This soon became clear to Logan, though he could not bring himself to ask Palmer to leave.
Eventually CTU forces were able to locate Marwan. Though he killed himself to avoid capture, they were able to use his equipment to track the missile and shoot it down before it reached its target. Despite his awkward handling of the situation and his eagerness to pass responsibility onto others, Logan was quick to accept credit and congratulations from various officials for his presumed handling of the crises. His only concession to Palmer was a condescending private statement that he had "played a role".
The Chinese crisis
In the midst of the crisis, a second one emerged when Palmer authorized a covert CTU operation led by Bauer to extract Lee Jong, a Chinese citizen and associate of Marwan's, from the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. During the incident, the Chinese Consul was killed by friendly fire.
Chinese officials eventually linked the operation back to Jack Bauer and demanded his extradition. Walt Cummings, Logan's security aide, pointed out the danger of turning someone with Bauer's knowledge over to the Chinese. He suggested arranging Bauer's murder to prevent this. Though Logan vocally rejected this proposal in front of Palmer and Novick, Novick later overheard a phone conversation in which Cummings ordered the Secret Service agent sent to pick up Bauer to kill him before the transfer.
Novick warned Palmer, who in turn informed Logan. Logan's refusal to intervene confirmed their suspicion that this was what Logan wanted all along. After warning Bauer of the situation, Bauer and several associates at CTU arranged a scenario in which Bauer appeared to have been killed while trying to escape. While Bauer went into hiding, Logan believed the situation had been taken care of, unaware of the truth.
Day 5
Logan was still president at the start of season 5 (Keeler's fate remains unknown, but the fact that Logan had appointed a new Vice President implies his death or resignation). During the day, he operated from the Presidential retreat in Hidden Valley, California.
Logan is meeting Russian president Yuri Suvarov to sign an anti-terrorism defense treaty. Logan, seeing the treaty as the highlight of his Presidency will not permit any delays. He is startled by news of the assassination of David Palmer but insists the signing continue on schedule. The situation is further complicated when a group of east-European separatists attack a nearby airport and take several hostages. They demand the treaty be renounced or they will begin executing hostages. Logan immediately orders CTU to organize a rescue.
Another complication comes from Logan's wife, First Lady Martha Logan. Martha insists Palmer had tried to contact her to warn her of a possible attack. Logan is sympathetic but is skeptical given her history of mental illness. He eventually agrees to have her sent away to a mental health facility.
CTU is ultimately successful in rescuing the hostages and the treaty is signed on schedule, though one terrorist, a sleeper posing as one of the hostages, manages to escape with a large shipment of nerve gas.
Soon after, Walt Cummings (now Logan's Chief of Staff) comes to Logan and admits his involvement in everything that has happened but insists it to be for a greater good. He claims the nerve gas will be released before it can threaten any American or Russian targets. Cummings' claims the nerve gas threat will provide a justification for a stronger U.S. presence in Asia and promote a greater acquisition of oil from the region. Cummings tells him the American agent monitoring the nerve gas has gone dark and even Cummings cannot stop him now. Logan is appalled but does not see any way out of the situation.
Meanwhile, Jack Bauer, who had emerged from hiding to find who had ordered Palmer's assassination, has discovered Cummings was involved and knew more than he had told Logan. After Jack manages to convince Secret Service agent Aaron Pierce to let him speak with the President, he is able to reveal the truth to Logan. Logan promptly orders Cummings arrested. Unfortunately when government forces move in on the location of the nerve gas, they find it missing and the American agent dead. The terrorists had apparently discovered Cummings's plan.
Logan has Jack temporarily reinstated with CTU, though both men agreed he will have to go back into hiding once the crisis passed, as the Chinese would still likely demand his extradition.
Logan also manages to stop his wife before she leaves the retreat. She initially reacts coldly to him for not having trusted her, though the two would soon reconcile and set about drafting a public statement about Cummings' actions. This is interrupted, however, when Mike Novick informs them that Cummings had been found dead of an apparent suicide. Following Cummings' death, Logan decides against the release of the statement and avoids any political fallout.
Later on, the terrorists, led by Ivan Erwich, take a canister of the nerve gas into a shopping mall in Los Angeles. CTU head Lynn McGill urges Logan to allow them to use the gas in the mall, potentially killing up to 900 people, in the hopes of catching the terrorists and finding the other 19 canisters of Nerve Gas. Despite Audrey Raines' insistence that allowing nine hundred American citizens to be gassed would be unconscionable, Logan reluctantly decides to go with McGill's recommendation. Due to intervention from Jack Bauer, acting undercover, many lives were saved in this incident and only 11 people were killed. Despite Logan's relief, he does not deny that he is responsible for those deaths.
Immediately thereafter, Vladimir Bierko, head of the Russian separatists, forced Logan to make a critical decision; give up the Russian President's motorcade route or risk the launch of the 19 remaining nerve gas containers on US soil. After several minutes of discussion with his wife and advisors, Logan decides to provide the terrorists with the route. However, as the motorcade departs, Logan's wife decides to join the motorcade behind his back. Logan is shown agonizing over the decision to not turn back the motorcade, and prays with Novick that the Russian President, his wife, and Mrs. Logan not be killed by the terrorists. His prayers are answered when CTU notifies the motorcade in the nick of time. However, the terrorists have broken off the deal and will now commence targeting civilians. After this, Logan receives a surprise visit from Vice President Hal Gardner, who suggests that Logan effectively implement martial law until the terrorists are stopped. At 8:05 p.m., Logan implements martial law, much to the dismay and concern of Martha, Novick, and a portion of the American public.
Treason Revealed
By 11:00 p.m. on Day 5, it is revealed that Charles Logan is orchestrating and/or approving of all of the actions of Christopher Henderson, thereby making him complicit in the assassination of David Palmer and Michelle Dessler, as well as the attempted murders of Tony Almeida and Wayne Palmer, who was seeking to determine the White House's involvement in his brother's death. He also authorized Henderson and James Nathanson to frame Bauer for Palmer's death. In addition, through Nathanson, he and his co-conspirators coordinated the hostage situation at Ontario Airport to give the terrorists time to seize the Sentox canisters. It was also revealed that Walt Cummings was simply intended to be a scapegoat, that he had no idea the President was involved, and that his death was a murder, not a suicide.
Logan discloses to Henderson at about 11:05 p.m. that the events of the day had gone horribly wrong, as he had never meant for the terrorists to activate the canisters or for innocent American lives to be lost. Indeed, Logan's motivations are in line with those of Nathanson, Cummings's middleman and Graem's low-level associate. All men involved in the conspiracy (Graem and his cabal, Logan, Henderson, Nathanson, and Cummings) intended to eliminate the Russian separatists and provide an excuse to increase America's oil interests in Central Asia.
With terrorist threat having finally been thwarted by CTU shortly before 10:00 p.m., Logan turns his full attention to eliminating all evidence connecting him to the day's events. Specifically, Logan orders Henderson to stop Bauer and Wayne Palmer from recovering an audio tape in which he reveals his involvement in Palmer's death. Martha Logan's aide Evelyn Martin had hidden the audio tape in a safety deposit box in a bank.
Logan phones Karen Hayes at CTU to notify that he was issuing an executive warrant against Bauer for the murder of David Palmer. When questioned as to the reasons for the warrant, Logan claims he has new "evidence" which he will disclose after Bauer is in custody.
Later in the hour, Logan attempts to placate Vice President Gardner, who had been put in charge of overseeing CTU through the terrorist crisis. Gardner claims that Bauer is a hero, but Logan again maintains that there is new evidence implicating Bauer. He tells Gardner not to question his authority.
Henderson and his men attempt to kill Bauer and Palmer as they exit the bank, but Bauer trips the bank's alarm, bringing the Los Angeles Police Department and the military, who engage Henderson's men in gunfire, and allow Bauer and Palmer the opportunity to escape in a squad car with the tape. Bauer then heads to Van Nuys Airport to hand off the tape to Secretary of Defense James Heller, with the intent to bring down Logan.
Through Homeland Security, operating out of CTU, Logan learns that Bauer is at the airport. While Henderson is en route to the airport, Heller contacts the president to alert him that he will be at the retreat promptly. With time running out before Heller exposes Logan, Henderson is able to take Audrey hostage and force Jack to surrender the audio tape. Logan is almost forced to confess to Vice President Gardner, but Henderson alerts him that the evidence has been recovered in the nick of time. Logan then tells Gardner that he summoned him because Heller will be resigning for falsely accusing the president of killing David Palmer.
Later, a highly-ranked co-conspirator behind Day 5 is revealed to be a man named Graem, who is revealed to be Jack's brother in Season 6. He orders Logan to silence Martha, who knows too much. Logan confesses to Martha his culpability in Palmer's death and implores her to remain quiet for the good of the country. Logan tries one final time to control the situation, when Jack Bauer hijacks a 727 plane being co-piloted by the man who has the recording. Graem fakes a VCI signal from the plane, giving Logan the pretense to shoot the plane down. He tries to appear reluctant to do this, but when the plane appears to begin landing, he tries to order the plane shot down immediately, drawing the suspicion of Novick. After the plane lands and Bauer gets away, Logan and Graem come to the conclusion that Logan must commit suicide, rather than face a trial. Logan first visits Martha's room, apologizes for hurting her and begs forgiveness. She tells him that she is horrified to be married to him. Despondent, Logan returns to his office and prepares to pull the trigger. Just before he can finish, Logan receives a call from Miles Papazian at CTU, telling him that he will intervene and stop the recording from being made available to the United States Attorney General. Logan tells Miles that he approves of the action and will not forget him. Logan then hangs up and puts the gun back in its case.
Logan then begins tying up all remaining loose ends. He alerts Karen Hayes that he is now canceling the arrest warrant for Jack Bauer, intending for him to be eliminated once he is in the open. Logan also meets with Aaron Pierce, whom he had taken prisoner before he could meet with Martha several hours earlier. Pierce refuses any deal with Logan and calls him a "disgrace to the office." Logan orders Agent Adams to kill Pierce.
Martha helps Pierce escape and then gets in contact with Mike Novick. He asks her to stall Logan until Bauer can arrive to hijack Marine One, which is about to take him to the military base where the body of David Palmer is being loaded onto a plane. She does so, allowing Bauer to abduct Logan and attempt unsuccessfully to extract a confession from him. However, unbeknownst to the president, Jack placed a microtransceiver in Logan's pen while frisking him. As Palmer's casket arrives, Martha accuses her husband publicly, calling him a murderer. Logan goes indoors and strikes Martha, incriminating himself by admitting to involvement in Palmer's assassination and the murders committed to cover it up. At CTU, Chloe O'Brian passes on the transmission from the microtransceiver to the Attorney General without the knowledge of Karen Hayes or Bill Buchanan. After Logan delivers a eulogy filled with lies to David Palmer, he is taken into custody by the Secret Service, and glares at Martha and Novick with a defeated look as he gets into the limo. Graem, however, would not be implicated and remained at large.
Jack's victory is short-lived as he is abducted by Cheng Zhi and Chinese agents soon after. It's possible Logan may have revealed Jack being alive to them as he had mentioned to Graem he was taking steps to eliminate Bauer shortly after the death of Henderson.
Karen Hayes speculates near the end of the episode that Logan may be granted clemency for his treasonous actions and killings in exchange for his immediate resignation, in order to protect the country from the shock and embarrassment of impeachment and a trial. Hal Gardner was then expected to be sworn in as the new President.
Hayes' predictions were shown to be generally true in Season 6. Logan was convicted of obstruction of justice, but the public never learned of the former president's role in the assassinations or nerve gas conspiracy. Logan was sentenced to house arrest at his estate near Los Angeles.
Day 6
After Jack learns his father Philip Bauer was involved in the conspiracy to assassinate David Palmer, he confronts Philip. After a tense standoff, Philip flees, leaving behind a phone with instructions to call a certain number.
A bearded Logan answers and agrees to assist in the search for Dmitri Gredenko, a former Soviet general who blackmailed Philip with knowledge of his involvement in the conspiracy in order to acquire nuclear weapons. Logan instructs Jack to come to his home in Los Angeles to talk further, stating that CTU knows his location. He states that Jack must have exhausted all other options to have had to contact him.
Jack visits Logan at his ranch to procure the information that Logan is offering up. He reveals that one of Gredenko's supporters, Anatoly Markov, was involved in Logan's conspiracy, and that Logan intends to use this as leverage in order to gain information on Gredenko. Jack initially expects Logan to demand a deal in exchange for his cooperation; Logan insists that he has changed, and that he simply wants to redeem himself by helping Jack. Jack is skeptical, as is President Palmer, who Logan tells that he wants to assist him like David Palmer assisted Logan himself during Season 4. Logan asserts that the reason for his change is that he has rediscovered his faith. At one point, Logan, alone in a bathroom, recites a Bible verse to himself and says "one step at a time, Charles." Around the same time, Jack finds a Bible in Logan's house with that passage highlighted - possibly intended to lead the audience to believe that Logan's change is genuine.
Still skeptical of Logan, Jack convinces President Palmer to grant an executive order for a temporary furlough for Logan, and the two head to the Russian consulate to find Markov.
Despite lacking Jack's complete trust, Logan goes into the consulate alone to confront Markov. Logan threatens to implicate Markov in the Sentox conspiracy unless he gives up Gredenko, but Markov insists that he knows nothing of Gredenko's current activities. Logan leaves the consulate convinced that Markov is lying, as does Jack. This prompts Jack to sneak into the consulate alone, despite Logan's warning that doing so will create an international incident similar to the earlier Chinese crisis.
Logan is sent to see his bitter hospitalized wife Martha to try to persuade her to phone the Suvarovs, to enlist their help with the situation at the Russian consulate. During the visit, Martha is resentful of Charles and is disgusted by his presence after everything he did. Just when it was agreed that Martha would make the call, in a sudden fit of rage she stabs him in the shoulder with a kitchen knife, severing an artery. Logan is rushed to the hospital, but begins to flatline en route, with his last word as "Martha" before losing consciousness. Logan is not seen or mentioned for the rest of the day.
In the second episode of 24 Inside's season 6 shows, Howard Gordon said regarding Logan's status, "I didn't see him buried. Until he's buried, you're not dead on 24."[5]
Day 7
Gregory Itzin says that he has been told that his character "is not dead." It is unknown what type of role, if any, he will play in Season 7.[6]
Logan's Cabinet & Staff
- Vice President: Hal Gardner (Season 5)
- Secretary of State: Mr. Taylor (Season 4, only referred to)
- Secretary of Defense: James Heller (Seasons 4 & 5)
- Head of Security/Chief of Staff: Walt Cummings (Seasons 4 & 5)
- Senior Advisor/Chief of Staff: Mike Novick (Seasons 4 & 5)
- Attorney General: Unnamed (played by Dan Ziskie - Season 5)