Jump to content

24 season 4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 86.0.171.217 (talk) at 23:30, 20 March 2008 (→‎List of episodes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

24 Season 4.
Season 4
No. of episodes24
Release
Original networkFox Broadcasting Company
Original releaseJanuary 9, 2005 –
May 23, 2005
Season chronology
← Previous
24 (season 3)
Next →
24 (season 5)
List of episodes

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 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.

Season overview

Season Four (2005) is set 18 months after Season Three and four and a half years after Season Two, as mentioned in the last episode when former President David Palmer agrees with a pardon given to the woman who tried to kill him in that time.

Jack is now working for Secretary of Defense James Heller after being fired by CTU. As the day begins, he gets 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 is reinstated as CTU Director of Field Operations by Erin Driscoll, the Chief Director of CTU and the woman who fired him, who may have realised it was a mistake to remove him in the first place. 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.

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.

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

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 overcome 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 Driscoll from checking on her mentally ill 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.
  • 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 (by friendly fire; the American agents never fired a shot during the mission), 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: Palmer, Michelle Dessler, Tony Almeida, and Chloe O'Brian.

Season notes

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. Previous seasons all began with the discovery of the threat and went through the investigation, the containment of the threat and followed the aftermath. Day 4 was different in that the threat was not revealed at the onset, leaving the characters—and audience—in the dark as to what to expect.

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 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.

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 leaves 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 12 episodes, Lana Parrilla — upgraded from a recurring to main character in episode 6 — was gone by episode 13, and Roger Cross was then put into the main cast. Devane then left after episode 14 since he was filming for Stargate SG-1 at the time, and then returned briefly later in the season.

Stars

Special Guest Stars

Recurring

Special Guest Appearance by

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

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]

Jack Bauer's moral choices

This season examines the consequences of Jack Bauer's belief that the end justifies the means. This moral theory, known as Consequentialism states that the outcome of an action defines its morality, in other words an action otherwise viewed as "immoral" –such as torture&mdash:could be considered morally good if it produces a "good" outcome&mdash:such as preventing a nuclear attack. This question was relevant to U.S. politics and public opinion at the time of airing following the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse involving U.S. military personnel in Iraq.

Jack Bauer's belief ultimately prevents a nuclear attack, but there are several consequences to his actions:

  • Several innocent people lose their lives including Paul Raines and the Chinese Consul.
  • Dina Araz is killed in a risky sting operation.
  • Audrey Raines is alienated from him first by his torture of Paul Raines and later causing his death by forcing the only available surgeon to stop work on Raines in order to save a suspect in critical condition.
  • He has to fake his own death and assume a new identity, because of the fallout from the operation at the China embassy.

The character of Jack Bauer feels the eventual outcome justified his actions and he accepts the consequences already listed including alienation from his love interest, loss of his career and incarceration by Chinese officials (although the latter does not come to pass).

List of episodes

# US Airdate Prod. Code Time Written By Directed By
2 January 9, 2005 4AFF02 8:00–09:00 a.m. Howard Gordon Jon Cassar
 
3 January 10, 2005 4AFF03 9:00–10:00 a.m. Evan Katz Brad Turner
 
4 January 10, 2005 4AFF04 10:00–11:00 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 12:00–1:00 p.m. Matt Michnovetz Jon Cassar
 
7 January 31, 2005 4AFF07 1:00–2:00 p.m. Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff Ken Girotti
 
8 February 7, 2005 4AFF08 2:00–3:00 p.m. Story by Matt Michnovetz, Teleplay by Stephen Kronish & Peter M. Lenkov Ken Girotti
 
9 February 14, 2005 4AFF09 3:00–4:00 p.m. Howard Gordon, Evan Katz Brad Turner
 
10 February 21, 2005 4AFF10 4:00–5:00 p.m. Stephen Kronish, Peter M. Lenkov Brad Turner
 
11 February 28, 2005 4AFF11 5:00–6:00 p.m. Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff Jon Cassar
Jack tortures Paul in front of Audrey. Maya commits suicide.
12 March 7, 2005 4AFF12 6:00–7:00 p.m. Howard Gordon, Evan Katz Jon Cassar
Jack and Paul try to find information about Marwan at McLennan-Forster. Heller replaces Erin with Michelle Dessler.
13 March 14, 2005 4AFF13 7:00–8:00 p.m. Anne Cofell Rodney Charters
Jack Bauer hides in a gun shop as commandos try to kill him.
14 March 21, 2005 4AFF14 8:00–9:00 p.m. Howard Gordon, Evan Katz Tim Iacofano
Jack plans to use Dina to contact Marwan. Michelle convinces Chloe to come back to CTU.
15 March 28, 2005 4AFF15 9:00–10:00 p.m. Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff Bryan Spicer
Jack is held by Marwan who proposes to exchange him for Behrooz. Bill Buchnanan takes over CTU. Edgar Stiles misses an important piece of information.
16 April 4, 2005 4AFF16 10:00–11:00 p.m. Story by Robert Cochran, Teleplay by Howard Gordon, Evan Katz Bryan Spicer
Jack and CTU discover Marwan's plot to shoot down Air Force One, but fail to stop it in time.
17 April 11, 2005 4AFF17 11:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m. Duppy Demetrius Jon Cassar
Jack and Marwan hunt for the nuclear football at the crash site. Vice President Logan takes the oath to become President, and prepares to address the nation.
18 April 18, 2005 4AFF18 12:00–1:00 a.m. Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff Jon Cassar
Curtis brings in a suspect, but his efforts to question him are twarted. Jack quits CTU and takes the matter into his own hands. Marwan's men take a nuclear weapon.
19 April 25, 2005 4AFF19 1:00–2:00 a.m. Howard Gordon, Evan Katz Bryan Spicer
Chloe is sent in the field and is attacked. President Logan asks for help during the crisis.
20 May 2, 2005 4AFF20 2:00–3:00 a.m. Peter M. Lenkov Bryan Spicer
Jack goes covert to extract an informant from the Chinese consulate, risking an international incident. The informant is wounded, and Jack must make a difficult choice to save his life. However Jack insists that in return, the informant should suck his woody.
21 May 9, 2005 4AFF21 3:00–4:00 a.m. Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff Kevin Hooks
Jack gets a lead on the location of Marwan. He leads a CTU team to surround the location, but they're too late. Marwan launches a cruise missile with the armed nuclear warhead.
22 May 16, 2005 4AFF22 4:00–5:00 a.m. Matt Michnovetz, Duppy Demetrius Kevin Hooks
Marwan escapes! The missile heads towards an unknown target. A Heller family secret is revealed. Michelle and Tony decide to leave CTU, but Tony is taken hostage.
23 May 23, 2005 4AFF23 5:00–6:00 a.m. Sam Montgomery Jon Cassar
Howard Bern flies to San Diego to establish an alibi. He is kidnapped by Cheng Zhi, and betrays Jack Bauer as the leader of the raid on the Chinese consulate.
24 May 23, 2005 4AFF24 6:00–7:00 a.m. Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon Jon Cassar
The target for the missile is determined and it's Los Angeles. It is shot down as it approaches. President Logan's security chief sends someone to CTU to kill Jack. With help from Tony, Michelle, and Chloe, Jack fakes his own death and starts a new life.
  1. ^ Normalizing Torture on '24' - New York Times
  2. ^ http://www.progressive.org/?q=mag_cusac0805

Template:24 Season 4 Characters

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=24_season_4&oldid=199707603"