24 (season 4)

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24 Season 4
Country of origin	United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Original run	January 9, 2005 – May 23, 2005
No. of episodes	24
DVD release date	December 6, 2005 (NTSC)
Previous season	24 (season 3)
Next season	24 (season 5)

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.

1 Season overview
- 1.1 Major plots and subplots
2 Season notes
3 Characters
4 Episodes
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Season overview

Season Four (2005) is set 18 months after Season Three. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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

[edit] Major plots and subplots

A mole is revealed to be working inside CTU, aiding the terrorists.
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. This distracts CTU director Erin 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 from the near-meltdown and EMP 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 crashes into the Mojave Desert, almost killing President Keeler in the process and elevating the Vice-President Charles Logan under the 25th Amendment. Terrorists attempt to steal the nuclear football from the Air Force One crash site.
A nuclear warhead in Iowa is stolen and fired at Los Angeles before its nuclear code can be deactivated.
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.

[edit] Season notes

[edit] 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 back-to-back episodes airing twice in the first week, and again at the season finale.^[1] Utilizing the extra time this opportunity afforded the writers, 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.

[edit] 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 the show of legitimizing the use of torture in the war on terror.^[2] 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."^[3]

[edit] 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—could be considered morally good if it produces a "good" outcome, 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, though the Consul was killed by his own men.
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 Chinese Consulate, but mostly after Palmer warned him of an attempt on his own life.

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).

[edit] Characters

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 returned, including Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler, Mike Novick, David Palmer, Aaron Pierce, and even Mandy, the assassin from seasons 1 and 2.

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

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
Kim Raver as Audrey Raines
Alberta Watson as Erin Driscoll
Lana Parrilla as Sarah Gavin
Roger Cross as Curtis Manning
William Devane as Secretary of Defense James Heller

Special Guest Stars

Recurring

Arnold Vosloo as Habib Marwan
Mia Kirshner as Mandy
Jonathan Ahdout as Behrooz Araz
Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick
James Frain as Paul Raines
Gregory Itzin as Vice President Charles Logan
Louis Lombardi as Edgar Stiles
Tzi Ma as Cheng Zhi
James Morrison as Bill Buchanan
Geoff Pierson as President John Keeler
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian
Nestor Serrano as Navi Araz
Aisha Tyler as Marianne Taylor
Glenn Morshower as Aaron Pierce
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dina Araz

Special Guest Appearance by

Dennis Haysbert as President David Palmer

This is a list of the main cast for Season 4. See List of 24 characters for a more thorough list.

[edit] Episodes

Series #	Episode #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Production	Original airdate
73	1	"7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	4AFF01	January 9, 2005
A young computer hacker named Andrew Paige sees something that he shouldn't on the Internet. Suddenly, he finds himself running for his life as he is pursued by terrorists. Luckily, he is able to warn Chloe O'Brian before it's too late. The Iranian Araz family are not what they seem and it becomes clear that they are heavily involved with the day's events. Meanwhile, Heller has a confrontation with his estranged son. Jack finds that Chloe is his only ally as he tries to prove that the train explosion is merely a diversionary target.
74	2	"8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Howard Gordon	4AFF02	January 9, 2005
Jack pushes Driscoll to reinstate him in the wake of Heller's kidnapping. He finds himself working as a subordinate when the Field Ops team goes to pick up Andrew. Behrooz finds himself torn between his loyalty to his parents and his feelings for his girlfriend as he is sent on his first assignment. Heller tries to comfort his daughter as his captors broadcast their intentions on the Internet.
75	3	"9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m."	Brad Turner	Evan Katz	4AFF03	January 10, 2005
Jack tracks Kalil with Chloe's aid, but is forced to watch helplessly as Andrew is tortured for information. Behrooz pleads with his parents when they order him to bring Debbie to their home for questioning. Curtis uses harsh methods to interrogate Heller's son as Driscoll continues to search for Jack.
76	4	"10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m."	Brad Turner	Stephen Kronish	4AFF04	January 10, 2005
Jack acts as a bandit and takes hostages to buy Chloe more time to get satellite surveillance. Meanwhile, Chloe must confide in Edgar for help when Driscoll becomes suspicious. Behrooz discovers just how far his mother is willing to go to insure that their secret mission is successful. Heller and Audrey attempt to escape from Omar, while Driscoll uses her influence to deal with a personal crisis.
77	5	"11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Peter M. Lenkov	4AFF05	January 17, 2005
Jack and Driscoll agree to work together when the police make a critical error in dealing with Kalil. Heller and Audrey take drastic action in the hopes of avoiding the impending trial. Driscoll makes a deal with Chloe to get her out of the way, while the Araz family faces another problem in their cover-up.
78	6	"12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Matt Michnovetz	4AFF06	January 24, 2005
Jack initiates a fierce gun battle with the terrorists as he races to rescue Heller and Audrey before the military strike begins. Dina questions her own dedication to their cause when her husband reveals his plans for Behrooz. Driscoll and Curtis uncover new evidence that points to an even bigger attack by the terrorists. Audrey has an awkward meeting with her husband, and Heller butts heads once again with his son.
79	7	"1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m."	Ken Girotti	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	4AFF07	January 31, 2005
Jack takes Audrey to ID the man she recognized at the compound, but the terrorists get there soon after and pin them down. Jack must call on an old friend to help him escape. Heller puts Edgar in charge of dealing with the nuclear override, while Driscoll's daughter takes a turn for the worse. Dina is wounded when she helps Behrooz flee from Navi. Navi's boss orders him to kill his wife and son before the day is over.
80	8	"2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m."	Ken Girotti	Stepehn Kronish & Peter M. Lenkov	4AFF08	February 7, 2005
Jack and Audrey hide out with an embittered Tony as Audrey makes a positive ID of the man from the kidnapping. Marianne successfully diverts suspicion from herself, leading Driscoll to torture the wrong person for information. Behrooz takes Dina to a hospital for medical attention, but the doctor becomes suspicious of her gunshot wound and phones the police.
81	9	"3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m."	Brad Turner	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	4AFF09	February 14, 2005
Jack and Tony are able to trace Dina's location, but Behrooz slips through their fingers. Dina demands a full pardon for her son in exchange for information on the override device. Edgar wrestles with his emotions when his mother is trapped in the path of the nuclear fall-out. Behrooz turns to his uncle for help, but Navi closes in on him before he can get away.
82	10	"4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m."	Brad Turner	Stephen Kronish & Peter M. Lenkov	4AFF10	February 21, 2005
Audrey places herself in a compromising position when she and Jack learn of her husband's possible involvement with the terrorists. Marianne offers Curtis information on the location of the override device in exchange for a lighter sentence, but the tables soon turn and Curtis discovers that there's another player in the game. Sarah bargains for a stronger position at CTU, while Tony takes charge of the interrogation of Dina and Behrooz.
83	11	"5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	4AFF11	February 28, 2005
Jack tortures Paul in front of Audrey. Maya commits suicide.
84	12	"6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	4AFF12	March 7, 2005
Jack and Paul try to find information about Marwan at McLennan-Forster. Heller replaces Erin with Michelle Dessler.
85	13	"7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m."	Rodney Charters	Anne Cofell Saunders	4AFF13	March 14, 2005
Jack and Paul hide in a gun shop as commandos try to kill them.
86	14	"8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m."	Tim Iacofano	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	4AFF14	March 21, 2005
Jack plans to use Dina to contact Marwan. Michelle convinces Chloe to come back to CTU.
87	15	"9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m."	Bryan Spicer	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	4AFF15	March 28, 2005
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.
88	16	"10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m."	Bryan Spicer	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	4AFF16	April 4, 2005
Jack and CTU discover Marwan's plot to shoot down Air Force One, but fail to stop it in time.
89	17	"11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Duppy Demetrius	4AFF17	April 11, 2005
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.
90	18	"12:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m."	Bryan Spicer	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	4AFF18	April 18, 2005
Curtis brings in a suspect, but his efforts to question him are thwarted. Jack quits CTU and takes the matter into his own hands. Marwan's men take a nuclear weapon.
91	19	"1:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m."	Bryan Spicer	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	4AFF19	April 25, 2005
Chloe is sent in the field and is attacked. President Logan asks for help during the crisis.
92	20	"2:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m."	Bryan Spicer	Peter M. Lenkov	4AFF20	May 2, 2005
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.
93	21	"3:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m."	Kevin Hooks	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	4AFF21	May 4, 2005
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.
94	22	"4:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m."	Kevin Hooks	Matt Michnovetz & Duppy Demetrius	4AFF22	May 16, 2005
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.
95	23	"5:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Sam Montgomery	4AFF23	May 23, 2005
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.
96	24	"6:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon	4AFF24	May 23, 2005
The target for the missile is determined to be 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.