"24" 3:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m. (2001)

Director:

Winrich Kolbe

Writers:

Joel Surnow (creator) &
Robert Cochran (creator) ...

TV Series:

"24" (2001)

Original Air Date:

27 November 2001 (Season 1, Episode 4)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

District Director George Mason (Berkely) shuts down CTU forcing Jack to escape in order to follow up on a lead on a conspirator. Nina and Jamie try to cover for him. Palmer discovers how a reporter found out about Keith. Jack finally learns that Kim and Janet haven been kidnapped.

Plot Keywords:

Police Officer Killed | Gagged And Bound | Title Ends With Period | Policewoman | Period In Title

Cast

Kiefer Sutherland	...	Jack Bauer
Leslie Hope	...	Teri Bauer
Sarah Clarke	...	Nina Myers
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Kim Bauer
Dennis Haysbert	...	Senator David Palmer
Michael Massee	...	Ira Gaines
Daniel Bess	...	Rick
Matthew Carey	...	Dan
Vicellous Reon Shannon	...	Keith Palmer (as Vicellous Shannon)
Jacqui Maxwell	...	Janet York
Karina Arroyave	...	Jamey Farrell
Yolonda Ross	...	Jessie Hampton
John Hawkes	...	Greg Penticoff
Xander Berkeley	...	George Mason
Zach Grenier	...	Carl Webb

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating)

Company:

Imagine Television

Trivia:

The series was picked up for the season after this broadcast.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alan York and Teri Bauer drive away after being pulled over, their license plate is 4IEH746. Minutes later, when they see the ambulance, it's 4TWO520.

Quotes:

[chasing a suspect]
Jack Bauer: I wish you hadn't called for backup.
Jessie Hampton: Why?
Jack Bauer: Because cops have to play by the rules. I may have to break a few with this guy.

Complications arise

Day 1, 3:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m. : Jack and Nina come across a new lead, only to be interrupted by George Mason, who shuts down CTU and leaves Bauer with no choice but to break out in order to locate a suspect. Meanwhile, the kidnappers deliver Kim to Gaines, who intimidates her with a recycled, yet still effective threat: "Be good and you'll be back at the mall in a day or two, be bad and you won't". Furthermore, David Palmer tells his wife about the incriminating article: according to the reporter, the Senator's son, Keith, killed a man who had raped his sister, whereas the autopsy indicated it had all been an accident.

Apparently, the show was picked for the entire 2001-2002 season after this episode, and it isn't hard to understand why: with characters and set-ups like these, plus the tension-raising time device, who could possibly switch off the TV before finding out how it ends? The conspiracy thickens, lives are constantly at risk and no one dares to even think of napping with so much going on.

Highlights are far too many to list, but my personal favorites include: Mason verbally abusing Nina (played by the actor's real-life wife), who he refers to as "Jack's lapdog"; Palmer having his first relevant conversation, series-wise that is, with his spouse Sherry (Penny Johnson, an invaluable presence), hinting at interesting events in the future; Jack exposing his rawer side to a policewoman while tracking down a hostile ("Cops have to play by the rules. I might have to break a few with this guy."); and a brief, chilling appearance by a pre-Deadwood John Hawkes, whose killer line (sorry, I can't spoil that one) metaphorically punches the protagonist in the stomach and makes the closing split-screen more harrowing than usual. Who would have thought one's day could get this bad?