24: Day 5 Review

 

The following takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. on the worst day ever of Jack Bauer’s life. Events occur in real time. Its no secret that over the past 2 decades 24 has made a name for itself as one the pivotal classics of sophisticated suspense thriller storytelling starring Kiefer Sutherland (A Time To Kill, A Few Good Men) as CTU ( Counter Terrorist Unit) Agent Jack Bauer who fights to protect America’s freedom and its interests from the dangerous grip of terrorists in a post 9/11 world. The show was famous for its setting in real-time with each episode accounting for one hour in a day of the life of Jack Bauer with one season consisting of 24 episodes accounting for a complete 24 hour day in the action hero’s life. Each day came with its own complications and threats however the one that posed the far most personal and poignant was that of Day 5 following the inciting incident of the assassination of Jack’s best friend and a dogged patriot to the nation: President David Palmer. 

This riveting and pulse-pounding action series operated much like a movie series with there being a time jump in between each season rather than only a matter of mere months as is standard for traditional hiatuses between TV seasons. Day 1 chronicled Jack’s quest to save his wife and daughter from kidnappers while also working to foil the assination of then Senator and Presidential candidate David Palmer in what proved to be an effective introduction to the world of 24, its characters, and its high-concept format. Day 2 was set 18 months after Day 1 and followed Jack being pulled back into the action after the tragic loss of his wife at the end of season 1 to track down and stop terrorists planning to detonate a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. Day 2 was albeit a bit repetitive in its storytelling trappings but proved once again 24 had what it takes to keep you on the edge-of-your-seat. Day 3 picked up 3 years after Day 2 and ironically in the age of COVID was all about Jack Bauer racing to stop a deadly virus from being unleashed upon the country. Day 3 showed it had learned from any mistakes in made in its first two outings and perfected 24’s high-concept format as well as featuring two highly dangerous and capable big bads each with equally menacing performances found in Joaquim de Almeida and Paul Blackthorne as drug dealer Ramon Salazar and rogue M16 Agent Stephen Saunders respectively. 

 

Day 4 began 18 months after the events of the third season and introduced an exciting new situation and set of characters in the world of 24 finding Bauer now no longer working for CTU and now working as an aide to Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane) and secretly involved in a relationship with his daughter Audrey Raines (Kim Raver). Naturally the kidnapping of the Secretary of Defense and his daughter kicks off the action for the day but it doesn’t stop there as all season long the conflict continuously escalated to the point of Air Force One being struck down by terrorists so they could gain control of the nuclear football. While not as focused as other seasons Day 4 maintains the unrelenting adrenaline-pumping suspense factor that has made 24 famous. Day 5 then picks up 18 months after the events of Day 4 and boy does it come out of the gate hot as Jack Bauer who had faked his death at the end of Day 4 to avert an international conflict with the Chinese is drawn out into the open following the assassination of former President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) as well as the targeting of the only three other people besides Palmer who knew he was still alive: Jack’s close friend Tony Almeida and his wife Michelle Dessler and his loyal sidekick computer whiz Chloe O’Brian. 

 

 

The writers kicked off season 5 with a bang in a fashion that even Dennis Haysbert himself was reluctant to allow to happen as he even refused for months to film his tragic death scene and was even quoted about the matter saying: 
 

“I just refused to do it for a great many months. Then they sent one of my friends, who's now the show's runner, and he convinced me to do it because they needed to launch the season - I believe that was Season Five - and they said they really couldn't do it without me having the characters assassinated. I acquiesced, but if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't do it."

 

 

Whether it was a waste of potential to kill off David Palmer or not Palmer’s death certainly fueled the narrative of season 5 paving the way for a non-stop tension-filled action/political thriller drama season of television. Day 5 pulled off many shocking surprises and included some of the show’s most poignant scenes with the writers continuously emphasizing that none of the characters were safe from being killed off. Many themes of political corruption and intrigue ran through the season parallelling classic movies such as All The President’s Men (1974) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) and calling attention to the threat of the existence of enemies both foreign and domestic. Romance also played a prominent role as the truth about Jack actually being alive in the season opener coming out led to a reunion with his old flame Audrey Raines who was left grief-stricken following Jack’s apparent death which itself was on the heels of an awful breakup between the two. However the events of the day rekindle the romance between the two with them seeing that being with each other is what is important. However things didn’t come as easy with his daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) who after finding out her father was still alive refused to accept her father’s world in light of the constant danger she puts him and her in. 

 

 

The twists and turns of the reveals were well navigated with convincing and complex performances by again series lead Kiefer Sutherland and villainous turns by Peter Weller (RoboCop, Star Trek: Into Darkness) as Jack’s old mentor Christoper Henderson and Gregory Itzin as the cowardly and duplicitous scumbag President Charles Logan. The reveal of Logan being the one behind the horrible events of Day 5 deep into the season was shell-shocking to say the least as up to that point Logan introduced in season 4 was painted as a cowardly and indecisive President who was quick to ill-temperament and to blame others for his poor decisions only for the reversal of his corrupt nature to turn him into something far more intriguing and sinister to watch unfold onscreen. The results lead to a highly suspense-filled climax not only containing elaborate action set-pieces with the inclusion of a submarine takeover sequence and the Secretary of Defense driving his car into the river to heroically avert blackmail but also plenty of political intrigue as the First Lady Martha Logan (Jean Smart) works with the stoic Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce (Glenn Morshower) and the President’s Chief of Staff Mike Novick (Jude Ciccolella) to bring Logan to justice with the help of Jack Bauer which saw a finale of unprecedented stakes and an equally terrifying cliffhanger with the successful capture of Bauer by the Chinese government following a “false victory” or false happy ending for Bauer.

 

Day 5 was of course followed by subsequent seasons with a total of 8 seasons in all to be later followed up by a limited series entitled 24: Live Another Day that saw Kiefer Sutherland reprise his iconic role this time with the action moving to London. Fox even revived the concept with a reboot/reimagination in 2017 in the form of 24: Legacy starring Corey Hawkins that only lasted for one season. For years speculation has run rampant about a potential 24 movie or another limited series return with Kiefer Sutherland in the role or even another reboot. The producers had talked about doing a 24 legal thriller show or a Jack Bauer prequel series but those projects have ultimately been scrapped. A crossover movie between the Die Hard and 24 franchises was once proposed for a movie that would have been entitled Die Hard 24/7 and been the fifth film in the Die Hard franchise. However apparently Kiefer Sutherland wanted to develop a solo 24 movie instead and the result was A Good Day To Die Hard which was widely panned by critics and 24: Live Another Day but no 24 movie in sight to this day. I think Kiefer Sutherland should rethink the potential of a Die Hard 24/7 crossover as the storytelling potential is rich. Such a premise could see a buddy-cop style teamup between Bauer and McClane with Bauer as the straight man to Bruce Willis’s wisecracking everyman McClane. And the Die Hard movies while not strictly told in real time closely resembled the format with their stories usually unfolding over the course of a matter of hours so the blending of the two franchises makes a lot of sense. And add to that the chemistry between Sutherland and Willis would be highly entertaining to watch unfold onscreen not to mention the potential villains they could square off against. It could be a combination of new villains we have never seen before played by some of the biggest names in Hollywood today or even old villains from both Die Hard and 24’s past that have managed to survive to live another day to wreak havoc in Jack Bauer and John McClane’s lives. Also in this golden age of streaming the door is possibly open for them to do a limited series crossover instead if Disney and Fox somehow managed to give the stars a big enough paycheck to compensate for it not being a big screen-theatrical release and if the storytelling was rich enough to warrant a longform storytelling-format. In any case if anything is going to happen on a 24 continuation or Die Hard 6 situation than they better get moving as Bruce Willis is currently 66 and Kiefer Sutherland is 55. Sutherland was even recently interviewed about the possibility of more 24 to which he said:

 

“I’ve learned to say: never say never. But if the writers are going come up with a good idea, they better do it quick, because I’m slowing down. Time is catching up and the bones are getting brittle. Maybe they should reboot it with new characters and Jack Bauer somehow gets out of China and that storyline’s resolved. I’m open to all of it. 24 was one of my great experiences in life and if there’s a smart, intelligent way to finish it – or at least finish my involvement – I’m open to that.”

 

 

 

Until then there is 8 seasons and 192 episodes of 24, a TV movie entitled 24: Redemption as well as its revival limited series 24: Live Another Day in which Sutherland co-stars with Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck) in addition to a spin-off 24: Legacy to catch up on or revisit in the meantime. And even beyond that in addition to the rich catalog of Kiefer Sutherland movies that are out there including A Few Good Men (1992) and The Sentinel (2006) Sutherland has gone on to do a number of other outstanding TV series including Touch (2012-2013), Designated Survivor and the upcoming Paramount+ spy series Rabbit Hole set to debut on the streaming service this fall. So be sure and get your Kiefer Sutherland fix and stay tuned for more exciting articles in the world of movies & TV here at The Ray Pletcher Blog.