24 Faithful Podcast: in partnership with the TVShow Time app

With the recent passing of Gregory Itzen (President Charles Logan), we decided to put together this special tribute in his honor.

Brad and Joel discuss the entire series of 24 (minus the so-called 24: Legacy). They discuss: The order of seasons from best to worst (comparing the ranking now vs. when they started this rewatch) Some of their favorite (and least favorite) characters, quotes, episodes, cliffhangers, etc. Feedback from a faithful listener

Key plot: Jack takes down Margot Ian sees through Chloe’s deception and realizes Heller is still alive, so Margot decides to attack Waterloo Station Jack tracks down Margot and saves the station, then throws her out of a window Steve the traitor Jordan’s death becomes knowledge of the police and latterly the CIA Jack has the hitman identified as a former covert ops assassin who once reported to Navarro Navarro takes off and leaves the override device for Adrian Cross, who betrays him and Navarro is caught To get the tracker code Kate and Jack perform a ruse where Kate threatens to kill Navarro, and it works Cheng returns Adrian decides he wants to use the override device to let every country expose holes in the defenses of every other country Originally he designed the device for Cheng who returns and kills all of Open Cell’s members Chloe reconfigures the device for him, he kills Adrian, and then gives a fake order to a US sub to sink a Chinese carrier ship Jack’s Revenge at the Docks: Part 2 Cheng has a sniper on Audrey after she went to a contact who could push the US case that it wasn’t them who gave the order on the Chinese carrier Kate goes to save Audrey and kills the sniper, but as they’re leaving a second shooter arrives and Audrey is shot and killed Jack goes after Cheng at Southampton Docks and is strategic in his assault until Chloe loses her feed and communications and Kate tells him about Audrey Jack goes on a rampage and kills all of Cheng’s men, capturing Cheng and then beheading him after providing CIA with the proof he’s alive Ending (again) Kate leaves the CIA, Mark is prepped for transport back to the US where he faces treason charges, Heller laments his fading memory as he boards a plane with Audrey’s body Chloe was kidnapped by the Russians from the docks and Jack agrees to a trade: her return for his capture Chloe is safe and Jack is taken away by helicopter to face punishment for his acts in season 8 Contact: @The24Podcast 24faithful.com 405-771-0567

Key plot: Jack reunites with Heller and Audrey An arrested Jack is taken to Heller and asks to go back into the field to help stop Margot While there Audrey goes to see him and they have a heart-to-heart CIA follow a lead on Margot’s video demands which Naveed planted, but it’s a trap and the CIA team are ambushed by an explosive Undercover with Rask Heller agrees to let Jack go undercover and see Karl Rask, an arms dealer Jack has been working for to sabotage his operations, and he’s also a contact of Margot The play: Jack killed Nils, another of Rask’s men, for being a CIA contact and has captured Kate, who was Nils’ contact. Jack needs Rask to complete a bank login so Chloe can access his system Kate opts to inject herself with a drug to knock her out, shocking Jack Prime Minister Davies tracks Jack’s operation after hearing of Heller’s condition and sends in MI5, who interrupt the mission Jack manages to get Chloe access and Kate survives her torturee Simone betrays Margot Naveed is killed after trying to lead the CIA to their location, in front of Simone Naveed’s sister has heard of plans to leave London and Simone is sent to find out what she and her daughter know, which is nothing, but is told to kill them anyway She tries warning them but accidentally stabs Farah and while chasing Yasmin is hit by a bus Jack questions her as Margot sends a drone to kill her, which they narrowly escape Heller sacrifices himself Heller offers Margot a trade: give himself up for the destruction of the drones He reveals to Jack his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and enlists him and Mark to help make the exchange go through Jack gets Heller to Wembley Stadium where he’s asked to go, and Margot fires a missile at him But actually Chloe cloned the feed with Heller in the middle of the pitch and Jack saved Heller - she told him she didn’t know if it would work  Jordan uncovers the truth Jordan finds that files related to Adam Morgan were deleted but Navarro tells him not to pursue it until after the crisis has passed He doesn’t give in and so Navarro, who framed Adam, on the direction of Adrian Cross, has Jordan go to what he says is a dead-drop that will help lead to Margot It’s actually a set-up for an assassination, which Jordan initially survives He figures out Navarro sent the hitter but having gained the upper hand, is stabbed and dies Contact: @The24Podcast 24faithful.com 405-771-0567

Key plot: Jack returns to save Chloe It’s four years after Day 8 and Jack has been on the run, but he’s found by a CIA station in London This was actually a plan by Jack to get captured so he could break out Chloe, who’s been captured and is interrogated She works for an organisation called Open Cell which is devoted to uncovering and publishing government secrets Jack needed to get to Derrick Yates, who worked for Open Cell, as he was involved in someone trying to take control of the US drone programme Yates managed this and took control of Chris Tanner’s drone, killing a squadron in Afghanistan Kate’s return to the field Kate Morgan is being transferred back to Langley from the CIA’s London station after her husband Adam was indicted for selling US state secrets to the Chinese, albeit she was cleared She identifies Jack’s plays throughout - confusion over his escape route, is the one to work out why he’s at CIA, tracking him after Yates and to the US embassy Jack takes over the embassy Yates is killed by his ‘girlfriend’ who actually is Simone Al-Harazi, the daughter of Margot who Yates is selling the drone’s override device to Jack decides Tanner’s flight key is the best lead for finding the person involved and breaks into the US embassy where he’s being held to take it While doing so he has to lock himself in a communications room to transmit the data President Heller sanctions him to be taken down but Kate intervenes, saves Jack and recovers the flight key President James Heller Heller is President and in London to get the UK parliament to extend the lease of a military base and support the use of drones He is suffering with some (as yet unknown) illness which is affecting his mental functions Audrey is with him and married to Mark Boudreau, who vows that she will not hear Jack’s name when he discovers he has resurfaced After Tanner’s drone incident Heller decides to address parliament directly, taking heat from Mark in a prep session when he forgets a name, but miraculously succeeding Margot shows her commitment Margot planted Simone undercover with Yates, much to the frustration of her husband Naveed Naveed is going to pilot the drones in her attacks later that day but he has his own plan to try and escape Margot learns of this plan from Simone and when he refuses to help her kill innocents, Margot has Simone’s finger removed to coerce him into agreeing Contact: @The24Podcast 24faithful.com 405-771-0567

Wrapping up Season 8 and what seemed to be a wrap to the series... Key plot pointsChloe’s rise through CTUChloe at CTU is often not ideal this season: setting it up that she works there only because she has no choice, the perception at the beginning of the season that Dana is really smart but it’s because Chloe is made to seem more incompetent She’s often really great though: her debrief with Renee is so good, as is her threatening Frank Haynam It’s insane that she goes from being the unwanted staff, to being de facto lead on the floor, to being interim director in the space of 17 hours Chloe as director doesn’t work because so much of the reason we love her is her loyalty to Jack and her seeing beyond the bureaucracy to do what she knows is right As director she loses a lot of that - see trying to capture Jack instead of helping him get to Dana - and while her shift back to exposing the Russians is good, it’s still a fairly meh version of Chloe A satisfying end to the series?I certainly remember feeling fairly content with the ending when it first aired Really important that the final 8 episodes were as good as they were because if they had continued like the first two-thirds, it would’ve been a really low point on which to end I’m still firmly in the camp that season 7 (also 4) would’ve been a better ending than this season, but I’m a fan of this one Season 8 overallSeason 6 felt tired, as though there was a structure they tried following and there was a monotony to it, and like it needed to take a break to reset (which obviously it got from the writer’s strike) Season 8 feels for so long like they’d run pretty much out of ideas and opted for a lot of repetition in a lot of places Again, possibly a bit of the tired factor but also it suffers from an issue where it often feels like the show is trying too hard to surprise viewers Despite the final run this is undoubtedly the second weakest season

Jack enlists Cole and kills Dana Jack goes to old Special Forces friend Jim Ricker for surveillance equipment and an arsenal Dana is moved to a black site by a private security firm to prevent Jack from getting to her, and to find the evidence she has against the Russians Chloe sets up Jack for capture by Cole, luring him to a fake address where Dana is, but Jack sees through it and convinces Cole to help him expose the cover-up They rescue Dana and go to a bank to get the evidence, but she explodes a device to subdue Cole and try to escape by calling the police on Jack Jack catches up to her and kills her Revenge for Renee Jack contacts Meredith Reed so she can publish the story about the Russian involvement using Dana’s evidence Pavel and his team use the meeting to trap Jack but he’s a step ahead and with Ricker capture Pavel Jack realises Pavel was the one who killed Renee and tortures him, eventually slicing open his stomach to retrieve his SIM card Doing this reveals to him that Logan is involved Jack vs Logan and Suvarov Jack traps Logan’s motorcade in a tunnel and takes down the Secret Service agents to kidnap Logan Logan breaks easily and tells Jack that Mikhail Novakovich, the Russian Foreign Minister, is behind things Jack goes to Novakovich’s hotel and kills him and his staff/security, although is wounded in the process He planted a listening device on Logan (again) and overhears that Suvarov is involved too Jack gets a sniper trained on Logan and ready to shoot Suvarov, but Chloe manages to talk him down before he assassinates Suvarov Chloe tries to get the Logan/Suvarov audio uploaded to CTU to be sent to everyone in government and every media outlet but she’s stopped before she can The President’s demise Ethan resigns after Taylor walks back plans to pull out of the talks due to Dana’s evidence, after she has Dana taken by the private security firm Taylor cedes much of the managing of the situation with Jack to Logan, albeit still being the one to make decisions in many circumstances She agrees to have Logan’s role in the process made public When Dalia is contacted by Meredith, she confronts Taylor about the Russian involvement, and Taylor threatens Dalia with retaliation for the day’s attacks unless she signs the peace treaty When Jack is arrested and the evidence seized, she watches the video Jack made for Kim  Taylor declines to sign the treaty after Suvarov and Dalia do and tries to save Jack, but she’s too late Logan kills Jason Pillar and shoots himself Ending Logan’s team of mercenaries are about to kill Jack when Taylor calls and tells them to stand down She tells Jack she’s withdrawn and apologies, and that they will both have to face consequences Jack thanks Chloe for everything she’s done for him and she promises to protect Kim and give him time to escape

Dana the double agent Dana kills Bill Prady when he tries going to Hastings Turns out Dana’s actually a plant and working with Samir CTU discover this when she helps Tarin escape (he kills himself to distract CTU) and keep Hassan captive Trade for Hassan Samir offers Taylor a trade: give them Hassan and they won’t detonate the “radiological dispersal device” in Manhattan Taylor’s against this but General Brucker convinces Rob Weiss to act, sending a covert team to kidnap Hassan Ethan discovers their plot and has a heart attack, from which Rob and Brucker leave him without medical help until Hassan is in captivity Jack fends off the team but Hassan learns of the trade and offers himself up Samir reads a statement of Hassan’s crimes and then slits his throat Renee’s death A mysterious figure posing as a medic, Pavel Tokarev, injects Samir with a toxin that kills him, and Renee briefly notices him as he leaves as though she recognises him Jack and Renee go back to his apartment and have sex Pavel follows them, and shoots Renee to cover the tracks of the Russian involvement Jack gets Renee to a hospital but she dies Jack begins quest for revenge To find out about the Russian involvement, Jack goes to the arraignment of Sergei Bazhaev Bazhaev tells him that the Russian government were involved in everything that happened and that Dana was their agent at CTU Jack questions Dana, who will talk for an immunity deal Taylor goes to CTU to talk Jack out of this and has him locked down (he steals a helicopter and escapes) because she doesn’t want him derailing the peace agreement The return of Charles Logan Logan leaves several messages at Ethan’s office after learning of the Russian intention to pull out of the agreement He speaks with Mikhail Novakovich, the Russian foreign minister, to keep him at the table by blackmailing him with his knowledge of Moscow’s involvement in the day’s events Contact: Twitter: @the24podcast 24faithful.com 405-771-0567

The undercover operation progresses Laitanan calls everyone he can including Sergei Bazhaev, who denies involvement  Renee and Laitanan fight, she kills him (stabs 15 times) and stabs Jack, who manages to kill Laitanan’s men Bazhaev’s men kidnap Jack and torture him but he escapes and takes down Bazhaev Josef steals the rods and tries to sell them to Farhad but is killed by them when about to go along with Jack’s immunity deal Marcos and the Farhad ruse Samir is no longer going to export to the IRK, but use the rods in New York Farhad isn’t happy with this and escapes and calls CTU, only for him to get up from his hiding spot and be killed just before CTU arrive He dies but Jack suggests using him as dead bait to lure the terrorists into making sure he’s dead Marcos Al-Zacar is sent with a bomb and is cornered in an oxygen chamber Jack uses his mother Elaine to talk him out of detonating the bomb but the fail safe is activated by Ali and Marcos is blown up... Tarin is involved But not before he says Tarin is involved Tarin has escaped custody after being detained by Hassan and is with Kayla Daliia warns Kayla of the nuclear threat and Tarin’s involvement and he kidnaps her Samir demands file 33 from Hassan, which contains all info on taking down American defences including radiological detectors Tarin fakes an escape with Kayla and is ‘shot’ in the process but it’s all a ruse to get her to CTU where an EMP goes off The end of Kevin Wade Dana guides Kevin and Nick through taking $120,000 from an evidence lockup but Nick tries taking everything else and a cop discovers the mess, and Nick attacks him Kevin decides he’s not going to leave Dana’s life after this score Dana goes to kill them both only for Cole to arrive first, she explains everything to him - he threatens them but Nick stabs Kevin and is about to kill Dana/Cole when Kevin saves them They sink the bodies and pretend things are normal Kevin’s parole officer Bill Prady calls Dana and then comes to CTU to get info on Kevin He asks for the video archive for the lockup which will expose her and Dana is going to give it to him until the EMP Contact: Twitter: @24podcast 24faithful.com 405-771-0567

18 months after Day 7 Jack and Kim are in New York and Jack’s treatment is completed Takes place about 14 years and 6 months after Day 1 Key plot: Jack cannot get out Jack is heading back to LA with Kim, Stephen and Teri Victor Aruz, old contact, shows up with info on an Hassan hit but is killed when Jack tries delivering him to CTU Kim convinces Jack to stay and help Peace process Islamic Republic of Kamistan President Omar Hassan is going to sign a global peace treaty with Allison Taylor  Hassan has been having an affair with reporter Meredith Reed, who’s suspected of working alongside the terrorists, but is framed Hassan’s brother and chief of staff Farhad is actually in on it Attempt on Hassan’s life Russian assassin Davros has a cover as a cop and gets on the United Nations security detail Planted a bomb under a manhole cover on Hassan’s exit route after triggering a bomb threat within the UN After the attack and Farhad’s betrayal Hassan begins arresting people who are connected to the opposition, including Minister Jamot for having a cousin who was among the detainees Renee’s back in the game Davros had traces of weapons-grade uranium-235 on him Linked to a Russian gang Renee was undercover with six years before She was fired from FBI for torturing Alan Wilson and is clearly in a bad state of mind Ziya Dakhilov (Jon Sklaroff) is her in to Vladimir Laitanan, who leads the gang and with whom she has been violated by Dana’s past resurfaces Dana Walsh is actually Jenny Scott from Rock Springs (Arkansas) and was an accessory to murder Kevin Wade was her partner (more like controller) and wants something in return for keeping her secret - a big score

Key plot pointsJack: law-breaker or hero?This is the most interesting moral debate the show throws up I think this is the best character development season for Jack, as he goes from a bullish pride over his past to having to forgive himself for mistakes made during his career/life Through Jack vs. most everyone else (primarily Larry, Janis and the President) with Renee as the character in the middle the season is utterly fascinating in exploring the way “Do whatever it takes” can impact upon someone I really like that the show doesn’t go for the “is torture effective?” route, because barbarism has clearly been effective in every other season (see: Jack not pushing Assad’s man far enough) and it’d be silly to retcon that Instead looking at the impact of it on the torturer is far more watchable Jack’s illnessI think this would’ve been a really good way to end the show Perhaps the only thing which falls short is how understated Jack being infected is to begin with - I love the scene in which he finds out the results, but then it’s a bit like “well yeah he’s dying, what did you expect?” Jack and Kim’s scene is GOLD Really sad to see Jack struggle so much throughout the final few episodes Jack and Renee’s “15 people on a bus” scene is PLATINUM Really love the interaction between Jack and Imam Gohar The evolution of Renee WalkerThings get off to a shaky start with her - the “Do whatever it takes” at Schector’s is great, but then backing down on it the following episode is not Development after this is superb: she’s dragged into Jack’s world but not fully his mindset Interesting to see she doesn’t hesitate to interrogate Tanner Threatening Vossler’s wife and child clearly bothers her - love her “Tomorrow” though Marika’s death is the indication of their differences Larry’s death breaks her and as a result, her torture of Alan Wilson feels like the inevitable final step for the season Season 7 overallThis would rival season 5 if not for the final six episodes They’re just so bland, so stereotypical villain plot with Tony as the villain no one believes can actually be a villain, in a villain story that isn’t engaging Everything before that is magnificent It feels different to the first six seasons but familiar enough; it’s energetic again  Not to harp on about season 6, but season 6 felt like it was going through the motions of existence, where season 7 from start to Tony always felt like you needed to sit up and take notice

Key plot: Tony has just killed Larry Moss, and Robert Galvez has the canister of the pathogen. Tony has Galvez find a building, then blow it with FBI agents inside Jack figures out Tony’s working against them after a discussion about Vincent Cardiff, the guy Tony found out about the White House attack from, but Tony steals Jack’s anti-seizure med-pack and escapes Cara convinces her group including Alan Wilson to use the pathogen now instead of saving it for attacks next year, and they go about framing Jibraan Al-Zarian for the attack After Cara meets with Hodges pretending to be his lawyer and suggests he must commit suicide to save his family, Jack offers Hodges protection - but Olivia Taylor decides to have him killed by Martin Collier’s contact Using CTU archives at FBI, Jack manages to find Jibraan who has been set up to be on a Subway train when the canister of pathogen explodes, but they get it out in time Tony has a man watching Kim as she goes to the airport to return to Los Angeles to force Jack into breaking Tony out of custody The hostiles are outed and Kim manages to save the laptop after Sarah is killed and Bob is in a car crash/fire This leads the FBI to Jack and Tony, where he has armed Jack with a bomb to murder Alan Wilson - the man who killed Michelle Renee saves Jack and Jack stops Tony from killing Wilson Renee decides to go in and prepare to torture Wilson  Ethan and Aaron team up and recover a recording from Olivia’s office to expose her role in Hodges’ death President Taylor decides that she can’t bury the evidence and has her reprimanded to the Justice Department, in a move which causes immense friction between her and Henry Jack accepts his impending death with Imam Gohar but Kim arrives and decides she wants to do the stem cell treatment to try and save Jack’s life

Key plot pointsBill’s deathThis is so sad - saddest death? Up there (alts: Mason? Edgar) Ends a nice mini-circle for Bill, who an hour ago told Jack he couldn’t question Burnett - in a way he’s responsible, about ten minutes pass between that and Larry’s call - so to sacrifice himself to save the President is great The bioweapon arrivesThis is a very quick shift into the next threat - again with the relentlessness Once again, Jack putting a civilian in harm’s way expecting them to behave as they were going to before meeting them Admire the fact that Jack has no hesitation in stopping the leak once he notices it Olivia v EthanThis antagonistic attitude between them from the get-go is a bit mad We learn almost instantly what Olivia is and see it in action very quickly after She is fairly narcissistic; does she not realise her mother is the world’s most powerful person? She doesn’t need to try and make a power grab (Tony in S4: “I don’t need to establish position. I’ve already got it”) Ethan is right to resign Her blackmailing of Ken is incredible, particularly given that she got herself out of a hole she dug Hodges’ ultimatumIs he the most deranged villain the show has had? The bioweapon being loaded onto the missiles makes it an entirely pointless threat - why not just use missiles? Do enjoy the tension of it all though And also the air of confidence about Taylor when Hodges is arrested The Tony twistThe scene itself is fine at best, it sets up where the only outcome is the one that happens or Galvez kills both Tony and Larry - and quite frankly the show was never going to have such a major character killed by such a nobody It feels like a very 24 twist in that he’s done plenty of good and “he’s changed” type stuff - Jack even speaks to Taylor about taking his positive actions into account 30 mins before - and then this I suppose at least he was on the other side of the law before S7

Jack, Tony, Bill, Chloe and Renee raid Dubaku’s office space, rescue the Matobos and destroy the CIP device They decide to go to President Taylor to expose the existence of corruption Agent Vossler takes Henry Tayor hostage and gives him to Dubaku, who blackmails the President: withdraw from Sangala or Henry dies Jack and Renee threaten Vossler’s family and get to Henry, but not before he’s shot They discover Marika Donoso, Dubaku’s girlfriend whom was told his name was Samuel Aboa, and ask her to keep a meeting with Dubaku and they’ll follow In the sting operation Marika crashes the car and dies, while Jack gets a chip containing the co-conspirators’ names This includes Sean Hillinger and Erika, who tried covering their tracks at the FBI but Sean killed Erika and his name was on the chip Tony tells Jack there’s another threat from Juma and Ryan Burnett, Senator Mayer’s chief of staff, knows about it Jack tortures him in the White House but is stopped Juma attacks the White House as Renee escapes Laurent Dubaku, Ike’s son Jack gets Taylor into the lockdown but Aaron Pierce can’t get Olivia Taylor there, and Juma finds her and forces the President to open the door Contact: @The24Podcast 24faithful.com 405-771-0567

Jack is facing a senate subcommittee, only to be pulled out by Renee Walker She’s investigating a group led by Tony, who’s actually alive and has the CIP device, which allows his group to breach the government firewall and access the country’s primary installations But after capturing Tony, turns out he’s actually working with Bill and Chloe to find the source of massive corruption within the government, perpetrated by Ike Dubaku and his boss Benjamin Juma They’re undercover with David Emerson and kidnap former Sangala Prime Minister Ule Matobo and his wife, having to fake Renee’s death in the process They double cross and kill Emerson and wire Matobo so they can track him to Dubaku New President Allison Taylor is planning to invade Sangala Her son Roger died between Redemption and S7 but husband Henry refuses to believe it was suicide He is given evidence by Samantha Roth, Roger’s girlfriend, that two of Roger’s managers at his brokerage firm were doing business with firms linked to Sangala His Secret Service agent Brian Gedge is a traitor though, paralysing Henry and killing Samantha, before trying to hang Henry as a suicide - only to be killed by Henry

Bradley and Joel discuss some of the over-arching themes throughout Season 6 - what worked and what didn't. We also discuss 24: Redemption, the 2-hour TV movie that sets up the scene for Season 7. Key plot pointsRacial politicsClear picture of the season inside the opening four minutes: Middle Eastern man eyeballed with suspicion on his way to work and denied access to a bus, only for an East Asian man to blow it up; cut to the Oval Office crew arguing over Tom’s detention facilities and the restrictions of freedoms The Walid facility stuff highlights their pointlessness and leads to Wayne rejecting the proposals - fine - but then the show just kind of forgets its stance? Nadia’s denied access and it’s just like *shrugs* - until Bill leaves, then he sorts the issue with no fuss “And yeah, she is a Muslim. That’s enough to go on. Everyone here is thinking it, even if they won’t say it.” But then Doyle is also a reader of anything religious??!??!?!?!?!?!? Assad being framed for Palmer’s assassination attempt is again abysmal; presumably Daniels looks at America as being almost all white and just a handful of other ethnicities 2007: about 65% of USA was white (non-hispanic) Yet attempts to rally what I’ll loosely define as “his people” against what I’ll loosely define as “them” by pinning the murder on Assad (not to mention threatening Tom to get him to support this) Nukes don’t matter, apparently24 created a seismic moment when detonating a bomb to kill 12,000 people but it also meant it played all its cards four episodes in You can’t explode another bomb because a) as everyone says, it would ruin the country forever; b) 24 isn’t interested in fallout and cleanup and recovery - it’s only interested in the drama of the here and now (this isn’t a bad thing per se) None of the other bombs ever feel like a threat: The one Jack disarms, who cares? Five minutes pass and Jack doesn’t even remove his shotgun until the act returns The metal plates move twice in 11 seconds but I guess they hadn’t moved in the five minutes before? These also seem to move more quickly the closer to the potential blast we get The tension is completely false because Jack isn’t going to die in a nuclear explosion If this bomb goes off, Fayed’s chopper absolutely doesn’t survive it  There are 5 nukes that pose a grave threat to the US: this is one, and it doesn’t even get mentioned in the previously in 2-3pm We spend 4-7pm with no danger from the bombs because they’re getting the parts for and assembling the drones, then the drone one is stopped fairly easily (again no tension) The last two obviously never get used but Fayed’s line ““We’re going to take out Downtown Los Angeles” is so bad, so empty Marilyn BauerThe romantic tension between them begins the moment they first share a frame, and never ends Jack finds out about Audrey from Marilyn because there’s a hint they could hook up now Graem’s gone, *six hours* after his death This is just… so horrible? Every single moment Rena Sofer is incredibly wooden (The Bold and the Beautiful) Season 6 overallBAD RedemptionThis is really good? The real time concept is broken with the pre-title sequence, although they then throw back in “Events occur in real time” afterwards This is a really slick set-up for season 7, laying all of the groundwork for everything but Tony More crucially: it feels like they have a good handle on how they want to tell the story, there’s legitimate tension and it’s interesting - unlike season 6 Daniels is the worst but it’s nice to see instantly that Taylor will be much more like David than Daniels Jack sacrificing his freedom to save the kids is arguably his best moment

As we get into this last part of season 6, we have a shift of focus as Jack kills Fayed and then gets a call from Cheng. We also see Bill Buchannan being dismissed from CTU and Nadia becoming the acting director of CTU. And then Wayne Palmer has also collapsed after coming out of a coma for a short time, putting Noah Daniels back in charge in the White House. Leak in the White House Attack on CTU Phillip's return Audrey's condition Chloe and Morris

In this section, we deal with racial/national conflicts between Russians, Arabs, and Chinese (and, of course, America). Markov and the drone race Brady Hauser Stopping Fayed Cheng's back Wayne's recovery and demise

Graem's demise Phillip's involvement Morris and the second nuke New and improved Charles Logan Assassination attempt

Jack's return Assad: terrorist turned peacekeeper A nuclear bomb President Palmer: Mark II Walid's detention

Season 5 is hand-down our favorite season (almost flawless), and we've covered a lot about it over the past 4 episodes. Today, we go into some pieces that we didn't get a chance to before. Some of the specific highlights: The end of Bierko and Henderson Homeland Security takeover Martha Logan   Share your own feedback by mailing joshua@podcastguymedia.com or going to https://24faithful.com

As Jack and friends discover that Logan has been behind the day's events, they track down a recording that proves Logan's involvement. When things don't go as planned, Jack comes up with (another) insane plan - to kidnap the President and force a confession.   The recording Flight 520 Logan’s cabal Taking down Logan Jack captured

This second half of season 5 is filled with insane ideas from Jack - unfortunately because he/they are put into insane circumstances. The insane circumstance that we left off with last week was the nerve gas attack on CTU, which led to the death of many CTU agents, including Edgar. It also led to Jack and several others getting locked in a few air-tight rooms. The new problem is that the nerve gas was laced with an acid that was deteriorating the seals of these safe rooms.

As we move into the second set of episodes in this season, we see the tensions growing and the conspiracy starting to grow. We also see the release of the Sentox nerve gas twice - at a local mall and in CTU. Specifically, we talk about: Erwich's betrayal Lynn's mental breakdown Suvarov ambush And Peter Weller as Christopher Henderson Attack on CTU

He disappeared to protect his secret He changed his name and started a new life He thought he was safe Then Day 5 began   Day 5 begins at 7:00am PT (10:00am ET), taking place 18 months after Day 4 and 7 years and 6 months after Day 1.   Main Plot Points Discussed: The defining premiere Airport attack Jack's return to civilization New season, new Logan? The Cummings Conspiracy

As we look at season 4 as a whole, our general consensus was that it was not quite as good as we remembered, falling to the middle-of-the-pack of all 24 seasons. We discuss how the invasion of the Chinese consulate impacts the future seasons and how a single series of events can cause such a ripple-effect. We also talk about the relationship between Jack and Audrey, Mandy, and Logan.

Marwan shot down Air Force One and has stolen the nuclear football, which he uses to find a nuclear warhead. It’s mounted onto a missile and aimed for Los Angeles. New President Charles Logan orders Jack’s arrest for torturing Joe Prado, only for that to cause Marwan to slip away, leading Logan to call on ex-President David Palmer to help him through the crisis. Palmer’s first act is to authorise an assault on the Chinese consulate to get Lee Jong, a man connected with Marwan. But during Jack’s assault, the consul is killed and Lee is shot, and at CTU there is only one doctor to treat either Lee or Paul Raines: Jack chooses Lee, and Paul dies. CTU are led to Mandy, who kills Lee Castle and takes Tony hostage, looking to utilise Michelle’s position to help her escape. Mandy fakes their death but Jack saves Tony and captures Mandy, taking down Marwan with her information. Logan agrees to turn Jack to the Chinese but Walt Cummings wants him killed, a fact which Logan ignores and Palmer warns Jack of, leading him to fake his own death with the help of Tony, Michelle and Chloe - and stride off into the sunset. Jack Bauer is dead.

Jack and co., through the takedown of Henry Powell and Dina and Behrooz Araz, found the trail of Habib Marwan, the man in control of the Dobson Override. Jack and Curtis managed to stop the meltdown of five power plants, although one did meltdown at San Gabriel Island. We learn that Marwan worked for McLennen-Forster under the alias Harris Barnes, but as Jack and Paul search their computer files, they detonate an EMP to cover their involvement. The pair manage to escape but as they’re rescued by CTU, Paul is shot twice and has to undergo surgery, which is successful but he remains critical. Jack goes undercover with Dina to find Marwan, but he sets up CTU, kills Dina and takes Jack, offering him in a trade for Behrooz to cover a missing person’s report of a military pilot. Mitch Anderson is impersonating the pilot to steal a stealth fighter and shoot down Air Force One, which he succeeds with, and Charles Logan is elevated to President through the 25th Amendment. His first issue is Marwan’s partial theft of the nuclear football, and of a nuclear warhead

So, in the first part of Season 4, Jack is now working for the Secretary of Defense, James Heller, and is dating his daughter, Audrey. Heller and Audrey are kidnapped at the end of episode 1 and then Jack rescues them less than 5 hours later. Of course, Driscoll didn’t want to work with Jack at first and resisted his attempts. While everyone thought that the purpose of Heller’s kidnapping was to humiliate him and the country through a forced confession and execution, it turns out the whole thing was a diversion from the real purpose - Marwan using an override device to access the network of nuclear power plants across the country.

Jack Bauer is out of CTU: he’s got a job working for Secretary of Defense Heller and is in a serious relationship with his daughter, Audrey. But as terrorists begin attacking the United States with a train bombing and the kidnapping of Heller and Audrey, Jack is dragged back into action, tasked by new CTU director Erin Driscoll with saving them. 

Season 3 is near the top of our favorite seasons of 24, mostly for the second half of the season. It's also (probably) one of the worst days for Jack as well as the nail in the coffin for David Palmer's presidency. Overall thoughts on season 3 I underestimated 3A from memory, it’s a mix of the slow-burn nature of season 2 and the big moment-centric approach of seasons 4/5 but it really works 3B is just immense, relentlessly thrilling and edge-of-your-seat stuff There are a lot of threads early on: Kyle Singer, Tony being shot, the Gael stuff, Jack’s heroin addiction, Kim/Chase, Ramon in prison/breaking out, Hector and Claudia By the time we get to, say, 5am, there are very few: outbreak at the Chandler Plaza, Saunders’ demands of Palmer, CTU’s quest to stop Saunders. Then occasionally threads appear:  Odd reappearance of Kim/Chase, the Alan Milliken stuff resurfaces, Adam’s sister etc I love season 3 for bringing us a great team with Jack, Tony, Michelle, and Chloe Jack’s worst day Fairly confident in saying that more terrible things happen to Jack in season 3 than in any other season: Heroin addiction, almost dies in Russian roulette, briefly becomes a fugitive, has to pull the trigger on Chase to prove his loyalty, has to work with Nina, watched both Salazars die, almost killed at MI6, forced to kill his boss, threatens to sentence an innocent 19yo not unlike his daughter to death, chops off Chase’s hand We talked briefly about it but I really love the end scene of season 3, it’s so rare that we get an insight into Jack’s emotions beyond anger, and at the end of such an exhausting season both for him and for us, I think it’s essential to see it I also think that Jack’s breakdown gives the viewer an excuse to feel similarly, so many horrific things have happened today away from Jack (Ted Packard’s suicide, Alan Milliken, Chandler Plaza, Sherry/Julia) that the short epilogue finally gives us a chance to actually breathe for the first time in a while   CTU’s newbies Chloe:  If you were new and finished season 3, and someone told you she’d be a mainstay of the next 5 seasons, you’d probably question whether you want to continue watching They well establish her talent and overemphasise her quirks and it doesn’t work in her favour I don’t like Chloe if we are looking at just season 3 by itself; but I do love her in this because I know where her character goes from here She is immensely loyal when she believes something/someone is right   Adam: Zachary Quinto is underused, and as a result I’m not wholly sold on Adam’s character He’s almost a bit Carrie just slightly less hard-up, and more willing to accept help/that he can be wrong Zachary Quinto also plays the serial killer, Sylar, on Heroes, so I sometimes see that when I watch him :) Chase: Jack lite, but more committed to not being detached I like the relationships he’s got with everyone from the outset, Kim romance is workable, nicely acquainted with Chloe (they worked together at CTU Washington), he clearly has some respect from Jack for feeling confident enough to challenge him as and when required They got rid of him too soon, but two issues with keeping him: season 4 became an almost total reset in characters, set, style, everything, and only Jack and Chloe transfer over to begin with; he’s too similar to Jack, would steal focus and turn it into a more duo-led show, which I don’t think works I think they could have used Chase in special situations in future seasons - i.e. maybe Chase could be a contact during a mission David Palmer’s compromised morality David’s morality goes out the window here: he agrees to pay off Ted, brings in Sherry to do his dirty work, covers up a murder - all for his own gain, and he’d disguise it as “my re-election is best for the country, therefore I’m doing it for the country” but that doesn’t fly Killing Chappelle but not exposing the spies list is an odd line to draw David clearly realises at the end that the events of season 3 have exhausted him, but it’s also clearly the best thing for his character who falls down a very slippery path the longer this season goes on This season was David Palmer at his worst

As Steven Saunders increases his control over President Palmer and the country, Jack and CTU make strides toward identifying Steven Saunders weakness. We also see Tony crossing the line in an effort to save Michelle. Ultimately, we see Jack getting the upper hand (no intended slight to Chase) and CTU tracking down the remaining vials of the virus. Unfortunately, even though Palmer gains control over Saunders, the final nail is driven into his political coffin.   Main talking points: Jane Saunders sting Tony commits treason Taking down Rabens and saving the day Julia's murder-suicide

We pick up with Jack and Chase arresting Nina to bring her back to LA. She unleashes a computer worm on CTU which Chloe manages to stop, and while being questioned Nina manages to escape, only to be shot and killed by Jack. Stephen Saunders, one of Jack’s team on Operation Nightfall, is revealed as the true buyer of the virus, and has Marcus Alvers release a vial in the Chandler Plaza hotel, causing 800+ people including Gael and Michelle to become exposed. Saunders makes demands of President Palmer, just moments after he lies to the police to cover Sherry’s involvement in Alan Milliken’s death - the last demand being the murder of Ryan Chappelle.   Main talking points: Nice knowing ya, Nina Enter Stephen Saunders: master criminal Attack on the Chandler Plaza Saunders' demands and Ryan's death Death #2 related to the Palmer administration

Last week, we started season 3, where Jack, Tony, and Gael fabricated a story that a virus is going to be spread through Kyle Singer. The whole point of the story was to facilitate Jack breaking Ramon Salazar out of prison so he could gain their trust and lead Jack and CTU to the real virus threat. Now, during the first six episodes, it wasn’t revealed that it was all manufactured, but it seemed legit. As we get into episodes 7 and 8, Tony comes out of the hospital and is forced to reveal the plot of the undercover mission.   Plot topics: The undercover mission is revealed The virus auction and Jack works with Nina Chase's torture and escape with Claudia Tony's competency and Chloe's distraction David Palmer v Alan Milliken 

This time, another day begins for Jack Bauer as bioterrorists are attempting to release viral capsules into Los Angeles and eventually throughout the United States. President Palmer must deal with a scandal as he seeks re-election against a Republican senator, John Keeler. Jack is again thrust into action as he tries to tie Ramon Salazar to the viral threat; however, presumed-dead Operation Nightfall operative Stephen Saunders turns out to be the mastermind behind the release of the Cordilla virus.   Season 3 takes place: 3 years after Season 2 4 years 6 months after Season 1 6 years 6 months after Operation: Nightfall (this will be important later) Talking points: Jack's heroin habit Kyle Singer and the hunt for the virus Ramon’s prison break Keeler’s accusations against Anne/David

Season 2 starts fairly flimsily and picks up hugely after Nina is brought into CTU, and especially from the moment Kate is kidnapped As aforementioned, there is a relentless tension which fills this season like a building smog, and it’s glorious Season 2 also contains 24’s best episode (episode 15, in Bradley's opinion).   The Game/Max Love the first-person shooter stuff, similarly sniper missions Puzzle solving is solid but really repetitive and not that hard Interrogations are alright, weirdly I really struggled when I played recently having always done them fairly easily The driving missions are shocking He targeted Prescott, who survived an assassination attempt by Peter Madsen’s men Madsen kidnapped Kate and Max used her to blackmail Bob into helping him smuggle nuclear weapons out of the country He’s a German arms dealer with ties to the Middle East. The US government caught onto him, his deals with the Middle East fell through, and his contacts there forced Max to watch his children be executed, for which he blames the US hence the attacks Gameplay: Annoyingly the story isn’t the most coherent and often missions exist simply to exist (Bringing In Lee Jin Yu, who is actually a terrorist with Peter Madsen, where you’re chased and there’s a van that shoots at you, with the aim of destroying your car to kill you. Even though they need Joseph Sin-Chung to be at CTU) Max: David Palmer’s presidency Hell of a thing for David to deal with in our first in-office sighting of him, and within the first 10 months of his presidency I like that David remains true to his principles throughout, even when all non-fourth wall breaking logic suggests he should change his mind (e.g. we know Cyprus is fake, but David’s faith in Jack is *mental* given all the confirmations) Not keen on him having accepted Sherry back into things, even briefly, though I am intrigued by the moments 12-3am where he looks incompetent and like he’s just appeasing his highest-ranking staff with his decision-making David’s character and control is great, even when experiencing the pressure from everyone around him. What to do with Kim? On an emotional level, Jack’s concern for getting her out of LA is fine, and the various tearful interactions between them work nicely A bonkers plot involving an abusive father, technical kidnapping, assault, murder suspect, intentionally causing a car accident, coyote, creepy cabin dudes, store robber - it just doesn’t work, beyond the occasional high of Kim being responsible and mature beyond her age Kim episodes 1-14 and 16-17 are infinitely worse than anything involving Teri in season 1 Kim’s existence made sense in season 1 when she could be the target of the Drazens’ revenge plot, but I don’t feel like she has any use this season I do really like her killing Gary and the aftermath of that, but everything else… Kim’s storyline was largely unnecessary - could have done with just highlights Jack’s journey Starts the day willing to (and seemingly willing himself to) die, ends the day willing to die (and having died) in the line of duty - which feels like we’re back to season 1 and general 24 Jack I feel like Jack’s depression could’ve been touched on more, it was prominent early on and popped back up when Nina took him hostage, but otherwise disappeared up until he flew the plane I think that, while Jack is battling depression, his reuniting with Kim and the events of the day have shown him that he still has purpose and can do good AOB Favorite quotes (unless aforementioned) “You still have a life, Jack. You wanna be a real hero? Here's what you do. You get back down there and you put the pieces together. You find a way to forgive yourself for what happened to your wife. You make things right with your daughter, and you go on serving your country. That'd take some real guts.” - George Mason to Jack

As Jack races to beat the clock to find proof that the Cyprus recording was forged, there is shifting power struggles at CTU and unrest amongst President Palmer's cabinet and staff.   The Trial of David Palmer Jack tortured for the chip Tony and Michelle work against Chappelle Jack and Sherry work together v Peter Kingsley Palmer's assassination attempt Kim kills Gary Matheson

The tension continues to grow Jack and CTU tracks down the nuclear bomb and then the focus shifts as a new lead comes into play.   Jack and Kate v Marie Mason leaves Jack on the plane (include Kim call and Mason chat; essentially this is just 10-11pm in general) - THE GREATEST EPISODE OF 24 Jack v Tony Rip Syed Ali, we hardly knew ya Wallace has evidence disproving Cyprus David’s doubt over the military response Bye, Sherry Kim and the robbery  

Josh, Bradley, and Joel cover the last episode of season 1 and went back and reviewed other pieces of season 1 that we missed before.   Check out the episode on the website   And, if you have any feedback of your own, we'd love to hear it! Next week (we record on Tuesdays) we'll be starting Season 2!

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss and review 24 Season 1, episode 20-24.   Check out the website (and read our fan-fiction novel, 24: Countdown)

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss and review 24 Season 1, episode 14-19.

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss and review 24 Season 1, episode 8-13.

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss their review of the first 8 episodes of 24 season 1.

We are back! After hearing back from some listeners, we have decided to bring the podcast back and start reviewing and recapping the past seasons of 24. Introduction of the hosts What we plan on doing with the podcast Favorites/rankings Feedback from listeners via email Next time...Season 1, episodes 1-8

A month after the end of 24: Legacy Season 1, we come back together to review the entire season and give our thoughts about the future of 24.

This season is 2/3 of the way done, but it's still ramping up! We discuss this 8th episode.