The Complete Idiot’s Guide to “24”: Season Five

SEASON 5/DAY 5

Picks up 18 months after Day 4. Much of this season has already been discussed in my character descriptions, but suffice it to say, the first 10 minutes of the season premiere were among the most shocking moments I’ve ever seen on TV. David Palmer, who had been a major hero for the past 4 seasons, is suddenly shot in the head by a sniper while peacefully dictating his memoirs. Michelle goes outside to unlock her car and it explodes, killing her instantly, and mortally wounding Tony in the after-blast. Chloe is nearly killed as well, but manages to escape thanks to Jack, who comes out of hiding in order to save her. And why were these people targeted? Because they all aided in faking Jack’s death, and because their murders were designed to bring Jack out of hiding. And boy, did that ever work!

Season 5 was 24’s best season yet, with terrific villains in the form of Gregory Itzin as President Logan, Peter Weller (aka Robocop) as Jack’s sinister former mentor Henderson, and Julian Sands (from “A Room With A View”) as Russian terrorist Bierko. And of course, it ended with a great cliffhanger: Logan has finally been arrested and Jack is happy with Audrey.
But just when things seem ok Jack gets a strange phone call from his once-again estranged daughter Kim (who thankfully had been mostly absent for the past two seasons, and hopefully won’t ever return again). But the call was faked and Jack is kidnapped by the Chinese – who clearly never forget. After many bloody beatings, Jack begs the Chinese to kill him. “Kill you? You’re far too valuable to kill, Mr. Bauer,” the Chinese diplomat gleefully tells him. The season ends with parting shot of Jack literally on a slow boat to China. Dun-Dun-DUN!! Season 6, here I come! (Full S5 ep guides at Fox)