24: Under the Microscope – Season One 

“I’m federal agent Jack Bauer, and today is the longest day of my life.”

remains an insurmountable triumph. Every subsequent season has followed its example and lived in its shadow, iterating the original template with varying success but never quite recapturing lightning in a bottle. Some have come close, but the first season is still the most successful and the most significant. It still exudes innovation in a way that few other television shows have come close to matching.

These are bold statements, but there are strong arguments to support them. Generally, the best seasons of

are those that feature a single threat and a strong narrative current from beginning to end. Having a solid frame in place and a clear direction for the story helps tie everything together, including the characters and themes. It allows for greater overall consistency and cohesiveness in the writing.

are generally those that feature multiple threats and shifting narrative currents. They move from one threat and one antagonist to another, sometimes with little connective tissue between them. This is not inherently an issue, but it can suggest that there is a lack of direction for the story as well as an absence of confidence in the writers. This can quickly lead to inconsistency and fragmentation in the writing.

is an excellent example of this principle. The season is framed by the events of Operation Nightfall which spawns three closely interconnected plot threads; the assassination attempt on Senator David Palmer, the threat against federal agent Jack Bauer and his family, and the presence of a traitor in the Counter Terrorist Unit who is leaking classified intelligence to the terrorists.

The first season is relatively focused and tightly plotted, allowing it to move towards an endgame where the aforementioned threads dramatically converge. The ending was not planned in advance, but the final episode still feels like a natural culmination of everything that happened during the previous 23 hours. This is precisely because of the sharp and unwavering focus that the writers maintained throughout the season.

The season never once loses sight of these threads even when tangential subplots emerge. They are clearly introduced in the pilot and conclusively resolved in the finale. The murder scandal involving Keith Palmer that is brought to light and the amnesia that Teri Bauer experiences after believing her daughter is killed in a car explosion are often considered pointless filler at best, but they are still peripherally related to the assassination plot.

They also tell us more about the characters and the world they are living in. While the show has often been criticised for getting side-tracked by office politics and interpersonal conflicts, they are necessary elements for the show to work. They provide material that sustains the show for 24 hours as well as generate additional suspense and intrigue. They can be hit-and-miss but, without them, the show loses much of its substance and meaning.

The characters and their relationships take centre stage in the first season of

. This means that the characters drive the plot rather than the other way around, providing more intimacy without sacrificing intensity. It is also the only season of the show where the threats are levied exclusively against a handful of distinct individuals as opposed to a group of faceless people. The calculus of war that dominates later seasons is almost entirely absent here.

The anthropomorphic nature of the first season imbues the story with greater authenticity. The stakes are not as high; but they feel more personal. The scale of the threat is smaller, but it has a more significant impact on the characters. The pacing is slower, but the passage of time has a more noticeable effect on the characters. Action set pieces are smaller, but seem realistic and resonate more strongly. Less people die, but each death feels significant.

Even the real-time element of the show is more closely adhered to during the first season. Later seasons saw the threats increase in magnitude and the plotting become denser, necessitating the reduction of excessive travel time. Characters started covering large distances in impossibly short timespans. The real-time constraints were ignored for the sake of convenience and to let characters reach their destination as quickly as the plot required.

This commitment to real-time and character-centric stories is what elevates the first season and makes it feel like a genuine 24-hour day. Arguably, the first thirteen episodes of the season are the strongest and most consistent in the show’s entire run. From the moment Richard Walsh is gunned down outside Dunlop Plaza to the rescue operation Jack single-handedly carries out to save his family from Ira Gaines,

Those who are familiar with the production of 24 will know that only the first thirteen episodes were originally ordered by Fox. As the first season of a brand new show in uncertain times, there was never any guarantee that 24 would take off. As a result, the writers were forced to conclude many of the story arcs by the end of the thirteenth episode. The assassination plot is foiled, the Bauer family is saved, and the traitor at CTU is revealed.

Episode 13 was designed to work as a series finale in case the show wasn’t picked up for a full season

When the show was picked up for a full season, these story arcs had to be jump-started to fuel the remaining eleven episodes. A new shooter is introduced to continue the assassination plot, the Bauer family is targeted again, and a second mole at CTU emerges. This is a tad clumsy, but a necessary evil that allows the season to retain its original plot threads without performing a 180 degree turn and moving on to something completely unrelated.

Indeed, the events of Operation Nightfall continue to frame the story. The surviving members of the Drazen family dispense of the intermediaries and take direct control of the operation, pushing ahead with their plan to exact revenge against Palmer and Bauer for the ostensible murder of their father, Victor Drazen, two years earlier. This leads to the revelation that Victor survived and has since been incarcerated in a top secret prison.

Even so, the second half of the season initially struggles to find its footing. The afternoon hours are marred by melodramatic plot twists and a lack of momentum. Teri suffers from amnesia in one of the most derided sub-plots of the series, Kim is caught in the middle of a drug bust that exacerbates her tendency to find trouble, and Jack stumbles around looking for new leads that includes contending with Palmer’s goddaughter who has been sleeping with Alexis Drazen.

These aren’t inherently terrible plot twists, but they are indicative of a season that is meandering forward in search of direction again. The show has to find ways to fill out 24 episodes, keep the Bauer family relevant, and give Jack something to do in the meantime. Consequently, it manufactures sillier and more contrived ways to do so. Fortunately, these detours are temporary and the payoff is ultimately worth it.

Thematically, season one is about the struggle to separate personal lives from the gruelling demands of politics and field work. Numerous characters are compromised at some point as a result of their personal relationships interfering with their professional responsibilities. Jack and his family are affected by the events of Operation Nightfall while David Palmer’s attempt to win the democratic nomination is affected by a murder scandal involving his son.

These are the two most obvious examples, but they can also be identified elsewhere. Tony Almeida’s objectivity is affected by his feelings for Nina, Jamey Farrell becomes a traitor to financially support her family, and Elizabeth Nash engages in an illicit relationship with a man who intends to assassinate Palmer. Even Scott Baylor, who uncovers the presence of a mole in CTU, initially refuses to offer assistance after placing his family in jeopardy.

These complications tend to have disastrous consequences for the characters. Jamey is murdered by Nina to stop her from interfering with the assassination plot, Elizabeth fatally stabs Alexis in a moment of blind rage, David and Sherry’s marriage is irreparably damaged as a result of the latter’s deception, and Jack’s family is forever fractured when his wife is murdered by Nina – his former lover and most trusted confidante.

Structurally, season one serves as the first entry in the first trilogy of the series. It introduces multiple ideas that continue to develop in season two before being resolved in season three. This includes the fallout of Operation Nightfall, the first presidential term of David Palmer, the rise and fall of Tony Almeida, the treachery of Nina Myers and Sherry Palmer, the transition into adulthood for Kim Bauer, and the short-term impact of Teri Bauer’s death.

Season one also establishes the blueprint for the rest of the series. Specifically, it introduces the character of Jack Bauer whose journey rapidly becomes an inextricable part of its DNA. The story begins with his humanity untarnished. His family life is imperfect but relatively normal and full of possibility. He has yet to experience the crushing losses and defeats that disconnect him from the world. This season will set him on a path from which he can never turn back.

The death of Richard Walsh in just the second hour is the first of many that Jack will endure throughout the series. A great deal of history between the two characters is implied, but there is little opportunity to explore it in further detail. Walsh appears in just two episodes, but his death has a profound effect on Jack. For the audience, it arguably has even more gravitas than the death of longer-running characters like Edgar Stiles.

In the fourth episode, Jack teams up with police officer Jessie Hampton while chasing a suspect. She is taken hostage by the suspect and killed, leaving Jack visibly distraught. This is a notable reaction given his willingness to sacrifice innocent lives to achieve a greater good in later seasons. At this very early point in the series, Jack is a man whose focus is on saving individual lives. The ‘big picture’ focus that later dominates his thinking is yet to emerge.

Jack is a more human character in the first season. He is more responsive to the terrible things that happen around him and he shows signs of physical and emotional exhaustion. There is even a moment when he starts to fall asleep while hiding from the authorities. He is not yet capable of the superhuman feats he becomes famous for, including killing dozens of people in a matter of hours or withstanding injuries that would incapacitate others.

In broad strokes, the trajectory of the series is telegraphed as early as the first episode. In a conversation with Nina, Jack warns about the dangers of compromise and how it can subvert even the most well-meaning people. He argues that doing so for the sake of expediency and self-interest can set a dangerous precedent, making it easier to compromise in the future until it becomes a normal and acceptable method of conduct.

The implications of this conversation are not immediately perceptible, but it becomes clear that this is the thematic linchpin that binds the entire series together.

is a cautionary tale about how compromise invariably leads to corruption. The downfall of Charles Logan, Alison Taylor, Tony Almeida and many more can be traced back to an initial decision that involved a compromise to achieve selfish or expedient outcomes.

Even Jack is not immune to its corruptive influence. He frequently tortures suspects for information that they are otherwise unwilling to share. He also disregards laws and protocols that obstruct his investigation. This has a cumulative effect which, in combination with the personal sacrifices he is forced to make, isolates him from the world and prevents him from leading a normal life.

Season one enters its final hour with the revelation that Nina Myers is the second traitor in CTU; that she has been feeding the Drazen family information about Jack and Palmer the entire time. It is one of the greatest twists in the history of the series and secures her place as one of its most memorable villains. The show tries to repeat this twist in later seasons with only a fraction of the same success. No other attempt has been as shocking or as raw.

quickly developed a reputation for unpredictable storytelling and high-octane action, but these were to be expected from a show about assassination plots and acts of terrorism. Moles and traitors fall within the parameters of that premise. The identity of the mole might have been surprising, but the mere fact that a mole existed in the first place should not be. Mechanically, the show did exactly what was expected of it.

Sometimes, however, a story will exceed its parameters and transcend its origins.

is a fantastic example of this. At the end of the fourth episode, John Locke is revealed to have been in a wheelchair before crashing on the island and somehow regaining the use of his legs. A combination of excellent writing, acting, directing, and scoring create a powerful moment that shapes the future of the series in ways that were previously unthinkable.

turned into something other than a 21st century version of

. Instead, the show starts drawing from an amalgamation of philosophical and mythological ideas to tell a story about a group of deeply flawed people who are trying to find themselves. They are connected in ways they cannot imagine, surrounded by incomprehensible forces, and called upon to take part in events far greater than themselves.

, influencing and informing every aspect of the series going forward. The horrifying nature of the series suddenly reveals itself; people will die, tragedy is unavoidable, every victory will come with a price, and there will be no happy ending. The show transcends its origins to tell a story that is about more than simply thwarting terrorist attacks and uncovering conspiracies.

Jack suffers a gut-wrenching loss from which he will never recover, setting him on an inexorable path of loss and isolation. The next eight seasons will continue to strip away nearly every piece of his humanity until little remains. The journey began here, at the end of the longest day of his life, with the death of his wife. It seals the first season of

as a masterpiece as well as one of the greatest seasons of television ever made.

enthusiast. He has a passion for various storytelling mediums, an unhealthy obsession with Pink Floyd, and enjoys writing accessible long-form analysis when he isn’t spending half the day playing a

Related Topics ·  24 Season 1,  Longform,  24: Under the Microscope

Guest writer Brad Hines kicks off a monthly series of articles examining each season of 24.

Guest writer Brad Hinds offers an in-depth review and analysis of the second season of 24.

Couldn’t agree more. The first season has always been a country mile ahead, in my opinion.

What many people miss from Day One is the fact that Jack and David are the villains.

They killed innocent people (Drazen’s wife and children) through their governmental duties (a government that doesn’t care about them).

The Drazens are justified in their vengeance for their innocent loved ones.

And they succeed by tearing both Jack and David’s families apart (specifically Jack’s).

The sins of Jack (Operation Nightfall and his love affair with his coworker) came back around to kill his wife.

This is a wonderful and frightening parallel to the reasons for terrorists carrying out the events on 9/11.

America invades other people’s lives for profit, disregarding innocent casualties.

No side is innocent, but America (Bauer/Palmer) did draw first blood and any payback can be justified for those casualties (in the senselessness of war).

24 is practically screaming reality in the faces of viewers, yet most continue to ignore that reality.

I’ve actually brought this very point up in my season four article. The raid on the Chinese consulate is eerily similar.

Drazen was a terrorist and when Jack and David tried to kill him they didn’t know that his family are at home: They thought his family were in a trip, but they came one day earlier. So in a mistake they killed his wife and children.

And I have a question for you: If you could prevent Abu Fayed from detonating a nuclear bomb by killing him and his family by an air strike before day six, Would you rather do it or do you prefer that more than 12,000 Americans will day from the nuclear bomb?

Also in season 8 the president of Russia was responsibale for putting a nuclear bomb in New York and almost detonating it. He did an act of war that can start a WW3 and America almost didn’t do anything against russia after day 8. If it would happened in real life I think that America would have done severe things against Russia and it will probably open a war between America to Russia.

is many different shades of gray. Nearly everyone has authorized or carried out morally questionable activities for the sake of their loved ones, governments, etc.

Though, I do put blame on the American Government for this one.

They don’t care about right/wrong, only profit.

The Drazens were likely terrorists because of the wrongs the American government did to their friends/people.

Victor Drazen was a war criminal guilty of genocide. He was strong man for Slobodan Milosevic. They tried to kill him for the tens of thousands of innocent people he murdered. America did no wrongs to him. He was a mass murderer who needed to be stopped.

I think you’ll find the atrocities and human rights violations of Saudi Arabia and Israel far outweigh those of Milosevic. Why aren’t we taking them out? Oh yeah, that’s right special interests.

Did you just criticize the great State of Israel? The last democracy in the Middle East? God’s chosen people? Why, you ANTISEMITE! Need I remind you of the SIX MILLION Jews that died in the Holocaust? Israel has always been our greatest ally and would never, EVER try to manipulate us. Israel? Atrocities and human rights violations? That’s neo-Nazi propaganda and you know it! Apologize right now or I’ll report you to the ADL.

What human rights violations have Israel inflicted even remotely on the same level as Milosevic? The state of Israel has been fighting for it’s and it’s citizens’ very existence from the outset and to this very day, this isn’t politics, this is literally life and death. If all Jihadists and hostile states surrounding Israel put down their weapons tomorrow and accepted Israel’s existence, there would be peace in the Middle East… if Israel did the same, there would be another Holocaust.

That’s the facts of the matter… here endeth the lesson.

I should note further to my previous post that I care for neither Israel or any other country in the middle east.

They can all make peace and dance around in flowery necklaces, or they can all kill each other, I’m really not fucked either way.

American individuals can be just as stupid as any other country’s individuals or just as intelligent.

Those are all things that are meant to separate and create war.

It just screams, “I don’t care what innocent lives are lost as long as I absolutely destroy my target”

A target that was probably wronged by other air strikes killing their families and destroying their lives.

Just realize that you will have killed other people’s families in that air strike and you will create even more enemies who will be justified in their actions that will take more lives, innocent lives.

The problem is what’s being taught and propagandized by governments (news).

If they would stop treating people as mindless cattle to be herded (not that I think cows are mindless)…

The government perpetuates lies and religion to keep people stupid.

My solution in your proposal is to figure out who Abu Fayed is and why he’s doing what he’s doing (what does he want).

Find a solution to help him if his base intentions are good.

Though the reality is that you/we/our government is the enemy that ruined his life.

Killing innocent people just to kill one guy (who is likely a part of a bigger ideology) only creates more like him and makes him/them a martyr where their power grows stronger.

There’s a reason Christianity (and nearly every religion) uses the sympathetic messiah myth where some poor powerful hero died for you in order to garner your blind allegiance to their evil cause.

Government is never about helping people or stopping “bad” people.

They only eliminate those that get in their way of greed.

The government would have saved North Korea from its evil rulers by now if it was about morality.

With all due respect, X, judging by your political comments here and elsewhere, I think you just HATE full stop… your analysis’ are childish, your conclusions are nonsensical and without factual basis, and your assertion that Christianity is an “evil cause” is simplistic, offensive, and uneducated in the extreme.

I don’t know you, but you sound like an angry and troubled person who uses external issues to vent inner anger and frustrations in your own life… either that or stop reading/watching kooky left-wing propaganda (as you evidently are), it’s doing you a disservice on several different levels and making you look foolish.

With regards Day 1 itself, there’s very little to comment on that Brad hasn’t already written himself… a truly innovative and original concept executed magnificently overall. I remember back in the day hearing about this and thinking I’ll not bother watching it because there’s no way that idea could be sustained for more than a season or two and remain interesting, credible, and/or still as good… I was SO wrong on that and thankfully so.

I still rank Day 5 as the best season though… Day 1 wobbled (a bit) in the latter half, 5 was near perfect from beginning to end.

It’s just astounding how we got nine seasons out of this concept! For better or worse, it was a truly great journey.

season 1 a great season the writers did a fantastic job, there were a couple of things I didn’t like. Terri Bauer loosing her memory, Kim Bauer going back to Rick after being rescued, I am rewatching 24 again, I love the show.

A very well thought out kidnapping plot by the writers, the plot twist of Alan York really being Kevin Caroll, was very clever. David Palmer the greatest President on the show.

I thoroughly enjoyed that write up, well done!

Day 1 isn’t just my favorite season of 24, but perhaps my favorite season of any television show period – and this article really nails a lot of the reasons why (great job, Brad!).

The smaller scale and slower pace really worked in its favor. The second episode in Dunlop Plaza for example had so much tension and suspense out of such a simple idea. Jack stealthing around the dark empty building and searching every nook and cranny for the gunmen (and Walsh) with the music and camera angles always making it feel like danger could be just around the corner. Then the tense shootout in the office room where Jack couldn’t actually

for the sounds of his footsteps over shards of broken glass. That to me is a way cooler scenario than Jack simply kicking down a warehouse door and murdering a dozen baddies like he would in later seasons.

And then after Walsh is gunned down by the sniper and Jack escapes into his SUV, it switches to a first person view that makes it feel like you’re right inside the vehicle with Jack speeding through all the red lights. The entire first season just had tons of small touches like that which made it feel more immersive than any other. Every time I rewatch the first season I find new things to appreciate about it.

I’m going to disregard my analytical tone here, but seriously, that second episode is the absolute bomb. The acting, the directing, and the scoring when Walsh is gunned down after throwing Jack the key-card is so powerful, so affecting. I still find it amazing that Walsh was in a measly two episodes and his death made me feel

. Like you said, the first-person view inside the car was a great directing choice. The vision is blurred to suggest confusion and adrenaline, which is exactly what Jack must have been experiencing. Just wonderful.

While I agree with much of what Brad said, I completely disagree with his praise of the Nina twist. A great twist needs to both be unexpected AND make logical sense; i.e hold up to repeated viewing. The Kaiser Soze twist of The Usual Suspects is an amazing twist partly because it holds up to repeated viewing. It is obvious to me that the ’24’ writers didn’t decide to make Nina the mole until the last third of the season. When one re-watches season 1, there are so many examples where Nina did things that she wouldn’t have done had the writers decided at the point in time that Nina would eventually be revealed as the mole. A great twist has to be planned out at the BEGGINING of a season such as the Marie Warner twist of season 2. Otherwise, it’s just a lazy plot device of the writers.

I don’t think logical sense is always strictly necessary. The twist

because it’s delivered with conviction and it lands with incredible impact.

Nina Myers was planned to be the mole since the beginning.

Nina and Tony were both kept open to being the mole and they landed on Nina for the dramatic effect it would have.

Remember hour 2 and the reveal of the mole’s name on the keycard.

Walsh told Jack that the mole’s name would be revealed on it and there it was.

“- Early in the series, when Jack’s boss gives him a keycard and tells him that it belongs to the dirty agent, Nina appears to have been exonerated because she was able to show Jack that on the day she’d supposedly last used it, she and he had been together in Santa Barbara. “In fact, she altered the date on the keycard to cover her tracks,” according to the document.

– The dead shooter’s thumb (cut off by Jack in one of the show’s grislier scenes) yielded no ID because “Nina erased the record from the database.

– While Nina was responsible for tipping Jack’s wife, Teri (Leslie Hope), that the man she was riding with wasn’t who he said he was, it’s because Nina hadn’t been told about the other plan to assassinate Palmer or the man’s involvement.

– The leader of the other plan didn’t know about Nina, either, which is why he ordered Jack to shoot her.

– When Nina helped catch Jamey, it was to deflect attention from herself.

– When Alexis Drazen was stabbed, she didn’t tell his brother because “telling the Drazens…does not further her objective, which is to ensure that Palmer is assassinated by the end of the day.”

– Though she tips the Drazens off to Kim’s location, she doesn’t kill Kim or her mother when she has the chance because her objective “is Palmer’s assassination and not the death of Jack’s family members.””

Doesn’t the ‘Genesis of 24’ feautrette on the Season One Special Edition DVD specifically mention that Nina being the mole was not planned from the beginning?

A lot of people make that show and they all have their own version they want to tell.

Secrets and ideas were surely kept from others.

From what I know, Nina and Tony were both kept open to be the mole in CTU from the beginning and they would decide which one was it when the time came.

X, I give you credit for trying to explain away the apparent plot holes. Nina did too many things to help Jack against Gaines/Drazens throughout the season where she didn’t really have to. It would be far-fetched to say that the left hand had no idea what the right hand was doing, i.e that Gaines wouldn’t have communicated to the Drazens that he ordered Jack to kill Nina. Also, why didn’t Nina warn Alexis Drazen that he was walking into a trap?

When she called them at the end, you can tell they haven’t spoken for a long time (way before that day).

Nina had her orders that had nothing to do with the Drazens.

Nina was supposed to stay embedded within CTU.

She genuinely cared for Tony, Jack, and his family, but her orders/mission took precedence over anything, even her feelings.

She only worked with the Drazens at the end because Jack was going to find out about her and she couldn’t let that happen.

Just like when she tied up Teri and meant no harm to her, once she got the order to eliminate any ties of anything that could connect her to Germany, she regrettably had to kill Teri because Teri overheard the conversation.

That’s just her fucked up way of reasoning and chosen life.

Once she knew Jack was going to find out about her and blow her cover, all bets were off and she made that call.

Then when Jack survived that ordeal, she knew her CTU cover was over and she had to flee because Jack was coming with a vengeance.

Eh…Nina shot Teri right in the stomach. That was not a merciful killing. Nina could have shot her in the head but instead chose to target the area that harbored her unborn baby.

You could definitely interpret that as an added ‘fuck you’ to Jack.

Or you could see it as a hopeful way of keeping Teri alive or alive long enough to say goodbye to a loved one.

From what I understand, gut shots are very painful but it takes long to die.

That way, someone could find her and save her while Nina can tell her employer that she did shoot the woman that could link her.

Been a long time since I’ve seen Day 1, but I do remember it well enough.

I don’t remember if Teri revealed to Nina that she was pregnant.

I remember a deleted/extended scene showing this exchange, but I can’t remember if that was an alternate take or if it meant they cut out the fact that Nina knew she was pregnant.

May have even exclusively been in the extended cut found on the special edition DVD (and the UK broadcast).

Interpret it however you want (which is the point of the way she killed her).

But I think its safe to say that Nina had no intention of killing Teri until she was ordered to.

Teri did indeed reveal to Nina that she was pregnant.

And that’s why Nina is the best villain 24 has ever had.

If you check out list of deleted/extended scenes in this link to the 24 special edition DVD, you’ll see one titled, “Teri tells Nina about her pregnancy”.

It’s possible you’re remembering that and Nina never knew in the original version.

I recall that scene because I originally watched the episode from the UK version which had extended scenes compared to the U.S. televised version. If I remember correctly.

Just pointing out that there could be two versions and two interpretations of Nina shooting Teri in the stomach.

Either a “I’ll give you a chance to survive this” gut shot (having no idea she’s pregnant) or a “fuck you and your family, Jack, for choosing her over me”.

My apologies, X! I think you’re correct in saying that Teri informing Nina of the pregnancy is a deleted scene.

However, anyone viewing the show since 2008 will not view this as a deleted scene because it was added in to the episode on the Special Edition DVD set and is in the episode on Netflix/Amazon.

UK viewers will also see this as a regular scene of the show as it was in the original airing on BBC (and on the Region 2 DVD set)

So basically what I’m saying is I would consider all of the scenes in the last 5 episodes that didn’t air in the original US broadcasts but are now included in the digital streams and DID air internationally as canon.

I’ve done some more research after downloading the entire series in HD.

In the episodes I downloaded from online, (in season one) the only extended episode is the last one, the last one which was originally in its extended form for the UK. So the downloaded episodes match the UK broadcast versions.

The Teri telling Nina she’s pregnant scene is in episode 1x23. So that scene, in the extended version, is only on the Special Edition DVD and nowhere else.

In the extended version of 1x24 (which is the more widely available version), Teri does tell Nina that she can tell Nina still has feelings for Jack and her and Jack are getting back together and going to have a baby. She says it casually like they plan on having a baby. Nina doesn’t seem to care because she’s trying to get Teri out of there at that moment (because Germany is calling on the ringing phone). But Nina does hear her say they are going to have a baby (almost as an absent-minded slip, not that its supposed to be a secret. This scene was right after she called Jack, for the last time, to tell him she’s pregnant).

What’s canon depends on what version of 24 you decide to follow when you view the series:

– The original UK version (which doesn’t have the Nina telling Teri she’s pregnant bit but does have her casually mentioning that she and Jack are going to have a baby).

– The original US version (where Nina never finds out Teri is pregnant in any way, unless you want to interpret the gut shot as her having eavesdropped on Teri and Jack’s last conversation. Otherwise you may merely think the gut shot was coincidence and irony). This would mean that the gut shot was not personal (in the twisted reality Nina lives in) and Nina is telling the truth in Day 2 when she tells Jack it was nothing personal.

– The Extended episodes version (where Nina absolutely knows that Teri is pregnant because Teri rubbed it in her face). This makes Teri’s killing quite personal or at least the method in which she dispatched her.

For me, if I remember correctly, I saw the UK version originally and the gut shot was sort of ominous. Like maybe she caught that little bit where Teri said they were going to have a baby and took it personal. But the way Teri mentions it (in this version), it could mean they plan on having a baby after they get back together and not that she’s pregnant at the moment.

When I saw the deleted scene from 1x23 (Teri tells Nina about her pregnancy) on the DVD (later on), it really stuck in my mind and is impossible to forget (even though its supposed to be a deleted scene) because the consequences and weight of that moment between those two characters is a heavy combination of their past, present, and future (because we already know what Nina’s going to do to Teri later).

I bought season 1 for 3.99 in NY as I lost first disc of it … this is overpriced

A well written article which gets my respect, along with most of the views stated here. However, I look at all of the seasons a bit different. 24 is my favorite show ever. But I really don’t try to analyze it. Sure, there are bits of every season that could have been deleted, such as Kim’s adventure in the woods in season 2, or Dana Walsh’s past history in season 8, but then again nothing is perfect. I have enjoyed all 9 seasons, some more than others.

But I don’t nitpick, analyze or get disappointed. I just sit back, watch, and enjoy.

Which certainly is your choice. I would do much the same if I was writing for or involved with 24. (I do write).

But as a viewer, I find more enjoyment comes with less analysis.

Excellent articles!! When can we expect Season Two? Looking forward to it!

Hi David. Thanks for the compliment. I expect season two will be posted halfway through June as per the monthly schedule.

I enjoyed your analysis, but I disagree with your theory that “the weakest seasons of 24 are generally those that feature multiple threats and shifting narrative currents”. Day 7 is my 2nd favorite season of 24 (#1 is 5 of course) and it featured multiple villains and plotlines. The way they transitioned from recovering the CIP device to the white house siege to Jonas Hodges and Starkwood was smooth and consistent. The Tony Almeida twist in the last few episodes was a little weak but if we can forgive Kim Bauer’s plot in season 2 we should easily be able to forgive this. I was actually hoping that 24 would be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series for season 7 at the Emmys, but I guess people weren’t able to forgive season 6.

Thanks for the feedback, A. I’m a big fan of season seven. I’m looking forward to writing about it.

24 was the best show in television history! Nothing compares to it! Jack Bauer was the best character ever created in the history of television! It was a masterpiece! No one will ever top that! Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Bailey Chase on 24’s Future: “big meeting last week”

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