24 is a thriller which purports to be shown in "real-time", with each minute of airtime corresponding to a minute in the lives of the characters. This real-time nature gives the show a strong sense of urgency, emphasized by the ticking of an on-screen digital clock appearing from time to time. In reality the episodes last about 44 minutes. Because it is a United-States-born series, almost one-third of 24's time is spent on commercials, which break up the show. Elsewhere there may be no commercials at all (e.g. on BBC), or only before and after the show, so the clock that is shown sometimes 'jumps' where commercials are planned for the United States, and is thus not real-time. In the United States, action that takes place during the advertising breaks is not shown (although some episodes do not have breaks thanks to sponsorship deals). Throughout every episode the action switches between different locations, following the parallel adventures of different characters all involved in the same story. The result is long sections of narrative for each character that are not seen, and mundane actions (such as car journeys) are skipped just as they are in conventional drama.

The "real-time" technique is not often seen on television, yet it is not new. It dates back to at least 1949, with the film noir The Set-Up. One of the best known examples is High Noon. The similarities of the first 24 season to the 1995 real-time movie Nick of Time suggest the series was inspired by the movie's plot and technique: In Nick of Time, a man's daughter is kidnapped in order to set him up to assassinate a senator within 90 minutes. 24 also borrows its use of split-screen techniques from Timecode, a film released in 2000, to show events in two different places at once. Despite not having invented the "real-time" and split-screen techniques, 24's techniques are regarded as innovative. Much like the BBC spy series, Spooks, (which, although not "real time" is slightly reminiscent of 24 and heavily dependent on split-screen technique. Its first season was produced before 24 and screened in the UK), the use of these techniques has determined the visual and technological feel of the series.

24 has received critical and popular acclaim, and has become a true "watercooler" show. However the necessities of its format sometimes lead to lots of egregious padding and manifest absurdities (for example, traffic jams are surprisingly uncommon for a show set mostly in Southern California), which call upon the audience for a considerable amount of suspension of disbelief.

The show is notable for its approach to technology, which is more accurate than many other shows, although many have found Season 3 and Season 4 to be less accurate than the two preceding series. It has shown the use of the operating system Linux multiple times, and in one season, appeared to touch on the Macintosh vs. PC debate [1]. In fact, in Season 4 all the terrorists used Alienware laptops. Another aspect of the show that has been praised as accurate is the depiction of interpersonal friction between the various agencies charged with American national security, even in times of severe crisis.

At first sight, it may seem as if characters rarely eat, rest, or take bathroom breaks - and this is a common complaint made by people who haven't seen the show - but in fact, due to the sheer number of storylines, characters will usually only be seen for at most 15 minutes per episode, so there is plenty of time for these things to happen offscreen.

In the first season, Kiefer Sutherland, who plays the main character Jack Bauer, won a Golden Globe for his performances; Surnow and Cochran (the creators of the show) won an Emmy Award. In 2004, the show won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series. 24 won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing For A Series, Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series, and Outstanding Stunt Coordination.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The first season (2001-2002) revolves around an assassination attempt on Maryland Senator David Palmer, an African American candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination, on the day of the California Primary. The central character is Jack Bauer, a former Delta Force operative who now works for the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) in Los Angeles. Bauer becomes personally as well as professionally involved when his wife and daughter are kidnapped by the people behind the assassination.

Major subplots:

A mole at CTU is sabotaging efforts to stop the assassination
The members of the Bauer family are rebuilding their relationships now that Jack has moved home after being separated from Teri
The tensions between Jack, his second-in-command and former lover Nina Myers, and Nina's current boyfriend (and fellow CTU agent) Tony Almeida
Political scandals threaten to erupt, centered around Senator Palmer's son having killed his sister's rapist
The foundation of Jack Bauer and David Palmer's personal and professional relationship
Jack's personal anguish: worried about the safety of his family
The season starts and ends at: 12:00am (midnight - LA time); the action begins in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (4:00pm, Kuala Lumpur time). The first half of the season centers around the efforts of the first cell of assassins led by Ira Gaines. The defeat of this cell only leads to information about a second group of terrorists led by those directly responsible for the day's events: the Drazen family. Both Jack and Palmer have connections to the Drazens that motivated their plans for vengeance.

Although it is not clear what year the series is set in, some fans have assumed it is for the 2004 election and therefore, the date would be Tuesday, March 2nd 2004. However this is incorrect since, during season one Jack Bauer explicitly said that he took part in a covert operation against the government of Slobodan Milo ević three years before. Since Milo ević was out of office three years before 2004, season one could not have taken place at that time.

The season has a dramatic and unexpected ending: the death of Teri Bauer. Many fans were dismayed by this sudden plot twist, while others applauded 24's genre-defying willingness to kill major characters with little warning. The producers also filmed an alternate ending in which Teri, Kim, and Jack are reunited. However they eventually decided to go with the death of Teri Bauer as the climax of season one. The alternate ending is available on the Season 1 DVD boxed set, although it is noticeably less dramatic than the eventual ending that was aired.

The second season (2002-2003) takes place a year and a half later and follows the work of now-President David Palmer and agent Jack Bauer to stop terrorists from detonating a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. Season two must take place after 2001, since it is set in September, and references are made to sending terrorists to Guantanamo Bay for interrogation, which was not done until 2002.

Major subplots:

Kim is on the run, having rescued a child from her abusive stepfather
Kate Warner suspects that her sister's Middle Eastern fianc� is a terrorist
President Palmer faces traitors in his own cabinet, who attempt to remove him from power to advance their own agenda
George Mason, Special Agent in Charge of CTU, is dying of radiation exposure
Jack's personal anguish: worried about Kim; develops a heart condition after being tortured by terrorists
The season starts and ends at: 8:00am (LA time); the action begins in Seoul, South Korea (midnight, Seoul time).

The first fifteen hours deals with finding and disposing the nuclear bomb. After the bomb is disposed of safely, the story focuses on the United States' retaliation against the people responsible for constructing it. A recorded conversation between a terrorist involved with the bomb and high-ranking officials of three Middle Eastern countries (which are never specified) is used to implicate those countries in the plot. However, Palmer is reluctant to order military action against them until he has absolute proof that the recording is genuine. Several members of his staff then vote to relieve Palmer of his position under Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, believing his hesitation to be a sign of indecision and weakness. The Vice-President then orders military strikes against the three countries to continue.

Jack, Michelle and Tony race to find the evidence that the recording is a forgery, and they eventually discover that a group of American businessmen fabricated it in order to wage war with the Middle East so that they could benefit from rocketing oil prices that would result. The strikes are called off and Palmer is reinstated as President after the proof is produced, thanks largely to Sherry Palmer (who risks her life). The seven cabinet members and vice president tender their resignations (Palmer does not accept them), and Palmer then tells his staff that he believes that the strictest evidence of hostile intent is required before waging war. The entire storyline has thinly veiled references to President Bush's foreign policy in the Middle East following the September 11th attacks and the "three Middle Eastern countries" could be a reference to the Axis of Evil.

Like the first season, the second ends with a surprise twist. The nuclear bomb situation is resolved without massive loss of life, but President Palmer collapses after being attacked with a biological weapon, presumably in an assassination attempt. Viewers were forced to wait until the third season to see whether Palmer survived the attack. The sudden shift from a nuclear to biological threat also foreshadows the third season, which initially centers around the threat of an engineered virus being set loose on the general public.

There were several large plot threads left unresolved from the second season into the third and fourth seasons, most notably the characters of "Max" and Trepkos, two men who seemed to be the driving force behind the day's events, as well as President Palmer's assassination attempt. How the assassination attempt ties into a war for oil is something that never quite fit together, and many have suspected that they may have had some larger and more sinister goal in mind. They were never seen again, and the only clue to their fate is a cryptic hint given by Wayne Palmer in the premiere of season 3. However, it has been revealed that the events directly preceding season 3 will be chronicled in the upcoming video game, currently in production. Presumably, the fates of Max & Trepkos will be dealt with, as well as how several of the characters at CTU in the third season began working there.

The third season (2003-2004) takes place three years after the second season and centers around the threat of a deadly virus being released in Los Angeles while President Palmer is visiting to participate in a debate with his chief opponent in his re-election campaign.

Major subplots:

President Palmer faces scandal during his re-election campaign involving his official doctor/girlfriend (a civilian whose ex-husband may have 'cooked the books').
Strained romantic relationships between Tony and Michelle, Kim and Chase
Jack's personal anguish: recovering from a heroin addiction that he claims he developed as part of an undercover operation
The season starts and ends at: 1:00pm (LA time). This is the first season where the action starts in the United States.

The driver's license of a 19-year-old character in the third season, Kyle Singer, shows his date of birth as 1987, thus setting the third season in 2006 or 2007, with the first season therefore being in 2002 or 2003. However, some believe that since the first and third seasons fall in Presidential election years, it could be a mistake and the seasons actually take place in 2004 and 2008. However, like The West Wing, it is probable that elections in the 24-world do not coincide with ours.

Unlike the first two seasons, the third does not end with a sudden plot twist. It is also the first season which has not concluded with a silent timer, though the silent timer was used earlier in the season when Jack was forced by the terrorists to murder his boss, Ryan Chappelle. Despite the lack of a last-minute plot twist, important events occur at the end of the third season that have major consequences for the next season. First, Jack chops Chase's hand off with an axe to detach a timed-release device containing the virus that was secured to Chase's wrist, thus saving both their lives. Second, Tony turns himself in to the authorities for his role in helping the terrorist mastermind, Saunders, escape in order to save Michelle's life. Third, President Palmer decides not to run for re-election due to his ex-wife Sherry being murdered under suspicious circumstances. Presumably, Vice President James 'Jim' Prescott took over the Democratic Party ticket.

Criticisms of Season 3 generally revolve around plot inconsistencies, a perceived lack of drafting out the plot in advance, and subplots that considered to be ridiculous and generally have little or nothing to do with the main conflict.

One of the greatest successes of the first season was that any one of the characters could have been good or evil. To bring back this feel, and to revamp the show, the producers decided not to renew the contracts of most of the cast. Because of this, the writers declared that the first three seasons were a sort of trilogy and that the fourth season was a "rebirth". However, the eventual appearance of almost every previous main character in Season 4 somewhat dampened this viewpoint.

The season starts and ends at 7:00 AM
The fourth season (2005) is set a year and a half after the third and sees Jack, now working for Secretary of Defense James Heller after being fired by CTU, caught up in an elaborate terrorist plot which involves both men and the daughter of Heller, Audrey Raines, who doubles as her father's chief policy assistant and Jack's lover (whilst married to another man, but separated). Jack must work with CTU and Erin Driscoll, the new Special Agent in Charge and woman who fired him, to uncover what is happening. Again, one or more moles is revealed to inhabit CTU, aiding the terrorists.

Unlike previous seasons, which focused on a singular threat, this season is based around a vaguely Arabic terrorist named Habib Marwan who controls a series of Middle Eastern terrorist cells that launch a series of attacks against the United States. The waves of terror begin with the bombing of a train allowing for the theft of a MacGuffin which can take control of (and meltdown) United States nuclear power plants, which is masked by the kidnapping of the Secretary Of Defense and his near-execution, which in turn is just a smoke screen to keep the President of the United States airborne in Air Force One, so that it can be shot down by a stolen stealth fighter, whereupon Marwan can steal the nuclear football and a nuclear warhead, and then launch it at Los Angeles. Jokingly, Marwan's plot has been ridiculed as a Rube Goldberg device for its ridiculous complexity and "domino effect" planning.

Based in part on the success of their earlier summer programs such as The O.C., the Fox Network decided to implement a year-round schedule, and aired the entire season, without any hiatuses, over 19 weeks - with double episodes airing twice in the first week, and again at the end of the season. Utilizing the extended planning session that this opportunity afforded the writers, they attempted to map out the season like never before, but as the season wore on, they eventually fell back to writing on an episode by episode basis, without any planning or foreknowledge.

This was particularly evident in the way the story was told. Unlike previous seasons, which all began with the discovery of the threat and went through the investigation, the containment of the threat and followed the aftermath, season four began with no one knowing what the threat was to be, and the characters - and audience - were kept in the dark for several episodes.

When the season began, every character from the first three seasons was absent except for Jack Bauer, President Keeler (Palmer's Republican opponent in season 3), and Chloe O'Brian. However, as the season went on several characters came back, including Tony Almeida (for 18 episodes), Michelle Dessler (13 episodes), Mike Novick (7 episodes), David Palmer (6 episodes), Aaron Pierce (1 episode), and even Mandy the assassin from seasons 1 and 2 (3 episodes).

As with the third season, there have been many criticisms of Season 4, including complaints regarding its disregard for the real time format (with characters getting to anywhere in Los Angeles within 10 minutes), the complete implausibility of most of the season's plotlines, and some plots which could be interpreted as a rehash of Season 2, including the multiple nuclear threats, and exercising extraordinary provisions of the constitution, implementing the 25th Amendment. (However, in Season 4, President Keeler was clearly incapacitated and invocation of the amendment was unanimous, unlike in Season 2 where justification was problematic at best, and invocation was decided by a single vote majority, cast by the Secretary of State.) In addition, the show was sharply criticized for its portrayal of people of Arabic descent as terrorists, while failing to portray any such characters positively. However, positive Arab characters did appear later in the season. It has also been criticized as having no real overall plot, in that it's just a sequence of events that happen sequentially, often with little or no connection with any other plot elements besides the one that has directly preceded it.

Season 4 provided viewers with several new characters. However, many viewers complained that they were unable to get attached to some of the new faces. One of the new characters, Erin Driscoll, is involved in a subplot that involves her daughter's schizophrenia. Driscoll's daughter, Maya, ends up committing suicide. As a result, Driscoll ends up leaving CTU. Many viewers contend that this subplot was annoying and dragged on for way too long. Some of the indifference viewers had towards Driscoll may have been due to her unwillingness to take risks that would have helped Bauer and his work. George Mason and Tony Almeida, in previous seasons, were willing to put their jobs as Acting CTU Special Agent in Charge on the line in order to help Jack. Viewers never really saw this from Driscoll.

Although torture, real and feigned, by both the U.S. and its opponents, has been depicted in previous seasons, there was noticeably more of it in Season 4, and the characters seemed on the whole much less disturbed by it. In the wake of the real-life Abu Ghraib scandal and similar allegations at other U.S. military facilities housing suspected terrorists, some commentators accused[2] the show of legitimizing the use of torture in the war on terror. Many viewers were upset with the torture of subjects such as Sarah Gavin and Behrooz Araz, who were not hiding anything. They also criticize the show's position, that essentially the torture helped exonerate them. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Kiefer Sutherland commented on the show's use of torture and how it relates to the recent controversies over government sanctioned torture. "Do I personally believe that the police or any of these other legal agencies that are working for this government should be entitled to interrogate people and do the things that I do on the show? No, I do not." [3]

The season also played with the cast line-up in a way no previous seasons had done. The season began with Sutherland, Raver, Watson and Devane as main cast. Watson left after twelve episodes, Lana Parrilla - upgraded from recurring to main character in episode six - was gone by episode thirteen, and Roger Cross was then put into the main cast. Devane then left after episode fourteen, returning briefly later in the season. Some criticisms were leveled at the writers for removing these characters simply to bring in characters from previous seasons.

set 18 months after Season Four.

After the events in Season Four, Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer is now working as a day-to-day laborer at an oil refinery under the alias "Frank Flynn" in Mojave, California. Jack is renting a room north of Los Angeles from Diane Huxley, a single mother, and her 15-year-old son Derek.

Season Five is supposed to be a monumental day in Charles Logan's presidency. He is scheduled to sign an anti-terrorism alliance treaty with Russian President Yuri Suvarov at his retreat in Hidden Valley, California. This is believed to be the motive behind most of the day's events, as the Russian-separatist terrorists (presumably Chechen, although this is never stated explicitly) who carry out the day's attacks believe the treaty will increase the suffering of their people.

Later, it is found out that the day’s events are part of a massive government conspiracy. U.S. President Charles Logan, Chief of Staff Walt Cummings, Defense Department contractor Christopher Henderson, associate James Nathanson, and a group of mysterious men who monitor and influence the actions of Logan from an undisclosed location, led by a man identified only as "Graham" who possibly was the one who made Jack come out from hiding, are all involved. Their initial plan was to release nerve gas on Russian terrorists and to use that as an excuse to invoke the military clauses of the anti-terrorism treaty, allowing Logan to secure American petroleum interests in Central Asia. Former President David Palmer begins to find this out and is assassinated to keep him quiet; his death becomes the main motivating factor in Jack's crusade (completely aside from how he is framed for the killing). As he states several times over the course of the day, "This is personal."

Major plots

Much like previous seasons, the season can be divided into several acts:

    * Episodes 1–2: Jack Bauer is framed for the murders of his close friends: former US President David Palmer and ex-CTU agent Michelle Dessler, along with the attempted murders of her husband and fellow ex-CTU agent Tony Almeida and CTU analyst Chloe O'Brian.
    * Episodes 3–4: Terrorists, led by James Nathanson, use the above plot as a diversion to take 40 people hostage inside Ontario International Airport in California.
    * Episodes 5–15: Terrorists, led by Vladimir Bierko, use the above plot as a diversion to steal 20 canisters of Sentox VX1 nerve gas. The gas is deployed at the following locations: Sunrise Hills Shopping Mall (resulting in 11 fatalities out of several hundred shoppers); Tyler Memorial Hospital (completely unsuccessful due to the actions of CTU and Curtis Manning); CTU (successfully killing 40% of personnel—56 deaths—including Edgar Stiles and Lynn McGill); Wilshire Gas Co. (completely unsuccessful; 16 of the remaining 17 canisters are destroyed, and Bierko captured). Meanwhile, CTU traces the Sentox nerve gas back to the company which manufactured it, Omicron International; this company is led, among others, by Christopher Henderson. Jack successfully apprehends him, but he manages to escape in the aftermath of the Sentox attack on CTU, taking Tony Almeida down in the process.
    * Episodes 16–21: Believing (incorrectly) that all remaining nerve gas was incinerated at Wilshire, Jack moves to bring the guilty parties to justice. Through the assistance of Wayne Palmer (David Palmer's brother) and Evelyn Martin (Special Assistant to the First Lady), Jack discovers that President Logan is responsible for the attacks. Unbeknownst to everyone else, there is a secret group of men who monitor and influence the actions of Logan, led by a man known only as Graem. Jack finally obtains a recording that implicates Logan; however, it is later corrupted by Miles Papazian at CTU (for the purpose of ingratiating himself to President Logan), rendering it useless.
    * Episodes 22–23: Bierko escapes CTU custody, and uses his last nerve gas container to take over a Russian submarine and gain control of twelve multiple-warhead non-nuclear missiles, each one capable of wiping out approximately seven city blocks. After cutting a deal with Christopher Henderson, Jack and Henderson together stop the attack from the submarine, and kill Bierko and his men. During a final standoff, Jack kills Henderson as well.
    * Episodes 23–24: Jack devises a plan with Chloe to implicate President Logan. Jack kidnaps President Logan, and attempts to get a confession. Jack fails, but unbeknowest to everyone besides himself, the First Lady, Mike Novick, Aaron Pierce, and Chloe, his attempt is merely a diversion to place a listening device on the President. The First Lady then gets Logan to confess to her everything that has happened; Chloe plays this new recording to the Attorney General, and the Secret Service and Federal Marshals take Logan into custody.
    * Final Twist: Jack gets captured by the Chinese who have learned he is still alive. They still want him for the death of the Chinese Consul who was killed in Season 4, and presumably, to extract U.S. government and military secrets for the Chinese government. The season ends with Jack being taken away on a Chinese cargo ship, seemingly destined for Shanghai, moving slowly out into the realms of the Pacific Ocean. This is a reference to the end of Season 4, where the Chinese embassy threatens the CTU agent with transport in a Chinese cargo ship and spending the rest of his life in a slave labor camp.

Subplots

    * Jack comes into contact with people who thought he was dead, including his daughter Kim Bauer and girlfriend Audrey Raines.
          o Jack's attempt to reconnect with Kim is unsuccessful; she wants nothing to do with him because of the fact that being around her father brings chaos to those close to him.
          o Jack and Audrey reunite as a couple.
    * The First Lady attempts to correct the President's perceived mistakes.
    * The Vice President convinces the president to impose martial law on the city of Los Angeles without approval from Congress.
    * Bill Buchanan's authority at CTU undermined first by Lynn McGill and then by Karen Hayes, though both eventually come around to his way of thinking.
    * Chloe, and later Audrey go against their superiors to help Jack, leading to officials from the Department of Homeland Security attempting to use Audrey to their advantage.
    * Homeland Security divides internally when Karen Hayes begins aiding Jack, going behind Homeland & her assistant Miles Papazian.
    * Chloe has to cope with the death of Edgar Stiles. In addition, the work colleague she earlier slept with turns out to be an undercover internal-affairs agent under the supervision of Walt Cummings.

Prequel of Season 5

One year after Day 4, Jack and Chloe meet at a fenced-in scrap yard in Chicago, Illinois. Jack's hair is long and stubble has grown over his usually clean face. He is wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, and makes sure the hood is up when he gets out of the car. As Chloe turns the corner where Jack is hiding, he grabs her and asks if she was followed. She assures him that she wasn't.

Chloe explains that three days ago, someone remotely hacked into her computer and saw that she had accessed Jack's autopsy report. Jack becomes frustrated and asks why she didn't erase all files related to him. Chloe insists she deleted the files but fears the hacker who infiltrated her hard drive would realize that Jack wasn't dead after learning she'd been accessing the autopsy report and was also in contact with an undercover operative in Chicago. Chloe urges Jack to leave town immediately to which he agrees.

As she walks back towards her car, Jack asks about his daughter, Kim. Chloe explains that Kim was heartbroken over Jack's supposed death, but is doing better now that a year has passed. Jack returns to his car and a motorcycle drives past him. Jack gets back in his car and watches suspiciously as the motorcyclist turns around. Jack and the motorcyclist each rev their engines. Jack checks his rear view mirror and puts his car in reverse.

The motorcyclist looks to his right, and suddenly a black car speeds out from another side street. Jack floors the gas and races backwards as the car chases him down. He turns around and attempts to lose the car in traffic. Jack pulls into another junk yard and the car follows. Jack speeds towards a forklift and jerks his car to the right at the last second. The black car also turns, but loses traction and slides into the blades of the forklift, which are midway off the ground, impaling the driver.

Jack drives back out of the scrap yard while the unknown man on the motorcycle continues to watch him.

is set 20 months after Season Five. Show designers acknowledge that they avoid the use of dates in order to have the show remain in a "perpetual now."[1]

After the events in Season Five and over the last 11 weeks before Day 6, the United States has been targeted coast-to-coast in a series of suicide bombings. A man named Abu Fayed agrees to give the U.S. the location of Hamri Al-Assad, the supposed terrorist mastermind of these attacks, in exchange for CTU Agent Jack Bauer with whom he has a personal grudge. As a result, President Wayne Palmer has negotiated the release of Bauer, who was illegally captured by Chinese Government Agents at the end of Day 5, under "high-price" terms.

However, while under torture from Fayed, Bauer finds out that Assad is actually trying to stop the attacks, and Fayed is the true mastermind. Jack manages to escape, and saves Assad from being killed in an air strike. Jack and CTU, with Assad's help, discover Fayed's true intention: to detonate nuclear bombs on U.S soil. After one nuclear strike, Jack has the task of recovering the remaining nukes, thus setting up the day's chain of events.

Prologue of Season 6

A ten minute prologue of the sixth season of 24 is available only on the Region-1 version Season 5 DVD. The clip begins with Jack being held captive by the Chinese, seven months after Season 5 at an unidentified location. He is being tortured by several guards who inform Cheng Zhi that they are still unable to extract information from him regarding a Chinese government agent who they believe is working for the United States. Two American covert-ops soldiers break into the complex and free Jack from his cell. They lead him through an outdoor complex, to a concealed vehicle nearby. They arrived in a field and summon a man by the name of Hong Wai, who had been concealed in the shadows of the field, to greet Jack. Hong Wai is immediately recognizable as one of the men that Jack had been questioned about earlier, regarding the mole in their government.

As Jack flinches in recognition of Hong, several flood lights come on, and Chinese military vehicles swarm on the scene. Cheng Zhi walks into the field and thanks Bauer for his help in identifying Hong, whom he had apparently suspected all along. Cheng then executes Hong with a single shot to the head.

Major plots

    * Episodes 1-4: Agent Jack Bauer, having been taken prisoner by China 20 months earlier, is released under a deal arranged by President Wayne Palmer. Jack is immediately asked to sacrifice himself to Abu Fayed, who has offered CTU Hamri Al-Assad, who is believed to be the terrorist mastermind behind the suicide bombings of the last 11 weeks, in exchange for Bauer. Bauer finds out, however, that Assad is actually trying to stop the attacks, and Fayed is the true mastermind. Bauer escapes, rescues Assad, and then prevents a subway bombing in Los Angeles. Bauer & CTU then find out that the bombings of recent weeks were all designed to distract the United States from Fayed's true objective: the detonation of five suitcase nuclear bombs across the United States. At the end of the fourth episode, Jack is forced to kill Curtis Manning to keep Assad alive and one bomb is detonated in Valencia, north of L.A (twelve thousand are killed as a result from the initial explosion. Many more are expected to die from exposure to nuclear radiation.)

    * Episodes 5-11: Jack discovers that his father Phillip and brother Graem are involved in the plot as well as events in Day 5. After defusing one of the remaining bombs which was purposely activated by Fayed to aid his escape, Jack successfully rescues his nephew, Josh, from Phillip (who killed Graem because he was a liability). Phillip escapes, but leaves Jack a lead to call former President Charles Logan. President Logan claims that his connection with the Russian Consulate General, Anatoly Markov can help Jack find Dmitri Gredenko, a lead given by Assad. Gredenko provides Fayed with the bombs and is planning to arm RQ-2 Aerial Drones with the bombs to attack the U.S. At the White House, President Palmer refuses to implement security measures that would suspend civil liberties and refuses to take military action against countries some believe supported the attacks. Instead, he enlists Assad to make a speech to the world asking his people to give the U.S. information on locating Fayed and move towards peace. Some in the government, claiming to be true patriots, are unhappy with Palmer's plan, namely Deputy Chief of Staff Reed Pollock. He plans to assassinate the President and frame Hamri Al-Assad for the attack. Chief of Staff Tom Lennox tries to prevent such attempt, but he is unsuccessful as the podium explodes, killing Assad and leaving Palmer in critical condition.

    * Episodes 12-15: As the president is in critical condition, Vice President Noah Daniels assumes executive powers and threatens to attack Fayed's country if they fail to stop Fayed. Logan fails to blackmail Markov successfully into giving up Gredenko, so Jack breaks back into the Russian Consulate and takes Markov hostage, torturing him until he gives up Gredenko's whereabouts. Gredenko and Fayed are in the desert, preparing to launch the nukes on the unmanned drones. Jack tries to contact CTU, but he is captured by the Russians. President Logan convinces his ex-wife Martha to call the Russian First Lady, Anya Suvarov, who convinces Russian President Yuri Suvarov to authorize CTU action against the consulate (led by new Director of Field Operations Mike Doyle). Jack immediately gives CTU Gredenko's location, but it is too late, as Gredenko has already launched a drone toward San Francisco. CTU manages to locate the drone pilot through a breach at CTU (for which Nadia Yassir is blamed, but later cleared), and Jack manages to crash land the drone. However, the bomb's nuclear core is compromised in the crash landing, releasing radiation, prompting Vice President Daniels to launch a nuclear strike against the Middle-East. Sandra Palmer gives consent to bring President Palmer out of his coma, and he is able to stop the attack.

    * Episodes 16-19: Gredenko is captured by CTU and he agrees to cooperate in exchange for amnesty, but his cooperation is fake when he tells Fayed that it is a trap. CTU still manages to get Fayed, and Gredenko bleeds to death after his arm is amputated to remove a CTU tracking device. Fayed temporarily escapes, but Jack tracks him and after a struggle, Jack single-handedly kills Fayed and finds the two remaining bombs. Jack then receives a phone call from Audrey Raines who had been presumed dead in China, and is held by Cheng Zhi. Cheng demanded that Jack obtain a Russian circuit board from the suitcase nuke, information that could cause a war, in exchange for Audrey's freedom. With Chloe's help, Jack tries to retrieve the circuit board. However, CTU finds out and captures Jack, who asks to speak to the President to request authorization to save Audrey. President Palmer reluctantly agrees, but soon after he collapses during a press conference, allowing Daniels to assume executive duties and reverse Palmer's order for Jack's operation. Jack goes rogue, determined to save Audrey. He and Cheng meet to do the exchange, but Doyle and his team attack Cheng's men just as Audrey is freed and Jack gives up the board to Cheng. Jack is arrested before he can destroy the board, and Cheng escapes with it. Audrey is safe, but she is in a trance-like state and seems to have had a mental breakdown as she does not recognize Jack.

    * Episodes 20-22: Russia discovers that the Chinese have the circuit board through a leak in the White House staff. Russian President Suvarov threatens to launch an attack if the US government fails to retrieve the board. Cheng has possession of the board, but discovers that it has been damaged and so decides to call Phillip Bauer to fix it. Back in CTU, Doyle helps Jack to escape custody so that he can get information from Audrey without her being hurt by a Division doctor. Jack takes Audrey out of Medical and she provides a name which CTU thinks may be where Cheng held her. A team is sent that discovers Cheng's hideout which has the empty crates from a significant amount of weaponry, and it is soon discovered that Cheng planned to attack CTU. CTU is infiltrated by the Chinese, led by Zhou, and most members of CTU are taken hostage. After the assault, Milo is fatally shot when he steps up to protect Nadia. Jack escapes his cell and kills several Chinese operatives. Cheng orders Zhou to find Josh Bauer, who is hiding with Jack and Marilyn, as it becomes apparent that he is the "package" that they are looking for. After his mother's life is threatened, Josh reveals himself to Zhou. It is discovered that Cheng had made a deal with Phillip Bauer, who has agreed to repair the component in exchange for his grandson. Jack and Doyle then kill all of Cheng's men before Jack corners Cheng. He escapes as Jack saves Josh, who reveals Phillip's involvement. Meanwhile, the White House find the mole and try to trick the Russians, but Suvarov monitors the events and knows about Daniels' deceit, again threatens to launch an attack unless the U.S. government retrieves the board. Phillip Bauer calls the White House and offers to give the circuit board for Josh, and they agree. Doyle takes Josh from Jack to go ahead with the exchange.

    * Episode 23-24: Jack finds out about the deal and, knowing Phillip would never give up the circuit board, he calls Karen Hayes and asks for her help. Since she is unable to convince the Vice President to call off the exchange, she goes rogue and asks her husband, Bill Buchanan, to help Jack. Bill agrees and helps Jack escape. As Karen is detained, Bill and Jack drive to where Doyle is waiting to make the exchange of Josh for the circuit board, but they are too late - a decoy circuit board has exploded, seriously injuring Doyle and Josh being taken away by Phillip's men on a boat. Using the information Jack provides about his father's business holdings, Chloe and Morris are able to deduce where Phillip is - an offshore oil rig. Daniels decides to launch an air strike against the oil rig to destroy the circuit board believed to be in Phillip's possession, and everyone on the oil rig, hoping that the Russians would be satisfied and prevent a war. Determined to save Josh from both the air strike and Phillip, Jack and Bill proceed to the oil rig via helicopter with only minutes remaining before the strike. They arrive in time to kill Phillip's men and capture Cheng alive. Phillip tells Josh they are going to rendezvous with a Chinese submarine, to go to China. Josh hits Phillip over the head and manages to grab his gun and shoots him, but does not kill him. Jack arrives and stops Josh from killing his grandfather, not wanting him to live with that for the rest of his life. He sends Josh to the helicopter and leaves Phillip to die. Jack barely makes it back to the helicopter as the missiles hit. During the flight, Jack jumps into the water, Josh wants to go back to get him, but Bill says Jack isn't ready to return to CTU yet. Bill takes Josh back to CTU where he and his mother are reunited. Bill and Karen are freed from custody and resign. Jack confronts Audrey's father, former Secretary of Defense Heller, at his home, and verbally lashes out at Heller and the men like him for abandoning Jack despite his sacrifices for his country. Heller agrees that it isn't right but that it is Jack's personality to devote himself to violence and that Jack will not be able to take care of Audrey in the way she needs. Jack realizes he is right and tells a sleeping Audrey that even though he loves her, he must let her go for her own sake. He walks outside to a cliff and mournfully stares off into the ocean as the season ends with a fade to black followed by a silent clock.