24 (season 5)

Season 5 of the series 24 is known as Day 5. The season has 24 episodes with each lasting one hours in the story. It begins and ends at 7 a.m. The Season was on Television from January to May of 2006 and is considered the best season of the TV show. The season got 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won five including Outstanding Drama Series. Critics praised Kiefer Sutherland, Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart for their acting.

Season Overview

Assasins frame Jack Bauer for the murder of President Palmer and attempt to kill those who helped Jack fake his death. Jack follows leads and ends up at Ontario airport. American President Logan and Russian President Suvarov are signing an anti-terrorist agreement. Terrorists take control of the same airport where Jack is and hold hostages. They threaten to kill the hostages if the treaty is signed. Jack helps officials to stop the terrorists. The terrorists, however, used the hostages as a diversion to acquire nerve gas. Jack learns that the White House Chief of Staff was involved. Nerve gas is used in a mall and unsuccessfully at a hospital. The terrorists release nerve gas in the CTU building, killing several workers. The last canister is used in a submarine, but also without success. The rest of the gas gets destroyed, but Jack learns President Logan was behind the attacks. The rest of the story involves Jack trying to get a recording to implicate Logan. With the first lady's help, Jack uses a listening piece to record the president confessing his crimes. Logan must relieve his presidency. In the very end, the Chinese kidnap Bauer.

Characters

Starring

• Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer (24 episodes)
• Kim Raver as Audrey Raines (23 episodes)
• Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian (24 episodes)
• Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida (6 episodes)
• Gregory Itzin as President Charles Logan (23 episodes)
• James Morrison as Bill Buchanan (23 episodes)
• Roger Cross as Curtis Manning (19 episodes)
• Louis Lombardi as Edgar Stiles (13 episodes)
• Jean Smart as First Lady Martha Logan (23 episodes)

Special guest stars

• Sean Astin as Lynn McGill (10 episodes)
• William Devane as Secretary of Defense James Heller (3 episodes)
• Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer (2 episodes)
• Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle Dessler (1 episode)

Special guest appearance

• Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer (1 episode)

Guest starring

• Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick (21 episodes)
• Glenn Morshower as Aaron Pierce (15 episodes)
• Jayne Atkinson as Karen Hayes (12 episodes)
• Julian Sands as Vladimir Bierko (11 episodes)
• Peter Weller as Christopher Henderson (11 episodes)
• Sandrine Holt as Evelyn Martin (10 episodes)
• Stephen Spinella as Miles Papazian (10 episodes)
• John Allen Nelson as Walt Cummings (7 episodes)
• D. B. Woodside as Wayne Palmer (7 episodes)
• Connie Britton as Diane Huxley (6 episodes)
• Brady Corbet as Derek Huxley (6 episodes)
• Nick Jameson as Russian President Yuri Suvarov (6 episodes)
• Jonah Lotan as Spenser Wolff (6 episodes)
• Mark Sheppard as Ivan Erwich (6 episodes)
• Ray Wise as Vice President Hal Gardner (6 episodes)
• Geraint Wyn Davies as James Nathanson (6 episodes)
• Kathleen Gati as Russian First Lady Anya Suvarov (5 episodes)
• Kate Mara as Shari Rothenberg (5 episodes)
• Paul McCrane as Graem Bauer (5 episodes)
• Stana Katic as Collette Stenger (3 episodes)
• Henry Ian Cusick as Theo Stoller (2 episodes)
• C. Thomas Howell as Barry Landes (2 episodes)
• Carlo Rota as Morris O'Brian (2 episodes)
• Tzi Ma as Cheng Zhi (1 episode)

Reception

The season received very positive reviews from critics. It has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. According to the website: "24 defies the law of diminishing returns with a spectacular fifth season that features White House intrigue, some of the most harrowing set-pieces in the series yet, and a heroically committed performance by Kiefer Sutherland."