24: Season 4, Episode 1: Day 4: 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM Review

Day 4: 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM
Original Airdate: January 9, 2005
Writer: Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff
Director: Jon Cassar

It had been seven months since season three ended, and 24 would be facing a few more changes. The cast is largely new actors. In the premiere, only Jack, Chloe and President Keeler are the only spillover. Fans would have to adjust to the new characters, along with tuning in on Mondays instead of Tuesdays. Also, they had to wait seven and a half months to see this, much longer than previous seasons so expectations are high.

24 begins its fourth season explosively. A man, Brody, sits in one of the passenger cars, nervously sipping on some coffee as another suspicious man walks towards him. Brody has a briefcase handcuffed to his hand. Suddenly the conductor spots a truck stalled on the tracks. Despite his attempts to break, it collides and the explosives inside cause the entire train to derail. A henchman watching from a distance rides his motorcycle to the wreckage, callously stepping by the victims to get to Brody. He's out for the briefcase. Why is unknown. Briefcases are great for creating tension and mystery. Contents of mysterious briefcases have been featured in many TV shows and movies, including Pulp Fiction.

Over at the new CTU, Chloe and new agent Sarah Gavin overlook some information regarding a person on the terrorists watch list who has been spotted. Chloe's social skills haven't improved since last season, as she calls Sarah out for kissing up to Erin Driscoll, the new head of CTU. Through various bits of information, Sarah shows Chloe information that a terrorist attack was supposed to take place at 8 AM on the East Coast. They put those pieces together to theorize that they may have meant West Coast time. For a show that is done in real time, I'm surprised they don't do more about time zones.

Early on, we already know something big will happen at the end of this episode. It's an easy way to lure in viewers, especially first timers, since this season was a new beginning. Few shows get an opportunity to win over a large new audience this point in its run. But since 24 changed its cast, moved to a new night and changed most of its cast, they stand a chance to get those who haven't followed the previous three seasons to tune in without having to worry about past stories right away.

Up in the main office, Erin Driscoll discusses the train crash on the phone. Chloe comes in and tells her about the possible connection they've made between the train crash, the sighting and the threat. But what really is the purpose of this scene is to set up what has happened to Jack in the interim between seasons. Erin fired Jack because of his drug problem. What Jack has done since then is answered in the following scene

We cut to a hotel, a few hours after the scene in the DVD prequel, where Jack is getting ready to attend a budget meeting at CTU. He now has been working with the Secretary of Defense, James Heller. For the first time since season one, he's in a happy relationship with a woman. He's dating Audrey Raines, the daughter of his boss, Secretary of Defense James Heller. He doesn't know about it yet because Audrey's divorce to her husband hasn't been finalized. Jack is grateful to be out of CTU because he wanted a life where he wouldn't have to be detached. This recalls what happened throughout season three regarding the balance of personal relationships and public service. It is also interesting to see how Jack will return to game mode by the end of the hour.

Back at CTU, the entire crew assembles to find out how and when Sherak will leave LA. Chloe brings up the time zone difference, and being the effective leader that she is, Driscoll dismisses it. This scene also introduces Edgar and Curtis. While initially it may have been overpopulated, they were able to gain focus on three of them. Edgar is shy, but eager to please. We don't get much from Curtis now.

On the streets, Sherak calls Mr. Araz to confirm things are going to schedule. The Araz family would become one of the most compelling storylines of this season. They are also one of the most controversial. Some activist groups complained that the inclusion of a sleeper cell consisting of a family was xenophobic and drew more suspicion on them. While I can understand their concern, unfortunately some Middle Easterners are terrorists. Clearly not all of them, that is a silly thought. I don't think 24 has a racist or xenophobic agenda seeing how often they've cast minorities in pivotal roles (Tony, Michelle & Palmer.)

I think they did a good job showing the Araz family as more than mere terrorist stereotypes. Navi, the father, was probably the closest. Despite Navi's promise that the mission will change the world, Behrooz isn't into it. He is also dating an American girl against his father's wishes. Navi and Behrooz are two sides, whereas Dina is the middle. She cares about the mission, but she still cares about her son. These differing perspectives aid to the story later.

An important moral of this episode…downloading kills. Andrew Paige has stayed up all night stealing software in the hip office of doom when he stumbles upon some code that seeks to corrupt the entire internet. Now this sounds a little absurd, however, in retrospect it fits with a larger part of the threat. In Die Hard fashion, he has to leave the office so the terrorists can infiltrate and leave him the only lead. He informs his former classmate, Chloe. Of course when Driscoll find out about this, she tells her to give this lead to the FBI.

Jack and Audrey get ready to head out for their busy days. Audrey heads out with her father, the Secretary of Defense, for a secret meeting with Audrey's brother. Jack heads to CTU. Jack and Audrey seem to think that they've gotten away with something, even if Heller looks like he has some clue about what his daughter is doing.

Chloe, who must be thinking, "Everyone here is stupid except for me" more than usual, is relieved to see Jack return to CTU. We get a loose end tied up when Jack mentions that Chase and Kim are living a calm life and raising Angela in peace, which probably eased the minds of many critics of these two characters.

Jack can see something big is happening, but he must take care of his meeting with Driscoll first. Though he isn't usually vindictive, he does take some joy in giving her a hard time on her budget. This is just a scene for character relationships since they're about to capture Sherak. It's clear Jack is much better at fieldwork than his replacement Ronnie, as he can see clues at the store that they can't, which results in a successful capture.

Meanwhile, Audrey and Heller arrive at his son's house. Richard is scheduled to speak at a protest that could embarrass his father and the president. At heart, this is a typical tumultuous father-son relationship, but they should've been a little more discreet with the politics. The son, a stereotypical liberal, is depicted as a babbling idiot where Heller, a member of a right-wing cabinet, is more reasonable. Both sides offer good arguments, and they should've presented it that way. It would've offered a layer of complexity from "I'm doing this to make dad mad."

While Andrew called Chloe, terrorists raided the hip office of doom and killed his co-workers and is now interrogating the last girl, who Ids him. It's a tense moment, although he'll survive because he is a link to these terrorists. He manages to elude the men out to kill him.

Erin sends Jack over to a cubicle to work on their budget, but that lasts for a few seconds when Sherak is brought in. Jack knows the man and could be useful interrogating him. His instinct tells him that there's more to this than a train bombing or else he wouldn't be as visible. Being useful, Erin dismisses his help and lets Ronnie do it, which amounts to "Please tell me what's happening at 8. I'll be your friend. (Pause) You're mean!" Jack tries to appeal to Heller's DOD connections to allow him to extract the information, but he can't. Out of time, he shoots Sherak in the leg and finds out that the target is Heller. It's shocking, but good to see Jack back.

Though he tries to inform Heller, it is too late, as a team of kidnappers blow up one of the cars Heller's secret service agents were driving in. They ambush the secret service and take Heller and Audrey hostage, leaving Jack helplessly listening to Audrey's screams. It's an interesting angle and a great way to end the premiere.

Politics aside, this first half of the premiere is strong. The new cast eases in as if they were the old one. There's a sense of immediacy right away as a mystery threat composes the first hour, which is indicative of the rest of the season. Jack's eagerness to lead a different life, to his enthusiasm for helping prevent the attack is interesting to watch. "Instinct never dies" is this season's tagline, and it fits well with Bauer's character.

Score: 8/10