DAY ONE: 12:00 am to 1:00 am

Welcome to the Twenty-Force, a blog that looks at my favorite show, 24. Over time, I'm planning on doing an analysis of each episode in the show's history. We'll start at the very beginning. Day One. Midnight. The episode originally aired on November 6, 2001, approximately a month after its original airdate. The show was pushed back due to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and some changes were made to the storyline because of it. But let's jump in...the clock is ticking.

The following takes place between midnight and 1:00 am on the day of the California presidential primary.

So, here we are in Kuala Lampur, just after 4:00 in the afternoon (midnight in LA). People are milling about, and a suspicious looking guy sneaks into a room. He logs onto his computer amd requests permission to transmit. He sends some information, and we get a look at an orbiting satellite. Now, this is interesting, because I don' think 24 ever used this type of shot again. We are getting treated to the first views of the signature split screen. Now the info is being broadcast across the world, and we hear someone pounding on the door in Kuala Lampur. He looks over his shoulder, and is never seen again. 24's first casualty? We'll never know.

Los Angeles, 12:02:11 am. A helicopter flies over the sleeping city. Richard Walsh is at a dinner party when he receives a call. There will be an attempt today on Senator David Palmer. Who's that, you may wonder?

Palmer's campaign headquarters. Turns out he's running for president. And he's black. We meet him, his wife Sherry, and his speechwriter Patty. All seems to be well. So, let's go meet the Bauers.

Jack and his daughter Kim are playing chess in what is probably this family's last happy moment ever. Kim begins bad mouthing her mother, and Jack sends her to bed. Kim's glad Jack moved back in? Marital difficulties already? We meet Teri, Jack's wife, and they discuss difficult teenage girls. They decide to go confront Kim about trying to drive a wedge between them, and find that...gasp...she's gone! A car zooming away! Drat that willful teen! Grounded! Rahr! A phone call for Jack. It's Nina. He's needed at the office. Jack has to go.

Jack calls shirtless guy, who is amazingly flippant with Jack Bauer. I don't think he's frightened enough. But, he doesn't know where Kim is, and gives Jack his word. "That's a real comfort, Vincent," Jack says, "knowing that I've got your word." That's good. Especially since Jack throws his word around all the time in the life of the series.

Noticeable so far is the use of non orchestral music. It's mostly rock. This will definitely change through the series as Sean Callery plays a larger role as the composer.

Definitely a focus on clocks, as a big analog clock ticks to 12:07 as Kim and Janet drive by. They're heading to meet a couple of guys at a furniture store.

Jack calls CTU, pulling up beside a David Palmer ad on the side of a bus. Hmmm.

Now at CTU, we meet Nina, Jamey, and Tony. No one is enthusiastic about being there.

Jack pulls into the parking lot at 12:09:43. Five minutes from home to work. Traffic must be great in LA! He calls Teri as he comes in, and passes through security. This is one of the only times we get to see the front door. Now, after season three, CTU was remodeled, and wow, it looks so primitive in these shots. Apparently, everyone is here except Walsh. Jack starts asking for background of David Palmer's staff, acting on a hunch that this is about him. Tony doesn't want to because people might think it's because he's black. It is because he's black, makes him a target. That's an order, Tony. Follow it. Please.

Especially in the first season, the directors really liked helicopter shots. We see Janet and Kim arrive at the furniture store in the first one. Janet and Dan go inside, and Kim gets paired with good ole Rick. It's party time in a furniture store. Gasp! That statue's naked! Let's dance on the table! I haven't even had any drugs yet!

Hey, there's Maureen Kingsley on the Late Night News! Polls open at seven, which means we should be seeing some election action in seven episodes! But, Walsh has arrived at CTU, so let's hear what this is about. An attempt on David Palmer's life! How...expected. There's only five people in this room...CTU is a pretty understaffed operation, you ask me. Let's find out who's behind it, and let's stop it!

So, there may be an element inside the agency working against us? My money's on Tony. We also learn that Jack is a snitch, but he's the only one Walsh can trust. And George Mason is coming from Division. But don't trust anybody.

A triple split screen. We gotta find the shooter, Walsh says. Is the shooter on that plane? Ooh, that's an ominous looking foreign gut. Bet it's him. And the first commercial break at 12:20:07. The clock has a different sound in this episode than in any other.

And we're back. Only two and a half minutes over that commercial break, so it's now 12:22:51. Usually, it's about five. The first use of the signature "where is everyone right now" split screen, with Kim at the furniture store, Teri snooping in Kim's room, and Jack walking around looking tough.

Back to the Palmer camp. Patty gets a call from the photographer...it's that creepy foreign guy! Not only is he a terrorist, but he has a clear way in! Scum! Although I think he's name dropping to get the attention of the hot chick sitting next to him. It's working, she seems intrigued.

We're in CTU, and Nina is feeling left out of the Jack-Walsh conspiracy. Come on, Jack. If there's anyone you can trust, it's Nina! Phone call for Jack. It's Teri. She found some pot in Kim's bedroom. Teenagers. Jack wants to break into her e-mail, but Kim has her own password because the Bauers trust her.

Kim flirting with Rick on the roof of the furniture store. And she's telling him that her father is dead. Liar! Bad girl!

We have the arrival of George Mason at CTU. Last I saw of him, he was crashing into the ocean aboard Air Force One, after assisting Russian terrorists in that plane's hijacking. Didn't anyone check this guy's credentials? He provides some exposition - foreign shooter, arriving today, blah blah. Mason hands over some data, but won't give Jack the source. He also reveals a bit of a negative opinion of Senator Palmer. Jack asks for the info again, and Mason calls "Chappelle", when in actuality, he's checking the time. I must say, this episode is pretty creative about bringing the clock in. Anyway, now Jack is angry, and you wouldn't like Jack when he's angry. He pulls the old "tranqulizer gun in a binder trick", returns, and shoots Mason in the leg. Jack suspects that Mason took some money in a bust, and wants to Nina to get that information so he can use it for leverage. Aww, and Jack sees a picture in Kim's notebook, a happy Bauer family. Second commercial, at 12:34:22.

Welcome back, at 12:38:39. The photographer and Kim are flirting in their respective locations, and Jack and Palmer are ard at work. The phone startles Teri into dropping hot tea all over her feet. It's Alan York, Janet's dad. He wants to know if Teri knows anything.

Nina got the info, but it's encrypted. Jack wants her to get Tony to solve it, saying that Tony will do anything for Nina. I had forgotten those two were involved until now. Poor guy. Anyway, Tony's not too wild about the idea, especially since Jack and Nina also have a history. I remembered that one. Tony's very cold to Jack in this early part of the season, but he'll warm up.

Meanwhile, Jack is enlisting Jamey to hack into Kim's e-mail. His home number, if you care, is 310-555-3067. Don't bother dialing it, no real numbers are used in the show. Not until season four. I think season four.

Kim and Rick are making a real connection, and kiss on the stairs. Meanwhile, Janet and Dan have gone a little further and are getting busy. That's one of the advantages to partying in a furniture store. Ready to use beds.

By the way, beware of the 24 sex curse. 3 of the 4 people who have sex in this episode end up dead. Did I mention that there will be spoilers? There will be spoilers.

At 12:43:04, the photographer and the hot chick are still flirting.

Palmer looks tired, taking a break. He and his wife kid around, then Palmer gets a phone call. Maureen Kingsley. She has an important story...an allegation! Uh oh! No clue on what it is...gotta save some suspense. The first signs of marital strife as Palmer closes the patio door on Sherry. Commercial #3, at 12:46:52.

The final stretch begins at 12:49:11. Teri is lost, Palmer is contemplative, Kim and Rick are making out, and the photographer/hot chick seem to be close. At CTU, Mason's still out, but Jack is sticking to his guns even though nothing has been found yet. He's a man of principle, he explains. You can't compromise, not even once. Jack had put away three of his own people for taking bribes, but they weren't bad guys. They just compromised. Once. This always makes me think of Johnny Dangerously, and Joe Piscopo with his "You shouldn't hit me, Johnny. My father hit my once. Once." running gag.

Teri calls Alan, having discovered where Kim and Janet went. Alan offers to tag along. Sure, why not. The more the merrier. It's not like you're some psychopathic criminal playing out some sort of fiendish plot designed to get me and my daughter in custody so you can blackmail my husband into assisting in a prominent senator's assasination. Did I mention that there will be spoilers? There will be spoilers.

But too late! The kids are leaving the furniture store. Rick offers to drop Kim off at home on their way to a party. So much heartache, Kim. Why didn't you just stay home like a good little girl? None of this ever would have happened!

It's 12:52:46, and the photographer and his lady friend are getting busy in the bathroom. Only took three and a half minutes from the last time we saw them. They finally introduce themselves...he's Martin, she's Mandy. He doesn't offer to call while he's in LA. He'll probably be too busy trying to assassinate the president. What a sleaze.

Tony got into the account, and now Jack has his info. He uses it on Mason, and Mason gives up his source. You'll live to regret this, Jack! Mason threatened Jack! Wow! Nobody threatens Jack and lives past, oh, another season and a half! Did I mention that there will be spoilers? There will be spoilers.

So, Martin is asleep, and Mandy crawls over him to get out. Wow, that was fast. In the span of about five minutes, the guy managed to join the Mile High Club and get in a nap. Unbelievable. Those terrorists, you know.

Anyway, Mandy staggers back into the galley, and STABS A FLIGHT ATTENDANT IN THE NECK WITH A NEEDLE! BETCHA NEVER SAW THAT COMING! THE HOT CHICK IS THE TERRORIST, AND YOU PEOPLE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHER! HAHAHA! WHAT A SILLY MISTAKE! THE BLOOD OF EVERYONE ON THAT PLANE IS ON YOUR HANDS!

Ahem. Sorry. Anyway, Mandy pulls out a cleverly concealed bomb in a fire extinguisher, puts on a flight suit, sets the bomb to go off in thirty seconds, blows the door off the plane, and jumps. Wearing a parachute of course. Oh, and through all this, Martin is looking for his wallet, which, of course, was stolen by Mandy. Quite a diversion just so she could be a pickpocket, I must say.

And we don't get to see the plane explode. It happens, you hear it, it gets reported, but you don't see it. It was played down as a major plot point in later episodes as well, since the post 9/11 climate was so sensitive.

Meanwhile, at 12:57:22, Jack calls Teri, who is out with Alan. Bad reception. Well, Jack is about to split when the news about the plane breaks.

In the party van, Janet is stoned, and Dan is not taking Kim home. Rick is complicit. Uh oh. What mess have you gotten into now, Kim? And Dan runs a red light, almost plowing into the car carrying Teri and Alan! Aww, so close! And so, we get the final quadruple split screen, with Palmer, Jack, Kim, Teri, and Alan all looking worried. You don't have any idea. And meanwhile, Mandy parachutes into the Majave Desert. That's weird. She's been free falling for two and a half minutes. I'd think she'd be a pancake by now. But, there it is.

12:59:57...12:59:58...12:59:59...1:00:00.

And so ends episode one of season one. I watched it when it premiered, enjoyed it, was not hooked. Not yet. And it was a pretty good episode. There were a few things that indicate the show was going in a different direction than it ended up, but it was mostly good. It definitely sets up the rest of the first half very well.