DAY ONE: 4:00 am to 5:00 am

From December 11, 2001, here's episode five.

The following takes place between 4:00 am and 5:00 am, on the day of the California presidential primary.

We start in an operating room, presumably getting ready for the grand entrance of Janet York, a silly girl who got run down in the street in North Hollywood. Yep, there she is. 24 meets ER, very cool. Janet's face doesn't look as beat up as it was.

A cop car flies around a corner, followed very closely by an SUV driven by a concerned Jack Bauer. Does no one wear a seat belt on this show? The suspect from last episode is in the cop car.

Meanwhile, Teri and Alan burst into the hospital. They try desperately to get the attention of a nurse who has the audacity to take a phone call. Finally, the nurse looks up the accident victim. Just a Jane Doe. Teri and Alan disobey a direct order and run down a hallway. They get to surgery and, yep, there's Janet. Well, good for you Alan. You got your daughter back. Try not to kill her when she wakes up.

Did I mention that there will be spoilers? There will be spoilers.

Jack calls, and provides an opportunity for exposition as Teri tearfully relates the events of the last episode. Jack assures Teri that he's trying to find Kim, and hangs up.

Let's check in with the kidnappers. Kim is tied up in the back of Gaines' car, Gaines tells the boys to meet him at the compound for payment. Twenty large. Rick's being the voice of reason, which he often is. He just attracts the wrong people. Kim's looking desperately out the back of Gaines' car, mouth duct taped shut. Not conspicuous at all.

4:06:58, Palmer headquarters. Palmer sends Patty to bed. We'll see her again, later tonight. Nicole offers mochas, only Daddy wants some. Sherry and David provide some more exposition about the Keith storyline, and bicker a bit about whether or not to tell Nicole. Palmer wants to, but chickens out at the last moment. She's so happy.

CTU now, 4:09:32. Jack calls Nina to her he's at the precinct trying to get close to the suspect. Nina tries to get a number from the internet, can't do it because there's some residual lockdown effects. She gets it from Tony after telling him she doesn't know if she can trust him anymore.

At the police station, the police sergeant won't let Jack interrogate the cop killa. Jack eventually convinces him by laying on a thick layer of guilt (I was investigating a federal case, she was helping me, do you want her death to be in vain?!?). But, just as Jack is about to get to the suspect, the cavalry arrives. Rather, George Mason arrives. Missed it by that much. 4:12:25, commercial time.

4:16:26. Janet's in surgery, Pamer's chatting with Nicole, Gaines is driving, and Rick and Dan are heading to meet him. Rick is upset about Kim, Dan wants his money. Dan seems to think that Kim is doomed.

Meanwhile, Mason and Jack go into a deserted room. Must be a big police station, that's a lot of travel time. Mason wants to know what Jack was doing with Walsh, Jack's not talking. He does reveal that he found the suspect due to info from Walsh and Scott Baylor. Jack accuses Mason of impeding and endangering Palmer because of a grudge. "So why don't we cut the crap?" Mason says he'll talk to the suspect.

Gaines stops at a red light as his phone rings, says someone should be done in 15 minutes. Who? Meanwhile, Kim feebly kicks the window to try and get a truck driver's attention. I love this part. Gaines leans back, points a gun at her, and says, "Stop, please." The man knows his manners. The truck leaves, then Gaines cuts another guy off making a right turn from the left lane. That was silly. He pulls into an alley, and hey! His car has Nevada plates! Interesting! He transfers Kim from the back seat to the trunk.

4:19:41, Palmer HQ. The senator pulls out his phone and calls Maureen Kingsley, wanting to talk about her story. She's in the hotel, he wants to meet her in a conference room.

At the hospital, Teri and Alan are telling the police about their missing daughters. Jack calls, wanting to know what's going on with Janet. Jack writes something on a piece of paper as he talks, revealing that he's got a suspect he wants to question. Mason returns, says that the suspect won't talk to anyone but Jack. Against his better judgment, Mason takes Jack to see the suspect.

In the room, Jack points out that their conversation is being observed, then whispers something to the suspect. The suspect flips out, demands that Jack be removed, Jack grabs him and pushes him against the wall, covering the guy's mouth. People run in and remove Jack from the room as the suspect demands his lawyer.

4:23:14. Jack runs down the hall to an empty toom and pulls out his cell phone. The suspect is allowed to use a phone, then spits a piece of paper from his mouth. He dials, Jack's phone rings. The suspect tells Jack that he has to answer a call in 20 minutes, and that Jack needs to get him out before then. Jack calls Nina, tells her that the suspect (who now has a name...Penticoff) is expecting a call at the address on San Fernando Road, and can she do a trace? She finds a pay phone nearby. Jack reveals that Penticoff will be there to take the call. This is the first time, but not the last, that Jack sets up a jailbreak. Did I mention that there will be spoilers? There will be spoilers. 4:25:30, commercial time.

4:29:32. Palmer looks pensive, Gaines drives, Nina types, Jack wanders. He hears Mason bad-mouthing him to the sergeant. Jack grabs an officer, who happens to be Officer Hampton's ex-partner. The cop will let Jack in to talk to Penticoff, but only under supervision.

I'm watching this with the subtitles, and it's funny...we just got a cue for [suspenseful instrumental music]. Now, if I was deaf, would I care?

Anyway, the cop takes Jack in the holding cell. Jack provokes Penticoff, the cop yanks him off. Jack provokes the cop, and the two scuffle. Another cop drags Jack away. He gets escorted out. Penticoff reveals that he now has the access card to his cell. Jack is smooth. [dramatic instrumental music]

Teri's lying down in the hospital when Alan walks up with coffee. It's 4:32:30. Chat chat chat, blah blah blah, reassurances, nothing happening. A filler scene, to be sure.

At the hotel, Palmer waits while Maureen Kingsley is scanned. Palmer takes her into the conference room, and starts laying on the guilt. How long have we known each other, we made a journey together, yadda yadda. Kingsley has evidence she feels compelled to share with the world. The guilt trip works, she shares her sources...George Ferragamo, Keith's therapist. We knew that. She also has autopsy results from Keith's alleged victim that point to a struggle, and a hospital admission file from the same night and area in Keith's handwriting. Palmer sticks up for his son, then we get the feeling that he and Kingsley aren't friends anymore. Too bad. 4:36:55.

And now, for the first time in the 24ce, a word from our sponsors.

Antidisestablishmentarianism.

And we're back. 4:40:51. Rick looks disgusted, Nina's on the phone, Keith's in bed, having fallen asleep watching TV. Palmer comes in, turns the TV off and the lights on. Time for the confrontation about the evidence. Keith won't talk. Palmer's mad. He's starting to believe it. He leaves.

4:43:34. Mason is apologizing for Jack's behavior. Hampton's ex-partner comes in, wanting to start processing Penticoff. But the computer says he checked out five minutes ago. Say...

At the hospital, Teri's at the vending machine, bemoaning that her child is failing algebra. Talk talk talk, we get it. Kim's a bad girl, but you're worried, and now you're feeling guilty. Alan doesn't talk much about Janet, notice that? Hmm. Alan does promise to stay with Teri until Kim is found.

At the police station, Mason's leading a satellite search for Jack and Penticoff. There they are, leaving within the last ten minute. Getting in a car, leaving the satellite frame...

...and now, a helicopter shot of Jack's car! Amazing! If only the cops had asked the producers of 24 where Jack was. 4:47:06, they're arriving at the location. Nina's got the trace. Ringing, but there's no one on the pay phone! That's because there's a cell phone on the underside! Genius! It's Gaines, wanting Penticoff to dispose of a body in the trunk of a car that has Nevada plates, 782MOF. Is it Kim? We haven't seen her since she got thrown in Gaines' trunk. After this episode is over, I'm going back to see the plates on Gaines' car (which I even noted were from Nevada). Jack and Penticoff race off to find the car. 4:48:15, commercial time.

4:54:55. Alan comforts Teri, Nina looks perplexed, Jack and Penticoff run down the street. They find the car. Jack opens the trunk as sirens are heard in the background. It's a body, but it has a hairy chest, so no, not Kim. Jack looks relieved. I think I missed this connection the first times I saw the episode. Tires squeal, cars race up, Jack puts a gun to Penticoff's head. It's Mason, just wanting to know what Jack's up to. Jack shows him the body, and all seems forgiven. But who is it? I know I said that there will be spoilers, but this is one that I ain't spoilin'. Jack reveals that someone inside the agency is involved with the hit on Palmer.

Jack drives the car with the body in the trunk to CTU. Them Bauers like driving around cars with bodies in the trunks, don't they? (Yes, that's a spoiler, but you don't have to worry about that for another, oh, 24+ episodes.) Jack calls Nina, orders the autopsy. He calls Teri and tells her that he'll be there soon. Alan looks stupidly on in the background. Sorry, he's just got that slack jawed look about him. Nothing personal, Alan. Really.

At Gaines' compound, Dan enjoys a cigarette while waiting for Gaines' arrival. This is horror movie filming, with birds fluttering away and startling him. Hey, the big dog is here! Kim is OK, just gasping for air from the trunk. Dan demands their money..."if that's like, you know, OK." Way to assert yourself, Dan. Gaines even mocks him. "Just so we're like, you know, clear..." He wants to know about Janet. Aha...Gaines knows that she lives. I love this part. Dan says she's dead, Gaines says she isn't, Dan says well, maybe she wasn't quite dead. "Well, I'll tell you, Dan," Gaines says. "You're either dead, or you're not dead. There's no such thing as 'sort of' dead. Here, let me show you." And then, HE SHOOTS DAN! RIGHT IN THE FACE! AS RICK AND KIM LOOK ON! OH, WHAT A TRAGE...nope, can't pull it off. The guy had it coming to him. But it was pretty cool. And Rick's been promoted. Good deal.

Split screen check-in on everyone. Jack drives, Palmer fumes, Nina types, Tony looks suspicious (keep an eye on that guy!). Oh, and Janet chooses this moment to flatline on the surgery table. A very cheesy cliffhanger to be sure, but...

4:59:57...4:59:58...4:59:59...5:00:00.

OK, checked Gaines' plates. 528MOF. Close, but no cigar. That's a very subtle detail, mad props there.

This is the first full episode I watched since the premiere, and I was lost. I think I promised myself to watch a few more before giving up on the show. It only took one more episode to get fully hooked, and I look forward to reliving that moment in my next post.

In retrospect, this is really the last exposition episode. Not much has happened up to this point. Things really start to snowball in the next episode. Characters will change, plots will be revealed, bad stuff will go down. Get ready for the ride.