Day 5: 7:00 A.M. - 8:00 A.M.

Season 5, Episode 1, Aired

Episode Summary

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9.6
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
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18 months have passed since the events of Day 4. With the exception of David Palmer, Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler and Chloe O'Brian, the world believes that Jack Bauer is dead. Jack is living near L.A. under the name of Frank Flynn, working on an oil rig and living with Diane Huxley and her teenage son, Derek. In L.A., David Palmer is visiting his brother Wayne, when he is killed by an assassin's bullet. As CTU scrambles to gather more information, an exploding car bomb kills Michelle and injures Tony. Chloe is also pursued by an unknown figure, but she eludes him and manages to contact Jack for help. President Charles Logan and his wife Martha are visiting L.A. and are planning to sign an important arms treaty with the president of Russia. Martha seems to be unstable and is badly shaken by the news of Palmer's murder. Logan refuses to heed CTU's warnings of possible danger and call off the summit. Jack is forced to take Derek along for the ride as he meets with Chloe and fights off a group of men who want him killed. He forces one of the men to confess that Jack has been deliberately framed for the murders of Palmer and Michelle.moreless
  • Ah, that new season smell

    10
    "Perfect"
    "24" is back. Surnow, Cochran, and all their holy cronies waste no time in kicking off a brilliant season to come. Previous premieres have spent the hour setting up the main threat and getting the characters and audience familiar with what's going on. But here, we're all just going along for the ride, with very little information on the big picture, even less so than the S4 premiere. And what better way to capture everyone's interest than to kill off a couple of familiar faces?Yes, the deaths of David Palmer and Michelle Dessler, both in the episode's first act, will grip many of you as they gripped me and had me watching intently. Based on the history and importance of these two characters in "24," you might also be a little irked that their deaths are based on shock value rather than solemn poignance that character deaths in the past have received. But I say it's a damn good way to start S5; one that sneaks up on the viewer, leaves them disoriented, and reminds them all that no character on this show is safe.By the end, we're all left just as confused as Jack and everybody else, with the revelation that he's being framed for the deaths to cover up the real reason Palmer was killed. Hey, I was ready to watch the rest of S5 even without that bit of information, but whatever works! This episode does an even better job of drawing me in than the S4 opener did, and provides great action, intrigue, and suspense almost effortlessly.Hourly Highlight:Hard to pick one… Palmer's assassination.moreless
  • Really Groundbreaking

    10
    "Perfect"
    Former President Palmer is dead. That shocking and sad turn is the opennig of the best 24 season ever. I was looking for another entertaining and spectacular long day in Jack Bauers life, due to Season 4 was truly cool for me. But this stunning openning is a way to show everyone that 24 could actually surprise the audience and its fans even after 4 great and unforgettable days.
    Kiefer Sutherland is better than ever as Jack Bauer, its not a long premiere but in its 40 minutes gives everything that must be told and even more, and also all that i was expecting and more. And its fashionable style is more fantastic.
    A really gripping premiere, and one of the best episodes of the show.moreless
  • The new era begins... on a truly shocking high!

    10
    "Perfect"
    This "new beginning" of the adventures of Jack Bauer is not just one of the best season premieres of the show. Its even one of the best episodes of 24 ever!. Its tragic, terrific, spectacular, intelligent and irresistibly surprising: all the components that made 24 charismatic and unbelievable.
    This time, Jack must go on with his problematic life, risking his deathly status, when his closest friend are being killed one by one. Also, we find out that this day President Logan must sign a treaty with the Russians. This two events are relationed.
    This day is gonna be an adrenaline rush. It looks like the ultimate 24 season!.moreless
  • This Series Started With What i Did Not Expect At All!

    9.9
    "Superb"
    When I First Watched This One I Was Like WHAT! It Was Really Sad As My Favourite Characters That being Michelle, Tony And David Were ALl basically Killed, (With the expection of Tony Who goes on to die later in the series! But i was so shocked when they were killed i did not expect them all to die, and even though i was upset by them being killed it did give the show a chance to bring in more loveable characters. Though i would ahve loved it if they didn't die it really did grab my attention throughout the rest of the series. Was hard to watch tme characters die but did give the series a great start!moreless
  • Best beginning EVER! An outstanding episode!.

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    "Perfect"
    24 always hooks because of it's extremely good plots, fantastic characters, shocking twists and a really perfect visual stylish. But, the show never shocked us with an stunning and surprising beginning like this one. This beginning is, without any doubt, the best season beginning of all the show ever. It's a perfect preview of this excellent and brilliant season.

    Jack Bauer is hidden under a new identity and under a new life. But, when the people who knew that he was alive are being murdered, Jack must hunt down the killers and find out why they killed them and why want to involve Jack in the assassinations.

    This beginning is really shocking, extreme and powerful.
    It could be, with season one finale permission, the best episode of the whole show yet!.
    The writers give us a really original, never seen and impressive plot.
    Jack Bauer is really perfect and harder than ever, and the ending of this episode leaves you at the edge of your seat.

    A masterpiece.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (8)

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    • When Tony runs out to find Michelle after the explosion, he finds her in the lawn with the door, and some of the grass is on fire. After he tosses the door aside to get to Michelle, the next shot goes wide and the fire is out.

    • At the end of the episode, when the man who killed Palmer looks for Chloe and Derek in the refinery, we can see a shot where Derek gets his hair out of his face and two cuts later we see the exact same scene again.

    • If Tony and Michelle gave Jack a new identity to "get across the border" at the end of Day 4, why is he working an oil rig in southern California?

    • Real Time error: It takes about 50 seconds real time between Jack and Derek getting into the helicopter and them flying through the air in the next scene, however later when Jack, Chloe and Derek try to escape in the helicopter, they wait 40 seconds after entering the chopper before getting out because it is taking too long to power up. Surely 40 seconds would have been enough based on the previous scene. Edit: A deleted scene on the Season 5 DVD clears up this error, where Jack calls Diane while waiting for the helicopter to power up.

    • Shouldn't the Secret Service in the room have kept Palmer away from the window since it wasn't as bulletproof as the windows in the White House?

    • When Jack kills the assassin at the end of the hour, the scene is identical to when he killed Nina. In both scenes the person Jack is going to kill is on the ground and wounded. The camera is at the eye level of the person and looking up at Jack. In one scene he is avenging his wife, in the other he is avenging Palmer and Michelle.

    • Chloe is seen here driving the same blue Prius in Los Angeles that she is seen driving in the Season 5 DVD preview...in Chicago. Unless she drove halfway cross the country just to meet with Jack for five minutes, this seems very unlikely she'd have the exact same vehicle.

    • Tony's Chicago Cubs coffee mug (that he was drinking booze out of last year) makes a brief cameo appearance as he and Michelle kiss.

  • QUOTES (10)

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    • Tony: When Jack gets here we'll figure it out.

    • Haas: That's all I know. Now take me to a hospital. Jack: Yeah. (shoots him dead)

    • Edgar: Spencer, have you talked to Chloe this morning? Spencer: No, why? Edgar: She left her apartment about a half hour ago, she should have been here by now. Spencer: Probably traffic. Edgar: She commutes against traffic, and she's not answering her cell phone. Spencer: I wouldn't worry about it. Edgar: She sounded strange when I talked to her. Spencer: She always sounds strange.

    • Cummings: Was she all right? Logan: No, Walt, she's not all right. She's having another one of her delusions.

    • Martha: Well Charles, you shut him out of this White House about 18 months ago. He had no real access. Logan: Except you. Martha: You don't believe me. Logan: I didn't say that. Martha: You didn't need to. Logan: Martha-- Martha: I am not making this up. I am not crazy. I am not a fool, Charles!

    • Chloe: How did they find me? Jack: I don't think they ever lost you.

    • Martha: I swear I will have your family eating dog food out of a can!

    • Martha: Mike, damn it! I am the First Lady! Tell your stormtrooper to stay away from me!

    • Chloe: I don't want everyone thinking I'm some kind of slut. Spencer: Nobody's ever going to think that.

    • Martha: I look like a wedding cake!

  • NOTES (10)

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    • It may be a coincidence, but this is the third time that someone has tried, (in this case, succeeding) to kill David Palmer between 7.00 AM and 8.00 AM. In Season 1, the first assassination attempt was just before 8:00 AM, by the fake Martin Belkin. At approximately the same time, Mandy tried to kill him in Season 2 with a biological weapon. Finally, in this episode, albeit nearly an hour earlier, Palmer is killed in the same hour.

    • Jon Cassar won an Emmy Award in 2006 for 'Best Director of a Single Episode' for his work on this episode. David Latham also won an Emmy for 'Best Editing For a Single Episode'.

    • Kiefer Sutherland submitted this episode to voters for Emmy consideration. Subsequently, he won the Emmy for 'Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series' at the 58th annual Emmy Awards in 2006.

    • Throughout Season 5, Jean Smart receives the "and" credit.

    • Prior to airing the season premiere, the show "released" Jack's cell phone number 888-9-24-JACK as a promotional tool.

    • Fox again aired the first four hours of the season as a two-night, four-hour premiere.

    • The Season 4 DVD set contains a 10-minute bonus prequel that helps set up events for Day 5. One year after Day 4, Chloe meets Jack in Chicago and warns him that unknown people hacked into her system and are looking at his fake autopsy. Jack deduces that someone knows he's alive. Jack is then pursued by an unknown assailant who is eventually killed during the car chase. The prequel was sponsored by Toyota and was filmed to help create buzz for 24's fifth season.

    • This episode marks the final appearance of former series regulars Dennis Haysbert (David Palmer) and Reiko Aylesworth (Michelle Dessler).

    • As of this episode, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian), Louis Lombardi (Edgar Stiles), James Morrison (Bill Buchanan), Gregory Itzin (Charles Logan) and Jean Smart (Martha Logan) join the regular cast. In addition, Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida) is once again upped to series regular after being a Special Guest last season.

    • This episode's original airing was delayed about 10 minutes in the Eastern & Central time zones by the Carolina/Chicago NFL playoff game.

  • ALLUSIONS (2)

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    • Jack's girlfriend's name is Diane Huxley. One of John Mellencamp's more famous songs is Jack & Diane.

    • Jack's Alias Jack's alias of Frank Flynn was given in honor of author, Vince Flynn. Flynn was brought in before the show's fifth season to help create story ideas. He was brought in several times after the season began production to help wrap up certain story arcs.

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