User Reviews

The final hour gets right to work on the big gambit: Jack's hijacking of Marine One to get President Logan to confess. And he does, but how it's done is a brilliant plot twist carried out during Logan's eulogy to David Palmer. And Gregory Itzin deserves serious credit for paying the character at his most vulnerable (like trying to negotiate with a poker-faced Jack, terrific scene) and then leaning into the villainy after the plan "fails" (the guy's just a major sleaze). And from there it's the triumphant happy ending the season deserves; Logan's in cuffs, CTU's restored, Jack and Audrey can rekindle their flame . . .

But there is no happy ending, and it's this turn that takes things to a while new level. As the clock ticks to a close, Jack's beaten to a pulp, lying in the hold of a tanker bound for Shanghai. That's right, the Chinese won't be forgotten. It's a masterful plot twist, directly recalling the prior season's snafu and dooming our hero to a miserable future. Part of the reason the sixth season was a letdown is because there's just nowhere to go from there. It's a vicious swerve.

But smaller scale, as this episode stands, it's a home run. This is outstanding television.

10/10

These comments refer to the entire fifth season of '24' not just the final episode.

As the fifth season opens an assassin kills former president David Palmer, shortly afterwards an explosion kills Michelle Dessler and seriously injures Tony Almeida… it is clear that somebody is targeting the people who know that Jack Bauer is still alive; this brings him out of hiding. Meanwhile current president Charles Logan is preparing to sign a treaty of cooperation with the Russians… inevitably it soon becomes apparent that the two events aren't unconnected. A group of terrorists have acquired several canisters of nerve gas which they initially intend to smuggle into Russia but when that plan is thwarted they decide to target the United States as punishment for their support for the Russian government. As the series progresses Jack, and the people of the Counter Terrorist Unit, will have to unravel a plot that includes people at the very highest level of government and stop a number of separate attacks.

Fans of '24' should enjoy this series; it contains near constant levels of high tension; delightfully convoluted plots where each time one terrorist leader is about to be stopped we learn that he was just a part of a larger more dangerous organisation. There is also lots of action… all crammed into a twenty four hour period. It is of course unlikely that every case the CTU deal with will take twenty four hours to deal with but that doesn't matter as the fact that everything takes place in real time keeps the tension high… especially as each episode reaches its cliff-hanging finale. As expected the cast does a great job; Kiefer Sutherland is great as Bauer, an agent who is up there with the likes of Bond and Bourne that proves that television can be just as thrilling as a Hollywood blockbuster. Mary Lynn Rajskub returns as Chloe O'Brian the somewhat awkward computer expert who is one of my favourite characters thanks to the way she is played. Gregory Itzin was a great choice to play President Logan; it helps that he looks like Richard Nixon but that is just part of it; his performance makes us believe in his character, Jean Smart impresses as his wife whose behaviour might be due to her neuroses or due to genuine concerns about her husband's actions. The way major characters were killed off early on created the impression that nobody, with the exception of Jack, it truly safe. Overall another great season of '24' with a great plot and lots of action.

It has been 18 months since Jack escaped death by faking, well, his death. He now lives as a "normal" person in a typical job and has a relationship with the woman next door and her teenage son. However when former President Palmer is assassinated and the others who know he is alive are targeted with varying success, Jack is drawn back into the life he gave up. Framed for Palmer's murder, Jack saves Chloe from being killed and extracts information from one of her would-be killers. This information places Jack right in the middle of an airport hostage situation but is this the whole story or just a front for something much bigger and much more sinister? So begins yet another stressful and dangerous day for Jack Bauer.

It is hard to be critical of this series when you are a fan because we all know what its weaknesses are but we have forgiven them in the face of what it actually does well, which is entertain. The plot here continues with the trend of building up to the main story with smaller steps. In a way it weakens the plot because it is hard to buy the constant "one more thing" nature of the drama but mainly it works because it keeps things moving and never really allows the energy levels to drop in the way that series 1 and 2 occasionally did. I did have a slight problem with the way that Jack has gradually become the centre of all things (an understandable move by the writers – unavoidable I suppose) because it does turn him into a sort of superman rather than allowing the more fallible man to come up or for a conspiracy to develop that is larger than any one man. It is a weakness of the series that nothing is bigger than Jack – something that the ending of series 5 suggests is going to become an even bigger issue in series 6.

That said the narrative builds well, mixing conspiracy with action with smaller crises and moments of drama. The development and "plan" of the terrorists is all very illogical and is a weakness of the plot but the forward motion as always means that no weak spots are exposed for long – plus it utilises the "against the clock" aspect of the 24 format well when it keeps things moving. Of course it has massive problems on a regular basis and produces lots of moments that fans can laugh at but critics attack – eg very predictable things that you see being set up from miles away and can only say "oh yeah, no problems being stored up here then" but to me this is part of the fun. As always it does have moments that go nowhere but act as filler or "problems" that seem designed to fill two episodes but quickly be forgotten but these are forgivable where the energy is kept up and the motion is there – which it consistently is here.

Series 5 did do one thing really well and that was have maximum impact on a regular basis. From the opening ten minutes fans will be left reeling from the deaths of major characters although the story barely breaks its stride and doesn't make a big deal at all. It shows CTU gutted and destroyed – a refreshing change from the usual things where only bad guys with information or relatively minor characters die; those who remember the tremendous kick in the nuts that was Chappelle's final scene in series 3 will appreciate what I mean because there are several of those moments here.

The cast are as usual. Sutherland is fantastic in his lead role, embracing his darker rage in a way that is strangely satisfying; he has long since gone from being a good guy and is now crossing over – how pleasing it would be to continue this arch and end the show with the conclusion to this journey, but I know that the writers never will while the ratings are high. The rest of the cast are great fun here and there aren't many weak turns. It was sad to lose so many characters but it is for the best as the show has always been about forgetting what just happened and focusing on the now. Itzin is the biggest step up and delivers a wonderfully Nixon-esquire character who is incompetent and evil all at once, with the audience never sure which he really is – it is a great performance and a great character. Cross works well in support while Bernard works well with what little he has to do. Rajskub is increasingly brilliant with her bad attitude and the series rewards her with tender moments that crack the shell without spoiling the characters. Too many others to mention are solid and the cast benefit from the additions of Sands, Austin and others to the cast.

Overall then series 5 was one of the stronger series because it gets the mix right of "right now" problems and also bigger conspiracies lurking unseen. It has all the usual problems associated with the show but the vast majority of viewers will have accepted those long ago and almost delight in laughing at them in an affectionate way. Series 6 will be interesting as it continues to make this Jack's world but hopefully the writers can pull back from that a bit and keep him as a small player in a big game while also having him as a main character.

I usually don't enjoy season finales of 24, as the 23rd episode usually reveals what the ending entails, and thus rarely have a climatic feeling.

But this one felt different. There was an element of suspense in this finale, as there's no more terrorist threat anymore, but an important (or the most important) loose end (President Logan's role in the day) hasn't been resolved. Up to the end, it was totally conceivable that President Logan is going to escape the conspiracy unscathed.

Furthermore, the scene where Jack walks towards Marine One is an iconic moment of his heroism. I had goosebumps every time I think about that.

The way they set up President Logan wearing the wire himself was genius. I am honestly surprised that more shows and movies haven't explored this plot twist. I genuinely wondered if kidnapping Logan was all Jack's plan was, as he seemed desperate.

I found it unlikely that the Chinese government managed to get Jack from the room all the way onto a boat already traveling through the ocean in a matter of minutes very unlikely, but the reveal of the boat was necessary, so I don't think it takes away from the episode. I also question the legal validity of Logan's wire, in that it was enough to remove him from office, but I'm not expert.

I was a huge fan of the dialogue when Jack was interrogating Logan, especially when he compared himself to Lincoln and Kennedy, and compared Jack to Booth and Oswald. Logan was a phenomenal character this season, and I was surprised that a seemingly naive guy like him could pull off something so huge.

Overall, it was definitely one of the strongest episodes of the series so far, and one of the better episodes of television.

There are two things that dominate this final episode. The first is Jack working his way unto the President's helicopter and doing his thing. This is pretty far fetched, but it sets up the twisted ending. How Logan ever got as far as he did, as amazing. With all the action that takes place and all that the President does, I found the ending dull. And, of course, the next season is set up because the Chinese make an appearance. There were quite a number of unanswered questions and figures who were never addressed by the end of the season.

This show does nothing for me, if you have seen the first season then you have seen them all, instead of nuke the use chemical weapons. There is always someone who has infiltrated CTU in each season, no government can be immune to people getting on the inside but every season is that all this writer can come up with? I really can't believe people are actually going nuts over this show, its the same basic plot over and over again the only thing different is the actors because they get killed off, they get killed off because either they're KIA or because Jack the wonder boy kills them. I only person immune from certain death is Jack, he's been arrested and released, got shot, stabbed even blown up this season twice yet he heals instantly, he gets captured he get away soon after. Which to me makes this show so phony and unbelievable, Super Jack fly's planes and Helicopters and soon god help us all if he does be able to sail an aircraft carrier all by himself.

This show is so bad on so many levels, yes their lots of action but that is all this show has going for it and nothing else. Watch the British shows "Spooks" never is one season is the same and the star actually dies to let a new star be written in the script and has been running for longer than Jack Bauer show I mean 24. So many better shows have been canceled like the "Unit", yet this trash keeps on going and its isn't well written. All 24 does is stretch the episodes with Presidential Pardons,deals and conspiracies theories to make it last 24 hour when really the show should last 6 to 12 hours maybe then it would be a little bit more believable.

The season 5 finale last scene has Jack Bauer being captured and abducted,then we last see him being held somewhere already beaten to a pulp..The last clip we see a cargo ship that has already out to sea, this all in a time span of 7 minutes. It takes longer than 7 minutes just to untie a ship let alone being already out to sea at what looked like full speed. Yet we are lead to believe this show happens all in a 24 hour period. This show is more like 1 month and not 24hrs because of all the time gaps such as the final scene. I would of rated this show of 0 but I can't go that low

Charles Logan is too dumb to be so clever. He acts like the ultimate Quissling in one scene, and then seems to overcome his weakness in the next? His Nixon-duplicate visage is obviously intentional. Keifer and the Kasting Krew must have had one criteria for the role--Nixon look alike. Never mind the lack of talent.

A better ending would have been to have Wayne Palmer blast back on the scene with the real recording. The one erased by Butt-Kissing Miles should have been a fake, with Jack secretly passing the real McCoy to Palmer. Instead, Jack had to replicate a 911 scene with by hijacking a plane of diplomats fleeing the country.

And what is up with Miles anyway? Is he a mole? Is one of the chicks who tries to take Chloe's place? Who is keeping the terrorists abreast of the situation.

Edgar Stiles? Morris O'Brian? What is up with these names? Can't the writers come up with more normal names for the Ansley characters? Why does Edgar have to get it anyway. Was his SAG/AFTRA pension fund getting too fat for the producers? And what about Tony? Why did he have to die?

Here is another alternative ending, that would have sufficed. Aaron teams up with Wayne Palmer. The two drive heck-bent-for-leather onto the tarmac at the airbase. President Logan sees them and gets nervous--Wayne pulls the recording out of his vest pocket and shakes the player in his hand. Logan panics and begins to run, showing himself to be the woos that he really is. Jack appears on the scene, grabs Logan and says the truth to the American public watching at home on TV.

Just a few thoughts