Day 1: 12:00am-1:00am

CTU agent Jack Bauer's daughter, Kim sneaks out of the house to go out with friends. As Bauer and his wife Teri try to figure out how to find Kim, Jack is called in for a meeting at CTU Los Angeles in response to a threat on Senator David Palmer's life. Bauer discovers that there may be a mole inside CTU. David Palmer gets a disturbing phone call.

Episode guide

 * The following takes place between midnight and 1:00am, on the day of the California Presidential Primary.


 * Events occur in real time.



12:00:27
KUALA LUMPUR, LOCAL TIME 4:00:27 PM. In the shadows of the giant Petronas Towers, street vendors in a bustling market peddle their wares. Victor Rovner makes his way through the market into an alleyway and furtively enters a building, making sure he isn't being followed. He opens a laptop computer and connects to the CTU database, transmitting a file to an agent via satellite. Suddenly, there's banging on the door and people shouting.

12:02:11 AM

LOS ANGELES. At a formal gathering, the last few guests are excusing themselves. Richard Walsh, administrative director of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit, is contacted and told of Rovner's discovery that an attempt will be made on Senator David Palmer's life.

12:02:44

SENATOR DAVID PALMER CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS. On the balcony of his hotel suite, Senator Palmer is sitting with several aides discussing a speech he's to make in the morning, when his wife, Sherry, emerges with drinks. Sherry tells her husband that she is going to write some thank-you notes.

12:03:23

At home, Jack Bauer, Special Agent in Charge at CTU Los Angeles, is playing a game of chess with his teenage daughter Kim. Kim asks him if "she" is still giving him the cold shoulder, and Jack reminds her to call her "mom." As it's a school night, he sends her to bed; she passes by her mother, Teri, in the kitchen, but ignores her goodnight. Upset, Teri says that Kim still blames her for Jack moving out a few months before. Jack insists it's just a phase teenage girls go through, but suggests they both go talk to her about her behavior.

While they walk down the hall to Kim's room, Jack laughs and flirts with Teri, then they both knock on her door, from which loud music is emanating. After they get no reply, they enter to find the lights off and the window open, while a car outside speeds away. Jack is in disbelief that she sneaked out; Teri promises to ground her for two months. Just then, the phone rings: Nina Myers, CTU's Chief of Staff, is calling to tell Jack that Richard Walsh has called an emergency briefing. He hangs up, then tells Teri the news. Jack promises to be back in about an hour, and says that if Kim isn't back by then, they'll start calling friends until they find out where she is. He apologizes, then heads out of the house.

While walking out to his car, Jack calls Vincent O'Brien, one of Kim's ex-boyfriends, who is playing video games with a friend. Vincent is amused to hear Kim sneaked out, then promises that he doesn't know where she is, since they broke up months ago.

Kim and her friend, Janet York, are in a car on their way to Paladio Furniture. Janet fills her in on the details: Dan Mounts is a boy who works at the store, and he and his friend Rick Allen are meeting them there. She reminds Kim that they're men, not just "a bunch of high school idiots," and Kim is glad to hear it.

Meanwhile at CTU, analyst Jamey Farrell arrives, expressing her displeasure at being called in. Tony Almeida, the Deputy Chief of Staff, reports to Nina that he contacted both the CIA and FBI and nobody knows the purpose of the briefing. Nina confirms that Jack is on his way; "unfortunately for us, the mood he's in..."

12:09:43

COUNTER TERRORIST UNIT, LOS ANGELES. Jack parks in front of the building and calls Teri to ask about Kim. Jack says that maybe they should remember how they acted as teens and try to understand Kim's attitude better. Teri reminds Jack that it's a different world, and then suggests that they take Kim to a therapist, as her friends Denise and Steve did for their daughter, Nicki. Jack says maybe, and tells Teri that he will call her back.

Nina explains to Jack that everyone is already there and that they are just waiting for Walsh. She also says that she has activated a satellite uplink in case he needs one. Jack has a feeling that they have been called in because of David Palmer and asks Tony to check the background of everyone in the Senator's staff. Tony raises an objection that screening Senator Palmer might be seen as racially motivated, but Jack overturns him and says that his race makes him a likely target.

Kim and Janet arrive at Paladio Furniture, where they meet Dan Mounts and Rick Allen. Janet and Dan go inside, and Kim introduces herself to Rick before entering the store.

12:12:27

At CTU, Jack calls Detective Frank Castalano of the LAPD and asks him to keep an eye out for Kim. Richard Walsh arrives and everyone goes into the conference room, where Walsh announces that they believe an attempt will be made on Senator Palmer's life by the end of the day. He also says that the shooter will be well-funded, from overseas, and probably hired by a domestic hate group. He tells the group to begin vetting everyone close to Palmer and cross-reference with terrorist databases.

While everyone leaves the room, Walsh has Jack stay behind and asks him how things are going. Jack replies that it's been hard repairing his marriage, but they're getting there. Walsh then reveals that he has reason to believe someone inside CTU may be involved in the attempt on Palmer's life, and he wants Jack to find out who. Jack insists he's the wrong person for the job, reminding him of an investigation he led that landed three CTU officials in jail for taking bribes, but Walsh turns him down, saying he's the only one he trusts to take this on. He reminds Jack that if David Palmer, "the first African-American with a real shot at the White House," is killed, it will tear the country apart. Walsh says they need to find this shooter, whatever it takes.

Aboard Flight 221, a man with a German accent asks a flight attendant when the plane will arrive in Los Angeles.

12:20:07...12:20:08...12:20:09...



12:22:51
Back at Senator Palmer's hotel, campaign manager Patty Brooks, gets a call from the German man, a photographer named Martin Belkin. He tells Patty that he will be landing in one hour and confirms their plans for breakfast. When he mentions the senator, it attracts the attention of the woman sitting next to him on the plane. The woman starts asking about Belkin's work and his plans for that day.

12:25:55

At CTU, Jack tells Nina that District Director George Mason will be coming over to brief him. Nina is curious about Mason briefing Jack alone and senses that he's keeping her out of the loop. Jack admits that he is, but she still has to trust him.

Teri calls Jack to tell him that she found three joints of marijuana in their daughter's desk and expresses concern. Jack suggests that she could get into Kim's email and check her messages but Teri reminds him that they gave her a password to show that they trusted her. He apologizes that he can't be there with her.



On the roof of the furniture store, Kim and Rick take a seat on the railing as he tells her about going to San Diego State. The topic turns to surfing, which Rick feels takes too much motivation; Kim mentions that her father used to surf, then explains that he died six months ago on Rick's further questioning. He apologizes for upsetting her, then puts his arm around her and pulls her close.

Mason arrives at CTU and joins Jack in his office. Briefing him, Mason explains that they think the shooter is European, probably German, and that he is either already in Los Angeles or coming today. He gives Jack a disk that will get him into secure data but refuses to give a source, claiming that he is not authorized to do so. When Jack presses him further, Mason furtively tells him that David Palmer is no friend of CTU and will shut down the agency if he is elected. He also tells him to stay out of what doesn't concern him. Jack suspects Mason is holding information back, and he asks him to call Chappelle and ask for clearance to the information.

12:29:30

Once out of his office, Jack listens in on Mason's call and discovers that he is not actually talking to anyone. With Nina's help, he goes to a utility closet and conceals a tranquilizer gun inside a binder, then takes it back up the stairs to his office. Nina, worried, tries to follow him, but is stopped by a staffer needing a signature. Once inside, he shoots Mason in the leg, and Mason collapses on the couch. Jack explains to Nina that he believes Mason stole $200,000 from drug dealer Phillipe Darcet's bust last August, and asks her to find proof before he wakes up, as leverage to gain access to the source on the Palmer hit. After Nina leaves, Jack takes another look through Kim's planner.

12:34:22...12:34:23...12:34:24...



12:38:39
At the Bauer residence, Teri gets a call from Alan York, who explains that his daughter, Janet, is also gone. He believes that she left to meet Kim. He leaves his telephone number in case she hears anything.

At CTU, Nina says she found the bank account number of the criminal that Jack believes Mason stole from. She cannot access the account, however, because it's encrypted. Jack tells her to ask Tony Almeida to do it, remarking that he won't need a reason if he thinks it's for her. Nina is surprised that he noticed that she and Tony were involved, then says that he "shouldn't have."

12:40:33

Out on the floor, Tony is reluctant to break into the account when he intuits that it's for Jack. He questions Nina about whether or not she is still sleeping with Jack and asks her what she sees in him, since he turned in his own people. Nina brushes off his accusation and tells him to get back to work.

Jack goes to Jamey Farrell's station and asks if she would be able to access all the computer passwords associated with a certain phone number. She says that she needs a warrant, but agrees to help out when Jack tells her it's important. After a few seconds, she finds the password to Kim's email and gives it to Jack, who phones Teri and tells her that the password is “LIFESUCKS.”

At Paladio Furniture, Kim and Rick talk and kiss before trying to find their friends. They discover Dan and Janet having sex on a bed.

12:43:04

On the plane, Martin Belkin, growing increasingly inebriated, talks about his photography with the woman next to him.



At his hotel, Senator Palmer takes a break from writing his speech and comes in from the balcony, joking that everyone got tired of him shouting at them. Patty comes in and tells the senator that reporter Maureen Kingsley is on the phone for him. Palmer takes the call and soon becomes aggressive with Kingsley before telling her that the conversation is over. When his wife asks him why he's upset, he tells her that the call wasn't important and goes outside, closing the door in her face as she asks him what's wrong. He leans on the railing and looks out over the city, deeply troubled.

12:46:51...12:46:52...12:46:53...



12:49:11
In his office, Jack calls Walsh but gets no answer. Nina comes into the room and tells him that unless Tony finds something, Jack could end up in jail; she thought he wanted to get his life back together, and what he's doing isn't helping. Jack explains to Nina:

You can look the other way once, and it's no big deal, except it makes it easier for you to compromise the next time, and pretty soon that's all you're doing; compromising, because that's the way you think things are done. You know those guys I busted? You think they were the bad guys? Because they weren't, they weren't bad guys, they were just like you and me. Except they compromised... Once.

Nina, looking moved, says she'll go see how Tony is coming along.



Teri calls Alan and tells him that she found one of Kim's emails that could help: she and Janet were planning to meet some boys at a furniture store in the valley. Alan asks if he can come along and Teri agrees.

Rick, Dan, Kim, and Janet leave the store and discuss where to go next. Dan mentions a party at Lacy's, but Kim notices that her mother has called several times and explains that she has to return home. Rick mentions that her mom might need her home since her father died recently; Janet is confused, but Kim silences her before she can expose the lie. Janet doesn't want to go home yet, but Rick persuades Kim to go with them, promising to drop her off on the way.

12:52:46

On the plane, Martin Belkin is in the lavatory having sex with the woman, who, afterwards, introduces herself as Mandy. She suggests that they get together while in Los Angeles, but Belkin says he will probably be busy.

At CTU, Tony is able to get into the bank account he was hacking and sends the information to Jack, who finds that Mason transferred $200,000 of Darcet's assets to an offshore account in Aruba. Jack wakes Mason up and confronts him, telling him that he wants the source on the information he wants or he will forward the bank details to Chappelle. Mason is furious, warning Jack that he has no idea what he's getting himself into, but Jack is undeterred. Mason opens a window on Jack's terminal and enters some text, and Jack thanks him, handing him back his briefcase. He leaves, but not before promising Jack that he'll live to regret what he's just done.



On the plane, Martin Belkin has dozed off. Mandy leaves her seat and stumbles to the rear of the plane, where she suddenly kills one of the flight attendants with a syringe before checking the ID that she stole from Belkin. Meanwhile, Belkin awakens and realizes his wallet is gone; he tries to return to the lavatory but is stopped by another flight attendant, as the plane is preparing to land. Mandy lines the back exit with explosives before putting on a protective jumpsuit and parachute. She retrieves an explosive device hidden in a fire extinguisher and sets the timer on it for thirty seconds before blowing open the back door and ejecting herself from the plane. Seconds later, the explosive goes off, destroying the plane.

12:57:22

Jack calls Teri, who fills him in on everything she has discovered and tells him that she is going out with Alan York to find Kim. The call is interrupted because of a bad signal. Jack, considering, asks Nina to cover for him while he goes out, but before he can leave, Tony informs him that a plane has just exploded over the Mojave Desert, with preliminary reports pointing to a bomb. Sighing, Jack sends Tony to get the passenger list and Nina to call Walsh back, then leans against a pole, looking tired.

In Dan's van, Janet is lying back and smiling, clearly under the influence. Kim tells Dan to turn onto her street, but he simply ignores her and continues straight. Angry, she asks Rick to tell his friend he missed the turn, but he tells her to relax: the night's just getting started. The van speeds past Alan York's car, but neither group is aware of this.



Split screen: Dan's van drives away down an abandoned street. Kim sits in the back, growing worried. Teri and Alan continue towards Paladio Furniture. David Palmer looks out on the city, lost in thought. Jack waits for the plane's passenger list.

Over the desert, Mandy's parachute opens.

12:59:57...12:59:58...12:59:59...01:00:00

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Leslie Hope as Teri Bauer
 * Sarah Clarke as Nina Myers
 * Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer
 * and Dennis Haysbert as Senator David Palmer

Guest starring

 * Mia Kirshner as Mandy
 * Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
 * Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer
 * Michael O'Neill as Richard Walsh
 * Xander Berkeley as George Mason
 * Rudolf Martin as Martin Belkin
 * Richard Burgi as Kevin Carroll
 * Daniel Bess as Rick Allen
 * Matthew Carey as Dan Mounts
 * Jacqui Maxwell as Janet York
 * Tanya Wright as Patty Brooks
 * Karina Arroyave as Jamey Farrell

Co-starring

 * Devika Parikh as Maureen Kingsley
 * Gary Murphy as Vincent O'Brien
 * Jeff Ricketts as Victor Rovner
 * Karen Kim as flight attendant
 * Petra Wright as flight attendant

Uncredited

 * Sophia Crawford as Mandy (stunt double)
 * Kavita Patil as CTU worker
 * Ward Shrake as Flight 221 passenger

Production

 * This is the pilot episode of 24. The script, written by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, was completed in, and the pilot was picked up by Fox in . Filming took place in April . Originally, the plan was to film in Toronto or Vancouver, but if the series were picked up, the seasonal changes over the course of production would make it impossible to keep a consistent look throughout the season, and instead Los Angeles was chosen.
 * 24 was scheduled to premiere on but the episode, which depicted the destruction of a passenger flight, was delayed in light of the September 11 attacks, finally airing on . A shot actually showing the plane explosion, seen in promotional ads for the show, was cut from the final episode.
 * Many aspects of the now-iconic logo and digital clock differ from later episodes. The intro sound effects feature a gunshot when the 24 logo finally comes into focus. The digital clock tone is noticeably different, and many of the periodic mid-scene clocks have their own ticking sound instead of being silent. In addition, in the final split screen, a camera snapshot sound effect accompanies the appearance of each pane, instead of the "boom" sound effect used in later episodes.
 * This and "Day 1: 11:00pm-12:00am" are the only two episodes of the series to substitute the word "midnight" for "12:00 A.M." during the opening "The following takes place..." narration.
 * As this is the pilot episode, heavy attention was paid to the "real time" aspect of the show, which at the time was the show's biggest, most original selling point. This can be seen throughout the episode, with several shots containing clocks, and several lines of dialogue referring directly to the time.  As the show progressed, the focus switched more towards dramatic story telling, and less on the fact that each episode was in "real time."
 * The footage of a passing satellite was taken from the 1998 movie Enemy of the State, which starred Jon Voight and Carlos Gomez.
 * International airdates:
 * UK: on BBC2

Cast and crew

 * Glengarry Glen Ross director James Foley was originally slated to direct the pilot of 24, but a family tragedy caused him to back out a week before work began. Stephen Hopkins was brought in as a last-minute replacement, and would remain to direct several more episodes of the first season.
 * Sarah Clarke and Leslie Hope were both cast on the morning that the pilot began shooting. The costume department didn't have time to fit them, so both women wore their own clothes for most of the episode. While Teri changes into a different outfit before leaving her house, Nina ended up wearing Clarke's own clothes for most of the season.
 * This is the only episode of Season 1 not to have any special guest stars, even though Carlos Bernard, Penny Johnson Jerald and Richard Burgi are credited as Special guest stars for the rest of their appearances in the season.
 * No production assistants worked on this episode, as opposed to every other episode of 24.
 * Production designer Carlos Barbosa worked on the pilot, and was replaced by Joseph Hodges for the rest of the season and the following six. Barbosa returned as production designer for Season 8, designing the CTU New York and United Nations sets.
 * An audio commentary track for this episode, with Stephen Hopkins and Peter Levy, is featured on the 24: Season One: Special Edition DVD set.

Story and script

 * The original plan was for Kim and Janet to sneak out to a rave at the Santa Monica Pier, which would take place under the docks with moonlight streaming down on the party-goers. Next, the plan was a huge party at the Griffith Park Observatory. Both ideas were scrapped for budgetary reasons, but coincidentally, Dmitri Gredenko's death scene in many years later is set under the Santa Monica Pier with the moon streaming through the rafters.
 * Despite earlier assurances that the pilot could include sexuality and drug use, some of the filmed scenes at the furniture store were initially rejected by Fox. Kim and Rick's smoking of a marijuana joint on the roof, as well as a more "raunchy" version of the sex scene between Dan and Janet, were cut from the final version.
 * As it was unknown whether the series would be picked up, many major plot threads and characters are absent or unaddressed. Referring to the final scene with David Palmer, Joel Surnow said: "Palmer gets that phone call and it's a big deal, like something terrible just happened. He excuses himself and walks onto the balcony and looks out on the city with a 'How am I supposed to handle this?' look. We had no idea what that was! We just knew that we could drop it in and it would make people want to come back and find out what the mystery was. We didn't have it solved!"
 * Stephen Hopkins consulted David Hart, an FBI agent, about how Mandy would go about destroying the plane. According to Hopkins, both the fire extinguisher bomb and the cordite charge hidden in the bag seam were elements of actual attempted plane bombings intercepted by law enforcement.

Filming locations

 * The episode opens with archive footage of Kuala Lumpur before transitioning to Victor Rovner's scenes, which were filmed at a car park in Canoga Park.
 * The interior and exterior scenes at CTU Los Angeles were filmed at a Fox Interactive Media office at 1925 South Bundy Drive, Los Angeles, California. Many aspects of the building, including the acoustics and lighting, were unfavorable for filming, resulting in CTU being recreated on a sound stage for the remaining episodes.
 * Scenes at Palmer's hotel were filmed at the Andaz West Hollywood hotel at 8401 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood. The hotel set would also be rebuilt on a sound stage.
 * Paladio Furniture, a real furniture store at 6732 Van Nuys Boulevard, was used as the store Kim and Janet visit. At the end of the episode, they are seen driving north on Van Nuys Boulevard.
 * The Bauer house, Alan York's house, and Vincent O'Brien's house were all filmed at 4620 Rubio Avenue in Encino, CA.
 * Flight 221 was filmed at Airline Film & TV Promotions, a specialized studio for plane interiors used in many Hollywood productions.

Props and minutiae

 * Kim Bauer's planner is briefly visible, and has notes about calling Shannon about a concert, a school break trip to Arizona, and a declaration that "Jamie Luvs Bill."
 * The magazine Martin Belkin shows to Mandy is the March 2001 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
 * Jack uses a Palmer Cap-Chur Short Range Projector tranquilizer gun to shoot George Mason in the knee, knocking him unconscious for the next twenty minutes.

Music

 * The "24 Theme," composed by Sean Callery, plays over the first scene of the episode. The theme is also heard over the end credits of this and every subsequent episode.
 * A number of licensed songs are heard in this episode:
 * "It's All Good" by The Fearless Freep - During Jack and Kim's chess game.
 * "Fix and Destroy" by The Dirtmitts - Left playing in Kim's room when she sneaks out.
 * "Bouncing Off the Walls" by Sugarcult - At Vincent's house.
 * "Live at E's" by Sublime - In Janet's car on the way to the furniture store.
 * "Compromise" by Mean Red Spiders - On Janet's radio while driving up to Paladio Furniture.
 * "Chair on a Wire" by Krome - Heard outside Paladio Furniture.
 * "Everything and Nothing" by Rocket Science - Dan blasts it inside the store.
 * "Iguazu" by Gustavo Santaolalla - Plays when George Mason gets tranquillized. This scene is notable as the only use of licensed non-diegetic music in the series.
 * "Destiny Complete" by The Angel - Kim and Rick kiss.
 * "Feelin' Irie" by Jazz Pharmacy - In Dan's van.
 * "Christiansands" by Tricky - As Dan drives off into the night.

Errors and inconsistencies

 * In the scenes in Kevin Carroll's car, Teri Bauer is wearing a black denim jacket and blue shirt, which by the next episode has changed to the blue shirt and gray sweater that she wears the rest of the season. Costume designer Jim Lapidus "cheated" and made the new costume after Leslie Hope expressed her dislike of the original.

Reception

 * Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for this episode.

Appearances
All are first appearances.
 * Characters
 * 2Pac (mentioned only)
 * Rick Allen
 * Tony Almeida
 * Jack Bauer
 * Kim Bauer
 * Teri Bauer
 * Martin Belkin
 * Bill (mentioned only)
 * Patty Brooks
 * Kevin Carroll
 * Frank Castalano (voice only)
 * Diana (mentioned only)
 * Phillipe Darcet (mentioned only)
 * Denise (mentioned only)
 * Jamey Farrell
 * Jamie (mentioned only)
 * Maureen Kingsley (live video only)
 * Lacy (mentioned only)
 * Mandy
 * George Mason
 * Dan Mounts
 * Nicki (mentioned only)
 * Nina Myers
 * Vincent O'Brien
 * David Palmer
 * Sherry Palmer
 * Paul
 * Victor Rovner
 * Shannon (mentioned only)
 * Steve (mentioned only)
 * Richard Walsh
 * Alan York (mentioned only)
 * Janet York
 * Locations
 * 10th
 * Arizona (mentioned only)
 * Aruba (mentioned only)
 * Barcelona (mentioned only)
 * Bauer house
 * California
 * Century City
 * CTU Los Angeles building
 * Downtown Los Angeles
 * Europe (mentioned only)
 * Flight 221
 * Germany (mentioned only)
 * Los Angeles
 * Los Angeles County
 * Mojave Desert
 * Munich (mentioned only)
 * North America
 * Paladio Furniture
 * Palmer campaign hotel
 * San Diego (mentioned only)
 * San Diego State University (mentioned only)
 * San Fernando Valley
 * Santa Monica
 * United States of America
 * Van Nuys
 * Van Nuys Boulevard
 * Organizations
 * Bank of Barcelona
 * Built to Spill (mentioned only)
 * Central Intelligence Agency (mentioned only)
 * Coldplay (mentioned only)
 * CTU Los Angeles
 * Federal Bureau of Investigation (mentioned only)
 * Gaines crew
 * Green Day (mentioned only)
 * United States Senate
 * Objects
 * Boeing 747
 * Chess
 * National Geographic Traveler
 * Tranquilizer gun
 * SUV