Silent clock



A silent clock is a rare occurence on 24 that features a clock with no beeping at the end of a scene or episode. It is used to punctuate highly emotional scenes. Only four of them thus far have taken place around the time of the death of a significant character; the other five did not.

Because of often drastically varying circumstances, as well as the infrequency of the silent clock, there does not appear to be many patterns for use of the device. Some silent clocks are accompanied by noises in the foreground or background, while one even featured faint music.

To date, two silent clocks have occurred in the middle of an episode, rather than at the very end; these were in Day 2 and Day 7. Coincidentally, both of these seasons also have a second silent clock whereas none of the other seasons do.

The silent clock has been used nine times; once per season in Seasons 1, 3, 5, and 6, once in 24: Redemption, twice in Season 2 and Season 7, but not at all in Season 4.

Reasons for use
The effect of the silent clock could be accentuated by the split screen that is put in place immediately prior, depending on the circumstances. Upon the death of Teri Bauer, the screen was split between the scene of Jack cradling Teri's body alongside black and white clips from Day 1 12:00am-1:00am to show the life that Nina Myers had taken away from the Bauer family. Immediately preceding Ryan Chappelle's death, there was no split screen, possibly to create the expectation that the episode was not quite over and he would somehow escape, until the appearance of the silent clock, confirming that he had indeed died. By contrast, there was also no split screen leading to the final moments of Day 6 5:00am-6:00am, but instead of heightening tension, this omission was to preserve the tenderness of the farewell between Jack and Audrey.

As stated above, the silence can be used to signal the passing of a character in the show. As well as occurring in this way for Teri and Chappelle, the silent clock during Day 5 commemorated Edgar Stiles' death and did the clock during Day 7 represent Bill Buchanan's sacrifice.

The silence is often used to convey sadness at a certain situation. The second silent clock during Day 7 was while Jack was mourning Bill's death, in a way not dissimilar to the one in Redemption when he was contemplating the death of long time friend Carl Benton.

The silent clock following David Palmer's assassination attempt at the end of Day 2, as well as the first one during Day 7 (as Renee Walker was being buried alive) were used to create tension and highlight the seriousness of the situation, in contrast to the usual somber nature of silent clock scenes. Both clocks are accompanied by the sound of breathing.

Silent clock sounds
Only the silent clock following Edgar's death (Day 5 6:00pm-7:00pm) and the silent clock at the end of 24: Redemption were accompanied by complete silence. Various sounds were audible during the other silent clocks.


 * Following Teri Bauer's death there was a quiet howling wind with the faint rumbling of distant thunder.
 * The silent clock following George Mason's departure had faint music accompaniment.
 * Pained breathing and a heartbeat can be heard in the foreground following David Palmer's assassination attempt.
 * For Ryan Chappelle's execution, the silent clock had a train whistle.
 * Day 6's silent clock was accompanied by the sound of ocean waves crashing into the shore.
 * Renee Walker can be heard breathing during the silent clock where she was buried alive.
 * Music is heard fading during the silent clock after Bill sacrifices himself.

Fan controversy
An online fan controversy arose regarding the lack of a silent clock after the apparent death of Tony Almeida. In an online podcast interview on TVweek.com, writer and producer Evan Katz acknowledged learning about the dispute on various blogs and discussion boards. He explained to the DJ that "people were angry that Edgar got the silent clock and Tony didn't." He was surprised at the fan reaction, but understood it because Tony had been a cast member for five seasons. Had Tony received a silent clock as well, it would have been the first instance of silent clocks in two consecutive episodes. Show-runner Howard Gordon explained that Tony's "uncertain fate" left the door open for his return (which occurred during Day 7) and cited the lack of a "silent clock" as a deliberate move to keep his death ambiguous. "We didn't give him the silent clock because we always wanted to keep alive the possibility for some kind of (admittedly) miraculous resurrection... which we will explain," and followed up with "He's definitely not the Almeida we once knew."

Background information and notes

 * The only time the silent clock has been used in two consecutive episodes is with Day 6 5:00am-6:00am and Redemption.