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.



12:00:00
KUALA LUMPUR, LOCAL TIME 4:00:27 PM. Through a busy Kuala Lumpurian street, Victor Rovner enters a building, making sure he isn't being followed. He opens a laptop computer and connects to the CTU database, transmitting a file via satellite. Suddenly, there's banging on the door and people shouting.

12:02:11 AM

LOS ANGELES. 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.

12:02:45

SENATOR DAVID PALMER CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS. On the balcony, Senator Palmer is 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 their home in Santa Monica, Jack Bauer, Special Agent in Charge at CTU Los Angeles, is playing a game of chess with his teenage daughter Kim. Kim makes a snide remark about her mom, Teri, and Jack gets annoyed and sends her to bed, as it is a school night. Jack and Teri discuss their daughter and their relationship before deciding to talk to Kim about her attitude. Upon entering her room, they discover that Kim has snuck out through her window. The phone rings and Nina Myers tells Jack that Richard Walsh wants all CTU agents to come in for a meeting.

While walking out to his car, Jack calls Vincent O'Brien, one of Kim's ex-boyfriends, and asks him if he knows where Kim is. Vincent says that he doesn't know.

Kim and her friend, Janet York, are in a car on their way to Paladio Furniture. They talk about their plans to meet two boys tonight.

Meanwhile at CTU, programmer Jamey Farrell arrives, expressing her displeasure at being called in. Tony says that Jack is on his way.

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. 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.

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. Walsh has Jack stay behind when everyone else leaves the room and reveals that someone inside CTU may be involved in the attempt on Palmer's life. He wants Jack to try to find out who, claiming that Jack is the only person he can trust.

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 concerned about Mason only briefing Jack and accuses Jack of trying to shut her out.

Teri calls Jack and tells him that she found three joints 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.

At the furniture store, Kim and Rick are talking about college and the beach. Kim tells him that her father died six months ago, and talks of how great he was.

Mason arrives at CTU and meets with Jack. 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. Mason tells him that 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. He then picks up a tranquilizer gun and takes it back up to his office. 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. After Nina leaves, Jack takes another look at 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.

12:40:33

Tony questions Nina about whether or not she is still sleeping with Jack and asks her what she sees in Jack. Nina brushes off his accusation and tells him to get back to work.

Jack asks Jamey Farrell if she could get computer passwords if he gave her a phone number. She says that she could if he has a warrant, but says she'll do it if it's important. After a few seconds, she finds the password to Kim's computer 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, 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.

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 she thought he wanted to get his life back together and that what he was doing wasn't helping. Jack responds and says that you can't compromise in this job.

Teri calls Alan and tells him that she discovered where their daughters went, based on one of Kim's emails. Alan asks if he can come along and Teri agrees.

At the furniture store, Rick, Dan, Kim, and Janet 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 persuades her to leave 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 send the bank details to Chappelle. Mason gives him the information before leaving.

On the plane, Mandy leaves her seat and goes to the rear of the plane where she kills one of the flight attendants before checking the ID that she stole from Belkin. 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 ends because of a bad signal. Jack asks Nina to cover for him while he goes out, but before he can leave, Tony informs him of the plane explosion.

In Dan's van, Kim tells them to turn onto her street, but they ignore her and tell her to relax. They pass 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

Background information and notes

 * "Glengarry Glen Ross" director James Foley was originally slated to direct the pilot of 24, however 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.
 * The episode was filmed in April of 2001.
 * 24 was scheduled to premiere on October 30, 2001, but after the attacks of September 11, it was moved back a week. Originally, there was a shot of Flight 221 exploding as Mandy jumped out, but it was removed due to these recent attacks.
 * 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 refering 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."
 * This episode uses a different sound for the clock than other episodes. Also, the periodic onscreen clock can be heard ticking during certain scenes in this episode only.
 * The footage of a passing satellite was taken from the movie "Enemy of the State."
 * The sets used for David Palmer's hotel and CTU Los Angeles were real locations. Beginning with the next episode, the sets would be reconstructed on soundstages.  The hotel set would resemble nothing of the original location.
 * 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 partygoers. This was scrapped for budgetary reasons, but a similar concept was eventually used for Dmitri Gredenko's death scene in "Day 6 9:00pm-10:00pm."
 * Sarah Clarke was cast in the role of Nina Myers on the morning that this episode began shooting. The costume department didn't have time to fit her, so she wore her own clothing throughout the entire first season.
 * As it was unknown whether the series would be picked up, many crucial plot points and characters are absent or unaddressed. For instance, at the time of filming, neither the writers nor the actors knew what Maureen Kingsley called to tell Palmer about.
 * An audio commentary track for this episode is featured on the 24: Season One: Special Edition DVD set.