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 five 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.

The silent clock has been used ten times; once per season in Seasons 1, 3, 5, 6 and, once in 24: Redemption, twice in Season 2, Season 7, and 8, 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 that Nina Myers had taken away the life 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, the clock during Day 7 represented Bill Buchanan's sacrifice, and the silent clock during Day 8 commemorated President Omar Hassan's murder and the honorable way in which he died.

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.
 * 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. (The only silent clock for which sounds were in the foreground, rather than the background.)
 * 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.
 * Crying from Kayla and Dalia Hassan accompany Omar Hassan's execution.

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

 * Only once has the silent clock been featured in two consecutive episodes in one season, "Day 8: 7:00am-8:00am" and "Day 8: 8:00am-9:00am".
 * Day 4 is the only day without a silent clock.
 * The silent clocks following George Mason's leaving and Bill Buchanan's death are the only ones that do not happen at the end of an episode.
 * President Omar Hassan is the first and only non-American to have his death memorialized by a silent clock.
 * The 7:00am-8:00am hour is the only hour to have 2 silent clocks; first in Day 2, second in Day 8.