Season 5




 * ''"Jack Bauer is dead... but soon he'll become the most wanted man alive... The non-stop, action-packed fifth season begins."


 * &mdash; "Season 5 Promotion"

Season 5 of 24 debuted in the United States on Sunday, January 15, 2006 on Fox. The premiere was a 2 night, 4 hour event (January 15 and 16), and debuted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, February 12, 2006 on Sky One. In New Zealand, Episodes 14-24 were screened at approximately 11.00 pm for two hours, a timeslot that was occupied by repeat screenings. The show was moved from 8.30 pm Friday nights to 11:00 pm Saturday.

The 24: Season Five DVD Collection was released in the UK on November 6, 2006. 24: Season 5 was released on DVD in the U.S. and Canada on December 5th, 2006.

Season overview
Eighteen months after faking his death, Jack Bauer is living under the alias Frank Flynn and renting a room from a single mother and her son. Soon after Former President David Palmer is assassinated, and a car bomb kills Michelle Dessler and leaves Tony Almeida in critical condition. Jack gets a frantic call for help from Chloe O'Brian and he realizes that the four people who know he is still alive are being targeted. Jack returns to CTU Los Angeles to figure out who is really behind the assassination of David Palmer, and uncovers a plot involving deadly nerve gas and people inside President Logan's administration. As Jack searches for the people involved and tries to stop the nerve gas from being released, he discovers that the conspiracy goes higher than anyone could have ever imagined.

Timeline
Day 5 begins at 7:00am PT (10:00am ET), taking place 18 months after Day 4 and 7 years and 6 months after Day 1. It is set in September 2011.

Format


Closer to Days 1-3 in format than Day 4, Day 5 can be split into 3 acts:


 * 1) Jack is framed for the murders of David Palmer and Michelle Dessler. He heads to LA to clear his name when a hostage situation at the Ontario airport erupts. The main antagonists in this act are Conrad Haas, Anton Beresch, Walt Cummings and James Nathanson.
 * 2) Russian separatists obtain 20 canisters of highly lethal nerve gas, and begin releasing the gas in public locations all over Los Angeles in order to cripple the United States. The main antagonists in this act are Vladimir Bierko, Bierko's lieutenant Ostroff, Collette Stenger and Ivan Erwich.
 * 3) The high-ranking government conspirators of the day's events are revealed as they try to cover up their role in the plot and Jack must bring them down to avoid national catastrophe. After he successfully stops the terrorists, he disappears again but not on his own terms: an old enemy, Cheng Zhi, who wants revenge for the death of the Chinese consul that took place 18 months ago has other plans for him. The main antagonists in this act are President Charles Logan, Christopher Henderson, Graem Bauer and his cabal, Vladimir Bierko along the Dawn Brigade and Cheng Zhi.

Major subplots

 * Jack's unraveling of the Sentox nerve gas conspiracy.
 * Jack Bauer's friends and daughter are shocked to see him alive.
 * The death of major characters such as Former President David Palmer and Michelle Dessler, and the effect it has on other characters (including Tony Almeida).
 * Los Angeles experiences a number of attacks by the Dawn Brigade.
 * Marital struggles between President Charles Logan and First Lady Martha Logan.
 * Power struggles in CTU: first between Bill Buchanan and an overseer, Lynn McGill; then, when CTU is taken over by Homeland Security.
 * Jack must face his old boss and CTU mentor, Christopher Henderson, who is involved in the conspiracy.
 * The returning relationship of Jack Bauer and Audrey Raines.
 * The return of Kim Bauer.
 * The attack on CTU which results in the deaths of almost 60 employees, including major characters Lynn McGill and Edgar Stiles.
 * Vice President Hal Gardner shows up and challenges Logan's power.
 * Wayne Palmer returns and seeks revenge for the death of his brother.
 * The introduction of Graem Bauer.

Ratings
Season 5 had the highest audience ratings in the series. The show improved its overall audience by 14% over its fourth season and by 12 percent in the age 18-49 demographic, averaging a total audience of 13.8 millions, therefore ranking #24 for the 2005-2006 Nielsen TV Season. Even more important, "24" performed particularly well in the key age 18-49 demographic ranking #15 with an average rating of 5.7/13.

Due to the high ratings, Fox decided to re-air Season 5 on Fridays during the summer, showing two episodes per week. However, ratings for the repeated episodes were not as high as expected, so Fox discontinued them.

Along with high ratings, 24 Season 5 was successful at the Emmy's winning Outstanding Drama Series and Kiefer Sutherland winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Cast

 * See also: Recurring characters, Character appearances for Season 5

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer (24 episodes)
 * Kim Raver as Audrey Raines (23 episodes)
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian (24 episodes)
 * Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida (6 episodes)
 * Gregory Itzin as President Charles Logan (23 episodes)
 * James Morrison as Bill Buchanan (23 episodes)
 * Roger Cross as Curtis Manning (18 episodes)
 * Louis Lombardi as Edgar Stiles (13 episodes)
 * and Jean Smart as First Lady Martha Logan (23 episodes)

Special guest stars

 * Sean Astin as Lynn McGill (4 episodes)
 * William Devane as James Heller (3 episodes)
 * Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer (2 episodes)
 * Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle Dessler (1 episode)

Special guest appearance by

 * Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer (1 episode)

Guest starring

 * Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick (21 episodes)
 * Glenn Morshower as Aaron Pierce (15 episodes)
 * Jayne Atkinson as Karen Hayes (12 episodes)
 * Julian Sands as Vladimir Bierko (11 episodes)
 * Peter Weller as Christopher Henderson (11 episodes)
 * Sandrine Holt as Evelyn Martin (10 episodes)
 * Stephen Spinella as Miles Papazian (10 episodes)
 * John Allen Nelson as Walt Cummings (7 episodes)
 * DB Woodside as Wayne Palmer (7 episodes)
 * Sean Astin as Lynn McGill (6 episodes)
 * Connie Britton as Diane Huxley (6 episodes)
 * Brady Corbet as Derek Huxley (6 episodes)
 * Nick Jameson as President Yuri Suvarov (6 episodes)
 * Jonah Lotan as Spenser Wolff (6 episodes)
 * Mark Sheppard as Ivan Erwich (6 episodes)
 * Ray Wise as Vice President Hal Gardner (6 episodes)
 * Geraint Wyn Davies as James Nathanson (6 episodes)
 * Kathleen Gati as First Lady Anya Suvarov (5 episodes)
 * Kate Mara as Shari Rothenberg (5 episodes)
 * Paul McCrane as Graem (5 episodes)
 * Alex Kuznetsov as Ostroff (4 episodes)
 * Stana Katic as Collette Stenger (3 episodes)
 * Henry Ian Cusick as Theo Stoller (2 episodes)
 * C. Thomas Howell as Barry Landes (2 episodes)
 * Carlo Rota as Morris O'Brian (2 episodes)
 * and Tzi Ma as Cheng Zhi (1 episode)