24 (TV Series) Day 4: 6:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m. (2005) User Reviews

A Very, Very Entertaining Season; Sorry It's Over

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 14 November 2007]

For anyone who hasn't seen Season Four I don't want to spoil anything about this finale, so I'll keep the comments general and brief.

The final episode here was good, with some expected results and a surprise. What was different was that the terrorist story was over with 25 or so minutes left in the story. That is where, I assume, they bridge Jack Bauer's new status and will link it to whatever happens in Season Five.

Overall, this Season Four was outstanding; some of the best television I've ever watched for pure "involvement." That's where this show excels: it gets the viewer totally hooked. I've only seen two years of this program as I am writing this: both on DVD - Season Three and Season Four. I thought Season 3 was good enough for me to purchase this Season 4, and it did not disappoint me. In fact, I think I enjoyed this season more. It was fascinating all the way and the stories were better written than the previous, although I enjoyed the main villain better in the third season.

I would imagine none of the stories in any the seasons would be credible because, for one reason, just too many things happen in a 24-hour period here, but credibility-aside, it makes for great entertainment....which is usually why we watch any fictional story.

For anyone who hasn't seen this TV show, I highly recommend this fourth season. You won't be disappointed. See it on DVD. That's the only way to watch it. I mean, why have commercials interrupt the constant suspense?

Best season finale

[the__great__1 · 10/10 · 11 May 2006]

In terms of end of season finales this has to rank as one of the best out of the four finales that we have had witnessed so far in 24.

Ever since the clock ticked away the last 3 seconds in the penultimate hour we were faced with many a question in the 24th hour. Will Marwan succeed in his plan to detonate a nuclear missile in an unknown location? What will happen to Jack now, now the Chinese know of his involvement in the Chinese Consulate raid? A lot of issues had to be resolved in quite frankly a short amount of time, but the writers of 24 have stepped up to that task and have delivered an ending to fit all endings.

Blinking was off the menu for this episode, but what was served was a starter of sitting at the edge of your seat, a main course of stomach churning tension, followed by a shock value that has gone off its scale and to finish off, appreciating the work that the writers of the show has done by delivering a final hour of pure bliss.

Superb

It's Finally Here

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 29 January 2019]

There are so many issues to deal with. The missile, of course. Depending on that crazy woman. The Chinese consulate. The idiot new President. All those things must be dealt with. I watched all of these years' ago and they were stunning then. Watching them without commercial breaks is so much better. There are things one must always look at. First of all, there are so many deaths. Often, to gain an objective, the police or the good guy soldiers seem to be slaughtered. It is almost comical how quickly people simply drop dead. That's OK because such a plot would never be possible. Also, Jack's teflon existence. He experiences beatings, loss of loved ones, close calls where killing him would have been so expedient. Nevertheless, I would rank this series as one of the top five I've seen in my life. I still have four seasons to go. I can't wait to enjoy them again.

Season Four

[zkonedog · 10/10 · 4 July 2019]

Just like the previous three seasons of "24", Season Four will take you on a 24-hour thrill-ride, with mind-blowing action, drama, and twists and turns in every episode. Though the basic formula of the show is the same (CTU is still fighting terrorism, Jack Bauer is still really intense, etc.), the writers/producers are still able to produce some fantastic dramatic scenes, not exactly an easy feat after three years.

However, what really sets this season apart from the previous three is its focus on the relationship between characters. First, there is the relationship between Bauer and Audrey Raines, who is pulled into the terrorism when her father, the Secretary of Defense, is abducted early in the day. Her relationship with Jack is tested in nearly every episode, and that pairing ultimately provides the most drama of the entire season.

Also, agent Michelle Dessler is back, this time as head of CTU, and her rocky relationship with former CTU agent Tony Almeida is showcased throughout the season. Though I won't give away all of Tony's involvement in this fourth season, I will say that he at least plays a part in the day's activities.

So far, after watching the first four seasons of "24", each season has had a certain plot or character "thread" that really made the show come alive for me. In Season One it was the confliction of President David Palmer. In Season Two it was the all-out intensity of Jack Bauer. In Season Three it was the downright horrors of biological terrorism. Thus, in Season Four, the "thread" I enjoyed the most was the relationships between many of the main characters. The terrorism-stopping plots were still interesting, and the action scenes were still intense, but (at least to me) this season really was all about the relationships.

I am very interested to see what "thread" will hook me in Season Five!

Series 4 – not the strongest series but moves forward well with energy and drama for those that forgive the usual narrative flaws

[bob the moo · 14 August 2006]

It has been 18 months since series 2 and Jack Bauer is now working as security head for Secretary of Defence James Heller and is also seeing his daughter Audrey Raines. A visit to LA brings him back into contact with his former employers of CTU, a relationship that has never been an easy one. When Heller and his daughter are kidnapped by Islamic terrorists, the internet is hijacked to show their "trial" and execution for all the crimes committed by the US. With the clock ticking, Jack joins forces with CTU to rescue the pair, however this is the whole show or is a much bigger terrorist attack being planned behind the scenes.

Although the even number seasons of 24 are generally considered to be the weaker (in a reversal of the Star Trek film rule of thumb) this season was an enjoyable return for Jack Bauer in this popular series. The plot repeats the lesson learnt for series 3 by not really trying to go for one story that lasts 24 hours (as in the start directly relates to the end) but rather by having a series of mini-stories that lead into one another before the main narrative settles in for the second half. By doing this the series reduces the drag effect and is able to keep things moving constantly by introducing the next problem as soon as one is settled and never putting too much on one set of bad guys. Of course this has its downsides and those that don't like the series are right in their criticisms of its writing, because it does leave lots of holes and illogical moments in the wake of its constant motion forward. In this series it does struggle by having too many people die where they could have helped solve things and at times it felt like this was a lazy device being used by the writers – which I suppose it was. It also had some difficulties with parts dragging a bit or seemingly using the problems of minor characters to try and pad out the story despite these being very much side issues. That said the series did produce plenty of action and cliff-hangers, which is really what the fans came for and generally it kept things moving really well.

As ever Sutherland is brilliant in a performance that is hardly the most intimate character study you'll ever see but more than does the job within what the show is trying to do. Whether shouting or talking quietly while looking around™, he is easily the heart of the show and he has grown into a character that I find it easy to follow no matter how unlikely the action. As always his support cast is mixed with those who are trying to develop their own characters and those who are basically just villains and red herrings. Haysbert is good as Palmer while Bernard is a welcome return as Tony and he works well with Aylesworth. The villains were pretty basic throughout and it is easy to see why Muslim groups objected to the caricatures (although not forgivable that Fox rolled over to give their objections airtime). Nobody is really bad and, like I said, they all pretty much are ticking boxes that are the same each series apart from the ethnicity and the motivations. Itzin is a nice addition and yet again Rajskub is on good form as Chloe – who everyone loves for her sneering wonderfulness.

Overall series 4 was enjoyable and managed to do what the whole show does well, which is cover the plot weaknesses with plenty of energy and forward motion. The cast work well and the script makes it look easy (despite the jumps and weak spots). Not the strongest series perhaps but still good and one that fans will easily enjoy.

Why the f#ck some people are voting this episode with 1?? This is going beyond me!

[jigsaw-91 · 10/10 · 2 November 2013]

This episode is excellent and is probably the best season finale 24 has ever had. But there is a problem. This episode had a weighed mark (8,9 if I don't fail to remember it) but when I made my comeback here, I found myself into the madness and anger when I saw that this one had a SO UNDERRATED AND UNAPPRECIATED MARK OF 8,3!!! WTF??? I understand that some people could not love or like this show. I understand it and all my respect to that people. But when I saw that this thing on every masterful episode of the show (S1 - 12&24, S2 - 15 & 24, S3 - 18 AND 24, S5 - 1-12-24, S6 - 4...) I realized that some group of people or someone with several accounts is making bad and injury to the ratings of this show. I'm not going to believe that episodes that are considered the best of the best and at this time in 2013 were sill being loved to all the viewers are now at so low points even in comparison with other transitional or even weaker ones that have their mark.

Please, a note in a movie or episode or anything could guide people to watch it or not or even to voting it positively or negatively. But, please, don't manipulate people and not to vote 1 just to see a legendary episode fallen.

The only thing you will make is to force people not to trust in web pages like this and to stop having it in consideration to vote a show. And this could be so sad...

Finishes on a high note

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 10 May 2017]

Well, it's not the best of Jack's bad days, but they sure did put an exclamation mark on the end of it. Marwan's swept under the rug rather quickly, leaving the back half as a dour assessment of the day's toll. It's mostly cleaning up at the Chinese consulate mess, and . . .

SPOILERS

. . . "killing off" Jack Bauer is an ideal solution to both that problem and ending a mediocre season with flair. And one of the reasons it was kinda frustrating is that, even though it began with a fresh slate (just Jack), they just brought everyone back anyway.

Still, it's a ballsy way to go out and, more importantly, it also sets up one of the show's greatest seasons.

Not to mention that walking-into-the-sunrise closing shot.

7/10

Great ending for an average season

[Stormchaser99 · 7 June 2013]

From the start to the 15th episode, this season was moving rather slowly than the previous 3 seasons. If you'd told me this is going to have one of the greatest endings in the entire 24 series i wouldn't have believed you. Now i do. After watching the last episode ,i'd say this is the best possible ending for this season. I can't think of anything better.

From the start of last 1/3 this season had become increasingly entertaining and fast moving. . And the events between 6am to 7am gives an thrilling finish. More interestingly it opens up lot of questions and possibilities for the next season.

Overall this season started well, lost the momentum mid season then picked up speed and ended high. I hope season 5 won't disappoint me. this episode 7/10 & season 4 8/10

The ending made no sense at all

[interestingstuff · 17 February 2022]

So you have a missile with nuclear warhead flying above Los Angeles and our heroes manage to strike it with another missile before it his the ground and the nuclear warhead just disappears from the face of the earth without damaging the city.

How do you blow up a nuclear warhead without actually causing a nuclear meltdown? Hitting that warhead would have caused it to blow up in full force, damaging the city below it, yet it didn't happen.