Season 5

Promotional poster

*"Jack Bauer is dead... but soon he'll become the most wanted man alive... The non-stop, action-packed fifth season begins."*
— 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 5, 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.

## Format

Day 5 can be split into three acts:

1. An assassin frames Jack for the murders of David Palmer and Michelle Dessler and the attempted murder of Tony Almeida, three of the only people who knew he was alive. This forces Jack to come out of hiding and return to L.A. to clear his name, just as a hostage situation at the Ontario Airport erupts. The main antagonists in this act are Conrad Haas, Walt Cummings, James Nathanson and Anton Beresch. (7:00am–11:00am)
2. Jack discovers a conspiracy that allowed allowed the Russian separatists to acquire the highly lethal Sentox nerve gas. After the plan to bug the canisters fails, the separatists begin using the nerve gas in Los Angeles as retaliation for the US's allegiance with Russia, while Jack targets the conspirators who are racing to cover-up their plot. The main antagonists among the separatists for this act are Vladimir Bierko, Ivan Erwich, Ostroff and Collette Stenger. The main antagonists among the conspirators for this act are Walt Cummings and Christopher Henderson. (11:00am–10:00pm)
3. Jack discovers just how high up the conspiracy goes, and fights for his life as he tries to protect the only evidence that can bring its mastermind to justice, while protecting the nation from the separatists' final stand. As the day ends, Jack re-encounters an old enemy. The main antagonists in this act are Charles Logan, Vladimir Bierko, Christopher Henderson, Graem Bauer and Cheng Zhi. (10:00pm–7:00am)

### Major subplots

* Jack reveals to everyone that his "death" at the end of Day 4 was faked, shocking his friends (in particular his daughter and lover). Jack rekindles his relationship with the latter. Meanwhile, Jack is forced to reunite and work with his old CTU mentor/boss, Christopher Henderson.
* The death of David Palmer has profound effect on Wayne Palmer, who allies with and befriends Jack as an investigator, as does the death of Michelle Dessler on Tony Almeida, who is vengeful of his wife's death.
* Los Angeles experiences a number of attacks by the Dawn Brigade and its Sentox, including one attack on CTU which results in the deaths of almost 60 employees, including major characters Lynn McGill and Edgar Stiles.
* Marital struggles between President Charles Logan and First Lady Martha Logan. Meanwhile, Martha, Mike Novick, Aaron Pierce, Wayne Palmer, and Evelyn Martin all come to terms with the true nature of Logan.
* CTU undergoes several power struggles: first between Bill Buchanan and an overseer, Lynn McGill; then, when CTU is taken over by Homeland Security.
* Vice President Hal Gardner shows up and challenges Logan's power.
* The introduction of Graem Bauer.

### Impacts on future seasons

* Jack comes out of hiding at the start of this season, but at the end of the season, he is kidnapped by Cheng Zhi and sent on a ship to China, where he remained for the 20 months leading to Day 6.
* The relationship built between Karen Hayes and Bill Buchanan, causing them to marry inbetween Days 5 and 6.
* The deaths of David Palmer, Michelle Dessler, Edgar Stiles and the apparent murder of Tony Almeida.
* The exposure and arrest of President Charles Logan.
* There are several characters involved in the Sentox nerve gas conspiracy who did not appear until later days (i.e. Anatoly Markov, Alan Wilson etc.).
	+ Specifically, Alan Wilson's involvement became the driving force for much of Day 7.
* The introduction of the lead conspirator, a man only known as Graem, later revealed to be Graem Bauer, Jack's brother.
* The introduction of Chloe's ex-husband Morris O'Brian, who becomes a full-time CTU agent by Day 6.

## 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

*Main article: Season 5 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 (19 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)
* 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)
* Tzi Ma as Cheng Zhi (1 episode)
* and Peter Weller as Christopher Henderson (11 episodes)

## Background information and notes

* Season 5's season finale is the only season finale across the nine days to feature no deaths whatsoever.

## See also

* Day 5 antagonists
* Unnamed Day 5 characters
* DVD collections: Region 1, Region 2, Region 4

nl:Seizoen 5