7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m. (15 Jan. 2002)

Jack delivers the briefcase to the assassin at Palmer's press conference. Palmer wants to let the press know what happened with Keith and the murder.

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writers:

Joel Surnow (creator), Robert Cochran (creator),

Stars:

Kiefer Sutherland, Leslie Hope, Sarah Clarke

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Jack Bauer
Leslie Hope	...	Teri Bauer
Sarah Clarke	...	Nina Myers
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Kim Bauer
Dennis Haysbert	...	Senator David Palmer
Michael Massee	...	Ira Gaines
Daniel Bess	...	Rick Allen
Vicellous Reon Shannon	...	Keith Palmer (as Vicellous Shannon)
Karina Arroyave	...	Jamey Farrell
Rudolf Martin	...	Jonathan Matijevich
Silas Weir Mitchell	...	Eli Stram
Eric Balfour	...	Milo Pressman
Jackie Debatin	...	Jessica Abrams
Glenn Morshower	...	Aaron Pierce
Jesse D. Goins	...	Alan Hayes

Storyline

On the day of the California Presidential Primary, between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM, Martin Beckin arrives in the conference press of David Palmer. Meanwhile, Nina calls Tony and explains that CTU is infiltrated and they find that Jamey is a spy and the conspirators are using CTU surveillance cameras to monitor the interior of the facility. Jack is forced to bring a wallet with a weapon inside the press conference and deliver it to Martin. Tony calls Aaron Pierce from the secret service and tells that Jack is compromised. Gaines orders to execute Teri and Kim.

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Plot Keywords:

punctuation in title | title ends with period | period in title | digit in title | number in title

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 2002 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television, Real Time Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack's opening monologue is introduced in this episode - "Right now, terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, my teenage daughter is missing, and people that I work with may be involved in both. I'm Federal Agent Jack Bauer. Today is going to be the longest day of my life." It will change over the course of the season as Jack's life changes.

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Goofs

Jack is seen being forced to load a rifle round into the assassin's weapon. Later, the assassin loads the weapon again, this time with a .45 pistol magazine. The two types of rounds can't be compatible with the same weapon, nor does it make sense to load it twice.

User Reviews

The hit, at last!

The longest day in Jack Bauer's life has reached its eighth hour, and it ain't looking good: he is constantly monitored by the man who kidnapped his wife and daughter, he has staged and execution to get Nina out of trouble, and now he has to help an assassin get away with the murder of David Palmer. Meanwhile, Nina and Tony realize Jamey Farrell is the traitor inside CTU and decide to take the situation in their own hands. Unfortunately, this also involves Tony calling Palmer's staff regarding the potential threat, meaning Jack has to improvise if he wants to save his family and Senator Palmer at the same time.

Having waited for this to take place since the pilot, it is a relief to finally see the hit happen, although with the added tension deriving from the protagonist's complicated situation. This episode won an Emmy for the editing, and it was richly deserved: the cutting plays an integral part in keeping the suspense consistent (the De Palmaesque split-screen has never been used better, particularly when showing Sutherland and Haysbert in the same scene for the first time) and alongside Sean Callery's spare, but effective music (which received an Emmy nomination) it is the main technical triumph of this superb series.

Some might argue that the assassination attempt takes place too early in the season. If this were a movie, I would agree with that criticism. But this is solid-gold television, and rest assured, the hit was just the appetizer: the 16-episode main course is on its way!