Day 2: 4:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m. (29 Apr. 2003)

After saving Kate from her attackers Jack heads to meet Alex Hewitt who may be the person who designed the computer chip. President Palmer's ability to the run the country is questioned when the Vice-President and members of the cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment.

Director:

Ian Toynton

Writers:

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

Stars:

Kiefer Sutherland, Sarah Wynter, Elisha Cuthbert

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Jack Bauer
Sarah Wynter	...	Kate Warner
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Kim Bauer
Penny Johnson	...	Sherry Palmer (as Penny Johnson Jerald)
Carlos Bernard	...	Tony Almeida
Dennis Haysbert	...	President David Palmer
Reiko Aylesworth	...	Michelle Dessler
Lourdes Benedicto	...	Carrie Turner
Jude Ciccolella	...	Mike Novick
Alan Dale	...	Vice President Jim Prescott
Nick Offerman	...	Marcus
Maurice Compte	...	Cole
Paul Schulze	...	Ryan Chappelle
Glenn Morshower	...	Aaron Pierce
Michael Holden	...	Ron Wieland

Storyline

Jack heads to meet Alex Hewitt who may be the person who designed the computer chip. President Palmer's ability to the run the country is questioned when the Vice-President and members of the cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment. Tony and Michelle's capability to help Jack is hampered when Chappelle starts to exert his authority.

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Plot Keywords:

president | period in title | punctuation in title | title ends with period | black president | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Penny Johnson returns to the regular cast with this episode, appearing on camera for a total of 8 seconds, 2 of them facing the camera.

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Quotes

President Palmer: Listen to me. All of you. I know you're not in the same room with me but you can see and hear me plainly enough. Take a good look. Do I seem scared? Am I breaking into a nervous sweat? Am I babbling? At a loss for words? Is my voice shaking? Can any one of you look me in the eye and tell me I'm disabled?

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Soundtracks

"24 Theme"
(uncredited)
Written by Sean Callery

User Reviews

The 25th Amendment

Remarkably, the two greatest TV Presidents of all time were both involved in a 25th Amendment-related story during the 2002-2003 season: the fourth season of The West Wing ended with Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) invoking 25 so that he could deal with the abduction of his daughter without running the USA at the same time; and in the second season of 24, David Palmer finds himself ambushed by his own Vice President, Jim Prescott.

Prescott invites Palmer to a hearing where the entire Cabinet will decide whether the President is able to serve as Commander in Chief. These drastic actions are motivated by the fact that Palmer still believes the Cyprus recording was deliberately forged in order to trigger a war. Everyone else, though, firmly believes the imminent conflict is justified, and that attitude extends to the CTU, where Ryan Chappelle makes it practically impossible for Tony and Michelle to help Jack. As for Bauer himself, he's headed to the last known location of one Alex Hewitt, the man who supposedly created the fake recording.

With the identity of the real villain disclosed to Jack and the audience, the main source of tension in this episode is the hearing organized by Prescott: using everything that has happened throughout the season (especially the torture of Roger Stanton), the VP stops at nothing to achieve his goal. Naturally, Palmer reacts with dignity and integrity, making Episode 21 Haysbert's finest hour in Day 2 and showing Aaron Sorkin (the creator of The West Wing) isn't the only one capable of making politics dramatically relevant. In addition, the twist (again) at the end of the show proves how unpredictable and satisfying network television can be. In fact, it can be better than most cinematic thrillers.