24 (TV Series) Day 3: 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. (2003) User Reviews

24 meets Oz

[MaxBorg89 · 9/10 · 17 August 2008]

Moving forward at a breakneck pace, 24 keeps raising the stakes every passing minute, and it just gets better and better.

With the virus threat still not taken care of, President Palmer insists on proceeding with the debate anyway, knowing he has to be careful regarding the potential scandal involving his current girlfriend. Meanwhile, the CTU begins to close in on Kyle Singer, and the situation gets worse when Chloe finds proof of Jack's heroin habit. All of that, however, is child's play compared to what's going on at the prison: having staged a riot to get Ramon out, Jack has to face the side effects when he and his "accomplice" are captured by other inmates and forced to endure all kinds of physical and emotional pain in a desperate battle to survive.

To keep it simple, the main section of the episode is like a softened version of HBO's prison show Oz: the violence is, for obvious reasons, toned down, but the intensity of tone is untouched. The first season of Oz ended with a rather brutal riot, and the 24 rendition of the template serves the purpose of increasing the dramatic tension with surgical precision, promising more surprises in episodes to come. Additionally, in retrospect the break-out scenario may have served as inspiration for Fox's other thriller hit, Prison Break, and THAT can only be a good thing, right?

Escape through a riot!

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 24 October 2012]

Having got to Salazar and released the other inmates from their cells Jack still has to get his man out of the prison and that won't be easy with Chase and the guards looking for him and the prisoners going on a murderous rampage. It is the latter group that provides the greatest threat; disguised as guards Jack and Salazar are caught by a group of prisoners and forced to play Russian roulette!

Meanwhile back at CTU they are desperately searching for any sign of Kyle Singer although their attempts are delayed slightly by traitor Gael Ortega. A bigger concern for them is the discovery of heroin in Jack's office; they must determine whether it is affecting his actions.

The presidential debate begins and, just as the president's brother warned, his opponent raises suspicions about his partner; perhaps they should have just paid of her ex after all.

This was a thrilling episode, especially the events within the prison. They were filmed in a way that gave a claustrophobic feeling as there was no way to avoid danger. The 'Russian roulette' scene was tense and it came as quite a shock when the gun fired even if it wasn't a major character pointing at his head at the time. The scenes back at CTU were obviously tamer but no less interesting; the scene where Chloe disclosed to Kim that Jack may have been taking heroin was particularly good and Mary Lynn Rajskub did a fine job portraying Chloe's discomfort at the situation. As the episode came to a conclusion it looked as if the major threat had been thwarted but Jack is still in a dangerous position and I have no doubt that even greater dangers will emerge soon.

plot runs ahead of logic

[nerrdrage · 9/10 · 28 September 2023]

It's a wild, fun ride but there are points where the writers are so invested in pushing the story forward at a breakneck pace, stuff gets left in the dust.

Jack insists that Ramon must get on that helicopter "in the next 60 seconds" or the virus will be released, yet we see no indication that Jack has contacted Ramon's brother to stop the release of the virus.

Jack assumes that the helicopters on his tail are there to shoot him down, yet as far as he knows, the virus is still a threat and nobody should want to kill Ramon.

Wayne Palmer is flipping out that the President left the debate, but on the following day, when they announce to the world that they just averted a terrible threat to LA that could have killed 100,000 people, do you think anyone will remember the debate? The fact that they think (at this point) that they averted the virus is enough to win re-election and they should be popping champagne corks.

Jail Break!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 11 May 2007]

The action is fast and furious as we witness Jack trying to break Ramon Salazar out of jail. All hell breaks loose, with the cell doors open, riots in all the hallways and Jack figuring out how he and Salazar can escape. That's the main focus of this episode and it has several twists and turns along the way, all of them interesting. At one point, Jack and Ramon are forced to play "Russian roulette."

Meanwhile, everyone in the CTU is slowly hearing about what their boss is doing and are at a loss why, but they aren't turning against him, assuming he knows what he's doing even though it may not be the best course of action. That is, until drug paraphernalia is found in his desk.

The debate starts and the President is on the defensive because of his girlfriend's ex- husband's big lie.

The dramatic ending to this week's show also includes people finding Kyle Singer, but that's almost at the end so we don't know what the deal is concerning he, his girlfriend and the virus, meaning health-wise.

Prison Episode...As Intense as It Gets

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 17 January 2019]

Jack works the prison break. Guards and prisoners are killed. It is quite a price to pay. The biggest thug sets up games of Russian Roulette, enjoying his psychosis. Meanwhile, Kyle and his girlfriend are in a warehouse. For some reason, they are left alone!? Once again, Kim is in non-productive, whining and pushing her own personal agenda. She is a real lability. So much goes on in this episode. Tony continues in surgery. Can't wait for 6:00.

Weak episode of a weak season

[TomSunhaus · 4/10 · 27 July 2022]

The writing seems to be not thought out very well. Set pieces are created for sensationalism, but the result is a patchwork effect. The whole prison situation seems very unrealistic to me. In previous episodes, the President is blackmailed over a settled situation. The blackmail was unrealistic.

Story arcs connected to other seasons worked well, however. Some people misunderstand Bauer's daughter Kim. She displays the same self-centered drive as the father. Jack is permissive & apologetic towards her. She keeps getting into trouble & finding a way out; like him. Also, Mary Lynn Rajskub is introduced as Chloe O'Brian, a strong character in the 24 series.

Vanessa Ferlito as Claudia Hernandez is an exceptionally strong presence and shows great ability. The Hispanic men are all stereotypes of macho bullies or weak followers.