24 Season 3 Starring Kiefer Sutherland
CTU is Charged With the Task of Recovering a Lethal Virus
Sep 21, 2009
Jack Bauer and the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) are back, and this time they must stop the release of a lethal virus before it can infect the city. Jack is struggling with a heroin addiction and President David Palmer is facing an election and pressure to sack his brother from his staff.
24 Season 3's Plot and Characters
Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is trying to go ‘cold turkey’ after becoming addicted to heroin whilst undercover. He claims that he had to take the drug as part of his cover, but those around him suspect it has more to do with his grief following the events of Day 1. His partner Chase Edmunds (James Badge Dale) knows of his addiction and encourages him to beat it anyway he can. Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) is now the Head of CTU and is married to Michelle Dessler (Reiko Aylesworth).
CTU has two key new employees, Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert), who has been given a job by her father mainly so he can keep an eye on her, and Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) who is brilliant but lacks social graces which puts her at odds with the majority of CTU’s personnel.
Meanwhile President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) is facing an election. His brother Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside) is his Chief of Staff and becomes the target for one of Palmer’s contributors Alan Milliken (Albert Hall) when he discovers that Wayne has been having an affair with his wife Julia (Gina Torres).
Problems escalate when it becomes clear that the man Jack put in jail after being undercover, Ramon Salazar (Joaquim de Almeida), has a younger brother Hector (Vincent Laresca) will release the virus if the authorities don’t release Ramon.
However, with 24 things are never that simple
New Day New Dangers
By Season 3 24 has really hooked its audience and the writers knew how to write contained episodes that also moved the story forward a piece at a time. The formula is well known and unlike the previous two days is no longer essentially two parts joined together.
The plot has three main acts, all of which all revolve around securing the virus.
Characters from the previous days return, including the brilliantly annoying Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald) and former CTU Agent Nina Myles (Sarah Clarke). Both have their own agendas and each one manages to make matters considerably worse for Jack and President Palmer.
CTU seems to have once again been infiltrated by the bad guys, which does make the audience wonder if they actually perform background checks on people before giving them a job. Jack is also seen to be struggling under the weight of his addiction. Chloe is annoying and irritating but intensely loyal, becoming one of Jack’s greatest allies (especially in later seasons)
The plot has so many twists and turns that it might be difficult for the audience to keep track of exactly what is going on. Fortunately, at the beginning of every episode there is a ‘previous on 24’ monologue in which Jack summarises the key points that have happened and are relevant to the coming episode.
24 is an action drama series and not only focuses on finding the virus but also on the relationships between Chase and Kim, and Tony and Michelle. The audience will be as horrified as Tony when he discovers that his wife may have been infected by the lethal virus whilst trying to find the delivery device.
24 really does get better and better with Kiefer Sutherland leading a cast that are entirely convincing as their respective characters. Jack Bauer is on par with James Bond or Jason Bourne (there was even an online debate over which one would win in a fight) and suffers the heartbreaking consequences of always saving the day.
4/5
Brilliant series that keeps the audeince on the edge of their seat
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