24 (season 3)

24 (season 3)
Promotional poster
Starring	Kiefer Sutherland Elisha Cuthbert Carlos Bernard Reiko Aylesworth James Badge Dale Dennis Haysbert
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	24
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	October 28, 2003 (2003-10-28) – May 25, 2004 (2004-05-25)

The third season of the American drama television series 24, also known as Day 3, premiered in the United States on Fox on October 28, 2003, and aired its season finale on May 25, 2004. The storyline starts and ends at 1:00 pm. The season premiere originally aired without commercial interruption, and has an extended running time of approximately 51 minutes, as opposed to the standard 43 minutes.

Season overview

The third season is set 3 years after season two. It takes place primarily in Los Angeles but also in northern Mexico when Jack Bauer meets with a family of drug dealers. Throughout the day, Jack Bauer and President David Palmer attempt to stop the release of a deadly virus by Stephen Saunders – a former government agent.

Like the previous two seasons, there are two main acts in the plot:

1. The first act deals with the response to an imminent biological threat which is expected to be carried out unless a highly valued prisoner is released, which reveals that the entire terrorist threat was a ploy to access the real virus being auctioned in Mexico.
2. In the second act, Jack and the other CTU agents race against time to recover the virus from a radicalized agent who is using it to kill civilians and manipulate foreign policy.

Major subplots

• Jack Bauer fights against the heroin addiction that he incurred to maintain his cover.
• President Palmer faces scandal during his re-election campaign involving his girlfriend, whom he met through her job as his personal physician.
• Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler struggle to prioritize national security over their love for each other.
• Jack disapproves of the relationship that is unfolding between Kim Bauer and Chase Edmunds.
• CTU staff members clash with Chloe O'Brian's personality.
• Palmer is forced to cover up a murder when his ex-wife Sherry Palmer greatly oversteps her bounds.
• Kim Bauer tries to prove herself fully competent even though Jack gave her the CTU job to keep an eye on her.
• Jack Bauer finally kills Nina Myers to get revenge for Teri's death.
• Stephen Saunders controls the actions of President Palmer under the threat of releasing the virus if his demands aren't met. One of the demands is the murder of Ryan Chappelle.
• CTU staff members, including Chase Edmunds and Adam Kaufman, deal with personal problems that cause some to question their fitness for the job.

Summary

Day 3 sees CTU deal with a deadly virus threat that would be released in Los Angeles. Jack’s nemesis Nina Myers is also seen as he is trying to overcome a heroin addiction after his undercover operation with Ramon and Hector Salazar. Jack's colleagues suspect that his difficulty quitting is related to the death of his wife Teri at the end of the first season. Jack has a new protege in tow, Chase Edmunds, but things take a turn for the worse when it is revealed Chase is seeing his daughter Kim, and it causes tension among the three of them.

President Palmer is seeking re-election against Senator John Keeler, but his campaign turns sour after one of his major backers, Alan Milliken, discovers that Palmer’s brother, Wayne, has been sleeping with Julia Milliken. Palmer's campaign suffers a major blow when revelations come out about his girlfriend and personal physician Anne Packard. The president turns to his ex-wife Sherry to deal with Milliken. She takes it all a step too far as she kills Milliken by not allowing him his medication, which he needs to stay alive. Despite David Palmer's best cover-up efforts, Keeler uses it as leverage in the campaign. Towards the end of the day, Julia kills Sherry before taking her own life and Palmer decides not to seek re-election.

Back at CTU, it turns out that Tony Almeida, Gael Ortega, and Jack have been working undercover on a sting operation. Chase is initially unaware of the situation and attempts to “rescue” Jack, who is being held captive by the Salazars. Tony recovers from a gunshot wound to the neck, to return as head of CTU, with many doubting his abilities.

Nina comes in just as Jack and the Salazars are trying to get hold of the virus from Michael Amador, but he plays them all for fools. After Nina is captured by CTU and interrogated, she makes a daring escape attempt only to be found by Kim. Jack comes in and finally gets revenge for the death of his wife Teri.

Amador meets with his accomplice Marcus Alvers, who later plants some of the virus in a hotel ventilation system. When Michelle Dessler captures Alvers, he reveals that the mastermind of the day's events is a man from Jack's past named Stephen Saunders. Gael is killed soon after being exposed to the virus and Michelle has to deal with the threat at the hotel, as well as the unruly guests who soon discover the deadly truth. Saunders contacts President Palmer and gives him a series of assignments. One of which is the murder of Regional Division Director Ryan Chappelle. Jack and Chase try desperately to capture Saunders, but in the end Jack is forced to kill Chappelle and hand over his body as proof.

Once Saunders is captured, Jack uses all means possible to stop the threat posed by the remaining vials. This ends with Jack cutting off Chase's hand in order to access the viral delivery devices. Physicians attempt to reattach his hand as the season draws to a close. The final scene of season 3 shows Jack Bauer having an emotional breakdown as a result of the day's events until he is once again enlisted by CTU to interrogate one of the day's suspects. The day ends with Jack on his way back to work.

Plot twists affecting future seasons

• Knowledge of Jack's heroin addiction becoming revealed.
• The friendship developed between Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brian.
• The death of Nina Myers.
• The death of Ryan Chapelle.

Characters

Season 3 main cast: (from left to right) Elisha Cuthbert, Dennis Haysbert, Kiefer Sutherland, Reiko Aylesworth, Carlos Bernard, and James Badge Dale

For a more thorough list, see List of 24 characters § 24: Season 3.

Starring

• Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
• Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer
• Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
• Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle Dessler
• James Badge Dale as Chase Edmunds
• Dennis Haysbert as President David Palmer

Special guest star

• Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer

Guest starring

2

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (millions)
49	1	"Day 3: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	October 28, 2003 (2003-10-28)	3AFF01	N/A
Three years have passed since the events of "Day 2." CTU, now led by Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), learns that terrorists are plotting to unleash a deadly virus in Los Angeles unless a drug lord named Ramon Salazar (Joaquim de Almeida) is released from prison within six hours. Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and his new partner, Chase Edmunds (James Badge Dale), happen to be signing a deal with Salazar on the same day. President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) is running for re-election and is preparing for an important debate with a rival senator. He is accompanied by his girlfriend Dr. Anne Packard (Wendy Crewson) and his brother and chief of staff Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside). A teenager named Kyle Singer (Riley Smith) is seen examining a large bag of white powder which he plans to deliver to some dealers later that day, but is being secretly watched by Salazar's men. Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) now works at CTU and has been dating Chase for three months. Kim wants to tell her father, but Jack has a mysterious health problem that may make things more complicated.
50	2	"Day 3: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	November 4, 2003 (2003-11-04)	3AFF02	N/A
After raiding a crack house, Jack and Chase learn of a lead to the possible whereabouts of the virus. Wayne approaches David with potentially damaging information about Dr. Packard.
51	3	"Day 3: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m."	Ian Toynton	Howard Gordon	November 11, 2003 (2003-11-11)	3AFF03	N/A
Jack and Hector Salazar's (Vincent Laresca) squad both search for Kyle, who is thought to be unknowingly carrying the virus in the bag of drugs he plans to sell. Meanwhile, David and his brother argue over the implications of Dr. Packard's past. Tony leads an operation to get Singer at a mall downtown, but tragedy strikes when Salazar's contact gets there first.
52	4	"Day 3: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m."	Ian Toynton	Stephen Kronish	November 18, 2003 (2003-11-18)	3AFF04	N/A
Michelle is torn by personal and professional obligations when she must take charge of CTU after Tony's injury. Singer and his girlfriend Linda (Agnes Bruckner) are captured by Salazar's men. Jack and Palmer have a secret conversation, leading Jack to take drastic action in the face of Salazar's threat. However, Jack's plans are soon complicated when Chase unintentionally gets in the way.
53	5	"Day 3: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Evan Katz	November 25, 2003 (2003-11-25)	3AFF05	N/A
Jack's efforts to break Ramon out of prison go awry when they are captured by a group of inmates during the riot. Palmer begins his debate with Senator John Keeler (Geoff Pierson).
54	6	"Day 3: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Duppy Demetrius	December 2, 2003 (2003-12-02)	3AFF06	N/A
Jack and Ramon struggle to evade the authorities, while David's debate with Keeler comes to an abrupt ending. Kim finds out that CTU agent Gael Ortega (Jesse Borrego) is secretly working with Hector.
55	7	"Day 3: 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m."	Ian Toynton	Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon	December 9, 2003 (2003-12-09)	3AFF07	N/A
Jack is held hostage by Ramon on the flight to Mexico. Dr. Packard is given a chance to clear her name, while Chase defies Ryan Chappelle's (Paul Schulze) orders and heads down to Mexico to rescue Jack. Against doctor's orders, Tony returns from the hospital and, to the shock of everyone, demands to speak with Ortega about an unspecified matter of national security.
56	8	"Day 3: 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m."	Ian Toynton	Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon	December 16, 2003 (2003-12-16)	3AFF08	N/A
Palmer and Chappelle view a message from Jack, explaining his undercover work with the Salazars and the involvement of Tony and Ortega in a top-secret sting operation that was planned out by the three of them for a month. Totally unaware of this revelation at CTU, Chase arrives in Mexico to rescue Jack. While the Salazar brothers argue over whether or not to enlist Jack's help in making the deal, Bauer contacts Michael Amador (Greg Ellis): the man in possession of the virus.
57	9	"Day 3: 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m."	Brad Turner	Teleplay by: Evan Katz & Stephen Kronish Story by: Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon	January 6, 2004 (2004-01-06)	3AFF09	N/A
Palmer clears Dr. Packard's name with the press, but he soon faces an even worse problem involving his biggest campaign contributor, Alan Milliken (Albert Hall). Kim and Michelle worry about Tony's ability to run CTU. Jack and the Salazars' meeting with Amador turns hostile when Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke) suddenly appears on the scene.
58	10	"Day 3: 10:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m."	Brad Turner	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	January 13, 2004 (2004-01-13)	3AFF10	N/A
Claudia Hernandez (Vanessa Ferlito), Hector's girlfriend who has a romantic past with Jack, manages to free Chase from his captors, but she is killed while escaping the premises. David calls on his ex-wife Sherry for help against Milliken, who is on the warpath against his presidency. Jack and the Salazars track down Nina in hopes of intercepting the virus.
59	11	"Day 3: 11:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	January 27, 2004 (2004-01-27)	3AFF11	N/A
Jack forces Nina to work with him in order to get the virus from Amador. Chase remains in Mexico to help with the capture of the virus. Both Nina and Jack are forced to watch and wait as Ramon and Hector continue to argue over whether or not to go through with the deal.
60	12	"Day 3: 12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Teleplay by: Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon Story by: Evan Katz & Stephen Kronish	February 3, 2004 (2004-02-03)	3AFF12	N/A
Sherry finds a witness who can damage Milliken, but her advantage is short-lived. The situation in Mexico comes to an explosive head as Jack, Ramon, Nina, and Chase all simultaneously close in on the virus. But the deal takes an unexpected turn when Amador manipulates both parties and departs with the virus himself.
61	13	"Day 3: 1:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m."	Bryan Spicer	Teleplay by: Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff Story by: Robert Cochran & Stephen Kronish	February 10, 2004 (2004-02-10)	3AFF13	N/A
Amador takes a jet to Los Angeles still in possession of the real virus. Jack and Chase interrogate Nina, who tells them that they should start looking for a man named Marcus Alvers (Lothaire Bluteau) with whom Amador may be planning to meet. However, not all of Nina's information is as helpful. Chappelle becomes suspicious of Chloe when she refuses to answer questions about a baby that has appeared in her office. Sherry takes her battle directly to the Milliken residence.
62	14	"Day 3: 2:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m."	Bryan Spicer	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	February 17, 2004 (2004-02-17)	3AFF14	10.05
Tony interrogates Nina about Alvers' location. Palmer confronts Sherry when he finds out that Milliken is dead, while a hysterical Julia Milliken (Gina Torres) begs Wayne for help. Nina is taken back to CTU by Jack and interrogated. She inflicts a critical injury on herself and is rushed to the medics. Nina escapes by killing the doctors and ends up in a stand-off with Kim. Before either of them can shoot, Jack arrives and kills Nina.
63	15	"Day 3: 3:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m."	Kevin Hooks	Teleplay by: Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon Story by: Michael Loceff	February 24, 2004 (2004-02-24)	3AFF15	10.50
Chappelle finds out that Jack killed Nina and threatens to pull him from the effort to find the virus. Amador and Alvers meet with an unknown man, the mastermind behind the terrorist strike. This mastermind orders that the virus be unleashed within the hour. Michelle and Gael locate the target area and must stop Alvers from releasing the virus into a hotel ventilation system. Suspicious detectives turn up the heat on Julia.
64	16	"Day 3: 4:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m."	Kevin Hooks	Evan Katz & Stephen Kronish	March 30, 2004 (2004-03-30)	3AFF16	11.50
Michelle faces a mob riot at the virus-contaminated hotel. The Chief of Police questions David about Sherry's whereabouts during the night. Jack suspects that interrogating Amador may not be the best way to find out what he knows.
65	17	"Day 3: 5:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m."	Ian Toynton	Robert Cochran & Stephen Kronish	April 6, 2004 (2004-04-06)	3AFF17	10.77
Stephen Saunders (Paul Blackthorne) tells Palmer that the virus will be released all across the country unless his demands are met. The villain's first assignment for Palmer creates little chaos – or so it appears. Jack learns of a woman who can lead him to Saunders and takes her to the British MI6 office in LA to meet his contact. However the office is attacked by a helicopter and a pair of assassins inside the building. Jack manages to locate the MI6 files on Saunders and escape before they are destroyed. Ortega's symptoms start to develop after he is infected with the virus. Saunder's second assignment for Palmer is far more troubling than the first.
66	18	"Day 3: 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m."	Ian Toynton	Howard Gordon & Evan Katz	April 18, 2004 (2004-04-18)	3AFF18	6.47
With Chappelle's life on the line, Jack and Chase race against time to capture Saunders before 7:00 AM – the deadline for his next demand. Michelle begins a frantic search when she learns that an infected hotel guest may have slipped through her fingers. Chase leads a TAC team to a building where Saunders is believed to be hiding but finds only a control node used to lure CTU. Jack is forced to kill Chappelle after CTU fails to find Saunders in time.
67	19	"Day 3: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Michael Loceff	April 20, 2004 (2004-04-20)	3AFF19	10.54
Chappelle's investigations into Saunders' bank accounts provide CTU with a solid lead and it is discovered that Saunders has a daughter — Jane, whom he has been financially supporting for the last few years. Jack reluctantly works with Kim on an undercover job that may help them capture and interrogate Saunders' daughter. Palmer informs his cabinet of the new developments concerning the virus crisis, while Saunders gives him a third, and most outrageous, assignment. Chase tracks down the infected man who left the hotel and learns that the virus is spreading to the general public. CTU agents capture Jane Saunders and Jack interrogates her for information about her father.
68	20	"Day 3: 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m."	Jon Cassar	Virgil Williams	April 27, 2004 (2004-04-27)	3AFF20	11.13
Jack attempts to use Saunders' daughter Jane (Alexandra Lydon) as leverage to gain control of the virus. Tony finds himself in an impossible situation when Saunders exploits his only weakness. He kidnaps Michelle on her way out of the Chandler Plaza Hotel and uses her to blackmail Tony into clearing an escape path for Saunders outside his besieged apartment. Elsewhere CTU teams continue to struggle with containing the virus and the quarantine zones in LA.
69	21	"Day 3: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m."	Frederick King Keller	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	May 4, 2004 (2004-05-04)	3AFF21	11.09
At CTU, Jack and Chloe become suspicious of Tony, who plans to trade Jane to her father in exchange for Michelle. Tony is forced to step down as head of CTU while Jack takes provisional command. Sherry meets with Keeler and proposes a most devious agreement.
70	22	"Day 3: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m."	Frederick King Keller	Teleplay by: Evan Katz & Stephen Kronish Story by: Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon	May 11, 2004 (2004-05-11)	3AFF22	12.19
Jack catches up with Tony before he can exchange Jane for Michelle and the two clash, bringing up a previous situation in which Jack broke CTU protocol for his family. Jack finally convinces Tony to co-operate and Tony negotiates an alternate meeting place for the exchange, thus buying CTU more time to move into position. Keeler confronts Palmer and demands his resignation. Meanwhile, Wayne realizes that Sherry has turned on David yet again and begins a secret operation to steal the evidence that implicates herself and David Palmer. Michelle almost escapes from Saunders, but allows herself to be recaptured when Jack stresses the importance of the hostage trade. Saunders and his henchmen arrive at the exchange point and once Michelle is safe, Jane has second thoughts and turns back toward Tony. As Saunders appears from his vehicle CTU moves in and captures Saunders in the ensuing firefight.
71	23	"Day 3: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Teleplay by: Robert Cochran & Howard Gordon Story by: Evan Katz & Stephen Kronish	May 18, 2004 (2004-05-18)	3AFF23	10.97
To force Saunders' co-operation, Jack threatens to infect Jane by taking her into the Chandler Plaza Hotel without a Hazmat suit. Saunders relents and gives the GPS co-ordinates of all 11 remaining vials. Tragedy strikes when Wayne breaks into Sherry Palmer's home attempting to steal the incriminating evidence — Julia arrives and shoots Sherry before shooting herself to avoid going to prison for Alan Milliken's death. Tony finds himself facing a harsh penalty as a result of his effort to save Michelle. Jack learns that even with Saunders in custody, the bio-threat against the country is not yet over as their search continues at a Metro station.
72	24	"Day 3: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m."	Jon Cassar	Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff	May 25, 2004 (2004-05-25)	3AFF24	12.31
Saunders is shot and killed at CTU by Gael's vengeful widow before he could identify Arthur Rabens — the courier of the 11th vial of the virus. Rabens escapes with the vial from the Metro station while Jack and Chase pursue him. The pursuit ends in a middle school where Rabens attacks Chase. Chase is able to attach the device's clamp to his own arm, thus preventing Rabens from escaping with it. Jack arrives to save Chase and shoot Rabens, but is forced to use a fire axe to cut off Chase's hand. With the device free, Jack runs to a fridge where he isolates the virus. Tony is able to help Jack one last time before he is taken into custody. President David Palmer is overcome by guilt and chooses not to seek re-election. The season ends with Jack weeping to himself as he struggles to gather his emotions from the day.

Production

The third to last episode showed F18 fighters destroying a helicopter from the air. This scene was filmed on location and required extensive collaboration between the film crew, the United States Marine Corps and the Federal Aviation Administration. Efforts were made to show the response to a virus outbreak realistically. Anne Cofell, a researcher for 24, consulted with a virologist and the Center for Disease Control. The writers originally planned to incorporate a real virus into the plot but ended up using a fictitious one when researchers doubted that any real virus would be that deadly.

Trailer

The initial trailer promoting season 3 was much longer than the trailer promoting season 2. It touches on many of the early plot points including the threat to release the virus, Jack's heroin addiction and the relationship between Kim Bauer and Chase Edmunds.

Reception

24 won four Emmy awards for its third season and also, the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, after being nominated 3 times in a row. The third season of 24 received "generally favorable reviews", scoring a Metacritic rating of 72/100 based on 14 reviews. Empire ranked "Day 3: 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m." as the best ever 24 episode saying "As Jack puts a bullet into Ryan's head and weeps, the clock at the end of the episode remains silent, capping off the most emotional and darkest hour in 24's history."

Award nominations

Organization	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Jon Cassar, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon, Brian Grazer, Tim Iacofano, Evan Katz, Stephen Kronish, Michael Loceff, Tony Krantz, Joel Surnow, Kiefer Sutherland	Nominated
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Kiefer Sutherland	Nominated
	Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Series	Chris Willingham, David Latham	Won
	Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series	William Gocke, Mike Olman, Ken Kobett	Won
	Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series	William Dotson, Cathie Speakman, Pembrooke Andrews, Jeffrey Whitcher, Paul Menichini, Todd Morrissey, Shawn Kennelly, Jeff Charbonneau, Laura Macias, Vince Nicastro	Nominated
	Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, Dramatic Underscore	Sean Callery	Nominated
	Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	Debi Manwiller, Peggy Kennedy, Richard Pagano	Won
	Outstanding Stunt Coordination	Gregory J. Barnett	Won
Golden Globe Awards	Best Drama Series		Won
	Best Actor in a Drama Series	Kiefer Sutherland	Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	Kiefer Sutherland	Nominated
	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Reiko Aylesworth, Carlos Bernard, Elisha Cuthbert, James Badge Dale, Joaquim de Almeida, Dennis Haysbert, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Paul Schulze, Kiefer Sutherland	Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards	Best Directing for a Drama Series	Jon Cassar	Nominated
Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Drama		Nominated
	Individual Achievement in Drama	Kiefer Sutherland	Nominated

Home media releases

The third season was released on DVD in region 1 on December 7, 2004 (2004-12-07) and in region 2 on August 9, 2004 (2004-08-09).

External links

• 24 at IMDb
• List of 24 season 3 episodes at TV.com
• Season 3 on 24 Wiki

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