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Jack Bauer is the fictional protagonist of the American television series 24, in which he has trained and worked in various capacities as a government agent, including US Army Delta Force, LAPD SWAT, and finally the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) Los Angeles. He is a key member of the latter and has prevented major terrorist attacks on the United States throughout the series, saving both civilians and government leaders. On many occasions the character has done so at great personal expense, as those he has thwarted have targeted him and his loved ones many times. Actor Kiefer Sutherland portrays Jack Bauer in the television show and video game, and in 2006 signed on for at least three further seasons.

Appearances

As the principal character in 24, Jack plays a prominent role in the television series and the video game. Jack is the main protagonist of the 24 series and the books, and has appeared in every episode to date. He is the only character to have done so, although Glenn Morshower, as Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce, has appeared in every season.

24 Television Series

Jack Bauer was born in California, on February 18, 1966, he is the son of Phillip Bauer. After high school, he enrolled at UCLA where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English Literature. He went on to receive his Master of Science in Criminology and Law from UC Berkeley. After completing his schooling, and after joining the U.S. Army and tuning his skills as a soldier, he was asked to join the U.S. Army's elite special forces unit Delta Force, was offered a place in the covert team dubbed "Coral Snake", and worked as a Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team member. It is also known that Bauer did work for the CIA before being seconded to the Counter Terrorist Unit. While at CTU, he was the Team Leader for an action known as Operation Proteus and the Section Captain during the incident of the Hotel Los Angeles attack. He later uncovered evidence that three CTU agents were taking bribes. Jack gained a reputation as a whistleblower and lost favor with the CTU hierarchy.

Jack was married to Teri Bauer; the couple had one daughter, Kim Bauer. After Teri's death at the hands of Nina Myers, a rift grew between Kim and Jack, not closing until eighteen months later. Jack also broke off contact with his father, Phillip Bauer, shortly after the funeral.

Throughout the course of 24, Jack has been the subject of "blowback" (when a past operation comes back to haunt him in some way) a total of four times. The first was in Day 1, with Jack being the target of the Drazen family (also targeted: Senator David Palmer and Robert Ellis). The second was in Day 3, when one of Jack's former collegues, Stephen Saunders, a former MI6 and Special Air Service operative, tried to release a weaponized virus in the United States. The third occurred in Day 5, when Jack was abducted by Cheng Zhi after taking part in a covert operation on the Chinese Embassy in Day 4. The latest blowback occurs in Day 6, when terrorist Abu Fayed demands Jack's death after Jack tortured and killed his brother in Beirut during an operation in 1999.

24 Mobisodes

24 Day Six Debrief is a Sprint TV exclusive, sponsored by American Express, that takes place 35 hours after the nuclear device exploded in Valencia, CA. Part 1 is roughly 90 seconds in length. The time clock starts ticking at 9:00:00 and ends at 9:01:34. Two agents, Agent Ramirez and Agent Moss, track Jack down to an apartment and ask him to come to CTU for debriefing about the recovery of the tactical nukes. Part 2 has about 20 seconds of "previously on 24" from part 1, is roughly 2 minutes and 30 seconds in length. The time clock starts ticking at 9:42:20 and ends at 9:44:58. In this 2nd mobisode, Jack is in a CTU questioning cell, being monitored. Agent Ramirez asks some questions about where Jack had been held for the last 20 months and if he knew Agent Marcus Holt, who had been in China and was killed 18 months ago. Part 5 will be released on June 18th.

24: The Game

24: The Game takes place between Day 2 and 3. Jack begins waiting outside the ship where terrorists are going to realease a Ricin Bomb in the water supply. A CTU Team triggers an alarm causing Jack and his team to storm the ship. Jack and his team finds the whole ship's crew dead in a cargo hold. He runs into an enemy from his past, known as Peter Madsen. It is unclear what the story is between them, but it is stated that he framed Jack's family for a vile crime, this is hinted with Jack saying to him: "Eight years ago, my family wasn't involved". Most likely it's hinted that Madsen was under Jack's command either in the army or in an SWAT team, and Madsen betrayed Jack. Madsen kidnaps Jack's daughter Kim, and later Kate Warner. Jack finally kills Madsen in the end when he tries to escape.

24 (Film)

Kiefer Sutherland will portray Jack Bauer in a 24 film in the future. The film is not yet being made, and it is not exactly known when it will be released. According to the official 24 magazine, Kim Raver (Audrey Raines) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian) will join Kiefer in the future film.

Other media

Jack Bauer has been referenced in other television shows, both subtly and obviously. In an episode of House, also on FOX, Dr. Gregory House responds to an emergency situation by saying sarcastically, "Oh, a level three! Maybe we should call Jack Bauer."

Bauer appeared in the season finale of the 18th season of The Simpsons with Chloe O'Brian as part of Springfield Elementary's new Counter Truancy Unit. He gets embarrassed on a prank call made by Bart Simpson (due to a crossover of calls). In the end, Bauer and the CTU breaks into Springfield Elementary. They were about to arrest Bart for the prank call until a nuclear bomb activates in the background. Bauer then promptly tells the people that it was in Shelbyville, much to their relief.

Bauer was also referenced in the Degrassi: The Next Generation Season 6 episode "Working for the Weekend."

A Season 11 episode of South Park, entitled "The Snuke", appeared in a 24 format, with the South Park character Eric Cartman taking the role of Jack Bauer. Other characters were parodied, including Chloe O'Brian. Also, several previous 24 storylines were used in the episode.

Jack is namechecked in a 2007 episode of Doctor Who entitled "42". The episode is set in real-time which is the same format used in 24.

Jack Bauer was referenced by Congressman Tom Tancredo in the May 15, 2007 Republican debate in South Carolina after a question about torture.

Jack Bauer also made an appearance on Conan O'Brien's opening sketch of the 2007 Emmys.

Jack Bauer is referenced on the liner notes for the Megadeth CD United Abominations, credited as the "former Special Agent in Charge, Counter Terrorist Unit, Los Angeles." He appears as having written the introduction to the album. The actual text was written by Matt Michnovetz and 20th Century Fox is thanked for permitting the usage of the character.

In The Office episode "The Job", Dwight Schrute says that once he is promoted to regional manager his ideal choice for his number two will be Jack Bauer. However, Dwight says Jack is unavailable, fictional, and overqualified.

Characteristics

Bauer's behavior and actions are consistent with doing that which has to be done to protect the United States and its citizens to the point of giving his own life. He appears to be entirely utilitarian and consequentialist in his moral thinking: when innocent lives are in danger he behaves as though obtaining a desired result is more important than how he obtains it, and he frequently performs controversial actions if he thinks they will achieve an important goal. His philosophy was perhaps best expressed after he shot a witness in front of George Mason, then-CTU Special Agent in Charge. George expressed dismay at Jack's extreme action, and Jack replied: "That's the problem with people like you, George. You want results, but you never want to get your hands dirty." Lying, torture, theft, and even killing people he cares about are all viable options to Jack, a stark contrast to the vast majority of fictional heroes. Comparisons with the very people he battles are inevitable. As stated by George Mason in Day 1, "Rules don't apply to Jack Bauer. He does what he wants, when he wants, and he doesn't care whose life it affects."

Jack's work brings with it dangers that occasionally put his and his family's life on the line, as well as the lives of those close to him, in order to serve the greater good. In one instance, he was forced to choose between defying a terrorist with a biological weapon or killing one of his superiors, Regional Director Ryan Chappelle. Despite efforts to locate the terrorist before the deadline, Bauer was forced to execute Chappelle to prevent the release of the weapon. In the fourth season, Bauer drew the ire of the Chinese government when he infiltrated and extracted a Chinese scientist named Lee Jong from the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, which resulted in the death of the Chinese Consul. Lee was shot during the raid and needed immediate medical attention. At CTU, Bauer learned that the sole doctor was already working on Paul Raines, estranged husband of Audrey Raines (Jack's girlfriend) who earlier in the series had saved Jack's life. Much to Audrey's horror, Bauer drew his weapon and ordered the doctor to abandon Paul Raines and begin surgery on Lee. Raines went into cardiac arrest and died shortly afterward. Information from Lee though led to Bauer preventing a nuclear explosion in Los Angeles.

Jack is rarely seen showing remorse for such actions until after the crisis has passed. This is largely due to his emotional suppression necessary to complete the task at hand. He has on occasion revealed his more vulnerable side, including notable scenes like at the end of Day One when he starts crying while holding his wife's dead body, the end of Day 3 when he breaks down crying after the traumatic events of the day and while holding Tony Almeida's lifeless body in the middle of Day 5. However his ability to suppress has been brought into question in Day Six when, after Jack is forced to kill Curtis Manning, he vomits and breaks down in tears, telling Buchanan that he believes he is no longer able to perform his duties.

However, there are limits to the sacrifices Jack is willing to make in the line of duty. When it was discovered terrorists were preparing to release a canister of nerve gas in a crowded shopping mall, Jack was ordered by his superior Lynn McGill to let the terrorists carry out the attack, which would have led to hundreds of deaths, and then follow them in the hopes of recovering the other nerve gas containers they had stolen. Jack refused and stopped the attack, even against the rationalization that a few hundred deaths were nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands of deaths the rest of the nerve gas could inflict.

Jack exhibits no fear of death, specifying in Day 6 that he would willingly die for something worthwhile. He has volunteered for suicide missions in the past, ranging from crashing a plane with a nuclear bomb in the desert on Day 2, to asking his Chinese captors on Day 5 to kill him instead of interrogating him for years, knowing that he would never speak. On Day 6, Bauer offered no resistance when he was released from Chinese custody only to learn he was a bargaining chip for a known terrorist. Only when he learned that CTU was fooled by terrorists and that his death would amount to nothing did he begin to resist and escape his captors.

Following the death of his wife at the end of Season 1, he seemed to live a life that had little personal purpose. To Jack Bauer, there is no separation of his personal life and his duty. As he said to Chase Edmunds, his partner during Season 3: "You cannot do this job and have a normal life at the same time."

Finally, Jack is cognizant of the threat of passing time. He is able to think on his feet, and reacts quickly and decisively to unexpected and rapidly-developing situations. This emphasizes the real-time nature of the show. Perhaps the best example takes place in Season 1, when Jack must steal a piece of evidence from a fellow technician, who is studying it at that very moment, and replace it with a fake. Jack does so by spilling Milo's ubiquitous cup of snacks—and then performing the switch in less than one second.

Bauer Family Tree

* The name of Jack's mother has not yet been revealed in the series.

Weapons And Equipment

Jack has carried two pistols throughout the entire run of the series. In Days 1 and 2, he carried a SIG P228. Later, in Days 3–6, he had a Heckler & Koch USP Compact, chambered in 9 mm. He has also used several different weapons occasionally, usually taken from terrorists or borrowed from SWAT team. These include (in approximate order of appearance) the regular Heckler & Koch USP, the Beretta M92FS, the Smith & Wesson Model 60, the Colt M4A1, the MAC 10, the Heckler & Koch G3, the Heckler & Koch G36C, the Heckler & Koch SR9T, the Smith & Wesson Model 66, the Accuracy International AWP, the AKMS, the Ruger Mini-14, the Heckler & Koch P2000, the Mossberg 590 and its Mariner variant, the SIG P225, the Heckler & Koch SL8, the Walther P99, the SIG P229R, the Mossberg 500, the Makarov PM, the Beretta Px4 Storm and the Heckler & Koch MP7.

An interesting note, however, is that although his weapon of choice in the later seasons has been the Heckler & Koch USP Compact, he has used the same model firearm - a Beretta M92FS - in several of the most monumental scenes of the entire series, including the interrogation of computer programmer Alex Hewitt towards the end of Day 2, the killing of Nina Myers, and the threatening of James Heller at the end of Day 6.

He also uses several knives, including the Microtech HALO III and improvised knives such as a pair of surgical scissors. Throughout the latter series, Jack has used his "JB manbag" to organise and carry all his field equipment.

Skills

Jack's service at CTU and in various prior jobs has given him many relevant survival skills. He is an expert marksman and is competent in hand to hand combat. He is also a capable pilot (of both airplanes and helicopters). (On Day 3, there are several scenes where Jack appears to be flying a CTU helicopter - but he is sitting in the left seat, whereas in helicopters the pilot usually sits on the right.) On many occasions, he has demonstrated that he is a ruthless and efficient interrogator of suspected terrorists, relying on his knowledge and experience of human psychology (and anatomy), and has also shown remarkable ability at resisting torture when subjected to it himself. However, he also utilizes such information to help those who are wounded or victimized by the days' events.

Jack has some knowledge of foreign languages. He is seen speaking Spanish briefly in Season 1 and Russian in Season 6. He also understands some Serbian, which he presumably learned for a mission he undertook in Kosovo.

Concept And Creation

Character Creation

The writers of 24 collaborated with Sutherland to create the part of Jack Bauer. Sutherland is also an executive producer of 24.

"Bauer", a common German surname often translated as "peasant" or "farmer", is also the German word used to refer to a certain chess piece: the pawn.

Kiefer Sutherland

Joel Surnow commented that they did not have any actors in mind for the part; "We didn’t really know who it was. We were casting a lot of people and then we heard Kiefer Sutherland’s name and thought, that’s Jack Bauer."Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Initially Kiefer Sutherland had reservations about playing Jack Bauer, stating, "I thought, 'This is really clever and different, so there's no way they're going to pick it up. But I could use the money, and no one will ever see it'."

In 24, Sutherland must produce around 18 hours of film each season, "which is like making 12 movies, so there are going to be mistakes along the way, but I am incredibly surprised by how many things work well as a result of working at that pace."

Sutherland signed a contract to play the role of Bauer for three more seasons for 40 million USD. Reactions by critics to his performance have been very positive with five Emmy nominations and a win in 2006 for his work in Season 5. He also won a Golden Globe for the role in 2002.

References

1. ^ Stephen M. Silverman (2004-10-06). "Kiefer Sutherland: $40 Million Man". Retrieved 2006-08-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "phase" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. From the official book: The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU
3. Jack Bauer's Official Character Page FOX
4. Season 1 Jack Bauer: I am the last guy you want to bring something like this to. I built a case against three of our own agents for taking bribes. If there's a conspiracy inside the agency to kill David Palmer, I'll never get anywhere near it.
5. "Move over, Jack Bauer... Here is new CTU agent Homer Simpson!". newsleader.com. January 1, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
6. Ben Rawson-Jones (May 19, 2007). "'42' Spoilers". digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
7. Season 3 Jack: You don't think so? What the hell do you know? My wife died because of this job, and I almost lost Kim too, I'm not gonna let that happen again. I will do everything I have to to protect her do you understand me? Everything. (sighs) Damn it Chase, you cannot have a normal life and do this job at the same time.
8. Wesley VanLandschoot. "Jack Bauer 24 Kill Count".
9. ^ Joel Schumacher (2004-02-01). "Kiefer Sutherland: he's been around Hollywood for more than 20 years, but these days, this bold talent has them counting the minutes". Interview. Retrieved 2006-08-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "Sutherland 'signs up for more 24'". BBC. 2006-04-10. Retrieved 2006-08-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External Links

• Jack Bauer's Official Character Profile

Template:24CTU

• 24 (TV series) characters
• 1966 births
• Fictional German-Americans
• Fictional characters from California
• Fictional secret agents and spies
• Fictional escapees
• Fictional double agents
• Fictional soldiers
• Fictional directors