Because 2400 Is Too Many
written by Jon, B, Kyle, Justin and Bill - January 16, 2026
24 IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY TOYOTA
SEASON 6 PREQUEL
In the first four seasons of 24, everyone drives shiny new Fords. In the fifth season, everyone drives shiny new Toyotas. The product placement comes to a fever pitch in the season six preview. Jack is wasting away in some Chinese gulag when a pair of American double agents shows up to trick him into giving away the identity of a Chinese double agent. They shoot blanks at guards and then escort Jack to their hideaway, where they’ve apparently airlifted in a gleaming 2007 Toyota RAV-4. It’s got the cloth over it like in Enterprise commercials and everything. Not 24’s finest moment, but a hilarious one that deserves mention.
- Kyle
PALMER AND NOVICK GO FOR A
RIDE IN THE GHOST-MOBILE
SEASON 1
Yeah, I know. After about five viewings, I realized that there's a guy walking past Novick's door who may be climbing into the driver's seat. But until that revelation hits you, it's the funniest thing in the world. 24 is a very serious-minded show, and back in the first season it wasn't completely submerged in a hyperbolic comic-book sort of world. And all of a sudden Palmer has a vehicle that carts him around on a whim. I always thought it would be fascinating to see a TV show or movie that was completely sober except for one minor but baffling implausibility like this. If I ever write a screenplay, it's going to be a Civil War-era drama filled with strife and gravitas, only everyone in the movie has to pause every ten minutes, say "hold on", and crap out a bunny rabbit.
- Jon
BARRY'S MAGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
SEASON 5
Use your actingpsychology, GaryBarry!
My God!...His psychology’s better than ever!
- Kyle
CYBER-NERD SUPERFICIALLY WOUNDS SHERRY
SEASON 2
Sherry was not seriously harmed here because Sherry is such a superficial individual that once the knife got past her skin, there wasn't really anywhere else for it to go.
The funny thing here is that there was absolutely no reason for Alex to stab her. He could have just inconspicuously ducked into that hole and made enough space between himself and Jack to evade capture. After being involved in a plane crash, killing several people and dying for a few minutes earlier in the day, Jack was seemingly baffled by an unkempt dusty passageway, and just barely managed to catch up with him.
To be honest with you, I think the writers knew that their Sherry was a good character and served her purpose well, but they wrote her so effectively that even they couldn't keep from giving her a stab in the gut or punch in the face whenever they felt they could get away with it.
- Jon
JANET EXAMINES A HOOD ORNAMENT
SEASON 1
I was still feeling out what kind of show 24 would be this early into the first season. Will it be full-on action, or more of a suspenseful thriller? Is it one of those shows that tries to be smart by bluffing you or tries to be smart by double bluffing you? And by this point at three episodes in, you can start to see the rules being laid down. THE GOOD GUYS ARE NOT SAFE, says one. KIM IS DUMB, says another. And, with this moment, another important law of 24 came down from the mount: BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO EXTRANEOUS CHARACTERS AND THERE ISN'T ALWAYS A PARTICULARLY GOOD REASON BUT WE HAVE TO START SLIMMING THIS PLOT DOWN SOMETIME.
Kim and Janet are running away from their captors Abercrombie and Fitch when they stop to loll around a bit in the middle of the street and take in the sights. What they don't know is that the middle of the street is the second most common place to find speeding cars, and sure enough Janet gets plowed in a manner entirely other than what she was expecting when this night began. It's completely random, rather unnecessary (couldn't A&F have just clubbed her and left her for dead or something?) and more than a little funny, but it does teach you to never take anything for granted in 24. And to stay the fuck away from Kim.
- Bill
"CHASE!"
SEASON 3
Chase started out with so much promise. At the beginning of the season, he was Jack's faithful lackey. Jack would bark an order and he'd do it without question. Sometimes without any specific order ever being given! Jack would yell "DO IT CHASE" and as if by magic, Chase would know that meant to squish a guy's open wound. The honeymoon would end early, however, as Jack Bauer would soon go rogue, and the rest of us laughed along at Chase and his "cute" exploits in trying to bring him to justice.
- Justin
THE WALL-RUN NECK SNAP
SEASON 2
Even several seasons later, this is still my vote for best kill of the series. It's about as flashy as Jack will ever get, at least until season ten when ratings start to go down and he suddenly learns Parkour and has a monkey sidekick.
As a side note, this was one of the earlier and more prominent examples showing that Jack really fucking hates necks. He shattered like a half a dozen guys' cervical vertebrae with his thighs in season five alone.
- Bill
THE FLEETING MOMENT IN TIME
THAT WAS RONNIE LOBELL
SEASON 4
In a moment a little further down the list, you'll see that CTU Director Erin Driscoll fires Jack because she "doesn't tolerate any weaknesses", citing his past addiction to heroin. Jack's a decent agent and all, but the time had become for a head of field ops that was a true ironman.
That ironman was Ronnie Lobell.
Ronnie Lobell starts the day chasing a lead to a terrorist organization in a laundromat. He spends a few minutes aimlessly bumbling around the place until Jack, in a passing glance of the monitor showing Ronnie Lobell's position, points out the target. Ronnie brings him back to CTU and Ronnie Lobell starts laying on the Lobell treatment.
Unfortunately for us all, Jack just has to steal the show. But we all know Ronnie Lobell could have cracked him if he had been given a few more hours. That stone-faced terrorist couldn't have repelled his folksy "who're ya workin with?" delivery much longer. I mean, come on, you battle-hardened freedom fighter! Don't you understand? Ronnie Lobell is getting tired of your act! Cut it out! You're such a fucking jerk!
Later on, Jack has to continue his self-righteous act. "No, Ronnie Lobell, don't step out into the open and take on that terrorist! No, Ronnie Lobell, don't get shot dead!" We all know what happened next. In his final act on this earth, Ronnie Lobell heroically used every ounce of strength left in him to throw the keys to poor helpless Jack, sitting there handcuffed to a rail by some asshole.
We salute you, Ronnie Lobell. Without you, Season Four would have been an awkward 21.5 episodes long.
- Jon
DEAD GIRL HAS TERRIBLE TASTE IN MUSIC
SEASON 4
I spent a long time trying to figure out why Debbie went out with a guy like Behrooz. She was cute and nice. He was a goofy kid with a bad haircut who was kind of on the fence about whether he wanted to explode the entire world into nuclear dust.
Once you hear her ringtone, though, it's clear. Listen to that song. It's such a ridiculously weird song to choose as one of your favorites. I can't even place it in enough context to make a joke about it. It seems to be tuned to the exact frequency required to completely negate the effect of the dramatic ambient music playing over it. Well, whatever, it all makes sense now. Behrooz got a chance with Debbie because Debbie was lame as hell.
- Jon
JACK SQUEEZES MARIE WARNER'S GAPING WOUND
SEASON 2
Season 2 was a simple time meant for simple people. In Jack Bauer's case, he'd yet to construct elaborate Rube Goldbergian contraptions designed to squeeze the location of whatever it is he was locking for (bombs, viruses, his winning Sprite "Look Under the Cap" gamepiece) out of nameless Arab thugs, instead opting to stick with the basics. They'd brought him to the dance, after all. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. You've gotta give 110%. Go big or go home. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
Anyway, season 2 reaffirmed two things we'd already known to be true about gunshot wounds. They hurt, and they hurt even more when prodded by the callused grip of a maverick renegade with no regard for the well-being of those who would see America destroyed. It also introduced Jack Bauer's moral quandries. While Marie knew vital information regarding the location of the bomb, her sister was smoking hot and Jack soooo wanted to tap that.
Not wanting to deal with having to make such decisions again, Jack Bauer opted to outsource the position of "guy who prods gunshot wounds" to Chase come season 3.
- Justin
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