# 24: Season 5: Episode 17 (11:00pm - 12:00midnight) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144 "2006-04-10T21:50:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/81 "2006-04-11T20:08:53Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > any gunshot wound not inflicted by the army (and therefore probably not reported to 911) is going to be very suspicious to Logan’s crew. Roboterrorist the anti-Bauer told Logan they were watching hospital admissions. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/82 "2006-04-11T20:10:53Z")
Oh, and I’m suspecting from all the assumptions of Curtis’s death that people are confusing Black Bauer with Snack Bauer? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/83 "2006-04-11T20:12:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Roboterrorist the anti-Bauer told Logan they were watching hospital admissions. On the other hand, why couldn’t a federal agent have taken her to the hospital, and explained to the doctors that she was in serious danger and her admission had to be kept secret? If he showed his badge, said that it was a matter of national security, and that her name could not show up anywhere, how would Chris Henderson find out? Incidentally (and looking for realism in 24 is silly, I know, but . . . ) was anyone else struck by how unlikely it seemed that they could monitor 911 calls? I’m not thinking 911 is an incredibly technically sophisticated system - would there be records placed on computer networks in real time with patient names and stuff? Why? Or is there some other way that’s not occurring to me to monitor what happens at a 911 center? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/84 "2006-04-11T20:25:55Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > On the other hand, why couldn’t a federal agent have taken her to the hospital, and explained to the doctors that she was in serious danger and her admission had to be kept secret? If he showed his badge, said that it was a matter of national security, and that her name could not show up anywhere, how would Chris Henderson find out? No one at CTU other than Audrey and Chloe even knew what Jack was up to, so there wasn’t any way to recruit a random federal agent to take her to the hospital. > [@](#): > > Incidentally (and looking for realism in 24 is silly, I know, but . . . ) was anyone else struck by how unlikely it seemed that they could monitor 911 calls? I’m not thinking 911 is an incredibly technically sophisticated system - would there be records placed on computer networks in real time with patient names and stuff? Why? Or is there some other way that’s not occurring to me to monitor what happens at a 911 center? I was under the impression that they were monitoring radio traffic. I don’t know this for a fact, but I imagine it wouldn’t be any more difficult to monitor dispatch to paramedics than it would be to monitor police frequencies. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/85 "2006-04-11T20:39:50Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > On the other hand, why couldn’t a federal agent have taken her to the hospital, and explained to the doctors that she was in serious danger and her admission had to be kept secret? If he showed his badge, said that it was a matter of national security, and that her name could not show up anywhere, how would Chris Henderson find out? Because there would be cops posted at the entrances to all hospitals, and they’d know about Jack’s arrest warrant and would know what he looks like. (Not a likely, realistic scenario, but seems about right for the 24-verse.) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/86 "2006-04-11T22:01:40Z")
Y’know, it doesn’t really bother me that Jack and Wayne chose to make a midnight raid on the bank. Given the stakes involved, they probably didn’t want to risk having Henderson beat them to the punch… and as we’ve seen, that was indeed a concern. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/87 "2006-04-11T22:06:09Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > No one at CTU other than Audrey and Chloe even knew what Jack was up to, so there wasn’t any way to recruit a random federal agent to take her to the hospital. By “a federal agent”, I was referring to a specific one - Jack Bauer. If they’d kept her safe, it wouldn’t have been necessary to find the tape that night. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/88 "2006-04-11T22:21:57Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Y’know, it doesn’t really bother me that Jack and Wayne chose to make a midnight raid on the bank. Given the stakes involved, they probably didn’t want to risk having Henderson beat them to the punch… and as we’ve seen, that was indeed a concern. Seriously, the writers are constrained by the stupid 24-hour format of the show. This season ends before regular banking hours begin, so the plot cannot sustain a “lets wait it out” approach. It has to be driven by immediate action (or at least action that can be accomplished in less time than the remaining time permits). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/89 "2006-04-11T23:15:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Honest, he had a card on his dash. I saw it while editng the DVR to burn to DVD. “UNRESTRICTED VEHICLE ACCESS” with a number beneath. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/90 "2006-04-11T23:21:22Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > OK, my DVR garbled the recording this week. Does anyone know if and when these things are encored on cable? No, no, email **ME!** ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/91 "2006-04-12T00:44:42Z")
> [@Winston Bongo](#): > > Then, instead of Jack just knocking on the bank dude’s door, saying he’s a federal agent, and asking for help, he does a full-on home invasion and threatens to pop the guy’s wife, which turns out to be completely unnecessary, since Wayne was right and the guy would have helped them anyway. While I don’t think some of their decisions were the smartest strategies, I actually don’t have that much of a problem with this one. While it is rather extreme, asking for the guy’s help politely doesn’t give them much of a guarantee that he’ll go along with it. The guy turned out to be sympathetic to their goal, and he recognized Wayne, but there’s just as much of a chance he would have been suspicious. And chances are he would have wanted to confirm Jack’s story with his office. And as those currently running the show at CTU right now are not likely to back Jack up, he probably doesn’t want to take that chance. In his mind – being nice equals an average probability of getting into the bank, and forcing the guy to go with him equals a much larger probability of getting into the bank. Not that it was the “right” thing to do, but Jack wasn’t about to chance the guy saying “no” or “let me call your boss to verify”. Of course, they could have always tried that first, then pulled the guns if the guy was less than willing… ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/92 "2006-04-12T00:58:28Z")
On another note… if the nerve gas threat is over now, why isn’t anybody (like _ahem_ the Vice Prez) arguing for the lifting of martial law and the curfew? After all, they got all the cannisters. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/93 "2006-04-12T01:08:32Z")
> [@Winston Bongo](#): > > And then, when this actually works, he inexplicably starts shooting, draws fire, and gets the bank guy killed anyway. > > I tell ya, I love the show, but sometimes I don’t know why . . . :rolleyes: Do you really think Jack is really gonna pass up an opportunity to kill some people?? I liked the music. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/94 "2006-04-12T01:15:08Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > On another note… if the nerve gas threat is over now, why isn’t anybody (like _ahem_ the Vice Prez) arguing for the lifting of martial law and the curfew? After all, they got all the cannisters. For that matter, no one explained how you can impose martial law in a just a few hours in the first place. Had it been lifted this episode, how long would it have been in effect-- about 3 hours? That would make the Guiness Book of World Records for shortest period of Martial Law imposed by a government. 🙂 Again, the 24-hour format forces absurd plot elements like that. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/95 "2006-04-12T01:38:19Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > No, no, email **ME!** Or thousands of people will die! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/96 "2006-04-12T02:18:07Z")
If there was martial law and a curfew on L.A…, why was a regular commercial gas station open for Audrey to stop at? And it looked like it was a typical gas station with a food store attached? Is that so the National Guard trucks can stop by, fill up the tank, and then grab some nachos and Ding Dongs to munch on while they are out shooting looters? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/97 "2006-04-12T04:13:23Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > On another note… if the nerve gas threat is over now, why isn’t anybody (like _ahem_ the Vice Prez) arguing for the lifting of martial law and the curfew? After all, they got all the cannisters. I have to assume the answer to this is simply because Henderson is still on the lose somewhere, and until he’s captured, no one can say for sure that no other terrorist actions are planned. In addition to that, I wonder if martial law would _ever_ be lifted in the middle of the night. Somehow, it seems like a bad idea to have a very tense population suddenly set free to roam the streets after a day like the one they’ve had. Probably a recipe for looting and rioting. Far better to let them sleep it off and then announce in the morning that martial law has been lifted. > [@Excalibre](#): > > By “a federal agent”, I was referring to a specific one - Jack Bauer. If they’d kept her safe, it wouldn’t have been necessary to find the tape that night. Point taken. But in that case, I think **Troy McClure** ’s answer speaks to the difficulty involved with Jack trying to handle that himself. > [@BobT](#): > > If there was martial law and a curfew on L.A…, why was a regular commercial gas station open for Audrey to stop at? Damn good question. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/98 "2006-04-12T04:14:55Z")
By the way, a quick poll for everyone: **Do you think that Trap Bauer will make a reappearance this season? If your answer is yes, how will she fit in?** My personal vote is a no. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/99 "2006-04-12T04:17:02Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > If there was martial law and a curfew on L.A…, why was a regular commercial gas station open for Audrey to stop at? So that military personnel can stop by and fill up their tanks… Ha ha, their “tanks”, get it? Thanks, I’ll be here all week. Try the veal. _ducking_ ---
**Author:** ![running\_piglet\_cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@running\_piglet\_cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_piglet_cheese)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144/100 "2006-04-12T05:55:18Z")
Just as an aside, read that Keiffer signed on for 3 more seasons to the tune of $40mil. What will they need to do to keep the viewership to justify the cost? Seems to me that the last two seasons have lost some of the excitement and appeal and, as has been noted, rather formulaic and predictible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-5-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00midnight/352144.md?page=6)