24: Live Another Day Time Jump Details

SPOILER ALERT: Now's your last chance to turn back...
SPOILER ALERT: Now’s your last chance to turn back…

There’s been a lot of speculation over 24: Live Another Day’s upcoming time jump and the writers have been keeping those details tightly under wraps. We can reveal that the final episode is titled “10:00 P.M. – 11:00 A.M.” meaning this single episode will cover a span of thirteen hours!

What’s interesting here is that the time jump isn’t occurring between episodes like everyone thought, but rather within the episode itself. This will be the first episode in 24 series history to not take place in real time.

One potential scenario would be Jack Bauer (recently pardoned) flying back to Los Angeles and reuniting with his daughter Kim. A flight from London to Los Angeles takes approximately eleven hours.

That’s if the writers decide to go with a happy ending. Kiefer Sutherland recently teased they’re aiming for “closure” but cautioned “it ain’t gonna be tied up with a bow.”

The finale has been closely guarded with not even key cast members receiving certain portions of the script. Series star Mary Lynn Rajskub recently said the last ten pages of the finale were omitted from her script, which could mean the time jump happens near the end (as an epilogue of sorts).

The writers had difficulty implementing time jumps into the plot previously with Howard Gordon admitting “there were more moving parts than we imagined.”

David Fury said “It sounded like a great idea, but we always have multiple storylines running. And while it was conceivable to find a pause in one story, finding a pause in all of the stories that happened to be simultaneous was not possible.”

“We have what we think is a pretty cool way to get us to 24,” promised Manny Coto.

(Special thanks to Rob.)

97 Comments

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This is awesome! That’s what I predicted would happen with the night shoots going so late in the production.

They did say Kim might return

They.

Thanks for the clarification

This is pretty cool. At least they didn’t go with the route that they originally considered, doing an episode that doesn’t start at exactly the beginning of the hour, an example being something along the lines of “6:30-7:30.” If this is truly the series finale, then it makes sense for them to make it a grand finale…

Very interested to see what they will do with the final episode of the season and possibly the series.

I also just realized that they could quite possibly extend the final episode’s running time since it does not take place in real time. I know this is very wishful thinking, but what if the finale was two hours instead of one?

So excited for the final four episodes!

That would be awesome if was 2 hours!

Interesting development, it’s gonna be VERY different to anything seen before on ’24’ for sure…

Forgive me for beating a dead horse, and I know it won’t happen this way, but this could’ve been the perfect opportunity to do the movie; have ‘Live Another Day’ take place in real-time twelve hours over twelve episodes ending with a cliffhanger, then have a two-hour movie take place over the remaining twelve hours of the day as Jack dodges Russians and Chinese and who know’s who else to finally get home. It could be done for a relatively modest amount if shot relatively quickly (around 45 shooting days would do it) and somewhere cheap, something like $35m would do the trick, and with all the writers’ still available, the script could easily be written and readied to shoot next year with Jon Cassar directing.

I know, I know, it won’t happen this way, but surely it would’ve been better to tell twelve hours over a two-hour movie rather than a 43-minute episode… still, one can dream and I’m very much looking forward to see just how they cram this much time into a single episode…

… or a feature-length episode (similar to ‘…Redemption’) to close both the season and the series overall, just as 24Fan24 mentioned above, don’t surprised if it happens that way… if it did, it would be the best possible end to the series for definite and we’d all be happy campers!

I think it sucks that Cassar wanted to do more 24 movies like Redemption but Fox wouldn’t let him, because I’d rather have way more movies stylized like Redemption than a feature film, (because Redemption rocked.)

WHAT??????????????

Not sure I like this time jumping within an episode.

For me the time jump issue was real simple.

1. Take care of Margo and the drones, and have Cross, Navarro etc go to ground (by episode 9)

2. Do the time jump and have Cross, Navarro and the other final villains resurface for the final arc at the end of the day.

This has the potential be unbelievably awesome.

Here’s how I think it’ll pan out:

Jack etc. resolve the threat. Jack gets seriously injured.

Timejump (surgery, etc.)

Kim etc. come to London to see Jack. It’s revealed he’ll be disabled the rest of his life (but still able to be somewhat mobile and fully lucid of course, just not able to field work). He’s effectively retired, but still able to live happy ever after and remember what it’s like to be human. I can see the final scenes being quite heartwarming, with Jack in a wheelchair. Maybe the door will be kept open EVER SO SLIGHTLY for a return, but we’ll have pretty solid closure this way.

I like your idea Tyler! I remember how excited I was at the end of day 4, thinking “Jack will never be the same again, his days of fighting terrorism are over.” It REALLY gave you that feeling there was no going back for Jack.

I was excited to see how Jack would change after his capture by the Chinese… sadly he was back to his old self in 3 episodes.

Then there was the season 8 finale where Jack had to disappear again – but it wasn’t hard this time to call their bluff and know that if Jack ever showed up again it would be the same old shit as before. Cue 24: Just Another Day and that’s exactly what happened.

No matter what happens to Jack, they always without fail manage to bring it straight back to the familiar time after time. I wish they’d burn their bridges and send Jack past the point of no return, and I think a life changing physical injury is the only way to do it. A Jack that so badly wants to save the day (I don’t think that will ever change) but is physically unable to do so would be such compelling television… if a little difficult for us to watch.

Imagine Jack in season 10 with an eyepatch and a walking stick bossing around a bunch of new recruits… oh and that’s another thing, if Jack IS coming back in the future PLEASE give him a bastard job. I speak for everyone – even if they don’t agree – when I say we’ve had enough of the whole “Jack comes out of hiding and saves the day on a provisional basis” wankery.

Jack killing Suvarov also would’ve pushed him over the edge, I think. I really, really wish he’d pulled that trigger. Imagine how high the stakes would’ve been for LAD with that hanging over him?

I still don’t know about that. Assassinating Logan, maybe. Killing Pillar, perhaps. But I don’t know about Suvarov. That would have caused a war. Countless people would have died in Jack’s pursuit for revenge/justice. There’d be no redemption, I don’t think.

Awesome idea ! I would like that

Jack Bauer, ending the series in a wheelchair? Never gonna happen.

I happened to be re-watching the start of Day 8 just last night, so I’m all about Jack FINALLY catching that flight to LA to be with his family.

you just blew my mind…

Can you imagine how freaking paranoid we’ll all be watching those final happy moments, wondering if someone will pop up out of nowhere and cause devastation.

I still get major goosebumps thinking about the attempt on Palmer at the end of Day 2, and it’s eerie connection to Day 1.

The final scene should be Jack and Kim finally finishing that chess match they had going in Episode 101.

DAMMIT. 24 Spoilers already beat me to it, and more elaborately, too.

Great minds think alike, Steeley! ;)

The only “spoiler” I’ve been about the finale was on Twitter, and someone said they saw Kim Raver and Kiefer filming on a UK airfield. So maybe the time jump has something to do with that?

Where on twitter did you see this? I wanna read it…

My perfect ending would be a homage to one of the very first scenes of the series – Jack, Kim, and Teri (Kim’s daughter) are at the Bauer residence in Los Angeles. There’s a chess board and they start playing again. Kim says something like “I’m glad you’re moving in daddy” and Jack replies “Me too, sweetie” with a large smile. Either end it there, or with a closeup of the old Jack/Teri/Kim family photo as things slowly fade to black.

I’m not sure if that would play well, but I like the idea of bringing things full circle.

I have this depressing idea in mind that Jack greets Kim at the airport or something and then he’s shot by a sniper. We see him bleeding out and Kim’s cradling his body. Silent clock. Basically a rehash of Season 1’s finale. Though we don’t know if Jack dies or not.

Remember Kiefer’s quote “Now we’re going for closure. And let me tell you, it ain’t gonna be tied up with a bow.” Your depressing idea could really happen.

I thought they’d confirmed Jack wasn’t going to be killed off

What a cheap and nasty ending that would be. Fuck that idea right up the bum!

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 1:00 am
Even worse would be if the sniper misses and kills Audrey or Kim instead!!! I remember there was a Walker Texas Ranger movie where in the last scene, the vengeful father of a criminal Walker killed opens fire on Walker as he leaves a courtroom but shoots Walker’s wife instead, the movie ends without us knowing if she lived or died.

I REALLY hope they don’t do something like this in the finale.

That would be a superb ending to the series. Love the idea of the show coming full circle.

I do love the idea of it coming full circle with a scene like that. (Bonus “awwww” points if Teri Jr still has the toy polar bear that grandpa Jack got her at the zoo the last time she saw him). Perfect way to end it all the same way it began. (Though I guess there will be other plot points left more open ended just in case they can’t resist a Day 10.)

That is a brilliant Idea.

That would totally suck. This is 24, not The Waltons!!

Haha! Exactly!

Didn’t see this coming. Pretty awesome!

I think it’s dumb. 24 is a real time show. Having the jumps occur between episodes maintained the integrity of that. This format doesn’t. Call me a traditionalist, but I think it’s BS to TAKE OUT the show’s defining characteristic for what could very well be the last episode of the series. There were ways to make the time jump work, and I feel like they blew it just so they could make the finale “easier” to write by cheating on the rules of the show.

IMO it still counts as real time as long as the time jump(s) occur during the commercial breaks. If they show 10:00-10:40PM, then do a time jump and return as 10:45AM, it’s not any different than jumping from 10:00PM to 10:00AM.

A real time violation would be if they skip time gradually from scene to scene and try to cover most of the 11 hours during the finale. That would make it feel more like a regular TV episode. If Jack or someone else is getting on a plane, then I think the big time jump during the episode is more likely.

BTW, I’m not totally opposed to the second option with real time being completely scrapped and the finale covering most of the 11 hours. That option also has it’s advantages. That way you still get the feeling of seeing a 24 hour day. The characters would still be up all night, instead of everyone getting to sleep. And it might be nice to see certain parts of the “day” covered such as midnight or sunrise.

To be honest, I’m all for them breaking the previously established rules if it means we get to see newer ideas, but I totally get where you’re coming from.

:)

Predicted a few weeks ago that Jack would die and the time jump would happen right at the end of the last episode with Kim saying goodbye. Sticking with that theory. Really don’t think they’ll be doing another series.

Having Jack back in the US and working for the government again would be absolutely ridiculous.

THEY OUTRIGHT SAID THEY’RE NOT KILLING HIM. Geez, do you people ever read this site?

Yes – but I don’t believe them. Writers/Directors etc will say anything to protect the element of surprise.

Maybe they won’t kill Jack, but someone else will … mwoohahahahahahha

Jack is done.

Keep this in mind. It is possible that this day is a 24 hour day on the clock but has 32 hours of story. This will happen if Jack flies back to L.A. , since, althought it is an 11 hour flight, 8 hours on the clock are gained back crossing the time zones. So if jack departs london at say 10 PM, he arrives Los Angeles 3 hours later on the clock, at 1 AM. So if the day ends at 11 AM L.A. time, that is 7 PM London time, which gives the show an extra 8 hours.

24marathonman
June 22, 2014 at 1:23 pm
In my opinion, when faced with the fact that they can not put all the sub-plots on pause simultaneously , they should have opted instead to do a consecutive 12 hr season. I do not like it that a 1 hr 24 TV show does not represent 1 hr of real time. But the next best thing is to do the time jump at a commercial break.

What is Kiefer going to say at the start of episode 12: “The following takes place between 10:00PM and 10:20PM and then between 10:24AM and 11:00AM?

Or at the start of the episode say “The following takes place between 10:00PM and 10:20PM” and after the commercial break he says “The following takes place between 10:24AM and 11:00AM”.

Either of the two above would be better than ditching the real time aspect entirely. If they do ditch the real time aspect they darn better say at the start of the episode “Events do not occur in real time”.

There is no way 24 is gonna ditch real time as they never have before. I think Kiefer will say something like “The following takes place between 10:00AM and 10:52AM” so it will basically run like a normal episode except it will afterwards go to an ad break instead of the end credits.

Then after coming back from the ad break, we will see a silent title that says “12 HOURS LATER” and the clock will be the small one at the bottom of the screen showing 10:52:01, 10:52:02, 10:52:03, 10:52:04 superimposed on a wide shot of the setting which is probably somewhere in the UK or US.

At the end of the episode I think we will see the same clock as the end of season 8 had, which is 00:00:03, 00:00:02, 00:00:01, 00:00:00. I think the end of Jack’s storyline will signify closure as they have said, so the clock needs to match this feeling. They thought they were done in 2010, now they think they are done in 2014, so the audience can also get closure of the show.

I guess your final point on how the clock will end will spark up talk about the potential for future seasons.

If the clock ends like all of the ’24’ seasons except 8, then some will think that this isn’t closure and in fact represents a possible willingness by FOX to do more ’24’.

Suppose you can look at it both ways.

I’m thinking the time-jumps will indeed take place between ad breaks; they’ll end on one time, go to break, pick up several hours later… it’s not cheating ’cause it will still end the day at 11:00am London time, whether Jack is on U.S. soil or not.

But that’s a whole month away, I’m worried right now how they’ll handle Heller’s non-death last week; that was a near-perfect episode, a resoundingly emotional one (how great was Kim Raver?), and easily one of the best episodes the show has EVER produced… I’m still not entirely onboard with Heller surviving, had he been killed and the episode ended with a silent clock, not only would it have elevated the current season to new heights and given the remaining episodes an emotional urgency, they would have had the audience in the palm of their hands for the rest of season without a doubt!

If they blow the explanation, they blow the season overall… they better have one great solution to Heller’s survival or that sound we’ll all be hearing will be the sound of a season deflating before our eyes…

#HopefulYetCautious.

New West Virginian
June 22, 2014 at 10:06 pm
I do hope he goes back to America and reunites with Kim, but if that’s the case, wouldn’t it not be 11 AM cause that would be London time? Wouldn’t be a different time in the United States?

I wonder if they’ve done any filming in Los Angeles or if Elisha Cuthbert has been seen filming.

what happen’s to Kate?
She lives with Jack, Back The U.S?

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 1:02 am
I want Jack to be with Audrey. Kate can be with Jordan if he survives.

If Jack’s not with Audrey, THEN he can be with Kate I want Jack to be with a love interest.

Jack and Audrey are endgame otherwise what was the point of bringing her back and having that intense reunion scene. If she gets on a plane before day’s end she’ll be going to DC. She’ll have official business she needs to wrap up with the transition of the VP becoming Pres. She may well have a funeral to plan for her father (even if it turns out he didn’t die at Wembley I’m not convinced he’ll live until the end of the day). And she’s got a husband to divorce, and this time she and Jack aren’t getting together until after she’s 100% divorced. So we could get a final Jack and Audrey scene where she says she’ll see him in LA soon, after she’s done with all her business in DC.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 10:05 pm
I wonder if Heller’s resignation still stands, or if he is still the President.

Kate stays in London. Maybe she’s Provisional Station Chief by day’s end because Navarro’s been arrested and/or killed. Or maybe she’s not promoted but still needs to hang around there for the investigation into Navarro and how Day 9’s events contributed to his undoing and she’s a key witness in the case. Maybe she needs to stay there until her husband’s name is officially cleared. Maybe she promises Jordan’s family back home that she’ll oversee the investigation into his death (assuming he dies). Either way, I can see Kate remaining in London and that would help anchor the real time so we see the end of that same day in London even if Jack does end up flying home.

It could work quite nicely thematically if we see Jack finally back home in LA with his family, and Kate unpacking her things (including photos of her and Adam) at home in London because now she’s staying. Jack’s come full circle but Kate’s just discovered who killed her husband, similar to the end of Jack’s Day 1.

The real thing I’m curious about (if international flights do happen) is which side of the pond Chloe could end up on by day’s end. And will she be arrested over Open Cell shenanigans or pardoned due to her assistance with the Day’s events? Or will she slip away into the underground (and by underground I don’t mean dead because Chloe needs to not die plz)?

I WANT JACK AND KATE TOGETHER . THE ARE SIMILAR LIFE, EXPERIENCE, TRAINING.

Too young and too old. ‘Nuff said.

And Kate also resembles Kim.

C’mon Chlojack! You just made Kate and Jack even more messed up!

Hey, let me make it even worse. Technically, Jack could be Kate’s dad…

Lol.

“Kate I am your father!” :P

TeriBauerHasBeenBehindEverythingSinceDay1
July 1, 2014 at 9:03 pm
^This.

Where is the source on this story?

Hey guys. Logic problem? The first episode’s clock started late. It started 8 minutes late. So does the clock end late?

24marathonman
June 23, 2014 at 8:36 pm
It was not really late. They showed several minutes of action prior to showing the clock. Normally, the clock is shown right after the “previously on 24”. In fact the first episode is more correct because at least it accounted for the opening taking a few minutes. In a normal episode the “previously on 24” is never accounted for.

Cannot understand people saying this regarding the clock.. isn’t it obvious, the episode started with six minutes of action (i think six, from memory .. but its not important), so when they announced the following takes place they took account that we had already seen those first few minutes of the hour. the episode still finished at bang on 12 so the clock has not been put out of sync whatsoever.. they simply announced ‘the following takes place’ a few minutes later than usual.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:21 pm
Really hoping that this means Jack is flying home to America and reunites with Kim.

I would HATE for it to be a twist bad ending, like Jack arrives in Los Angeles after his flight but Navarro had contacted an assassin (like Mandy) to target Jack upon his return. Mandy attacks them at the airport. Then either Jack OR Audrey/Kim gets killed like Jack was so close to happiness. That would be a cruel twist but someone had brought up this possibility.

If Audrey is to die, it will probably be due to Mark’s previous dealings with Russians. He will probably not back down to blackmail, Russians will get annoyed with him and Jack’s presidential pardon, so they will go after what Jack and Mark have in common instead. You know the tragic story of a husband trying to save his wife from her past only to get her ironically killed in the end.

Well, at least this would be an organic way to kill Audrey unlike all those out-of-the blue deaths that scream plot device from the rooftops.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:33 pm
In any case Jack and the others around him are never completely safe until the season ends. Even if the time jump is him flying home, we don’t know what can be waiting for him back in the US.

Chloë will kill jack.

Chloe will take the bullet meant for Jack.

Audrey is a brain washed Chinese sleeper agent in the White House, Jack goes after her but Chloe kills her in the final episode

What if Audrey ended up being behind this all with her end game of seeing Jack go down. No one would see it coming and it would be the twist of all twist in the history of 24…what if Jack was forced to kill Audrey to save himself/others….the last few hours could be a ride we never saw coming

Jack dies. Last scene. Fade to black with an infinity clock.

@ XAM:

Not sure u like anything involving this Series… I wonder why u write “bad” things about the show and still have the nerve to keep watching it. If I don`t like something like for example The Walking Dead after the second half of Season 3 I stop watching the entire Series instead of continuing to dislike it on the I-Net. Some might say trolling to that…

when is finale? 6/30 or 7/7?

The finale airs on July 14th, they’re not doing a back-to-back two hour finale this time.

the foreshadowing of Chloe’s demies has been there since the Super Bowl ad. It’s Jack carrying Chloe. The poster/ads for the show is Jack holding Chole. At no point of the show so far was there a scene of bombs or whatever exploding in London, people running in panic, and Jack protecting Chole. She hasn’t been in any dangerous situation since Jack got her out of Special Operations. I told some people just based on the Chloe backstory and the ads, this season was just written to kill her off. She doesn’t have anything to live for especially when her new guy is really bad.

Since this is the planned final chapter of 24, there is zero reason for the writers to kill Chloe in the final episode. Other than Jack, she has been one of the two most popular characters for many seasons. Furthermore, the writers know that, although extremely slim, the posibility for another season exists. Therefore, why not keep Chloe alive?

I still personally believe there will be no “TIMEJUMP” at all. to me it seems like there is way too many hrs worth (13 to be exact) to put in 45mins. so im still firmly believing that were heading for a huge surprise for this 12th episode. a quote what I read from an interview a few weeks back which follows

basically many coto was asked how the time jump was going to happen and his replay was:

“there will be a timejump, one or more, and we will be happy to tell you how we’re going to deal with it….. right after the last episode airs.”

why if its going to completed in the 12th and “FINAL” episode are they telling us they will explain how they are going to deal with it after the episode finishes ???

I personally think were heading for a season break.
theres too much going on right to be able wrap it all up in 3 last episodes it doesn’t seem doable to me

im probably wrong but this sounds the most likely answer to me.

I don’t think so. The whole reason they are doing this is because it isn’t a time constraining 24 episode season like it used to be.

And they wouldn’t say “with only three episodes left” in this promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KwdMHHsT5c

JJUK…yes, you are wrong about there being a season break. On July 14, 24 is history. Eleven of the 13 hours could be a break spent on a plane from London to Los Angeles, which means that there would be a 2nd 1 hour break. Part of the last episode can be spent in both London or Los Angeles, or all of the last episode can be spent in L.A. This is just a guess, but one that makes sense to me.
We will find out in 18 days!

New West Virginian
June 27, 2014 at 3:22 pm
Wow maybe the Russians have someone waiting in Los Angeles to kidnap Jack and take him to Russia, though that would be too similar to Cheng Zhi.

So are we gonna find out who killed Chloe’s husband and son?

Does anyone know yet if the finale is a 2 hour show

As long as the time jump involves a DeLorean, I’m down.

New West Virginian
June 30, 2014 at 1:41 am
Remember that Redemption was also not completely in real time. There is a time jump from the time the kid kills the “cock-a-roach” in a nighttime scene to the next afternoon.

sorry guys but with wats going on in the series right now im still not convinced on this time jump. I don’t care how many times its confirmed im not convinced that they can do this with the amount of stuff that’s going on we will see …………………….. To be continued !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s only 12 Hours Mate as you count 12 o’clock as 1 hour. C’mon Count it right !

WouldntYouLikeToKnow
July 1, 2014 at 10:48 pm
1) 10PM-11PM
2) 11PM-12AM
3) 12AM-1AM
4) 1AM-2AM
5) 2AM-3AM
6) 3AM-4AM
7) 4AM-5AM
8) 5AM-6AM
9) 6AM-7AM
10) 7AM-8AM
11) 8AM-9AM
12) 9AM-10AM
13) 10AM-11AM

I think the last episode will still be real time except for the part where Jack flies back to the US

So here is a scenario finale:

Jack saves the day, as usual, but at the cost of Chloe who died at the hands of Chang. US drones eventually catch up with the device and Chang and level a building he is in, killing him we are led to believe. As it seems all is at peace with the world and jack flies back on air force one to the states with Audrey and Heller. Once arriving jack gets word that Kim is waiting for him at the airport. Eventually they see each other in a crowded airport and begin to walk towards eachother. As this is happening, the camera quickly switches to a rifle scope that is watch the two walk towards eachother. Just as they are about to hug, a shot is fired and strikes Kim in the heart. As Kim falls to the ground, jack catches her and cradles her as she is bleeding out and unable to speak. camera quickly switches back to the sniper, who is revealed to be Chang (who was not killed in the drone attack), who naturally escapes quickly and out of sight. We switch back to jack and kim, and as kims eyes are slowly closing, the scene starts to fade black with a silent clock for Kim Bauer.

After that, a promo for season 10, in which jack goes ballistic and stops at nothing in good old fashioned revenge to foil a terrorist plot by Chang and evently fades out with Chang with his hands tied in a chair in a dark room, where it is reavealed that Jack has him captive and about to perform the most epic torture in the 24 series for him killing his daughter.

BOOM.

VanillaLimeCoke
July 8, 2014 at 11:13 pm
FYI, if the series ends at 11am which is TRUE then it’ll be….
6am in New York
3am in California

We also know that the sun set in London in the 6pm hour so it’s gotta be around March or September there. In any case I don’t think it’s daylight out at 6am in New York in March or September, or at least bright daylight.

So we can assume the trailer has scenes only from London in it.

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