24 Days of "24": The Six Biggest "24" Moments

The something special that I promised you was a review of the finale. But since my screener didn’t arrive today as promised, I’ll have to give you something else.

So how about my picks for the six biggest moments in “24” history?

#6 Jack kills Nina (Season 3)
Nina was one of the show’s greatest villains, but she had this one coming. We waited for this for a long time and it was worth the wait. But the reason I ranked it so high is because it’s the moment that turned the show around. The show lost its way a little during the second half of season two and didn’t find it again until this moment. After Nina’s death, the show got back on track and didn’t veer off again for two and a half more seasons.

#5 Jack kills Chappelle (Season 3)
Ryan Chappelle was probably one of the most unpopular characters in “24” history. He was the CTU division guy that always stood in Jack’s way. So his death was not unwelcome. It was the way he died that was so powerful. Stephen Saunders, the big baddie of the third season, said he would release a deadly virus unless Chappelle was killed. President Palmer authorized it and Jack carried it out. It was the first of the “Oh no they won’t” moments. But they did. The other interesting thing about this moment is that it aired on a Sunday, because the regular airing was pre-empted by a Presidential address.

#4 Nina is revealed as the mole (Season 1)
CTU moles are a “24” tradition. But Nina Myers was the first and most shocking. The show had worked so hard to convince us that it wasn’t Nina that we never saw it coming.

#3 Edgar’s death (Season 5)
There have been a lot of deaths in the show’s history, but none were more powerful than this one. I had already figured out that Edgar was the death the promos were promising, but that didn’t lessen its impact. The shot of Chloe watching her friend die from behind the protective glass with no way to stop it was one of the most emotional moments of the series.

#2 “Alan” suffocates Janet (Season 1)
I didn’t rank this one so high because it was the moment that hooked me on the show. I ranked it so high because it was the first “24” twist and the moment “24” became “24.” Alan York and Teri Bauer were working together to find their missing daughters Janet and Kim. And they rushed to the hospital when Janet was found and brought there. But when Alan entered her room, Janet’s question of “Who are you?” was a stunner. Even more stunning was when “Alan” reached over and smothered her with her oxygen mask.

#1 Teri’s death (Season 1)
Could it really be anything else? This was one of the most shocking moments in TV history, let alone “24” history. The hero is supposed to save the day and be reunited with his family. Those are the rules. But “24” announced that it didn’t care about the rules when Jack found his wife, Teri, dead in the final moments of the first season. It was the moment that put the show on the map so it’s hard to believe now how deadset against it Kiefer Sutherland was at the time. I can’t even imagine how different the show would’ve been if Teri had lived.

And there you have it. My choices for the biggest moments in “24” history. What do you think? Did I leave any out?

Photo Credits: Isabella Vosmikova/FOX, Nicola Goode/FOX, Kelsey McNeal/FOX, Richard Foreman/FOX, EW.com