'24': A Day in the Life

Image credit: JENNIFER ROCHOLL

All About

24

Get the latest photos, news, and more

10:54am Production HQ. Gordon's office.
After hearing that Fox was a little disappointed by a cut of episode 14, Gordon calls the network's senior VP of programming Marcy Ross to discuss the situation. ''I'm disappointed that you didn't love it,'' Gordon tells her. Ross expresses concern that a Counter Terrorism Unit love triangle isn't registering properly and asks about the motivations of Russian terrorist Dmitri Gredenko. Gordon feels some recutting can solve the first issue, and, to better illustrate the second, suggests he write a scene articulating how Gredenko's ultranationalist interests align with those of Middle Eastern baddie Fayed. Ross seems placated.

11:12am On location. Makeup trailer.
Maropis slips into the makeup chair for about a half hour to get a blood trickle from his mouth and ear, as well as a scrape near his eye. ''CTU makeup is more glamorous,'' explains makeup department head Dee Mansano, who has been powdering and bloodying the cast of 24 since the pilot. ''We have girls there, and I try to make them look as pretty as possible. But as the day progresses, we do have to take it down so they don't look fresh — less lips and blush.''

11:13am Production HQ. Writers' Room.
Surrounded by wall-hanging grids of terrorist-network cells and dry-erase boards for story ideas, Gordon and two other writer-producers, David Fury and Manny Coto, are huddled around a giant table. The trio are trying to outline episode 21, in which Jack's emotional stakes will be ''reset.'' The conversation veers from a kidnapping to an ambush involving a helicopter in the middle of Chinatown. There's debate about how to open a hole in a security perimeter so a villain can escape, and also about how to free Jack from custody. And then there are the logistics regarding the death of...a character with the last name Bauer!

12:18pm On location. Rehearsal.
Stunt coordinator Jeff Cadiente runs through the fight scene with Maropis and Sutherland stunt double Erik Stabenau. As Stabenau charges Maropis, he does so with his finger pointed out in place of a gun, mimicking firing and running out of bullets by yelling ''Bang! Bang! Click! Click! Click!'' It feels something like an adult's version of cops and robbers. They then rehearse every knee to the rib cage and punch to the face slowly, like a precise ballet of body blows. It's the friendliest brawl ever.

12:54pm Production HQ. Writers' room.
The dry-erase board is starting to fill up, and the writers are busy reordering scenes (''I really think it's a mistake to begin an episode here, because I don't know what the hell is going on,'' says Fury) and tweaking them (''Is there any way that Heller [seasons 4 and 5's secretary of defense, played by William Devane] can be acting head of CTU?'' offers Gordon). These scribes often melt their own brains to keep audiences on their toes. ''The audience will tolerate a little illogic for a fun surprise that approximates making sense,'' explains Gordon. ''My greatest fear is boredom — something that makes sense but just may not be interesting.'' They're also trying to avoid repeating themselves, a task that becomes harder every year. ''Sometimes you get lucky creatively,'' says Gordon. ''Last year we had a governing idea, which was Jack versus Logan, and whatever we hung on that basic face-off was wonderful. This year we've struggled much more with trying to find that big idea, and if you don't find it, it's like mining coal with your hands: It's really bloody and it's ugly.'' (As if 24 wasn't bloody enough already.)