Their appearances may have been brief, but they were oh so sweet. From the heroism of those who died in the name of justice to the rats and snakes that no one was sorry to see depart, it is the one episode characters that have given this series much of its intrigue as well as the rich textures of its plot. They may be gone but they are not forgotten. We pay tribute to the one hit wonders of 24 with AIG's Top 24 Most Memorable One Episode Characters of 24.
24) Arthur Rabens (Season 3, Episode 24). This guy manages to ditch a GPS tracking device because his sixth sense that CTU was on his ass was tingling, escape from a well-guarded CTU checkpoint before he could be identified, engage in a high speed car chase, have a massive kung fu fight to the finish with Chase and arm the virus detonation device, as well as die from a gunshot to the chest, all without uttering a single syllable of dialogue. That is some impressive shit.
23) Teddy Hanlin (Season 1, Episode 18). Say what you want about Teddy -- he's monotone, trite, uninspiring, frightfully banal and has really bad hair. But he is also responsible for 24 "chinwaggers" everywhere. And he's a crack shot, even though his IQ leaves a lot to be desired. Love him or hate him (mostly hate him) no one can argue that he deserves to make this list. Highly memorable, if only for the horrible acting performance by Kirk Baltz, possibly the worst performance in 24 history.
22) Cam Strocker (Season 2, Episode 3). The unfortunate phone company rep sent to CTU after Eddie's guys fuck with the phonelines. How cute was it when Cam attacks Jack in the back of the van to avenge his friend and co-worker's murder at the hands of Wald's crew? He doesn't have the faintest clue who he's dealing with, but to his credit, he manages to set aside his panic and fright and do the right thing - follow Jack's instructions to tell Tony about the bomb in the building. This saves lives. Cam was a hero in his own little way and managed to live through the ordeal to boot!
21) Jason and Kelly Girard (Season 4, Episode 17). Yes, these are technically two characters, but they go hand in hand. This civilian married couple showed brains, bravery, humanity and compassion even when they were in way over their heads as they took on terrorists to help Jack save America from certain death. The storyline was a bit disjointed, but the characters were cool.
20) Nikola (Season 1, Episode 22). A dear friend of Victor Drazen's from the old days spent killing innocent women and children in Serbia, this man has no problem taking a homicidal, genocidal, paramilitary maniac into his home and having his beautiful young daughter wait on him in a lowcut dress. That is until Jack Bauer takes her hostage at knifepoint and his dear old friend Victor executes his daughter in cold blood, simply to relieve Jack of his leverage. Yet somehow the sheer horror on Nikola's face says even he never knew what ice cold vacuity existed within the black empty depths of Victor Drazen's soul. When Victor then turns the gun on him without batting an eye, Nikola's last desperate moment reveals he has attained a certain enlightenment - that nothing will stand between this maniac and his twisted revenge.
19) Detective Mike Norris (Season 3, Episode 15). Veteran actor Tony Todd pops in for a very enjoyable cameo as Detective Norris, the kind of cop everyone should be most afraid of, because he can make a woman confess to murder just by turning on the charm and without raising his voice above a nice mellow conversational tone. Plus, he set off a chain of events that eventually culminated in the death of Sherry Palmer.
18) Gene McLellan (Season 4, Episode 12). One thing I can say about Season 4 is that it just didn't have the same high calibre of minor characters that the other seasons had. A lot of the short-lived characters were all too forgettable, but Gene McLellan was one exception thanks to the great work of veteran actor Bill Smitrovich. McLellan was the embodiment of corporate greed, a man who in the end was willing to sacrifice not only the city of LA but also the safety and security of millions of people just to cover his own ass and hold on to the last sad vestige of his ruined company.
17) Zach Parker (Season 3, Episode 2). From the moment he first appeared during a conversation with Kyle Singer to the last moment when Jack and Chase shoot him down and torture him on the floor of his crackhouse, Zach Parker was the special brand of slimey overconfidence and blazing stupidity that is reserved only for the most pathetic, small-time, wanna-be white-boy drug dealers in the slums of LA. Jack said it best when he exclaimed "Shut up, stupid!"
16) Dave (Season 2, Episode 2). Also known as Eddie Grant's resident tech-nerd. Freakin' annoying and rat-like and conspiracy-theorist-paranoid though he was, he's also the only one in Wald's inept motley crew of bottomfeeders who had even the faintest clue about what was really going on. In the end, his broken ankle saved his pathetic life.
15) George Ferragamo (Season 1, Episode 12). The minute Ferragamo hung up the phone without hearing Palmer out, you just knew he was toast, but that didn't stop him from being sleazy, sanctimonious, hypocritical and arrogant right up until the very end. Go George Go!
14) Peel (Season 3, Episode 5). If not for this insane sadist, Jack and Ramon may well have slipped out of the prison quietly amidst the unorganized chaos of the riot. However, Peel's brilliant plan to make the guards play Russian Roulette made both Jack and Ramon face their demons in an unimaginable test of wills with the highest stakes of all on the line. This confrontation was a one-scene parallel of the entire relationship between Jack and Ramon Salazar. Which man had the will to do what the other believed he wouldn't? Agent Jack vs. Ramon Salazar indeed!
13) Rafael Gutierrez (Season 3, Episode 8). In a classic case of wrong place, wrong time, this Mexican Intelligence Agent goes out on a limb to help Tony Almeida and winds up dead, caught in the line of fire during a shootout between Chase Edmunds and Ramon Salazar's men. The worst part is that his death is entirely in vain. The bullets started flying before Tony could tell Chase the truth about Jack, which was the whole reason Rafael was there to begin with, and Chase is captured anyway. It is always the righteous who fall prey to circumstance.
12) Marshall Goren (Season 2, Episode 1). As the most truly despicable and depraved person on this list, this sick pedophile is all fixed up for a complete walk on charges of child abduction, child pornography possession and first degree murder, provided that he testifies against Joseph Wald, a low-level domestic terrorist, in a Federal Case. Goren is smug as fuck about it -- that is until Jack whips out his pistol and caps him, then decapitates him and puts his severed head in a bowling bag. Let's not mince words -- NO ONE is going to lose any sleep over that.
11) Frank Simes (Season 1, Episode 9). The Crown Prince of the 24 Season 1 Frank Fenomenon (second only to the incomparably soulless and psycho King of Franks, Frank Allard). In charge of watching Jack Bauer after he is taken into Secret Service Custody. Representative of the classic "soft-hearted-bureaucrat-but-my-hands-are-tied" mid-level security lliason that is oft seen in 24, Simes is the best of the bunch. He manages to stay vinegary without being cruel and you get the impression that deep down, he is secretly rooting for Jack.
10) Diana White (Season 3, Episode 17). Of all the one episode ladies, good ol' Di is definitely the baddest bitch around! High class madame turned entrepeneur, as well as Stephen Saunders' lover, Diana is beautiful, deliciously skanky, quick on the draw and loose with her pistol, as well as having bigger balls than most of the men on this list. She would have made Ira Gaines a happy, happy man.
9) Scott Baylor (Season 1, Episode 2). Of all the one episode characters, Scott is definitely the one we wish had survived longer so we could have seen more of him. Not to mention the fact that it was he who uncovered the entire concept of the CTU Mole, Scott was the perfect blend of paranoid family man and duty-bound agent. From the sweat on his face during his sketchy meet with Walsh in the shadowy hallway of 2350 Dunlop Plaza to his "24 hour" ultimatum, we totally heart Scott.
8) Mohsen (Season 2, episode 10). Also known as Syed Ali's compatriot, who tortures Kate Warner. If this completely psychotic, sadistic and creepy terrorist with a total sexual predator vibe doesn't chill you to the very depths of your soul, I would question your own sanity! Nonetheless, completely unforgettable and surely gave Kate Warner nightmares for years and years to come.
7) Larry Rogow (Season 1, Episode 3). Massive props to this jaded, vicious young male hustler. Ultimately, he is willing to sacrifice himself to save the same two scared, panicked girls he previously robbed, threatened at knifepoint and chased out of safety less than an hour earlier. Ahh, the hooker with the heart of gold. Plus, the whole "snuggle with your daddy in the Hollywood Foothills" line was priceless.
6) Joseph Wald (Season 2, Episode 4). Oft-discussed but scantily seen, Joseph Wald is the mysterious mastermind behind the plot to set off a bomb in CTU Los Angeles. Despite the evil havoc he wreaks for his cause, he stands by his morals to the end, preferring to give himself up and take his own life than have a hand in the deaths of millions of innocents (or go back to jail for that matter). Plus, any character with his own stainless steel remote-control panic room deserves to make the top 10.
5) Jessie Hampton (Season 1, Episode 4). You gotta hand it to Jessie, she's one brave lady. Not only does she troll around looking for danger flying solo, but she doesn't hesitate to help a Federal Agent pursue an armed criminal in a maze of an old abandoned building with only her trusty police-issue 9mm to back her up. She really was a good cop. Her death was truly a tragedy and she will not be forgotten.
4) Trevor Tomlinson (Season 3, Episode 17). Maybe it's the sexy no-nonsense British accent. Maybe it's the fact that he looks just like a young Roger Waters. Maybe it's the fact that his last act was giving Jack the information to find Saunders even as he was dying. Either way, Tomlinson rocks! An awesome condensed version of Yusuf Auda.
3) Lauren Procter (Season 1, Episode 9). As the spunky night-shift waitress Jack carjacks during his escape from Secret Service custody, who helps him find a place to hide and get free of his handcuffs, the character of Lauren could have been massively annoying and completely extraneous. Instead, she comes across as ballsy, tough, a wee bit cynical and a woman of her own mind.
2) John Mason (Season 2, Episode 7). In his brief, yet high-impact, two scenes as the estranged son of George Mason, actor Eric Christian Olsen brings an emotional depth to the character of John at a level that many multi-episode actors in this series have yet to achieve. He made this scene stick in our throats like a bitter pill, as well as provides a much-needed human side to George. An unforgettable character in an unforgettable 24 moment.
1) Robert Ellis (Season 1, Episode 15). With only two or three major scenes other than his death in the entire series, Robert Ellis gets our nod as the number 1 unforgettable one episode character of all time. Why, you ask? In those brief scenes, Ellis developed a distinct personality and backstory that made him very believable and three-dimensional. He was every inch the broken, used-up drunk whose career destroyed him, whose status as a "floating NSA Operative" is questionable at best. However, this didn't stop him from providing Jack with crucial information that identified Alexis Drazen, as well as providing Jack and Palmer with an understanding of the Drazens' motives for wanting revenge on Jack's family as well on Jack himself. Ellis was the definite highlight of a somewhat murky second act of Season 1. Alas, poor Ellis, we hardly knew ye!
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