James Heller
Encyclopedia
James Heller is a fictional character
from the TV series 24
, played by William Devane
.
in Political Science
at Yale University
. He is characterized as a loyal public servant, serving in the Army
as a pilot and air defense artillery
officer, obtaining the rank of Captain, and became a reservist
upon his retirement from active duty. The fictional character's background also includes a stint as CEO of Anderson Aerospace before serving as a Congressman and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the Commission to Assess National Security Policy. He was also director of the President's Economic Stabilization Program. Heller was appointed Secretary of Defense
under President John Keeler and retained this position under President Charles Logan
. Viewers of the TV series learn in season 4 of 24 that Heller is the father of his senior policy analyst, Audrey Raines
and that he was widowed. His son Richard frequently participates in anti-government/anti-corporate protests, much to his father's chagrin. Heller refers to his son's ideology
as "6th Grade Michael Moore
logic."
The character of Heller is further characterized as being a true patriot, believing that the country did not deserve to have a long impeachment process when his former special advisor Jack Bauer
requested his assistance to bring Charles Logan to justice and attempted to cut a deal with Logan which would have resulted in his resignation as president.
, the character of Heller hired Jack Bauer
as a special advisor following his dismissal from CTU. During that day, Heller and his daughter are kidnapped by a terrorist group, which planned to broadcast his execution over the internet. They were rescued by Jack, and Heller coordinated CTU's pursuit of terrorist leader Habib Marwan. After spending several hours directing operations in CTU-Los Angeles, he is eventually transferred to Division when the threat escalates. Neither Heller nor his daughter were part of the tight circle that helped fake Jack's death to avoid an international incident with the Chinese.
, Heller is attending a summit in Japan
. While on his private jet on the return trip, Audrey telephoned him and told him that it was urgent that he redirect the plane to land in Los Angeles. Jack meets him at Van Nuys Airport
to give him evidence implicating President Logan in the death of David Palmer. After hearing the recording, Heller feels the best course of action is to personally meet with Logan and try to quietly force his resignation. He leaves the recording with one of his security officers and orders Jack and Audrey to be kept in custody until he returns. After he leaves, Christopher Henderson locates Jack at the Van Nuys airport and forces him to surrender the recording while holding Audrey at gunpoint. Heller's plan backfires when Logan, notified by Henderson that the tape has been recovered, informs Vice President Hal Gardner that he is forcing Heller's resignation because of his unsubstantiated allegation that he was complicit in Palmer's death.
After Henderson is captured by Jack, Henderson reveals he has his men on standby to kill Heller. The men have orders to kill Heller if Henderson does not make contact with them every fifteen minutes. Jack calls Heller to ask him if any of Henderson's men are visible, and Heller informs him that a man from a hovering helicopter
has a laser sight on him. Jack is insistent on letting Henderson go to save Heller. Heller, however, asks Jack's forgiveness for not trusting him earlier, and wasn't going to let his life get in the way. On the phone, Heller speaks his last words, "Tell Audrey I love her." He then hangs up, and in a suicidal gesture, drives his car off the cliff into a lake. His car is last seen impacting the water of the lake. It appears Heller resigned himself to committing suicide.
It was later revealed that Heller indeed survived the crash and was in intensive care.
of 24, Heller returns at 1:56 AM after he learns of his daughter's condition. When he sees what state she is in, he tells Jack Bauer
to stay away from her. "You’re cursed, Jack,” Heller says, “Everything you touch, one way or another, ends up dead." After telling Jack about never going near Audrey, he threatens to file a legal restraining order
to make sure that Jack will never see her. Nadia Yassir
tells Jack that Heller moved Audrey to a civilian hospital.
In the closing minutes of Day 6, Bauer arrives at Heller's beach house, holding Heller at gunpoint and demanding to know why Heller didn't try to get him out of China. Heller insists that he did, but those efforts met with failure. Jack tells him that he did not try hard enough, and decided to leave Jack as an "acceptable loss." Jack also says that Heller doesn't blame him for Audrey's condition but the fact that Audrey would not give up on Jack regardless of what he told her. Heller admits Jack is right, and he deserves better, but Jack is not interested. Additionally, Bauer demands to know where Audrey is, and Heller refuses, which enrages Bauer further. Heller calmly lets Bauer know that no matter how badly Bauer wants to regain his life, he will be drawn back into "the game and my daughter's going to pay the price...like your wife did!" Jack becomes infuriated even more with Heller and threatens to kill him, but Heller then implores Bauer to let Audrey go for her sake. After a few moments with Audrey, Bauer agrees with Heller, and painfully bids Audrey goodbye for the last time.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the TV series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, played by William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
.
Characterization
The character Heller was given the background of receiving a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He is characterized as a loyal public servant, serving in the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a pilot and air defense artillery
Air Defense Artillery
The Air Defense Artillery branch descended from the Anti-Aircraft Artillery into a separate branch on 20 June 1968...
officer, obtaining the rank of Captain, and became a reservist
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
upon his retirement from active duty. The fictional character's background also includes a stint as CEO of Anderson Aerospace before serving as a Congressman and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the Commission to Assess National Security Policy. He was also director of the President's Economic Stabilization Program. Heller was appointed Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
under President John Keeler and retained this position under President Charles Logan
Charles Logan (24 character)
Charles Logan is a fictional character played by Gregory Itzin in the television series 24. During the show's fourth season, Logan is the Vice President of the United States who is sworn into office as President of the United States when former President John Keeler is critically injured in a...
. Viewers of the TV series learn in season 4 of 24 that Heller is the father of his senior policy analyst, Audrey Raines
Audrey Raines
Audrey Louise Raines is a fictional character played by actress Kim Raver on the television show 24.-Characterization:Audrey was born in either Albany, New York or Providence, Rhode Island . Her mother died when she was nine...
and that he was widowed. His son Richard frequently participates in anti-government/anti-corporate protests, much to his father's chagrin. Heller refers to his son's ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
as "6th Grade Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
logic."
The character of Heller is further characterized as being a true patriot, believing that the country did not deserve to have a long impeachment process when his former special advisor Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
requested his assistance to bring Charles Logan to justice and attempted to cut a deal with Logan which would have resulted in his resignation as president.
24: Season 4
Before season 424 (season 4)
Season Four, also known as Day 4 of the television series 24 premiered on January 9, 2005 and aired its season finale on May 23, 2005.The Season Four storyline starts and ends at 7:00 am....
, the character of Heller hired Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
as a special advisor following his dismissal from CTU. During that day, Heller and his daughter are kidnapped by a terrorist group, which planned to broadcast his execution over the internet. They were rescued by Jack, and Heller coordinated CTU's pursuit of terrorist leader Habib Marwan. After spending several hours directing operations in CTU-Los Angeles, he is eventually transferred to Division when the threat escalates. Neither Heller nor his daughter were part of the tight circle that helped fake Jack's death to avoid an international incident with the Chinese.
24: Season 5
At the start of season 524 (season 5)
Season Five, also known as Day 5 of the television series 24 premiered on January 15, 2006 and aired its season finale on May 22, 2006.The Season Five storyline starts and ends at 7:00 a.m. It is the same time frame as the previous season....
, Heller is attending a summit in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. While on his private jet on the return trip, Audrey telephoned him and told him that it was urgent that he redirect the plane to land in Los Angeles. Jack meets him at Van Nuys Airport
Van Nuys Airport
Van Nuys Airport is a public airport located in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley section of the city limits of Los Angeles, California, United States. No major commercial airlines fly into this airport; it is used by private, chartered, and small commercial aircraft...
to give him evidence implicating President Logan in the death of David Palmer. After hearing the recording, Heller feels the best course of action is to personally meet with Logan and try to quietly force his resignation. He leaves the recording with one of his security officers and orders Jack and Audrey to be kept in custody until he returns. After he leaves, Christopher Henderson locates Jack at the Van Nuys airport and forces him to surrender the recording while holding Audrey at gunpoint. Heller's plan backfires when Logan, notified by Henderson that the tape has been recovered, informs Vice President Hal Gardner that he is forcing Heller's resignation because of his unsubstantiated allegation that he was complicit in Palmer's death.
After Henderson is captured by Jack, Henderson reveals he has his men on standby to kill Heller. The men have orders to kill Heller if Henderson does not make contact with them every fifteen minutes. Jack calls Heller to ask him if any of Henderson's men are visible, and Heller informs him that a man from a hovering helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
has a laser sight on him. Jack is insistent on letting Henderson go to save Heller. Heller, however, asks Jack's forgiveness for not trusting him earlier, and wasn't going to let his life get in the way. On the phone, Heller speaks his last words, "Tell Audrey I love her." He then hangs up, and in a suicidal gesture, drives his car off the cliff into a lake. His car is last seen impacting the water of the lake. It appears Heller resigned himself to committing suicide.
It was later revealed that Heller indeed survived the crash and was in intensive care.
24: Season 6
In season 624 (season 6)
Season Six, also known as Day 6, of the television series 24 premiered in the United States on Sunday, January 14, 2007, the UK on January 21, 2007 and in Australia on January 30, 2007.The season's storyline began and ended at 6:00 a.m...
of 24, Heller returns at 1:56 AM after he learns of his daughter's condition. When he sees what state she is in, he tells Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
to stay away from her. "You’re cursed, Jack,” Heller says, “Everything you touch, one way or another, ends up dead." After telling Jack about never going near Audrey, he threatens to file a legal restraining order
Restraining order
A restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
to make sure that Jack will never see her. Nadia Yassir
Nadia Yassir
Nadia Yassir is a fictional character from the TV series 24 played by Marisol Nichols. Introduced in Season 6, she works for the Counter Terrorist Unit at Los Angeles, a fictional domestic branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
tells Jack that Heller moved Audrey to a civilian hospital.
In the closing minutes of Day 6, Bauer arrives at Heller's beach house, holding Heller at gunpoint and demanding to know why Heller didn't try to get him out of China. Heller insists that he did, but those efforts met with failure. Jack tells him that he did not try hard enough, and decided to leave Jack as an "acceptable loss." Jack also says that Heller doesn't blame him for Audrey's condition but the fact that Audrey would not give up on Jack regardless of what he told her. Heller admits Jack is right, and he deserves better, but Jack is not interested. Additionally, Bauer demands to know where Audrey is, and Heller refuses, which enrages Bauer further. Heller calmly lets Bauer know that no matter how badly Bauer wants to regain his life, he will be drawn back into "the game and my daughter's going to pay the price...like your wife did!" Jack becomes infuriated even more with Heller and threatens to kill him, but Heller then implores Bauer to let Audrey go for her sake. After a few moments with Audrey, Bauer agrees with Heller, and painfully bids Audrey goodbye for the last time.