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Tony Almeida is back from the dead. The character, a guy who’s almost as indestructible as iconic Jack Bauer, performs his Lazarus act in season seven of '24', Fox’s outrageous and addictive conspiracy/cliffhanger action series.
Tony, played by Carlos Bernard, was killed in season five. Or so we were led to believe. “I always had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t really dead,” Bernard says. “The way it was done, they definitely left the door open, especially with the lack of a silent clock.” The so-called “silent clock” is a rare occurrence on 24. It’s when the digital clock readout appears onscreen at the end of a scene or episode, but with no beeping. The half-dozen or so times it happened, it usually followed the poignant death of a character. The fact that Bernard, showcased in more episodes of 24 than any actor other than leading man Kiefer Sutherland, didn’t get that kind of tribute makes sense now. The new season opens with two hours of high-octane episodes at 7 p.m. CT Sunday, Jan. 12, then two more on Monday, Jan. 13. Tony will explain his resurrection, sort of, on the second night. “He’s not like Bobby Ewing on Dallas,” Bernard jokes, “and he’s not an angel. He really is alive.” Beyond that, it’s probably best not to fret about the details. Just enjoy that a beloved character has returned.When did the producers make it known to you that Tony wasn’t really dead? Did you know way back in season five? Or did some time pass before you knew?“I was suspicious all along that they might be bringing the character back at some point. Not that I was sitting around waiting for it. Every time I finish a season on the show, I basically move forward with whatever else it is that I’m working on. I was heavily into producing a project that I had written with my co-writer and obsessed with that while the sixth season was going on. Then they actually called me during the sixth season to pitch an idea to bring me back in the last episode. But it just felt very gimmicky. It didn’t feel right. And the question became, ‘Well, why do it? What’s the hook? What’s the story?’ And everyone eventually agreed that we shouldn’t do it. But that planted the seed for them to write a story that made sense for the Almeida character to be back.”Do you suppose that Tony’s resurrection could open the door for other killed characters? Suppose David Palmer’s not really dead. Or Nina Meyers or Michelle Dessler or Teri Bauer or Edgar Stiles. They could all make comebacks.“Trust me. David Palmer is pretty dead. He was shot in the throat. But I was injected with God knows what and then carted away. I don’t think you’ll see any of those other characters drop in. Look, obviously on our show, you need to suspend a little disbelief every once in a while. Even if it’s just Jack driving from the airport to downtown L.A. in 12 minutes. There’s a certain amount of suspension of disbelief required for this show to work. But that being said, the logic behind what happened is not too out there.”
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