open your eyes

Day Break was an absolute gem of a show that no one watched, a gust of fresh air that was the most enjoyable series I watched last season.  The basic plot of this 13 episode season is like this: Detective Brett Hopper (Taye Diggs) has been framed for murding Assistant District Attorney Alberto Garza and must clear his name, unravel the conspiracy, and protect his friends and family.  Sounds pretty typical but then toss in some Groundhog Day which allows (actually forces) Hopper to repeat the same day over and over and you have a classic murder mystery in choose your own adventure format.  We see the same day repeat but just when we think we are getting tired of it, new information is discovered that allows Hopper to make changes in the day which have a ripple affect on everyone around him.  In one instance he needs a murder book and when he finally finds and steals it, someone he knows is killed.  Hopper wonders why this happened because it never happened before on previous iterations of the day.

The scripting on Day Break is is what drives this show.  Its so much smarter than most serialized dramas plus it has more action than anything other than 24.  Plot threads start in the first couple episodes that continue to weave their way through the season before coming to a logical (mostly) conclusion.  Neither Hopper nor the viewer know much more than the other.  We experience everything through him.  When he confuses events in previous iterations of the day with the current iteration, the viewer is momentarily confused also until both viewer and protagonist realize they made the same mistake.  That’s creative gold!

The acting is good but not great, however Adam Baldwin steals the show. I never watched Firefly/Serenity much (gasp!) or anything else he was in so I’d never seen his work before.

Day Break was originally scheduled to fill in the gap between the fall and spring sections of Lost but ended up being pulled off the air after six episodes and the remaining eps were put on abc.com for a total of 13 episodes.  Sadly there is no dvd set being released so you’ll need to hit up your favorite torrent website to download the season. But dont think going back and watching the full season is a waste of time because you wont get a complete story.  The trend on tv is to end every season with a cliffhanger but Day Break doesnt go that route.  Almost every single plot thread is tied up by the end of episode 13 and it ends in a very satisfying conclusion.  Trust me, this was the best nine hours on television last season. In fact it might be the best nine hours of tv you watch for the rest of the year. I know I’ll be rewatching to catch the little details I missed.