Taye Diggs in Day Break
© ABC
Day Break is Done!
By: Stephen LackeyDate: Sunday, March 04, 2007
The best example of why a 13 episode season of Battlestar Galactica would work that I’ve seen lately is Day Break. The plan was for the entire story to be told in only 13 episodes. If you didn’t catch it, or what ABC showed of it before it was canceled, you can now see the entire season on abc.com. I haven’t been the biggest fan of the abbreviated season of BSG, but I have to say it worked for Day Break, maybe it would work for BSG too, they just need to premiere the new season in the fall so mainstream fans don’t give up on it, but that’s another story.
I just finished with the last episode of Day Break and it was a complete blast. If you’re not familiar, basically a cop wakes up one morning to find that he has been framed for a murder and he sets about trying to discover the truth behind the frame up.
Then things go all Groundhog Day on him. He wakes up over and over again re-experiencing the same day over and over, even down to breaking the same soap dish every morning. But, as much as it appears to be the same day in the beginning it changes subtly at first. As Detective Hopper discovers another clue or answers another question the day is changed. People around him can be killed but when he wakes up they are back in his day unhurt. Hopper isn’t so lucky though, if he’s killed, the day is over for good. He learns this after he is wounded and when he wakes up the next morning the wound is still fresh.
The 13 episodes are super tight with absolutely no filler. Just when you think the creators are dishing out a side story, it all ends up being connected. The series was well acted, well written, and featured slick production values. As with shows like this the story does get just a little convoluted and there are a few plot holes but overall, Day Break, the series, was a highly underappreciated series. At least the few fans the series did have got to finish out the storyline on the web. If I were doing a full season review I’d give it an overall A. It’s all up there online, go check it out. What I liked best about the series is that why this Groundhog Day effect happens to Hopper is never explained, and he’s not alone in this vicious circle and while this person does get closure, it isn’t all wrapped up in a bow. I absolutely loved the closing moments of the final episode.
This week’s best bets are obviously Heroes, where we finally meet Mr. Linderman and Hiro gets back on track, Lost where a team of castaways go on the hunt for the Others, and Battlestar Galactica where it feels like we are finally coming to the end of the filler. Happy watching!
Monday
PRISON BREAK (FOX, 8:00pm PST) “Sweet Caroline”
Michael through his genuis has an encounter with the President, Sara runs into Mahone, and Bellick spots T-Bag at the airport while on his way to track down Sucre.
24 (FOX, 9:00pm PST) “Day 6 5:00PM to 6:00 PM”
Jack accepts help from ex-preident Logan while the current President recovers from the bomb that went off last episode.
HEROES (NBC, 9:00pm PST) “Parasite”
This week we finally see who Linderman is when Nate meets him just before the election, Hiro goes for the sword again, and Mohinder meets another person on the list.
CSI MIAMI (NBC, 9:00pm PST) “Death Eminent”
A city councilman is stabbed to death in an empty warehouse. He is the swing vote on an upcoming development deal/
Tuesday
NCIS (CBS, 8:00pm PST) “Dead and Unburied”
Repeat –o-rama as the team investigates a dead marine found propped up in a chair in an abandoned house where it was placed after being exhumed from the backyard.
HOUSE (FOX, 9:00pm PST) “Papa’s Cabin”
Dave Mathews guest stars as a 35 year old savant whose hand constricts during a piano recital. As the patient gets worse while in the hospital House of course plans a trip to boston.
THE UNIT (CBS, 9:00pm PST) “Half-wit”
Repeat Alert! The Unit tries to get an African dictator back home after coming to the United States secretly for a liver transplant.
Wednesday
JERICHO (CBS, 8:00pm PST) “Heart of Winter”
Hawkins and Sara make an alarming discovery while winter sets in hard on Jericho with many refugees heading south.
LOST (ABC, 10:00pm PST) “Enter 77”
Locke, Sayid, and Kate investigate another of Darma’s strange bunkers and its mysterious occupant. Sawyer competes in a table tennis match to win back his belongings.
MEDIUM (NBC, 10:00pm PST) “The Boy Next Door”
Allison rises from sleep as her teenage self and sees visions of herself in the future. As her teenage self she investigates a present day situation involving a young girl.
Thursday
SMALLVILLE (CW, 8:00pm PST) “Static”
Repeat, repeat, Clark fights another Phantom Zone refugee while Lex pulls a disappearing act, literally right before Lana’s eyes.
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS, 9:00pm PST) “Burnout”
Two boys go missing and a local pedophile is the primary suspect.
SUPERNATURAL (CW, 9:00pm PST) “Cross Road Blues”
Another repeat where this time the brothers encounter a demon that gives victims their hearts’ desires in exchange for their souls.
Friday
GHOST WHISPERER (CBS, 8:00pm PST) “The Ghost Within”
REPEAT! Melinda purchases a box of ornaments that tell her the story of a ghost when she touches them.
NUM3RS (CBS, 10:00pm PST) “Democracy”
A statistician friend of Charlie’s reveals to him that three of her co-workers have been killed over a two week period and she believes that she is next.
Saturday
STAN LEE’S MOSAIC (CARTOON, 7:00pm PST)
Stan “The Man” tries his hand at a female oriented super hero story with mixed results. If you liked some of Marvel’s super hero series of the late 70’s and early 80’s such as Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends you’ll feel a bit of nostalgia when you watch this flick because it feels like it’s straight from that era. Otherwise it’s not as sophisticated as some modern animated series, but it’s probably still better than the lame Fantastic Four series that ran on Cartoon Network (Is it canceled yet?)
CATWOMAN (AMC, 8:00pm PST)
Doesn’t this channel have something to do with “classic” movies? How does this Halley Berry stinker fit the bill? Is it bad enough to go into the list of classcally bad flicks? Nope. It’s on if you wanna see it though….
EARTHSTORM (SCIFI, 9:00pm PST)
An astroid crashes into the moon causing major storms on Earth due to sudden tide changes.
Sunday
SIMPSONS (FOX, 8:00pm PST) “Rome-Old and Juli-Eh”
Selma and Grandpa embark on a May/December romance, and Bart and Lisa get into trouble with a delivery man over cardboard boxes.
DRESDEN FILES (SCIFI, 9:00pm PST) “Walls”
A woman dies mysteriously outside of Harry’s office prompting an investigation that reveals a ring of thieves that use magic to bypass security systems.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SCIFI, 10:00pm PST) “The Son Also rises”
Lee is ordered to protect Baltar’s new lawyer when his first one dies in what is suspected to be sabotage. Are we finally getting back to the main story? I hope so.
