Saying Goodbye and Goodnight to Day Break
Published November 16, 2006
This television season has been a series of annoying, and I believe, unsuccessful attempts to cash in on past successes, most notably on Fox’s 24 and ABC’s Lost. Admittedly, I am hooked on both these shows, but they set a rather high standard on the quality meter; therefore, these new shows trying to be the next 24 or Lost always seem to fall flat and force me to click the remote.
An example of this kind of swing and miss attempt is ABC’s new drama, Day Break. There has to be a gimmick or a twist to be like the other two shows (24 takes place in “real” time over twenty-four hours; Lost features castaways from a plane crash living on a deserted island). Day Break plays around with the twenty-four hour concept, but in the case of detective Brett Hopper (played by a standout Taye Diggs) he has to live the same day over and over again.
The following synopsis of the show comes directly from ABC.com:
Taye Diggs (Kevin Hill) stars in this action-packed thriller that takes a bad day and multiplies it by infinity. Detective Brett Hopper (Diggs) is having a hellacious day; the kind of day where nothing goes his way and he just can't wait to put it behind him... only he can't, because he's living the same day over and over again.
So I liked the hook and it was compelling enough to get me to watch the 2-hour season premiere. Unfortunately, the show lost me over that one hundred and twenty minutes because of inconsistency, implausibility, and incredulity. The basic storyline makes sense, especially for the first thirty minutes in. Hopper is being set up for the murder of the ADA; he tries to figure things out, and finally ends up on his back in a stone quarry where some guy warns him to cooperate after showing him a video of his girlfriend Rita (the lovely Moon Bloodgood) getting murdered and his sister and her children being threatened.
I thought, “Okay, this is cool,” after the first half hour, but as we moved into the second cycle of the new day things just don’t make sense. There were two additional cycles of the day in all, including various elements and different plot twists in each of the twenty-four hour blocks. The problem I have with this is that people get killed and are not dead; a woman is saved in one version of the day, for example, (Hopper stops her from being hit by a bus), but in another version of the day she is rushed to the hospital and seems to be dying.
Also, in the third cycle of the day, Hopper’s partner Andrea (Victoria Pratt) gets shot and killed as she tries to save him from thugs. Hopper feels very guilty about this for a moment, but then he is off in his car and we can assume that he must be thinking, “Ah, she’ll be okay; there’s always tomorrow.”
- Saying Goodbye and Goodnight to Day Break
- Published: November 16, 2006
- Type: Review
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Film and TV Business, Video: Drama, Video: TV Recap, Video: Television
- Writer: Victor Lana
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Comments on this articleComments
You seem to have totally missed Day Break and watched something else. A shame. All your complaints were absent in the version I watched.
Or maybe you just didn't get it.
Yeah, what Bob said.
Also, exactly why are you complaining about other people dying then coming back to life? That MUST happen... it's part of the premise! And Hopper was actually extremely distressed when his partner was killed, even the next day after it all reset.
As for staying shot thing the next day... it's great! Are you seriously complaining that everyone else doesn't stay the same? HE is the one re-living the day, not everyone else. It adds a really interesting twist that helps makes days more different than if he woke up each day exactly the same. How else are we supposed to get 13 episodes of differentness and twists?
You hit the nail on the head, Bob. I didn't get it! Thanks for clearing that up for me.
The problem I have with this is that people get killed and are not dead;
Huh.. You're kidding right?
How exactly is this a problem, when you just suspended your disbelief for the fact he's stuck in a time loop?
The day break season is pulled but it would be nice if the rest of the thirteen episodes were still aired. I am not very happy to see the show go. I was waiting for each new episode to air. I hope they least consider airing the episodes online. It would sure seem like a waste to just toss out the rest of the season when im sure the 14 million viewers and myself would like to see it. This was the first time I really watched ABC religiously
S Keller, I'm sorry to see the show cancelled. I didn't like the show; it wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean I want it to go kaput.
Anyway, I hear that you can watch the remaining episodes on ABC.com. At least that's something better than just dropping the show cold.
So you think Jericho is nothing to watch but 24 is? 24 has proberbly the worst acting among all "top" series and the script for all women characters is ridicolous (well Jericho has one bad, not all).
24 should get new persons in all leading roles, because the concept is great.
If want to "waste" time on TV watch Heroes and Prison Break insteed.
I have to say I disagree with you, Victor, sorry! To me, this was Life on Mars meets Groundhog Day, and if Bill Murray could relive his day in the latter, then it wasn't hard for me to suspend belief and allow Taye Diggs to do the same. It was a cop show with a difference, and fortunately, we were able to see all 13 episodes here in New Zealand, albeit in a sucky late-Saturday-night timeslot. (New Zealand programmers can lack courage: if a show has flopped in the US, they take that as an excuse to relegate it to weird hours.) It was less frustrating than Lost for me. However, we both do agree that Mr Diggs is one fine actor, and his presence in the series gave it a lot of gravitas.
goodbye julia pupunta ka na sa USA
how can you be a fan of TV shows and not enjoy this one... if you seriously have a hard time with the premise and the logic of the show, then why are you watching it in the first place. it is entertainment, if you didn't like it, you are just way too picky in my opinion. i think the story is fun and it definitely kept me watching episode after episode. how could you write two pages about how it was bad, i struggled to even read your article because it sounds like you have to actually think really hard about the things you didn't like. your arguments are lame.
peace
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