My 2008 TV-Watching Experience

My 2008 TV Watching Experience

I can’t finish my 2008 Film List until some movies finally make it to Nashville. But I can make of list of cool TV I saw this year. Despite having no cable, I still managed to stay current on most of my favorites.




Battlestar Galactica
Network: Sci-Fi
The penultimate season (or the first half of the final season by the network’s count) was the most consistent season so far. No stand alone episodes (not that there wasn’t plenty of filler) made for a real mounting sense of dire suspense. The show has grown so complex that I have trouble keeping the different cylons apart, but it is truly shaping up to be an epic series. Characters still have a tendency to change depending on what the drama of each episode demands, and some characters are frustratingly single-minded, but that final scene of this season: uber depressing, which means it was uber awesome! I have no idea who the final cylon might be.
Performances I liked:
Mary McDonnell


Breaking Bad
Network: AMC
I don’t know what’s going on at AMC, but I like it. Malcolm’s dad becomes a meth dealer and madness ensues. This show has one hell of a dark streak (the episode where a body is dissolved in acid was especially gruesome). And I’m glad to see Aaron Paul finally get a decent role. The season finale lacks the punch that I’ve come to expect from such episodes, but that was due to the writer’s strike. Violence? Drugs? Sex? More, please.
Performances I liked:
Bryan Cranston
Aaron Paul

Fringe
Network: Fox
It’s really just a jacked up CSI. Mad science used to solve mysteries with the ongoing promise that there is a deeper mythology lurking. There are a few episodes that lend to the bigger mystery, and I think these are the strongest since the more formulaic episodes suffer from too much repetition. The first episode in particular had some iffy character development. John Noble’s character can be too much of a joke, but then he lets some dark aspect of his son’s childhood slip out. Some of the plotting is contrived, but the final episode galvanized my interest, and I will continue watching in the next year.
Performances I liked:
John Noble


It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Network: F/X
One of my favorite moments of the year is watching Charlie and Dee discuss whether or not it’s racist to want to eat a white dude rather than a black dude. Tackling the big issues. “Dude, stop pulling out your teeth!” It also features one of my favorite songs of the year. “This Boy’s Hole” Or “This Boy’s Soul” depending on who’s singing it. In fact, I was a little sad when the season ended. In a deal like the one ABC made for LOST, Sunny has been guaranteed 39 more episodes over the next three years. Plenty of time for somebody to give Charlie Day an award. My favorite character on TV right now.
Performances I liked:
Charlie Day
Danny DeVito
Glenn Howerton
Rob McElhenney
Kaitlin Olson


LOST
Network: ABC
This season, the show totally delivered on what it had been promising. A growing, all consuming arc, batshit crazy plotting, and backstories that confirm some of the survivors are not there by chance. We even got a brilliant influx of new, mysterious characters (Jeremy Davies’ single shot flashback has inspired me with a theory regarding his character’s significance.). We finally have some real, menacing villains. Kevin Durand’s Keamy in particular was a brilliant addition – towering over the rest of the cast and committing one of the most shocking acts on the show to date. I believe this season also has the highest body count of recurring characters. And all this in the face of a writer’s strike that cut the season down the middle. My parents are now watching the show, and I assumed they were completely confused about everything at this point, until one night my mom expertly explained the long complex history between Desmond, Penny and her Father to my brother.
Performances I liked:
Naveen Andrews
Henry Ian Cusick
Jeremy Davies
Kevin Durand
Michael Emerson
Jeff Fahey
Yunjin Kim
Ken Leung
Terry O’Quinn

Mad Men
Network: AMC
I liked the second season even more than the first. The show got into the lives of some of the lesser executives more, and pondered relentlessly on a time of massive change in American society. There isn’t a lot of nifty plotting. Instead, the rewards are all in the immense details, and the ironic eye of almost fifty years of history. Mysterious pacts, unwanted pregnancies, and afternoon rapes.
Performances I Liked:
John Hamm
Christina Hendricks
January Jones
Elisabeth Moss



Primeval
Network: BBC America
Fringe-lite. But far more fun. This show suffers from some truly bargain basement special effects, but it makes up for its shortcoming with an enjoyable cast and twisty mythology. The show has only begun to touch on the dangers of time travel, but I can see some insane elements falling into place.
Performances I Liked:
Andrew-Lee Potts


Reaper
Network: CW
Only a few episodes aired in 2008, but they pushed the story forward ably. The demon rebellion, revelations about the missing pages in the contract, and real looming darkness. Still just the slacker dude Buffy, but it’s fun as hell.
Performances I liked:
Ray Wise

Skins

Network: BBC America

Teens being bad. Each episode focuses on a different character. The main character is the Machiavellian (and sexually confused) Tony who manipulates his closest friends for his own personal entertainment. The show rotates from comedic running gags to dark shocking moments. I absolutely ache for each of these sad, frustrated characters. It's a little too soapy at times, but the performances make up for it. 

Performances I liked:

Mike Bailey
Joe Dempsie
Mitch Hewer
Nicholas Hoult
Hannah Murray
Larissa Wilson


TV Shows I Watched, But Was Disappointed In


Fear Itself
Network: NBC
Like most recent horror anthologies, a lot of the episodes lack a real punch. I’m inclined to blame this blandness on the fact that it airs on a broadcast network. But some episodes were actually creepy, and it was shockingly graphic for NBC. Still, most episodes were not scary at all and relied on a last minute twist that defied all logic.

Generation Kill
Network: HBO
In typical Simon style, characters sit around, waxing poetic about their lives (so deep, man), while bitching about their jobs. And Ziggy was still way too obnoxious. But this anti-glorification of all things soldier is much batter than the propagandish Band of Brothers. And that final shot is creepy.
Performances I Liked:
Alexander Skarsgard
Billy Lush


Gossip Girl
Network: CW
Curiosity got the better of me, so I netflixed the first season. I was hoping for something trashier and more vile, but it really is just rich people crapping on everybody. That being said, the main guy (you know, the “lower class” guy) was immensely likeable. And after a while, I started to appreciate the Machiavellian Chuck.
Performances I Liked:
Penn Badgley
Ed Westwick

Heroes
Network: NBC
What the fuck is going on?! Despite culling actors from both Veronica Mars and The Wire, this show has become too frustrating and convoluted to endure. I like the look and style of the show, but the plot is indecipherable. At least Kristen Bell’s character is dead now and I can quit watching.

Pushing Daisies
Network: ABC
Still too cutesy and whimsical, but immensely watchable and fun. Visually and tonally distinct. As the ongoing story gets more and more complicated, it becomes better and better. The network has already dropped the hatchet, however. With only three episodes left (rumored to be burned off sometime soon), there is no way the story will get a satisfying resolution.

Robin Hood
Network: BBC America
Still kind of lame, but the series really fucked with the legend in the last few episodes, and rumor has it the last episode of the third season will kill off Robin. And yet, it will continue without him? It looks like I’ll be watching the third season – and then I’m done with this show!
Performances I liked:
Richard Armitage

Swingtown
Network: CBS
Boring. For CBS, it was damn risqué. For any other network, watered down tripe with no drama or style.


True Blood
Network: HBO
It started off okay, then got boring, then was pretty good, then ended okay again. It was never scary, and the dialogue was too exposition-heavy, but that title sequence is goddamn awesome. And the short stretch with Stephen Root was fantastic.


The Wire
Network: HBO
Too much McNulty. Too much plotting that is way on the nose. Too many new characters to grate on my skin while the characters I like get the shaft. The most frustrating part: when McNulty steps out of his car to look at the city and has a montage. I roll my eyes at you.


Shows I Regret Not Watching

Dexter – I enjoyed the first season, but neglected to catch the second or third. And rumor has it, they are both pretty good.

Friday Night Lights – A few episodes played earlier in the year, but for the new season, it moved to Direct TV. Since I do not have access to Direct TV, I cannot see you Friday Night Lights.

In Treatment – I didn’t even hear about this show until it was well into its debut season, but it airs four or five times a week. A week! For someone without Tivo or HBO, I’m pretty much going to have to wait for DVD here.

The Shield – I only recently got through the fourth season (which was pretty lame), but I’ve heard the final season was fantastic and the finale mind-blowing. I can’t wait to work my way through the last (gulp) four seasons.

The Venture Brothers – I watched the first two seasons on DVD this year. What an amazing show. Random scattershot inappropriate humor? Check. Shout outs to my favorites shows as a kid (namely Jonny Quest, Scooby Doo, Superfriends, etc)? Check. A deep, expanding cast and mythology? Check. How have I not been watching this show all along? Sadly, I only watched the first two seasons after the third had aired.

Miracles

Miracles

A horror series that aired on ABC in 2003.

The Set-Up: Daddy-obsessed, Church-sanctioned miracle investigator Skeet Ulrich decides to take time off from the church – having lost his faith. He moves to the desert and gets a job building houses. He’s recruited for one last investigation. Tommy Ferguson, a kid who mysteriously heals people. The catch, every time the kid heals someone, he himself gets sicker.

Skeet is then in a terrible accident. As Tommy heals him, Skeet notices his own blood spelling out the words, “God is now here.” He is contacted by creepy table-thumping Angus Macfadyen and some chick whose name I don’t remember. He tells Skeet that six other people experienced the same thing – only they saw the words, “God is nowhere.” Skeet joins their non-profit (because no one ever pays them?) ghost-busting group called Sodalitas Quarito.

It turns out Skeet is “special . . . but he’s also vulnerable to things like this.”

Typical episode: Something really fucking weird happens. The gang is called in. Skeet flirts with a cute girl. The gang comes up with a theory for the weirdness. No one believes the gang. Somebody beats up Skeet. The gang realizes that they were slightly wrong about the supernatural weirdness and show up just in time to see the supernatural weirdness work itself out.

The style: Somewhere between The X-Files and Supernatural.

Typical Dialogue: “I think the dark is its own thing, too. I think it can do stuff. And sometimes I think it wants something.”

More Dialogue: “I wish I had an explanation for that, but I don’t.”

My Favorite Dialogue: “You ever hear a horse scream?”

Special Guest Star: Gloria Stuart. She’s really good in a mediocre episode. Wow, she’s old. And Shannon and Bernard from LOST.

My favorite episodes:

• 1.1 “The Ferguson Syndrome” The opening scene is uber creepy – setting up a dark, menacing atmosphere for the show. The cinematography is fantastic in this opening episode, and it is beautifully shot. None of the following episodes look half as good. Skeet gets hit by a train.
  
• 1.5 “The Bone Scatterer” I first saw this episode just after seeing Mysterious Skin for the first time. What a fucking depressing day. This episode might not be as good as I give it credit for, but I find it intensely effective. Chris Marquette is excellent in it. Skeet gets hit by the sheriff.
  
• 1.6 “Hand of God” Karl from LOST (“They’re coming right now! Whaaaaagh!”) saw the same message Skeet saw. Only his interpretation was a little different. This episode throws a subversive twist into the plot of the series. Even though I liked this episode, the direction was especially lazy and ordinary. Skeet gets hit by an iron.
  
• 1.11 “The Ghost” All the issues meshed into one episode for your convenience. Parent/child issue? Check. Someone’s faith is rewarded, but not? Check. And the direction in this episode is really good. Skeet gets hit by a lamp.
  

Special mention:

• 1.7 “You Are My Sunshine” is a poorly written episode. However, it has one of the funniest edits I’ve ever seen in a show. That one moment nearly makes up for the rest of the episode. Skeet gets hit by a girl.
  

My Least favorite:

• 1.2 “The Patient” Too much flirting, not enough ghost busting. Too many tinkling pianos. And the silly twist ending . . . gross. The guy who wrote this episode, also wrote my least favorite episode of Profit.
  
• 1.10 “Saint Debbie” Sample dialogue “There’s your miracle.” Ugh. The town people rally together. And perhaps the most inappropriate musical cue ever. Almost good, then completely botched.
  

How many episodes were produced? 13. But ABC has a habit of only airing 6 of any given one season wonder.

Was there much continuity? Almost all the previously-ons feature the same snippets of dialogue from the pilot – giving the illusion of serialization (“Everybody has a dad. I just never knew mine.”). In reality, there is very little continuation from one episode to the next. The first, sixth, and the final episodes are the only ones that directly deal with a larger “mythology.” The final episode only recalls the mythology, more than it deals with it.

Tommy vanishes for long stretches at a time. In the final episode, Skeet seeks help because he is being haunted by Tommy, but Tommy hasn’t shown up since episode three or four.

Skeet often claims he’ll keep in touch with someone, but they are never heard from again.

In “Hand of God,” Skeet is faced with the idea that it is his divine purpose to hunt down and kill four people. This is mentioned in passing only once more.

Why was it canceled? The Invasion – I mean liberation – of Iraq. As a result of the extensive coverage of the war, Miracles kept getting shuffled around. Supposedly, even avid fans couldn’t keep up with the airings.

Was there closure? The final episode gives closure to Skeet’s relationship with Dead Tommy, although I was unaware this was an issue until the last episode.

However, in the final scene of the series, there is a scene that “caps” the series off so to speak. It’s a cool development, but I have no fucking clue what it means. Clearly there was more to come.

Any unattended issues: Skeet never catches up with his daddy, whose significance is never revealed. And we never learn about the “darkness” or the final three that Karl from LOST was going on about.

What was the meaning behind Skeet’s vision(s)? We’ll never know, and since the show is generally ambiguous, I don’t feel the need to know. But clearly there was more to this mystery that is left blatantly undeveloped.

I’m left curious about where the show was planning to go.

The verdict:
Before buying this DVD, I did as much research as I could, since I didn’t want to buy some Highway to Heaven/Touched by an Angel knockoff , but with more blood. To the show’s credit, it’s not. It never comes down either way regarding God or religion. In one episode, Skeet awkwardly describes heaven to a child as a place where all the houses are filled with clowns. “But I don’t like clowns.” “Well, they’re really more like performance artists.” It’s mostly a monster-of-the-week kind of show, with faint developments here and there.

The pilot shares more than few qualities with Carnivale – including a rainstorm of blood. But after that, the series settles in for fairly predictable plots. The show is bleak and creepy most of the time, but as it progresses, it gets less and less stylish. Sometimes the show is compelling and eerie. Sometimes painfully trite.

The plotting is often a little lazy. Macfadyen’s dialogue is regularly ridiculous. The other chick in the group is kinda useless. Except she’s got a bullet in her head (mentioned only once) and she continually delivers the clunkiest, touchy-feeliest dialogue. Skeet mostly underplays his part – very well. Kind of a sleepy performance. Meanwhile Macfadyen comes off as a spastic shit in comparison.

The parent/child issues are omnipresent and help the show consistently tap into emotionally resonant mysteries. The show is often preachy, but not about religion and not in a way that’s out of character for the speaker. Ultimately, the show never breaks out of its formula, but it does subvert it nicely. It surprises me with how good it is, only to drop the ball and suck. Just when I give up on it, it gets good again. In the end, Miracles feels somewhere in the middle. It has strong moments, but overall, it’s a little weak. If more attention had been spent on the “darkness” subplot, it would have been a hell of a lot more interesting.

Miracles Prediction: I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me sooner, but clearly Skeet’s father was going to turn out to be one of those he would have to kill . . . probably.

Edge of Heaven

My Top Ten for the Year

So, all in all, a mostly terrible year for yours truly. Regardless, there were some days when I didn't feel like drowning in a pit of spiders. 

Here's my top ten good things that happened in chronological order:

1) When LOST came back on the air and it was totally awesome. My favorite show of all time. 

2) Good Friday. I was walking a long and a bunch of frat boys invited me in to smoke up and take drugs. Very fun. Previously documented here.

3) My friend's attempt at starting a marathon of Best Picture winners. It died out at 1937, but it was fun while it lasted. 

4) Meeting that dude Josh, who was a friend of Katie's. He was nice. I wish I had a friend like that dude, Josh.

5) Bonnaroo. Even though I went alone and the rain brought me down and my tent leaked, and my phone died and I was worried about my folks, it was still fun.

6) Watching Veronica Mars with my folks. I'm glad they liked it. I liked it too. 

7) Finishing that first draft of my script for my friend. I like to finish scripts.

8) Connor Oberst at the Ryman. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

9) Obama wins. Woo-hoo! I cried. 

10) Meeting that chick that I totally fell for after meeting her only once. Beautiful, smart, interesting, and she got me. 

Sadly, there was a lot wrong with this year as well. For one thing, I haven't made any new close friends - although that dude from the screenwriting group seems to like me. Here's my top ten worse moments of 2008:

1) My birthday. Half of the few friends I had refused to associate with the other half. So when people actually tried to hang out with me on my Birthday (at eleven at night!), they had to be separated out. My friends suck. Also, one friend forced me to watch Die Hard or Live Free for my birthday. My friends suck. And my family took me to some fish restaurant only because you eat for free if it's your birthday. Lame. All of them, lame. 

2) The "Oscar Party"  Only a few friends were there. Not like the events it used to be in the past. It made me wonder, were there other Oscar Parties going on that I wasn't invited to. Everyone knows my obsession with movies and the Oscars. Seriously. 

3) Saturday Morning at Bonnaroo. My phone was dead, it was rainy, I was alone, my tent had collapsed. I was down. I mean everything was at its lowest. Apparently, someone I know saw me at that time, but didn't say anything until a week later. I could have used a familiar face, asshole!

4) Walking home one night at four in the morning, I passes a bunch of houses where people were hanging on their front porches, laughing and playing guitar and drinking. That's what I would like to do. I would like to have friends to do that with. That late at night. People do it. I'm not that alone on this!

5) The script rewrites. I knew writing the script that not much would come of it, but the brick wall I hit during the rewrite phase was really disheartening. The worst was when I knew that even less would come out of the script than I expected. I'm not going through that again. 

6) When It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ended. It was like saying good bye to a friend. I know it will be back next year, but that show is fun, and I have very little fun in my life. 

7) Halloween. Just as useless and disappointing as ever. Nobody called. Nothing happened. And it was even on a Friday night. 

8) When I realized that chick was never going to get back to me. A real downer. I was all excited about meeting her. I can't help but wonder what I did wrong. 

9) Thanksgiving. I sat in the other room watching TV while my asshole family gossiped about me. I can hear, you know. 

10) getting a ticket for running a stop sign at one in the morning. What the fuck ever! 

So that's my year. Pretty lame. I've tried to meet people through various means. Right now the only community I have is on user comment boards. Next year has to be better . . . Right?

Six Feet Under

LOST

Five Easy Pieces

The Venture Brothers

"My looks are going down the toilet faster than an unwanted pregnancy on prom night."

                                      -Dr. Venture, The Venture Brothers

Elephant

Netflix

This week, Netflix will be shipping to me from:

Louisville, KY and 

Duluth, GA

They are repeating themselves. 

Donnie Darko

Fallen Angels

"I thought what she had with Johnny would expire soon. But as it turned out, my expiration date came up first."

                              -Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fallen Angels

Sheriff Lamb, RIP

"I'm sorry about the Sheriff, but he was a smart aleck. "

                                      - My mom's eulogy for Sheriff Lamb when he got brutally beaten to death on Veronica Mars. 

Day Break

Day Break

A sci-fi /mystery series that aired on ABC in 2006.

The Set-Up: Detective Brett Hopper (Taye Diggs) wakes up next to his girlfriend. Sees a bird at the window. Hears the dump truck collecting trash. Knocks a dish off the sink. He reads in the paper that the assistant district attorney is found dead. He is then arrested for said murder and held without bail. That night, someone comes into his cell, drugs him, and kidnaps him. They show him a video of his girlfriend’s being murdered and imply the same thing lies in store for his sister and her family unless he takes the fall. They inject him with something. He passes out.

He wakes up next to his girlfriend. Sees a bird at the window. Hears the dump truck collecting trash. Knocks a dish off the sink. He quickly figures out that something is fucked up. He tries to keep one step ahead of the police and those creeps who kidnapped him with what little knowledge he has. He soon learns that the murder of the assistant district attorney runs deep and he can trust no one.

As he continues repeating the same day over and over, Diggs tries to unravel the mystery while eluding all the different factions trying to stop him. Every change he makes at the beginning of the day, affects something later in the day. It's a little like watching someone else play a video game. Only not suicidally dull.

Same day. Different shit.

Typical episode: Diggs wakes up. He races off to his intrigue-filled day. He discovers various secrets about everyone he thought he knew. He learns that someone he could once trust is capable of betraying him, or vice versa. He tries to change the day and solve the mystery. Something he has done has an adverse effect, or reveals something previously unknown. Boom! Day Break.

The style: Groundhog Day times The Big Sleep with a sprinkling of 24.

How many times does he repeat the same day? By my count, 59 times.
At my count of 18 days, Diggs says it has been three weeks. He could have been approximating.

Typical Dialogue: “I don’t have time. You always end up helping me in the end. Can we just skip to that part, please?”

More Dialogue: “If I get here earlier tomorrow, I might be able to help her.”

Most Repeated Dialogue: “For every decision, there is a consequence.”

My favorite episodes:

• 1.1 “Pilot” This thing comes flying out of the gate with a barrage of information, asides and references that will all become clear later, but only after keeping very close attention. The pace is fast and takes no prisoners. I especially like how Diggs’ gloves come off after only the first day.
  
• 1.6 “What If They Find Him” This episode focuses on Damien more than most. Maybe the funniest episode of the series. The day starts changing. Good thing too. It was starting to get too familiar. The editing kind of implies that Diggs dies in this episode – in a funny way, but he doesn’t. That would violate the rules.
  
• 1.7 “What If He’s Not Alone” Jared is a sad, contradictory character. Could all this be the result of an anomaly in the temporal lobe, leading to “hyper active déjà vu?” A clever mindfuck suggests not. This episode flirts with the sci-fi implications more than the others.
  
• 1.10 “What If He’s Free?” I really like the episodes with quick days where Diggs tries various approaches as he tries to overcome one particular obstacle. Bonus: The ending is super duper depressing.
  
• 1.11 “What If He Walks Away?” The opening montage of super hero calls is awesome. Then, the emotional toil of the day comes into play. “You’re not the same person I went to bed with last night.”
  

Least Favorite:

• 1.5 “What if They’re Stuck” Too many tinkling pianos. Too much Adam Baldwin. Other than that, it’s solid.
  

How many episodes were produced? 13. Only six aired on television.

Is there much continuity? There’s an excess of continuity. We often see the same scenes repeated over and over – altered slightly depending on what Diggs has accomplished during the day. Eventually, Diggs figures out what everyone is doing at what time of the day and plans his actions accordingly.

And there is a lot to keep track of. For example, something that’s mentioned in episode 3, won’t be elaborated on until episode 10.

To further complicate things, everyone but Diggs reboots everyday. Meaning that the writers have to keep track of what everyone knows or doesn’t know at the beginning of every day, despite what they may have learned in previous episodes.

Why was it canceled? Low ratings. Its labyrinthine plot and over-saturation of promos certainly didn’t help. The first episode had 10.6 million viewers. The sixth episode had 3.1 million. Ouch. Meanwhile American Idol, Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives continue to dominate the ratings. Damn you, America!

Was there closure? The mystery is solved. Diggs is cleared. Damien and Diggs kiss and make up to a pretty sax solo. There’s a pillow fight. A few deaths. The actual physical final confrontation is a little weak (i.e. not half as exciting or suspenseful as any final confrontation in Veronica Mars), but the answers are satisfying. Alas . . .

Any unattended issues: . . not all the bad guys are caught.

Plus, there’s this issue, where Diggs keeps repeating the same day over and over. That’s never explained. Diggs suspects it may have to do with a drug he’s given the first day, but he continues repeating the day even when he doesn’t get the drug. And that goofy final shot reminds the viewer that this was never resolved.

How is it that characters sometimes feel affected by what happened in previous versions of the same day?

The verdict:
Watching the show over the course of a few days rather than a few months makes it much, much easier to keep track of all the different threads. The show was created by some dude named Paul Zbyszewski. Cleary he set out to create a show as complicated as his last name. He succeeded. After The Prisoner and Nowhere Man, this is third show I’ve watched recently where a lone man is investigating a vast conspiracy. Other than that, the show is like no other.

The writing is smart, dense, and sardonic. Like LOST, every name has literary significance. (My favorites are Lloyd the bartender and the Santayana Club.) Information unfolds at a quick rate, and only occasionally feels overwhelming. Even the DVD extras are dense (There’s 13 episodes and 15 commentaries.) The nifty ticking sound effects-driven score keeps the tension taught, even if it is a little too unrelenting. Taye Diggs gives a great performance that’s equally intense, funny and later. flattened. In early episodes, Diggs feels adrift in a giant sea of mystery. As a result, the show feels like it’s spinning its wheels a little in the beginning. But once he finally starts making headway, the show takes off. Not that it’s ever boring.

The show is often grim. Nearly every character dies at least once. Many, more than once. And the family issues run deep.

On the other hand, I really hate Adam Baldwin. He always plays smug, macho jerks with no redeeming qualities. He doesn’t play funny jerks, or scary jerks. Just smug jerks. If everyone would stop casting him, that would be okay with me. And because of the nature of the show, a lot of episodes run together.

This is a show I had been looking forward to buying for a while. A crazy experiment of a show. I had heard the showrunners would discuss their plans for future seasons, but I find no such conversation on the DVD. Granted, I haven’t listened to every commentary track. Still, an excellent purchase.

Day Break has cult classic written all over it. It answers enough questions to feel complete, and leaves enough unanswered to invite speculation from fans.