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.