another under-appreciated TV show

[cellio]

I just finished watching Day Break, which is kind of like a cross between a crime/conspiracy drama and Groundhog Day (in the science-fiction sense, not the romantic-comedy sense). The main character, Detective Brett Hopper, wakes up one morning to find he's been framed for murder, so he sets out to clear his name, uncover the truth, and protect his family (who are getting some attention because of the first two). The twist is that he keeps reliving the same day over and over again, with his memories (and injuries) intact. Changes he makes in one iteration affect the next (and can be reverted by subsequent actions).

The show was canceled after 6 episodes aired; 13 had been made and eventually came out on DVD (which I've been watching via Netflix). The final episode reaches a satisfying ending while leaving doors open; I presume it was intended to be the finale of a short season when it was made. So it fared better than many shows that get canceled early in that it tells a story rather than just the first few chapters of a story. It had potential, though, and it would have been interesting to see a second season.

The episodes that were made do not, however, provide any insight into what is causing the time loop. I wonder if we were ever going to learn about that or if it was just meant to be one of the givens of the show.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

Have you seen "Life on Mars"? (the British version: do not bother with the AMC American version, which was rubbish)

[cellio]

Thanks for the recommendation; it's now in the queue. I'd heard of the US show (not on a channel I get), but not that it was based on a British show.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*nod* This is the recommendation I was just about to make.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I watched that on Hulu, and it frustrated me also that the crime-plot was solved, while the hey-isn't-that-amazing-science plot was more and more ignored as the season continued.

[miz-hatbox.livejournal.com]

I watched Daybreak when it was on and felt infuriated when they cancelled it. When the DVD came out I was SO glad to find out how the show turned out. I'm glad you liked the show too.

I thought the commentary sounded like it was pretty meaningful but I couldn't bring myself to watch the series AGAIN just to hear all the commentary.

[cellio]

I pretty much never watch DVD commentary tracks. Interviews and the like, sure, but watching the whole episode again with a voice-over doesn't appeal to me. (I will make an exception for Dr. Horrible since the existence of that commentary track has been pointed out to me and they did it as a musical. And I made exceptions for B5 some of the time.)

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendation and reminder about this show. For whatever reason, I missed it when it was first on. (I think we recorded some episodes on our TiVo and then deleted them unwatched.)