Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Day Break

Once upon a time, ABC had a hit show that proved difficult to schedule. In the spirit of experimentation, the network decided to air six episodes in the Fall, take a break, then run the remaining episodes in February. For the interim months, ABC scheduled a 13-episode crime drama. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than stellar, and ABC yanked the show from the schedule after only a few weeks, despite the fact that all the episodes had already been filmed, and replaced it with reruns of other shows until the aforementioned blockbuster resumed in February.

Of course, I'm talking about Day Break, which was designed to fill the void left by the winter hiatus of Lost. Day Break was heavily promoted in the months preceeding its debut, perhaps to its detriment. The premise is that a police detective keeps waking up each morning to find that he is re-living the same day over and over. Unfortunately, this is the day on which he is framed for murdering a District Attorney and his loved ones are in constant peril from the true killers. Regrettably, the ads for the show made it look like little more than Groundhog Day with guns and car chases. I initially didn't think it would be all that good, but I watched the pilot and was surprised. It's not the best show ever, but it is entertaining, and the unfolding mystery kept me watching. Because the show was planned as a single 13-part run, there was a definite resolution planned for the plotline. So naturally, ABC decided to give it the axe before the numerous unanswered questions could be resolved. Grr!

Thankfully, ABC has decided to release the remaining episodes of Day Break on its website over the next few weeks. So I'll finally get some closure. I think all 13 episodes will eventually be available online, so check it out if you're so inclined.

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