Saturday, November 25, 2006
Daybreak: Intro
I enjoy television that makes you think. Not just TV that makes you think, mind you, but I especially enjoy television that fires up the old brain cells. Not "think" as is, I wonder how a babe like Leah Rimini would ever end up with Kevin James as a UPS driver. Or why could the gang on Gilligan's island build sophisticated huts, power supplies, and radios, but couldn't build a raft. I mean think, as in "what would really happen if the US were hit with nuclear weapons" (Jericho), or what would we do if we had one day to live over and over until we learned enough to finally get it right (Daybreak).
This new show, starring Taye Diggs, does a pretty good job of activating your gray matter. Here's the quick summary...
Brett Harper is an LA detective who wakes up one morning to the worst day of his life. During the day, he discovers that he has been framed for murdering a DA overnight, his girlfriend is killed, and he is taken prisoner and tortured by an unknown group of assailants for information that he does not have. After the kidnappers drug him, he passes out, only to awaken in his own bed... THAT SAME MORNING. He sees the same bird outside the window, and his girlfriend is alive again and lying next to him again.
Initially, his intention is to keep his girlfriend from being murdered in this strange do over. But he soon discovers that there is a lot more going on than he thought. He also discovers that every decision he makes, leads to some new consequence.
Each time he re-lives the day, he learns a little bit more about what is going on, the people around him, and how his actions affect outcomes. The writers do a nice job of getting the obvious choices out of the way quickly, so you don't keep saying "hey dummy, if you do this or that, it will all work out." In the first two episodes, instead of getting clearer, the picture has become more intriguing. In addition, the "what should he try now" element of the show pulls you into his world and makes you start to think about his options.
The idea is fantastic. After only two shows, it's impossible to know if the writers will be able to maintain their level of believability in the characters. I certainly hope so, because at this rate, I would like to see what happens when Det. Hopper gets this all figured out.
