Date of airing: November 22, 2006 (ABC)
Nielsen ratings information: 5.103 million viewers, 3.4/6 in Households, 1.8/5 with Adults 18-4, 2.1/5 with Adults 25-54
written by: Steven Maeda
directed by: Rob Bowman
And with this episode, DAY BREAK did not become a better show. When
the story gets confusing after three episodes already, it is no wonder
that viewers were jumping ship like the show was a boat on fire, and got
canceled after half a dozen episodes. There is a reason you lose half of your premiere audience in a week, and one of them might be that the way you were telling your story did not rise to the standards of television back then. Maybe it is just the story that
got a little out of hand in this episode, because I really cannot
imagine why Damien would be involved in Garza's murder somehow, and
why Brett needed to be the little fall guy in this big-ass conspiracy,
with the writers neglecting to even connect both sides of the
conspiracy. While it was to be expected that Damien and Garza were
connected, bringing that connection – without definition I might add – in
the third episode was a little too much. Brett was not even able to get
answers about those guys that followed him, Rita, and Jennifer,
and all of a sudden he has to deal with a whole different angle of the
plot. With more people involved in the Garza murder. With more women that need
saving. Because it cannot just be about the killing of Alberto Garza any longer.
Also, I find it confusing why Brett was reacting the way he did. When he was throwing the garbage bins around and kicking the container, I did have to laugh a little, since there was no reason at all for Brett to react this aggressively about what just transpired in his relationship with Rita. Yeah, he made a little mistake when it comes to his interactions with Rita, but that did not mean he needed to look like a jealous murderer who just realized that he was losing his girlfriend to his opponent. Especially since Brett knew that he was able to rectify every mistake he did, and could make the day look better the next time around. A simple sigh and “dammit” would have been enough, but kicking the container and looking like a domestic abuser? That was a little too much. Then again, I do not know how I would react when being trapped in a time loop, uncovering a conspiracy with myself in the middle.
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| Is this a joke? |
By the way, after three episodes, the science-fiction element has pretty much disappeared. Look at how quickly the time loop has become a plot device for Brett to uncover the conspiracy, and for the writers to jump back to the beginning of the day, because they might have written themselves into a little corner by the end of the previous plot. Heck, there are still supernatural elements at play here, but Brett does not even discuss that with himself, or maybe try and investigate what a time loop is and how he could have gotten in one. Instead of trying to find out what the time loop might have caused, or checking out the definition of time loop (AltaVista might have still been around back then), or trying to contact a scientist or something, he was too busy getting into the thick of the crime element of the show. After three episodes, it became evident what the writers really cared about, and it was not the science-fiction element of their TV show.
Here is one of those things the writers cared about instead: Throwing Rita and Chad back together, creating a romantic entanglement that is not needed, just for the sake of a jealousy plot between Chad and Brett, and creating tension between the two men who stand on opposite sides of the law right now. It is stunning how Rita was a dead woman on days one and two, but was able to get a statement out on day five, with the shadow guys not even caring about Rita any longer. Some things must have really changed for them not to simply kidnap Rita to get to Brett – after all, she was originally killed during daylight, out in the open, so whatever changed must have been part of the morning or lunchtime. I guess I can explain it with Brett getting into the car of the two goons and stealing the phone from Michael McGrady's character, but why would they not just kidnap Rita no matter what after that? They knew that Brett made them, so why not help their cause by going into the offense? It is not like Rita was well-protected...
Another thing was the ending of the episode, which was obviously supposed to shock me. But I did not give a damn at all, because it came out of nowhere, involving a character I have not even come to know yet. Brett's partner Andrea has been part of the show so far, with no character depth, and no sign of showing the audience who she is and what she might be good for. I do not even know if Brett will care enough to help her the next time he wakes up at 6:18 a.m. Yes, Brett will definitely care about Andrea's situation because the writers did not just end this episode like that because they needed a shocking ending, but because the guy Andrea killed is most likely part of the conspiracy, and therefore just another clue for Brett.
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| Now it is Rita's turn to answer questions. |
All in all, this show wants to make things as complex and complicated
and vast as possible, and after three episodes, that is pretty much not a good thing to do, especially when you are hoping to get a big number of viewers to watch your show. If you convolute your story *this much* after three episodes though, without making me care about the characters, by annoying me with rapid-fire and hyper-stylized editing, then I will wonder no longer how half of your audience disappeared within a week and essentially gave the show the death sentence it may have deserved at this point. It makes me wonder what is at fault here for real, or if it was just the perfect storm of bad things that immediately killed this show: Is it the narrative that is already too complex and hard to follow after three episodes? Is it the cast that may not be of interest to the viewers (although I do like the cast, they are probably the only saving grace for this show)? Is it the visual style that makes the viewers feel like they have a seizure? Is it the fact that the science-fiction element is not even present in the narrative? Who knows...
