ElmoFromOK not a muppet

I remember watching the first few episodes of Daybreak when it first aired back in 2007. It was solid and well acted and pulled me in. But when I heard that it was canceled within weeks, I gave up on it and moved on, once again pissed off at a greedy studio that so casually betrays it's fans. The fact that they had already filmed thirteen episodes and were just going to file them away somewhere, and replace the show with the abomination George Lopez, just took it to another level of insulting.

My friend Jade was even more upset than I was. He rarely watched television, but had chosen to watch the show and really liked it. He was shell shocked when we told him that it was canceled.

A few weeks ago he was very excited to tell me about getting the full DVD set for the show. I was surprised that there WAS a DVD after how the studio handled the show when it was on the air. I told him that I wanted to see it when he was finished with it and of course he was happy to loan it to me someday.

Instead, I was surprised to open a birthday present last weekend from him that contained a fresh shiny copy of the Daybreak DVD set. Lizzi and I have been watching it all week. We are on the last disc now and I have decided that this is one of the best tv series that I have ever seen.

The writing is sharp and very well though out. Characters act intelligently and the way they react to things makes sense. The story is clever and interesting. Each time you go through a scene, you see something new.

The cast is wonderful and the acting is nearly perfect. Taye Diggs is brilliant as the intense haunted Brett Hopper, and his chemistry with his girlfriend Rita, played by Moon Bloodgood, is intoxicating and heartfelt. Adam Baldwin is his usual charming, funny still kind-of-a jerk self. Ramon Rodriguez is a stand-out as the latino gang banger.

One of the benefits of the repeating day premise is how much room it gives the cast to breath. The supporting characters skirt the cliches without becoming cliches. Each time we meet one again they are given different chances to explore the depth of their characters. It makes for some really deep interactions.

If they are able to take the show to a satisfying conclusion, then maybe being cancelled was the best thing that could have happened. Otherwise the show would have been dragged out season after season like lost has been, instead of getting solid closure. There is something to be said about a tight finite storyline.

If you have never seen this show, do yourself a favor and go get the box set, watch them in order. It is a hell of a ride.