If you’ve ever wondered what Groundhog Day would have been like if it was crossed with The Fugitive with a bit of 24 thrown in for good measure, then Day Break is for you.

Taye Diggs stars as Det. Brett Hopper: an honest cop (in L.A., believe it or not) whose morning starts out all fine and dandy-like but later takes a turn for the worse when he’s arrested for the murder of an Assistant District Attorney by two investigators (Ian Anthony Dale and Mitch Pileggi) with (planted) evidence; his only alibi is his girlfriend (Moon Bloodgood)… and she’s disappeared; her ex-husband (Adam Baldwin), who just happens to be Hopper’s former partner, is an Internal Affairs officer who knows more than he’s telling; and his current partner (Victoria Pratt) has sold him out.

Got that? 

Good.

(and that’s just the first part of the Pilot episode, folks… it grows wilder from there!)

If you love video games and are well familiar with the feeling of replaying the same level again and again so that you can find everything there is to find just to get the perfect score, then Day Break is for you.

Yeah, so the premise might seem all-but annoying for some of you out there, but personally I found Day Break to be a well-written, tightly-made series: there is absolutely no way of telling what’s going to happen next (a welcomed change to the Groundhog Day format), despite the fact that Hopper is re-living the same day over and over.  And, as the series tagline warns: “For every decision, there’s a consequence”… meaning Hopper might save a life one day, but discover the next day he had to be somewhere else at that same point in time to pick up a package, and by doing so the next day the person he saved before has now died!

Got that?

Good.

If you love playing mind-fucking puzzles, then Day Break is for you.

Every day, Hopper finds another piece of this enigmatic puzzle.  People that were villains the previous day have now become allies.  Everyone is useful, but no one is to really be trusted.  Another admirable touch to the Groundhog Day format is that any injuries Hopper sustains carry over with him to the next day (which translates out to “if he dies then it’s over for good”).

Look, take my word for it, Day Break is for you.

Got that?

Good.

Presentation
OK, my only problem with Day Break is that it only lasted one season, but thankfully, all 13 episodes from that season are included here in this 4-Disc set.  The folks at BCI Eclipse have done a nice job putting this gem of a series onto DVD in the first place, so I have no problems (nor did I notice many) in the Audio/Video department.  Each episode is presented in an anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen ratio with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks.

Extras
How often is there an Audio Commentary available on every single episode of a season?  Day Break sets the bar here, kids: all 13 episodes are available with optional Commentaries - each by at least two members of the cast and crew (all of whom sound like they were very much loved their time and effort into this wonderful series).  The Pilot episode also features a second Commentary.

The Bottom Line
It’s a pity that Day Break was canned before it even had a chance to finish it’s first (and only) season on television (the last couple of episodes were aired online).  The only thing that could have made this well-planned series even better (aside from a second season!) would have been the addition of New Order’s Confusion as the theme song (and fans of The X Files will most-assuredly enjoy seeing Mitch Pileggi under the direction of Rob Bowman again).