5ive Days to Midnight

5ive Days to Midnight is a four part mini-series, originally broadcast on the Sci-Fi channel in 'real time' mimicking the dates mentioned in the series itself. It's a story about a college physics professor and single father. He is given a curious gift from the future, in the form of an incontrovertible police file about his own death, which will take place five days from when he receives the documents. Professor J.T. Neumeyer basically becomes the metaphoric equivalent of a gallon of milk with an expiration date on it.

The story is about those five days, how he faces his own imminent demise, the ramifications of his actions, and how his choices affect people around him in a variety of ways. Perhaps close scrutiny can find predictable plot twists and a few thin threads of believability, but one cannot doubt the work's sincerity. From the beginning to end it grabs one's attention and at times is quite rivetting, while at other times it's more like a new friend elbowing you in the ribs playfully and pointing out something new. Look over there! Check out this possibility. Isn't this cool? 5ive Days to Midnight has beautiful cinematography, enjoyable and moody original music, almost seamless transitions between practical effects and digital effects, a cast of actors that are downright believable and subtly surprising, and ..well, a dog. You can't go wrong throwing a dog into the mix. It's an enjoyable production to watch; it's intelligent, it's thought-provoking and at times downright endearing and heartwarming. You go into it thinking there's gotta be a way for the lead character to get out of this, because this is Hollywood after all (or rather, TV Cable City) and Hollywood is a sucker for happy sappy endings. There's always a way for the lead character to get out of whatever predicament he finds himself in (q.v. James Bond), but this predicament seems more concrete and irrefutable on the outset then ever before presented in television or film. One starts questioning as they watch, if there's any other possible outcome that's feasible or --well it just keeps ya guessing, and without giving away the ending, I appreciated and respected the ending and didn't walk away from it being upset or frustrated. The story is at times corny, but it's also just downright fun. Great ride. What more can one ask for in their entertainment? What better way to take the laws of physics and the human heart and present them together in a matter that doesn't diminish either, and shows our insignificant yet quantifiable place in the universe? It's just sublime.

Timothy Hutton ..... J.T. Neumeyer
Randy Quaid ....... Irwin Sikorski
Kari Matchett .... Claudia Whitney
Gage Golightly .... Jesse Neumeyer
Hamish Linklater .... Carl Axelrod
David McIlwraith ....... Brad Hume
Nicole de Boer ...... Chantal Hume
Giancarlo Esposito ... Tim Sanders
Angus Macfadyen ...... Roy Bremmer
Barbara Tyson ...... Mandy Murphy

Original story written by Robert Zappia and directed by Michael W. Watkins. Other writers on particular episodes included David Aaron Cohen, Anthony Peckham, and Cindy Myers. Original music by John Nordstrom. Principal shooting was accomplished in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.