5ive Days to Midnight (2004)

Physicist and college tutor John T. Neumeyer (Timothy Hutton) finds a mysterious briefcase containing information that documents his death five days later, with some very convincing evidence to support the claim. The discovery starts him on a race against time to change the future and combat the consequences of fiddling with fate. Can he change it or is the physics of the future immutable?

It's an interesting premise for TV, with a decent production and some excellent casting. John's girlfriend Claudia (Kari Matchett), who reminded me of Laura Dern, adds further tension to an already strained situation. His young daughter Jesse (Gage Golightly) is equally well cast, she's believable and not at all irritating.

Structurally, it's split into five parts, one per day. The tension builds as it gets nearer the deadline, offering up a number of potential suspects that'll have the viewer guessing and second-guessing based on motives and beliefs. There are a few minor continuity errors but nothing to make you scream at the screen.

With all of the parts in the correct place it should've been a great series, but it had a problem, namely the finale. Some folks will find it exciting and accept the events as given, but a more discerning viewer might feel a little cheated and a little saddened that such a promising story was handled poorly at the end.

Five episodes approx 44 mins each (eps 1+2 are merged into one feature-length beginning). There's no logical reason why the word ‘5ive’ has a number in it.

3 friends with convenient jobs out of 5