Series:	The X-Files
Original Airdate:	2/28/99
Production Number:	6ABX15
Date(s):	1999
Written by:	Vince Gilligan & John Shiban
Directed by:	Kim Manners

A woman is trapped in an endlessly repeating time loop that ends in a tragic bombing in which Mulder and Scully lose their lives every time.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Background Information 2.1 Nitpicks 3 Notes 4 Allusions 5 Links and References 5.1 Guest Stars 5.2 References

SummaryEdit

Mulder wakes to find that his water bed has sprung a leak, his alarm clock is broken, and that he needs to pay his landlord for water damage. To pay this, he needs to go to the bank. Mulder goes to the bank, instead of going to the meeting with Scully, Skinner and various other FBI officials. When he goes to the bank, a gunman arrives and

nervously robs the bank. The lady behind the counter sets off the bank's silent alarm and police cars come rushing. The gunman pulls back his jacket and reveals the fact that he is wearing a bomb. He sets off the blast, killing everyone inside the bank. This happens (although each time is slightly different) again for multiple times. The girlfriend tries to stop the Agents dying by trying to stop them going into the bank, or trying to inform them of the loop, and even by begging Skinner not to let the police into the building. This continues until the gunman's girlfriend can't take it anymore. She runs in, during the hold up, and throws herself in front of one of the Agents, just as the gunman shoots. He goes into shock as he stands there, staring at his gun.

Just before she dies, the lady says "This never happened before..."

Background InformationEdit

• This episode was previously titled "Mobius". A Mobius (or a Mobius strip) is a one-sided surface that can be formed from a rectangular strip by twisting one end 180 degrees and fastening it to the other end. Fitting for an episode where the day keeps "looping" until they get it right.
• This episode is similar to the movies Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run as well as the Stargate SG-1 episode "Window of Opportunity", as it traces the variations of a single, repeated bad day. According to writers John Shiban and Vince Gilligan, the inspiration for this episode didn't come from Bill Murray's 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, like most viewers would assume, but from an episode of The Twilight Zone called "Shadow Play".
• The Cradock Marine Bank is named for a suburb of Portsmouth, Virginia where Holly grew up, and Holly's mother's maiden name is Bernard. see Holly (disambiguation)
• Scully's comment, "When did you get a water bed?", refers back to the episode "Dreamland II", when Morris Fletcher bought himself a new water bed (thinking he would be living the rest of his life in Mulder's body) and put it in Mulder's bedroom. Mulder has no memory of those events, so has no idea where he got his water bed from. This is why, in the beginning of the episode, Mulder says that someone maybe gave it to him as a gift.
• While some might construe the continued presence of a waterbed in Mulder's apartment as a blooper or continuity violation, considering the reset ending of Dreamland II, one should remember that Scully too was left with a mysterious memento of that episode's events, in the the form of the two coins fused together.

NitpicksEdit

• Mulder's waterbed is shown with a leak spraying water in the air. This might happen if one or more people were lying on the bed or pressing down on the mattress, but the fountain continues to spray when he is out of the bed. Waterbed leaks don't spray so much as ooze. Furthermore, the amount of water lost to cause the degree of saturation on the carpet (not to mention leaking into the apartment below) would mean that the bed would have lost most or all of its water, leaving Mulder waking up lying on the bottom of the mattress box
• In this episode, Mulder's Omega watch displays the time and the day of the week. In the episode "Arcadia", the same watch displays the time and the date. The face of the watch in that episode is black, whereas it is silver in this episode.
• This episode takes place in Washington D.C. but, in the scene when Mulder is walking to the bank, Los Angeles City Hall is clearly shown in the background.
• Lt. Kraskow implies that they have "a body on the floor", after hearing a shot fired. One shot doesn't mean that anybody is hurt, and everyone is already laying on the floor, which is typical for hostage/robbery situations.
• Mulder wakes up each day to the bang of newspaper against his apartment door around 7:15am. Kind of late for the newspaper to be delivered. Maybe the newspaper delivery guy's waterbed also sprung a leak?

NotesEdit

How can Lt. Kraskow predict that they have "a body on the floor" due to the shot fired? One gunshot doesn't mean anyone has to be hurt, and everyone is actually lying down on the floor to begin with, as is common with hostage/robbery situations.

Mulder's waterbed is shown with a leak spraying water in the air. This might happen if one or more people were lying on the bed or pressing down on the mattress, but the fountain continues to spray when he is out of the bed. Waterbed leaks don't spray so much as ooze. Furthermore, the amount of water lost to cause the degree of saturation on the carpet (not to mention leaking into the apartment below) would mean that the bed would have lost most or all of its water, leaving Mulder waking up lying on the bottom of the mattress box.

According to writers John Shiban and Vince Gilligan, the inspiration for this episode didn't come from Bill Murray's 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, but from an episode of The Twilight Zone called 'Shadow Play.'

Writer Vince Gilligan gives us another reference to his girlfriend, Holly Rice. The Cradock Marine Bank is named for a suburb of Portsmouth, Virginia where Holly grew up, and Holly's mother's maiden name is Bernard.

AllusionsEdit

Movie: Groundhog Day In the movie "Groundhog Day", Bill Murray keeps experiencing the same day repeatedly. However, he is the only person who remembers the previous "days".

Links and ReferencesEdit

Guest StarsEdit

• Wayne Alexander as Agent Arnold
• Darren Burrows as Bernard Oates
• Monique Edwards as Head Teller
• Carrie Hamilton as Pam
• David Michael Mullins as Tour Guide
• Arlene Pileggi as Skinner's Assistant
• Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Walter Skinner
• Mik Scriba as Lieutenant Kraskow
• Suanne Spoke as Woman Customer

ReferencesEdit

hostage; Washington, D.C.; time loop

Previous episode: Agua Mala

The X-Files Season 6

Next episode: Arcadia