12:01 P.M.
"12:01 P.M." | |||
---|---|---|---|
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction | |||
Publication type | Periodical | ||
Media type | Print (Magazine) | ||
Publication date | December 1973 | ||
Chronology | |||
|
"12:01 P.M." is a
The major plot device is a time loop or time bounce, and bears great similarity to that of 1993's Groundhog Day. Lupoff and Jonathan Heap, director of the 1990 film, were "outraged" by the apparent theft of the idea, but after six months of lawyers' conferences, they decided to drop the case against Columbia Pictures.[1]
Decades later, Lupoff returned to the story with two sequels, "12:02 P.M.", published in the January/February 2011 edition of
Plot summary
It is 12:01 PM and Myron Castleman, an executive in New York City, finds that he is reliving the same hour of the same day, over and over. His time loop starts at 12:01 PM and lasts until 1:00 PM, when he is somehow returned to the same place where he began the hour. All the people around him are unaware of the loop, and everyone repeats their actions exactly over the course of the hour, except insofar as they interact with Castleman. In one of his loops, Castleman learns of a local physicist's theory that appears to describe his situation. The physicist, Nathan Rosenbluth, theorized a "disfiguration of time" that could cause the universe to snap backward and repeat the period of one hour. Over his next three time-loops, Castleman tries desperately to contact Rosenbluth and ask him for advice. In the last of these attempts, Castleman collapses, suffering a heart attack. He realizes he is dying, but is grateful that this will finally break the loop and free him. He dies, and the hour of 1:00 PM arrives. Castleman awakens and sees he has been returned to the place where he begins every hour. The time is 12:01 PM.
Adaptations
1990 film
"12:01 PM" was first adapted into an
In this version, Kurtwood Smith plays Myron Castleman, an everyman-type who keeps repeating the same hour of his life, from 12:01pm to 1:00pm. The character is fully aware that the time loop is occurring, and nobody else appears to be aware of it. Each time the hour resets, Myron retains his memory (or as the film puts it, his consciousness), and despite his best attempts to understand what is happening, he ultimately realizes that he is entirely helpless to prevent the time bounce. Myron cannot even break the loop by killing himself, as he reappears, alive, at the next iteration; he is trapped in the loop for eternity.
This version has not been released on DVD or VHS in the United States, but 12:01 PM is available on DVD in the UK,[5][6] collected with seven other short films.
1993 film
12:01 is an adaptation of the same short story, produced as a television movie in 1993. It stars
References
- ^ a b "SF Recollections by Richard Lupoff". Timebinders. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
- ^ Rodger Turner. "Fantasy and Science Fiction: January/February 2011 • 62nd Year of Publication". SF Site. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
- ^ Rodger Turner. "Fantasy and Science Fiction: September/October 2012 • 63rd Year of Publication". SF Site. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
- IMDb
- ^
Turner, Kathleen (Director) (2005-06-27). Cinema Collection Vol.9 (DVD). UPC 5031932113068.
- ^ ASIN B0009JJXUA, Cinema Collection: 5 DVD (2005-06-27)
External links
- 12:01 at IMDb
- 12:01 PM at IMDb
- 12:01 PM title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database