10 TV Shows That Did Groundhog Day Episodes | ScreenRant
Anybody who watches a significant amount of TV has surely stumbled across one or two "Groundhog Day" episodes; in fact, they’ve become a strangely common staple of the medium.
Bearing strong similarities to the popular 1993 film Groundhog Day, these episodes usually see their heroes stuck in some form of an unbreakable time loop, doomed to repeat the same day over and over until they can figure out what’s causing the anomaly.
While this premise can often be labeled gimmicky, a good script can make these episodes a great way to deliver mystery and character development through smart use of its time loops. With that in mind, here are 10 TV shows that did Groundhog Day episodes.
10 Xena: Warrior Princess - "Been There, Done That"
In this light-hearted episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena realizes she’s trapped in an endless time loop with no way of stopping the day from resetting. Puzzled as to how this could be the case, several of the show’s characters – including Xena herself – die investigating the mystery, only to wake up once again on the same morning.
As it turns out, a wish involving Cupid and a pair of star-crossed lovers turns out to be the cause of the episode’s events, allowing Xena to save the duo and end the time loop with one well-placed chakra throw.
9 The Twilight Zone - "Shadow Play"
Not quite like any of the other time loop episodes on this list, The Twilight Zone’s “Shadow Play” tells the story of Adam Grant, an ordinary man on trial for murder. Imploring the court that he’s already been executed multiple times and that they’re all part of his dream, Grant gradually begins to convince an attorney and a journalist that he may just be telling the truth.
Rather than looping the episode’s events over and over again like most shows with similar premises, the twist that Grant was right all along comes at the episode’s climax, making it all the more impactful.
8 Legends of Tomorrow - "Here I Go Again"
While the Arrowverse has explored the idea of time loops in several of its shows by this point, Legends of Tomorrow’s season 3 episode “Here I Go Again” stands out as the most fun of the bunch.
The episode sees Zari stuck in an hour-long loop, after which the Waverider repeatedly explodes, killing everyone on board. Despite its high stakes though, “Here I Go Again” is a relatively breezy episode, using its Groundhog Day premise to learn more about the ship’s crew and set up some entertaining comedy bits.
7 Buffy the Vampire Slayer - "Life Serial"
Given the ordinarily intense life-or-death events at the center of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s episodes, “Life Serial” is a surprisingly low stakes take on the time loop premise. Concocted by the ever-annoying “Trio” consisting of Jonathan, Warren, and Andrew, a time loop spell is cast on Buffy that will only break when she sufficiently serves an awkward customer at The Magic Box.
While that seems like an incredibly specific set of conditions, it turns out that the Trio is using the ensuing chaos to monitor and keep track of Buffy’s skills and abilities.
6 Doctor Who - "Heaven Sent"
Considering Doctor Who is a show that is heavily reliant on the concept of time travel, it should come as no surprise that it has a Groundhog Day episode of its own. In “Heaven Sent,” the Doctor finds himself trapped in a remote castle on Gallifrey, where he’s relentlessly pursued by a terrifying creature known as the Veil, only to be reborn in a glass chamber every time he’s killed.
Widely considered to be one of the best episodes of the show’s entire run, “Heaven Sent” is amongst the most well-written and performed time loop episodes out there.
5 Fringe - "White Tulip"
Hailed as one of the most impressive stories the show ever produced, Fringe’s season 2 episode “White Tulip” sees the team investigate a series of mysterious deaths in a train car. Seemingly exhausted of their life force, with their devices drained of energy, the group soon learns that the deaths may be connected to scientific genius Alistair Peck.
As it turns out, Peck has transformed himself into an organic time machine, hoping to save the life of his recently deceased fiancée. Praised as a fantastic standalone episode that also ties heavily into the show’s mythology, “White Tulip” was a tremendous hit with critics.
4 The X-Files - "Monday"
The X-Files’ sixth season episode “Monday” stands out as one of the show’s more memorable standalone stories, seeing agents Mulder and Scully forced to live out the same bank robbery over and over again. With the bank set to blow at the end of each cycle, the show’s central heroes have no recollection of their previous cycles.
What’s refreshing about “Monday” is that the episode’s true hero isn’t Mulder or Scully, but Pam – the girlfriend of the bank robber, who’s the only person aware of the time loop’s existence.
3 Supernatural - "Mystery Spot"
A perfect blend of comedy, drama, and intrigue, “Mystery Spot” has become a fan-favorite episode of Supernatural, making great use of its set-up to deliver a satisfying standalone mystery and further the show’s overarching narrative.
“Mystery Spot” sees Sam Winchester trapped in a never-ending time loop, forced to watch his brother Dean die in a repeated series of grizzly – and sometimes hilarious – accidents. Finally getting to the bottom of the mystery after countless cycles, the loop is discovered to have been orchestrated by the Trickster God to make a larger point to Sam about the inevitability of Dean’s impending death.
2 Stargate SG-1 - "Window of Opportunity"
In the Stargate SG-1 episode “Window of Opportunity,” Carter and Teal’c become stuck in a time loop during a job on the planet P4X-639, where they come into contact with a scientist named Malikai.
After struggling for months to end the cycle, the SG-1 crew eventually learn of a time machine built by an Ancient race to escape extinction, which is supposedly causing the loop – something Malikai wanted to take advantage of to prevent a personal tragedy. Considered a somewhat light, more entertaining episode of Stargate SG-1, the episode remains a firm favorite with fans.
1 Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Cause and Effect"
Directed by Jonathan Frakes – who plays William T. Riker in the show – “Cause and Effect” takes the typical time loop story and perfects the craft, resulting in one of the most popular episodes in Star Trek: The Next Generation’s fifth season.
After the crew of the USS Enterprise gets caught in a ‘temporal causality loop’ upon colliding with the USS Bozeman, the ship’s crew begin to get a strong sense of déjà vu. Whereas most shows with similar premises would typically have one character remember the events of previous loops however, “Cause and Effect” relies on the crew to figure out the problem for themselves.
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