Is the movie Groundhog Day an original concept? Has someone done the reliving each day over and over before? A science fiction movie maybe. Cite please.
Ken Grimwood’s Replay is about a guy in a loop, going back to slightly later in life each time and living through his life again. Just about my favorite time travel yarn.
There is also a short 12:01 PM that predates Groundhog Day.
I liked that film.
In the original “Twilight Zone,” eps “Judgment Night” and “Shadow Play” show the same thing happening over and over.
Serling later made the comment that it was hard to come up with new ideas, and he didn’t like recycling old story plots. That was made into the “Night Gallery” vignette “Midnight Never Ends,” about some characters who keep living the same sequence over and over–becaus of a writer (their creator) “who doesn’t do his job very well.”
The idea of reliving the same time over and over has been done in fiction enough times that it’s hard to say what the first example of it is.
Dr. Who used it as a part of the episode “Meglos” in 1980.
Serious answer: Probably not an entirely original idea. The ideas of reincarnation, deja vu, time travel, and the bland monotony of the daily grind have been around for almost as long as civilization.
Snarky answer: Nah, it’s an old recurring theme. 
Wow, check out the reviews for that. I gotta get my hands on a copy.
General rule of thumb: if you see it in a science fiction film, it is not an original concept. This rule approaches certainty in any Hollywood film and is 100% certain in any Hollywood SF film with major stars and a big budget.
I won’t say it’s mine, but I did find it interesting.
There was a made for TV version just called 12:01 that I enjoyed.
I’ll have to check out that one.
Groundhog Day is better than most of the sci-fi versions for an interesting reason. Most of them can’t figure out how to end the story, while Groundhog Day can be a typical romance and just end with the character finding true love.
i find that completely backwards. My problem with Groundhog’s Day was that it just ended with no reason. I know some people like the “no reason” ending, but it just bugged me.
12:01 and Retroactive (another similar one) both had reasons for the timeloops and for their ending.
Dr. Who also used it back in “Carnival of Monsters” long before that and I’m not sure but possibly also the War Games one.
This reminds me of Promethesus, the Greek Titan who bestowed man with the gift of fire; however, for his transgression against Jove’s will, he was punished by being chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where a vulture tore out and devoured his liver each, which subsequently grew back each day in preparation for the next…not exactly the SAME day - but the same daily events ad infinium.
This particular bit of mythology has not been directly used in any widely distributed film that I am aware; although, in my humble opinion, nearly every movie and fiction plot device was thoroughly explored by the ancient Greeks. Perhaps there is nothing new under the Sun…
-IUchem
I neglected to include my cite: Bulfinch’s Mythology (a collection - I believe he published the Age of Fable in 1855).
Obviously this didn’t predate the movie, but X-Files did the old repeating day thing in the episode “Monday.” It takes place at a bank – Mulder gets shot and Scully tries to talk the robbers out of blowing it up. Pretty good episode, as I recall.
Huh? No reason?
Groundhog Day is a classic “makeover” story, wherein the main character, through a series of trials and tribulations, overcomes his character flaws and defects, turning from an asshole into a kind and caring person. His temporal prison is punishment for his sins, and his release from Groundhog Day is a sign of his redemption.
It made me think of Sisyphus, but that works too.