# Groundhog Day an Original Concept **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718 "2005-10-11T05:13:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Loblaw_1)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/1 "2005-10-11T05:13:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/2 "2005-10-11T05:17:38Z")
Ken Grimwood’s [Replay](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/068816112X/103-8162227-3760643?v=glance) 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. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/3 "2005-10-11T05:28:59Z")
There is also a short [12:01 PM](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098962/) that predates Groundhog Day. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/4 "2005-10-11T05:31:34Z")
I liked that film. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/5 "2005-10-11T05:41:00Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/6 "2005-10-11T10:04:29Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/7 "2005-10-11T12:28:49Z")
Dr. Who used it as a part of the episode “Meglos” in 1980. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/8 "2005-10-12T03:35:26Z")
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. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/9 "2005-10-12T17:32:23Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > There is also a short [12:01 PM](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098962/) that predates Groundhog Day. Wow, check out the reviews for that. I gotta get my hands on a copy. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/10 "2005-10-12T18:09:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/11 "2005-10-12T21:42:13Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Ken Grimwood’s [Replay](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/068816112X/103-8162227-3760643?v=glance) 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. I won’t say it’s mine, but I did find it interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/12 "2005-10-12T21:51:02Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > There is also a short [12:01 PM](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098962/) that predates Groundhog Day. There was a made for TV version just called [12:01](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106188/) that I enjoyed. I’ll have to check out that one. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/13 "2005-10-13T01:21:01Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/14 "2005-10-13T03:02:05Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/15 "2005-10-13T04:20:42Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Dr. Who used it as a part of the episode “Meglos” in 1980. 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. ---
**Author:** ![IUchem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/aca169/32.png) [@IUchem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IUchem)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/16 "2005-10-13T04:21:47Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![IUchem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/aca169/32.png) [@IUchem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IUchem)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/17 "2005-10-13T04:23:59Z")
I neglected to include my cite: Bulfinch’s Mythology (a collection - I believe he published the Age of Fable in 1855). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/18 "2005-10-13T04:36:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/19 "2005-10-13T07:54:40Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > 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. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-day-an-original-concept/325718/20 "2005-10-13T07:59:06Z")
> [@IUchem](#): > > 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. It made me think of Sisyphus, but that works too.