Tempus Fugit (The X-Files)
Encyclopedia
"Tempus Fugit" is a 1997 episode of The X-Files television series
. It was the seventeenth episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Tempus Fugit" surrounds the agents' investigation of a plane crash that Mulder suspects was intercepted by a UFO.
At a pub in Washington, Fox Mulder
and Dana Scully
celebrate her birthday. They are approached by a woman named Sharon Graffia, a woman who claims to be Max's sister; she tells them that Max was planning to delivering something to Mulder, but that his flight to Washington has crashed. The agents head to the crash site in Northville, New York
, and attend an NTSB
meeting. They listen to Flight 549's final transmission with air traffic control
. Mulder's theorizes that the plane was forced down by aliens attempting to abduct Max; the NTSB team, led by chief investigator Mike Millar, dismisses his claims.
When the agents survey the crash site the next day, they realize that there is a nine minute disparity between the crash and the time on the victims' wristwatches, indicating missing time
. Mulder believes that Max was abducted from the plane and that his body will not be found. Meanwhile, Scott Garrett, an NTSB agent, steals the zip gun from the assassin's body, and erodes his face and fingerprints with an acidic spray. Larold Rehbun, a passenger who sat next to Max on the flight, is found alive in the wreckage. His facial injuries indicate an exposure to radiation
; Sharon denies that Max bought a radioactive substance aboard the plane, but soon divulges details about his underground life to Scully.
Scully tells Mulder that Max worked at an environmental energy plant in Colorado
under an alias
, and believes that he may have caused the crash after bringing plutonium
aboard; Mulder, however, believes that Max was taken off the plane by a UFO, and that Rehbun's injuries were caused by exposure to the craft. Scully informs Mulder that Max's body has already been pulled from the crash site. Meanwhile, Sharon is abducted from her hotel room.
After identifying Max's body, Mulder finds that the wristwatches have been stolen from the other victims. He disbelieves the NTSB's official explanation of malfunction
as a cause of the crash, and is doubtful that the true cause will be found unless they discern what happened during the nine minutes of missing time. The agents visit Sergeant Louis Frish, an air traffic controller from the U.S. Air Force on duty during the crash. Frish denies anything unusual happened. After the agents leave, Frish and another controller, Sergeant Armando Gonzales, argue over whether to reveal the "truth" about Flight 549's demise.
After finding Sharon's trashed hotel room, Mulder meets with Millar who tells him that the door was blown off the plane from the outside while it was in flight. Later, Frish finds his colleague Gonzales, who was thinking of revealing the truth, dead from a faked suicide. A group of commandos arrive with Garrett to capture Frish, but he escapes.
Frish goes to see Mulder and Scully, telling them that he lied before and that he was responsible for the crash. He tells them that his commanding officer ordered him to track the plane's coordinates and that a second aircraft intercepted the plane's flight path. Seconds later there was an explosion and the plane disappeared from his radar. Mulder believes that a third aircraft, a UFO, approached the plane and was destroyed by the second aircraft, also causing the Flight 549 crash. The agents leave with Frish and are soon chased by those who were after him earlier. Millar meanwhile returns to the crash site where he spots a UFO and finds Sharon nearby, having just been left there by the UFO.
Scully returns to Washington with Frish while Mulder heads to Great Sacandaga Lake
, searching for the crashed UFO. Scully brings Frish to a local pub where they run into Pendrell. Garrett soon enters the pub, seeking to kill Frish, but when he shoots at him Pendrell accidentally walks in the line of fire and gets hit with the bullet instead. Meanwhile Mulder arrives at the lake where he finds a team of men already searching for the crashed UFO. He dives underwater and finds the craft, including an alien body.
, and the desire to add to Fox Mulder's emotional involvement by having someone he knew on board led to the writers bringing back the character of Max Fenig to be that person. Scott Bellis, who appeared in the first season
episode "Fallen Angel," had auditioned for other roles on the show but had always been rejected by the producers because his character was so memorable. Co-writer Frank Spotnitz did not want to milk the character of Fenig or do something the show had already done, so he came up with the idea to kill off Fenig in the first part of the episode.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
. It was the seventeenth episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Tempus Fugit" surrounds the agents' investigation of a plane crash that Mulder suspects was intercepted by a UFO.
Plot
Max Fenig is on Flight 549 as it travels over upstate New York. He watches another man on the plane who seems to be following him. The man heads to the plane's bathroom, where he assembles a zip gun. However, when he comes back out, the airliner begins shaking and a bright light flashes outside, showing that the plane is encountering a UFO. The emergency door next to Max's seat is opened.At a pub in Washington, Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
and Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
celebrate her birthday. They are approached by a woman named Sharon Graffia, a woman who claims to be Max's sister; she tells them that Max was planning to delivering something to Mulder, but that his flight to Washington has crashed. The agents head to the crash site in Northville, New York
Northville, New York
Northville, New York may refer to two places in the United States:*Northville, Fulton County, New York*Northville, Suffolk County, New York...
, and attend an NTSB
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
meeting. They listen to Flight 549's final transmission with air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
. Mulder's theorizes that the plane was forced down by aliens attempting to abduct Max; the NTSB team, led by chief investigator Mike Millar, dismisses his claims.
When the agents survey the crash site the next day, they realize that there is a nine minute disparity between the crash and the time on the victims' wristwatches, indicating missing time
Missing time
Missing time is a proposed phenomenon reported by some people in connection with close encounters with UFOs and abduction phenomena. The term missing time refers to a gap in conscious memory relating to a specific period in time. The gap can last from several minutes to several days in length...
. Mulder believes that Max was abducted from the plane and that his body will not be found. Meanwhile, Scott Garrett, an NTSB agent, steals the zip gun from the assassin's body, and erodes his face and fingerprints with an acidic spray. Larold Rehbun, a passenger who sat next to Max on the flight, is found alive in the wreckage. His facial injuries indicate an exposure to radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
; Sharon denies that Max bought a radioactive substance aboard the plane, but soon divulges details about his underground life to Scully.
Scully tells Mulder that Max worked at an environmental energy plant in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
under an alias
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
, and believes that he may have caused the crash after bringing plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
aboard; Mulder, however, believes that Max was taken off the plane by a UFO, and that Rehbun's injuries were caused by exposure to the craft. Scully informs Mulder that Max's body has already been pulled from the crash site. Meanwhile, Sharon is abducted from her hotel room.
After identifying Max's body, Mulder finds that the wristwatches have been stolen from the other victims. He disbelieves the NTSB's official explanation of malfunction
Malfunction
A malfunction is when something functions wrongly or does not function at all.Some types of malfunctions are:*Malfunction , malfunction of a parachute*Sexual malfunction, also called "sexual dysfunction"**See also dyspareunia...
as a cause of the crash, and is doubtful that the true cause will be found unless they discern what happened during the nine minutes of missing time. The agents visit Sergeant Louis Frish, an air traffic controller from the U.S. Air Force on duty during the crash. Frish denies anything unusual happened. After the agents leave, Frish and another controller, Sergeant Armando Gonzales, argue over whether to reveal the "truth" about Flight 549's demise.
After finding Sharon's trashed hotel room, Mulder meets with Millar who tells him that the door was blown off the plane from the outside while it was in flight. Later, Frish finds his colleague Gonzales, who was thinking of revealing the truth, dead from a faked suicide. A group of commandos arrive with Garrett to capture Frish, but he escapes.
Frish goes to see Mulder and Scully, telling them that he lied before and that he was responsible for the crash. He tells them that his commanding officer ordered him to track the plane's coordinates and that a second aircraft intercepted the plane's flight path. Seconds later there was an explosion and the plane disappeared from his radar. Mulder believes that a third aircraft, a UFO, approached the plane and was destroyed by the second aircraft, also causing the Flight 549 crash. The agents leave with Frish and are soon chased by those who were after him earlier. Millar meanwhile returns to the crash site where he spots a UFO and finds Sharon nearby, having just been left there by the UFO.
Scully returns to Washington with Frish while Mulder heads to Great Sacandaga Lake
Great Sacandaga Lake
The Great Sacandaga Lake is a large lake situated in the Adirondack Park in northern New York in the United States. The word Sacandaga means "Land of the Waving Grass" in the local native language. The lake is located in the northern parts of Fulton County and Saratoga County near the south...
, searching for the crashed UFO. Scully brings Frish to a local pub where they run into Pendrell. Garrett soon enters the pub, seeking to kill Frish, but when he shoots at him Pendrell accidentally walks in the line of fire and gets hit with the bullet instead. Meanwhile Mulder arrives at the lake where he finds a team of men already searching for the crashed UFO. He dives underwater and finds the craft, including an alien body.
Writing
Chris Carter had an idea to do an episode involving a plane crash early in the fourth seasonThe X-Files (season 4)
-Episodes:Episodes marked with an asterisk are broadly part of the series' mytharc. Episodes with a double asterisk are primary episodes in the series' Alien Mythology arc....
, and the desire to add to Fox Mulder's emotional involvement by having someone he knew on board led to the writers bringing back the character of Max Fenig to be that person. Scott Bellis, who appeared in the first season
The X-Files (season 1)
The first season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on September 10, 1993 and concluded on the same channel on May 13, 1994 after airing all 24 episodes....
episode "Fallen Angel," had auditioned for other roles on the show but had always been rejected by the producers because his character was so memorable. Co-writer Frank Spotnitz did not want to milk the character of Fenig or do something the show had already done, so he came up with the idea to kill off Fenig in the first part of the episode.