Synchrony (The X-Files)

"Synchrony"
The X-Files episode
The first of the discovered frozen bodies, seen when Scully attempts to substantiate the cause of the mysterious death. The effect was created through an elaborate make-up process.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 19
Directed by	James Charleston
Written by	Howard Gordon David Greenwalt
Production code	4X19
Original air date	April 13, 1997
Running time	43 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Jed Rees as Lucas Menand Joseph Fuqua as Jason Nichols Susan Lee Hoffman as Lisa Ianelli Hiro Kanagawa as Dr. Yonechi Jonathan Walker as Chuck Lukerman Brent Chapman as Security Cop Eric Buermeyer as The Bus Driver Patricia Idlette as The Desk Clerk Austin Basile as Bellman Alison Matthews as The Doctor Michael Fairman as Older Jason Nichols
Episode chronology
← Previous "Max" Next → "Small Potatoes"
List of season 4 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Synchrony" is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Howard Gordon and David Greenwalt and directed by James Charleston. The episode aired in the United States on April 13, 1997 on the Fox network. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Synchrony" earned a Nielsen rating of 11.3, being watched by 18.09 million people upon its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a murder for which the suspect presents an incredible alibi—that the death was foretold by an old man able to see into the future. Upon investigating the case, the duo discover an increasingly bizarre series of events that leads Mulder to believe time travel is involved.

Gordon and Greenwalt wrote the episode after being inspired by an article in Scientific American about time travel and quantum physics. The idea of a scientist trying to stop the invention of something terrible was inspired by Manhattan Project physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who complained to Harry S. Truman about the 1945 atomic bombings of Japan.