5ive Days to Midnight
Encyclopedia
5ive Days to Midnight is a five-part miniseries
which ran on the Sci Fi Channel
in June of 2004. It stars Timothy Hutton
as J.T. Neumeyer, a physicist
who discovers a briefcase containing postdated
documents and evidence which indicate he will die five days in the future.
The miniseries was five hours long including commercials, each hour dedicated to relating the events of an entire day. It ran for four days, the first episode detailing the events of the first two days.
. Thinking that it must belong to some other "Professor J.T. Neumeyer" (despite the unlikelihood that such a person would also live in Seattle and have paid a visit to the same grave), he attempts to open the combination-locked briefcase in order to discover more about its owner. He finally succeeds by entering his daughter's birthdate. Upon opening the briefcase, Neumeyer finds a police file complete with photos, newspaper clippings and evidence detailing his brutal murder five days in the future.
Neumeyer is naturally unnerved, but intends to discover the source of the briefcase. At first he thinks it is a prank perpetrated by an exceptionally brilliant but eccentric
graduate student named Carl Axelrod. He tracks down Irwin Sikorski, the homicide detective whose name appears on the police file as investigating officer. The detective points out the holes in the story, citing that the file says he missed the autopsy
and he states that he doesn't even know the last time he missed an autopsy. Neumeyer goes home to contemplate the days' events and figure out how to proceed. Neumeyer is given a blue parka by his girlfriend, Claudia; the case records show that Neumeyer will be wearing this same coat when he is found dead in five days.
J.T. also seeks to escape his fate
by buying a plane ticket to get out of the city. The plane takes off, giving J.T. a sense of relief, yet less than an hour into the flight, a sick passenger is needed to be removed from the plane, causing the pilot to return to the city.
At the end of the episode, it is revealed Mandy Murphy died in a horrible car crash. Although J.T prevented her death in one accident, she still died in an accident. J.T. begins to believe that, though he can change the circumstances and details of someone's death, he cannot change someone's ultimate fate, including possibly his own.
J.T. changes his tactics to alter the future and tries to remove the motives or block the opportunities of the suspects on the list:
The day ends with the escape of Carl from the hospital. He steals the briefcase from Neumeyer's house. Brad intercepts Carl leaving with it and attacks him, but without success. Roy is released from jail once his lawyer gets involved. All three suspects again have motive and freedom to kill J.T.
Carl steals J.T.'s rented green Jeep. Carl and Brad independently head to the bar where Sikorski has taken Claudia and J.T. Carl tries to kill Brad with the stolen Jeep, but Brad fires a gun at him. Losing control of the vehicle, Carl drives the Jeep into the bar, knocking down Sikorski. J.T. loads the empty gun Sikorski gave to Claudia, with an unspent bullet from the briefcase. Sikorski bluffs that the bullet won't work because it is from the future, but J.T. kills him with it seconds before Sikorski fires his own gun.
Carl intends to kill J.T., believing that the events revealed by the briefcase must not be altered. J.T. tells Carl to look at the briefcase, predicting that the police file has changed to reflect the deaths of Bremmer and Sikorski, and now details their unsuccessful plot to kill J.T. Carl becomes fascinated by the change, believing that physics has been satisfied.
As the survivors leave the bar, J.T. surmises that Jesse — whose middle name is Tracy — is the "Professor J.T. Neumeyer" who owns the case in the future, and that she must be the one who will send the briefcase back as a warning to her father, via some as-yet nonexistent technology.
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
which ran on the Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in June of 2004. It stars Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
as J.T. Neumeyer, a physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who discovers a briefcase containing postdated
Postdated
In banking, postdated refers to checks which have been written by the drawer for a date in the future. In the United States, postdated items are described in Article 3, Section 113 of the Uniform Commercial Code...
documents and evidence which indicate he will die five days in the future.
The miniseries was five hours long including commercials, each hour dedicated to relating the events of an entire day. It ran for four days, the first episode detailing the events of the first two days.
Cast
- Timothy HuttonTimothy HuttonTimothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
: J.T. Neumeyer - Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
: Irwin Sikorski - Kari MatchettKari MatchettKari Matchett is a Canadian television and film actress. She played Mariel Underlay in Invasion, Lisa Miller in 24, and Kate Filmore in the cult favorite science fiction movie Cube 2: Hypercube. She currently appears in the USA television series Covert Affairs.-Early years:Matchett was born in...
: Claudia Whitney - Hamish LinklaterHamish LinklaterHamish Linklater is an American actor. He is best known as Matthew in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine...
: Carl Axelrod - Angus MacfadyenAngus MacfadyenAngus Macfadyen is a Scottish actor.Angus Macfadyen was born in Glasgow and was brought up partly in Africa, France, the Philippines and Singapore. His father was a doctor in the World Health Organisation. He was once engaged to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.Angus attended the University of...
: Roy Bremmer - Gage GolightlyGage GolightlyGage Golightly is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Hayley Steele in the Nickelodeon series The Troop .-Career:...
: Jesse Neumeyer - Nicole de BoerNicole de BoerNicole de Boer is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1998 to 1999 and as Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007.-Career:...
: Chantal Hume - David McIlwraithDavid McIlwraithDavid McIlwraith is an actor who has appeared in numerous television series and in several movies since the 1970s. He co-starred in the 1993 television series White Fang. In 2005 he appeared in the television movie Living With the Enemy. In 2006 he appeared in the feature film Hollow Man II.-...
: Brad Hume
Day One
Physics professor J.T. Neumeyer is celebrating his daughter's tenth birthday, as well as mourning the ten year anniversary of the death of his wife who died giving birth. While at the cemetery, Neumeyer's daughter Jesse finds a futuristic briefcase with her father's name on it behind her mother's headstoneHeadstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
. Thinking that it must belong to some other "Professor J.T. Neumeyer" (despite the unlikelihood that such a person would also live in Seattle and have paid a visit to the same grave), he attempts to open the combination-locked briefcase in order to discover more about its owner. He finally succeeds by entering his daughter's birthdate. Upon opening the briefcase, Neumeyer finds a police file complete with photos, newspaper clippings and evidence detailing his brutal murder five days in the future.
Neumeyer is naturally unnerved, but intends to discover the source of the briefcase. At first he thinks it is a prank perpetrated by an exceptionally brilliant but eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
graduate student named Carl Axelrod. He tracks down Irwin Sikorski, the homicide detective whose name appears on the police file as investigating officer. The detective points out the holes in the story, citing that the file says he missed the autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
and he states that he doesn't even know the last time he missed an autopsy. Neumeyer goes home to contemplate the days' events and figure out how to proceed. Neumeyer is given a blue parka by his girlfriend, Claudia; the case records show that Neumeyer will be wearing this same coat when he is found dead in five days.
Day Two
More things from the file start to come true. A rental company sends him a green Jeep Cherokee which also appears in the photos. Sikorski informs Neumeyer that he had previously scheduled a doctor's appointment the date of the predicted autopsy, and wouldn't have been able to be there. On the back of a newspaper clipping found in the briefcase, there is the story of a young woman crushed to death by a tree that falls in heavy winds during a storm. Acting on this knowledge, Neumeyer prevents her death, thus altering the future. It isn't until this moment that he is completely convinced that the things in the briefcase are real. Carl Axelrod is cleared as a suspect and Neumeyer enlists him in discovering how the case could have come from the future. Another suspect on the list is Claudia's supposed ex-husband, Roy Bremmer, a gangster who has been tracing Claudia's movements. Claudia confesses to Neumeyer that she is still married to Bremmer, and she gives Neumeyer a gun for protection. Claudia plans to flee before Bremmer can locate her, but Neumeyer convinces her to stay so that he can protect her. A car across the street is taking pictures of them.Day Three
Motives are established for the list of suspects in the police file:- It becomes clear that Carl — who worships physics — begins to see J.T.'s death as inevitable.
- Brad sees an opportunity to make money from reverse-engineering the suitcase but is rebuffed by J.T. With Brad facing repossession of all his belongings due to bad investing, he sees J.T. as standing in the way of his financial recovery.
- Roy Bremmer finds J.T. and threatens him and Jesse if Claudia (revealed to be originally named Angela) is not returned to him.
- Claudia increases the life insurance policy on J.T. to $4 million dollars.
J.T. also seeks to escape his fate
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
by buying a plane ticket to get out of the city. The plane takes off, giving J.T. a sense of relief, yet less than an hour into the flight, a sick passenger is needed to be removed from the plane, causing the pilot to return to the city.
At the end of the episode, it is revealed Mandy Murphy died in a horrible car crash. Although J.T prevented her death in one accident, she still died in an accident. J.T. begins to believe that, though he can change the circumstances and details of someone's death, he cannot change someone's ultimate fate, including possibly his own.
Day Four
J.T. resigns himself to his fate and makes a video for Jesse, listing things he would've liked to have seen in the future. Jesse begins her own investigation, noting that Mandy Murphy's dog was also indicated as killed by the falling tree. The dog was not in the car, and no one knows what became of the dog, leading Jesse to believe that the future is still changeable.J.T. changes his tactics to alter the future and tries to remove the motives or block the opportunities of the suspects on the list:
- When unable to convince Carl that physics is simply physics, J.T. tricks Carl into a hospital for the mentally disabled.
- J.T. promises Brad the briefcase after he solves his own case, to remove Brad's potential threat.
- J.T. meets Roy Bremmer and offers him the money to be earned by reverse-engineering the briefcase, but Bremmer is not interested. J.T. even tries to shoot him as a last resort, but is not able to pull the trigger. Sikorski arrives at the scene and has Bremmer arrested.
- J.T. does not believe Claudia has a reasonable motive to kill him, and instead works with her to remove the other threats.
The day ends with the escape of Carl from the hospital. He steals the briefcase from Neumeyer's house. Brad intercepts Carl leaving with it and attacks him, but without success. Roy is released from jail once his lawyer gets involved. All three suspects again have motive and freedom to kill J.T.
Day Five
Sikorski is revealed to have been working against J.T. all along. He has been Bremmer's partner, he knows of Claudia's true identity, and he also knows that Claudia will inherit a lot of money on Roy's death. Sikorski kills Roy so that Claudia will gain her inheritance, then announces his plans to make himself rich by killing them all and gaining access to Claudia's wealth.Carl steals J.T.'s rented green Jeep. Carl and Brad independently head to the bar where Sikorski has taken Claudia and J.T. Carl tries to kill Brad with the stolen Jeep, but Brad fires a gun at him. Losing control of the vehicle, Carl drives the Jeep into the bar, knocking down Sikorski. J.T. loads the empty gun Sikorski gave to Claudia, with an unspent bullet from the briefcase. Sikorski bluffs that the bullet won't work because it is from the future, but J.T. kills him with it seconds before Sikorski fires his own gun.
Carl intends to kill J.T., believing that the events revealed by the briefcase must not be altered. J.T. tells Carl to look at the briefcase, predicting that the police file has changed to reflect the deaths of Bremmer and Sikorski, and now details their unsuccessful plot to kill J.T. Carl becomes fascinated by the change, believing that physics has been satisfied.
As the survivors leave the bar, J.T. surmises that Jesse — whose middle name is Tracy — is the "Professor J.T. Neumeyer" who owns the case in the future, and that she must be the one who will send the briefcase back as a warning to her father, via some as-yet nonexistent technology.
External links
- Official Website at SciFi.com
- Review at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...