Time and the Arts

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Documentaries

"Daylight Saving Time Explained" (2011; 6:39) lightly covers daylight saving time's theory, history, pros and cons. Among other things, it explains Arizona's daylight-saving enclaves quite well.

"The Problem with Time & Timezones – Computerphile" (2013; 10:12) delves into problems that programmers have with timekeeping.

"All The Time In The World: Explaining The Mysteries Of Time Zones" (2017; 2:15) briefly says why France has more time zones than Russia.

"Why Denmark used to be .04 seconds behind the world" (2019; 6:29) explains why the United Kingdom — and, once, Denmark — haven't always exactly followed their own laws about civil time.

"About Time" (1962; 59 minutes) is part of the Bell Science extravaganza, with Frank Baxter, Richard Deacon, and Les Tremayne. Its advisor was Richard Feynman, and it was voiced by Mel Blanc. (IMDb entry.)

Movies

In the 1946 movie A Matter of Life and Death (U.S. title Stairway to Heaven) there is a reference to British Double Summer Time. The time does not play a large part in the plot; it's just a passing reference to the time when one of the characters was supposed to have died (but didn't). (IMDb entry.) (Dave Cantor)

The 1953 railway comedy movie The Titfield Thunderbolt includes a play on words on British Double Summer Time. Valentine's wife wants him to leave the pub and asks him, "Do you know what time it is?" And he, happy where he is, replies: "Yes, my love. Summer double time." (IMDb entry.) (Mark Brader, 2009-10-02)

The premise of the 1999 caper movie Entrapment involves computers in an international banking network being shut down briefly at midnight in each time zone to avoid any problems at the transition from the year 1999 to 2000 in that zone. (Hmmmm.) If this shutdown is extended by 10 seconds, it will create a one-time opportunity for a gigantic computerized theft. To achieve this, at one location the crooks interfere with the microwave system supplying time signals to the computer, advancing the time by 0.1 second each minute over the last hour of 1999. (So this movie teaches us that 0.1 × 60 = 10.) (IMDb entry.) (Mark Brader, 2009-10-02)

One mustn't forget the trailer (2014; 2:23) for the movie Daylight Saving.

TV episodes

An episode of The Adventures of Superman entitled "The Mysterious Cube," first aired 1958-02-24, had Superman convincing the controllers of the Arlington Time Signal to broadcast ahead of actual time; doing so got a crook trying to be declared dead to emerge a bit too early from the titular enclosure. (IMDb entry.)

"The Chimes of Big Ben", The Prisoner, episode 2, ITC, 1967-10-06. Our protagonist tumbles to the fraudulent nature of a Poland-to-England escape upon hearing "Big Ben" chiming on Polish local time. (IMDb entry.)

"The Susie", Seinfeld, season 8, episode 15, NBC, 1997-02-13. Kramer decides that daylight saving time isn't coming fast enough, so he sets his watch ahead an hour.

"20 Hours in America", The West Wing, season 4, episodes 1–2, 2002-09-25, contained a scene that saw White House staffers stranded in Indiana; they thought they had time to catch Air Force One but were done in by intra-Indiana local time changes.

"In what time zone would you find New York City?" was a $200 question on the 1999-11-13 United States airing of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and "In 1883, what industry led the movement to divide the U.S. into four time zones?" was a $32,000 question on the 2001-05-23 United States airing of the same show. At this rate, the million-dollar time-zone question should have been asked 2002-06-04.

A private jet's mid-flight change of time zones distorts Alison Dubois' premonition in the "We Had a Dream" episode of Medium (originally aired 2007-02-28).

A criminal's failure to account for the start of daylight saving is pivotal in "Mr. Monk and the Rapper" (first aired 2007-07-20).

In the 30 Rock episode "Anna Howard Shaw Day" (first broadcast 2010-02-11), Jack Donaghy's date realizes that a Geneva-to-New-York business phone call received in the evening must be fake given the difference in local times.

In the "Run by the Monkeys" episode of Da Vinci's Inquest (first broadcast 2002-11-17), a witness in a five-year-old fire case realizes they may not have set their clock back when daylight saving ended on the day of the fire, introducing the possibility of an hour when arson might have occurred.

In "The Todd Couple" episode of Outsourced (first aired 2011-02-10), Manmeet sets up Valentine's Day teledates for 6:00 and 9:00pm; since one is with a New Yorker and the other with a San Franciscan, hilarity ensues. (Never mind that this should be 7:30am in Mumbai, yet for some reason the show proceeds as though it's also mid-evening there.)

In the "14 Days to Go"/"T Minus..." episode of You, Me and the Apocalypse (first aired 2015-11-11 in the UK, 2016-03-10 in the US), the success of a mission to deal with a comet hinges on whether or not Russia observes daylight saving time. (In the US, the episode first aired in the week before the switch to DST.)

"The Lost Hour", Eerie, Indiana, episode 10, NBC, 1991-12-01. Despite Indiana's then-lack of DST, Marshall changes his clock with unusual consequences. See "Eerie, Indiana was a few dimensions ahead of its time".

"Time Tunnel", The Adventures of Pete & Pete, season 2, episode 5, Nickelodeon, 1994-10-23. The two Petes travel back in time an hour on the day that DST ends.

"King-Size Homer", The Simpsons, episode 135, Fox, 1995-11-05. Homer, working from home, remarks "8:58, first time I've ever been early for work. Except for all those daylight savings days. Lousy farmers."

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 2, episode 5, 2015-03-08, asked, "Daylight Saving Time – How Is This Still A Thing?"

"Tracks", The Good Wife, season 7, episode 12, CBS, 2016-01-17. The applicability of a contract hinges on the time zone associated with a video timestamp.

"Justice", Veep, season 6, episode 4, HBO, 2017-05-07. Jonah's inability to understand DST ends up impressing a wealthy backer who sets him up for a 2020 presidential run.

Books, plays, and magazines

Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days (Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours), 1873. Wall-clock time plays a central role in the plot. European readers of the 1870s clearly held the U.S. press in deep contempt; the protagonists cross the U.S. without once reading a paper. Available versions include an English translation, and the original French "with illustrations from the original 1873 French-language edition".

Nick Enright, Daylight Saving, 1989. A fast-paced comedy about love and loneliness as the clocks turn back.

Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before (L'isola del giorno prima), 1994. "...the story of a 17th century Italian nobleman trapped near an island on the International Date Line. Time and time zones play an integral part in the novel." (Paul Eggert, 2006-04-22)

John Dunning, Two O'Clock, Eastern Wartime, 2001. Mystery, history, daylight saving time, and old-time radio.

Surrealist artist Guy Billout's work "Date Line" appeared on page 103 of the 1999-11 Atlantic Monthly.

"Gloom, Gloom, Go Away" by Walter Kirn appeared on page 106 of Time magazine's 2002-11-11 issue; among other things, it proposed year-round DST as a way of lessening wintertime despair.

Music

Recordings of "Save That Time," Russ Long, Serrob Publishing, BMI:

Karrin Allyson, I Didn't Know About You (1993), track 11, 3:44. Concord Jazz CCD-4543. Karrin Allyson, vocal; Russ Long, piano; Gerald Spaits, bass; Todd Strait, drums. CD notes "additional lyric by Karrin Allyson; arranged by Russ Long and Karrin Allyson". ADO ★, AMG ★★★★, Penguin ★★★⯪.
Kevin Mahogany, Double Rainbow (1993), track 3, 6:27. Enja ENJ-7097 2. Kevin Mahogany, vocal; Kenny Barron, piano; Ray Drummond, bass; Ralph Moore, tenor saxophone; Lewis Nash, drums. ADO ★⯪, AMG ★★★, Penguin ★★★.
Joe Williams, Here's to Life (1994), track 7, 3:58. Telarc Jazz CD-83357. Joe Williams, vocal; The Robert Farnon [39 piece] Orchestra. Also in a 3-CD package "Triple Play", Telarc CD-83461. ADO •, AMG ★★, Penguin ★★★.
Charles Fambrough, Keeper of the Spirit (1995), track 7, 7:07. AudioQuest AQ-CD1033. Charles Fambrough, bass; Joel Levine, tenor recorder; Edward Simon, piano; Lenny White, drums; Marion Simon, percussion. ADO ★, AMG unrated, Penguin ★★★.

Holly Cole Trio, Blame It On My Youth (1992). Manhattan CDP 7 97349 2, 37:45. Holly Cole, voice; Aaron Davis, piano; David Piltch, string bass. Lyrical reference to "Eastern Standard Time" in Tom Waits's "Purple Avenue". ADO ★★⯪, AMG ★★★, Penguin unrated.

Milt Hinton, Old Man Time (1990). Chiaroscuro CR(D) 310, 149:38 (two CDs). Milt Hinton, bass; Doc Cheatham, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, trumpet; Al Grey, trombone; Eddie Barefield, Joe Camel (Flip Phillips), Buddy Tate, clarinet and saxophone; John Bunch, Red Richards, Norman Simmons, Derek Smith, Ralph Sutton, piano; Danny Barker, Al Casey, guitar; Gus Johnson, Gerryck King, Bob Rosengarden, Jackie Williams, drums; Lionel Hampton, vibraphone; Cab Calloway, Joe Williams, vocal; Buck Clayton, arrangements. Tunes include "Old Man Time", "Time After Time", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight", "Four or Five Times", "Now's the Time", "Time on My Hands", "This Time It's Us", and "Good Time Charlie". ADO ★★★, AMG ★★★★⯪, Penguin ★★★.

Alan Broadbent, Pacific Standard Time (1995). Concord Jazz CCD-4664, 62:42. Alan Broadbent, piano; Putter Smith, Bass; Frank Gibson, Jr., drums. The CD cover features an analemma for equation-of-time fans. ADO ★, AMG ★★★★, Penguin ★★★⯪.

Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum, Silence/Time Zones (1996). Black Lion BLCD 760221, 72:58. Anthony Braxton, sopranino and alto saxophones, contrebasse clarinet, miscellaneous instruments; Leo Smith, trumpet and miscellaneous instruments; Leroy Jenkins, violin and miscellaneous instruments; Richard Teitelbaum, modular moog and micromoog synthesizer. ADO •, AMG ★★★★.

Charles Gayle, Time Zones (2006). Tompkins Square TSQ2839, 49:06. Charles Gayle, piano. ADO ★, AMG ★★★★⯪.

The Get Up Kids, Eudora (2001). Vagrant 357, 65:12. Includes the song "Central Standard Time." Thanks to Colin Bowern for this information. AMG ★★⯪.

Coldplay, "Clocks" (2003). Capitol 52608, 4:13. Won the 2004 Record of the Year honor at the Grammy Awards. Co-written and performed by Chris Martin, great-great-grandson of DST inventor William Willett. The song's first line is "Lights go out and I can't be saved".

Jaime Guevara, "Qué hora es" (1993), 3:04. The song protested "Sixto Hour" in Ecuador (1992–3). Its lyrics include "Amanecía en mitad de la noche, los guaguas iban a clase sin sol" ("It was dawning in the middle of the night, the buses went to class without sun").

Irving Kahal and Harry Richman, "There Ought to be a Moonlight Saving Time" (1931). This musical standard was a No. 1 hit for Guy Lombardo in 1931, and was also performed by Maurice Chevalier, Blossom Dearie and many others. The phrase "Moonlight saving time" also appears in the 1995 country song "Not Enough Hours in the Night" written by Aaron Barker, Kim Williams and Rob Harbin and performed by Doug Supernaw.

The Microscopic Septet, Lobster Leaps In (2008). Cuneiform 272, 73:05. Includes the song "Twilight Time Zone." ADO ★★, AMG ★★★⯪.

Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin' (1964). Columbia CK-8905, 45:36. ADO ★⯪, AMG ★★★★⯪. The title song is also available on "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" and "The Essential Bob Dylan."

Luciana Souza, Tide (2009). Universal Jazz France B0012688-02, 42:31. ADO ★★⯪, AMG ★★★⯪. Includes the song "Fire and Wood" with the lyric "The clocks were turned back you remember/Think it's still November."

Ken Nordine, You're Getting Better: The Word Jazz Dot Masters (2005). Geffen B0005171-02, 156:22. ADO ★, AMG ★★★★⯪. Includes the piece "What Time Is It" ("He knew what time it was everywhere...that counted").

Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority (1969). Columbia 64409, 1:16:20. AMG ★★★★. Includes the song "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?".

Emanuele Arciuli, The Time Curve Preludes (2023). Neuma 174, 44:46. The title piece, composed by William Duckworth, is the first work of postminimal music. Unlike minimalism, it does not assume that the listener has plenty of time.

Comics

The webcomic xkcd has the strips "The Sun" (2009-12-09), "Doomsday Clock" (2016-03-14) and "Edge Cake" (2021-12-01), along with the panels "Good Morning" (2008-07-11), "Backward in Time" (2012-02-14), "EST" (2012-05-28), "ISO 8601" (2013-02-27), "Now" (2014-02-26), "Bad Map Projection: Time Zones" (2017-02-15), "Supervillain Plan" (2017-08-30), "6/6 Time" (2018-09-24), "Consensus New Year" (2018-12-31), "Leap Smearing" (2020-02-10), "Consensus Time" (2022-03-16), "Daylight Saving Choice" (2023-10-25), "Date Line" (2023-11-13), and "DateTime" (2023-12-13). The related book What If? has an entry "Leap Seconds" (2012-12-31).

Pig kills time in Pearls Before Swine (2016-11-06).

Stonehenge is abandoned in Non Sequitur (2017-03-12).

Caulfield proposes changing clocks just once a year in Frazz (2023-12-31), while Peter and Jason go multi-lingual and -zonal in FoxTrot (the same day).

Peppermint Patty: "What if the world comes to an end tonight, Marcie?"
Marcie: "I promise there'll be a tomorrow, sir ... in fact, it's already tomorrow in Australia!"
(Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts, 1980-06-13)

Jokes

The idea behind daylight saving time was first proposed as a joke by Benjamin Franklin. To enforce it, he suggested, "Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing; and if that is not sufficient, let cannon be fired in every street, to wake the sluggards effectually, and make them open their eyes to see their true interest. All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days: after which the reformation will be as natural and easy as the present irregularity; for, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte." Franklin's joke was first published on 1784-04-26 by the Journal de Paris as an anonymous letter translated into French.

"We've been using the five-cent nickel in this country since 1492. Now that's pretty near 100 years, daylight saving." (Groucho Marx as Captain Spaulding in Animal Crackers, 1930, as noted by Will Fitzgerald)

BRADY. ...[Bishop Usher] determined that the Lord began the Creation on the 23rd of October in the Year 4,004 B.C. at – uh, 9 A.M.!
DRUMMOND. That Eastern Standard Time? (Laughter.) Or Rocky Mountain Time? (More laughter.) It wasn't daylight-saving time, was it? Because the Lord didn't make the sun until the fourth day!
(From the play Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, filmed in 1960 with Spencer Tracy as Drummond and Fredric March as Brady, and several other times. Thanks to Mark Brader.)

"Good news." "What did they do? Extend Daylight Saving Time year round?" (Professional tanner George Hamilton, in dialog from a May, 1999 episode of the syndicated television series Baywatch)

"A fundamental belief held by Americans is that if you are on land, you cannot be killed by a fish...So most Americans remain on land, believing they're safe. Unfortunately, this belief – like so many myths, such as that there's a reason for 'Daylight Saving Time' – is false." (Dave Barry column, 2000-07-02)

"I once had sex for an hour and five minutes, but that was on the day when you turn the clocks ahead." (Garry Shandling, 52nd Annual Emmys, 2000-09-10)

"Would it impress you if I told you I invented Daylight Savings Time?" ("Sahjhan" to "Lilah" in dialog from the "Loyalty" episode of Angel, originally aired 2002-02-25)

"I thought you said Tulsa was a three-hour flight." "Well, you're forgetting about the time difference." ("Joey" and "Chandler" in dialog from the episode of Friends entitled "The One With Rachel's Phone Number," originally aired 2002-12-05)

"Is that a pertinent fact, or are you just trying to dazzle me with your command of time zones?" (Kelsey Grammer as "Frasier Crane" to "Roz" from the episode of Frasier entitled "The Kid," originally aired 1997-11-04)

"I put myself and my staff through this crazy, huge ordeal, all because I refused to go on at midnight, okay? And so I work, you know, and then I get this job at eleven, supposed to be a big deal. Then yesterday daylight [saving] time ended. Right now it's basically midnight." (Conan O'Brien on the 2010-11-08 premiere of Conan)

"The best method, I told folks, was to hang a large clock high on a barn wall where all the cows could see it. If you have Holsteins, you will need to use an analog clock." (Jerry Nelson, How to adjust dairy cows to daylight saving time", Successful Farming, 2017-10-09)

"And now, driving to California, I find that I must enter a password in order to change the time zone on my laptop clock. Evidently, someone is out to mess up my schedule and my clock must be secured." (Garrison Keillor, "We've never been here before", 2017-08-22)

"Well, in my time zone that's all the time I have, but maybe in your time zone I haven't finished yet. So stay tuned!" (Goldie Hawn, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In No. 65, 1970-03-09)