The Mystery of the 52nd Minute

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Flash, Flash...Tick, Tock ...

The time really matters in TV shows, measured carefully by computers to cascade to an acceptable ending. What many do not know is that the most important 52nd minute.

A-Team (originally in the 80s, George Peppard and Liam Neeson somewhere in the early 2000s) was fun and thus predictable. So the show goes and, being young parents with ages 3-9, this was entertaining. It sometimes felt like we were the A-Team. Who was Hannibal was unclear.

YouTube, 8 min. long, not worth more 2 min. or so

The real question here is Why is the 52nd minute important?

Traveling through all the action and all seems lost, the 52nd minute arrives and Hannibal of the A-Team comes up with an ingenuous plan to solve the whole problem. One episode manages escape by padding the car with telephone books, allowing it to be shot to pieces. All are saved.

 Then Hannibal smirks, lights a cigar, and states the above. This happens in every single stinkin' episode.

I have three nephews who are now in upper 30s and who are very analytical watched this and other shows waiting for the precious 52nd minute. During a visit we had one time, they showed me how it worked.

And, by golly, they were right. There is no way to explain and display this, but check it out yourselves. Go to several shows, watch what happens (commercials?) at The Mystery of the 52nd Minute. Use a stop-watch if you desire.

If nothing else, this will give all something to do as we consign ourselves to homes, hoping to escape the turmoil of current times.

The Mystery of the 52nd Minute

Just past the 52nd minute....

The Mystery of the Fifty-second Minute

Sounds like a great title, doesn’t it? “The 39 Steps”, or “Sixth Sense”?  Throw a number in the title, and you create a question and a grabber.

This is how TV shows always play out. It doesn't matter the genre of the show. Code Black (ER with quality actors; good show)? Elementary (modern Sherlock Holmes in NYC; good show)? Bones (now in syndication, FBI meets forensics; good show as well)? are all good examples.

I have observed that at the 52nd minute, stuff happens. There are 8 more minutes left. Factor in 2 or 3 commercials about 1 minute + each, leaving 5 more minutes.  These allow things to be wrapped up with all sorts of ruminations, memories, self-doubt, and finally resolution. 58 rolls around, show ends at 58.5, and then there are previews of the next show, along with more commercials. The 60 minutes ding,  and Bob's Your Uncle.


At this site, Guide to writing TV scripts the process is broken down in this way:

Any script should come in 5 steps. First there is the "Teaser" which supposedly catches the viewer. Commercial break kicks in, indicating movement onto......  

"Act One" which presents the problem to be addressed. A commercial break appears, leading to....

"Act Two" has the characters facing down the problem, figuring things out, but meeting up with all sorts of brick walls in their discoveries.  Another commercial break interrupts, and then there is....

"Act Three" finds the characters' frustrations overwhelming and bad guys making headway. Another blasted commercial break, leading to....

"Act Four" is the big event, where basically it is all figured out. (THIS is where the 52nd minute heralds the Ah-Ha moment).Yet another commercial break happens, and....

"Act Five" allows for closure and maybe "wait, look over there, OH NO..." 

Somehow, knowing this format makes it all less irritating. Being able to identify "Oh this is Act Three." sets up the next bathroom run.

What spurred this interest? "A Team", old show from late 70s.  This show was textbook on predictability. My nephews explained it to me and I saw their logic. 

I could write these scripts.

We all could write this type of script. But, the question is could we all factor in the 52nd minute?

The Mystery of the Fifty-Second Minute

Just past the 52nd minute....

The Mystery of the Fifty-second Minute

Sounds like a great title, doesn’t it?  Kinda like Hitchcock’s “The 39^th Step”, or “Sixth Sense”?  Throw a number in the title, and you create a question and a grabber.

Maui, Hawaii:  Hawaii 5-0

This is how one of my favorite TV shows always plays out.  The main characters have a close bond, would die to save the other.  During this mystery, the M/C decides to leave his close group, and go to a dangerous country to help a tertiary female character rescue her beloved.   


This poor beloved is in the clutches of a rebel group and will die, unless the female delivers bunches of money to purchase his freedom.

Oh, so delicious Alex O'Loughlin

But, not all is as it seems.  Clues are rife, and predictions can be made early on, that the female has another agenda: to deliver the M/C into the clutches of the evil master villain. 

The close friends discover this duplicity; they gather up all their paramilitary connections, and rush to rescue M/C.  The female discovers her betrayal when the body of the young man is shown to her.  She redeems herself by passing a lock-pick to the M/C, just before the villain kills her.  **

Equally delightful Daniel Oh Kim

Nummy delicious Scott Caan (son of James)

The cavalry rides in, shoots the bad guys, and rescues the M/C, but the villain melts into the night/jungle/city and lives to fight another day.

Villain "Wo Fat" actor, Mark Dacascos, also on "Iron Chef"

**This all happens before the TV show reaches the magic number 52 minutes.  When that number comes, the culminating action happens, and TUH-DUH!  All is well.  The hero looks back at his place of imprisonment with tortured eyes.

The amazing Grace Park

If I know the formula so well, then why do I watch these TV shows?  Eye candy.  The men are young, buff, handsome, and have piercing blue/green/brown eyes.  Grace Park?  Amazing, vulnerable, tough.  Every one of them are easy to appreciate.  Plus, HAWAII!!!  Lush, green, blue ocean--everything to love.

Knowing the 52^nd minute is coming lets me relax while I watch the tense parts where uncertainty should reign.  At “52”, I sigh and wait for the final credits.

I could write those scripts, couldn’t I?