episode's scenes were even written during filming "because no one could know if the audience understood what was happening". Gordon later said, "In the end, I think it worked, but it's getting there that's really difficult." The experience proved so challenging that Gordon very nearly considered aborting the project, and after finally delivering the script, he swore off writing about time travel. Reception "Synchrony" originally aired on the Fox network on April 13, 1997. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.3, with an 18 share, meaning that roughly 11.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 18 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 18.01 million viewers. The A.V. Club Zack Handlen rated the episode a "B−". Handlen considered that while "'Synchrony' has all the pieces of my favorite kind of episode, [it] doesn't really work as well as it should" due to an emotional detachment that made him not care about the scientists and their story, and his finding Old Jason's actions to be illogical. Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave "Synchrony" two out of four stars, considering it a middling episode with some effective moments, but complaining about plot holes, "not particularly compelling" supporting characters, and feeling that time travel "takes away from the reality that is this show's foundation". Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode two and a half stars out of five, praising the "high concept that is told without pretension". The two also called the episode "solid and watchable" despite flaws such as the underdevelopment of the script and not fully exploring the "concept with such potential" that is time travel. See also Dark energy Dark matter Quantum physics Tachyons Temporal paradox Time travel Footnotes Bibliography External links 1997 American television episodes Television episodes written by David Greenwalt Television episodes about time travel Television episodes set in Massachusetts The X-Files (season 4) episodes