10 Incredible TV Scenes Shot In A Single Take
7. Triangle - The X-Files (S6E3)
After Mulder boards the wreckage of a WWII British ship in The X-Files' Triangle episode, he finds himself travelling back to 1939 while the vessel is being infiltrated by the Nazis. Mulder doesn't want the British soldiers to die, but is unsure whether to take action since anything he does could change the course of history.
Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, Chris Carter shot this episode in several long shots and stitched them together to emulate a single take, with the production team using steadicams to move fluidly through different locations, especially in scenes set aboard the ship.
The filming is top-tier, but the editing team deserves to be singled out for their work, since the cuts are completely unnoticeable, especially during a shot where the past and present Scully overlap.
Not only is this a great technical achievement, but shooting the episode in one take also fits the story well, as Mulder's predicament has a dream-like vibe. So, having different time periods and locations blending together is fitting.
Triangle's epilogue suggests the whole scenario was a hallucination brought about by Mulder almost drowning, which further justifies the surreal way the story plays out.