The events in the mini-series take place Monday, 7 June 2004 through Friday, 11 June 2004. The show premiered on the SciFi Channel (USA) on Monday, 7 June 2004 and consecutive episodes were shown each night through Friday, 11 June 2004 roughly following a real-time schedule. The fourth episode (with events ending at or slightly past 3.55am according to the script) was actually first shown at 9.00pm on Thursday, 10 June 2004, so the series did get ahead a bit. Additional date-specific product placements (for instance, a poster for The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), playing in theaters at the time, as seen on a slow pan at the university outside Neumeyer's office) and current popular culture references (for example, a reference to the popular show, , airing at the time on network TV) in conversation help reinforce this setup.