S01.E01: July 13, 1985

[Guest]

12 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Yeah - this is the part where Al would usually explain that the guy's daughter grew up to be so-and-so, which is why Sam had to save the guy so he could pay for his wife's dialysis and raise his daughter to be whatever she grew up to be. They really failed to explain why it was so important to save this guy's life.

That didn’t bother me but the fact they didn’t do it here doesn’t mean it won’t happen in future episodes. They thought he was going to return home and were preoccupied. I would be very surprised if we (and Ben) don’t receive confirmation of how things are changed in future episodes. 

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I am not sure why Ben thought his mission was to save some smuck who thought committing crimes is the best way to solve your financial troubles. I would have assumed that my mission was to stop the bomb from exploding or at least stop it from hurting anybody.

Why not assume that the first person he meets who is going to die is the mission? They already knew no one died in the explosion. As soon as people were actually in danger he immediately focused on stopping the explosion. 

9 hours ago, Starchild said:

Speaking of discrepancies, the original premise was that he needs to make a positive change to the life of the person whose body he inhabits. Not some other random guy. In the original, if he was supposed to "save" the guy with the sick wife, he would have leaped into that guy's body, not the undercover cop.

As others have mentioned Sam didn’t always leap into the person is was there to help. Also, Ben did “save” the guy he leaped into. Addison said the undercover cop never got over failing to save the random guy. One person died and three lives were irrevocably altered. 

[arc]

If this new show was actually woke and not just cast with more diversity than TV of the late 80s, it wouldn’t have had the (admittedly light) copaganda tone it had in the second half.

[possibilities]

6 hours ago, bettername2come said:

my inner Joan of Arcadia fan is always happy to see Michael Welch earn a paycheck

Oh wow. I didn't recognize him at all!

I would be okay with helping random people, but the premise was that he leapt for some serious emergency reason that he couldn't even tell his fiancee about, so why did it have to be him and not her, and why couldn't he tell his team? It irritates me. There'd better be a really good explanation, and I don't really want to trust there will be if they draw it out all season, which I am guessing they plan to do.

[Cress]

I liked it overall. Good for a pilot. I didn't mind the fiancee being his hologram. When I watched the original Quantum Leap, I always felt blindsided in the episode when Sam found out that he had a wife Donna. Al claimed that Donna told him it was okay not to tell Sam he was married, because that would make some of his leaps awkward. It stunned me that anyone would be okay with that, and that this whole huge drama was offscreen. It made no damn sense to me. So seeing the new show actually put the love interest onscreen is actually **more interesting** to me. I want to see where it goes, and I also want to see what happens in the waiting room, if they ever use that.

That said, it's been so long since I watched the original, that I've forgotten a lot of things about "evil Leapers", Magic, and how the show ended (other than Sam never going home). I'm interested in the new plot with Al's daughter, as well as seeing what the other coworkers in Project Quantum Leap are going to do. I also liked the party speech about particle entanglement as a metaphor for love.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Cress

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, arc said:

If this new show was actually woke and not just cast with more diversity than TV of the late 80s, it wouldn’t have had the (admittedly light) copaganda tone it had in the second half.

QL was pretty progressive for its own time period. They lost sponsors for doing the gay Navy student episode and they made a pretty bold episode about date rape. 

[Starchild]

7 hours ago, Dani said:

As others have mentioned Sam didn’t always leap into the person is was there to help. Also, Ben did “save” the guy he leaped into. Addison said the undercover cop never got over failing to save the random guy. One person died and three lives were irrevocably altered. 

Yes, I admit I have been schooled lol.

6 hours ago, Cress said:

That said, it's been so long since I watched the original, that I've forgotten a lot of things about "evil Leapers", Magic, and how the show ended (other than Sam never going home). 

Same. That's my defense. :)

[Raja]

On 9/20/2022 at 7:26 AM, rwlevin said:

Okay, small question. Did the writers forget that when Sam leaped, the person he leaped into took his place as well? Why didn't they mention having the time displaced person being at headquarters? Maybe asking them for help and being frustrated because their memory is just as Swiss cheesed as Ben's? Also, where's Sammy Jo? Or Donna?? I feel like they should be there, not just Al's daughter who we know nothing about. 

Other than that, I feel like we didn't spend enough time in Ben's leap to care about anyone. 

I think they needed to drop that switched person as a  head starter to handicap the team. By sliding the timeline forward for the new leaper's lifespan more  data would be available for the team to find than Al and Sam had. And even for the pilot episode as their first time out they were dealing with an undercover cop. Perhaps they should have held that landmine plot device for a future episode.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Raja

[DoctorAtomic]

12 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

That is a good question, why would they restart a very expensive project that ultimately failed? Someone could have a theory for how to improve it I guess, but the project was top secret, so how would anyone have had the source material to even look into it?

I like to think that is Sam took control of his own leaping he would have found a way to send a message to Al telling him. 

As for a message, Sam's last 'leap' was to Beth to tell her to wait for Al. Clearly, that didn't undo the Project or what happened, so maybe down the line when same leapt to the bar on his birthday, she finally told Al. So Al at least knew he was out there. I would think that would motivate Al to keep the project going, but I don't know about the restart. Or Sam could have sent a message to the daughter, since you can't have a Sam and Al scene. 

It seems Magic is effectively in charge here. He said he was in DC a long time and heard a lot of things. Rumors of a time travel project, he goes to check it out sometime and has weird memories of actually being there that coincide with him in Vietnam. A smart person puts 2 and 2 together and maybe that's enough for him and he's got the juice to do it. 

I wouldn't say it ultimately failed. The retrieval failed, but they had observers in the viewing room and all the data recorded by Ziggy to prove Sam was leaping through time. Sam did the first leap early because their funding was going to be cut to prove it worked. 

[kirkola]

10 hours ago, arc said:

If this new show was actually woke and not just cast with more diversity than TV of the late 80s, it wouldn’t have had the (admittedly light) copaganda tone it had in the second half.

It felt like a very 80s car chase

[DoctorAtomic]

12 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

That is a good question, why would they restart a very expensive project that ultimately failed? Someone could have a theory for how to improve it I guess, but the project was top secret, so how would anyone have had the source material to even look into it?

I like to think that is Sam took control of his own leaping he would have found a way to send a message to Al telling him. 

As for a message, Sam's last 'leap' was to Beth to tell her to wait for Al. Clearly, that didn't undo the Project or what happened, so maybe down the line when same leapt to the bar on his birthday, she finally told Al. So Al at least knew he was out there. I would think that would motivate Al to keep the project going, but I don't know about the restart. Or Sam could have sent a message to the daughter, since you can't have a Sam and Al scene. 

It seems Magic is effectively in charge here. He said he was in DC a long time and heard a lot of things. Rumors of a time travel project, he goes to check it out sometime and has weird memories of actually being there that coincide with him in Vietnam. A smart person puts 2 and 2 together and maybe that's enough for him and he's got the juice to do it. 

I wouldn't say it ultimately failed. The retrieval failed, but they had observers in the viewing room and all the data recorded by Ziggy to prove Sam was leaping through time. Sam did the first leap early because their funding was going to be cut to prove it worked. 

Please no evil leapers though. I mean, we know there's other leapers out there from the original finale, and I suppose that's ok to keep, but a directed evil project was too hacky for me. 

iirc, the person in the 'waiting room' wasn't entirely clear what was going on, so any intel from them was touch and go too. I don't know if you *need* this part pe se, and maybe the updating leaping technology or whatever wiped that out. TV wise, you didn't have every episode with the project team, and they were only in a couple of scenes, so another actor for the waiting room wasn't a big deal. Here, you have a sizable cast that looks like they're going to be regulars. 

Too bad one of them didn't have bad breath!

[possibilities]

The comparisons to the original version are confusing to me since I didn't see the original show. Who is Sam, or Magic or Al? 

I don't even know the names of all the people in this new version at this point. 

[DoctorAtomic]

There's another thread of old v new where I'm sure everyone would be happy to answer questions. I certainly have fond memories of the show, and it seems to be the prevailing sentiment. 

Sam and Al were mentioned in this episode. Addison explained this to Ben when he was in the bathroom 'talking to himself'. They mentioned Al at the end and showed his picture. It was quick, but he was the original 'hologram'. 

Magic is the guy in charge right now played by Ernie Hudson. That's kind of a plot point. I alluded to him in my above post, but maybe the other thread is better to get into detail in case people want to be surprised. 

[possibilities]

I honestly don't want to read another thread about a show I never saw. I don't really see the point of doing that.

But thanks for sorting out what's from this episode vs discussion comparing the versions.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Magic is the guy in charge right now played by Ernie Hudson. That's kind of a plot point. I alluded to him in my above post, but maybe the other thread is better to get into detail in case people want to be surprised.

I did not remember this character from the original show until I looked it up. He was someone serving in Vietnam with Sam's brother (I think if I'm remembering the right episode) and Sam leaped into him around Season 3. He wasn't played by Hudson in the original, though.

Quote

So... the person he leaps into... where are they? Do they disappear while he's in there? Do they remember anything when he leaves? It seems like there'd be some ethical issues with borrowing someone's body and this show doesn't even seem to consider the person leaped into.

In the original there was some weird identity/body switch where the person Sam leaped into went into something called "The Waiting Room" at Quantum Leap headquarters. But it wasn't something they brought up until they were well into the series, and as a poster upthread noted, it never made a lot of sense. But if Sam (and now Ben) are still the same person despite looking like whoever they leap into, then the person they're replacing has to go somewhere. And in the original, that place was "The Waiting Room." Only very rarely did we ever see them though. Sometimes Al would refer to whoever was in The Waiting Room, but I think they likewise had "swiss cheese" memory so they weren't much help figuring out why Sam leaped into that person's life. And once the leap was over, they were returned without any memory of where they were.

Something that I just remembered is that the original show was supposed to take place some time in the future. It ran in the 80s and I think they more or less alluded to Sam being from the 1990s which at the time would have been "the future." And on the rare occasion we got to see Sam and Al's "present day" they made the sets look all futuristic with shiny metal costumes and flashy neon lights and such. Obviously that didn't pan out. It's one of the few things that makes the original look very dated.

[DoctorAtomic]

The title card here said Sam first leaped in 1995. I thought it was 1999.

[Sarah 103]

14 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Sometimes the original was just as low key.

I agree with you. That's one of the things I liked about the original show. It wasn't trying to prevent the Kennedy assasination or some major national or international tragedy (until the least season when they more or less ran out of ideas). It was about all types of normal people and small stories that make up life. They are big dramatic moments in the life of the individual and those tied to the individual, but not grand historical events. 

14 hours ago, bamlouie said:

And maybe I'm too nostalgic for the original, but for future episodes there better be a theme song! (and am I asking too much for a saga cell intro too?).

Theme songs are a thing of the past, which is a shame because some were awesome ("Quantum Leap" being one of them). A saga sell to explain the premise might be possible, but we'll see. 

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I forgot to mention that it was nice Deborah Pratt is around to at least do the opening voiceover.  I miss the theme song, though.

I thought I recognized the voice, but it sounded "off." Knowing that it's her, the reason the voice didn't sound quite right to me is probably that she has gotten older, which happens and is better than the alternative. 

14 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I forgot to add, I did like that Live Aid was on when Ben was faffing about in the van. 

I went into this version thinking wall to wall pop hits wasn't going to be part of the show, because music licensing has gotten so expensive since the 1980s. However, I had forgotten with all of the consolidation that has occured and the buying sprees that have happened, NBC/Universal probably has an extensive publishing library/music catalogue they can draw from. 

39 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Please no evil leapers though. I mean, we know there's other leapers out there from the original finale, and I suppose that's ok to keep, but a directed evil project was too hacky for me. 

I agree. That was never something in the original series I liked. 

36 minutes ago, possibilities said:

The comparisons to the original version are confusing to me since I didn't see the original show. Who is Sam, or Magic or Al? 

Sam Beckett was a genuis. He spoke multiple languages and had multiple degrees in a range of subjects. The original project Quantum Leap was his idea. Al was a hologram from the present that only Sam could see and hear while time traveling. He was the project observer and would feed Sam the information he needed to accomplish his mission of the week, as well as telling Sam what the mission of the week was. In terms of personality, Sam and Al were total opposites. Sam was the original boy scout, and Al was not afraid to bend the rules if the situation called for it. Al had a somewhat checkered past and a range of random skills, knowledge, and talents that would often help Sam save the day. 

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

I went into this version thinking wall to wall pop hits wasn't going to be part of the show, because music licensing has gotten so expensive since the 1980s. However, I had forgotten with all of the consolidation that has occured and the buying sprees that have happened, NBC/Universal probably has an extensive publishing library/music catalogue they can draw from. 

I thought the same thing as well. Kinda pleasantly surprised.

[Rose Quartz]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

It seems Magic is effectively in charge here. He said he was in DC a long time and heard a lot of things. Rumors of a time travel project, he goes to check it out sometime and has weird memories of actually being there that coincide with him in Vietnam. A smart person puts 2 and 2 together and maybe that's enough for him and he's got the juice to do it. 

Don't forget that Sam's brother Tom was Magic's commander.  I would think that as soon as Magic heard that there was a Beckett involved in a time travel project he'd have his suspicions about what happened in 1970 and would want to get involved in the current project.

[bybrandy]

I didn’t make the Magic connection. Interesting. I do remember Magic and I did like Ernie Hudson in the role now. I liked Ben fine and I’m Meh on his fiancé being his handler but I’m willing to see where it goes with that. My issue is there wasn’t much humor and I always enjoyed a bit of that in the original QL (and in all Bellisario shows). 
 

I’ll tune in again. 

[TheOtherOne]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

The comparisons to the original version are confusing to me since I didn't see the original show. Who is Sam, or Magic or Al? 

I don't even know the names of all the people in this new version at this point. 

You don't need to have seen the original show since they were all explained in this very episode.

[Raja]

As an occasional viewer of the original Magic meant nothing to me. The basic concept of leaping into a body and a hologram from the future offering advice along with some specific story plots was it. The continuation with its conspiracy doesn't seem needed. If it was part of the show bible it is long forgotten 

[kirkola]

27 minutes ago, Raja said:

As an occasional viewer of the original Magic meant nothing to me. The basic concept of leaping into a body and a hologram from the future offering advice along with some specific story plots was it. The continuation with its conspiracy doesn't seem needed. If it was part of the show bible it is long forgotten 

We met Magic one time, in the original.  Sam leaped into him to try & save Tom, Sam's brother. He would've been a throw away character, like the rest, if they hadn't given him a role in the sequel.

My curiosity is, by giving us a former leap-ee, what did that experience do for Magic, if anything.  Maybe he doesn't remember.  Maybe he remembers it as a weird dream.  It's a mystery that hasn't been explored.  And if we are gonna show more of QL Headquarters,  I wanna know what he brings to the table. 

[peachmangosteen]

4 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

The title card here said Sam first leaped in 1995. I thought it was 1999.

I thought it said his last leap before vanishing was 1995.

[iMonrey]

Quote

 My issue is there wasn’t much humor and I always enjoyed a bit of that in the original QL (and in all Bellisario shows). 

It's early days, we've only seen the pilot. Not all episodes of the original had humor either, especially its pilot. 

The funniest ones were always when Sam leaped into the life of a woman. I'm waiting for that. (Or a monkey!)

[peachmangosteen]

2 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

The funniest ones were always when Sam leaped into the life of a woman. I'm waiting for that. (Or a monkey!)

They showed one instance of that in the season promo, with Justin Hartley proposing to him.

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, TheOtherOne said:

You don't need to have seen the original show since they were all explained in this very episode.

Well, I'm confused anyway. And I can't even remember the last time I found myself confused like this after watching TV or reading a forum thread.

I'm not having this problem with other shows or forums. If I'm the only one, okay. But I appreciate the people who have explained things to me rather than snarking on my confusion.

[CeeBeeGee]

23 hours ago, edhopper said:

Just one major facepalm, even at a Benefit Gala the Hope Diamond would be behind 4 inches of bullet proof glass with at least two armed guards, not out in the open where anyone could grab it.

Did they mention if the diamond was on tour or something? Because the Hope Diamond has been on permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian since the '50s.

22 hours ago, bettername2come said:

Not gonna lie, I was not all that interested in the heist plot or the wife with kidney disease, but my inner Joan of Arcadia fan is always happy to see Michael Welch earn a paycheck and I liked his character well enough to want him to live.

My inner Twilight fan is always happy to him as well--and in yet another Donald Bellisario project! (He's been in both NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.)

18 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

If you don't know what it means, how do you know it was "woke?" lol You made me laugh, thanks. 

Well, I think my post speaks for itself but if you need me to explain it, I was commenting on the double meaning (connotation, really) of the word woke--how mostly it means progressive and socially aware (like the original QL) but how certain groups have tried to turn it into an insult. Hence the quotation marks. Maybe I should've used an "lol" to make it clearer? Or footnotes? Anything to help ;) 

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

It's early days, we've only seen the pilot. Not all episodes of the original had humor either, especially its pilot. 

The funniest ones were always when Sam leaped into the life of a woman. I'm waiting for that. (Or a monkey!)

I just saw the monkey one during the marathon. I totally forgot about that one. I remember the first time he leaped into the life of a woman. That was funny. 

[SoMuchTV]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I honestly don't want to read another thread about a show I never saw. I don't really see the point of doing that.

Just pointing out (not snarkily, honest!) that the thread you were pointed to isn’t really about the old show, it’s about old vs new comparisons. And it’s just another thread in this forum we’re in right now. I’ve only seen random episodes of the old show and definitely don’t remember all the characters and plot points. I’ve found the comments there very helpful. 

[greekmom]

I can see that the pilot does have growing pains.  It wasn't good but it wasn't bad either.

I would have loved to see Ziggy as the hologram instead of his fiancée.

The tango nod to True Lies was the best part.

I was a fan of the original. I can't see them bringing back Scott Bakula for even a "very special episode" but I can see them having someone else as "Sam" while he's leaped into that person.

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

Well, I'm confused anyway. And I can't even remember the last time I found myself confused like this after watching TV or reading a forum thread.

If you haven't been to Wikipedia, here's some helpful info: Wikipedia explanation of original series.  I had to go back and read it just to refresh my memory from the original series!  There's so much I don't remember!  Dean Stockwell was great as Al (the hologram to Sam).   I'm glad that the show has a nod to him in this new version.  

I think that many of us out here are watching it with "fresh" eyes, seeing as how we can't recall many of the details from the original series! I'm not going to nitpick this version to death and will enjoy watching it as if I'd never seen the original series.   Much like the show The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, the forums can get bogged down in 'what was' and 'what is'.   Bringing Sam home would be great, but I'm not counting on it, so again, I'm going to roll with it and enjoy this one on its own merits.  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I thought it said his last leap before vanishing was 1995.

It was referring to when he first began leaping. His last leap was supposed to be around 1999. 

1 hour ago, greekmom said:

I was a fan of the original. I can't see them bringing back Scott Bakula for even a "very special episode" but I can see them having someone else as "Sam" while he's leaped into that person.

I could see that happening. Of course, Ben and the audience probably won’t realize until the very end of the episode. 

[Dobian]

A decent first episode.  Props for making it a sequel and not a reboot.  It was great that they not only mention Sam Beckett but show an image of Scott Bakula, and dedicate the episode to Dean Stockwell at the end.  Cool that the big computer is still Ziggy.  Different dynamic having the hologram guide being his fiance and not a comedic sidekick like Stockwell.  So they are going for the unrequited love angle.  Always good to see Bernie Hudson.  That guy is 76, wow he looks great.  Only negative was the promo where Ben leaps into Joe Montana, with the episode being set in 1985.  Not fair.  I suspected it was just a teaser, but held out hope that he was really going to be Joe in the episode!  Oh well.

[Chit Chat]

49 minutes ago, Dobian said:

Cool that the big computer is still Ziggy. 

We had forgotten that detail.  We have a cat named Ziggy, but she wasn't named for a computer!  I need to have her in the room when we watch the show and see if she responds every time they say her name! 

[callmebetty]

On 9/21/2022 at 3:04 AM, methodwriter85 said:

QL was pretty progressive for its own time period. They lost sponsors for doing the gay Navy student episode and they made a pretty bold episode about date rape. 

And in fact the date rape episode was where the Imaging Chamber came in a huge point.  Al was able to use himself to channel the girl's testimony straight to Sam for the courtroom scene.

I'll give it a chance but they wouldn't be hurt by using some of the original stuff.  More humor,  the percentages that Ziggy would spit out about why Sam was there in the first place and how they would change as he was going along. And a tad less time with those in the project. 

[Lugal]

This has been on the DVR for a few days and I finally got around to it.  I'm not sold yet, but I'm not ready to write it off either.

I like Ben/ Raymond Lee and think he's a good fit.  Not sure about Addison, but I'm willing to give her a shot.  The rest of the cast except for Ernie Hudson (I can't believe he's 76!) really made no impact on me, but hopefully they'll gel in coming episodes, although I admit, I'm not really here to see the supporting cast, it's for Ben and his leaps.

As for the episode itself, it felt sort of low budget, as if NBC did not want to sink a lot of money into it.  The plotline itself felt sort of simplistic and it also feels like it wants to coast on nostalgia for the original.  Other posters above pointed out the Hope Diamond will not just be sitting out in the open for anyone to snatch.  And I'm pretty sure that zip ties were not that common in 1985.  I also think the party scene at the beginning was unnecessary and it would have been better to introduce the supporting cast and show them being good at their jobs.  Just start with Janice texting Ben and then his first leap.  Then that scene at the end with Ben's message to Addison would have more impact.

It looks like next week he leaps outside his own lifetime, which is a good idea because while we all had some good times in the 80's, 90's, and 00's, I don't think we want to relive those eras every week.  So I'll give it a few more episodes and see if it comes together.

[arc]

My take on how well this show nailed 1985:

[DoctorAtomic]

I noticed that 'theorizing he could time travel within his own lifetime' was omitted. In fine with that, even though I'd watch an entire season set in the 80s.

4 hours ago, callmebetty said:

More humor,  the percentages that Ziggy would spit out about why Sam was there in the first place and how they would change as he was going along.

It seems TPTBs know enough about the show that they would know this. It's an important point because the choices Sam made sometimes still screwed it up even though he was trying to fix the problem. 

I think they probably wanted the first leap to be straightforward; this guy is going to die, you should stop that. 

[TheOtherOne]

On 9/20/2022 at 11:12 AM, iMonrey said:

I always thought the pilot of the original was a confusing mess, and if you didn't already understand the concept you would have been totally lost. So in comparison I thought they did a better job here. The original pilot started off with Sam waking up as someone else and the audience was just as baffled as he was. There was no present-day story or characters and Al was being very cagey about what info he could reveal to Sam. Also, Sam had no memory whatsoever, so that's consistent with Ben's amnesia in the new version's pilot.

I agree; I loved the original show and have probably seen all the episodes at least several dozen times--except for the pilot, which I never cared for.

I've read through the thread, but maybe I missed it. Did everyone already discuss how this wasn't the original pilot, but a new episode they shot to serve as the first episode? Back when it was announced they were shooting a new first episode, it was said Thor Freudenthal was directing it, and that's who was credited with this. I doubt he would have gotten full credit if he'd just done reshoots. (Helen Shaver directed the original pilot.) So part of me wonders if the original pilot functioned more like the original show's pilot, opening with Ben's first leap as both he and the audience discovers what's going on. This version definitely seemed like the antithesis of that--relentlessly expositional so the audience was introduced to the characters from the beginning before the leap, and pretty clunky because of it. If the third (or whatever) episode has Ben not knowing anything again and Addison reintroducing herself and the concept to him again, I guess we'll see how the pilot was originally intended to operate.

Also, previews aren't spoilers, right? Because I have to say I'm not thrilled they're doing a boxing episode in their first season like the original did. It'll be interesting to see if they can really come up with new concepts and ideas for Ben to leap into so it doesn't feel like rehashes of the original.

[possibilities]

A lot of shows change a lot after the pilot, or even after the first few episodes. I think it's too soon to say what exactly the show will do about any of the things in question. 

[Barbarblacksheep]

On 9/19/2022 at 9:28 PM, possibilities said:

Also, the actor who plays the lead is also on Kevin Can F*** himself, which also aired tonight. So that was a bit of a headspinner for me, seeing him in two different roles in the same evening. Not a problem, just something I noticed. 

It tickled me somewhat that "Addison" is Ben's (Raymond Lee) fiancee here. On "Kevin", the actor's wife needles "Allison" by constantly forgetting her name, and "Addison" is one of the wrong names she calls her. I'm probably not explaining this well, and it's not funny to anyone but me, but I'm ok with that.

I'm another one who didn't watch the original series, so don't feel alone. I think I will get more comfortable with the show and its concept (which I'm vaguely familiar with, but also didn't know the original characters other than Scott Bakula being the lead) over time. I'm not too crazy about the Addison/Ben teaming, both as co-workers (I didn't get the hologram thing at first either) and/or as a couple, but it's not a deal-breaker.

[Sarah 103]

2 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

Because I have to say I'm not thrilled they're doing a boxing episode in their first season like the original did. 

The boxing episode is something that so many TV shows do, it isn't unique to Quantum Leap. It's sort of like two dates in one nights-it's a plotline that multiple series use and not something I associate with Quantum Leap. I'm pretty sure there's a whole page devoted to the boxing episode at TVTropes.com. (I won't post the link here because that website is one of the most addicting ever). 

[TheOtherOne]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

The boxing episode is something that so many TV shows do, it isn't unique to Quantum Leap. It's sort of like two dates in one nights-it's a plotline that multiple series use and not something I associate with Quantum Leap. I'm pretty sure there's a whole page devoted to the boxing episode at TVTropes.com. (I won't post the link here because that website is one of the most addicting ever). 

Well...yeah, lots of shows do boxing episodes. Have lots of shows done episodes where a character who has no idea how to box leaps into a boxer and has to be taught by a holographic observer to do so? (As Addison explicitly says in the promo, "I have 24 hours to teach Ben how to box!" Just like Al did for Sam. If they change it up and have Ben actually know how to box and derive the conflict elsewhere, that would at least be a fresh angle.) And while you might not associate it with Quantum Leap, scenes from that episode were prominently featured in the opening credits throughout the series' run, so plenty of us do.

More important, Quantum Leap has a seemingly boundless concept--the writers can have him leap into any life, any person, or any profession that has ever existed--so personally I find it a bit disappointing that out of all the possibilities in the world, in the first few episodes they're already doing a concept the original did and in a very similar way. (Though to be fair, even the original did two baseball episodes.)

Edited September 23, 2022 by TheOtherOne

[iMonrey]

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Well, I'm confused anyway. And I can't even remember the last time I found myself confused like this after watching TV or reading a forum thread.

I don't think you should let that discourage you. I'm pretty familiar with the original series, having seen every episode and more recently than when it originally aired. But the entire concept of "leaping" has always been somewhat murky and intangible, so you shouldn't feel like you don't get it, because I'm not sure they want you to be able to grasp it entirely. You just sort of take it at face value without thinking about it too much. Admittedly, that might be too much to ask of some people. 

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Different dynamic having the hologram guide being his fiance and not a comedic sidekick like Stockwell. 

Al was a product of his time and something of a horndog/sexist type of guy. I don't think that character would play very well today.

[Dobian]

11 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

Well...yeah, lots of shows do boxing episodes. Have lots of shows done episodes where a character who has no idea how to box leaps into a boxer and has to be taught by a holographic observer to do so? (As Addison explicitly says in the promo, "I have 24 hours to teach Ben how to box!" Just like Al did for Sam.

I think my favorite was when he leaped into a pianist in the encore of a concert.  Talk about a predicament.  he played Chopsticks hahaha.

[auburn-waves]

7 minutes ago, Dobian said:

I think my favorite was when he leaped into a pianist in the encore of a concert.  Talk about a predicament.  he played Chopsticks hahaha.

I loved when he leaped into a pregnant teen and kept trying to convince Al he was truly carrying a baby and Al sayings it’s impossible. Lo and behold……..😂

[Sarah 103]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Al was a product of his time and something of a horndog/sexist type of guy. I don't think that character would play very well today.

I agree that Al (athough I adore the character) would not play very well today, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the romance angle in this version. I miss the comedic sidekick angle. 

[Chit Chat]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

You just sort of take it at face value without thinking about it too much.

That's the way I watch it.  Anything related to time travel goes way over my head, so I just sit back and watch these kinds of shows without trying to actually understand the science/technology behind them!  It's easier that way.  ;) 

[DoctorAtomic]

The original actually did offer up an explanation on how the time travel could be possible.

[Thalia]

On 9/19/2022 at 10:33 PM, Giuseppe said:

Now I wanna go back and watch the pilot of the original because I actually don't think I ever saw it.

I can see myself sitting in my first apartment and loving it from the first.  Of course, I thought Bakula was cute, and that helped.  :-)   So far I'm liking this one (thanks to NBC leaping to this past Monday!), but I miss Sam and Al.   I haven't been spoiled for this one, but I hope that the fact that they mentioned Sam means that Ben will find Dr. Beckett in A Very Special Episode.    

Edited September 25, 2022 by Thalia