S01.E01: July 13, 1985

[Chaos Theory]

Not every episode had Sam rescue someone for a big important reason.  Sometimes he did it because something “bad” happened to them.   Heck there was an episode he became a divorced mother of three just to stop the woman  he leaped into son from getting kidnapped.   Another he leaped into a possibly gay soldier and ended up stopping a suicide and the only thing that accomplished was a homophobe  not going to jail for murder and another dude coming out and getting discharged.    Sometimes small stuff is the big stuff.  And  yeah the show was always kinda woke.     It just seems to be more so now because the people who were young and watched it then are older now and times change and most of us change with it.

I still say the show has potential even if it had a few rough edges.   I like the relationship between Ben and Addison.   And the here and there plot works for me.   I hope the show lasts because it is a good sci-fi action show.

Edited October 1, 2022 by Chaos Theory
Wow weird typos

[Commando Cody]

My thoughts about the original - before I saw the new pilot - I often wondered if they regretted giving Sam a wife.  I have only gone through the series a couple of times. When it first aired and when it was on Netflix, years ago. Netflix had missing episodes - the final episode was one of several missing from Netflix. I think Sam's wife appeared in the first season and then just kind of faded away.  In season one, one of the episodes was Sam bedding some woman for two weeks while they were waiting for something. I assumed the producers wouldn't make the same mistake of giving the new guy a wife. This could get awkward. Maybe she could talk to Sam's wife about how she dealt with all the bed leaping. 

This was bad. It had no charm. New wife is bland. Generic cast. New leaper is fine, but I think a lot of the appeal was the rapport between Sam and Al and how devastatingly handsome Scott Bakula was. 

[Sarah 103]

1 hour ago, Commando Cody said:

I think a lot of the appeal was the rapport between Sam and Al and how devastatingly handsome Scott Bakula was. 

Scott Bakula as Sam never did it for me. That being said, a huge yes to the rapport, banter, chemistry, whatever you want to call it between Sam and Al being one of the absolute highlights of the original series. I've always been drawn to the wise-cracking sidekick, so for me, Al was one of the best parts of the series.  

[gail56]

I loved the original. Sam and Al were perfect together. This new version I am not too crazy about so far. I don't feel chemistry between Ben and his fiance. I do however, love Ian! This is the same actor who plays Desire on Sandman so was pleasantly surprised!

I will keep watching, willing to give it a chance but so far not really feeling it. The original had me hooked from the start. 

[Maverick]

 Don't hate but sure as the hell don't love it.   It was just meh so far.  It's clear they're putting all their writing effort into the "intrigue" and the Ben/Addison drama and giving the leaping the short stick.   They've ignored or dropped several elements of leaping (how/why you can only travel within your lifetime, the waiting room) and they leap plot didn't get a lot of thought.   The friggin Hope Diamond is on display in the open on a necklace holder you can pick up from Michael's for $4.99, which no armed guards standing by it and no security cameras?   It doesn't exactly take Ocean's 11 to plan a "heist" with that level of security.   This was 1985, not 1885.  Hell, they would have had better security in 1885. 

 Ben and Addison have zero chemistry, as either fiancees or leaper/guide.  Hopefully it will get better.   Ernie Hudson is great and I kinda like the security officer, but I think that's because she's giving me Ming Na/Melinda May vibes. 

 Oh, and I hate the new leap effect.   You've got 30 years advancement in SFX and you come up with that?  I think it's more boring than the original early season 1 effect. 

[Skooma]

If anyone comes into this thread today - Monday, Sept 26th - there is a Quantum Leap marathon of the original show through the whole day.  On Sy Fy channel right now.  Probably to help promote the new one later tonight.

[StaceyNotStacie]

It took me a week, but I finally watched this. I enjoyed it and will continue to watch, which pretty much means that NBC will get trigger happy and cancel it after about three episodes since that happens almost every time I enjoy a new network program. 
 

I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get an “Oh Boy” once he realized he leaped. 

[Helena Dax]

As a die-hard fan of the original QL, I'm not sure I like this. The characters are bland and generic and so is the dialogue. Was Al a bit of a pervert? Yes, he was, but he was entertaining af, and the contrast between him and Sam was clear since the beginning.  However, if you exchanged the roles between Ben and the girl, I don't think you would have to change any line of dialogue. Ben seems to be a bit more nerdish and introvert than her; that's all.

However, I'm intrigued by the possibility of Al's daughter being involved ( and hopefully Sammy Jo). And I remember that Scott Bakula didn't really "become" Sam until the first episode where he leaps into a Black man. Before that, he was a bit of smartass and perhaps a bit more ironic about the people he met or the feelings involved. What I mean with this it's that sometimes it takes a few episodes to get a show really going.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Helena Dax

[j5cochran]

All of everything everyone already said....

But I really loved the tango with the black woman. Addison tells Ben that he can't really dance, but he grabs the bad-guy woman and starts to dance. And the music is the tango that shows up in many movies, but that I best remember from True Lies, with Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. 

FYI - It's called Por una cabeza by Carlos Gardel. 

Edited October 2, 2022 by j5cochran
(ETA - I corrected the spelling of Lee as Leigh. Weird that Jamie's middle name is her mother's stage name, but spelled differently!)

[starri]

Hadn't realized this had premiered, so noted it when flipping around Peacock this afternoon.  Wasn't a perfect pilot by any stretch of the imagination, but it was intriguing enough to check back in.  I'm not super crazy about Addison, but I liked the rest of the cast quite a bit.

Anyone else disappointed that Ziggy didn't talk?

[AnimeMania]

VFX Legion Delivers Key Shots for ‘Quantum Leap’ Reboot

VFX Legion had one week to create the VFX for the "Pilot" episode creating 1985 downtown Philadelphia.

[Prevailing Wind]

To my mind, the best use of "The Waiting Room" in the original series was Dr. Ruth giving advice to Al regarding Tina.

This one, so far, is boring.