S02.E12/13: As The World Burns / Against Time

[Trini]

Ben leaps into the body of a Baltimore firefighter in 1974 and is unexpectedly reunited with his time-crossed love, Hannah, and her son, Jeffrey. Trapped in a towering inferno, Ben must find a way to repair their troubled relationship and save their lives before it's too late.

Ben finds himself behind the wheel of a speeding stock car in 1976, but a terrifying threat from the future could sabotage the leap. Racing against the clock, Ben, Addison and the team must risk everything to complete the mission and save Quantum Leap itself.

Airdate: February 20, 2024

Edited February 20 by Trini

[AnimeMania]

Wyatt Parker as Teenage Jeffrey Nally
Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as Chief Garcia
Emmie Nagata as Lt. Wharton
Derek Graf as Foreman
Jermaine Jacox as Capt. Otis Burton
Laura Richardson as Tenant #1
Jay White as Soldier #1

Judson Mills as Rick Jarrett Sr.
Jessi Case as Casey Jarrett
Mehrnaz Mohammadi as Alicia
Josh Dean as Josh Nally
Connor Esterson as Young Jeffrey Nally
Owen Szabo as Armed Guard
Zachary Margulies as Technician

[stonehaven]

I watched the first episode and was mildly interested but five minutes into the second hour, I now LOATHE this reboot. The writers have totally SHIT on the entire concept of this show. There's no way to get the charm and joy from the original into this slogfest. It's too dark and joyless and amps up uneccesary drama and love triangles.

I kept watching this for two years HOPING it would get better but at this point, I hope this show gets cancelled by the end of the episode. The writers of this dreck should never work in television again. They have KILLED the memory of a great show. I am GLAD Scott Bakula saw this for the crap that it is.

[Linderhill]

agreed.  It's all devolved into a sulky child's tantrum.

[Brown44]

I kinda got teary eyed hearing the original theme song when Janice was telling the leap story.

Edited February 21 by Brown44

[Brown44]

I liked the final 2 episodes. And so far 2 seasons done and they've still avoided dogs and kids under 5 that can see Addison. 

[Linderhill]

I did get a kick out seeing Al's old interface.  It's about time the Janis and Beth connection paid off.

[KaveDweller]

I actually really enjoyed the final episode. Lots happening, even if very little of it was with the leap story.

I liked that Al's daughter was the one to save them, and that she did it because she knew Sam  helped Al and Beth. And I loved seeing Al's old handheld Ziggy. But I still don't like Magic sleeping with Al's wife.

I was wondering why they didn't point out to Jeffery that Ben gave him more time with his father. It wasn't like his father lived a long life and Ben accidentally got him killed. And obviously, the trick to turning him around wasn't to destroy a child's science project. Glad Ben saw that. It was a little to easy to make everything just turn out perfect, but it worked for me here.

Killing a main character doesn't have much impact on a time travel show.

Ben making a heart resuscitator with a car and jumper cables was pretty cool.

I was wondering if they actually were going to have Addison become the leaper. Having two leapers makes things interesting, if the show is actually renewed. But I guess that puts an end to Ben and Hannah's love story.

Why did Hannah look so much younger in the 1976 episode than the 1974 one?

Edited February 21 by KaveDweller

[Irlandesa]

During the first few episodes of this season, I believed the writers when they said they heard the critiques of the first season and were trying to rectify them.  I thought the stories of the leaps were better.

And while I didn't hate the final two episodes, I also didn't love them as I think they fell back into the overly complicated world building that they did last season. And they tripled down on Ben and Addison. 

[Brown44]

9 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Why did Hannah look so much younger in the 1976 episode than the 1974 one?

My guess the original timeline she was stressed out, in the new timeline she said they had time to be with each other. 

Edited February 21 by Brown44

[possibilities]

Hannah did that on purpose! And I didn'tr see it coming. Hmmn....

I have no idea what the ratings are, but I admit the final episode did get to me by the end. If they come back, I will watch. And I really didn't think I would, when it began.

Who knew I could be such a sap and that this, of all shows, could manipulate me successfully in that direction?

Hmph.

[Lisa418722]

I liked Janis and Beth telling the story of Sam leaping to tell Beth that All was still alive.   I liked seeing Al's handlink.  That scene was a nice callback to the original show.  

Other than that, I think if the show is canceled it is in a good place.  I don't care about Ben and Addison as a couple and I don't want to see them leaping through time together.  

[Nerfect Drifty]

9 hours ago, Brown44 said:

I liked the final 2 episodes. And so far 2 seasons done and they've still avoided dogs and kids under 5 that can see Addison. 

I think they did that in the original series because it would be too difficult to control animals and babies and stop them from reacting to Dean Stockwell's presence.  Here they can just avoid animals all together and CGI them in when they want to.

[Cress]

In the speculation thread, I predicted that Jeffrey would find out about Ben, but I thought he would grow up to write the DARPA code. Instead it was Hannah who did it, and Jeffrey grew up to hate Ben. But I was right that Gideon Ridge was an alias. I just didn't realize he was Jeffrey until I saw the boy noticing "how do you know all this" about Ben during the fire episode.

The finale was a good wrapup, and I loved seeing Beth and Janis back. So Hannah's swap code didn't actually do a swap after all. But she said "you can go home" and "home is not a place, but a person" so he's gone home in the sense that he's back with Addison.

[iMonrey]

The first episode was riddled with the kind of garbage that has plagued this reboot. Once again they didn't even bother to tell us where or when Ben was supposed to be. It wasn't until the very end when Ben referenced The Towering Inferno that I figured out it was supposed to be 1974 (which was about 2 years too early for Hannah's Farrah Fawcett hairdo). And only Addison's exposition finally told us they were in Baltimore. Presumably the one in Maryland.

That kid was too stupid to live, they should have just let him burn to death and that would have solved the whole problem. He was way too old to be running into a burning building, I don't care how much he wanted his father's stuff, the building was exploding left and right for crying out loud. Then when they finally get him out of there he throws another tantrum and storms off. Someone put a leash on that brat, he'll probably run right back into the building!

Not that this wasn't the least of the episode's problems but I sincerely doubt there would have been female firefighters in Baltimore in 1974.

Probably the worst trope is someone being trapped under mounds of collapsed concrete without suffering any severe injuries.

One cool thing I did like was seeing Ben's host body after he leaped out. That's the only time we've ever seen that happen.

Now, dare I say, the second episode wasn't half bad. It's the only time the dual plot really worked well, with Ben racing against time to change history while the Scooby Gang raced against the clock to prevent Gideon from leaping. And yeah, it was fun seeing the old hand link and hearing the old sound effects.

But that ending? WTF? Does this show really not understand that we don't care about Addison? We have zero investment in the Ben/Addison relationship, they have no chemistry, and nobody cares. Nobody wants to watch a show with the both of them leaping through time, and now they literally have no compelling reason to return home. 

I've watched this show because of how much I loved the original and futilely hoped it would improve but they keep doubling down on what's wrong with it. 

[Nerfect Drifty]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I've watched this show because of how much I loved the original and futilely hoped it would improve but they keep doubling down on what's wrong with it. 

I watch because I keep holding out a foolish hope that Sam Beckett will return home.

[StaceyNotStacie]

46 minutes ago, Nerfect Drifty said:

I watch because I keep holding out a foolish hope that Sam Beckett will return home.

Once we saw Ben and Addison reunited, I was hoping that we’d see a surprise cameo by Scott Bakula returning to the Quantum Leap HQ. 
 

Gideon turning out to be Hannah’s son was somewhat predictable after the son being such a big part of the first episode. I was surprised that we didn’t get an older Hannah in real time or some acknowledgment as to whether or not she was still alive in 2024. 
 

I really hope this gets renewed, and if it does, wouldn’t it be amusing if Addison was sent home after her first leap while Ben continued to leap? 

[possibilities]

This does mean someone else will have to be the hologram, which is something everyone has asked for.

[iMonrey]

48 minutes ago, StaceyNotStacie said:

Gideon turning out to be Hannah’s son was somewhat predictable after the son being such a big part of the first episode. I was surprised that we didn’t get an older Hannah in real time or some acknowledgment as to whether or not she was still alive in 2024. 

Stranger still was Hannah not showing up until the very end, because apparently she knew Jeffrey harbored this ill will against Ben and never took the time to set him straight. And yeah, is she still alive in 2024?

I don't understand the whole point of the Ben and Hannah relationship if the end game was always going to be Ben and Addison reuniting.

[bamlou]

These final two episodes delivered better as the action-adventure show that this reboot has chosen to be, so on that grading curve I found the finale to be mostly satisfying in tying up the stories for the season, particularly that second hour. It helped too that they gave total fanservice bringing back that original score for a scene, plus the buggy handlink which I was ragging on about just last episode! I was holding my breath that we might get an imaging chamber door effect too (which I also sorely miss) since Janice was using older tech, but oh well. It all just reminded me that it's those small touches that help add some fun and character which often feel missing from the show.

Especially that score, which helps convey so much emotion and humanity to a scene, I wish they'd use it more. But again, the human drama is second to the ticking clock action plots. We barely got to know anyone in either leap, since they were just backdrop to this whole Hannah-Jeffery story, which didn't fully add up to me. How is it that Hannah was able to create a formula that's a supposed way to bring Ben back home when she has no reference for any of PQL's work, especially since the project doesn't exist yet in her timeline? And I can't even begin to wrap my head around how "time is a river/they need a fixed point in the present or some such" somehow equates to "we need to swap Ben with someone else" as the solution. I was with Beth when she's like "I don't understand any of this, but it sounds bad". 

I was glad though when Hannah stopped Ben from telling her about future tips that would help her life out. He's been so brash willing to do anything for her without considering the consequences of his actions (to both the timeline and in accomplishing what needs fixing in some leaps) that it was getting a little frustrating. You'd think there'd be more oversight on the project using time travel for their employees' own personal gain (and yes, I know the original show kinda walked that back with Al and Beth, but still, it's worth calling out and they gloss over it). It also kinda made me see Jeffery's side and maybe that he ...had a point? Not with using time travel to become all powerful, but his anger towards Ben I could kinda sympathize with, especially when Ben has had such tunnel vision with Hannah.

The cliffhanger, I'm feeling neutral about. But if having two leapers could mean more time spent on the leap and less at HQ, then I'm for it. 

 

[Angeleyes]

I’m wondering if they changed the storyline midway in case NBC decided to not give them another season? Ben and Addison time traveling together is as close to a happy ending they could give while still allowing for the possibility of a renewal. 
 

They were really going for the Doctor Who references by saying that time is a river and that he (Ben Song) and Hannah would never meet up again in their timelines. The same thing happened with the Doctor and his love River Song. 
 

IIRC, they’ve never specifically said that Hannah is dead in the modern timeline. She’d be in her 90’s, but it’s still theoretically possible for her to show up. 

[KaveDweller]

13 minutes ago, Angeleyes said:

I’m wondering if they changed the storyline midway in case NBC decided to not give them another season? Ben and Addison time traveling together is as close to a happy ending they could give while still allowing for the possibility of a renewal. 
 

They were really going for the Doctor Who references by saying that time is a river and that he (Ben Song) and Hannah would never meet up again in their timelines. The same thing happened with the Doctor and his love River Song. 
 

IIRC, they’ve never specifically said that Hannah is dead in the modern timeline. She’d be in her 90’s, but it’s still theoretically possible for her to show up. 

I read an interview with the writers that they had it planned from the beginning of season 2.

The weird part about Jeffery becoming the big bad is it seems to totally ignore Hannah. I know parents can't always control what their kids end up doing as adults, but it seems odd that a seemingly loving parent like Hannah would not be able to help Jeffery not be so obsessed with the past. If she had died in the fire or when Jeffery was young, it would have made more sense. They should have mentioned what happened to her.

But this show doesn't like giving us updates on what happens to people in the future, even though it was a staple of the original.

[DoctorAtomic]

12
I even thought Jenn being all self-righteous about how unfair it was that Magic was resigning at the beginning was a little rich. She could have resigned. Maybe she's reacting out of guilt but still. Even Ian had the nobility to say it should have been them. I like all these characters well enough, but if I'm being objective, Ian is the only indispensable person on the team. The only reason Ian can't be the hologram is because they can't be in two places at once. Also, Jenn, don't yell at Ian!

I don't think anyone was surprised that Hannah wrote the code, but I liked how her plot played out in that Ben was the impetus for the equation. 

I really like the plot. I thought it was good suspense and really exciting. Ben's 'courage delivery' was really well done for me. 

Did they say rom-coms in 1974?

I also don't think anyone was surprised that James Frain would be only signed on for a cameo, but I liked his entrance anyway. This is before I watched 13, and I'm calling that James Frain is actually Jeffery. I swear I haven't read any posts yet! I can't seem why else he'd want to take over QL at this point. I don't think firing Ian was a smart move. You'd have to think Ian would have some back door into QL. If anything, keep a close eye. 

Now I'm going to watch 13!
YES. I am extremely satisfied with myself. I'm also surprised Ben can drive stick. If I'm being fair, I can't say I actually blame James Frain, though I think his response might have been a little disproportionate. Maybe don't sign the letter "All my love"? He could have made it more cryptic and slipped in something about Cairo. Hannah isn't stupid. I don't really agree that Ben's been making a mess either. He's completed the leap objectives. I'm not sure James Frain realizes you have to do that to actually leap.

Also, I think James Frain may have underestimated the quantum physicist  PhD, who may not have been the original leaper, but is certainly smart enough to learn and adapt. Wait this leap out until Ben gets somewhere further away. Even if he didn't have Addison, he can use the phone book.

When did he hear about the stock tips?

I'm very pleased to see Janis again. I figured we'd be just getting some Ian hackathon, not that I would have been disappointed. This is way better though. 

I don't know if anyone knows, but back in the 70s, Pintos had a design flaw in that if you rearended them over 25 mph, the gas tank exploded. That was a great in joke there. And a Radio Shack sponsor!

I don't know if floating the idea of destroying an emotionally unstable kid's dreams would have been my first idea. I was kind of disappointed in Magic there.

I'm wondering if it's the direction, but I thought the actor playing Jeffrey was much better in 13 than 12. 

I knew the show was going for the reset, and I don't think anyone else was surprised. I still enjoyed the episode a lot. 

I don't see why everyone was so up in arms about Addison wanting to leap. She was supposed to originally. I also don't think it's a big reveal that the code didn't work. I always thought Tom was onto something about leaping being a one way trip. 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

22 hours ago, possibilities said:

Hannah did that on purpose! And I didn'tr see it coming. Hmmn....

Oh, ffs, I didn't even realize until you said. I would have thought Ian would have figured that out so it didn't even occur to me. 

1 hour ago, bamlouie said:

How is it that Hannah was able to create a formula that's a supposed way to bring Ben back home when she has no reference for any of PQL's work, especially since the project doesn't exist yet in her timeline? And I can't even begin to wrap my head around how "time is a river/they need a fixed point in the present or some such" somehow equates to "we need to swap Ben with someone else" as the solution.

It's all very timey-whimey, wibbly, wobbly. That's what I meant about Tom. It's a one way trip. No one gets home. 

[KaveDweller]

9 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't see why everyone was so up in arms about Addison wanting to leap. She was supposed to originally. I also don't think it's a big reveal that the code didn't work. I always thought Tom was onto something about leaping being a one way trip. 

The thing about them being able to swap out leapers is interesting though, especially since they seem to want to make an ensemble show. They could switch out who the leaper is every few episodes, and then they are always helping someone in the past, but everyone gets to come home and sleep sometimes too.

I wonder how much time has passed for Ben. Hannah made a comment about it being a couple weeks of knowing her for him. If so, it could only be a month or two for him that the whole series took place.

[DoctorAtomic]

We don't know if they can actually swap. QL thought Addison would swap with Ben; i.e., Ben gets back home to QL. The code was always set up for the leaper (Addison) to leap to Ben, not in place of. Before she leaped, Ian said 'If this doesn't work, I don't know if I can bring you back.' 

One interesting detail in retrospect. Ben and Addison saw themselves. In the OG, the leapers didn't see themselves, until they touched. Begging the question if the code made them leap as themselves and not into anyone at all, like Sam in his 'final' leap (because he's still out there). Sam leaped to Beth as himself. Although, Addison had on some period clothes, so maybe not. It could be the code that allowed for it. 

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Is it just me, or did both young Jeffreys have brown eyes, but modern Jeffrey has blue eyes?

[possibilities]

38 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

One interesting detail in retrospect. Ben and Addison saw themselves.

I totally missed that!

[Dowel Jones]

Advertising blunder:  "Siri, remind me to watch Quantum Leap on Tuesdays."  (next Tuesday) - "Shut up, Siri."  (2 weeks later) - SHUT UP, SIRI!"

I know NASCAR is the acronym for Stock Cars, but do they really have odometers?  I'm pretty sure everyone knows how far they have to go.

I was hoping that Ben and Hannah did hook up, and produced Jeffery, unknown to Josh.  And we could have a "Luke, I'm your father" moment at the racetrack.  Of course, that would really, really set Gideon ablaze.

Speaking of Jeffery, kid ran up 25 flights of stairs?

I loved Ben's comment about Burton's last month - "I've seen enough movies to know that never ends well."

If I had to guess, the happy couple ended up in c. 1940 London, during the Blitz?

[Funfoody]

Bets on how long until Ian realizes that Addison was the absolute worst choice to replace Ben in the leap, and if they chose anyone else, Ben would have walked out of the chamber to her?

I also think that if it takes as much energy as I think it does to run the machine, it may lead to global warming destroying the climate, which may not be the same as nuclear winter, but is still a catastrophe.

[iMonrey]

13 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

We don't know if they can actually swap. QL thought Addison would swap with Ben; i.e., Ben gets back home to QL. The code was always set up for the leaper (Addison) to leap to Ben, not in place of. Before she leaped, Ian said 'If this doesn't work, I don't know if I can bring you back.' 

The only time Sam leaped home in the original was when he switched places with Al. So the concept should have already been familiar to them, and it should have occurred to them even before they brought in all this code nonsense.

[KaveDweller]

19 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

We don't know if they can actually swap. QL thought Addison would swap with Ben; i.e., Ben gets back home to QL. The code was always set up for the leaper (Addison) to leap to Ben, not in place of. Before she leaped, Ian said 'If this doesn't work, I don't know if I can bring you back.' 

One interesting detail in retrospect. Ben and Addison saw themselves. In the OG, the leapers didn't see themselves, until they touched. Begging the question if the code made them leap as themselves and not into anyone at all, like Sam in his 'final' leap (because he's still out there). Sam leaped to Beth as himself. Although, Addison had on some period clothes, so maybe not. It could be the code that allowed for it. 

 

I know they don't know that, I just mean, if they could swap, that would be a cool concept for the show.

17 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

If I had to guess, the happy couple ended up in c. 1940 London, during the Blitz?

That was my guess, yes. Those clothes looked very World War II.

10 hours ago, Funfoody said:

Bets on how long until Ian realizes that Addison was the absolute worst choice to replace Ben in the leap, and if they chose anyone else, Ben would have walked out of the chamber to her?

I think it actually had to be Addison, because they talked about needing a constant to travel through time, and they said love was a constant. And Ben and Addison are in love.

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The only time Sam leaped home in the original was when he switched places with Al. So the concept should have already been familiar to them, and it should have occurred to them even before they brought in all this code nonsense.

They don't seem to actually know that much about Sam. They didn't know about the evil leaper and they didn't know about him leaping to Beth. Who knows what else they don't know.

[Brown44]

On 2/21/2024 at 8:17 AM, Nerfect Drifty said:

On 2/20/2024 at 11:02 PM, Brown44 said:

I liked the final 2 episodes. And so far 2 seasons done and they've still avoided dogs and kids under 5 that can see Addison. 

I think they did that in the original series because it would be too difficult to control animals and babies and stop them from reacting to Dean Stockwell's presence.  Here they can just avoid animals all together and CGI them in when they want to.

I think it just as simple as cost cutting, kids can work but so many hours and you have to have a Tudor/teacher on set and animals you have to have the trainer's and hope the dogs are doing what you tell them to do.

[DoctorAtomic]

1 hour ago, Brown44 said:

I think it just as simple as cost cutting, kids can work but so many hours and you have to have a Tudor/teacher on set and animals you have to have the trainer's and hope the dogs are doing what you tell them to do.

I think they'd prefer to have a tutor. If they had a Tudor, they might be beheaded.

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

They don't seem to actually know that much about Sam. They didn't know about the evil leaper and they didn't know about him leaping to Beth. Who knows what else they don't know.

To be fair, they looked up the file on the evil leaper, so they knew enough to see if it happened before. They all got fired here summarily and everything happened really fast, so I'm not going to call out not looking up the files yet. Prior to that, Magic just bailed, Jenn was floundering around and demanding Ian spent 100% time on the equation. It's a fair tv cheat. 

There was the whole brainwave fanwank on the OG, and I think Sam and Al had brain implants, so that's how the switch was explained. This is a different accelerator that was additionally coded and then recoded by Ben. Would they have included that in a file even? 

For Beth, Sam leaped as himself and then leaped out. Only he and Beth know about it. Certainly, after enough time Beth put 2 + 2 together and realized who Sam actually was. There's no way she's telling anything to anyone about it. She probably didn't tell Al until after Sam disappeared. 

You pull on enough threads, any show is going to unravel. I just don't think this is really egregious. 

[Brown44]

49 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

2 hours ago, Brown44 said:

I think it just as simple as cost cutting, kids can work but so many hours and you have to have a Tudor/teacher on set and animals you have to have the trainer's and hope the dogs are doing what you tell them to do.

Expand  

I think they'd prefer to have a tutor. If they had a Tudor, they might be beheaded.

This is why I'm not a teacher.

[KaveDweller]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

To be fair, they looked up the file on the evil leaper, so they knew enough to see if it happened before. They all got fired here summarily and everything happened really fast, so I'm not going to call out not looking up the files yet. Prior to that, Magic just bailed, Jenn was floundering around and demanding Ian spent 100% time on the equation. It's a fair tv cheat. 

They only looked up the file on the evil leaper after Ben bumped into another leaper. The project was restarted to find Sam, so you'd think they would have looked up everything possible when they first started the project. To avoid the same mistakes and all that.

But I guess they may not have great records and that would be less dramatic.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't know. Ben leapt early. They could have been in that process. Or they could have said, Ziggy has all the records so we'll look them up when we need to. And they did do that. 

If I was in charge, would I hire an historian? Probably. I don't know that this really blows a huge whole in the show. 

Upthread, it was mentioned that since the first meeting with Hannah, only something like 9 days passed. It doesn't seem like there's 24 hour staff there. That's a lot going on. 

I wouldn't call this group particularly elite either (except Ian). Magic used whatever clout he had when he heard of QL to get it back up. He probably has a garbage budget. They don't even get  k-cups. 

Edited February 23 by DoctorAtomic

[iMonrey]

15 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

They don't seem to actually know that much about Sam. They didn't know about the evil leaper and they didn't know about him leaping to Beth. Who knows what else they don't know.

That doesn't really make any sense. They should know almost everything there is to know about Sam via Al's reports and via Ziggy. The fact that Sam actually did switch places with Al once and came home would have been a BFD in the original project. Now, granted, it was a freak accident caused by lightning from what I recall, so it would have been hard to replicate. But it should have given them an idea to explore.

Rebooting the project in the first place should have required everyone involved to know everything they could about the original project, and most importantly, what went wrong before subjecting anyone to a similar fate.

This show requires A LOT of hand-waving and fan-wanking. And not just because it's a Sci-Fi show, but because it is poorly written. I recognize the fact that there is a deliberate attempt to differentiate itself from the original and try something new but it just isn't working. Not for me, anyway.

[Granny58]

On 2/21/2024 at 11:22 AM, iMonrey said:

The first episode was riddled with the kind of garbage that has plagued this reboot. Once again they didn't even bother to tell us where or when Ben was supposed to be. It wasn't until the very end when Ben referenced The Towering Inferno that I figured out it was supposed to be 1974 (which was about 2 years too early for Hannah's Farrah Fawcett hairdo). And only Addison's exposition finally told us they were in Baltimore. Presumably the one in Maryland.

That kid was too stupid to live, they should have just let him burn to death and that would have solved the whole problem. He was way too old to be running into a burning building, I don't care how much he wanted his father's stuff, the building was exploding left and right for crying out loud. Then when they finally get him out of there he throws another tantrum and storms off. Someone put a leash on that brat, he'll probably run right back into the building!

Not that this wasn't the least of the episode's problems but I sincerely doubt there would have been female firefighters in Baltimore in 1974.

Probably the worst trope is someone being trapped under mounds of collapsed concrete without suffering any severe injuries.

One cool thing I did like was seeing Ben's host body after he leaped out. That's the only time we've ever seen that happen.

Now, dare I say, the second episode wasn't half bad. It's the only time the dual plot really worked well, with Ben racing against time to change history while the Scooby Gang raced against the clock to prevent Gideon from leaping. And yeah, it was fun seeing the old hand link and hearing the old sound effects.

But that ending? WTF? Does this show really not understand that we don't care about Addison? We have zero investment in the Ben/Addison relationship, they have no chemistry, and nobody cares. Nobody wants to watch a show with the both of them leaping through time, and now they literally have no compelling reason to return home. 

I've watched this show because of how much I loved the original and futilely hoped it would improve but they keep doubling down on what's wrong with it. 

Sorry to requote your entire post, it's just the easiest way for me to say....I agree with every point.  But wait!  There's more.  What's the deal with young jeff having dark brown eyes but adult jeff (aka Gideon) having piercing blue eyes???  Is there a point to that or simply poor casting?  

Ben and Addison have zero chemistry.  Ben and Hannah were great. 

On 2/21/2024 at 9:55 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

Ian is the only indispensable person on the team.

Ian and Ben are my favorite characters.  I'd watch a show with just them (and time travel of course).

[Nerfect Drifty]

Remember Lothos from the original series?  The evil leaper episodes got a lot of hate back then, but I thought it would have been cool if Gideon somehow became Lothos.  Some people wrote some original series fan fiction which gave an origin story to Lothos, and that he was a normal guy who got trapped in a supercomputer after a leaping mishap.

[iMonrey]

Amusing side note - Hannah and Jeffrey apparently live on Wisteria Lane in 1976. The "neighborhood" was clearly the same studio backlot, I recognized several of the houses.

[Trini]

[Late, and I haven't read all the comments yet, but I just had to get this out:]

These fools. They cannot be serious! I'm talking about the writers/showrunners. To think, earlier in the season I was actually commending them for actually fixing a problem with the show, BUT NO, they still want to to go with Ben/Addison. NOBODY is here for that, especially the Addison part. They were doing so good with Ben & Hannah! I wasn't really expecting them to last past this season, but the doubling down on with Ben/Addison is just dumb.

I have absolutely dropped a show for putting the wrong couple together, so I don't know if y'all will see me here next season.

And on a different, smaller, nitpicky note: it bothered me that Gideon has curly hair, but the actors for his younger self did not.

[Okay, back to reading the comments, more thoughts later...]

[Granny58]

15 hours ago, Trini said:

And on a different, smaller, nitpicky note: it bothered me that Gideon has curly hair, but the actors for his younger self did not.

Could be a perm 😏 but what's with the different eye color?   

[Giuseppe]

6 hours ago, Granny58 said:

Could be a perm 😏 but what's with the different eye color?   

Colored contacts to further complete his identity change.

Seriously, though, I dislike when shows cast younger/older actors who look nothing like their main timeline counterparts. But that's a rant for another topic.

I just got caught up on this season, and...like most of y'all i'm still not too enthused with it. I still don't think they're trying hard enough with the period styling/costuming, agreed with everyone on Ben and Addison being chemistry-free, and I also wish we'd learn when and where Ben is as soon at the start of each leap as others have mentioned. I was glad to finally hear someone ask Ben who he was talking to in the fire episode, lol.

In the second ep, shouldn't Ben have realized what was going to happen to his 'dad', since he recognized him a race car driving 'legend'? Even if he didn't know exactly when/what year the heart attack occured, when Addison told him about it, shouldn't Ben have not been surprised?

I'll keep watching if there's a season 3, if only for the nostalgia factor. I completely missed the use of the old theme music a couple of you mentioned, but I did love seeing Al's old hand-link and the noises it makes. I just keep hoping the show will fix the things I don't like about it.

[Chyromaniac]

On 2/23/2024 at 11:49 AM, iMonrey said:

Amusing side note - Hannah and Jeffrey apparently live on Wisteria Lane in 1976. The "neighborhood" was clearly the same studio backlot, I recognized several of the houses.

Yep, it's all still Universal Studios Hollywood - and the location at the end is their famous European Street.  Funnily enough, during the first hour I was thinking it was a shame that the park bulldozed the Backdraft Show to build the Transformers ride - they probably could have shot some of this in there too.  I've joked before about wanting them to work the Jaws animatronic into an episode - but screw it, let's do all the attractions.  Like, I would absolutely love it if they could justify shooting outside Hogwarts or at the Waterworld stunt show.

On 2/21/2024 at 8:46 PM, KaveDweller said:

The weird part about Jeffery becoming the big bad is it seems to totally ignore Hannah. I know parents can't always control what their kids end up doing as adults, but it seems odd that a seemingly loving parent like Hannah would not be able to help Jeffery not be so obsessed with the past. If she had died in the fire or when Jeffery was young, it would have made more sense. They should have mentioned what happened to her.

Yeah, the lack of any follow up on Hannah felt like a pretty big omission.  I was frankly expecting her to die in part one, and have that be the impetus for Jeffrey to go bad.  I wonder if that was the plan at some point - because having him create a secret identity makes a lot more sense if she's gone.  "Moooooom, I keep telling you - I'm Gideon Rydge now.  No, it's not a silly name!"  BTW, I guess kudos, show, for making the fake sounding name an alias - whoever came up with "Gideon Rydge" must have spent time writing for WWE because that name seems right out of their playbook.

But back to Hannah - it just feels weird for there to be no follow up on her post-70's, once the crisis has been resolved.  I get that we need to know that Jenn is alive, it's nice to hear that Beth and Janis are back where they should be, and it's even fine to reveal that "Jeffrey Take 2" is a big donor to QL.  But with Hannah, all they talk about is her formula.  It kind of makes her entire character run feel like a means to an end - as if all that really matters is this thing she came up with.

Still, I'm hoping that the show comes back, because I'm still here for the basic concept.  I'm concerned that this season was their idea of a "course correction" - I feel like they heard that viewers didn't care about the present day story, and their solution was to try and make us, by giving us more of it.  No thank you - just focus on the leaps, and give us characters whose lives we want to see fixed.  If that involves a pressing social issue, that's cool - giving the leap more time will only help present it in a thoughtful way.

Edited February 25 by Chyromaniac

[Chit Chat]

I just watched the show.  I'm glad that they didn't let Hannah lay there and burn up with the building, but being pinned under that concrete should've crushed her pelvic & leg bones. Her sitting up in the ambulance and chatting it up with Ben got an eye roll from me.  She should've been writhing in pain.  Ben & Jeffrey running in and out of a burning building was another eye roll moment too (not to mention how they made their way down the outside of the building).  

I guess I just have to suspend disbelief in those instances.  I'm not really sure how I wanted it to end, but I felt a little let down by it.  I'm glad that Ben & Addison didn't switch places.  Maybe it'll be okay if they're together in their leaps.  I'm still kind of meh on the show, but I'll continue to watch it.  

30 minutes ago, Chyromaniac said:

No thank you - just focus on the leaps, and give us characters whose lives we want to see fixed.  If that involves a pressing social issue, that's cool - giving the leap more time will only help present it in a thoughtful way.

I'd prefer not to be hit over the head with social issues.  They got a little heavy-handed in that department this past season.  

[Chyromaniac]

1 hour ago, Chit Chat said:

I'd prefer not to be hit over the head with social issues.  They got a little heavy-handed in that department this past season.  

Of course, ymmv - but my assumption is that the issues potentially come off as heavy handed, because sometimes they only have room in the script for someone to just literally say what the message is supposed to be, rather than let it play out as part of the leap story.  And, I feel that's mostly due to all the stuff they have to accommodate happening back at HQ now.  That's what I meant when I said focus on the leap, and treat the issues thoughtfully - dial back the present day stuff, and concentrate on working the message organically into the leap.

Because frankly, QL has always been about social issues.  Whether that's big societal stuff like oppression or intolerance, or small personal matters - this show has always been about taking people from the past, and changing their circumstances for the better.  It's about taking the audience and, through the experience of the leaper, literally allowing them to understand and empathize with those people.  To me, that's what made the original show special.  I feel like the new version has the same potential - I just want them to do it more consistently.

[iMonrey]

15 hours ago, Chyromaniac said:

I feel like they heard that viewers didn't care about the present day story, and their solution was to try and make us, by giving us more of it. 

Yeah, it's weird because I remember reading before the season started that they were going to focus more on the leap stories, but they really didn't. They still felt like afterthoughts for the most part, and mostly just metaphors for Ben and Addison's relationship drama. Maybe having gone to the trouble of casting HQ characters like Magic, Jenn and Ian they felt like they had to justify paying them rather than writing them off altogether. If anything the show actually doubled down on the HQ stories this season with all the drama over Addison's engagement and the chip Ian stole or whatever.

[QuantumMechanic]

On 2/20/2024 at 10:29 PM, Brown44 said:

I kinda got teary eyed hearing the original theme song when Janice was telling the leap story.

I started to well up a bit at that too. That was the sole good thing about the episode. That and seeing and hearing the original handset.

[meet trouble]

On 2/25/2024 at 8:30 PM, QuantumMechanic said:

I started to well up a bit at that too. That was the sole good thing about the episode. That and seeing and hearing the original handset.

Not to mention seeing Addison smack the side of the handset to get it to work.

 

I don't know. This thing with Ben and Addison leaping together could (will probably) end up being a total shitshow. I doubt it will last long, which is my way of saying that if it lasts more than three episodes, I won't be staying.