Quantum Leap - General Discussion

[generate789]

QL was 100% my favorite show when it was airing. I remember begging my parents to be allowed to stay up to watch it when it came on at 10 PM. I actually rewatched the entire series a few years back. No, it doesn't hold up. Much of it was actually kind of cringe-worthy. I'm never going to pretend that I didn't love it, though.

[ChlcGirl]

Bah. Of course it looks silly and dated, but I still love it. I don't care about it holding up. It makes me happy.

[starri]

There are a lot of cringeworthy moments throughout the series--seeing Al attempting to rap the alphabet in the episode that precedes this one may be the nadir--but there's enough good stuff that I can watch an episode every now and then and end up thoroughly entertained.

I honestly thing QL is a show with a lot of potential if it ever gets a visit from the reboot fairy.

[tvlove]

Nick -- I first have to say how much I am enjoying Making the Sausage. Thanks for such an entertaining and informative podcast! You mentioned above something about four "story beats" in the first scene. What does the phrase "story beat" mean? Thanks! (ps Any chance you will interview script supervisors soon? I would love to learn more about that role.)

[torontomeridith]

I was also a big QL fan back in the day. I even read the spin-off paperback series. I also recently watched the show and much of it was really, really dated. And I never realized how many Vietnam Vet episodes there were. Of course, once Sam leapt into his own Civil War ancestor, the bloom was really off the rose. 

[tvlove]

  6 hours ago, tvlove said:

Nick -- I first have to say how much I am enjoying Making the Sausage. Thanks for such an entertaining and informative podcast! You mentioned above something about four "story beats" in the first scene. What does the phrase "story beat" mean? Thanks! (ps Any chance you will interview script supervisors soon? I would love to learn more about that role.)

Thanks so much! Script supervisors are definitely a crucial role and I will look into getting some on the show.

A "story beat" is basically the minimal unit of forward motion in a story. So, in this case, the first major story beat would be Sam and Al realizing they've switched places, the second would be Sam realizing he's stuck in the imaging chamber, and the third beat would be Sam figuring out how to get out of the imaging chamber.

Thanks!

[generate789]

Also, never realized how much of a Marty Stu Sam was until I rewatched them. He's brilliant! And a polyglot! And knows martial arts! And can sing! And dance! And play guitar and piano! And has a photographic memory!

[StatMom]

Excellent piece! Loved your mental journey: That was a great episode... oh, not so much... ok, let's write about that. Also an interesting topic in general, what makes a show "great for its time" vs. just regular "great"?

[reggiejax]

I am quite dismayed at how easily Quantum Leap is being written off. Certainly a lot of valid points are made in the article, and if you don't like Quantum Leap, there is nothing I could say to change your mind. But for me, it was one of the best shows of it's time, and watching today, I am still very much entertained. Yeah, the production values are dated, and the science is iffy (to say the least), but if that is what one focuses on with Quantum Leap, I daresay they completely missed the point.

[reggiejax]

Quote

To each his own, and thanks for reading!

Well, it was great reading, even if I disagreed with the conclusions.

[LoneHaranguer]

Sam didn't remember his wife because he wasn't married when he left. That was a change to his personal history he made while meddling in the first season and didn't know about until he got back since Al and Donna agreed not to tell him. Still remembering the old timeline is common in time travel stories, but if he was going to automatically know about the change when he got back, he shouldn't have forgotten it. On a shallow note, Donna must have had plastic surgery in the mean time; she used to look like Teri Hatcher.

[magicdog]

Quote

 I never realized how many Vietnam Vet episodes there were.

I think it has to do with two things:  the length of the war since it covered a large portion of Sam's lifetime and affected so many other people in one way or another, and that Sam's brother was in 'Nam.  In the original timeline

Spoiler

was killed in action.

Quote

Of course, once Sam leapt into his own Civil War ancestor, the bloom was really off the rose.

It doesn't bode well when a show breaks its own rules without a good reason.  Reaching for additional storylines isn't one of them.  It also bugged me when Sam became a chimp in the space program!  IIRC there was an article during the show's original run in which the writers were working on storylines in which Sam would leap into a baby and a dog!  Yikes!!  Was Donald Bellisario still running the show at that point?  

I was intrigued by one suggested storyline in which Sam would leap into Thomas Magnum however.

The show was likable (and I attribute that in part to the chemistry between Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell) but I agree it doesn't hold up well, but it is typical of shows from that era.

Edited June 30, 2016 by magicdog

[fivestone]

I love that song "Somewhere in the Night" that Sam/Scott sang with whatever her character's name was/Marietta DePrima. I bought the album, but the album version isn't nearly as good as the duet on the show.

"Somewhere in the night

Inside my dreams you burn so bright

And I'm with you there and everything's alright...

Somewhere in the night

Before the darkness turns to light

Let me love you there, somewhere in the night..."

Found it! 

Edited July 8, 2016 by fivestone

[friendperidot]

rather disconcerting, watched a couple of episodes on COZI, (just got it back with a new antenna), watched Sam leap out of a Gene Simmons type rock star into...switched to H&I, caught the last few minutes of Star Trek Enterprise and there he was half naked! Don't know what was going on, don't care.

[Gulftastic]

Yes, it's sad to admit it doesn't hold up well. I loved it back in the day. I visited America in 1990 and bought myself a QL baseball cap. I've still got it.

[The Crazed Spruce]

I'm just gonna leave this here....

[AntiBeeSpray]

I just saw that tonight! It's too cool.  :)  That's one heck of a find.

[Irlandesa]

Knowing what those pictures showed---I feel I have closure.  That, more than whether or not Sam returned home, was the most important thing for me.

[Taryn74]

How awesome is that?!

[Irlandesa]

Random Tidbit:

Brooke Shields was on Watch What Happens Live this week and she was asked who was her best on screen kiss and who was her worst.  She said Scott Bakula while working on Quantum Leap was her best.  The surprising thing is she said "this might be a bit surprising" before she said it.  Not surprised.  Not surprised at all.

[magicdog]

I happened to catch "The Americanization of Machiko" this week and boy was this episode loaded with virtue signaling!

 

What bugged me most was the ending.  Sam and Machiko marry in his local church but his mother threatens to boycott (part of her anger towards Machiko seemed to stem from her anger over the suicide of her own daughter).  Then somehow, after having been angry, resentful and just plain mean to Machiko throughout the episode, she agrees to come to the wedding - dressed in a KIMONO! 

Really?  I can accept she has a change of heart since Machiko is her daughter in law, but to go and dress up in full Japanese traditional attire?  Uh....no!  I thought that final scene was cloying and just plain ridiculous!

[Irlandesa]

Here's a nice interview with Scott Bakula about the series, and some of the ways it treated social issues in the series. I was surprised to learn how Dean Stockwell encouraged showcasing some of the social issues.

[friendperidot]

I just discovered this evening that Comet is showing 2 episodes daily during the week, 6 and 7 PM Eastern. They had a marathon today, that I didn't discover until about 8 PM. I've enjoyed what I've seen. Some, I remember, some, I don't.

[MisterGlass]

Another where-to-watch option - NBC has the episodes on their website to stream with commercials. 

[friendperidot]

I just watched the final episode, I haven't seen it since it first aired. It made me cry. They just started episode 1. I'm rewatching with interest.

And the bartender from the final episode is a superior officer in the first episode.

Edited June 17, 2020 by friendperidot

[Maverick]

 That is Bruce McGill, who played Jack Dalton in the original MacGyver.   The finale had several memorable people from prior leaps playing patrons of the bar, including Jimmy's brother and Captain Galaxy.   The finale had its moments, but I wasn't thrilled with it as the end to the show.   It actually wasn't intended to be the series finale.   They thought they'd get another year and the following season would have had leaping past his lifetime into the future.    

[Chaos Theory]

Science fiction is a weird beast.    I have younger friends who laugh at Original Trek and think Star Wars is awful but then Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and BSG are the best things ever.   Some people judge by FX and stand by it.   These are the people who hate hate hate old Doctor Who but love New Who.        Personally I love old science fiction sometimes because I remember watching it during its original run.   I was 15 in 1989 when Quantum Leap pilot aired and I always loved the idea of time travel and alternate history and this was more or less both.  Plus it often dabbled in social issues without being over run with them.   And yeah it played heavily into Vietnam which was a generation off in the late 80s early 90s. If you were 15 like me.  
 

Of course the show tended to run thin as it ran on.  Most shows do.  I still say this was an incredibly well plotted show for what it was.   I am in the minority and really liked the Lee Harvey Oswald episode.  I thought it was well plotted and got around a sensitive topic in an interesting way.   However to this day my favorite episode is still the one where Sam leapt into the possibly gay cadet and the entire story revolved around whether it actually even mattered if he was gay or not.   

Edited June 18, 2020 by Chaos Theory

[MisterGlass]

12 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Science fiction is a weird beast.    I have younger friends who laugh at Original Trek and think Star Wars is awful but then Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and BSG are the best things ever.   Some people judge by FX and stand by it.

So true.  I grew up watching syndicated re-runs of a lot of the classic sci-fi shows, but if I recommend episodes of original Star Trek, I'm very specific about the ones I recommend.  Things do become less accessible, and over time the 'big' episodes stand up to history and the average ones recede.

I've been watching Quantum Leap re-runs off and on, and it occurred to me recently that it was a contemporary of Star Trek The Next Generation.  TNG has stayed more watchable for new audiences (barring that first season).  I think it's partly because Quantum Leap looked at the recent past and the near future, and both of those choices date it a bit.  Some of it's more cutting edge moments don't play as well 30 years on.  Even so, there are still moments of brilliance to admire.

[friendperidot]

I'm still watching and enjoying, a couple of my favorite episodes are coming up in the next couple of weeks, one where Sam leaps into the understudy of a drunken actor playing Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, played by John Cullum. I saw him in that show many years ago, it remains a favorite. 

The other is when Sam leaps into his younger self at 16 and sings Imagine to his sister. When I started watching a few weeks ago, that episode was on, but we had tornado warnings and I had to turn the tv to local weather.

I've been wondering as I watch, what is going on in the mind of the person in the waiting room. I know sometimes Al reports that they are confused or think they've died and gone to heaven. But what I really wonder about is what happens when they are transported back into their own selves and Sam has put right what once went wrong. What do they think happened? That might be an interesting series to watch.

[Irlandesa]

On 6/18/2020 at 9:26 PM, MisterGlass said:

I've been watching Quantum Leap re-runs off and on, and it occurred to me recently that it was a contemporary of Star Trek The Next Generation.  TNG has stayed more watchable for new audiences (barring that first season). 

I think STNG is aided by the fact that it's part of a well known property that has a dedicated/cult following.  People who get on board might go back years.

Quantum Leap, one of the few "sci fi" shows I actually liked, doesn't have that continuous regeneration that brings it to people's attention as often.  It talked about the recent past and the older past but it's amazing how relevant the issues they covered were and how progressive their take on them was. (As I mentioned above, it sounds like that was largely due to Dean Stockwell's influence.)

[Kromm]

Just wandering around the net I rewatched the final episode for the first time in a dozen years. 

I actually enjoyed it.  Even the end. 

I think I have enough distance from the show now to see what they were trying to do now with a clearer head. I mean him not returning home wasn't just pulled out from under the rug at the end. The entire episode sets it up, and Bartender Al outright SAYS it to Sam a few minutes before the end.  But there's also an implication Sam gains more control over his Leaping.  After all, HE'S the one who sends himself to see Beth.  It's not even clear he was inhabiting the body of someone else when he did. So the ending could be spun as a positive. Sure he can't go back home. Sure he's abandoning at the very least a daughter there.  But if he can leap his OWN body around Time and Space, except not too close to his Present?  That's still a godlike amount of power. 

Anyway, it was an interesting rewatch. 

[ljenkins782]

On 5/24/2018 at 7:27 PM, magicdog said:

What bugged me most was the ending.  Sam and Machiko marry in his local church but his mother threatens to boycott (part of her anger towards Machiko seemed to stem from her anger over the suicide of her own daughter).  Then somehow, after having been angry, resentful and just plain mean to Machiko throughout the episode, she agrees to come to the wedding - dressed in a KIMONO! 

Really?  I can accept she has a change of heart since Machiko is her daughter in law, but to go and dress up in full Japanese traditional attire?  Uh....no!  I thought that final scene was cloying and just plain ridiculous!

Very old post, but I've been catching up on this show on SyFy and I had the same reaction to the episode, Jimmy, where Sam leaps into a mentally challenged man who is being cared for by his brother (who is married with kids).

For the entire episode, his sister-in-law is a resentful bitch toward him and is pressuring her husband to send his brother to an institution. Sam gets blamed for a big accident (that he didn't cause) at the job he works with his brother, they both get fired and the brother is about to send him away.

Sam makes a last-ditch effort to get their jobs back, his brother's kid follows him and falls into a lake or something at the job site. Sam's "Swiss cheese" memory in the body of a mentally challenged person somehow remembers how to do CPR and and saves the kid, making the sister-in-law fall all over herself thanking him.

Aside from the usual plot hole of how he remembers details like CPR but not his own life details half the time, no one makes any mention of the fact that the kid following Sam to the job site makes it kinda Sam's fault that he got hurt in the first place, AND I just couldn't buy that this woman who was so resentful of having her BIL in her life would suddenly have a complete change of heart. It was just too pat and cheesy.

I find myself rewatching the same episodes over and over and never watching some others. I realize I can never find out if I like some of the others if I never watch them, but I tend to just keep gravitating to the same ones. Some of the episodes have some truly dark themes in them, like season 2's Another Mother where a kid gets humiliated at school, runs away and gets kidnapped and presumably raped and murdered in some pedophile's van. Obviously, the show ends with Sam rescuing the kid, but it's pretty horrifying to consider the original sequence of events.

I'm also noticing the different variations of the opening credits and I'm astounded again at just how long they were. I mean, I get that the show has a complicated premise and they were apparently trying to tell the full story to new viewers every single week, but there had to be a more concise way to do it. They had a cold open-esque explanation, followed by the longest set of episode clips in history, and then yet another explanation. How did they have any time left over for the show plus commercials with that opening?

As far as whether it holds up, it's certainly dated in a million ways, but that's part of the charm for me. Just like I originally liked it for the period piece feel of the different eras he goes back to, the show itself is a time capsule of the late 80s-early 90s. And the "technology" is hilarious, like Al's remote control/information center that looks to be the same translucent, neon colored pocket calculator we all had in the 7th grade.

[Maverick]

 Sam's memory isn't a plot hole, it's a plot point.   It's established in the pilot that the act of leaping scrambles the person's memory and there's no rhyme or reason as to what they do and don't remember.   As the series progresses, some things come back to Sam and he often discovers he has skills he does remember he had.   When accidentally leaps in The Leap Back, his memory is similarly Swiss cheesed.  

[methodwriter85]

I remember the 1980 Raped episode, where in the original timeline, Sam and Al think Katie (?) left town because she felt ashamed of being raped, to the point that she didn't even come back for her dad's funeral in '88. I always thought that the ending where Katie's rapist tries to come back and rape Sam in Katie's body implied that in the OG timeline where Katie didn't come forward, he killed Katie to make sure she didn't say anything and his family covered it up. Katie herself says she thought she was going to be killed during his attack on her.

Edited August 17, 2020 by methodwriter85

[ljenkins782]

13 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I remember the 1980 Raped episode, where in the original timeline, Sam and Al think Katie (?) left town because she felt ashamed of being raped, to the point that she didn't even come back for her dad's funeral in '88. I always thought that the ending where Katie's rapist tries to come back and rape Sam in Katie's body implied that in the OG timeline where Katie didn't come forward, he killed Katie to make sure she didn't say anything and his family covered it up. Katie herself says she thought she was going to be killed during his attack on her.

I don't think killing her would have been necessary in 1980 to keep her quiet. Hell, I don't think in 2020 that rapists necessarily have to work that hard to discredit victims, but in 1980, there would have been very little she could have done to convince a small town that it's Golden Boy Hero raped her. The episode itself showed that pretty plainly. 

I can't remember the ending though, besides Katie/Sam knocking him out, was he ever properly punished for the second attempted rape?

[methodwriter85]

1 minute ago, ljenkins782 said:

I don't think killing her would have been necessary in 1980 to keep her quiet. Hell, I don't think in 2020 that rapists necessarily have to work that hard to discredit victims, but in 1980, there would have been very little she could have done to convince a small town that it's Golden Boy Hero raped her. The episode itself showed that pretty plainly. 

I can't remember the ending though, besides Katie/Sam knocking him out, was he ever properly punished for the second attempted rape?

No, they never show him being punished but it's clear that his rep is toast. Anyway, you're probably right although I still lean towards the idea that Kevin raped Katie a second time and killed her in that original storyline. Maybe it's just the fact he knew he could get away with it and his general hatred towards women. 

[Dr.OO7]

On 8/17/2020 at 12:47 PM, methodwriter85 said:

still lean towards the idea that Kevin raped Katie a second time

I had the same Fridge Horror moment about that too. 

[methodwriter85]

13 minutes ago, Camille said:

I had the same Fridge Horror moment about that too. 

They did a really good job of showing Katie's close relationship with her father. I really don't think she would have avoided his funeral if she had been alive  plus Katie had the line that during Kevin's attack she thought he was going to kill her. I really think that a second attack happened, Kevin killed her during it, and he staged it to make it look like she ran away.

[magicdog]

On 8/17/2020 at 9:43 AM, ljenkins782 said:

I can't remember the ending though, besides Katie/Sam knocking him out, was he ever properly punished for the second attempted rape?

I think it was mentioned his wife (the character was engaged to his HS sweetheart) in the future filed for divorce under mental cruelty.  Seeing him get a beatdown by Sam was satisfying though.  I never considered she could have been killed by her rapist in the original timeline (accidentally or otherwise) but it is something to think about.  However, her shame could still have been strong enough to make her withdraw completely even from her loved ones.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 8/16/2020 at 11:28 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I remember the 1980 Raped episode,

I just watched this on Comet yesterday, and the two things still BUG me.

One, and this is the most egregious--this was a CRIMINAL Trial; not a civil one; so it's the STATE that is asking the question; that the trial is being brought by the STATE, and not the "plaintiff" as the sleezy defense lawyer said when referring to the Assistant District Attorney.

Second, Sam (as Katie) should not have been sitting at the prosecutor's table. She was the victim, but should have been in the gallery or sitting behind the prosecutor's table.

On 9/6/2020 at 8:38 AM, magicdog said:

I think it was mentioned his wife (the character was engaged to his HS sweetheart) in the future filed for divorce under mental cruelty.  Seeing him get a beatdown by Sam was satisfying though.

That line must have been edited out on this station, because it went from Sam (as Katie) telling her dad she was a McBain, when he asked if she had beat the shit out of her rapist, to Sam leaping into the next person.

But oh yes, oh so satisfying to watch Sam kick him in the balls more than once.

Scott Bakula is just so yummy.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 5/8/2020 at 11:40 PM, MisterGlass said:

Another where-to-watch option - NBC has the episodes on their website to stream with commercials. 

And it SUCKS. NBC and USA are streaming this, but it cuts in with commercials up to the last three seconds of the end of the credits; in the middle of a scene; or at the end of a scene, which would lead to a commercial in its original run; when it comes back, you see the last two seconds and fade to black, and then it resumes with the next scene. And you can't even pause!

It's just horrible. I just finished watching most of the series on NBC, then USA when the sound stopped working halfway through the third season.

And I HATED the ending of the finale. Yes, Al gets his happily ever after, but Sam? Keeps on a leapin' never returning home. I wonder if his wife divorced him knowing this, since she wouldn't be free to move on with him never returning?

The last season was the weakest and I find the first three to be the most watchable.

Scott is such a good actor. And I love the chemistry between him and Dean.

Color me shocked that I'd forgotten that Scott and CCH Pounder played son and mother in "Black on White on Fire" and reunited some 15 years later on NCIS: New Orleans! He the team leader, and she the Coroner.

And that Don Bellisario cast a LOT of the same actors from Magnum to NCIS.

[MisterGlass]

9 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And it SUCKS. NBC and USA are streaming this, but it cuts in with commercials up to the last three seconds of the end of the credits; in the middle of a scene; or at the end of a scene, which would lead to a commercial in its original run; when it comes back, you see the last two seconds and fade to black, and then it resumes with the next scene.

Yeah...it's bad.  I haven't tried the Peacock streaming service.  I wonder if it's on there, and if the cuts are better.

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

Yeah...it's bad.  I haven't tried the Peacock streaming service.  I wonder if it's on there, and if the cuts are better.

I haven't either, but I bet it's the same. Because I tried watching on the SyFy app, and it's the same DAMNED thing. But it's only with this show! I remember when I was watching the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, and nothing like this happened with that show.

I want to get the DVDs, but knowing that the original music has been replaced or edited out (how I don't know) due to music rights, I'm anal enough that I won't buy it because of that. I read a few years ago that's what they did. That's why when this show was on Netflix, not all the episodes aired. Because of the music rights. I suppose it's not an issue with it streaming on these stupid apps, because this was an NBC show?

[GHScorpiosRule]

I stand corrected. I just checked Amazon, and the complete series on blu-ray, furnished by Mill Creek, has ALL OF THE ORIGINAL MUSIC restored!

You bet your ass I ordered it, even though I won't get it until December 3. I don't care. Mill Creek paid the huge ass music licensing fees, something cheap ass NBC Universal refused to do.

I'm a happy camper, yes I am.

And that article that was posted upthread from last year, with the show celebrating its 30 year anniversary, I found it interesting that the two-parter "Lee Harvey Oswald" was Bellisario's way of expressing his anger at Oliver Stone's movie about there being a conspiracy with respect to Kennedy's assassination. 

Jumping into the shallow pool here, but I wish they'd found someone who looked closer to the real Oswald. The actor they cast looked like such a DWEEB, I couldn't take him seriously!

And with so many actors appearing on all his shows over the years, I really wish (even though it's too late) that Bakula and Selleck had guest starred on JAG. Especially since we had W.K. Stratton, Dean Stockwell, appear. 

Oh well. I'm just glad that Bakula and Stockwell were able to reunite on NCIS: New Orleans (even if his character wasn't a friend from Pride's past) before Stockwell retired due to his health problems in that show's first season.

[Thomas Crown]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I stand corrected. I just checked Amazon, and the complete series on blu-ray, furnished by Mill Creek, has ALL OF THE ORIGINAL MUSIC restored!

 

I have the blu ray set and the video quality is pretty good IMO.  Most importantly like you said the set has all the original music including "Georgia on my Mind" from the episode "M.I.A.".   That song was the deal breaker for me on purchasing the set. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

This never FAILS to make me laugh my ass off! Scott/Sam is just so HILARIOUS.

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 9/30/2020 at 4:57 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

You bet your ass I ordered it, even though I won't get it until December 3.

Quoting myself because YIPPEEEE! It arrived TODAY!!!!!!!

[magicdog]

On 9/29/2020 at 10:26 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And I HATED the ending of the finale. Yes, Al gets his happily ever after, but Sam? Keeps on a leapin' never returning home. I wonder if his wife divorced him knowing this, since she wouldn't be free to move on with him never returning?

The "series finale" was actually filmed a year or 2 before it aired.  It was meant to be the Season 2 finale, but TPTB weren't happy with it and shelved it.  The cancellation came rather fast and to have some sort of wrap up, they brought back the episode from mothballs and tagged on the "Same never leapt home" crap.  Yeah - I'm still pissed at that!

[Gramto6]

Watching Nuclear Family on Comet tonight. I so remember the "duck and cover" drills in elementary school. It really was a scary time! Like hiding under our desk would really save us...

Edited December 18, 2020 by Gramto6

[friendperidot]

Quantum Leap is on the Roku channel. I don't think I'm going to watch the entire series, but I am going to see a couple of episodes that I keep missing.

Watching Season 1, Episode 1 right now, and Scott Bakula was so darn cute.