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An Analysis Entertainment Column, by Techtite
A Thorough Critique of entertainment gone awry
Good ideas, good qualities...BAD flaws; that's the trouble
with many promising entertainment products. Every once in a while
there's that one title (TV, movie, video, or game) which had
it all --concept, sound, visuals-- yet fell like a rock because
of a few grating mistakes. This regularly updated page examines
such titles.
The current entertainment product discussed is:
Quantum Leap
(NBC TV Series, 1989 - 1993)
Quantum Leap was quite a phenomenon for a while. It won 9
awards, and received ten additional nominations. Series regulars
Scott Bacula and Dean Stockwell each received a Golden Globe
(on different seasons). Word is that the show was even liked
by one of the heads of NBC programming, which explains why the
show was cut so much outrageous slack (one week even had a multi-night
marathon of Quantum Leap episodes during prime time; an
honor not even given to the likes of Seinfeld or
E.R.). Nielsons were good, critics were suitably
impressed, and there was even a strong ad campaign for the show
during the 1992 Olympics...then the show fizzled in the next,
final season. What went wrong?
First, as usual, let's discuss the show's strengths; very
important in this case, since the final season forgot them completely.
What Went Right? For
one, the premise; unique and inspired. Threats to lose government funding without suitable
proof his time travel project
works, Dr. Sam Beckett (Bacula) enters his particle accelerator
chamber himself...and vanishes! The problem is: his equations were only half-right, and instead of traveling back in time as
himself, he find himself switching places with a person from
the past! While looking the same to the TV audience, everyone
else sees Beckett as the person whose life he "quantum leaped"
into (their image is also the reflection Sam sees in mirrors).
Cute basic premise for each episode; a different moment in time
--and life-- for each episode.
Here's where the fun begins. Why did time/heaven/God/The
Powers That Be send him to each time period? Because, where he's
sent each episode, something bad is about to happen. In order
to quantum leap out, Sam has to "put right what once went
wrong." This task is made occasionally easier by holographic
transmissions from the future, from project observer Al Calavicci
(Oscar nominee Dean Stockwell). Each week, a life is made better,
and perhaps even saved completely. Cool.
Here's the plot premise that really clicked: People Sam leaped into were not historical figures, and
were just everyday people with problems. The idea was, in the
mind of whoever controls time, everybody matters. This added
to the fairy tale fun of the series: Sam would help you and me just like anyone else.
Much like dreams
of fairy godmothers and genies in bottles, somewhere was a time
traveler who'd someday change your life and mine for the better.
What a nice fantasy! If series writers kept with the concept
of the show, Quantum Leap might even be on
to this very day.
They didn't...
What Went Wrong? Donald
P. Bellisario, the show's creator and producer, began changing
every single decent part of the series. This was gratingly apparent
with the 1992 season premiere; a highly publicized episode which
had Sam attempting to thwart the JFK assassination itself. Mr. Bellisario was apparently so politically enflamed by Oliver Stone's
Oscar-nominated JFK that the whole show became
less about thwarting the assassination, and more about trying
to prove there was no second gunman (what you feel aside, a sci-fi
show is for entertainment; and is hardly the place to "prove"
jack squat). This obsession with "the truth" could
only go from bad to worst; Sam Beckett would not be able to
stop JFK's death at all, just so we could see "with
our own eyes" that Lee Harvey Oswald killed him. Goody;
just what I tuned in to a sci-fi show to see (quite obvious and blatant
sarcasm intended).
You read it right; after three seasons of putting things right
in time, suddenly Sam Beckett is shown fumbling the ball in the
worst way. This was the first (and largest) of many goofs by Bellisario in that final season; all he had to do is have Sam
Beckett save JFK...that's it. He couldn't even handle that simplistic
plot right. Instead, an inane attempt at a plot twist was used;
Sam was supposed to save Jackie Kennedy instead. The plot twist
was used for cheap, ineffective shock value; as if time as we
know it --good or bad-- was in fact already changed by Sam Beckett
himself. Ya, right.
The bigger problem...? The whole fairy-tale,
fantasy-filled fun of the series was the thought that, someday,
time would send Sam Beckett to a moment in time you wanted changed
for the better; perhaps even your
life in itself! Then the final season comes along, and implies
that Sam already changed what was supposed to be changed. Sorry, JFK is
still dead. Furthermore, your name never came up, either. So much for fairy tales...and
the series.
The resulting "new theme" of the show --Sam already
changed history as we already know it-- became just plain bo-RING!
Different episodes centered on Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. Did
he prevent their tragic, preventable deaths? No; he just prolonged
their lives a little, just as history already shows their lives
to be. The problem with such a running plot twist is, if history
"as you see it" is unchanged, where is the thrill of
the series? What was once a show with frequent life-or-death
struggles, suddenly settled for mediocrity and bubble-gum suspense.
Dean Stockwell's lines dropped in quality, and often were quite
similar to this : "Golly, Sam! We gotta make sure Elvis
sings that song in the soda shop!" YAWN.
Shock value, when attempted, was totally out of place. This
includes how Sam's new "date life" included sexual partners at every
turn. The problem...? Sam wasn't Cap'n Kirk, kids, and was in
fact married to long-time love Donna, waiting for him
patiently in the future. In one last-season episode, Sam gets
a woman pregnant with his baby, while pretending to be her fiancée!
The "happy ending" is allegedly that Sam's secretly
conceived daughter grew up to work at Project Quantum Leap itself.
Oh, what joy and rapture for his patient wife, waiting for him
in the exact same place! Did writers think this plot through
at all?
Scripts began to look even less plausible. Original series
rules were broken to make way for Sam leaping into a Civil War soldier
(outside his own lifetime), and even a chimpanzee(outside his own species)! In one episode, Sam leaps into a
woman's life, after she's been raped! Word to preschool
scriptwriter staff; it would've been more effective to have time-traveler
Sam stop the rape! DUUUUUH! One of the most publicized
events --an "evil" quantum leaper is introduced-- is
made into a ridiculous mess because the leaper comes from hell
itself. Excuse me for one second here: a time traveler from
Hell??? What a mess a good series can become, so quickly!
In the end, after falling like a rock in just one season, the show was gratefully cancelled. El cheapo attempts
to keep the show alive --by making the series finale open ended--
were unsuccessful. Is there any wonder as to why?
Thankfully, some of the best eps of the series are offered
on VHS. The "Pilot Episode" (yep, that was the actual
title) is even offered on DVD! Thank heaven for small favors.
Maybe if the final season wasn't abysmal, we could've expected
even more episodes on tape. Unfortunately, it was.
Comments? Opinions? Send them to Techtite
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