Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The silly season
SciFi was running yet another Quantum Leap marathon today, probably in honor of Season 5 being released on DVD. I use the word "honor" fairly loosely, because honestly, by the end of Season 5 everyone I knew who had loved the show was just begging for it to die. In one of the episodes SciFi showed today, Sam leaps into Dr. Ruth (yes! Dr. Ruth Westheimer!) and singlehandedly--as Dr. Ruth, remember--runs over the roofs of a bunch of cars stuck in Manhattan traffic, karate-chops a bad guy, plays matchmaker, saves a young woman's life, and oh, incidentally, gives Anita Hill the idea of speaking up about sexual harassment. As if all of that wasn't silly enough, Dr. Ruth is back in the future, analyzing Al's womanizing.
In other Season 5 episodes, Sam leaps into a guy who drives around a bad Marilyn Monroe impersonator (it was supposed to be Marilyn herself, but hey, I calls 'em as I sees 'em); Elvis; and Lee Harvey Oswald. He also inexplicably leaps into the Civil War, which they try to explain, but come on: it says RIGHT THERE IN THE INTRO that Sam finds himself leaping WITHIN HIS OWN LIFETIME. I actually remember talking to my friend Julie about this the day after the episode aired. The phrase "jump the shark" hadn't been coined yet, but we agreed that the show was basically over for us at that point. Once they start violating the basic precepts of the show, that's it, man.
By Season 5 there were too many repeat leaps, too many coincidences, and way too many famous people played by people who didn't look much like the people they were supposed to be. The earlier random leaps, with no rhyme or reason, were much more fun. After all, with thirty-somewhat years and all the U.S. to leap into, there was no reason for Sam to go leaping around from celebrity to celebrity just to make sure that The Misfits was made. There were so many stories that could have been told, and instead they chose Lee Harvey Oswald. We know about Lee Harvey Oswald; how about Mary Lee Gormley, whose strict God-fearin' parents sent her to a home for unwed mothers in 1960s Idaho? Or Bill Earnest, who drove down to Texas in 1977 to strike it rich in the oil fields and ended up getting blown to bits on an offshore rig, leaving his wife and three kids without any life insurance? Put that one right, Sam!
Five seasons is a good long time for a show like Quantum Leap, but there were still stories to be told when it ended. It's just too bad they spent most of the last season hashing over old plot lines and celebrity head-hopping.
In other Season 5 episodes, Sam leaps into a guy who drives around a bad Marilyn Monroe impersonator (it was supposed to be Marilyn herself, but hey, I calls 'em as I sees 'em); Elvis; and Lee Harvey Oswald. He also inexplicably leaps into the Civil War, which they try to explain, but come on: it says RIGHT THERE IN THE INTRO that Sam finds himself leaping WITHIN HIS OWN LIFETIME. I actually remember talking to my friend Julie about this the day after the episode aired. The phrase "jump the shark" hadn't been coined yet, but we agreed that the show was basically over for us at that point. Once they start violating the basic precepts of the show, that's it, man.
By Season 5 there were too many repeat leaps, too many coincidences, and way too many famous people played by people who didn't look much like the people they were supposed to be. The earlier random leaps, with no rhyme or reason, were much more fun. After all, with thirty-somewhat years and all the U.S. to leap into, there was no reason for Sam to go leaping around from celebrity to celebrity just to make sure that The Misfits was made. There were so many stories that could have been told, and instead they chose Lee Harvey Oswald. We know about Lee Harvey Oswald; how about Mary Lee Gormley, whose strict God-fearin' parents sent her to a home for unwed mothers in 1960s Idaho? Or Bill Earnest, who drove down to Texas in 1977 to strike it rich in the oil fields and ended up getting blown to bits on an offshore rig, leaving his wife and three kids without any life insurance? Put that one right, Sam!
Five seasons is a good long time for a show like Quantum Leap, but there were still stories to be told when it ended. It's just too bad they spent most of the last season hashing over old plot lines and celebrity head-hopping.
permalink posted by The Vintage Reader @ 11:04 PM 
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Yes! It was, of course, a Season 5 episode, and they showed it yesterday. Basically, Sam leaps into an artist who likes to pretend he's a vampire, or thinks he's a vampire, or something. (I missed most of it because Vintage Baby was on a mission to climb up three flights of stairs and required a sherpa.) Ian Buchanan, who had been on General Hospital, was in it too, camping it up like he did on Twin Peaks. It was still an awful episode.
There was an earlier one where Sam leaps into a creepy atmosphere and meets a creepy teenager named Steven. Finally he figures out who the teenager is and knows that the woman whose name he was supposed to know throughout the episode is "Mrs. King." Hyuk hyuk!
There was an earlier one where Sam leaps into a creepy atmosphere and meets a creepy teenager named Steven. Finally he figures out who the teenager is and knows that the woman whose name he was supposed to know throughout the episode is "Mrs. King." Hyuk hyuk!
I've decided to make an ultimate collection of Halloween episodes from 1980s/90s TV.
EVEN IF THEY ARE BAD!
Maybe especially if they are bad.
EVEN IF THEY ARE BAD!
Maybe especially if they are bad.
Whatever you do, don't forget the episode of Highway to Heaven where Mark is watching I Was a Teenage Werewolf and he keeps trying to get Jonathan to come in and see how much he looks like the teenage werewolf. Man, that's classic.
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