![\"genesis57.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/genesis57.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A few words of overview. (And, like Tommy said in his starting post<\/a> (his permalink function doesn’t work – so you have to scroll down – he has two posts up on Quantum Leap – one an overview, and one on the first episode – which I LOVED reading!!) – Anyhoo, like he said, this will develop. I’m not sure how I will tackle this project right now … so I’ll make it up as I go. And probably some episodes will warrant more commentary by me than others … so be it.)<\/p>\n Quantum Leap<\/i> first aired in 1989 and ran for 5 years. It was hugely successful, as series go (and it’s rather amazing to think that there are only two “leads” in the show. It’s not an ensemble … the entire thing hinges on the believability of those two guys, and their chemistry together – not a small feat) … and it is still hugely missed by its fan base. It made Scott Bakula a household name and catapulted Dean Stockwell, already famous for 40 years by that point, into a level of fame he had never known. Nothing like a hit TV show to put you over the tipping point. It was never a mega-hit – but it had something that is even better and more valuable: a loyal fan base. That cannot be bought, it cannot be managed by a studio, it cannot be marketed or planned for. Or – it can – but something like that depends quite a bit on magic, sorry to say. Right place right time. Excuse me, but the fans of Square Pegs<\/i> are STILL loyal to that show and it’s been off the air how long? Long-running “hit” series WISH that they could engender the type of fanatical loyalty of Square Pegs<\/i>! (In this case, “loyalty” is just another word for “love”).<\/p>\n I liked Quantum Leap<\/i> when it was first on. My boyfriend and I watched it pretty regularly. It had an interesting premise, and we liked the message aspect of it. It was usually a very satisfying hour of television.<\/p>\n I haven’t seen 5 seconds of the show since it went off the air almost 2 decades ago . Until recently. When Dean Stockwell loomed over my horizon like some gorgeous overwhelming thick-eyebrowed dirigible! First I had to see all of his movies. That kept me quite occupied since he made his debut when he was an embryo in 1945. But then I knew – and I tingled with excitement – that I still had five seasons of Quantum Leap<\/i> to watch! I didn’t have to just keep watching The Boy with Green Hair<\/i> to get my fix … he had done a hugely successful series, with, whatever, many episodes a year … and so that’s what I’ve been doing over the last couple of months. Slowly but surely making my way thru all 5 seasons. It’s been so fun. Some of the episodes I remember quite well – others not so much. Some are more successful than others – of course – but what is interesting to me, having just watched the entire series now … is how consistent<\/i> it was. You can feel them start to grab for ratings a bit in the last season – which I won’t talk about yet. At least not in depth. They started to do multi-part episodes (there’s a 3 parter, for example) – and also they have this whole “evil leaper” subplot (which totally did not work for me) – You can feel a bit of a grasp, like they know that perhaps it is the end. But even with that, which doesn’t always work – the tone and feel of the show is remarkably consistent. The scripts are good, the art direction remains stellar (which I’ll get into quite a bit – KU-DOS!! Major motion pictures should have such good and detailed art direction as Quantum Leap<\/i> had), the two leads grow and develop – they are not just repeating themselves ad nauseum. Sam Beckett grows. As a man. Watch him in the first episode and then watch him in the last. He is still the same guy … but he has developed, his soul has stretched, he’s learned so much. Same with Al. Now Dean Stockwell’s part could have been insufferable, a neverending bunch of SCHTICK. Not to dis schtick – and lots of Stockwell’s stuff is schtick (the rolling eyes, the cigar behavior, all that) … but he also has opportunities to show us WHY he’s got the schtick, and WHY Al is the way he is … and it just makes for really good television. Because what keeps people coming back week after week is not just the gimmick of the show – the “leap” – but the dynamic between these two guys that we came, very quickly, to care about.<\/p>\n It’s worth its weight in gold – actor chemistry like the two of them had!<\/p>\n Also, just to say this – without too many spoilers: Having just watched the whole series, they did quite a good job of keeping the starting seasons loose enough, in terms of what we know about the two guys – that once you know the “end” – once you know where it’s going to go … the beginning still makes sense. We didn’t have to do too much re-adjustment – like I said: it was consistent. There was no “Oh! It was all Sam Beckett’s DREAM! He dreamt the entire 5 seasons!” copout. Sam’s behavior in that last episode is completely consistent – and we realize that he has been moving towards that moment since Season 2.<\/p>\n And that wasn’t even supposed to be the last episode! They didn’t know that that was going to be “it” when they filmed it – which makes it even more amazing<\/i> because, in a funny way, in a heartbreaking way, it was a perfect way to end the whole thing. I didn’t feel gypped, or cheated, or like: Wait … is it over??? No!<\/p>\n It had a beautiful symmetry to it.<\/p>\n So that’s a testament to the solid writing throughout the series. It was always<\/i> about the relationship between Sam and Al.<\/p>\n The “leaps” were just the context. The real MEAT of that show was with those two guys. And the payoff at the very end was immense.<\/p>\n Oh dear. (Or I should quote Sam Beckett: Oh boy) I am getting way ahead of myself.<\/p>\n But these are my thoughts on the overview. I’ll get into more specifics as I go through episode by episode, which should keep me occupied until March, 2019.<\/p>\n Episode 1 re-cap coming up …<\/p>\n Ready to Quantum Leap<\/i>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few words of overview. (And, like Tommy said in his starting post (his permalink function doesn’t work – so you have to scroll down – he has two posts up on Quantum Leap – one an overview, and one … Continue reading
\n![\"genesis1.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/genesis1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n