Quantum Leap Reboot (spoilers allowed)
Aeson
I learned nerd for this.
I thought Beth was Al's wife's name, but I was thinking this actress is way too young to be Al's wife. Should they have aged her up or found an older actress? Dean Stockwell would be 86. Susan Diol is only 60. Were Al and Beth that far apart in age? I'm just being nitpicky.
Hollywood has a long tradition of casting actresses inappropriately young for their male romantic interests. But, it is more complicated than that.
The real problem being that, in the real-world 1990, they needed a woman who looked like a woman in her late 20s, to play Beth in an episode set in 1969. Susan Diol was born in 1962, so she looked the part at the time.
If you play out the chronology, Beth is 8 to 10 years younger than Al. While Susan Diol is a bit young for the role, there's something to be said for the loyalty.
Ooh. This week's episode has juicy developments indeed!
Who objects to my editing into the thread title that spoiler discussion is allowed?
Interesting tidbit: Original Quantum Leap, Season 1, Episode 5, was "How the Tess was Won - August 5th, 1956." While not in the old west, it did take place in rural Texas, among cowboys.
Who objects to my editing into the thread title that spoiler discussion is allowed?
Interesting tidbit: Original Quantum Leap, Season 1, Episode 5, was "How the Tess was Won - August 5th, 1956." While not in the old west, it did take place in rural Texas, among cowboys.
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Rabulias
the Incomparably Shrewd and Clever
Indeed! I noticed that guy look at Ben funny earlier in the episode, but then promptly forgot about it.
So, evil leaper, misguided time traveler, or someone previously erased by Sam's actions? Or Sam's son maybe? Any connection to Janice or a separate plot thread?
So, with so little information it could be almost anything. But, for speculation...
I don't think it is going to be a direct version of the "evil leaper" largely because everyone hated that in the original show.
So, who is that, and why? My wife and I discussed, and here's a pair of possibilities that hang together:
Possibility 1 - it is Addison.
Imagine, for a moment, that the second Quantum Leap project proceeded as planned. Ben didn't leap - they did a whole lot of research and development, and, say, around 2030, as planned, Addison leaps. On her first leap, Addison changes the timeline, such that Al's daughter Janice gets some of her father's documentation she didn't have the first time. She finds out what the project is really for, and it is Not Good.
Janice cannot go to the project itself, so she turns to Ben, who is a Boy Scout like Sam before him, and convinces him that he has to stop Addison, and he leaps. Janice, meanwhile, realizes that eventually someone's going to realize what's up, and the people behind the project will shut down Magic and his team to let the original project succeed. Janice has been building an imaging chamber and connections to Ziggy to use when that happens, so Ben can continue to have support to stop Addison.
Possibility 2 - it is future Ben.
Much as above - in the original timeline, Addison leaps... and dies.
Ben, distraught, hatches a plan to save Addison, and leaps...
Somehow, in the changing of timelines, Janice becomes aware of this (how, I dunno - this is time travel, we can concoct something), and convinces 2022 Ben to try to stop bereaved 2030+ Ben before something breaks.
The positives of these two are that these are melodramatic things that might play well to an audience.
The negatives of these is that Quantum Leap isn't actually a time travel show. It has always been about personal stories, not twisted time travel plots. I am not convinced the writers want to fundamentally change that.
Possibility 3 - the Oligarch Leaper
The original Evil Leaper plot was trash. We revamp it.
Janice is rejected from the second Quantum Leap project. Some other group (billionaires, another government, or what have you) has stolen Quantum Leap information, started their own project, and tries to recruit Janice. She learns enough of their project to know that it is Not Good. She cannot go to the Quantum Leap Project, as she has every reason to expect leaks in that organization. So, she goes to Ben...
This option has the benefit of being the simplest. No extra time travel logic or shenanigans involved.
So, who is that, and why? My wife and I discussed, and here's a pair of possibilities that hang together:
Possibility 1 - it is Addison.
Imagine, for a moment, that the second Quantum Leap project proceeded as planned. Ben didn't leap - they did a whole lot of research and development, and, say, around 2030, as planned, Addison leaps. On her first leap, Addison changes the timeline, such that Al's daughter Janice gets some of her father's documentation she didn't have the first time. She finds out what the project is really for, and it is Not Good.
Janice cannot go to the project itself, so she turns to Ben, who is a Boy Scout like Sam before him, and convinces him that he has to stop Addison, and he leaps. Janice, meanwhile, realizes that eventually someone's going to realize what's up, and the people behind the project will shut down Magic and his team to let the original project succeed. Janice has been building an imaging chamber and connections to Ziggy to use when that happens, so Ben can continue to have support to stop Addison.
Possibility 2 - it is future Ben.
Much as above - in the original timeline, Addison leaps... and dies.
Ben, distraught, hatches a plan to save Addison, and leaps...
Somehow, in the changing of timelines, Janice becomes aware of this (how, I dunno - this is time travel, we can concoct something), and convinces 2022 Ben to try to stop bereaved 2030+ Ben before something breaks.
The positives of these two are that these are melodramatic things that might play well to an audience.
The negatives of these is that Quantum Leap isn't actually a time travel show. It has always been about personal stories, not twisted time travel plots. I am not convinced the writers want to fundamentally change that.
Possibility 3 - the Oligarch Leaper
The original Evil Leaper plot was trash. We revamp it.
Janice is rejected from the second Quantum Leap project. Some other group (billionaires, another government, or what have you) has stolen Quantum Leap information, started their own project, and tries to recruit Janice. She learns enough of their project to know that it is Not Good. She cannot go to the Quantum Leap Project, as she has every reason to expect leaks in that organization. So, she goes to Ben...
This option has the benefit of being the simplest. No extra time travel logic or shenanigans involved.
Well.......
Yea, it's a Evil Leaper. They will do it as "they" think the idea is so cool and they know real fans don't like it much. If fans don't like it = best idea ever.
But guess this goes back to the Why did Ben leap?
Maybe some lame "save someone". Like the Bad Writers have hidden a dumb bit of history to be "what a twist". Ben or Addasons parents, sister, brother, or their kids....and he leapped to save them.
I doubt they will do a "Ben tries to stop 9/11. Or Ben helps Japan win WW2."
That is not cool enough for modern writers.
But...maybe he will go back and get the Equal Admentment passed because he loves Addason SO MUCH that he wants her to be his equal in every way.
Maybe Ben is a member of Rittenhouse
But guess this goes back to the Why did Ben leap?
Maybe some lame "save someone". Like the Bad Writers have hidden a dumb bit of history to be "what a twist". Ben or Addasons parents, sister, brother, or their kids....and he leapped to save them.
I doubt they will do a "Ben tries to stop 9/11. Or Ben helps Japan win WW2."
That is not cool enough for modern writers.
But...maybe he will go back and get the Equal Admentment passed because he loves Addason SO MUCH that he wants her to be his equal in every way.
Maybe Ben is a member of Rittenhouse
I have updated the thread title to allow spoilers. I expect the only folks who are now coming to this thread are folks actively watching.
Ratings for the show aren't great, so despite the extended first season, I am not sure about how long the show has to go. Which is a shame, because I like the thing.
Anyway, not the "Evil Leaper" as we understood it, which was good.
Ratings for the show aren't great, so despite the extended first season, I am not sure about how long the show has to go. Which is a shame, because I like the thing.
Anyway, not the "Evil Leaper" as we understood it, which was good.
Rabulias
the Incomparably Shrewd and Clever
I found it hard to believe that a group staffing a time-travel project would have a problem getting their head around someone from the future also traveling into the past.
I am still watching though. I liked how the events in the mission echoed and resonated with Ben's past, triggering his memories.
I am still watching though. I liked how the events in the mission echoed and resonated with Ben's past, triggering his memories.
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