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Will Sam Beckett Return Home? NBC Orders Quantum Leap Reboot Pilot
- Thread starter Ryan Thomas Riddle
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I would think they could get higher ratings if they aired it 2 hours earlier. Ot is a family show
I just don't the show is good enough. That is what is hurting the ratings. I mean it's not bad but it's not great either. It's so in the middle. I do think it has potential to become better if it does get a second season. I am starting to really like Ben. I also like Magic and Ian. The other 2 are not so great and the security lady seems useless on the show in that she serves no dramatic purpose. Providing security in the modern day parts is a thankless job/role on this show.
It's the same level as la brea in terms of quality imo, but has 30 precent fewer viewers.
I wouldn’t mind an episode where they go ‘old school’ and it’s just Ben and Addison in the leap. I’ll happily accept an episode where it’s predominantly PQL based too. Like how Dr Who did two alternating Dr and Companion Lite episodes in 2004-2009 to give the leads a bit of down time.
But I’d really like to see Ben getting really in deep in the world of the leap more. And get a really solid support cast for the leap.
But I’d really like to see Ben getting really in deep in the world of the leap more. And get a really solid support cast for the leap.
This was a pretty good one, with most of the attention on the leap rather than the arc stuff. The story about the misfit teens trying to survive and bonding as friends was pretty good, and the guest cast was effective. I particularly liked the statuesque actress playing Stacy, who has the awesome name of Raquel Justice, which should be a superhero name.
It was a nice touch that being in a group of eccentric kids let Ben get away with having an "imaginary friend" to talk to. It was a good twist on the dynamic. Addison was fun here -- "It's nice to be acknowledged."
But in the overhead shot of the group trudging across the field, how did Addison have a shadow? Also, how does she do so much walking in the imaging chamber? As I recall, when Al had to follow Sam over a significant distance, he'd just "teleport" and meet Sam along the way. So does the new imaging chamber have some kind of treadmill system? Why bother?
In the scene with the wolves, I guessed during the commercial that they were going to use the business about how animals can see the hologram, and have Addison whip up a holographic bear or something to scare off the wolves. Nice that the story let the kids save themselves, though.
At first, I thought they were still being too straightforward about the purpose of the leap being obvious from the start, and having it just be about preventing someone from dying. But it turned out there was a deeper purpose, not just exposing the abusive youth center, but setting the kids onto the right path (which we know because Ben didn't leap until they decided to stay friends). That's more the way it should work -- both the more character-driven focus and the fact that the leaper and hologram have to deduce the real mission as they go.
The stuff at the project was pretty much just padding, complete with a money-saving "stuck in an elevator" subplot. This is the weakness of the modern format demanding some acknowledgment of the serial plot in every single episode. Sometimes it's obvious that all they're really doing is dragging things out to delay advancing the arc. It would've been nice just to focus fully on the leap and save the Janis stuff for when they had a use for it. But I guess they had to give the supporting cast something to do to justify their weekly paychecks.
But we did get one semi-answer: Ben leapt to save Addison. Which makes perfect sense, since what else could motivate him to do something so drastic? But it raises more questions than it answers. Save her from what? Why is the answer in the future? Why is he allegedly following another leaper?
Unfortunately, it looks like this is the midseason finale. IMDB says the next episode won't air until January 3, which I guess is why we didn't see the start of the next leap. So we won't be getting those answers for a while.
It was a nice touch that being in a group of eccentric kids let Ben get away with having an "imaginary friend" to talk to. It was a good twist on the dynamic. Addison was fun here -- "It's nice to be acknowledged."
But in the overhead shot of the group trudging across the field, how did Addison have a shadow? Also, how does she do so much walking in the imaging chamber? As I recall, when Al had to follow Sam over a significant distance, he'd just "teleport" and meet Sam along the way. So does the new imaging chamber have some kind of treadmill system? Why bother?
In the scene with the wolves, I guessed during the commercial that they were going to use the business about how animals can see the hologram, and have Addison whip up a holographic bear or something to scare off the wolves. Nice that the story let the kids save themselves, though.
At first, I thought they were still being too straightforward about the purpose of the leap being obvious from the start, and having it just be about preventing someone from dying. But it turned out there was a deeper purpose, not just exposing the abusive youth center, but setting the kids onto the right path (which we know because Ben didn't leap until they decided to stay friends). That's more the way it should work -- both the more character-driven focus and the fact that the leaper and hologram have to deduce the real mission as they go.
The stuff at the project was pretty much just padding, complete with a money-saving "stuck in an elevator" subplot. This is the weakness of the modern format demanding some acknowledgment of the serial plot in every single episode. Sometimes it's obvious that all they're really doing is dragging things out to delay advancing the arc. It would've been nice just to focus fully on the leap and save the Janis stuff for when they had a use for it. But I guess they had to give the supporting cast something to do to justify their weekly paychecks.
But we did get one semi-answer: Ben leapt to save Addison. Which makes perfect sense, since what else could motivate him to do something so drastic? But it raises more questions than it answers. Save her from what? Why is the answer in the future? Why is he allegedly following another leaper?
Unfortunately, it looks like this is the midseason finale. IMDB says the next episode won't air until January 3, which I guess is why we didn't see the start of the next leap. So we won't be getting those answers for a while.
It should be noted that in QL:TOS God (or fate or time) took steps to insure not just the continuance of the project (the Senatorial substitution referred to earlier) but, arguably its own creation. Sam explained the String theory hypothesis to Moe Stein in the episode "Future Boy", who then articulated this theory to a young fan, Sam Beckett. Perhaps Janice has gotten intel from the future, via "Leaper X" or a player yet to be named.
Whatever happens, if this is the only season we get of this show, which based on ratings seems a distinct possibility, I hope we get a resolution. My personal fantasy for the final scene. Ben and Addison, Janice and Beth, Magic and Sam, at Al's grave.
Whatever happens, if this is the only season we get of this show, which based on ratings seems a distinct possibility, I hope we get a resolution. My personal fantasy for the final scene. Ben and Addison, Janice and Beth, Magic and Sam, at Al's grave.
That's why my pet theory was that Ziggy was controlling it all. Though we were told in the series finale that it was Sam's subconscious, not "God or fate or time," that had been controlling his leaps all along.
Although the self-consistent "time travel to ensure your own history" idea is incompatible with a story where the whole purpose of the time travel is to change history. Well, unless the cumulative micro-changes Sam made had a ripple effect that threatened to derail the creation of the Project, so that steps had to be taken to course-correct and ensure it still happened.
I don't share the desire for series to have decisive endings like that. I mean, if the hero of the series is going around helping people, surely it's a bad thing if they stop helping people. I'm partial to the kind of finale that reassures us the hero will continue to do good works long after we stop watching them -- like the finale of the original series. The finale reaffirmed that Sam had subsonsciously chosen to unstick himself in time and put right what once went wrong, and finally made a conscious choice to continue doing it indefinitely. I think that's a better ending than one where he returned to the comforts of home and hearth, because it shows him choosing to serve others' needs rather than just his own.
I take your point, Christopher, but people do want closure. They want Richard Kimble to catch the one-armed man, they want the Korean war to end, they want Walter White to die. Perhaps a good tag would be to indicate that the work of the Project would continue.
But, as an aside, can you imagine the profound sense of isolation that Sam Beckett would feel after 30 year of leaping? No friends, no ability form lasting connections, etc. No matter his initial enthusiasm, I'm sure he'd want it over at this point.
But, as an aside, can you imagine the profound sense of isolation that Sam Beckett would feel after 30 year of leaping? No friends, no ability form lasting connections, etc. No matter his initial enthusiasm, I'm sure he'd want it over at this point.
A
Amaris
Guest
This one was pretty solid. So of course I'm getting into it more now that it's on the bubble to be canceled. I had a feeling from the cold open that these kids were running away from a so-called reform camp. Those places still exist today, but thankfully many of them are in the process of being shut down because of the many abuses against children. There's still a long way to go on that front.
As for the episode, now we get to the reveal of why Ben did his premature leap. Hope to see it play out before it's canceled.
As for the episode, now we get to the reveal of why Ben did his premature leap. Hope to see it play out before it's canceled.
My point is that not every series premise needs "closure." What's the "closure" to a show about a detective solving crimes, or a starship exploring strange new worlds, or a superhero saving lives? There isn't a specific quest goal that they have to be perpetually stymied in achieving until the series ends; just doing their job for as long as they can is the goal. And in a premise like that, bringing a decisive end to their adventures is a bad thing for the people they help. Richard Kimble getting exonerated or the Jupiter 2 reaching Alpha Centauri or Dr. David Banner finding a cure for the raging spirit that dwells within him would be a satisfying ending; but Columbo or Captain Kirk or the Flash retiring would be an unsatisfying ending, because it means their important job isn't being done anymore. A more satisfying finale for that kind of premise would be a reaffirmation that their work will continue.
And that's why I think the finale of the original show was satisfactory closure. Up to then, Sam Beckett believed his quest goal was simply to leap home and end his journeys. But in the finale, he discovered that he'd chosen to leap in order to help people, that it wasn't some cosmic accident he was forced into but the consequence of his own benevolence and selflessness. And so he chose to continue the journey voluntarily, to stop seeing the leaps as an obstacle to his quest goal and start seeing them as the goal in and of themselves. Closure doesn't have to mean the end of the journey; it can mean the choice to embark on a new one. (See any story that ends with the hero and heroine getting married. Surely that's more a beginning than an ending.) Or it can mean making peace with yourself, realizing something that lets you see your life in a new light.
Many people dedicate their entire lives to self-abnegation in service to others -- priests, nuns, monks, etc. It's not easy, but they stick it out because they believe in what they're doing. Yes, some of them get tired of it and leave the calling, but some stick with it all the way. So there's no way to be sure which category Sam would fall into. If his leaps were the result of his own subconscious desire to help people, though -- or if he consciously intended it when he first leapt but forgot about his reasons just as Ben did -- that argues that it's in his nature to choose self-sacrifice no matter the risk or burden.
Besides, I got the sense from the finale that Sam unlocked new potentials -- e.g. leaping in his own body, and no longer needing Ziggy and the accelerator to move him through time. That suggests his powers may have evolved even further since then. For all we know, he may have grown into something transcending human needs and limits.
And who's to say he doesn't interact with other leapers from other times? That happened with the "Evil Leapers" in the original series and the mystery leaper from the future in the new one. Assuming the "within your own lifetime" limitation is gone for other leapers as it is for Ben, that means that leapers from all eras from Sam to Ben to everyone else yet to come could potentially cross paths. There could be a whole community of time travelers. Maybe they all hang out at Bruce McGill's bar.
Huh. This week’s episode is the “midseason finale”, and we won’t have many more QL until January. Kind of a smaller episode to end on, but it ends on a verbal revelation that Ben didn’t leap to go find Sam - and that Janis is okay with this reasoning. The furthering of the 2022 plot was fun even is the revelation was more of an afterthought to the largely pointless thing about Jenn’s dad. Heck, even the whole thing about Janis’ escape was completely off screen.
Mark
Mark
Part of that might be because this wasn't originally planned to be a midseason finale. The original plan was to air thirteen episodes straight through, ending in December. I guess when they got picked up for the full season, they decided to take a break after eight episodes, leaving ten to air between January and presumably sometime in spring 2023.
Renewed for season 2.
https://tvline.com/2022/12/12/quantum-leap-renewed-season-2-nbc/
https://tvline.com/2022/12/12/quantum-leap-renewed-season-2-nbc/
I am so glad to hear. I hope they can go to Korea of an episode or 2. Sets are already built... would be great to contrast Korean Americans and how they relate to their heritage
I haven't watched it yet but that's a neat idea about multiple leapers crossing paths and maybe there could be a community of them that hang out at a bar or something, maybe not that exact same bar but something like it.
Been watching QL 2.0 from the beginning. Was hooked from the pilot. Love the connection with Magic and am captivated by the tie in with Al’s family. So glad it’s been picked up for a second season. In the front part of the first season really did a lot with establishing the new show and starting to sow the seeds of its own mythology. As much as I’d love to see some resolution to the Sam Beckett story line, I’m not put off with how the show is developing.