106 "The Color of Truth"

Leap Date:

August 8, 1955

Episode Adopted by: Stephanie <AKA> TVNewsCam
Additional info provided by: Brian Greene

Synopsis:

As a black man in the deep south, Sam must fight racial prejudice while preventing his employer "Miz" Melny from being killed by a train.

Hints of "Driving Miss Daisy" abound this leap as Sam tries to change "the way it is" with the elderly widow.

He also must find a way to save his granddaughter after she is forced off the road by two "good-ol' boys" who are trying to teach Jesse a lesson for sitting down at a whites-only lunch counter.

Audio from this episode

TV Guide Synopsis
Place
Leap Date
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Broadcast Date
Music
Project Trivia
Sam Trivia
Al Trivia
Al's Women
Miscellaneous Trivia
Kiss with History
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Guest Stars
Guest Cast Notes
Guests who appeared in other Quantum Leap episodes
Best Scenes
Say What?
Quotable Quotes
Synopsis & Review
Production Credits
Awards

Production # 65013

TV Guide Synopsis:
Sam appears as a black man in the South of 1955, and he uses his borrowed identity to alter the life and conscience of the widow he works for. Miz Melny: Susan French. Sheriff Blount: Royce D. Applegate. Sam: Scott Bakula. Nell: Kimberly Bailey.

Leap Date:
August 8, 1955

Leapee:
Jesse Tyler

Place: 
Tallageda / Red Dog, Alabama

Broadcast Date:
May 3, 1989 - Wednesday

Commercial:

Music:
1) Nell sings the gospel song "Right on Time" while she is driving (right before her accident).

2) Al sings "We Shall Overcome" after Sam is released from jail.

Project Trivia:
The Imaging Chamber door is not seen in this episode.  Most of the sound effects when Al appears and/or walks through something are hardly used, along with the handlink.

Al sees Sam as the Leapee.  This becomes a significant comical element for "What Price Gloria", and is adjusted in later episodes.

This is the first episode which suggests that the holographic Al could be seen and heard by others, including those on the verge of death.

This is one of two times that Sam leaps in on this same date (Aug. 8, 1955), the other time being the episode "Trilogy Part I: One Little Heart." Both episodes were written by Deborah Pratt.

Sam Trivia:
Sam saves 1 life in this episode.

Al saves 1 life in this episode.

Sam introduces other terms to refer to African Americans

Sam's outfits worn: Brown suit, bow tie, and hat

The Leap takes place on Sam's 2nd birthday.

Al Trivia:
Al smoked 2 cigars in this episode.

Al's Women:
Al thinks that if he can reach Mrs. Melny, then maybe he can reach.... other women... younger women...

Al's Outfits:
1) Purple shirt and pants, silver suspenders, silver boots, and a black
striped jacket

2) White shirt, metallic red vest, patterned tie, metallic gray dress slacks, and loafers

3) Orange shirt and slacks, matching boots, and a long brown coat

Miscellaneous Trivia:
The Hill Valley courthouse set from "Back to the Future" was used in this episode.

The leap effect is animated for the first time instead of the negative flip used in previous episodes. It would be upgraded over the next few episodes until the standard animation seen for the rest of the series.



 

Kiss With History:
This episode, like a few within the entire run of the series, has no one
single Kiss.  The entire episode serves as one, as it is set within the southeastern US before the civil rights movement.  

Best Scene: There are a lot of powerful scenes within the episode, but the one that stands out the most is when Miz Melny decides to drive her own car, heading for her impending death.  Although she cannot hear him, Al is in the car with her, pleading for her to stop, turn around, or anything which would spare her life.  At the last possible moment, Miz Melny pulls into the cemetery, avoiding the train, and thanking her dead husband Charles . . . although she remarks that he didn't have to swear!

Say What?
How in the world did Sam know the old lady that was calling out to him was Miz Melny?  Her name had only been mentioned once, and Al wasn't there to help him.

When Sam leans back to look at the reflection of Jesse Tyler in the rear view mirror of the car, the reflection of Sam's hat passes through the mirror first before the image of Jesse can be seen. When Jesse is visible, he's not wearing a hat.  

Miz Melny reminds Sam/Jesse that they go to the cemetery every Saturday.  Yet, if you check a calendar for 1955, August 8 was actually on a Monday.  Did they get their days of the week confused?

If Charles Trafford was the governor of the state, and both Miz Melny and Jesse go to the cemetery every Saturday, why was the gravesite in such a state of disrepair?  Did someone else dump weeds from a grave of a loved one onto the grave of Charles Trafford?  Where were the groundskeepers?

If a hologram is a three dimensional image, how could he cast a shadow in the kitchen when Sam is cooking chitlins, or a reflection on Ms. Malanie's car outside of the hospital?

Sam is supposedly a medical doctor, but why would he move Nell from where she was at after a minimal assessment?  If she had a spinal injury, moving her would have paralyzed her.

Al had told Sam that the railroad is the Alabama and Pacific.  As the train approaches the crossing, several good angles of the engine are given, but none of the artwork on the train shows a star.  Yet there's one on the front of the locomotive, right above and to the left of the cowcatcher (behind the ladder).  A symbolic gesture, perhaps, or a clever reference to the StarBright Project?

Al, as a hologram, doesn't physically exist where Sam is . . . yet how is his coat able to brush up against the cot that Sam's sitting on?

When Sam was leaving the jail, why could we see his reflection in the door windows and not Jesse?





Quotable Quotes:

Sam: Once you've seen the light, you cannot go back into the darkness.

Al:  I've seen things that would curl your hair - no pun intended.

Clayton:  I swear you got ears like a hawk. Miz Melny:  I'm old, not dead.

Al:  Now, what am I forgetting?
Sam:  How sick this is making me!

Sam:  Are you crazy?
Willis:  Not as crazy as you are, or at least that's what people are going to say if they see you in here talking to yourself.

Miz Melny:  Somebody has lowered the wick in your brain.

Sam:  You're getting a little paranoid.
Al:  How do you think I've lived this long?

Nurse Ethel:  He's crazy as a loon, Sheriff . . . talks to himself.

Al:  Pull into the cemetery, dammit!
Miz Melny:  Thank you, Charles, but you didn't have to swear.

Sam:  Is sex all you ever think about?
Al:  Well, except when I'm pulling you outta the fire, yes!
Sam:  Well ya got me there Al.

Miz Melny:  Sometimes I think they switched babies on me.

Synopsis & Review:

Scenes from previous Leaps flash by as Sam, trapped somewhere in space and time, talks about how he has become adjusted to Quantum Leaping.  For him, it is fun stepping into someone else's shoes.  He mentions that he has saved two lives, a pig, fought for the faith of a nun and against the mob, put together three couples, a father and daughter, and help wrote the lyrics to Peggy Sue.

When the blue light of Quantum energy fades, Sam finds himself standing in a small restaurant.  Dining booths are lined up against a wall and by the windows near the door.  A lunch counter stretches throughout the length of the diner with mounted stools for people to sit on.  The place is packed, except for one stool that looks very inviting . . .

Ceiling fans spin as Sam looks around, thinking to himself that, now that he's arrived, he has to figure out who's shoes he's wearing and the path that he's walking.  He reasons that he should grab something to eat since he's at a restaurant.

Sam moves to the lunch counter and sits down on a stool, grabbing a menu.  Everyone within the room, including those sitting at the booths, look on in total shock.  The place becomes instantly quiet . . . so quiet that one could literally hear a pin drop.

As he gazes into the mirror, Sam is so fascinated by the fact that he has Leaped into an African American that he has totally forgotten about those around him.  He comments to himself, saying that it's got to be some kind of a mistake, only to be interrupted by two people who get up from one of the booths.  Billy Joe tells Sam that it is the biggest mistake that he will ever make.

Sam turns around to look at them as the one who spoke grabs Sam's arm and pulls him up off of the stool.  A dark haired woman, wearing a yellow waitress outfit, tells the two boys to stop because she doesn't want to spend the afternoon cleaning up blood.  She asks "Jesse", as if searching for support, and Sam agrees with her.

She pulls out a small brown paper bag and hands it to Sam, telling him to take Miss Melanie's lunch and get out of there before those boys lose what little control they have.  Sam grabs the bag, but stammers as he makes his way out of the restaurant.

Walking out of the door, Sam stops and again looks around him.  The town square is of a moderate size.  Old cars are parked at various parking spots, and a few drive by on the streets.  Residents are well dressed, milling about on the sidewalks . . . but all of them are caucasian.

Sam pulls out a hankerchief and wipes the sweat from his face.  He turns around toward the restaurant to look at the reflection of his host again, an older African American with a gray mustache and curly gray hair.  Just beyond the reflection, one of the two who had antagonized Sam within the restaurant walks up and glares at him menacingly.

Sam begins to walk away, musing to himself that he didn't know where he was, but it was obviously too far south to be a black man.  The sound of an old woman's voice attracts his attention.  She calls out the name of Jesse Tyler, telling him to come over this instant.  Sam turns and sees her, and then wonders if he's there to help her cross the street, get her cat down out of a tree . . . or deliver a lunch.

Sam puts the hat within his hand on top of his head as he crosses the street to her, instantly calling her Miss Melanie as he walks up.  She berates him for leaving her standing there in all of the heat.  She was going to Sumpter's for five minutes, and all he had to do was pick up her lunch.  She then begins to rattle on about how she can't figure out why the egg salad was so good.

Sam walks over to the car and peers in through the passenger side window, spotting the keys in the ignition.  Sam thinks that today isn't going to be a good day until he tests the car door and realizes that it's unlocked.  He tells Miz Melny that he had left the car open for her, but she promptly berates him again.  Sam opens the car door for her so she can get inside, and she orders him to roll down the windows with how hot it is.

After closing the car door, with Miz Melny inside, Sam walks around to the driver's side and gets in.  He looks into the rear view mirror, and Miz Melny asks what he's staring at.  Sam quickly covers, asking where they were going.  Miz Melny replies that she's the one who is supposed to be getting old and senile, and tells him to stop looking at her like a lost sheep and drive.

Sam again covers, this time coming up with a story about how he fell down, hit his head, and has been having problems remembering ever since that time.  Miz Melny berates him for swearing in front of her, then the fact that he had never told her about hitting his head.  She starts in as if she is going to mention a third thing, but hesitates as if the memory is lost.

Taking advantage of the momentary lapse, Sam reminds her that she was going to tell him where they were going.  She reminds him that they are going where they have gone every Saturday afternoon for the past 7 years - to see Charles.  Sam is a bit puzzled by this, and Miz Melny's frustration gets the best of her as she finally gives in and provides the directions.  A  knowing smile crosses Sam's lips as he starts up the engine and drives away.

*****

As Sam is driving, he muses about how comfortable he seems to be within this Leap . . . within the aura of Jesse Tyler.  He has accepted being Jesse, but now has the task of trying to figure out what he is there to do.  Miz Melny is sitting forward in the rear of the vehicle, her arms resting on the seat back from the front seat, watching Sam drive.

She takes her foldable fan and taps Sam's right arm, asking how long he is going to let the turn signal blink.  Sam turns it off as she notes that he had made the turn five minutes ago.  Sam apologizes, saying that his mind was wandering.  Miz Melny comes back, telling Sam to let his mind wander in his own car and to stop running down her car's battery.  Sam tries to correct her about how the power is generated for the turn signal, but she promptly cuts him off.  Miz Melny says that Charles had told her quite a bit about cars
and how they work, so she doesn't need him telling her anything about her own car.

Sam begins to put the pieces together and realizes that Charles is her husband.  Miz Melny retorts, wondering if Sam has lost his mind.  She reminds him to watch the wheels on the railroad tracks, and instructs him to take a turn just past the crossing, taking them through a pair of iron gates.  Miz Melny warns him to stop with his "Tom foolery" or she is going to get flustered, and she hates to see her husband when she's flustered.

Sam pulls up along a curb as Miz Melny sounds downtrodden, saying that it's all gone to seed.  Sam opens up the rear door and helps Miz Melny out as she complains that they never keep the weeds away.

They walk through a cemetery to a gray obelisk headstone engraved with the last name Trafford.  Miz Melny falls to her knees and immediately begins to pull at the weeds, telling Sam how they had promised her that they would take good care of the gravesite and clear the weeds.

Sam immediately moves over and kneels down beside her, asking her to allow him to clear the weeds away.  His compassion is clearly evident as he looks at her and helps her to her feet, and then over to a bench.  For a moment, a grateful smile appears on Miz Melny's lips.

Sam says that she got her gloves dirty and helps to clean them off, and then sets to work on removing the weeds.  She admits that she gets flustered knowing that her husband isn't being taken care of after how they had taken such good care of each other for over 50 years.

In a thoughtful moment, Sam notes that it's hard to lose someone that you love.  Miz Melny agrees, realizing that Jesse would know just as much about it as she did because his wife, Sally, lost four children.  She goes on and states that her husband had always thought highly of Sally, commenting that there was never a finer Negro woman in all of Alabama when she died.

Hearing this comment brings Sam to a sudden stop in his work for a moment.  It is almost as if he's in shock from hearing that Jesse's wife had died, or that something else touched him deep down inside . . . something with a more personal connection that he can't fully get a grasp on due to the holes in his memory.

With a weak smile, Sam regains his composure and tells Miz Melny that he's going to throw the weeds in the trash.  He begins to walk away, turning back once to look at her over his shoulder out of concern.

As he moves through the cemetery, Sam hears Al's voice as he mentions that they didn't supply trash cans in public places in the 1950s . . . and it wasn't until the 1970s that the Pitch In campaign was started.  Sam asks Al what he thinks, but Al tries to play dumb and has a knowing attitude about him.  Sam is excited about the Leap and the fact that he bounced into a Black man, theorizing that the possibilities are limitless, and then asks Al if he
finds it fascinating.

Al retorts, stating that the Leap is a dangerous one, but is undecided as to whether or not it's fascinating.  He reminds Sam that he's a Black man in the south in 1955, and again says that it's dangerous.  He notes that he's seen things to curl his hair, making it obvious that Al can only see the aura of the person that Sam has Leaped into, not his best friend.

Al begins to recollect something from his past in Selma, Alabama, but Sam cuts him off, asking what Ziggy projects what he needs to do in order to Leap.  As Al pulls out the handlink, Sam disposes of the weeds near a headstone, and then brushes himself off.

Punching up the data on the small device, Al reads off that Miz Melny Elizabeth Charlotte Trafford was killed when her car was struck and demolished by a passenger train on the railroad crossing by the cemetery.  The accident would happen on August 9 at 5:18pm.  Sam has trouble believing it, but Al says that Ziggy is 86.7% certain that Sam is there to save Miz Melny from getting squished by a choo-choo.

Sam turns around to face his friend and asks if Jesse was killed.  Al informs him that Ziggy is having problems finding anything on Jesse . . . a birth certificate or a death certificate.  His words dripping with sarcasm, Sam comments that he has replaced a person who doesn't exist.  Al quickly covers, explaining that it wasn't uncommon for there to be no records for southern Black men in the 1950s, especially in small towns.

Al recalls that some of the first civil rights protests started near the area where Sam is now at, and tells Sam about the first Black female that integrated the University of Alabama.  Sam is incredulous and asks Al how he knows so much about it.  Al replies that all of his friends are black, but Sam is disbelieving.  Al tells him that it's true.  He had gone on the marches, was arrested and beaten, and saw a lot of good people fall during
those powerful days.

Sam wonders if getting involved in the civil rights movement is what he is there to do.  Al tries to dissuade him, but Sam is more optimistic.  As the sound of a train whistle blares in the background, both men look toward the tracks and Al reminds Sam that he is there to keep Miz Melny from being killed by the Alabama and Pacific.

*****

Miz Melny walks through the screen door to her home with Sam close behind her, carrying two brown bags of groceries and holding a small plant within one hand and a box in another.  Miz Melny is talking about the jade tree and how it came from California.  A male is sitting within the living room, reading the paper.  He gets up from his seat and walks over to Sam and Miz Melny, addressing Sam as Jesse.

Miz Melny instructs Sam to put the jade in some water until it gets a chance to root.  Then she turns to Clayton, her son, and tells him that he's early and dinner isn't until 6pm.  Clayton tells her that he was coming by to talk to Jesse.  Miz Melny tells him that he can talk to Jesse after he has put the Jade in some water, but is curious as to what he wants to talk to Jesse about.  Clayton tells her that it's nothing for her to worry about, and then turns to Sam telling him that they'll talk in the kitchen.

Sam gives a weak smile, and then moves toward that room, putting the paper bags on the counter.  Clayton informs Sam that he upset nearly the entire town with the business he did today.  Sam's response indicates that he isn't sure what Clayton is talking about, but Clayton tells Sam not to act dumb.  He reminds Sam about how he sat down at Miss Patty's today.

Sam rationalized that he sat down to have some lunch because he was at a lunch counter.  Clayton doesn't believe him and asks why he would do something so stupid, and then uses vulgar language to ask if he has another African American with a lot of ideas staying with him.  Sam doesn't believe so, and Clayton tells him that he can't figure it out since Jesse can't read.  Sam again tells him that he was hungry, but Clayton gets angry and, in a stern voice, advises Sam not to get that hungry.

The two look at each other for an awkward moment as the tension builds between them.  Sam moves forward and Clayton moves back, almost as if he is afraid that Sam is going to assault him.  Sam then takes the jade that he had put in water and puts it on another counter.  Instead of risking the outcome of another heated conversation, Clayton hastily leaves the kitchen.

*****

Walking back into the main area of the house, Miz Melny tells Clayton to bring some buttermilk from Mr. Sumpter's when he comes back for supper.  Clayton walks up to her and tells her that they need to talk.  Miz Melny continues working on her cross stitch as she says that she doesn't care what Jesse did at Miss Patty's.  Clayton comments that she has ears like a hawk. 
She points out that she's old, not dead.

Clayton removes his hat and reminds her that she is the widow of a governor of the state, and when a servant starts to get "uppity", people take notice. Miz Melny puts down her cross stitch as she turns to look at him.  She addresses him sternly, telling him that he doesn't need to lecture her as she knows who she was married to and the responsibilities that go with it.  Clayton asks her if she will be responsible if Jesse steps out of bounds again.  Miz Melny picks up her cross stitch again and tells him flatly to forget the buttermilk.

As Clayton leaves, Miz Melny puts drops her cross stitch and puts her hands to her head as she rises to her feet.  She puts her hands on a coffee table in front of her as she calls out for Jesse.  Sam rushes into the room and asks if she's all right, and then helps her to sit back down.  Miz Melny looks a little off kilter, but tells him that she's fine.  She explains that Clayton gets riled and bothered about things that aren't his concern, and it makes her head swell.

Sam asks if she's dizzy, to which she replies yes.  He holds up a finger in front of her eyes and asks her to watch it, but Miz Melny promptly asks him what he is doing.  Sam explains that he is just checking to see if she is okay.  Miz Melny wonders when he got a medical degree, forcing Sam to cover by stating that he has done some doctoring in his time.

Miz Melny advises Sam to keep his colored voodoo to himself, then asks him to get her a glass of lemonade and insists that she'll be fine.  As Sam walks away, Miz Melny closes her eyes and lets out a long sigh . . .

*****

Sam is holding a glass and tipping a pitcher within the kitchen, pouring lemonade into the glass.  A knock attracts Sam's attention and he walks over to the screen door.  He sees a young African American woman standing on the other side.  She tells him that she's proud of him.  Sam opens up the screen door and doesn't seem to believe it.  She tells him that she is, with all of her heart.

The sound of Miz Melny's voice can be heard asking where her lemonade is.  The young woman remarks that Miz Melny is going to run him ragged, and then asks if she's going to keep him late.  Sam replies that he doesn't know, but he'll find out when he takes her the lemonade.  He smiles at her and starts to move away, going back to look at her once more and telling her that he'll be right back.

*****

Sam walks into the main part of the house and Miz Melny asks if Nell is here to take him home.  Sam hands her the glass and responds that he guesses so.  She mentions that she meant to get him to work on a leaky faucet that keeps her awake all night, but says that he can work on it first thing tomorrow.

Once more, Sam asks if Miz Melny is okay and notes that he doesn't like leaving her alone.  Miz Melny tells him to let his granddaughter take him home and stop worrying about her, and then adds that Clayton will be coming over for dinner.  She bids him a good night, and he returns the gesture of good will.  Sam begins to leave, but pauses for a moment and turns around to look at Miz Melny.

*****

A maroon car travels down a country road.  Nell is behind the wheel and asks him about what happened earlier.  Sam somewhat dismisses it, but Nell presses on saying how everyone was talking about the incident at Miss Patty's.  Sam agreed that it seemed like the talk of the town.  Nell wonders what it felt like, to which Sam simply replies that it felt like sitting down to eat.  Nell notes that it's about time that someone shook up the white folks in the town and reminded them what century they were living in.

As Nell continues to drive, a yellow pickup truck emerges from alongside the road, cleverly concealed by a bunch of trees.  There are two individuals within the truck, which begins to follow the car that Sam and Nell are in.

Nell continues on, saying that she will sit at the lunch counter someday, drink from the white fountain, ride in the front of the bus, and do everything else that will make the white folks mad.  Sam catches this and asks her if she wants to do it just to make them mad.  She quickly answers yes, and then adds that it's right.

A slight bump causes Sam to reach for the dashboard to steady himself.  He asks Nell if she always drives this fast.  Nell tells him that her dad would have a fit if he knew that she was driving over 35mph, but she has to get him home early so he can cook.  Sam knows nothing about it and parrots her last word, turning it into a question.  Nell asks if he's going senile on him and reminds him that he promised to cook chitlins for the church picnic.

*****

Sam muses to himself that he thought chitlins were one of those rare southern delicacies that taste as good as they sound, but never realized that they were pig intestines.  For him, the smell was something that had hung around too long in autopsy class.

A mass is within the sink , with Sam's hands hovering over it.  The expression on his face clearly indicates that he is not enjoying the smell and is struggling to keep himself from upchucking.  In the background, Nell and her parents sit at the table.  Her mother comments that someone would have to certify her as crazy before she eats someone's chitlins, no matter how many times they clean up.

Sam puts the intestines within a steaming pot, and mentions that he may have lost his taste for them himself.  Reverend Willis Tyler asks Sam if he's okay since he looks a little pale.  Sam tries to brush it off, saying he's a little tired.  Al appears next to the pot and revels once he notices what Sam is making.  Although he is a hologram, he takes a whiff as if he could smell what was cooking.

Nell finishes chopping the greens and gets up from the table, telling Sam that she's done and then calling her mother over.  Sam turns around and asks if they're going to help.  Nell's mother notes that she promised Nell that she would help her finish her dress, followed by Willis who gets up and says that he has to work on his Sunday sermon.  Sam begins to stammer, but Willis tells him that he shouldn't have volunteered if he didn't want to do it.

Sam is left standing there alone, and Al tells him not to worry because he has a killer recipe for chitlins.

*****

The concoction in the pot looks somewhat like a solid witches brew.  Al looks down at it and comments that this is when he hates being a hologram.  To him, the smell of chitlins and greens cooking is like a religious experience.  Sam retorts, saying that he feels like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Al ignores him and starts to rattle through a list of ingredients. When he gets to hog maw, Sam cuts him off to make sure he was talking about animal stomach.  Al gives an affirmative reply, telling him that it should be chopped finely.  He tries to recall some more and rhetorically asks what he is forgetting.  Sam quips about how sick it's making him.

Al tells Sam to give him a little gratitude since he's busting his brains out to remember a recipe, but he can't even taste it.  Sam tells Al to trust him as he will be able to taste all he wants.  Al gets a brilliant idea from this, telling Sam to taste the stock as he should be able to tell what is missing.  Sam asks Al if he's crazy.

Right at that moment, a voice is heard telling Sam that it's not as crazy as he is, or at least that's what people will think if they find him talking to himself.  The voice belongs to Willis, who walks through the door into the kitchen.  Sam tries to cover, saying that talking to himself helps him when he's cooking.  Willis assumes that being crazy might have been behind what happened at Miss Patty's.

Al jumps in and asks what went on, to which Sam replies that nothing happened.  Willis again assumes that Sam is talking to him, reiterating what Nell had told her about how he had walked into Miss Patty's and sat down at the lily white counter as bold as he pleased.  Al is disbelieving, but Sam affirms that it's true.  Al tells Sam that they have to have a serious talk, while Willis goes on and lectures him about how he can't try and change something that a bunch of rednecks have been taught since the day they were born.

Willis begs Sam not to sit at lunch counters, and Sam gives him a smile in response.  He then taste tests the chitlins and tells Sam that it needs a little more salt.  He bids Sam goodnight, and then walks out of the room.  Al is almost beside himself about how Sam had promised that he would lay low, save Miz Melny, and then Leap out.  Sam tells Al that he didn't know he was Black, but he still had a right to sit at that lunch counter either way.  Al explains that wasn't the case in 1955.

Sam again insists that he is probably there to help further the civil rights cause, but Al defeats that, telling him that Ziggy has the train wreck figured to a 96.2% certainty.  Sam suggests that maybe he can do both, to which Al tells him that he's out of his league.  Al walks away, but Sam points out that he sat at that counter because he was hungry.  People went nuts because they saw him as a Black man and not as a hungry man, and that was wrong.

Sam is about to continue as a scream pierces the air.  He runs out of the kitchen, only to find that a cross is planted in the front lawn and is set ablaze.  The two individuals he tangled with in Miss Patty's diner laugh as the get back into the pickup and speed away.  Nell cries out that they have no right, but Willis rushes forward and holds her back.  Nell then goes up to Sam and cries in his arms.

*****

Sam is walking down a street within the town talking to the Sheriff, asking why there is no need to do anything.  The Sheriff tries to blow it off, telling Sam to go home, clean up his yard, and they'll forget about all of this.  Sam informs him that he could identify the two . . . Toad and Billy Joe.  The Sheriff again tries to brush it off, this time laughing that those two are boys and they are just being mischievous.  Sam argues that burning a cross on someone's lawn is being mischievous.

As they walk up the stairs to a building, the Sheriff tries to change the subject, countering that he should have thought about that before he sat down on a stool at Miss Patty's.  With a more determined tone in his voice, Sam again asks about Toad and Billy Joe.  The Sheriff tells him to leave his son to him, and he'll talk with him and Toad.  Sam turns as if to walk away, but turns back and says that it doesn't end with this.  The Sheriff replies that it's entirely up to him, and then disappears through the door.

Toad and Billy Joe are walking down the street and stop as they spot Sam.  They watch as he walks over to the water fountain marked for whites only and drinks out of it, and then proceeds to cool his face by shaking his head and then wiping his brow.  Toad tells Billy Joe that Sam has gone too far and is about to cross the street to confront him when Billy Joe holds him back, advising him not to do it here.

Pulling out a handkerchief, Sam wipes his face dry and then walks away, oblivious to what he has just done . . .

*****

Water flows from a fountain in front of Miz Melny's house.  Her voice is heard complaining that she doesn't have a drop of water in her kitchen, unable to cook or to wash.  Sam is crouched down under the sink, trying to work on the plumbing.  Miz Melny is in a kneeling position next to him, watching as he tightens a fastener, and then opens the valve.

For a moment, it looks as if Sam's repair will hold, but then a stream of water sprays through two joints in the upper section of the pipe, getting Sam wet and startling Miz Melny.  He's laughing as he shuts off the valve and retreats, saying that the pipe is broken.  He pulls out the handkerchief again, noting that they will have to get a new one as he wipes down his face.  Miz Melny tells him that it can wait until after tea, and then gets up to move into the dining area.  Sam then gets up and follows her.

Miz Melny sits at the head of the table as Sam brings over a tray with the tea and cups.  He starts to pull out settings for both of them, and a shocked Miz Melny asks what he is doing.  Sam said that he thought he would join her since she made tea for both of them.  Miz Melny points out that someone has lowered the wick in his brain since she makes tea every afternoon and he always drinks it in the kitchen.

Sam tries to counter, saying that it seems like good manners to sit and share her company when she was kind enough to make the tea for them.  Miz Melny says that she can't have tea with him. When Sam asks why, she explains that coloreds and whites don't eat at the same table.  Sam wonders if she wants to eat with her, who says that she can't?  She firmly tells him that she is the one who says that she can't.  Sam again asks why, to which she notes that it is the way things are and they way they have always been.  Sam suggests that it might be time for things to change.

A knock interrupts their discussion and Miz Melny asks Sam to answer the door, leaving the conversation unfinished with a lot of things for both to think about . . . especially Miz Melny.

*****

Sam walks away and sees Nell at the back screen door waiting for him.  He notes that he forgot to tell her that he's going to drive Miz Melny's car home tonight.  Nell doesn't believe that she will let him drive it to their place, but Sam reveals that he has to work on the engine.

Nell wonders what Sam is up to, but he denies that he's up to anything and tells her to go ahead.  Nell brushes it off and says that she's late for choir practice as it is.  She walks away and Sam goes back inside, intent on finishing his conversation with Miz Melny.

*****

Standing within the dining area, Miz Melny turns around when Sam returns to the room, immediately blurting out the word hogwash.  Sam is confused and asks for clarification, to which she tells him that what he had been talking about was hogwash and nobody is going to change the way things are.  Sam insists that they will and Blacks . . .

Miz Melny interrupts Sam and asks him about that term.  Sam clarifies, saying that is what African Americans will be called instead of Negro.  Miz Melny wonders what is so bad about being called a Negro, but Sam points out that it is a little too close to the vulgar term Nigger.  Miz Melny seems offended and defends herself, saying that she has never used that word in front of his face or behind his back.

She goes on to state that when he sat down at Miss Patty's counter, she figured that he was getting old or it slipped his mind, but now she is beginning to think that he is crazy.  Now it's Sam's turn to feel offended, pointing out that he's not the one who's burning crosses in front of people's homes.

*****

Nell is singing a gospel song as she is driving along, trying to get to choir practice.  Her voice fills the vehicle with an incredible range, mainly covering the alto range, but occasionally going up into the soprano scale.

Toad and Billy Joe are sitting in the truck, waiting for Jesse's car to drive past.  Toad sounds worried, telling Billy Joe that he isn't going to kill him, and rehashes a story about a friend who had to move to Georgia for doing something similar.  Billy Joe tries to explain that they're just going to whack him back into place, but not kill him.

Oblivious as to what is about to happen, Nell continues to sing while she is driving.  She reaches the same curving stretch of road where Toad and Billy Joe had hidden the truck the day before to follow them home.

Billy Joe starts up the truck and pulls out, blocking Nell's path.  She screams and turns the steering wheel hard to the right to avoid a collision, but it sends the car careening off the road.  The car becomes airborne and flips over before landing on the passenger side in a ditch.

Billy Joe remarks how Nigger can't drive any better than a mule.  Toad tries to get out, wanting to check on Nell to make sure she's okay, but Billy Joe pulls him back inside and says that they have to get out of there.  They speed off, leaving the scene of the accident and an injured and bleeding Nell
to certain death.

*****

Sam tells Miz Melny that change can be bloody or peaceful.  She can make a difference since people in the town respect her.  If she changes, then others might too.  Instead of addressing what he had just said, Miz Melny complains that the tea is cold, and then asks if he is going to fix her leak or not.  The expression on Sam's face is clearly one of frustration at her avoidance of the issue, but he straightens up and tells her that he will have to go into town and get a new pipe.

Miz Melny gets up and starts walking out of the dining room, telling Sam that she has to get her pocketbook.  Well aware of Miz Melny's fate, Sam goes after her and tells her that she can't go because it's too hot today.  She counters, telling him that she isn't going to melt, and that she also has to start at Pap's pharmacy and get some things.  Sam offers to get them for her.  Miz Melny blurts out that they're personal.

Still desperately trying to keep Miz Melny from going out, Sam stammers as he tells her that he thinks that he can fix the pipe without going out to get a new one.  Miz Melny picks up her purse and pulls the keys out of it, countering that she will drive herself.  Sam immediately tells her no and wrestles the car keys out of her hands.  He points out that if she is that set on going, he'll drive her.

As Sam walks off to get his coat, Miz Melny looks on in shock . . .

*****

Sam again muses to himself, saying that he has a knot in his stomach the size of Ziggy's control mouse.  Even though they were driving away from the tracks, it wouldn't go away.

Sam is clearly uneasy as he looks out over the road while he's driving.  The trees on the passenger side parts, revealing the wreckage of a car.  Miz Melny cries out to Sam, asking him if that is Willis' car.  Sam immediately turns around to look, and quickly brings the vehicle to a stop.  He backs up and gets out, running down the embankment.

As he gets closer, he can see that Nell is laying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding.  Sam immediately attends to her as Miz Melny gets out and asks if Nell is okay.  Sam quickly examines Nell and pulls out his handkerchief, wrapping it around her forehead.  He tells Miz Melny that Nell has a severe laceration and he has to stop the hemorrhaging.  He then pulls her out from the wreckage and orders Miz Melny to get back in the
car.

Miz Melny obliges as Sam makes his way back up the embankment with Nell in his arms.  He puts Nell in the back seat with Miz Melny, who quickly notes that there is a lot of blood.  Sam tells her that they have to get Nell to a hospital and quickly runs around the front of the car to the driver's seat.  As he gets in, he advises Miz Melny to keep pressure on Nell's wound.

Sam starts up the car and immediately turns it around, heading back the way they came.  Miz Melny tries to comfort Nell, telling her that she will be fine, and then looks up and notices the direction they're traveling in.  Miz Melny promptly asks him where they are going, to which Sam replies that he's driving to the hospital on the other side of the cemetery.

Miz Melny points out that Rigada is a white hospital and they won't take Nell as a patient.  The only colored hospital is in Vaida.  Sam asks which one is closest, and Miz Melny admits that Rigada is.  She again insists that they won't take her, but Sam is determined to get her to the nearest medical treatment.

The car approaches the railroad crossing that Al had warned Sam about.  He stops the car and looks in both directions, making sure the coast is clear before continuing.  Sam pulls the car to a screeching stop in the arching driveway leading to the front doors of the hospital.  He quickly gets out and runs around to the passenger side of the car, opening the rear door.  Miz Melny informs him that Nell feels cold, but Sam says that they are going to fix that as he gently lifts Nell up into his arms.

A couple of nurses are outside by the entrance to the hospital and spot all of the commotion.  They run inside and get a gurney, rolling it out to the edge of the steps.  A male doctor also comes out, but he gestures to the nursing staff to hold their positions.  Sam immediately reveals that Nell is in shock, lost a lot of blood, possibly severed a temporal artery, and will need a transfusion.

Sam is about to go on when he realizes the medical staff isn't rushing to help her.  Sam asks them what they are waiting for.  The male, who is robably a doctor, tells Sam that they don't accept colored at the hospital. 
Sam retorts, saying that they're going to be even sorrier if they don't help Nell.  One nurse whispers to the doctor that she is going to call the Sheriff.

The doctor again tells Sam that it is against the law, but Sam tells him to hell with the law.  At that point, when all seems hopeless, Miz Melny emerges from the car and asks the doctor if he is Judelia Parker's son.  He delivers a quick and respectful affirmative.  Miz Melny then tells him that he should know who she is.  Dr. Parker replies yes.  Miz Melny orders him to help Nell.

The medical staff hesitates while Dr. Parker looks at Miz Melny for what seems like eternity.  Sam looks back toward Miz Melny and smiles at her.  The tension breaks as Dr. Parker tells the staff to get Nell inside.  Sam quickly walks up the stairs and gently puts Nell on the gurney.  Dr. Parker orders an IV and a cross-match.

Sam moves with the gurney as if to go inside, but Miz Melny stops him, telling him that it's best that he waits outside and she'll make sure Nell is taken care of.  No sooner do the words escape from her lips, Miz Melny also disappears through the door, which closes in front of Sam, revealing the reflection of Jesse.

Sam turns around, breathing a sigh of relief, and begins to walk down the stairs.

*****

Nurse Ethel watches Sam through a window as he's seemingly talking to himself.

What she doesn't see is the holographic Al, who notes that he doesn't know how he managed to pull it off.  Sam tells him that it was Miz Melny who got the bigoted idiot to do something.  Al suggests that he gets Miz Melny, puts her in the car, and drive away.  When Sam asks why, Al tells him that he's got 23 minutes until that train will hit her.

Sam is somewhat disbelieving that putting Miz Melny in the car will save her from her fate, but Al insists that he should go in the opposite direction of the train crossing.  Sam tells Al that he's getting paranoid, but Al retorts, asking how does Sam think that he lived this long.  Al goes on to state that he has a bad feeling about this.  Sam comments that Al always has a bad feeling.

At that very instant, the sound of a siren fills the air, and a police car
comes into view, pulling into the driveway by the hospital.  Nurse Ethel steps out of the hospital as Sheriff Blount gets out of his car.  She tells him that Sam's the one.  Sam puts his jacket back on as the Sheriff warns him about causing any more trouble.  Sam points out that all he was doing was bringing someone to the hospital who needed medical assistance.  Nurse Ethel promptly points out that it was a Negro girl.  Sheriff Blount tells him that
he broke the segregation law, to which Sam asks if he was supposed to just let her bleed to death.

The Sheriff says no, and Sam echos that sentiment.  He starts to move away as the Sheriff pulls out his handcuffs and slaps one on Sam's right wrist.  Sam asks the Sheriff what he's doing as the other handcuff if applied.  Al urges that Sam has to get out of this, to which Sam replies that he's trying.  Nurse Ethel walks down the stairs to the hospital, saying that Sam is crazy as a loon and talks to himself.

Sam struggles and pleads to the Sheriff, but he won't hear of it.  Sheriff Blount warns that Sam had better ease up or he'll have to get rough.  Sam relents, but asks the Sheriff for one condition. Curious, Sheriff Blount asks what it is.  Sam starts in, asking that Miz Melny not be allowed to leave the hospital, no matter how much she wants to . . . and then hesitates until Al jumps in and suggests 20 minutes.  Sam then finishes his request, stating half an hour.

Sheriff Blount asks Nurse Ethel to enforce Sam's request, no matter how crazy it sounds.  She agrees, and Sam is led away into the squad car.  As Sheriff Blount pulls away, Miz Melny exits out of the front door of the hospital with good news . . . that Nell is going to be just fine.  She is under the impression that Sam is still out there until she looks around and asks where he is.  Nurse Ethel tells Miz Melny that the Sheriff arrested him, and Al comments that pig-butt turned him in.

Miz Melny asks what Sam was arrested for, and Nurse Ethel points out that it was because he brought a Negro girl to the hospital.  Miz Melny then states that Sheriff Blount will just have to arrest her as well, and begins to walk down the stairs to her car.  Al comments that he wouldn't do that.

Nurse Ethel tells Miz Melny that Sheriff Blount wants her to wait at the hospital.  Defiant. Miz Melny tells her that he's in for a surprise.  She then closes the rear passenger door and proceeds to walk around to the driver's side.  Al, at first, encourages Miz Melny, and then takes it back as he realizes what he's saying.  He tries to talk to her, forgetting that he's a hologram, and then prays that Sam has the key to the car in his pocket.

That prayer is soon dashed as the engine of the car roars to life.  Al again continues his desperate plea, telling her that they have a problem . . . and then realizes that she can't hear him.  Despite this, as Miz Melny puts the car in reverse, Al rattles on, telling her not to back up and then asking what he's going to do.  Miz Melny backs the car up onto the curb as Al begs her to wait for Jesse, and reminds her that the Sheriff told her to wait for 30 minutes.

Frustrated, Al moves out in front of the car and orders Miz Melny to stop, waving his arms as if trying to attract her attention.  She can't see or hear him, so Miz Melny shifts the car into gear and drives right through the holographic Al.  Once the car has completely passed through him, Al puts his hands to his head and says to never mind.

*****

Personal Review by Stephanie <AKA> TVNewsCam:
The Color of Truth is often said to be a controversial episode, mainly
because of the topic it covered (racial segregation) and how it dealt with this issue.  It is a bold move, for a first season episode, on the part of the creative team behind the series . . . a gamble which paid off.

Despite the controversy, the Color of Truth remains as one of the most powerful episodes throughout the entire 5-year run.  The message contained within is a simple one, yet very effective.

Segregation is the unwillingness to accept an individual based on their differences, thus creating a situation where they are, in a way, shunned.  The episode effectively shows the emotional trauma caused as a result of segregation, as well as some of the hate crimes committed, and indifference from those in a position of authority.  Bottom line:  segregation, in any form, is wrong.

Sam serves as the voice of reason, and the light of truth.  Before Leaping through time, he lived in a period where the principle right of the Constitution was upheld . . . that "all men were created equal."  Although he tries to manage, Sam can't help but to try and change the minds of those who he encounters.  It's a little more problematic than it would seem, since most people have difficulty accepting such a radical change that goes against  everything that has been ingrained into their psyche since birth.  As Sam learns, he can't rush changes of that nature . . . he has to do it one person, one heart at a time.

Although the episode deals exclusively with racism, one could expand the same message across all boundaries - racial, gender, disability, etc. 

The Color of Truth accomplishes one other important aspect.  By having Sam Beckett Leap into an African American, this opens the floodgates of creativity.  It breaks all of the preconceived boundaries that may have existed with the episodes that aired prior to this one, thus allowing for further Earth-shattering Leaps - into people from other races, into people with disabilities, into women, into a chimp, etc.

Had the series continued for a 6th season or beyond, I firmly believe that there would have been some more Leaps that would have stretched the limits of our imagination.

Quantum Leap Podcast

In the sixth installment of The Quantum Leap Podcast, Albie and Heather discuss Season one episode “The Color of Truth”. There’s first impressions, an episode recap, thoughts and opinions, listener feedback.

Let us know what you think… Leave us a voicemail by calling (707)847-6682 and Send in your thoughts, theories and feedback, Send MP3s & Email to quantumleappodcast@gmail.com

Quantum Leap Podcast: The Color Of Truth