"Double Identity"

Leap Date:

November 8, 1965

Episode adopted by: Albingo

Synopsis:

Before "The Sopranos", there was Sam Beckett in the life of Frankie LaPalma, a Mafia hitman with the boss's girlfriend Teresa on the side.

Don Geno is on to him and no amout of "Volare" can get him out of it.

Meanwhile, Al and the project are trying again to retrieve him and they speculate that Sam must duplicate the events of his leap-in for the retrieval process to work.

Then in a second leap within the same situation, Sam has to put things right in an entirely different way.

Audio from this episode
Video from this episode (Volare)

Place
Leap Date
Project Date
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Songs
Music Artists
Project Trivia
Sam Trivia
Al Trivia
Al's Women
Miscellaneous Trivia
Kiss with History
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Writers
Director
Producers
Crew
Broadcast Date
Guest Stars
Guest Cast Notes
Guests who appeared in other Quantum Leap episodes
Cast members who have passed away
Personal Review
Best Lines
Best Scenes
Say what? (things in the episode that make no sense)
Quotable Quotes
Awards

Leap Dates: Monday, November 8, 1965 - Tuesday, November 9, 1965

Writer : Donald P. Bellisario

Director : Aaron Lipstadt

Producers : Donald P. Bellisario

Broadcast Date : April 21, 1989

Regular Cast : Scott Bakula (Sam), Dean Stockwell (Al)

Guest Stars :
Terri Garber (Teresa)
Michael Genovese (Don Geno Frascetti)
Joe Santos (Tony)
Tom Silardi (Segundo)
Page Moseley (Franco)
Nick Cassavetes (Primo)

Guest Cast Notes :
Michael Genovese later went on to appear in the hit hospital drama ER.

Terri Garber is most famous for playing Leslie Carrington in the soap Dynasty from 1987-88.

Nick Cassavetes has a long filmography that stretches 30 years, and most recently appeared in the film Blow with Johnny Depp.

Summary : Sam leaps into 1965 as hitman Frankie LaPalma, working for Mafia leader Don Geno Frascetti. Frankie has been seeing Don Geno's wife Teresa without his knowledge. Sam leaps in during a Italian / Mafia wedding which is steeped in all the tradition and meaning that made occasions such as weddings so important to the Mafia. However Sam has to sing the song 'Volaire' to the guests, and although Sam can speak five languages and read two dead ones, he cannot speak Italian. However, Al appears and helps Sam with the words. Soon Sam gets accustomed to the song and starts to sing solo. Al tells Sam that he is there to get Frankie La Palma to leave the Mafia.
Also Al says that Ziggy has a new theory that predicts if Sam carries out a few 'minors' tasks, then he should be able to leap straight home after he completes his mission. One of them is for Sam to cause the 1965 blackout and the other is to make love to Teresa again. However, the second time Don Geno walks in on them. Sam and Don Geno start to fight and Sam leaps. This time Sam becomes Don Geno just after the fight and Frankie has no memory as to what has just taken place. He thinks it is still the wedding from the day before. Sam then makes sure that Don Geno will not kill Frankie after he leaps out.

Personal Review: Double Identity is one of my favourite episodes of Quantum Leap. My reason for this are that I have always been a fan of mafia films i.e. The Godfather, Goodfellas etc. I think that Double Identity replicates the feelings of these films very well, and of course the second leap near the end. I was always a fan of episodes that were away from the usual Quantum Leap episode, such as the Evil Leaper trilogy.
Scott and Dean put in their usually high quality performance, and the rest of the cast adjusts itself admirably.

Miscellaneous Trivia:

This episode won an Emmy.for Hairstyling. The prize went to Virginia Kerns for her work.

Doctor Zhivago" is playing at the cinema when Sam and Frankie's family walks down the street. Dr Zhivago was one of the biggest films of 1965, and is ironically also about a love triangle.

The wedding is on a Monday, which seems a little weird. I've never heard of a major wedding taking place on that day.

When Al and Sam are in St. Francis's, even though Al is a hologram and not even there, his voice echoes?

We never see the imaging chamber door in this episode. Also there are no 'whooshing noises' to indicate that the imaging door has actually opened.


Best Scene:

Either scene is a toss up between Sam's version of Volaire and the final 'second leap' scene.


Suggestive Moments:

For some reason, every time Sam or Al mentions Sam and Teresa together in the attic, Al produces a little pocket fan.

Al mentions a Hannah Gretz who was one of Al's first lady friends. She was Al's fourth grade classmate, who he terrorized by dipping her pigtails into the inkwells. He did this until he figured out that it was more fun to take her into the schools cloakroom.


Music:

Stop in the Name of Love by Diana Ross is playing in the barbershop.
Also featured in the episode is Hang On Sloopy by the McCoys, a song about mismatched lovers.


Quotable Quotes:

"Whoever heard of one lousy hairdryer blacking out all of the East coast?" [Al Calavicci]

"If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'." [Teresa]

"Go tease some hair." [Don Geno]