4x03 "Hurricane"

Leap Date:

August 17, 1969

Episode Adopted by: Eleiece <aka> Sherdran
Additional info provided by: Brian Greene

Synopsis:

As Hurricane Camille hits the Gulf Coast in 1969, Sam is faced with the difficult choice of either saving the members of a hurricane party or his girlfriend. Or can he do both without losing his own life?

Audio from this episode

TV Guide Synopsis
Place
Leap Date
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Broadcast Date
Synopsis & Review
Music
Project Trivia
Sam Trivia
Al Trivia
Al's Women
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Miscellaneous Trivia
Bloopers
Kiss with History
Guest Stars
Guest Cast Notes
Guests Who Appeared In Other Episodes of Quantum Leap
Say What?
Quotable Quotes
Best Scene
Awards
Synopsis & Review
Production Credits
Podcasts

TV Guide Synopsis:
Sam storms into a Gulf Coast deputy sheriff and feels waves of passion for his girlfriend, a nurse who's in danger as 1969's Hurricane Camille begins to brew. Cissy: Marilyn Jones. Lisa: Tracy Kolis. Unabelle: Marjorie Lovett. Mark: Richard Grove. Sam: Scott Bakula.

Place:
Jackson Point, Mississippi

Leap Date:
August 17, 1969

Name of the Person Leaped Into:
Deputy Sheriff Archie Necaise

Broadcast Date:
October 2, 1991 - Wednesday

Synopsis & Review:

Sam leaps into Archie Necaise, the deputy sheriff of Jackson's Point, a small Mississippi town on August 17, 1969, right before Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He and his current girlfriend, Red Cross Nurse Cissy Davis (Marilyn Jones), are helping to evacuate Archie's ex-girlfriend Lisa (Tracy Kolis). Al reveals that in the original course of events that occurred on that day, Cissy was killed by debris that night when she attempted to return home. Sam and Cissy try to evacuate a ‘hurricane party’ but they refuse to leave and so the pair go to a local hurricane shelter.

Sam bond and Lisa comes back to ask Sam to be together again but Sam tries to make her understand that while ‘might have beens’ are nice for daydreaming, some things just can't be changed and she leaves. The details of Cissy's death change a few times and as Cissy is last seen leaving the house with a violent ex-boyfriend, they suspect him. In a fit of jealousy over seeing Sam and Cissy kissing, the ex lets her dog out into the storm and Cissy is determined to go home and get him. In order to save her, Sam convinces Cissy that he can evacuate the hurricane party and get her dog and that the fewest number of people possible should be out in the storm. Sam quickly manages to save the dog but finds out he only has fifteen minutes to save the party and Cissy.

Not messing around, Sam breaks through the door to the apartment and shoots into the air to convince the people to leave and hurries back to the shelter. Lisa lies about her evacuation route being cut off and tries to kill Cissy to try and win Archie back because of her deep abandonment issues that make her think she can't find anybody else who won't leave her. Sam arrives and tackles Lisa just as she is about to deliver the fatal blow to a stunned Cissy. Lisa, in turns, tries to kill Cissy, Archie, and then herself but Sam stops her and in a few years Al says she'll be fine. Sam holds off on leaping until the storm is over, everyone is gone, and he convinces Cissy to go back to school to be a psychologist. Source

Personal Review by Eleiece <aka> Sherdran:

I've always liked 'Hurricane'; it's so much like life.

Storms, hurricanes, if you will, are going to blow up in our lives, often times stirred up by things or situations beyond our control. But in life, as in this episode, there is one constant that not even a hurricane or storm of life can destroy or wash away. Love.

I'm not talking about hearts and flowers, or romantic music and dancing in the moonlight, though I enjoy all of that. No, I'm talking about real love, love that has its roots put down deep in trust and faith in the one you love. And believe me, I know from personal experience, that real love doesn't need years and years to grow. For Joe Deever's grandparents love blossomed and began to grow in the space of two weeks. But no matter when it first blooms, whether it's hours, weeks, months or years, real love will grow into something strong enough to anchor you through the little squalls as well as the storms and hurricanes that life is going to bring your way, and they will come.

Your storms may not be anything like the ones I have weathered, nor be anything like the ones waiting yet for me to get through. But real love will get you through those storms.

And when you have survived the storm and it's passed over, and the sun has come out again, that love will still be there. Even when you're left standing in the middle of total destruction and ruination, it's that love, that belief and trust in that man or woman standing beside you, that will help you start over again and go forward to face whatever the future may hold.

Music:
"It's A Beautiful Morning" by The Rascals

Project Trivia:
It appears that some people under the influence of alcohol can see some aspects of Sam, especially in his eyes. This also happened in the episode "Catch A Falling Star" when a drunk John O'Malley calls Sam an imposter.

Sam Trivia:
He didn't remember Hurricane Camille, but he did remember experiencing tornadoes while growing up in Indiana, none of which prepared him for an
encounter with a hurricane.

Sam's Outfits Worn in the Episode:
Deputy sheriff's uniform: A light-tan, short-sleeved shirt with
Sheriff's Department emblems on each sleeve; white tee shirt,
dark-brown trousers. He also wore a badge pinned over the left
breast pocket and a name plate pinned to the right breast pocket;
a black belt with a square, silver belt buckle, an expandable-banded
silver watch on his left wrist, and a gun belt, complete with side arm.
After the storm hit, Sam also wore a below-knee length rain slicker.

Al Trivia:
Al remembers and recounts to Sam a bit about the destruction and deaths caused by Hurricane Camille.

Al's Women:
Al has had a fight with Tina during the events of this episode.

Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode:
Red trousers, dark-brown shirt, black leather jacket with dark yellow sleeves and what appears to be a silvery coins lapel on left front shoulder of jacket. He also wore dark shoes, a black-banded watch on his left wrist, and he carried a cigar.

Miscellaneous Trivia:
Al told Sam that, "...a three story high wall of water came over the sea wall and flattened everything in its path."... That 3-story wall of water would have been approximately 30 feet high.

In the scene where Al tells Sam that in the original history Cissy was last seen leaving Unabelle's with Joe Deever, on the wall behind him is a large brass compass rose. The compass rose has appeared on (sea) charts and maps since the 1300's. The term "rose" comes from the figure's compass points resembling the petals of the well-known flower. Originally, this device
was used to indicate the directions of the winds. For that reason alone, I'd say that made that compass rose on the wall one of the most, if not the most, apropos props in this particular episode.

The voice of the sheriff's office dispatcher was that of W. K. Stratton who made more appearances (actual or voice only) than any other guest star during the entire run of Quantum Leap.

In this episode Al carried a cigar most of the time, and he used the multi-colored 'candy-cube' handlink.

The clarity of the on-screen credits at the end of the episode was poor. For whatever reason, when the credits are put over stock footage, the quality diminishes.

Bloopers:

Kiss with History:
Hurricane Camille, the 2nd strongest hurricane of the 20th century, was declared a hurricane (meaning it had sustained wind speeds of 74 m.p.h.) on Friday, August 15, 1969. By the time it smashed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast at Pass Christian, Mississippi 2 days later on Sunday, August 17th, it had sustained winds of 190 m.p.h. with gusts in the 210 - 220 m.p.h. range. It also had the 2nd lowest barometric pressure ever recorded [909 millibars (26.85)]. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet above normal tide range.

Camille was only the 2nd hurricane on record to reach Category 5 at the time of landfall, as well as being the 2nd most intense hurricane at the time of landfall. The 1935 Florida Keys Hurricane was the first Category hurricane as well as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States coastline this century.

The hurricane party depicted in "Hurricane" was a near mirror image of an actual hurricane party that took place in the Richelieu Apartments, in Pass Christian, Mississippi during Hurricane Camille.

The Richelieu Apartments faced the Gulf of Mexico and was less than 250 feet away from the surf on the beach. In reality, it was the sheriff trying to get the people to leave. However, unlike Sam, he wasn't able to convince those people leave. Instead of taking the sheriff seriously, the people at that party were amused when he took down all their names for their next of kin. Then, at 10:15 p.m. on August 17, 1969 the front wall of the storm came ashore. The Richelieu Apartments were totally destroyed; all that remained were the foundation and the shell of the in-ground swimming pool. Of the approximately 24 people at that urricane party, 20 were killed. If you want to see 'before and after Camille' pictures of the Richelieu Apartments, follow this link.

Regular Cast:
Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett
Dean Stockwell as Al Calavicci
Deborah Pratt as Narrator

Guest Stars:
Marilyn Jones as Cissy Davis
Tracy Kolis as Lisa
James Morrison as Joe Deever
Bill Erwin as Mr. Deever
Barbara Townsend as Ma Maw
Richard Grove as Mark LeJeune
Marjorie Lovett as Unabelle
Stephanie Shroyer as Sitter
Bob Hamilton as Archie Necaise
W.K. Stratton as Radio Dispatcher
Cynthia Windham as Sister

Guest Cast Notes:

Marilyn Jones as Cissy Davis: The oldest of four siblings born to a surgeon father, Marilyn Jones was raised in the affluent Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe. After graduating from high school in Michigan, she attended Miami University (Ohio) and eventually graduated from the University of Colorado with a humanities degree.

After a stint in New York waiting on tables and working as an office clerk in-between acting jobs, she was signed with 30 other performers to Columbia Pictures' Talent and Development Workshop and sent to Los Angeles. The program folded when the executive, who ran the studio at the time, resigned. Jones did manage to land an agent and began acting on episodic television. Her performances in Harassment (1980) and Good-Bye Radar: Part 1 (1979) were especially strong. She landed roles in two short-lived prime-time soaps, Secrets of Midland Heights (1980) (CBS) and King's Crossing (1982) (ABC). She worked steadily throughout the 1980s.

Tracy Kolis as Lisa: Tracy Kolis was born on April 6, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Seinfeld (1989), Quantum Leap (1989) and The Equalizer (1985). Retired from acting in 1999. Is now running a small business with her husband, baking cookies. Played two different characters on 'Seinfeld', three years apart.

James Morrison as Joe Deever: A filmmaker, playwright, poet, actor, singer/songwriter and yoga teacher, James Morrison was born in Utah and is a product of Alaska. He served his theatrical apprenticeship with the Alaska Repertory Theatre in the late '70s and spent a year studying in New York before settling on the West Coast in 1980. Since then, he has appeared at some of America's foremost theatres including the McCarter Theatre, the La Jolla Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, LA TheatreWorks and The Old Globe with such renowned directors as Robert Egan, Emily Mann, Des McAnuff, Jack O'Brien, Charles Nelson Reilly, Jose Quintero, Martin Jarvis, Don Amendolia, and Harry Mastrogeorge, his acting teacher since 1982. Morrison's short film, Parking (1996), which he wrote and directed, was produced by his wife, Riad Galayini. Parking screened at twenty film festivals world wide including New York's New Directors/New Films presented by Lincoln Center at the Museum of Modern Art, Slamdance (audience choice award for best short), Austin's South By Southwest Festival, the Central Florida Film Festival (third place narrative film award), the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, the Montreal World Festival, The Festival of U.S. Shorts in Brisbane, Australia, Ireland's Cork International Film Festival, and the Northampton Film Festival where it received the Best Short of the Festival Award. Parking also ran on Sundance Channel for 18 months. Most recently, James developed and performed his one-man play, Leave Your Fears Here at the Ojai Playwrights Conference. The play went on to premiere at the Great Barrington Public Theatre in Massachusetts. Morrison's plays have also been produced and/or developed at the Sundance Institute, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Playwrights' Center of Minneapolis, L.A. TheatreWorks, The MET Theatre, Two Parts Theatre Company, The Classical Theatre Lab, City Theatre in Miami, The Road Theatre, The Mojo Ensemble, The Wooden O, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival and the Salt Lake Acting Company where he has directed several plays including those by Sam Shepard, John Robinson, Larry Shue and Beth Henley.  As a singer/songwriter his albums, Son to the Boy and I Broke Free are available on iTunes CD Baby, Amazon and all digital outlets.

Bill Erwin as Mr. Deever: Bill Erwin was born on December 2, 1914 in Honey Grove, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Somewhere in Time (1980) and Home Alone (1990). He was married to Lucy Frances MacLachlan. He died on December 29, 2010 in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Barbara Townsend as Ma Maw: Barbara Townsend was born on August 4, 1913 in Oakland, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Hard to Kill (1990), AfterMASH (1983) and Remington Steele (1982). She was married to Dr. William Louis Wheeler Jr and John Shaffer III. She died on January 29, 2002 in Arlington, Virginia, USA.

Richard Grove as Mark LeJeune: Ricky Grove was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1955. He attended Arizona State University where he earned a BFA in Directing. Not long after graduation, Ricky was accepted at the Yale School of Drama in the late 1970s. He received in Master's Degree in Acting in 1983 and moved to New York City not long after. For the next several years, Ricky worked in regional theatre and eventually settled in Aspen, Colorado, where he worked with the Snowmass Repertory Theatre for several years. Eventually, he moved to Los Angeles where he began appearing in films such as "Army of Darkness" and television shows like "ER". In the mid-90s, Ricky began extensive work with an avant-garde theatre company in Santa Monica, called "City Garage". There he worked on plays such as "Jungle of Cities" by Bertolt Brecht and "Journeys Among the Dead" by Eugene Ionesco. At present, Ricky is working as a voice director/actor in machinima (animated 3d films shot inside of video games) and as a sound designer.

Marjorie Lovett as Unabelle: Marjorie Lovett was born on October 4, 1932 in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for The Fan (1996), Tootsie (1982) and Clear and Present Danger (1994).

Stephanie Shroyer as Sitter: Stephanie Shroyer is known for Alien Nation (1988), Quantum Leap (1989) and CBS Summer Playhouse (1987).

W.K. Stratton as Radio Dispatcher: W.K. Stratton was born on August 2, 1950 in Front Royal, Virginia, USA. He is an actor, known for Shoot 'Em Up (2007), Machete (2010) and Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2011). He is married to Maureen Denise Lacoste. Appeared in the pilots of four different series created by Donald P. Bellisario: Magnum, P.I. (1980), Airwolf (1984), Quantum Leap (1989) and JAG (1995). Holds the unique distinction for having "flown" (in character) a Corsair, a Viper, and Airwolf. (three aircraft used in Bellasario productions).

Cynthia Windham as Sister: Cynthia Windham is one of loveliest human beings that you will encounter. During the majority of her life, her own incentives have moved her to to feed the homeless, rescue animals, and help young child actors in Hollywood find their way. A former child acting coach who also spent time working with Virgil Frye, Cynthia is also a graduate of USC film Southern California, with a degree in critical study and a minor in production. She has appeared both on and off screen in the film industry regularly since the nineteen eighties, and has recently moved into the realm of producing with her husband, Allistair Wyndham.

Guests Who Appeared In Other Episodes of Quantum Leap
Cynthia Windham (Sister) played Missy in Miss Deep South.

W.K. Stratton (Radio Dispatcher) has played Dr. Berger in "Genesis", Sheriff Rowntree in "Good Night, Dear Heart", another radio dispatcher in "Black on White on Fire", and Larry Stanton in "Trilogy Part I", "Trilogy Part II" and "Trilogy Part III."

Quotable Quotes:

Sam (monologue):
"With each passing minute the hurricane grew closer and closer.
It seemed like Nature herself was punishing the land for some
unknown transgression. I just hoped I wasn't going to be
punished with it."

Cissy: "Oh my. If we get up any earlier to do it, we might as
well not go to sleep."
Al:    "That's the shingles. The wind must be flicking 'em off
the roof like potato chips."

Mr. Lejeune: "I had to give up to the weather and start grilling
them inside."
Sam: "You'll be grilling them under water if you don't leave here soon."

Sam: "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...move mountains
...right wrongs...travel through time... grow ten feet tall,
and run forever."

Al:    "I can never figure out when life is short, how we always
find time to argue. You'd think that we'd look at the good
things around us."

Al:     "Her? Who her?"

Al:    "Don't worry. He's the original Boy Scout."

Cissy:    "Next to Beaufus, you're the male I love most."
Al: "How do you feel about holograms?"

Cissy: "He never even touched me when we were going out together."
Al: "That shoots that theory to hell."

Sam: "It's never too late, not if you want something bad enough."

Best Line:
Cissy: "Do you marry someone after only a couple of weeks?"

Sam: "If it's the right someone, I'd marry them after a couple of hours."





Best Scenes:

First:

The scene when Cissy leads Sam away from the older couple and the others:

Cissy: "Can you believe that? They got married after only two weeks.
Do you marry someone after only two weeks?"

Sam:    "If it's the right someone, I'd marry them after a couple of hours."

[The look between them grows and they kiss.]

[Al pops in quietly behind Sam; he has an impish expression as he looks at
Sam and Cissy kissing. He coughs. No response. He coughs again, harder, then waits. His impish expression becomes even more so when the kiss ends.]

Cissy:    "Nice." [She walks away.]

Al:    "Nice? I'll bet it was nice."

[Sam's expression becomes annoyed at Al's comment. He turns to face Al.]

Sam:    "You should see a doctor about that cough."

Al:    "What cough?"

[Sam's eyes narrow slightly.]

Sam:    "What have you got for me, Al?"

Al:    "Well, I hate to interrupt you're hanky-panky here...."

Sam:    "What have you got for me, Al?"


And, the other scene is:

[Sam has just come charging to Cissy's rescue while she's talking to
Joe Deever, who is gripping her arms.]
---
Cissy: "You looked like you were gonna..."

Sam, fumbling: "I know. I know. I...I just thought..."

[Cissy laughs as she takes Sam by the hand and leads him to the closet
to get their jackets.]

Cissy:    "I don't believe you did that. My knight in shining...khaki.
Charging to the rescue."

[She steps into the closet and reaches for her jacket. Sam steps up
to the open doorway.]

Sam: "Look... I'm sorry. I over reacted a little bit. I...uh...."

[Al moves around so he can see both Sam and Cissy's faces then makes a
roguish comment as Cissy puts her jacket on.]

Al:    "You know sometimes knights would get rewards from the damsels
when they helped them in a rescue."

Cissy: "I like seeing you jealous. [She reaches out and pulls Sam
into the closet.]

Al:    "I think you're gonna get a reward."

Cissy: "It was sweet." [She pulls Sam into an embrace. They kiss.]

Al:     "Sweet."

[He angles to get a better view.]

Al:    "Yeah, but Sam, I don't think in the closet there...uh.... Sam?"

[Sam pushes the door shut. Al gives a sort of 'okay' shrug and waits.
While he waits, the camera pans to the other guests then back to Al at
the closet door.]

Al:    "Isn't it gonna get a little hot in there?"

Awards:
Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Editing for a Series in 1992.

Production Credits:

Theme by: Mike Post
Music by: Velton Ray Bunch
Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt
Co-Executive Producer: Michael Zinberg
Supervising Producer: Harker Wade
Produced by: Jeff Gourson, Tommy Thompson
Produced by: Chris Ruppenthal, Paul Brown
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario
Written by: Chris Ruppenthal
Directed by: Michael Watkins

Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario
Associate Producer: James S. Giritlian
Coordinating Producer: David Bellisario
Story Editor: Paris Qualles
Director of Photography: Michael Watkins, A.S.C.
Production Designer:  Cameron Birnie
Edited by: M. Edward Salier, A.C.E.
Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow
First Assistant Director: R. John Slosser
Second Assistant Director: Kate Yurka
Casting by: Ann Winthrop
Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox
Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisor: David Rawley
Art Director: Ellen Dambros-Williams
Sound Mixer: Barry D. Thomas
Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth
Sound Editor: Greg Schorer
Music Editor:  Bruce Frazier

Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®

This motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

Copyright © 1991 by Universal City Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Bellisarius Productions and Universal, an MCA Company

Podcasts:

Quantum Leap Podcast - Hurricane

Listen to The Quantum Leap Podcast on this episode here: