4x02 "Leaping of the Shrew"

Leap Date:

September 27, 1956

Episode Adopted by: Becky
Additional info provided by: Brian Greene

Synopsis:

Shipwrecked on an uncharted island, Sam as a Greek seaman must romance the spoiled rich socialite he is stranded with and help her follow her dreams and her heart....to marry him.

Audio from this episode

TV Guide Synopsis
Place
Leap Date
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Broadcast Date
Synopsis & Review
Sam Trivia
Al Trivia
Al's Women
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Miscellaneous Trivia
Guest Stars
Guest Cast Notes
Say What?
Quotable Quotes
Best Scene
Awards
Production Credits
Podcasts

Production # : 68104

TV Guide Synopsis:
Sam is a Greek sailor lost at sea with a bratty debutante (Brooke Shields), who was on what was supposed to be a honeymoon cruise. Sam: Scott Bakula. Al: Dean Stockwell.

Commercial:

Place:
Somewhere in the Aegean Sea

Leap Date:
September 27, 1956

Name of the Person Leaped Into:
Nikos Stathatos

Broadcast Date:
September 29, 1992 - Tuesday

Promo:

Synopsis & Review:

Sam finds his patience tested when he leaps into Nikos Stathatos (played by Socrates Alafouzos) in a lifeboat with a bratty, self-obsessed heiress Vanessa Foster (played by Brooke Shields) and end up stuck on an island from which they will not be rescued for nine years...if they're lucky!

The two survivors couldn't be more different: a rough, working class sailor and the upper class débutante, born with a silver spoon in her mouth and constantly looking down at her inferior raft-mate.

The two eventually make it to land and begin to know and understand one another. The puzzle for Sam is to understand exactly why he is there. Al hasn't quite figured it out yet but everything Sam does seems to lengthen, rather than shorten, the amount of time it takes for them to be rescued. As their relationship continues to develop, Sam's begins to wonder if rescue is the object of the exercise. Source

Personal Review by Matt Dale:

Brooke Shields proves here that, while she may have been typecast through the 80s and 90s, she played spoiled brat roles well. Despite her disconnection with the real world, Vanessa is an adorable character, and it’s easy to see why the much more down to earth Sam would eventually fall for her (certainly when he doesn’t have to worry about the long-term implications, something Nikos may have to pay for!). With a cast of just two, plus Stockwell, Shields and Bakula bounce off each other wonderfully and play the “rich kid/poor kid romance in a life and death situation” story five years before Titanic gave two other actors a similar plot device to play with. After Lee Harvey Oswald, we needed a simple and light comedy episode to remind viewers that the show can be upbeat, and Leaping of the Shrew delivers in spades. Source

Sam Trivia:
Sam’s dad taught him the names of the constellations, when he was a kid.

Sam was in Indian guides as a kid. His Indian name was Zeus.

Sam recounts events from "8 1/2 Months" and "Miss Deep South."

Al Trivia:
Al smoked 3 cigars in this episode.

Al's Women:
Al is going to jump out of a cake for Tina's birthday wearing his birthday suit!

Al’s Outfits Worn in the Episode:
Al’s first outfit is a cream-colored suit with a brown and white dress shirt, bolo tie and a silver pin.

His second outfit is a white robe with black dots and stripes with red pajama type pants underneath.

Third outfit is a blue shirt, blue and black striped tie, purple and blue patterned vest and purple pants.

Miscellaneous Trivia:

This episode features the first airing of the updated "rock" theme song! The idea to update it was brought up by Scott Bakula. Fans, in general, did not appreciate the change. Was Mike disappointed when they replaced the original theme with the "rock" version in season five? Nope... he wrote that too!

Check out the updated Saga-Sell sequence, the leap-in to this episode, and the new theme song below:

Jean-Pierre Dorleac also costumed Brooke Shields at the age of 14 when she portrayed a castaway in the 1980 film, "The Blue Lagoon."

Filming was done in the Universal Studios backlot pool used for The "JAWS" ride. Get a look at it in the video below:

The episode title is a play on words with "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare. It also has two alternative titles: Washed Away and When Venus Smiles.

With only three speaking roles among the four actors, this episode has the smallest cast of the entire series.

Regular Cast:
Scott Bakula
Dean Stockwell

Guest Stars:
Brooke Shields as Vanessa Foster
Socrates Alafouzos as Nikos Stathatos (Mirror Image)

Guest Cast Notes:

Brooke Shields as Vanessa: "Want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." If you have not heard of Brooke Shields before, this tagline from her Calvin Klein Jeans ad had to grab your attention. Not that she has not had a previously noteworthy resume. She was born on May 31, 1965 in New York City, to Teri (Schmon) and Frank Shields. At age 12, she starred as a child prostitute in "Pretty Baby" (1978). Could this movie even be made today? It was considered risky and controversial in 1978. It was followed by another blockbuster, the romance adventure drama "The Blue Lagoon" (1980). Brooke has proved herself to be so much more than her early films. Her broad range of work as an adult would be quite an achievement for anyone, especially given how difficult transitioning from child actor to adult often is. She has never stopped working, whether it be a Bob Hope Christmas special, her own sitcom "Suddenly Susan" (1996) or as an author. She also managed to work on a degree from Princeton University. She has received a number of awards during her career, most notably The People's Choice award for 1981 through 1984 in the category of Favorite Young Performer. In 1997, she was honored again with The People's Choice award for Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series in 1997 for her work in Suddenly Susan (1996). In her personal life, she was married in 1997 to tennis player Andre Agassi and was devastated when they divorced two years later. She married for the second time in 2001 to Chris Henchy. She has been open about using fertility treatments to become pregnant with their daughter, Rowan, born in 2003. When suffering debilitating depression after the birth of her daughter, she made the decision to put her feelings down on paper. Her book, "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression," takes a hard, honest look at what she and many other women experience after childbirth. She still lives in New York City, and is still sought after for work in movies, television, and on stage. Pretty nice list of achievements for the once Calvin Klein jeans girl.

Socrates Alafouzos as Nikos (Mirror): International award-winning Director, Writer and Actor. After studying theater, film, dance and photography in Athens, Greece he attained a Fulbright scholarship in the U.S., where he continued his post-graduate studies in acting and directing. While there, Socrates wrote and directed the one act play America and directed his first short film on video. He later returned to Greece and soon became a very well-known actor. His career includes leading roles in Theater Productions of Shakespeare, Marlow, Anouilh, Shaffer, Camus, Cocteau, Euripides etc. and leading roles in Films and TV series.
In 2011, he made his professional debut as a screenwriter, film director and producer with his short film, Little King (Mikros Vasilias), and in 2015 he wrote, directed and produced his second film, Between Black and White. Both films participated in many film festivals around the world and received numerous awards, like the Grand Jury Prize at the Mediterranean Short Film Festival in Tangier, Best International Short at the Manhattan Film Festival and the Salento International Film Festival. He has also directed documentaries, commercials, corporate, music and performing arts videos. In 2016, he started working in the U.S. after receiving a honorary Visa granted to those who have attained extraordinary achievements in their field. He is now a U.S citizen. In 2019, he founded the Theatron of the Americas and became its Artistic Director. Theatron is a non-profit theater organization whose purpose is to operate a repertory theatre group that expands the awareness of the ancient Greek drama through theatrical presentations and educational programs. On March 24, 2021, Socrates curated and hosted an international event online for Theatron of the Americas to "Honor the Country in Which Theater was Born." Actors and Distinguished Guests from U.S. and around the world read passages from Ancient Greek Drama and poetry. Honorary Guest included world-renowned Dr. Deepak Chopra, along with famous British actor Julian Sands, Emmy nominated Thaao Penghlis, Emmy winner Eleftheria Deko, acclaimed Romanian actor Maia Morgenstern and more. His feature film screenplay, My Diva, was recently optioned by Argonauts  Productions, a major Production Company in Greece. In January 2022 he was appointed as a Presidential Fellow in Greek Theater at Chapman University.  TEACHING In January 2022, he was appointed as a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he created and taught a new course for the Honors department, directed the production of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" for Department of Theater and he is teaching an Advanced Directing Performance Techniques class at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. 
HONORS-AWARDS In 2016, he received a Honorary Award by the Eliza's President, Marina Karella, for his contribution to the Elisa - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Say What?
The sky background is obviously a painting on the Universal Backlot pool backdrop.

Ziggy says a ship should have picked up Sam and Vanessa an hour ago. Why didn't the ship come across as in the original history? Sam could not have changed anything.

Vanessa’s trunk is floating before Sam starts emptying it, so why does he need to start discarding items to keep the raft from sinking?

Quotable Quotes:

~Sam is going through Vanessa’s trunk. He finds some underwear, she tells him to get his "paws" out of there.

Sam: Trust me. I have no interest in your underwear.

Al: I knew it. The sun is getting to his mind.

~Al: We're making preparations for Tina's birthday party and she wants me to pop out of the cake. You'll never believe what she wants me not to wear.

~Vanessa tells Sam she has "food" in the trunk.

Sam: Gum?!? 100’s of sticks of gum? You brought 100’s of sticks of gum along?!?

Vanessa: Yeah, I was going to quit smoking.

~Vanessa: So hungry.

Sam: I figure we got about 188 more sticks of gum.

~Sam: True love is the only love worth having.

~Vanessa and Sam are sleeping in the raft. She wakes up first.

Vanessa: Ahhhhhh!

Sam: What. What?

Vanessa: How dare you.

Sam: How dare I what?

Vanessa: Use your shoulder as my pillow.

Sam: Your pillow?

Vanessa: What else did you do?

Sam: Well, ya know. First I ripped off all your clothes. Then I pulled out my bazookie and played wild peasant songs while I danced naked around the raft.

Vanessa: Well you just keep your bazookie to yourself.

~Vanessa offers Sam some of her cooked clams.

Sam: I don’t like clams.

Vanessa: And you love grapes and toothpaste?

~Al and Sam are talking in the jungle.

Al: Hey listen. There’s no way she would get this bad under your skin unless you had feelings for her.

Sam: The only feelings I have for her are homicidal. "Leaping of the Shrew"

Best Line:
Vanessa: "You’re not David!!!"

Sam: "I’m not??"

Best Scene:
When they are eating supper and Sam only has tooth paste and grapes to eat and Vanessa has a whole bunch of food she found herself.

Awards:
Motion Picture Sound Editors Award for ADR Editing

Season Five Main Titles - Rock Version:

Production Credits:

Theme by: Mike Post
Musical Score By: Velton Ray Bunch
Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt
Co-Executive Producer: Chas. Floyd Johnson
Supervising Producers: Harker Wade, Tommy Thompson
Supervising Producer: Richard C. Okie
Producer: Robin Jill Bernheim
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario
Written by: Richard C. Okie & Robin Jill Bernheim
Directed by: Alan J. Levi

Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario
Associate Producers: Julie Bellisario, Scott Ejercito
Coordinating Producer: David Bellisario
Director of Photography: Donald M. Morgan, A.S.C.
Production Designer: Cameron Birnie
Edited by: Randy D. Wiles
Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow
First Assistant Director: Ryan Gordon
Second Assistant Director: Brian Faul
Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky C.S.A.
Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox
Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisors: David Rawley, Katina Kerr
Art Director: Ellen Dambros-Williams
Sound Mixer: Barry D. Thomas
Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth
Make-up: Jeremy Swan
Hairstylist: Andrea Mizushima
Fashion Concepts: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Sound Editor: Greg Schorer
Music Editor: Bruce Frazier
Special Visual Effects: Roger Dorney, Denny Kelly

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 © 1992 by Universal City Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Some of the characters portrayed in this motion picture are based upon actual persons. Although some of those events have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes, otherwise 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 Television, an MCA Company

Podcasts:




Quantum Leap Podcast: The Leaping Of The Shrew

Leaping of the Shrew production photos courtesy of Jean-Pierre Dorléac: