Episode Title: MIA

PROD. #65412
March 21, 1990 (F.R.)

Broadcast Date: May 9, 1990

Written By: Donald P. Bellisario

Directed By: Michael Zinberg

Leapee: Jake Rawlins

Place: San Diego, California

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 1969

Songs:
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" -- Marvin Gaye
"Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay" -- Otis Redding
"This Guy's In Love With You" -- Herb Alpert and His Tijuana Brass Band
"Someday We'll Be Together" -- Diana Ross & The Supremes
"Unchained Melody" -- The Righteous Brothers
"Georgia" -- Ray Charles

Miscellaneous Trivia:
In an early draft of the script, Beth is described as being a blonde-haired, blue-eyed babe with long legs. The conversation Beth has with Dirk at the restaurant takes place at a laundromat in the early draft. In the early draft, Skaggs' first name is Robert. In the final episode, his first name is Roger.

Project Trivia:
Ziggy is referred to as a "he"

Al Trivia:
Al married Beth in June 1961. By April 1969, with sea duty and TDY assignments, Al was only around Beth for two of the eight years they had been married. Only four months after Al's first tour in Vietnam ended, he volunteered for a second. Al didn't want children because he didn't believe in constantly relocating them. During Al's second tour, he was shot down over the highlands in his A-4 somewhere around March of 1967. When Al was declared MIA, Beth felt it was only another way of saying that Al was dead. In April 1969, Al was in a cage near Cham Hoi. During his time as a POW, Al was forced to live in a tiger cage that was "too small to stand up in" and "too narrow to sit down in". His nourishment consisted of rainwater and weevil-infested rice. Al was repatriated in 1973 (later changed to 1975 after the events of "The Leap Home: Part II") only to find that Beth had had the Navy declare him dead and had married Dirk Simon in June 1969.

Al's Outfits:
Silverish-gray slacks, black shirt with a purple maze-like pattern, slender silver tie

Al's Women:
Beth -- Al's first wife, Beth was a Naval nurse who, when it seemed Al would never return from Vietnam, had Al declared dead and married Dirk Simon in June 1969.

Guest Stars In Other QL Episodes:
Susan Diol reprised the role of Beth Calavicci in the series finale, "Mirror Image".
Gregory Millar portrayed "Lonnie Harper" in the episode "Black On White On Fire".
Pat Skipper portrayed "Lucas 'Luke' Marlet" in the episode "The Beast Within".

Sam's Best Line: "Oooom..."

Al's Best Line:
"I want you to wait for me, Beth. Don't give up, honey. 'Cause I'm alive out there... and I'm only alive because of our love... And someday... Oh, Beth... someday, I'm gonna come back home to you."

Best Scene:
The best scene is undoubtedly the last scene, which Al-coholics have affectionately named the "Shadowdance". At first, it seems that Beth cannot hear nor touch Al, and she passes through his holographic image when she moves to change records on her player. But at the very end, after Al has pleaded with Beth to wait for him, some extreme miracle is bestowed upon Al by GTFW: Al is allowed to touch Beth. He lays his hands on Beth's shoulders and he lightly kisses Beth's forehead as Sam Leaps. According to the script, Beth DOES feel this. After Al has vanished, Beth tearfully whispers Al's name in a sort of acknowledgement that she knew he really was there with her.

Awards:
Emmy nomination for Dean Stockwell for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (1990)

Guest Cast Notes:
Susan Diol is married to Shaun Cassidy.
Norman Large is a former opera singer and had a bit part in "In The Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance"--a TV movie that Dean Stockwell co-starred in.

Personal Review:
MIA is my absolute favorite episode of Quantum Leap; there is no doubt about it. I can't even begin to describe how much I love this episode. It was one of the first episodes I ever saw, and it helped to cement my entry into the Quantum Leap fandom.

GUEST CAST
Jason Beghe: Roger Skaggs
Susan Diol: Beth Calavicci
Norman Large: Dirk Simon
Dan Ziskie: Sergeant Riley
Pat Skipper: Tequila
William Shockley: Boner
Leticia Vasquez: Rosalie
Cyndi Strittmatter: Hippie Girl
Rob Mendel: Hippie Guy
Gregory Millar: Pusher
Javi Mulero: Taco Man
Sierra Pecheur: Carol Simon
Doug Bauer: Jake Rawlins (mirror image)

CREW

Co-executive Producer: Deborah Pratt
Co-executive Producer: Michael Zinberg
Supervising Producer: Harker Wade
Co-Producers: Paul Brown & Jeff Gourson
Produced By: Chris Ruppenthal
Associate Producer: David Bellisario

Story Editors: Randy Holland & Tommy Thompson
Director of Photography: Michael Watkins
Production Designer: Cameron Birnie
Edited By: N. Mario Di Gregorio
Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth
Supervising Sound Editor: Paul Clay
Music Editor: Tom Gleason

Dean Stockwell Photograph Courtesy of RODDY McDOWALL