Teaser:

In this leap, Sam is the most noteworthy hairdresser in Beverly Hills! But just as he leaps in, his girlfriend's son witnesses a murder at a drugstore next door. The boy's mother won't let him tell the police what he saw, and the killer is getting closer and closer to making sure that he never will.

Audio from this episode:

Sam: I'll think up something
really nasty for your hair.

TV Guide Teaser:

On a hair-raising leap, Sam is a male hairdresser trying to prevent the killing of a woman and her son, who's a witness to a murder. Laura: Doran Clark. Det. Ward: Harry Groener. Chloe: Lela Ivy. Kyle: Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ralph: Stephen Kay. Sam: Scott Bakula.

Commercial:

Place:

Beverly Hills, California

Synopsis & Review:

Dr. Sam Beckett leaps into Frank Bianca, a popular hair stylist, just in time to let his girlfriend's son Kyle go next door to go buy some candy. One of the workers at the salon, Chloe, tells him that Laura never lets him go off on his own. Sam asks why, just in time for two gunshots to be heard. Oh Boy.

Sam tells everyone to get down and then goes off to check on Kyle who he sees hiding behind the counters. The gunman's gloved hand is visible as he shoots at Sam before he manages to duck down behind the counters himself.

The owner of the pharmacy, Phil, was killed and witnesses saw Sam and Kyle running into the store. As the body is being taken out and authorities investigate the scene, Sam tells us he got here too late. Kyle has a flashback of what happened, Phil falling to the ground. Chloes seems worried about her prescriptions more than Phil’s death. Kyle’s mom Laura arrives. He tells her he saw a man shoot Phil. Sam questions him, but Laura tells him to be quiet, and gets mad at Sam for letting Kyle out of his sight. They haven’t talked to the police yet, and Laura doesn’t intend to let him. Sam tries convincing her to let Kyle talk to the police. She says she has been through this once before and can’t go through it again.

Detective Ward comes to talk to Sam, who confirms that he ran next door when he heard the shot. He says that when he ran in he ducked from a silenced shot and hid behind the counter, and was already gone when Sam got up, so he didn’t see him. Sam’s answers seem a little off because he is trying to honor Laura’s wishes that the police don’t know that Kyle saw anything, but it just makes him look suspicious. Ward leaves his card, and asks Sam about the boy. Sam says he was there, but he didn’t see anything. Sam says he’ll have them contact him. Ward asks for his address, and Sam struggles to get to the address of where they are standing; he lives above the salon!

Sam plays Captain Galaxy and Future Boy with Kyle at bedtime. Al appears and wants to hear a bedtime story too. Kyle tells Sam that he saw the man, and that Phil was yelling at him. Laura interrupts to take a story shift.

Al tells Sam that he is Frank Bianca, the hottest hairstyling in Beverly Hills, but he used to be named Maurice Lipschits. Ziggy says there is an 86% chance that Sam is here to find the killer. Kyle never talked to the police in the original history. Al says she never had a chance; they murdered Laura and Kyle too, sometime in the next 48 hours. They find his body on the way to Arrowhead, and hers was never found.

Sam asks him what is at Arrowhead. Frank has a cabin there. Sam presumes that the killer must know them. Sam asks Al what Laura meant about going through this before. About three years ago in Bensonhurst, New Jersey, her husband Sal witnessed a mob hit. He was going to testify, but was gunned down.

Laura tells Sam that she hopes this doesn’t bring back Kyle’s night terrors, a killer chasing him but he couldn't’ get away because of his brace. They argue a bit about what to tell the police.

The next day, Sam gets out of cutting a customer’s hair by telling her she already looked perfect (Mimi). But that’s not going to work all day. Sam does get to have some fun, though, brazenly flirting with two gorgeous blonde twins in front of Al just to get revenge for Al always complaining about how Sam handles women whether he flirts with them or not.

Ziggy says that he has to get Kyle to talk to the police. Sam says that he can pretend that he is the one who saw him, but Al knows that won’t work. Chloe screams, but its because Laura brought her a pink pantsuit she wanted. He takes a break to talk to Kyle. Kyle wants to talk about Captain Galaxy, but Sam says he wants to talk about the man who killed Phil instead. Sam tells him a story about Future Boy’s best friend, Al, who is invisible. Yesterday he walked into Phil’s and no one could see him. He tells him that he was invisible too, and gets him to tell details about the man. He was in a suit, and he told Phil that he didn’t need anymore of his junk money. Sam corrects it to junkie. Laura interrupts them and is angry to discover what they are talking about.

Sam surmises that Phil was selling drugs without a prescription. Al finds that he had a lot of creditors but paid them all off and died with 200k in his account. Al finds a 600k deposit from “Eloch.”

We catch up with Sam giving this info to the detective, that he was selling drugs to a company called Eloch and when he tried to stop they killed him. Ward insists that Sam bring Kyle in, and he tells him about Laura’s reluctance, citing that about two years ago - but Ward cuts him off, he knows Laura’s history.

At their apartment, Laura is again angry with Sam, and Chloe comes in to have Kyle help her with a Rubik's Cube. A shot comes through the window, and grazes Chloe’s ear. Al says they had no idea this was going to happen. Al centers on the rooftop across the street. Sam goes to call the police but Laura makes him hang up threatening to take Kyle and run if he does. Al didn’t find anything.

Al says Sam has changed history; Kyle’s body is no longer found on the way to Arrowhead, instead he and Laura both disappear and are never found. Kyle pleads with them not to fight. Sam gets Kyle to talk about it. He says the man was white but he doesn’t remember his hair. But he saw his shoes, "He hid money in his shoes."

Sam and Al check out the crime scene. Al says it reminds him of his third father in-law's place, a funeral parlor. They take a look at the view that Kyle would have seen from the ground, and Sam finds a penny.

Laura has taken Kyle and they are headed to the cabin without telling Sam. But they did tell Chloe where they were going. When Sam looks for them, Chloes tells him. Sam calls detective Ward to tell him the killer is after them, but finds out a woman called 20 minutes ago and he is already on his way to lake Arrowhead. They figure Laura must have come to her senses and called.

Sam asks to borrow Chloe’s car, and she insists on going with him. Al goes to Laura and trying communicating with them to no avail. Laura almost gets in a crash and ends up off the side of the road. Al relocates to report to Sam; Laura is ten minutes from the cabin but Sam is still an hour away. Al centers on Ward to see how far away he is, and finds he is already approaching the lake. Al notices that Ward is wearing penny loafers, and equates it to Kyle saying the killer hid money in his shoe.

Al almost causes Sam to get into an accident when he pops in to tell him. Al says its okay since they are ten miles away and can’t get to the cabin. However, a truck driver has given Laura and Kyle a ride to the cabin. Inside they find that the power is out. Laura goes to check the fuse box, leaving Kyle in the cabin. She finds that the fuses have been completly removed, and then Ward grabs her.

He goes into the cabin with a gun. Kyle hides and Al observes helplessly. Kyle escapes through a doggy door. As he is living out his nightmare of not being able to outrun the perpetrator due to his leg, Sam and Chloe arrive. Kyle and Sam end up in the lake. Ward holds a gun on them. Sam tells Ward he doesn’t have to do this, having Kyle state that he doesn’t recognize the man. Ward says it doesn’t matter because Sam knows who he is, and is about to shoot. But Chloe shoots Ward instead.

However, its not over yet, as she holds the gun on Sam and Kyle. Turns out she was behind the whole thing, Eloch being an anagram for Chloe. Sam tries to stall Chloe, while a bloody Laura sneaks up behind her with a heavy tree branch.
However, Laura ultimately collapses just before reaching her. Chloe spins around to look at Laura, once she hears the fall, and Sam takes that opportunity to put both himself and Kyle underwater. Kyle hides while Sam finds Ward's gun and, when Chloe won't surrender, is forced to kill her.

Back at the cabin, Laura has a concussion, but is okay. She’d rather hear it from a real doctor, she tells Sam. Al says she starts a support group. Sam finds out that Kyle goes on to win a medal in the special Olympics for swimming. When he calls Kyle his son, Sam ends up accidentally proposing to Laura, but Al says that's okay because they end up married. She accepts... a few seconds after Kyle accepts first! Sam leaps on... Synopsis by Stacie Wilcox

Music:

The music from the end credits of "Private Dancer" plays at the beginning of the episode in the salon.

Project Trivia:

Ziggy is referend to as male in this episode.

Ziggy missed the anagram of Eloch being Chloe.

As Sam changes history throughout the episode, history changes around Al's present as well. This makes it difficult to predict where they will be killed.

Al Trivia:

 Al appears in this episode 21 times. He uses the Imaging chamber door once.

Al's Women:

Al  remembers Ula, a Swedish stewardess, reading him bedtime stories.

The day before, he spent time with a girl that works in a carwash.

Al is jealous of Sam’s hairdressing appointment with the Van Berg twin sisters.

Al’s Outfits Worn in the Episode:

Al’s first outfit is a yellow suit with white pin stripes, a yellow shirt with white circle designs, and a skinny copper tie.

Al’s second outfit is a gray suit, with a teal shirt, and matching handkerchief in the pocket.

Miscellaneous Trivia:

This episode is Scott Bakula’s directorial debut.

In this episode Sam tells Kyle a bedtime story, the story is about Captain Galaxy and Future Boy. In an earlier episode Sam leaped in to the character, Future Boy.

Chloe brings a Rubik’s Cube to Kyle to do for her, because she can’t figure it out.

Kyle says the killer kept money in his shoes. He is referring to "Penny Loafers."

Guest Cast Notes:

Doran Clark as Laura: Doran Clark was born on August 8, 1954 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She is an actress, known for The Warriors (1979), Quantum Leap (1989) and Too Far to Go (1979). She has been married to Peter Abrams since August 30, 1980. They have two children.

Harry Groener as Detective Arnie Ward: Harry Groener was born on September 10, 1951 in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. He is an actor, known for A Cure for Wellness (2016), Patch Adams (1998) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). He has been married to Dawn Didawick since September 19, 1978.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Kyle: Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born February 17, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to Jane Gordon and Dennis Levitt. Joseph was raised in a Jewish family with his late older brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt, who passed away in October 2010. His parents worked for the Pacifica Radio station KPFK-FM and his maternal grandfather, Michael Gordon, had been a well-known movie director. Joseph first became well known for his starring role on NBC's award-winning comedy series 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996). During his six seasons on the show, he won two YoungStar Awards and also shared in three Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Comedy Series Ensemble. Prior to his success on television, Joseph had already worked steadily in feature films. Early in his career, he won a Young Artist Award for his first major role, in Robert Redford's drama A River Runs Through It (1992). During the 1990s, he also co-starred in the films Angels in the Outfield (1994), The Juror (1996), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), a well-reviewed slasher sequel, and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), opposite Heath Ledger, which has become a teen comedy classic. Following his work on 3rd Rock, Joseph took time off from acting to attend Columbia University. In the early 2000s, he broke from the mold of his television and film comedy supporting roles by appearing in a string of intense dramatic parts, mostly in smaller, independent films, such as Manic (2001), with Don Cheadle; Mysterious Skin (2004), for writer/director Gregg Araki; Rian Johnson's award-winning debut, dramatic thriller Brick (2005) (2005); Lee Daniels' Shadowboxer (2005); the crime drama The Lookout (2007), which marked Scott Frank's directorial debut; John Madden's Killshot (2008), with Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke; Spike Lee's World War II film Miracle at St. Anna (2008); and the controversial drama Stop-Loss (2008), in which he starred with Ryan Phillippe, under the direction of Kimberly Peirce. By 2009, Joseph was officially established as one a new generation of leading men with his Golden Globe-nominated role in Marc Webb's comedy-drama 500 Days of Summer (2009), also starring Zooey Deschanel , for which he received Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and People's Choice Award nominations. He also adapted the Elmore Leonard short story Sparks (2009) into a 24-minute short film that he directed, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Beginning the new decade, he headlined the indie drama Hesher (2010) and established himself as an action star in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010), also starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard and Elliot Page. Balancing both independent and Hollywood film, Joseph scored another Golden Globe nod for the cancer drama 50/50 (2011), directed by Jonathan Levine and also starring Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, and Bryce Dallas Howard. He worked again with director Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the third and final installment in the director's Batman series, for which he received a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Movie Actor; and snagged leading roles in both Premium Rush (2012), directed by David Koepp, and Looper (2012), reuniting with his Brick director, Rian Johnson, opposite Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. Rounding out the year, he played Abraham Lincoln's son Robert in Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated Lincoln (2012), with Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field. In 2016, the ACLU honored Gordon-Levitt with their annual Bill of Rights Award for furthering diversity efforts, promoting free speech, empowering women and otherwise supporting civil rights and liberties for all Americans.

Interview with Joseph on The Daily Show:

Lela Ivey as Chloe: Lela Ivey (born June 26, 1958, in New York City) is a veteran actor of the stage as well as a character actress of the small screen and cinema. Ms. Ivey is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYC). For 25 years she eked out her living as mostly a supporting or bit part actress working in television, and film while building a rather impressive theatre resume while living both in New York City and Los Angeles. Some favorite stage roles include "The Waiting Room" at the Mark Taper Forum for which she received a Los Angeles Ovation Award nomination and "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" at the Los Angeles Theatre Center for which she received a Los Angeles Drama-Logue Award nomination. She also appeared at the Ipswitch Theatre Festival in Massachusetts in "Liberties Taken", directed by Julie Taymor. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), AEA and AFTRA. Ms. Ivey is also currently serves an adjunct faculty member at Lansing Community College.

Stephen T. Kay as Ralph: Stephen Kay was born in 1963 in New Zealand. He is a director and producer, known for Get Carter (2000), Sons of Anarchy (2008) and Friday Night Lights (2006). He has been married to Piper Perabo since July 26, 2014.

Christine Cattell as Mimi: Christine Cattell is known for Christmas at Dollywood (2019), The Wedding Veil Legacy (2022) and The Real Bros of Simi Valley (2017).

Candi Brough as Elsa Van Berg: Candi Brough is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Outlaws (1986) and Calendar Girl (1993). Twin sister of Randi Brough.

Randi Brough as Lisel Van Berg: Randi Brough is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Outlaws (1986) and Pandemonium (1982). Twin sister of Candi Brough.

Robert Jacobs as Frank Bianca (Mirror image): Robert Jacobs is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Baywatch (1989) and Shag (1988).

Say What?

Sam’s hands have dye on them, but it disappears after the opening theme.

There is no Imaging Chamber door sound when Al first arrives.

Al says Bensonhust is in New Jersey. It's actually in New York.

Ziggy is called a “he”, but it has been now established at this point in the series that the hybrid computer is a "she."

Sam doesn't have the same hairstyle as his host, as reflected in the windows.

When Sam is driving, the road is empty and surrounded by mountains. But when Al appears, they are suddenly on a busy highway.

Quotable Quotes:

"Forgot where you live?"

"Why mess with perfection!"

Lady: "How’s the girlfriend?" Sam: "Great." Lady: "Pitty."

Al: "Hey, is there part of me still left in you or what." Sam: "Maybe."

Al: "You’re doing this to torture me." Sam: "Yes, and it’s working."

Sam: "This is a story about Future Boy’s best friend, Al." Al: "Best friend…thanks."

"I see what happens when we don’t do what needs to be done."

"Hey she may be your girlfriend, but she’s my connection to 50% off on Armani suits."

Sam: "See he doesn’t even know who you are." Detective Ward: "But you do."

Laura: "I think I’d like to hear that from a real doctor." Sam: "While I am."

Awards:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was nominated for a Young Artists award for Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series in 1993.

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: Beverly Bridges
Directed by: Scott Bakula

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: Ryan Gordon
Second Assistant Director: Kate Yurka
Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky
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:

Leapers, get ready to ride the Permanent Wave! On this episode of the Quantum Leap Podcast hosts Allison Pregler, Matt Dale, and Christopher DeFilippis take a trip to the salon, as Sam Leaps into the hottest hairstylist in Beverly Hills and has to prevent a double murder. Will he save the life of wee Joseph Gordon Levitt? It’s an old-school action episode—Quantum Leap style!

Listen to The Quantum Leap Podcast on this episode here: