"The Play's the Thing"

Leap Date:

September 9, 1969

Episode Adopted by: Rindi

Synopsis:

As a young man romancing a much, much older woman, Sam must convince her not to move back to Cleveland with her straight-as-an-arrow son and his wife. And somehow he also has to get through a nude version of "Hamlet."

Audio from this episode

Place
Leap Date
Project Date
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Songs
Music Artists
Project Trivia
Sam Trivia
Al Trivia
Al's Women
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Miscellaneous Trivia
Kiss with History
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

Place:

New York City, New York

Leap Date:

September 9, 1969

Name of Person Leaped Into:

Joe Thurlow

Songs/Music:

Theme: Mike Post

Music: Velton Ray Bunch

Project Trivia:

There is no imaging chamber door the second time Al comes to Sam.

Sam Trivia:

(1) Sam says "Oh Boy!" three times in this episode. (2) Sam believes it is ok for women to marry younger men just as much as men being able to marry younger women.

Al Trivia:

(1) Al’s fifth wife’s dream was to be in the roller derby. (2) Al’s fifth wife ran off with a bricklayer. (3) Al says "Oh Boy!" once in this episode. (4) Al appears 3 different times in this episode and each time he has a cigar.

Miscellaneous Trivia:

(1) Jane Linhurst says "Oh Boy!" once in this episode (2) Sam gets Joe a job as the new Boxer Boy ( a play on the underwear Joe Boxer).

Al’s Outfits Worn in the Episode:

1^st appearance: Al was wearing a red jacket, a white button up collar shirt, a metal triangular tie with two strings hanging (a cowboy like tie), black slacks, and shoes can’t be seen.

2^nd appearance: Same outfit as #1.

3^rd appearance: Al was wearing a light mustard jacket and slacks to match, metallic gold button up shirt with white spiral ovals placed sporadically over the shirt, a metallic goldish copper tie and shoes cant be seen.

Writers:

Beverly Bridges

Directors:

Eric Laneuville

Producers:

Co-Executive: Deborah Pratt

Co-Executive: Michael Zinberg

Supervising: Harker Wade

Broadcast Date:

January 8, 1992

Regular Cast:

Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett

Dean Stockwell as Al Calavicci

Guest Stars:

Penny Fuller as Jane Lindhurst

Robert Pine as Ted

Daniel Roebuck as Neil Lindhurst

Anna Gunn as Liz Lindhurst

Craig Richard Nelson as The Director

Guest Star Cast Notes:

PENNY FULLER appeared in All The President’s Men (1976) starring Robert Redford.

ROBERT PINE appeared on Enterprise: Fusion (2002) with Scott Bakula a decade after this Quantum Leap episode. He has also been in Independence Day (1996) with Tom Cruise. Also, like many other actors that appeared on Quantum Leap he was also on Star Trek: Voyager: The Chute (1996).

DANIEL ROEBUCK has been in Halloween... The Happy Haunting of America! (1997) with Jamie Lee Curtis which he also produced and directed, Final Destination (2000) with Devon Sawa, and Agent Cody Banks (2003) with Franky Munez. He was also in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Unification: Part 1 and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Unification: Part 2 (1987).

ANNA GUNN has been in the TV show Miracles (2003) with Skeet Ulrich with whom she also starred in Nobody’s Baby (2001). She was also in Lost Souls (2000) with Wynona Rider, and Caught In The Crossfire (1994) with DANIEL ROEBUCK.

CRAIG RICHARD NELSON was in The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank  (1978) with Carol Burnett and in 1979 he worked with her again in Carol Burnett & Company. He too was in Star Trek: Voyager: Living Witness (1998).

Personal Review:

This is a good episode. It’s one of those episodes that show Sam’s sweet romantic side. This episode makes you want to reach your dreams and to find that one love that will support you while you do it. It’s a touching episode.

Best Line:

"Quantum leaping through time I’ve leaped into an electric chair, gun fights, and the variety of handcuffs. It looks like I finally rated a cushy time." "Thank You." (Talking to God) --Sam "No (pause), Thank You." --Jane Lindhurst (much older woman)

Best Scene:

The best scene in this episode is at the beginning when Sam first leaps into Joe Thurlow an actor. He leaps into a bed of silk sheets and pillows. He thanks God for a comfortable landing and then an older woman rolls over, his girlfriend and Thanks him back, assumingly for the night before. Sam lye’s in bed naked and shy with a woman he does not know, not exactly the comfortable situation he thought.

I also liked the scene where Sam is trying to convince Jane to sing for an audition for the jingle singer for the Boxer Boy commercials and Al says, "Actions speak louder than words Sam," and he kisses her passionately to prove he loved her and supported her career.

Quotable Quotes:

"Morning Tiger." --Jane Lindhurst

"…don’t you think maybe she’s a little um long in the tooth for you?" --Al "Her teeth look just great to me." --Sam " No, no, no, no, I mean don’t you think she’s more right for me…" --Al "Oh, no, no, no she’s much too sophisticated for you." --Sam

"Just goes to show you that (pause) some dreams are suppose to stay up in the clouds." --Al "What are you talking about, no, you can never give up on your dreams." –Sam

" …the only thing worse than lying to other people was lying to yourself." --Neil\