Today in Quantum Leap History: August 5

[alsplacebartender]

Today in #QuantumLeap History: August 5

"The Friendly Skies"
When Ben leaps aboard a 1970s passenger jet as a flight attendant, he must outwit its hijackers before it mysteriously crashes into the Atlantic, and worse, he has to do it all without Ziggy's help

Quantum Leap (2022-2024) - 117 The Friendly Skies

When Ben leaps aboard a 1970s passenger jet as a flight attendant, he must outwit its hijackers before it mysteriously crashes into the Atlantic, and worse, he has to do it all without Ziggy's help.

www.quantumleap-alsplace.com

 

[Dbz77]

This episode could easily have been set from the mid-1980's to 2001.

I wonder why they decided to set it outside of Ben's lifetime.

 

[isz]

This episode could easily have been set from the mid-1980's to 2001.

I wonder why they decided to set it outside of Ben's lifetime.

Because they wanted to go bigger and much more explosive. And that was the show demise. Making it into an Action show over a Drama show. Well. at least, that what i saw in the first season. I didn't come back for season 2.

 

[Dbz77]

Because they wanted to go bigger and much more explosive. And that was the show demise. Making it into an Action show over a Drama show. Well. at least, that what i saw in the first season. I didn't come back for season 2.

Thematically, I understand why Donald P. Bellisario wanted Sam to leap more outside his lifetime in the proposed Season 6, as the 1950's to 1980's were already mined out for story ideas.

This rationale did not apply in the sequel series, as there are plenty of story ideas that would fit in with the time period of the 1980's to 2010's.

 

[McDuck]

Honestly, when you think about how entertainment works... it's always looking back to the generation previous. 1970s -- we had M*A*S*H looking back to the Korean War, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley -- looking back to the 50's and early 60's. So in the 80's and 90's that nostalgia trend continued, OG series spending a lot of time in the Fifties and Vietnam eras. Canonically once Sam and Al simo-leaped, Al's lifetime became fair game for Sam to Leap into. With the nostalgia around GenX (Stranger Things, Cobra Kai -- modern setting but calling back to The Karate Kid franchise) I would have expected far more 80's and 90's Leaps for Ben. It was an interesting choice to open up the entirety of history to Ben, to be sure.

 

[Dbz77]

I would have expected far more 80's and 90's Leaps for Ben. It was an interesting choice to open up the entirety of history to Ben, to be sure.

It was a choice that did not work out too well.