401 The Leap Back

The Leap Back


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thank you for that once, al. (sam then rubs his nose and smirks)...we assume the "few times" was with donna.
thank you i've never experienced anything like that sam...al, up to his old antics with sam's choir boy thoughts. hysterical isn't it?

it's even more funny because we know the characters so well we laugh when they switch.

those had to be the most precious statements they ever did say to one another in the whole series.
 
Yeah lol and wanna know a fun fact. There is a quote in the book Another Time, Another Place of Dean saying that he was a little Jealous of Scott getting to be the hologram hehe.
 
well, i've got me a dairy farm...oh my god, i'm so sorry, you've got a filthy mind...

sam you dog!

did you have fun? (gooshie)

dammit tell me ziggy something i don't know!
tina's having an affair with gooshie!

(my grandfather explained at the tender age of 11, what sam meant when al was thanked for more than once. he asked if i knew protection and gave me a whole lecture...then smiled as i told him all the stuff his daughter instructed me on...)

(this is the grandfather who passed the very day that ashley mcconnell believes sam started leaping. strange how my grandfather's personality is so much like scott bakula's and also, he used to watch matlock, gung ho, and the other stuff scott was in. he and my grandma also went to see both romance romance on broadway and phantom of the opera.)
 
Actually I believe the line is
"Well if butter is all you need I got me a dairy farm...Oh my god I am so sorry that's a horrible thing to say, I don't know why I would say something...yes I do yes I do, this is all your fault!"
"My fault!"
" The leap must have given me part of your lecherous side during the leap...You've got a filthy mind!"

Lol, one of my fav lines and another is
"Revenge is mine thus sayth the hologram, wha wha wha"
 
that's was scott's favorite line too if i remember correctly. however, i don't like it. i liked "thanks for that one time." "just one?" my grandfather wasn't too sure if it needed some explaining when i was 11. god, how much scott in real life is like him. their outgoing personality, the family man, the lover...
 
I love the idea of Donna, but I've got to tell you, I wish they had hired a better actress. One of the things she does that drives me up the frickin' wall every time I see it -

Sam: "Why did you tell Al not to tell me about us?" (paraphrased)
And she makes this WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD little grimace, like "ooo, I'm in trouble now..." It was an AWFUL choice for a reaction. I think she would have been more serious and more straight up about it. Her voice was also too breathy for my taste.

My FAVORITE interplay is Sam/Ziggy:

Sam: Just give me what I want, baby.
Ziggy: OOOO, if you weren't my FATHER.

Yeah, I'll give you what you want, baby!

The other poor casting/directing choice: Tina, the bimbo. WHY????? SUCH an OBVIOUS stereotype for "Al the Lech"

Honestly, I also love the scene when Suzanne is crying and Al takes pity on her and says, "take a hike, Mr. Morals, Calivicci's taking over." Although I understood Sam's moral imperitives, I thought it was a little cruel for the women involved. For example, for Diane McBride to think her new husband wasn't eager to make love to her. THEY didn't know Sam was a stranger, after all.
 
laestrella said:
that's was scott's favorite line too if i remember correctly. however, i don't like it. i liked "thanks for that one time." "just one?" my grandfather wasn't too sure if it needed some explaining when i was 11. god, how much scott in real life is like him. their outgoing personality, the family man, the lover...

Really, hehe cool YAY SCOTT!
and I believe your line is
"Yeah I guess I owe you one too"
"Just one?
"

and Dana yours is

"Why do humans die for love?"
"Read Shakespear"
"Thank you Dr."
"Not now!"
"Why not with a million giga bites of memory I am quite capable of tapping my head and rubbing my belly and carrying out a carrying out several functions at the same time"
(this one I am sure is not exactly right I haven't seen the ep for a while)
"Because I don't have time to get into a philisophical discussion"
"I've finished reading Shakespear, I see your point."

So sorry but I just can't fight the urge to correct a mis-quoted line. And it feels uncomfortable to do it myself like the one Ziggy line above that I put the comment next to in parenthsis.

Ferther more I am not sure I mentioned this in my first review but I would have loved to see Donna walk Sam up to a mirror to let him see his own reflection and when he smiles say:
"It's been a while since you've seen him huh?"
"Yeah I've missed seeing him"
"We both have" *gives him a kiss*

That would have been so cute :)
 
Hehe watching the ep now I love Mike's insult to Clifford.
"You flat footed egg sucking chicken turd!"
:lol

I also love how QL is a show that is really good wit detail because if you look closely they kept the wounds on Sam's temples from the shocks in the previous episode. :)
 
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Another one of the best episode in the series. Teri Hatcher was missing from this episode but... i could see a resemblence between Mimi Kuzyk who played Donna and Teri. Very Funny episode and well written and Ziggy...Ziggy was hilarious.

BTW who was suppose to be the female navy soldier that appeared twice (but didn't say anything) during the episode in the control room?!

In any case - I really enjoyed this episode. Too bad,that after TLB we didn't got anymore episodes with Sam and Al switching places. From what i've seen in the episode - it's not such a hard thing to do.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
I think shes just a female Admiral she was also seated next to Al at the hearing in Honeymoon Express

Both of the female officers seen in "Honeymoon Express" and "The Leap Back" are probably aids working on the project but neither of them hold the rank of admiral.

The woman in "Honeymoon Express" has two stripes on her sleeve which would put her rank at lieutenant. It's harder to make out the striping on the female officer in "The Leap Back" but it's definitely three stripes. I can't tell if all three stripes are the same width or if one is thinner. Either way, it would put her rank at either Lt. Commander (if the third stripe is thinner) or Commander (if all three stripes are the same size).

Al's rank is indicated by the shoulderboards on his uniform. Two stars and an anchor is indicative of a Rear Admiral (upper half).

You can see a breakdown of Navy rank here: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/navy_legacy_hr.asp?id=266
 
Oh Maybe I was thinking of one of the books because I thought I heard reference to a female Admiral somewhere. Thanx Julia.

In any case though isz, they are just random QL workers.
 
OK - the one thing that's bothered me about this debate is the "Al's marriage shouldn't have been fixed." Don't forget that Sam fixed his own marriage and tries to fix his own family in the Leap Home. But he wouldn't do it for Al until he figures out he was supposed to...

If you believe that Sam and Donna should be together (and personally I don't... just because she was supposed to marry someone else before Sam... and I hate the woman who played her in TLB), then surely you should believe Al and Beth should be together.
 
Oh, and I also don't believe that GFTW would have let Al die anyway. I believe GFTW would have made Al repeat the leap, like in the b**gieman.
 
Yes I agree NagginDraggin that Al and Beth's marriage was meant to be saved as Sam and Donna's was. And I am glad that Sam got a second chance to go back and do this special task for his best friend. I also agree that God wouldn't Al die as he didn't let Sam die when he was in grave situations. Last Dance Before an Exicution is a perfect example.
 
naggindragon said:
OK - the one thing that's bothered me about this debate is the "Al's marriage shouldn't have been fixed." Don't forget that Sam fixed his own marriage and tries to fix his own family in the Leap Home. But he wouldn't do it for Al until he figures out he was supposed to...

When Sam refused to try to fix Al's marriage in MIA, it was before the Leap Home. He hadn't tried to save his brother yet. Also, he didn't know that he had succeeded in fixing his marriage to Donna. He was following his own "insider trading" rule. Plus he had one of his famous "gut feelings" that it wasn't the right thing to do. I guess that's supposed to cover it. It does seem unfair when you think about it though. Sam refused to fix Al's marriage, then passed up a chance to shorten his years in Vietnam--while Sam fixed things for himself.

The thing that bothers me is that they waited until literally the very last minute to fix Al's marriage. So we never get to know what Al would be like with one wife and four children. I mean, he would have to be different in some respects, not just the lack of stories about Tina and all his ex-wives. I can't help but think that stories about his kids just wouldn't be as much fun. Al would be... domesticated. And I'm sure we could love that Al too, but we never get to find out how they would have played it. :\

Oh, and I also don't believe that GFTW would have let Al die anyway. I believe GFTW would have made Al repeat the leap, like in the b**gieman.

If QL had a continuing storyline, they could have let Al continue to leap for at least one more episode, which could have made for a more natural wrap-up to this story. I can't see GTFW allowing him to die either. The scene where Sam decides he must save the day by leaping into Al seems really contrived to me. It only happens because they have to restore the status quo with Sam as leaper and Al as observer. Come on, the sidekick being hit over the head is the oldest cliche in the Hollywood book. They just didn't have time to play out a more interesting way to resolve the leap or for Sam to save Al's life without leaping in.
 
Snish said:
The thing that bothers me is that they waited until literally the very last minute to fix Al's marriage. So we never get to know what Al would be like with one wife and four children.

I agree I would have liked to see life at Project QL with Beth and four daughters now there.
 
Snish said:
Sam refused to fix Al's marriage, then passed up a chance to shorten his years in Vietnam--while Sam fixed things for himself.

But Sam didn't know that he had a chance to shorten Al's years in VN - he didn't even know Al was one of the POW's. Given a choice of saving someone's life and preventing someone's imprisonment, I think I would agree with Al: what the h***, I get repatriated in 4 years." Al certainly knew who the POW"s were and he wasn't saying, "Save me, SAM!"
 
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cookiemom6707 said:
But Sam didn't know that he had a chance to shorten Al's years in VN - he didn't even know Al was one of the POW's. Given a choice of saving someone's life and preventing someone's imprisonment, I think I would agree with Al: what the h***, I get repatriated in 4 years." Al certainly knew who the POW"s were and he wasn't saying, "Save me, SAM!"

Exactly. Did you not notice Snish how heartbroken Sam looked when he saw the photograph that won the pulitzer? Had he known Al was out there he would have given anything to free his best buddy. Possibly even if it meant leaving Tom's fate untouched.

Although I must admit that Sam was a tad on the selfish side to not also think of those poor starving people as well as Tom. He has a big heart and usually thinks of everyone so that struck me as a little out of Sam's charactor even though it was about someone in his family. I felt the same way abut MIA that's why I was glad in Mirror Image when he realized that he could have at least tried. Not that he didn't but he could have tried more.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Exactly. Did you not notice Snish how heartbroken Sam looked when he saw the photograph that won the pulitzer? Had he known Al was out there he would have given anything to free his best buddy. Possibly even if it meant leaving Tom's fate untouched.

It would have been a truly terrible choice for Sam if Al had told him that he was one of the POWs. So Al spared him that choice--but he also let Sam know the results of his actions at the end. So you could say Al isn't completely selfless either. I said, "It does seem unfair," but you know no one said life is fair.

He has a big heart and usually thinks of everyone so that struck me as a little out of Sam's charactor even though it was about someone in his family.

I really prefer Sam as something less than perfect. If he were too perfect, he would be a cardboard saint or a superhero, not an interesting, believeable character. They don't let his Mr. Good Guy image slip too often, but it makes for great drama when they do--even if I complain about it because my beloved Al gets hurt.
 
Snish said:
I really prefer Sam as something less than perfect. If he were too perfect, he would be a cardboard saint or a superhero, not an interesting, believeable character. They don't let his Mr. Good Guy image slip too often, but it makes for great drama when they do--even if I complain about it because my beloved Al gets hurt.

I'm with you there, 100%. Sam is a much more attractive character as a 'flawed hero', as well as being more believeable. Nobody is perfect, and most people would find it hard to think objectively and live up to their normal standards when a family member is in peril. It is perfectly natural and understandable for him to be somewhat 'blinkered' at these times.
And at the end of the day, that is exactly how Al was in MIA when he saw a chance to save his marriage - all thoughts of Sam's 'real mission' went out the window. Had he thought more rationally and trusted Sam, then maybe Sam would have tried to complete both missions, like he did in Star Crossed. I don't blame Al at all for not doing that, I'm saying it's understandable.
 
Snish said:
It would have been a truly terrible choice for Sam if Al had told him that he was one of the POWs. So Al spared him that choice--but he also let Sam know the results of his actions at the end. So you could say Al isn't completely selfless either. I said, "It does seem unfair," but you know no one said life is fair.

I never said anything about Al being self-less. I was speaking hypotheically about Sam. What does this have to do with the chunk of my post that you quoted? Although it is veru nicely said and I agree.

leaper1 said:
I'm with you there, 100%. Sam is a much more attractive character as a 'flawed hero', as well as being more believeable. Nobody is perfect, and most people would find it hard to think objectively and live up to their normal standards when a family member is in peril. It is perfectly natural and understandable for him to be somewhat 'blinkered' at these times.
And at the end of the day, that is exactly how Al was in MIA when he saw a chance to save his marriage - all thoughts of Sam's 'real mission' went out the window. Had he thought more rationally and trusted Sam, then maybe Sam would have tried to complete both missions, like he did in Star Crossed. I don't blame Al at all for not doing that, I'm saying it's understandable.
I suppose you are right Helen, I have to agree with this.

leaper1 said:
Had he thought more rationally and trusted Sam, then maybe Sam would have tried to complete both missions, like he did in Star Crossed. I don't blame Al at all for not doing that, I'm saying it's understandable.
Yeah and he also culd have done the same in Vietnam but like you said its understandable, and again how did this convo turn it's focus on Al when I was referring to Sam?
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
I never said anything about Al being self-less.

I didn't mean you specifically. That was a general "you."

Sam Beckett Fan said:
I was speaking hypotheically about Sam. What does this have to do with the chunk of my post that you quoted?

OK, maybe not a whole lot. Except that Al would be aware of Sam's feelings that you described, and Al acted accordingly.

Sam Beckett Fan said:
Yeah and he also culd have done the same in Vietnam but like you said its understandable, and again how did this convo turn it's focus on Al when I was referring to Sam?

I think it's natural to talk about the motives and feelings of one character or the other, or both, especially when they have been in similar positions and you can compare them.
 
Ok I see what you were getting at now. Yeah Al probably spared Sam's feelings of course but what I meant was that hypothetically had Sam known that Al was out there(whether or not Al himself was the source) being that he has such a big heart he probably would have been willing to give up Tom for Al although like Star-Crossed there is a small chance he may have been able to do both. Just judging from how heartbroken he was when he saw the photograph.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Ok I see what you were getting at now. Yeah Al probably spared Sam's feelings of course but what I meant was that hypothetically had Sam known that Al was out there(whether or not Al himself was the source) being that he has such a big heart he probably would have been willing to give up Tom for Al although like Star-Crossed there is a small chance he may have been able to do both. Just judging from how heartbroken he was when he saw the photograph.

Personally, I think if Sam knew one of the POW's was Al he may have done his best to both free the POW's and save Tom's life but, if push came to shove, I think he would have made the decision to save his brother's life. He had the knowledge that whether or not the POW's were freed then, Al would end up being liberated. I believe his driving need to change his brother's history would have taken precedence.

When he sees the photo and sees that one of the POW's was Al, it's on top of the guilt he's already feeling over Maggie's death. In hindsight he realizes that not only did he lose the opportunity to cut short his friends time as a POW but he's also traded one life for another. Perhaps if given all that information - in order to save Tom another life must be sacrificed and Al won't be freed early - he might have considered not going the course he did but I still think the familial bond would win out. It's always seemed to me that Tom's death was a driving force and major event in Sam's life (something I've explored in my fiction) and something that haunted him. Given the opportunity to change it, I don't think he'd pass it up.