Will A New QL be Fan Bashed

Z

ziggycowan

Guest
Firstly let me state that i truly truly want a new Quantum Leap and hope that it does come and is great.

However it is in some respects, a re-imagining, a new beginning for the series, so will it be accepted by all the fans, and not split the fanbase, therefore dooming itself.

Look what has happened to the Star Trek franchise, its fanbase is so fractured, that the franchise is now all but dead. "Jean Luc beats Kirk......ooh ooh that ship didnt exist until 2252 where that episode is set in 2251 and so on.

Could it happen to QL will we all accept it, could that worry ultimately mean we will never see it.

I for one hope everyone accepts it.
 
Well, the Star Trek and Quantum Leap franchises are completely different with different types of fans (but this also includes fans of both QL and ST like we have on this board). It's safe to say that ST has a much larger fan base than QL largely due to the fact that the franchise spanned four decades when television in the 1960s was very different than it is now.

Of course there's a lot more reason for the following of ST than simply that fact, but I think the fact that the franchise is more widely known than QL makes a big difference. While fans of any original series will usually feel passionate about the original (and in many cases only the original), I think it automatically would make any fan of any franchise welcome a new addition with a grain of salt. As mature as QL fans generally are (especially on this board), it really amounts to the quality of the upcoming movie/series.

I mean, look how the season 2 DVDs have been bashed by us for missing original music. If we see the upcoming movie/series blatantly ignore all previously established canon from the original series, what fan wouldn't be ticked off? If the next installment(s) show little or no respect for what came before it, then I have no doubt that it will be bashed (though in a more mature and rational way on this board at least). However, if Trey Callaway wrote a clever screenplay and stayed true to the series (yes, I'm overlooking Sammy Jo's age; maybe something good will be explained), I'm not going to go so far as to say that it will be embraced, but not hated at least.

What I'm worried about is that Trey Callaway might want to make his own QL, and not necessarily Don Bellisario's. This makes me think of the case with Terminator 3: Rise Of the Machines where director Jonathan Mostow took over after James Cameron. The franchise was James Cameron's brainchild and a new director took over who wanted to stay true to the first two films, yet at the same time make his own film. The result was a decent movie, but not as good as the first two. While it was decent in & of itself, it lacked James Cameron's style and the overall Terminator feel. Bottom line: only time will tell!
 
I just gotta say that I feel quite confident in Trey's ability to appeal to both old and new fans alike. I was quite pleased with the interview in The Observer, 'cause I was thrilled to find out that Trey is as much a Leaper as we are.

I know we've heard that Don will be serving as executive producer "in title only", but that could only be referring to the series, not the TV movie.

I really have a feeling that the new QL will turn out to be something that everyone can enjoy. The only problem I foresee is that some people have already made up their minds on whether or not they'll like the show based on the fact that Scott won't be starring (I'm seeing a lot of this on the QL newsgroup). I wish they'd realize that they haven't even seen how things are going to be, so they should give the show a chance.

Although I do agree that comparing QL and ST is a bit much, I do think that things are a bit the same concerning people making pre-judgments based on their loyalty to the original series. There were many people who didn't want to watch TNG because it didn't feature the cast/characters of TOS. But then many gave in and watched and found that they actually liked TNG.

I think (and hope) that the same will go for QL:BLF.

Joy
 
Let me put it straight, I wasnt comparing QL to Trek, there fan bases are far diffrent, from size and history.

ST was my only real point of reference for a resurected show getting bashed by its fans.

What i was trying to get across was does anyone think that any split will ruin the shows chance of success, will the show if it happens be given a chance by the fans, or as has already been stated, ppls minds already made up.

Will the network actually get around to making a show they think might split its core audience and reduce its viewership.
 
well, I for one, would not bash the new series/movie unless it was a total ABOMINATION. I can handle time-line slip ups occasionally, and stuff that's a tad out of character for a little while (just time to get the bearings) but I think most QL fans are just so excited about the prospect of a new project that they aren't going to be nitpicky.

newleaper
 
Nobody ever thought they'd be able to recreate the magic of Star Trek : The Original Series, yet they came very close with Star Trek : The Next Generation, especially in later seasons, and with the last 2 seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

So it is possible to continue Quantum Leap in a new direction and produce something successful? Absolutely. Is it likely to happen on the Sci-Fi channel? I'm not holding out hope.
 
Sure some fans will nit pick every single minute facet of any new TV movie/series, then proceed to claim that everyone involved - the writers & producers especially ? have no idea what they?re doing and that they could have made it 10 times better. But hey, a little constructive criticism is good - not that it achieves anything in cases like this.
But just look at current QL fans? taste:
* Some dislike the style of the ?Lee Harvey Oswald? episode how the leapee influences Sam ? I thought it was great.
* Some dislike the whole Evil Leaper storyline ? I thought it was great.
* Some dislike the final episode ? I thought it was great (what did they want ?Sam returned home and lived happily ever after?? Last time I checked no saga sell started with ?Once upon a time??)
So there is already wide discrepancy in tastes, so certainly the new TV movie/series won?t satisfy everyone all the time ? it can?t. The best hope is that it satisfies me (hey I?m selfish).
 
I also liked Evil Leaper tremendously and was so looking forward to her return in the 6th season.

Lee Harvey Oswald shouldn't have surprised anyone considering Shock Theater.

As for the final episode "Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home." was incredibly depressing and, I think, misleading. I still like to believe that Sam helped people for the rest of his days, but not without breaks from and visiting the Project. I think eventually Donna would go nuts and run into the Imaging Chamber even if just to see him. It makes you wonder how many times she went into the Imaging Chamber and just stood next to Al watching Sam. I wonder if there is anything suggesting this in past episodes in Al's behavior.

QL really does suffer from PCR (Post-creative rationalisation) and having different writers work on the show without a comprehensive QL bible. This led to inconsistancies and inability to really see down the road at what will happen with the show. I am not saying QL isn't an awesome show, but think of how even more compelling the backstory could have been if it had been plotted out from the first season.

If, in "Bold Leap Forward", they follow the storyline and if the writer/director really "gets" what made Quantum Leap Quantum Leap, then it will be good. If they miss the subtleties and the emotion, then it will be another short-lived Sci-Fi Channel [TM] retread.
 
It makes you wonder how many times she went into the Imaging Chamber and just stood next to Al watching Sam. I wonder if there is anything suggesting this in past episodes in Al's behavior.

What in intruiging mention!! I never thought of that before... but, Donna would be needing to touch Al in order to see the hologram, I believe. Remember in "Shock Theater", Virbina had to be holding Al's hand in order to see Sam.

Additionally, I agree with what Astroboy said above: I like LHO, the evil leapers, and "Mirror Image". Too many Hollywood films and too many TV series have a "happily ever after" ending, just so everyone gets into a feel-good, warm, fuzzy state. I realise that people revert to TV/movies to escape reality, but sometimes it's more enjoyable to see life imitated in art, where not everything comes out perfectly.

... Mike. ^_^
 
I don't think Dr. Beeks actually saw Sam in "Shock Theater" but was more like staring where Al was. It sure looked like she saw him, but according to the show's logic, this couldn't be the case. (Unless the rules changed yet again.) Therefore Donna would only see an empty room, and, if she touched Al, Sam would now be able to see her and might remember her.

This would screw up the entire plan for Sam not being supposed to know he's married, and would break even more Project rules. She would be letting him see her, but she wouldn't be able to see him I think, so it would be useless to her. All she'd really be doing is actually making Sam's leaping harder knowing that he is really married. If she could see him, I think she'd have been in the Imaging Chamber throughout the series.
 
Reply

I have to say, they really screwed up when they did that vertical holographic "tornado" in Mirror Image. It just does not match up with the story so far. That and several other off-hand things said in MI.

I think someone is going to have to sit down with Don and write the Science-Fantasy 'rules' for the next show.

Don, why didn't you write a QL Bible? :(
 
Re: Reply

As far as I see it, there are two situations with the Imaging Chamber:

1. The hologram has already been established, and that's when we see Al come in through the Imaging Chamber Door.

2. Al has to stand in the middle of the Imaging Chamber in the tornado of images, and that's when he just "pops" into existence.

That was my conclusion from the show and what I use in my fan fiction.

... Mike. ^_^
 
Re: Reply

On Star Trek TNG, they took a very technical approach to the show because they knew if EVERYTHING was made up, it would be very distracting. Sure, a lot of what they did was made up, but other things had that taste of plausibility in them.

The Holodeck was really well-established. The walls were extremely high-resolution screens. The room was a fixed, large size. When you walked around, either forcefields kept you in place while your legs moved, or the floor moved like a conveyor belt.

I just think that Don had a chance to come up with a comprehensive explanation for the workings of the Imaging Chamber and took an easy way out in Mirror Image.

P.S. I have yet to read any of the fan fiction about QL except one of the paperbacks.
 
Re: Fan's Complaining about the New Movie

I for one and looking forward to the new movie/series. Granted it probably wont ever find the magic of the first, but what does in Hollywood (which the possible exception of Aliens over Alien - but I digress.) As you can tell from my SN, I'm a huge Ghostbusters fan. You may have notice the resurgence in some of the GB stuff in the past years - a new comic book, new toys, even a new paper-back novel. Though nothing can be perfect, most "Ghost-Heads" as they are called, took it upon themselves to Flame whatever came out because it wasnt good enough. While criticism is one thing, and I will admit I had my few, they railed most of what came out, then turned on other members of the community who actually like to projects and saw promise for the franchise. It hurt to see such a divided community and I don't wonder why every one of the new projects has since died. There was no fan support from "die-hard followers." As immature as those people have been, I have not seen that in this community and I honestly thank everyone here for that. Granted I haven't been here very long, but it seems like everyone is much more civil and much more open minded here. So thank you. With fan support QL:BLF can do great when it is released. I will admit that I would like some new info on it as well. But if everyone splits and complains, it will just go the way of the Ghostbusters projects.

Sorry this turned out to be a "rant," I saw the topic and read the discussion and thought "wow that sounds familar." So there's my warning.
 
Re: Fan's Complaining about the New Movie

The Holodeck was really well-established. The walls were extremely high-resolution screens. The room was a fixed, large size. When you walked around, either forcefields kept you in place while your legs moved, or the floor moved like a conveyor belt.

Well, Star Trek: The Next Generation was a clearly established science-fiction show which typically had plot lines that revolved around the technology (or "Treknology" :) ). Quantum Leap, on the other hand, was more of a drama at heart than a science-fiction series, so for that reason I don't think Don really wanted to put too much emphasis on how some of the technology worked.

Of course some explanations couldn't be ignored completely or the show wouldn't entirely make sense, but I think some technical aspects were revealed only when it was crucial to the plot. I never had a problem with the "tornado" effect in the Imaging Chamber though.

It's certainly not the first way I would think the projection always worked, but I think it makes sense. The hologram could not fill the entire room until a neural lock was established, so there had to be an effective way to sift through time without a "locked" hologram.

I just think that Don had a chance to come up with a comprehensive explanation for the workings of the Imaging Chamber and took an easy way out in Mirror Image.

I agree here, but again like I said above, he didn't intend for people to read too much into how everything worked. So I don't think it was a case of taking the easy way out but more that it just wasn't necessary.

Including some expository dialog might have taken up too much time for something that wasn't necessary. It's usually a big issue when making movies where things have to be explained but directors have to find a way to explain information without making it boring.
 
Re: Re: Fan's Complaining about the New Movie

all one has to do is see the bastardization of "Battlestar Galactica" to see how the SciFi Channel ruins stuff. I'll admit, Stargate SG-1 has been treated so well, but they had a solid 5 seasons on Showtime... and established cannon.

Likewise, Richard Dean Anderson came on board as Executive Producer very quickly into the show, so with his money and energy behind it, the show has stayed consistant!

If we can get Don B. behind the project more than in name only, I think it'll work!

But I'm STILL torqued about changing Sammi Jo's age! LOL!