Why Can't Sam remember her?!

isz

Project QL Intern
Jun 4, 2007
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0
16
Jerusalem,Israel
If i remember currectly a tread About Donna was already posted here,but i didn't have the time to look for the thread and read it,so i want to apologize if i'll repeat something,that were already discussed there...
So after i watched MI i started wondering how is it,that Sam just can't remember Donna nor being married to her,though it seems his heart do.
Do you fans,have any theory about the reasons Sam's just can't remember this detail about his life?!
 
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My guess is that God/Fate/Time/Whatever kept that memory from him for the same reason that Donna herself asked Al not to remind him of her, because Sam couldn't to put it as she did:
"do what he has to do if he remembered us."
 
I have my own theory for Sam forgetting about Donna - not that it would be a very popular one.

Aside from what we see in the episode "The Leap Back", we dont know what kind of marriage Sam and Donna had. It could be that Sam hasn't finished regaining his memory by the time he leaps out again. It could be that it's not really a peaches and cream marriage.

For all we know, the marriage could have been horrible and the real reason that Sam got into the accelerator chamber (in the changed history where he is married to Donna) isn't to prove his theories or risk losing funding but maybe the real, never revealed reason is that he was running away from a looney tune wife and a bad marriage.

I find it interesting that Sam remembers so much of his past and his personal life over the run of the series but never, except in "The Leap Back" and "Star Crossed", does he remember Donna. In "Dreams" he even refers to the simo-leap so it's not as if the whole event is removed from his memory - just the portion that includes Donna.

Over the course of the series he remembers his mother, his father, sister, brother and brother-in-law. When he sees Nicole in "Catch A Falling Star" he remembers who she is and how he had a case of puppy love. In "How the Tess Was Won" he remembers having a schoolboy crush on a teacher and being upset when she married the principal. Through all that the only time he remembers Donna is in "Star Crossed" and again in "The Leap Back". Maybe Sam's lack of memory of Donna has nothing to do with GFTW preventing him from remembering. It could be that Sam's not remembering Donna is due to selective amnesia and that he's choosing not to remember her. If, as "Mirror Image" would have us believe, Sam's in control of his leaping, maybe the reason he doesn't go home is that he doesn't want to face a failed marriage.

I also feel that Donna's inclusion casts Al into a bad light. Although Al might not be above cheating on the woman he's currently with, he knows that's not something that Sam would do. I think it's highly doubtful that Al would encourage Sam to do something that goes to far against what he believes is right or wrong. Yet, if Al knows of Donna and the marriage yet encourages Sam to pursue women (which he does) then he's doing just that.

I find Donna to be one of the biggest mistakes of the series. I'm really not sure what her inclusion was meant to accomplish in "The Leap Back" but I think all it serves to accomplish is to confuse things and to cast the actions of Al and Sam in a bad light. Sam has suddenly become a serial adulterer (because whether he remembers his marriage or not, he is committing the act of adultery everytime he has a relation with another woman) and Al has encouraged him to do so. Personally, I'd rather get stuck watching a whole season of Abigails than to have to watch Donna in even on episode.

Keep in mind, this is my opinion and it's certainly not anything written as hard fact. I guess it should also be noted that I truly do dislike and despise the character of Donna and consider her a complete waste of time. I'd have much rather it was Tom that was waiting in Control in "The Leap Back" and seen how Sam suddenly dealt with the brother who had been dead suddenly being alive. I can barely deal with Donna in "Star Crossed" but in "The Leap Back", I really can't stand her.

Putting in a shameless plug for my fiction, I've even gone so far as to write a story that creates what I think is a satisfying end to Donna (What Never Was - http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3436757/1/What_Never_Was)

Oh, and I think the thread you may have been referring to, Isz, can be found here: http://quantumleap-alsplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3678
 
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jmoniz said:
I
I find Donna to be one of the biggest mistakes of the series. I'm really not sure what her inclusion was meant to accomplish in "The Leap Back" but I think all it serves to accomplish is to confuse things and to cast the actions of Al and Sam in a bad light. Sam has suddenly become a serial adulterer (because whether he remembers his marriage or not, he is committing the act of adultery everytime he has a relation with another woman) and Al has encouraged him to do so. Personally, I'd rather get stuck watching a whole season of Abigails than to have to watch Donna in even on episode.

I am as yet to see series 4 & 5 because hubby doesn't like it and i have to watch it when he's out and I don't have other work to do, so sometimes in 2035 I'll let you know what I think of them.. BUT... I have been reading the posts and I've got the jist of what happens and I have at the back of my mind thinking, 'this is just going to ruin it for me:banghead , why put a wife in there, whats the point in that', basically everything you just wrote. Once I watch it, i'll let you know if i still think that. I'm sure I'm still going to love the show but what you wrote had already crossed my mind.
 
Julia while I respect your opinion and respectibly take into consiteration that It could be possible, I like my idea better. I think Sam and Donna are great for each other and it is shown in The Leap Back that they really care about each other. Donna almost didn't let him go again to save Al remember?
 
Now i'll give my theory - during season 1-3 i think the main reason Sam didn't remember he's married to Donna is the fact that this merriege was a change in history he made indirectly and wasn't aware of that,so his memory about Donna was the memory from the original history - He never merried Donna ,because she left him on the altar.
However after "TLB" it's harder for me to explain it,because - although Al told Donna in the end of "TLB" Sam doesn't remember her nor "they leaped togethr" ,in "Permanent Wave" and a few episode after we hear,that,Sam Do remember it, Vaguely. So how could he not remember Donna?! Well that an intersting question i'm still hoping to hear more theories about it.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Julia while I respect your opinion and respectibly take into consiteration that It could be possible, I like my idea better. I think Sam and Donna are great for each other and it is shown in The Leap Back that they really care about each other. Donna almost didn't let him go again to save Al remember?

It doesn't necessarily have to be a "good motive" for Donna to keep Sam from leaping again. There's this thing called selfishness...and that's how I view the character - selfish. I could add in a few other words I use to describe the character but they'd only get censored out.
 
isz said:
Now i'll give my theory - during season 1-3 i think the main reason Sam didn't remember he's married to Donna is the fact that this merriege was a change in history he made indirectly and wasn't aware of that,so his memory about Donna was the memory from the original history - He never merried Donna ,because she left him on the altar.
That makes sense, but he does seem to remember her in BOWOF(Black On White on Fire)
Sam: You should have seen the way she(Susan) looked at me Al, it's like she wanted to crawl inside and never come out. Only one other woman has ever looked at me like that.

Hmm, who could he possibly be referring to? ;)
Although this is not exactly a reference specific to eaither timeline so you still could be right.

jmoniz said:
It doesn't necessarily have to be a "good motive" for Donna to keep Sam from leaping again. There's this thing called selfishness...and that's how I view the character - selfish. I could add in a few other words I use to describe the character but they'd only get censored out.
I can totally understand how you would see it that way, I think I did too at first. I do seem to remember her behavior in that scene annoying me greatly the first time I saw the ep although I am not sure if it was for the same reason as you or shock that Donna would behave like that about her husband's best friend. But I do remember being annoyed at first.

And just because she was selfish in that one scene does not mean the relationship was bad though because from what is shown on the balcony scene it seems to be a pretty good relationship. Why else would she be so selfish about loosing him again. If the relationship was not very good than whats the big deal about looing him again? And why did she remain on the project for four years + ?)
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
And just because she was selfish in that one scene does not mean the relationship was bad though because from what is shown on the balcony scene it seems to be a pretty good relationship. Why else would she be so selfish about loosing him again. If the relationship was not very good than whats the big deal about looing him again? And why did she remain on the project for four years + ?)
It could be a bad marriage in that Donna is a needy, clingy, possessive, selfish person. Although she might not see that as a bad thing, Sam could have had his fill of it but instead of confronting her, got in the accelerator instead.

As far as everything seeming so good between them, who's to say that Sam's regained all of his memories at that point? Maybe he hasn't regained his memories of what was wrong with his relationship with Donna. Perhaps the bloom was still on the rose. Who knows if given enough time he wouldn't have started to regret making that change in his own personal history.

With regards to Donna staying with the project, it could be that that has nothing to do with how she feels about Sam. I think it's fair to say she wields a certain amount of power at PQL. It could may well be that she didn't want to give up the power.

For as many "good" motives as can be assigned to Donna's behavior, just as many "bad" motives can be assigned to it as well. She's simply not a well defined or thought out character and seems to be more of a "throw away". "The Leap Back" would have worked just as well, if not better without her. As I said before, I think the inclusion of Tom would have provided more drama to the episode than Donna. In the whole of the series, she was mentioned in two episodes that I can think of ("Star Crossed" and "The Leap Back"). Tom, on the other hand, is mentioned quite frequently. He's the far more developed and fleshed out character and seems to be a person who had more of an emotional impact on Sam and what Sam does with his life.

Of course, this is only my opinion and certainly not "law of the land" or anything. Each person will have his/her own opinion about the character.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
That makes sense, but he does seem to remember her in BOWOF(Black On White on Fire)
Sam: You should have seen the way she(Susan) looked at me Al, it's like she wanted to crawl inside and never come out. Only one other woman has ever looked at me like that.

Hmm, who could he possibly be referring to? ;)
Although this is not exactly a reference specific to eaither timeline so you still could be right.

He remembered her,and their love,because she still the woman he loves,that he wanted to marry her. Unfortuntly she "run away" and never merried him.
In short - he remembers Donna,before the change he made in Star-Crossed.
 
jmoniz said:
It could be a bad marriage in that Donna is a needy, clingy, possessive, selfish person. Although she might not see that as a bad thing, Sam could have had his fill of it but instead of confronting her, got in the accelerator instead.
Or maybe Sam did not see it that way. Remember Sam would rather see one good in someone than a million bads. So perhaps he saw her as just being passionate and a little over loving if you are right that is about the marriage not being great.

jmoniz said:
She's simply not a well defined or thought out character and seems to be more of a "throw away"
Yeah I think Debrah Pratt agreed with you because accorind to CarolD she regretted ever bringing Donna back and decided to; as you so accurately put it, "throw her away". She liked the idea of Abigale and Sam having a relationship in a leap better or at least it was something she wanted to see what happened with it, I think it was this that made her regret Donna or perhaps she also shares your opinions. I guess we won't know until the con.

The point being that I think it was purposeful that Donna didn't seem a very well written charactor.
 
isz said:
Now i'll give my theory - during season 1-3 i think the main reason Sam didn't remember he's married to Donna is the fact that this merriege was a change in history he made indirectly and wasn't aware of that,so his memory about Donna was the memory from the original history

That's what I've always thought. Sam tends not to remember changes in the timeline that happened after he leaped. Having him mention the simo-leap once or twice is a real mistake, I think.

Of course, the real reason is outside the story--if Sam remembered that he had a wife, we would never see the hero kiss the girl (the guest characters that Sam's attracted to).

jmoniz said:
For all we know, the marriage could have been horrible

I can see why you would look at it that way, but I don't see any support for that in the episode. And I can't blame Donna for protesting when Sam wants to leap again to save Al. She's barely gotten him back after 3 years away, and he runs off again! I would have expected her to say something like, "We'll think of some other way to save Al!" She should acknowledge the situation, but she didn't, so we can chalk that up to poor scripting. I can anyway.

jmoniz said:
I also feel that Donna's inclusion casts Al into a bad light.

That's a good point. I don't think Al would encourage a married man to cheat--except that the way things are, it sure looks like he did.

The thing I wish they had done is to resolve the Donna story instead of just ignoring it. At least by the end of Mirror Image (if not before), when it looks like Sam will never get home again, I think he should "put things right" for Donna as well as Al. If he went back into her life and convinced her to marry the first guy who proposed to her, then he probably would never have met her--saving himself the agony of being left at the altar in the original timeline, and saving her the agony of waiting for him in the changed timeline.
 
Snish said:
That's a good point. I don't think Al would encourage a married man to cheat--except that the way things are, it sure looks like he did.
Well remember Donna made Al swear not to tell Sam about her, so what exactly is he supposed to say, "you can't get involved with other women but I can't tell you why." I am sure Sam would understand that perfectly. :p

Snish said:
If he went back into her life and convinced her to marry the first guy who proposed to her, then he probably would never have met her--saving himself the agony of being left at the altar in the original timeline, and saving her the agony of waiting for him in the changed timeline.

That first guy may not have been good for her though. Even in the first timeline when she ditches men, Sam doesn't know him so how would he know that he's not convincing her to marry an abusive jerk or something. And Especially after Sam changed Donna's feelings about being abandoned by men(which that change would not be reversed otherwise she marries no one and Sam doesn't want that which is why he made that change in the first place)she still left the first guy because she obviously ended up with Sam. So he(the first guy)obviously was not right for her for whatever reason. Sam's changing Donna's feelings about being abandoned by men and her ending up with him as a result; prooves that the first guy must not have been destined to work out either way. Because even when Sam made her no longer afraid she still left him or for all we know he dumped her.
 
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Snish said:
Sam tends not to remember changes in the timeline that happened after he leaped. Having him mention the simo-leap once or twice is a real mistake, I think.

What do you mean?! you think he doesn't remember the changes he made,during his leaps?!


Snish said:
The thing I wish they had done is to resolve the Donna story instead of just ignoring it. At least by the end of Mirror Image (if not before), when it looks like Sam will never get home again, I think he should "put things right" for Donna as well as Al. If he went back into her life and convinced her to marry the first guy who proposed to her, then he probably would never have met her--saving himself the agony of being left at the altar in the original timeline, and saving her the agony of waiting for him in the changed timeline.

Maybe in some unknown way Sam did change history - and his marriege to Donna never happend during one of his leaps after TLB. And that the reason we never heard about her again.
 
I have my own theory about why Sam doesn't remember Donna - he only remembers the original history. There was an episode where Sam mentioned losing Tom, and then says he got him back. (Anyone remember which one?) It sounded as if Sam recalled the original history, but remembered he got Tom back through a Leap. So Sam doesn't remember Donna past the point where she left him at the altar. My theory for why he remembered her in TLB is that this is a result of the simo-Leap and he remembers her through Al's memories, but doesn't realize this.

My other theory about Sam not remembering Donna is that she's a variable in the timeline that randomly appears and disappears depending on what Sam changes in the past, so there are times he wouldn't remember her because they were never married.

Sam Beckett Fan said:
Well remember Donna made Al swear not to tell Sam about her, so what exactly is he supposed to say, "you can't get involved with other women but I can't tell you why." I am sure Sam would understand that perfectly. :p

Yes, but I'm pretty sure that when Donnal made Al promise not to tell Sam they were married, she wasn't telling Al that he should actively encourage Sam to sleep with other women. This is why Al doesn't come off looking too good.
 
ladykayoss said:
My theory for why he remembered her in TLB is that this is a result of the simo-Leap and he remembers her through Al's memories, but doesn't realize this.

No it's his own memories returning:
Sam: And installing that ego was a breakthrough because otherwise Ziggy wuld be just some big number cruncher...Al I'm getting my memory back!"

Ladykayoss said:
There was an episode where Sam mentioned losing Tom, and then says he got him back. (Anyone remember which one?) It sounded as if Sam recalled the original history, but remembered he got Tom back through a Leap.

So that prooves that he sometimes can remember the new history, but only sometimes I guess.
ladykayoss said:
(Anyone remember which one?)
That would be Rebel Without a Clue Earnie the kindly resturant owner asks Sam if he's ever lost someone to which Sam replies
"Yeah...but I got him back."
He also remembers saving Tom when his elderly, kindly neighbors in Promised Land mention that one of the Beckett's boys just returned from Vietnam.

I still say that Donna is a result of gftw keeping the memory from him because he can't do his job with knowledge of being married.

ladykayoss said:
Yes, but I'm pretty sure that when Donnal made Al promise not to tell Sam they were married, she wasn't telling Al that he should actively encourage Sam to sleep with other women. This is why Al doesn't come off looking too good.

Al does not often even say anything about Sam's job with other women only when Sam seems stubborn about it as in Honeymoon Express. So he's trying not to be bad. And even though you are right here LadyKayoss its like I said what else can he really do, it's not his fault. I can see the concern about the role though.
 
isz said:
What do you mean?! you think he doesn't remember the changes he made,during his leaps?!

I meant that Sam doesn't remember changes he made in his own life. But then people have posted that he does remember that he saved Tom. Whether he remembers Tom coming home from Vietnam, or only remembers that he saved Tom in his leap to Vietnam, isn't specified. So, for whatever reason, he does have one big mental block on Donna because he never remembers her at all.

LadyKayoss said:
Yes, but I'm pretty sure that when Donnal made Al promise not to tell Sam they were married, she wasn't telling Al that he should actively encourage Sam to sleep with other women. This is why Al doesn't come off looking too good.

The "out" is that Sam never takes Al's advice about pursuing women anyway. Al probably knows he won't take it. If Sam is single, it would be out of character for Al not to encourage Sam to party. Sam might get suspicious if Al never did that. So Al feels pretty safe.

In fact I think that every time Sam does want to have an affair, Al is uneasy about it, or he's openly against it. He wasn't pleased that Sam spent the night with his piano teacher in Catch a Falling Star. He wasn't pleased about Sam's "vacation" with Tamlyn in Temptation Eyes.
 
Snish said:
Sam never takes Al's advice about pursuing women anyway. Al probably knows he won't take it. If Sam is single, it would be out of character for Al not to encourage Sam to party. Sam might get suspicious if Al never did that. So Al feels pretty safe.
I could hug you! No offense to everyone else but I think Snish here was the first to take certain factors into consiteration besides myself. And yes Sam is Mr. Morals as Al calls him on a number of occasions so even with Al's encouragement Sam would not persue, and Honeymoon Express is an excellent example. I believe that its in part because Sam's heart knows that there is someone in his life as well as his Mr. Morals-ness(hehe).

Snish said:
In fact I think that every time Sam does want to have an affair, Al is uneasy about it, or he's openly against it. He wasn't pleased that Sam spent the night with his piano teacher in Catch a Falling Star. He wasn't pleased about Sam's "vacation" with Tamlyn in Temptation Eyes.
*hugs again*
yes yes yes. And I don't believe he was too happy about Abigale eaither, I don't remember a whole lot as I have only seen the second trilogy twice but he although he didn't have time to have a reaction because Abigale had been grabbed by the towns people,he wasn't exactly congraduating Sam either. And this was the biggest form of adultery he has ever committed(well and Tamlyn basically gives itself away so along with that) so in his head he probably loathed it. Cuz he seems very committed to Donna's wish or he would have let up quite quickly knowing Al, he is very good at speaking without thinking sometimes.

So he has shown signs of not being happy with Sam's involvements with other women.
 
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Sam Beckett Fan said:
No it's his own memories returning:
Sam: And installing that ego was a breakthrough because otherwise Ziggy wuld be just some big number cruncher...Al I'm getting my memory back!"

Well, yeah, he'd remember Project stuff like this because it happened in the original history. I meant that the memories of Donna could've been Al's. *shrugs* It's a concept I plan to use in a fanfic eventually.



Sam Beckett Fan said:
So that prooves that he sometimes can remember the new history, but only sometimes I guess.

Actually, what I was getting at is that it proves he remembers this from the leaps, not that he remembers Tom coming home.

Sam Beckett Fan said:
That would be Rebel Without a Clue Earnie the kindly resturant owner asks Sam if he's ever lost someone to which Sam replies
"Yeah...but I got him back."
He also remembers saving Tom when his elderly, kindly neighbors in Promised Land mention that one of the Beckett's boys just returned from Vietnam.

Thank you. As much as I'd love to rewatch ever single QL episode to find the quote (the best kind of research!) I just don't have the time for it.

As for the 'Promised Land' bit, this supports the fact that Sam remembers the original history - he didn't know for sure that Tom came home safely until he heard the couple confirm it.

Sam Beckett Fan said:
I still say that Donna is a result of gftw keeping the memory from him because he can't do his job with knowledge of being married.

Al does not often even say anything about Sam's job with other women only when Sam seems stubborn about it as in Honeymoon Express. So he's trying not to be bad. And even though you are right here LadyKayoss its like I said what else can he really do, it's not his fault. I can see the concern about the role though.

That's true - in the show, Al did at least make attempts to stop Sam when he was serious. Still, it seems like Al could've found another way to dissuade Sam from sleeping around that wouldn't be out of character for him.
 
ladykayoss said:
As for the 'Promised Land' bit, this supports the fact that Sam remembers the original history - he didn't know for sure that Tom came home safely until he heard the couple confirm it.
Yeah but he and Al are both connected so Ziggy and Al gets memories of the new history so why wouldn't Sam? with the exception of the swiss cheese factor buring that particular memory.

ladykayoss said:
That's true - in the show, Al did at least make attempts to stop Sam when he was serious. Still, it seems like Al could've found another way to dissuade Sam from sleeping around that wouldn't be out of character for him.
True he could do more, but I think since there is not really anything he can say without having to break his promise to Donna, nothing is probably the best thing to do unless Sam looks like he is getting out of hand in which case Al has piped up. Snish gave a couple examples of this somewhere here.
 
I believe Sam and Donna were never supposed to be together, which is why GFTW kept them apart in the first place. When Sam changed his own future, I think GFTW must have had to intervene so that Sam wouldn't leap himself back home instead of continuing with his life's work.

Does that make sense?
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Yeah but he and Al are both connected so Ziggy and Al gets memories of the new history so why wouldn't Sam? with the exception of the swiss cheese factor buring that particular memory.

Since this is a show that tends to contradict itself at times, I guess this is just something that's open to interpretation.

And now this is making me wonder: Do we actually know Al is getting memories from the new history? I'm trying to think of specific examples where he does, but I'm not coming up with any. I keep thinking of 'A Leap for Lisa,' when Al kept having to consult the handlink to see his younger self's fate.

Sam Beckett Fan said:
True he could do more, but I think since there is not really anything he can say without having to break his promise to Donna, nothing is probably the best thing to do unless Sam looks like he is getting out of hand in which case Al has piped up. Snish gave a couple examples of this somewhere here.

What I was thinking was that Al could come up with an excuse like "It's one of the rules that Sam not sleep with women he meets in the past," or something like that. I'm sure he could have found a believable excuse if he really needed to.

naggindragon said:
I believe Sam and Donna were never supposed to be together, which is why GFTW kept them apart in the first place. When Sam changed his own future, I think GFTW must have had to intervene so that Sam wouldn't leap himself back home instead of continuing with his life's work.

Does that make sense?

It does to me. But then, I was never a Donna fan. For all we know, sometime between 'The Leap Back' and 'Mirror Image,' GFTW intervened by having a Leap where Sam made it so Donna wasn't married to him.
 
ladykayoss said:
And now this is making me wonder: Do we actually know Al is getting memories from the new history.
I gave a good example somewhere. In trilogy three after he reads the new history he instantly remembers Sammy Jo telling him that her mother was happy, really happy.

ladykayoss said:
What I was thinking was that Al could come up with an excuse like "It's one of the rules that Sam not sleep with women he meets in the past," or something like that. I'm sure he could have found a believable excuse if he really needed to.
That would not work for two reasons. One, it was also a rule not to interfere with your own life yet Sam did that to get Donna back, and save Tom, and also tried to for the rest of his family. Two he kind of needs to get a little involved with women to play his role because they expect their boyfriend/husband/fiancee to love them and kiss them.

Edit: oh sorry you said specifically sleep with them, well thats a given Sam would never sleep with a woman Sam Beckett didn't love even if the host is supposed to. Remember Honeymoon Express? As much as Al was saying he needed to do it for the purpose of stopping the U2, Sam refused the idea.
Abigale and Tamlyn were exceptions because Sam loved them as himself not just as Will and certianly not as Dylan since he was too old for Tamlyn and she loved Sam not him from her dream.
 
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Sam Beckett Fan said:
Yeah I think Debrah Pratt agreed with you because according to CarolD she regretted ever bringing Donna back and decided to; as you so accurately put it, "throw her away". She liked the idea of Abigale and Sam having a relationship in a leap better or at least it was something she wanted to see what happened with it, I think it was this that made her regret Donna or perhaps she also shares your opinions. I guess we won't know until the con.

The point being that I think it was purposeful that Donna didn't seem a very well written charactor.

The thing about Quantum Leap, or any time travel story, and the thing that doesn't look like it's been mentioned here, is that time is malleable. Sam is changing history with every leap, which has repercussions going forward. So, in The Leap Back, he was married to Donna. In another 5 leaps, he might not be. He might have never met her, or they may have been just friends, or she may have left him at the altar, or any number of permutations of possiblity.

I think that's one reason for the famous "Swiss Cheese Memory" - along with the fact that was mentioned several times, notably in LHO, that Sam's mesons can "stray" - leaving more or less of themselves with the host. My understanding is that the process would affect Sam's memory.

So, I don't think you can assume that if he remembers "something" this leap that he will still remember it next leap. Of course, that's pure canon, as Al stated in The Leap Back that Sam once again did not remember Donna.

Several of the novels have very effectively used repeated time changes as a plot point, with only Al and Ziggy being aware of the changes.

I agree with Deborah Pratt and the poster that said Donna as Sam's wife was a bad idea. And what an AWESOME idea that was, to have Tom be the focal point of TLB instead. Wish it had happened that way, although I did like the sexy scene on the patio.
 
LadyKayoss said:
My other theory about Sam not remembering Donna is that she's a variable in the timeline that randomly appears and disappears depending on what Sam changes in the past, so there are times he wouldn't remember her because they were never married.
quote]

Sorry, LadyK, I hadn't read as far as your post here before I just posted the same point. I completely agree with you.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
And I don't believe he was too happy about Abigale eaither,

No, he wasn't. He actively discouraged Sam. Their first scene has him saying, "Sam, do me a favor. Stay AWAY from Abigail." The hospital scene has him being pretty heavy handed in trying to get Sam to walk away, as well.

And SBF, I luv ya, but misspellings squick me a bit - the name is spelled "AbiGAIL" not "AbiGALE."
 
cookiemom6067 said:
Their first scene has him saying, "Sam, do me a favor. Stay AWAY from Abigail." The hospital scene has him being pretty heavy handed in trying to get Sam to walk away, as well.
Yeah I think I remember that, and I liked Al for it too. :)

cookiemom6067 said:
And SBF, I luv ya, but misspellings squick me a bit - the name is spelled "AbiGAIL" not "AbiGALE."
Well people making a fuss over my misspellings squicks me a bit ever since this incident I had at the board I came here from. They actually insulted me for my misspellings in my fanfics. Ever since my expirences there it kind of puts a twinge in me, no offense. I understand that you are trying to help.

Both are correct ways to Spell the name though, it just depends on which she uses.
 
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You didn't offend me, its just that they made such a big deal over my misspellings that I almost feel like whenever I make a misspelling someone who points it out thinks its a big deal.
 
I do consciously try not to do that, because I know a lot of people don't have that skill, and the thoughts, as long as you can make them out, are what counts. I usually try to remind myself that this is a pet peeve of MINE and that I am NOT the english teacher to the world. There are times that I think people should try harder (for example, in fan fiction), but I usually try to live and let live, even then. I was having kind of a bad day and shot off my mouth without letting my inner editor talk me out of it.