1206 Between the Cracks

What is your opinion of this story?

  • 5 ? This was an excellent episode! One of my personal favorites!

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • 4 ? This episode was great! I will definitely tell others about it.

    Votes: 2 66.7%
  • 3 ? This episode was good. It was worth reading.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 ? This episode is like the neutral zone ? I am indifferent.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 ? Bellisario would be rolling in his grave if he had one.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    3
D

Dman176

Guest
Between the Cracks
May 10, 1979


Reading, Pennsylvania


Sam leaps into the midst of a nasty fight with Jessica Allamore, his host?s wife. Is he there to save the marriage, see the divorce go through or is it something else?


Written by: M. J. Cogburn & C. E. Krawiec


Thanks,
TVS Team
 
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Our rating system this season consists of six raters and three back-up raters! We took the average of six raters and came up with an average for that episode. Based on ratings of 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, the average of this episode was: 8.83

Please be aware that some reviews may contain spoilers! Some of the comments given were:

Mystery Rater (Ruby Slippers) said:
Two stalwarts in the author ranks ? and both are ladies who are known to tug on our heartstrings. This story was no exception. Oh my gosh, talk about angst alert!

I liked the voices giving Sam conflicting comments. I thought it was a really nice touch that the son in this marriage was called Steven, so sharing a name with Sam's own son.

RATING: 9.0

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Morris J. Finkle said:
Just when I think that MJ and Eleiece's stories can't possibly get any better, they pull another emotional story out of their collective brains and tug at our heartstrings. Unfortunately, this kind of situation is all too common nowadays, with a child caught right in the middle of a pending divorce. Sometimes, it DOES take a tragedy to make people come together.

I'll admit, I almost cried toward the end, especially when Jessica started reading that beautiful and haunting passage from "I'll Love You Forever." This story was so sad, but in a good way.

Interesting little "breakdown" that Verbena had as well. I like how the episodes are sort of interlinking a lot lately. Bravo, MJ and Eleiece!

RATING: 9.5

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Sporty said:
Very sad, you both sure like to put Sam through the wringer. But as we all know, life is not all happy. And when you are dealing with abuse, it happens. A great story, very moving.

RATING: 8.0

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Mystery Rater (Everlasting Gobstopper) said:
Between The Cracks is one of those stories with an ending reminscent of Good Night, Dear Heart or Black on White on Fire from the original airings. While the Leap in itself was a success, the ultimate goal fulfilled, was it enough? For Sam, is it enough? The story is packed with pain and searching and calls attention to what more than one reviewer has mentioned as a sad statistic of divorce -- the children who fall in between the cracks in so many different ways. This was a solid outing by two skilled authors.

RATING: 9.5

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Vince Beckett said:
It's a good story. It's a sad story about an unsuccessful leap that seems to foretell things to come. It was said in "Mirror Image" that the leaps would get tougher and this is another story that shows that.

RATING: 9.0

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Gooshie said:
What a heart-breaking episode, not only for Sam and Al but for the parents of a poor innocent boy, plus us the readers. If the parents hadn't been bickering so much they may have noticed their son's situation as being more serious. Too bad Sam couldn't do anything in time to save him. :( I guess the leaps are getting harder after each episode nowadays!

Great job, Eleiece and MJ. You certainly gave us a story that tugs at our emotions. I'm also curious about Verbena... how will she do with the next leap, I wonder?

RATING: 8.0

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Now, it's your opportunity to rate this particular story. Let the author(s) know how you rate this story. If you'd like to give feedback, please go ahead and leave a reply!

Thanks!
The Virtual Seasons Team
 
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Tough Leap indeed

On the whole I really enjoyed this story, it has all the elements we have come to expect from writers such as MJ and Eleiece, drama, angst the works.
I appreciate the powerful plot potential of having a Leap where Sam fails, to some lesser or greater degree, and we all love to put him through the emotional wringer. I have done it myself on several occasions. Whilst I found it very moving, and an excellent story, I would have liked a softener in this case:

Spoiler alert
Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
Stevie's death brought the warring couple together, and may have been necessary in the grand scheme of things, but I think it would have been a nice touch if his parents could have consented to donating an organ - not lungs of course - or an eye or something, thus having something even more positive come out of his premature demise.
 
This was a heartwrenching story, and speaking as one who knows what's coming next, I have to say that the scenario this story came from has only been enriched all the more by being brought into actuality. The emotions were raw, true, and gripping, especially when you realize this sort of thing can and does happen far too often.

Great work, MJ and Eleiece!!
 
I am far behind and need to read this. I grew up in Wyomissing which is a suburb of Reading, PA.... Last season, I had Sam leap into Wyomissing in 1983
 
Oh, jeez, you sure want to break our hearts into a million pieces, don't you MJ and Eleiece? It was interesting starting off with the events at PQL as the main focus and feeling Verbina's stress, and then the switch to the leap and poor Stevie...

One small nit-pick in the opening paragraph: "... puppeteer waiting for its creator to play with him..." I think you meant "puppet", not "puppeteer". :b

A larger nit-pick, going back to the PQL situation, we saw in the series in many episodes ("Lee Harvey Oswald", "Killin' Time", "Return of the Evil Leaper", etc.) that the Waiting Room has BLUE walls, not WHITE.

Anyway, you two put together a great story here. I only wish the ending was happier! Sam just doesn't seem to be having any luck in hospitals these days. :cry Those guilty thoughts firing at him was an interesting touch as well... poor Sam.

... Mike. ^_^
(post #23)