QL people who vanished from the show when season 5 began.

10-31-2008, 12:19 AM

Maybe there were more, but right now I can remember at least two people who vanished from the show when the 5th season began. They were writers and producers, too. They even directed some episodes and a lot of what they wrote became classic. I'm talking about Chris Ruppenthal ("The B**gieman", "The Curse of Ptah-Hotep", "Glitter Rock" and "Good Morning, Peoria" among others) and Paul Brown ("Camikazi Kid", "Runaway", "Nuclear Family" and "Disco Inferno" among others).

The last episodes they wrote were both season 4 episodes. Chris Ruppenthal's was "... Ptah-Hotep", and Paul Brown's was "It's a Wonderful Leap", which he also directed, I think. They continued producing the show until the last episode of that season, but when the fifth one began, they just seemed to disappear, and, you know something, I really missed them. I loved season 5, but there were times when I thought that it would've been great to see other episodes written by them. It seemed kind of odd to me at first that they just didn't write anymore, but also didn't produce or did anything for the show anymore.

I have an idea why this may have happened: I think I saw someone mention here before that NBC got a new president when the 5th season started, and that new producers and writers like Chas. Floyd Johnson and Robin Jill Bernheim came to the show, so Chris and Paul may have been fired or maybe they just quit, I don't know... But, if that's really what happened, the question is why? Tommy Thompson, another classic QL writer, was still there in season 5, so does anyone have an idea of what happened to them? If I remember correctly, Jeff Gourson, another QL producer, and a classic name among the credits, was also gone in season 5, so it just seems kind of strange. It probably isn't a new thing at all. I mean, that's what happens to shows, after all. Some people stay, some people go, and maybe it seems odd to me because this is really the only show I ever cared about the most, but still... Like Deborah Arakelian. Do you remember her? She only wrote "How The Tess Was Won", produced all the episodes from season 1, and when the 2nd one began, she vanished from Quantum Leap forever. Or like all the other people who only wrote 1 episode in the entire series and never did anything for the show again (Ed Scarlach, writer of "Piano Man", comes to mind, or Charlie Coffey, writer of "The Americanization of Machiko"), and their episodes were actually great. All I could say was "what a shame, that was a great loss."

But anyway, if anyone can shed some light on what happened to Paul, Chris and Jeff Gourson, why they were not around during the last season of the show, and after all those years, it will be fully appreciated.

Snish · 10-31-2008, 08:14 AM

I don't know anything specific about why those three people would have left the show, but I think it's normal for people to come and go. If you look at the staff of any other series, you would probably see the same thing happening over time.

People who only wrote one episode were probably freelancers who sold one script to the show. Shows used to use a lot more freelancers than they do now. Episodes had no relation to each other, so anyone who knew the characters and setting could write them. These days a show tends to have a writing staff that's very involved with episodes over time, because most shows have some kind of continuing storyline. Quantum Leap was back at the beginning of that continuing-story trend, but I think they didn't use too many freelancers simply because the scenario was so complicated that they needed writers who were very familiar with it.

jassian · 10-31-2008, 09:13 PM

Would be cool the see the series bible (that's the description of the world, its rules, characters, relationships, ...). It must be really complex especially with Sam changing his own history. (slightly off topic

)

Snish · 11-01-2008, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jassian

Would be cool the see the series bible (that's the description of the world, its rules, characters, relationships, ...). It must be really complex especially with Sam changing his own history. (slightly off topic

)

I second that. I'd love to see the QL bible. I don't suppose there are too many copies of it floating around though.

Sam's Crow · 11-01-2008, 11:57 PM

Can look on the internet. I'd love to see the QL bible, in fact, I'd love to own a copy of the QL bible.

jassian · 11-02-2008, 06:50 PM

Googled it a bit, i only found combinations of quantum leap (often not the series) and the christian bible. I don't think it's floating around either. Would be nice though. Hmmm. Where to find it...

Snish · 11-03-2008, 08:50 AM

You can try eBay, always a good place to shop for TV memorabilia, but it's going to be a rare item.

laestrella · 11-05-2008, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snish

You can try eBay, always a good place to shop for TV memorabilia, but it's going to be a rare item.

with being a fan for the entire run, i've got a bible of sorts in my head. i wonder if my brain knows the Christian one better or worse....going back to the original discussion. i agree. i loved chris's writing, as well as paul's. but then again, it is great to have freelancers. didn't brandon braga start as one? or which one from st: the next generation. i loved that show too!

11-05-2008, 04:46 PM

It'll never be easy to get the QL Bible, of course. If anyone has it, that's Donald P. Bellisario himself, and, supposing he still has a copy of it (the original), that'll be the only one in the entire face of the Earth, so yeah, it'd be great to have one copy, but, sadly, it'll never happen in this life.

Snish · 11-06-2008, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Night Terror

It'll never be easy to get the QL Bible, of course. If anyone has it, that's Donald P. Bellisario himself, and, supposing he still has a copy of it (the original), that'll be the only one in the entire face of the Earth, so yeah, it'd be great to have one copy, but, sadly, it'll never happen in this life.

I'm sure there were a number of copies of the series bible. All of the producers would have had one, probably regular members of the writer's staff, directors, and perhaps some of the technical people. I mean, there were numerous people who needed to understand the series in depth, and it wouldn't make sense for DPB to keep that info to himself. Even so, it would be very rare to see one of those copies appear on the market.

11-06-2008, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snish

I'm sure there were a number of copies of the series bible. All of the producers would have had one, probably regular members of the writer's staff, directors, and perhaps some of the technical people. I mean, there were numerous people who needed to understand the series in depth, and it wouldn't make sense for DPB to keep that info to himself.

Yeah, I was going to point that out, too, but then I thought that maybe it wouldn't have made any difference, since you can't get a copy of the QL Bible, at least not anymore, but you're still right, so thank you very much.

Anyway, if anyone else can enlight me on the current topic, it'd be great.

10-31-2008, 12:19 AM	#1
Night Terror Guest Posts: n/a	QL people who vanished from the show when season 5 began. Maybe there were more, but right now I can remember at least two people who vanished from the show when the 5th season began. They were writers and producers, too. They even directed some episodes and a lot of what they wrote became classic. I'm talking about Chris Ruppenthal ("The B**gieman", "The Curse of Ptah-Hotep", "Glitter Rock" and "Good Morning, Peoria" among others) and Paul Brown ("Camikazi Kid", "Runaway", "Nuclear Family" and "Disco Inferno" among others). The last episodes they wrote were both season 4 episodes. Chris Ruppenthal's was "... Ptah-Hotep", and Paul Brown's was "It's a Wonderful Leap", which he also directed, I think. They continued producing the show until the last episode of that season, but when the fifth one began, they just seemed to disappear, and, you know something, I really missed them. I loved season 5, but there were times when I thought that it would've been great to see other episodes written by them. It seemed kind of odd to me at first that they just didn't write anymore, but also didn't produce or did anything for the show anymore. I have an idea why this may have happened: I think I saw someone mention here before that NBC got a new president when the 5th season started, and that new producers and writers like Chas. Floyd Johnson and Robin Jill Bernheim came to the show, so Chris and Paul may have been fired or maybe they just quit, I don't know... But, if that's really what happened, the question is why? Tommy Thompson, another classic QL writer, was still there in season 5, so does anyone have an idea of what happened to them? If I remember correctly, Jeff Gourson, another QL producer, and a classic name among the credits, was also gone in season 5, so it just seems kind of strange. It probably isn't a new thing at all. I mean, that's what happens to shows, after all. Some people stay, some people go, and maybe it seems odd to me because this is really the only show I ever cared about the most, but still... Like Deborah Arakelian. Do you remember her? She only wrote "How The Tess Was Won", produced all the episodes from season 1, and when the 2nd one began, she vanished from Quantum Leap forever. Or like all the other people who only wrote 1 episode in the entire series and never did anything for the show again (Ed Scarlach, writer of "Piano Man", comes to mind, or Charlie Coffey, writer of "The Americanization of Machiko"), and their episodes were actually great. All I could say was "what a shame, that was a great loss." But anyway, if anyone can shed some light on what happened to Paul, Chris and Jeff Gourson, why they were not around during the last season of the show, and after all those years, it will be fully appreciated. __________________

10-31-2008, 08:14 AM	#2
Snish Observer's Aid Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Cocono's in the Poconos Posts: 642	I don't know anything specific about why those three people would have left the show, but I think it's normal for people to come and go. If you look at the staff of any other series, you would probably see the same thing happening over time. People who only wrote one episode were probably freelancers who sold one script to the show. Shows used to use a lot more freelancers than they do now. Episodes had no relation to each other, so anyone who knew the characters and setting could write them. These days a show tends to have a writing staff that's very involved with episodes over time, because most shows have some kind of continuing storyline. Quantum Leap was back at the beginning of that continuing-story trend, but I think they didn't use too many freelancers simply because the scenario was so complicated that they needed writers who were very familiar with it. __________________

10-31-2008, 09:13 PM	#3
jassian Project Observer Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 925	Would be cool the see the series bible (that's the description of the world, its rules, characters, relationships, ...). It must be really complex especially with Sam changing his own history. (slightly off topic ) __________________

11-01-2008, 11:57 PM	#5
Sam's Crow Assistant to Gooshie Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Liverpool, England Posts: 488	Can look on the internet. I'd love to see the QL bible, in fact, I'd love to own a copy of the QL bible. __________________ It's Monday morning again, Or still? It's hard to tell the difference.

11-02-2008, 06:50 PM	#6
jassian Project Observer Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 925	Googled it a bit, i only found combinations of quantum leap (often not the series) and the christian bible. I don't think it's floating around either. Would be nice though. Hmmm. Where to find it... __________________

11-03-2008, 08:50 AM	#7
Snish Observer's Aid Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Cocono's in the Poconos Posts: 642	You can try eBay, always a good place to shop for TV memorabilia, but it's going to be a rare item. __________________

11-05-2008, 04:46 PM	#9
Night Terror Guest Posts: n/a	... It'll never be easy to get the QL Bible, of course. If anyone has it, that's Donald P. Bellisario himself, and, supposing he still has a copy of it (the original), that'll be the only one in the entire face of the Earth, so yeah, it'd be great to have one copy, but, sadly, it'll never happen in this life. __________________ Last edited by Night Terror; 11-13-2008 at 09:18 PM. Reason: Removed some worthless garbage.

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