Episode
Adopted by: Janna Galaxy Additional
info provided by: Brian Greene
Synopsis:
As
a traveling amateur magician raising a daughter alone, Sam must find a
way to keep the daughter from being taken by her mother when she
returns three years after abandoning the family. In order to do that,
Sam has to perform a deadly magic trick in order to get the money he
needs to buy a permanent home for them. But when his daughter attempts
the trick in desperation, it may mean the end of her life.
TV Guide
Synopsis: Sam
is a magician in a tricky situation when his estranged wife demands
custody of their daughter, who's happy as her dad's assistant. Maggie:
Amy Steel. Jamie: Lauren Woodland. Steve: Erich Anderson. Judge:
Michael Fairman. Elaine: Robin Greer. Sam: Scott Bakula.
Music: In
the leap in at the end of Black On White On Fire, "Sobre las Olas" is
played, but was removed
from the actual episode.
Project Trivia:
Al,
after years of beating and smacking the handlink, finally breaks the
calculator version, and it is replaced with the new gummy bear version.
Sam Trivia: In the previous episode, "Black on White on Fire", Sam leaped out of
the Watts riots in a bloodied state. This would lead us to believe that
he has time to heal between leaps. The gap between leaps has been
established to be instantaneous occasionally, or take six days, as
stated by Al in "Genesis."
It could be much longer, it seems. This could prolong Sam's life. For
instace, instead of being 69 years old in 2022, he could actually be
much younger in suspended animation between leaps...
Al Trivia:
While in the orphanage Al was nicknamed Al the
pick. He was an expert at picking locks.
Al's
Outfits Worn in the
Episode: 1.
Brown shirt, with a dark blue jacket and pants.
2. Orange,
black and green shirt, with a black coat with white
markings, copper tie and dark green pants.
3. Light
brown shirt, slim black tie and diamond icon coat.
Al's
Women: Al was
in a custody battle with his 4th (but says 3rd) wife Sharon
over their dog Chester. Sharon won.
Al
checks out the women's dressing room. He was upset that Tina had gone
to visit her
mother for two weeks and he does have
his "needs."
Al says
that he got a lot of hickeys because he
wore Auqa Velva
aftershave.
Miscellaneous Trivia: This
episode was
supposed to be aired earlier in the season, which is why the gummy bear
version of the handlink has already been seen three times prior to this
point. Al switches from the early version of the Handlink to the final
version during this episode. Although the final, more colorful version
debuted a few episodes earlier ("The Boogieman") due to NBC airing the
episodes out of order, it was clearly intended to debut in this
episode. During the first scene with Judge Mulhearn, Al has difficulty
retrieving data from Ziggy using the older handlink, to the point where
he nearly (or possibly does) smash it apart. The next time we see Al,
he is using the new handlink for the rest of the episode. With the
exception of a few other episodes that aired out of order, Al uses this
new handlink for the rest of the series.
Dan Birch, Harry's mirror image, is an accomplished magician and provided
technical advice on the magic in this episode. He is the brother of Cheryl Birch, Universal’s Director of Business
Affairs.
Rich Whiteside made his first on-set appearance
during this episode. He went on to advise on "The Leap Home - Part II: Vietnam." This episode was filmed before the season opener.
Guest Stars: Amy F. Steel as Maggie
Spontini
Erich Anderson as Steve Slater
Lauren Woodland as Jamie Spontini
Michael Fairman
as Judge Mulhearn
Robin Greer as Elaine
Jean Adams as Mrs. Futrell
Dan Birch as Harry Spontini (Mirror image)
Guest
Cast Notes:
Amy F. Steel as Maggie
Spontini: Amy
Steel's acting career began in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1973 when
she attended Westtown school of dramatic arts. After two summers of
dramatic training, Amy joined Barley-Sheaf Players and starred in two
productions. She temporarily left the theatre to further pursue her
academic career at the prestigious Kent school in Kent, Conneticut.
After three years at Kent, Amy left to attend a small college in Palm
Beach, Florida where she majored in communications and broadcasting. It
was there that John Casablancas, President of the renowned Elite model
Agency discovered her.
Amy left Florida for New York in June 1979. Career opportunities in
modelling, television and film soon followed. Amy has appeared in many
television commercials, several soap operas and many hit movies. Today
her film and TV career continues to shine.
Amy has appeared in JAG, Don Bellisarios's post Quantum Leap series
Cmdr. Samantha Woodling in the episode "Promises". Also she has
appeared in Chiago Hope, Dianosis Murder, American Gothic, Home
Improvement and The Friday the 13th films.
Erich Anderson as Steve Slater: Erich
Anderson is known for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984),
Unfaithful (2002) and NCIS (2003). He has been married to Saxon Trainor
since November 29, 2003. He has appeared
in Star Trek The Next Generation as Commander Kieran MacDuff in the
episode "Conumdrum" He has also appeared in Melrose Place, The Outer
Limits, 7th Heaven and Touched By An Angel.
Lauren Woodland as Jamie Spontini: Lauren
Woodland was born on October 28, 1977 in Carson City, Nevada, USA. She
is an actress, known for The Young and the Restless (1973), Alien
Nation (1989) and Cold Case (2003).
Lauren has appeared in L.A Law, Brooklyn Bridge (serval times),
Brotherly Love, Encore! Encore!and Seven Days.
Michael Fairman
as Judge Mulhearn: Michael
Fairman is a veteran of film, stage and television, with a career
spanning more than 40 years. He has portrayed Adlai Stevenson in the
political thriller Thirteen Days (2000) starring Kevin Costner, was
featured in David Lynch's Academy Award-nominated Mulholland Drive
(2001) and played Ben Affleck's father in Dreamworks' Forces of Nature
(1999). This versatile actor can be seen regularly on television,
having guest appearances on popular shows such as ER (1994), The
Practice (1997), The X-Files (1993), Boston Public (2000), Family Law
(1999) and Dharma & Greg (1997), to name just a few. He started out
his career as a navigator in the U.S. Air Force. While stationed at
Tachikawa Air Force Base near Tokyo, he joined a theater group and has
been acting ever since. After the Air Force, he enrolled in the
Dramatic Arts Department of New York University. Beginning with Oedipus
in Sophocles Oedipus Rex, he played leads throughout college, including
a series of classical roles at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. He
has played everything from Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named
Desire" to Pozzo in "Waiting for Godot" to his critically acclaimed
"The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" and was in numerous productions
off-Broadway. This extensive stage experience led Michael to numerous
recurring roles in such hit TV shows as L.A. Law (1986), Hill Street
Blues (1981) and Cagney & Lacey (1981), and extended runs on the
soap operas General Hospital (1963), Ryan's Hope (1975) and Love of
Life (1951). Fairman is in the soon-to-be-released feature film comedy
Wheelmen (2005).
Robin Greer as Elaine: Robin
Greer was born on May 27, 1960 in Hollywood, California, USA. She is an
actress, known for Falcon Crest (1981), Quantum Leap (1989) and Angels'
Brigade (1979).
Jean Adams as Mrs. Futrell: Jean Adams is known for Clean Slate (1994), Quantum Leap (1989) and Moonlighting (1985).
Dan Birch as Harry Spontini (Mirror image): Dan Birch is known for Quantum Leap (1989) and Columbo (1971). He is an accomplished magician and provided
technical advice on the magic in this episode. He is the brother of Cheryl Birch, Universal’s Director of Business
Affairs.
Say What?
Al says that he was in a
custody battle with his 3rd wife. Al's third wife was of course Ruthie
but Al says it was Sharon. Sharon was Al's fourth wife.
Harry
has an audition for the TV show "The Magician" coming up, but the
series aired its' final episode a month before this story takes place.
Al used the Imaging Chamber door three times, but we never hear it
close behind him.
Jamie's “smooth move, Ex-Lax” phrase wasn't said until the 1980's.
When Sam tells everyone that Jamie is in trouble with the spiked table
in court, no one seems to question how he suddenly knows this.
Quotable
Quotes:
"Divorces are all ways hardest on children."
-- Al, "The Great Spontini"
"You're supposed to wear it, not drink it!"
-- Jamie to Sam, as she
smells of his cologne, "The Great Spontini"
Uh oh, Sam, I think I killed it.
-- Al after pounding on the handlink, "The Great Spontini"
Deny everything.
-- Al to Sam, "The Great Spontini"
You were incredible that weekend, Harry, I've never been able to look
at a balcony the same way since.
-- Maggie, "The Great Spontini"
Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Great Spontini!
Oh boy.
-- Jamie and Sam, "The Great Spontini"
Take pity on me, Sam. I haven't been myself lately. Tina's
been away for a couple of weeks visiting her mother and... I do
have my _needs_, you know!
God forbid you should have two weeks down time.
-- Al and Sam, "The Great Spontini"
Sam, did I ever tell you that when I was in the orphanage they used to
call me "Al the Pick"?
-- Al, "The Great Spontini"
Looks like you're out of a job, butthead.
My sentiments exactly, butthead.
-- Jamie and Al to Steve the sleazy lawyer, "The Great Spontini"
Best
Scene:
When the handlink died! Very memorable!
Synopsis & Review:
Sam
leaps into a travelling magician named Harry Spontini (the leapee Harry
is played by Dan Birch), known to his fans as "The Great Spontini", a
magician who often and usually performs in cheap nightclubs. His
assistant is his precocious 12-year-old daughter Jamie (Lauren
Woodland) who has great hopes for the act. His estranged wife Maggie
(Amy Steel), who left Harry three years before, suddenly reappears with
her attorney Steve Slater (Erich Anderson) announcing her engagement to
Steve and asking for a divorce. As Dr. Samuel Beckett leaps into Harry,
he must try to find a way to keep Jamie from being taken by her mother,
who was gone for three years. To do that, Sam has to attempt a deadly
magic trick in order to get the money for a permanent home for them.
Sam, whom, at first, like Al, believed that Maggie was simply looking
to obtain spousal support from Harry. Harry is summoned to meet with
Maggie, her attorney Steve Slater in the chambers of a one Judge
Mulhearn (Michael Fairman), the presiding judge over the divorce case,
concerning as to whom would have custody of young Jamie, who is
ultimately placed temporarily into the Maggie's custody until Judge
Mulhearn could come to a final decision; Jamie was to be dropped off at
her mother's house within 2 hours.
Sam feels that he's there to reunite the family, as he also believes
that Maggie is still in love with Harry, as he says to Al that he
"could see it in her eyes", but has to re-think this idea when he
learns - in Judge Mulhearn's chambers - that she's actually out to get
custody of Jamie instead of just a divorce, declining to seek alimony,
much to the chagrin of Steve, who tries to persuade Maggie to also
seek, but is willing to settle just for Jamie's custody and partial
visitation rights for Harry. Al tells him that unless he can change
what originally happened, within several years, Jamie will become a
runaway living on the street.
Sam, convinced that he is right in trying to get the warring Spontinis,
that being Harry and Maggie, to reconcile, tries his hardest to show to
the judge that Harry is a good parent but Al's trouble soliciting more
info on the situation when then handlink begins to malfunction doesn't
lend much help in the matter.
While Sam and Maggie are at the custody hearing, Jamie tries out the
dreaded "Table of Death" trick. "The Table of Death" is an optical
illusion trick that her and her father have been trying to master so
that they can get to appear on TV and win enough money for a magic shop
so that they can settle down and stop living on the road. But "The
Table of Death" has got its name from that people have died on it whist
performing the illusion and it is, now, as, according to Ziggy, as Al
warns Sam at the custody hearing, in the now changed timeline of
events, also going to kill Jamie.
Meanwhile, Back at the hearing, Maggie's fiancé and attorney Steve
attempts to pull out all of the stops in trying to put all the blame of
what happened to Sam/Harry not being a fit parent. Maggie then, to
Steve's chagrin, blames herself as Jamie was in her care at the time as
she then drops her divorce and custody lawsuit. Steve tells her she is
making a big mistake, but Maggie gives back the engagement ring he gave
her, ending their relationship as well.
Al tells Sam what is happening and what is going to happen to Jamie.
Sam and Maggie arrive in time to save Jamie, as that harrowing
situation works to reconcile the situation concering Maggie and Harry,
as within a year reconciles with Harry, as the Spontini's are an
act—and a family—once again.Source
Personal
Review by Janna Galaxy:
I thought that this episode was good. It showed what a child goes
through when their parents divorce. What a child feels when a parent
turns up out of the blue after a couple of years. It also shows some
deep bonds that some children can make with their parents. I like the
way that Sam mentioned about Al's mother instead of Al saying about it.
Al proberly never mentioned it because it proberly hurts but he would
never let anyone know that, hime being the tough man he is.
Production Credits:
Theme by: Mike Post Music by: Velton Ray Bunch Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt Co-Executive Producer: Michael Zinberg Supervising Producers: Harker Wade, Robert Wolterstorff Co-producers: Paul Brown, Jeff Gourson Produced by: Chris Ruppenthal Created by: Donald P. Bellisario Written by:Cristy Dawson & Beverly Bridges Directed by:James Whitmore, Jr. Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario Associate Producer:James S. Giritlian Executive Story Editor: Tommy Thompson Director of Photography: Michael Watkins, A.S.C. Production Designer: Cameron Birnie Edited by: Jerry Temple, Jon Koslowsky, A.C.E. Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow First Assistant Director:Paul Sirmons Second Assistant Director: Rob Mendel Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac Costume Supervisors: David Rawley & Donna Roberts-Orme
Technical Advisor: Dan Birch Sound Mixer: Mark Hopkins McNabb Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth Sound Editor: Paul Clay Music Editor: Donald Woods
Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®
This
motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other
countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may
result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.
The
characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any
similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Bellisarius Productions and Universal, an MCA Company
Quantum Leap Podcast
In
the thirty-eighth installment of The Quantum Leap Podcast, Albie,
Heather, Juan, and Gabe from Thinking Outside The Long Box discuss
season three, episode eight, The Great Spontini. – Recorded Live in
Colorado.
There are first impressions, an episode recap, thoughts and
opinions, and a great interview with episode guest star and Magic
Consultant, Magician Dan Birch
Christopher DeFilippis also brings us another edition of the Quantum Leap Radio Sightings
Matt – author of “Quantum Leap: Beyond the Mirror Image” shares his
journey writing, and some of his favorite Quantum Leap timeline
mistakes and reconciling them.
Jessie brings us her second segment in her multi-part series on Acting: “The Magic If”.
Hayden McQueenie is back with his latest “Quantum Deep” segment about Forecasting The Future.
Also some exciting news from Don Bellisario 🙂
https://quantumleappodcast.com/ Please tell us what you think! Drop us a line at Quantum Leap Podcast, P.O. Box 542, Bayport, NY 11705 Leave us a voicemail by calling (707) 847-6682. Send feedback and your voice recordings to quantumleappodcast@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
