Episode
adopted by: MikeKraken Additional
info provided by: Brian Greene
Synopsis:
In
the body of a bomb shelter salesman during the Cuban Missile Crisis,
Sam has to stop the killing of a neighbor during an air raid alarm
which results in the conviction of his brother.
TV
Guide Synopsis: Sam
must prevent a fateful killing when he falls into the brother of a
fallout-shelter salesman (Timothy Carhart), whose family's tensions
escalate during the Cuban missile crisis. Burt: Kurt Fuller. Kate: Kim
Flowers. Stevie: Robert Hy Gorman. Sam: Scott Bakula.
Name
of the Person Leaped Into:
Eddie Ellroy, a junior student at Oklahoma State, currently working for
his older brother selling bomb shelters to make extra money.
Al
Trivia:
Al flew reconnaisance flights over Cuba during the crisis in a F-4
Phantom Escort, in the squadron that went in right after a U2 was shot
down while photographing missile bases.
Al's
Outfits Worn in the Episode: First
appearance: White dress coat and pants; white shoes,
orange
dress shirt; zebra-striped tie; some kind of circular pin on the right
breast of
his coat; lit cigar. Appears and leaves through the Imaging Chamber
Door.
Second, third, and
fourth
appearance: Multi-coloured scaly purple and
silver dress
coat; wide, gold belt; white dress shirt; gray pants;
black-and-white-striped tie; black shoes; cigar. (no Imaging Chamber
Door)
Fifth appearance:
Light brown vest;
patterend orange dress shirt; gold tie; same
pin from before, but on left breast; unlit cigar. (no Imaging Chamber
Door)
Miscellaneous Trivia:
While
"Duck and Cover" may seem futile during an atomic blast, doing it
further away from the blast could protect you from being impaled by
flying pieces of bursting windows and debris. Good advice!
A
sketch of the bomb shelter is
included in "The Complete Quantum Leap Book."
Kiss
With History:
This
episode takes place during the final days of the Cuban Missile Crisis,
a situation that occurred between Russia and the United States October
16-28, 1962.
Regular Cast:
Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett
Dean Stockwell as Al Calavicci
Guest Stars:
Timothy Carhart as Mac Ellroy
Kurt Fuller as Burt "the Turtle" Rosencranz
Kim Flowers as Kate Ellroy
Robert Hy Gorman as Stevie Ellroy Candace Hutson (as Candy Hutson) as Kimberly Ellroy
Delia Salvi as Mrs. Klingman
Celia
Lovsky as Piano Teacher
Patrick
M. Bruneau as Eddie (Mirror image)
Timothy
Carhart as Mac Ellroy: Blonde,
blue-eyed character actor who has worked on stage, film, and TV for the
past 30 years. Born in Washington D.C., Carhart had a globetrotting
childhood in Turkey and France before returning to the U.S. and
studying theater. Carhart had some success on and off-Broadway and then
moved on to small roles in such major films as Ghostbusters (1984),
Witness (1985) and Working Girl (1988). He played Harlen who attempted
to rape Geena Davis's character in Thelma & Louise (1991), and also
had roles in the The Hunt for Red October (1990), Red Rock West (1993)
and Air Force One (1997). Carhart has had many guest spots on
television shows including a memorable guest turn as a police officer
whose testimony against a murderer may reveal the sexuality he has
tried to keep secret on The Practice (1997), and as a fat-sucking
vampire on The X-Files (1993). He played Eddie Willows in CSI: Crime
Scene Investigation (2000), the ex-husband of star Marg Helgenberger.
He is, (...as of 2017) a recurring character on The Paramount Network
series, Yellowstone, playing the Attorney General Stewart and starring
Kevin Costner
Kurt Fuller as Burt "the Turtle" Rosencranz: Born
in San Francisco and raised in the agricultural heartland of
California's San Joaquin Valley, Fuller became passionate about acting
while attending UC Berkley, where he received a degree in English
literature. After graduating, he made the move to Los Angeles with
everything he owned stuffed into the back seat of a Dodge Dart
(including a king size foam rubber mattress). For the next ten years he
was a Realtor by day and a stage actor by night. Then, in 1986, he
created the leading role in Steven Berkhoff's explosively successful
"Kvetch", earning rave reviews on both coasts. Fuller has gone on
to have a very successful career, working with some of Hollywood's best
directors, including David O. Russell, Tony Scott, Harold Ramis, and
Ivan Reitman, among others. His numerous film credits include "Auto
Focus," "Ray," "Pushing Tin," "The Jack Bull," "Ghostbusters II," "Mr.
Woodcock," "Nailed" and "The Pursuit of Happyness." Kurt still returns
to the stage occasionally, most recently in the acclaimed "Greedy" for
Red Dog squadron. He's also worked at the La Jolla Playhouse and the
Mark Taper Forum. He is married to Jessica Hendra, a published author.
They have two daughters, Julia and Charlotte. His birthday is September
16.
Kim Flowers as Kate Ellroy: Kim Flowers is known for Alien Resurrection (1997), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and Clear and Present Danger (1994).
Robert Hy Gorman as Stevie Ellroy: Robert
Hy Gorman was born on April 3, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He
is an actor and producer, known for Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's
Dead (1991), Leprechaun (1992) and Forever Young (1992).
Candace Hutson (as Candy Hutson) as Kimberly Ellroy: Candace
Hutson was born on May 3, 1980 in Savannah, Georgia, USA. She is an
actress, known for The Land Before Time (1988), Dolly Dearest (1991)
and Evening Shade (1990).
Delia Salvi as Mrs. Klingman: Delia
Salvi was born on October 17, 1927 in Naples, Italy. She was an
actress, known for Fatso (1980), Quantum Leap (1989) and Shadow Play
(1986). She died on March 1, 2015 in California, USA.
Say
What? The actual leap
date is October 26 and last a couple of days. However, the Presidential
address seen on the TV was from November 2nd. Sam apparently stuck
around a few extra days simply to give Mac the idea to sell swimming
pools? Similarly, the
Presidential address shown before the blackout was from September 13th.
Kate speaks without moving her lips in one shot near the beginning.
Mac says he's been
trying to sell Burt a shelter for three years. A few moments later, he
says it's been two years.
Sam states he was
eight years old during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but he was actually
nine years old.
The "Mr. Ed"
episode seen on TV was actually aired in January of 1961. It was the
first episode.
The Woody
Woodpecker cartoon was from 1969, seven years after the setting of this
episode.
Quotable Quotes:
Sam: "Then why waste your money on a shelter?"
Mrs. Klingman: "You're right! You're not much of a salesman!"
Al: "Long enough to see that you are a real mensh."
Sam: "Mensh?"
Al: "Mensh. It's means 'good guy'. It's a word that my fourth wife...
third... third or fourth wife, Ruthie, used to use. She never used it
about me, though."
Stevie: "Whatcha doin'?"
Sam: "Nothin'. What are you doing?"
Stevie: "Nothin'. Wanna join me?"
Sam: "Maybe later."
Al: "Annuals or perennials?" (pops up behind Sam burying shotgun
shells)
Sam: "Do you have to sneak up on me?"
Al: "Well, I'm sorry, do you expect a hologram to knock?"
Al: "Oh, 'Duck and Cover', I remember that. Isn't like an air-raid
show for kids to duck and..."
Sam: "Yeah, it teaches them that if they hide under a picnic blanket,
it works wonders against atom bombs."
What do you
expect, a hologram to knock?
-- Al, "Nuclear Family"
Survive in style!
-- Motto of Ellroy Atom Bomb Shelters, "Nuclear Family"
Best
Line:
Sam: "Let's just pretend that you can travel into the future and look
back at this time right now. You'll see that the Russians never hurt
you or your family, and you'll see that you were spending a lot of your
time and energy being afraid of something bad that never happened."
Best
Scene:
Sam is giving Mrs. Klingman a tour of the bomb shelter, and what he
says triggers her memory of the Holocaust.
Synopsis
& Review:
Sam leaps into Eddie
Elroy in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Sam was very young at
the time and cannot understand everyone's panic that the Russians are
going to kill them all. Al remembers that time very well (he flew
missions during that time) and tries to explain it but it is something
that had to be lived through to be understood.
Eddie lives with his
brother's family and helps sell fallout shelters to put himself through
school. Sam already dislikes the constant fear everyone lives in but it
gets worse when he discovers that the brother "Mac" (played by Timothy
Carhart) shoots and kills one of his neighbors during a false alarm
when the man tries to break into his fallout shelter.
Sam tries to reassure at least the children that they're not going to
die but they get even more upset when he tries to say that the Russians
don't want to kill them. The daughter is convinced disagreeing with her
father means that Sam is calling her father a liar and is hysterical.
Sam has more luck with his sister-in-law in that she doesn't burst into
tears and run from him but she is still unconvinced that they will
survive.
Because Sam knows that fallout shelters would be useless even if
something were to happen, he does not have much luck selling them. He
tries to get the neighbor destined to be shot Burt (played by Kurt
Fuller) to not buy a shelter but Burt is adamant. He also manages to
convince the children's piano teacher not to buy one because she and
her husband cannot afford one. As she is a Holocaust survivor, he
cannot convince her that she is safe but that with so little time left
there is no point in wasting her money.
Mac gets angry and threatens to kick Eddie out for sabotaging sales and
for scaring his children. Sam decides to take matters into his own
hands and buries the bullets from the fallout shelter so that Mac can't
shoot Burt. The family dog digs up the shells, however, and Mac and Sam
narrowly manage to get them back. Mac knows that it was Eddie and tries
to kick Sam out of the house but he won't leave until he saves Burt.
Things come to a head as the family is watching a presidential bulletin
when someone panics and initiates a blackout. Convinced that the end
has come, the family goes down into the fall-out shelter. Since Burt's
shelter has yet to be built, he tries to break into the shelter and Mac
holds him off with a gun (although he insists to his wife he is just
scaring him). Al realizes that Mac has the wrong gun to have shot Burt
and son Stevie took the right gun and snuck out the other exit to the
bunker. He is so terrified that he sees his neighbor as an invading
Russian and Al realizes that he must have always been the shooter and
Mac felt so guilty that he took the blame. Sam climbs up and tries to
talk Stevie down. Stevie recognizes his uncle but doesn't listen.
Desperately, Sam recalls one of the cartoons Stevie was watching about
what to do when a nuclear bomb hits and gets Stevie to duck and cover
so he can grab the gun.
When the crisis is over, Mac realizes that Sam was right and thanks him
for stopping Stevie, allowing him to stay. Everyone cancels their
fallout shelter orders and Mac is upset because he already has all the
construction equipment. Sam suggests they go into the pool installation
business. Al laughs that off but then checks and realizes that Mac and
Eddie have a very successful pool company. Source
Personal
Review by MikeKraken:
I would
have to say this is one of
Sam's easier leaps. Simple mission:
stop Bert from getting shot, which Ziggy gave a 99% probability. The
only real obsticle was keeping the kids from being so scared and Mac
happy with Eddie's salesmanship. It's a pretty good episode that delves
into the psyche of the people at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Very intruiging!
Production Credits:
Theme by: Mike Post
Music by: Velton Ray Bunch
Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt Co-Executive Producer:
Michael Zinberg Supervising Producer: Harker
Wade
Co-producers: Paul Brown, Jeff Gourson
Produced by: Chris Ruppenthal
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario Written
by: Paul Brown
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 U. Frizell, A.C.E., Ken Denisoff
Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow
First Assistant Director:Ryan Gordon Second Assistant Director:Kate
Yurka Casting by: Ellen Lubin
Sanitsky
Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox
Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisors: David Rawley & Donna Roberts-Orme
Sound Mixer:Barry D. Thomas 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 - Nuclear Family
Listen to The Quantum Leap Podcast
on this episode here:
Put on your gas masks and
get ready to survive in style, because it’s time for Nuclear Family!
On this episode of the Quantum Leap Podcast, hosts Allison Pregler,
Matt Dale and Christopher DeFilippis duck and cover down in the fallout
shelter to discuss Sam’s brush with Cold War paranoia.
This also happens to be Chris’s favorite episode, and he explains (at
length!) the many things about it he finds so praiseworthy. Allison and
Matt manage to get a few words in too!
The Cuban Missile Crisis! Neighbor turning against neighbor! The
ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation! What’s not to love?
Let us know what you think!
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