Admiral Al Calavicci
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GrandmaLeaper said:
Hummmmm:hmm Well mom you did a great job. :hurray: Sorry it took me so long to come and read your post. But I can see you've been thinking on this for a while. lets have dinner and talk!!!! Lv ya!:dreaming Julie.
GrandmaLeaper said:
Yeah that explains most of the stuff but what about things that are kinda impossible for him to do...
(First post in ages! WOO! ^_^)
You know I didnt used to think about Al that much when I watched the show as a kid. Now I think he is the greatest. I think he is a very dynamic character, very intersting.
Sammy Jo said:
I must confess that when I first watched, I saw Al very much as a plot device to provide Sam with information and bounce ideas off. He was the sidekick and that was it. Which is probably why I found him so hard to write.
I came to appreciate how much more he was than that though, and to realize that one of the greatest strengths of the show was the relationship and chemistry between the two men (and that goes for Scott and Dean as much as for Sam and Al).
I actually didn't like Al when I first watched QL. (Can you believe it?) I had taped 6 eps. from SciFi, and the first one happened to be "It's a Wonderful Leap," in which Al was pretty nasty to Angela. He argued with Sam a lot too. So I thought he wasn't very nice. The last ep. in the bunch was Lee Harvey Oswald, where a single exchange between Sam and Al pinpointed what I didn't like about him:
Sam (anguished): I treated her like dirt, and she threw herself at me.
Al: Works every time.
Yep, his attitude about women really rubbed me the wrong way. But I loved the show--especially after seeing A Leap for Lisa, which did suggest that there was more to Al. So I bought season 1 on DVD. Altogether it took about 2 weeks for Dean Stockwell to charm my socks off. Al has so many sides that he seems like a real person to me. He still has a dark side. But he's amazing.
Sam (anguished): I treated her like dirt, and she threw herself at me.
Al: Works every time.
Yep, his attitude about women really rubbed me the wrong way. But I loved the show--especially after seeing A Leap for Lisa, which did suggest that there was more to Al. So I bought season 1 on DVD. Altogether it took about 2 weeks for Dean Stockwell to charm my socks off. Al has so many sides that he seems like a real person to me. He still has a dark side. But he's amazing.
Al related criticism.....
If Al is a hologram who's actually in the Imaging Chamber, what's with the light interaction on his body?
Lemme explain... When Sam was in the 70's as a stunt man (Disco Inferno), the scene was a dance club. All the colored lights were flashing and Al was dancing and having a good time. If Al is in the 90's, there is no way those neon lights would be shown on Al. Any lighting effects would have come from the Imaging Chamber itself. Al really was not really on that dance floor.
The same thing happens in almost every episode. (I realize it was most likely a way to save money in production to simply have Dean Stockwell actually in the scene and not 'overlay' separate video of just Al in a well lit Imaging Chamber. The technology was there for Al going into and out of the Chamber Door or when he went through something or vice versa.) If the wind was blowing where Sam was, Al's hair was moving too. (A Portrait For Troian) Al's on the pier near the end of the episode trying to help Troian and it's breezy on the pond. Al's hair is moving in the wind! He's not actually on the pier. He's in an enclosed, controlled, environment that is the Imaging Chamber.
Sorry if this is too picky, but it's stuff I've noticed as I watch one of my favorites shows.
If Al is a hologram who's actually in the Imaging Chamber, what's with the light interaction on his body?
Lemme explain... When Sam was in the 70's as a stunt man (Disco Inferno), the scene was a dance club. All the colored lights were flashing and Al was dancing and having a good time. If Al is in the 90's, there is no way those neon lights would be shown on Al. Any lighting effects would have come from the Imaging Chamber itself. Al really was not really on that dance floor.
The same thing happens in almost every episode. (I realize it was most likely a way to save money in production to simply have Dean Stockwell actually in the scene and not 'overlay' separate video of just Al in a well lit Imaging Chamber. The technology was there for Al going into and out of the Chamber Door or when he went through something or vice versa.) If the wind was blowing where Sam was, Al's hair was moving too. (A Portrait For Troian) Al's on the pier near the end of the episode trying to help Troian and it's breezy on the pond. Al's hair is moving in the wind! He's not actually on the pier. He's in an enclosed, controlled, environment that is the Imaging Chamber.
Sorry if this is too picky, but it's stuff I've noticed as I watch one of my favorites shows.
I've always liked Al. At first I thought he was a bit of a side kick but he's really come out to show his own personality.
Al seems like someone who doesn't give his friendship out easily. As we get to know him he turns into quite a complex character.
Al seems like someone who doesn't give his friendship out easily. As we get to know him he turns into quite a complex character.
Just out of interest, does it actually say in the series the age difference between Al and his sister, Trudy?
Sam's Crow said:
I couldn't find anything off hand. I've always imagined Al to be a few years older than Trudy and very protective of her.
Based on clues here and there, you can put Al's birthyear at about 1934. Trudy's is a little easier to figure out since Al says she was 16 when she died in 1953 putting her birthyear as 1937. That would give a three year age gap.
I have to say that Al is truly a gem of a human being. The way he feels about the women in his life shows me that he truly loved them all.
I also think love the way that Al will not tolerate any man mistreating a woman in a way. Right on Al. That is true compassion.
Another thing I love about Al is what a wonderful big brother he must of been to Trudy he really cared as any big brother would and I wish when I see the tears swell up in his eyes about how she died it makes me want to give him a hug to comfort him.
My heart breaks.
Also with his relationship to Sam I think that he loves him deeply the way a father loves his son. He would do anything for Sam and cares so much for him. I am so touched Sam is just leeped into a person that he always is wondering and waiting where is Al so that he can be there to help him they are a wonderful caring team that love each other.
:angel
I also think love the way that Al will not tolerate any man mistreating a woman in a way. Right on Al. That is true compassion.
Another thing I love about Al is what a wonderful big brother he must of been to Trudy he really cared as any big brother would and I wish when I see the tears swell up in his eyes about how she died it makes me want to give him a hug to comfort him.
My heart breaks.
Also with his relationship to Sam I think that he loves him deeply the way a father loves his son. He would do anything for Sam and cares so much for him. I am so touched Sam is just leeped into a person that he always is wondering and waiting where is Al so that he can be there to help him they are a wonderful caring team that love each other.
:angel
jmellissa said:
The best thing that I like about Al is his loyality to Sam not just as a friend but like a father would to a Son. He truly cares about him.
The other thing I admire about Al is that he has such compassion for others and because of all he has been through in life become more wiser and stronger.
The last and most wonderful quality of Al's is his humor the minute that I hear him say something funny I can not stop laughing.
Oh and one more his love of small children touches my heart.
Especially Thersea and the little girl in Two sweeties.
Al is something else.
The other thing I admire about Al is that he has such compassion for others and because of all he has been through in life become more wiser and stronger.
The last and most wonderful quality of Al's is his humor the minute that I hear him say something funny I can not stop laughing.
Oh and one more his love of small children touches my heart.
Especially Thersea and the little girl in Two sweeties.
Al is something else.
he reminds me so much of my mom, especially in the way he's got a good heart & all. that's why i love him so. something about sam too. though they have their flaws, 2 men i'd love to know, if they were real...if only.
OH MY GOSH!!! You said this and it's EXACTLY how I feel about Al. I would LOVE to know someone like him cause he's funny, adorable around children, and full of a caring nature. I especially love the episodes when we get to see how superstitious Al is!
Friendship!
I recently watched the episode "Unchained" and was reminded of why I really like this episode! The scene where Sam is thrown into the pit and Al yells at the sheriff for doing so, then sits indian style floating there next to the pit until Sam is released the next morning really demonstrates how much he cares about his good buddy Sam! I mean apparently Al sat there for hours on the floor of the IC until Sam was released!!! That is true friendship!!!
I recently watched the episode "Unchained" and was reminded of why I really like this episode! The scene where Sam is thrown into the pit and Al yells at the sheriff for doing so, then sits indian style floating there next to the pit until Sam is released the next morning really demonstrates how much he cares about his good buddy Sam! I mean apparently Al sat there for hours on the floor of the IC until Sam was released!!! That is true friendship!!!
Well, when I met him in 2001, he was amazingly kind and down to earth. That was over 10 years ago, and I still remember every day of that weekend vividly.
:hurray:Great to know! BTW:If this is the same tina als girl then I remember talking with you on here! I was here around 10 years ago posting under the name Beckett Babe! Hello again!:wavey
Hello! Yep, it's the same "tina_als_girl". If you seen any variation on that username (tinaalsgirl, tinaalsgirl5, etc etc), it's probably me.
I was 16 when I met Dean, and all these years later, it is still the highlight of my adolescence.
I was 16 when I met Dean, and all these years later, it is still the highlight of my adolescence.
:hurray:Lucky girl you! He was here in Dallas back in 2009 but didn't know until it was too late! I've always wanted to meet him!
I had a similar experience. I watched the episodes in order (on hulu) starting at the beggining, and when Al first showed up in the pilot I did not like him at all. He just struck me as a selfish, perverted, rich guy type (the car and way he was dressed gave me this third impression) who only cared about himself and always had an ulterior motive. In fact, my first impression of him was so bad that when he told Gooshie that interfering with Sam leaping would kill him, what I thought was, yeah, I bet you don't actually care about this Sam guy, I bet you just don't want to have to fill out the paperwork.
Boy, was I ever wrong. Even by the end of the first episode I knew I'd been dead wrong about that.Over the course of the rest of the season and some of the next he slowly but surely began to win me over, initially against my will. At first, I couldn't for the life of me understand why I even liked the guy, let alone spent every episode wishing he'd hurry up and show up and feeling dissapointed when he left. I kept telling myself Sam should be my favourite character. Sam's the nice, sweet, sensitive one, I said to myself. Sam's the respectful one. Sam's the young, classically handsome one. I normally hate guys like Al, so why do I love this character so much?
I think I've pretty much figured it out now. Al's the more compelling character (to me), because he's more complex; you don't have to dig as much with Sam, so it's not as powerful when he acts sweet and caring, but with Al the contrast makes it all the more poignant. Al's a perverted, womanizing creep, there's no way around that, but underneath all that he's also a guy who really does care about people, women included, and no matter how much he mistreats them, I don't think he really means to or wants to hurt them.
I think the other reason Al quickly became my favourite character over Sam is that he's so wierd and quirky, whereas Sam's more normal (despite being a super genius and uncommonly selfless). Oddballs generally appeal to me more than characters who are designed so that everybody can relate to them. I think that's also why my feelings about Al are so different from my feelings about most sex-obsessed, womanizing, inuendo-happy characters. Most of them are suave, stuck-up, alpha-male types, whereas Al was always this weird little guy with a crazy, eccentric taste in clothing.
Al's clothes were always the wildest! I really liked the silver "baked potato" jacket outfit Al wore in "The Camikazi Kid". I also loved the bright red suit and hat he wore ocassionally. He really had style!
Lol! Yeah,Al had some of the funniest lines. Sam & Al played so well off each other's differences. It was a riot to see Sam leap into Al's body and start picking up his habits in "the leap back".
Sam-"They didn't have artificial sweeteners in 1945,but boy did they have women with big kazooms!"
We never see Al's license plate on either of his cars. If he had a personalized tag, what would it say? (Limit 7 letters/numbers.)
The episode "M.I.A.", Season 2, Episode 22. I cry with Al every time I see the end