Scott Bakula comments on his involvement in the revival Quantum Leap series. Still no plans to leap back.
Scott Bakula talks about revival series this weekend
- Thread starter alsplacebartender
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I wonder who makes that replica. It's not one of ours.
@feldon30 Jay said a Leaper from the 1990s made it and gave it to him.
Interesting!
Although saying it's not on his radar to do he kinda answered the question without answering it. He chose to instead make a casual comparison between his QL and QL 2.0.
It's strange listening to him say todays audience want a revved up version with more bang and action! Do we really? Lol
I don't understand where or from whom he gets this from. The message is still the same nowadays, in fact even more so with its social justice driven story lines and still doing it in another persons shoes, so there must be other reasons.
Is it just not wanting to without Dean, he feels Sams arc is done, doing it 30 years too late?
Absolutely pure speculation on my part, but based on the way he talked about Dean in the interviews last week, the little wave to Dean in his Q&A after the show, his social media posts after Dean's passing and when the revival was starting, I'm starting to think it's him not wanting to do it without Dean.
My challenge to "nobody want slow, plodding, methodical 'slow burn' TV shows with a title sequence and strong musical themes" is Stranger Things, Severance, and Doctor Who.
Maybe such shows can't be made on network TV in the US, but there IS a market for them.
That's very possible. Many of us have experienced a relationship with a co-worker and having work change when that co-worker is gone. It's somewhat similar to Stan Laurel's retirement after Oliver Hardy's death.
As much as I respect not continuing without your co-star after him passing I think Scott needs to look at the bigger picture, the show had a very loyal following during its run and certainly after.
Fans saved the show, especially so in its final season 5 by a concerted letter writing campaign and since then there has been strong calls fir it to return through forums, clubs and comic cons.
There is still so many stories to tell with Dr Sam Beckett so that's why I'd like to see him return and he can pay his respect to Dean and Al through the show.
Fans saved the show, especially so in its final season 5 by a concerted letter writing campaign and since then there has been strong calls fir it to return through forums, clubs and comic cons.
There is still so many stories to tell with Dr Sam Beckett so that's why I'd like to see him return and he can pay his respect to Dean and Al through the show.
Even one episode to give us closure would make all the difference
He seems reluctant somehow and he has some personal beef with the execs or he feels Sams story arc is done or just without Dean it wouldnt make sense! LOLEven one episode to give us closure would make all the difference
But Scott putting it down to 'artistic and stylistic ' storytelling differences just doesn't cut it for me
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I think it's because there could be a movie one day. If they bring him home now, there couldn't be much of a movie with him later. Just a hunch.
I hope you're right.
Having just (finally!) watched GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE and their eloquent use of the late Harold Ramis' likeness, if such a movie were to happen, I hope Dean's family would allow some sort of inclusion of his image for VFX use for at least a scene of closure between Sam and Al--even if it's some sort of Tony Stark thing or just an image of Al with a letter left for Sam.
Fingers crossed for a movie. Let's face it, Scott Bakula isn't getting any younger either and I have to wonder if it stings him as much as it does many fans that QL coming back didn't happen until AFTER Dean's passing (setting aside the strokes that retired him in 2015-2016).
As far as a movie's concerned I know Deborah Pratt has spoken of saving Sammi Jo Beckett for a movie and that would be far more of an opportunity to bring Sam home. And if Scott were to agree to a new QL appearance as Sam, there's really no good plot for him. Scott either:
A) comes home and becomes a series co-star working with Ian, Jenn, and Magic which he did not want to do,
B) he comes home and doesn't stick around which wouldn't be Sam,
C) he is encountered on a leap with Ben and there's a team-up which is the least unlikely,
D) he dies, which fans would really REALLY, hate.
I can't imagine a Sam appearance on this show in anything but a planned series finale. Not knowing what the negotiations and discussions were between Scott and the show or the real feelings each have about it, I can only guess.
That would well be worth the wait and in fact a more fitting closure to his arc.
The 2022 show hasn't been doing well ratings wise especially this year so this could be another avenue they could take.
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I believe the most likely Sam Beckett type thing to do would be to return home to his daughter and especially his wife Donna Teri Hatcher (if they could get her
) and have Sam work back at his own project overseeing and guiding a new generation of leapers.My only concern is having left Sam out there leaping for the last 25 years ( in the QL verse from 1999 - 2022 + 3 years) it would have turned him into a cynical grumpy old man ala Harrison Ford in Indy 5 style and that wasn't a great watch lol.
But that would be a job for the writers to find a way to bring Sam hope and a spark of good again.
He specified that he believed NEW viewers would not be interested in the simple formula of the original but I still find it a bit off-putting that he seems to be ignoring all the fans of the original and the common complaints from them that the renewal does not live up because it doesn't have the Sam/Al dynamic and that there is not enough leap focus/the inclusion of the project side is over complicated. I've even seen such complaints right here at Al's Place.
I can understand his reluctance to continue his involvement without Dean, that the thought of Sam getting closure without Al could be painful but I have no doubt that at least a decent number of fans will riot if this renewal ends without a Sam appearance.
This series has already done such a magnificent job paying tribute to Al and his devotion to Sam and the project that I don't doubt they could pull it off.
I am reminded of a fanfic my best friend wrote years ago inspired by the line "please let there be one final leap" in 'Fates Wide Wheel' about how Sam at last leaps home but is in his 80's meaning Al has passed and had somehow, in spirit, given the last of his life hooked up to machines in a hospital bed to guide him home.
Sam making it home past Al's lifetime has always been a possibility.
I can understand his reluctance to continue his involvement without Dean, that the thought of Sam getting closure without Al could be painful but I have no doubt that at least a decent number of fans will riot if this renewal ends without a Sam appearance.
This series has already done such a magnificent job paying tribute to Al and his devotion to Sam and the project that I don't doubt they could pull it off.
I am reminded of a fanfic my best friend wrote years ago inspired by the line "please let there be one final leap" in 'Fates Wide Wheel' about how Sam at last leaps home but is in his 80's meaning Al has passed and had somehow, in spirit, given the last of his life hooked up to machines in a hospital bed to guide him home.
Sam making it home past Al's lifetime has always been a possibility.
Wasn't there almost a movie around 2009 when Dean was still alive to be involved but it didn't work out for some reason?
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"Dr. Sam Becket never returned home." Back when Mirror Image was broadcast, we took this to mean Sam would keep on leaping forever, or at least the rest of his life. It was certainly a fair interpretation at the time. What I find interesting is that the new series has made an issue out of home not being a place, but a person. What if Al is Sam's person?
I definitely agree Sam and Al need each other. They are the epitome of the phrase "brother from another mother." They are true friends, brothers who chose each other. DPB said they were meant to meet and work together. The absence of Sam in Al's life after that Leap to Beth's living room (realized for Al in 1999) and the subsequent loss of Al for Sam (as hologram and then if/when Sam does return to newPQL present, the realization his friend has died) has to have profoundly affected both of them.
I want to know what's been going on with Sam. He saved his brother's life, saved his marriage to Donna, saved Al's marriage to Beth--and then has yet to have returned home. The stories there!
What gets me about Sam's resolution is that he didn't seem to grow or change. He was always a boy scout who did the right thing to help people, but throughout the series, his regret at not being there for his family was powerful. His final decision led to him not seeing his family or friend ever again. Had the non-renewal been known, something could have been done to address this, but as is, he is leaping to put right what once went wrong while avoiding his own personal allowing it to go wrong in the first place. That is my personal problem with the resolution.
See I viewed the MI ending as Sam having to face his own shortsightedness (if the Bartender is to be believed that Sam decides his Leaps) and his selfishness. Why didn't he Leap after saving Skaggs in M.I.A.? So Al could see Beth again one last time? Notice he never even entertained that he, Sam, had perhaps been given that time to tell Beth her husband was alive and coming home. (But I wouldn't want to lose that emotional scene.)
And then in the very next Leap, he overtly tells Al that "it's different" because it's his life and family and not Al's. Subsequent to that, Al sacrifices his freedom (enduring two additional years as a prisoner of war) to help Sam save Tom. And, at one point in Leap for Lisa, Sam's actions lead to (young) Al's execution.
Sam's realizing Al had done so much for him while he refused the one request Al made -- even though Al wasn't being up front about it -- marked a massive realization in his character development. So, no, I don't see Sam as a stagnant character.
You do make some excellent points. My assessment of Sam as not having grown wasn't accurate. Sam being willing to take the time change risk for Al was a step forward. Sam's journey had a huge amount of self interest. He leaps to help Donna on his third leap Then again, the leapers we've seen have all had a degree of self-interest. Al leapt into a returning soldier after WW2. Stawpah leapt to rescue trapped miners. Ben leapt to save Addison and ended up intertwined with Hannah.
I still maintain that Sam not telling his family and friend that he was going to continue his leaping is a sign that part of him, the part that puts work over personal life, hasn't gone away.
That is a very good point. I feel so much for Donna. Sam changed history to get her back, to help her overcome her father's abandonment. And then he ... abandons her. Twice, even if the second time is far more altruistic than the first.
See, Sam realizing that as he's continued Leaping and returning home to find Al has died. Certainly his mother would have died. It's possible Tom has passed on as well. Did Donna ever move on? Does Sam come to the realization of what he's overlooking ever enter his mind as he continues to Leap (alone?)? These are stories to explore! Not sure how deeply the revival could do this, but it would be nice if they at least could touch on some of it.
The new show is a sequel to the project QL and in name only, its clearly not to Sams story arc and his resolution, perhaps in this case it should have been a reboot because they did very little to answer questions left open after it's cancellation.
We can assume after Mirror Image Sam keeps on leaping as is clearly stated, he does so without AL and and not requiring the accelerator to leap him around, he can leap in assess the situation determine who to help/save and leap out onto the next all without Ziggy etc.
I'm also to assume as he leaps he does so with the previous knowledge of his family, wife ( i stand to be corrected) and of course Al and Beth as proven by him saving Als marriage.
The ending of mirror image was somewhat contradictory, it was established Sam could leap home at any time yet clearly we saw him sitting with Al the bartender weeping he just wants to go home! but he can't.....his boyscout goody goody ways took precedent. Yet i fail to believe in the intervening 20 years ( 25 QL years 1999 - 2024) he didnt visit Donna Sami Jo or even Al in his dying days!! I find that very hard to believe and this needs addressing if there is going to be a season 3 or even a movie as Debra keeps saying.
We can assume after Mirror Image Sam keeps on leaping as is clearly stated, he does so without AL and and not requiring the accelerator to leap him around, he can leap in assess the situation determine who to help/save and leap out onto the next all without Ziggy etc.
I'm also to assume as he leaps he does so with the previous knowledge of his family, wife ( i stand to be corrected) and of course Al and Beth as proven by him saving Als marriage.
The ending of mirror image was somewhat contradictory, it was established Sam could leap home at any time yet clearly we saw him sitting with Al the bartender weeping he just wants to go home! but he can't.....his boyscout goody goody ways took precedent. Yet i fail to believe in the intervening 20 years ( 25 QL years 1999 - 2024) he didnt visit Donna Sami Jo or even Al in his dying days!! I find that very hard to believe and this needs addressing if there is going to be a season 3 or even a movie as Debra keeps saying.
Which makes it even more unbelievable - the ultimate do-gooder not returning while possibly knowing all his close family and friends have passed, it just doesn't make any sense to any real self respecting fan of the show and in the end a kick in the nuts to said fans.
Oh, I don’t believe for one second that Sam would ever return home permanently! And I consider myself a very hardcore self-respecting fan of the franchise. Traveling through time, putting right what once went wrong and making the world a better place, is Sam’s purpose. He’s answered the call to a higher purpose much greater than his own happiness. What is he going to do if he gets home, sit behind a desk and calculate equations all day? I seriously doubt Sam would ever be content doing that from day to day. That’s just not who Sam is. His true gift is being selfless and helping to change people’s lives for the better. You gotta remember, when Sam first leaped, he didn’t have a family to come home to. He wasn’t there when his father died. Even in the new timeline, Sam made a conscious choice to leave Donna behind for something far greater…and it was sort of implied in “The Leap Back” that she knew this deep down inside. She told Al, “Sam couldn’t do what he has to do if he remembered us.” It’s the very definition of the Hero’s Journey. The journey is not always one that they want to take, but one that they need to take. Look at pretty much any superhero story: the hero always goes through a moment of weakness where they want to quit because of the effect that their calling has on the people that love them. The current series has pretty much clarified at this point that in order for Quantum Leap to work, it requires sacrifice: a mission that is much bigger than oneself. And in those same superhero stories, the hero’s loved ones almost always come to a mutual realization that the sacrifice being made is the very reason why they love that person so much.
Sure, Sam could go home and be with his remaining family and friends, but would he be truly be happy knowing that in doing so, he’s not out there helping other people throughout time? That doesn’t mean we never need to see him again, but I’m 100% certain that he’ll never actually return home for good. It would just completely go against who Sam is and why we all love his character so much. Think about what he said to the Bartender: “I’d like to go home…but I can’t, can I? I’ve got a wrong to put right for Al.” I think he instinctively knew that by doing that, he’d be changing the timeline in such a way that would make it impossible for him to return to the same reality he left. Giving Al happiness was more important to him than his own happiness. That’s what heroes do!
Suggie176
Hardly sit at home dude, he'd come home and here's a controversial idea...... run his own project! it was his to begin with and which he painstakingly leapt to save, i'm sure the writers of the show can accomadate that so I wouldn't call that sitting around lol.
Also, he doesn't have to just manage it, he could be the occasional hologram to BOTH Ben and Addison by passing on his experiences, high and low. There's loads of stories to be told with Mr Quantum Leap now guiding the next gen of leapers.
Hard core fan here also and you used that quote out of context to what Donna was saying, i mean of course sure she knows his selflessness but Donna meant it for when Sam is liked by his female admirers and him being 'amorous' on his leaps doing what he does lol.
I know post Mirror Image Sam leaps solo and unrestrained but I believe his love for Donna is also equally as important to him. We saw how devastated he was for losing her and altering her timeline in S01EP03 Star Crossed but also in the same episode "Leap Back" S04EP01 Sam told Donna before he leaping into Al to save him " I'll be back, I swear to God I'll be back", his love for her is deep rooted so i fail to believe he would favour leaping endlessly in time to not getting home to her eventually.
This is a wrong the producers and writers have failed to RIGHT in over 30 years.
Hardly sit at home dude, he'd come home and here's a controversial idea...... run his own project! it was his to begin with and which he painstakingly leapt to save, i'm sure the writers of the show can accomadate that so I wouldn't call that sitting around lol.
Also, he doesn't have to just manage it, he could be the occasional hologram to BOTH Ben and Addison by passing on his experiences, high and low. There's loads of stories to be told with Mr Quantum Leap now guiding the next gen of leapers.
Hard core fan here also and you used that quote out of context to what Donna was saying, i mean of course sure she knows his selflessness but Donna meant it for when Sam is liked by his female admirers and him being 'amorous' on his leaps doing what he does lol.
I know post Mirror Image Sam leaps solo and unrestrained but I believe his love for Donna is also equally as important to him. We saw how devastated he was for losing her and altering her timeline in S01EP03 Star Crossed but also in the same episode "Leap Back" S04EP01 Sam told Donna before he leaping into Al to save him " I'll be back, I swear to God I'll be back", his love for her is deep rooted so i fail to believe he would favour leaping endlessly in time to not getting home to her eventually.
This is a wrong the producers and writers have failed to RIGHT in over 30 years.
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