I am reviewing this DVD set, not the series, which
is one of my favorites.
I pre-ordered this DVD set as soon as I possibly
could, so that I could replace my
not-very-high-quality, copied-from-TV episodes on
bulky VHS tapes with clean copies on a few DVD's. It
had been a while since I had watched the episodes,
so I didn't notice anything wrong until I reached
"Good Morning, Peoria." When Chick and Rachel were
dancing that romantic dance, all I could think was,
"Huh? What the heck happened to the music? Wasn't
there a *real* song there before?" So I did some
digging on the Internet, to make sure my memory
wasn't playing tricks on me, and was absolutely
horrified to discover that the music in various
episodes had been changed. Most especially I was
flabbergasted that they messed with the soundtrack
of "M.I.A." That is one of the best episodes in the
series, and the music felt as much a part of the
story as the words. I played the final scene from
the DVD, and it was awful, dreadful; the music was
no longer a presence, it was just some background
noise. Thank heaven I was able to retrieve my old
VHS tapes. I played the same scene from them. Even
with a grainy, dark picture, the original packed
more of a wallop. It wasn't just "Georgia On My
Mind," it was also "Unchained Melody," with its
wrenchingly appropriate lyrics - "My darling, I
hunger for your touch; are you still mine?"
I cannot believe that Universal was unable to get
permission to use the original music; so it must
have been a question of money. It isn't as if this
was a super-cheap set to begin with, but I would not
have minded paying a few more dollars to cover the
royalties for the songs, so that I could have the
real show. I don't care about extras on the DVD's -
I don't need interviews, or commentaries, or
behind-the-scenes stories, but I do care about being
able to watch the show that I loved. And for
Universal to release these pitiably maimed things
without warning of the changes is an outrage.
What's next? To save money on royalties, dub in the
voice of little Johnny Doe from the high school
drama club instead of Clark Gable's as Rhett Butler?
"American Graffiti" with Muzak-type songs instead of
the original classics?
This whole series is about time travel, and one of
the most effective ways to evoke a particular time
period is to play the music of that time. The
unmemorable pap that replaced the classic songs on
these DVD's does nothing, *nothing* to add to the
show.
I might keep this set, simply because of the
terrible reception my TV got when I originally taped
the episodes, but I'm not sure; and I will think
long and hard before I order the third season.
After saving a cat from a
tree as a firefighter in 1957, Sam leaps into Tom McBride, a
New York City cop on his honeymoon, Sam must save himself
from his wife's jealous and sociopathic ex-husband. To make
matters worse, the Project's funding is in danger of being
cut off, stranding Sam alone in the past, unless he can make
a significant change in history...
such as preventing the U2 flight from being shot down over
Russia.
Note: This episode is unusual in that
it opens and closes in the present time (in the context
of the series), as Al struggles to justify keeping
project Quantum Leap running to a committee. This is
also the first episode where we see the effects of Sam's
actions on history. Just as the previous senator was
about to deny funding for Project Quantum Leap, his
host's wife becomes the senator in charge of the
committee and approves funding.
Sam is unhappy about leaping
into stuntman Chad Stone on the set of a disco film, but he
must prevent his brother, a fellow stuntman, from being the
victim of a freak accident while steering him toward a
career in music. This is the first episode in which Sam
remembers that he had a brother who died in Vietnam.
Sam leaps into Charles
MacKenzie, a US sailor returning from overseas with his
Japanese bride after being stationed in Japan for two years.
He lives in a small American town and must help his host's
mother accept his new bride, fend off his ex-girlfriend's
advances, and fight off racist responses from some of the
townspeople.
Sam leaps into a woman for
the first time, a stunning blonde named Samantha Stormer. He
must prevent his host's female roommate from killing herself
when her married boyfriend (who is also Sam's host's boss)
refuses to divorce his wife. Sam also has to deal with
sexual harassment from the same man and deal with Al's
attraction for Sam's host.
Sam leaps into
Carnegie Hall as Andrew Ross, a blind pianist. He must
save the pianist's girlfriend from being killed by a serial
killer in New York's
Central Park, and convince her mother that he is not bad
for her.
Brushes with history: Sam leaps into
his host on the eve of
The Beatles landing at
JFK International Airport, and crowds of rabid fans
can be seen whenever Sam is outside. He even catches one
fan as she passes out.
Sam leaps into Chick Howell,
the
Wolfman Jack type DJ of a radio station in a city where
local politicians are trying to ban rock & roll. He and the
station owner barricade themselves in the station and thwart
several attempts by the authorities to take the station off
the air.
Patricia Richardson guest stars. (Evidenced by the
title, this episode is a homage to the hit film
Good Morning, Vietnam.)
Sam is David Basch, a
rabbi who must prevent his brother's family from being
torn apart by the death of their son in a plane crash and
the mother's subsequent affair. In this episode, Al reveal
that his third wife was
Jewish during the
bat mitzvah of the niece of Sam's host.
Sam leaps into Jimmy LaMotta,
a mentally handicapped young man that needs to show he can
keep his job at the docks or else he will die in a mental
institution.
Michael Madsen guest stars as a dock worker that teases
and intimidates Jimmy for being disabled. It's also revealed
that Al had a younger sister who was
mentally retarded and died in an institution.
Brushes with history: Sam decides to
tell his host's nephew the
Star Wars saga.
Sam becomes Leonard Dancey, a
defense attorney in a capital murder case, defending a black
woman accused of murdering a prominent white man in a town
steeped in racism. (Sam even slightly resembles
Atticus Finch of
To Kill a Mockingbird).
Sam is Ray Hutton, the
understudy to an alcoholic actor on a way-off-Broadway
production of
Man of La Mancha. He must prevent the obnoxious
actor from ending his career with a drunken fall on stage
that breaks his leg. This situation is greatly complicated
when Sam decides he doesn't want to leap after meeting his
old piano teacher, whom he had a boyhood crush on- and who
is in love with Sam's host.
John Cullum and
Janine Turner (both of
Northern Exposure) guest star.
Sam is Timothy Mintz, a
parapsychologist working with a young widow who insists
that her late husband is haunting her. The
Sylmar earthquake and an aftershock occur during the
episode. A device that Sam's host invented to record
paranormal activity allows those near it to hear Al.
Co-executive producer
Deborah Pratt, wife of series creator
Donald P. Bellisario, guest stars as Troian. Bellisario
has a cameo appearance as Mintz's reflection.
Sam leaps into all-American
college jock Knut "Wild Thing" Wileton who must prevent
anti-war protests from turning violent and resulting in the
destruction of the science block while a student is inside,
thus ruining the life of a young woman opposed to the war.
(This episode is an homage to the classic cult film
Animal House.)
Sam is Linda Brookner, the
mother of three children, one of whom will disappear in the
next 48 hours. Sam must juggle motherhood and his rescue
mission while Al watches over the youngest child - a burden
made much easier by the fact that he and Al can be seen by
the woman's youngest daughter.
Sam leaps into Eddie Vega, a
high school football player who must prevent his best friend
from throwing the big game and ruining both their chances at
college scholarships.
Episode note: Al says that he is watching
Super Bowl XXX and that the Steelers are down by three.
In fact, six years after the episode was filmed, the
Steelers did play the
Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX and were down by three at one
point in the fourth quarter.
Sam is Peter Langley, an FBI
agent who is protecting a woman in the Federal Witness
Protection Program from a deadly Mafia hitman who has an
uncanny ability to find them.
Episode note: At the end of this episode Sam meets his
former professor who helped him develop the String Theory
which leads the Quantum Leap Project.
Sam leaps into a young
imprisoned Native American named George Washaki who is
trying to take his dying grandfather back to the reservation
where he can die in peace, but the town sheriff is out to
stop them.
A woman's apparent suicide by
drowning turns out to be a possible murder tied to her male
and female romances, and Sam, as Melvyn Spooner the coroner,
must find the truth.
Robert Duncan McNeill and
Marcia Cross guest star. This episode served as
inspiration for issue 9 of the Quantum Leap comic
book, which had Sam leaping into Cross's character as she
was released from prison on the eve of the
Stonewall riots.[1]
Sam leaps into Charlie "Black
Magic" Walters, one of the greatest pool men in America and
Al's childhood mentor. He must help his granddaughter keep
her nightclub and rescue it from under the corrupting
influence of a criminal loan shark.
Sam leaps into Victor
Panzini, a member of a family of trapeze artists who must
prevent his host's sister from performing a dangerous stunt
that will result in her death, a mission which is made more
difficult by his fear of heights.
Sam leaps into Buster, a
bouncer in the middle of an infant kidnapping scheme with a
ditsy, compulsive liar as his partner (Julie
Brown). Sam and Al cannot agree on whether Sam is there
to help the pair succeed or return the baby to its rightful
guardian.
Sam leaps into Phillip
Dumont, the ex-husband of a young heiress who is preparing
to marry a gangster aboard a cruise ship, and Sam must get
them back together.
Sam leaps into police
detective Jake Rawlings, and is caught between two missions;
saving his partner's life and preventing a young woman from
losing hope for her husband who is
Missing in action in Vietnam... a situation made even
more awkward by the fact that the woman in question is Al's
first wife.
Episode Note: This is the first episode that doesn't show
where Sam leaps to next in the end. Sam would revisit Al's
wife at the end of the series final episode.
