The new Quantum Leap

[Reef monkey]

Anyone want to talk about the new version of Bellisario's other great masterpiece? I consider this a continuation rather than a reboot, since it is picking up where the original show left off, rather than new actors in the same characters with a brand new continuity like 5-0 or Magnum.

I want to like this show so badly, but I'm just not feeling it. Scott Bakula's sense of wonder, his Everyman-ness despite all his PhDs and MD, and the chemistry between him and Dean Stockwell was so great. Raymond Lee is fine, maybe he would shine more with a better guide, but Caitlin Bassett's Addison character is a dud. It's hard to imagine why they are there as a couple (she seems too prickly for Ben), and even if they were a better couple, I think making them one was a big mistake, narratively. A big part of Sam's journey was his supreme loneliness and isolation. Sure, he had his friendship with Al, but that couldn't be everything to him, and his need for human connection was a big part of him becoming so emotionally involved with the people he was trying to help on his leaps. Ben having his significant other with him all the time is going to change that dynamic - it's like owning a pet parrot, if you want it to talk to humans, you own only one, because owning two opposite sex parrots of the same species will stop them from talking, or so I've heard. Maybe a clumsy analogy, but the best I've got. Also having her in the picture is going to constrain plot options for the writers. There were several episodes where Sam became romantically involved on his leaps, and one (well, three), "Trilogy", was some of the best Quantum Leap storytelling.

I wish Ben were single, or at least was swiss-cheesed to not know he had a SO, and his fiance could have been a character working behind the scenes, seeing and anguished by Ben not remembering about her, but knowing his not knowing was for the best. I think a better guide would be Ian, who is my favorite character in the show. Yes, his sartorial flamboyance might be a little on the nose as a callback to Al's garish outfits, but his personality is totally different. I like the idea of the head of the project being Magic, the character Sam lept into in his brother's SEAL team in Vietnam, and Ernie Hudson was a good choice, he's one of those actors like Michael Caine who can elevate even the worst film with his presence (his "Great White Hunter" character was the best thing in Congo, a really bad adaptation of my favorite Michael Crichton novel), but his character is really underwritten so far, so he is being wasted.

The mystery of Al's daughter's collusion with Ben is intriguing, the rival (but not necessarily evil) leaper subplot has promise, and I am hoping that the show gets a chance to have Ben leap into the same time and place as Sam so that Scott Bakula can guest star before the series gets canceled.

[Reef monkey]

I also liked the exorcism episode that was aired on Halloween, a great nod to "The Boogiem*n" that aired on October 26, 1990 (among Quantum Leap fans, it's considered bad luck to type out the full name of this episode, kinda like how actors always refer to Macbeth as "The Scottish Play.")

[Reef monkey]

The second season made me reevaluate the series. It really found its stride in the second season. The breakup of Ben and Addison was the best thing for the series. The story ark of Ben’s relationship with Hannah through time was great. Lots of really strong episodes overall. Ended on an exciting cliffhanger, hyped for next season.

[litefoot]

The second season made me reevaluate the series. It really found its stride in the second season. The breakup of Ben and Addison was the best thing for the series. The story ark of Ben’s relationship with Hannah through time was great. Lots of really strong episodes overall. Ended on an exciting cliffhanger, hyped for next season.

There is no next season, it's been cancelled.