"Sarah's got a GUN"
Volume No. 1
Issue No. 7
October 1992
Quantum Leap ™ & © 1992 Universal City Studios, Inc
Published by the INNOVATIVE CORPORATION
Ted Slampyak
Howard Cobb
Vickie Williams
Scott Rockwell
George Broderick, Jr.
Charles Marshall
Dan Day & Dave Day
Vickie Williams
Scott Rockwell
George Broderick, Jr.
Excerpt from this issue
Next issue leap-in page
Continuity page correction
"Lives on the Fringe"
April 15th,
1974
Augusta, Georgia
As a golf pro who just won the Masters Tournament, Sam is faced with the pending death of a fellow golfer, and a shady manager who has rigged his games with the mob.
"Sarah's Got a Gun"
May 19th,
1953
Queens, New York
Driving a school bus is driving Sam crazy when he leaps into the life of a bus driver who will be shot dead by a young girl on his route. She may be getting abused at home, and Sam must try to find a way to stop that situation while avoiding the abusive father and a seedy janitor. Jackie Gleason (character Ralph Kramden) and Art Carney (character Ed Norton) of "The Honeymooners" make an appearance as themselves in a brief kiss with history.
Summary by mshirley27
1974 finds Sam leaping into Joe "Chokin'" Cochin at the 18th Annual Augusta National Golf Tournament. Ziggy calculates that someone close to Joe is in life-threatening danger!
Later... or earlier as the case may be, Sam leaps into a school bus driver in 1953! To leap again, Same has to keep from getting shot by one of the students on "his" bus!
"Oh boy!"
airdave's Quantum Leap #7 - "Lives on the FRINGE" and "Sarah's got a GUN" review
Quick Shots
The downside of an issue featuring two leaps is that there is very little breathing room for story development. The pacing is much brisker, the story moves along quicker toward a simplified, tidy resolution.
It's all "badda-bing, badda-boom".
The first leap finds Sam as a golf pro, Joe "Chokin'" Cochin. Apparently, he and his manager, Max, have been gambling on his performance. They've been netting against him and Joe has been losing, for a cut of the stake. Joe's marriage is shaky. He's not around much, and doesn't spend time with his wife and two-year-old son. Charles Marshall's script sets everything up, and then brings it to a racing conclusion. Everything is resolved in the space of just a few Dan and Dave Day panels. Maybe less is more. Although, a story that fills an entire issue just seems more satisfying.
The second story, by Ted Slampyak addresses domestic violence - child abuse - in 1953. Sam is a school bus driver that has to keep from getting fatally shot! Slampyak's script has Al make an interesting observation about Ralph Kramden and abuse. Howard Cobb's art is a enjoyable, adding a fun cameo appearance. As always, there's a surprise twist to the resolution. This story has the same neat wrap-up as the first. The bad guy is caught, another bad guy gets help, and Sam leaps.
The issue features another false last page leap tease, which is disappointing. (This issue leaps into Freedom of the Press, as a special edition #2 was planned between #7 and #8. A fixed leap-out page was later published in "Too Funny For Words".)
Still, both stories are enjoyable.