Episode
Adopted by: MikeKraken
Additional info provided by: Brian
Greene
Synopsis:
Sam
leaps into a killer on the run in 1958. The house is surrounded and he
is holding hostage a mother and her young daughter. But back in the
future, the real killer, Leon, has escaped from the waiting room and Al
searches to find him. If Al can't bring Leon back, Sam can't leap...and
will be killed when the sheriff raids the house.
TV Guide
Synopsis: Sam
leaps into a killer holding a mother and daughter hostage, but he's
trapped as well when the man escapes from the waiting room back in the
future. Carol: Connie Ray. Leon: Cameron Dye. Sheriff Hoyt: Jim Haynie.
Leap-in Sequence:
Places:
Pine County, Oklahoma (Sam leaps into Styles here)
Stallion's
Gate, New Mexico, USA (Project Quantum Leap)
The Waiting Room has a blue hue, and there is a ramp leading from the
door up about waist-high to the "stage" of the Waiting Room. There is a
space betwen the stage and the perimeter wall of the room, wide enough
for people to walk double-file.
From what we've seen in this episode and "The Leap Back", the
entrances to Imaging Chamber and Quantum Leap Accelerator are both
located in the Control Room, but the Waiting Room is in a corridor
outside of any of these rooms. There is an elevator right near the
entrance to the Waiting Room (where the corporal comes out).
Ziggy is refered to as female in this episode.
Gooshie is absent minded in this episode, calling Leon "Dr. Beckett"
twice, and suggesting calling the police.
Project Quantum Leap is a Code One clearance, and they can not
involve other agencies (such as the police).
The Waiting Room is on the tenth level down, which leads to reason
that so are the other four important rooms. The employees park their
right out in front of the complex.
Gooshie had his car stolen "last year" (1998), and took Al's advice
to have a location tracking device placed in his new one (which is "the
blue one").
Sam can't leap if the visitor is not in the Waiting Room, and is
stuck permanently if the leapee is dead.
Sam created Project Quantum Leap in 1995. The current year is 1999,
probably March or April, given the position of the episode following
"Lee Harvey Oswald" (February 1999).
When Sam leaps, it's his body that trades places with the visitor.
Gooshie
is able to tune his brainwaves into both Al and Sam and be heard by
both.
The city where Al and Leon are in Sex World has a designated lane for
electro-magnetic vehicles only (the right lane), as seen by a sign and
heard by the vocal announcement (which reads in English and Spanish).
Prostitutes in 1999 can afford voice-activated rooms.
Sam Trivia:
Sam
reveals his true identity in this episode to Carol and Becky.
Al Trivia:
Al's car
(the "experimental model" from "Genesis") is a convertible.
Al's Women: Al thinks the prostitute is
"tempting."
Al's Outfits
Worn in the Episode:
First outfit: Golden shirt with matching shoes;
black string tie with gold and black pin; goldish-yellow suit coat with
matching pants; cigar; handlink; watch with a black band and a gold
face.
Second outfit: black leather jacket; back-up handlink; black belt
with silver buckle; black pants; black shoes.
Miscellaneous Trivia:
The day of the week is Thursday, according to a day-calendar that Sam
sees upon leaping in. However, it was actually a Wednesday.
The profile disc that Gooshie made up for Al is a regular-sized
compact disc in a jewel case.
In the second draft script, dated August
14th 1992, there is an extension to the sequence
after Sam arrives in which Al and a marine visit Styles
in the Waiting Room, and Styles is able to overpower
the marine and steal his gun (this scene was filmed,
but Bellisario felt it was “kinda hokey, it didn’t look
real”
660 so he requested it be cut). Source
Bloopers:
These
were shown at a convention. This is a recording of a screen, so the
quality is poor. A crew member makes a funny clock chime sound and Dean
Stockwell pretends to wreck the car!
Regular Cast:
Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett
Dean Stockwell as Al Calavicci
Guest Stars:
Connie Ray as Carol Pruitt
Cameron Dye as Leon Styles
Jim Haynie as Sheriff John Hoyt
Joseph Malone as Deputy Grimes
Dennis Wolfberg as Gooshie
Carolyn Lowery as Hooker
Beverley Mitchell as Becky Pruitt
Lewis Dauber as Reporter
Uncredited actor as Corporal McLaughlin
Connie Ray
as Carol Pruitt: Studied
dance at East Carolina University. She earned an MFA in acting from
Ohio University. Known for her screen and stage work, she is also a
writer. She presently splits her time between Los Angeles and New York.
Her film and television highlights include The Torkelsons
(1991), Hope Floats (1998), Idle Hands (1999), Stuart
Little (1999), About Schmidt (2002), Ice Princess
(2005), Thank You for Smoking (2005), The Big C (2010),
and Grey's Anatomy (2005).
As a playwright, she penned the "Smoke on the Mountain" trilogy -
numbering among the most produced musicals in America for the last
twenty five years.
Cameron
Dye as Leon Styles: Born
in New Orleans, but criss-crossed the U.S. while growing up, as his
family never stayed in one place for longer than four years. His
high-school years were divided between Ohio and Northern California. He
applied and was accepted into the theater arts department of UCLA,
where he met Tim Robbins, at the time also a novice actor. In between
acting jobs, Cameron writes and performs his own music. His songs can
be heard on the soundtracks to his films 'Scenes From The Goldmine' and
'The Apocalypse.'
Jim
Haynie as Sheriff John Hoyt: Born on
February 6, 1940 in Falls Church, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known
for The Peacemaker (1997), The Fog (1980) and The
Bridges of Madison County (1995). He was previously married
to Maggie Causey and Janice A McKelheer. He died on April 3,
2021 in Langley, Washington, USA.
Joseph
Malone as Deputy Grimes: Known for The Tracey
Ullman Show (1987), Hocus Pocus (1993) and Ally McBeal
(1997).
Dennis
Wolfberg as Gooshie: see our
dedicated pagehere.
Carolyn
Lowery as Hooker: Carolyn Lowery is known
for Candyman (1992) and Octopus (2000).
Beverley
Mitchell as Becky Pruitt: Rising to fan-magazine fame through her
stint as Lucy Camden on 7th Heaven (1996),
Beverley was born in Arcadia, California. Before her most famous role,
Beverley started her career off with a well-known temper tantrum,
alongside her mother, in the middle of a shopping mall. A talent agent
heard the noise and quickly rushed over. The rest is history.
Television and modeling gigs quickly followed and her debut TV role was
in the series Big Brother Jake (1990). Her first large film role
came in The Crow: City of Angels (1996). Shortly after, she was on
the WB as one of the fresh faces of the hit 7th Heaven (1996).
While busy with the show, Beverley graduated from high school in 1999
and has attended Loyola Maramount University and studied film. She also
actively participates in RADD Kids and K-Mart Kids Race Against Drugs
charities, among others. While active on her show, she also starred in
the independent short film, Mean People Suck (2001). In 2011,
Beverley joined the cast of The Secret Life of the American
Teenager (2008), as the new school guidance counselor.
Lewis Dauber as Reporter: Born on April 27, 1949 in
New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known
for The Island (2005), Something's Gotta Give
(2003) and Jingle All the Way (1996). He was previously
married to Paulette Levin. He died on October 3, 2019 in Pacific
Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Say What?
"Where'd you get
that gun?" Al asks. Explanation: that scene was
left on the cutting-room floor. A scene which was filmed but dropped
shows Al, Gooshie, and a Marine Guard enter the Waiting Room with
Styles. Styles overpowers the guard and takes his gun. If you look
closely in the background, you can see the Marine lying on the floor by
the table.
When Al is explaining to Styles that he can't leave the Waiting Room,
we see an image of the door used from "The Leap Back" which lead into
the Imaging Chamber. However, when the we see Al, Gooshie, and Styles
in the corridor outside, it's a large, octagonal door that takes up the
entire doorway (almost the width and height of the cylindrical
corridors) and slides either into the wall or the ceiling (we don't see
it open). In addition, we don't see the glowing blue lights from
outside. [Explanation: they simply re-used older footage.]
We
learned in "Roberto!" that the staff uses implants to open the doors at
the Project. How did Styles exit the building? Perhaps another guard
let him out.
The
diary shows the date to be Thursday. June 18th, 1958 was a
Wednesday.
Why
does Gooshie think Styles is really Sam? He's been working at the
project for years and should know how it works by now.
Al's
car has roof open when he drives away from the Project.
Interior shots show the roof closed.
Sam (narrative): "I've always made it a rule never to judge people on
first impressions. Of course, rules were made to be broken."
Leon: "What the Hell is all this?"
Al (slightly paraphrased): "What is all this? What is all... well, it's
sort of an underground top-secret research laboratory style... type of
thing." (Gooshie approaches.) "Oh boy."
Gooshie: "Who's going after him?"
Al: "I am."
Gooshie: "_You_?" (gets a look from Al.) "W-wouldn't be my first
choice."
Deputy Grimes: "You think he give himself up?"
Sheriff Hoyt: "I don't know. Why don't you ask him?"
Al: "He got away from us."
Sam: "He got away from you? What do you mean he got away from you?"
Al: "He escaped."
Sam: "He escaped? How could that happen, 'He escaped.'? Al, you didn't
open the Waiting Room door, did you? Oh, please tell me you didn't
opened the Waiting Room door. You did, you did, I can't believe this!"
Al: "Well, I couldn't help it, he took us by surprise! Somehow, he got
ahold of a gun, and he held the gun straight at me like that, and what
could I do?! I couldn't do anything!"
Sam: "Okay, okay, okay. He got out of the Waiting Room, okay, but at
least he's still in the complex. Right? I can't believe this is
happening, Al! You've got to get him back!"
Al: "Oh, I will!"
Sam: "What do you mean you will?"
Al: "I will!"
Sam: "What do you mean, you
will?
You're not thinking about going after him yourself, are ya?"
Al: "Why not?"
Sam: "Why not? Because he's a cold-blooded killer, that's why not! I
need you here with me..."
Al: "Sam, this guy's gotta be taken alive. Don't forget: if he dies,
you're finished. And and an' don't worry. Don't worry because I'm gonna
leave Gooshie in charge."
Sam: "Gooshie. Well, that's just perfect."
Al: "Yeah, and if anything happens, he'll be in touch with you. Ziggy
is synching up his brain with your brain so that you can see him."
Sam: "Me - me and Gooshie."
Al: "Yeah."
Al: "I'd kiss you if you didn't have bad breath."
Gooshie (with a handlink and an orange clipboard): "I'm touched.
Admiral, are you sure this what you want to do?"
Al: "For five years, I've been watching Sam Beckett risk his life for
total strangers. Think about it."
Carol: "Oh, that's right, I forgot. You're stuck here until your
friend from the future gets back."
Sam: "When was the last time you met an illiterate speed-reader?"
Sam: "Gooshie?"
Carol: "What?"
Sam: "He's not a what, he's a who."
Carol: "Your friend from the future?"
Sam: "One of them."
Carol: "Oh great, now there're two of 'em?"
Gooshie: "Time and space can be a bitch."
Gooshie: "I'm right in front of you! Can't you see me?"
Al: "If I could see you, would I be talking to the sidewalk?!"
Gooshie: "I guess Ziggy didn't do a very good job of synching our
brainwaves."
Al: "I'll take that as a complement."
Leon: "... 'cause you're gonna send me back where I came from, right?"
Gooshie: "I can't do that."
Leon: "I think you're lying to me."
Gooshie: "Don't get me wrong. I mean, I'd love to accomodate you, but
it doesn't work that way. We don't have any control over it."
Leon: "Well, who does?!"
Gooshie: "Well, that kind of depends on your point of view. Call
yourself a religious man?" (looks Leon up and down.) "Probably not."
Best Lines:
Al: "For five years, I've been watching Sam Beckett risk his life for
total strangers. Think about it."
Gooshie: "I guess Ziggy didn't do a very good job of synching our
brainwaves."
Al: "I'll take that as a compliment."
Awards: Michael Watkins nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Regular Series in 1993 by the American Society of Cinematographers.
Synopsis & Review:
Sam leaps into a killer on the run in 1958. A deadly leap into Leon Stiles, a mass murderer who has taken a woman and her daughter hostage has Sam confessing the Quantum Leap Project to the frightened victims, while Al chases down the real killer who has escaped from the Waiting Room.
As the house is surrounded by police, Sam, as Leon is holding the mother and her young daughter. But back in the future, in 1999, the real killer, Leon, has escaped from the waiting room and Al desperately tries to find him. If Al can't bring Leon back, Sam can't leap...and will be killed when the sheriff raids the house.
Personal Review by MikeKraken:
What happens when Sam leaps into a
cold-blooded murder? It seems like a
simple leap after Sam achieves his first goal, yet he can't leap,
simply because the visitor has escaped from the Project Quantum Leap
complex and now Al is going after him. That means that Sheriff Hoyt,
whose daughter Debbie Collins died as a result of Leon Styles's
shooting her, is out for revenge, and Sam is his target.
What can I say? This is the
episode summary that I must have spent the
most time on (over three hours). I watched it twice, as usual, but had
to rewind quite a few times to get some of the quotes. This is one of
my favourite episodes, because of two main things: we get to see
Project Quantum Leap and the future, and we get to see lots of Gooshie.
On top of that, it's a great story for the leap, and the entire episode
in general is expertly written, acted, directed, and, well, everything!
If Sam hadn't exposed his true self to Carol, he probably would have
died in Leon's place. This episode is full of action, drama, and
comedy, and it almost seems like a full-length movie to me sometimes,
which is why it's in my top five. I love how Sam reacts to Gooshie
being in charge while Al was about to go chasing after Leon. The scene
in the prostitute's room is tense, especially if you haven't seen the
episode before! Carol's convincing the sheriff is quite touching.
Production Credits:
Theme by: Mike Post Musical Score By: Velton Ray Bunch Co-Executive Producer:Deborah Pratt Co-Executive Producer:Chas. Floyd Johnson Supervising Producers:Richard C. Okie,Harker Wade Supervising Producer:Tommy Thompson Producer: Robin Jill Bernheim Created by: Donald P. Bellisario Written by:Tommy Thompson Directed by:Michael Watkins
Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario Associate Producers:Julie Bellisario,Scott Ejercito Coordinating Producer: David Bellisario Director of Photography:Michael Watkins A.S.C. Production Designer: Cameron Birnie Edited by:Michael S. Stern Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow First Assistant Director: R. John Slosser Second Assistant Director: Brian Faul Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, C.S.A. Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac Costume Supervisors: David Rawley, Katina Kerr Art Director: Ellen Dambros-Williams Sound Mixer: Barry D. Thomas Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth Make-up: Jeremy Swan Hairstylist: Andrea Mizushima Fashion Concepts: Jean-Pierre Dorleac Sound Editor: Greg Schorer Music Editor: Bruce Frazier Special Visual Effects: Roger Dorney, Denny Kelly
Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®
This
motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other
countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may
result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.
Some
of the characters portrayed in this motion picture are based upon
actual persons. Although some of those events have been fictionalized
for dramatic purposes, otherwise the characters and events depicted in
this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living
or dead is purely coincidental.
Bellisarius Productions and Universal Television, an MCA Company
Quantum Leap Podcast: Killin' Time
Listen
to The Quantum Leap Podcast on this episode here:
Bone up on your hand anatomy, because it’s Killin’ Time!
Join hosts Allison Pregler, Matt Dale and Christopher DeFilippis to
discuss Sam’s Leap into a brutal killer in a deadly siege with police —
while Al hunts for the real killer, who has escaped from the Waiting
Room in 1999.
It’s a whirlwind of Sci-Fi action, confusing guns and revealing truths about Fermi Suits. Did we mention Sex World?
Also, Matt tells his car-park story, and there’s a dark(winged) post-credits bonus!
Let us know what you think… Leave us a voicemail by calling (707)847-6682.
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