502 Leaping of the Shrew

[alsplacebartender]

Leaping of the Shrew
September 27, 1956

Somewhere in the Central Aegean Sea


Shipwrecked on an uncharted island, Sam as a Greek seaman must romance the spoiled rich socialite he is stranded with and help her follow her dreams and her heart...to marry him.


Written by: Richard C. Okie and Robin Jill Bernheim
Directed by: Alan J. Levi


Rate and comment on this episode!

[Vince Beckett]

Not bad. I was never a fan of love stories, but anything Quantum Leap is good.

[TortureXChick]

i thought it was great

[Samantha Beckett]

*thinks dreamily* Sam on a desert island............:dreaming :dreaming :dreaming

oh, sorry. What was the question again?

Samantha Beckett

[Al The Observer]

A friend of mine said he saw my show the other day. I asked him what show was that, knowing which one he meant. He said it was Quantum Leap, the one with Brooke Shields. I said, "Sam leaps into a Greek sailor who must get a spoiled rich young lady to fall in love with him, and they are stranded on an island. Season Five, Leaping of the Shrew." He made a face something like this: :eek or this::hair. And when he recovered, he said, "Wow. You really are a Quantum Leap freak." I laughed and said, "Yep. That's me."

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Well this is another one that took me until the second chance to like, but now I do. It just shows how sweet Sam is no matter what kinda attitude he's dealing with even that of Vanessa Foster. It was also a good representation of how sometimes the one you hate the most can be the one you love.

it was a funny episode too, I love the whole thing with Al having to jump out of Tina's birthday cake, and at the beginning somewhere around when Sam is digging through her trunk and finds her cigarettes Al does a motion with his hands with an expression like hes saying "Cigarettes are for n00bs, lame!" lol. Then there was how Sam and Venessa agreed to eat only what they found and poor Sam was stuck with grapes and toothpaste, mmmm yumola hehe.

not to mention how Scott looked really sexy in his torn and dirty sailor clothes and dirt covered skin accompanied with his frusterated attitude towards Vanessa. now thats a real YUMOLA! :dreaming

[Aging Boomer]

It was good to have a lighter episode after the dark intensity of "Lee Harvey Oswald," but I'm a cynic--I just don't buy that a wealthy heiress and a Greek sailor will find happiness together on a deserted island. Coming from entirely different cultures would more likely cause their relationship to fail.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

It was good to have a lighter episode after the dark intensity of "Lee Harvey Oswald," but I'm a cynic--I just don't buy that a wealthy heiress and a Greek sailor will find happiness together on a deserted island. Coming from entirely different cultures would more likely cause their relationship to fail.

Yeah I agree, the idea was entertianing and cute but very unrealistic. Also what are the chances that a greek sailor and wealthy hieress would cross paths in a ship wreck in the first place?

[alsplacebartender]

Yeah I agree, the idea was entertianing and cute but very unrealistic. Also what are the chances that a greek sailor and wealthy hieress would cross paths in a ship wreck in the first place?

I thought that Sam and Brooke Shields character had known each other on board the ship before they ship sank? Wasn't that hinted about in the episode? Or am I mistaken?

[jmoniz]

Wasn't that hinted about in the episode? Or am I mistaken?
You're right. According to Al, Nicos carried all of Vanessa's trunks when she came on board and made sure there was a mint on her pillow everynight. The night that the yacht blew up, Vanessa was using the excuse of sneaking a cigarette to visit with Nicos in the engine room. Al points out to Sam that she'd quit smoking days before that. Basically, they'd seen each other and been attracted to each other right from the start. Seems they just need a little "push" in the right direction.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Yeah they both were attracted to eachother on the ship which was in fact what Sam was needed for and I quote:
"You mean to tell me that I am here because I am a lousy sailor!?"
Nicos apparently was a regular popeye and got them rescued in a snap before they could reveal their attraction to eachother therefore returning Vanessa to her arranged marriage. So Sam needed to make sure they were not found so that they could have time to reveal their attraction to eachother.

[Ziggy]

I thought this episode was really funny. "Sunken treasure!" And that's all I have to say. ;)

[RossBeckett]

Excellent episode! I love the MacGyverism that Sam used. The hairspray can in the fire makes a rescue flare. :)

~Steve B.

[cookiemom6067]

You can almost guarantee - if Sam complains about how annoying a female is at the beginning, he will be at least kissing her by the end of the episode. Besides this episode, we have:

Rachel in "Good Morning, Peoria"
Dana in "Her Charm"
Diane in "A Hunting we will Go"
Tess in "How the Tess was Won"

and just for a giggle, I include:
Corey in "The Wrong Stuff"

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Yeah lol Cookiemom thats true. Sam was not annoyed by Cory though he loved her, he thought she was cute. And so did Scott. There is a blooper where hes playing with her on set. and Dean is standing with him and he says
"Ok don't you think you're taking this too far"
lol.

[isz]

I quite liked this episode,but i don't think it was more then Average. For start - It reminded me a lot of the episode - "a hunting we will go." The same physical Comedy,the same situation of Sam finding himself "stuck" with a woman he can't stop complaining about how annoying she is,but as time goes by he start liking her too much...
Beside that - I thought the acting in this episode was quite Average.

[bluedana]

This episode reminded me of the screwball comedies of the 40's - the Katharine Hepburn/Cary Grant-type comedies with rapid fire insults flying, and romantic tension underneath. The dialogue had me laughing out loud in places, and it was cool to see Brooke Shields making fun of one of the roles that made her famous.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

I just started this episode and I was just thinking; this must be the easiest casted episode in the series they only needed two guest stars, Brooke and Niko's reflection.

[isz]

Well... maybe it because all they could allow themselves in the budget the had was paying Brooke Shields(she was quite a big star at the time,i believe).;)

[Snish]

I think this episode was a budget saver. No sets to build. Just a rubber raft, a place by the shore to film in, and a few props. Just one guest star, so they could afford a high-profile one, which could help draw in new viewers. (Nikos hardly counts--they could use an extra for that.)

Makes me chuckle imagining fans of Brooke Shields tuning into this episode if they had never seen QL--so who's that guy in the bathrobe, anyway? Why does he disappear? He's calling the other guy "Sam," but she's calling him "Nikos"... oh, I'm so confused...

[Sam Beckett Fan]

I think season five in general was a budget saver which they were required to do thanx to the new NBC guy. :p Thats why you may notice that we see less of the actual imaging chamber door and more of just hearing the sound off screen and then seeing Al appear from behind the scenes. Appearntly the sound costed less than the actual door which makes sense since it's basically a large sheet of light from ours and Sam's POV. Which means a lot of effects are needed to create it.

[NYCSciFiFan]

All I could think about was "Blue Lagoon" with Brooke Shields.

I didn't like her character, but she did an okay job with the role. Shirtless Sam on a desert island - very appealing.

I hadn't thought about the budgeting - that's a good point. They probably did save money, assuming they didn't fly the cast/crew to the Caribbean. (Many people have said it was entirely blue-screen.)

Loved the MacGuyver hairspray flare, esp. when it failed because she used it all on her HAIR! (Which looked mahvelous, dahling.)

All in all, a great break from Lee Harvey Oswald.

[julieannboo]

i didn't like this episode at all.

i found it boring. It has something missing from this episode. not sure what.

The the sky at the beginning has a crease in it.

it was filmed on the universal studio backlot. the sky is a board and the water is almost like a round lake.