1216 Deadly Seas

What is your opinion of this story?

  • 5 ? This is an excellent episode! One of my personal favorites!

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • 4 ? This episode was great! I will definitely tell others about it.

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • 3 ? This episode was good. It was worth reading.

    Votes: 3 42.9%
  • 2 ? This episode was like the neutral zone ? I am indifferent.

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • 1 ? Bellisario would be rolling in his grave if he had one.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    7
D

Dman176

Guest
Deadly Seas
June 28, 1965


Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean aboard the luxury liner Everglade


Finding himself aboard a luxury liner that's quickly sinking, Sam must race against time to save himself and a child from certain death, along the way meeting a mysterious stranger who seems to know more than meets the eye.


Written by: Erik Dreiling


Thanks,
TVS Team
 
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Our rating system this season consists of six raters and three back-up raters! We took the average of six raters and came up with an average for that episode. Based on ratings of 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, the average of this episode was: 8.08

Please be aware that some reviews may contain spoilers! Some of the comments given were:

Seeker said:
I liked the story line and the pacing was good, too. The twist at the end is something I?ve heard of before and I like the idea that when something ends, there?s a new beginning or, if you will, a continuation, a passing of the torch, somewhere else in the world. There were a few small grammatical ?bumps in the road,? but other than that, this was a nice read.

RATING: 8.5

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Morris J. Finkle said:
Well, other than "Flirting With Disaster," it's been quite a while since Erik has written anything for the VS, so I really don't remember his prior stories that much (because they were so long ago). I did assume that Angela Ramsey must have been a character from one of his earliest stories (possibly "Reunion" and/or its sequel "Man in the Mirror"?), but as another rater pointed out, a footnote or something would have been nice. The constant shift between Sam's leap and Al in the Imaging Chamber was also very distracting, especially when several of Al's scenes lasted for only one or two sentences before going back to Sam. Still, all-in-all, it was an enjoyable story with a "classic" QL feel to it. Phillip's character reminded me of Stawpah from "Mirror Image," not being able to move on until his "mission" succeeded. I also liked the fact that he was born on Al's date of birth and died on Sam's date of birth.

Some minor mistakes and discrepancies aside (the St. John reference), well done, Erik.

RATING: 8.0

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Sporty said:
This was an interesting story. I liked the way that the ghost was able to move on because of what he did for Sam. I like stories with a supernatural beat. Great job!

RATING: 9.0

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Allie Cat said:
This was one story that really was in desperate need of a Beta reader. The continuous changing of scene setting made the story difficult to follow and, as others have pointed out, there is the reference to a dead man in the story (Edward St. John VI), which is a very telling indication that the author has not been keeping up with the last couple of seasons of the VS.

A couple of my own little nitpicks (other than the St. John reference). In the story, Al referred to the Everglade as a boat. As a Navy man, he sees a difference between a boat and a ship - a boat is either a submersible or is a very small craft, like a lifeboat or even a PT boat. The Everglade would be a ship to him, not a boat.

The reference to Angela from Erik's previous story was a nice touch but the story itself should have been referenced better to make her appearance more understandable. I found myself wondering who this Angela was and where she seemingly suddenly came from. A reader shouldn't have to go back to a previous story just to know who a character is, especially if that character has only appeared once before.

Still, the story was nicely Quantum Leap. I liked the simplicity of the leap, Sam rescuing a little girl from a sinking ship. And though the little twist at the end was somewhat predictable, it was a very nice touch. Having Phillip failing several times to save the girl because of his own fear of the water (thanks to having drown in his real life) was believable and even made me sympathize with him.

Good story, Erik.

RATING: 8.0

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Marigold Brambleburr said:
The plotline for this story was very interesting, if predictable. I had a feeling where things were going with Philip, but the birthday touch was a nice one. Good characterization, but I had several stumbling points. For one thing, Sam seems to be very passive and not in control of his actions. He "found himself" in various places--fine for the Leap-In, although excessive usage at three occurences in one paragraph and a fourth in the very next one; however, when Sam "found himself" in a room after talking to Al, it caused me to stop and wonder how he traveled there if he didn't walk, swim, or climb into it. A brief summary of just who Angela Reynolds was and how Sam helped her and her brother Max would be nice. Even those readers who've read all of the VS could use a reminder, I'm sure. I couldn't understand why Al was in uniform, nor why he was calling out to "St. John," who is no longer with the Project. Minor bumps, but they jarred me out of the story and away from the fic.

All in all, a good read.

RATING: 7.5

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Gooshie said:
This was a pretty good episode with a nice ending. It was interesting to see another "ghost Leaper" helping out Sam, like Stawpaw in Mirror Image. The effects on PQL was fun to read too with Senator Reynolds and Angela both relating to Sam's project because of how he helped their lives.

Some constructive criticism would be to not divide the story up so much as it was, jumping back and forth between the leap scenes and the PQL scenes. It kind of confused me at some points when it felt like things were just getting into a full swing during the leap and suddenly we were back with Al at PQL.

Overall, I enjoyed the storyline and the result. Good work, Erik!

RATING: 7.5

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Now, it's your opportunity to rate this particular story. Let the author(s) know how you rate this story. If you'd like to give feedback, please go ahead and leave a reply!

Thanks!
The Virtual Seasons Team
 
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Interesting premise. While I knew from his first appearance there was something "about" Philip, exactly what it was that we learned from Al was a nice twist! A nice story. :)
 
I have to say that I enjoyed this story. Puting Sam on a sinking Luxury Liner, I like the idea. Overall, a good story.

I did notice one mistake though.

?C?mon, St. John, crank up... power.?

You put St. John instead of Dom when Al was trying to stay connected with Sam. Not a big deal, but it was just something that I noticed
 
Speaking of sinking passenger liners, try VS story 1016 where Sam lands on the Andrea Doria.
 
That mention of St. John was my fault. Erik had emailed me about it and it was during a rather BIG moment of time where I was totally and completely out of my mind and I missed taking it out when I edited it.

Erik, I do apologize. That is my fault that I didn't get to it and for that, I'm sincerely sorry.
 
QLDamsel said:
That mention of St. John was my fault. Erik had emailed me about it and it was during a rather BIG moment of time where I was totally and completely out of my mind and I missed taking it out when I edited it.

Erik, I do apologize. That is my fault that I didn't get to it and for that, I'm sincerely sorry.
Actually, who's to say that has to be a complete mistake? There might be an... explanation of sorts for the inconsistencies; and possibly sooner than anyone thinks... :eek

If I said anymore, I'd have to kill you! ;) :p

Damon
 
I do admit that this episode was rather rushed on my end. I thought that I wasn't going to make the deadline so I kinda sped things up. I felt the story was rather nice but the way I wrote it could have been better. The whole 'St. John' thing...well I knew that he had been dead but for some unknown reason, even to me (LOL), I accidentally put him instead of Dominic.
 
Good episode, I know which episode some of the idea for this story came from but I can't remember the name of the episode! This is gonna be what says I'm a newbie. Have angels ever been in the VS before this story?
 
Al angel I remember from the final episode plus yes there was one other in that episode but I forget the name. Although the angel that I remembered when reading this story is in the episode that I forget it's name. There's some episode from the TV series were there's an angel working along side Sam and if I'm remembering this right, Al is having a hard time believing she's an angel by how she's acting and dressing.
 
Yes. That's Angela Carmen Guadalupe Cecilia Jiminez: also known as Angelita.

When Sam leaped into a New York cabdriver in 1958 in "It's A Wonderful Leap", he ran right over Angela in the middle of 34th Street. Angela didn't suffer a scratch, and told Sam she was his guardian angel. Angela was dressed as a flapper, and it was later discovered that a woman of her name was known in the 1920's Spanish Harlem as "The Puerto Rican Fanny Brice." She died while singing at an audition after she hit the high note and fell fifteen feet into the pits. Angela explained that they told her in Heaven that she was too vain in life and had a big ego, so she had to learn humility by helping others. Every time she helps someone, she said, she moves on to her next assignment. No one remembers she was there, she claimed.

Angel or not, Angela could see Al. Al chalked that up to her being loco.

After Angela took a bullet during a robbery, she stood up and showed no sign of a wound. Sam found entry and exit holes in her coat, but no evidence of injury. After Sam accomplished his mission, Angela told him it was time for her to go, and called him by his true name rather than the name of the man she had leaped into. Sam forgot her, but Al didn't because he was in the future.

She has appeared several times in The Virtual Seasons helping Sam and Al in several situations.

MJ