322 Shock Theater

Shock Theater


  • Total voters
    41

alsplacebartender

Al's Place Bartender
Staff member
Shock Theater
October 3, 1954


Havenwell Hospital, Pennsylvania


Sam leaps into the life of a mental patient and immediately undergoes electric shock therapy. But he is administered a severly high dosage and it brings out the personalities of several people he has leaped into. With each personality change, it becomes harder and harder for Al to communicate with Sam. If Al and Dr. Beeks cannot get Sam out of the situation he is in, they may lose contact forever.


Written by: Deborah Pratt
Directed by: Joe Napolitano


Rate and comment on the third season finale!
 
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One of the highest emotional threads ever that poor Sam and Al have been on! Scott Bakula is just exceptional in this show, and the anquish on Al's face is sooooo believeable!

Matt
 
Oh boy, one of the most brilliant episodes ever, if you'd ask me :)
 
If there were ever an episode where Scott deserved an Emmy, it was this one. He was so incredible in it...the first time i saw it I was so terrified throughout it. It was really well done, Deborah Pratt is a real genuis!

Samantha Beckett
 
This is an excellent episode, one which really gives Scott the chance to stretch his acting abilities. And it's really gut-wrenching to watch, too; the scene after Sam wakes up after his shock treatment, where he's gripping onto the bed and babbling is particularly painful to watch. And poor Al just looks so helpless all throughout... Definately one of the best episodes.
 
I'm watching this now. It disturbed me the first time I seen it, and it's disturbing me now. I've seen it more than once. I feel so sorry for Sam - poor guy. Brilliant acting by both actors.
The character "Timmy" works great with Al, also.
I just love this episode.
 
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I remember the first time I seen this... I was clued to the T.V.

Every moment seemed like it hunge on the last. I didn't see the ending comeing. I couldn't see how AL and others were going to get Sam out of this one. I too feel that Dean and Scott did a wonderful job, more then they ever got credit for. This one is hard for me to see, so I don't watch it a lot maybe once a year. I wish it didn't bug me so. Its just hard to see Sam have to go through that and Al not able to really help. But I love what happens the man that Al rocks out with and teach's him, his ABC's. I don't remember his name, but he did a good job too. They all did!
 
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Sophie Oliver said:
His name was Tibby, short for Tibido

Hay thanks!:D on friday night I have a few friends coming over and I think I will show this one...to get them hooked...:heybaby

I think this one will due just fine...yes...yes I do think so.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, and I too think the acting in it is great. This is definateley one of my favorite episodes.
 
I thought I would share this with you all. About a week ago I had up town with my sister and mom and when we came home I found my dad watching this episode, by himself. (The thing is he has always told my mom and I that we in so many word were wasting out time. That he could't see what we liked in this.) After he had seen it, he said that he really liked it and asked if he could see another. So we oder pizza and started with the first episode. I think he's doing rather well, I don't know how many we seen that night, but I know that he wants to get the 5 season now almost as bad as I do. LOL!! I never thought??? So I think its safe to say that this one episode is a great one to show to first timers.
 
One of the finest, hands down. Not a second left to chance--the skill of Deborah Pratt, truly the best writer on the series. I truly feel anything written with compassion and feeling, as this episode is, has Deborah in the Captains chair. This is a mix of humor, pathos and smarm. Plain & simple. Can't be beat. It's #2 as far as my faves go--Catch a Falling Star and Dearheart are #1.
 
I was gobsmacked by Scott's acting in this episode, especially because we really get to "see and hear" Samantha, Jessie, Tom Stratton, Kid Cody, Magic Williams, and Jimmy LaMotta. My only quibble was that I didn't get why Kid Cody would sound like a Brooklynite when he was from Sacramento.
 
This episode was phenominal. At first it saddened me how Hevenwell was such a cruel place where people were mistreated like that. So I almost never wanted to see it again after the first time. But then my BFF wanted to see it again and her mom won't watch it again for the same reason I did not, so I agreed to watch it with her and now I love it for the phenominal desplay of Scott's talents. Even my mom was blown away by his acting in this episode. Its great how we get to finally hear some of Sam's previous hosts in their own voices. I love the concept of how each person he became has a reason to believe they had been put in the hospital, Samantha for hitting Buddy, Jesse for sitting at a whites only table, Magic because he was at war and I studied the vietnam war a lot and read Tnings They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Things can happen to the men's minds from war that could cause them to not be themselves anymore. This is also desplayed in The Beast Within as Roy and Henry had to settle with a lifetime campout. So Magic could have been there because of that, and then Tom Stratton (the real one in the waiting room) thought that he had crashed his plane and was suffering amnesia or at least that's what the novel version says and although the novel's are not canon that does make sense. And Sam did keep asking if he had made Mach 3 because he did not remember. Jimmy of course is obvious because he's retarded. The only one that made no sense was Kid Cody. I also agree with Cookiemon about his voice although he could have been born in Brookyln. But even in the behind the scenes book Another Time, Another Place they even state that each of the identites Sam assumes in this ep were people that would have a reason believe they were there so I don't get why they threw Kid Cody in there he did not have a reason to be there. Even Samantha makes little sense because why would you be put in a loony bin for hitting someone unless it also had something to do with her telling Buddy that she was a man. And she was Sam's first woman leap so it also makes sense that way. Kristen and I thought it would have been better if Sam had woken up from his dream before the Kid Cody scene and had assumed the mind of younger Sam. That would even make sense because he could think he was there for babbling that he knew the future. And it would have been cute.

It was not just Scott's acting that was great all the doctors at the hospital did wonderful acting and Dean Stockwell has some emotional moments in the episode which he portrayed excellently. Plus I loved that we finally got to see Dr. Beaks. Kristen and I just feel bad that she had no lines not even in The Leap Back because they cut out the one little scene where she actually spoke.

Scott's acting though is what makes this episode what it is and a delight to watch, I agree with Claire that he really deserved an Emmy for this episode. This episode really shows what an extremely talented man he is. :)
 
A good episode,but not excellent,in my opinion.Both Dean And Scott did a great job in this episode,but...
First of all this is an episode i always had problems with- it seemed to my too histerical and too sorreal.
Second of all - The story itself never gave a mark on me. O.K this leap was very emotional for both Sam&Al but...if i'll look back on the episode,i think ,that the only thing in this episode All QL fan will always remember is - The revisit of old Sam's Hosts(his "first woman",His "first Black",His "first Boxer",His "first soldier" ,his "first pilot" and of course - Jimmy).
In the Bottom Line A good episode,without a doubt ,But not Excellent. This episode wouldn't, probably,get into my top 25 of QL.
 
I loved this episode! Perhaps one of my favorite parts was Al's updated, hologram-friendly version of the ABC's song. I couldn't get the song out of my head, althought I really wish I could find the lyrics. If I have a song in my head that I can't get out, then I at least want to be singin the correct song.

This had excellent acting on both parts of Sam and Al. I felt a little sorry for Sam the entire time, since not only did he have to go through that torture of changing personalities every couple hours (although I thought that his Jessie bit was the funniest in the episode), but also that angry nurse that electrocuted him. Not the woman, but the guy that shocked him in the beginning of the episode (I think he's a nurse?)
 
First episode I ever saw and I am still adicted to the rapping bit, the ending with Al and sam going oh boy was great, I completely enjoyed it and felt sams fear at the end
 
ohboy said:
I loved this episode! Perhaps one of my favorite parts was Al's updated, hologram-friendly version of the ABC's song. I couldn't get the song out of my head, althought I really wish I could find the lyrics.

if you would like the lyrics then here they are:

you're a loony toon in a big wide room
and I'm a hologram from the future
And I'm speeding fast, right back into the past
And I've gotta say I'm pleased to meet yah
coz you're my man and you've got understand
that you've got the power, to write read
that's garanteed, I' gonna give you what you need
say ABCDEFG -HIJKLMNOP-QRS-TUV-WX- Y Zee (x2)
(reapeat whole song twice)

hope that helped you out =] sorry for double posting
 
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Thanks, Al R. One of my problems about rap music is that I have a hard time understanding the lyrics. I know that Al went much slower than most do, but still.

Thanks again.
 
your welcome, I guess it comes from how much I love that scene and how much I have watched it =]
 
One of the highest emotional threads ever that poor Sam and Al have been on! Scott Bakula is just exceptional in this show, and the anquish on Al's face is sooooo believeable!

Matt

It was that very look of anguish Al had when he realized what happened to Sam that made my blood run cold. Excellent actors, they both are.
 
I agree that this was a good episode; Scott and Dean really showcased their acting skills in this one. I just think that some parts of the episode could have been handled a little more sensitively.

Also, just curious: did he not leap out because Sam needed to be rejoined with himself before the leap could be done, or because his true objective was to get the other nurse removed from his post? I'm curious to know what people think.
 
I agree that this was a good episode; Scott and Dean really showcased their acting skills in this one. I just think that some parts of the episode could have been handled a little more sensitively.

Also, just curious: did he not leap out because Sam needed to be rejoined with himself before the leap could be done, or because his true objective was to get the other nurse removed from his post? I'm curious to know what people think.

I expect it's the first reason. GFTW wouldn't put Sam in a situation he couldn't handle, so it makes sense that he (or rather Sam) wouldn't allow Sam (himself) to leap until he would be able to handle what was still to come...
 
Seeing as I'm on a MAC I couldn't play the video on here of the QL Convention where Dean expressed what it was like to rap in this episode. Could someone tell me what he said?