My Worries about QL: The New Series Perhaps....

G

greymouse04

Guest
Hi Quantum Leap fans,

I have a few comments to make about the Quantum Leap Movie / possible series. My main concern is that sci-fi channel is funding this movie, in the past I would have been happy with that, they made "Frank Herberts: Dune" was great!, however after seeing the remake / possible new series of Battlestar Galatica. Battlestar Galatica was originally a family show, just like Quantum Leap. However in the new version of Galatica they changed some of the main aspects for instance: some male characters where changed to female, Cmdr. Adama was changed to be indifferent to his son, and there was a doctor who was hallucinating about a Cylon female who kept asking the doctor for sex, in other words they changed so much of the original series into a sleezy non-family originated show!. What is in store for the Quantum leap movie? / Series, is it going to be who sleeps with who in a different year? will it also suffer from changes made by the sci-fi channel?

"please keep to the same format of the original show".

your opinions please!

gil galad:rollin
 
I'm not worried. Of course, then again, I'm the resident Optimistic Leaper, as I like to refer to myself.

The difference between the new BSG and the new QL is the intention and motivation behind the reason for making them.

The BSG mini-series was from Day One touted as a re-imagining. Not a remake. Not a reunion. A completely new cast, producing crew, and writing team were assembled. They were basically taking the idea of the original BSG and making something new.

The new QL, on the other hand, was from Day One touted as a reunion. Here are Bonnie Hammer's words on why they wanted to revive the show, and what they planned to do with it:

"QUANTUM LEAP is absolutely a classic. It's done well on our channel in repeats and we've always wanted to do a QUANTUM LEAP reunion movie. And then when we started thinking about it and then we merged back with Universal, we said, 'Wow, let's do a two-hour movie. Let's see who we can attract from the original series and let's start our own.' So we're thrilled about that because [QUANTUM LEAP] is so pure sci-fi, but so mainstream that I think we're going to pull in a whole new audience."

So, see? They were always intending the new QL to be a continuation, not a remake or re-imagining.

Yes, we'll likely have a new lead, but that is to be expected. Scott Bakula is busy with Enterprise, so we can't expect him to star in two shows simultaneously.

We do know, however, that unlike the new BSG, the new QL will be written and produced by the creator of QL--Don Bellisario. We also know that Don is intending to bring Dean Stockwell on as co-star in the role of Al Calavicci.

What is apparently going to happen is that in the two-hour TV movie that will kick off the new QL, Sam will Leap back to the Project, but for some reason that is as yet unknown, he'll have to Leap again. His daughter (who we've all assumed is going to be Sammy Jo, but if the "20 years after Sam Beckett Leaped into the great unknown" means 20 years after Mirror Image, it's possible that Donna conceived a daughter during the events of The Leap Back) will want to bring him home, so she will Leap to find him.

Therefore, to bring in new audiences, there will be a younger, female lead. But, to keep the old viewers, the show will be a continuation, with Al Calavicci showing up each episode as the new Leaper's Observer. And Scott could very well show up from time to time in a cameo, when his Enterprise schedule allows.

So, in my opinion, there's nothing to worry about with the new QL. And even if there were, I would still watch it before becoming too weary. 'Cause, hey, ya can't knock it 'til ya try it! ;)

Joy
 
Hi ya :)

Thanks for your detailed reply Joy! it makes me feel better about the whole idea :)

I used to love the series, I watched it every week it was on, even after my friends stopped watching I countinued to be faithfull. I was the first series I watched every episode made...:)

When the series ended I heard a rumor of a 2 hr movie to end the series, but that didn't happen :(

so there is now hope that all will be explained and bring new ideas and plot lines to an already great show!:cheers :hurray
 
Well, I have some worries about the upcoming movie/series of my own. I've always felt that a large part of Quantum Leap's appeal came in its courage in tackling controversial subjects such as racism, homosexuality, rape, and teen pregnancy, among others. Not only its courage, but the way Don Bellisario and Deborah Pratt had Sam handle these subjects.

With television in the state its in these days, I think it's safe to say that the standard of decency has dropped significantly since QL has been on the air. What subjects used to be considered having a certain amount of "shock value" now are no longer as shocking due to shows that now deal with these topics regularly. I'm sure the upcoming movie/series can succeed without needing any shock value aspects to it, but I feel that it would be removing part of the heart & soul of the original series if the writers play it safe, so to speak.

I hope that if the new movie/series does go the same route as the original, it doesn't stoop to new lows as desperate attempts to keep viewers' attention. It's not that I don't have confidence that the new writers will get it wrong, but it's always risky changing a familiar successfull formula. From what it sounds like so far, the movie will be revolving more around the aspects of Sam, Al, and Sammy Jo, as opposed to more domestic issues as was the case in most of the original episodes.

I think the key is to make the movie/series more domestic issue based rather than science fiction based, or find a perfect balance of both. If the story leans too much toward science fiction, the original aspects the show had, such as viewers relating to particular situations, will be lost. To me, QL was a show about people with a science fiction backdrop, not vice versa.
 
Re: Re: My Worries about QL: The New Series Perhaps....

Well said!
 
Re: My Worries about ABLF

Hey, I posted some of this on the QL sci-fi msg board before I found out about Al?s Place?

The imdb synopsis for the movie sounds great?enormous potential, but like everything it could go either way ? it could be superb (if Bellasrio is writing that?s a great sign) but it could be woeful. My concerns are:

?&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp I haven?t seen many Sci-Fi produced movies/series bar the later seasons of Sliders ? and that scares me - mainly due to poor writing (blatant plagiarizing of movies/novels), awful casting (realism and characterization was completely lost when every new addition to the cast was extremely good looking, in their mid twenties and woeful actors) and the gratuitous use of special effects, spaceships, aliens & laser guns and that pervades Stargate.
?&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp I WAS a bit concerned about Trey (I-Still-Know-What-You-Did-Last-Summer) Callaway, but after reading the interview on this site, those fears were mostly abated.

?&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The remedy: HIRE GOOD WRITERS, the regular involvement of those who made QL great: Bellisario, Pratt etc and get talent from other axed series Thania St John & Jason Katims wrote some of the best Roswell episodes, or Paul Feig & the writers from ?Freaks & Geeks?. And HIRE GOOD ACTORS that look like real people NOT MODELS!

But hopefully ABLF avoids the above pitfalls and is awesome. One thing?s for sure it?ll be interesting to see the rapport between Al & Sammy, especially how Al?s old pervert shtick will fair.

_________________________________________
Soaring high in the skies,
He may be small, but only in size.
Astroboy, Astroboy,
He is brave and gentle and wise.
 
Re: My Worries about ABLF

That's the key: good writers! Without good writers, even the best directors and actors can't save a story idea. I know some people have joked around that Don should hire some of us to write some episodes, but honestly, some fanfiction stories are better than what the "professionals" have to offer.

You brought up the later seasons of Sliders, which really is a perfect example of how things can go so wrong so quickly. The biggest problem that Sliders had was that creative control was taken away from the creators, Tracy Torm? & Robert K. Weiss when it was still on Fox. Fox had its own ideas of what they thought the show should be about and brought on an idiot producer called David Peckinpah who blatantly ripped off every B-movie idea out there and basically said, "Hey, let's put the Sliders in this situation and see what happens." Tracy Torm? even had a term for it, and it was a great line: "I call it Chinese food television. You watch it and then a half hour later, you've already forgotten what you've watched." That's exactly how I felt during the later seasons of Sliders, which is why even I gave up on it toward the end. A clear example that the "professionals" and executives haven't got a clue when it comes to great storytelling. SciFi tried to restore the "classic" feel of the series for a while, but ultimately, the show went out with a whimper, not a bang.

And it's not just Sliders... many shows nowadays seem to have this problem. Maybe it's because producers don't want to pay a lot of money for GOOD scripts; maybe it's because almost every actor in Hollywood demands an insane amount of money for each episode or movie they star in, I don't know. All I do know is that good entertainment seems to be a rare commodity these days, and it's a bit disheartening for someone like myself, who needs that constant influx of creativity to fuel my own imagination.

With someone like Don Bellisario behind the helm, I can't see the new QL being a huge disappointment unless SciFi were to force creative control away from him (which would never happen if it were a project of mine). He really knows his stuff. I've never been disappointed with anything he's produced, because he always remains true to what he believes in and sticks with it, and creates characters that are likable and believable. NCIS's biggest strength, I think, is the cast of characters and how they interact with each other when they're trying to solve a case. At first, it got a bit of criticism because everyone assumed it was going to be just another CSI clone, but after watching the show semi-regularly, I can say with confidence that it's so much more than that. It has that "Bellisario" feel that many shows today are lacking. I have confidence in him that he'll remain true to Quantum Leap as well.