Season 5 Opening Titles Error

Nick Michalak

Project QL Intern
Oct 4, 2008
6
0
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Tinley Park, IL
www.michalak.org
I just started buying up the DVD sets, and purchased season five over a week ago. I noticed that the opening title sequence doesn't match up to Mike Post's revised theme. The music runs for another two or three seconds after the title sequence ends, and the music cues don't match with the editing. I figured out why. I checked the original broadcast of "Killin' Time" (which I have on VHS) as well as some online video sources, and there were a few extra seconds of the "flying through the clouds" footage at the start of the season five opening title sequence which is absent from all the season five episodes on DVD. How could that happen? I can understand an A/V sync problem here or there, but actual missing footage which should be on the original film print of the episode? Maybe they just took one (incomplete) print of the opening titles, and placed it on each episode since the error is consistent throughout the set.

Also, I looked at the original broadcast opening of "Lee Harvey Oswald" that's on this website, and the saga cell has two "leaping" clips switched from what's on the DVD. I believe the final 'leap out' is from "A Single Drop of Rain." Also, in the opening title sequence, the clip from "A Song For The Soul" is different for LHO's original broadcast than the DVD. Easily comparable for anyone who has the S5 DVD set. Just odd that these errors exist since, as I said, you would believe the saga sells & opening title sequences would be on the original film negatives.

I won't get into the "Mirror Image" issue since it's been well discussed on this forum. But yes, I do have the original broadcast of that episode, and the season two title sequence was used there.

These little errors are annoying, and are hard to ignore every time I watch these episodes. Nothing to be done about it, either. Just thought it would be worth sharing.

-NJM
 
Well, there's still hope that some things will be fixed by the time blu-ray becomes popular. :) It'll probably be an all new menu, in any case.

Maybe they were in a hurry editing it together for the dvd release.
This might have been mentioned before, but did anyone else notice there's subtitles in season 1 but not in the rest? Might be a region thing though, I've got Australia (region 4 I think).
 
Accentuate the Positive???

Lord have I tried to look at the bright side of having Quantum Leap on DVD, but my anal retentive ways just get the better of me. It's musical alterations are one thing due to copyright and paying the artists for using their music in the episodes...that's at least understandable.

What's not understandable and just downright lazy, are the amount of simple errors that have been mentioned in nearly every post. Imagine if you were a teacher or professor. One of your students is handing in a term paper and the student spells their name right on the front cover, but at the end of their paper...their name is spelled wrong. That's how I feel about Season 5 on DVD. Universal spells "Beckett" correctly on the packaging but botches it on the last episode by spelling it "Becket."

I also noticed the LHO opening credit sequence error too. Maybe perhaps Universal was going through all the footage and the footage they used was the best print they could find. For the average viewer, the changes are over their head, but really...what a bunch of lazy bastards that compiled Quantum Leap on DVD.

I'm also upset the Don Bellisario did commentary for JAG and not Quantum Leap.


***???


...one more point, what bleapin' sense does it make to take out "Georgia on my Mind" in MIA, but then put it back in on MIRROR IMAGE. The average viewer is going to be left scratching their heads.
 
These little errors are incredibly annoying. I'm getting tired of watching rushed DVD sets. Would it really kill them to do at least a half-decent job?
 
I just started buying up the DVD sets, and purchased season five over a week ago. I noticed that the opening title sequence doesn't match up to Mike Post's revised theme. The music runs for another two or three seconds after the title sequence ends, and the music cues don't match with the editing. I figured out why. I checked the original broadcast of "Killin' Time" (which I have on VHS) as well as some online video sources, and there were a few extra seconds of the "flying through the clouds" footage at the start of the season five opening title sequence which is absent from all the season five episodes on DVD. How could that happen? I can understand an A/V sync problem here or there, but actual missing footage which should be on the original film print of the episode? Maybe they just took one (incomplete) print of the opening titles, and placed it on each episode since the error is consistent throughout the set.

Also, I looked at the original broadcast opening of "Lee Harvey Oswald" that's on this website, and the saga cell has two "leaping" clips switched from what's on the DVD. I believe the final 'leap out' is from "A Single Drop of Rain." Also, in the opening title sequence, the clip from "A Song For The Soul" is different for LHO's original broadcast than the DVD. Easily comparable for anyone who has the S5 DVD set. Just odd that these errors exist since, as I said, you would believe the saga sells & opening title sequences would be on the original film negatives.

The only thing I can figure is that these were one-time modifications made by NBC during the original broadcasts only. For so many years all the syndicated episodes only used Season 4's opening credit sequence so we never noticed changes until the DVDs came.
 
Not sure if this is the right place for this question, or if it's been addressed previously and I just don't know where to find it.

On the DVDs for seasons 3 & 4 (and maybe 5, can't remember at the moment) the picture shown while we see Scott's name -- what episode is it from??? I've been thru the whole series many times and can name every other picture in the opening credits, but I can't place that one!
 
When he does a thumbs-up to the camera?

I always thought it was a throwaway shot built just for the intro.
 
The shot of Sam leaping out with the thumbs up is definitely from Disco Inferno. The shot of Sam putting the hat on while it says 'Starring Scott Bakula' is, I believe, from "A Single Drop of Rain." At least, the wardrobe is similar to what I remember him wearing in that episode.

-NJM
 
The shot of Sam leaping out with the thumbs up is definitely from Disco Inferno. The shot of Sam putting the hat on while it says 'Starring Scott Bakula' is, I believe, from "A Single Drop of Rain." At least, the wardrobe is similar to what I remember him wearing in that episode.

-NJM
I'm not sure the clothes are flashy enough for 'A Single Drop of Rain', and the background doesn't look right. I don't think it's from 'So Help Me God' 'Southern Comforts', or 'Justice' either. I could be wrong! I'm wondering if it was from a scene that got cut and that's why it doesn't look familiar. Tho from what I've read here it sounds like we're not all getting the same version, anyway. I was just hoping someone else could set me straight.
 
I'm not sure the clothes are flashy enough for 'A Single Drop of Rain', and the background doesn't look right. I don't think it's from 'So Help Me God' 'Southern Comforts', or 'Justice' either. I could be wrong! I'm wondering if it was from a scene that got cut and that's why it doesn't look familiar. Tho from what I've read here it sounds like we're not all getting the same version, anyway. I was just hoping someone else could set me straight.

The shot is from "So Help Me God." And as said earlier, the "thumbs up" shot is from "Disco Inferno."

On a side note, one thing I always found interesting is the shot of Sam's leap-in kissing the woman in "Honeymoon Express" is reversed to show him leaping out for the title sequence.