A Better Written Script?

QuantumMatt

Project QL Intern
Jun 26, 2006
46
0
0
Manteca, CA
One of the most memorable episodes for me was "The Leap Back" where Sam and Al traded places. I was inspired by another thread to create this one. There was talk about why Gooshie and the rest of the Project had to wait for Al's letter to arrive when they could've simply asked Tom (who Al had leaped into) what the date was and where he was from. There is another problem, however. I would've thought that Al would've mailed an envelop to Gooshie containing the handlink as well but yet in a later scene, Suzanne is holding the handlink and remarks that it's beautiful. The problem is that this could create a potential paradox considering that the handlink is a piece of advanced technology that happens to be back in time. Imagine if someone stumbled upon it and decided to dissect it? That would be discovering technology before it was supposed to be invented. Why didn't Al simply mail the handlink to Gooshie so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands?

Matthew

P.S. I thought that if Sam leaped out, since he was holding the handlink, that the handlink might leap with him but he would either have to mail the handlink to Gooshie on his next leap or keep the handlink with him as he lept and lept.
 
QuantumMatt said:
There was talk about why Gooshie and the rest of the Project had to wait for Al's letter to arrive when they could've simply asked Tom (who Al had leaped into) what the date was and where he was from. There is another problem, however. I would've thought that Al would've mailed an envelop to Gooshie containing the handlink as well but yet in a later scene, Suzanne is holding the handlink and remarks that it's beautiful. The problem is that this could create a potential paradox considering that the handlink is a piece of advanced technology that happens to be back in time. Imagine if someone stumbled upon it and decided to dissect it? That would be discovering technology before it was supposed to be invented. Why didn't Al simply mail the handlink to Gooshie so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands?

Matthew

I'm inclined to believe that Tom was simply too Swiss-cheesed to remember where and what year he came from. It would be a bit too obvious for Ziggy (let alone other Project staff) to not think to do that. Al was certainly very Swiss-cheesed because it was the first time he leaped, so it would only make sense that Tom (and every single other leapee, for that matter) would be equally as Swiss-cheesed, considering that in most cases it's always the first time these people leap. As Sam continued to leap, I believe his brain was better able to adapt to the Swiss cheese effect, as he slowly re-learned facts about his life and was able to retain most of them.

As for the handlink, there are a few theories as to what happened to it. One is that the evil leapers got ahold of it sometime later in the future and built their project based off of the handlink's technology. I don't particularly like this theory, though. Let's also keep in mind that this handlink had to eventually begin to work again once 1995 rolled around (the year Project Quantum Leap started). I agree with you that it would have been a no-brainer to simply mail the handlink back to the Project, but for argument's sake, I guess it just never occurred to Sam and Al to do that. Given the fact that Sam, Al and the Project still existed throughout the series after that episode, it's safe to say that no paradox occurred, thankfully. :p

QuantumMatt said:
P.S. I thought that if Sam leaped out, since he was holding the handlink, that the handlink might leap with him but he would either have to mail the handlink to Gooshie on his next leap or keep the handlink with him as he lept and lept.

I believe the handlink should have never even been able to leap with Al in the first place. I believe it should have remained in the Imaging Chamber and ended up in Sam's hand, with his fermi suit, standing in Al's position. But this logic was tossed out the window in order to create a plot device for the episode. But all Bellisario had to do was simply keep the handlink in the future but have it become short circuited from the overload so that it still couldn't be used. He could have still kept the same conflict in the episode and had the mechanics make more sense.

Anyway, it makes even less sense that the handlink didn't just leap back with Al when he returned to the Project. Therefore this must mean that the handlink was most likely a catalyst for the overload, lightning bolt and the simul-leaping. In other words, the handlink leaping into the past was a one-time deal because it was under unique circumstances. If the handlink leaped out with Sam once he accomplished his mission, this would mean that the handlink would be "stuck" leaping with Sam on every single leap, regardless of whether he tried to mail it to the Project or not! It's also possible that the handlink has to physically be in Sam's hand in order to leap out, so that it's also surrounded by the quantum field, but either way it's still going to be stuck in the past along with Sam.
 
Chris,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I thought it was far-fetched that the handlink should fall into the hands of the evil-leaper but I do think it would have been better-written if the handlink had been in Sam's hand and have short-circuted from the overload and lightening-strike. But I guess it's one of these script anomalies that the writers probably don't think about that much...

Matthew
 
QlNut said:
I believe the handlink should have never even been able to leap with Al in the first place. I believe it should have remained in the Imaging Chamber and ended up in Sam's hand, with his fermi suit, standing in Al's position.

I agree with this it would have caused of the potential trouble it probably caused when Tom most likely descovered it upon returning as it was in his car and probably in his hand becuase I think Sam leaped with it in his hand.

As for talking to Tom in the waiting room I think everyone was too busy trying to figure out why the heck the one in the imaging chamber appeared to be Dr. Beckett rather than Admiral Calavicci.
 
The people at the project wouldn't have been able to open the Waiting Room door, just like they couldn't open the Imaging Chamber door. Everything had sealed itself because of the threat of Nuclear Blast that occured during the overload with the lightning strike and the simo-leap.

As for the handlink - Al should have destroyed it... but didn't... so who knows???
 
naggindraggin said:
The people at the project wouldn't have been able to open the Waiting Room door, just like they couldn't open the Imaging Chamber door. Everything had sealed itself because of the threat of Nuclear Blast that occured during the overload with the lightning strike and the simo-leap.

Oh yeah that too.

And yeah they needed to rid the handlink of '45 somehow, weather by Chris's and my notion or Al destrying it as you said Naggindraggin.
 
naggindragon said:
The people at the project wouldn't have been able to open the Waiting Room door, just like they couldn't open the Imaging Chamber door. Everything had sealed itself because of the threat of Nuclear Blast that occured during the overload with the lightning strike and the simo-leap.

As for the handlink - Al should have destroyed it... but didn't... so who knows???

That's definitely possible. It couldv'e been that all the doors were sealed although the elevator to the outside was apparently working and that's probably how Gooshie got Al's letter. As for the handlink, I just think it would've been best if Al had mailed it to Gooshie. Or maybe they couldn't- maybe having a package that size wouldv'e cost too much to mail. I am just thinking that I would've asked about the handlink and feared it possibly getting into the wrong hands.

Matthew