1225 Shockwave

What is your opinion of this story?

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

    Votes: 1 25.0%
  • 4 ? This episode was great! I will definitely tell others about it.

    Votes: 3 75.0%
  • 3 ? This episode was good. It was worth reading.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 ? This episode was like the neutral zone ? I am indifferent.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 ? Bellisario would be rolling in his grave if he had one.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    4
D

Dman176

Guest
THE 300th OVERALL QUANTUM LEAP EPISODE ? PART 1!!!

Shockwave
February 25, 1993


New York City, New York


The ?Black Widow?s? reign of terror has left a path of death and destruction in its wake. Now that path is about to intertwine with the life of a very young Sam Beckett. As a temporal shockwave begins unraveling the fabric of Time, the Project Observer must take drastic measures in order to stop the ?Black Widow? once and for all. And, as if that wasn?t enough, an apparently dying version of Doctor Connors resurfaces at Project Quantum Leap with a dire warning of things to come.


Written by: Mike Bloxam & Damon C. Sugameli


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: 9.08

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

Seeker said:
Great job on the intricate weave of this story; I?m already dizzy by the countless variety of ?threads? being used to create it. Your explanations of the theories were such that I almost grasped them, which is amazing to me. Well done, indeed, guys.

RATING: 9.5

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Ziggy's Soul said:
There are many things about this story to like. Al coming out of the coma and then freaking out as the multiple timelines assault his mind. Sam being a homeless man and not knowing what he is there to do. Tom's continuation as an observer. The changing timelines (especially the Starbright memory) were interesting to read. It's quite a shock that Sam's existence and the rest of the project are at risk and Tom's way to fix things is certainly interesting to say the least.

There are other things that are too close to other storylines though. The condition that Connors arrives in is too close to the condition Daniels is in when he is in the Enterprise sickbay when the temporal war leads to the Nazi changes (yes, I know this in another universe but still, very similar concepts here). Also, the story of the crazed woman trying to kill Sam brings to mind the QL novel, Foreknowledge.

Then there are the parts that may have some serious flaws. For instance, since so many of the Bartender's helpers are people who have died, then the only logical thought is they are angels. Indeed, Angelita has already indicated that she IS an angel. Angels are infinite. They can not DIE, they can not cease to exist. I can buy the concept that they may need to recharge, but this story seems to have finality embedded. Maybe I'm wrong, I hope so. Additionally, if the story is to keep in line with how Bellisario laid it out, then Sam CANNOT be destroying time and putting the "entire universe" at risk. Bellisario never gave any indication that the timelines would be torn asunder by Sam's interactions. The GFTW was the explanation for the show itself. Even if Sam is leaping himself (as the Bartender has tried to show him) that does not mean that the fabric of space-time is at risk. Again, maybe I'm wrong and the story will play out to fix this situation.

RATING: 7.5

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Marigold Brambleburr said:
"Shockwave" got off to a great start, so much set up. So much in flux, so many questions!! My attention is certainly captured. I appreciated with so much going on how it didn't get too confusing for my brain. Hard to rank without the second part, but certainly ended on a cliffhanger.

RATING: 9.0

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Allie Cat said:
"Shockwave" is well-written, extraordinarily visual story that entertains and makes one think. It was great to see the resolution of Al's coma but now one wonders just what is next and how are they going to stop Logan from her insane plan.

My only nitpick on this story is the part that happens at Al's Place. At the end of the scene, there is indication that the "angels" die. Angels can't die. They are eternal spirits. I'll just DPB it and say that they aren't dead; they just exhausted themselves to where they have to return "home" to rejuvenate.

RATING: 9.0

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Vince Beckett said:
Things have gotten very interesting here. It appears that everything that Sam changed, even though good, could destroy the whole universe. It makes you wonder if everything would be better off if he never would have leaped. I liked how the time travel theories were thrown in, all very accurate. Those theories seem to make time travel impossible in real life, but we never know. I like how the previous episode summaries were thrown in to give the background for this story. Some of them I didn't know were leading up to something big when I read them. Now I can see the connection. I can't wait to see what happens next.

RATING: 10

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Xanadu said:
This is a wonderful spell-binding story! Can't wait for the next part!

RATING: 9.5

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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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That was really good, guys!! So much set up, love how all the timelines and memories intertwined, great explanations--technical but not to the point of bogging down. The moments with Al and Beth had my stomach flipping and my eyes getting misty. Great bit with Sam in NY and just overall a very good job!!!
 
Very good story. I can't wait to read the second part. And I caught the reference to "To Help a Friend" in there,
Thanks for the nod at the end for those of us that helped set things in motion.
 
I don't like to say too much when reviewing what is essentially half a story, and no doubt I will say more once I've read part 2, but there were moments here I loved enough to comment on.

As already mentioned by others, I liked Al waking from his coma to the confusion of the conflicting timelines.

The Al bit when he looked like he was going to pull rank on Tom and Leap, then deferred. Classic Al.

The ending - Tom echoing Sam's first leap, then instead of the famous "OH boy!" we get "Awwww geez!" So glad you gave him his own catch phrase.

As for Connors condition being too like Daniels in Enterprise - I tend to think of that less as plaguerism and more as a nod to a 'connected' series, and a cross continuity if you like. This is what someone looks like who has been so tangled in time. We don't complain if Sam shows the same symptoms as someone in another show or a film who has suffered the same injury or illness, we accept 'that's what happens with...(insert your own example here)