403 Hurricane

This was a good episode. It was exciting and dramatic. This is Sam's first leap into a natural disaster.

Sam: "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...move mountains...right wrongs...travel through time... grow ten feet tall, and run forever." I love the glance at Cissy when he says the "right wrongs.....travel through time".

This is one of the rare episodes when people notice that the person they see is a bit different for a moment. Cissy sees Sam's green in Archie's brown eyes. The hurricane party guy sees Sam's brown, Archie's black hair. (depending on which drunk eye he is using) In Genesis when Peg kisses Sam, she walks away touching her lips. She has noticed a difference in Tom's and Sam's kisses.

The scene when Sam and Cissy are kissing and Al appears and begins coughing to get Sam's attention is classic. Sam suggesting that Al have the cough checked and Al asking what cough?

I like seeing Sam breathing a bit heavy after exiting the closet. But best of all is the gentleness and warmth in his voice when he tells Cissy that "If it's the right someone, I'd marry them after a couple of hours."

Let's see what can I say about Hurricane. Very interesting Episode. First of all, I loved how they put in this episode, the charctors seeing something different about Archie. Like how Cissy saw him with green eyes for a second when she could have sworn Archie's were brown or blue I can't remember right now(however now I almost want to pop the episode in now that I am thinking about it), and how the man at the Hurricane Party saw him with Brown hair with one eye and Black with the other, although he can easily be half explained by the fact that he was drunk. This was not the first epsiode they stressed this in eaither. In Genesis when He kissed Peg she put a started hand to her lips and she noticed a difference in her husband's kiss. I wish they would have done more of this though because it's a very interesting concept, in fact now that I consiter it, I may do something with it in the story I am currently working on, it would fit in perfectly with the drama.

Another thing I liked was the relationship between Cissy and Archie and how Cissy just adores him. When they first get to Unibelle's and Sam is talking to Al about keeping Cissy from going back to her house where she is fated to get killed:
"now I gotta get her to go back and do it earlier"
*Cissy walks in behind him*
"Oh my, if we get up any earlier to do it, we might as well not go to sleep."
hahahaha.
Also, one of Kristen's and my fav scenes is when Sam and Cissy duck into the closet and make out and Al is just standing there jellin' on him.
"Isn't it going to get a little hot in there!"
And Sam shuts the door as in "Goodbye Al! I'm Busy!"
lol.
I also love the desplay of Terminal Goodness(as Al calls in it Plat Ball) that Sam deplays in this episode by saving both the Hurricane Party and Cissy after Al told him that there was only time for one. And You know Sam doesn't do 'only time for one', ah uh that's not the way he works.
I also loved at the begining Sam and Al were listening to the shingles being blown off the roof and Al says:
"Those are the singles, the wind must be flicking them off like potato chips"
Great Desciription of how powerful a hurricane is, and paired with real hurricane footage throughout the episode, It adds a very intense and dramaric feeling to the episode and makes the hurricane more realistic. It makes me think how lucky I am to live in Cali where we dont have them.

Ok now the Whole thing with Lisa. Kristen and I think that she was written by a rookie writer (cuz they got new writers sometime around there) who didn't know the show real well, because we feel that she did not fit into the epsiode at all, that she was real out of place and took away from the episode, however I won't say I hate her. The episode would not have been totally runied without her though, there are other things that could have happened, like maybe the Ex-boyfriend started getting aggressive on her or something. He did desplay a lot of jealously towards Sam and Cissy being with another man. I think he would have made a good villian for this episode, and I don't think Ql has done the concept of the abusive boyfriend or in this case ex-boyfriend yet, and I don't count Bob from Camakazi Kid because I am talking real abusive like the stuff you'd see on the news. Plus I really think they he let the dog out on purpose because he wanted Sam to stop Cissy from going after him by going himself. Which would leave the jerk alone with her. I think they could have done a lot with his charactor that would have made the episode slightly better.

This is a good episode though, I really enjoy it, and I REALLY enjoy Sam in the uniform, it makes him look very manly!

Kristen and I think that she was written by a rookie writer (cuz they got new writers sometime around there) who didn't know the show real well,

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I believe "Hurricane" was written by Thommy Thompson who not only wrote several QL episosdes preceeding this, he was also a producer on the show. I'd have to say he knew the show quite well by this time.

jmoniz said:

I believe "Hurricane" was written by Thommy Thompson who not only wrote several QL episosdes preceeding this, he was also a producer on the show. I'd have to say he knew the show quite well by this time.

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Oh well ok, but Lisa still doesn't fit in the story no matter who wrote it.

I think that's a matter of opinion. I think she fits in with the story-line just fine. It's easy to assume the Cissy dies because of her old boyfriend or because of a natural accident. Lisa fitting into it adds a different dimension - gives it a different twist. I know the first time I saw it, no matter how odd she was acting, I didn't jump to the conclusion that she was the cause of Cissy's death so it made for a nice little twist - a bit of a whodunutit, if you will. I enjoy an episodes (or program in general) that challenges me to think and puzzle out and doesn't spell it all out for me.

Yeah it was interesting to have her go after Cissy with a knife, which I was guessing she might try something from her first visit to Unibelle's where she talked to Sam alone about what would have happened if they were still together. But I don't know, she just seems a little out of place.

Well watching the episode now I noticed something else. It appears that Joe was up to something with her because not only did Al mention that she was last seeing leaving the shelter with him but he claims that teh dog Bofus was scratching to go out but a quick scene clearly shows the dog lying peacefully at the old couple's feet and Joe lead him away. So it's clear that he meant something but Sam inercepted him when he insisted that Cissy stay and let him go after the dog. And that was most likely what led to Lisa. In the original history it was Joe letting to dog out that got her killed.

All things consitered though looking back I kind of like the idea of Lisa now. A pysho jealous ex-gf is a pretty cool idea.

Sam Beckett Fan said:

the Whole thing with Lisa. Kristen and I think that she was written by a rookie writer (cuz they got new writers sometime around there) who didn't know the show real well, because we feel that she did not fit into the epsiode at all, that she was real out of place and took away from the episode, however I won't say I hate her. The episode would not have been totally runied without her though, there are other things that could have happened, like maybe the Ex-boyfriend started getting aggressive on her or something. He did desplay a lot of jealously towards Sam and Cissy being with another man. I think he would have made a good villian for this episode, and I don't think Ql has done the concept of the abusive boyfriend or in this case ex-boyfriend yet. I think they could have done a lot with his charactor that would have made the episode slightly better.

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1.Chris Ruppenthal(The B**gieman) wrote this episode.
2.They already did the "abusive boyfriend/ex-boyfriend"(Ex-husband,to be exact) in "Honeymoon Express",so i guess that the reason Chris came up with Lisa - the Ex-girlfriend.
3. I,too, think the character of Lisa had a lot of problems.
4. I found this episode an average episode only.Not a very strong storyline.The Lisa character that seems out of place.and the twist in the end,that really ruined it for me. I can't understand what the deal with all those twists.especially in QL. Can't you try and keep it simple?!

BTW this is the third "Lisa" we had during the series(The Second to be Exact) after 16 yo Sam - Lisa the cheerleader from "the Leap home" and Al's Lisa from "A leap for Lisa".What is the deal with this name in QL?!

Hun you replied to that comment too late, try reading the one above you.

isz said:

I can't understand what the deal with all those twists.especially in QL. Can't you try and keep it simple?!

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It's known as suspense and keeping the audience off guard and engaged as opposed to being able to guess the where, when and why of the plot line from the beginning and turning the TV off or over to another channel. A predictible plotline is going to be a boring plotline.

Personally, I'm glad there were plot twists and suspensful moments in QL. It kept me hooked on it. I enjoy when I can't predict how something's going to end. To me, it means the writers are doing their job and engaging me in the story that's unfolding.

I agree Julia I just loved how with QL you absolutly NEVER knew what would happen next and where it would end up. That is what makes this show so much fun.
This ep was a fine example with Lisa becuase they make you think Joe is the target bad guy for a lot of the middle of the episode and then at the end Lisa practically comes out of nowhere. There was just one hint to her which was when she came into Unibelles the first time and complained that she wished she and Archie never broke up. Or at least it hinted it to me.

Sam Beckett Fan said:

Hun you replied to that comment too late, try reading the one above you.

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1.I noticed you changed your first point of view about Lisa's Character,but i didn't,so i borrow your first point of view to my response to the episdoe.

jmoniz said:

Personally, I'm glad there were plot twists and suspensful moments in QL. It kept me hooked on it. I enjoy when I can't predict how something's going to end. To me, it means the writers are doing their job and engaging me in the story that's unfolding.

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2. I'm glad there were plot twists and suspensful moments in QL,too,but i also think,that there are "Good twists" and "bad twists" and during QL there were to many episodes with an unnecessery "Bad Twists" on them.:banghead
Here is list of a few episode with "bad Twists" in QL,in my opinion-
1. The twist with Lisa in This episode.
2. The twist with Butchie's mother in "Run Away".
3.The twist with corey's falling into the water in "Jimmy"(But i can understand why the writere did it in this episode.

And here is a list of "Good twists" in QL,in my opinion:
1. The twist with "Devil Al" in "the B**gieman".
2. The twists in "MIA",when we learn who Beth really is.
3.The twist in "The Leap Home: part 2 - Vietnam" with the photo of MIA Al.

1.I noticed you changed your first point of view about Lisa's Character,but i didn't,so i borrow your first point of view to my response to the episdoe.

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Oh ok thanx for clarifying.
Yeah I now see that Lisa was a very interesting and unexpected twist, but her charactor had issues as was clearly shown seeing as she nearly killed herself.

Well, what can i say about this episode....

The hurricane footage was good

I liked Lisa better than Cissy up until the point where she tried to kill everyone........ actually I think I still liked her better than Cissy even then.

Bexter said:

Well, what can i say about this episode....

The hurricane footage was good

I liked Lisa better than Cissy up until the point where she tried to kill everyone........ actually I think I still liked her better than Cissy even then.

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Why? I loved Cissy I thought she was funny and cute and good with Archie.

yes she was sweet, funny and cute but i just didn't like her, I don't really know why. Perhaps she was too funny and too cute and too sweet. To me Lisa had way more passion and a more realistic personality. The only other thing I can put my finger on is there seemed to be no real chemistry between her and scott, they were ACTING like there was suppose to be chemistry but to me it just fell flat.

True I didn't see Scott have the same Chemistry with Cissy as I did plenty of other women like Terri Hatcher, Mimi Kuzyk, Jennifer Antison and Tamyln Tomita(Some of the top actresses that I thought he had amazing chemistry with), but an actor can't be great with everyone. What it may look like is that Cissy's acting was a little over the top and Scott's was perfect as usual. I think she was realistic as her passion for Archie seemed very real to me but I an see where you can see more personality in Lisa. She was an extremely passion charactor who irnoically has childhood issues that get in the way with her relationships. And I did love Sam's attitude towards her, how he cared about her even though she was obviously very viciously jealous, and you would think any guy would want a woman like that locked up in a nut house. I love how Sam can see through a person's soul like that and read their heart. I don't understand why he does not have a degree in Psychology amoung his many; I think he has some talent in the area. There are a lot of times when he sees something inside someone that no one else can or will.

That is something I can say I like about Lisa how her character brings out one of the many qualities we love in Sam.

This was a great episode, but I realized that this show's writers relied on suicide in at least half the episodes. A little disturbing since I think of this as a family show.

I found myself getting frustrated as Al stood around and watched without being able to do anything since he's a hologram. Still don't understand how Sam was able to get there in time to save the girlfriend from the ex-girlfriend. *shrug*

I did like the ending, although Sam seemed a little too eager to kiss the lady...he's a married man! (I know, swiss cheese memory.)

I liked this episode, but my chief problem about it was that it sort of dragged on through the beginning, and then got really exciting towards the end. I was probably only really "into" the show for about the last ten mintues. The rest of it was just too bland.

When Sam entered the house to stop Lisa from going killing Cissy, what happened to the dog? That was a burning question for me after the show, but it could just be me.

ohboy said:

When Sam entered the house to stop Lisa from going killing Cissy, what happened to the dog? That was a burning question for me after the show, but it could just be me.

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He probably just left it in the car.

To me the episode was okay but I wouldn't say it was one of my favourites.

This is a retraction of the perspective I saw this episode from what is already expressed here with the exception of this:

I loved how they put in this episode, the charctors seeing something different about Archie. Like how Cissy saw him with green eyes for a second when she could have sworn Archie's were brown or blue I can't remember right now(however now I almost want to pop the episode in now that I am thinking about it), and how the man at the Hurricane Party saw him with Brown hair with one eye and Black with the other, although he can easily be half explained by the fact that he was drunk. This was not the first epsiode they stressed this in eaither. In Genesis when He kissed Peg she put a started hand to her lips and she noticed a difference in her husband's kiss. I wish they would have done more of this though because it's a very interesting concept

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It's more obvious to me now that drunkenness, which unbalances the mind is what gave the hurricane party man partial recognition of Sam. This is something that I have recently come to realized was earlier suggested in season 2's Catch a Falling Star (I believe drunken actor John O'Malley gave "Ray" his big debut because he got a glimpse of Sam after being rescued from his "Gerald Ford impression" and freaked out).

The whole Lisa twist was sick and brilliant, particularly the way you never see it coming. While it was obvious that she had not gotten over the break up her unhealthy level of obsession with Archie was well hidden. She was a well developed and surprising character. I have to wonder what had happened to her in the original history when Cissy was killed going after the dog in the storm.

This episode well portrayed Sam's need to save everyone and how his heart tends to be touched by the host's significant other or woman he's involved with in the task. I, though being a hopeless romantic, enjoyed the scenes between him and Cissy.

Tidbit: The house which was the designated hurricane shelter was Unibelle's but at least twice Al says Annabelle.

Sam Beckett Fan said:

It appears that Joe was up to something with her because not only did Al mention that she was last seeing leaving the shelter with him but he claims that the dog Bofus was scratching to go out but a quick scene clearly shows the dog lying peacefully at the old couple's feet and Joe lead him away. So it's clear that he meant something but Sam intercepted him when he insisted that Cissy stay and let him go after the dog. And that was most likely what led to Lisa. In the original history it was Joe letting to dog out that got her killed.

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You know, it's almost as if Cissy was just fated to die that night, and Sam is somehow cheating fate. Sam prevents her from going back home and then a killer shows up to get her. In fact there are several episodes where Sam is there to save someone's life, and Al's on the handlink going "Oh, no, now she dies because of such-and-such instead." It's like some of these characters have Death following after them and Sam has to make repeated attempts to save them.

iMonrey said:

You know, it's almost as if Cissy was just fated to die that night, and Sam is somehow cheating fate. Sam prevents her from going back home and then a killer shows up to get her. In fact there are several episodes where Sam is there to save someone's life, and Al's on the handlink going "Oh, no, now she dies because of such-and-such instead." It's like some of these characters have Death following after them and Sam has to make repeated attempts to save them.

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Actually I am beginning to wonder if the dog was a backfired set up in both timelines. It seems more plausible that the ex-boyfriend was trying to lure Archie out to his death or at least out of the house to make his move on Cissy. You could tell he felt a threat there and seemed to be hung up on her a few levels below Lisa's fixation with Archie.
In the first timeline it didn't go his way because Cissy had went after the dog instead of Archie and was killed.
In the second Archie went out as possibly intended but it was Sam and if murder was the intention that obviously failed but the real Archie still would have made it through the storm in the original timeline as he managed to save the hurricane party(which was why he absent when Cissy was killed going after the dog). Here the ex still wouldn't have gotten his move in because Lisa showed up.
I wish they had explained the original timeline more but it was acknowledged that the details of Cissy's death were never clear and the reason she had wondered out into the storm to her death is as Al stated in All Americans:
"That kind of data is locked in the human heart."
So this is just a theory.

Having chosen an article for a project regarding a recent storm not yet classified as a Hurricane in Europe, I had the urge to watch this episode tonight.
Out of curiosity I did some research on Hurricane Camille which revealed it to have been an actual occurrence.

1969- Hurricane Camille

Hurricane Camille was the third and strongest tropical cyclone and second hurricane during the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season. It smashed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast on the night of August 17, 1969, and carved a path of destruction until the early hours of 18 August.

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http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/1960s/camille/

In addition there might also be some truth to the Hurricane Camille party. It's seemingly been diluted into partial myth though one certainty is that Quantum Leap had completely fictionalized it.
Supposedly 23 guests were partying on the third floor of the Richelieu Manor apartments in Pass Christian, Mississippi and when a wall of water flooded and destroyed the building (as QL had portrayed) only a single survivor was left.
This however is only one version of many. There are at least two different identities of the sole survivor while other accounts claim there was more than one survivor and deny a party even occurred.

One persistent account about Camille states that a hurricane party was held on the third floor of the Richelieu Manor Apartments in Pass Christian, Mississippi, in the path of the eyewall as it made landfall. The high storm surge flooded and destroyed the building, and there was only one survivor to tell of the story of the others. Who the survivor is, how many party guests there were, and just how far the sole survivor was swept by the storm varies with the retelling...Survivor Ben Duckworth is quoted in Hurricane Camille: Monster Storm of the Gulf Coast as stating that the Richelieu was a designated civil defense air-raid shelter. However, their faith in the building's sturdiness was unfounded, as it was completely demolished by the storm. Twenty-three people are known to have stayed in the Richelieu Apartments during the hurricane, of whom eight died. The tale of the lone survivor and the party appears to have originated with survivor Mary Ann Gerlach.[8] Other survivors, including Duckworth and Richard Keller, have expressed irritation at the story.[22][23] "The hurricane party never happened, nor was the number of deaths associated with the apartment inhabitants accurate," says Pat Fitzpatrick, Mississippi State University professor and author of Hurricanes: A Reference Handbook.[24]
The site of the Richeliu Apartments, the corner of Henderson Ave and US90 in Pass Christian, later became a shopping center. Coincidentally, it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

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Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Camille
(NOTE: Typically I don't use Wikipedia, I find myself having difficulty trusting it though if it's the only or one of few which gives a detailed account of something I will take a look and consider it's information).

Here is another account by the woman mentioned in the above excerpt, Mary Ann Gerlach who is claimed in some versions to have been the sole survivor.

5. An enduring story about Hurricane Camille in 1969 is that residents of the Richelieu Manor apartment building in Pass Christian, Miss., threw a "hurricane party," and that only one person survived. But that tale, told by survivor Mary Ann Gerlach, is in serious doubt. Other survivors have been identified, and one insisted that he and another person stayed not to party but to help a fellow resident. Contacted recently by the Tribune, Gerlach stood by her story: "I don't care if anyone believes it or not. There was no reason for me to lie. I didn't get a penny out of it." Incidentally, when Gerlach was charged with killing her 11th husband (yes, 11th), years after Camille, her lawyer used an insanity defense, citing Gerlach's hurricane ordeal. That story didn't fly, and she did time in prison.

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Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...0110909_1_cyclones-category-hurricane-camille

Personally that last bit has me questioning this woman's credibility.

Another account which claims there were only eight deaths and no party.

One of the most enduring myths of Camille was the death of 23 residents of the Richelieu Apartments in Pass Christian who were said to be having a “hurricane party.” Recent research suggests that eight people died in the building when 30-foot storm waves obliterated it. But there was no party. The attention given to the tale has obscured the overwhelming tragedy of the Williams family. While the father, Paul Williams, survived after being swept out of Trinity Church where his family had taken refuge, his wife and all 12 of his children drowned.

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Source: http://www.nola.com/175years/index.ssf/2011/12/1969_hurricane_camille_was_a_c.html

Nothing that I have read however has come close to matching the Quantum Leap account though as fans we know that they romanticize situations which often accommodate Sam's need to save everyone.
I however find this fascinating.

While an interesting thought Helen, that's an uncertain approach as there is no controlling whether or not the dog would follow Al the entire way. Several things could spook an animal in a storm and Al can't grab him if he were to take off in another direction. Even if he could Cissy could have gotten worried that "Archie" was taking too long and went out after both he and the dog.

That's true, it would have been logical for one of the characters to at least suggest it.
Another flaw also occurred to me.
Had Al been attempting to lead the dog through the storm he wouldn't have been at Unibelle's to witness Cissy come to be in the new danger when Lisa showed up and without the prior warning he'd had Sam may not have made it back in time. That's actually the more likely scenario at that point than Cissy leaving.

Sam Beckett Fan said:

Well watching the episode now I noticed something else. It appears that Joe was up to something with her because not only did Al mention that she was last seeing leaving the shelter with him but he claims that teh dog Bofus was scratching to go out but a quick scene clearly shows the dog lying peacefully at the old couple's feet and Joe lead him away. So it's clear that he meant something but Sam inercepted him when he insisted that Cissy stay and let him go after the dog. And that was most likely what led to Lisa. In the original history it was Joe letting to dog out that got her killed.

All things consitered though looking back I kind of like the idea of Lisa now. A pysho jealous ex-gf is a pretty cool idea.

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One thing that puzzles me about this is that when Joe offered to go with Sam to get the dog, why the heck did Sam turn him down?

I don't think Joe could have been the original killer, because why would he follow Cissy back to her house? Then again, why would Lisa? Clearly the "thing" she went to get was the dog, and Joe was seen letting the dog out but he seems like a normal person, I don't buy that he would have any reason to kill Cissy, Lisa's the much better suspect, even in the OH.

Just watched this episode again.

servo75 said:

One thing that puzzles me about this is that when Joe offered to go with Sam to get the dog, why the heck did Sam turn him down?

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Because Joe was an idiot. Even if the dog was scratching to get out, which he wasn't, with the weather that was going on outside anyone with half a brain wouldn't let a pet outside. I don't know whether he was the original killer but his action was at the very least plain stupid if not malicious. Sam had enough problems without someone like that 'helping' him, so it's perfectly understandable that Sam would turn him down.

There are some interesting things in the episode and the footage is cool, but there is some bad plotting. I guess they were trying to set up conflict and keep us wondering who was the culprit, but it was badly executed in my opinion. It all hinges on a blatantly stupid and mean-spirited act by Joe -- and had he turned out to be the culprit that would've made a bit more sense in the narrative, where he's using the dog to get Cissy out of the shelter and to her house and vulnerable if he wants to hurt her. Instead it's left standing as a random act of stupid and it feels forced in order to move the plot in a certain direction. To me anyway. Other viewers may have very different takes on it.

Okay, I have a feeling Lisa was the original killer too. Joe had several chances to kill Cissy but didn't. When I wondered why Sam turned Joe down, I meant that if Cissy was last seen with Joe, then if he separated the two, he couldn't have done anything to Cissy. In fact Cissy offered to go with Sam too. I do find the sequence of events rather mysterious.

blue enigma said:

Just watched this episode again.

Because Joe was an idiot. Even if the dog was scratching to get out, which he wasn't, with the weather that was going on outside anyone with half a brain wouldn't let a pet outside. I don't know whether he was the original killer but his action was at the very least plain stupid if not malicious. Sam had enough problems without someone like that 'helping' him, so it's perfectly understandable that Sam would turn him down.

There are some interesting things in the episode and the footage is cool, but there is some bad plotting. I guess they were trying to set up conflict and keep us wondering who was the culprit, but it was badly executed in my opinion. It all hinges on a blatantly stupid and mean-spirited act by Joe -- and had he turned out to be the culprit that would've made a bit more sense in the narrative, where he's using the dog to get Cissy out of the shelter and to her house and vulnerable if he wants to hurt her. Instead it's left standing as a random act of stupid and it feels forced in order to move the plot in a certain direction. To me anyway. Other viewers may have very different takes on it.

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True that in the OH it's probable that it was the dog that Cissy went back to get. But then would Joe follow her back in that hurricane? To me it seems just as likely that the OH death was accidental

The Joe character is indeed a plot hole.
Here is my theory:

Joe let the dog out into the storm with the intention of luring Sam (Archie) out of Unibelle's to get Cissy alone and had offered to accompany him to appear genuine knowing he'd be turned down (Sam's earlier behavior towards him was pretty telling).

Here's where it gets very grey area though.

As to why Sam turned him down, he clearly didn't trust Joe on the suspicion that he would harm Cissy based on an earlier moment where he'd started to manhandle her but leaving him behind was leaving her alone with him.
On the other hand, however, Sam seemed to see through Joe's claim that the dog had scratched at the door in request to be let out (which was stated to be a lie by a shot of the dog lying at the elderly couple's feet just before Joe reveals that he let it out) and might have felt that he was a liability.

In addition, in either of these cases, despite his immoral actions, Sam would have felt a responsibility to keep Joe alive as well.

The suspicion of Joe as possibly killing Cissy was unsubstantial, not only was it underdeveloped but it seemed like just a lazy way to temporarily turn the viewer's attention away from Lisa.

Technically the first known killer was the hurricane as she'd originally been killed whilst trying to retrieve something from her home. If, however, that something was still the dog, which is implied to be probable by her statement:
(Sam: "Where are you going?")
"Home, where Bofus went"
then if it could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Joe had let the dog out with the intent to get Cissy killed he could have been convicted for manslaughter but not only would that be a long shot, I'd never bought him as having the pretense to either want her dead or to kill her in the heat of passion.
Joe wasn't Prince Charming of course, he'd shown signs of being forceful thus possible controlling and he was disrespectful but he did seem to have genuine feelings for her that he'd never gotten over and that Cissy seemed perfectly fine in his presence out of Archie's sight suggested that he'd never abused her.

So as far as I'm concerned Camille and Lisa were the true threats to Cissy the entire time.

In the original history, Lisa had followed Cissy to her house, and killed her, disguising it as an accident from flying debris in the hurricane.

In the revised history, with Cissy at Anabelle's, she tried to kill Cissy there.

As for the timing, I think that in the original history, Cissy must have discovered that the dog was let out much later than Sam realised, and so Sam retrieved the dog much earlier than Cissy would have, giving him time to get to the Hurricane Party and back to Anabelle's with enough time to save Cissy.

Lightning McQueenie said:

In the original history, Lisa had followed Cissy to her house, and killed her, disguising it as an accident from flying debris in the hurricane.

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That is neither specified or implied.
An interesting theory, however.

It is actually heavily implied...

A big improvement from the previous episode Play Ball. Hurricane is an above average episode. The premise itself, the hurricane, could have made this episode tiring because most of the scenes are limited to one location because of it. However, like Nuclear Family did, Hurricane uses this to its advantage.

Cissy is one of my favourite characters from season 4. She's strong, warm and just full of life. The actress, Marilyn Jones, also has a great rapport with Scott Bakula, which naturally really helps. Lisa is also a decent character (despite her annoying voice). As a villain she was very compelling. Usually in Quantum Leap the villains are pretty much out and out villains, but I did feel genuinely sorry for Lisa at the end. Think Al was kinda awful calling for Sam to kill her.

An interesting thing I noticed in this episode is that Sam doesn't seem to have fully leaped in. The aura surrounding him is clearly weaker, because on two occasions people see a part of the real him. The drunk guy and Cissy.

My rating. Good. A decent episode.

JuliaM said:

I believe "Hurricane" was written by Thommy Thompson who not only wrote several QL episosdes preceeding this, he was also a producer on the show. I'd have to say he knew the show quite well by this time.

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Tommy Thompson didn't write this one. He wrote the previous one "Play Ball"... Chris Ruppenthal wrote this one. Not that your going to notice my comment to your 17 year old comment but...shrug