1103 The Birds and the Sleeze

The Birds and the Sleeze

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

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 4 ? This episode was great! I will definitely tell others about it.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 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
    0
D

Dman176

Guest
The Birds and the Sleeze
February 19, 1980

Denver, Colorado


Sam leaps into Robert McKenzie, a fifth-grade sexual education teacher. Although he finds this an uncomfortable position to be in, he'll leap out as soon as he prevents one of his students from falling into a lifetime of selling drugs on the streets, the result of an overbearing and abusive father.


Written by: Erin Bauer


Thanks,
TVS Team
 
Last edited:
Our rating system this season consists of five 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: 6.83


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

Valery S. Gemini said:
I like the "humour part" in that story much more than the dramatic part, which is IMO a bit too short and lacks developments about for ex. Sydney's family life, or how his father got arrested (it would have been better if Sam was directly involved with this). But the fun dialogues between Sam & Al in the first half really had me ROTFL. I could just picture, or even hear, a very embarrassed Sam, mumbling during his lectures, being redder than a tomato, and Al's smirks and sarcasms at his friend's discomfort! Just like in the old days...

RATING: 7

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sporty said:
I liked this story. I loved the way Al got on Sam's case because he had to teach sex education. Great story.

RATING: 7

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Morris J. Finkle said:
I liked the idea behind this story, but in the end, it seemed to get resolved a bit too quickly. I'm also not really sure that certain aspects of the story were realistic. The main thing that I had trouble getting behind was that sex education was being taught to fifth graders in the year 1980. 6th or 7th grade, maybe. That could just be me though. Perhaps some states start teaching kids a year or two earlier.

Also, while the notion of Sam preaching about abstinence until marriage is an admirable one, it sounds a bit preachy, even for someone like him. Sam himself has slept with a few women in his lifetime, presumably before he was even married to Donna (or, during many leaps, when he believed himself to not be married). I could imagine Sam trying to tell the students that sex should be a meaningful and special experience shared by two adults who truly love each other?I think that would have been a more realistic expectation and lesson to teach concerning sex. But again, that's just my personal opinion about the subject.

As far as the first-person perspective is concerned, I didn't have that much trouble with it. This isn't the first QL story to use that type of narrative style, and since it was from Sam's perspective, I still "saw" it as a regular leap. All in all, I think this was a decent first outing for Erin, and I hope to see further stories from this author in the near future.

RATING: 6

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seeker said:
No comment given.

RATING: 6

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Allie Cat said:
I found this story very entertaining and well written. I have to admit, though, that reading a story written in the first person, aka Sam's perspective, did throw me off for a little bit. Also, I didn't find the fight between Sydney's father and Sam to be at all like Sam. A sensei like Sam can take down a large man like Sydney's father; the size of an opponent isn't an issue with martial arts. I did like how the whole thing was resolved, though. And I liked some of the humor, although Al's pestering Sam about being a sex ed teacher as often as he did was a little annoying at times. Overall, a very good story.

RATING: 8

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tom Jarret said:
I liked the story, thought it had some nice humor. And the exchanges between Al and Sam were wonderful. I would have liked it to be longer, and see more of Sydney's life.

RATING: 7

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


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
 
Last edited:
This was a great episode, Erin, showing shades of the original series in many aspects. I don't know why it was rated so lowly, it certainly deserves more than that.

I liked how things wrapped up with Sam's leapee adopting that poor Sydney. I was hoping that Sam could let loose some judo on that big jerk tho'! :lol

The first-person aspect also threw an interesting light on the episode, making it more personal to see what Sam was going through. I liked that. ^_^ The dialog was also very true to Sam and Al.

My rating: 4. Very enjoyable!

... Mike. ^_^
 
Hi all!

I want to thank everyone who has (or will) read my story. It is my first outing and I appreciate all the feedback! I wanted to address a few comments and let people know why I included some of the things I did.

I agree with everyone that I probably should have made the leap a little longer and delve more into Sydney's background...I guess I was truly thinking about what would fit into an hour long show rather than taking more liberties with the fact that a written story could truly be longer and go into more detail.

Also, a few commented on him not doing Judo...there actually have been other leaps where Sam was helpless against someone, I wanted to emphasize here that Sydney's father was far stronger than Sam, thus showing Sam's vulnerability.

As for his idea of sex before marriage, I derived that not only from his obvious prudish views, evident in many an episode, but I also took advantage of the swiss cheese effect, and that he doesn't remember that he's married now or that he's slept with other women on his leaps. Others may have interpreted things differently, but I thought that view just fit with the story.

As for first person, I am glad you all found that interesting :) That's my narrative style of choice when I write as it really helps you get more into the character's mind. In this particular story, I don't think I could have gotten the emotions across nearly as well if it had been written in third.

Again, I thank you for all your comments! I've currently got two new ideas for VS eps, but it's just finding the time to write!

I appreciate you taking the time to read!

Erin
 
Hi Erin...

Just finished reading the story...Not much else to say than what's already said...The humor between Sam and Al was in the best tradition of the series itself (Al gleefully watching Sam-as-Mr. Morals suffer..reminded me of Future Boy when Al took delight in watching Sam do those goofy tv ads in those costumes...)...I also agree that I would have liked to have seen the story expanded more, perhaps more peril for Sam (especially at the climax of the story), maybe some more dimension to Sydney and his father...
While I try to write my stories thinking visually as if it were airing on NBC right now (wishful thinking that NBC still ran new episodes of QL), it occured to me quickly on my first attempt that I had to describe more in detail and not assume that the audience would pick up things like they easily would "watching" an episode. On tv, the actors bring something to the characters on the script, as a fiction writer it's a tougher job to bring those characters to the reader, to find something unique that makes them stand out.
As some of the other writers (along with myself) have done, sometimes "casting" a character helps. MJ has cast famous people in the roles for her Quantum Retribution (PLUG!!!) series, and for my recurring character General Hawkins (who will return in a few weeks (PLUG!), I cast David Ogden Stiers (MASH, Dead Zone) for the part. As I re-read my stories I could hear myself talking in his voice and in return I found myself writing for him. Weird, but effective. Role play can be an effective tool for fiction writing.
Anyway, I digress...A very good first outing. Hope you continue to contribute to the QL:TVS (MEGA-PLUG!!!) universe...

Greg (DZL)
 
Re: The Birds and The Sleeze

DeadZoneLeaper,

Thanks for advice! You gave me some good tips as far as how to expand more by thinking of a celebrity playing one of your characters. I definitely think I need to view these stories as more of a fictional work (as if it is an original story and the characters and plots have to be described in more detail like they are being introduced to readers rather than as TV characters who are well known to the audience) than a TV ep and treat it as such with the amount of detail I include. I will try to do so in my next outing! Again, thanks to everyone who read this and gave me some useful information to keep in mind for my next story.

Also, I'm glad everyone liked the Al/Sam dialogue!
 
Re: The Birds and The Sleeze

I liked the first person narrative for Sam on this one, and I can see why you did it, Erin.
Again, most comments have already been made, so I won't dwell on the brevity (no pun intended) or lack of character development.
I too have had Sam unable to avail himself of his skills in some situations, as have others, though I think some attempt at resistance would have made it more credible. Given the outcome, though, I was reminded of Thou Shalt Not, when Al told him that he took a good punch in a good cause (well words to that effect) and Single Drop of Rain, when he deliberately picked a fight with his 'brother'.
Sometimes, being the 'victim' can be more productive than being the 'victor'.
On the whole a very promising first story, Erin. Looking forward to your next one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back