Well, although I am new to the persona of Rodette I’m not exactly a newcomer here at Al’s place, so my apologies to those of you who know me well and will therefore find this boring.

Okay, apologies also to those who don’t know me and still find this boring!

Potted biography of Leaper1 alias Helen Madeleine Earl, sometimes better known as Madders Ahatter! Here goes:

Born July 1957 in Perivale Maternity hospital, Ealing, Outer London, England (Near the famous Ealing Studios, where all the comedies like the original "LadyKillers" were made!)

Raised in South Ruislip (Middlesex) by my mother (a true Cockney born within the sound of Bow Bells) and grandparents after father left when I was 5.

Grammar school education (girls only!), but not a snob, and really not that bright (I was in the low ability group that took Drama and Needlecrafts rather than Latin and Physics).

Here goes my little biography bit (I must warn you it won’t sound as creative or professionally written as Helen’s piece and will just read as I think, which may be a little jumbled!)

My name is Georgia and I’m 25 years old. I have lived in Manchester, England for the last 3 years, but spent the majority of my life on the Isle of Wight (the small island to the south of mainland England for those of you who are unfamiliar with the UK). I moved to Manchester to be with my partner of 3 and a half years and it’s the best move I’ve ever made, as my boyfriend is everything to me!

I work in fundraising, for a charity called the National Library for the Blind and it’s the best job I’ve ever had. It’s the first place I’ve worked where people appreciate my opinion and praise you for good work rather than just condemn you for bad work. I implore all bosses out there to start commending their employees for their hard work. I can guarantee you that their performance will only improve because they will feel appreciated.

I love working for a charity, it’s so much more rewarding knowing you are helping someone achieve something worthwhile, rather than just lining the pockets of a rich fat arrogant old man (not to stereo-type bosses, just thinking of my last boss!)

I desperately want to travel The States before I’m 30, as I am intrigued by this country. America without a doubt produces the best TV series (that’s not why I want to visit it though, I’m not that sad!)

I used to love Tuesday evenings as a kid - I’d watch Eerie Indiana at 6pm on channel 4 and know QL wasn’t far off. At 14 years old for some reason I really fancied the kid with grey hair, I forget his characters name, but his real name is Jason Marsden. I saw him on an episode of Wil and Grace recently and he’s tiny, bless him! But of course, as I’m sure you’ll agree Quantum Leap is without any shadow of a doubt the best series ever made. Which brings me to why I’m here.

I apologise if I end up repeating my Guestvision piece but to introduce myself I feel I need to explain how QL became such an important part of my life as I was growing up.

I have seen every episode of QL, some I enjoyed more than others – they usually involved some kind of tragedy and always involved love. It always made me laugh that Sam seemed to fall in love with the leading lady nearly every time, unless he was the same gender. I don’t remember Sam ever playing a lesbian? I hope his wife never heard about his many girlfriends.

Despite the fact that Sam had lots of ‘lady friends’ it always seemed acceptable to me because he loved all the women he slept with. He was the complete opposite to Al who was the dirty old (but loveable) man who added the element of comedy to every episode, unless of course the topic was Vietnam or his first love or the orphanage, or his sister and then the mood was serious. Dean Stockwell was fantastic at playing the comedian but when he was serious, wow, shivers would go through my body and there were many moving moments. I’m thinking of when Sam was in Vietnam as Magic and Al was a POW. Al could have saved himself but chose not to. Al looked such a hero in the white uniform too.

QL was so important to me as I was a child because as I was growing up and was learning about the kind of person I was going to be, it shaped the way I thought. This attractive man came on to my screen every Tuesday night with his principles of anti prejudism and he was a hero to me. As sad as that sounds, he taught me about the kind of person I want to be (and I’m sure Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing would agree, that’s very important!). I remember when I was in 6^th form a girl once referred to me as ‘anti-everything’, at the time it was said as an insult, but looking back on it, was it really an insult, as surely being anti-bad things isn’t a horrible trait, is it?

So I don’t like animals being killed for any reason. I don’t like the fact that women get paid less for doing exactly the same jobs as men, and I don’t like that in many cultures woman are still oppressed and discriminated against because they don’t possess a penis! I don’t like that ethnic minorities are discriminated against just because they aren’t white and I don’t like that people with disabilities are disadvantaged in many aspects of their life. It saddens me when I hear that another beautiful creature has been made extinct because of greed and it hurts me when I hear how we are destroying our environment.

Speaking of which, I’ve seen a couple of episodes of Quantum Leap recently and I hadn’t remembered how passionate Al was about preserving the environment. He got quite angry when Sam was about to get a plastic cup rather than a paper one, and equally as angry when he was talking about the waste being pumped in to the Ocean.

Hmm, I’ve gone off track again and I don’t want you to think I’m some eco-warrior hippy chick – I just care and what I’m trying to get across is that when I was an impressionable teenager developing my identity I watched this programme called Quantum Leap and it conveyed messages of such incredible importance. Through Sam, Quantum Leap concentrated largely on the need for equality, whether it is gender, race, religion or disability. Every time I finished watching an episode more often that not I would be left moved and inspired. I’d hastily scribble down what had happened that night in my diary, so as to not miss a single detail. This fantastic programme helped mould me in to the person I am today – someone that has a deep respect for life in all it’s wonderful and unique forms!

You know as a teenager I had so many afflictions, like Jody Lawrence not fancying me in year 9 or the next boy I liked not fancying me, but for one night of the week I could sit down and watch a life that encountered endless meaningful problems, it made my love life (or lack of it as the case may be) seem so trivial. Plus, these problems were always resolved and put right, so there seemed hope for me yet!!

The only time Quantum Leap has left me feeling devastated and let down was the last episode – oh my god. How can Sam never leap home? It’s just not fair, after all the good he’s done. And what a crazy episode it was. I can’t really add much to that as it still riles me inside. If I hadn’t known he was married it wouldn’t have been such a tragedy.

But saying all that, how often are people bored with their lives and desperately seek new experiences? Sam I guess will never be bored because he’s still leaping about out there, making a difference. Now I can see your eyebrows raising and you’re thinking ‘what a nutter’ but I assure you I do know this is fiction but it’s fun to believe it’s real, aint it?!

Anyway this has been a lot deeper than I intended it to be and a lot deeper than my usual Rodettevision’s will be. I plan on doing a critique of particularly memorable Quantum Leaps and I promise to make it more light hearted than this one and I promise not to rant on about me. I’m looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks…I think, but don’t be too hard on me!