Episode
Adopted by: MikeKraken
Additional info provided by: Brian
Greene
Synopsis:
Working
on a chain gang in 1956, Sam and a wrongly accused black man named
Jasper escape together in Alabama only to be recaptured again. Sam must
find a way to prove Jasper's innocence to the corrupt warden as the
string of robberies continue.
TV Guide
Synopsis: Sam
is a fugitive on a chain gang along with a prisoner (Basil Wallace)
who's innocent of the robbery for which he's doing time. Cooley: J.C.
Quinn. Wiles: Don Sarks. Capt. Elias: Claude Earl Jones. Sam: Scott
Bakula. Al: Dean Stockwell.
Sam
leaps into Chance Terence Cole (leapee played by Mark Kemble), inmate
at Talawaga County Prison, in Mississippi, doing nine months for petty
theft. He is on a truck, being carried somewhere. There are many
prisoners in the truck, and he is handcuffed into a black man, Jasper
"Jazz" Boone (played by Basil Wallace), a black man doing 15 years for
armed robbery who, according to Al, has been unjustly imprisoned after
a jewelry store robbery. Boone and Cole had planned an escape, forcing
Sam to go along with it and attempting to find a way to keep them
hidden and Boone alive, being that he died in the original escape
attempt. Boss Cooley, (played by J.C. Quinn) the corrupt prison guard,
is in hot pursuit and due to Boone's claustrophobia, the two are
eventually recaptured.
Back in
custody, Boone finds himself in the punishment pit. Sam tries to
explain to him that it was Jake Wiles (played by Don Sparks) that was
the culprit in the rash of robberies that had been occurring, posing as
a black man which resulted in Boone being accused and convicted
wrongfully.
Later the next morning, Cooley is under orders of the Warden, Captain
Elias (played by Claude Earl Jones), to have the prisoners on a road
work detail. Sam, tries to explain to him that Wiles is the culprit in
the rash of robberies that have been occurring, but he won't listen, as
Wiles defensively, and adamantly denies involvement in the robberies,
saying to Elias, "Are you gonna listen to him!?".
Some time later, when Wiles's body is found nearby, murdered, and a bag
with $4000 is also found nearby, Cooley prepares to have the two square
off in what they call in prison terms a "cockfight", meaning a fight to
the death, of two inmates. Cooley, in trying to figure how Cole could
know about the robberies, had a stake in them, as he suspected moments
earlier when he sees Sam "talking to himself", as he's really
conversing with Al about the possibility of him having killed Wiles,
whom they would soon moments later, be found dead near the area where
the cockfight was to take place.
This is when Sam asks Cooley, as he asks the two "You two got any last
words?", "is that what you said to Jake Wiles before you shot him?".
Cooley responds "Too bad you're not gonna live to regret what you just
said, boy!"
It turns out that indeed, Cooley was the one who murdered Wiles, so
that he would not be exposed as a profiteering partner in the rash of
robberies that had been occurring, as he had confronted Wiles the night
before, as he made another grocery delivery to the camp.
Anyhow, just as Cooley gets the two to square off, Sam gets Boone to go
along with his plan to cause a distraction so that they could try still
another escape attempt, as he finds a snake in the pond which they were
tussling in and tossing it on another inmate, causing an uproar which
the other inmates disperse, as they are able to sneak off to where the
prison trucks are located, and start a fire by igniting the gas tank of
one of trucks and slip just ahead of his search team and dogs, as Al is
able to mislead them completely off the trail of Sam and Boone, but,
eventually, minutes later, Cooley, with his dog, manages to catch up
with them in a wooded area, just minutes away from the prison camp
border line.
Fortunately, unknown to Cooley, the convicts have one thing to their
advantage, Al. As a holographic guide, he is able to agitate the
Cooley's search dog, which can see him, as he shouts, "Hey, you stupid
mutt!" The dog lunges toward Al, causing Cooley to lose grip of the
leash and his shotgun, which fires accidentally. He falls several feet
into a nearby ditch, killing him instantly, which helps Sam and Boone
to escape easily from the camp and over to the Louisiana border, about
20 miles away. As Boone heads over a hilltop out of the state scott
free, Sam then leaps to his next mission. Source
Personal
Review by MikeKraken:
It's not
the first time that Sam has leaped into a criminal, and this
time, he's dressed for the part as he jumps from a prison truck chained
to Jazz Boon, a man who claims that he was framed for his crimes and is
now doing fifteen years for armed robbery and attempted murder,
recently charged with hitting a jewelery store in nearby Langston. Did
Jazz really do the crime, or is Sam there to make sure he doesn't do
the time?
Though
this isn't one of my favourites, it's still a good episode. I
like the story, though it doesn't have as much humour as some of the
other episodes, which gives it a sort of dark feeling. It gives insight
to the corruptness that probably existed (and maybe even still exists)
in some prisons such as these remote ones, and the feeling of justice
being served when Jazz becomes free.
Project Trivia:
Handlink: third version (colorful cubes/gummi bear)
Al Trivia: Al
is hanging around in the Imaging Chamber cross-legged (appearing to
float) before Sam and Boone arrive. This is unusual for him to do
unless he's scoping out women or investigating something.
Al
visits the local town to watch a robbery. This is unusual as well,
since the distance from Sam would have been significant to project in
the Imaging Chamber.
Al's Outfits
Worn in the Episode:
First appearance: dark-red and black leather jacket with snaps; white
dress shirt; dark-red dress pants; cigar.
Second, third, and fourth appearances: beige suede coat with
dark-brown highlights; yellowish-orange dress shirt; leapord-patterned
tie; lit cigar; black slacks; gold, glittery shoes; strangley-shaped
silvery pin on the left breast of his coat.
Fifth appearance: purple dress shirt; purple and black leather coat
with silver highlights; silver and black pendant in place of a tie;
cigar; light-colored pants.
Jazz's father "was a colored farmer from North Carolina" and his
mother was a pure-blood Muskokee, and both of them died when he was
very young, so he grew up with his maternal grandmother.
Louisiana is a bordering state with the county, but the state that
they're in is never mentioned. The original script placed this episode
in Arkansas.
This is
the only Quantum Leap episode with a completely male cast.
Regular Cast:
Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett
Dean Stockwell as Al Calavicci
Guest Stars:
Basil Wallace as Jasper "Jazz" Boone
J.C. Quinn as Boss Cooley
Claude Earl Jones as
Captain Elias
Don Sparks as Jake Wiles
Robert V. Barron as
Old Convict
Jed Mills as Monroe
Mark Kemble as Chance Terrance Cole (Mirror Image)
Basil Wallace as Jasper "Jazz" Boone: Basil
Wallace immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, West Indies with
his four siblings. They joined their parents in Brooklyn, New York
where Basil went to elementary and junior high school. The family then
moved to Long Island where he attended high school. It was while at
Hempstead High School that Basil knew for sure that he wanted a life in
the theater. He auditioned for a Broadway bound play, Front Page,
starring Henry Fonda, Estelle Parsons, and Robert Ryan. He won the
role. That experience sealed his future. He applied to Yale, New York
University (NYU) and Harvard. He was accepted to both Yale and NYU, but
chose NYU for both New York City and Lloyd Richards of famed A Raisin
in the Sun, who was teaching there at the time. That same summer he was
selected by Ellen Steward of La Mama ETC (Experimental Theatre Company)
to become a member of her theater. He is now a lifetime member. He
attended NYU for two years and while there he got his first
off-Broadway play, The Pig Pen at the American Place Theatre. His life
in the theatre had begun. For the next 20 years he worked as an actor,
director and writer in the theater. With La Mama, he was director in
residence for a year. As an actor, he also took 5 plays to the Italian
Theatre Festival under La Mama. Throughout those years he worked
off-Broadway, major regional theaters, and national tours. To keep his
craft sharp he continued to take private lessons at places like the
Negro Ensemble Company and The Players' Workshop where he eventually
taught. Wallace also taught theater aesthetics' for Lincoln Center for
ten years. He was the Director of Drama for school district 13 in the
Bronx, NY, and Director of Mini-Mobile Theatre for two years. He was
one of the founding members and artistic director for its first year of
the Caribbean American Repertory Theatre. He was also director of the
Yard Bird Players for three years. In 1990, Basil decided to move
to Los Angeles to pursue acting in films. He auditioned for the film
Marked for Death and got the leading role. He has been working in both
film and television since then. Some movie credits to his name are
Grand Canyon, The Wood, Free Willy 2, Return of the Living Dead 3,
Caught Up, Deadlock, and Blood Diamond. For television, you've seen him
in episodes of West Wing, Judging Amy, The Pretender, Any Day Now, and
NYPD Blue. Since moving to "Hollywood," Basil has started JaCuBas Films
for the development of new product.
J.C. Quinn as Boss Cooley: J.C.
Quinn was born on November 30, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
He was an actor, known for Maximum Overdrive (1986), The Abyss (1989)
and Days of Thunder (1990). He died on February 10, 2004 in Mexico.
Claude Earl Jones as
Captain Elias: Claude
Earl Jones was born on April 29, 1933 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. He was
an actor, known for Miracle Mile (1988), Bride of Re-Animator (1990)
and Battlestar Galactica (1978). He was married to Nancy Langdon. He
died on November 25, 2019 in Claremont, California, USA.
Don Sparks as Jake Wiles: After
playing in various rock bands in his teens, Don apprenticed for three
years as an actor with the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, where he got
his Equity card when he was twenty. He's had a long association with
that Tony Award-winning theater and in 1994 was made an Associate
Artist by then-Artistic Director, Jack O'Brien. In 2018 he created the
role of "JD" in the Broadway musical, "Escape To Margaritaville," also
doing the pre-Broadway tour and singing on the original cast album. He
made his Broadway debut playing the "Skipper" in "Take Me Out," the
Tony Award-winner for Best Play of 2003. Don has done over thirty
leading roles with the Old Globe, as well as working at many of the top
regional theaters including the Mark Taper Forum, Williamstown, the
Long Wharf, the Geffen, Ariizona Theatre Company, South Coast Rep,
Berkshire Theatre Festival, as well as many productions across Canada.
Don is also a published songwriter who performs his own songs in clubs
and coffee houses. His wife Claudia is a busy voice and dialect coach.
They live in the Wallkill Valley in New York with their two dogs, Riley
and Scout.
Robert V. Barron as
Old Convict: Tall,
gaunt, rawboned character actor with deep voice, reminiscent of John
Carradine. Formal education at Morris Harvey College in Charleston,
West Virginia and as Theater Arts major at UCLA. Professional training
at American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and at Max
Reinhardt Workshop in Los Angeles. Before attacking Hollywood, he spent
several years working in regional theaters from one end of the US to
the other, and had built an impressive resume of glowing reviews of his
performances in such roles as "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Abe Lincoln in
Illinois", "Sir Thomas More" in "A Man For All Seasons", "Henry
Drummond" in "Inherit The Wind", "Richard III" and the like, but he was
never offered such lofty challenges in films or television. Still, he
didn't languish, but instead relished every chance he was given to play
for the camera, whether in a quality major studio production or the
cheesiest of no-budget fly-by-night productions. When he wasn't acting,
he uncovered his typewriter and cranked out teleplays and movie
scripts. Perhaps his best-remembered television script was his first, a
lighthearted comedy episode of the Bonanza (1959) series, titled Hoss
and the Leprechauns (1963). As a writer, he drifted into adapting
English-dubbing scripts of foreign films. American producers began
buying successful Japanese animated series and dubbing them into
English, and Barron was a pioneer in that industry, which grew rapidly
and enormously. He became executive director and story editor for
"Saban Productions", which in the course of five years became one of
the largest producers of children's programming in the world, with such
shows as X-Men: The Animated Series (1992) and Mighty Morphin Power
Rangers (1993). He played Abraham Lincoln in four different
productions: Love and the Ghost/Love and the Out-of-Town Client/Love
and the Secret Habit (1972), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
(1989), Honest Evie (1989) and Psychic 2000 (1991).
Jed Mills as Monroe:
Jed Mills was born on January 12, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He
is an actor, known for Casino (1995), Twin Peaks (1990) and Quantum
Leap (1989).
Mark Kemble as Chance Terrance Cole (Mirror Image): Mark
Kemble was born on August 21, 1953 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He
was an actor and writer, known for Bad Hurt (2015), Race (1998) and The
Hanoi Hilton (1987). He died on August 14, 2023 in Los Angeles,
California, USA.
Guests Who Appeared in Other Episodes of Quantum Leap:
Brian J. Williams was
an uncredited stunt double for Michael Kemmerling in "Another Mother",
uncredited stunt double for J.C. Quin in "Unchained", played Cadet #2 in "Running For
Honor" and played Drowning Veteran in "Nowhere to Run."
Say
What? Boone’s mouth moves but he doesn't say
anything after he and Sam escape the first time by the river.
How does Al smell skunk when he isn't
physically in Sam's environment?
The wrong sound effect is used when Al
leaves (the relocating effect).
You can see Al unsettle some sand as he walks with Sam.
Who would have the best reason to kill Jake? Oh! Does he have any ex-wives... -- Sam and Al, "Unchained"
You know, it's funny, if I wasn't a hologram, I could swear I could smell skunk. -- Al, "Unchained"
Gee Sam, it kind of looks like you're dressed up for hard time. This is the latest thing in prison escapes. It looks more like a chain gang. Thank you, Dr. Watson. -- Al and Sam, "Unchained"
You gotta find out who the real guy is then get me the information so I can get it to people who can do something about it. Yah, and if I had blond hair and I could sing, I'd be Madonna. -- Sam and Al, "Unchained"
Doggie, doggie, doggie... we got chicken flavor right this way! -- Al, "Unchained"
If I'd have known I'd have to do this much running, I would have worn my cross training shoes. -- Al, "Unchained"
Geez Sam, what are they giving you to eat here? Road kill? -- Al, "Unchained"
Unless we sprout wings, we're gonna die here now. There's always a way. We just need a little help, that's all. You talkin' about Al? I heard you talkin' to him last night. -- Sam and Boone, "Unchained"
Do you think Al likes snow? I don't remember, I don't think I ever asked him. -- Boone and Sam, "Unchained"
...Find me some place with a lot of space--not too many people around, settle down. Maybe you and Al could come and visit. That'd be nice. I'd like that. -- Boone and Sam, "Unchained"
Sam--cock fight is Southern prison slang for a fight between two prisoners. To the *death*. -- Al, "Unchained"
Hey,
Cooley, look at this. There's gotta be a couple of thousand
dollars here. I be damned if the grocery business isn't something
I otta look into. -- Monroe, "Unchained"
I guess that rules out robbery. Which leaves only 999 other motives, Al. -- Al and Sam, "Unchained"
Hey, tell Al good bye for me. He can hear ya! Thanks Al! -- Boone and Sam, "Unchained"
Sam, that was incredible, you made Houdini look like a piker. -- Al, on Sam's underwater escape, "Unchained"
Best Line:
Sam: "Who would have the best reason to kill Jake?"
Al: "Ooo! Does he have any ex-wives?"
Best Scene:
I suppose the best scene, for me, is the final one, the good-bye scene.
It's neat that Al gets personal thanks from one of the people that Sam
and Al helped!
Production Credits:
Theme by: Mike Post Music by: Velton Ray Bunch Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt Co-Executive Producer: Michael Zinberg Supervising Producer: Harker Wade Produced by: Jeff Gourson, Tommy Thompson Produced by: Chris Ruppenthal, Paul Brown Created by: Donald P. Bellisario
Written
by: Paris Qualles
Directed
by: Michael Watkins
Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario Associate Producers:Julie Bellisario, James S. Giritlian Coordinating Producer: David Bellisario Director of Photography:Michael Watkins, A.S.C. Production Designer:Cameron Birnie Edited
by: M. Edward Salier A.C.E., Jon Koslowsky, A.C.E. Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow First Assistant Director:Ryan Gordon Second Assistant Director:Kate Yurka Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac Costume Supervisor: David Rawley Art Director:Ellen Dambros-Williams Sound Mixer:Barry D. Thomas Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth Sound Editor:Greg Schorer Music Editor: Bruce Frazier
Special
Visual Effects: Roger Dorney, Denny Kelly
Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®
This
motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other
countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may
result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.
The
characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any
similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Bellisarius Productions and Universal, an MCA Company
Podcasts:
Quantum Leap Podcast - Unchained
Listen to The Quantum Leap Podcast
on this episode here:
Cast off your shackles because it’s time for Unchained!
Listen as Quantum Leap Podcast hosts Allison Pregler, Matt Dale and
Christopher DeFilippis do hard time with Sam, as he becomes a fugitive
from a chain gang who must find justice for an innocent man.
Then stick around for an extended feedback segment that includes gags, goofs and even some Quantum filk!
Let us know what you think!
Leave us a voicemail by calling (707) 847-6682.
Send in your thoughts, theories, and feedback, voice memos, MP3s & email to quantumleappodcast@gmail.com.
Also,
join us on Facebook.com/QuantumLeapPodcast and
Twitter.com/QuantumLeapPod and as a patron receive bonus and exclusive
content by signing up here… www.patreon.com/QuantumLeapPodcast.
