Top 10 Worst Episodes of Quantum Leap

[leaper]

Originally Posted by Sam Beckett Fan

Ok, I will try, but it may be a little hard for me to come up with ten:
1.) Triogies (all three)
2.) The Last Gunfighter
3.) Heart of a Champion
4.) Last Dance Before an Excution (Except I do like the scene where Al gets the little girl to help him talk to the layer woman)
5.) Goodbye Norma Jean

thats all I can come up with right now because I have other that arn't my favorites but I wouldn't call them my least favorites eaither. That list is in no partiular order by the way.

is there any a particualr reason that you dont like that episode last dance before an execution??i mean for me its one of the best episodes in the show and i d never looked at it it as the one of the worsts.Its moving and tragic in the end as for the very first time sam DOEsNT SAVE the leapies life and also shows how cruel and unhuman is the death penalty.Regardless what you think about this kind of law

[Snish]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

You have Al and Dr. Ruth (I had to close my eyes and ears during that scene),

And I love those scenes. To me they're the reason to watch the episode, which I don't find compelling otherwise. Although Scott's tush in that dress is... eye-catching.

[SamBeckett94]

I liked parts of the episode Dr. Ruth (like the scene with Al's councelling), but I didn't like the story that much.
I think season5 was the worst of the QL series. I think they went too far with all this mind merging. I like the idea, but they really jumped to all this mind merging, and it was used too much. That's what I think, anyway.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by SamBeckett94

I think season5 was the worst of the QL series.

Well, I don't agree. The last season of any series (especially with such a controversial ending) always gets the shaft amongst fans. For me Season 4 would have to be the weakest of all the QL Seasons. There just isn't much there to recommend. It also features the most cliché stories in a single season (rape, KKK, fan-kidnapping, estranged father etc.).

I would say that Season 3 and Season 5 are the strongest seasons, while Season 1 is also quite good (but only as the 8 episodes, so less danger of a duffer). Season 3 has a good variation of stories, while Season 5 takes a dark route in exploring new grounds (which is the biggest reason for the dislike of this season; it tinkers with the format and longtime fans don't like that). Which is funny, as my number 1 on this very list also comes from Season 3

Originally Posted by SamBeckett94

I think they went too far with all this mind merging.

So I take it that you didn't like Shock Theater either? And the only real mind merging happened in LHO and Return of the Evil Leaper (the others were physical treats he took over).

[LadyKayoss]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

Well, what is there left to say about this episode? Apart from the celebrity leap (which doesn't bother me as a rule; the marilyn monroe episode was very good) the whole leap itself was very mediocre to me. And the script was a mess. You have Al and Dr. Ruth (I had to close my eyes and ears during that scene), the lovebirds, a murder waiting to happen (which was sssooooo Murder She Wrote). And none of these plotlines felt relevant in any kind of way. There was no real sense of urgency to it. I don't usually agree with the general fans of the series, but if you get this episode presented to you there is no defence that I could come up with.

You make some good points with this one. The only part I really enjoyed was the leap-in, where Sam is asked all those awkward questions. It's a wonder he didn't die of embarrassment!

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Originally Posted by Snish

And I love those scenes. To me they're the reason to watch the episode, which I don't find compelling otherwise. Although Scott's tush in that dress is... eye-catching.

I completely agree. I love Dr. Ruth Sam is adorable in the Dr. Ruth dress and how he was so embrassed to answer the questions when h first leaps in. I also particularly feel bad for him when he's closing off an episode:
"Next we'll be getting into common male sexual disfuntions like premature...premature...ah well we'll talk about a lot of stuff next time on Frank Talk About Sex"
Awww poor Sam. I just want to hug him.
I also loved the Al and Dr. Ruth conversations, the first time Kristen and I saw it we laughed so hard that we missed all of Al's funny words for breasts and had to rewind and try not to laugh again so we could hear. lol.
I also love the car hopping scene when Sam has to get to Annie quickly.

Originally Posted by leaper

is there any a particualr reason that you dont like that episode last dance before an execution??i mean for me its one of the best episodes in the show and i d never looked at it it as the one of the worsts.Its moving and tragic in the end as for the very first time sam DOEsNT SAVE the leapies life and also shows how cruel and unhuman is the death penalty.Regardless what you think about this kind of law

Basically because it's real sad and it's scary poor Sam.
it's a good episode as far as the story goes though.

Originally Posted by sambeckett94

I think season5 was the worst of the QL series.

agreed wholeheartedly. Season five was when the new NBC guy came in and all he cared about was the ratings and saving money so he threw in thr evil leapers and had to cut a lot of Al's appearences down to just producing the sound of teh imaging chamber off screen to keep to a budget. Plus he moved the show up in the time slot which put it in conflict with Full House then he turns around and throws the evil leapers in because he's afraid of losing ratings, yet he put them at that issue! sheesh. Even Don agrees that its a bad season if you read "Another Time, Another Place." Plus they go a little far with the celebrity leaps, like Elvis for example. Memphis Melody was a ball of fun and Scott does a mighty sexy Elvis impersonation, but for the particular thing he was there for, there was no necessity for him to leap into Elvis. They could have done that episode with a different host cuz having him be Elvis was a little cheesy even if he did do a sexy job of it. Plus there was the whole Marlyin Monroe leap. I never even got that leap, was he there to stop that con chick or what? I thought he was supposed to make sure that she could make her last movie but i could swear he mentioned that he saw the film which means she did it fine without him. But maybe I am wrong. That and I don't know, the whole thing where there was a scene that De Ja Voused One Strobe Over the Line (good episode) and that whole thing with the con chick, it just didn't appeal to me.

Now I will admit that there were great episodes in Season five that seemed to keep a lot of the QL goodness such as Nowhere to Run, Liberation and the Beast Within (except for the end, the end was really cheesy and very season five :P) and a few more but most of the episodes in season five just lost the QL goodness feeling that the rest of the seasons had. Even Debrah Pratt agreed along with her husband that it was bad. She even refused to write for it with the exception of the Trilogies but that was only because she wanted to write them anyway because she liked the idea of chucking Donna and giving him a relationship in a leap (Bleh, sorry Debrah no offense, its just the idea not you, its like Sam said in Liberation, Don't confuse people and Ideas).

[JuliaM]

I thought he was supposed to make sure that she could make her last movie but i could swear he mentioned that he saw the film which means she did it fine without him.

I believe Sam mentions that it was "Some Like It Hot" that was his favorite Marilyn Monroe Movie. The last movie she made was "The Misfits". The name of that movie is mentioned until the very end when Al tells Sam that's what the movie she's involved in at the time is renamed.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Ah, ok only saw it twice. I like to give them all a second chance but this is the first time that it didn't work because I still don't care for it.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by Sam Beckett Fan

I but most of the episodes in season five just lost the QL goodness feeling that the rest of the seasons had.

As I already said, some fans just didn't like the darker episodes.

Originally Posted by Sam Beckett Fan

Even Debrah Pratt agreed along with her husband that it was bad.

She is a precog?



P.S. LHO, Killin' Time, Trilogy, A Tale of Two Sweeties, Dr. Ruth, Blood Moon, Return of the Evil Leaper, Good-bye Norma Jean, The Beast Within. All are S5 episodes which featured a lot of Al.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Originally Posted by grimlock

She is a precog?

Excuse me?

[bluedana]

This is just my opinion, but I guess your pattern theory applies to me, Grimlock. I don't particularly enjoy the episode that try too hard to be funny. Like, I cannot watch Stand Up. At all. But if there's an underlying dark thread to it, like A Tale Of Two Sweeties or The Wrong Stuff, it's better for me. And if it's completely two-hankie tragic, like Shock Theatre or even Goodbye Norma Jean, I'm all over it.

Some of my least favourites are:

Stand Up (unfunny and dumb)
Dr. Ruth (unfunny, pointless and dumb)
Beast Within (boring)
The Play's the Thing (cringeworthy - I'm embarrassed for all of the characters, but I like the daughter in law's wardrobe)
It's a Wonderful Leap (I'm sorry, but I mute Angela when she sings)
Heart of a Champion (boring, except for the last ring fight)
Good Morning Peoria (way to force the chemistry there)
Runaway (much better done in Liberation)

But the only one I'll totally skip in a marathon is Stand Up.

By the way, Unchained is loosely based on a Sidney Poitier/Tony Curtis movie called The Defiant Ones, and A Single Drop of Rain is based loosely on the Burt Lancaster/Katharine Hepburn film The Rainmaker. Both really terrific films.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by bluedana

This is just my opinion, but I guess your pattern theory applies to me, Grimlock. I don't particularly enjoy the episode that try too hard to be funny. Like, I cannot watch Stand Up. At all. But if there's an underlying dark thread to it, like A Tale Of Two Sweeties or The Wrong Stuff, it's better for me. And if it's completely two-hankie tragic, like Shock Theatre or even Goodbye Norma Jean, I'm all over it.

Well, I wouldn't say that Stand Up has a dark thread in it, but it is far from a total comedy episode (an episode about comedy doesn't always mean that the comedy in it should be perceived as such). A Tale of Two Sweeties has a dark thread to it? What? The fact that he steals money from his kids? I would call that sad, but not dark.

Originally Posted by bluedana

Some of my least favourites are:

Stand Up (unfunny and dumb)
Dr. Ruth (unfunny, pointless and dumb)
Beast Within (boring)
The Play's the Thing (cringeworthy - I'm embarrassed for all of the characters, but I like the daughter in law's wardrobe)
It's a Wonderful Leap (I'm sorry, but I mute Angela when she sings)
Heart of a Champion (boring, except for the last ring fight)
Good Morning Peoria (way to force the chemistry there)
Runaway (much better done in Liberation)

Great choices. Apart from Stand Up and The Beast Within (see my other list) I agree with them all (obviously, as they are all on this list ).

[Grimlock]

1.





Southern Comforts


Honestly, I don't remember a single interesting fact about this episode. Boring, slow, uninteresting characters. Sexy girls do not an episode make. It sticks out very unfavourably compared to the great Season 3 as a whole.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Originally Posted by grimlock

Sexy girls do not an episode make.

obviously I agree with this seeing as I AM a girl. But I think this episode is sweet and funny. I love it.

[bluedana]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

Well, I wouldn't say that Stand Up has a dark thread in it, but it is far from a total comedy episode (an episode about comedy doesn't always mean that the comedy in it should be perceived as such).

It has cream pie throwing at the end. That's enough for me. But really, to me, it tries way too hard for funny, and misses by a country mile.

A Tale of Two Sweeties has a dark thread to it? What? The fact that he steals money from his kids? I would call that sad, but not dark.

I look at it from the perspective of these families are going to be torn apart no matter which one Sam chooses, and it's one of the few episodes where the Leapee is just not a good person.

I also dislike Temptation Eyes (which puts me in the minority here, I know, I'm horribly un-romantic) which is dark, but is just an excuse for Sam's two week sex vacation.

[ziggysego]

There has only been one episode I didn't like and that was The Last Gunfighter.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Originally Posted by ziggysego

There has only been one episode I didn't like and that was The Last Gunfighter.

Lol a lot of us seem to agree on that one. Ladykaoss, Grimlock, bluedana you and myself.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by Sam Beckett Fan

Lol a lot of us seem to agree on that one. Ladykaoss, Grimlock, bluedana you and myself.

Well, let's just say that it DID fail to make this list. I'm indifferent towards it (I don't have the tendency to skip it while watching the show on DVD; like I do with the episodes that ARE on this list).

[Al's Handlink]

I am not a big fan of Blood Moon, nor am I a fan of Roberto, The Beast Within, or Thou Shalt Not. One episode that I was never really fond of and have not seen here yet is Dreams.

That one freaked me out when I was a kid. I can watch it easier now and I appreciate the way it tries to go for the gross out factor, but it is still not one of my favorites.

Some of the episodes mentioned in here are favorites of mine however. Trilogy Part 3 is one of my favorites and I really like the idea of Sam being Sammie Jo's Father. Because, think about this. If Sam had not fathered Sammie Jo, when he died, that is the end of his line. We were never told about him ever having a kid with Donna, so would you rather he not have a child at all. I personally think that someone as good and smart as Sam, it would be a shame to not pass that on to the next generation.

Trilogy part 2 was definatly the weakest of the Trilogy eps though.


But I thouroughly enjoyed Pool Hall Blues and Good Morning Pioria. And someone mentioned the ep where Sam leaped into a young Al (A Leap for Lisa) Personally, that is my all time favorite. Shock Theater was great too.

[bluedana]

Originally Posted by Sam Beckett Fan

Lol a lot of us seem to agree on that one. Ladykaoss, Grimlock, bluedana you and myself.

Hey, I never said I disliked The Last Gunfighter. Sam in Western wear saves that one for me.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Originally Posted by Al's Handlink

I am not a big fan of Blood Moon, nor am I a fan of Roberto, The Beast Within, or Thou Shalt Not. One episode that I was never really fond of and have not seen here yet is Dreams.

That one freaked me out when I was a kid. I can watch it easier now and I appreciate the way it tries to go for the gross out factor, but it is still not one of my favorites.

Some of the episodes mentioned in here are favorites of mine however. Trilogy Part 3 is one of my favorites and I really like the idea of Sam being Sammie Jo's Father. Because, think about this. If Sam had not fathered Sammie Jo, when he died, that is the end of his line. We were never told about him ever having a kid with Donna, so would you rather he not have a child at all. I personally think that someone as good and smart as Sam, it would be a shame to not pass that on to the next generation.

Trilogy part 2 was definatly the weakest of the Trilogy eps though.


But I thouroughly enjoyed Pool Hall Blues and Good Morning Pioria. And someone mentioned the ep where Sam leaped into a young Al (A Leap for Lisa) Personally, that is my all time favorite. Shock Theater was great too.

Dreams Creeped me out too at first but that's why I believe in Second chances, with the exception of Goodbye Norma Jean they never fail to change my mind.

Another one that creeped me out before Kristen forced the second chance on me because she wanted to see it and her mom would not watch that ep is Shock Theater. It's just so sad, and the shock thing is creepy. But after the second chance, I now like it, although I still find it sad.

Originally Posted by bluedana

Hey, I never said I disliked The Last Gunfighter. Sam in Western wear saves that one for me.

Sorry I thought I saw it on your list but looking back, that was Heart of a Champion, an ep that's right up there with it on Krtisten's and my list.

[LadyKayoss]

Originally Posted by bluedana

Hey, I never said I disliked The Last Gunfighter. Sam in Western wear saves that one for me.

That's basically my opinion, too. And I thought it was cute when Sam was drunk and hungover.

[Sam Beckett Fan]

Originally Posted by LadyKayoss

That's basically my opinion, too. And I thought it was cute when Sam was drunk and hungover.

Lol, totally, thats the only part of the ep that Kristen and I LOVE! Poor Sam. He was also adorable the next morning with his hangover. I wouldn't say the cowboy outfit was his thing though. Just IMO.

[Anorak]

I'd have to watch them all again, but off the top of my head, I always found some episodes just skippable rather than actively bad. Even one of the "bad" episodes I last saw (the Evil Leaper one) I found incredibly entertaining, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.

I remember, way back, catching Piano Man with a friend and being disappointed as we were hyped up for a new episode. My friend said to me "if there weren't bad episodes, then you wouldn't have good episodes." At the time it sounded like the dumbest thing I'd ever head, but, years later, I kind of get what he meant.

[Lightning McQueenie]

Having read your Bottom 10, I actually disagree with a lot of the list. For me, first and foremost, the episode has to be entertaining, and I was entertained by a lot of those episodes.

What I will say is that every episode of Quantum Leap has good features, and we should focus on the positives. So I will list a positive for each episode too.
I've never ranked my least favourite episodes before, but if I had to list ten of them (in no particular order)...

Blood Moon: Sam actually does not affect the resolution that saves his host's wife's life, it was from a random act of nature. Much of the conversation was boring and inconsequential - many could have been removed and not affected the story at all. The saving graces of this episode are the hilarious banter from AL, and the acting of the woman who played Lady Covington.