108 Play It Again, Seymour

[MO]

This episode is kinda "meh" for me. The costumes and sets are wonderful, but the storyline and dialogue just don't reach out and grab me. Maybe I'm just not a fan of old noir murder mysteries.

Though the look that Al gives when Lionel shoots through him did make me snicker.

This episode gets an "Average" rating from me.

[chris-oates]

Astonished to see that I voted average for this one 6 years ago. Either I was drunk or half asleep. I would never probably vote any episode of Quantum Leap as poor, as I don't think any episode truly is... But this one pushes me close. In fact, just for the sake of saying I will have used every ranking at least once, I'm going to class this one as poor. I can overlook badly written or uninteresting stories, and end up classing them as fair. But when an episode messes Sam up without reason, it becomes poor.

There are so many, many things I dislike about this episode. I hate the slang. I just can't stand it. The way that Seymour speaks is especially grating. I have never been a fan of film noir, so this episode was probably never going to appeal to me. The reason for the leap is again poor. Just to launch Seymour's career? Really? It just feels all wrong. Unfortunately, though, I haven't got to the worst part yet... And that's the way Sam's character is butchered.

From the moment he looks at Allison...he's hooked. Within the first few seconds of seeing her we just sense that he wants to get his leg over, basically. Lol. Throughout the episode he's acting like Al, and it's just not like him at all. I mean, as a straight guy, I can understand a man falling for her. Allison is one of the hottest female characters in the entire series. But Sam is often surrounded by a bevy of beauties, and he never acts like this. Snapping at Al and desperately trying to board the plane at the end just comes across like a different character. The way he treats Seymour towards the end is also unlike him. Thankfully, he does apologise to both Al and Seymour, but on the whole he just doesn't seem like Sam Beckett throughout this episode. And no mind merging is ever mentioned, so we're just supposed to believe this is how he would react in such a situation... Anyway, rant over.

As always, though, this episode is not a total loss (as no episode of this glorious show ever is). Some of the humour does work occasionally, and the apology scene in the cab with Sam and Al is a nice little scene.

My rating. Poor (despite already voting average 6 years ago for some insane reason). The worst episode of the entire series, IMO. A bad way to end the first season.

[servo75]

Originally Posted by chris-oates

But Sam is often surrounded by a bevy of beauties, and he never acts like this. Snapping at Al and desperately trying to board the plane at the end just comes across like a different character. The way he treats Seymour towards the end is also unlike him. Thankfully, he does apologise to both Al and Seymour, but on the whole he just doesn't seem like Sam Beckett throughout this episode. And no mind merging is ever mentioned, so we're just supposed to believe this is how he would react in such a situation...

This episode did seem very un-Sam-like. You also didn't mention the fact he was smoking a cigarette! And as far as the lingo goes, that's what made this episode uniquely entertaining for me, even though I don't normally like that kind of film-noir type piece it made for a good episode. And it was early in the series, I think the writers (and Bakula himself) were still trying to figure out who Sam is.


I remember in the pilot episode, all those crazy answers Sam gave to the questionnaire, like being expelled from college for streaking... The first season was definitely not the best but considering that, there were a few gems, like this one and How the Tess Was Won.