Comment about Shock Theater.

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-23-2005, 06:14 PM

i am watching this episode just now and i was quite taken aback by something. now, i happen to have some leftover knowledge from psycology class this past year, and we saw a movie, a non-fiction video about people who suffer multiple personality dsiorder, and the first pacient was a man named Gary who was triggered to the diagnosis after losing his first daughter to cancer. he woke up one morning claiming to be a woman named Mary, and when he was examined by a psycologist they were at first misdiagnosing it as gender idenitiy disorder, until about i think it was six months later, he developed the second personality of an infant. so i was just surprised in the beginning of Shock Theature, when Sam fills his empty valley by first becoming Samantha Stormer, that doctor masters and wickman(whatever that white bearded doctors name is) did not want to at first diagnose it as gender identity disorder. becasue usually in real life that is what would happen. at least i think. thats what i remember from class?

i was not ganna post this becaause i know it seems like a silly thing to post about, but i could not help it. this just caught my interest for some reason, and i have been thinking about this for a while.

QL Nut · 06-23-2005, 06:38 PM

That's an interesting question, and no it's not silly. I think why this wasn't the case was because Sam (or Samantha) showed evidence of living an entire life and in the future, no less. This wasn't a case of simply a man acting like a different gender; Sam was describing people, problems and where he lived. It wasn't just a different gender, it was a different life altogether coupled with a new personality. Not only that, but Sam didn't start acting this way until after the shock treatment, which, to the doctors, could have been the cause for his behavior.

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-23-2005, 07:09 PM

oh yeah that's true huh? i forgot to consiter that

i also had another question. at the end after nurse Chapmen reveals that it was Butch and not the white beareded doctor that admistered Sam's first shock session, Dr. Masters and Butch engage in an argument. during this time, Nurse Chapmen is looking repeatedly from Sam to the two argueing men, not knowing what to do. Sam then pleads, still in the Jimmy voice, "save jimmy" and then swiches to "save Sam....200" and nurse Chapmen answers that 200 is too high and Sam repsonds my saying "time all gone" and she reacts by gasping softly "oh god!"
now obviously, he meant this in the sense that he was going to lose Al, but of course she did not know that, so what meaning could she have made of his saying "time all gone"?

QL Nut · 06-23-2005, 07:17 PM

Well, I don't think she necessarily paid attention to certain things Sam said like, "time all gone," but that she was more caught up by the situation. After Sam got completely out of control, Dr. Masters ordered the second shock treatment. So, even though the doctor was sidetracked arguing with Butch, the nurse was just following the doctor's order. And of course the doctor gave the order because he felt it was an emergency. The nurse was under pressure so she was easily persuaded by Sam acting like a lunatic.

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-23-2005, 07:18 PM

hmm, interesting. thats makes sense. man, sometimes i wonder why i don't think of these things myself. it kinda makes me feel..dumb.

QL Nut · 06-23-2005, 07:29 PM

No problem.

Don't feel bad that you don't think of every single little reason behind some of the dialogue in the show, SamBeckettfann. I missed so many things when I first saw the series myself. Don't forget that you're mostly talking to people who have seen every episode many times over a 10-year period of time, not weeks. Certain things you just inadvertently pick up with time.

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-23-2005, 07:31 PM

oh yeah, and ahh, it kinda pintches a nerve to be reminded that i am like the only one here who hasn't seen the whole series yet. i have however seen seasons one through three countless times. like i said somewhere else. for the past almost month now, i have been watching nothing BUT QL. yes i know i am

QL Nut · 06-23-2005, 07:36 PM

What I mean exactly is that most of us pick up on a lot of these things because we're able to look at the big picture. You could watch the episodes over & over with a fine tooth comb and pick up things here and there, but having seen the entire series, it's easier to look back on it as a whole and piece together all the facts. Sorry, don't mean to rub it in!

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-23-2005, 07:43 PM

yeah i guess so.

McDuck · 06-23-2005, 07:57 PM

I've said it before, I'll say it again...I almost envy you as you're discovering QL for the first time. I remember when I did.

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-23-2005, 08:01 PM

envy? why? what's so great about it?
ah, never mind, i can kinda see. it's like an adventure.
but the truth is, i envy YOU! i wish i had started watching it when it started, ah, even if i was almost three years old. hehe.

sorry if i sounded annoying in my last post. you just sounded kinda annoyed there jennie

McDuck · 06-23-2005, 08:12 PM

I wasn't annoyed....cross my heart.

And yes...you hit the envy on the head...it *is* like an adventure.

Oh...and I didn't catch it when it first started. I didn't get into QL until 1994, during the summer.

In fact, it's kind of a funny story....we didn't get USA in the dorms, and it wasn't until the night before I was going back to school that I realized I could've been taping the eps. So the only one I had was the Bermuda Triangle one (from 4th or 5th season)....I can't tell you how many times I watched it...until the first break when I was able to tape more.

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-23-2005, 08:19 PM

that's still better than i can say for me. hehe. i got into it earlier THIS year. and USA. it aired on USA? i did not know that, oh please jennie, tell me it still airs there, becasue USA i know i get!

DeadZoneLeaper · 06-24-2005, 12:36 AM

USA was showing the first 4 seasons in syndication back around '92 or '93...I remember watching it at 7pm in the dorm tv/rec lounge before putting on Simpsons or Trek:TNG at 8PM depending on the day...Then in '94 USA had all 5 seasons because I remember one day they showed the cliffhanger from Season 4 with Sam leaping into Lee Harvey Oswald and I was expecting Genesis Part I the next day (like they always did) and then to my surprise the next day was Oswald Part I. As soon as all Season 5 eps were done, I taped them all the next go-round...and as my tapes show, a full hour of WIngs was on at 6 because I always seemed to get the ending credits for that show before the QL episodes started...

USA doesn't air them anymore, check sci-fi channel..I know they aired an episode late at night for a while...some days, Sci-Fi has a QL marathon from 8-4 just have to catch the right day

As to why the doctors didn't seem to want to diagnose Sam with a particular disorder, perhaps it had to do with the time period Sam was in...maybe at that time, the disorder wasn't something doctors knew to look for or was a new field of study...just a guess...

Al's Handlink · 06-24-2005, 02:59 AM

Yeah, I started watrching it on USA too. I didn't even know it was on NBC until they were ready to air the Finale

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-24-2005, 09:44 PM

Quote:

USA doesn't air them anymore, check sci-fi channel.

i did, i did everything in my power, but i have just given it up. i don't have sci-fi.

06-27-2005, 11:15 AM

Shock Theatre is AWESOME!!!

I love the rap song Al sings to teach the kid the alphabet...

"You're a loony tune in a big white room and I'm a hologram from the future...

I'm steppin' fast back into the past and I'm saying I'm pleased to meet you..."

CLASSIC!

Sam Beckett Fan · 06-27-2005, 06:11 PM

i agree naggin dragon.
although this is one episode that i wish would ,make me cry, especially during the second shock treatment, because i just found that really cruel and sad how they used the shock back then.

Nytrydr · 12-13-2006, 11:20 PM

Shock theatre is a totally awesome ep. What got me, in Autralia anyway, was that QL had been pushed around from pillar to post in the primetime slots. They show Shock Theatre, which has the best cliffhanger nextleap, where you think "Oh crap - he's home" and then we got like nothing for 2 years

!! When it did come back it was like 11pm on (I could be wrong, but I don't think so) a different channel. Keep in mind that in Australia at that point, there was no cable or satelite TV at all. The internet was crap. You literally could not get any episodes. I was furious, dead set furious. Then, when I eventually saw The Leap Back, it was heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time -almost, and I say almost worth the wait

.

Sam (to Donna) "How many times has Al saved my life?"
Ziggy (interrupting) "23"

Man, I still get peoplebumps thnking about it.

Nytrydr · 12-13-2006, 11:26 PM

Oh, and don't worry about having not seen em all - I probly havent either and I've been a fan since the start (well in Aust) - I can't even get Season 5 on DVD here yet.Dammit

jmellissa · 12-14-2006, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QL Nut

Well, I don't think she necessarily paid attention to certain things Sam said like, "time all gone," but that she was more caught up by the situation. After Sam got completely out of control, Dr. Masters ordered the second shock treatment. So, even though the doctor was sidetracked arguing with Butch, the nurse was just following the doctor's order. And of course the doctor gave the order because he felt it was an emergency. The nurse was under pressure so she was easily persuaded by Sam acting like a lunatic.

What has ways gotten me about this episode is that Sam couldn't remember Al as he changed into the different people. My thought is when Sam was (in real time) he knew who Al was. Why couldn't he remember who Al was. Or am I not understanding something?

Julie.

Al The Observer · 12-14-2006, 06:56 AM

I think that what happened was the minds of the people Sam had previously leapt into, took over Sam's mind. They didn't know Al, so Sam (with their minds in control) wouldn't know Al, either.

That's the way I see it, anyway.

jmellissa · 12-14-2006, 08:27 AM

But how would Timmy know that Sam or Al was "All out of time"? Now I know I am missing somthing.

JuliaM · 12-14-2006, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmellissa

But how would Timmy know that Sam or Al was "All out of time"? Now I know I am missing somthing.

Because Sam knew. At that moment Sam broke through enough to realize he was out of time. It also happens briefly earlier when he thinks he's Tom Stratton. Just after Al leaves Sam shows some recognition and looks around the room asking for Al and for that brief moment he's Sam again.

bluedana · 12-14-2006, 10:49 AM

That's such a heartbreaking moment, because at that point Sam is there, too, but he doesn't have control of the body, Jimmy's personality does. Jimmy can't communicate his needs (all he can say is "Give shocker! Time all gone..."), but Sam remembers being shocked - that's not something Jimmy would know - and forces Jimmy to verbalize it because he trusts Al.

06-23-2005, 06:14 PM	#1
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	Comment about Shock Theater. i am watching this episode just now and i was quite taken aback by something. now, i happen to have some leftover knowledge from psycology class this past year, and we saw a movie, a non-fiction video about people who suffer multiple personality dsiorder, and the first pacient was a man named Gary who was triggered to the diagnosis after losing his first daughter to cancer. he woke up one morning claiming to be a woman named Mary, and when he was examined by a psycologist they were at first misdiagnosing it as gender idenitiy disorder, until about i think it was six months later, he developed the second personality of an infant. so i was just surprised in the beginning of Shock Theature, when Sam fills his empty valley by first becoming Samantha Stormer, that doctor masters and wickman(whatever that white bearded doctors name is) did not want to at first diagnose it as gender identity disorder. becasue usually in real life that is what would happen. at least i think. thats what i remember from class? i was not ganna post this becaause i know it seems like a silly thing to post about, but i could not help it. this just caught my interest for some reason, and i have been thinking about this for a while. __________________

06-23-2005, 06:38 PM	#2
QL Nut Project Observer Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 837	That's an interesting question, and no it's not silly. I think why this wasn't the case was because Sam (or Samantha) showed evidence of living an entire life and in the future, no less. This wasn't a case of simply a man acting like a different gender; Sam was describing people, problems and where he lived. It wasn't just a different gender, it was a different life altogether coupled with a new personality. Not only that, but Sam didn't start acting this way until after the shock treatment, which, to the doctors, could have been the cause for his behavior. __________________

06-23-2005, 07:09 PM	#3
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	oh yeah that's true huh? i forgot to consiter that i also had another question. at the end after nurse Chapmen reveals that it was Butch and not the white beareded doctor that admistered Sam's first shock session, Dr. Masters and Butch engage in an argument. during this time, Nurse Chapmen is looking repeatedly from Sam to the two argueing men, not knowing what to do. Sam then pleads, still in the Jimmy voice, "save jimmy" and then swiches to "save Sam....200" and nurse Chapmen answers that 200 is too high and Sam repsonds my saying "time all gone" and she reacts by gasping softly "oh god!" now obviously, he meant this in the sense that he was going to lose Al, but of course she did not know that, so what meaning could she have made of his saying "time all gone"? __________________

06-23-2005, 07:17 PM	#4
QL Nut Project Observer Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 837	Well, I don't think she necessarily paid attention to certain things Sam said like, "time all gone," but that she was more caught up by the situation. After Sam got completely out of control, Dr. Masters ordered the second shock treatment. So, even though the doctor was sidetracked arguing with Butch, the nurse was just following the doctor's order. And of course the doctor gave the order because he felt it was an emergency. The nurse was under pressure so she was easily persuaded by Sam acting like a lunatic. __________________

06-23-2005, 07:18 PM	#5
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	hmm, interesting. thats makes sense. man, sometimes i wonder why i don't think of these things myself. it kinda makes me feel..dumb. __________________

06-23-2005, 07:29 PM	#6
QL Nut Project Observer Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 837	No problem. Don't feel bad that you don't think of every single little reason behind some of the dialogue in the show, SamBeckettfann. I missed so many things when I first saw the series myself. Don't forget that you're mostly talking to people who have seen every episode many times over a 10-year period of time, not weeks. Certain things you just inadvertently pick up with time. __________________

06-23-2005, 07:31 PM	#7
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	oh yeah, and ahh, it kinda pintches a nerve to be reminded that i am like the only one here who hasn't seen the whole series yet. i have however seen seasons one through three countless times. like i said somewhere else. for the past almost month now, i have been watching nothing BUT QL. yes i know i am __________________

06-23-2005, 07:36 PM	#8
QL Nut Project Observer Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 837	What I mean exactly is that most of us pick up on a lot of these things because we're able to look at the big picture. You could watch the episodes over & over with a fine tooth comb and pick up things here and there, but having seen the entire series, it's easier to look back on it as a whole and piece together all the facts. Sorry, don't mean to rub it in! __________________

06-23-2005, 07:43 PM	#9
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	yeah i guess so. __________________

06-23-2005, 07:57 PM	#10
McDuck Junior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,360	I've said it before, I'll say it again...I almost envy you as you're discovering QL for the first time. I remember when I did. __________________

06-23-2005, 08:01 PM	#11
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	envy? why? what's so great about it? ah, never mind, i can kinda see. it's like an adventure. but the truth is, i envy YOU! i wish i had started watching it when it started, ah, even if i was almost three years old. hehe. sorry if i sounded annoying in my last post. you just sounded kinda annoyed there jennie __________________

06-23-2005, 08:12 PM	#12
McDuck Junior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,360	I wasn't annoyed....cross my heart. And yes...you hit the envy on the head...it is like an adventure. Oh...and I didn't catch it when it first started. I didn't get into QL until 1994, during the summer. In fact, it's kind of a funny story....we didn't get USA in the dorms, and it wasn't until the night before I was going back to school that I realized I could've been taping the eps. So the only one I had was the Bermuda Triangle one (from 4th or 5th season)....I can't tell you how many times I watched it...until the first break when I was able to tape more. __________________

06-23-2005, 08:19 PM	#13
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	that's still better than i can say for me. hehe. i got into it earlier THIS year. and USA. it aired on USA? i did not know that, oh please jennie, tell me it still airs there, becasue USA i know i get! __________________

06-24-2005, 12:36 AM	#14
DeadZoneLeaper Observer's Aid Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Danville, PA Posts: 544	USA was showing the first 4 seasons in syndication back around '92 or '93...I remember watching it at 7pm in the dorm tv/rec lounge before putting on Simpsons or Trek:TNG at 8PM depending on the day...Then in '94 USA had all 5 seasons because I remember one day they showed the cliffhanger from Season 4 with Sam leaping into Lee Harvey Oswald and I was expecting Genesis Part I the next day (like they always did) and then to my surprise the next day was Oswald Part I. As soon as all Season 5 eps were done, I taped them all the next go-round...and as my tapes show, a full hour of WIngs was on at 6 because I always seemed to get the ending credits for that show before the QL episodes started... USA doesn't air them anymore, check sci-fi channel..I know they aired an episode late at night for a while...some days, Sci-Fi has a QL marathon from 8-4 just have to catch the right day As to why the doctors didn't seem to want to diagnose Sam with a particular disorder, perhaps it had to do with the time period Sam was in...maybe at that time, the disorder wasn't something doctors knew to look for or was a new field of study...just a guess... __________________

06-24-2005, 02:59 AM	#15
Al's Handlink Project Observer Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Bristol, Connecticut Posts: 735	Yeah, I started watrching it on USA too. I didn't even know it was on NBC until they were ready to air the Finale __________________

06-27-2005, 11:15 AM	#17
naggin dragon Guest Posts: n/a	Shock Theatre is AWESOME!!! I love the rap song Al sings to teach the kid the alphabet... "You're a loony tune in a big white room and I'm a hologram from the future... I'm steppin' fast back into the past and I'm saying I'm pleased to meet you..." CLASSIC! __________________

06-27-2005, 06:11 PM	#18
Sam Beckett Fan Senior Leaper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,832	i agree naggin dragon. although this is one episode that i wish would ,make me cry, especially during the second shock treatment, because i just found that really cruel and sad how they used the shock back then. __________________

12-13-2006, 11:20 PM	#19
Nytrydr Waiting Room Visitor Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 33	Shock theatre is a totally awesome ep. What got me, in Autralia anyway, was that QL had been pushed around from pillar to post in the primetime slots. They show Shock Theatre, which has the best cliffhanger nextleap, where you think "Oh crap - he's home" and then we got like nothing for 2 years !! When it did come back it was like 11pm on (I could be wrong, but I don't think so) a different channel. Keep in mind that in Australia at that point, there was no cable or satelite TV at all. The internet was crap. You literally could not get any episodes. I was furious, dead set furious. Then, when I eventually saw The Leap Back, it was heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time -almost, and I say almost worth the wait . Sam (to Donna) "How many times has Al saved my life?" Ziggy (interrupting) "23" Man, I still get peoplebumps thnking about it. __________________

12-13-2006, 11:26 PM	#20
Nytrydr Waiting Room Visitor Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 33	Oh, and don't worry about having not seen em all - I probly havent either and I've been a fan since the start (well in Aust) - I can't even get Season 5 on DVD here yet.Dammit __________________

12-14-2006, 06:56 AM	#22
Al The Observer Observer's Aid Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: ALabama Posts: 677	I think that what happened was the minds of the people Sam had previously leapt into, took over Sam's mind. They didn't know Al, so Sam (with their minds in control) wouldn't know Al, either. That's the way I see it, anyway. __________________ --- - - -* - *- -- -** * - --*

12-14-2006, 08:27 AM	#23
jmellissa Accelerator Technician Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Coos Bay Oregon Posts: 225	But how would Timmy know that Sam or Al was "All out of time"? Now I know I am missing somthing. __________________

12-14-2006, 10:49 AM	#25
bluedana Accelerator Technician Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 265	That's such a heartbreaking moment, because at that point Sam is there, too, but he doesn't have control of the body, Jimmy's personality does. Jimmy can't communicate his needs (all he can say is "Give shocker! Time all gone..."), but Sam remembers being shocked - that's not something Jimmy would know - and forces Jimmy to verbalize it because he trusts Al. __________________ School's out! Remember, behind every loose ball there is a running child.

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