504 Killin' Time

Killin' Time

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alsplacebartender

alsplacebartender

Al's Place Bartender - Brian Greene
Staff member
Jul 10, 2002
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Mount Airy, North Carolina
www.quantumleap-alsplace.com
Killin' Time
June 18, 1958

Pine County, Oklahoma


Sam leaps into a killer on the run in 1958. The house is surrounded and he is holding hostage a mother and her young daughter. But back in the future, the real killer, Leon, has escaped from the Waiting Room and Al searches to find him. If Al can't bring Leon back, Sam can't leap...and will be killed when the sheriff raids the house.


Written by: Tommy Thompson
Directed by: Michael Watkins


Rate and comment on this episode!
 
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Great episode. Sam is living the life of a bad guy who escapes from the waiting room and Al has to get him back. It's the first time anyone ever escaped the waiting room, which makes things very interesting.
 
another one of my top favorite episodes, i love how deep it is that the only way to save himself and the mother and daughter is to reveal himself.

and i was so psyched at myself when i looked closer and discovered why little Becky looked so familiar, cuz shes Beverley Mitchell from another one of my fav shows Seventh Heaven. she was so cute that young. :)

i also loved Gooshi's remark "Time and Space can be a bit*h". lol.
 
I made the mistake of drinking a diet coke when that ep was on. When Gooshie said that line, my screen was covered with the stuff. :roflmao:

There are a small handful of episodes that I call my favorites, but I think Killin' Time sits at the top of the list. It's fan-bloody-tastic. I love how Al is willing to risk his life to chase after Leon, and I screamed outright when Leon shot him. I was so tense throughout the entire episode, and I love that about any show.

Bravo!

Samantha Beckett
 
One of the best episodes...

I have to admit, Killin' Time is one of the best Quantum Leap episodes that I've seen. I think it was interesting to see what life is like in New Mexico on the outside world (In Quantum Leap, anyway).
 
I loved that Killin' Time went outside the project, and was one of the few episodes that really let Al play hero.

I didn't realize Sam leaped into Oklahoma though. I just think it's cool when they're in OK, although if I remember my Oklahoma history correctly, there's no Pine county.
 
This is by far my favorite episode. I, too, like the fact that Al got to "play hero," as it was so eloquently put. (I like that.) And trust me, it hurts to get shot, even while wearing a bullet proof vest.

As for Pine County, I believe the writers often made up places. In Color of Truth, the setting is a town and county in Alabama (I have forgotten the names they used), neither of which exist here.
 
I'm sure it's much easier to make up a name than to pull out an atlas. I guess if a writer knew a name of a place, they put it in but don't worry if they have to make one up.

8 1/2 Months was supposed to be in Claremore, OK, which is a real town. Although I suppose it could be a coincidence the town exists!
 
I was wondering about the physics of this episode. I know that when Sam leaps, it's his body that leaps. When he first leaps into Styles, he's holding Styles' gun. But when Styles shows up in the waiting room, he also has a gun. So were there two guns? It seems to me that either Styles can take the gun with him or he can leave it in the past for Sam to grab onto. Does this question make sense?
 
I had never thought of that! Perhaps Styles had a gun in his hands AND one in his pocket? Although that doesn't explain how they're both holding one.

Or maybe someone forgot to put up the spare gun in the waiting room ;)

I guess I had just always guessed he took it from a guard or something.
 
There is actually a cut out scene in that ep (explained in the Al's place episode guide for this ep) where a security guard was talking to him in the waiting room and he snatched the gun from him.
 
I wish they had kept that in. In the episode, you can see the guard lying on the floor in the background, but you have to look for him.

I thought that was interesting. It means that other personnel are allowed in the Waiting Room before Al or Verbena (or at least they were until this happened). But I guess they never had reasons to take precautions with a leapee until Stiles leaped in.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
There is actually a cut out scene in that ep (explained in the Al's place episode guide for this ep) where a security guard was talking to him in the waiting room and he snatched the gun from him.
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OK, that makes sense. Thank you. What is the link for the episode guide that explains this?
 
I really like this episode, too, although the actress who plays the prostitute was really, really terrible. It has two of my favorite exchanges, though - not that the lines are memorable, but the way they're delivered is just wonderful.

When the mother (who is one of my favorite characters) is dressing Becky to go out of the house, the little girl asks if Sam/Leon is going to kill her. The mom pauses, smiles this beautiful smile, and says (not even trying to answer the question), "Have I ever told you how pretty you are?" I've found that I use that a lot to change the subject - when the kids ask me something that's too painful to explain or answer (usually while listening to or watching the news): Have I ever told you how smart/handsome/pretty you are?

The second is just before Sam leaps. He's cuffed (which we know from previous episodes really bothers him) and being led away. He stops and leans back toward the woman and kind of mutters, "I'm ready to go now." Just the way he delivers that line is so deep and it obviously has so many meanings.
 
This is my favorite episode, as I have mentioned before on this thread. I, too, like the parts mentioned above. But as I was watching this episode for the umpteenth time, I noticed something I hadn't really noticed before. After Stiles escapes, Al is at the weapons locker, loading what appears to me to be a Glock 17. That's the gun he uses to draw down on Stiles in the prostitute's room. But when Stiles returns to the project, and threatens to shoot Gooshie, Al appears with an air-powered dart gun. This gun, which we can see better as Al walks up to Gooshie, is styled very differently from the Glock 17. My question is, how did Al get the dart gun? Or did he carry both, and we missed him loading and holstering that one? And if he carried both, why did he use the Glock, if Stiles had to be brought back alive?

Perhaps I should have prefaced that with "My questions are..." instead of "My question is..." :nut
 
bluedana said:
I really like this episode, too, although the actress who plays the prostitute was really, really terrible. It has two of my favorite exchanges, though - not that the lines are memorable, but the way they're delivered is just wonderful.

When the mother (who is one of my favorite characters) is dressing Becky to go out of the house, the little girl asks if Sam/Leon is going to kill her. The mom pauses, smiles this beautiful smile, and says (not even trying to answer the question), "Have I ever told you how pretty you are?" I've found that I use that a lot to change the subject - when the kids ask me something that's too painful to explain or answer (usually while listening to or watching the news): Have I ever told you how smart/handsome/pretty you are?

The second is just before Sam leaps. He's cuffed (which we know from previous episodes really bothers him) and being led away. He stops and leans back toward the woman and kind of mutters, "I'm ready to go now." Just the way he delivers that line is so deep and it obviously has so many meanings.
Click to expand...

I agree with you completely. I also love the deepness and intenseness of all three lives depending on Sam revealing his true identity, and Gooshi's line as I said above.

Al The Observer said:
My question is, how did Al get the dart gun? Or did he carry both, and we missed him loading and holstering that one? And if he carried both, why did he use the Glock, if Stiles had to be brought back alive?
Click to expand...

He probably carried both, as for why he had the Glock, I would say to scare him, or take him down so that he could no longer run. There are places a person can take a bullet without dying like for example where Sam was shot in Leap Between the States. And Al being an admiral is expirenced enough with a gun to make sure he didn't get a lethal area.
 
No It shows him shooting the mirror, but it is creepy when Al firsts demands that Leon look at the mirror and it appears that Sam has the hooker at gunpoint. I bet Scott had a lot of fun with that shot cuz he got a second of being evil hehe. It also makes me feel bad because the hooker sees Sam so poor Sam is being mistaken for a killer. :(
 
This was my first choice from season five. It was original and fresh, and actually involved the other side (Al and the gang) of the story to a much higher degree. Yea, there were a lot of "huh??" moments (i.e., a gun just so happened to conveniently "leap" into the killer’s hand in the waiting room :hair ), but the premise was solid and promising.

~Kirok
 
Kirok said:
Yea, there were a lot of "huh??" moments (i.e., a gun just so happened to conveniently "leap" into the killer’s hand in the waiting room :hair )
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Nope, Stiles got the gun from a security guard who went into the Waiting Room before Al got there. Read back through this thread, we discussed it here.
 
This is definietly one of my favorites as I take a liking to all the special episodes with the exception of trilogy. I forget if I have mentioned this but I loved how all three lives depended on Sam revealing his true self. And it must have felt good for him at the same time to finally be able to tell someone that he wasn't the person they see. Poor Sam, this must have also been one of the hardest pair of shoes to stand in especially when he was talking to the shariff on the phone and was telling him to call off the shooting or he would kill the mother and daughter. The look on his face when he said the words is really well acted out by Scott. You can really tell how much it hurts Sam even though he knows it's pretending. Definietly on my list of episodes that make me want to give Sam a hug...speaking of which I wonder if I even do have it listed, I should check. Yes I actually do keep a list lol.
 
Thanks for showing the "cut" scene.

I had always thought that Stiles had been holding on to the gun so tight that when he leapt, the gun leapt with him... similar to how Alia leapt with Sam.

But this makes more sense...
 
What's really weird is that they didn't just cut out the part where Stiles takes the gun from the MP--they obscured the issue by having Al say, "Where'd you get that gun?" in the finished episode. It's so simple and clear to have Stiles take it, so why cause confusion?
 
Good episode written by Tommy Thompson. It was nice to see more areas of PQL structure.
BTW about the cut out scene you mentioned...if it's really how it were written in the original script i can't understand why Al asked Lion "Where'd you get that gun?" as snish mentioned.
 
They had to change the scene since they cut out that scene, they had to add an explination as to why all of a sudden he's being shown with a gun. But I agree the original scene would have been better.

naggindraggin said:
I had always thought that Stiles had been holding on to the gun so tight that when he leapt, the gun leapt with him... similar to how Alia leapt with Sam.
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Interesting but impossible because when Sam leaped in the gun was with him.
 
Hey I am watching this ep now and I noticed something for the first time. When Al opens the waiting room door for Stiles out of fear of the gun being pointed at him, they both step out and Stiles demands to know why Gooshi addressed him as Dr. Beckett as well as a few more seconds of conversation between the charactors because Stiles is going back and fourth with the gun pointer from Al to Gooshi demanding different answers. If you look behind Stiles and Gooshi and Al you can see the knocked out sercurity officer from the cut scene laying next to the big white/mirror bench thing in the waiting room.
 
I noticed that one of the first times I watched this episode, and wondered what that was all about, until I read the cut portion of the script.

Good eye!
 
Thanx Al.
I had only noticed the bizzare appearence of a Gun in Stile's hands and read the scene here but not until tonight did I notice the knocked out officer.
 
Another great episode. I love when they show the Project facility. It's no longer just some glowing mountain somwhere in the desert. You learn some about the 'guts' of QL.

Thankfully, the world really isn't full of neon laced tunnels and buildings. :p (Las Vegas and Times Square don't count)
 
Watching this episode today, something occurred to me.

After Sam lets the little girl go, Gooshie tells Sam that he should be leaping. But I don't see why this would be the case, because in the original history, the little girl survived anyway. I know that she got caught in the shootout because Sam changed history, but if Sam had leapt then, nothing would have changed from what had originally happened before he leapt in...
 
I LOVE watching this episode! Even though I knew from reading on websites that Al and Sam never officially died, I was scared to DEATH when the guy Sam leaped into shot Al! I almost hypervenulated!!!
 
Security

Apparently security at the project is crap since Stiles so easily escaped from the complex! Not only that but when he comes back it seems as though he just walks right back in without any security following him! :lol
 
I agree,this is an excellent episode and one of the rare instances you get to see Als car,their future world and other areas of Project Quantum Leap. Plus Al was given a much greater role.
 
In the FAQ of this site we have this:

12. In "Killin' Time," where did Stiles get the gun from in the WR?

If you look carefully in the first scene with Stiles and Al in the Waiting Room, you can see an unconscious guard on the floor as Stiles and Al leave the WR. Apparently, the scene with Stiles knocking out the guard and taking his gun was filmed, and actually used in the NBC promos, but was cut from the airing for reasons of time. The gun did not leap with Stiles.
Side note: Sam has a gun in his hand when he leaps in; it is highly unlikely that Stiles was holding two guns when the leap occurred.

So I am wondering if anyone has a copy of this promo?
 
Al's the Best said:
Apparently security at the project is crap since Stiles so easily escaped from the complex! Not only that but when he comes back it seems as though he just walks right back in without any security following him! :lol
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Well Al followed him back in. And remember he gave orders for nobody to stop Stiles when he escaped.
 
Lightning McQueenie said:
Watching this episode today, something occurred to me.

After Sam lets the little girl go, Gooshie tells Sam that he should be leaping. But I don't see why this would be the case, because in the original history, the little girl survived anyway. I know that she got caught in the shootout because Sam changed history, but if Sam had leapt then, nothing would have changed from what had originally happened before he leapt in...
Click to expand...

But remember, Sam didn't leap just by letting the girl go, he still had to prevent Stiles from getting killed and the sheriff from shooting Stiles. Gooshie is evidently not an experienced observer or Ziggy goofed. :p
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
He probably carried both, as for why he had the Glock, I would say to scare him, or take him down so that he could no longer run. There are places a person can take a bullet without dying like for example where Sam was shot in Leap Between the States. And Al being an admiral is expirenced enough with a gun to make sure he didn't get a lethal area.
Click to expand...

Then why didn't someone shoot Stiles non-fatally or with the tranquilizer when he first came out of the waiting room?

Also, there was the whole "Stiles has to be in the waiting room thing." After all the leapees leap out of and back to the past, and Sam leaps from one past to the next, from any location, so why then when they're in the future they have to be in the waiting room?
 
servo75 said:
Then why didn't someone shoot Stiles non-fatally or with the tranquilizer when he first came out of the waiting room?

Also, there was the whole "Stiles has to be in the waiting room thing." After all the leapees leap out of and back to the past, and Sam leaps from one past to the next, from any location, so why then when they're in the future they have to be in the waiting room?
Click to expand...

Yeah it's not really explained why the leapee has to be in the Waiting Room. The first (and second time) Sam leaped, he was in the Accelerator. Sam and Al even switched places while Al was in the Imaging Chamber. So why wouldn't Sam be able to leap without Stiles in the Waiting Room?
 
Lightning McQueenie said:
Watching this episode today, something occurred to me.

After Sam lets the little girl go, Gooshie tells Sam that he should be leaping. But I don't see why this would be the case, because in the original history, the little girl survived anyway. I know that she got caught in the shootout because Sam changed history, but if Sam had leapt then, nothing would have changed from what had originally happened before he leapt in...
Click to expand...

Good point. Especially since if he leapt at that point, wouldn't he be leaving his hostage with a dangerous criminal?

But really great episode. I love the future scenes with Al playing the hero while Gooshie was the hologram. Donna's absence seems out of place. Wouldn't she be concerned with her "husband" on the loose?
 
servo75 said:
But remember, Sam didn't leap just by letting the girl go, he still had to prevent Stiles from getting killed and the sheriff from shooting Stiles. Gooshie is evidently not an experienced observer or Ziggy goofed. :p
Click to expand...

I don't think you understood what Gooshie meant though. The reason that Sam didn't leap is because Stiles wasn't in the Waiting Room. Gooshie meant that had Styles been there, Sam would have leapt...
 
QL Fan said:
Thankfully, the world really isn't full of neon laced tunnels and buildings. :p (Las Vegas and Times Square don't count)
Click to expand...
The area where Styles meets the prostitute is really in downtown Los Angeles, and at least at that time much of the neon in the scene was really installed there, not just added set dressing.
 
I just thought of this the other day: How did they find Sam? They usually get the info from the Leapee but they didn't have the chance to do so this time because he escaped...
 
TheLeaper said:
I just thought of this the other day: How did they find Sam? They usually get the info from the Leapee but they didn't have the chance to do so this time because he escaped...
Click to expand...

I expect that by Season 5 the project had gotten to a much more advanced stage, where they are able to do a scan of Stiles' DNA upon leap-in to find out who he is. As in the original history, Stiles was killed when giving himself up, they must have been able to pick at least an upper bound on the time period that Sam was in, and then were able to do what they did in Mirror Image to scan and find him.
 
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