201 Honeymoon Express

Honeymoon Express

  • Total voters
    25
alsplacebartender

alsplacebartender

Al's Place Bartender - Brian Greene
Staff member
Jul 10, 2002
5,974
340
83
Mount Airy, North Carolina
www.quantumleap-alsplace.com
Honeymoon Express
April 27, 1960

New York City ? Upstate New York


A government committee is threatening to shut down Quantum Leap for failure to prove that Dr. Beckett even actually leaped.

After saving a cat from a tree as a firefighter in 1957, Sam leaps into a cop who is on his honeymoon on the train to Niagara Falls.

Al tells Sam he must change history with a kind of global significance instead of just small personal fixes like he normally does. He must try and prevent the U2 mission from going ahead which launches the U.S. into the cold war.

While attempting this, Sam's new wife is being hunted by her mysterious ex-husband who is going to kill her if Sam can't stop it.


Written by: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: Aaron Lipstadt


Rate and comment on the second season premiere!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I like this one because it how Al looked back on his marrige's.
Gives you a bit more insight about Al,I also enjoyed the ending
of how he was about lose his star's all of sudden a wrong was
made right by Sam.A great episode
 
Great episode. It was the perfect way to start the second season with Al trying to get funding for Project Quantum Leap and you hear about Al's marriages.
 
loved it, especially Al's harlarious crack about using tins cans attached to a peice of string to cominacate with Sam, which also shows just how close they are and determined to stay in contect no matter what.
 
Yeah, that was a real sweet scene. I love the sequence when Al pops in the first time and he cant tear himself away from Diane. I love it when Sam is walking down the train hall and goes, "Al? Al? *whistles* Here boy!"

Samantha Beckett
 
Samantha Beckett said:
I love it when Sam is walking down the train hall and goes, "Al? Al? *whistles* Here boy!"
Click to expand...
Love this too.

Sam's trepidation.... I'm not her husband. Her expectation....what is he supposed to do?

When Roget tells Sam that he doesn't have the eyes of a killer and Sam knows it is true. But later when he has to kill Roget, Sam's eyes are so determined. He could do what had to be done.

Ohh the last scene when he is kissing Diane's shoulder, back and around to the other shoulder. Dare I say that I can almost feel his hair brushing across my shoulders and back.
 
We all know what the real point of this episode was....

To see the dress whites.

I have a hard time getting the episode, cause I've always had a thing for guys in uniform anyway......
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
loved it, especially Al's harlarious crack about using tins cans attached to a peice of string to cominacate with Sam, which also shows just how close they are and determined to stay in contect no matter what.
Click to expand...

I especially liked that moment as well. There's a moment, just after Al gives his "tin cans on a string" line that Sam looks deeply concerned and heartbroken, putting out his hands in a gesture that seemed like he wanted to take his little buddy up for a strong embrace - and, disappointed, his hands fall back to his sides. Al seemed to understand, and waved off the emotion with an air of nonchalance, worried but not about to show it when he wasn't about to give up on his friend.

*whimper* . . . *hugs Sam and Al* :dreaming

Samantha Beckett said:
Yeah, that was a real sweet scene. I love the sequence when Al pops in the first time and he cant tear himself away from Diane. I love it when Sam is walking down the train hall and goes, "Al? Al? *whistles* Here boy!"
Click to expand...

Sweet moments that illustrate their friendship so well. Those little bits of humor and cracks they make towards the other are so light and innocent, it's part of the youthful charm of the show and makes it heartwarming to watch. I just love their friendship so much, and much of it has to do with this kind of camaraderie.

newleaper said:
We all know what the real point of this episode was....

To see the dress whites.
Click to expand...
Al in dress whites . . . :dreaming:dreaming*loses concentration and begins to drool*:dreaming:dreaming
 
LunarCrystal said:
I especially liked that moment as well. There's a moment, just after Al gives his "tin cans on a string" line that Sam looks deeply concerned and heartbroken, putting out his hands in a gesture that seemed like he wanted to take his little buddy up for a strong embrace - and, disappointed, his hands fall back to his sides. Al seemed to understand, and waved off the emotion with an air of nonchalance, worried but not about to show it when he wasn't about to give up on his friend.
Click to expand...

I didn't notice the nonchalance particularly, but I did notice the look in his eye when Sam moves to give him a hug - it is a fleeting look of horror and and pain. It's one of those little moments that really demonstrate what a skilled actor Dean Stockwell is.
 
lunarcrystal said:
putting out his hands in a gesture that seemed like he wanted to take his little buddy up for a strong embrace - and, disappointed, his hands fall back to his sides.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I don't believe I have ever picked that up, I will have to keep my eyes peeled for it next time I watch the ep. That's so sweet though and very Sam.
********
I did notice something about the charactor of Roche(sorry one of my weaknesses in french class was my spelling hehe). when he describes a dream he had about Diane Mcbride he mentions seeing and killing a cop that looked like Tom.

"He looked like you, except for the eyes. He had the eyes of a man who could kill"
 At this point in the series Sam had not had to kill anyone yet while Tom being a cop probably has. So I am thinking that he doesn't actually see Sam persay obviously but he does see somewhat through Tom without knowing it. So the eyes he was seeing in front of him while he described the dream was Sam's not Tom's. Just something interesting that I picked up.
 
little moments that really demonstrate

The thing I love about little moments like that is that they do such a wonderful job of demonstrating the depth of Al and Sam's bond without ever getting sentimental or mushy about it.
 
Last edited:
Sam Beckett Fan said:
"He looked like you, except for the eyes. He had the eyes of a man who could kill"
At this point in the series Sam had not had to kill anyone yet while Tom being a cop probably has. So I am thinking that he doesn't actually see Sam persay obviously but he does see somewhat through Tom without knowing it. So the eyes he was seeing in front of him while he described the dream was Sam's not Tom's. Just something interesting that I picked up.
Click to expand...

Actually, the dream wasn't about a cop, it was about an SS officer.

It seems that people often read things in Sam's eyes that are not part of the host's experience. This ep is one that makes me think that, and also "Freedom," where Joseph tells "George" to go ahead and put the handprints on his horse for the number of men killed in battle:

"I can see it in your eyes, Togo."

He even knew that Sam wasnt "done" when he put one handprint on.
 
cookiemom6067 said:
Actually, the dream wasn't about a cop, it was about an SS officer.

It seems that people often read things in Sam's eyes that are not part of the host's experience. This ep is one that makes me think that, and also "Freedom," where Joseph tells "George" to go ahead and put the handprints on his horse for the number of men killed in battle:

"I can see it in your eyes, Togo."

He even knew that Sam wasnt "done" when he put one handprint on.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's true, and in the case of Josoph he even went on to talk about leaping as if he knew he was talking to a time traveler named Sam Beckett. I thought that was perhaps an Indian thing that he could see some stuff inside Sam through his grandson. Maybe it is one of those reoccuring things. I didn't notice that pattern before.
 
I watched it this morning and I caught the part where Sam tried to embrace Al but its like "I forgot, hologram."

Aww Poor Sam looked real sad when he remembered that he couldn't hug his best buddy.
 
LunarCrystal said:
There's a moment, just after Al gives his "tin cans on a string" line that Sam looks deeply concerned and heartbroken, putting out his hands in a gesture that seemed like he wanted to take his little buddy up for a strong embrace - and, disappointed, his hands fall back to his sides.
Click to expand...
Even though its the briefest of moments, it always brings a tear to my eye, although it often passes so quick, I often don't get the chance to feel emotional :)
 
Yeah now that I have spotted that, although small, I think it must be one of the most precious moments in all of QL because it shows how much love there is between the two best buddies. :cry
 
Ok I feel I need to mention something. I was watching this ep with my best friend last week and the part where Sam walks out to meet Roche in the seating area of the train, he passes by Roche's accomplice who pretended that he was drunk and "accidently" bumped into Sam. Sam helped the guy stand strait and asked if he was ok then kept walking. It was not smart on Sam's part to have have not checked himself before he contiuned on his way because when someone bumps you that closely they are usually trying to get their hands in your pockets to grab something. Which is exactly what this guy was doing but luckily it was just his gun the guy got which is no big deal(unless he had turned around and aimed the gun at Sam which he did not). But it could have been worse it could have been his wallet.

Sorry but I have an aunt who is the human book of life lessons and this was one thing she told me, about when someone bumps you like that. And I can't help but point stuff like that out when I see it. So yeah Sam could have used his brain more there.
 
Sam is an innocent soul. He's unlikely to suspect the worst of someone unless he has reason to. Plus, he's from Elk Ridge, Indiana, where there's probably been one case of pickpocketing in the past 100 years. You just don't expect to run into a criminal when you come from a place like that.

Also, I think he would value the gun much higher than the wallet at that point.
 
I was a bit confused as I watched this episode. I know that I'm over-thinking this, but the deal that Al had arranged with the Senate Council seemed illogical. If Sam did avert the U2 being shot down over the Soviet Union, then the event would have never happened. Hence, how would they have been able to know that it was supposed to happen, and that Sam changed history, other than it just would have not happened? I hope I make sense here?

Other than that, great episode!
 
I think Al didn't consider it,that why he suggested it.The head of the Senate council,in the other hand,knew it and he had no plans of continueing funding this project,and that why he accepted Al Deal,but he never consider the posibility of
Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
him losing his chair...:)
 
I think the senator made a (bad) assumption that he would still remember the original history after Sam averted the U2 incident, or maybe he expected that records of the committee proceedings would show what he ordered Sam to do. It seems like he expected the history books to be changed, but nothing else! Al doesn't point out this problem either. Someone's just not thinking about the results of changing history...
 
I enjoyed this episode, and especially loved how we actually saw Sam's work change something in the present.

Is it just me or did anyone else think that the "heroic rescue" leap in the beginning was unneccessary?
 
Something about this episode doesn't add up. It's made pretty clear that Al is the only who is capable of noticing a change in their present if there is one (which I also don't see why he didn't try to argue with that despite that it would appear as an excuse). The novels though not canon directly use this in many cases but there is also an example from the show right in the conclusion of this leap when the chairmen becomes Diane and no one but Al was stunned. So the whole U2 attempt was lost me. Even if Sam had succeeded there, no one on the board would have realized it thus holds the original chairmen's point that they only have "The word of a computer".

On another subject, it occurred to my best friend and I that the ex husband (whose name I have no idea how to correctly spell) seemed to have a sensory ability somewhat similar to the grandfather in Freedom mixed with a little of the madness his therapist diagnosed him with which was picking up Sam. The eyes of a man who couldn't kill, Tom McBride was a cop, I heavily doubt he'd worked his way up to Lt. without killing any suspects in the line of duty. Not only does he carry a gun but he brought the thing on his Honeymoon and I am sure it wasn't to be kinky. This says to me that he is a pretty conscientious cop, to have been concerned about danger on what is mostly a honeymoon train and that he had expected in that said 'hypothetical' danger to have to use that gun.

Sam on the other hand is very much a man who was unfamiliar with taking a human life and would never dream of it. I love the guy's last words "Next time it will be easier" which was true. "Next time" was in Her Charm and it even came somewhat naturally.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Something about this episode doesn't add up. It's made pretty clear that Al is the only who is capable of noticing a change in their present if there is one (which I also don't see why he didn't try to argue with that despite that it would appear as an excuse). The novels though not canon directly use this in many cases but there is also an example from the show right in the conclusion of this leap when the chairmen becomes Diane and no one but Al was stunned. So the whole U2 attempt was lost me. Even if Sam had succeeded there, no one on the board would have realized it thus holds the original chairmen's point that they only have "The word of a computer".
Click to expand...

This actually is explicable. If the plan had succeeded, this would have been the chain of events:

- In the original timeline, Al convinces the committee to give them the chance to prove that Sam Beckett had travelled in time. He proposes that Sam has leapt to a point in time, a location, and a position where he has the chance to prevent the U2 from being shot down. The committee agrees to give them the chance. The committee records their agreement.

- In the past, Sam manages to get Diane McBride to have her dad tell Ike not to send the U2. Ike agrees and the U2 is not sent, and therefore can't be shot down.

- The timeline changes and all the historical records now have the U2 event being erased.

- The committee in the new timeline looks up the U2 event and can't find it. They think that the original event was complete nonsense, but because Al has experienced the original timeline, he has made them record down their agreement before the timeline had changed. The committee realises that they would have only agreed to this if the event had actually originally happened, and so come to the realisation that Sam MUST have changed history, thereby proving that Sam had travelled in time.
 
And why would they take Al's word that they made such an agreement (which no longer exists in the new timeline) anymore than they took his word on Sam's involvement with Buddy Holly?
 
Lightning McQueenie said:
Al and Ziggy are able to retain the records of both timelines. Do you really think that the committee would refuse to believe the agreement made if they saw or heard it played back to them?
Click to expand...

If that were possible why arrange such an agreement in the first place? Why not play back something Sam has already changed. Perhaps the original "Piggy Sooey" song.
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
If that were possible why arrange such an agreement in the first place? Why not play back something Sam has already changed. Perhaps the original "Piggy Sooey" song.
Click to expand...

But they wouldn't have had any proof other than Al and Ziggy's word. Besides, it's not like Al went into the Imaging Chamber with a video camera.

With a tape recorded or video recorded record of the agreement made by the committee members themselves, THEN they would need to believe it when they see it. The idea is that they needed more undeniable proof than the word of one man (even one as highly respected and decorated as Al).
 
Great, great episode!!! Loved every character. It had everything to make it a classic story. I love how most of the time Bellisario takes a simple idea and develops it like in crescendo to the point of the final resolution... and then comes a peaceful, magical ending. You may say I almost described every other QL episode, right? But DPB does it in such a masterful way that it's almost as if he was a wizard of great writing. He's not my favorite writer from the series, but he comes close.

A very important episode for Sam. I think this was where his character developed a bit more and where he learned an important lesson to keep maturing as a leaper. Not just for the fact that he had to kill someone, but also because he stopped being so self-centered about his project. He knew that he was not alone and that Al really cared and that he was loyal and that he was trying his best to make sure that Sam was not left alone and forgotten in the past. A step forward in their friendship.

I think the scene with the cat was very funny and also as important as the rest of the episode, because it makes a good point about Sam sometimes not having very difficult assignments and leaping out almost immediately. They always focused on the long, difficult leaps, but never on the short/straight ones. It makes us think about Sam bouncing around in time and sometimes not spending a lot of time with his leaps from one place to another. It had been stated before and we already know that, but it was a nice touch to see that in action at least once.

Loved the improvement on the leaping effect, the division between the teaser and the other acts, and also the visual effects, even the credits. Now, that was something else!! Of course way better than in season 1.

My rating: Excellent.
 
Something I thought of - is the Committee head the same one who fired Al in Star-Crossed? I always thought that he was very condescending and disrespectful towards Al - at one point even saying "now take your medicine", which can be interpreted as him implying that Al is non-compos-mentos. If he was in fact the same committee member, it's no wonder he was so adamant about ending the project and discrediting Al, as Al was blackmailing him with the information about his affair with Tina. It's interesting just how far GFTW is willing to go to make sure that Sam's and Al's mistakes don't have long-lasting effects isn't it? :)
 
Sam Beckett Fan said:
Something about this episode doesn't add up. It's made pretty clear that Al is the only who is capable of noticing a change in their present if there is one (which I also don't see why he didn't try to argue with that despite that it would appear as an excuse). The novels though not canon directly use this in many cases but there is also an example from the show right in the conclusion of this leap when the chairmen becomes Diane and no one but Al was stunned. So the whole U2 attempt was lost me. Even if Sam had succeeded there, no one on the board would have realized it thus holds the original chairmen's point that they only have "The word of a computer".

On another subject, it occurred to my best friend and I that the ex husband (whose name I have no idea how to correctly spell) seemed to have a sensory ability somewhat similar to the grandfather in Freedom mixed with a little of the madness his therapist diagnosed him with which was picking up Sam. The eyes of a man who couldn't kill, Tom McBride was a cop, I heavily doubt he'd worked his way up to Lt. without killing any suspects in the line of duty. Not only does he carry a gun but he brought the thing on his Honeymoon and I am sure it wasn't to be kinky. This says to me that he is a pretty conscientious cop, to have been concerned about danger on what is mostly a honeymoon train and that he had expected in that said 'hypothetical' danger to have to use that gun.

Sam on the other hand is very much a man who was unfamiliar with taking a human life and would never dream of it. I love the guy's last words "Next time it will be easier" which was true. "Next time" was in Her Charm and it even came somewhat naturally.
Click to expand...

My take on it was that this episode was the first time they realized that no one else but Al would recognize that history had been changed so Al's attempt to get Sam to change the U2 incident made sense. He didn't know it couldn't work. One could argue that he should have known since they had been changing peoples' lives for over a season and people accepted whatever Sam changed as part of history, forgetting what happened before the changes. But there will inevitably be some inconsistencies in a time travel series.

I think that, when the guy looked at Sam, it wasn't the eyes themselves but the look in his eyes, the facial expressions, the body language, everything saying this was a man who could not easily take a life.

This was the first episode where Sam killed and I loved the way Scott Bakula played it, the pain on his face when the dying guy said not to worry because the next time would be easier, almost as if Sam knew he was right, that there probably would be a situation like this again and that fear that maybe it would be easier to do.

I don't think it was the first episode where Sam fell in love and really wanted to stay there. BUT, it was the first episode where I agreed with him and would want to stay there myself. :)
 
Seeing as how Sam leaps physically, wouldn't a DNA test prove that the person who looks like Sam Beckett isn't actually Sam?
 
Twenty-four years later, I relive the beginning. This episode was my introduction to Quantum Leap. End of October, 1993. I was sick in bed from the flu, and bored out of my gourd, but too weak to hold up a book to read. So I did what I rarely ever did back then (and now never do) - I turned on the TV. I thought I was watching a movie, it was done so well. I seem to recall catching most, if not all, of the episode, so it was a great introduction to the show. This is the one that got me hooked. I rate this one "Excellent."
 
I've been thinking about something in this episode.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
As Roget is dying, he tells Sam that the next time, it will be easier. I had always thought he was referring to kidnapping Diane, which I found odd. Rewatching the episode, and then reading other Leapers' reviews on it, I now realize he's talking about Sam (as Lt. Tom McBride) killing people. HOWEVER, as we saw in Vietnam, people who are dying (e.g. Maggie) can see Al, so presumably they can also see Sam as Sam.
So was Roget talking to Tom McBride, or Sam Beckett?
 
After the horribly disappointing season 1 finale, Play It Again, Seymour, Honeymoon Express is the perfect way to start the second season of Quantum Leap. While Sam is back in 1960, having leaped into policeman Tom MacBride, Al in the present day is battling to keep the project alive.

There are so, so many things I love about this episode. First of all, I love the train setting. It might seem like a small point, but I've always being a sucker for train centred stories. Dianne is one of the best characters in the entire series, in my opinion. She is absolutely gorgeous. Roget gives the episode further depth. When it comes to villains in QL, this guy is very, very close to the top. Definitely insane with a frightening gleam in his eye, the character comes across as very unpredictable from the get go. His last words to Sam are genuinely haunting.

The best parts of this episode, though, are those set in the present day. All the scenes with Al, fighting his hardest against the committee are riveting. The twist at the end is genius. The look on Al's face is priceless!

When it comes to picking out a best scene... Well, there's one clear choice, isn't there? Finally realising what it will mean once the plug is pulled, Sam looks forlorn at the thought of never being able to see Al again. That little conversation between them just shows the power of their friendship.

My rating. Excellent. Extremely, extremely close to making my top 10. Another great job by Bellisario.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back