202 Disco Inferno

Good episode. This is the first time you hear about Sam's brother Tom and about how he died in Vietnam.

ehhh this was kind of a dumb, whatever episode i only like it for the whole deal with Sam remembering Tom, cuz it just makes me wanna hug him, poor Sam.

I like this ep. I'm a big fan of The Practice, so seeing Kelli Williams was a nice surprise. I screamed when I saw Sam get shot at the beginning the first time I saw it, its scared the heck out of me!

Samantha Beckett

I have been watching this episode more and more, I am starting to like it now. I like the whole thing with Sam trying to be the big brother to Chris that Tom was to him. One of my favorite parts in the ep is when he's singing his song on stage. He has a really good voice. My mom told me that in real life the actor that portrays him is actually a famous singer. Or so I seem to remember her telling me.

There is also plenty of awsome humor, Al and other. Two of my favorite lines in the whole ep are

1.) "You had a purse?"
"Get outta here, purse! It's a manbag!"

I think Sam should have comeback with
"There is no such thing as a manbag, you have a purse Al!"
lol

2.) "Chad, the last time you voted for anything was homecoming king, and you voted for yourself twice."

I am watching the ep now and just heard that line, it cracks me up. Sounds like something Al would also do.

I also love the whole Sam despising the 70's thing. I always feel so bad for him at the beginning though.
"Oh, I'd rather be dead!"
and then the guy cocks his gun and shoots him. Poor Sam, since he didn't know he was on the set of a movie he must have almost had a heart attack. And I love the thing with the mood ring.

What I love the most are the parts where Sam remembers Tom, it makes me want to give him a big hug. Poor Sam. I love the almost perfect balance of seriousness and humor in this episode. They blended it well.

As i mentioned before all of the "personal episodes" in QL are great. But there are the excellent episodes(Especially the episodes DPB wrote) and there are the Good ones.I liked this episode. It's was quite good,in my opinion,But not Excellent.It was Nice to see Sam being the big brother and starting to remember Tom.An episode that reveald another side of Sam Beckett life.
One of the better episodes Paul Brown wrote.

It occured to me, watching this episode yesterday, that Sam neatly turned the tables on his host, Chad, who is something of a, er, womanizer. Sam promises Traci (the mood ring music exec) a "date" with Chad in exchange for Traci setting up an audition for the little brother with the record exec VP for country music. For the following Saturday - after Sam is gone. By the looks of Traci, she'll eat Chad up with a spoon. Nice payback for all the one-night-stands Chad has apparently left behind him.

Not a bad episode...

Very good Paul Brown episode. Way better than "Camikazi Kid", in my opinion. Liked almost everyone, except for the girl who had the hots for Sam, though I must admit that she was not so bad at the end. Very entertaining and well-played. It always be better known as THE Quantum Leap "disco episode". My favorite character was the girl who cared about Chris and I thought that the picture with Sam's brother was a neat spice.

Loved the fact that, with this season, the tone of lightheartedness had changed and matured a bit. At least it didn't seem like a G-rated show anymore.

My rating: Good.

Kris Kamm's (Chris Stone) amateur night performance alone makes this episode worth watching for me though I also like Sam remembering Tom. The scene where he remembers that Tom is dead is so powerfully emoted by Scott and a possible foreshadow to Sam's being able to change that later.

I find the performance by Kris Kamm amazing and while the song could easily be about his father, having paid attention to his lyrics am noticing some of the lines are fitting to Sam.
"It's a long way there on a one way trail to the love that I left behind. - He's a long way from home.
Out of mind, don't think I can take another night alone. - It gets lonely always being someone else.
Out of time, too late my mistake but what you've got to understand
I've been dealin with the pain of lovin you the best I can. - He can't take back stepping into that accelerator and getting stuck out there but he puts his whole heart into everyone even when it's a struggle to get through.
and I'm just another stranger looking for the promised land. - As he told the devil "I'm just trying to get home."

Sam Beckett Fan said:

Kris Kamm's (Chris Stone) amateur night performance alone makes this episode worth watching for me though I also like Sam remembering Tom. The scene where he remembers that Tom is dead is so powerfully emoted by Scott and a possible foreshadow to Sam's being able to change that later.

I find the performance by Kris Kamm amazing and while the song could easily be about his father, having paid attention to his lyrics am noticing some of the lines are fitting to Sam.
"It's a long way there on a one way trail to the love that I left behind. - He's a long way from home.
Out of mind, don't think I can take another night alone. - It gets lonely always being someone else.
Out of time, too late my mistake but what you've got to understand
I've been dealin with the pain of lovin you the best I can. - He can't take back stepping into that accelerator and getting stuck out there but he puts his whole heart into everyone even when it's a struggle to get through.
and I'm just another stranger looking for the promised land. - As he told the devil "I'm just trying to get home."

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Wow! Very well done! I think you hit the nail on the head.

Folks though I am about to turn in for the night/morning I had to share a discovery I made quite by accident.

In this episode there are several references to Chad Stone/Sam being signed on for a falling stunt in a film called Earthquake and we see Sam perform it in terror with the actor names Ava Gardner and Ben Cartright being dropped.

Here in the wee hours of the morning I'm watching HBO and what should come on but a film called Earthquake starring Ava Gardner! There isn't a Ben Cartright listed in the film's cast on IMDB though there is a character featured in a tall building setting who looks exactly like the man Al was pointing out as this Ben Cartright. The scene Sam did is there exactly as we see it in this episode!

It's a real film! The only flaw is that it was made in 1974 and the leap date is in '76 but perhaps that was purposeful for copyright reasons.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071455/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

leaper1 said:

Al is referring to a character 'Ben Cartwright' who was in Bonanza, a series about ranchers that ran from 1959 to 1973. He was played by Lorne Greene, who is the guy who saves Sam from the fall, and the actor in Earthquake. {And yes, I AM old enough to have watched Bonanza - I could even hum you the theme tune!}

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Ah thank you for that explanation. I've heard of Bonanza and have heard it's theme song though I am NOT old enough hehe.

Best part of this episode is when Sam's memory starts to come back, and he remembers Tom. It was so touching that Al once again broke the rules for Sam, this time to show Sam the picture of him and Tom. *Very* well played by both actors.

My second favorite part is when Al took advantage of being a hologram and went through the fire to help Sam rescue Chris and find an escape route. Did anyone else notice the hilariously ironic detail going on during that scene? Standing in the middle of the fire, Al couldn't get his lighter to catch, so he couldn't light his cigar.

My rating for this episode is "Good."

Following on from the excellent season opener, here we have a solid entry. Disco Inferno is one of those episodes that I don't find as memorable. But on my recent rewatch I really enjoyed it. A lot of the characters really worked for me. I felt for Chris (my namesake). He really did seem to be torn between what he truly wanted and what he felt was expected of him. He has a good voice, too (Out of Sight is a great song, as well). The character of Ray, his father, is generally unlikable, but we do see in the end that he does love both his sons.

The best part of the episode has to be the one where Sam recalls his brother's fate. The moment it all hits him is very powerful. Knowing that Sam will one day get to right that particular wrong does take the sting away a bit. The scene towards the end between him and Al in the kitchen is another highlight, with Sam asking if he has a dog or not back in the present day.

My rating. Good. A solid entry.