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"The Friendly Skies" Leap
Date: August 5,
1971
Synopsis: When Ben leaps aboard a 1970s passenger jet as a flight attendant, he must outwit its hijackers before it mysteriously crashes into the Atlantic, and worse, he has to do it all without Ziggy's help.
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TV Guide Synopsis
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Broadcast Date: Date: Monday, March 27, 2023 @ 10pm on NBC Leap Date: August 5, 1971 Leap Location: Above the Atlantic Ocean, on a Trans-Atlantic flight from London to New York Name of Leapee: Lois Mitchell Project Trivia: Ziggy is thousands of interconnected servers: cloud-based A.I. The Handlink and Imaging Chamber work even if Ziggy is offline. They run on separate systems now. Ian likes a show called "Air Disasters" and falls asleep to it. Ben and Ian's karaoke song is "Under Pressure" by Queen. Ian created a patch to stabilize the holograpic images when two people are in the Imaging Chamber. Ian was the music knowledge person on the Project trivia team. Jenn was dizzy for a whole day after utilizing the Imaging Chamber. Ben Trivia: Ben remembers Ian when he seem them as a hologram! Ben was the sports knowledge person on the Project trivia team. Addison Trivia: Addison was the pop culture knowledge person on the Project trivia team. Ian's Outfits Worn in the Episode: Brown blazer, unbuttoned. Black v-neck top with silver necklace. Red fingernail polish. Green stone ring with silver band and bracelet. Kiss With History: None this episode. Miscellaneous Trivia: The title of this episode refers to the slogan of United Airlines, which is "Fly the friendly skies." The airplane sets were constructed on Universal Studios stages. The actors had to pretend to shake when the scene required it - the airplane set was not on a moving platform. Ian holds the original version of the Quantum Leap Series 2 handlink, only seen thus far in "What A Disaster," which was originally shot as the pilot episode. In the first season of "Star Trek: Enterprise" staring Scott Bakula, the cliffhanger at the end was a vogage into the future in which time travel had been destroyed. This episode ends in a very similar way! QUANTUM
LEAP – SERIES REGULARS
Addison Augustine (Portrayed
by
Caitlin Bassett) –
Addison is a smart, witty, fearless ex-military operative who now
serves as Project Observer at Quantum Leap HQ. She’s in charge of the
technology they use to communicate with the past, and tries to rescue
her fiancee, Ben, from his time-flung existence.
Ian Wright (Portrayed
by Mason Alexander
Park) –
Quantum Leap’s nonbinary chief architect of the AI program.
Herbert “Magic” Williams (Portrayed by Ernie Hudson) – A Vietnam vet and current head of the time travel project at Quantum Leap. Herbert “Magic” Williams tries to keep the Pentagon at bay while the team tries to rescue Ben. Doctor Sam Beckett leaped into Magic during his Vietnam tour.
Jenn Chu (Portrayed by Nanrisa Lee) – Head of security at Quantum Leap HQ. Quirky but formidable, she makes it her mission to figure out why Ben erased all evidence of why he Leaped. Guest Cast: Casey Simpson as Cory Zampol Davida Williams as Leslie Drobis Natalie Britton as Holly Carter Bart Johnson as First Officer Paul Kirk William Charlton as Angry Businessman Devyn Labella as Harried Mom Kristin Lindquist as Zelda Sam Ingraffia as Captain Jim Gentilly Skyler Bible as Andre Dassin (credited as Beefy Gunman) Joe Sobalo Jr. as Alexander Soto (credited as Loose Cannon Gunman) Ronnie Clark as Drugged Out Rocker Guest Cast Notes: Casey Simpson (Cory Zampol) is known for his role as as Ricky Harper on the hit Nickelodeon series Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. He later went on to star in the film Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library in 2017. He was nominated for a Kids Choice Award in 2016 and 2017. Casey was three years old when he began his acting career, landing his first gig on Frank TV in a comedy skit called Santa. He is a native of Los Angeles, California. He has an older sister named Sabrina who has appeared in his YouTube videos. He visited the Famous Birthdays office alongside his mother in 2017. Davida Williams (Leslie Drobis) began acting at the age of eight. She began by guest starring in roles on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Star Trek, Sister Sister, Days of Our Lives and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. Her first big screen performance was in Younger & Younger a film starring Donald Sutherland and Brendan Frasier. Nickelodeon cast Davida in the film Cry Baby Lane with Frank Langella. During that time Davida was called on by HBO to do voice overs for their children's animated series Happily Ever After alongside Raven Symone. At the age of 13, Davida was featured as the youngest actress in the late make-up artist Kevyn Aucoin's book, Face Forward. She was joined by over 100 faces including Sharon Stone, and Lucy Liu. She was then chosen for the role of "Claire", Hilary Duff's nemesis, on the Disney/ABC television series, Lizzie McGuire, one of Disney's most successful shows to date. She was on the show for two years. Then she joined her cast mate Hilary Duff once again, for New Line Cinema's film, Raise Your Voice, starring Rita Wilson, Kat Dennings and Jason Ritter. Davida then moved to NY and booked another recurring role on CBS's As The World Turns, where she played Jade Taylor for a year and a half. Upon her return to LA, she guest starred on Revenge, and 90210 before starring in a Lifetime Movie, Teenage Bank Heist. Recently, she completed a film made by the Free People Clothing, starring Margaret Qualley from the Leftovers. She also, did a short film for Nylon Magazine starring herself, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Josh Rubin. Natalie Britton (Holly) was born in Dublin, Ireland. She trained at ALRA drama school in London and subsequently moved to Los Angeles where she has worked for many years. She works in TV, Film, VO and Theatre and started her own production company Queen's Gambit Films in 2018. Natalie received the Rising Star award in 2018 from Irish Screen America and currently spends her time between Ireland and the USA. Bart Johnson (First Officer Paul Kurt) was born on December 13, 1970 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), High School Musical (2006) and The Run. He has been married to Robyn Lively since September 25, 1999. They have three children. William Charlton (Angry Businessman) was born in Vicenza, Italy. He grew up constantly moving, spending his teenage years in Germany. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder - where he spent 3 seasons with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival - he moved to London to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts(LAMDA). After living and working in New York for a number of years, he moved to Los Angeles, where he now resides. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theater/LA. Devyn Labella (Harried Mom) is known for CSI: Vegas (2021), American Horror Stories (2021) and The Rookie (2018). Kristin Lindquist (Zelda) is known for Scandal (2012), Grey's Anatomy (2005) and Elizabethtown (2005). Sam Ingraffia (Captain Jim Gentilly) received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ingraffia has studied acting with some of the best in the business, including, Lee Strasberg, Jeff Corey, Milton Katselas, Charles Conrad and Estelle Harmon. Recent Starring roles in motion pictures include Death and Cremation, with Brad Dourif and Jeremy Sumpter, Blue Telescope, with R.D. Call and U.Z.L.A., with Shawn Christian. Numerous television appearances include a just-completed Guest Star lead on the Emmy-winning HBO hit Barry. Over one-hundred film and television performances have afforded Ingraffia the opportunity to work with such acclaimed directors as John Schlesinger, Ron Howard, Mike Newell, Oliver Stone, Delbert Mann and Robert Zemeckis. His film work has included such classics as Wall Street, Used Cars and The Falcon and the Snowman (with Sean Penn), among others. Ingraffia's prolific writing credits include episodic television, network pilots, an HBO special and feature films. His award-winning plays have been produced in New York, Los Angeles and in numerous regional theaters across the country and have been published by Samuel French. Ingraffia founded his own production company, Little Dog Productions, with partner Doug Burch in 2008. He has written and produced numerous feature films, including Atlantis Down, starring Michael Rooker and the recently completed "Wages of Sin" with Emmy-winning DP Michael Franks. Skyler Bible (Beefy Gunman) is a Native American actor/stuntman whose varied lovable and distressed characters have been seen around the world at international festivals, streaming, and on the big screen. Whether it's a begrudging officer starring with actor/director Jim Cummings' in 2020 Orion Pictures' horror comedy The Wolf of Snow Hollow, or portraying Richard Gordon (Apollo 12) next to Ryan Gosling in Damien Chazelle's First Man (2018), being on set is like a 2nd home to him. In 2021, Skyler worked on a numerous amount of independent feature films and short films, that are to be released in 2022/23, with characters ranging from goofy demons, to a heart wrenched boyfriend trying connect with his love again, to an vampire hunter, to a loving husband supporting his wife through the most difficult of circumstances. In 2022 Skyler played a range of characters on various Televion shows, including: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett as Luke Skywalker's best friend, who stands up for what he believes in. In Fox's 911: Lonestar, a college "athlete" that thinks it's the right thing to ski on a highway, not weighing the potential life altering risks. And to be released in Sept. 2022, Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Skyler portrays real life victim Richard Guerrero, in a story that opened the world's eyes to the evils that people are capable of. Joe Sobalo Jr. (Loose Cannon Gunman) went to Middlesex college. As an elective, he took a theater class and performed a scene from "Death of a Salesman" in front of his classmates and was fell in love with performing. Joe earned his theatrical degree through many Improv, theater, directing and voice classes. Joe also went on later to get another degree at Boston University. Joe is a talented athlete who has been an athlete his entire life growing up a martial artist, playing sports, and running track. Completed 3 Boston Marathons, became a Krav Maga (Street Fighting) instructor, and is a stuntman. Joe also enjoys directing, songwriting, and producing Electronic music with his band, Chamie. On the vocal side he also love creating character(s) and humorous voices, motivating others, and traveling. Ronnie Clark (Drugged Out Rocker) is known for Future Man (2017), Our Flag Means Death (2022) and Sam & Cat (2013). Guests Who Appeared in Other Quantum Leap Episodes: None this episode. Characters who appeared in Classic Series episodes: None this episode. Songs & Music: "The Girl From Ipanema" by Little Anthony and the Imperials plays near the beginning of the episode faintly. Score music by Daniel James Chan Say What? Why would Magic assume that the IRA had anything to do with the highjacking? The IRA has never hijacked an airplane. Why would the hijackers let the crew stay alone without supervision in the back? Why would the hijacker purposely close the curtain so he couldn't see the crew talking? Ian and Jenn have a heartfelt conversation about Ian's worth to the Project while they only have about 30 minutes before the plane crashes. Get to work! Landing a plane, even with the help of a genius like Ian, would very likely be impossible the way Ben does it in the episode. It definitely does not take 10 years to learn to land one, though, as Ian states earlier in the episode. Quotable Quotes: Magic: "If we have any hope of stopping Martinez, we have to pull the plug now." Ian: "First of all, Ziggy doesn't have a plug." "Sorry everybody, I just have to get this knife out of my back!" -Ian Ben: "So we're flying blind." Addison: *Eye roll* Ben: "Apologies for the wordplay." Addison: "You're not sorry at all." Ben: "Nope." "I was wrong. The world does revolve around you." -Ben Ben: "People let you down kid. That's life." Cory: "You're not very good at pep talks." Ben: "Sorry, I'm usually better at this. It's been a rough week." Ian: "You know I'm still not completely over you getting into the accelerator without -" Ben: "Right now if not the optimal time to critize my life choices." Ian: "Ok but if this plane crashes, it might be my only chance." Ben: "Not funny." Ian: "It's a little bit funny. A bit." Ben: "Besides, Addison told me it was your future self who told me to get into the accelerator, right?" Ian: "Ok, all right, sure, sure it was. But let's not point fingers. Ok, look I know you've been out there, like, saving the world and everything... but you really screwed our trivia team." Personal Review & Detailed Synopsis by Brian Greene: After being stabbed by Martinez in the previous episode, Ben Leaps on board an airline as a stewardess folding a knife, and as the passengers demand for him to freshen up their drinks and correct a food order, he sees his reflection in the knife. He is female, again. At PQL, Magic has ordered Ziggy shut down. Ian is disturbed as Magic explains that Martinez's project has access to the same Ziggy unit they are using now. Due to this, Ziggy is being used in the future to stay one step ahead of the team, because everything they do is being recorded into Ziggy's memory banks and used by the future project. Magic says they have to pull the plug now. Ian explains that Ziggy doesn't have "a plug." It's thousands of interconnected servers and cloud-based AI. Magic tells Ian not to take it personally. Jenn agrees with Magic and orders Ian to pull the plug... plugs. Ian complies, and Ziggy powers down. Fellow Stewardess Holly gives Ben some advice about dealing with the more irritating passengers and Ben heads upstairs to serve others. Addison arrives and they share a moment. Ben thinks he is becoming too trusting after the incident with Martinez. She tells Ben that Ziggy is offline and that he is Lois Mitchell in 1971 on a flight to New York. Addison informs him that the plane crashes tonight. Using old newspaper archives (since Ziggy is offline) Ian finds basic information on the flight crash. The black box was never found and neither was most of the fuselage. On the plane, Ben and Addison try to get information from the pilot, but the older aviator is a sexist jerk and sends him away. Holly is being driven nuts by Cory Zampol, an entitled kid making ridiculous demands of the crew. Cory's dad owns the airline. Ben answers the ring of Cory, who is quite the know-it-all. Ben then speaks with Cory's seat mate, ex-NYPD Leslie Drobis, who is paid to babysit Cory and provide security for him. Ian has tasked the staff at PQL with finding any information on the crash. Jenn says the captain, Jim Gentilly, had been acting erratic in the months leading up to this flight and had missed a lot of work. He had bipolar disorder and was receiving electroshock therapy. Ian advises that word on Reddit was that the plane crashed from pilot suicide. Back on the plane, the Captain and flight engineer have been murdered by poison in their coffee. The copilot had not tried the coffee yet and continued to fly the plane. Ben goes to find answers and starts with Holly, who made the coffee. The team at PQL also suspects Holly may be working with someone from the IRA. Ben snaps at Cory and tells him that the world does not revolve around him and continues to look for Cory. He finds Holly, but she denies involvement. The team continues to investigate. The passenger manifest is not filled out properly. Ian continues to take Ziggy being offline personally and is still bothered with the knowledge that he Leaps in the future and sets this entire series of events in motion. Jenn consoles him. Cory talks with Ben with Addison nearby. It turns out he is largely ignored by his father and flies around place to place feeling lonely and abandoned. Cory then notices that the tamper seal to the emergency equipment storage has been broken. Ben opens it and finds a "Go bag" with money and supplies needed after the plane would be hijacked. He finds a passport for the co-pilot, Paul Kirk and they realize he poisoned the coffee and will hijack the plane. Officer Leslie arrives and Cory tells her the plane is being hijacked. Leslie points her gun at them - she is in on it! The scene changes as Leslie communicates over the PA system to the passengers that they will be returned safe as long as the airline bends to their ransom demands. Two men hold guns as Leslie and Kirk talk in the cockpit and share a kiss. Magic, Addison, Jenn, and Ian come up with a plan help Ben take back control of the plane. They don't know why the hijackers crash the plane, but all four have money problems and have been disenfranchised by the airline over the years. Separated from the passengers, all the stewardesses are made to sit in the back of the plane. Ben tells them to follow his lead and goes into the main cabin of the plane with the other passengers and the men with guns. He convinces the hijackers to let them serve the passengers water. Ben takes quaaludes from a passed out passenger and gets a lady who he knows uses insulin to give him one of her syringes. He uses these items to inject one hijacker and take him down. Ben then goes to the first class cabin where Cory is located. He convinces the other hijacker to allow him to help Cory to prevent him vomiting. Cory states that this is all his fault and Ben says "Look on the bright side. The world does revolve around you." A passenger decides to take things into his own hands and rushes the hijacker, causing him to fire his weapon, sending bullets into the hull of the plane! Ben and Addison work together to create a chemical that will disable Leslie and Kirk. Ben phones into the cockpit first to try and talk them down, but when that doesn't work, he releases the chemical into the cockpit and they pass out. After Kirk and Leslie are removed from the cockpit and tied up, Addison works to figure out how they are going to land the plane now that it is on auto-pilot. Cory informs Ben that they have 5 minutes before the plane crashes due to a hydraulics failure. Ian guesses that the gunshots must have gone into the hydraulics line. Magic and Jenn support Ian as they look for an answer. Addison advises Ben that Ian says they can manually reroute the hydraulics from the avionics bay. Cory goes to take care of the hydraulics and Ben stays in the cockpit. Addison tells Ben she will go and monitor Cory. Ben asks how he will continue to fly the plane without her. Addison motions to her right and says "This is..." and we see Ian next to her as a hologram! Ben remembers, "Ian!" Ian sees Ben in his stewardess outfit and says "It's a great look for you." Ben shakes his head and smiles. Ian directs Ben on what to do in the cockpit. In a humorous banter between them about who was at fault for Ben's first Leap, the chemistry between the characters and the history they share shines through. Addison lets Ian know that Cory has patched the line. Ben is ready to land the plane and Ian uses the handlink from "What a Disaster!" to project a holographic image that will help Ben land the plane. Ben lands the plane, roughly! Everyone is safe. Ben Leaps as Ian looks on. Ian is welcomed with applause from the PQL staff as he exits the Imaging Chamber. Addison reports that Cory Zampol ended up being one of the longest-tenured pilots in the TGA fleet history. He later retired and started teaching at flight school. All four hijackers are still behind bars as of 2023. The entire crew received commendations and Lois (Ben's host) was invited to the White House. Jenn says she guesses Lois was very confused by that! Ian notices on his screen that there is no Quantum Signature. Usually after a Leap they pick up something to let them know approximately when Ben has Leaped to, but this time Ian says he is getting nothing. Ben Leaps into a facility where it is lightly snowing. A plate on a nearby piece of equipment is labeled "Ziggy." The facility looks like it was hit by a bomb. Ben says to himself "It's snowing in L.A." An older version of Ian appears in a doorway with a lit torch and says to Ben, "Nuclear winter." Ian tells Ben that they have been waiting for him for a very long time. Ben then realizes he has Leaped into the future! The penultimate episode of Season One predominately focuses on the main Leap story, and while I have been wanting more of this, I was surprised that there was little mention of Martinez and that story arc so close to the end of the season. The Leap itself was quite good and believable, except for the inept hijackers in the main cabin. Cory's character grew on me, and in the end he came full circle. There was plenty of humor in this episode along with the action and mystery. An enjoyable outing, and the revelation that Ben has Leaped into the future with an almost ridiculously silly version of Ian was a good twist. Hopefully next week's season finale will answer our questions of why Ben Leaped and where he will go from here! Production Photos:        Production Videos: Coming Soon Production Credits: Consulting Producer: Moira Kirland Producer: Tim Scanlan Producer: Meg Fister Co-Executive Producers: Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes Co-Executive Producer: Drew Lindo Co-Executive Producer: Aadrita Mukerji Co-Executive Producer: Marc Bienstock Executive Producers: Steven Lilien & Bryan Wyndrandt Executive Producer: Alex Berger Executive Producer: Chris Grismer Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario Executive Producer: Dean Georgaris Executive Producer: Martin Gero Developed by: Steven Lilien & Bryan Wyndrandt Created by: Donald P. Bellisario Written by: Alex Berger Directed by: Linda Medoza Associate Producer: Ethan Henderson Story Editor: Margarita Matthews Casting by: Jennifer Cooper, CSA Original Casting By: Kamala A. Thomas Director of Photography: Alan Caudillo Production Designer: Mayling Cheng Edited by: Ian Mayberry Music by: Daniel James Chan Unit Production Manager: Melanie J. Elin Unit Production Manager: Marc Bienstock First Assistant Director: Mark Trapenberg Second Assistant Director: Athena Alexander Costume Designer: Genevieve Tyrrell A Camera Operator: Dave Hirschman B Camera/Steadycam Operator: Josh Harrison Production Sound Mixer: Beau Hodges Chief Lighting Technician: Donna Vega Key Grip: Peter Chrimes Art Directors: Raf Lydon and Adam Rowe Set Director: Tim Stepeck Costume Supervisor: Mark A. Summers Property Master: Erik Grasteit Construction Coordinator: Matt Sazzman Department Head Hair: Amy Marie Wilson Department Head Makeup: Julia Lallas Leadman: David Napoli Stunt Coordinator: Jeff Barnett Location Manager: Kevin Funston Transportation Coordinator: Sandra Ninham-Gallardo Production Office Coordinator: Sofie Johanna "Bubbles" Dejus Assistant Production Office Coordinator: Brenden Hickey Production Accountant: Natalie Chiengkul Script Supervisor: Heather Pollock Script Coordinator: Sue Palmer Casting Accociates: Lindsay Jameyson & Mia Cascio Post Production Coordinator: Gabriella Scudieri Music Supervisor: Season Kent Music Co-Supervisor: Leah Harrison Music Editor: Zed Starkovich Assistant Editor: Clinton Steeds Online Editor: Richard Wells Colorist: Chris Boyer Visual Effects Supervisor: Trent Smith Visual Effects Editor: Mengle Han Supervising Sound Editor: Kelly Cabral Co-Supervising Sound Editor: Kevin Zimmerman Re-Recording Mixer: Yuri Reese & Sean Madsen Assistant Chief Lighting Technician: Korey Vanhuis Rigging Gaffer: John McGonegle Besy Boy Grip: Brian Deutsch A Dolly Grip: John Cassidy B Dolly Grip: Don Jones Key Rigging Grip: Jeremy Brussell The State of California and the California Film Commision, California Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program Copyright 2023 Universal Television LLC All Right Reserved Dean Georgaris Entertainment Quinn's House Universal Content Productions Universal Television Quantum Leap Podcast Aftershow: Podcast with Damon Sugameli, Mike Bloxam, Brian Greene, and M.J. 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