Having finally finished the (potential) Virtual Seasons episode I’ve been working on, (Shameless plug!) which has consumed my every writing moment for weeks, I came up for air and suddenly realised – oh gosh, I’m due to write a Rodette Vision!

I told myself: in the words of The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy, DON’T PANIC - all I need is a topic of discussion….

Hmmmm…..

Okay, looking at Quantum Leap from a writer’s perspective, one thing I am constantly on the lookout for is an unusual or at least unused profession for Sam to Leap into. This came to the forefront again in a conversation I had recently with Jennie, dealing with the American ‘obsession’ with perfect teeth, and their perception of British people as lacking any orthodontic self-respect. Hey! I said, that reminds me, I don’t think I’ve read a story where Sam is a dentist!

Now I haven’t read all the fanfic out there by any means (though I’m enjoying working through the previous Virtual Seasons enormously) so I may have missed some, but I have come up with the beginnings of a list of some of the jobs that I don’t think Sam has done yet.

Some of these are already forming into the germs of ideas for my upcoming stories, (I have a least a dozen in various stages from basic outline to part written) others are on the back-burner or up for grabs, but I thought it might be interesting to spark off a discussion among you guys as to the job you would most like to see Sam tackle.

Obviously, those situations that involve danger or embarrassment for our hero tend to make for the best ‘TV’ (or reading), but there is potential in any occupation if you look for the implications of Sam doing something he hasn’t been trained for, and the job itself needn’t always be the most important aspect of the leap. Scott once said they would have liked to do the story where he was a baby (which Sue and I have started to play with!) and using that interview (on the CD) as my starting place, thinking of him doing something at the other end of the Kennedy story, I head my list with:

And moving on in no particular order…

Midwife

Chiropodist

Crocodile hunter

Gamekeeper in Kenya

Chef in a top restaurant

Serving at McDonalds

Supermarket checkout girl

Petrol pump attendant

Pizza delivery boy

Shoe sales girl (trying shoes on people with smelly feet all day)

Florist

Architect

Bricklayer

Steeplejack

Window cleaner (especially on skyscrapers)

Train Driver

Tea picker

Wine taster

Perfume tester

Art restorer

Potter

Television engineer/ Cable guy

First violin in major philharmonic orchestra

Opera singer

Calvin Klein model

Movie director

Make up artist

Telesales operator

Ambassador or Diplomat of some sort

CEO of Fox network, or Universal studios!

Bill Gates

Steven Hawking

Marine salvage operative

Olympic gymnast

Skating instructor

Sumo wrestler

Children’s TV presenter – especially pre-school

Toy maker

On which note, gentle reader, I will leave you to hurry on over to the comment thread, to vote on your favorite idea, or to add more of your own "most wanted leaps".