Bond has The Aston Martin, Neo has his Nokia, The Dukes of Hazzard had a beautiful Dodge Charger, Michael Knight had the even MORE beautiful Pontiac Trans-am, The Rod has His Nike face mask and even the A Team had a General Motors Van.

For years, the television/film industry have walked hand in hand with big named companies, eager to invest money, guaranteeing them airtime and sales potential. Pontiac are perhaps the best example. During the heyday of Knight Rider, orders were frequently received for "That black car on TV".

Criticisms were leveled at the producers of the Bond films, declaring the latest offerings nothing more that "commercial sell outs" and no storylines. Say what they will, the Bond films always make millions, both because of the film and because of its commercial endorsements.

So does Quantum Leap need commercialization?

That all depends on what sort of quality production you want to see. Those who wish a big budget, great effects film will probably opt for a fair amount of commercialization, others who just want QL the way it was will no doubt hope that DPB does his own thing.

These days at least ONE big name is always associated with TV serials, but did the original QL series have commercial links?

Ziggy was a hybrid computer, could she now become an HP-Compaq System, or perhaps a Dell?

Al’s hand link, was just a jumble of flashy lights, could it now become an HP-Compaq Ipaq, or HP-Compaq Jornada?

The original Quantum Leap seemed to get by without the aid of a single product endorsement, unlike a few other Bellisario productions:

Magnum PI. The Ferrari 308 Spider

Airwolf. Frequently used McDonnell Douglas aircraft.

Perhaps Quantum Leap would benefit from "selling out", if the production team were to do this, perhaps they would make enough money out of it to fund great special effects, or even to tempt Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell to appear, although it is debatable whether money would really be an issue for these 2!!

The Rod, once again supposes that only time will tell!

Rod Out!

Should you wish to email The Rod about this article or ANY QL related matter, or even if you Rodettes out there just want to send Him fan mail/pictures. You can do so by contacting Him at therod@quantumleap-alsplace.com

Keep Leaping Sam, maybe one day YOU can be The Hot Rod.