Welcome back, leapers! Last week, we saw Sam deal with some very personal voyages through the timestream. This week, we see him as both a priest and a fashion photographer. Let’s get to it!
1. A very grim leap
One of the interesting parts of reviewing Quantum Leap is the shift in tone that can happen from episode to episode. Last week’s episode, due to saving Sam’s brother, had a hopeful note, even with the death of Maggie hanging over it. This episode is a stark contrast to that one, which was handled deftly by the writers by having Sam’s mission be, essentially, a fake out the whole time. It wasn’t Father Mac that needed saving, it was that Sam had to stop Father Mac from killing local hood Tony.
Why is this such a change? Well, because Tony is a real piece of shit, who killed a twelve year old and tries to kill Father Mac by shooting him in a confessional. While it certainly isn’t advocating the killing of a teenager, the show lets you know, in no uncertain terms, that Tony did kill people, and that Mac is justified in his anger over the murder of an innocent member of his congregation. Typically, Sam has to save folks who have been wronged by history or someone else’s perversion of justice. While, yes, Sam is ultimately saving two ruined lives by stopping this murder, it feels like everything about this episode is about the letter of the law justice, not cosmic justice, which makes it stand out in from so many other episodes in the first few seasons.
2. Yo Calavicci!
Every now and then, Quantum Leap gets cute and involves a piece of ‘real’ life in it. This time, Sam talks to a kid who Father Mac is training to box and mentions seeing a movie where a guy is punching meat in a walk-in refrigerator. That person’s locker reveals the name “S. Stallone.” About as subtle as Stop or My Mom Will Shoot.
3. Pedantry alert
The actor who plays Father Mac is left-handed, as he makes the sign of the cross with his left hand, an action that was once considered evil and borderline heretic, especially for a priest before the Second Vatican Council. If I ever get to go into the Quantum Leap Accelerator, I will leap back into the continuity crew for this episode and fix this error that only I would ever notice or care about.
4. The ebb and flow of the show
After the very emotional “Leap of Faith,” we get a relatively dull episode in “One Strobe Over the Line.” This episode is about Sam as a photographer trying to save a model from overdosing. It’s hard to tell exactly why this episode falls short, but it does not have the drama or intrigue of many similar episodes the series has done in the past. It’s not the acting necessarily, nor is it the stakes, as an innocent person’s overdose death is clearly motivation enough for Sam.
But, for whatever reason, this episode feels flat. Now, is that because I watched it in quick succession with the gut punch of “Leap of Faith?” Or would this have felt just as flat if I waited a week between viewings, like the viewers originally had to do? There’s no real way for me to know, but this episode simply didn’t click for me.
5. So…no one cares?
The strangest part of this episode is the revelation that Helen, the boss of the victim Edie, has a history of forcing models to take drugs and, in at least one case, die, in order to work the long hours the job requires. When Sam reveals this, people are obviously shocked, but not nearly enough. It’s almost as if Sam says “Helen doesn’t think The Shawshank Redemption is that solid of a movie!” People are shocked, but no one calls the cops, no one slaps her, no one tackles her to the ground. What the hell?
The “Oh boy…” Stinger: Sam wakes up in a body that is practicing some witchcraft.
