Quantum Leap (2022) - Episode 1x06 - What a Disaster! - Review
A retooled pilot episode dives deep into Ben's past/psyche, with promising results!
In 1989, Ben Leaps into a soon-to-be-divorced dad, John Harvey, during the Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco to save John’s son (and possibly his marriage). With a little help from the future, and newly returned memories of his mother’s death, Ben puts right what once went wrong! Notably, this episode was filmed as the original pilot, but was repositioned as Episode 6 with some reshoots and recontextualization.
When I started reviewing Quantum Leap on Serially Engaged—heck, it’s one of the reasons I started a Substack in the first place—I wanted to create an easy-to-follow review structure so I didn’t have to identify a new angle or hook each week.1 From Quantum Leap’s fun and unique format sprang three clear sections: 1) reflections on a phenomenal procedural engine that; B) can tell us about the relationship between episodic and serial storytelling; especially given C) its status as a sequel rather than reboot. Now, after five reviews, I worry that these posts are beginning to fall into the dreaded ‘recap-review’ category of writing. With that in mind, I may take some time to revisit how I frame these reviews going forward, especially since I think that Quantum Leap (2022) can provide a wonderful lens onto the state of modern TV. For now though, let’s dig into this almost pilot (with the budget to prove it)!
Procedural Storytelling: If I squint hard enough, I think I can still see some of the basic building blocks of the original Quantum Leap sequel pilot. It has solid production values, a few moments where the emotional beats are the tiniest bit incongruous with character development across recent episodes, and, perhaps most importantly, Ben’s ‘first’ recovered memories include flashbacks of his love for his mother (and regrets about her death). This mirrors the original Quantum Leap pilot, where Sam (despite his “swiss cheese” memory) calls his father in a time period when he is still alive.
I’m a sucker for a bittersweet time travel story and was delighted to see how well the writers connected the emotional dots between Ben and his Leap-of-the-week. When Ben and Addison realized saving Jason wasn’t enough—he also had to repair their familial bonds—Ben was able to use his own pain to help Jason (‘his’ son). Ben's monologue came from somewhere personal; it wasn't just a performed pep talk with the goal of "putting right what once went wrong"—it was also super heartfelt.
I do wish we hadn’t gotten yet another infodump from Addison outlining how Ben saving Jason also saved thousands of lives via civil engineering—a lovely sentiment, one that works better for me than Episode 4’s ‘keep drugs off our streets’, but still not ideal. I know fans (myself included) have complained about such large stakes when the beauty of the OG QL was its capacity for small and intimate stories reflecting broader social issues. But! I do think this episode got it right: A huge tragedy and world event struck, but it was actually all about Ben trying to save one kid, that kid’s relationship with his mom, and a marriage—and, of course, about Ben’s love for his mom.
I thought the flashbacks and memories of Ben’s mom worked really well here. As Addison said in the present, Ben’s situation has made him more vulnerable and open, so while he may not originally have shared what happened to his mother with her, the fact of his amnesia has made it easier for him to share these difficult parts of himself. It works on the level of revealing more about Ben, as a character, and in terms of diving deeper into the Ben and Addison dynamic (of which I remain a fan). When Ben called his mother just as he leaped, it was the first time I felt myself tear up at the 2022 incarnation of Quantum Leap. Looking forward to more moments like this!
Serial Developments: So! Our Mystery Leaper (Leaper X) is a Future Leaper—a marine named Martinez who is not (yet) Leaping as of 2022. That’s what the show is going with and, while I still kind of hope this plot has something to do with Sam, I actually really love this development. Quantum Leap’s approach to time has always been a bit wonky,2 so I'm curious to see how they play with cause and effect in an era when time travel TV logic has been pretty effectively explored and perhaps even mastered (from LOST to Dark to Paper Girls to countless time loop anime, etc., forever). Time travel drama is also the perfect medium for one of my favourite bittersweet narrative tropes: Tragi-Poetic Dramatic Irony—i.e., they are the cause of their own problems (like Ian's reflection that, by visiting Martinez, perhaps they started him down the Leaping path).
These reveals raise some fun questions about the mystery of Ben’s leap (and also about Janis). Like, maybe he just wants to maintain the timeline, or maybe he wants to stop the Future Leaper he inadvertently created, or maybe he is fighting off some kind of government conspiracy. I can imagine a future where the government uncovers what Magic has been hiding from them and takes over with more nefarious goals. After all, Martinez made it clear that he was down for whatever the military wanted of him. Or maybe Martinez will get looped into whatever Janis is doing in her basement. I dunno!
Otherwise, a fun reason why the Leaper X plot was relegated almost exclusively to the portion of the episode focused on the ensemble cast—i.e., serial developments—is that Leaper X was likely not a part of the original pilot version of this episode. It’s also probably why Addison very explicitly lampshades the problem (in what I assume is a reshoot) by telling Ben not to focus on anything else but the Leap of the week:
“Look, the entire team is on it… You’re not going to like this, but, you can’t focus on that right now… You have to focus on this leap. Let us worry about the last one… If you don’t keep making it through these leaps, you will get stuck in the past. Okay. Please, for me. For you. Let’s just focus on this one.”
Legacyquel Baggage: In the present, Jenn uses some dolls to help explain how different people view the Leaper. Ben sees himself as the person he has leapt into (the Leapee), while Addison sees Ben. By the same logic, Addison (and others watching / recording Addison in the Imaging Chamber) see Martinez as himself, while Ben sees him as Martinez’ Leapee. How does this relate to the original series? With the Evil Leapers, Sam had to touch them to see them.3 This could have been an interesting moment last episode, with Martinez grabbing Ben and appearing as someone else to him, but they’ve decided to go the simpler route of having Martinez appear to Addison and, importantly, the audience, as Leaper X without a sense of Ben’s POV.
Embodiment Corner: Accents, Working Out, and Imaging Chambers! Oh Boy!
Okay, so, we had three interesting moments on embodiment and identity this episode!
A discussion of Leaper X’s accent, suggesting Ben would be in a tough spot if he ever leaped into the life of an ESL speaker (though we know Ben speaks multiple languages, so he could potentially become someone who speaks no English at all).
Another moment confirming Ben taking on the physical characteristics of the Leapee, when he can’t run so hard for so long given how little John worked out.
How Leapers and their holograms view each other (see above).
Most of this is about embodiment, but it does raise interesting questions about identity. If Ben is leaping (like Sam) due to some kind of divine providence, why is it almost always an English speaker in the US? I realize the answer is largely ‘plot / convenience,’ but it does make me wonder when we’ll see more examination of, say, American hegemony and empire, or the lives of people from other places and cultures.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading, and please do subscribe, like, and comment!
As much as I’ve loved covering House of the Dragon (the show that inspired me to start writing about TV again after grad school), it’s been a bit more difficult to take the time each week to identify which elements of an episode to discuss via a more thematic review style.
Sometimes Sam changed the past, by saving lives or keeping people together, and other times Sam simply maintained the past, like when he helped Buddy Holly write Peggy Sue or, ridiculously, when he accidentally helped officials discover the Watergate break-in.
I don’t remember if Al could also see the Evil Leapers, or if anyone could see the Evil Leaper Companion Holograms, so sound off in the comments if you do remember!