Quantum Leap (TV Series) Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953 (1989) User Reviews

Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 13 October 2020]

This is more Sam Spade than Sam Beckett who has leaped into the body of private eye Nick Allen. He just happens to be a man with Bogart's face.

His partner Phil is found dead and Nick is initially in the frame for his murder. Nick's widow is beautiful femme fatale Allison Grimsley (Claudia Christian) who Phil has the hots for.

Al gives Sam the bad news. Nick is next in line for the drop and Allison is the likely culprit. Sam finds this hard to believe.

The episode plays out like a cheap detective novel as well as a Bogart pastiche. There is a lot of fun to be had by Sam being mistaken for Bogart including by a young Woody Allen.

Despite Nick's life being in peril it was somehow a low thrill episode. I could not understand why Sam would want to upset Al because of his suspicions about Allison.

S1: A little soapy at times, but does well by focusing on Sam/Al and constructing around that, not just the drama of the week – although also then doing that too

[bob the moo · 18 September 2016]

There is always a bit of trepidation when it comes to revisiting a show which you last watched in your childhood; often you remember stuff with overly affectionate memories. With Quantum Leap this was less the case, since I remember it as a weekly show on BBC2, and although I watched it each time, it was not something that really left a big mark on me. It is interesting to view it back with a slightly more critical eye, to see how the first season is constructed.

The starting point is very much Sam, Al, and the project. The main stories tend to be a little on the soapy side, and mostly they are strong enough to really make you care about the characters or their situation on a very deep level. It is wise then that Sam and Al are strong characters, because our engagement with them brings us into any specific story. This also explains some of the seemingly weaker decisions – eg the chance that Sam would leap close (and unrelated) to a previous (future) partner is unlikely, but it does help us engage with him (and is certainly more interesting than the story he actually is there for). There are some weaker episodes in terms of resolution (Piggy Sue is not funny enough as an idea to cover for it as the end of an episode which was otherwise a so-so romance). Mostly though it is fun enough.

The performances are likable even if a bit soft. Bakula is a good lead; likable and quite easy to watch. Meanwhile Stockwell is fun even if some of his non-PC mannerisms are a little dated now, and perhaps limit him as a character of fun. The always changing support cast are mostly pretty good, doing solid jobs with no time to develop a character. For sure it is broad perhaps, but they are background and at least they mostly avoid full-on cliché (although sometimes this is the goal, and it works). It never totally shakes off the soapy element of many of the stories, but it has good core focus to draw the viewer in, and is delivered with a good ear for humor and drama to make for easy entertainment with lots of potential.