After 3 seasons, Sam Becket finally looses it , and the QL project almost looses him. After undergoing shock treatment in a 50s mental hospital, Sam can no longer grasp reality and fades into the people he leaped into. Poor Al is trying to bring him back to real time, but the only solution is a very painful one. If people ask why Quantum Leap was so amazing, this episode is the answer. Even today, 18 year after its original airing, it is as fresh and exciting as it was before. Scott Bakula received the Golden Globe Award for his performance in this episode, and it is - hands down - his best work in the show or on TV ever.
5 Reviews
I hate this episode, which makes it one of my favourites
kevinmorice13 January 2022
The flexibility of QL gave them scope to have comedy episodes, drama episode, faux horror episodes, but this was the first episode where I was genuinely scared by it. Knowing it was the last episode of the season also brought in the potential that things could actually go wrong and end the show.
The compilation of flashbacks and Scott Bakula actually doing impressions of the other actors for the first time also gave a previously unseen twist to this episode.
The compilation of flashbacks and Scott Bakula actually doing impressions of the other actors for the first time also gave a previously unseen twist to this episode.
One of the BEST!
ratssaidskinner26 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Okay. I debated with myself if I should give this a 10 or a 9 (or even an 8) as a rating. But I went with the 10 and here's my thinking.
The acting was phenomenal. Kudos not only to Bakula for reprising so many past characters, but also to Bruce A. Young, who did a fantastic job as Butch (The "Butcher") in this episode. Fantastic job Bruce!
The reasons why I almost went with an 8 or 9 as my rating was because of two things: 1. Al's rapping "song" ALMOST ruined this episode for me. In the middle of a serious, well acted show, we have to deal with this RIDICULOUS song...totally out of place.
2. It was VERY unrealistic for the doctor to agree to and the nurse to administer such a powerful electroshock to Bakula based solely on the request of the persona of a "retarded" persona's request.
So why the 10? I'm still asking myself the same question!! But this was one heck of an episode in which we never saw the TRUE mirror image of Sam Beiderman!
The acting was phenomenal. Kudos not only to Bakula for reprising so many past characters, but also to Bruce A. Young, who did a fantastic job as Butch (The "Butcher") in this episode. Fantastic job Bruce!
The reasons why I almost went with an 8 or 9 as my rating was because of two things: 1. Al's rapping "song" ALMOST ruined this episode for me. In the middle of a serious, well acted show, we have to deal with this RIDICULOUS song...totally out of place.
2. It was VERY unrealistic for the doctor to agree to and the nurse to administer such a powerful electroshock to Bakula based solely on the request of the persona of a "retarded" persona's request.
So why the 10? I'm still asking myself the same question!! But this was one heck of an episode in which we never saw the TRUE mirror image of Sam Beiderman!
S3: Mostly good season but leans too heavily on the sentiment and can't always get its delivery on point (SPOILERS)
bob the moo29 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
My return to the viewing habits of my early teens continues to find that Quantum Leap stands up reasonably well to the test of time – albeit on its own terms. When compared to the massive amount of television and the quality that is available now, it doesn't really rank in any list I could think to make, however when compared to network television serials which rely on formula and a weekly case/situation, certainly this deserves to be remembered. The third season opens by trying to match the personal and engaging episode which closed the second season; in the first two episodes Sam leaps into his own family circle in a way that adds a personal layer. These episodes highlight what is strongest about this season, while also reminding us of its weakness.
The strength is that the ideas are endless, and the narrative always have several layers of action. The downside of this is that too often the episodes have a soapy "tv drama" feel to them. In some cases, this is the whole episode, and in particular the first half of the season seems to have a glut of them – the priest, the fashion model, the beauty contest, the magician, the motorcycle gang, the pregnant girl, the runaway; all of these episodes struck me as just a little too much on the sentimental side. Okay when you look at those stories, the sentiment comes with territory to a point, but there is certainly no attempt to walk it back a bit.
This also gets into other episodes – for example the really strong episode set in the Watts riots, it is hurt a little by virtue of focusing on some sort of forbidden love affair, not the riots in and of themselves. The second half of the season is better though, with more variety, some more dramatic episodes, and ones that offer more than melodrama. The delivery is variable though – and the season finale makes this abundantly clear. The episode itself is dramatic and interesting – Sam's psyche fractures and he ends up believing he is characters he previously had played. I found this really interesting as I had always thought how he could easily lose himself in the constantly changing landscape. That side is strong, however at the same time the "fix" thread is solved by making Al deliver a freestyle rap, which is a terrible moment in an otherwise strong episode.
I do sound mostly negative on this season, and that is not the case in reality as I did enjoy it – but it was 'despite' many things. There is plenty to like in this season, and it does do interesting things and produce solid episodes, just a shame the sentiment and occasional poor judgement detracts as often as it does.
The strength is that the ideas are endless, and the narrative always have several layers of action. The downside of this is that too often the episodes have a soapy "tv drama" feel to them. In some cases, this is the whole episode, and in particular the first half of the season seems to have a glut of them – the priest, the fashion model, the beauty contest, the magician, the motorcycle gang, the pregnant girl, the runaway; all of these episodes struck me as just a little too much on the sentimental side. Okay when you look at those stories, the sentiment comes with territory to a point, but there is certainly no attempt to walk it back a bit.
This also gets into other episodes – for example the really strong episode set in the Watts riots, it is hurt a little by virtue of focusing on some sort of forbidden love affair, not the riots in and of themselves. The second half of the season is better though, with more variety, some more dramatic episodes, and ones that offer more than melodrama. The delivery is variable though – and the season finale makes this abundantly clear. The episode itself is dramatic and interesting – Sam's psyche fractures and he ends up believing he is characters he previously had played. I found this really interesting as I had always thought how he could easily lose himself in the constantly changing landscape. That side is strong, however at the same time the "fix" thread is solved by making Al deliver a freestyle rap, which is a terrible moment in an otherwise strong episode.
I do sound mostly negative on this season, and that is not the case in reality as I did enjoy it – but it was 'despite' many things. There is plenty to like in this season, and it does do interesting things and produce solid episodes, just a shame the sentiment and occasional poor judgement detracts as often as it does.
Different, but not much happened here
FlushingCaps10 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Sam leaps into the life of a patient in a mental hospital in 1954 just as he is about to be given an unauthorized shock treatment by an orderly who got mad because the patient, also named Sam, struck him. He is given an extra high voltage despite the warning from the nurse in the room saying, "That'll kill him." It doesn't, but it does scramble his brain so much that for essentially the entire episode, Sam Beckett doesn't really know who he is. He keeps thinking he's one of various people whose lives he previously leapt into in the series-we even see three of them in mirror images.
Sam doesn't recognize Al, doesn't understand most of what Al tells him, and only because he decides to trust this man who claims to be his buddy, does he follow Al's instructions on how to get out of the hospital.
The episode truly stars Al, who figures out why Sam was sent there-to help another patient learn the alphabet, to lead to him learning to read, so that he can later get released-something we never actually hear happens, but can assume so, all because Al created a "rap song" that included chanting the alphabet that the young man could remember.
Throughout the episode, Sam is terrified when the orderly who gave him the shock treatment comes near. He repeatedly pleads to never have that treatment again. But (extra spoiler alert here) at the end, he follows Al's directions and pleads for another shock treatment, believing it will get him out of the hospital.
I know series producer Deborah Pratt wrote this episode and while I applaud her for being creative, I have some serious criticism of this episode. If it was meant to be a harsh criticism of the use of shock treatment, that argument is countered by that very treatment being the vehicle that in effect "saved" Sam's life. Twice we hear that the voltage used would kill Sam, but it didn't either time. This makes it appear to be a treatment that doesn't cause as much harm as some think and one that can be most beneficial.
Much of the episode dealt with Al's failed attempts to get Sam to listen, and the doctors listening to him speak in the persona of the various people he once leapt into, thinking he's some sort of schizophrenic. Viewers who hadn't seen any of those particular episodes surely felt rather lost at those characters.
It also, in the realm of this episode, seems most improbable that the doctor would order shock treatment just because one of his retarded patients asks for it, but that's what happened. In the state Sam was in throughout the episode, it really would seem that he would never go along with Al telling him to demand another shock treatment because the one thing he was terrified of was that very type of treatment.
This was in some ways a very memorable episode, but one that made me most uncomfortable-and not just for a few moments, but for most of the episode. It's the only one (I think) where Sam did nothing to help anyone's life but his own, and really, the only thing he did to help himself was at the end, asking for shock treatment at a high voltage.
There were virtually no humorous parts and Sam was in such distress the whole time, it just wasn't an episode that I could enjoy. I am giving it a 5 for being a different sort of plot, but I will skip this one next time I go through my DVDs.
Sam doesn't recognize Al, doesn't understand most of what Al tells him, and only because he decides to trust this man who claims to be his buddy, does he follow Al's instructions on how to get out of the hospital.
The episode truly stars Al, who figures out why Sam was sent there-to help another patient learn the alphabet, to lead to him learning to read, so that he can later get released-something we never actually hear happens, but can assume so, all because Al created a "rap song" that included chanting the alphabet that the young man could remember.
Throughout the episode, Sam is terrified when the orderly who gave him the shock treatment comes near. He repeatedly pleads to never have that treatment again. But (extra spoiler alert here) at the end, he follows Al's directions and pleads for another shock treatment, believing it will get him out of the hospital.
I know series producer Deborah Pratt wrote this episode and while I applaud her for being creative, I have some serious criticism of this episode. If it was meant to be a harsh criticism of the use of shock treatment, that argument is countered by that very treatment being the vehicle that in effect "saved" Sam's life. Twice we hear that the voltage used would kill Sam, but it didn't either time. This makes it appear to be a treatment that doesn't cause as much harm as some think and one that can be most beneficial.
Much of the episode dealt with Al's failed attempts to get Sam to listen, and the doctors listening to him speak in the persona of the various people he once leapt into, thinking he's some sort of schizophrenic. Viewers who hadn't seen any of those particular episodes surely felt rather lost at those characters.
It also, in the realm of this episode, seems most improbable that the doctor would order shock treatment just because one of his retarded patients asks for it, but that's what happened. In the state Sam was in throughout the episode, it really would seem that he would never go along with Al telling him to demand another shock treatment because the one thing he was terrified of was that very type of treatment.
This was in some ways a very memorable episode, but one that made me most uncomfortable-and not just for a few moments, but for most of the episode. It's the only one (I think) where Sam did nothing to help anyone's life but his own, and really, the only thing he did to help himself was at the end, asking for shock treatment at a high voltage.
There were virtually no humorous parts and Sam was in such distress the whole time, it just wasn't an episode that I could enjoy. I am giving it a 5 for being a different sort of plot, but I will skip this one next time I go through my DVDs.
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