i've decided to rewatch quantum leap because i can that's why

i mean check out this cool ass theme and intro

that 80s fuuuutuuuuure aesthetic

i literally cannot understand why scott has such a weird ass torso

remember when shows did two hour premieres?

sam is enjoying the gross “dude talk” as much as i am. we stan

SIDE NOTE: DID NBC DO SOMETHING GOOD???? i need to look into peacock tv more

HOLY SHIT $5 A MONTH???? BRO THIS IS AMAZINGLY INEXPENSIVE

anyway the best part of this scary ass explosion is the the very obvious stock footage

these 50s clothes are amazing and i wanna wear them all

sam questioning if he has a pregnancy kink i—

sam: do you want to dance?
peggy: my stomach—
sam: i can reach around it

the writers really did everything to make him the ideal man every woman wanted

AND IT’S WORKING GDI

pretty sure sam is an atheist? or at least agnostic. his swiss cheese brain erased that part

then again being in this situation where you look like someone else to others and you dont know why you think your name isnt the name others call you is enough to make you do anything

i love the trope of people knowing that whoever they just kissed ISNT their loved one even tho they wear their face because they FEEL different

al: you freeze the brain until all functions cease
sam: thats called DEATH
al: hey, i never said it was easy

OH SHIT THATS RIGHT AL WAS AN ASTRONAUT

which makes sense that sam/whatever government agency would want him on board for the quantum leap project. i think he’s in between marriages at this point too with no kids so if something happens to him, no big

al, basically: the knack [of flying] lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

i don’t remember exactly but i think she made him promise to come home

it’s been at least 12 years since i watched this show since streaming it has been an impossiblity

my fave thing about this show is how sam can be having two conversations at the same time and the responses he makes to al make sense to the people hes talking to that cant see al

“i know you want to be with your mom. but i need you to stay with sally and lucy. theyre both pregnant and very freightened.”
“yes, sir”

sam with his future knowledge and seven doctoral degrees. including apparently medicine

holy fucking shit

tf is with that weird ass voice over??? WHAT WAS THE NEED TO MAKE TEEN SAM SOUND LIKE 42 YEAR OLD SAM

also i had to actually look up the year this starts in and i love how people in ‘89 were so optimistic about the future that 6 years later they had us doin time travel and hooking tiny lights to our ears

the kicker about is that THIS isn't how he looks to the giggly college girls

THIS nerdy ass lookin dude is

this is like when a lot of women in spn standom found fizzy water attractive. looking at it now it's like WHY

honestly tho this is refreshing after being hit with multiple teacher/student plots recently to find a 40+ year old guy go AHAHA NO THANK YOU

samuel you can’t just change your own future

i may fall asleep watching this. it’s so familiar that it’s soothing

ooooh i forgot donna left sam at the alter

fell asleep lmao

sam trying to make up reasons why he knows things about donna that he shouldnt

dude seriously youre in the body of one of her college professors. i highly doubt youre here for her

seriously samuel go help that other girl my guy

sam: maybe if i can get donna and her father together, it’ll help her!
al: you know those six other doctorates that you hold? not one of them is in psychiatry

OOOOOH

so wait. the reason donna left him at the alter is because she has daddy issues?

“oscar, ‘horny’ is not romantic. ‘breathless with passion’ is romantic”

TIP FOR ALL YALL BUDDING WRITERS

al: i would never!
sam:
al: i mean with her specifically!

and just like that, all of donna’s problems are solved because she simply needed to be loved by her father

thats the one plot that has made me go lmao

as smooth as scott’s voice is, im glad they got rid of that intro for deborah pratt. come to think of it i had a huge crush on her voice dnsja

holy—

this is a good reminder that im hella gay yall

SHES JUST SO CUTE

iirc the plot of this one is that he needs to make sure that the nuns get the money to buikd their church

“i dont know if you and ziggy noticed, but theyre ALL unscheduled stops. the only thing im scheduled to do is get my brain knocked around” i mean

oh GOD I FORGOT SCOTT DOES TERRIBLE IMPRESSIONS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS

wait...... he’s here because something something mafia and the fighter he leaped into maybe?

gd me and MY swiss cheese brain

“i can’t keep being a topless go-go dancer for the rest of my life. the mountains are starting to come to mohammad” omfg—

i love how in two episodes he’s resigned himself to the fact that making out with strangers while wearing the face of their partners is just what he has to do

like he doesnt actually want to because it’s dubious but then somehow he ends up feeling things for them. i wonder if there’s ever been an explanation for that besides “single guy decides ‘why the hell not’”

dixie is amazing and i love her

ahh so it’s to not throw the fight and make sure everyone lives and moves on with their lives in the process?

sam: dixie youre not a ‘tramp’. youre a stripper. thats a profession

THIS WAS 1989 YALL

omg his name is clarence too

how the tess was won has my favorite trope: sudden downpour traps charcater a and b

im starting to realize that quantum leap is responsible for me being queer. strong bad ass women that dont have to compromise their wants and beliefs? yes pls

tess: the man i marry has to be more of a man than i am
chance: now daughter im here to tell you, i dont wanna hurt your feelins, but any man on this ranch is more manly than you
tess: bull

IM IN LOVE

i remember 8 year old me watching this and going “tess is so coooool *dreamy sigh* well now i know why.

sam snuggling the fussy sick piglet after begging them not to shoot all the pigs because of his foggy mouth-to-brain filter is giving me An Emotion

sam: i’ll take the pig. you keep the daughter

tess’s curiosity is piqued now. any man would jump at the chance to get a huge ass ranch

someone: is it hog cholera?
sam: NO ITS NOT SHUT UP

al: i bet that dirty dog took advantage of my absence to take advantage of my tina
sam: you think tina is cheating on you?
al: can you believe it???
sam:

theres just something about this show

something i say

im having a rough time remembering but im pretty sure doc and tess dont end up together

YEAH SAMUEL SHE AINT GETTIN MARRIED STFU

iq of over 200 and 7 doctorates and he’s still not using his brain

TESS WAS DOING FINE WITH THE POSTS SHE JUST DIDNT STOP TO DRINK ANYTHING

“she’ll be fine once she’s cooled off and i get some fluids in her”

tess: what happened
sam: i mentioned babies and you fainted

i mean i would too

“you man!” thats honestly the best insult

sam: it aint a sin to be afraid
tess: it is in texas

well a lot of things were in the 50s so
¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“chance, the lord waited all week—“

“no thanks. i just wanted if i could ride him. not her”

i realized typing this now that out of context, it sounds really hella gay

SPEAKING OF GAY: I AM

“a calf has to be roped before you can put your brand on it. why not a man?”

it’s supposed to be an analogy but now im imagining tess literally branding doc

“act like a woman for once” how about shut up

“i can’t give riata up. it’s in my blood”
“nobody’s asking you to”
“but after we marry and chance is gone, all the men will look up to you”
“how about we run it together?”

FINALLY

IDK I MEAN ID STILL MARRY DORK ASS DOC HES ADORABLE

“if im lyin im dyin” is something ive said too much because of quantum leap

lets take a moment to reflect on the fact sam knows how to read dead languages but doesnt know italian

“i can sing?” and how

i love how the only word he can remember to say in italian is “volare” because of frank sinatra and he has no clue what it means so when geno asked “why are you getting your haircut from teresa?” he said “fly” WHICH IS NOT GOOD TO SAY TO A MAN WITH A RAZOR AT YOUR THROAT

edit: i got two italian words mixed up

I KNOW EXACTLY THREE I GOT THEM MIXED UP

i love how they made al sweaty and sam not. such a cool way to show theyre not in the same place

“awesome. i like it” so does this guy

“in my attic?? my wife and kid are in that house! some people just dont know respect” yeah like geno here who’s sleeping with a woman that is NOT his wife and then getting mad when she finds a single man to fall in love with

teresa: oh frankie. i know you lie to me. youre a man. all men lie to me to get what they want from me. that’s just life
sam: thats wrong. you deserve better than that
teresa: why, because i can cut hair?
sam: for starters. it’s a gift. a talent that makes you special

sam: if i can leap into a black man the possibilities are limitless! dont you find that fascinating?
al: i find it dangerous
sam: why?
al: youre a black man in the south in 1955. THAT is dangerous. ive seen things thatll curl your hair

i mean same but 2020 & all of america

al said he knows a lot about black issues because a lot of his friends are black AND ALSO “i went to the marches and got arrested and beaten. saw a lot of good people fall.”

tho 1989 was very optimistic of 1995 because he acts like systemic racism was destroyed

HAHAHA REMEMBER WHEN RACISTS SAID THE N WORD ON TV DRAMAS

LET’S NOT REPEAT THAT PLS

honestly looking back on this now. this episode coulda been a lot worse.

i fully endorse this spite filled child, yes

also wait till she gets to now. LOTS of things to do to piss of white people

jesse’s son: you alright? you look a little pale
sam:

this actually very well demonstrates how privileged we white people are to never have to think about our race ever because sam keeps forgetting hes black and is going around doing things hes used to being able to do without nasty words at best or threat of violence at worst

i was falling asleep and then scott bakula said the n word so now im wide awake

OH SHIT— sam talking about using one’s privilege to make social change

al: PULL OVER INTO THE CEMETERY, DAMN IT!
miss melny: thank you, charles..... but you didnt have to swear

irony is a trump ad playing during my rewatch of quantum leap

it took me 20+ years to figure out that the episode title “the camikazi kid” is spelled with a c because the kid he leaps into is named cam

sam misses his little sister

the actress that plays jill was 13 when this was filmed

“the bruise on the back of her neck. kinda looks like when someone goes like this”

let me introduce you to the episode that made me wish i had a big brother so i could have someone to look out for and protect me instead of me having to protect my little sisters

THIS SWEET STUNT

iirc the reason sam knows whats going to happen is because seymour the kid at the newstand wrote sam’s favorite defective novels

which would also explain why seymour wrote his self-insert as “being in publishing”

this one is honestly not my favorite but i do love how it shows sam has at least one flaw: bein snippy and judgmental

scott seems to be like misha. in that he’s not afraid to do weird shit when acting

i swear we’re missing an episode but given what i remember of it... might be for the best

oh this is the one where he leaps into a woman for the first time! man i love me some scott bakula in drag

and my mom thought id end up straight LMAO

ok i can see why people shipped sam/al

gloria: i told you you should have worn. girdle
sam: im not into bondage

THAT sam maybe but i have sneaking suspicions about THIS sam

theres just something about scott bakula in drag, man

did a woman coach him on how to make this face? because it so perfectly says “i have to politely decline your offer to keep my job, no matter how much i want to kick you in the balls”

“im convinced women are masochists. [..] they perform this binding ritual. and for what?!”

keep thinkin on that, bud

al has a crush on his best friend’s current physical form dhsja

“men have always loved you for your body, nothing else!”

i mean fair. currently right now his best friend is having a sexuality crisis

this is a v important image

it’s supposed to be funny HAHA LOOK AT MEN CHECKING OUT ANOTHER MAN’S ASS UNKNOWINGLY but all im thinking about is how scott bakula’s ass looks in that dress

this is the only time ive felt it was played for laughs so far. the rest is just “wow being a woman is bullshit wtf @ fellow men???”

oh forgot the Im Daydreaming About Your Murder look

of course he chose to have his name like this on the door

CROP TOP ALERT

like is this supposed to be humorous because scott is a hairy dude? because im having a great time thanks

buddy: i didnt know you two were roomies. if i was a different kind of guy...
sam: you wouldnt be here

al: shes 27. shes racing the biological clock.
me: OH GOD HERE WE GO—
sam: al, a woman can have a healthy baby WELL into her 40s
me: omfg this is show is amazing

1989 GUYS 1989

for reference the show where adam connover debunks this pregnancy myth of having to have a baby young aired in the late 2010s

YALL

theres nothing wrong with al. he’s just experiencing the effect scott bakula in a dress has on all of us

seriously scott learned so much about Death Glares

im no better than al, over here thirsting over a soaking wet sam when hes trying to save a girl

“EXCUSE ME I HAVE AN ART DEGREE AND THAT QUALIFIES ME FOR THE DESIGN PROGRAM”

yeah seriosly tho do that

also more men should wear nail polish

OK IT GOT UNCOMFORTABLY OFFENSIVE BUT WHATEVER I MEAN HES NOT WRONG HE /IS/ A MAN BUT ALSO NO

also i love when im watching shows and i get reminded how young i am in comparison to them by way of very dated references

“i can’t sleep with her! it’s unethical!“ ahh yes the Seriously This Is Dubious At Best point is back

“i love her”
“you want to posses her. thats not love”
“she said till death do us part”
“she changed her mind”
“she doesnt have that right”
“thats no longer a male privilege, pal”

god i love this show

i forgot to mention that this episode features a woman studying for her bar exam while on her honeymoon. which means lots of talk about law while making out and i have never been more sure i was made to persue a career in law than right now

i love how the only reason sam lept into the woman’s husband was so that he could save him so he can help her study for the bar so later she’d beat her opponent in a senate race

also i love how it’s heavily implied that the christian god is the one pushing sam through time so that means god wanted women in the senate. suck it, conservatives!

oh GOD THIS IS THE ONE WHERE HE LEAPS INTO THE NAVY DUDE THAT MARRIED A JAPANESE WOMAN

i don’t remember much about this one. wonder why my mom always skipped it

(my guess is her racism)

i thought his hair looked familiar

"wait the guy i leapt into is married? that puts a complication in thin-- wow she's adorable and REALLY pretty... what was the problem again?"

i vaguely remember now machiko trying her best to do everything right and to be an absolute sweetheart and iirc sam shames the absolute fuck out of everyone that mistreats her

every time the original timeline problem is "and x woman never got married/remarried", i roll my eyes

basically, the problem in the original timeline is good ol american navy boy charlie here was living in the 1950s when it was not kosher to cut off family for being dicks to your partners so machiko went back to japan and he got remarried to sexy but selfish white bitch lenore

also the anti-asian racism. that too.

also i meant naomi but lenore was speaking and it through me off

but his mom isn't that much nicer either

sam: *speaks a non-english language* um how--
al: you speak 7 modern languages and 4 dead ones
sam: ok but why
al: idk why you do any of the things you do, dude

this is an instance where quantum leap showed how VICIOUSLY racist women can be. that it's not all aggressive men in the klan. considering media today struggles with that, it's out-progressive'd modern tv lmao

jesus fuck just diving right into the mean comments are we

machiko got up early to clean the kitchen floor for her new mil and what does she get? "it's clean enough if you wear shoes" ok first of all she's doing something nice for you & second of all THEN IT'S NOT CLEAN, LENORE

LIKE DO YOU KNOW WHY THE FLOORS IN MY HOUSE GET GROSS AFTER 5 SECONDS? BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE WEARING SHOES

"there's something different about charlie. i can see it in his eyes. a mother can tell" can't tell if she's actually sensing that it's Not Her Son or if she's just being a racist bitch about her son marrying machiko