quantum leap reboot...

[mrmaczaps]

Originally Posted by superstaff

Plot details for the reboot...:

https://deadline.com/2022/06/quantum...ne-1235054476/



So...Ernie Hudson's character, Magic, won't be Ben's 'Al' after all. That is super disappointing. Not only was Magic a legacy character, I think Ernie Hudson was an excellent choice for someone that could potentially match Dean Stockwell's charm and likability in the role of the leaper's companion.

Blah.

Wait, Ernie is playing the guy Sam leapt into in Nam? What the heck for? And wouldn't he be a ton older now than he is? Or are the retconning the war?

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by mrmaczaps

Wait, Ernie is playing the guy Sam leapt into in Nam? What the heck for? And wouldn't he be a ton older now than he is? Or are the retconning the war?

Let's see... Ernie Hudson is 76. Herbert (Magic) was at least 18-21 in 1970. At the youngest ( 18 ), he'd have been born in 1952, making him 70. Seems to match up, more or less.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by superstaff

Let's see... Ernie Hudson is 76.

Is he really? Older than Murray and Aykroyd? Jesus... I thought he was like 60, barely, and like 5-10 years younger than them.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Is he really? Older than Murray and Aykroyd? Jesus... I thought he was like 60, barely, and like 5-10 years younger than them.

According to Wikipedia:

Born: December 17, 1945 (age 76 years)

[Leo656]

Black Don't Crack, playa.

[mrmaczaps]

Originally Posted by superstaff

Let's see... Ernie Hudson is 76. Herbert (Magic) was at least 18-21 in 1970. At the youngest ( 18 ), he'd have been born in 1952, making him 70. Seems to match up, more or less.

Oh wow. Thats crazy.

Thanks for doing the math. Still seems rather weird/random to have Magic working at the Project though...

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Black Don't Crack, playa.

YEP.

Originally Posted by mrmaczaps

Oh wow. Thats crazy.

Thanks for doing the math. Still seems rather weird/random to have Magic working at the Project though...

Nah. He's military like Al was, and Project Quantum Leap is a secret government project, lol.

[Andrew NDB]

So Bakula was offered a part, at least in the pilot, and turned it down.

https://www.darkhorizons.com/bakula-...-quantum-leap/

[mrmaczaps]

Is it ONLY on NBCs streaming app or actually on NBC too?

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

So Bakula was offered a part, at least in the pilot, and turned it down.

https://www.darkhorizons.com/bakula-...-quantum-leap/

I think he's going to play 'wait and see' a bit, if the show is a big hit, he might reconsider, or hold out for bigger bucks

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

I think he's going to play 'wait and see' a bit, if the show is a big hit, he might reconsider, or hold out for bigger bucks

Of course. It was probably an insultingly low sum. If the show is a hit they can come back at him with more money for something down the road.

[mrmaczaps]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Of course. It was probably an insultingly low sum. If the show is a hit they can come back at him with more money for something down the road.

Can't have them find Dr Becket within the very first season... thats half the idea of the show now... where is Dr Becket... lol. If it does well, they might ask again or if it tanks, they'll beg him. Haha

[oldmanwinters]

They better at least have one episode already written about "making right what once went wrong" with the tagline at the end of the final episode of the original series that "Dr. Beckett never returned home."

A couple of thoughts come to my mind watching this trailer:


The 1984 San Francisco 49ers went 15-1 under Montana... what could have possibly gone wrong enough that somebody needed to leap into Joe after halftime? The only game the 49ers lost that season was at home against the Pittsburg Steelers, but the 49ers wore their "home" red jerseys that day, so probably not that one. Seems like it would be a rare occasions for the 49ers to wear white "away" shirts at home.

Also...
It's pretty unusual that individual players would get announced by name coming out to play the 2nd half.

[ZariusTwo]

So it's premiered. Thoughts?

Spoiler:

This has more of a myth arc this time around, and has a recurring 'big bad' in Al's daughter

[oldmanwinters]

I saw it. It was… serviceable? I can’t say I really care if Ben ever leaps back home.

[mrmaczaps]

Giving this clusterf*ck a shot right now... lol.

Already hate it. Lol

[oldmanwinters]

If you just compare this show's pilot/premiere to the original Quantum Leap's pilot, it's embarrassingly bad.

The original Quantum Leap's 2-part debut: "Genesis: September 13, 1956" is good enough to be a low-budget film. It's got suspense, spectacle, and engages the view to care about the characters (Sam & Al, but also the temporal guest stars) and their struggles, even though we don't know much about them yet. It is never even clear "why" Sam is there or what he has to accomplish until he actually does it, a culmination of the bond he's formed with the people he's spent time with. And even with all the military stock footage, it's still a spectacle: pioneer fighter jets busting the sound barrier. As the viewer, you're right there with Sam when he thinks Al might be the Devil. And even as overwhelmed as Sam & Al got, you could tell they had some fun with the whole experience (maybe Al more than Sam), being a major breakthrough in their scientific work. And then he gets to have a mini-episode right at the end which finally gives him a chance to talk to his long deceased father. Who wouldn't love to have that experience, even if you had to run through a proverbial hell barefoot to get it?

Spoiler:

The new premiere has... characters and a story. Perfectly fine. But there's no suspense, and I hardly even cared if Ben prevented that down-on-his-luck hood from getting shot or not.

The closest thing to spectacle it had was the police chase (and considering the big reveal, maybe the police let the bank robbers get away?) and the literal bomb exploding at the end. Other than that... a lot of standing around talking or riding in cars.

The most interesting thing was not the 1985 leap but the backstory with Ernie Hudon's "Magic" (nice call back to the original series) and Ben's mysterious contact who seems to be closely connected to Al, may he rest in peace.

You can immediately tell the new Leap is trying to get the viewer interested to commit to watching a full season whilst the original was so good that it gave you a complete emotional arc out of the gate, and it was rewarding enough to keep you tuning in for the next leap.

EDIT:
I'm not a fan of Colbert's recent stuff, but this might still be a better reboot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0ScMs6_I8s

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

I'm not a fan of Colbert's recent stuff

There's nothing to be a fan of. The guy stopped even trying to be a comedian about 50 Trump "bombshells" ago and is now just an unabashedly -- bad -- political commentator.

[oldmanwinters]

I've heard the NBC ratings for the New Leap premiere were not impressive. Maybe don't launch a show the same night as an NFL Monday Night Football dual-header with one of the games being on ABC (even if both were blowouts)? But even among the non-football programming, the show clearly has an uphill climb and probably not much time to save itself from cancellation, or maybe it'll become Peacock exclusive?
https://tvline.com/2022/09/20/tv-rat...-premiere-nbc/
https://nypost.com/2022/09/19/quantu...e-on-its-side/
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/08/nb...gs-1234756063/

[Jester]

I'm a little biased towards the original pilot because it features my "cousin" Bruce McGill.