Monday 24 February 2014

Still leaping after all these years


Panda and I have developed this theory that actors, especially those employed by the television, only ever play the one character across every show they ever appear in, as if all of television was a single ongoing epic from first broadcast to the day the satellites finally come crashing home. This theory is mainly driven by Kelsey Grammar's performance of attrition as Dr Fraiser Crane, and Kevin McCloud's repeated performances as Kevin McCloud MBE.

The theory assumes that a lot of the bridging plot elements that include time machines and witness protection programs happen off screen due to budgetary and pacing issues. Do we really want to watch the series of events that led Michael Knight to become a divorced lifeguard with a son and a deep affection for little red shorts. I'm okay where they picked up. Baywatch needed the mystery.

At the end of the day it is still kind of selective, and usually only includes multi season roles, but when we really truly get down to it, this is all about Quantum Leap and Scott "Dr Sam Beckett" Bakula. What it is that we are saying is that Scott Bakula has been playing Dr Sam Beckett in every TV show he has ever been in. Ever! Even pre QL roles. It's just him leaping from life to life. This will include his starring role on the upcoming pilot for NCIS: New Orleans. This is really the most enjoyment we get out of it. I'm not going to lie to you. We love Scott Bakula, and we're a little unstable for Quantum Leap. And by a little unstable, we wrote an outline for a sequel. And we love Quantum Leap. We are going to watch every episode of this new extension of the series thing, because we love Quantum Leap. We are going to watch every episode, and wonder if he misses Al. He does. You can tell.

The reason that he no longer has Al is that Sam changed Al's past in the last episode causing his first marriage to stay together. Al's, not his own. Thus removing Al's subsequent failed marriages, and even subsequenter lapse into liver abuse, and his even more subsequenter meeting with Dr Samuel Beckett at the vending machine. It's very complicated. Panda explains it much better than I do. He uses oranges and mustard. The mustard stays in the jars. It's mustard jars. It makes sense when he does it. Basically Sam gave up on his only connection to his home time, and potentially the entire friendship, so that that his best friend could be happy. He's alone out there.

Then at some stage following this he leaps into the body of Captain Jonathan Archer of the original Enterprise NX-01. Spent some years there, because who wouldn't. You'd be crazy not to. Turning down The Seat on any Enterprise is like climate change denier crazy. It's like you're broken inside. No one can fix you from that.

Wait. I forgot to mention that he didn't leap home at the end, but realised that he had the ability to decide when he leaped all along. Where was I? Oh. Yeah. He's all alone out there. Imagine what that would do to your psyche. You'd be literally only living other people's lives. No one is calling your name, and you can't talk to anyone about what's going on. That's harrowing. You would be harrowed. Your psyche would be harrowed down to a little nub. Or it would go the other way and you'd be deeply entrenched in the god complex side of just straight up bat shit crazy. I like to think I'd be a mix. Like boysenberry swirl.

On an unrelated note, Panda and I have a fantastic idea for a Quantum Leap sequel. It actually has boysenberry swirl in it. Damn it! Now I want ice cream.

Did you know that if you google image search  for 'boysenberry swirl' you get a lot of pictures of clothing made by people who've never seen boysenberry swirl? These are strewn amongst pictures of actual properly coloured boysenberry swirl. I've eaten the blue flavour that they call 'bubblegum', and I know that it is in reality the Gonzo flavour, and I'm happy not knowing what it is. I've accepted that it most probably smacks of Smurf. I can live with that, but if I was involved with ice cream that had more than a single shade of blue I would start to use my concerned face. Am I eating Smurf & Muppet Baby Ripple? Maybe I'm not ready for that.

Did you also know that this whole situation has done nothing but heighten my desire for ice cream? Live and learn.

No comments :