Category Archives: The Great Television Shows

Every week for five seasons from 1989-1993, we heard that voiceover precede each episode of Quantum Leap, an ambitious and engaging sci-fi drama about a scientist who “leaps” from life to life, temporarily taking the places of other people. The concept is brilliant, giving the writers ample opportunities to, naming a few, provide social commentary for different time periods and locales, explore the fish-out-of-water concept in numerous ways, and give Scott Bakula an acting exercise any performer would dream of.

The premise is simple. Dr. Sam Beckett (Bakula, nominated for four Emmys for this role and winner of one Golden Globe) has created a time machine in the present day. After jumping into the accelerator before it was ready, he finds himself “trapped in the past, facing mirror images that are not his own.” In order to leap out of their lives, he must alter their history to better their future. And in each leap, Sam hopes that his next one will be the leap home.

Dean Stockwell plays Al, a fellow scientist from the present day who “follows” Sam as he jumps from one life to the next. Al appears in the form of a hologram and is able to provide details to Sam that allows him to achieve his goal. To speak in Lost terms, Al is Sam’s constant. Without Al, Sam would be completely disillusioned to his new surroundings.

Quantum Leap is a serialized drama, which means that every week Sam leaps into a different character and has a new goal to achieve. Some memorable leaps include: a criminal who holds a mother and daughter hostage; a chimp (yes, a chimp) who heads to outer space; a female rape victim; a co-pilot of an air taxi flying through the Bermuda Triangle; a washed-out baseball player; a Ku-Klux-Klan member; a young man with Down Syndrome (twice!); a traveling magician and so much more. But if I’m going to narrow it down to a select few over the course of five memorable seasons, these are the episodes/arcs that truly define how amazing this series used to be.

–”The Leap Home” (2 parts) – Season 3 Premiere
“I’d give anything to have what you have, Sam.” That’s what Al says when Sam realizes that he can save the lives of complete strangers but not his own family. In “The Leap Home Part One,” he leaps into his own self at age 16 in 1969 and is finally at home again. He wants to prevent his father from dying of a heart attack and keep his brother from going to Vietnam and getting killed. But Al tells him the only reason he is there is to win a basketball game and Sam has tremendous difficulty accepting that.

What a moving, heartfelt hour of Quantum Leap. Watching Sam long for his family is heartbreaking. It was an innocent time and who wouldn’t kill for a chance to rewind life back to that era and change things for the better?

In “The Leap Home Part Two,” Sam leaps into a buddy from his brother’s unit in Vietnam and ends up saving his life anyway. In a thrilling twist, he discovers Al as a POW in 1970. Sam wanted to free him but hologram Al refused. He got repatriated in 5 years anyway and wouldn’t change a thing.

–”Shock Theater” – Season 3 Finale
The other bookend to this remarkable season was this finale in which Sam leapt into a mental patient who was administered shock treatment. This fries Sam’s brain which not only weakens his connection with Al, but also causes Sam to act like some of the previous people he leapt into. This was an acting powerhouse from Scott Bakula who had to portray so many different personas for the entire hour. Really nerve-wracking drama. The tail-end of the hour has Sam leaping out of the hospital and switching places with Al in 1945. What a cliffhanger! Imagine enduring an entire summer waiting to see what happened next. It was the summer I turned 14, and I remember vividly being obsessed with this damn show. September couldn’t have come any sooner.

–”The Leap Back” – Season 4 Premiere
When the show came back that September, it was as fun and rewarding as I had anticipated. The writers infused a lot of humor in this episode where Sam – finally! – got to enjoy life back at the home base in the present day. He reunited with his wife and was perfectly at ease commanding the “computer” that he designed in the first place. Sam certainly enjoyed the experience of being the hologram to Al’s confused, dismayed leaper status. “Revenge is mine, saith the hologram!,” Sam shouts with glee. Nice to see Quantum Leap take a break from the heavy stuff.

–”A Leap for Lisa” – Season 4 Finale
It seems the show worked best for me when the stakes were high, which happened at the beginning and end of the last three seasons. In the case of this surprising finale, Sam leaps into Al in 1957 when he was a young ensign. He tweaks history for the worse and Al is sentenced to death. The result is Sam having a new hologram to help him achieve his goal. It’s safe to assume it all worked out in the end. The show is best when it toys with the elements of time and alters history as we know it. This theme continues masterfully with the next season’s premiere.

–”Lee Harvey Oswald” – Season 5 Premiere
Probably Sam’s most high-profile leap of the series and definitely one of the most compelling episodes the show ever produced. In another acting showcase for Bakula, Sam leaps in and out of Lee Harvey Oswald over the course of 5 years prior to the Kennedy assassination. This episode aired a year after Oliver Stone’s JFK as a counter-argument for some widely-circulated conspiracy theories. Quantum Leap‘s creator and writer, Donald P. Bellasario, actually served in the Marine Corp with Oswald and is convinced that he acted alone in Kennedy’s assassination. This episode, in which Sam retained some of Oswald’s personality and was unable to control his actions (a first for the show), was a way for Bellasario to show that Oswald killed Kennedy alone because of his long-held political beliefs. Sam couldn’t prevent Oswald from killing JFK, but the episode ended with the revelation that he had indeed saved the life of Jackie O. It was a tremendously satisfying conclusion to an exceptionally well-written, much-acclaimed episode.

–”Mirror Image” – Series Finale
Oh, how this finale made me so mad. “Mirror Image,” a fun, twisty hour of time-travel goodness, was originally intended as a season finale. NBC opted at the last minute to cancel the show, leaving Bellasario with little choice but to wrap up the series with a cue card essentially stating that Sam “never returned home.” Seriously? I felt we were owed so much more than that. There had been talk for many, many years about a follow-up TV movie, but it never happened. One of the worst things a series finale could do was not provide any sense of satisfying closure, and that’s what happened with Quantum Leap. Having said that, I look back on this hour and realize how enjoyable it is. In a way, “Mirror Image” is a fitting end to the series because it featured a collection of popular personalities that we were familiar with from over the years. In the end, though, Sam did what he felt was right. He had the opportunity to go home, but he had to break some rules and fix Al’s marriage. I suppose it was the least Sam could do after all Al had done for him. But when that fateful, frustrating cue card came up at the very end, I slapped my forehead.

Oh boy, indeed.

When Aaron Sorkin won an Oscar this year for writing The Social Network, it all but confirmed that he is one of the best writers in the entertainment industry. After having beautifully written A Few Good Men and The American President, he ventured into television with three distinctive series. The West Wing had an amazing run and is one of the best dramas in the history of the medium. His most recent work was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a flawed but no less fascinating drama about the everyday problems of producing a satirical sketch show. It was cancelled too soon, before it had a chance to find its voice.

But it was Sports Night, his first series, that featured some of his finest work. The show was critically revered but ratings-challenged, which explains why the show only lasted 45 episodes. But what wonderful episodes they were.

Like Studio 60, its focus is behind the scenes of a television show, a Sportscenter-type newscast for a cable network not unlike ESPN. The cast of characters includes two affable anchors who happen to be best friends off-camera. Dan Rydell (Josh Charles) has trouble keeping a relationship and Casey McCall (Peter Krause) is in love with their boss, executive producer Dana Whitaker (Felicity Huffman). Jeremy Goodwin (Joshua Malina) is a nerdy producer who is smitten with a senior colleague, the spunky Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd). They all report to (and lean on) Isaac Jaffe (Robert Guillaume), father figure and managing editor of Sports Night. It’s safe to say that this show has very little to do with sports and a lot to do with the relationships and friendships between colleagues in a high-energy work environment.

What sets this show apart from any other half-hour sitcom I’ve ever seen is Sorkin’s trademark rat-a-tat wordplay. The dialogue is like butter, effortlessly bringing these characters together and apart like strings on a marionette. The 22-minute episodes fly by at breakneck speed. It’s not atypical for you to be out of breath when the final credits roll.

Another Sorkin trademark is his walk-and-talk technique, where his characters talk as they are walking from one location to another. As the characters interact with each other, you’re constantly working to keep up with the moving camera. Sorkin, along with his ace director, Thomas Schlamme, started it on Sports Night and they continued the tradition on West Wing and Studio 60. Schlamme, by the way, is the glue that holds everything together. I credit him as much as Sorkin for making Sports Night as fluid and mesmerizing as it is.

As I mentioned, the show is about relationships. Watching these wonderful characters interact is the main source of pleasure with this show. Dan and Casey, for one, have a special rapport that is little seen in sitcom-land. The chemistry tends to be superficial since most sitcom dialogue are devised to set up and deliver punch lines. Sorkin’s wordplay not only contains these standard elements but is also infused with little character touches. After the pilot alone, you already get a great sense that Dan and Casey are really close friends. They finish each other’s sentences like a married couple. Josh Charles and Peter Krause nail their characters week after week. Whenever I see them in other shows, I can never shake their Sports Night alter egos.

Casey and Dana have an undeniable spark, also thanks to Krause and Felicity Huffman. Both actors moved on to successful shows after this one (Six Feet Under, Parenthood for him, Desperate Housewives for her) and I would just love to see these two actors cross over shows and work together again. Their on-again off-again escapades on Sports Night is the stuff of wonderful screwball comedy.

Adding dramatic depth to the show was the decision to write in Robert Guillaume’s real life stroke at the end of the first season. Isaac was a central figure to all of these characters and to see him so vulnerable shook everyone to their core. To see Guillaume back at work so soon and delivering Sorkin’s zesty punchlines was nothing short of inspiring.

I think the main reason this show never took off with audiences is the title. Many people were under the impression that the show was about sports, which puts off a lot of viewers. Even Friday Night Lights suffered the same fate. Sports may be the backdrop, a key interest in the characters of these shows, but the universal relationships and the drama that unfolds between them is what makes these shows soar. Sadly, ignorant viewers never gave them a chance. Instead, they flock to the latest medical or cop drama since familiarity is what they are most comfortable with.

Aaron Sorkin turned the conventions of television on its head with his three shows, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

When it was recently announced that Sarah Michelle Gellar was looking to get back into the TV game, it dawned on me. Buffy The Vampire Slayer has been off the air since 2003. It’s been eight long years since the Scooby Gang invaded my TV. There has been a lot of good television since then but nothing ever came close to repeating a similar success that Buffy had.

When I told friends I was hooked on this show back then, I got a lot of dismissive eye rolls.

“Really, Dave? It’s a show about vampires.”

No, no, it’s more than just vampires. It’s a metaphor for life as a teenager in high school, kids who deal with self-image problems and heartbreak. It’s also about the importance of friendship and female empowerment.

“But it has vampires. It’s stupid.”

They just didn’t get it. Vampires are hip these days, thanks to Twilight and True Blood, but neither can hold a candle to the subversive wit and depth of the Buffyverse. Joss Whedon — writer, creator, director, certified genius — created this show to illustrate that high school is hell. Every teenager has heightened emotions involving romance, friendship and sex. What better way to represent those emotions through vengeance demons and blood-sucking vampires?

Buffy is best described as a cross between My So-Called Life and The X-Files. Teenage angst meets monster-of-the-week. After the events that occurred in the far inferior feature film, Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson in the movie, Gellar in the show) moved to Sunnydale, CA, a small town that is built over a portal of demon dimensions that attract supernatural phenomenon to the area (a.k.a. a Hellmouth). As we learned from the film, she was fatefully chosen as a slayer. Slayers are called to fight these demons and vampires and other forces of darkness. Each slayer is aided by a watchman, who trains and guides her. Buffy and her friends, affectionately known as the Scooby Gang, fight against the supernatural elements while trying to sort out their ever-complex social lives.

The movie never did anything for me. It was campy and silly, too irreverent to really make the emotions stick. The TV show dug deeper. Whedon was able to take his original idea and flesh it out. Some ideas just fare better on television anyway.

He had a great cast to help hammer his metaphors home. Anthony Stewart Head is Rupert Giles, Buffy’s watchman and the father she never had. He’s protective, sensitive, but also tells it like it is. He helped shape Buffy into the powerful woman she eventually becomes. The ever-adorable Alyson Hannigan is Buffy’s BFF, Willow. As the series progressed, she too became a powerful woman — and a witch not to be reckoned with. Willow coming out as gay was groundbreaking for its time and was handled with refreshing sweetness and honesty. Her doomed arc with lover Tara provided great drama and a brilliant performance from Hannigan. Nicholas Brendan’s Xander never had any powers but he was the loyal friend, a grounded and sensible person who fans regard as the heart of the show.

And then there’s Gellar. She’s the classic case of the under appreciated actress. To be able to pull off a role like Buffy Summers was a formidable challenge. She had to have the look of a tough-as-nails vampire slayer but at the same time display the pluck and vulnerability of your average teenage girl. She was a born leader who just wanted to shop, date cute boys, and hang out with her friends. The responsibility of being a slayer often became too much for her to bear. And Gellar made playing Buffy look so damn easy.

The rest of the cast came and went with memorable arcs. Michelle Trachtenberg played Dawn, Buffy’s new younger sister at the start of season 4. Fans hesitated when Whedon wrote her in, but in time, they warmed up to the character. I may have reacted unfavorably for a while but, in hindsight, I can’t imagine the show without her. Spike, Drusilla, Faith, Angel, Anya, Oz, Wesley Wyndam-Price, Cordelia… all gave our Scooby Gang love and heartbreak through the years.

I did not catch on to the show when it first aired on the WB network. I began taping the show (Heh… taping. How archaic!) as it was showing season 4. I watched the first three seasons on Netflix in a breathless marathon run and was hooked instantly. During those several weeks, my life was all about Buffy, all the time. The Buffy/Angel drama that anchored the beginning of the series was sexy and mesmerizing. It was so good, in fact, that they spun Angel off to his own show. He was missed but Spike was a welcome addition to the show. For a while, Spike and Buffy were sworn enemies but later he and Buffy became allies and eventual lovers. See, Angel and Spike — those were the supernatural guys you pined for. They make Edward and Jacob look like clowns.

I was finally “live” with the rest of America in the middle of season 4, while Buffy and gang were off to college. It wasn’t my favorite season (that honor goes to season 3, with the arrival of Faith coinciding with the big fight against Mayor Wilkins, aka the big giant snake demon), but the show still consistently surprised me. This season included one of Buffy‘s very best: Hush. In it, a group of ghouls steals the voices of Sunnydale residents, rendering them unable to scream when they are killing them. The episode, written and directed by Whedon himself, was a dialogue-free masterpiece.

Whedon continued to push the creative envelope year after year. The next season saw The Body, in which Buffy discovers her naturally deceased mother at home on the couch. It was the most quietly powerful hour of television I had seen all year. No music, no fighting demons, no special effects — just a shell-shocked Buffy surrounded by her loyal friends. For the whole hour, Buffy simply struggled to make sense of it all. I leaned towards the TV in awe, hanging on to every one of Whedon’s words. Unforgettable.

In contrast of tone from those greats, season six’s Once More With Feeling was a massive production, a gloriously executed musical. Whedon himself wrote the lyrics and the entire cast was game for everything. It was a beautifully rendered song-and-dance hour that moved the series along and provided plenty of surprises and twists. That’s what I loved about it — it wasn’t just a gimmick. It blended perfectly with the show’s brilliant whimsicality.

And finally, the end. The glorious, heart-breaking, witty ending worked on so many levels. Whedon took his main motif – female empowerment – and drove it home by awakening the slayer in all of the young girls of the world. Every teenage girl had the strength, vision and instinct of a slayer. It just fit perfectly with the theme of the entire series. The final shot – the Scooby Gang stands before a hole in the earth where Sunnydale used to be – always give me goosebumps.

“What do we do now?,” asks Dawn.

And Buffy just smiles. She’s relieved. The world is not hers to save anymore.

That’s the last of the Buffyverse I’ve experienced. I never joined Angel and his group of crime-fighting vampires and demons. I never read Whedon’s comic-book which played out like season 8 of the series. And I’m fine with that. I felt closure.

And like Buffy, I felt relief, too.