Bring4th

So, uhh, this was one of my absolute favorite shows growing up.  My whole family loved it.  I re-watched it all a few years ago and enjoyed it despite the newly noticed cheesiness.  Just the other day, on a whim, I re-watched the series finale.  It suddenly dawned on me (and believe me, it is humbling to realize how every single other person who's seen the show must find this blindingly obvious) that Quantum Leap is probably the most literal wanderer allegory in TV ever.  

If you're familiar with the show's premise -- that due to the results of an experiment, Dr. Sam Beckett finds himself suddenly, spontaneously transferring his consciousness into the body of (usually non-famous) people throughout the past half century, with a very foggy "swiss cheese" memory, setting right some wrong done, only to "leap" again to the next problem in history (and usually landing directly in the middle of a pickle) -- the finale really puts all of this in a metaphysical perspective.  I mean, how is that not exactly what a Wanderer does?  

I think that's why every review of this episode I read was strongly negative; because instead of some science fiction or pat religious explanation for "who's leaping me around?", it throws the mirror up and makes it about a personal realization.  Most people do not want that kind of power, and in the episode, the bartender (who explains a lot of this to him) says that the key to controlling the phenomenon is that "you have to take responsibility".  I also like how it recasts "quantum leaping" into a broader and (in the show's terms, at least) even more mysterious phenomenon than it had been throughout the show.  To me, the concept of reaching back in time to help sounds so much like the Higher Self, I can't ignore it.

There's also the fact that people's reflections at the bar are different than their outer appearance, just like Sam would always look in the mirror and see another's face.  This obviously speaks to the "true identity" of the Wanderer that's hidden, and what baffles Sam is that others are leaping, too.  And the bartender asks him: "can you accept what you see as reality," always feeding him bits of the truth he knows about Sam in parts because he thinks Sam is not ready for more.  Sounds familiar?

Finally, the whole point that the bartender is trying to tell Sam is that, even though Sam really wants to go home, he has been choosing to go into these difficult situations and help.  And that he can always take a break when he wants to.  And then, of course, Sam realizes he really is in control (just like we take responsibility for our incarnations and program them along with the Higher Self, rather than encountering random catalyst) and finally leaps himself to the one wrong he did not right.

There's so much more, but I'll leave you with the best exchange from that episode:

From the show Wrote:AL: Why did you create Project Quantum Leap?

SAM: To travel in time.

AL: Why’d you want to travel in time?

SAM: To change the world.

AL: To make it a better place?

SAM: Of course.

AL: To put right what once went wrong?

SAM: Yes, but not one life at a time.

AL: (to himself) I’ve got Mother Teresa here. (to Sam) Do you really believe that all you’ve done is change a few lives?

SAM: Yes.

AL: At the risk of over-inflating your ego, Sam, you’ve done more. Much, much more. (beat) The lives you touched, touched others. And those lives, others. (beat) You’ve done a lot of good, Sam Beckett and you can do a lot more.

SAM: More? I don’t want more. I want to go home.

AL: Then why haven’t you?

SAM: Because I don’t control my future...you do!

AL: Ever ride with a cop, Sam?

SAM: I’ve been one, you know that.

AL: That’s right, you have. (beat) You know how they can’t turn it off? The shift ends, but they take one more call and then one more and then....

SAM: (cutting in) That’s not me.

AL: Sam, you’ll only do this as long as you want to.

SAM: I can leap home anytime I want?

AL: Technically, yes.

SAM: Ah...technically. What’s the catch?

AL: You have to accept that.... (pointing into the mirror) ...you control your destiny.

I liked Sliders.

I never saw the final. It was an interesting show.
I'd like to rewatch it with my new eyes.
Beautiful post. Thank you.

Great post! Ironically, I came across the ending on youtube or something awhile back and was pretty amazed at the ending as well. Can't find it now. I should watch the whole series.

(08-16-2016, 06:03 PM)jeremy6d Wrote: [ -> ](and believe me, it is humbling to realize how every single other person who's seen the show must find this blindingly obvious)

Yeah. When I first watched that show, I just couldn't get over how blatant the references to Wanderers are. During the series finale, I remember laughing to myself and thinking, "How fucking obvious can you get? Man, anyone who didn't get understand what that series was a reference to should be embarrassed of themselves! What a sad, pathetic, worthless joke of a human being!" as I threw a rotten piece of fruit across the room at an imaginary individual who didn't understand the blindingly obvious connections between the series and the Law of One.

The funny thing is that I actually watched the whole series like 5 years ago, when I was well into my Law of One studies, and I still didn't see it. The only thing that has changed, really, is that I'm reading much, much more Confederation material on a daily basis. Q'uo spends a lot of time giving you a sense of the wanderer's dilemma that you can feel, and that was what made it click for me, I think.

But yeah, what a moron.