Quantum Leap (2022)

That was everything I ever wanted from a return to Quantum Leap. And the previews!... We'll get to the previews.

Couple of things should be noted about the original show. A large part of it was beyond problematic. Aside from the fact that the hologram Al was an utter pervy creep, the series often made questionable writing decisions that look especially bad in 2022 hindsight. So to be able to enjoy one of my favorite shows from when I was a kid without having to feel bad about it is just amazing. I love that feeling.

And like the original show, it may air at 10:00 PM, but it's totally TV-PG. It was not exactly a family show, but it also wasn't an adults-only one either.

Al's daughter? Great twist. She did not even exist until the last episode of Quantum Leap, which says this show knows its continuity. I also love the dedication to Dean Stockwell at the end.

Scott Bakula made a pretty big Sherman statement about not being involved in the show, which leads me to believe his relationship with Donald P. Bellisario has soured. That being said, this strikes me as the kind of show that could run for years. And Bakula knows how much the fans want him. He could change his mind in the far future. I would love him being present for the series finale, and given a better ending than lousy one the original show stuck him with. I will not ask Bakula to make a bunch of recurring appearances. But I hope he someday realizes we do NEED some actual closure for Sam Beckett years from now

Addison tells Ben he was supposed to be the Hologram and she was supposed to be the Leaper. This is just the first episode, and I know very little about Addison from it, but from what we have seen, Ben would have been a better candidate for the Leaper to begin with. He speaks a ton of different languages (like Sam did). More importantly, even when Ziggy gives 99% odds of his stopping the robbery causing him to Leap, he has the insight to know that simply stopping the robbery and saving the guy's life isn't good enough. The Project Developers don't know or understand why fixing things in history triggers a Leap. But it seems like a good thing the person who does the Leaping has a very clear-cut sense of right and wrong, as long as the Leaps involve righting what once went wrong.

The show having so much of it set in the future is an encouraging thing. The old show almost NEVER showed us the future Al came from, and the rare glimpses we got were a treat and drove the fans nuts. Now that future was actually the near-future, and this show is set in present day, which is another reason showing us more of Project: Quantum Leap makes Narrative sense.

Now for the preview. Basically every last reservation I had about the series was obliterated. My major gripe about the series going in is that Ben Song's actor is too young. The Leaper needs to be a middle-aged guy like Bakula was. You can fudge ten years either way, but the reality is one of the show's most famous themes is the Leaper living through history and exploring social issues involving world turmoil. I think outside of maybe the AIDS epidemic, the 1980's and past it had very few social issues worth exploring. That's not to say that social justice hasn't gotten back into fashion in the meantime. But the social issues we are facing are a bit current and Quantum Leap using the past to talk about this stuff is its bread and butter. If the guy was born in the 1980's they can't really do that.

Except the previews say all bets are off there. The rules of Leaping no longer involve the limit of only being able to travel in the Leaper's lifetime. Therefore not only can the show explore the same kind of social issues as the original, they now have a wide-open level of historical drama they can tap into if so inclined. Not every week is Sweeps week. But we can head to the Wild West when it is.

Quantum Leap was one of those shows that was ahead of its time. If it had aired within the last ten years, it would have been a monster hit. It was only a mildly successful cult show because audiences back then largely rejected science fiction. The only other successful science fiction show of the era was Star Trek: The Next Generation. I have a feeling if Quantum Leap aired in era with a savvier viewing public it would be huge. We are about to find out if my theory there is correct. I have high hopes for this show, and hope that years in the future, Bakula and Bellisario can work out their crap, and give us a great ending. I see great things in this show's future, I expect it to be a huge hit, and also to be in it for the long-haul. Here's hoping. *****.

I appreciate the fan-service of bringing back Susan Diol for Beth Calavicci. But the truth is since Diol was 28 when she played Beth in "M.I.A.", set in 1969, Beth was probably born in or near 1941. Diol is currently 60 and Beth would be around 81 in 2022. I think it's cool that outside of Deborah Pratt Diol is the first actor brought back the original series, but I do not buy for a second that Beth as seen in 2022 is 81 years old. Diol herself doesn't actually look 60. She looks a little younger. Fans are gonna squee for sure, but I think they should have recast for story reasons. And I would never ask Diol to go through the torture of old age make-up either.

I thought it was an interesting Leap mission. I like the fact that once Ben saved the guy's life things were changed for the worse and then he had to fix that too.

What is the Leap point Ben was heading towards? If I had to guess, it's the Time-Traveler Rest Stop as seen in the final episode of Quantum Leap "Mirror Image" set on August 8, 1963 (Sam Beckett's literal birthday). For the record, Bruce McGill is still alive. I'm sure he'd be willing to reprise Al the Bartender for the show (although since he's aged 30 years they'd probably need a later date for the Leap).

A boxer? Been there, done that. It's a no-brainer for a first season episode for a Quantum Leap show, but I hope they have a different story idea in mind than when Sam Leaped into one (or when he Leaped into a wrestler too for that matter).

Second episodes are never as good as the Pilot, but as the first "regular" episode of a series, they are instructive of how the series will be every week. This episode says the show will be GOOD on an average basis. As far as baseline episodes go that was totally solid. ****.

Okay, so the Leaps no longer being tied to the person's lifetime does indeed mean all bets are off.

The Leap-Of-The-Week was good. Darryl's actor was amazing. But I think I'm gonna talk about the Quantum Leap arc things more this week.

I don't trust Janice Calavicci. It was cool seeing the classic Ziggy handheld console, and it's interesting she seems to be building her owning imaging chamber, but I don't trust her. I can totally believe Al took the console as an unauthorized souvenir though when he left. When it came to professionalism and Project: Quantum Leap, for Al Calavicci, neither of those two concepts ever crossed paths.

The episode stated something interesting about the people Ben Leaps into that I imagine was probably true of The Original Series, but the writers there weren't scientifically aware enough or sophisticated enough to either articulate it or show it. But Ben is in the person he's Leaped into's body, and he has that person's physical strength while in it. He hasn't merely replaced the person and is in their place. He's inside the body itself. The old show sort of had conflicting views on that at times, but what the show is doing here is pretty solid science-wise, in a show that makes little rational sense.

Ben having a photographic memory is another thing that tells me he should have been the Leaper all along instead of the Hologram as planned.

Ian refers to Ben Leaping in the past tense as "Leapt". And that is the proper grammar. But it's not how the show has always pronounced it. It's always used the term "Leaped". For some reason, correct grammar there sounds wrong on this show.

Angela kissing Ben raises a question for me. I understand there might be potential drama involved in putting Ben in affairs during the Leaps to Addison's chagrin, because she can't tell him they're engaged. But I hope the series doesn't do that. Because what the old show didn't really understand is that it was unethical for Sam to do that. Even him simply kissing girls every week was out of line. While he is posing as someone else that particular thing is legally rape. Now I understand that wasn't Sam's intention, and unlike Al's grossness, I don't believe the writers were ill-intentioned there either. But I think that would play entirely differently in 2022. I hope they leave romances for Ben off the table. Maybe that's the reason they made Addison the hologram, to make that harder. But it's another problematic idea of the old show's that needs to be readjusted for modern audiences.

I am of two minds about Ben's speech to Daryll about how much he believes in him and needs him. Addison is very impressed Ben was able to say the exact right thing to the guy when he needed it. That's not all I took from it. What I also took from it was that Ben is a VERY effortless liar. If I were Addison I would be VERY disturbed at how utterly convincing Ben can tell a person he doesn't really care about that he loves them. If I were Addison that SPECIFIC thing would freak me the frell out. Am I crazy for thinking that?

Sam Leaping into women was always problematic on the old show (especially since Al always creepily leered at him) but hopefully this show will do better by that in 2022. I'll tell you a failing about next week already. Ben is actually surprised. I understand he's lost his memory, but he really shouldn't be. This is not the same thing as unexpectedly Leaping into a space shuttle. This is just another day at the office. Or at least it should be.

This show is working. It's going to be a success. I can feel it. ****.

About the Leap at the end: All bets are indeed off now. Sweet!

I'm not going to say I saw the twist that Magic was the Magic we saw on the original series coming. What I will say is that Magic always felt like the one element in the future that always belonged there. I wouldn't have suggested Ernie Hudson should have been the Leaper instead of Raymond Lee if I didn't feel that deep down. But I DO remember Magic, and what a significant Leap that wound being not just for Sam's future's, but Al's as well. The outcome of that Leap, and Al's sacrifice, was probably the reason Sam Leaped back to Beth in the series finale and was probably lost forever from that point forward. Putting Magic on the Quantum Leap project felt right.

I still have some science (and canon questions). What happened to The Waiting Room? That's where the person Sam Leaped into was stored in Sam's body. Does one exist for Ben? If not, where did Ben's body actually go? The Waiting Room was an integral part of the last season of the show, so I'm wondering why it's never been mentioned in an iteration of the show that features the future so heavily.

Ben getting the boxer's strength last episode raises the question if he (or Sam) lost strength when he Leaped into a woman. Sam kicked a lot of ass in women's bodies under the (shaky) assumption he still had a man's strength and the guys messing with him didn't know it. If this show is taking the idea that Ben is in the person's body as literally as the old show was supposed to have, will that change? Maybe. We'll see.

Ben getting immediately harassed, assaulted, and insulted five minutes into becoming a woman shows the show is still going to find ways to explore social issues. Good.

I'm glad the "What's right in front of you" bit was called back at the end of the episode. I felt it would be, and I hoped it would be for the reason it was. Predictable? Yes. Right? Also yes, and all that really matters when it comes to storytelling for me.

Can I point out something interesting? Addison is a better and more helpful hologram than Al ever was. Al spent most of his time distracted and off on his own leering at the women of past. Addison actually give Ben important information he can use at the correct time. I never liked Al, and I always wish the show had given Sam a competent helper / sidekick. Addison fits that bill.

Another solid episode and the revelations about Magic put a smile on my face. ****1/2.

I thought some of the mythology stuff was interesting, but the Leap itself was dud. Considering it should have been a gamechanger, that bums me out.

The problem is the characters speak and act like modern people rather than people in the Old West. There is a serious credibility problem going on there. I also feel like the series is making too many pains to outright not declare what the people of the town are fighting against as racism. Is the franchise now gutless? This is stuff it used to tackle head-on. It didn't use euphemisms to make audiences feel more comfortable. If this iteration of the show doesn't feel comfortable exploring social issues, I won't like it, but I'll accept it. I just don't like them half-assing it here so as not to offend people.

I mentioned the mythology was all right. The cliffhanger with the mystery guy (and Evil Leaper maybe?) was awesome, and I thought it was interesting Magic took the stick Jen dug up about the Congresswoman and turned it into a carrot. But the whole scenario felt a bit contrived and I think the show wound up revealing Jen was a Dark Web hacker who Magic got released from prison is just about the clumsiest manner possible.

Another complaint is the idea that Ben is a pacifist. That is antithetical to the job of Leaper. Why didn't this come up when he was a boxer anyways? But really, they are painting themselves in a really bad corner with that idea. It's another reason the Leap was dud.

I think this is the first episode I didn't like too much. **1/2.

Supposedly Scott Bakula turned down appearing in the show because it lacked a sense of fun. Next week's Halloween Leap (which sounds like an exorcism) sounds like it is going to prove him wrong.

I like that Addison believes Ben is becoming more emotionally vulnerable during the Leaps. Jen calling that notion beautiful sounded right.

Yeah, it sounds to me that Martinez is a future problem. Ian wondering if they created the problem themselves just by looking into it was the right question.

Cool seeing Jewel Staite. She's grown up nice.

The one thing in the episode I disapprove of is the fact that we didn't get a moment of Ben looking in the mirror. That is a crucial element of the franchise, and not something that should ever be ignored. I felt like the episode was missing something for us not seeing what he looked like, especially when Addison suggested the guy was out of shape.

Ian talking about the Hosts has me wondering again about the Waiting Room. Learning the rules of who can see Ben in the Imaging Chamber were fascinating, especially because the old show never delved into them. To be fair, they probably never did because their grasp of those rules felt entirely inconsistent as the series went on.

I'm really enjoying this show. ****.

I was kind of hoping that would be more fun than it was, but maybe next week with Ben as a kid will make up for that.

The Janice Calavicci cliffhanger was great.

Per usual, the show relies on few to no actual supernatural elements. That's consistent. But the episode was smart to bring up the fact that Sam Beckett believed God was guiding the Leaps. I was a little bit leery of the fact that Ben is a religious skeptic for that reason. It's sort of interesting that they figured out a way to make the actual explanation scientific while also helping Ben open his mind to irrational possibilities. Because whether or not God exists in this continuity, the rules for the Leaps and how to keep going aren't exactly rational. I have no clue if God guiding the Leaps. But if He isn't I would think Sam Beckett would have made it home by now.

Also not to put too fine a point on it, but Addison correctly says that if anybody should not dismiss the idea of possession out of hand, it's a damn Leaper.

Whenever the old show did a mystery they gathered the suspects in a room too just like an Agatha Christie mystery. The difference here is the audience were let in on the culprit ahead of time so it's a bit amusing to watch Ben's shtick knowing it's entirely shtick. Yeah, there is some magic missing for that reason. But knowing how the magician does the trick is still fun on some level, even if it ruins the trick down the line for you.

Even though I do believe the old show would have found a rational explanation, I still feel like the episode itself should have been more fun. It was filled with some genuine spooky moments but it's not quite up to Sam Leaping into a vampire. ***1/2.

Weak episode. But the old show's episodes featuring singers and bodyguards tended to suck too.

Absolutely no forward momentum with Janice Calavicci. I also feel like both Magic and Addison's anger seem forced as long as The Why Ben told no-one remains an open question. The show wants to both wring major pathos out of this and at the same time find excuses not to tell the story or give us any answers. It can't fairly do both.

Another weakness that I mentioned during the Western episode is that nobody in the episode talked like that did in the 1970's. They all used modern phrases and cadences in their manner of speaking. For the old show, the culture clash over the language is part of the fun. This show isn't putting in the groovy, out-of-sight work for 70's-speak.

I didn't like it. **.

The Leap itself was extremely underwhelming (warmed-over ER) but it's to this show's credit that it is sort of building an interesting long term arc in the background of such a lukewarm episode. And yeah, the Leap IS lukewarm, but I at least think the show understands the franchise enough to tug at the heartstrings at the end, and sort of have Ben put together all of the patients were somehow linked. So the episode actually SEEMS better than it actually is.

The stuff with Janice Calavicci is beyond interesting. I'll tell you what I loved. I have been increasingly frustrated over how stingy the show has been in giving out answers about her and Ben's plans, and the show actually gives us a great idea for why she isn't saying anything. When dealing with a nemesis with a Quantum Leap Accelerator, people actually knowing the specifics of that mission are dangerous. And that should be evident, so I feel Janice's anger and frustration is justified.

We did learn something new however. Ben came to HER. She didn't actually want anything to do with whatever this is, but Ben dragged her into it to save Addison. Going forward that will help me understand Janice a little better.

I didn't think the episode was all that great, but it wound up laying solid groundwork for the ultimate mystery about why Ben went to Janice behind Addison's back and Leaped. The idea that Addison needs to get Ben to stop answering questions is a narrative conundrum in that I as a viewer don't want that, but it actually makes sense from both a storytelling perspective and when it comes to protecting the entire mission. If you can told me before tonight the show would be able to come up with this specific great explanation as to why they aren't answering questions, I would have been surprised. It's a really great storytelling idea because I think it feels earned and it makes me feel like I can learn to live with a little mystery and ambiguity for the time being. So the warmed-over ER tribute gets a passing three star grade anyways. ***.

I think I understood more about the premise than the producers thought I would. I also have a sneaking suspicion I actually understand the premise a little better than the producers do.

First off, I wish the original series did more sci-fi high-concept stuff. On the rare occasions it did, those were always the best episodes. That's why this show leans so heavily into that. But I think the producers were hoping fans would think Groundhog Day and be stunned to realize it was only five chances.

Still they properly set up the Groundhog Day trope by focusing on the minutia that would be repeated, and often changed when Ben was the person who did the random thing in question.

It wasn't a time loop as long as Ben Leaped into different people. I don't know if the writers quite understood what they were channeling, but they seemed to be going old-school metaphysical Divine Intervention. This premise was not science fiction. What Ben was being granted was a Divine Mulligan. Sam was granted these on a few occasions too, and while I don't know what the future people thought of those things happening back in 1999, it's a little bit disappointing that nobody on the sequel is pondering if God IS in fact controlling the Leaps. Everyone is SO damn certain that if Ben fails the Leap, and dies in the Leap, he dies in his body. Or ANY Leap. Sam already disproved that.

In "Trilogy", he had to take three Leaps within the lifetime of people around a tortured woman to understand what was going on. And he actually died in the first Leap. Another notable Mulligan was the last scene in the series finale "Mirror Image", where he seemed to Leap to back as himself to Beth's grief at the end of "M.I.A." to change things and tell her Al was coming home. "The Leap Home" also gave him two chances to save his brother's life, first at home in Indiana as himself as a kid, then in Vietnam. And when he was in Vietnam, he actually Leaped into Magic. Lee Harvey Oswald gave Sam a similar Mulligan after he seemed to start being controlled by Oswald and Leaping all throughout his young adulthood, he finally Leaped into a Secret Service agent who saves Jackie Kennedy's life. But truly the most audacious and appalling Mulligan God ever granted Sam Beckett was in the episode "Deliver Us From Evil" a weirdly fan-favorite episode that NBC teased the hell out because of the introduction of The Evil Leaper before it aired. It is also my pick for the worst, most reprehensible episode of the entire series. It is so disgusting, God simply declaring everything that happened non-canon and granting poor Jimmy a total do-over is literally the least those gross jerk producers could do. Ick

But the thing all of the Mulligans have in common is that there is no scientific basis for them, they seem to involve a higher power stepping in when Sam is about to fail, and putting right what Sam almost made wrong. It's interesting everybody in the episode is talking about the rarity of time loops. When really they should be discussing the commonality of Divine Intervention. Addison mentioned a few episodes ago that Sam believed God controlled the Leaps. And if this five person Mulligan is any indication, He's on Ben's side too.

It's interesting Ben is an agnostic. The scenarios in the Leaps themselves are rarely supernatural. And if they are, it's always left ambiguous by the time Sam leaps out of the vampire. But when it comes to the DESIGN of the Leaps, there seem to be larger forces at work.

What's interesting is this happening surprised Janice Calavicci. She believe she had Ben's Leap path all mapped out. Which is ridiculous, considering it was never Project: Quantum Leap that actually decided where Sam ended up. If God decides Ben needs to take a detour Janice never planned for, He will. And if it happens, don't all of Janice's carefully planned Leaps unravel from there on out?

I love that Ben uses passion and reason to talk the villain out of killing everybody. I really wish more conflicts on TV were solved that way.

The episode did a couple of annoying things. They made believe Ben died at the beginning of the episode. I did not need to see Addison's grief because I knew it wasn't real. The show annoyed me by putting her in pain she wasn't actually due.

I also was annoyed that Jen was mad at Magic for letting Ben finish the Leap. Like she's the only one who cares if he lives or dies. What I don't think either of them quite get is that even if Ben failed that Leap, he almost certainly wasn't going to die. God would obviously grant him ANOTHER Mulligan and he'd Leap into an investigative reporter in the 1970's trying to track down the truth of what happened to her sister at the reactor. I think Magic and Addison operating under the assumption that if Ben blows it he dies, is wrong. Ben has a higher power looking out for him, and whatever it is, it will step in and help when the need arises. I'm think Sam was probably lost because he depended on that intervention a little bit too much. Once he reunited Al and Beth in the past, I'm guessing God knew Sam was essentially done with Project: Quantum Leap. God was going to call the shots from that point forward.

Interesting that Magic believes he should have sided with Janice back in the day, and allowed her on the project. I agree with that regret completely. She'd certainly make a more useful ally than a frustrating adversary. What was Magic thinking?

And if I were the showrunner of this show, I would explore all that Divinity stuff. I'd wonder if perhaps the fact that Ben is seeking to alter the destiny of someone he knows may in fact potentially cause Fate, Time, or God to severe him from the Project and answer to Him alone, the way Sam probably now does. I understand Scott Bakula is balking at returning, but I think a clever writer could figure out a way to explore all this using the deductive method and possible information Janice is withholding. The idea of the Mulligan seems Divine. And I don't think 2022's producers are either thinking through the significance or it, or the philosophical and moral debates they could broach had they understood the notion fully and embraced it. I could be wrong. Maybe that is all part of the plan. But if it was, and I ran the show, I'd be hinting the possibility EARLY on, and this episode would have been the right place to do it. Instead I feel like the relaunch may be wasting a golden storytelling opportunity.

That being said, even if the show is not going in the direction I think it should go, that most certainly doesn't mean whatever direction it IS going will be bad. Certainly, it's earned enough trust with me to believe that whatever it's got cooking will be satisfying to longtime fans like me. It's earned that much. The show does not need to conform to my wants and expectations. I trust it will be great even if it doesn't. ****1/2.

You want to claim it's a little sappy, that's actually on-brand for the franchise. What I did like is that it took a political stand, which is something the old show did frequently, but the new show does rarely. Like it or not the Trump Administration is part of history, and the ban of transpeople in the military was an especially shameful thing. The show goes out of its way not to offend most weeks. It's encouraging it's starting to take a moral stance when it actually matters.

The worst part of the episode for me was the poetry slam. I get what it was trying to get Magic to recognize, but did it HAVE to be so badly written and acted to do it? It wasn't even funny. It was pure cringe. Granted the old show had its share of that, but I won't thank the sequel for bringing it back.

Seriously though, if you check out the original series sometime, it is almost SHOCKING the negative view it (particularly the character of Al Calavicci) takes on queerness. Somebody wants to tell me how inferior this show is to that, I'll just point out a main character here never gave Al's one word reaction to hearing somebody was gay in "Lee Harvey Oswald": "Yuck." Seriously, Scott Bakula. You are remembering your run on the show in fonder and more generous terms than it actually deserved. You are NOT actually too good for this show. You never were.

A second person in the imaging chamber IS a taboo, the old show only violated once in the episode "Raped". It feels right that it's Ian breaking this rule, when we learned the shocking revelation that he will somebody become a Future Leaper.

Random franchise notes: The Leap is set only ten years in the past. The old show was very leery of setting episodes anywhere NEAR 1999. They did 1986 and 1987 once each, I think, but the show very much frowned on putting Sam in recognizable modern settings. Of course, 1999 was the future for that show and 2022 is the present here, so that might make the difference in presentation. We also get a few more ideas what it's like for the person Leaped into during their missing time, but I'd still feel more comfortable about that if The Waiting Room was more clearly referenced and mentioned. While a Leapee's time in The Waiting Room being forgotten could be chalked up to the amnesia both Sam and the Leapee felt, while the Waiting Room is a thing, it's hard to understand how the Leapee could possibly feel like someone else was driving their body. In reality, they are in BEN'S/SAM'S/IAN'S bodies. Ben and Ian's Leapee's could be argued to work a different way, but that doesn't explain Magic describing the same sensation. The Waiting Room was a BIG part of the Old Show. I'm having a hard time believing the producers of this show aren't even aware of it. It was one of the most memorable conceits of the future elements of that show.

The episode did what a LOT of episodes on the old show did, but that this show hasn't done much of. It showed plenty of scenes in the past time period where neither Ben nor Addison were present. Another thing I want to compliment the show on, is that I believe if this premise WERE ever done on the original series, they'd have Sam leap into the transkid and get his reactions to the bigotry. And while it was sort of an eye-opening conceit to watch a white man being targeted with racism and sexism back in the 1980's and 90's, the truth is Sam can't ever really be put in the minority's shoes, and this show understands that part of it and allows Ben the role of her father instead. There was something iconic about Scott Bakula being harassed for either being black or a woman. But the reality is the messaging there is problematic because it's not real to Sam. The audience is made aware of how stupid it is, simply because the assumption is an error on the bigot's part. But it's not the same thing as giving a character like Gia her own voice and story. If Ben had Leaped into her, he wouldn't have actually had that. Worse, he probably would have had to have a huge life-altering discussion with the parents that Gia would first have no say over, and then simply not remember. That part always bothered me about the old show, and so far this sequel is steering clear of giving Ben TOO many life-altering moments with the person the he's Leaped into's loved ones. It's a tricky balance, and having Ben Leap into the father instead of Gia helps that big time.

The episode won't break any molds here, and some if it downright sucks. But it actually does a LOT better than the old show in actually having a trans person write and direct the episode, and basically researching the subject in depth ahead of time, instead of using cliches and generalities. I've never heard of accomplices or some of the terms the episode introduced me to, and that's not something that ever happened on the old show. While the old show was trying to teach the bigots who watched it something, it never taught ME anything. I'm glad to say this episode definitely did. ***1 removed link

Solid. Heart-warming. Sappy. Decent Quantum Leap, in other words.

I love Ben's nose ring.

And I love how Ben problem-solves at the end and brings the entire family together. I don't think Sam Beckett could have done that. Maybe only because the writers of the original series thought too small about what he could and should be capable of. But Sam's help tended to be very one-on-one and personal. Ben bringing vast groups of people together feels like a different skillset and a different way to approach a crisis.

Although if I may be brutally honest, maybe Sam never swung for the fences because Al was never there for him, or as competent as Addison is. The old show instead of making Al an asset, often made him a hindrance, and a frustrating weak point. Him being a creeper that makes you cringe 30 years later was the tip of the iceberg for how useless he was. Sam could count on him when the chips were down. He was never there enough or useful enough to make it so the chips never fell down in the first place. Addison being there the entire time with info for Ben about the best place to set up the pop-up restaurant is not something Sam could ever have depended on Al for, sad to say.

I like that Ben was essentially able to tell his own mother he loved her at the end.

The part of the episode I didn't much dig was Ian's stuff. I thought it was awesome last week when it turns out he's gonna be a future Leaper, but really his entire arc in the episode was emo. That's something I really don't like about the future stuff on the relaunch.

But it was a nice enough week. ***1/2.