Quantum Leap
Season 2, Episode 14:
All-Americans
Chuey: We’re gonna tear the tails off of the Bulldogs and if you don’t think so, then best friend or no, I’ll kick your butt from here to East LA.
Sam: We can’t tear their tails off.
Chuey: Why not?
Written by Paul Brown
Directed by John Cullum
Airdate: January 17, 1990
November 6, 1962
Sam takes the field as a star high school football player who has to prevent his best friend from throwing the city championship.
Tropes:
- Big Man on Campus: As the star quarterback and receiver of their school’s team, Eddie and Chuey are both this.
- Celebrity Resemblance: A teammate asks Chuey if he thinks he looks like Elvis. Chuey says no, but after the other boy leaves, states that he thinks he himself looks like Elvis.
- Citizenship Marriage: Discussed but ultimately averted – Sam suggests Celia marry Manuel as a solution to her immediate problem, but since Manuel and Celia are in love, this becomes the real reason.
- Continuity Snarl: At the end of this episode during its original airing, Sam leaps into Jesse Tyler in 1955 Alabama. This leap was the time, person, and place for "The Color Of Truth", an episode which had already aired the previous season. This represents a continuity error, and the ending leap should have been into Agent Peter Langley in 1973 Boston, Massachusetts, the time, person, and place for the next episode, "Her Charm". This was later fixed in syndication.
- Dirty Old Man: Al mentions going over to the girls’ locker room to scope out the cheerleaders. Considering this a high school and at least some of those girls are certainly under eighteen…
- Forbidden Love: Manuel and Celia are clearly in love with one another, but don’t act on it due to their loyalty to the memory Manuel’s late wife. Luckily, Sam gives them the nudge they need to get together.
- Foreign Queasine: Sam is unimpressed when he finds out that menudo contains tripe.
- Hypocrisy Nod: Despite betting against the Jaguars, Ruben still cheers for them during the championship. He justifies this by stating they were his alma mater.
- The Illegal: Celia Martinez crossed the border nine months pregnant to ensure Chuey would be born an American citizen.
- Karma Houdini: After sexually extorting Celia and blackmailing Chuey into losing the game, Ruben gets off scot-free and is still free to act as a slum lord and presumably prey on other people in Celia's situation. We don't even get to see the headbutt Sam begins against him connect before Sam leaps out.
- Mr. Vice Guy: Ruben rigs high school sporting events for gambling and is a slumlord who exploits illegal immigrants. His sleaze is on full display when he tries to make Celia pay her debt to him with her body.
- Pursue the Dream Job: Manuel hopes to abandon his food truck in favor of a proper restaurant. Celia convinces him to invest in additional food truck. Al says that this business model will make Manuel and Celia millionaires.
- Though still in high school, Eddie and Chuey dream of becoming doctors. They are pursuing college football scholarships as step one.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: When Al mentions that being 16 was the best time of his life, Sam sarcastically asks if it was because he lost his virginity. Al is taken aback by Sam's insinuation... namely because it suggests it took Al that long to lose his virginity.
R-R-R-O-O-O-O-A-A-A-A-R-R-R-R JAGUARS!!!
