Quantum Leap
Season 3, Episode 10:
A Little Miracle
Teleplay by Sandy Fries & Robert A. Wolterstorff
Story by Sandy Fries
Directed by Michael Watkins
Airdate: December 21, 1990.
December 24, 1962
It's Christmas Eve 1962 and Sam has leaped into Pearson, personal assistant to corporate raider and land developer Michael Blake. Blake is on the verge of breaking ground on Blake Plaza, a shopping and entertainment complex that cannot be built unless a Salvation Army mission is demolished. The mission's beautiful young leader, Captain Downey, attempts to appeal to Blake personally, but he is unsympathetic to their cause. Al calls Blake a grouch, and is stunned when he actually hears him; Blake's brain patterns are coincidentally close enough to Sam's that he can see and hear Al. After having the fluke fixed, Al explains to Sam that he is here to save Blake's soul.
Ziggy can't find anything on Michael Blake, so Sam looks through his closet for hints and learns from a box of photos that his real name is Blakowski. Sam and Al note Blake's similarities to Ebeneezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol and formulate a plan to change his ways by showing him his past, present and future.
Sam takes over as Blake's driver, and encourages him to open up about a woman in the photos he found. Blake explains that this photo of his mother was taken only weeks before her death; after his father left them, she worked herself to death cleaning bathrooms. Sam purposely gets a flat tire in the neighborhood where Blake grew up; Blake has visions of his young friends. They run into Captain Downey and the three of them buy chestnuts from Blake's childhood friend Max. Blake is distraught by the news that his childhood best friend Charlie died four years ago in a drunken stupor, a result of his job becoming automated.
That night, Blake sits dejectedly at home, and Sam wonders if he might have done more harm than good by taking Blake back to his old neighborhood. Ziggy still reads a 94% chance that "Scrooging" Blake is the best plan, so Sam bets Blake "a month's rent", over a year's salary for Pearson, that he can show him he isn't as happy as he pretends to be. They drive to the future site of Blake Plaza, where Sam shows Blake that a cold building is not the same as the warmth that love brings. Blake retorts that the people who loved him always left him, but a building will make him immortal. Hearing "Carol of the Bells" draws Blake to the mission, where he is welcomed with open arms, and even wished well by the people whose lives he will be ruining. As romance begins to bloom between Blake and Downey, Al notes that there's a 97% chance Blake has been turned, but it starts dropping as Blake begins to think he's being purposely guilt-tripped by Downey and Pearson. He storms out, still fully intending to tear down the mission.
Blake goes to bed, and Sam and Al note that it would take a miracle to change Blake's mind now. They realize that there is still one step left to their plan: show him his future. Al is reconfigured to match Blake's brain patterns again, dresses in chains and white makeup, and wakes Blake up. Blake is more annoyed than scared, and calls Sam to throw him out. Sam pretends not to see Al, and Blake is convinced it is a supernatural vision. Al beckons Blake to the site of Blake Plaza, where he shows him his future: Blake Plaza will be built as planned, but in 1975, Blake will go bankrupt, "undone by his unbridled greed and uncontrollable lust for power". Blake Plaza will stay up, but renamed for its new owner, Blake's only legacy erased. Blake will jump from the top of the tower, having no family, friends or love in his life. Hearing this, Blake breaks down and promises to become a better man. Al vanishes, and a shining star appears, casting a beam of light in front of the mission. Blake knocks on the mission door and asks Captain Downey if she has room for "one more lost soul".
Al confirms that Blake has been saved; in six months he will marry Downey, and they will open a new mission on the first floor of Blake Plaza. Sam wonders if the plan would have worked without Al putting the star above the mission, which Al denies having done. Sam and Al pause to wonder if God, Fate, Time, or Whatever had a personal hand in this little miracle, and the two friends wish each other a merry Christmas before Sam leaps out...
Note: At the end of this episode, Sam leaps into Phillip Dumont on the Queen mary in 1954. This leap was the time, person, and place for "Sea Bride", an episode which had already aired the previous season. This represents a continuity error, and the ending leap should have been into Butchie Rickett in 1954 Wyoming, the time and person for the next episode, "Runaway". Alternatively, the leap could have been into some intermediate person, time, and place not aired as an episode.
Tropes:
- All Men Are Perverts: Upon seeing the maid, Al remarks he'd sure like to find her under his Christmas tree.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Sam expects to have to save the mission, not Blake himself.Sam: What does a man like Blake need to have saved?
Al: His soul. - Chekhov's Gag: Blake being able to see and hear Al is a quick gag attributed to a total fluke. It later proves instrumental when Sam says the only way to complete the mission is for a Ghost of Christmas Future to step in.
- Christmas Episode: But of course, with Sam trying to redeem a businessman and save a mission full of people from being put out on the street.
- "Eureka!" Moment:
- Al referring to Blake as a real Scrooge gives Sam an idea about how to reform him.
- After the mission visit goes badly, Sam thinks it'll take a miracle to fix this, but then he remembers how Blake was able to see Al earlier. He says it's time to take "Scrooging" to its logical conclusion.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Blake speaks lovingly of his late mother and feels she deserved better than what she got.
- Freudian Excuse: Blake was abandoned by his father, while his beloved mother worked herself ragged cleaning bathrooms to keep them afloat before dying herself. It gave Blake an apprehension about trusting others, a desire to escape the old neighborhood at all costs, and a secret fear of dying alone and unloved.
- Happily Married: According to Al, Blake and Downey ultimately get married and have three kids together.
- Heel Realization: After seeing what the future allegedly has in store for him, Blake is reduced to tears and says he's a terrible person. Sam won't argue with that part, but he assures Blake that he still has time to change.
- Hope Spot: The visit to the shelter seems to be working on Blake, and he really hits it off with Downey, but with the arrival of some kids, he thinks he's been conned and angrily storms out.
- Large Ham: Al goes all out as the Ghost of Christmas Future, complete with wild movements and loud delivery.
- Man Hug: Max, upon recognizing Blake.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Blake pushed for a bakery to automate, boasting that he alone had the foresight to do such a thing. He's devastated to later learn that one of his closest childhood friend got laid off as a result, struggled to find a new job, and ultimately committed suicide.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Sam and Al's shared reaction when Blake addresses the latter.
- Al's reaction at the shelter when the odds of success suddenly start dropping.
- Person as Verb: Sam sums up the plan with a simple, "So, we Scrooge him."
- Race Against the Clock: The mission is getting kicked out December 31 and has nowhere else to go. Blake refuses to budge at the start of the episode, as missing the deadline would mean losing out on the permits to build his plaza.
- Samus Is a Girl: Blake knew of Downey from letters, but he was expecting that to be the old guy at the front of the group. He's surprised to learn that Downey is the woman standing right next to that guy.
- Save the Villain: As Al says, the mission is to save Blake's soul.
- Self-Made Man: Blake came from a substantially poorer neighborhood, was abandoned by his father, and lost his mother not long afterwards. He grew up to become a rich and ruthless corporate executive.Blake: Not bad for an orphan from the wrong side of town, huh?
- Take a Third Option: Blake does go on to build his plaza as planned, but he puts the mission on the first floor upon its completion. Evidently, he took Sam's earlier advice and put them up in one of his other buildings in the interim.
- This Is Gonna Suck: When Sam thinks up the Ghost of Christmas Future idea, Al remarks he really doesn't like the look on his face right now.
- Tragic Keepsake: Blake keeps photos of his old life in a shoebox in his closet, with one of them being the only photo he has of his late mother.
- Yes-Man: Calloway is quick to agree with whatever Blake says. Blake has little patience for the brown-nosing, though.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: As Sam says, they Scrooge Blake as best as possible. Sam ensures Blake sees his old neighborhood and what effect his building proposal will have on the locals. Al plays the part of (a very hammy) Ghost of Christmas Future to ultimately cinch it.
- You Can See Me?: Al's stunned reaction to Blake reacting to something he had said. It turns out that Blake is close enough to Sam's brain patterns to allow for this. It takes a little fine-tuning to prevent it, but they later undo that to pull off the Ghost of Christmas Future stunt.
- You Don't Look Like You: Blake initially chastises Al's take on the Ghost of Christmas Future, saying the outfit lacks the signature black robe and inexplicably has Marley's chains.
- You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost: Back in his old neighborhood, Blake recalls assorted experiences, such as his mother telling him to come home for dinner or playing with friends. He then bumps into Downey, who says this to him.
