Quantum Leap
Season 3, Episode 17:
Glitter Rock
Sam: (singing) I'm just a traveler, upon the sea! Of time, of life, of fate's wide wheel! Just a traveler, in this mystery! The me I am is all that's real to me...
Written by Chris Ruppenthal
Directed by Andy Cadiff
Airdate: April 10, 1991
April 12th, 1974
Sam leaps in at the tail end of a concert by one of the hottest bands of the time, King Thunder (a British glam rock band). While at first finding himself overwhelmed with the glitz and prestige of a rock star, Al shows up to inform him of some more dire circumstances: two days from now, the band's lead singer (who Sam has leapt into) gets stabbed and killed in the parking lot of the band's last concert in Detroit. And among the prime suspects is a jealous band member, a kid with a seeming obsession with the leapee, and the band's own manager.
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: Out of the four members of King Thunder, Wilder is the only one not named in the episode. You'd need to see the credits to get his name.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: When the band gets back to the hotel room after Dwayne almost kills Sam, Nick asks what Dwayne had done (besides that):Flash: (throws a shot glass) He stole our bloody money, that's what he did, you bleeding idiot!Nick: (awkwardly) R-right. We can always make more money, can't we? There's only one Tonic, right? We don't want to lose him.
- But Now I Must Go: All Philip wanted was confirmation that Tonic was his father. And after he gets that confirmation at the end of the episode, he is willing to leave. Sam then convinces him to stay, offering him a job as the band's roadie (which Al reveals causes Philip to become "one of the hottest studio musicians in London").
- Call-Back:
- Indirectly: At the start of the season, Sam almost told his sister Katie what would happen to John Lennon, only for Al to tell him not to. Here, Al tells him (due to his swiss-cheesed memory making him forget, if not how Lennon died, at least what the killer's name was).
- After warding off a trio of groupies, Sam states it was worse than his stint as a Chippendale's dancer.
- Continuity Snarl: A particularly bad case: When Al is feeding Sam the information about who he leapt into, he states the date is April 12th, 1974. He also makes it clear that in two days time, he's going to get stabbed. The next day, as he is investigating Philip Silbart's hotel room, Al mutters to himself the current date... as being April 23rd.
- Contrived Coincidence: After getting centered on "John Doe's" location at his apartment, Al tries in vain to find some form of identification, openly wondering aloud how "these private eyes" do it. One second later, his target tosses his wallet onto a dresser, opening up to show his ID (revealing his name, Philip Silbart).Al: ...huh. (looks upward) Thanks.
- Death Is Cheap: Discussed: After Flash wishes that Sam had let him kill Dwayne, Wilder counters that they should've "killed him, brought him back to life, and killed him again".
- Disproportionate Retribution: Downplayed: On top of almost killing Tonic and stealing from the band, Wilder adds the grievence of stealing his wig to the list of justifications for wanting to kill Dwayne.
- Embarrassing Nickname: As it turns out, "Tonic" got his nickname due to drinking too much vodka and tonic onstage, requiring him to get his stomach pumped at the hospital, after the band's first concert 16 years prior.
- Everyone Has Standards: Right as a trio of groupies attempts to have sex with Sam in his hotel room, he forces them out not only because he doesn't like the idea of them demeaning themselves for the sake of a rock star, but also because Al was in the room, and didn't have the same concerns.
- Famous, Famous, Fictional: Sam and Al discuss high-profile assassination attempts by Loony Fans, including John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, and Tonic of King Thunder.
- Foreshadowing: While in the limo back to the band's hotel, Flash openly compares King Thunder to The Beatlesnote . Sam soon learns he has leapt into Tonic in order to prevent his murder...Al: It was probably some nut case, like that Mark David Chapman.
Sam: Who?
Al: (sadly) The... rat that shot John Lennon. - For Want Of A Nail: Sam openly credits Philip for saving his life at the end of the episode, as it was because of him yelling at him before Dwayne could stab him that Sam was able to deflect the attack.
- He Knows Too Much: While it's not clear if this is what happened originally, Dwyane attempts to murder Tonic (in actuality Sam) because he found out he was using the band's money to gamble on the stock market.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation:
- Dwyane asks Sam why the band sounded terrible at the start of the episode. Sam (who had leapt in at the end of the concert) attempts to blame the lyrics. "But you wrote them!"
- Sam admits to Al that he doesn't know how to be a rock star.Sam: (panicked) I can't do it, I can't do it. I'm gonna go out there, and they're gonna hear me sing, and they- they're gonna kill me. I mean, I don't sing like those people. I-I- When I grew up, I listened to- to Simon & Garfunkel, didn't I?
- Hiding the Handicap: Downplayed: It turns out that Tonic has a pair of webbed fingers, but it is only revealed when Sam sees Tonic's reflection in a table three-fourths of the way into the episode.
- Hope Spot: Inverted: Towards the end of the episode, when Philip shows the band the photo he claims is of Tonic and his mom (which would prove Tonic's his father), Flash debunks that claim by pointing out Tonic was taken to the hospital immediately after that concert to get his stomach pumped. But when Sam is in the middle of apologizing to Philip, Flash gets his hands on the photo, and identifies the woman as someone Tonic was with before the concert.Al: Sam, if Tonic went bingo-bango-bongo with Philip's mother, there's a 98 percent chance that you're the father.
- I Am the Noun: When Sam tries to talk Flash into cutting down on the drinking in the limo, arguing that he would "miss all the fun" by blacking out, Flash fires back:
- I Am Your Father: Inverted: Philip reveals to Sam that Tonic's his father. Among his list of evidence is the fact he plays music and sings like himnote , and they share the same webbed fingers.Sam: Look, I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to get hurt, either.
Philip: I'd never hurt you. You're my father. - I Knew It!:
- Played for Laughs: Right after Sam unmasks Dwayne in the parking lot, Al boasts that he knew Dwayne was the killer... when it was established earlier that Al was suspicious of three people at once.
- When back at the hotel room, Flash bitterly notes that he always felt Dwayne was a "shifty little twerp".
- I Know You Know I Know: When Sam out and out accuses Dwayne of embezzling from the band right before the final concert, Sam claims he had a friend look into his expenses.Sam: Now, you've been gambling away more than you make. That money's comin' from somewhere. And I'd hate to call for a personal audit right now, because I think we both know where that money's comin' from.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall / Self-Deprecation: Sam describes getting the trio of groupies as "some deluded girls who are throwing themselves at [him] like some bad writer's dream".
- Locked Out of the Loop: Played for Drama: In the original history, Toxic's murder made headline news, and as such Al is mildly taken aback when it turns out Sam doesn't remember.
- Near-Villain Victory: If it wasn't for Philip being in the right place at the right time, Dwayne would've knifed Sam in the parking lot right after the concert.
- Not What It Looks Like: At first, Sam and Al not only assume Philip is the one who's going to kill Tonic, but also is mentally unstable with process schizophrenia.note In reality, he's Tonic's illegitimate son, and all he wants is proof that Tonic's his father.
- Oh, Crap!: It doesn't take long for Al to lay the cards on the table for Sam as for what the stakes are for this leap:Sam: (dismissively) So what? I'm here to help them play Madison Square Garden or become bigger than the Beatles, right?Al: (quietly) No, no... you don't remember?Sam: What?Al: (hesitatingly) Well, this was big news. It was in the papers, on TV-Sam: What?Al: Well, two nights from now, right after the concert, some... crazy nut stabs you just as you were getting into your limo. ...you get killed.
- Opinion Flip Flop: Right after Dwayne admits to gambling the band's money on the stock market, Al accuses him of being the killer. Shortly afterward, when Flash threatens Sam after catching Sandy making out with him, Al accuses him:Al: It's Flash! He's the killer, and he doesn't want to kill you about his songs, he wants to kill you because of that girl... that Sandy!
Sam: Al, you've been certain about three different people.
Al: Yeah, but this time, I'm really certain. And now you don't have to know who to look for because it's definitely him. Or Dwayne. (uncertain) Or Philip.
Sam: (deadpan) You done?
Al: Definitely. - Rage Breaking Point:
- Upon seeing Sandy and Sam together in the dressing room before the final concert, Flash threatens to murder Sam. This doesn't pay off, obviously.
- Meanwhile, upon learning that Dwyane was embezzling from the band due to his own ego, Flash actively tries to beat him up, only for them to get pulled apart.
- Red Herring:
- At first, Philip Silbart seems to be the prime suspect for murdering Tonic, given how throughout the episode he seems obsessed with him, and is practically stalking him. And then it comes out this is because Tonic's Philip's father, and he just wants him to admit it.
- Flash also makes himself a likely suspect (potentially using the bodyguard Whittler to do it). Not only did Tonic (and Sam) opt to not play any of his songs, but Sam unintentionally garnered the attention Sandy, Flash's girlfriend.
- Right Behind Me: While Sam and Al discuss Philip at the band's party in his hotel room, Al tries to get Gooshie to center him on the kid... only to get moved a few inches.Al: Gooshie, quit foolin' around! I'm tryin' to find Philip. (freezes) He says he's here.
- Sexy Coat Flashing: While at the band's meet-and-greet at the mall (being broadcast on the radio by WFGF), one female fan approaches the table with "something to sign"... and then flashes them (with her back to the camera, obviously).Elliot Chase: Lucky this is radio.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Dwyane makes it clear that he was stealing from the band purely because he thinks he's more important due to being the one to form the band in the first place.
- Stealing from the Till: King Thunder's manager Dwyane was using the band's profits to invest in the stock marker, mainly because he felt he was being unappreciated by the band and felt he was better than them.Dwayne: I only took what I deserved! All you did is sing, but I put you guys together in the first place. I'm the one who made you big. I'm better than all of you put together, but you never saw that. All you thought about was your egos. So I took what was mine!
- Strange Minds Think Alike: As it turns out, Tonic was unknowingly in Sam's own mindspace when he wrote "Fate's Wide Wheel", as shown when WFGF's Elliot Chase quotes the song:Elliot Chase: But if I can get back on track for just one second, Tonic. What were you thinking when you wrote: "As I travel in space and time, I want to stay, I want to go. You can see my face, but it's not mine. What you can't see, you'll never know."
- Take That!:
- In-universe: After Flash boasts that King Thunder is going to make The Beatles look like "a bunch of ants", Sam mutters to himself that he doesn't remember that happening. Because the others heard him, Sam covers by claiming that he was "quoting" what people are going to say about The Beatles:
Sam: I'm... I mean, uh, that's what people are going to be sayin' about the Beatles: "I don't remember them."- Right after Al throws out a bunch of suggestions for Sam on how to be a rocker before he goes out to perform on stage, he mentions a potential last resort: Pulling a Milli Vanilli.
- Take That, Audience!: In-universe: After it comes to light that someone had stolen Wilder's wig prior to the band's last concert, Flash automatically assumes a fan snuck in and took it.Flash: Stupid fans...
- What the Hell, Hero?: Played for Laughs: Al is practically pissed when Sam throws the groupies out of his room.Al: Sam, what are you doing?! You're throwing away a perfectly good fan sandwich! Oh, Sam... Sometimes, you are just pitiful.
Sam: Why, because I won't take advantage of some deluded girls who are throwing themselves at me like some bad writer's dream?
Al: Yes. - Who's on First?: Right before Sam goes out to perform for the first time, Al tries to help him figure out how to be a rock start by bringing up Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend. The latter is what trips Sam up:Al: Or, oh, oh, oh, do Townshend.
Sam: (confused) Who?
Al: That's right.
Sam: What is?
Al: Who.
Sam: I don't know.
Al: Townshend.
Sam: Who?
Al: Yeah, that's right. Pete Townshend of The Who.
Sam: Of the what?!
Al: Never mind.
[...]
Al: If worse comes to worse, do Milli Vanilli.
Sam: Who?
Al: (annoyed) That's what I suggested in the first place! Now, get out there! - Yoko Oh No: Flash's girlfriend, Sandy, repeatedly tries to make out with Sam, which pisses Flash off. Things settle down after Dwayne's murder attempt, however.
- Your Days Are Numbered: In two days time from when Sam leapt in, he's going to get killed in the parking lot of the band's last concert in Detroit.
