Line #12 Recap/QuantumLeapS3E01TheLeapHomePart1


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5	'''''Series/QuantumLeap'''''\
6	'''Season 3, Episode 1:'''
7
8	!The Leap Home
9
10	->'''Sam''': I can save my father and my brother’s live and change my sister’s for the better. Now, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?
11
12	Written by Creator/DonaldPBellisario
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14	Directed by Creator/JoeNapolitano
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16	Airdate: September 28, 1990
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20	November 25, 1969
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22	Sam leaps into himself as a teenager, tasked with winning an important basketball game, but Sam turns his attention to his own family, determined to save the lives of his brother and father.
23
24	!Tropes:
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26	* TenMinuteRetirement: Getting fed up and upset that he can't try and fix his family's future, Sam [[RageAgainstTheHeavens yells to the sky, to whoever is leaping him around, that he quits]], before running off deeper into the corn as we cut to commercial. When we come back from commercial, Al catches up to Sam and, after giving his own two cents about Sam's situation, Sam (albeit hesitantly) wins the basketball game the next day.
27	* AdmiringTheAbomination: All-American Navy SEAL Tom Beckett grudgingly admits that the anti-war chant “hell no, we won’t go” is a catchy slogan.
28	* BigGame: The Elk Ridge-Bentlyville basketball game is SeriousBusiness in Sam's hometown.
29	* CassandraTruth: Sam tells his brother that he will die in Vietnam, tells his father that he needs to improve his cardiovascular health and tells his sister that she will someday marry and abusive alcoholic, but with no way to prove his claims, they don’t heed his warnings.
30	* CallBack: When Sam insists he can use this leap to change his family's future, Al reminds him of the previous episode, "M.I.A.", when they tried preventing Beth from leaving him[[note]][[HalfTruth And noticeably leaves out that that wasn't what Sam was supposed to be doing...]][[/note]]. Namely, that [[YouCantFightFate they failed.]]
31	** This also doubles as DramaticIrony as Sam, frustrated with Al trying to keep him focused on the leap and not try and change his family's future for the better, asks what he would do if he was in Sam's shoes. Conveniently for Al, [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Sam doesn't remember that Al had basically attempted the same thing in "M.I.A."]]...
32	* CouldSayItBut: When talking about Music/TheBeatles with Katie, Sam brings up how they're going to break up soon, and that Paul's going to form Music/{{Wings}}. And then the topic of John Lennon is brought up...
33	-->'''Katie''': And John? What's John going to do? He's my favorite.\
34	'''Sam''': (uncomfortable) Uh, Katie... John...\
35	'''Al''': ''[[AwfulTruth Don't]]'' [[AwfulTruth tell her.]]\
36	'''Sam''': ...John is going to write my favorite song.
37	* DramaticUnmask: Sam's coach brings in someone wearing a gorilla mask, who goes by "Kong", to give the team a challenge. Sam can't shake the feeling that he knows who "Kong" is... And sure enough, Sam realizes it's Tom, who confirms by taking the mask off.
38	* ExactWords: When Al reminds Sam that eventually, one his leaps will be his leap home, Sam points out he ''is'' home. Al then pointedly reminds him that he ''wasn't'' referring to 1969 Elk Ridge, Indiana.
39	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Sam can't change what happens to his father or sister, but the ending suggests he has a chance with Tom.
40	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
41	** Al states that he would give ''anything'' to have the life Sam has with leaping. Fast forward to [[Recap/QuantumLeapS3E22ShockTheater the final minute of the season finale...]]
42	** It's [[AmbiguousSituation heavily implied]] that Sam leaping into Tom's squad at the end [[Recap/QuantumLeapS5E22MirrorImage was of his own volition]].
43	* ItsAllMyFault: Downplayed: When Al remarks that Sam's school lost the big basketball game, Sam denies that.
44	-->'''Sam''': ''[[InsistentTerminology I]]'' lost the game. No-Nose, he beat me on offense, and... on defense, and when ref wasn't lookin', he just plain beat me. [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong Can't tell ya how many nights I lie awake wishing I could play that game over again.]]\
45	'''Al''': [[LampshadeHanging Ha! Well, you just got your wish, kid.]]
46	* LampshadeHanging: Al points out how Sam's efforts to change his family's history are doomed to fail since the tragic events are months or even years after the current date.
47	* LifeIsntFair: When it becomes clear that he can't prevent the tragedies his family will endure, Sam laments that he can help complete strangers but not the people he loves most. On the other hand, Al thinks this situation is actually extremely fair; he says Sam is lucky to get to spend a few days with his family and that he would give anything to see his own father and sister again.
48	* MilitarySchool: Tom attended Annapolis and goes into detail of his SEAL training.
49	* MoodWhiplash:
50	** Sam is at first delighted that he's here to help his high school win the BigGame... but once Al says he'll leap out once he does, Sam's mood quickly turns on a dime, as he doesn't want to leave and ''not'' change his family's future.
51	** Sam sings ''Imagine'' (released two years after the setting) for his sister to prove he knows the future. While at first she enjoys the song, she quickly breaks down into tears when she realizes that if Sam can indeed see the future, Tom will die in Vietnam.
52	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Sam considers that his journey through time is similar to his brother’s SEAL training.
53	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: No-Nose Pruitt lost the tip of his nose in a farming accident. Never once is his real name spoken.
54	* ProperlyParanoid: Before the reveal, Sam is certain he knows the player in the gorilla mask.
55	* RageAgainstTheHeavens: When Sam realizes he can’t save Tom, his dad or his sister, he breaks down.
56	-->'''Sam''': I always do the right thing, Al. And what does it get me? Why can I save strangers and not the people I love?\
57	'''Al''': I don’t know.\
58	'''Sam''': Well, I’m not gonna do it anymore, Al. I’m not gonna do it. (shouting to the sky) ''You hear that?! Whoever you are, wherever you are, I’m not doing it anymore! I quit!'' (stumbles) [-...I quit.-]
59	* RayOfHopeEnding: Variation: Sam and his high school win the basketball game... but, in the middle of celebrating, Al glumly informs him that [[InSpiteOfANail Tom still dies in Vietnam]]. Sam then tries to reach out to his brother as he leaps out... and then finds himself ''in'' Vietnam, as a member of Tom's unit...
60	* {{Seers}}: Sam claims that he can see the future to try to convince his brother not to go to Vietnam. No one in his family believes him.
61	* SayMyName: Sam shouts Tom's name, as he leaps out. This carries over to after the leap.
62	* ShoutOut / TakeThat: During the basketball game, Al says he feels like Dennis Hopper in ''Film/{{Hoosiers}}''. [[note]]This is a bit of a meta reference as Hopper, a close friend of Dean Stockwell's, advised him not to take the role on ''Quantum Leap''.[[/note]]
63	* SpotTheThread: What ultimately convinces Sam that "Kong" is actually Tom? "Kong" bops the ball against Sam's head.
64	* ToBeContinued: Sam leaps into a firefight in Vietnam and is among Tom's unit.
65	* WhamLine:
66	** Sam had his suspicions throughout TheTeaser, but what happens after the front door opens still leaves him gobsmacked.
67	--->'''Thelma:''' Sam. You scared 10 years out of me.\
68	'''Sam:''' Mom.
69	** In-Universe: When Sam [[LifeIsntFair complains that his present situation isn't fair]], Al's response manages to snap him back to his senses.
70	--->'''Al''': (ponders his cigar) Well, I think... uh... I think it's ''damn'' fair...
71	* YankTheDogsChain: How Sam views being reunited with his family but unable to prevent the tragedies that will befall them.
72	* YouCantFightFate: Sam tries to prevent his father from dying early, his brother Tom being killed in Vietnam the next year and his sister Katie from marrying an abusive alcoholic. As Al tells Sam, he's not changing their futures; he's only making their present miserable. Partially subverted in [[Recap/QuantumLeapS3E02TheLeapHomePart2Vietnam the next episode]], where Sam leaps into Vietnam and manages to save Tom's life.
73	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Played painfully straight; Sam is thrilled to be back in his hometown as his sixteen-year-old self, but his failing efforts to prevent the tragedies that befell his family terrify them and sends him into a HeroicBSoD.
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Context Recap / QuantumLeapS3E01TheLeapHomePart1