Recap / Quantum Leap S 3 E 13 Future Boy

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Quantum Leap
Season 3, Episode 13:

Future Boy

"Captain Galaxy": Activate the time machine! Stand by the time accelerator!

Written by Tommy Thompson

Directed by Michael Switzer

Airdate: March 13, 1991.

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October 6, 1957

Sam has leaped into Kenny "Future Boy" Sharp, an actor on a St. Louis television program called Time Patrol. He's there to save the life of his onscreen TV partner, Moe "Captain Galaxy" Stein (Richard Herd), an imaginative actor and inventor who is fated to die the following day.

Tropes:

• Armor-Piercing Question: One kid at the meet-and-greet asks if Captain Galaxy can go back in time two weeks and save his dog from being run over. While Sam steps in to answer this particular curveball, Moe is visibly shaken.
• Bad "Bad Acting": Sam quickly cottons onto the fact that he's on a live television program, but he reads his cue cards somewhat badly, looks directly into a camera monitor, mistakenly starts reading the one meant for "Captain Galaxy," and mutters to himself quite a bit. When he follows Moe's lead and also goes off script to espouse a positive future, he fares a lot better.
• Bait-and-Switch: The second Sam leaps in, he finds himself clad in a silver outfit, riding in a strange machine along with a similarly clad passenger, who claims it's a time machine. The second it "lands" and both exit, Sam trips and falls to the floor, revealing he's on a soundstage.
• Bathos: The judge has just ruled that Moe is incompetent, and orders him into psychiatric observation. Moe escapes by jumping through the judge's window and scurrying away while wearing his ridiculous pyramid hat.
• Biting-the-Hand Humor: Moe says, "Suppose it's Friday at eight, and you want to go back to Wednesday at ten because you missed your favorite TV show." At the time, NBC had recently moved Quantum Leap from Wednesdays at ten Eastern to Fridays at eight Eastern, and this is the show's way of saying they wanted their old timeslot back.
• Bootstrap Paradox: How else do you explain Sam helping Moe finish his String Theory... only for the episode to end on Captain Galaxy telling a young Sam the same theory on TV?
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: In-universe: Towards the end of the episode of Time Patrol Sam leapt into the filming of, Moe abandons all pretense and explains to the audience that the version of 1987 they were shown is not the one they will experience:
  Sam: (stilted; reading off a cue card) "Holy smokin' retro rockets, Captain Galaxy. Is this the way that things are going to be in the future?"
  Moe: (approaches the camera) This is not the future, Time Cadets. Only one man's distorted view of it.
• Bungling Inventor: Moe spends his spare time building inventions in his house, but, as Irene notes, he nearly burns down his house at one point. Moe's test run of the "timonometer" later ends in a shower of sparks.
• Chekhov's Gun: Early on, Sam notices a rave review of Moe's performance as the lead in Macbeth. It turns out to be Moe's motivation for changing his past, as he feels it led to him taking assorted acting jobs rather than being a family man.
• Cloud Cuckoolander: Moe, who lives in a messy house, builds all kinds of wacky inventions, wears a pyramid hat for good vibes, cooks a whole chicken vertically, and drinks milk by holding his glass with both hands. Irene thinks his mental faculties are going, since he crashed his car while daydreaming, and nearly burned down his own house. Sam doesn't believe that Moe is insane or has dementia, though; he firmly believes that Moe is a clever dreamer at best, and eccentric at worst.
• Cool Old Guy: Moe Stein is a classically trained actor, a proud role model for children, and a clever inventor who understands the scientific theories of the day. It's undercut by the fact that he's regretfully estranged from Irene, who sees him as a danger to himself and others.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right:
  • Moe's upside down chicken is actually delicious. Dr. Sandler can't stop enthusing about how good it is.
  • The "timonometer" appears to be all bright lights and no substance, not helping Moe's case that he's actually sane. However, his string metaphor matches Sam own "string theory" of time travel, and the time machine briefly works.
• Expy:
  • Moe is effectively Richard Herd playing Doc Brown, as his "inventor" outfit with the goggles is just like several of Doc's outfits, and he's trying to invent a time machine in the middle of a messy house filled with old inventions. He even tells Sam, "I'll see you in the future."
  • Captain Galaxy is pretty much Captain Video or Captain Z-Ro.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In a manner of speaking, the episode's title. Not only is the character "Future Boy" another nod to Back to the Future, but it also sets up the twist that, just like Marty McFly giving Chuck Berry the idea for "Johnny B. Goode", the eventual reason Sam had leapt in was to give himself the String Theory:
    • Captain Galaxy's gyrograph looks an awful lot like the Handlink.
    • When showing off his time machine to Sam, Moe reveals he has his own version of Sam's string theory (namely that time is a looped piece of string that, if traveled on fast enough, can allow for time travel), which Sam helps complete him having him ball it up.
    • When Moe finally tries to use the time machine during the climax of the episode, he starts glowing blue.
  • The episode of Time Patrol that Sam leapt into the middle of filming of has an established conflict set 30 years in the future, and Moe Stein going off book to talk about how this "distorted" version of the future is one that can be changed. Fast forward to the climax of this episode, and it turns out Moe has his own "distorted" future that would require 30 years to fix...
• For Want Of A Nail: Moe got a glowing newspaper review of his acting, leading to him becoming an absent father. He's so bothered by this that he tries inventing a time machine to go back and stop that review, so he could settle down and be a better father.
• Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: Each week, Time Patrol ends with Captain Galaxy and Future Boy reading a viewer's letter on the air. Captain Galaxy's final letter comes from none other than a 4-year-old Sam Beckett.
• Friend to All Children: Moe. He doesn't want violence and hopelessness on Time Patrol, instead opting to be a reassuring voice in the face of the recent Sputnik launch, both on the show and during the meet-and-greet. At the end, Al tells Sam that Moe goes to live with Irene, and spends the rest of his days entertaining neighborhood children with stories of the future.
• Gave Up Too Soon: Variation: The "timonometer" was this close to actually leaping Moe Stein backwards in time. It's just that he didn't have enough power to complete the jump.
• Hat of Power: Moe believes that his "pyramid hat" generates positive energy.
• I'm Mr. [Future Pop Culture Reference]: When rhetorically asking the judge if other dreamers were crazy, Sam asks if Neil Diamond was crazy, before correcting himself by saying Neil Armstrong. The only problem with this is that it's 1957, Neil Diamond is still in high school, and Neil Armstrong hasn't even flown in space yet.
• Irony: Moe acknowledges how his attempt to change the past involved wanting to get the one thing an actor never wants to see: a bad review. As he says, that part actually is crazy.
• It Will Never Catch On: During a meet-and-greet with a group of child fans, "Captain Galaxy" has "Future Boy" tell everyone what the future will be like. Sam says that things like computers in every home, microwave ovens, and men visiting the moon will be the things to watch out for. Moe is momentarily impressed with the idea of men on the moon.
• Kids Are Cruel: The show's director seems to think so, but Moe doesn't agree.
  Director: Kids love violence!
  Moe: Because we tell them to love it!
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Sam exits out of the time machine prop, he trips and falls, hurting his ankle in the process. This is to cover for the fact that Scott Bakula legitimately hurt his ankle prior to filming.
• Loon with a Heart of Gold: Moe is definitely dotty, but he's also fully aware that his role as "Captain Galaxy" makes him a role model for children, and he treats that very seriously. He also sincerely desires to do right by his daughter, even if his method of doing so is to build a time machine in his basement.
• Made of Explodium: The "timonometer's" test run for Dr. Sandler throws out a lot of sparks and fireworks, making Moe look unsafe and unhinged.
• Mirror Character: Moe for Sam, and Sam later says "Moe is me" to Al right before the hearing. "Captain Galaxy" uses a "time accelerator" and a gadget that looks amazingly like Ziggy's handlink. When Sam goes to visit Moe at home, Moe names all the scientists whose work he's studied, whose names Sam naturally recognizes. But Sam's jaw drops when Moe starts talking about time traveling among one's life as a string, as it's similar to Sam's own "string theory" of time travel. Sam then can't resist going over his own theory.
  Sam: Well, lemme ask you, what would happen if, uh, you would ball the string, right? And then each day of your life would touch another day? And then you could travel on one place on the string to another, thus enabling you to move back and forth within your own lifetime, maybe?
  Moe: That's it. That's it! Then I could actually—
  Sam: —quantum leap?
  Moe: [thinking] "Quantum leap." I like that! I like that a lot!
• Missed Him by That Much: Variation: When reading off when Sam leapt in, Al realizes to his disappointment that Sam missed the launch of Sputnik by two days.
• Mood Whiplash: The leap-out at the end, per the norm. Sam leaps out while the wholesome "Captain Galaxy" answers a letter from a young viewer, and leaps in as a very unwholesome Chippendale dancer surrounded by sexed-up women in a sleazy-looking nightclub.
• Motive Rant: After the machine fails to work, Moe talks about how one rave review led to him going from a guy about to retire from the business to a guy who received numerous job offers but ultimately lost out on decades with his family.
• My Greatest Failure / My Greatest Second Chance: Ironically enough, it was a moment of success that caused Moe untold amounts of grief: Because of a glowing review in the newspaper, Moe's acting career got reinvigorated... right as he was considering retiring and being there for his family. So, he wound up throwing himself into the idea of building a time machine in order to regain the lost years:
  Moe: (hands Irene a newspaper clipping) When this was written, your mother was pregnant with you... I was just about to give up the business and settle down.
  Sam: And then you got that?
  Moe: And all of a sudden, these offers started pouring in. National tours and revivals, and the next thing I knew, 30 years had gone by... Well, I want those 30 years back!
• Newspaper Dating: Downplayed: Before Al arrives to tell him the exact date, Sam quickly works out he's in 1957 thanks to one of the cue cards he reads for Time Patrol:
  Captain Galaxy: According... according to my, uh, gyrograph... Yes, we are aboard a futuristic cruise ship in the year... 1987.
  Sam: (confused) 1987? (is directed towards a cue card; stiltedly reads) "Leaping lizards. That means we've jumped 30 years... into the future-" (quietly) That makes this '57.
• Not What It Looks Like: The second Sam sees that Al has arrived wearing a subdued suit and tie, he assumes the worse and thinks someone died. He has an alimony hearing later that day.
• Obfuscating Insanity: Inverted; during the dinner with Dr. Sandler, Moe drinks his glass of milk rather unusually, with both hands. Sam intentionally mirrors this to make Moe seem less odd.
• Oh, Crap!: The second Moe holds up the piece of string, Sam and Al quickly realize Moe has his own version of the String Theory.
• Only in It for the Money: Averted. At the height of his career, Moe Stein was acting in Shakespearean productions and other classy projects that would be considered much more important than a low budget sci-fi show for children. However, he loves being Captain Galaxy, due to being a role model for children.
• Out-of-Character Alert: Al first shows up wearing a very sensible suit, a far cry from his normal loud clothes. Sam immediately thinks someone has died, but it turns out that Al is going to court because one of his ex-wives is suing for more alimony.
• Present-Day Past: The women in the scrub brush commercial look plausibly 1950s, but some of the women at the roller rink, as well as Dr. Sandler, are dressed more like they're from 1991.
• Raygun Gothic: This is the aesthetic that Time Patrol has.
• Real After All: Moe fires up the "timonometer" and begins leaping. However, the machine fails, and Moe has a breakdown.
• The Scottish Trope: Moe gently chides Sam for saying the name of The Scottish Play out loud, saying that it's bad luck.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Sam's mission, of course, but it also ties into Moe's reason for inventing the time machine: he wants to go back and make it so that he never became a traveling actor, and instead settled down with his family.
• Sex with the Ex: Al's ex-wife drops her alimony suit after she and Al "examined each other's briefs and decided to call it even."
• Shout-Out:
  • Plenty to Back to the Future. Moe is sometimes dressed like Doc Brown and is trying to invent a time machine. Sam's leapee's character's name "Future Boy" is even a reference to Doc's epithet for Marty.
  • Moe's time machine looks like the one from The Time Machine.
  • The central conflict is like that of Miracle on 34th Street (an older man who may or may not be delusional and dangerous), and part of the resolution is even centered around the fan mail that the individual receives, although the judge's ruling is different here.
  • After entering Moe's house, Sam calls out, "Moe!" before adding a dry "Larry" and "Curly", and a few nyuk nyuks.
• Soft Glass: Moe escapes by jumping through the judge's closed office window, and is none the worse for wear after.
• Space Clothes: Captain Galaxy and Future Boy wear costumes made out of a shiny silver material, which Al describes as looking like a baked potato.
• Technicolor Science: Moe's basement laboratory is full of bright colors, and his time machine is adorned in colorful bubble lights.
• This Is Reality: When Sam asks Moe to clarify whether the "timonometer" is like the time machine on his show:
  Moe: The show? No no no no, that's fantasy. This is real!
• Throwing Out the Script: "Captain Galaxy" stops reading the cue cards and gives his own speech about a more hopeful future for mankind, and Sam chimes in to agree. The director Ben Harris has a cow about it.
  Ben Harris: (quietly; annoyed) Oh, my God... he's doing it again!
• Throw It In!: invoked After Sam trips on the time machine prop and falls on his face, "Captain Galaxy" helps him up, stating that "[his] equilibrium must have been all shook up because of all that cosmic turbulence".
• Tomato in the Mirror: The ending reveals that a very young Sam Beckett watched Time Patrol, and had written a letter to the program. Sam's Swiss-cheesed memory seems to have forgotten this.
• 20 Minutes into the Future: About a minute or so after Sam leaps in, "Captain Galaxy" says that they've landed on a space cruiser in the far-off futuristic year of 1987.
• Wham Line:
  • When Sam expresses concern that Moe thinks he can really travel through time, Moe decides he needs to explain himself:
    Moe: Look. (turns to a nearby table; holds up a piece of string) Time... is like a piece of string.
  • Not only that, the final scene illustrates it's not a coincidence that Moe's theory is so similar to Sam's, as Captain Galaxy answers one final letter:
    Moe: Today's letter is from little Sam Beckett in Elk Ridge, Indiana. Sam writes, "Dear Captain Galaxy, could you please explain your theory of time travel to us?"
• Wham Shot: Moe activates the timonometer, and for a brief moment, starts to turn blue...
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Sam learns that things work out for Moe and Irene, but Al doesn't tell him what happens to his leapee Kenny after Moe's retirement.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: Irene confesses to Sam that Moe was completely absent from her family for three decades, traveling as an actor. She says that he didn't even come home for his own wife's funeral, although Sam postulates that maybe Moe felt guilty for having effecively abandoned them.
• Wrongfully Committed: Ziggy says that the only way to save Moe is to have him committed to a mental institution, since he died attempting to running away from a court-ordered mental evaluation in the original history. Sam doesn't believe that Moe is insane, though.

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"Captain Galaxy": Today's letter is from little Sam Beckett in Elk Ridge, Indiana. Sam writes, "Dear Captain Galaxy, could you please explain your theory of time travel to us?" Well, Sam, our lifetimes are like a piece of string. But if you roll the string up into a ball, all the days of your life—