Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953
- Episode aired May 17, 1989
- TV-PG
- 1h
Sam, in the body of a Bogie-like shamus, teams up with a 'neat kid' to find the hit man who killed his partner.Sam, in the body of a Bogie-like shamus, teams up with a 'neat kid' to find the hit man who killed his partner.Sam, in the body of a Bogie-like shamus, teams up with a 'neat kid' to find the hit man who killed his partner.
- N.Y. Taxi Driver
- (uncredited)
- Narrator
- (uncredited)
- Gloria Collins
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is the first episode in which Sam leaps into someone at a time before his birth on August 8, 1953. However, it is still within his lifetime as his mother Thelma would have been five months pregnant with him on April 14, 1953.
- GoofsAlthough this episode takes place in April 1953, the June 1956 issue of "Official Detective Stories" is on sale at Seymour's newsstand.
- Quotes
Dr. Sam Beckett: I read this book Nick's writing. That's why I know everything. It's not déjà vu.
Admiral Al Calavicci: Another illusion shattered forever.
Dr. Sam Beckett: Nick and Alison loved each other but they were too loyal to Phil to do anything about it. Listen to this: "The heat between us was like a six-day jaunt in the Sahara, but out ties to Phil were as tight as the drunk on the corner stool."
Admiral Al Calavicci: Not exactly Faulkner.
Dr. Sam Beckett: You can say that again. I think I'm here to find Phil's killer so that Allison and I can live happily ever after.
Admiral Al Calavicci: Sam, don't you mean Allison and Nick?
Dr. Sam Beckett: Well, yeah, sure.
Admiral Al Calavicci: Sam, you know, Allison could be the killer.
Dr. Sam Beckett: No.
Admiral Al Calavicci: No? Why do you say no? Because "her body could part the Red Army?"
Dr. Sam Beckett: No, because we've got Klapper.
Admiral Al Calavicci: Careful, Sam, there was no cure for that in 1953.
Dr. Sam Beckett: Al, Klapper is the dropper who shot Phil. At least that's the rumor.
Admiral Al Calavicci: Yeah, but people hire droppers.
Dr. Sam Beckett: It wasn't Allison. But whoever it was is probably here in Nick's book. So, if you could just find me "Dead Men Don't Die".
Admiral Al Calavicci: I doubt that it was published under that title.
Dr. Sam Beckett: Check under Nick Allen.
Admiral Al Calavicci: Maybe he used a nom de plume. I would.
Dr. Sam Beckett: Just have Ziggy do it, okay? That's what computers are for. Just find me the rest of this book, because for the life of me, I can't remember how it ended.
Admiral Al Calavicci: Well, it wasn't with Allison and Nick living happily ever after.
Dr. Sam Beckett: You read it?
Admiral Al Calavicci: No, but if it ended like that, why would you be here?
- ConnectionsFeatures Quantum Leap: Camikazi Kid - June 6, 1961 (1989)
The starting point is very much Sam, Al, and the project. The main stories tend to be a little on the soapy side, and mostly they are strong enough to really make you care about the characters or their situation on a very deep level. It is wise then that Sam and Al are strong characters, because our engagement with them brings us into any specific story. This also explains some of the seemingly weaker decisions – eg the chance that Sam would leap close (and unrelated) to a previous (future) partner is unlikely, but it does help us engage with him (and is certainly more interesting than the story he actually is there for). There are some weaker episodes in terms of resolution (Piggy Sue is not funny enough as an idea to cover for it as the end of an episode which was otherwise a so-so romance). Mostly though it is fun enough.
The performances are likable even if a bit soft. Bakula is a good lead; likable and quite easy to watch. Meanwhile Stockwell is fun even if some of his non-PC mannerisms are a little dated now, and perhaps limit him as a character of fun. The always changing support cast are mostly pretty good, doing solid jobs with no time to develop a character. For sure it is broad perhaps, but they are background and at least they mostly avoid full-on cliché (although sometimes this is the goal, and it works). It never totally shakes off the soapy element of many of the stories, but it has good core focus to draw the viewer in, and is delivered with a good ear for humor and drama to make for easy entertainment with lots of potential.
- bob the moo
- Sep 18, 2016