Project Trivia #1: Notice that Al doesn't use the handlink or the Imaging Chamber Door during this Leap. (MPB)
Project Nit #1: Al comments that Ziggy had predicted Sam would Leap into Texas in the 1950s, which, of course, will be Sam's next Leap ("How the Tess Was Won"). Yet Ziggy never has this ability to predict the Leaps in subsequent episodes (or maybe he never had it to begin with?) (MPB)
Project Nit #2: Where does Al live, anyway?
In "Genesis," he shows up in PJs and bathrobe, apparently after having
slept at PQL. However, in this episode, he seems to live away from the
PQL complex, otherwise he wouldn't have the Muffler From Hell living next
door. So does he live in some sort of staff quarters at PQL or away
from the complex? (MPB)
PCR: Al has a house or apartment in town,
but keeps quarters at PQL as well, in case of emergencies. Perhaps when
it becomes clear that Sam isn't getting home any time soon and Al has to
be on-call round-the-clock, Al eventually moves into PQL more or less full-time.
(MPB)
Anti-PCR: But if Al has quarters at PQL,
why doesn't he use them to get some sleep? (LW)
PCR to anti-PCR: Maybe Al is trying to
evade Tina because of Denise. After all, he can't rendezvous with Denise
at his PQL quarters. Then again, maybe it isn't the neighbor's vroom-vrooming
that keeps Al up, but Denise's. (MPB)
Project Nit #3: What about Al's snoring
entrance? Al isn't around when Sam first enters Cody's quarters at St.
Mary's, so how does he show up next to Sam's bed, already asleep? (LW)
PCR #1: Maybe Al popped in, thought Sam
was sleeping, and decided it seemed like a good idea, too, figuring he'd
wake up when Sam did (although how he could think Sam was asleep when he
was singing and humming along with the choir is a mystery, unless Sam has
a habit of singing in his sleep). (MPB)
PCR #2: Maybe it took Ziggy a while to
center Al on Sam, and meanwhile Al nodded off. (MPB)
PCR #3: Would you believe Al's a somnambulist
and walked through the Imaging Chamber door in his sleep? (MPB)
BACKSTORY NITS:
Al Backstory Nit #1: Later on, in "Leap
of Faith," Al is extremely uptight about being in a church and around priests
because of his bad memories of his father's death. But he doesn't seem
to be bothered by the nuns and the Church in this episode. (MPB)
PCR: Al was perhaps more upset with
God than with the Catholic Church or the nuns. Since Al grew up in a Catholic
orphanage, maybe he had good memories of the nuns there. (CA)
GENERAL NIT-PICKING:
General nit #1: Sam Leaps in on October
24, and his title fight is five days later, on Oct. 29. That seems like
an awfully short time for somebody who, by his own admission, is out of
shape and has never boxed before, to get in shape to battle the state heavyweight
champ. (MPB)
PCR: Sam's "out of shape" would
make some guys look pathetic. (APP)
General Nit #2: Much is made of the fact
that Sam is "obviously out of shape." Even Al makes a snide remark about
Sam's chances of winning the fight, given his "condition." Is this the
same physicist who has several black belts and who demonstrates such great
athletic ability in later Leaps? (HJK)
PCR #1: It's Cody who is out of shape,
not Sam. (LU & MPB) Of course, that makes total hash out of the body-leaping
theory. (MPB)
PCR #2: Sam had been in pretty good shape
until he got involved in the final stages of PQL. Then, he became so busy
that he didn't have time to exercise much. By the time Sam Leaps into Kid
Cody, he's out of shape. However, once he gets toned up again as Cody,
he manages to keep in shape through his subsequent Leaps. He'd be foolish
not to realize that his life (or somebody else's) might depend on his staying
in shape. (MPB, GJM)
General Nit #3: Sam goes to live
with the nuns in order to save on expenses. But Dixie still has to maintain
the apartment she and Cody shared, so Dixie will have to pay extra rent
without Cody's help. It may be saving the nuns money, but Dixie's sure
getting cheated. (APP & MPB)
PCR: GTFW wants to give Sam an easy out
on the sex issue. (MPB)
General Nit #4: Sam won't cheat to lose
by taking a dive to help Jake Edwards make a profit, but he's willing to
cheat to win by having Dixie streak to divert Tiger Joe's attention and
by accepting Al's on-the-spot coaching. (MPB) Not to mention the insider
training on the Ali fight. Doesn't that break Sam's own rule about the
Leaper not using his knowledge of the future for his own benefit? (LW &
HJK)
PCR #1: With only five days to train,
Sam needs all the help he can get. (MPB)
PCR #2: Sam isn't "cheating" for his own
benefit; he's trying to help Sister Angela. Therefore, the insider trading
rules don't apply. (APP, GJM)
PCR #3: Sam had already rejected the "insider
trading" rule in "Star-Crossed," so he probably wasn't even thinking about
it. (MPB, SA)
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS:
Detail #1: There is a wonderful parallel between Sister Angela and Dixie. Both of them are working very hard to change things for the better. Sister Angela wants her "castle" (the chapel) and Dixie wants her "candyland" (the donut shop). In turn, their dreams parallel Sam's. Sam wanted his own "castle" in the form of Project Quantum Leap. All of them want things that seemed like fantasies, but all of them manage to attain their dreams. (APP)
AL'S WOMEN:
Denise - a "writer" whom he met at a party, who's going to be doing his biography--boy, would we love to read that one! Could she be part of the reason Al can't sleep (along with a little guilt about cheating on Tina)?
THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY:
This episode is like a cross between "The Bells of St. Mary's," "Rocky," and just about any other old-timey boxing movie you can think of. (MPB)
A neat touch is the scene in the back of Jake Edwards's car, which was shot like the famous Marlon Brando/Rod Steiger scene in "On the Waterfront"--the reference was clear even without Scott's "I coulda been a contender" Brando impersonation. (MPB)
NAME THAT TUNE:
In typical QL fashion, the background music
for this episode matches the on-screen action. During the two bar room
scenes in which Sam and Gomez encounter Jake and his goon, the songs on
the jukebox are "Takin' Care of Business," and "Don't Mess Around With
Jim." (MPB)
FAVORITE QUOTATIONS:
Sam: "People in monogamous relationships
don't have guilty consciences."
Al: "Yeah, they don't have any fun,
either."
Sister Angela: "You know I have a feeling that between you and I and a couple of guardian angels, we're going to get this job done."
Al: "If we knew the unknown, the unknown wouldn't be unknown."