Heavy themes hit the Quantum Leap Rewatch This week. Cory and Tom discover the importance of fidelity and not judging a book by it’s cover as they rewatch season 2 episodes 7 and 8, “Thou Shalt Not…” and “Jimmy.”

Thou Shalt Not…:

Sam finds himself in the yarmulke of a Rabbi whose brother Joe and his family are dealing with the loss of their son from a year prior. While Joe closes himself off from his family, Al informs Sam that Irene will deal with the death by having an affair.

While at first SAM suspects himself to be the “other man,” it turns out that Irene has found herself drawn to an author named Bert who is writing a book on women dealing with death and despair. It’s revealed that Bert has been using a made up story to lure grieving women into bed.

Sam manages to stop Bert from putting the moves on Irene, but Joe arrives and mistakenly believes that it was Sam having an affair with his wife. A fight ensues in which Joe finally lets out his true feelings about his son’s death and he and Irene reconcile. Sam’s leap out is delayed however until he convinces Joe that just because he lost a son doesn’t mean he has to lose his daughter, Karen. Joe realizes the distance he has placed between him and Karen and goes to her, bringing the family back together and finally Sam leaps.

Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:

Cory loves a good Twin Peaks connection, so you may recognise actor Russ Tamblyn as the sleazy pick-up man, Bert, who also played Dr. Lawrence Jacoby.

Joe Basch was played by James Sutorius, who we have seen before as Agent Fletcher in Sliders episode “Just Say Yes”. You can listen to us discuss it here.

This episodes unsung hero is John J. Reiner. Very few credits, and in fact a huge leap from this appearance to him showing up in “Community” as Joe Biden and in a show we’re not overly familiar with called “Abby 33”.

Finally, we ask you a question- Do you think this is Kenneth Kimmons? This who joined us for the “Lois and Clark” Rewatch will know him as Dr. Kline, but here in the throw away gag of Dr. Heimlich, the role is uncredited on IMDb. What do you think?
DrHeilich

Kiss with History:

The 1974 gas shortage served as a way to get our characters into a closer conversation in this episode, and it certainly was a real thing. Check out this historic news footage covering the event.

Al’s Five Wives:

AlsWives
We get a bit more information about wife number 3 this week. We knew she was the second wife he took to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon, but we discover this week her name was Ruthie and she was Jewish, although we’re are unconvinced that Al converted for her.

Jimmy:

Sam finds himself leaping into Jimmy, a young man with downs syndrome. Jimmy’s brother Frank has gotten Jimmy a job interview in the hopes that he will be able to provide and take care of himself on his own, rather than be dependent on being in an institution or living with Frank and his family.

While he does manage to get the job, he encounters extreme hatred from other workers on the dock, notably one man named Blue. Added to that is pressure from Frank’s wife Connie who is stressed trying to deal with Jimmy. All of the negative attitudes toward Jimmy, cause Sam to overcompensate and make mistakes at work and home, for which Frank tries to excuse away, trying to protect his brother.

Al reveals that he has an extra horse in this race as his own sister Trudy has downs syndrome and was sent away to live in an institution and died of pneumonia while living there.

Eventually, an accident at work is blamed on Jimmy and both he and his brother are fired. Sam learns that Blue is actually dyslexic and planned the accident to get back at Jimmy. Sam goes to talk to his boss and confronts Blue and the truth comes out, but Blue’s anger gets the better of him and he causes another accident which ends up hurting Frank’s son Corey as he fall into the water. Sam uses CPR on the boy, saving him, and as a result, the dock workers and Connie accept Jimmy into their lives.

Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:

Our ongoing debate of Sam leaping in mind or body continues this episode. Still at a stalemate, we wonder if Sam’s mind would be hindered by transferring into someone with Down’s Syndrome. We’re not doctors, we don’t even play one on a podcast, but we think there is still grounds for both theories.

This episodes unsung hero is Brad Silverman. Not a lot of credits to his name, but he has had noticeable roles in the wonderful film “I am Sam” starring Sean Penn, as well as the hilarious comedy show “Curb Your Enthusiasm”.

Michael Madsen also has an early appearance here as the antagonising, Blue. In just a few short years, he would become a Tarrentino regular, staring with his role as the menacing Mr. Blond in Reservoir Dogs, as well as other great films including “Species.”

And lastly, John D’Aquino playing Jimmy’s brother Frank, we’ve seen in Sliders episode Virtual Slide. We more so discuss his really weird IMDb picture and why he chose it???

Kiss with History:

Nothing overly impacts with history here. We did discover that CPR was developed several years before this episode is set. Mainly we think it’s Sam’s referencing of “Star Wars” to nephew, Corey.

Whats Next?

Next weeks episode discussions are “So Help Me God” and “Catch a Falling Star”

Thanks:

We give thanks to some dedicated fan sights. For more information on Quantum Leap, please take the time to check out The Quantum Leap Wiki and Al’s Place.

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