In this weeks episode of the Quantum Leap Rewatch, Cory and Tom free themselves but hide their shame as they discuss season 5 episodes 13 and 14, “Liberation” and “Doctor Ruth.”

Liberation:

Sam leaps into Margaret Sanders, wife of George Sanders and mother to Suzi Sanders, and is tasked by Al to make sure their family doesn’t fall apart while trying to help out a women’s lib protester named Diana St Cloud in an era when most men believed a woman’s place was in the home rather than out working. Sam does manage to help the women’s lib cause by encouraging one of George’s employees to speak up for herself and fight for a promotion she is trying to get.

While Sam’s initial actions do help Diana out, they also start affecting Margaret’s family as her husband is embarrassed at his wife and daughter being arrested as part of the women’s lib protest and he forbids them from being involved with the group.

In order to help Diana though, Sam still goes to Diana and convinces her to try a more peaceful method, which causes more tension with George who threatens to leave. Suzie eventually sneaks out to join Diana at a sit in at George’s men’s club which Al says will be where she herself gets shot when the protest turns violent.

Sam rushes into the club just as the police chief and Diana are having an altercation and Suzie grabs his gun. Diana takes it and is ready to shoot the chief but Sam manages to stall her momentarily. His words however end up not doing enough and she starts to shoot but Suzie pushes her out of the way, saving the chiefs life.

George enters and tells Sam he has decided to leave her but Sam manages to make him see that he has a marriage worth saving, and that he just needs to start seeing Margaret as who she is rather than who he wants her to be and as George leans in for a kiss, Sam leaps.

Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:

George is played by Max Gail. He was in Barney Miller as Stan Wojciehowicz for 170 episodes. He was also in Whiz Kids.

Diana is played by Deborah Van Valkenburg. She was in “Too Close For Comfort” as Jackie Rush. She also appeared in the movie “Free Enterprise” as Marlena.

Peter was played by Bill Calvert. He was in Spiderman 1 and 2 as Fireman and Train Passenger, but back in 1992, he was in “Body Waves”, a typical 80’s T&A film (even though it came out in ‘92) about a teen trying to prove he can make it on his own without selling his father’s haemorrhoid cream, by getting the cash from three nerds who want him to turn them into chick magnets, all the while trying to impress the girl of his own dreams. The movie also stars Dick Miller, Lois’ uncle from Lois & Clark, Mr Futterman in “Gremlins” and Fosnight in The Flash ’90.

Suzie was played by Megyn Price. She was in a number of sitcoms including Rules of Engagement, The Ranch, Lateline and Grounded For Life. Most recently she was in Bumblebee.

We have no idea who Margaret Sanders is. But she was our unsung hero…

The Heckler was Eric Bruskotter. He’s in the Major League movies as Rube Baker (fourth movie with Bakula) and was also in the QL episode Raped.

Doctor Ruth:

Sam leaps into Dr Ruth Westheimer, noted sex therapist and radio talk show host and is given the mission to save the relationship of Doug and Debbie, her announcer and producer respectively. Added to the mission however, is a caller named Annie who phones into Dr Ruth’s show and tells her about being harassed by her boss but the call is unfortunately cut off.

Sam runs into Annie at a book signing later and gets more information about the situation but Annie disappears suddenly when she spots her boss in the book store. Meanwhile, Sam is trying hard to fix Debbie and Doug’s relationship ship but it’s slow going as the two tend to break down into arguing in every conversation.

Meanwhile, Al has been benefiting from this leap as he seeks advice about his women problems from Dr Ruth, who helps him dive into his past relationships and reasons why he actually continually seems to fail in his marriages.

Sam manages to convince Annie to quit her job in order to get away from her boss and start a new life, a move that her boss doesn’t like and shows that by forcing his way into her apartment.

Meanwhile, Sam has finally gotten Debbie and Doug on the right track by having them discuss their issues on air during the talk show which results in them revealing their true deep love for each other and enabling them to finally commit to each other fully.

Sam rushes off to Annie’s apartment and while her boss tries to lie to explain his presence there, Sam doesn’t buy it and a fight ensues with Sam getting the better of the man. Al reports that Annie goes on to law school and becomes one of the first lawyers to work on sexual harassment cases as Sam… Doesn’t leap.

It seems that in order for Sam to leap, Al needs a final session with Dr Ruth in which they finally get to the root of Al’s issues and he is able to admit that he loves Tina, albeit different than his first love and first wife Beth, and Dr Ruth is finally able to leap back.

Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:

Two famous guest stars in the book signing scene are Ellen Albertini Dow, she was the sassy grandma character in The Wedding Singer, and Mary Scheer from Mad TV.

This episodes unsung hero is Dr. Ruth herself!

Annie is played by Robyn Lively. She’s still acting today, she does lots of guest star roles, supporting characters in movies and several starring roles in one and done TV shows.

Kiss With History:

Dr. Ruth Westheimer appears as herself in this episode! She is a well respected therapist, known for her frank talk about sex.

Anita Hill is played by Bridget Morrow. She’s our kiss with history as she takes note of how Dr. Ruth talks to the boss.

Whats Next?

Next week, Cory & Tom will be discussing a single episode only, “Blood Moon”.

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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