The original Quantum Leap was ended prematurely. The network cutting the legs out from under it at the last minute forcing the producers to come up with a quick ending at the last minute. The forced ending of the original gives this new rendition the plausibility it needs to continue
The first couple of episodes of its follow on seemed promising. They had a bit of the heart of the original. However, as it goes on, you can see that they were likely the episodes used to sell the show to the network, as the episodes become progressively more tendentious and the acting more wooden.
While the original show wasn't ashamed to address history's dark spots, it was true to reality. Something the new show isn't. The new episodes often feel like the dramatic equivalent of a straw-man argument... Knocking down historical wrongs that didn't happen and creating a-historical politically correct structures for the hero to protect.
In one episode, the evil cowboy gang is even apparently equal opportunity, having as a member a portly woman in full cowboy regalia, six shooters and all.
A typical example of the poor writing occurs when one character says the old West was one of the most "overly romanticized and completely misrepresented periods in American history" Followed shortly by the main character in another scene saying something along the lines of, "the old west was as bad as I've heard..." Two things that are, of course, mutually exclusive.
Casting is also poor. The main protaganist, played by Raymond Lee is likeable enough, if a bit stiff. He's no Scott Bakula, even though you will find yourself pulling for him.
His love interest and holographic guide is played by Caitlin Bassett, who somehow manages to seem unbelievable in the role, despite the fact that she is apparently a real life military vet with combat deployments to Afghanistan.
There is no real chemistry between Bassett and Lee. The two of them as a couple really stretches your willing suspension of disbelief.
Even less believable are the supporting characters. Nanrisa Lee plays the Security Chief who was a hacker in her previous life, imprisoned for felonious computer use and theft. The fact that convicted felons in general and black hat hackers in particular are never granted security clearances is simply explained away by saying her boss wanted "The Best". Her performance is also as wooden as Pinocchio's nose. Were I forced to compare her to another actress, I'd be forced to say she's a Dollar Store Ming Na Wen.
Ernie Hudson is largely wasted as the former Navy SEAL Admiral in charge of the Quantum Leap project. He's the stereotypical calm father figure trying to wrangle his fractious crew of misfits into working together. If this show was made 20 years ago, it would have been Morgan Freeman in the role. Perhaps ironically, his nickname is "Magic" which of course would seem to be a reference to the "Magical Negro" as described by Spike Lee. A long-time trope in American cinema, where a black father figure helps white protagonists achieve self-actualization.
The most egreqiously bad character is Ian, played by Mason Park. (I'm going to assume he/him pronouns since that's what the show uses) Ian is the non-binary, gender-fluid computer scientist charged with keeping everything running. Just in case you couldn't figure it from his flamboyant couture, they literally have him wear his rejection of gender norms on his chest in the form of an tattoo of the word "gender" with a line through it. Nothing like clubbing us over the head in case someone hasn't yet gotten the clue... My objection isn't to his gender identity, they could have written an interesting character with those characteristics, my problem is the fact that he's the most egregious "Mary Sue" (Garry Sue?) since Wesley Crusher. Or at least Rey Palpatine. There is absolutely no character development. He is literally one dimensional. As of episode 10, you know almost literally nothing about him, and are happy that is the case. I have to assume that there is a writer on the show whose middle name is Ian, much as Gene Roddenberry's middle name was Wesley.
TL;DR The show is tendentious, the pacing jerky, the story lines clunky and the characters malformed and wooden. It fails to meet the somewhat dubious "high bar" of it's predecessor, A Bellesario show from the late 1980's.
On the plus side. The music is on-point, pulling those of us old enough to remember the eras right back to them.
The first couple of episodes of its follow on seemed promising. They had a bit of the heart of the original. However, as it goes on, you can see that they were likely the episodes used to sell the show to the network, as the episodes become progressively more tendentious and the acting more wooden.
While the original show wasn't ashamed to address history's dark spots, it was true to reality. Something the new show isn't. The new episodes often feel like the dramatic equivalent of a straw-man argument... Knocking down historical wrongs that didn't happen and creating a-historical politically correct structures for the hero to protect.
In one episode, the evil cowboy gang is even apparently equal opportunity, having as a member a portly woman in full cowboy regalia, six shooters and all.
A typical example of the poor writing occurs when one character says the old West was one of the most "overly romanticized and completely misrepresented periods in American history" Followed shortly by the main character in another scene saying something along the lines of, "the old west was as bad as I've heard..." Two things that are, of course, mutually exclusive.
Casting is also poor. The main protaganist, played by Raymond Lee is likeable enough, if a bit stiff. He's no Scott Bakula, even though you will find yourself pulling for him.
His love interest and holographic guide is played by Caitlin Bassett, who somehow manages to seem unbelievable in the role, despite the fact that she is apparently a real life military vet with combat deployments to Afghanistan.
There is no real chemistry between Bassett and Lee. The two of them as a couple really stretches your willing suspension of disbelief.
Even less believable are the supporting characters. Nanrisa Lee plays the Security Chief who was a hacker in her previous life, imprisoned for felonious computer use and theft. The fact that convicted felons in general and black hat hackers in particular are never granted security clearances is simply explained away by saying her boss wanted "The Best". Her performance is also as wooden as Pinocchio's nose. Were I forced to compare her to another actress, I'd be forced to say she's a Dollar Store Ming Na Wen.
Ernie Hudson is largely wasted as the former Navy SEAL Admiral in charge of the Quantum Leap project. He's the stereotypical calm father figure trying to wrangle his fractious crew of misfits into working together. If this show was made 20 years ago, it would have been Morgan Freeman in the role. Perhaps ironically, his nickname is "Magic" which of course would seem to be a reference to the "Magical Negro" as described by Spike Lee. A long-time trope in American cinema, where a black father figure helps white protagonists achieve self-actualization.
The most egreqiously bad character is Ian, played by Mason Park. (I'm going to assume he/him pronouns since that's what the show uses) Ian is the non-binary, gender-fluid computer scientist charged with keeping everything running. Just in case you couldn't figure it from his flamboyant couture, they literally have him wear his rejection of gender norms on his chest in the form of an tattoo of the word "gender" with a line through it. Nothing like clubbing us over the head in case someone hasn't yet gotten the clue... My objection isn't to his gender identity, they could have written an interesting character with those characteristics, my problem is the fact that he's the most egregious "Mary Sue" (Garry Sue?) since Wesley Crusher. Or at least Rey Palpatine. There is absolutely no character development. He is literally one dimensional. As of episode 10, you know almost literally nothing about him, and are happy that is the case. I have to assume that there is a writer on the show whose middle name is Ian, much as Gene Roddenberry's middle name was Wesley.
TL;DR The show is tendentious, the pacing jerky, the story lines clunky and the characters malformed and wooden. It fails to meet the somewhat dubious "high bar" of it's predecessor, A Bellesario show from the late 1980's.
On the plus side. The music is on-point, pulling those of us old enough to remember the eras right back to them.
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