Checking in on Quantum Leap

Last year, before the series started (or, resumed), I wrote about what we might see and not see in this revival of Quantum Leap. 

Was I right? And what are my other thoughts and observations?

It was smart of them to make this a continuation instead of a remake. This instantly hooks those of us who were fans of the original series and are willing to give a revival a chance.

So far, this series seems less "playful" than the original, although I could just be missing a lot of easter eggs. For example, in one episode, when the lead character organizes a makeshift Rube Goldberg operation, he gives a nod to The A-Team.

Like the original, it makes use of the Universal Studios backlot and various episodes seem inspired by hit movies from other the years. For example, one episode was reminiscent of "The Bodyguard."

A significant difference this time around, which, given what's happened to television and sci-fi isn't a surprise, is that much more of it is set in the present day, at Project Quantum Leap headquarters and mostly nearby, with ongoing storylines involving the characters who work there. As such, episodes typically bounce back and forth between where and when the Leaper (Dr. Ben Song) is, and PQL HQ (and where the members of the team go). In the original series, Sam was pressured to leap because of official government actions. This time, Ben apparently went rogue even against the staff of PQL, including his own fiancee. So while the original consisted of mostly self-contained episodes, this is more of a primetime soap opera. So far, it's working.

So far, 12 episodes in, elements from my previous post I've noticed are:

• Promotion of Leftist ideology regarding gender (transgender, genderfluid, non-binary, etc.)
• Greedy landlords and business owners/executives
• "Dreamers" and "undocumented immigrants" with hearts of gold and contributions to the USA

I'm not sure they well full-speed on the last one. The character might be a legal immigrant, but he joined the military for citizenship purposes, and was portrayed as having a clean record.

One of the actors is out as nonbinary, and their character is, too. Amazingly, there was great restraint in not mentioning it until several episodes in. Anyone who can see and hear knows from the start "something is up" with the character. I looked up the actor. But don't worry! They made up for their restraint in Episode 12!

Episode 1 touches on healthcare costs.

Episode 3 depicts PTSD from Vietnam.

Episode 5 depicts an old west town in the Nineteenth Century with "diverse" residents, fighting off the greedy railroad. I'll give you one guess at the gender and skin color of the main villain.

Episode 8 depicts am abusive boarding academy for troubled teens in 1996. Of course one of the several who have been abused and are running away is pretty much just there at the academy because she's a lesbian.

Episode 10 kind of does a bit of "The Fugitive" thing with Big Pharma.

Episode 11 features a military cover-up involving nuclear technology in the 1960s.

Episode 12 gets us a double dose! Ben leaps into a high school basketball coach in 2012 who has a son who thinks he's a girl, and wants to play basketball. Of course it has to be that way, because nobody gives a damn if a girl who thinks she's a boy wants to play on a boys basketball team. And in the present, team members visit a transgender poet. The Leftist narrative on transgenderism wasn't pushed in the original series. I guess the people who made that series must have been a bunch of bigots? Or is it that the current push didn't start until about midway through 2015. Hmmm... I WONDER what happened then?!? (A disclaimer: This is the one episode I haven't seen yet as of this writing. I'm relying on an episode description. But yeah, do I really have to watch it to know it unquestioningly accepts the Left's narrative on transgenderism? How about leaping into someone, who in the original timeline, underwent "treatments" and later detransitioned, so that they don't make the mistakes of getting "treatments" in the first place? Or even better, their parent??? Detransitioners do exist, like or not. Denying that they exist and their understanding of themselves is valid means you want to kill them, or so I've been told.)

This may be when I cease watching and simply read recaps. Leap the shark?