Quantum Leap -- Episode 22: All-Americans

Sam Leaps Into: 

Eddie Vega, a high school quarterback.

Objective:

Convince his best friend and wide receiver not to throw the championship game.

Date:

11-6-62

Location:

Los Angeles, California

Memorable Quote:
Chuey can sleep in my room.  Celia can sleep with my dad.  ~Sam

Highlight:
One word:  Lobo!  Richard Coca, who plays Chuey, also starred in MacGyver's Off The Wall as Lobo the graffiti artist.  I love him in both episodes -- just a super likable, fun, charismatic guy.  He makes the episode for me.  What a talent.

Lowlight:

I have some issues with the football coach.

• So it's the practice before the biggest game of the coach's life and he decides to prove a point by making his star QB (Sam) run 35 laps around the track, not only tiring Sam out but also taking practice reps away from him.  Not smart, coach.
• When the coach sees Ruben (the slumlord gambler) in the locker room he doesn't know who he is (despite the fact that the coach has been around for years -- he said so -- and Ruben is an alumni of the school).  And high school sports is a small world -- wouldn't you hear about an someone who is in your stands betting thousands of dollars?
• Why doesn't the coach (or anyone else) wonder how Chuey was able to miraculously recover and suddenly get back in the game?

Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:

• This isn't the only time that Scott Bakula has played a quarterback.  There's a movie called Necessary Roughness which I only know about because I saw part of it once a long time ago when flipping channels.  It came out in '91 so right in the middle of Quantum Leap.
• This episode was directed by John Cullum who we saw in Catch a Falling Star.
• Is that who I think it is?  Hold on, let's check IMDB......yes!  It's Ruth Britt, aka Lisa, the uzi wielding, purple jacket wearing tough gal from Easy Target!  Ruben would have thought twice about messing with Lisa.
• Once again we have Al venturing into Creepsville by ogling at the high school cheerleaders. And it's a little odd that just one episode after we're imparted with the message that it's ok to wait a bit before losing one's virginity, Al indignantly scoffs at Sam for speculating that it took him until age 16 to lose his.
• I'm not a partier, but that nighttime block party looks like a ton of fun.  Just people of all ages hanging out by the taco stand, dancing, socializing, and having a blast.  That whole scene is actually one of the highlights of the episode for me because it feels so pleasant.
• It's not very smart of Ruben to bet a massive amount of money based on one wide receiver, no matter how good he is.  It would take multiple players throwing a football game to be assured of its outcome.
• The football game scenes clearly have some stock footage, but the splicing is reasonably well done.
• Amazing fact -- in 1996 (long after this episode was filmed) the Steelers did play in Super Bowl 30 and did trail by 3 at one point, just like Al said.
• So if the Jaguars lost the game, does that mean that Sam would never leap and spend the rest of his life as Eddie?  That puts a lot of pressure on him for the final play.

Final Analysis:

Another day, another new number one episode!  I'm guessing I'll be by myself on this one since it doesn't have a real wow factor, but it appeals to me on a number of levels including Lobo, the fun block party scenes, and the immersion into Mexican-American culture -- there's a high rewatchability factor here.