As the black chauffeur of an elderly southern woman, Sam must overcome prejudice to prevent the death of a black woman.As the black chauffeur of an elderly southern woman, Sam must overcome prejudice to prevent the death of a black woman.As the black chauffeur of an elderly southern woman, Sam must overcome prejudice to prevent the death of a black woman.
- Jesse Tyler
- (as Howard Johnson)
- Narrator
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOther than Sam, Miss Melanie was the first character on the series who was able to hear Al.
- GoofsMiss Melanie claims that August 8, 1955 is a Saturday. In actuality, it was a Monday.
- Quotes
[Sam and Miz Melny are discussing civil rights issues]
Miz Melny: Nobody's gonna change the way things are.
Sam: But they will. Blacks are gonna unite...
Miz Melny: "Blacks"?
Sam: Blacks. That's what they'll- That's what we'll be called instead of Negroes.
Miz Melny: What's in God's name's wrong with being called a Negro?
Sam: Maybe it's just a little too close to nigger.
Miz Melny: [sternly] I've *never* used that word, Jesse. Not to your face or behind your back.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Quantum Leap: Camikazi Kid - June 6, 1961 (1989)
Sam leaps into the body of Jesse Tyler in the Deep South in 1955. Sam neglects to check whose body he has leapt into and sits in the chair at a diner.
It is a whites only diner and Jesse is an old black chauffeur for elderly Miz Trafford whose food order he was supposed to pick up.
Sam's actions arouses racial hatred and his family is targeted. Al thinks that Sam is there to prevent Miz Trafford being involved in a car accident, but Sam gets involved in civil rights.
I guess that the producers thought that Quantum Leap could be used as a history lesson and highlight prejudice and racial hatred in the past. The youthful me who watched this when the episode was first broadcast would had agreed with them.
The older more cynical and jaded me these days, less so. I did think the writing was clunky. Sam Beckett is supposed to be so clever yet he has zero knowledge of segregation in 1950s America. Drinking from a whites only fountain is just plain unforgivable and led to his granddaughter nearly being killed.
Of course the other reason why i'm so caustic is. For years I have heard sci fi fans going on about how progressive shows like classic Star Trek and Quantum Leap were. How they used stories to highlight issues of race and sex.
Yet a vocal section of the same fans never stop going on about political correctness gone mad in current shows like Star Trek: Discovery or a female led Doctor Who.
These so called fans are happy to ride on the coattails from the risks Roddenberry or Bellisario took in the past.
- Prismark10
- Mar 12, 2020