Monday, March 27, 2023

RW525 - Quantum Leap Revival S01E07-08 - O Ye Stand By

 


In this weeks episode of The Quantum Leap Revival, Cory and Tom are exorcising and escaping as they discuss season 1 episodes 7 & 8, O Ye of Little Faith and Stand By Ben.

O Ye of Little Faith:

Written by: Margarita Matthews

Directed by: Chris Grismer

Airdate: October 31, 2022


Synopsis: 

Ben finds himself in the body of Father Davenport, who has been summoned to perform an exorcism on a young girl named Daisy. Addison informs him that originally the girl died after the exorcism, but Ben admits that he is not religious and doesn’t believe in possessions like this, but goes along with it. As he gets information about what has been happening, Ben enters the room to a terrible stench, and sees red words written in the walls, and a young girl tied to a bed with scratches all over her face. Addison guides Ben on how the exorcism is performed, but begins glitching as a demonic figure appears above the young girl’s bed.


As Addison consults with Ian, they tell her that they don’t know what’s going on, and that it will require some time to figure it out. Ian also reminds her that Sam Beckett thought that God was controlling the original project, so it isn’t unreasonable to think a demon could in fact be interfering now. Addison confides in Jenn that she’s worried about Ben never making it back, who reassures her it’s ok to be confused, worried, and even angry, but promises her that they will bring him back. 


Doctor Felix arrives to inspect Daisy, and he believes that the girl could be cured medically but that the family’s religious beliefs are what is preventing the girl from healing. Daisy tells Ben of how she and her family came to this house after her father lost his job during the depression, and had to move in with her aunt. She further explains how after she turned 18, she began seeing the wallpaper move and other terrible things, but believes Ben was sent to her by God. Ben goes downstairs to talk with the family but is startled by screaming and thudding sounds from upstairs. Upon finally getting into the locked room, they find Daisy’s Aunt Tessa laying on top of a tall armoire, dead.


Ben tries, with the doctor, to come up with a rational explanation to no avail, and the doctor starts to believe, having no idea how the young girl could have lifted the older woman’s body. Ben talks with Daisy’s uncle Percival Gray who confesses that since her father Charles lost his job he has been wrathful, describing an argument Charles had with Tessa about his inheritance that was now going to Daisy. Charles in turn blames Percival for losing his money in an investment that turned bad due to the depression. 


The maid, Magda, reports that Daisy has started acting out again after she fed her some soup, and is talking in a strange voice. As Daisy turns to Ben and threatens him, calling him traveler, Ben freaks out and begins seeing the maid bleeding from her eyes, the walls moving with hands coming through them, and a black smoky demon crawling across the floor. 


As he regains his senses, he notices something under Daisy’s bed and pulls out a rotting fish, explaining the smell in the room. Magda admits to putting it there, explaining it as an old Jewish superstition to try and help get rid of the demon.


Ben has a conversation in the mirror, looking at the priest he has leapt into. Eventually, he comes to the conclusion that while Ben may not have faith, his host does, and decides to throw away his need to rationally explain things, and use his host’s faith to perform the exorcism instead. As he begins the Latin chants, Ben sees Daisy floating above her bed before falling back to it . The black smoky demon leaves her body, Ben is knocked over and he passes out. 


He awakens in a dreamlike room to a bright light and Addison on a bed, who beckons him to it. They kiss but Ben is confused, and Addison points out a gin glass that Ben drank from earlier, and he realizes both he and Daisy were drugged. He begins to reason about who would benefit and concludes that there must be a hidden door in the bedroom, enabling someone to try and make things appear as if a demon was responsible for everything.

 

Magda tells Ben that Charles had actually argued with Tessa, saying that he didn’t want her money, leading to Percival being next in line to inherit after Daisy. With Ben having found a secret doorway between Daisy and Percival’s rooms, and Magda explaining that the uncle had her drive far out of town to pick up jimsonweed, a hallucinogenic flower that can be fatal, Ben recruits her to prove the man’s guilt.


With some clever play acting from Daisy, they make everyone believe that she died, but as they are ready to do a final prayer over body, Ben tells them he senses the demon still nearby and Daisy arises from the dead, accusing her uncle of killing Tessa. Percy immediately crumbles and confesses to the killing and the jimsonweed poisoning, but reveals that it wasn’t for the inheritance but for Daisy’s mother Lola, who he was in love with and with whom he was supposed to run away with to Hollywood. Daisy forgives her uncle and her mother, but the constable still arrests them. Ben finishes the final step of the exorcism, with the demon, Percival and Lola leaving.


As Daisy thanks Ben, informing him that the inheritance will go to a new charity called Goodwill, she tells him that when she first saw him, she saw a man with dark hair and eyes rather than what the priest actually looks like, which surprises him. Daisy leaves and Ben begins to hear someone calling his name. He turns around to see Janis Calavicci appearing before him as a hologram, but before she can say much if anything, Ben leaps. Now a young man with a backpack, he runs with several teenagers beckoning him to follow.  

Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:

Who is Ben? 

  • Father James Davenport

Where is Ben? 

  • Coventon, Maryland

When is Ben? 

  • October 31st, 1934 (55 year leap back)

Closest Previous leaps- 

  • S01E03 “Somebody Up There Like Ben” 1977

Closet location to Sam Beckett-

  • S03E03 “Leap of Faith” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1963

  • S03E22 “Shock Theater” Havenwell, Pennsylvania 1954

  • S05E22 “Mirror Image” Cokeburg, Pennsylvania 1953

  • S05E20 “The Leap Between States” Mansfield County, Virginia 1862 

Closet time to Sam Beckett-

  • S01E09 "Play It Again, Seymour" New York City, New York April 14, 1953

  • S04E01 “The Leap Back” Crown Point, Indiana June 15, 1945 (technically Al's leap)


Lola was played by Elyse Levesque. Aside from a number of movies as a lead, available on free streaming services, she was a lead in Stargate Universe and SGU Stargate Universe Kino playing Chloe Armstrong. 

Percival was played by Josh Meyers. He’s had a number of one off roles here and there, but he’s notably the brother of late night talk show host Seth Meyers, whom he closely resembles. He did play Perry White in a comedic short called The Real Adventures of Superman and also starred in Inventing Adam (a patent attorney, Adam Stephenson, is about to marry his over-the-top boss's beautiful daughter, settling for a hollow, affluent lifestyle, and never realizing his dream of becoming an inventor) and How To Make Love To A Woman (when Andy hears his girlfriend Lauren sigh after sex, he panics. After getting fruitless help from friends, porn stars and tantric experts, he finally realizes that in order to give Lauren the "O" word, he first needs to say the "L" word). He did have a recurring role in season 8 of That 70’s Show, as well as being one of the cast members of the later seasons of MadTV (seasons 8 & 9 specifically).

Chido Nwokocha was Doctor Felix. He’s had a small run of one off roles, but did star recently in The Seven Faces of Jane (Jane experiences romance, comedy, tragedy, and crises as imagined by eight different filmmakers, starring Gillian Jacobs, with Joel McHale, and directed by Ken Jeong). He also had a main role in a series called Sisters (a group of single black females from different walks of life who bond over their one common thread: why am I single?).


Kerri Medders was Daisy. She was a lead in Bring It On: Cheer or Die, and Do Not Reply (Chelsea, a teenager, is abducted through a social media app by Brad and is held captive with other girls who are to become victims in his virtual reality filmed murders). She also appeared in the series Seal Team, Promised Land, and Alexa and Katie.


Vincent Foster was the constable, and he also appeared with Raymond Lee in VHYes. He has a list of about 50 credits, one of which is as a lead in The Affair (a man hears that having an affair can rekindle a failing marriage). He was also in The Ramones video “I Wanna Be Sedated” as a gypsy walking on his hands. 


Unsung Hero: John Grady. He’s got about 50 credits to his name, all one off roles, and low on the cast list. He did seem to have a run of appearances as a character actor on Conan O’Brien’s late night show, but nothing as a lead.

Stand By Ben:

Written by: Emily Kim

Directed by: Avi Youabian

Airdate: November 7, 2022


Synopsis: 

Ben finds himself in the body of a young teenager named Ben, who has just escaped a school for troubled youths with Leah, Stacy, and Roy. As the group discusses where they will go, a tire busts out on their getaway vehicle, and they crash.


Addison shows up and Ben explains how Janis was interfering with the leap, and tried to

 warn him about something. She tells Ben that in the original history, Ben and his friends split up and died of heat exposure. Leah ends up overhearing Ben talking, and bonds with him over her own past of talking to an invisible friend, as well as previous relationships.


Back in the future, Jenn starts looking for signs of power surges, reasoning that Janis’s imaging chamber should be similar to theirs. She eventually finds her location and she and Magic head off to confront her. Unfortunately Janis seems to have taken over their systems and put their project into a lockdown, giving her time to get away. 


Addison returns to Ben and tells him that in the original history, the school director tried to cover up the teens’ deaths by saying they got lost on a hiking trip, and later claimed he crashed his car as well. Ben tries to reason with the teens that they should go back on the road, but Roy says that the school will be out there looking for them. Stacy comes up with a plan, but it’s the one that leads to them dying as in the original timeline. The teens are adamant that they would rather die than go back to the school.


As they continue walking, Addison tells Ben about the teens’ issues, such as depression, anxiety, drug use, suicidal tendencies, and parental loss, amongst others. Roy gets angry at Ben for suggesting again that they return to the road, pushing him. He then agrees with Ben and argues against Stacy to stop for the night before it gets too much darker and they get lost, and the girl reluctantly agrees. 


While they camp, a pack of wolves suddenly appears. Leah informs them that the best defense is to act as a bigger, scarier predator in order to scare them off, which actually works. 

As the girls sleep, Roy talks with Ben and apologizes for pushing him earlier. Addison tells Ben that she knew people who went to schools like this, and that all anybody ever wanted was for someone to show they cared. As the two talk, Roy reveals he wasn’t using pills but then he talked back and was placed in The Box, a small solitary confinement torture method and was told again and again how he was worthless until he started to believe it himself. Addison suggests that this leap isn’t just about saving their lives.


In the future, Magic asks Jenn about the issues she has with her father, explaining that he reached out to Magic a few days earlier. Jenn explains he’s a con man with a gambling problem who left her to raise herself, and reaches out every few years but disappears after she lends him money. Magic listens to the voicemails Jenn’s father left, and tries to tell her it’s worth the risk to talk with him. Addison luckily has returned from the imaging chamber and rescues them from the stuck elevator, but unfortunately Janis has already made her getaway, taking all her equipment with her. Jenn makes the decision to call her father and she agrees to meet with him. 


The next morning, as the teens start walking they soon find themselves without water, feeling tired and starting to suffer from heat exhaustion. To make matters worse, Leah steps into a snake hole and breaks her ankle. They build a splint under Addison’s direction, and Roy offers Leah his painkillers, saying he doesn’t need them anymore. 


Leah talks about how her being a lesbian is what caused her parents to put her in the school, and Ben asks if she could forgive them, reasoning that it would help her to move on. The teens further support her by saying they don’t think her problems are anything strange. The group reaches the creek but it’s dried up, and Ben starts to panic. As he sees a pipe in the ground, he realizes that someone might be using it to live off the grid and stay hidden, and manages to find the cabin. The teens relax and enjoy water, snacks and some comfort, even having a dance party.


Ben talks with Stacy and tells her that it’s easy to move fast after losing a parent, and that it’s ok to slow down. Suddenly a car approaches the cabin, and it turns out to be men from the school, Ringer and Sullivan. Leah sacrifices herself so that the others can escape, but Ben refuses to leave her behind, rallying them together to go back to the school, save her, and stop the school from their abuse. 


As Ringer and Sullivan start dragging Leah to The Box, Ben and the others arrive with Leah’s uncle, a reporter, someone she had called from the cabin earlier, and he begins pressuring them for answers. They say they will call the police but the group has already called them, with Addison reporting that Ringer and Sullivan will be going into a box. The school is also shut down, with members of the staff indicted on multiple counts of child endangerment. She also reports that the teens remain friends for life. The moment brings forth a memory Ben has of Janis, telling her she needs to promise to see things through, no matter what. He tells Addison he remembers why he leapt: to save Addison. Before she can react however, Ben leaps.

Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:

Who is Ben? 

  • Ben Winters

Where is Ben? 

  • Lassen County, California

When is Ben? 

  • July 10, 1996 (62 year leap forward)

Closest leaps- 

  • S01E02 “Atlantis” 1998

Closet location to Sam Beckett-

  • S04E13 “Temptation Eyes” San Francisco 1985

  • S02E16 “Freedom” Nevada 1970 

Closet time to Sam Beckett-

  • S04E01 “The Leap Back” Stallions Gate, New Mexico September 18, 1999


Kurt Yeager played Ringer. He was in 143 episodes of Tommy n Bobby, a comedy series about two brothers that drink beer in their Mother's basement in Boston. He was also a lead in Personal Space (unbeknownst to the crew of a generation ship, their therapy sessions are being broadcast on Earth as a reality show). He was also a little higher on the cast list for Piranhaconda (a sequel to Sharktopus, Piranha/anaconda hybrid creatures hunt down the scientist who stole their egg, as well as a film crew making a slasher film in the jungle). This movie also starts Michael Madsen.


The movie:

The song:


Ciara Riley Wilson played Leah. She recently starred in Netflix’s Freeridge (a group of friends may or may not have unleashed a deadly curse, starting a new adventure). She was also in the Kim Possible TV movie, as well as an apparent series based on it called Kim Hushable. 


Anthony Turpel played Roy. He previously had a run of 95 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful. Recently he was a lead in Play Dead (Chloe fakes her own death to steal evidence from a morgue. The Coroner uses the morgue as a front for a sick and twisted business. A scary game of cat and mouse ensues as Chloe learns more about the dead than she bargains for), and a series called Love, Victor (Victor is a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation).


Independent Studio Services or ISS is a prop supplier for television and film production studios. ISS was founded in 1977 by Gregg Bilson, Sr., and is currently based in Sunland, California. Fictional brands of products are produced by Studio Graphics, a division of ISS. Many of these brands have appeared in multiple film and television productions, including the beers HaberKern, Heisler, Jekyll Island, Matador Lager, and Penzburg which was featured in this episode.

Further Resources:

Quantum Leap IMDb

Quantum Leap Wikipedia


Original Series IMDb

Original Series Wikipedia

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