#532576
Disco Inferno
Original Air Date: September 7, 1989
Written by: Paul Brown
Directed by: Gilbert M. Shilton
Leap Date: April 1, 1976
This time: Sam leaps into a disco. There is a creepy guy looking for someone. Sam tries to blend into his surroundings, but is shot by the creepy guy, falling back into a window…
… and the director yells cut! Sam is Chad Stone, a stuntman in the ‘low budget’ film Disco Inferno. His father, Ray, is the stunt coordinator and berates Chad’s younger brother, Chris, for not making sure the safety mat was in the correct position. The director has words with, and fires, Ray only to offer the two sons an opportunity to work. They stand with their father and walk off the set.
Al appears, having the time of his life on set. Ziggy is on the fritz, but Chris will die in two days. They do not know how or where, but it will happen. When reminded to be a good big brother, Sam remembers his big brother, Tom. Al is forbidden from revealing more.
While the Stone family packs up the next day, Ray talk about an upcoming stunt for the movie Earthquake. At their place, Sam hears Chris jamming on a guitar. They have a heart to heart moment, but are interrupted by Shannon, a girl from the set who was all over Chris. While watching an episode of Saturday Night Live, Shannon displays a good bit of knowledge about the upcoming election, being part of the League of Women Voters.
On the set of Earthquake, Sam looks down off the ledge he is supposed to jump off. Another spurned lover pushes him off the building … only to fall onto the stunt mat. Chris is furious at not being able to do the stunt, as that would have gotten him a card.
The family and Shannon go to a restaurant bar to try spinning a tune. Ray is not interested but gives it a listen. The crowd loves it, but Ray is not convinced. Sam tries to encourage Ray to encourage Chris, but it only ends up with Chris punching Ray. Sullen, Chris signs up for a stunt on Disco Inferno. Sam and Al later talk about brothers, only for Sam to remember that Tom died in Vietnam.
Chris is MIA the next morning, but Sam is able to talk to Ray, who is on the fence. Ultimately, he will not relent. Chris brought Shannon to the set and is ready to do the stunt. It gets too out of control, but Sam arrives just in time to save the day, with help from Al.
Afterwards, the four are watching television, when Al show sup with no idea why Sam has not leaped. Chris’ future is still up in the air, though Ray thinks Chris is all set with his card. Al recognizes the famous video with President Carter tripping on the bottom of the stairs as he gets off Air Force One. Sam bets Chris’ future on Carter tripping. He does and Sam leaps …
… into a sailor coming back from a tour.
Fact check: This was the date that Carter tripped on the stairs. It was not the date this particular episode of Saturday Night Live aired, though.
Stop talking to yourself: Sam is not happy to be in a disco for the leap in. He similarly not enthused about the seventies on average and wonders if a mood ring works.
Mirror images that were not his own: While getting acclimated to the set, Sam looks at himself in the mirror.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: Ziggy is so messed up, he put extra zeroes on everyone’s paycheck. Several took a vacation.
Let’s up the rating: After the opening stunt, Sam takes his shirt off. And he has a hickey. Chad had affairs with at least two of his costars from set.
One more time: “Every girl I’ve ever met goes crazy for him. “I’m not every girl.”
Chad and Shannon
Put right what once went wrong: “Sorry I’m blanking on your name.” “You didn’t blank on it in your trailer last night.” Back when Deep Space Nine’s His Way premiered, there was a clue that the episode had too much time to pad with four musical numbers. There is kind of the same thing here with a music number plus portions of Saturday Night Live, a basketball game and Carter tripping on the stairs.
Not much happens in this episode.
The family is just not that interesting. Kris Kam is adequate as Chris, but too often comes across as boring. In the date night scene, he is worried that Chad will steal Shannon, but he is just dull. Michael Greene is better as the tough guy father, but not by much. You never really buy into them being family which is a dealbreaker for the heart of the episode.
Like any good episode of the series, the writers put in some scenes to get some good character moments, but those are the ones where Ray is most sullen. Just when he gets close to a breakthrough, he brushes it off. It is a pity since even some of the most boring episodes can be elevated by good writing or casting.
There are a few nice touches such as Chad being quite the ladies’ man and a bit with promise rings that ultimately goes nowhere. There is also Al geeking out at the era and movie set, but there is not a whole lot to recommend here. For anyone who knows about film production, a lot of the cheap scares are entirely artificial. The stuntman is not just there hanging around the set before he gets shot. They just film the guy getting shot quickly. There is some sort of warning before the guy falls off the set. It helps if the stuntman knows that they are filming.
The biggest filler is the revelation of Tom. It creates some nice moments between Al and Sam, particularly Al who knows but cannot simply come out and tell Sam. It is supposed to help Sam bond with Chris, but the focus is on a guy that we do not see, and it gets hard to care about. Tom will become more important in the series, but it just falls flat. This probably looked good on paper, but even Bakula and Stockwell cannot save it.
Even the song was not that great.
Original Air Date: September 7, 1989
Written by: Paul Brown
Directed by: Gilbert M. Shilton
Leap Date: April 1, 1976
This time: Sam leaps into a disco. There is a creepy guy looking for someone. Sam tries to blend into his surroundings, but is shot by the creepy guy, falling back into a window…
… and the director yells cut! Sam is Chad Stone, a stuntman in the ‘low budget’ film Disco Inferno. His father, Ray, is the stunt coordinator and berates Chad’s younger brother, Chris, for not making sure the safety mat was in the correct position. The director has words with, and fires, Ray only to offer the two sons an opportunity to work. They stand with their father and walk off the set.
Al appears, having the time of his life on set. Ziggy is on the fritz, but Chris will die in two days. They do not know how or where, but it will happen. When reminded to be a good big brother, Sam remembers his big brother, Tom. Al is forbidden from revealing more.
While the Stone family packs up the next day, Ray talk about an upcoming stunt for the movie Earthquake. At their place, Sam hears Chris jamming on a guitar. They have a heart to heart moment, but are interrupted by Shannon, a girl from the set who was all over Chris. While watching an episode of Saturday Night Live, Shannon displays a good bit of knowledge about the upcoming election, being part of the League of Women Voters.
On the set of Earthquake, Sam looks down off the ledge he is supposed to jump off. Another spurned lover pushes him off the building … only to fall onto the stunt mat. Chris is furious at not being able to do the stunt, as that would have gotten him a card.
The family and Shannon go to a restaurant bar to try spinning a tune. Ray is not interested but gives it a listen. The crowd loves it, but Ray is not convinced. Sam tries to encourage Ray to encourage Chris, but it only ends up with Chris punching Ray. Sullen, Chris signs up for a stunt on Disco Inferno. Sam and Al later talk about brothers, only for Sam to remember that Tom died in Vietnam.
Chris is MIA the next morning, but Sam is able to talk to Ray, who is on the fence. Ultimately, he will not relent. Chris brought Shannon to the set and is ready to do the stunt. It gets too out of control, but Sam arrives just in time to save the day, with help from Al.
Afterwards, the four are watching television, when Al show sup with no idea why Sam has not leaped. Chris’ future is still up in the air, though Ray thinks Chris is all set with his card. Al recognizes the famous video with President Carter tripping on the bottom of the stairs as he gets off Air Force One. Sam bets Chris’ future on Carter tripping. He does and Sam leaps …
… into a sailor coming back from a tour.
Fact check: This was the date that Carter tripped on the stairs. It was not the date this particular episode of Saturday Night Live aired, though.
Stop talking to yourself: Sam is not happy to be in a disco for the leap in. He similarly not enthused about the seventies on average and wonders if a mood ring works.
Mirror images that were not his own: While getting acclimated to the set, Sam looks at himself in the mirror.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: Ziggy is so messed up, he put extra zeroes on everyone’s paycheck. Several took a vacation.
Let’s up the rating: After the opening stunt, Sam takes his shirt off. And he has a hickey. Chad had affairs with at least two of his costars from set.
One more time: “Every girl I’ve ever met goes crazy for him. “I’m not every girl.”
Chad and Shannon
Put right what once went wrong: “Sorry I’m blanking on your name.” “You didn’t blank on it in your trailer last night.” Back when Deep Space Nine’s His Way premiered, there was a clue that the episode had too much time to pad with four musical numbers. There is kind of the same thing here with a music number plus portions of Saturday Night Live, a basketball game and Carter tripping on the stairs.
Not much happens in this episode.
The family is just not that interesting. Kris Kam is adequate as Chris, but too often comes across as boring. In the date night scene, he is worried that Chad will steal Shannon, but he is just dull. Michael Greene is better as the tough guy father, but not by much. You never really buy into them being family which is a dealbreaker for the heart of the episode.
Like any good episode of the series, the writers put in some scenes to get some good character moments, but those are the ones where Ray is most sullen. Just when he gets close to a breakthrough, he brushes it off. It is a pity since even some of the most boring episodes can be elevated by good writing or casting.
There are a few nice touches such as Chad being quite the ladies’ man and a bit with promise rings that ultimately goes nowhere. There is also Al geeking out at the era and movie set, but there is not a whole lot to recommend here. For anyone who knows about film production, a lot of the cheap scares are entirely artificial. The stuntman is not just there hanging around the set before he gets shot. They just film the guy getting shot quickly. There is some sort of warning before the guy falls off the set. It helps if the stuntman knows that they are filming.
The biggest filler is the revelation of Tom. It creates some nice moments between Al and Sam, particularly Al who knows but cannot simply come out and tell Sam. It is supposed to help Sam bond with Chris, but the focus is on a guy that we do not see, and it gets hard to care about. Tom will become more important in the series, but it just falls flat. This probably looked good on paper, but even Bakula and Stockwell cannot save it.
Even the song was not that great.
New places for old(er) keywords: Continuing Mission
Cardassians and Federation posturing it out: Showdown: Four Lights
Cardassians and Federation posturing it out: Showdown: Four Lights