#555654
8½ Months
Original Air Date: March 6, 1991
Directed by: James Whitmore, Jr.
Written by: Deborah Pratt
Leap Date: November 15, 1955
This time: Sam leaps onto a gurney being rushed into the delivery room. The doctor is insistent that the baby is coming but Sam convinces everyone that he is not going to deliver a baby under any circumstances.
As sixteen-year-old Billie-Jean, Sam gets a ride back with a friend named Dottie. Dottie owns a beauty parlor and one of her clients is furious that Dottie left in the middle of a procedure, especially since the baby did not come. Also unhappy is Keeter, Dottie’s beau.
Al arrives and says the Billie-Jean originally gave the baby up for adoption and regretted it so Sam must find some way to keep the baby. He also says that Ziggy thinks Sam might be there to deliver the baby if he does not leap out before the baby is due. Billie-Jean’s mother is deceased, but her father, Bob, is nearby. Bob will take her back only if she gives up the baby.
Left with few alternatives, Sam wonders if he can keep the baby and have Dottie look after them while Billie-Jean finishes school. Keeter does not like this and leaves. Dottie is incredulous since she promised Keeter that Billie-Jean would leave when the baby comes. Unbeknownst to her, Keeter leaves her regardless, per Al, but Dottie will have none of it.
Almost every door closed, Sam finds out that Effie, Dotty’s assistant knows the baby’s father, Willis. It turns out that teenage Willis works for Bob. Also, Willis is going to college on a scholarship but needs to work for room and board.
Going into labor, Dottie and Effie are changing the tire on the car. Effie goes to get Bob and Keeter is too drunk ad disinterested to be of use. Dottie does the change on her own while Effie gets Bob to take an interest. He makes it to the emergency room and agrees to help Billie-Jean. He marries Dotty and they raise the baby as a family. Sam pushes and leaps …
… into a time machine going to the future.
Stop talking to yourself: The silent car ride home from the hospital is spent with Sam trying to piece together the clues as to who he is.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al is pretty certain that Sam will not deliver a baby.
Mirror images that were not his own: After sliding on and off the delivery table, Sam sees a very pregnant Billie-Jean Crockett looking back at him.
Brush with history: Sam thinks that a pink hairdo will be great in the punk eighties to which the very unhappy client replies that she does not know where ‘aidees’ is.
It’s a science project: Nausea, vomiting, back aches, nearly constant urination, cravings, Sam sure does have a lot of effects of pregnancy.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: In the waiting room, Billie-Jean freaks out. Dr. Beeks finds her too traumatized to answer questions.
Let’s up the rating: Bob and Dottie were an item back in the day.
One more time: “I’m going to, Al!” “Young lady you watch your language.”
Sam to al about the impending birth, an attendant reminding him to be ladylike.
The Rainbow Treknection: Anne Haney made a career out of paying no-nonsense older women. Here, she is a no-nonsense adoption agent while in Deep Space Nine’s Dax, she was no-nonsense judge Els Renora. She does have a softer side seen in episodes like The Next Generation’s Survivors as Rishon Uxbridge.
Put right what once went wrong: “This little tyke’s coming whether you cooperate or not.” “No, I feel better, I’m fine.” It takes a very skilled director to take up acting duties in the show they direct. We are at the approximate midpoint of Quantum Leap and James Whitmore Jr. directed this hour and guest starred as Bob. Lots of writers have appeared onscreen but mainly as mirror images, a corpse and the like, certainly not to degree that Bob is here. This could easily have caused something to fall flat.
Thankfully, that did not happen. Deborah Pratt wrote an excellent script and Whitmore let the actors do their work. The writing is strong giving each character a moment to shine. Even Leola who starts of the hour pissed at her purple hair (!) pitches a fit swearing up and down she will not return while everyone knows she will be back. Young Tasha Scott has plenty of sass as Effie but that comes in handy where she just bluntly tells Bob that Effie’s older sister died giving birth. Hunter von Leer’s Keeter does really not want to be involved and chides pretty much everyone. Philip Linton has a scene as Willis, but the young man shoulders the role well.
Dottie and Bob are the emotional cores. Whitmore has a pretty good acting resume, and he tries to lay down the law with Billie-Jean. He has options but those will not be good for everyone. He initially puts the blame on his daughter but realizes that she needs someone to love her and be a father. Lana Schwab left it all on camera. Trying to keep her life together, she has a lot of southern charm and knows her clientele, her town and her family. She can get away with a lot due to her personality which sines along with some great dialogue all the way through. It is heartbreaking to see her pining after Keeter when he really could not care less.
A teenage pregnancy does not seem like it would be a slam dunk of an episode, but the cast and crew came together to (pun intended) deliver. The script is smart having Al need to tell Sam that he cannot deliver a baby. Al is our eye and ears into the waiting room, and he gives us a good play by play to the point where he is convinced as the episode draws to a close.
Original Air Date: March 6, 1991
Directed by: James Whitmore, Jr.
Written by: Deborah Pratt
Leap Date: November 15, 1955
This time: Sam leaps onto a gurney being rushed into the delivery room. The doctor is insistent that the baby is coming but Sam convinces everyone that he is not going to deliver a baby under any circumstances.
As sixteen-year-old Billie-Jean, Sam gets a ride back with a friend named Dottie. Dottie owns a beauty parlor and one of her clients is furious that Dottie left in the middle of a procedure, especially since the baby did not come. Also unhappy is Keeter, Dottie’s beau.
Al arrives and says the Billie-Jean originally gave the baby up for adoption and regretted it so Sam must find some way to keep the baby. He also says that Ziggy thinks Sam might be there to deliver the baby if he does not leap out before the baby is due. Billie-Jean’s mother is deceased, but her father, Bob, is nearby. Bob will take her back only if she gives up the baby.
Left with few alternatives, Sam wonders if he can keep the baby and have Dottie look after them while Billie-Jean finishes school. Keeter does not like this and leaves. Dottie is incredulous since she promised Keeter that Billie-Jean would leave when the baby comes. Unbeknownst to her, Keeter leaves her regardless, per Al, but Dottie will have none of it.
Almost every door closed, Sam finds out that Effie, Dotty’s assistant knows the baby’s father, Willis. It turns out that teenage Willis works for Bob. Also, Willis is going to college on a scholarship but needs to work for room and board.
Going into labor, Dottie and Effie are changing the tire on the car. Effie goes to get Bob and Keeter is too drunk ad disinterested to be of use. Dottie does the change on her own while Effie gets Bob to take an interest. He makes it to the emergency room and agrees to help Billie-Jean. He marries Dotty and they raise the baby as a family. Sam pushes and leaps …
… into a time machine going to the future.
Stop talking to yourself: The silent car ride home from the hospital is spent with Sam trying to piece together the clues as to who he is.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al is pretty certain that Sam will not deliver a baby.
Mirror images that were not his own: After sliding on and off the delivery table, Sam sees a very pregnant Billie-Jean Crockett looking back at him.
Brush with history: Sam thinks that a pink hairdo will be great in the punk eighties to which the very unhappy client replies that she does not know where ‘aidees’ is.
It’s a science project: Nausea, vomiting, back aches, nearly constant urination, cravings, Sam sure does have a lot of effects of pregnancy.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: In the waiting room, Billie-Jean freaks out. Dr. Beeks finds her too traumatized to answer questions.
Let’s up the rating: Bob and Dottie were an item back in the day.
One more time: “I’m going to, Al!” “Young lady you watch your language.”
Sam to al about the impending birth, an attendant reminding him to be ladylike.
The Rainbow Treknection: Anne Haney made a career out of paying no-nonsense older women. Here, she is a no-nonsense adoption agent while in Deep Space Nine’s Dax, she was no-nonsense judge Els Renora. She does have a softer side seen in episodes like The Next Generation’s Survivors as Rishon Uxbridge.
Put right what once went wrong: “This little tyke’s coming whether you cooperate or not.” “No, I feel better, I’m fine.” It takes a very skilled director to take up acting duties in the show they direct. We are at the approximate midpoint of Quantum Leap and James Whitmore Jr. directed this hour and guest starred as Bob. Lots of writers have appeared onscreen but mainly as mirror images, a corpse and the like, certainly not to degree that Bob is here. This could easily have caused something to fall flat.
Thankfully, that did not happen. Deborah Pratt wrote an excellent script and Whitmore let the actors do their work. The writing is strong giving each character a moment to shine. Even Leola who starts of the hour pissed at her purple hair (!) pitches a fit swearing up and down she will not return while everyone knows she will be back. Young Tasha Scott has plenty of sass as Effie but that comes in handy where she just bluntly tells Bob that Effie’s older sister died giving birth. Hunter von Leer’s Keeter does really not want to be involved and chides pretty much everyone. Philip Linton has a scene as Willis, but the young man shoulders the role well.
Dottie and Bob are the emotional cores. Whitmore has a pretty good acting resume, and he tries to lay down the law with Billie-Jean. He has options but those will not be good for everyone. He initially puts the blame on his daughter but realizes that she needs someone to love her and be a father. Lana Schwab left it all on camera. Trying to keep her life together, she has a lot of southern charm and knows her clientele, her town and her family. She can get away with a lot due to her personality which sines along with some great dialogue all the way through. It is heartbreaking to see her pining after Keeter when he really could not care less.
A teenage pregnancy does not seem like it would be a slam dunk of an episode, but the cast and crew came together to (pun intended) deliver. The script is smart having Al need to tell Sam that he cannot deliver a baby. Al is our eye and ears into the waiting room, and he gives us a good play by play to the point where he is convinced as the episode draws to a close.
New places for old(er) keywords: Continuing Mission
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