#528281
Double Identity
Original Air Date: April 21, 1989
Written By: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: Aaron Lipstadt
Leap Date: November 8, 1965
This Time: Sam leaps half-dressed with a girl who expresses satisfaction before she runs off. He is Frankie, a mobster at a wedding. The young lady at the top of the episode is Theresa, a beautician and Frankie’s paramour. She is also in a relationship of Geno, the godfather, though she is trying to get out. Geno suspects she is trying to leave but has no confirmation.
The next day, Sam goes to the beauty parlor that Theresa works at, when Geno comes along. Geno then enters to get confirmation that Theresa isn’t involved with Frankie, which Al walks him through.
Al tells Sam that they will make another attempt to retrieve him, though he needs to plug in a hair dryer in Buffalo. Also, he needs to recreate the conditions of his leap in, meaning he and Theresa must be in Geno’s attic. Sam sends some flunkies to take care of the hair dryer and convinces Theresa to participate, though needs a little more convincing to be in the location than the action she would need to partake in.
Of course, Geno hears about Frankie and Theresa in his attic and makes plans to interfere. When he shows up, Sam leaps …
… into Geno. Everything will be perfect if Frankie and Theresa get married, but he must do so in a public manner that Geno cannot back out of, which turns out to be at a bingo game. The announcement is made, and Frankie is ordered out of the family business. After calling the winning ball, Sam leaps …
… into a man seated at a diner, with everyone giving him an odd look. Looking at the mirror, he sees an African American looking back at him.
Fact Check: There was an outage in Buffalo at the time of the leap, or thereabouts.
Stop talking to yourself: Sam relates leaping to blind dating.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al helps Sam through a song at the wedding. Later he saves Sam’s bacon by speaking Italian.
He is also sweating since the air conditioning is off in order for Ziggy to make the calculations to bring Sam home.
Mirror images that were not his own: Sam sees himself as Frankie at the top of the show and later as Geno, in the same mirror.
Brush with History: Sam thinks he might be a trendsetter in making beauty parlors unisex. Unlike his other impacts on history, this is a bit more … tenuous.
Something or someone: Sam figures either Ziggy miscalculated with bringing him home, or whomever was leaping him through time would not let him get off that easy. Also, his leap out is triggered by making sure that Frankie’s grandmother wins at Bingo.
Let’s up the rating: Sam leaps into someone not wearing pants. Later, he appears bare chested.
One more time: “You’re the godfather; you don’t have to cheat at bocce.”
Theresa calling out Geno.
Trivial Matter: This is one of the few instances where Sam leaps more than twice in an episode.
Put Right What Once Went Wrong: “If I’m lyin’, I’m dyin’.” One of the problems with the series is that since Sam leaps into people, we generally do not get a sense of who they really are, beyond when Sam looks into a mirror. In this case we get to see Page Moseley as Frankie, who has a brief appearance as himself but performs well, and Mike Genovese as Geno. Genovese in particular does a great job, even threatening Sam/Frankie with a razor to trying to appease Theresa. Mosely does not get much time to show his acting chops but does work with what he has. It is a nice change of pace and a fun way to play with the formula. The second leap happens forty minutes in, meaning that we get to see a lot of Genovase. Terri Garber plays Thresa with as much toughness as she can muster while still hitting the romantic and fearful beats. She is desperate to get away from Geno but can’t.
The show moves along, though part of that does require some padding, including Sam signing Volare and the scene in the beauty shop. That scene covers a lot of ground, going from romantic undertones to a threat on a life. There is some dark comedy when Geno asks for a razor, is given a handheld, asks for a straight razor and is told it is not a barbershop. Al tells Sam what to say in Italian, giving us another trope as the characters pause giving Sam time to hear what Al says, but if there needs to be padding, it is well done. The flunkies in Buffalo also have a bit of fun. They do not have a lot to do, but are in character and steal the scenes they are in. Let’s face it, when the episode features a Big Fat Italian Wedding, it’s hard to not have a good time and be in character.
Changing the fabric of your show is extremely dangerous, particularly in your first season, particularly as a midseason replacement with a shortened season, but it works. More than two leaps an hour will not become the norm, but all the pieces work in this case. It needs to be used carefully and thought about well ahead of time. The writers did a great job of building it into the fabric of the show and are careful with how they use this tool. Geno’s intrusion feels organic and there is a point to everything that happens.
Original Air Date: April 21, 1989
Written By: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: Aaron Lipstadt
Leap Date: November 8, 1965
This Time: Sam leaps half-dressed with a girl who expresses satisfaction before she runs off. He is Frankie, a mobster at a wedding. The young lady at the top of the episode is Theresa, a beautician and Frankie’s paramour. She is also in a relationship of Geno, the godfather, though she is trying to get out. Geno suspects she is trying to leave but has no confirmation.
The next day, Sam goes to the beauty parlor that Theresa works at, when Geno comes along. Geno then enters to get confirmation that Theresa isn’t involved with Frankie, which Al walks him through.
Al tells Sam that they will make another attempt to retrieve him, though he needs to plug in a hair dryer in Buffalo. Also, he needs to recreate the conditions of his leap in, meaning he and Theresa must be in Geno’s attic. Sam sends some flunkies to take care of the hair dryer and convinces Theresa to participate, though needs a little more convincing to be in the location than the action she would need to partake in.
Of course, Geno hears about Frankie and Theresa in his attic and makes plans to interfere. When he shows up, Sam leaps …
… into Geno. Everything will be perfect if Frankie and Theresa get married, but he must do so in a public manner that Geno cannot back out of, which turns out to be at a bingo game. The announcement is made, and Frankie is ordered out of the family business. After calling the winning ball, Sam leaps …
… into a man seated at a diner, with everyone giving him an odd look. Looking at the mirror, he sees an African American looking back at him.
Fact Check: There was an outage in Buffalo at the time of the leap, or thereabouts.
Stop talking to yourself: Sam relates leaping to blind dating.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al helps Sam through a song at the wedding. Later he saves Sam’s bacon by speaking Italian.
He is also sweating since the air conditioning is off in order for Ziggy to make the calculations to bring Sam home.
Mirror images that were not his own: Sam sees himself as Frankie at the top of the show and later as Geno, in the same mirror.
Brush with History: Sam thinks he might be a trendsetter in making beauty parlors unisex. Unlike his other impacts on history, this is a bit more … tenuous.
Something or someone: Sam figures either Ziggy miscalculated with bringing him home, or whomever was leaping him through time would not let him get off that easy. Also, his leap out is triggered by making sure that Frankie’s grandmother wins at Bingo.
Let’s up the rating: Sam leaps into someone not wearing pants. Later, he appears bare chested.
One more time: “You’re the godfather; you don’t have to cheat at bocce.”
Theresa calling out Geno.
Trivial Matter: This is one of the few instances where Sam leaps more than twice in an episode.
Put Right What Once Went Wrong: “If I’m lyin’, I’m dyin’.” One of the problems with the series is that since Sam leaps into people, we generally do not get a sense of who they really are, beyond when Sam looks into a mirror. In this case we get to see Page Moseley as Frankie, who has a brief appearance as himself but performs well, and Mike Genovese as Geno. Genovese in particular does a great job, even threatening Sam/Frankie with a razor to trying to appease Theresa. Mosely does not get much time to show his acting chops but does work with what he has. It is a nice change of pace and a fun way to play with the formula. The second leap happens forty minutes in, meaning that we get to see a lot of Genovase. Terri Garber plays Thresa with as much toughness as she can muster while still hitting the romantic and fearful beats. She is desperate to get away from Geno but can’t.
The show moves along, though part of that does require some padding, including Sam signing Volare and the scene in the beauty shop. That scene covers a lot of ground, going from romantic undertones to a threat on a life. There is some dark comedy when Geno asks for a razor, is given a handheld, asks for a straight razor and is told it is not a barbershop. Al tells Sam what to say in Italian, giving us another trope as the characters pause giving Sam time to hear what Al says, but if there needs to be padding, it is well done. The flunkies in Buffalo also have a bit of fun. They do not have a lot to do, but are in character and steal the scenes they are in. Let’s face it, when the episode features a Big Fat Italian Wedding, it’s hard to not have a good time and be in character.
Changing the fabric of your show is extremely dangerous, particularly in your first season, particularly as a midseason replacement with a shortened season, but it works. More than two leaps an hour will not become the norm, but all the pieces work in this case. It needs to be used carefully and thought about well ahead of time. The writers did a great job of building it into the fabric of the show and are careful with how they use this tool. Geno’s intrusion feels organic and there is a point to everything that happens.
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