MovieChat Forums > Quantum Leap (1989) Discussion > Sam's kind of a dick

Sam's kind of a dick

posted 8 years ago by Lunchbox-3
6 replies | jump to latest

First in "Star Crossed" Sam goes off-mission to fix Donna's love life in the hopes that he can change his own history and marry her. Even though it's against the rules, Al helps him out. We all know how it turns out, history is changed and Sam ends up marrying Donna.

Then in "M.I.A." Al tries to get Sam to help him the same way, change history so that Beth doesn't get remarried while Al is being held MIA in Viet Nam, but oh no, Sam won't do it. He refuses to help Al and Beth marries some other nozzle.

Then in "The Leap Home" Sam again goes off-mission to try and change his own personal history. When Al reminds him it's against the rules he doesn't care and keeps on trying to change things for his family. When it doesn't work Sam runs off like a crybaby and throws a tantrum in a cornfield. "It's not fair!" he cries.

Then he gets another shot in "The Leap Home Part 2" to save his brother in Viet Nam. Sam saves his brother at the cost of the reporter's life and only finds out later that Al was being held POW right there and Sam could have saved him. I can see why Al didn't mention it, he knew Sam wouldn't help him. Selfish Sam.

[–] chrysalis1814 8 years ago

Yes sometimes he is a bit selfish and unreasonable in the midst of helping somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 people he's never met over the course of five years with no break or time to himself or sense of where he's coming or going. What an unholy prick he is.

P.S. He made things right for Al and Beth in the end so that second one is a bit irrelevant in the grand scheme of things

[–] Lunchbox-3 8 years ago

That's what I'm saying, he's so willing to help other people and he'll bend the rules for himself but for some reason he won't help Al. Yes, he does finally go back and tell Beth to wait for Al. Notice he only did that after they devoted an entire leap to showing that Al belonged with Tina. Ass.

Just to clarify, I'm calling Sam an ass, not you.

[–] BingoFlip20943 8 years ago

It always bothers me when I watch from the beginning that in MIA he's absolutely dead set against telling Beth about Al, then in the very next episode he's trying to save everyone in his family. He wasn't a dick but it's kinda messed up.

[–] jennygerms (58) 6 years ago

Yep. I have to say I get a certain satisfaction when Al says "I think it's damn fair", and gives him that dirty look.

[–] hurricane (1967) 6 years ago

I wouldn't say a dick, I would say he is human. Occasionally all humans can be a bit selfish.

Over the course of the entire series, Sam is selfless more often than he is selfish.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 6 years ago

I agree. Sam was the quintessential hero. He was one of the good guys. He not only fixed the problems of the people he encountered, he genuinely seemed to care about them.

I'm not at all surprised that he would want to save his family too. When he leapt home as a child, Sam tried so hard to get his father to adopt a healthier lifestyle. He knew that a heart attack was in his dad's future. And of course, he wanted to save his brother.

if any one of us could travel to the past and we could possibly save a loved one, wouldn't we "break the rules" and try to do it?