I'm still on the fence with the new QL. My main problem with it is that...well, it calls itself 'Quantum Leap'. I've said it before and will say it again: only about 33% of it is a remake/reboot/spiritual successor/whatever of the original series. It's got all the trappings, but I don't think that makes it worthy of the name.
So the characters are decent, and this episode has more characterization than most with Woolsey, Eugene (Rory from 'Arrow'!), and Janis. But at the same time it didn't do much for me plotwise. For starters, it's a time loop. Sigh. A time-travel trope that has been done in far too many s.f. Tv shows. And better in stuff like Trek's "Cause and Effect" and Stargate's "Window of Opportunity". This episode didn't really bring anything new to the table. Yes, it had Ben Leaping into different bodies to keep reliving the same scenario. But... so what? Nothing was gained or learned overall from the loop. It seemed like an excuse to bring Janis back in and let her work with the team.
And do a "message" episode. "Ooh, Woolsey is trying to do sustainable energy, but ends up selling out to the military." Don't get me wrong: Picardo is a trooper like he almost always is. And he lightened this episode up more than anyone else. He just didn't have much to work with.
It also strikes me as the kind of thing they would have done in season 5 of the original. More of a ratings grabber than a solid character-driven story. But I just don't know. By the fourth time through the loop, I felt like Ben, who just sat there and shrugged as the reactor blew up again.
Like I said, there was nothing really wrong with the episode. There just wasn't anything "right" with it, either. Nothing that reached out and grabbed me. Even the most boring episode of the original series had one or two bits that could grab me. The new series... nothing. It's there, I don't regret watching it, but it's not must-see TV for me, or my SO.
Also I've noted before in my reviews, Ben is such a dreary lead. He's good enough as a blank slate, and does the occasional little emotional moments well. But there's no sense of... him having fun, for lack of a better word. Like this episode. He Leaps in, faces a crisis, and spends the next 35 minutes dealing with the crisis. Or crises. Maybe next episode, but I suspect they'll let the "message" and the present-time subplots overwhelm Ben's characterization.
I also think the ensemble cast doesn't help Randall Lee much. Just about the time I think he's got a chance to make something of the part.. Blam! We get Ernie Hudson talking about how all the fallout is on him. As much as I like Hudson, I'm not watching QL for him. But ensemble TV in 2023, I guess.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
So the characters are decent, and this episode has more characterization than most with Woolsey, Eugene (Rory from 'Arrow'!), and Janis. But at the same time it didn't do much for me plotwise. For starters, it's a time loop. Sigh. A time-travel trope that has been done in far too many s.f. Tv shows. And better in stuff like Trek's "Cause and Effect" and Stargate's "Window of Opportunity". This episode didn't really bring anything new to the table. Yes, it had Ben Leaping into different bodies to keep reliving the same scenario. But... so what? Nothing was gained or learned overall from the loop. It seemed like an excuse to bring Janis back in and let her work with the team.
And do a "message" episode. "Ooh, Woolsey is trying to do sustainable energy, but ends up selling out to the military." Don't get me wrong: Picardo is a trooper like he almost always is. And he lightened this episode up more than anyone else. He just didn't have much to work with.
It also strikes me as the kind of thing they would have done in season 5 of the original. More of a ratings grabber than a solid character-driven story. But I just don't know. By the fourth time through the loop, I felt like Ben, who just sat there and shrugged as the reactor blew up again.
Like I said, there was nothing really wrong with the episode. There just wasn't anything "right" with it, either. Nothing that reached out and grabbed me. Even the most boring episode of the original series had one or two bits that could grab me. The new series... nothing. It's there, I don't regret watching it, but it's not must-see TV for me, or my SO.
Also I've noted before in my reviews, Ben is such a dreary lead. He's good enough as a blank slate, and does the occasional little emotional moments well. But there's no sense of... him having fun, for lack of a better word. Like this episode. He Leaps in, faces a crisis, and spends the next 35 minutes dealing with the crisis. Or crises. Maybe next episode, but I suspect they'll let the "message" and the present-time subplots overwhelm Ben's characterization.
I also think the ensemble cast doesn't help Randall Lee much. Just about the time I think he's got a chance to make something of the part.. Blam! We get Ernie Hudson talking about how all the fallout is on him. As much as I like Hudson, I'm not watching QL for him. But ensemble TV in 2023, I guess.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
