Sliders.tv → Sliders Bboard → The Rewatch Podcast Wonders... Where Is Quantum Leap's Waiting Room???
Yeah so, in our latest discussion (not out yet) we wondered... where is the waiting room in the new QL?
In the old series, Al and company talked to the people in the waiting room to get info, but in this new series, that doesn't seem to be a thing.
Furthermore, where is Ben's body in this new series?
Ideas? Theories?
Will someone PLEASE help Tom out here? After all he's done for SLIDERS!
(I haven't seen the new QL yet.)
Haven't heard a mention of it...
Brad, we have had our differences before, but I must say, I am deeply ashamed of you right now. How could you not offer Tom a theory? Shameful, just shameful! ;-)
Tom, I haven't seen QUANTUM LEAP, but I will venture a theory that the Waiting Room is the friends we made along the way.
Damn it. Okay, here's another theory: what if in this new generation of QL technology, the Waiting Room is instead a state of quantum limbo in which the subject is suspended in a moment of temporal grace, neither dead nor alive, existent nor gone -- until Dr. Ben has completed his mission at which point the personal timeline of the subject is reinstated to resynchronize with the chronological stream of historical constituents?
In addition, what if Dr. Ben's state of existence is in a semi-permanent state of temporal grace created by Ben having detached from his own personal timeline, holding Ben's body in indeterminate nucleostasis as the result of the particle confinement that resulted in his missing memories? What if the restoration of Ben's physical form is dependent upon his balancing the equation represented by his unknown mission that led to his first and subsequent leaps?
From a mechanical standpoint, the answer is that the writers wanted to go in a different direction:
https://tvline.com/2023/02/07/quantum-l … s-nbc/amp/
But from a story standpoint, I would argue there is a waiting room that’s just not being used.
A throw-away line in the Old West episode mentioned that Ben was able to go beyond his own lifetime because he turned off “the safeties” before he leaped. It was never mentioned in the old series that Quantum Leap had safety protocols; but it makes sense given that just about every modern machine has or should have those.
Part of the safeties could have been the separation of body and mind that required a waiting room. Without that separation and tether back to present day, Ben stands a greater chance of being lost - not only in time but in mind and body as well. We saw some indications of this in the original series where in extreme or unusual situations, Sam would start to just become the person he leaped into and forget he was Sam Beckett.
So that one throw-away line in the Old West episode is a pretty ingenious catch-all for differences you notice from the old series. Why doesn’t leaping work the same now? Because Ben turned off the safeties; and as a result, he’s in more danger than Sam ever was.
Oh man, yeah, ireactions and TF those are both great theories! And that article does clear it up. I had not seen that one.
In our latest discussion we did talk about what Magic said about the gentle nudge and that fits in with the quantum limbo reactions mentioned. And yes the safety protocols we discussed in our last discussion too and like you TF we theorized that means he is in much greater danger than Sam was. It also fits with the old series having safeties and yeah, for sure, when those times happened where Sam began to merge and forget himself could be the result of the safeties getting a bit loose at times.
Nice theories and thanks for the help all! This will definitely make it into our next episode! We haven't put them out just yet because I needed a week off for the GallifreyOne convention and Cory needs a week off for something he has going on. So we were delaying them just a few weeks but they should start showing up soon.
Oh, and Ib, I will say that if you haven't seen it yet, it's the old formula from the original but mixed in with a story arc for the future timeline as well, which... means something has to give. We get a little less time with the people Ben leaps into, which makes me feel a little less connected, but the mystery of the present timeline is keeping me intrigued.
I think I'll probably watch QUANTUM LEAP 2.0 when Rewatch Podcast starts reviewing it or after I finish my rewatch of SUPERGIRL and the last season of MACGYVER 2.0, whichever comes first.
Doesn't Temporal Flux's comment about Sam losing himself bring to mind all those QL episodes Tom and Cory mentioned where Sam keeps falling in love with various women in romances that seem unwarranted? What if that's the effect of Sam becoming the subject whose body he's occupying?
Also, I just re-read my theory and I have no idea what I was saying, so if Tom brings it up on his podcast with Cory, he can hopefully explain it to me.
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