Listen here, or search Fate’s Wide Wheel wherever you get your podcasts
Last week, some confusing information came out regarding the order of a new series pilot, which was soon confirmed by an anonymous source attached to the show. We discuss what we know and what it may mean for the new series.
We also address the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
As The Hashtag Show reports, the new pilot involves a group of thieves planning to break into Smithsonian to steal the Hope Diamond. One of the thieves, however, has a very personal motivation: He is hoping to get money for a life-saving surgery for his wife. The article also dropped a major spoiler involving a couple of characters that we won’t reveal here, but will say is consistent with the draft of the San Francisco pilot we had the chance to read back in February.
Many of us reading the Hashtag article assumed this was actually the plot of the second episode. Last night, however, an anonymous source attached to the show confirmed with Al’s Place, the fan website, that NBC has, in fact, asked for a completely new pilot. Brian Greene shared this news with Fate’s Wide Wheel, the Quantum Leap Podcast, and The Star Bright Project.
Our gut reaction is a little trepidation at this news, but this will hopefully be a good thing for the new series in the end. There is certainly no shortage of examples of TV shows that had their pilots completely overhauled and reshot before their series debut. It’s likely the heist story was already planned for later in the season, and now it is simply being retooled and expanded to serve as the pilot. As far as we know, the entire original creative team is still attached to the show, both in front of and behind the camera. We’re hopeful NBC still has complete faith (of the heart) in the series, but wants to make it accessible as possible for viewers who are completely unfamiliar with the Quantum leap mythology.
As of now, there is no word whether the original pilot will officially be shown or released at any point.
And of course, still no official word as to Scott Bakula’s potential involvement.
Stay tuned, listeners.
If you’re on TikTok, follow us there. We just launched our channel in earnest a few days ago.
This week, we take a break from our “Revisited” series to read and respond to some listener mail.
– Nicky Sudyn talks about their experience listening to a Quantum Leap podcast hosted by “two tired dads”, and explains why Tess picking Wayne in “How the Tess Was Won” was the inevitable and right choice.
– Quantum Leap author Carol Davis gives her opinion on Scott Bakula kissing the underage actor, Holly Fields, in “Camikazi Kid”, and her thoughts as a writer as to why it is inevitable Sam/Scott will appear in the new series.
– Damon Sugameli reads an audio essay about his feelings about the new series and the legacy of the classic.
Stream here, or listen wherever you get your podcasts
Leapers, we’re back after an unplanned break (what else is new?)
This week, we’re talking about the news that the new pilot has officially been picked up to a series. We knew it would happen, but man, are we even more excited now!
We’re also here with our capsule review of season one’s “Camikazi Kid” – an episode that deals with the difficult topic of domestic violence, but still somehow manages to throw in just the right amount of comedy.
Listen here, or search “Fate’s Wide Wheel” on your favorite pod catcher
Leapers! We’re back with our second capsule view. This week, we’re talking about the series’ 2nd episode, “Star-Crossed”.
We also discuss the latest news for the reboot pilot, and the exciting opportunities lie ahead for the new Quantum Leap fandom.
Oh, and hey, listen carefully (or even not so carefully), and you can tell the exact moment Dennis learned that a certain somebody slapped a certain somebody on a certain televised event. (Also, apologies, Dennis was playing with a new mic configuration, and he comes in a little hot this week.)
Raymond Lee, Nostalgia, and our Big Secret – Stream Our New Episode Here
Leapers!
We’re late with our blog post this week – blame Dennis. Since we recorded and dropped our episode Tuesday talking about the casting of Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Seong, we learned later Tuesday that Ernie Hudson has been cast as Herbert “Magic” Williams. Then Wednesday, news break with the rest of the main cast.
We’re excited about all of this, but we’re particularly intrigued by the casting of Caitlin Bassett. This is will mark her television debut. She is former military. After leaving the armed forces, she studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory and was later selected for the ABC Discovers Talent Showcase.
Like we said, this week’s episode almost feels like old news, but take a listen as we talk about what we know about Raymond Lee, talk about the pros and cons of nostalgia for the old series, reveal our big “secret” (you probably already figured it out), and make some fun “fan wank” guesses.
We’re setting aside the start of our promised capsule reviews of the series (*ahem* classic series) to take a moment to talk about diversity.
Diversity.
We’ve heard that word come a lot on Quantum Leap forums the last few weeks as the casting call for the series was released, and that release was confirmed to be genuine. Some fans of the classic series are already saying what’s to come is “too woke”. This past week, our co-host, Sam, got into a civil debate with a fellow fan on Twitter after posting an essay on the matter.
Have a listen, and we’ll be back with our promised capsule reviews next week.
Fate's Wide Wheel: A Quantum Leap Podcast 