Quantum Leap (TV Series) Ben, Interrupted (2023) User Reviews

Quantum Leapers

[safenoe · 9/10 · 8 May 2023]

The issue of mental health in the 1950s is at the forefront here, and all credit to director Jude Weng for helming this gripping and absorbing episode where we are almost left hanging as to Ben's fate.

Big bad Leaper makes a return and literally stabs Ben in the neck (not the back) at the climax of this episode where Ben plays a private detective on a rescue mission.

It's been ages since I saw the original Quantum Leap series so for me the emotional connection dampens as the years progress, but I hope that Scott Bakula can make a guest appearance to soothe any discord amongst fans of the original Quantum Leap.

Make It Stop

[Gislef · 8/10 · 23 March 2023]

Or at least don't let it start back up. By which I mean the "mystery" of Ql. After two perfectly good episodes without it--except basically a cameo by Martinez--we got thrown back into the overarching storyline/mystery.

To its credit, this episode kept the focus primarily on Ben. It just seemed to me that the "main" story of the Leap took a back seat to the "mystery". Which is kinda the opposite of the original show, where the Leap always seemed like the primary focus rather than the elements behind it, like the Evil Leaper and Sam Leaping back to the Civil War, and into Lee Harvey Oswald. Or "Shock Theater", which this episode vaguely echoed. Except this episode had an evil head doctor, and sadistic orderlies.

Don't get me wrong: "Interrupted" was okay. But that's all it was. Unlike the previous two episodes, we didn't get to see Ben play someone different. In fact, I think Ben was entirely... Ben, for the entirety of the episode. The episode didn't give Raymond Lee anything to do. Which is what I think QL should be doing. It did with the original, why isn't that good enough for the new one? 2022 TV, amirite?

So I can't help but feel that Lee is getting underserved. He doesn't get to be the focus, the way Bakula was. Lee is just one member of the ensemble and the mystery is about more than just his Leaping.

And maybe it's just me, or is the mystery getting a bit convoluted? So Martinez is helping the project, but helping the project ultimately hurts Ben (or Addison?). And Janis is/isn't helping Ben, by helping him stop Martinez, who is trying to achieve the same thing as Ben. And then there's the newly-revealed mole, which I suppose makes sense but just adds one more complication onto an already complicated plot. I suppose if I sat down and binge-watched it all, it would make sense. But I'm old school: I like watching network shows once a week (or month sometimes with QL).

So "Interrupted" wasn't bad: it just seemed like a step down from the more recent episodes that focused more on the Leap and gave Lee a chanced to act.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?

Okay, but shouldn't we expect more?

[VetteRanger · 6/10 · 30 March 2023]

The story of Ben leaping into a PI to liberate a woman from the mental ward of a hospital is okay, but nothing about it really stood out to me.

While the "doctor" in this episode was keen to do lobotomies, in reality they were rarely performed in the 1950s, having been largely shown to be ultimately harmful by no later than the late 1950s.

We get a return of the Martinez leaper, who comes into the episode as an orderly and even allies with Ben for a brief period.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Quantum Leap team decides there must be a mole in their organization, and Magic gets a surprise guess as to who it is.

But nothing about this episode had any semblance of a Wow Factor for me. It certainly wasn't nearly as good as the previous episode aboard a Naval vessel.