alcalavicci

[alcalavicci]

Quantum Leap as text posts part 2

(part 1)

#quantum leap

[alcalavicci]

Dean impressions from Dancing on the Edge:

When Russ met Dean on the set of The Boy with Green Hair, Dean was a high-energy kid who hated attention and was learning how to play the drums

Dean asked Russ if he could bring Wallace Berman and his wife to a party he was having. Thinking he meant the comedian Alice Berman, Russ said yes but was shocked by this weird mute guy who didn't say a word at his party.

One time, Russ was hanging out with four other former child actors (Dean, Billy Gray, Bobby Driscoll and Robert Blake). Talking about that day years later, Blake said they were a bunch of drowning puppies going down the rapids while hanging onto a lifeboat together. Says a lot, doesn't it?

Russ described Dean as intelligent, intuitive and practical- Jack Hirschman said as much too. Both said that Dean would help other people out as well. It's interesting that Russ says Dean was dedicated to his career and never dropped out unlike Russ, but that's not how Dean saw his career during this time, according to interviews. I think Russ was more significantly dropped out than Dean, however.

The Last Movie: Russ and Dean, along with Billy Gray, got to see Machu Picchu on their days off, but poor Billy got lost and missed the last scenes to be filmed.

Dean invited Russ to be in Another Day at the Races (which was apparently a spoof of the Marx Brothers classic A Day at the Races), but the title was changed to Win, Place or Steal. Apparently the movie was already kind of darkly lit in the original print too and got bad reviews at the time.

Jack, Russ and Dean all liked puns - that came from Wallace.

Russ' second wife, Elizabeth, had major problems with drinking and he eventually left her because she refused to get help for her problem. Dean was incredibly supportive to Russ during this time. Elizabeth ended up drinking herself to death five years after they got divorced. Must've been so heartbreaking to Russ to see Dean struggling like Elizabeth did near the end of his life.

Between Dennis, Dean and Russ, Russ could be trusted to come back with a full order of cocaine because he was allergic to it. So Dennis would ask him to pick up cocaine for him.

Russ says Dean was dating this woman in summer 1980. Interesting, Dean must've been just friends with Joy until the year or so before they got married. But this woman, Valerie Valente, is important because she invited Dean and Russ to her friend Bonnie's show, and Russ ended up married to Bonnie.

Russ does mention Dean meeting Joy and falling in love fast but I get the impression Russ didn't know about them keeping in touch for a few years. Russ said he needed to move out fast so Joy could move in after they got engaged (? my impression). I wonder if there was any overlap between Valerie and Joy...

Dean was the one who recommended Russ to the producers for his Quantum Leap episode- he didn't even have to audition!

The Wallace stories in this are also amazing so I'd definitely recommend reading this book for them as well.

#Russ Tamblyn #Dancing on the Edge #dean stockwell

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Relevant quote from the above article:

Stockwell had reached a low point in his life and career, and was on the verge of giving up, except for those who knew him at that time, few realize it was Marchenko who saved him from “drinking himself to death,” and steering his career back on track.

So Joy claims she saved him from drinking around the time they got married, before his career really took off (early 80s). With me?

I recently got Russ Tamblyn's memoir, Dancing on the Edge, and skipped to the end to see what he said about Dean's death since he also posted a touching tribute to him on his Twitter. Russ said Dean had been struggling with drinking for years, and that Joy tried to get him to stop for the sake of their kids, so during the early to mid 90s, right before they separated?

That's a different timeline. Granted both could be true, but seriously, it's really, really gross that Joy tried to paint herself as this savior of Dean right after he died and she wasn't even successful at that.

Anyway, Russ also says that Dean went severely downhill after Dennis' death. Like Jack Hirschman, he also visited Dean in rehab after Dean's stroke but Dean didn't remember him at all.

Tosh wrote,

"What I found shocking is Dean embracing his acting career in the late 80s and onward. The thought of him being at the Oscars or having a hit T.V. show is unthinkable to me. Also, the idea that he would agree to get a Hollywood Star on the boulevard of dreams is unbelievable to me."

Reading back through other stuff I have and thinking back on interview quotes/what I know, plus with what Tosh said about Dean's breakdown... This, to me, tracks.

Mid-60s, Dean's career wasn't in the greatest shape. He wasn't in high demand (this is around the beginning of the "over 14 years of not being able to get arrested" period). He had probably just found out that Mr. Paracelsus wouldn't make it as a pilot when he had his breakdown. (fall/winter 1966 or so, going off the movie release date)

Based on what Tosh said about the movie he saw, Dean struggled a lot mentally, for approximately the next 10-15 years. (The fact his late 70s/early 80s filmography is never brought up is certainly telling). Late 70s, he told a fan seeing a play he was producing that he was up to his eyeballs in debt. He was trying to hack it as an artist during this time as well, but that and his day job were both floundering. Yet, in the midst of all this chaos, Dean found happiness in acting, a calling that had plagued him since childhood.

That's what he's said in his TCM interview, that he finally found satisfaction with acting via dinner theater. Being able to go in front of people and receive live feedback from them while working on comedic roles? It was probably a dream come true.

Meanwhile, his art was limping along. Dean mostly put that aside, save for personal things he made for family or friends, and focused on his other art- acting. Through that, he pushed himself to success, and from there, stability, something he'd lacked since childhood. That's why he wanted a TV show so much. Remember, he said he didn't have as much for his childhood film savings as he should have thanks to bad accountants and his earnings also had to support his family as a child. A stable source of income instead of a fluctuating income would be much more meaningful.

With enough stability in his life, Dean was able to refocus on art after his children left home and he was able to flourish with that, at last, going from collages to dice assemblages.

So, yes, art was important to Dean throughout his life. But it was through stability that he found more success with it. And honestly, he wasn't the one to push for the star- his fans were, and they raised the money via something meaningful to him at the time.

#but it's also really interesting what people choose to focus on #russ tamblyn #but russ has been a straight shooter from what i've seen of him #so i'm interested to see his perspective on Dean as well #but yeah dean's final years were a hot mess seems like #i'll report back on what else i read in this

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Dean was always short with people who annoyed him with weird/irrelevant questions. See this from when he was a kid for example:

I don't like it when fans whine about meeting celebrities who just happen to be having a bad day. Maybe Dean Stockwell was tired during this Comic Con. Only @misscarolbelle would know.

#dean stockwell #and people who got his interest said he was perfectly lovely

[alcalavicci]

Now that neo QL is confirmed canceled... ☹️

I looked back at my earliest posts about this iteration and a few points:

The fireman leap actually did happen! Racecar driver was a potential leap that got rejected for the OG series too.

Addison never really got past "slightly more complex Donna." 😑 If Al was a sparkly cube, Addison is a wrinkled piece of paper.

I really enjoyed what this season did with Hannah but I wish NBC hadn't basically shot this show in the foot in multiple ways. Like, long episode arcs (longer than Trilogy) would've been amazing on the OG QL too.

I also wish there were more kisses with history in neo QL but alas.

#quantum leap #quantum leap 2022

[alcalavicci]

almost forgot to post this here. the queap experience

#accurate #quantum leap

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This is the look Al wanted Sam to go for.

#quantum leap #sam/al #i'm mostly dying over how this look was legit in a 60s softcore gay magazine

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Birthday remembrance - Dean Stockwell #botd

#dean stockwell

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It's in a different timeline where Al doesn't exist, so presumably St. John groomed/bullied Sam to be fine with being called Samuel.

alright whats going on here, discuss.

like what on earth is sam and st. johns relationship that sam never corrected him before this. or did sam correct him and st john never listened. or is this sam/samuel thing some weird butterfly effect.

#quantum leap #that would explain the sam/sinjun fic i've read before #where that version of sam was more hoity toity

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#quantum leap

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This finale oh my God. So much to process.

One thing that sets neo!QL apart from the OG is its ability to pursue long arcs over a season. The OG had Trilogy and a few two-parters but opinions on Trilogy are very divided.

Martinez last season was pretty interesting but Hannah this season felt like a more rock-solid take on Trilogy. Have the leaper fall in love with someone while traveling in time? Yes please, but no creepy leaps from the person's father to their fiance this time! The people Ben leaped into were more removed from Hannah compared to the people Sam leaped into in Trilogy but they still made it work. And that finale takes so much more time than the OG could dedicate to make it work, with a better payoff. If you told me Sam leaped from the end of Trilogy directly into the middle of the Evil version of Project Quantum Leap and made the Evil Leapers go away, I'd think you were crazy. But that's pretty much what neo!QL did with Ben.

Like, y'all. Neo!QL gave us a much better take on Trilogy this season and I'm so happy about it. Also, Janis (who was positively affected by Sam) helping out Ben with Jeffrey (who was negatively affected)? 🤌

It's fascinating that Addison remembers both timelines, confirming in canon that Al also remembers everything. I want to say the OG was a bit more murky on this so it's nice to have some confirmation. And double leapers!!

I would love a season 3. But if we don't get one (curse you NBC!) I'd be okay with this as a series finale.

#quantum leap

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He already changed his identity and cut off any mention of Hannah. Makes sense he'd also wear colored contacts to further hide his identity.

I'm still bothered that Jeffrey has dark-ass brown eyes as a twelve-year-old kid that somehow turn blue as an adult and it's just. Not Acknowledged

#quantum leap #spoilers #and curl his hair too #like he told Ben he learned how to be fake from him

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This was literally the Season Finale

#quantum leap 2022 #spoilers #quantum leap

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Ever since I read this review years ago, Benj and I have joked that at the end, there's a Scooby Doo reveal with Dean in a Bigfoot suit. No idea if that's actually true because I can't find this episode anywhere and if it's true I really want to watch it

Someone posted the pilot for this show to YouTube a year ago and in the comments said that it'd be impossible to find/post all of the episodes, directing people to the Wikipedia article for more information (and what used to be there also didn't really answer that question).

“It’s bigfoot country for Three for the Road. Pete (Alex Rocco) works with a scientist (Dean Stockwell) who has been studying the hairy monster. And the sightings increase. But is it the real thing or a hoax? This makes for an entertaining, different hour." 

"Sunday,” Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, PA), November 7, 1975.

#Three for the Road #Dean Stockwell #at this point who knows #I'm almost tempted to join the Facebook group and ask just to satisfy my curiosity #but no guarantee anyone would remember it

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I think he was more likely with his daughter while he was in NZ, but I hope he wasn't stuck on his ex's property!

This is interesting. I wonder how much of a settlement Joy earned after her and Dean's divorce? @alcalavicci

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/hollywood-stars-ex-wife-has-eye-on-nz-holiday-park/KA7SRROIPSQ6NGSZGA6PMRL274/

I wonder if Dean was forced to live here from 2017-2021? Poor baby.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/us-buyer-wins-slice-of-northland/H3JCV7OGQESEYHLKCCH4L2MSDM/

#dean stockwell

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Checking Google Books for more excerpts with Dean and found this in Queer Street.

#dean stockwell #we definitely all are!!

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2x09: Off the Cuff

-Ben, agreeing with the asshole criminal you're escorting is not the move here. -Addison's struggles with Ben is a beautiful beautiful deconstruction of Sam/Donna. I think that's half the reason why I'm watching this season- seeing their relationships fall apart then them reconstructing with other people. Okay, not enough time spent on the Leaps, but that was one thing I kind of wished there was more of in the OG series. -This is a cross between A Hunting We Will Go and Her Charm in a way, down to the annoying person being taken along, but I actually appreciate the less horny take on it this time around. -9 years is a long gap, but maybe it was meant to give Hannah more of a life? I'm wondering if her son ends up at the Project a la Sammy Jo. -Hannah's poly lmao -Kevin really proves that you can't give him enough chances. Him being a narcissist also fits- charming, will do anything to get his way. Ben shouldn't have gone along with his bullshit. -I like that there's a genuine connection between Ben and Hannah, unlike Sam and Abagail, who seemed to be connected through ~vibes~. -Elena's a bit craftier than we gave her credit for, definitely the hidden villain of this episode -I feel like old QL would've had Ben and Hannah get more involved during that scene with the engine but of course neo QL has to be less horny. -Well I guess this means Hannah might be free next time Ben meets her?? -Okay I initially said I wanted Addison to move on but idk, after her angsting over Ben earlier this episode, it feels off to have her accept Tom's proposal? I think Ben was definitely letting her go earlier. But oof my bff won't be happy with that last scene, she was hoping Ben/Addison would be endgame.

#quantum leap #quantum leap 2022 #old ql was definitely more fairy tale ish and horny #neo ql is more grounded for sure