Sam leaps into golfer Joe Cochin during a big tournament. He pulls off an outstanding, game-winning putt, but that discovers he has many troubles to face with his wife (who is frustrated at his absence), his father-in-law (fated to die while playing golf in a thunderstorm) and his manager (who claims to owe money to the mob). In the end he discovers that his manager was just trying to swindle him, he manages to prevent his father-in-law’s death, and he helps to save his marriage by retiring from professional golf to spend more time with his wife and son.
Charles “Caddyshack” Marshall – Writer. Dan “Dog-Leg Left” Day & Dave “Dog-Leg Right” Day – Illustrators. Vickie “Wicked Slice” Williams – Letterer. Scott “Sand Trap” Rockwell – Colorist. George “Double Bogies” Broderick – Editor. Created by Donald P. Bellisario.
Previous Story: A Tale of Two Cindys (Quantum Leap #6) • Next Story: Sarah’s Got a GUN (Quantum Leap #7b)
Comments:
Lives on the Fringe is a short story, only 15 pages long (half the issue) but it does a good job telling a well-paced and fully developed story. Well, almost fully developed. There are a couple of little shortcuts. But on the whole it did a great job using its space and format to tell a story–I’d say a better job than most issues of this series so far.
A highlight of many Quantum Leap stories is the way they are able to throw Sam in the deep end of a situation upon his arrival. This one is as good as any–he discovers he’s a professional golfer, about to take a critical putt at a crucial moment in a big tournament. The dialog from the announcer on the start is intentionally on the nose, but hilarious: “–on the eighteenth hole at Augusta National, a cool breeze accentuating the hush of the crowd. Another person might be overcome by the situation Joe Chopin’s been place in. A fifty foot double-breaking putt with the Masters Championship at stake. Another person might just come unglued from the pressure and disorientation.”
The story then goes on to devote a surprising amount of time–more than two full pages–to Sam taking that putt, all without any input from Al. I was a little worried when I saw that something would get short-changed from the rest of the story, but it ended up working out. The script manages to efficiently deliver each of its story beats–pressure from Sam’s manager, stress with his wife, trouble for his father-in-law, and so on–at an effective pace of roughly one major event for every double-page of story. In so doing it manages to keep the story moving, but also give enough time to actually explore each important moment. The end result is a very complete feeling story, despite its brevity.
The narrative short-cuts I was mentioning? Well, Ben’s turnaround is good, but perhaps a bit quick. And in one scene Sam’s manager was said to have skipped town, but then a bit later he just shows up out of nowhere without any questions being asked. At almost the same time, his wife just turns up so that her subplot can be resolved. It’s not that her appearance is mysterious at all, but having her just appear at the same moment as the manager which was already at the same moment that we were resolving the storyline with the father-in-law, well it’s just very convenient. But event then, it works for the story–it’ a case of pacing trumping realism.
I’m not sure what I think of the art for the story. There are some nicely developed, evocative images peppered throughout.
But there’s also lots that feels incomplete–like it was only barely inked, or where the colorist opted to do everything with a bit of a washed out look.
This, rather than the story, makes the issue feel a bit rushed.
But even so, I enjoyed the issue quite a bit.
Who and Where is Dr. Sam Beckett?
Sam is a professional golfer known “Chokin” Joe Cochin. The year is 1974, but no date or location is given. However, he’s competing in the Augusta Masters golf tournament, which was held in real life from April 11-14, 1974, in Augusta, Georgia. The 14th was a Sunday, the same as the day Sam Leaps in. So it looks to me like Sam is there from April 14-16, 1974.
What does Sam have to do?
Before he knows anything, Sam wins a putt that apparently Joe originally failed at. This means that he now has to prevent his father-in-law Ben from dying from being struck by lightning while playing golf. As a by-product, he also prevents Joe & Belinda’s marriage from failing.
What do we learn about Sam Beckett?
Nothing new is revealed.
What do we know about Al?
Nothing new is revealed.
What about the experiment?
Nothing new is revealed.
“Driven by an unknown force…” (God or Time or Something)
Nothing new is revealed.
“Oh Boy”
There is just one here–when Sam arrives he thinks out an “Ohhh…boy!” The following leap-in is at the start of the next story in the same issue, so if there’s an “Oh boy,” there, it’s not part of this story story.
Sam’s Complicated Love Life
As Joe, Sam is married to Belinda, and together they have a son Joey. Because of the tensions they are experiencing, there’s very little romancing going on.
The Many Loves of Al Calavicci
Nothing new is revealed.
Other Observations
• The credits for the issue have got all these golf-related nicknames included (see above). I don’t know golf well enough to understand them at all.
• Sam is either a good golfer or he is just a very good physicist who can perfectly take his theoretical knowledge and turn it into physical activity. I’ll go with he’s a good golfer, because the other option is silly.
• In this story, Sam Sam inadvertently changes history twice–once by winning the putt, and then again by agreeing to the golf game with Ben–but it all works for the better in the end.
• I like the dynamic that we see here of Al showing up and feeding Sam the information that he needs, when he needs it. Things like “Don’t forget the police, Sam,” followed immediately by Sam adding, “And I’m going to the police.”
• Sam’s got some cute dialogue just before he leaps out: “We’ll buy a house and settle down and who knows…? With a stroke of luck…we might just live happily ever after.”
Sam Leaps To…
Nothing is shown, but as the story runs straight into the next one the implication is that it’s Sarah’s Got a GUN (Issue #7b)
Favorite Dialogue
When Sam is doing his big putt, he’s got some funny personal narration:
All these spectators waiting anxiously for me to putt. This must be a pretty important event. But what…and why? Who am I? What am I doing here? Why am I wearing these pants?
The Best Moment
Maybe it sounds odd but I think my favorite is a scene where two guys beat up Sam, pretty severely.
It’s not that common that we see Sam can get taken down like that. Later we find out that these two guys are actors hired by his own manager! But they took their role pretty seriously–Sam is pretty hurt, and we see the golf club that they hit him with his badly bent.
Previous Story: A Tale of Two Cindys (Quantum Leap #6) • Next Story: Sarah’s Got a GUN (Quantum Leap #7b)
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