Animal Frat was the 12th episode of Season 2 of Quantum Leap, also the 21st overall episode in the series. Written by Chris Ruppenthal, the episode, which was directed by Gilbert M. Shilton, first aired on NBC-TV on January 3, 1990.
Summary[]
Sam leaps into hard-partying frat boy Knut Wileton, better known on campus as "Wild Thing." He must stop student and anti-war activist Elisabeth Spokane from planting a bomb on campus as part of a Vietnam War protest. In the original history, the explosion accidentally killed someone, forcing Elisabeth into hiding for the rest of her life
Plot[]
October 19, 1967: After nearly drowning in Claridge Lake, Sam nearly drowns again, this time from leaping into the middle of his host's beer chugging session. Sam has leapt into Knut “Wild Thing” Wileton (the leapee Knut is played by Jeff Benson), the head of the “Tau Kappa Beta” (TKB) fraternity in 1967, during one of their many parties. After immediately being vomited on, Sam finds his room, kicks two sexy ladies out of his bed, and tries to get some sleep.
The next morning, Sam is extremely frustrated, because his frat-mates pass the time by propelling water balloons from the chemistry classroom's window using a slingshot they made out of surgical tubing. Al arrives and compliments their handiwork, saying it was better than what he used when he was in college, and has fun reminiscing. Outside, a stall has been set up with Vietnam War protesters handing out fliers. Al informs Sam that he is there to help Elizabeth Spokane (Stacy Edwards) – a classmate of Wild Thing's, one of the protesters and an unfortunate victim of the water balloon slingshot. Al informs Sam that in two night's time, she sets off a bomb in the chemistry building as an act of protest against the war – the university supports the war effort. The building was supposed to be empty, but a student had snuck in to study and was killed in the blast. Elizabeth spends the rest of her life underground and on the run.
Sam goes down to apologize to Elizabeth for the water balloon and invites her to the TKB luau the next night – by Sam's logic, Elizabeth can't set off a bomb if she's not there. Elizabeth declines, so Sam offers to help distribute flyers and go to their rally, but is met with a rebuff by their leader, Duck (Darren Dalton), who believes that Sam only wants Elizabeth for her body. Sam counters that Duck wouldn't refuse anyone's help if he were serious about ending the war. Duck realizes that Sam is right and notes that Wild Thing isn't as dumb as he looks and that deceptively smart people like him need to be kept in check, which Duck promises to do.
In chemistry class, Elizabeth interrupts the lecturer and begins a debate, asking him to justify the college's stance supporting an illegal and inhumane war. The lecturer tries to deflect the question, but it's Sam who manages to defuse the debate by saying that what matters is what the South Vietnamese want and that America should take its cue from them. After class, Sam and Elizabeth have a chat, Elizabeth warms up to Sam and she agrees to go to the luau. That is, until Scooter (Robert Petkoff), a pledge for the TKB frat arrives to show Sam that he was following the TKB initiation instructions Wild Thing set – wearing his underwear on the outside and carrying a lot of hot dog meat to distract the Dean's dog while he steals the Dean's prized signed basketball.
Disgusted by Wild Thing's abuse of Scooter, Elizabeth tries to leave, but Sam tries to talk some sense into her, saying that men have evolved so they don't need to hunt anymore, but still need a way to vent their excess testosterone. Elizabeth leaves anyway. Al, who's been listening to Sam, suggests that Sam take his own advice and just try to enjoy himself. Since he can't stand the fraternity's childish antics, Sam worries that he doesn't know how to have fun, but Al says that fun is a relative term - he calls Sam's situation “between funs”, so Sam should just go with it and then he'll leap out and never have to do antics like that again.
Back at the frat house, one of Wild Thing's friends is making a prank call to campus security about a bomb in the chemistry building. Some of the others are trying to study for a chemistry exam, but come to the conclusion they're going to fail. Sam, however, solves a difficult problem in his head, which starts a chorus of “Wild Thing, I think I love you!” and they make a plan to just cheat off Sam. Sam refuses, so instead the boys decide to just do something stupid and pointless – flushing cherry bombs in the girls’ toilets. Sam, who has never done anything like this before, because at college he was a “meganerd”, has as much fun as Al who watches, but unfortunately Elizabeth notices him as he escapes.
At the rally, Duck makes a passionate speech about needing to make their voices heard, even if it means taking up arms against the government if they refuse to listen. Sam is the only one unimpressed, and wonders what Elizabeth sees in him. Al thinks it's partly because of his silver tongue and partly because of the Assembly's collective guilt at being able to afford college and not having to be on the battlefield. Sam tries to convince Elizabeth that if they use violence then they are just as guilty, and advises using publicity instead, as the pen is mightier than the sword. Duck again tries to get rid of Sam, claiming that Sam doesn't care about stopping the war. This upsets Sam, who reveals that he lost a brother in Vietnam. Elizabeth now feels sorry for Sam and agrees to go to the luau with him.
At the luau, Elizabeth makes a comment about Sam being right about needing to cause publicity, and that the TKB boys blowing up the toilets gave them an idea. Al tells Sam that the bomb is still going off, so Elizabeth must have put a timer on it. The boys also tell Sam that since he wouldn't let them cheat off him, they sent Scooter to get the exam. Realizing that Scooter is still in danger, Sam tries to call campus security about the bomb, but they think it's another prank, so Sam and Elizabeth try to save Scooter themselves. They are followed by the frat boys, having found Scooter who chickened out of trying to get the test.
In the chemistry classroom, Elizabeth shows Sam where she hid the bomb, and Al tells them how to defuse it. They are successful, but Ziggy tells Al that they are still going to die in the blast. They realize there's a second bomb. Luckily, Duck is nearby, having arrived to view his handiwork. Sam beats Duck up and stops him from leaving. Thinking he is about to die, Duck reveals the location of the second bomb. Without any time to defuse it, Sam has his frat-mates build the slingshot, and propel the bomb out the window, giving a “Bitchin!” explosion in the air and saving everyone in the building.
Back at the luau, Sam comforts Elizabeth, who is distraught from how close her actions came to killing so many people, saying she just went a little overboard and that she shouldn't try so hard to please her parents. Al informs Sam that Elizabeth remains an active protester, and her actions help stop the war. The last thing Sam has to do before leaping is to officially start the TKB luau celebrations, and at the last minute, he is lifted by a crane to do a dive into the pool. Al tells Sam not to mess up, as in the original history, Wild Thing broke his neck and was left paralyzed. Sam reluctantly jumps, and lands in the pool safely. With a final “TKB is the life for me!” Sam leaps.
"Animal Frat" Full Cast & Crew[]
- Gilbert M. Shilton - Director (as Gilbert Shilton)
- Chris Ruppenthal - Writer
Cast (in credits order)[]
- Scott Bakula as Dr. Samuel "Sam" Beckett
- Dean Stockwell as Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci
- Stacy Edwards as Elizabeth Spokane
- Rafael Sbarge as Will
- Darren Dalton as Duck
- Brian Haley as Guna
- Stuart Fratkin as Hags
- Robert Petkoff as Scooter
- Jeff Benson as Knut "Wild Thing" Wileton
- Edward Edwards as Professor Davenport
- Jacqueline Alexandra Citron as Emily (as Jacqueline Citron)
- Kristen Amber Citron as Cindy (as Kristen Citron)
- Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
- Hope Marie Carlton as Woman #1
- Shannon Terhune as Woman #2
- Michael Giambrone as Frat boy
- Brian Leckner as Frat Boy
- David Pressman as Frat Boy
- Deborah Pratt as Narrator (uncredited)
Production Team[]
- David Bellisario - Associate Producer
- Donald P. Bellisario - Executive Producer / Series creator
- Jeff Gourson - Co-Producer
- Chris Ruppenthal - Co-Producer
- Paul Brown - Co-Producer
- Deborah Pratt - Co-Producer
- Paul M. Belous - Supervising Producer
- Robert A. Wolterstorff - Supervising Producer
- Harker Wade - Producer
- Jeff Gourson - Associate Producer
Music Department[]
- Mike Post - Music by
- Velton Ray Bunch - Contributing Musical Composer
- Jerry Grant - Contributing Musical Composer
- Tom Boyd - Oboe soloist
- Tom Gleason - Music editor
Cinematography[]
- Michael Watkins - Director of Photography (as Henry Lebo)
Film Editing[]
- Alan L. Shefland - Film editor (as Alan L. Shefland)
Casting By[]
- Ellen Lubin Sanitsky - Casting
Production Design[]
- Cameron Birnie - Production Designer
Art Direction[]
- Peg McClellan - Art Direction
Set Decoration[]
- Robert L. Zilliox - Set Decoration
Costume Design[]
- Jean-Pierre Dorléac - Costume Designer (as Jean-Pierre Dorleac)
Production Management[]
- Ronald R. Grow - Unit Production Manager (as Ron Grow)
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director[]
- Robert Brooks Mendel - Second Assistant Director (as Rob Mendel)
- Ryan Gordon - First Assistant Director
Sound Department[]
- Paul B. Clay - Supervising sound editor (as Paul Clay)
- Mark Hopkins McNabb - Sound Mixer
Stunts[]
- Diamond Farnsworth - Stunt Coordinator
Camera and Electrical Department[]
- Mark Abbott - Gaffer
- Peter Gulla - Assistant Camera
- Ed Nielsen - Camera Operator
Costume and Wardrobe Department[]
- David Rawley - Costume Supervisor
- Donna Roberts - Costume Supervisor (as Donna Roberts-Orme)
Transportation Department[]
- Dennis Junt - Transportation co-captain
Other Crew[]
- Winnie Rich - Script Supervisor
Music[]
- "Louie Louie" (performed by The Kingsmen)
- "Surf City" (performed by Jan & Dean)
- "La Bamba" (performed by Richie Valens)
- "I Can't Help Myself" (performed by The Four Tops)
- "Wild Thing" (performed by The Troggs)
Episode notes[]
As originally aired on NBC, this episode began with Sam leaping out of Cam Wilson from the season one episode "Camikazi Kid", which the network re-ran during the holiday break. For syndication, this re-cap was replaced with the standard prologue opening.
Podcast[]
http://quantumleappodcast.com/episodes/season-two/020-animal-frat/
Quantum Leap Revisited - Animal Frat