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Disco Inferno was the 2nd episode of Season Two of Quantum Leap, also the 11th overall series episode. Written by Paul Brown, the episode, which was directed by Gilbert M. Shilton, originally aired on NBC-TV on September 27, 1989.

Summary[]

April 1, 1976: Sam leaps into stuntman Chad Stone (the leapee is played by Kevin Light), whose younger brother, Chris, is destined to be killed in a dangerous movie stunt. While seeking to save Chris' life, Sam must adjust to the demands of being a big brother, a role that unlocks a vital piece of Sam's Swiss-cheese memory - that he too has a big brother, a revelation that both delights and haunts Sam.

Plot[]

Sam leaps in while on the dance floor of a disco. A hitman enters the club and pulls a gun out, shooting Sam in the chest. Sam is flung backward through a glass wall and lands on a safety pad. At that moment, a voice yells "cut," and Sam realizes that he was not shot, but rather, flung backward via cables attached to his body. His name is Chad Stone, a stuntman working on the film set of a low-budget movie called "Disco Inferno", along with his counterpart's younger brother, Chris (played by Kris Kamm), and father, the stunt coordinator, Ray Stone (Michael Greene).

Ray is annoyed that the safety pad was moved, endangering his son's life, and blames Chris for the failure. Rick, the director (Peter Onorati) tells them to move along so he can film the next scene. Still, Ray is angered by Rick's indifference to safety procedures and announces his resignation, bringing his two boys with him. Rick tells Chris that the fire stunt on the film in two days is his big opportunity and tries to get him to stay, but Chris defers to his father's judgment and leaves.

While walking around the set, Sam meets Traci DeVine (Arnetia Walker), a black music producer handling the film's soundtrack. Traci gives him her business card and a mood ring, which reveals Sam's distress. Chris, meanwhile, meets a young, attractive college girl named Shannon. Though Chris tells her most girls normally go for his older brother, Shannon says she isn't like most girls and instead holds a clear interest in Chris.

Sam finds Al having fun on the dance floor, and the two talk about his mission. Sam is mortified to have leaped into the seventies, a decade he finds intolerable, while Al admits that the seventies were among the best years of his life. Sam wants to accomplish his mission as soon as possible so he can leap. Al tells him that Ziggy's computer systems have crashed; however, he has one bit of data: Chris will die sometime in the next two days, though the cause, time, and place of his death are unknown.

While Sam is contemplating the notion of playing the role of big brother to Chris, he suddenly remembers that he too, has a big brother named Tom. But besides the name, Sam cannot remember anything else about him. He asks Al for information, but Al reminds Sam that it is against the rules for him to give Sam personal data concerning his own life.

As Sam, Chris, and Ray leave the set, Chris is in a bad mood. His father's decision to quit the film means he is denied the opportunity to perform the upcoming fire stunt in the movie and thus earn his stuntman's card. Ray suggests that Chris take Sam's upcoming movie stunt on the "Earthquake" film Earthquake, scheduled for the following day. However, Sam, aware of Chris' impending fate, says no.

Chris is angered with Sam and refuses to speak with him. Sam is reminded that he, too, would get mad when he felt his older brother, Tom, was bossing him around and realizes that it is simply one of the responsibilities of being a big brother.

Sam overhears Chris playing guitar in his room and realizes he has musical talent. Remembering how Tom convinced him to go to M.I.T to pursue his talent in physics, Sam tells Chris that he should follow his talents.

Shannon shows up at their home to see Chris. Chris asks Sam not to hit on her, as is Chad's usual habit, and Sam agrees. The three are watching Saturday Night Live, and during one sketch, Chevy Chase imitates President Ford and his penchant for clumsiness. Shannon says that if Ford falls over again, as he has before, he will lose the Presidency. Sam talks to her about politics and the upcoming Presidential election, and Chris becomes jealous of how he and Shannon are bonding.

Sam spots Al on the balcony and leaves Chris and Shannon alone. Al senses that Sam has a fondness for Chris. Sam tells Al that Chris reminds him of himself and his relationship with Tom. Al says he still does not have any data about Chris' death.

The next day, Sam is on the set of the movie, Earthquake about to perform a stunt in which he must fall several stories from a building. Sam is terrified and reluctant to go ahead with the stunt. One of the female stunt performers arrives just as the scene commences and nudges Sam over the edge while she jumps. Sam manages to cling to scaffolding while the other actors in the movie pretend to reach for him. Sam loses his grip and falls several stories onto a large safety mat.

Chris is jealous and angry that Sam got to perform the stunt, not him. Sam tells him that he should pursue his talent in music instead. He has contacted Tracey DeVine, who has gotten Chris a chance to play in front of a large crowd at a downtown country music club. With Sam and Shannon watching, Chris plays guitar and sings before the crowd. However, Ray believes Chris was wasting his time pursuing music and goes to the bar to get drunk. After Chris departs from the stage and goes to the bar to seek his father's approval, the two end up arguing, and Chris punches his father in the face. Upset and determined to win his father's approval, Chris contacts Rick and tells him that he is available to perform the fire stunt the following day.

Back home, Sam admits to Al that he is struggling with his task of being Chris' big brother. He says he never appreciated Tom's efforts to look out for him until it was too late. Suddenly, Sam has a haunted feeling and remembers that Tom is dead. Al nods and tells him Tom died in Vietnam.

The next day, Chris and Shannon arrive on the "Disco Inferno" movie set. Shannon is concerned and tells Chris he should wait for his father and brother to check out the stunt first. Chris responds that it is what both of them would want him to do.

Meanwhile, Sam is worried, as Chris hasn't returned home since his fight with their father. Sam forces Ray to admit that Chris has talent in music. Ray concedes, but says he doesn't believe Chris should waste his life away by pursuing it as a career. Sam contests that Chris's life will be ruined if he is forced to become a stuntman. Ray realizes that he became a stuntman only to prove to his father that he could do it. Sam realizes that Chris may similarly seek to prove himself by performing in the fire stunt, and the two race off to stop him.

Rick continues to disobey safety precautions and tells the crew they aren't going to rehearse. He tells Chris that the stunt requires him to jump over a balcony while a pot behind him explodes. However, after yelling "action," the explosion becomes an inferno and engulfs the entire balcony, including Chris. Sam and Ray arrive on the set, and Sam sets out to search for Chris in the burning rubble. Al helps guide Sam through the thick flames to find Chris, who is unconscious and pinned underneath some wood. Sam frees him and rescues him to safety.

Chris regains consciousness and tells his father that he has now earned his stuntman's card because of the stunt. As Chris is taken off by an ambulance, Ray confronts Rick and punches him in the face for incompetence, while Tracey comforts Sam, noting that his mood ring now indicates he is in a good mood.

Back at their home, several days later, Chris is recuperating with a cast on his leg and watching television with Shannon and Ray. Sam talks to Al briefly in the kitchen, revealing that he sometimes feels a little homesick and wishes he could leap home and return to his own life. Al produces a photograph of Tom and Sam together to soften some of his homesickness while Tom is dressed in his Navy Seals uniform preparing to leave for Vietnam. Sam thanks Al for sharing it with him and goes back to join the others to watch television.

Sam and Ray begin to discuss Chris's future, with Ray saying that Chris will come and work with them as a stuntman now that he has his card, while Sam suggests that Chris's future lies with his music. Ray incredulously asks if Sam knows the future. Al tells Sam that President Ford is about to trip down a flight of stairs on live television. Sam announces that if Ford trips down the stairs, it proves he knows the future and that Ray should get behind, encouraging Chris in music. Ray agrees. Right on cue, Ford trips, and Sam gives Chris the thumbs-up before leaping...

"Disco Inferno" Full Cast and Crew[]

Cast (in credits order)[]

  • Scott Bakula as Dr. Samuel Beckett
  • Dean Stockwell as Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci
  • Michael Greene as Ray Stone, Chad's father
  • Kris Kamm as Chris Stone, Chad's brother
  • Kelli Williams as Shannon
  • Peter Onorati as Rick, the director
  • Arnetia Walker as Traci DeVine
  • Maureen Fletcher Evans as Female Extra (as Maureen Fletcher-Evans)
  • Michelle Costello as Stuntwoman
  • Joe Farago as Set Cinematographer
  • Kevin Light as Chad Stone (leapee)
  • Tobi Redlich as Dancer
  • Helena Buscema as Country Singer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
  • Dan Aykroyd as Himself - Beldar (SNL archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Chevy Chase as Himself - Gerald Ford (SNL archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Jane Curtin as Herself - Prymaat (SNL archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Betty Ford as Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Gerald Ford as Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Lorne Greene Himself (Earthquake footage) (uncredited)
  • Bruno Kreisky as Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Bill Murray as Himself / Richard Dawson (SNL archive footage) (uncredited)

Production Team[]

Music Department[]

Cinematography[]

Film Editing by[]

  • Alan L. Shefland - (as Alan Shefland)

Casting By[]

  • Ellen Lubin Sanitsky - Casting

Production Design[]

  • Cameron Birnie - Production Design

Art Direction[]

  • Peg McClellan - Art Director

Set Decoration[]

  • Robert L. Zilliox - Set Decorator

Costume Design[]

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)
  • Paul Sirmons - First Assistant Director

Art Department[]

  • Eric A. Hulett - Set Dresser

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[]

  • Dennis Junt - Transportation Co-Captain

Other crew[]

  • Winnie Rich - Script Supervisor

Kisses with History[]

Sam appears on the set of Earthquake with the footage of Sam spliced together alongside actual footage from the film. However, this sequence represents a problem: the film was released in 1974, while the episode was set in 1976.

This episode took place on April 1, 1976; however, in the later scene where Sam and his "brother" Chris are watching an episode of Saturday Night Live, Chris says the show is live. This episode of Saturday Night Live, including the Coneheads on Family Feud sketch, didn't air until January 21, 1978. In addition, the President Ford clip afterward is from an entirely different episode.

Music[]

  • That's The Way I Like It (performed by KC & The Sunshine Band)
  • Kung Fu Fighting (performed by Carl Douglas)
  • The Hustle (performed by Van McCoy)
  • Wild Fire
  • Out Of Sight

Podcast[]

http://quantumleappodcast.com/episodes/season-two/010-disco-inferno/

Fate's Wide Wheel: A Quantum Leap Podcast with Sam and Dennis - Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976

Quantum Leap Revisited - Disco Inferno

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