For the character of the same name see Jimmy LaMotta.
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Jimmy is the eighth episode of Season 2 of the Quantum Leap TV series, also the 17th overall series episode. Written by Paul M. Belous, the episode, which was directed by Robert A. Wolterstorff, originally aired on NBC-TV on November 22, 1989.
Summary[]
Sam leaps into Jimmy LaMotta, a young man with a developmental disability who must show he can keep his job at the docks or he will be committed to a mental institution. Michael Madsen has a guest role as a dockworker who teases and intimidates Jimmy because of his disability. Since inclusion of the mentally handicapped is not yet a popular concept, Sam must help Jimmy LaMotta (played by Brad Silverman), the "slow" young man he's leaped into, get a job and gain the acceptance of his peers in order, to prevent his brother from returning Jimmy to the institution. It's also revealed that Al had a younger sister who had a developmental disability and died in an institution.
Plot[]
Sam finds himself upside down in a bedroom, wearing children's pajamas and slippers. A young boy, Corey (played by Ryan McWhorter), shoots him with a toy ray gun and asks if he is going to die, whereupon Sam dramatically plays dead. Corey's father Frank (played by John D'Aquino) comes in and says that Jimmy needs to get dressed for his first day of work and tells him that he will not always be there for him. As he opens the closet door, a mirror shows Sam's new body. Frank says he had to pull a few strings to get Sam the interview, and tells him that if anyone asks, he's just "slow," he's not retarded. Sam realizes that he has leapt into a man with Down syndrome.
Frank goes down to breakfast and greets his wife, Connie (played by Laura Harrington), who complains that she didn't get much sleep the previous night. She explains that she was thinking about Jimmy, and Frank insists that the doctor believes Jimmy is ready to be out on his own. Connie is already uncomfortable with having Jimmy in the house, and it's only been two weeks. Sam arrives for breakfast and Frank plays with him and Corey, much to Connie's chagrin. Sam reads the newspaper and discovers he's in Oakland on October 14, 1964. Frank is surprised to see that Sam is reading the front page rather than the comics. Corey leaves for school and Connie tells him to come home early and not play on the wharf. As he leaves with Sam, Frank assures Connie that everything will be fine, and that Jimmy is family. When Sam gets up, he spills the milk and Connie tells him to leave. As he leaves, Connie mistakes Sam's unfamiliarity for Jimmy's typical behavior. Al appears and talks to Sam outside. He assures Sam that Jimmy is disabled, not Sam, and that Jimmy has the IQ of a 12-year-old. Al tells Sam to act normal because someone at Jimmy's level can read, write and have a job. As they talk, Connie looks out the window and sees Sam seemingly talking to himself. Meanwhile, Al assures Sam that he knows what he's going through and admits that Ziggy has mood swings. However, the computer believes that Sam is there to integrate Jimmy, and in 1964, there was no "mainstreaming" and people preferred to lock up the mentally handicapped. Jimmy was institutionalized and will end up there again unless Sam changes things. When Frank calls Sam over, Al tells him to make sure Jimmy gets the job.
Frank drives to his workplace in the wharf and goes to clock in. One of the workers, Blue, taunts Sam. Frank wants to go after the man, but Sam holds him back. He then explains everything he has to do to Sam, repeating things several times. He insists that he will always love Sam, no matter what. Frank's boss, Charlie Samuels, admits that he has concerns. He speaks very loudly to Sam and warns that people need to watch out for each other. Samuels points out that Sam is disabled, but he insists that he can do the job. Sam gets the job and goes to work. As he greets his work colleagues, Al comes and tells him to do just that: Make friends and prove that Jimmy can function normally. He warns, however, that Sam has more to do and needs to make sure Jimmy can hang in there. Al talks about Jackie Robinson and how he had to endure a lot of abuse before he was accepted as a black baseball player. Sam points out that it might take a while. As he steers a car around a corner, Blue bumps into it with a forklift and insults him.
Later, Frank and Sam eat on the pier and Sam says the guys treat him well. Frank wishes their father were alive to see this and says he'd be proud. The hardest day of his life was when he'd to institutionalize Jimmy. Frank apologizes for not getting him out sooner, but insists that Sam can stay with them as long as he wants. When Sam asks about Connie, Frank says she didn't grow up with someone like Jimmy. While they're talking, Sam accidentally knocks Frank's watch into the water, which he'd gotten from Connie. He gets angry for a moment, but then says that it's not a problem.
As Sam continues to work, Blue and the other workers start an argument. Blue tries to provoke Sam, who finally fights back. Frank breaks them and Blue warns him to keep Sam away from him. The shift whistle blows and they head home. When they clock out, Frank warns Sam to stay away from Blue. Sam insists on clocking out himself but he screws up and ends up tearing it down.
The brothers return home and Connie congratulates Sam. Frank suggests that Sam and Corey play catch. When they're gone, Connie says she doesn't like that he's encouraging Sam to play with Corey, and she worries that he'll hurt the boy. Frank insists that Jimmy loves Corey and would never hurt him.
When Sam and Corey are playing football, Sam accidentally throws the ball into the neighbor's yard. The neighbor's boy, Peter Kirksey (played by Josh Peden), calls Sam a moron and Corey attacks him. Sam tries to break them up and Mrs. Kirksey (played by Elaine Hausman) attacks him because she thinks he is attacking her son. Frank comes over and Mrs. Kirksey says that she will call the police and that Sam belongs in an institution, whereupon Frank orders Sam into the house. Inside, Corey insists that he was the one who got into the fight and that Pete called Sam a dummy. Frank stands up for Corey, but Connie tells her son to make sure nothing like that happens again. Sam tries to apologize and when Frank defends him, Connie gets angry and says they need to watch him every second. She storms off and Frank goes after her. Later, Frank is cleaning the truck and Sam tries to help. Frank warns him to be careful, but Sam insists that he was not trying to hurt anyone. He also asks Sam to be on his best behavior. He notices that Sam has scratched the paint, and then Sam messes up with the hose. Frank sends him inside and he tries to set the dishes. Al startles him and Sam admits that he's hurting Jimmy more than helping him. When Connie comes in, she bumps Sam with the door, causing him to drop her grandmother's platter.
Sam goes outside, angry at himself for his constant clumsy behavior, and Al explains that he just feels the pressure of everyone treating him like a disabled person. Sam insists it isn't going to work, but Al says that there was a girl named Trudy who was worse than Jimmy. He got in fights over it with the other kids, and explains that Trudy was his little sister. Their mother couldn't handle it and ran off with an encyclopedia salesman. Their father tried to keep them together but when his job took him to the Middle East, Al ended up in an orphanage and Trudy was put in an institution. By the time Al found out where she was, she'd died of pneumonia. Al angrily insists that they're not going to lose Jimmy. This deepens Sam's resolve, making him determined to help Jimmy fit in.
When Sam goes to bed, Corey asks him to read him a bedtime story. They start reading a horror comic and Corey wonders why people are mean to Sam. He explains that people don't know him and are scared and that Connie is trying. Sam makes up a story based on Star Wars. The next day, Sam is working at the wharf and Mr. Samuels says that he's doing a good job. Then the boss calls Blue over and tells him to pull batch 1675. Blue claims he's busy but Samuels tells him to do it now. He drives over and pulls batch 7516. Sam notices this and tries to point out his mistake. Blue insults him again and complains to Samuels. When Sam defends himself, Samuels realizes that Blue pulled the wrong batch. Blue claims he thought Samuels pointed at the crate he pulled, and Samuels tells him just to go by the number he said. Sam continues to mop the floor, avoiding any incident. However, Blue drives by and his forklift skids out of control. Blue says there's solvent all over the floor but Sam insists that he turned it off. Frank defends him again, but ignores Sam's claim. He thinks his brother messed up, but stands by him. Blue refuses to continue working with Sam and Samuels tells Frank that he's letting Sam go. When Sam tries to intervene, Frank tells him to stay out of it and says if Sam is fired, he'll quit. Samuels stands by his decision and Frank walks away, and Sam goes after him. Frank finally snaps and says that he can't watch Sam all the time, and that Sam has no idea if he let the solvent leak or not. He orders Sam into the truck and Sam reluctantly gets in.
At home, Frank tells Connie the news. He insists he'll get another job, but she wonders what happens when Jimmy messes up that job, too. Connie says he doesn't belong and she urges him to take Jimmy back to the institution. She says they've all tried, but it's not working and never will. Sam is helping Corey fix his bike when Al shows up, angry that Sam was fired. Sam insists it wasn't his fault and refuses to apologize. Al apologizes for getting angry, and Sam says he'll get another job. Frank comes out and tells Jimmy that he's going back to the institution while Frank finds another job. Al checks the files and warns that if Jimmy goes back into the institution, he'll never come out again. Sam agrees, much to Al's surprise and anger. Once Frank is gone, Sam reveals that he stole the truck keys from Frank's pocket. He drives back to the wharf to get his job back, unaware that Corey overheard him. Frank and Connie hear the truck start up and run out to see Sam driving away. Corey rides after him before his parents can stop him.
At the wharf, Sam tries to convince Samuels to hire him back. Corey climbs on some crates to watch as Sam accuses Blue of turning on the spigot to get him fired. Blue denies it, but Sam says that Blue did it because Sam found out his secret. He asks Blue to read the numbers on a crate and the worker refuses. Samuels repeats the request and Blue refuses. Sam then explains that Blue is dyslexic. Blue hates him because he thinks Sam is smarter. Samuels realizes that Blue set the whole thing up, offers Sam his job back, and tells Blue that he's fired. As they go to call Frank, Blue tries to run Sam over. Sam jumps out of the way and Blue hits the crates with his forklift. As Frank and Connie arrive, Corey is knocked into the water and Frank dives in after him. Frank finds his son, but he's swallowed a lot of water. He brings him up onto the pier and Sam tries to pull him up, but Connie tells him to go away. Corey isn't breathing and Sam says he can help. He tells Frank that the boy needs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and claims that they taught him that at the institution. Frank lets him try and Sam begins the procedure. It doesn't work and he tries CPR. Corey finally chokes up the water and revives as the workers applaud. Al confirms that Sam got Jimmy accepted. Connie thanks Sam and asks for his forgiveness. Frank embraces his brother as Sam leaps.
"Jimmy" Full Cast & Crew[]
Directorial/Writing credits[]
- Andy Cadiff - Director
- Deborah Pratt - Writer
Cast (in credits order)[]
- Scott Bakula as Dr. Samuel Beckett
- Dean Stockwell as Admiral Al Calavicci
- John D'Aquino as Frank LaMotta (as John DiAquino)
- Laura Harrington as Connie LaMotta
- Kathleen Noone as Sadie Cotter
- Michael Alldredge as Charlie Samuels
- Ryan McWhorter as Corey LaMotta
- Michael Madsen as Blue
- Elaine Hausman as Mrs. Kirksey
- Josh Peden as Peter Kirksey
- Brad Silverman as Jimmy LaMotta (leapee)
- Deborah Pratt as Narrator (uncredited)
- James Wellington as Longshoreman (uncredited)
Production Team[]
- Donald P. Bellisario - Executive Producer / Associate Producer
- David Bellisario - Associate Producer
- Paul Brown - Co-producer
- Jeff Gourson - Associate Producer
- Deborah Pratt - Supervising producer
- Chris Ruppenthal - Co-producer
- Paul M. Belous - co-producer
- Harker Wade - Producer
Music[]
- Tom Boyd - Oboe soloist
- Mike Post - Music by/Music supervisor, Composer (theme music)
- Tom Gleason - Music editor
- Velton Ray Bunch - Music
- Jerry Grant - Music
Cinematography[]
- Michael W. Watkins - Director of Photography
Film Editing[]
- Mario Di Gregorio - Film editor (as N. Mario di Gregorio)
==Camera and Electrical Department
- Ed Nielsen - Camera Operator
- Peter Gulla - Assistant camera
- Mark Abbott - Gaffer
Casting[]
- Ellen Lubin Sanitsky - Casting
Art Direction[]
- Peg McClellan - Art direction
Set Decoration[]
- Robert L. Zilliox - Set decorator
Costume Design[]
- Jean-Pierre Dorléac - Costume designer (as Jean-Pierre Dorleac)
Production Management[]
- Ronald R. Grow - Unit production manager (as Ron Grow)
Production Design[]
- Cameron Birnie - Unit production manager
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director[]
- Ryan Gordon - First assistant director
- Robert Brooks Mendel - Second assistant director (as Rob Mendel)
Stunts[]
- Diamond Farnsworth - Stunt coordinator
Sound Department[]
- Paul B. Clay - Supervising Sound Editor
- Mark Hopkins McNabb - Sound mixer
Costume and Wardrobe Department[]
- David Rawley - Costume supervisor
- Donna Roberts- Costume supervisor (as Donna Roberts-Orme)
Transportation[]
- Dennis Junt - Transportation co-Captain
Other crew[]
- Greg Knapp - Set Medic
- Winnie Rich - Script supervisor
References[]
Corey mentions the movie Invaders from Mars. It was a 1953 movie starring Helena Carter, Jimmy Hunt, and Leif Erickson in which a young boy sees an alien spaceship land near his house, and the Martians soon start controlling the minds of all the adults in town.
The story Sam tells Corey begins "About... a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. It was a time of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from the hidden base..." He is reciting the opening crawl of the original (1977) Star Wars movie (now known as "Episode IV") nearly verbatim.
Music[]
- "My Guy" - recorded and sung by Mary Wells
Podcast[]
http://quantumleappodcast.com/episodes/season-two/016-jimmy/
Fate's Wide Wheel: A Quantum Leap Podcast with Sam & Dennis - October 14, 1964
Quantum Leap Revisited - Jimmy