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The Friendly Skies is the seventeenth episode of the first season of Quantum Leap, and the seventeenth episode of the series overall. It first aired on March 27, 2023.
Summary[]
When Ben leaps aboard a 1970s passenger jet as a flight attendant, he must outwit its hijackers before it mysteriously crashes into the Atlantic, and worse, he has to do it all without Ziggy's help.
Synopsis[]
August 5, 1971: Ben leaps into a flight attendant named Lois Mitchell on her first transatlantic run.
In 2022, Magic says to shut Ziggy down, because Martinez has any information they put there, and the team works through the entire Leap without Ziggy's help. Ian acts out when told to shut down Ziggy, but they feel guilty about both leaping and running the AI that is compromising them. Meanwhile, Ben worries he's getting too trusting based on the experience with Martinez.
Addison says this flight disappears over the Atlantic. Ben delivers coffee to the cockpit, where the captain is quite rude to him. Addison says he is under investigation by the airline for acting erratically. He was suffering from mental illness and was secretly getting treatment. Pilot suicide is an active theory about the disappearance.
One of the passengers, Cory, is the son of the airline's owner and drives the stewardesses nuts with his requests. The passenger next to him, Leslie, is his ex-NYPD security guard. Cory considers her his only friend, but Leslie complains to Ben about how annoying Cory is.
Ben goes into the cockpit and finds all the crew except the copilot dead from poisoned coffee. Lois's friend and colleague Holly gave him the coffee, and he immediately suspects her, especially since research reveals Holly's ex-boyfriend has IRA ties. Addison suggests he recruit Leslie as a partner to solve this, but Ben is having trouble trusting people.
Ben and Addison find that the emergency equipment box has a go bag with cash and the copilot's passport. Leslie turns out to be working with the copilot to hijack the plane to Havana. Both of them felt unfairly blackballed in their careers and had money problems. There are also two mercenary gunmen.
Ben takes out a gunman by injecting him with a passenger's quaaludes. A passenger uprising takes out the other one, but also results in a weapons discharge.
Addison begs Ben to ask someone for help before he storms the cockpit. Ben calls the cockpit but can't persuade them to surrender. Ben chooses Cory as an accomplice and they gas the cockpit. Corey sees that the gunshots took out the hydraulics, mean they can't land the plane in Puerto Rico as planned. Ian suggests they reroute the hydraulics. Corey volunteers to do that while Ben stays in the cockpit.
Ian comes into the chamber for the first time to help him land the plane, and Ben remembers them. Cory fixes the line and Ian helps guide the plane in with a hologram.
Ben leaps.
Corey becomes a successful pilot. The flight attendants gets commendations; Lois is invited to the White House. Addison notes, sadly, that Ben doesn't always get the wrapups.
Ian says there are one or two leaps left, but they don't have a track on Ben. Ben has leapt into the future, with future Ian . There is a nuclear winter.
Cast[]
Trivia[]
- The episode title, The Friendly Skies, is derived from United Airlines famous slogan "Fly the Friendly Skies" introduced in 1965.[1]
- The airline, Trans Global Airlines (TGA), is seemingly based on the former major American airline Trans World Airlines (TWA), down to the red uniforms worn by the flight attendants (traditionally known and referred to in this episode as a stewardess).
- The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organizations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organizations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic free from British rule.[2]
Mistakes[]
- Despite being a hologram, Addison casts a shadow on the plane interior leaving the cockpit while in conversation with Ben after finding the captain and navigator poisoned.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Promotional Videos[]
References[]
| v - e - dQuantum Leap Season 1 |
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