Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome, fellow travelers, to Fateswide Wheel. I'm your host, Sam Fein, and I get to be joined on this episode by the one and only Deborah Pratt. Co creator director executive producer writer actor voice of Ziggy coming back to the show again. This time we're going to be talking about the latest episode of Quantum Leap, the Outsider, which Deborah directed. But before we get into that, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you, not just for being here, but for being here from a different location than when we usually speak. Deborah, could you tell everyone where you are and what you've been up to?
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Today I am in Bali, Uganda.
Every day I've been someplace different. I have whitewater rafted the Nile.
We were back at the Nile, which is the source, lake Victoria, which is the source of the Nile. It runs through eleven countries before it goes into the Atlantic Ocean.
I fell out of the boat rafting the first day, but I did not let go of the boat. The boat was not leaving me behind and it was exhilarating. It was incredibly exciting to be on a river with such history. And then we went to look at these Ancola cows with these horns that must go up like 4ft. They're just huge.
We have been to a banana farm and watched them make banana wine I'd never heard of, but it was fascinating. And I just had the banana juice. I didn't have the banana wine because it has said so. We came into Kampala, which is one of the main cities in Antebi, and then we went out to some of these amazing safari places. So I have seen hippos and crocodiles and I saw a white tiger. We went to chimpanzee sanctuary on an island that was started by Jane Goodall's son and spoke with them. And then I went on a gorilla trek for 7 hours and my body is like, crazy, but it's been very exciting and I've survived so far.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: That sounds incredible.
Again, I'm just so grateful that you're taking the time to spend with us now. And it's been amazing. You shared a couple of pictures with me, including some of the gorillas, which were incredible. And yeah, I'm so excited for you. That's just incredible. And again, I really appreciate you being here. There might be just a heads up for listeners and viewers. There might be a little bit of a delay, technical difficulty at times. Of course, I'll try and tighten that up in editing, but just in case. Of course, because of where Tepra is in the world, that can offer a little bit of an explanation for that.
But let's talk about the outsider, because I loved this episode. I thought it was superb. I loved the story, I loved the guest stars. I thought Nadine Ellis as Connie is just incredible.
And the placement within kind of the overall arc of the.
[00:03:24] Speaker B: I agree.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: So can you talk a little bit about what your initial thoughts were once you got the script and knew you'd be directing this episode?
[00:03:35] Speaker B: Well, I have to say that when I read it, I thought two things. I thought, oh, this might be an opportunity to do this as a comedy. We really haven't done that much on the show. And then Marguerite, who co wrote it with, said, no, no, you have to think Michael Clayton. And I went, oh, cool, a thriller. So at one point, I had all this action stuff, and we were designing, and then, of course, it's the end of the season, so there's never enough money to do anything.
So I said, well, let's just know tension. Let's just set it up so that there's a whole tension. And I had these incredible actors to work with. Like you said, Nadine Ellis and Charlie Bowden and Matthew Podcamp and John Marshall Jones was a treasure.
He was one of the ones that made me feel like I wanted to go down this comedy path. But once I got into the drama of it and the drama of what her character, what Nadine's character was telling about, know, a woman who had her career taken from her and was trying to recreate herself. And it played so much in parallel with what Ben was going through.
And then I had this opportunity with he and Addison really working together as a team. And so I really felt, as a director, I wanted to set up a moment for everybody, both in the present and in the past, to have these incredible moments of drama performance. And they were all great actors. And having been an actor myself, I speak actor very well, I think. And I felt I was able to draw out of each of them really some really great performances. I think everybody stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. We said goodbye to Tom.
This hasn't aired yet, right?
[00:05:48] Speaker A: That's okay.
Yeah. By the time people see it, will have.
[00:05:54] Speaker B: You know, magic and his moment, certainly Ian, they have their incredible moment. Everybody gets to be truly dramatic, which I don't think we see enough of on the show. And so I went for it, and I think it played classic quantum leap. We were only missing a kiss with history.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: Right.
I agree with you. I think it paid off. And I will say that I thought you did get some wonderful moments of humor in the episode as well, in spite of having a heavier episode overall. And it felt very.
The Leap story obviously felt very classic quantum leap. I could have easily pictured an episode like this in the classic series.
And the amazing thing is that it was still able to have this incredible hq story that for the first time in a while did not necessarily run completely parallel to the leap story, was not completely invested in the Leap story. It was its own story in a lot of ways, and it paid off a lot of stuff that's been set up over the course of the season.
I agree with you. The scene with Ian and Tom was wonderful, and getting to see Mason have the chance to really just go all out in their defense of what they had done and their investment in Ben's return home was also a high point for me.
So one of the things that I wanted to ask you is when you come to an episode like this and you know that there's going to be payoffs for the season and ramifications for things that have been happening for the past ten episodes, is the approach any different, knowing that you're kind of doing some of this storytelling that takes place over the course of multiple episodes within your episode? Or is it still know, I'm directing a story, I'm telling a story, and this just happens to be a part of the story that.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: I mean, and that's the big difference between the original show and this show in the sense that you get to be in the present with these people.
Al would come in and talk about the fact that they're going to take the program away from him in this series, you get to see how the threat of what's happening in the present and the danger of losing control of quantum Leap is unfolding. So I find that in the storytelling, you want to be able to just balance it. So it's almost like doing two television shows at once, especially from writer's point of view and definitely from the director's point of view, and to find out how to keep the tension going, to keep the drama going throughout as you switch back and forth from what's happening in the present to what's happening in the past.
Does that answer your question?
[00:08:56] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. It really does. And I think to add on to that just a little bit, we, of course, get to spend some time with Gideon Ridge, as played by the phenomenal James Frane. And you have that scene in the very beginning of the episode that really sets up the stakes, I think, for HQ and for the scenes that we're going to see following in particular with Ian and know paying off at the very end with magic. I would love to hear your take, just as a producer, as a co creator of Quantum Leap, as someone who clearly has so much investment in the show in being able to tell a story like this and seeing somebody like James Frane come in and having a character like Gideon Ridge and just the implications of that for the storytelling, and then also specifically to the outsider, what that meant for your episode.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: He's a front on threat. And I remember saying to James, who's a wonderful actor, I said, you're a 16 year old young boy, young man trapped in the body of a grown man, and you haven't grown up, and you won. You won the game.
But play it for me from the boy. From the boy who won the game. And actually, he did one take that was so incredibly wonderful. And at the end of the take, at the end of the take, it was just too long. I had to tighten it up. And I said, well, now we've just done the movie version, let's do the tv version. So we went back, we got to tighten it up a little bit. But that's why I had him playing with a toy in the very beginning.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: Yeah, he was a little. I mean, I think that one of the things that's so interesting over the course of the episode, too, is seeing the way that each team member reacts to that information, including know when Tom returns.
I really enjoyed that scene because Addison, of course, mistakenly believes that it's because of their relationship. And then when he tells her that he's the Dod guy, he's there to basically figure out what's going on and that Gideon wants the pound of flesh. I love the way that the episode, and that the series as a whole, I really mean, this, especially this season, has subverted a lot of expectations and delayed maybe certain emotional moments in service of kind of just telling this incredible story.
Can you talk a little bit about the way that you yourself kind of frame the relationship between Addison and Tom and how unique it is, especially to this iteration of quantum leap, to be able to explore a relationship like that and just what it meant for this episode thematically, to be able to kind.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Of show these relationship? I lost that question.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: I will ask it again.
I was just curious about what your thoughts are on the nature of the relationship between Tom and Addison and thematically, how it ties into this episode the outsider, because it genuinely feels like Tom could be considered the outsider just as much as the other characters, especially on our leap story, somebody like a connie.
[00:12:03] Speaker B: I mean, I have my own feelings about that storyline that I thought was an interesting choice for a story arc, for that big of a story arc, to come back after three years and say that Addison had moved on or was trying to move on.
And that, as a storyteller, bothered me. And I think it bothered Caitlin as well, because as women, there's a tendency to want to stand by your man.
Three years is not a long time in love.
And I think she was kind of pushed into that position to move on by the people around her who thought, the men around her who thought that was the better part of valor to go forward with her life. So in my mind, she had never gone there completely. It was just trying to deal with everything she was feeling. And I believe, again, another wonderful moment for Caitlin was the speech when she tells the truth, tom, and know you died. I had to deal with that. You left, I had to deal with that. Tom came into my life, and I didn't know what I was. I was just reacting.
And so I thought that was a great way for her to say the words out loud to the one person that she could say the words to, who she didn't tell through that whole series second season.
Ben, I mean, Raymond is such a good actor, and his ability to listen, which is such a gift, was so beautifully done there.
And as he went through the reality of hearing her side of the story, he's been living his side of the story, of not understanding that he was gone for three years, not understanding that the people that said they were going to wait for him didn't, but they found a way to get back to him. So all those elements, and I thought Caitlin really wove a beautiful, emotional story to finally tell him the truth. And I think it put them on a new track.
And so I wanted to play the playfulness of them trying to solve this case together. And then the moment when he says, why didn't you ever tell me? How did I never know that you wanted to be a reporter? And she says, I can have some secrets. And I took that moment and played them reconnecting, and I thought it was really important for that to happen, and they deserved it. They really deserved to come back together. And I think in the beginning, the audience wasn't sure what to do with it because of the show.
Sam was so the original show. Sam was so alone out there, the idea of other than Al, and Al was a unique character in that he was living his life and fighting for Sam, but he was also bringing the present day mentality, along with Sam to the past, if you know what I mean by that. It was the ability to hold the mirror up and see what someone in the present feels like having to deal with the reality of the past.
So I want to say that it was important for me to have that moment. And then at the end with Tom, and I said to Peter, I said, I want you to show me the pain of saying goodbye to this woman. You really thought this was the next woman that was going to replace the wife that you lost. And you knew you couldn't get her there, and you couldn't get her there because you couldn't get her out of the past with Ben. So it was all these levels of time travel that I think had been set up when Tom talked about his wife when he was at Princeton for the show with the professor, and he talked about his wife being there and missing his wife. So I think that the arcs that the writers wrote into that were incredibly reflective of the depth of each character. So there was a lot of character growth in this season that got to unfold.
Absolutely important.
[00:16:41] Speaker A: Yeah, it really is. And I think that one of the things that I've loved so much about this season, and we've seen it really take off over the last couple of episodes is there was so much storytelling through character growth. And now that character growth and all these character arcs are facilitating this larger narrative arc that we're clearly kind of careening towards in the last couple of episodes. And I just think that it's been a magnificent way to tell that story because it's not something that we see a lot of, especially on network television lately. So much of stuff, it has that sort of procedural of the week kind of quality to it as opposed to being able to tell these larger stories about these human beings and then the situations that they find themselves in. And I've just really enjoyed that.
I think that one of the things, too, about Tom is I've really connected with the fact that it was easy early on to be suspicious of Tom. It was easy early on to not necessarily like the fact that Addison moved on, not for was. I was okay with the fact that she had moved on under the circumstances. But I agree with what you said, that once she knew Ben was back, it was clear that there was still all of this kind of entanglement with Ben and all of this leftover stuff that had never been fully resolved to begin with, even in her grief and mourning for him. And now is being confronted with the reality that Ben's still out there. But I love the sensitivity and tenderness, the approach to Tom's character, and his ability to remain connected to Addison in those final moments before he gets on the elevator. I just thought that scene was really wonderfully done, and I appreciated not only what he was saying, how he was saying it, and obviously Caitlin's reaction to it. I want to go back real quick because you mentioned the scene between Addison and Ben where Ben's drinking, and Addison finally sits down and tells him how everything has been going on back at the project. And I just loved that scene so much. I think it's one of my favorite moments for Caitlin as an actor, and they're just sitting there, and you've got the camera on Caitlin for the bulk of that. Can you talk a little bit about conversations that you might have had with Caitlin or Ray as a director and what was going through your mind as you were filming that scene?
[00:18:56] Speaker B: Again? It was giving Ray the opportunity to really listen and react, to know. I loved when he did that moment of she know you, um, and then you. Oh, no, no. When she says, tom and I got engaged, and he says, and then we got unengaged, and he goes, oh, just the little moments that they gave. And then I said to her, this scene is about you.
You're revealing yourself to Ray, but you're confessing the things that you had not had the courage this whole season to confess. And I think the moment that broke that down was, again, when the scene before, when she said, I'm allowed to have secrets. And he was caught in that moment. They were caught in that moment. So I let the wall fall at that point. So what I was doing as a director and what I said was, I want you guys to remember who you were in that moment.
Forget time, forget everything else, just who you were in the moment that you were in love with each other. And I think that made it easier for her to tell the truth in that scene. And it was a very powerful, I think, connection, sexual tension, emotional connection.
And I think when I talked to all the actors, Nadine, who was an incredible actor, when she broke down, as a matter of fact, I'll be very honest, there was another take where she was even more powerful and more dramatic, and the network said, it's too dramatic. I said, it's a drama. What do you mean, it's too dramatic?
But she was wonderful in that take, and the take in the van as well, when the little girl came out and she said, do you think I can make a comeback? And he said, you need a producer.
So I really felt like I had found moments, like I said, for everybody to really come out. And so the show really vibrated on a level of passion for each of what everybody was going through.
[00:21:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, one of the things, too, about the scene that kind of was previous to the scene where Addison tells Ben that she was engaged is there's that incredible moment where she know, I'm allowed to have secrets, and he has the know, you can still surprise me. And then we get this long moment of silence, and I feel like it's a longer moment than normally would be taken, even in a similar scene between two characters that have broken up. And now they're sharing this moment where they remember all the reasons why they love one another and whatnot. And I loved how much time was taken and how much you let that breathe and just to see the reactions on both of their faces, because I could identify it.
I could identify with it. I know what that feeling is like, and I loved the way that because you were able to take that time and allow both of them to go on this journey, one of the things that I was left with was, of course, the feeling that Addison is still in love with Ben.
But Ben is because of where he is in this particular moment and doesn't necessarily know that she's not with Tom anymore or is headed in that direction.
It's like at the end of it, he enjoys the moment, but at the end of it, he's accepting of the fact that that's not where they are anymore. But he will always love her. And because of what Hannah said, a couple of episodes about love being infinite, I think in his mind, there's this thing of, like, I can love Addison and I can love Hannah, and maybe I can love someone else, and that's okay.
Can you talk about the decision to just let that moment breathe for as long as it did and what you were left with feeling both as a director, as a producer, as a writer, someone who has so much invested in this show, because I felt like it was a very special moment.
[00:23:20] Speaker B: Well, again, and I go back to classic quantum leap, because we didn't have to cut back to the present for at least 15 to 20 minutes of the show. There was time for those things to be. You could sit with a performance, you could sit with an emotion. And I thought that that was incredibly important. And so when I edited it together, I made sure that I built in double cuts so that you could sit as an audience, almost as a voyeur, watching two people reconnect with each other. So I wanted that. You just don't get that on television generally. It's really just very fast paced. Cut. Go. Move, move. And I thought, let me take you back and put you in a moment where you're watching an intimate moment unfold between two people that, I mean, I kind of want people to feel a little bit uncomfortable in the sense that you're caught up in it and you don't know what's going to happen and it's long enough for you to start to imagine what would you do. That, to me, is great television filmmaking. Let me put my audience into the scene.
That's what that choice was about, and I was grateful. Know, the studio, the network, Martin and Dean really supported me on making room for that to happen and still get all the story.
[00:24:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that's the remarkable thing, too, right? Because the episode does feel so full. There's so much that happens, but to me, it feels like a wonderful example of being able to have an HQ story and have our leap story without sacrificing anything for the other. Now, granted, I'm sure that there are things that could have been added to the leap story. There could have been more time spent with them, no doubt. And maybe there's even longer scenes that we could have had at HQ to help flesh out some of those things. But ultimately, everything works so well together. The pieces fit so well together. And I think so much of that has to do with such a strong guest. We. We talked a little bit about Nadine Ellis's Connie. I think that she's one of my favorite guest actors that you all have had. Honestly, I just thought she was fabulous.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:25:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Can you talk about, and I'm not sure how much you had to do with it, but can you talk about her casting and just what she to. To the role, to the set and working with her, what that was like?
[00:26:02] Speaker B: Well, we looked at a lot of really wonderful actresses, and Nadine just nailed it. You know how some people say the words and find the subtext on a whole other level? There was something very personal in her performance, and I thought she hit all the right notes to make the symphony work. She was strong, she was funny, she was tough. She was vulnerable in the sense that she didn't want to go back there. And then when she ended up back in the same place she was, it broke her, and it gave them the opportunity to say, you're not broken, you have not failed, and you have a chance to do this one right.
And I think he was a great cheerleader in that respect. And she gave the vulnerability of how do I rebuild myself? There's so many people in life who things happened. It's not that they even had a choice in it, but things doing. She was doing her job in New York and she got too enthusiastic about it and she felt she pushed too hard. But probably, no matter what she did, that guy that committed suicide was going to commit suicide anyway, which is the same kind of thing that happened in the current story in the sense that he faked his own death.
And I think Addison brings that clue in. It said he died anyway, which allowed them. So I thought it was a well written episode in the sense that the clues were dropped in and they led you to think.
So it was a smart show in that way. Yeah, it was a smart show to get hooked into it. And I think Nadine really pulled the string to the point where in her audition it was hands down. Once I saw her, she was who I wanted.
And we were shooting over Christmas, too, so we were very concerned about who we could get or couldn't get because you had to shoot right up to, like, the 23rd, and then you were back the second or the third.
It was like if you didn't have all your Christmas stuff done, you weren't going to get it done.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: Because one of the things that I loved so much about what she brought to the role also was her chemistry with Ray. Can you talk a little bit about what that process was like? Did they get the opportunity to rehearse at all any of those scenes?
Because I know in some episodes you get that time, and then in some episodes it's pretty much just like, get in front of the camera, let's go. So I'm just curious as to what the nature of that work was like, because I really enjoyed what we saw on screen, their chemistry and their relationship on screen.
[00:29:05] Speaker B: Well, I mean, it was a seven day shoot, so we were moving very fast. We had a ten and a half page day, which is crazy, but we did it.
[00:29:14] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: We also had that break in between so people could. We shot for four days and then we shot for seven days afterwards. But there was that break of nine days in between where you could go back and live with the character. So you came back kind of fresh and had time to live with it, which you don't have. It's seven days. Boom, you're in, you're out. And I think that interim part really worked well.
The reality of rehearsing came, and this goes to really good actors, too. I'm always grateful to work with actors who have worked on stage because they know that they need to learn lines and hit their marks so that they can then perform, they can act. And I have on that show, the core cast are theatrically trained actors, and the guest stars were all theatrically trained actors, so they knew they lines. And once I set the blocking, I could then go through at once and then say, let's talk briefly about what we want out of this scene, what I need out of this scene. And they got it again. It's speaking that language of emotion.
This is where you're coming from. This is where you just came from in this scene. This is where you're going to in this scene. And then help me get there.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: And they did. When you get somebody great that comes in, it just elevates everything. I also thought that, speaking of the guest actors, that Charlie Bowden as Robbie was wonderful.
Not a lot of screen time, but in both of those scenes that he was in, I just really loved what he did. And I thought that it would have been so easy to kind of devolve into cliche with that performance. The scared, overshadowed brother trying to just stick it to the older brother because they made a mistake or whatnot. But because of the choice in the writing to have Robbie be complicit with this activity, but know, showing him to be scared.
I don't know, there was just a lot of meat there for him. And so I would love to hear you talk a little bit about Charlie and his performance and in particular, kind of the scene at the hotel, when he realizes he can do some good here and he can help to make things know.
[00:31:54] Speaker B: We shot at the Bates Motel.
[00:31:56] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:31:59] Speaker B: Yes. That was the beauty of universal, that I have to tell. Coolest thing. So when we were there scouting, it was between the trams. So the Norman Bates character, who, by the way, one of the actors. Oh, my gosh, I can't think of his name. He was wonderful. Plays Norman Bates for the trams. No way to make the call. Oh, I'm so sorry.
But he was kind enough to do that for us. And he was just very, oh, Robbie's character, he wants to confess to somebody the whole time, which is why he's a whistleblower. And I said to him when we were sitting there, I said, this is your moment. And again, I went back to the child. Him. He's the younger brother, who didn't get the attention. He was always in the shadow of his older brother. They did a hysterical bit between the two of them that some of it was so funny, I couldn't use it when we did that little commercial. This is the Denver that I. And if you notice, he does follows his brother.
He was so good. Anyway, so I said to him, your mom has just busted you and you get to tell the truth.
And he just melted as soon as I said the words, he knew exactly who the character was. He knew exactly what I wanted, and he gave it to me. And I said, this is your chance to be a hero.
But mostly it's your chance to confess all this stuff you've been holding in. Nobody wanted to hear it. And now hear somebody who you feel you trust saying, okay, we can do this.
[00:33:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
Like I said, I thought it was beautifully done. And again, to see an episode that I feel like was already very strongly written, to see it elevated by these actors was great, too. And Matthew Polkamp as the brother, as Chet.
One of the things that I loved about Chet, and I think it came through really well during the interview scene, is that he wasn't a villain. Like, yes, he's doing some bad things, right? And I think that power has certainly corrupted him to a good degree in this want of power and money. But he did not come off as this. The phrase I always like to use, the mustache twirling villain like you see from time to time.
What kind of conversations did you have with him in kind of realizing the Chet character?
[00:34:37] Speaker B: I think we talked about the fact that he is willing to sacrifice to do the greater good, and he believes in this chemical. And the fact that it does malicious things to people, that it hurts people, is the price you've got to pay. And it's not that he's cold hearted. He really just feels like it's a necessary evil, if you know what I mean.
So I thought that was an important story to tell.
And he knows the truth, so he is a little bit of a bad guy in that sense, and he's willing to sacrifice it. Why he signed that memo that said, it's cheaper to get this product out here than to pull it from the market and just pay the people that might, we don't know, get cancer from it.
[00:35:34] Speaker A: Herbicare and I can get rich and be powerful, and that's awesome, too.
So maybe I'll disregard some of the warning signs along the way, but it was very well done. And then, of course, the interview scene as a whole, one of my favorite things about the episode, and I felt like it was a wonderful callback to the classic series in a subtle way. If not intentional, because there was that moment where Connie stops the interview, wraps everything up. Addison is giving Ben the wrap up and the rundown on what's going to happen afterwards. And then, of course, he asks, what's going to happen with Connie? And Addison's like, you know, see for yourself. And I love the decision to have her restart the interview, confront Chet.
It all felt so genuine and honest. And again, I think it was a great piece of writing, but can you talk a little bit about if you even had to resist the urge or if it just felt natural to you, too, to make it bigger than maybe what it was, because it felt so real, so genuine, and very grounded. It did not necessarily feel like, oh, now the big dramatic moment is coming, and the confrontation is coming. It just played very honestly, and I really appreciated that.
[00:36:50] Speaker B: Oh, thank you. No, there was no temptation to do it because it was, again, her having the courage to do her job.
And I thought it was very important. I mean, the bigger thing was the way that they had structured the ending of the scene was that Ben was going to leap out and we were going to stay in the present. And that, to me, was, you can't do that. That's not quantum leap. When Ben leaves, we leave. And so we had to restructure the ending a little bit to make that happen. But I thought it was well played and the opportunity to make sure that can't think of the character's name, her boss was there. I literally had to take a piece of film. If you look at it, if you want to see some fun, technical stuff, I took a scene that I had caught him on taking the headphones off, and then played it backwards for him to put the headphones on because I didn't capture that. So it's just some fun Hollywood stuff.
But I wanted to make sure that, you knew, cameras were turned on, sound was turned on. He knew what they were getting as well. And then the fact that there was not a huge resistance from Chet, he says, you can't do that. But then he had to deal with it as well and not take away her moment of stepping back into her power, because that's the resolution at the end of that scene, is, I've got my power.
[00:38:28] Speaker A: Yes.
Well, that was one of the things that the episode as a whole had multiple moments, I felt like, of characters being able to kind of like, if not take their power back, at least have an incredible amount of agency that sometimes, just due to the nature of the show, we don't get to always see Ben take the initiative in every scene, because sometimes he needs know whether that's from Addison or from Ziggy or even the people that are in the situation that he's left with or whatever. But in the course of this episode, seeing Ben and Addison have that agency to do the investigative work, to be know, to be investigative journalists, was really cool. I really loved that. To see Ian take their power and tell Tom why they did what they did and how they're not sorry for it, I thought was just wonderful.
And again, to see Connie, yes, take her power back and have that agency completely separate from any influence of Ben was really wonderful. And I always love that type of stuff. I feel like, again, it's one of the things that makes the show just feel it's not just a case of characters taking their power back, but it's almost like you get to feel some of that as well as an audience member. And I think that that's an incredible feeling to just to have that moment kind of.
[00:39:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's important. It's important for the series, and I really believe your Mac will sleep soon.
It's supposed to be plugged.
Okay. Well, I was grateful in the finale, I mean, in the credits, to also say a thank you and a goodbye to Matt. And I was so grateful that the studio backed us, backed me on making the request, and all the cast stepped up to say how important his contribution to Quantum Leap has been since he wrote those books. They have been my bible of memory anytime over those 30 years, I needed to go back, and I'm glad he finished the new books, and I will miss him dearly. I was privileged to hang out with him in London this summer, and he will be missed for sure.
I just wanted to make sure I got that in before they cut me off and to tell everybody to please come to warriorworldone.com. We finally got the digital version of the graphic novel out for Warrior one. I'm so proud of it.
I'm still trying to figure out how to get the printed version of the novel out and the ultimate, the absolute version. It's a real education to just go into a new medium of graphic novels. But what a blast I've had working with artists.
So warrioroneworld.com, and I don't know when, like I said, we're going to have the physical books, but the digital ones went out. The digital assets went out. We had a great. I had shot a film years ago with Troy and Belisario and Mary Wells, and we did an anime overlay and it came out really cool. So all those kind of things will hopefully be available, and we can check us out on Instagram and Facebook. For Warrior one world or for Warrior one. And I'm probably going to get cut off here because I can't figure out how to plug stuff in these giant plugs that they have over here.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: That's okay. No, I. Thank you, Deborah.
You did my work for me. I was going to ask you about Matt, and I was going to ask you about warrior one and mention that I had the chance to read the graphic novel. And I'm so grateful for the outpouring of love and gratitude for Matt. I miss him dearly.
He was such a good friend. And I think, unfortunately, in some ways, I didn't realize just how much of a good friend he was until he was gone and how much he meant to me. But I love and miss him dearly. And I know you and I spoke the day that we both found out about his passing. And I'm just so glad, in a way, that the dedication could come on an episode that you were involved with. And I know that it would have meant a hell of a lot to him.
Thank you for that.
Thank you so much. I did. Yes.
I loved it. I know. Well, what we should do is when you have more power, when you're not half the world away, we should have another conversation. We should talk more about that. And I would love to get your thoughts after it's aired. I'd love to get your thoughts on the finale and the season as a whole as well, because I know so many of the people that I speak to all the time, including Drew Lindo, just always sing your praises and talk about how much it means to them that you're involved, that you're providing guidance, that you're providing feedback, that you're there, whether it's the writers, the producers, the actors, everyone just loves and appreciates you so much, and so do I. And so does everyone, I'm sure, listening to this.
Thank you so much.
[00:43:58] Speaker B: Absolutely. My pleasure. Sounds like a plan, literally. You should see this thing flashing.
[00:44:05] Speaker A: Safe travels. Safe travels. Thank you so much.
And. And, yeah, in the meantime, I will just say to everyone listening and watching, take care of yourselves, take care of one another. Stay safe out there, and always, always leap responsibly close.
