The Pop Ninja Blog: '80s TV Remakes Part Three

Howdy Ninjas! 

Continuing our look at current television remakes of ‘80s classics, this time we check out the new “Quantum Leap”. 

'80s TV Remakes: Part Three

The TV series "Quantum Leap" has captivated audiences with its unique time-travel concept and compelling storytelling. In this blog post, we will delve into the similarities and differences between the 1989 and 2022 versions. 

Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell in the original series

The ’80s series featured actor Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a time travelling scientist who is jumping, or “leaping” rather, through different time periods. 

It is presumed that God himself overtakes the time travel experiment and sends Dr. Beckett to places he wants him to go.

 In each time period, Beckett must fix something that is wrong and set the timeline back on its correct course. Once the mission is complete, God “leaps” Dr. Becket into another time period and a new mission begins. 

Dr. Beckett hopes that one day he will finally make the leap home back to his own time period, family, and friends.

One aspect of the time travel element that was different than most genre outings is that when Dr. Beckett leaps into a time period, he inhabits the body of someone in that time. He completely takes over that person’s body like a possession. He must figure out who’s body he is in, where he is, and who the people are he must interact with in order to reset whatever has gone wrong in that point in history.

He’s not completely alone though… somehow a colleague from his experiment project, Al Calavicci (played by Dean Stockwell) is able to show up to him as a hologram and with the help of a handheld super

computer called “Ziggy”, they can help Dr. Beckett figure out his mission and speed things up so that he can make his next leap. 

Deborah Pratt with actor Alex Cord on Airwolf

I want to make mention of the beautiful Deborah Pratt. She narrated the classic series. She was married to the series creator, Donald P. Bellisario. She’s a writer, director, producer, actress, singer, dancer, and much more. You might remember her from her role on Airwolf as Archangel’s beautiful assistant dressed in all white. Bringing her up is a good segway to talk about new “Quantum Leap” since she is the producer on the new series. 

The all-new "Quantum Leap" (2022-Present)

One thing that really works for me in this new series is that they didn’t try to “remake” the series, instead it is a sequel series. They didn’t recast the characters; this series has all new characters following in the footsteps of the work Al, Ziggy, and Dr. Beckett did in the original series. This was a brilliant way to bring Q-Leap back, if you ask me. The new “Quantum Leap” began on NBC in 2022 and is already on its 2nd season. Like I mentioned earlier, instead of a remake, it is a sequel. 

In the new series, a new team of scientists pick up the experiment that Dr. Sam Beckett started decades ago. Dr. Beckett is missing and presumed dead. His buddy, Al, who would appear to him in hologram form has passed away.

Raymond Lee and Caitlin Bassett in the new "Quantum Leap"

The new scientist doing the leaps is Dr. Ben Song, played by Raymond Lee. His fiancée Addison, played by Caitlin Bassett, is his partner in crime appearing to him as a hologram much like Al did for Dr. Beckett. There’s also an updated Ziggy who helps them figure out what they must do to fix the timeline. One cool thing tying the two series together is Magic Williams, a character played by Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) who is supposed to be an aged version of a character from the original series, a Vietnam veteran that Beckett leaped into and possessed on one of the leap missions. This led the character in a search for answers as to what happened to him and eventually worked his way up the chain of command and is now the project director of the new Quantum Leap project. 

Ernie Hudson as Magic Williams

Another character tying the two series together is Janis, the daughter of Al Calavicci, played by actress Georgina Reilly, who for some reason is also leaping, trying to stop Dr. Ben Song. The new series tackles a lot of social issues we are faced with in modern times, such as racism, LGBT acceptance, gender equality, etc. This new series is very reminiscent of the old series and just as fun. Given the significant time gap between the two series, the 2022 version benefits from advancements in technology. The production quality, special effects, and overall visual experience are noticeably superior, enhancing the viewer's immersion in the story. Just check out the videos of both of the series opening credits that I've included on this blog and you will see the amazing quality difference I'm speaking of.

I hope you give the new series a look and tell us what you think about it. I would love to see a “Quantum Leap” feature film some day. Maybe the story could have Dr. Ben Song meet up with Dr. Sam Beckett somewhere in the time line and they have to work together to save the world from destruction. That would be cool. 

Thanks for checking out this blog post. Give the PopNinja podcast a listen for movie, tv, music and pop culture reviews from the '70s & '80s. You can find it and more on www.PopNinja.net

- Patrick Bennett

   Resident Ninja

www.PopNinja.net

‘80s TV Remakes part two

 The Pop Ninja Blog: '80s TV Remakes part two

Howdy Ninjas!

This week we will continue our dive into current television remakes of '80s classics. This is one that I was very skeptical of when it was announced, but I gave it a chance and surprisingly, I thought it was good!

'80s TV Remakes: part two

The Equalizer

The CBS series, "The Equalizer", starring Queen Latifah, is in its 3rd season on CBS. It's an action/crime drama, a remake of the series of the same name that ran from '85-'89. The original series also has a movie franchise which stars Denzel Washington as the Equalizer. A third movie in that franchise is in production right now.

The original '80s series starred Edward Woodward as a retired intelligence operative who now works as sort of a P.I. who helps clients who can't turn to the police "equalize" the odds that they are up against. CBS has done a gender swap with the title character and this time around, the character of "Robert McCall" who was an old white guy is now "Robyn McCall", a middle-aged black woman who is an ex operative and also helps "equalize" problems.

Edward Woodward as the original Equalizer

I'll be honest here... when I first heard that this remake series was being made, I thought it was joke. You know how on April Fool's day a lot of companies announce fake projects as an April Fool's gag? Well, I thought this was a joke when they announced that Queen Latifah was going to play this role. To me, Latifah does mostly comedies and there's no way I could picture her in an action role like this. I also thought to myself that if this show was in fact being made that it would tank in the first couple of episodes and that would be that. What a completely horrible idea I though.

Well, the show indeed came out in 2021 and I thought that I would watch the pilot episode just to see the train wreck that I just knew it was going to be.

Queen Latifah as the new Equalizer

Let me tell y'all something... I loved the show and I loved Queen Latifah in the role. I was pleasantly surprised by her strong performance and the direction the producers took this version of the series. After that first episode I was hooked and have watched every episode since.  The storylines are gripping and I will admit that somewhere in every episode at least once, this old white man tears up and gets emotional. lol. I love this series.

(L) Tory Kittles as detective Dante

The Cast

Besides Queen Latifah, there is a great supporting cast in this series. I would like to first mention Tory Kittles who plays police detective Marcus Dante. He is an amazing actor and when he is in a scene I am glued to the screen. This actor has such a commanding screen presence and is pure gold. I would love to check out his other work because he is that good. 

McCall visits with Harry and Mel

Latifah's character also has a duo that has her back on missions, a married couple consisting of Harry, one of the best computer hackers in the world, played by Adam Goldberg and Harry's wife, Mel, played by actress Liza Lapira. 

Aunt Vi and Delilah

Also, Latifah's character has a teenage daughter, Delilah,  played by Laya DeLeaon Hayes. Finally, rounding out the cast is Aunt Vi, played by Lorraine Toussaint. A lot of the emotional moments in the show for me come from the side storylines of Robyn, her daughter Delilah, and Aunt Vi. I can relate to Robyn raising her daughter as a single mom struggling to balance work and home life. I did the same thing as a single dad. This part of the show really tugs at my heart and I tear up in just about every episode watching Robyn try to keep her daughter safe, make it to her daughter's recital, give her daughter advice, get into arguments with her daughter, etc. Aunt Vi is the rock that everyone depends on and the voice of reason.

I must say that The Equalizer is a delightful blend of action and drama, so I think it will appeal to those who like both types of shows. It's in the third season and I hope it gets many more.

You can catch the series Sundays 8/7c on CBS

Alright Ninjas, that's it for this week! . Check out "The Equalizer" and leave us a comment about what you think of it.

Please check out our podcast and subscribe to it. You can also follow us on FB & Twitter. We welcome reviews, comments, suggestions, and your interactions on all of our platforms. Tell your friends about us and help us grow a great PopNinja community!

Denzel Washington as the Equalizer in the films

Also, I'm looking forward to the third installment of the Equalizer movie franchise which is set to hit theaters on September 1st, 2023. 

The Pop Ninja Blog: '80s TV Remakes part one

Hiya Ninjas!
I'm bringing back the Pop Ninja blog! The first few weeks, I want to talk about a few current TV shows that are remakes of classic '80s shows... shows that will take you back to those glory days that we at Pop Ninja just can't seem to get enough of.

'80s TV Remakes: part one

Magnum P.I.

This remake of the 1980-1988 classic series is in its 5th season and airs on NBC. The remake originally aired on CBS, but was cancelled after season 4 and NBC picked it up and kept it going. 

The new series stars Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, the role which was originally played by Tom Selleck. The big changes for this role are that the originally white character is now Hispanic, he doesn't sport the trademark moustache that the character was known for, and they have updated the story a bit. In this update, they made the new character a former Navy Seal who served in the Gulf War, instead of a Navy Intelligence officer who served in Vietnam.

All differences aside, Jay Hernandez is wonderful as the new Thomas Magnum. He's funny, charming, and a great actor. 

Tom Selleck              Jay Hernandez

The series has kept a lot of the same charm as the original series. It has the same theme music, the same red Ferrari, Magnum still wears the trademark Hawaiian shirts, sometimes has on the Detroit Tigers ball cap, and he's still a private investigator in Hawaii. Hernandez narrates the story like Selleck used to do. There's also the return of classic characters Higgins, T.C. & Rick. Oh, and don't forget the lads... the two Dobermans that always have it out for Magnum and make his life hell at Robin's Nest.

T.C. still owns "Island Hopper Tours" and flies around in the same helicopter. Rick still works at a bar and can still track down any information on anybody. Magnum still calls in tons of favors from them both and has a pretty hefty bar tab at Rick's club.

Perdita Weeks

John Hillerman

One major change to the new series is the choice to do a gender swap on the character of Higgins. The original actor was John Hillerman, who's character was a former British military officer who had the job of running the estate and grounds of Robin's Nest, a mansion in Hawaii owned by famous author & Philanthropist Robin Masters. The new character of  Higgins is played by actress Perdita Weeks and her version of the character is that she was an ex MI6 British secret agent, now running the estate. 

She does an excellent job and the new dynamic totally works for the new version of the show. Now there's sexual tension and flirtation between the characters of Magnum and Higgins and also the fact that she is an ex British spy brings in some dynamic new storylines for some of the episodes.

Current Magnum P.I. cast

'80s Magnum P.I. cast

The producers and minds behind this new show have definitely captured the spirit of the original series. It greatly resembles the Magnum P.I. that lots of us grew up watching in the '80s. 

A big salute to NBC for resurrecting the show last year after CBS gave it the boot in season 4. I hope it gets a few more seasons.

You can catch it Sunday nights at 9pm ET or the next day on NBC's steaming service. Take a look at it and let us know what you think. We welcome your comments.

Alright, Ninjas.... that's it for this week. If you already watch the new Magnum P.I. or if you get a chance to catch an episode, leave us a message and let us know what you think about it. 

I'll catch you next week. Make sure to listen to our podcast and visit our website and FB/Twitter pages regularly. Tell your friends about us too.

- Patrick Shawn Bennett