Theorizing that one could time-travel
within his own lifetime,
Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap Accelerator
and vanished.
He woke to find himself trapped in the past,
facing mirror images that were not his own,
and driven by an unknown force
to change history for the better.
His only guide on this journey is Al,
an observer from his own time,
who appears in the form of a hologram
that only Sam can see and hear.
And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life,
striving to put right what once went wrong,
and hoping each time that his next leap
will be the leap home.
No fair, thinking about anything but us.
You promised.
Yeah, I guess I did.
We get so little time together.
I won't have you off thinking about anything but me.
Okay, medical school.
I won't be jealous of medical school.
What are you doing here?
Take them anyway you want, Papa Dee.
No!
Ray, no! No, make them stop!
No! Lonnie, make them stop.
You make them stop.
They won't listen to me!
I wonder why?
Lonnie, please.
Now it's, "Lonnie, please."
What about when Lonnie said
please stay away from his brother?
I can't stay away from him. I love him.
No. What you love is having a toy nigger
to show off to your liberal, honky friends.
Until she gets bored.
Or 'til it ain't hip no more.
Then what happens to Ray?
Isn't that my business?
Not as long as I'm busting my ass
to put you through med school, it ain't.
She got your nose so wide open,
you forgot what color you are?
What does color have to do with this? Say what?
You know, I think you choked him too long, Papa Dee.
Not long enough.
Color shouldn't have anything to do with relationships.
No one should know that better than us.
You've been sucking up to this white trash so long
you're starting to sound like her.
He sounds like the future.
Not my future.
She's talking about mine.
Doing what?
Dumping Mr. Charlie's bedpans?
Yeah, man, your M.D. Ain't gonna stand
for more than "Moving Doo-doo."
Ray's good. He'll be able to practice anywhere in this country.
He's already breaking barriers.
You think that's what Mama and I
busted our asses for all these years?
To break honky barriers?
Ray's staying here,
taking care of his own people.
That makes sense.
What about Boston? Boston?
You're gonna walk away from an internship at Brigham?
Uh...
You never said nothing about Boston.
I must have forgot to tell you.
What you forgot is who you are, nigger!
We both know why.
You're my brother, man, and I love you.
But she goes, Ray.
She goes,
and you stay.
This is Melvin the Magnificent
and I know this heat's got all y'all hurt so bad.
Have mercy on L.A.
It's another hot one.
Weatherman says it's over 100,
and it's gonna stay that way.
So I figure if we gotta be sweating all night,
let it be in the arms of the one you love.
That's L-U-V. Right now it's 8:25,
and the last little bit of summer sunshine
is about to fall into the sea.
And I, Melvin the Magnificent,
want to have a word with all you fine party people
out there in party land.
Now get yourself up close to the radio
'cause I'm about to give you
your party instructions for the night.
The first thing you want to do
is turn the lights to red, green and blue.
Then when the mood is right and the moon is low,
take your rhythm down to a grind
that's real slow.
Susan... Ray,
no one has the right to tell you what to do with your life.
Not Lonnie, not your mom, and not me.
I just want to be part of your future.
And it's not in Watts.
Lonnie reminds me of that
every time I look in his eyes.
I love you
and I won't spend my life without you.
Susan!
You told me this was over.
We were studying and...
I asked you to stay away from my daughter.
Now I'm telling you.
I don't think...
I don't give a damn what you think.
You just stay away from Susan.
Stop it, Daddy.
Not while you're under my roof.
Then I'll move in with Ray.
Wait a minute, don't you think we should talk about this?
You don't want me to move in?
I didn't say that.
He doesn't want you in Watts any more than I do.
I didn't say that, either.
You stay away from him,
and you stay out of that damn ghetto.
I work there.
Susan,
coloreds are beating whites in Watts right now.
You think they're not going to turn on you
because you volunteered during the summer?
No, because it's the 20th century.
Because this is Los Angeles, California,
not Redneck, Mississippi, 100 years ago.
Negroes and whites are getting married
all the time. It doesn't matter anymore.
It does to me.
Now get in the house.
Go on, Susan.
We'll work this out.
The hell you will.
Go in the house, Susan. Please.
Daddy, the only difference between you and Lonnie
is the color of your skin.
When you first started coming around here,
I tried to deal with you as an individual.
But then I realized I have to deal with you for what you are,
a colored man who is going to hurt my daughter.
I'd never hurt Susan.
But they will.
They?
Your brothers,
as that fanatic, Malcolm X, calls them.
They will hurt her.
And there won't be a thing you'll be able to do to stop it.
How's it going, kid?
I'm black again, Al.
I can tell.
I'm a black man engaged to a white girl,
and nobody wants us together.
Not her father or my brother,
or any of his so-called friends.
It's 1965, Sam,
and California may be as far to the left
as you can go without leaving the country,
but there's still a lot of ignorance and bigotry.
What am I here to do?
We don't know.
Ziggy's been running scenarios on the riot,
but he hasn't figured out a way to plug you in yet.
Riot?
Don't you know where you are?
Yeah, Watts.
It's August 11, 1965.
One of the worst riots this country's ever seen
is about to go down, right here.
I don't remember.
A black man named Marquette Frye gets arrested in Compton.
That lit the fuse.
When it was over, 35 people were dead,
hundreds of people were injured
and the main drag became known as Charcoal Alley.
It made me sick when it happened.
Pushed the civil rights amendment
and the voting rights bill through,
then everything goes up in smoke.
Maybe I'm here to stop the riots.
You can't, Marquette just got arrested hours ago.
It's already started. It's too late.
I can warn people. I can warn them.
Who'll listen to a fourth-year medical student?
Maybe my brother.
Lonnie? He's a militant.
You're his little brother, he'll never listen to you.
Nobody'll ever listen to you.
Susan would. Susan?
Have Ziggy run a scenario on me and Susan Bruster.
You mean Ray and Susan?
Yeah, right, yeah. She loves him so much, Al.
When she looks at me, I feel like
she wants to just crawl inside
and never come out.
Only one woman that ever looked at me like that.
Bingo. That's it, Sam.
Ziggy says 87% you're here
to keep Ray and Susan together.
He lost Susan because of the riot
and when he lost her, he lost his dream of becoming a doctor.
That can't be right. She loves him too much...
You haven't spent much time with her, how can you be sure?
No, no, she loves me, Al.
Why do you say me?
You mean Ray, don't you?
That's the second time you've done that.
Are you starting to fall in love with Susan?
No, no.
It's just that even though I've only been here a few hours,
I can see how much she loves Ray.
She wouldn't let anything come between them.
The Watts riots were not just anything, Sam.
And we can't stop it?
No. We would've had to come here 50 years ago.
You said it started this afternoon when Frye was arrested.
It started when the first black couldn't find a job
or live where he wanted to.
It started when the first baby went hungry.
Or the first cop hassled some guy
just because he was black.
This match has been burning a long time, Sam.
All right, it's Dr. Moving Doo-doo.
You know, I figured out exactly what your problem is.
I... I don't...
I don't have a problem.
Be cool, Sam.
You, my man, have forgotten the fine flavor
of sweet brown chocolate, melting down
to the rhythm of a 45.
Oh, oh.
You need to party, my man.
Party? There's a riot starting.
I know, it's right over at Cherry Hill's set.
Go with him, Sam.
I got to get some data anyway.
Come on.
What about Susan?
Forget Suzie Sunshine for one night.
That's the data I'm gonna be getting.
Don't leave me.
Ain't nobody leaving you, young blood.
You really do need a vacation.
However, I, Dr. Dee, the Doctor of Love,
prescribe one major dose of partying. Come on, let's get you a cherry...
Get down, y'all. Cherry.
Lord have mercy on my soul,
Dr. Strangelove has come to party.
Come on, sugar, I've been waiting for you.
You know, um,
I... I really should...
Put your arms around me
like you used to in high school, and dip.
Uh...
I really should go home and... and study.
Good, I could help you.
Like I used to with your anatomy lessons?
I appreciate the offer, but I'm engaged.
You mean to tell me you're gonna
honestly marry that sugar-cookie?
Susan is a... is a very nice girl.
And so am I, if you let me show you.
I, uh,
I really think that you would like her.
How am I supposed to find that out?
Is she gonna invite me over for tea?
Well, maybe. Or maybe... maybe you could invite her.
Yeah, I'll put that on my social calendar.
But, until then, uh,
what if you and I...
Hey, listen up.
Hey, man, have you lost your mind? Don't bust up the party.
The party's over!
It's my party, and it's not over
until I say it's over.
Shut up. Just shut up and listen.
What's your problem, man?
The streets are swarming with cops, man.
They're arresting brothers for walking down the streets.
For what?
For what? Does it matter? Does it ever matter?
They beat a pregnant woman in the middle of a street
because she tried to stop two cops from clubbing a black man.
Lonnie, don't start this.
Start what, man?
Are we gonna let a bunch of honky cops
stomp us into the ground, man,
'cause we're fighting back for once?
We gotta take back our streets!
You can't go out there.
If the police are beating and arresting people,
you're asking for it.
It's the honky cops that are asking for it.
Use your head. People are going to get hurt.
He may be right, man.
You think Mr. Charlie's right, Papa Dee?
I didn't say that.
It's not about right or wrong. It's about saving lives.
You've been running for Mr. Charlie for too long.
He's been running us all too long.
Telling us when to go home,
when to go to work, when to breathe!
We gotta take them down!
Going out there is not the answer.
You hide in this room, Ray. I can't.
Not when the man is beating our women.
Not when the man is imprisoning my brothers.
I can't hide. I gotta fight!
Move out of the way, chump!
Lonnie, wait. Come on, Lonnie. Come on.
Sam!
Lonnie!
Go home, get in your house, go get inside.
Sam, there's nothing you can do.
It's not your fault, Sam.
You're not here to stop the riot. You're here
to see that Ray and Susan stay together.
People are dying, Al.
Well, Susan may be one of them.
What?
I don't know. Ziggy's telling me now there's a 32% chance
she could die in the next 48 hours.
Is it something I did, some history that I changed?
No, I don't think so. The... the odds are still heavy
that you're here to keep them together,
but now there's this outside chance
that maybe she could die.
Ray! Thank God!
What are you doing here?
I saw what was happening on the news and I got so afraid.
I had this feeling
something terrible was going to happen to you.
I tried to talk sense into her.
But she swore if I didn't bring her down here,
she'd... she'd come on her own.
She's lucky she made it here alive, Sam.
You've got to go home.
I can't.
I left a note telling Daddy I'm staying with you.
Negroes aren't the only ones going crazy tonight.
She quit tonight.
She said, after 11 years,
she didn't know who Daddy was.
Susan.
Susan, this is crazy.
I've gotta get you home.
Daddy was right.
You don't love me, do you?
This has nothing to do with love.
It has everything to do with it.
If you love me as much as I love you,
you'll want me with you at a time like this.
So that I can worry about you being hurt?
Sam, carry on this discussion inside.
Get her off the street before somebody sees her.
You live over there, apartment 218.
We've got to go inside.
The mayor will request that the National Guard
be called in, in the morning.
Firebombings of retail stores
and businesses continue in the meantime,
with no ending in sight.
Matty had me hide under an old quilt
in the back seat.
I almost told her to take me home,
but I thought about you.
About us.
And none of it mattered.
It does matter.
It's too dangerous for you here.
People know me, Ray. I've worked all summer
at the health center.
Nobody cares about that now.
This is a riot, Susan.
People don't care about what you've done.
They only see the color of your skin.
I'm gonna figure out a way for you
to get home, and I want you to stay there.
Not without you.
I gotta stay here.
No, you don't. You don't belong here.
You're better than this.
We should get a place on campus until after our boards,
and then we go to Boston.
She could be right, Sam. No.
I can't explain it. I've got to stay.
Then so will I,
until I can talk some sense into you.
Lonnie! Ray!
Somebody!
I think that's Ray's mother, your mother!
We were coming up on the bus up Avalon.
And all of a sudden there was all these people
in the middle of the street.
They were screaming, and throwing rocks and bottles at us.
I thought they were going to turn over that bus.
They grabbed the driver,
and they started breaking windows.
There was police everywhere.
I don't know how I got off that bus.
I don't know how I even got home.
Susan! Oh Lord, child, what are you doing here?
I wanted to be with Ray.
You got to get her out of here.
They'll kill her if they see her.
Oh, Lord, what's that?
What in God's name is happening to us?
Ray. Ray, honey, wake up.
The electricity came on around 7:00.
I think the coffee's still hot.
What time is it?
11:00.
I tried to wake you, but...
Where's Susan?
I shooed her off to your room.
She's still asleep.
I guess I better call her father.
It don't work.
Huh?
I saw the repair trucks,
but folks pulled the driver out and...
You know.
Back in Marapossa it was the white man's hatred,
now it's the Negroes angry about what's supposed to be.
Seems no matter where we go,
we can't get away from the hate.
Maybe it's not the place that makes a difference,
but the people.
That's why you being a doctor here is so important.
Show these kids in the street they can be somebody better.
In a way, that's what Lonnie wants.
That boy troubles me.
So much hate and yet, he cares.
He cares, Ray, or he wouldn't be working
so hard to put you through school.
He's afraid I won't stay here.
You won't go. I raised you better than that.
You won't go.
God gave you a gift to make these streets better.
You won't go,
unless she takes you away.
I just want what's best for Ray.
I love Ray, Mama Harper,
and I don't want to see him lose his chance
to be someone great.
He can be great right here.
No, he can't.
He can do good here, but he can't be great.
You know, um,
sometimes... sometimes doing good is more important.
Ray, do you want to spend your life in Watts?
Raise our children in it?
Raising your children is going to be hard
no matter where you do it.
Why?
Because wherever you go, they won't fit in.
They won't be black and they won't be white.
They'll be human.
Of course they'll be human, child.
I'm talking about race.
I know, but maybe
if we teach our kids to say that they're human,
instead of black or white or red or yellow,
maybe race won't matter.
Huh. Not in my lifetime.
Ray, what the hell is she doing here?
What are you boys doing in my house with guns?
She shouldn't be here, man. She could get hurt.
Our brothers and sisters are dying out there
and you're worried about this racist.
Susan ain't no racist.
What's she doing here, Ray?
She came to be with me.
Why, to ease your jones?
Cut it, BB. See what her being here does?
It's not her that does it.
What happened?
We burned out Weintraub's market.
Mr. Weintraub's been in this store for over 30 years.
Now, why? Why you have to burn him out?
'Cause he's just another cracker
stealing money from black folks
and ain't giving a damn thing back.
It was wrong.
Junie Parsons has worked there,
as long as I can remember,
as a stock boy.
Why don't you ask him how he feels
not having a place to work anymore.
You'd think that Jew would have trusted the man after 15 years.
Taught him something other than sweeping up.
Maybe he just needed someone to suggest the idea.
This is gonna need stitches.
Then sew it.
Or has all that money that Lonnie's been working for
to get you through medical school
all these years been for nothing?
You don't make it real easy to want to help you, BB.
If gratitude ain't enough, do it
because you're a black man and so is he.
Being black has nothing to do with helping him.
I'm doing it because, if I don't, he's gonna bleed to death.
I've got a sewing kit in my room.
There's needles and sutures at the clinic.
My God, that's where we should be.
If we can't stop what's happening out there,
we can help the people it's happening to.
How are we going to get in? Only Dr. Michaels has a key.
One thing we don't need in Watts right now is a key.
Okay, let's take a look at this arm.
All right. Yeah, okay.
Susan, I'm gonna need some splints.
We used the last one.
I'll see if I can improvise something.
Mama, get me some tape.
Are you okay?
No sleep. No food. I feel like a doctor.
It's great.
Somebody, please help my baby.
He's cut pretty bad, Ray.
All right, you go take over there.
I got him. I got him. Easy.
All right, what happened?
We were standing by the shoe store, and it just blew up.
Glass went flying everywhere.
You're a lucky guy.
A couple of stitches gonna take care of this.
Susan, I need your help.
Get that honky away from my son.
Get away from my child.
She's going to help me.
I don't need no help from her.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Uh,
Mama and I will take care of him.
We'll take care of him, child.
It's okay. It's okay. I got you.
Christopher.
It's all right.
Mama, get me scissors and sutures.
Scissors.
You see, Ray?
You see what it would be like?
Susan,
you helped a lot of people today who appreciated It.
Did they, Ray?
That's not what I saw in their eyes.
I saw anger and hatred.
They tolerated me
only because they were hurting and needed help.
That's not true.
How would you know? You're one of them.
You're tired, or you wouldn't be talking like this.
Maybe that's when the truth comes out.
I can't go through life fighting people
who hate me for the color of my skin.
I think that's how everybody in Watts must feel tonight.
Your mother was right.
We'll never be just a husband and wife.
We'll be a black husband and a white wife.
And neither race will ever let us forget it.
All that matters is that we do.
I'm not sure anymore, Ray. I'm just not sure.
Ray! Ray!
He's bleeding bad, man.
Mama, get me a tourniquet.
Please, don't let me die.
It's okay, Papa Dee. It's okay.
Hey, he don't need your help, honky.
Damn it, BB! Back off!
He's lost a lot of blood.
Talk to me, man.
The bullet severed his femoral artery.
We've got to get him to a hospital.
My car's burned, man.
Well, call an ambulance!
The phones are dead.
Then we'll carry him. Come on.
LA General's the nearest hospital.
That's five miles, man.
If we don't get him to an operating room fast, he's gonna die!
Go to the police.
They can take him to a hospital.
They're the ones that shot him!
She's right. Now call the police.
No.
Fine, if you won't, I will.
It's too late. He's dead.
Damn it, he can't be dead.
He can't be.
I'll go to the police.
Come on, get him to a hospital.
Get him to a hospital.
He's dead, Lonnie.
No.
No!
This is all your fault, you know that?
No! It's your fault!
Papa Dee didn't want to go with you and Lonnie.
He went because he believed in you.
And you were wrong.
You were wrong, and he's dead.
No more black people die.
I pray to God you're right.
I'm right, Mama.
I'm gonna see no more black people die.
Lonnie.
Any more brothers die,
then she dies.
Ray.
I've got to go get them, BB.
You move and I'll blow you in two, man.
Lonnie can't stop the killing by threatening her.
He'll just end up getting them both killed.
Lonnie's ready to die.
Well, Susan's not.
Don't make me do this, Ray, man.
You ain't gonna kill my boy.
Stop it, BB. BB, I said, stop it.
Go find them, Ray.
Where'd he take her, BB?
I don't know.
Fools.
You boys are all fools.
This is the police. Return to your homes.
Looters will be shot on sight.
Return to your homes.
Freeze. Stop where you are.
Al.
God.
Susan, where's Susan?
You don't know?
Lonnie took her hostage.
He said he's gonna execute her if another black is killed.
So that's what happened. What?
That's what I came to tell you.
The odds of Susan dying just jumped up to 82%.
Can Ziggy get a lock on her?
He could barely get a lock on you.
That's what took me so long to get back to you.
Get out of here quick. It's the cops.
Run! Run! Go.
Come on, let's go. Let's go.
Rumors are rampant.
One of the most disturbing is
that the white daughter of a police captain
is being be held hostage in Watts
and will be executed
if another Negro is killed by police.
BB got the word out.
Daddy can't stop this.
You better pray he can.
Killing me will only make it worse.
For who?
Look out there.
You think it can get any worse than that?
No.
How is killing me going to stop it?
When a nigger is shot,
Mr. Charlie says, "Too bad, what a shame."
Then the next day, he forgets it ever happened.
But when a honky's shot, it's different.
Especially if she's the daughter of a police captain.
Then, Mr. Charlie realizes he's gone too far.
Pushed too hard.
You know they'll come after you.
I'm ready.
You're going to kill me, no matter what.
If your daddy stops murdering my people, I'll let you go.
He can't stop what's happening out there.
No.
I don't suppose he can.
Sam, over here.
Ziggy found her. They're in your apartment.
I'm lost, Al.
It's two blocks east, one block north.
Go to her.
I'm gone.
Take it easy, Paul. We'll find her.
Can you stifle the reporters?
Yes, the media are to withhold announcing
any more deaths until Susan is safe.
I've ordered my men to pull back
and to fire only if fired upon.
Paul, you can't do that.
The hell I can't. That's my daughter.
Where's Susan?
Ray! Ray, look at me.
Where's Susan?
Lonnie's got her.
That bastard.
He... he just wants the killing to stop.
Tell me where he's got her.
Tell me.
Not unless I go with you.
Ray!
Where is she, please?
No!
Come on, guys, lets go. Come on.
Come on, come on, move it.
He's my brother.
If anyone can stop him, I can.
Move it! Move it!
There have been no reported deaths
in the last two hours,
but the violence seems to be escalating.
The National Guard will be called in by morning.
Come on, Sam. Come on.
This is the police, Lonnie.
Put your weapon down
and step to the window, with your hands on your head.
Damn!
Sir.
Oh, thank God!
He's holding her in that second-floor apartment.
That roof will do.
That's my daughter up there.
I won't shoot unless it's a sure kill.
You! Get back there.
Clear those civilians out of there, now.
Lonnie.
It's Ray.
I'm coming in.
He's right behind the door.
Police are asking onlookers to please stay clear
of the Watts and Compton area
unless you have specific business...
There's no way out.
We have the building surrounded.
Traitors get shot.
I didn't betray you, Lonnie.
No, what do you call it, then?
We don't need more killing, Lonnie.
It was the only way I could get to you.
Get to me? You can't get to me, nigger.
He doesn't want to be stopped, Ray.
He wants to die.
I think she's right, Sam.
I think he wants to be a martyr.
Is that right, Lonnie?
Let the girl go.
You want to be a martyr?
Me, a martyr?
Well, man, Watts is full of martyrs.
They don't need me to join them.
Then, why?
I'm tired of talking about why.
Tired or scared?
I ain't afraid of nothing.
Except living.
You can die for Watts, but can you live for it?
You're talking like a fool.
You're acting like one.
I need you, Lonnie.
Mama needs you.
We all need you.
We need you to make people listen.
I think you're reaching him, Sam.
Give me the gun, Lonnie.
Please.
Her daddy's killing us out there.
Then, be better than he is.
Be more just and more right
and stay alive to make sure
that what happens out there never happens again.
Snipers on the corner of 103rd and Compton were shot
after an intense gun battle with police.
The snipers were taken to LA General
where their condition is unknown at this time.
Unknown?
...bring you updates on their condition...
Those brothers are dead.
Come on, move your head out of the way.
I love her, Lonnie.
And I can't believe
that my brother would murder what I love.
Madness.
So much pain.
Madness.
Thank God.
Get out of my face, both of you.
Just get out of my face.
He let me go! He let me go!
Oh, God, I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You didn't have to kill him.
He was going to shoot you, Susan.
No! He let me go!
We didn't know that.
Why?
Why does he have to die?
I don't know.
It can't be for nothing, Al.
I can't let his death be for nothing.
I have to stay in Watts,
be a doctor.
Ray has to stay in Watts, not you.
I have to stay.
No. We have to stay...
together.
Susan.
I'm staying.
Sam, you did it.
Is it enough, Al?
Is it enough?
And now for the Sword of Doom!
Doom?
Ladies and gentlemen, the Great Spontini!
Oh, boy.