Good Night, Dear Heart
Encyclopedia
"Good Night, Dear Heart" is a 1990 episode of the American science fiction television series Quantum Leap. Lead character Sam Beckett "leaps" (travels through time) into the body of a mortician investigating the death of a young German immigrant woman. What at first appears to be a suicide by drowning turns out to be foul play. The episode, the 17th of season 2, was written by Paul Brown and directed by Christopher T. Welch. It aired originally on March 7, 1990.
Paul Brown won an Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series for writing "Good Night, Dear Heart". The character Stephanie Heywood was later featured in an issue of the Quantum Leap comic book adaptation.
Upon learning that Hilla was pregnant, Sam first comes to believe that Greg Truesdale, the young man who loved her, killed her. When he finds out that Greg's father Roger tried to get Hilla to have an abortion, he then tries to convince Lyle, the chief of police, to arrest Roger. Lyle persuades Sam that no prosecutor would take Roger to trial and convinces him to bury Hilla. As Sam prepares Hilla for burial he realizes who the killer is. Hilla was accidentally killed by Stephanie Heywood. Stephanie and Hilla were romantically involved and planned to move to New York together, where Hilla would model and Stephanie would become a photographer. Then Hilla fell in love with Greg and became pregnant. When she tried to break it off with Stephanie, Stephanie struck her in the head with a shoe, causing her death.
for writer Paul Brown for Best Episode in a TV Series.
named Clement. When Clement is later arrested and beaten
by police, Sam photographs him out of drag with his injuries to call attention to the abuse faced by gay and lesbian people. After being frustrated in their attempts to meet with members of the city council, Sam and friends head to the Stonewall Inn
for drinks. Al warns Sam of an impending police raid and Sam realizes that he is there to document the raid and the resulting Stonewall riots
, a pivotal moment in the history of the gay rights movement.
Openly gay author Andy Mangels
wrote "Up Against a Stonewall". In an author's note dated September 1992, Mangels deplored the anti-gay political climate of the United States at that time, in particular the positioning of gay and lesbian Americans as "the new Willie Horton
, the new Red Scare
, the new boogeyman for the masses" and the then-pending ballot initiatives in the states of Colorado (Amendment 2
) and Oregon (Measure 9
) that would have stripped gay and lesbian people of the right even to petition for gay rights legislation in those states. Mangels criticized Quantum Leap for its portrayal of Stephanie as a lesbian killer and for the lack of positive gay portrayals on the series. Noting the series's theme of "setting right what once went wrong", Mangels wrote that "Up Against a Stonewall" was his attempt to do just that.
Paul Brown won an Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series for writing "Good Night, Dear Heart". The character Stephanie Heywood was later featured in an issue of the Quantum Leap comic book adaptation.
Plot
It is November 9, 1957, and Sam Beckett has "leaped" into the body of Melvin Spooner, a mortician in Riven Rock, Massachusetts, who also serves as the coroner. He looks down at the body of Hilla Doehner, a young German immigrant. Although it initially appears that she drowned herself, Sam determines that she was in fact murdered. He realizes that he is there to solve her murder, but grows obsessed with her.Upon learning that Hilla was pregnant, Sam first comes to believe that Greg Truesdale, the young man who loved her, killed her. When he finds out that Greg's father Roger tried to get Hilla to have an abortion, he then tries to convince Lyle, the chief of police, to arrest Roger. Lyle persuades Sam that no prosecutor would take Roger to trial and convinces him to bury Hilla. As Sam prepares Hilla for burial he realizes who the killer is. Hilla was accidentally killed by Stephanie Heywood. Stephanie and Hilla were romantically involved and planned to move to New York together, where Hilla would model and Stephanie would become a photographer. Then Hilla fell in love with Greg and became pregnant. When she tried to break it off with Stephanie, Stephanie struck her in the head with a shoe, causing her death.
Cast
- Scott BakulaScott BakulaScott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
as Dr. Sam Beckett - Dean StockwellDean StockwellDean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
as Admiral Al Calavicci - William Cain as Roger Truesdale
- Marcia CrossMarcia CrossMarcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
as Stephanie Heywood - Robert Duncan McNeillRobert Duncan McNeillRobert Duncan McNeill is an American actor, producer, movie director, and television director who is best known for his role as Lieutenant Tom Paris on the television show Star Trek: Voyager.-Acting:...
as Greg Truesdale - Deborah Strang as Aggie
- W.K. Stratton as Police chief Lyle Roundtree
- Suzanne Tegman as Hilla
- Marvyn Byrkett as Melvin Spooner
- Hal Bokar as Groundskeeper
- Deborah PrattDeborah PrattDeborah M. Pratt is an American actress, writer and television producer. She was a co-executive producer and a writer on the Quantum Leap TV series which was created by her then-husband, Donald Bellisario, and acted in television series including Quantum Leap, Magnum, P.I. and Airwolf...
as Ziggy (uncredited voice)
Awards
"Good Night, Dear Heart" won an Edgar AwardEdgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for writer Paul Brown for Best Episode in a TV Series.
Comic book sequel
The character Stephanie Heywood was featured in "Up Against a Stonewall", the ninth issue of the Quantum Leap comic book. Sam leaps into Stephanie on June 22, 1969, as she is being released from prison for causing Hilla's death. She has continued to develop her photography skills and has secured a patron and a job as a fashion photographer in New York City. Her first model, Clarice, turns out to be a drag queenDrag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
named Clement. When Clement is later arrested and beaten
Gay bashing
Gay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...
by police, Sam photographs him out of drag with his injuries to call attention to the abuse faced by gay and lesbian people. After being frustrated in their attempts to meet with members of the city council, Sam and friends head to the Stonewall Inn
Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall is an American bar in New York City and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United...
for drinks. Al warns Sam of an impending police raid and Sam realizes that he is there to document the raid and the resulting Stonewall riots
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
, a pivotal moment in the history of the gay rights movement.
Openly gay author Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comics, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture...
wrote "Up Against a Stonewall". In an author's note dated September 1992, Mangels deplored the anti-gay political climate of the United States at that time, in particular the positioning of gay and lesbian Americans as "the new Willie Horton
Willie Horton
William R. "Willie" Horton is an American convicted felon who, while serving a life sentence for murder, without the possibility of parole, was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program...
, the new Red Scare
Red Scare
Durrell Blackwell Durrell Blackwell The term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong Anti-Communism in the United States: the First Red Scare, from 1919 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The First Red Scare was about worker revolution and...
, the new boogeyman for the masses" and the then-pending ballot initiatives in the states of Colorado (Amendment 2
Romer v. Evans
Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with civil rights and state laws. It was the first Supreme Court case to deal with LGBT rights since Bowers v...
) and Oregon (Measure 9
Oregon Ballot Measure 9 (1992)
Ballot Measure 9 was a ballot measure in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1992, concerning gay rights and public education, that drew widespread national attention.Measure 9 would have added the following text to the Oregon Constitution:...
) that would have stripped gay and lesbian people of the right even to petition for gay rights legislation in those states. Mangels criticized Quantum Leap for its portrayal of Stephanie as a lesbian killer and for the lack of positive gay portrayals on the series. Noting the series's theme of "setting right what once went wrong", Mangels wrote that "Up Against a Stonewall" was his attempt to do just that.
See also
- List of American television episodes with LGBT themes, 1990–1997
- "Flowers of EvilFlowers of Evil (Police Woman)"Flowers of Evil" is a 1974 episode of the American police procedural television series Police Woman. The episode features Sgt. Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson going undercover at a nursing home to investigate a murder. She uncovers a trio of lesbians who are robbing and murdering their elderly residents...
" - an episode of the television series Police WomanPolice Woman (TV series)Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
that was protested for its portrayal of lesbians - Media portrayal of lesbianismMedia portrayal of lesbianismLesbians often attract media attention, particularly in relation to feminism, love and sexual relationships, marriage and parenting. Some writers have asserted this trend can lead to exploitative and unjustified plot devices.-Fiction:...
External links
- "Good Night, Dear Heart" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- "Good Night, Dear Heart" on HuluHuluHulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...