Sam leaps into a fellow named Nikos. We start off in the water, post ship-wreck. Sam ends up on a life-raft with a lovely lady (Vanessa, played by Brooke Shields). We soon discover that she’s a stuck-up, rich, daddy’s girl  who is the heir to his successful business. Apparently, Sam works for the same father, but is a low man on the totem pole. Eventually they end up on a deserted island. We discover that there is a romance of sorts brewing between them, but they also cannot stand each other and are anxious to get off of the island. Vanessa seems determined to get off the island and make it to her wedding, but it is also soon revealed that it seems more like she’s anxious to please her father and is only marrying him because the father loves him. This episode provides for a good excuse to show Brooke Shields in cute outfits.

What eventually happens is they start getting along and we discover that they both have some skills conducive to keeping them both alive while stuck on the island. Al eventually tells Sam that there’s a good chance he’s there to get them together. What eventually happens is they see a ship on the horizon are are going to attempt to signal it with a Jerry-rigged flare made of hairspray and a stick. Suddenly Sam gets the idea that they should stay on the island, an idea that Ziggy gives 100% probability of working.

So, this isn’t the most riveting episode of the season, far from it. In any other season it works, but this season is so strongly paced that this feels like a half-step in the progression of the overall story. It was a treat to have some star power in this episode, though. It was a very basic episode, but I suppose we needed it before things begin going as crazy as they’re about to go. If there were a “chick flick” episode of Quantum Leap, this would definitely be it. For a casual fan, I’d skip this episode. There aren’t many I’d skip in the last season, but this one, yeah.