"Mr. Little" Commercial

Title:	"Mr. Little" Commercial
Creator:
Date(s):	1990
Medium:	visual
Fandom:	Quantum Leap
Language:	English
External Links:
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In early 1990, fans of Quantum Leap wrote letters to NBC and asked that our favorite show be renewed for a third season.

screenshot, fan letters falling on obnoxious "Mr. Little"

The fan campaign was a success, and NBC made a commercial about it. See "Mr. Little" Commercial

This commercial is also linked at link at Al's Place.

Transcript

[music]

[man in suit at a desk, on the phone]

"Love you babe, let's do lunch." [hangs up the phone]

"Jerk!"

"Recently I've received a few letters from fans of quantum leap demanding that I move it back to its original Wednesday night time slot."

"Listen, I run this network nobody tells me what to do. You know what I have to say to the fans of Quantum Leap..."

[many letters fall from the ceiling on Mr. Little]

"You win."

[off-screen announcer's voice: "By popular demand, Quantum Leap leaps back home to Wednesday on NBC."]

[Quantum Leap theme music]

Fan Comments

January 1990, NBC started making noises that it was seriously considering moving QUANTUM LEAP from its Wednesday night 10:00 pm slot. Fearing the worse, I fired off a letter to KNBC urging that the network not make this leap. My letter, added to those of other fans turned the tide for the next thing I knew, NBC changed its mind. Their decision was underscored by the now infamous commercial showing the then-president of KNBC being snowed under by all the fan letters urging that KNBC save QL. Less than a month later, I got a letter from Donald P. Ballisario thanking me for writing in support of QL. He also extended an invitation for me and a guest to attend a private screening in the Hitchcock Theater inside the Universal Studios complex. As it turned out, this kind invitation was extended towards all the fans who had written in support of QL. On the night of the screening, we saw on a regular movie-sized screen the QL episode, "8½ Months" (Sam Leaps into a pregnant teenager) episode. Before the viewing of this episode, and afterwards, we were treated to a Q&A session hosted by Don Ballisario himself. With him were Dean Stockwell, Scott Bakula and Jean-Pierre Dorleac — the costume designer who did Al's wardrobe.