Standing on the Edge of Time
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Standing on the Edge of Time |
| Publisher: | Intertwined Press |
| Editor(s): | Nanci Casad |
| Date(s): | 1993-1994 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Quantum Leap |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Standing on the Edge of Time is a gen Quantum Leap anthology.
Issue 1
Standing on the Edge of Time 1 contains 120 pages. It was published in 1993.
The art is by Pat Farrar and Jodeine Russel.
An ad in The Monthly said it was "not your typical-leap fanzine!"
- The Promise by Nancy Henderson ("Sam to leaps in to find Al dying in the hospital. Can he do anything to save his best friend? A serious serious environmental story."
- Crossed Currents" by Rebecca Reeves ("A humorous leap to confusion. Sam leaps into Kevin Cameron again, at a later date, only to find another Sam and Al already there! What's going on?")
- Standing on the Edge of Time by Nanci Folsom Casad (An in-depth story of life at PQL in 1999, while Sam leaps into a homeless man in 1998. "Just as Ziggy tries a new Retrieval Program and brings Sam home, an explosion occurs in the Accelerator. Can Sam survive? Did someone on the Project staff sabotage the computer? Will Al be able to keep the Project from being shut down completely? An extended in-depth story that attempts to sort out the inconsistencies and answer questions the questions from the show by offering new background and new ideas about life at Project Quantum Leap in 1999.")
- poetry by Pat Farrar, Verna Schossow, and Jodeine Russel
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1
When I get a new QL zine, I usually go on a reading binge, devouring it from cover to cover in one or two sittings. Most of them go down pretty well, with only a few indigestible stories here and there. However, this collection of three stories, along with poems and artwork gave me a case of quantum heartburn. I was really disappointed with this volume. While all three stories start out with pretty clever ideas, none of them is very well executed.
The first story, The Promise, by Nancy Henderson, is an “environmental story” with an interesting premise. Sam Leaps into the future to encounter Al, who is dying. Unfortunately, the dialogue tends to be too stilted and preachy, and the ending seemed like a real cop-out to me. There really doesn’t seem to be much point to this Leap, as Sam doesn’t ever act, he only observes.
The second selection, Standing on the Edge of Time, by Nanci Folsom Casad, is novella-length, and has some good ideas in it, but not enough to rescue the volume or even this particular story.
Sam is apparently killed in an Accelerator Accident, and the Project staff must cope with his death. However, Sam has actually Leaped into a homeless man. Unable to remember who he is, Sam finds himself suffering from his host’s alcohol addiction. The scenes showing Sam’s life on the streets, which are told from Sam’s point of view, are the most effective. However, on the whole, I found this story awkwardly written, with stiff dialogue and numerous grammatical lapses. I didn’t feel that Al and Sam were very effectively portrayed; their relationship seemed overly sentimentalized, and their dialogue just didn’t ring true.
I looked forward to the third story, Rebecca Reeves’s Crossed Currents, since Ms. Reeves’s writing is usually pretty good. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t up to her usual standard. Like the other two stories, it has a good premise: Sam Leaps into a young man in trouble with his boss, only to encounter another Leaper--namely, one Samuel Beckett. The idea of two Sams and two Als in the same Leap had a lot of potential, but it wasn’t realized in this story. The dialogue sounded very stiff, and the reason for the Leap wasn’t at all compelling.
The poetry and artwork in this zine were also pretty pedestrian, with the exception of a handsome portrait of Al by Jodeine Russel. I’m afraid I really can’t recommend this collection unless you’re suffering from such a terminal case of Sam/Al withdrawal that you’ll be satisfied with anything QL.[1]
Issue 2
Standing on the Edge of Time 2 contains 138 pages. It was published in April 1994. The front cover is by Gary Cutler.
From an ad in The Monthly: "Leaps dealing with Beth, Donna, Gooshie, a Snow Leopard, a QL-ST:TNG crossover and of course Sam and Al's unique relationship. No slash, PG-13."
The editorial:
Hi, fellow-leapers! After many frustrating delays, "Edge 2" is finally here! As a result of these delays, at least I managed to get a story done after all! My "Edge" sequel almost wasn't! Blame it all on "Starsky and Hutch"! Those of you who know me will certainly understand that reference!! But it all worked out ok. Now I'm going to take a nice, long break and find out what my Life has been doing all those months while I was otherwised engaged. I might even finally get a few letters written to friends who probably think they'll never hear from me again! (But I'll do an "Edge 3" if I get enough submissions!)
My thanks: To Dean, Scott, and Don for giving us Sam and Al! To the "Edge 2" contributors for your work and especially for your patience. (Some of you were beginning to think it would never happen!) And, as always, a very special thanks to Staff Artist Pat Farrar. She never fails me! (I love that snow leopard, Pat. You are sooooo good!!) To proofreaders Audrey Folson and Cami Cutler. To Gary Cutler for the front cover. Thanks and a big "Hi!" to Lynn Hill, just for being there and for being such a NICE person!
- The Pain So Deep, story by Cathy Kancel (2)
- Standing on the Edge Again, story by Nanci Folsom Casad (14)
- Sam and Al, art by Pat Farrar (32)
- Lone Observer, poem by Jacque Whitworth (34)
- String Theory, poem by Jacque Whitworth (35)
- Al and 'Sams', art by Pat Farrar (36)
- Pilgrim Soul, poem by Laura M. Martin (37)
- One Winter's Morning: Beth's Dream, poem by Verna Schossow (53)
- One Night of Love, story by Jacque Whitworth (54)
- Al, art by Jacque Whitworth (59)
- Composed on the Bridge, poem by Jacque Whitworth (60)
- Precious Cargo, story by Lucille Wolf (""PRECIOUS CARGO" IS DEDICATED TO NANCI: FOR HER PATIENCE, CONTRIBUTIONS, AND ABILITY TO INCREASE AT&T STOCK. (AND SINCERE THANKS TO BRUCE, AS WELL!) —LUCILLE WOLF— (EDITOR'S NOTE; CONSIDERING ALL THE HOURS WE SPENT ON THE PHONE, THIS IS ONE VERY EXPENSIVE STORY!!)" (61)
- Orsala, art (Sam and Al looking at a snow leopard) by Pat Farrar (75)
- A Leap for Little Gus, story by Tamara Yollick (77)
- Sam, art by Jacque Whitworth (107)
- Sweet Dreams, story by Laura M. Martin (110)
- Al, art by Pat Farrar (125)
- Quixotic Meandering, story by Leah S. (126)
- Just Another Auld Lang Syne?, story by Lynn Hill (131)
- Reflection (Barry/Sam) Mostly, art by Nanci Casad (133)
- After-Leap, poem by Tamara Yollick (136)
- Scott, poem thing by Verna Schossow (137)
- Dean, poem thing by Nanci Casad (138)
from issue #2, Pat Farrar
from issue #2, Pat Farrar
from issue #2, Jacque Whitworth
from issue #2, Pat Farrar
from issue #2, Jacque Whitworth
from issue #2, Nanci Casad
from issue #2, sample text
from issue #2, sample text
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2
Standing on the Edge of Time 2 is a little bit better than its predecessor, but only a little. It has more stories, artwork, and poetry than the first volume, but only a couple of them appealed to me.
The first story, “The Pain So Deep,” by Cathy Kancel, is awkwardly written, doesn’t capture the characters of Al, Sam, or Donna at all, and contains several major discrepancies with QL lore (which I could forgive if the story were better). It takes place the day after Donna leaves Sam at the altar. She returns briefly to tell Sam why she’s dumping him, in an unconvincing piece of self-psychoanalysis. Sam responds by throwing a tantrum that’s completely out of character.
“Standing on the Edge Again,” by Nanci Folsom Casad, is a sequel to “Standing on the Edge of Time,” which was printed in the first volume. Finally home, Sam is discontented and tries to convince Al to help him start Leaping again. I didn’t find Sam’s behavior very credible in this story, which also suffered from an awkward style.
Laura Martin’s “Pilgrim Soul” had a lot of potential that should have been further developed into a longer story. Seven years after Sam and Al experience a chance encounter with a beautiful young woman named Thea Hamilton, Sam Leaps into Thea. Sam’s mission is to dissuade Thea’s sister from marrying an unsuitable suitor. Meanwhile, Al is charmed by Thea when he meets her in the Waiting Room. If the author had developed the characters of Thea’s family and her sister’s fiancé better, the scenes involving Sam’s Leap would have been more interesting. The reader never even gets to see the fiancé, so it’s not altogether clear what’s so bad about him. Although it had an interesting premise, I think this story could have been improved with a more detailed plot and stronger characterization.
One of the better stories in this collection is a vignette depicting “One Night of Love” (Jacque Whitworth) between Al and Beth. In spite of some occasionally awkward phrasing, the piece is a nice little sex fantasy (PG-13-rated) that should please all those Al addicts out there.
“Precious Cargo,” by Lucille Wolf, has an interesting premise--Sam Leaps in to prevent the death of a rare snow leopard--but is not very well executed. Awkwardly written, this story lacks the dramatic tension or suspense of a good Leap. I never got the sense that the leopard was ever in any real danger.
Tamara Yollick’s A “Leap for Little Gus,” is the best story in the volume. Sam Leaps into a spoiled rich kid seeking adventure in Alaska, who is about to be robbed and murdered by the wilderness guides he’s hired. While attempting to escape the treacherous guides, Sam encounters a woman who is related to a certain bad-breathed computer programmer. In this nicely written little story, Ms. Yollick invents a fairly plausible past for Gooshie.
I’m not much of a fan of crossover stories to begin with, and Laura M. Martin’s “Sweet Dreams” did nothing to convert me. Sam Leaps into Enterprise first officer Riker in a story that involves the meddlesome Q and a pretty point-less excursion into the middle of a blizzard in 1965 Elk Ridge, Indiana. I didn’t fell Q’s machinations had much purpose, and I found the ending extremely disappointing.
[Leah S's] “Quixotic Meanderings,” a postscript to the series, shows a newly returned Sam frustrated by Al’s reluctance to help him fill in the holes in his still-Swiss-cheesed memory. I didn’t like either the way [Leah S.] resolved “The Donna Question”, or Sam’s unbelievably quick recovery from the shock of that resolution (although I suppose QL fans who resent Sam’s wife might find it a tidy solution to the spouse issue). I also felt that the ending was too schmaltzy.
“Just Another Auld Lang Syne?,” by Lynn Hill, is another story that scores high on the schmaltzometer. Sam Leaps into a certain blond, large-nosed, Jewish pop singer to sing a New Year’s Eve program when the singer is too ill to perform. I happen to be a Manilow fan myself (my secret shame!), but I’m sorry, I can’t see Al as one! There wasn’t any dramatic tension to the Leap aspect of the story, and the ending was just plain cornball.
I wasn’t particularly enamored with much of the artwork or poetry in this volume, with the exception of Verna Schossow’s “One Winter’s Morning (Beth’s Dream)”, and Jacque Whitworth’s portrait of Al. On the whole, while this collection is somewhat better than its predecessor, I don’t feel that it has enough strong stories to outweigh the weaker ones. I’d only recommend it if you haven’t got anything else QL available. [2]
References
- ^ from The Hologram #10 (January 1996)
- ^ from The Hologram #11 (April 1996)