‘My Pal Al’ is a tribute to the wonderful character of Al Calavicci. Of course, it’s also homage to the late Dean Stockwell, who played Al. The sad news of his passing came last week, which SciFiPulse reported on in our obituary of Dean Stockwell. Al was a truly memorable character and helped make Quantum Leap (1989 -1993) the phenomenal and much loved show that it soon became.
My Pal Al
Always there to help out Sam,
the cigar chomping hologram
A ladies’ man, extraordinaire;
perhaps they liked the shirts he’d wear!
There, with Ziggy in his hand,
to try to help Sam understand . . .
Al, Sam’s only link to home,
would get so mad with rage he’d foam!
Sam needed Al so much, each leap,
to consult Ziggy, bleep, bleep, bleep . . .
Wherever Sam jumped Al jumped too
and helped Sam work out what to do
His mentor, guide and greatest pal —
the one, the only, mighty Al!
All words by Benjamin Francis Cassidy
Illustration by L. A. Cassidy
Regular readers will have already seen our other Quantum Leap poem, ‘Oh Boy’. Al does get a mention in that, but surely nobody would begrudge him a poem all of his own? We figured that now was the perfect time. Perhaps Scott Bakula is the name that the show is most associated with. However, Al was critical in the show’s success too and has rightly always enjoyed his own cult following!
