I have the entire original series on disc, having watched it a ton as a kid.

There was an episode from the first season where he leaps into an old black man in the 1950s South.

Sam hates racism (yes, that was in the original), and wants to fight every instance of it he finds in that time. Sometimes fighting physically.

But he can't.

Why?

Because the episode takes place a few months before the Montgomery bus boycott, which set into motion the events leading to Dr. King's speech and the end of these prejudices.

So he has to let them slide, against his better judgment, because he can't risk preventing the actual major historical events from occurring. Violence at that point would just ruin public perception of blacks even further, and all the good that would come would never happen.

This sort of dynamic happened in a lot of episodes. That's what made the series such a cult classic--and myself into a Scott Bakula fan.

This new one? "Who cares? Orange Man Bad."

I have the entire original series on disc, having watched it a ton as a kid.

There was an episode from the first season where he leaps into an old black man in the 1950s South.

Sam hates racism (yes, that was in the original), and wants to fight every instance of it he finds in that time. Sometimes fighting physically.

But he can't.

Why?

Because the episode takes place a few months before the Montgomery bus boycott, which set into motion the events leading to Dr. King's speech and the end of these prejudices.

So he has to let them slide, against his better judgment, because he can't risk preventing the actual major historical events from occurring. Violence at that point would just ruin public perception even further, and all the good that would come would never happen.

This sort of dynamic happened in a lot of episodes. That's what made the series such a cult classic--and myself into a Scott Bakula fan.

This new one? "Who cares? Orange Man Bad."

I have the entire original series on disc, having watched it a ton as a kid.

There was an episode from the first season where he leaps into an old black man in the 1950s South.

Sam hates racism (yes, that was in the original), and wants to fight every instance of it he finds in that time. Sometimes fighting physically.

But he can't.

Why?

Because the episode takes place a few months before the Montgomery bus boycott, which set into motion the events leading to Dr. King's speech and the end of these prejudices.

So he has to let them slide, against his better judgment, because he can't risk preventing the actual major historical events from occurring.

This sort of dynamic happened in a lot of episodes. That's what made the series such a cult classic--and myself into a Scott Bakula fan.

This new one? "Who cares? Orange Man Bad."