Communication Assumptions

I do not own a television so I asked to borrowed a DVD from my son. He gave me Quantum Leap to watch and now I am hooked on this show!

Watching with the sound off was more difficult then I though it would be. The relationship of the two main charterers, Sam and Al, showed that they seemed to be good friends at some points, and yet they seemed to have a difference of opinion on some issues. Al's facial expressions were animated and he used his hands a lot when talking. It seemed like his body was always in motion whether he was singing, dancing, or pretending to swing a golf club. Al was always holding on to a small computer that he would type in something and then his whole body became agitated with it as he would start pounding on it with his fists. At this time his facial expressions would show anger. Sam always looked confused when someone other than Al was talking to him, but he did smile a lot. I did not understand why Al could act goofy and not have the other people around him say anything. When Sam looked at himself in a mirror, it was a different person looking back at him. Apparently Sam was the only one who could actually see Al and Al would appear and disappear at will which startled Sam.

Watching this show was definitely more fun with the sound on. With the sound on, I could see that Sam and Al were good friends and my interpretation of this was right.  Al was Sam's sidekick but Sam was the only one who could see him and that is why Al could act goofy and get away with it.  When Al could not get the information from his hand held computer, he was upset and would usually disappear. I now understand why Sam appeared to almost always have a confused look on his face as he "leaped" back into time and had no clue where he was or who the people around him were. I just thought he looked confused because of the things Al would tell him from his computer. 

I believe my assumptions would be spot on if I actually watched a show that I was familiar with. It has always been said that one should not make assumptions. The nonverbal cues in this program gave me the message that Al was a happy go lucky guy and Sam seemed uptight until toward the end of the show. When I re watched with the sound on, I noticed that some of the nonverbal cues that Al was making did not match his words.