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Quantum Leap is an American science fiction television series that ran for 95 episodes from March 1989 to May 1993 on the NBC network. Each episode of the series begins with a spoken introduction which explains the series' premise:
PlotSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
In the near future (about 1995), at a highly classified U.S.-government-funded research facility somewhere in the desert of New Mexico, physicist Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) is working on a grand experiment to prove his time-travel theory. Sam is working alongside Gushie, the lead programmer of Project Quantum Leap. Gushie also works the controls for the imaging chamber. However, the funding for the project is about to be cut. Sam's colleagues protest that they're not ready, but in a last-ditch effort to prove that his theories are correct, Sam steps into the project's "accelerator chamber" and vanishes. Image:Quantum Leap.jpg Dean Stockwell & Scott Bakula In the pilot episode, Sam has leapt to the year 1956 as an X-2 test pilot, Captain Tom Stratton. In one of his holographic visits, Al tells Sam about Ziggy's theory that "God, or Time, was just waiting for your quantum leap to… correct a mistake." Al thinks that this is "a load of crap", but "if Ziggy's right, all you have to do is break Mach 3 and live." (Al also suggests that he wait 40 years and Sam will be in "the present.") But as more of these seemingly random leaps put Sam in a position to fix something that once went wrong, Al gradually comes to believe that the experiment has been mysteriously co-opted by an unidentified higher power, to use Sam to avert tragedies in ordinary people's lives. This, along with (possibly) the theory that God is controlling these leaps, is later somewhat confirmed when Sam appears to meet the devil (who temporarily assumes Al's appearance to torment Sam before trying to kill him), who tells Sam "Who gave you the right to go bungling around in time, putting right what I made wrong?". It is re-confirmed indirectly when Sam meets an "evil leaper" who knows that her job is to set wrong what once went right. Another episode supporting the idea that a higher power is in charge is one in which Sam happens to encounter Al's first wife, Beth. At Al's insistence, Sam tries to prevent her from falling in love with the man she would marry while Al was a POW in Vietnam. But every time Sam thinks he has gotten rid of the man, he winds up running into Beth again, as if it were meant to be. Finally, Sam finds out Al's true motive and makes Al tell him his true mission. In the series finale Sam reassures Beth that Al is alive and will come home.
In what may be a form of paradox, in one episode Sam leaps into Al himself at an earlier period, when Al is on trial for rape and murder of a commander's wife. Although in the original history, Al was acquitted, Sam's actions cause the case to begin turning against Al. Part way through the episode, when Ziggy projects that the odds are 100% that Al will be convicted, Al disappears mid-sentence and is replaced by Edward St John, a character played by Roddy McDowall (with only Sam remembering that Al was the Observer), implying that Al was convicted and executed. In this new continuity, the staff at Quantum Leap appeared less emotionally involved with Sam's various hosts, and Sam and St. John have no apparent connection beyond a professional relationship; St. John even calls Sam 'Samuel', a name that Sam hasn't been called since he last saw his great-aunt. Fortunately, as soon as the odds jump back in favor of Al surviving, Al is restored, with only Sam remembering that Edward St. John was ever even there. This confirms that Project Quantum Leap would still exist without Al, though it would be radically different from the project as we know it. The Quantum Leap generator is run by a supercomputer called Ziggy which can use its immense database to pinpoint where and who Sam is and help Al figure out why he is there and what he must do so everything can be put right (in the above instance when history changes, Ziggy is called 'Alpha', another example of the formality of the alternate Project, and possibly a religious allusion to alpha and omega—first and last). Almost every episode centers on what Ziggy is trying to tell Sam to do, and giving him a clear objective, such as making sure someone doesn't end up in a car that will crash, saving a child's life, or having someone stand up for him- or herself after an attack like a rape or hate crime. Almost always, what Ziggy said was confusing and left Sam and Al to figure out in the last minute what had to be done so everything would be put right and Sam could leap. Ziggy is apparently self-aware, and in early seasons is generally referred to as "he". In one episode in season four, though, where Sam "returns home" to his own time (with Al becoming the Leaper), Ziggy is revealed to speak with a female voice, though Sam still refers to it as "he" (and, after experiencing "his" sarcasm, regrets programming "him" with "Barbra Streisand's ego"). Interestingly, in the aforementioned confrontation between Sam and the devil, Ziggy was reported as malfunctioning and unable to locate Sam, but the team could not determine what was the cause of such a serious malfunction. When Al eventually arrived on the scene (to see what appeared to be himself) he stated in a horrified tone that "Ziggy says there's definitely something there Sam!" in reference to the spot the devil was standing. Ziggy's power seems far more potent than a simple artificial intelligence. Scott Bakula performed all of the songs required for the part during the show's five season run, contrary to the belief of many that it was a cover artist overlaying his mimes.[citation needed] Leaping: mind or body?In early episodes of the series, it is unclear whether it is only Sam's mind that leaps (into other people's bodies) or if Sam's mind and body leap together. Subsequent episodes make it clear that both Sam's mind and body leap, and that an 'aura' surrounds him, making him look and sound like whoever he's leaped into (back home, the 'leap-ee' is suffused with a similar aura, and looks/sounds like Sam). Some examples of this include:
There are numerous other episodes in which Sam performs feats of strength that are suggested to be beyond the abilities of the people leapt into. For instance, in "Runaway", despite being a young boy, Sam is able to easily suspend his older and stronger sister over a well. Several other episodes feature Sam as a woman beating up male attackers while witnesses look on in amazement. If Sam leaps into someone whose body is physically a different size from Sam's own, Sam is 'refracted' and temporarily made larger or smaller to fit (similar to the effect of light being refracted through a prism), most notably in "The Wrong Stuff" when he became a chimpanzee. However, a simpler explanation of this would be mere dramatic license. Sam's neurons and mesons are linked through Ziggy to Al. These are physical elements of the human body which would prove that Sam's physical body is leaping with Sam. This is also proven in the episode "A Leap for Lisa" when "Project: Quantum Leap" leaps young Al into himself. It is established early in the show's run that Al sees Sam as the leapee rather than as Sam. However, later episodes indicate that he clearly sees Sam as Sam. In the episode "What Price, Gloria", Al becomes smitten with Sam's appearance as a woman. However, later in "Miss Deep South", Al mocks Sam's attempts to imitate a gorgeous beauty pageant contestant. (He refers to Sam/Darlene as "Scarlett O'Hara on steroids" at one point.) Historical referencesAt the start of the show, it was established that Sam could not alter events of historical significance; as a result of this, there was an unofficial rule that Sam would not leap into a famous person, and at the very most would have only loose contact with famous people. In the fifth season, in an attempt to boost sagging ratings, this rule was dropped, and there were a number of "famous people" stories. Although the series very rarely addresses specific historical events, it often uses its 'ordinary people' plots to address particular social, political, and spiritual issues. Many episodes depict Sam dealing with issues characteristic of particular periods, such as civil rights, racism, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War (the presence of Al helps in these regards, as Al was captured for most of the Vietnam War and his sister Trudy suffered from Down Syndrome when he was young, although she died when they separated following their father's death). The series strongly favors messages of tolerance and understanding others, aided in large part by the story format, which has the protagonist literally walking in another man's (or, in later episodes, woman's) shoes. In one instance, Sam finds himself back in his own childhood in Indiana, with a chance to improve his own family's life, but when his initial attempts fail, he realizes that he may just have been there to say goodbye to them. (However, in the next episode, he is able to save his brother's life in Vietnam on a mission where the brother originally died). One common criticism is that in all but a handful of episodes, Sam leaps into someone in the US. Apparently "God or Time or something", which is controlling the leaps,[1] did not concern itself with trying to "put right what once went wrong" elsewhere in the world (though the ripple effect of Sam's changes, as described by the bartender in the series finale, may somewhat have alleviated this absence). The language barrier is not an effective explanation, since it is established early on that Sam speaks several foreign languages fluently, and thus could conceivably leap into numerous foreign countries without any significant handicap. However, in the last episode of the series, it is established that Sam isn't the only leaper, so one could theorize that God or Time or whoever is controlling the leaps might have different leapers operating in different countries most of the time. Behind the scenes, however, the reason was obvious. The producers wanted to keep the leaps "local" so the American viewing audience could identify better with the situations presented. Nonetheless, later in the show's run, Sam did begin leaping into foreign locales with greater regularity, leaping into Russia and Japan during the "Lee Harvey Oswald" two-part episode, an archaeological dig in Egypt in "The Curse of Ptah-hotep", an island in the Aegean Sea in "Leaping of the Shrew", England in "Blood Moon", and fighting in the Vietnam War in the second part of "The Leap Home". There have been only three instances where Sam leaps outside of his own timeline. The first happens after Sam and Al leaps out of a previous leap while Sam is receiving electroshock therapy (to correct a mental problem encountered by receiving it at the beginning of the episode). This effectively switches the roles of Sam and Al such that Sam is the holographic image and Al is the leaper. Al leaps into a serviceman recently returning from combat in World War II, on almost exactly the date he was born. Because Ziggy is only programmed to document events that happened during Sam's lifetime, the information about what Al is there to do arrives too late; these circumstances force Sam back as the leaper and returns Al to his own time, when Al is knocked out before Ziggy can discover what Al is there to do. Sam then leaps in to replace Al and complete the mission, since he would be conscious. Another instance is when Sam unknowingly leaps into his great grandfather, Capt. John Beckett, during the height of the American Civil War. The explanation for the leap is that although Sam cannot leap beyond his own lifetime, he somehow was able to leap with his great grandfather due to the fact that he and John Beckett have a similar DNA markup. The error which allows Sam to leap beyond his own lifetime is subsequently corrected by Ziggy. Some have inquired why Sam never tries to contact a past version of himself, or another member of the Quantum Leap project, to warn them about the accident that sent Sam leaping through time with no way to get home. This would have effectively changed history and prevented Sam's initial leap in time. During the series, Sam leaps into past versions of himself and Al and on a few occasions comes into contact with family members, professors, and scientists who would either later know about Project Quantum Leap or directly contribute to its completion. (On one occasion, his former professor ended up married to a woman Sam was there to protect). In one episode, Sam prompts Al to write a letter to Project Quantum Leap — to be delivered by his father's lawyer decades later — telling the project to open the Imaging Room door during an accident where Sam and Al switched places. He thus theoretically has multiple opportunities to prevent his future circumstances. If Sam changes history in this way, however, he wouldn't have leaped back in time in the first place to send the message—an example of the grandfather paradox. One might speculate that whatever force is leaping Sam around in time would prevent him from being able to change history in this fashion. In addition, there are moral issues of undoing all his work and changing the lives of all the people he has helped. Another possibility is due to Sam's own discretion: if Sam prevents the project from ever happening, his dream of time travel would have never been realized. Only a few times did Sam "leap" into an actual historical figure, the first being Lee Harvey Oswald and the last being Elvis Presley. He also leaps into the chauffeur of Marilyn Monroe shortly before she dies. All these leaps are in the fifth (final) season and were widely believed to be jumping the shark efforts to boost the show's ratings and are looked down on by some fans. However, throughout the series it was common for Sam to leap into a character or situation based fairly obviously on a real person or event; for instance, in the episode "Roberto!", Sam leaps into a sensationalistic reporter and talk show host who is quite clearly based on Geraldo Rivera. The Oswald story arc confirms that Sam and Al's "native time" occurs in a different timeline than our own, when Sam attempts to intervene during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Although he fails to save the president, Al reveals that his mission was still successful because, in their timeline, Jacqueline Kennedy also died in the attack. It is also hinted that, in the original Quantum Leap timeline, Marilyn Monroe committed suicide at an earlier date than she did in the history we know, and Sam's actions are responsible for her staying alive long enough to make one more movie. From a fictional standpoint, it may be that our universe exists in the way it does because it has been "put right" by Sam's actions. The Lee Harvey Oswald episodes were made not only as a ratings booster, but as a way to debunk many of the conspiracy theories that the movie JFK suggested regarding Oswald's involvement in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As depicted in the episode, Donald Bellisario has claimed to have actually met Oswald while both were serving in the U.S. Marines. "Kisses with history"Also common are so-called "kisses with history" where Sam briefly encounters someone famous or a well-known event in a manner usually irrelevant to the story, including:
Magnum, P.I. connectionA crossover with Magnum, P.I. (also produced by Donald Bellisario) was planned, in which Sam would leap into Thomas Magnum himself. Plans for a Magnum, P.I. movie (later aborted) led to the crossover being cancelled, although some footage was filmed, including the initial leaping in sequence, usually put at the end of the preceding episode (the "Oh boy…" bit). This featured Scott Bakula, dressed in Magnum's classic red Aloha shirt, turning towards the camera and comically raising his eyebrows, just as Tom Selleck does at the end of the opening credits to Magnum, P.I.. Some consider that if this situation had Sam leaping into Magnum rather than Tom Selleck the actor, this would have created a continuity issue, since in an earlier episode a character (the daughter of Sam's current host, to be precise) is seen watching Magnum, P.I. on television. However, in the pilot episode of QL, Sam mentions that a relation of his had married Jim Bonick, who is a recurring character from Magnum, P.I. Battlestar Galactica connectionMuch of Quantum Leap's premise comes from another television series Bellisario worked on, the 1978–79 sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica. In the episode "Experiment in Terra" Captain Apollo appears to the people of Terra in the identity of Terran astronaut "Col. Charlie Watts". To them, he looks and sounds just like Charlie even though we the audience see him in his true identity. It is similar to the way Sam looks like whomever he leaps into. He is also guided on his "mission" by John, an intangible person that only Apollo can see and hear. He tells Apollo who everyone sees him as, who the people around him are, and suggests to him what he must do—just as Al helps Sam. The episode was written by Glen A. Larson. In the re-imagined series, Gaius Baltar often imagines that he sees a humanoid cylon, but no-one else can see or hear her, in much the same way as only Sam can see Al. Starting with the finale of Season Two of the revived series, Dean Stockwell becomes a regular character. Series conclusion and legacyThe series (created by Donald Bellisario) is somewhat unusual in that it has a science fiction premise, but little science fiction- or fantasy-oriented storytelling, instead focusing on the personal journeys of Sam Beckett and those he encounters. Even in its final episode, the show refuses to resolve many of its own technical and holistic questions, choosing instead to leave things open-ended and focus tightly on what is arguably the series' overarching message: that a single person can change the world one life at a time. Some feel the bartender in this last episode portrays God and what he tells Sam is that his project was messed up for a purpose: to change history for the better. The final episode was in fact intended to be an end-of-season cliffhanger, but after the series was not renewed by the network, it was re-edited to function as the series finale. This may account for some of its ambiguous nature. The original ending has Sam leaping into 1969 a mere minute or two after he and Al leapt out in the episode "M.I.A", to tell Al's first wife, Beth, that Al is coming home. His Vietnam-era picture begins to "leap" (this is where the final episode cuts off), and then we see a modern picture of Al sitting with Beth and their four daughters. This ending somehow made it out of the studio and has been circulated on the Internet. In the ending that was actually broadcast, we are told that Al was reunited with Beth, that they remain married, and that "Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home." (For some reason, Beckett is spelled with only one "t".) Fans have speculated that this would have erased Project Quantum Leap, Sam and Al's relationship, or even Sam himself from the altered timeline; however, the original script and subsequent statements by Bellisario leave all of these intact. In many ways, the show is similar to Highway to Heaven, Touched by an Angel, Early Edition or Joan of Arcadia; shows that have recurring plots where the protagonist tries to right wrongs without knowing the full purpose behind each mission. The Sci-Fi Channel was projected to begin airing a sequel, supposedly called A Bold Leap Forward, sometime in 2006. However, the project appears to have suffered various setbacks, and it currently remains in development. When asked by fans in a Q&A interview with the BBC in September 2006 if there were any plans to resurrect the show in the form of a new series or movie, series star Scott Bakula replied "None that I know of." [2] Deborah Pratt, the head writer and co-executive producer of the series has launched an entertainment franchise entitled The Vision Quest that further explores some of the themes of the series. In an interesting nod to QL fans, when series star Bakula arrived on the set of his most recent show Star Trek: Enterprise, he jokingly suggests that the middle name of his Trek character (Captain Jonathan Archer) might be Beckett. Later in the series, Dean Stockwell performed a guest role in an episode of Enterprise. It also came close to being cancelled in its third season due to low ratings. However, a letter writing campaign helped save the series, and it continued for another season. Episodes
Guest starsA number of celebrities guest-starred on the series over the course of its run, including Debbie Allen, Bob Saget, Charles Rocket, Neil Patrick Harris, Brooke Shields, and others; Chubby Checker, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer appeared in episodes as themselves. Several future stars made guest appearances before they hit it big including Jennifer Aniston (Friends), Michael Beach (Third Watch), Terry Farrell (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Becker), Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show), Robert Duncan McNeill (Star Trek: Voyager), Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun), Carla Gugino (Spy Kids), Teri Hatcher (Lois & Clark, Desperate Housewives), Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives, Melrose Place), Eriq La Salle (ER), Patricia Richardson (Home Improvement), Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, Family Guy), Claudia Christian (Babylon 5), James Morrison (24) and Amy Yasbeck (Wings) among others. Awards
Recommended reading
Pop culture references
Home video releasesIn the 1990s, a few of the episodes were released on VHS. In the United States, these included "The Pilot Episode" ("Genesis"), "Camikazi Kid", "The Color of Truth", "What Price Gloria?", "Catch a Falling Star", "Jimmy", "The Leap Home", "Dreams", and "Shock Theater". In the United Kingdom, they were mostly released in pairs, selling as "The Pilot Episode" (on its own), "The Color of Truth" and "Camikazi Kid"; "The Americanization of Machiko" and "What Price Gloria?"; "Catch a Falling Star" and "Jimmy"; "The Leap Home" and "The Leap Home Part II - Vietnam"; and "Dreams" and "Shock Theater". 1998 brought the DVD release of "The Pilot Episode", containing only the episode "Genesis" and chapter selection. For many years, it was said that more episodes of the series, let alone any kind of by-the-season sets, being released would be highly unlikely, due to the extensive music used in the series which would cause multiple and expensive clearance problems. In 2004, the first two seasons of the series were released on DVD. The Region 1 version of "Quantum Leap: The Complete First Season" came out in North America on June 7 2004, containing all of the episodes as they originally aired (except for "Play It Again, Seymour"), along with some bonus features. Universal was unable to obtain music rights for all of the music in Quantum Leap: The Complete Second Season, in the case of the Region 1 version. Some were replaced with generic instrumental music. This outraged many fans and inspired a letter-writing campaign, demanding such a modification be corrected. The most criticized instance was the removal of Ray Charles's "Georgia on My Mind" from the season two finalé, "M.I.A.", during a scene in which Al dances with his first wife Beth. Subsequent Region 1 DVD releases continued to feature music replacement, but Universal did begin including a disclaimer on the package indicating such. All seasons have been released on DVD in the UK; Season 1 was released on November 8 2004 (music intact), Season 2 on October 31 2005 (music intact), Season 3 on December 12 2005 (music intact),Season 4 on June 26 2006 (music partially intact) and Season 5 on December 26 2006 (music unknown). The first three seasons are also available on DVD in Australia; Season 1 was released on May 2 2005 (music intact), Season 2 on February 7 2006 (music intact) and Season 3 on June 7 2006. Quantum Leap: The Complete Fifth season was released on DVD November 14 2006 in North America, with 'Blueprints from the original Time/Imaging chamber set' as the only extra. This release was not affected by music replacement. DVD releasesUniversal Home Video has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1, 2 & 4 for the very first time.
See also
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