The evil leaper episodes were some of my favourite for season 5, because it established that there were other people also leaping through time. I just wished they'd been able to explore that more. How did they get their tech? When are they from? Etc, etc. That series finale still hurts :(
Sam Beckett once spent four years in the body of a 22nd century starship Captain called Jonathan Archer, explaining why Archer was totally incompetent for a trained space ship commander and diplomat… Nice that you put Robert Duncan McNeil and Richard Herd next to other, they being father and son on Star Trek Voyager!
I wish I could say I liked Star Trek Enterprise as much as I liked Quantum Leap. Part of it was the prequel thing, and part was the writing, but mostly it was because his character in STE just suffered by comparison to Sam.
Show was a much watch for me on it's initial run. A friend who was also a fan acquired the DVDs upon release on or around the millenium, I tried to watch them, but I didn't find them as watchable then.
Quantum Leap is the best television ever made, period. It's criminal that Scott Bakula never won an Emmy for his role as Dr. Sam Beckett. He literally played every type of person in every type of situation and was absolutely brilliant at it! This show was truly unique; it could be funny, heartwarming, dramatic and poignant all at the same time. Every episode was a mini movie, set in a different era and could be any genre. Sam and Al were a terrific duo, the QL concept only worked because of the stellar performances from Scott and Dean. They were the heart and soul of the show. I wish we could have had more seasons of Quantum Leap, its ending was utterly heartbreaking. Poor Sam...lost in time forever, without his best pal, Al to help him. Perpetually stuck in fate's wide wheel, never allowed to go home, despite all the good he has done, is the most depressing ending they could have had for Sam. It's time to bring Sam home! Give us a Quantum Leap reboot with Scott Bakula before its too late!
Remember that on the last original show the sad Sam was leaping himself. So he was doing what he like to do. And even helped al and his wife. To get back together when all was in jet nam same let her know to wait for him that al was still alive
I'm a fan of Quantum Leap but face facts here: it was well produced, typically well acted (if not a bit hammy) and occasionally well written. It was a fun and lighthearted show but consistently average. A reboot could get a bit deeper if the writers got rid of the episode format and introduced an overarching plot. Sam chasing an evil leaper across the whole season for instance.
Great memories of a high concept show. Let's give another shoutout to Bakula, because without his wide ranging talents, mixed with just genuine likeability, I am not sure could have worked as well.
Remember, Stockwell and Bakula both appear in the NICS franchise. The ep that made me cry is always when Sam realises that the POW he failed to rescue in Vietnam was Al, "I was always free, up here I was never their prisoner".
I was tearing up just thinking about Mirror Image. It always felt natural to me that Sam, being who he was, would willingly continue leaping as long as he was helping people. I also sing The La Mancha Medley All. The. Time thanks to that episode of the show.
QL was awesome when I was 15 in the late 80s I recently watched it again from start to finish. Appreciate it so much more+ stands the test of time. Imagine being 35 yrs old when it first came out though- must've been brilliant perfect TV show for nostalgia
I watched this right before going to see my father every day.. (Reruns). Dad was an alcoholic who was dying of cancer. Spending time with Sam and Al before dealing with Dad kept me sane. Those two actors had such chemistry. It was always a joy to watch.
I also love the show and their chemistry. Having said that, I'm rewatching it for the first time in years, and Al's incessant "sex hound" talk getting real old real fast. Just watched a second season episode where he is leering at high school girls. I thought, "Okay, I guess this is what women are complaining about. Now I get it." I don't remember thinking anything of it the first time, though. 🤷♂🤷♂🤷♂️
I absolutely loved this show. Always wished they would have come back to it. Poor Sam was just left lost in time. Going from person to person and never came home. I guess in the season finale, Sam found some peace. But yeah, Been nice to see Sam finally got back home. (Although he actually did get home for one episode.)
I like When Dean Stockwell appeared on Enterprise and started using a handheld device like he did in Quantum Leap. That was nice little throwback or easter egg at the time.
if I'm correct there are some Easter eggs that Al dean had referring to his younger yrs as an actor .like when sam's involved with the older woman and Al says the guy will end up selling real estate when in fact dean in between movies was a real estate agent.
A lesser known easter egg on Enterprise, exists in Sickbay. Dr Phlox has an "imaging chamber" (which acts like a futuristic Xray machine). The imaging chamber on QL, was the device used to send "Sam" back in time.
Very well done! I watched it all first-run. One of my favorite moments came in the 4th season episode "Play Ball" where Sam tells Al that he's helping this drunken ballplayer because "he reminds me of you" when Sam first met Al "You were trying to take a pop machine apart with a hammer...you were drunk and angry..." I myself have been on both sides of that and I choked up a little when I saw the scene!
Honestly I think the premise of quantum leap is just an excellent one and general but the show was really carried by the performances and I will now forever love Dean Stockwell and Scott Bakula in anything I see them in.
I loved his leaping into the life of a beauty contestant (and Sam finds it hard to believe that winning the beauty contest is the correct objective) who if she wins the scholarship helps her become a doctor.
I would have liked to have seen Sam leap into the body of struggling actor Scott Bakula to persuade him to audition for the part of Sam in Quantum Leap.
Another similar and great show from the same era is "Early Edition". But instead of jumping through time, he gets the paper for the next day, and tries to change events.
the thing i love about quantum leap the most is that the story never ends. because it’s upsetting whenever a movie ends and you never get to see it again, but with quantum leap as soon as the story ends he leaps and instantly a new one begins. thats what i love about quantum leap
i used to watch this every wendesday night on nbc. quantum leap is epic the mirror shots the hologram stuff and the part where he leaps in and out turns blue and tingles with electrical energy were the best part of every episode especially the "mirror shots" when they would show the other person's reflection in the mirror.
Great review, but you under-sell it. Quantum Leap was not just good television, it was heroic television. Great premise, great acting, great production, always something progressive to say and always emotionally involving. As you say, Al's jackets aside, it is timeless. All my nerd friends watched it every week (it was BBC2, on Mondays I think?), but my Father and Sister loved it too. We don't need the remake, just a mini-series that resolves Sam's story
Quite frankly the best and the most meaningful ending of TV shows of all time. It got the perfect ending and closure. Hollywood, don't make a sequel, don't make a remake. Leave it as it is
Only occasionally does a time travel show come around where every episode does a time jump with diverse plots. (Star Trek only did it periodically in its shows). Another show that came later around 2016 was "Timeless" with its 2 seasons and great cast which I enjoyed immensely. Nice to see Quantum Leap lasted 5 years! Scott Bakula has always been a fan favorite from this show to Enterprise to NCIS New Orleans. A great actor!
Timeless was expensive for its meager audience since it did sweeping epic historical settings. Retooled as letter writing lady fan service the second season it just devolved into a low rate romance soap opera that also did time travel. 1st season had promise, especially with some very obscure historical facts worked into the plot like the Hindenburg would have been an even bigger disaster if it blew up on the trip out of NJ with several major passengers that were scheduled . As I recall it was a mid season replacement. It got a lot better treatment from NBC than Time After Time got from ABC that year... Cancelled after five episodes and cut off in mid two part episode.
You went through the whole review without mentioning the chimp episode? Al screaming "CATERPILLARS?" when Sam visually explains with his finger what he was gagging on was one of the funnies moments of the entire series.
I was in college when the show started and missed the first 2 seasons (also JUST missed him in "Romance, Romance" on Broadway). I started watching during the 3rd season and was immediately hooked. (And was finally able to see the first 2 seasons). Been a fan of Scott Bakula since. ❤️
I managed to download the whole series and am watching them..what a time and difference with nowadays movies or series. There is more dialog and less blood in those days. I like the way you described the series and I coudn't agree more. The show has good actors, mostly the themes are well worked out and keeps you wondering how it ends... yes of course him leaping into another body, but you don't always know the outcome for the person Sam is in. Being 63 myself, I like the women of the show as they remind me of my younger days...
Hello! Can you tell me from which website I can download the series? I have it only in Hungarian with terrible dubbing, it just ruined the whole thing. I would like to watch the original.
Am glad the Voyagers series got mentioned, I felt it was a precursor to QL, so a fitting reference indeed. And yes, seeing Stockwell and Bakula reunite in that episode of Enterprise was amazing!
The Leap home was and will always be one of many favorite and emotional favorite episodes to watch in the series I know that his family could have been saved I believe that always now sadly we never found out more about the leaper making things wrong it would have been nice to explore and find out about that other time leaper so I encourage many write your stories and if possible please someone bring Sam home now . I'd break rules to make a change for this world to be a lot better today .
The Leap Home (and pt2) was my favs and the JFK one was pretty cool. The way 1993 pictured the 'future' of 1999 was pretty funny but it was always fun to get a glimpse of that world in some episodes
Shows up at critical moments, not always fixing the person's own mistakes that messed up something. I love the calculator like device that Dean Stockwell keeps slapping and hitting and shaking the device.
I have seen every episode of every season multiple times, and still go back to online streaming sites on Roku to rewatch them all. This was one of my most Iconic series. It gave me hope for the future however real life is far more grim. Which is why I loved this Show. I Loved how the Last Episode Put every trip together into one solid Connection. The Abused girl who he leaped into her geaky brother so she would go to college and be on the Quantum leap team later, The Mafia Man who left the Mafia so he could Help fund the Quantum leap Project, The Black Man he would save from Hanging so he could assist with the team,. Almost everyone Life he save Directly influenced the Gathering of the Quantum leap team. And Al, the Bartender in the Final Episode not Kalavicci, Told Sam that he was in control the whole time, and not only was he helping himself but he was Linking through a Butterfly Effect the other Millions he has saved in the Process. Thereby which making Sam a God within his own Universe controlling the direction of fate for his own personal gain, while inadvertently Rescuing others he never met through 6 degrees of separation.
I love QL. There’s even an IPTV channel that broadcasts these episodes 24/7. I just hated the ending, ‘cuz it’s one of those shows that really was a show before its time.
Thank you for that amazing review of one of my favorite shows of all time. I am a time travel lover and when you said that quantum leap wouldn't endeavor to stop the attack on Pearl Harbor, it would stop someone from seeing Pearl Harbor, I laughed out loud. Thank you for that.
Speaking of time travel: i am watching Decades TV Channel. I am watching "The Time Tunnel" Starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. A TV series from 1966-1967. Two time travelers who leap from a military lab through history. I have never seen this series before. Much like Quantum Leap.
Strangely, Magnum was referred to as a TV show on QUantum Leap, but it's also mentioned than Sam's sister marries Jim Bonham, a recurring character from Magnum.
Being in high school when this show was on, I understood the Magnum P.I. reference and smiled and laughed when Sam mentioned it would last another 8 years. As I always saw the end credit production logo of Donald P. Bellisario and knew he had produced both shows. So I knew they got a kick out of putting that reference in. Interestingly Magnum P.I. aired on CBS, while QL aired on NBC. But by the time QL ran, Magnum P.I. had run its course, and was in reruns by then. I guess NBC didn't mind, after all they had Donald P. Bellisario producing another hit show for them.
I seem to recall Bellasario wanted to have Sam leap into Magnum at one point (which would have been a hoot), but then it was decided to have him as a TV show .
I had a theme tune in my head one day and couldn't for the life of me think what it was, after much pondering I realised it was Quantum Leap. There was so many series like this where I never saw the ending of. Star Fleet, Land of the Giants etc.. They were shown on Sundays in the UK in the late 80s.
In the season 5 episode Nowhere to Run, it is shown definitively that it is not just Sam's consciousness leaping, but his body. He leaps into a veteran who had both legs amputated at the knees. Towards the end of the episode, he stands up and punches an orderly
Incorrect. Sam's consciousness isn't travelling. It's his body. There's just something that makes people see him as the person he leaped into. There are several examples in the series, such as when he's a man with no legs, but can still stand up. You actually showed the clip of him in the blind man and he has to pretend he can't see.
They were really all over the place with how this worked, so much so I gave up on trying to make sense of it. Sam would swap places with someone, they'd be in the waiting room where they'd see Sam's face in the mirror. Sam can see as a blind man and walk as an amputee, but was also about to give birth when he was in a pregnant woman. There's a lot of hand waiving going on, and I didn't mind.
@@StamFine This is also explained in the show. There is a quantum aura surrounding Sam that makes him look like the person he replaced in time just as there is one surrounding the person in the Waiting Room. Also, while most of the episodes are ambiguous about the whole mind/body issue, there is not a single one that absolutely confirms that it is only Sam's mind that leaps but there are over 15 episodes that indicate or blatantly say that Sam replaces a person in the past bodily. Everytime Sam does something that his host is physically incapable of doing and everytime someone sees him as he really is is proof that he leaps bodily and not just spiritually/mentally. In addition, in the episode where Sam leaps into the pregnant woman, Al firmly tells Sam that it is impossible for him to be pregnant because the leapee and her baby are physically in the Waiting Room. The morning sickness and cravings are merely a psychosomatic reaction to finding himself in the aura of a pregnant woman. The labor pains were actually a reflection of what was happening in the Waiting Room. The baby even disappeared from the Waiting Room. I view this as more of a case of God, Fate, Time or Whatever prepping the mother and baby so that they are not severely traumatized by their return to their own time and thus allowing for a successful live birth.
Excellent review, once more! And speaking of time travel, more Doctor Who reviews, please and thanks! And MILD SPOILER: I assume you didn't want to mention the episode involving.... uhhhh test animals to not give anything away? 😉
quantum leap season two episode one "honeymoon express" april 27 1961 guy: admiral do you expect this committee to believe god he leapt dr beckett into 56 just to help buddy holly with the lyrics to peggy sue al: he works in mysterious ways woman: and so does this project.
It was the first show I remember that I couldn’t miss a new episode and when it ended I was 11 which is so wild I can still remember where I was, what I was doing and how I felt that day watching the final episode. It’s as if I just Leaped but for a moment. 😅
Where Sam saves Jonathon Frakes from making a colossal error of getting involved in a bridging episode that at the very least should have been an Enterprise cast only episode as the final?
Still my all time favorite show. Small quibble here, but it was canonized that it was actually his body and not just his consciousness that was leaping thru time. See Season 3 Episode 12 - 8 1/2 Weeks
Quantum Leap's rules about what was and wasn't happening to Sam were bent, or reshaped so much, as well as various exception circumstances here and there, that by the time i'd finished season 5, nothing was particularly clear to me. Still love the show.
Late, but I just want to say Quantum Leap is what I wanted Sliders to be. Sliders was wayyy too silly at times and didn't take itself as seriously as it should've, and I mean pre-season 3. I mean, great it was clean, but QL had it all as far as tense, serious, thought provoking storylines (and this is without a 3+ ensemble cast every episode like Siders had!). Sliders played it too safe and could've rivaled this and other sci-fi shows if it had tried harder. I have vauge memories of QL as a child since I'm a millenial, but I really got into it when it was on US Netflix a few years ago. Now it's on CBS streaming and it's still fire. Love it. I see potential in the new remake, just wish they hadn't gone slightly woke, but at least it's not the focus. Thanks for the video. Edit: I wouldn't have known about this show at all if my mom hadn't thought Bakula was hot (and this went on yeeears after QL was off the air, lol) and my brother watched it (Don't know how hardcore a fan he was, but whatever). He even had one or two comics for the show. Edit: I'm also considering writing a short X-Men/QL amalgam fan fic with Cyclops as Sam and Gambit as Al. It freaking writes itself, right? XD (I also haven't written anything that isn't slightly narcissistic self-insert romance in a while, so that'll be a miracle if I accomplish it.)
Such an insightful review. A series that we love to watch over and over. The series finale is right up there with The Fugitive finale in our humble opinion.
Stockwell popped up on NCIS New Orleans too as a villain. The original season finale ending would’ve made a better ending, as the series finale became a joke borrowed by The Simpsons. Found it replaying on tv recently and it’s bittersweet to watch it, knowing the ending.
so who's here after reading on their iphone on google and youtube scott bakula saying their having talks about a quantum leap reboot or remake. can you imagine how good the special effects would be if they remade the show today in the early 2020's "oh boy." 👍👍👍👍
I liked the idea of changing history for the better , I didn't like the Sam at home arcs , I was an Al girl so I liked anything that showed a piece of his life I liked their friendship .I've watched the ending mirror image 2wice cry everytime .
Sounds like fun, but is there an episode where Bakula has to wear short-shorts and rub disinfectant gell all over a coworker, while an alien watches through a peep hole?
17:07 This is my favorite episode when Al is younger and he leap back in the beginning before Marci got killed when Riker is on the cliff and watch her and Chip love each other. But also my favorite part when Lisa is falling in love with Sam when he got a stomach pain when he went to the medical office before Lisa is kissing him.
Speaking of Star Trek Enterprise, the gawdawful appearance of Jonathan Frakes as Riker inserting himself into the show finale via the holodeck gave me ammunition to form an alternate theory of Quantum Leap. Please, hear me out on this before you chuck me out the airlock. "Sam Beckett" is actually a Star Fleet officer from roughly the era of TNG. All the events depicted in Quantum Leap, ST:E, and NCIS New Orleans are the holodeck excursions of this officer, although in the case of Enterprise he is exploring the historical record of Capt. Archer by inserting himself into Archer himself. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
I think that Sam doesn't leap into many important people in history, It's something you can think would be a real thing happening. It grounds the show as a whole. A nice mix of sci-fi and just normal drama TV.
It's not a coincidence that it resembles Battlestar Galactica, because the basic premise of Quantum Leap was originally intended for what eventually became Galactica 80. However, the studio said it was too expensive and it was dumped.
Quantum Leap had almost exactly the same format as The Incredible Hulk. You have the brilliant scientist cut adrift and forced to travel far and wide and every week he blunders into a situation where he is forced to fix something in someone's life before being forced to move on again at the end of the episode.
Not counting the scientist part, the whole "guy wanders aimlessly from place to place solving other people's problems" has been done ad nauseum. The Fugitive (which The Incredible Hulk practically ripped off 100%), Kung Fu, Route 66, Alias Smith and Jones. I love Quantum Leap, though. Basically, a fresh spin on a VERY well-worn premise. 👍👍👍
Epic and classic series this was. The Leap Home part 1&2 was the best episodes. The last ever episode 'Mirror Image' was so bloody confusing though and completely rushed in production. Was hoping Al turned up earlier to see all the faces in the tavern that Sam had leaped into previously. And for Al to meet his uncle Stroppa! Who was also a leaper!!!. (Loved this bit of the episode).And WHY were all the familiar faces there with different names???. The bar tender is the exact same person from the pilot episode also, bit of a coincidence??. Frustrating that it got cancelled. They even spelt his his name wrong in the closing credits. Sad 😢
The two Terry's /Teris, Hatcher and Farrell were seriously hot in their appearances in quantum leap. Loved this show back then, I think I would appreciate it more now I'm older. I loved the episode when Sam came back to the late 90s and we got to see Ziggy and project quantum leap, and the evil leaper episode with the brilliant Carolyn Seymour. Who for British viewers was in Steptoe and son the movie as the stripper who married Harold. Very good video!!!
..... I remember Nimoy saying he and DeForest asked the producers "Can we have one woman for every ten Shatner gets ?". Must have been tough for Bakula with all those lovely ladies. P.S. Just give me the Linda Park kissing scene.
Just found your channel after a rec from the Weekly Planet podcast and holy crap. Either we're the same age with almost the same taste in media or you're my other side of the world clone. I'm not half as funny as you are tho... probably an American thing. I've already watched half a dozen of your vids and just finished "V" before coming here. I swear I thought I was the only person alive who remembered "Automan" or "Manamal" and your "B5" and "V" coverage were amazing. Look forward to going through your back catalogue in the days ahead. Oh, and if we are clones you're uh... gonna have some surprises ahead but I'm sure you'll do fine.
There was also a tie-in comic book that was excellent. One issue got to address a sore point, about a murder committed by a lesbian, in the 60s, which angered the gay community for perpetuating gay stereotypes. Writer Andy Mangels got to set it right by having Sam leap into the murderess, as she emerges from prison and tries to rebuild her life, but finds herself documenting the Stonewall Riots, a seminal moment in the Gay Rights movement. It's a hell of a good issue. The tv series always wanted to do an episode where Sam leapt into an infant; but the technological aspects were too costly. The idea was held for a possible movie, which never materialized. The comic was set to do it as a special issue; but the comic series was cancelled, before it could be published.
