2016 will mark 23 years since Quantum Leap was last on our screens. For those who have never seen it before, here is a brief description of the show. The show starred Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who leaps through time using a device called The Quantum Leap Accelerator. He attempts to put wrongs right by temporarily taking the place of other people to correct historical mistakes. Dean Stockwell co-stars as Admiral Al Calavicci, Sam’s womanizing, cigar-smoking companion and best friend, who appears to him as a hologram that only Sam can see and hear.
This show was the first one that really got me hooked on sci-fi, and I made sure I was always sat down in front of the TV each week ready for the next episode. The storylines the show had were fantastic, and it had a great sense of humour, which was due to the amazing chemistry that Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell shared.
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During the shows run, Sam would often cross paths with famous people and have an effect on their lives. They included Stephen King, Michael Jackson, Buddy Holly, Lee Harvey Oswald and Marylin Monroe.
Below are four of my favourite episodes from over the five seasons.
Season 5 – Episode 8, 9 and 10,
“Trilogy – One Little Heart, For Your Love and The Last Door”
These three episodes had Sam leaping into the life of Abigail Fuller from three different perspectives. Firstly he is her father, then in the next episode he leaps into the soon-to-be husband of a grown-up Abigail and lastly he is the lawyer defending Abigail in a murder trial. The continuity in these episodes is brilliant and the way the carry it on over three generations is so much fun to watch.
Season 4 – Episode 1, ” The Leap Back”
Sam and Al switch roles after a lightning strike. Which puts Sam in the imaging chamber helping Al try to put right a wrong. It’s a great episode as both characters take on certain personality traits of each other. This gives both actors a chance to act out a little and provides plenty of laughs. It does also hit an emotional note as Sam gets his memory back and realises that he has a wife back in his time.
Season 4 – Episode 6, “Raped”.
Sam leaps into Katie McBain, a woman who has just been raped by the town’s All-American boy. This episode is one of the more emotional ones the series deals with, and its handled perfectly. The most emotional part comes when they bring Katie into the imaging chamber so can tell her story first hand to Sam. Both Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell are fantastic in this episode.
Season 5 – Episode 22, ” Mirror Image”
This episode was the last one that aired. In the series finale, Sam arrives at a mining town as himself on the date and exact hour he was born. Patrons of the town bar look familiar from past leaps, but with different names, other patrons seem to be leapers, and Al the bartender implies that he might be God, Fate, or Time. While trying to figure things out, Sam has to help save some trapped miners, regain contact with Al, and try to find his way home. When this episode had finished, I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a tear. I won’t give it away if you haven’t seen it yet and will have a look after reading this.
Even after 23 years, if I’m going through the channels and the show is on, I still find myself thoroughly enjoying it.
Do you have a favourite episode? Let me know in the comments if you do.
To finish, here is the opening sequence to the show and one of the best there has ever been. This music has been my ringtone for a while now.
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