"Quantum Leap" (1989) TV series 1989-1993

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Creator:

Donald P. Bellisario

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

26 March 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Family | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Scientist Sam Beckett finds himself trapped in time--"leaping" into the body of a different person in a different time period each week.

Plot Keywords:

Time Travel | Amnesia | Hologram | Alternate History | Experiment Gone Wrong

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 37 nominations

Cast

Scott Bakula	...	Dr. Sam Beckett / ... (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
Dean Stockwell	...	Admiral Al Calavicci (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
Deborah Pratt	...	Ziggy / ... (38 episodes, 1989-1993)

Runtime:

60 min (97 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M (some episodes) | Iceland:12 (some epiosodes) | Iceland:L (some epiosodes) | USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Belisarius Productions

Trivia:

Throughout the series, Sam meets many "future" famous people including: Buddy Holly; Michael Jackson; Marilyn Monroe and Bill Clinton, as well as leaping into Ruth Westheimer,Lee Harvey Oswald, and Elvis Presley.

Goofs:

Continuity: The episode "What Price Gloria?", the first episode Sam leaps into a woman, suggests that Al sees Sam as the person Sam has leaped into since he is checking him out. However, later in the series, in the episode "The Wrong Stuff" he leaps into a chimp. It's obvious that Al can see Sam as Sam since Al can understand what he's saying.

Quotes:

[about Al]
Sam: The fact that you were a practicing pervert at the age of 5 has nothing to do with the rest of the world!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz (#4.18)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Quantum Leap Main Title

Catch Up

I was so busy rearing two kids as a single mom while working, volunteering, and taking college courses that I totally missed the original run of the series. I'm playing catch up now, watching the re-runs on Sci-Fi. I happened to run into it just a few months ago -- and only b/c I stayed up too late one night. At first, I thought it was just *too cute,* but now I'm hooked. If I can't stay up till 2AM, I have to record it to find out how the next episode goes. It's fabulous!

I especially like how the show leads me to examine the history of the years between the 1950's through the 1980's -- the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly (e.g., the segregated South). Sure, it's encapsulated into a 60 minute segment, but the writers managed to hit enough of the key points to make it worth the air space. And sure, it's P.C. -- sometimes simplistically so -- but that only goes with the territory of the show's premise, which is the hope that we can make this world a better place for everyone, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, mental abilities, or socio-economic class. That's not a bad philosophy. In fact, it's the same hope that led me to bear children, and then rear them to have hope for their own futures.