User:Peebs217/Keep the Leap/Quantum Leap

For the event related to subatomic physics, see Atomic electron transition. For the sculpture, see The Quantum Leap.

Quantum Leap
Genre	Science fiction
Created by	Donald P. Bellisario
Starring	Scott Bakula Dean Stockwell
Narrated by	Deborah Pratt
Theme music composer	Mike Post
Composer	Velton Ray Bunch
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	163 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Donald P. Bellisario Deborah Pratt Harker Wade
Production location	California, USA
Running time	45 minutes
Production companies	Belisarius Productions Universal Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	March 26, 1989 (1989-03-26) – May 22, 1996 (1996-05-22)

Quantum Leap is an American science-fiction television series that originally aired on NBC for eight seasons, from March 1989 through May 1996. Created by Donald P. Bellisario, it starred Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who leaps through spacetime during an experiment in time travel, 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.

The series features a mix of humor, drama, romance, social commentary, and science fiction, and was named one of TV Guide's "Top Cult Shows Ever".

Premise

Quantum Leap follows the narrative of Dr. Sam Beckett (Bakula), a brilliant scientist who has become stuck in the past as a result of a time travel experiment gone wrong, and his attempts to return to his present, the late 20th century, by altering events in the past for the better, with the aid of a hologram of his friend Admiral Al Calavicci (Stockwell), monitoring him from Sam's present.

In the series premiere, Sam has theorized the ability to travel in one's own lifetime and is the lead of the government-funded Project Quantum Leap, operating from a secret laboratory in New Mexico; Al oversees the project for the government. When Al learns that funding for the project is in danger of being pulled because no demonstrable results have come from the project, Sam takes it upon himself to step into the Quantum Leap accelerator to prove the project works and is sent into the past. When Sam gains consciousness, he finds himself suffering from partial amnesia, and is more surprised to find that his appearance to others, including what he sees in the mirror, is not his own face. He finds that Al has come to his aid as a hologram that only Sam can see and hear, as it is tuned to his brainwaves. Al, working with the project's artificial intelligence Ziggy (voiced by Deborah Pratt), determines that Sam must alter an event in the current period he is in so as to re-engage the Quantum Leap process and return home. Al helps Sam overcome some facets of his "Swiss-cheese memory" and provides information on history as it originally happened. He also updates Sam on future events and relates possible outcome probabilities using a handheld communication device in contact with Ziggy. The device is often temperamental and must be struck a few times as it emits electronic beeping and whirring sounds before the information is revealed. With Al and Ziggy's help, Sam is able to successfully change history and then leaps out, only to find himself in the life of someone else in a different period of time.

Episodes in the series subsequently follow Sam's reaction to each leap (typically ending the cold open with him uttering "Oh, boy!" on discovering his situation), and then working with Al and Ziggy to figure out his new identity and whom he needs to help to "set right what once went wrong" and trigger the next leap. An episode typically ends as a cliffhanger showing the first few moments of Sam's next leap (along with him again uttering "Oh, boy!" on discovering his situation), which is repeated in the following episode's cold open. Though initially Sam's leaping is believed by Al and the others on the Quantum Leap team to be random, the characters come to believe in later seasons that someone or something is controlling Sam's leaping, and this is a central focus of the show's finale episode, "Mirror Image".

When Sam leaps, his body is physically present in the past, although he appears to others as the person into whom he leaped. In one case, after leaping into a Vietnam veteran who has lost both legs, Sam is still able to walk normally, but appears to others as if he is floating. Sam's body and mind may become jumbled with those into whom he has leaped. In one situation, he leaps into a woman near the end of her pregnancy and feels her birth pains, while in another episode, he leaps into the body of Lee Harvey Oswald and feels an intense pressure to assassinate John F. Kennedy, despite knowing that it is the wrong thing to do. Similarly, the persons into whom Sam has leaped are brought into the future, where they appear as Sam to the others; they are normally kept in an isolated waiting room to prevent them from learning anything about the future, and they return to their own time when Sam leaps.

In most of Sam's leaps, the changes he makes are small on the grand scale, such as saving the life of a person who might otherwise have died, or helping making someone's life better. Selected episodes, however, demonstrate more dramatic effects of his time travels. In one episode, Sam's actions ultimately lead to Al's death prior to the project, and Sam finds himself suddenly aided by a new hologram, "Edward St. John V" (played by Roddy McDowall), and must work to prevent Al's death. In another episode, when again the project's funding is threatened, Sam helps a young woman successfully pass the bar; this results in her becoming one of the members of Congress who oversee the project and aid in the restoration of its funding. In the episode involving Lee Harvey Oswald, while Sam and Al do not prevent the assassination of Kennedy, Sam's actions prevent Oswald from making a second shot that killed Jacqueline Kennedy in the original fictional history.

Because of the time-travel aspect, many episodes allude to famous people or incidents indirectly, such as Sam suggesting to young Donald Trump that New York real estate will be valuable in the future, suggesting the lyrics of "Peggy Sue" to a teenaged Buddy Holly, showing young Michael Jackson his signature moonwalk dance for the first time, giving Dr. Henry Heimlich the idea for his namesake maneuver by saving him from choking, and setting in place actions that lead to the discovery of the Watergate scandal. Two notable episodes place Sam directly at the center of significant historical events, one being the leap into Oswald. In "Goodbye Norma Jean", Sam appears as Marilyn Monroe's bodyguard, who saves her life and convinces Marilyn to remain alive for her starring role in The Misfits. Other episodes explore the past of the main characters, such as Sam saving his brother from being killed in the Vietnam War, and saving Al's marriage to Beth.

In the final episode, "Mirror Image", Sam leaps through spacetime as himself (without replacing another person), arriving at the exact time of his birth, where he meets a mysterious barkeep (Bruce McGill, who also appeared in the first episode in a different role). The barkeep is aware of Sam's situation and assures him that Sam himself controls the very nature and destinations of his leaps ("to make the world a better place"), and that Sam is always able to return home at any time he truly wants. In the final episode's epilogue, Sam is shown to leap back to visit Al's wife Beth as himself again, assuring her that her husband (who was a prisoner of war at the time) will return home to her; this results in Al and Beth remaining happily married in the future, while Sam continues leaping, never returning home.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Quantum Leap characters

• Dr. Samuel "Sam" Beckett (played by Scott Bakula) is a quantum scientist with six doctoral degrees. He grew up on his parents' farm in Elk Ridge, Indiana, with an older brother (Tom) and a younger sister (Katie). Sam's idol is Albert Einstein. He had a near-death experience in the seventh-season (and original series) finale "Looking For Space"
• Admiral Al Calavicci, USN (played by Dean Stockwell) is a womanizing U.S. Navy rear admiral and Sam's best friend, who grew up in an orphanage and was later active in the Civil Rights Movement. At the time of Sam's leaps, Al spends his free time with his lover and the project's medical technician Tina Martinez (played by Gigi Rice), who appears in the fourth-season episode "The Leap Back".
• Samantha Josephine "Sammy Jo" Fuller (played by Melora Hardin) is Sam's daughter, both of them unaware of the fact, fathered in the fifth-season episode "Trilogy, Part II: For Your Love". While Al is leaping with Sam in season 6, Sammy Jo serves as the project observer. She appears in 22 episodes throughout the series, in the first, portrayed by Kimberly Cullum.
• Ziggy (voiced by the narrator and co-executive producer Deborah Pratt) is the self-aware artificial intelligence "parallel hybrid computer with an ego" that runs the Project Quantum Leap, and helps Sam throughout his leaps; appearing in the fourth-season episode "The Leap Back".
• Irving "Gooshie" Gushman (played by Dennis Wolfberg) is the project's often-mentioned head programmer, who is said to have bad breath. He appears in nine episodes, appearing via archived footage in the finale, taken before Wolfberg's death, as opposed to after it, which would have been harder to achieve.
• Dr. Verbena Beeks (played by Candy Ann Brown) is often mentioned as the project's psychiatrist. She appears in eight episodes throughout the series.

In each episode, a different cast of guest characters appears, mostly the ones whom Sam replaces with his leaps. Several other characters are referred to regularly throughout the series, but are mostly unseen.

Development and production

The main premise for Quantum Leap was inspired by such movies as Heaven Can Wait and Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Series creator Donald P. Bellisario saw its concept as a way of developing an original anthology series, as anthologies were unpopular with the networks.

The series ran on NBC for eight seasons, from March 1989 through May 1996.

Soundtrack

The theme for the series was written by Mike Post. It was later rearranged for the fifth season, but was changed back at the beginning of the sixth season. Scores for the episodes were composed by Post and Velton Ray Bunch.

Two albums were released in 1996. The first, a sountrack album titled "Music from the Television Series Quantum Leap" was first released in August. The second, Man of La Mancha performed by Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, was first released in November. Both albums were dedicated to Dennis Wolfberg, who played Gooshie in eight episodes over the course of the first six seasons. It was released by GNP Crescendo on CD and cassette tape.

No.	Track	Composer(s)	Length	Episode
1	Prologue (Saga Sell)	Mike Post, Velton Ray Bunch Deborah Pratt (voice over)	1:05
2	Quantum Leap (Main Title)	Mike Post	1:15
3	Somewhere in the Night	Scott Bakula	3:32	Piano Man
4	Suite from the Leap Home	Velton Ray Bunch	3:37	The Leap Home, part 1
5	Imagine	John Lennon	3:05	The Leap Home, Part 1
6	Sam's Prayer	Velton Ray Bunch	1:52	A Single Drop of Rain
7	Blue Moon of Kentucky	Bill Monroe	1:41	Memphis Melody
8	Baby, Let's Play House	Arthur Gunter	2:13	Memphis Melody
9	Shoot Out	Velton Ray Bunch	3:03	The Last Gunfighter
10	Medley from Man of La Mancha	Scott Bakula	6:18	Catch a Falling Star
11	Bite Me	Velton Ray Bunch	3:29	Blood Moon
12	Alphabet Rap	Dean Stockwell	2:05	Shock Theater
13	Suite from "Lee Harvey Oswald"	Velton Ray Bunch	14:55	Leaping on a String
14	Fate's Wide Wheel	Scott Bakula	3:05	Glitter Rock
15	Rock the Redhead	Scott Bakula	2:05	Glitter Rock
16	Volare	Domenico Modugno	3:34	Double Identity
17	A Conversation with Scott Bakula	Scott Bakula (interview)	12:02
18	A Conversation with Dean Stockwell	Dean Stockwell (interview)	12:34
19	Quantum Leap (Season 5 Main Title)	Mike Post	1:15
20	Quantum Leap (Prologue and Main Title Reprise)	Mike Post, Velton Ray Bunch	2:20

Episodes

Main article: List of Quantum Leap episodes

Broadcast history

The Quantum Leap series was initially moved from Friday nights to Wednesdays. It was later moved twice away from Wednesdays to Fridays in late 1990, to Tuesdays in late 1992, and back to Tuesdays in early 1996. The series finale aired in its Wednesday slot in May 1996.

The most frequent time-slot for the series is indicated by italics:

• Sunday at 9:00–11:00 PM on NBC: March 26, 1989
• Friday at 9:00–10:00 PM on NBC: March 31 – April 21, 1989
• Wednesday at 10:00–11:00 PM on NBC: May 3, 1989 – May 9, 1990; March 6, 1991 – May 20, 1992
• Friday at 8:00–9:00 PM on NBC: September 28, 1990 – January 4, 1991
• Tuesday at 8:00–9:00 PM on NBC: September 22, 1992 – May 4, 1993
• Wednesday at 9:00–10:00 PM on NBC: September 22, 1993 – May 10, 1995; May 22, 1996
• Tuesday at 9:00–10:00 PM on NBC: January 9 – May 14, 1996

On 16 June 2016, Scott Bakula made a brief reprise of his role as Sam Beckett on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Stephen Colbert makes reference to an episode where Sam Beckett has leapt into the body of a 1950s New York cab driver, whose comment about investing in New York real estate is heard by a young Donald Trump. Using a handset to talk to Ziggy, Stephen Colbert leaps back as a hologram to help Sam Beckett attempt to change the future.

Home media

Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the entire, digitally remastered, series on DVD from 2004 to 2008.

On April 13, 2016, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment has acquired the rights to the series and will re-release the first two seasons on DVD on June 7, 2016.

On February 7, 2017, Mill Creek re-released Quantum Leap- The Complete series on DVD and also released the complete series on Blu-ray for the very first time. The 30-disc set contains all 163 episodes of the series as well as most of the original music.

Season - DVD name	Episodes	DVD release date
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season 1 - The Complete First Season	9	June 8, 2004	November 8, 2004	May 2, 2005
Season 2 - The Complete Second Season	22	December 14, 2004	October 31, 2005	February 7, 2006
Season 3 - The Complete Third Season	22	May 10, 2005	December 12, 2005	June 7, 2006
Season 4 - The Complete Fourth Season	22	March 28, 2006	June 26, 2006	November 1, 2006
Season 5 - The Complete Fifth Season	22	November 14, 2006	December 26, 2006	February 21, 2007
Season 6 - The Complete Sixth Season	22	May 29, 2007	June 18, 2007	August 22, 2007
Season 7 - The Complete Seventh Season	22	November 13, 2007	December 17, 2007	February 29, 2008
Season 8 - The Complete Eighth Season	22	April 29, 2008	June 9, 2008	July 14, 2008
Seasons 1–8 - The Complete Series (The Complete Collection)	163	November 4, 2014	October 6, 2008	N/A

Reception

Despite its struggling start with poor broadcast timings, the series had gained a large 18–49 demographics of viewers. The finale was viewed by 13 million American households. In 2004 and 2007, Quantum Leap was ranked #15 and #19 on TV Guide's "Top Cult Shows Ever."

Awards

Along with 43 nominations, Quantum Leap received 17 awards (listed below).

Year	Award	Category	Winner(s)	Episode
1989	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Cinematography for a Series	Roy H. Wagner	Genesis, Part 1
		Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series	Virginia Kearns	Double Identity
1990	Quality TV Award	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series	Scott Bakula
	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV	Dean Stockwell
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Cinematography for a Series	Michael W. Watkins	Pool Hall Blues
1991	Quality TV Award	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series	Scott Bakula
		Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series	Dean Stockwell
	Edgar Award	Best Television Episode	Paul Brown	Good Night, Dear Heart
	DGA Award	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series' - Night	Michael Zinberg	The Leap Home, Part 2 - Vietnam
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Series	Gerald Quist Michael Mills Jeremy Swan	The Leap Home, Part 1
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Series	Michael W. Watkins	The Leap Home, Part 2 - Vietnam
1992	Quality TV Award	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series	Scott Bakula
	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama	Scott Bakula
1993	Quality TV Award	Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series	Scott Bakula
	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress Guest-Starring in a Television Series	Kimberly Cullum
	ACE Award	Best Edited One Hour Series for Television	Jon Koslowsky	A Song for the Soul
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Series, Single Camera Production	Jon Koslowsky	Lee Harvey Oswald

Other media

Books

Non-fiction

• Barrett, Julie, The A–Z of Quantum Leap. Boxtree Ltd., London 1995. ISBN 0-7522-0628-1
• Chunovic, Louis, Quantum Leap Book. Boxtree Ltd., London 1993. ISBN 1-85283-866-3
• Schuster, Hal, The Making of Quantum Leap. HarperCollins, London 1996. ISBN 0-06-105438-0

Fiction

• Robitaille, Julie, The Ghost and the Gumshoe. Corgi, London 1990. ISBN 1-85283-397-1. Re-published in U.K. by Boxtree Ltd., London 1994. (Novelization of "Play It Again, Seymour" and "A Portrait of Troian")
• McConnell, Ashley, Quantum Leap: The Novel. Ace Books, 1992. ISBN 0-441-69322-9. Re-published in the UK as Carny Knowledge. Boxtree Limited, London 1993. ISBN 1-85283-871-X
• McConnell, Ashley, Too Close for Comfort. Ace Books, 1993. ISBN 0-441-69323-7.
• Robitaille, Julie, The Beginning. Boxtree Ltd., London 1994. ISBN 1-85283-392-0. (Novelization of the pilot episode)
• McConnell, Ashley, The Wall. Ace Books, 1994. ISBN 0-441-00015-0.
• McConnell, Ashley, Prelude. Ace Books, 1994. ISBN 0-441-00076-2.
• Melanie Rawn: Knights of the Morningstar. Ace Books, 1994. ISBN 0-441-00092-4.
• Melissa Crandall: Search and Rescue. Ace Books, 1994. ISBN 0-441-00122-X.
• McConnell, Ashley, Random Measures. Ace Books, 1995. ISBN 0-441-00182-3.
• Storm, L. Elizabeth, Pulitzer. Ace Books, 1995. ISBN 1-57297-022-7.
• Henderson, C.J. and Laura Anne Gilman, Double or Nothing. Ace Books, 1995. ISBN 1-57297-055-3.
• Walton, Barbara E., Odyssey. Boulevard, 1996. ISBN 1-57297-092-8.
• Peel, John, Independence. Boulevard, 1996. ISBN 1-57297-150-9. Re-published in the U.K. as Leap into the Unknown. Boxtree Ltd., London 1996 ISBN 0-7522-0137-9.
• Storm, L. Elizabeth, Angels Unaware. Boulevard, 1997. ISBN 1-57297-206-8.
• Davis, Carol, Obsessions. Boulevard, 1997. ISBN 1-57297-241-6.
• Schofield, Sandy (Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch), Loch Ness Leap. Boulevard, 1997 ISBN 1-57297-231-9.
• Kent, Melanie, Heat Wave. Boulevard, 1997 ISBN 1-57297-312-9.
• DeFilippis, Christopher, Foreknowledge. Boulevard, 1998 ISBN 0-425-16487-X .
• Peterman, MindySong And Dance. Boulevard, 1998 ISBN 0-425-16577-9.
• Davis, Carol, and Esther D. Reese: Mirror's Edge. Boulevard, 2000 ISBN 0-425-17351-8.

Comics

Innovation Publishing produced a series of comic books which ran for thirty-one issues from September 1991 through August 1996. As with the television series, each issue ended with a teaser preview of the following issue and Sam's exclamation of "Oh, boy." Among the people Sam found himself leaping into in this series were:

Issue	Title	Person	Date
1	"First There Was a Mountain, Then There Was No Mountain, Then There Was"	High school teacher named Karen Connors in Memphis, Tennessee.	March 25, 1968
2	"Freedom of the Press"	Death row inmate named Willie Jackson, who must prevent a murder on the outside.	June 11, 1962
3A	"He Knows If You've Been Bad or Good..."	Part-time Santa Claus, who goes by the name of Nick.	December 20, 1963
3B	"The Infinite Corridor"	Student at MIT named Matt Randall, who is researching quantum physics.	April 2, 1968
4	"The 50,000 Quest"	Contestant amid the quiz show scandals.	August 15, 1958
5	"Seeing is Believing"	Newspaper reporter/columnist, who responds to a girl seeing a UFO.	November 14, 1957
6	"A Tale of Two Cindys"	Teenage girl with an identical twin sister.	February 12, 1959
7A	"Lives on the Fringe"	Professional golfer with mafia after him.	1974
7B	"Sarah's Got a Gun"	Bus driver, who discovers child abuse.	May 19, 1953
8	"Getaway"	Bank robber, while the leapee tours the Project with Al.	1958
9	"Up Against a Stonewall"	Sequel to "Good Night, Dear Heart." Stephanie Heywood is released from prison after serving twelve years for manslaughter.	June 22, 1969
10	"Too Funny For Words"	Stand-up comedian, who befriends a fading silent movie star.	June 13, 1966
11	"For the Good of the Nation"	Doctor studying the effects of LSD on human subjects.	July 1958
12	"Waiting"	Gas station attendant with a lot of time on his hands.	April 24, 1958
13	"One Giant Leap"	An extraterrestrial aboard an orbiting spaceship.	June 5, 1963

Few of the comic stories referenced episodes of the television series, with the exception of the ninth issue, "Up Against a Stonewall."

Possible continuation

There have been occasional announcements of plans to revisit or restart the series. In July 2002, the Sci-Fi Channel announced its development of a two-hour television film based on Quantum Leap, which it was airing in reruns at the time, that would have served as a backdoor pilot for a possible new series, with Bellisario as executive producer. During the TV Guide panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, Scott Bakula said that Bellisario was working on a script for a projected Quantum Leap feature film.

External links

• "Quantum Leap". Sci-Fi Channel. Archived from the original on April 23, 2006.
• Quantum Leap at IMDb
• Quantum Leap at AllMovie