5 of 11

Write now Article Tools

Quantum Leap is one of those rare science fiction television shows that manages to connect to people who never watch the genre. There are no Star Trek space ships or ray guns. There are no light sabers, aliens in a rubber mask or plots revolving aroung a precious child who manages to save the day with his super-intelligence. Quantum Leap was, first and foremost, an episodic show about a good man doing very good things.

Samuel Beckett is a scientist who uses his time traveling machine on himself. He develops what he calls "the string theory," (it has nothing to do with REAL string theory) in which he can pass along time only during the years of his own life. The rpoblem is that the experiment goes wrong. Sam "leaps" into the body or consciousness of a different person in each episode. One week he's a blind painist, another he's a paraplegic veteran, another he's a preganant woman. When he leaps into someone, that person is zapped into the labrotory in thier future.

Sam is joined on his adventures with his partner and friend, Al, a lecherous and cigar smoking joker who appears in the past only as a "hologram," a three-dimensional vision that only Sam can see. Now, we see Sam in the form of Scott Bakula, a fine actor. But in the past, everyone sees Sam, including himself when he looks in a mirror, as the person Sam has replaced.

Sam must stay in this new body until he fulfills some assignment. Sam believes that his science project has been hijacked by God. So, Sam must fix the mistakes of the past, setting right what once when wrong. He is not allowed to change historical events, re-arrange the timeline, but he can fix small things, personal moments.

Sam, for instance, in the first episode, Sam leaps into a test pilot in 1956. His mission is to break the speed of sound and survive. If Sam completes the mission then he leaps into a new body. Every time he leaps he hopes to leap back to his own time, his own body. Every time he leaps, he loses his memory, and has to gains it back in bits and pieces. For instance, when he leaps into a blind pianist, and is required to perform before an audience, he is petrified and desperate. When he sits at the keyboard, he plays chopsticks and the audience laughs at the irony of a concert pianist playing a child's song. Suddenly Sam starts playing like a virtuoso. It turns out that he is an accomplished musician. He just didn't remember that.

The show was so successful and remains a huge favorite because it wasn't really science fiction at all, no more than Touched by an Angel was a religion show. It used this vehicle to tell really profound stories. The show was focused on telling stories about tolerance and kindness. Sam, in his various incarnations, taught others courage and faith and gave them strength.

There are a couple of running gags in the show. Sam starts out every new leap with the words "Oh boy!" Ziggy, the computer who predicts what Sam must do in order to leap is notoriously ambiguous and cryptic. Al, the holographic projection is invisible to everyone except dogs, children, the mentally challenged and, the joke goes, blondes. Best of all, he gets a moment in many episodes where he meets some famous person and influences them in some way. He meets Buddy Hollie and gives him the idea to write "Peggy Sue." He teaches little Michael Jackson how to moonwalk. He inspires little Stevie King.

The show is such a testament to the genius of one man: Donald Bellisario. This great producer also gave us Magnum, Airwold, JAG and NCIS. He has a talent for putting together great casts, discovering real talent, and inventing shows that are entertaining and still important.

Learn more about this author, John Devera.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about TV show reviews: Quantum Leap?
We want to hear your view. Write now!