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Quantum Leap

1988 • NBC
4.7
112 reviews
PG
Rating
Eligible

Season 1 episodes (11)

1 Genesis, Part 1 - September 13, 1956
3/26/89
On the premiere episode of "Quantum Leap," Sam Beckett wakes up in 1956, disoriented, suffering from amnesia, but he has the awful realization that he does not belong there. He is Captain Hank Stratton, Air Force Pilot. He has a pregnant wife named Peg and a son named Mikey. When Sam goes up in the B-50 aircraft with Hank's best friend Capt. "Bird Dog" Birdell and Capt. Tony LaMott, they think he is joking when he insists he does not know how to fly. Part 1 of 2.
2 Genesis, Part 2 - September 13, 1956
3/26/89
Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), a brilliant scientist, takes part in the Quantum Leap experiment which lands him in 1956 as a test pilot. With the help of his holographic "Observer" (Dean Stockwell), Sam remembers the experiment and learns that his fate is to "quantum leap" back and forth in time with the hope of returning to his own present in the conclusion of the premiere episode written by series executive producer Donald P. Bellisario and directed by David Hemmings. Part 2 of 2.
3 Star-Crossed - June 15, 1972
3/31/89
Poised with chalk in hand, Sam is Dr. Gerald Bryant, an English Literature professor, who faces a classroom filled with 'adoring' mini-skirted college co-eds. The Observer informs Sam that he has become Bryant to steer Jamie Lee, who is hopelessly in love with him, back to her boyfriend Oscar, a football player from Ohio State University. Apparently, Dr. Bryant and Jamie Lee were married in a shotgun wedding that ruined their lives. However, Sam is solely interested in rekindling a relationship with Donna (guest star Teri Hatcher) -- the girl who left him at the altar.
4 The Right Hand of God - October 24, 1974
4/7/89
Sam Beckett looks into the mirror and sees the face of "Kid Cody," a boxer who has won the majority of his 37 fights but bears scar tissue on his face and his soul. He learns from Sister Sarah and Sister Angela that his previous owner willed his contract to Saint Mary's Church. The good Sisters and Father Muldooney transform their bingo parlor into a workout room to prepare for Cody's upcoming championship fight. Sister Angela hopes that with the $20,000 winnings from Cody's match they will build a new chapel to help the poor.
5 How the Tess Was Won - September 28, 1956
4/14/89
Sam finds himself tending to a sick piglet, knee-deep in muck on the formidable 50,000 acre ranch known as Riata. He overhears Tess tell her father Chance McGill she will not marry any man who cannot keep up with her. Tess bets her father if any man she picks can keep up with her for one week -- she will marry him; if not, Chance will drop the word marriage altogether. She scans the ranch hands' faces, settling on handsome Wayne...but to everyone's surprise, chooses Doc/Sam whose name is actually Patrick Young.
6 Double Identity - November 8, 1965
4/21/89
Following a quantum leap, Sam is in a dusty attic and Teresa is telling Frankie he is a terrific lover. He tidies up his tuxedo and rejoins the wedding reception for Primo, Frankie's brother and Angela, the Godfather's daughter. Sam is treated like royalty despite the fact he does not understand or speak Italian. While his wife is busy with the reception, Don Geno wants his men to find out who is 'messing' with his girlfriend Teresa. Sam is even coaxed into singing 'Volare' and is relieved when the Observer/Albert prompts him with the lyrics. The Observer has little information on Frankie, except for the fact that he is a hit man and the son of Tony, a small-time Mafia hood who took a bullet meant for Geno.
7 The Color of Truth - August 8, 1955
5/3/89
Sam leaps into the body of Jessie Tyler, a 70 year old black man who lives in Red Dog, Alabama, and works for Miz Melny, the 75 year old widow of the one-time Governor of Alabama. Sam/Jessie drives her to the cemetery where she visits her husband's grave. Albert informs him that Miz Melny will be killed tomorrow when a train hits her car at a crossing. Sam/Jessie brings Miz Melny home and is chastised by Clayton, Miz Melny's son, for sitting at the lunch counter at Miz Patty's diner. Sam/Jessie becomes livid when Clayton tells his mother to keep her "negro" in line. Albert, who participated in the Civil Rights marches, orders Sam to stay out of politics, but Sam begs to differ, hoping that his reason for the quantum leap is to initiate the Civil Rights movement.
8 Camikazi Kid - June 6, 1961
5/10/89
Sam becomes Cameron Wilson, an awkward 17-year-old high school student, with a penchant for junk food and the acne to prove it. Cam's car, the 'Nomad' is the subject of ridicule by the cool car club members, and he himself is the object of first love by Jill, a tomboy. Cheryl, Cam's sister, excitedly announces that she and her fiance, Bob Thompson, have been accepted to the Peace Corps. Albert, the Observer, informs Sam that according to Ziggy, Bob ended up selling used cars for his father and was arrested for drunk driving; Cheryl, who never joined the Peace Corps, was a battered wife. Sam must stop the wedding.
9 Play it Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953
5/17/89
Sam quantum leaps to find himself gun in hand looking at a dead man's body. He is now Nick Allen, private investigator, and the dead man was his partner Phil Grimsley. Nick bears a striking resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. Sam fights the feeling of deja vu because he knows beforehand that he is going to meet...Seymour, who works at the magazine stand and reveres Nick. Seymour tells Nick the word is that Phil was killed by a man called the "Klapper". Sam enters Nick's office and is met by a drop-dead, gorgeous redhead named Allison, who also happens to be Phil's widow and Nick's platonic love interest. In the office desk, Nick finds a manuscript. He realizes he is not experiencing deja vu...he read the book!
10 What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961
10/25/89
In a flash of light, Sam (Scott Bakula) becomes a gorgeous woman named Samantha who is languishing in a bubble bath. Samantha's roommate Gloria reminds her that it is her first day on the job as the youngest executive secretary in their company. Sam/Samantha (Scott Bakula) and Gloria arrive at National Motor Company, and they find out that Samantha's new boss is Buddy Wright, who has just been promoted to Vice President. Sam (Scott Bakula) prays for help when Wright calls her into the office and chases her around the desk. Samantha does not date married men, but Wright points out that he is responsible for her promotion. Sam (Scott Bakula) tells Wright this is a case of sexual harassment, but of course, this is a moot issue in 1961.
11 A Portrait For Troian - February 7, 1971
12/13/89
Sam (Scott Bakula) becomes Dr. Timothy Mintz, a parapsychologist from a California university who is helping expose the ghost of Troian Claridge's dead husband Julian. Sam (Scott Baula) meets first the stern housekeeper, Miss Stoltz and Jimmy, Troian's brother, who does not like Dr. Mintz' involvement with his sister. Albert informs Sam (Scott Bakula) that historically, all the Claridges died violent and unnatural deaths -- for instance, in 1840, Nathaniel Claridge found his wife and butler together and drowned them in the lake behind the mansion.

About this show

Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) is a brilliant scientist with six doctorates, whose efforts to return to the present following a flawed time-travel experiment keep him bouncing back and forth in time replacing people he never knew or heard of. His partner on the Quantum Leap experiment, The Observer (Dean Stockwell), appears as a hologram only Sam can see or hear. The Observer is an eccentric quantum physicist, ex-astronaut, ex-Golden Gloves boxing champion and womanizer, who assists Sam in adapting to the different time periods and personas. This proves both challenging and amusing, providing high drama as the perplexed hero valiantly tries to live each life he's been forced to assume without any of that person's skills or knowledge. Quantum Leap is the promise of a second chance. With each leap, Sam is given the opportunity to make things right -- change the lives of the people he becomes for the better and in the end, hopefully, make the world a better place.

Ratings and reviews

4.7
112 reviews
David Healy
March 3, 2016
More episodes need adding. Also a HD remaster would be awesome with some special features. This show deserves them.
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Susan Towler
February 21, 2014
I watched this when it first came out, and I have watched episodes again and again. I will never get fed up with this programme.
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Sharron Carr
December 18, 2016
Time travel with help to put right something that had gone wrong
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