Running from 1989-1993, Quantum Leap is one of sci-fi’s most fondly remembered shows. Like many of the best series, it wasn’t a huge hit—but it won itself a dedicated following and a permanent place in sci-fi fandom.
Scott Bakula (Star Trek: Enterprise) plays Sam Beckett, a time traveller helping people out of sticky situations by taking over their bodies. But—just like The Incredible Hulk—much of the show’s appeal had little to do with the original premise. What kept fans tuning in were the well-crafted storylines, and the dynamic between Bakula and his trusty holographic guide Admiral ‘Al’ Calavicci l (Dean Stockwell).
In fact both Bakula and Stockwell received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for their work on the show. Stockwell also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 29th, 1992, with fans organising a Leap Day ceremony to celebrate.
Quantum Leap episodes could be sad, scary, or tragic, the common theme being that Sam had to potentially leap home, he had to ‘correct’ something that had gone wrong in the past, aided by the Quantum Leap project’s supercomputer Ziggy (Deborah Pratt). However, humour ran through the whole, and part of that included episodes where Beckett encountered implied younger versions of various celebrities at ‘turning-points’ in their lives, including Buddy Holly, Woody Allen, Michael Jackson, Stephen King, Sylvester Stallone and Bill Clinton.
The show’s creator Donald P. Bellisario (Magnum P.I., Tales Of The Gold Monkey, Airwolf, NCIS) wrote the Quantum Leap Season Five episodes “Lee Harvey Oswald Parts 1 and 2”, because he had met Oswald when they were both in the Marines in the late 1950s and, from the conversation he had, he believed Oswald was the lone gunman. The meeting was included in the second episode with Matthew Charles Nelson playing Bellisario.
Fabulous’ new release presents all five series—97 episodes— of this groundbreaking adventure series, fully restored and sourced from high0definition masters. These, in turn, have been restored from the 35mm negative—and the results are impressive. Consisting of 27 discs this Complete Collection also contains all the original music, which was missing in the previous DVD release.
Extras:
“A Kiss With History: Remembering Quantum Leap”. Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, along with creator Don Bellisario share stories about creating their ground breaking series.
Episode introductions from Scott Bakula.
Scott Bakula on the fans.