Death Metalist
Member
Well, it's abit of a RTTP as I used to watch random episodes of this show whenever it was on TV as a kid. Never could understand the full scope of the story but season 3-5's opening really made it easy to get into the show because it's very well written in a way that gets you to understand and jump in quick.
" Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator - and vanished. He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap... will be the leap home. "
It's weird how a small synopsis makes an impact because it's said with such conviction, truly a fantastic opening + theme song. So, fast forward to nowadays and being an adult I said I should probably buy the entire show and watch it from beginning to end, holy shit am I glad that I did. First of all before anything, I made careful research before buying the DVD set because I heard there was licensing bullshit with the music so I picked up a region 2 set and a region 2 blu/dvd player. If anyone wants to watch the show with nothing cut be sure to pick this region 2 set. It's the only way to watch because the music believe it or not plays a BIG PART of the show and not just in terms of setting.
The only thing that is bad in this set is that there are no bonus features of any kind except for S1(I think the region 1 set has bonus features for each season so I guess I gotta double dip at some point if that is so) and apart from season 1, there is no subtitles for those who would like a late night watch without turning the volume high just to listen clearly. If that opening intrigued you then I advise you not to read the rest of this thread or my post and just watch the show.
Man, what a show. It's hard to articulate in particular what is so good about this show because each episode is a self contained story yet when viewing the series as a whole you get many other bits and pieces, as well as references from previous episodes that you wouldn't understand unless you were watching from the beginning. I'll try my best though. If there are 3 things this show does well it's build up, feels and pay offs.
I mean as soon as the show starts we are right in at the heart of the matter without knowing any backstory about Dr.Sam Beckett but with time we get to know more about him in the form of Al, his best friend giving us bits and pieces as we go along for the ride. It also has probably the most enjoyable back and forth between two characters I have seen in any film or TV series. Al is as strong of a character as Sam even though he's in a supporting role. It's amazing to me that we get to watch for more than a season or two to even see what the entire time machine looks like, the other characters that Al mentions in the future and learn more about Sam's life back in the future. It just doesn't give you everything from the get go but the build up feels natural and when you do get these information, it's just fucking cool and adds a ton of depth.
For a time traveling show the continuity within it really surprised me with references made from all the way back to season 1 in a way that makes sense. I think the easiest example I could give is when Al tells Sam he knows how to do a particular thing, through out the series you get the sense that Al almost knows how to do everything and you as a viewer get to ask yourself "Man, did he do everything in life?", sure enough Sam asks the same question later and the back and forth between them is hilarious. That's just one example but there are many things that have their seeds planted much earlier in the show and they are brought up later in ways that surprise you.
So many memorable episodes and I felt that the show got better as the seasons went on with many themes, messages and stories that really resonate with you today and don't feel out of place AT ALL. One might say that the show gets too cheesy at times and I could agree with that but it's heart is ALWAYS in the right place and I can't deny that. Really, most of the episodes pack a punch and are memorable. It's hard for me to rank the seasons because I feel there is an argument for all of them to be great in one way or the other, overall I loved all of them and I gotta say, the show probably has the most memorable season ending and season opening episodes ever.
I don't think I hate anything about this show because I enjoyed all of it and it kept surprising me all the way to the very end. What an ending it is, at first when the show ended I kind of felt
hurt because Sam never returned home when I really was hoping he would but later on upon reflecting, it just made me think what a damn good person Sam is and even though in the last episode he said to god or time or whatever(which I thought was pretty fucking cool in making him a bartender played wonderfully by Bruce McGill) that he wants to return home, it's not what Sam really wanted. I thought it played perfectly to his character being the ultimate boy scout but man..it's fucking bittersweet. fuck. Just thinking about it gets me choked up. He broke the rules of his own project of not changing his or his friend's life to doing just that for Al and thus possibly them never meeting up again because of that change yet, it's what Sam's end goal always was, striving to fix what once went wrong and doing the right thing. Who knows, we all probably have met a "Sam" in our lifetime by now.
Overall, amazing, amazing show on all fronts with continuity that blows my mind for a time traveling show. Shit tons of memorable moments. Very well done, written, with it's heart always in the right place. I will definitely be returning to it later in the future and it's great that it's very accessible as well as rewatchable. Highly recommended. Watched it over the course of 3 months and enjoyed every minute of it.
