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[xxracerxx]

Quantum Leap Opening

Since my antenna picks up a strange channel called COZI, I have been watching a ton of Quantum Leap lately. This was one of my favorite shows while it was airing and is still some fantastic television albeit a little cheesy and sure it was a procedural but at least it made every story pretty unique just from the different perspectives/time period. There used to be rumors about rebooting it in the early 2000s with Sam's daughter jumping in the machine (complete bullshit as we all know he didn't have kids).

Now my question is, could Quantum Leap see a return? I feel there are plenty of key event pieces (think JFK episodes) that have happened in the last 35 to 40 years (remember you can only travel in your own lifetime) they could touch on for the big episodes of the season. They would just focus on the everyday people they saved for most episodes.

So do you think it could work? Who would you cast as

Sam Beckett?

Al?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

But Sam Beckett never made it home

 

[Sectorseven]

Not sure it's smart enough for today's audience. People want dynamic characters and season long arcs. Not to mention all the science geeks will poke holes in the time travel.

 

[xxracerxx]

But Sam Beckett never made it home

He just leapt into some New Orleans guy and made the best of it.

 

[Nephtis]

Quantum Leap was incredible. I know it's a terrible pun, but it really was way ahead of its time. Super progressive. The show tackled some social issues that are hard to talk about even today.

 

[B.K.]

He just leapt into some New Orleans guy and made the best of it.

After he leaped into the future and became the worst captain in Starfeelt histoyr.

 

[TsunamiOfSwagger]

Loved this show back in the day. Tackled a lot or issues and had a great concept.
Just reading the name quantum leap has put that catchy theme tune in my head now.

 

[Trouble]

I could get onboard with a reboot if it's done well. Give it to Netflix maybe.

 

[funkystudent]

My greatest and last Quantum Leap memory was randomly seeing it on while browsing channels at a friends place. We sat there and watched it and I told him the story about how the show was cancelled so instead of doing a ending they did a regular episode and just put the "and he never returns home" card at the end.

Then the episode we watched ended and it was the finale.



But no. I dont think it could return and I wouldnr want it too. Like... MAYBE you could do a cool 1 off thing that actual ends the show and you gin up a reason why the guy has aged 40 years but that would probably be terrible.

And a reboot doesnt seem like something that would fly these days. Too many 80's nostalgia reboots turn out lame as hell.

 

[crisdecuba]

My greatest and last Quantum Leap memory was randomly seeing it on while browsing channels at a friends place. We sat there and watched it and I told him the story about how the show was cancelled so instead of doing a ending they did a regular episode and just put the "and he never returns home" card at the end.

Then the episode we watched ended and it was the finale.



But no. I dont think it could return and I wouldnr want it too. Like... MAYBE you could do a cool 1 off thing that actual ends the show and you gin up a reason why the guy has aged 40 years but that would probably be terrible.

And a reboot doesnt seem like something that would fly these days. Too many 80's nostalgia reboots turn out lame as hell.

? The last episode certainly wasn't a "regular" episode.

 

[maruchan]

This show truly became awesome towards the end of the series, when it went full sci fi.. And dropped many of the solve the problem of the week episodes...

 

[xxracerxx]

My greatest and last Quantum Leap memory was randomly seeing it on while browsing channels at a friends place. We sat there and watched it and I told him the story about how the show was cancelled so instead of doing a ending they did a regular episode and just put the "and he never returns home" card at the end.

Then the episode we watched ended and it was the finale.

But no. I dont think it could return and I wouldnr want it too. Like... MAYBE you could do a cool 1 off thing that actual ends the show and you gin up a reason why the guy has aged 40 years but that would probably be terrible.

And a reboot doesnt seem like something that would fly these days. Too many 80's nostalgia reboots turn out lame as hell.

The finale was anything but a regular episode.

Also, do people not realize that I am talking about a reboot/refresh? The show was hardly 80s/90s nostalgia, if anything it was 60s/70s nostalgia and tackled some heavy topics.

 

[WanderingWind]

Ah, yes, Sam "technically I'm a serial rapist" Beckett. While as much as I loved the show as a kid, it'd have to write around some pretty big issues upon returning.

 

[xxracerxx]

Ah, yes, Sam "technically I'm a serial rapist" Beckett. While as much as I loved the show as a kid, it'd have to write around some pretty big issues upon returning.

 

[WanderingWind]

oh that ain't right

 

[TheSecondSpitter]

I love the show but man was the JFK episode horseshit.

 

[mclem]

More and more movie actors are doing TV of late.

I don't care about the fact it's probably impossible, hear me out: Jack Nicholson as Al.

 

[JC Lately]

I think mama robotnik had the right idea the last time this show came up in a thread:

Its not as big as the others, but I'm sure a new incarnation of Quantum Leap could find an audience!

Speculated Premise:

The US Military discovers a ruined laboratory deep in the desert. They are able to extract some data from the site - Project Quantum Leap - including the blue prints for the Quantum Accelerator.

Strangely, no one can recall such a project, as if history itself has changed to wipe out memories of anyone involved.

Another Quantum Leap accelerator is built and someone takes the trip back in time. As well as putting things right that once went wrong, the heroes could uncover what went wrong with the original Quantum Leap project. Is Sam Beckett still out there? Did the Evil Leapers finally overcome the forces of good? Can history me re-written for the better while helping the heroes return home?

The only downside I see is sooner or later they'd have to do a 9/11 episode, and thats going to cause all sorts of problems.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

The most important casting is who replaces Debora Pratt in doing the narration

"Theorising 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."

the best

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

There was talk of a new series, starring Beckett's kid trying to find Beckett.

 

[British Monsoon]

Quantum Leap was a good natured family show that, occasionally, dealt with some very heavy issues, but it did it in a manner that you rarely see on television today. I don't think you can recreate a show like Quantum Leap, to be honest - it's too much a product of its own time and would be too heavily altered by the sensibilities of modern television. Namely, it'd obviously have to be dark and gritty, can't do things these days without dark and gritty. There'd possibly be some sort of underhanded conspiracy put into motion by some shady organisation working secretly against the protagonist's interests. There wouldn't be as many clear cut, black and white moral situations and instead the protagonist would struggle in shades of grey, agonising over his decisions and the ramifications they would have not only on the lives he was effecting, but also on the timeline itself.

 

[Lagamorph]

After he leaped into the future and became the worst captain in Starfeelt histoyr.

But that's not Captain Sisko.

 

[jufonuk]

But that's not Captain Sisko.

you say bad things, it's Janeway

 

[Red Liquorice]

I got the boxset for Christmas, haven't dived in yet but it was one of my favourite TV shows as a kid. I'd probably tune in for a reboot but certainly I'm not hungry for one. I know why the industry wants it, but I don't understand why fans want everything to run and run (cough Star Wars cough).

It was good, it got dumb at the end, it ended, the end. That's how most things go, what will a reboot add to that. Besides, they're never going to get a sexier Sam Beckett than Scott Bakula.

 

[stilgar]

The greatest.

With the saddest ending.

 

[Auto-Reply]

I have never watched the later episodes near the ending, at least I can't remember doing so. I only know that it was part of my 80's early 90's show marathon. I'm not sure I want to watch it again.

I'm sort of interested in rewatching Voyagers, the predecessor to Quantum Leap. I barely remember anything from that show at all. It's short lived tho (as was the actor who played the lead, a death so Darwinian that you wouldn't believe it) so I could power through it even if I don't enjoy it anymore.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

you say bad things, it's Janeway

I mean, did Sisko ever outright kill a member of his crew because it was easier to resurrect a crew member that had literally died?

 

[Transistor]

How about we leave it a fond memory instead of fucking it up with a new series?

 

[MarkMclovin]

I'd settle for a TV movie to try and bring him back home all these years later, but at the same time, have it so it shows how he helped in some of the worlds events and stuff. A bit like Forrest Gump.

 

[Drazgul]

But that's not Captain Sisko.

The fuck? Clearly Janeway's the worst. Wesley would've made a better captain than her.

 

[KernelPanic]

What a BS ending to the series that was

 

[Downhome]

Would be great, but you couldn't do it with the original Al (Dean Stockwell) any more. He isn't doing well, and is unfortunately very close to the end.

 

[Mengy]

I get COZI channel on my antenna too, and yeah I now and then catch an old ep of Quantum Leap too. I've seen every episode a few times over and I've always loved the series. I have never liked the way it ended though, the finale was such a sad and melancholy ending, so yeah I'd love to see a new QL series, with both Al and Sam returning to reprise their old roles, taking up where the show left off, but this time working towards a much more positive and happy conclusion. Meaning Sam gets home for good.

My favorite eps is the two parter where Sam goes home and leaps into himself as a kid, and then in the next ep goes to Vietnam with his brother. Those two eps still get me teary eyed.

 

[acheron_xl]

I adored QL as a kid. But then I've always had a soft spot for anything time travel related.

That said, I think Elijah Wood as Sam, Neil Patrick Harris as Al would be neat.

 

[¡HarlequinPanic!]

How about we leave it a fond memory instead of fucking it up with a new series?

^

Love the show. Complete baby boomer product, wouldn't work now without big overhauls which jeopardize many of the show's themes. Launch a show today with a squeaky clean hero and see how long it lasts.

 

[acheron_xl]

^

Love the show. Complete baby boomer product, wouldn't work now without big overhauls which jeopardize many of the show's themes. Launch a show today with a squeaky clean hero and see how long it lasts.

You don't want to see Sam leap into a dude on United 93?

 

[Polioliolio]

Loved this show after watching it over the course of a year or so, but absolutely no desire to ever return to it.
I think that final episode really put a damper on things for me.

Spoiler

GOD DID IT

took a lot of the magic out of the mystery. Really lame, as the mystery was a big part of the enjoyment of the show.

Also, one plot device I just hated that only seemed to be brought up like twice in the whole show, was "the waiting room" where whoever he jumped into went into Sam's body. Would have been much better if Sam just 'vanished' like the intro explains.

 

[Purkake4]

I think mama robotnik had the right idea the last time this show came up in a thread:



The only downside I see is sooner or later they'd have to do a 9/11 episode, and thats going to cause all sorts of problems.

Yeah, the JFK episode was weird.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

There used to be rumors about rebooting it in the early 2000s with Sam's daughter jumping in the machine (complete bullshit as we all know he didn't have kids).

He did. There was a three-parter in the last season where he genuinely fell in love with a girl and they had a daughter called Samantha Jo Fuller.

 

[captive]

Ah, yes, Sam "technically I'm a serial rapist" Beckett. While as much as I loved the show as a kid, it'd have to write around some pretty big issues upon returning.

wut?

 

[Volimar]

wut?

I think it's because he has sex with women who don't know that he's not their significant other. I don't even remember how often he slept with someone, but in today's culture, that'd never fly.

 

[Dreamwriter]

My greatest and last Quantum Leap memory was randomly seeing it on while browsing channels at a friends place. We sat there and watched it and I told him the story about how the show was cancelled so instead of doing a ending they did a regular episode and just put the "and he never returns home" card at the end.

Yeah, that last episode wasn't a regular episode at all. He didn't leap into anybody, he leaped as *himself* into a strange bar with God and a bunch of characters he had previously leaped into, he was told why he kept jumping, given the option to go home and told technically he could go home any time he really wanted to... it was most definitely filmed as a final episode that could continue the series if it was renewed, or end the series if not. The final title card was put up because it wasn't renewed, that is true, but it was far from a regular episode.

 

[BorganXI]

Loved watching this show when it aired. Al, Sam, and Ziggy were the best.

I remember watching the final episode and just staring at the screen after it, like whaaaat? He never made it home?? But him saving Al's marriage was great.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Quantum Leap was a good natured family show that, occasionally, dealt with some very heavy issues, but it did it in a manner that you rarely see on television today. I don't think you can recreate a show like Quantum Leap, to be honest - it's too much a product of its own time and would be too heavily altered by the sensibilities of modern television. Namely, it'd obviously have to be dark and gritty, can't do things these days without dark and gritty. There'd possibly be some sort of underhanded conspiracy put into motion by some shady organisation working secretly against the protagonist's interests. There wouldn't be as many clear cut, black and white moral situations and instead the protagonist would struggle in shades of grey, agonising over his decisions and the ramifications they would have not only on the lives he was effecting, but also on the timeline itself.

You took the words right out of my mouth. You're right on the money. It was a product of it's time that you just can't replicate today. I find a lot of 80's shows are like that. Quantum Leap, Cheers, Mash, Night Court, A Team, Knight Rider, etc you just could not replicate now days. They were ahead of their time. Now days we have to sanitize everything to the point that it all seems the same. I really miss the 80's and 90's sometimes.

 

[Volimar]

You took the words right out of my mouth. You're right on the money. It was a product of it's time that you just can't replicate today. I find a lot of 80's shows are like that. Quantum Leap, Cheers, Mash, Night Court, A Team, Knight Rider, etc you just could not replicate now days. They were ahead of their time. Now days we have to sanitize everything to the point that it all seems the same. I really miss the 80's and 90's sometimes.

I think there are a few shows that get it right still. Scrubs was a good one that got real when it needed to.

 

[WanderingWind]

I think it's because he has sex with women who don't know that he's not their significant other. I don't even remember how often he slept with someone, but in today's culture, that'd never fly.

Yup. As a kid that stuff didn't even register, but good lord, imagine the shitstorm if Beckett so much as kissed a girl while pretending to be somebody else's SO in Quantum Leap 2016. And you know, rightfully so. In retrospect, through adults eyes, that's pretty creepy. Imagine being the person to go back into their body. They just lost track of days, weeks, even months. While being gone, all this cool shit went down that they weren't a part of. Oh, and the body snatcher responsible banged your SO.

And, IIRCC, there were two versions. One, the displaced person was wholly unaware of what was happening. They basically blacked out and woke back up missing a chunk of their life. Again, with a banged O who is wondering exactly where their SO picked up that trick with the pinky. Pretty scary, right?

But not as scary as version 2. In some parts of the show, wasn't it hinted at, or shown, that the displaced person watched it all go down? So, they were 'a part of it' but not in control? Isn't that the scariest shit ever? You're taken over by a mysterious force and made to do all this shit you have no control over. That's not the stuff of a lighthearted, Jesus-friendly sci fi show. That is some straight humanity horror, right there.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

I think there are a few shows that get it right still. Scrubs was a good one that got real when it needed to.

True you find an occasional gem still like Scrubs. Not going to say you don't. They're just few and far between nowadays though.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

I think it's because he has sex with women who don't know that he's not their significant other. I don't even remember how often he slept with someone, but in today's culture, that'd never fly.

Al himself wouldn't fly in today's culture.

 

[Volimar]

Al himself wouldn't fly in today's culture.

Al would be DJ Qualls and Ziggy would be a holographic female A.I.

 

[Michael F. Assbender]

Yeah, that last episode wasn't a regular episode at all. He didn't leap into anybody, he leaped as *himself* into a strange bar with God and a bunch of characters he had previously leaped into, he was told why he kept jumping, given the option to go home and told technically he could go home any time he really wanted to... it was most definitely filmed as a final episode that could continue the series if it was renewed, or end the series if not. The final title card was put up because it wasn't renewed, that is true, but it was far from a regular episode.

Yes, it was written as a possible finale because of the uncertainty about whether or not the show would return. But there's no doubt that the ending could've been better if they had a definitive answer.

As it stands, it's a decent episode that gives the viewer hope that things will turn out okay for Sam, followed by a rush-job title card that even spells his name wrong.

The show deserved a better send off.