Quantum Leap is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that aired on NBC for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993.
The series, which combines humor, drama, romance, social commentary, and science fiction, was ranked number 19 on TV Guide's "Top Cult Shows Ever" in 2007.
In the very near future, physicist Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) theorizes that time travel within one's own lifetime is possible, and obtains government support to build project "Quantum Leap".
He is immediately thrown back in time, but upon awakening, finds that while he physically exists in the past, he appears to everyone else as a person into whom he has "leapt", and further has partial amnesia related to his own identity.
Al is aided by project Quantum Leap’s artificially intelligent supercomputer, nicknamed Ziggy, who is described as a "parallel hybrid computer with a massive ego".
[3][4][5][6] Sam has six doctoral degrees, a black belt in kung fu, a photographic memory, and near-virtuosic musical talent, allowing him to easily slip into the shoes of almost anyone in the past.
The somewhat bookish and naive Sam is contrasted by Al, who is, among other things, a womanizing, cigar-smoking, five-time divorcé who spent his early years in an orphanage, was active in the civil rights movement, and was even a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Occasionally, Sam runs into real-life historical figures such as Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, Donald Trump, Marilyn Monroe, and Ruth Westheimer, the last of whom played herself.
They include head programmer Irving "Gooshie" Gushman (Dennis Wolfberg), psychiatrist Dr. Verbena Beeks (Candy Ann Brown), medical technician (and Al's lover) Tina Martinez (Gigi Rice), and Sam's wife, Dr. Donna Eleese (Teri Hatcher/Mimi Kuzyk), the project's director in his absence.
A soundtrack album was first released in 1993, titled Music from the Television Series 'Quantum Leap' , dedicated to John Anderson, who played Pat Knight in The Last Gunfighter.
[4] The most frequent time slot for the series is indicated by italics: In the United Kingdom, the show began on BBC Two on February 13, 1990,[10] airing Tuesday evenings at 9:00 pm.
When the show was not renewed, two title cards were tacked on to the end of the last episode; one read that Al's first wife Beth never remarried, so they were still married in the present day and had four daughters.
In July 2002, the Sci-Fi Channel (which at the time was airing reruns of the show) announced development of a two-hour television film based on Quantum Leap that would have served as a backdoor pilot for a new series, with Bellisario as executive producer.
[33] In July 2010 during the TV Guide panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Scott Bakula said that Bellisario was working on a script for a projected Quantum Leap feature film.
[35] In January 2020, Jeff Bader, NBC's head of program planning and strategy, announced that the network was considering a reboot of Quantum Leap for the launch of its Peacock streaming service.
The pilot will take place 30 years after the conclusion of the original series, with a new team reviving Project Quantum Leap to understand both it and the fate of Sam Beckett.
[37] Raymond Lee was signed to star in the pilot in the role of Dr. Ben Song, the person that ends up traveling back in time through the Quantum Leap project.
[42][43] In September 2022, original series star Scott Bakula confirmed that he had been asked by producers to reprise his role as Sam Beckett in the revival, but ultimately decided against it, saying in a statement on Instagram, "As the show has always been near and dear to my heart, it was a very difficult decision to pass on the project".
Bakula has a guest appearance, as himself, supposedly researching an upcoming role, but in fact working as a retirement home custodian due to lack of residuals.