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Quantum Leap - General Discussion


Kromm
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Filling up that "Q" section, there's Quantum Leap!  A show that could have been silly.  Could have been trite.  Occasionally it was.  But mostly it was heartwarming, fun, and while not very ambitious in the Sci-Fi sense (it handwaved everything and didn't invest much time or effort in effects, explanations, or continuity), it was very universal in its appeal--something the "harder" Sci-Fi shows don't always manage to be.

Oh boy!

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Happy this has a forum here, especially since it debuted 25 years ago.  I'm a little disappointed there were no retrospectives for the show.

Especially since Bakula has been doing some interviews for his potential spinoff that debuted only a day before QL's anniversary.

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 I'm a little disappointed there were no retrospectives for the show.

Has anyone seen the show on DVD/Blueray?  I haven't, but I imagine if a retrospective had ever been made, that's what it would have been made for (and distributed with).

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Has anyone seen the show on DVD/Blueray?  I haven't, but I imagine if a retrospective had ever been made, that's what it would have been made for (and distributed with).

I have on DVD. It's pretty good. Not sure if there were any retrospectives with it. I do remember hearing that they tried to set up a reunion or make one back in 2008 (iirc). Too bad it didn't go through. I would have seen it in a New York Minute. Loved that show!

Edit: Just checked and it turned out to NOT be a reunion movie... but a REBOOT. No thanks, but I'll pass on that one, Mr. Bellisario. 

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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Edit: Just checked and it turned out to NOT be a reunion movie... but a REBOOT. No thanks, but I'll pass on that one, Mr. Bellisario. 

I vaguely remember wasn't there supposed to be, even before that, neither a reunion nor a reboot, but instead a SEQUEL?  Which isn't a bad idea.  The way they left it Sam could very well have a kid running around, or a convenient niece or nephew or something like that--maybe looking to find his lost ass.

But yeah.  This seems to talk about a theatrical reboot with bigger stars.

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I vaguely remember wasn't there supposed to be, even before that, neither a reunion nor a reboot, but instead a SEQUEL?  Which isn't a bad idea.  The way they left it Sam could very well have a kid running around, or a convenient niece or nephew or something like that--maybe looking to find his lost ass.

But yeah.  This seems to talk about a theatrical reboot with bigger stars.

That isn't bad.

Ah. They mention about them being in cameos, which wouldn't be too bad. If they wouldn't be included at all. Then they can take it and shove it. Sam and Al were the heart and soul of that franchise in my opinion.

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Has anyone seen the show on DVD/Blueray?  I haven't, but I imagine if a retrospective had ever been made, that's what it would have been made for (and distributed with).

I was thinking more along the lines of an article the way they have them for certain shows.  Something like "Talking to the cast 25 years later" type stuff. 

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I was thinking more along the lines of an article the way they have them for certain shows.  Something like "Talking to the cast 25 years later" type stuff. 

I know people love numbers based on 5.  10 years later.  20 years later.  25.  Etc.  But if you think about it, a logical time for the kind of thing you are talking about (or they also have "reunions" on shows like Good Morning America) is as part of a promotion tour for a release of a DVD or a blueray.  Whenever those happen.  So if it didn't happen with the existing home video release, I suppose the next opportunity might be if its linked to a reboot/re-do, and the old cast is marched out in some early event (without direct reference to the new version) to kind of prime the pump  for people to start thinking about the property again.

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I vaguely remember wasn't there supposed to be, even before that, neither a reunion nor a reboot, but instead a SEQUEL?  Which isn't a bad idea.  The way they left it Sam could very well have a kid running around, or a convenient niece or nephew or something like that--maybe looking to find his lost ass.

Sam does have a kid - Sammy Jo. She was working with him on Project Quantum Leap.  The last I heard about DPB's plan for the reboot, it would have focused on her.

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Sam does have a kid - Sammy Jo. She was working with him on Project Quantum Leap.  The last I heard about DPB's plan for the reboot, it would have focused on her.

Yeah, wow its been years.  I'd totally forgotten about her.

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I hate reboots. There are, however, concepts that are set up for retellings or continuing the universe that are pretty good. I always thought Sliders could continue on and on and on, for Galactica, retelling is pretty much canon, and I really don't have a problem if QL was continued with the focus on Sammy Jo. 

The problem is, however, that modern day tv making is basically shit. You'd need a 50+ y/o lead to be able to have the scope of storytelling that you would need for this kind of show. Most networks would probably want a 20 something lead, and I don't think a show with lame jokes about Friends or grunge music would really be that interesting. You get someone old enough though and there's plenty of interesting things. Sam was in Vietnam, now there could be someone going to Iraq, with the foreknowledge that there aren't WMDs there. They'd have to do a 9-11 episode which could be really compelling if keep true to the main premise of the original show too. 

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A place to discuss particular episodes (that do not have specific episode threads), arcs and moments from Season 1. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.


Please feel free to start new topics for characters, episodes, media mentions, actors, small talk, etc.

 

Season 1 Episodes

 

  1. Genesis (Part 1)
  2. Genesis (Part 2)
  3. Star-Crossed
  4. The Right Hand of God
  5. How the Tess Was Won
  6. Double Identity
  7. The Color of Truth
  8. Camikazi Kid
  9. Play It Again, Seymour
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A place to discuss particular episodes (that do not have specific episode threads), arcs and moments from Season 2. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.


Please feel free to start new topics for characters, episodes, media mentions, actors, small talk, etc.

 

Season 2 Episodes

 

  1. Honeymoon Express
  2. Disco Inferno
  3. The Americanization of Machiko
  4. What Price Gloria?
  5. Blind Faith
  6. Good Morning, Peoria
  7. Thou Shalt Not...
  8. Jimmy
  9. So Help Me God
  10. Catch A Falling Star
  11. A Portrait for Troian
  12. Animal Frat
  13. Another Mother
  14. All Americans
  15. Her Charm
  16. Freedom
  17. Good Night, Dear Heart
  18. Pool Hall Blues
  19. Leaping in Without a Net
  20. Maybe Baby
  21. Sea Bride
  22. M.I.A.
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A place to discuss particular episodes (that do not have specific episode threads), arcs and moments from Season 3. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.


Please feel free to start new topics for characters, episodes, media mentions, actors, small talk, etc.

 

Season 3 Episodes

 

  1. The Leap Home (Part 1)
  2. The Leap Home (Part 2) – Vietnam
  3. Leap of Faith
  4. One Strobe over the Line
  5. The Boogieman
  6. Miss Deep South
  7. Black on White on Fire
  8. The Great Spontini
  9. Rebel Without a Clue
  10. A Little Miracle
  11. Runaway
  12. 8½ Months
  13. Future Boy
  14. Private Dancer
  15. Piano Man
  16. Southern Comforts
  17. Glitter Rock
  18. A Hunting We Will Go
  19. Last Dance Before An Execution
  20. Heart of a Champion
  21. Nuclear Family
  22. Shock Theater
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A place to discuss particular episodes (that do not have specific episode threads), arcs and moments from Season 4. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.


Please feel free to start new topics for characters, episodes, media mentions, actors, small talk, etc.

 

Season 4 Episodes

 

  1. The Leap Back
  2. Play Ball
  3. Hurricane
  4. Justice
  5. Permanent Wave
  6. Raped
  7. The Wrong Stuff
  8. Dreams
  9. A Single Drop of Rain
  10. Unchained
  11. The Play's the Thing
  12. Running For Honor
  13. Temptation Eyes
  14. The Last Gunfighter
  15. A Song for the Soul
  16. Ghost Ship
  17. Roberto!
  18. It's A Wonderful Leap
  19. Moments to Live
  20. The Curse of Ptah-Hotep
  21. Stand Up
  22. A Leap for Lisa
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A place to discuss particular episodes (that do not have specific episode threads), arcs and moments from Season 5. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.


Please feel free to start new topics for characters, episodes, media mentions, actors, small talk, etc.

 

Season 5 Episodes

 

  1. Lee Harvey Oswald
  2. Leaping of the Shrew
  3. Nowhere to Run
  4. Killin' Time
  5. Star Light, Star Bright
  6. Deliver Us From Evil
  7. Trilogy (Part 1) – One Little Heart
  8. Trilogy (Part 2) – For Your Love
  9. Trilogy (Part 3) – The Last Door
  10. Promised Land
  11. A Tale of Two Sweeties
  12. Liberation
  13. Dr. Ruth
  14. Blood Moon
  15. Return of the Evil Leaper
  16. Revenge of the Evil Leaper
  17. Goodbye Norma Jean
  18. The Beast Within
  19. The Leap Between The States
  20. Memphis Melody
  21. Mirror Image
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To me,  Sam doesn't feel like Sam until The Color of Truth. I think Scott Bakula was maybe overacting a little until then.

The Color of Truth is great, but my favourite is Camikazi kid. It's hilarious and very sweet. I usually hate the "tomboy girl dresses girly" plots, but that final kiss scene was so, so cute I have to make an exception. 

  • Love 2
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I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!  One thing that bugs me is while watching Netflix is that they don't have all the episodes. Why is this?

I watched MIA this morning and still cry like a baby watching Al dance with Beth.  Just bracing myself for the finale.

  • Love 2
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Hello ! 

I'm watching for the first time in dvd order because where I come from, networks don't bother about order for tv shows (and that the first time I get to watch with the real voices so yipee !) and I have a noob question : in season 2 (where I'm currently at), is it normal that the leap at the end is from earlier episodes in some of the bodies Sam already inhabited in season 1 ?

I checked with the imdb and the episode order is consistant with what I'm watching so did they filmed two seasons as one and changed the episode order when it aired ?

 

For those who ask themselves, so far the show has aged but really not that much thanks to the premise. Yes the beginning of the road when Sam is in the machine is dated, lots of lasers and all, Al's clothing, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air style are burning my eyes and the thingy to communicate with Ziggy is laughable now with our smartphones and all, but the rest of the show is as great as I remembered from 15 years ago !

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I'm watching Netflix. They don't show the pilot, they start with the second episode. During second season there is two episodes he would leap and the next episode would not start where he leaped in the last episode. What bugs me is Al is always hitting his communicator. I'm surprised it quit working at all.

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As I recall, each show ended with Sam having leapt into a new, different body, and saying, "oh, boy."  The next episode would pick up from there.  He never went back to a previous body, so you're seeing the episodes out of order.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer !

 

Sorry, I didn't express myself correctly (writing in english is a little shaky for me !), I didn't mean he got both times in the same body but as Merroni said :

During second season there is two episodes he would leap and the next episode would not start where he leaped in the last episode.

 

 

and those (at least for me), are body which already had "their episode" in the first season !

 

The first season on DVD end with Sam leaping for the first time in a woman's body (the secretary). The second season begin with the project's trial. No problem with the leap in S02E01 and S02E02

S02E03, at the end Sam leaps into the body of the black chauffeur in S01E07. 

S02E04 it's the episode with the secretary, first time he is a woman whom we saw at the end of season 1.

No problem after that until S02E11, the episode with the ghost where at the end he leaps in the body of the young boy with zits whos sister's gonna marry a violent asshole in S01e08. 

S02E14, at the end, Sam leaps again in the black chauffeur. That's two times. Three if you count the good one in season 1 ! They must like the episode. Please note that it must have been a favorite of the network in France too because I must have seen this episode 12523 times at least on random reruns !

S02E16, at the end, Sam leaps again in the body of the hitman from S01E06

S02E20 at the end, Sam leaps again in the body of the professor who sleeps with his student (with Teri Hatcher)

 

That's why I was asking if somebody knew how it was filmed and if there is a backstory to this because as I said, I checked with the imdb and the dvd present the same order as them so I'm watching in what seems to be the right order. Even if the backstory is that the people who made the dvd smoke powerful weed !

But now that I think about it, asking this 25 years after the show first aired is kind of stupid ! So please, feel free to mock me because I'm neatpicking about it. 

 

What bugs me is Al is always hitting his communicator. I'm surprised it quit working at all.

 

Haha ! 

Yep, I imagine that's why it failed in the episode with the pool game even if Al came with a explanation about the army using their lines or something ! 

 

Just finishing the second season, the last episode, with Al's first wife truly moved me. I've never seen it before and the insight in Al's heart was beautifully made. Between this episode and the one where we learn he had a mentally disabled sister and he grew up as a foster child, I must have been too young at the time to see Al as a true character with layers and not just as the goofy womanizer.

This show was dear to my heart, I had so many found memories of it but seeing all episodes like that, I realize it was truly brilliant in its own way.

  • Love 1
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Some episodes from season one were re-aired during season two, and they changed those clips as needed so every episode would make sense with the next. Not sure why they didn't fix them for the DVDs when they took the relevant episodes out.

  • Love 1
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Looks like Dean Stockwell is keeping busy.  He's in a new film called, "Persecution".    Haven't seen the film yet (so far it's in theatres too far from my area),  but considering the subject matter, it might be worth a viewing on DVD.

 

Just looking at his resume, Stockwell seems to have done it all - with non acting adventures in between!   

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Some episodes from season one were re-aired during season two, and they changed those clips as needed so every episode would make sense with the next. Not sure why they didn't fix them for the DVDs when they took the relevant episodes out.

 

It looks like the first season was a mid-season; it has only 9 episodes. So that could be why the re-aired it during season 2.

 

First, I'm SO HAPPY Cozi is airing this show! I love it.  And yep, Netflix doesn't have the pilot, which bummed me out, because the marathon on Monday, only aired part 1 of the pilot and then went to episode 3, since part II of the pilot was episode 2.

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The problem is, however, that modern day tv making is basically shit. You'd need a 50+ y/o lead to be able to have the scope of storytelling that you would need for this kind of show. Most networks would probably want a 20 something lead, and I don't think a show with lame jokes about Friends or grunge music would really be that interesting. You get someone old enough though and there's plenty of interesting things. Sam was in Vietnam, now there could be someone going to Iraq, with the foreknowledge that there aren't WMDs there. They'd have to do a 9-11 episode which could be really compelling if keep true to the main premise of the original show too.

 

I don't know why they would need a 50 year old lead. Scott Bakula was in his mid to late 30's during the run of the show. Granted, the show's "present" was in the mid to late 90's, which would make Sam Beckett in his 40's, but that didn't preclude Bakula from playing the part. And in any case, the time period for Sam's leaping was essentially only a 35 year period, 1953 to the late 80's.

 

There would be no reason that a new show couldn't restrict leaps to the time period of, for example, 1980 through 2015. That era certainly includes historical equivalents to anything Sam would have encountered. Be it national tragedy (9/11 instead of JFK), war (Iraq/Afghanistan instead of Vietnam), and any number of social movements.

 

As far as lame jokes about Friends, grunge or anything else in the pop cultural firmament, the original Quantum Leap was hardly above goofing on some easy targets. Be it disco, glam rock, or the 70's in general.

  • Love 3
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Yeah, my point was that 1953 to the late 80s was more tumultuous. I think on a broadcast network the 80s to the 2015s would be more sanitized. On a good cable channel with some creative freedom, I suppose it could work. I would prefer being able to go back to at least the mid 70s, so a 40-50 y/o would work better.

 

I'd be surprised if a broadcast network today would hire a show with only two leads in their mid 30s and 60s though.

  • Love 2
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There was greater social upheaval in the 1960's and 1970's, but the 2000's still gave us 9/11, the Iraq War, the Asian Tsunami, Virginia Tech, the rise of gay marriage, Obama, the Great Recession, etc etc. There is plenty of material to work with. Like imagine Sam in a upscale suburban neighborhood getting hit hard by the Great Recession, and the desperation setting in,. Or Sam trying to stop a school shooting. Things like that.

 

I do think that I can't see a broadcast network being willing to shell out the kind of money that had to go into this show, what with the constantly changing era sets, the popular music, etc etc.

 

I bought M.I.A. on Vudu. I was absolutely thrilled that it featured Georgia on My Mind. I am still so pissed that the muzak they picked for the DVD replacement sounded like this happy little tune. Hell, if they wanted to, they could have picked Moon River, which has to be cheap as hell because it's been featured EVERYWHERE, and it would have fit better.

 

The music thing is the one reason why I've never bought the DVD's.

Edited by methodwriter85
  • Love 2
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I was a huge fan of this show when it originally aired. I'm watching all the reruns now, on Cozi, and I like them just as much now, they hold up. Except now that I'm older, I really notice Sam getting kissed by someone (male or female!) every episode. Too funny. I remember being so disappointed in the finale, though.

 

It's interesting that shows I watched when they originally aired I still like. Those I never watched "back then" I still won't watch.

 

Scott Bakula ... wow, he really holds up too, through the years. *shallow*

 

One of my favorite episodes is when he leaps back to his present-day scientific crew and is reminded he's married. Ouch! And another fav is when he leaps back to his younger self and tries to save his brother.

 

I totally do not remember Sam having a daughter ...

Edited by saber5055
  • Love 1
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I've been watching on Cozi, too, and I've been disappointed when the "next" show isn't the same as what was "teased" in the previous episode.  ...so I bought the entire set of DVDs from Amazon.  I now own a boxed set.  There are some special features, but I haven't had a chance to check it all out yet. I've got other stuff to do and once I get started with this, it'll be hard to stop.  Hahahaha

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I started binge watching on Netflix. I'm in season 2. I loved this show when it aired and I am thoroughly enjoying it now. I read an article the other day, 8 sad truths on QL. I can see what the article was talking about, Sam kissing someone on almost every episode, it didn't bother me then and doesn't bother me now. This show was more of each episode was it's own story but loosely linked to the rest of the program. Another item in the article was the comparison of male star's bodies in the 90s to what male stars of superhero shows are today. I thought Scott Bakula was gorgeous and is still gorgeous today. Only reason for watching NCIS: New Orleans just as Mark Harmon and David McCallum are the only reasons for watching NCIS. Yes, I am old and I liked it when men looked like men and not androgynous little boys. 

 

I haven't seen this show since it originally aired, I thinks it holds up pretty well. It tackled many social problems of the various time periods and I remember so much about those times. I'm a few years older than Scott Bakula/Sam Beckett, so share a lot of memories. I've remembered parts of a lot of episodes, so watching the entire episode now fills in a lot of blanks. Sometimes I do wonder how the actors were able to do their dialogue with a straight face. In particular the one about the PI in the 50s - such ridiculous dialogue.

 

I just watched one of my 2 favorite episodes, To Catch a Fallin' Star, where Sam leaps into an understudy to Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha. John Callum, who starred in Northern Exposure, was Don Quixote. I had the pleasure to see John Callum in a road show of Man of La Mancha several years ago, I love that show and I love John Callum.

 

With some of my binge watching I will watch for hours, but this one, I'm only watching 2-3 episodes at a time. I think it's because I don't want it to end. 

 

I love the original music the episodes continue to have on Netflix.

Edited by friendperidot
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Watching my boxed set, I suddenly got the urge to watch "Star Trek: Enterprise" - so I'm watching QL while waiting for Netflix to send the next Enterprise DVD to my door.  I'm OD'ing on Scott Bakula (which is NOT a bad thing...)  But I really enjoyed the Enterprise episode with Dean Stockwell as a guest star.  Bwaaa ahahahahaha.

 

Log: Starting Season 2 of Enterprise, Season 3, disc two of QL.

 

Anybody know if Eisenhower & Lutz is on DVD?  It's too soon for me to start re-watching Men of a Certain Age. (Man, I loved that show.)

  • Love 2
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I'm confused about Mirror Image.  At the end, it says Beth waited for Al & they have 4 daughters, etc.  I suppose this means if Sam ever gets into a situation where he needs to know some Yiddish, Al can't help him, never having had fourth (fifth?) wife Ruthie, who taught him.

 

I also noticed the picture of "young Al" in Beth's house isn't the same pic of young Stockwell from the MIA episode, but one of the kid who played Bingo Calavicci in A Leap for Lisa.

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I watched this show in it's original run,  I must have forgotten what order they were in because I thought some the episodes were in earlier seasons than I remember. It must be because the last season would be the most recent in my memory. 

 

I didn't watch it again until I found it recently on Netflix a few days ago. I never realized how much making out there really was on this show. Netflix skipped the pilot. They skipped a lot of episodes. I finally got to the last episode and they didn't show that one either. I was really disappointed. They did that with The Doctor Who - Key To Time Story. They played the first five segments of the Key To Time and didn't do the sixth. They skipped some episodes of MASH as well. 

 

I thought it was weird that they had a one-off episode where Sam remembered that he had a wife. Barring any Net-Skipped episodes, she was never heard from again. The producers must have regretted that they gave him one. 

 

The worst episode was when they hooked Sam up with that psychic and is was basically just Sam having sex with her for two weeks. I had to fast forward through most of that episode. I got halfway through the one with Brook Shields. I couldn't cope with her and Sam Blue Lagooning it, so I moved on.

 

I enjoyed the series in it's original run, I enjoyed it this time around as well. I think it held up pretty well - for me anyway. 

  • Love 1
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I remember watching some of these when they first aired and didn't care for QL much but my mother LOVED it.  I thought she lived to see the last episode, but checking the dates, she died between the second and third seasons.  I was furious at the final finale, as I am sure many of you were.  I just got Hulu and it has QL, including the full pilot so I am watching the whole thing for myself, not just as an extension of my mother.  I loved the gumshoe ep with Claudia Christian and Willie Garson.  When the cast of the Man of La Mancha started serenading him with "The Impossible Dream" I actually teared up.  Some of these stories are lame (to me) but overall I am enjoying a break from the current fare, Supernatural, the dreadful Vampire Diaries, and the boring iZombie.  Doing a re-watch of XFiles too.  I always liked Al better than Sam.  Sam was too much the straight man.  I don't want to see a reboot although I said the same with BSG and that turned out fantastic, at least at first. 

  • Love 1
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Just started s5 on Hulu. HATE the new theme song. Suffering through Lee Harvey Oswald. I hope rest of season is not this boring! I suffered through s 9 &10 of Stargate. Please tell me ql did not have an end-of-run type of letdown!

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Well, I enjoyed some of S5.  Hated the Lee Harvey Oswald and Brook Shields episodes.  Could that woman have been any more stupid?  I didn't really enjoy the Marilyn Monroe one, but enjoyed Elvis. probably an unpopular opinion, but I didn't mind that Sam had a daughter, Sammy Jo.  The weirdness was of course is that in the previous episode he was the girl's father, then he leapt back in as her boyfriend.  I am surprised they went there. The very last one, Mirror Image, was terrific and is probably my favorite for the whole series, except for that last sentence on the coda.

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Thanks for this look back at what I proclaimed, with zero irony, was my favorite show back in the '90s. Like you, I recently went back and watched a few episodes I remember particularly liking and found that, for the most part, the show does not hold up very well, except on a nostalgia level. I do wonder how many STEM careers Quantum Leap launched, based on people my age watching it and thinking, "That cannot be how science actually works."

  • Love 3
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