Televisual Advent Calendar #21 – Quantum Leap

Oh boy…

Quantum Leap

This is my 2019 Televisual Advent Calendar. I did a musical version in 2011 and a cinematic one in 2012. It is in no particular order and I make no apologies for the TV series that I am blogging about. These TV series have either made me think, I have enjoyed or have had some impact on me. These are scripted TV series, some are drama, some are comedy, some are both. I found it really hard to narrow this down to just 24.

I really liked Quantum Leap, yes some of the stories were downright silly, but most were really good and it was enjoyable television.

Sam Beckett finds himself trapped in time due to an experiment gone awry, leaping into the body of a different person each week. Al Calavicci, at first known only as The Observer, is Sam’s holographic adviser — he provides Sam with some details about his new identity and gives him guidance on how to help the people affected by his presence. But with little memory to help guide him, our hero is forced to bluff his way through many a wacky situation.

Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci
Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci

The science behind the series left a lot to be desired, but if you could suspend your disbelief for a while then there were some really good stories in the series. The premise was very much about changing the past, putting right, things that were wrong.

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…” 

There was a limitation that Sam could only travel back in his own lifetime, which I think limited the stories, though there were a few exceptions when he did travel back further. Having said that the series did try and address the challenges society was facing in his lifetime, from inequality, racism as well as political upheaval.

I remember when they released the series on VHS, I was so pleased and then really disappointed that the release wasn’t the whole thing, but just some selected episodes. Obviously the distributors didn’t think it would sell, so only released a “best of” release. In today’s era of story arcs, you couldn’t get away with that.

Get Quantum Leap on Blu-Ray.
Get Quantum Leap on DVD.
Get Quantum Leap on Amazon Video.
Get Quantum Leap on iTunes.

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