Neil celebrates the wonder that is cult sci-fi series Quantum Leap.
All together now, Oh boy… Im fourteen years old.
A hushed silence would fall on the room.
With bated breath Id wait for it…like an audience nervously awaits an orchestra.
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Doesnt it still make those hairs on the back of your neck stand up?
What a weird show!
No, strike that!
What a weird and simply wonderful show!
NBC:Okay Don you just came off ofMagnum P.I.So what do you have for us?
Oh, and he has a holographic friend from the future.
Oh, and at some point hell Leap into a monkey.
(AWKWARD SILENCE)
NBC:Okay, well give you eight episodes.
This was the 80s for you!
So, maybe in retrospect, Don wasnt that far off the mark after all.
On Easter Sunday March 26, 1989, Bellisarios bold concept premiered as a two-hour movie calledGenesis(Ep.
Along for the ride is the cigar-smoking Admiral Al Calavicci, the project Observer.
Well, to guide him on what he has to fix in each year of course.
How does Al know all this?
Well, silly, he has the help of Ziggy, the projects talking, hybrid, super computer.
Genesisgives us two Leaps for the price of one.
In the second hour, hes a minor-league baseball player who has to win the big game.
Or so they hoped.
Whatever they threw at him, he dove right into it like a champion.
Bakula brought to Sam that every man, Midwestern quality that was necessary for the character.
You felt for him like a friend.
You were there with him throughout all his ups and downs.
The sci-fi/fantasy genre was always lacking in the somewhat sleazy, womanizing, holographic sidekick department.
But, as the man himself once said, Al was, and still is, his favorite role.
How could you not love him?
Also, where would our lives be without Als constantly malfunctioning, Lego-like, computer hand link to Ziggy?
Do I even need to mention the constant complaints to Gooshie, the projects computer programmer?
They still reverberate in my pop culture consciousness.
If Sam was the choir boy of the two, then Al was certainly not.
The facts of which were eventually divulged inPlay Ball(ep.
Ultimately, here were two actors who couldnt be more dissimilar in acting styles and personality.
But, somehow something clicked.
Its no wonder that they were close friends off screen as well as on.
What started out initially as a mid-season replacement series quickly grew into something much, much more.
LikeStar Trekbefore it,Quantum Leaptackled the sensitive and relevant issues of the day under the guise of science-fiction.
It didnt matter if the Leapee was a man or woman.
If you once had a problem, Sam was on it.
In the episodeJimmy(ep.
While the highly controversialRunning for Honor(ep.
4.12), touched on topics of closeted homosexuality and hate crimes.
Lastly, isThe Wrong Stuff(ep.
4.7), where Sam does indeed Leap into a 1960s NASA chimpanzee named Bobo.
That wasQuantum Leapfor you.
Did you really think I was going to let it slide?
It was the catch phrase to end all catch phrases!
Damn it Jim!?
They have nothing on Oh Boy!
moment in the series.
But, I have to hand it to Bakula.
My personal favorite is inShock Theatre(ep.
Sam is now the hologram and Al is the Leaper.
If you have to ask me what they say in unison then you havent been paying attention.
Now there is a white elephant in the room, and its calledMirror Image(ep.
He is allowed to right a wrong in Als life, and continue on Leaping and helping people.
The final title card in the show reads Dr. Sam Beckett Never Returned Home.
Now to say that this episode is Bellisarios philosophical homage toThe Wizard of Ozis an understatement.
However, its definitely not everyones cup of tea.
Personally, Ive come to appreciate it as an analogy for life.
Things arent always what they seem and our journey, however long, is something we should appreciate.
But, in the end youd have to ask Bellisario about that one.
When all is said and done,Quantum Leapis like a fine wine.
It gets better with age, and its vintage is eternal.
