"Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. 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, Dr. 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."
This was the introduction to the classic 90s sci-fi series Quantum Leap starring Scott Bakula as Beckett and Dean Stockwell as Al. Created by Donald P. Bellisario, Quantum Leap ran for 97 episodes (including a 2-hour pilot movie) on NBC for 5 seasons from 1989-1993.
In this time travel based series, Sam Beckett traded lives of an assortment of people. During his adventures through time, Sam would become a woman, an elderly black man, a Navy Seal, a minor league baseball player, a young man with Down Syndrome and the notorious Kennedy assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. Every life that Sam took control over, he would have to correct some sort of mistake in the time line in order to get closer to going back home to his time period of year 1999.
From 1991-93, Innovation Publishing produced 13 comics based on Quantum Leap. The premise of unique circumstances behind Sam's leaps continued with the time traveller switching places with a death row inmate, part of a pair of identical twins and a department store Santa in the series' lone holiday comic. Issue #13 was to be released as a one-shot special titled 'Time and Space'. However, due to production delays, this project became what would be the series' final issue documenting Sam Beckett's 1963 experience of leaping into an extraterrestrial aboard an honest-to-god UFO.
Issue #13 ended with a soft cliffhanger. After saving a human couple who were abducted by the aliens, Sam leapt into the body of a toddler. Issue #14, which was titled 'Two Dweebs and a Little Monster', was to be the first of a 3-part trilogy in which Sam leapt into the bodies of youngsters. The first chapter would have Sam's host being kidnapped by a pair of bumbling brothers seeking to sell the child to baby brokers. But with NBC cancelling Quantum Leap and Innovation founder David Campiti's departure leaving the company in disarray, the comic adaptation was sacked. A promised annual with Sam leaping into the body of a heart surgeon in the middle of an operation with his patient flat-lining on the table, was also cancelled.
The biggest problem of Quantum Leap wasn't the fan base. They were loyal and vocal. Even through season 4, some episodes drew audiences of up to 18 million viewers. NBC just didn't have faith in the show. The home of the peacock changed Quantum Leap's schedule 8 times in the show's 5 year run! Thus a major complaint from the fans were that they never could find the show!
The plug was finally pulled by NBC execs on May 5, 1993. In the episode titled 'Mirror Image', Sam leapt into his body. Only, he didn't return to his time period. Instead, Sam found himself in a bar in Western Pennsylvania on the exact day and time he was born. Facing a bartender who claims to be in control of Sam's leaps, Dr. Beckett is given a choice of going home or correcting the biggest mistake of his time travel career. Ultimately, Sam leaps to the 1960s, informing Al's then wife Beth, that Al is alive and imprisoned in a Vietnamese POW camp.
As a result of Sam's sacrifice, history is changed. Al and Beth remain married upon Al's freedom. The couple wind up having 4 daughters, one of which would be involved with Project Quantum Leap. Dr. Sam Becket (sic) never returned home.
Speak about fan outrage! NBC received countless phone calls requesting at a chance to bring Sam home. A letter campaign was launched. For decades, Scott Bakula teased fans with hints of a feature-length movie to bring Sam Beckett home. Finally in 2022, the Quantum Leap project was revived, ironically on NBC. Only, Bakula was a no-show and sadly Dean Stockwell had passed away the year prior.
The spirit of Al Calavicci is alive and well in the new series as the backstory of the reboot tells of how Al never stopped searching for his friend. As mentioned earlier, daughter Janis, would have a troubled relationship with project coordinator Magic Williams; the now older Navy Seal that Sam had leapt into. Though new leaper Dr. Ben Song went back through the Project Quantum Leap accelerator to save his fiancee from an evil leaper, season 2 provides hope that Ben might run into Sam Beckett before returning to 2022 California. Right now, Scott Bakula denies being involved with the reboot. But Leap fans can dream.
And yes, while I realize NOW that I read this book previously, I actually don't remember it! So, is it really a re-read???
Script by Christine Elaine Hantzopulos. Art by Luke Ross.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
Completing this review completes Task #23 (A Time Travel Story) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
