NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Dr. Sam Beckett

Quantum Leap was a science fiction television series which ran for 97 episodes from March 1989 to May 1993 on NBC. It followed the adventures of Dr. Sam Beckett (played by Scott Bakula), a brilliant scientist who finds himself abruptly and uncontrollably 'leaping' through time, temporarily switching places with diverse people at various times within his own lifetime, the second half of the 20th century: "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 article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (April 13, 1906 â€“ December 22, 1989) was an Irish playwright, novelist and poet. ... Logo for the television show Quantum Leap. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into theatre. ... Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935 in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania) is an American television producer and scriptwriter. ... Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise. ... Dean Stockwell Dean Stockwell (born March 5, 1936 in North Hollywood, California) is an American actor who is best-known for his role as Admiral Albert Al Calavicci in the American TV series Quantum Leap. ... NBC, the National Broadcasting Company, is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... This is a list of Quantum Leap episodes in the order in which they were released. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... NBC, the National Broadcasting Company, is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Story

Dr. Sam Beckett (born August 8, 1953) is a brilliant theoretical physicist with six doctoral degrees in subjects including quantum physics from the MIT, medicine from UCLA, archeology from UC Berkeley, music from USC, and ancient languages from Harvard (he doesn't have advanced degrees in literature, psychiatry, or the law). Dr. Beckett theorizes that a person may be able to time travel within the confines of his own lifetime, following his "string theory" of time travel: each person's life is like a length of string (one end is birth, the other death), and if one (metaphorically) rolls the string into a ball, every part of one's life touches every other, thereby making it possible to travel from any point on the string to any other point. August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... MapÃºa Institute of Technology (MIT, MapÃºaTech or simply MapÃºa) is a private, non-sectarian, Filipino tertiary institute located in Intramuros, Manila. ... The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a prestigious, public, coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate and its bridge. ... USC may refer to: // Education University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California, USA) United Services College (Westward Ho!, Devon, England) Universidad del Sagrado CorazÃ³n, or University of the Sacred Heart (San Juan, Puerto Rico) University of San Carlos (Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines) University of South Carolina (South Carolina, USA... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Time travel is a concept that has long fascinated humanity—whether it is Merlin experiencing time backwards, or religious traditions like Mohammeds trip to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, returning before a glass knocked over had spilt its contents. ...

In the near future (the year 1999), at a highly classified U.S.-government-funded research facility somewhere in the desert of New Mexico, Sam is working on a grand experiment to prove his theory. However, the funding for Project: Quantum Leap is about to be cut. Sam's colleagues protest that they're not ready, but in a last-ditch effort to prove that his theories are correct, Sam steps into the project's "accelerator chamber" and vanishes. Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to 1956) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government â€¢ President â€¢ Vice President Federal Republic George... Official language(s) None; English and Spanish de facto Capital Largest city Santa Fe Albuquerque Area Ranked 5th - Total 121,665 sq. ...

Sam appears in the past with no memory of who he is or where he is. This side-effect of uneven amnesia is called Swiss-cheesing or (as a technical term in the show's universe) magnafluxing, which prevents him from remembering most of the details of his own life. His friend from his original time, Albert "Al" Calavicci (played by Dean Stockwell), appears to him as a holographic projection from the "imaging chamber", usually only visible and audible to Sam. Al is the project observer and a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral. Along with the (possibly) sentient supercomputer named Ziggy, Al is able to help Sam "set right what once went wrong" before he leaps out into the next person. At the beginning and end of nearly every episode, as Sam leaps into a new person, the catch phrase of "Oh boy..." was uttered (One prominent exception occurred when Sam said "Oy Vey!" after he leapt into a rabbi). Image File history File links Quantum_Leap. ... Image File history File links Quantum_Leap. ... Amnesia (or amnaesia in Commonwealth English) is a condition in which memory is disturbed. ... A fictional universe is a cohesive imaginary world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or (more commonly) multiple works of fiction. ... Dean Stockwell Dean Stockwell (born March 5, 1936 in North Hollywood, California) is an American actor who is best-known for his role as Admiral Albert Al Calavicci in the American TV series Quantum Leap. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations around the globe. ... The term Rear Admiral originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons, and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. ... Sentience is a capacity for basic consciousnessâ€”the ability to feel or perceive, not necessarily including the faculty of self-awareness. ... A supercomputer is a computer that leads the world in terms of processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation, at the time of its introduction. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew ×¨Ö´×‘Ö´Ö¼×™ ribbÄ«;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli ×¨Ö·×‘Ö´Ö¼×™ rabbÄ«) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools (and among Sefaradim today) the sages...

In the pilot episode, Sam has leapt to the year 1956 as an X-2 test pilot, Captain Tom Stratton. In one of his holographic visits, Al tells Sam about Ziggy's theory that "God, or Time, was just waiting for your quantum leap to... correct a mistake." Al thinks that this is "a load of crap", but "If Ziggy's right, all you have to do is break Mach 3 and live." (Al also suggests that he wait 40 years and Sam will be in "the present.") But as more of these seemingly random leaps put Sam in a position to fix something that once went wrong, Al gradually comes to believe that the experiment has been mysteriously co-opted by an unidentified higher power, to use Sam to avert tragedies in ordinary people's lives. This, along with (possibly) the theory that God is controlling these leaps, is later confirmed when Sam meets the devil (who temporarily assumes Al's appearance to torment Sam before trying to kill him), who tells Sam "Who gave you the right to go bungling around in time, putting right what I made wrong?". It is re-confirmed indirectly when Sam meets an "evil leaper" who knows that her job is to set wrong what once went right. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Bell X-2 was an American research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2_3 range. ... Image:Http://www. ... The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity, who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ...

The term holographic projection is used in the program, although it is not the same as real holography. The show's "hologram" is a three dimensional, neurological projection; "created by an agitation of subatomic carbon quarks tuned to the mesons of my optic and otic neurons." To project the hologram, Al enters an "Imaging Chamber" in which the image of Al and anything he is touching, e.g., a person or cigar, are visible to Sam and Sam can hear Al speak, and correspondingly events in the past are visible and audible to Al. However, throughout the series, it has been found that animals, young children, the mentally ill and the fatally wounded can see Al. This has been used to Sam's advantage on a few occasions, such as Al soothing a crying child, leading a dog away from Sam, or speaking directly with an asylum inmate. This last proved very useful given that Sam was unable to perform his usual Leap duties as electro-shock therapy disrupted his ego and caused him to revert to the personalities of some of his past hosts; Al was able to talk to the person Sam was there to help and deal with the situation for him, although Sam still needed help to actually Leap in the end. Holography (from the Greek, ÎŒÎ»Î¿Ï‚-holos whole + Î³ÏÎ±Ï†Î®-graphe writing) is the science of producing holograms, an advanced form of photography that allows an image to be recorded in three dimensions. ... A subatomic particle is a particle smaller than an atom: it may be elementary or composite. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Quarks are one of the two basic constituents of matter in the Standard Model of particle physics. ... In particle physics, a meson is a strongly interacting boson, that is, it is a hadron with integral spin. ... The optic nerve is the nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. ... The vestibulocochlear nerve is the eighth of twelve cranial nerves and also known as the auditory nerve. ... Drawing by Santiago RamÃ³n y Cajal of cells in the pigeon cerebellum. ...

In what may be a form of paradox, in one episode Sam leaps into Al himself at an earlier period, when Al is on trial for murder. Although in the original history, Al was acquitted, Sam's actions cause the case to begin turning against Al. Partway through the episode, when Ziggy projects that the odds are 100% that Al will be convicted, Dean Stockwell disappears mid-sentence and is replaced by Edward St John, a character played by Roddy McDowall (with only Sam remembering that Al was the Observer), implying that Al was convicted and executed. In this new continuity, the staff at Quantum Leap appeared less emotionally involved with Sam's various hosts, and Sam and St. John have no apparent connection beyond a professional relationship; St. John even calls Sam 'Samuel', a name that Sam hasn't been called since he last saw his great-aunt. Fortunately, as soon as the odds jump back in favour of Al surviving, Al is restored, with only Sam remembering that Edward St. John was ever even there. This confirms that Project Quantum Leap would still exist without Al, though it would be radically different from the project as we know it. Robert Boyles self-flowing flask fills itself in this diagram, but perpetual motion machines cannot exist. ... McDowall as a child actor Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (September 17, 1928 â€“ October 3, 1998) was a British actor. ...

The Quantum Leap generator is run by a supercomputer called Ziggy which can use its immense database to pinpoint where and who Sam is and help Al figure out why he is there and what he must do so everything can be put right (In the above instance when history changed, Ziggy was called 'Alpha', another example of the formality of the alternate Project). Almost every episode centers around what Ziggy is trying to tell Sam to do, and giving him a clear objective, such as making sure someone doesn't end up in a car that will crash, saving a child's life or having someone stand up for themself after an attack like a rape or hate crime. Almost always, what Ziggy said was confusing and left Sam and Al to figure out in the last minute what had to be done so everything would be put right and Sam could leap. A supercomputer is a computer that leads the world in terms of processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation, at the time of its introduction. ... A Jewish cemetery in France after being defaced by Neo-Nazis. ...

Leaping: mind or body?

In early episodes of the series, it is unclear whether it is only Sam's mind that leaps (into other people's bodies) or if Sam's mind and body leap together. Subsequent episodes made it clear that both Sam's mind and body leap, and that an 'aura' surrounds him, making him look and sound like whoever he's leaped into (back home, the 'leap-ee' is suffused with a similar aura, and looks/sounds like Sam). Some examples of this include:

There are numerous other episodes in which Sam performs feats of strength that are suggested to be beyond the abilities of the people leapt into. For instance, in "Runaway", despite being a young boy, Sam is able to easily suspend his older and stronger sister over a well. Several other episodes feature Sam as a woman beating up male attackers while witnesses look on in amazement.

If Sam leaps in as somebody who is physically a different size than is Sam's own body, Sam is 'refracted' and temporarily made larger or smaller to fit (similar to the effect of light being refracted through a prism). However, a simpler explanation of this would be mere dramatic license.

Notes

It was established early in the show's run that Al sees Sam as the leapee rather than as Sam. However, later episodes indicate that he clearly sees Sam as Sam. In the episode "What Price, Gloria", Al becomes smitten with Sam's appearance as a woman. However, later in "Miss Deep South", Al mocks Sam's attempts to imitate a gorgeous beauty pageant contestant. (He refers to Sam/Darlene as "Scarlett O'Hara on steroids" at one point.) It has been suggested that after the distractions caused by the situation in "What Price, Gloria", the frequency in the imaging chamber was reconfigured to show Sam as Sam.

The series very rarely addressed real historical events, though it often used its "ordinary people" plots to address particular social, political, and spiritual issues. Many episodes depicted Sam dealing with issues characteristic of particular periods, such as civil rights, racism, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War (The presence of Al helped in these regards, as Al was captured for most of the Vietnam War and his sister Trudy suffered from Down Syndrome when he was young, although she died when they separated following their father's death). The series strongly favored messages of tolerance and understanding others, aided in large part by the story format, which had the protagonist literally walking in another man's (or, in later episodes, woman's) shoes. In one instance, Sam found himself back in his own childhood in Indiana, with a chance to improve his own family's life, but when his initial attempts failed, he realized that he may just have been there to say goodbye to them. (However, in the next episode, he was able to save his brother's life in Vietnam on a mission where the brother originally died). Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... The Cold War (Russian: Ð¥Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð´Ð½Ð°Ñ Ð²Ð¾Ð¹Ð½Ð° , Kholodna-ya voina) was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their alliance partners. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Indianapolis Indianapolis Area Ranked 38th - Total 36,418 sq. ...

One common criticism is that in all but a handful of episodes, Sam leaps into someone in the US. Apparently God or Time or whoever is controlling the leaps did not concern itself with trying to "put right what once went wrong" elsewhere in the world (though the ripple effect of Sam's changes, as described by the bartender in the series finale, may somewhat have alleviated this lack). The language barrier was not an effective explanation, since it was established early on that Sam spoke several foreign languages fluently, and thus could have conceivably leaped into numerous foreign countries without any significant handicap. However, in the last episode of the series, it was established that Sam wasn't the only leaper, so one could theorize that God or Time or whoever is controlling the leaps might have different leapers operating in different countries most of the time. Behind the scenes, however, the reason was obvious. The producers wanted to keep the leaps "local" so the American viewing audience could identify better with the situations presented. However, later in the show's run, Sam did begin leaping into foreign locales with greater regularity, leaping into Russia and Japan during the "Lee Harvey Oswald" two-part episode, an archaeological dig in Egypt in "The Curse of Ptah-hotep", an island in the Aegean Sea in "Leaping of the Shrew", England in "Blood Moon", and fighting in the Vietnam War in the second part of "The Leap Home".

There have been only two instances where Sam leapt outside of his own timeline. The first happened after Sam and Al leapt out of a previous leap while Sam is recieving electroshock therapy (to correct a mental problem encountered by receiving it at the beginning of the episode). This effectively switched the roles of Sam and Al such that Sam was the holographic image and Al was the leaper. Al leapt into a serviceman recently returning from combat in World War II, on almost exactly the date he was born. Circumstances beyond Ziggy's control (she was only programmed to document events that happened during Sam's lifetime, so the information about what Al was there to do arrived too late) forced Sam back as the leaper and returned Al to his own time when Al was knocked out before Ziggy could discover what Al was there to do; Sam leapt in to replace Al and complete the mission, since he would be conscious. Another instance was when Sam unknowingly leapt into his great grandfather, Sgt. John Beckett, during the height of the American Civil War. The explanation for the leap was that although Sam cannot leap beyond his own lifetime, he somehow was able to leap with his great grandfather due to the fact that he and John Beckett had a similar DNA markup. Sam also met the grandfather of Martin Luther King Jr. during this episode. The error which allowed Sam to leap beyond his own lifetime was subsequently corrected by Ziggy. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Combatants Union (U.S.A.) Confederate States of America Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties Killed in action: 110,000 Total dead: 360,000 Wounded: 275,200 Killed in action: 94,000 Total dead: 258,000 Wounded... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid â€”usually in the form of a double helixâ€” that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. ... This article is about the domestic group. ... Martin Luther King, Jr. ... TV Show Reference Episode is the word usually used to refer to a part of a serial television or radio program. ...

Some have inquired why Sam never tries to contact a past version of himself, or another member of the Quantum Leap project, to warn them about the accident that sent Sam leaping through time with no way to get home. This would have effectively changed history and prevented Sam's initial leap in time. During the series, Sam leaps both into past versions of himself and Al and on a few occasions comes into contact with family members, professors, and scientists who would either later know about Project Quantum Leap or directly contribute to its completion (On one occasion, his former professor ended up married to a woman Sam was there to protect). In one episode, Sam actually writes a letter to Project Quantum Leap (to be delivered by his father's lawyer decades later) telling the project to open the Imaging Room door during an accident where Sam and Al switched places. He thus theoretically had multiple opportunities to do so. If Sam changed history in this way, however, he wouldn't have leaped back in time in the first place to send the message.

One might speculate that whatever force is leaping Sam around in time would prevent him from being able to change history in this fashion. In addition, there are moral issues of undoing all his work and changing the lives of all the people he has helped. Another possibility is due to Sam's own discretion: If Sam prevented the project from ever happening, his dream of time travel would have never been realized.

Only a few times did Sam "leap" into an actual historical figure, the first being Lee Harvey Oswald and the last being Elvis Presley. He also leapt into the chauffeur of Marilyn Monroe shortly before she died. All these leaps were in the fifth (final) season and were widely believed to be efforts to boost the show's ratings and looked down on by some fans. However, throughout the series it was common for Sam to leap into a character or situation based fairly obviously on a real person and/or event (for instance, in the episode "Roberto!", Sam leaps into a sensationalistic reporter/talk show host who is quite clearly based on Geraldo Rivera). Also common were so-called "kisses with history" where Sam would briefly encounter someone famous or a well-known event in a manner usually irrelevant to the story. On one occasion Sam inspired Buddy Holly to write the song "Peggy Sue" and as it transpired this is what he was there to do. [1] As a cab driver in 1958, Sam advised a 12-year-old Donald Trump that investing in New York City real estate would be a good way to get rich. During one episode, he performs the Heimlich Manoeuvre on a choking man who turns out to be Dr. Henry Heimlich. In another episode, his actions helped to inspire a young Stephen King to write some of his books. In "Good Morning, Peoria", Sam teaches Chubby Checker how to do The Twist. In another episode, he leaps into the body of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, who, while Sam dealt with a case of sexual harassment in the past, helped Al get over his inability to tell women he loved them after his first wife left him. (Westheimer appeared as herself in this role). In another episode, Sam recalls to a young boxer a scene from the film Rocky - the young boxer is revealed to be Sylvester Stallone. This photo, showing Oswald wielding a rifle, a handgun, and the newspapers The Militant and The Worker, was one of three taken on March 31, 1963 in the backyard of his Dallas home by his wife Marina. ... Elvis redirects here. ... Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926 â€“ August 5, 1962) is one of the twentieth-centurys most famous movie stars, sex symbols and pop icons. ... Sensationalism is a manner of being extremely controversial, loud, attention-grabbing, or otherwise sensationalistic. ... Geraldo Rivera on the Fox News Channel in 2004. ... Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 â€“ February 3, 1959), better known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and a pioneer of Rock and Roll. ... Peggy Sue is a Rock and Roll song written by Buddy Holly, and originally performed and recorded by Buddy Holly and the Crickets in early July of 1957. ... Donald John Trump, Sr. ... Wikibooks First Aid has more about this subject: Abdominal thrusts Heimlich maneuver The Heimlich Maneuver, also known as abdominal thrusts, is a first aid procedure for clearing an obstructed airway. ... Dr Henry J. Heimlich (born February 3, 1920-), an American physician, is best known for the Heimlich maneuver. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author best known for his enormously popular horror novels. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Twist was a rock and roll dance popular in the early 1960s and also the name of the song that originated it. ... Ruth Westheimer, Ed. ... Rocky (1976) is a motion picture written by and starring Sylvester Stallone as underdog boxer Rocky Balboa. ... Sylvester Stallone in The Contender Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946 in New York City) is an American film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. ...

The Oswald story arc confirmed that Sam and Al's "native time" occurs in a different timeline than our own, when Sam attempts to intervene during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Although he fails to save the president, Al reveals that his mission was still successful because, in their timeline, Jacqueline Kennedy also died in the attack. From a fictional standpoint, it may be that our universe exists in the way it does because it has been "put right" by Sam's actions. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 â€“ November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... First official White House portrait. ...

Series conclusion and legacy

The series (created by Donald Bellisario) was somewhat unusual in that it had a science fiction premise, but little science fiction- or fantasy-oriented storytelling, instead focusing on the personal journeys of Sam Beckett and those he encounters. Even in its final episode, the show refused to resolve many of its own technical and holistic questions, choosing instead to leave things open-ended and focus tightly on what is arguably the series' overarching message: that a single person can change the world one life at a time. Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935 in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania) is an American television producer and scriptwriter. ...

The final episode was in fact intended to be an end-of-season cliffhanger, but after the series was not renewed by the network, it was re-edited to function as the series finale. This may account for some of its ambiguous nature. The original ending had Sam leaping to tell Al's first wife, Beth, that Al was coming home. His Vietnam-era picture begins to "leap" (this is where the final episode cuts off), and then we see a modern picture of Al sitting with Beth and their four daughters. This ending somehow made it out of the studio and has been circulated on the Internet. In the ending that was actually broadcast, we are told that Al was reunited with Beth, that they remained married, and that "Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home." Fans have speculated that this would have erased Project Quantum Leap, Sam and Al's relationship, or even Sam himself from the altered timeline; however, the original script and subsequent statements by Bellisario leave all of these intact. A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in which a movie, novel, or other work of fiction contains an abrupt ending, often leaving the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation. ... Series finale is a promotional/advertising term used to describe the final episode of a television series, usually a sitcom or a drama. ...

In many ways, the show was similar to Highway to Heaven, Touched by an Angel or Joan of Arcadia; shows that had recurring plots where the protagonist tried to right wrongs without knowing the full purpose behind each mission. Highway to Heaven was a television drama which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989. ... Touched by an Angel was a television show created by John Masius and Martha Williamson that ran on CBS (Disney Channel and Hallmark Channel in the UK) from September 21, 1994, until April 27, 2003. ... Joan of Arcadia was an American television fantasy/family drama which aired on Fridays, 8-9 PM ET/PT on CBS from 2003 until 2005. ...

The Sci-Fi Channel was projected to begin airing a sequel, supposedly called A Bold Leap Forward, sometime in 2006. However, the project appears to have suffered various setbacks, and it currently remains in development. Sci Fi is an American cable television channel, launched in 1992 and currently owned by corporate conglomerate NBC Universal, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming. ... A Bold Leap Forward is a sequel series to the 1989/early 90s science fiction series Quantum Leap that currently remains in development. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In an interesting nod to QL fans, when series star Scott Bakula arrived on the set of his most recent show Star Trek: Enterprise, he jokingly suggested that the middle name of his Trek character (Captain Jonathan Archer) might be Beckett. Later in the series, Dean Stockwell performed a guest role in an episode of Enterprise. Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... Jonathan Archer is a fictional character from the television show Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005). ... Dean Stockwell Dean Stockwell (born March 5, 1936 in North Hollywood, California) is an American actor who is best-known for his role as Admiral Albert Al Calavicci in the American TV series Quantum Leap. ...

A crossover with Magnum, P.I. (also produced by Donald Bellisario) was planned, in which Sam would leap into Thomas Magnum himself. Plans for a Magnum, P.I. movie led to the crossover being cancelled, although some footage was filmed, including the initial leaping in sequence, usually put at the end of the preceding episode (the "Oh boy..." bit). This featured Scott Bakula, dressed in Magnum's classic red Aloha shirt, turning towards the camera and comically raising his eyebrows, just as Tom Selleck does at the end of the opening credits to Magnum, P.I. If this situation had Sam leaping into Magnum rather than Tom Selleck the actor, this would have created a continuity issue, since in an earlier episode a character (The daughter of Sam's current host, to be precise) is seen watching Magnum, P.I. on television. A fictional crossover occurs when otherwise separated fictional characters, stories, settings, universes, or media meet and interact with each other. ... Magnum, P.I. was an American television show that followed the adventures of Thomas Magnum (played by Tom Selleck), a private investigator living in Hawaii. ... Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935 in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania) is an American television producer and scriptwriter. ... Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise. ... Authentic Aloha shirts are dull in color and are adorned with traditional Hawaiian quilt patterns. ... Tom Sellecks lead character on Magnum, P.I. portrayed him as a moustached private investigator. ...

Home video releases

In the 1990s, a few of the episodes were released on VHS. In the United States, these included "The Pilot Episode" ("Genesis"), "Camikazi Kid", "The Color of Truth", "What Price Gloria?", "Catch a Falling Star", "Jimmy", "The Leap Home", "Dreams", and "Shock Theater". In the United Kingdom, they were mostly released in pairs, selling as "The Pilot Episode", "The Color of Truth" and "Camikazi Kid", "Catch a Falling Star" and "Jimmy", "The Leap Home" and "The Leap Home Part II - Vietnam", "The Americanization of Machiko" and "What Price Gloria?", and "Dreams" and "Shock Theater". Image File history File links Quantum_Leap_series_1_DVD_front. ... Image File history File links Quantum_Leap_series_1_DVD_front. ... DVD-R writing/reading side DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... Top view VHS cassette with U.S. 25c coin for scale Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed The Video Home System, first released in September 1976, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard for video cassette recorderss (VCRs), developed by JVC (with...

1998 brought the DVD release of "The Pilot Episode", containing only the episode "Genesis" and chapter selection. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... DVD-R writing/reading side DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ...

In 2004, the first two seasons of the series were released on DVD. The Region 1 version of "Quantum Leap: The Complete First Season" came out in North America on 7 June 2004, containing all of the episodes as they originally aired (except for "Play It Again, Seymour"), along with some bonus features. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map showing DVD Regions Each DVD-Video disc contains one or more region codes, denoting the area[s] of the world in which distribution and playback are intended. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

For some unknown reason, Universal was unable to obtain music rights for all of the music in "Quantum Leap: The Complete Second Season", in the case of the Region 1 version. Some were replaced with generic instrumental music. This outraged many fans and inspired a letter-writing campaign, demanding such a modification be corrected. The most criticized instance was the removal of Ray Charles's "Georgia on My Mind" from the season two finalé, "M.I.A.", during a scene in which Al dances with his first wife Beth. Subsequent Region 1 DVD releases continued to feature music replacement, but Universal did begin including a disclaimer on the package indicating such. The current Universal Studios logo Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los Angeles and Burbank. ... Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. ... Ray Charles was the stage name of Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 â€“ June 10, 2004). ... Georgia on My Mind is a song written by Stuart Gorrell and Hoagy Carmichael; it is the official state song of the U.S. state of Georgia. ...

Season 4 was released by Universal on 28 March 2006. The current Universal Studios logo Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los Angeles and Burbank. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The first three seasons have been released on DVD in the UK; Season 1 was released on the 8 November 2004, Season 2 on the 31 October 2005 (music intact) and Season 3 on the 12 December 2005. November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The first three seasons are also available on DVD in Australia; Season 1 was released on the 2 May 2005, Season 2 on the 7 Feburary 2006 (music intact) and Season 3 will be released on the 7 June 2006. May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Trivia

This photo, showing Oswald wielding a rifle, a handgun, and the newspapers The Militant and The Worker, was one of three taken on March 31, 1963 in the backyard of his Dallas home by his wife Marina. ... This proposed logo for the US Information Awareness Office was dropped due to fears that its Masonic symbolism would provoke conspiracy theories. ... JFK is a film, first released in Canada and the United States on December 20, 1991, which purports to tell the history surrounding the President of the United States John F. Kennedys assassination. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 â€“ November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935 in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania) is an American television producer and scriptwriter. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... Debbie Allen (born Deborrah Kaye Allen on January 16, 1950 in Houston, Texas) is an American actress, choreographer, film director, television producer and a member of the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities. ... Bob Saget during his standup routine. ... Charles Rocket, born Charles Claverie (August 24, 1949 â€“ October 7, 2005), was an American film and television actor born in Bangor, Maine, USA. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design in the late 1960s and was part of the Rhode Island underground scene in the 1970s. ... Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 15, 1973. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Dr. Laura Schlessinger Laura Schlessinger (born January 16, 1947) is an American cultural and moral commentator, most known as host of the very popular Dr. Laura radio therapy call-in show. ... Ruth Westheimer, Ed. ... Jennifer Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Michael Beach (born October 30, 1962) is an African-American actor of Cape Verdean descent. ... Third Watch was an NBC television drama set in New York City that ran from 1999 to 2005. ... Theresa Terry Lee Farrell (born November 19, 1963) is an American actress, best known for her roles in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Becker. ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ... For people named Becker, see Howard Becker . ... Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Promo picture from 3rd Rock from the Sun Joseph Gordon-Levitt (born February 17, 1981 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor best known for his role as Tommy Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun. ... 3rd Rock from the Sun was an American television situation comedy that ran from 1996 until 2001. ... Carla Gugino as Karen Sisco Carla Gugino (born August 29, 1971) is an actress known for her role as Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids movies and the title role in the TV series Karen Sisco. ... Alexa Vega as Carmen in Spy Kids Spy Kids is a name of a movie trilogy released from 2001 to 2003. ... Hatcher as Lois Lane Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964 in Sunnyvale, California) is an American actress. ... Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action television series based on the Superman comic books. ... Desperate Housewives is an American television series, created by Marc Cherry, that began airing on ABC in 2004, in HDTV. Set on Wisteria Lane in the fictional town of Fairview, the series tracks the lives of four housewives, following their domestic struggles while several mysteries involving their husbands, friends and... Eriq La Salle Eriq La Salle (born July 23, 1962 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Peter Benton during the first eight seasons of the NBC drama series ER. He has also performed in movies such as Coming to America and One... ER is a long-running serial drama created by novelist Michael Crichton and set primarily in the emergency room of County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. ... Patricia Richardson (born February 23, 1951 in Bethesda, Maryland) is a American television and motion picture actress best known for her role as Jill Taylor on Home Improvement. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is a mostly comic and mild mannered actor who was raised in Paterson, New Jersey, and studied Marine Biology at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. ... Seinfeld was an American television situation comedy set in New York City that ran from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998. ... Amy Yasbeck Amy Yasbeck (born September 12, 1963, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American film and television actress. ... Wings was a sitcom that ran on NBC from April 19, 1990 to May 14, 1997. ... The word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings over time. ... The militaries of the world have a variety of responses to homosexual and bisexual orientations. ...

Contents

Story

Leaping: mind or body?

Notes

Series conclusion and legacy

Home video releases

Trivia

See also

External links

Contents

Story GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Leaping: mind or body?

Notes

Series conclusion and legacy

Home video releases

Trivia

See also

External links

Story