Quantum Leap (2022)

The old show RARELY did Leaps that effected Sam or Al's immediate family. They saved those for special occasions. I like that big moments like those on the sequel means it doesn't live or die by the season premieres / finales. Regular episodes are allowed real emotional stakes.

Brandon Routh is perfect casting as Addison's father in a way the viewer can appreciate (but Addison cannot). Her father is literally Superman, and she doesn't know it, and could never see it. I think Routh was a VERY deliberate casting choice for that reason.

The stuff with Martinez at the end threw me, and is another pile of questions added to the ongoing mystery. What the hell is actually going on here?

I love the moment where Magic says he doesn't believe the Leaps are random, and that they are the "Moral Arc of the Universe" as described by Martin Luther King. Not to get too much into religion, but that's the way Sam Beckett saw it too. And it's clear Magic is the missing Dr. Beckett's biggest living acolyte.

I love that an episode that big, with that much at stake for Addison, didn't just occur outside of a premiere or finale. It was outside of Sweeps month too. It means the show believes delivering big, personal stories is something it should normally be doing from week to week, which is the correct mindset.

This episode highlights a plothole constantly inherent in Quantum Leap, and something that could be leveled at many episodes. But if whoever is controlling the Leaps wanted to make Ben's job as easy as possible, Ben would have Leaped into the Commander who screwed things up. It's more narratively interesting for Ben to have to change hearts and minds as an outsider. In reality, it would be better for all concerned if he Leaped into the person who made the mistake in the first place.

I loved Quantum Leap back before loving Quantum Leap was cool. And yet, it contained some very real narrative faults, that hit me wrong at the time, and have only looked even more appalling to me with 30 years hindsight. I like this show because it's everything I love about the old show, while fixing every single problem I ever had with it. Am I going there? Am I saying this iteration of the show is better than the original series? Unequivocal YES. I know the controversy I am stirring by saying that. But I say it because I believe it to be true.

That was a great episode. Quantum Leap has always been a bit of a fan favorite. And deeply flawed at the same. I love the sequel for reminding me of everything I loved about the original series, without ever once making me feel bad for watching it because it's dated and offensive. I love being allowed to love Quantum Leap again. Not being able to love this show as much as I used to actually hurt a bit. This show is a refreshing salve on that mental wound for that reason. ****1 removed link

What people who have never seen the original series may not aware of is Quantum Leap is a rare sci-fi franchise in that episodes entirely absent mythology are actually GOOD. The franchise appealed to me because the not-gimmick episodes were solid week in and week out while the show was always shakiest during Sweeps Week.

And that's not how modern television works. Episodes that DON'T move the plot forward are considered "filler" or "monster of the week". I hope people seeing this episode appreciate a franchise like this that finds drama in the scenario itself, and feels emotionally satisfying on its own instead of making you feel impatient for them to get back to the stuff with Janice or Martinez. Frankly, it's THOSE stories that make me impatient, simply because they dole out plot points so infrequently (and sparingly when they do). It should be the drama Ben encounters on the Leaps Of The Week that sustains the show, just like it did Sam Beckett, and I'm happy to say that was the case here too, even if they changed up the hologram to Jenn to keep things interesting.

I wish Ben himself hadn't Leaped before the good news about all the characters from the restored timeline was revealed, but perhaps the fact that he Leaped at ALL told him enough.

I want more episodes like this. ****.

This is all great stuff.

Ziggy being the mole is ingenious. Not only has the viewer trusted that damn computer since the original series (sort of), we've still always been led to believe there was something off about them. Now clearly Donald P Bellisario never planned THIS back in the day, but in "The Leap Back", Ziggy, as voiced by Bellisario's then wife and co-producer / writer Deborah Pratt, (who also voiced the original series' opening narration), seems antagonistic, bordering on sinister. Is this the same Ziggy? If so, the computer with a giant ego obviously had sociopathic tendencies all along.

The episode also raised an interesting question to me. Janice claims if Ben doesn't sacrifice himself at the end of that Leap, Addison will die. Clearly, for the sake of the show, neither of those things can happen. Which means, no matter HOW sure we had been led to believe Janice was, no matter how carefully planned out this all was with her and Ben, she is in error about a very big thing. And I couldn't ever say that before now until they made it a choice between Ben's life or Addison's. Magic wanting to save everyone is not just the more moral mindset, it's the one the narrative demands too. Sometimes narrative demands speak more about the reality of the fictional project than the most educated characters ever do. Ben and Addison can't die, at least not this soon into the show's run, so that makes Janice's predictions faulty. What else is she wrong about? And does knowing Ziggy is the mole change her thoughts there, or how she will approach things going forward?

Another sign Ziggy is the mole is because Martinez probably never could have Leaped without them. What's the true wild card is how Ian eventually became a Leaper. That bit doesn't add up to everything else.

I think Beth Calavicci is WAY too young. She literally looks 40 years younger than her character should be. I understand the need to bring back Susan Diol. She is so far the only actor from the original series to return. But they should have put her in age prosthetics. It is not credible she looks in her uppers fifties when Beth is probably 90 years or older.

Want to feel old? See Patrick Fischler, famous genre young punk, with white hair.

The Leap was a pretty horrific scenario. The original series also mined great drama with "Shock Theater", another Leap that weirdly had a lot to do with the series mythology too.

The Evil Leaper program is mentioned, but I don't think Martinez is to do with it. That program's computer was names Lothos. Neither Sam, Al, or Project: Quantum Leap ever heard the name, but it WAS an entirely separate enterprise. I wonder if it still even exists. For the record, I never bought the premise. Who the hell would work there in the first place? I understand Sam believe God controlled the Leaps. But really the only person the Evil Leapers could potentially answer to is the Devil Himself. I don't object to the show getting a bit mythological or Biblical. But it doesn't explain why people would work at that project.

Let me also put it in your head that as beloved of a fan premise as that was at the time, all three episodes with Alia sucked ass, especially the first. It was bad for the show. I think the writers of THIS show are a little more talented, and I would kind of want to see what they'd cook up (and both Carolyn Seymour and Hinton Battle are still alive) but I think if they can't actually figure out a good reason for that nonsense to exist in the first place, they'd do better off leaving well enough alone. The mention is more than enough for me.

I love this show very much. At this point I actually love it more than the original series. It's like everything I loved about it with none of its many disturbing faults. It's great to have Quantum Leap back on network TV in all its TV-PG glory. ****1 removed link

Next week is gonna be killer! The future? No wonder Ian couldn't find him. I wonder who he's Leaped into. Or did he Leap into himself? Is that why future Ian recognizes him?

Speaking of which, I love that Ben actually remembers Ian. Interesting quirk. It also makes him recognizing him at the ending make sense too.

I thought the episode was awesome, but I'm so stunned and excited by the ending, it's the only thing I can think of right now. This review is brief for this reason.

The future! Holy poo! ****1 removed link

It was a great, watershed, and yeah, bananas episode exploring things we're never seen in Quantum Leap before. And yet I was beyond disappointed with the cliffhanger. But like 30 seconds after it occurred, I was excited. Do you think the show planned the cliffhanger to be that ambiguous and underwhelming? I don't.

I'm pretty sure the initial plan was to have Scott Bakula show up in the Quantum Leap accelerator.

But he turned up his nose at reappearing because the reboot wasn't "Fun". And the original series' idea of fun was casual homophobia and Al creepily leering at women, so not too many credibility points are due Bakula from me. What I think is gonna happen is Bakula is going to hear all summer first-hand how much the fans love the show and will be guilted into showing up at the top of season 2 after all. Either that or they'll throw a ton of money at him. I have always loved the revival from the outset, but I was very much alone in my praise of the early episodes. Fans of the original series looked upon it with skepticism and even scorn since Bakula did all but give his disapproval. But the series worked overtime all season to win over skeptics and even if there are a couple of continuity holes here and there (what happen to The Waiting Room?) it feels like this show was made not just by people who loved the original series, but people who loved the premise and wanted to stretch it in new, interesting, and cool ways. And if you ask me, that episode is better than the one with Scott Bakula dressed as Carmen Miranda. And it kind of stings that an underwhelming episode like that was the picture attached to Bakula's Tweet about what the old show did right. That was corny and cringe. This? THIS is actually fun. This is Quantum Leap going in directions I wish it had been permitted to go with more seasons and a bigger budget.

Were you frustrated by that ending? It's possible it was actually so frustrating because the show is THAT determined to bring Bakula back. I guess my only real question left about it is what the frak are they gonna actually do if he says no again? ******.