Play it Again Sam (Quantum Leap - Series 1 (DVD))

Member Name: cyberem78

Product:	Quantum Leap - Series 1 (DVD)
Date:	12/12/08 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dramatic storylines. Brilliant acting. Comedy and tragedy portrayed.

Disadvantages: There are no interviews of Bakula and Stockwell together on the DVD.

Quantum Leap was my favourite show when I was a kid and I still love it today. After watching scractchy VHS tapes and endless repeats of the show on TV I was mega excited when it eventually came out on DVD.

The premise of the show is that a genius in 1999 called Dr Samuel Beckett, invents a time machine as part of a top secret project called 'Project Quantum Leap'. Bursting with the joy of his own success and swept away by an inflated ego, Sam jumps into the time machine before it's been fully tested to make sure it won't malfunction. Sam 'leaps' into the past, waking up in a strange house in the 1950s. When he looks in the mirror he sees a different face. In a sense it is only his mind that has time travelled - inhabiting someone elses body. The effects of time travelling seem to have made Sam lose some of his memories and he doesn't recall the project or even his own name.

Another member of the project Admiral Al Calavicci, who is also Sam's best friend, is able to project a holographic image of himself back in time to wherever Sam has gone. When Al appears to Sam however, the time traveller can't remember him and mistakes him for a ghost or a 'bogeyman'!

Sam is so fearful of his situation that he just wants to leap back home right away but the folks back in 1999 can't seem to get the time machine working again. A masterful organic computer back at the project headquarters, which is known as 'Ziggy', suggests Sam might leap out of the body he is in if he corrects something that wrong in the lives of the family of the man he has leaped into.

Sam's task in the 'pilot' episode is literally to become a pilot and to fly a plane faster than one has ever flown before. He then has to save the life of his 'wife's unborn child. When Sam achieves this he leaps - not home to 1999 however, but into another time and another body. The same situation occurs: in order for him to leap again he must put something that went wrong in history right. In doing this, Sam hopes he will keep leaping forward in time until reaching 1999 again.

This show really works because of the casting of Scott Bakula as Sam and Dean Stockwell as Al. Bakula is a handsome, strapping fellow who plays Sam as a vulnerable geek. I recall Al calling him 'Mr Morals' and refering to him as a boyscout. Sam's innocence is a big appeal. There is not one bone in his body that is bad and his hero status is undeniable. Al, on the otherhand, is a lot more sassy and frisky. He too is a good guy but he is a little more streetwise and cautious about other people's motives. Al's sense of humour and his jokey attitude to sex and women is an obvious contrast with the way Sam thinks and acts. It is also a curious notion that a man of such high standing career wise could be so wild and wacky.

This odd partnership between the two main characters allows scope for comedy and interesting, challenging interactions. Al antagonises Sam and Sam chastises Al. In the end, though, the pair completely understand one another. Al is, in a sense, a guardian angel to the hero. The friendship is heart-warming and there is obvious chemistry between the two actors. I'm not sure how much of the script was improvised but when these two talk in a scene it often sounds so natural. They seem to bounce ideas and smiles off one another.

The storylines in the eight episodes of the first season were played out in a lighthearted manner. The episode 'Color of Truth' deals with racism and is probably the most hard-hitting and serious episode of the bunch. The other episodes have comedy value but also deal with serious issues like the Vietnam war, domestic violence and mob rule. Still, I think this is the most carefree of all five seasons of the show.

Both Bakula and Stockwell are able to play comedy and tragedy and this versatility is very appealing. Bakula's ability to transform himself into the character Sam leaps into each episode is also very admirable.

The first season contains some top class episodes including my favourite 'Camikazi Kid'. There are some recognisable guest stars throughout the season too.

The DVD contains a documentary called 'A kiss With History: Remembering Quantum Leap' which sees interviews with the creator and the stars. There are also several snippets of interviews with Bakula and Stockwell which are either placed at the beginning of an episode or are found as easter eggs around the discs. It is dissapointing to me that the actors are never interviewed together - I would have loved to have seen that chemistry back!

An inspirational show to me - it made me feel that I should always stand up to the bad guys in life no matter what.

The DVD boxset of Series one is available on Region 2 and 4 PAL.
Certificate PG.

Episodes:

Pilot,
Star Crossed,
The Right Hand Of God,
How The Tess Was Won,
Double Identity,
The Colour of Truth,
Camikazi Kid,
Play It Again Seymour.

Summary: A classic sci-fi show starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell.