The first set of Sam's leaping through time (Quantum Leap - Series 1 (DVD))

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Quantum Leap - Series 1 (DVD)
Date:	28/02/09 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great first season

Disadvantages: Shaky start

Quantum Leap is a time-travelling TV drama series that ran from 1989 to 1993. The show had five seasons in total before ending its airing. It got a little tired of ideas in the end, and it was time to call it a day. A year or so ago, I spotted the complete season 1 on DVD for a mere £5, and just had to have it, but it is only more recently that I have gotten around to watching it.

The basic premised is that Sam Beckett, a physics genius, has created a device that can send someone leaping through time, stopping at various intervals and assuming someone's persona for the purposes of his 'mission'. Each leap is determined by whether Sam can alter the course of history for the better, and lends an ear to the notion of guardian angels and a higher being dictating the way events take place.

Season 1 starts off rather slowly with Genesis, Parts 1 & 2. I'm sure that, back in 1989, it was a rather interesting and modern concept, but the special effects look a little tired, and the acting from Scott Bakula as as Sam seems a little wet. This sharpens up about halfway through the double episode, so that by Part 2 I was enjoying myself. Sam is aided through time by Al, who appears from Sam's lab as a hologram. Dean Stockwell plays Al, and does a fine job.

There are only 9 episodes in the season, and it is thus a very short one to start off with. Watch out for Teri Hatcher popping up as one of Sam's old flames who he meets before they actually met (if you see what I mean!). Particular episodes on this disc that stand out are How The Tess Was Won, where Sam finds himself a vet in 1956 who must become a cowboy, and also The Right Hand Of God, where Sam leaps into a boxer who must win the big fight to save a religious community.

The programme is a brainchild of Donald P Bellisario, and although this season is very short, it is highyl entertaining, even after the shaky start. I really got into it this time, when I watched it ten or fifteen years after watching it for the first time. It has made me hungry to get the sceond season, which does feature a full season quota of 22 episodes. This first season disc came in a traditional cardboard case as opposed to the more common plastic disc case. There are three separate slots for each DVD, although there is no paperwork or documentation explaining what is going on. There are, however, some extras, with each disc featuring an episode insight, explaining the course of the filming and what the aim was each time. The first disc also contains a mini-documentary entitled A Kiss With History: Remembering Quantum Leap, which is thoroughly interesting and recaps people's thoughts on the show at the time and what it means now.

Overall, it was excellent for the price, and even at a full price, whatever that may be, it is still a great first season of a sci-fi show. It did get off to a shaky start for me, but I loved it once it got going and Bakula relaxed more into the role. Recommended!

Summary: Excellent first season of a sci-fi series