A leap in time saves nothing really...??? (Quantum Leap)

Member Name: blissman70

Product:	Quantum Leap
Date:	06/12/08 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great entertainment with some fine story lines

Disadvantages: a couple of dodgy episodes

Creator: Donald P. Bellisario
Directors: (various) James Whitmore, Joe Napolitano, Gilbert M. Shilton and Christopher Wech.
Writers: (various) Donald Bellisarios, Deborah Pratt and Paul Brown.
Stars: Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell

First seen in March 1989 until May 1993, creating nearly one hundred 45 minute episodes split into 5 series...


* BRIEF IDEA

At a government research lab somewhere in Mexico a physicist named Sam Beckett, (played by Scott Bakula) is part of a team working on a top secret experiment code named 'Quantum Leap", involving a giant computer named 'Ziggie' and Sam's theories on time travel, but when the project is about to be closed down Sam takes drastic measures to prove that time travel is possible.

So as Sam end up hurtling through time and space, dropping into various peoples bodies, taking control of their lives, he has to figure out how to return back to his real life... but with his only help coming in the form of a holographic figure of Sam's friend, Rear Admiral Albert Calavicci, or 'Al', (played by Dean Stockwell), who only Sam can see and who seems to be his only connection with 'Ziggie' and his way home.
With every 'leap' causing Sam to end up 'inside' a different individual, seeming to take over that persons looks and a little personality, having to try and act as his new host... he has to figure out why he was sent to that person and what he must do to 'leap' again... hopefully back to his real life.

Throughout the 5 series we see Sam encountering some famous character, such as a young Buddy Holly, a very young Michael Jackson, Stephen King and many others, including a rather bizarre idea of how the 'Heimlich' Manoeuvre was invented when he inadvertently uses the technique on a certain Doctor.
Sam also tends to play with the 'cause and effect' theory in many episodes, including an alternative idea of how the 1965 Blackouts of New York.



* IN CONCLUSION

A good entertaining series with many twists and turns throughout each episode.
Although not really original, it is a good well thought out idea to use time travel and some historical 'troubles' to create a great series.
Each episode is totally different to each other, giving so many stories for the audience to become enthralled in... watching as Sam, with the help of Al, tries to solve the reason why he has 'leapt' into this particular figure and what he has to do to help them, whilst also helping himself to make another 'leap', hoping that it may be a 'leap' back to his home life, his last 'leap'...

The easiest thing about keeping up with this show is the fact that there are only two main characters to follow, allowing you to almost get to know them as if they were part of you own family...
Scott Bakula pulls off his part as Sam to perfection, bringing a little light humour to what could b e seen as a serious show...although many series are just so funny you can't help but laugh, for instance when Sam 'leaps' into the bodies of women, sometimes pregnant women at that, forcing him to change his style of walking and the like, and even a chimpanzee who has a few problems of its own.
And although Dean Stockwell is seen mostly as a hologram, his character Al is seen as being a calm composed man with a bit of a dry sense of humour and an eye for the ladies, although he knows he can't touch what he sees... when he sees a stunner some of his expressions and actions are priceless.


But, if I have to be honest some of the episodes are far from brilliant, but are 'just passable' in the watching scales of entertainment... some of the episodes do push the boundaries of stupidity and are close to the line of boredom... only a couple of episodes that is, but considering that there are almost a hundred episodes the good shows way out weigh the not so good ones... (but if you do purchase the DVDs then it's a simple matter of pressing the 'next' button..?)

In all, I found this series to be well worth watching, and I do have my favourites. It has everything a good piece of entertainment requires to keep the audience happy... with its thrills, shocks, laughs, loves, chases, twists, turns, laughs and much much more...
If you are interested in buying the series than pop to www.amazon.co.uk and get each one for around £15.00 each, although the entire collection can be bought for about £60, which for 25 discs is not bad value at all.

Summary: Sam and his hologram friend re-write history