“Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett led an elite group of scientists into the desert to develop a top secret project known as “Quantum Leap.”
Pressured to prove his theories or lose funding, Dr. Beckett prematurely stepped into the Project Accelerator, and vanished…
He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, suffering from partial amnesia and facing a mirror image that was not his own.
Fortunately, contact with his own time was maintained through brain wave transmissions with Al, the Project Observer who appeared in the form of a hologram that only Dr. Beckett can see and hear.
Trapped in the past, Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, putting things right that once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home…”
Sunday, March 26, 1989. If you tuned in to your local NBC affiliate that night, there was a two-hour drama scheduled. As television shows go, this one was definitely different. Different enough that it developed an audience in its first season. And of all things, on a Friday night – the toughest night for any show. Why is that, you may ask? Because that’s the night when the demographic groups most prized by advertisers tend to be not watching television. Those young viewers with the most disposable incomes are usually out and about doing all the things young folks do, and consequently, are not at home in front of their televisions.
For some reason, I taped that two-hour show. If memory serves, I watched it as well. It had an interesting premise (as described in the quote above). We all have had times in our lives when we wish we could have done something differently. This show took that concept and ran with it. And it didn’t hurt that this time traveling “do-gooder” was (as all of the Leap ladies are so fond of reminding me) easy on the eyes. In fact, in that first season of eight shows, there seemed to be a preponderance of incidents where our hero, Dr. Sam Beckett (as played by Scott Bakula, managed to appear without his shirt or in one episode (Camikzai Kid) in nothing but his socks and an empty cardboard box. If it helps build the fan base, well… During the five-year run of this show, only one other actor had a regular role in the series. That was Dean Stockwell as the Observer, Admiral Albert or Al Calavicci.
Now if you consider where these two guys were when QL began production, it’s pretty good that they ended up together there. Scott was fresh from his Tony-nominated performance on Broadway in the musical, “Romance, Romance” and Dean was hot from his performances in the movies “Blue Velvet’ and “Married to the Mob”. Usually, there would have been a couple of unknowns working on a new show like this. But even from the beginning, this was destined not to be just like any other television show.
Producer and series creator Don Bellisario had been involved with a fair number of television shows, including a couple of genuine hits such as “Airwolf” and “Magnum P.I.” –both of which put his talents as a helicopter pilot to semi-regular use. On the new “Quantum Leap – Season One” DVD’s, he relates the tale of his pitch of the show to then NBC president, Brandon Tartikoff. In trying to give his quick and dirty version of the show, Don somewhat confused Brandon, who then asked his to explain it so that his mother could understand.
Obviously, he did, because the network picked up the show and ran with it. The second season – a full twenty-two episodes – saw Wednesday night as a new home, and saw its audience grow as the result. So, why was the show different from the rest of the usual hour-long dramas in prime time? Well, for a start, every week found the show in a different situation. With a different location. In a different time or year. There were new guest stars and different music, costumes and sets. And the cast and crew managed to pull it all off in a very believable way. As the show developed we learned more about Sam and Al and became involved in their lives as well as those Sam leapt into each week. As many of the challenges they faced were like those we faced, there was an emotional investment for audiences on more than one level.
Scott made a good choice for Sam on a number of levels. He was athletic, played a number of sports, so they put him into situations based on that. And they made use of his other talents as well. One episode in particular, “Catch A Falling Star”, had him on stage as an understudy for the lead actor in a touring company of “Man of La Mancha” (which made use of other Broadway actors including John Cullum (Tony winner in 1975 for “Shenendoah” and Ernie Sabella (most known by Disney fans as the voice of “Pumba” from the “Lion King”, but also appeared in the role of “Nicely Nicely Johnson” in the recent revival of “Guys and Dolls” with Nathan Lane [the voice of “Timon” also from the “Lion King”] as “Nathan Detroit”). While he had sung in other episodes, this one truly showed audiences what he could do. During the show’s fifth and final season, a soundtrack album was released with many of his vocal performances from the show being recreated in the recording studio.
Dean as well was right at home in his role as the Observer. And he was no rookie when it came to working in front of a camera. He started as one of MGM’s child discoveries in 1945 in such films as “Anchors Aweigh” (with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra), “The Boy With Green Hair” , “The Secret Garden” , “Kim” (with Errol Flynn) and went on to critically acclaimed performances in classics such as “Sons & Lovers” and Sidney Lumet’s “Long Days Journey Into Night”. He went on to become a staple of television with guest appearances on many shows. Among those were “Wagon Train”, “Playhouse 90”, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, “The Twilight Zone”, “The Defenders”, “Burke’s Law”, “Dr. Kildare”, “Bonanza”, “Mannix”, “Mission Impossible”, “Night Gallery”, “Police Story”, “Streets of San Francisco”, “McCloud”, “Hart to Hart”, “The A-Team”, “Miami Vice”, “Murder She Wrote” – get the idea he knew a bit about television? And using a cigar as a prop got him five years worth of his favorites Chavelos. But as the story arc of the series developed, we came to understand why his character as “Al” couldn’t hold on to a relationship, and saw “Sam” set right that wrong in his last leap of the series. Al’s wise cracks and snappy remarks were the perfect comments in many of the series greatest moments.
All in all, a fine show. Considering what it takes for a show to get to the pilot stage and actually be aired, it’s almost a miracle we ever see any show. So, a five season run is almost a lifetime when it comes to television. All told there were ninety-five episodes from start to finish.
Now for me, “Quantum Leap” was something of an awakening as well. A trip to Los Angeles during the summer of 1989 (to attend a Star Trek show put on by Creation out at the LAX Hilton) introduced me to the community of AOL and the world of online chat rooms for us Apple and Mac users. When QL’s second season began, I found other fans of the show and organized our own little chat session on a Saturday night. That led to bigger and better things with the creation of a forum for Television Fans, file libraries and a dedicated chat room, where the chats took off. Eventually, I joined AOL’s Remote Staff as the forum and chat room host.
That little weekly chat led to joining folks in 1992 (February 29, Leap Day appropriately enough), first for ceremonies for Dean Stockwell’s star on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame” (between Liza Minnelli and Donna Summer) and then the following day for the first Quantum Leap convention at the Universal City Hilton. Thanks to producer/writer Deborah Pratt, this event was a great look behind the scenes into “our favorite” television show. There were panel discussions on all aspects of the show including special effects, art direction, writing/producing, a charity auction, a fan costume contest and a fashion show of costumes from designer Jean-Pierre Dorleac. Then we were treated to a great discussion of the series by many of the guest stars. But the top event of the day was first the arrival on stage of Don Bellisario, followed soon after by Scott and Dean. A question and answer session with all three of them was the perfect finish to the event.
1993 saw another QL event at the Hilton as the show was about to wrap production on the fifth and final season. Met up with more of the folks from those AOL chats and had another great time. One lucky fan even won a walk on appearance in the show’s final episode, “Mirror Image”. Don Bellisario wrote that one and certainly left fans with more questions than he answered.
The show’s last season saw a series of high profile “leaps” with bigger “kisses with history” including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Lee Harvey Oswald (who Bellisario had actually spent a small amount of time with during his years in the Marines). Rumors had NBC pressuring Bellisario to make changes (that he did not wish to at that time) in the show for another season that included a young female leaper off in search of Sam and Al. Universal Vivendi ultimately ended up with the rights to the show, and Bellisario went on to other projects including “JAG” and “Navy NCIS”, now at Paramount – where Scott Bakula ended up on “Enterprise” – complete with a guest role for Dean Stockwell!
The more realistic assessment was a decline in the all important viewer numbers, even though the show scored well with it’s demographics of younger male and female viewers. Fan support was strong in those early Internet days, but the network had survived fan barrages earlier in the shows run, including one on air spot for the show that tongue-in-cheek acknowledged a very successful letter and postcard campaign to save the show from cancellation. NBC did run a “Leap Week” series of shows every night on several occasions to build numbers for QL, including a series of promos with Sam and Al appearing in other shows from the network’s line-up. NBC went on to other shows instead of “QL” in the 1993 fall season.
In a somewhat ironic twist, the Sci-Fi Channel (also a Universal Vivendi property, now owned by General Electric, who also owns NBC) now has an updated “Quantum Leap” series in pre-production, which is rumored to feature a young female leaper off in search of Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci. Fans may recall that Sam Beckett was somehow(?) the father of a young Sammi Jo Fuller, who ended up working at Project Quantum Leap. No word on if she will be the character upon which this new show will focus.
But that’s not all…
Interest in the show has been somewhat revived by rumors of a new series and by the release of the first season shows on DVD. There was a somewhat popular series of novels that continued for several years after the show ended, as well as a comic book series. Some of the shows found their way onto VHS tape and later onto laser disc. Sales were slower than expected, but that could have been traced to the fact that both USA and Sci Fi carried “QL” in syndication for a number of years. Even a big screen adaptation of the show has made the rounds of the rumor mill on and off over the following years. That is until Scott seems to have found somewhat steady employment on “Enterprise”. Fans still enjoy seeing him in action, although “Captain Jonathan Archer” has had his butt kicked (physically!) far more often than “Sam Beckett” ever did. And Dean Stockwell has become something of a regular character in his appearances on “JAG” along with many other actors from the various Bellisario creations. Truth be told, it’s nice to see everyone so busy!
“Yeah, you probably like show tunes, too.” The Observer, “Running For Honor” – “Quantum Leap”.
So, fast forward to the current day… Coming up this summer in this year’s Hollywood Bowl series of events is an evening entitled, “TV Night: The Sequel” .From that web page, here’s a pretty spectacular list of artists scheduled to appear:
“Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
John Mauceri, conductor
Joe Mantegna, special guest
Peter Gallagher, special guest
The Smothers Brothers, special guests
Shelley Long, special guest
Morgan Fairchild, special guest
Ja’Net DuBois, special guest
Deney Terrio, special guest
Donna McKechnie, special guest
Sally Struthers, special guest
Scott Bakula, special guest
Sheryl Lee Ralph, special guest
Tyne Daly, special guest
David Newell, special guest”
And the description of the program for the evening:
“In a return from last season’s popular program, John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra perform great music from television. Highlights include music from West Wing, JAG (with composer Bruce Broughton guest conducting), The Simpsons, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Battlestar Galactica (with fireworks), the TV themes of Jerry Goldsmith and Earle Hagen (who will attend, celebrating his 85th birthday that evening), tributes to Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo and television choreographers, and, of course, the theme song sing-a-long. “
So, it seems that Scott is out singing again. Check the web pages for more details including ticket prices.
Some of the old online group (someone once referred to them as “Bakula’s babes – not me!) are planning to be make the pilgrimage to Los Angeles for the event. If the fates are kind, it looks like I may even join them, too. Now if only I had an Accelerator Chamber instead of having to make that trip down the Five…
Next week? Probably, there will be another installment in the series of Northern California amusements, an update on “Rex Steele” and a few more tidbits here and there. Stay tuned…
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