Quantum Leap returns to TV screens tonight (September 19) on NBC, and it’s the return of a franchise and concept that left the airwaves nearly 30 years ago. The original series was a regular watch for my family, though I was so young at the time that I only remember watching casually. I do remember the disappointment when the series ended, and Dr. Sam Becket (their spelling error, not mine) never came home.
As a concept, Quantum Leap was a way to do an anthology in the form of an ongoing weekly series or narrative — every week, Dr. Sam Beckett would “leap” into the body of someone else and live as them, fixing situations while there with the hopes of making it home. Sam Beckett was played by Scott Bakula, and he was assisted by hologram “Al” (Dean Stockwell) for the show’s five-season run. There are several gems in that history, and I think the original show is on Peacock if you’d like to check it out. It’s pretty great.
When the new version of the show was announced, there was a bit of backlash that Sam Beckett would not be the central character, and even more, Bakula has said that he is not currently involved with the project. At the time, Bakula had his own NBC pilot in development. What would the incentive be to revisit something he’s already done for five years, especially something that would be bittersweet now that his costar Dean Stockwell passed away last year? There was also the bad-faith criticisms of the new show being “woke” as if the original show never showed Scott Bakula in a dress or had him leaping into the body of a person of color.
Taking the lead on this new Quantum Leap is Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song. I like this casting, particularly having an non-white actor in the lead, because the series can now show us situations Sam Beckett might have never experienced. I also like that now we have a character who will be leaping through my own lifetime, and I’m very excited to see the places he will go.
There are a few concerns I have with the show’s pilot, so not everything is perfect. For one, I recently re-watched the original series’ “Genesis” first episode and I felt the characters Sam interacted with in the past were so deep and layered. When Ben Song leaps into 1985, I feel there’s only one character who seems remotely sympathetic and a lot of the others seem kind of one-dimensional. Hopefully future episodes will go a bit deeper and this was just a thing done to keep the story moving. The other issue I have, while I like the actress playing Addison (Caitlin Bassett), is the notion that Ben’s hologram is his fiancee, Addison Augustine, and since Ben doesn’t remember things, there’s this weird soap opera longing that is more annoying than it is engaging. Part of what worked so well with the original Quantum Leap was the natural chemistry between Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Here, the drama seems forced. Perhaps that’ll change, but I wasn’t really into that aspect. Also, I sincerely hope that in this world of two-second opening titles that we get the original Quantum Leap theme music in there somewhere – some aspects weren’t finished on the screener. I have such fond memories of the original opening getting me in the mood for the show, that it’d be a shame if we don’t get something similar in 2022, even if it’s just a few notes.
What I was into, though, was that we actually get to see members of the Quantum Leap project team in the present day, and every one of them is fantastic. Ian Wright is played by Mason Alexander Park… and, having seen them as “Desire” in The Sandman, they automatically have some goodwill coming their way, as they have given great performances in both shows so far. Addison is, of course, part of the present-day ensemble, but my favorite scene of the episode might involve Ernie Hudson’s “Magic” Williams – with the character being someone we first met in the original show – and Nanrisa Lee’s Jenn Chou. Pay close attention when those two are on screen, because something they talk about will make the jaws of longtime fans drop to the floor. Some NBC revivals/reboots of past shows populated themselves with supporting teams that never really clicked – looking at you, Knight Rider and Bionic Woman – but here, I’m really interested in this group of characters.
The absolute best part of the first episode of this new series is that it sets up an intriguing mystery from the jump. Why did Ben Song leap before the project was ready for anyone to do so? Who is he working with? Will he find Sam Beckett? So many questions, and they have me very excited to see what might happen next.
And a side note: As mentioned before, Scott Bakula has said he’s not involved with the new Quantum Leap, and for now, I am okay with this. Granted, I’ll be extremely disappointed if Sam Beckett never does show up, but the longer it takes to happen, the more meaningful it will be to the audience. Imagine if the show gave us Sam in Episode 3 and we never saw him again – it would be so disappointing! Hopefully, in success, we’ll get Sam Beckett back. It’s obvious the producers of this show are fans of the original series and of Scott Bakula, so I’m optimistic that he’ll come around. (We do see Sam briefly in the new series’ first episode, as someone is shown what he looked like.)
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give the new Quantum Leap pilot “July 13, 1985” an 8.5. I’m really curious to see what happens and where Ben goes next, and there’s a lot of setup to keep my attention. Bring me more!
