Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap (1989)

9 corrected entries

(7 votes)

The Leap Back - June 15, 1945 - S4-E1

Corrected entry: It is accepted canon that Al sees Sam as the person he has leapt into, and Sam of course sees Al as Al. Therefore, at the beginning of this episode, Al would have been shocked to see Sam standing next to him, while Sam would not have recognized Al, but rather would be looking at Tom the soldier that Al has leapt into. However, they are unaware of the role reversal until Al walks into the cannon on the lawn.

Correction: While it was canon in early episodes (notably "What Price Gloria") that the Observer saw Sam as the Leapee, by the time of "Miss Deep South" (which originally aired well before "The Leap Back"), it is clear that a change has been made so that Al sees Sam as Sam. In that episode Al says that Sam looks "like Scarlett O'Hara on steroids." So for Sam and Al to initially not realize that something strange is going on at the beginning of "The Leap Back" is not a plot hole.

Genesis (2) - September 13, 1956 - S1-E2

Corrected entry: At the end of this episode, Sam has leapt into the body of a baseball player and realizes he's there to win the game. Sam swings the bat but misses the ball three times. He should have been struck out, but instead run the bases, winning the game.

Correction: This episode employed the uncaught third strike rule (rule 6.05 and 6.09) if the back catcher fails to properly catch the third strike of the third strikeout (or if there's no runner on first), the batter becomes a runner and can pursue a home run, which is what Sam did.

Dr. Ruth - April 25, 1985 - S5-E14

Corrected entry: Towards the beginning of the series, it was established that Sam often spent weeks "bouncing" around time before landing in somebody's life to change the past - this transition is seen as instantaneous from Dr. Beckett and the audience's perspective. However, when Dr. Ruth leaps back into her own time at the end, she's instantly replaced by the next person.

Correction: It was established that the length of time was rather variable - it was often of the order of weeks, but often does not mean always. As such, there's no particular reason why the next person couldn't show up immediately.

Tailkinker

Mirror Image - August 8, 1953 - S5-E22

Corrected entry: In Good Morning, Peoria (series 2, episode 6), when Sam is creating a makeshift aerial on the roof, Al starts glowing blue, as Sam does when he leaps. He says "Look Sam, I'm leaping." However, in this episode, Sam sees someone else leap. When Al appears, Sam excitedly tells him about it and asks Al if he goes all blue and charged with electricity when he leaps. Al responds by saying that he wouldn't know, as when Sam leaps he simply finds himself back in the imaging chamber. If Al has never seen this why would he have assumed he was leaping in an earlier show?

enter_a_uh

Correction: Sam's leaps would also affect the people at Project: Quantum Leap (as seen in "A Leap for Lisa"). As well as "Good morning, Peoria" where Al thinks he's leaping, in "Future Boy" Al sees Moe Stein begin to leap before his machine breaks (Al visibly reacts). One of Sam's leaps after these episodes has changed something at the Project so Al gets sent back before Sam leaps.

How the Tess Was Won - August 5, 1956 - S1-E5

Corrected entry: The ranch is 50,000 acres, which is around 78 square miles. This is about 3.5 times the size of Manhattan Island. Yet they only appear to have four or five ranch hands to cover all that land, which would be impossible.

Correction: Just because we only see a handful of ranch hands doesn't mean that's all they have. And in one scene, I see 6 ranch hands, so there's more than just 4 or 5.

Bishop73

Trilogy (3) - July 28, 1978 - S5-E10

Corrected entry: Sam, and not the man he leaps into, somehow fathers a daughter with Abigail. Al and Ziggy's answer to "How?" is "We just don't know." Since Sam has always leaped into the physical body of his subjects with no trace of his own physical presence (yes, we see Sam, but no one else does), fathering a child with his own DNA should be impossible. And the characters acknowledging the "mystery" does not excuse the breach of previously established series canon: it merely makes this, at the very least, a deliberate mistake.

Jean G

Correction: It is explained several times within the series, particularly in 8 1/2 Months, that Sam himself is physically making the leaps but that he occupies the aura of the leapee - this is why others do not see him as Sam. This is also shown to be the case when he leaps into a blind man but can still see or a man with both legs amputated and yet Sam can walk. This being the case, it doesn't seem impossible for him to have fathered a child during a leap and does not go against canon in suggesting he did.

Nowhere to Run - August 10, 1968 - S5-E4

Corrected entry: For four seasons, we were told that Al always saw Sam as the person he'd leaped into. (Case in point: Al once suffered an attack of guilt-ridden lust when Sam leaped into a very attractive woman.) Here, that series canon is violated when Al tells Sam, "Nobody sees you except me. Everyone else sees the real Miller." (00:21:10)

Jean G

Correction: There was at least one prior example of Al seeing Sam as Sam, in the episode "Miss Deep South". So the changed premise happened much earlier than written here.

Show generally

Corrected entry: For those not familiar with the show, a scientist named Sam leaps into peoples' bodies and changes their futures. Us viewers see the person as Sam, but characters in the show still see the person Sam has leapt into. So when Sam leaps into a child or a short person, the other characters should technically be looking at Sam's chest when they are trying to look him in the eyes because that's where their eyes would be. Instead, they always look right into Sam's eyes - too high if you are really talking to a child or short person.

Correction: Remember God, Time or Whatever wants Sam to complete his missions with a minimum of fuss & hassle so things will change to how it wants so if Sam is trying to gauge someones reactions he would need to see their expressions. Also if something can make Sam journey through time whats to say it can't force someones perception so they actually do see things how they are meant to be whilst looking into Sams eyes, as we don't know the extent of the things powers we can't make a guess as to its limits.

Correction: While this is true, we don't know if he'd already changed the name before the first time he sang it. The poster doesn't seem to have paid much attention as he was singing "Piggy Sue" and Sam tells him to change it to "Peggy Sue". He got the name "Peggy Sue" from a girl who was dating one of the band members so the "Piggy Sue" part could be considered an error because he certainly never sang it that way.

How the Tess Was Won - August 5, 1956 - S1-E5

Continuity mistake: Though he's leaped into someone else, we always see Sam as Sam, dressed in all the host's clothes (including glasses or sunglasses). His host is revealed only in reflections. But here, when he looks at his host-self in the mirror, the hat and clothes are all identical - except that the reflection is wearing glasses, and Sam isn't. (00:43:00)

Jean G

More mistakes in Quantum Leap

Al: I went over to check out the cheerleaders. Oh, Sam. There was one little girl who had these pommelos, man.
Sam: Pommelos are grapefruit.
Al: Pommel - that's my point.

More quotes from Quantum Leap
More trivia for Quantum Leap

Mirror Image - August 8, 1953 - S5-E22

Question: I believe in the final episode, Al the bartender asked Sam where he would like to go and Sam said home. He then said he couldn't because he had a wrong to put right for his hologram friend Al, which he did. After telling Al's wife that Al is alive he leaps. I think it said after that that Sam never makes it home. So does he continue leaping forever or is he stuck in the last person he leaps into? I know he lost his memory but what happened after that?

Carl Missouri

Chosen answer: Per the Quantum leap page at http://www.scifi.com/quantum/episodes/season5.html. 8 August 1953: An enigmatic leap lands Sam in a Pennsylvania tavern, as his own grown self on the day of his birth. As Al and Gushie work frantically to locate him, Sam befriends a wise bartender (popular character actor McGill, who'd appeared in a different role in the very first "leap") and a group of coal miners. As a host of familiar-looking faces pass through the bar - with different identities than Sam remembers - Sam ponders his life of leaping with Al the bartender, who tells Sam he controls his own destiny. Pressed for more, Al the bartender simply shrugs and says, "Sometimes, 'that's the way it is' is the best explanation." Sam realizes he must right at least one more wrong before he can go home, and leaps back to tell Al Calvavicci's wife Beth (from "M.I.A.") to wait for Al, who will survive Vietnam and come home to her. The closing title cards state that Beth and Al have four daughters and will shortly celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary ... and that Sam Beckett never returned home.

Boobra

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