Her Charm - September 26, 1973 - S2-E15
Revealing mistake: When Al is helping Sam find Dana in the forest, his feet keep kicking up or moving the dirt and leaves, which a hologram shouldn't be doing. (00:39:00)
Her Charm - September 26, 1973 - S2-E15
Factual error: Sam is wearing a Casio calculator watch, which we are shown up close when he is driving the laundry van. The first calculator watch was made by Pulsar in 1975, and Casio's first calculator watch was released in the 1980s, long after this episode's 1973 date. (00:15:25)
Another Mother - September 30, 1981 - S2-E13
Factual error: When the boys are talking to Jackie to get her to cooperate with their plan, the song Shake It Up by The Cars is playing, except the show is set at September 30, 1981, and the song was released in November 1981. And it wasn't a pre-release demo version on the radio since the song was still being mixed at Syncro Sound Studios in early October. (00:23:00)
Animal Frat - October 19, 1967 - S2-E12
Factual error: When Sam is in the library, there are multiple book titles visible that were published after the show's date of 1967. The clearest is when Sam and Duck tussle, the book "Men How To Understand Your Symptoms" falls on Sam - this book was first published in 1986. (00:29:00)
Jimmy - October 14, 1964 - S2-E8
Factual error: The episode is set in 1964. When Frank and Jimmy first arrive at the dock and some of the dock workers are harassing Jimmy, there is a nice set of period appropriate cars in the foreground that the other dock workers are around, but in the background we see street traffic with 1980s cars driving by. (00:10:50)
Her Charm - September 26, 1973 - S2-E15
Revealing mistake: When driving to the cabin, the mileage markers on the roadside indicate they are in Los Angeles, nowhere near Boston or Baltimore. (00:20:30)
Thou Shalt Not... - February 2, 1974 - S2-E7
Visible crew/equipment: When Sam and Shirley go out of the bake sale to talk and she admits to having an affair and begins to cry, Sam reaches into his coat for a handkerchief, and a mic briefly drops down and is visible in the upper left of the screen. (00:29:00)
What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961 - S2-E4
Continuity mistake: When Sam goes out of the window to save Gloria, part of the ledge breaks off, but in the near shots it is broken off almost to the corner near Gloria, while in the shots from below most of the ledge is still intact. (00:35:45)
Mirror Image - August 8, 1953 - S5-E22
Visible crew/equipment: After Sam tells Al the bartender that he wants to talk philosophy, Al tells Sam that he's not just the bartender, he's also the owner, then when Al walks behind the counter the actor's T-mark can be seen on the floor. (00:26:50)
Memphis Melody - July 3, 1954 - S5-E21
Visible crew/equipment: While Sam and Sue Anne are singing Amazing Grace at the diner, right after the shot of the cook starting to play the harmonica, in the next wideshot the actor's T-mark becomes visible on the floor at the bottom, left side of the screen.
Genesis (2) - September 13, 1956 - S1-E2
Deliberate mistake: When Sam ejects and lands on the ground, the closeup is a flipped shot, note the "US Air Force" is backwards on Sam's helmet. (00:19:10)
A Portrait for Troian - February 7, 1971 - S2-E11
Audio problem: Near the beginning in the tomb, a woman says "he's been dead for three years." Her mouth doesn't match what she is saying.
Catch A Falling Star - May 21, 1979 - S2-E10
Continuity mistake: When Sam is going on stage near the beginning, another guy peels off his moustache and says "imposter." The problem is, the makeup lady already removed his moustache earlier in the episode.
Good Morning, Peoria - September 9, 1959 - S2-E6
Factual error: While it's done for furthering the plot, climbing a live AM radio tower would result in RF burns and would possibly be fatal. The man who cuts the transmission cable would be in a lot of pain or dead doing that in real life.
What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961 - S2-E4
Revealing mistake: When Sam is getting ready with the other woman, the shoes on the floor do not match in the reflection. Their position is off.
What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961 - S2-E4
Revealing mistake: Sam and the other woman are staring at their reflections while Sam is getting ready. Notice where the woman with darker hair is standing in relation to Sam. Their mirror images are further apart. The woman with darker hair also has her head tilted to the right slightly. Her mirror image doesn't.
Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953 - S1-E9
Revealing mistake: Sam is getting shot at in the aircraft hanger. He hides behind a yellow machine and a bullet hits it. The bullet produces a flash but leaves no mark where it hits. A real bullet would have left a gash at the least.
Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976 - S2-E2
Factual error: The episode takes place April 1, 1976, and Sam performs a stunt for the "Earthquake" movie featuring Charlton Heston, but Earthquake was released in 1974, so was filmed long before 1976.
Honeymoon Express - April 27, 1960 - S2-E1
Factual error: The date is April 27, 1960, and Al says the Francis Powers U-2 spy plane will be shot down in two days, namely April 29, but the plane was actually shot down on May 1, 1960, four days after the episode.
A Tale of Two Sweeties - February 25, 1958 - S5-E12
Revealing mistake: Sam's reflection in the mirror near the beginning of the episode drops his handkerchief too quickly after wiping his mouth, making things not match up.
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