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.
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.
Leaping of the Shrew - September 27, 1956 - S5-E3
Revealing mistake: The background while Scott is on the raft with Brooke Shields is blatantly a studio wall. The clouds have streaks on them with dark colors and the seam where the ocean meets the wall can be spotted. The film "The Truman Show" used the same technique.
A Song for the Soul - April 7, 1963 - S4-E15
Revealing mistake: When Al jumps into the shot out of nowhere on the steps after the record producer leaves, Sam and the two girls abruptly move, giving away the technique to achieve Al showing up. The transition is usually smoother, this one happens to be rough and noticeable.
The Right Hand of God - October 24, 1974 - S1-E4
Revealing mistake: As Sam looks in the mirror, the trainer's reflection puts its right hand on Sam's right shoulder a split second before the camera view hand.
Miss Deep South - June 7, 1958 - S3-E6
Revealing mistake: Connie and Sam are talking in their room, while Sam is looking at his female self in the mirror. As Connie walks back into the shot, her shadow is cast on the wall behind the mirror. This indicates she came from the opposite direction that is possible in the reflection had this not been the mirror trick. In reality, she would have been coming from behind Sam, not from in front and wouldn't have cast a shadow on the wall with the mirror.
A Portrait for Troian - February 7, 1971 - S2-E11
Revealing mistake: When the recovered drowning victims are lying on the ground, Troian's supposedly dead husband moves his feet. (00:39:25)
Deliver Us From Evil - March 19, 1966 - S5-E7
Revealing mistake: When Ilia is spurned by Sam, she sits on the bed and rips her clothes. When she goes to scratch her face, you can see the fake blood on her hand when she goes to smear it on her face.
Genesis (1) - September 13, 1956 - S1-E1
Revealing mistake: Tom/Sam's wife and her reflection on the mirror do not match. The reflection moves her head, but the real person does not do that. (00:06:40)
The Americanization of Machiko - August 4, 1953 - S2-E3
Revealing mistake: When Sam is first looking at his reflection of himself in the glass at the beginning of the episode, the items behind his reflection do not match his point of view. A man walks through the shot and never leaves the frame, however is gone when the shot flips back to Sam.
Future Boy - October 6, 1957 - S3-E13
Revealing mistake: Just after Mrs. Stiner delivers the line "My car's out front" after her father's hearing, everyone except Al rushes away from the broken window. Sam brushes up against Al's shirt sleeve, causing it to move. Al, being a hologram, shouldn't have been touched. (00:41:50)
Her Charm - September 26, 1973 - S2-E15
Revealing mistake: At Boston's FBI, Al's reflection is visible repeatedly, such as on the fire extinguisher's chrome surface in the hallway and on the elevator while Sam talks about the cabin.
Runaway - July 4, 1964 - S3-E11
Revealing mistake: The family crosses into Colorado from Wyoming and calls out the state names. Wyoming doesn't have Joshua trees, nor anything close to the desert we see. This episode was filmed in Southern California.
Good Night, Dear Heart - November 9, 1957 - S2-E17
Revealing mistake: When Sam is talking to the sheriff in the parlor and says it can't be prosecuted, he walks in front of a mirror and we see the real doctor in the mirror, except we see the real doctor standing up just as he becomes visible, and Sam's shoulder just to the left. They used the mirror's angle to fake the mirror image, and probably panned the camera over the other actor's head as it swung around which is why he had to stand up. (00:38:40)
Jimmy - October 14, 1964 - S2-E8
Revealing mistake: When Sam is helping Frank clean his truck, an old couple passes as they are talking. Watch the shadows on the left side of the frame right before they enter. The shadows pause for a second, and then the couple walks on screen as they are being cued by the director.
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