Let’s take you back in time to reveal some hidden secrets of the universe. The quantum secrets are interwoven into the galaxy that you missed. Quantum Leap aired on NBC with five seasons starting in 1989.
Starring Scott Bakula as Sam Becket, a physicist who corrects historical mistakes by leaping into people, and Dean Stockwell who co-stars as Sam’s companion and best friend who appears to him as a hologram. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about the main characters in Quantum Leap. So, fasten your seat belts and let’s leap you back in time.
Sam Sometimes Forgot Al Was A Hologram
We all know the general assumption is that Al and Sam are supposed to be the geniuses of the show. However, sometimes it is quite the contrary. Al is a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. However, it looked as if both Al and Sam forgot that when Sam threw a pie at Al in the episode “Stand Up” from season 4.
The more shocking thing is that Al behaved like the pie hit him. You might have not noticed, but this happens quite a lot throughout the show where Sam forgets that Al is just a hologram.
Sam Ruined Some Lives
Quantum Leap was based on having happy endings. You may have assumed this to be the case the entire time; however, this isn’t the case. Most of the episodes ended with Al reassuring Sam that everything worked out fine for all the people involved. The truth is that this wasn’t always the case. Consider the episode “Shock Theatre,” where Sam leaps into a mental hospital patient who needed an extremely high level of electroshock-therapy voltage to be saved.
He potentially endangered the life of the person he had leaped into. This comes at the expense of the patient who could have been killed. This is a clear indication that the result does not always turn out fine for all involved.
Sam Meets People Who Aren’t Supposed To Have Been Popular
Sam leaps into many people in different time coordinates. According to the timeline of the series and the fact that Sam can only leap to a time within his lifetime, he meets people who should not have been famous yet.
Simply because the frame within which Sam should be able to leap does not encompass the time in history when they became well known. Some examples are Stephen King, Bill Clinton, and Michael Jackson. It is easy to miss this point, but some eagle-eyed fans must have spotted it.
Deborah Pratt
Deborah Pratt provided the voice of Ziggy, the super hybrid computer. Ziggy is the computer that runs the project that makes it possible for Samuel Becket to travel in time. The machine was built by the doctor and his partner before an accident. What most people don't know, however, is that Deborah Pratt co-produced the entire series and wrote some of the scripts.
She also appeared as Trojan Claridge in one of the episodes. Another fascinating thing about Ziggy the computer is the fact that Al and Sam consistently refer to it as being male, although, when the computer’s voice is heard, it is unmistakably female.
Sam’s Name Resonates With His Actual Name
You may not have noticed that the famous actor’s name has the same initials as his character. Dr. Sam Becket and Scott Bakula. Well, now you know, S and B. Also, after Scott’s audition for the role of Sam, Bellisario said that he had already made his mind up that Scott was perfect for the role.
Although Sam was indeed perfect for the role, perhaps one of the reasons why Bellisario chose him initially was because of the initials in the two names. That’s probably not true, but we’ll never know for sure. It is now history, and no one can Quantum Leap to find out for us.
Sam’s Allusion To Donald Trump
In the episode “It’s A Wonderful Life,” Becket leapt into a taxi driver in NYC. At some point, we see Sam pick up a little boy as his father, and he talks to the kid about business and entrepreneurship. He talks to him about real estate and the future. He also makes mention of a glass tower that just might be built close to where they are stopping.
This could be considered an allusion to the Trump Tower. Thus we get an allusion to the inception of the idea for the same tower, although we cannot say for sure if that was exactly how it happened.
Dean Stockwell And His Cigars
If you have been paying attention to details, then you certainly should have noticed Dean Stockwell and his cigars. One thing you didn’t know though was the reason for the cigars. Al was seen quite often with a cigar because of a suggestion Dean Stockwell made during the character development. He suggested that the character of Al should always be seen with a cigar. You may wonder why that is and what it means.
Well, according to the man behind the brains, it was nothing more than an attempt to get himself free cigars. That’s right; Stockwell made that suggestion just so he could get himself free cigars. Still, that did not stop him from giving an amazing performance.
Sam Broke Some Leap Rules
Sam isn’t supposed to be able to leap beyond the timeframe of his lifetime. However, he leaped beyond his date of birth a whopping four times. Twice he leaped to 1953, the year in which he was supposed to have been conceived (but not yet born). Technically it was still his lifetime so that one could slide. But the other two times were breaking the rules.
He was able to change places with Al due to an accident in the episode “The Leap Back.” This allowed him to leap within Al’s life instead of his. However, the biggest rule breaker was when he leapt to September 20th, 1862, a year that was in neither Al’s nor Sam’s lifetime.
Scott Bakula Has A Musical Background
In case you hadn’t paid attention to how Scott Bakula, who plays the role of Sam, breezes through the singing parts of his role, we are here to fill you in. The actor has a musical background, and this most obviously came in handy whenever he leaped into a person that was musically inclined.
He has a history with musical theatre, which allowed him to do the singing parts himself. That means he never had to rely on someone doing any of those for him, or having to lip-sync at any point in the series.
Scott Bakula Was In Every Scene In Every Episode
This might not seem too unusual, but it is. Sam was usually in every scene in every episode. Since he was the main character his presence was what Quantum Leap was all about, which meant he had to be present all the time.
For this, Scott Bakula had to work hard. Bakula once said he thought of the series as a marathon and that he always tried to get through the season in one piece. If you think about it, he is right. The sheer number of lines he would have to learn for each episode is overwhelming.