NBC's Quantum Leap relaunch has made its time travel cooler than ever before. Precious few science-fiction franchises handle time travel in anything remotely resembling a consistent manner. There are good reasons for this, of course; time travel is a theoretical science, and these are films and TV shows, not theoretical essays on temporal mechanics. Quantum Leap's time travel numbered among the most nebulous, though, because it was basically an excuse to throw its star Sam Beckett into crisis after crisis.

NBC's Quantum Leap relaunch is taking a different approach, however. It has made time travel a core component of the story, and it is even establishing loose models of temporal mechanics. These are still in the service of the plot, of course, mainly serving to explain Ben Song's adventures in the distant past and his goal to reach the future. It's the most logically consistent Quantum Leap has ever been, and it's interesting to note that the approach opens up countless new story possibilities. The traditional fear is that models of time travel will tie a franchise down too much, but Quantum Leap now proves that isn't the case.

Next: Quantum Leap Reveals What Happened To Sam's Body Every Time He Leaped

Quantum Leap's Time Travel Is Becoming Much Better Defined

Quantum Leap Ben Remembers Reason

Quantum Leap's rules of time travel have traditionally been very basic indeed. The show's main characters step into the Quantum Leap accelerator, which transports them into the past; there's contradictory evidence whether this is a physical leap or just some sort of psychic one. Whatever the case may be, the result is the same; the leaper is projected into the body of a person in the past, and they must live their life for a few days, correcting something that went wrong in the original timeline.

Previously, it had only been possible for a leaper to travel into the past within their own lifetime (with one exception for Sam Beckett, based on his leaping into one of his own descendants). Ben Song figured out it was possible to build up a sort of temporal momentum through multiple leaps. This gives the Quantum Leap relaunch a reason to exist beyond mere nostalgia, because it really is taking the ideas to the next level; Ben has figured out how to use that momentum to travel to the distant past, and even potentially into the future. This is the real reason he stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator in the first place, because he sought to find a way to avert a future tragedy rather than correct a past one.

Quantum Leap's New Time Travel Rules Open Up Story Possibilities

Quantum Leap Ben Talks To Addison Angel

Quantum Leap has previously been a fairly predictable show, with a leaper entering the life of one person and making a minor adjustment to the timeline. The idea of traveling to the past changes everything, though, because the ripple effects from a leaper's actions are much more notable; already Quantum Leap has made its biggest change to history, with an entire town added into the timeline. Trips to the future will completely change the show's dynamic, too, because the project team - traditionally advisers - will be out of their depth in the future as well. Quantum Leap really has opened up some incredible new possible stories, making its time travel cooler than ever before.

Quantum Leap will return on NBC on Monday January 2, 2023. The episode will be available for exclusive streaming on Peacock the next day.

Next: Quantum Leap Finally Answers The Original Show's Oldest Mystery