A brand-new pilot episode of NBC’s cult favorite sci-fi time travel series, Quantum Leap, has officially been confirmed, with original series star Scott Bakula potentially returning as well. The series, which ran for 5 seasons from 1989 to 1993, was a strange choice for NBC at the time, as the network was known primarily for mainstream friendly hits like Cheers, The Golden Girls and Frasier. With its body-inhabiting plotlines and constantly shifting settings, Quantum Leap was a dream come true for some and an entirely skippable experience for many others.
Focusing on physicist Dr. Sam Beckett (Bakula) as he struggled to return home after his time travel experiment spirals out of his control, Quantum Leap introduced both Bakula and sidekick, Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell), to audiences as a somewhat unlikely time-traveling duo. With each new time period that Beckett found himself in, he would also inhabit the body of a person who was, in one way or another, in need of help. Calavicci would provide the details of each scenario to Beckett, and once the talented physicist had completed his mission, the two would once again be whisked away in time with the destination revealed to audiences in the following week’s episode.
Since its cancellation in 1993, fans have been left to wonder what Dr. Beckett’s life would have been like as he continued to bounce through space and time. The show’s abrupt finale simply revealed in text across the screen that “Sam Beckett never returned home.” It was hardly the satisfying, all-questions-answered ending that fans deserved. Fortunately, it looks as though there’s still life left in the Quantum Leap IP, with a new sequel series possibly on its way. According to THR, a sequel pilot has been greenlit by NBC, with Bakula rumored to be returning as Dr. Beckett as well. The pilot’s synopsis states:
“It’s been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it.”
Considering how many different possibilities there are for a series like Quantum Leap in today’s world, it’s more than a little surprising that it’s taken this long for the series to attempt a return. Bakula had previously stated how relevant a series reboot would be, and the idea of creating a sequel series in which a new team searches for him is perhaps the perfect way to reignite the intrigue that the original program offered. Hopefully, Bakula will be confirmed to return, as anything less will arguably annoy Quantum Leap’s more devoted fanbase. In fact, it only makes sense that Bakula would return, given the show’s premise.
In recent years specifically, a familiar concept has been that despite our differences politically, culturally or racially, what unites us is far more common than what divides us. Quantum Leap has a unique opportunity to allow its protagonists to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, and that alone is an enticing prospect. It’s a big responsibility for a mere TV series to take on, but if the pilot can offer a promising glimpse of something relevant and engaging, then the future of Quantum Leap looks bright.
Source: THR