NBC revived the sci-fi adventure series with a new cast nearly three decades after it ended. A scientist wearing a white bodysuit jumps into an experimental time-travel project using himself as a human test subject and launching into the past to correct what once went wrong The impetuousness of his first leap leaves him jumping across time into different bodies to save days.
For five seasons, quantum physicist/noted genius Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) made these journeys guided by Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell), a U.S. Navy rear admiral. Sam never made it home after 97 episodes of derring do.
There is a new team of scientists looking to correct a glitch that caused Sam's leaps to the will of fate or God.
How does the new Quantum Leap differ from the old one? Break it down.
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Raymond Lee plays physicist Dr. Ben Song, who is plunged into the past to set right an old wrong when he leaps into the quantum collider. In the premiere episode, titled "July 13th, 1985," he's an undercover cop tasked with saving the life of a restauranteur who's dealing in bank robberies, bombings, and the theft of the Hope Diamond to pay for his under-insured wife's expensive cancer treatment The "Swiss cheese effect," as it was known in the original series, occurs after every leap and Ben has the assistance of his own Al.
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The creators forgot that their hero should be fun to watch. Song is playing this as a straight TV drama like Bakula did. The clown in this fish-out-of-water series was willing to mug for the camera and bring a verve to life and death. Lee doesn't have the muscle memory or the confidence to say he's more like jason bourne. When he can't land a punch, he's confused, and when he can't land a joke, he's sad. The script doesn't have any real zings in it.
Ben's leap is even more cruel than Sam's because it establishes two major betrayals at its jump. Ben bails on his engagement party to break into the top- secret lab with a mysterious outsider, uploading some strange new coding, and making the leap without telling anyone on his team why. Ben wasn't supposed to be the jumper. He was supposed to be the hologram, but he stole the spot from another person.
The new cast of characters don't know why Ben betrayed his friend, but they all agree that he must have a good reason. We are assured that he is a good guy. The audience doesn't know the inner workings of the leaper's mind because the winsome voiceover that let us into Sam's vulnerabilities and doubts doesn't exist here. The once-wondrous adventure series has been turned into a lifeless reboot that replaces Sam's phrase "Oh, boy" with the cringe-worthy "Oh, shit"
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
The character of Addison was supposed to be the leaper before her partner stole her place. His brain doesn't remember her because she's stuck in the hologram passenger seat. Sam had a wife that he couldn't remember, but she accepted that because she was part of his missions and he fell for her. The wife figure will have to watch closely as her runaway fiancé seduces strangers across time, over and over again, with the added salt in the wound that it should have been her.
Ben is harder to root for due to the fact that he seems like a withholding jerk. Al got to be a hologram who can walk through planes and lend a guiding hand to boxing blows and have all the fun of being a hologram who can crack jokes and pop up in loud but marvelous outfits and have all the fun of being a hologram who can walk through planes and lend a guiding She's trapped in a box of having to be kind to her partner or lose him to the infinite. There isn't much room for the camaraderie of Al and Sam. Couldn't they have provided her with some fun clothes? Ian, who wears bold make-up and flawless fits, is the only techie on the show.
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Sam's present in the show was mostly off camera. The audience was bound to Sam because of this. It made the appearance of Al almost magical in their abruptness and the color of his outfits and attitude made him stand out. We didn't want to know more about the pain in the office.
A troupe of scientists, security guards, and military types are set up in the first sequence of the new Quantum Leap. The present is where Ben's team tries to find out what he was hiding by getting rid of the security footage. The vibe is more crime procedural, with a team that can be quirky so the leads can be steely. The word "snore" is derived from the Latin word "snore." The escape sequence to be with them bleeds tension from the A plot of theft, bombings, and foiling a criminal. When they learn that "Magic" is a callback, they might perk up a bit.
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Hudson's Herbert "Magic" Williams is the same soldier that Sam jumped into in " The Leap Home, Part II (Vietnam)". Sam was tempted to try to save the life of his brother Tom, who was in Magic's unit, even though he was not allowed to. Sam realized too late that he saw a young Al being transported as a POW. The quantum leap project is close to Magic's heart. The off-camera waiting room was where Magic was.
The waiting room is where the souls of those who jumped into landed are located. They were usually of little help in cracking the mysteries of episodes because from their perspective, one moment they were at a lunch counter, and the next they were in a waiting room, being told it's the future.
The waiting room is not mentioned in the new quantum leap. This raises the stakes since they can't just ask the undercover cop what he's up to. The question of where Ben is bumping these souls to while he invades their bodies is frightening. There is a chance that a future episode will discuss this.
Is it possible that Ben only travels within his own lifespan? Sam was unable to get further back than the mid-1950s. The time-travel adventures of Ben could only go back to the '80s if this constraint is kept. The show has made little spectacle out of the nostalgia-thick era so far.
Dean Stockwell isn't involved in this project. He died in 2021. According to a thread on the internet, Bakula passed on the news of the reboot.
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Images of Sam and Al appear in exposition dumps to refresh audience's memory and give them a first time rundown about the show's general conceit Sam is lost and Al has died. The coder who helped Ben in his leap is Al's daughter. We don't know what that ends up being. This daughter wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for Sam's intervention.
Sam assured Beth that Al will come home, despite the fact that he was not killed in Vietnam. Beth never remarried, she and Al were still together, and they had four daughters.
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
The finale of Quantum Leap was always a big deal. Sam is a black man at a whites-only lunch counter, a pregnant teen facing ostracization, or an armed detective with a bullet-ridden corpse at his feet. The viewer was encouraged to watch week after week. With all these episodes on Peacock, you can binge-watch the original.
This device is used in the new show to bring Ben down in a shuttle. Yeah, shit! The reboot's runners don't think this is enough to keep people coming back. The deal with Al's daughter and why Ben jumped are mysteries. I don't think audiences will come back after a premiere episode that feels like a retread. The originals can be found on Peacock.
The show is on NBC Mondays at 10 pm.
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