Tonight at 10p on NBC, Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee) does something he has never done before on Quantum Leap. He leaps into the body of a woman. How does he handle it? I will say he had an easier time than Sam Beckett did when he leaped into someone who is of the feminine persuasion.
Talking about Beckett, Magic (Ernie Hudson) reveals his connection to him and why he restarted the Quantum Leap Project.
Back to Ben, he is starting to remember he has a girlfriend. Will he remember that it is Addison (Caitlin Bassett)? Meanwhile, she is learning more about him in the present day. What secrets has he been hiding?
I can’t wait to find out. Thankfully, we have a few more episodes to find out because NBC picked up the series for six more episodes bringing its first season total to 19. I wonder when they will take Ben to in the upcoming episodes.
Tonight at 10p on NBC, Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee) does something he shouldn’t be able to do on Quantum Leap. He travels back to a time before he was born.
Ben is fighting to get back to his own time, but instead, he leaps into a boxer who is about to fight the middleweight champion of the world. How can he prepare for that if he never fought a day in his life? Addison (Caitlin Bassett) is going to teach him in a way that Al never could.
On that note, the Quantum Leap Project is going to realize how deep Al’s daughter Janice (Georgina Reilly) is into their work. So much so that Magic (Ernie Hudson), Ian (Mason Alexander Park), and Jen (Nanrisa Lee) are truly scared, and rightfully so. What is Janice going to do with what she has? Is she working against them? We don’t know.
And we also don’t know what it means that Ben can leap to times that are not his own. How far back can he go? That I can’t wait to find out. Almost as much as next week, when he makes a leap, that is going to be a game-changer for him.
So make sure to watch a sequel that is almost as good as the original.
Tonight at 10p on NBC, Quantum Leap goes where few have gone before, outer space.
Ben Song (Raymond Lee) finds himself on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which is in the process of launching on its mission. He is there to save the astronaut whose body he leaped into. Addison (Caitlin Basset) tells him that he originally died during a space walk, so what happens when he goes out to do it? He saves the man whose body he is in but sets off something so much worse.
While that is going on up there and back then, down here on Earth, Magic (Ernie Hudson) visits someone from the past, as in someone who was in the original series and played by the same person. Can you guess who? You will want to tune in to find out.
The series is still setting up who everyone is and why Ben Lee decided to go back in time without telling anyone. So I think we have to stick with it because they are still finding its way. It will take a little time because it is hard to differentiate itself from the original, even though it will constantly be compared to it. I know I am doing it. And I have to remember this is a different show.
So let’s give it a chance because it is a good show when you accept that it is its own series.
Quantum Leap is back on NBC tonight at 10p with a new person leaping through time to right the wrongs of history.
That person is Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee). He is working with a team who are trying to restart Dr. Samuel Becket’s work. Addison (Caitlin Bassett) is his lover, who also works on the project, and she becomes his Dean. As in, she will travel back in time as a hologram to help Ben.
Herbert “Magic” Williams (Ernie Hudson) runs the program, and he is familiar with it. That is because Sam leaped into him. So in 33 years, when they revive the show again, one of the people that Ben leaps into can run the program.
Before we get there, let’s learn five things about the show that Lee, Bassett, and EP Martin Gero told us at the NBC TCA Summer Press Tour Day.
Is Raymond Lee nervous about filling Scott Bakula’s shoes?
Oh, absolutely, enormous. There will never be another Dr. Sam Beckett. But what we’ve created is a brand new show with brand new characters, and we’re really excited to bring this show to you.
Raymond Lee says this is a dream role.
I’m checking off a bucket list with every episode. It’s an actor’s dream to not only be in different periods with different projects but to do it all in one. It’s the roles of a lifetime. I’m having so much fun. And, yeah, it’s been a blast so far, and I anticipate that it will continue to be a blast.
EP Martin Gero says this version of Quantum Leap is not a reboot.
Yeah. I think from the beginning, like, the show is so iconic and beloved, it felt crazy to just do a version with a new Sam and a new Al. Like, it would be it would set up to fail essentially. And so for all of us that were involved at the beginning, it really made sense for this to be a continuation of the story with a brand new set of characters, one that could honor the old show, pay service to the old show, but, you know, have a really low bar for entry for new viewers. And I think that’s, like, the tightrope we’re walking. Like, we want all of the rabid fans of “Quantum Leap” to watch the show and have it feel like “Quantum Leap.” Like, yes, this is “Quantum Leap.” It’s an evolution of “Quantum Leap,” but it feels that way. But, also, we want you to know, there’s an enormous amount of people that don’t have like, are vaguely familiar with the title and are just going to check the show out clean, and we didn’t want to weigh the show down with a lot of mythology immediately that would make it feel like, oh, I need to watch 90 plus episodes of “Quantum Leap” before I can start this.
So this, you can start fresh. And then slowly, over the course of the season, there’s an enormous amount of backstory and mythology from the original show that we’re really excited to share with fans. But it’s done in a way that will feel like a different view on past events for our old fans, so it’s new information for them. And for our new fans, it just feels like we’re still in the middle of the story, and it’s coming out organically.
Martin Gero explains why the present day will have a bigger part in the series than the original.
You know, the original “Quantum Leap” is basically an anthology series, with, like, a very thin through line. You know, obviously a lot of character development but not a lot of serialized story. And I think everyone kind of felt from the studio side, the network side everyone kind of felt like it needed some sort of serialized aspect and how do we do that. And I think the modern-day part of it allows us to have that flexibility to, you know, why did Ben leave? What’s going on? Like, why didn’t he tell anyone? That mystery pulls you through week to week without kind of alienating casual viewers, you know. So the idea is for it to be pretty balanced. It will mostly be the leaps. Every now and again, if there’s, like, a huge event that needs to be talked about in the present day, you know, it gets closer to, like, 40 percent of the episode. But the show’s called “Quantum Leap,” and we’re going to be focusing predominantly on the leaps.
Caitlin Bassett didn’t watch Quantum Leap when it originally aired.
I will admit to being I missed the first one. I think I was just a little under the age. And so I’ve gone back and watched it now, and I just love it.
But my it was one of my dad’s favorite shows, so I was like, “Dad, did you ever watch ‘Quantum Leap?'” He was like, “What? I watched all of ‘Quantum Leap.'” So it’s been really cool, like rebonding experience, which is fun, because I feel like that’s one of the best things about the show, is, like, it was a family show. It was a family people or it was a show people watched with their family, like Nanrisa and Ernie. So it’s cool we get to do it again.
Now that you know all of that make sure to check out the series. It feels like the original, and we have been that on our televisions since the OG ended.
For years, there were rumors that there was going to be a sequel series to Quantum Leap with Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Sadly, last year we lost the latter. Therefore, it looked like it was not going to happen.
However, NBC decided to reboot the series, which ran from 1989-1993, with a new person traveling through time to right the wrongs. So, you have to wonder if Bakula will reprise his role as Dr. Samuel Beckett. Today, the actor broke his silence on the matter.
To Quantum Leap fans around the world, in an effort to quiet the rumors and move on…
First of all, thanks for hanging around through the decades!
Here’s the simple version of what’s going on with the Quantum Leap reboot and me:
I have no connection with the new show, either in front of the camera or behind it.
In January, the pilot was sold and a script was sent to me because the character of Sam Beckett was in it, which makes sense, right? As so many of you have been asking me the last several months, “How could you do QL without Sam?”(or Al, for that matter) Well, I guess we’re about to find out.
That’s the story. As the show has always been near and dear to my heart, it was a very difficult decision to pass on the project, a decision that has upset and confused so many fans of the original series. However, the idea of anyone ‘leaping’ around in time and walking a mile in someone else’s shoes, remains a very appealing concept and so worthy of exploration, especially given the current state of mankind. In that spirit, I am crossing my fingers that this new cast and crew are lucky enough to tap into the magic that propelled the original Quantum Leap into the hearts and minds of generations past and present.
I wish them good luck and happy leaping!
SB
Part of me is upset over his decision because he is such a beloved character. However, the other part of me likes the idea that they are keeping the mystery going. And he is letting the reboot stand on its own two feet in their shoes. But I really wanted him back. Oh, well.
Oh, and never realized until now that the actor and his character share the initials, SB.
