Quantum Leap to return. NBC picked up the sequel

[blewis17]

OK, rabbit trail here. The actor above on the left hand side of the picture, is Chris Latta (who also sometimes went by Chris Collins). RIP. He was a prolific voice actor that probably helped to shape your childhood, and he also played several ST TV characters. He was the original voice of Montgomery Burns in The Simpson TV show, but will ALWAYS be known to me as the voice of Cobra Commander and Starscream in the early 1980s Marvel/Sunbow TV cartoons.

 

[Starganderfish]

Just watched the trailer. As expected:
Gender swapped hologram
Unnecessary love interest
Action packed/explosions
Lots of shakey cam and dark gritty lighting
Just waiting for the reveal of the bad guys who are chasing him through time to steal his secrets… or similar nonsense

On the bright side,
it does feel a little more positive and optimistic than many dark and gritty reboots.
The lead seems to have a bit of a fresh faced positive attitude that brings to mind Sam.
His memories still Swiss cheesed
His side kick is still a hologram
Heh… the white unitard from the original pilot is back…

I’m not having super high expectations, but hopefully it might at least be a little fun

And just gotta say, every time I see shows being rebooted, am I the only one that always thinks of that Stargate episode “recast the show with younger edgier versions of the team…” ? It was meant to be an extreme parody but it was scarily prophetic:

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

I think it’s appropriate that Sam Beckett is not involved; recall, in the finale, they confirmed that he never returned home. I sort of like where they left his story.

Just leave it alone. The original was perfect.

The problem with the original is... that wasn't supposed to be the ending. NBC kept jerking them around on whether they were renewed for a season 6. They scripted the last episode of season 5 such that the last act could end as a season or series finale, depending. They had the go-ahead, so they filmed it as a season finale... and then NBC told them they were cancelled. So when it went to air, we got that stupid black screen with Sam's name misspelled, to add injury to insult. The "never returned home" was a last-second scramble to not leave us on a cliffhanger forever. Why they didn't pull a Buffy/Firefly and do season 6 as comics or novels or some other tie-in product, I do not know. There were only the vaguest hints about where season 6 would go. Stuff in the modern day with Al and his wife, some members of the now nonexistent P:QL being drawn to each other by the timeline itself trying to correct what has now gone wrong...

But this? This is garbage. When asked most recently about whether he'd be involved, Scott said he would've entertained the idea if they'd come to him with a solid show with a good heart. They didn't, so he didn't. That, more than anything, is enough for me to skip it unless the trailer really hooked me. Which it didn't. So I'm back to hoping someone will dust off Don's notes and do a season 6 as a series of graphic novels through Dark Horse or IDW or someone like that...

 

[Psab keel]

I only watched the first couple of seasons and loved it, but I lost interest after that. I was also young so I moved on to other stories quickly back then.

My gripe is the lack of imagination on the part of corporate Hollywood. This reboot looks bad and is nothing more than trying to hold onto the rights of the I.P. because they simply can't be bothered to try something new.

I'm not serious angry about it so much as exhausted by it. When you see patterns it's hard to unsee them.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

^ Yep. That. He's been trying to bring QL back for literal decades, but has the integrity to say to the studio "this isn't the show I've been trying to get you to make" and say no to the reduced rôle they tried to offer him and the tone that is wildly out of sync with what the original show was. Sure, the original had its share of car chases and fisticuffs, but it wasn't an Action™ show. The new one may not be, either, but, if not... why emphasize that in the teaser? Pulling a tonal bait-and-switch is something that has hurt many movies and TV shows over the years, where the trailer makes it look like one thing, but it ends up being almost anything but that.

 

[LeoCor Replicas]

I refuse to pass judgement on the show until I see it tonight, however I will say that I am extremely excited. As someone who was born almost a decade after the original show ended, I grew up watching Quantum Leap through reruns, and I absolutely love it. One of the main reasons I got into prop-making was because I wanted my own Handlink! Seeing a renewed interest in the original, as well as the idea of new adventures with a new crew is, in my opinion, awesome! I like anyone else would've loved to see Sam and Al reunite, but given that Dean Stockwell is no longer with us, having Sam return alone just wouldn't feel right.

Giving the opportunity to tell important stories through a new generation of characters, while respecting the adventures of those before them, seems the proper thing to do. Now, as for the naysayers and gatekeepers who seem determined to bash this new incarnation of Quantum Leap for being "too woke", all I have to say is this. Quantum Leap, at it's core was about experiencing life through another person's shoes (in Sam's case, quite literally!), and helping people in times of strife. It was using sci-fi as a medium to teach us how to treat those around us with decency and respect, no matter their gender or sexual identity, race, or background. Quantum Leap, like much in the realm of sci-fi has always been "woke". Give the new show a chance. Maybe you'll like it, or maybe you won't! Just try not to make a judgement on it before you actually watch it.

 

[Apollo]

Meh, The Suits effed him

Probably threw him a bone which was a cameo of him “passing the torch”

Good for him, as I posted before I was told when Dean passed away that was it for him, the window had closed.

As far as the new show I hope it dies a quick and painful death!

 

[Spyhunter2k]

What Scott Bakula posted to Instagram a few days ago:

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!

 

[Captain Dunsel]

What Scott Bakula posted to Instagram a few days ago:

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!

Whatever the circumstances of his not being involved in this reboot, it’s pretty much known that Bakula is a very classy and stand-up guy. He’s not the sort to air sour grapes and dirty laundry on social media.

 

[JiminSTLouis]

Uninspired story and characters that I really don’t care about. I don’t see the need for a reboot if this (and what they showed in the previews of the coming season) is what they’ve come up with.

Missed opportunities to give us more background on the technology and how it works. In the original, doesn’t the person Sam leaps into also leap into the future and is held in a waiting room with the same memory loss? It would have been cool to include that in the story.

 

[ZeroSum]

Something that trailer is missing from the original series is the humour. I only ever saw a little bit of that show but I recall there being something of a playful sense of humour about it. Nothing like that in the new one.

/edited for clarity

 

[Starganderfish]

Something that trailer is missing from the original series is the original. I only ever saw a little bit of that show but I recall there being something of a playful sense of humour about it. Nothing like that in the new one.

Yeah. Modern TV shows really struggle to capture that light hearted sense of fun. Everything has to be so dark and gritty and action packed, and then they shoe-horn in jokes that are in your face and out of place and derail the flow.
Original QL managed to be deep and serious and still have that sense of innocent fun. I think a lot of that came from Scott Bakula - he’s got that real “down-home/farm boy” feel about him. The characters memory was Swiss Cheesed by leaping through time, but rather than a sense of desperation and loss from that, he presented an innocence and childish delight in what was occurring.
I get no sense of that from the current iterations trailers.

 

[LeoCor Replicas]

Just finished the episode. Pretty good. Hard to gauge how the rest of the show is going to go, but based on the episode, I definitely have faith. Some new ideas are being explored that I'm very intrigued by, and I'm happy to see Al and his daughter are at the core of the mystery of this sequel.

There was also a nice tribute to Dean as well.

 

[renaissance_man]

Just finished the episode. Pretty good. Hard to gauge how the rest of the show is going to go, but based on the episode, I definitely have faith. Some new ideas are being explored that I'm very intrigued by, and I'm happy to see Al and his daughter are at the core of the mystery of this sequel.

There was also a nice tribute to Dean as well.

What was the new Handlink like? That's all that matters right? I mean we are the RPF

 

[Starganderfish]

Just started the first episode ( via VPN here in Aus) and immediately had to pause to double-check a Youtube video of the original opening credits. Deborah Pratt, who's an Executive Producer on the new show, serves as the opening narrator, just like she did for the original series. Got chills hearing her voice .."Theorizing that one could time travel within their own lifetime, Dr Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished!!" I immediately started humming the theme song and was a little bummed that it didn't play...
It's pure fan service but it left me with a pretty positive initial impression.
The rest of the show definitely had some first-episode shakiness. They really didn't manage to give the Holgram the sense of being projected from outside the scene and she was moving around and interacting with the past a little too freely. That was one of the best things about Al, the way he was always a projection and disconnected from Sam's reality - standing in the passenger seat of a car or walking through things.
I really didn't enjoy the ensemble cast in the present-day and how they keep cutting to them and the "b plot". It breaks the sense of immersion that the audience used to have. It used to feel like we were riding along with Sam and just as bemused as he was, learning alongside him. Instead, we keep getting pulled back to the present day at the project, killing the flow and immersion in the past storyline. Stick with the Leaper.
All up, it was okay, and I'll keep watching but it's not giving me the same Quantum Leap vibes.
The new Handlink is kind of meh. Just a round hockey puck with blue neon lights. We didn't see her use it much, hardly any tapping on the buttons, no banging it to get it to work properly, none of the quirky Ziggy noises. She projected a couple of Holograms from it but they didn't move along with the prop and didn't feel they actually projected from it, and instead felt painted onto the scene. Special effects were kind of rough, esp for a 2022 show.
I grabbed a couple of screen grabs of the Handlink. It's different to the one seen in other promotional stills that look to be from later episodes, so it may get swapped out or upgraded after the Pilot/1st Episode

 

[renaissance_man]

Just started the first episode ( via VPN here in Aus) and immediately had to pause to double-check a Youtube video of the original opening credits. Deborah Pratt, who's an Executive Producer on the new show, serves as the opening narrator, just like she did for the original series. Got chills hearing her voice .."Theorizing that one could time travel within their own lifetime, Dr Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished!!" I immediately started humming the theme song and was a little bummed that it didn't play...
It's pure fan service but it left me with a pretty positive initial impression.
The rest of the show definitely had some first-episode shakiness. They really didn't manage to give the Holgram the sense of being projected from outside the scene and she was moving around and interacting with the past a little too freely. That was one of the best things about Al, the way he was always a projection and disconnected from Sam's reality - standing in the passenger seat of a car or walking through things.
I really didn't enjoy the ensemble cast in the present-day and how they keep cutting to them and the "b plot". It breaks the sense of immersion that the audience used to have. It used to feel like we were riding along with Sam and just as bemused as he was, learning alongside him. Instead, we keep getting pulled back to the present day at the project, killing the flow and immersion in the past storyline. Stick with the Leaper.
All up, it was okay, and I'll keep watching but it's not giving me the same Quantum Leap vibes.
The new Handlink is kind of meh. Just a round hockey puck with blue neon lights. We didn't see her use it much, hardly any tapping on the buttons, no banging it to get it to work properly, none of the quirky Ziggy noises. She projected a couple of Holograms from it but they didn't move along with the prop and didn't feel they actually projected from it, and instead felt painted onto the scene. Special effects were kind of rough, esp for a 2022 show.
I grabbed a couple of screen grabs of the Handlink. It's different to the one seen in other promotional stills that look to be from later episodes, so it may get swapped out or upgraded after the Pilot/1st Episode

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Interesting.
Thanks for the Handlink photos.
The disc-link seems quite different to the image from the trailer with the rectangular looking Handlink.
I'll have to watch the episode, if I can find it somewhere on TV/streaming.

 

[JoeG]

Yeah the pilot episode wasn't too bad. I'll keep watching to see how it goes.

 

[Starganderfish]

Interesting.
Thanks for the Handlink photos.
The disc-link seems quite different to the image from the trailer with the rectangular looking Handlink.
I'll have to watch the episode, if I can find it somewhere on TV/streaming.

NBC has it on their website for free. Its region-locked to the US but a VPN works.

 

[masterjedi322]

Generally not impressed with the first episode... But to be fair, I'm a huge fan of the original and recognize there is nothing they can really do that will make this show live up to some of the diehard fans' expectations...

Spoiler: Pilot spoilers

Some gripes:
-The acting wasn't all that great... In fact, I had to stop and wonder whether they were intentionally trying to mimic a cheesy 80s/90s TV show, or whether it was just that bad...
-Ben's amnesia seemed to come and go... It wasn't clear what he remembered or what we he forgot... Sometimes he was clueless and others he was totally fine and confident.
-Addison's role as the supporting hologram. Once they found out Ben was actually an undercover cop, why wasn't she pulling data on that? She just stood there... And a lot of times she was providing data to Ben, she wasn't even looking at the handlink...
-The leap itself - for the premiere of such a long-awaited show, I would have liked for them to have tackled something bigger than saving a dude who got shot as part of a jewel heist...
-The handlink - meh
-Seemed like they talked forever about getting Ziggy back online - more generally, too much time in the present and not in the past.
-Definitely missing the heart-string element that made the original so special

Kudos:
-Ernie Hudson! Magic being the character Sam leapt into in order to save his brother in Vietnam, I thought was a nice touch
-The nods to the original were generally subtle and not overly done, IMHO.
-I liked that they are building something in parallel to the primary mission. Although why would Al's daughter be the force behind the scenes trying to remedy the situation...? Where's Sam's wife? Or even his brother?

I personally don't see this show making it past one season. I think the writing is just lacking. And without Bakula coming back, they'll be hard-pressed to stand on their own feet.

Here's hoping I'm wrong...