Product Description: Dr. Sam Beckett steps into the Quantum Leap accelerator and finds himself back in the past, with the opportunity to change the course of history for t
Amazon.com: They'll be dancing (well, leaping maybe) in the streets now that the first season of Quantum Leap, voted one of the 25 best cult series ever by TV Guide, has come to home video, a decade after its final year (1994) on the air (the pilot episode was released on DVD in '98). And why shouldn't they? This is a show, called "an imaginative diversion" by one critic, with a good premise that's cleverly and skillfully conceived, written, acted, and produced--ample evidence of which is spread out over three discs, each containing three episodes (plus some fairly meager extras) from the first season.
Scott Bakula, in the role that made him a star, plays Sam Beckett, a scientist who's part of a time-travel experiment that "went a little... ka-ka." Unable to return to his own time, and aided only by Al (Dean Stockwell, whose rapport with Bakula is one of the series' most appealing elements), his cigar-smoking, peculiar-dressing, sex-obsessed, holographic "enabler," Sam "leaps" unpredictably from one time period and person to another, usually completely out of his element (as a pilot, a boxer, a cowboy, an English lit professor, even an elderly black man in segregated '50s Alabama) and always in a situation that needs to be "made right" before he can leap onward. Generous helpings of humor, drama, physical action, and sentimentality (this is TV, after all) keep things moving, as do references to many other classic films and genres (Driving Miss Daisy in "The Color of Truth," Casablanca in "Play it Again, Seymour," boxing in general in "The Right Hand of God") and what creator Donald Bellisario calls the occasional "kiss with history" (Sam crosses paths with the young Buddy Holly and Michael Jackson, among others). It doesn't all work, as Quantum Leap occasionally becomes too cute and facile for its own good. But that and the set's paucity of bonus material (limited to one passable featurette and brief episode intros by Bakula) are the only real shortcomings of a boxed set that will likely earn multiple spins in the DVD player. --Sam Graham
Leaping Within Your Lifetime ^ Honestly this has to be one of the most unique shows after to be a hit on American TV. The theme tells it all: a guy named Sam Beckett is leaping into different people during his lifetime by an unknown force and driven to change history for the better with his only guide being a lusty hologram of his frient and colleague Al who only Sam can see and hear. So he keeps going hoping his next leap will be the leap home. Well here we start the adventures of Sam Beckett:Indiana farm boy,MIT graduate and general wunderkind with a swiss cheesed memory. Every week the man is literally someone else. First he's an airforce pilot,than a baseball player-all in the same episode. Before you know it he's a disipated English lit professor destined to avoid the charms of a festishist more or less. Since Quantum Leap was such an enlightened and progressive show there are episodes even this early in the game such as "The Color Of Truth" in which Sam,a white man (my man Scott Bakula) leaps into a black chauffer in the mid 50's south in a very Driving Miss Daisy style sendup. The great part of that is how Al,himself a huge participant in the civil rights movement helps Sam to step into the shoes of a black man in that place and time. It's episodes like this that offer an atypical "put yourself in their shoes" scenrio. Also the episode showcases that often ignored fact about African Americans-the fact they're as willing,if sometimes not more so than others, a helping hand to those they call friend. A great message for those with strong misconceptions of black people especially in the late 80's/early 90's. This DVD is only eight episodes long and as with Northern Exposure much of the original music used has been replaced. But it's great to see all the episodes of one of a handfull of TV series I really genuinely loved and anyone who never saw this before should rent it. If they do they'll get caught up in these great stories,great messages and great characters of one of the most unique sci fi shows ever.
Quantum Leap Season 1 Review ^ There's not much bad to say about this season one disk set. It's unfortunate that season one was a short 8-episode season, but that's not the fault of the people who put this disk collection together. The only other problem I had was that when they try to cram as many episodes as possible on as few disks as possible, my dvd player doesn't always read them perfectly. There are occassional skips or parts where the action stops for about 30 seconds before resuming. This doesn't happen with other DVDs I own, so I am lead to believe it's due to so much info placed onto each disk. I've read some reviews that complained about them removing some of the original songs from certain episodes. I didn't actually take note of that, probably because I wasn't aware of what the original songs were that were playing in the background on the jukebox in this or that episode. To a die-hard fan who knows these bits of info, I can understand how that is kind of a cheap thing for the producers of this disk set to do. Overall I still think it's a worthwhile buy for any fan of the show. The vast majority of the time on the disks plays well, looks good, sounds good, and even has a short preview by Scott Bakula before each episode. Despite some imperfections, I'm happy with this DVD set.
One of the best TV shows of all time ^ My wife and I purchased Season 1 and also the other four seasons in the series and we can recommend all of them. If you've never seen Quantum Leap, and I can't see how that's possible, please do yourself a favor and treat yourself to it. Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell were excellent week to week and superbly backed up by fine writers and director. Some of the shows even had the fine added talents of Kevin Corcoran as first assistant director. You might remember him as a rambunctious child actor for Walt Disney Studios in the 1950s and 60s.
One thing was certain about Quantum Leap: You never knew from one week to the next what was going to happen to Scott Bakula's character, Sam Beckett, but you could rest assured that it would be exciting and well worth watching entertainment. As a writer of science fiction and horror I have been reading and watching the stuff for over 50 years and put this series on my personal top shelf along with The Time Machine and War of the Worlds. The Winds of Hell
Quantum Leap ^ This product came to me quickly and in great condition. I thoroughly enjoyed my purchase.
I fell in love all over again.... ^ I started out with the 1st season and now await the delivery of the 5th season...If ever there was a TV character to fall in love with it was Dr. Sam Beckett! These episodes are as great today as they were "back in the day". Dean Stockwell (Al) is just as cute and funny and Scott Bakula (Sam) just as "hot". I loved the interviews and the quality is great! One of televisions most imaginative creations, something that is sorely lacking in the swamp of today's "reality" shows. I have introduced the series to my nieces and nephews and they love it! Pay attention TV moguls -- This is Entertainment.
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