A revival of Quantum Leap is exciting for several reasons, but the
biggest is that it can finally put right the cliffhanger that the
series finale got wrong. Running from 1989 to 1993, Quantum Leap was
one of the best examples of a cult show. It was rarely a ratings hit,
but maintained a loyal enough audience for most of its run that NBC saw
value in keeping it around. Quantum Leap was also critically acclaimed,
and it never hurts to have a show that a network can boast about.

Still, ratings and the accompanying advertising dollars they draw are
the bottom line at the end of the day, at least on broadcast TV. After
several years teetering on the brink of cancellation, Quantum Leap
finally got the ax from NBC after five seasons. Unfortunately, it made
that fateful decision after the Quantum Leap season 5 finale and ending
had already been shot, and shot with Quantum Leap's creators having the
impression that a season 6 would probably happen.

Related: Everything We Know About Buffy's Revival

That led to one of the worst unresolved cliffhanger endings to ever
befall a beloved TV show. After a finale that set up and teased an
exciting new direction for Quantum Leap season 6, a hastily tacked on
title card revealed that Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home. To add
insult to injury, Beckett's name was misspelled as "Becket." After five
seasons of Sam trying to find a way back to his own time and be
reunited with his loving wife, a sudden, sad, and vague ending was the
opposite of what fans wanted to see and what the show itself deserved.
Thankfully, NBC's upcoming Quantum Leap revival, should it advance past
the pilot stage, can finally fix that injustice.

The ending of Quantum Leap's original series finale, titled "Mirror
Image," left audiences with so many questions, questions that have gone
unanswered for nearly 30 years. The episode saw Sam meet a mysterious
bartender who, it's heavily implied, might be God. The bartender tells
Sam that he's actually been leaping himself this time and that his
leaps will get tougher, but first he'll be going on some kind of
sabbatical. The last leap shown sees Sam go back and save Al's marriage
to Beth by telling her he's still alive as a P.O.W. in Vietnam. Then,
according to the infamous title card, he never returns home.

If what "God" said is true, why would Sam never choose to go home, even
for a short time, in between meeting Quantum Leap's historical figures?
Why would he keep leaping forever, into old age, instead of trying to
pass the mantle to someone new, such as the daughter he was aware went
on to work at Project Quantum Leap? Did Sam die during a leap, and if
so, when? While it's unconfirmed whether or not Scott Bakula will
return as Dr. Sam Beckett in the Quantum Leap revival, it seems likely
he will, if only because he's expressed openness to taking part in one
many times. If that's the case, the revival could finally reveal Sam's
ultimate fate, or even better, rewrite it by having him successfully
complete his final leap and return home to his long-suffering wife
Donna. Both Quantum Leap's faithful, and the character of Sam Beckett,
deserve a better conclusive ending than "Mirror Image" provided. If
only Dean Stockwell hadn't recently passed on, so that Al could be
there to greet Sam with a hug, it might even be perfect.

--
Let's go Brandon!

In article <y9KdnRWaI7sptGz8nZ2dnUU7-b3NnZ2d@giganews.com>, Ubiquitous
<weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

> If what "God" said is true, why would Sam never choose to go home, even
> for a short time, in between meeting Quantum Leap's historical figures?
> Why would he keep leaping forever, into old age, instead of trying to
> pass the mantle to someone new, such as the daughter he was aware went
> on to work at Project Quantum Leap?

Sam kept leaping because he was personally (and perhaps irrationally)
compelled to do so. He was helpless to help people. I thought this
was made clear at the time during the conversation with God, but I
guess not.

A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
> In article <y9KdnRWaI7sptGz8nZ2dnUU7-b3NnZ2d@giganews.com>, Ubiquitous
> <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
>
>> If what "God" said is true, why would Sam never choose to go home, even
>> for a short time, in between meeting Quantum Leap's historical figures?
>> Why would he keep leaping forever, into old age, instead of trying to
>> pass the mantle to someone new, such as the daughter he was aware went
>> on to work at Project Quantum Leap?
>
>
> Sam kept leaping because he was personally (and perhaps irrationally)
> compelled to do so. He was helpless to help people. I thought this
> was made clear at the time during the conversation with God, but I
> guess not.
>

I never understood why “continuing the work“ meant “never taking a
breather“
I mean presumably he can’t do this without a Projects help so why
not go home once in a while and shake some hands and get a flu shot.
Of course we don’t know if they have access to his real body in the control
room or not since they’ve said it both ways.

--
“The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it’s still on my list.”

anim8rfsk@cox.net wrote:
> A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
>> Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

>>> If what "God" said is true, why would Sam never choose to go home, even
>>> for a short time, in between meeting Quantum Leap's historical figures?
>>> Why would he keep leaping forever, into old age, instead of trying to
>>> pass the mantle to someone new, such as the daughter he was aware went
>>> on to work at Project Quantum Leap?
>>
>> Sam kept leaping because he was personally (and perhaps irrationally)
>> compelled to do so. He was helpless to help people. I thought this
>> was made clear at the time during the conversation with God, but I
>> guess not.

Wouldn't that make Sam mentally ill if he were compulsed to "fix history"?

>I never understood why "continuing the work" meant "never taking a breather".
>I mean presumably he can't do this without a Projects help so why
>not go home once in a while and shake some hands and get a flu shot.
>Of course we don't know if they have access to his real body in the control
>room or not since they've said it both ways.

Good point!

I tried watching this show on Comet TV and it hasn't aged well.
I can only imagine what woke nonsense they'd put in this show...

--
Let's go Brandon!

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
> anim8rfsk@cox.net wrote:
>> A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
>>> Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
>
>>>> If what "God" said is true, why would Sam never choose to go home, even
>>>> for a short time, in between meeting Quantum Leap's historical figures?
>>>> Why would he keep leaping forever, into old age, instead of trying to
>>>> pass the mantle to someone new, such as the daughter he was aware went
>>>> on to work at Project Quantum Leap?
>>>
>>> Sam kept leaping because he was personally (and perhaps irrationally)
>>> compelled to do so. He was helpless to help people. I thought this
>>> was made clear at the time during the conversation with God, but I
>>> guess not.
>
> Wouldn't that make Sam mentally ill if he were compulsed to "fix history"?
>

Sam is quite literally brain damaged. I don’t know if you’d want to
consider that mental illness or if it is I don’t know if it predates his
memory being Swiss cheesed.

>> I never understood why "continuing the work" meant "never taking a breather".
>> I mean presumably he can't do this without a Projects help so why
>> not go home once in a while and shake some hands and get a flu shot.
>> Of course we don't know if they have access to his real body in the control
>> room or not since they've said it both ways.
>
> Good point!
>
> I tried watching this show on Comet TV and it hasn't aged well.
> I can only imagine what woke nonsense they'd put in this show...
>

I quit watching at the beginning of season two when they explain to some
sort of governmental inquisition that they were working for God and when
the senator or whatever it was tried to shut them down anyway God smote
him.

> --
> Let's go Brandon!
>
>
>

--
“The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it’s still on my list.”