Quantum Leap: So Like, How Does It Work?

[@wstine79]

After so many references to Quantum Leap, Allison's finally doing a proper video about the show. Firstly, it's an alright show elevated by Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell's performances.

[@CorbCorbin]

Well, they’re the characters the show is built around. Also the only two who are in every episode. I think Al might’ve missed one. I watched it as a kid, so I have a bias about how good it was, and so loved Stockwell in even his worst roles.

[@MegaMagicdog]

Agreed! QL is a likeable show but the chemistry between its main characters that made it!!

[@ShamrockParticle]

Hers is easily one of the best!

[@aaronstanley6914]

Pirated it back in 2021 it holds up fairly well as an episodic series. I'd watch it again unlike most content past the 1990s

[@Arrowdodger]

I'd say elevated, rather than saved, but I do agree that obviously those two are why the show works as well as it does.

[@MikeOShay]

Ooh, I only know the general premise of QL, but I love a good discussion of how the mechanics of something work in fiction. Looking forward to watching this.

[@thewewguy8t88]

yeah same here its always fun to have a discussion of how the mechanics of things work because most of the time it always feels like its being made up as it goes alone and is whatever the plot needs it to be for that moment.

[@richardwilliams2808]

What I think makes the most sense is that Sam becomes entangled with the person he leaps into, partially co-existing in the same space/time as them, thus blending their physical and mental properties. The extent of this blending, and whether or not it's primarily mental or physical, changes from leap to leap; sometimes depending on the nature of the mission and sometimes determined randomly. ... [Spoilers] ... ... Since it's revealed that some kind of intelligence is behind his leaping, the inconsistency can be credited to that entity changing the specifics as needed.

[@arnaudgerard1971]

Even more spoilery ... which in the end was himself. :) :p

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

I like this theory

[@neutrino78x]

@@arnaudgerard1971 I interpreted that episode as God (the bartender) controls how the leap works but Sam -- subconsciously or otherwise -- is choosing to continue leaping... Personally if I were in that situation, in the final episode, I would have asked the obvious question "are you....am I in the presence of God?" but I felt like it was implied well enough. :)

[@neutrino78x]

@@arnaudgerard1971 I interpreted that episode as God (the bartender) controls how the leap works and what needs to be changed in the past but Sam -- subconsciously or otherwise -- is choosing to continue leaping... Personally if I were in that situation, in the final episode, I would have asked the obvious question "are you....am I in the presence of God?" but I felt like it was implied well enough. :)

[@PosthumanHeresy]

@@neutrino78x Ahh but that's the trap see, that triggers you being in the plot of Marville.

[@ArtyFartyBart]

'Scott Bakula' always sounds like a name a vampire in hiding would choose to adopt to blend in with the humans.

[@miriamrosemary9110]

I used to base my opinion of how leaping works on how it's described in Eight and a Half Months too, until I realize that by the end of that very episode, they make it clear that no one in the project actually knows how it works. They thought they did, but they have actually no idea. Which is hilarious, in my opinion. Even Sam, who invented Ziggy and the project, thinks he knows how leaping works, but really has no idea. I don't think he'd know even if he had all his memories intact. At the Project they didn't know why Sam kept leaping or how to get him back home, or what exactly he needs to do in a leap in order to leap (even with Ziggy's calculations it boils down to a lot of guesswork and figuring it out as they go), and they don't know how leaping actually works, as much as they'd like to think that they do. Which is great, because it means that the show being inconsistent about how leaping works means the show is consistent about the characters having no clue (even when they think or pretend that they do). And it's great that each episode's writer just focused on what would make for the most interesting story each time, rather than being consistent with other writers about leaping mechanics. I kind of like different QL novels exploring the struggles of different types of leaping mechanics - we have The Wall exploring the whole body-swap idea (Sam's soul/mind leaps into leapee's body), and we have Knights of Morningstar exploring Sam struggling to wear a leapee's shoes that are too small for him (Sam leaps with his own body and projects an aura). There are advantages and disadvantages with each version, so I think it's nice that we get examples of both.

[@sandal_thong8631]

That's a good way of saying inconsistency is OK. In one of the finale endings he leaps with his own body into no one to talk to Al's first wife. After watching this I would like to know more about his recharge time between episodes. He's always anxious to leap, but he knows he'll just get another assignment. And if he does have control, why wouldn't he go home for a week?

[@jeromeglick]

Isn't that a great metaphor for life though? Humans have created so much technology, systems, functions. But so often the people who work with them don't really know how they truly work, down to the nitty-gritty, yet we all depend so much on this technology! When something goes wrong, we just fiddle with it, slap it around until it works again or wait for help to arrive from someone who knows someone who knows someone who might know!

[@InnocuousRemark]

When I feel like the top news stories are too much to bear, Twitter and reddit is nothing but angry screaming, and every politician is dancing on the fresh graves of the innocent, Allison Pregler is here. Not to give me the answers I wanted, but the answers I needed. Maybe, I haven't seen the end yet. So maybe no answers.

[@MoonjumperReviews]

Nice breakdown. I generally go with what seemed to be alluded to the most often: that Sam’s entire body leaped into the shared quantum space of another person. There is likely a shared presence of both people to a degree. The “aura” of the “host” remains, projecting certain characteristics as well as their image, sharing the same space with Sam’s physical body. Or something.

[@huntercoleherr]

The show is pretty clear on this. The person he leaped into is waiting in the chamber in the future with his body. There's even an episode where the leapee breaks out and is chased down by Al.

[@Liesmith424]

Easy solution: every time he completes a leap, he changes the timeline, and this changes the parameters of how The Project works. The timeline snaps into place in a way that prevents an outright paradox, but the specifics of how the technology functions are retconned with every single leap.

[@danielgehring7437]

Well now this is just genius. I was looking for how to explain a series of changing parameters too but you nailed it.

[@FNGLHR]

Youu know, given how weird time travel works... this is probably the only explanation that will remotely make sense without involving supernatural stuff to it.

[@ProfessorThursday]

Shoot. I just saw this and said the same thing.

[@ObviouslyMadeupname]

Absolutely this. Recently rewatched the whole series and this is the conclusion I reached too. Is this what they intended? Absolutely not. Does it fit? Sure.

[@TimTE01]

What a cop out.

[@russellharrell2747]

It’s sam’s body leaping with occasional instances of the other person’s physiology being linked to sam’s body, mostly manifesting in personality quirks or memory flashes but in extreme situations the bodies might ‘merge’ or ‘crossover’ like the pregnancy episode. You can say Sam and the other person experienced…quantum entanglement.

[@Crazy56U]

How's it feel knowing you predicted the reboot pilot?

[@gracekim1998]

Whoa

[@guaposneeze]

It just dawned on my that you can 100% reconcile this as internally consistent within the fiction. In every episode, Sam changes the future slightly. Consequently, the backstory of the Quantum Leap project itself would change slightly from one episode to the next. So in each subsequent episode, he could be leaping back from a future using slightly different technology as he changes the history that led up to his own departure. So in some episodes, he is leaping back from a future where they built Mind Leap technology and that is how it has *always* worked. And in some episodes, he is leaping back from a future where the built Body Leap technology, and that is how it has *always* worked for the characters. The future just seems contiguous to the characters because their own memories of previous events gets shifted to track whatever the rules of the current episode are. Boom, writers don't need to enforce continuity because the time travel itself implies an option for a higher order continuity.

[@jb888888888]

Except that those working in PQL are somehow immune to the changes. In every episode Al tells Sam how what he did changed the leapee's future, which couldn't happen if reality warped Ziggy's/PQL's database to how reality is now. And in the 2nd season premiere when Sam helps his leapee's new wife, Al sees the Senate subcommittee chairperson switch from an old man about to shut PQL down to an old woman giving them the funding they need.

[@mem1701movies]

DEBORAH PRATT told me directly that SAM PHYSICALLY LEAPED. She basically said that god controls it and can do anything.

[@kalphil4385]

My eyes go cross eyed just thinking about how Leaping works. Awesome show by the way.

[@TraineeHero]

I love Quantum Leap. It's shows just how much things can be changed by the right person at the right time being kind to those around them.

[@aaronstanley6914]

IKR I really hope they keep the spirit of the OG show in the upcoming reboot. Hopefully, they take notes from the timeless tv show which was kind of like a spiritual successor to the og series just has better traveling mechanics and overarching plot B/c episodic shows can't work due to the rise of streaming and binge-watching.

[@mem1701movies]

@@aaronstanley6914 nope... it will be this lame charmless TEAM bullshit

[@sarahscott5305]

Here I was about to drop some physics, and it turns out it's actually a video about that Scott Bakula show! No, not Enterprise, the other one.

[@Faction.Paradox]

That's why Sam never returned home, he got stuck in the Captain Archer leap

[@SerasChan]

I love this show! I got addicted to it when I would come home from school and it would occasionally be on. I didn't have cable at home growing up and one of the local channels would play re-runs of old shows. I fell in love with the character of Sam Beckett

[@edisonlima4647]

Ok, this show is MUCH more interesting than I would have guessed before watching this video! Oh, now I want to watch it!

[@brianstraight9308]

While it's a good show watching it can be ... "Complicated." Due to rights issues with some of the songs played in the time periods he visits some episodes are altered and, I believe out-right unavailable.

[@dscharlesworth1]

Like most shows there is some inconsistencies with the series, but what made the show was the interaction between Sam(Scott Bakula) and Al(Dean Stockwell), just great chemistry.

[@AdinaIspas]

Deeply bromantic

[@AdamKNAC]

A new version of _Quantum Leap_ starring Raymond Lee, Caitlin Bassett, Ernie Hudson, Mason Alexander Park, and Nanrisa Lee is set to premiere on NBC on Monday night, September 19. This is the synopsis for this new version is _It’s been nearly 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now, a new team, led by physicist Ben Song (Raymond Lee), has been assembled to restart the project in hope of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it. Everything changes, however, when Ben makes an unauthorized leap into the past, leaving the team behind to solve the mystery of why he did it. At Ben’s side throughout his leaps is Addison (Caitlin Bassett), who appears in the form of a hologram only Ben can see and hear. She’s a decorated Army veteran who brings level-headed precision to her job._ _At the helm of the highly confidential operation is Herbert “Magic” Williams (Ernie Hudson), a no-nonsense career military man who has to answer to his bosses who won’t be happy once they learn about the breach of protocol. The rest of the team at headquarters includes Ian Wright (Mason Alexander Park), who runs the Artificial Intelligence unit “Ziggy,” and Jenn Chou (Nanrisa Lee), who heads up digital security for the project. As Ben leaps from life to life, putting right what once went wrong, it becomes clear that he and the team are on a thrilling journey. However, Addison, Magic, Ian, and Jenn know that if they are going to solve the mystery of Ben’s leap and bring him home, they must act fast or lose him forever._

[@montyr2083]

First off, I love this SO much; it is like conversations I had with friends when it was airing. Second, I had forgotten that God tended bar. 9:03 (Watching this has been a wonderful walk through a show I really loved!)

[@AllisonPregler]

Thank you!!

[@sandal_thong8631]

Still not sure that bartender's a god. Maybe someone from the future, like the TVA in LOKI series? Science or supernatural? They said Ziggy figured Sam would leap if he helped someone, got struck by lightning or was at ground zero of an atomic bomb explosion. How'd the computer figure out the first one? I think the bartender said Sam's will had some effect on his leaping. So maybe it was Sam's desire to go back in time to help people that made it happen.

[@AdinaIspas]

@@sandal_thong8631 Yes, the bartender is God, just like Sam is God too but doesn’t know it yet. Because the Leaper is in the “Light Body” form (also known as Resurrection Body, Mystical Vehicle, or Perfected Human). There’s a “look” they exchange at the end, which suggests Sam has caught onto this point that he’s met God, but only because now he’s finally understood how his own subconscious is making him leap.

[@Friendship1nmillion]

​@@AllisonPreglerAlison , I was googling full episodes of this series of Quantum Leap and can't find any . Only podcast reviews of series episodes . I grew up watching it and want to watch again for nostalgia . I think I missed some episodes I'd like to see for the first time . Can you PLEASE put some on your channel . Thanks ♑️✍️🇳🇴🇦🇺

[@Xondar11223344]

The number one rule of Quantum Leap: Sam has to say "oh boy" at least once every episode. Also, I'm excited for the reboot!

[@ambarcraft4476]

Luckily not a reboot but a sequel!

[@RipNTara]

Just finished my first watch of all five seasons of QL and I'm obsessed. Such a fun show and Dean Stockwell was a master scene stealer. This video is great timing! I still have a lot of questions though.

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

I remember one of the novels describing how the QL staff shuffled Sam's mindless body into the waiting room while they waited for the next leap...creepy! 😉

[@jeromeglick]

The idea that Sam's leaps are not instantaneous but can take days or weeks from the perspective of the PQL staff is new to me. From Sam's perspective it must seem instantaneous. Kind of like going into a deep sleep and when you awake your consciousness picks up where you left off the night before but from an observer's perspective, you're out.

[@marshalee4509]

Actually their mind goes into his body

[@GeekFilter]

That opening....wow I was just transported to 1989! I worked at a local TV station doing graphics and that whole looks and feel of the bumper title (which is not what the show looked like) is SO of that time! Sigh....now I wish I could leap back and visit.

[@RobertJazo]

I haven't watched this show in decades but I immediately thought: "It has to be a body swap" because I still remember the chimpanzee and blind man episodes hinging on the physical differences. I must have never seen the double-amputee episode because I have no memory of him standing legless in front of a mirror.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I saw the chimpanzee and double-amputee when they came out, but only saw the blind man this month on SyFy marathon. I don't remember seeing the ones where he's an athlete, like a boxer. If he has his body then he'd be weaker, but when he leaps into old people he's stronger.

[@neutrino78x]

it's like star trek, you have to take it episode by episode because they're not making any great effort at consistency....in some episodes the transporter works one way, in others it doesn't, in TNG they supposedly didn't have money and in Star Trek IV they didn't know what exact change is, yet in a few episodes of TOS they had merchant ships (non-Navy/non-NASA) which were engaged in shipping for commercial purposes, to make money...

[@sandal_thong8631]

@@neutrino78x Well, I think of that in two ways: one use of money is for your daily needs: food, clothing, personal items. I can see that those might one day be free as guaranteed minimum income, just as medical care and maybe even a housing allowance and public transportation might one day be. (The Staten Island Ferry of NYC became free for some reason.) Now the second would be something "expensive" you might want, (say a vineyard like Picard's, or Cyrano Jones's one-man space ship) then you probably have to make a contribution whether mining, trading, joining a colony, or serving in the military or science academy. They said in "Catspaw" that precious gems could be made on their ship (or in a 20th century lab) so they could have made and sold gems for cash and bought the plastic for the whale tank.

[@neutrino78x]

@@sandal_thong8631 That makes sense but it's still a continuity/consistency error in ST. :) Another I can think of, half the time there are enlisted members and half the time they are not....from time to time they mention "crewman" but most of the people we see are officers. If college is free why would anyone to be enlisted :)

[@MattMcIrvin]

Oh, man, I remember SO MANY Usenet discussions on this topic back in the 90s. The "body leap" theory seemed to be prevalent among the vocal Usenet fans of the time, but the mechanism of it seemed needlessly complicated. I recall proposing that there was some kind of space-time distortion going on so that Sam's physical body could be squashed and stretched into the space occupied by whoever he was leaping into, without it causing him harm.

[@patkohler9695]

Also I think it's directly countered by several examples on the show. Like am i imaging an episode where Sam gives birth? He has contractions at least, how can he have contractions without ya know. Wasn't he in a wheelchair once? It seems like a giant effort to try to avoid alot of questions early 90s America was not ready to ask.

[@CorbCorbin]

Well, she put both examples in the video, that I was going to give. He walked as a leg less man, and did Karate as a Chimp. He isn’t blind when he leaps into a blind man, yet he becomes mentally unstable because of certain people he leaped into a couple times. There is no hard science going on in this, and that is because they always pushed how religious Sam was from the jump. Then they just went ahead and made it all “God’s” work, making Sam’s genius and courage, empathy, etc. all moot, because God is Leaping him whether he wanted it or not. Sam meets the Devil in an episode even. It’s the one thing that I didn’t like from the show. I don’t mind there being supernatural plot threads, because if Sam isn’t actually making things better, why is him changing the past so integral to Leaping? I just don’t want the Christian, Satan vs Jesus nonsense, in a great Sci-Fi show. I’m fine with the Evil Leaper idea even, but it would be a much better story if it was just another person who was using the tech for personal gain, or to change the world for personal gain. And, if the “Evil Leaper” team, had also actually thought they were doing the right thing, it would’ve made for a better story as well. Instead, they’re just introduced as the opposite of Sam, Al and team; only to have Sam convert her to good in what two episodes?

[@MattMcIrvin]

@@patkohler9695 Like she said in the video, the episode where he's giving birth *is the one* where they first literally endorse on screen that Sam's body is leaping, which just makes it profoundly weird.

[@rocketdave719]

​@@CorbCorbin Yeah, though QL is one of my favorite shows, I never loved when they inserted overtly religious aspects. Also, while I totally believe there are people in the world who would use time travel simply for nefarious purposes, your idea of an antagonistic leaper who isn't doing evil simply for the sake of it sounds more interesting than what we got on the actual series. For instance, you could have a leaper who wants to assassinate bad people before they have a chance to do wrong, which would put them in opposition to the very moral Dr. Beckett.

[@andyenglish4303]

I feel like they key thing to remember is 'Quantum' Leaping. It's right there in the name: Sam and those he leaps into are in a state of quantum superposition. They're in both slices of space-time at once.

[@mzty580]

He fathered a child..... was waiting for you to drop that in, right at the end no less. There is no question it was his whole body all along. As for inconsistencies, it's a TV show. My favourite growing up! I was a huge fan ❤

[@AdinaIspas]

I named a mountain sheep dog Sammy Jo. 😂 She hung out with us for a good while and guided us on our hikes, she had wolf eyes and that eerie kind of wolf presence. We thought she was a stray. One time she hurt her paw on a rock, and kept looking around for cool wet mud to walk through and soothe the wound. That’s when I knew this was no ordinary stray.

[@BlackGoldSaya]

I liked the show but only caught random episodes. I am very happy to learn from this video that "evil leapers" were a thing. Maybe I'll binge this show now

[@KainGerc]

Here's a basic rule, when you introduce Time Travel into your Sci-fi story, you are inevitably going to get inconsistencies and plot holes. So unless they outright contradict themselves and the story is good, just go with the flow. FYI, did you hear about the Quantum Leap reboot?! (sequel?) It's headlined by Raymond Lee and has apparently already been picked up by NBC. (also, seemingly without Bakula's involvment) I don't have much hope it's going to be as good as the original show, but at the very least it's going to be interesting to see how they try to modernize the concept.

[@Stephen-Fox]

Sequel, apparently - I got the impression from the announcement that Raymond Lee's character's first leap was rescuing Sam from the perpetual leaping, presumably with the rescue mission going wrong to cause him to wind up in a perpetual leaping situation.

[@DigiRangerScott]

@@Stephen-Fox I think it’s that nothing’s been figured out or fixed since so they send in someone after him to chase

[@patrickmccurry1563]

Not inevitably if the writers have a plan and stick to it. But writers almost always just give up partway through a story. Time Crimes was a movie that lacked contradictions that I could tell, for one example.

[@OmegaII]

@@patrickmccurry1563 A movie will most of the time be more consistent with the rules, because single story and less writers. The longer a show goes on you get different writers, more strict timelines so you get occasional continuity errors(due to lack of time triple chack every little detail) and executive mettling.

[@EddieDalmunda]

Of course if we take the quantum in the title literally than we would have to consider that Sam and the person he "leaps" into are both in superposition through time meaning both people are in both places at once. I'd flip a coin to determine if this is better or worse, but I'm pretty sure I'm not suppose to observe the outcome.

[@bbrbbr-on2gd]

I like to think that it changes because of subtle changes in time that occur when Sam is successful. Each ripple changing Project Quantum Leap's method of time travel. Like the episode where he had to prove the projects effectiveness. Things changed instantly when he mentioned how that woman got the question wrong, and she became the new head of the review board.

[@Aileil]

Thank you for taking the time to make this. It is always nice to see other people thoughtfully exploring one's own obsessions.

[@Bumblebeemagnify]

I love Quantum Leap. It was my absolute favorite show when I was a kid. I looked forward to each episode, especially the end where we got the sneak peak of the next episode; I loved being surprised by who he would be and how he would “put right what once went wrong”. Awesome show! Oh boy!

[@thexsoar]

I always went on the assumption that no one knew how it worked, as it had never been done before, and Al was just saying whatever he could to comfort Sam so his calm mind can solve the issue he lept into. It was an experiment after all. And then the final episode happened, and I changed my mind. It was just someone mysterious and powerful messing with him seemingly randomly all along. Poor guy.

[@AdinaIspas]

Nobody was “messing with him,” it was his own subconscious making him leap. The bartender represents the essence of God, whom Sam sees because he is finally starting to get it, after all that time spent “wanting to go home”: the Quantum Leap is an attribute, a property of the Light Body - which is his true “home”! God is the essence of the Light Body (aka the Resurrection Body). So it was only “mysterious” because he’d been hiding it from himself.

[@Shin_BakaSensei]

I just remember a specific episode in witch he leaps in 2 bodies in the same episode and the reaction of the previous host was reacting to just the last moment before the mind was swap and it seems he didn't remember anything after that. Also for me it was always the mind swap like Steins;Gate

[@stargazer1682]

The full body exchange is the only thing that makes sense taking the series as a whole. I don't think any of the instances that might _suggest_ only a mind swap are outright contradicted by a body swap, whereas a mind swap would be a huge plot hole for a ton of episodes and plot points; not the least of which being Sammy Jo Fuller. I think the aura affect can explain the ways in which he's able to fit into people's clothes and meet people eyelines; where it's warping space around him to a certain degree. He sort of becomes... "entangled" - to borrow from the quantum physics lexicon - with the person he leaps into; Sam and the leapee maintaining a quantum connection across space and time. This would allow a child to be born, or start to be, while Sam is still there. I have a pet theory that Sam actually leaps all the way back between leaps - at least at first. This is how days could pass between Sam's first leap and his second, but because of the Swiss Cheese Effect, he doesn't remember. This is also why the project was popping champagne for a week when the boss would otherwise seem to be missing entirely - he was there celebrating with them and didn't expect to leap out again, much less spontaneously and without the aid of the accelerator. Sam's later emphasizes the need not to give him any more information than he knows, especially when it later becomes clear that he's not necessarily returning to them in the right order. That is to say, some time he leaps back at a later date and other time he returns to an earlier date; so not only do they have to be careful about the things they tell him when he's leaped out, but even when he's leapt back, so he doesn't share future information by accident. This explains how Al could show up with the new gummie-bear handlink in one episode, then go back to the old one, before that one dies in the middle of an episode and is replaced in the story with the new model. Or Sam asking Al, "Do you remember when you and I switched places?" and Al says, "No." And why Gushie casually says hello to Dr Beckett and is confused when he points a gun at him; and has to be told it's not Dr Beckett.

[@Mike28625]

See, i always thought there was a ticking clock aspect where the current reality is slowly dominating him until "Sam" is erased both mentally and physically. He slowly becomes the person he's leapt to on a quantum level. Game over. He has to do the tasks in order to activate the leap and reset his death clock. And there's only so much transfer that can occur before leaping becomes impossible. Sam's in constant anxiety about "being stuck like this forever" if he can't figure out what to do next before it's too late.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

I agree. That's absolutely what the writers intended you to feel/think. But its just never expressly stated

[@Mike28625]

@@skeetsmcgrew3282 conversely, i think the person in the waiting room eventually becomes Sam. Like, if nobody changes anything and Sam never leaps, everything will just work itself out eventually lol.

[@miriamrosemary9110]

@@Mike28625 Huh, good point!

[@sandal_thong8631]

Now that would be interesting. There was at least one episode when he didn't want to leap. Maybe when he was replacing his teenage self?

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

Great show and a very good breakdown on how the time-travel works. I've always wondered how the Imaging Chamber door is always right behind Al no matter how much he walks. If it's some kind of treadmill or non-friction surface, fine, but if that's the case, why make the Imaging Chamber large enough to hold six months-worth of air? It shouldn't need to be any larger than a studio apartment.

[@HouseCatTV]

Maybe it's a magical science portal lol

[@DollyBelladonna]

I'm hoping for more Quantum leap reviews from Allison 🤩

[@mell8205]

For some reason, this is one of the few shows that stayed with me through all the years. I watched it as a kid when it first came out, watched the reruns when I was a teenager and even now every few years I feel the urge to watch it. Somehow it still works, even though the world building is flawed and some episodes are cringy. The chemistry between Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell makes it work and between the fun and goofiness savior complex of the late 80s there are some really great and heartbreaking stories. If it only were a bit easier with all the different dvd packs which all have their own flaws. And it's great to know I'm not the only one still obsessed with this show. 😅

[@Willpower-74205]

Every TV show has bloopers, plot inconsistencies, unanswered questions, but shows like this balance all of that out with great acting, emotionally moving stories, and good action sequences that allow an audience to mostly overlook any technical flaws it might have. Plus, the chemistry between Bakula and Stockwell is some of the best I've seen on ANY show, past or present. That "oh, boy" moment at the end of each episode is just the cherry on top. Keep on Leapin', Sam! 😎👍

[@AdinaIspas]

But it isn’t a flaw at all - not when you realize that there’s no such thing as mind-body dualism. It’s a brilliant show precisely because it crosses from one set of theories to another that apparently “contradict” the previous episode. In the end it’s revealed that Sam has spent all that time “wanting to go home” - but the Light Body (which has the property of leaping) has been his true home all along. His mind is no longer untethered: “For Al…”

[@Geospasmic]

I totally dig these discussions. I never watched a lot of Quantum Leap but certain episodes stick out in my memory and i was always curious about the mechanics of leaping.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

I never thought there was any controversy to this. Because he never sees his own reflection in the mirror, I always thought it was clear that his mind or "essence" was transferred into the body of whatever person/animal he leaps into, and the host's mind/"essence" was transferred into the body of Sam in 1995. I'd forgotten about the many times details contradict the mind-swap scenario. It's like the series was constantly retconning itself.

[@AdinaIspas]

Lol. Well it would have to retcon itself, because the traditional mind/body dualism, where there is a separate “essence” conceived as intact when separated from the body, is totally refuted by every mystic who ever wrote about the Resurrection Body - aka the Light Body which has many properties, like leaping, or ultimate goodness, or being God.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

@@AdinaIspas Um, this is sci-fi, where the only rules that exist are those made by the creator. The whole "leaping" concept is just a vehicle to interesting stories. I doubt the creators gave any thought to adhering to the beliefs of any mystic mumbo jumbo.

[@DamienCooley]

This was amazing. I'm with you on the body swap in general, and also that in the end it was all whatever the story writers felt like at the time. The double amputee episode was exactly what came to mind when I started the video too. Man, QL was such a great show.

[@jmv333]

I watched QL for the first time just 3 months ago on a whim, and ever since I can't stop thinking about exactly this sort of thing!!! The perfect video

[@ralphyetmore]

For so many scifi series, fans will get bogged down in minutia of technobabble. This is just missing the point of fictional storytelling. It's nice to see a series that simply doesn't worry about this unimportant aspect. Great video.

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

With her love of cats and Scott Bakula, Allison really seems like what would happen if Gail from Bob's Burgers was reasonably well-adjusted. And that's a beloved character from my favorite TV show, so while it could read either way: I very much mean it as a compliment. It's interesting to see how things like consistency and continuity have changed, especially in the wake of the rise of Marvel/Superhero movies and prestige TV shows (Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, etc.) with extended lore. Going back in time to syndicated, non-serialized TV is fascinating because fans will want (sometimes demand) answers to details that production and cast SIMPLY did not care about or think about. It goes all the way back to Star Trek, and probably even further, but the answer of "We have no idea how Quantum Leaping actually WORKS" is truly NOT surprising.

[@BloodrealmX]

"Or maybe it's all just a jumbled mess." That may, in fact, be the obvious answer hidden in plain sight. The entire premise of the series is that _something went wrong_ with what was meant to happen. What if everything about Sam and the person he leaps into is in constant flux and is highly unstable except for the link anchoring them together? Every hypothesis is correct and none of them are; it would fit the inconsistent evidence presented and why they're sometimes confused about how something is possible.

[@bebepopsr]

Man, I vaguely know about this show. I never heard about it except references to it by other media. the most in depth i've seen of it has been from your videos (the ones about the novels are classics). You should definitely do more, talking about episodes or aspects you love, or goofing on dumb things. I legit know nothing about the tone, quality or anything about it! but anything you've made about it has been great

[@HouseCatTV]

The tone in most cases is: corny, but in a good way

[@gakabler]

The question of WHO or WHAT was guiding the leaps, in my opinion, is also the same as in what way is Sam swapping. The higher power that is controlling Sam's leaps also controls the needs of the way Sam leaps into a particular situation. Therefore, dependent upon the need at the time Sam could be leaping minds with the person, or the body, or the soul, or any combination of the three as required by the higher power at any given moment. That may be a more philosophical answer than you were going for but that is my take on it.

[@Squicx]

I'm glad Quantum Leap is returning. Especially with Ernie Hudson playing as Magic, somebody Sam leapt into during his brothers Vietnam arc.

[@Symon2099]

People assume that leaping is a strict progression of place to place, but actually from a non-kinetic, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... bodily wodily... stuff.

[@multitudeofidols]

It's a testament to the magic and charm of this series that audiences were/are able to look past the messy science behind the premise. You didn't have to understand it to know what the concept was and that basic concept was what mattered in telling the stories.

[@deboz8793]

So, I watched this show during its original broadcast run, and didn’t give much thought about how Quantum Leaping worked-but after watching this video, I still don’t know how QL worked. And that’s okay with me, I just enjoyed the show back then, and currently being shown on SYFY Fridays.

[@DenkyManner]

Hearing the description at the start made me realise for the first time just how mad and convoluted the show was. I've been aware of it most of my life and just absorbed the way any kid does, but how on earth did it make it to the screen with so many bizarre, nonsensical details?

[@cypherian2]

Hi Allison! I just discovered your channel recently! I’ve been catching up on your content, and really enjoying it! I was never a huge of QL, but always enjoyed the episodes I did see. It never really bothered me that they never made it clear how the mechanics worked exactly. Being a huge Star Trek fan, I’m used to Technobabble inconsistencies! In my view point it was a fun SciFi show that might have appealed to non-SciFi fans. It had a lot of familiar elements from previous decades people could connect with, as well as some fun challenges for the characters to overcome, all with healthy dollop of ‘90s cheese! Anyway… I’m going to go see if I can find another episode of Movie Nights to watch, your theme song has been stuck in my head all day, so thank for that!!!

[@AllisonPregler]

Thanks!

[@miriamrosemary9110]

"Being a huge Star Trek fan, I’m used to Technobabble inconsistencies" - Exactly! Same here ;)

[@ocnomad1980]

Glad you pointed out how the other actors almost met his gaze regardless of the “host’s” own height. While I’m sure it was easier on the actors, it was always the first thing I noticed. Whether his body or not, it wouldn’t make sense based on what they see. Curious how the new show will handle it.

[@jediknight131]

Thanks Allison for the Quantum Leap video! The show is a classic! Great discussion! Makes one think and ponder: "body or mind?"😊

[@Rammstein0963.]

Glad to see more content from one of my favorite snarky reviewers, and it's one of my favorite bits of nostalgia fuel. 😇 If I may ask? Ever thought of doing that old show "So Weird"? Could be right up your alley. Many thanks and hope you have another good year going forward.

[@BesterP12]

This was a great video. Has me tempted to rewatch some episodes. But yeah the show never seemed consistent on some things, but for the most part it didn't really cause any issues.

[@chavesa5]

Another birthday, another year, another great Allison video just on time to celebrate it with. Thank you.

[@charleshetrick3152]

Okay so at the quantum level it could be both options and neither until it’s observed so and given episode it could just be mind or body or portions of both.

[@AJUniverse]

The way I always interpreted it is that the aura thing is sort of a knot the ties him and the leapee together across time and space, so they are technically both in both places at once, transpositioning in whole or in part based upon the will of whatever force is leaping him.

[@MrAlman8]

As far as I'm concerned its both. Basically Sam's body &/or mind can leap through time. Especially since it involves Quantum mechanics where 1 thing can be another & vice a versa, or 2 things at the same time, both depending on an angle or frequency. Thus the title Quantum Leap lives up to its name. It will take more than that to scrabble this noggin.

[@peterohlhornjr]

Always watched this as a kid. Best cliffhangers in TV. (Oh boy...) Wonder if Sam ever made it home.

[@LordVedli]

From what I can remember the canonical answer was no. EDIT: just looked it up and "In the series finale, Sam leaped to April 1, 1969 to tell Al's first wife Beth (Susan Diol) that Al is still alive and will come home. Before the final credits rolled, we learned that Al and Beth in the tweaked timeline never divorced, while Sam himself, alas, never returned home"

[@sandal_thong8631]

@@LordVedli Yeah, I think it was a mistake that they said he never returned home. Maybe there was a reason he didn't want to be home for too long, so if he did then he'd just leap again.

[@biteme1167]

Scott Bakula said they wanted to leave it open as they had no idea if there would be another season, so said he never lept home as a way to return tobthe show.

[@sandal_thong8631]

@@biteme1167 They should have tested it with fans first.

[@rufinator]

As a youngster I took it as Sam started leaping as himself and continued to set things right where he could. As a slightly more jaded adult, I took it as he died.

[@elirubin434]

I assume this is the prologue ep to the new Quantum Leaping series. Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOO! Oh, boy!

[@sarahanley7142]

There was an episode where the person Sam leaped into was threatened with getting his thumb(s?) broken, which brought up questions. Sam would feel the break, but would it be psychically damaging enough to follow him? Like the opposite of a phantom limb, a phantom break? Even as a kid I wished it was answered (and I use that kind of question in my own story)

[@wtharmon5050]

I'm more confused than before I watched this video. But yeah, the one with the double amputee seems pretty cut and dry that his body is leaping.

[@OmegaII]

Plus the being able to swin as the Chimp, not actually being pregant.

[@AdinaIspas]

Or it could just be mind over matter. Lol, either way none of these theories even begins to have any clear implications where we can say: “if A, then B.” Kinda obvious from the title, the quantum part, that we have left the realm of Newtonian physics. Apart from that (or a part of that) it’s that there’s just no mind-body dualism. So it would be a lot more interesting to lead with that into the debate.

[@Andregrindle]

There's actually a decent answer to this question. I came up with ever since I was watching Quantum Leap as far back as its original run. As a lifelong Star Trek fan? My "leap" head cannon was that when Sam leaped into the past, his physical body (mind included) was transformed into non solid energy. That seemed to be what was happening with all the blue light and lightening when he leaped from body to body. And have since expanded on that idea. That when Sam leaps into someone else, the energy of both his mind and body are inside the other person. That convergence could also explain the occasional psycho synthesis with the leapees-such as with Lee Harvey Oswald or when he had electroshock therapy. Really think its the non physical energy of Sam's body and mind that's doing the leaping. And that's also why the leapees in the waiting room see themselves as Sam-the exchange of the physical and mental energy from the leap.

[@miriamrosemary9110]

Ooh very cool theory/head cannon!

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

So, when he was legless, he was levitating using the portion od his non solid energy that didn't fit into the body? As a fellow Star Trek fan I can totally buy it. But my head canon is that the show is captain Archer's holodeck program, rules change to whatever fits best at the time so he would have the most fun in every chapter.

[@Andregrindle]

@@ELEKTROSKANSEN Lol have heard that. Of course, also guess showrunner Donald Bellisario and his creative team also wanted the idea of leaping into different, generally ordinary people within your own lifetime to be somewhat philosophical as well. Asking the question of "are we more our bodies or are we our minds". Speaking of Star Trek in some of its recent incarnations? And the new Quantum Leap sequel? Am concerned about the lack of implied philosophy, and the absence of thought. Most sci fi done now seems to be based on the MCU and even DCU. Now those superhero and villain characters have their philosophical questions. But from what I've seen, most of them relate to their personal traumas in relation to the "hero vs villain" dynamic of superhero movies. Its very simplistic, and doesn't offer much thoughtfulness. Older Star Trek and classic Quantum Leap presented ordinary people, with unique qualities, asking those broader philosophical questions as applied to many things in life. Not just "good vs. bad". But in terms of the actual science of the show? Which was the original question this video posed? It...could be that the idea of mind and body not being separate in their physical energy did indeed play into it.

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

@@Andregrindle omg when I read "new Quantum Leap" I thought I misunderstood something, then googled it, and lol it's actually happening :D Geez, I wonder how grim and bleak it will be, because we know from NuTrek that we can't have anything even remotely optimistic and uplifting these days... And I bet it will be a season-long story arc, with the new hero leaping into people somehow connected to some world-threatening plot... Bleh.

[@Andregrindle]

@@ELEKTROSKANSEN I know. Too much of a "sour pickle and black licorice" way of looking at things. And so we're clear? I am a...strong social justice advocate as a gay, POC and disabled citizen of the USA. Say that because a lot of people against visibility and inclusion are actually bigoted people, of a particular race and gender, who don't desire seeing different people up there. My point is a more well rounded one, that actually advocates for inclusion. To me, the thing whole attitude of representing different people in TV and movies, such as in a congressional or senate floor, is rather counter intuitive to its intent. Personally feel that the concern on TV and movies should be more visibility. Different kinds of people just living life as a character, not being present merely to showcase a real life sociopolitical point. Transgender themed shows like FX's Pose do a well rounded job with that level of things. But its really a hard thing to represent anyone in TV, if mere visibility isn't enough. So am all for visibility. But representation, on the other hand, is very difficult to do well,-without darkening a shows storyline and making...the very people your representing less accessible consequently. But this is all very off topic here. But wanted to clarify all this.

[@tryksta7247]

It's definitely Sam's physical body leaping. He literally stands up in the episode "Nowhere To Run." He's only surrounded by the person's aura and vice versa, but through some quantum entanglement this shapes the clothes to fit his body. As for "The Leap Back," the lightning bolt in conjunction with the shock therapy caused Sam's clothes to be duplicated and the other part of the bolt strikes where Al would have been if he were physically there. Tom Jarrett was in the Waiting Room in Al's clothes. The Fermi Suit was replaced with the duplicated hospital attire. The Project later just replaced it for the future Waiting Room guests when Sam gets a new one to leap back to save Al. Oh, and in "Revenge," the shotgun spray bullet passes through the enpty space in the nansosecond between leaps. So neither Alia nor Angel was shot. If you watch Alia's leap-out carefully, you can see the shotgun bullet passing through the leaping effect.

[@mem1701movies]

I didn’t like how they were inconsistent. Also, the floating legless vet didn’t make sense either because Sam had his pant legs all the way down. So it would just be floating at the ankles.

[@Platypi007]

I don't recall those promos, but that is such a great ad campaign for this particular show!

[@Look_look_at_my_cats]

You know, I've never seen any Quantum Leap but the discussion about how his jumping works reminds me of a similar scenario in a children's book I read when I was a kid - it was called Robinsheugh, it was kind of a historical time travel novel where a girl named Elizabeth jumps to the past into another girl named Elizabeth back in the 1800s or something through the medium of a hand mirror that she looks into and there's a lot of theorizing about whether she's jumping into this past Elizabeth's place and replacing her entirely or wearing her like a skin suit, only inhabiting her mind. You're led to believe it's really the modern Elizabeth replacing the olden one, then, plot twist! She looks into the mirror while in the past and sees the olden Elizabeth's face and oh no! She's trapped in this girl's mind who, second plot twist! dies of some kind of consumption like disease while modern Elizabeth is still inside her. But she wakes up in the modern day so it's okay. Then at the end they do a bait and switch and apparently she was just imagining the whole scenario because someone else saw her frozen in place staring at some portrait of olden Elizabeth when she thought she was in the past. I always felt a bit cheated by that. Anyway, this is all to say the jumping thing sounds very similar. I wonder if that book was published before or after this show...

[@seraphonica]

I always thought of the "waiting room" as the person's soul/psyche/whatever being held, not in a physical place, but in a place they were perceiving. Some kind of... cyber space. After all, if it does take days for the next person to show up in the waiting room, what is Sam's body doing during that time? Decomposing on the ground? In some kind of tube?

[@JustJohnny]

This is fun. Honestly I've never really given it much thought except the height issue. That was such a jarring thing for me when I was younger. If he is supposed to be an average sized woman or a child, why are people always looking into his eyes? Scott Bakula is 6'0.

[@Rocketboy1313]

This is a fun little video. Perfect illustration of how a series bible is something a show runner might invest in to keep things from getting too complicated.

[@Madkalibyr]

Hi! I’m happy to see a long video dedicated to QL! I’ve never seen it lol but love these deeper dives and all the info that comes with exploring it

[@DigiRangerScott]

Oh, wow, I hadn’t quite seen the other end before, I thought it was something like Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman 1984, where Sam became the dominant presence in the body and the host is suppressed while he gets it all figured out . I’m certainly relieved that this is not the case

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

That shit was fucked up. They basically r*pe a man's body and then leave him back to his old life after disappearing for a few weeks with zero consequences to the characters. That was just objectively bad writing that nobody thought through

[@miriamrosemary9110]

​@@skeetsmcgrew3282 They did think it through, and they tried to make it all ok by making it clear that everybody's lives all got better because of it. It's still really problematic for sure, but they made it work so that it's sweet and that we still root for Sam and the project.

[@ShinGallon]

Man this took me back. I was one of the biggest fans of this show when it was on, used to watch it all the time.

[@MultiAbstrak]

Before i watch further, the answer was that throughout the series, up until the last episode where sam starts leaping consciously as himself. He unintentionally does both (as do the others in the 'port of bars'). It is the realization that HE is displaced that allows him to chose how he travels.

[@AaronLevitz]

My explanation never caught on, but… With every leap, Sam makes subtle changes to the world he grew up in, and the influences that shaped his theories and development of time travel. Thus, the reason that those rules seem to change between leaps is because they literally do. He came from a different future, stepped into a different accelerator, and the specifics of how it all works are always in flux.

[@RedwoodTheElf]

I have always wondered how he could "Break" the time limit. Maybe if he leaped into Roy Sullivan, who kept getting struck by lightning, and got hit by a bolt just as he leaped out, it could unhook him from HIS lifespan and into the lifespan of Roy, extending his range into the past a bit, or maybe removing the limitation altogether due to a kind of quantum overload.

[@canvascontent4383]

My childhood.primetime memories don't get much better than this. Thank you for tirelessly sharing your fascination with this lovely slice of vintage nerd-candy. 😁

[@RoseKoneko]

I still don’t know which one it is BUT after showing your video to my roommate she said that she has the box set for the show. I get to rewatch this show for the first time in a decade and I have you to thank for this new journey. Mwahaha. Thank you.

[@apathyminus5925]

Color me crazy but watching the show then and now, and not following fan groups or anything, Ive always had a different theory of what was going on. Sam has always been a 3rd party to the events going on around him, similar in the way that Al was a hologram that couldnt interact with the world, but opposite, and Sam could. Its like a full body possession of someone by a ghost the size of Sam. Thats how he could walk with no legs and control peoples bodies like they were his own, but since he was "possessing" the body, he would be effected by whatever that body was being effected by. I totally dont know how i can explain my theory better. Its also how I interpreted the fancy leaping special effect, it was the Sam hologram ghost leaving the body, like how AL had to use portal doors. Its the same tech that Al uses to see the past, but Sam was "the experiment that went wrong" But just based on having these two theories to work with, a full body transplant just doesnt make sense, it would make more sense for his mind to be untethered from time and just frying around randomly.

[@miriamrosemary9110]

I like that theory!

[@AdinaIspas]

The leaping special effect is a covert reference to the Lightbody or Resurrection Body (in the sense that we are supposed to get it by way of metaphysics, not directly from the show). There’s the same stuff in Star Trek, with Decker and Ilia joining together and becoming the “next” evolved human version made of light (Spock says it is hopeful that perhaps we will one day all become like them, and Kirk “wonders” about that, because of the obvious implication there, ie. joining together).

[@michaellangwaller]

I have always gone with the body leaping rather the mind leaping, the title says it all (I know, they were just being sciency with the title to attract viewers). I see how the aura thing would work and add that the transference phase has Sam and the other person phasing through each other cause some essence to pass between them. Sam is always Sam but he gets some quantum mixing (and thus the "remembrance" of past leaps in his body). This mixing can vary with plot convivence.

[@mem1701movies]

It’s his body that’s leaping. I directly asked a producer how he could fit into other people’s clothes like Dr. Ruth. I didn’t get a satisfactory answer other than god is controlling the leaps and can do anything. Also, the episode ANOTHER MOTHER had the daughter actually seeing Sam and Al.

[@AdinaIspas]

Look up the Light Body, aka the Resurrection Body (what Paul said about it) because it’s definitely about that, with these producers. :) There’s no mind/body dualism as we are traditionally taught - the body IS the mind. The mind is how the brain sees its own experiences as the body. But the brain is also wired to survive, and therefore anticipates the experiences before they ever happen; thus by reacting to its own beliefs, it works for “evil.” The idea of Quantum Leap is to intercede in that process, basically like an Angel (which is what the Resurrection Body is) and change the outcome.

[@lennyfiasco9834]

If you ever do a review of the vampire episode, please refer to him as Count Bakula.

[@ReverendMuncle]

I'm only halfway through this video but it is undeniably wonderful. Thank you!

[@ReverendMuncle]

All done. And yep, that was excellent. I had always believed in the mind/aura/soul model but you have absolutely made me rethink that. No mean feat. Thank you

[@lilliana41]

I was watching this, waiting and waiting for you to mention Sammy-Jo - thought I would have to come down here and mention it myself - until you did. That is one of the big things that proves to me it’s a body leap, at least in that one instance. I also hope they’re going to at least mention Sammy-Jo in the new show - even though she doesn’t know she’s Sam’s daughter, she’s canonically working with the Project trying to get him home, and even after nearly 30 years, I’d think she’d at least be consulting with Magic or something. Heck, maybe she found out over those years who her father really was.

[@EpicBeard815]

So begins this channel's pivot into all Quantum Leap videos. I for one welcome our Bakula overlord.

[@victoriagooner9907]

Fantastic to see someone cover Quantum Leap properly once again. I am a massive Quantum Leap fan since it was first aired on NBC over 30 years ago. Any chance you will be doing more of these videos analyzing Quantum Leap? Will you be covering the reboot premiering on September 19?.

[@AllisonPregler]

Thanks! I’d like to do more videos if I have time. If you’d like to hear me discuss more eps or cover the reboot, I’m one of the cohosts of The Quantum Leap Podcast!

[@thelastdictator482]

I only recently found your channel but loving your content. Keep up the great work

[@AllisonPregler]

Thanks!

[@Atticus118]

Thank you for this video. I always wondered about all of it myself. Great video and a great show to talk about.

[@rainydayjules]

Was really looking forward to this after seeing your tweets on the subject!!!

[@MrPatrick1980]

Like so many sf concepts, the body/mind leaping boils down to "however the episode/writer needs it to work this week." I would love to see a video on your favorite episodes one day!

[@cateyes23145]

Love your QL videos, such a great show.

[@alwill6536]

Yo. This was one hell of a video. Thank you so much for making this😊

[@Stephen-Fox]

I think that most of the episodes show seemed to assume mindleap (but with the caveat that if you die in someone else's body you die for real), but whenever there's a compelling case it's for bodyleap and aura. And, as you said, it's rarer for a bodyleap to cause plotholes in the episodes that assume mindleap but the other way around absolutely happens.

[@petekwando]

It always seemed to me that the balance of evidence leaned toward a kind of body swap, with some sort of quantum entanglement (hey look, quantum, like the title!) where the leaper and leapee could swap/share certain traits. I do hope the reboot comes up with some sort of series bible to cover this; modern audiences tend to be a lot less forgiving of this sort of looseness.

[@IanJN]

That's my preferred explanation (read: "complicated quantum shit"). There's no swap per se. It's an entanglement of Sam and Not-Sam in superposition. It's fuzzy.

[@AdinaIspas]

It’s not that we are less forgiving because we’re modern audiences, it’s that modern series completely miss the mark of the old magic they’re trying to reboot, and therefore send us ranting about every possible aspect of how they could have missed it.

[@A4orce84]

Great video @Allison! Not too take things too off-topic, but curious if you are going to be doing some reviews on the new Quantum Leap episodes? Thanks and keep up the great content!

[@Lukkilikka]

I was so confused by this when I watched the show as a kid, but came to the conclusion it must be a body leap.

[@AdinaIspas]

It doesn’t have to be one or the other, because there is no mind-body dualism.