Techtite DVD Reviews

The Show: Quantum Leap is among the best in sci-fi TV from the past 20 years. Sure, it began as a mid-season "experiment" of sorts, which means this first season is a mere 8 episodes. That's still over 8 network TV hours though --the series premiere was over an hour long!-- and they're all classic episodes. What's not to love with this DVD set?

First, a summary of the show's ongoing theme, for those who never "leaped" into this series: Sam Beckett (Scott Bacula, Star Trek: Enterprise) is a top secret scientist, sometime in 1997. He has discovered a way to "leap" into the past, though he must prove his theories quickly, or lose funding. He decides to experiment on himself, leaping into the past...but with partial amnesia. In the premiere, he is stuck sometime in the 1950's, and has little or no knowledge of who he is or how he got there. That's an ongoing problem with the series, since the only person smart enough to figure out how to get Sam home is --you guessed it-- Sam himself.

What's worse (yet "good" for the series): Sam's theories of time travel were only part-right. He can leap to any time period within his own lifetime, yes, though to do so he must "switch" with someone else in that time frame. The good news: everyone except himself (and us) are oblivious to the switch; they see him exactly as the person whose life he's "leapt" into. He can see how he looks in each time period by looking in any mirror, though to us he's always Sam Beckett. It sounds complicated, but it's really fun to watch, leap after leap.

Why has he leapt into these people's lives, specifically? That's where the fun begins. See: call it fate, or "the flow of time," or the powers that be in your religion, but some force is moving Sam Beckett to these moments in time, because something went horribly wrong. These are the moments where someone's lifeline ends, or takes a horribly wrong turn. In order to "leap" out of this person's life, Sam must change their life --and history itself-- for the better. Then he leaps to another time period, episode to episode, always hoping that the next leap is the leap home.

Not that Sam is alone. Journeying with him is Al, the observer for Project Quantum Leap, and Sam's best friend from the past...or is it the future? The good news is that Al has a link to the other project bigwigs in the future-- so he can tell Sam everything he needs to know about whatever time period he's leapt into, and what, most likely, is the reason Sam was sent there. The bad news: Al is only a hologram which only Sam can see or hear. Al can help Sam with information, but that's it.

Sure, this series has time travel paradox written all over it. All I can say is: so what? The best way to look at science fiction is to stare at the second word until it sinks in: fiction. Nothing ruins modern sci-fi as much as the techno-babble that tries to explain every scientific nuance. Who cares if time travel is possible or not, or furthermore, how Sam could alter the future and still have Al know that Sam was the one who changed it. Leave your questions at the door, kids. It's just a TV show...and a very good one at that. It's a fantasy, but that's the fun of it.

True, much like any new series, it wasn't until season two when the stars --and the writers-- got settled into the characters' nuances, and offered more daring stories in the process. No; this isn't the season --yet-- when Sam leaps into a female secretary (!), or a blind man, or that sweet episode where he leaps into the life of a mentally challenged boy named Jimmy. "The Leap Home," one of the most popular episodes of the series, would not happen until Season Three. All I can say is: the only way you can see these cool episodes is if this first season sells. Buy this season!

However, this isn't a major sacrifice; there's still a lot of classic moments in this first season to enjoy. The premiere episode, for one, shows Sam leaping for the very first time, from the particle accelerator chamber in 1997. Note the amusements here, when a 1989 TV show imagines the near-future world of 1997. There's also episodes like "The Color of Truth"; a sort of take on Driving Miss Daisy with a very time-altering, happy finale for all. There's also the first time Sam quantum leaps into a bad predicament and utters the line, "Oh, boy," which quickly became the running buzz phrase for the series. It's also amusing to see the series' guest stars, like Teri Hatcher's role in "Star Crossed"; a 1989 episode, nearly 5 years before the "Lois and Clark" role that would make her a star. Meanwhile, Jason Priestly --just one year before 90210!-- offers a villainous role as a seedy would-be fianc�e, in "The Camikazi Kid." So yeah; eight episodes or not, there's a lot of good stuff here.

The end result is a "deep impact" high grade here at Techtite.com, for so many reasons. Not only is this series among the best sci-fi in all the 1990's; this season was the one that started it all. I'm not kidding, nor am I complimenting this series lightly. In fact, the only thing that would make such a good DVD season release bad news, is if season two and three didn't quickly follow suit. Let's hope so, and very soon.

The DVD: You know what makes it all the more obvious when a great season/series is released? When the stars are so responsive to participating in the DVD; that's what. One amusing (and, if you prefer, optional) bonus feature has Scott Bacula personally introducing each episode with an anecdote or two. Actually, this is better than audio commentary, because you get to see him in actual video footage "now" talking about each episode, and afterwards, you get to watch the episode as-is. It's a win-win scenario to this fan.

Speaking of "as-is": these are the original episodes, as they aired. Not only are there no cuts for commercials, but the opening/closing credits and music are exactly the same, as they aired. This is of particular amusement to people who see the series in syndication or the Sci-Fi Channel, where each episode begins exactly the same (as a rule), with the same opening credits and music. People may forget that the opening song, as well as the scenes shown, was a gradual process, with only the finale of season one showing the opening credits as they "normally" looked, from then-on. See the first season as it originally aired!

Disc one has a "tease," though. Not enough for a bad final rating of this DVD, though it's still a tease. Look thoroughly on disc one and you'll see no less than three (or more?) hidden videos, of Scott or Dean offering anecdotes here and there. Go to the languages menu and find a hidden video of Dean complimenting fans who actually chipped in their own money to get him his own star on the Walk of Fame. These are nice hidden videos, though disc one is the only one that has them, and there are only three. As Sam might say; oh, boy...or more likely, oh darn.

Disc one also holds the season set's sole featurette: "A Kiss With History: Remembering Quantum Leap." Although this feature has anecdotes only from three people, those three people are Scott Bacula, Dean Stockwell, and series creator Donald Bellisario. The latter commentator may be particularly intriguing to fans, who probably have seen many of Bellisario's series (Navy NCIS, among others), yet never saw him, or heard him talk about a series. Even better; this is a 2004 featurette --not a promo held over from 1989-- so it's all brand new.

Once again, I must say the only bad news here is if season two and three don't quickly follow. This was some of my favorite sci-fi on TV, that I had yet to own on DVD. Other sci-fans should feel something similar.

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. Leave your questions of "how" and "why" at the door; this sci-fi fantasy is a wonderfully good time, leap after leap.
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Quantum Leap:

The First Season

A Techtite Review