Did you watch the Sci-Fi tv series, Quantum Leap, way back in the late 80s to early 90s? Its 5 seasons followed scientist Sam Beckett as he traveled through history, leaping into a different person’s life each time as he tried to leap back home. I’ve always been a fan and even own the entire series on DVD. I had fun sharing the series with my children and exploring history with Quantum Leap in our homeschool.
And I have news! There’s a new Quantum Leap TV series in the works. It just finished filming the pilot episode in Vancouver. I’m hoping the pilot gets picked up and we’ll see the new series air in 2022 or 2023. While we’re waiting, it’s a great time to watch the original series. (Who am I kidding, I’ll take any excuse for a rewatch!)
Here’s a trailer for the original Quantum Leap TV series that will give you an idea what it’s about in case you’ve never heard of it:
With the exception of its portrayal of the future, I think this series has aged quite well. Follow Sam through the decades, exploring history with Quantum Leap along with the socio-economic issues of the day. Please keep in mind that for the most part, this series is suitable for high school age – as always, use your own discretion, as many episodes deal with mature themes.
Quantum Leaps into 1862
Season 5, Episode 20: “The Leap Between the States”
For the most part, Sam leaps into his own lifetime, in the 20th century, but this one leap takes him to the Civil War. Learn what it’s like to be a Yankee (Sam as his own great-grandfather in fact), behind Confederate lines.
Quantum Leap into The 40s
Season 4, Episode 1: “The Leap Back” June 15, 1945
Learn what it was like for a soldier returning from World War II, and coming back to the woman he left due to war. This is a leap by Sam’s colleague, Al, as he and Sam switch places in a leap gone wrong.
Quantum Leaps into The 50s
Season 1, Episode 1: “Genesis Part 1” September 13, 1956
Follow the U.S. military’s quest to reach a speed of Mach 3 with their X-2 jets, as Sam makes his very first leap into an air force pilot. Then discuss the real first man to reach Mach 3 in an X-2, Captain Apt, who perished shortly afterward.
Season 1, Episode 7: “The Color of Truth” August 8, 1955
Sam leaps into a black chauffeur in the south. This episode is great for discussion about segregation, and has a bit of a Driving Miss Daisy feel, which would be a suitable movie to follow-up with.
Season 2, Episode 9: “So Help Me God” July 29, 1957
Quantum Leap again explores being black in the south. This time, Sam is the defense lawyer for a young woman accused of murdering a prominent black man. A great follow-up movie for this episode would be To Kill a Mockingbird.
Season 2, Episode 3: “The Americanization of Machiko August 4, 1953
Explore post-WWII attitudes toward the Japanese, as Sam leaps into a sailor returning home with a Japanese wife.
Quantum Leaps into The 60s
Season 2, Episode 4: “What Price Gloria?” October 16, 1961
Sam learns how the other half lives in his first leap as a woman. He learns all about the sexist attitudes of the day as he works as a secretary, and encourages his roommate to follow her dreams instead of committing suicide over a man. (Mature themes: suicide, adultery)
Season 2, Episode 8: “Jimmy” October 14, 1964
Sam leaps into a young man with down’s syndrome. At the time, people with special needs were usually institutionalized, but this young man’s brother struggles to help him live a normal life in the face of societal prejudice.
Season 3, Episode 7: “Black on White on Fire” August 11, 1965
Sam leaps right into the middle of the 1965 Watts riots. He is a black man and medical student who must save his white fiancée. This is a great follow-up episode to “The Color of Truth” and “So Help Me God” to show how prejudice continued in the 60s.
Season 3, Episode 21: “Nuclear Family” October 26, 1962
Learn all about the fear surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis, as Sam leaps into a bomb shelter salesman in Florida.
Season 4, Episode 4: “Justice” May 11, 1965
Quantum Leap returns to the topic of prejudice against African Americans, as Sam leaps into a KKK member who must save a civil rights worker’s life.
Season 5, Episode 1 & 2: “Lee Harvey Oswald” October 5, 1957 – November 22, 1963
Learn all about Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of J.F.K. as Sam leaps into the infamous Oswald himself.
Season 5, Episode 4: “Nowhere to Run” August 10, 1968
Quantum Leap explores what it was like to be a Vietnam vet after the war. Sam leaps into a soldier who has lost his legs as he tries to prevent a fellow vet from committing suicide in hospital.
Season 5, Episode 18: “Goodbye Norma Jean” April 4, 1960
A leap into the life of the iconic Marilyn Monroe. Sam becomes her chauffeur, saves her life, and helps her as she films in her final role, in The Misfits.
Quantum Leaps in The 70s
Season 2, Episode 16: “Freedom” November 22, 1970
Explore attitudes to Native Americans in the 70s (much of which prevails today), when Sam leaps into a Native man. He must escape from jail to help his grandfather get home to the reservation to die.
Season 3, Episode 2: “The Leap Home, Part 2 (Vietnam)” April 7, 1970
Explore what it was really like in the Vietnam War as Sam leaps into a soldier in his brother’s unit.
Quantum Leaps in The 80s
Season 4, Episode 6: “Raped” June 20, 1980
Quantum Leap tackles the emotionally charged topic of rape. Sam leaps into a rape victim who must stand up as a witness to testify against her attacker.
Season 4, Episode 17: “Roberto!” January 27, 1982
As environmentalism gets rolling in the 80s, follow Sam as a journalist on a sensationalist talk show, who asks if a local chemical plant is polluting the atmosphere and affecting those who live nearby.
Exploring History with Quantum Leap is So Much Fun
There are more episodes that are just plain fun to watch, or deal with various moral dilemmas. I love how Sam “puts right what once went wrong” and how Sam and Al come to acknowledge that God has a hand in Sam’s leaps.
While you’re watching, why not discuss the science of time travel and the debate on whether time travel is possible? Something else to explore, is the playwright from whom the character Sam Beckett gets his name, the one whose most famous quote is “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” The playwright Samuel Beckett died in 1989, the same year that the Quantum Leap series began.
You can watch Quantum Leap free on NBC, Tubi TV, IMDb TV and streaming on NBC as well.
Do you or your children have favourite episodes of Quantum Leap? Please let me know in the comments below.
Love, Luck &
Laughter,
Kimberly
Please note: This article was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated.
