Among the entries in the recent reboot of television's gold rush, "Quantum Leap," NBC's revival of its early '90s sci-fi drama, is arguably the series most deserving of a contemporary reimagining. That's not because "Leap" was a box office hit. It performed modestly enough to be considered a cult series by the standards of its day, working its way up to a mere 100 episodes over five seasons. But the high-concept hook is no less potent now than it was during the show's heyday.
The original found Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), a talented physicist desperate to save the time-travel technology he's been building with government money with very little to show for it. To prove his concept and save the project, Beckett tests the technology on himself with spectacular, if inconvenient, results. Indeed, Beckett can dart back and forth across the space-time continuum, but each "jump" brings him into the consciousness of a random person who faces a consequential challenge. Once he solves the problems of the last protagonist of his, he jumps again, each time hoping to land back in his own timeline.
Creator: Donald P. Bellisario
Stars: Raymond Lee, Caitlin Bassett, Mason Alexander Park
It's the rare TV renaissance that feels like someone should have done it much sooner, if anything. The concept is so ingrained in the fundamental themes of light science fiction that echoes of "Quantum Leap" continue to this day. From "Manifest" and "Severance" to "Shining Girls" and "Outer Range," television is more committed than ever to time travel, body swapping, brain hacking, and the chaos and dissociation that leave his step. Even better, the show's premise has outlived its specific plot in the public consciousness. "Leap" remains a solid if esoteric reference to nerd culture, but try bringing up "Sam Beckett" in conversation and expect a radical turn toward existentialist theater.
While the remake's creators, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, could easily have built such a solid concept from scratch, they seem too eager to dive into the thin mythology of the original, for those who are still interested. Raymond Lee stars as Dr. Ben Song, the talented physicist who has become the custodian of Quantum Leap technology ever since Sam was hopelessly trapped in the wormhole. Ben and his team have rebooted the show, in part with a mission to finally bring Sam back after decades of Forest Gumping throughout history.
Unfortunately, there is a more pressing problem: Ben abruptly jumps out without telling anyone, just like Sam did before him. But while Sam's motives for testing the nascent technology were obvious, Ben's are completely opaque. Not even Addison, Ben's colleague and fiancée, knows what made him throw himself into the past just hours after his engagement party. Addison takes on the role of the holographic executive assistant originally played by Al Calavicci, but because Ben's memory was wiped with her first jump, she can only provide information to Ben, rather than get it from him.
Addison is put to the test in the pilot, in which she finds Ben inhabiting a henchman's body over his head in 1985. The episodic stories are, as always, where "Leap" comes to life. The show works like a Swiss Army procedural of sorts, with each episode having the potential to bounce off in just about any direction. The fun of each episode is finding out what mess Ben has gotten himself into this time and figuring out the details as he does so. Unfortunately, the relationship between the agent and the handler is less fascinating than in the original. While Sam and Al's unlikely friendship lent a prickly energy to their interactions, Ben and Addison's romantic connection makes their new dynamic as holograph and holographée more awkward and sad than entertaining.
That said, this "Jump" is also less reliant on that core relationship. The original was essentially a two handed game with Bakula and Stockwell. Meanwhile, this version expands the team to a full complement of geniuses led by Herb "Magic" Williams, a character from a beloved two-part episode of The Forefather. It's no surprise to see Martin Gero, the creator of "Blindspot," as the showrunner for "Leap." When Magic and the team are doing their support work, "Leap" is more like Gero's other show about an amnesiac who keeps secrets from everyone, including themselves. That almost certainly means that, if "Leap" is long-lived, supporting character subplots that are unpredictable by definition.
“Quantum Leap” premieres on NBC on September 19 at 10 p.m. and episodes air on Peacock the next day.