How Could Sam Be leaping himself through time?

quantumwonderer

Project QL Intern
Apr 9, 2010
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I know this was asked before, and I may be reinventing the wheel by making this post, but how could Sam be leaping himself through time?

We saw him unable to be retrieved in the first episode when he had almost complete memory lost! If he had control of his destiny then he would of had to go back during his retrieval! He did not at all know who he was let alone the project that leaped him! Everything in his memory that wanted him to fix events in history was lost with his memory, so he should of leaped back when retrieved. Then once he regained his memory, then I believe that Sam would of updated the system somehow so that when he leaped again (as his dream was to be a constant leaper) he would of remembered that he had a mission when he leaped. A smart scientist always learns from mistakes and I know that Sam is one of them! He would of told Al also to not restrict as much information withheld as well!

Sam could of easily leaped back into Tom Stratton from the moment he was retrieved! Another thing that the writers have forgotten that with those in the future at Project Quantum Leap and Sam's journey in the past are in different times! The show seems to show everything happening in Sam's present time and his leap time as happening at the same time! Even when Al goes to get Ziggy working on solutions when Sam is on a leap someplace, whatever time it takes to accomplish that is equivalent to that time away from Sam in the past. Al should return right away being from another time!

So what Al the Bartender told Sam cannot be true! He never really told Sam how he leaped himself, only but why he leaped himself. Then he told him that he had the same responsibility as a Catholic priest has when moving to parish to parish. Apples and oranges the two reasons are I have to say! Priests are ordained and can visit their homes at anytime. I know cause every priest I have had in my church, has had vacation time to go home!

So how really can Sam be in charge of all his leaps? If he had supernatural powers and can leap at will he would of never built Project Quantum Leap, so that rules that theory out.:hurray:
 
Well, in the show, they say that Sam isn't leaping himself. Rather, that God, or Fate, or Time, or Whatever (GFTW) is controlling the leaps. I think that even in Sam's first leap, they didn't know that he had leapt into Tom Stratton. They only knew that he leaped. Hence, Sam controlled the fact that he leapt the first time, but even then he didn't even control who he leapt in to.

The priest analogy is pretty effective, but you're forgetting that a priest, at least a true priest, is always a priest. I don't want to get too much into the realm of theology, but I'm pretty sure that a priest always has a strict guideline to follow, as God never gives humans a break in the journey of life. A priest, even at home, never really gets a "vacation", because he still would have to be ready to answer questions or doubts, counsul, or otherwise help others. But I actually do like that alliteration.

Am I understanding your question correctly? Otherwise, I'm just rambling, and that never ends well. :lol
 
We visited a friend of ours a few weekends ago who is a retired Catholic priest. He lives alone in his family's former vacation home and says Mass weekly at the local parish, but isn't on the staff. He said that when he eats out (sans the collar), people recognize him and note what he ate, how much he drank, and who he was with and comment later and ask for his guidance and prayers. So, it's true - priests never really retire and they're always on call to give last rites, cover for someone else, or just be kind to others.

I think that Sam's leaping was driven by two things: he does have the do-gooder attitude that keeps him moving from assignment to assignment, but those assignments are "found" for him by Al the Bartender. That's the really wierd part of the "God's image" in my opinion.

Building Project Quantum Leap was Sam's way of applying to become a Leaper. Wonder what the other leapers did to be selected?
 
Both of you may be right! Although, when a priest does go home he is home even though he is still a priest! He can still sit down with his family and go to exotic places, even though he has to say mass at these other places!

As far as the physics of the leapgo, yes it had to be Al the bartender actually moving around Sam. He could read Sam's mind easily to see if Sam was tired of leaping and by saying in Mirror Image "You will only do this as long as you want to" to Sam, he would of returned him back to Project Quantum Leap in his home time.

Or, Al could of been refering to the fact that when Sam did step into the accelerator chamber to perform his first leap, Sam did know the risks then as the project was not yet finnished. It might of been that Sam knew the retrieval program was not yet perfected and because the feds were ready to cancel funding for it, he took the leap back in time anyway regardlessly because he felt that it was the only way to accomplish what he wanted: to change history. Even if it meant staying there till his death! As far as returning home if he wanted to as said by the bartender, I think if Sam wanted badly to return home, he would of pestered Al to have Ziggy work on some scenarios to get that program working. As Al the hologram said in the pilot episode to Sam "Only you have the knowledge to bring you back." I think Al would of broken the cardinal rule and helped Sam remember more so he could run programs by Gooshie to get the retrieval part operating.

How about maybe Sam, sabotaging the retrieval program himself prior to stepping into the accelarator? He could of had the code to access the retrieval hidden like he did for the overide code to get the imaging chamber door open in the Leap Back when he was stuck inside the chamber! I think Sam was smart enough to have a fail safe plan in case it did not work out the way he wanted it to! All is lost with his swissed cheese memory and he did not confide in anyone that was the bad part!
 
You know, there is actually some good logic in that argument. Sam, throughout the show, never really pesters Al to actually step-it-up when it comes to proudcing that retrieval program, but instead seems wholly concentrated on the leap in question. Perhaps Sam could go back when he wanted simply by yelling at the project to actually finish that program. :lol
 
i dont think that sam has the power to leap him shelf through time its all the bartender who is doin all the <dirty work>:cheersbecouse in his mind sam wants to leap so all makes him leap if sam didnt want to leap then he wouldnt leap simple.
I mean its like i wanna go to berlin but i cant afford it and here comes an angel and he makes my wish come true and i go to berlin but i only went to berlin not becouse i could go becouse i wanted to and so i went to berlin capish? lol
 
Both of you are right in theory!!!! True Al the Bartender did all the dirty work like allowing Sam to give birth in 8 1/2 Months if he did not leap in time, and to complete the grand illusion by allowing the whole world (except animals, small children, and mentally ill people) to see Sam as his host in all leaps. On the other hand the responsibilty does, as he told Sam that he is like the priest, with Sam when he first decided to make the journey. He knew the project was incomplete and that he was taking a great risk stepping into the accelerator prematurely!

Most of all the bartender makes it possible for anything to happen, but still lets Sam take control as conventional methods were still used to find out Sam's mission like Ziggy guessing based on data!

Bottom line is that its what is on Sam's subconsious mind! NO MATTER WHO CONTROLS the leaps, natural or supernatural or even both; Sam wants to be leaping!