Interesting Observations/Facts/Questions about Quantum Leap

Alright, I admit my mistake in understanding the condition of Zoey's leap, I don't watch Revenge as much because while I enjoy the evil leapers I felt they took it too far making Zoey a leaper.

I however don't believe success was vital to how immediate her leap out was. This is why:



In Deliver Us from Evil, they were leaped out immediately upon failure. In Return Of The Evil Leaper, Zoey demanded Alia's removal though there could have still been room for success. When Sam leaped out the real Arnold would have returned where he'd be accessible by Alia for termination. It's made clear that Arnold was her assignment not Sam as it's directly revealed that they were initially unaware that the Arnold they were dealing with was in fact Sam.
As I said, their leaps are controlled, they can be extracted whenever desired. The reason Zoey probably wasn't immediately was because Alia's leap out had perplexed the Evil Project. In between Alia's leap out and Zoey catching the second bullet Thames had been pressing buttons on his handlink frantically trying to figure out what had happened to Alia. Thus not giving the command as Zoey did in the previous episode to have Zoey extracted. Then she was killed (if memory serves) thus that is probably what ended up triggering the leap.
In fact since they wouldn't be able to lock on to Alia from that point on, they probably never knew whether she'd caught that bullet or not thus nor if Zoey succeeded or failed.



o_O It is? Wait, are you referring to their not being able to retrieve her after she leaped out in Revenge?

I guess that what he/she meant was that Alia was lost in time from the beginning, just as Sam was, and that's why they couldn't get her back.

By the way, I don't believe Alia is dead, either. She just went on and lived a normal life away from Zoey and Lothos and perhaps even from the leaps themselves. That's why she was free.
 
I'm afraid I'm still lost, they retrieved Alia after every leap thus whether it's their project whatever that may be or not in which they return her, they do.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding the notion however, what is meant by unable to get her back? Unless it was referring to after her leap out in Revenge, at which point, yeah they were unable to retrieve her as she had been disconnected from them.

Not long ago I discussed a theory I had come up with while reading Knights of the Morningstar with my best friend. Upon noticing that Alia is quite a bit better than Sam at thinking on her feet and being 'in-character' paired with her controlled leaping it occurred to me that perhaps she is prepared for her role before she is sent out. This does fit with Zoey skipping the introduction of her host in Return of the Evil Leaper, right to the assignment. It's pretty harmless to wait to dish out the assignment upon arrival. In fact It seems quite a bit like Lothos doesn't know himself much like Ziggy.

The way Alia's leaping was explained in Knights of the Morningstar doesn't quite fit (I explain this in it's thread) but I like the idea and that she obviously paid careful attention to Return of the Evil Leaper and put little details together. It was very well thought out.
 
Deb Pratt and Sam & Donna

Is that true that Deborah regretted having Sam married to Donna? It would explain a lot.
I interviewed Deborah for an online local fan blog about 20 years ago. She said and I quote...she was my character, wasn't she? Not Don's not anyone elses. She was not crazy about Leap Back. I did the interview just after it was aired. There was much more they could have done and I do not include Donna in any of my fic unless she is some kind of post leap where she was never in Sam's life after he was dumped by her. Or she is a shrew. IMHO she was selfish, and a terrible person and the Sam that married her was a different person than the one that had a heart and put that into the work he had to do. Debra did not write a character who would want to sacrifice Al for her having Sam with her. I have a lovely copy of Leap Back. I cut Donna totally out of it.
 
------------
Saturday, October 5, 2013
By: Suzanne Smiley
Written: August 19, 1995
Revised: July 3, 2013

Creak…Creak…Creak…
Sam Beckett leaned back in the rustic porch swing of his suburban home in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The swing was old, but then so was he. Two months ago had been his sixtieth birthday.
A small wind picked up, scattering leaves around the front lawn, rustling his greying hair, which had once been brown.
It felt good, sitting on the porch, observing the neighborhood on such a cool autumn afternoon. Actually, it just felt good to be himself, to be home. It had been ten years since he’d Leaped home for good and eighteen years since he had first stepped into the accelerator, sending his secure world into oblivion...
That day, ten years ago, was August 8, 2003, the day he turned fifty. So what? Now he was sixty. After spending so many years trapped in the past, Sam had promised himself he wouldn’t reminisce too much about his own. And yet here he was, doing that exact thing.
The wind blew again, a little more harshly and a little more cold. Sam frowned and zipped his jacket up further, sliding his time weathered hands into his pockets, shivering a bit.
Well, he didn’t feel sixty. That much he could say. Of course, eight years had been lacerated from his life. Although, Sam knew he had accomplished more in those eight years that he had in these past ten.
That bothered him. He didn’t want to spend the last twenty or thirty years of his life rotting away. Sam hated to admit it, but he missed Leaping. He actually missed Leaping. He didn’t miss being away from his family and wondering if he would ever come home, but he missed the helping people part, the satisfaction he derived from a job well done... it just wasn’t the same as it used to be. Nothing ever was.
Sam frowned. Taking his hands out of his pockets, he reached for his guitar, which was propped up between its case and the porch railing.
“Damn the cold,” he mumbled as he began to strum a few chords. At first disorganized, but gradually the rhythm became more clear and focused. Sam began to sing softly, “Imagine there’s no heaven…”
Suddenly it was November 26, 1969, Thanksgiving Day. It was cool, like now. His little sister, Katie, was sitting on the porch swing next to him, on the family farm in Elk Ridge, Indiana, looking up at him expectantly.
“And John,” she’d said. “What’s John gonna do? He’s my favorite!” she added with a giggle.
Sam never told her, but he did sing her that song. “It’s easy if you try…”
It was a touching scene between him and his sister, but it had not ended well. Katie had run to their mother, crying. She was afraid that if Sam knew the future, then he must be telling the truth about Tom dying in Vietnam.
Sam stopped playing. Tom didn’t die in Vietnam. That was because in one of his Leaps, Sam had saved his brother. So, Tom Beckett didn’t die.
Tom was still living in Indiana with his wife, Angie. He’d had two kids and three grandkids because of his little brother.
It really messes with your mind...
------------

This is a really lovely piece of writing, wakkanne, and you have a nice handle on Sam's character. I look forward to reading your series once you're ready to post them. :)
 
Debra did not write a character who would want to sacrifice Al for her having Sam with her.

When in hysterics one can tend to speak impulsively words or implications that they don't intend. Certainly in her rational mind Donna wouldn't dare allow Al to be killed. She ended up sending Sam on his way didn't she? She barely pursued the argument.

Think about it, she waited more patiently than anyone is expected to for a husband whom has even less of a way back to her than Al did to Beth from Vietnam.
Her prayers are answered and he returns only to once again end up bound for the place which promises no return less than 24 hours later. Wouldn't that upset you?

To be fair Sam as well was selfish in ensuring she married him since he in fact justified the fear of abandonment which tore her from him in the initial timeline.
I'd say it's Donna who is the selfless (or I suppose you could say stupid) spouse to wait so patiently for a husband who roams through time with no memory of her and being quite intament with several other woman but knows that he is fulfilling a special and great purpose by doing do.
 
I'm afraid I'm still lost, they retrieved Alia after every leap.


There is not a single piece of evidence to support this. In fact, Zoe goads Alia to kill Sam in Deliver Us From Evil because "this could be the leap that sends you home, Alia... Home". It's pretty obvious that Alia was in fact trapped in time like Sam was. Yes Lothos could control when the leapers leap, and even where to, but he was NOT able to bring them home (unless the leaper completes their first mission within 48 hours).
 
To be fair Sam as well was selfish in ensuring she married him since he in fact justified the fear of abandonment which tore her from him in the initial timeline.

I'd say it's Donna who is the selfless (or I suppose you could say stupid) spouse to wait so patiently for a husband who roams through time with no memory of her and being quite intament with several other woman but knows that he is fulfilling a special and great purpose by doing do.

Yeah, this is the way I see it.

I really do hate this story arc in case I haven't made that entirely obvious already, lol. Though it's completely understandable it's also an extremely selfish move on Sam's part. It's unrealistic that one meeting with her father would change her and alleviate her fears so drastically, and then of course Sam himself turns around and brings them right to the surface again.

Also I think both writers could have done a better job with Donna as a character. She's pretty two-dimensional in both episodes, and is really just there as a device for creating extra angst for Sam in The Leap Back [and he doesn't even seem particularly upset that he has to leave her again -- which to be fair is probably because the episode is so rushed]. I really admire writers like Melanie Rawn in Knights of the Morningstar and Sandy Hall, Sharon Wisdom and Michelle Agnew in Hope and Glory (Oh Boy IV) who were able to flesh out her character so beautifully with so little to go on.
 
Lightning Mcqueenie said:
In fact, Zoe goads Alia to kill Sam in Deliver Us From Evil because "this could be the leap that sends you home, Alia... Home".

Actually this is an inconsistency that has me stumped which I also explain in the Evil Leapers thread. Which brings me to this.
Lightning McQueenie said:
There is not a single piece of evidence to support this.

There are in fact several in the second two episodes.
Return of the Evil Leaper.
The scene in Alia's dorm after they discover Sam's presence in the leap.
"Lothos isn't pleased with your prior work concerning Dr. Beckett."
"Then why did he send me here?"


Alia in the next scene tells Sam that they tortured her, thus she was returned somewhere which is involved with her project.

Then at the end while Sam is holding on to her but is waiting for those last few percentile to trigger his leap out, Zoey growls:
"Lothos, pull Alia out!"

A few moments prior while still in the car, Sam is trying to explain leaping Alia with him to Al.
"if I don't Zoey will tell Lothos and he'll leap her out, I'll lose her forever."
He can't possibly know of course but he too seemed to take the hint from her having been tortured.

Revenge; after Alia's leap out to her freedom:
"She leaped!"
"She didn't leap back!"


Blue Enigma said:
I really admire writers like Melanie Rawn in Knights of the Morningstar and Sandy Hall, Sharon Wisdom and Michelle Agnew in Hope and Glory (Oh Boy IV) who were able to flesh out her character so beautifully with so little to go on.

Melanie Rawn is quite possibly the best of the official novel authors with Carol Davis (w/Esther D. Reese) who wrote Mirror's Edge right along side. Mirror's Edge beautifully explores through Tom the question of how in the right it is for Sam not to remember Donna and how he'd abandoned her as well as his regrets for not being a better husband to her. This novel portrays Donna in exactly the way Scott imagines her character.
I wonder if Scott or Dean have read any of the books.

Now Hope and Glory I have not heard of. What is this?
 
Melanie Rawn is quite possibly the best of the official novel authors with Carol Davis (w/Esther D. Reese) who wrote Mirror's Edge right along side. Mirror's Edge beautifully explores through Tom the question of how in the right it is for Sam not to remember Donna and how he'd abandoned her as well as his regrets for not being a better husband to her. This novel portrays Donna in exactly the way Scott imagines her character.
I wonder if Scott or Dean have read any of the books.

Now Hope and Glory I have not heard of. What is this?

Yes, you had mentioned that Carol fleshed out Donna's character very well. I haven't read either of her novels yet.

I really loved L. Elizabeth Storm's novels. Pulitzer is my favorite so far, and Foreknowledge by Chris DeFilippis is a close second.

Hope and Glory is the fanzine Oh Boy IV. A lot of the fanzines are a collection of stories, but a few of them are novels. Oh Boy IV is a novel called Hope and Glory. It's huge. 2 volumes, over 400 pages. It's a prequel, but in the changed timeline where Sam has already made changes like saving his brother, Donna marrying him, then continues with Sam stepping into the accelerator and leaping, and then his coming home. It's long but very very good. It was written before the series ended so it ignores 'Mirror Image' and pretty much most of Season 5. I was able to borrow this one from someone so I didn't need to purchase it. Because it's so large it's more expensive.
 
My best friend read ForeKnowledge and said it was good. The idea of it sounds pretty intriguing. Perhaps I will give it a try but at the moment I have three other novels on their way to me via Amazon. Pulitzer and Obsessions which I have already read (borrowed the first time) but really enjoy and one I have not, Double or Nothing.

Honor and Glory sounds very interesting, how can I get a copy of this fanzine?
 
Wonderful thank you. :)
Correction; I am now waiting for two novels in the mail. They only shipped two days ago but Double or Nothing has already arrived. Impressive.
 
When in hysterics one can tend to speak impulsively words or implications that they don't intend. Certainly in her rational mind Donna wouldn't dare allow Al to be killed. She ended up sending Sam on his way didn't she? She barely pursued the argument.
I respect what you say. A person who is out of her mind - well, she wants to keep Sam home. With her. When she said, "I don't care," she literally tossed Sam's concern about Al in his face and ended any sane thought I had about the character. And I loved your story, it was very very good. I have quite a bit of stuff up on fanfiction.net and archiveofourown which I'm proud of - you are a unique writer and I thank God we are still alive as a fandom. If anyone could convince me to accept a Donna Ellissee or whatever in Sam's life, I'm sure you guys can. She is not in my stories. If you know my name as a writer then you know who I have Sam with and that is always my be all and end all.
 
Actually this is an inconsistency that has me stumped which I also explain in the Evil Leapers thread. Which brings me to this.


There are in fact several in the second two episodes.
Return of the Evil Leaper.
The scene in Alia's dorm after they discover Sam's presence in the leap.
"Lothos isn't pleased with your prior work concerning Dr. Beckett."
"Then why did he send me here?"


Alia in the next scene tells Sam that they tortured her, thus she was returned somewhere which is involved with her project.

Then at the end while Sam is holding on to her but is waiting for those last few percentile to trigger his leap out, Zoey growls:
"Lothos, pull Alia out!"

A few moments prior while still in the car, Sam is trying to explain leaping Alia with him to Al.
"if I don't Zoey will tell Lothos and he'll leap her out, I'll lose her forever."
He can't possibly know of course but he too seemed to take the hint from her having been tortured.

Revenge; after Alia's leap out to her freedom:
"She leaped!"
"She didn't leap back!"

"Why did he send me here?"

Lothos can control when a leap occurs and can also control where to, but can NOT leap them home if they have been gone for too long, as Alia was.

If Alia was tortured, it was by Lothos putting her in a place and point in time where she could be tortured. For example, she could have been leapt into someone being held hostage and tortured by terrorists - that easily could be considered "worse than death".

"Lothos, pull Alia out."
Like I said, Lothos can control when a leaper leaps, and can put them where he wants, he just can't bring her home.

"If Zoe finds out she'll tell Lothos and he'll leap her out and I'll lose her forever"
Sam realises that Lothos has enough control to leap her away from him (not necessarily back to their project) and also realises that his encounter with her was just the "random event theory - a fantastic stroke of luck", so if Lothos leaps her away the chances of their crossing paths again would be slim to none.

"She didn't leap back"
Zoe obviously realised that her shooting Alia/Angel had no effect, she and Thames realised Alia must have leapt - let's remember that Zoe and Alia had NOT touched, so there's a good chance that they would only be seeing each other's hosts' auras (i.e. Zoe seeing Alia as Angel and Alia seeing Zoe as Myers) and so would not actually see the leap effect. When they realised Alia had leapt, they weren't sure if she'd just been replaced by the real Angel, or just pulled out long enough for the blank aura to absorb the bullet and have her return. So Zoe saying "She didn't leap back" was really her confirming with Thames that Alia didn't leap back into Angel.
 
When in hysterics one can tend to speak impulsively words or implications that they don't intend. Certainly in her rational mind Donna wouldn't dare allow Al to be killed. She ended up sending Sam on his way didn't she? She barely pursued the argument.
I respect what you say. A person who is out of her mind - well, she wants to keep Sam home. With her. When she said, "I don't care," she literally tossed Sam's concern about Al in his face and ended any sane thought I had about the character. And I loved your story, it was very very good. I have quite a bit of stuff up on fanfiction.net and archiveofourown which I'm proud of - you are a unique writer and I thank God we are still alive as a fandom. If anyone could convince me to accept a Donna Ellissee or whatever in Sam's life, I'm sure you guys can. She is not in my stories. If you know my name as a writer then you know who I have Sam with and that is always my be all and end all.

Don't worry there is nothing wrong with disliking Donna and your point in valid about the 'I don't care" line, that can not be explained by my theory and was quite over the top. If I could quantum leap back to when the episode's script was written I would have that line removed.

Interestingly I have noticed that though there is little connection between the two arcs, those who are fans of Trilogy seem to not be so much of Donna. I am not as certain of the vise versa but I myself qualify under it. Though as I have said many times I am also a fan of Sam with Tamlyn.
Had they not reintroduced Donna in The Leap Back but instead had Tamlyn end up on the project hoping beyond hope that her psychic abilities can somehow bring home the man she fell in love with I would honestly be equally as satisfied and wouldn't have missed Donna.

What of my stories have you read?
Honestly it's been so long I can only remember a couple of the ones I posted here and thinking back on them they sound ridiculous. XD

I am not familiar with your writing, do tell, who do you have Sam with?

Samnal said:
Are these new zines or old zines/ I would be interested in buying them -- can you privately email me the details? buster1033@aol.com

The zines are new to me as they are to you. Blue Enigma will know more. If you are meaning the novels which are different I get them on Amazon.

Lightning McQueenie said:
So Zoe saying "She didn't leap back" was really her confirming with Thames that Alia didn't leap back into Angel.

Actually it was Thames' line but fair enough explanation all the same.
 
What of my stories have you read?
Honestly it's been so long I can only remember a couple of the ones I posted here and thinking back on them they sound ridiculous. XD

On a bit of an off-topic note, boy, do I know the feeling! I can't help but laugh at some of the stories I wrote when I was 17 or so. When I was about 14 I wrote a couple of QL stories, but they were more like quick sketches or something. I re-read one of them the other day and I couldn't help thinking "oh, boy... well, yeah, sure...", haha!! Maybe I'll post them someday here just for the heck of it.
 
Don't worry there is nothing wrong with disliking Donna and your point in valid about the 'I don't care" line, that can not be explained by my theory and was quite over the top. If I could quantum leap back to when the episode's script was written I would have that line removed.

Yeah, I think that part was DPB inserting his own sentiments into the script.

The zines are new to me as they are to you. Blue Enigma will know more. If you are meaning the novels which are different I get them on Amazon.

The zines are from the 1990s, but are still available on that site that I linked as well as eBay in some cases. As far as I know there aren't any new ones. Maybe someone else is aware of new stuff.
 
Something that's intrigued me is the thought that Sam was meant to leap into the future in the Season 6 premiere had the show continued. But that would mean Sam wouldn't have any help at all from the project, as it would not have happened yet. Something hit me today, if Sam was to leap into the future, what would probably happen is a complete role reversal. Sam could observe what is happening in the time that he's in, and (provided it's not too distant in the future), he could somehow contact the project so that THEY can change what is to be changed (or in the case of the future, prevented)...
 
Donofrio_QLTD said:
On a bit of an off-topic note, boy, do I know the feeling! I can't help but laugh at some of the stories I wrote when I was 17 or so. When I was about 14 I wrote a couple of QL stories, but they were more like quick sketches or something. I re-read one of them the other day and I couldn't help thinking "oh, boy... well, yeah, sure...", haha!! Maybe I'll post them someday here just for the heck of it.

Oh I can't stand most of my past writing from about 3 years ago and before. The Quantum Leap fanfiction I am working on now, 'Go Figure', it was originally titled 'Thin Ice' and I had begun it a few years ago, also only managing to get to the "Oh Boy" and re-reading it, wow was it ever crapola! I wanna know what the hell I was sniffing back then! XD

Lightning Queenie said:
But that would mean Sam wouldn't have any help at all from the project, as it would not have happened yet.

That and as I heard it the project had not managed to re-establish contact with him after Al's hunch luck in Mirror Image. Thus supposedly he's continuing to leap from that point forward as himself.

As for Sam being in the future, it would be for the audience however in Sam's case it's more that limit of his lifetime is merely expanding. Since his present time would progress from 1999 to 2000 then 2001, 2002 etc.
My best friend uses this in her brilliant fanfic 'One Final Leap'. Sam in his 80's completes a last leap which is set somewhere in the early 2000's, it's been a while since I read it but it might have been the same year Al dies which is 2020. After this he is leaped home, the year being 2040.
(Sadly after being reunited with his beloved Donna, meets his and Al's children and grandchildren and makes love to Donna one more time Sam passes away in his sleep and is reunited with Al in the ghostly plain. That is actually what the title is referring to.)
She let me write the ending for her and I have actually begun re-writing it. XD
 
Even though they might not have re-established contact with him, that doesn't mean that they COULDN'T. Actually, a thought I had could be that in the future, Quantum Leap has been like a prototype project for time travelling, and it has been refined (e.g. the Evil Leaper project seems to have more control than Sam's). So in the future, it could be possible that Sam could get into contact with such a future project and use them to help get future knowledge back to his own project. Thereby, Sam's own project can use the future knowledge and try to prevent what has happened by the time Sam is in :)
 
Lightning McQueenie said:
Even though they might not have re-established contact with him, that doesn't mean that they COULDN'T.

If they could why wouldn't they? Al especially would never leave Sam hanging when it wasn't out of his control to. Remember: I was thinking of trying a couple of tin cans on a string.

Mirror Image however does imply that without a leapee in the waiting room they have no way of knowing when and where Sam leaps to and Al can't have 5+ more years worth of correct hunches.
Unless our earlier theory is correct and Sam was in fact in between leaps in his subconscious. Interestingly I just finished reading 'Carny Knowledge' by Ashley McConnel She is one of those who likes to include a prologue and epilogue with Sam in between leaps, drifting disembodied in some void where he speaks with the voice of GFT. In the epilogue of 'Carny Knowledge' Sam actually suggests to himself that he could in fact be drifting within his own mind. One of her more interesting angles.
 
I am not familiar with your writing, do tell, who do you have Sam with?//quote

I have written over 1000 stories :dreamingfor fan fiction in QL fandom and 8 novels in the Living Year to Year Series, 3 full stand by themselves novels (all published by Mysti Frank, agentwithstyle.com. She may have back copies. I write under Doreen Tracy, and who do I have Sam with? Al, of course. Who else? :)
 
If they could why wouldn't they? Al especially would never leave Sam hanging when it wasn't out of his control to. Remember: I was thinking of trying a couple of tin cans on a string.

Yeah, I agree. If they could make contact with Sam they would. There's no way Al would leave Sam out there on his own if he could do anything about it.

My guess is that if Sam continued to leap as himself and there was no one in the waiting room it would probably have to be Sam who makes the contact with the project, maybe through the neural link or maybe even by leaping back to the project between leaps -- if Sam is in control of his leaping as 'Mirror Image' seems to suggest I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do that.
 
My guess is that if Sam continued to leap as himself and there was no one in the waiting room it would probably have to be Sam who makes the contact with the project, maybe through the neural link or maybe even by leaping back to the project between leaps -- if Sam is in control of his leaping as 'Mirror Image' seems to suggest I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do that.

This is something that I want to explore in my own writing. Once Sam has control of his Leaping--whether it be that he can will himself places or that the project is able to successfully retrieve him--why couldn't he Leap home in between missions? That is usually my primary argument for those that say Sam could never Leap home because he knows there's so much good left to be done in the world. Just because he goes home, doesn't mean he can't keep on Leaping, too. :D
 
This is something that I want to explore in my own writing. Once Sam has control of his Leaping--whether it be that he can will himself places or that the project is able to successfully retrieve him--why couldn't he Leap home in between missions? That is usually my primary argument for those that say Sam could never Leap home because he knows there's so much good left to be done in the world. Just because he goes home, doesn't mean he can't keep on Leaping, too. :D

You know this exactly has been going through my mind recently. It's implied that Alia was able to be retrieved between leaps so why couldn't Sam having developed and accepted the knowledge that Al the Bartender gave him start leaping home every now and then in between putting wrongs right. Hell maybe even taking turns with Al so that lives beyond the limit of Sam's lifetime can also be touched such as Tom Jerett. Mirror's Edge explores there being a line for the accelerator established (since they of course had not expected Sam to be unable to return). Two people were queued, a young ambitious doctor named David and Al.
Personally I would have loved to see Al take on more leaps and see how he would have handled certain situations differently than Sam.
It would be the perfect way to have (god I can't believe I am about to quote this biatch) "the best of both worlds", to still be able to do what he loves, help people in need and yet still have his own life at home.
 
Personally I would have loved to see Al take on more leaps and see how he would have handled certain situations differently than Sam.
It would be the perfect way to have (god I can't believe I am about to quote this biatch) "the best of both worlds", to still be able to do what he loves, help people in need and yet still have his own life at home.

Hehehe... This is pretty much how I end my fanfiction series once Sam is brought home (which in my case, is 2003--8 years would have made a good run for the original television series). :D Not so much an ending, but the start of a new beginning... ;)
 
Such a continuation would far surpass anything involving Al and sammy-Jo as the new partnership. You can not have Al without Sam nor Quantum Leap without Sam.
 
Yes, in my opinion Sam's mind is unconsciously blocking out Donna because if he remembered her it would make him want to go home instead of continuing his mission that he wants to keep doing. Donna is a key person on the project and his wife. There really isn't any other way to reconcile why he remembers every other key person on the project but not his own wife -- and it's the one explanation that doesn't make Sam seem like a complete jerk.


I think it's easy to explain why Sam doesn't remember Donna, for a couple of reasons. He didn't remember every key person on the project. In the very beginning, he kept getting Gooshie and Ziggy mixed up, but Al is always talking to Gooshie and telling Sam what Ziggy thinks Sam is there to do, so Sam remembers who they are. Likewise, I don't remember when Tina was first introduced, but Al talks about Tina all the time. The first time Al mentioned Verbeena Beeks, the project psychiatrist (or maybe psychologist, I don't remember), Sam thought Al was talking about some kind of drug! Sam doesn't remember Donna because Al never, ever mentions her.

Yes, he ends up remembering his parents and siblings, but they have always been a part of his life, so things that happen in his leaps trigger memories of them. And, in fact, he remembered Donna when he leapt into the professor in Star Crossed. But our Sam has no memory of being married to her because, in his life experience, he never was. It's a paradox. That's why they weren't supposed to tamper with their own lives. When he made his first leap, he wasn't married. He changed the course of his own life by interacting with Donna in Star Crossed and, when he went home in the Leap Back, somehow his altered life entered his consciousness, but he never lived that life. To me, that's the flaw. He shouldn't have known who Donna was. Well, I guess he might have recognized her, but he shouldn't have known she was his wife. He asked her how he could have ever left her, but she wasn't his wife when he left!

Whatever, it's a sticky situation, but just the fact that Al specifically never mentions Donna is, to me, reason enough to understand why Sam never remembers her. Remembering tidbits about your family is understandable, but most people would want to forget someone who left them at the altar!

(You know, there was a foreshadowing that he was married early on, in the Americanization of Machismo, at the very end when he's about to get married. He's concerned that he's not going to leap out before the "I do's" and he says "Al, I'm sweating here!" Al says something like "Not like you've never been here before." Sam gets a very concerned look and asks "Am I married?" Al quickly says "Just kidding!", but, as he turns from Sam, he rolls his eyes as if to say that he almost blew it. The conversation ends there as the bride enters and the Wedding March begins.)