Leap Dates:

June 15, 1945
September 18, 1999
Unspecified Date in 1956

Teaser:

After a lightning strike simo-leaps them both, Sam and Al have switched places, with Al stuck in the year 1945 as an ex-POW returning from WWII and Sam confined to the Imaging Chamber which has been locked by mistake. Al must find a way to keep his host's former girlfriend from marrying someone else and Sam must get the Imaging Chamber door open so that he can save Al...and return home.

Audio from this episode:

Sam: I was home, back in my own time.

TV Guide Teaser:

Aftershocks from a previous leap cause Sam and Al to trade places: Sam is bumped back to his present, and Al leaps into a returning WWII POW. Donna: Mimi Kuzyk. Mike: Douglas Roberts. Clifford: Robert Prescott. Suzanne: Amanda Wyss. Sam: Scott Bakula.

Commercial:

Stallions Gate, New Mexico in 1999

The Catskills Mountains, New York (Unseen - Al tells Donna that Sam leaped into a Stand-up Comic in 1956)

September 18, 1999 (Sam & Al)

Unspecified Date in 1956 (Sam)

Season Four Main Titles:

Synopsis & Review:

(Note: From this point forward in this episode guide, text in yellow denotes events occuring in the Project Quantum Leap present time.)

After being struck by lightning while simultaneously receiving electroshock therapy, we see Sam leap to laying in the grass. Al is with him, and dressed in a WWII uniform, holding the gummybear handlink. Sam figures it out first, asking Al to come to him. Al attempts to walk through a cannon, and he bumps into it. Sam walks through it. Oh Boy!

Sam has a great time playing with being a hologram. Sam realizes they are before his lifetime, and must be within Al’s lifetime. He asks Al when he was born, and he only remembers June 15th. Swiss cheese seems to be getting to him just a bit. He also can’t remember his last name, thinking its Beckett. Al continues to call for Gooshie, and Sam notes that Ziggy won’t even be a gleam in his eye for 50 more years or so. (While Al is having a hard time with his memory, Sam’s all comes flooding back to him.) Sam states that leaping together must have merged their minds.

Sam says he needs to have the handlink, because he is the one in the imaging chamber. He realizes he is home, and looks for the door. He tries taking the handlink from Al, but of course he can’t.

The milkman pulls up, addressing Al as Tom. He tells Al that he just spend 3 years as a POW. Al starts talking about his time as a POW, eating rice, and the milkman is confused that the Germans fed him rice. Sam helps him through the exchange. The milkman asks about the handlink, and Al tell’s him that its a communication device that he is testing for the pentagon. Sam has Al ask how she is, because there is always a she. The milkman tells us that Suzanne’s fine. But it was a shock to her that he was still alive. Everyone thought he was dead.

Al’s memories aren’t direct, but he remembers somewhere inside of him. He says she didn’t have to tell him, he already knew, and asked when she got married. Milkman tells us that she hasn't yet, the wedding is on the 17th., and today is June 15th. Al proclaims that that is his birthday, but milkman tells him that his birthday is in April, same as his. We blame it on jetlag. He gives Al a bottle of milk and goes into the diner to have Kelly make him breakfast.

Al asks Sam why he feels weird. Sam tells him about how he was a POW and about Beth remarrying. (it sure doesn’t seem that Al was leapt here as a coincidence) Sam says without Ziggy, they won’t know what he is supposed to change. He wants to know why Gooshie isn’t opening the door, he should be monitoring the situation. (The project team from 2022 sure would be monitoring! Maybe this is the reason for the 360 cameras they have now).

Sam says that for them to have leaped together, they would have had to be at ground zero during an atomic detonation or been struck by lightning. Al remembers the lightning. Ziggy would have seen it as a catastrophic collapse of the radium accelerator ring surrounding the imaging chamber. Ziggy would have sealed the chamber to protect the project from radiation. And once it’s been sealed, Ziggy can’t open it until the halflife of the radiation, 1600 years. But there is a failsafe! The door can be opened from the inside! With the handlink.

Inside the diner, Al gets served a hero’s breakfast. He asks for sweet n low and has to make up that it is something the government designed just for military rations. Some of Al’s characteristics are bleeding through to Sam, and he comments on Kelly’s chest. We learn that the milkman is named Mike, and they are married. Sam makes some more Al-inappropriate jokes, and gets mad at Al realizing that he got Al’s lecherous side during the leap. Al comes off looking like a crazy person to Mike and Kelly.

Enter Suzanne. She kisses Al deeply. But we are reminded that she is supposed to be marrying Cliffard, who suddenly got flat feet and is classified 4F so he didn’t get drafted. But he did organize the biggest scrap-metal drive in the state of Indiana. Kelly says now that Tom is back, Suzanne should marry him. Sam says Al must be here to get Suzanne to sleep with him, or Marry him. Al repeats “Marry Me?” to Sam, and Suzanne takes it as a proposal and says yes, with another kiss.

Enter Cliffard. Obviously very upset to see his fiance kissing someone else. Sam continues to act Al-like, and they tell Cliff that Suzanne and Tom are going to be married. Al challenged Cliff to a fight. Al pulls a Sam move and kicks Cliff, winning the fight.

Mike gives Al a ride home. He tells him he’ll bring the Cherry Buster, his car, to him later this afternoon. Al sees a beautiful woman and has pure thoughts. Sam sneaks up on him and scares him, sighting revenge.

He tells Al at he remembered he made a backdoor code that will override Ziggy. He just has to get the code to Gooshy. (Since Gooshy is the programmer, shouldn’t he have this code already??) Al remembers that it’s Sept 18th, 1999, since this 5th wife is suing him for more alimony.

Sam proposes that they mail a letter to his dads attorney, Doc Crosnoff, with instructions to deliver it Sept 18th, 1999. Along with $100. {According to Inflation Calculator, $100 in 1945 would be worth $925 in 1999; $757 in 1991 when the episode aired, or $1693 today}

Al has the letter but isn’t sure its going to work. Sam starts to get his memory back, as we hear the Home theme. He remembers Donna, and wants to know why Al didn’t tell him. He says he couldn’t. Al drops the letter into the mailbox. Instantaneously, the imaging chamber door opens. Sam goes through into a hallway, and Al and the hologram around him disappear.

Sam proceeds to the control room and is greeted by Donna.They hug. She tells him it wasn’t his fault that he forgot her. We learn here that Donna is his wife, and the events of Star Cross worked. He goes on to greet Gooshie, who says the letter arrived today, 54 years 7 months and 6 days after it was mailed. He greets Vermeer, who still doesn’t get any lines, and gives her a double cheek kiss. We meet Tina, who proclaims that he sounds just like Al.

{There is a deleted scene from the script, explaining what is missing here. Verbena and Sam have an exchange about the cheek kiss, she says he needs to be examined, and the other officer says that he needs to be briefed. Sam makes an Al joke about not wearing any briefs, and that is what Tina is referring to here. But this is the line that had previously led me to think that they were seeing Al’s aura here instead of Sam for himself.}

Sam hugs Tina, who says he even hugs like Al. Sam asks whats happening with Al, but they don’t know, because Ziggy was never loaded with information before Sam’s birth. They are loading 1945 data as fast as they can, but it could be days before Ziggy gets a theory on what Al is there to do.

Sam goes to greet Ziggy, who is a little annoyed that she was last to be greeted. Instead of having anything helpful to say, Ziggy makes some innuendo about Sam and Donna having fun tonight, and states that Al will kiss the girls and make them cry, to which Tina reacts. Ziggy says she was doing well absorbing the year until FDR died and it depressed her. She needs 11.6 hours, and tells them goodnight. Sam questions why he gave her Barbra Streisand’s ego.

Back in 1945, Al is with Suzanne kissing in the car at Lover’s Lane.. Al is being Sam-y and resisting. Suzanne says it happens to all the boys who have been in the war. She tells him that after she thought he died, she cried her eyes out for 2 years, and then waited another year before getting together with Clifford. (Hasn’t it only been 3 years total and your wedding is scheduled for two days from now??) Al takes over.

At the project, Sam and Donna kiss under the stars. Sam looks at the star Megrez, 54 light years from earth, born in 1945. He is worried that Al can’t handle leaping. He is mad at Al for not telling him about Donna. She says she asked him not to tell, because Sam wouldn’t have acted freely if he knew he was married. He says the leaps are now becoming a blur, a reverse swiss cheese effect.

Ziggy interrupts them. She says there is a 81.6% chance Al is there to prevent Tom and Suzanne from commiting suicide. (If that happened, why is it only an 81.6%? Why did it take so long to identify that they both died that day?)

Sam flirts with Ziggy and Beaks checks his vitals. Ziggy reports that the local paper says that Tom and Suzanne drove hic convertible off of Lover’s Leap. Ziggy is confused why they would do this, and Sam tells her to check Shakespeare. She tells us that she has a million gigabyte capacity, and is quite capable of rubbing her tummy patting her head and doing a trillion floating point operations at once (actually, Ziggy, you can’t rub your tummy or pat your head) {the human brain is said to have 2.5 million Gigabites of storage capacity, so Ziggy seems to be lacking!} She finished Shakespeare in about 15 seconds. Sam goes into the imaging chamber.

Suzanne admires the handlink, and Al remembers that he doesn’t smoke. Suzanne leaves to go to the bathroom and Sam tells Al about the suicide. Al says suicide is the furthest thing from her mind, and says it must be murder. Suzanne screams. Al finds her, and Clifford hits Al over the head. They are both passed out, as Sam realizes there is nothing he can do to help. Ziggy tells him (verbally in the imaging chamber, which never ever happens again - maybe Ziggy only WANTS to talk to Sam) that Al should regain consciousness in 8.7 minutes, but is set to die in 5.2 minutes. She also tells Sam that Tina is having an affair with Gooshie.

Sam gets an idea of how to help Al. He leaves the imaging chamber, and tells Gooshie to activate the accelerator chamber. He has Tina get him a Fermi suit. He tells Donna that he is going to leap into Al. His subconscious has been working on how to leap to specific target and now knows how (maybe share that info??). He says Al will leap back int othe imaging chamber, and he’ll leap into 1945 to stop Clifford. Donna objects that can’t leave before his lifetime, but Sam says part of him is Al now. They should use the retrieval program to get him back. Ziggy says the odds of retrieval are only 9.6%. She doesn't want to let him go. But Al has saved his life 23 times. He has to do it. Ziggy counts down the seconds until Al’s death. Sam swears he'll be back, kisses Donna, and goes into the accelerator. Donna, Gooshie, Tina, and others from the project surround Ziggy and the control panel. Two technicians hold magna-link devices. As Donna fires the accelerator, streams of energy connect to the magna-links and Sam leaps!

Clifford puts Al and Suzanne into the car, about to push it over. Sam leaps into Tom, and takes down Clifford (who falls down the cliff and dies?)

Al has a headache. Tina is happy to have him back. They run the retrieval program. It does not work. Sam checks on Suzanne, then attempts to use the handlink. He realizes he is stuck here.

Al tells Donna that Sam leaped, just after Suzanne regained consciousness. He is now a commediate in the Catskills in 1956. He doesn’t remember Donna, or even the fact that he and Al leaped together. She tells Al to not remind him, and says he’ll come back again.

She asks Ziggy to locate a star 43 lightyears from Earth. She tells Sam she loves him, and we hear Sam tell Donna he loves her. *Synopsis by Stacie Wilcox

Let's just say this... After initially watching this episode during an MLK Jr. Day marathon a few years back (so, this was on a Monday), I watched it once a day, every day, for the next week.... Basically, I love it.

Music:

"Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" by Louis Jordan plays in the car when Al kisses Suzanne.

Project Trivia:

Ziggy will seal the Imaging Chamber door if she detects a catastrophic collapse of the radium accelerator ring surrounding the Imaging Chamber. Once the door is sealed, it can't be opened until the radiation half-life of the radium ring has expired. The length of the half-life is 1,600 years.

Al and Sam's neurons and mesons merged during the simo-leap, which allowed Sam to Leap before his birth. It also caused problems by making Al a prude and Sam rude.

There is enough air in the Imaging Chamber to sustain a single person for six months.

Sam still calls Ziggy "him", even after Ziggy speaks with a female voice.

An object (in this case, the Handlink) can be leaped out along with the Leaper.

According to a cut scene from the original script, the Handlink costs $1M for each charge.

We find out that the white outfit Sam wore when leaping initially is called a Fermi Suit.

The leapee's name here is Tom Jarrett. In about 30 years, Dr. Ben Song would leap into another Jarrett from the episode "Against Time", as Ricky Jarrett, Jr.

The future of Quantum Leap was very advanced compared to what it actually turned out to be in 1999. And far more colorful! Have a look:

Sam's Women:

Sam finds Suzanne attractive. " If a pound of butter's all it takes, then I got me a dairy farm that I---"

He reunites with his wife, Donna Elesee Beckett.

Miscellaneous Trivia:

This was the first time Scott Bakula and Dennis Wolfberg had ever met. Even though Wolfberg appeared in the Pilot epsiode, his scene was filmed separately.

Along with "Private Dancer" , this episode tied for the most watched episode of the series with 14.1 million viewers!

The mailing of the letter in order to get information quickly from the past to the future was taken from "Back to the Future Part II" which had been released very recently in 1989.

The estimated budget for the Control Room set was over $31,000.

We never hear Dr. Beeks speak in either of the episodes she appeared in!

It is possible that Donna is sometimes married to Sam, and sometimes not, as time is always in a state of flux. We never hear another mention of Donna in the series. She is in some of the Novels, but not all. Sam's wife is not mentioned in another televised episode until Episode 201 of the 2022 Revival Series, "This Took Too Long!"

According to Ziggy, Al has save Sam's life 23 times. Throughout the series to this point, 23 directly involved times are not shown.

While it has been widely accepted that the Project's bad-breathed programmer is named Gooshie, the closing credits spell it "Gushie."

Deborah Pratt recalled when she became the voice of Ziggy: “We needed a voice for Ziggy, and I was there, and I had this very deep voice that I could articulate. And it was a bit androgynous, so we didn’t know if it was male or female. Machines don’t necessarily have to be male or female, but because of the intimacy between Dr. Beckett and his creation 'Ziggy' there was a thing.”

Scott Bakula didn't think it was the best idea to make Sam married, partly due to the infidelity issues that creates as he continues leaping.

The control room had a real waterfall wall.

Season Four Saga-Sell Intro:

Guest Cast:

Mimi Kuzyk as Donna Elesee-Beckett
Amanda Wyss as Suzanne Elsinga
Douglas Roberts as Mike Marchezak
Robert Prescott as Clifford White
Candy Ann Brown as Verbeena Beeks
Jeanine Jackson as Kelly Marchezak
Dennis Wolfberg as Gooshie
Gigi Rice as Tina
Susan Ann Connor as Naval Admiral
Deborah Pratt as Ziggy
Dean Denton as Captain Tom Jarrett (Mirror image)
Bob Harks as Townsman

In the photo below, three members of PQL are never named:
Unknown as Project QL Woman (shadow in foreground, right)
Unknown as Project QL Man holding Magna Link I (back, far right)
Unknown as Project QL Man holding Magna Link II (foreground, far left)

See these props and a video on our Props page in the Imaging Chamber.

Guest Cast Notes:

Mimi Kuzyk as Donna Elesee-Beckett: Mimi Kuzyk is a Winnipeg born actress, best know for her roles in the series Hill Street Blues (1981) and Blue Murder (2001). Mimi grew up in Winnipeg with her brother and five sisters. She discovered her love of dance at the age of eight. Following her passion, Mimi joined the Rusalka Folk Ensemble, which she would participate in as both a dancer and a choreographer for the next fifteen years. Realizing she was happiest on stage, Mimi decided to pursue an acting career in Toronto. After a series of commercials and small TV roles, Mimi moved to LA in 1983. After a only a short time in LA, she landed a recurring role as Patsy Mayo in the series Hill Street Blues (1981). This hit show was undoubtedly the making of Mimi's career; but she considers her greatest achievement to be her daughter, Kaliopi. After a lengthy career is in LA, Mimi has returned to Toronto and continues to work. She enjoys quiet times reading the classics with her cats.

Mimi's film credits include Camille (2008), opposite Sienna Miller and James Franco, The Human Stain (2003), starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, as well as the science fiction thrillers The Final Cut (2004) with Robin Williams, and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). Her extensive body of film work also includes Lost and Delirious (2001), which earned Ms. Kuzyk a Genie nomination for Best Supporting Actress. On television, Ms. Kuzyk has recently been seen in guest starring roles on such hit shows as Ghost Whisperer (2005) and NCIS (2003). She is well recognized for her role as Detective Patsy Mayo on HIll Street Blues. Her performance as "Rita Kapeli" in the CBC drama Little Criminals (1996), and as Deputy Chief Kay Barrow in Blue Murder (2001) earned her Gemini nominations for Best Supporting Actress. In 2013 she was introduced to the world of motion capture in the video game Splinter Cell: Black List. Her recent credits include Pegasus Vs. Chimera (2012), A Very Merry Mix-Up (2013), and Sorority Surrogate (2014). She also stars with an incredible ensemble of Canadian stars in the independent film Sex After Kids (2013).

Amanda Wyss as Suzanne Elsinga: Born and raised in Manhattan Beach, California, Amanda Wyss, was discovered playing the titular character (Rhoda Penmark) in a production of "The Bad Seed" at an LA theater. She quickly found work in commercials before landing a guest starring role in television's science fiction hit Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), followed by a recurring role on When the Whistle Blows (1980). She won a Best Young Artist award for her work in the ABC After School Special She Drinks a Little (1981), before sharing the stage with Eva Marie Saint in the stage production of "The Country Girl". Major motion pictures came next, including hits such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Better Off Dead (1985), Silverado (1985) and the award-winning indie film, Powwow Highway (1988). She has worked extensively in television, with recurring roles on Cheers (1982), St. Elsewhere (1982), Cagney & Lacey (1981), Highlander (1992) and more recently, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Dexter (2006), Murder in the First (2014) and All Rise (2019), among many other guest starring roles. She was awarded Best Actress honors at the Santa Monica International Film Festival for the horror film Oct 23rd (2016), she starred alongside genre favorites in the Syfy Channel original movie, The Sandman (2017) produced by the legendary Stan Lee, and broke hearts in her critically acclaimed performance in the award winning drama,The Id (2015). Next, she made a return to westerns with her award winning turn in, Badland (2019). Is known as Freddy Krueger's very first murder victim in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the first of the series.

Douglas Roberts as Mike Marchezak: Douglas Roberts was born on September 29, 1961 in the USA. He is an actor, known for Patch Adams (1998), The Rapture (1991) and Envy (2004).

Robert Prescott as Clifford White: Robert Trout Prescott was born on May 17, 1957 in Detroit, Michigan. His father, John Sherwin Prescott Jr. (deceased), worked in management at several large city newspapers (Detroit, Baltimore, Miami, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.). His mother, Robin Balch Prescott, is a doctor of speech and audiology who taught and did ground-breaking work in the field of cued speech. Prescott changed schools often from K-12. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a degree in English. He then moved to New York City and studied acting at the Bill Esper Studio with Joanne Baron and continued at the Joanne Baron Studio. Upon completing the two year program, he was cast in Joy of Sex (1984) by director Martha Coolidge (an overlooked gem from the early 1980s golden age of low-budget teen comedies), which brought him to Los Angeles for the first time. He spent the next 10 years in Los Angeles acting in movies (Bachelor Party (1984), Real Genius (1985)), television pilots, television guest spots (numerous), and was a founding member of two theatre groups -- the JamCenter and the Whitefire Theatre. Rather discouraged and dissatisfied with his life in Los Angeles, Prescott chose to move back to New York City and step away from the business ("I needed to do something else, or more like, I had to do something else.") He taught and coached basketball at Martin Luther King High School in Manhattan. He tended bar in the Lower East Side, and worked a construction job at Ground Zero in the months after 9/11. He gradually resumed his acting career and began working on television episodes shot in New York City: The Sopranos (1999), Damages (2007), Blue Bloods (2010), Trinity (1998), Deadline (2000), Third Watch (1999), New York Undercover (1994), C.P.W. (1995) and Law & Order (1990). He acted in New York City and regional theatre, and has appeared in dozens of commercials. He acted in New York City area movies: Gun Hill Road (2011), The Bourne Legacy (2012), Cold Comes the Night (2013), Burn After Reading (2008), and Michael Clayton (2007), in which he unsuccessfully attempted to explode George Clooney.

Candy Ann Brown as Verbeena Beeks: Candy Ann Brown was born on August 19, 1958 in San Rafael, Marin County, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Ali (2001), Baby Boy (2001) and Quantum Leap (1989).

Jeanine Jackson as Kelly Marchezak: Jeanine Jackson is known for Somebody I Used to Know (2023), Election (1999) and Red Dragon (2002).

Dennis Wolfberg as Gooshie: Dennis Wolfberg was born on March 29, 1946 in New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Quantum Leap (1989), The Clairvoyant (1982) and Teacher Teacher (1990). He was married to Jeannie McBride. He died on October 3, 1994 in Culver City, California, USA.

Gigi Rice as Tina: Gigi Rice was born on March 13, 1965 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. She is an actress, known for A Night at the Roxbury (1998), The Man (2005) and The John Larroquette Show (1993). She has been married to Ted McGinley since June 21, 1991. They have two children. Check out Gigi in Night at the Roxbury below:

Susan Ann Connor as Naval Admiral: Susan Ann Connor is known for Casual Sex? (1988), Quantum Leap (1989) and Capitol (1982).

Deborah Pratt as Ziggy: Deborah M. Pratt is an American Director, Writer, Producer, Singer, Dancer, and Actress. After graduating from Webster University with a degree in Psychology and Theatre, she won a nationwide talent search and came to Hollywood under contract to NBC. She wrote songs and sang on multiple albums, started acting, writing and producing. After starring in multiple pilots and writing for the shows she had been reoccurring on, she co-Created, worked her way through the ranks and became Executive producer and head writer on the iconic series Quantum Leap (1989) for NBC for which she penned 25 episodes and co-wrote an additional 15. She Executive Produced and worked as the head writer for Tequila and Bonetti (1992) for CBS. Ms. Pratt co-Created for television and Executive Produced The Net (1998) for USA network. She wrote for multiple television series. As a writer, Ms. Pratt sold features to Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox animation. She is a proud, award-winning graduate of the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women and made her directorial debut with Cora Unashamed (2000) was for the BBC, PBS, and Masterpiece Theatre's The American Collection.

Deborah is a five-time Emmy nominee, a Golden Globe nominee, and recipient of The Lillian Gish Award from Women in Film, The Angel Award, The Golden Block Award, and Five Black Emmy Nominees Awards. She has written to direct multiple feature films including the biographic screenplay for her epic, 17th century love story "Chevalier & Antoinette" and "Heartswear" about Black, Chicago attorney Mattie Tatum who returns to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to defend and save her White, childhood best friend Nadine Palmer for the murder of her abusive husband.

Dean Denton as Captain Tom Jarrett (Mirror image): Dean Denton was born in Dermott, Arkansas. He was raised in McGehee and Conway, Arkansas. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1981. During his freshman year, he auditioned for and was cast in a minor role in a TV mini series, "The Blue and the Gray" that was being shot around campus and Northwest Arkansas. While working on this production, Dean met Stacy Keach. Stacy encouraged Dean to move to Los Angeles or New York to break into acting. Before taking Keach's advice, Dean moved to Dallas and studied acting with Adam Roarke and Lou Diamond Phillips at the Film Actors Lab. After several years of working on numerous commercials, films and TV projects in Texas, Dean moved to Los Angeles in 1989. The first week in LA, Dean booked his first acting role, which was a small role on the TV show "Days of Our Lives." That role led to bigger roles and an agent. Dean has appeared in over 55 TV, film and commercial projects. Dean is married to Julie Denton, first cousin to the actor Josh Lucas of "Sweet Home Alabama."

Bob Harks as Townsman: Harks came in at the tail end of the television western era, it was only natural for him to find work on the unpaved streets of several television westerns like Bonanza and Gunsmoke. With the downturn of popularity in westerns, Harks made the transition from a cowboy to a detective. Over the next 15 years, he would frequently be seen on shows like Kojak where he'd appear around the squad room and also on shows like Lou Grant where he'd make crosses. In the early 1970s, Harks gained work as a utility stand-in on the Bill Bixby show The Magician and it would be his big break. Both he and fellow Magician stand-in Edna Ryan would later find themselves working on another show Bixby starred in called "The Incredible Hulk." Bixby was very fond of Bob and would frequently have him appear in roles that require Hark to be upgraded to a pay rate than you usual extra role. Harks would usually drive the car that would either pick up Bixby at the end of the episode or he would use his car to pass Bixby's character up as he was hitchhiking to his next destination. After the closing of The Incredible Hulk, Harks got regular work as Bixby's stand-in on the short lived show Goodnight Beantown. As Bixby's career started to wind down, Harks found work as a stand-in on the show Alien Nation and he worked on it for the rest of his career not only appearing in the series but also most of the subsequent television movies. It was during this time that Harks decided to retire and move Wisconsin to be closer to his sister Sue and the rest of his family bringing a 30+ year career to a close.

Guests Who Appeared in Other Quantum Leap Episodes:

Candy Ann Brown plays Verbena Beeks in "Shock Theater".

Dennis Wolfberg plays Gooshie in "Genesis, Part I", "Lee Harvey Oswald", "Killin' Time", and "Mirror Image".

Bob Harks also appeared as Club Member in "Liberation" and Violin Player in "Memphis Melody."

Say What?

When Sam leaped at the end of Shock Theater, he seems to have taken Sam Beederman's clothes with him! Is Beederman laying naked on the shock table? And is Nurse Chatam now fired (or worse) for shocking him? What will hapen to Beederman now that all the doctors think he has/had multiple personalities?

There is a some ambiguity as to whose persona Sam is inhabiting when he returns to his own time, his own or Al's. Sam leaps into Al's location in the Imaging Chamber (rather into his persona's own location, the Waiting Room). Tina remarks that Sam sounds just like Al. At no point does the audience see Sam's reflection. Of course, no one says explicitly that Sam is in Al's persona but no one says explicitly that he is in his own. Additionally, Sam is wearing neither Al's nor his own clothes (see above). Problem is if Sam leapt into Al's persona, wouldn't he be holding the handlink and wearing Al's clothes ... There seems to be no logical explanation as to why Sam lept into the Imaging Chamber. There is a deleted scene from the script, explaining what is missing when Tina comments that Sam "sounds like Al." Verbena and Sam have an exchange about the cheek kiss, she says he needs to be examined, and the other officer says that he needs to be briefed. Sam makes an Al joke about not wearing any briefs, and that is what Tina is referring to here. But this is the line that had previously led us to think that they were seeing Al’s aura here instead of Sam for himself.

The clock in the background when Sam is walking through the cannon doesn't have any hands.

Sam says that Beth remarried after Al was M.I.A. for four years, but it was only two years.

A calendar in the diner shows the date as July 1945 but in a different shot, it changes to a different style calendar and shows June 1945.

The 4F classification that Clifford was given in order to stay out of the war is a real military classification, but wasn't invented until the Vietnam War era.

The Imaging Chamber Door closes quite a bit slower than had been previously seen throughout the series.

There is a real-life Crown Point, Indiana. However, there are no cliffs nearby as the area is primarily flat.

Ziggy can be heard from inside the Imaging Chamber. So why on Earth has Al been beating up Handlinks to read pieces of the missions all these years if Ziggy could just tell him? Was this just recently fixed? Did it break right after this episode?

Why didn't we see Al's Leapee in the Waiting Room during this episode? Was Tom Jarrett left alone most of the time?

Why couldn’t they leap Sam back a little earlier in the timeline, like they would later do with Bingo? This was cutting it awfully close.

If they have the ability to leap someone into someone else, why can’t Al and Sam take turns leaping? Leap Al into Sam so that Sam can spend some time at home. Tag team leaping.

How many TOM’s have we met in QL? Sam’s 1st leap, Al’s leap here, Sam’s brother, Tom Westfall, and many other leaps (Honeymoon Express Tom McBride, Running for Honor Tommy York) had Toms.

Screen Used Props:

Project Quantum Leap I.D. Badges
Produced for "The Leap Back"
Thanks to owner Gene Crowell and Matt Dale for photos

Tina's ID badge is bottom left with "462" in the top right-hand corner! It was screen-used, but the other 3 were not seen on-screen.

Project Quantum Leap I.D. Badges
Screen worn on the television show
Thanks to T R Solano

Project Quantum Leap Wristlink
Screen worn on the television show
Thanks to T R Solano

Quotable Quotes:

Al....Whooomp whoomp whooomp hahahaha!
-- Sam, slapping Al in a Three Stooges-like fashion. "The Leap Back"

Come on you rotten pile of Gummi Bears!
-- Al, "The Leap Back" <smacking the handlink>

Do you know what this means?
What?
It's MY turn to slip into the powder room like the Invisible Man ...it's my turn.
-- Sam and Al "The Leap Back"

Al, my name is Al...
Al what?
You think I've forgotten my last name?
I'm about to bet on it.
Well, you'd lose...it's Beckett...Al Beckett.
It's Calavicci...Al Calavicci.
Calavicci? It's not Beckett?
No.
Well, then who the hell is Beckett?
Me...I'm Beckett.
-- Al and Sam, discussing Al's swiss-cheesed memory, "The Leap Back"

Oh, how?
How?
There's nobody home.
-- Al and Sam, "The Leap Back"

Yeah, this is Top Secret and I'm evaluating it for the Pentagon.
That's good enough, put it away.
Put it away.
-- Al and Sam, making an explanation about the handlink, "The Leap Back"

Ask him, how she is.
How she is.
-- Sam and Al, "The Leap Back"

Are you okay?
I'm just a little woozy from the le...uh, flight.
Good catch.
-- Mike the milkman, Al, and Sam, "The Leap Back"

Happy milkman?
-- Sam, "The Leap Back"

Unless..
I'm don't think I'm going to like this unless.
-- Sam and Al "The Leap Back"

Why do I feel this is gonna be a big number.
-- Al, talking about the half-life of a radium ring, "The Leap Back"

Yumola!
-- Sam, looking at the calendar girl, "The Leap Back"

Boy, did they have women with Big Kasooms!
-- Sam, commenting on Kelly, "The Leap Back"

Are you forgetting who slips you a pound of butter now and then?
I didn't know I was swapping sugar for it.
Well, if a pound of butter is all it takes... I got me a dairy farm that I've...
Stop that!
-- Mike, Kelly, Sam and Al, "The Leap Back"

Oh my Go--, you've got a filthy mind!
YOU'RE the one saying all the dirty things!
-- Sam and Al, talking about the personality switch, "The Leap Back"

I'm sorry Tom, I guess we all have to wash our minds up after this war.
Yeah, especially *HIM*!
-- Kelly and Al, talking about Sam's comments, "The Leap Back"

Al...Al, if you keep this up I'm gonna have to throw a bucket of cold water to separate you two.
-- Sam, commenting on Al's and Suzanne's kissing, "The Leap Back"

Aha, Al... I think that's why you're here... you're here to get Suzanne to sleep with you... marry you.
-- Sam, "The Leap Back"

Ok, Al... get ready to leap!
-- Sam, "The Leap Back"

What are you doing?
Sucking face, pal, with my buddy here, it's very big in the 60's ... 80's.  Sucka... sucka... sucka...
Will you shut up!
-- Clifford, Sam and Al, "The Leap Back"

Well, you're about to find out, Knucklenose!
-- Sam, "The Leap Back"

What are my mother and father going to say about that?
Cancel the church... cancel the reception... cancel the tux, the cake...
-- Clifford and Sam, "The Leap Back"

It's only natural that you have some old yearnings.
Boy, I'd like to satisfy 'em!
-- Clifford and Sam, commenting on Suzanne, "The Leap Back"

Like running barefoot through sprinklers.
I like running barefoot through sprinklers.
Me too.
-- Clifford, Al and Suzanne, "The Leap Back"

You flat-footed, egg-sucking, chicken turd!!
Why don't you tell him how you really feel, Mike?
-- Mike and Kelly, about Clifford, "The Leap Back"

Only we didn't get all the glory.
You just got all the women.
-- Clifford and Al, "The Leap Back"

Well, I'll tell you something... I just had one of Kelly's breakfasts and I feel like I could take on Mike Tyson.
-- Al, "The Leap Back"

We don't even know why you're here.
I think I'm here to kick Clifford's butt!
-- Al, "The Leap Back"

I didn't know you knew how to do that.
I didn't either.
-- Sam and Al, about the kick, "The Leap Back"

You think a one-legged man could do that move?
Uh, sure, if you could drive this truck... worst thing that could happen is that you'd end up on your butt.
-- Mike and Al, about the kick, "The Leap Back"

This isn't fair... Sam!  A beautiful body like that and I'm just thinking pure thoughts!  Damnit!
-- Al, talking about the blonde walking by, "The Leap Back"

Hello Bay-bee!
Don't do that!
Revenge is mine, thus sayeth the hologram!
-- Sam and Al, "The Leap Back"

We'll mail Doc Croznoff a letter with say... a hundred dollars.
For the stamp?
-- Sam and Al, "The Leap Back"

Well, Ziggy you're looking very user friendly.
I see that simo-leaping with Admiral Calavicci has had a positive effect on you.  You're in for some pleasant surprises Dr. Elesee.
-- Sam and Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

Ziggy!
Yesssssssss?
Do you have enough...
...data to give you a reasonable, accurate projection as to why Admiral Calavicci has leapt into Crown Pointe, Indiana in the year 1945?
Yes!
No.
-- Sam and Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

Do you have any data on Admiral Calavicci?
He'll kiss the girls and make them cry.
Oh, ain't that the truth.
-- Sam, Ziggy and Tina, "The Leap Back"

Actually, I was doing quite well absorbing the year until Franklin Delano Roosevelt died...it depressed me.
-- Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

I believe your brain is still slightly magnafluxed, Dr. Beckett... or you'd remember, I never experience guilt.  That's a flaw only found in human computers.  Good night, Doctor... have fun you two.
-- Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

Ziggy!
It won't do you any good.
Why did I give him Barbara Streisand's ego?
-- Sam and Donna, "The Leap Back"

Clifford...what a nozzle!
-- Al, "The Leap Back"

What were you doing up here?
Well, uh...
Were you parking in Lover's Lane with that draft dodging nozzle while your boyfriend was risking his life for his country?
I thought you died for your country.
-- Al and Suzanne, "The Leap Back"

And every time Clifford kissed me.  I'd close my eyes and pretend it was you.
Take a hike, Mr. Morals... Calavicci's taking over!
-- Suzanne and Al, "The Leap Back"

You have great eyes.
Are you talking about how they look or my vision?
Yes.
-- Sam and Donna, "The Leap Back"

God I wish he was here.
I know.
So I could kick his butt!
-- Sam and Donna, talking about Al, "The Leap Back"

Sorry to interrupt your first night of matrimonial bliss in four years...
-- Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

That was a quickie, Dr. Beckett.
-- Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

What do you got on Al?
He's 175.26 centimeters tall, weighs 70.91...
Ziggy!
Yes, Doctor?
Give me what I want, baby!
Ooh, if you weren't my FATHER!
-- Sam and Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

...the Crown Point Gazette... isn't THAT a parochial name?
-- Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

Why do human beings die for love?
Check Shakespeare.
Thank you, Doctor.
Not now!
Why not?  With a million gigabyte capacity I'm quite capable of rubbing my tummy, patting my head, and doing a trillion floating point operations at once.
-- Ziggy and Sam, "The Leap Back"

Maybe it just needs a little encouragement too.
-- Suzanne, about the handlink, "The Leap Back"

Al, you didn't!
Sam!
Who?
How could you! ... of course how could you not.
-- Sam, Al and Suzanne, "The Leap Back"

Look, we need to talk alone, okay?  Where's a Men's Room when you need one.
-- Sam, "The Leap Back"

Oh, you poor baby.
Oh, boy.
-- Suzanne and Al, "The Leap Back"

Sam!
What am I doing?
You Dog!
Well, it's your filthy mind!
Well, I want my mind back!  These choir boy thoughts are driving me nuts!
Well they didn't seem to stop you a few minutes ago.
-- Al and Sam, "The Leap Back"

I've never experienced anything quite like that and I guess I owe that to you.
Yeah, well, I guess I owe you one too.
Just one?
-- Al and Sam, "The Leap Back"

In an apparent double su... double su... <smack>... icide...  suicide, a double suicide!
-- Sam, on the handlink, "The Leap Back"

Damnit, Ziggy! Tell me something I don't know!
Tina is having an affair with Gooshie.
-- Sam and Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

Mmm... GREAT legs, Doctor.
-- Ziggy to Sam, "The Leap Back"

I can't let him die.
And I can't let you go.
-- Sam and Donna, "The Leap Back"

How many times has Al saved my life?
23.
-- Sam and Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

Sam... I love you.
I love you too.
-- Sam and Donna, before Sam leaps again, "The Leap Back"

I love you, Sam.
I love you, Donna.
-- Donna and Sam, as Donna gazes at a 1956 star, "The Leap Back"

Who's going to wait 54 years to deliver a letter?
The post office.
-- Al and Sam, "The Leap Back"

Doctor Beckett, I should warn you that Clifford... too late.
-- Ziggy, "The Leap Back"

Ziggy's not even gonna be a gleam in my eye for another 50 years or so.
-- Sam, "The Leap Back"

You are an amazing woman Donna.
-- Al (to Donna Elesee), "The Leap Back"

Al's Best Line:

(gorgeous woman walks by)

AL: This isn't fair. Sa-am... A beautiful body like that, and I'm just thinking pure thoughts? Dammit!

Deleted Scene:

There is a deleted scene from the script, explaining what is missing when Tina comments that Sam "sounds like Al." Verbena and Sam have an exchange about the cheek kiss, she says he needs to be examined, and the other officer says that he needs to be briefed. Sam makes an Al joke about not wearing any briefs, and that is what Tina is referring to here. But this is the line that had previously led me to think that they were seeing Al’s aura here instead of Sam for himself.

Script:

Production Credits:

Theme by: Mike Post
Music by: Velton Ray Bunch
Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt
Co-Executive Producer: Michael Zinberg
Supervising Producer: Harker Wade
Produced by: Jeff Gourson, Tommy Thompson
Produced by: Chris Ruppenthal, Paul Brown
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario
Written by: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: Michael Zinberg

Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario
Associate Producer: James S. Giritlian
Coordinating Producer: David Bellisario
Story Editor: Paris Qualles
Director of Photography: Michael Watkins, A.S.C.
Production Designer: Cameron Birnie
Edited by: Jon Koslowsky
Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow
First Assistant Director: Ryan Gordon
Second Assistant Director: Kate Yurka
Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky
Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox
Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisor: David Rawley
Art Director: Ellen Dambros-Williams
Sound Mixer: Barry D. Thomas
Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth
Sound Editor: Greg Schorer
Music Editor: Bruce Frazier

Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®

This motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

Copyright © 1991 by Universal City Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Bellisarius Productions and Universal, an MCA Company

Podcasts:

Quantum Leap Podcast - The Leap Back

Bring the synchrotron online. It’s time for The Leap Back!

Join hosts Allison Pregler, Matt Dale and Christopher DeFilippis in this bonus-sized celebration of Quantum Leap’s fourth season opener — chock full of simuleaps, hand link porn, Donna drama and post-coital stargazing.

Listen to The Quantum Leap Podcast on this episode here: