Leap Dates:
March 21, 1963
October 5, 1957
January 6, 1959
October 21, 1959
April 10, 1963
August 9, 1963
October 21, 1963
November 21 & 22, 1963

Episode Adopted by: Steve <aka> RossBeckett & Brian Greene

Teaser:

For the first time ever, Sam leaps into a notable figure in history! He has leaped into the life of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who supposedly murdered President John F. Kennedy. As Sam leaps back and forth several times throughout Oswald's life, his and Oswalds' minds become intertwined to the point that Sam finds himself about to pull the trigger from the Texas Schoolbook Depository window.

Audio from this episode:

Sam: You can't leap isolated mesons and neurons without drawing other neuro-energy with it!

TV Guide Synopsis
Places
Leap Dates
Project Dates
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Broadcast Date
Synopsis & Review
Music
Project Trivia
Sam Trivia
Al Trivia
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Miscellaneous Trivia
Kiss with History
Guest Stars
Guest Cast Notes
Guests who appeared in other Quantum Leap episodes
Say What?
Quotable Quotes
Best Scene
Awards
Synopsis & Review
Production Credits
Podcasts

TV Guide Teaser:

Part I: A cosmic conspiracy incarnates Sam (Scott Bakula) as JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, whose mind is partly melded with Sam's. Part 1 of two. Al: Dean Stockwell. Lee Harvey Oswald: Willie Garson. Marina: Natasha Pavlova. Maj. Kosenko: Elya Baskin. Gooshie: Dennis Wolfberg.

Part II: Conclusion. Sam leaps into JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (Willie Garson). Al: Dean Stockwell. Marina: Natasha Pavlova. Maj. Kosenko: Elya Baskin. Gooshie: Dennis Wolfberg.

Note: When first broadcast, both episodes were combined into a two-hour movie. It was later split into two parts for rerun and syndication broadcasts. In syndication, Part II begins with Al and Oswald in the Waiting room as Al tries to explain to Oswald what has happened. It then transitions to Sam/Oswald speaking to the Russians about Racecar.

Lee Harvey Oswald Commercial #3 | Next on NBC - plus - the opening montage to the episode.
5 minutes 18 seconds

Places:

Project Quantum Leap @ Stallion's Gate New Mexico

Military base in Atsugi, Japan

A bar in Negashaia-Yamato, Japan

Military base in Tustin, California

KGB HQ in Moscow

Oswald's apartments in Russia and Dallas

Streets of New Orleans

Ruth Paine's house in Dallas

Streets of Dallas with scenes at the Texas schoolbook depository

Saturday, October 5th, 1957 - Atsugi and Nagashaia-Yamato, Japan

Tuesday, January 6th, 1959 - Tustin, California

Wednesday, October 21st, 1959 - Moscow, Russia

Wednesday, April 10th, 1963 - Dallas, Texas

Friday, August 9th, 1963 - New Orleans, Louisiana

Thursday, November 21st, 1963 - Dallas, Texas

Friday, November 22nd, 1963 - Dallas, Texas

Synopsis & Review:

When first broadcast, both episodes were combined into a two-hour movie instead of in two parts as presented on most other media.

Synopsis: Part I   |   Synopsis: Part II

It begins with the Season 5 saga-sell featuring the voice of Narrator/Ziggy (Deborah Pratt) and transitions immediately to the new "rock" version of the Quantum Leap theme song.

Following this, a text card appears:

"The following story is based upon the known evidence and established facts collected in the three decades since the JFK assassination."

Also featured on the official Quantum Leap soundtrack (Track #13: Suite from Lee Harvey Oswald), a new score is played over a series of archive photos that portray John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, and Lee Harvey Oswald. The final photo is that of Oswald holding a rifle and a newspaper. The camera zooms in on the face of Oswald, and the photo leaps.

See all the leap-in sequences in this episode below. Note: Due to the high number of leaps throughout Oswald's life, the production team chose to use flashes of negatrive exposures to represent the leaps instead of the usual leap moray effect.

Lee Harvey Oswald - Part I

March 21, 1963 - Dallas, Texas

As the leap effect dissipates, Sam is standing in the same position holding the rifle and paper. Marina, his wife, holds a camera. She asks, "Alik... Haven't I taken enough?" Sam is confused, and in Russian he answers, "Enough what?" She replies, also in Russian, "Of these pictures of you dressed as a fascist killer."

Sam is surprised. He walks toward her commenting that he spoke to her in Russian. She asks him, "What game is this?" He replies that it's not a game. Sam's personality is not normal. He mind is mixing with Lee Harvey Oswald's mind!

Sam tries to get her to tell him if he is speaking Russian or English, but she says she doesn't have time for this as she takes laundry off the clothesline. Sam gets a harsh look on his face, grabs her arm firmly, and in Russian he tells her, "Don't turn your back on me when I'm talking to you." Almost immediately, he lets go and says he is sorry.

Marina informs him that he speaks Russian and English. Sam notices that she does as well, but is shaky with English. He looks at the paper he has been holding, and discovers it to be The Worker. During the brief conversation, Mariska makes a joking comment that he sometimes acts like a child. Sam is overtaken with Oswald's mind and smacks her hard across the face and says he is not a child. He immediately snaps back as Sam and apologizes, but again in Russian. She says she has to go finish the laundry before the baby wakes.

Sam thinks to himself, "Oh my God. Who have I leaped into?" He looks again at the paper for the date. March 21, 1963. He picks up the rifle again and looks through the sight.

November 22nd, 1963 - Dallas, Texas

As Sam focuses through the rifle's sight, he realizes he has leaped again and is focused on the back of a man's head. He is there for a few seconds before immediately leaping again!

October 5th, 1957 - Atsugi, Japan

As he leaps in, he fires a rifle, but not the one he was just holding. Sam yells out, not realizing at first that he is in a different place. Next to him, U.S. Marine Sergeant Lopez makes a comment about his shot and hands him more ammunition. Sam loads it and is taken aback about the force in which the rifle accepts the cartridge. Sam tells the Sergeant that if he had caught his thumb in there, it would have hurt. Lopez asks sternly, "Are you messing with me, Private?" Sam replies, "No, sir." Lopez says not to call him sir and informs Sam that the shooting distance is 500 yards.

Sam says something to Lopez in Russian, and this offends the Sergeant. Sam apologizes and explains that he is studying Russian and sometimes it comes out. Lopez grabs Sam by the nose and asks, "Do you know what I'm studying?!" Sam tries to get out, "Three Stooges?" as Lopez slams his hand down and demands that Sam shoot with his last round.

Sam focuses on the target and as he is about to fire, someone appears in front of him, asking if he took a deep breath first. The shot goes off! Thankfully, it was Al who had appeared in his sights. Al informs him that he has leaped into Lee Harvey Oswald. Sergeant Lopez gives Sam advice to zip his lip if he wants to get back home with all his limbs. Sam merges again with Oswald and says sarcastically, "Aye Aye, Sergeant Peter." They stare at each other and Lopez leaves.

Al says, "Sam, are you out of your mind?" Sam replies that he knows, but it wasn't him saying the words. Al says he heard Sam say them. Beckett replies, "You heard the words come out of my mouth but I didn't say them." Al comments that Sam is scaring him. He and Sam speak about this for a few moments. Sam thinks that it may have something to do with leaping into the same person twice. "You know how there's always a little residual of the other person left behind in a leap? A little bit of their knowledge, or their personality, or maybe even a little bit of their soul." Al argues that when he leaps into someone, he's still Dr. Sam Beckett. As Al speaks, he stops short and notices that Sam has field stripped his M1 rifle. Al asks where he learned to do that. "I didn't."

Al admits, "Ok, so you got a little Lee Harvey Oswald in you. You can handle that!" Sam is concerned. "What if I've got a lot of Lee Harvey Oswald in me? Think about that." Al asks, "Do you remember the leap where lightning struck us and we switched places?" Sam thinks a moment. "Yeah, and I got some of your libido, right?" Al nods. "And you still behaved like a prude." Sam replies again, Well what else was I supposed to do? I was a hologram!" Al says, "It never stopped me! If you can handle my sex drive, you can handle a few of Oswald's loose screu-rons."

Sam asks Al what if he assassinates the President, Al says he won't, and that the event doesn't happen for another six years. Sam replies that 15 minutes ago, it was six years from now. "And who's to say it won't happen again? If that were to happen, I could stop the assassination." Al adds, "If Oswald really was the assassin. A lot of people think that he was set up." He goes on to remind Sam that people think it could have been the government or any number of other people who had something to gain from JFK's death.

Sam has been reassembling his rifle as they spoke. They begin to walk and Sam recounts at the age of ten, seeing his Mom run out of the house to tell them the President had been shot. "Al, if I leaped into Oswald to uncover a conspiracy, why didn't I stay in '63" Al takes a guess, "Maybe because it started here in Atsugi. Japan." Al begins to recount his time in Japan with beautiful geisha's in a hot tub. Sam cuts off his story and Al continues surmising that the KGB probably contacted Oswald around there. Al says the Russians were one theory, but another is that Oswald was just pretending to be with the KGB and was really with the CIA or FBI.

Sam wonders why the Russians would even be interested in Oswald. Al said he knew a lot of codes, and about a project called RACECAR. Sam gets Oswald's look in his eyes and a different voice comes out. "RACECAR this is COFFEEMEAL. Squawk-Two. Over." Al says, "Uh-oh."

Sam begins to freak out about the mind-merge again. "Am I controlling Oswald, or is he controlling me?" Al distracts him from it. "Sam, we are going to uncover this conspiracy and change what happened in Dallas! I feel it in my bones." Al opens the Imaging Chamber door and steps inside. "All you have to do is hang in there."

February 14, 1999 - Stallion's Gate, New Mexico

In the Project Quantum Leap Waiting Room, Al interrogates Oswald, who is dressed in a white fermi-suit, just as Sam was in the Accelerator Chamber. He claims his name is Alik J. Hidell. Al punches keys on the handlink. Oswald asks what the device is. "Oh it's a tape recorder, new model." Al says Oswald is obliged to tell the truth. "1653230... that's your real serial number, isn't it Private Oswald?" Lee looks at the handlink again. "That's no tape recorder." Al replies, "So, we both lied." Oswald goes into defense mode and repeats his real serial number and name this time.

Al continues his interrogation. He recounts that he was a prisoner of war and tells Oswald to relax, that he's on his side. "Were you ever approached by a foreign agent in Japan?" Oswald replies, "That depends." Oswald gets a different look on his face a smiles. In Sam's voice, Oswald asks, "Are you a foreign agent, Al?" Oswald looks confused. "How did I know your name?!" Al responds that Oswald is part of an experiment, a new way of communicating through the mesons and neurons of the mind. Oswald exclaims, "You messed with my mind?! What else have you messed with?" Al looks down into the mirrored surface of the Waiting Room table. Sam's face stares back at Oswald. He screams.

October 6th, 1957 - MACS-1 Radar Bubble, Japan

The next day, Sam is doing Oswald's job, marking down figures as MACS-1 tests a secret plane called RACECAR. Sam narrates, "I was doing Oswald's job as if I'd been trained for it. Even beginning to enjoy myself until I realized that I was bound to slip up sooner or later."

Sooner comes quickly as Sam writes on a  two-way glass panel, in which he realizes too late that he is supposed to write everything backward so that the other personnel can read it. Al pops in and tells him the same thing. To Marines begin to make fun of him for the mistake. Oswald takes over again and Sam says angrily, "What's so damn funny?" The officer in charge asks what the problem is. Sam comes back and apologizes.

Sam tells Al that he needs to get out of there fast because he can't control Oswald's emotions. At the same time, another marine has noticed that RACECAR must be over 30,000 feet above the world record. The officer in charge says he miscalculated. He wasn't supposed to have that information. "Listen up people. We're not here to calculate how high, how far, or ho fast RACECAR can fly. All that is top secret and not to be discussed. Even among yourselves."

Al tells Sam that if the KGB make contact with Oswald, it'll be a bar in Nagashaia.

October 7th, 1957 - Nagashaia-Yamato, Japan

As Sam enters the bar Al mentioned the day before. Joda, the proprietor, approaches him dressed in drag in traditional female garb. "Lee-san, where have you been? Your mama-san missed you." Joda hugs him. Sam nervously says, "I really missed you too." Through some small talk with Joda, Sam thinks they must be a spy. They ask a lot of questions about MACS-1 and a top secret project going on.

Soon after, Sam is sitting at the bar having a beer and looking at Oswald's reflection staring back. One of the house girls comes up and flirts with him, but a Russian woman named Mariska yanks her away and says to stay away from her Marine. The two women brawl on the floor until Sam and Joda stop the fight. Mariska tells Sam she loves him and they kiss. Sam asks how to say "Oh Boy" in Russian. She replies, "Aye, aye, aye." She tells Sam she will go to Russia with him if he still wants to go. Oswald takes over Sam's mind again and he says, "I've always wanted to go to Russia. It's a worker's paradise."

When Mariska tells Sam that none of the other Marine's at the bar speak badly about the United States, Oswald comes through and becomes angry that she is talking to other Marines. He becomes forceful until she says they only buy her drinks because it's her job. Oswald/Sam kisses Marina as Al enters through the Imaging Chamber door. "Looks like my libido finally kicked in. Sam..."

Sam excuses himself to the bathroom. Al relocates to meet him, and they talk about Oswald taking over Sam's mind. "I don't know where he stops and where I start, Al." Sam becomes irate as Al jokes about him possibly having to sleep with Mariska to get more information. Sam yells, "I'm not like you, Al. I don't have to sleep with every woman just because she's there!" Al says he may have to sleep with her to prove or disprove whether or not she's an (KGB) agent." Al says female spies have been doing this for a long time. Sam disagrees and says Oswald is just interested in anything Russian.

Sam pulls out a copy of The Communist Manestifo that he found in Oswald's locker and notes that it's been studied quite a bit. Just then, Sergeant Lopez enters the bathroom and asks Sam, "What's a big fish like you doing in a shark's bar?" Lopex says he is going to teach Oswald a lesson. As Oswald merges into Sam's mind again, he stands up and faces Lopez. "The only thing you can teach me is how to play drop the soap in the shower." Al yells at Sam to stop talking. Ziggy is predicting that Lopez will knock Oswald out. Sam/Oswald punches Lopez and puts up a good fight, but Lopez fights back hard and overtakes Sam. A complete brawl breaks out all over the bar! Sam/Oswald pulls out a derringer from his shoe and puts it to Lopez's neck. "I'm ready for my lesson, Sarge."

Al begs Sam to put down the gun. "Listen to me!" Sam doesn't hear Al. "Gooshie, I've got to have a way to get through to him!" Al gets a message on the handlink and repeats, "Sam, what are the four fundamental forces of  interactions in Quantum Physics?" Al repeats the question 3 times and Sam starts to answer. "Gravitation, electro-magnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces."

Al asks another question to coax Sam out of the hold Oswald has on him. "What's the Pauli exclusion principle?" Sam remembers, slowly coming back to himself, "No two fermions can occupy a given Quantum state at the same time." Al says neither can two human souls. Sam leaps.

January 6, 1959 - Tustin, California

Arriving at a Marine base in California, Sam mans an informational booth at the base. A Marine named Don Bellisario approaches him and asks for information on some of his buddies, looking for a duty roster. Al arrives through the Imaging Chamber door as they both realize he is still Oswald. Al informs him that he is stationed at MACS-9 in California, 1959. Sam asks why he is still Oswald. Al says, "Ziggy still insists it's to uncover a conspiracy about what happened in Dallas. He asks why he leaped out of Japan. Al says that originally Oswald killed the Sergeant. Lopez went on to save the lives of 17 Marines and won the congressional medal of honor.

Sam finds the roster, but Bellisario notices a copy of the Daily Worker nearby. He asks if Sam often reads it. As Oswald, Sam replies, "It's the only newspaper that tells the truth." Bellisario repeats, "The truth?" Sam/Oswald replies, "How the United States oppresses the proletariat of the world with it's military might." Al says, "He's baaaack."

Bellisario says he sounds like a communist. Sam says he's not a communist, but he is a Marxist. Bellisario asks, If you're a Marxist, what the hell are you doing in the Marine core?" Sam replies, "I don't know." He leaps.

October 21st, 1959 - Moscow, Russia

At KGB headquarters, Sam sits at a desk with Russian Major Yuri Kosenko and his assistant, Lieutenant Anna Guri. A reel-to-reel tape recorder runs on the desk as Yuri says they are all ears. We find out that Oswald went to the consulate in Helsinki that he wanted to defect. Sam, as Oswald, begins, "My name is Lee Harvey Oswald. In the Marine core, my MOS was 6741 aviation electronics operator. My first duty assignment was with MACS-1 in Atsugi, Japan..."

"To Be Continued..." is displayed on the screen, followed by the credits over a series of JFK photos.

Lee Harvey Oswald - Part II

The second part of this saga opens with the saga sell, followed by the theme song segment. Then a series of clips from Part I are shown, followed by the same score and photos used in the prior episode. On the last photo of LHO with the rifle and newspaper (about 6 full minutes into run time here!), we fade into a desert mountain peak with the caption:

February 15, 1999 - Stallion's Gate, New Mexico

At Project Quantum Leap, in the Waiting Room, Oswald stares into the mirror on the table with Dr. Sam Beckett staring right back. Oswald wants to know how it works. Al tells him that no one understand it but Dr. Beckett. "Try me," Oswald asks again. Al says to start with the string theory. Suddenly Sam's mind merges with Oswald's and he spouts out a string of Quantum Leap verbiage in Sam's voice. Oswald comes to and says, "Huh? How did I know that?"

October 21st, 1959 - Moscow, Russia

Returning to KGB headquarters where we last saw Sam in Part I, Dr. Beckett (as Oswald) is spilling all the secrets about his time in the military that he can remember. He speaks about RACECAR and tells Major Yuri Kosenko and his assistant, Lieutenant Anna Guri about the secret spy plane flying missions over China and Russia. Yuria asks about RACECAR's range and altitude capabilities. Sam responds with good answers, but doesn't have answers to other questions. Yuri surmises that Oswald knows nothing about RACECAR that they didn't really already know.

Al enters through the Imaging Chamber door and announces, "Sam, now Oswald is you." Sam speaks as Oswald and doesn't seem to realize Al is there. Al shouts at Sam to "Zip it!" as he tells them about codes and frequencies. Yuri asks Sam to wait in the other room for a moment. Al walks in circles punching keys on the handlink, trying to figure out what to do.

Sam walks downstairs with Oswald's mannerisms and walks right through Al. His mind won't let him see the hologram. A moment later, Sam's mind returns. Al is thankful but warns that Sam need to control Oswald before he gives away every secret in the government. "It just came out."

A Russian officer sees Sam talking to himself and comes over to find out what is going on. Sam says he talks to himself. "So does my grandmother, but she is eighty-three." He walks away while Sam and Al talk about Gary Powers and how the Russians shoot him down soon after, which extends the cold war for years. Al says Ziggy doesn't think Sam was there to stop Oswald from giving away secrets. "There's a 96% probability that you didn't give the Soviets anything on the U2 that they didn't already have."

"Then why am I here in Russia?" Al says he still believes it's to uncover a conspiracy to kill JFK. "I can't keep wandering around leap after leap like this!" Sam stands and walks to the window. Al thinks he is becoming Oswald again. "I don't actually become Oswald. I just sort of drift along next to him and his thoughts come out." Al says, "You're not drifting are you?" Sam gives him a look. "No, I'm theorizing. Or trying to."

"What if I prematurely exited that first leap into Oswald... before I had a chance to put right what once went wrong?" Al replies, "Well success doesn't have anything to do with leaping..." Sam shakes his head, "No I said before I had the chance to put right what once went wrong." Al asks why he would do that and Sam responds that if he knew that, he could get off this leaping yo-yo.

Al, looking at the handlink, says Ziggy thinks he's on the right track, but he should continue to play out Oswald's life and not to change history. Sam asks what he is supposed to do. Al instructs Sam to go to his hotel room and before he has dinner, "you commit suicide."

In his bathroom at the hotel, Sam runs a bath and Al says he has to slit his wrist. But not to worry because someone finds him and saves him. Sam asks what if he's already changed history and no one comes. Al checks with Ziggy. With apparently new programming, Ziggy can now predict an alternate history without Sam first changing it. Ziggy says that if he doesn't commit suicide, the Russians kick Oswald out of the country as they don't extend his visa.

Sam says, "Doesn't that blow your KGB conspiracy theory?" Al gets defensive and says, "Maybe! But it reinforces my CIA theory, because if Oswald was CIA, the Russians wouldn't want him in the country." Sam says, "So that's why he committed suicide, because it's in the CIA manual."

Sam continues, "What if the truth is at age 19, Oswald was not a CIA agent, he was not a KGB agent... maybe he was just some frustrated loser, right, who was trying to get recognition any way he could, and maybe he thought the best way to do that was by defecting. And when the Soviets wouldn't let him, he slit his wrist!" Al doesn't think so. Sam rants on abut how the Soviet's couldn't possibly want a kid who never even finished high school, but Al interrupts and says it's time.

Al reads from Oswald's suicide note. Sam begins to follow the instructions right up until the violin plays, as described in the note. Sam takes a razor and puts it to his wrist. He leaps.

April 10th, 1963 - Dallas, Texas

Sam arrives already merged with Oswald's mind holding a rifle in the pouring rain. A dog barks and chases him around a house. Sam escapes and goes back home, where Marina is waiting. She asks what is going on, and Oswald/Sam tells her he shot General Walker, but doesn't know if he hit him. He listens for the news report to confirm. Marina is quite upset and asks why. "He was a fascist, like Hitler." Marina cries that he can't shoot people because he disagrees with their politics. Oswald/Sam says, "Yes you can." Sam shakes Marina as Al arrives through the Imaging Chamber door. "Sam, it worked. It... almost worked. It's April 10, 1963 and that's only a month after your original leap into Oswald.

Sam doesn't see Al. He gets violent with Marina and tells her that if he killed Walker, there should be something on the radio. "Gooshie!", Al yells into the air, "What the hell's he talking about?!" Al gets the news. "Sam, you leaped into Oswald just seconds after he tried to blow General Edward Walker's head off!" Sam, still as Oswald, rants to himself about how he could miss such an easy shot. He has apparently heard Al, but not registered what is going on with the hologram.

"You didn't kill him, Sam! Oswald did!" Sam pops back in control and says, "You don't have to yell, Al. I can hear you." Al relaxes in relief. "Sam you were acting like Oswald's mind was still merged into yours." Sam replies that this time it was different. Al reports that Ziggy figured that the reason he kept leaping back and forth was that "the part of your mind that was in his and the part of his mind that was in yours were trying to reconnect." Sam asks what Al did. Al replies that Ziggy figured that if they could reconnect both minds, they could get the leap back on track. "So through DNA typing, Ziggy identified the mesons and neurons in Oswald's brain that biologically matched yours, and we put Oswald in the Accelerator and we leaped those things back to you."

Sam looks frightened by this. "You can't leap isolated mesons and neurons without drawing other neuro-energy with it!" Al says, "More?" Sam says that now, he is sucking up more of Oswald's mind. "There's more of him in me!" Marina enters and hands him a scrapbook she found. It appears to be further research for plans Oswald intends to make. Oswald completely takes over Sam's mind again. "It should have worked. He dropped his head at the last second or he'd be dead. He'd be dead and the world would remember Lee Harvey Oswald as the man who executed General Edward Walker." Sam leaps.

August 9th, 1963 - New Orleans, Louisiana

Sam, with Oswald still in full control, leaps in handing out pamphlets and touting, "Hands off Cuba!" A blonde woman named Ellie LaForge walks by him and says she doesn't have any interest in communist propaganda. Oswald/Sam asks why she thinks it's communist. "Because everybody knows that Castro is a communist." Oswald/Sam smiles. "I'm not Castro." She says but he is supporting him. "No, I'm supporting Cuba," he replies. He tells her is the the secretary for the New Orleans chapter of the Fair Play For Cuba committee. She flirts back with him and he introduces himself as Alik Hidell. She notices the wedding ring on Sam's hand as they shake. She leaves on that note, and Oswald/Sam begins to shout out "Fair play for Cuba!" as a group of men rush up to him and begin to push him around and call him a traitor. Oswald taunts them by smiling throughout the encounter and continuing to yell "Fair Play for Cuba!"

Al enters through the Imaging Chamber door and yells to Gooshie that he found Sam. One of the men announces that Oswald tricked them into believing that he was there to help bring down Castro. Oswald/Sam smiles and says to the man, "Do you want to hit me?" The man starts to swing, but a police officer stops him and slams the man against a wall. Oswald/Sam smiles at this, evilly. Al tries to get through to Sam. "There's only three months until the Kennedy assassination Sam, and each leap is putting you closer! If you leap into Dallas on November 22nd and Oswald is still in control, you won't be able to change anything! Fight him, Sam!"

"My name..." Sam begins to say. But Al continues, "Dr. Samuel Beckett!" But Oswald is still in control. "My name is Lee Harvey Oswald." Sam leaps.

November 21st , 1963 - Dallas, Texas

Sam, still as Oswald, leaps in and watches JFK give a speech on television. He imagines shooting the President.

November 22nd , 1963 - Dallas, Texas

The next morning, he tucks his baby daughter in bed and kisses his other daughter and Marina as they sleep. He leaves some money on the dresser and takes a last look at them. He lays his wedding ring on the dresser as well and goes to the garage, where he prepares a rifle and goes to the car. Another man he apparently works with gets in the car and they drive off.

The on-screen titles tell us that it's February 16, 1999 in Stallion's Gate, New Mexico, as Al and Gooshie walk down a corridor at Project Quantum Leap discussing the situation. Gooshie says that Ziggy predicts they should do nothing. "Well Ziggy doesn't want to make another mistake," suggests Al. Gooshie responds, "Perhaps, but if Dr. Beckett leaped into Oswald to uncover a conspiracy, then doing nothing is an effective course of action."

They turn a corner, and Al asks how he figures that. "Whether Dr. Beckett is himself or as Lee Harvey Oswald is immaterial, he'll be there to observe. Watch the sixth floor window, the grassy knoll, the overpass, he'll see it all. He'll see the truth." Al says, "But I won't be able to stop it."

They arrive at the door to the Waiting Room. "I realize that, Admiral," says Gooshie. "But you yourself said that wasn't what Dr. Beckett was leaped back to do!" Al faces Gooshie. "What if I was wrong. What if that's precisely the reason that Sam was leaped back?" Gooshie replies, "Then Oswald would have to be the sole assassin. No conspiracy?"

Al says, "Just one angry, envious man, who wanted to propel himself into infamy." Gooshie can't believe it. "But one lone man?" Al says, "I know. It's more comforting to believe in plots, because if Kennedy could be killed that easily by one sicko, then what hope is there for the rest of us?" Gooshie asks, "Admiral, what are you going to do?" Al replies that he is going to try and find the truth. He opens the Imaging Chamber door and steps through."

As Oswald/Sam arrives at the Texas Book Depository, he rushes off, leaving his coworker behind. A series of video clips is shown depicting the President arriving in Dallas and a radio broadcast about it plays in the background. He goes to the sixth floor and begins to move some boxes around so that he can be hidden and still have a clear shot below. He unwraps the rifle.

Al confronts the real Oswald in the Waiting Room. "I know you're going to shoot the president. What I ant to know is, are you acting alone?" Oswald responds, "I don't even own a gun!" Al describes his rifle in detail and tells him he knows about another pistol located at another house. Al describes how the rifle is wrapped and other details.

Oswald smiles, "Marina. She told you these lies." Al says Marina told him nothing.  Oswald asks for a lawyer. Al replies, "There's no lawyer here. It's just me and you and the truth. " Oswald says, "I know my rights. I'm a member of the ACLU and I have--" Al grasps him by the turtleneck of the Fermi-suit. "You shoot the President from the sixth floor window of the Texas Book Depository."

Oswald says he is crazy. Al replies, pulling a pistol from his pants. "You're damn right I'm crazy. I'm crazy enough to blow your brains out your ear if I don't get the truth!"

An archive video of President Kennedy and Jackie driving through the crowds is shown on TV as Marina and her kids watch from home. She speaks to a neighbor about the color of Jackie's suit. Marina says the reporter said it's a fruit color. The TV is in black and white.

Oswald/Sam loads the rifle and sets his sight.

In the PQL Waiting Room, Oswald continues to demand a lawyer and protests that he has done anything wrong. Al fires his gun next to Oswald's head.

Oswald/Sam seemingly hears the shot through time or Oswald's connection to him and looks up from the window.

"I'm deaf!", yells Oswald. Al shouts, "You're going to be dead in a minute if you don't tell me the truth!" Oswald says okay, just don't hurt me! I'm not going to shoot the President. But I know who is." Al asks who. "Oswald smiles slyly after he replies, "Hidell. The guy who ordered the guns through the mail. He's the one..."

Oswald stops and looks down into the Waiting Room table mirror surface. Sam's face stares back and says, "I'm lying, Al. There is no conspiracy. I'm acting alone. And you've got to stop me." Al says, "But I can't reach you Sam. He's taken over completely." Sam says he has to find a way or it's going to happen all over again. "You have to find--"

Sam stops speaking and Oswald's voice continues, "Hidell. Find Alik J. Hidell. He's the man who's going to shoot the President." Al's runs off to the Imaging Chamber.

Oswald/Sam cocks his rifle and gets ready to line up his shot as the Presidential vehicle parade approaches. "Sam, I'm trying to reach you, Sam!" Al tries to ask him the four fundamental forces of interactions in Quantum Physics?" It doesn't work this time, despite multiple attempts. "It's not working. It's November 22nd, 1963 and it's all happening again!" Al thinks a moment. "That's it... Sam... it's November 22nd, 1963! Your Dad is still alive and he's teaching you to drive a tractor! You're ten years old!"

Oswald/Sam looks through the rifle sight and finds the target - John F. Kennedy. "On a farm in Indiana! He's still alive!", Al shouts. Slowly, Sam looks up from the rifle. He comes back slowly... "Dad..." Sam leaps.

A few seconds later, November 22nd , 1963 - Dallas, Texas

Sam waits inside the hospital with Al by his side. "Thanks Al." Al looks at his friend solemnly. "It wouldn't have been you pulling that trigger, Sam. Not really." Sam continues saying that when he had the chance to save him, he leaped. "Why, Al? Why?"

Al replies, "Oswald's mind finally reconnected, and when it did, he leaped back and you leaped into the nearest person that could accomplish your mission." Sam says he didn't accomplish it. Al says maybe he did. Sam says he didn't save him. Al says, No, but it doesn't look like that's what you were here to do. Ziggy thinks you were here to save her."

Jackie Kennedy sits with her back turned in a chair at the hospital. Al continues, "Your swiss-cheese mind probably doesn't remember, but the first time... Oswald killed Jackie, too."

Sam looks at Jackie with his mouth open from the revelation, and leaps.

The leap effect fades into a photo of the secret service agent he had leaped into, followed by a series of photos of Jackie Kennedy and their son, which are displayed over an amazing score by Velton Ray Bunch as the episode concludes and the credits roll.

Synopsis by Brian Greene

Promo Videos:

Music:

Velton Ray Bunch's 15-minute "Suite from Lee Harvey Oswald" (Track 13) appears on the Official Soundtrack.

"Love is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia plays in the Japanese bar.

"Marine’s Hymn" is sung briefly by Reni Santoni (Sgt. Lopez)

Project Trivia:

When Al appears in the August 9, 1963 leap, he refers to Ziggy as a "he".

Sam Trivia:

This is the first time Sam's mind merges with the leapee's mind significantly. It was hinted at in "Jimmy" and became stronger in "The Leap Back."

This is the first time Sam leaps into a notable person in history.

Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode:

(1) Blue shirt, skinny silver tie, silver bomber jacket and black pants.

(2) Red, white and black patterened shirt, red jacket, and a bolo tie.

(3) Brown shirt with tie and a darker brown jacket.

(4) Brown shirt with tie and brown vest.

Miscellaneous trivia:

One Planck length is equal to 10^-34 inches. "One Planck length" was mentioned in the episode by Willie Garson (Oswald) and I further researched the String theory which is known as the Superstring Theory.

On October 6th, 1957, when Sam is in Japan as Oswald, a slightly younger Sam Beckett has Leaped into St. Louis, Missouri as Kenny Sharp - AKA Future Boy.

The two usual Leap effects were created digitally for this episode instead of optically, as had been done for every prior Leap.

-Donald Bellisario's middle name is Paul.

Lee Harvey Oswald’s serial number really was 1653230, as stated in the episode.

Alternate titles to this episode: "Leap to Judgement" and "Leaping On A String."

Kiss with History:

Donald Bellisario did meet Lee Harvey Oswald in real life when they were in the U.S. military.

Most of the episode is based on facts and testimony of actual witnesses.

Guest Cast Notes:

Reni Santoni as Sergeant Lopez: Born Reinaldo Santoni in New York City on April 21, 1938 of French and Spanish heritage, Reni (aka Reni Sands) started his career off in entertainment as a comedy writer. He moved in front of the camera in the early 60s and was performing episodic TV drama ("East Side/West Side," "The Trials of O'Brien," "Hawk") when, out of the blue, director Carl Reiner thought enough of Santoni's talents to cast the young actor, an unknown, in his semi-autobiographical film Enter Laughing (1967). Santoni offered potent, reliable secondary turns in film playing good guys, bad guys, serious guys and amusing guys alongside such top names as Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971), Steve Martin in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), which was again directed by Carl Reiner, Sean Penn in Bad Boys (1983) Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions (1985), Sylvester Stallone in Cobra (1986) and Gene Hackman in The Package (1989), Howard Stern in Private Parts (1997), and, more recently, Sandra Bullock in 28 Days (2000) and Coolio in Gang Warz (2004). In contrast, he also broke into the voiceover business and provided expert characterizations wherever needed. He offered his vocal skills in Eddie Murphy's Doctor Dolittle (1998) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001). His steady career employment, however, has been on the small screen. His 70s series work consisted of ably assisting such crime fighters as "Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law" and "Matt Houston. He was a regular on the short-lived TV series Manimal (1983) and played a Sanchez family member on the TV comedy Sanchez of Bel Air (1986). In addition to playing Father Joe DiMaggio on the series Midnight Caller (1988), he had guest shots on "Scarecrow & Mrs. King," "227," "Hill Street Blues," "Moonlighting," "Miami Vice," "Equal Justice," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Quantum Leap." Decades later Santoni played a recurring role as a judge on the series Murder One (1995) and received great attention for his occasional role as "Poppie" the unsanitary restaurateur on the classic comedy series Seinfeld (1989). Into the millennium, Reni appeared as a guest on such popular TV programs as "According to Jim," "CSI," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Raising the Bar." He made his last appearance on an episode of "Franklin & Bash" in 2012. Reni died of cancer on August 1, 2020.

Willie Garson as Lee Harvey Oswald aka Alik J. Hidell: Rarely at a loss for work, Willie Garson appeared in more than 300 episodes of television and more than 70 films. Best known for his long runs on television as Mozzie on White Collar (2009), Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City (1998), and Henry Coffield on NYPD Blue (1993), he also appeared as the grifter with a heart of gold, Gerard Hirsch, on Hawaii Five-0 (2010). Born in New Jersey, he started training at the Actors Institute In New York, before majoring in psychology and theater at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After graduation, he quickly started landing guest roles on such shows as Cheers (1982), Family Ties (1982), Thirtysomething (1987), L.A. Law (1986), as well as continually recurring in a wide array of shows including The X-Files (1993), Twin Peaks (1990), Two and a Half Men (2003), Stargate SG-1 (1997), Pushing Daisies (2007), The Practice (1997), Ally McBeal (1997), etc., etc., etc. His favorite long-form role on TV was Dr. Kreutz for Steven Spielberg in the acclaimed miniseries Taken (2002). Garson also appeared in many episodes of Boy Meets World (1993) and Girl Meets World (2014). On the big screen, other than reprising his Sex and the City (1998) role for two features (Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010)), he collaborated with the Farrelly brothers on three films, There's Something About Mary (1998), Kingpin (1996), and Fever Pitch (2005), as well as appearing in Soapdish (1991), Groundhog Day (1993), Mars Attacks! (1996), The Rock (1996), Being John Malkovich (1999), and many others. He was often used by such varied directors as Spike Jonze, Michael Bay, the late great Mike Nichols, and Ron Shelton. Next up is Feed (2017), touching on a subject Garson was very proud to be a part of. Upcoming films include 7 Days to Vegas (2019), and Magic Camp (2020). As a director, Garson directed episodes of White Collar (2009) and Girl Meets World (2014), and, with Warner Brothers, had TV shows in development as producer/creator. Garson continued to perform with various bicoastal theater companies such as Naked Angles, Manhattan Theater Club, the Roundabout Theater, and the Geffen. He was also very involved with many charities, including AMFAR, Camp Joslin for Diabetes, Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, and especially the Alliance for Children's Rights, which facilitates adoptions in LA County. This had a special place in the Garson family, as Willie adopted his son Nathan in Los Angeles in 2010, and twice served as national spokesman for National Adoption Day. Aside from acting, Garson was known as a world-class poker player, nicknamed Evil Willie on the first episode of Celebrity Poker Showdown (2003), and continued to play in tournaments all over the world, both for charity and through the World Poker Tour. He died on September 21, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.

Natasha Pavlovich (as Natasha Pavlova) as Marina Oswald: Natasha Pavlovich is a Serbian-American powerhouse of an actress who has starred in notable Hollywood and international prime-time network television shows and films .Casting directors cast Natasha as she has a chameleon-like ability to transform into a variety of roles, speak in various languages, portray characters from all over the world, and has dramatic and comedic abilities. From playing the naive girl just off the boat from the old country to the hired assassin, Natasha has acted in hundreds of roles. She spoke Russian when she appeared as Marina Oswald, wife of Lee Harvey Oswald, on the hit TV show "Quantum Leap." She spoke Arabic as an Iraqi Lieutenant on JAG. She sang in Romanian as the nanny on sit-com "Pride & Joy," and spoke in French as a fashion designer on Dick Wolf's show "Players." She spoke Czech as a fashion model on "Down The Shore", played an Italian on "Delta," played a Bolivian beauty queen in "The Naked Truth," and portrayed a Roma in JAG's episode of "Gypsy Eyes." Natasha has appeared in multiple episodes of the popular Serbian TV series "Gorki Plodovi," (Bitter Fruit) acting in Serbian language. One of Natasha's most memorable movie sets was on "The Son of the Pink Panther," filmed at the famous Pinewood Studios in Ivers, England. Her daily routine included learning how to direct from legendary director Blake Edwards, sipping tea with Julie Andrews, and running lines with Academy Award-winner and co-star, Roberto Benigni.

Elya Baskin as Major Yuri Kosenko: Russian-born actor Elya Zalmonovich Baskin emigrated to the United States in 1976. He made his American film debut a year later in Gene Wilder’s “The World’s Greatest Lover” and forged his early career with minor parts in films like Butch and Sundance: The Early Years and the critically-acclaimed Being There. But Baskin found his breakout role playing along side Robin Williams as the tragic clown Anatoly in Paul Mazursky’s film Moscow on the Hudson. In the decades since, Baskin has appeared in dozens of films and television shows, including 2010: The Year We Make Contact, The Name of the Rose with Sean Connery, Air Force One with Harrison Ford and, more recently, alongside Tobey Maguire as the highly agitated landlord Mr. Ditkovich in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. But time travel fans and listeners to the 11.22.63 Podcast may recognize him from his role as Major Yuri Kosenko from the season five premiere episode of Quantum Leap, Lee Harvey Oswald, where he played opposite Scott Bakula.

Quantum Leap Podcast: Podcast host Skipper Martin recently met with Baskin to discuss his appearance on Quantum Leap, his long and storied career since arriving in America, and how ordinary Russians reacted to the news of the Kennedy Assassination while he was a young man in Russia.

This interview also appears on 11.22.63 Podcast Bonus Episode 1: Quantum Leap: Lee Harvey Oswald, which was a crossover show with The Quantum Leap Podcast.

Donna Magnani as Mariska: Donna is first generation actress, dancer, and now director. She got her start in Hollywood with her legs, dancing with world renown Joe Tremaine on-scholarship at his North Hollywood studio where Paula Abdul, Christina Applegate and many more trained next to Donna. Donna got her acting start with MARTIN SCORSESE in The Last Temptation of Christ working several weeks in Morocco alongside Wilem Defoe, Harvey Keitel and Barbara Hershey. She has a pilot presentation in the can where she starred opposite Richard Burgi ( Desperate Housewives), Cameron Mathison ( Hallmark), Eric Lutes ( Caroline in the City), Jane Sibbet ( Friends) and more, a short film IN SHREDS in the festival circuit garnering 5 awards thus far and is looking forward to begin shooting mid 2023 on two films. Donna has found her gait behind the camera as a director, passionate about bringing an idea to the screen, but will always work as an actress when the opportunity comes, doing, comedy and everything in-between.

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 taught for 12 years in the NYC school system. Both in the northeast Bronx at P.S. 71 and later in the South Bronx before leaving for a full-time comedy career in 1979. Though he battled cancer for at least two years, he continued to work through the end of August. At the time of his death, he was negotiating a deal for his own TV show. Buried in Hillside Memorial Cemetery. He appeared at clubs in Washington, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Florida and New York, and a representative said he was twice named America's top male comic in votes by club-goers and owners nationwide. In 1990 he won an American Comedy Award as best male stand-up. Became a fixture on "The Tonight Show" and starred in an HBO special in early 1992. He also had a recurring role as a strange scientist on NBC's "Quantum Leap," and in April 1993 "Entertainment Tonight" aired "A Day in the Life of Dennis Wolfberg," focusing on his relentless touring schedule.Father of three sons. He died on October 3, 1994 in Culver City, California, USA.

Michael Lopez (as Michael Rich) as Corporal McBride: Michael Lopez was born on June 2, 1974 in Hollywood, California, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Lotto (2003), The Lovelys (2019) and Agent Collect (2013).

Philip McNiven as PFC Briggs: Philip McNiven is known for Punching the Clown (2009), Scrubs (2001) and Cougar Town (2009).

Ward C. Boland as Lt. Obrigowitz: Ward C. Boland was an actor, known for Quantum Leap (1989), Homefront (1991) and Martial Law (1998). He died on October 9, 2020.

Rodney Kageyama as Joda: Rodney Kageyama was born on November 1, 1941 in San Mateo, California, USA. He was an actor and art director, known for Pretty Woman (1990), Quantum Leap (1989) and The Next Karate Kid (1994). He was married to Ken White. He died on December 9, 2018 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Patty Toy as Bar Girl: Patty Toy is known for Speed (1994), Progeny (1998) and The Dentist (1996).

Julie Ann Lowery as Ellie LaForge: Julie Ann Lowery is known for Quantum Leap (1989), As the World Turns (1956) and They Came from Outer Space (1990).

James Medina as Carlos Bringuier: James Medina was born on March 2, 1962 in Florida, USA. He was an actor, known for Class of 1999 (1990), Quantum Leap (1989) and White Squall (1996). He died on October 16, 1995 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Chris Kinkade as New Orleans Policeman: He is a graduate and former Regional Director of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He has appeared in numerous movies, television and theatrical productions over the years including "Alpha Dog", "My Sister's Keeper" and the cult films "Dreaming Hollywood" & "An Acrid Yarn" both of which he also helped produce. He was the on air anchor for "Hit Video USA" for several years hosting an internationally syndicated show which included interviewing the top musical acts of the day. On stage he has appeared as "Jonathan" in the Theatrical World Premiere of "Carnal Knowledge", "Max" in "Bent", "Berger" in "Hair", "Taylor" in "K2" and as "The Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon" in "Night of the Iguana." He is highly regarded and sought after as one of the top therapeutic body workers in the business and created a concept for a show called "SpaTrek" to introduce the healing arts to a wide audience. He also writes and records music as part of the duo "Elsewaves." His friend and mentor John Cassavetes once told him "Success is living a creative life and surrounding yourself with creative people." This is the greatest advice he ever received. To that end he continues to enjoy the journey of creating and collaborating with other creative people.

Matthew Charles Nelson as Sergeant Donald P. Bellisario: Matthew Charles Nelson is known for Quantum Leap (1989) and Cybill (1995).

Erika Amato as Lieutenant Anna Guri: Erika was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and grew up in the neighboring small town of Mountainside. She attended Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey, and then went on to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Drama. After college, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked steadily as an actress and singer and fronted her own successful alternative rock/pop band, Velvet Chain - best known for their work on the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV show and soundtrack album. She recently relocated to New York, where she continues to work on stage and in film. In addition to "Buffy," Velvet Chain has also had songs used on MTV's "Road Rules" and "Live Through This," VH1's "Sparkle Lounge," HBO's "Sex and the City," ABC's "Big Shots," and E!'s "Fashion Television," among others. Was a contestant on the game show, "Jeopardy!". Lead vocalist of the alternative rock band Velvet Chain. Erika grew up with actress Mary McCormack and they were in an elite singing group together at school. Erika is an Equity theater actress and performs in musicals and stage plays throughout the USA.Was a contestant and won on the game show, "Win Ben Stein's Money." See Erika and Velvet Chain in the clip from Buffy the Vampire Slayer below:

Max Lazar (as Lazar) as Guard: Max Lazar is known for Quantum Leap (1989), MacGyver (1985) and JAG (1995).

Nathan Lisle as Frazier: Nathan Lisle is known for Quantum Leap (1989) and Babe Ruth (1991).

Becky London as Ruth Paine: Becky London was born in Philadelphia, PA. She lives in New York City. In addition to working in film, television and theater, Becky is an audiobook narrator. She was married to Randy Martin (deceased); they have one son. Her father was a doctor, her mother was an artist. She has two brothers, an electrical engineer and a videogame creative director. There are no other actors her family.

Karen Ingram as Jackie Bouvier-Kennedy: Karen Ingram is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Dumb and Dumber (1994) and Knockout (2000).

Mia Drake Inderbitzin as Marina Oswald (in "A Leap for Lisa" footage): Mia Drake's father was a foreign service officer giving her the privilege of living and traveling all over the world. She was born and lived in Rio de Janiero, Brazil before moving to Accra, Ghana and New Delhi, India. She moved to Maryland to finish high school. She found her self back in Mumbai and New Delhi, India in 2006 where she was fortunate to get involved with "Slumdog Millionaire."She resides in Los Angeles and has two children. See Mia as Marina Oswald in this clip at the end of "A Leap For Lisa."

Guests who have appeared on other QL episodes:

Willie Garson played Seymour in the first season finale "Play it Again, Seymour".

-Dennis Wolfberg played the part of Gooshie in "Genesis", "The Leap Back", "Killin' Time", and "Mirror Image".

Rodney Kageyama played Choo Choo in "The Leap Home: Part II: Vietnam."

Julie Ann Lowery played Vicky Jenkins in "Miss Deep South."

-Although not a guest in this episode, director James Whitmore Jr. has many directing credits for Quantum Leap and many other shows including "24", "Enterprise", and "Mister Sterling" in which his father played a recurring part as Bill Sterling Sr. That show was canned by NBC right after the first season.

Say What?

In "The Leap Back" (The 4th season premiere) the date at PQL is September 18, 1999, as mentioned by Al. However, "Lee Harvey Oswald" took place from February 14-16, 1999 - seven months earlier.

Sam is handed red-tipped bullets, which are blanks. When he loads the gun, they are shown as live bullets.

Sam's rifle shifts from his hands to over his shoulder during one shot.

Why does Sam keep Leaping within Oswald's lifetime? In several of the Leaps, he doesn't seem to be there to change anything, but rather to observe or just do what Oswald would have done anyway.

The on-screen caption shows the date as January 6th, 1959, but the duty roster shows March 3rd. "The Worker" brochure is also from March 1959.

In the second scene (1959) with Lee Harvey Oswald appearing in 1999, he’s two years older than the first time (1957) but he picks up the conversation where they left off. No swiss-cheese effect for Oswald!

During the attempted suicide scene, Al is reading Oswald's suicide note to give Sam instructions about what to do. However, Sam doesn't write the same note, so as the timeline changes in this way, Al would not have a note to read from!

When Sam Leaps into the secret service guard at the end, Al is not re-centered on Sam as would normally happen - he is still next to Oswald.

Quotable Quotes:

Sam (as Oswald): "Carlos, do you wanna hit me?"

Al: "He's doing exactly what Oswald did!"
Carlos: "With pleasure."(Is about to hit him when...)

New Orleans Policeman: "Y'all freeze! Hands up against the wall! Up against the wall! Shut up!"

Al: "Sam, can you hear me? It's the ninth of August of 1963. There's only three months until the Kennedy assassination Sam, and this leap is bringing you closer! If you leap into Dallas on November 22nd and Oswald is still in control, you won't be able to change anything Sam! You gotta fight him. Fight him Sam!"

Sam: "My name?"

Al: "DR. SAMUEL BECKETT!"

Sam (as Oswald): "My name is Lee Harvey Oswald."[Leaps out]

[Scene between Al and Gooshie walking in the PQL corridors]

Gooshie: "Ziggy computes the best option under the circumstances is to do nothing."

Al: "Well Ziggy doesn't want to make another mistake."

Gooshie: "Perhaps, but if Dr. Beckett leaped into Oswald to uncover the conspiracy, then doing nothing is an effective course of action."

Al: "How the hell do you figure that?"

Gooshie: "Whether Dr. Beckett is himself or Lee Harvey Oswald is immaterial. Either way, you'll be there to observe. To watch the sixth floor window, the grassy knoll, the railroad overpass. You'll see it all! You'll know the truth."

Al: "Yeah, but I won't be able to stop it!"

Gooshie: "I realize that Admiral, but you yourself said that's not what Dr. Beckett was leaped back to do."

Al: "Well, what if I was wrong? What if that's precisely the reason that Sam was leaped back?"

Gooshie: "Then Oswald would have to be the sole assassin."

Al: "That's right!"

Gooshie: "No conspiracy?"

Al: "No. Just one angry, envious man who wanted to propel himself into infamy!"

Gooshie: "One lone man!?!"

Al: "I know it's more comforting to believe in plots, because if Kennedy could be killed that easily, by one sicko, what hope is there for the rest of us?"

Gooshie: "Admiral, what are you gonna do?"

Al: "To try and find the truth."[He goes into the waiting room]

[Skip to waiting room scene with Willie Garson and Dean]

Oswald: "I admire the president very much!"

Al: "You admire him, but you're gonna kill him."

Oswald: "That's what this is about! You're secret service and you're detaining me because you think I'm going to shoot the president."

Al: "I know you're going to shoot the president. What I wanna know is are you acting alone?"

Oswald: "I don't even own a gun!"

Al: "You own a 6.5mm mannlicher-carcano rifle and an S+W .38 special. The rifle is wrapped in a blanket at Ruth Paine's house and the pistol is at your rooming house at 1026 North Beckley. You ordered both of these guns through the mail under the alias of Alex J. Hidell."

Oswald: "Marina! She told you these lies!"

Al: "Marina told me nothing. But, when questioned, she'll talk about the shot you took at General Walker. And she'll talk about locking you in the bathroom when Nixon come to Dallas because she was afraid that you were going to try and shoot him too!"

Oswald: "I want a lawyer!"

Al: "There's no lawyer here, there's just you and me and the truth!"

Oswald: "I know my rights. I'm a member of the ACLU and I have-"[Cut off by Al who grabs him by the shirt]

Al:[Getting very angry] "You're going to shoot the president from the sixth floor window of the Texas schoolbook depository!"

Oswald: "You're crazy!"

Al: "You're damn right I'm crazy.[Pulls a gun out of his back pocket] I'm crazy enough to blow your brains out through your ear if I don't get the truth!"[Now you see Oswald choking with fear]

Oswald: "I don't believe in killing someone just because I disagree with their politics!"

Al: "ARE you acting alone?"

Oswald: "I- I want a lawyer."[Al pulls the trigger right next to Oswald's ear. Remember, the only thing that's preventing Al from killing him is if he does, Dr. Beckett can never get back]

[Shot of Sam who looks like he heard the shot]

Oswald: "I'M DEAF! I'M DEAF!"

Al: "You're gonna be dead in a minute if you don't tell me the truth!"

Oswald: "Okay, Okay. Just don't hurt me. I'm not gonna shoot the president. But, I know who he is."

Al: "Who?"

Oswald: "Hidell. The guy who ordered the guns in the mail. He's the one who-[Cut off by Sam's words] I'm lying Al."

Al: "Sam!"

Sam: "There is no conspiracy. I'm acting alone and you have got to stop me."

Al: "I can't reach you Sam. He's taken over completely!"

Sam: "You have to. You have to. Or else it's gonna happen all over again. You have to find-[Cut off by Oswald's words] -Hidell. Find Alik J. Hidell. That's the man who's going to shoot the president."[With that, Al walks out of the waiting room and end of scene]

Best Lines:

"I'm not like you Al! I don't have to sleep with every woman that I meet just because-Because she's there!"-Sam to Al in the bar.

"String theory?[pause] It closed the conceptual gulp between relativity and quantum mechanics. It postulates that subatomic particles are not points, but strings, about one planck length long. The rate at which strings vibrate can generate the properties of all known particles. Huh? How did I know that?" -Lee Oswald spouting out Sam's words

Awards:

Jon Koslowsky: Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Camera Editing for a Series in 1993 and the American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited One Hour Series for Television in 1993

Jean-Pierre Dorléac: Emmy nominations for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Series in 1993 and for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Series in 1993

Production Credits:

Theme by: Mike Post
Musical Score By: Velton Ray Bunch
Edited by: Jon Koslowsky, A.C.E.
Production Designer: Cameron Birnie
Director of Photography: Michael Watkins, A.S.C.
Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt
Co-Executive Producer: Chas. Floyd Johnson
Supervising Producers: Harker Wade, Tommy Thompson
Supervising Producer: Richard C. Okie
Producer: Robin Jill Bernheim
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario
Written by: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: James Whitmore, Jr.

Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario
Associate Producers: Scott Ejercito, Julie Bellisario
Coordinating Producer: David Bellisario
Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow
First Assistant Director: R. John Slosser
Second Assistant Director: Brian Faul
Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky C.S.A.
Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox
Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisors: David Rawley, Katina Kerr
Art Director: Ellen Dambros-Williams
Sound Mixer: Barry D. Thomas
Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth
Make-up: Jeremy Swan
Hairstylist: Andrea Mizushima
Fashion Concepts: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Sound Editor: Greg Schorer
Music Editor: Bruce Frazier
Special Visual Effects: Roger Dorney, Denny Kelly

Film footage provided in part by the John F. Kennedy Library Southwest Film/Video Archive, and Fries Entertainment Inc.

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 © 1992 by Universal City Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Some of the characters portrayed in this motion picture are based upon actual persons. Although some of those events have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes, otherwise 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 Television, an MCA Company