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2022 Pilot Episode: "July 13, 1985" Leap Date: July 13, 1985
Ben's
first leap finds him with amnesia and trying to prevent a fellow
criminal from being killed during a heist of the Hope Diamond.
Ben's fiance, Addison, appears to him as a hologram that only he can
see and hear. Back at Project Quantum Leap, the team wonders why Ben
leaped after a mysterious woman contacted him.
Audio
from this
episode:
TV Guide Synopsis
 Poster by J.J. Lendl
Commercial: Next on NBC
TV
Guide Synopsis:
Broadcast Date: Monday, September 19, 2022: 10pm on NBC Leap Date: July 13, 1985 Leap Location: Philadelphia, PA Name of Leapee: Nick Rounder Project Trivia: Ziggy is already showing glitches as "it" is shut down unexpectedly just after the Leap begins. Ziggy's gender is not specified and no voice is heard. The parellel hybrid computer has been upgraded with the latest tech since last we saw. The Handlink, or "Handset" as described in production dailies, is circular and glows blue around the edge with a glowing center. It fits in the palm of your hand. It can project holographic images that Ben can also see during the leap. Ziggy technicians on site are Violet and Sirache. Ben Trivia: Phone number: (213) 145-2018 Ben has been working on fixing the Quantum Leap algorithm for 5 years. Addison Trivia: Addison reveals that she was supposed to be the Leaper, not Ben. Ian's Outfits Worn in the Episode: 1. Pink suit coat with black buttons and matching pants, patterned blue shirt with red and white. 2. Beige half-jacket, black turtleneck, black bants, black belt. Kiss With History: Live Aid, which is going on according to posters and footage playing in the episode was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a movement that started with the release of the successful charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984. Billed as the "global jukebox", Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, attended by about 72,000 people and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, attended by 89,484 people. Miscellaneous Trivia: The alley where Ben escapes to the restaurant is the same alley where a scene with Doc and Marty in 2015 from Back to the Future: Part II was filmed. Ben's phone number, (213) 145-2018, is a California based number in reality, but is not a working number. Jenn is single. She's on a date with a guy named Chris during the engagement party. The photo of Al at the end was taken from Dean Stockwell's appearance in "McHales Navy" (1997). The names in Janis's phone are: T Harding C Palacios M Phillips N Schloss T Slattery C Stanton B Vickery J Evans C Armon J Benito C Feldt Ben Song D Frederickson C Kieffer K Kieffer T Harding QUANTUM
LEAP – SERIES REGULARS
Addison Augustine (Portrayed
by
Caitlin Bassett) –
Addison is a smart, witty, fearless ex-military operative who now
serves as a project lead at Quantum Leap HQ. She’s in charge of the
technology they use to communicate with the past, and tries to rescue
Ben from his time-flung existence. Addison is the Observer.
Ian Wright (Portrayed
by Mason Alexander
Park) –
Quantum Leap’s nonbinary chief architect of the AI program, who prefers
the company of computers to that of other people.
Herbert “Magic” Williams (Portrayed by Ernie Hudson) – A Vietnam vet and current head of the time travel project at Quantum Leap. Herbert “Magic” Williams uses his no-nonsense personality and aura of control to keep the Pentagon at bay while the team tries to rescue Ben.
Jenn Chu (Portrayed by Nanrisa Lee) – Head of security at Quantum Leap HQ. Described as quirky but formidable, she makes it her mission to figure out how Ben could have both leapt back in time and erased all evidence of the leap in the future. Guest Cast: Michael Welsh as Ryan Mills Enajite Esegine as Charlie Michael J. Craven as Pete Michael Malarkey as Cole Dan Istrate as Horace Wil J. Jackson as Police Captain Stefanie Brown as Katie Mills Maile Dudeck as Caroline Mills Soomin Chun as Wife Leo Seo as Husband Georgina Reilly as Janis Gary Nguten as Press Photographer Dax Campbell as Nick Rounder/Matt Shaw (Mirror Image) with Deborah Pratt as Narrator Guest Cast Notes: Michael Welsh (Ryan Mills) is known for his role as the popular Mike Newton in The Twilight Saga film series. Although he auditioned for the part of Edward Cullen, he was cast in the role of Mike Newton. He's also well known for his role as Luke Girardi in the television series Joan of Arcadia, which ran for two seasons (2003–05). Welch was cast in the series Z Nation on Syfy, which began airing in the fall of 2014. He also appeared in the 2014 film Boy Meets Girl, a romantic comedy which received many awards at LGBT film festivals in the U.S. and internationally. Welch is the recipient of two Young Artist Awards. His first was for his performance in the film Star Trek: Insurrection at the age of 10. The second was for his work as Luke Girardi on Joan of Arcadia. Enajite Esegine (Charlie) is a Nigerian-American who was born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY. Enajite means 'Enough is Enough', as she is the last born of 8 kids! She is passionate about performing, and always loved acting and singing from a very tender age. She is on her journey of breaking into the TV/Film industry and has hopes of one day creating quality and meaningful content that will have a huge impact on how the black community is perceived in the media. Dan Istrate (Horace, Romanian jeweler) was born in Romania and has been trained in acting since he was 18 years old. Dan performed for many theaters on the East Coast, including the Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), Arena Stage (DC), Studio Theatre (DC), Theatre J (DC), The Players Theater (NY), and has been a company member of Synetic Theatre (VA) for ten years. He has also performed internationally in Bucharest (Romania), Tbilisi (Georgia), Izmir (Turkey), Bratislava (Slovakia), Paris (France) and Seoul (South Korea). While in Los Angeles, Dan Istrate has appeared in many TV shows, feature films, and short films, and music videos: "Start Up" on Netflix, "Great News" on NBC,"S.W.A.T." on CBS, and "Alias" on ABC, " Dinner With The Alchemist," directed by Kevin Good. He also co-produced and starred in the feature film "Her Tango," directed by Jason Mullis inspired by his own passion for Argentinian Tango. Dan has recently co-produced, co-directed, and starred in the art-house film "Golani", a raw and heart-wrenching portrayal of life during Communism in the late 1980's in Romania. All three feature films are available on Amazon Prime. He displays great acting versatility portraying Enzo, a lovable strip club owner, in the comedy series "Sexpectations", created by Jenna St. John. Steve Braiver (Security Guard) was born on February 21, 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Matrix Resurrections (2021), The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022). He has performed stunts on Quantum Leap and several other productions. Stefanie Brown (Katie Mills) is known for FBI: Most Wanted (2020), The Blacklist (2013) and The Maid's Room (2013). Maile Dudeck (Caroline Mills) is known for Mom (2013) and I Love You, America (2017). Michael J. Craven (Pete) was born and raised in La Quinta, California. He attended Stanford University where he earned a Bachelors Degree in International Relations and started four years on the Cardinal football team. He has always had a love for the performing arts, and after graduating he began acting, portraying professional athletes on camera in numerous commercial productions. He then turned his attention to television and film, recently landing roles in Chance (2016), Pitch (2016), Ballers (2015), and My Crazy Ex (2014). Michael Malarkey (Cole) was born on June 21, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon. He is an actor and composer, known for Project Blue Book (2019), The Oath (2018) and The Vampire Diaries (2009). He has been married to Nadine Lewington since June 6, 2009. They have two children. Soomin Chun (Wife) is known for Quantum Leap (2022), Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) and Seoul Vibe (2022). Leo Seo (Husband) is known for Quantum Leap (2022), Griselda and Followed (2018). Gary Nguten (Press Photographer) born Vy Thien Nguyen, is a Vietnamese American actor. He moved to the US when he was 17, currently resides in San Diego, California. When he was young, he always enjoyed arts such as singing, acting and voiceover. He caught the acting bug very late after trying out a few background jobs and commercials. He is passion about pop cultures and seeking to be in more projects in the future. He was also an extra in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Dax Campbell (Nick Rounder/Matt Shaw - Mirror Image) is known for Detective Knight: Rogue (2022), Cabin (2022) and Father (2022). Characters who appeared in Classic Series episodes: Dr. Sam Beckett's photo appears via hologram image. Admiral Al Calavicci appears in a file photo. Herbert "Magic" Williams from "The Leap Home: Part II - Vietnam" is a series regular. Deborah Pratt again voices the Narrator. Songs & Music: "Juice" by Lizzo - plays at the beginning of the engagement party scene "Let's Dance" by David Bowie - plays as Ben gets out of the van, just after leaping "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie - plays in the van as they get away "Fresh is the Word" by Mantronix plays on a boombox when Ryan meets his family "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung plays as Ben and Ryan ride in the car "Take On Me" by A-ha - plays as Ben asks what happens if the Leapee dies "Blue Monday" by New Order - plays at beginning of Hope Diamond dance scene "Por Una Cabeza" by Horacio Rivera - plays during Tango scene with Ben and Charlie Score music by: Daniel James Chan Say What? Ian leaves his extremely important post of monitoring Ben and Addision to take a breath. Magic seems to completely understand. Ben's cell number has a landline-based Los Angeles area code, not a mobile code. Ian explains a lot of things to Addison, but she should already know all of that since she had been at PQL from the beginning. In the scene where Ben drives into the pretzel cart, a production camera got caught in the shot! When Ben crashes the pretzel cart, we can see Raymond Lee's stunt double clearly, Thomas Vu. Ben reflects in the car window when he talks to Ryan after meeting Horace. Dialysis is free in the U.S. according to a law passed by Nixon in the 1970's, so there is no need to pay off medical bills for that by Ryan. Some of the skyscrapers in a shot of Philadelphia didn't exist in 1985. How did Pete get past security with the door bar in his hands? The shelf Ben is zip-tied to is easily disassembled, but no one thinks this may be an easier way to escape. Charlie fires three shots into the air in a room full of people, but doesn't just kill or at least wound the one man standing in the way of 200 million dollars. Al's uniform photo at the end represents a Captain, not an Admiral. Quotable Quotes: "Science is romance. Take the law of entanglement... once two particles enter a shared state, they are no longer separate entities. They exist as one, even when separated by great distances." -Dr. Ben Song to Addison Augustine at their engagement party. "That almost makes me believe in monogamy." -Ian Wright to Jenn Chu "Okay, forget slowly. I'm a hologram from the future. You just time traveled to the past. I'll explain everything later, just get in the van." -Addison to Ben "What do I do?" "What do you do?! You're the getaway man! Get us away, man!" -Nick and Ben "That pretzel cart came out of nowhere!" -Ben to Addision Ben: "Okay, I think it's time for that slower explanation." Addison: "You're name is Doctor Ben Song. Youre a time-traveler from the year 2022. I'm Addison Augustine. We're... we work together. I'm here to bring you home, but to do that that you need to..." (Fades away into the Imaging Chamber) "It's a cluster-cuss" -Ian "Find out what he's there to do and bring him home!" -Magic Williams Addison: "Look, let's just get you home, okay?" Ben: "Yes, great. Beam me up! Or whatever." "What the hell kind of time-travel project is this?! How does helping someone cause me to leap?" -Ben Ben: "What about this guy, Beckett? Ask him. Do what he did." Addision: "We can't. He never made it home." "I can not believe you lost your memory and are still this subborn." -Addison to Ben "It's been a bit of a day." -Ben to Addison as he downs a glass of champagne Addison: "What are you thinking?" Ben: "Right now? That I'd gone into teaching." Addison: "Who are you right now?" Ben: "What? I don't normally punch out bad guys while wearing a tux?" Addison: "No, normally you're a punching out code in a T-shirt kinda guy." Ben: "That really hurt my hand." Charlie: "You got a crystal ball?" Ben: "Let's just say I have history on my side." Ben: "So, what happens now?" Addison: "Now you Leap." Personal Review & Detailed Synopsis by Brian Greene: Quantum Leap is BACK! After a 29-year wait, Project Quantum Leap has been restarted after being abandoned. The episode starts off with a bang and the pace does not stop until the end. A mysterious woman running programs gets a notice on her computer: "Window calculation complete." A window for what? For who? She frantically messages Ben Song. The mystery begins... At the engagement party, we are introduced to all of the recurring characters within the first two minutes of show opening! I immediately got a sense of who they are and what their role will be, as well as a sense of their personalities and relationships with each other. They blend nicely and I believed they were close - the chemistry immediately works. Ben and Addison are believably in love. I felt the loss coming when their hands slid apart just before Ben gets the text messages... "Our Window is closing! Call me!! Just sent you the projections via email." When the accelerator boots up and the blades begin to rotate around Ben - in the Fermi suit! - the scale of the project is felt and the upgrades done in the last 30 years are amazing! As he leaps, we get a hint of the leap effect, then a cinematic film rotation as he appears in a van. Disoriented, Ben discovers another man, Ryan in the passenger seat. Ryan puts on a ski mask and heads out, followed by Ben, who sees his Leapee in the mirror of the van. As he looks around, 1985 jumps off the screen! From the movie theater to the clothing styles of bystanders, the pay phone... the scene is well set. Addison Augustine appears and immediately we find out that Ben has amnesia and remembers nothing - not even her. With no time to explain, more bandits emerge from a building as an alarm goes off and Addison tells Ben in haste that he is a time traveler, she is a hologram from the future, and to get in the van. Chase sequence that follows is fun with plenty of tension and humor! Ben doesn't know how to drive a stick-shift transmission and as he mows down a street vendor cart, says "That pretzel cart came out of nowhere!" The musical score by Daniel James Chan is spot on matching the action and heart of the show. Very happy with this! As they make their escape and lose the cops, they pull into a very familiar alley - the same one where Doc gives the adjustable jacket to Marty in 2015 from "Back to the Future Part II!" Here Addison again tries to explain what is happening to Ben, but Ziggy - in true form - goes off line and we see her fade from Ben's perspective, and then what it's like from her perspective in the Imaging Chamber! The Imaging Chamber is in grand scale as I expected and the grid effects work well to show a realistic view of the room and how it projects the image around her. Love it! Addison meets with Ian who quickly explains how Ben uploaded tons of brand new code and then Leaped without telling anyone why. The pace continues well and the story is immediately rolling forward. Ian tells us that Ziggy is the most advanced AI ever created. More about the memory loss is explained as Herbert "Magic" Williams enters, joined by Jenn Chu - head of security. Magic says he must explain to the Pentagon what happened and Addison begs him not to for fear of being shut down and losing Ben forever. Magic gives the order to find out what Ben is in 1985 to do and to bring him home. As Ian gets the Imaging Chamber back online, Addison visits Ben and we get a great callback from the original series. She used the new circular blue-glowing handlink to project an image of Dr. Sam Beckett and explains the previous project and how it worked! "What the hell kind of time-travel project is this?! How does helping someone cause me to leap?" Much laughter here! Then, Ben asks her to get Beckett to help bring him back and we get confirmation from Addison that Sam indeed never made it home. We return to the Leap story as Ben meets up with the other bandits with more exposition and tension building around the explosives they just stole. Then quickly back to the project as Ian gets Ziggy back online! Ziggy boots up in various colors of lights and sounds! Still no voice - I was hoping to hear it. Maybe next episode? Still impressive upgrades. Back to the Leap, we see that there is a heart story after all - Ryan is participating in the heist to get money to save his wife, who is on dialysis. He also has a daughter who will be left alone after Ryan is killed and her mother dies from kidney failure. As Ben and Ryan go to pick up a fake Hope Diamond, we learn that Ben knows many different languages, including Romanian. He uses this skill, with help by Addison, to avoid a deadly confrontation with the diamond counterfeiter. At the project, Jenn shows Magic a recovered video of a woman and Ben entering the project unauthorized. She wears a ring given to military members during Vietnam. Magic has a similar ring. Magic directs Jenn to help find this woman. The Leap continues as the bandits discover that Ben is not Nick rounder - he's an undercover cop! Ben manages to avoid getting shot dead, and is instead zip-tied in a storage room. Addison explains to him that she was supposed to be the Leaper, with Ben as her hologram. A scene between Ian and Magic felt a little off. Ian steps away from monitoring Ben and Addison on the video screen and there is an exchange about Ian doing mushrooms. It was supposed to be humorous, but came off flat to me. This was my only complaint, as the story becomes interesting when Magic explains that the Hope Diamond was stolen years ago, but was covered up by the U.S government. I loved how Ben in the next scene with Addison doesn't take the easy way out and goes against what Ziggy ("that's a weird name") says to help Ryan and his family out of this situation. Addison agrees to help him. Ben is a good guy. At the Hope Diamond Exhibit party, action continues as Ben attempts to prevent the heist. Ben can dance!. This is apparently the first time he punches anyone out in a very humorous exchange! He tries to gain the high ground to stop the heist but instead his exposition puts party-goers in harms way. This forces Ben to take care of stopping the explosion himself, with the help of Ryan and Addison. Ben saves the day and changes Ryan's life for the better. This is what we always want to see! Ben leaps as we see more of the new leap effect. A swirl of energy rotates around him and he is enveloped in bright white light, flooding the screen and into a scene change at the project. Jenn presents Magic with a file folder with a list of names from the Navy platoon that handed out the ring the mystery woman from the beginning of the episode and from the recovered surveillance footage wears. Inside the folder is a photo of Al Calavicci! Magic immediately realizes that the woman must be Janis Calavicci, who wanted to be a part of the project, but the DOD wouldn't allow it due to the emotional ties to the installation. Magic orders Jenn to find Janis. The final scene is a heartfelt one as Addison finds a video from Ben apologizing for what he's about to do. He's doing it because it has to be done, and it's bigger than any of them. The Leap into the next episode is revealed as Ben appears in full astronaut gear as the space shuttle Atlantis takes off! "Ohhhhh shiiii...." A great start to what will certainly be a fun an adventurous drama! I enjoyed the serial aspect of the Project story being told and looking forward to uncovering the mystery of why Ben leaped and his connection to Janis Calavicci! So many more mysteries to be uncovered, which is the fun part! The Leap story here was actually very short in screen time, but was done in such a way that you don't realize it was short due to great writing and genuine acting. The writers had a lot to cram into 42 minutes and I think they executed it in the best way possible to restart a series and hook new fans (and us old ones). I'll say it again: QUANTUM LEAP IS BACK. Production Photos:  See 45 photos from the pilot episode here!                Production Videos:  Production Credits: Consulting Producer: Moira Kirland Producer: Tim Scanlan Producer: Meg Fister Co-Executive Producer: Deric Hughes Co-Executive Producer: Benjamin Raab Co-Executive Producer: Drew Lindo Co-Executive Producer: Aadrita Mukerji Produced by: Tracey Baird Executive Producer: Robby Hull Executive Producer: Thor Freudenthal Executive Producer: Steven Lilien Executive Producer: Bryan Wyndrandt Executive Producer: Chris Grismer Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario Executive Producer: Dean Georgaris Executive Producer: Martin Gero Created by: Donald P. Bellisario Written by: Steven Lilien Written by: Bryan Wynbrandt Directed by: Thor Freudenthal  Associate Producer: Ethan Henderson Casting Director: Kamala A. Thomas Director of Photography: Ana M. Amortegui, ADFC Production Designer: Mayling Cheng Edited by: Benjamin Bumgarner Music by: Daniel James Chan Unit Production Manager: Melanie J. Elin First Assistant Director: M. Ryan Traylor Second Assistant Director: Michael T. McNerney Costume Designer: Genevieve Tyrrell A Camera Operator: Dave Hirschman B Camera/Steadycam Operator: Michael Walsh Production Sound Mixer: Akash Singh Chief Lighting Technician: Donna Vega Key Grip: Peter Chrimes Art Director: Danny Cistone Set Director: Tim Stepeck Costume Supervisor: Heather Sladinski Property Master: Erik Grasteit Construction Coordinator: Matt Sazzman Casting Associate: Melanie J. Brown Department Head Hair: Amy Marie Wilson Department Head Makeup: Julia Lallas Leadman: David Napoli Stunt Coordinator: Jeff Barnett Location Manager: Dan Milner Transportation Coordinator: Sandra Ninham-Gallardo Production Office Coordinator: Sofie Johanna Dejus Assistant Production Office Coordinator: Will Potenberg Production Accountant: Natalie Chiengkul Script Supervisor: Heather Pollock Script Coordinator: Sue Palmer Post Production Coordinator: Gabriella Scudieri Music Supervisor: Season Kent Music Co-Supervisor: Leah Harrison Music Editor: Zed Starkovich Associate Editor: Jaclyn Rogers Online Editor: Richard Wells Colorist: Paul Allia Visual Effects Supervisor: Trent Smith Visual Effects Assistant Editor: Michael Defilio Supervising Sound Editor: Kelly Cabral Re-Recording Mixer: Yuri Reese Re-Recording Mixer: Sean Madsen In-House VFX Artist: Matt Collorafice In-House VFX Artist: David Alexander Transportation Captain: Marcos Dequiros Transportation Co-Captain: Charlie Portillo Transportation Co-Captain: Alfredo Arreola Key Craft Service: Jose Juarez Promotional Consideration Furnished By: APPLE The State of California and the California Film Commision, California Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program Copyright 2022 Universal Television LLC All Right Reserved Footage and licensing courtesy of The Band Aid Trust Dean Georgaris Entertainment Universal Content Productions Universal Television  Quantum Leap Podcast Aftershow: 
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