There is an element of leapers, firmly convinced that Sam Beckett was righting the wrongs solely out of some heroic and noble nature. Is this the case? Was Sam the most heroic & selfless scientist ever born, or was he only doing it to get home?

The Rod believes it’s a bit of both, but probably more of the latter. Think about it, by accomplishing these missions, Sam appears to The Leapers a selfless hero. But IS he?

Don't forget, if Sam did NOT accomplish his missions, doomed to spend the rest of his days as a Leapee he was. Even though Sam told us that leaping had nothing to do with success, there was always the underlying urgency about completing his mission.

There were instances where Sam did things, things that appeared to be above and beyond the call of duty.

An example of this would be in the episode "Trilogy", Sam perishes in the fire, well, his host does, to save the girl. Also in Mirror Image, Sam passes up a chance to get home, instead choosing to save Al's marriage to Beth. It was suggested to Sam by the Bartender, that he can get home whenever he wants to, but, some points of view are that Sam cannot go home as this was his only chance. Whether or not you agree with this is up to you.

There are also instances were Sam has used his travels to right his own wrongs:

In "Star-crossed" he manages to get (and later marry) the girl of his dreams. In "The Leap Home" Sam attempts to save his parents. "The leap home pt2" he saves his brother, rather than save Al (Unbeknownst to Sam)

The Rod thinks that there are elements of self-sacrifice within Sam, and, Sam IS a hero. But is he the hero people make him out to be? After all, if he doesn't help people, he doesn’t leap.

Is Scott Successful Enough for Quantum Leap?

The Rod was enroute to a job the other day, by chance; He drove past a video rental store. In the window was an advert for "Life as a House".

This advertisement displayed the youthful features of Mr Christiansen, but not those of Scott Bakula.

Answer The Rod something:

Does appearing in a Star Trek franchise guarantee commercial success?

Let The Rod answer.

Not necessarily.

Look at Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko from DS9), what has he been in recently?

The Rod's point is this: Even though Scott was a great success as Dr Beckett, even though he is doing well as Captain Archer. All this means nothing, as he doesn’t even get mentioned on the advertisement when he has a role in a straight to video film.

Should you wish to email The Rod about this article or ANY QL related matter, or even if you Rodettes out there just want to send Him fan mail/pictures. You can do so by contacting Him at therod@quantumleap-alsplace.com