Thursday, April 19, 2012

Q is for Quantum Leap

I was only recently introduced to the 1989 hit TV series Quantum Leap. In fact, I’d never seen an episode until about a month ago when I was struggling to come up with a topic for the letter “Q”. When my mom mentioned that the show was one of my aunt’s favorites, I immediately looked it up on Netflix Instant. It wound up being a lot of fun.


The show follows Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist from the future who becomes lost in the past after a time travel experiment goes awry. He “leaps” from person to person, temporarily taking their place as he rights old wrongs with the help of his friend Al.

But how does this work? Sam theorized that life is like a piece of rope, with one end representing a person’s birth, and the other their death. If you tie the two ends together, they form a loop – a time loop. By balling the loop up in the palm of your hand, different “periods” of your life (aka. sections of the string) start to intersect, allowing you to leap across time almost instantly. And that’s what Sam does, with the use of his Quantum Accelerator. Through this machine he’s able to jump to any time period within his own lifespan.

What struck me most about this explanation of “quantum leaping” was how much it reminded me of the Tesseract from one of my favorite books of all time – Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.


If you think about it, this is pretty advanced stuff for such a young audience. And while I've never been much of a physics buff, it's pretty interesting to partake in some of the science behind Science Fiction. Perhaps that's one of the reasons that Quantum Leap was voted a cult favorite. 

Though there are a few plot holes in the series – namely the disregard of basic time travel theories like “the grandfather paradox” (which I’ll be discussing in more depth under “T”) – it’s definitely entertaining. Check it out!

***Special thanks to Aunt Anna, Connor and Keegan for not only introducing me to a fun show, but also being such amazing followers.
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This post is part of the Blogging A through Z Challenge 2012. My theme is (in case you didn’t already guess) science fiction. Stay tuned for the rest of the alphabet, and if you’d like to check in on the rest of the participants, simply click here.

33 comments:

  1. Oh, I used to love this show. The episode where he was the secret service agent on JFK's detail in Dallas... crazy awesome.

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  2. Great parallel between Quantum Leap and Wrinkle in Time (a favorite of mine). I'm surprised they haven't come up with "Quantum Leap, the movie"!

    You've set the stage...I am anxiously waiting for "T".

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  3. I watched the entire Quantum Leap series and loved it. I was sad when it ended.

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  4. Hubby and I LOVED Scott Bakula in Quantum Leap. We watched the whole series when it came out on TV. It was always a hoot when he'd look in the mirror and see who'd he'd become: an old man, a glam-rocker, a fat lady....

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  5. Quantum Leap is, by far, one of my favourite shows. I actually have the theme song as the ringtone on my Blackberry. If you ever come across them in a used bookstore, there's a long series of books based on the series that are actually quite good.

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  6. This used to be my absolute FAVORITE show when I was younger. I miss it.

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  7. I love the phrase "A wrinkle in time"...

    Look forward to the rest of your challenge run…can’t believe we’ve had 17 days already!
    --Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012

    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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  8. Quantum Leap...my fav as you know! Someday I will have the entire series to show the boys. Can't believe it's "Q" already...I will be sad when you get to "Z" because every morning you make us laugh or really, really think. I also loved the parallel to "Wrinkle"! You are sweet to mention us! We are your greatest fans! Auntie

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  9. I love Quantum Leap growing up. So did my dad. Love the pics. What a great way to explain it.

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  10. Loved Quantum Leap! It was a such a great, "clean" show. You remind me I want to introduce the kids to it.

    ~Lynn
    http://www.acommonsea.com

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  11. MJ – that was definitely a good one.

    SBT – I hear they actually ARE working on a movie…

    Bish – Yeah, the first episode with cross-dressing made me crack up. So unexpected.

    Bob – there are books? How did I not know this? And off to the bookstore I go.

    Deana – I’m sad I only recently came across it, but it’s so much fun to watch.

    Palmore – I was happy to write about a family favorite today :) Makes me miss you guys though!

    Acommonsea – it’s definitely a kid friendly show.

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  12. I've never seen Quantum Leap, but A Wrinkle in Time is one of my all time favorites from my childhood. Good post for Q, that was a hard one.

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  13. I used to watch it with my mom! This is where I know Scott Bakula from so whenever I see him in anything else I think it's just some episode of Quantum Leap, but told from the other side. :P

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  14. Whoa, AWESOME SAUCE, I haven't thought of this series in a long time!

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  15. Oh, I used to love that show! I had no idea I could watch it on Netflix. Interesting...and a little dangerous! :)

    Happy A-Z!

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  16. I've watched Quantum Leap, but not on Netflix. Cool, I have to check it out. Thx.

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  17. I was a big fan of the show when it first went into syndication and episodes came on every day. Poor guy just wanted to leap home.

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  18. Oh yes, I loved this. Sometimes I stumble across a repeated episode - but they're much better watched in order. Like M.J said, the JFK one was awesome, but also there were a couple of really thought-provoking Vietnam ones, if I remember correctly.

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  19. I love shows based on real science. I've only seen a few random episodes on Quantum Leap on TV land, but I adore Knight Rider. They're from the same time, right?

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  20. My mom loves this show, too. I've only seen a few clips of episodes, but I might need to get it on my "to watch" list.

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  21. I've never watched Quantum Leap. It sounds like a great show!


    The Golden Eagle
    The Eagle's Aerial Perspective

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  22. Quantum Leap is in my all-time, top five favorite shows. Right up there with Firefly, The West Wing, Doctor Who (and Torchwood), and Futurama.

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  23. I used to enjoy watching Quantum Leap in the UK. It was a show my wife and I used to watch together every week not long after we were married, so I have some fond memories of it.

    Not as good a show as Doctor Who, but still a good show. :)

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  24. Quantum Leap was a fun show! And Wrinkle in Time is a great story!

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  25. I have not seen in Quantum Leap in a while. I guess I will take a look at the library. I like it how you explain the show, great work.

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  26. Loved this show. (Also, because I watched this show, when Enterprise came on, I had the hardest time thinking of Scott Bakula as Archer . . . )

    Erin

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  27. I watched all 5 seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise just for Scott Bakula. Which was, of course, because of Quantum Leap. And I loved his part in Chuck. I also really loved Dean Stockwell in his role.

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  28. Quantum Leap, right up there with MacGyver and Knight Rider. I always wondered where the original inhabitants of Sam's bodies hung out until he was finished solving all their problems.

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  29. I think maybe I've seen that show. Maybe. Not sure. If I did, it was a long time ago. The name is familiar anyway.

    Sonia Lal, A to Z challenge

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  30. Julie – haha, thanks! It really was.

    Rusty – I know. I always secretly hoped they’d let him.

    Annalisa – There were, and they were great!

    Gwen –Knight Rider was just a few years earlier, but it was a GREAT show.

    Joshua - as usual, you show what terrific taste you have. That’s a great list of shows (except Futurama, which I’ve never seen but will soon rectify).

    Colin – I agree, Dr. Who is better. But they’re both pretty terrific.

    Jemi – A Wrinkle in Time is my favorite childhood book :)

    Andrew – I was so surprised to see him in Chuck. It was one of the reasons I love that show.

    Melodie – I think they said at one point that they hang out in the “Waiting Room”, possibly in Sam’s body, meaning they’d switch places temporarily, but then have no memory of it when they return to their own.

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  31. And to think, it wasn't until many years later we finally discovered Al was actually a Cylon.

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  32. yeah, me, too... well, and all of the pop culture references

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  33. I loved to watch this show when I was younger. I don't even think I would mind it very much if it was rebooted for a new show. *ponders*

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