One of the most beloved science fiction shows of the 80’s and 90’s is the brain child of Donald P. Bellisario starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell.
The show premise is simple, Bakula’s character Dr. Sam Beckkett, is physicist who involuntarily leaps through spacetime during experiments in time travel, by temporarily taking the place of other people to correct what he consistently discovers were historical mistakes.
Even by todays standard, Quantum Leap was a very progressive show, it would tackle misogyny, racism and discrimination against the disabled. The show would literally have Sam in the shoes of other people and he would exprience their issues first hand.
When NBC announced a new Quantum Leap, fans expected the return of Bakula since his character, Dr. Sam Beckett never leaped back home. Unfortunately for original Quantum Leap fans (known as leapers) NBC decided against his involvement.
According to the early casting calls, NBC wanted a very diverse cast, and they got one.
The new Quantum Leap stars Raymond Lee, Ernie Hudson, Caitlin Bassett, Jenn Chou and Mason Alexander Park.
So what did Bakula have to say? He broke his silence in a Instagram post, here is part of his post: “Here’s the simple version of what’s going on with the Quantum Leap reboot and me: I have no connection with the new show, either in front of the camera or behind it…As the show has always been near and dear to my heart, it was a very difficult decision to pass on the project, a decision that has confused and upset so many fans of the original series…I am crossing my fingers that this new cast and crew are lucky enough to tap into the magic that propelled the original Quantum Leap into the hearts and minds of generations past and present.”
Ratings will tell if NBC did the right move, maybe in the future NBC decides “putting right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home” or with Scott Bakula returning as Sam Beckett.