Q. What is jumping the shark?

A. It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it "Jumping the Shark." From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same.

The term "jump the shark" was coined by my college roommate for 4 years, Sean J. Connolly, in Ann Arbor, Michigan back in 1985. This web site, book, film, and all other material surrounding shark jumping, are hereby dedicated to "the Colonel."

The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually "jumped the shark." The rest is history.

Jumping the shark applies not only to TV, but also music, film, even everyday life. "Did you see her boyfriend? She definitely jumped the shark." You get the idea.

Quantum Leap

First Show
1989
Last Show
1993
Genre
Drama
Network NBC
Slot Day Friday
Slot Time 10 pm
Jumped The Shark when... Votes
Never Jumped 108
The Evil Female Leaper arrived 18
Day One 9
Sam leaps into Lee Harvey Oswald 7
The last episode 6
Sam leaps in to famous people 5
Special Guest Star (Dr. Ruth) 4
Sam leaps into a monkey 3
Sam gets home 3
It just got tired 2
Donald Bellasario's liberal agenda 2
Sam slams Kerouac 1
Sam becomes Marilyn Monroe's bodyguard 1
Sam leaps into The King 1
The second season 1
Singing (Sam as Don Quixote) 1
Sam leaps into the guy in the white room 1
It was a Voyagers rip-off 1
Sam starts to remember who he was 1
Singing (Sam sings Imagine) 1
The final season 1
Sam leaps into a vampire 1
It got religion on Halloween 1
Sam leaps into the Civil War 1


Other Thoughts:

What better combo than Bakula and Stockwell?
Love that Ziggy
Fifth Season Premiere, where Sam leapt into Lee Harvey Oswald.
I am extremely happy to see the acknowledgement of non-Shark Jumping to 'Quantum Leap', one of the best shows ever!! Loved Sam and Al, but I was a little disappointed with the ending.
Best episode: Halloween where "the devil" was trying to kill him. I had no idea what was going until the very end. The "Stevie" thing was a bit corny, but still funny.
I'm actually surprised you don't have an evil twin category. In Quantum Leap's case, the show rocked until this female Quantum Leaper from an alternate reality showed up with a female Al counterpart and they were supposed to be evil but deep down the female Sam counterpart was really a sweetheart. Icky icky! From then on the mysteriousness of the whole thing was gone. They started trying to explain too much of it. Up until that point I had been with the show the whole way. Liked the Lee Harvey Oswald bit though.
Really jumped when the evil woman leaper showed up, was getting tiresome before that. Needed new life but that wasn't it!
Never jumped. Took drastic slides whenever Al called someone a "nozzle" Best episode ever was when Sam and Al simo-leaped and Al finally got some sweet, sweet, monkey love in the back seat of that car on lover's leap. That episode was also very cool because not only did Sam start thinking dirty thoughts like Al but Al performed the "flying noodle kick" on that girl's fiancée. Oh boy!
Certain programs, shark jumping is their aesthetic preference. Bland NBC the way I like it. Reassuring theme song.
The Dr. Ruth episode jumped the shark. HOWEVER, all was redeemed by the last episode, which is one of the most incredible hours of television ever. Touching, honest, philosophical, and sincere, where Sam makes the ultimate sacrifice. We bagged the next day of class talking about that episode.
Can anyone tell me what happened in the last Quantum Leap episode? The Sci-fi channel has been broadcasting the show, but I keep seeing the shows I've already seen, and I'm not sure if perhaps I have seen the last one and just not have known it. Also, was Sam Beckett married? My friend told me that there were some episodes that dealt with his life before the Quantum Leap project, but I haven't seen any of them.
This show was intelligent and entertaining. I'm glad I taped all the episodes, since I still enjoy watching them. It's a shame it finally had to end. That last episode was truly impressive--I figured that he'd finally leap home and everything would be wonderful--it still brings tears to my eyes when I see it.
This show most definitely jumped the shark, unless Bakula leapt into Quint from the original JAWS (before Quint dies of course) and killed it in the final season of Leap. When Bakula starts leaping into famous people, that's when this show gets ridiculous. Leaping into Oswald is pretty ••••••, but how about leaping into Elvis? Like he needed Bakula's singing voice to help him with his career??
Oh, yeah, leaping into Marilyn Monroe's bodyguard to keep her alive for 3 more days - that was real brilliant. I guess they needed to produce a certain # of scripts to finish off the contract with NBC or something. How about the leap into the Civil War (outside of his lifetime) to help Martin Luther King SENIOR? (using the "same DNA" excuse for that unnecessary Leap was absurd.)
Quantum Leap was fascinating right to the end. But, as a hopeless romantic, the last sentence of the show broke my heart.
The Evil Female Leaper!!! Ugh.
OK, so he jumps from body to body. OK. First he's a woman. Then he's a baby. OK, with you still. Now he's a MONKEY? What's next? "This week, on a very special Quantum Leap, Sam leaps into a junkyard dog, and sets things right by licking his own testicles."
Jumped after the first season when Donald Bellasario had to incorporate liberal social issues (animal rights, feminist movement) into the mix. Tell me, why is it that the conservative has to bend over for the 'actually narrow minded I'm gonna push this on you' liberal frame of view, esp. after a series finds a following. I loved the concept and the entertainment value the series brought, but usually when a series gets renewed after having struggled in the ratings, the show gets a facelift aka a leftist spin. Seems like opinionated Donny boy suckered conservatives into watching the series, and then the next season grinds his axe on them. Typical big three network psychology. Same pattern has happened to other series that struggled (Life Goes On, Mash, Midnight Caller, etc). Found out later that the reason this show went on as long as it did was because of politics (the NBC President was a fan of the show). Hmmmmmmmm........
This is a fantastic show and I agree that it never jumped!!! The only reason I watch Sci-Fi is to watch Quantum Leap! I thought Quantum Leap had an amazing premise, but eventually the series got completely nonsensical. I think others who've voted so far gave some great examples. I'm voting partly because someone asked for info on the "last episode." What happens is Sam leaps into a bar called "Al's," tended and owned by a man (surprise surprise) called Al - and it's only the first of a swarm of parallel people Sam encounters in this bar - where either the name or the person is identical to someone he's met an d helped at some point in the series. Meanwhile, "our" Al has lost communication with Sam and is desperately trying to find him. Throughout the show, Sam learns more about this bartender Al and at least one other character who is a "leaper" like Sam (helpful, not some smarmy "evil female" love interest). Eventually, we realize that this Al is, if not HE, then a deity-type who is giving Sam a "break" from the action as well as the opportunity to learn how the leaping originated - and that, most of all, it is driven by Sam, not some otherworldly force. This Al asks Sam what he most wants to do, and that wish will catapult him either home or to the next leap. Teary, he says "I really want to go home, but first I have to make right what went wrong in Al's (his) life." This Al pats his shoulder (I think) and says "God Bless You, Sam" and Sam is then back in time in (his) Al's home, where Al's then-wife is weeping. Sam tells her that Al is ok, and will return home from the war. Happy ending to then - the screen will fade to black and we're informed that Al and (wife) went on to have (5?) children and are celebrating their 38th anniversary. Then, another screen informs us that Sam NEVER leaped home.
Never jumped the shark, but kept leaping and leaping .....
The demise of this show makes me angrier than any other program in history. Apparently, Emmy nominations for Best Program were not enough for NBC, as they destroyed this show in ridiculous attempts for ratings. The precise moment was probably the Oswald episode, but there was always the hope this was a one-time occurrence. Nope. Faithful viewers used to seeing stories about ordinary people were treated to Sam becoming the Bob Goen of leapers. One week he's with Marilyn Monroe, the next he's Dr. Ruth, and then Elvis! Keep in mind Bellasarius said he would NEVER have Sam leap into a famous person. Well, we know where those orders came from. And then, if all this ridiculous •••• wasn't enough, the show breaks ENTIRELY with its premise by adding the evil leaper, and then worst of all, Sam leaping into the CIVIL WAR. Never has a show been so ravaged and utterly destroyed by network ambitions.
I don't care what the Republican poster boy says a few comments ago, any show that would dare to set one of its main characters against Jack Kerouac is far from liberal. "Go on back to Massachusetts, you pinkos!!"
Wonderful theme music this show had!!! Too bad they used famous people for a lot of the stories, instead of having Sam continue his leaps into fictional characters. The show went wrong by daring to be different for too many people, and using far too many cliched special interest formulas for stories. Maybe they should have kept it simple like they did in the beginning!!! However, if they were going to experiment, for the better or worse, then I think leaping into Thomas Magnum (Magnum PI) would have been far better than the Elvis stuff!!! Or, arranging a parallel-world leap, where Sam meets Tony and Doug (of Time Tunnel). Hey, it beats leaping into the monkey storyline!!! Or, Sam leaps into the body of Richard Kimble (The fugitive) and somehow prevents the one-armed man from killing his wife!!! Whoa, now there's something different, then we could forget about the Dr. Ruth fiasco!!! And what about Kolchak (of the Night Stalker)???? Or Longstreet??? Or do a multi-part arc with David Vincent (Invaders)??? Outrageous??? Maybe, but better these once popular fictional characters than those of real life, after all, Sci-fi is for escapism, is it not???? Ok, how about something really different: remove Sam from one episode and reveal what it's like for a person to go back into his body after having been in the waiting room??? Just had a funny thought. Sam should leap into some of the old TV shows that were getting ready to jump the shark, so he could make right what once went wrong...*laughing*!!! In other words, Sam could save Henry (of M*A*S*H) from his death and that way the Korean war will last the historic three-and-a-half years instead of the eleven years. And this way we don't have to listen to all the people who claimed M*A*S*H jumped when they killed off Henry....*laughing* Hey, man, this could be a better idea than the evil leaper storyline. Y'know, referring to the comments above about leaping into TV shows that went wrong. I could see it all now: Sam leaps into Dallas to do in the evil JR- the villain who has control of the city, its population, and even the weather? At the end, Ziggy reveals to us that, as a result of no more JR, Julie Grey doesn't die, Jock's life is extended, Gary & Val never go to Knot's Landing and therefore, Sid never dies in auto crash, Abby never gains any power, the Dallas dream year never happens, Ray really never was Jock's son, Digger Barnes is not a wimp, the Barkley's (from the Big Valley) are related to the Ewings, the Dallas weather returns to normal (after the first season, the elements mysteriously calmed down and it never got cold in Dallas anymore *Jock wore a heavy jacket in an early episode, and it never stormed again after the first season's hurricane episode, and the second season's T-storm/plane crash episode), and to top it off, holidays are back in fashion in the city of Dallas (not one Ewing ever mentioned one holiday while on the air). Yes, its Ziggy vs. JR for the control of a city: High Noon In Dallas. Never were so many lives on the line.
Great show. One of the greatest ideas for a TV series ever! Very unique. Never really jumped, they might have tried to tinker with it a bit, but they never lost sight of the main theme of the show, and it went off the air before it became old. I think five years is usually the perfect life for any show. If the producers of MASH, Married with Children, Happy Days, and alot of other shows, would've been smart enough to end their run before they became old, they might never have made it onto this site, they were all great shows that were on way too long, and it took away from how great they were, in my opinion.
I considered Quantum Leap one of my absolute fave shows ..... One of my fave episodes being the one where he leaps into the pregnant woman. It was great. I think the closest to the leap into a famous person (before those episodes happened) was the one where he ends up helping Buddy Holly write 'Peggy Sue'. One of the best things about the show was that sometimes you really DIDN'T know what Sam had to do to leap. GREAT STUFF!
Quantum Leap never jumped the shark. It was and is the most inspirational and uplifting hour of television. It never really got a fair chance on the air. They kept moving it around--making it difficult to find. Canceled way too early!!! Difficult show to do-different setting, time periods, and characters every week added to the challenge, but the quality never went down. The talents of Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell and show never got the recognition they deserved. Should have won several Emmys. Still miss the show. How about a few movies to see a few more leaps? Very intelligent and entertaining show. Bring it back!!!
My favorite ep was when he was in Man of La Mancha! Gotta love Scott!!
This show NEVER jumped! I still don't know why everyone says the show kinda jumped when the evil leaper showed...I thought that was a great idea....it kinda showed Al off in a way coz the woman Al didn't know what the hell she was doing. And then the woman Sam was actually I guess kinda dragged into it and really didn't want a part of what was going on. It's always kinda nice (after having watched a show with the same chars for a while) to see a little competition and to show that the Quantum Leap team is the best!!
It never jumped although the evil female leaper was a little strange... my favorites were when Sam leaped into a woman's body... hilarious!
The reason Sam never went home is because of what he did for Al in the last episode, which is tell his wife during WW2 that Al was coming home and everything was going to be all right. Subsequently, he changed the course of Al's life so that he never worked on the Quantum Leap project, and since Al was Sam's only link to our world, Sam then became stranded in...whatever dimension he exists in. I cried my friggin' eyes out after it was over...
When the evil female leaper arrived. That and the god-awful Kennedy assassination two-parter.
Other people have made comments about some of the episodes where Quantum Leap jumped the shark, and I don't agree with any of them, except it came perilously close with Dr. Ruth. For one thing, "Lee Harvey Oswald" was my favorite episode. It's the coolest one. And I also like those twists where it turns out he was actually helping a famous person get started, like with "Peggy Sue" and the Halloween episode and Stevie (especially with all the Stephen King references). And, just so you know, I don't think M*A*S*H lasted too long. No, 11 years was perfect for a show of that fine quality and I would have been happy if Quantum Leap went for eleven years. The Civil War episode with the DNA stretched things a bit, although I liked how the man he helped turned out to be one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s relatives. In sort, this show never jumped, and it was the most perfect show ever besides M*A*S*H and The X-Files. So there!
This show tanked, Sliders, which came later though, was far better, up until lately at least. Anyways, the only redeeming thing for this show was the leap into Vietnam. The way that his bro knew it was him at the end, and the way that they made the leap have to deal with the hologram guy, that was classic. For a show that sucked, this one episode was the best scifi show that I have ever seen.
•••••• show watched by the kind of people who enjoy "walker, texas ranger" and "murder, she wrote". time traveler solving problems? give me a break. scott baccula couldn't act his way out of a murphy brown episode, or out of a paper bag for that matter!
I liked this show! It never jumped, but wasn't on long enough.
Well, it never really jumped 'cos it was awesome the whole way through. It might have temporarily leaped though when that •••• evil leaper showed up. One with her was okay, maybe, but after we find out that she's really a sweet innocent girl that sucks big time. Come on she's supposed to be an "evil" leaper right? Make her evil. She wasn't enough of a challenge for Sam the first time. It's basically "don't shoot me." "Okay." and she disappears. Sometimes....
The Evil Female Leaper, mistakes (some so bad they couldn't be explained away as Sam "changing history,") the repetitious plots when plenty of new possibilities were not explored, were all bad enough, but on the last show, "Mirror Image," QL didn't just jump, it plunged to depths rarely reached. One Leaper said it best in stating Don Bellisario delivered an insulting blowoff to fans who had been loyal from Day One and kept the show on years after its threatened cancellation. By the way, this was one of the few shows where singing was really a PLUS. Scott Bakula really CAN sing and act and was robbed of his Tony and Emmys! Suggestion: if Dr. Beckett really IS still out there, leap into Don Bellisario and fix what went wrong with QL!
Oh, I don't know which came first. There was Elvis, Lee Harvey Oswald, Marilyn Monroe's driver...it just got to be too much. I followed the show closely during the initial run on NBC. At the end of the 3rd season, there was widespread rumor that the show was going to be cancelled. Through some sort of campaign, the show was picked up again, and then the good stuff started. The first episode after the "rebirth" was the Lee Harvey Oswald episode ("Don't you remember Sam? The first time Jackie died as well?") - I still get shivers thinking about that line. Anyway - the final episode that we saw at the end of the full run was taped at the end of the 3rd season... and never aired. They decided to use it at the end, rather than re-do a finale. If you look closely, it deals only with stuff from the first three seasons. Bottom Line - show never jumped.
That time that he was about to screw Monroe...and also the whole "married" thing. That made it ethically confusing...One must admit, despite the constant peachiness, that the final episodes was one of the best I've ever seen.
This was one of the greatest television shows of all time. I only saw it in reruns, but I still cried when Sam left his wife and went back to leaping to save Al. And the last episode? I'll never get over it.
I loved this show, but what was up with that final episode? Ugh... what a load of ••••.
This was one of the best TV shows of its kind, and should never have been cancelled. If NBC hated it so much, why did they instantly put the QL clone "The Pretender" on the air? No one else out there is angry about this? This show was terrific!! It continued to get better and the ending was heart wrenching but awesome! I enjoyed the evil leaper too!
Trashed Kerouac? I don't think that was an accurate portrayal of Kerouac, but if anything it made him look better. At the time the show was set Kerouac was ravaged by delirium tremens as a result of alcoholism. One of the greatest shows of all time
While Quantum Leap was good throughout its run, when the evil leaper came and all the celebrity leaps appeared the show started to sell out. It became obsessed with catchy plotlines and situations rather than letting the stories stand out.
This show ruled! The ending was a tad disappointing, but not enough to jump the shark.
Never jumped!! This show was terrific. How come nobody has mentioned how cool the "Trilogy" was? The interaction between Sam & Al continued to get better as the show went on, especially during the episode regarding Al's wife, the episode where Sam jumps into a young Al and Al is replaced as Sam's sidekick, and the final show. For those who trash stories like the evil leaper or Oswald, I loved them and how creative they were. Congratulations to the creators and writers of Quantum Leap, and of course Scott and Dean.
Jumped the first episode of the second season, when they had a congressional hearing and Al testified that Sam 'was on a mission from God'. Sam is a Blues Brother?
First off this was a great show until that evil lady Dr. Ruth came on. I never ever watched an episode after that
This was just another one of those sci-fi shows from the 80s that was really bad. Scott Bakula nuff said, he was real good in necessary roughness NOT
This show was so bad maybe ted mcginley worked for this show somehow because it was a stinker
One of the most overrated sci fi shows. leaping into Oswald was cheesy but then into Elvis that's just too much
This show, along with Wonder Years, was my favorite of all time. As others have pointed out, the show did have some down episodes, but what show doesn't? Most people site the Lee Oswald episode as the make it or break it episode, which is rather paradoxical, but my personal fav is the episode just before that one, where Sam is in Vietnam with the reporter Lady that wants here Pulitzer. In the end Sam has the choice of saving his brother, who was killed in Vietnam, or in rescuing the prisoners from the POW camp. He, at Al's guidance, rescues his brother. The reporter dies leaving the last photos she took of the POW's. The last scene is in a bar tent and everyone is looking at the photos celebrating the victory, and one of the soldiers says, "I wonder if she'll win her Pulitzer" and Al replies, "she did, last photo". When Sam looks at the photo's it's a picture of Al in shackles being pushed along. He is looking back at her taking the picture, obviously making eye contact, and has a terribly sad look in his eyes. Sam realizes that Al chose Sam's brothers life over the 10 years that Al spent in the prison camps, which caused him to lose his first and most loved wife. (See last episode) Really sad, and touching moment. Other greats abound, making this the best show ever
Lee Harvey Oswald was one things, but Oswald, Elvis, Monroe's bodyguard, Civil War ancestor and more... It all got so gimmicky. And if it wasn't famous people it was one more silly steamy romance after another. Does anyone else find it ironic that Sam slept around more after it was revealed he was married? Oh, and the theme song changed for the worse at this time too.
Sam made it home and then leaves and continues to leap from place to place when all he wanted to do was get home.
Never jumped only leaped!!! One of the best sci-fi shows ever.
This evil old hag needs to be stopped she could ruin just aboot any show. Dr Ruth must leave the earth.
This show never jumped! I wish they never would have cancelled it.
Quantum Leap was truly one of the best shows to air. The three-part "Trilogy" was some of the most enthralling TV for me and my college roommates. However the topic I want to discus is the series finale. From what I remember reading at the time, I think it was USA Today article, the series finale was not meant to be a finale at all, rather it meant to be a stepping stone into a new level of leaping that was going to be more arduous than anything Sam experienced up to that point. It's premise was to be that what Sam had completed was just practice for the challenges he was to face, and there would be no end in site for him, The article sited the fact that the episode was written and shot before the series was canceled as evidence that it was not meant to be the series finale it became. It was when the cancellation was handed down that the end text piece about 'Sam never returning' was added in. On another note, I for one liked the 'Evil Leaper' I never saw the episode she was introduced. My first impression of her came from her follow up episode when Sam was a troubled college student turned cape crusader, the 'Masked Marauder'. I thought the way the episode turned when she showed up was well done and added a degree of foreboding. Now Sam was not only fighting to change history for the better, but had to take on the additional challenge of a spoiler. It also demonstrated how Sam's intentions were so pure that he attempts to save the very person trying to destroy him and his work. I hoped to see more of her kind in later episodes. Maybe if I saw her first appearance I would feel different. I also liked the idea of the 'Evil Leapers' because it validated the idea that if one team could figure out Quantum time travel, what was to keep another group from doing so, and that their motives would be virtuous. Either way I did not want this show to go away when it did. I did not discover it until the second season and wish it could have gone on to have a 5th. After the cancellation I found some solace in watching the episodes I missed in syndication, but it's demise still saddens me. It truly never Jumped the Shark.
Great show from the start to finish
This show should of stayed on the air.
This was a brilliant, yet quirky show that never jumped. My favorite episode is the last one, best last episode ever as far as quality.
Must qualify that though with the fact that I've never seen the last M*A*S*H*.
Quantum leap never went down hill. It was the best show ever created and should always be remembered....and that's all I have to say about that.
this show was the coolest ever!!! and dean stockwell was perfectly cast as a hologram...great acting/storylines/show
The only thing I would have changed was the ending. I think Sam deserved to go home,he was put through the wringer too many times...a happy ending would have helped me sleep that nite!
Never jumped. Some of you people need to get a life and stop putting so much effort into being a negative "critic". RELAX and enjoy the shows.
To all of you who didn't like the last episode: I too was sad that Sam never leaped home, and I even felt a little cheated... it always sucks when a show that's been like teasing you for five years doesn't give you want you want at the end, and the hero that you love doesn't win. But look at it this way: as God/Al said in the last episode, it's something internal to Sam that's making him keep leaping, no other force is making him do it. So Sam must actually *want* to keep leaping subconsciously. After all, it's probably a lot more exciting to travel through time than be some lame scientist working out in the desert somewhere. Furthermore, there's no way Sam's just going to be stuck leaping around for all eternity, he's not immortal... you know that eventually he's going to be killed in the line of duty somehow and go to heaven. No, I'm not a Jesus freak, but if you accept the premise that God/Al from the last episode really is God, and He Himself says "God bless you, Sam", then Sam Beckett is definitely in the good books as far as I'm concerned. Finally, how cool is it that Sam totally makes the ultimate sacrifice for his best friend by giving up the leap home, in return for the ultimate

sacrifice that Al made for Sam by enduring ten years in a POW camp so that Sam could save his older brother's life? Whatever you might say about Donald Bellesario, with shows like QUANTUM LEAP and MAGNUM P.I, Bellesario definitely demonstrated a brilliant ability to create characters that we care about so much because they care so much about each other.
NEVER JUMPED!!! Best show on television hands down. Taken from us too early. Are there really any tele-movies in the planning?? God I hope so!
The trilogy was awesome. Those were the three best episodes ever shown on television. I liked the Dr. Ruth episode. I thought it was hilarious listening to Sam try to talk with an accent. The final episode was great. When they cancelled this show, it was a sad day in television history.
This show never jumped. I have to agree with the above poster...what's up with The Pretender?! I loved The Pretender....when it was called QUANTUM LEAP!!!!!!!!! QL was so original. Things didn't always work out either!! I mean he can't save his dad!!!
His relationship with his dad and mother...were great!!! Oh and DEAN STOCKWELL is the best!!! You know what made it great....NO SEXUAL TENSION....this show didn't need that crutch....only slightly with the evil leaper...and certain women in episodes...but no Rachel/Ross ••••. Nothing that ever really detracted our attention away from the leap. He used to be a really big Hollywood player...why hasn't he gotten more dramatic roles, he's not just a character actor. He got to show off all his traits in Quantum Leap. He's an icon... Sure, Quantum Leap had it's lows...but they were all forgotten with the final episode. That song in the last episode that plays before Sam leaps...the one with the harmonica....makes me cry every time...Thanks for the memories Dean and Scott......THE BEST SHOW.... THE BEST
It started slowly--an insidious black cloud coming in from the lower left of your TV screen. A fairly good sci-fi show with good ratings and a decent premise was succeeding despite its share of plot problems (did Sam switch bodies or just minds? Only animals can "see" that it's Sam. No, wait--kids can, too. Oh, and the mentally ill, as well.) Then, inexplicably, the last two seasons went nuts and were completely unwatchable. But, it all started when Scott Bakula's character, Sam, "leaped" into a production of "Man of La Mancha" and began singing. Why did this particular episode mark its shark jumping? After all, hadn't he been a glam rocker a few seasons before? BECAUSE SCOTT BAKULA WAS CURRENTLY TOURING IN A PRODUCTION OF "MAN OF LA MANCHA". I don't know if they chose that script because Bakula couldn't get away from the tour long enough to film a "real" episode or if it was just plain hubris on the actor's part, but the damage had been done. And the subsequent Marilyn Monroe, Lee Harvey Oswald, and 3-generation leap episodes--all deplorable--only underscored the fact that the shark had indeed been jumped. I was not a rabid fan, and did not see every episode, but the last episode was the best sendoff I've ever seen for a TV series. No hokey prospects for a reunion, no mugging for the cameras that plague most finales.
Fantastic on screen chemistry with Stockwell and Bakula. Excellent concept! Should have continued on for much longer so many ideas were never even scratched at. More than Sci-fi, a study in human relationships and altruistic sacrifice!!
The last episode, where they had to rewrite it quickly because of the premature cancellation.
Quantum Leap was and STILL IS one of the most amazing shows ever created for television. After reading all of the comments here I just have to say that people who did not see enough of the show to realize what an amazing show it was should never write an opinion about it. After all, if it was such a bad show then why is it still being aired around the world and followed by fans 10 years after it originally began. I have to admit that the 5th season was off track for what the show originally set out to do. But that was not because of Don, it was because of all the changes at NBC and Universal. And to those of you who don't like Scott Bakula, you're in the minority. The man has hundreds of fan clubs around the world (and so does Dean Stockwell) and there is a QL convention every year somewhere. He is one of the most fan-appreciating people I have ever seen and could play any character you can think up - I think QL proved that once and for all!!! And if he couldn't sing, how did he get nominated for a Tony award in 1988!! Personally, I think those who know QL and have kept up with Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell should be the ones making comments about it, not those who don't know what the hell they are talking about and can't even spell the actors or the show's name right. I think some people write opinions from their pea size brain instead of from the heart!! QL RULES!!
Being in the UK, We saw Quantum Leap well behind you US buddies... Thank God for BBC2! Anyhow, Quantum Leap was a cracking show, never jumped shark, and the final episode was fantastic. In the UK, there was a very similar show called 'Randall & Hopkirk Deceased' and it had the same style of idea, but you US chaps had the money and resources to go somewhere with the idea. Good on you too. As long as you can keep on with this Sci-Fi/Drama stuff, I'll keep watching...
I loved this show!!! my favorite was when Sam leaped into a very young Al & saved his life with a cigar.
It was the start of the 4th, and last, season when Sam leapt into Lee Harvey Oswald. This led to leaps into other famous people in an attempt to increase ratings. I watched this show religiously and stayed with it through the cheaper special effects of Al appearing from the "Imaging Chamber"; walking through doors and walls, etc. You could tell he was standing in front of a blue screen, much like your local weatherperson. This show required the viewer to actually think a little while watching, trying to figure out how Sam could "leap" through time, but never get home. One of the best episodes was when he leaped into himself as a young boy and was reunited with his dad, who died of a heart attack, and his brother, who died in Vietnam. He was allowed what many of us are not: a second chance. Leaping into famous people broke this show's "Prime Directive", and allowed Sam to "leap the shark".
When the person who Sam leaped into left the white room and was gallivanting around town in the future and Al had to go look for him.
I never thought the show jumped. The only problem that the show had was that it ended. I think that they should bring Quantum Leap back with the same actors.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER jumped! This show was one of my all time favorites and I still miss it. Oswald episode was great, are you kidding? The writing was consistent and original, plus Scott Bakula was not at all hard on the eyes!
Q.L. NEVER jumped. A few close calls maybe (Dr. Ruth episode comes to mind), but this was easily one of the top 5 shows in the last 20 years!! Thank you for the Sci Fi channel for the reruns (sadly, about the ONLY good thing about the Sci Fi channel).
Never jumped! Thought that letting Sam leap outside the years he lived in final season might not work, but I was wrong. Everything worked: the chemistry between the two main characters, the great acting of Bakula and Stockwell, the wide variety in the type of stories, and the gueststars. The show was not as successful in the ratings as it should have been because NBC moved it around too much- both in terms of time slot and pulling it for weeks at a time. Also, it wasn't the type of show you could have in the background while doing something else. It made you think and feel while at the same time being very entertaining. Would be perfect to come back as a feature or made for TV movie. Here's hoping!
Just to set the record straight... The Marilyn Monroe and Elvis episodes sucked, and were probably the result of pressure from network higher-ups, but the Lee Harvey Oswald episode was pure Bellisario. He wrote it to set right what Oliver Stone made wrong.
In Quantum Leap, Sam finds out that he can leap at will. He goes back in time to see Al's wife to tell her that Al wasn't killed in action. Yes, Sam was married. In the episode where Sam and Al switched places we found out that Sam had a wife.
After seeing Sam Beckett go through the same fish out of water experiences a couple of dozen times. This show was almost as formulaic as Murder She Wrote or a Columbo movie. Let's see Sam save someone new this week...save us all. Thanks to NBC for a merciful cancellation.
Quantum Leap stole the idea from Voyagers. Same concept, different actors, no kid. Actually, not having the kid was a good idea. Come on, Bellisario! Do you honestly think we didn't see through that?
The Evil Leaper would have been cool if she'd been really evil! Anyway, the show unjumped the shark (unsharked? resharked?) with the final episode. QL is on the short list of shows with excellent (or even good) final episodes.
I watched this series when I was quite young, so I wasn't as demanding back then, but I did really love this series. I watched a few episodes recently, and some were a bit cheesy, but there were some good ones. I actually preferred it later on with the evil leaper, and the episodes where you actually got to see Ziggy and the future. I always thought that some of the early episodes were a bit repetitive, but I still loved it. I was always amazed at the special effects of sam's leaping, but Ziggy was so cool. There were a lot of continuity errors, Was Ziggy a he or a she? They always referred as a he, but when we actually heard Ziggy's voice it was a she. I preferred when they got adventurous in the later episodes and we got to know more about the actual complex and the people there. I think it needed a little refining, a bit more of an explanation here and there, and the ending was a bit disappointing. It would have been nice for him to come home and relax for a while, but it was still good. I enjoyed it consistently.
This is my favorite TV show ever. The subject matter gave them a lot of room to work with, and they did a great job. I LOVE THIS SHOW!
I just have to say that this has to be THE best show of all time...I would watch it 24/7 if I could, I don't think it has ever jumped the shark, it always kept you on edge, wondering who he would leap into next, and that is why you watch it. I don't think any other TV show can ever be as good as this one was, and it's a shame that it had to end.
Altho' this show NEVER jumped it did take a bit of a turn during the evil leaper days. Eventually all was cleared up and the final show was sublime. This show is a definite example of one that could go on forever simply because of the set up. Unfortunately network execs don't see a gold mine when they have one. I mean how could Seinfeld run for 10 years, a show about nothing? I recently saw a special about Quantum and the even said they pulled the plug too early. Well hindsight is 20/20, baby. A lot of good that does us now!
One of my favorite shows. It was cancelled when it was still very good. It definitely never jumped!
A show about science turns in for a religious ending? I'd of expected something better.
I didn't even realize until I read through some of the comments here that two of the greatest shows in television history were created by the same man. Quantum Leap and Magnum PI never jumped! QL came close a couple of times, but the show's intelligent tongue-in-cheek humor kept pulling it out of the hole! I have never seen the finale, unfortunately, but even that seems to be near perfect closure. Sam the man making the ultimate sacrifice for his friend. Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell should be canonized! I really don't think this show ever jumped. granted, the specials suchs as him leaping into famous people were stretching it, as if they thought these episodes would boost ratings (remember all the advertisement for the Lee Harvey Oswald ones?). The evil leaper...well, I didn't mind it that much, they wanted to put some more continuity in the shows, rather than most shows just being stand-alone episodes. And those really didn't last that long, it was a curve ball they threw in, but it was a change of pace. I think what made this show so special was the fact that most of them were just your average people he was trying to help (until the Dr Ruth, Monroe, Oswald,ect). And I did like the episodes which featured the retarded guy and his brother and it was nice to see them leap back to them a 2nd time. I was very disappointed in the finale, it was cool for them to go back to the leap where Sam didn't 'help out' Al and being that was one of the early shows, it was good for them to reach back and use that to tie up the story, but Sam never leaped home. Talk about a sacrifice. My favorite episodes (off hand) would be the Vietnam ones and where Sam/AL changed places. The Halloween one with a young 'Stephen King' was corny but in fun. All in all, Quantum Leap was awesome and it definitely deserves to be in the 'never jumped' category. I only wish it came back for another run or for a 2-hour movie to let Sam leap home.
Brilliant. It made me the man I am today.
never jumped. the trilogy was perhaps the greatest 3-episode sequence in television.
When Sam started to remember who he really was and they started to show what the control room in the future looked like.
Quantum Leap was great until the end. True, some of the celebrity leaping was silly, but the show endured and the last episode was the best. Ironically, QL was about to Jump when it ended. A reliable story has it that NBC had told QL creator Don Bellisario that they wanted to make QL more scifi-ish by having Sam leap into the distant future, essentially turning the show into another wannabe Star Trek. This was not what QL was about-Scifi was just a vehicle to give Sam the chance to explore people's lives. So Bellisario decided instead to end the show rather than let NBC ruin it.... thus the ambiguous (but still excellent) final episode was given a brief epilogue at the end. Gotta respect that he preferred to let the show die with dignity.
A Voyager rip-off?! Come on! QL was around quite a while before Voyager bud. and what does being pulled across the galaxy have to do with time travel?
I always wished that they could have made a movie out of this idea... Brilliant... NEVER JUMPED!!!
Just a thought about the last episode: if Sam jumps to the point where he ends up changing Al's life so that Al never develops the Quantum Leap project--that means that Quantum Leap never happened, right? So Sam must actually be at "home," because he would have never ended up jumping if there was no Quantum Leap project in the first place. So, in a sense, maybe Sam really did somehow manage to leap "home" and change Al's life for the better, to boot. By the way, Scott Bakula's a hottie!
Luckily this show never jumped the shark, Al & Sam were the greatest!!! I loved it when Sam leaped into the retarded kid "Jimmy" and Jimmy's brother was going to send Sam (Jimmy) away because he kept breaking everything and he kept screwing things up at work. Then Sam (Jimmy) saved the day by saving a drowning person and the retarded kid he had leaped into could now stay at home with his family, who now loved him, but before thought he was a fumbling fool. Gotta love it...CLASSIC!! I think Sam leaped into the retarded kid in yet another episode, but it was not as good as the first leap.
Let me say first that I am a HUGE fan of Quantum Leap, Scott Bakula AND Dean Stockwell, but the show definitely jumped with "The Leap Back." Once they revealed Sam was married, suddenly he became promiscuous. That bothered me. NBC's need to sensationalize just made it worse. The Lee Harvey Oswald episode, despite a powerful performance by Bakula, was a problem because it's an automatic cheat; JFK is still dead. The Civil War episode was just silly. "Trilogy" was interesting but didn't move me too much. I never completely stopped watching the show (though sloughed off a few episodes of the last season), but didn't enjoy the last two seasons as much as the first three.
Quantum Leap Never jumped the shark. I didn't discover the show until its second season but I was hooked by the show's intriguing premise. Quantum Leap became a hugely impactful force in my life for various reasons, mainly my fascination with the possibilities of time travel. I have just about (if not every) episode on tape and have seen them all numerous times. I, like everyone else, have my favorites, each of which I identify with for one touching reason or another. I think the original idea that Sam would "leap" into non-famous people was genuinely carried well through the first seasons. The idea was novel and the episodes were crafted in such a way that even though the characters were usually fictitious, the places and events they stories took place amongst were factual allowing audiences to identify with each episode's content on some level. By the end of the third season, I think Don B. realized that leaping into situations where Sam's leap depended on the actions of or lending assistance to "famous" individuals might provide an interesting twist to the series. To me, I saw the gradual lean of Quantum Leap in this direction as a shift to show the effect which Sam was having not just on individual lives, but on lives that in turn affected generations at a time. It was more than just a "creative" change in the show writing. Admittedly, the stories occasionally play out somewhat contrived, however, they have to be looked at as a whole rather than simply as individual episodes. Sam's "leap" in Oswald gave audiences a feasible look into the life if Oswald prior to JFk's assassination, something rarely taken into consideration when accounting for a role Oswald might have played in his assassination. Episodes putting Sam in situations opposite celebs like Monroe and Presley contained an underlying theme that showed the efforts Sam put into his leaps did more than just save one life or keep one family together. Other than a few liberties taken by the writers (Jackie Kennedy's "original" death in the assassination), the episodes rarely "change" history at all. Sam's actions didn't prevent Monroe from killing herself. They changed "what would have happened" should he not have been there to assist individuals in his various leaps. By the end of it's fifth season, Quantum Leap had reminded audiences of all the many events that had gone on in the last half of the twentieth century- Vietnam, Korea, riots in Watts, etc. It had also brought the various members of American pop culture to the forefront of the minds of the audience. Sam's leaps into these lives demonstrate to all of us the importance that these people and events have played in our culture's history. Sam is merely a vehicle for showing us this. This process never stops, though, as represented in the show's final episode (it's kind of ironic that this "last" episode was actually filmed at the end of the third season).
Quantum Leap NEVER jumped the shark though a few episodes definitely should have been tossed in the wastebasket. Loved the series finale though I didn't want to series to end. Loved how Al the bartender, aka God, was also in the pilot episode as the military guy with the metal plate in his head. I've heard the rumors about someone making tele movies about Quantum Leap. Where are they?? A great show like this deserves a television movie, seeing that the powers to be felt we needed a Brady Bunch reunion movie. Hopefully someone with guts in the television world reads this web page and will push for a Quantum Leap movie. We've waited LONG ENOUGH!!!!!!
Quantum Leap didn't jump the shark until the very last episode. I really enjoyed watching this show the whole time that it was on, but the final episode was so bad that it ruined the entire series for me. It was absolutely the worst series finale ever. It didn't answer any questions. It only asked a lot more and left them unanswered. And not only that, it was just the most morbid way to end a story. The only worst ending that I can think of for a story is if The Fugitive had ended with Richard Kimble frying in the electric chair while the one-armed man robbed a bank, escaped to a tropical island and lived out the rest of his life in extreme wealth and luxury with a lot of hot babes. And then Kimble's sister is so distraught over her brother's execution that she blows her brains out in front of her children and then her husband is so upset over her death that he kills their children and then kills himself. All of that would have actually been worse than the ending that Quantum Leap had.
I hate to break this to everyone, but this show did jump the shark when Sam leaped into Lee Harvey Oswald. That episode was well written and well acted by both Bakula and Stockwell, but Sam leaping into a real person was just ••••••. Those •••••• network executives should have minded their own business and not insisted on screwing up this fine show. And they screwed it up even more when they ended the show with a cliffhanger. NBC sucks. Sitting on the front porch with a girl in the year 1969 taking about the Beatles, Sam shields her from information about the impending break-up, but then he goes to a little plagiarism by singing, and therefore indirectly taking credit for Lennon's Imagine, which wouldn't get written for another two years. Imagine what the time warp the girl felt if she actually saw the album when it cam out. Definitely never leaped! I will concede the evil leaper was a bit lame, but overall the show was rock solid. The trilogy episodes still give me goose bumps, especially when Sam finds out he could have saved Al from being a POW and Al responds, "I was free up here". Great stuff. The Final Leap was also incredible, and I only wish there was some way the show could have continued. This show is the only reasons to watch the Sci-Fi Channel. One of my all time favorite shows. As for the one guy who said this was a remake of Voyagers, first of all I did not know anyone over the age of 7 actually watched that show, second Scott Bakula was not wearing suede pants every episode, and third the writing for QL makes Voyagers look like an after-school special (not that there is anything wrong with after school specials - if you are 7).
The final season was full of ••••! Dr. Ruth, the Evil leaper, that three part abigail •••• story and the Civil war. All garbage! When they introduced the evil leaper.... I think it was the next to last season. Otherwise, it was when they were going for historical events like Marilyn, JFK, etc. This show jumped the shark when the evil leaper arrived. back then there wasn't a web site or a term leap the shark, but the evil leaper showed up, I said to myself, this show has just hit the wall, like so many other shows in TV past.
The episode when Sam leaped into a vampire. Hell, why the f**k doesn't he leap into Frankenstein or the goddamn Mummy.
There is no way this show ever jumped the shark. Sure, there may have been one or two episodes that pushed the imagination too far (e.g. monkey), but what show doesn't have that? The weakness of one episode doesn't let the whole show down. This was one of the BEST show on TV from start to finish!
I don't believe that this show ever did. I was a fantastic show and I still watch it on Sci-Fi even though I have seen almost ever episode ten times.
When they brought in that female leaper, this show stopped being great, innovative sci-fi, and became schlock. It stopped being about human stories and turned into the good vs. evil thing we've seen countless times over.
This show NEVER jumped...but it came close when he was a sidekick on a 50's TV show and indirectly gave himself his theory of time travel. (If you guys remember, he told the star of the show his theory, because the guy was trying to travel through time. Then, the actual Sam of that time, who was six or seven, wrote in to the show asking the guy to explain his time travel theory.)
The Halloween episode where it is revealed that there is a god vs. the devil thing going on. Ridiculous. I liked the show when it was about correcting things that had gone wrong, which often dealt with morality, but wasn't specifically religious.
Never jumped? Are you out of your minds? This was one of the most painful shows to ever watch with its over-emoting, bleeding heart liberalism spewing all over the place. "think like I do or you are a bigot!" When he was supposed to been in the body of a bigot and he gives some inane forgettable speech and then says he will join the man they are about to lynch? and puts the noose around his neck? How many baby boomerangs can one tolerate? What a stomach turner.
When it broke its own internal logic and Sam jumped into the Civil War... a time NOT during his lifetime.
I have a question about the Quantum leap series finale: in the series finale, if Sam changed the future timeline by reuniting Al with Al's wife, then did Sam in effect end up undoing all the problems he'd fixed during the previous five seasons of leaping? Since Al's life would have been totally different after Sam told Al's wife that Al was coming home from the war...wouldn't that have altered the future timeline, and because of the ripple effect Al might not have even ever met Sam in the first place? So would Sam even still have gone leaping to begin with, given that he ended up changing the future by making that sacrifice for Al? But then, if Sam in fact undid his initial leap by helping Al in the series finale, wouldn't that cause a rip in the whole space-time continuum (considering how much good Sam had done over Quantum Leap's five seasons)? Does anyone know what I mean?
I loved Quantum Leap, but lets face it. The whole evil leaper bit was the show grasping at straws. It came around for a great finale, but it was clear that a finale was eminent after the inserted a nemesis.
This was by far the best show ever aired by NBC. QL managed to find the perfect balance between philosophy, comedy and entertainment. Although Bakula has never really been able to find a fitting role since, the part of Sam will always mean doing the right thing even in the face of sacrifice to all us sci fi fans.
This show never jumped. The leaps into famous people were somewhat of a sell-out for ratings, and the Civil War episode was a stretch, but that didn't mean they weren't interesting episodes. Thank goodness for Sci-Fi continuing to air this show. "Quantum Leap," starring a stiff Scott Bakula alongside an atrociously miscasted Dean Stockwell, who overdid every one of his alleged performances in order to over-compensate for Mr. Bakula's wooden leadenness, "jumped" with its very first installment, titled "Genesis," because of a Not-Acceptable Premise: attempted deliberate improvements of history. As a person interested in science fiction and science fact, I subscribe to the view that altering history should be illegal. For altering history too many times will cause space and time to lose their distinctions, causing past to blend with future, merging one present-day with another present-day, and ultimately destroying space, time, energy, matter, and indeed the entire Universe, permanently. Donald P. Bellisario might have wanted to restore the anthology format, but he went about it in exactly the wrong way. A former Marine (and dismissive of ALL the postulations that John Kennedy's assassination was the possible or probable work of conspiracies that essentially framed Lee Harvey Oswald), he is basically NOT a science-fiction writer. He can write science fiction, as his contributions to "Battlestar GALACTICA: The Legend Of The Twelve Tribes Of Mankind" proved; these are amongst the best installments of what was, essentially, a rather limited premise. But he is essentially not a science-fiction writer. "Quantum Leap" had no business being in production, and there should have been characters written in, all of them Government officials who knew or even suspected the possibility that altering history too often would destroy the Universe, who were trying to stop Dr. Sam Beckett's project before it could even get started.
No matter how many times NBC tried to change its time slot, they couldn't stop its loyal fans from following their favorite Leaper. I never knew quantum physics was real. One of my college roommates is now a quantum physicist which makes me want to go back an examine how intricate the premise of the show was. Most memorable episodes to me were that OUTSTANDING trilogy, the first episode introducing us Al's first wife Beth, the mental institution episode was high drama, the episode where Al sings "Inch Worm" to that adorable little girl who could see him, The Jimmy episodes, and the finale. Lots of laughs, and great tearjerkers throughout its run. Should've lasted for another decade. The storyline possibilities were endless.
When Bellisario was interviewed about QL before its debut, he commented that he would never do something absurd or topical, like having Sam leap into Lee Harvey Oswald or something like that. Well...
The 'jump the shark' moment when you knew the show was doomed was when Sam 'leaped' into the body of a chimpanzee. Not too long later, the show died and disappeared forever...except in reruns.
Those votes you have for "Never Jumped" are from Star Trek

geeks looking for something to devote their lives to since 1969.
What sick bastard wrote the last episode? He never goes home. Thats sucks! This was my favorite show growing up. I watched it whenever I could and I still watch the reruns on sci-fi. Years ago when I heard that the show was finally going to end I could wait to see how they would end this show. I watched in horror as a voice over explained what happens to the characters at the end of the episode. The show would have had a perfect run if not for those last few minutes.
Dr. Ruth was an example of why the show took to many risks for the last season. The final season had some great episodes, but some of the worst as well. It could have been a funny innocent show, but they build a pathetic suspense film and turn Dr. Ruth into a moronic action hero. It is fun when they flash to a silly looking dwarf double playing Dr. Ruth beating people up and climbing on busses. I hope who ever wrote that episode was kicked out of the union.
One of the best shows ever. My personal favorite episode was the two parter where Sam goes home to Indiana and then off to the Vietnam war and saves his brother. I know, all too nice and neat, but the end was 'lump in your throat' kind of feeling.
I must agree with all of you. Yes, the evil leaper, trilogy, JFK/Oswald, Marilyn, Elvis, and even Bigfoot were low points. But it was still an incredible show. Of course, the final episode was the worst way to end it. Someone asked if Jimmy - the boy with Downs Syndrome - was in the finale. Jimmy was one of the mineworkers. For me, the worst part about the finale was that I DIDN'T SEE IT. I found out the next day at work. NBC (for NoBody Cares) never advertised that it would be shown on a different night or that it was the final show. It took me a year to find a rerun of it in syndication. As for jumping, the only bad part about the JFK episode was that Sam was only there to save Jackie, not John. Another jump was in the Marilyn episode. He kept her from dying, only to find out she died weeks later. The return home (present) episode was well done. Sam could not have knowingly cheated on his wife because the leaping made him forget he was married in the first place. I loved when Sam leaped back to his college days and saw his girlfriend Donna. That was the same Donna who was his wife in the return home episode. A major jump was when Sam leaped into his brother Tom's platoon in Viet Nam. He saved Tom's life, but the photographer died when she tripped on an explosive. An eerie part at the end of that show was that she won a Pulitzer prize posthumously for the photo of a group of POWs that was in her camera. The POW looking into the camera was Al. I had goose bumps for days. I wish the loose ends were wrapped up in a telemovie. It's been 7½ years since it ended, and I still can't believe they did it like that.
Some nits to pick with other comments: -Sam never leaped into a vampire. It was a guy dressed that way for Halloween. -The fun of the series included historical in-jokes. To complain about sam being involved in famous people's lives seems pointless. -Sam never took credit for Imagine, except to calm his sister's fears. He clearly said it cam feom John Lennon after the Beatles broke up. -Not Star Trek:Voyager, Voyagers! A show with Jon-eric Hexum as a time traveler setting things right. Until Jon-Eric put a very real pistol to his head thinking a blank wouldn't hurt him. Kinda killed the show, too. Kind of hard to claim it was a rip off since it likely couldn't have continued after the JEH stupidity. Meelo Pulce never did have any chemistry with the replacement. -If you are going to say they stole liberally from another show, you should also include the 1960's show "Time Tunnel" where two guys would go back in time to set things right. I think QL could have lasted a couple of seasons more if he would have came back in the final episode and stayed. Then they could have had a couple of seasons of time event "sorties" like the planetary jumps on Stargate SG-1 and the time gate in Time Tunnel.
By the way, isn't a rip of of *VOYAGER* you moron! If you *READ* that post it said *voyagerS* which is much much different. That *WAS* a show about Time Travel and it was a lot like Quantum Leap. BUT, having smacked some sense into that moron, I do disagree that it was just a cheap imitation of Voyagers. I loved Quantum Leap and I think it was innovative and fun.
QL never jumped - it just kept leaping from place to place, trying to put right what once went wrong. (I can't believe no one else had come up with this joke).
The liberal agenda sucked sometimes, but there was no downhill slide for this show... only a very few bad shows amongst a large majority of "shining gems".
I'd say the best episode of the show was "Trilogy." Sam and Abagail were the greatest of any of his pairings. But the show, even with its less-then-great moments maintained a pretty good quality until the end. But but the quality of the "Trilogy" almost tempts me to name that the jump... ALMOST.
The show never jumped the shark. I loved every show but the ending of the very last one didn't please everyone. Even though Sam has put Al and his wife back together, he never returned home. What about Sam's wife? I think he should have gone home for a spell and returned to his journeys. Everyone I know that watched and loved the show was disturbed by the final ending since we all wanted him to return home to his wife. Even Sam said in his last Ep. that all he wanted to do was return home. Now that he can leap
at will, why didn't he? Other than that, the show never jumped.
Quantum Leap is definitely one of the best TV shows of all time. I watched it religiously when it aired on NBC. However, the show did jump the shark. For me, it jumped with the episode "The Leap Back". Donna was put into the episode for no other reason than to evoke emotion from the viewers when Sam left her to go back and save Al. A very cheap trick, IMHO.
I DONT THINK THIS SHOW EVER JUMPED, BUT THE WHOLE THING WAS SAM HOPING THE NEXT LEAP WOULD BE THE ONE HOME, THEN WHY WHEN HE SWITCHED PLACES WITH AL AND NEED TO WRITE THE LETTER TO GET THE PEOPLE IN THE CONTROL ROOM TO OPEN THE DOOR, HE DIDNT JUST SEND A LETTER TO HIMSELF BEFORE HE JUMPED TO KEEP FROM LEAPING?
This show is my all time favorite show. It was one of the best shows ever made. As to the comments about how he never mentioned the Beatles breaking up, and taking credit for writing Imagine, that is completely wrong. He told his sister that John Lennon wrote it. And informed her of his death. All in all, this show was amazing, and the Evil Leaper didn't Kill it. just injured the story. The real kill was when, "...Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home." (Final Episode) Dang it...no movies to follow, ala McGyver The BARTENDER in the last QL was also a PILOT in the pilot episode. Check it out!! GREAT SHOW! Never EVER Jumped. Interesting thought provoking and daring. Evil leaper had this show circling the bay, but it never jumped over the shark. Very unique, good character development (Sam, Ziggy, Al, Gushy (with his bad breath). I enjoyed the last episode a lot - good twist, we all thought he was going home.
I heard rumors that Sam was going to leap way back in time - but they never aired it. If they had, it would have conflicted with the quantum theory of leaping within your own lifetime. There was also the rumor of Sam leaping into a cartoon - but this never aired either. They quit while they were ahead.

http://www.jumptheshark.com/