Review of Quantum Leap: Season Five (6 Discs)

Introduction

For the final time, in Season 5,"Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator, and vanished…"

Indeed, this was to be the final series of Quantum Leap, even though at the time, that wasn`t a fact that creator Donald Bellisario was aware of. He had already made some plans for Season 6, but upon the news (caused by poor ratings that also almost saw the show cancelled after Season 3), what was originally a season cliffhanger, became the show`s epitaph.

For those of you who haven`t come across the show before, it is based around the character of Dr. Sam Beckett, a scientist working on a time-travel project. With the powers-that-be unwilling to continue funding for the project, Sam attempts to travel back in time to prove that the machine works, and that his theories are correct. Whilst the time travel appears successful at first, it becomes clear that Sam has actually "leaped" into the body of a person from the past. With efforts to bring him back to his own time failing, Sam surmises that the only way to return home is to "put right what once went wrong" in the life of the person he`s leaped into.

Sam is not alone in his adventure, as he is aided by his best friend Al, who appears to him as a hologram that only he can see. The project`s computer, Ziggy, provides data on the life of the person that Beckett has leaped into, helping him guess how he is there to help them.

Season 5 of the show had its first run in the USA in 1993, and is captured here on six discs.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL and is of reasonable quality. The image is rather soft due to its NTSC origins, and there are instances of low-level noise and grain, which are typical of 1980s and early 90s American television.

Despite this, however, these episodes have never been presented as well as they are here. All of the aforementioned limitations are down to the quality of the television masters, and not the DVD transfers.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is quite good. Again, the limitations of the source material are exposed, meaning that sonically, there are zero thrills here.

A note of trivia: the much-loved original theme music to Quantum Leap was used for the final episode in this series, "Mirror Image", after many fans complained to Donald Bellisario that they hated Season 5`s new "rock" version!

Features

There are no extras on this set. This is unlike the Region 1 release, which includes blueprints from some of the show`s sets.

Conclusion

When I was at school in the early to mid-90s, Quantum Leap was essential viewing. Over ten years later, having re-watched this series and several other episodes, I can honestly say that it isn`t nostalgia that allows me to enjoy it - Quantum Leap is a great television show.

Although there are many positives in the show, the underlying credit must go to creator Bellisario. Perhaps better-known as the creator of Airwolf and Magnum P.I, here he brings us sci-fi, without all its trappings. In other words, whilst Quantum Leap`s premise is based on science fiction, it is essentially a drama, and viewers with little or no interest in science fiction can easily become absorbed in it.

Furthermore, the performances of principle actors Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell are so impressive that these have become their defining roles. Bakula himself said "I just responded to a good character, and a good script", but he`s being altogether too modest.

Season 5 sees Quantum Leap go in a direction that it had previously never taken, in "leaping" Sam into real-life people such as Lee Harvey Oswald, and Elvis Presley. This is an ambitious step, but it is pulled off superbly, and the Oswald episode in particular is tense stuff for a relatively light-hearted drama.

Although there was one episode in particular which I felt was weaker than the others - the gothic "Blood Moon" - many of this series` episodes are highlights of the entire Quantum Leap catalogue. The "Trilogy" episodes - which involve Sam helping a girl who is supposed cursed - are again ambitious, but are very good, and the three episodes which explore the concept of the Devil - "The Evil Leaper" - are thought-provoking but entertaining too.

Speaking of thought-provoking, the final episode sees Sam meet up again with many of the characters that he has met in previous leaps - or so he thinks. In what is probably the very best episode of any of the series`, he ponders what is causing him to be sent on each leap, and whether he will ever be able to return home. For fans who have followed Sam`s journey, it is a conclusion to the show that really tugs on the heart-strings.

Overall, if you are a fan of Quantum Leap, this, perhaps more than any other, is the season that you have to own. Those who haven`t yet discovered the show, should perhaps treat themselves to an earlier season, but should most assuredly come back to this one.

Highly recommended.