Plenty of endearing nostalgia makes Quantum Leap reboot a welcome return
Quantum Leap was one of the best loved sci-fi shows of the early 90s: a heartwarming mix of life and history lessons as Scott Bakula’s Dr Sam Beckett ‘‘leapt from life to life’’ striving to ‘‘put right what once went wrong’’.
A late decision not to renew the series after five seasons and nearly 100 episodes, left fans feeling somewhat bereft – especially when they were told ‘‘Becket’’ (they couldn’t even bother spelling the character’s name right) continued to leap, never achieving his goal of making it back home.
But, almost three decades later, Quantum Leap is back, updated for a whole new generation.
While the premise of La Brea and Alcatraz duo Bryan Wynbrandt and Steven Lilien’s reboot is essentially the same, it features a much more diverse set of central characters.
We first meet Dr Ben Song (Top Gun: Maverick’s Raymond Lee) at a celebration for his engagement to fellow Project Quantum Leap scientist Addison Augustine (Caitlin Bassett). But after making a romantic speech involving the law of entanglement, Song disappears.
To Augustine’s horror, it becomes clear that he has made an unauthorised leap. And while he has seemingly uploaded a whole lot of new code – none of it makes any sense, or irons out any of the wrinkles that plagued Beckett’s original experiments.
Augustine and the rest of the team discover he’s arrived on July 13, 1985, and into the body of ‘‘Nick Rounder’’ – a man enlisted by a criminal gang as a getaway driver. To make matters worse, leaping has caused his memory to be a little ‘‘Swiss cheesy’’ – he can’t even remember who she is.
As well as providing a smart set-up for essentially continuing the original cult hit’s popular format, Wynbrandt and Lilien also cleverly mix things up in the opening episode.
The Song/Augustine dynamic is a little more complicated than it initially seems, while there’s also a nice link (and tribute) to the 90s show’s other half of the central duo, Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). A bigger group of characters involved in the project – including Ghostbusters’ Ernie Hudson and The Sandman’s Ian Wright – also give the show more of a police procedural vibe similar to Criminal Intent or The Blacklist, which may or may not be a good thing in the long run.
However, what made the original series so endearing and nostalgia-inducing is still there. This first instalment not only features period details like Live Aid footage and a cinema featuring a double-bill of The Goonies and St Elmo’s Fire, but the soundtrack is full of mid-80s bangers – from a double-dose of Bowie to New Order, A-ha and Wang Chung.
Although the jury is still out on whether Lee and Bassett’s chemistry will be able to match the brilliance of the Stockwell/ Bakula combo, it’s clear from the care and attention shown onscreen so far that the creators definitely have an affinity for the sensibilities of the series.
The fact that it has already been renewed for a second season is a good sign.
Quantum Leap debuts on Sky 5 tonight at 9.30pm.