Last October, Lost in Translation took a first look at the rebooted Quantum Leap after the first four episodes. The series was promising then. How did it fare?
The series had a mix of storytelling, with a season-long arc along with more traditional episodic stories. The new series picked up the idea of the “Evil Leaper”, expanding the idea and providing a reason why someone is Leaping through time undoing history. There’s also the efforts by the team at Project Quantum Leap to get Ben back and the work being done by Janice Calavicci, Al’s daughter, on the side that threatens to interfere with the Project’s work.
Several questions brought up in the first four episodes get answered, including why Ben entered the accelerator instead of Addison. The answer to that involved a Leap to the future, something that the Project never prepared for. Ben also Leaped to years outside the Project’s parameters, without the requirement Sam had in the original – the existance of an ancestor And, naturally, the season ends with a cliffhanger.
The 2022 version of Quantum Leap is its own take on the concept, despite being essentially a sequel. The original series was loose on what happened at the Project and could change its mind about whether Sam and the Leapee swapped positions or actually switched bodies. The episode “8 1/2 Months” muddies the discussion, with Sam having Leaped into a very pregnant teenager and going into labour; the pregnant girl goes into labour the same time Sam does, but the question is who would be the one to give birth. No answer is provided, as Sam Leaps before the baby is born.
The new series has Ben Leap into the Leapee and displace them without sending the Leapee to the acceleration chamber. Magic confirms this, having been Leapt into by Sam in “The Leap Home, Part II (Vietnam)”. The crew at the Project even find a woman in their time who has had something similar, though not by either Sam or Ben. The change could be handwaved; the new Project has updated hardware and software, even with the original Ziggy. The change isn’t a deal breaker, though; it just clears up a question not answered well in the original series.
Ben isn’t Sam, but Ben isn’t meant to be Sam. The focus is split between Ben and the people back at the Project, giving more screen time to Addison, Magic, Ian, and Jenn. The original had Gooshie and Tina at the Project, but they were mentioned more in passing than they appeared on screen. The split focus allows for more details to be provided to the audience and more twists to the plot.
The new Quantum Leap builds from the original. The situation is familiar, and the rules of Leaping are kept, with the rules breaking being noted by the characters themselves. The season-long arc reflects changes in storytelling since the original aired, where more long-term plots are now expected instead of being the exception. The new Quantum Leap is the evolution of the original idea, executed well, and open to audiences old and new.