In the late 80s you could watch Quantum Leap with your folks without sacrificing a shred of cool. There was a little bit of everything for everybody during its four-year run. A little sci-fi, a little comedy, a little action, and a little bit of feel-good sentimentality. It was the best family show that wasnt actually a family show. Quantum Leap easily had one of the best plots for a television series. Quantum physicist Sam Beckett finds himself going back in time and switching places with a random person. To move on to the next undetermined year and identity, he has to correct an event gone wrong in that persons life. If it sounds complicated, then that's okay. Sam gets help from a hologram of his friend Al whom only he can see, and who gives the audience enough exposition so they dont get lost in the confusion. With a premise like Quantum Leaps, the potential for stories was limitless. That is, if 'limitless' translates as 'four seasons.' Think of how many seasons a show like Friends had and then try to make an argument that the 21st century doesnt need a bit of Quantum Leap. Tweak a few things here and there (the near-future of 1995 for one) and the US might finally have a sci-fi TV show that can rival Doctor Who. And since no-one can play Sam and Al like Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, introduce a new pair of time travelers. For the purists out there, no worries. Like Leonard Nimoy in the new Star Trek franchise, Bakula and Stockwell can always make a much-needed cameo. Maybe they can all go back in time to 1993 and find out why the show was canceled in the first place.
