Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: Ernie Hudson, martin gero, quantum leap, Quantum Leap (2022), Raymond Lee, scott bakula

Quantum Leap EP: Revival Will Address Original Series Season 3 Leap

One of the characters in NBC's Quantum Leap reboot had previously established canon ties to the original series that featured Scott Bakula's Dr. Sam Beckett. The new series has a new leaper in Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee), trying to put right from what went wrong along with his partner & colleague Addison Augustine (Caitlin Bassett) acting as his guide. Showrunner Martin Gero spoke to TV Line about how episode four would directly address the tie-in. This is your major spoilers warning.

The Quantum Leap season three episode in question from the original series was "The Leap Home, Part II (Vietnam)", which introduced the character Herbert "Magic" Williams, who Sam leaped into during the Vietnam War. Christopher Kirby originally played Magic in the series, and Ernie Hudson is the current incarnation helping to run the revived government project. "[Magic] does explain, from his point of view, that leap," Gero hints. "Ernie [Hudson] gives this phenomenal monologue. It's so beautiful. It might be my favorite scene of this first chunk [of episodes]. It's really, really special."

The NBC reboot takes place nearly 30 years after Sam's unauthorized jump. Like his predecessor, Ben does the same after looking at a mysterious text, later revealed to be sent by Al's (Dean Stockwell) daughter Janice Calavicci (Georgina Reilly), who was banned from joining the revived project due to her late father's ties and being "too close emotionally." Gero also revealed that time traveling will break the general rule of how the leaper can only time travel within his/her/their natural life, traveling to the Old West in the 1870s.

"We're doing a Western," Gero said. "We're telling some stories that have not been told about the West, and that is very exciting for us." He also brought up how important Deborah Pratt, original Ziggy voice and executive producer, is to the reboot. "She's been a real connection to the past show and is there every day with us," he explained. "As a fan of the original show, I don't want anyone to mess it up. To be able to have Deborah… She's been banging this drum for 20 years, being like, 'We got to bring the show back.' It's so exciting, not only to do it but to be able to do it with her." Quantum Leap airs Mondays on NBC and the following day on Peacock. Here's a sneak peek for the season, including a tease from Justin Hartley.

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