Mirror Image was the last episode of Quantum Leap to air, with Sam leaping into himself amidst some familiar faces and unusual coincidences. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the show’s finale and look back over the whole series.

Sam leaps into a mining community in Pittsburgh, PA at the moment of his own birth and meets an enigmatic barman called Al (Bruce McGill). Amongst a string of coincidences he encounters a miner called Gooshie (William Morgan Sheppard), workers called Tonchi and Pete (John D’Aquino and Brad Silverman) who resemble Frank and Jimmy LaMotta, and a man called Ziggy (Richard Herd) who is identical to Captain Galaxy, Mel Stein.

When Tonchi and Pete are trapped in the mine it’s Sam and an arthritic man named Stawpah (Stephen McHattie) who mastermind their rescue over the initial objections of mine owner Mr Collins (Mike Genovese). Sam is further confounded when he sees Stawpah leap out and finds nobody else remembers him. After a talk with the barman, Sam realises he has one big wrong to put right and leaps back to meet with his friend Al’s wife Beth (Susan Diol).

Mirror Image was directed by James Whitmore Jr., the last of his fifteen episodes. The writer was Donald P. Bellisario, the last of his nineteen writing credits for the show.

In this episode Gerry and Iain considered partings.

The discussion continues in the comments below and please keep in touch with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

You can listen to the show here on the website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher, Google or wherever you find your podcasts.

Mirror Image was released in 1993. It is 47 minutes long and originally aired on the NBC network. It can be viewed on NBC’s Peacock streaming service in the UK and in the United States. The show is available on DVD and Blu Ray in other countries.

The post Mirror Image – Episode 97 first appeared on The Leap Home.

Memphis Melody was the twenty-first and penultimate episode of Quantum Leap’s fifth season to air, with Sam leaping into Elvis Presley with the young singer on the cusp of fame. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss double acts.

Sam leaps into a young Elvis Presley just before the singer is discovered and signed to his first record deal. As a big fan of The King, Sam knows that he can’t be here to get Elvis his deal since that happened fine the first time round, so his focus turns to Sue Anne (Mary Elizabeth McGlynn), a friend with a good voice, but crippling stage fright.

Unfortunately, Sam’s efforts to help Sue Anne, over the objections of her unpleasant fiancé Frank (John Scott Clough), lead to him missing a crucial audition with legendary producer Sam Phillips (Gregory Itzin). When talent spotter Marion Keisker (Lisa Jane Persky) tries to pair Sam and Sue Anne as a single act, it looks like curtains for Elvis’s career.

Memphis Melody was directed by James Whitmore Jr., the fourteenth of his fifteen episodes (which is a bit of a spoiler for who the director is going to be next week!). The writer was Robin Bernheim, the last of her five writing credits for the show.

In this episode Gerry and Iain considered harmonies.

The discussion continues in the comments below and please keep in touch with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

You can listen to the show here on the website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher, Google or wherever you find your podcasts.

Memphis Melody was released in 1993. It is 47 minutes long and originally aired on the NBC network. It can be viewed on NBC’s Peacock streaming service in the UK and in the United States. The show is available on DVD and Blu Ray in other countries.

The post Memphis Melody – Episode 96 first appeared on The Leap Home.

The Leap Between the States was the twentieth episode of Quantum Leap’s fifth season to air, with Sam leaping into his own great-grandfather in the heat of the American Civil War. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the Confederacy.

Sam leaps into his great-grandfather, Captain John Beckett, and is quickly wounded during a skirmish. We learn that he is then assisted by Isaac (Michael D. Roberts) and a family of escaped slaves, who bring him to a barn on the property of Olivia Covington (Kate McNeil), a widowed Southerner apparently hostile to a Yankee like Sam.

Eventually Al tells Sam that Olivia will become his great-grandmother and that he has to keep her on-side while helping prevent another escaped family from being returned to their ‘owners’ by Lt. Montgomery (Geoffrey Lower) and his unit. Sam has to convince the Confederate soldiers that he’s on their side, despite his moral objections.

The Leap Between the States was directed by David Hemmings, who returned for the first time since directing the show’s two-part pilot episode Genesis. The writer was Richard C. Okie, the last of his six writing credits.

In this episode Gerry and Iain considered progress.

The discussion continues in the comments below and please keep in touch with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

You can listen to the show here on the website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher, Google or wherever you find your podcasts.

The Leap Between the States was released in 1993. It is 46 minutes long and originally aired on the NBC network. It can be viewed on NBC’s Peacock streaming service in the UK and in the United States. The show is available on DVD and Blu Ray in other countries.

The post The Leap Between the States – Episode 95 first appeared on The Leap Home.