UNDOUBTEDLY, THERE WAS a lot of great, original sci-fi television birthed in the '90s, and one of the best series to come from the period was Quantum Leap. The time-travel drama, created by Donald P Bellisario, brilliantly fused a high-concept premise with a "mission of the week" format by having physicist Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) "leap" through time into the lives of others to correct historical mistakes. And with every fix, Sam hoped the next leap would place him back into his own life and time. Poignant, clever, and sometimes silly, Quantum Leap aired for five seasons, ending in 1993 with the bittersweet reveal that Sam never returned home.
Over the decades, there was talk of a Quantum Leap television movie and even a feature film, but nothing concrete happened until January of this year when NBC picked up the series for an official revival which will continue where the mythology left off 29 years ago. Returning are original executive producers Bellisario and Deborah Pratt, who join new executive producers/showrunners, Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrandt, and Martin Gero. To quote Sam: "Oh boy!"
LEAP SERVICE
Having grown into a beloved cult series consistently ranked in the top echelons of TV sci-fi, it's not a surprise that figuring out the right way to viably continue Quantum Leap took so long. Achieving that sweet-spot balance of smart sci-fi, historical scope, humour, and wistful storytelling is no small feat.
But EP Martin Gero tells SFX that this revival's team of writers and producers bring with them a lot of love for the original and a zeal to do right by the show that came before. "The show that Don and Deborah made, and conceived of, is so special," he enthuses. "To just throw it out and start it from scratch seemed insane."
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ANCER MAHAGEMENT
WITH A NEW TRILOGY IN SIGHT, WE SPEAK TO THE DIRECTOR OF 28 WEEKS LATER THE ORIGINAL CHILLING SEQUEL TO DANNY BOYLE'S SEMINAL SURVIVAL HORROR
WHO YA CONNA CALL?
BEHIND THE SCENES AT HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS FOR GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
THE DEVIL'S HOUR STRIKES TWICE AS THE GENREDEFYING DRAMA RETURNS
SCARRY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
FROM THE RETURN OF EC COMICS TO SCREAM!, THIS YEAR'S HALLOWEEN OFFERS UP HORROR COMICS FOR ALL THE AGES
UNDEADS REFLECTIONS
NEIL JORDAN ON BRINGING ANNE RICE'S MODERN VAMPIRE CLASSIC TO SCREEN, 30 YEARS ON
MUNSTER MASH!
PRODUCTION HELL, SHOCK RECASTING AND HOTLY CONTESTED AUTHORSHIP. AS THE MUNSTERS CELEBRATE THEIR 60TH ANNIVERSARY, WE UNCOVER HOW THE SPOOKY SITCOM WAS ALMOST DEAD ON ARRIVAL
COMING TO AMERICA
THE MOGWAI LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THEIR SECOND CHAPTER, GREMLINS: THE WILD BATCH
BEING HUMAN EVOLUTION
IT MAY HAVE BEEN AN INSTANT HIT, BUT BBC THREE'S DARKLY COMIC DRAMA ABOUT A HOUSE-SHARING VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF/GHOST TRIO HAD A STRANGE JOURNEY TO THE SCREEN, SERIES CREATOR TOBY WHITHOUSE TELLS SFX
THE MAINE EVENT
THE DARK IS RISING IN SALEM'S LOT AS STEPHEN KING'S DEATHLESS TALE RETURNS TO THE SCREEN
WHY DON'T YOU STAY FOR A BITE?
THE VAMPIRE COMES HOME AS DIRECTOR EUROS LYN WELCOMES SFX TO HIS NEW DARK COMEDY THE RADLEYS
