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The New “Quantum Leap” Has Issues…

For fans of the old series, the new Quantum Leap may seem unfamiliar. I think that is the point, but it’s a weakness.

René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH
5 min readSep 29, 2022

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I’ve now watched the first two episodes of Quantum Leap on Peacock (online streaming platform from NBC), and I have some issues with it. Or, rather, it has issues I’ve detected. The show is definitely not like the old series that ran from 1989 to 1993. While it is sold to us as a continuation of the story that Sam and Al started 30 years ago, those who watched every one of the original episodes may not recognize the show this time.

Not a Lot of Future

First, the original Quantum Leap (OQL) did not feature much of what was going on in the future. What we got instead of scenes set in the future was Al telling us about what was happening back at the Quantum Leap Project. He did this through often humorous expositions of the situation, what people were doing, and how everyone was pulling together to help.

When we did get scenes set in the future, they were far and few in between. Or they were part of a special episode, like when Sam goes home and sees his wife again. She didn’t even appear until Sam altered time enough for them to marry. Gooshie, a project computer whiz, only appears in five episodes. Dr…

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René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH

DrPH in Epidemiology. Public Health Instructor. Father. Husband. "All around great guy."