The cast of television’s “Quantum Leap,” (L to R) Mason Alexander Park, Ernie Hudson, Nanrisa Lee, and Caitlin Bassett.

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After watching all of season one and several episodes of season two, last November I parted ways with the modern “continuation” of Quantum Leap. It wasn’t a bad show. In fact, some of the episodes were rather compelling and they had interesting guest stars.

But in the end, like so much of entertainment “updated for modern audiences,” good writing and appealing to a wider audience took a backseat to representation, diversity, equity, inclusion, and so on.

Look, like I’ve said before, it’s not that science fiction can’t have a message. Very often it does. However, when the message and the demographics of the characters, actors, and writers are more important than the actual story, the television show, movie, novel, or whatever, becomes lost.

When I “hung up the phone” on “Quantum Leap” last Fall, I had no idea if it would be renewed for a third season. I was sort of afraid it would. That would mean everything that is wrong with shows emphasizing DEI over substance and depth was winning and the days of really great television were gone forever.

They’re probably still gone, but I can always hold out for the occasional gem in the trash heap.

Scene from the pilot episode of the current Quantum Leap show “July 13th, 1985” (screen capture)

However, I just found out (as I’m writing this) that Quantum Leap was not renewed for season 3. I didn’t expect the announcement one way or the other to come so soon. It wasn’t the only show NBC didn’t renew for next year either, but I watch almost no television, so other shows don’t concern me. They’re just a rehash of good TV from the past pounded into a lackluster, talentless mold.

There wasn’t a real reason given why the show wasn’t renewed. However, according to the article at Deadline:

(Co-Executive Producer Dean) Georgaris also addressed Quantum Leap being on the bubble. “The new reality we’re all getting used to is, it’s not just about one rating anymore. It’s not just about one number. There are multiple platforms,” he said. “So the truth is, I think every showrunner and every show creator is living a bubble existence, for the most part. That just comes with it. And that’s fine.”

Part of me wants to gloat, to feel vindicated for giving up on the show when I saw it was doubling-down on everything I didn’t like in season one. For the most part, I liked the actors, particularly Ernie Hudson (Magic) who most people know from the “Ghostbusters” franchise. But everything I’ve already complained about, no matter how good the quality was on other measures, made the show unwatchable for me.

So the actors, crew, directors, producers, and writers (Oy, the writers) will have to move on. When you work in television and film, I can only imagine you have to become used to being periodically unemployed.

Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell from “Quantum Leap.”

I keep thinking about how the original Quantum Leap starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell lasted five seasons. The fantastic chemistry between Bakula and Stockwell was a major part of that. Regardless of what was happening in the “weekly leap,” just watching the two of them interact was sheer joy.

The stories were almost always focused on the leap itself in contrast with the modern version which split time between the leap and events in the present. The current show was an ensemble piece involving multiple actors where the original featured Sam and Al exclusively. I don’t know. At my age, maybe I’m more accustomed to television as it was between the 1960s and 1990s. They were some great years.

Of course the fans are disappointed. Just read the responses on Al’s Place, Dr. Sam Beckett – Happy 35th Quantum Leap, The Quantum Leap Podcast, and particularly Fate’s Wide Wheel (which blocked me on “X” for “reasons”). Most folks responded to “Wheel” and they are seriously bummed.

We’re all sad when our favorite show goes away. The upside is that we can always stream the episodes again and again. The original show was five seasons long and had a much larger body of work than the reincarnation. Of course, original “Star Trek” only lasted three seasons, and fans still crawled all over the old shows for years, at least until the movies and then spinoff series came along.

QUANTUM LEAP — “One Night in Koreatown” Episode 205 — Pictured: (l-r) Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song, Ernie Hudson as Magic — (Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC)

There probably won’t be any of that for the Raymond Lee and Caitlin Bassett led show. A small chapter in television history has ended. Turn the page.

Addendum: April 7, 2024 – Here’s Addison (Bassett) in her Fermi suit ready to take the “leap.” Also, the actress’s farewell message regarding the cancelation of Quantum Leap.

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