The Worst Film Ever

A lot of fun.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

In 1966 a fairly original series popped out of nowhere about two guys who accidentally got caught in a government experiment that was inventing a portal (or bridge, or Stargate) that could transverse time - THE TIME TUNNEL. (A half-century later, shows featuring "ancient astronaut theorists" would opine that the show was based on an actual government project -- but forgive me, I digress). Time Tunnel was, to be fair, not too shabby. About a quarter century later along comes Quantum Leap, which is remarkably similar in concept, save and except for the fact that the traveller literally becomes a person of that period, as opposed to being himself. A lot of fuss has been made about the superb casting, but in the opinion of this viewer, Bacula nailed the part (and was duly awarded by his peers therefor) while Dean Stockwell was just plain flat-out annoying. The quality of the episodes was uneven, but the concept was very strong, and Bacula was always solid, so even the bad ones were good, and the good ones were great. What happened next is unclear. Either the ratings tanked or the network suits did a job rotation. One day the show was on the air, and one day it was not. There were lots of high hopes for Bacula to return to something big, but that never really happened, which is a shame. (Bacula did lead the prehistoric STAR SHIP ENTERPRISE in the last -- and astonishingly awful -- attempt to re-imagine the TV franchise, but was sandbagged by some of the worst writing in the history of TV, yet alone the space saga. If memory serves, there was actually an episode in that short-run series about how a male member of the crew became pregnant from contact with another species?? Lesson to be learnt: network TV did not die, it imploded from an imbalanced sense of self-worth.)

Great TV for the 80s made for great scripts, writing, acting, and directing. Also it is rare to see a time travel program on TV or less on the movies as it just ain't popular with audiences.Well anyway, Scott Bakula stars as the time traveling hero, Sam Beckett. Who has to travel and be someone else but does not see himself actually in the mirror but the person that he becomes, whether, woman, man, child, even an animal!Project is called the "Quantum Leap" project as he is aided by Al, the wisecracking mentor and boss whom only Sam can hear or see. And very rarely, children and animals played with charm by Dean Stockwell.As they both must put time right and the situations right. That are wrong before they come on the air. To make it right with others. And the situations along the way before Sam can move to the "Situation and person of the week!"Very charming and really a beloved show!

Quantum Leap is without a doubt, the best show, ever. A perfect story line, and a great cast makes this show come together to provide an excellent show after show, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat between episodes wondering what will happen to Dr Sam Beckett.Dr. Sam Beckett is a man who created a theory of how to travel through time. The project name is Project Quantum Leap. Which is a time travel experiment based on String Theory. When the government threatened to stop funding Project Quantum Leap he drastically stepped into the accelerator and leaped. He is then sent to a different time and he is a different person. To the audience we see him as Sam but to everyone else he is the person he has leapt into. He can be a man, woman or even animal. He leapes into a different person when he puts right what went wrong. He has the famous line at the end of every episode which is "Oh Boy". Sam Beckett is played by the great actor Scott Backula.From the help of Al Calavicci, full title Rear Admiral Albert Calavicci, a womaniser who has married 5 times but has never got over his first wife Beth, who remarried when Al was declared MIA in Vietnam. To Al his happiness and his heart always belonged to Beth. He met Sam when he was drunk and trying to beat a vending machine. The two became friends very quickly and they worked together on the Starbright Project. After the StarBright project they started to work on Project Quantum Leap together. When Sam leaped Al was able to speak to Sam as a form of a hologram which only Sam can hear and see. Al helps Sam by telling what to do to be able to leap again hoping that the next leap will bring Sam home. Al explains Project Quantum Leap with the following theory "Life is like a piece of string, one end your birth, the other end your death. Tie the ends together and your life is a loop. If you can travel fast enough along the string, you can arrive at your birth. Ball the loop and the days of your life touch each other out of sequence. Therefore moving from one part of the string to another, will move you backward or forward within your own lifetime" Al is played by the BRILLIANT Dean Stockwell.He is the greatest actor that I have ever layed eyes on. He has a very funny personality which can change when he wants it to so this is what makes him a great actor.Gooshie is the head computer programmer in Project Quantum Leap. He is known for his bad breath. He is rarely seen. He is played by Dennis Wolfberg.To sum up Quantum Leap it is the best program that has been made. It contains comedy, action, seriousness and sadnesses. It is a family program that children and adults of all ages will enjoy. If you haven't watched Quantum Leap I would highly recommend to watch it.

I used to love "Quantum Leap." Scott Bakula was perfect as the earnest Sam, and Dean Stockwell was great as the crusty Al: their chemistry was made in heaven. The show, of course, is about a scientist who gets lost in time, leaping into the body of various people and striving "to put right what once went wrong." The weekly cliff-hangers were possibly the most brilliant in the history of television. I remember watching the show every Friday night and not being able to wait for the following week's show to see how Sam was going to possibly get out of another impossible scenario.As great as Quantum Leap was, the show hasn't aged well for me. Watching the episodes today I am struck by how PC the show is... just as political correctness was taking over American culture back then it is obvious- in retrospect- that the writers of the show were also in the grips of this sensitive liberal movement and allowed it to affect their work. Sam is always urging a woman to leave an oppressive man, always liberating a town with rock 'n roll, always protesting the war. In one episode he leaps into the body of a black man in 1955... his mission is to prevent an elderly white woman from dying, but that doesn't stop him from trying to single-handedly end racism in America even though he knows by the history books that segregation won't end for another decade... and that racism has yet to run its course TO THIS DAY. This was the kind of thing that seemed sweet back in 89... today it just seems naive.Some of the show is just as great as it was back then... the episode where Sam meets Al's wife is beautiful, the first encounter with the Evil Leaper is great... and the episode where Sam leaps back to his boyhood home is acted so well you will feel the nostalgia for this childhood that isn't even yours. "The Leap Home" also contains my favorite moment in the series: Sam, as himself in 1969, convincing his little sister that the Beatles are going to break up by playing her a song that has not yet been written: John Lennon's "Imagine." She knows her brother can't possibly see the future but the camera holds on her face as she listens to the tune... and the fact that she cannot deny what she is hearing causes her to shake her head and burst into tears... heartbreaking.To watch the show now is to go from leaps that are corny, sometimes maddening, to those that are brilliant or just fun... but even the bad ones are anchored by the magic of Bakula & Stockwell. As a kid I would have given the show an A+... but today I'd have to give it a B. Maybe I have gotten jaded... maybe times have just changed.