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Will Sam Beckett Return Home? NBC Orders Quantum Leap Reboot Pilot

I'm pretty confident Bakula will make some kind appearance on this, it's just a matter of how big his role is. Since it sounds like investigating Sam will be part of the Season 1 arc, we probably won't see much of him in the beginning.
 
quantumleapinfo.net

A fan started this compendium of all confirmed information on the Pilot. Which is limited now but will be updated as more comes along.

It’s by Matt Dale. Writer of the book - Beyond the Mirror Image: The Observer’s Guide to Quantum Leap.

I own a copy and it’s fantastic. It’s covers everything. Including the last revival attempt 20 years ago . Which Donald Bellisario stopped because he was not happy with it. From the plot synopses it’s for the best.
 
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https://thathashtagshow.com/2022/02/03/meet-the-key-characters-in-the-quantum-leap-reboot/

Meet the new characters. This was shared by the website that organized the last official QL convention in 2009. They say this is legitimate. I believe it.

This is casting new actors. If Sam is part of the Pilot, Scott Bakula would not be on this list. He already has the role. ;)

The big news is one of the characters is Herbert “Magic” Williams. Who Sam leaped into in The Leap Home Part 2. The Solider who Sam became to save his brother Tom. Who originally died in Vietnam.

Also two of the characters working at Project Quantum Leap have no last names listed. Would not surprise me if one or both are related to Sam and Al.
 
One assumes the "mystery woman in her 40's" is going to turn out to be Sam's daughter, right?
The big news is one of the characters is Herbert “Magic” Williams. Who Sam leaped into in The Leap Home Part 2. The Solider who Sam became to save his brother Tom. Who originally died in Vietnam.
That's actually a really nice touch as it ties back to Al in a round-about kind of way.
 
Didn't realize that Herbert "Magic" Williams was a character from the original, that's a nice way to tie the shows together.
Yeah, Janis is definitely going to be Sam's daughter.
 
“Janis” = Sam’s daughter definitely occurred to me too.

This last week I found a newer interview with Donald Bellisario. It was posted May 2021. There is no specific mention of this revival but given how recent it is it may be relevant. Also I am thrilled that he looks to be in such good health. He does mention how he would envision bringing back QL and is asked about Sammy Jo, Sam’s daughter.


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This feels like to many people. The first show really only had two regulars in Sam and Al. What are all these people going to be doing if most of the story stuff is happening in a past setting.
 
How involved in Bellisario going to be? I don't know if he was the same on all the shows he did, but he was apparently a complete nightmare to work with on the original NCIS, and it got so bad they ended up more or less firing him. His name is still in the credits, but he is not actually involved with the show.
This feels like to many people. The first show really only had two regulars in Sam and Al. What are all these people going to be doing if most of the story stuff is happening in a past setting.
If you read the character descriptions, it sounds like we'll be getting a story arc set back at the project's headquarters, with the other characters trying to bring Peter back home.
 
How involved in Bellisario going to be? I don't know if he was the same on all the shows he did, but he was apparently a complete nightmare to work with on the original NCIS, and it got so bad they ended up more or less firing him. His name is still in the credits, but he is not actually involved with the show.
If you read the character descriptions, it sounds like we'll be getting a story arc set back at the project's headquarters, with the other characters trying to bring Peter back home.

Which is something we saw bits and pieces of on the original series. Sounds like the same here, but with more time/focus on this element of the series.
 
I do hope we see Peter Leap a lot instead of staying in one time period for a very long time. If they are making the wife of the person who he leaped into a semi-regular it sounds like he might be in that late 80's setting for awhile.
 
This feels like to many people. The first show really only had two regulars in Sam and Al. What are all these people going to be doing if most of the story stuff is happening in a past setting.

I said it before. This is not like past series in the 80's and 90's where it can rely on one or two people

Knight Rider 2008- Had a big crew

MacGyver reboot- A large ensemble

It was expected that there would be a larger cast for Quantum Leap
 
The little I know about why Bellisario was let go of NCIS was that him and Mark Harmon did not get along. It was Harmon who pushed him off the show. Bellisario had a long track record of television success before that show. Magnum PI, Quantum Leap, and JAG. Are the big ones.

Rights issues of QL is the prime issue that nothing has materialized before. It’s always been a little vague but clearly Donald Bellisario is allowing this to happen. He stopped the previous attempt in 2002. That suggests he is largely involved. The Magic character announced as a regular was introduced in an episode he wrote after the Pilot. As we know from Star Trek spin offs often studios avoid using characters introduced after Pilots as regulars in new series. Because it would mean paying the writer of the episode a fee for every episode.

Another factor is that Deborah Pratt is involved in this. She was a producer and writer of many episodes of the original series. The narrator/ Voice of the computer Ziggy. At the time was married to Don and they have children together. Which is not that important now. She wrote most of the episodes dealing with racial issues. Being African American. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Pratt
 
One assumes the "mystery woman in her 40's" is going to turn out to be Sam's daughter, right?
Sammy Jo was born in '67, so if it is they're casting younger than the character's actual age. Which would not surprise me.

That link doesn't give any indication where this info supposedly came from, so a pinch of salt for me for now. :)
 
In a perfect world my choice to play Sammy Jo is Melodia Hardin. She played her mother Abigail. The same child actress who played Sammy also played Abigail as child in the first episode. Hardin was born in 1967. Which makes me suspect that was the plan if the show got a 6th season.

Casting younger than the character’s age is the norm. Plus this being a time travel show allows them to be aged in makeup but also play the character in an earlier time period too.

I understand skepticism. But if it is filming in March, which was reported in official sources, these decisions would have to be happening now. https://www.quantumleap-alsplace.com/ The runner of this website confirmed it. They organized the official QL convention in 2009 which I attended. Scott, Don, Deborah all attended. Plus dozens of guest stars and crew members. They have contacts from those who worked on the original show.

Apparently Helen Shaver is directing the Pilot. A name I recognized immediately. I knew her name as an actress. In recent years she has directed numerous tv shows which shoot in Canada. So it’s sounds plausible.

For the record. I am a huge skeptic myself. I will believe any of this when we see it. But until than, this has an air of credibility to it.
 
I wonder if Magic remembers that Sam once leaped into him?

Usually the leapee remembers nothing about what happened, I wonder if Magic will be any different. It can't be a coincidence that he's here.
 
The little I know about why Bellisario was let go of NCIS was that him and Mark Harmon did not get along. It was Harmon who pushed him off the show. Bellisario had a long track record of television success before that show. Magnum PI, Quantum Leap, and JAG. Are the big ones.
Yeah, after my last post I looked around and saw that it was just him and Harmon that didn't get along. I thought I read somewhere that there were issue with him delivering satisfactory scripts on time, and other issues with his overall performance as a writer and producer. Which I remembered finding kind of odd since he'd been doing this stuff for decades, and I hadn't seen anything about issues like that on any of his other shows.
 
Yeah, after my last post I looked around and saw that it was just him and Harmon that didn't get along. I thought I read somewhere that there were issue with him delivering satisfactory scripts on time, and other issues with his overall performance as a writer and producer. Which I remembered finding kind of odd since he'd been doing this stuff for decades, and I hadn't seen anything about issues like that on any of his other shows.

most of what I’d read was Harmon being pissed about the script issues and giving the ultimatum.
 
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