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

NBC is going need to be very careful in how it markets both shows. Scott is the name most associated with QL. Now they are possibly debuting a new Scott Bakula show and QL at the same time. The upfronts could be… interesting. Scott will be asked about new QL as much or more than new series. Leaving his involvement in QL as a long protracted mystery could backfire.

All news reports are just of what is publicly known. But every time it’s stated- Scott Bakula not part of new Quantum Leap. Is going to turn off a lot of fans. Even if it turns out not to be true.

At this point neither show has been picked up for full seasons. Just Pilots for now.
 
I find it suspect that Bakula isn't doing the show. It makes me think he might have taken a look at the scripts and gave it a hard pass.
 
We have nothing to suggest that at all. Sam Beckett was never going to be a regular. It’s right in the description.

At this point both of these shows have one script each. The Pilots.
 
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If both get picked up, that probably means he'll be to busy to be able to do Quantum Leap, especially if it films in Canada, like most genre shows do these days, and Unbroken is filmed in California.
I have a feeling we'll probably being seeing a lot of ranch/farm dramas now that Yellowstone has been such a huge hit.
We've already got this, and they are also working on a contemporary Yellowstone spin-off, to go along with it's two prequels.
 
Have zero faith this will be good. Even if they give Balula a role of some sort. After seeing the disaster of what they did to Star Trek..(with the exception of a few eps and characters of Discovery and about half of Picard)
I'm pretty sure it will be awful...
 
What “they did to Star Trek”? No one who is working on this has anything to do with Star Trek!!?? Different studio, different network, no common writers or directors at all.

I have a healthy wait and see attitude at this point. But many people are making premature judgements based on false assumptions.
 
I had faith because I thought Bakula was going to be part of the show but I do have concerns now. I also worry about to much time wasted in the present day and also the main character stuck in the late 80's for most of the season.
 
I have seen no where saying that main character is stuck in the 80s for a whole season. That is the Pilot episode.

That Podcast that was the source of most of that early info partially revealed how they knew so much. They have read the Pilot script. But have been reluctant to spoil all the details. Would not surprise if before it airs if someone else with a copy uploads much, much more.
 
Much like each generation of Trek has differed from the other, usually failing to sufficiently resemble the cherished prior version for some fans’ liking, the same will be true here (Bakula or not).

It’s unfair to judge it against a prior iteration from decades past (entirely fair to prefer one or the other once both are available, though). It always puzzles me to see people dismiss something before it’s experienced.
 
I'll give it the same shot I give any new show that peeks my interest: it has a three episode grace, and if I'm not hooked by episode four, then I'm out.
 
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I will give it a shot as well. To be honest I am giving it more of a shot than I give most things on NBC,CBS,ABC and even Fox. Cable and Streaming has made network tv look bad for many years now. It could be worst. You could be a non-Arrowverse CW show. Though ironically they just held back one of the few shows I would have given a shot their as well in the new Babylon 5 show.
 
I'll be checking it out. I know a lot of people are saying they won't watch if Scott Bakula isn't back, but his presence isn't a requirement for me. Yeah, he was great in the original, but the premise really is open enough that it could easily work just as well with someone else.
 
I think their is a flaw though if they build the show around hoping for this new team to find Sam. It will be like how on "Voyager" you know ever attempt to get home will fail. Since we know Bakula isn't going to show up in any episode any attempts to make it seem they are close to finding him will feel hollow.
 
Sam Beckett is going to be the reboot’s McGuffin. If Bakula shows up, it prolly won’t be until the season finale at the earliest.

Or what Jayson said first!
 
The description they've released doesn't say that they're actually looking for Sam, just that they are restarting the project "in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it".
 
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Here is a new interview with Deborah Pratt co creator of the original Quantum Leap. She admits upfront that it may have been too early for it. There are many things she can not reveal yet. It becomes a reoccurring joke that many of her answers are NDA = Non-Disclosure Agreement.

It’s worth watching or listening. It’s available as a regular audio podcast which is how I listened to it.

Big reveals - this is happening because Donald Bellisario decided it was time for the show to return. He gave Universal permission.

Big surprise to me is that while the Pilot was shot in Vancouver for cost reasons the plan is for the series to film in Los Angeles. Though never directly discussed it solves the fan concerns that Scott could never appear while doing another series filming in Los Angeles.

Closest thing to an outright confirmation beyond what is in official press - numerous times she says she is available to voice Ziggy again.

Most encouraging thing was it was clear the intent is this to follow the positive tone of the original show and the types of issues and stories it tackled.

She discusses the development process of a tv Pilot. Which might be unknown to many. They finished filming but is not a final edit yet. It has gone to NBC for its suggestions and there will be test screenings. She is hopeful it gets a full series pickup.

Its at that point that renting offices and hiring in LA would begin. She offered notes on the Pilot. Once the show is officially picked up discussions will be had on her active role. Whether she will write scripts. She wants to direct episodes.

Interesting discussion. But limited in what she can reveal now. Most likely a pickup will be announced in May. The sources I have read is the networks have changed their development of new series since COVID. They can not afford to produce a large amount of Pilots and only move forward with a small number any more. So the small number of Pilots they produce now are highly likely to go forward.
 
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The description they've released doesn't say that they're actually looking for Sam, just that they are restarting the project "in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it".

In the original show did they ever mention who invented the machine?
 
I had always been under the impression Sam did, but I'm not sure if they said it outright.
I'm pretty sure the reboot synopsis is referring to Sam. What I meant was that they are trying "understand" him, which doesn't necessarily mean they are actually looking for him.
 
In the original show did they ever mention who invented the machine?
"Theorizing that one could time-travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett led an elite group of scientists into the desert, to develop a top-secret project known as Quantum Leap. Pressured to prove his theories or lose funding, Dr. Beckett prematurely stepped into the project accelerator, and vanished..."
 
In fact Al tells Sam in the original Pilot that the biggest problem with retrieving him was Sam was the only one who really understood how his Time Machine worked. But he is stuck in the past with a Swiss Cheesed Memory.

Something Deborah mentions in that interview - that introduction, the Saga Cell was not originally in front of the episodes. Fans who only saw it in reruns may not know that because all episodes were re-edited for syndication. Originally the whole premise was a mystery. We only learn things as Sam did. But audiences were confused why everyone called him a different name in every episode. Sometime in the short first season or early second season the first version of the introduction was added.
 
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