Theorising... Leaping and getting Sam Home

[leaper1]

Article 384:
How to get Sam Back Home to future

Date: 12/24/1999
From: JaseFace

I was thinking after I saw "The Leap Back" that just as Sam, when he was in the future, having switched with Al, when he stepped into the accelerator to retrieve al (when he was unconcious)went and leaped into Al, Al could do the same thing for a while, now that it is not a threat to his life, and could bring Sam back into the Future for a while at least so that he could finish the retrieval formula that Ziggy said had a 9% chance of working.

Then he could finally return home and we could all be happy----- but there wouldn't be a show for us to watch. Too bad.

Reply:
Date: 12/24/1999
From: fireyf

That would be good actaully. It would be fun to have a few episodes where Al was leaping and Sam was the observer. But Al is in his sixties, do you think he'd be up to it? I was thinking of writing a fanfic where Donna leaps. If I can come up with a broader story-line I might do it.

 

[leaper1]

Article 514:
Why I think Sam never made it back home

Date: 02/25/2000
From: GiddyJoe

Hey everyone, I just realized something. I'm fairly new to this bulletin board, but I've read a lot of past posts that you guys have put up about Mirror Image, the last episode of Quantum Leap. And a lot of you have complained about the fact that it said, at the end of the episode, that Sam never returned home. Now, I gotta admit, at first, I was pretty upset about it too; but that was before I started really thinking about it. And now, I think it makes perfect sense, and that it's a perfect ending to a good show, especially if they wanted to stay true to Don's original story. Here's what I mean by that. In the very first episode, Genesis, Al told Sam that in able to retrieve Sam back home depends solely upon everyone that he comes in contact with, believing that Sam IS the person he leaped into, rather than who he really is. So, Sam's mistake, and ultimately what kept him from going back home permanently, was trying to get some people to believe that he was a time traveller from the future. He did that in Genesis, Killin' Time, Revenge of the Evil Leaper, and a few other episodes as well. So, that's one of the reasons he never returned home. Does that make sense?

Now, at the end of Mirror Image, we all know that it said "Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home." But I don't think they meant that he never returned, ever. I think that he DOES go back home every once in a while to visit. He just doesn't stay there permanently. Here's why I think that. Near the end of Mirror Image, Bartender Al came to Sam and started doing a "what if." What if Sam chose to be a priest all his life? In response to that notion, Sam said "Even priests can quit." And Bartender Al then said "That's true; but they can also take sabbaticals, especially before embarking on a difficult assignment." (Sabbaticals are breaks, or a time of rest if you didn't know that.) I think the fact that Al said that, kind of implies that Sam can and WILL take sabbaticals (time-off) from leaping every once in a while, to go back home. But he must live with the fact that he IS a leaper, he chose to be a leaper, and so a leaper he will always be.
Tell me what you think about all that. Thanks!
-Joe

Reply 1:
I totally agree
Date: 02/28/2000
From: Himeko
=)

Reply 2:
A credible explanation!
Date: 05/09/2000
From: Bingo
Very good thinking! Now, let me add a bit. Not only did Sam tell some of his contacts about his time travelling, but he also left a myriad of clues lying around almost everywhere. An astute researcher with enough resources could detect anomalies in the timeline & trace them near their origin (perhaps not exactly at the origin, but close). I believe this is the origin of the so-called Evil Leaper. I see Zoe as a mere underling chosen specifically for her zeal & lack of mercy - I believe the LOTHOS project predates Zoe's involvement by at least a few years. It is Zoe who gives LOTHOS the appearance of evil - LOTHOS' purpose is to "put right what once went wrong" (in my opinion...). Dr. Beckett was attractive & charismatic, but he was otherwise the proverbial mad scientist whose experiment went "a little bit ca-ca." It is very likely that Beckett lost his way home BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE WAS TRYING TO GET HOME! Ironic, huh? These days I see Dr. Samuel Beckett as a modern Don Quixote - a disoriented, idealistic anachronism in a world of his own creation - a world that does not jibe with reality. He appears to be a hero, but he fights enemies who are not his enemies and he saves people who do not wish to be saved. They do not even realize they are in danger.

 

[leaper1]

Article 794:
What would happen to Sam..

Date: 11/10/2000
From: amder

if Admiral Calivicci died? They are neurologically linked, correct? Would Sam be lost forever?

Reply 1:
I think...

Date: 11/10/2000
From: SamBeckettLover

I think that he would not be lost forever if Al died (though it would be very sad if he did). Remember the episode where Sam was holding those people hostage and his counterpart in the waiting room escaped? Well, while Al was out searching for the escapee, Ziggy was able to send Gooshie to talk to Sam. IT wasn't a good connection, but they did it. But if you look at it in another way, it depends when he does. If he died during a leap, then Gooshie could contact Sam. But if he died in between leaps, before they found who and where Sam was, they might not be able to find him. Because in the very last episode only Al could go into the imaging chamber to find him. Luckily, Al never died to find out the truth!

Reply 2:
They could find Sam

Date: 11/14/2000
From: temporaltheorist

Yes they would be able to find sam because ziggy has a piece of sam's brain and can therefore attain a neuron lock on him were ever he leaps. And then all they have to is adjust the parameters of who will be the observer and then link his/her mind with Sam's

 

[leaper1]

Article 1274:
HELP!!

Date: 02/14/2001
From: bigQLfan

I have a question, two actually. I know there were a few episodes where Sam revealed himself. What were they and what was the reaction? I need this for my paper.
Thanks,
Jen

Reply:
One was

Date: 02/14/2001
From: billcreeper

One was the episode Her Charm where he revealed himself to the professor at the end but we don't know the reaction because he leaped just as he told the professor. Of course the other was Mirror Image mainly to Al the bartender but Al already knew who he was. He also revealed himself to his family in The Leap Home where he was his 16 year old self where tried to forwarm them of the future. Also he revealed himself to the black vice warden in the revenge of the evil leaper and she believed him and helped him get away from the warden who was a murderer.
also on temptation eyes the psychic knew who he was but i don't remember if he revealed his name to her. I think he did. And also the angel on its a wonderful leap know who he was even though i don't know if he actually revealed himself to her or not.

Reply:
Some more...

Date: 02/14/2001
From: QuantumLeapLover

In the pilot episode, it seems like he mentioned his name to his partner. That was before Al told him not to reveal anything. In Star-Crossed, he tried to get Donna to look into his eyes and see who he really was. In Another Mother, Al tells the youngest daughter that he and Sam are angels and tells her their real names. At the end of The Leap Home, Tom, Sam's brother, says, "Thanks little brother" although Sam never told him who he really was (he had leaped (leapt?)into a black soldier. At the beginning of Last Dance Before an Execution as he is being strapped into the electric chair, he is frantically trying to explain who he is. I can't think of any more right now. QLL

Reply:
one more

Date: 02/14/2001
From: TinaBaby

the only other one I can think of that wasn't already mentioned was in 'killn time' where sam tells the mother and daughter who are stiles hostages who he really is.

Reply:
Good list!!! Just a couple of additions

Date: 02/14/2001
From: alongtimefan

The angel one is entitled. It's a Wonderful Leap. Pilot is Genesis. The above mentioned are a pretty complete list...Just a couple more...

Additionally....Don't forget his interesting revelation in What Price Gloria to Buddy. And, he told his bride in "Honeymoon Express." Then there were the odd moments of revelation such in Another Mother and the Wrong Stuff (but no one listened).

Reply:
Also...

Date: 02/15/2001
From: MTLEAPER

Also, in Genesis, he reveals himself to his wife, but she doesn't believe him, so he tells here that he & Birddog are planning a gag, and drops it. When he leaps into Tim Fox, he calls his father, but he never reveals who he is. I think that about covers it! In most of the leaps, nobody believed him. The exceptions are the ones previously noted (Temptation Eyes, Her Charm, A Little Miracle, Killing Time, etc).