Customer Reviews

Quantum Leap - The Complete Fifth Season

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Almost every TV show overstays its welcome and jumps the shark. "Quantum Leap" didn't and that's a rarity. The final season looks very good in its presentation on DVD and, while I haven't ploughed through every episode yet it appears that the music hasn't been replaced in the ones I've watched. There's also no notification about the music being replaced (as on the third and fourth season the second doesn't count because Universal hoodwinked everyone on that one). We also get an actual extra in this set--the blue prints for two sets in the show. You can actually zoom in on separate sections to view them.

This episode features a number of classic ones including the one where Sam encounters the "Evil Leaper" in a terrific two part episode. Also, Sam becomes "the King" (Elvis) just before he breaks through to the big time and in the most fascinating of the episodes written by Donald Bellasario Sam becomes Lee Harvey Oswald (played by character actor Willie Garson best known for "Sex and the City"). Sam and Al struggle to find out why he's leaping in and out of Oswald throughout the time leading up to the assassination of Kennedy. Here's where a great extra could have been included by Universal as Bellasario actually knew Oswald and served in the military with him (an actor plays Bellasario recreating their first meeting).

Now for a bit of bad news--we get the series once again on dual sided discs. Unlike some previous sets from Universal I haven't had a problem with these so far so maybe they've finally figured out how to make the darn things properly. Luckily these aren't packaged facing each other (like many of the Fox dual sided discs) but in individual slimline cases.

Unlike many fans of the series I disliked the resolution in the final episode of the fifth season and had hoped for something less open ended. It would have allowed a terrific TV movie to tie things up but unfortunately it never happened. I'm not going to say anything else for those who haven't seen the final episode. Some great guest stars during the fifth season--Neil Patrick Harris, Brooke Shields (even though I think she's a horrible actress normally she does a solid job here), Dr. Ruth, Terry Farrell, John Hillard, Michael Boatman, Stephen Root and a young Jennifer Aniston in one episode.

The show goes out in style with some of the best episodes of the series.

This is the one I've been looking forward to the most! Although it has many episodes that have been panned for being laden with celebrity leaps (Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, JFK, etc.) and for having the silly Evil Leaper episodes (which I LOVED, by the way) overall, it is a fantastic season. The Trilogy eps are by FAR the highlight of the season. Also a neat thing about this season: we get to see more of the inner workings of Project Quantum Leap in "Killin' Time" and "Lee Harvey Oswald". The stories spend a lot of time at the physical Project Quantum Leap underground building in New Mexico in the "future" with Al and the person Sam has leapt into for reasons I won't go into so I don't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen them yet. It's really fun getting to see what the room where the Leap-ees stay in looks like as well as other parts of the Project!

I highly recommend this season above any others, except for maybe the very short first season.

With that said, I of course have not watched any of them on the DVD because as of right now, it has not been released yet, so I can't review the DVD versions of the eps. On DVD releases of previous seasons, Universal has made several glaring changes to many very important episodes in the way of music/soundtrack songs which was VERY disappointing for HUGE long time QL fans like myself. I've heard that there will be no changes to the Elvis music since it is such an integral aspect of that particular episode. I really Really hope that there will be SOMETHING in the way of extras, which have been sorely lacking on previous seasons.

And just FYI: that Scott Bakula rumor about him returning to the small screen for a new QL series is just that -- a RUMOR. It is not fact; SB himself has repeatedly denied any involvement in any new series since the end of ST:Ent. IMDB.com has the series listed as In Development, but it's been in that status for literally YEARS and no stars are attached to appear. It's all rumor... for now.

Episode synopsis:

Lee Harvey Oswald (Parts 1 and 2)
Leaping of The Shrew
Nowhere to Run
Killin' Time
Star Light, Star Bright
Deliver Us From Evil
Trilogy (Parts 1, 2 and 3)
Promised Land
A Tale Of Two Sweeties
Liberation
Dr. Ruth
Blood Moon
Return
Revenge
Goodbye Norma Jean
The Beast Within
The Leap Between The States
Memphis Melody
Mirror Image


All episodes are good, but the best ones have to be:
Nowhere to run,
Trilogy (Parts 1, 2 and 3),
Deliver us from Evil, Return, Revenge (Evil leaper eps)
Mirror image (A pretty good, but all too abrupt end to the show)

This was the fifth and final season of the lengendary show. Many think it ended prematurely, as do I. In a way, I feel 2 or 3 more seasons would've been appropriate as there were alot more Sam Beckett stories to tell. Season 5 had many multi-arc episodes like the Oswald storyline as well as the Trilogy and 'Evil Leaper' epsiodes.

Unfortunately the final episode -'Mirror Image'-was too short and the ending left a bittersweet taste with many QL fans. Despite this I can firmly state that the final season finishes the series on a strong note.

Finally, I am disturbed to see that even the original introduction music at the beginning of each epsiode has been butchered and there are no episode indexes this time. I have a message for universal: when releasing a beloved show please dont dissapoint the fans and give us what we want. Dont give us some watered down-product only so you can re-release it a few years later with more bonuses and try and make more money from us.

I love this series and finally ordered all 5 seasons. I have spent the last 2 weeks watching them in Quantum Leap Bliss. The show itself is wonderful; however, I had problems with the manufacturing of the DVD's themselves. Each season had at least one disk with problems (i.e. missing bonus features, episodes that won't play in the "play all" mode, but will if you access it from the "episode index," episodes where the show gets hung up, then starts, then gets hung up, then starts, and on and on, and episodes that won't play at all (black screen), etc. I have just done the "exchange" process through Amazon and re-watched all 5 seasons. The 5th season disk 3 had the same problems (episode 18 and 21 won't play properly, they skip and drag, and even kick out to the menu).

I tried to do another exchange for Season 5 through Amazon, and they said "As it seems that the problem with this item "Quantum Leap - The Complete Fifth Season " is more widespread than we originally thought, we are not able to send another replacement. We will investigate and remedy the situation with the item; however, I cannot guarantee when the error may be fixed." Which means, I will not have Season 5.

I was a huge fan of this show when it was on TV. I thought I'd start collecting the seasons and started with season 5. I didn't realize that a lot of my favorite episodes were in this season. The "Trilogy" arc was one of the reasons I started watching the show regularly and the "Evil Leaper" arc really added to the show. I definitely recommend this season!

Quantum Leap is by far one of the best TV series of the 80's and early 90's, and in my humble opinion, one of the better shows in the past 30 years. It managed, without gratuitous sex, nudity, or cursing to present a wonderful show that the whole family could watch, and tackled many issues head-on (racism, sexism, the Vietnam War, etc.) And the whole theme of the show--someone putting right what once went wrong--was perfect, and was very inspirational. In this 5th and final season, you get to see some of the best episodes of the series, and some of the most memorable. I have seen the comments by others on the final episode, and how it ended things abruptly, but I beg to differ. I thought it was a perfect wrap-up to a series that (thankfully) didn't try to overstay its welcome. Many other series have tried to push their lifespans to the point where they're not fresh anymore--but not Quantum Leap. Other series never get the chance to wrap up before they're cancelled (especially these days--how'd you like the endings to Joan Of Arcadia and Tru Calling? Oops, forgot--they didn't have one). Quantum Leap not only got to wrap things up, they did so in the most memorable of fashions. This is a gem of a series, and this final season is the sparkle in that gem.

Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice... go to amazon.co.uk and order the British releases of these DVDs, if you have a player that will support them. They use the ORIGINAL music, not the stuff on the DVDs released in the U.S. Also, if you do the conversion, they cost the same if not less even with shipping. Please also do not order the British complete package, as you cannot play the final episode, according to several posters. Get each season separately. It adds up to about the same. I live in VA and it was only 12 GBP to ship all five seasons. Well worth it, if you want the series the way it was intended. My two cents...

I'm not sure how I feel about Quantum Leap ending.

OH MY GOD IT'S OVER!!! WHAT NOW?!!!

OK, yes I do know how I feel. It's been a long haul. It didn't take me long to watch the first three seasons, the fourth season was a pain in the neck, and then the fifth season seemed to be over in a flash. I watched eight episodes during a two day period, and then today, I watched the last two discs straight through. I did consider rationing it, maybe watching an episode a week, but I don't think the person I borrowed it from is too happy at the gap in his DVD case. Didn't think it would be a good idea to risk it, never mind joke about it.

I'm still actually in shock over the last episode, Mirror Image. I'm totally gutted it's over, there's no more Sam, there's no more Al. And what a gripping final episode. From the blurb, I thought it would work slightly differently. I thought it would be he went back to where he was born, and do something there. Kinda like the end of the director's cut of Butterfly Effect. But although it was a disappointing ending (there's rumours it was meant to be a two parter, or a cliffhanger to the sixth season, which of course, never happened, as it was cancelled in its prime!), it totally gripped me, and I think I sat there with my jaw on the floor when the credits rolled. I won't give away anything about the final episode, but OH MY GOD, get some tissues beside you, cos I started crying. Hey I started crying when Sam started crying - I'm a sucker for guy's crying. I bawled my eyes out so much the first two times I watched Armageddon (when Ben Affleck starts crying), I actually missed the ending!

The rest of the season was an alright ending to a brilliant show. The double whammy episode at the beginning, where Sam leaps into Lee Harvey Oswald, was a major disappointment, and thankfully, it didn't start the very first season, cos there's no way I would have gone on to continue watching it. I'm too young to know all the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK & Lee Harvey Oswald, and I've never really had an interest in finding out more, so this episode just didn't work for me. Sure it fascinated Donald P whatshisface, and he just had to make an episode about it, but not for me.

My other favourite episodes include:

Brook Shields appearing in Leaping Of The Shrew, as the spoiled brat stranded on a desert island with Sam - she was absolutely hilarious, but I doubt she was meant to be.

Killin' Time - we got to see more of the present time in Al's world, as Sam leaps into a serial killer, who then promptly escapes in 1999, and Al has to catch him.

The Trilogy arc was a brilliant way to stop the show from getting too much the same, as Sam leaps about into three different people on one person's life. Some reviewers haven't liked this as much, but I certainly did, so much so that I watched the three in a row, with the previous two.

Deliver Us From Evil was brilliant, as it went back to someone Sam had previously leaped into, little Jimmy the Downs syndrome boy, but then introduced the concept of an evil leaper to Sam's good. To be honest, I did consider that they should have introduced this sooner, because everyone has their nemesis, but I was disappointed, because that's where Tru Calling seemed to have their Tru & Jack storyline from!

Return Of The Evil Leaper, and Revenge Of The Evil Leaper were good, but just not as good as I thought they'd be. There's eight episodes between Deliver Us From Evil & Return Of The Evil Leaper, I think they should have brought it about sooner, instead of just reintroducing the concept again randomly.

Goodbye Norma Jean was another brilliant episode, with Sam playing Marilyn Monroe's chauffeur. I didn't think the actress playing Marilyn was that great a lookalike, but she did the job I guess.

I do wish they'd bring back Quantum Leap, especially since it will be coming up for its twentieth anniversary in two years. It would be nice to see the show more resolved than it was (like Tru Calling!), and lets face it, Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell are still a) alive and b) Scott has NOT changed in the slightest. If there was enough call for it, I'm sure they'd reappear as a one off, just to end the show on a high, for all us disappointed 'fans'. Maybe do something that Sam suddenly reappears, or they somehow find a way to find him? Just a one off. Pretty please? I'm lost without having this to watch now, I'm going to have to find myself a social life.

Bring Back Sam!

This has always been one of my most favorite shows, and I now get to enjoy it with my nine year old daughter, who LOVES it! Scott & Dean have the best chemistry! Every show was fun and entertaining. I wish it was still on the air.