Customer Reviews

Quantum Leap: The Complete Fourth Season

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Episode Synopsis:

The Leap Back
Play Ball
Hurricane
Justice
Permanent Wave
Raped
The Wrong Stuff
Dreams
A Single Drop of Rain
Unchained
The Play's the Thing
Running For Honor
Temptation Eyes
The Last Gunfighter
A Song for the Soul
Ghost Ship
Roberto!
It's A Wonderful Leap
Moments to Live
The Curse of Ptah-Hotep
Stand Up
A Leap For Lisa

Particularly good episodes are :
1. The Leap Back
2. Raped
3. It's a Wonderful Leap
4. The Curse of Ptah-Hotep
5. A Leap For Lisa

All episodes are good, the 5 I have listed, are probably the best of the season.

*** A lot of people have mentioned the music contained in the US version of these DVDs. They are right when they say the music in the UK version is unedited. I never noticed this until I bought the UK version of Season 2. The last episode - M.I.A. comes complete with the uncut "Georgia On My Mind". My point is, that if you can wait for the UK DVDs to be released, then do so - They are much more authentic and well worth the wait for die-hard fans.

The best of times--Another leap forward for the series as we got a number of memorable episodes that played with the format of the show. Among the highlights of this season--In "The Leap Back" Sam and Al switch places when lightning hits just as Sam is about to make his leap. "Raped" is a memorable episode where Sam is thrown into the body of a woman who has been raped. No one wants to believe "her" because the person accused is the son of a prominent member of the community. In "Temptation Eyes" a serial murderer is at work and Sam becomes a TV reporter that must prevent the psychic helping the police from becoming the next victim. Sadly "I Want to Know What Love Is" is missing (if I'm correctly remembering it being int he episode)."It's a Wonderful Leap" has Sam as a New York cab driver trying to earn his medallion. He runs over a lady who claims to be an angel there to help Sam achieve his mission which makes it tough for Al because the two don't get along. "A Leap for Lisa" is a terrific episode in which Sam leaps into Al as a navy pilot facing rape and murder charges. Sam changes history by asking a key witness not to testify on his behalf and it becomes clear that Al may be put on trial.

The transfer looks pretty good. The images are occasionally soft and there's dirt and debris in some of the transfers (some more than others)but on the whole acceptable. Audio is solid throughout the set. Image quality varies depending upon the amount of optical effects as well and those scenes tend to be on the softer side with more debris and dirt noticeable.

It was the worst of times--There are songs that have been replaced in this set (it is at least noted on the box) but not in all the episodes. For those where the music issue looms large I'd wait for the Region 2 discs in the UK. It's sad that such a unique and terrific show should be the victim of greed (whether it is on Universal's end, the music publisher's end or both)or a lack of interest in securing the rights to important songs. Personally, I would think that the publishers would want additional exposure for their music (it can continue to lead to additional sales and with the music industry in a slump I would have thought they would see that as an important extra).

We get two extras. One is a preview of the season five episode "Liberation" where Sam leaps into the body of a mother who must prevent her daughter from being killed at a protest. The second is a featurette that was produced for Universal's 80's TV shows. It's pretty generic but does have some interesting comments from both newspaper and TV writers. None of the extras co-producer/writer Deborah Pratt had offered Universal are included. I'm not sure what Universal's issue is with this but it would be nice if Universal actually showed that they cared what the fans felt (although that's been pretty clear with every set after the first season). This generic focuses on "Quantum Leap" for about 5 or 6 minutes of its nearly 20 minute running time. I would gladly forgo expensive extras if Universal would secure the rights to music to key episodes (and let the original producers decide what is key to the scenes in the episodes).

Packaging is like the 3rd season with the individual slimline holders for each episode and the show is, once again, presented on dual sided DVD18 discs. Five stars for the show minus a star for the poor extras and the changes in music.

Just thought I would weigh in on the music controversy. I don't have a particularly strong positive or negative feeling about it, but wanted to add some logic to the equation. I can't help it; I'm an engineer.

I, too, felt that the stories seemed a little flat and did not know why until I started reading about the missing music in these reviews. One of the complaints stood out because of the glaring mathematical error.

One of the reviewers said he heard that the music companies wanted $10,000 a song. The reviewer stated that if they sold as few as 10,000 DVDs, they'd only have to charge an extra dollar each - a price nearly every fan would be willing to pay. The error is that that assumes there is only ONE SONG per season worth buying. These aren't single episode DVDs, but DVD sets - a complete season. What if (as is more likely) it is a song (or two) per episode? That changes the final cost significantly.

Even so, it would come down to how many copies of the season sets they could sell. If the price went up by $5, it would make a bigger difference in how many people would be willing to buy them. On the other hand, if they are selling a quarter million sets for each season, then the reviewer's extra dollar per DVD is back in play and that little amount should not have been an issue.

My other take on this situation is that we are griping to the wrong people. I think we ought to complain to the music companies for being so greedy and stupid. It's counter-productive anyway. They should let the music go for a song. (Sorry, I couldn't help that one.) When people hear this great music, they are tempted to buy more CDs. The music companies are missing a huge advertising opportunity. D'oh!!!

I'm buying the DVD sets anyway. The stories are still great!

I would like to say something as a fan living in the UK. We only got seasons 2 and 3 in december and they did not use double sided discs over here. If you have a multi region DVD player i would suggest importing from the UK as i have had no pronlems with my discs. I will probably have to wait until the end of the year for season four, but worth as it has some of the best episodes of the series such as the leap back and a leap for Lisa
I would also reccomend waiting because of the music. The episodes is season 2&3 over here are not cut and contain all the original music most notabally in MIA where georgia on my mind is included!!!. I share the frustration of american fans and i was going to import from america as it was taking so long for the DVDs to come out over here, but changed my mind when i heard about the music glad I did!!!!

I would have give this 5 stars, but the Music replacement alone does a 180 on the show you and I loved! I am totally holding out on this and not buying it until Universal Studios releases it correctly.

The Season 2, 3, and 4 DVD sets replaced several of the original songs from the series with different music including some generic and likely unknown or unrecognized background music.

There were at least 28 songs that were omitted from the Season 2 DVD as per a quantumleap fan club web site that I read. Under the Audio/Video Information section on that same web page, you can also see an example of this audio replacement and what a difference the soundtrack can really make. Even I was surprised! It is like doing a full 180! It is a total disapointment.

You can google the words Quantum Leap Music Replacement and find all kinds of information on this.

You can let Universal Studios know that they made a huge mistake. Please Write to them, Email them, or Call them requesting that they re-release Seasons 2 to 4 with all the original music from this wonderful TV show.

I personally feel that Season 4 was one of the strongest seasons of the show. I am also hoping that they will leave the music intact for season 4 as in every episode is a period piece and the music reflects this.

The music has been discussed over and over again at the the messageboard at www.quantumleap-alsplace.com and most fans of the show agree that replacing, especially Georgia on my Mind in season 2 was unforgivable.

But as for the best episodes in season 4, The Leap Back, It's a Wonderful Leap, The Curse of Ptah-Hotep, and A Leap for Lisa. In addition, A Leap for Lisa is also one of the best episodes, period

First and foremost, I must say that I've been a die-hard fan of "Quantum Leap" ever since its original airing during the third season. With that being said, I was disappointed with the music changes as one can imagine. Admittedly, there are some music omissions that can actually be overlooked, but in particular, there is one omission that cannot. This comes in the episode "Temptation Eyes" with Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is." While the cheap music that replaced it has a romantic tone, it still nearly destroys the impact of the scene. Most episodes have music omissions, while others do not simply because they never used music in the first place.

However, the omission of music is not the only flaw there is with the DVD set. There are audio transfer problems as well, and these occur with the episodes "Hurricane" and "Justice." The audio sounds like the equivalent of playing a record at a slightly slower speed, thereby making the entire audio sound deeper and off-pitch. This same problem has occurred on the Season 2 set with the episode "Jimmy," and on the Season 3 set with the episode "Last Dance Before An Execution." Another reviewer pointed out that the saga cell (opening sequence) for "The Leap Back" was incorrect for the episode, but that is how the episode originally aired and is not a mistake by Universal. The reason for that was to preserve the secrets of the season premiere.

Next, bonus features. As has already been stated, there are two: "The Great '80s TV Flashback" and an epsiode from Season 5, "Liberation." (If you can call that a bonus feature.) No problems with each of these, though; it's just the fact that Universal turned down bonus feature offers from Deborah Pratt for no good reason.

Any positive aspects about the set, you may ask? Well, the picture quality is decent, but not perfect. There are the occasional dirt specs once in a while, and some shots appear grainy from time to time. But to give Universal the benefit of the doubt, it was probably the best they could do with the original film. Overall, I'd rate it an 8/10. Universal has also removed their logo sequences from the beginning of each episode (which is a good thing as that was always annoying with previous sets). Episodes are available with a "Play All" feature, and come with four chapters each. The cover art is nice as well, though I'm wondering why they didn't include Dean Stockwell on it this time (he was just as important to the series as Scott Bakula). And as always, the episodes are original, enjoyable, and well-written, with strong performances by Scott Bakula as Dr. Samuel Beckett and Dean Stockwell as Admiral Albert Calavicci. Stand-out episodes include: "The Leap Back," "The Wrong Stuff," "Running For Honor," and "A Leap For Lisa."

The problem with Universal Studios goes beyond simply removing music. And I'm aware that it's not just Universal that's placed in the position of having to remove music, as other studios have been forced to do it as well. The problem with Universal is their lack of care for their shows and lack of explanation to fans. If they simply communicated more with fans or at least attempted to replace the original music with music that actually fits the scenes (at least find some cover songs for crying out loud!), it would show that at least they're trying their best to make up for it. And when bonus features are practically being handed to them, they should have just accepted them. Instead, we continuously get cheap, double-sided, bare bones discs, with audio problems. Universal needs to take some pointers from Fox or Disney, who put out far superior quality DVD sets. Overall, if you're a die-hard fan, I have to recommend waiting it out and purchasing the Region 2 versions, as well as a region-free DVD player. To anyone else who watches these episodes for the first time, they'll most likely never know the difference, but it would be a shame to never experience the episodes as they were originally intended to be.

It's a real shame that such a fantastic original series does not get the respect it deserves on DVD.

I live in USA and I have been buying the Region 2 versions of Quantum Leap because the music HAS BEEN intact, but in Season 4 Region 2 it has been cut. I love Quantum Leap and having it on DVD but it is not the same without the correct music.

So far I have had mixed emotions about QL DVD releases, either there has been poor extra bonus features or none. Also the original music has been dubbed over, but despite these letdowns I plan on buying season 4 of QL. You might ask why, well the show itself is enough to merit purchase, for the fine stories and characters that inhabit them. This alone is enough to take a risk.

I hope Universal plans on adding some bonus features, surely they can do this for their fans...can't they???

On a final note this season is the penultimate season containing several good episodes such as "The Leap Back".

.... they took out the heart and soul of the show when they dubbed over the music that was in the episodes when they aired. MIA just isn't the same without "Georgia on My Mind" and I can't imagine that any of the 4th season episodes will be any better with their music removed as well. Canned music just doesn't work and I will not be buying the DVDs. Thank goodness I taped the shows when they aired. I will be transferring those to DVD and I'll at least be able to watch the shows the way the creative team meant for them to be watched and not this dreck that Universal is releasing now.

I higly recommend the show but cannot recommend the DVDs.