All Time Greatest Television Series: #9 Quantum Leap

There weren’t many good shows in the late eighties and early nineties. The one that stood out for me during that time period was Quantum Leap. After a string of super cheesy, somewhat lame shows like Knight Rider, Miami Vice and The A Team, among others, this show stood far above the others. The show was intelligent and witty, which separated itself from the competition.

Scott Bakula really sold the show as physicist Dr. Sam Beckett, who randomly travels through time after a time travel experiment gone awry. Beckett always seems confused as he goes from one crazy situation to another. Bakula made the viewers feel that same confusion and helplessness that his character experienced. Dean Stockwell was also well cast as his wise-cracking sidekick Al, who tries to guide Beckett through his travels. Together, they have to solve the problem that he faces, so that he can move on and travel once again, with the hope that he would eventually find his way home. At the conclusion of every episode, I couldn’t wait to find out where Beckett would be going to next. This was a gem among all of the dreck that was being shown in that era.