Quantum Leap (season 4)

Season four of Quantum Leap ran on NBC from September 18, 1991 to May 20, 1992. The series follows the exploits of Dr. Sam Beckett and his Project Quantum Leap (PQL), through which he involuntarily leaps through spacetime, temporarily taking over a host in order to correct historical mistakes. Season four consists of 22 episodes.

Quantum Leap
Season 4
DVD cover
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 18, 1991 (1991-09-18) 
May 20, 1992 (1992-05-20)
Season chronology

For his work this season, Scott Bakula won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.[1]

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byLeap details
(Name, date & location)
Original air dateProd.
code
Viewers
(millions)
541"The Leap Back"Michael ZinbergDonald P. BellisarioTom Jarrett
June 15, 1945
Crown Point, Indiana /
Himself
September 18, 1999
Stallions Gate, New Mexico
September 18, 1991 (1991-09-18)6730321.2[2]

Sam and Al switch roles after a lightning strike. This allows Sam to return home to his wife, Dr. Donna Eleese (Mimi Kuzyk)  whom he had forgotten, as a side effect of leaping. Al leaps into Captain Tom Jarrett (Dean Denton), returned after three years in a Nazi P.O.W. camp, and is set to be killed by the jealous ex-fiancé (Robert Prescott) of his hometown sweetheart, Suzanne (Amanda Wyss). Sam must act as his hologram in order to save Al and continue to leap through time.

Note: Leaping to the Quantum Leap facility in 1999 allows the oft-mentioned Gooshie (Dennis Wolfberg), Tina (Gigi Rice) and Ziggy (a computer) to be seen.
552"Play Ball"Joe NapolitanoTommy Thompson"Doc" Fuller
August 6, 1961
Galveston, Texas
September 25, 1991 (1991-09-25)6730516.2[3]
Sam leaps into washed-out baseball pitcher "Doc" Fuller (Owen Rutledge), who has to get back to the major leagues. Instead, he helps Chucky Myerwich (Neal McDonough), a younger and angrier pitcher, because Chucky reminds Sam of Al, when they first met. Al worries that Sam will get stuck as Doc if he gives up, in favour of Chucky, the chance to pitch when a major league scout watches their big game.
563"Hurricane"Michael WatkinsChris RuppenthalArchie Necaise
August 17, 1969
Jackson Point, Mississippi
October 2, 1991 (1991-10-02)6730614.8[4]
Sam leaps into Archie Necaise (Bob Hamilton), a small-town sheriff in the middle of Hurricane Camille. He must keep his host's girlfriend, Cissy (Marilyn Jones), from being killed, either by the storm, or by anyone else.
574"Justice"Rob BowmanToni GraphiaClyde
May 11, 1965
Alabama
October 9, 1991 (1991-10-09)6730915.4[5]

Sam leaps into a man named Clyde (played by Glenn Edden) just as he is about to join the KKK, out of respect for the racist family he has married into. He must prevent Black civil rights leader Nathaniel from being lynched by the Klan, as well as trying to explain to his host's son the evils of racism. Due to Sam's upbringing, he finds it very difficult to act like the person he has leaped into in order to "act behind enemy lines".

Note: Michael Beach and Glenn Morshower also guest star.
585"Permanent Wave"Scott BakulaBeverly BridgesFrank Bianca
June 2, 1983
Beverly Hills, California
October 16, 1991 (1991-10-16)6730215.2[6]

Sam is Frank Bianca (Robert Jacobs), a male hair stylist living with his girlfriend, Laura (Doran Clark), and her son Kyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). When Kyle witnesses the murder of a mall drugstore clerk just as Sam leaps in, Laura won't let him tell the police what he saw, and the killer is getting closer and closer to make sure that he never will.

Note: This is Scott Bakula's directorial debut. He later directed two other episodes, this season's "Roberto" and season 5's "Promised Land".
596"Raped"Michael ZinbergBeverly BridgesKatie McBain
June 20, 1980
Mill Valley, California
October 30, 1991 (1991-10-30)6731216.6[7]

Sam leaps into Katie McBain (Cheryl Pollak), a woman who has just been raped by the town's All-American boy (Matthew Sheehan). He must work with the prosecutor (Penny Peyser), herself a rape victim, to make sure that justice is done. To ensure Katie's testimony is accurate, she is brought into the Imaging Chamber to testify (relayed by Sam) at the rapist's trial.

Note: Unlike most episodes, Pollak, who plays the "leapee", has an ongoing role, and thus is included in the opening credits.
607"The Wrong Stuff"Joe NapolitanoPaul BrownBobo the chimp
January 24, 1961
Cape Canaveral, Florida
November 6, 1991 (1991-11-06)6730814.4[8]

In a very bizarre out-of-human host, Sam leaps into Bobo, an astro-chimp whom he must get into the space program, with the help of Dr. Ashton (Caroline Goodall), who manages the Astro-chimp program. If not, Bobo will die in a meaningless helmet test run by Dr. Winger (Gary Swanson), whose method is based on an incorrect hypothesis.

Note: This is the only episode where Sam does not leap into a human being.
618"Dreams"Anita W. AddisonDeborah PrattJack Stone
February 28, 1979
Malibu, California
November 13, 1991 (1991-11-13)6732013.9[9]
Sam leaps into a cop named Jack Stone (David Garrison) just as he finds a dead woman, her frightened children, and their father preparing to kill himself. Sam must uncover a childhood trauma of Jack's (which has unfortunately remained in Sam's head throughout this leap), find the connection between Jack, the victim, and their shared psychiatrist (Alan Scarfe), before his host becomes the next victim.
629"A Single Drop of Rain"Virgil W. VogelStory by: Richard C. Okie,
Donald P. Bellisario
& Ralph Meyering, Jr.
Teleplay by: Richard C. Okie
William "Billy" Beaumont
Clover Bend, Texas
September 7, 1953
November 20, 1991 (1991-11-20)6731716.2[10]
Sam is William "Billy" Beaumont (Ted Baader), a traveling rainmaker returning to his hometown farming community suffering from a drought. While Billy's mother (Anne Haney) and sister-in-law Annie (Phyllis Lyons) are glad he is home, his no-nonsense brother Ralph (Patrick Massett) fears Billy will break the town's hope. Sam has to make it rain while also preventing Annie from running away with Billy.
6310"Unchained"Michael WatkinsParis QuallesChance Cole
November 2, 1956
Talawaga County, Mississippi
November 27, 1991 (1991-11-27)6731417.4[11]
Sam is Chance Cole (Mark Kemble), an escaped convict who is chained to Jasper (Basil Wallace), a black man wrongly accused of a murderous robbery. The two escape together only to be recaptured. Sam must find a way to prove Jasper's innocence, made difficult by Boss Cooley (J.C. Quinn), the corrupt head guard who is behind the string of robberies.
6411"The Play's the Thing"Eric LaneuvilleBeverly BridgesJoseph "Joe" Thurlow
September 9, 1969
New York City
January 8, 1992 (1992-01-08)6730116.7[12]
Sam leaps into a 25-year-old man named Joseph "Joe" Thurlow (Will Schaub), who's dating the much, much older Jane Lindhurst (Penny Fuller). Al tells him his mission is to get through a nude version of Hamlet, which will be his host's career breakthrough, but Sam is more interested in convincing Jane not to move back to Cleveland with her straight-arrow son (Daniel Roebuck) and daughter-in-law (Anna Gunn).
6512"Running For Honor"Bob HulmeBobby DuncanThomas "Tommy" York
June 11, 1964
Near Lakeside, Macomb County, Michigan
January 15, 1992 (1992-01-15)6731917.1[13]
Sam leaps into Thomas "Tommy" York (Beau Windham), an honor-roll cadet leader at a naval college, who might be gay. His roommate, Phillip Ashcroft (Sean O'Bryan), was kicked out of the Naval Academy for being gay. Sam must stop Phillip from being killed by Ronnie Chambers (Anthony Palermo), leader of a bigoted gang of cadets.
6613"Temptation Eyes"Christopher HiblerPaul BrownDylan Powell
February 1, 1985
San Francisco, California
January 22, 1992 (1992-01-22)6732216.9[14]

As a rash of serial murders take place in San Francisco, Sam leaps into a television reporter named Dylan Powell (Harker Wade) who must prevent Tamlyn Matsuda (Tamlyn Tomita), a psychic who is helping the police, from becoming the next victim. But when she discovers who Sam really is, they fall for each other and the ordeal becomes very personal. Al helps Sam catch a killer, but the serial killer remains on the loose, so Sam and his host's cameraman, Ross Tyler (James Handy), continue to pursue the story.

Note: The song that was played when the episode originally aired, "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner, topped the Billboard Hot 100 during early February 1985, when the episode is set.
6714"The Last Gunfighter"Joe NapolitanoStory by: Sam Rolfe
Teleplay by: Sam Rolfe &
Chris Ruppenthal
Tyler Means
November 28, 1957
Coffin, Arizona
February 5, 1992 (1992-02-05)6731813.1[15]
Sam is an 80-something retired gunfighter named Tyler Means (Paul Bordman) who's living with his family in an Old West town that is used for tourism and films. He must face his former partner, Pat Knight (John Anderson), who wants to kill Sam because his host stole his heroic antics for his own, while also preventing his host's grandson, Stevie (Sean Baca), from spiralling into a life in prison after his image of his grandfather is ruined.
6815"A Song for the Soul"Michael WatkinsDeborah PrattCherea
April 7, 1963
Chicago, Illinois
February 26, 1992 (1992-02-26)6730412.2[16]
Sam leaps into Cherea (Tiffany Jameson), a member of an all-girl teenage R&B trio, and must prevent her friend Lynelle (Tamara Townsend) from ruining the girls' futures by signing a debilitating contract with local hustler Bobby Lee (Eriq La Salle), while maintaining a relationship between Lynelle and her preacher father (Harrison Page).
6916"Ghost Ship"Anita W. AddisonDonald P. Bellisario
& Paris Qualles
Eddie Brackett
August 13, 1956
Bermuda Triangle
March 4, 1992 (1992-03-04)6730714.6[17]
Sam leaps into Eddie Brackett (Mark McPherson), co-pilot of an air taxi that is transporting two young newlyweds, one of whom (Carla Gugino) is very sick with appendicitis, while also helping the pilot, Capt. Cooper (Scott Hoxby), overcome PTSD. But that is the least of his worries when the plane flies into the Bermuda Triangle and he loses contact with Al.
7017"Roberto!"Scott BakulaChris RuppenthalRoberto Gutierrez
January 27, 1982
Destiny, New Mexico
March 11, 1992 (1992-03-11)6732614.5[18]

Sam is Roberto Gutierrez (Andrew Roa), a Geraldo Rivera-inspired talk-show host who works with his co-worker, Jani Eisenberg (DeLane Matthews), to unmask a local fertilizer and pesticide plant that is researching and producing chemical weapons before they're silenced.

Note: Doctor Laura Schlessinger appears as herself, as a guest on an episode of the Roberto! talk-show.
7118"It's A Wonderful Leap"Paul BrownStory by: Danielle Alexandra
Teleplay by: Danielle Alexandra
& Paul Brown
Max Greenman
May 10, 1958
New York City
April 1, 1992 (1992-04-01)6732415.4[19]

Sam is a New York City taxicab driver named Max Greenman (Ross Partridge) who's trying to earn enough money to get his and father, Lenny (Jerry Adler), their own taxi medallion. Along the way, his cab runs over Angela (Liz Torres), who is completely unhurt. Angela claims to be an angel and can see Al, pretending to believe him to be the devil.

Note: Scott Bakula's future Star Trek: Enterprise costar, Vaughn Armstrong, has a cameo role as Fred Trump.
7219"Moments to Live"Joe NapolitanoTommy ThompsonKyle Hart
May 4, 1985
Los Angeles, California
April 8, 1992 (1992-04-08)6732518.0[20]
Sam leaps into Kyle Hart (Patrick Lowe), a soap opera actor who is kidnapped by obsessed fan Norma Pilcher (Kathleen Wilhoite), who wants him to father a baby for her and her infertile husband, Hank (Pruitt Taylor Vince). In the original history, Hart ended up wandering the countryside with a gunshot wound to the head, rendering him a total amnesiac.
7320"The Curse of Ptah-Hotep"Joe NapolitanoChris RuppenthalDr. Dale Conway
March 2, 1957
Saqqara, Egypt
April 22, 1992 (1992-04-22)6732815.3[21]
Sam leaps into Egyptology professor Dr. Dale Conway (Rodger LaRue), who along with Dr. Ginny Will (Lisa Darr) has just unearthed the tomb of the Pharaoh Ptah-Hotep. The third partner in the archeological dig, Dr. Mustafa El Razul (John Kapelos) of the Luxor Museum, arrives just after the first of a series of mishaps begin. Al reports that the team disappeared and their discovery was never reported. Did the terrible curse on the tomb wall come true?
7421"Stand Up"Michael ZinbergDeborah PrattDavey Parker
April 30, 1959
Glendale, Arizona
May 13, 1992 (1992-05-13)6731513.9[22]
Sam leaps into a man named Davey Parker (Rafe Battiste) who's part of a trio comedy act, with Mack MacKay (Bob Saget) and Frankie Washarskie (Amy Yasbeck), who are so in love with each other that they cannot face it. Sam must get the couple to see that they love each other, and prevent Mack from being killed by mobster Carlo Degorio (Robert Miranda), who has his eyes set on Frankie.
7522"A Leap for Lisa"James Whitmore, Jr.Donald P. BellisarioAl "Bingo" Calavicci
June 25, 1957
San Diego Naval Air Station,
California
May 20, 1992 (1992-05-20)6732916.8[23]
Sam leaps into a Ensign Al "Bingo" Calavicci (Jamie Walters) who is on trial for the rape and murder of the wife of Commander Riker (Charles Rocket). The older Al is so preoccupied talking with his younger self, he fails to warn Sam of actions which unintentionally prevents his married girlfriend, Lt. Lisa Sherman (Terry Farrell), from providing young Al's alibi before she dies. When holographic Al disappears, replaced by Edward St. John V (Roddy McDowall), Sam realizes that Project Quantum Leap now exists in an alternate future in which Al was executed in the gas chamber.

References

  1. "Scott Bakula". Golden Globe Awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  2. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. September 25, 1991. p. D3.
  3. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. October 2, 1991. p. D3.
  4. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. October 9, 1991. p. D3.
  5. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. October 16, 1991. p. D3.
  6. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. October 23, 1991. p. D3.
  7. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. November 6, 1991. p. D3.
  8. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. November 13, 1991. p. D3.
  9. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. November 20, 1991. p. D3.
  10. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. November 27, 1991. p. D3.
  11. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. December 4, 1991. p. D3.
  12. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. January 15, 1992. p. D3.
  13. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. January 22, 1992. p. D3.
  14. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. January 29, 1992. p. D3.
  15. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. February 12, 1992. p. D3.
  16. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. March 4, 1992. p. D3.
  17. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. March 11, 1992. p. D3.
  18. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. March 18, 1992. p. D3.
  19. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. April 8, 1992. p. D3.
  20. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. April 15, 1992. p. D3.
  21. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. April 29, 1992. p. D3.
  22. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. May 20, 1992. p. D3.
  23. "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. May 28, 1992. p. D3.
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