Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
Quantum Leap Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
9 Episodes 1989 - 1989
Episode 1
Genesis: Part 1 - September 13, 1956
Sun, Mar 26, 198944 mins
Although the Project Quantum Leap isn't ready yet, Sam Beckett doesn't listen to supercomputer Ziggy, hops into the Accelerator and leaps. As Tom Stratton, an Air Force test pilot about to attempt a dangerous flight. Sam finds his memory Swiss cheesed, with only enough left to know that he is not where or when he belongs. According to Sam's friend and partner Al, who appears to him as a hologram nobody else can see, Al explains that the Project has gone awry and in order to leap out of the pilot's body, Sam must successfully fly the X-2 to Mach 3, which according to historical records, ended in a fatal crash.
Episode 2
Genesis: Part 2 - September 13, 1956
Sun, Mar 26, 198945 mins
As Tom Stratton, Sam comforts his (Tom's) wife and prevents her from having a premature birth. This is what he was sent to do, allowing him to leap home (he hopes). But instead of leaping home, he leaps into Tim Fox, a minor league baseball player in Texas at the end of the 1968 season, in the middle of a game, where he must make the winning play in order to leap further. Aided by errors, Tim Fox, after a dropped third strike on a wild pitch, rounds the bases for the winning score, and Sam leaps into Dr. Gerald Bryant as a college professor in the middle of a class.
Episode 3
Star-Crossed - June 15, 1972
Fri, Mar 31, 198948 mins
At a small Ohio college, Sam Beckett is a literature professor who must discourage the amorous advances of a student and finds the woman who left him at the altar. Sam hopes that resolving her conflicts with her father will prevent her from deserting him.
Episode 4
The Right Hand of God - October 24, 1974
Fri, Apr 7, 198948 mins
Sam Beckett leaps into the body of a boxer who has a shot a winning the championship. The man's contract is owned by local nuns who inherited his rights from a boxing promoter and their hope is that they could make enough money to build a chapel and drop-in center for the poor. What they don't know is that the boxer's 10 bout winning streak is the result of fixed matches and an unscrupulous boxing promoter now wants him to take in dive in the championship bout. Sam comes up with a clever solution that he hopes will satisfy all parties.
Episode 5
How the Tess Was Won - August 5, 1956
Fri, Apr 14, 198949 mins
Sam leaps into the body of a Texas veterinarian, Dr. Daniel Young who carries a torch for a local ranch owner's daughter, Tess McGill. She has a stubborn streak and refuses to marry any man who is unable to out-ranch her. She makes a bet with her Dad that she will give Young one week to prove he can be a better rancher than she is and if he does, she will marry him. Young's helper at the veterinary practice, Buddy, proves to be a bit of a surprise.
Episode 6
Double Identity - November 8, 1965
Fri, Apr 21, 198948 mins
Sam leaps into a Mafia hit man who may not live long since he is romancing the godfather's girlfriend. Also an attempt to bring Sam home causes the 1965 East Coast blackout.
Episode 7
The Color of Truth - August 8, 1955
Wed, May 3, 198948 mins
Sam leaps into the body of an elderly black man, Jesse Tyler, in the US South. It's 1955 and racism is institutionalized. Not realizing initially that he is black, Sam commits a major error when he takes a seat in the local diner, raising the ire of a couple of local rednecks. Sam learns that Jesse is chauffeur to Miss Melny Trafford, a highly respected local citizen. The US civil rights movement has yet to begin, but Sam decides he's going to take action.
Episode 8
Camikazi Kid - June 6, 1961
Wed, May 10, 198948 mins
It's 1961 and Sam leaps into the body of a gawky, pimple-faced teenager, Cam Wilson. His older sister Cheryl represents many of the ideals of the times and is thrilled when she and her fiancé are accepted into the Peace Corps and are headed for Tonga. The fiancé, Bob Thompson, is the problem however and Sam's job is to make sure they don't get married. Bob has no plans to go to Tonga and has actually accepted a partnership in his father's car dealership. He's also a bit of a brute and has already been violent toward Cheryl. Cam tries to expose Bob for what he is by challenging him to a car race.
Episode 9
Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953
Wed, May 17, 198960 mins
It's the early 1950s, and Sam has leaped into the body of a New York City private detective, Nick Allen. Apart from the fact that Allen bears a striking resemblance to Humphrey Bogart, Sam feels that he has leaped into a cheap pulp novel, something that proves to be all too accurate when he realizes he knows the story and is constantly having a sense of déjà vu. With his partner murdered, Sam has to not only find the murderer but launch the career of a prospective writer.
