The Fifth & Final Season

Quantum Leap revolves around Dr. Samuel "Sam" Beckett (Scott Bakula). It is a feel-good science fiction series about time travel. Sam is able to travel time within his own lifetime by leaping into the bodies of various individuals, where Sam is given some task to accomplish. It is usually to right some wrong (season five has a few slight deviations). Guided by his friend and colleague Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci (Dean Stockwell), who is able to join Sam on his adventures by projecting himself into the past as a hologram, Sam struggles to do right while trying to remember himself at the same time. In this fifth and final season, the good doctor makes his final leaps and goes through some tremendous events. For more details about the series please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, season three, and season four.

As an overall season, I felt that season five was a pretty good season. The content was not nearly as solid as the earlier seasons, but the excitement and feel-good entertainment was still strong. This season was an attempt to recapture viewers (which was substantially lost in season four) with several big storylines including a dark leaper, addressing the Kennedy assassination, Dr. Ruth, a Marilyn Monroe leap, and others. There was also more focus on the emotional toll of leaping, with Sam starting to meld mentally with those he leapt into. On a couple occasions, he lost control of who he was. In the end, the slightly different approach season five had produced several strong episodes, but clearly not strong enough to live up to the earlier seasons.

The season begins with "Lee Harvey Oswald", which is an enticing two-part episode. Sam finds himself leaping into various key points in Oswald's life leading up to the Kennedy assassination. He and Al attempt to stop the assassination from taking place. Unfortunately, Sam and Oswald's mind/body start to merge and Sam slowly loses control of who he is. What is great about this episode is Bakula's performance. He handles the transition from Sam to Oswald very well. The weak part is the actor they have portraying Oswald, who is Willie Garson (Sex and the City and Stargate SG-1).

Something new this season, which was alluded to in past seasons, is Sam's counterpart--a dark leaper. In "Deliver Us From Evil", Sam leaps back into Jimmy (from the season two episode "Jimmy"). He has to patch things up between Frank and Connie. The problem is that a dark leaper, Alia (Renee Coleman), and her hologram Zoey (Carolyn Seymour) try to prevent Sam's good deeds. Later in the season, "Return of the Dark Leaper" and "Revenge of the Dark Leaper", Sam meets Alia and Zoey once again. The addition of a dark leaper made for an interesting aspect for the show. It is too bad it was not developed further.

Another very strong episode is the three-part story "Trilogy". In all three episodes, Sam repeatedly leaps into a person who has direct ties to a girl named Abigail. Abigail's mother is emotionally disturbed and because of her state, Abigail has been a target in her small town community as crazy. She becomes the prime suspect in the murder of Leda Aider's husband and daughter. Sam must save Abigail from death in three separate periods of her life. The great thing about this episode is how emotional it gets with Sam and the connection he develops with Abigail.

Other strong episodes this season include "Nowhere to Run", Jennifer Aniston guest stars in an episode dealing with a Marine captain who lost both legs and is about to love his wife, "Promised Land", Sam leaps into a young man who is robbing the local bank with his brothers to save the family farm; something that hits too close to home for Sam, "A Tale of Two Sweeties", an almost comical episode where Sam leaps into a bigamist and has to juggle two families at once, "Dr. Ruth", Sam leaps into Dr. Ruth and must bring out his sexual side, and "Goodbye Norma Jean", Sam acts as the chauffeur to Marilyn Monroe.

Overall, season five has some strong episodes that fans should appreciate. While I thought they were generally entertaining, they are not strong as the earlier seasons. There were several pushes with the storylines by addressing bigger, grander plots with bigger, famous characters to grab audiences' attention. In the end, it works, but at the same time it doesn't. There are some great episodes, but they lack the same grace earlier ones had.

Episode Guide

1. Lee Harvey Oswald: Sam finds himself in one of his most uncomfortable leaps yet - flashing through key moments of presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's life.
2. Leaping of the Shrew: It's tropical turmoil when Sam and a spoiled bride-to-be drift ashore onto a remote island after the chartered yacht for her wedding explodes and sinks.
3. Nowhere to Run: A handicapped Vietnam War veteran in a San Diego hospital is given another chance to save his marriage and another soldier's life when Sam leaps into his body.
4. Killin' Time: A deadly leap into a mass murderer who has taken a woman and her daughter hostage has Sam confessing the Quantum Leap Project to the frightened victims, while Al chases down the real killer, who has escaped from the imaging chamber.
5. Star Light, Star Bright: Sam must convince the family of elderly Max Stoddard that he really has seen a UFO before they commit the older man to a mental institution.
6. Deliver Us From Evil: A leap goes horribly awry when Sam discovers that he must stop a man's wife from leaving him - even though her body is currently inhabited by a time traveler as well.
7. One Little Heart - Trilogy Part 1: In this amazing trilogy, a family curse sets off a series of explosive events as Sam enters the body of Sheriff Clayton Fuller and investigates a murder that is linked to his daughter, Abigail.
8. For Your Love - Trilogy Part 2: Abigail's all grown up, and now Sam finds himself in the body of Will, her fiance. But when a child disappears the night before the wedding, Sam finds himself rushing to protect Abigail once again.
9. The Last Door - Trilogy Part 3: It's a reunion to remember when Sam leaps into the body of Attorney Lawrence Statton, who is defending Abigail against new murder charges. Can Sam bring Abigail to justice once and for all?
10. Promised Land: Homecoming is bittersweet when Sam jumps into the body of Bill Walters, who, along with his two brothers, is robbing a bank in the town where Sam grew up.
11. A Tale of Two Sweeties: The odds are against Sam when he finds himself in the body of Marty Ellroy, a man with two wives, two sets of children and one huge gambling addiction.

12. Liberation: Sam gets an inside perspective on the old question "What do women want?" when he becomes Margaret Sanders, a housewife whose involvement in the fight for equal rights is threatening her marriage - and possibly her daughter's life.
13. Dr. Ruth: Sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer tries to help Al with his love life, while Sam attempts to play the role of the good doctor by helping a woman who is being harassed by her boss and by working to keep a bickering couple together.
14. Blood Moon: Marriage can be murder, as Sam finds when he leaps into the body of Nigel Covington, a vampire planning to kill his wife as a sacrifice at the upcoming Blood Moon ritual.
15. Return of the Evil Leaper: Sam is a modern-day, misguided superhero when he becomes Arnold Watkins, a nerdy college freshman who disguises himself as the "Midnight Marauder" The evil leaper Alia appears, and Sam must ensure that she leaves the scenario when he does.
16. Revenge of the Evil Leaper: Finding himself trapped on the wrong side of prison bars with Alia and her computer, Sam becomes Liz Tate, a woman accused of murder.
17. Goodbye Norma Jean: Sam gains an insider's look at the life of a Hollywood legend when he leaps into the body of Dennis Boardman, Marilyn Monroe's chauffeur, and works to prevent Marilyn's death.
18. The Beast Within: Nothing is as it seems when Sam becomes Henry Akers, homeless Vietnam veteran who is caught breaking into a doctor's office by a frightened 13-year-old boy.
19. The Leap Between the States: The mission has never been more personal when Sam leaps into the body of his great-grandfather, Civil War officer Captain John Beckett, to save the life of a slave and ensure that his great-grandparents marry.
20. Memphis Melody: There's music in the air when Sam walks in the blue suede shoes of Elvis Presley two days before he is discovered.
21. Mirror Image: In this gripping series finale, Sam is in the tavern of a coal mining town and is stunned to find that he is... himself and that it is his day of birth. Is he finally in control of his destiny?

The DVD
As with previous season releases, the season five episodes are spread across three DVD-18 discs (dual-layered, dual-sided).

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality is better than earlier seasons, but still not fantastic. It is somewhat dark and has a noticeable grain. The picture, while rough, is still viewable and should not ruin the viewing experience.

Audio:
The audio is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. There is very little separation between channels. The audio is dialogue driven, which comes off very flat. Overall, the sound quality is pretty good and it is very audible.

The release also comes with equipped with subtitles in English and Spanish.

Extras:
For extras, there is not much. What is included are "Blue Prints: From the Original Sets", which has drawings of the Acceleration Chamber and Quantum Complex. Each of the two sets has sections that can be zoomed in on. The chamber has four close-up images and the complex has seven.

Final Thoughts:
Quantum Leap's fifth season contains the final adventures for Sam and Al traveling in time. The season features some of the series biggest episodes dealing with a few superstars, multi-episode storylines, the dark leaper, and more. While the season five content is entertaining, it lacks the same tone earlier seasons had and consequently is not as good. Despite, season five fares well and fans should appreciate the final journey Sam and Al embark on.