Quantum Leap - First Season

Quantum Leap was an experimental

time travel program years away from being tested.

Why did you leap? - I don't remember anything.

Your name is Dr. Ben Song.

You're a time traveler from the year 2022.

I'm Addison Augustine.

Addison. You're the woman I love.

Ben's working with someone.

Al Calavicci's daughter, Janis.

- What is that? - That's a destination.

I think that Ben was trying to leap into the future

to a specific place, a specific point in time.

That shouldn't be possible.

I remember why I leapt in the first place.

It's to save you.

Janis is our best chance at understanding what's going on.

It's time to roll the dice.

You want to help Ben?

You will tell him to trust no one, even you.

Running a little behind schedule.

Yeah, everything looks good. Startup will be quick.

Ever seen one before, Colonel?

Seen what?

It's far out.

Like something out of a science fiction book.

What are you doing here?

Sorry.

Anyway...

just wait until you see what this nuclear reactor can do.

You are now in our state of the art control room.

Dr. Woolsey, your work in sustainable nuclear energy

won the Nobel Prize.

What does today's demonstration mean to you?

Well, today isn't about me, Melanie.

- Mallory. - It's about...

An experimental nuclear reactor.

And what it can do for you, for humanity, for the future.

Our reactor will power an entire city with...

Recycled nuclear fuel.

Sounds complicated.

Now, don't be intimidated by all the buttons and doodads.

Starting up our reactor

is as easy as turning on your television.

It is that man in his quest for knowledge

and progress is determined and cannot be deterred.

Well, it looks like

you finally leaped into your element.

No kidding.

Bunch of nerds gathered together for the common good?

Kind of reminds me of... - Us?

Yeah, like when we first joined Quantum Leap.

Well, time travel still won't be invented

for another 30 years.

It's September 12th, 1962,

the day JFK gave that famous speech

about going to the moon and the future of technology.

Back in the '60s,

they were very optimistic about the future.

Mm.

And you know, nuclear energy was the hottest thing in town.

- No pun intended. - Mm.

Wow.

Like nuclear science and all technology,

has no conscience of its own.

Whether it will become a force for good or ill

depends on man.

So does this reactor do big things

for sustainable energy?

Hmm.

No, they shut it down. - When?

Today.

It looks like Dr. Woolsey does the demonstration

of the nuclear reactor, but it doesn't work

and the government pulled the funding

for the program. - That sucks.

Yeah, I'm not finding a lot online.

I'm gonna need Jenn for this. Oh.

How do uranium atoms say goodbye?

Sorry, what?

Gotta split.

G-gotta split?

You know, because uranium atoms,

they split inside a nuclear reactor.

I'm... I'm sorry. It's stupid.

I'm just... I'm a little nervous about the demonstration,

and I...

That... gotta split instead of goodbye.

- Right. - Right, right. That's good.

I'll tell my fiancée that when I see her at home.

Gotta split. Gotta split.

It's good.

Sorry, nothing about

an experimental nuclear reactor near Fort Worth.

Oh.

Dr. Edwin Woolsey,

Nobel prize-winning nuclear scientist.

Yes, he was in the room with Ben.

Oh, looks like he dies today. Heart attack.

Maybe that's who Ben's here to save.

Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary time to be alive.

Today we take a step toward the future.

This decade we'll go to the moon.

By the year 2000, we'll have flying cars.

- Well... - Initiate hydrogen flow.

Initiating hydrogen flow.

Flow rate at seven, eight...

9.5 kilograms per second.

We don't have all day.

- Yeah, uh... - Here you go.

Thanks.

- Extract the control rod. - Extracting control rods.

Colonel, you don't want to miss this.

Sorry.

Okay, brilliant physicist dies.

That has to be the reason for the leap.

Thank you, Jenn.

Wait.

Mallory Yang, journalist, also dies this week.

Her sister gave the eulogy at her funeral.

Car accident. - That's a weird coincidence.

What about the others in the room with Ben?

Colonel Parker dies a few days later too.

Says cause of death is accidental weapons discharge.

Eugene H. Wagner. - Let me guess. He dies too.

From an overdose, according to his death certificate.

Okay, and the janitor?

Moe Murphy, electrical accident.

Five unrelated deaths.

Okay, that can't be a coincidence.

That sounds like... - A government cover-up.

And start-up in ten, nine...

eight...

Seven, six...

Get me back online.

Get me back online!

Four, three, two, one.

Hey, is... is that supposed to be happening?

Why is the coolant draining?

Yeah, that's definitely not supposed to be happening.

Ben, run!

Why is Ben flatlining?

Somebody explain what's happening.

He's...

Dead. - No!

I promised to bring him home.

He's alive.

That's... that's not possible.

Running a little behind schedule.

Eugene, are you feeling okay?

Yeah, sure.

Ever seen one before, Colonel?

Only in pictures. How long is this gonna take?

I promised my kid I'd make it to her ballet recital.

Trust me, Colonel, it will be worth the wait.

What in "Groundhog Day" is this?

- How is this possible? - When can I go back in?

Just give me a second.

I still have to recalibrate the...

I thought if he died in someone else's body,

Ben died too. - He did die.

- But, like, for real. - Okay, okay, okay, all right.

Everybody, shh, shh, shh, shh.

Obviously, we are dealing with a time loop.

Obviously?

Now, in time travel,

a time loop is highly, highly improbable.

It's like being struck by lightning,

except the funny thing is

once you're struck by lightning,

you're more likely to get struck by lightning again.

Now, I think this is basically what's happening to Ben

in the time loop when he dies over and over and over...

Ian.

I have to see him.

Thank you.

Groovy.

Like something out of a science fiction book.

- What are you doing here? - Sorry.

Just wait until you see what this nuclear reactor can do.

Ben!

I... I thought...

we thought you... - I died.

- Yeah. - Did I?

Uh, uh, we think you're in a time loop.

That's highly, highly improbable.

Like... - Yeah, I know.

The whole lightning thing.

Ian's working on it.

Okay.

Hold on, if I'm in a time loop,

things are gonna repeat themselves.

Yes.

That means that nuclear reactor...

It's gonna explode any minute.

You have to stop it, or you're gonna die again.

Okay.

So he's stuck in this leap, doomed to repeat it

over and over again until he figures out

what he's there to do and fix it.

- Theoretically. - What about practically?