"LEAP CHASER" - A DREAM PROJECT GAINING LIFE WITH STUDIO

The Woodlands, TX - The early 90s was an era that brought some well written and fun television shows to American television which instantly became cult classics with millions of followers and left a legacy that is seldom now produced through network writers.

Family oriented shows had broad talent and single messages which proved to be the right indigence for the future success of any shows that followed. Many of these shows had SciFi plots which certainly left their mark on American followers and many of these shows progressed with an idealism of what the future holds with science and expectations of what to expect in just the next century.

The additional of likeable, well established character development helped these shows expand with new actors who eventually marked their careers with a great start on a single show. During this time, having a big name wasn't considered an essential ingredient for success, it was all about the characters and their mission[s] in the show the actors performed in. It's not a bad thing to also add that a lot of the actors during this period were better known for their names in a show than their real names.

One show that truly inspired millions of Americans was QUANTUM LEAP created by Donald P. Bellisario, a series that ran for five years with some outstanding episodes, a few that hit home pretty hard, but in the end left viewers in a proverbial lurch after the series suddenly ended, leaving a huge plot hole without giving the series ending a proper answer to the shows main plotline; was the main character ever going to make it home?

In 2022, there was a revival series, also called QUANTUM LEAP created by Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, which was launched on a streaming service that promised to deliver a sequence of new episodes that discovered the reasons and whereabouts of the main character lost in the Quantum Time String from the original show. This new series was a disaster and many of the episodes lost fans after failing to main solid stories to keep fans entertained. The show tried to develop new characters, mix up the cultural soup, add new social issues to the timeline of the main plot line, and expand on the technology of what older fans remembers from the original series. This attempt was cancelled in 2024 and it was well deserved to just be shoved away into a dark hole.

In late February, studio director D. R. Quintana made a  comment on a Tiktok video that started a debate on how the new Quantum Leap series failed and how the series writers should have approached a new plot line & format for a stories for the new show. His comment received a ton of likes [almost 4,500] over a very short time. He took note of many of the responses and began working on scripting a few ideas for later use. He shared the new script with Valjean Eskridge Jr II who suggested calling the possible new project, LEAP CHASER.

The script he initially didn't list characters or their start in development, just plot ideas and how to re-introduce the original technology for Quantum Time Leaping used in the original series. Technical terms weren't important, but the name of the AI used to assist the original leaper was. What wasn't in the initial writing of the scripts was the further development and design for props and sets. These sets of ideas had no nothing further to contribute to an idea of launching anything. These were just ideas

Then in March, something very interesting happened. An American Actress, Nina Kaczorowski, made contact with Quintana and the two started to collaborate on some ideas for filming new projects vertically than horizontally, so it could be shared on a Tiktok platform; a format that Quintana was already working on. When the discussion of making an extended mini series based on the original Quantum Leap, Nina wanted to see some of the scripting that Quintana had put together. After the first scripts were sent her way, she was hooked with the idea of working on LEAP CHASER.

For several weeks, Nina and Quintana began texting and collaborating on several production strengths, putting a strong effort to launch this potential long shot with a new filming format and releasing each episode on larger platforms like Tiktok and Rumble.com. As silly as it may sound, this idea is already being presented on Tiktok with some interesting and successful indie films making a progressive success with each new release. Studio heads think that this new way of releasing films will generate increased views with stronger fan base followings located throughout the world; should the new series strike a nerve with Quantum Leap supporters.

At this point, the LEAP CHASER series is only in pre-production with the studio leveling down casting for the first six episodes. Location spotting is also underway with many of the locations targeted in the south-east areas of Texas and a possible location in Dallas. Quintana has said that the series is planned to maintain all technical practical and special effects as close to the original series to maintain continuity. 

This series is not planned to do a cross over with the new Quantum Leap reboot series released in 2024; nor are there any plans to mention any characters from that series. This new series is only planned as an independent fan film production with a limited run of only 8 episodes. This series is currently planned to star Nina Kaczorowski, Valjen Eskridge II, Ashleigh Cousins, Eddie Enriquez, and Ethan Rock. 

NEW "QUANTUM LEAP" SERIES DERAILS BEFORE LEAVING STATION

🎥🎞Series Review🎞🎥- QUANTUM LEAP - Peacock/NBC - PG - Premise: 30 years since Dr. Samuel Becket stepped into the Quantum Leap [QL] accelerator and vanished, now a new scientist, Dr. Ben Song [played by Raymond Lee], assembles a new team and restarts the old time traveling government program in hopes to better understand the mysteries behind the old technology and the man who created it. Yeah, it sounds like a good idea for a series re-boot, but without honestly understanding the original series and the details the old fanbase have regarding canon, this new series is anything BUT faithful to the technical know-how of the show and the new writers [Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt] have no skill in leaping ahead of the original shows dynamic presentation, especially with delivering only a five episode first season.

I could tear this new series apart with it's intended and lazy failure to explain the obvious in the technical department, but I gave this show a chance. I understand that being specific will only make this review seem more "personally charged" to attempt a hostile "shut is down before you destroy the best part of the original series" mentality to the show. You should take my word for it, no special effects team or heavy handed cast lineup is going to save this pile of vomit that's been tossed to the large fanbase. Everything woke in today's society is tossed at you from the start; including a cross-cultural alternative lifestyle cast, to presenting interracial relationships, to altering actual history patterns to better suit today's presentism that does hold a huge factor in at least three episodes.

*Presentism - Judging everyone in the past by the standards of the present. 

What's good in the series. Well, just like the new Star Trek extensions on the rival Paramount network, the special effects were upgraded. The woke community gets to see some cool flashy effects and holographic displays which have been overly used over the course of recent time. The camera work and lighting are up to speed and there are some action sequences that were never used in the original series that sets this show apart from the old. So yes, there is more action and with the holographic section of the show presenting the back end of what's happening while Dr. Song is in another time and place, it's good to see what the team is doing behind the scenes.

What's bad about the series. It's a long list, but the acting stands out above the rest. There's the feel of the actors not being given a good opportunity to settle in to their roles. Of course, in today's wokism mentality, there has to be a romantic link somewhere which is rushed and IMO damages the flow of the fifth episode. The writers brought in characters from the original series to help people understand that Becket's time in the Quantum Leap wasn't a wasted effort. You hear a lot of "If it wasn't for Dr. Becket, I would never be here" or some variation of it. But worst of all, and for all of the research team trying to figure out how the technology works, Dr. Song launches himself into the machine without warning anyone on a secret mission??...Time traveling isn't a sea cruise adventure, it's a dangerous place to visit and should be widely respected at all costs. 

This new re-boot also fails to mention some elements of the QL techology, like where is the essence of the person that Dr. Song replaces when he leaps? In the old series, the essence of the person replaced remains in the holo-chamber; where he/she can be interrogated for information for Ziggy to use in her calculations to figure out what Sam had to do to leap out.

Is the show fun? No. Is the show capable of leaping beyond the fantastic adventure of the original show? No. Has this new show hinted on saving Sam and getting him home? Of course; but not in the way that one might suspect. With the loss of Dean Stockwell earlier this year, any chance for a cool reunion of the old cast died with him. The new holo-assistant, played by Caitlin Bassett, is just another action packet female character with controlled vigor and emotion, who was also added as the love interest. She's got a long way to go to be anywhere near as clever as Stockwell was in delivering her part in the show. Her character does divulge some information that she was supposed to be the actual leaper within the new team; something that would have been a little more acceptable for the new show in my opinion. 

In closing, the show is okay. It's not a spectacular group performance that I would have expected from a reboot of such a splendid series. It was approved for a second season...well, after the harrowing historical nonsense presented in the last episode of the season, I'm surprised that this show was given another nod with the same writing team. 

⭐️⭐️[2 of 5 Stars]