For those who are unfamiliar with the very popular science-fiction series Quantum Leap, it revolves around a single man and one of his closest friends. Dr. Samuel "Sam" Beckett (Scott Bakula) isn't your average guy. For one, he's pretty much a genius. So it's not surprise that this astrophysicist was able to find a way to make time travel possible. Unfortunately for Sam, exactly where and when is uncontrollable and to make matters worse, the initial time travel causes the individual to lose their memory. Sam is the first to test the Quantum Leap accelerator, which leaves him stranded in the past. Fortunately, he is not entirely alone. The supervisor of the project and his very good friend, Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci (Dean Stockwell) is there by his side, so to speak. While Al doesn't travel into the past with Sam, he is able to project himself from the future into the past with Sam as a hologram. The show defines that through the uniqueness of brainwaves the hardware is only setup to project Al into the past with Sam. For this reason, we only see Al accompanying Sam in each episode. Overall, the time travel portion is an important part of the series, but it isn't even close to what it's about. In each episode Sam lives a different life. Each individual is under some kind of duress and Sam, with the guidance of Al, must attempt to right a wrong. At the surface, the premise of this series can sound a little wishy-washy, but really, it is done very well and the entertainment value is extremely high. Quantum Leap, while an older series, is still just as exciting, if not more as the first time it aired.

The actual premise of the show is one of my favorite parts about it. What I really like about it are the different settings that come with each episode. I really enjoy how Sam jumps around in the past and that we encounter different settings in time. These different atmospheres always ensure that we have something very excited and somewhat different than the last episode to keep us entertained. Another reason why this is important is that the show follows a very specific format. In most episodes, you can predict what the outcome is. Why? Because in each episode the same thing happens. Of course, the way it happens generally varies. As for the format, it's simply. First Sam leaps into a new life and he's disoriented and does a wonderful job playing impromptu, filling in for whoever he is supposed to be. During which, he assesses his situation to try to figure out as much as he can until Al appears to update him about the exacts. Once Al appears, the Sam's reason for being whoever he leaped into gets stated and the quest to right some wrong begins. In a few episodes, we get a slightly different format, but basically it's the same. Fortunately, the diverse atmospheres in each episode help give it an edge to make each episode entertaining enough and different from the last.

This also ties into another very positive aspect of this series. In order for the setting to change with each episode, the cast must as well. There are very few episodes that have any reoccurring characters besides Sam and Al. For that reason, we never get a chance to connect deeply with those that Sam interacts with. However, even in a TV hour timeslot, the series does well to develop the guest roles as needed. I felt that this was a very positive aspect of the series, because some television shows do not seem to put very much stock into their guest roles.

While I do find the show's approach entertaining, I sometimes feel slightly cheated. I feel that there was a lot of potential with the show and would have loved some longer stories to trickle throughout the season. For instance, the second season opened with a pretty intense and interesting episode about the Quantum Leap Project. In "Honeymoon Express", Al has to fight to keep the project alive. Unless he can convince the project's overseeing committee, Al will lose the ability to contact Sam and he'll be lost in the past. What makes the episode exciting is that we can to see the project from Al's perspective and not just Sam's. It's an uncommon approach for the series. The story itself was also interesting and could have been dragged out a little more. Admittedly, I just would have loved to have seen more episodes this like this one, focusing on the actually project from Al's perspective.

Overall, the second season is very entertaining. As mentioned earlier, each episode brings about a new setting that can be both riveting and exciting. In this season, Sam leaps into a variety of lifestyles. Some of which are more serious than others. In "The Americanization of Machiko a.k.a. Machiko McKenzie", Sam must fight racism in a small community. The time is after World War II and Sam plays a Navy veteran returning home with a Japanese wife. In "What Price Gloria?" is another episode with a strong message. It's the early sixties and the concept of sexual harassment in the workplace is unheard of. Sam gets to play a beautiful blonde that is trying to keep her friend from committing a grave mistake. The episode proves entertaining because it tackles a very serious issue and at the same time adds quite a bit of comedy through Al. Another episode "Jimmy" gives Sam a different role in life as a mentally challenged individual. Sam's eventual role as Jimmy helps revolutionize American society's viewpoint of mentally challenged individual's ability to interact in society. There is also a sort of fun episode where Sam gets stuck into the body of frat boy. In "Animal Frat", Sam gets to see what life is like as Knut 'Wild Thing' Wileton. It's a big change of pace to see Sam surrounded by a bunch of drunken frat boys. However, the episode does take a serious tone and touches upon the Vietnam War. At the end of the season, it wraps up with a very important episode "M.I.A.", which becomes a crucial event that is revisited much later into the series. In addition to the aforementioned episodes, the second season has many more episodes that are very entertaining. While the premise remains the same, the diverse settings and new characters make each episode very enjoyable.

Overall, I feel that Quantum Leap is one of those series that still holds up to present television programming. The entertainment value is extremely high. As for the second season, viewers looking to see some high quality programming should be more than pleased with its content. There are enough great episodes that you can watch over and over again that makes the second season worthy addition to your DVD collection.

Episode Guide
1. Honeymoon Express
2. Disco Inferno
3. The Americanization of Machiko
4. What Price Gloria?
5. Blind Faith
6. Good Morning, Peoria
7. Thou Shalt Not...
8. Jimmy
9. So Help Me God
10. Catch A Falling Star
11. A Portrait for Troian
12. Animal Frat
13. Another Mother
14. All Americans
15. Her Charm
16. Freedom
17. Good Night, Dear Heart
18. Pool Hall Blues
19. Leaping in Without a Net
20. Maybe Baby
21. Sea Bride
22. M.I.A.

The DVD
The second season of Quantum Leap comes in a custom cardboard box that is fitted for three DVDs. The DVDs are dual sided dual layered DVDs. Each side contains four episodes, with the exception of side B of the third disc, which contains only two episodes.

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality is probably the most disappointing factor of this DVD release. The picture tends to be very grainy, with slight compression artifacts and general noise occurring fairly frequently. However, considering the age of the series, it isn't terrible. The picture, while rough, is still very 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, French, and Spanish.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this DVD release, which is a big disappointment for the fans.

Final Thoughts:
I've always been a big fan of Quantum Leap. The series is both refreshing in its approach and its actual content. I am excited at the chance to be able to watch (and re-watch) each episode, because the experience seems to be just as thrilling as the first time. The second season definitely has some great episodes that should entertain those looking to see a great science-fiction show with a dab of mystery and drama over and over again. So take a leap and join Sam and Al as the traverse the latter half of the 1900s righting wrongs.

Note: Several readers have pointed out that selected music in the second season DVD release of Quantum Leap has been replaced. If you think that it may change your purchasing decision, feel free to join other DVD Talkers in the DVD Talk Forum to discuss the matter. I personally did not even notice the change until it was pointed out to me.