The only thing that’s clear in this new Quantum Leap is that things are complicated. Somehow Janice has convinced Ben that his jump is imperative and world-saving, even though he is not the team member who is slated to do the jumping. It must be Janice who has prepared the white, time-jumping unitard for Ben since it’s actually Addison who is the one being trained for the leap and Ben the intended hologram helpmate, an intriguing role reversal. While the unitard was ready-to-go, Janice and Ben curiously write a code that zaps Ziggy, a jumper’s only lifeline, off the grid. Without Ziggy, what use is a hologram helper anyways?
Perhaps all this pales in comparison to the complicated Ford Econoline van that Ben leaps into…what could be worse than opening your eyes to a reality where you are a heist’s getaway man in a manual transmission vehicle…and you don’t know how to drive a stick shift? Especially that manual shifter…with weird corners and an impossible 2nd to 3rd gear transition. It’s the kind of gadget that belongs in a spaceship, not in an American-made automobile.
Curiouser still is the contents of the large crate that the crew steals from what appears to be a bank. What was in the crate? The explosives? Is this really the best way for criminals to procure C-4? The crate was so big and heavy that two people could barely carry it. Oddly, if it was the explosive used in the Hope diamond heist, why is the final bomb so small compared to its original container? All by himself, Ben easily carries it from the trunk of the hatchback to the sewage manhole that he throws it down.
I’m not quite ready to give up on this new Quantum Leap, even though it seems the wholesome, comedic moments, which led to Sam Beckett’s signature “Oh, boy,” are relics of a bygone era. One can only hope that Ben Song’s “Oh, shit” proves itself wrong.
