Warning: The following contains spoilers from Monday’s premiere of Quantum Leap.
In the first episode of Quantum Leap, Ben Song (played by Raymond Lee) made an illegal jump and ended up in the body of a would-be diamond thief in 1985. The details of why he jumped remain unclear, but we now know that Al’s daughter, Janice Calavicci, is somehow involved.
At the end of the lesson, Herbert “Magic” Williams (Ernie Hudson) revealed that Janice wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and take part in the new Quantum Leap project. However, the Department of Defense denied her over concerns about her emotional ties to Al (played by Dean Stockwell in the original series), who died last year, and Sam (Scott Bakula), who never made it home. On the night of Ben’s jump, Janice sent Ben urgent messages to do so now that they are “running out of time”.
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According to showrunner Martin Gero, we’re just getting started with Janice. “The Calaviccis are a big part of Season 1,” he tells TVLine. “Georgina Reilly, who plays Janice, will be a strong performer on the show.”
NBC’s new version of Quantum Leap was being developed while Stockwell was still alive, and the producers always knew the Calavicci family would play an important role in the story. But after Stockwell’s death in November 2021, the show’s handling of Al’s character evolved.
“The dream has always been to possibly have Dean play a small role on the show,” shares Gero. “But when he died, it was important to us to preserve this character’s legacy on the show in a real and profound way.”
Read on for additional tidbits from showrunner Martin Gero and stars Raymond Lee and Ernie Hudson.
Gero on Quantum Leap’s connections to the original series: “The show is its own thing, but we have this really beautiful connection to the past that informs everything we do and in a way that I think will reward viewers of the old show, but new viewers, I haven’t seen all of Quantum Leap’s 90+ episodes. It’s a really cool story and it’s going to some really great places and I can’t wait for you all to see more of Georgina as Janice Calavicci.”
Lee, about Addison, tells Ben, who has lost his memory, that she was originally supposed to jump and Ben was supposed to be her hologram: “It’s up to Addison to reveal what she can, because there are some things that are better left unsaid for Ben’s own good, health and well-being. She might know a reason why he would do it [make an unauthorized jump], but it might not be okay if she tells me. But there is so much to discover, so much drama.”
Hudson on his costar Lee: “He’s someone you can identify with. Scott Bakula what I loved [him in the original], he was so funny and silly and charming but he was the guy you liked. He found himself in those situations but it was hard not having feelings for him and I think Raymond gets a lot out of that too.”
Gero on including Easter eggs throughout the series: “We try to have a pair of each [episode], and there are some iconic props that will eventually return to this show’s canon as well. This show is made by fans of the original show, and it’s also made by the people who made the original show, so the connection to the old show is very tangible.”
What do you think of the first episode of Quantum Leap? Rate the premiere below, then listen in on the comments.