Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime,
Dr. Sam Beckett led an elite group of scientists into the desert...
to develop a top secret project known as Quantum Leap.
Pressured to prove his theories or lose funding,
Dr. Beckett prematurely stepped into the project accelerator...
and vanished.
He awoke to find himself in the past,
suffering from partial amnesia and facing a mirror image that was not his own.
Fortunately, contact with his own time was maintained...
through brain wave transmissions with Al, the project observer,
who appeared in the form of a hologram that only Dr. Beckett can see and hear.
Trapped in the past, Dr. Beckett finds himself...
leaping from life to life,
putting things right that once went wrong...
and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.
All right. All right.
Just hold onto your pants. My first guess is, I'm not here for a date.
Thank God. I thought you'd never... Oh, no. Not you.
Definitely not a date.
- Uh, I think... - Don't think. It'll just get us in trouble.
Wait here, I'll get my suitcases.
Richardson said to pack light... As if I've never done this before.
Well, don't just stand there. Go put 'em in the car.
You did bring a car, didn't you?
I've got an ice cube's chance in hell of getting out of this.
- It's my own fault. Whose fault is it? - It's your fault, Dana.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Peter, you're not that cute. Didn't anyone ever tell you that men aren't supposed to be that vain?
Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to be rude and pushy?
I don't want to be nice. I want to get the hell out of here while I can. Now start the car and drive.
I don't seem to have the keys.
Last time, they were under the seat.
I don't believe this.
Do something! What?
Don't ask me. You're the F.B.I. agent.
Oh, boy.
There's something wrong with the steering.
Go back to bed!
It's not their fault she got away.
It's not, huh?
Real cute, Nicky. Real cute.
We could've been killed back there.
Well, we weren't. No thanks to you. I wanna see Richardson.
Richardson? The idiot that assigned my life to you.
Look, just calm down, all right?
Calm down? We are sitting in a bullet-ventilated car, covered in broken glass,
with murderers looking to end my life, and you want me to calm down?
Okay. Just take me to the federal building.
First I gotta get you to a hospital. I don't want to go to a hospital.
I want to see Richardson so I can have you executed for stupidity.
Well, it'll have to wait until we get someone to stop that bleeding. Bleeding?
Two hours in Emergency gave me enough time to locate F.B.I. headquarters...
and hopefully get Dana Barrenger into someone else's hands...
anyone else's hands.
Sorry, fella. But past experience tells me we're probably gonna get stuck with her.
You know, you look like you've been in a fight with a wild cat.
If you're gonna sneak up on me, at least you could have the decency to reflect in the mirror.
I don't reflect. I'm a hologram. I'm tuned only to the...
I know what you are, Al.
Look, I leaped in here and-and people were shooting at me.
Well, technically, they weren't shooting at you. They were shooting at her.
Al, why am I here?
Okay, let's see. Mmm.
Uh, Dana Barrenger, 32 years old. Divorced. No children.
One-time personal secretary to a certain Nick...
Kochifos. Kochifos.
Kochifos. Family's in shipping. Why would I remember that?
Yeah, and Nick uses that to smuggle everything from illegal aliens to drugs.
Yeah, but he's dead, right?
I mean, didn't some, uh, Colombian drug lord shoot him or something?
Uh, yeah, but unfortunately that doesn't happen for another three years.
Till 1976. And in the meantime, he kills Dana.
She used to be a stenographer in Nick's Miami office,
but then he took a liking to her and made her his personal secretary.
But, he was a little careless about what he let her see and hear,
and he didn't take into account that she was a Goody Two-shoes. Yeah, well, who would.
When she realized what kind of man she was working for, she went to theJustice Department with what she knew,
and she gave 'em enough to put Kochifos away for life.
He broke out of prison? No. He never went to prison.
He must've bought off the jury because they found him not guilty.
That was a year ago, and in the meantime, she's been on the Witness Protection Program.
She changed her identity twice, but Nick found her twice.
So, what, third time is his charm?
He kills her... At 3:18 this afternoon.
The federal prosecutor promised me that Nick would be put away for life.
The jury found him innocent. What can we do?
Protect me. We're doing that.
No. I'm doing it.
The only reason Nick missed me in New Orleans was 'cause I jumped into a bayou full of alligators.
And this morning because I bent over to help that idiot you assigned to protect me find his car keys.
Peter Langly is one of the finest agents in the department.
Whoo! Boy, are you boys in trouble. What am I saying? I'm the one in trouble.
Well, you should've thought of that before getting involved with Mr. Kochifos.
I didn't get involved with him. I worked for him.
Just... worked for him.
Just worked for him.
For 27 months?
That's a long time to wear blinders.
Don't treat me like I did something wrong. I'm not the criminal, Nick is.
And he's free, and I'm on the run.
God. It's like a bad dream.
- I almost got her killed, Al. - But you didn't.
Come on, Sam.
You've leapt into more difficult situations than this... sort of.
Look, you haven't let anyone down yet.
Yet. Yet is the operative word. Do you always talk to yourself?.
Or just when you're in over your head?
Hey, she's beautiful. How come you didn't tell me she was beautiful?
I see. You can talk to yourself but you don't talk to me. I hate that.
My ex-husband used to do that to me all the time.
I'll talk to you. I will too.
I'm not interested in anything you have to say. I talked to Washington.
They'll have your new identity and location ready in two days. Until then we go with our backup plan.
- What backup plan? - Peter will be taking you to a safe house in Baltimore.
I'm not going anywhere with him.
Oh. Well, then I'm afraid, Miss Barrenger, you're on your own.
- Where are you going? - To the ladies' room. Wanna come?
I know she's a handful. But it could be a lot worse. How?
She could be short, fat and ugly.
She's not worth it, Nicky. No woman is worth making you so crazy.
We've done everything right. We even got a man inside.
And still we miss. Twice we miss.
God's trying to tell us somethin'.
God's trying to tell us he doesn't want this woman hit.
Are you forgetting something, brother?
I want her hit.
Sam, Dana's body was found floating in Chesapeake Bay near Havre de Grace.
That's just off I-95, which is the interstate to Baltimore.
Why is Kochifos after her? He's already been acquitted. They can't try him again.
You don't know Nick. He'd never let anybody get away with testifying against him, especially a woman.
You know him? Sam, you're ignoring me. Why are you ignoring me?
Well, we've met. I almost had him on a conspiracy to commit murder.
"Almost"? Sam, read my lips. She dies on the way to Baltimore.
Let's move it, Miss Barrenger, huh? Pervert!
I'm sorry, Pete.
The next one will be your ordinary murderer turned state's evidence.
Promise. Thanks.
You better get down to the garage and see if the laundry truck's ready.
Laundry truck? Unless you wanna change my backup plan.
Oh, we do. We definitely do.
Well, Kochifos has, uh, Busted her cover.
Broken her cover twice. Well, that's why only two people know how and where you'll be taking her.
So if there is a leak,
it's either you or me.
I'll go check on the laundry truck.
Uh, hello? Hello?
You're the one that's supposed to be talking to himself all the time not me.
Are we maintaining any audio or visual contact?
Al, I heard every word you said. So?
So? I'm trying to get some information from him, but this ranting person is breaking my concentration.
Ranting? Yes, ranting.
Who's ranting?
You're ranting.
Boston?
Yeah, we're in Boston on our way to Baltimore where Dana gets murdered!
I lived here.
Of course you did. You whipped through four years of M.I.T. in two years.
You were the youngest person ever to graduate summa cum summa... whatever the hell it is.
There was a cabin up in the Berkshires.
I used to spend a lot of my weekends up there.
I remember a lake and trees.
It was a beautiful place, Al. Sounds nice.
Yeah. Hey, did you ever bring anybody up there for any extracurricular activities?
That's where Professor LoNigro and I came up with the string theory of quantum leaping.
Okay. That's not what I meant.
That's where I'll take her. To Professor LoNigro's cabin.
Then we're not going to Baltimore? No, no, no. She gets murdered on the way to Baltimore.
There they go. I told you he'd call if they changed the backup plan.
Not in the city. What are you worried about?
You. You're obsessed with killing this woman.
There's nothing wrong with a little obsession, brother.
Gives ya an edge. If it doesn't kill ya.
We passed Al's deadline.
It was after 4:00 and Dana was still alive.
With a little luck, I might leap at any moment.
Looks like the only person whose luck has changed around here is Dana.
Not too close, Andy. Not yet anyway.
How long have I been asleep?
About three hours. Why didn't you wake me when you stopped for gas?
I didn't stop for gas. You didn't stop for gas?
We're gonna run out of gas. I got half a tank.
I guess I oughta thank you for saving my life this morning.
Although, when I stop and think about it,
if I hadn't screamed at you to start the car, we'd probably both be dead.
Let's just say it was a team effort.
Let's just say that.
Why are you so angry?
Why am I so angry... I-I mean, why are you so angry at me?
You almost got me killed... twice.
Well, if I did, it wasn't intentional.
And-And if I did, I almost got me killed too, didn't I?
Look, this doesn't have anything to do with you personally.
- It's just I hate being a fool. - Why are you a fool?
When I was nine, I won that...
for a paper I wrote about crime and citizen responsibility.
I pulled it out of a box, and I wore it all through Nick's trial.
I wore it to remind myself that I was making a difference.
I was doing my duty as a citizen. As a human being.
And then they acquitted him. That is why I feel like a fool.
What you did was very courageous.
No, what I did was stupid and I'm probably gonna get killed because of it.
And even if I don't, I'm gonna spend the rest of my life pretending to be somebody else.
I know that feeling.
But, Dana, this can't go on forever.
Men like Nick have enemies. It's just a matter of time before he ends up in jail again or...
Or ends up dead.
Until then,
every morning I wake up,
I'm gonna wonder, "Does he know who I am?
Does he know where I am?"
I won't let him touch you, Dana.
I promise.
There's no sign of'em sir. They should have reached the safe house two hours ago.
Any traffic jams on the interstates?
Well, there's no major problems between here and Baltimore.
I shoulda tailed 'em with an escort car.
We're shorthanded as it is, sir. Well, still, I shoulda done it.
Put out an A.P.B. and personally call every state police captain between here and Baltimore.
Yes, sir.
Hey, there's no mountains around Baltimore.
Yeah, that's true.
Where the hell are you taking me?
To a cabin. A cabin?
Richardson said a safe house in Baltimore.
I didn't think that the safe house was safe, so instead, I decided...
You decided?
This ain't the way to Baltimore. You just figure that out?
He hasn't even stopped for gas.
You know, you're beginning to sound like an old woman.
Old women get old because they're smart.
All right. Let's do it.
Hang on.
Can't this thing go any faster? It's a laundry truck, not a Porsche.
Get down.
What, behind the laundry bags? A lot of good that'll do. Maybe it will.
They left the road!
We did it. We did it. Yeah, I guess we did, didn't we?
- No thanks to you. - What do you mean?
- I was the one who thought up the idea of throwing out the laundry bags. - And who threw them out, huh?
...to the moon!
Nothing damaged. I think this road leads to the main highway.
But, by the time we get on it, they'll have a big lead.
Not big enough.
See that? That's them.
Some things are meant to be.
From that little furrow between your eyebrows, I take it we're lost?
You know that feeling you get when someone...
scrapes their fingers down a chalkboard?
You know that feeling?
Are you trying to tell me that I make your skin crawl?
What I'm trying to tell you is that I've been shot at twice today.
If I'm going to risk my life for you, I think I deserve a little appreciation.
Or at least a lot less grief.
Look, Dana,
believe it or not, I admire you for trying to indict Nick.
It took a lot of courage.
And I don't think it's fair that the system is making you pay for doing what's right.
Do you really mean that?
I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I...
Well, it's just that Richardson makes me feel like I'm some kind of a criminal.
And up until today, for the most part, so have you.
Well, um...
For any and all past mistreatments,
Mr. Peter Langly would like to say, I'm sorry.
Okay? Yeah.
So, uh, what do you say we have a truce?
- Like the one we had in New Orleans? - Better.
Pete.
Remember that night when you told me...
that if things were different...
I mean, if you and I were...
Well, they're not and nothing's gonna change that.
Um,
I just wanted you to know,
I wish they were different too.
There it is. This is the road to Professor LoNigro's lake.
Great.
Hasn't changed.
When was the last time you were here?
Summer of'73. This summer?
What am I saying '73. No. No.
Um, '53. Oh.
Yeah. August... August of'53.
That was nearly 20 years ago.
I'd forgotten how beautiful it was.
It is beautiful.
Oh. Don't... even think about it.
It's no good for us...
to even think about it.
I can't find the light.
Don't tell me there's not any lights.
You brought me up here to a cabin to get murdered without electricity?
- See? Light... - to shoot you by.
If I don't freeze to death first.
I'll light a fire.
Or starve. Look, you wanna eat or be warm?
Both.
You start the fire. I will go find something to eat.
I'll probably have to kill a bear or something.
With any luck, the bear will kill her. Is there a light switch in here?
- Next to the door. - Oh, just a wealth of delicacies. What's this? Oh, great.
There's no food here, you know.
Lots of pots.
Who were the last people to be here anyway? The Flintstones?
Well, what did you think we were going to live on up here anyway?
I bet you no take-out comes this far.
Mm. Isn't this romantic? How long have you been here?
Long enough to see your last pass fall short of the goal line.
Why have... Ow... Why haven't I leaped?
You haven't saved her yet. Come on. The deadline passed hours ago.
- New deadline. - Now,
she dies at 4:18 in the morning on a bridge near here.
On a bridge near here? Al, you said she died on the way to Baltimore.
That was before you changed history and brought her here.
Now, each time you save Dana, the time and place of her death changes.
And that's gonna continue to be that way until either Nick is dead or...
- She is. - You should really try breaking that habit.
Otherwise, people who don't know you will think you're loony tunes.
Dinner is served.
Seems all your professor friend had in his larder were little hairy fish.
You know, even though she dies this morning,
that doesn't mean that Nick didn't catch up with her before that.
You hate my cooking.
No. I'm not hungry.
I know I've been kind of a witch.
I mean, who wouldn't be in my circumstance?
But, um, you made a really great fire,
and it's pretty peaceful here.
We lost them. We're probably in the safest place we could be.
Uh, well, uh, no-no, we're not.
We're not? No. They know we're here.
How could they? We lost them miles back.
Dana, don't ask me how I know. I just know that they know. How could you know that they know?
We don't even have tea leaves to read.
Look, I'm gonna go get the truck, all right?
I'll get as close to the cabin as I can. When you hear it, run out.
No... I'm not gonna argue with you about this.
This is how the girl always gets it in the horror movie.
The guy says, "Stay here." Then they get separated, and then the monster comes and gets her.
This is not a horror movie. You're right.
Let's go.
They've stopped somewhere to our right. Take this side road.
Come on.
You can't even start an engine?
Yes. Yes, I can.
Oh, great. That's great. You've stalled it.
Where are you going? I'm gonna go out and check on the engine.
They've probably cut the wire. And as soon as you step out there, they're gonna hit you over the head.
If they cut the wires, it wouldn't have started.
And if they were out there... Never mind.
When they hit me on the head, shoot 'em.
Aw.
You're worse than Al.
We are out of gas. We have half a tank.
We had a stuck gas gauge.
Well, how was I supposed to know we have a...
Why me?
Kill the lights. We're getting close.
Tea. Hot water. I couldn't find any tea.
Or coffee, or lemons... No, no, no. The hot water's fine. Thanks.
You're welcome.
Who's this?
That's, uh... That's Professor LoNigro and...
One of his students. Cute guy.
Nice eyes.
- The kind I always thought I could fall in love with. - Professor's or the student's?
What difference does it make? I'm not gonna live long enough to fall in love with either of them.
- Dana, you're not going to die. - I'm gonna die.
I'm gonna die, and I've never even ever been in love.
I thought you were married? Christopher wasn't love.
If he was, we'd still be married.
I wanna love someone so much...
that the thought of living without him...
would be too much to bear.
I wanna breathe him.
I want the scent of him to make me smile.
I wanna look into his eyes and...
know that I'm alive.
You. You!
You! You bastard, I'm gonna kill you.
Just take it easy, Dana. You're acting a little hysterical.
That's because I am hysterical.
Why all of sudden do you wanna shoot me?
You take one more step, and I'll kill you.
- Not with the safety on. - You sure?
One more step and you'll find out. Trust me.
Guess I'll have to.
Dana.
Dana!
You know, I can honestly say...
that I have never had a girl try to shoot me for making a pass.
I didn't make a pass. Well, I sort of did, but it wasn't like that.
Like what?
What happened to me, uh, Pete, when Nick tried to put a hit on Dana in New Orleans?
Uh, nothing. And when Dana was killed in Baltimore?
Peter wasn't touched.
I found these matches in Peter's pocket.
Now, I'm willing to bet the farm that this is Nick's private phone number.
Uh-huh. You said she was killed by a bridge?
In eight minutes.
It is Nick's number. You dirty dog, you're working for Nick.
Hit the lights.
Dana!
What? We go through all this and you don't kill her?
Not too quickly, brother.
What would be the fun in that?
Dana. Thank God.
Dana?
She's over here, Sam.
Nicky, wait till morning.
You're never gonna find her in the dark. Oh, yeah? Just watch me.
Nicky.
Ah, poor kid. Sam!
Follow my voice. The trail leads right up to the ridge.
She's been hit, Sam. It doesn't look too bad if the bleeding stops though.
I know you can't answer me, so I'll just keep talking until you find us.
Oh, there you are. Come here. She's right up here, Sam.
She's just tuckered out, you know? I think she ran out of spunk.
Can't blame her.
Maybe she didn't run out of spunk. Up here. Come on.
Nicky, we're never gonna find her in this.
It's too dark. Dana.
It's a waste of time. Dana.
See? Who needs light?
One step closer, and I'll-I'll jump.
Aw, hell. That's what you want me to do anyway.
Dana, I don't want you to die. Sam, they had to have heard that scream.
Go back down the trail and warn me when they're coming. How's your head?
It's all right. Just go.
You don't talk to yourself. You talk to an imaginary playmate.
- Dana. - Stay back.
Okay. Okay. I-I'm not gonna shoot you.
Pete might.
Or-Or he might turn you over to Nick, but...
I'm not Pete.
- You're not Pete? - Not really.
Here they come, Sam.
Look, my friend, the one that you can't see, just told me that Nick's coming up the trail.
There's only one way for you to get out of this thing alive, but you gotta believe me.
You gotta trust me. Please.
It's okay.
It's gonna be okay. Just hang on to that. It's gonna be okay.
Sam, they're here.
- Why'd you rabbit on me, Pete? - Didn't know it was you.
What? The sun blinded me when you pulled up.
I thought Richardson had put a tail on us, so I tried to lose him.
Makes sense, Nicky.
Ifhe really wanted to lose us, he'd have shut off the beacon.
Sam, shoot him. While you got a chance, shoot him.
If you want Dana to live, he's gotta die.
You know what I think, Pete?
I think she got to you.
Did ya get to him, Dana? Turn him on?
Ya turned me on.
Had me doing half the women in Miami, pretending they were you.
I was like some punk teenager in love. I didn't touch you.
I gave you respect.
All the time, what were you doing? Huh?
What were you doing? Setting me up for the feds.
Shoot him, Sam! Shoot him!
Nicky! Nicky!
I told you, Nicky. I told you.
Why didn't you listen to me?
God didn't want her to die.
Why didn't you listen to me?
Oh, God.
Listen, we g- We gotta stop this bleeding.
Bleeding? Yeah.
- I want you to have this. - Thanks.
Wish I could take it with me. Why can't you?
Because he'll probably leap at any moment.
I have something to give you too.
The safety's on.
If you need to use it, just push this little lever down, all right?
Keep me covered... like they say in the Westerns... until Richardson gets here.
Which will be in 56 minutes.
You're crazy. Yeah, well... humor me.
What will Richardson do to you? See that I get what I deserve.
You deserve a medal.
But what you get is eight to 10.
Uh, she testifies in your behalf, which saves you from getting a 15 to 20.
Then she goes back to school... Law school...
Uh, and then in '76, she passes the bar and becomes a senior...
partner in the firm of Elroy, Elroy...
Oh, and then it becomes Elroy, Elroy and LoNigro.
Sam, you're never gonna believe this.
- She marries... - Professor LoNigro!
How did you know?
- What are you two doing in my cabin? - Professor, it works.
- Works? - Yeah. Our string theory.
Don't you know who I am? I'm Sam Beck...
Lesson number one. It never pays to get smart with me.
Oh, boy. I'm an Indian.
Could be worse.
You could be a white man, eh?