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.
Don't mess up this time, Victor. Ready?
Here I come.
No!
Oh, boy.
I thought by now that I had done enough leaps...
to fill in most of the holes of my Swiss cheese memory.
Wrong. I just discovered I'm terrified ofheights.
Real funny, Victor.
Maybe Big Moe can find you a yellow wig and a red nose...
and the Panzinis could be a clown act.
I suppose not flying for a year...
would make anybody a little rusty.
- You'll do better this time. - I-I don't know about that.
If I'm going to be the first woman to do the triple since Mama, we've got to practice.
Triple?
Stop worrying. Come on. We have time for one more before Papa gets back.
Not really.
I dreamed about Mama last night, Victor.
She was wearing that blue dress.
You know, the one that made her eyes shine like diamonds.
I-I love that blue dress.
We were walking along the Danube.
There was ice in the river, and it began to snow.
Mama told me I could do it, Victor.
Just like her. She told me I could do the triple.
Then she faded away.
I tried to touch her, but...
she just faded away.
Dreams have a way of... of doing that. Not mine.
I'm going to do the triple, Victor. I swear I am.
Not as long as I am your father. Papa!
What are you doing up there?
I-I wanted to practice, so I asked, uh...
I am talking to your brother.
- Well? - I don't know.
I-I don't know what I'm doing up here.
Then get down.
Victor, get down!
I-I can't. What do you mean you can't?
Quit fooling around and release.
- My fingers won't let go. - Victor, get down!
Is Victor practicing for the belly flop, or is that a Hungarian dismount?
Get out of my tent! I just asked a question.
- Get out! - Okay. Okay.
Don't get your goulash in an uproar.
Let's get outta here. Goulash.
Papa, no!
Two years ago, that trash would have stood in line...
for the privilege of setting up our rig.
And now, because of you, they laugh at us.
It was my fault. I wanted to work on the triple.
There is no triple. There could be.
I can do it, Papa.
We could be headliners again.
We are headliners. Of what?
A mud show?
Is this what we left Hungary for?
What we risked our lives to escape?
Papa, we used to be the best fliers in the world.
You probably loosened the rigging. Tighten it.
We have a show to do in an hour.
I hate this place. I hate the way it looks, the way it smells.
I hate everything about it.
I'm, uh... I'm not too crazy about it myself.
I know how hard it was for you to be up there.
You do? But someday you'll thank me.
We are going to do the triple, Victor.
And nothing will stop us. Not even Papa.
I don't know. He...
I do!
I used to love it as a kid when the circus came to town.
But, of course, I wasn't 50 feet in the air...
hanging upside down in the big top.
To me, the circus was clowns and animals, especially elephants.
But it didn't look as if this circus had any.
Morning. Yeah.
Or maybe not. Hot roasted peanuts here. Right here.
Anyway, except for the big top and the trapeze,
it looked more like a carnival than a circus.
And I looked very weird.
Is it true?
What? That Eva's gonna do the triple.
Well, um, she wants to.
If she does the triple, we can quit this cow-and-pig circuit.
Move on to the big cities... Little Rock, Texarkana, Shreveport.
You will keep the act with us.
Well, I... Oh, what am I even talking to you for?
Your old man makes all the decisions.
- Al. - Yeah?
Uh, it's, uh, good to see you again.
Hungarians.
Gee, that was a coincidence, wasn't it?
Her name must be Allison or Alberta or something.
Al. You wanna know why you're here.
Yes. All right. All right. Well, I don't know.
Ziggy's having a little trouble zeroing in.
Your name is Victor Panzini.
You're a part of a Hungarian aerial act.
Aerial act? Yeah. Isn't that great?
Just imagine, 50 feet above the ground, hanging from a thin wire...
and swinging back and forth and back and forth. Al.
And then finally there's a drumroll and you release and tuck and spin.
And fall to the ground and die.
Sam. No wonder everybody's giving us the cold shoulder.
I mean, compared to them, we're living pretty well.
Well, hey, you're the star.
The Panzinis were, at one time, the most famous aerial act in the world.
That's what Eva said. Eva? Oh, Eva.
That's your younger sister. She's 18.
She's beautiful. I wonder where she is.
She's probably getting changed in the trailer with her name on it.
Don't you dare.
You know, sometimes you take all the fun out of being a hologram.
What kept you?
Al, what's an act like theirs doing in a carny?
Well, one year ago, they were on... top.
Oh, they were the star attraction of the Circus Vargas.
And then Maria, who is your mother and Eva's,
uh, she got killed trying to do the triple in Chicago.
And ever since then, Laszlo's reduced the act to just simple catches.
Stuff anybody could do. Except me.
I don't care if it's just easy stuff that they're doing in a carny.
To me, it's all impossible.
No, y-you don't say "carny," see. Only rubes say that.
This is a mud show.
Let me guess.
You ran away from the orphanage when you were a kid and joined the circus?
Yeah. Didn't you? No.
No. I-I was happy at home.
Yeah, see, that's easy for you to say.
You grew up on a farm. I grew up in an orphanage.
You had a mother and father. I had a probation officer.
You had a cow. I had a roach.
A what?
Well, when I was eight years old, I had a-a pet roach.
Only problem was, the kid in the next bed had a pet lizard.
I'll never forget him. His name was Kevin.
The kid in the next bed? No, the roach.
Why do I even ask?
Did you tighten the rigging?
I was supposed to tighten the rigging, but I-I didn't know how.
Victor!
Uh, no. I-I didn't have, uh...
I'll do it myself, like I do everything!
We are on in 20 minutes. Don't be late.
Al, I am not an acrobat.
I cannot go out there and perform.
Well, you'll never know unless you try.
Ladies and gentlemen,
boys and girls,
right here in Buckstooth, Iowa,
all the way from Brazil, South America,
the world-renowned Carmenina and her friends.
Someone said hejust came back from somewhere
He's late.
We still have five minutes. Five minutes is late.
There he is.
I-I put 'em on backwards, or...
I don't know what you are trying to do,
but it's not going to work.
Papa? I'm fine.
You strained your arm again. I said I'm fine.
I don't want to ever see you in tights again.
And now...
the act you've all been waiting for.
Direct from Europe, the world-famous,
death-defying Flying Panzinis.
Victor.
Victor!
Hold the ladder.
Hold it taut, Sam.
Al, I'm not a part of the act.
You're the safety man. That's important.
That's great. That's fine. Just as long as I don't have to...
do that. You do. I just got an update from Ziggy.
Yeah. No.
In two days, she's gonna get killed doing the triple,
because her father drops her.
Unless you're up there to catch, Eva's gonna die.
What time is it? 4:30.
In the morning? Uh-huh.
I thought you always slept in shorts!
Uh, not always.
If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to sleep.
No. We have to practice.
Practice?
On the trapeze?
Unless you wanna try flying from the trees.
No, I don't really wanna fly at all,
unless it's in an airplane.
Papa made you afraid again, didn't he?
No, it wasn't him.
Victor.
You didn't kill Mama.
I was catching that night. It wasn't your fault.
Mama had a cold.
She had trouble with her balance at the matinee.
Everybody knows that.
Including Papa.
He blames me. He can't blame Mama.
He loved her too much.
You're as good a catcher as Papa.
Better, since he hurt his shoulder.
I wouldn't count on that. I would.
That's why I want you catching me when I do the triple.
Eva, I can't.
Come on. We'll be hearing from the circus any day now. We have to be ready.
I-I can't go up there again.
Well, then I practice alone.
And when the circus call comes,
I'll find a catcher.
Even if it has to be Big Moe.
Mama's dead, Victor.
Not us.
But if we don't even try to be the best,
well then, we might as well be dead too.
Well, that's a little scary, Sam.
I mean, doing the triple and getting caught is hard enough.
But pretending to get caught and then setting up to land in the net, that's a little dangerous.
Any more dangerous than being caught by someone who doesn't know what the hell they're doing?
Well, you got a point. Because if you make contact and don't catch her,
that could make her miss the net entirely.
Is that how her mother died?
Making contact and then missing the net?
No, there was no net. What?
I told you... they're the best in the world.
They flew without a net.
Eva told me that her mother had a cold, that her balance was off that night.
Probably an inner ear infection. Why would she go on?
Why? For the same reason...
that that kid is up there practicing all alone.
It's in her blood. She has to do it.
Al, I can't have leaped in here to catch her.
Well, Ziggy says there's a 97.2% chance that...
I don't give a damn about Ziggy's statistics.
I'm not a catcher. Well, you could be.
You're athletic. You've got a good sense of timing and balance.
And you've got the strength for it.
What you've gotta do is you've gotta get over your fear of heights.
How'd you know?
Are you kidding? How long have we known each other?
I don't remember. Oh, Sam.
Even with a Swiss cheese memory, that hurts.
Have I always been afraid?
Uh, ever since you were nine, and your brother took you to see a Tarzan movie.
Tarzan? Yeah, we came home and played Tarzan in the barn.
We tied a rope to a beam a-and swung out from the loft.
At first it was great, but then the knot loosened,
and Tom sent me up the rope to... tighten it.
And... And when I got up there, I froze.
Well, listen. You better get over what happened to you as a kid.
Because if you don't, she's gonna die when her old man drops her tomorrow night.
Victor!
Did you see that?
Yeah, you looked terrific. I did four triples in a row.
Mm-mm. One was only a two and a half.
Well, one was only a two and a half.
You were watching.
Practicing without a catcher is dangerous.
Well, I don't have a choice.
Yes, you do.
You... Oh, Victor!
That-a-boy, Sam.
First... Now first, I-I need to change clothes.
And need a little time by myself to warm up.
Sure. Sure. I-I'll fix Papa breakfast,
- and maybe I can get him to go into... Eva! - Victor!
Where are you? I told you they would call.
Sam, I got an idea how to help you.
I'm gonna go see Gooshie and run it by him. See if it'll fly.
No pun intended.
I told you they would need us!
Who, Papa? Circus Vargas!
"To the Flying Panzinis. Can you make Denver, evening performance, 18th? Stop.
"Center ring. Stop.
Wire reply ASAP."
Uh, what is A.S.A.P.?
- As soon as possible. - As soon as possible.
I knew those Mexican fliers couldn't bring crowds like the Panzinis.
I'm surprised that they didn't realize their mistake sooner.
So you're going? As soon as I can wire them back.
Well, what about us?
- What do you mean "what about us"? - We've got to make a living.
Ah, I see.
So we are not goulash anymore, huh? Ha!
Laszlo, come here. What?
Let's talk.
Laszlo. Yes.
The Flying Panzinis is the only real attraction we have here.
Without you, we might as well just fold up our tent.
I'm sorry, Big Moe. We go.
I'm sorry, but we must go back where we belong.
Then why don't you get on a boat, Hunky?
Listen. If you weren't a dwarf...
Dwarf? Who you calling a dwarf?
No one says that to Big Moe without a fight.
Nobody steps on Big Moe and gets away with it.
Victor, watch out!
Victor, it was very good.
Thank you, Papa.
Would you please?
Thank you.
He shouldn't have called you a dwarf.
And you shouldn't have called him a Hunky.
He's a Hungarian, and you're...
Simply, a little person.
Yeah, a little person. I like that.
Moe!
And you're still a Hunky.
You okay? Yeah, yeah, I think so.
Good. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to practice.
See you up there.
Sam, it's gonna be a hell of a lot easier for you to catch her if you open your eyes.
Is that you, Al? No, it's Peter Pan.
Of course it's me. You think I'm gonna let you go through this alone?
- Now look at me. - I can't.
Just focus straight ahead and don't look down. Look at me!
Al, you're floating in thin air.
I'm a hologram. I am thin air.
What do I do, Al?
Okay, you lock your arms around the wires.
Attaboy. Now pump.
Pump? Pump.
Like a kid on a swing. Go ahead. Pump.
Go ahead.
Up and back.
Up... Okay, now. Yeah.
Take your hands, put your hands on the wire.
Like this. That's it.
Now slip your butt off and hook it with your knees.
That's very good. All right, now.
You grab the bar in the middle with your hands.
One at a time. Go ahead. One. Very good. Very good.
Now, at the top of your swing, you bring your legs out...
and go around the wires and in, and then hook 'em with your knees.
That's it. That's it. In.
Okay, here we go.
Now let go of the bar. I can't.
What are you, a wimp? Yes.
Let go of the bar! I'll fall.
No, you won't. But Eva will if you don't let go of that bar. Let go!
Al, I'm doing it.
Of course you're doing it. Look who you got for a teacher.
- I can fly. - Of course you can fly.
Tell her to start with something simple.
Maybe we should just start with something simple first.
- A double layout? - Cute.
Uh, a straight catch, tell her.
Why don't we just start with a straight catch first?
A straight catch? Uh-huh.
- Anybody can do that. - Good.
I can't believe I'm doing this, Al.
Well, if it'll make you feel any better,
Ziggy says this practice will increase your chance of catching Eva tomorrow night...
Twenty percent? Which will make it?
Thirty percent. Hey.
- Without you, her chances are zero. - Ready?
Here I come.
- All right! Uh-oh. - Let go.
- Don't let her go now. - What?
- Let go! - Sam, no!
Al, I did it. I mean...
I mean, it wasn't very pretty, but for the first time, it wasn't too bad.
Yeah, I just hope it wasn't the last time. What?
Oh, no.
What happened? I don't know.
She must have bounced off the net.
Is she all right?
Yeah. I think she just had the wind knocked out of her, Al.
Breathe deep. Easy.
Where... Where did El go?
El? Elvira.
I heard you talking to her.
The stripper. Her name must be Elvira.
Uh, maybe she went to get some water.
Wait. Easy, easy, easy, easy. Not so fast.
We have to practice. Not any more this morning.
And not with me. Sam!
I almost killed her. I-I could have killed you.
It was my fault.
I forced you to release me when you knew I wasn't in position.
- She's right, Sam. - I didn't know.
I have no idea what I'm doing up there.
Victor, stop talking like you don't know how to fly.
- I don't, Eva. - You can learn.
By tomorrow night? Tomorrow night, we'll be in Denver.
She said "God willing" in Hungarian.
My second wife was... Maybe it was my third wife was Hungarian. One of them.
God willing, you won't fly.
What?
If you do, something terrible is going to happen.
Did you see a bird in my trailer?
- What? - That's Hungarian folklore.
If a bird flies in the house, someone dies.
Yes. Yes. A bird flew in your trailer.
Two birds flew in your trailer. Oh, Sam.
Two birds? Yes.
Two birds in the house is good luck. Good luck.
Eva.
Papa is gonna drop you tomorrow night,
and you're going to die.
I'm sorry. I have to tell you what I know.
How could you know?
No one can see the future. Not even...
You just... You just come with me, Victor.
Gooshie, center me on, uh,
wherever she's going.
Sybil?
What have you been telling my brother?
The truth.
That I'm going to die doing the triple?
Uh, I-I never said that she told me that.
Then what did she tell you?
Only what I saw.
In your crystal ball?
That ball is for rubes.
I told him what I saw in his soul.
Uh, Sam, this is getting a little weird.
I-I think she can sense me. So, uh, I'm gonna... I'm gonna retire.
Al. Elvira?
See ya.
You saw Elvira in Victor's soul?
Yes. No.
The eyes do not lie, Victor.
Victor, you've been in this mud show way too long.
Sybil didn't tell me that you were going to fall tomorrow, but...
- Then who did? - An angel.
An angel?
What do you mean, an angel?
I don't know. It just came out.
You were visited by an angel.
Well, yeah, he...
He kind of appeared to me in... in my dreams.
Like Mama did to you.
Look into my eyes, Sybil.
Am I going to die on the trapeze?
You could,
but not for a long time.
Why not for a long time?
Because I see children in Eva's eyes.
It wasn't an angel.
It was your fear causing the dream.
I'm going to pack. Papa'll wanna leave before dark.
- Elvira? - Really, Victor.
You said that she could die on the trapeze.
Not as long as you catch her. As long as I...
Wh-Why didn't you say that wh-while she was here?
Well, I didn't think it... was necessary.
I never noticed before how many times you've been reincarnated.
I, um...
I don't believe in reincarnation.
You would if you could see all the souls I see in your eyes.
I've never believed in tarot cards, crystal balls or reading horoscopes,
but Sybil had touched enough truths to send me back to the trapeze.
Even though I dreaded it.
I'm proud of you, Sam.
What's Ziggy say?
Uh, oh, well, it's still the same.
If you don't catch her...
- Sorry. - That's okay, Al.
I-I gotta overcome it.
Attaboy. You will. You will. Now come on, pump.
Pump. That's good. Gotta get higher now, Sam. Come on.
I can't believe I'm doing this, Al.
Now drop into your catcher's position.
Attaboy, Sam. You're doing great.
I told you there was nothing to it.
Victor has the talent, Maria. You always said that.
And he should be catching Eva, not me, but...
I don't know if I'll ever trust him...
or forgive him.
I was proud of him.
I was proud of him today, the way he fought those hoodlums,
like a true Hungarian.
Maybe it's time to give him another chance.
It would be good...
to smile and hug my son again.
She extends and grabs your wrists here!
You're light as a feather, Al.
I may practice with imaginary partners,
but I don't talk to them.
The last time I talked to an imaginary playmate, I was six.
Wanna start with a double?
Single. Single.
- Too easy. - Humor me.
Okay.
Ready? Here I come.
Oh, she did a double! Great catch, Sam!
- That wasn't a single. - The Flying Panzinis don't do singles.
- What are you doing? - As if you didn't know.
She needs to get more height to do the triple.
Triple? Take it easy.
Now, you already caught the double. The hard part is on her.
Ready?
If you can't do it now, how are you gonna do it tomorrow night?
I'm gonna watch this from the ground.
Here I come.
Oh, my God!
What are you trying to do? Kill your sister too?
I like this song.
First heard it in Pensacola when I was a cadet.
Me and Dave Healy, we knew these girls that were animals.
- Al. - What?
Will you pretend, just pretend to sit next to me?
If it'll make you feel any better. It does. Where have you been?
I was riding in the other truck with Eva and Laszlo.
They didn't care where I was.
They couldn't see you.
I was watching him drive. He's got something wrong with his right arm.
Torn rotator cuff.
Do you suppose that's why he drops her tonight? No doubt.
You know, I don't know how he's been managing even the simple catches.
He must be relying on his good arm.
What are you gonna do?
What do you mean, what am I gonna do? I can't catch her. Are you sure?
Yes, you can. I cannot. You saw me this morning.
I dropped her. She fell. You certainly... You missed her this morning...
because you made one mistake.
Yeah, climbing up there. No, you reached.
You can't reach. You gotta wait for her to come to you, and then you grab her.
If you had done that, you would have caught her. Just like on the double.
You really think so?
Of course. Am I ever wrong?
Marriages don't count.
See you in a minute.
Laszlo. It's good to see you. How've you been?
Not bad. Not as good as you, but not bad.
Eva. Hello.
Laszlo, she looks more and more like Maria.
Victor. I hate to say it, but Shari's been pining ever since you left.
She has? Come on. I've got something to show you.
Still smells the same. You're back.
I've made a lot of changes in the last year.
I upgraded the side ring acts. Added a terrific new cat show.
But you still need the Panzinis.
Yes, I still need the Panzinis.
- What is this? - Your new poster.
Don't you like it? We don't do the triple.
What?
We don't do the triple.
Your letter said you did.
- What letter? - I sent it, Papa.
And I signed your name.
- You had no right to do it. - Yes, I did.
I'm just as much a part of this act as you are.
Papa, I can do the triple.
I'm sorry, Cliff. She shouldn't have done it. But we don't do the triple.
Victor and I do.
Look. I don't want to get into the middle of family quarrels.
No, no, no, no, there is no quarrel.
I'm the head of the family. I decide what we do.
Well, then Victor and I will form our own act.
You'd break up the act? Papa.
We haven't had an act since Mama died.
Laszlo?
Great. I'll see you under the big top.
Thank you.
You'll see. Victor and I will make you so proud.
If anyone catches you doing the triple, it will be me. No.
Uh, you know, maybe for the first performance, it would be better...
No. He can't catch you, Eva.
He has a torn rotator cuff.
What are you, a doctor now?
It doesn't take a doctor to see that you can't use your right arm.
I can catch better with one arm than you can with two. Do you really believe that?
You killed Mama, didn't you? Papa!
No, I didn't. I think pride killed her.
The same pride that's gonna make you go in the tent and perform when you can't.
Only it's not gonna kill you. It's gonna kill Eva.
We don't have to do this.
Papa?
Ladies and gentlemen,
children of all ages,
may I have your attention please.
One year ago tonight, Maria Panzini, the world's greatest woman aerialist,
was killed attempting the triple.
One year ago tonight?
Well, it won't be a year until next Tuesday, but, you know, that's the circus.
Don't do that, Al. I'm already a basket case.
- I'm sorry. - Tonight,
the circus is proud to present Maria's son, Victor.
And her daughter, Eva.
The Flying Panzinis will honor their mother tonight...
by performing the triple.
I must ask for your complete and total silence during this evening's performance,
since Eva Panzini will attempt the triple...
as her mother did... No.
Without a safety net.
Did you know about this?
Would you have gone through with it if I had?
No. Well, then I didn't know.
Al... Hey, she's gonna do the triple.
And if she doesn't do it with you catching her,
she's gonna do it with Laszlo, and that's certain death.
Now you start pumping and get in position.
Do what you have to do. I'm gonna watch this downstairs.
And now, please,
your complete and total silence.
Once again, because of the severe danger,
there must be complete and total silence...
during the next several minutes.
All right!
Is the net up?
Eva and Victor,
those incomparable Flying Panzinis!
Ladies and gentlemen, Eva's father, and the greatest catcher of all time,
Laszlo Panzini.
I don't know if I could do that again.
Ah, well, sometimes it's, uh, once is enough.
But personally, that's not my opinion.
That's not what I'm talking about. Why haven't you leaped?
Well, I think maybe you're gonna find out.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Flying Panzinis.
How many times do I have to tell you? When you are up there and the spotlight hits...
Please direct your attention to ring one.
Wave to the crowd.
And in ring three with our performing elephants. I must have forgotten.
Just don't forget next time.
I won't, Papa.
Buster! Buster! Hurry!
The basket! G-Get the basket!
Come on!
Come on. Before Reed catches us.
Buster, what are you thinking about?
Bunny?
Oh, Buster, I love you so much for doing this.
Oh, shoot. We woke her.
Come here, precious.
Oh, boy.