This "mini-FAQ" is intended to be specifically directed to those
interested in writing QL-related fiction, either as fanfic or as
profic (professional novel guidelines from
editor Ginjer Buchanan can be found here). The questions tend to
be centered on hammering out what is canon and what is not.
link to timeline of back stories,
possible parallel histories, and Leap dates. (Link here, or at the
bottom of this document.)
What is canon?
Canon is the body of knowledge we have from the aired episodes of
Quantum Leap, which we are bound by in derivative
writing. It is in the writer's interest to limit canon as much as
possible, since it leaves us free to fill in blanks as we choose,
so it is generally limited to information gathered from NBC's
original airing of the series. The novels, other fanfic,
informational books (though these are very helpful, and Julie
Barrett's upcoming "Quantum Leap: A-Z" is supposed
to be the best of them), and even comments from the producers are
not binding (though, if they are accepted by enough fans, they are
conventions and you're likely to get flamed for breaking
them...)
Technical Questions
Does Sam's body physically Leap?
Yes. Fifth season included some neural melding, but the body Leap
was never compromised. There was, at one point, some controversy
on the issue, but episodes in which Sam (a) saw through a blind
man's eyes, (b) walked on an amputee's absent legs and (c) fathered
a child with his own DNA, made the canon very clear on this angle.
There are, of course, complications. Why does his clothing fit?
The most common answer is that his molecules are projected into a
smaller space, but that is not universally accepted. By "never
compromised" I mean that Sam is never put into a situation in which
it is required to be the Leapee's body, whereas he is often
required to have his own.
What does Al see?
There is an inconsistancy here. In "What Price Gloria?" he clearly
sees Sam as Samantha, but that seems to be an aberration, since he
recognizes Magic in the Waiting Room in "Pool Hall Blues"
(establishing that he sees the Leapee in the Waiting Room, not
Sam's aura) and makes a comment about "Scarlett O'Hara on steroids"
when he sees Sam in a ball gown in "Miss Deep South." Since both
are canon, both could technically be used, but there is a commonly
accepted "repair" for this that claims the Imaging Chamber was
re-configured after WPG. This is not commonly accepted enough that
stories in which Al sees Sam as the Leapee (and vice versa) would
be at all likely to be flamed for it. But this brings up a point
about canon: Quantum Leap has a lot of concordance gaps.
Some can be bridged, but others can't. On those that can't, you're
justified in choosing whichever suits your story -- the producers
sure seemed to!
Who can see Al (and Sam as Sam)?
Small children, animals, the "mentally absent," and blondes with
very low IQs (Al's wishful thinking). Also, people whose
brainwaves are very close to Sam's can see Al, but apparently can't
see Sam. "Hurricane" had a drunken man start to see through Sam's
aura, but that might have been the electricity from the storm,
since Cissy saw it, too. Al's voice and Sam's brain patterns can
be picked up by some electronic equipment ("A Portrait for
Troian"), but it doesn't make them visible. There's some
suggestion (specifically in "Color of Truth") that Al can make his
presence known on some level, but it's not explained how this
works. Two other strong possibilities are psychics (in both
"Temptation Eyes" and "Leaping in Without a Net," psychics are able
to sense when Al is near, and in TE, Tamlyn can actually see
through Sam's aura after a time; it is quite feasible that a more
powerful psychic or one with a direct connection, like a family
member or loved one, would be able to see them) and a younger
version of Sam (who would presumably have the same brain waves to
tune into). And, of course, if he touches another Leaper, the aura
is disturbed for both of them, though it doesn't make the holograms
visible.
Can Sam Leap outside of his own
lifetime?
The canon clearly says yes ("The Leap Between the States," "Play
it Again Seymour," and "The Americanization of Machiko" are all set
before August 8, 1953, though the latter two would fall during his
mother's pregnancy, if his life is started at his conception), but
most fans are a bit uncomfortable with it. The justification used
in "States" was similar DNA to his great-great-grandfather, who he
Leaped into.
Can Sam Leap into the future (after his first
Leap)?
Theoretically, there's no reason why he couldn't. The string goes
from his birth to his death, so the future should be open as long
as Sam is alive. Why he might do that, since his advantage is
20/20 hindsight, is open to question, but a good story could be
written with this as a premise. Some people do think he's limited
to his life before his first Leap, since according to "Mirror
Image" he never Leaps home, and so does not actually "live" after
1995.
Gushie (real name unknown) is the chief
programmer at Project Quantum Leap. He was played by the late
Dennis Wolfberg, and has very light strawberry blonde hair and
large blue eyes. He is known most commonly as the "little guy,
with bad breath," and apparently does not get easily offended when
people remind him of his halitosis. He has an on and off affair
with Tina, which Ziggy believes to be "on" at the time of "The Leap
Back".
Tina is Al's current girlfriend. Played by
Gigi Rice (now of "Larroquette"), she is a tall redhead with big,
er, eyes (on the subject of her actual eyes, they're brown). Her
voice is high and breathy, and she seems fluent in airhead-ese.
She dresses as flamboyantly as Al, and seems to have a taste for
very short skirts and spike heels. She has a pet crocodile, and
accuses Al of being a male chauvinist. She also tells him that the
affair with Gushie was just to make him jealous. Is she the same
woman that Al picked up at the beginning of the pilot movie? It's
inconclusive, though they have the same name. In the pilot, it
appeared that Al had never met this woman before, and, if she was
on the Project, he brought her there that night. On the other
hand, Al expects Sam to remember Tina (he does, in "The Leap
Back"), which would be impossible if she were first introduced on
the night Sam disappeared. Also, in "A Leap for Lisa," Tina
appeared to have been at the Project regardless of her involvement
with Al. One suggestion is that Al and Tina were actually playing
a game the night of the first Leap -- something along the lines of
"I'll pick you up along the side of the road, and then we can play
hitchhiker" -- and so actually knew each other. This would make
sense, since Al doesn't hesitate to flip on the communication
switch to a top secret project with her in the car. The novels
suggest her last name is "Martinez-O'Farrell," and she has a
doctorate in computer architecture. This is not canon, but there
isn't much canon on Tina as separate from Al.
Verbena Beeks is the Project psychiatrist.
She is a tall Black woman, with large brown eyes (I have to check
the actress' name; it will be on an update). She apparently keeps
the staff in working order, and counsels Visitors in the Waiting
Room, though we've seen Al do this as well (and Ziggy seems to be
responsible for compiling psychological profiles).
Donna Elesee is Sam Beckett's wife (after
he repairs her scarred psyche in "Star-Crossed"). She is the
daughter of a career Army man, Colonel Wojohowitz, who abandoned
her as a child and left her insecure about her relationships. When
Sam reunited her with her father, she was able to let go of her
insecurity and marry Sam. Played by both Teri Hatcher (as a
college student) and Mimi Kuzyk (twenty-seven years later), she is
a tall woman with long brown hair and brown eyes, and does not seem
to feel honor-bound to wear business suits. Her function at
Project Quantum Leap is unclear; when we see her at college, her
interest seems to be in theoretical physics, so it is possible that
she was heavily involved in the planning of the Project. This
wouldn't be too paradoxical, since much of the planning seems to
have been done during Star Bright, before she left Sam in the
original history.
Sammy Jo Fuller is a recent addition to the
Project (Season 5, "Trilogy). She is Sam Beckett's daughter by
Abigail Fuller, and we do not know much about her as an adult. As
a child, she was played by Kimberley Cullum, who also played young
Abigail, so it may be fair to extrapolate that she would grow up
to look something like Melora Hardin, who played Abigail as an
adult. Sammy Jo has a photographic memory, and, as a child, amused
herself by "remembering" musicals, like Brigadoon, straight
through.
Personal Information - Sam and Al
Where are Sam and Al from?
Sam is from Elk Ridge, Indiana, a small farming community. His
father owns a dairy farm. The series is quite coy about Al's
hometown; it's name is never mentioned, and in fanfic Al seems to
be from every major city from sea to shining sea. He mentions
having been in New York in the sixties, but he was an adult by
then. He also mentions having been at the Regal Theater (Chicago)
in its heyday. All we know for sure is that he grew up in an
orphanage in an urban area (whether the orphanage is public or
private is never revealed). His father is an immigrant, from
Abruzzi, Italy, so it might be fair to think he'd seek out an
Italian neighborhood (always easier to enter a new country if
there's someone to translate, and Al does speak Italian fluently),
but (a) that's not even close to a "given" and (b) it doesn't
narrow the field much.
How old are Sam and Al?
Sam was born on August 8, 1953, and his age is never significantly
altered (though a couple of Leaps take place a bit before the
date), so, by the end of the show, he's 47. Al has an
irreconcilable concordance gap here. In "A Leap for Lisa," which
takes place in 1957, he claims that he was 23 years old, placing
his birthdate in 1934 and his age at the end of the series at 66.
But the date of "Lisa" is irreconcilable with "Rebel Without a
Clue," which places Al's plebe year at Annapolis in 1958, making
it impossible for him to be an ensign in '57. The '58 plebe year
implies a 1940 birth date, making him 60 (or almost 60) at the end
of the series. This is most likely a mistake, but both ages are
canon, and you can legitimately use either. (Personally, I like
the "Rebel" dating, since it's closer to Dean Stockwell's real age,
and puts Al more firmly in the rock-n-roll era, and so far have
gotten no complaints, though it's considered a less supportable
date.)
Does either Sam or Al have children?
We know that Sam has Sammy Jo. No other children are mentioned,
but it is not specifically denied either, so it's fair in fanfic
(though profic won't allow it). Generally, if an issue is not
directly addressed in any way, a writer can assume what s/he needs
(that's why it's so handy for writers to limit canon to "only what
aired on NBC, no more, no less"). There is a vague possibility
that Sam and Donna have a son after "The Leap Back" based on an
offhand comment from Deborah Pratt at QuantumCon '94, but that
isn't canon. The closest Al came to saying he has no children was
"Another Mother," when he said, "You know, I never really wanted
children of my own -- " but he's interrupted before the end of the
sentence, so it's not confirmed that he doesn't. Of course, after
"Mirror Image," Al and Beth have four daughters (no names or ages
given).
What are Sam's degrees in?
Sam has seven degrees; we don't know all of them. We know he is
a medical doctor, and that he has a PhD in music, and another in
ancient languages. His primary degree is in physics. We know his
degrees are not in law or psychology. He also has a black
belt in tae kwon do.
Beth. Beth is Al's true love, the
"only woman [he] ever really loved; the only one [he] wanted to
grow old with" ("M.I.A."). She is a nurse, with the Navy as of
1969, though it's not clear if she was always a Navy nurse, or if
she joined because Al was in the Navy, or if she did it because she
missed him when he disappeared. We don't know much of their back
story. When Al was missing in action in Vietnam, she had him
declared dead, and married a San Diego lawyer named Dirk Simon.
We know nothing of Beth and Dirk's life together. Episode
reference: "M.I.A." Referred to in "Sea Bride," "The Leap Home:
Pt. 1," "Star Light, Star Bright." Beth is the only one of Al's
wives to appear on the series; she was played by Susan Diol. She
is about an inch taller than Al, and has dark brown hair and eyes.
No name is given for Al's second wife.
We know very little about her. She is most likely Hungarian
("Leaping in Without A Net"), though even this piece of information
might be wrong, since Al mixes up which wife he got his information
from (he says "second or third"). But, probably since this is only
information we have about Al's second wife, it is generally assumed
that she is meant.
Ruthie. We know more about Ruthie than
we know of any of the other unseen wives. She is a Jew, probably
of Ashkenazi (Northern and Eastern European) descent, since Al
picks up several Yiddish words from her. She and Al honeymooned
on the train to Niagara Falls, which is the same honeymoon Al took
with Beth. At some point Al and Ruthie visited Cleveland together,
and had a Massage-o-Matic bed running for nine hours straight
("There was nothing else to do"). In "Thou Shalt Not," Al makes
the interesting comment, "I never really appreciated family
until after Ruthie was gone." He usually speaks of her
affectionately, and with a rather regretful tone, leading some fans
to hypothesize that their marriage ended in her death rather than
a divorce. This is contradicted in "Raped," when Al tells us that
his third wife divorced him for mental cruelty (because he sang
"Volare" in his sleep), but it is possible that he got his numbers
mixed up again, even though it isn't accompanied by any of the
hesitancy of his usual mix-ups. Episode reference: "Thou Shalt
Not." Referred to in "Nuclear Family," "Raped," "A Tale of Two
Sweeties," "Honeymoon Express."
Sharon. Not much is said of Sharon and
Al's marriage, though they had a dog named Chester who Sharon won
in a custody settlement. She wears teddies. Referred to in:
"Honeymoon Express," "The Great Spontini."
Maxine. Maxine is the only one of Al's
wives that we know he instigated the divorce proceedings against
("A Hunting We Will Go"), though it's not out of the question with
any of others. Al believed that Maxine was cheating on him with
a Marine, and feels guilty about their divorce because it turned
out he was wrong. (Note: there is a concordance gap about Maxine
-- in "The Play's the Thing," Al said their marriage ended when she
ran off with a bricklayer. This part of Al's life could
conceivably be in Sam' range of influence, but it also just might
be irreconcilable.) They met in a tattoo parlor in Atlantic City,
and Maxine flavors her toes with mint leaves. Her life's ambition
was to be in the roller derby, but she kept falling at tryouts.
She tried a little ice skating, but it wasn't the same. Episode
reference: "A Hunting We Will Go." Referred to in "Honeymoon
Express" (she also got the Niagara Falls honeymoon), "The Play's
the Thing." Al is reminded of her because Sam's prisoner in "A
Hunting We Will Go" (played by Jane Sibbet) looks exactly like her
-- so she is a blond with blue eyes, medium to tall in height.
The timeline includes Leap dates,
from the episode guide in the archives, paralleled with a primary
back story timeline, and a secondary timeline which includes
irreconcilable dates (like Al's age) and added history (like Sammy
Jo's birth).