Quantum Leap Details That Help To Explain The Show's Puzzling Finale

Quantum Leap left our screens almost 30 years ago — and now a reboot show has brought it back for a new generation. The new Quantum Leap has all the same ingredients as the original, but it remains to be seen just how much it will tie into Scott Bakula's run. And we still don't know whether it will clear up the confusion about the puzzling finale of that show. For now, then, we’ve compiled these behind-the-scenes secrets to help clear everything up.

1. A letter-writing campaign originally saved it

The show would have been canceled in its third season if not for its fans organizing a campaign. Christina Mavroudis, who edited fan publication Quantum Quarterly, got readers to send in letters demanding the show be renewed. The group Viewers for Quality Television also got involved, and apparently, about 50,000 letters eventually appeared at the NBC offices.

2. Fans outright threatened NBC execs

When fans started up their letter-writing campaign to save the show, some of the letters went way overboard. According to Entertainment Weekly, which reported on the incident in 1991, one fan wrote to NBC entertainment president Warren Littlefield and said, “Here’s the deal, Mr. Littlefield: Move [Quantum Leap] back to Wednesday night and your family is safe.” Yikes.

3. The finale wasn’t supposed to be the finale

If you've ever wondered why the series finale was so confusing, it could be because it wasn’t actually meant to be the last episode of the show. The cast and crew were told Quantum Leap would continue — but then NBC pulled the plug anyway. The studio heads blamed the low ratings for season five. Then the finale was hastily re-edited, changing it from creator Donald P. Bellisario’s original vision.

4. Bellisario was angry about it being canceled

Unsurprisingly Bellisario wasn’t happy when NBC pulled the plug on Quantum Leap. The producer told the Los Angeles Times in May 1993, “This is especially sad for me because it feels like it is being cut off in its prime. Someone dies at 95, you say, ‘Okay, it was time.’ But this show hasn’t even reached middle age. It feels to me like watching someone young die.”