Quantum Leap's Second Episode Has a Huge Tie to the Original Series

Just two episodes in to the new Quantum Leap, scientist Ben Song (Raymond Lee) has already tied himself to some key events from the original series featuring Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula). In the episode, which aired on Monday, Ben leaped into a space shuttle astronaut just as the rocket was headed into orbit. Carly Pope appeared in the episode, starring as Samantha Stratton, a character who was born in the two-part series premiere "Genesis" back in 1989. In that story, Sam had leaped into the body of an Air Force captain named Tom Stratton. Sam has to save not only Tom's life when a flight malfunctions, but also the life of Tom's unborn daughter, who in the original timeline would have been stillborn.

And, as you may have guessed, those episodes eventually revealed that Tom's daughter was named Samantha, meaning that the Quantum Leap project has intersected with that of the Stratton family twice. The idea of Ben stumbling into such a situation by coincidence, especially this early on his leaping career, seems pretty unlikely, and suggests that there's some guiding hand at play, whether it's Ben's, someone else at the Project, or destiny itself.

It's possible, then, that Ben's mission has something to do with Sam's, whether it be reacting to Dr. Beckett's impact on the timeline, or something bigger. Certainly, many fans of the original series would love to think that Ben's mission has something to do with helping Sam finally make the leap home.

The episode also sees Ben save Samantha's life, suggesting that maybe he's batting cleanup for Sam...but that might be taking it a step too far, since it was the events of this week's episode that put her in danger in the first place.

You can check out the official synopsis for Quantum Leap below.

"It's been nearly 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now, a new team, led by physicist Ben Song (Raymond Lee), has been assembled to restart the project in hope of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it.

"Everything changes, however, when Ben makes an unauthorized leap into the past, leaving the team behind to solve the mystery of why he did it. At Ben's side throughout his leaps is Addison (Caitlin Bassett), who appears in the form of a hologram only Ben can see and hear. She's a decorated Army veteran who brings level-headed precision to her job.

"At the helm of the highly confidential operation is Herbert "Magic" Williams (Ernie Hudson), a no-nonsense career military man who has to answer to his bosses who won't be happy once they learn about the breach of protocol. The rest of the team at headquarters includes Ian Wright (Mason Alexander Park), who runs the Artificial Intelligence unit "Ziggy," and Jenn Chou (Nanrisa Lee), who heads up digital security for the project.

"As Ben leaps from life to life, putting right what once went wrong, it becomes clear that he and the team are on a thrilling journey. However, Addison, Magic, Ian and Jenn know that if they are going to solve the mystery of Ben's leap and bring him home, they must act fast or lose him forever."