The Leap Between the States was the twentieth episode of Quantum Leap’s fifth season to air, with Sam leaping into his own great-grandfather in the heat of the American Civil War. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the Confederacy.

















Sam leaps into his great-grandfather, Captain John Beckett, and is quickly wounded during a skirmish. We learn that he is then assisted by Isaac (Michael D. Roberts) and a family of escaped slaves, who bring him to a barn on the property of Olivia Covington (Kate McNeil), a widowed Southerner apparently hostile to a Yankee like Sam.







Eventually Al tells Sam that Olivia will become his great-grandmother and that he has to keep her on-side while helping prevent another escaped family from being returned to their ‘owners’ by Lt. Montgomery (Geoffrey Lower) and his unit. Sam has to convince the Confederate soldiers that he’s on their side, despite his moral objections.







The Leap Between the States was directed by David Hemmings, who returned for the first time since directing the show’s two-part pilot episode Genesis. The writer was Richard C. Okie, the last of his six writing credits.







In this episode Gerry and Iain considered progress.







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You can listen to the show here on the website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher, Google or wherever you find your podcasts.







The Leap Between the States was released in 1993. It is 46 minutes long and originally aired on the NBC network. It can be viewed on NBC’s Peacock streaming service in the UK and in the United States. The show is available on DVD and Blu Ray in other countries.