Quantum Leap: Star-Crossed- Original Air Date March 31, 1989

Marion, Ohio
June 15, 1972

Sam has Leaped into Dr. Gerald Bryant, a professor at Lawrence College in Ohio (give it up for my home state). Dr. Bryant is the creepiest teacher on the campus whom all the gals adore because he teaches English Lit and busts out with lines from history's greatest love stories.

He also happens to be banging one of his students, Jamie Lee. And he looks like Nick Nolte's drunk mug shot. Jamie Lee is waaay too dramatic and is all about suicide pacts and forbidden love.

Sam is supposed to keep the Prof and Jamie Lee from a shotgun wedding, but Sam had spotted Donna Eleese, his own Juliet, walking on the campus of Lawrence, the Catholic college she attended, and he believes he's here to give himself a second chance. Donna and Sam met when she was leaving the Star Bright Project, another project Sam worked on; it's also where he first met Al. They were supposed to be married on the fifth of June, but she stood him up. Bitch. Al reminds him of Quantum Leap's numero uno rule: The Time Traveler shall not take advantage of his position to improve or alter his life.

Anyway, Sam drops in on Donna at her workplace, the campus restaurant. Sam orders a burger and Donna somehow knows exactly how he wants it fixed. Sam believes it's fate.

Oscar, Jamie Lee's meathead boyfriend, sneaks up on Sam in the restaurant and wants to kick his ass. Sam convinces him Jamie Lee is so in love with him and she's only using Bryant to get him jealous. Oscar tells him if he's lying, he's coming back to break his face. Typical jock.

Jamie Lee shows up at the Prof's home, dressed as Guinevere, natch, later that night. She's all disappointed he's not dressed as Lancelot. Al's all impressed with the Prof's closet full of kinky sex stuff. Sam tries to convince Jamie Lee that Oscar's the one for her. She reluctantly leaves after a totally dramatic exit. Chick needs to chill.

Sam tells Al how Donna knew how he wanted his cheeseburger earlier that afternoon. Sam begs Al to give him some specifics on Donna's dad, since that's the reason she failed to show at their wedding. Donna's dad had abandoned her and she grew up to be suspicious of men. Al refuses, telling him Weitzman, the dude with an Abe Lincoln fixation who happens to lead the Committee that oversees the Project, wants Sam to be labeled as crazy so he can take over the Project completely. Al reminds Sam he'd broken plenty of rules last Leap, rules Sam had put into place, and he's not going to risk his job any further. He tells him to start thinking with his big head and not the small one. Sam gives Al a wounded puppy look, but Al continues to resist.

The next morning, Sam drops in on Donna, who's trying to figure out some crazy ass science calculation. Sam finishes it for her and she's all like "Oh, duh. Of course I forgot Hubble's Constant and the red shift." Sam is seriously coming off as the creepy Prof here, sorry to say. Anyway, they get onto the discussion of time travel and Sam asks Donna where she would go back to if she had the chance. She answers she'd go back to when she was happiest; around six or seven. Sam bursts out with "Before your father left" and of course Donna gets all up in arms. She demands to know how he knew and tries to walk out. Sam tells her he was just going through her school records and noticed she hadn't put a father down as next of kin. Yeah, creepy, Sam. Remember what you actually look like; a boozy Jon Voight. Let's tone down the weirdness, shall we?

Sam tosses out he has a string theory he'd like to run by her as an attempt to keep her from running off. Donna tells him she has to go to the library and Sam counters with it's a lovely public place. So, he can't be Prof. Creepy McCreeperson there. Sam ends up telling her all about his string theory.

Al pops up after Donna leaves for work, dressed weird, even for Al. He's also acting weird, even for Al. Sam deduces he's not alone in the Imaging Chamber. Even guessing it's Weitzman and the Committee. As Sam rambles on about how he wants to reunite Donna with her father so she might actually show up on their wedding day, Al begins to tell him about the six doctorates Sam holds, stressing one of them happens to be in ancient languages. Al happens to be wearing a sash imprinted with hieroglyphics. Sam is lost until Al points to the sash. They play Pictograph and Sam figures out Donna's father is working in the Pentagon and is still in the Army. In the mean time, Ziggy has been scanning his side of the convo and has deduced Al is giving Sam information. Ziggy is such a rat. Al is dragged out of the Imaging Chamber, but not before yelling out "How could I write Col. Wojohowitz in hieroglyphics?!" Ha! Well played.

Sam asks Donna if she would be willing to travel to Washington D.C. with her. He even offers to bring along a chaperon, if it would make her more comfortable.

Sam calls Donna's pop at his hotel and asks if he could see him. The Colonel tells him he's leaving for Vietnam in the morning. Sam tells him it's about Donna. He tells the Colonel how skipping out on her has left Donna a mess. The Colonel tells him the break-up between Donna's mom and him had nothing to do with Donna and that he loves her. Sam tells him he should probably be telling that to Donna, not him. However, the Colonel refuses to "re-open old wounds", especially before shipping out. Maybe he'll get to it when (or if) he comes back.

Oscar shows up at the Prof's and punches Sam right in the nose. Sam punches him back. It's only fair. Sam's advice obviously didn't work. Sam asks Oscar if he has a car. He, of course, has a muscle car. Sam asks if it is large enough to hold him, Jamie Lee, Donna and Oscar. Time for a road trip! He'll fix Jamie Lee and Oscar's relationship and reunite Donna and her father; kill two birds with one stone. Of course, he isn't going to tell Donna the nature of the trip.

At a rest stop, Al reappears. He tells Sam he had been fired after they fed the hieroglyphics into Ziggy. However, Al, begin a sneaky devil, set Weitzman up with Tina and then blackmailed him so he could get his job back. I loves it.

Back on the road, Sam finally tells Donna they're on the way to see her father.

They finally show up at the hotel and try to get up to see the Colonel, but security won't let them through because they can't prove Donna is actually her father and the Colonel has a "do not disturb" on his line. Sam takes Donna around back and sneaks into the hotel, finding a door with a piece of tape over the latch. Sam reunites Donna with her pop. Back in the car, Jamie Lee and Oscar fall back into love. Thus, Sam's job is done and he Leaps.











Brushes With History: The hotel Sam and Donna break into happens to be the Watergate and it happens to be the 17th of June. When the guard goes around back to check on the new car that appeared in visitor's lot, and failed to leave when the guards turned away Sam and Donna, he notices the propped door and calls to report a break-in. This sets the ball in motion for the Watergate scandal and Nixon's impeachment.

Next Week: The Secret of the Indian