In the first season, Sam mentions having a sister named Katie. In Genesis: Part 1 - September 13, 1956 (1989) and Genesis: Part 1 - September 13, 1956 (1989), Sam mentions that she married a Naval Officer named Jim Bonney. However, in Camikazi Kid - June 6, 1961 (1989), which hinges on Sam stopping a sister from marrying an abusive boyfriend, Sam mentions that Katie married and abusive alcoholic, later named "Chuck" in The Leap Home: Part 1 - November 25, 1969 (1990). It is likely that Katie married Jim after leaving Chuck. Also, in Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976 (1989), Sam mentions that he has a brother named Tom and that he died in Vietnam. He again mentions this in Animal Frat - October 19, 1967 (1990) before finally seeing Tom again in The Leap Home: Part 2 (Vietnam) - April 7, 1970 (1990).
Al was referred to having orbited the Moon as a NASA astronaut. NASA's Apollo program, under which the manned Moon launches occurred, took place during the time frame in which Al was established to have been a POW/MIA during the Vietnam War.
Despite being a hologram, Al is often seen having a shadow from the sun.
However, this is not a Goof, as the IMDB style guide for "Revealing mistakes" states: The fact that you've worked out how a special effect was achieved doesn't necessarily mean it's a goof, so long as the illusion still works. Additionally, the fact that an effect "isn't very good" ... doesn't make it a goof.
However, this is not a Goof, as the IMDB style guide for "Revealing mistakes" states: The fact that you've worked out how a special effect was achieved doesn't necessarily mean it's a goof, so long as the illusion still works. Additionally, the fact that an effect "isn't very good" ... doesn't make it a goof.
For the "mirror reflections" in which Sam sees whom he leaps into, the series used a dual set with a clear glass in the "mirror". Scott Bakula would stand on one side, and the actor playing the person he leaped into on the other. Looking closely at the glass, Bakula's reflection can sometimes be seen, especially if the mirror is near a source of light like sunshine.
Despite being in a different body and seeing someone else's reflection in the mirror, Sam always has impeccably combed and styled hair.
Throughout the series, several actors play several different characters, with minimal attempt at disguising this.
In the Season 5 opening, "Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime...", the visuals reflect the narration. The narrator says, "Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished...", what is seen is him leaving the imaging chamber after leaping back to New Mexico.
Throughout the series, Al does things Sam physically can't (look on the other side of a wall, listen in on the pursuer in a following car, etc.) or isn't present for. Since Al is tied to Sam's brainwaves, logically Al only should be able to see and hear what Sam does since Al isn't actually in the past. It would be like trying to see beyond the edges of a photo.
If God was leaping Sam, then it would be because God made a mistake, but theologically speaking, God is perfect and cannot make mistakes.
Sam spends his entire existence trying to figure out a way to leap back to his own time, yet it is never discussed or even considered that he could simply write a letter to a past version of himself, explain the accident which caused the original Quantum Leap in the first place, and thus avoid his first leap and therefore never have been lost in time.
Ziggy's opening narration says that "only Sam can see and hear" Al, which was thought to be true for the first season and for the first twelve episodes of season 2. However, Sam and Al discover in Another Mother - September 30, 1981 (1990) that animals, very young children, the mentally disabled, and people near death also can see and hear him (as well as seeing Sam's true form). [Note: this also was intimated in Genesis: Part 2 - September 13, 1956 (1989), when a dog growls at Sam on a baseball field.]