Doctor Who & Quantum Leap–Non-Existent Crossovers (Eighth Doctor)

Doctor Who has been on (and off) the air since 1963, with a myriad of adventures showing the Doctor and his companions traveling to endless corners of the universe.

(Daily Doctor Who #239)

But do you know where they haven’t traveled? Into my other favorite science fiction media properties, that’s where!

But what if they had? What if somehow, this had been possible? What stories would it have been cool to see the Doctor interacting with?

In this series of posts, we’re going to make some suggestions. Thirteen suggestions, in fact…one for each Doctor. The idea is to find something for each that, even if there was no real way for to have happened, was at least remotely possible from a time-frame point of view. So, no meetings between the Third Doctor and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, for example.

We have covered the First Doctor, the Second, the Third , the Fourth, the Fifth, the Sixth and the Seventh Doctor. So you know whose turn it is now, right? Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor!

So, this world of complete fantasy fan-fiction is proud to present…

Doctor Who

and…

Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap aired on American TV from 1989 – 1993, with five seasons of episodes about Dr. Sam Beckett, who was traveling uncontrollably through time. Wherever he arrived, he would displace someone who was there, and effectively “becoming” that person for the duration of the story. However, everyone around him would only see and hear the person Sam replaced, meaning that pretty much every episode was a “fish-out-of-water” story in which Sam had to figure out what was going on, and how to help. When he had completed his mission, he would then “Quantum Leap” into the next story

Quantum Leap aired on American TV from 1989 – 1993, with five seasons of episodes about Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), who was traveling uncontrollably through time, though usually limited to his own lifetime. Wherever he arrived, he would displace someone who was there, and effectively “becoming” that person for the duration of the story. However, everyone around him would only see and hear the person Sam replaced, meaning that pretty much every episode was a “fish-out-of-water” story in which Sam had to figure out what was going on, and how to help. The idea was that a mysterious force (often identified as “God, or time, or fate, or whatever” was moving Sam around in time to put right things that had once gone wrong. When he had completed his mission, Sam would “Quantum Leap” into the next story (although he was always hoping that he’d finally leap back home).

Helping him on his mission was Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell), an observer from his own time (sometime in the mid or late 1990’s, the near-future from the time the show was produced), who had the benefit of future knowledge and could interact with Sam as a hologram that only he could see or hear.

Sam was also aided by the fact that he himself was basically a super-genius, who in addition to being an accomplished scientist, also had a photographic memory, and was a talented piano player, singer and kick-boxer.

Controversially, Quantum Leap ended not only with Sam not returning home, but with a caption that stated that he never returned home. The last episode had Sam meeting a mysterious bartender who very well might have been “God or time or fate or whatever”, and then realizing he had the opportunity to help his friend Al by changing a moment from his past (effectively preventing the end of Al’s first marriage and preventing a string of bad subsequent marriages). It was also stated that Sam himself was the one who kept him leaping, and implied that he might now be able to leap without displacing other people–though what this specifically meant was not clear.

Now, where Quantum Leap ended in 1993, the Eighth Doctor’s solo starring outing in Doctor Who came in a 1996 TV movie which was co-produced by Universal Studios and aired on the FOX TV network. The hope was that it would lead to an ongoing television series. This didn’t come to pass and Doctor Who was in limbo again until Christopher Eccleston took the reins in 2005.

In our scenario, we are going to imagine that another Paul McGann-led TV movie was aired in 1997, in roughly the same format…

Fade up!

The Doctor (Paul McGann) is traveling in the TARDIS, on his own, when suddenly the he is pulled off course, with the TARDIS going into overdrive. It abruptly lands. The Doctor cautiously goes outside and finds he is in a lobby. A woman at a desk calls “Next!” Confused, the Doctor approaches the desk. The woman asks for his papers. The Doctor says he has no idea what she’s is talking about. Exasperated, the woman asks for his passport, and demands to know where he is traveling from and what his business visiting their dimension is.

Opening Titles!

“The Infinity Threshold“

The Doctor attempts to argue that he has no idea where he is or what is going on, but the woman (who we will eventually learn is named Carolelle) says that if the Doctor has no papers, he will have to go to the Waiting Room to wait to talk to an immigration officer. A burly guard named Gram leads him away from the Arrivals area, while the TARDIS (which the Doctor realizes has landed on a special platform on one end of the room) is impounded. The Doctor tries to talk to Gram, and learns only that they are in a place called Pelican Station.

The Doctor finds himself in a waiting room with several other travelers. Katya and Anatoly are two Time Agents from the 50th century, who found themselves unexpectedly pulled to the station. Professor Milton Forrester is a scientist from the 22nd century who using a new experimental time traveler technology of his own invention on its first successful test, and was brought to the location along with Blaik Denforth, a young graduate student who was assisting him. And XP is a sentient automated flying drone who encountered a temporal anomaly while exploring the Isomera Nebula and found itself brought to the station. It is apparent that they are all time travelers, but none of them are certain where or when Pelican Station actually is.

Professor Forrester, who speaks quite condescendingly to his assistant and is disparaging of his abilities, is called into an interview by Gram, who refuses to answer anyone else’s questions and tells everyone they are forbidden to leave until it is there turn. Once Gram and Forrester leave, the others confirm they are locked in. The Doctor scans the area with his sonic screwdriver, and uses it to open a service hatch which runs alongside the area. He, Katya and Anatoly enter it, and are able to observe the interview secretly. In this, it is apparent that Katya and Anatoly, though partners, have a contentious relationship, fraught with disagreement and conflicting approaches to their work.

The group see Professor Forrester being interviewed by a woman named Amily Twoppence, who questions him about where he is coming from and where he is going. Forrester answers as best he can, although he is somewhat naive about the situation. The Doctor realizes that the focus of Amily’s questions turn to the actual technology that Forrester has used to travel in time. Forrester talks about what he has invented, which Katya and Anatoly scoff at as being primitive, though the Doctor admires his ingenuity. Amily is apparently unimpressed, and concludes the interview. Forrester is told he will be allowed to travel on, and is led away–though not back to the waiting room. Instead, Gram leads him to an imposing looking door which he is sent through on his own.

The whole situation is disturbing to the Doctor, so he jumps to head of the queue and goes in for the next interview, accompanied by Katya, while Anatoly continues to observe.

The Doctor dominates the conversation, noting that Pelican Station is not what it appears to be, and that the locals are really after people’s time travel technology–like they are trapped and looking for a way out. The conversation is interrupted by the leader of the station, Commander Gordian. The Doctor demands to be taken to his TARDIS. Gordian agrees, and the Doctor notes that they led past the door that Forrester departed through–he takes the opportunity to examine it quickly as they go by it.

Left behind, Anatoly sneaks out (leaving Blaik and XP in the waiting room), and heads to the Arrivals area. He runs into Gram and knocks him unconscious, taking his gun.

Gordian and Amily take the Doctor and Katya to a lab where several scientists and technicians are working different pieces of time travel equipment. The TARDIS is there, and Gordian tells the Doctor he is free to get in and leave. The Doctor is about to pull his key from pocket, when he pauses, suspicious.

Meanwhile, Anatoly reaches the Arrivals area demands that Carolelle return his vortex manipulator (his time travel device). Carolelle doesnt have it and tries to signal for help but Anatoly threatens her to stay quiet. He sees that she is at the controls of an advanced piece of machinery which he realizes is some sort of time travel device–the means by which he and the others were actually brought here. He demands she explain what it is.

Back in the lab, a console buzzes and Gordian realizes that another traveler is arriving soon. He signals up to the Arrivals area but gets no response, and so sends one of the technicians–a man named Abell–to investigate. Gordian turns back to the Doctor, who announces what he’s deduced: Pelican isn’t really a station, but a ship, which is stranded in some lifeless and desolate corner of timestream that it cannot escape from. Gordian’s group, who were the crew, have cobbled together a “Temporal Sieve” in order to trap time travelers, in the hopes of finding technology they need to escape, but so far nothing has worked. Impressed, Gordian tells him it’s true–they were experimenting with a new Hyper-Time engine, but it apparently malfunctioned and brought them to this lifeless point in the time stream, which they have dubbed the “Nullenvoid” (as in “Null-and-Void”). Gordian waxes philosophically that the Nullenvoid is really an infinite nothing, and that the Pelican stands on the threshhold of the abyss.

In a despaerate effort to survive, the Hyper-Time engines have been repurposed as a Temporal Sieve which they use to try to capture other time travel technology that they hope to use to escape. All their other power is devoted to life support, especially to generating an enormously powerful force-shield which is necessary for survival as the Nullenvoid is full of dangerously chaotic forces which threaten constantly to tear Pelican apart.

All this explains why Gordian wants the Doctor to open the TARDIS–he’s recognized that it is the most advanced piece of technology they have captured, but they are unable to penetrate it. Gordian threatens the Doctor that if he doesn’t comply and open the TARDIS. The Doctor asks if he will do the same to him as he did to Forrester? Katya demands an explanation for this, and the Doctor explains that the door they sent Forrester through was an airlock. Forrester would have been dead the instant it opened. Gordian agrees–nothing is alive in the Nullenvoid, and nothing can survive for long. Katya is appalled, and Amily looks guilty and sad, but Gordian simply replies that resources are scarce.

Carolelle tells Anatoly that another time traveler has been caught by the Sieve but that she must open up the portal on her end or he cannot come through. He tells her to open it, and then use it to send him back, but she says that the Temporal Sieve doesn’t work that way. He threatens her to find a way. Just then, Abell arrives and Anatoly shows that he means business by killing him. Panicking and confused, Carolelle opens up the portal, and a new time traveler arrives: a single Dalek!

The Dalek is disorientated at first, but demands that Anatoly and Carolelle explain where it is and how it came to be here–he was traveling through a time corridor from Skaro when it was suddenly diverted to this location. Anatoly recognizes the Dalek by reputation and explains that they are trapped, but with the Daleks’ intellect, if they cooperate, they may be able to escape together. However, when Carolelle signals Gordian and opens up an intercom line to him, the Dalek exterminates her.

Hearing this, Gordian orders a contingent of crew to the Arrivals area, over the Doctor’s protests, who knows they are doomed. Gordian has the TARDIS locked away out of sight and along with Amily, leads the Doctor and Katya back toward the Waiting Room. There they are greeted by questions from XP and Blaik, but before anything can be explained, Gordian’s radio comes to life with the sounds the crew members he sent shouting for their lives and then being killed. The communication channel remains open so Gordian, the Doctor and the others can hear what is going on.

Thus, they hear Anatoly cutting a deal for his life, and the Dalek agreeing as long as Anatoly helps him crush all resistance to its subjugation of the station. The Dalek reactivates the Temporal Sieve in the hopes of bringing more Daleks to them. Urgently, the Doctor tells Gordian he has to shut that equipment down. Gordian is reluctant (still hoping it will bring them the means to escape their imprisonment) but Amily tells the Doctor that the equipment in the Arrivals area is just an interface…the real guts of the gear is in beneath it in the engine room. The Doctor demands to be taken there, and Amily leads the entire group to the room. Along the way, the Doctor tells Katya and Blaik privately that he intends to destroy the device completely.

Once at the Engine room, the Doctor examines the Sieve, which fills the entire area. He instructs XP to fly inside the vast the inner workings of the engines so he can understands how the power distribution flow (so it can be safely destroyed). Gordian objects to this but Katya disarms him and takes his gun. The Doctor starts by dismantling the interface controls to the Arrivals area, meaning the Dalek no longer has control of the device. Suddenly, the machine comes to life, and Amily announces someone else is arriving–and since the Arrivals interface is deactivated, whoever it is will arrive in the Engine Room. Everyone is tense as a platform on the side of the room hums to life. The Doctor pauses his work–there’s no way to know if the new arrival is a Dalek or not, and if the machine is deactivated mid-transit the person could be killed. Suddenly, the Doctor is engulfed in a blue light, which nobody else seems to notice, and in an instant, he is gone, to be replaced by a very confused Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), who takes one look at his surroundings, and then murmurs to himself, “Oh boy.”

In the Arrivals area, the Dalek detects that it has lost control of the Sieve, and demands Anatoly explain what has happened. Anatoly is at at a loss, but says there are other people on board who may be working against the Dalek. The Dalek blurts confidently that they will be exterminated. He demands to be taken to where these humans are, and Anatoly agrees to show him (even though he doesn’t actually know his way around).

Clearly not realizing anything has happened, the group in the engine room ask the Doctor what to do. Sam does his best to stall for time while he tries to figure out what is going on, and ends up sounding like a fool. Amily announces that sensors indicate the Dalek is on the move and that they might want to find a better place to hide. The group leaves, signalling XP to stay in hiding until it is safe to join them.

As the Dalek and Anatoly are moving through the ship, the Dalek detects some complex temporal energy coming from somewhere other than the Temporal Sieve. Investigating, it breaks into the lab where all the time travel equipment is kept. Just then, Gram enters behind it, having recovered and re-armed himself. He shoots the Dalek but it is useless, and he is exterminated for his troubles. The scientists and technicians do not put up any resistance after that, and the Dalek demands they explain all the technology they are working on, and tells Anatoly to make sure all the Station personnel are brought to the lab.

Sam and his party find a place to hide and discuss what to do. Again, everyone turns to the Doctor for leadership (even Gordian, as frustrated as he is by this) and Sam finds he is completely out of his depth in his attempts to understand what is happening. He mutters to himself that in all his time travels, nothing like this has ever happened before. Just then XP joins them, having left the workings of the engines to rejoin the group. XP is not fooled by Sam’s outward appearance, though, and immediately recognizes that this is not the Doctor. The others are confused at first, but then realize that the Doctor has been acting very different for some time, and demand to know who Sam is what is going on.

The scene cuts to earth, in the present day, at Project Quantum Leap. The Doctor is there, in a sterile environment called the Waiting Room (a different waiting room), pounding on the door and demanding to know what is going on. Outside, a scientist called Gooshie (this could not be original actor Dennis Wolfberg as he had passed away by this point) confers with a talking computer called Ziggy (voiced by Deborah Pratt). It has been a long time since anyone leaped into the Waiting Room, and a long time since they had any idea where in time Sam Beckett was. Nobody is sure if they should open the door to the Waiting Room until “he” arrives. Where is “he” someone asks? At his grandson’s birthday party, says someone else.

Just then, the Waiting Room door opens, the Doctor having figured out how to unlock it from the inside. He casually introduces himself and starts to assess the situation. He correctly identifies the type of computer Ziggy is, which impresses the machine, and the Doctor says he’s always been a fan of antiques. US soldiers enter and hold the Doctor at bay with guns, which he finds tedious. Into all of this arrives Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell), having been interrupted from his grandson’s birthday party, and thus is in a bit of a cross mood. He demands to know what is going on.

Back on Pelican Station, Sam does his best to explain his predicament to the group he is with. He finds them surprisingly easy to convince–“After all,” says Blaik, “we’re all time travelers.” Sam says he’s not used to being part of a group like this. He feels out of his depth–he’s never been to the future before. Gordian points out that though they are mostly from his future, they actually don’t know where in time they are at the moment, or even whether they really are in time anywhere. They’ve just been doing whatever they could to survive (“Terrible things,” Katya interrupts), and now it looks like this Dalek is going to kill them.

In the lab, the Dalek is experimenting with the different time travel technology that is there. If it cannot bring others of his kind with the Temporal Sieve, then it will escape using these devices. This is precisely what the scientists and technicians have been trying to do, someone says. The Dalek knows–they failed because they lack the superior Dalek intelligence.

Just then an internal sensor alerts the Dalek to the fact that there are other people on board the ship. It is not pleased that Anatoly has not gathered everyone to the lab, but says it is of no matter. The Dalek broadcasts to the entire station that anyone left on board should come to the main lab, and that if they do so they will not be harmed, but if they do not, they will be exterminated.

Sam and the others realize that they can be detected somehow. Sam asks if there is some way to mask their life signs–and Amily and XP get to work on that. Sam and the others try to come up with their next steps. Sam says usually when he leaps in to someone, it’s because he has to set right something that originally went wrong in that person’s life, or in the life of someone nearby. Gordian scoffs–the Doctor was obviously a genius, what’s Sam going to do that the Doctor couldn’t? Sam wonders what the Doctor was going to do, and Katya tells him that he was going to destroy the Temporal Sieve. Blaik wonders if that means that Sam shouldn’t do that.

At Project Quantum Leap, the Doctor learns more about Sam and Al and all that they have been doing. It seems that since Sam leapt to his own birthday (Quantum Leap‘s final episode) he hasn’t been seen by Al or anyone from the project again–they don’t know what happened to him. Al is aware of Sam changing something in Al’s own past, though, with regards to his wife. The Doctor asks how Al could possibly know that happened, and Al says it’s because his brainwaves are linked to Sam and the project, meaning that whenever Sam changed history, Al alone remained aware of it. The Doctor brightens at this–Al’s brainwaves are linked to Sam? Why didn’t he say so? If Sam can be found with brainwaves, then they should easily be able to return to him. The Doctor starts digging into the Quantum Leap equipment and gets excited by what he finds.

Busy with trying to understand the time travel equipment, the Dalek quickly puts in a plan to kill everyone who has not surrendered on the station, by setting some equipment to emit a microwave pulse that will wipe out all human life outside the lab. Somewhat reluctantly, but under compulsion, Anatoly assists him with this.

Still hiding, Sam is getting all the information he can from the others about what is going on, including the different sorts of time travel technology that are on the station. He is particularly interested in the Time Agents’ vortex manipulator. XP detects the microwave pulse in time to erect a force field around the humans of the group, saving their lives. Sam asks if there is anyway to mask their life signs, which XP can do with Blaik’s help. In this process, Sam discovers a key in the Doctor’s coat pocket–Gordian wonders if it’s the TARDIS key. He believes the Doctor’s time machine might be the most advanced piece of equipment on Pelican Station. With their life signs masked, the group begins to cautiously approach the lab, hoping to access the TARDIS.

In the lab, however, the Dalek comes to realize that all of the time travel technology it has access to is useless for escaping the Nullenvoid, and also that outside the Station there is no life of any kind. It appears for a moment to have an attack of existential dread about its situation, but then its voice becomes almost joyful–it can finally fulfill the desire of all Daleks and wipe out all life in the universe other than itself. It then turns on the technicians and scientists and starts to heartlessly exterminate them. Anatoly is the last one alive–the Dalek is about to kill him when one of its blasts exposes a hidden chamber and reveals the TARDIS. The Dalek recognizes it, and realizes that the Doctor must be present. It becomes obsessed at the prospect of finding the Doctor and exterminating him.

Approaching the lab, Sam and his group encounter Anatoly, seemingly running from his life. He tells them that the Dalek is looking for the Doctor, and offers to hide them. Katya sees through his lies though, and realizes that Anatoly is still working for the Dalek. He threatens them with a gun, but Katya does the same and the two keep each other at bay in a tense standoff while Sam the rest move on.

Sam’s group splits up and approach the lab from different directions. Gordian and Blaik arrive at the lab, and quickly search through for a piece of equipment. Meanwhile, Sam, Amily and XP are approaching another way, but they run into the Dalek, who has been waiting for them–particularly Sam, whom he believes is the Doctor. The Dalek announces that it will soon achieve its greatest victory–the death of their enemy the Doctor, and then the complete destruction of all other life in existence. Sam is mystified by the Dalek’s shear hatred, and knows that trying to convince it that he is not the Doctor is pointless. The Dalek prepares to exterminate Sam…

…when suddenly there is a blaze of blue light, and suddenly both Al and the Doctor are there with Sam.

The Dalek is stunned–from its point of view there are now two Doctors. It proceeds to take aim at Sam and fire, but Al dives in and knocks Sam clear. Some equipment explodes, though and Sam is injured. Still, he expresses amazement that Al is present and solid. The Doctor yells to Al to do as he told him, and Al grabs the sonic screwdriver from Sam’s coat and uses it to disrupt the aura that makes everyone see Sam as the person he leapt into…so that Sam himself is finally visible to everyone, including the Dalek.

Distracted by the sounds of battle, Anatoly tries to get the drop on Katya, but she is too quick and ends up killing him.

The Dalek then turns on the Doctor and chants that he will be exterminated. The Doctor yells to everyone else to get out, while he distracts the Dalek. Sam, Al, Amily and XP all back away while the Doctor stares the Dalek down, proving that he is not afraid. The Dalek fires its weapon…

…and the beam passes right through the Doctor. The Dalek is confused, and the Doctor smiles, taunting the Dalek that it’s hard to kill a hologram. The Doctor then cries out to Gooshie to center him on Sam. The Doctor vanishes, leaving the Dalek mystified, and furious.

The Doctor rematerializes by Sam and the others as they are making their way to the lab. Sam is bewildered to realize that the Doctor is a hologram whom they can all see. Al says that the Doctor helped Ziggy to reprogram things so that Sam was now tied into the Doctor’s brainwaves, and that they were able to use that link as a tether to allow Al to join them. Sam says that that sounds impossible, and the Doctor replies that they’ve never had brainwaves like his before.

They arrive at the lab and the TARDIS, but so does the Dalek. As it is about to attack, Gordian and Blaik suddenly arrive behind it wielding the vortex manipulator that they took earlier. The Doctor is confused–the device is not a weapon and can’t be used to time travel away from the Nullenvoid…but Sam has thought of that. It is useful for traveling in space as well as time, and while the others distract the Dalek, XP heroically attaches the vortex manipulator to the Dalek while the others distract it, and activates it. The Dalek is teleported in space to outside Pelican, where the forces of the Nullenvoid begin to crush it. Helpless, the Dalek drifts off into the distance, unable to do anything but scream…

However, the process has damaged the Pelican’s shields, and the station is on the verbe of being destroyed. The Doctor tells Sam and the group to get into the TARDIS. XP has been damaged in the battle with the Dalek, but is still operational, so Blaik carries it. Sam fumbles with the keys and Gordian tries to grab it, but Katya pushes him back–she knows that he hopes to use the TARDIS himself, and not help the others. She surmises correctly that he hopes to not just escape the Nullenvoid but to ecsape justice for his many crimes. Katya disarms Gordian–he was carrying a concealed weapon that he was going to use to kill Sam once the TARDIS was open. Gordian protests that that is nonsense, but then suddenly strikes back against Katya and takes her gun. He threatens everyone and demands that Sam open the TARDIS so he can escape. The Doctor says it’s too complicated to use but Gordian insists he’ll figure it out.

Cautiously, Sam opens the TARDIS, and it’s clear that Gordian intends to enter it without allowing anyone else to follow. Amily protests and moves to grab Gordian but he shoots and kills her; he quickly turns his gun on Sam but suddenly there is another shot and Gordian falls dead, having been shot down by Al (who brought his own weapon with him).

The station shudders as it is about to be destroyed. Just at that moment, both Sam and the Doctor start to glow and to writhe in agony–Sam has begun to leap! But whereas this process is usually instantaneous, because of the qualities of the Nullenvoid, it’s a lot harder for Sam to be pulled away, and its torturing him. Al is also desperate to not lose Sam again, and cries out for help from the Doctor.

The Doctor tells the group to enter the TARDIS. Once inside, the Leap is paused, with Sam still suffering in pain. The Doctor finds he cannot follow them inside–the imaging chamber at the Project cannot see inside the TARDIS, and so his hologram cannot enter there. He shouts out instructions which Blaik does his best to follow. Blaik isnt sure he can do it at first but with some help and encouragement he manages to figure out enough of the TARDIS to follow the Doctor’s instructions. He operates some of the TARDIS controls and plugs attaches Sam to the telepathic circuits. Suddenly, the whole TARDIS Quantum Leaps away. The Doctor vanishes from sight just as the Station explodes.

The TARDIS leaps in at Project Quantum Leap, to the astonishment of Gooshie and the staff. Elise (Mimi Kuzyk), Sam’s wife, has also arrived by this point. The Doctor races out of the Imaging Chamber and runs to the TARDIS, greeting it like an old friend. He opens the door and ushers all the survivors out–Katya, Blaik, XP, Al and Sam. Sam, though injured, is overjoyed to be there and greets his wife passionately. Al lights a cigar and looks on it satisfactorily.

Later, the group sit around at the Project dining room, as Sam eats a meal–he’s famished. XP has started a conversation with Ziggy, having become somewhat enamored with the computer. Sam shares that he has spent all these years leaping around, with Al’s guidance, but ever since the events of the last episode of the TV show, after Sam told Al’s wife Beth that Al was coming back home from Vietnam, Sam has been on his own–he no longer had Al’s insight or advice about what to do, or how things needed changing. Sam says that he thought he’d never see Al again. The Doctor explains that as best he can determine, Sam’s “official” timeline had him never coming home again (a nod to explain the text at the end of the last episode of Quantum Leap), but that the interference of Pelican Station and what the Doctor himself did with the TARDIS has snapped Sam back into his original timeframe. Sam says he can never thank the Doctor enough for what he’s done.

The Doctor announces it is time for him to leave, and to take the others back where they belong. He, Katya, Blaik and XP say farewell to Sam, Al and the others, and board the TARDIS and take off. Sam watches them leave, emotionally–he’s not used to seeing others leave like that.

Just then Al’s wife Beth (Susan Vanita Diol, or an older actress who looks like her) arrives. Al starts to introduce her to Sam before remembering that they have already met…twice. Sam, Al, Beth and Elise happily talk together when Elise gets a phone call. It’s Sam’s brother, Tom. Sam tears up joyfully as he speaks to him.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor attempts to program the TARDIS to take Blaik home. Blaik expresses disappointment–he thinks traveling with the Doctor further might be really interesting. Katya and XP express similar sentiments. The Doctor says its been a while since he traveled with anyone, so…maybe. The others press for an answer, and the Doctor simply smiles as the TARDIS continues its journey.

And there we go! Maybe this is my favorite one yet. Ah, what could have been (though probably never would have).

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