One thing in space shuttle historical past wants altering.
Or in order that appears to be case within the second episode of “Quantum Leap” airing Monday (Sept. 26) on NBC. Titled “Atlantis,” the episode finds physicist Ben Tune (Raymond Lee) headed into orbit aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in 1998 (opens in new tab).
A continuation of the unique collection that ran from 1989 to 1993, the brand new present picks up 30 years after Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now, a brand new crew, led by Tune and assisted by Addison Augustine (Caitlin Bassett), who seems within the type of a hologram that solely Tune can see and listen to, leaps by historical past from life to life, placing proper what as soon as went incorrect.
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“Our complete room is tremendous into sci-fi and tremendous into space, and these reveals are written as a gaggle,” showrunner Martin Gero instructed collectSPACE.com in an interview. “So everybody contributed magnificently [to this episode].”
Gero mentioned it was not simply Lee who was dwelling vicariously by his character’s flip as an astronaut.
“Simply with Raymond, effectively, everybody desires of being an astronaut, proper? There isn’t any one who hasn’t considered it simply casually — I imply, some individuals clearly obsess about it greater than most, and they become astronauts (opens in new tab) — however seeing the forged get to don the entire [spacesuit] tools, it was a lot enjoyable for everybody,” he mentioned.
In a video promo launched by NBC, Lee and his Atlantis crewmates, performed by José Zúñiga (“Commander Jim Reynolds”), Carly Pope (“Samantha Stratton”) and Leith Burke (“Max Everett”), are seen sporting superior crew escape fits (ACES), the bright orange pressure garments (opens in new tab) worn by space shuttle astronauts for launch and re-entry. Lee can also be seen donning an EMU, the extravehicular mobility unit, or spacesuit, worn by crew members to carry out spacewalks.
Space shuttle Atlantis (opens in new tab), itself, is proven within the promo lifting off — utilizing footage from the precise STS-122 mission in 2008 — after which in orbit round Earth.
“[The scenes] encapsulate the fun and awe and majesty of the space shuttle period, and that is what we tried to do with this episode,” mentioned Gero.
Robert Yowell, a former space shuttle flight controller who served as a technical advisor for the episode, agreed.
“I used to be at Johnson Space Center working in Mission Management in 1998. It was an thrilling time,” he mentioned. “I am glad that this little snippet type of captures that, from the second of launch to the very finish of the episode.”
“Atlantis” marks the second time that “Quantum Leap” has crossed over with NASA historical past. The primary space-themed episode aired as a part of the unique collection and concerned a special sort of astronaut.
In “The Mistaken Stuff,” Sam Beckett (Bakula) leaps into “Bobo,” a chimpanzee that NASA is coaching for a potential spaceflight on Jan. 24, 1961. The episode is loosely primarily based on NASA’s use of nice apes to show that space journey was protected for people earlier than launching the Mercury astronauts.
NASA launched two chimpanzees: “Ham” aboard Mercury-Redstone 2 on Jan. 31, 1961, and “Enos” on Mercury-Atlas 5 on Nov. 29, 1961.
Regardless of the brand new collection being a continuation, fairly than a reboot of “Quantum Leap,” Gero mentioned to not anticipate a nod in “Atlantis” linking the 2 NASA-inspired episodes.
“We did discuss that, as a result of that is such a enjoyable episode,” he mentioned. “However I believe for us, we’re looking for a stability between having this be our personal present and but being respectful and placing in as many easter eggs as we will from the unique.”
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