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Summary
September 13, 1956/Summer, 1968: Sam must fly the X-2 and survive, save the life of Peg and her unborn child and win a baseball game - all while attempting to piece together the fragments of his swiss-cheese memory.
Plot
Sam is walking around the hangar at the Air Force base, inspecting the X-2 he is scheduled to fly on Monday, when Al appears. Al explains to Sam the "string theory of time travel", how the Imaging chamber functions and who precisely is controlling Sam's leaps - an unseen force, whether it be God or time or fate. Al also tells him that Tom Stratton was killed while attempting to fly the X-2 to Mach-3 so all Sam has to do to leap is survive the flight. Despite Sam's reservations, Al assures him that he was once a pilot and he will help guide him through the entire exercise. Sam begins to accept the plan.
As Monday arrives, Sam returns to the Air Force base to submit his memory test. Doctors Ernst and Berger inspect the submission and find that it is filled with bizarre answers that suggest Sam is from the future. The two conclude that the entire memory loss theory was simply a joke all along.
As Sam steps into the X-2, he becomes nervous as Al is nowhere to be seen. The X-2 is lowered from another plane and launched into the sky. Sam starts to panic and attempts to tell his operators that he cannot fly, until Al shows up and instructs him on how to steer the X-2. As it starts to speed up beyond Mach-1 and Mach-2, the X-2 begins experiencing turbulence. The warning light flares on the instrument panel, informing Sam he has a fire. Al urgently tells Sam to eject.
Moments later, the X-2 explodes in the sky, and the debris crashes to the ground. The sound of the distant explosion shocks Peg, who is in the kitchen of her home, worried for her husband. Sam, however, managed to eject from the plane in time and floats safely to earth in a parachute. An entire crew of Air Force paramedics rush out to collect him. Sam is frustrated that, despite accomplishing his mission, he has still not leaped.
Sam is taken to the hospital, where he is told that Peg went into premature labour after hearing the X-2 explosion. The hospital doctors tell him that, once labour begins, it cannot be stopped, so that the baby will need to be delivered prematurely even though it is unlikely to survive. Sam, remembering that he has medical knowledge from the future, knows this notion has been proven false and instructs them to administer an alcoholic solution intravenously to Peg. The procedure works successfully. Peg is inebriated and the the labour stops. Sam gives the thumbs-up signal to Mikey and Birdell, assuring them that Peg and the baby are okay. Then, suddenly, he leaps.
Sam finds himself in 1968, having leaped into baseball player, Tim Fox. His team are playing the final game of the season and, according to Al, are destined to lose. Sam asks Al why he didn't leap, but Al and Ziggy are still unsure. Sam now knows, however, that he is a medical doctor. Al tells him that, actually, Sam holds six doctorates, his speciality being in quantum physics. He reveals that Sam is the architect of the project and the only one who can figure out how to get himself home. Sam is despondent, as he can't even remember his own last name. Al tells him it is "Beckett".
Armed with his knowledge, Sam is able to phone his home at Elk Ridge, Indianna, and have a tearful conversation with his father, John Beckett. Sam now realises that his ability to travel in time is a gift, and ponders what greater things he might be able to accomplish in his travels.
As Sam returns to the field to bat, the coach tells him it is his last game and he is badly hoping they will win. Sam is now determined to change history and win the game. Sam does not manage to hit the ball, though due to unexpected fumbling and mishaps from the opposing team, Sam does manage to score on a dropped third strike, and three throwing errors to win the game. His entire team laud Sam as a hero, and Sam leaps...
Actor Notes
Bakula's own voice is overdubbed over the actor playing young Sam. The same actor would return to play young Sam as the mirror reflection in the episode The Leap Back, but the actor playing Sam's father would not return for that episode; Bakula would play that character himself in a dual role.
Character Notes
We learn Sam's last name for the first time (Beckett), and learn that he grew up in Elk Ridge, Indiana.
The Science of Leaping
We learn in this episode for the first time that Al doesn't have a reflection in the mirror, since holograms don't reflect; however, we also learn that dogs can see Al.
Music
- Yellow Rose Of Texas