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The Best Episodes of Quantum Leap Season 3

Every episode of Quantum Leap Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Quantum Leap Season 3!

Binge this in 17h 14m•Peaking at 9.2/10

Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 1 - The Leap Home (1)
    9.2/10(988 votes)

    S3:E1

    November 25, 1969: As himself at the age of 16, Sam has the opportunity to both win the high school basketball championship and save his family from their sad fates.

    Director:Joe Napolitano
    Writer:Donald P. Bellisario

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  2. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 2 - The Leap Home (2): Vietnam
    9.1/10(912 votes)

    S3:E2

    April 7, 1970: As a Navy SEAL in his own brother's squad, Sam must determine whether he is there to save Tom's life or ensure the success of the mission on which his brother was killed. Also Al from 1970 was a P.O.W.

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writer:Donald P. Bellisario

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  3. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 22 - Shock Theater
    8.8/10(618 votes)

    S3:E22

    October 3, 1954: Leaping into Sam Bederman, a mental patient who is suffering from acute depression, Sam receives an overloaded electroshock treatment, which causes his Swiss-cheesed memory to be replaced by personas from previous leaps. Al, finding himself visible to the mentally absent, must try to complete Sam's mission, and convince him to take another shock treatment, in order to leap Sam out before contact is lost forever.

    Director:Joe Napolitano
    Writer:Deborah Pratt

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  4. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 13 - Future Boy
    8.1/10(536 votes)

    S3:E13

    October 6, 1957: Sam leaps Kenny Sharp, better known as "Future Boy," sidekick to Moe Stein, host of the kid's show, "Time Patrol," who also happens to be building a time machine in his basement. Unless Sam can prevent Moe's daughter from attempting to have her father committed, Moe is destined to be killed as he tries to hop a freight train.

    Director:Michael Switzer
    Writer:Tommy Thompson

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  5. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 19 - Last Dance Before an Execution
    8.1/10(480 votes)

    S3:E19

    May 12, 1971: "Just think of someplace far away" is the advice Sam hears as he leaps into Jesus Ortega, a Cuban-American being strapped into an electric chair. A last second stay of execution gives Sam just forty-eight hours to either prove himself innocent or fulfill his mission so that he can leap before the Big Switch is pulled

    Director:Michael W. Watkins
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 5 - The Boogieman
    8.0/10(680 votes)

    S3:E5

    October 31, 1964: Things do more than go bump in the night when Sam leaps into Joshua Raye, a horror novelist on Halloween. Although Ziggy claims he's there to prevent the death of a church deacon, things get even stranger when two more people die without warning.

    Director:Joe Napolitano
    Writer:Chris Ruppenthal

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  7. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 10 - A Little Miracle
    7.9/10(557 votes)

    S3:E10

    December 24, 1962: On Christmas Eve, Sam leap into Reginald Pierson, valet to a wealthy contractor, who is in danger of losing his soul in an attempt to demolish a Salvation Army mission, so he can build his "Blake's Plaza." Seeing a similarity to the Dickens's character, Sam and Al decide to "Scrooge" the greed out of the man.

    Director:Michael W. Watkins
    Writer:Sandy Fries

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  8. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 7 - Black on White on Fire
    7.8/10(573 votes)

    S3:E7

    August 11, 1965: Sam leaps into a black med. student engaged to a white woman in order to ensure that he and his fiancée survive the Watts Riot together.

    Director:Joe Napolitano
    Writer:Deborah Pratt

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  9. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 14 - Private Dancer
    7.8/10(539 votes)

    S3:E14

    October 6, 1979: An aspiring dancer working as a waitress in a strip club is in danger of being led into a life of prostitution unless Sam, as "Rod the Bod," can convince her to audition for a spot in a professional dance group. But, since she's deaf, the choreographer doesn't believe she has the time to give the young lady the attention she'll need.

    Director:Debbie Allen
    Writer:Paul Brown

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  10. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 17 - Glitter Rock
    7.6/10(545 votes)

    S3:E17

    April 12, 1974: Sam is a glitter rock star in danger of being stabbed to death after a performance, unless Sam can determine who, from a growing list of people, the real killer is.

    Director:Andy Cadiff
    Writer:Chris Ruppenthal

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  11. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 21 - Nuclear Family
    7.6/10(462 votes)

    S3:E21

    October 26, 1962: Sam finds himself the brother of a fallout shelter salesman during the Cuban Missile Crisis, where he must defuse a potentially explosive situation as panic sets in on the night of John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation.

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Paul Brown

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  12. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 11 - Runaway
    7.5/10(485 votes)

    S3:E11

    July 4, 1964: On a cross-country car trip, Sam, as 13-year-old Butchie, must contend with a sadistic older sister and a mother on the verge of running away from an unfulfilling marriage, in search of the feminine mystique.

    Director:Michael Katleman
    Writer:Paul Brown

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  13. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 6 - Miss Deep South
    7.4/10(517 votes)

    S3:E6

    June 7, 1958: As Darlene Monte, a contestant in the "Miss Deep South" beauty pageant, Sam must come to the aid of an innocent contender who faces disgrace when she poses for naughty pictures taken by a sleazy pageant photographer. As if things weren't bad enough, Sam must ensure that Darlene finishes third, so that she'll go on to become a doctor.

    Director:Christopher T. Welch
    Writer:Tommy Thompson

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  14. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 18 - A Hunting We Will Go
    7.4/10(489 votes)

    S3:E18

    June 18, 1976: It's the leap from hell as Sam, a bounty hunter handcuffed to a wily embezzler who will stop at nothing to get away from him, has to deal with his captive, as well as his attraction towards her, despite her countless attacks on him.

    Director:Andy Cadiff
    Writer:Beverly Bridges

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  15. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 12 - 8½ Months
    7.3/10(508 votes)

    S3:E12

    November 15, 1955: Billie Jean Crockett is a pregnant teenager who will make the second biggest mistake of her life - giving her baby up for adoption - unless Sam, as Billie Jean, can convince someone to help her raise her child... before he goes into labor himself

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Deborah Pratt

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  16. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 3 - Leap of Faith
    7.2/10(500 votes)

    S3:E3

    August 19, 1963: Sam finds himself in one holy mess as a priest in Philadelphia, trying to help an alcoholic priest deal with a killer and the death of a young parishioner.

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Tommy Thompson

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  17. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 8 - The Great Spontini
    7.2/10(491 votes)

    S3:E8

    May 9, 1974: Leaping into magician Harry Spontini, Sam has to prevent his estranged wife from taking their daughter away from him as she files for divorce, so she can marry her sleazy divorce attorney.

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writers:Beverly Bridges, Cristy Dawson

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  18. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 9 - Rebel without a Clue
    7.2/10(504 votes)

    S3:E9

    September 1, 1958: As "Bones," a member of a motorcycle gang, Sam is an uneasy rider who has to prevent a Jack Kerouac-inspired young woman from meeting her death on the road.

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Paul Brown

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  19. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 16 - Southern Comforts
    7.2/10(470 votes)

    S3:E16

    August 4, 1961: It's the best little cathouse in New Orleans. No, it's the Gilbert Labonte Sewin' & Quiltin' Academy. As the proprietor of this worthy establishment, Sam must prevent the mysterious death of a resident who doesn't belong there.

    Director:Chris Ruppenthal
    Writer:Tommy Thompson

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  20. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 15 - Piano Man
    7.1/10(497 votes)

    S3:E15

    November 10, 1985: Joey Dinardo is a lounge lizard on the run from mob hitmen. When Sam leaps in, his ex-girlfriend, and former musical partner have found him, and now both are on a run for their lives from a killer who seems to know their every move.

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Ed Scharlach

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  21. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 4 - One Strobe Over the Line
    7.0/10(489 votes)

    S3:E4

    June 15, 1965: Sam is a photographer who must protect a fashion model from a growing dependency on amphetamines and a predatory manager's ambitions.

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writer:Chris Ruppenthal

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  22. Quantum Leap Season 3 Episode 20 - Heart of a Champion
    7.0/10(440 votes)

    S3:E20

    July 23, 1955: The heart of a champion belongs to Ronnie, a professional wrestler, who will die if he competes in the title match. Sam, as his brother and new partner Terry, must convince him of his hidden health problem, while avoiding his own health problem - the jealous wrestler-husband of a woman who has taken an amorous interest in Sam.

    Director:Joe Napolitano
    Writer:Tommy Thompson

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"The Leap Home (1)" is the best rated episode of "Quantum Leap" season 3. It scored 9.2/10 based on 988 votes. Directed by Joe Napolitano and written by Donald P. Bellisario, it aired on 9/28/1990. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Leap Home (2): Vietnam".