Classic Ratings Review: QUANTUM LEAP (Season Two - 1989-90)

in March of 1989. QL had only two main characters, Dr. Sam Becket, played by Scott Backula (NCIS: NEW ORLEANS), and Al Calavicci, played by Dean Stockwell (BATTLE STAR GALACTICA). The premise was simple, Dr, Sam Becket was leaping from person to person (one per week), traveling through time. Only AL could communicate with him, via a a Hologram.

During its first fall on TV, Quantum leap regularly placed last in its Wednesday, 10 PM time slot, behind ABC's CHINA BEACH and CBS' WISEGUY. It took a while for the series to start getting more and more popular, but never became the "hit we remember. It always ranked in the lower half of the weekly chart and more times than not, was n the lower third of the rankings.

Yes, averaging 15.2 million viewers for a season seems impressive, but when you compare it to what shows were getting back then, it was very "average." For instance, COSBY would gran 35 million viewers per week. Drama LA LAW , a top 20 show, drew 25_+ million viewers per week.

Its best week of the season was the first week of the 1990 February sweeps, where it brought in 18.1 million viewers. Its worst week was December 13, 1989, where it collected under 13 million viewers.

Although it didn't get the bigger ratings, QUANTUM LEAP is still remembered and watched today, and fans are hoping for some sort of reboot of the franchise. That is not being said about CHINA BEACH or WISEGUY, today.

Live+Same Day Ratings
 (Wednesdays at 10 p.m., on NBC)

Date	P2*	HH Rating	HH SHare	Rank
09/20/1989	13.50	9.7	17	63
09/27/1989	13.00	9.5	17	62
10/04/1989	preempted
10/11/1989	14.10	9.9	18	62
10/18/1989	preempted
10/25/1989	14.30	10.0	18	61
11/01/1989	13.10	9.4	16	68
11/08/1989	15.30	10.3	19	57
11/15/1989	14.00	9.8	18	61
11/22/1989	15.80	10.4	20	56
11/29/1989	16.90	12.0	22	47
12/06/1989	13.40	9.8	18	61
12/13/1989	12.90	9.1	16	69
12/20/1989^	16.90	11.1	20	48
12/27/1989	preempted
01/03/1990	15.60	10.5	18	56
01/10/1990	16.80	11.6	21	53
01/17/1990	14.70	10.1	19	61
01/24/1990	17.60	12.20	22	42
01/31/1990^	14.50	10.6	18	53
02/07/1990	18.10	12.5	23	48
02/14/1990	17.00	11.2	20	52
02/21/1990^	13.10	9.6	15	63
02/28/1990	preempted
03/07/1990	17.00	11.7	21	44
03/14/1990	14.80	10.2	19	56
03/21/1990	preempted
03/28/1990	16.90	11.2	21	51
04/04/1990	17.00	11.9	22	41
04/11/1990^	13.70	9.9	18	55
04/18/1990	preempted
04/25/1990	preempted
05/02/1990	14.20	10.2	18	54
05/09/1990	15.60	11.0	19	44
AVG	15.18	10.6	19	55

* - viewers in millions
^ - repeat episode