“Genesis: Part II” is episode one of season one of Quantum Leap.
The episode, unlike the previous one, “Genesis”, starts with an introduction about how Dr Sam Beckett theorised that it was possible to time travel within your own lifetime, and that he now has to set right what once went wrong.
Sam is examining the X-2; it seems he’s going to have to fly it. And he can’t fly. Al appears, startling him. As Sam still doesn’t remember the project, Al gives what he calls the Dick & Jane explanation of the project and how Sam is travelling within his own lifetime. Sam vaguely remembers some stuff, but Al won’t tell him what year he’s from.
Al says Ziggy has a theory which Al thinks is crap. That God or time was waiting for Sam to leap in order to correct a mistake. Tom Stratton, whose life Sam leaped into, was killed trying to break Mach 3 in the X-2. If this is fixed, Sam will snap back after breaking Mach 3 and living.
Sam doesn’t like the theory. Al says the next one only has a 52% chance of working. Sam will take it. Al explains that it involves standing at ground zero of an atomic detonation. Sam will not take it. After that, the odds are in the low teens. The best shot is freezing the brain until all electrical activity has ceased. Sam points out that’s called death. The guaranteed way is not doing anything. Just live and he’ll be back in his own time in about 40 years. Tom will live forward from where he is now.
Sam tells Al he can’t fly. Al will be his co-pilot. Yes, he’s a hologram, but he’s also an ex-astronaut. The hardest parts are take-off and landing. The B-50 mothership does the first part. Sam asks about landing. Al tells them there’s no way Sam can ever land the X-2. So, don’t. After breaking Mach 3, eject. Sam says it might work. Al says of course it will. Sam reminds him that a minute ago, Al said the whole idea was crap.
That night, Peggy finds Sam by the phone. She thinks he’s worried about breaking the record tomorrow. She reassures him he will be the fastest man alive. But he has to promise her something. And he has to promise before she tells him what he’s promising. He does. She’ll tell him what he promised tomorrow night.
Peggy is with her friends when the B-50 takes off. Tony, flying the B-50, tells Sam that right before the X-2’s fire warning light went off, he could swear he smelt coffee brewing. Sam goes to get in the X-2, but there’s no Al. The X-2 is dropped and Sam is asked if there’s a problem. He can’t fly. Al tells him to relax; Al can. The Lakers game went into overtime, which is why he’s late. Not just a ball game, but a playoff game. At the party afterwards, he met a dish called Martha. Sam supposes he should be relieved Al didn’t spend the night. It seems he did.
Two of the rockets are ignited and the X-2 gets up to Mach 2. The third rocket is ignited and Sam hears a sound, and the fire warning light comes on. Sam says Tony didn’t smell coffee brewing; he heard what sounded like a coffee percolator. The heat is boiling the fuel.
The X-2 does manage to get to Mach 3, and Sam manages to eject before it crashes in pieces. Picked up afterwards, he talks to Al – whilst the doctor examining Sam thinks Sam is talking to him – wanting to know why he hasn’t leaped now Tom Stratton is safe. Al suggests trying the bomb theory. Or perhaps he’ll leap back when he least expects it. Sam tries to work out just why he’s there and what he needs to do. It turns out there is something.
The last part of the episode does give the impression a bit that the pilot ended up shorter than intended.