Promised Land – Episode 86

Promised Land was the eleventh episode of Quantum Leap’s fifth season to air, with Sam leaping back to his home town of Elk Ridge, IN to try and help save the lives and land of his neighbours, who have taken drastic action. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss business ethics.



Sam leaps into Willie Walters, the middle son of a farming family set to lose their land after the death of the patriarch, his father, and the decision by the oldest brother, Neil (Dwier Brown) to take an onerous loan from local banker Gus Vernon (Jonathan Hogan). In a desperate attempt to avoid that, the two – along with youngest brother John (Chris Stacy) are attempting to rob Vernon’s bank of enough money to pay him off.


With hostages in situ, including tellers Beth (Elizabeth Dennehy), Carrie (Kellie Overbey) and Cindy (Elizabeth Rainey) and older couple Stan & Lila Pierce (Charles & Marion Dugan), Sheriff Mundy (Arlen Dean Snyder) must be careful as he manages the situation. Meanwhile, Cindy’s husband, Carl (James C. Victor) tries to take matters into his own hands.


Promised Land was directed by Scott Bakula, the last of his three episodes behind the camera. The writer was Gillian Horvath, her only script for the show, with an assist to Tommy Thompson, the twelfth of his thirteen writing credits.


In this episode Gerry and Iain considered conclusive evidence.


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You can listen to the show here on the website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher, Google or wherever you find your podcasts.


Promised Land was released in 1992. It is 47 minutes long and originally aired on the NBC network. It can be viewed on NBC’s Peacock streaming service in the UK and in the United States. The show is available on DVD and Blu Ray in other countries.