The Color of Truth - August 8, 1955 - S1-E7
Continuity mistake: When Sam leaves the jail after the Sheriff has released him from custody, we can see Sam's reflection, not Jesse Tyler's, in the window on the door as it swings shut behind Sam.
The Color of Truth - August 8, 1955 - S1-E7
Visible crew/equipment: The shadow of the camera is visible on the car's hood when Al is trying to convince Mrs. Melanie not to go after Sam. It lingers there for a while in the shot.
The Color of Truth - August 8, 1955 - S1-E7
Factual error: The episode takes place in Alabama, however when Sam and the old lady are in the cemetery before Al shows up, there are mountains in the background.
Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953 - S1-E9
Revealing mistake: After Sam nearly falls down the elevator shaft, the scene fades and comes back in with Sam speaking to the landlord about the incident. The landlord brushes off Sam's hat with his hand and hands it to him. The brushing motion was played in reverse first to extend the length of the action.
Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953 - S1-E9
Revealing mistake: Sam opens his left hand when talking to Al at the beginning. His reflection does not. His reflection just points his finger.
Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953 - S1-E9
Revealing mistake: Sam is getting shot at in the aircraft hanger. He hides behind a yellow machine and a bullet hits it. The bullet produces a flash but leaves no mark where it hits. A real bullet would have left a gash at the least.
Play It Again, Seymour - April 14, 1953 - S1-E9
Continuity mistake: The cut on Sam's face from the bullet is larger than the one on his counterpart's face.
Honeymoon Express - April 27, 1960 - S2-E1
Factual error: The date is April 27, 1960, and Al says the Francis Powers U-2 spy plane will be shot down in two days, namely April 29, but the plane was actually shot down on May 1, 1960, four days after the episode.
Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976 - S2-E2
Audio problem: When Sam says "I'd rather be dead," his lips don't move in sync with the words. (00:01:35)
Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976 - S2-E2
Factual error: In this episode that takes place in April of 1976, everyone sits around watching an episode of Saturday Night Live with Bill Murray on it. Murray didn't join the cast until 1977.
Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976 - S2-E2
Audio problem: When Chris is performing, and we see his dad watching, one of the scenes has poor audio sync. The music is ahead of his singing.
Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976 - S2-E2
Continuity mistake: Sam is buttoning up his shirt while at the bar. His hands are about halfway down his shirt. Cut and we see him from another angle. His hands are now down.
Disco Inferno - April 1, 1976 - S2-E2
Factual error: The episode takes place April 1, 1976, and Sam performs a stunt for the "Earthquake" movie featuring Charlton Heston, but Earthquake was released in 1974, so was filmed long before 1976.
The Americanization of Machiko - August 4, 1953 - S2-E3
Factual error: In the scene where the guy is telling Machiko about the major league teams that wanted him, he mentions the Indians, Yankees, and Orioles. The episode is set in 1953 and the story is from before World War II. While there had been a minor league team called the Orioles up to that point, there was no major league team called the Orioles until 1954.
The Americanization of Machiko - August 4, 1953 - S2-E3
Factual error: The episode takes place in rural Ohio, however several times in the distance, large mountains are visible. Ohio has hills, but not large mountains.
The Americanization of Machiko - August 4, 1953 - S2-E3
Revealing mistake: When Sam is first looking at his reflection of himself in the glass at the beginning of the episode, the items behind his reflection do not match his point of view. A man walks through the shot and never leaves the frame, however is gone when the shot flips back to Sam.
What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961 - S2-E4
Continuity mistake: When Sam goes out of the window to save Gloria, part of the ledge breaks off, but in the near shots it is broken off almost to the corner near Gloria, while in the shots from below most of the ledge is still intact. (00:35:45)
What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961 - S2-E4
Revealing mistake: When Sam is getting ready with the other woman, the shoes on the floor do not match in the reflection. Their position is off.
What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961 - S2-E4
Revealing mistake: Sam and the other woman are staring at their reflections while Sam is getting ready. Notice where the woman with darker hair is standing in relation to Sam. Their mirror images are further apart. The woman with darker hair also has her head tilted to the right slightly. Her mirror image doesn't.
Blind Faith - February 6, 1964 - S2-E5
Factual error: In the opening scene it is 1964 in New York City. A shot through Brooklyn Bridge shows the World Trade Center towers in the background. The Trade Center was not started until 1968 and not completed until 1973.
Chosen answer: Per the Quantum leap page at http://www.scifi.com/quantum/episodes/season5.html. 8 August 1953: An enigmatic leap lands Sam in a Pennsylvania tavern, as his own grown self on the day of his birth. As Al and Gushie work frantically to locate him, Sam befriends a wise bartender (popular character actor McGill, who'd appeared in a different role in the very first "leap") and a group of coal miners. As a host of familiar-looking faces pass through the bar - with different identities than Sam remembers - Sam ponders his life of leaping with Al the bartender, who tells Sam he controls his own destiny. Pressed for more, Al the bartender simply shrugs and says, "Sometimes, 'that's the way it is' is the best explanation." Sam realizes he must right at least one more wrong before he can go home, and leaps back to tell Al Calvavicci's wife Beth (from "M.I.A.") to wait for Al, who will survive Vietnam and come home to her. The closing title cards state that Beth and Al have four daughters and will shortly celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary ... and that Sam Beckett never returned home.
Boobra