A Leap Into Fan’s Hearts : With Its First Official Convention and a Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony, Viewers Serve Notice That TV Show Has Made . . .

Trekkies, look out: The Leapers are coming.

“Quantum Leap”ers, that is--ardent fans of NBC’s time-travel anthology series about physicist Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), who, as the victim of an experiment gone awry, each week leaps into the body of a different character to alter that person’s life for the better, aided by a former astronaut named Al (Dean Stockwell) who appears as a hologram.

What the Leapers may lack in numbers--”Star Trek,” after all, does have a two-decade-plus head start--they more than make up for in energy and enthusiasm. When “Quantum Leap” was in ratings trouble after moving from Wednesday to Friday night in the 1990-91 season, fans bombarded NBC with thousands of protest letters, prompting a return to its original night and a commercial acknowledging their efforts.

Fans wanted Stockwell to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over 1 1/2 year’s time, they raised $2,400--half its cost--and did so by recycling, because the actor is an environmentalist. Stockwell himself finally kicked in the remaining $2,400. One fan even persuaded the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to unveil the star Saturday (Leap Day, get it?), even though such ceremonies usually occur only on weekdays. And Sunday, viewers from all over the country and as far away as Australia are expected to descend upon the Universal Hilton for the first Official “Quantum Leap” Convention.

Devotees keep up with these and other goings-on through a computer network and several fanzines, among them Quantum Quarterly, Project Quantum Leap and the Imaging Chamber. There are also comic books based on the show.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this, on this scale before,” says star Scott Bakula, who recently was given a Golden Globe for his role. “It’s extraordinary. When you do theater, you get a following of fans, people who see the show more than 10 times. But it’s a lot easier to turn on the TV than fork out $50 or $60” for a play.

Bakula believes that the series, which first aired in March, 1989, has attracted such a fervent following because, he says, “The devotees of cop shows have many more cop shows every year to get involved with, but there are so few fantasy or science-fiction shows that those fans kind of glom onto it. When we first came on, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Alien Nation’ were going off. So we were kind of ‘it’ for a while. If you’re lucky enough to appeal to the fans, they tend to be ardent and vital. And they were there when we needed them.”

One such fan is Quantum Quarterly creator-editor Christina Mavroudis of San Jose, an executive secretary and word processor for a Silicon Valley software manufacturer.

Mavroudis, a former Northridge resident, says she was hooked after watching the pilot. “I was so impressed by the quality of the show, and its humanistic values,” she recalls. “I was completely captivated. Here was an actor completely unafraid to show his emotions--he heard the voice of his father, dead for many years, and started crying. Then, when he leaped into the body of a secretary in the first half of the second season, I could immediately relate. He was an actor not afraid to show every aspect, good and bad, of being a woman.”

Mavroudis, 31, who had previously worked on “Star Trek” publications, launched her Quantum Quarterly two years ago. The fanzine includes news about the show, its cast and producers, reprints of items published elsewhere, photos, reader comments and classified ads. Its nearly 1,000 subscribers hail not only from North America, but Germany, Japan, Russia, Australia and New Zealand. “These friends are what keep me going,” she says. “I’m not doing this for money--I only charge $1.50 an issue.”

A single mother of a 10-year-old, Mavroudis also uses the show as a teaching tool. “My daughter Emily and I tape and watch the show together as much as possible,” she says. “In the episode about the Watts riots, where there were people in rage who weren’t going to take any more, she didn’t understand, and the show explained it more than I could. Afterward, we discussed racism at length.”

The series also struck an immediate chord for Gila Weinstein, a 30-something administrative assistant and word processor from Sherman Oaks. A movie buff, Weinstein had heard that Dean Stockwell was looking for a good copy of his early film “The Boy With Green Hair.” She telephoned the “Quantum Leap” set at Universal to say she had one--and five minutes later received a call from Stockwell, inviting her to visit the set and have lunch with him.

“I’ve lived in Los Angeles all my life, and see actors all the time, and I’ve never done anything like this,” she says. “But I was so enamored of the show--the way it’s executed, the acting, the production values, I wanted to be a part of it. Living 10 or 15 minutes away from Universal, I thought I should.” She has since visited the set several times on Quantum Quarterly business, written to both Stockwell and Bakula, and, upon suffering a disabling back injury, received a get-well letter from the show’s creator-executive producer, Don Bellisario.

Both women, who have become friends through their common interest, participated in the letter-writing campaign that resulted in the show’s return to Wednesday. And both are involved in this weekend’s events. It was Mavroudis who campaigned for a Leap Day star unveiling, and persuaded Universal--via another round of fan letters--to hold the “Quantum Leap” convention the next day so that budget-minded out-of-towners would not have to choose between the two events.

Tomorrow morning’s star ceremony, in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, will be followed by a luncheon there that includes a retrospective of Stockwell’s career, a script-autographing session, commemorative sweat shirts and recognition of a North Carolina viewer who raised the most money, almost $400, by recycling.

Stockwell, who as a child star was no stranger to fandom, had not previously been enthusiastic about Walk of Fame recognition. “But,” he says, “when I heard of the fans’ idea to acquire the star in this way, I got excited.” He looks upon the luncheon as “an opportunity to thank the fans, one on one.

“I’ve found the hard-core ‘Quantum Leap’ fans pretty fascinating,” he says. “Not only are they aware of every detail in the show--more than we are--but they have creative questions. They’re attuned to the show, and they point out things that make for good drama but that are, in fact, mistakes on our part. We justify those by saying that they come under the heading of the rules of time travel under Don Bellisario.”

Sunday’s convention came about in part as a way for Universal to share the show with those fans on a more intimate level, according to Universal officials. And true to form, some viewer suggestions are being used, according to Adam Malin, president and co-producer of Creation Entertainment, the company staging the event. Malin, who with partner Gary Berman also has produced events for “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and “Terminator 2,” has been working on it with “Quantum Leap” co-executive producer Deborah Pratt.

Creation Entertainment, which was based in New York, moved to Glendale this week.

On tap at the convention are editing and special-effects presentations, a no-minimum-bid charity auction of series-related items, a fashion show of costumes by the show’s designer, Jean-Pierre Dorleac, modeled by the guest stars who wore them, a seminar detailing an episode’s creation, and trivia and look-alike contests. The real-life Bakula and Stockwell will appear in a question-and-answer session near the end of the day, along with Bellisario and Pratt.

Not surprisingly, there also will be a session on how to become a “Quantum Leap” fan. Die-hards and new converts can commemorate the day with a merchandising bonanza, ranging from the customary lapel pins, posters and satin jackets to doorknob hangers, trivets and two products--a mug and a T-shirt--with changing images.

Depending on how this convention goes, the “Quantum” get-togethers could become an annual event, according to organizers. Either way, the fans will continue to spread the “Quantum Leap” gospel. Says Weinstein, “We have to get people to see that this is not a gimmicky science-fiction show. It’s about friendship and faith and choices, and how we can make a difference in the world by being decent and upbeat. It’s an intelligent, feel-good show.”

Dean Stockwell’s star will be unveiled in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard at 11:30 a.m. Saturday . Reservations for the post-ceremony luncheon are closed. The “Quantum Leap” Convention is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Universal Hilton. Admission is $15.50 at TicketMaster (plus $3 service charge) and $18 at the door; preferred seating still available in advance, $35; children 12 and younger, $5. Call (818) 972-9620 or (818) 409-0960.