243 replies to this topic

[Jessica Renee]

So here's hopin.
I just started watching Sliders recently. I was only about 12 when it first came out so it was a no go. Fast forward ten years and now it's on Sci-fi. Woohoo. I have fallen in love with this show. Well the first three seasons anyway. I'm reading and watching anything I can get my hands on. Fanfiction, episode guides, all the stuff.

So the deal is, Are there any other Sliders fans out there still? And if there are, does anyone know of any current sites out there? All the fanfiction sites I have found are old old old. Some haven't been updated in years. The broken links are so depressing. A whole lot of the stuff I have found is absolutely wonderful and I'm really hoping to find some more.

[ciscokidinsf]

Me!Me!Me! Loved 'Sliders' although for some reason I only watched 2 seasons, some people thought it was ripping off 'Quantum Leap' but I found it enourmously entertaining. Jerry O'Connell was not grating yet, Neither John Ryes Davies (before it got on my nerves in Voyager. I think I watched to the point where the professor dies.

I need an episode guide... my memory ain't what it used to...

Glad it is on Skiffy, maybe I can TiVo it.

How come the last season jumped the shark? what happened?

[Polter-Cow]

Yay! I was so baffled by the lack of Sliders thread! I loved the show when it was on Fox or the WB or whatever network it was on before SciFi. I never saw it on SciFi, cause it was all weird and not the same show.

[Cleo256]

Loved 'Sliders' although for some reason I only watched 2 seasons

You didn't miss much. The third season was pretty awful, IMHO. I remember the fan forum I was on at the time, we made our own fun by identifying which movie they were ripping off each week.

I caught the first part of the fourth season, the first one on Sci-Fi, and I thought it had improved. Yeah, the Kromag stuff was weird, but at least the show had an arc and a purpose. And some of the non-arc episodes were pretty decent.

How come the last season jumped the shark? what happened?

Jerry O'Connell left. That was it for me, so I really have no opinion on the fifth season's quality. The new woman that joined the cast then seemed appealing, but I checked out.

Anyway, what a disappointing show it was. The first season had so much promise. Sometimes when the commercials came, I'd actually be jarred by the transition into our own reality, because the alternate worlds were so compelling.

The second season was lesser, but I came to appreciate it more after the third season. Yow.

[coleoptera]

the show's decline in quality started in season 3 with the Professor dying. the continual replacing of the characters got sillier and sillier (it's Quinn's brother! it's Quinn's double!). I don't think I've seen much of the Sci-Fi years, but I didn't think the whole "Kromag" thing was particularly compelling. I was more into the alternate Earth thing, which they pretty much gave up on about halfway through the series. I liked some of the episodes in season 3, though. the Christmas one is one of my favorites. and to go to the shallow end, Jerry O'Connell is quite the nummy treat.

now, where's the DVD sets?

[Promethea]

I liked the Kromaggs, but Quinn's brother and Guy Who Wasn't Quinn Except He Was were awful. The black female character in the last series could potentially have been good, but by that point it was almost entirely a different show and I'd given up. I would like to rewatch the earlier seasons though.

[lurkie]

Try here tvtome

episode guides and more...

[lurkie]

tv tome

sorry, try this one...

[Aatrek]

Earth Prime and The Dimension of Continuity are pretty much the most comprehensive Sliders resources that exist. EP even has an interview with Cleavant Derricks, which is pretty revealing - but cool.

I'm pretty well-versed in most things Sliders, so if anybody has any questions, feel free to ask.

Some basic show info to start:

S1 - 4: Jerry O'Connell as Quinn Mallory
S1 - 3: John Rhys-Davis as Prof. Maximillian Arturo
S1 - 3: Sabrina Lloyd as Wade Kathleen Welles
S1 - 5: Cleavant Derricks as Rembrandt "Cryin' Man" Brown
S3 - 5: Kari Wuhrer as Captain Margaret "Maggie" Beckett
S4: Charlie O'Connell as Colin Mallory
S5: Tembi Locke as Dr. Diana Davis
S5: Robert Floyd as Mallory

Season One: FOX, March - May 1995
Season Two: FOX, March - June 1996
Season Three: FOX, Sept. 1996 - May 1997
Season Four: SciFi, June 1998 - May 1999
Season Five: SciFi, June 1999 - January 2000

Edited by Aatrek, Apr 9, 2004 @ 11:36 PM.

[Warden]

the show's decline in quality started in season 3 with the Professor dying. the continual replacing of the characters got sillier and sillier (it's Quinn's brother! it's Quinn's double!).

The first season I loved and was even more overjoyed when the second one came out. The third I found a bit lacking especially after Arturo was killed off by Rickman. The Kromaggs were interesting and I'm glad they followed that storyline but after they stopped carrying SCIFI in my area I lost interest for the final seasons which in watching in reruns doesn't seem like much.

[Naxus]

I loved Sliders. It was my favorite show when it first came on. I used to watch it in the den with whatever other family members happened to be around. I remember the first season cliffhanger where Quinn got shot, and then the show disappeared for like six months. I was so, so happy when it came back.

I also remember making fun of the whole 'ripping off movies' thing, namely at the end of S3, when pretty much everyone in the room called them on their shamelessly undisguised rip-off of The Island of Dr. Moreau.

[Cleo256]

Didn't they used to slip in commercials from the various alternate Earths during the commerical breaks?

Not during the commercial breaks, I don't think. But they did show commercials from the alternate realities during the show.

The best episodes were always alternate societies, where you really got the sense that this could be our world if people were just a little different. There were also some decent episodes where something impossible happens, but you see how society has adapted to include it (Here I'm thinking of "In Dino Veritas", where Dinosaurs are endangered species in a wildlife preserve).

The ones that stunk were the category I called "plots rejected from The X-Files". More than once, there was nothing different about the world they slid to except that something freaky and X-Files-esque was going on, and even the natives weren't used to it.

I don't think I've ever wished so hard for a show to be better as I did with this one.

Edited by Cleo256, Apr 10, 2004 @ 1:24 AM.

[bigmonster]

I loved this show when it first came on. I convinced my wife to name our first son Quinn. I just loved the whole alternate-history feel of this show, at first it was like a different Harry Turtledove Novel every week. Of course, I saw how it went downhill after it left Fox, but I even followed it through the first Sci-Fi season. For some reason I lost interest after that. Maybe it was that the show sucked by then.

[Naxus]

I don't think I've ever wished so hard for a show to be better as I did with this one.

Right there with ya. I guess I was only about 12 when the show first started, but after I got older and started watching the show in syndication and all that, I had to admit 'Hey, this show really isn't that good, is it?' But I think it was a very likeable show, due largely to the cast. You're right, though, it could have really benefited from better writing.

I was very sad when the professor died, but after the show moved to Sci-Fi I lost track of it. I don't think we got Sci-Fi then. So I didn't see the last couple of seasons until maybe 2 years ago. I had no idea what was going on with the whole 'Quinn/Mallory' thing. I was like "Where's Jerry O'Connell?"

And I had no idea what had happened to Wade. When I finally saw "Requiem," that also made me pretty sad. But I'm glad they finally gave Wade an actual exit, even if it wasn't actually Sabrina Lloyd. Oh, now I just got sad, realizing that 3 out of the original 4 fell along the way. Arturo getting shot; Quinn getting, uh, fused or whatever the hell happened to him; and Wade getting stuck in glass Kromagg breeding-tube thing and then blowing herself up.

Rembrandt was the only one who stuck around. And then there's that damn cliffhanger ending. All I can say is, damn all cliffhanger endings to all TV shows.

Edited by Naxus, Apr 10, 2004 @ 4:04 AM.

[Aatrek]

And I had no idea what had happened to Wade. When I finally saw "Requiem," that also made me pretty sad. But I'm glad they finally gave Wade an actual exit, even if it wasn't actually Sabrina Lloyd.

Actually, while a body double was used, Sabrina Lloyd did take time off from Sports Night to do all the voice work for Requiem.

[Bitterswete]

Am I the only person alive who actually liked season 5? I mean, I missed Quinn. (The real Quinn.) But I liked Dianna, and Mallory was okay. I liked it that one of the "girls" was the smart one. And I also liked that the two female characters could be friends, because they weren't fighting over a guy.

[Airisu]

[nostalgic violin music playing] Aw ... Sliders used to be my absolute favourite show a long time ago. I remember I had a school-girl crush on Jerry O'Connell as Quinn, but like several other posters, I started skipping many episodes after the Professor died and the series started going down-hill. [end music]

Maggie was extremely grating, and the Kro-Mag storyline was just kinda boring. After Wade was gone and even Cute!Quinn disappeared, my days of casual watching were much ended. I still caught a couple of episodes every now and then, but I don't really recall much of them at all. I think I actually watched the ending, but there isn't even a vague memory of what happened. Except that it was pretty confusing, sucky and inconclusive. :P

[Naxus]

Sabrina Lloyd did take time off from Sports Night to do all the voice work for Requiem.

Really? I don't even remember her having much of a speaking part. But that's cool of her.


I also liked Dianna. And Mallory was okay, although I don't know that I like the Quinn-fusion storyline (they spent the entire season going 'Hey, maybe we can get him back/But maybe not/But we have to try' and then at the end it's pretty much 'Oh, I guess we can't'). I even liked Maggie.

[Cleo256]

But I think it was a very likeable show, due largely to the cast.

I agree that the cast was likable. Which is why it pissed me off so much whenever a cast member left, and they got replaced with someone less likable. And then you'd just start to like that new person, and someone else would leave.

I mean, I hated Maggie at first. But after the move to Sci-Fi, I warmed to her. And I missed Wade, but Quinn's brother was pretty instantly likable. And then when the O'Connell brothers both left, I just gave up.

Nothing against Cleavant Derricks. He's very likable as Rembrandt. But he just wasn't enough to keep me around.

Am I the only person alive who actually liked season 5?

The first thing I'll admit is that I didn't even watch S5. So I don't have any legitimate complaints about its quality. But I felt like I'd given the show a huge pass for a long time, and their inability to keep their star was the last straw.

[TemporalFlux]

Here's a quick note I haven't seen mentioned. Universal is planning to release Sliders on DVD. Commentaries for at least the pilot movie have already been recorded, and other items like unaired footage were being collected. How much of that will see the light of day is still up in the air, but I don't see why they wouldn't use the work that's already been gathered and completed.

Anyway, keep an eye out. With the Quantum Leap DVD set coming on June 8th, I imagine a Sliders set can't be far behind.

For further information on the Sliders DVD timeline and developments, look to the DVD FAQ at Gate Haven: http://www.sliderswe...r/about/faq.htm

[qu0s]

Universal is planning to release Sliders on DVD.

I hope that means a worldwide release and not just an American one. I'm trying to restrain myself from doing the dance of joy right now. I used to love Sliders, even though the longer story arcs didn't make a lot of sense because I didn't see it in order. It was one of the first Sci-Fi series I ever got interested in, way back when. It would be excellent to be able to sit down and watch all the episodes in order, and see all the ones I'm sure I missed.

Like, for instance, the Professor dying. I had no idea that had happened until I read this thread. I saw episodes that were pretty much in random order. So he was literally there on day, and gone the next. Hmph.

[Polter-Cow]

Universal is planning to release Sliders on DVD.

Sweet! "Red means go, green means stop..."

[I Like Food]

Like, for instance, the Professor dying. I had no idea that had happened until I read this thread. I saw episodes that were pretty much in random order. So he was literally there on day, and gone the next. Hmph.

And then he was back a couple episodes after he died because Fox refused to air it in its proper order. And then he was dead again.

Oh, Fox.

[RiverThames]

I actually liked the fifth season better than the fourth. I thought the fourth got a little overrun by Jerry O'Connell's ego, and the idea that Quinn wasn't native to Earth Prime in the first place? Didn't like it. Not one bit.

Robert Floyd really had a thankless position in the fifth season-- he was a replacement for the lead. He did a fine job, but he simply had shoes to fill that fans didn't want to see emptied in the first place.

[ChillinTheMost]

I loved Sliders when it started.

I can't remember exactly when I lost interest, but I do remember being disappointed when Jerry O'Connell left and when the "arc" took over the series.

I greatly preferred the stand-alone storylines that revolved around an alternate Earth. Once they were "saving the Earth from the Kromag", or whatever that storyline was, took over, I became bored. Same thing happened with Quantum Leap. I was worried when FarScape started having most of the episodes revolve around the arc, but they have managed to keep it interesting.

I know many sci-fi fans love arcs, but I prefer stand-alone plots that have some basis in continuity [FarScape did this very well: characters and circumstances were changed week after week because of what happened previously, but many episodes could still be stand-alones resultant of the past but individual episodes not necessarily needed a lot of known past history.]

Anyway, I loved Jerry O'Connor in Sliders. Wade was whiney and got on my nerves [I liked the actress much better in [i]Sports Night[/i]], and I liked the Professor and Rembrant. Jerry's brother was fine and I liked the girls that took Wade's place, if I'm remembering correctly. I remember an African American girl that I really liked - if I'm not confusing this show with something else. But by then, I had lost most of my interest in the show and only watched sporatically, if at all.

Edited by ChillinTheMost, Apr 12, 2004 @ 11:01 AM.

[RacerX]

I liked season 5. Hated the brother so much by the time season 5 rolled around I was okay with sacrificing Quinn, who I adored, just to get rid of Colin. Plus Diana and Mallory were nice additions. I can't say I ever liked Maggie but after awhile she was not a constant irritant so I count that as an improvement.

I thought it was weird that there never seemed to be alternate Kromags. Kromags developed on only one earth and spread forth from there. But I hated the Kromag storyline so I don't really care beyond noting it.

It was weird that they always felt comfortable meddling in other people's business. I don't think any of them ever learned that maybe being on an earth for 10 seconds didn't give you enough information to jump into any situation. It's shocking that only Arturo was shot.

[Aatrek]

I always thought that Season 5 was prime Maggie time. She returned to a normal head of hair (that black hair in Season 4? Yuck!), and she turned into a genuine person. Her relationship with Rembrandt was pretty nice, and I actually felt symapthy for her in Requiem after she thought Remmy was gone - she was the "senior Slider," now; she didn't want / couldn't handle the responsiblity, and she was really ready to quit travelling.

A couple of changes that I would have liked to see:

• More doubles. By the end of the series, we rarely saw any main character doubles as time went on. We had one Colin double (Lipschitz Live!), and no Mallory doubles (even though he was really a Quinn almost-copy, statistically there should have been at least one double).
  
  
• A reappearance of Maggie's husband in S5. I know we had a Steven Jensen double in Slide By Wire, but I would have liked to see how a non-miltary Maggie/Steven-double relationship could have evolved... especially if they rehired the original actor.
  
  
• Less Kromaggs, more alternate histories. Episodes like Prince of Wails, Luck of the Draw, and Love Gods are all popular episodes because of their setting - worlds based on possible historical twists (the US losing the Revolutionary War, massive Iraqi bioweapons in the early '90's, etc.) Having such pointless Earths as the ones seen in Data World and The Chasm simply turned the show into another crappy SciFi Channel series. (Excluding Farscape, of course.)
  
  
• The unbelievable Strangers and Comrades. An asteroid trapped in a vortex... with a sun... and people... and a wormhole with a tail? What the hell?!?