Sliders, that underrated 1990s sci-fi show

[Parallaxis]

It's no secret that Season 1 and 2 are great and then the show falls off a cliff. John-Rhys Davies has said that Dragonslide is the exact moment the show went off the rails.

John Rhys-Davies frowns upon episodes like this.

“There’s a difference between the Science Fiction audience and the Sword and Sorcery audience,” he says. “We started picking up numbers last year and then we did a show that was a rip-off of the film Dragonslayer where, in fact, Arturo kills Quinn and he is then brought back to life by a woman using magic. Any Science Fiction fan who saw that suddenly thought, ‘Oh, wait a minute. I get it. It’s a kid’s show and not Science Fiction after all.’ So next week, of course, we drop three points and never get those viewers back.”

In fact, ratings after “Dragonslide” dipped under a 6 rating and didn’t recover until 6 episodes later

 

[Christopher]

For me, the problem with season 3 wasn't just that the writers didn't know what science fiction was beyond ripping off movie plots; it was that they didn't know what character drama was beyond pointless petty bickering. It's like they heard "The essence of drama is conflict" at some point and interpreted it in the shallowest way possible, by having the characters constantly snipe at each other for no reason.

 

[Farscape One]

It's rather sad that the season with the least amount of quality is the one with the most amount of episodes.

 

[Ragitsu]

I like the following exchange from "Desert Storm"

Healer: There is a truth beyond knowledge, my friend. Only fools deny it.

Arturo: Are you calling me a fool, sir?

Healer: What would you call a dying man who passes up a chance for life purely out of intellectual vanity?

--- --- ---

I see what you did there.

Purely unintentional, I assure you.

 

[Christopher]

It's rather sad that the season with the least amount of quality is the one with the most amount of episodes.

Well, there are some worthwhile episodes in the first half of season 3. "The Guardian" is terrific, "Double Cross" is pretty good, and there are some others that are decent even if the concepts get sillier. But from "The Exodus" onward it's just terrible.

 

[Ragitsu]

But from "The Exodus" onward it's just terrible.

Colonel Cheesy (yeah, I can't recall his true name) helped to sink the show.

 

[Farscape One]

Colonel Rickman. A waste of Roger Daltrey.

Well, there are some worthwhile episodes in the first half of season 3. "The Guardian" is terrific, "Double Cross" is pretty good, and there are some others that are decent even if the concepts get sillier. But from "The Exodus" onward it's just terrible.

"THE GUARDIAN" is excellent, easily the best of season 3. And "DOUBLE CROSS" was great, too. A few of the others were decent, but overall the season was definitely less than the sum of its parts.

"THE EXODUS" onward... that's 10 episodes, nearly half the season. Ripping off SPECIES? Vampire world? Zombies made from a fat burning drug? Yes, it was terrible.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Colonel Rickman. A waste of Roger Daltrey.




"THE GUARDIAN" is excellent, easily the best of season 3. And "DOUBLE CROSS" was great, too. A few of the others were decent, but overall the season was definitely less than the sum of its parts.

"THE EXODUS" onward... that's 10 episodes, nearly half the season. Ripping off SPECIES? Vampire world? Zombies made from a fat burning drug? Yes, it was terrible.

I overlooked a period, and briefly thought that you wrote "10 episodes of ripping off species." Which I found %100 believable that they did that.

 

[Ragitsu]

Colonel Rickman. A waste of Roger Daltrey.

Daltrey was "very not bad", but...his successor? Pure roquefort all the way.

 

[dupersuper]

Part of the reason why many didn't go back to SLIDERS for season 4 was since SciFi Channel got it, not every house had that channel. At that time, SciFi Channel was a premium channel and if you didn't have satellite or one of the packages, you wouldn't be able to see it. Remember, FOX was a basic cable channel.

That and most of the characters I knew were long gone.

 

[Christopher]

That and most of the characters I knew were long gone.

True, but the new characters and actors in seasons 4-5 (aside from Colin/Charlie O'Connell) were worthwhile, and the writing was immensely better than late season 3 -- I'd say season 4 was almost on a par with season 1. And not just the new characters, because Maggie Beckett actually became a character for the first time, after having no real development in season 3.

 

[Anwar]

True, but the new characters and actors in seasons 4-5 (aside from Colin/Charlie O'Connell) were worthwhile, and the writing was immensely better than late season 3 -- I'd say season 4 was almost on a par with season 1. And not just the new characters, because Maggie Beckett actually became a character for the first time, after having no real development in season 3.

Yeah, Kari Wuhrer was brought in to sex up the show. Luckily they bothered giving her more beyond that after S3.

 

[Ragitsu]

Arturo despises the French, Los Angeles, the Scots (except for their Scotch whiskey), Indian goodbyes, "New Age" mumbo jumbo...

I'm thinking it might be quicker to rattle off a list of things he doesn't dislike.

 

[JD]

Part of the reason why many didn't go back to SLIDERS for season 4 was since SciFi Channel got it, not every house had that channel. At that time, SciFi Channel was a premium channel and if you didn't have satellite or one of the packages, you wouldn't be able to see it. Remember, FOX was a basic cable channel.

I know this happened in my case.

I don't think Sci-Fi Channel/Syfy has ever been premium cable, that's channels like HBO, Starz, and Showtime it's always just been basic cable, and Fox isn't basic cable, it's a free over the air network.
I watched a few episode of Sliders a few years ago on Hulu, I remember I liked, but I think I just distracted by other stuff and never went back. The only episode I remember is the one when they end up on the Earth where they treat smart people like all star athletes.

 

[Farscape One]

In the early days, we never were able to get SciFi Channel because it was part of certain packages. It wasn't until the late 90s when it was more accessable by being put as partof a basic cable package. I never said it was premium like Starz or HBO, but it definitely wasn't basic like the big 4.

I remember this well because there was stuff I couldn't catch because the channel was not available. It was only later that certain shows would get rerun that I could watch.

 

[Ragitsu]

There were no episodes where the Amerindians/aborigines retained control of their land?

 

[Christopher]

I never said it was premium like Starz or HBO, but it definitely wasn't basic like the big 4.

I don't think the term "premium" has different levels like that. It doesn't just mean "above the basic tier," it specifically refers to individual channels you pay extra for on a channel-per-channel basis, as opposed to paying a lump fee for a tier of multiple channels (most of which you never watch). For instance, on my cable system, the minimum package was called "Basic Service" and the larger one that included Syfy was "Standard Service."

 

[Guy Gardener]

There were no episodes where the Amerindians/aborigines retained control of their land?

They made comic books from unfilmable scripts.

#2 Blood and Splendor. Once in a while, a pivotal concept or teleplay will cross the desk of Sliders co-creator Tracy Torme that's quite simply too wild and too expensive to produce for the Fox TV series. Careening from one parallel Earth to the next, our Sliders find themselves in a world where Native Americans thwarted all of Western Europe's attempts to colonize and conquer. The European white minority is relegated to slavery, and the country is one nation under Huizlopochtl, the merciless Aztec god of war! One Aztec nobleman, Montezuma IV, has been given a vision from Huizlopochtl, that he is to be his "right hand" on this world, conquering in his name. All Montezuma needs, is a sign. Well, how about one of our heroes' quantum tunnels?! Will Quinn Mallory wind up on the sacrificial altar? And if that ain't enough, there's something new, very big and very hungry moving through the quantum tunnels -- and it eats Sliders! Written by Tracy Torme, Jeof Vita and Jeff Somers. Art by Rags Morales, Dean Zachary, Barbara Kaalberg and Gonzalo Mayo. FC, 48 pgs. Cover price $3.95.

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=288851

 

[JD]

In the early days, we never were able to get SciFi Channel because it was part of certain packages. It wasn't until the late 90s when it was more accessable by being put as partof a basic cable package. I never said it was premium like Starz or HBO, but it definitely wasn't basic like the big 4.

I remember this well because there was stuff I couldn't catch because the channel was not available. It was only later that certain shows would get rerun that I could watch.

I don't think the term "premium" has different levels like that. It doesn't just mean "above the basic tier," it specifically refers to individual channels you pay extra for on a channel-per-channel basis, as opposed to paying a lump fee for a tier of multiple channels (most of which you never watch). For instance, on my cable system, the minimum package was called "Basic Service" and the larger one that included Syfy was "Standard Service."

Yeah, premium cable is just stuff like HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax. Anything is just different levels of basic cable, and then you have the networks which are free over the air, but are also included in most cable packages.

 

[Jayson1]

I might be wrong but I think Sliders might have been the Sci-Fi channels first non-rerun show. They then expanded doing Farscape, New Stargate and Battlestar Galatica and so forth.