Sliders Episode Reviews

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Quinn Mallory, while working on an anti-gravity machine, accidentally creates a portal to a parallel universe. Eventually, his friends and an unwilling participant accidentally get stuck traveling among parallel worlds, trying to survive, and learning that sliding can lead to fatal results. Meanwhile, among many changes in their group, they try to rescue the multiverse from the Kromagg Dynasty.

Sliders is an American science fiction television series. It was broadcast for five seasons, beginning in 1995 and ending in 2000. The show was created by Robert K. Weiss and Tracy Tormé. Tormé, Weiss, Leslie Belzberg, John Landis, David Peckinpah, Bill Dial and Alan Barnette served as executive producers at different times of the production. For its first two seasons it was produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, USA in the last three seasons.

The first three seasons of Sliders were aired by the Fox network. After being canceled by Fox, the series moved to Sci Fi Channel for its final two seasons. The last new episode first aired on December 29, 1999 in the United Kingdom, and was broadcast on Sci Fi Channel on February 4, 2000.

My Thoughts:
With me getting the 5th (final) season on DVD here in the next couple days I wanted to re-watch the the first four seasons before watching season 5. As it has been years since I watched any of it. Looking at different sites I frequent I am kinda surprised.... Sliders really gets little to no love (unless it is a Sliders dedicated site of course). Season 5 especially being pretty much hated. I am the first to admit that this series does go downhill a bit with each season... especially within the last couple seasons. But at least to my memory I enjoyed the entire run of the series. But I guess I will know better once I get to season 5 again.

I don't expect to see much response to this thread... especially once I get to the last few seasons... but I wanted to do this thread since I am watching them anyway and I found myself in the mood to start a thread like this again.

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Sliders: The First and Second Seasons

Get ready for Seasons One and Two of the breakthrough Sci-Fi series Sliders!

Quinn (Jerry O'Connell), a brilliant grad student, has created a device that opens a wormhole to an infinite number of parallel universes where history has taken different paths. His first test trip goes awry, stranding his physics professor, Arturo (John Rhys-Davies), his friend, Wade (Sabrina Lloyd), and bystander Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown (Cleavant Derricks) in parallel San Franciscos.

Now, this foursome of Sliders must travel from one alternate reality to another in the hope of somehow finding their way home.

EPISODES:

Season 1 1. Pilot 2. Fever 3. Last Days 4. Prince of Wails 5. Summer of Love 6. Eggheads 7. The Weaker Sex 8. The King Is Back 9. Luck of the Draw

Season 2 1. Into the Mystic 2. Love Gods 3. Gillian of the Spirits 4. The Good, the Bad, and the Wealthy 5. El Sid 6. Time Again and World 7. In Dino Veritas 8. Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome 9. Obsession 10. Greatfellas 11. The Young and the Relentless 12. Invasion 13. As Time Goes By

Stars:
Jerry O'Connell as Quinn
Sabrina Lloyd as Wade
Cleavant Derricks as Rembrandt
John Rhys-Davies as Arturo

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Sliders: Seasons 1 & 2
Disc 1

1. PILOT
Original Air Date: 3/22/95
A physics accident sends student Quinn Mallory and his trio of companions on an inter-dimensional roller-coaster ride to an apocalyptic San Francisco. After a narrow escape from an icy death, the Sliders find themselves in a Soviet-ruled U.S., where their only hope of escape is to free an imprisoned revolutionary

My Thoughts:
This is of course the episode that started it all. One thing I like about this double length pilot is that we get to see multiple alternate earths. Three to be exact... even though one, the first one, we barely see. Actually the second one we see is also fairly short. The final Earth is much longer... but unfortunately my least favorite of the three (though still good). And that isn't even including the short look at a 4th world at the very end of the episode. The Sliders consist of 4 people... the inventor, his professor, his friend & a total stranger (at this time). Over-all this is a great episode. I enjoyed every minute of it.

My Rating:


2. FEVER
Original Air Date: 3/29/95
When Wade is infected with a deadly virus on an Earth wracked by an epidemic, Rembrandt and Arturo race to find a cure and free Quinn from a Gestapo-like health agency.

My Thoughts:
Another very good episode. In the beginning of this one they are just leaving a world where everyone around is rich do to finding oil on their properties... land in a world where Penicillin was never discovered. And they are dealing with an epidemic. Pretty much the entire group of Sliders gets sick and have to bring Penicillin to this world to save everyone including themselves. The short clip at the end of the episode has them sliding in a world where cannibals run rampant.

My Rating:


3. LAST DAYS
Original Air Date: 4/5/95
The salvation of a world facing destruction by an asteroid rests in the hands of Arturo and an overzealous young scientist. Meanwhile, Quinn and Wade begin to face their feelings for each other.

My Thoughts:
While this one didn't keep my interest as much as the first two, it is still a good episode. This is a time that you don't see a small clip of the world they are leaving in the beginning of the episode... and you don't get to see where they slide to at the end of the episode. That happens but not often at all. I imagine they needed that little extra time to tell the main story.

My Rating:

Disc 1 Thoughts:
Well... that completes the first disc. Over-all enjoyed these episodes very much. But that isn't surprising being in the beginning of the first season. Picking a favorite episode is definitely easy for this disc.... it has to be the pilot episode. Favorite Character? For the early seasons it has to be Wade played by Sabrina Lloyd. The DVD itself is done very nicely. You have a play all option... as well as going to each episode. When you go to the individual episodes it gives you the plot of the episode as well as options to play or go to select scenes. The only extras on this disc is previews for other shows and a commentary track for the pilot episode with the writers/creators of the series... Tracyu Torme and Robert K. Weiss.

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Sliders: Seasons 1 & 2
Disc 2

4. PRINCE OF WAILS
Original Air Date: 4/12/95
In the British States of America--a place where England won the Revolutionary War--the Sliders are embroiled in an assassination plot involving the heir to the throne and an evil Sheriff of San Francisco.

My Thoughts:
This episode starts with the Sliders leaving a flooded world. The storyline in this episode didn't hold my attention as much as most of them do. Still not a bad episode... but far from one of the best.

My Rating:


5. SUMMER OF LOVE
Original Air Date: 4/19/95
The Sliders find themselves in a present-day San Francisco where the "Summer of Love" never ended--and Wade and Rembrandt are mistaken for extraterrestrial prophets.

My Thoughts:
It seems this one is played more for laughs. Maybe not so much laughs... but definitely just to have a bit of fun with the concept. Which of course made it a fun watch. This episode seems to start out on the Earth where the Sliders originated at... eventually called in the series Earth Prime... showing that the Sliders have been noticed missing back home and are being looked for. From there it shows them sliding into '60s Earth. Somehow it isn't shocking that Wade took to the who hippie Earth rather well. At the end of this episode they slide into a world where San Francisco is being overcome by a tidal wave.

My Rating:


6. Eggheads
Original Air Date: 4/26/95
While Quinn struggles with fame in a world where intellectuals are more popular than pro athletes, Arturo tries for a reconciliation with a long-lost love.

My Thoughts:
This is a pretty cool episode. I liked how they put sports and intellect together into a single game. While I enjoyed watching it... I know that is one game I would be terrible at!This is one of the episodes we don't see where they land once they leave the world they are on. Which is a shame... I always liked those little short looks into another world.

My Rating:


7. The Weaker Sex
Original Air Date: 5/3/95
Arturo finds himself in a potentially deadly mayoral race in a world where men are treated as "The Weaker Sex" and women hold the positions of power and respect.

My Thoughts:
Another episode that is a lot of fun to watch. They really filled this episode with some good jokes on the situation. I really loved the back and forth between Professor Arturo and Wade. When leaving this world they end up in a paradise world where the comedy continues because of a bet they had Professor Arturo had to play slave to Wade.

My Rating:

Disc 2 Thoughts:
Most the episodes on this disc is a really fun watch. I enjoyed them quite a bit. So it is a little difficult picking a favorite episode. But if I was pushed I would probably go with The Weaker Sex. That episode had me literally laugh out loud on more then one occasion. Unfortunately there is no extras what so ever on this disc.

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Sliders: Seasons 1 & 2
Disc 3

8. THE KING IS BACK
Original Air Date: 5/10/95
It looks like "The King Is Back" when Rembrandt is mistaken for a long-deceased rock legend, but an old enemy would like to see the Crying Man disappear again--permanently.

My Thoughts:
This is another fun episode. It starts out with Quinn in court getting the death sentence for his double's crime of tagging an overpass. The main storyline is an obvious one... there was no way they couldn't do it eventually. At the end there is nothing to say what type of world they slid into... only that Rembrant isn't as famous in the new world. Went from being the King of Rock to working at King Ice Cream selling ice cream to kids in the park.

My Rating:


9. LUCK OF THE DRAW
Original Air Date: 5/17/95
When the Sliders land on a seemingly ideal world, Wade wins the lottery. But Quinn discovers that the lottery is population control and the winners are killed.

My Thoughts:
This is the final episode of the first season. Over all I really liked this one a lot. But there is some slow spots in the storyline. This episode marks the first time the bring someone with them to the next world. The first season also ends in a heck of a cliffhanger as Quinn is shot on his way into the wormhole. When originally watched we didn't know until the next season if he was alive or dead.

My Rating:


10. INTO THE MYSTIC
Original Air Date: 3/1/96
After separating from Ryan and Henry the dog, the sliders make a rough landing that reopens Quinns bullet wound. On this world of mysticism and superstitions, a witch doctor heals Quinn and has brains on the mind when they can't pay the bill. On the run from bounty hunters the sliders only hope is the mysterious Sorcerer, a man who could possibly get them home.

My Thoughts:
This is  obviously the first episode of season 2. It is a good but strange one. Talk about a world that would put you off. At the end of this episode they actually make it home! Unfortunately the timer only gave them seconds to the next slide and they were fooled into thinking they weren't home... so once again they are off sliding at the end... leaving their own home in the season premiere. It is almost sad... but of course if they realized they were home the series would have been over.

My Rating:


11. LOVE GODS
Original Air Date: 3/8/96
In a world where germ warfare has exterminated most of the male population, Quinn, Rembrandt an Arturo discover that they've been pegged as runaway "breeders," and every nation of the world wants to capture them.

My Thoughts:
This one never been much of a favorite of mine. I never was able to get into the storyline. It really didn't even hold my attention as much as it should have. I just didn't care about the storyline or the characters in this one.

My Rating:

Disc 3 Thoughts:
I didn't get quite as much enjoyment out of this disc that I usually do. But only 1 episode that I can say didn't really keep my attention... so not too bad. But it seems that just into the second season and the show is going slightly downhill for me already. Once again we have a disc with no extras what so ever.

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Sliders: Seasons 1 & 2
Disc 4

12. GILLIAN OF SPIRITS
Original Air Date: 3/15/96
When a bizarre accident separates Quinn from the rest of the Sliders, the only hope for the remaining trio is to put their faith in a troubled young girl with a history of hearing voices--and an ability to communicate with spirits.

My Thoughts:
After the last episode... this one is more like it. I enjoyed every moment of this episode! The storyline kept me enthralled in the episode... even after the multiple times I have seen it over the years. in this episode the timer is damaged.. but this world has a ban on technology. So it is like they are stuck in the '50s. So they need to find a way to fix the timer and save Quinn all in time for the next slide. The next world they slide to?... Nude World where no one wears clothes. Sounds like an interesting place to visit!

My Rating:


13. THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WEALTHY
Original Air Date: 3/22/96
In an America in which all land west of the Mississippi is part of the Nation of Texas, Quinn finds himself at the center of some highly unorthodox corporate raiding when a gunfight earns him a reputation for being quick on the draw.

My Thoughts:
In this episode they end up in a world that is like a modern day western. Poker... gunfights.... the works. It even had Billy the Kid played by Lochlun Munro. This guy looked so familiar to me. It turns out he was in several episodes of Charmed. It is a right good episode. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

My Rating:


14. EL SID
Original Air Date: 3/29/96
When Quinn rescues a beautiful young woman in distress on a world ruled by violence, her homicidal boyfriend swearing vengeance for an imagined slight, follows the sliders through the vortex to a world where San Francisco is a maximum security prison.

My Thoughts:
This is another episode I enjoyed. It's storyline keeps you interested from beginning to end. The plot for the episode tells you the only two worlds we get to see in this episode. Unfortunately it didn't show where they ended up after leaving the prison world.

My Rating:


15. TIME AGAIN AND WORLD
Original Air Date: 4/5/96
Wade witnesses a murder just before the slide, but as the sliders land on the next world, the same murder is about to occur. This time Wade intervenes and this gets the Sliders involved with a disgraced federal judge and a United States under martial law.

My Thoughts:
This one isn't bad... but not one that could ever be a favorite of mine. It is actually an interesting storyline... but for some reason it just couldn't keep my interest as much as most episodes do. I guess they just couldn't follow through with it as good as they should have.

My Rating:

Disc 4 Thoughts:
Over-all this is a very good disc. I know it has been a while since I watched this series... but I must say... it is a bit odd. There is episodes that I remembered not being all that good but yet I am really enjoying. And at the same time there is episodes I remember enjoying quite a bit that it turns out is not as good as I remember. Once again... this disc has no extras what so ever.

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Now that I have the 6th season of Medium here I am going to start switching back and forth between discs of these two shows. That way I can keep up with that episode review thread as well.