"Sliders" (1995) TV series 1995-2000

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Creators:

Tracy Tormé
Robert K. Weiss

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

22 March 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

Four people just found a gateway to another dimension, but they forgot one problem... how to get back!

Plot:

A boy-genius and his comrades travel to different parallel universes, trying to find their way back home.

Plot Keywords:

Portal | Parallel Worlds | Alternative Reality | Lost | Voyage Of Discovery

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Cleavant Derricks	...	Rembrandt 'Crying Man' Brown (87 episodes, 1995-2000)
Jerry O'Connell	...	Quinn Mallory (69 episodes, 1995-1999)
Kari Wuhrer	...	Capt. Maggie Beckett (49 episodes, 1997-2000)
Sabrina Lloyd	...	Wade Welles (48 episodes, 1995-1999)
John Rhys-Davies	...	Prof. Maximilian Arturo (40 episodes, 1995-1997)

Runtime:

60 min (87 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 (Season 1 & 2) | UK:15 (Season 3) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 3) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG (season 1) (season 2) (season 4)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

St. Clare Entertainment

Trivia:

In the final season, Cleavant Derricks' character, Rembrandt Brown, is the only remaining original cast member.

Goofs:

Continuity: In season one "The King is back" Rembrandt is on stage when the other Rembrandt joins him there, telling the audience that "our" Rembrandt is only an impersonator. Therefore Rembrandt leaves the stage and is welcomed by his friends backstage. The next shot is showing the stage from the front again and there you can still see "our" Rembrandt in the background, still on stage.

Quotes:

Prof. Maximillian P. Arturo: [after coffee is spilt all over him] Drink it, don't carry it, you idiot!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Private Movies 1: Sex Slider, Shag-A-Rama! (1999) (V)

Could have been great.

Sliders is a show that could have been great. If you want to see Sliders done right, watch Stargate SG-1. Same basic premise, a device that takes you to other worlds, giving endless possibilities on the storyline. SG-1 did a great job with this.

The writers on Sliders, on the other hand, decided to rehash just about every sci-fi story they could think of. Some quick examples just from Season 3: Episode 1 - Running Man, Episode 7 - Jurrasic Park. Episode 13 - Any Star Trek TNG with holodeck episodes, Episode 15 - Tremors, Episode 19 - Species, Episode 20 - H.G. Well's The Time Machine.

These are just off the top of my head. They probably rehashed some really bad stories that I've never heard of as well. All the originals were better than these sad rehashes. They had a few original episodes, particularly early on, but it went downhill quickly.

If you're completely new to sci-fi, this would be like the cliff notes of sci-fi story lines. The original actors did a pretty decent job given the limitations of the script (and the reason Davies sited for leaving the show and I assume the reason the rest left).

This series is definitely a missed opportunity that a handful of talented writers and insightful producers could have turned into a goldmine. I'd recommend watching the first 2 seasons but would warn against going much further.