What Would You Change? • Slide By Wire

Date: 04/06/2004
From: Techn_calDiffi_ult__

• PhantomDennis wins the "Unstuck Man" stunt brothers' wigs!
• Slider_Sarah wins a compelling reason not to vacation in France! [http://www.brokennewz.com/displaystory.asp_Q_storyid_E_760banberets]
• Recall317 wins the "Final Justice" fanfic "Our Own Gravy Mitchell!" But not Mitchell's autograph.
• MissingSliderRyan wins a muse leash!
• ThomasMalthus wins the LaTrojan Horse!
• Grizzlor [RG: Mother and Child] wins a handy back jabber!

THOMASMALTHUS: You realize you just gave me a Trojan Horse as a gift?

BLINKER: That's okay, the horse is empty.

SYNTHIA II: If this segment gets any more self-referential, do we collapse the universe or get sued by the makers of "Seinfeld"?

=====

BLINKER: For today's guest AI, we have the next best thing to HAL... Jason Hutchens' popular conversation simulator, MegaHAL. After being fed a corpus of internet data about "Slide By Wire," it managed to observe that David Peckinpah is a rhythmic movement of the Maggies, that Steven Jensen in the hand is worth two in "The Exodus," and that gravity is the study of the behind of the Maggies. So I'm thinking it's ready for prime time!

> BLINKER: What would you change about this episode?
>
> MEGAHAL: I have absolutely no idea about that. I really wish i could
> jump out of things to talk to you about the episode slide by wire.
>
> BLINKER: But you did before!
>
> MEGAHAL: Yes, while on one world where technology has run amuck and taken over
> these people's lives, and the flip side was a pilot who flew her complex
> fighter-jet by means of a direct (and dangerous) cybernetic link to her
> husband steven.
>
> BLINKER: What are you, Dorky?
>
> MEGAHAL: This episode says that not all technology is bad and it's
> like the butter churn which can enter into combination or take part
> in a computer.
>
> BLINKER: That, uh, still doesn't answer my question.
>
> MEGAHAL: No man has ever spoken a more profound truth.
>
> BLINKER: Okay, one more time... is there anything you'd change about
> this episode?
>
> MEGAHAL: I'd like to see if she had never had the time taken
> for the episode.

BLINKER [shocked]: Wow. I can't believe I got an answer! Even if it makes no damn sense whatsoever!

SYNTHIA II: Might as well Command-Q while you're ahead.

BLINKER: All right, I'd just tweak Quinn's reaction to learning that Maggie is lost. In my version, he declares that he can't call up the co-ordinates to the world they just left, and besides, doesn't know if they have time.

> MEGAHAL: Hey! HEY! That's what I was trying to say, you bas

BLINKER: [moves in front of MegaHAL monitor and whistles innocently]

____________
Please stand by.

change

Date: 04/06/2004
From: baysbabe

i would change the fact that maggie (double) did not get found out soon as a double i mean how stupid do you have to be to not realize she was acting different. i loved that the lady that was on 3 episodes of quantum leap was in this ep.

A Different Story

Date: 04/06/2004
From: PhantomDennis

(Puts on Wigs) Hello I'm Quinn. This is my brother Colin and my other brother Colin.
Colin #2 Actually, I'm Kit Richards
Colin #1 Yeah, and I'm Officer O'Hara
Quinn: To think, people actually object to the Colin double on "Lipschitz Live".

I'd have folded the next episode "Data World" into this one, having "the Data World" be the world they slide into with Alt-Maggie. And have Meg Foster's Burke be the one the running the Chandler.

Think about it. We could have Alt-Maggie using her implants to hack into the system. Lyn Burke turns her minions into Beastman and Merman. And Quinn and Maggie morph into MuscleMan and Princess She-la for the final battle with the decidely evil Lyn.

Finally with the Maggies reswitched we learn that Burke was born Rickman, but was renamed when her stepfather adopted her.

"I bet she didn't go to that fancy British boarding school, either" says Maggie.

The last good S4 ep

Date: 04/06/2004
From: Recall317

And one of the last eps I saw

I've only seen this one once and it startled me cause it was pretty good. Or my expectations had been so low cause of the eps that surround it. I'd have to watch it again.

I guess I'd get the actor who played Steven in the Exodus to play him here. It's not a huge change, but it would raise the bar a little.

Peck: We can't use the original actor. Colonel Rickman killed him, remember?

[R317 smacks Peckinpah upside the head]

R317

Oh I've been waiting for this one!

Date: 04/06/2004
From: Grizzlor

Probably the hands down least favorite episode of mine of all Season 4 (Slidecage and Chasm are close). If it were up to me, this episode never would have been made.

I did like the devious Maggie, fit Kari's personality. This was a really crappy scenario similar to PTSS and Arturo. I wouldn't have wasted all that time with the Flight Jock, or Steven, or that crazy bitch. I would have focused more on a Maggie vs. Maggie. They kill each other and next episode they find Wade again.

Can I Borowski a feeling?

Date: 04/07/2004
From: ThomasMalthus

Beginning text must be destroyed! And so must mixed metaphors!

I would have used this episode to comment on the lack of character integrity with regard to Maggie's personality. The double would just be another extraneous false identity for the former Marine captain, attempting with great effort to conceal her feelings about her murdered husband and wrecked world. This conflict could be brought to a head when the two Maggies meet.

Meaning, I would have them bikini wrestle in jello. "Give the people an exhibition, and they will beat a path to your door."

ThomasMalthus

"Hey, that's *not* a path."

Original URL http://bboard.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/545/4067842
Nominated by Blinker