Sliders Academy Awards: The Peck Award

Date: 01/07/2002
From: Recall317

Love him or hate him, David Peckinpah was always true to his medium — paying homage. And in small doses, that could have been a good thing. One of the things we forget is that Sliders is supposed to be derivative. That's the entire point! The show takes a look at situations we know and take for granted and skews them to a different perspective.

So which episode pays homage best without descending into a cartoonish rip-off of the real thing?

"Into the Mystic"
By Tracy Tormé

There is some irony in awarding the David Peckinpah Award to his presumed antithesis — Tracy Tormé. But Tormé was much better at it. It boils down to one crucial difference. "Into the Mystic" would have been a fine episode with or without the homage to "Wizard of Oz."

Paying homage can bolster the existing episode. You can’t, or at least shouldn't, build the episode out of the tribute. Not that every one of Tormé's tributes paid out. Anyone else remember that "Shane" debacle at the end of "The Good, the Bad, and the Wealthy?" Not a good idea…

Your picks? Come on, Josef Anderson has to win SOMEthing. ;)

R317

Hmmmm...I've got an odd one

Date: 01/07/2002
From: TemporalFlux

While hard to top "Into the Mystic", I would at least nominate "The Prince of Slides" by Eleah Horwitz in this category. The crux of the entire concept was an homage to Ahnold's horrible movie "Junior" (you just know that had to be one of the chief things being said in the pitch session)...but "The Prince of Slides" actually made a very interesting and serious science fiction story out of that mess. So in this case, the homage actually improved on the original...which I believe is a little above and beyond for even the standards you listed in this category. The only drawback is that the episode doesn't pay any real independent or specific homages...it basically just borrows the foundation concept. Because of this, I feel it loses points up against something like "Into the Mystic"...but still worth a note.

Of course, this ignoring the winged girl at the end...but even that didn't make you want to run out and buy some cyanide capsules.

Tf
temporalflux@hotmail.com
http://dimensionofcontinuity.com

Allusions, allusions !

Date: 01/07/2002
From: Stax_

Into The Mystic, I guess.

I don't have any shrewd Sliders observations to make.

Recall, if you're that desperate/impatient/a polite synonym for either for something new from Michael Penn, you can find a cover version of The Beatles' The Two Of Us he recorded with Mann on the I Am Sam soundtrack.stax

The Young and Relentless

Date: 01/08/2002
From: Sabre_Edge

Entertaining story and alt-history, good play on the soap opera theme, and clever title change on the Young and the Restless.

SE

No "take me to your leader" but ...

Date: 01/08/2002
From: The_Seer

And the Oscar goes to ...

***********************************************
I think I'll give this one to "Invasion". It kind of had the look and feel of a 50's sci-fi flick, complete with the weird looking spaceships and the creepy looking aliens who didn't speak English (or chose not to). It's sad how Peck single handedly destroyed the Kromaggs by turning them into "alien Nazis".

An honorable mention should go to "The King Is Back" (which I almost gave the award to instead) because of the obvious but great homage to the Elvis phenomenon. I thought the scene with all the different Rembrant look-alikes was hilarious.

Hmmm...

Date: 01/09/2002
From: Slider_Quinn21

I liked "Into the Mystic" but I'm not going to vote for it here. That episode has always had a strange sense to it that never fell correctly with me...

I'm voting for "In Dino Veritas." The Truth Collar world was great(and the cut scenes from this episode are corny but classic). Throw in dinosaurs and the Wrong Arturo stuff and you have a great episode.

So, there you go...
Quinn
http://slidersweb.net/otherworlds/214

Yeah...

Date: 01/09/2002
From: Blinker

Beginning Text mustn't be employed! So if you're in charge of hiring, don't DARE grant that sucker an interview! Yeah, that's the spirit!

Mystic and Relentless are unquestionably fine choices, JRD and Torme's respective misgivings about them notwithstanding, but I too see "In Dino Veritas" and its poor man's Jurassic Park. I *have* to go with it!

Recall, how are you planning to handle categories that end in ties (or even with no single episode getting 2+ votes?) Tiebreaker round?

- Blinker 7:-P
http://slidersweb.net/blinker

Hard too choose between Mystic & Dino

Date: 01/11/2002
From: Joey_Starr

but.........................

 

 

 

I will have to say that Into the Mystic was more of a homage piece than In Dino Veritas. If Dino had some actions that resembled JP like maybe Quinn cowering in the cupboard for most of the ep to be visted by some raptors, I might have swayed my decision.

JC
So I'm Late again, sue me!!!!

Original URL http://bboard.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/545/27264
Nominated by TemporalFlux