Date: 02/19/2001
From: Recall317

I was leafing through the archives and came across this post which I thought had an interesting topic:

"Date: 9/9/2000
From: Blinker

You know.. for everything that was fan-smeggin'-tastic about S1, they sure had a problem with recycling. Three formulae - used in two episodes each - make up the bulk of the year's stories:

• America is ruled by a foreign power that has imposed its own culture and restricted democracy, leading the Sliders to team up with the obligatory resistance movement and help set things right. (Pilot, Prince of Wails)

• One of the Sliders assumes the identity of his double, a nationwide celebrity who conveniently vanished... but soon runs into an enemy who'd have preferred he stay missing. (Eggheads, The King Is Back)

• A critical scientific discovery was never made, paving the way for a worldwide crisis that can only be solved if Arturo recreates the invention before the Slide out. (Fever, Last Days)

So what the 7:-# is up with this? Were the staff members actually cribbing off each other, or did the left hand not know what the right hand was writing?

- Blinker 7:-P
http://welcome.to/gate_haven"

My response:
The real redundancy of Season One was none of the above. It is the following:

In virtually every Season 1 episode, there is an opportunity or reason for one of the 4 to quit sliding and stay behind. Go ahead. Count the times someone says, "You're thinking of staying!" or something to that effect. This "will they or won't they" plot device appears in 6 of the 9 episodes:

To Arturo:
Eggheads- His wife is alive; he can make things right
The Weaker sex- He could be mayor of San Francisco!

To Wade:
Prince of Wails- Marriage proposal from the Prince
Luck of the Draw- Wins the lottery (this goes awry however)

To Rembrandt:
Summer of Love- For awhile, he was ready to stay.
King is Back- Replaces his double as a superstar.

Even Fever has that overtone as they can't leave with a virus. That leaves the Pilot and Last Days (where staying was NOT an option) as the only 2 eps that avoid this plot device.

Only Quinn never has a reason to stick around. And why? Because he never would. Quinn wouldn't even consider it; it's not in his character.

Fortunately, Season 2 let that issue drop. Sure it was there in "Obsession" and "PTSS," but other plotlines were more dominant in both shows. I guess getting home became a greater priority the longer they were away from it.

Thank you for allowing me the indulgance of replying to a six month old post.

R317

Excellent topic!

Date: 02/19/2001
From: Wrong_Arturo

Yes, Season One was the best, but yes, even that season had problems. Most of those I caught already, but there were a few I missed, such as the King is Back-Eggheads connection.

I did notice how much they kept saying "You're going to stay!" Thank you for pointing that out to everyone. Man, that would drive me nuts. They're three episodes in, and all they can talk about is staying? And then, after they've been sliding for three or more years, and the chances of getting home are dimmer and dimmer, they NEVER talk about settling down anywhere. Ugh.

The problem was that even in Season 1, Tracy didn't have writers working for him who understood the potential of the show. He had to heavily rewrite scripts. In Season 2, his power to rewrite was limited by the network, which is why it's slightly less good. In Season 3, it's completely taken away from him, which is why Season 3 is SO STINKING AWFUL. In later seasons, he wasn't even involved, which is why even when the show is good at that point, it doesn't resemble Sliders that much.

Thanks again for bringing back this interesting topic!

W.A.

WA:

Date: 02/20/2001
From: Recall317

I'd like to see more posts like that, too, but I can understand how most of the board has already debated these things long ago.

It's too bad in a way. Oh well, take my opportunities when I can.

In all fairness...

Date: 02/22/2001
From: SpaceTime

Just thought I'd point out that Tracy Torme was only co-executive producer for the first season, same as what Tony Blake and Paul Jackson were in the second season. In season two, Tracy had full executive producer credit along with Jacob Epstein (who stepped up from co-exec credit from season one as well) and Alan Barnette. I would think that Tormé had more power in season two in terms of regulating script quality than he had in season one, when Bob Weiss, John Landis and Leslie Belzberg had exec producer credit.

I could be wrong, but in any event, these are the titles people had in those seasons.

- ST

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Nominated by Blinker