The
Future of Sliders Date: 07/16/2001
From: Slider_Quinn21
Okay. I spent a lot of time thinking about this, so I don't really want this to fall through the cracks. So, if you read this(or even if you don't), try and reply. Even if only to say "So...?".As most of you know, I've been here a long time(believe it or not, I've been here for over two years now). And despite this, I really haven't posted a lot. But I have observed a lot since I registered.
I have been thinking a lot about Sliders over the last few months. I've seen rumors come and go. I've seen good news and I've seen bad news concerning the Sliders movie. I've seen people come to this board, but strangely something has kept people from going.
I remember a post made a while back. I believe it was titled "Evacuation". It was posted by SpaceTime. If I have time, I'll try to go back and find it. If I don't, then someone remind me and I'll go get it. Its an interesting post to read. Especially Brand_S' reply. To sum it up, SpaceTime was announcing that he was leaving. The Bboard was turning into a ghost town and he didn't want to stay. Brand_S wrote that he was "following suit", and that he was leaving. He noted that several members had left, and that most of the regulars weren't posting anymore. This was the middle of the RandomJudgement "saga", and he didn't want to put up with it anymore.
But they are both still here.
I'm not trying to ridicule either. I'm not "calling their bluff". I'm just noting that something kept them here. Something wouldn't let them leave.
I want you all to look around the other Bboards. With the exception of the Farscape Bboard, Sliders is the top Bboard. Even with our days when the first post of the "day" comes in the evening, we are still one of the most popular boards.
About a year and a half after our show was canceled. Now, I want you to look at the other canceled shows. Hell, look at some of the current shows. How many members do they have? And are their numbers GROWING?
Ours are...
Something is keeping us here. Its not Sliders news, because nothing has happened in months. Is it the hope of Sliders movie news? Is it for the Flame Tournaments? Is it for Earth 214 news? (Sorry, I had to do that :-p )
Something is bringing new people in. And I'm not just talking about the occasional newbie just wondering where Jerry went. One of our more valuable members, Recall317, is a relative newbie. IIRC, he came after Sliders had been taken off the air regularly. What brought him here?
I think I know why...
Sliders is a truly unique show. The premise is amazing. People who I talk to that don't like the show agree that the premise was great. The "What If" facet of Sliders is fascinating to me, and I think that it is fascinating to a lot of other people. Everyone dreams of what could've happened if things were different. That's what made Quinn make that first slide.
Even without Sliders, the "what if" question continues to circulate throughout television and movies (Frasier, Friends, various movies).
That's why...
Sliders survived multiple cancellations. What other shows can claim that? True, that's not a goal to strive for, but many shows fade into oblivion after a cancellation. Sliders refuses to die. And Sliders fans refuse to give up hope.
That's why...
Sliders survived cast change after cast change after cast change after cast change and so on. What other show can claim to keep good ratings after losing 75% of its original cast, including two fan favorites? When you all watched the Pilot, would you think that REMBRANDT would be the one to survive if someone had to? Rembrandt, the comic relief?
That's why...
Sliders has spawned several websites and fanfiction. How many shows have entire sites like the Otherworlds, filled with Fanfiction? How many shows have sites like Earthprime.com or The Dimension of Continuity that break down every facet of the show? While searching for websites for Seven Days, I realized how lucky we are.
That's why...
Sliders has stayed in the top of Sci-Fi's ratings throughout its run even though it had ZERO advertising, and Sci-Fi had ZERO faith in it. How many shows can claim that? Look at First Wave, a show WITH round-the-clock advertising and constant support. It died.
That's why...
And probably the number one reason: The fans. We have stuck with the show through the good, the bad, and the REALLY bad. Many of us despise Season 4 and most of Season 3. That's about 40% of the show. But here we are. How many shows can claim to keep a stable fanbase when most of the fanbase dislikes 40% of the episodes. In fact, many of us only really like about 20 of the episodes. How many shows can claim that?
We stayed through all of the above. We stayed through the cancellations, we stayed through the Sci-Fi era, and we stayed through the cast changes. \
We saw the worst death in television to the most beloved character. We saw another beloved character get sent to a breeding camp, forgotten, and then turned into the fortune teller machine from "Big". We saw the star and biggest supporter of the show turn into a jackass and manipulate the show. We saw him put his talentless brother in a main role, and then we saw him abandon the show and the fans.
And throughout all this, we stayed.
We stayed through "ETAT", "The Breeder", "Slither", "Paradise Lost", "This Slide of Paradise", "Genesis", "The Chasm", "Easy Slider", "Requiem", "The Seer", and several others. We stayed as the creator of the show was screwed over again and again. We stayed as the concept of the show changed over and over. We stayed even though none of the "goals" of the show were accomplished.
The goal in Seasons 1-3 was to get home. Did they get home?
The goal in Season 4 was to find Kromagg Prime and Quinn's parents? Did they do this?
The goal in Season 5 was to separate Mallory and find Colin? Did they do this?
So, in retrospect, nothing that Sliders set out to do was accomplished. Countless threads were left untied. We never found out what happened to Bennish or Logan or the Professor or Wade or even Colin.
And to make things worse, we were denied a resolution. The show ended on a cliffhanger TWICE. And most signs point to the fact that we will never get a resolution to "The Seer".
But here we are...
Even though I believe that there wouldn't be nearly as much fanfiction if Sliders hadn't ended on a cliffhanger, I would've preferred to see a conclusion. I'm sure most of you feel the same.
And even after Sci-Fi had done its damage, we faught to save the show for another season. And even Sci-Fi did a complete 180 when it came to Sliders. If they could've saved it, they would've. Their backs were tied, and from what I understand, they were disappointed Sliders died as well.
Now, the movie rumors come and we're still here, supporting the show. Even after people have claimed that a movie probably won't happen, we're here.
And we'll probably be here this time next year. We'll be here when the Sci-Fi Channel screws itself over for the final time and is sold off. We'll be here when the Sliders movie comes out. We'll be here forever.
So, for those of you who have begun to wonder about Sliders' future, this is for you. Sliders cannot die. It will not die.
Quinn
http://slidersweb.net/otherworlds/214PS-I apologize if I got way off topic and if I made no sense. Feel free to make fun. :-)
SpaceTime's
post
Date: 07/16/2001
From: Slider_Quinn21
To make sure that this gets at least one reply...Here's the "Evacuation" post...
Damn.
Date: 07/17/2001
From: Tigs
That was coherent, fairly concise, and well said. I'm sure my reply won't do it justice, but I can't help myself. I realize I will ramble a bit, and I apologize, but at least it's not stream of conciousness.You are quite correct in what should be a "duh" statement--something keeps us here. It's not just the show, at least for me, that keeps some of the old timers here. Many of us have developed friendships, aquaintanceships, and even acrimoniships (ok, it's not a real word, but work with me). The show drew us together and continues to draw people in, but it's those 'ships that keep us here.
Hell, some people love a good fight and others love a good lurk. We have people who, out of altruism or arrogance, are kind enough to collect and share facts about Sliders. We have people who don't hoard their memorabilia, instead they share. We are an incredibly lucky community, but we are also incredibly volitile. I'm not sure any other "major" board has so much infighting, backstabbing, bitching, and general chest thumping. Perhaps that passion is also what keeps people around.
Amazing how unfulfilled potential drew us to the show, kept us around, and keeps us here on this board. I'm sure many will disagree with me, but look around. Sliders was full of untapped potential, SQ_21 did an excellent job of detailing just how. This board is full of untapped potential. Perhaps it's that and passion--the twinning that draws us all like moths to a flame. Or perhaps it's late and this is a good post and I am in a philisophical mood.
keep the faith,
Tigs
Eloquence.
Date: 07/17/2001
From: SpaceTime
SQ21,Your post is beautiful. It is glorious. It captures precisely why we stay and why we leave.
When I wrote "Evacuation," I promised that when BvE concluded, I would leave. Since darkslider would rather eat cat-flavored ramen and read my Bruce Campbell book than finish a story he started over a year ago, I have kept my promise. I will leave when it's done.
And when I leave, I won't be in the minority. In truth, most people here have left, in spirit, if not in body. True, there's daily posting, but the conversation isn't about the show. There's nothing controversial that happens anymore. A discussion on the merits and inadequacies of the new Star Trek series draws 20 posts, ThomasMalthus' expertly written stories get none. Those who used to post frequently now rarely post, and when they do it's completely off-topic. Sometimes I wonder if said posts are done merely to keep themselves "alive" on the board.
What has happened is that the chain of command has broken down. Long gone are the days when we were galvanized against the idiocies of Executive. Long gone are the days when me tearing a newbie like Buffyboy a new corn shoot was met with adulation instead of derision. Gone is the euphoria of new episodes. No longer can we share the same opinions. As a community, we're no longer conforming.
We have become individuals in our own rights. The black and white atmosphere of the early "Golden Era" has been replaced with a more real, and more depressing shade of grey.
Who do you count as an ally now? Who do you fight with? It's not just the trolls and Executive; I bandy about with Informant frequently despite having no real prejudice or animosity. Hatreds and alliances are arbitrary.
Having come full circle, I can say that those that drew me to this community have now become my greatest opponents. Chaser9, who collaborated with me for over a year on fan fiction for EP.com, has publically denounced me. QB79, whose sites I used to host, has privately e-mailed the creators of the show speaking out against me. TemporalFlux now considers me the worst influence in the Sliders community. Is this my fault? Sure, some of it. Am I going to pine about days past? No.
As little as the BBoard brings to me nowadays, I still post because I believe I have a valid contribution to make. Even if, at the most base of levels I'm seen as nothing more than a blowhard and a two-dimensional villain, at least I am fulfilling someone's role, someone's supposition of what they need in this community.
I believe everything SQ21 says. The show cannot die. It lives on in the hearts of its fans, and even its detractors. Years from now, ideas involving parallel universes will have automatic corollaries with our show. As we watch tapes and read reviews, script outtakes and write fan fiction, we keep our characters, our friends alive.
But the Board? The Board will die. With a whimper. It will die because it has all been said. Like the Continuum in Voyager's "Death Wish," the BBoard has spent its time making lively, beautiful conversation. The passions, the fires, the love and hatred... it's all dwindling. Petty bickering prevents us from appreciating each other's contributions. Envy has replaced awe. Strife has replaced fun. Hostility has overcome friendship.
I am proud of the friendships I have forged here. I think the true telling point of an online friendship is when you extend your conversations with someone else to their life and not just the show.
I have remained relatively the same here, fighting to expose and punish ignorance. In 1999, this was lauded. Now it is reviled. Nothing has changed except a precious few's opinions.
Despite this, I stay. It is why I update a site that has garnered more battles than an ill-informed Executive post. It's why I write fan fiction no one reads or appreciates. It's why I do a lot of things that I'll reveal eventually but for now must remain secret. For good or bad, this is a community that I belong to, and no matter what a few think, I know I have been a positive force for this community. A community that endears us all to a show that, like it or not, makes us kindred.
Well, I also stay because darkslider won't get off his chow-mein chomping ASS and finish our epic.
- ST
"What
Do We Do Know?"
Date: 07/17/2001
From: Chaser9
I ask myself that everyday when I visit this board (and yes, even though I rarely post anymore, I still visit daily).SQ21 summed it up so well, I couldn't even attempt to add anything of real value to his statements. And I have to agree with Tigs on many levels.
The show drew me to this board and to a group of people with a similar interest to my own. I made friends, I made enemies, I made a total ass of myself on more occasions than I care to count, but still I'm here and my love for the show continues.
My friendships keep me here, well let me rephrase that. Those people I have attachments to keep me here, friends and foes. I always want to know what they're up to. It's like another life for me. I'm not Chris Deaver struggling writer when I'm here; I'm Chaser9 the guy who created E374 and originally Otherworlds. It's nice to feel important and that's what this board gave me a sense of.
Even during fights, flames, etc. I felt important, I felt like someone was taking the time to address me, regardless of if it was in a positive or negative manner (Boy did some of the folks around here piss me off! But those were good times in their own way).
I have to agree wit SQ on one thing, he's right, we'll still be here for everything, in one way or another. Sure we'll lose people, we'll gain people, but this board will still be here. There will still be people talking about Sliders, or which Arturo slid, or "What's this Navy Man crap?" for years to come, that's the joy of Sliders it appealed to so many of us and will continue to appeal to so many others.
Makes you wonder why a show like that hasn't made come back yet?
--Chaser9
So…?
Date: 07/17/2001
From: TheIrrelevantPoster
TIP:Everybody is staying for the TIP!!!!!!!!
Know=NOW
[n/t]
Date: 07/17/2001
From: Chaser9
Ugh, the former English major sucks at usage . . .
I
stay in hopes of seeing the Doughboy!
Date: 07/17/2001
From: Sabre_Edge
I check every once in a while to see if that elusive Pillsbury mascot will make his triumphant return!Man I miss his recipes... those scrumptious chocolate-peanutbutter brownies were to die for!
Patiently awaiting the long awaited "tee-hee!",
Sabre_Edge
Well
spoken, sir. (end)
Date: 07/17/2001
From: QBall79
END.
Right
on, right on. <end>
Date: 07/17/2001
From: IamBoris2001
.
Answer
to one of your Qs...
Date: 07/17/2001
From: TimeFluxEMC2
The Sliders did get home. Once they made it home but didnt think it was home because the gate at Quins house didnt squeak. So they slid thinking that they didnt make it home. Quin also made it home a second time. It was when him and Maggie were searching for a world to evacuate Maggies world to. They made it home a third time. Season 4, first episode. Now I dont really believe that that was their home or the whole thing about Quin being from another Earth. But throughout the rest of the series, they always thought that that was Earthprime.Later,
-TimeFlux
Beautiful!
Date: 07/17/2001
From: Isabella1113
Your "speech" was wonderful. I remember when I first saw Sliders. I think I was in either 5th or 6th grade, and I would ALWAYS watch Fox Friday nights with Sliders then The X Files. I always wondered what happened after season 3 finale, then upon getting the Sci-fi channel September 2000 (the truth) I learned what happened. Anyway, *wipes tears away* we are all fans of a truely unique show.
Isabella
Touching.
Uplifting. Poignant. True.
Date: 07/17/2001
From: Blinker
...and everything else that ST's reply is not.SpaceTime:
> I believe everything SQ21 says.
Slider_Quinn21:
> And we'll probably be here this time next year.
> We'll be here when the Sci-Fi Channel screws
> itself over for the final time and is sold off.
> We'll be here when the Sliders movie comes out.
> We'll be here forever.SpaceTime:
> The Board will die. With a whimper.
Blinker_Quinn21:
> The board refuses to die. And SOME of the
> board's inhabitants refuse to give up hope.- Blinker 7:-/
http://slidersweb.net/blinker
Bravo!
Date: 07/17/2001
From: The_Seer
No need to apologize for this, it's one of the best posts I've read in some time.I have a strong feeling that "Sliders" does have a future in some form or another. When it does return, hopefully Torme and Weiss will be involved the way Gene Roddenberry was for the "Star Trek" revival during the early movies and the creation of the "Next Generation" spinoff. Also, like with "Star Trek", we the fans will need to have patience. After all, if "Star Trek" survived more than a decade wait between the original series and the movie then so can "Sliders".
Please
remember this everybody!
Date: 07/18/2001
From: Grizzlor
Slider QuinnI agree with you about how the goals were never met. The reason is simply that the producers of the show were WEENIES WEENIES WEENIES WEENIES WEENIES WEENIES
They had no guts, balls, whatever.
Season 3 was absurd. blame fox and peck
Season 4 was to be great, in that charlie's bad acting would be made up by revealing he was a kromagg stoog and there is a big battle!!!! That means that Genesis was NOT earthprime!
Season 5 was also to be interesting at the end, with a grand kromagg battle in the seer. But no, Bill Dial was a cry baby and tried to get back at scifi with a cliffhanger.
But there IS HOPE!!!!!!!
Scifi has resurrected Babylon 5, Robocop, maybe Battlestar gallactica, outer limits, etc.
I just think Sliders will be looked at once more.
ST
gave himself a STD with that post
Date: 07/18/2001
From: FaceDime
Poor ST no longer has anyone to kiss his ass so the board will die because of that. Please! And just because people don’t pat you on the head and give you a cookie every time you flame someone doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with the community. I’ve never seen anyone “stroke” themselves as much as ST did in his post.- FD
Thank
you everyone! <more>
Date: 07/18/2001
From: Slider_Quinn21
Thank you for all of your kind words. I just think its amazing that we went through so much for this show, and that proves that it simply can't/won't die.One thing though:
Please don't turn this into a flame war. Let's not tear ourselves apart in this of all posts...
wow
Date: 07/18/2001
From: slidude
I'm touched.Slidude.
I'm
a newbie, but that was nice.
Date: 07/22/2001
From: MinkTurkey
Hi. I'm new here because I only just got the internet - well Tuesday - but I've been a fan of Sliders since I first watched an episode on thew BBC. I got really annoyed at the fact that the BBC treated it like crap and just messed up the whole schedule, then just removed it from the schedule. I'm glad that I got the sci-fi channel 'cause I never got to see all of Season 1 or 2 or 3 because of the BBC. I still haven't seen the pilot episode. Season 2 stars today anyway, so I'll actually get to see what happens in this post cliffhanger episode [with the great Nicholas Lea of X-Files fame]. I don't even know if he's in it a lot. I'm going off-subject.
Anyway, that was a very...deep...message and I was quite overwhelmed actually. It's nice to see somebody actually caring about something for a change. I haven't seen any of season 4 or 5 [they left it on the season 3 cliffhanger on BBC 2] and if sci-fi stop showing it I'm afraid I never will.
I just had a thought. If we all write our own episodes and send them to the company, they'll be bombarded with many scripts to choose from that could resurrect Sliders, then when they do choose one we'll be self-responsible for keeping the show we love on the air.
It's a nice thought, however unlikely.
Sliders is a fantastic show. It's so original and I'm always entertained. Shows like this are usually destined to fail in the first season [or week] but it's the support the show has gotten that has kept it going. I really really really hope it isn't completely abandoned. If it helps I'll offer myself as writer, producer, director etc of the series and handle it myself. Maybe they'll get somebody really good in and make the show great again. Make it up there with Farscape and The X Files and so on. I believe with the right team that could happen. But with the wrong, all could be lost. Maybe they should get some more good actors guest appearing. I mean they had Michael York in the season 3 finale. Maybe they should get...David Duchovny. He's free now. He could be one of those charactes who pop up from time to time. I don't care - just get Sliders up and running again!!!!!!
Amen.
Date: 07/23/2001
From: Vance454
"Never give up, never surrender!" :-P Great post, Quinn. You have spoken the feelings of almost everyone here on the board. :-)Vance454
vance454 on aol im
Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/545/26334
Nominated by Slider_Quinn21
