Sliders

Slide Effects
For anyone who has ever longed for one more slide with Quinn,
Wade, Rembrandt and Arturo, this story is for you.
Story by Tracy Torm
Script by ireactions
Please direct all feedback to ireactions (at) gmail.com
Summary
Quinn Mallory wakes up to find himself home -- in fact, it's like he
never left. It's 1!, "ade "elles is workin# at $oppler %omputers,
&embrandt is a stru##lin# musician, Professor 'rturo is teachin# and
only Quinn has any memory of slidin#. (aunted by five years of
memories he can't e)plain, Quinn starts to wonder if he's losin# his
mind or if somethin# else has #one terribly wron#...
*his story is set after the events of +*he ,eer+ and based on an
unused plot by ,-I$.&, co-creator *racy *orm/.
$ownload the script in P$0 format here1
http://freepdfhosting.com/c!b!"#d.pdf
SLIDRS is the !ro!erty of "#$%niversal and was &reated by 'ra&y
'orm( and Robert ). Weiss. It is used without !ermission. "o
&o!yright infringement is intended and the author will not re&eive
finan&ial gain from the distribution of this do&ument.
This show is flawed. Its entirely a product of the time it
was created. Its concept is great, but it never decided how it
wanted to follow through with it. At the end of it all, when
we carve through the things that make the show terrible,
were left with Quinn, ade, !embrandt and Arturo.
"ventually, were left with even less. #ut these four people
struck on a chemistry that was frankly magical. It was warm
and loving but never alienating. $ou could be friends with
them if you wanted. And we are friends with them in a way.
e care about them and we want to stay with them through
thick and thin % whether that refers to whats going on in
the show or behind it.&
Ian McDuffie in Think of a Roulette Wheel
We open on a distant view of the Milky Way galaxy, majestic
and vast. But a YOU ARE HERE sticker and glimmers of light
against the black of space show were looking at a giant wall
poster.
Our gaze moves along the wall, past the poster. Past a
miniature basketball net mounted to the wall. Past a hockey
jersey, and now we brush past a telescope, featuring an I
BRAKE FOR ASTEROIDS sticker on it. Behind the telescope is a
desk covered with scattered papers. Resting against the desk
is a surfboard. Next to that is a dresser where some dinosaur
models stand, dominating a baseball mitt.
And across from the dresser (and a sea of unwashed laundry
lying on the floor) is a bed. A black cat sits on the bed,
nestled comfortably, sharing the bed with a YOUNG MAN
stretched out on top of the covers, asleep with his glasses
on and a book called HYPERSPACE left open on his chest.
He mumbles in his sleep.
QUINN
Now... what do we do...
Abruptly, Quinn Mallory sits up with a gasp. The book goes
flying as he reaches out, trying to grab onto something that
isnt there.
QUINN (CONTD)
Remmy, no!!! Dont --
Quinn looks around, sees the laundry on the floor, the
dinosaurs on the dresser and his cat, Schrdinger, in front
of him.
QUINN (CONTD)
Where the hell am I?
The cat meows and Quinn lurches back like hes been shocked.
He pulls himself off the bed, staring at the cat, who only
offers another meow of familiarity. Quinn backs into the
dresser, and one of the dinosaurs falls over. He turns.
Picks it up. Lets his fingers skim the surface of the model.
Confirming the reality.
He puts the dinosaur down and walks to a nearby mirror,
hesitantly looking into it.
FLASHCUT TO:
Mallory (Robert Floyd) stands in the mirror.
FLASHCUT TO:
Quinn -- looking into the mirror and seeing himself. His own
face. His lengthy hair. His gray golf shirt. He takes off his
glasses. He touches his nose and the scar above his lip.
He looks around the room again, suspicious and untrusting.
Schrdinger yowls.
QUINN (CONTD)
I dont believe this --
(to the cat)
I dont believe you.
Schrdinger the cat is indifferent. Quinn yanks open his
bedroom door and steps out.
CUT TO:
QUINNS LEGS --
Running down the stairs of his house. Then he abruptly stops.
Quinn touches the bannister of the stairs, the floral
wallpaper. He slows his pace, walking down the stairs, not
knowing whats ahead. Hes tense, braced for action. He
reaches the foot of the stairs, makes a right turn, heading
towards the kitchen.
He stops for a moment to look at the chandelier lighting the
front hallway, and stares hard, looking for discrepancies.
Then he keeps moving, stepping into the kitchen with cautious
anxiety. Hes stunned by what he sees.
QUINN
No --
Quinns mother, Amanda Mallory, stands by the toaster, with
two slices of toast on a plate.
MRS. MALLORY
Morning!
QUINN
What is this?
MRS. MALLORY
Oh, rye. I bought white bread just
in case you didnt like it, but --
QUINN
How is this possible!? How can you
be here?
Mrs. Mallory is taken aback.
2.
MRS. MALLORY
Quinn?
She moves towards him, but when Quinn flinches, she stops in
her tracks.
MRS. MALLORY (CONTD)
Quinn, Im sorry about last night.
Quinn tries to process the words. But theyre meaningless.
QUINN
Last night?
MRS. MALLORY
(agitated)
You knocked out the power!
(takes a calming breath)
But I shouldnt have told you to
stop working on your fathers
equations.
Quinns suspicion, anger and fear begin to fade, as he stares
at his mother, unharmed, untraumatized, loving --
QUINN
I --
MRS. MALLORY
I talk to him too.
She reaches over to a chest of drawers with a flat counter
surface, and picks up a photograph. It shows herself, her
late husband, Michael, and Quinn, standing next to each
other.
MRS. MALLORY (CONTD)
I just think you could find ways to
keep your father in your heart that
dont involve hundreds of dollars
in electrical repairs.
Quinn says nothing, but his eyes are welling with tears. Mrs.
Mallory moves towards him, and this time, Quinn doesnt
retreat. She gently, but firmly, wraps her arms around him.
QUINN
Mom --
(a choking sob)
Im sorry. I was afraid -- I
thought Id never see you again.
3.
MRS. MALLORY
Quinn Mallory, it wasnt our first
fight and it wont be our last.
Quinn holds his mother tight, never wanting to let go.
MRS. MALLORY (CONTD)
In other news, your friend Wade
called. Soft voice for a man.
QUINN
Wade -- !
He breaks the hug.
QUINN (CONTD)
Shes alright?
Mrs. Mallory releases Quinn, moving back towards her toaster.
MRS. MALLORY
Oh, its a she. She wanted to ask
you if all of those new computers
at Doppler had hard drive failures
or if shed just been unlucky with
two?
Delight and confusion fight for space across Quinns face.
QUINN
Wade!
He turns, running towards the front door.
Halfway to the front door, Quinn stops. Turns around. And he
moves to the door in the hallway, the door to his basement.
He pulls the door open and runs down the stairs.
INT. QUINNS BASEMENT. MORNING
Descending, Quinn switches on the lights and anxiously looks
around his workroom. The basement is as it should be. An
astounding scientific laboratory with several shelves,
looking like stereo racks, full of complex wiring, computers,
keyboards, oscilloscopes showing fluctuating wave patterns on
the screens.
There's an optical table, steel-topped with drilled holes, on
which many refractive mirrors, a laser and an electron
microscope are anchored. A doorless refrigerator is
surrounded by small tanks, connected by multiple wires to a
large stainless steel cylinder.
4.
Several large, metal coils are also situated at various
points of the room. And against one wall is the blackboard,
covered with Quinn's calculations -- and a question mark at
the end of the equation.
Quinn moves to the armchair in front of the television and --
QUINN (CONTD)
My tapes -- where are they?
MRS. MALLORY (O.S.)
Quinn?
Quinn looks back to the stairs, at his mother.
MRS. MALLORY (CONTD)
I didnt mean what I said, but I do
think you should get out of the
house now and then. And if a girl
needs your help with computers --
Quinn nods, and urgently moves towards the stairs.
CUT TO:
EXT. MALLORY HOUSE. MORNING
Quinns blue BMW, with Quinn behind the wheel, backs out of
the driveway. We go to Quinn in the drivers seat, his
expression frantic. He grips the steering wheel, steps hard
on the gas. The car practically leaps down the street.
We jump ahead in time, with Quinn speeding down a street past
a park.
An upcoming traffic light goes from green to yellow. Opposite
Quinns vehicle, a red car is in the left-turn lane ahead of
Quinn. The red car is preparing to make the turn.
Quinn sees the red car about to move into his path. But
Quinns racing mind wont let him slow down.
As the left-turning car inches into the turn, Quinn slams his
foot on the gas pedal, intending to speed through the yellow
light.
But the left-turning car accelerates as well and finds itself
on a direct collision course with Quinns BMW.
Quinn yelps and abruptly swings his wheel all the way to the
right.
5.
At the last second, he manages to avoid a nasty crash and the
two cars end up parallel to each other on the side street.
Gasping, Quinn brakes his car, and rolls down his window. He
leans out to the other car, which has stopped. The window is
rolling down too.
QUINN
Sorry -- I --
The other cars window rolls down completely to reveal
PROFESSOR MAXIMILIAN ARTUROs snarling face behind it.
ARTURO
You thoughtless, inconsiderate --
Mallory?!
QUINN
Professor -- ? Youre alive!
ARTURO
I very nearly wasnt, you
blistering idiot! You clearly have
no business driving a car. Get a
scooter. Ride a bike. Stay off the
roads!!
QUINN
Oh my God. Its you. Professor. I
cant believe youre --
ARTURO
Mr. Mallory!!!!
(deceptively calm)
I am already coping with my own
shock, please dont add yours to my
burden. I will see you in class,
provided I make it to campus alive!
Arturos car speeds off, leaving Quinn behind. Quinn leans
back against the drivers seat, breathing hard.
(SOUND FX: The sound of a hand banging on a door.)
CUT TO:
A CLOSE UP OF A FRONT DOOR TO A HOUSE
Quinns fist pounds on the door urgently. It opens.
Wade Welles hair is tousled and standing on end, her eyes
are bleary, her robe is an unflattering faded blue and her
acne scars are unadorned by makeup.
6.
WADE
Quinn? Whats going on? Did I give
you my address?
Quinn gazes at Wade wordlessly, drinking in the sight of her.
Wade touches her hair, embarrassed. She rubs her eyes.
WADE (CONTD)
Quinn?
QUINN
I needed to see you.
WADE
Dont we have a shift later? Im
not at my best right now.
QUINN
You look beautiful.
Wade doesnt know what to make of that, but she doesnt
object, either. Its like Quinns presence makes her awaken:
her eyes widen. She stops touching her hair.
She returns Quinns gaze, and doesnt recoil when Quinn
hesitantly reaches out a hand to stroke her cheek.
WADE
I... always wanted you to...
Quinn moves closer. He barely believes in this moment. His
hands go to her shoulders, stroking them lovingly. Wade. He
hasnt seen her in so long. He thought she was --
FLASHCUT TO:
Wade Welles, inside the Kromagg sliding machine, her
expression vacant in the bath of green liquid.
FLASHCUT TO:
Back to Wade Welles now. Disheveled, alive and well.
Quinn leans forward and so does Wade. His lips brush against
hers, a gentle kiss of longing and regret. She kisses him
back. Quinn moves his mouth to Wades cheek, wanting his lips
to touch every inch of her skin.
QUINN
(whispering)
I thought Id lost you --
7.
Wade abruptly shoves Quinn back, severing the connection. Her
face tightens.
WADE
Wait, what?
CUT TO:
INT. DINING ROOM. DAY
Quinn and Wade sit at the dining room table. Wades hair is
damp, as though shes run some water through it to get it in
place. A coffee pot and two cups are before them.
WADE
Thats quite a story.
QUINN
You think Im crazy.
WADE
I think you had a dream.
QUINN
The two arent mutually exclusive.
Wade laughs. Quinn warms at the sound. Wade reaches for a
packet of cards on the table and starts pulling out the
cards.
QUINN (CONTD)
Tarot cards?
WADE
Im betting you dont believe in
the supernatural. I like to think
it exists whether we believe in it
or not.
She begins separating the cards into small stacks.
WADE (CONTD)
But I also think that it can be a
way of looking into our own minds.
Converting our thoughts to symbols
and common images.
She turns over a card. The Magician.
WADE (CONTD)
You wanted to build a hovercraft
with string theory. Its part of
how you relate to your dad.
8.
(MORE)
You knocked out the fuse box. You
had a fight with your mom.
She smiles. The next card is the Hermit.
WADE (CONTD)
Maybe this dream was just your way
of working through some issues.
QUINN
Its detailed, Wade. And I know
things from my dream that I
couldnt possibly know --
WADE
Yeah?
QUINN
Youve got a friend, Sabrina, whos
a Wiccan. You shared a bedroom with
Kelly until you turned 19. When you
were 6, she told you what all your
Christmas presents were before you
opened them.
Wade weighs this thoughtfully. The next card is the World.
WADE
Maybe you overheard me once and
forgot. Who knows?
The next card is the Tower.
WADE (CONTD)
Forget about the interdimensional
monkeys or my head being in a box.
Look at the ideas. A journey.
Losing a sense of home and a father
figure. Losing the chance to tell
someone how you feel. This was on
your mind even before the
nightmare.
QUINN
Im having trouble remembering what
came before it. Everything seems so
far away, so distant. I wasnt even
in my body.
WADE
You dont always have motor
functions when youre dreaming. And
if your dads work is important,
thatll make it more intense.
9.
WADE (CONTD)
QUINN
Im sorry. I must be losing my
mind.
Wade touches his hand. Holds it.
WADE
Ill always help you find it.
Mostly because I cant put up with
Michael Hurley without you to split
his attention.
(nods reassuringly)
But it might be good to talk to a
professional mind finder.
And she slides another card across the table to Quinn. Quinn
picks it up.
CUT TO:
QUINN, SITTING IN A CHAIR, HOLDING A BUSINESS CARD
Wider angle: we see Quinn sitting in a waiting room in a
doctors office, alone, holding the card that Wade gave him.
We get a look at the card. Its a business card for a
psychotherapist named Dr. Matthew Liebling.
An office door opens. A woman in a smart suit ushers a
teenager out the door.
WOMAN
Ill see you soon, Rodney.
(pausing to look at Quinn)
Youre here for Dr. Liebling?
(as Quinn nods)
Hell be with you in a few minutes.
As the woman returns to her office and her patient leaves,
Quinn shifts in his seat.
Then the door at the entrance to the waiting room opens. A
girl with dirty-blonde hair and a perpetually nervous
expression enters. She takes a seat on the opposite side of
the waiting room from Quinn, not making eye contact.
But Quinn recognizes her. Its --
QUINN
Gillian.
Gillian Mitchell. The girl from Gillian of the Spirits. The
girl who sees ghosts and spirits. The girl whom Quinn met on
another world and helped find sanity and confidence.
10.
She nearly jumps out of her chair.
GILLIAN
Do I know you?
QUINN
I --
(a pause)
Ive eaten at your diner?
GILLIAN
Oh! Okay. Sorry. I dont like
people to know I come here.
She wraps her arms around herself. Quinns anxiety begins to
return.
QUINN
Gillian, do you --
At that point, the entry-door to the waiting room opens
again, and someone else walks in.
A man in a needlessly reflective purple suit walks in,
bearing a relentlessly positive expression that clearly masks
inner turmoil.
QUINN (CONTD)
Rembrandt?!
REMBRANDT BROWN turns to Quinn.
REMBRANDT
Ohhhh. This isnt helping. I come
to these sessions to cope with not
being rich and not being famous.
Quinn gapes at Rembrandt.
REMBRANDT (CONTD)
But I appreciate it. I gotta be
honest, the Topps aint my fondest
memory. But the Cryin Mans always
got a special place in his heart
for his fans.
He sits down, oblivious to Quinns emotions, dismissing him
as being star-struck.
QUINN
Youre a singer. Your name is
Rembrandt Brown.
11.
(MORE)
Cry Like A Man was a hit, then
you quit the Spinning Topps, which
charted 13 number one hits without
you. You had a stint as a cook in
the Navy, but you cant swim.
Quinn suddenly stops, realizing the incongruity of the
statement. Then, barrelling ahead --
QUINN (CONTD)
You hate kids. In the last few
months, youve been dating Alesha
Avo. When you were Little Rembrandt
with the Shandells, you grew your
first mustache. Your favourite
shaving cream is Old Spice
sensitive. You bought your Cadillac
in 1979 from a man named Dale
Summers. You thought you were a
Gemini because you misread the
astrology chart and you were
actually --
GILLIAN
Holy hell! Stalker much?
REMBRANDT
Youre creeping me out. And I aint
never been a cook for nobody! But
how do you know about Alesha?
Quinn is now uncaring as to how he appears. He turns to
Gillian --
QUINN
And you -- Gillian. You hear
voices. You see things that arent
really there?
GILLIAN
(mortified)
How -- did my classmates send you
here? Is this some kind of joke?
Quinn gets up and moves towards the door.
QUINN
Im not laughing.
He walks out.
12.
QUINN (CONT'D)
INT. QUINNS BASEMENT. DAY
Quinn descends the stairs into the laboratory, determined and
angry. He wants answers. His cat, Schrdinger, trails behind
him.
MRS. MALLORY (O.S.)
Quinn!
Quinn looks back up the stairs at his mother. She holds a
plate with a sandwich on it.
MRS. MALLORY (CONTD)
Mr. Hurley called. He said
psychotherapy was no excuse for
absence without notice.
(lets that sink in)
When did you start seeing a
therapist?
QUINN
I didnt. I thought I should, but I
didnt.
Mrs. Mallory hands Quinn the plate.
MRS. MALLORY
(gesturing to the
basement)
You wont always find your answers
down here, you know.
Quinn accepts the plate with a smile breaking through his
confusion. Mrs. Mallory leaves and Quinn returns to the
laboratory. He sets the plate down on a table.
He pulls down the lever on one of the breakers to bring power
to the sliding machine. The coils hum with energy and Quinn
rubs his hands together. He moves towards the work table.
His hands snap components and circuits into place. He works
fast and from memory, glancing briefly at drawings only to
remember he doesnt need them.
Were past mid-day and close to evening by the time Quinn has
a timer in his hands.
He flips it open, sets the timer and presses the button.
It sparks in his hands and a wisp of smoke comes from inside.
He drops it with a cry of surprise.
13.
Schrdinger makes a noise of fright and hides behind a table.
The timer makes a whining sound internally and then the
lights go dead. Quinn prods at it with his foot, picks it up
with a pair of tweezers and puts it on his work table. He
snaps it open.
The internals are burnt and scorched.
Baffled, Quinn turns to his chalkboard. The equation is
complete except for after the equals sign. Instead of the
answer, theres only a question mark.
Quinn carefully erases the question mark, and writes in the
missing piece with chalk. Xr12/X. He even adds a happy face
at the end.
Then he stops at looks at the equations as a whole.
QUINN
Hang on. This... doesnt add up
properly.
He reviews each part of the chalkboard, every line, every
symbol, every letter, every digit. He pulls out a scientific
calculator from a drawer and redoes every calculation. He
opens various reference books, comparing them to what he
wrote on the board.
And then he reaches over to the chalkboard and draws a line
through the EQUALS SIGN next to the missing piece he just
wrote in.
QUINN (CONTD)
It used to be right.
Quinn shakes his head in consternation. He gets the plate
with his mothers sandwich on it, and drops into his
armchair. He nibbles at his food, then breaks off a piece and
holds it out to entice his cat. Schrdinger comes to him and
Quinn pets his cat thoughtfully.
QUINN (CONTD)
I dont understand, Schrdinger.
According to this, sliding isnt
possible. Theres no such thing as
alternate dimensions. No unified
field theory.
Schrdinger meows in response.
QUINN (CONTD)
But if the math never added up to
begin with, Id never have built
anything down here at all.
14.
(MORE)
What could have changed?
(beat)
Youre right, Mom. I cant solve
this on my own.
And Quinn comes to a decision.
INT. HOUSE. CLOSE TO DUSK
The doorbell rings. Arturo, still in his suit, sighs and
moves towards it. He opens it to find Quinn.
ARTURO
How do you know where I live?
QUINN
Professor, I need your help.
ARTURO
What you need is some discipline
and a day planner. Vehicular
manslaughter is one thing. Absence
from my class? That has crossed the
line!
QUINN
Professor! I need to talk to you.
ARTURO
Which you could have done during
class and office hours. Good night.
Just as Arturo is about to shut the door, Quinn holds up four
pieces of legal-sized paper hes taped together and written
his calculations on.
ARTURO (CONTD)
Oh my God. The unified field
theory. The missing proof. You
solved it.
QUINN
Actually, no. Thats why I need
help.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN. EVENING
Arturo and Quinn have rewritten the calculations on an easel
of chart paper and are studying it intently.
15.
QUINN (CONTD)
ARTURO
You say you solved this earlier
today --
QUINN
It was five or six years ago. I
think. Its hard to tell right now.
ARTURO
Yes, yes, your doppelganger from a
parallel universe -- Im sorry. I
hear the words in my own voice, and
I cannot justify breathing them. A
parallel universe. Merely a
mathematical concept for examining
the universe through numbers and
symbols. Abstract.
Arturo jabs a finger at the middle of Quinns calculations.
ARTURO (CONTD)
And according to this, impossible.
And yet...
QUINN
And yet youre hearing me out.
ARTURO
Only because Jeopardy was pre-
empted tonight, Mr. Mallory.
QUINN
Because you remember me!
ARTURO
Of course I remember you, youre my
student! You nearly killed me
today! And you nearly destroyed a
car I refurbished with my own
hands.
QUINN
I mean you remember our adventures
together. We were sliders.
Arturo stares at Quinn, his face unreadable.
QUINN (CONTD)
You saved one Earth by giving them
antibiotics. You saved another by
creating the atom bomb. You ran for
Mayor on another Earth and moved
gender politics ahead by ten years.
16.
(MORE)
(Quinns voice is
trembling)
You taught me to be curious and
bold. You were like a father to
Wade, and Rembrandt... he just
loved you.
ARTURO
Rembrandt?
A pause.
QUINN
Please, Professor, cant you
remember?
Arturo doesnt speak. He looks back at the chart paper.
ARTURO
Everything on that paper tells me
youve lost your mind, Mr. Mallory.
He looks at Quinn, and a tremor enters his voice.
ARTURO (CONTD)
But I find myself thinking of you
almost as...
Arturo shakes his head.
ARTURO (CONTD)
If this is madness, it has the
benefit of being mentally
stimulating.
Quinn nods, disappointed. But this is the best hell get for
now.
QUINN
Alright. Lets try something --
Quinn reaches over to the chart paper. Writes in the part of
the equation that Smarter Quinn added for him.
ARTURO
Meretricious. Would that it were
the missing piece that provides
proof of a unified field theory.
But it is not.
17.
QUINN (CONTD)
QUINN
Thats just it. It was before. So
what would have to change on the
other side of the equals sign to
make it true?
Arturo studies the chart again.
ARTURO
Herbert Van Meer.
QUINN
Oh, no.
ARTURO
Im sorry?
QUINN
Nothing, go on.
ARTURO
Well, as I was saying --
Arturo circles one set of variables and numbers --
ARTURO (CONTD)
Van Meers theorem formed the basis
of the Podalski proofs when
converted to propositional
calculus. Hence, this specific
subset of the equation.
QUINN
But if it were the inverse...
Arturo picks up a piece of paper. Rewrites the set of
variables and numbers in the form of a fraction and tapes the
paper over the subset of the calculations on the chart.
QUINN (CONTD)
It... it works.
ARTURO
And our inequality becomes an
equality. Proof...
QUINN
But it doesnt work. How can it not
work?
18.
ARTURO
Because... for some reason, the
very nature of the existence we
know, the reality we presently
inhabit...
(beat)
... has been altered.
QUINN
Maybe Im crazy. Maybe I copied it
down wrong --
ARTURO
Im pleased, boy, that youre
always inclined to test your
theories fully. But no. Were the
proofs inverted, had they always
been inverted -- our modern
deductive systems would be
significantly different.
QUINN
Professor, I know you dont
remember, but weve visited
hundreds of parallel worlds. Any
time something essential changed,
so did everything else.
ARTURO
But not here.
QUINN
Wherever we are -- the theorem was
flipped -- and the only measurable
effect --
ARTURO
Is to prevent the likelihood of
interdimensional travel, with no
other effect on our field of
knowledge. And that is impossible.
QUINN
Do you... do you believe me now,
Professor?
Arturo gives Quinn an appraising gaze.
Then someone bangs on Arturos front door.
ARTURO
Oh good. Perhaps our new visitor
will have proof that the moon is
made of green cheese.
19.
Arturo ventures to the door. Quinn studies the chart some
more, while we move down the hallway to see Arturo opening
the front door. Two police officers stand on Arturos front
porch.
We go back to the kitchen, in close on Quinns face.
POLICE OFFICER (O.C.)
Sir? Were looking for a Mr. Quinn
Mallory? His car is parked outside.
Quinn looks up, worried.
ARTURO
Yes, of course -- whats this all
about?
POLICE OFFICER (O.C.)
We received complaints that Quinn
Mallory has been harassing two
different people. A Rembrandt Brown
and a Gillian Mitchell. Well need
to speak with him.
ARTURO
Hes in the bathroom. One moment.
Quinn tenses, backs into the kitchen as Arturo returns.
ARTURO (CONTD)
Closet. Now.
Without waiting for Quinns response, he shoves Quinn into a
nearby storage closet. Then Arturo carefully opens the back
door in his kitchen. He turns back to the kitchen table and
knocks over one of the chairs.
ARTURO (CONTD)
Arrgghhhhh!! Quinn! Stop!!
Arturo throws himself down against the oven as the police
officers charge in, guns drawn.
POLICE OFFICER
Sir?
Arturo gestures at the open back door.
ARTURO
That lunatic attacked me and ran!
After him! He could be dangerous!
The police officers burst out the door. Arturo recovers and
pulls open the closet.
20.
QUINN
Gee, thanks.
ARTURO
Leave your car. Go on foot, north,
and use the cover of the hedges on
Morton. Take the bus to campus. As
you did not attend my class this
morning, you will be present in
class tonight, and I will join you
there in an hour.
QUINN
Professor, thank you for --
ARTURO
(a loud whisper)
No time, boy! Go!
And as Quinn runs out of Arturos house, the professor
returns to his seat and takes another look at the
calculations.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET. EVENING
QUINNS FEET
Pounding the pavement, running down the street. He gasps.
Breathes hard. He sees a phone booth ahead and stops.
CUT TO:
QUINN IN A PHONE BOOTH
The receiver to his ear. Quinn speaks quickly.
QUINN
Please. Meet me there. Its more
important than anything. One hour.
I have to go somewhere else first.
He hangs up and walks towards a nearby bus stop.
CUT TO:
21.
INT. BUS. EVENING
Quinn sits aboard the bus, wrapped in his coat, his face taut
and tense. As other passengers walk past him, Quinn averts
his face, looking out the window.
EXT. STREET. EVENING
The bus stops, and Quinn disembarks.
CUT TO:
DOWN THE STREET
Quinn is now walking away from the bus, walking urgently, but
he knows where hes going. And ahead of him is a steakhouse
called Baton Orange.
CUT TO:
INT. STEAKHOUSE. EVENING
Quinn walks in, shakes his head at a hostess and walks past
into the area of tables. He walks towards one table and sits
down across from REMBRANDT, who is polishing off a steak.
REMBRANDT
You! You looking for more trouble,
kid?
(outraged)
I already called the cops. That
poor girl has enough problems
without you hassling her.
QUINN
Just hear me out. Arent you
curious about how I knew youd be
here?
REMBRANDT
Youre a stalker?
QUINN
Rembrandt, get real! Youve been
singing at weddings and funerals
for almost two decades. Whod want
to stalk you?
Rembrandt grunts in pain.
22.
QUINN (CONTD)
Were friends, Rembrandt. Weve
known each other for years, youve
just forgotten.
REMBRANDT
Son, most of my friends, Ive known
since I was 25. Youdve been an
infant and I dont forget faces.
QUINN
Well, I havent forgotten you,
Rembrandt. I havent forgotten how
you told me about your evening
plans.
REMBRANDT
What?
QUINN
You always told me -- after the
Giants game, after your first
comeback performance, youd booked
a table at your favourite
steakhouse. You were going to have
a quiet night alone. You didnt
want to forget who youd been
before you became a big star again.
REMBRANDT
How -- I didnt tell anyone I was
coming here tonight. No one.
QUINN
You told me lots of things, Remmy.
How you were 17-years-old. Little
Rembrandt and the Shandells. Violet
was your 29-year-old backup singer.
And how you loved her with all your
heart.
REMBRANDT
The only people who know that are
in the grave by now.
(beat)
Who are you?
QUINN
Your friend. You must feel that, on
some level. You know I would never
hurt you, Remmy. Look at me,
Rembrandt. Dont search your
memory. Just tell me what you feel
when you look at me.
23.
REMBRANDT
I feel the need to slap you with
one hand and strangle you with the
other! I feel the need to take up a
steakknife and give you another
scar on your face. I feel --
He stops. Stunned. Stares at Quinn more closely than ever.
REMBRANDT (CONTD)
Q-Ball?!?
Quinn grins. His friend is back.
REMBRANDT (CONTD)
Q-Ball...
QUINN
Rembrandt --
Rembrandt reaches across the table and grabs Quinn by the
collar.
REMBRANDT
What fine kind of mess have you
gotten us into this time!?!?
Quinn flails and winces as his left elbow ends up in the
butter.
CUT TO:
EXT. UNIVERSITY CAMPUS. EVENING
Wade paces back and forth in front of a faculty building, her
breath showing in the cold air. She jumps up and down to keep
warm.
WADE
Might as well be in Canada.
At a distance, she sees Quinn and Rembrandt approaching. She
squints at Quinns companion.
WADE (CONTD)
Who?
Quinn and Rembrandt are still far from Wade.
24.
REMBRANDT
I remember now -- I was driving to
the game -- but then your giant
hole in the air sucked me and my
Caddy off into iceland! And I dont
mean the country!
QUINN
Yes -- Yes!
REMBRANDT
But thats not what happened today.
How can I remember two different
versions of the same day?
Theyre closer to Wade now.
REMBRANDT (CONTD)
And whos this little pixie?
WADE
Dont call me that, Rembrandt!
Quinn is delighted even as Rembrandt and Wade are astonished.
WADE (CONTD)
Wait -- wait -- Ive never seen you
before --
REMBRANDT
But I know you! I know you! Wade!
How can I --
ARTURO (O.C.)
It seems to be an epidemic, Mister -
- Mister Brown.
Arturo has arrived.
REMBRANDT
Oh no. Another one. Youre --
QUINN
Come on, you can do it, just let
yourself --
REMBRANDT
Professor!
(beat)
Q-Ball, how many more old friends
do I not remember? This is worse
than the blackout I had in 84.
25.
ARTURO
Lets take the discussion inside,
Mr. Brown. This bracing climate
isnt suited to intellectual
discourse.
As Arturo unlocks the door to the building --
REMBRANDT
I hope I dont owe any of you
people money.
CUT TO:
INT. ARTUROS CLASSROOM. EVENING
The blackboard shows Quinns calculations, reproduced in
full, with a circle around the problematic subset. Arturo
holds a yardstick and stands at the front of the class.
Quinn, Wade and Rembrandt sit in seats.
Arturo jabs his stick at the circled section of the
calculations.
ARTURO
This morning, I considered Mr.
Mallory to be a menace behind the
wheel. This afternoon, I considered
him to be an absent layabout in
need of a wristwatch. This evening,
I found him annoying and intrusive.
REMBRANDT
How did I not remember you? Did you
always talk this much?
ARTURO
But then Mr. Mallory wrote out his
figures and showed me that there is
something wrong with this world.
WADE
Yeah, its running out of natural
resources, a third of the world
goes without --
ARTURO
Something wrong, Ms. Welles, with
the very nature of reality itself.
Our existence -- it cannot be.
He lowers the yardstick.
26.
ARTURO (CONTD)
The last forty years of my life --
the papers Ive written -- the
theories Ive proposed -- they
would be fundamentally different
were Van Meers theorem as we see
it written here.
(beat)
Something has altered history,
changing nothing but this set of
calculations. To entrap us in a
world where sliders cannot exist.
REMBRANDT
And were supposed to just take
your word for it that some
blackboard nonsense shows us the
world isnt real?
(taps desk)
Seems real enough.
ARTURO
Yes. It does. But so does what I
feel.
He walks towards Wade.
ARTURO (CONTD)
I look at you. I dont know you.
But I know what I feel and I love
you as a daughter.
Wade smiles.
ARTURO (CONTD)
I look at Quinn. I see a son I
never had.
Quinn beams.
ARTURO (CONTD)
I look at Mr. Brown. I see a
comrade. A man I trust with my
life. A brother.
(beat)
Mr. Brown, when you look at Quinn --
what do you see?
REMBRANDT
A smug college kid in dire need of
a good kicking, thats what I see.
Arturo seems disappointed.
27.
REMBRANDT (CONTD)
Oh, dont get me wrong, I know who
he is. I wouldnt want to kick him
if I didnt.
QUINN
Thanks.
ARTURO
There we are. We must try to
remember as best we can. Mr.
Browns memories have begun to come
to the surface thanks to the
presence of familiar faces. Quinn
tells me Wade experienced a sense
of the truth as well.
WADE
I look at all of you and... I know
were all connected somehow.
ARTURO
Mr. Mallory, you must tell your
story again. Tell us of how you
created sliding. Tell us of how we
came to travel with you.
And from there, we go to a montage of scenes. We see Quinn
talking, standing in front of the seated Wade, Rembrandt and
Arturo. Quinn gestures.
The background of the scene fades to clips of Pilot,
Summer of Love and Eggheads, showing various chase
scenes.
We see various shots of the four leaping into the vortex, in
the background while Quinn, in the foreground, continues to
narrate.
We see scenes from Luck of the Draw, with Quinn falling
back onto the grass, bloody from a bullet.
We see the gang putting their heads together in Into the
Mystic.
We see the dinosaur from In Dino Veritas.
We see the fight between two Arturos in Post Traumatic Slide
Syndrome, as Quinn mimes some of the punches.
We see Kromaggs firing laser beams at the four as they make a
dash for it in Invasion.
28.
We see the vortex depositing Quinn and the others in front of
a phone booth in As Time Goes By.
And as these clips unfold in the background, Quinn narrates
in the foreground. And the others nod, remembering.
We see the four sliding out onto an airplane in the
background, represented through a clip from the third season
premiere, Rules of the Game.
Quinn gestures to narrate, but then --
REMBRANDT
Hang on!
Abruptly, the airplane vanishes and were back in the
classroom, but the room is darker than it was before Quinn
began telling his story.
WADE
As you told us about our slides, I
started to remember each one.
ARTURO
(too quickly)
As did I.
REMBRANDT
It was more than that. I felt like
we were reliving it.
ARTURO
Yes. And -- and I didnt want to
relive the world of nudists.
A gust of wind can be heard in the background.
QUINN
And the slide where we first landed
on a plane? Only it turned out not
to be a plane. It was a flight
simulator in an arena filled with
bombs and deathtraps and --
WADE
I dont remember that.
QUINN
No?
REMBRANDT
As you told it, it all came back to
me, Q-Ball. In living colour,
almost. But not this.
29.
The lights in the classroom flicker.
ARTURO
Which leads us to the next
question. Why did Mr. Mallory
remember past that point, while the
rest of us didnt remember sliding
at all?
QUINN
You said this world was a lie.
REMBRANDT
Did we just find out where reality
ends and the lie begins?
WADE
Is it getting darker in here?
REMBRANDT
Its like the more we remember --
He looks around at the faded scene: the darkness seems to be
closing in around them.
WADE
-- the less real everything here
seems.
ARTURO
I believe the reality we presently
inhabit is subject to our
perceptions. We are rejecting the
world we see --
The darkness seems to enclose them, until the room is gone,
and the four are simply standing against a black landscape.
And then theres a small amount of light, and Quinn, Wade,
Rembrandt and Arturo find themselves standing in a darkened
room, with five metal tables.
They see themselves -- Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt and Arturo --
each of them are lying on one of the tables. Electrodes are
attached to their heads.
And there is a fifth table, and a figure lies on it, the face
hidden in darkness.
ARTURO (CONTD)
We are within a simulation. Within
our minds. But now we perceive the
truth, although we remain trapped.
30.
WADE
How do we get out?
OFFSCREEN VOICE (O.S.)
You dont.
The figure in darkness on the fifth table sits up. Rises, but
somehow leaves a second version of itself lying on the table.
The figure steps out of darkness, revealing a voluptuous
female figure in a tight green T-shirt, with a contemptuous
expression framed in locks of red hair.
QUINN
Maggie!
WADE
Who?
Maggie Beckett smirks at that, and amused hatred burns in her
eyes.
MAGGIE
Perhaps youd prefer a different
face.
And then Maggies face glows and blurs, and suddenly, her
form morphs into QUINN MALLORY.
But not the Quinn we know. This Quinn has short hair, his
face is unshaven, and he looks at least three years older.
Hes clad in a wifebeater (a sleeveless shirt). His face has
none of Quinns passion or life, only a cold emptiness thats
then broken by a sneer. Hes nothing like our floppy-haired,
flannel-wearing hero.
WADE
Youre not Quinn!
QUINN
Ive seen that shapeshifting-
pattern before.
(pause)
Youre a Kromagg.
For a moment, the Kromagg-Quinns face shifts, showing an
inhuman face with a rounded brow, deep-sunken eyes that look
like scars, a pair of slits for a nose, and an ape-like jaw,
set in a rictus of cruelty.
Then the face shifts back to the Kromagg-Quinns face, but
the expression is unchanged.
31.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
But what is a Kromagg but a
shifting shadow...
His face morphs again. Now he looks like a younger relative
of Quinns, with long hair and a cold face. Colin Mallory.
KROMAGG-AS-COLIN
A splinter in the soul...
The face changes again. And now its Mallory (Robert Floyd).
KROMAGG-AS-MALLORY
A crack in the glass. A speck in
the ointment. Hiding in plain
sight. Waiting and watching,
gathering every fragment of
darkness within your hearts.
The Kromagg shifts back to the form of the unshaven Quinn in
the wifebeater.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
The sum of all your fears.
The Kromagg smirks with Quinns face, and the four back away
from him.
QUINN
Youve put us all in some kind of
telepathic prison. Youre in our
heads.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
Or maybe youre in mine.
QUINN
You kidnapped us all, wiped their
memories, made them think they were
home -- why?
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
Because you gave up trying to find
a way back home.
(tapping his temple,
looking at Quinn)
We placed a tracking device within
the miniscule cavity of your human
skull.
Quinn shakes. Touches his own head.
32.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN (CONTD)
And we waited for you to return to
your homeworld. The device would
signal us and we would come for
your Earth and its quantum
translocation technology.
Wade gasps. Rembrandt touches her shoulder. Arturo moves
closer to them. But Quinn stands his ground.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN (CONTD)
But as time passed, your travels
remained random. You made no
further efforts to control your
journey.
The Kromagg morphs into a dark-skinned woman with wide eyes
and a bob haircut. Diana Davis.
She moves towards Quinn.
KROMAGG-AS-DIANA
And so my mission was given. A
single operative would track you to
your present location. Sedate you.
Bring you to this underground
chamber. Enter your minds and let
you see what you wanted most --
home.
The Kromagg leans right into Quinns face and morphs into
Colin Mallory.
KROMAGG-AS-COLIN
I was to wake you up after a time.
You wouldnt remember me. But you
would remember what I gave you and
devote yourselves to finding home
once more.
The Kromagg shifts again to Quinn -- the older, unshaven
Quinn in the wifebeater.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
And then wed take your world.
Quinn locks eyes with his own face.
QUINN
It worked on them. Didnt work on
me. Why not?
33.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
Curious. The tracking device in
your head has a component of exotic
matter found in the folds between
dimensions. Allowing the
transmission of an interdimensional
signal. But it was damaged.
(beat)
It had been exposed to a rip in
time. It had absorbed a fragment of
time itself.
Comprehension dawns on Quinns face.
QUINN
The rip in time -- the rip in the
universe on the world where time
ran backwards.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
When I looked into your mind, the
tracker interfered. It poured time
itself into your mind. And instead
of what I wanted you to see --
The Kromagg morphs into Colin. Then a red-haired Maggie. Then
Mallory. Then Diana. Then Quinn again.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN (CONTD)
You saw every quantum possibility.
The possible outcome of every
choice on every world a Quinn
Mallory might potentially visit.
QUINN
Possible futures -- ?
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
No, you little fool --
(furious)
Every future. A storm of futures.
Bursts of light appear around the sliders and the Kromagg.
And within the bursts of light, we see moments appear.
Memories. Quinn in a leather jacket and blue T-shirt,
standing in a cemetery (The Guardian). Quinn in a dark
area, staring at a beaker holding a flickering flame (The
Fire Within). Quinn in a wooded area, crossing swords with
an enemy (The Prince of Slides). Quinn dressed as a
Christmas elf in a shopping mall (Seasons Greedings).
34.
Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt and Arturo look at the real versions
of themselves, lying on the tables, and they turn their
attention to the fifth table. On it, they can now see the
figure. Its a Kromagg.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN (CONTD)
(spitting out the words)
Everything any double of you could
do, anything any one of you might
ever be -- all of it running
through your mind and mine. And me,
forced to endure an infinity of
worlds dominated by your species --
evolutionary deviants and filth.
The Kromagg glares at Quinn.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN (CONTD)
Intolerable. My consciousness split
in half, inhabited by vermin. I
couldnt stop the storm, but I
could strain it --
(a sadistic smile)
And while you were receiving an
infinity of possibilities, I could
decide which ones you saw.
QUINN
What --
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
And I made sure you saw only the
worst.
The Kromagg shifts into the form of Dr. Oberon Geiger.
KROMAGG-AS-GEIGER
I found the 37 Quinn Mallorys whod
suffered most. Including a Quinn
whod lost his teacher. One whose
best friend was taken away. One who
no longer had a body of his own.
One who watched his last companion
slide to his death. I combined
their lives. Added in details from
the minds of your friends. Then I
made you live it out.
(with relish)
And I saw you in your wretched
state and laughed.
The Kromagg becomes Maggie with red hair.
35.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE
Finally, the tracker burnt out from
the temporal stream and you joined
your friends. Yet I am still
trapped in this half-life you
consider home.
(beat)
But watch.
And then suddenly, the scene around the gang and the Kromagg
is replaced by the underground floor of a military base.
The sliders find themselves watching a FLASHBACK from The
Exodus Part 2 unfold before them: they see THEMSELVES from a
third person point of view. In the flashback, Quinn, Wade,
Rembrandt and Arturo are standing together, seemingly frozen
in time as a gunshot bursts from the barrel of a gun.
Our sliders watch as Arturo in the flashback cries out and
falls.
Our Arturo covers his mouth in horror as he watches the three
remaining sliders gather around his own body.
REMBRANDT
No!!
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE
The worst of your worlds. And none
of you will ever make it home.
Arturo watches the scene of his own death unfold, sees the
sliders begging him not to die.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE (CONTD)
You trained your pupil to be a
scientist.
The scene shifts again: the sliders now watch Quinn and
Rembrandt running over a grassy hill, carrying guns (in
footage from Dinoslide).
And the gun-toting Quinn sprays gunfire with a look of
psychotic rage on his face. Hungry for blood.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE (CONTD)
Look at him, Professor. With your
death, he became a killer obsessed
with revenge.
Arturo is shocked by the aggressive, murderous Quinn firing
his weapon madly. He shakes his head in denial, but he cant
look away.
36.
And the scene shifts again: now our heroes and the Kromagg
are watching a scene of Quinn and Wade in a medical bay.
Quinn screams abuse at Wade (in footage from The Breeder).
The dialogue is unintelligible, but Quinn is clearly angry
and Wade is clearly hurt.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE (CONTD)
Not much of a leader without his
Professor. Which means that you
were a failure as a teacher.
Arturo casts a saddened look at Quinn and Quinn turns away.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE (CONTD)
But the Professors fate was
nothing compared to poor little
Wade.
She turns her attention to Wade. And then the Kromagg changes
form again -- still Maggie, but with black hair.
Now the scene around everyone shifts again, to a gray and
bleak cell. The sliders watch another scene unfold: in this
flashback, Wade is being hauled out of a cell by Kromaggs,
screaming for Rembrandt (in footage from Requiem).
In the flashback, Rembrandt sits in his cell, unresponsive,
covering his ears.
WADE
(watching the scene)
No. Rembrandt, please, do
something!
The Rembrandt of Requiem does nothing as Wade is taken
away. And the Rembrandt watching cant look on. He buries his
head in his hands.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE
(to Wade)
They never missed you, you know.
They never even looked for you.
The scene changes to show Quinn, Maggie and Rembrandt
laughing as they come out of a theatre in World Killer.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE (CONTD)
Youre in a rape camp, and there
your friends are, not a care in
this world or any other.
37.
The scene is altered once more: now it shows a flashback from
Mother and Child. Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt and Arturo observe
a scene with Quinn, Rembrandt, Colin Mallory and Maggie
standing on a hilltop.
REMBRANDT-IN-FLASHBACK
(grabbing Quinns arm)
If Wade is back there, we gotta do
something!
Quinn-in-the-flashback shows no reaction beyond indifference,
and pulls his arm from Rembrandts grasp.
QUINN-IN-FLASHBACK
I dont know if we have enough
time.
And Quinn-in-the-flashback walks off without a single glance
behind him. This Quinn walks right past our Wade, and an
agonized Wade looks on, stricken.
She stares at this future Quinn as he turns his back on her
and moves away. She reaches out to him, but hes too far away
now. She turns to our Quinn, accusatory and enraged.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE
He never loved you. He just felt
guilty about you. But out of sight -
- out of mind.
WADE
(choking on grief and
anger)
Quinn -- how could you -- no. I
wont believe it.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE
He wont deny it.
And then Quinn approaches Wade.
QUINN
Youre right. I wont. That is what
I did.
Rembrandt and Arturo are stunned.
QUINN (CONTD)
Because somehow -- I must have
known -- that whatever was
happening wasnt real.
The Kromagg-in-Maggies form suddenly steps back, as Quinn
moves forward and faces her.
38.
QUINN (CONTD)
Youre pathetic. Infinite
possibilities in both our minds --
and all you could use it for was
torture.
(beat)
And you got sloppy. You combined my
lives in ways that didnt make
sense. Sliding into the future --
thinking I was home based on one
conversation -- Rembrandt in the
Navy!
(a breath)
I stopped believing in the life you
gave me.
(looking at Wade,
Rembrandt and Arturo)
And I ended up in theirs.
With one hand, Quinn grabs Arturos shoulder. With another,
he grabs Wades. Wade takes Rembrandts hand.
QUINN (CONTD)
We took our memories back from you
and now well take the rest.
He glares at the surrounding scene. And from his will,
reality seems to crack. The hillside is gone, replaced by
better memories. Around the sliders, moments of the past
unfold. Among these moments, we see Quinn hugging Wade (from
Pilot). Then Quinn and Wade comforting a stricken Rembrandt
(from The King is Back).
We see Rembrandt and Arturo fishing (from Luck of the
Draw). We see Wade wrapped in a blanket, carried warmly in
Quinns arms (from Obsession). Followed by a memory of
Quinn and Wade in front of the Mallory house, kissing (from
Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome). We see Quinn shaking the
Professors hand (in As Time Goes By).
And we see a vision of Rembrandt and Arturo rushing to meet
Wade and Quinn. Wade hugs Arturo and Arturo lifts her into
the air as he embraces her (from The Young and the
Relentless).
The scenes fade to reveal the four sliders now. Standing in
the room with five tables, facing the Kromagg.
QUINN (CONTD)
Youre no match for the four of us.
The Kromagg-as-Maggie howls with rage and shifts back into
his natural form.
39.
His hideous teeth bared, he launches himself at Quinn, his
hands ready to tear Quinn to shreds. His cry of fury chills
the bone. His fingertips are within an inch of Quinns face.
QUINN (CONTD)
No.
Before the Kromagg can make contact, the scene shifts
slightly, and the Kromagg vanishes.
Only the Kromagg on the fifth table remains, sedated and
still.
Quinn looks to his three friends.
QUINN (CONTD)
We brought our memories back to us,
we can wake ourselves up too. Tell
yourselves. This isnt real. Were
lying on the table.
WADE
This isnt real. Were --
ARTURO
-- lying on the table.
REMBRANDT
This isnt --
QUINN
Real. Were lying on the table.
ARTURO
This is not --
CUT TO:
REMBRANDT SITTING UP
And pulling the cables from his head.
REMBRANDT
Real?
Next to him, Quinn, Wade and Arturo are sitting up as well.
QUINN
Yes.
He pulls himself off the table and walks to the fifth table
with the Kromagg lying on it. The others trail behind him.
40.
WADE
Hes still asleep.
Then suddenly, the Kromaggs form on the table shifts, and
the Kromagg looks like Quinn.
KROMAGG-AS-QUINN
(mumbling)
Time to put... a slug on the
barbie...
The Kromagg shifts again, turning into Maggie.
KROMAGG-AS-MAGGIE
(mumbling)
Get your stinkin' paw off me.
Shifts to Colin.
KROMAGG-AS-COLIN
(muttering)
Oh, this is truly inspired.
Shifts to Diana Davis.
KROMAGG-AS-DIANA
(a mumble)
It's one of the predicted
algorithms in the EPR paradox.
Shifts to the form of Mallory.
KROMAGG-AS-MALLORY
(a whisper)
I'd call that a major fluctuation.
The sliders watch, fascinated, as the Kromagg continues to
switch forms, delivering curious statements in a sleepy
voice.
WADE
Whats wrong with him -- whats
wrong with it?
Quinn turns away.
QUINN
He gave me the worst of all worlds
he could find. Now hes going to
live through all of them. Forever.
Quinn finds the timer on a small table. He flips it open.
41.
QUINN (CONTD)
Leave him. We need to get to the
surface. The plan was to let us
leave after we woke up. The exit
has to be close and weve only got
15 minutes to the slide.
(looking about)
A tunnel. Right here.
The four of them move through a mouth in the wall, and into a
tunnel.
They start walking up the path. A glimmer of light is visible
at a far distance from where they are. They advance towards
it.
WADE
I feel like I was home just a
minute ago. And before that -- I
think we were getting dinner?
(frowning)
The timer said we had two weeks.
QUINN
And we've been unconscious for most
of it. That Kromagg must've used
his telepathy to adjust our bodily
functions, keep us running without -
-
REMBRANDT
I really don't want the details,
Q-Ball!
(shaking his head)
I thought we were home for real
this time and I didn't even know
I'd been away. And now we're lost
again.
ARTURO
Remember, Mister Brown, that home
isn't just a place, it can be the
people you're with.
(after a moments thought)
There are some advantages to this
incident. The tracking device in
Mr. Mallory's head has been
destroyed.
(adding)
And of the four of us, he's the one
who suffered most. Id say thats
only fair.
42.
Rembrandt smiles at that. They keep walking. The light ahead
is getting closer.
WADE
Quinn -- we just have a day of new
memories. But you have three new
years of sliding in your head.
QUINN
It's not staying. It's already
beginning to fade away.
ARTURO
I would consider that a gift.
WADE
It just scares me. What Quinn
experienced? All of us getting lost
or dying? How do we know that won't
happen as we keep sliding?
ARTURO
Ms. Welles -- our captor wanted to
show Quinn the worst his doubles
could experience. And of an
infinite number of Quinns, he only
found 37 suited to his purpose.
Which means the rest have futures
brighter than we can imagine.
QUINN
Lets hope.
ARTURO
(a smile)
And whatever happens, we will face
it together. We should be --
Arturo trips over a stone in the tunnel and falls on his
face.
Quinn's eyes narrow in a calculating way.
WADE
Professor!
Wade and Rembrandt rush to the Professor, but Quinn waves
them off.
QUINN
Give the man some dignity, would
you? We'll meet you at the top.
43.
Wade wants to protest, but then Quinn hands her the timer.
She takes it and turns away, looking back reluctantly.
REMBRANDT
I can see the light at the end of
the tunnel. We're almost out of
here!
He and Wade set off. Their voices can be heard at a distance.
REMBRANDT (O.S.) (CONTD)
Too bad our trip here got
interrupted. For a world where you
go to jail for talking out loud,
the music was really good.
WADE (O.S.)
Might be for the best. I dont
think the Professor couldve made
it two weeks without hearing the
sound of his own voice.
As Wade and Rembrandts voices fade away, Quinn helps the
Professor up. He watches Wade and Rembrandt pass out of
sight.
ARTURO
A moment to catch my breath, if you
please. Thank you, my --
And then Quinn slams Arturo against the wall of the tunnel.
Before Arturo can call out, Quinn slaps a hand over Arturo's
mouth, silencing him.
Quinn puts a knee into Arturo's stomach. Arturo chokes and
Quinn lets him drop to the ground.
ARTURO (CONTD)
-- what -- ?
QUINN
That Kromagg was feeding details
from your minds into mine. And in
my mind, he added this little
factoid -- he said that Rembrandt
had been in the Navy. Where would
he get an idea like that? Remmy
can't even swim.
Arturo is breathing hard, trying to recover, not responding.
44.
QUINN (CONTD)
(leaning down to Arturo)
He'd get that detail from someone
who came from a world where his
Rembrandt actually was in the Navy.
(a cold whisper)
From you. You're not our Professor.
You're the double.
Quinn grabs Arturo by the shirt. Hauls him up.
QUINN (CONTD)
That Kromagg tried to steal our
lives, but you stole the
Professor's first!
ARTURO
Quinn, I'm sorry -- I never thought
--
QUINN
Shut up and listen.
And he whispers angrily in Arturos ear.
QUINN (CONTD)
I saw the future, Maximilian. I
remember all of it. I've seen what
happens without you.
(beat)
This team needs its Professor
Arturo. And now that's you.
Quinn releases Arturo.
QUINN (CONTD)
Wade and Rembrandt. They can never
know. Do you understand me?
Arturo is shaken. Frightened. But he holds up his hands in a
placating manner, and nods.
QUINN (CONTD)
The Professor left you big shoes to
fill.
(giving Arturo a moment)
Go on. Theyre waiting for us.
Arturo, shamed and grateful, begins moving up the tunnel.
Quinn stands still for a moment, glancing back one last time
at the chamber he's leaving behind.
FADE TO:
45.
EXT. HILLSIDE. MORNING
It's a beautiful morning. The hillside overlooks a bay of
water that stretches out to the horizon. Wade and Rembrandt
admire the sunrise, whispering, chuckling. They bask in the
warmth.
Arturo emerges from the cave and joins them. Wade runs to
him, brushing dirt from his clothes like he's a boy, and he
smiles, letting her. Rembrandt looks on and grins.
Quinn comes from the cave, calm and serene. He looks at his
friends, happy, united, together once more. Having never been
apart.
Wade raises the timer. She presses the button and triggers
the vortex, and its silver and blue light flashes across
their faces.
REMBRANDT
I've never been so happy to see
that thing!
WADE
Oh, please. You say that every
week!
Rembrandt laughs and dives into the vortex. Wade gives Quinn
a smile and then skip-jumps after Rembrandt, disappearing in
a flash of light.
Arturo casts an uncertain expression at Quinn. Quinn inclines
his head towards the vortex, urging him on, and Arturo hurls
himself into the void, vanishing.
And as Quinn himself runs towards the gateway --
QUINN
Were back.
And he leaps...
ONLY THE BEGINNING
46.
Slide Effects: Screenwriter's Notes
In a 2009 interview on EarthPrime.com, series co-creator Tracy Torm revealed his unused plans for
eason !"
"I was looking through the pile of Sliders production stuff and found a small piece of
paper dated November 1996," he says "It was a note to myself! I guess back at that
time I was also "otting down ideas that would make season four if it ever happened"
#ccording to the note, Season $ kick starts with an episode entitled "Slide %ffects" &he
sliders find themselves home, with everything "ust as it was In fact, it's like they've
never left (( it's 199$, )ade's still working at *oppler, #rturo is teaching, and
+embrandt is working with his agent
",uinn is the only one that remembers sliding and he feels like he's losing his mind,"
the note continues "+yan, -illian, Sid, .ogan (( all familiar and important characters
are here ,uinn is relentlessly trying to prove to his friends that they actually went
sliding /ake it look like it's not a 0romagg show, and then bring the 0romaggs back
in the end %nd revelation"
adly, Torm did not return to the series and his eason ! premiere story seemed destined to #o unused.
$ little while a#o, a mysterious and articulate fan of %I&E' (nown only as lider)*uinn2+ summed
up his thou#hts on the show. ,e spo(e of its appeal, its uni-ue -ualities, and the numerous indi#nities
and cruelties that the fans had to suffer"
S.I*%+S is a truly uni1ue show &he premise is ama2ing %veryone dreams of what
could've happened if things were different &hat's what made ,uinn make that first
slide %ven without S.I*%+S, the "what if" 1uestion continues to circulate throughout
television and movies
If there had been four different characters, played by four different actors, the show
might not have been as special &here was something about 3erry's ,uinn, who seemed
both ama2ingly confident and e4tremely shy 5e brought a lot of humanity to ,uinn,
which makes his later performances so sad &here's something about Sabrina as )ade
She's beautiful, but she plays that "girl ne4t door that no one notices" so well It was
endearing, and her relationship with ,uinn was so real
#rturo was the patriarch of the group, stern when he needed to be but loving at other
times If not for 3ohn +hys(*avies, the show wouldn't have been half the show it was
)hich e4plains the immediate drop off as soon as he left, in both acting performances
and story 1uality
#nd 6leavant Not only was he great for the show, he was great for the fans
+embrandt brought soul and humanity to the series, and his performance never
dropped 7ou cheered for him, even when the story 1uality died
&hose four people made S.I*%+S great 8ut I think their story is done )hether it's
unfair or not, S.I*%+S is more muddled than S&#+ &+%0 ever was, with most of the
characters ending up in some sort of horrible death9 ,uinn, merged with /allory and
lost! )ade, sent to a rape camp, forgotten, and then turned into the fortune teller
machine from 8I-! #rturo, shot and blown up after having his brain sucked out,
+embrandt, fate unknown
&he goal in Seasons 1 ( : was to get home *id they get home; &he goal in Season $
was to find 0romagg <rime and ,uinn's parents; *id they do this; &he goal in Season
= was to separate /allory and find 6olin; *id they do this; So, in retrospect, nothing
that S.I*%+S set out to do was accomplished &he show ended on a cliffhanger twice
and we will never get a resolution to "&he Seer"
If they ever end up doing a S.I*%+S9 &5% N%>& -%N%+#&I?N with new characters,
I'd like to see some sort of comic book to tie up loose ends 0inda like how S&#+ &+%0
@ABB9C released a comic tying the &N-(era movies to the new universe 8ut I "ust don't
know how you'd do it
7ou can split /allory and save ,uinn 7ou can reveal that the 0romagg <rime stuff
was a trick 7ou can do a "<ost &raumatic Slide Syndrome" reveal and 'save' the
original #rturo 8ut what about )ade; It'd be a mess "ust to get everyone back on the
same page, let alone give any proper closure to anyone
.et it stay dead, as much as we used to love it
I was deeply touched .y his .rilliant summation of the first two seasons. /ut his words also upset and
infuriated me. %I&E', a series that inspired its viewers with the multiverse0s infinite possi.ilities,
had inflicted so many crimes a#ainst its audience. $nd now, at the end of it all, one of its most
intelli#ent fans was left to .elieve that there was no hope of restorin# *uinn, 1ade, 'em.randt and
$rturo as we (new them in anythin# that would resem.le a coherent story.
That 2ust pissed me off. $nd I couldn0t accept that. I simply couldn0t allow myself to .elieve that the
premise of this show could fail to save the ori#inal cast and concept, and Tracy Torm0s 3lide Effects3
was the perfect response of outra#e, defiance, optimism and hope.
"Only The Beginning"
There have .een many post-eason 4 %I&E' fanfics, many of them intri#uin#, all of them sufferin#
from tryin# to wrap up too many separate plot points that don0t fit to#ether in the same story. 3lide
Effects3 may suffer from some of the same flaws 5overlon# e6position, strained lo#ic, an
overa.undance of metate6tual commentary7, .ut 3lide Effects3 is not a.out .rin#in# closure to the
series or wrappin# up the 8roma## Prime arc, splittin# the *uinns, stic(in# 9olin, li.eratin# Earth
Prime, recoverin# 'em.randt, reunitin# with the ori#inal Professor or resurrectin# 1ade 1elles.
The #oals with 3lide Effects3 are far more modest, see(in# to turn the cloc( .ac( to the Pilot and to
recreate the :ancouver environment of easons + - 2 and the cast chemistry of the show0s .e#innin#s,
and then to force the eason + - 2 characters to confront easons ; - 4.
$s a fan of the show, I0ve always felt that 3$s Time <oes /y3 should have .een the final episode of the
series. The endin# showed the four sliders united a#ainst all odds and facin# infinity with friendship
and coura#e. 3lide Effects3 was a chance to ta(e the sliders .ac( to where 3$s Time <oes /y3 left
them and allow readers to ima#ine a different and .ri#hter future.
The Author's Saving Throw
T:Tropes.or# descri.es an $uthor0s avin# Throw as plot and story elements desi#ned to repair
perceived dama#e to a series or its characters. The idea in the script is that the rip in the universe from
3$s Time <oes /y3 had a stran#e effect on the 8roma## trac(in# device, e6posin# *uinn to every
event e6perienced .y every *uinn =allory in the multiverse. The 8roma## com.ined the e6periences
of the ;> *uinns with the most traumatic lives and made *uinn live throu#h it. There0s a *uinn who
lost the Professor to 'ic(man. $ *uinn who0s mer#ed with =allory. They0re 2ust not all the same
*uinn.
%I&E' was incredi.ly inconsistent with characteri?ation in its later years" =a##ie sou#ht reven#e
for her hus.and0s murder in 3The E6odus Part 23 .ut was flirtin# with men in 3lither3 only to resume
mournin# in 3:irtual lide3 and 3lide .y 1ire.3 *uinn ris(ed his life for 1ade, 'em.randt and =rs.
=allory in 3<enesis3 and vowed to return home to li.erate it, .ut then dismissed the idea of savin#
1ade in 3=other and 9hild3 and a.andoned his mission 5and mother7 in 3'evelations.3 'em.randt
.arely mourned the loss of *uinn and 9olin in eason 4. *uinn was indifferent to the Professor0s death
in easons ;@ ! .ut, accordin# to =allory, was haunted .y it in 3$pplied Physics. 3
$ll these contradictory story elements can .e rationali?ed .y e6plainin# that different sets of dou.les
5with different personalities and .ac(stories7 e6perienced different adventures. ;> seemed a #ood
num.er. $nd this way, =a##ie, 9olin, =allory, &iana, %o#an and other latter-era concepts are still part
of the mythos, co-e6istin# alon#side the ori#inal sliders, no lon#er replacin# them. The %I&E'
universe is a .ri#hter place with Prototronics, <ei#er $pplied 'esearch, lidewaves, lideca#es,
unstuc( men, 'eticulans, an E#yptian civili?ation of sliders, fraternal dou.les, the lidolo#y reli#ion...
and now *uinn, 1ade, 'em.randt and $rturo are free to e6plore all of it.
I li(e to thin( that when the four leap into the vorte6 at the end, they #o wherever you want them to #o.
=ay.e it0s home. =ay.e it0s to the Earth in 3<enesis3 to save it and 'em.randt. =ay.e it0s to the world
of lidolo#y to split the *uinns and stic( 9olin. =ay.e it0s the fourth season Tracy would have written.
=ay.e it0s the adventures on Earth 2++. =ay.e it0s Earth ;+>, ar#ua.ly the .est %I&E' virtual
season out there. =ay.e it0s all the fanfics on the %AI9 archive. =ay.e it0s the .rilliant stories .y
Bi#el =itchell or &iana Cones. Dr may.e they #o on to have adventures in your fanfics. The 3lide
Effects3 script is yours" feel free to adapt and se-ueli?e it.
The team is .ac( to#ether, .ut *uinn remem.ers everythin#. The 8roma## trac(in# device has .een
destroyed, .ut they0re still out there and so are %o#an t. 9lare, D.eron <ei#er, the 'eticulans, an
unstuc( 9olin and a =allory mer#ed with *uinn. The Professor is alive, .ut so is the man whose place
he too(. This is %I&E' and anythin# can happen ne6t.
Sliders: A Retrospective
8elow are some thoughts from a mysterious fan of S.I*%+S, SliderD,uinnA1, whose musings touched
many of the words within this script
%I&E' is a truly uni-ue show. The premise is ama?in#. People I tal( to who don0t li(e the show
a#ree that the premise was #reat. The 31hat If3 facet of %I&E' is fascinatin#. Everyone dreams of
what could0ve happened if thin#s were different. That0s what made *uinn ma(e that first slide. Even
without %I&E', the 3what if3 -uestion continues to circulate throu#hout television and movies.
%I&E' survived multiple cancellations. 1hat other shows can claim thatE %I&E' survived cast
chan#e after cast chan#e after cast chan#e after cast chan#e. 1hat other show can claim to (eep #ood
ratin#s after losin# >4 per cent of its ori#inal cast, includin# two fan favoritesE 1hen you watched the
pilot, would you thin( that 'em.randt would .e the one to survive if someone had toE 'em.randt, the
comic reliefE
%I&E' has spawned several we.sites and fanfiction. ,ow many shows have entire sites li(e the
Dtherworlds, filled with fanfictionE ,ow many shows have sites li(e or The &imension of 9ontinuity
that .rea( down every facet of the showE
Aans have stuc( with the show throu#h the #ood, the .ad, and the really .ad. =any despise most of the
show. ,ow many shows can claim to (eep a sta.le fan.ase when most of the fan.ase only li(e a.out 20
of the episodesE
This is a show the networ( didn0t want. ADF cancelled it every sin#le year, and it was saved every year.
ci-Ai 9hannel too( advanta#e of the fans and tried to cancel it to no avail. Even with no actors, no
.ud#et, and no interest, a si6th season almost happened. It really shows the power of fans. The fans
(ept a show on the air for five years that should0ve .een on for 20 episodes. Pro.a.ly less. $nd all
.ecause of how it started.
If there had .een four different characters, played .y four different actors, the show mi#ht not have
.een as special. There was somethin# a.out Cerry0s *uinn, who seemed .oth ama?in#ly confident and
e6tremely shy. Gou see him act so proud and ener#etic in the .asement and so shy and out-of-place
everywhere else. ,e .rou#ht a lot of humanity to *uinn, which ma(es his later performances so sad.
There0s somethin# a.out a.rina as 1ade. he0s .eautiful, .ut she plays that 3#irl ne6t door that no one
notices3 so well. It was endearin#, and her relationship with *uinn was so real. he wasn0t a .om.shell,
and he wasn0t dashin#. /ut they were .oth attractive, and they seemed to have real chemistry.
$rturo was e6actly the way he needed to .e played. ,e0s mystified .y what he0s a.le to see, proud that
he0s a part of it, .ut seemin#ly 2ealous at the same time. ,e played the patriarch of the #roup, stern
when he needed to .e .ut lovin# at other times. If not for Cohn 'hys-&avies, the show wouldn0t have
.een half the show it was. 1hich e6plains the immediate drop off as soon as he left, in .oth actin#
performances and story -uality. I don0t thin( Cohn would0ve accepted some of the crap that came out in
eason ! or 4. In fact, I0m surprised he put up with as much as he did in eason ;.
$nd 9leavant. Bot only was he #reat for the show, he was #reat for the fans. ,e stayed when he was on
a sin(in# ship, and he0s always said he did it for the fans. Ima#ine a eason 4 with =a##ie, =allory,
&iana, and someone else, it would0ve .een a disaster. 'em.randt .rou#ht soul and humanity to the
series, and his performance never dropped. Gou cheered for him, even when the story -uality died.
Those four people made %I&E' #reat. /ut I thin( their story is done. 1hether it0s unfair or not,
%I&E' is more muddled than T$' T'E8 ever was, with most of the characters endin# up in some
sort of horri.le death" *uinn, mer#ed with =allory and lostH 1ade, sent to a rape camp, for#otten, and
then turned into the fortune teller machine from /I<H $rturo, shot and .lown up after havin# his .rain
suc(ed out, 'em.randt, fate un(nown.
IThe #oal in easons + - ; was to #et home. &id they #et homeE The #oal in eason ! was to find
8roma## Prime and *uinn0s parentsE &id they do thisE The #oal in eason 4 was to separate =allory
and find 9olinE &id they do thisE o, in retrospect, nothin# that %I&E' set out to do was
accomplished. 9ountless threads were left untied. 1e never found out what happened to /ennish or
%o#an or the Professor or 1ade or even 9olin. $nd to ma(e thin#s worse, we were denied a resolution.
The show ended on a cliffhan#er twice and we will never #et a resolution to 3The eer.3
ur#ery could .e done to remove all the tumors, .ut it would pro.a.ly end up (illin# the patient. It0s
pro.a.ly .est to 2ust amputate that se#ment of %I&E' and move on.
If they ever end up doin# a %I&E'" T,E BEFT <EBE'$TIDB with new characters, I0d li(e to see
some sort of comic .oo( to tie up loose ends. 8inda li(e how T$' T'E8 520097 released a comic
tyin# the TB<-era movies to the new universe. /ut I 2ust don0t (now how you0d do it. Gou can split
=allory and save *uinn. Gou can reveal that the 8roma## Prime stuff was a tric(. Gou can do a 3Post
Traumatic lide yndrome3 reveal and 0save0 the ori#inal $rturo. /ut what a.out 1adeE It0d .e a mess
2ust to #et everyone .ac( on the same pa#e, let alone #ive any proper closure to anyone.
On Season
I thin( the difference .etween %I&E' and any normal television series is the sheer num.er of
different people that were in char#e alon# the way. %I&E' chan#ed producers, e6ecutive producers,
showrunners, and networ(s. Dutside of 9leavant, I don0t thin( anyone that was with the show for
episode one was with the show for episode JJ. o there was no one there to #uide the show from point
$ to point K. $nd there was no consistency for any of the characters.
1ith eason !, there were so many emotional issues that they could0ve run with, .ut they i#nored
almost everythin#. It ran on a 3oh well3 system, li(e a sitcom, where nothin# ever carries over into the
ne6t episode. *uinn never deals with the death of his mentor, the captureLrape of his .est friend, or the
destruction of his homeworld 5adopted or not7. 'em.randt never really deals with 1ade0s a.duction or
the invasion of Earth Prime. =a##ie never deals with the destruction of her world, the death of her
hus.and, or the relief of (illin# 'ic(man.
$nd while the show didn0t have to turn into <I%=D'E <I'% and have everyone discuss their
feelin#s, it could0ve easily addressed some of these ma2or concerns. /ecause, while the third season
was insane, it did set up a lot of potential drama in season four. $nd on a new networ(, they had a
chance to have a completely clean slate... somethin# that most shows don0t #et a chance to do.
Thin( a.out how %I&E' would .e done in today0s world, and where it could0ve #one creatively. Gou
start season four with the followin#"
*uinn has lost his mentor, and his -uest for reven#e never really allowed him to mourn. 1ith no
$rturo, *uinn has .een forced to ta(e up definitive leadership in the role. *uinn has seen several
versions of himself, most of them havin# invented slidin#. Earth Prime has .een ta(en over .y
8roma##s, completely alterin# the sliders0 ori#inal #oals. *uinn finds out that he0s a central fi#ure in
the war .etween humans and 8roma##s. 1ade has .een captured and ta(en away .y the 8roma##s.
'em.randt has .een livin# in a prison camp. =a##ie is forced to .ond in a #roup now that her own
-uest for reven#e is over. he also didn0t mourn the loss of her hus.and. Dr, conse-uently, her entire
world.
<iven the writers of %I&E' season four, most of that wasn0t considered. /ut put the writers of
A'IB<E on thatE Dr MPE'B$TM'$%E Dr %DTE Dr one of the other .rilliant #enre shows todayE
$nd I thin( you have a lot to wor( with.
9onsider *uinn. ,ere he is, havin# travelled around the multiverse for three years. It0s started to .e fun,
and he0s startin# to learn that he 5*uinn =allory7 is important on several worlds. 9reatin# slidin#
wasn0t uni-ue to himself on one world -- he0s important on a lot of worlds. 1ritten correctly, *uinn
could0ve easily developed a #od comple6 - he0s really special. Throw in the whole 8roma## Prime arc,
and it .ecomes even easier to tip him over the ed#e. $s far as the shift in his character #oes, it0s not
necessarily out of the .lue that he0d #o from nerdy science #ee( to superhero. ,e was already athletic
5he was a hi#h school -uarter.ac(7, and he was already heroic. lidin# had trained him on weapons of
all (inds.
Then there0s the whole shift in focus. lidin# was ori#inally a.out e6ploration. <ettin# lost in the
multiverse chan#ed that, and the -uest .ecame to #et home. Then it .ecame a.out #ettin# 'ic(man.
/ut findin# Earth Prime invaded chan#ed all that. Bow it isn0t a.out findin# home or science or
e6ploration. It0s a.out survival. $nd, if they decide to #o that direction, it would .ecome a.out
li.eration. 1hich would, of course, re-uire a superhero.
$nd they could0ve easily #one with the 38roma## py3 plan. They want to destroy *uinn, and they
come up with this plan. They see a #uy who0s already convinced that he0s important, and they play to
that. =a(e him thin( he0s supremely important. Aill the void of his own mentor with his own e#o. /uild
him up...and when he0s at his most vulnera.le, destroy him.
Gou also have =a##ie movin# in to 1ade0s spot. he0d fill the void in *uinn0s heart, .ut she wouldn0t
fill the hole in 'em.randt0s. $nd it0d .e a completely different dynamic in the #roup. That, plus
'em.randt0s e6perience as a PD1, would pro.a.ly ma(e the 9ryin0 =an dar(er. %osin# $rturo, 1ade,
and the lovea.le 'em.randt would completely chan#e that the way the #roup functions. Throw in a
more action-oriented leader *uinn and a militaristic =a##ie, and the #roup would start to function in a
more military-oriented way.
Then, there0s 9olin. =a(e him a 8roma## py, .ut I li(e the idea that it0s su.liminal or su.conscious.
/ecause I do actually li(e the idea of 9olin, comin# from an 3$mish3 world as a lider. It0s a .i#
enou#h moment of e6citement to have our sliders seein# alternate worlds, .ut the wonder and
ama?ement that 9olin would have e6perienced would0ve .een monumental. I thin( it could0ve .een
fascinatin#.
$nd much li(e 9astielLCimmy from MPE'B$TM'$%, it could0ve .een an interestin# su.plot to have
the 39olin3 personality trapped when the 38roma## py3 personality emer#es. 9ould he .e savedE
There was so much that they could0ve done. They could0ve done 2ust a.out anythin# with this premise.
If they wanted to do a one-man show with Cerry, they could0ve. If they wanted to turn the show on it0s
ear, they could0ve. /ut what they did, instead, was ma(e a cheap copy of the first couple of seasons.
The castin# stuff was .ad, .ut it was salva#ea.le. The .ud#et was low, .ut it isn0t the (ind of show that
demands a lot of spendin#. $nd even some of the story ideas 58roma##s as a primary villain, Earth
Prime invaded, *uinn from another Earth7 could .e wor(ed with. It could0ve wor(ed, despite all of
that. $nd they 2ust dropped the .all. It0s 2ust a shame.
On a S!"#ERS feature fil$
If we #ot a %I&E' movie, I thin( re.oot is the only way to #o. $s many fans as there are of
%I&E' still, I thin( our opinions are all .ut irrelevant to the discussion. I don0t thin( anythin# from
the show would .e referenced. Bothin#. Pretend, as you easily can with this premise, that the T: show
and the movie are different sets of sliders. *uinn =allory discovers slidin#, and he and friends #o on a
2ourney. $nythin# outside of that would .o##le thin#s up way too much.
If you want, do a re.oot with new actors. If you want the ori#inal actors, it could still wor(. Gou 2ust
write *uinn as a scientist-at-heart that lost trac( of time and #rew up .efore he could ma(e his
scientific .rea(throu#h. =a(e 1ade his wife. $rturo and 'em.randt could 2ust as easily .e +4 years
older than they were when the show premiered without chan#in# much of anythin#.
This isn0t the same situation as T$' T'E8, where they had to fill in the #aps to the show0s fans. They
could show, very early, that this isn0t *uinn from the T: show. This is an entirely new *uinn =allory,
and the premise allows this to .e no .i# deal. $nd if they wanted, li(e T$' T'E8 520097 did, they
can release a comic .oo( to provide an in-canon e6planation to e6plain what happened to the T: show
characters.
/ut, at the end of the day, I don0t thin( the fans are worried a.out =allory or &iana or =a##ie. I don0t
even thin( they0re worried a.out 'em.randt. <ive us a new movie, and I thin( we0ll .e fine.
The e6ecution for %I&E' was awful for a lar#e ma2ority of the show. Even the sacred first season
isn0t void of ma2or issues, and it0s less than ten episodes lon#. It0s the idea that (ept the show #oin# for
five years, and it is what should .e a.le to .rin# the show .ac( in some form. %I&E' doesn0t have
the fan .ase of T$' T'E8, .ut it also wouldn0t re-uire the (ind of .ud#et that either of those
franchises re-uires. Gou can ma(e a %I&E' movie on very small percenta#e of the .ud#et of a Tre(
movie. If done correctly, it wouldn0t re-uire much 9<I, and none of the actors would demand a hi#h
salary. If you re.oot with youn#er actors, you mi#ht even ma(e it cheaper.
On new characters or recasting%
Is %I&E' simply the ori#inal four peopleE If so, why does =a##ie 5!9 episodes7 appear in more
episodes over the course of the series than $rturo 5!+7E Is %I&E' only the first !+ episodes, and is
the second half of the series simply a spinoff with the same nameE
Dr is %I&E' simply a #roup of people #oin# from one parallel universe to anotherE The show
survived without all .ut one of the ori#inal characters. I reali?e it wasn0t #reat survival, .ut it did
survive. $nd, at times, it was a.le to tell a #ood story or two, even without *uinn or 1ade or $rturo.
If a %I&E' movie came out with all-new actors and all-new characters, I thin( it would still .e
%I&E'. It would pro.a.ly, at least to me, still .e %I&E' without many references to the ori#inal
series. If they followed the path of Tommy, Professor 8ni#ht, Cac(, and Cill... if the story wor(s, I thin(
it would .e easily accepted as part of the canon. In the same way that T$' T'E8 fans accepted
Picard and is(o after 8ir( sailed into the sunset.
/ecause, li(e T$' T'E8, %I&E' has a simple #oal. Tre( e6plored the stars. %I&E' e6plores
parallel universes where anythin# is possi.le. $nd as much as I li(e the ori#inal four characters, I thin(
I love the premise so much more.