Episode Review: As Time Goes By
Season 2
Airdate: 7/12/96
Rating: 5/5
Episode Details
Airdate: July 12, 1996
Network: FOX
Director: Richard Compton
Writer: Steve Brown
Notable Guest Stars: Brooke Langton, Charlie O’Connell
Nielsen Ratings: Viewers: 5.7 Million, Rating: 4.2, Share: 9, Rank: 74
Worlds: Mexican World, Quinn’s Crush World, Backward Time World, Phone Booth World
Memorable Quotes:
Arturo (to Rembrandt): There’s no need to invoke a destructive child. Mr. Mallory has done it all by himself.”
Arturo (to Quinn): “Have you looked at the heavens?”
Wade: “Oh, my God, there’s a hole in the sky.”
Rembrandt: “Hey, what’s going on?”
Arturo (to Quinn): “You’ve changed the future. You’ve ripped a hole in the fabric of time. God knows what the consequences will be.”
Wade: “What could it mean?”
Arturo: “In layman’s terms, I fear tomorrow may no longer exist.”
Quinn: “Wow!”
The Sliders arrive on a world where the Spanish rule America.
Right off the bat this episode is intriguing. We find the Sliders standing on the side of a street corner littered with signs in Español. They’re standing on a curb with others looking for jobs. You see, in our America many Mexicans illegally look for work while on this world the caucasians have taken their place. The Anglo-Saxon is the immigrant of the United States, or should I say Nueva España (New Spain).
As usual, trouble soon arises and the Sliders are chased by the Immigration police. Quinn is the only slider to escape while the rest of the team is rounded into custody. Here the immigration police is in full force and not lax in its effort to round up illegals. Quinn is taken in by a Spanish maid named Daelin. On earthprime, she was Quinn’s former classmate and love. This scene really begins an interesting turn of events. Quinn begins dreaming of having a second chance with her. It’s really a love-crush story played differently than anything I’ve seen. On this world Daelin is unacquainted with Quinn and is married to Dennis McMillan, a day laborer who was seen on a street corner with the Sliders.
A fun fact of this episode is that Kit (brother of Daelin) is played by Charlie O’Connell, the real life brother of Jerry O’Connell (Quinn Mallory). Some pop references are thrown in this episode mentioned by Rembrandt. As the immigration police attempt to deport them to Canada he regrettably explains Anne Murray and Gordon Lightfoot are all the Canadians listen to. It’s likely the Canadian reference is an inside pun since they’re filming inside Canucks country. They all soon escape the immigration police all at a cost of Kit’s life, brother of Daelin. And it turns out Daelin’s husband Dennis was the one who ratted out everyone’s escape attempt. Quinn direly tries to bring Daelin to the next world with them but she’s unwilling to go.
On the next American world Rembrandt attempts to cheer up Quinn and recommends he find his crush Daelin once more. He arrives at her doorstep and yet again discovers she’s married to Dennis McMillan. A dispute soon arises as Dennis assaults Daelin. Here’s where the rub comes and I don’t know what to make of it. Quinn punches out Dennis because of his crazy antics and violent behavior. It fits with the scene, however it nearly makes Quinn appear like the stereotypical “punch the bad guy in the face type hero”.
As Quinn begins to leave this world he contacts his double and tries to get them both to hook up. As Rembrandt puts it with Quinn “maybe you and her will have a second chance on this world”. Then the slide to another world begins. I really like that they slide three times during this episode. It really gives us a sense of adventure, versus the “jump into an episode and slide out” scenario. Oh how I wish this was done more. This episode truly feels like a theatrical presentation with as much depth that the story has.
The next slide is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. The Sliders suddenly slide by merely appearing in a jail cell. They also run into reoccurring characters from the previous slide such as a Judge and lawyer. It’s always interesting to see the similarities and differences of character in other universes. They discover they are in prison for being accused of the murder of a policewoman named Daelin Richards aka Quinn’s crush. Now here’s where things get interesting. After being in a jail cell they’re taken to the arraignment. As Rembrandt says I thought arraignment became before you were sent to jail. In the court room things appear to be going in reverse order and a clock face is backwards. From here on it’s a scifi aficionado’s dream.
One of the coolest and bizarre things you’ll see in this episode is Quinn standing up and confessing to the murder of Daelin. I’ll leave it at that, as this episode doesn’t disappoint and challenges its viewers to THINK which is always great. It’s clear this episode was well thought out and written making a great end product. Perhaps you’ll fall in love with this episode just as much as Quinn has with Daelin.