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**Spoilers**

Before you say “not that again”, many of you hardcore fans probably know where I’m going with this. Yes I’ve over analyzed but it’s more of a brainstorm of “what if” than actually trying to prove it. Over the years many Sliders fans have dismissed the notion of what I’ll call the Mallory-Richards theory. To get the full view it really covers 3-4 episodes from seasons one through four.

The theory? Quinn has a sister named Daelin. However if you believed this theory it would certainly expand the depth of this series which I feel makes a show all the more interesting. There’s a few reasons I feel many don’t buy into this, a couple are probably a disfavor of season four and also that it tends to break the original home world concept Quinn is from in the “Pilot”. If you don’t know about the Quinn sister controversy I’ll explain it below.

To understand my point of view it’s best to look at a few season episodes in reverse. Starting with season four’s “Genesis”, “O Brother, Where Art Thou”, next season three’s “Dragonslide”, and finally the first episode “Pilot”.

In the season four episode “Genesis” Quinn discovers that his parents are in reality doubles. In the episode his mother removes a microdot from her arm and Quinn places this on his head. Through this he learns his real birth parents are actually doubles from a parallel world rather than earth prime (the world in the “Pilot” episode). Near the end of “Genesis” we find out that Quinn has a brother. We don’t know for sure since Kromagg mindgames may, and I emphasize may, have been utilized. However a few episodes later in “O Brother Where Art Thou” we discover Quinn’s Amish brother named Colin. Colin was separated from Quinn at birth and placed on a different parallel world.

From this stand point we realize that Quinn does have a brother, minus the Kromagg-spy plot (it was originally planned for Colin to be a Kromagg spy) but in the end this story was eventually scrapped behind the scenes. In season three Charlie O’Connell actor of “Colin” guest starred in the episode “Dragonslide” as “Officer O’Hara”. In the second season episode “As Time Goes By” he appeared as “Kit Richards”, brother to character “Daelin Richards”. When Daelin introduces Quinn to her brother, Quinn exclaims “Yeah! I remember you” while Kit makes a face of disbelief. That remark and expression even seem totally out of place in that scene. Perhaps its a nod to both actors being brothers in real life. Nevertheless wouldn’t it be possible that in the episode “As Time Goes By” Colin’s double was sent to a world to be fostered by the Richards family and given the name Kit Richards. Why you say then wouldn’t his last name be Mallory instead of Richards or even like in the other episode he was known as “O’Hara”. Colin pointed out that the family that raised him actually died from influenza. Perhaps in Kitt Richard and O’Hara’s case their parents died of something simliar and they were adopted by a non-Mallory family.

Now there are some cons to this theory like why was Quinn dating Daelin, or it may have been a convenient mishap with acting roles, etc. And yes, this theory is likely grabbing at straws with various connections. However I personally find it more interesting to dive into the realm of “what if” because it digs deeper into the story of parallel worlds. In reality though you think the crew would have inserted this idea in season four. But I guess after the death of Arturo, the addition of Maggie and other distractions the audience would have never remembered the episode “As Time Goes By”. To me the final and most interesting piece to all of this comes from the “Pilot” episode. During their slide to Ice World, Quinn finds a photo of his double’s family. Arturo asks, “Who’s the girl?” Quinn replies, “It must be the sister I never had.” Makes you wonder…

What do you think? Should the idea of Quinn having a sister been explored further?

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Episode Review: “The Good, the Bad and the Wealthy”
Season 2
Original Airdate: 3/22/96
Review: ★★★

The Sliders land on a world where corporate gunslingers rule.

I’ll never forget the opening scenes to this episode, particularly the backdrop of Old Western buildings mixed with modern architecture. Not to mention the streets filled with a mix of car and equine.

The Sliders arrive in front of a local child on this world dressed in cowboy attire. Quinn promises the boy to secrecy describing the vortex none other than a magicians trick. They soon find out they’re not in California but none other than San Francisco, Texas. What’s nice about this episode are the tid bits of information such as the food, politicians, music, location… well you get the point. Arturo breaks off from the group in an effort to learn more about this world while the rest enter a western corporate-like bar. In actuality it is the hotel the Sliders have stayed at on other worlds called the Lamplighter. There’s even a stock ticker above the bar, which is unique to say the least. It’s not long when Quinn gets mixed up in a dispute taking place and without warning he is challenged to a gun duel. In shock, Quinn has just shot and killed a man.

Quinn is handcuffed and taken away by the Sheriff of San Francisco just as the Professor returns. The sheriff is puzzled at Quinn’s shooting skills since he has no law degree or MBA. With the Code of the West, Mr. Bullock, owner of Drexel-Bullock, has the authority to remove Quinn from custody. Why? Laywers here are paid gunslingers. It turns out Quinn killed Mr. Bullock’s lead attorney and in return he wants Quinn to work for him.

I wish they would have expanded the scene of the western-like world. It simply didn’t feel all that believable excluding the opening scenes I mentioned at the beginning of the episode. On the other hand it could have been a tragedy with tons of CGI added. They really should have pushed the envelope further with the Western idea. I almost feel like they’re straddling the fence with Corporate and the Old West, which is essentially the idea of the episode but I feel it could have been pulled off better.

Later we find Quinn at a bar celebrating with his co-worker Billy Ray, on his brand new job. There’s a backdrop of country karaoke singing, which is atrocious and hilarious to say the least. A disgruntled Drexel-Bullock employee enters the bar, visually upset that Quinn made lead attorney instead of him. Without warning Billy Ray draws his gun and kills the man. It’s only seconds later until the crowd mingles around the bar again. Talk about complacency. That’s what makes things interesting on this world, death is cheap and it’s almost on the same level as a fistfight.

There’s some recycled lines from the previous episode “Love Gods”. In the episode Rembrandt explained “and we thought TV was bad on our world”. In this episode in front of a TV he explains “and we thought TV was violent on our world.” On a positive note a gem moment of this episode is when Quinn reflects about shooting a man, saying “the weirdest thing is, I never shot a pistol before.” Rembrandt and Arturo explain life on this world is cheap, yet it fails to console Quinn.

A woman named Pricilla Hardway who was at the scene when Quinn was arrested is viciously trying to defend her own company from a buyout by her arch enemy. The villian is none other than Quinn’s head boss Jack Bullock. Priscilla and Quinn meet up and there’s some light shed which keeps Quinn’s conscience clear yet adds another layer of evil to Jack Bullock’s record. One of my favorite scenes from this episode is where Billy Ray takes Quinn out for shooting practice. Quinn hits everything but his target. He explains he’s not used to that specific gun.

Pricilla’s young son, Jaime gets caught up in the mix by drawing a gun on Mr. Bullock, upset that his father was murdered by him. The level of criminality by Jack Bullock and his cronies is extreme even in the coverup of a murder ruled suicide. In the end it all boils to a head in the city’s town square.

This show’s story could be better simply because it focuses more on crime and corruption rather than the premiere idea of Sliders which is difference in dimensions. All in all, this episode really is like the Old West… it’s just a draw.

Memorable Quotes:

(Quinn removes his gun holster)
Billy the Kid: “That ain’t going to save you, boy.”
Quinn: “You going to shoot me in cold blood?”
Billy the Kid: “Warm, cold… it makes no difference to me.”
Quinn: “Go ahead. I’ll be gone soon, dead or gone, but there’s something you people should know. I come from a world where men face the same dark challenges as you– the urge to compete, to kill for power and pleasure–”
Billy the Kid: “You put that gun back on.”
Quinn: “We weren’t put on this earth to destroy each other. We don’t have to live like this.”

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**Spoilers**

Don’t get me wrong there’s some pretty bad episodes in season five. Plus in my opinion probably the worst of the entire series… “Easy Slider”. But there is some relevance to this season. Hear me out.

Although we lost Quinn and Colin, the writers still threw in a character named Mallory. They made the best of both worlds, instead of us seeing someone trying to be Jerry O’Connell, they used some brains and scifi, eventually coming up with a fraternal twin merged with Quinn. Yes it wasn’t pretty but it could have been a lot worse.

Sporadically the Sliders would refer to Quinn and Colin, discussing the possibility of having them back again. There was discussion and episodes of how to get Colin back and unmerge Mallory from Quinn. You may say it was a lost hope, maybe it was, but at least the writers gave us that hope and kept peaking our interest of the good times. That’s one of the nice things about this season, they never forgot about their past. The Sliders never turned their back from the lost Sliders, especially Rembrandt Brown. Rembrandt was played by actor Cleavant Derricks and I believe he gave some of his most passionate acting in this season for Sliders.

Take for example Cleavant’s performance in “Requiem”, which is flawlessly done. The episode entails Rembrandt connecting with Wade telepathically and eventually slides to her world in hope of reuniting with her. He beats himself up in this episode, regretting the time he left her at a Kromagg prison alone. His performance is incredibly genuine in this episode, I can’t say it enough. Oh and by the way did you know that the real Wade (Sabrina Lloyd) presented a VoiceOver for her character here? You may say they just made it worse by having Wade’s head in a jar, but at least they tried to resolve a plot that was previously dead in the water.

There’s a few nice gems in season five including episodes like “New Gods for Old”, “Requiem”, “A Thousand Deaths” and “Dust”. A last thing I want to touch on is the tension and passion in season five. It’s clear Rembrandt is frustrated of the fact that his friends are lost while “Mallory” is trying to fit in with the others. Take for example, these quotes from “Applied Physics” and “New Gods for Old”:

“Applied Physics”
Maggie: “Quinn’s body is remembering who he is. He’s trying to come back.”
Mallory (angrily): “That’s what you want, isn’t it? To get your Quinn back. That’s the only reason you brought me along, right?”
Diana: “If there’s a chance that we can separate you from Quinn, we can…”
Mallory (interrupts): “And what if there’s not? What if you only get one Quinn per customer? Which one do you want?”
(silence among the Sliders)
Mallory: “That’s what I thought.”
(Mallory immediately exits the room)

“New Gods for Old”
Mallory: “Quinn is gone, for good.”
Maggie: “I know. I’m beginning to like Mallory.”
Rembrandt: “You believe that?”
Mallory: “Yeah. I feel it.”
Rembrandt: “I don’t… and I won’t.”

If there are any diamonds in the rough of season five it is certainly the stellar performance by Cleavant Derricks, the frequent reference to our long lost friends, and the passion this season brought out. Here’s to Arturo, Wade, Quinn, Colin, and of course the man who endured it all, Rembrandt.

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Episode Review: “Love Gods”
Season 1
Original Airdate: 3/8/96
Review: ★★★

The Sliders arrive on a world where most of male population has been eradicated due to a biological weapon.

Three days, six hours, is the time the Sliders have left on this world upon arrival. They arrive at a store called “Brooks Sisters” while Wade eludes that perhaps women are gaining an upper hand on this world. A clever beginning to this episode is where a girl runs out of the store just staring at Rembrandt blank in the face, almost seemingly terrified. It’s a nice touch just to give us a hint that something bad is about to go down. It’s only a matter of seconds until the Sliders are overrun by a mob of women.

The police soon take our guys into custody while Wade is separated from the rest of the team. They’re hurried off in a lone van, and approach a “facility” with a large group of women and reporters (also women). The behind the scenes staff of “Sliders” could’ve at least had some cop cars around the van to make it look more authentic, after all Rembrandt, Quinn and Arturo are suppose to be a matter of national security. I’ll get to that in a bit.

The Sliders soon find out that they are prisoners and as Quinn puts it they’re in “some bizarre baby making facility.” The country it seems is in a race to repopulate the United States with men. What’s nice about this episode is that it doesn’t throw in sex scenes, because it simply isn’t needed. Too many TV shows would take advantage of this just to boost ratings. Sliders relies on story and intellect in this episode not cheap sex scenes and that’s something I like.

As the Sliders arrive they’re put through various tests and discover to find out that Trevor Grant is the “Breeder of the Month”. Why? Well, two hundred and fifteen confirmed pregnancies in one month. If you haven’t forgotten Trevor Grant was also seen in the season one episode “Eggheads”. That’s something that’s nice about Sliders too, there’s reoccurring characters from other episodes. The Bureau of Repopulation, is given the task on this world of repopulating the earth due to a biological war which wiped out most males. Hence, the reason for these breeding facilities and the importance of the Sliders. Other countries would kill for these men.

In a stream room they meet a breeder named David, and as he explains it Australia is a superpower because they escaped the most causaulities from the Y Chromosome biological weapon. The Sliders realize how important it is to escape from this breeding prison and reunite with Wade. With David’s help they soon escape from the prison breeding camp and reunite with Wade at his home.

There’s some pop culture references in this episode and that’s something that made Sliders different and interesting by taking ordinary things from our culture and tweaking them ever so slightly. It’s not long before the police arrive and they soon have to flee which yet again separates the Sliders. Arturo, Rembrandt, and Wade are all eventually captured while Quinn is taken in by an apathetic woman named Jane Hills. She explains, you can indeed repay her back, but as Quinn states he obviously doesn’t want to father her child, and never see it.

In the end Wade tries to barter a counterfeit deal between the Australian captors and the Americans. The deal entails trading Arturo, Rembrandt and David’s wife for the “Breeder of the Month”, Trevor Grant. Time is cut close as the Sliders try to reunite with Quinn before the slide. Overall this episode is not bad, but I feel it lacks in certain areas and gets lost in a choppy storyline with the Sliders separated twice in this episode. It would’ve also been nice to see more of how the society operates under rule of women. Yet then again, I guess we saw that last season in “The Weaker Sex.”

Oh and by the way, did Quinn have a child? Well, that’s left open ended. But, in the final scene looking at Quinn’s photo, couldn’t it be a possibility Jane was married to Quinn’s double? Now there’s a couple interesting questions… I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Memorable Quotes:

Quinn: “I heard some guy in the gym mention something about Iraq. Are we at war with them?”
David: “Iraq’s a wasteland. It’s nothing but ladies. It’s Australia, man.”
Arturo: “Australia a superpower? That barren continent was barely suitable for an English prison.”
David: “That “barren continent” was far enough away from the poison cloud to suffer the fewest casualties. They started this thing with over 1,100 men.”
Quinn: “Not to shirk our patriotic duty but we’ve got to get out of here.”
David: “Well, my wife and sister are planning to bust me out. All they’re waiting for is a signal. I can’t guarantee you that we’re all going to make it, but I could sure use a little extra manpower. You in?”
Arturo: “You can count on it.”