Retro Sci Fi TV: A look at shows from the past that may not have stood the test of time and/or that are relegated to their era, but many of us still have fond memories of them.
What Is It? One man invents a device that allows people to travel to parallel universes (referred to as “sliding”), and upon testing it he and three others find themselves sent to another Earth with no certain way to return to their own world. They must slide across multiple Earths, some very different from their own and some with only slight variances, as they attempt to find their way back home.
Aired: 1995-99, FOX/The Sci Fi Channel, 5 Seasons Totaling 88 Episodes
Starring: Jerry O’Connell, Cleavant Derricks, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies, Kari Wuhrer, Charlie O’Connell
Created By: Tracy Tormé, Robert K. Weiss
Is It Must-Watch Sci Fi TV? Not necessarily, but it is worth watching some of the better episodes to understand the potential the series had.
The Skinny: From the 1980s and into the 1990s, the broadcast networks were not very supportive of the sci fi and fantasy genre, with few entries added to their schedules across those decades. FOX was the upstart network at that time, having kicked off in the late 80s, but by the mid-90s it was starting to develop the same network-think as the Big Three broadcasters (ABC, CBS, and NBC). It had taken a chance on low-rated The X-Files a couple of seasons earlier, and that ultimately became a big hit. Sliders certainly looked like an interesting sci fi addition to the schedule when it debuted in the Spring of 1995, but sadly it was never allowed to fully reach its potential. Co-creator Tracy Torme brought some good genre cred having written for Star Trek: The Next Generation (and he would go on to work shows like Odyseey 5 and Carnivale). But it appears that the network was less interested in a series that fully explored the possibilities of parallel worlds and instead wanted more of a Prime Time Friendly action-adventure.
Sliders became one of those “sci fi” shows that breaks down pretty quickly when you really think about the science behind it (or lack thereof). Broadcast network execs had no real interest in the intricacies of parallel world theory or such concepts as the butterfly effect, both of which should have been heavily incorporated into the show. Instead, it delivered a cascading series of “what if?” scenarios that followed a very television-friendly formula of the main characters arriving on a new world, discovering its twist, getting involved with some sort of complication (often meeting one or more of that world’s versions of themselves), followed by plot contrivances that has them all back together sliding to a new world by episode end. Even the best episodes had their leaps of logic that kept this show from ever really overcoming its faults. And co-star John Rhys-Davies complained about the sub-par scripts and how the writers often lifted ideas from genre movies that were popular at that time, leading to his departure after the third season.
Ultimately, the strength of this series was the cast. This group of people that was thrown together and forced to travel across many different worlds in an attempt to return home became a family of sort and that is what fans of the series keyed in upon. And the four leads developed a good chemistry, becoming the backbone of the series and helping to overcome the poor writing. But sadly cast shakeups started with the fourth season (when the show moved to the Sci Fi Channel), and it never recovered from that. The show did have a good sense of humor and did not go the dark sci fi route spearheaded by The X-Files, but better scripts and less network tinkering would have definitely helped this show across its run. It did develop a notable following which helped get the show moved to Sci Fi after the FOX cancellation. And it can still be fun to watch, especially the early seasons. But overall this one falls short of being counted as a sci fi TV classic.
Cancelled Too Soon? Yes. Twice. FOX axed the show due to low ratings in its third season. Fans staged a campaign to save it and The Sci Fi Channel stepped in as it had an interest in building up its own scripted programming. But both John Rhys-Davies and Sabrina Lloyd departed from the cast while Tracy Torme and much of the rest of the creative staff left as well. The fourth and fifth seasons of the show are often considered lower in quality than the first three seasons (which were never great themselves) and the viewership continued to dwindle. Sci Fi canceled the show after its fifth season, leaving it on a pretty large cliffhanger.
Should It Be Rebooted? Possibly. This is actually a show that would be ripe for a reboot or revival. Since it fell short of its potential in its original incarnation, a complete reboot that gives more respect to the science would definitely be welcome. A revival with the original cast could work as well. They could have gotten stuck on one of the worlds they landed on and twenty years later found a way to start sliding again. I don’t believe any of the original cast are involved with any major projects at the moment, so it might be possible to bring them back together. They could potentially resolve the cliffhanger from season five and then carry on with new stories (and hopefully better scripts).
Interesting Fact: In 1993, a pilot titled Doorways was given the greenlight by ABC. It had a similar parallel world premise and was created by George R.R. Martin before he had ventured to the world of Westeros. It was not picked up to series, but some believe it was influential on the creation of Sliders. (You can read more about Doorways at this link.)
Where Can You Watch It? The entire series has been released on DVD but not Blu-ray yet. It is also available for purchase on VOD and it is streaming on Peacock and on The Roku Channel.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
More Retro Sci Fi TV at This Link
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This would be a great show to reboot – especially if they could bring in the original members in a “where have they been all this time” scenario. The best thing about the parallel universe angle is that you can pretty easily discard all the bad story developments (especially from its last two seasons)
This is ALSO available streaming free on the Roku channel/app on Roku devices. Peacock had to give them free content in order to get on the device.
Thanks for the info. Will get that added as well.