So popularity about the same, non fans remember it as jerry O'Connell's show where he time traveled with a remote control and wormholes, foxs ripp off of quantum leap.

rebooting old shows is more popular than it was during the bsg reboot.

If you could have jerry play Michael Mallory, its limited involvement.  If his brother wants to come back and play an uncle no biggie, if rest of cast wants to cameo at some point cool if not, no biggie.  Then just recast a 4 man crew using same charactoristics as original team.

The problem is that if you recast, why call it SLIDERS at all? Why pay royalties when a new title and characters with different names would see a new creator receive the full share of the money?

This is essentially the biggest point in my mind.  If Sliders was truly more popular than we think it is, or if it was doing really well on iTunes or DVDs or Hulu or reruns.....someone would take advantage of that.  Or would, at the very least, TRY to take advantage of that.

Take Battlestar Galactica.  This was a show, like Sliders, that was saved by a letter-writing campaign.  It has a small but cult-ish following.  The brand, for some, meant something.  Original star Richard Hatch tried for *years* to bring it back, only failing because Sci-Fi went with a reboot.  It didn't work, but Galactica had a champion.  There were novels and several attempts to bring the series back into the limelight.

With Sliders, we had a Funny or Die video.  That's basically it.  The show itself has popped back up, either on DVD or in reruns, but that's been just about it.  There's no one really championing the cause (outside of us - since there's been tons of original writing about the show - just nothing approaching mainstream).  We've heard that there were attempts here and there, but I don't know if those attempts went anywhere.  We've never heard of a script being written for this feature film that was rumored to be pitched.  People seem interested in it, but no one seems to be willing to do much about it.

Like I said before, I think Jerry might have the juice to get something done somewhere.  Maybe not a feature film but a TV miniseries?  A short run somewhere like Netflix or Hulu or Freeform or wherever?  But that would depend on who owns the rights and whether or not it'd be worth it for someone to get them.

So with no real champion, we're left with "the brand isn't popular enough to warrant a reboot" (yet).  Otherwise, someone would've done it.  I say "yet" because, eventually, everything will have been remade and Sliders will get its shot

To go back to the original point, to just take the old actors and start from ground zero ... it just would never work, for anyone involved.

I can't ever agree with the reductionist, absolutist approach. It would be very difficult. It would be a challenge. But to say it would never work? That's a little too extreme for me.

I really don't think there would be any royalties involved. I mean, doesn't Universal own it outright. Otherwise Tracy Torme could take it somewhere else?

For example, who is the new Lost in Space aimed at?

I believe the standard arrangement is that the creators would own 10 per cent of the franchise. Such as it is. Anyone developing TV would be better off calling their parallel show by a different title and they'd have more freedom, recognition, ownership and profit.

LOST IN SPACE is a known and recognizable brand for the general audience.

Ultimately, there is an incredible amount of power in brand recognition, in an already established IP from which to work with. It is something that is more prevalent now than it has ever been. Imagine having a pre-built sandbox from which to work from and play in? It comes complete with it's old fans, with what knowledge is already present in the general populace, its place on the net (including merchandise, former sites, and fan contributions), combined with the power of nostalgia and the potential for new profit - and all with less work than if you had to build it completely from scratch. Is it really a surprise that everything is getting rebooted nowadays? It is more than just a distinctive lack of fresh concepts and ideas, it is because of the latent power contained in something that is an already established brand.

Now, we can argue just how 'powerful' the brand of Sliders is, but that's kinda besides the point. For all the parties involved in such a take when something is rebooted, it is material from which to work from, a fresh take on a concept that can be presented to an entire new generation or audience whilst also grabbing those old fans. Some work, some don't, but that's the machine as it is at the moment.

To go back to the original point, to just take the old actors and start from ground zero ... it just would never work, for anyone involved.

EDIT:

TemporalFlux made a contributing point there about the power and value of a brand. Sliders isn't enough in itself or the cast involved to command something like a straight continuation or soft reboot. But a completely new take? It might be worth it for some parties.

http://www.slidecage.com/wp-content/upl … atings.pdf

To put that in today’s perspective, the recent return of Roseanne initially had an estimated 18 million viewers and was considered a blockbuster smash by today’s terms.

In my experience in the greater world, Sliders is not something on people’s minds; but if I mention the name even now, I’ve been surprised how many say “Oh yeah!  Loved that show!”  That’s all it takes - mentioning the name.  That’s a brand, and I believe it has more value than you may expect.

For example, who is the new Lost in Space aimed at?

Slide Override wrote:

crouteru_ wrote:

I've enjoyed reading all your thoughts on this. Personally, I would reboot everything from scratch; same characters played by new actors, same basic premise and beginning as the pilot episode. The original cast could make guest appearances in later episodes playing a different character as a nod to fans of the original series.

This is the only way it would work.

Polite disagreement with both you and myself -- as much as recasting appeals, Slider_Quinn21 is right to point out that anyone wanting to do a parallel universe show could do one without using the SLIDERS title. So what makes SLIDERS worth resurrecting in the first place? If you recast, you're creating different characters who just happen to have the same names at which point you might as well have different names for both the people and the series.

So, what defines SLIDERS is, in the end, the four original characters as played by the four original actors.

Which is why, if we're being reductive, the only way a SLIDERS reboot could work is to have Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks and John Rhys-Davies return as the leads of a new series. And the best route for that is to do a rebootquel. The original cast, at their current ages, discover sliding for the first time in a version of reality where Quinn makes the first slide in 2019 instead of 1994.

Whether this version of reality is (a) a parallel universe or (b) a new version of reality after the Kromagg-human war ripped sliding out of the multiverse is open to debate. You could do both, however, by presenting the TV show entirely as Option A and leave the Option B information offscreen in media tie-in novels, comics and webisodes.

Definitely a polite disagreement, as what you set out is never going to work. Sliders has nowhere near the fan following or star power to support the form of Reboot that you propose. What defines Sliders is certainly subjective, but the main composition is our four characters having adventures by sliding around the multiverse. No offence, but you do not need the original actors to accomplish this.

The only way this show could ever be resurrected is by a fresh reboot, with new actors playing the original roles. Anything else is just a pipe dream.

None of this, by the way, is my own dreams on the matter. Of course I would love a continuation or some form of reboot-esque version with the original actors, but it's just never going to be. But I love the show so much that I would gladly embrace a fresh take.

crouteru_ wrote:

I've enjoyed reading all your thoughts on this. Personally, I would reboot everything from scratch; same characters played by new actors, same basic premise and beginning as the pilot episode. The original cast could make guest appearances in later episodes playing a different character as a nod to fans of the original series.

This is the only way it would work.

Polite disagreement with both you and myself -- as much as recasting appeals, Slider_Quinn21 is right to point out that anyone wanting to do a parallel universe show could do one without using the SLIDERS title. So what makes SLIDERS worth resurrecting in the first place? If you recast, you're creating different characters who just happen to have the same names at which point you might as well have different names for both the people and the series.

So, what defines SLIDERS is, in the end, the four original characters as played by the four original actors.

Which is why, if we're being reductive, the only way a SLIDERS reboot could work is to have Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks and John Rhys-Davies return as the leads of a new series. And the best route for that is to do a rebootquel. The original cast, at their current ages, discover sliding for the first time in a version of reality where Quinn makes the first slide in 2019 instead of 1994.

Whether this version of reality is (a) a parallel universe or (b) a new version of reality after the Kromagg-human war ripped sliding out of the multiverse is open to debate. You could do both, however, by presenting the TV show entirely as Option A and leave the Option B information offscreen in media tie-in novels, comics and webisodes.

I've enjoyed reading all your thoughts on this. Personally, I would reboot everything from scratch; same characters played by new actors, same basic premise and beginning as the pilot episode. The original cast could make guest appearances in later episodes playing a different character as a nod to fans of the original series.

This is the only way it would work.