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Oh - don't worry, I'm not shy. But I'm also not 43, thank you very much. ((She laughs.)) So my answers might be a little off from what you're trying to portray.

I'll explain that a little, I guess... to the extent that I can explain it. Quinn and the Professor always used to say - sliding's never time travel. So I guess it's one of those shifted-timeline things... some worlds turning a little slower than others. The Van Meer effect, or whatever it was.

Anyway - I haven't exactly been tracking time well since the All-Inclusive Kromagg Vacation Extravanganza, but I'd estimate that it's been - three years, I guess, since I left home. Maybe four. It's hard to remember.

But in this world, it's suddenly 2015! What gives? Like, "Back to the Future" isn't actually in the future any more? I'm really tripping on the new technology, though. I hear a smart phone made today has the same processing power as the computer that sent man to the Moon in 1969! That's wild!

But you didn't wanna hear me talk about cell phones. You want to hear about Quinn.

((She holds up her left hand, where a ring glitters on her finger.))

Yeah, after the whole Kromagg ordeal I guess he finally wised up to where his bread was buttered. ((She rolls her eyes a little and laughs.)) It sure took him long enough. I'd almost given up on him. Not that I ever could. I've tried and tried, believe me. I'm no damsel in distress needing her prince to come save her. But whatever threads of fate tie this multiverse together, they keep on pulling me back.

But yeah... I hope I'd still be with him twenty years down the line. Not that I object to casual, either. I've always had that Sixties attitude to things... that was something Quinn and I got stuck on, actually. I want to be with him, he's... he's my world. Him and the Professor and Remmy, they're my world. But I've also enjoyed being a free spirit, free to date around, to explore who I am and who other people are. But if I have to give up that for him, then... it's worth it. And - I do want to have children someday. That really requires a person to settle. I wouldn't put any children of mine through that.

I could never be a spinster! I honestly don't think I could be truly fulfiled living a single life. I'm a people person, a bonding, connecting, sharing person. I need others in my life... not to complete me, I'm complete myself, but to broaden me, to show me new perspectives, to share those perspectives with me so I'm not seeing them alone. That's one of the things I really fell for about Quinn. He always had something new to teach me.

But yeah. Even if he didn't want me like that - we'd always be friends. More than friends... comrades, like you said. (Heh. Gives me flashbacks to that Soviet world...) We'll always and forever have each other's backs. No questions asked. And if I weren't with him... I wouldn't stay alone.

So I guess there's your answer. If you actually take it into account when you write... I mean, you probably are writing about one of my doubles. And her story's every bit as important to tell too, I'm sure. But hey, if I did actually get a little input of my own into this - it'd mean a lot to me that I got to tell at least some of the story myself. Always the reported-on, never the reporter, you know? Well, except for that one time...

So, Deric/Derek... heh, you know, I'd never noticed. Nah, I don't think there's a thing. I guess you could say they both appealed to my sense of wonder... well, at first. I mean, Deric was an android! Would you pass up the opportunity to kiss an android if you got the chance? ...Okay, maybe don't answer that. But, I mean - to see technology come to life before your eyes, to see life coming from what we think of as nothing, isn't that kind of alluring? Or is it just me?

Maybe I've been too entranced by Quinn's Big Bang speeches. (Insert your own "Big Bang" joke here.)

As for Derek... I don't know. The whole past life thing bowled me over at first. I'm a sucker for that stuff, you know? Connections deeper than skin. For all Cory and Tom - and you, heh - make a good point that I do go through the guys... I'm not looking for just sex. I'm looking for someone who knows me, body, mind and soul.

A spiritual dimension is something that's always felt lacking in my relationships. I think I tried to find it with him. Big mistake. I've never met someone who so flagrantly disrespected who I was as a person, impressing everything he wanted onto me without thought for how it would make me feel... I really hope he finds his way. I don't wish him harm as a person. But some part of me wishes I never met him.

Wilkins... nah, we just made out. I was too torn up over Quinn to really go for it. I'm pretty sure that's what tipped him off that I wasn't "his" Wade, actually. I couldn't bring myself to go all the way. He was a really good kisser, though. ((She laughs.))

Whew! That was a long one. But fun! Anything I missed?

You're a good and decent person if ever I saw one, ireactions. This is beautiful.

And I'm sure Temporal Flux too deserves your every praise. One thing about this fandom... everyone seems so incredibly nice and giving. I haven't seen a fandom quite like this in all my years. I'm humbled.

A couple more quick replies here!

Re: Desert Storm

How come you're suddenly psychic in this episode, Wade? That's never come up before.

Actually, it has! Remember the whole psychic dream thing? I've always been a dabbler in the occult - a little more than a dabbler, at times - and you know what they say about people who are into that sort of thing. Or maybe you don't. But a lot of people are drawn to that sort of thing because they've already got tendencies toward seeing other layers of reality. I mean, I'm not talking full-on, burning-bush-style visions in the desert - at least, not back then. But I'm sensitive to things. Maybe that's why I've always believed that there was more to this reality than meets the eye.

Plus, certain experiences will, shall we say, loosen up your mind. Hopefully, in your cases, not so much that your brains fall out. But in our cases... well, we all experienced mental manipulation at the hands of the Kromaggs. That kind of forced telepathic projection, by its very nature, requires the person on the other end to receive. Everyone's got some ability to pick up an image like that, if it's broadcast loudly enough, and when the Kromaggs broadcast those visions and mind tricks to us... well, it's my belief that they opened up channels in our minds that had always been there, but hadn't previously been used. Maybe for me moreso than others.

It's kind of a double-edged sword - but it saved me from the breeder camps. Well, only to be put through Hell in other ways. You win, you lose.

Re: The Weaker Sex

So what's the deal with your, shall we say, political incorrectness here? You don't really believe that a world where men are abused and mistreated is any better than a world where that happens to women, right?

Wow, this was a long time ago. Why's this guy listening to them out of order, anyway?

But yeah, I admit that at the time, I did think that. You've got to understand - I'd never seen a society like that before. I'd only barely imagined the possibility... and I could only see the potential, not the drawbacks. Like the Professor said, maybe I was a little drunk on my own sudden power.

But... when you've lived your whole life as the second class, it's easy to be numb to the problems caused by the opposite situation. Maybe you'd think it'd be easier, because we as women can relate to a society of oppressed men. But when you've been hurt by it your entire life, all you can think about in the moment is that the pain is gone. The chains are gone. You're free. That does tend to make people a little intoxicated. People say they want equality, but when it comes down to it, what most people want is just not to suffer, themselves. I've been guilty of that narrowmindedness too.

I don't think I ever did properly apologize to the Professor. Though it might seem a little fake now, after I made him my slave for nine days and all.

...That said, it was so much fun.

Thank you, ireactions, for what you could give us, even if it's not the full picture.

I need to watch the behind-the-scenes reel now. For a production that, at least in its first two seasons, was so lovely, it sure was plagued with an underlying negativity and fear.

When I watch a show, I want to think the actors I love are well cared for, respected for the amazing work they do and treated with kindness and dignity. It's painful every time I'm reminded that this wasn't the case at all for these people.

I'd really love to see more X Files crossover fic.

...Maybe even a little budding romance between Wade and Mulder. It probably wouldn't go anywhere because she's got Quinn and he's got Scully, but you have to admit, they're on each other's wavelength...

It's strange - for all people say Wade is shrill (not a word I like for describing women really, it's a bit sexist) in S2, I don't see it.

But I agree about Eggheads. I finally watched that one again recently - was saving the best for last - and wow. She was really out of character there. Not as great of an episode as I remember all around, to be honest. (Even if the Library Rap will never not be awesome.)

Cyrokin, are you that person from deviantART I've been chatting with lately? You sound a bit the same. If so, hi!

As for my Sliders story - I was a wee bairn of... I guess 11?... when I saw it on broadcast TV in the UK, where I grew up. I don't remember much about what I thought back then, but I was instantly entranced.

I watched the whole first season and taped a bunch of it, but then vaguely recall that it went off air for a while, or I lost track of it or something. When I came back, there was this awful Maggie person in place of Wade, and the Professor was gone and everything was awful. So I quit watching.

Flash forward to a couple of years ago, when my wife was looking for stories that explored the topic of death in an unconventional way. I was like, "hey, I remember this lottery episode of this show called Sliders from years back". Looked it up, and I fell in love all over again.

And then had my heart broken all over again by the season 4/5 shenanigans.

((Ahah, wow. Small world, ain't it?

And now I'm caught up with Reminiscence. Which was awesome, and I'd mention how, but - spoilers.

So lay it on me.

And btw, everyone else reading this, you guys can still ask questions!))

((Go ahead! I don't mind spoilers. Season 4 is kind of dead to me. :P))

Frankly? I wouldn't. Sliders is Jerry O' Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks and John Rhys-Davies. Any attempt to make a "21st century Sliders" that appealed to the same audience would want younger actors, and once you do that it's not Sliders any more.

We all saw how well the series survived losing its main cast (I.e. it didn't). That's why, though I like the premise, I'm not really searching for "shows like Sliders" or "shows about dimensional travel" these days. It's the people I love, not the story.

The only way I could see to do it would be to film your (ireactions') scripts, bringing back the Fab Four and casting them as their older selves. That's the only reboot I'd tolerate.

(Also, where can I find that story? That sounds cool.)

Yeah.

ireactions, you're awesome and I salute you. I've only known you through your writing a little while, but almost everything you've said about the show and its behind-the-scenes dynamics has really made me think, and think again, about... the humanity, I guess, behind all of the screwups.

Fandom tends to be so black-and-white. You're an angel or you're the devil. You're everyone's hero or everyone's villain. I hate that Sliders went so badly downhill because of Peckinpah, and that it never really recovered from that. But seeing that there's more to the story than "he just didn't care and was an asshole" is... well, it's humanising.

Thank you for reminding us of the subtleties and frailties in all of this. There but for the grace of God go all of us.

Wait, that footage was recorded? Whoa. That would be epic to see indeed.

Oh man. A pipe dream, sure, but I'd love it. We know the two of them care about each other and the fans, enough that we could potentially get them back for one last fling.

Now I just need to become a multi-millionaire so I have the incentive to throw at them...

Apropos of nothing: Sliders in ten popular Tumblr text posts.

And I think the fact that you're going into it with that attitude is part of what makes it feel right. :)

I think what Sliders lost, over the seasons, was a sense of kindness and respect towards the characters, and wanting to see them succeed. The new people coming in didn't respect the show, they didn't respect the writers, they didn't respect the actors, and that filtered through to how the characters got treated. They were more interested in getting cheap laughs at the expense of actors they had a grudge against than the genuine, group-based humour that the early episodes had.

Wanting to make things right for those people who were done so wrong... well, I think that's why almost any of us are writing Sliders fic these days. :) But that you have it, consciously, in your head as a prime concern is something that I think helps a lot. And that you want it to feel real... that's the other half. I want to see the original four together and happy and safe as much as anyone, but you're right in that it can't be done too quickly or too simply, or it feels fake. You can't just say "and they all lived happily ever after", however much we all want that. We want it... but we want to be convinced of it, not just told it.

So yeah, in terms of goals I think you're on the ball here. In terms of plot... heh, I understand that concern all too well. The vast majority of my fics are character vignettes. I can't plot to save my life, and often end up going to someone else to help. I hope the meeting of minds between you and Nigel goes well here.

That said, I think some contrivance is... well, like you said, it's necessary. The whole of Sliders is a contrivance, really: why would three people jump so willingly into a wormhole without being sure that everything would work as planned? Why do they always get involved with the politics of other worlds despite their repeated mantra of "no involvement"? Because that's what's required to make the show run. As fans, we want to hold things to as high a standard as possible - but still, it's important to remember that the original show takes a lot of liberties, and wouldn't have worked without some of them. It's not the worst possible sin.

All of which is to say: I think you'll do fine.

Oh, I do believe it. (And now that I actually have a way to talk to you in person as it were, I hope it's okay that I used your comment?) It's just... so mindblowing (if horrible) to hear that it went that way. It's just this perfect, terrible storm of everything that's wrong with the media industry, and though I feel absolutely awful for everyone involved, it's very powerfully educational.

And yes, I love Nigel Mitchell's stuff. I'd definitely be with you on waiting for his input... even if it means all of us chomping at the bit have to wait a little longer. ;)

I'd been thinking that about the modern-Tumblr-fandom approach myself. I've been trying to make up for it a little with photosets and the like - I've at least seen some fanvids on YouTube and apparently this is happening. But yeah, it's impossible to get HQ anything of Sliders. I was really disappointed at just how poor quality the DVD transfers are just because it makes it nearly impossible to get good screencaps. I love doing image manips, but most of the techniques I'm used to using on them don't work with the grainy, artifacted images I cap from the DVDs. I'm starting to feel I'd almost have better luck ripping some old VHSes. :/