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Thanks, Chaser9!

Hmm. Well, there are no scenes in SLIDERS REBORN: "Revelation" that resemble DOCTOR WHO's "The Power of Three." With a direct comparison:

Both "Po3" and "Revelation" feature a small, innocuous object scattered across Earth in a quantity of billions. In both stories, the objects are of unknown origin and subjected to intense scrutiny and interest and are part of a plot to destroy the world.

In "Po3," the cubes are inscrutable and implacable. The characters can't take them apart or learn anything about them. The cubes don't actually *do* anything until the third act when they start electrocuting people to death.

In "Revelation," the sliders dismantle the clocks and learn about the internals. The clocks also have sociological impact across the Earth because the countdown to an unknown outcome is disturbing and the clocks are powered by a peculiar power source that can be repurposed for other uses.

In "Po3," the characters investigate the cubes but learn nothing about them and the story is resolved without using any information drawn from examining the cubes.

In "Revelation," the sliders examine the clocks, take them apart, and later apply the knowledge they gathered from the earlier scenes. The explanation for the clocks is tied into sliding.

I dunno. I feel like the main differences are how "Revelation" is 'better' than "Po3" at least in how its mystery-box-item is handled. And "Po3"'s main problem is that it was radically restructured at the editing stage in a way that likely obscured and confused the story, resulting in questions raised and going unanswered (what did the alien have against humans and why was it necessary for the cubes to lie around for a whole year before they started murdering people?). So "Revelation" is not flawed in the areas where "Po3" was flawed. It has its own flaws!

The main conception for the doomsday clocks in "Revelation" was the realization that if the sliders were going to explore three parallel Earths in a single story, all three Earths needed some common element to link them. And I always thought "Po3" was a really great idea that didn't work out too well as aired and decided, "I need a common element, I'll use something like the 'Power of Three' cubes but make sure that my explanation for my McGuffin is directly tied into the sliding concept."

Okay. I've decided to add a note at the end of the "Revelation" script:

The author wishes to thank Chris Chibnall for inspiring the doomsday clocks with his Doctor Who episode, “The Power of Three,” in which billions of cubes were scattered across the planet Earth by an alien antagonist seeking to exterminate the human race by using his cubes as electroshock murder machines.

I'm actually open to making more revisions to "Revelation." I felt I couldn't wait for Nigel Mitchell to give me feedback.  But one thing I find "Revelation" lacked was Tracy Torme's satirical humour. I'm not very good at that; my humour is more about characters snarking and referring to crazy events in the past like the time Wade made out with a robot who happened to have the same name as the last guy she dated.

So, if Nigel wants to give me some alt-Earth jokes to put in, I will probably do that and reupload the file. For future generations. :-)

Well, he or she wanted me to A) bring back Colin Mallory and B) write a resolution to the Season 4 Quinn from Kromagg Prime/Colin spy-plot storyline. I wasn't going do that. Dear God.

However, he also got confused by an idea I didn't communicate as fully and clearly as I should have. And I think communicating information clearly and effectively is something any reader should expect for their investment of time. I wouldn't change *content*, but I might improve the delivery if possible. :-)

SPOILERS

If you're not happy that Logan, Mallory and Colin don't/can't exist in this current state of continuity, or that there are no pre-1995 divergences in alt-history -- well, that's only what the current situation is as of "Revelation" and "Reminiscence." And it's only been the situation between 2001 - 2015.

There is one more chapter, and "Regenesis" will not leave things as they are. By the time I'm done, if someone wanted to do SLIDERS REBORN Part 6, they could. And if they wanted to tell a story about Mallory or Colin or Logan, they can do that too. SLIDERS REBORN is SLIDERS' series finale, but it's not a finale that prevents future stories. It is simply a point of... something for the original sliders. I will decline to reveal what it is for now.

I myself have no intention of doing this, but my successor (assuming for the moment that there is one) will be free to do so.

SPOILERS

Okay. I added a few passages to "Reminiscence" and reuploaded:

I told the Professor and Wade about the altered memories I'd witnessed. The monsters and the supernatural creatures and the insanity and madness.

The Professor told me that these were symptoms of a broken reality, the effect of Geiger's experiment reaching into the past as well as the present. He said that so many of my doubles had been sliders who'd been entangled in the realities of infinite worlds -- and ripping them out of existence was the equivalent of pulling load bearing walls out of a building. And he said that the Kromagg machine would only make it worse.

The Professor said we couldn't stop the machine. This reality warping engine -- it was spread out across 17 parallel Earths, all linked in function, gradually burning up individual universes as fuel to widen its influence. The Professor said the best we could do was repurpose it -- reprogram it to build instead of destroy.

SPOILERS

I am pleased and delighted that you enjoyed "Revelation" and "Reminiscence."

The doomsday clocks were indeed inspired by the cubes in "The Power of Three," but I like to think I made it my own by highlighting the countdown and comparing the countdown of the clocks with the countdown of the timer in the 1995 series. And I think my idea for what the clocks do was a *little* more inspired than making then electroshock murder machines. :-)

Strangely, the method for rebooting the multiverse actually came from a conversation with Robert Floyd -- I was interviewing him and he was talking about the technobabble he had to memorize and how he was really fascinated by the concept of a "recombinant universe" and I decided to incorporate that as a small tribute to a wonderful man who did so much for SLIDERS and Quinn Mallory.

The actual lift from DOCTOR WHO in "Revelation," I think -- is actually from "Day of the Doctor." The Doctor saves Gallifrey by putting it in another dimension safe from the Time War, just as Quinn and friends save reality by shifting the doomsday clocks into a pocket dimension that Quinn-2 can't reach.

As for "Reminiscence"'s idea for restoring the original, pre-Geiger timeline by using Rembrandt as a template -- strangely, that was Matt Hutaff's idea. And it also wasn't. I sent him the first draft of "Reminiscence" and he remarked that I gave no clear explanation for WHY the reunited Quinn, Wade and Arturo were searching for Rembrandt because I couldn't think of one other than friendship. "They need to find Rembrandt for Reasons," he remarked, followed by, "No, I think I get it -- they need Rembrandt because he was the only one of them to live out both timelines, right?" I cheerfully put Matt's interpretation into the story and moved on.

As for Colin. Well.

I'm not averse to building the latter seasons into my vision of SLIDERS. SLIDERS REBORN is an effort to treat SLIDERS as myth and legend, first by presenting the original quartet as iconic figures. I tried to do that with "Reunion" acting like Quinn being 'lost' and Wade and Arturo dying were no big deal, that SLIDERS would have inevitably brought them back if it continued, and that the original quartet are the definitive core of the SLIDERS mythology.

Next, I sought to incorporate many variations of the SLIDERS legend into REBORN, seeking to produce an unstoppable super-myth that validates and embraces nearly every aspect of the series. I'd say the 'display room' scene and using Maggie as a character represent that, and "Regenesis" will further declare that just about every version of SLIDERS belongs in SLIDERS REBORN. Diana will be there. Maggie will be there. The rock-star vampires and the radioactive worm and the pancake parasites and the Dream Masters and the intelligent flame and the fat-craving zombies and the dragon will be there.

But there were some variations I failed to incorporate. The one that disappointed me most -- I could find no way to incorporate Mallory into the story. The problem is that, despite Robert Floyd being terrific, the presence of Quinn Mallory played by Jerry O'Connell renders Mallory irrelevant and Mallory's existence is also confusing. He's a double who isn't a double? Also, with the story having erased Quinn from the multiverse and the absence of Mallory doubles in Season 5, there seemed to be no logical way for Mallory to appear.

I attempted to bring him into the "Reminiscence" novella, but my beta-reader found it *entirely* too confusing and I had to remove him. I felt bad about it. Which is why I was so pleased to pay tribute to Robert Floyd in the Earth Prime interview and wanted Mallory's *memories* to at least play a role.

The other variation I failed to incorporate is Colin Mallory. The character does not sit well with my interpretation of Quinn. In my view, Quinn is isolated. Awkward. Alone. Traumatized by the loss of his father. Loved but never truly understood by his mother. He skipped two grades and was smaller than his classmates, physically intimidated, always on his own. The brother character screws up all the family and interpersonal dynamics I consider central to Quinn Mallory. And to bring him in was to once again bring in more confusion.

So, with Mallory and Colin, I found it best to simply label them as part of the Geiger-corrupted timeline created when Quinn was ripped out of reality along with all his doubles. There is a single mention of Colin in "Reunion" -- Quinn says that the Kromaggs took away his identity and made him think he had a brother. Which vaguely implies that the Kromagg-clone plot may have briefly come up during the events covered in "Reminiscence" but quietly sets aside the Quinn-from-Kromagg-Prime backstory.

I don't see myself revisiting Season 4 in terms of clarifying its narrative. The Kromagg Dynasty was erased from the multiverse. That's the end of them. It may be dismissive, but I think Kromaggs have had enough influence on the SLIDERS legend. Still, I have done my best to pay tribute to every season. Season 4's cryo-tube from "The Chasm" and the Sonmoha virtual reality technology from "Virtual Slide" are featured, and the aluminium-missing periodic table from Season 5's "Heavy Metal" along with the clown painting in "Map of the Mind" also appear.

Anyway. Thanks so much. :-)

*closes eyes*

I can't seem to stop editing the "Revelation" script and uploading new versions. I keep spotting typos. Just now, I noticed that I forgot to introduce a character's first name -- only gave his last -- so when the sliders later address this character by his first name, it's completely baffling. I don't know how I would ever be able to release a printed book.

Behind the scenes information courtesy of Temporal Flux.

John Rhys-Davies, at a convention, told a story about his last days on the SLIDERS set. Despite being fired, he had wanted to leave SLIDERS. He performed his death scene, and as he was leaving the set, he passed by the producers. They were huddled around a TV watching a movie. They were watching the movie SPECIES.

Tom and Cory hilariously highlighted the terrible inattention to sound design in this entire episode. And Cory notes the truly bizarre choices with the Maggie character. If they wanted a sultry, flirtatious, promiscuous character, why did they write her as a solder/fighter pilot/spy/intelligence officer? Maggie as sexuality-defined object completely undermines the military aspect of the character.

And then there's the ending. Quinn and friends condemn an entire Earth to its doom due to a parasite they brought to this world and failed to contain. SLIDERS is completely incapable of addressing this on any level. And once again -- there is very little artistic challenge in having the characters fail and lose. There is very little advantage in having a surgically augmented Barbie doll prance around on the screen.

Which brings us to "Stoker." There's just no thought behind this episode. Tom and Cory ask lots of questions: even if they accept this week's villains as immortal vampires -- what allows vampires to telekinetically control cars and their inner workings? Or fire electricity through guitars? And then -- if DRACULA was never written on this Earth, why are all the characters named after Bram Stoker's various creations?

It's really sad. Because the truth is that SLIDERS could do a vampire story. I mean, it could be so interesting. Quinn and Arturo trying to understand the rules behind how these vampires work, how their powers function, and how they could be challenged. Wade and Rembrandt exploring the psychology and artistry of the creatures. But none of that is here -- the vampires are played as invincible with whatever powers are wanted on a whim -- but then Quinn beats their experienced and powerful leader with a stick! You can hear Tom and Cory on the verge of falling into hysterical laughter, losing any ability to take SLIDERS seriously.

*sigh*

By the way, the rock-star vampires from "Stoker" will make an appearance in SLIDERS REBORN. :-)

Throughout REBORN, I have imagined a 41-year-old Jerry O'Connell in the classic Quinn costume. Plain red and blue sweaters. Flannel shirts. Jeans. Loafers or running shoes. This was part of resetting Quinn back to Season 1 while having him be older.

But now I have an actual photograph or two with 2015 Jerry in Quinn's 1995 clothes  -- and the effect is just *weird*. It's the awkward effect of seeing a grown man wearing a child's clothes, and Quinn was very much a child in Seasons 1 - 2.

That said, given Quinn's social isolation and depression in "Reunion" and "Revelation," I think it kind of works that he is still wearing the same outfits from 20 years ago. But I think he'll be changing his clothes in Part 5. I mean, he's a ______ now.

D'you think Quinn in 2015 would still dress the way he did in 1995?

Because this is a question I have to ask myself.

You may want to redownload. Just fixed a bunch of typos and also shortened a ton of technobabble. :-)

Sorry for the delay, everyone. When a decent interval has passed, I'll probably explain what the challenges were with more spoilers. I will say that I spent a stupid amount of time on graphics, only to go with something simple (putting Jerry's 2015 face on a 1995 photo of Jerry in Quinn's costume).

I really appreciate the acceptance into canon. As someone who loves STAR TREK and DOCTOR WHO and STAR WARS novels and comics and radioplays, I find that canonicity is less about approval and more about products that the audience loved and enjoyed. :-)

So, we're coming up on flu season. Anyone have measures of avoiding getting sick? I've turned to constant handwashing and using alcohol-based sanitizers as often as possible. I've also started taking a combination of herbal supplements and vitamins and minerals, specifically ginseng, vitamin C and zinc. And I'm trying something preventative as well -- I felt slightly feverish and some throat irritation starting yesterday morning, so I'm going to stay home from work and spend the day gargling salt water, drinking fluids, and see if I can beat this before it starts and turns into some ghastly 2-week experience.

I read that RINGER ended on a totally unsatisfying note -- I'm hesitant to get involved in shows that ended on cliffhangers.

**

I honestly had no idea how long "Revelation" (2) was going to be. I wrote chunks of it on my laptop, but then my laptop became so unacceptably awful that I was compelled to sell it. I then wrote long chunks of it on my iPad. I wrote a bunch of scenes in Google Docs which inserted unnecessary line breaks between every paragraph. I switched to writing in the iOS Pages app which produced corrupted Microsoft Word files. I finally shifted to using Microsoft Word in iOS. But it became clear that I was going to need to do this on a Windows machine because I needed the plot outline next to the script. (Yes, I bought a new laptop after all. Damn.)

Nigel was actually of the opinion that the outline was WAY TOO LONG for one installment. But. I think Nigel was thinking as a novelist (which he is) instead of as a screenwriter. Screenwriting is about the edited highlights.

I also had to really up the font size to size 30 or so so that I wouldn't be squinting at my tablet. And sometimes, I wrote on my home theatre PC with the screen at a healthy distance on the other side of the room, meaning the font must also be large. So I was looking at a 340-page document in the end with no sense of what Final Draft would do with the format and the word-wrapping.

I think it might end up being 150 pages or so because there's a lot of description to add.

Okay. SLIDERS REBORN Part 2 is in good shape. I have only the final action sequence left to write. And I need to insert some extra jokes into the earlier pages.

There was a lengthy sequence in Part 2 where something Informant said back on the old-Bboard that stood out to me:

And I firmly disagreed in my responses -- but then I wrote a script that pretty much agrees with Informant! Eeeeek!

.... so, when the Professor died, I was 10-years-old. It was one of the most traumatic events of my life. I felt like my own father had died. About five years later, I was rather upset with Tracy Torme over AOL Instant Messenger. I was a kid. I was furious that he'd left SLIDERS and let the Professor die. "My dad was sick and I had to be with him, I'm sorry you lost your TV dad," he said. "I lost my dad too." Arturo's death left a hole in my heart. A void that couldn't be filled.

**

A film student wrote me an E-mail recently about "Slide Effects." He asked me where I got the idea for how to resurrect the original sliders and reset the show to just after Season 2. The idea was stolen from Tracy Torme during that AOL chat. The student asked me: "How are you so good at screenwriting?" Which is bull#!t. SLIDERS REBORN's laboured development would indicate that there are some serious issues here. But I told him I understood certain requirements of screenwriting -- writing third person, showing the edited highlights of larger events, telling stories with action and visual information -- and also, that every story must have a point. An insight. Something to say.

What I wanted to say with "Slide Effects" is that fiction can only be created and never destroyed. The SLIDERS concept is magnificent. The series is truly unique. It has four lead characters who can embody cynicism and hope, experience and innocence, crusading and caution, wisdom and stupidity. It has a storytelling platform that welcomes any genre. Any story is conceivably a SLIDERS story. And once it exists, it can't be killed.

Yes, Wade was sent to a rape camp, then had her brain cut out and put in a jukebox from the movie BIG. The Professor had his brain sucked out, was shot, then left on a planet that blew up. Quinn was merged with another actor and 'lost.' Rembrandt -- fate unknown. The sliders' home Earth was invaded by Kromaggs and left that way. There was no conclusion to the Kromagg Prime saga or the search for Quinn or Logan St. Clair's pursuit or the FBI investigation and every single thing SLIDERS ever set out to do ended in ghastly failure with every single character dead or worse than dead and all because David Peckinpah was in no condition to run a show.

But it's fiction. And I think "Slide Effects" was my way of saying that if you embrace the sliders as fictional creations and the concept of sliding, everything that was lost can come back. You can retrieve Arturo, restore Wade, rescue Quinn and reunite them with Rembrandt. You can save them all.

**

Tom said I should do my own SLIDERS podcast. I think the stuff I have to say about SLIDERS is better said in scripts. SLIDERS REBORN is an effort to give SLIDERS something that it currently lacks, even with "Slide Effects." You'll see what I mean.

I was thinking back on the original series and Season 1. And it wasn't really *that* different from what HEROES REBORN is doing as far as multiple characters in spread out locations dealing with separate stories. I think the *main* difference was the scripting style. The overall plot might have been all about the myth-arc of evolved humans. But the individual scenes, as scripted, were not about the mythology, but rather the characters.

HEROES REBORN done Season 1 style would be subtly different. Noah's scenes would be less about finding out what the Evil Company and more about him and Quentin bonding over their respective losses and recovering from their grief. Ren's storyline would be about how he's an obsessive gamer who keeps treating Real Life like a game only to be hit with consequence and danger and loss. Luke's storyline would be about his bloodlust for EVOs only to realize he's one of them. I think Carlos' plot has been pretty Season 1-esque -- every scene is about his trauma and his rage. Tommy's plot has been about his loneliness and isolation.

I really have no issue with the *plots* themselves, but rather the scripting style. And I think that this is what Bryan Fuller brought to the table. In Volume 4, Sylar's father was going to be the satanic villain of the volume. Fuller took that plot and just made it Sylar and John Glover talking for 3 - 4 scenes. The hunt for metahumans was part of the story, but it was ultimately about Sylar recognizing that his killing spree would simply leave him empty, isolated and alone. That emphasis on characterization is missing from HEROES REBORN.

So, Volume Five, Week Two. It was okay.

I guess the problem I'm having right now is that only some of the character arcs are really compelling in themselves and much of the story is still being driven by vagueness without concrete information. This drove me *crazy* with the original Season 1 of HEROES, but it also kept me coming back because I was invested in the characters. How would Claire deal with learning about her powers? What was Peter's secret as he ventured forward and learned more about his true nature? How was Nikki going to cope with her identity crisis? How could Hiro become a hero?

With HEROES REBORN, I'm not as invested in the characters. The Noah Bennett arc is strong, but the lack of solid information, even with clues, is keeping me from getting into it. The Luke character arc wasn't as well handled as I'd hoped; his lack of enthusiasm for continuing his murder spree actually reduces the impact of the reveal that he's an EVO. It would have worked better if he'd continued to genuinely hate EVOs right up to discovering he's what he's been hunting; the way they did it is instead rather muted.

The Ren and Katana Girl arcs suffer from the same problem as Molly Walker and Taylor. There is really no clear sense of who these people are. Why does Ren have so much time and enthusiasm for the Katana Girl mystery? Miko herself is largely devoid of personality. Molly is vulnerable and in danger, but there's no sense of who she is either or what she cares about or what she wants. Taylor is defined by being an agent and Francis' girlfriend. This absence of individuality is also matched by an absence of information. It's not fun to watch these characters onscreen.

The girl in the Arctic Circle has no personality and she's fighting a vague sense of vagueness.

The Carlos as El Vengador arc is strong. The Tommy teleportation arc is strong. Mostly because these characters are well-defined and have interesting dilemmas. Carlos is a burnout who suddenly finds direction from his need for vengeance and answers; Tommy is seeking peace but at the center of an EVO plot. There's mystery, but there's also concrete information. I know who these people are and what they want even if I don't fully understand what's going on around them. Same with Noah Bennett. But that means with 50 per cent of the show, I don't know who these people are and I also don't know what's going on.

So, basically, it's a Tim Kring show without Bryan Fuller to help.

The JESSICA JONES trailers struck me as trailers aimed specifically at the fans. People who already know who this character is. And you know, that's okay -- if the show is meant for that precise demographic, then the trailers are just about right. As for being successful? If the show is aimed at a small audience, then it's presumably budgeted so that the cost of making it is below the amount of revenue it will draw from that small audience.

I've had some issues with Marvel movies. I loved IRON MAN, INCREDIBLE HULK and THOR, but IRON MAN II and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER were weak films that led to the also-weak AVENGERS and the very weak first season of AGENTS OF SHIELD. However, one thing that these projects all handled very well was budget and market research. Marvel Studios had a pretty clear idea of who would be interested in seeing these projects and how much money they were likely to make. They then made sure to spend just the right amount so that even a modest success would turn a profit.

I thought IRON MAN III, CAP II, THOR II, DAREDEVIL and the second season of AGENTS were very strong, and I felt a huge part of that was also the creators handling budget constraints more effectively than AVENGERS (where most of the movie was set on the Helicarrier). Marvel Studios has, traditionally, been very good at making sure their costs don't exceed their earnings. I'm sure JESSICA JONES, a low-budget Netflix series, will be handled just as well.

That said, I'm not sure how true that will be for future projects. One of the main forces behind avoiding wasteful spending was Ike Perlmutter, the reclusive CEO of Marvel Entertainment. He had a lot of wise and brilliant business approaches to filmmaking. Filming schedules, locations, scripts, cast availability and budgets were meticulously and obsessively timed and organized. Most Hollywood blockbusters waste millions of dollars due to poor planning that has actors sitting around paid but not working because sets and props aren't ready, location filming that turns out to be unnecessary, special effects sequences that are bought and not used, etc..

Perlmutter's fastidious business sense avoided most of that. Actors were paid sensible figures for their initial films, in the $500,000 to $2 million range, although the success of the earlier films meant increases for the sequels. Inexpensive but talented directors were chosen like Shane Black for IRON MAN III and the Russo brothers from COMMUNITY for CAP II and Alan Taylor from GAME OF THRONES for THOR II. Actors were not given endless luxuries; they were not given vast expense accounts or free airline travel for their entourages. Journalists were only allowed one soda each at press junkets.

Unfortunately, Perlmutter was also a crazy ****ing lunatic who was sexist, racist, homophobic and hateful towards his employees. It's one thing to handle money this way; something else to handle people and talent in precisely the same manner. Perlmutter's downfall came when Downey Jr. expressed his interest in starring in CAPTAIN AMERICA III in a larger role. Perlmutter considered this Downey Jr. trying to grab more money. Arguably true, but surely if it wasn't financially sound, Downey Jr. could have been politely told, "Thanks, but no thanks." Instead, Perlmutter vindictively sought to have Downey Jr. written out of the CAP3 script entirely and this led to Perlmutter being removed from Marvel movies.

I honestly don't know if it's a good thing. The past years have seen increasingly foolish and idiotic studio behaviour where studios vastly overestimate the audience for their films and spend far more money than they can expect to earn back. (The stated budgets of these films are pretty meaningless because there's apparently additional preparatory and marketing costs that don't show up in the IMDB budget pages.) Look at JOHN CARTER or TOMORROWLAND or TERMINATOR GENISYS or anything directed in the last decade by the Wachowskis.

GENISYS is the perfect example of this poor thinking. Would anyone expect a TERMINATOR movie to earn more than $200 million worldwide? It's a 1984 franchise that hasn't been relevant since 1991. The films are aimed at people who saw and loved the 1984 and 1991 films. It's not a huge audience, and the time travel and continuity make it a tough sell to a general audience. So, to spend a huge sum on such a film would be foolish; any TERMINATOR film should be at most a $50 million dollar film. Paramount spent -- well, I don't know how much they spent, but GENISYS earned $440 million worldwide and yet is considered a failure with its sequels cancelled, which means they really shouldn't have made the movie for however much they invested.

MAN OF STEEL earned close to $700 million and is also considered by Warner Bros. to be a non-success -- in that they didn't make as much of a profit as they'd hoped. That's why MAN OF STEEL II became a BATMAN & SUPERMAN film; that's why there are no standalone Superman films planned. And to me, that's just ridiculously poor mathematics; if summer action films are earning hundreds of millions and their planned sequels are being cancelled, then too much is being spent to make them.

As I said, Marvel has been good at avoiding this silliness, but they have stumbled into it with AGE OF ULTRON, which earned $1.4 billion and is considered a disappointment at Disney. Not because they lost money, but because they didn't earn as much as they'd hoped -- which means they probably shouldn't have spent as much as they did.

But I think JESSICA JONES, being a smaller-scale project, is safe from such things.

Where can I watch DARK MATTERS outside of iOS? I really hate the app.

Good point, Jessie. Hope the Netflix campaign works out!

Yes, this I understand.

I'm not sorry for releasing Part 1 when I did. March 22, 2015 was too important a date to miss. However, completing the script for Part 1 a mere three weeks after the outline gave me a false sense of confidence. Part 1 was not terribly plot-driven and there were far fewer clues and setups than were needed for the payoff of Part 2. With Part 2, seemed fine in a general outline (or possible to rationalize) became illogical, nonsensical and incomprehensible when typing out actual scenes with events and dialogue. But it has gotten a bit ridiculous that a June 2015 script is coming out in October.

I wrote a scene today where Rembrandt encounters a double of Maggie who is a secret-agent-action-girl. Well. I think at 48, I have to call Maggie an action-woman. The plot and pacing required that Rembrandt convince this stranger that he is her ally and can be trusted. The means by which I had him do so is questionable in the extreme, but damn it, this had to move along.

I genuinely do not know if it's true to Rembrandt to have him declare that of all the sliders, Maggie is the one he knew best. Or if it's true to say that he knows her so well he can convince any Maggie-double that he's a friend. And also to say that Maggie gave him (off-camera) combat lessons during their two and a half years together. (But surely she would have?) But I think when writing tie-in fiction, you have to take some chances like these in extrapolating this way.

Something I really enjoy about fanfic -- many people have told me about the importance of not being self-indulgent in your fiction. Killing your darlings. Doing what serves the story as opposed to your personal fetishes and obsessions. But fanfic is a place where you can do all that. I was listening to the SLIDERS Rewatch podcast where Tom and Cory were joking about the Elston Diggs character of Season 3, laughing about how this silly character pops up in scripts and spouts expository dialogue to the sliders without any provocation, inexplicably telling strangers about his world and society like he assumes they're interdimensional visitors and need to be informed of what for Diggs would be common knowledge.

And when a scene required a receptionist, I could not resist making that receptionist Elston Diggs while presenting his bizarre expository dialogue as an indication of a compulsive mental disorder.

Okay. At the rate I'm going with the second SLIDERS REBORN script -- writing a scene or two on weekdays, writing large chunks on weekends -- it will be done by next week Sunday.

I was going to send Nigel Mitchell the script -- but I think that might be waiting too long. Part 2 was supposed to come out in June and I think I've integrated Nigel's input regarding the outline as best I can. One of his remarks was that while he could provide me with bits and pieces to add to the story, he was reluctant to suggest specific changes as the story was intricate and he found that pulling on one thread would unravel the whole thing.

I think, for September 30, I will post the first 15 pages of the script just to indicate that it's well on its way to completion despite the laboured development process. I'll have the first draft done by October 3 and I'll give myself a week to go through each page and punch it up, and then post the Part 2 script and the Part 2B novella (already written) on October 10.

Part 3 -- I think I'll reschedule that for a January 2016 release date, in light of all the issues I had writing Part 2.

"Slide Like an Egyptian." I honestly don't know what to make of this episode and my reaction mirrors Tom and Cory almost exactly. The episode is very strangely edited with scene to scene progression lost as character motives fade in and out of the story. Quinn's death is a moment in a muddled, confused, disorienting episode and leaves me completely cold. The sliders stumbling across a replacement timer that works pretty much the same way the old one did is just baffling to me. It knocked me out of the story completely. The scarab special effect is appalling. Why are the creators of Season 3 so utterly convinced that special effects will attract an audience when the special effects are so terrible?

I really can't figure out what the point of this episode was beyond David Peckinpah's wish to have the Torme timer destroyed and replaced with one he can call his own. As Cory and Tom note, Michael Mallory's advice to Quinn is meaningless nonsense. There's no real exploration of the Egyptian alt-history. This episode is a boring mess and it's hard to tell what they were going for.

With "Paradise Lost," we come to one of the most loathed episodes of SLIDERS ever made. Tom and Cory note all the obvious, glaring errors throughout the story from misdelivered dialogue to silly chronological errors and baffling contradictions in how this town keeps its secrets or discovered the immortality-granting substances.

"Paradise Lost" features two of the worst guest-characters on SLIDERS. Trudy is appalling, claiming to be trying to save innocent people while only ever providing vague, unspecific warnings that have never saved a single person. Laurie is a non-entity paraded in front of the camera as a Baywatch babe, so dull that Tom and Cory have trouble remembering her scenes. And there's an alarming lack of oversight such as Quinn addressing the Professor as "Max" or actors confusing the words "do" and "don't."

This episode is a clear reflection of how the Season 3 production is unprofessional. They commission scripts for SLIDERS even when the pitches clearly lack parallel universe story elements, which reflects the showrunner's indifference to the series. They permit scripts to be filmed without any concern for introducing guest-characters or scene-to-scene progression or reviewing dialogue, indicating that the script editor is not on the job. They permit actors to mis-read dialogue and do not do reshoots, suggesting the script supervisor is either incompetent or being ignored. All this leads to a nonsensical final product.

I think, earlier in the season, some of the Season 1/2 writers (Tony Blake, Paul Jackson, Nan Hagan) were still writing for the show they knew in Season 2, so you'd get episodes like "Double Cross" and "Dead Man Sliding" which merge the Season 3 spectacle/action approach with Season 1/2 storytelling elements. You had writers like Eleah Horwitz writing perfectly decent stories like "The Prince of Slides" and "Season's Greedings," aiming for the same. These were writers who, I think, were willing to do their own quality control on their material. David Peckinpah did the same for himself on "Murder Most Foul."

But then there are the scripts where the writers were either not reviewing their own material or there were changes being made to film material more cheaply and more quickly but without any concern for coherence or watchability.

In Season 1, Tracy Torme, Robert K. Weiss and Jon Povill were often rewriting scripts. "Last Days" and "Eggheads" were heavily redone. "As Time Goes By" had multiple writers working on the individual threads. "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome" was heavily workshopped. With Season 3, little to no effort in this area is present. "Paradise Lost" is a marker -- the Season 3 episodes that follow are mostly from scripts that have not been reviewed for basic professional standards (introductions, exposition, in-character dialogue, basic scene-to-scene progression) or have been rewritten in ways that aren't concerned with those standards.

"The Last of Eden" also reflects all the problems that result when scripts aren't being reviewed with these concerns in mind. Cory and Tom explore how the underground society makes no sense and are wildly inconsistent in the threat they pose and the timeline presented by the episode makes no sense whatsoever. The script raises questions about the Gineers that aren't explored in the slighest. The script plunges the sliders into a plot that makes no effort to explore the surroundings or the civilization in any meaningful or informative way, treating every guest-character in this episode as a threat or a mechanism to move the plot to its tedious conclusion.

Episodes like "Double Cross" and "Dead Man Sliding" showed that SLIDERS could give FOX the light entertainment and action-spectacle they wanted while still telling stories with alternate histories and strangers in strange lands. But in the end, the problem isn't even that Season 3 reducing alt-history for doing monsters and horror and fantasy. Any story is conceivably a SLIDERS story; even a story without a strong alternate history is potentially a SLIDERS story. The problem is that Season 3 is doing *bad* monster movies and horror movies and fantasy movies. This regime has no concern for quality or viewer enjoyment and "Paradise Lost" is the point at which this is consistently indicated in nearly every episode that follows.

Behind the scenes information courtesy of Temporal Flux.

David Peckinpah's family posted on the old Sci-Fi Board, protesting the fans' mockery and ridicule towards Peckinpah. Saying he was a wonderful father and a loving man. Informant replied, "What you have to understand is that when you run a show like SLIDERS, you are creating a legacy. People who don't want to be mocked and ridiculed really need to put some thought into what they're producing. I have no doubt that David Peckinpah was a solid citizen. Unmatched in his moral integrity. The last good man on Earth. His show still sucked."

After Peckinpah died, the family posted some stuff on IMDB about how the poor man was simply broken after his son died. And looking at SLIDERS -- Season 3 is a man in pain lashing out. Seasons 4 - 5 represent a man who has given up and simply wants to die.

The 'rock concert' environment of "The Exodus" can be seen in the gag reel. Lloyd is clearly hungover in "The Exodus Part 2," as are Jerry and Cleavant, in the Professor's eulogy scene. John Rhys-Davies was, I think, more irritated by the scripts, which led to Peckinpah despising him and removing his character from the show by sucking out the Professor's brain, shooting him, then blowing up the corpse. Sabrina Lloyd didn't like working with Kari Wuhrer. I have no data on how they felt about the on-set quality of filming.

In the end, yes, David Peckinpah is responsible for SLIDERS' downfall and had little-to-no credit in its continued survival on Sci-Fi. But he wasn't a demonic monstrosity. Just a man. Weak and lost. I think it says something about sobriety -- one must commit to living a healthy life for one's self, not for someone else, not even a beloved child. Be angry with him if you have to. But forgive him.

Behind the scenes information courtesy of Temporal Flux.

So, "State of the ART." Like Cory and Tom, I don't mind this episode too much, although Arturo's aptitude with physics and mathematics seems to have gotten an absurd upgrade to the point where he's repairing robots! The purple sky is intriguing. Visually, this episode is kind of cramped and dull with its bland sets and soundstages and the editing is a little flat. But I didn't mind it too much. Not exactly thought provoking, however. I enjoyed Cory and Tom talking about whether or not they'd submit to being transplanted into robot bodies. Tom's thoughts on artificial intelligence were intriguing as he argued that Derec's 'emotions,' such as they are, don't represent any internal state. They're just programming instructing a machine to show specific symbols on its display, using a human face as its screen and human expressions as its graphic user interface.

At the same time, is the human brain or body anything more than a machine in itself, albeit one of biological components as opposed to mechanical parts? I dunno! Interestingly, Bob Weiss, co-creator of SLIDERS, is also an expert in robotics and is the CEO of a company working on robots that can perform surgery. (I don't think he's currently working on artificial intelligence.)

Then we come to "Season's Greedings," which is again a combination of the Season 1/2 alt-histories with the Season 3 approach of aiming for light entertainment. Unlike "Double Cross," the emphasis is less on action but ultimately about good triumphing over evil. Unlike "The Prince of Slides," this episode has something truly meaningful and important to say about the futility and pointlessness of consumer purchasing and consumer credit. And I like it a lot. It's heartfelt. It's sweet.

It's got an absurd and ridiculous climax where the sliders delete debt records to free everyone in the mall from their servitude -- I find it *very* difficult to believe there wouldn't be extensive backups of this stuff. I get the impression this script was written well before computers were as common as they are now and in our pockets. I enjoyed Cory and Tom noting how the friendly, cheerful setting of the mall is essentially a polite face on slavery, however, and I suppose that's part of why I don't quibble too much with how the story is resolved.

But certain things trouble me.

Quinn Mallory. Something has gone wrong with Jerry's performance and the scripting of the character. The physicality and the expression of the character have gotten confused. The scene that strikes me as most wrong is when Quinn and Kelly go to dinner. Quinn talks about his family's traditions. Jerry is completely out of character in this scene. He acts like he's accustomed to attention from women and enjoys it greatly.

I think a Season 1/2 Quinn would perform exactly the same dialogue, but with Quinn's usual reserve and slight social awkwardness, making it less of a performance and more of an awkward sharing between himself and a new friend. Jerry, however, plays this scene as completely flirtatious and intensely sexual and it's deeply uncharacteristic for Quinn; why would Quinn be flirting with Wade's sister at a time when Wade is hurting for family? Had Jerry modulated his performance correctly, it would have come off as Quinn trying to better understand Wade through understanding Kelly.

Instead, Jerry plays it like he's on a date. Tom and Cory highlight deleted scenes where Quinn was written to have had a crush on Kelly since their first meeting at Wade's house over dinner. That also doesn't sync with Jerry's performance. Would this confident, flirtatious, girl-chasing Jerry O'Connell have been at a loss for words when first meeting Kelly? Would he have been "unable to take his eyes off her," as Wade says in the script? No -- this version of the character would have asked Kelly out.

The other scene that really rubs me the wrong way with Quinn is Quinn pouncing on the mall manager at the end and punching him out with enraged satisfaction. I don't see why Quinn would do this; the man's business has been shattered, he's wanted by the law, his assets have been destroyed and his face is known to all. What was the point? Quinn knows when a guy is beaten; he doesn't enjoy inflicting physical pain. Something has gone really wrong here.

The ending. Oh, the ending. Yes, it's nice to see a happy ending. But I remember this article where Tracy Torme remarked that he felt Season 3 of SLIDERS (at the halfway mark) was doing empty, feel-good television. Everything is wrapped up happily at the end. All is well. The sliders open the vortex off camera to save money. And they leave. No twists, no thought-provoking endings. Just acceptable mediocrity.

Film director James Gray once remarked, there are two words in the English language -- "good" and "enough" -- that, when combined, are a recipe for low standards. "State of the ART" and "Season's Greedings" are certainly good enough -- but SLIDERS is no longer receiving the detailed care and love to characterization and viewer enjoyment that often made it great.

Next: The terrible truth of Season 3.

Maybe it's just me -- but I fail to see how missing episodes on Hulu and Netflix could truly prevent any of us from watching them anyway. I mean, we're SLIDERS fans, for God's sake. We may as well have invented the Internet when it comes to TV shows.

(I'm using various qualifiers in case Temporal Flux sweeps in and has exact and precise information that makes me wrong.)

I would be astonished if the real San Francisco has ever appeared in SLIDERS outside of stock footage of the Golden Gate Bridge.

What's your beef with Firefox?

My issue is simply that it's gotten bloated and slow -- but I still like it in theory. And with all the extraneous features stripped out.

I have now completed 1/4 of the Quinn-Arturo scenes.

In other news, I've discovered a really great web browser -- Pale Moon. It's a variant on Firefox. I really like Firefox for all the great extensions and the way you can customize it. But Firefox has become a bloated mess of a browser. And even on i7 processors and 8GB of RAM, it's prone to delayed starts and regular freezing up compared to Chrome's instantaneous response. I recently discovered Pale Moon, which is a build of Firefox that's extremely stripped down and lightweight. It has all the features of Firefox, but none of the absurd demands on the CPU and processor. The main subtraction is compatibility with older-generation processors and operating systems. I've been settling for Chrome because Chrome is fast, but I think I might switch to Pale Moon.