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Happy 25th, "Sliders"!

Thanks for making that video, Grizzlor. I just saw someone post it in a Sliders FB group, which is what made think to come here. I tried to share it, but there wasn't an option for that on FB for some reason. And when I click on your Instagram link above, it just shows the picture instead of the video. Do you have a shareable link of the video I can post?

The funny thing about a reboot of a show with an interdimensional mythos is that reboots are kind of irrelevant. You could always just pick up with another group of Sliders without having to resolve the issue of what happened to the other ones.

Or, if you wish to look at it from a more positive angle, every episode was technically a reboot! It was just more noticeable on the worlds where the characters had doubles.

Of course, if the reboot does come to pass, they'll probably cast actors who look so unlike the originals that it would strain the credibility of even this premise. (And, yes, I realize that the show recast characters with completely different actors, like Gomez Calhoun. But that broke the credibility for me even then.)

I think I remember Kelsey Grammer saying he'd like to play the Professor. He'd certainly do a good job!

And at any rate, I really enjoyed the reboots of Battlestar Galactica and the 2018 Lost in Space, so I would certainly give any new Sliders a chance!

Lots of good thoughts, everyone!

It sounds like there isn't a whole lot of consensus, but I'll go with Torme's dating of 1994 for the pilot, even if he forgot by the time he filmed "Summer of Love." (I like TF's retcon for that.)

Thanks to everyone for their insights and humorous comments!

Ahh, there we go! It was in the Weiss transcript:

Question: Were there other character designs left on the drawing board? Were there any characters changes before filming the pilot?
RK Weiss: The story was originally set in a boarding house with some other folks.

Question: Can you expand on the boarding house early story?
RK Weiss: Not in this forum. But there were more characters who lived there and got sucked into the original slide. Too many to service.

http://www.earth62.net/transcripts/weiss03dec99.htm

Thanks, TF, for the idea to search there! (And thanks to everyone else for the other comments!)

Wow, I don't think I've ever read TF's review before, but it's 100% spot-on.

I speculated that Linaweaver was working from the production scripts, but I didn't know it was ever confirmed. That's a cool bit of info. I agree that if the information had been presented as bits of trivia -- "Here's how the script differs from the final episode"-- that would have been a great deal more interesting than just presenting the information in a wrong and confusing way.

I also agree about Ken Steadman. The impact of the dedication is lost because Linaweaver seems to mention it on every other page.

As for why Linaweaver said that he didn't have the time, I think I actually understand that. At Dragon*Con 1998, Linaweaver spoke about the book, saying that the publishers figured that with the show (at that point) still continuing, they hoped to get a second volume out of the later episodes (hence why this volume is called "The Classic Episodes"). It was a bad plan, because so many fans felt ripped off with what we got the first time that it didn't sell well enough to get a second volume. 

I still say the book might be worth picking up at a garage sale for under $1, but probably not more than that. Its value is as a Sliders collectible rather than what's inside.

I know that ireactions has already made up his mind not to buy the book, but I can't resist sharing one final thought: You could pay $20 for a used copy of a book that covers half the series, or you could buy the entire series on DVD for the same amount.

I'm really surprised that people are ragging on the Mill Creek set. Yes, the quality is a bit lower, but I'm thrilled that someone finally cared enough to put the episodes into actual production order! None of the other methods of viewing the series -- other DVDs, streaming, broadcast reruns -- got this absolutely essential detail right.

Wow. This has been a fascinating conversation with eloquent speakers on both sides.

Here are some random thoughts I had while reading the thread:

--I really like Spider-Man's costume. After years of filmmakers trying to make it more "modern," we finally get a design straight out of the Silver Age. This article explains pretty well what I love about it:

http://www.geek.com/news/why-spider-man … r-1649510/

If that's too long for you, here's a key piece that stands out for me:

"The cool thing about the Civil War Spider-Man suit (besides the extra cartridges for his web-shooters) are the mechanical eyes. You can hear them whir as the black borders on the lenses contract, amazingly, from a John Romita-sized eye to a Steve Ditko-sized eye."

--Civil War was a very well-received story, so it would have been done at some point. Was it decided to do Civil War to better compete with Batman v Superman? Probably. But DC didn't move forward with an expanded universe until after The Avengers. Although attempts had been started before, DC didn't fully commit until they felt they had to step up their game to compete with Marvel.

And the two companies really do compete with each other on an absurd level. Once DC found out that Marvel was doing Civil War, they started adding a bunch of other Justice Leaguers to their movie without a proper introduction to them, even though the movie should really just focus on Batman and Superman. Meanwhile, I can't imagine a Civil War movie that doesn't have Iron Man in a major role, but yeah, at this point the movie might as well just have the Avengers label on it.

The funny thing is that DC has the more impressive stable of characters; they just don't know how to handle them right. There's no good reason why Batman and Superman haven't met on screen in live action long before now. The Justice League is way more famous than the Avengers; it's absurd that the Avengers managed to get movies made before the Justice League did. But Marvel has been doing a much better job handling their characters. Ten years ago, I didn't care about Iron Man or Captain America. But Marvel made amazing movies that got me to care.

Meanwhile, while Nolan's movies were amazing, DC continues to struggle with Superman. There was no need to do a sequel to the Christopher Reeve movies that took place "five years later" while clearly taking place in 2006 rather than the '80s. But MoS managed to make things even less interesting, by doing a remake of Superman I and II while giving us a needlessly bleak ending.

To the DC fans who may be frustrated by reading my opinions, I reiterate that DC should be kicking Marvel's butt all over the place because of their great stable of characters. They may be able to get on track at some point, but everything about BvS has made me cringe. If everyone says it's great when it's released, though, I will keep an open mind.

--I agree that RDJ is Iron Man in a way that no one actor is Batman or Superman. However, I don't think we'll get Matt Damon or anyone else recast in the role of Tony Stark. I think that part of the plan with rolling out new-to-film characters with each phase is to have an endless roster of new Avengers to fill in when other actors' contracts are up. Tony can retire, and while there probably won't be any War Machine movies, Rhodey can be a supporting character in an Avengers movie,* while Star-Lord and Ant-Man step up to become main Avengers, and (if the comics are followed on this point) maybe Bucky takes over the Captain America mantle.

*I realize that things look pretty grim for Rhodey in the latest Civil War trailer, making his participation in later films unlikely, but the trailer could be doing a deliberate misdirection.

--I think Agent Carter is terrific, even if the ending of Season 2 was a little anticlimactic. It felt like the story went on two episodes longer than it needed to. Still, I love the tone and feel of the show, and I look forward to Season 3.

--Agents of SHIELD started out pretty rough, but the great plot twist in the second half of Season 1 really kicked things into high gear, and the characters and mythology have greatly deepened since then. I will agree that Fitz's mental problems seem to appear and disappear with an asburd level of plot convenience, though.

--I haven't seen Daredevil Season 2 yet, but Season 1 was amazing. The characterization was rich and deep in that particular show. Wilson Fisk in particular was so well-drawn that all previous incarnations I've seen of him seem laughable in comparison.

--I tried one episode of Jessica Jones, but it wasn't for me. I like a little dash of realism in my comic book stories, but if I wanted to watch a story about serial rapists, I'd watch Law & Order: SVU or something. Well-made, of course, but just not my taste.

--By contrast, Supergirl is something of a guilty pleasure for me. There are usually plot holes that I'm complaining about after each episode, but (like Agent Carter), I enjoy the tone and the feel of the show so much, and it's a good cast. I also enjoy all the geeky casting choices and references. (I realize that this is a Marvel thread, but since we're comparing Marvel and DC, and since I've had some harsh words to say about DC, I wanted to balance it out a bit.)

Smallville was a pretty good show. I didn't realize it was on Netflix. Weird that a show that was popular for so long, even recently, is kind of vanishing from the popular culture.

If anything, I would think that the current popularity of DC Comics on TV would make people want to check out the back catalog.

It's been a great day. There have been celebrations from Toyota (because of Marty's truck, and because they're actually working on turning refuse into fuel), Pepsi (who accidentally underestimated public demand for Pepsi Perfect), and Calvin Klein. Universal did fake advertisements for hoverboards and for Jaws 19. (The latter is particularly hilarious.) My FB news feed has been lit up with news stories, commentaries and analyses of the films, observations from friends, comments from people at various marathons, etc.

In short, it's everything that a fan could have possibly wanted. It's as terrific as the 50th anniversary celebration for Doctor Who in 2013. Sliders didn't get its chance this year, but maybe in 2025, the series will finally get its due.

Yeah, I thought about that several times while watching the various LEGO Dimensions trailers. I suppose that one can't copyright the look of a wormhole, but it seems like they were thinking of Sliders, or possibly even Stargate SG-1, even though neither franchise is directly represented.

I'd love to see the Sliders in the game some day, as unlikely as that may be.

Oh, no! It's sad to lose any episodes from Season 1, but losing "Last Days" really hurts. It's easily one of my top 5 favorite episodes, and one of the times that SLIDERS most truly lived up to its potential. It's one that I can show friends without embarrassment or apology to help them understand why the show is great.