• Registered: 2015-06-22
  • Posts: 3,293

Topic: Sliders: The Animated Series

So this morning I had a thought that was so simple that I was confident we'd talked about it before.  But I searched and it doesn't look like we've ever talked about it broadly (it was only mentioned once)

But with the popularity of shows like Rick & Morty and Star Trek: Lower Decks, why hasn't the idea of a Sliders animated series been discussed?  I know the real-world answer is "No one is really working on Sliders" but I think it might make a ton more sense than doing any sort of live action story.  They could do it in the style of Rick and Morty (which is becoming more popular, see Lower Decks) - goofy and out there, or they could do computer animation and take it more seriously like Rebels and Clone Wars.  Or something in the middle.

But Jerry's working on Lower Decks.  He's probably meeting the right people, and if he was ever truly interested in resurrecting the show, animation might make the most sense.  He could play Quinn at 20 or 40 or whatever.  You could get back JRD who could work safely from home.  And I think it would be easier to do more high-concept storylines because you could have a Russian army walking by the White House without having to do it small scale or use camera tricks. 

I even think they could make it kid-friendly and still make it work.  There's already a built in avenue to teach about history and science.  I don't mean full infotainment, but the Clone Wars was for kids but still handled mature and adult topics.

What do we think?

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 4,670

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

I'd like a SLIDERS animated series. SLIDERS would benefit from the range of locations and interiors and costumes and designs that come with animation. I'd like to see cel-shaded CG animation like the MTV SPIDER-MAN animated series which was hyperdynamic and full of life. And I'd like to see designs and motion akin to the work of Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (ANASTASIA, TITAN A.E.). Their films show characters that were drawn to be lifelike and animated with a full range of movement: body language, gestures, postures, walking and talking, changing their gait, leaning, sitting, standing again.

However, animation for TV has its drawbacks. The first: because of limited budgets, characters often don't have as much motion as live action. THE HOLLOW, a terrific animated show about three kids travelling to different worlds, needed its characters to be very exaggerated in their body language and expression, well beyond the subtlety of real actors. TV cartoons are often overblown parodies of people.

I've watched some episodes of DOCTOR WHO reconstructed in animation and while actor Patrick Troughton could make his face a fascinating canvas of mystery and emotion, a drawing of Troughton is simply a still with some movement.

Another issue: the freedom of locations can also be an issue. I really loved the CG animated shows NINJA TURTLES and BEWARE THE BATMAN. However, the budget was limited: with all the character designs and sets, the Ninja Turtles and Batman were living in cities that were oddly empty.

Both shows were conspicuously lacking in extras. Aside from the main characters and featured guest-stars, the streets and restaurants and hockey arenas and shopping malls and office buildings of these shows were devoid of people in the background. This could be a serious problem for rendering parallel Earth civilizations convincingly.

However, the technology is always leaping forward.

3 Reply by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2020-09-05 15:08:45)

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

honestly, I dont think anyone would use the brand for an animated show.  It requires permissions, and reduces ownership of the new thing.   As a sequel of the original, people would want live action.   As a reboot, I don't think anyone would see the value of putting it under the  brand.

Rick & Morty btw is already based in part on Sliders (and Back to the Future).  Or inspired should I say.  The creator was a fan of both.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 802

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Sliders could be well done as an animated series, but I would personally not pursue that option.  Animation provides more ability for high concept ideas, but you can lose the human element of the stories if you’re not careful.

Of course, I don’t mean to sell animation short. You can accomplish great, human stories in that medium.  It takes some special talent to do it, though.  I fear that the temptations of a more limitless medium like animation can be too alluring for many.

I believe that the limitations of live action spur creativity.  As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 4,670

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

The human element is very present in the animated films ANASTASIA and TITAN A.E. (both by Gary Goldman and Don Bluth). The characters have a lot of physical interaction with their surroundings and each other, circling, pacing, touching, recoiling. They have most of the nuances of live action actors.

But this is achieved by the directors' process of hiring actual performers to act out the scripted scenes in front of them which they film and record -- and then they use it as reference when animating the characters to add in the body language and physicality that they see in the human performers.

This is pretty slow and unaffordable for most TV animated projects.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 802

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

ireactions wrote:

This is pretty slow and unaffordable for most TV animated projects.

Yep.  It really turns out to be a similar investment to that of a live action series with CGI (especially if the animation is purely rotoscoped).

And I forgot to mention earlier, but I truly love Don Bluth.  When I created my fantasy-type pitch to Marvel years ago, I sought out someone who had a Don Bluth type art style (and it turns out she had even trained as a Disney animator though she unfortunately wasn’t able to work on any notable project).  What she produced was exactly what I was looking for, and I still love how it turned out.

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan wrote:

honestly, I dont think anyone would use the brand for an animated show.  It requires permissions, and reduces ownership of the new thing.   As a sequel of the original, people would want live action.   As a reboot, I don't think anyone would see the value of putting it under the  brand.

Oh I 100% agree and have made this same argument myself.  I don't think there's any reason for any creator to make a new version of Sliders.  You can essentially do the same concept for free without much tweaking.

My thought is only this: if Sliders were ever going to come back, it would be via Jerry O'Connell.  Torme and the other creators are either too old or too out of the game for anything to have happened.  Jerry is the only one who seems noticeably interested in a return because he'd be the star and he has fond memories of the experience.  If Sliders were ever going to return, he'd have to be the champion.

And since Jerry is on Star Trek: Lower Decks, he has the ability to make the right networking connections in animation.  He could find the right talent to either recruit someone to make a demo reel for him or at least hire the right people to get the show done the right way.

Animation also fixes several problems that a live-action story cannot.  Jerry O'Connell could voice a 20-something Quinn when he cannot do that in live action.  JRD can voice Arturo without possibly hurting himself in the process.  And most importantly, they could do all this without a huge time commitment on their part (since Sabrina and Cleavant have their own things going on).

A live action continuation is essentially off the table now.  It's too confusing and too muddled and the cast is too up in the air.  A reboot doesn't make sense logistically because it's too easy to do without the rights.  But an animated series gives Jerry an avenue, allows for a more flexible continuity, and allows for the ease of getting the actors back without a full acting commitment.  If it's ever going to happen, I feel like animation is the only road.

And, yeah, there are drawbacks.  It's not the preferred way.  But I've been watching a lot of animation this year, and I think it can be done really well.

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Slider_Quinn21 wrote:
RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan wrote:

honestly, I dont think anyone would use the brand for an animated show.  It requires permissions, and reduces ownership of the new thing.   As a sequel of the original, people would want live action.   As a reboot, I don't think anyone would see the value of putting it under the  brand.

Oh I 100% agree and have made this same argument myself.  I don't think there's any reason for any creator to make a new version of Sliders.  You can essentially do the same concept for free without much tweaking.

My thought is only this: if Sliders were ever going to come back, it would be via Jerry O'Connell.  Torme and the other creators are either too old or too out of the game for anything to have happened.  Jerry is the only one who seems noticeably interested in a return because he'd be the star and he has fond memories of the experience.  If Sliders were ever going to return, he'd have to be the champion.

And since Jerry is on Star Trek: Lower Decks, he has the ability to make the right networking connections in animation.  He could find the right talent to either recruit someone to make a demo reel for him or at least hire the right people to get the show done the right way.

Animation also fixes several problems that a live-action story cannot.  Jerry O'Connell could voice a 20-something Quinn when he cannot do that in live action.  JRD can voice Arturo without possibly hurting himself in the process.  And most importantly, they could do all this without a huge time commitment on their part (since Sabrina and Cleavant have their own things going on).

A live action continuation is essentially off the table now.  It's too confusing and too muddled and the cast is too up in the air.  A reboot doesn't make sense logistically because it's too easy to do without the rights.  But an animated series gives Jerry an avenue, allows for a more flexible continuity, and allows for the ease of getting the actors back without a full acting commitment.  If it's ever going to happen, I feel like animation is the only road.

And, yeah, there are drawbacks.  It's not the preferred way.  But I've been watching a lot of animation this year, and I think it can be done really well.

I hear you.  Maybe it is a possibility.  My instincts tell me it doesn't really work as a project for jerry to sheppard for a few reasons:

1) animation still takes time, and the production budget is not going to be trivial, especially compared to a low-grade version of sliders filmed on a universal lot.  An overseas animation team would lower costs a bit but they are still gonna be in demand for competing projects in hollywood (and overseas) especially for any reliable company w/ some sort of quality. 

2) i am just not sure the original sliders translates well to animated style.  it lacks something.  look at the sliders comics vs. the series.  the characters come off as caricatures.

3) adult cartoons are basically snarky and foul-mouthed.  it's a difference audience than the core sliders audience of yesteryear.  so if you are trying to bring back something as a sequel, it is obviously with the original audience in mind.  i think cartoons work better for the absurd.

just my opinion of course.  i think a better avenue for jerry (and john) at this point is to go audio drama route.  it would require them taking a very minimal fee, otherwise the economics for that won't even work.  is jerry and john prepared to work for peanuts?  I tend to think not, and i tend to think their management teams won't even let them.  but for me it is the only avenue that can maybe lead to a live-action movie or series again.  to proof some demand.  they'd need to release the audio drama (series format) on a platform, however.  they wouldn't do well driving traffic to it independently.  they'd need a platform to promote it.

i do also think that since syfy is going down the tubes so bad, as a hail mary, maybe they would be willing to just do some series.  super cheaply.  it probably won't happen, of course.  perhaps as you said, though, given how irrelevant they are, at the very least they should do a sliders animated series, if they won't do live-action.

  • Registered: 2015-06-23
  • Posts: 23

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

20 plus years ago (in a group chat with Blinker, Mychand, QBall79, Slider_Sarah, TemporalFlux and Tigs) a joke turned into a Sliders Season Six for The Otherworlds that never saw the light of day.

Earth 72099
Are you ready for Sliders: The Animated Series? If not, get ready for Sci-Fi on E72099's answer to the Save Sliders campaign. A weekly animated show using the entire cast (well, actually just drawings of the cast and cheap voice actors who don't sound a thing like the real ones, but hey!) and insulting the intelligence of fans everywhere. Only on Earth 72099!

The idea was to use all eight Sliders, but it was going to be more like the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon from the 80s where each character was representative of the normal tropes. The brain, the athlete, the shy girl, the comedian, etc..

Would have been played for laughs and probably would have had Kromaggs flying airplanes like in the POTA animated series.

Good Times.

--Chaser9

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
  • Posts: 3,293

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Chaser!  Whoa, blast from the past!

And just for the record, I don't think this has any chance of happening.  But I think as far as unrealistic chances to revive the show, I think this one works.  I don't really have any interested in a Harley Quinn-style, violent and adult cartoon.  But they've been able to do animation during the pandemic, and I could see studios trying to get more animation projects in while they're profitable.  If they happened to ask Jerry and he happened to think Sliders, I think it would work.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 4,670

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

TemporalFlux wrote:
ireactions wrote:

This is pretty slow and unaffordable for most TV animated projects.

Yep.  It really turns out to be a similar investment to that of a live action series with CGI (especially if the animation is purely rotoscoped).

And I forgot to mention earlier, but I truly love Don Bluth.  When I created my fantasy-type pitch to Marvel years ago, I sought out someone who had a Don Bluth type art style (and it turns out she had even trained as a Disney animator though she unfortunately wasn’t able to work on any notable project).  What she produced was exactly what I was looking for, and I still love how it turned out.

It's interesting: Don Bluth has advised against rotoscoping (filming a scene live, tracing the outlines of the actors and then drawing on top of the tracings). He says that every time he tried it, it created the sense that the characters were 'floating' above the background because human beings ultimately have a gravity and weight that animated characters don't and the sense of being tethered to the Earth has to be achieved by drawing animated characters into an animated environment and interacting with it. His version of rotoscoping is to create video reference with actors and incorporate their movements into the animation.

I also love how Bluth hates TITAN AE, one of my favourite films, and it just goes to show how the artist is not the art.

Anyway. I'd like to see a SLIDERS animated series. But a 'realistic' vision of a SLIDERS animated series wouldn't capture the original appeal of the Vancouver years. Hand-drawn animation could give you the range of locations and set designs that benefit SLIDERS, but the only character who would translate effectively into animation as-is would be the bombastic Professor Arturo. Quinn, Wade and Rembrandt would need to be retrofitted significantly for simplified character designs and simplified animation which requires exaggerated gestures over subtle performance (as we've seen in LOWER DECKS). A computer generated version of SLIDERS might be able to have more body language and performance through the digital marionettes of such shows, but the locations would suffer in that the sliders would be exploring strangely empty worlds that only ever seem to have the immediate guest stars and no background extras (as we've seen in the Nickelodeon NINJA TURTLES).

I'm not saying SLIDERS couldn't face these problems, but it would be a very different version of SLIDERS than what we saw in Seasons 1 - 2 and it would have to create its own appeal because it wouldn't be able to capture what made the original work.

For the longest time, I tried to bring SLIDERS back and the only format I could offer was the zero-budget PDF screenplay which in recent years has become the zero-budget Google Doc screenplay. I think the audioplay might be the next step forward. If David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will do X-FILES for Audible, it's possible.

That said, Audible put so little time, money and effort into their X-FILES project that they didn't bother to pay Duchovny and Anderson to do any kind of rehearsal on the script and had both actors record all their lines as they read the pages for the first time with no idea what they were saying or why they were saying it. Jerry O'Connell at this stage in his career would read your shopping list for union scale, but John Rhys-Davies wouldn't put up with that and demand rehearsals.

12 Reply by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2020-09-08 09:48:13)

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

ireactions wrote:

Jerry O'Connell at this stage in his career would read your shopping list for union scale, but John Rhys-Davies wouldn't put up with that and demand rehearsals.

John is having a more difficult time due to his age and covid.  A few productions he was scheduled for didn't work out because insurance wouldn't cover him.  As we have seen with jerry, as actors get more looking for work, they become more open to compromise and/or reprising old roles.  But I still stay to make the economics would they would really have to work for peanuts.  And that's because an audio drama will only reach so many people to begin with and sliders fans are now scattered all over the place and hard to reach and the property does not have as much interest as the bigger brands.  Sometimes actors are so separated from the economics of these things, they think their time, talent has some absolute value, and/or they don't want to send some signal to the marketplace that they will work at such a rate.   John though is someone who can really translate his acting into an audioformat.  In fact, he did an audio adaption of a couple of twightlight zone episodes that can be found on hoopla digital as narrator.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

I think you have a point about the economics of audioplays. Amazon is a giant. Yet, Amazon Audible operated on a peanuts model for THE X-FILES. Rather than commission new material meant for the visualess format of audio drama, they used comic book scripts that need visuals to function. Why use something so unsuitable? Probably because they only needed to pay a small fee to writer Joe Harris to secure the material and didn't have to hire a writer; the director, Dirk Maggs, had to adapt the scripts to audio as part of his existing duties.

Amazon Audible hired David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and many of the series' performers -- but they had replacement actors for Annabeth Gish (Reyes), Robert Patrick (Doggett), Nicholas Lea (Krycek), Steven Williams (X) and Jerry Hardin (Deep Throat). Not soundalikes -- just replacements. And the budget was so small that there were no rehearsals. The actors recorded it as they read it for the first time. It was like someone had assembled the play from the actors' voicemail messages. It sounded disconnected and detached.

Amazon clearly didn't see much earning potential in THE X-FILES and didn't want to invest in getting all the actors or a script suited to the medium or even a readthrough.

But I do think SLIDERS could work on audio as part of an initiative to create audio drama for a mainstream audience if NBCUniversal wants to try tapping into the podcast market with a small streaming service and a subscription fee that is low in cost but would be affordable for a high number of subscribers.

I can imagine NBCU Audio Originals as a brand headlined by SLIDERS, KOJAK, SEAQUEST, THE MUNSTERS, EUREKA, FARSCAPE and WAREHOUSE 13. I can see it as a low cost, high volume subscription service for podcasts. $5 a month. Entertainment for the commuter with earbuds or car stereo or for listening at home. Actors recording from home with equipment and sound blocking gear sent by courier.

Jerry and John shouldn't and wouldn't work for free. But if this hypothetical streaming service offered them a small upfront fee but a percentage of subscription gross based on the number of listens to the SLIDERS audioplays, they might sign for a year's worth of audio recording sessions with the caveat that if there is a second year, they need to be paid their usual rate upfront.

14 Reply by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2020-09-08 10:04:34)

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

ireactions wrote:

I think you have a point about the economics of audioplays. Amazon is a giant. Yet, Amazon Audible operated on a peanuts model for THE X-FILES. Rather than commission new material meant for the visualess format of audio drama, they used comic book scripts that need visuals to function. Why use something so unsuitable? Probably because they only needed to pay a small fee to writer Joe Harris to secure the material and didn't have to hire a writer; the director, Dirk Maggs, had to adapt the scripts to audio as part of his existing duties.

Amazon Audible hired David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and many of the series' performers -- but they had replacement actors for Annabeth Gish (Reyes), Robert Patrick (Doggett), Nicholas Lea (Krycek), Steven Williams (X) and Jerry Hardin (Deep Throat). Not soundalikes -- just replacements. And the budget was so small that there were no rehearsals. The actors recorded it as they read it for the first time. It was like someone had assembled the play from the actors' voicemail messages. It sounded disconnected and detached.

Amazon clearly didn't see much earning potential in THE X-FILES and didn't want to invest in getting all the actors or a script suited to the medium or even a readthrough.

But I do think SLIDERS could work on audio as part of an initiative to create audio drama for a mainstream audience if NBCUniversal wants to try tapping into the podcast market with a small streaming service and a subscription fee that is low in cost but would be affordable for a high number of subscribers.

I can imagine NBCU Audio Originals as a brand headlined by SLIDERS, KOJAK, SEAQUEST, THE MUNSTERS, EUREKA, FARSCAPE and WAREHOUSE 13. I can see it as a low cost, high volume subscription service for podcasts. $5 a month. Entertainment for the commuter with earbuds or car stereo or for listening at home. Actors recording from home with equipment and sound blocking gear sent by courier.

Jerry and John shouldn't and wouldn't work for free. But if this hypothetical streaming service offered them a small upfront fee but a percentage of subscription gross based on the number of listens to the SLIDERS audioplays, they might sign for a year's worth of audio recording sessions with the caveat that if there is a second year, they need to be paid their usual rate upfront.

They already have a podcast division, believe it or not.  Mostly to serve as an R&D lab.  It's part of why I brought it up before, and also mentioned the need for a platform to get traffic.  And that's the difficult part.  They haven't really developed their audio channel yet and they still are trying to make peacock work.  meanwhile, they just hired a new head or programming for everything yesterday.  They have gone through some of the old executives being in charge of various things but they realize they don't really have the chops at this point.  I see the podcast channel being an extension of peacock (which has a hybrid subscription/ad model in place) but you just know at this point they wouldn't be able to turn it around or focus on it enough.  That said, if they ever do, I think it would be the avenue.  It's just that it will be five years from now so....  at what point is there gonna be anyone left who cares about Sliders?   It will literally be 30 years from the original's premiere and most fans will have aged out of 18-49 anyway or started to care about other things than make-believe entertainment.

The best time to have done something was really 2013 around.  The problem was Tracy wasn't interested, and it took a long time for Jerry to even get interested in doing a reboot.  He really only returned to it after yet another network drama failed.  I feel like they probably missed the window and they possibly could have gotten somewhere with an aggressive push and managed expections. 

But this is also part of why I pointed to that chrome extension audio reader the other day.  As text-to-speech technology gets better and better, we are more likely to be able to get faux "books on tape" with all the sliders fan fic out there.   It's a way for the world to live on.

And on the plus side, Jerry has really been doing well in his career the last year after a little bit of a rough patch.  His own tv show, voice over work on cbs all access, he's in the movie "The Secret" and now "Ballbreaker."  He frequently is on Bravo doing reality tv programming talk with Andy Cohen.  He does fill-in hosting work on occasion.  He has made a career as an actor and personality, and not every child star or actor in their 20s is able to work in their mid 40s.  So I am happy for him he needs Sliders less and less at this point, where as at the peak of his interest, I think his motivation was so he could find a gig that worked and had an audience.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

I think Jerry would be very eager to be in a SLIDERS reboot and would agree to do an audio drama. I don't know that a SLIDERS audio drama needs a large, pre-existing fanbase; it can court a new audience and if Jerry wouldn't do the voice, the producers could hire someone else. It'd be fine so long as the writing were presenting a reboot and not requiring that Quinn sound like the same character we met in 1995. But... I think Jerry would probably do it if it didn't interfere with his other work even if the pay were minimal. And if we can't get John, we could settle for his vocal stand-in, Bob Joles (a voice actor hired to play John's characters on animated shows if John is too busy to return).

I don't think Jerry O'Connell's profile in 2020 is any different from where it was in 2004. Jerry in 2004 and today is a working TV actor, but he is not a big star. He is, like John Rhys-Davies, a known name and a character performer. He isn't a long-term lead, hasn't been since 1996. I guess he leads CARTER, but that show only produces 10 episodes a year and there's no word on a third season.

Jerry's best chance was from 1994 - 2002. From 1994 to 2002, he tapped into a vital market as the sensitive, earnest, intelligent, thinking man's action hero. In 2010, Benedict Cumberbatch would redefine that sort of character as Sherlock Holmes in SHERLOCK, but Jerry had the first mainstream crack at it and could have kept going had he chosen his post-SLIDERS roles differently. The role that Jerry craved and missed out on and failed to win was the role of Peter Parker in the Sam Raimi SPIDER-MAN movie.

Peter Parker would have been the perfect synthesis of Jerry's brainy science hero persona with a cultural icon known worldwide -- but Jerry in 2002 would have likely played the character with the same smirking, preening arrogance that he applied to Quinn in Season 3. I think after that, Jerry's ego took a massive hit and since then, his performances have rebounded significantly. His episode of SAMANTHA WHO was hilarious as he played a reformed mugger.

He was terrific in the MUNSTERS reboot. He is absurd and self-mocking on CARTER. He has plenty of voice work in animation, he earns a great living -- but his career isn't really that different from 2013. I don't think his feelings have changed: he lost his chance to play THE science hero, Peter Parker as Spider-Man, and now longs to play HIS science hero, Quinn Mallory. I don't think his enthusiasm for SLIDERS has waned; I think it was non-existent until 2002 and now it increases with each passing year. And I think Jerry would like to play Quinn again -- even for a meagre rate -- to play his science hero one more time.

16 Reply by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2020-09-08 19:57:52)

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

There was definitely a weird period for Jerry about two years ago, maybe a little more.  He admitted as much in several podcast interviews during the period.  I think he was trying to diversify and get into hosting, being a personality, and even did some directing (on a kids show for disney) because it wasn't clear what was gonna happen for him as an actor.  This is when Sliders got particularly more interesting to him.  Especially with his wife on The Librarians, a mid-budget cable sci-fi show not entirely different from Sliders.  Not that the period was where his reboot interest started; I think that was after this Funny Or Die "search for arturo" drummed up unexpected interest. 

I do think he always loved the show, Tracy's vision for it, and totally got what it was (whereas john perhaps didn't despite his great performance).   It's a shame he had to ask for Charlie to be on the show, it certainly didn't help.  But regardless, as an actor, artist, he was really perfect for Sliders.  I think we can all agree part of it's magic was how well cast it was, and of course the chemistry and family atmosphere they had.  They were a team and a lot of people (viewers) were attracted to that element of it.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
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Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

I want to explain how Jerry clearly had no respect for SLIDERS until 2002 or so -- but it occurs to me that I should stop holding Jerry O'Connell -- and myself -- in contempt for what we did or didn't do between the ages of 20 - 24. And instead focus on what we are doing today. In that spirit, this is Jerry's Screen Rant interview from September 7:


Jerry O'Connell wrote:

It's currently on Peacock television. So the launch of this Peacock streaming service gave a new life to SLIDERS. It was on Netflix for a second, but then I think they stopped paying for it, so it's not on Netflix anymore. It was originally a Universal show. It was, I believe, Sci-Fi Channel's first original series. So Sci-Fi is part of Universal, and Peacock is part of that, whatever... I don't even know what the parent company is... It used to be General Electric, now it's Comcast. Sorry, I'm not up to date on the trades! But anyway, if it does well on Peacock, I bet Universal would return my phone call about a SLIDERS reboot.

I think it just depends on how it does on Peacock. They also care a lot about social media. They care about what's trending on Twitter and all that stuff. I think, if the streaming numbers are there, they will return my phone call. I'll say, as of now, no one has returned my SLIDERS phone call. Not to call anybody out... But I did make a phone call, and it has not been returned.

I know I'm not Shonda Rhimes here, but it's almost like dating. I can't call them up and be like, "You've gotta do a SLIDERS reboot, I'm telling you, everybody's DM-ing me, I'm getting all these messages on Twitter." I just can't do that. Peacock has to swipe right on my photo and write to me, "Hey, I'm interested in meeting up for a coffee," you know? It's like online dating. It can't just be me swiping and saying I want to go on a date; they have to swipe back, we have to match as a couple.

If it came close, I would take it to the fans online. I would take it to the fans, and see where they would like to see it. And I would call John Rhys-Davies, who I've gotta call back, and Cleavant Derricks, and Sabrina Lloyd. But I would take the temperature of what's out there. Being part of STAR TREK, it's funny; after doing SUPERMAN and STAR TREK, it's all right there on Reddit and Twitter. Everybody can be heard. I'm a firm believer in the idea that the fanbase, while loud and sometimes a little negative and maybe a little angry, I tend to believe that they're right.

If I work on something for STAR TREK, like LOWER DECKS, which is hilarious and everyone should go to CBS All Access and watch it, but STAR TREK isn't my baby. I'm just a guest. Someone's allowing me to drive a Ferrari for a couple of hours. I have to make sure I don't crash it, keep it at a sensible 70-75 MPH. Maybe I can take it out for a couple of donuts or sharp turns, but eventually, I have to get out and give the keys to STRANGE NEW WORLDS or whatever is the next STAR TREK show. It's not my Ferrari, so I want to make sure it doesn't come back with a scratch. That's why I always listen to the fans online.

https://screenrant.com/ballbuster-movie … interview/

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 802

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

There is always comics too:

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/the-all … to-comics/

  • Registered: 2015-10-21
  • Posts: 103

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

I would definitely prefer an audiodrama other an animation. Though you could be tempted to go wild with the concept of worlds in both, I usually find that you get deeper characterisation and character-to-character moments within an audiodrama, which I've personally always found to be at the core of the show and not the various worlds.

  • Registered: 2015-06-30
  • Posts: 1,106

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Here's the thing, would it be "easier" to do an animated Sliders, which Netflix has been buying up for other properties, AND get the original cast back?  Possibly.  Then again, I'm not sure if John or Sabrina or Cleavant are even up to another go whether animated or live action.  Jerry is, but he's still an active actor, the others are not quite.

  • Registered: 2021-01-21
  • Posts: 74

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

I think it would be interesting to do an animated version of Sliders in a potential reboot. A few of you did have some valid points in that the characters being down to earth realistic people would be difficult to translate to an animation medium, but I think it would have some potentional and would help with continuity purposes. If there was a reboot (and I am saying IF), you would want to bring back the original four of course, and you would probably have to go into an explanation of what happened and how they're here and stuff. An animated series would allow you to continuity right from where it left off. If Torme was involved, he would be able to start it out with his story Slide Effects. Although a drawback from this, which has been mentioned before, the social political commentary aspect of Sliders would feel dated because they can't talk about current events and stuff.

But looking at all the ways the show could be brought back, animation route is probably my favourite maybe.

Theres:

a) animation

b) Doing what Ib sort of did with Reborn in that setting up the show taking place in 2021 or whatever year the show is made and having the characters be whatever ages they would be today. Just a weird personal opinion, but I'm not totally interested in seeing them old lol

Theres c) Hard core remake casting new actors in the characters. Which I think would be better for drawing in new fans instead of attracting old fans

d) Remake existing of completely new cast of characters and their adventures. But that alienates some of the audience because I know yeah, the concept was cool but one of the big kickers for a lot of people is the characters.

So yes, animation route would probably be easiest, and probably friendly in case they can't get some actors back, but of course it does have its drawbacks.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 4,670

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Tucker wrote:

what Ib sort of did with Reborn in that setting up the show taking place in 2021 or whatever year the show is made and having the characters be whatever ages they would be today. Just a weird personal opinion, but I'm not totally interested in seeing them old lol

I think the wish to see the original sliders at their current ages is something specific to people who watched the original series on its original airdates and is not one that is widely shared among newer fans.

Tucker wrote:

Hard core remake casting new actors in the characters. Which I think would be better for drawing in new fans instead of attracting old fans

I am deeply displeased with how Seasons 3 - 5 have strangled the imagination of SLIDERS' fans both in 2000 and in 2021. Even in 2021, new fans writing fanfic feel compelled to write a 25 - 75 part series of SLIDERS: THE KROMAGG WAR CHRONICLES in order to justify writing the simple SLIDERS stories they want to write with the sliders visiting a parallel world.

For this reason, I feel a reboot is best. However, from what I can tell, Tracy Torme has had at least two opportunities to pitch a SLIDERS revival and has, each time, refused to pitch a reboot with new actors. He is only interested in SLIDERS with the original cast and his proposal has been rejected.

And ultimately, I respect that; Torme only wants to pitch the version of SLIDERS that he is passionate about writing and producing. It seems that to him, a reboot with a new cast is somebody else's job.

  • Registered: 2021-01-21
  • Posts: 74

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

For this reason, I feel a reboot is best. However, from what I can tell, Tracy Torme has had at least two opportunities to pitch a SLIDERS revival and has, each time, refused to pitch a reboot with new actors. He is only interested in SLIDERS with the original cast and his proposal has been rejected.

I completely understand where he is coming from. For some reason, when shows do this and cast new actors in the existing charactors roles, it feels like strangers wearing their faces instead of the actual characters.

Even in 2021, new fans writing fanfic feel compelled to write a 25 - 75 part series of SLIDERS: THE KROMAGG WAR CHRONICLES in order to justify writing the simple SLIDERS stories they want to write with the sliders visiting a parallel world.

Which you said, many fanfic writers feel burnt out after doing the revivals and don't finish their stories. The Kromaggs existence, whether you loved them or hated them, does put a bit of a damper on fanfic writers because they have to come up with some sort of wrap up to them or find a way to get rid of the tracker.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 4,670

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

I don't think the issue is even that Torme is necessarily against a reboot. If there were a reboot, he'd likely get some royalties out of it. I think what it comes down to is that at this point, he doesn't really need to earn money. Torme is apparently so financially secure that he's inviting homeless people to move in with him for the duration of the pandemic. Torme had heart surgery recently and dealt with cancer and wasn't bankrupted by medical bills.

He probably has a pretty decent income from his inheritance and various screenplay and teleplay sales over the decades.

When I look at revivals like MYSTERY SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE 3000, it's very much about reinvigorating the franchise to go on indefinitely and part of that is creative, but it's also about the original creator seeking to earn a good amount of money and to keep it coming in indefinitely.

My sense is that Torme seems to be totally disinterested in that. It looks to me like Torme doesn't want to bring SLIDERS back as a franchise and ongoing copyright. Torme wants to bring back Jerry O'Connell's Quinn Mallory, Sabrina Lloyd's Wade Welles, Cleavant Derricks' Rembrandt Brown and John Rhys Davies' Professor Arturo -- and bring their story to a close.

I don't think that this will ever, ever, ever work because studios in general are not looking to bring back old copyrights to see them brought to a close. They are looking to bring old copyrights back to see them go on indefinitely. Tracy Torme doesn't seem to want to see SLIDERS go on indefinitely like STAR TREK or DOCTOR WHO or ULTRAMAN. He seems to want to bring it back to end it. That's what he's passionate about doing. He's not passionate about just bringing back SLIDERS as a new 2021 TV show with a new pilot episode with a new cast playing Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt and Arturo.

Just theory.

  • Registered: 2021-01-21
  • Posts: 74

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Well I would say you're right. Torme has moved on with his life. He doesn't spend every waking moment thinking about this show he made 25 years ago. And besides, like you said, he has money and has other things going on in his life. But I can see him wanting a conclusion to the characters he created. If he were to bring back Sliders, and that's an if, he would probably make it a short lived mini series or a movie.

  • Registered: 2015-06-21
  • Posts: 4,670

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Mildly off topic: one of my favourite interesting failures is the animated MTV SPIDER-MAN series from 2003. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Ma … ted_Series While the stories could be a bit shallow and silly and MTV wouldn't allow anyone older than 25 to be a main character (so no Aunt Man or Uncle Ben), the computer-generated, cel-shaded animation was a stunningly beautiful and hyperkinetic depiction of Spider-Man. The show was apparently difficult to produce as CG animation with cel shading was a new technology at the time. MTV elected not to renew it for a second season because of how painful and expensive it was just to get a first season (so the show ended on a cliffhanger).

Apparently, a small team of university students working out of their bedrooms have decided to make a second season of the show as fans; what was cutting edge animation in 2003 is now potentially achievable by some kids and their gaming laptops in 2021. They're using their friends as voice actors and doing it for free. I don't know if they'll pull it off, but it's cool to see them try. https://www.instagram.com/tnasc_official/

  • Registered: 2015-06-22
  • Posts: 3,293

Re: Sliders: The Animated Series

Oh man.  I really enjoyed that Spider-Man show.  I don't know if I want to watch a fanfic season two, but it's really cool that they did.