Sliders Year 5 Journal | Earth Prime

Behind the Dimensional Veil

In 1999, the Sci-Fi Channel continued its online promotional campaign for Sliders with the creation of the Year 5 Journal. Written by Story Editor Keith Damron, the journal was released alongside the first airing of each fifth season episode in the United States and featured a number of behind-the-scenes production and story-breaking information. Unlike the Online Slides, which complimented fourth season episodes fictitiously, Damron's notes were meant to give viewers a sneak peek into the offices of Sliders.

In the fall of 2005 Sci-Fi abruptly dismantled their Sliders site, leaving Keith's journals without a home. Fortunately, they're now preserved here at Earth Prime. Enjoy.

  • The Unstuck Man — Fifth season Story Editor Keith Damron begins his journal by discussing the new season, the cast changeover, and the new villan, Oberon Geiger.
  • Applied Physics — A discussion on the continuing metamorphosis of the new Sliders, Diana Davis in particular.
  • Strangers and Comrades — Keith details his first writing assignment for the season, including his disappointment over the rejection of an intriguing steampunk world where the Sliders go their separate ways.
  • The Great Work — The perils of freelance scripts, and how they can be (drastically) rewritten to conform to the producers' vision(s) of the show.
  • New Gods for Old — Keith espouses on the thrills of adapting David Gerrold's script to the fifth season, adept use of the various "worlds" of the Universal backlot, and Diana's PDL.
  • Please Press One — Budgetary woes and formulaic scripts create less-than-thrilling nemeses for Keith, even after punching up dialog for Mallory and Rembrandt.
  • A Current Affair — On an almost perfect shooting script, the crew's reaction to a comic episode, getting sci-fi veterans for guest roles, and recycling Columbo locations.
  • The Java Jive — Keith muses about race relations and creating a dynamic dance and music number on zero budget.
  • The Return of Maggie Beckett — A pitch war erupts among the staff over who gets to write an episode with the Sliders heading off into space.
  • Easy Slider — When recuperating from a joyless holiday season, what better way to get back into your work than by playing a merciless prank on a coworker?
  • Requiem — In which many ways to kill Wade Welles are discussed, none of which are satisfactory to the audience.
  • Map of the Mind — Catered lunches, heavy rewrites, and prop designers get much needed call outs when Keith visits the set.
  • A Thousand Deaths — The body count of a video game in Los Vegas spurs Keith to write a vaguely moralistic tale about becoming desensitized to violence. And kidnapping. And "Shaft."
  • Heavy Metal — When broad stroke stories about the Confederacy winning the Civil War need to be avoided, the Sliders crew opts to film a pirate episode, complete with walking the plank on a boat berthed in San Pedro.
  • To Catch a Slider — When David Peckinpah suggests a caper episode, the production crew springs into action. Over lunch, of course.
  • Dust — Bobby D pays the set a visit while Keith reflects on standing sets, Vasquez Rocks, and ending the season with a bang.
  • Eye of the Storm — A slide isn't just a slide when Keith talks about transforming their midseason Geiger confrontation into their penultimate episode and showdown.
  • The Seer — Ending a series on a cliffhanger, making potshots and fans, and giving shout outs to childhood friends — that's "The Seer" in a nutshell.