Sliders News & Notes
April News Archive

April 30, 1998

Central-Western Canada -- Honestly, I try to shy away from regional news and notes for specific areas of certain places. Why? Because it opens up a whole big, ugly can of worms. In other words, I don't want to commit to doing a news segment if a local cable company in Maine is taking down Sci-Fi Channel to run a telethon for the night. That being said, I also understand the importance that such local issues hold over fans of the show and as such, after doing a little digging, I've come up with three Western-Canada stations that will be airing Sliders (because Global doesn't have network coverage in those areas). They are: CKND in Winnipeg; CFSK in Saskatchewan; CFRE in Regina. These stations will all be carrying Sliders at 9pm (central) on May 17, 1998.


April 29, 1998

Survey Says ...-- What to you think of Sci-Fi's new Sliders commerical? You know, the one with the man giving birth? Have you seen it? Would you like to? No problem. Sci-fi is looking for feedback on the commmercial and wants to know how it makes you feel and how it makes you react to the show. If you're interested in telling Sci-Fi what you think, please visit www.scifi.com/feedback/slidersurvey.


The Making of Sliders-- Willy8181 informs me that Sci-Fi has announced airdates for the Making of Sliders special, set to run in June. It will air (all times eastern) Thu, June 4 - 8:30 PM; Thu, June 4 - 12:30 AM; Sat, June 6 - 1:00 PM; Mon, June 8 - 7:30 PM; Mon, June 8 - 11:30 PM; Sat, June 13- 12:30 PM.
The June 8th 7:30 slot is designed to make Monday, June 8th Sliders Night which, as far as I know, will include the Making of Sliders special at 7:30; This Slide of Paradise at 8; Genesis at 9; and Prophets & Loss at 10.
April 27, 1998

Sliding Down Under-- Australian viewers will be able to catch the new season of Sliders beginning this Friday, May 1st at 7:30 pm on Channel 10.


Sliders in Canada Sooner-- Canada's Global Television Network has announced that Sliders will premiere in that country on Sunday, May 17 at 10 pm (after the X-Files). There is no word, however, on where Central-Western viewers can catch the show because Global does not broadcast in those areas.
So, as it stands now:
  • U.K.: April 20 on Sky 1
  • Austr.: May 1 on Channel 10
  • Can.: May 17 on Global
  • U.S.: June 8 on Sci-Fi.
  • France: no plans to carry year four.


    Theme Songs-- For MOVs of the year four opening credits, check out http://www.clubi.ie/pjones/slid160.mov or http://www.clubi.ie/pjones/slid240.mov
    Also, I'm putting together a paragraph or two concerning Genesis (thanks to everyone who mailed me spoilers (esp Paul Jennings)). It should be up later this week on my Facts & Rumors page.
    April 23, 1998

    Sliders on Space-- Canada's Space: The Imagination Station has picked up the first 48 episodes of Sliders for airing four times weekly beginning Monday, July 6, 1998 at 8pm (et) (5 pm pt).

    "Sliders is one of the most requested series on Space -- devoted fans have been calling, writing and e-mailing regularly since we launched in October," an STIS press release read. "Now they will be able to catch all 48 episodes of the first three seasons."
    "Acquiring Sliders is truly a triumph for our viewers," Marcia Martin, Vice President and GM of Space. "We've made it a point to listen to our viewers ever since we launched, and they were relentless in making us aware that this was an important series to get."
    Meanwhile, no date has been set yet for the launch of the fourth season on Global (and no Alberta carrier has been named). Space will also broadcast the fourth season, when those episodes go into syndication.
    April 14, 1998

    JOC Soon on Later-- Jerry O'Connell is set to host the NBC late-night talk show "Later" from Monday April 20 to Thursday April 23. It will be his second gig as host of the program. Guests are still to be announced. For those of you who may have caught Saturday Night Live over the weekend, Jerry's picture was featured in a skit with Greg Kinnear lampooning the many, many hosts Later has had over the last ten years. Hey, exposure is exposure.


    April 13, 1998

    Oops-- Sorry for the dead links. I was watching a computer show on the weekend that said you didn't need to use http:// anymore. So I tried it -- but I didn't TRY it -- and I guess they were wrong. Oh well.


    Got 'em, got 'em, need 'em ...-- Lylas reports that the Sliders episode trading post is now open at www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/8651/sliderspost.html. It's a great way to get your hands on those episodes you may have missed. (Note that the main page is www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/8651/sliders.html.)
    Luck O' The Zicree-- Well, not only is Marc Scott Zicree on vacation in Ireland this week, but he has become a confirmed Media Guest of Honor for Leprecon 24 May 15-17 in Casa Grande, Arizona. For more information e-mail lep24@casfs.org. I hear Arizona is lovely that time of year.
    Happy Year Four Ending-- Paul Jennings reports that Marc Zicree recently said on a (very brief) AOL chat that with regards to a Wade return -- anything is possible if there is a fifth season but that there will be a happy ending at the conclusion of year four just in case there isn't a year five.
    Sliders ICQ-- Greg reports that there are now 35 members of the ICQ Sliders List at geocities.com/icqSliderschat.html. "I think a lot of people prefer ICQ to IRC because they know better how to use it," Greg, the ICQ listmaster says. To add the Sliders Chat room to your contact list, just add the number #ICQ : 7763927 To download ICQ: mirabilis.com. If you're interested, Greg's website is Area51/Chamber/1842/Maineng.html.
    April 11, 1998

    Official Sliders Merchandise-- Sci-Fi.com now has official Sliders products available. Right now there's a t-shirt with the Sliders logo on it, a baseball cap with the same logo and packs of the Sliders trading cards. Check it out at store.scifi.com.

    Oh, and speaking of Sliders merch, some people have written to me wondering whatever became of the new Sliders book. As far as I know, the book (a companion to the show, not a novel) will be released by TV Books on June 3, 1998.
    April 10, 1998

    Fantastic Fourth Season Shots-- Paul Jennings has scanned some excellent images of the fourth season exclusively for this site (thanks, Paul!). There are a few minor spoilers that the photos hint at but they are truly must-sees. Check them out at home.clara.net/paulj/sliders4.html


    April 9, 1998

    Oh, hi, a few more things-- Hey folks. Listen, I just wanted to do a quick update of some other things I forgot to mention the other day. Not too serious but a few. Heck, I think I can do them in point form.

  • The Sliders trade paperback, mentioned earlier, will cost $8.99 (U.S. funds).
  • If some of you have been surfing the local Sliders haunts lately you've no doubt seen the phrase "SliderVision." What is it? Well, it's a system of watching a weekly Sliders episode over efnet chat and was created by FriendlySlider (great idea, by the way). For more information on scheduling and participation, please visit: geocities.com/Hollywood/Bungalow/1963/index.htm.
  • French Sliders fan Benoit Cros reports that in France, The Breeder will air on Tuesday, March 14 at 0:00. Previously, the Sliders station in France had refused to air the episode citing that it was too violent.
  • If anyone out there has information regarding the new Sliders episode trading post, please e-mail it to me if you can. Thanks. the-expert@geocities.com
  • Those of you who watched the ABC TV movie Tempting Fate (with Tate Donovan) may have seen many parallels (no pun intended) to Sliders. If you're interested, here's what the two Hollywood trade mags had to say on the matter: Daily Variety's review wrote "Nicely plotted, engaging and frequently witty, "Temping Fate" would be even more impressive if the same premise hadn't been similarily mined by the producers of ... Sliders." The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "One is tempted to compare this with the series Sliders but in Tempting Fate, the characters -- not parallel worlds -- are the primary focus, and their survival is not at all certain, whereas it's pretty clear the Sliders crew will keep returning."
    April 5, 1998

    Bear With Us-- Hi folks. As you can see, there hasn't been an update on this page in quite a while. One: There isn't much to report (although I do have some stuff) and two I've been swamped with other things (I know, excuses, excuses). Anyway, I'm on a different computer today with an unstable network connection. As such, I will attempt to update the page today but if I don't you'll know that the connection failed -- but I am saving this update so you'll know where I stand. I just wanted to update you all about the non-updates because I myself hate when pages simply fade away for months at a time. Again, please bear with me. Thank you. Oh, and by the way, I'm having some major e-mail problems lately (not with geocities just in general). As it stands, I can get e-mail well enough, I just can't send any out (stupid, huh?). So if you don't hear back from me please don't be angry. I'm working the problem.


    Trade Paperbacks On The Way-- The long-awaited return of the Sliders comic books will end June 17, 1998 with the release of an 80-page paper back filled with both new stories (with the new cast) and classic Sliders comic stories from D.G. Chichester, Bernard Chang and Dick Giordano. According to Temporal Flux, who's done some background research for the USCWS, the old material that is likely to be re-released is the two-part comic "Ultimatium" (the only story with the combo of the three folks mentioned). That story accounts for 40 pages so it looks like the all-new material will consist of the other 40 pages. Also, the new writers have not been announced yet.
    TF suggests that if you would like a copy of the trade paper back, it would be a good idea to get to your favorite comic book store before April 15 -- the date that stores will be ordering their June material until.
    Thanks, TF.
    High Profile for Sci-Fi-- This may be a good sign for the case of Sliders Season Five, or it may just fall under that "tv news of interest" category. Anyhow, here it is: The Sci-Fi Channel, currently under control of master maniupulator Barry Diller, has just purchased three high profile science fiction shows -- The Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1 and Poltergeist: The Legacy. The price of the deal, $150 million, makes it the single largest programming asquisition made by Sci-Fi in its 5 and a half year history.
    Aside from those three shows (132 episodes of each) , Sci-Fi has also given the green light to an original series from Jim Henson Productions called Space Chase.
    Of the deal, USA Networks head Rod Perth said: "These programs [Sliders included] really do represent the framing of the future of this network. We need Monday-through-Friday shows, so this kind of programming is essential."
    Obviously, Sci-Fi is willing to spend the money for original programming and high-profile shows. Let's hope their commitment to Sliders lasts well into a fifth season -- MSZ says that the cast and crew will know by June if there is a season five to come.
    Sliders in Sci-Fi Universe-- The latest issue of Sci-Fi Universe magazine (June 98 with Jeri Ryan of Voyager on the cover) has a four page article (written by JJ O'Neil, page 54)) on Sliders with some revealing hints regarding the new season and the real relationship between Colin and Quinn. Check your favorite book store or magazine rack to pick up a copy. Or, check out all the information at the Facts & Rumors page.
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