40. The Exodus, Part 2 

Aired:		Friday, February 28, 1997
Filmed:
Production #:	K1824
Network #:	SL-318
Written By:	Josef Anderson & Paul Jackson and Tony Blake
Directed By:	Jefrey Levy
Music By:	Danny Lux
Edited By:	Casey Brown

Ratings:		Competition:
	Viewers: 9.1		NBC:8:00 "Soap Opera Awards" (s) (13.2/36)
	Rating: 5.8		ABC: 8:30 "Boy Meets World" (15.0/45)
	Share: 11		ABC: 8:00 "Family Matters" (14.2/46)
	Rank: 76/99		CBS:8:00 "Dave's World" (9.5/69)
				CBS:8:30 "Everybody Loves Raymond" (9.0/73)
				Fox:8:00 "Sliders" (9.1/76)

Repeated: 
Repeat Ratings:
Logline: After escaping from Home World, Quinn and Maggie return to Pulsar World where Wade is making the final list for those who can slide to safety and where Arturo is racing to modify the timer to take just a few more along. Unfortunately, while their heads are buried in the task of the moment, Rickman's secret agenda begins to take shape.
World On:
Pulsar World: The sliders are making the final preparations for the slide off of this world.
World Into:
Primitive World: Maggie and Quinn finally settle on this world where the natives are ... well, restless. Quinn mentions that they have scouted at least six worlds before this one. Quinn remarks that this world is a few hundred thousand years behind Home World and Pulsar World.
Duration:
Unknown.
World Into:
Pulsar World: Quinn and Maggie come back to this world to tell the others that it's habitable.
World Into:
Primitive World: The colony is then set up on this world. It is the same world that the sliders come back to during the episode "Dinoslide."
World Into:
Electric World: After Rickman escapes, the sliders track him to this world where they discover some sort of electrical engineer next to a power plant who's been injected by Col. Rickman.
Duration: 11 hours

Timer Status:Tracking Rickman's wormhole.

Details, Details:
  • The poor soul with the short-wave radio is named Matthew Humphries from Delaware.
  • In the church, the priest instructs the parishioners to open their prayer books to page 347.
  • As Rickman sits at this desk, he transfers a vial from one container into another. That vial reads "Eastman."
  • The monitor that Jensen and Arturo watch Rickman's address is made by JVC, it's counting upwards from 417.
  • Rickman says that everyone will move to the command building at 21:00 hours, which is 9 pm.
  • The computer printout that Remmy tears off reads (at the top) 'Alpha List." Over each list of names (that are too small to read) is the phrase "- Confidential -".
  • The newspaper that Wade reads about Col. Rickman in is called "The Stars and Stripes." The four visible headlines read (from top) "Officer Sole Survivor of Platoon Plagued by Mysterious Disease," "Patriot Missiles on Target says Schwartzkopf," "More Scud Missiles [Dismembered] by Saddam," and "War Never Met with Resignation." There is also a story with the term "Middle East" in the headline.
    Personal File:
  • Of her father's position, a General, Maggie says: "Yeah, it opened doors but it also came with a price. I've always had to prove myself."
  • Wade says that she used to be a candy striper in a hospital. Another of the many jobs she held as a teenager.
    Script Snips:
  • "I am sick of you acting like God. You're just a guy who screwed up and stuck us with the bill. The hell with you." -- After three years of moaning to Quinn about being stuck on the slide, Rembrandt finally lets it all out, holding nothing back.
  • "We don't time travel. Some worlds just develop faster than others. -- Quinn in response to Maggie's observations of Primitive World, it's also a phrase he obviously forgets in "This Slide of Paradise."
  • "That will teach you to think you're so damn clever." -- Rickman to Arturo as he injects him with the needle.
    Remmy Sings: A hymn entitled "Way Over Yonder" during the Professor's memorial. (see song lyrics)
    Nit-picks:
  • If the army base has the technology to create a force field to block an entrance/exit, why not put up a force field (a la "The Exodus, Part 1") to keep the crowds from getting in rather than relying on a chain link fence?
  • While Maggie and Quinn are scouting the natives on Primitive World, they use an infrared camera to see closer. The scenes they observe, however, include a bonfire in their center of vision -- which would likely blind someone using infrared.
  • When Rickman gives his televised address, the counter on the television reads 415. But when Quinn and Maggie return to Pulsar World, as the citizens scale the gates, the JVC monitor showing the incident (the same one that televised Rickman's address) reads 405. In reality, it seems that the monitor counter was counting down while the [Sliders production] camera filmed the Rickman address off the monitor. Then someone behind the scenes changed the film to show the footage of the people at the gate. Thus, there's only a 10 second difference on the counter between Rickman's address and the incursion at the gate. [FYI, in the script, the citizens storm the gates with guns blazing as the officers fire back in hopes of keeping them at bay. In the episode, this didn't occur.]
  • For someone called the Cryin' Man, it's amazing that Remmy didn't shed a tear during the hymn or eulogies at the memorial. Wade cried and Quinn was on the verge of tears but Rembrandt kept his composure.
  • On Electric World, the orange pick-up truck doesn't have a rear licence plate.
    History Lesson:

    See The Exodus, Part 1 history

    On this world, it's evident that the Vietnam War also took place, per Rickman's reference to 'the last days of Saigon'.
    The reason Rickman is killing these innocent people is because he contracted a disease during the Gulf War , a fungus that attacks the brain tissue. 
    Guest Stars:
	Kari Wuhrer		Captain Maggie Beckett
	Mark Kiely		Dr. Steven Jensen (Steve to his wife)
	Wes Charles, Jr.	Malcolm [Eastman]
Special Guest Star:
	Roger Daltrey		Colonel Angus Rickman
Co-Starring:
	Andrew A. Rolfes	Sergeant (at the south gate) [last name beings with 'WI']
	Sandy Laufer-Blake	Nurse [Brown]
	Lisa Galiana		Woman (mother of young Guy)
	Reba Shaw Alexander	[Rickman's] Secretary
Uncredited:  The officer whom Rickman used the syringe
 on in the church, the black female officer and the three 
white male officer watching Rickman's address on the closed
circuit television. The actor who plays the young boy named Guy.
    The Inside Slide:
  • Quinn calls Home World 'Earth Prime' a phrase coined by Ed Hall, who keeps the Sliders Frequently Asked Questions List on the Internet.

  • Kari Wuhrer's character, Maggie Beckett, wasn't originally considered for part of the permanent cast -- she was supposed to have a 'recurring role.' It was shortly into filming that producers decided to hire Wuhrer on full time. The decision was made between Jan. 13 and Jan. 29, 1997.
    "When I first appeared, I got a chance to play a character that I've never played before -- this tough, military woman," Wuhrer says. "I was excited that they thought I could pull that off. Because most people see me as this little giggly babe, right? So it was a real challenge, and when I pulled it off, they got very excited ... And so they decided to make me a regular, and I couldn't be more thrilled."

  • As for taking over for the beloved John Rhys-Davies, Wuhrer says that she really had no trouble making the transition from guest star to regular.
    "It's difficult entering an already established show [which she also did on "Swamp Thing"] but the character, Maggie Beckett, has been really challenging and a lot of fun. Everybody has made me feel very welcome -- at least on the set.

  • John Rhys-Davies' departure took many fans by total surprise, but how did the cast take the news?
    "Well it was sudden to the degree that we'd been working together for three years," Sabrina explains. "So, I mean, no matter how much time they give us to prepare, it was sudden. You know, we did know before Christmas that, you know, in a couple of episodes they were going to kill his character. So it gave us the opportunity to get used to the idea. It didn't make it any easier [though]. It's like a family that we had, and I feel like our family has been broken up now."
    "It certainly wasn't my idea," Tracy Torme says. "It was something largely dictated by the network."
    "I'm not unsorry," Rhys-Davies says of his departure. "It's called creative differences with the writers, that's all ... older actors become like old bull elephants, finally -- you have to drive them out of the herd because they're impossible to deal with."
    "We had the most wonderful series concept ... but we did everything that had been done before in every damned episode," JRD laments. "The public understood that you could go anywhere in the galaxy [but] the writers, would try to graft a "Law & Order" story, or something they had done before, onto Sliders and just make the characters work around it."

  • Rhys-Davies also wasn't happy with the outcome of this episode, which was based on his original story.
    "It ended up having a quasar [sic] coming into the solar system," he says. "I said 'do you know what a quasar is?' They said 'yeah, it's something small and it rotates fast.' I said 'Yes, but it's actually a neutron star. It's a collapsed star that has a mass of about 1.4 to four times the mass of the Sun. It's not big enough to create a black hole. It is immensely dense and, of course, will consequently have an immense force of gravity. You cannot bring a star into the solar system without throwing everything off. And at the end, you've got a cluster of neutron stars coming through.' I also said, 'this thing about radiation nonsense.' They said, 'but it spins fast!' I said, 'yes, but you have it spinning once every 24 hours.' Some of them spin 32 times a second. With the kind of radiation that would generate, you can't hide underground. The radiation would go through the Earth, for God's sake.' I just WASN'T very happy with the show."

  • Tracy Torme wasn't happy with it either. After he'd effectively separated himself from the show, Torme says he was talked into watching the "Exodus" episodes. "I had been told ["Exodus"] was going to be our big seminal episode," he says. "It was going to be the greatest Sliders episode of all times. And I watched the second part with some friends and it was horrifying. It was just, I thought it was one of the worst hours of television I'd ever seen, and I thought that ... nobody really cared about the [episode] in a million ways. I mean, everything was just shoddy. The production was bad, the acting was ridiculous, things didn't tie together. I later discovered that one of the executive producers that was running the show, that his standard for everything was 'Aw, it's a parallel world, no one cares!' So that's why we could say 'Why is Roger Daltrey running the American military with a British accent?' 'Aw, it's a parallel world, who cares?'"

  • When Quinn invents the 'jet propelled battering ram' in the hospital, the original script calls for Quinn to straddle the gurney while it bashes into the door. However during the final filming, Quinn stands back of the gurney. This change in the script may possibly be a result of the tragic consequences that came out of the episode "Desert Storm" where an actor was killed during a 'stunt scene.' The same might also be said of why Wade, while holding the gun on Maggie at the beginning of "The Exodus, Part 1," held it slightly to her left thus not pointing it directly at Kari Wuhrer. It's possible that the outcome of "Desert Storm" caused the production crew to re-think some of its stunt scenes, making them safer for everyone involved.

  • After Arturo is shot in the heart, he turns to Quinn saying: "Get them home." Then he falls to the ground, gently being held by Quinn, and looks around. He whispers: "Sliders." And then, without much fanfare, our beloved Arturo dies. Yet, the script of this event calls for a much, I think, more emotional exit for the professor. It reads as follows (starting from where Quinn enters the warehouse):

    Rickman tries to get his gun out but Quinn brings him down with a flying tackle. They fight for a moment.

    Arturo enters with Wade just as Rickman catches Quinn with a hard right and sends him spinning around, flying back. Arturo catches Quinn in his arms.

    Remmy enters carrying Malcolm as Rickman draws his gun, aims it at Quinn's back.

    WADE: Quinn!

    Arturo can see this over Quinn's shoulder and spins around, putting his body in the way, as Rickman racks off two shots that slam into Arturo's back.

    Rickman scrambles and leaps into the vortex. Quinn holds on to the collapsing Arturo.

    QUINN: Professor.

    The VORTEX CLOSES. Remmy moves to help Quinn and Wade lower Arturo's mortally wounded body to the floor.

    WADE: Oh, my God.

    Quinn holds Arturo. Wade and Remmy each take a hand in a final moment.

    REMBRANDT: Hang on, Max.
    QUINN: Why did you do that?

    Arturo just looks at him with deep affection.

    WADE: You've got to stay with us, Professor ... say with us ...

    Arturo shakes his head. Manages to make eye contact with each one of them one last time.

    ARTURO (whispering): Get ... underground. Follow him. Only chance for you to get home.
    WADE: You're coming with us.

    Arturo manages a subtle shake of his head. He knows this is the end of the slide.

    ARTURO: I love you all (a whisper) Sliders.

    And he dies. WE HOLD on them as we ... FADE OUT.
    END OF ACT THREE

  • As per the original script, this is what the sliders had to say about the fallen Arturo. Interestingly enough, Quinn said nothing in the final script.

    REMBRANDT: I was glad to know you, Professor. You were truly unique. You could be cantankerous at times, but I know it was because you cared about us. And when we get home, I'm gonna write a song for you. Something classy. Something righteous. So people will never forget you.
    WADE: I don't believe in good-byes, not really. I can't believe that everything we are, everything we've done, just disappears. I think our spirit ... is like a river. It has to go somewhere. I know in my heart, I'll see you again.

    Wade casts her flowers to the wind. They watch them float for a moment and drop from sight.

    (For the record, here's what Quinn says during the make-shift eulogy in the episode) --

    QUINN: I never would have been the student I was without your guidance ... and love. You taught me there are no limits to the imagination. You were a true adventurer, now you're the greatest adventurer of all time. Good-bye professor.
    WADE: Good-bye.
    QUINN: We're going to miss the hell out of you.
    REMBRANDT: Oh ya.

    Closed Captioning:
  • While Rickman is seated at his desk, transferring the vials into the carrying case, the closed captioning suddenly reads "(intercom buzzes)" and Rickman is supposed to respond to the intercom by saying "What is it?" However, in the episode, the intercom doesn't buzz leaving Rickman to say, out of the blue, "What is it?" without being prompted by anything.
  • As Arturo listens to the short wave radio, a man from Delaware says that his name is Matt Humphries however the closed captioning reads "static" at the time when the man announces his name.
  • After Quinn rigs the gurney to blast the door down, he and the other help Arturo out of his bed. Though closed captioning doesn't say it, Quinn says "the pulsars are getting closer."
  • When Maggie says that she wants to come with the others, she insists that once they catch Rickman, the others can drop her off on their way home. In the episode, Quinn simply says "First we have to find Rickman." but in CC he says "First we have to find Rickman because he is our way home."
    Song Lyrics

    Way Over Yonder
By Rembrandt Brown
Way over yonder
There's a place that I know
Where I can find shelter
from the hunger and cold

Where the good tasting sweet life
is so easily found
way over yonder
that's where I'm bound
    Back to Season Three.
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