Sliders News & Notes
January 1998 Archive

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Season Four Cast Photo

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January 23, 1998

February Year 1 Reruns in U.K.-- Julie at the newsgroup reports that after Sky 1 repeats the third season finale (or series finale, per U.K. TV lingo), on Monday, Jan. 26, the network will begin re-airing the first season in February.

As such, the Sky schedule looks like this:

Mon., Jan. 26= This Slide of Paradise
Mon., Feb. 2= Pilot part 1
Mon., Feb. 9= Pilot part 2
Mon., Feb. 16= Fever
Mon., Feb. 23= Last Days.

Just a reminder that Year 4 is scheduled to start in the U.K. on Monday, April 13.

I'd like to thank Julie for keeping us informed, and I would ask anyone outside of North America to let me know the schedule for Sliders in their area; places like Germany, Australia, etc. I'd like to start keeping track of what's on when. Thanks. the-expert@geocities.com.

January 22, 1998

Season Four Launch Date Set-- The Sci-Fi Channel has tentatively slotted Monday, June 8th as the launch date for the fourth season of Sliders. Mark it on your calanders. The first episode of the season, "Genesis," will air.

As a reminder, repeats of Sliders will run on Sci-Fi beginning Monday, March 2 with 13 episodes scheduled to air. No episode titles have been announced.
Linaweaver Book Release Date Set-- Brad Linaweaver's upcoming Sliders companion book, Sliders: Parallel Universes has been given a release peg of Wednesday, June 3 -- just in time for the season premiere.
The book was originally slated to come out in February, but the sale of its publisher caused a red-tape delay.
Wade Can Return-- Theoretically, that is. FriendlySlider at the MCA Board posted this yesterday, it's a note he/she received from Sliders producer/writer Marc Scott Zicree concerning a question about a possible Wade/Quinn romance for season four.

"As for the Wade/Quinn romance, we have no plans regarding that at present, nor guest spots for Sabrina. We are, however, doing an episode in which they meet someone who knew her after her capture by the Kromaggs -- so Wade is definitely "out there somewhere." Which leaves the possibility open."
Jerry Q&A At TV Guide Online-- TVGen, the online version of TV Guide (U.S.) has an interview with Jerry O'Connell this week. Click here for the full article.
Sliders to Have Some Company-- Electronic Media reported Tuesday that Sci-Fi Channel has purchased 13 one-hour episodes of the upcoming Canadian-made series Betaville for airing this summer. The magazine reported that Betaville will air after Sliders in the Monday 10 pm (est) timeslot.
The show seems like it will be a good fit with Sliders, it is set in the near future and will essentially be two shows in one. Each week, viewers will see the story unfold and "visit" Betaville -- a self-contained city, with no apparent crime, disease, hostility or stress, but with deep cracks in the smooth facade -- to meet the council members who address the issues brought out in that week's story.
Chesler/Perlmutter (The Hitchhiker) is producing in association with Alliance Communications Corporation.
Sliders in Chicago-- An Allan Johnson article ("Sci-Fi Shows Prove Alien to Networks") in the Chicago Tribune newspaper yesterday hinted that Sliders may have an extended home in the Sci-Fi Channel.
Barry Schulman, vice president of programming for Sci-Fi, is quoted as saying that Sliders is "the perfect Sci-Fi Channel program. It was the right story, it was the right ... cast."
The article, which featured a press shot of Quinn coming through the vortex, went on to say that Sliders now seems in the right place on cable rather under the finiky watch of network executives.
Tapemaker Shut Down-- If you're looking for Sliders tapes, don't bother trying Rob Satonica, whom I listed in my FAQ as someone who makes copies of Sliders' (and other show's) episodes.
Rob says that he recently got a cease and desist letter from a law firm telling him to shut his operation down or face legal consequences.
Rob has complied but warns that anyone who has sent him money for tapes probably won't get a refund for a few months.
For more information on this story, check out Rob's site
Sabrina Board-- Alan Healy has opened an "Appreciating Sabrina Lloyd" Bullitin Board. Just because she's off the show doesn't mean she's disappeared.
Canada Commentary-- Canadian Sliders fans may want to check out Slidude's Jan. 21 Sliders Canada Commentary at his Unofficial Sliders Canada web site.
More on Charlie-- I've recently updated Charlie O'Connell's Biography with a little more information, as well as his Filmography.
January 20, 1998

News From L.A.-- Lexilynn, who is a neighbor of Cleavant Derricks', posted greetings on behalf of the actor and his family last evening at the MCA Board.

Highlights of her post include the following:
  • "So far about 10 shows have been completed." [Note: I Don't know if this means that they are 'in the can' or have been just filmed, 'in the can' meaning completely ready for broadcast -- EX.]
  • One episode will feature a song written by Cleavant Derricks. [Note: No word on whether he'll sing it as well -- EX]
  • "The end for Sliders is now going to be in March." [Note: I'm not sure if this means that this is when production ends, but that's unlikely if only 10 eps are done -- EX.]
  • "Sabrina Lloyd is now in New York - don't know if she will return to west coast." [Note: I Don't know if this means that she's working as an actress there or just living there -- EX.]
  • "They will repeat one or two old episodes and then follow up with new shows." [Note: I think Lexilynn may be a bit confused with this point as we all know that 13 rerun episodes will air from March 2 - June, when new episodes start -- EX.]

    Thanks for the update, Lexilynn!

    January 19, 1998

    UK Sliders in April-- U.K. corespondent Paul Jennings reports in that Sky TV has announced that it will air the fourth Season of Sliders beginning Monday, April 13th at 9pm, on the heels of a rebroadcast of the first season.

    "There is a small chance that they will advertise it, since they did advertise season three when it moved to a new slot," Jennings says. "[Sliders] will air after new season four episodes of Star Trek: Voyager (which will start the previous week with Scorpion, Part II), and before new episodes of Brooklyn South on Sky 1.
    "Sliders is one of the few low rated Sky 1 series to make it past the big cancellation sweep of the last month," he adds. "Suddenly Susan, The Nanny, Early Edition and numerous other shows didn't survive despite getting good ratings.

    Let's hope for some good ratings across the pond! Thanks, Paul.

    New Sliders Sci-Fi Ad-- Informant writes that there is a new commercial for Sliders' March repeats now running on the Sci-Fi Channel.
    "If you watched Earth 2 Sunday night, you probably noticed the commercial," Informant says. "If not, here's a description:

    Black back with white writing that says "SAME EARTH"
    writing fades out.
    New writing "DIFFERENT DIMENTION"

    Then it shows a clip from "Dinoslide" with a T-rex, and it shows Quinn holding the timer
    Then it says "SLIDERS, Coming in March"."
    MSZ & DS9-- Informant also reports that Marc Scott Zicree lent his talents to an upcoming episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
    MSZ created the story, not the script however, to the Feb. 9 episode "Far Beyond the Stars" which revolves around Capt. Sisko getting sick and having a dream where he is a writer in the 1950s "who's story may or may not be a version of DS9," Informant says. "The episode marks a big night for Trek fans, because in the dream some of the people who play aliens with a lot of make-up will do the episode without make-up. You'll get to see (I think) Andrew Robinson (Garek) Armin Shimmerman (Quark) Rene [Auberjonois] (Odo) while the character of Cassidy Yates will be in the dream too, as Cassy."

    For more information, visit http://www.bradley.edu/campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep/538.html

    MSZ Cybercon Questions Up-- Shannen reports that the questions to be put to Marc Scott Zicree during the Sliders Cybercon, are now up (and complete). Please visit assembly.nerdworld.com and enter "SlidersCon Q&A Assembly."
    "You'll need to register first," Shannen says, "but that is free and only takes like five minutes."

    Also on the Sliders Cybercon front, please be advised that the link of the Con homepage has changed to http://www-scf.usc.edu/~hutaff/sliders/. Please update your links and bookmarks.

    Season Four FAQ List-- Shannen has posted her very helpful Season Four FAQ at her web site. Find it at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/6143/faq.html
    January 15, 1998

    Sliders Too Violent?-- It is according to a University of California study released this week.

    The study is the most exhaustive survey of TV violence ever reported and monitored every network primetime and Saturday morning entertainment program aired during the 1996-1997 season. More than 3,000 hours of programming.
    In it's final report of three annual surveys conducted since the 1994-95 season, it studied all series, TV movies, theatrical films, on-air promotions, specials and commercials broadcast on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. It also monitored primetime schedules airing on the UPN and WB networks.
    The survey found only two series guilty of frequent concerns: "Dark Skies," and "Walker, Texas Ranger."
    Occasional concerns involved "America's Most Wanted," "High Incident," "Millennium," "Nash Bridges," "Sliders" and "The X-Files."

    It should be noted In a similar violence monitoring study done by Paul Kagan Associates Inc. in 1995, Sliders ranked lower than Beverly Hills 90210, the Critic and even Models Inc. in terms of the number of times concerns were raised about violent content.
    The nine first-season Sliders episodes were monitored with only 1 concern about violence [it was unspecified but it was probably the shootout in the "Pilot"] or only 11 per cent of the time. Granted, Sliders did seem to become more violent during the third season.
    JRD on Voyager Rerun-- If you missed it the first time, the episode of Star Trek: Voyager starring John Rhys-Davies will be rebroadcast on Feb. 4. I highly recommend it.
    January 14, 1998

    JOC About Town-- Well, if you had a keen eye and were out and about in L.A. last night, you might have spotted our boy Jerry at the launch party for the new magazine Teen People (in which he's featured in the first issue).

    The party, held at the Beverly Hills Planet Hollywood, featured a live performance by Backstreet Boys and included stars like Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Melissa Joan Hart, Freddie Prinze Jr., Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Amber Smith, Chad Allen, Traci Bingham and LL Cool J. (who was probably the oldest one there.)
    If you'd like to read Jerry's 'Teen People' article, and see the great pictures that accompany it, check out Sliderray's "Jerry O'Connell Dreamer Page". She's also got an exclusive picture of Jerry on vacation in Mexico.
    JOC Wants his MTV-- MTV has signed up Jerry O'Connell to take part in MTV's "Rock N'Jock Super Bowl II" on Saturday, January 24 at 4:30 p.m. The 90-minute show, which features celebs testing their pigskin skills along with NFL greats, will air live on the east coast from The NFL Experience in San Diego.
    Other famous-types taking part include Vivica A. Fox and Boys II Men.
    Sliding Signatures Explained-- Chance reports that Marc Scott Zicree e-mailed him back concerning one of Chance's points about "how the quartet could determine which world was their's in a constantly branching ... multiverse."
    "Marc Zicree said that the writers chose to 'duck' the issue for now," Chance said. "I proposed that they meet a signifigantly advanced world that can 'read' hyperspatial (superstring) vibrations and thusly send the [four sliders] to the world which matches that vibration (obviously Maggie and Colin would have different vibrations, but not [the others]."
    Here was MSZ's reply:
    "We've used a similar thoery, called a "sliding signature" to explain how someone's body has a resonance in it that tells what world they came from it. Haven't used it to go back to Earth Prime, as our guys managed that on their own.
    As for sliding underwater, Bill Dial wrote a tech explanation in one script explaining how the equipment is calibrated to preclude that from happening."

    Just a little something for all you tech-heads out there.
    Sliders to Canada: Update-- All of you Canadian fans waiting with bated breath to hear if Space: The Imagination Station will bring Sliders to Canada may not have to wait until Jan. 26th afterall -- the network might even know by Jan. 22 or 23.
    January 12, 1998

    Upcoming Sliders Dates:-- Here is a short list of key dates involving Sliders and its produciton:

  • Monday, January 19, 1998 -- USA Networks will feature a panal discussing with Sliders staff and cast as part of the Television Critics Association's annual Winter press tour.

  • Monday, January 19, 1998 -- the National Association of Television Programming Executives conference begins in New Orleans. There, MCA/Universal will be shopping Sliders around for syndication outside the U.S. and will be testing the waters for syndication possibilities for when second-run syndication begins in January of 1999.

  • Monday, January 26, 1998 -- the day Canada's Space: The Imagination Station expects to finalize whether it has picked up Sliders for broadcasting in Canada.

  • Tuesday, February 10, 1998 -- Sci-Fi will decide what reruns of Sliders will air when repeat programming begins.

  • Monday, March 2, 1998 -- repeat episodes of Sliders to begin on the Sci-Fi Channel at 9 pm (est) 6 pm (pct)

    JOC in New Magazine-- Look for Jerry O'Connell is the (now-released) first issue of Teen People from the minds behind People Magazine.
    The three page article on him is, admittedly, light fluff but there are some interesting facts and some terrific photos, including one of Jerry and brother Charlie in New York City.
    The article is the Feb. '98 issue with Jennifer Love Hewitt (Party of Five) on the cover.
    January 7, 1998

    CANADA UPDATE:-- 4:52 pm (est) 1:52 pm (pst) -- It seems that Canadian fans could hear whether Space has picked up Sliders as early as January 26, upon the conclusion of the National Association of Television Programming Executives confab in New Orleans. The annual NATPE conference, where distributors of syndicated and off-network programs pawn their wares to stations and networks, may hold the key for Sliders' future in Canada -- and that's where Space will be trying to aquire it.

    "We are still in negotiations and it's something that may or may not happen at this point," said a Space program buyer. "We are also looking at many other MCA/Universal properties, but Sliders is something I've really wanted for a long time -- I've even got a timeslot picked out for it."
    Fans will also be happy to know that unlike the fight for the Babylon 5 rights that occured a few weeks ago among select Canadian TV outlets, Space faces no competition to get the show.
    JOC Chat Highlights-- Here are some (Sliders-related) highlights of the Jerry O'Connell/Real Hollywood chat that took place last evening:
  • Sliders is currently filming an episode in which "African Americans are interned, sort of like in a Nazi allegory in America."
  • Jerry says that he's directing "a bunch of episodes."
  • The interview was via phone and both producer Ed Ledding and Charlie O'Connell came on the line to say hello. "I'm keeping [Jerry] in line on the shows these days. It's a lot of fun working with him. We joke around all day and have a lot of fun. We went to NYU together." Ed said: "I'm privileged to work with [Jerry]. Usually with every personality -- not just actors -- there's a little "but." I, myself, have been known to be hard on folks. But I can honestly say there is no "but" for Jerry O'Connell. He's got the world by the tail. He does great work as a actor, writer ...what's not to like?"
  • Jerry said of Charlie's acting experience: "Charlie went to David Mamet's Theater School - the Atlantic Theater Company that does a lot of off off off Broadway stuff."

    Here's the full transcript.
    Canada: Good News, Bad News-- 12:03 pm (est) 9:03 am (pt) -- On the heels of Global Television dropping its option on Sliders late last year, a report in today's Toronto Sun newspaper says that Canada's new science fiction cable channel, Space: The Imagination Station, has now picked up the ball and is currently in "active negotiations" to bring the show north of the border.
    "We're all over it but it's not ours yet," said Jay Switzer, a program shopper for Space's owning company CHUM-CITY, in the article.
    Thanks to Slidude for passing this along. Canadian fans also might want to check out his Unofficial Sliders Canada web site as well.
    Jerry Loves L.A.!-- Congratulations to Jerry O'Connell, who recently purchased his very own home in Los Angeles.
    His new pad, located in a 1950s-built, Sunset Strip-Sunset Plaza area building, reportedly set him back about $250,000. The unit has two bedrooms and two baths in about 1,200 square feet.
    Previosly, Jerry had been living in Greenwich Village, NY with his brother Charlie, who will undoubtedly room with him in L.A. -- at least for the time being.
    If you care, Jan Smith of John Aaroe & Associates, Beverly Hills, represented both sides of the deal.
    More Comic News-- Armand Rock reports that he recently received an update from Fabian Nicieza, publisher of Acclaim Comics, regarding the future of Sliders in comic book form.
    Mr. Nicieza says that tentative plans are set to make a Sliders quarterly trade paper back [See Oct. 28 in the October Archive] for release in June.
    "It will probably be a lead story of all-new material; (reflecting the cast changes from last year) and "Classic" stories (which will be reprints of the previously published material which had Arturo in it)," Nicieza told Rock.
    Futhermore, each instalment will have both new and reprinted material until all of the reprints have been run, at which point the content will be "all-new."
    Also, Niciez said, there are currently no plans for a Sliders/Quantum Leap crossover comic "but we will continue pursing it."

    Thanks to Armand Rock for the info and to Fabian Niciez for being so forthright.
    January 5, 1998

    Sliders: Parallel Universes-- The launch date for Brad Linaweaver's book has been pushed back at least until March, according to a TV Books spokeswoman, due to the upheavel at the company in the wake of its recent sale.

    Not to worry, however, as the the book can be preordered directly from the company in both the U.S. and Canada.
    TV BOOKS, L.L.C.; 1619 Broadway, Ninth Floor; New York, NY 10019; Telephone: (212) 603-1824; Fax: (212) 245-7281 or Email: mail@tvbooks.com.
    In the U.S.: Telephone: (800) 242-7737; Fax: (800) 822-4090 or HarperCollins Publishers; Order Department; 1000 Keystone Park; Scranton, PA 18512-4621.
    In Canada: Telephone: (416) 321-2241, (800) 387-0117; Fax: (416) 321-3033, (800) 668-5788 or HarperCollins Canada, Ltd.; 1995 Markham Road; Scarborough, ONT M1B 5MB.
    Or, if you like, you may preorder it at Amazon.com.

    For those not familiar with the book, here's the lowdown (in standard USCWS style):

    • Name: Sliders: Parallel Universes
    • Description: a richly illustrated guidebook providing plot lines of the show as well as in-depth interviews with the show's stars and a behind-the-scenes tour led by its writers and producers.
    • Author: Brad Linaweaver
    • Author Bio: Linaweaver is the author of Sliders: The Novel. He is co-author, with Dafydd ab Hugh, of four bestselling Doom novels, based on the phenomenal video game from id Software. Brad is the author of the award-winning novel Moon of Ice, and has sold over fifty short stories to several magazines. His non-fiction has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including National Review, Paragon, The Agorist, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
    • ISBN: 1-57500-053-9 Sliders
    • Cost: $14.95 (U.S.)
    • Pages: 176
    • Design: paperback with color and b&w illustrations and holographic cover
    • Dimensions: 7" x 9"

    Jerry and Charlie Beam Up-- Mike Kaply, a poster to the newsgroup, reported today that he saw Jerry and Charlie O'Connell in Las Vegas this weekend checking out the new "Star Trek: The Experience," and spoke with them briefly about the new season: this is what he (they) had to say:
    "He said they are doing 22 new episodes for Sci Fi and 17 would have his brother in them. He (Jerry) will be producing the show. He also said the budget wouldn't be as big, but SciFi channel is going to give him the freedom to make the show a lot "weirder" then it was. He was a really nice guy."

    Thanks for the update, Mike!

    JOC in Online Chat-- Just a reminder that Jerry will be participating in an online chat at Universal Studio's Real Hollywood Network tomorrow, Jan. 6, at 10 pm (est) or 7 pm (pst). Note that you must register first to participate. Visit Real Hollywood Now for more info.
    January 2, 1998

    Sci-Fi Delays S:AAB & Earth2-- Sci-Fi Channel has delayed the launch of Space: Above and Beyond and Earth 2 by one week, the network announced Wednesday.

    The reason for the delay is actually a good one: S:AAB creators James Wong and Glenn Morgan have agreed to host the launch of the 2-hour premiere of the show and to accommodate a shooting schedule for this hosted material, the delays must take place.
    As such, S:AAB and Earth 2 will NOT air on Jan. 11th (as previously announced) but will air Sunday, Jan. 18th instead.
    The delay is not expected to affect the March 2nd launch of Sliders reruns in any way.
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