Proposed Season Three Episodes
In March 1997, the Sliders production offices sent a series of memos to both Universal and Fox reflecting the latest status of stories and scripts. While they are little more than spreadsheets, they tell a very interesting story about what the executives definitely commissioned for their final year on broadcast television. It's how we know when the writers delivered their first drafts, when each episode was shot, and that, most important, 29 episodes were considered, including:
- K1811: Net Worth;
- K1822: Heat of the Moment;
- K1821: Sliders Ark by Paul Jackson; and
- K1812: Adventure in Paradise by John Scheinfeld.
"Net Worth" and "Sliders Ark" were put into abeyance; for more details on that process, check out the full scoop on the former Earth Prime was able to put together. (We reached out to Jackson about his ark idea, but he understandably has no memory of what the plot was supposed to be. All we know about it is that it was assigned October 22, 1996, before going into abeyance shortly after.)
But what the hell is "Adventure in Paradise?" Pitched by Scheinfeld as part of a Writer's Guild requirement to buy scripts from freelancers not part of the production, it was assigned July 16, 1996 before being abandoned a week later. No additional details are available at this time; if anything else comes up, we'll add it to this page.
Below is a collection of story proposals too short to merit their own page. These come from production and are interspersed with episodes that did get made—notably, The Breeder and Dinoslide—so we consider them worthy of being part of the historical record.
The Cult
When Wade is snatched by a cult, Quinn, Rembrandt, and Arturo go undercover and participate in a succession of bizarre rituals to get to her at the cult’s “Special Healing House (or something like that).” When they find her, however, they find that she’s been brainwashed and now a full member of the she’s lost to them, completely a member of the cult. It’s only when all four are alone together that she drops the charade and admits she’s been faking, becoming herself again. The Sliders plan an escape and then challenge the legitimacy of the cult by proclaiming to be “Special Ones” themselves. The cult members don’t believe their story, but change their tune when they open the vortex and slide out. “They fall to their knees and worship the vortex. When it closes, the Cult leader has lost his flock.”
Quinn’s Double’s World
In the pilot, Quinn’s double talked about his wife, his world, the places he’s been. What if our Sliders lands on his world? Now, our Quinn must double for his sliding twin. Perhaps his double is a troublemaker with all sorts of people after him. His marriage is falling apart, his life is hell. The sliders must bear the brunt of the trouble the other guy’s caused. Can our Quinn right some of those wrongs? “Might a fun episode…”
“Dave”
The Sliders land on a world where Rembrandt is the leader of a movement to secede California from the United States. However, the Rembrandt of this earth is ill and might die. Our Rembrandt steps into his shoes and has a Dave-like experience. The movement is successful and Rembrandt is tempted to stay behind and lead the new nation.
The Perfect Weapon
The Sliders arrive in a world that only seems inhabited by test dummies, but quickly realize they have dropped into a weapons test zone and will not be able to escape before sonic weapons are detonated. The sonic bombs can make your head explode using sound waves, killing only living things but leaving structures and resources untouched. Much like a neutron bomb.
This show will be done in real time with a clock on the screen ticking down the minutes until they will die. The Sliders must separate and locate several devices and disarm them before the time is up. As they search for the bombs, they discover that this test is top secret, and the military has left some human subjects in the test zone to see how they will die.
The Sliders free some of the subjects not realizing they are criminals being executed. They also find a scientist imprisoned for wanting to blow the whistle on both the weapon and the human subjects. They successfully stop the test with only seconds to spare and then must avoid capture by the military when they enter the test zone to get them. The Sliders take the inventor of the weapon with them, leaving the criminals behind. The criminals wait until the army approaches and then detonate the weapons in a final act of revenge.
Monsters
The Sliders arrive on a jungle island and discover a series of monsters (e.g. The Loch Ness Monster) that turn out to be machines. The jungle appears to be redone as someone’s big amusement park As they explore, they find a huge mansion and a young boy and his father who built the park. The butler in the house is Frankenstein, and on the property they find a suitable likeness of Dracula.
The father explains he traveled here on safari many years ago, liked it so much, he stayed behind and built the park. It would be perfect, but several murders have recently occurred nearby, and a werewolf seems to be the most likely culprit. As they investigate, the Sliders discover the werewolf is actually the park owner’s wife who became infected with lycanthropy when they arrived on the island. He had kept her isolated in a compound, but she has recently been escaping every full moon to kill.
The Sliders manage to avoid being infected by the werewolf before they escape. As they leave, we see the werewolf infect another person on the island, knowing the curse will continue.
The Fifth Reich
The Sliders arrive on a world where the government is a fascist business-like structure. Colonel Ricknan has managed to become a leader, responsible for running a series of death camps, a convenient source of supply of brain tissue for him. The world was reordered after a revolution and all artists, inventors, and anyone not necessary for “business as usual” have been placed in camps and are slowly being eliminated.
Outside the camps, men are taken to become modern-day gladiators for the amusement of the ruling class. Some of the Sliders are captured when they land, and the others must struggle to free them in time, and before Rickman discovers they are in his gasp.
Quinn and Rembrandt are forced to fight each other in a battle to the death. Like Stalag 17, the camp is filled with interesting characters who help the Sliders ultimately escape.