Jeff and Jay’s Secret Stash
Jeof Vita and Jeff Somers are the writing team behind Blood and Splendor, Acclaim Comics' imagining of a "lost" Sliders episode. When approached by Earth Prime, the two were more than happy to talk about their comic collaboration, as well as their pitch to the television series: "Separation Anxiety."
What are they up to now? "I put my ramblings aside and went all graphic design after Acclaim," says Vita. "I eventually wound up at Marvel where I was Senior Designer and occasional Copywriter for the last 6 years. Currently I'm the Art Director for a publishing company WELL outside the realm of sci-fi and comics altogether."
As for Somers, "he's a big time sci-fi novelist now. His book The Electric Church is out now on Orbit Books and is part one of a trilogy." He's also the writer and owner of The Inner Swine, which has been around long enough to puzzle the hell out of "Blood and Splendor" readers when they find the term grafted onto Wade's chest.
Separation Anxiety
“Separation Anxiety” features Wade as well as Conrad Bennish, Jr., and contains a “strong (but economical) science fiction angle.” As the Sliders tumble through the quantum tunnel, a dimensional fission occurs, separating Wade from the rest of the group. While the men emerge on one alternate Earth ravaged by nuclear war, Wade emerges on a shadowy “offshoot-world” that is identical to its parent, but weaker—and, like a tuning fork, it’s slowly fading back into its origin. Wade, in possession of the Timer, must deal with the inevitability that this world is doomed to cease existence.
At the same time, both Wade and the men must contend with an artificially intelligent computer, designed by Bennish’s double, whose sole purpose is to ensure the survival of humanity even as it imprisons them against their will. With time ticking away, Wade must devise a way to save herself, her friends, and her new allies as the shadow world counts down to a second Armageddon.
“Separation Anxiety was a direct result of our collaboration with Tracy,” says Vita. “The studio was actively looking for more scripts to put into the hopper and because Blood and Splendor worked on some level, we had the opportunity to provide a draft for a future show. But by then the show was going through some growing pains and it eventually got relegated to a 'Story to Revisit at a Later Date' bin somewhere.”
Downloads
- August 12, 1996 Second Draft of “Separation Anxiety”;
- Notes from Jeff outlining the rough path the story would take;
- A World of Difference: the original story break between Jeff and Joef;
- The Jeffs’ pitch to the television production office; and
- Their treatment leading to the script linked above.