Dragonslide

// K1816 · Originally aired November 8, 1996

In a mystical world whose belief system consists of magic potions, dragons and illusions, a practitioner thinks Quinn comes from a powerful line of wizards—and must be eliminated.

Written By // Tony Blake & Paul Jackson
Director // David Livingston
Music // Danny Lux

Reviews

// Earth Prime

“Dragonslide” is definitely an hour of television steeped in the third season production mindset, but with those caveats in mind—and the magic, dragons, crazy Druidic nonsense—it also includes powerful themes that attracted fans to the show in the first place.

// Think of a Roulette Wheel

You can hang almost every problem with Dragonslide and Season Three as a whole on the last ten minutes of this episode.

// External Reviews

Martin Izsak

Worlds Visited

Magicworld

Magic is an everyday part of life on a world where the Mallory family was considered a benevolent clan of white wizards.

Timer Status

Lost in a field by Quinn and later retrieved (amazingly) by Arturo.

Details

The Sliders land about 20 miles outside the city of Emrys.
Gareth surmises that Quinn’s power to control a vortex means that he must be a Myrridin—in other words, a wizard.
The Ford Taurus police wagon cruiser bears the license plate 999022. On the door reads: “City of Emrys.”
The sign over the arc in the city square reads “Emrys Park.”
Posters on the wall outside the bookstore reads “Just In C.S. Lewis” and “The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice.”
The Sliders stay not at the Dominion or the Royal Chancellor Hotel but at the “Dragon’s Breath Inn.”
On the door of the book shop, a poster reads “King’s The Stand Now Here.”
In professing his love for Wade, Rembrandt climbs the stoop fence of a place called “The Barnacle.”

Spell: Invoking Love

Circle of magic, chaste ring of white
Capture this man’s love at first sight.
Consecrate the flowers of this scent
and allow the wearer’s heart to claim
that which you have destined him to cherish.

Spell: Body Possession

Black flames that burn within join elements of eternity
from above and below.
Release my spirit so that I may dwell for all eternity within him.

Spell: Spontaneous Healing

In the name of Godvyd, fill this being with the light.
Lochtufura, Danalora, Nuatha Dannu, Tuatha, Tuatha.
In the name of Godvyd and Naw, I invoke you
Fill this being with the light.

Character Information

Wade knows a little about Druidic history.
Wade wore braces in junior high school, which she says gave her a lot of time to read. “You should have seen me with braces,” she laughs. “Why do you think I worked in a computer store?”
Rembrandt was dating Alesha Avo, a backup singer for the Starlettes, before he went sliding. On the day he got sucked into the vortex, he was going to ask Ms. Avo if she wanted to move in together.
Rembrandt admits that he loves Wade—not that he’s in love with her but that he’s in love with her soul.
Quinn’s extended family on this world was murdered by Gareth through their love for Melinda. Only Philip survived, more as a preventative measure against incurring Merury’s wrath than any altruistic reason.

Notable Quotes

“Yeah, yeah, that, uh, happens to us a lot.”—Rembrandt, to his old girlfriend Alesha, who says she doesn’t remember him.
“Look, we’ve been sliding for a long time now and maybe an egghead like you can find happiness in a book on cosmology but I happen to enjoy the companionship of a woman.”—a frustrated Rembrandt to Arturo.
“Quinn is no more a wizard than that door knocker.”—Arturo to Melinda.
“Maybe it’s because we’re the only two normal people on this journey.”—Rembrandt’s thoughts on why he feels something special toward Wade.
“For once, Miss Welles, I have no explanation.”—Arturo in reference to the dragon.

Arturoisms

“What power could possibly be worth your freedom?”
“That which is beautiful is not always good. But that which is good is always beautiful.”
“To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose is the next best.”

Money Matters

The Sliders check into the Dragon’s Breath Inn and buy meals and drinks in Diggs’ bar.
Wade buys a book of Druidic spells.
Rembrandt must have enough to pay for Dr. Avo’s psychiatrist visit. That’ll be $125—for a house call.

Nitpicks and Errors

Again Quinn calls Diggs by name yet they still haven’t been introduced. He and Arturo ask for a run down about his world and Diggs happily tells them all about—even though Arturo says “Is everyone a Druid on this world?” It seems as though Diggs doesn’t care that Arturo uses what should have been a baffling phrase.
The rooms in the Dragon’s Breath Inn bear an uncanny resemblance to the Royal Chancellor suite.
What are the odds that Arturo would simply happen upon the timer in such a large field?
Why wouldn’t they just get Charlie O’Connell to play Phillip Mallory rather than use another actor; although Sean Moynihan does look a little like Jerry O’Connell.

Neatpicks

Finally, an episode that shows off a little of Jerry O’Connell’s talent as a swordsman, even if it is just for a few seconds. Watch his feet as he confronts the dragon—perfect positioning.

Guest Starring

Michelle Rene Thomas as Melinda
Gregory Martin as Gareth [Carr]
Max Grodénchik as Skuldar
Francis Guinan as Sean Nuinn
Lester Barrie¹ as Elston Diggs
Francoise Robertson as Alesha Avo

Co-Starring

Charlie O’Connell² as [Officer] O’Hara
Saxon Trainor as [Officer] Kelley
Sean Moynihan as Phillip Mallory
Mansell Rivers—Bland as Chief Druid

Lester Barrie appears as Diggs in other noteworthy third season episodes like Double Cross, The Dream Masters, Desert Storm, Murder Most Foul and The Breeder.
Before joining the regular cast as Colin Mallory in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, Charlie O’Connell also played Kit Richards in As Time Goes By.

Script Archive

Click on the links below to download rare scripts, outlines, and memos associated with this episode.

The Inside Slide

John Rhys-Davies frowns upon episodes like this.

“There’s a difference between the Science Fiction audience and the Sword and Sorcery audience,” he says. “We started picking up numbers last year and then we did a show that was a rip-off of the film Dragonslayer where, in fact, Arturo kills Quinn and he is then brought back to life by a woman using magic. Any Science Fiction fan who saw that suddenly thought, ‘Oh, wait a minute. I get it. It’s a kid’s show and not Science Fiction after all.’ So next week, of course, we drop three points and never get those viewers back.”

In fact, ratings after “Dragonslide” dipped under a 6 rating and didn’t recover until 6 episodes later, with Slide Like an Egyptian (which rated a 9.7 with viewers).

· · ·

The original Thursday satellite broadcast, sent out before the episode aired on Friday night, billed Charlie O’Connell as Charlie O’Donnell in the end credits. This didn’t deter him from speaking well on his sophomore effort on the show.

“Working on Sliders has always been fun,” he says. “Not that there’s any sibling rivalry between us, but I think it’s safe to say that I can act circles around [Jerry].”