My Brother’s Keeper

// K2816 · Originally aired April 2, 1999

It’s a battle of ideologies between Quinn and his father when Quinn is mistaken for an escaped clone of his double. While Maggie and Rembrandt look for an avenue of escape for their friend, Colin teaches the clone the meaning of family and sacrifice.

Written By // Doug Molitor
Director // Reza Badiyi
Music // Danny Lux

Reviews

// Earth Prime

While “My Brother’s Keeper” takes the lay up on the fairway instead of firing for the green, it’s one of the rare instances this season where you’re forced to think about what you’re watching.

// Think of a Roulette Wheel

Another frightful case of me missing the days when “overthrowing the government” was part and parcel of the Sliders Experience.

// External Reviews

Worlds Visited

Clone World

Advancements in medical technology have allowed cloning of actual people to suit their donor needs.

Details

The license plates on some of the passing vehicles are 3JQL358 and 2KHC871.
Need a florist? Try Kayla’s Flowers.
Alt-Quinn is studying quantum mechanics at the Quantum Lab at the Carl Sagan Institute.
Alt-Quinn’s MHO medical card reads:
MAXIMIZED HEALTH ORGANIZATION
7825 5681 83 [obscured]
09/96 THRU 10/98
QUINN MALLORY
Rembrandt buys his Nixon book, When Good Things Happen to Bad People, at Eagan’s Books.
Alt-Quinn is in ICU on the 9th floor of MHO. Sorry, no visitors.
Mallory’s brand reads:
MALLORY C/S400
DMM 0121238176
One of the security guards is named Moberly.

Product Placement

They really went ape in this episode! Not since California Reich can I remember so many products placed in such a tiny space! Here are all the corporate sponsors I could spot:

Red Bull
USA Today
Coors
Tombstone Pizza
Scotty Towels

Character Information

Alt-Quinn’s nickname is Quinnster.
Alt-Quinn has been developing sliding technology that is based on superstring theory without integrating an M-Theory base. He hoped to slide clones to another world so they could escape harvest.
Alt-Quinn believes that the work his father, Mike Mallory, is doing is unethical.
Alt-Quinn’s mother died a while back.
Michael Mallory has shielded his son with the best medical treatment, but doesn’t truly know his son.
Colin loves his brother enough that he’d give his own life to save Quinn’s.

Notable Quotes

“To see if there are 18 missing pages.”—Rembrandt’s sly remark about the Nixon book.
“So what do you want, fabric or leather?”—Rembrandt, on preference of stolen vehicle upholstery.
“I thank you from the bottom of my eyes.”—Quinn, to RJ, after his rescue from MHO.
“You don’t hurt someone to help yourself. At least, that’s how it should be.”—Colin, teaching Mallory some life lessons about the bond of family.
“My older son, he would never say zen crap like that.”—Mike Mallory, to Quinn, about Quinn’s, well, zen saying. Forgive me. I don’t memorize the whole episode.

Money Matters

Rembrandt has enough money to buy a third-rate book on Nixon.
The Sliders had enough money to buy a laptop computer on the previous slide.
The Sliders stay at the Chandler Hotel.
Maggie offers to buy Sylvia a cup of coffee.

Nitpicks and Errors

Can someone tell me where Quinn came up with Rudy Zacora? Is that a buddy of Doug Molitor’s?
When Colin shows Mallory photos of himself and Quinn, the photos appear to be taken during the time they were on Vega$ World in Way Out West. But every bit of evidence in that episode pointed to the contrary that they’d have the ability to photograph anything. At the very least, color photographs should not have been technically feasible.
RJ has a very special gun. When you aim it and fire, it shoots two holes in objects with only one bullet.
I guess Alt-Quinn isn’t covered by MHO. After all, his card expired in October of 1998! (A nit only for the United States, which chose to first run the episode in 1999.)

Neatpicks

Colin suggests they use a mattress for a soft slide, and it works!

Guest Starring

John Walcutt¹ as Michael Mallory
Paula Trickey as Nurse Lauren Perry
Bob Morrisey as Bill Pappas
Judith McConnell² as Sylvia
Malcolm Jamal Warner as RJ

Co-Starring

David Kallaway as Guard One
Ross Borden as Doctor

Featuring

Reba Shaw Alexander³ as Clerk
David Flynn as Brad

John Walcutt also appears as Mike Mallory in Genesis, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, Slidecage and Revelations.
Judith McConnell plays a Clerk in To Catch a Slider.
Reba Shaw Alexander appears as Rickman’s secretary in The Exodus, part II and as the maid in A Current Affair.

Script Archive

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

The Inside Slide

“In this particular episode, we take a look at the whole cloning thing,” says Kari Wuhrer. “On this world, they clone humans for body parts, so if I go blind I’ve got a clone who lives in relative seclusion. She’s a second class person, cloned for the purpose of giving body parts to the primary humans. It kind of takes a twist on what is going on now in the scientific community.”

· · ·

The final scene featuring three Quinns—the original, his blind double and the clone—was shot and completed on March 12, 1998.