El Sid

Despite more than a dozen confirmed versions of the teleplay and the pitched outline at our disposal, this story evolution may prove to be the shortest walk we’ll have to take from the original concept to the finished product. The script is instantly recognizable, with most of the key beats in place. It’s still a San Francisco that appears to value law and order, only to discover it’s actually a prison. Sid and Michele are the same characters as seen on screen, and the Sliders still confront the dilemma of abandoning them or taking responsibility for them. Everyone is still angry at Quinn for creating the mess in the first place.

In fact, both the start and ending are almost exactly the same. The teaser's dialogue is close to word-for-word with what aired, which is truly remarkable for a Writer’s Draft. The fourth act plays out with Arturo pretending to betray the others in order to recover the timer. Michele still confronts Sid to enable the others to escape, although this version is a bit more fun, with Sid rag-dolling every male member of the team before she brings him down. With the poles in place, the differences lie in the path taken between them. And the biggest difference is their guide to this world. Instead of the scheming LJ (as played by Claude Brooks), our crew are led by…Pavel Kurlienko, pan-dimensional cab driver.

Which makes sense, right? LJ drives the tram in “El Sid,” a role he inherited from Pavel. Now this is a major role expansion for a recurring character who at this point has appeared in all of two episodes—the pilot and “Fever.” (“Into the Mystic” was written in roughly in tandem with this story.) However, Conrad Bennish Jr. was able to parlay his initial brief appearance into an ever-increasing role before Fox banished him to the cornfield. Could Pavel do the same? As a character in this script, he’s certainly a schemer. But because we’ve been exposed to him before as a somewhat inept, cowardly character, it’s hard to see him as a genuine threat.

Moreover, Pavel isn’t quite as disposable a villain as LJ. Yes, he behaves badly, but he’s doing it for his family. The details of his wife and son are unknown. Were they all put in prison together? Did Pavel meet his wife in prison and they’ve raised a son here? Writer Jon Povill opts not to present details, but their very existence shifts our opinion of him. A desperate man doing desperate things for one’s family is understandable, if not necessarily relatable. LJ, on the other hand, is ice cold. No one weeps for him when his plans unravel.

Another key difference is the timing of the prison reveal. In the aired version, we (and the Sliders) learn San Francisco's true nature at the end of the first act. This script waits until the end of the third. That requires keeping the Sliders penned up so as not to arouse their suspicions. How to pass the time? By drinking the night away with Sid and Pavel. Pavel tries to probe the inebriated Sliders about how the timer works while Sid explains how he likens himself to Rodriguez Diaz de Vivar, i.e. “El Cid.” It’s a little surreal, but it’s not a bad scene. It also allows for Wade to chew Quinn out while they search for rope to restrain Sid, presuming the alcohol ever brings him down. (Hint: it does not.)

As this is the Writer's Draft, the story is more narratively cohesive, with one element leading to the next more fluidly. It never made sense why LJ was selling fake prison paperwork, but here, Pavel and Leo are conspiring from the get-go. And as neither has much use for our team, what’s it to them if they all get killed by the buddy system? Who’s to say everything didn’t go down by the book? There is also no need for the threat of earthquakes. Escaping prison is incentive enough for Pavel, no matter how orderly it may be. As for Leo, the timer is a device he can use to sell passage out of the prison with no warden being the wiser.

As there’s less action here, we end up spending more time with our new Sliders, especially Sid. The big guy really comes to life in this draft. He’s still a dumb jerk, but he’s able to articulate where he’s coming from, in his own inimitable way.

All in all, the Writers Draft clearly lays out the stakes and themes in play. Alas, Arturo never gets to share that bottle of eighteen-year-old Glen Coveny with Sid. We feel John Rhys-Davies would have been down with it, no matter how many takes necessary.