To Bee or Not to Bee
After a spec script for The X-Files put writer Steve Kriozere on David Peckinpah's radar, he met with production in Fall 1996 to pitch ideas for third season episodes of Sliders. While one—Sole Survivors—was pitched and written with Professor Arturo in mind before being retooled to involve newcomer Maggie Beckett, two other pitches were heard and rejected by the production staff.
"The first had to do with killer bees being a real threat to the United States and the Sliders arrive to find the city empty because an attack had killed many and sent the rest to hiding," recalls Kriozere. "I guess my movie parallel was The Swarm. I pitched the killer bees one first. Not happening."
Thanks to Kriozere, however, Sliders fans can read the treatment for To Bee or Not To Bee below. If the above logline sounds like an episode-length version of the Spiderwasp world at the beginning of Summer of Love, well, you're not wrong!
Teaser
The Sliders are being chased through a field by people who look as though they are from out of The Crucible. They yell “Burn the witches! Burn!” The timer counts down in seconds… Quick dialogue between Rembrandt and Arturo regarding the former accidentally showing the timer to the Crucible-crowd. Quantum tunnel opens and they slide. One Crucible-person throws a pitchfork while another heaves a stone. Both enter the quantum tunnel before it blinks out…
Quantum tunnel opens and the Sliders land on a vacant freeway. The pitchfork lands between Arturo’s legs, while the stone conks Rembrandt in the head. There are no moving vehicles, no people. There are a few abandoned cars on the shoulder and Jots of debris. All is quiet. Wade finds a newspaper whose headline reads: “U.N. Sanctions Nuclear Cleansing of S. America.” Rembrandt sees an abandoned convenient store and enters, searching for aspirin to remedy his recently acquired headache. An armored vehicle moves down the highway. A voice commands the three Sliders to halt! National Guard-type soldiers exit the vehicle asking them why they haven’t evacuated the city. The three Sliders try and escape and are caught with a net-gun. Rembrandt sees the Sliders being hauled off…
Act One
The three Sliders are transferred to a deportation-type facility where they meet fellow detainee Professor Roger Wakeling, a biologist/beekeeper. Wakeling reveals to the Sliders what has happened to the citizens of L.A.: killer bees have ravaged South America and Mexico. The killer bees’ venom is deadly, they are extremely aggressive and impossible to exterminate. All attempts of cross-breeding, aerial fumigation, etc. by the world have failed. L.A. has been evacuated because it’s next in line. People who live in climates where the bees can exist have been transferred to “new cold-colonies” by lottery selection. Since Wakeling, the Sliders, and the other detainees have disobeyed the evacuation, they have been detained for airlift to Siberia, North Pole, Greenland (whatever—the least habitable environment). Wakeling grew up in Buffalo, NY and moved to L.A. to escape the cold. He plans on escaping the detention facility; are the Sliders interested?
Meanwhile Rembrandt walks the vacant streets of Los Angeles. A manhole cover slides open and a white, dry ice-type mist billows out. Followed by a hand, then an arm. Rembrandt retreats, a manhole cover behind him opens up similarly, he’s trapped. Thermal-suit wearing dwellers exit the sewers and hold Rembrandt at gunpoint. One dweller, Marx, asks Rembrandt who he is and what he is doing on the surface. With an insufficient answer Rembrandt is taken below into the sewers. He drops his bottle of aspirin which spill onto the ground near the manhole cover which is hermetically sealed once Rembrandt is forced inside.
In the sewers, Rembrandt is led by Marx and the thermal-suits down long, winding tunnels. He is shivering cold, he’s not dressed properly for this icy environment. Iced cooling vents blow condensed air into the tunnels. Marx reveals to Rembrandt they are survivalists who have decided to stay in L.A. regardless of the killer bee invasion. “Killer bee invasion’?” asks Rembrandt.
They reach a large subterranean chamber. Rembrandt sees other members of the survivalist group, a hodgepodge of Latinos and Caucasians. Weapons, food supplies, charts, etc. adorn the walls of this storehouse. Marx properly clothes Rembrandt and introduces him to their leader, Tomas Lobrac. Lobrac’s face, arms, etc. (all exposed skin) are covered in red, raised welts.
Back at the detention facility, the Sliders have agreed to accompany Wakeling on his escape because they have to find Rembrandt. Wakeling reveals that he may be able to stop the bees, because he was interrupted when he was captured and detained. While being transported to a cargo airplane, the Sliders and Wakeling pull off a daring escape by commandeer the vehicle and breaking thru the perimeter fence.
Act Two
Rembrandt is told by Lobrac, a Brazilian geneticist, about the origin of the bees (the result of the US government’s testing chemical weapons in Brazil, transformed the bees into killer bees). Lobrac survived the onslaught and made his way across Central America, picking up survivors along the way, finally stopping in L.A. The US government refused to admit its fault. Rembrandt is given the choice between The Gulag and joining the survivalists; they cannot release him because the military is looking for them. Rembrandt must stay because when he asks what the Gulag is, everyone laughs; obviously it’s deadly.
The Sliders and Wakeling travel through the vacant streets, running into a few problems along the way: attacked by vagrants and they lose their vehicle, the military almost catches them again (and would have had they not received order to evacuate the city themselves) and briefly encounter Marx and his men. Wade discovers Rembrandt’s spilled aspirin near a manhole cover. Wakeling tells them about Lobrac and his subterranean survivalist group. They try and open the manhole cover, but fail. They head off to Wakeling’s lab.
Rembrandt attempts an escape, foiled. He is bound and gagged and Lobrac orders his men to take him to the Gulag.
Wakeling’s lab. Wakeling turns on a television and we see a “live shot” of San Diego and the killer bees invade! It’s horrible. L.A.’s next.
Act Three
Wakeling reveals his plan to thwart the bees: he has attached a sonar device to a stinger missile that will duplicate the sound of the Queen killer bee’s distress call. Wakeling plans to fire the missile far out over the Pacific and for it to crash into the sea thousands of miles off the coast. The bees will follow the distress call and be unable to return to land and die at sea. Quinn and Wade decide to enter the sewer tunnels to find Rembrandt. Wakeling properly clothes them and shows them a secret way into the tunnels. Arturo (who has the timer) will stay with Wakeling and help him finish constructing the bee deterrent device.
Close on: Rembrandt’s head and we hear Marx speaking O.C. Reveal: the Gulag, Rembrandt has been buried in the sand up to his neck. Other bloated, pale, dead-heads (some being eaten by crustaceans) are sticking up from the sand—previous “Gulag” victims. Rembrandt will either be done in by the tide or the bees. Marx leaves as a crab moves past Rembrandt’s head.
Quinn and Wade in the tunnels. Captured. Led to Lobrac who reveals his master plan, much to the surprise of Marx and other members of the survivalists. Lobrac seeks revenge for what happened to him, his family and his country. Lobrac wants to transform the killer bees genetically so they’ll be immune to cold, therefore sealing the US’s fate. Marx is upset with Lobrac; this wasn’t the plan. Marx sides with the Sliders and Wakeling’s plan.
He reveals where Rembrandt is and in doing so Lobrac kills Marx. The Sliders escape. Lobrac and his survivalists head to Wakeling’s lab to stop the missile.
Wade is going to return to Wakeling’s lab and warn Arturo and Wakeling while Quinn goes for Rembrandt.
killer bee Swarm (drones the first wave) enter the city.
Quinn drives a vehicle to the “Gulag” beach to rescue Rembrandt.
Rembrandt’s head almost being touched by the tide. He hears buzzing in the distance.
Act Four
Quinn finds Rembrandt and free him moments before his head is covered by a wave. They hurry back to the vehicle as the Swarm can be heard throughout the city.
On the roof of a building Arturo is with Wakeling and the missile. killer bees are heard and seen in the distance. Wakeling readies the missile, Arturo checks the timer, it is getting closer to the slide. They reenter the building.
Quinn and Rembrandt are in the vehicle, it’s but swarmed by killer bees. They roll up all the windows, and speed back to Wakeling’s, the bees enter through the air conditioning vents. Quinn and Rembrandt are forced to leap from the vehicle. They land in a pond, temporarily losing the bees.
Wade enters the lab only to find Arturo and Wakeling prisoners of Lobrac and the survivalists.
The killer bees are everywhere in the city. A few stragglers are attacked and killed. Quinn and Rembrandt use fire extinguishers and torch-smoke to fight off the killer bee swarm and finally reach Wakeling’s Lab. Lobrac is in control and fires his machine gun into the missile ignition console, destroying it.
Lobrac and the survivalists are subdued by the Sliders, Lobrac flees outside. Wakeling says the only way the missile can be fired is manually. Wakeling and Quinn are going to head to the roof with “smokers” and manually launch it. Quinn tells Rembrandt, Arturo and Wade to slide, if he doesn’t get back. Wade doesn’t want Quinn to go alone and volunteers herself to go with Quinn; they need her help to fight off bees with “smokers.”
On roof they fight off the bees. Quinn nears the missile as Lobrac appears! He is badly injured by bee stings and attacks Quinn. Lobrac gets tossed off building. Quinn launches missile.
Missile soars into air and over the Pacific Ocean emitting its “Queen distress call.” The swarm follows.
In the lab the quantum tunnel has opened and Rembrandt and Arturo wait. Quinn and Wade return. Arturo, Wade, and Rembrandt slide. Quinn has last words with Wakeling, then slides himself.
Quantum tunnel re-opens. They all land in Quinn’s family’s front yard. Rembrandt lands in a flower garden. Right in front of his nose is a bee pollinating a flower. Rembrandt freaks out, everyone laughs. The owner of the house (a punk-grandma with a blue mohawk) exits and yells at Rembrandt to get out of her flowers. Still the wrong world, but they’re safe.