Sci-Fi Channel turns a new page in its history and paves the way for its future with the addition of Sliders, the state-of-the-art science-fiction adventure series from Universal Television, to its original programming lineup beginning in January, 1998. Sci-Fi Channel has committed to 22 new, original episodes of the series, and has acquired the exclusive rights to all 48 previously produced hours.
Season Four
Season Four
Sci-Fi Channel turns a new page in its history and paves the way for its future with the addition of Sliders, the state-of-the-art science-fiction adventure series from Universal Television, to its original programming lineup beginning in January, 1998. Sci-Fi Channel has committed to 22 new, original episodes of the series, and has acquired the exclusive rights to all 48 previously produced hours.
Episodes
Quinn and Maggie track Wade and Rembrandt's wormhole only to find Kromaggs have overrun Earth Prime. Quinn also learns a shocking discovery about his past that could help liberate his home world.
When Quinn, Rembrandt and Maggie land on a world dominated by religious fundamentalism, their research into the Oracle's sliding technology reveals extortion and genocide of the people in return for passage to Paradise.
When Maggie inadvertently saves the life of a high-ranking Kromagg, the Sliders must take advantage of his gratefulness to stop a powerful weapon capable of ripping humans apart—atom by atom.
Feelings for Quinn are brought to the surface and the secrets of sliding are stolen when Maggie finds herself immersed in an addictive virtual reality simulation.
Population control takes on a whole new meaning when the Sliders discover one of Quinn's doubles slid his world's population to another by accident.
After tracking down Quinn's long-lost brother Colin, the Sliders take him along only to find his naivety may have gotten him involved in a bizarre criminal syndicate that steals cryogenically frozen bodies.
Maggie's hot temper leads to her indoctrination into a world that mandates drug use.
When the group arrives on an Earth decimated by acid rain, they escape the weather by checking into a version of the Chandler Hotel plagued by mysterious paranormal activity.
Quinn and Colin learn the coordinates to their home world, but find the route home is blocked by the Slidecage - a huge labyrinth that keeps anyone - human or Kromagg - from making it to Kromagg Prime.
Rembrandt falls for a doctor who may hold the key to saving Quinn's life. Trouble is, Maggie discovers the woman is a Kromagg collaborator on the run from the British secret service.
The group arrives on an Earth where California has been taken over by racists, who capture Rembrandt and place him in a prison camp used to turn non-whites into faceless slaves.
The Sliders land in the middle of a training ground for Kromagg-human hybrids who are using people stolen from parallel earths as target practice.
The gang is separated during a slide to a world where a perpetually airing tabloid-TV show offers their only hope of a reunion. Also, Colin is mistaken for his double and is betrothed to a woman as part of a bizarre corporate merger.
A woman and her half-Kromagg son join the gang as they travel to her home Earth, where an anti-Kromagg virus may prove deadly to the newborn.
The gang arrives on an Earth divided between computer-hackers and computer-lackers, and battles ruthless scavengers to unite a young couple who fell in love on-line.
When Maggie's double takes her place on the slide, Maggie must avoid becoming a glorified computer simulator while Quinn, Rembrandt and Colin unearth the mystery of their friend's radical new behavior.
When the Sliders find themselves trapped in a completely virtual Chandler Hotel run by the enigmatic Archibald Chandler, they enlist the aid of a spirited hacker to escape and make their way back to the real world.
The Sliders encounter an old foe on a frontier earth and uncover his land-grabbing scheme while searching for a wounded Colin.
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.
Rembrandt and Maggie are put to the test emotionally when a short slide lands them in a town where collective bad feelings are transferred to one person, and Quinn's newfound bliss isn't helping matters.
When Quinn and Maggie are separated from Rembrandt and Colin during a weird slide, a mysterious stranger claiming to be their son in a parallel universe may hold the key to saving them from a bizarre malady.
After discovering an exile from Quinn and Colin's home world, the Sliders travel to Kromagg Prime only to find that their homecoming isn't what they imagined it would be.
Press Materials
Press kits are pre-packaged materials given to various media outlets for promotional use. They usually include production information, photographs, actor biographies, episode synopses and press releases so that newspapers, magazines and television can “sell” the show properly.
For the fourth season, Earth Prime has a full press kit, episode synopses, ratings information, and never-before-seen network communications about the success of the series.
Download Materials
- Season 4 Press Kit: Contains press releases touting the show’s move to the SCIFI Channel, black and white and color photos, “Slide Effects” show trivia, cast and production credits, and cast and production biographies;
- Episode Synopses: An 11-page document that summarizes 17 of the 22 fourth season episodes;
- Premiere Ratings: The SCIFI Channel’s press release showcasing the high cable ratings for the “Genesis”/”Prophets and Loss” premiere; and
- Online Slides: A press release advertising the Online Slides written in collaboration with fourth season episodes.
Behind-the-Scenes Exclusives
Sliders Recruit-to-View Test
Prepare yourself for one of the most in-depth looks into how a television network figures out what the hell to do with its signature show after the lead actor walks away from the series.
The Sliders Recruit-to-View Test is a 16-page document commissioned by the Sci-Fi Channel in October 1998 to study the effects of Jerry O’Connell’s departure. (Charlie doesn’t factor much into the equation, as you’ll see below.) Hundreds of television viewers were polled about season four episodes Virtual Slide and Asylum; the demographics and questions asked show a great deal of insight into informing how season five rolled out. Chief among them:
- Jerry O’Connell is not essential to the series;
- Colin was viewed as a “low impact character” who was “kind of bland”;
- The Kromaggs brought no additional enjoyment to Sliders; and
- Quinn’s replacement should be “street smart” and “romantic” (creating a number of Mallory’s base traits).
If you’re interested in seeing how respondents felt about the show’s concept, the characters, the special effects, and more, this PDF is a must read. The results are drafted in a Powerpoint format, so it’s not too dense on text—but the information it shares is one-of-a-kind.
Promoting Sliders
In 1998, the Sci-Fi Channel (SFC) began to gear up for the release of the fourth season of Sliders. Part of the campaign to raise awareness for the show’s move was a strategic re-airing of 13 FOX episodes prior to the premiere of Genesis. If you’re wondering how much thought was put into this effort, read the Brief Directive Earth Prime is making available.
The document outlines the problems FOX had in marketing the show or, in fact, determining its genre. From there, author Alex Terapane discusses competitive considerations (remember Buffy the Vampire Slayer on The WB?), who the target audience is, and how to get them to actually watch the new episodes.
The memo is a fascinating look into how to market Sliders to the right audience. Take a peek into the efforts SFC undertook to keep Sliders alive and in front of fans.
