Sliders (TV Series) Pilot (1995) User Reviews

Outstanding episode

[mattkratz · 9/10 · 9 March 2020]

This was a great episode to introduce an outstanding series and its characters, as the sliders get sucked into alternate dimensions, in this case one where the communists had won the Cold War. I loved the courtroom scene and the scenes where they get sucked in (especially Rembrandt!), where Quinn's double had caused him so much trouble, and the 60s type alternate dimension. The series was classic and I loved the episode.

*** out of ****

a good, if not excellent start to a good if not excellent series

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 11 October 2005]

We're introduced to Quinn Mallory in this pilot for the TV series. He produces a way to slide between infinite alternate worlds, and invites his professor Arturo and co-worker Wade to slide with him on his test run. He makes the power a tad too high and ends up sucking Rembrendt Jones, a singer known as 'the crying man'. They all find themselves in a world where the Commies won the cold war (after a brief slide to a world where a second ice age took over and must find a way back. This was a good, if not excellent start to a good if not excellent series and it suffers from the same problem that would plaque the rest of the series: Being entertaining, but not particularly well researched.

My Grade: B-

" All Good Things Must Come To an End"

[chastitygould · 9/10 · 16 October 2005]

I loved sliders from the very beginning. The mystery that surrounded the show was amazing. I would often find myself wishing that I was a part of the show's cast. One of my favorite things about It was the spoken "what If you could travel to parallel worlds" part. I had gotten to the point where I could mimic that line while It was being said. The first two seasons were wonderful. Then midway Into the third It started to go downhill from there. I cried when Arturo died ,It was so sad, that and the fact that I knew It would never be the same. The cast that loved each other suddenly turned to lots of bickering and arguing. Everyone's character seemed to become mechanical. I would have loved to see the show end with everyone back together and make It home.

I still loved the show until Maggie showed up with her bossy attitude. Then when the characters started dropping off like flies we should have know the end was near. I guess what finally did It for me Is that, They no longer hid somewhere to slide anymore or just slide from one unknown destination to the next, It all was planned. Everything became out In the open and then all of the witchcraft and gory stuff was too over the top for the way how the show started. When they replaced the original Quinn and added Maggie that killed the show for me from then on. I only started watching again when Collin showed up because he brought humor once again. I wish they would have kept the original characters and kept the show they way It was In the beginning. It would not have be canceled I don't think.I love sci-fI and time travel stuff. This show made you want to learn about things you never knew existed like the Einstein-Rosen bride.I became more Interested In learning about these things after I saw the show.As In star treks end" All Good Things: must come to an end" I always say If It's not broke don't fix It!

Wish it would come back

[ser-al · 14 January 2001]

About the only thing I can say about this TV show was that I loved it. I love Sci-Fi,,, and time travel most of all. This show seemed to have it all. However, I did like it better in the beginning... but as they started involving aliens I began to dislike it a bit; but not enough to stop watching it. I do wish they would bring it back, with the original players and with the original story lines. I would like them to stay away from anything too gory. If the show can not come back then perhaps they could make a movie that could end their journey back home. A TV movie that was shown on regular TV and not cable. I would also like to see reruns of the show. I'm sure they have them on the Sci-Fi channel but I don't get that channel and would like to see Fox pick it up or anyone else on regular TV. If a TV movie has already been made that shows them returning home than I missed it and would love to see it come back. Thanks Terri

One of the all time greatest tv shows

[thelastgreyshark · 10/10 · 7 September 2003]

This was truly one of the greatest shows ever to grace my television. As someone stated, some series are so engrossing you begin to dream about them. As is the popular story told about Sliders. The series was unbelievable until the Prof got killed off in, what was it 'a solar flare storm'. It was hard to take but I think most people watched on. Then as the episodes passed beyond Arturo's death you had this sinking feeling that none of them were going home. This should have been the definitive ending. Or something involving the original cast. I have watched all the series only because I stayed loyal to the show. The fact remains though it didn't end the way it should. Seeing Wade Wells' head in a jar was just not on. Yet up to the point of killing off Arturo and even a small part beyond that with the 2 Mallory's it was refreshing and sci-fi magic. Those are the memories I'll remember from the series. It is one of the greatest sci-fi tv programmes ever made. 10/10 for this piece of magic. Can't wait for the DVD to come out!

Sliders is the BEST

[wizard_of_the_west · 10/10 · 7 February 2002]

I loved sliders. How much? Put it this way, give me the first 2 or 3 seasons, and 3 words can answer that. 88 - HOUR - MARATHON. I have been hooked right from the start, and it really ticked me when they canceled it after the first year, and then moved it out of Vancouver.

Best Episode

[jason-work · 10/10 · 14 June 2006]

This episode is my favourite because it best demonstrates the potential the show had to offer.

I remember watching the pilot and anxious for the following week when the following episode was on.

John Rhys-Davies was one of the original reasons for me watching the show because I saw him in "James Bond 007" "The Living Daylights" and "Indiana Jones".

I think it is one of the best pilots I have seen for a show.

The pilot gives reasonable insight into the characters of the show before they set off "sliding" into parallel worlds.

Sliders

[juzzell13 · 10/10 · 1 May 2005]

Sliders is a perfect example of network television and their short-sightedness......and an even more perfect example showing how the Nielson's are an absolute joke. This show still has a following in reruns.....the websites are a testament to that. Enterprise being cancelled and some jackleg website collecting THREE MILLION DOLLARS to keep it on show the Nielson's are not accurate. Do you ever look at the top shows and wonder, "who the hell is watching them?" Time for the Nielson's to go........Hey, Nielson's, keep your crisp dollar bill and find a way to do it right, or go to hell.

I suggest anyone who agrees, write an email or letter and let's get this thing changed.

Pilot

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 8 June 2020]

The pilot episode sees college student Quinn Mallory (Jerry O'Connell) finding a way to slide between infinite alternate worlds from a device he has built in his basement.

Quinn persuades his college professor Maximilian Arturo (John Rhys Davies) and co worker Wade to slide with him on his test run. The gateway sucks up singer Rembrandt Jones who is in his car.

They all land in an ice world until Quinn's timer runs to zero then they end up in an alternative America which is run by the Soviet Union.

Rembrandt is arrested for trying to use American money on a cab ride. The rest ally themselves with an underground movement to rescue him.

Sliders was inspired by Quantum Leap as the characters go to an alternate reality each week and figure out how to get back to their normal reality.

O'Connell makes a suitable lead and his relationship with Rhys Davies is a highlight. Arturo could be pompous, bad tempered but also supplies the philosophical intellect.

It is a decent enough pilot with some fun humour such as a Soviet style People's Court. There is the comparison of Quinn's Earth where the Soviet Union has disintegrated in the 1990s and the other Earth they are in where the Soviet system managed to occupy the USA.

There was some money spent in an action filled finale with the resistance movement feeling inspired that Soviet style communism could be eradicated.

Planet of the Communists

[injury-65447 · 7/10 · 16 June 2020]

I remembered this show fondly from my childhood so I wanted to give it a rewatch. A lot of this I definitely didn't remember, for better and for worse.

The idea of the series is definitely interesting and promises endless possibilities. However, the way they set up the premise is a little contrived and forced. Too many obvious conveniences. For example, the way the portal zooms out of the basement to suck in Rembrandt's car is absolutely bonkers.

In terms of our main characters: I love the windbag professor even though he's a bit of a ham, Quinn is handsome but not the most dynamic actor in the world, Rembrandt is great for the comic relief but can tend to feel a bit like a minstrel, and Wade I really don't like as she is very Bland and basic.

The acting of some of the minor characters lets this episode down a lot, especially the Revolutionaries in the communist world. They are absolutely awful and wooden.

The idea of a Communist planet honestly feels very dated and almost like American propaganda. I hope future episodes are less political.

It was pretty obvious they weren't going to get back home in Episode one. The wine glass drop is a little cliche.

Overall it's a serviceable introduction to the series and its mission statement- but I can't regard this as an example of Truly great television. It's more of a guilty pleasure that hits the nostalgia bone.

Wow

[wizard_of_the_west · 10/10 · 25 December 2001]

WOW, I think that this was so great. I've seen it about 30-40 times effects were really good for 1995 A great start to a great series.

It was great at first.

[jtleethor · 7/10 · 16 July 2021]

Was one of my favorite shows until they killed the professor and then lost Wade. The other characters they tried adding and also the way they change the plots ruined the show completely for the last two seasons. Seasons 1 and 2 10 Stars season 3 8 Stars seasons 4 and 5 two stars.

why

[nfuller · 5/10 · 30 March 2005]

Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - Sliders I did not watch this program during it's first run, but it has been re-broadcast on SciFi network recently. I get the general idea that they "slide" to parallel universes. They always, however, seem to be in San Francisco. Why is there a San Francisco in every parallel universe? Or do they only go to universes in which there IS a San Francisco? In this case, their slides are not truly random. Finally, why do they have only a limited time in each universe? If they can not control the time, they do not really control anything.

The thing I like most about Sliders is John Rhys-Davies.

I liked Quantum Leap much better.

So it begins

[Op_Prime · 23 October 1999]

What a wonderful beginning to a wonderful series. The two hour tv movie puts the series in it's original direction. In the first hour, events seemed rushed and fast moving, but it all made sense. The story is well written and pieced together. Acting is very well done, most notably John Rhys-Davies.

The effects aren't great, but not bad either. The characters were rather flat but hey it was the series premiere. A very good movie. I give it 8/10.

The Slide Begins

[NickBOKC · 10/10 · 13 March 2022]

Excellent pilot episode! This group is an unusual pairing, but the diversity makes it work. This could easily be a 10 year show if done right. The group dynamic and the adventures these people experience will no doubt entertain us and provoke our imaginations. I never watched this back in the 1990s because I wasn't much of a TV person at the time, but thanks to my streaming service, I will watch the entire series from start to finish. I just hope this series ends in the amazing way that it began.

Great idea bad stories

[figment111 · 3/10 · 29 May 2006]

I really liked the idea of traveling between dimensions, and I even liked the Wade/Quinn tension in early episodes. Some of the worlds they created gave the main characters extremely interesting backdrops for their stories. However, as the show went on there were more silly disputes among the friends and less of a true bond. There was less wonder and excitement when they were involved in other worlds and more condescension. And every world had one of the characters falling in love. The writing just got boring and everything was way too over the top. Too bad it would've been nice to have a closely knit band of friends (a la Star Wars) traveling to different dimensions on TV for several years, rather than a tired band of knit pickers.

Another good series ruined by fox

[weerdo1482 · 3 October 2001]

When this series started it was really great. It reminded me very much of Quantum leap, different situations every week where you know just as much as the charators and learn more and more and then save the day and then your some where else next week. Great. But, ratings arn't what they should be. the show goes away then comes back for a second season. then goes away. The next time it comes back the fall begins. the professor gets a disease or something and dies. well his intellegence was annoying anyway. So, FOX replaces him with a busty young girl to run around half naked. from there, Slowly, the plots become less interesting and more silly. toward the end we have 2 brothers, the pop singer, and the two busty women wearing very little, chasing the villain who is sucking the life out of people with a needle. far from the adventurous loose primeses totally open for creativity the series started with. oh well ..... this could have been a great show.

Sliders ...

[wayne_enterprises100 · 28 July 2003]

this was one of my favorite shows ever on t.v. They need to make a movie with the original cast and have a new create ending. I was so engulfed in this show that i would have dreams about sliding. peace-

network execs drop the ball. (what else is new!)

[DOC5242 · 22 January 2004]

Sliders was infact one of the best shows that spawned during the peak of sci-fi shows, but due to lack of good management and poor planning on the networks, it has been cancelled for some time now, also due the fact that some of the actors wanted to be bigger than the show. By changing the main caracter quinn, "Jerry O'connell" and then continuing the series, then after market rating drops they decided to change the whole cast? If you are having sucessfull season after season you DON'T change the whole cast. I think a 12 year old with a crayon box could have planned it better.

fantastic show, wish it was back on

[yellowdwarf · 3 April 2002]

This intruiging sci-fi TV show, "Sliders" is something to look out for. The characters are interesting and well-written and the plot is engaging. I have seen most of the episodes and I must say it remains to be one of my favourite TV shows. Pity the TV networks keep taking it off and putting it back on. 10/10

A Great Show that went nowhere when it went to Sci-Fi channel

[Billy_BlueCrow · 7 February 2003]

I remember watching this show on its original network and thought that it was so great, I considered it to be my favorite show. But then after the third season, when beloved cast members Sabrina Lloyd and John Rhys-Davies left and then it went to Sci-Fi Channel, it got bad real quick. Then when they got rid of the O'Connell Brothers, that was it for me.

Indigestible

[dmh7 · 17 September 2004]

I love science fiction and (vainly) look forward to every new attempt on TV to replicate the "sense of wonder" that good science fiction is supposed to create. So I was disappointed that this show was so blandly unsurprising. So much science fiction (on TV and in the movies) appears to concentrate on the most superficial elements of the genre and merely use its "technical poetry" to tell the same dull stories over and over. Sliders was no exception: a world where the Nazis won? You got it! A world where there are still dinosaurs? Two heaping spoonfuls served up! But there was little of the intellectual and philosophical "weight": that attends the best science fiction, and for which the mechanical devices and impossible processes (here a device that traversed dimensions) are just meant to be "color." It's partly in the nature of serial TV that very little in the way of surprises can be allowed to occur, since we all know the heroes will fight and vanquish. This is why The Twilight Zone is still so watchable: you never knew what was going to happen. It had better writers too. Sad truth is, there are PLENTY of good science fiction tales that might be dramatized on TV, but Hollywood turns again and again to its usual hacks who merely dress up their usual tales with a few "gimmicks" of the sci-fi trade. It simply isn't compelling finally, and comes out as no more than the usual "Fantasy Island" mess: tired moral tales glittered up with bells and whistles.

The best science fiction on TV has always been either anthologies series (the aforementioned Twilight Zone, the best of The Outer Limits) or one-shot dramatizations of REAL science fiction tales, such as the superior The Lathe of Heaven.

Oh well, maybe next time...

An exemplary explanation to how the series started.

[Stu-5 · 31 January 1999]

One thing I find quite amusing about the series "Sliders". One of the characters, Rembrandt Brown, started off as an optimistic, happy pop singer. He was then transported into the world of the other sliders, and then began his downfall. Throughout the many episodes of Sliders, Rembrandt's optimism has turned to eternal pessimism, and now, into the final season, he is a cold-blooded and and icy character. All hope is lost. The TV-movie is very good. It explains how the Sliders got started, although the process is somewhat sketchy. The boy genius has already invented the vortex when we enter the film. He's managed to crack the hardest physics equation ever! All in a day's work. Then, we are brought along the usual Sliders plot path. They go to a parallel world, they get in all sorts of trouble, and escape at the last minute. It's great stuff! Six out of ten.