As of this writing, a cute little digital countdown clock on the Sci Fi Channel’s web site (called THE DOMINION) indicates we still have over 1000 hours until the debut of new "Sliders" episodes, which have been in the pipeline - but perennially delayed - for a while now. Neither factor stopped SPACE TRUCKER, who bent the space / time continuum (read: happened to live in the right country), and was able to view the first episode of the Sci Fi Channel’s new season of "Sliders".
The first episode of the series’ fourth season is called "Genesis", and here’s what SPACE TRUCKER thought about it:
"Okay, let's face it: Apart from maybe Babylon 5, Sliders is the little show that could. Bounced around at Fox, canceled, revived and canceled again, the parallel dimension saga has found a new home on the Sci-Fi-Channel, where the new eps will debut beginning June. But like B5, Sliders had to pay a price for this new lease of life: a serious budget cut (from 1.4 mil. dollars to less than 1), and Sabrina Lloyd has jumped back. There has been some behind the scenes shuffling too: Jerry O'Connell is now a producer on the show, while writer Marc Scott Zicree (also author of the excellent "Twilight Zone companion") oversees the production.
"Genesis" picks up where the show left the airwaves last year: Quinn and Maggie make it to Earth-prime, only to discover it overrun by Cro-Mags, brutish Slider warriors who conquer other dimensions. They manage to free Rembrandt, but Wade is still missing. Quinn gets captured, and in prison meets his mother. Ooops, make that foster mom. Yep, she admits that Quinn is actually from another dimension altogether, and his parent brought him Earth-prime when their world was attacked by Cro-Mags. Quinn is not destined to find his home dimension, meet his brother, and save Wade (he suspects that his real parents found a weapon that can defeat the Cro-Mags).
Boy, this is a lot for first time viewers. But the plots zips along nicely, and there are a handful of good action scenes. O'Connell, Derricks and Wuhrer are as good as always, and guest star Sandra Hess (Mortal Kombat 2, Nick Fury) adds some more spark. The Sliders effect looks a bit less convincing (too many colors, and the gateway is phony), but the flying Cro-Mag ships are well done CGI. But I would've liked a more cerebral and challenging first episode. With it's war-zone mentality, prison-in/outbreaks and resistance movements, this looked suspiciously like the second season of "War of the worlds". And most of the action takes place in abandoned buildings with a LOT of blue lights, substituting for better (and more expensive) locations. The budget cuts are on the screen, for everyone to see.
Overall, it's a shame, really. I understand that Fox always wanted Sliders to appeal to the broadest possible audience base, but on the sci-fi channel it should be able to be, well, more sci-fi. What we have here is a horde of Neanderthal brutes in Nazi regalia acting like Ghengis Khan on their night out. And the Sliders mostly shoot their way out of every problem.
CAUTION: One of the few fun SF-shows is in danger of becoming a cheap action piece. Write to Marc Scott Zicree. Write to the channel. Maybe there is still time to do something about it. Or Sliders might become "the little show that couldn't".
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glen@aint-it-cool-news.com
