Not to be confused with those tiny burgers, Sliders ran for five seasons, originally on FOX before moving to what was then Sci-Fi Channel. The main concept of the show is parallel universes—our main character, a nerdy physics genius, invents a device to “slide” through a wormhole into a different dimension. Of course, a series of mishaps causes him, his best friend, his college professor, and an unfortunate passerby to get lost in the multiverse after they lose the coordinates to their own Earth. The rest of the show follows the group’s exploits, as they randomly slide world-to-world hoping they’ll find a way home, all the while growing as a close-knit family of misfits. Its revolving cast featured renowned actor John Rhys-Davies and would-be star Jerry O’Connell (coincidentally slated to star in the aforementioned The Munsters remake) among others.
The concept is ingenious and full of possibilities from the get-go; the different universes could provide stories ranging from political satire (a world where the Soviet Union rules America) to social commentary (a world where men are second-class citizens to women) to hard science fiction (a world where time flows in the opposite direction.) There’s even an opportunity for in-depth character studies as our sliders meet their parallel doubles—after all, how would you react if you actually saw “what could have been” in your own life? What if your alternate self became a terrible person just because of a few different choices? Or if the values and societal structures you lived by are totally dismantled on a weekly basis?
Why would its failings make it perfect for a remake? Well, many remakes mistakenly try to “improve” on the very elements of a show that don’t need improving. Sliders would work perfectly because a whole lot of it can be improved; its great concept only failed because of poor execution, leaving tons of untapped potential to explore the characters, history, and social commentary the original failed to touch on. Additionally, many good things the original show did try to do were ahead of its time. Keeping tight continuity, having recurring actors, and serializing some bigger stories were things the network rejected in the early seasons, but are widely-accepted nowadays.
While Sliders hasn’t exactly remained in the mainstream consciousness, it hasn’t been totally forgotten; it was featured alongside Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles in FOX’s 25th Anniversary sci-fi montage, after all. And let’s not forget that it got record ratings for Sci-Fi at the time during season 4. There’s enough vague nostalgia to get audiences interested, but sticking to the source material wouldn’t be a big issue. Half the fans don’t remember details, and the other half don’t particularly like much of what was in the source material, so there’s lots of room to branch out and bend the rules. The original series could be a test run, allowing writers to play with the stories that worked while staying far away from the stuff that we now know sank the show.
The science could also be tweaked a bit based on new theories about the multiverse that have been developed in the last decade. The basic character concepts could be reimagined and still work, too. One fan, for example, suggested Supernatural‘s Jim Beaver as Professor Arturo—a totally different creative flavor than the original stuffy Englishman, but one that could retain Arturo’s important character beats (and imagine hearing Beaver say “Blistering Idjits!”) As long as we retain the iconic elements like the vortex and the timer, plus the growing family dynamic, the show can still be Sliders. Even the season 3-era vortex still looks really cool even fifteen years later, so recreating the effects would be relatively cheap.
Bryan Fuller, who’s managing The Munsters remake, would actually be a good fit as showrunner; he has a good eye for both dramatic science fiction (Heroes) and quirky satire (Pushing Daisies). Or perhaps Andrew Crosby or Jaime Paglia, who mixed theoretical science with strong characters and lighthearted adventure in Eureka. Either way, Sliders should be a smart and fun show, but with the potential to go to both dark and comical places, not unlike its comparative show Quantum Leap. It would probably only thrive on cable, though it could be a sleeper hit akin to Grimm on a network like NBC if it plays its cards right. It could easily be successful with the kind of audience that enjoys quirky shows like The Big Bang Theory or Chuck, and could sustain an audience across various genres, not to mention the potential for a very long life without running out of ideas —something many networks are looking for.
What would you want to see in a Sliders remake? Or are there other shows that would benefit from the remake treatment?
21 Comments
The main attack against action-fantasy show is the repetitive “monster of the week”.
But “Uchronia of the week” ? It was a great idea 17 years ago, and it’s still kinda ground-breaking today.
What I really would like to see in a show like that, is postive uchronia. Not “utopia”, just some bitter sweet changes like “losing the cold war somehow turned out to be positive for the US”.
Anyway, this is a great idea.
Please yes for the love of GOD…bring sliders back!!! A remake of this show would be the bomb! Just don’t let fox do it, they would cancle it after 1 season.
ps. I hate fox
It should happen, there are a ton of worlds to explore and either retelling or retooling the story should be easy since the groundwork was already laid. The question is HOW to get the project rolling so that it’s a no brainer for a network OR Netflix. WHO is keeping it from happening
I am just thrilled that Sliders is back, I love the show.
I think its a fantastic idea to do a complete remake of Sliders, in fact I actually got that frustrated at the direction in which the original show went that I penned a complete remake and rewrite of Sliders for my own amusement…
… Funny thing is, it actually read great :)
I started watching this again on Netflix because this was a show I loved back then. Watching it again on Netflix reminded me why I loved this show so much. It was different and in my opinion, genius. Loved the characters, stories, and the overall feel of the show. Nice mixture of each emotion in most episodes, at least for me it is. This is one of the shows that deserves a remake because it would work in 2012. All that we’ve discovered since Sliders first came out and our technology, theories, and etc, would help boost this show.
I think this show would have to be on cable network like SyFy or national network like CW. I’d be hesitant with FOX or other networks (national) because they’ve been booting shows quickly without giving them a real chance. SyFy and CW seem to run with their shows, despite not having a huge audience. With CW, I’d expect Sliders to have 20 episode seasons (similar to Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, and Nikita), which would be amazing and deserves that many episodes. The unlimited possibilities you can run with a show like Sliders. This would allow for more continuity and storytelling, which I think the original lacked (in terms of seasons 1 & 2, since that’s where I’m at right now on Netflix). So many holes between episodes where I’m at right now) that I think a remake would be perfect to seal those holes.
I’m not sure who the characters would be, but I won’t get into that. I’d LOVE for a remake. Hope this idea is brought up so someone can get a remake rolling.
Sliders would be worth looking as a reboot. I’m watching it on Netflix, currently three or four episodes into what was it’s final season (season 5). I watched it when I was a teenager before gradually stopped watching it before the series was cancelled. The first two seasons and probably the first half of season three were my favorite. If the show were to be remade, keep the early notion of what made the show good (the “What if” question) and fix what didn’t work (Earth Prime for an example) and being more consistant on the plot. The characters from the original series don’t need to be changed. If the show does get remade, the orginal show is a roadmap of what worked and what didn’t work. Hopefully the show would last as long as the orginal, if better, if the formula that did the orginal in 15 years ago is avoided
Big sci-fi fan & have been watching Sliders reruns on ‘The Hub’ TV station recently. I’d love to see it come back & they could avoid the annoying stuff (like cromags, didn’t care for them) and have lots of cool adventures! I’d like to see them keep the hodge podge cast of folks. I liked the original having a couple of students along with a professor and singer. It made it interesting. Any remake should really just be a continuation (maybe Quinn’s grandson finds the equipment or Quinn teaches someone else how to do it and something goes wrong sending them on a crazy adventure…). I hope some producer is willing to make this happen!
I think if a remake is indeed a possibility it most certainly needs to go back to basic idea of sliders and avoid the utter rubbish stories such as kromags etc which I believe was the networks idea at the time to try and make sliders a more action packed show – maybe they should of butt out cuz they killed it in the end…
… It’s def a show that could be amazing!
Please god yes
I think that remake sliders will be a great sucess. I am looking for a great serie to replace FRINGE, the best serie ever !!, and find sliders at netflix. I am impress with this serie (I am watching 2o. season). Even old, it is very good. Can you imagine it with our new tv technology ?????
Tracey Torme is actually trying his hardest to reboot the show. He has ways and ideas of integrating the show from the point it was good, then lost itself… into a new show to pick up where the “good times” left off.
Aside from that, I saw a script online once, which is the only fan-script I’ve ever been able to read, and was actually quite good. In fact, it was EXCELLENT. The guy had ideas to pick up the series, and the starting script was amazing.
This is the link. Share it with your friends. It’s by far the best Slider’s fan-script you can hope to read.
http://someplacethatiselse.net/shared/generalwritings/29.htm
Please oh please don’t make Rembrandt Brown a whiny, annoying, complaining “Quinn, it’s all your fault (until I meet some hot chick; then it’s all good)”. At least before the proffessor was killed off the proffessor kept Remmy in line with phrases like “Quit your complaining you blithering prat!”
PS. I’m Canadian, I pay for American TV, watch American advertising, yet I don’t get to participate in The Nielsen Company information gathering or Sweeps Months viewing diaries. If I pay, should I not have a vote before a show is cancelled?
I do hope they attempt to remake it, but make it with a formula that works. I say they should follow the example of BBC’s new “Dr Who”. Where production cost is very low, but storyline is not sacrificed. The main focus will be on the actors getting out of predicaments, not the guns and laser shows. There is a lot that can be accomplished with a story dealing with multidimensional travel. Dr Who is already part of Britain’s pop culture, why can’t Sliders be America’s answer to that? Season’s 1-3 of Sliders were outrageous, witty and bonkers. Seasons 4-5 made me fall asleep and not question anything or imagine the worlds. The kromegs could have worked, just like the daleks work in Dr Who, but the execution was horrible. This is just a thought though.
It would be EPIC for a Sliders remake, keeping the same story and characters, but giving it a more modern feel… Seasons 3 (the end) through 5 introduced great new characters, albeit getting rid of the old ones… So remaking the show with the same aspects, remaking the original characters, while still including the newer ones. That would be great. Maybe the season 3 vortex, but the interior is the one from season 5, the timer looks more modern, and it takes place in more modern settings. THE SHOW WAS EPIC, AND IT AT LEAST NEEDS A REMAKE, IF NOT SOME CONTINUATION OF THE OLD SHOW.
How about the show being aired on AMC? It would a a superb idea the run the show at around the same time of the year as the Walking dead. Offer the original actors as revised role while incorporating some of the actors/charcters from season 3 to 5. This remake of the original tv series or a reboot of the tv series at the end of season two some of the original cast. I agree that new theories, technology, special effects, and production values aide the reboot of a new Sliders TV show.
The end really disssapointed me, it especially flopped when the professor died. LIke others said the beginning and introducction was good, I think the original idea was that all four character Wade, Rembrant, Mallory, and the professor were explorers and they mixed up with different affairs that got them in trouble. I think the kromaggs could work if they had some sort of resolve like a peace treaty or defeating the kromags instead of just a depressing ending, where all the original characters except Rembrant dissapear and die and Rembrant jumping into a wormhole to who knows where, leaving his friends behind.
The end really disssapointed me, it especially flopped when the professor died. LIke others said the beginning and introducction was good, I think the original idea was that all four character Wade, Rembrant, Mallory, and the professor were explorers and they mixed up with different affairs that got them in trouble. I think the kromaggs could work if they had some sort of resolve like a peace treaty or defeating the kromags instead of just a depressing ending, where all the original characters except Rembrant dissapear and die and Rembrant jumping into a wormhole to who knows where, leaving his friends behind.
YES PLEASE remake Sliders!! This time with a good team of creative writers, a stable cast, and a good producer. The concept of sliding to different worlds is so genius. This show deserves the remake potential award of the century! The other remake I’d like to see is Babylon 5!
YES! I’d love to see a remake of Sliders. But for it to work it would have to be on one of the cable channels such as AMC or F/X. USA could also make it work, to a point. Scy-Fy could also make it work if they make sure that it’s a Tracey Torme vision of a remake and it left the behind the scenes to a stable group. I wouldn’t want to see this show on either ABC or CBS, but NBC could possibly make it work if it were to air as a companion to a show such as Revolution — which is inbad need of a companion show. And yes, any of the networks, cable or broadcast, would have to agree to allow Tracey Torme and the behind the scenes crew to be left alone.
I’d love remake to actually start from the beginning, but perhaps have Torme and crew give us some clue whether when Quinn came back the first time to his Earth from the Earth he visited with Elvis and JFK both still being alive and green meaning stop, and red meaning go and vinyl album replacing CD’s (could you see vinyl albums replacing I-pods in the later ages since 1995, that would be funny?) that it’s clear, to the audience, as to whether Quinn actually returned to this Earth or another Earth (I’ve always suspected that Torme left a huge door open in that pilot episode script that was an indication that Quinn did not return to his Earth, but later writers never picked up on that concept, because it both wasn’t quite clear enough and future writers dropped so many of the early possible plot points.)
I’d love to see a rebooted Sliders maintain as much as possible the original four Sliders staying through the rebooted show’s run, but with some caveats that we could possibly see some of the characters that we saw from time-to-time later or became regulars make an appearance or two or more.
And yes, I”d like to see a more definite end at some point to any Kromagg story line and also perhaps have more stories come out of if they decided to do with what happened to the Professor in Season Two’s “Post Traumatic Slider Syndrome” be addressed as the show would continue. PTSS is still my favorite episode of the entire original series, because the differences between the Earth’s was so little, that that is what we should expect more of — that’s why a network such as AMC or even NBC would be better for a reboot of a series such as this, because those two networks would take the time to see how that would develop and probably not rush or make it be a “Monster-of-the-week” sci-fi TV show.
Yes, Sliders remake will be fantastic !!!! A lot of fans of Fringe, Warehouse 13, x files and others are desperates to find another good series like that to watch !!!