Sliders Article in Toronto Starweek (TV Guide)

I borrowed this article from someone else's web page...please see my disclaimers if it was yours.

By any definition, the parallel-universe adventure series Sliders is a cult show. It's never been a big hit, either with the public or the critics. It's been cancelled, and revived more than once. Even it’s most rabid fans acknowledge that the show isn’t exactly good.

But there’s something about the little series - about four adventurers travelling through an apparently infinite series of alternate Earths, each one different from the next - that’s caught on with some viewers in a big, big way. And their devotion is reflected in the dozens of Sliders Web sites floating out there in cyberspace, where all parallel universes appear to converge.

Sliders began as a midseason replacement of the Fox network
in the U.S., airing erratically for three seasons before finally being
put down last summer. It took about a year for the show to turn up again on an American cable network called the Sci-Fi Channel; here in Canada, Global airs the show Sundays at 10 p.m.

I’m not exactly sure to what demographic Sliders is supposed to appeal to most. Judging from the Web sites, teenage girls seem to be watching it for hunky beanpole Jerry O’Connell, the kid from My Secret Identity, now all grown up and frequently shirtless. Sci-fi buffs love the possibilities suggested by the series, which posits that a better life lies waiting just a world away. Young teenage boys are clearly drawn to the presence of new cast member Kari Wuhrer, who frequently appears almost shirtless.

The Sliders Fan Sites are as varied as the individual worlds visited by the characters on the show, and clicking through myriad sites on the Web gives you the feeling that you’re bouncing from one universe to the next.

One of the busiest sites, Robb’s Sliders Page (www.tiac.net/users/robbp/sliders.html), reflects the near-pathological devotion of the Sliders fan. Maintained by Robert W. Potter, the site splinters off in every conceivable direction to provide an incredibly thorough reference to the series.

Wonder why John Rhys-Davies is no longer on the show? Check out the Arturo page to find out what happened to his character. Need novella-length synopses of every episode from the first three seasons? They’re around. And if you really need to see the transcript of Jerry O’Connell’s last appearance on The Tonight Show, it’s up there.

Tim Lucas’ Sliders: Into The Vortex (washington.xtn.net/~lucast/sliders/sliders.html) features a more artistic design, though it’s frame-enabled structure is a little hard to navigate; you’ll find yourself backing out of a lot of pages, rather than clicking through them.

But Lucas’ episode guide is supplemented by a "nitpicks" link, pointing out continuity and logistical errors within each episode - there are a lot of them - and occasionally speculating on possible explanations for the mistakes.

Lucas’ links page is also the most comprehensive I could find, with dozens of Sliders sites arranged according to their specific appeal - Fan Fiction, Fun & Games, Episode Guides, News, and so on.

Another Site to try: The Expert’s Ultimate Sliders Companion Web Site (www.oocities.org/Hollywood/Lot/9053/). In addition to a wealth of information about the cast and the production, and the best understanding I saw of the show’s jangled internal logic, this site also features the most obsessive, exhaustive Sliders episode guide on the Web - go to www.oocities.org/Hollywood/Lot/9053/legend.html if you dare - to see alternate worlds and guest appearances archived alongside each episode’s Neilsen rating and audience share.

This guide is so complete that it even lists the other networks’ competing shows.

One of the best features of this site is "Film Alternatives To Episodes," a simple spreadsheet page that offers the "inspirations" for a given episode. Some would call this the ripoff guide, as the show spent about a year stealing ideas from existing movies and TV shows; the Expert, whoever that is, is more generous. ("if you liked The Electric Twister Acid Test, try the movie Twister.")