Greatfellas

Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC

Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
(Sliders Story No. 15, starring Jerry O'Connell)
  • story by Sean Clark & Scott Smith Miller
  • teleplay by Scott Smith Miller
  • directed by Allan Eastman
  • music by Stephen Graziano
  • produced by Mychelle Deschamps (and Jon Povill, Tony Blake and Paul Jackson)
  • Production # K0804
Story: Leaving behind a world full of lawyers, the sliders crash into a wedding ceremony and get mixed up with singer Mel Tormé and a mafia merger. If only Rembrandt had known who his double was on this world.... Meanwhile, Quinn loses some mafia bribe money, and must work the casino to get it back.

Buyers' Guide Review

by Martin Izsak

(A more in-depth analysis, containing "SPOILERS" and intended for those who have already seen the program, can be accessed here.)


Continuing to follow the sequence suggested by the production codes, I may be unique amongst Sliders fans for pulling this episode this far forward in my suggested "proper" order for the stories. There is method in my madness. Bear with me.

Sliders cruises through another fun adventure here that only manages to rank in the lower part of average for season two. There are perhaps too many different ideas in play here, simply not getting tied together as well as possible.


The opening hook features what is possibly my favourite throw-away world in the whole of Sliders: Lawyer-world. In just one effective scene, several common everyday actions are shown to be bizarrely different here, in manners which evoke a lot of humorous interaction between the regulars and the locals they encounter. This is Sliders in a nutshell - a great scene to use to introduce new people to the show. Sadly the wormhole effect is a bit cheap in this hook, with the camera always looking at our characters' faces through the gentle ripple of the back-side of the vortex, but it's enough to peak one's interest and hold it until the title sequence comes along.

It looks as though the main lawyer they talk to is the same chap they encountered on several worlds in "Into the Mystic" (story no. 10), but bizarrely none of the speaking roles from this section of the story appear in the credits. One wonders if this hook was originally shot for a different episode, and got spliced onto this one instead. Indeed, I regularly forget which episode this hook belonged to.


The wormhole effect is done much better justice during the rest of the story, beginning with a spectacular party-crashing entrance for Rembrandt and the others. The main plot works fairly well in this one, particularly where Rembrandt's double is concerned. The main mafia villains are also fleshed out decently, and work well on the screen. William Sasso makes yet another welcome appearance in this story as Dominion Hotel clerk Gomez Calhoun, and he is excellent as always.

Mel Tormé, famous father of one of the creators of "Sliders", is also a nice feature in the story, fueling much of the intrigue and entertainment value in the first half. He is easily the most remembered element of this story. When the whole thing is over, however, one is left scratching one's head wondering where the writers were trying to go dramatically with half of his scenes, or how we can possibly believe what we've seen. Exactly what is the importance of this mysterious signal of his that he keeps telling people to wait for?

Quinn has quite a bit of stuff to tackle proactively on his own in this tale, all of which is a side-tangent with motivation as clear as mud. Early on, the sliders find themselves with a large wad of bribe money from the mafia, and a lengthy discussion ensues of what this means and what they should do with it. At no point on screen do any of them ever make clear what is finally decided though, and it remains unclear throughout some very lengthy beats of losing it all and gambling to get it back. I like the scenes of Quinn working to outsmart the casino system very much, but the sequence inspires little emotional investment from the audience.

This side plot also involves Quinn coming to the aid of a woman in distress - essentially a much weaker repeat of the situation previously played out in "El Sid" (story no. 14). Sadly, this time around Quinn is even less observant and on good footing than in his previous attempts, and worse, this story's ultimate attempt to create some kind of bond between Quinn and the woman falls completely flat, inspiring many a "What the heck?" and "Who cares?" out of the audience during the turning points of this subplot.

The story's main concluding action isn't really great for any of the four sliders, although it does have some interesting points. Enough said here, you can read a complete dissection of all the spoilers in the in-depth analysis version of this review.


The episode isn't a total write off, thanks to some nice performances from the cast, and a generally good atmosphere all the way through. Cleavant Derricks is in fine form with his dual role, and there are some really good moments throughout. However, this is not Sliders' finest story by any means. Just enjoy it for what it is, and let's move on to the good stuff....



This story has become available on DVD. Click on the Amazon symbol for the location nearest you for pricing and availability:

Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
for the U.K.
Season 2 DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC - new for 2012
for the North American market:
U.S.
Canada 1
Canada 2


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Read the Buyers' Guide Review for the next story: "The Good, the Bad, and the Wealthy"



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