A world where magic is commonplace. An Earth where time runs backwards. A reality in which dinosaurs managed to survive-albeit in well-protected wildlife sanctuaries. Those are only a few of the alternate realities postulated in the quirky SF series Sliders which follows a quartet of dimension-hopping adventurers traveling from one alternate Earth to another in an attempt to return home.

To the delight of loyal viewers, Fox renewed the series once again. "After the first season, it was really dicey as to whether we would be back," notes creator Tracy Tormé, a veteran of such diverse series as Saturday Night Live and Star Trek: The Next Generation. "The show was already listed as canceled by many people, which was not accurate, but we managed to come back from the dead that first season. With the second season, we were relatively confident that we would return. Our numbers, especially in the 18-49 demographics, were actually winning the night against the other networks."

And now, the sliders have expanded their dimension-hopping activities beyond the San Francisco area. The first two seasons were shot in Vancouver, which doubled for San Francisco, but the production has moved to Los Angeles, which means changes. "We have some new rules in the show. From now on, the sliders can land anywhere in a 400-mile radius between LA and San Francisco," Tormé explains. "There's a reason in a story why that happens an alteration made to the timer by a villainous person. It's not just because suddenly in LA, or we're trying make LA look like San Francisco, in order to meet their doubles. There is a need to be in San Francisco from time to time, so two-thirds of the stories will probably take place in LA and the rest somewhere in between."

Alternate Attitudes

One element of Sliders that won't change is its quartet of cast members. Back for a third season are Jerry O'Connell as whiz-kid Quinn Mallory, John Rhys-Davies as his mentor Professor Maximillian Arturo, Sabrina Lloyd as Wade Wells and Cleavant Derricks as Rembrandt Brown. Davies, the most vociferous member the foursome, had some dissatifaction with his role (likening it to a piece of furniture in STARLOG #225), but Tormé notes that all the sliders have signed on for a full season.