Sliders: Seasons 1 and 2

I have heard people often refer to Sliders as a rip off of Quantum Leap. While Quantum Leap was a better show, Sliders is completely different. Quinn, Professor Arturo, Wade, and Rembrant are not traveling through time. They are traveling through other dimensions of earth that differ from their own. This is what makes the show so great, because it is very interesting to see how each dimension will be different than the next. The show also offers tons of suspense. There is a "race against the clock" type feel due to the fact that the group only has a limited amount of time to find one of the few places within the dimension they can "slide" from. Jerry O Connel and the rest of the cast were excellent in their roles, and it is their performances that make the show so entertaining, especially the performance given from Cleavant Derricks as Rembrant Brown. The funniest thing about his character, is that Rembrant never asked to go with them, and was dragged along accidentally. So he often complains about each situation which usually provides for a lot of laughs.

Unfortunately, Sliders did not manage to stay great for the entire run of the show. I have to agree with many of the fans and say that the show went seriously downhill during season three when Professor Arturo left the show. Seasons four and five would become even worse, because the show left FOX to air on the Sci-Fi channel, and by the end of the show, Rembrant was the only original character left. However, the first two seasons of Sliders are what make the show rank among the top of any television show in the sci-fi genre. The best thing about this DVD package, is the fact that you get the two best seasons of the show in one set. While it is a shame that the extras are somewhat limited, this set is worth owning just for the episodes themselves.

A solid 5 stars...

Sliders is also one of those series that was ahead of its time in many ways. Similar to the original Star Trek series, the first two seasons of Sliders often tackled serious social commentary just under the surface. The pilot movie took us to a frozen San Francisco that evokes commentary akin to what "The Day After Tomorrow" has brought to our lives. "Summer of Love" presented a modern America where privacy was eroding while the nation was embroiled in a new Vietnam-style conflict - not so distant echoes of present day.

However, the most important aspect of Sliders seasons one and two is that they are fun. You will be entertained; and the memory of that entertainment will stay with you and possibly even inspire you. I know that Sliders has done that for myself; sparking my imagination into a jump start of ideas that has even led to my own independent creations in the worlds of storytelling.

The only disappointing note for this release is the lack of more extras. There were many more things Universal could have easily included (such as important deleted scenes, bloopers and even additional commentaries from the cast and crew); but ultimately these extras are truly what their name implies - just something extra. Clear and clean copies of the original episodes with good sound are worth the price for Sliders season one and two; and that is what we are going to get (note that the Digital Mono listing in the specs is a mistake on many of these recent Universal releases - the modern series sets have actually included a Dobly Surround track).