Basher: Der... Season five sucks. No Jerry. No Charlie.

Donner: But what about the imaginative writing? What about a gradual return to the essence of what Sliders was about in the first place? Traveling to strange new parallel worlds!

Basher: Uh... Season five sucks. No Jerry. No Charlie.

Donner: But Charlie was wooden and so was Jerry since the disastrous season three. Sure, I'm going to miss Quinn and, in a very limited fashion, I'm going to miss Colin the idiot boy... but a television show can suceed without its primary star. Just look at Babylon 5 after the departure of Sinclair!

Basher: Uh... Season five... it uh... sucks. No Jerry. No Charlie.

Donner: But Jerry is not only a quitter, he's a liar! If you remember, he said that he was in for the "long haul"... well, I consider the "long haul" as sticking with the show 'till the end! Jerry not only betrayed and slapped all his adoring fans in the face, but he lied to us as well. That and the fact that he was such a jerk he wouldn't even put in a cameo to explain his character's disappearance OR even allow the producers of Sliders to use his image proves that he's just a spoiled actor throwing a temper tantrum! Oh, and let us not forget that he got his own brother fired... which... I guess isn't such a bad thing.

Basher: Duh... Season five sucks. No Jerry. No...

Donner: CHRIST! Can't you say something else!?

Basher: (a pause) Um... Robert Floyd sucks.

Donner: (he considers this) Okay, I can't argue with that.

Aw, did that offend you? GOOD! Because if you're a season 5 basher, most likely you've stormed off to pout while watching the endless Quinn shirtless scenes in "Fever", so now that the serious Sliders fans, the ones who actually CARE about writing and story are here, let's get down to business and my review of "New Gods for Old", what I consider the best and most thought provoking episode of the new season which is actually shaping up to be a better season than season four (a shocker to me, I'll admit).

"New Gods for Old"
Reviewed by Donner

Out of five stars:



Revised year-end rating:

THE GOOD

• Diana and Maggie bonding. Yay! No repeat of the infamous Wade/Maggie tiffs of season three! GOD, I hated that!

• Rembrandt's spirituality was not only on display, but it was in a sense on trial too. I could not only see Rembrandt's argument against drinking the water of life, but I could see where Mallory was coming from as well. Unfettered spirtuality at the cost of individuality must be tempting no matter what your belief is. It's not a course I would take, but you have to admit that there were no easy answers in this episode.

• Is it just me or did Maggie seem more mature in this episode? More grown-up? More... covered up?

• I usually don't like it when science fiction takes on the topic of religious cults, but I liked this episode because not only did it take on the issue of cults, but it took a decidedly sci-fi twist to the matter with the nanites (or whatever they were). Also, as I said, it wasn't a one-sided story about why cults are evil either... it presented both sides. Note: No, I'm not a member of a cult like, say, the people who mindlessly bash the 5th season 'cause Jerry and Charlie quit.

• I will brazenly admit that I am one of the biggest anti-Robert Floyd fans on the board. He has no business on TV. I don't like his character, I don't like his acting (or lack thereof), and I HATE the David "Peckerhead" Peckinpah-esque way he was introduced. His performance in this episode was spotty at best. He was terrible during the opening minutes of the epiode ("Wah! I don't wanna go back to duh wheelchair!") but improved a bit after he took the water (probably because he had to play someone who was brainwashed and vacant like, say... the people who mindlessly bash the 5th season because Jerry got all uppity and quit in a huff.)

• I loved that the threat from the glow wasn't a defined "Peckerhead" threat that turned everyone into man-eating zombies or something. All it was is a peace that isn't threatening or horrible, but at its core, it's humanly wrong and THAT'S what Maggie, Diana, and Remmy were fighting against. Sort of like the way the true fans of Sliders are fighting the fans mindlessly bashing Sliders because Jerry's a quitter and his brother is an untalented boob.

• This was pure Sliders. It explored a topic relevant to our earth by looking at something radically different on another earth and it said a lot... unlike the certain people mindlessly bashing a certain season of a certain TV show because a certain jackass and his sub-par brother left.

• "Quinn is gone." Awwwww... Well, they TRIED to let us down easy, but I'll get over it. I'm a fan of Sliders, not of Jerry O'Connell (especially not now). Sliders survived the loss of two of its greatest cast members (Wade and Arturo), I think it'll survive the loss of two third-rate actors who just weren't contributing to the show.

THE BAD

• Who the &#@% is Sandra Lee Peckinpah? "Peckerhead's" cousin? His wife? Or worse... his daughter? Is "Peckerhead" reproducing? If he is, it is a crime against the universe and must be stopped!

• Diana just sits there and lets Mallory seduce what's-her-face into drinking the water of life? Hellooooo!? Diana!? Earth(s) to Diana! Follow Maggie's example and KNOCK THE DAMN WATER TO THE GROUND BRAINIAC!!!

• Was it just me, or was everyone else waiting for the cult to say, "resistance is futile"?

THE VERDICT

Overall, I'd give this one an "A," but since everyone on this BB is going by the five star system, let me say that "New Gods for Old" is a solid ***** out of *****.

David Gerrold's still got it! I've been waiting for this script since Marc Scott Zicree said he was writing it at Worldcon back in '97 and it was worth it!