Writer:Keith Damron
Director:Reza Badiyi
Guests:John D'Aquino (Randall Simmons), Sibel Ergener (Duvall), Bill French (Tech),
Bret Wagner (guard), Conchita Leefland (Secretary).
Background:None neccessary.
Additional Notes:
* Kari Wuhrer told issue 34 of the British magazine Cult Times, "There's an episode set in a VR
world, and there's a side to Maggie we haven't seen before."
Plot:
The Sliders start off in a jungle world where Maggie offended the natives and Quinn tried it on
with the tribe chief's daughter. They slide and land in a sand pile in the middle of a town.
There is an explosion and we see Maggie being thrown (away from the others).
Maggie wakes up and is tied down. She is sedated and the next thing we find is that the sliders have reached Earth Prime and that the Humans have beaten the 'Maggs as well as adapting their technology and driving the 'Maggs off other worlds. Maggie doesn't remember and is suspicious, so she is told that she's been having memory lapses since the explosion.
Maggie realises that none of this is real and is welcomed back to "reality" by a man named Simmons. She finds that she's been in virtual reality recovery since the explosion.She's taken to Quinn and Rembrandt, who are also in VR recovery. On a screen she can see their fantasies. Rembrandts is one of his mother's casseroles and Quinn's is a girl in a park.They are woken up and they find they have missed the window. They plan to build another timer. Quinn has to work from memory, but can't remember everything so he's relying on Maggie who he hopes might remember some of her husbands work. In order to get the equipment they need, they tell Simmons about sliding and he gets them what they need. VR is explained to them by Simmons. It's not just medicinal, it's also recreational. It can make even the most mundane jobs interesting by making the user think they are doing something else. The sliders go to their lab and they are given top of the range Vr machines in which they can enter each other's fantasies, but the "invader" (that's my word) cannot influence the fantasy. The VR machines are also habit-forming. Quinn admits to Maggie that he can't remember anyhting.
Simmons meets with a female associate of his, Duvall. They plan to use Maggie to gain access to other worlds and therefore infinite markets. She thinks they should be concnetrating on Quinn because he's the scientist and she knows that Maggie is suspicious. Simmons disagrees, believeing that Maggie is the key.
Back in the lab, Quinn is getting frustrated because he can't remember anything and Maggie remembers very little. Maggie then remembers Tessla(?) and between them they work out that Induction coils are an important part of the sliding machine since a huge amount of energy would need to be produced. Then, Maggie remembers a tunr her husband made her remember (EAEBAE), but he never told her what it meant. She goes to Remmy to try and work it out. She finds Remmy jacked into the VR machine. Quinn says they should leave him there because he needs the recreation and because it could be dangerous to bring him out. Maggie decides to go in to retrieve him.
When she enters Rembrant's fantasy, she finds him in an office where he has everthing - wife, kids, fame, even a woman who is obsessed with him (!). Maggie talks to him and pursudes him that he needs to come out. When they exit Remmy's fantasy, they find that Quinn has entered his VR machine. Maggie goes in to bring Quinn out, and finds him in bed with a virtual her (cue one of the best quotes ever). She gets mad and they both exit. Both Quinn and Rembrant get withdrawel symptoms and want to jack in again, so Maggie smashes all three headsets.
Back in the office, Simmons and Duvall discuss the project. Simmons is allowed to move forward, but Duvall wants dates.
Rembrandt writes down the notes to the tune and thinks that the start-up formula could be in the letters. Remmy tell Maggie about how he lost his mother's respect and how much he wants it back. Quinn apologizes to Maggie for creating a fantasy about her and explains it was because he always had to work hard and missed out on a lot. Maggie accepts the apology and asks him why he's fantasizing if she's right there. They start to kiss, but before they do, Quinn dematerializes. Maggie finds herself back in the "hospital" room and Quinn is pulling her out of a VR machine.
He gives her a bowl to be sick in and gets her out. He and Remmy explains that she has been in VR since she was captured after the explosion. They plan to get the timer back, but they only have 3 hours.
In the office, Duvall expresses her disappointment to Simmons and places all the blame on his shoulders.
Quinn and Rembrandt take Maggie to the "Brown-Mallory Arms"which is their deserted building base. Maggie knows she is no longer in the VR machine because all she wants to do is jack back in. She finds out that Quinn and Remmy watched her fantasy in order to find her and Quinn saw all about her fantasy Quinn. The sliders make a plan to get into the lab; Quinn will hack into the central computer mainframe and change some of the fantasies to nightmares.
They get into the Lab and hold Simmons and his lead scientist at gunpoint. Maggie destroys all the research gained from her and Quinn sends the nightmare programme on a global scale so that no one will trust the VR machines for sometime. They slide out.
They are next seen in the Chandler Hotel, where they have one hour. Rembrandt makes a hangover cure for everyone which turns out really awful.
Quotes: