episode #25 - Rules of the Game

Air Date: 9/20/96 writer: Josef Anderson Directed by Oscar Costo

The Sliders arrive inside a flying airplane - or so it seems. Quinn remarks that they have always arrived on the ground before, never in the air. Indeed, the whole thing is faked - part of some futuristic reality TV show in which contestants pretend that they have crash-landed in the middle of a dangerous environment. But, there is no pretense in the danger involved: the setting seems to be a typical neighborhood and town, but it's filled with booby traps and other streets look like a war zone. Teams of players vie against each other using futuristic weaponry (sort of like laser guns), going through different 'levels' until the winners reach some kind of finish line. It's a recreation of various video games, but in a real world setting. Arturo quickly gets blinded by a laser flash and things get more dicey from there. The group gets split - Quinn & Wade go one way; Rembrandt & Arturo go another.

Some of this copies the Westworld/Futureworld concept - the play setting also contains things like android dogs. However, rather than relax in a make-believe setting, the whole set-up is geared around survival and chase. There are also phrases reflecting this alternate culture, such as "going to the beach" - this is another way of describing reaching the finish line. A brief explanation reveals how a civil war was avoided a decade earlier with the creation of these elaborate games. It's another commentary on mankind's aggressive nature. This was also copied later by the now-famous Hunger Games books and movies. A now-famous highlight is when Rembrandt & Arturo encounter a metallic spider web, complete with mechanical spiders. Arturo reveals a fatalistic streak due to his sudden blindness and this adventure serves to bond him and Rembrandt. Quinn, meanwhile, considers Wade just a friend by this point. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10
Earths Depicted:
---------------- #51: an Earth dominated by special televised War Games in which contestants play to the death
NOTE: the previous Earth to this one is described by the Sliders as "igloo world" - meaning another ice age type of Earth - but this Earth is only mentioned, never depicted.