Sliders is a science fiction television series that first aired in 1995 and ran for five seasons. The show is about a young genius named Quinn Mallory (Jerry O'Connell) who created a device to travel between parallel worlds. When he showed his findings to his professor Maximillian Arturo (John Rhys-Davies) and a friend Wade Wells (Sabrina Lloyd), something went wrong and they were all sucked into a vortex and transported into a parallel universe without a way to get home. Also a stranger Rembrandt Brown (Cleavant Derricks) who was driving by Quinn's house at the time was transported along with them. Together, the four slide from universe to universe, hoping that each slide will be the slide home.

The show is somewhat similar to other popular sci-fi series Quantum Leap and Stargate SG-1, but not nearly as strong as either. In Quantum Leap the show's setting has the main character time traveling and being put in various situations righting various wrongs. It's an intriguing aspect and the different settings and characters make the show entertaining. Also, the two main characters are developed and covered well. Stargate SG-1 is not about sliding or time travel (although there are several episodes about parallel worlds and time travel, but it really isn't the meat of the series). Instead, it is about a large network of planet connected by stargates. With the right coordinates, you can instantly travel across a galaxy to another planet. This creates a lot of opportunities to create diverse characters, situations, and stories. And Stargate SG-1 handles the stories very well by including in-depth story arcs and multi-faceted characters.

At one point in time I would have had no problem calling Sliders an inventive, creative, and rich sci-fi series. Its nature is very similar to both Quantum Leap and Stargate SG-1. The show has nearly unbounded opportunities to go in many different directions. Since each parallel universe can be just about anything. There is clear potential for some remarkable stories and character development. Unfortunately, season three of Sliders comes pretty weak in these departments. Its stories are not very rich and story arcs are used sparingly. The characters are not as well developed as they should be. At best, I would say this season was mediocre. It had a few great episodes and even more duds.

For the series, this third season had a significant change for it. One of the original cast members, Arturo, was dropped mid-season. The character change was a major drawback for the series. Arturo was a strong character and his interactions with Quinn, Rembrandt, and Wade were fluid. He just seemed to fit and work well with everyone else. Whether in an unrealistic dramatic situation or a corny comical bit, he was a solid portion of what made this an enjoyable show. In his place, a character named Maggie is picked up during the sliders' travels. Maggie is a completely different kind of character than Arturo. Arturo was a smart man who added a harsh comical personality and father figure for Quinn.

On the other hand, Maggie is a character I think they pushed too hard. She is a former military intelligence officer who tends to think with her first than her head. She is tough as nails and generally her performance is brash and unconvincing. Her character is also used as a focal point for drama. She and Wade do not get along very well. Typically, they spend a lot of time in the second half of the season fighting. They bitch and moan and it gets really annoying. They continually try to reconcile their indifferences, but of course, there is always a thin line between them. I was really unhappy with this change in chemistry of the characters. It made it quite hard to take them seriously.

Another issue I had with this season was the stories. Many of them were pretty dry and lackluster. Despite the opportunities to build some amazing stories, they did not. In one of the early episodes of the season, "Double Cross", there was a big set up for a great story arc. Quinn and company slide into world that is low on natural resources. They end up helping the analogous great minds of the parallel world (doubles of Quinn and Arturo) to build a sliding device. But the entire ordeal ends badly with a promise from Quinn's evil double. His double promises to spend eternity tracking Quinn down and seeking revenge. This proposes an interesting story arc with a villain chasing the good hearted sliders. Unfortunately, the story is never resumed again in the series. In general, there just weren't many story arcs, besides the most obvious, the sliders trying to find their way home. While not big on story arcs, there was actually one and it was interesting. It starts mid-season with the two-part episode "Exodus". The episode introduces the new character Maggie, who replaces Arturo. The story arc that gets setup is about the sliders tracking a killer who they helped develop sliding technology.

Considering the general tone of the show, it gets a little fluffy. This is really apparent with how the sliders are so carefree with the fact they are from another world and how easily they are able to convince everyone that parallel worlds exist. Sometimes it just seems too convenient. For the first and second season, this fluffy tone wasn't a bad thing and actually tolerable. In season three it can be hard to stomach.

On the plus side, the show has an interesting aspect about the sliders running into different people (like in the pre-mentioned episodes "Double Cross" and "Exodus") who are or have created sliding technology. On one occasion, Quinn runs into a sliding version of himself, who was responsible for helping Quinn to understand sliding.

I was really disappointed with Sliders season three. It is a show I remember with high regard and it was clear the show had potential but failed to fully grasp it. Many of the episodes came off dry and lackluster. The fluffy unrealism of the situations made it hard to endure. The character change that happened mid-season was a clear sign the show was headed no place good. Fortunately, the season did have a few interesting episodes, which were mainly the ones that tied into the story arc that had the sliders chasing after a killer who they gave sliding technology too. Overall, there are enough entertaining episodes for a single watch, but not really many that I would consider watching them over and over again. The bottom line, this box set would make a great rental for those who aren't die hard fans of the series.

Episode Guide
1. Rules of the Game
2. Double Cross
3. Electric Twister Acid Test
4. The Guardian
5. The Dream Masters
6. Desert Storm
7. Dragonslide
8. The Fire Within
9. The Prince of Slides
10. Dead Man Sliding
11. State of the Art
12. Season's Greetings
13. Murder Most Foul
14. Slide Like an Egyptian
15. Paradise Lost
16. The Exodus, Part I
17. The Exodus, Part II
18. Sole Survivors
19. The Breeder
20. The Last of Eden
21. The Other Slide of Darkness
22. Slither
23. Dinoslide
24. Stoker
25. The Slide of Paradise

The DVD
The twenty-five episodes that make up season three are spread across four DVDs. The first three discs are dual-layered, double-sided discs and the fourth disc is a dual-layered disc. And if that wasn't bad enough news (these kinds of disc scratch easily), the packaging isn't so great. The discs are stacked on top of each other in a plastic case that always wants to slam shut. It didn't take very long for my discs to get scuffed up and I was very careful.

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio 1.33:1 full frame color. As for the picture quality, it is pretty average and looks nearly identical to the season one & two DVD release. There are some issues with compression artifacts and a noticeable grain. Colors look pretty good, except darks tend to highlight the imperfections.

Audio:
The audio track is incorrectly listed as English 2.0 Dolby Digital mono, but it is in fact stereo surround. Although at times it is not very apparent as channel separation is used sparingly. The sound quality is good. Dialogue sounds crisp and music comes off vibrant. This release also supports subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Extras:
The bulk of the extras are made up of two bonus episodes, "Quest for Firepower" from Cleopatra 2525 and "The Man Who Fell to Earth (Two)" from Earth 2. Besides the bonus episodes, the only other item included is a gag reel that lasts for almost six minutes. For a gag reel, it isn't very funny. It uses footage from the episodes and has very few funny moments. One of the funnier moments is when O'Connell does something somewhat extreme (PG-13) and jumps across the vortex.

Final Thoughts:
As a science fiction television series, Sliders has some clear potential for some great stories and characters. Unfortunately, this third season tends to go in an opposite direction. Instead of creating intriguing storylines and developing strong characters, this season tends to try to impress you with a variety of extreme episodes that has its characters fighting dinosaurs, alien parasites, the living dead, and so on. In addition this season dropped one of its stronger characters and with his leave, the chemistry the cast had in the first two seasons was completely lost. Overall, this season set is best as a rental. After you've seen the episodes, you probably won't care to watch them again.