Tuesday, August 18, 2015

From MadCap's Couch - "Sliders: The Young and the Relentless"

"Check his pulse, Yugi!"
Finding your own dead body? Impossible, you say. Not if you're a Slider, as we see demonstrated when our four amigos drop out of the Vortex and onto a new world...where they find Quinn Mallory face down in a swimming pool and try to resuscitate him with good ol' CPR.

And even though he is technically dead...

Times The Sliders Have Run Into Their Doubles: 10

But that's not all the double reveals we have time for today, as it seems that Wade also has a double on this world who was connected with this Quinn.

Times The Sliders Have Run Into Their Doubles: 11

You just make up for that lost time there, Sliders. Get all the doubles in!

Naturally,  the two Wades are stunned by one another's appearance...and the opening credits roll. After them, Wade with 80's hair is speaking to someone named "Gillette" about the situation while the others browse around the study, Wade finding an article about a young boy (must younger than the required age on our world) running for President.

Yuppie Wade (here after referred to as "Yade") is stunned by Quinn running around as well, given his striking resemblance to her late husband.  She is also taking the concept of parallel worlds amazingly well...likely because the plot won't work otherwise.  Quinn changes clothes and we get a short scene between himself and Wade to build on the romance subplot between the two of them that David Peckinpah will ignore.  Yade enters and introduces Mr. Gillette, a servant. While she explains the set up for the first few minutes of the episode - namely a party that she and her Quinn were throwing - Gillette takes their wet clothing to be laundered...and takes the timer as well as he is unnoticed by all.

She also explains "Edu-Learn", a computer program to give all children an education, from the rich to the poor. All of it in a bid to replace the crumbling public education system. If you're thinking this is too good to be true, it is, but that would be skipping ahead a bit.  Without her Quinn, however, the entire thing might go down the tubes...and thus Quinn, off screen, agrees to help.  In spite of Arturo and Remmy insisting that this is not a good idea in the least.

Also, Arturo mentions that if Quinn isn't convincing, there will be inquiries...which will mean the authorities and that it could compromise the slide.

Remember that. It's going to hurt later.  Twice, in fact.
"You look incredible...ly terrible, Quinn..."
Nevertheless, Quinn tells them not to worry and goes along with it.  Yade lies through her teeth about how good he looks in something that A-ha would have been embarrassed to wear circa 1985 and when Remmy and Arturo mention being there for morale support, she mentioned that they can't - they're both over 30, and her Quinn had few senior associates outside of the house staff.

Quinn suggests that the two of them head to the city, which will in no way lead to shenanigans. Whomp-whomp.

Quinn and Yade attend the party, Quinn having a few hits and misses as we're introduced to some characters including actual important ones like Kyle Beck who wants to reaffirm if Quinn is 100% onboard on Edu-Learn. Yuppie Wade pulls him away, however, before the questioning can get too direct.

Meanwhile, Rembrandt and Arturo have made their way to the Lamplighter Pub. From an Almanac of Exposition, Rembrandt learns that the youth of America took over in 1980 when it was determined that Social Security stood to bankrupt the economy.  So, after some well-chosen words by Howard Stern (of all people), the voting age was reduced to 9 and Baby Boomers were kicked out of the job market. Now, the age of mandatory retirement in the United States is thirty.

On the plus side, Recycling and Waste Management is at an all-time high.  And no, this isn't a cheap set up for a Soylent Green joke, but I wouldn't have put it past them if they'd gone that route.

Arturo and Remmy head into the bar for a drink...only to be told that they don't serve their kind here. The sign above the bar says no drinks for the aged, which could have just been left there...except for the fact that bartender tries to talk smack to Arturo. The Professor, naturally, gives that British charm we've come to know him for...until the man comes at him with a bat upon which occasion he rather politely shows him just which of his knees he can pull it out of before he and Remmy bet a retreat out of the bar.

"Bye! Enjoy the 30 seconds of screen time you ate up, Nameless Lady! Bye!"
At the party, Quinn is approached by a stunning blonde woman who asks him why he hasn't told Yade about them. When he doesn't answer, she leaves in disgust and tells him to call her when he gets it together. When he asks Yade about her, she just says that she's nobody and doesn't comment further.

And she's right. She never appears again or is even mentioned in the entire episode.

At all.

Between her, Michelle, and the con woman from last week, we could start a Sliders-spinoff of the minor undeveloped characters of the day.

In important character land, however, a Kenny Hatcher is introduced and makes himself known, pulling Quinn away and trying to convince him to not go ahead with Edu-Learn.  Apparently, Edu-Learn will get a bunch of old teacher's out of work...and Kenny wants to make an alternative to it on their own outside of things, instead.  Getting him back, Yade says he ought to stay away from Kenny.

Upstairs, Wade is looking for pills to pop in the bathroom when Quinn walks in on it.  It seems that Yuinn and Yade took a lot of stimulants.  We get reaffirmation that people have to pull a Logan's Run or it's into the homeless shelters and under the feet of the young by the age of thirty.  The party ends...and it's revealed that Kyle was in on the whole thing thanks to Yade pulling him away. It seems, however, that Kyle is about to pull the rug out from under everyone...wanting Quinn to come to the senator's meeting for Edu-Learn and, if he doesn't, then the Sliders won't have the timer.
The Crying Man says: "Fornicate the constabulary!" 
The next morning, it seems that Arturo and Remmy were arrested for the scrape in the bar.  Arturo is confident that they will plead their case, pay their fine, and leave.  Standing by order of the twenty-something judge, they are introduced to Tiffany August - their court appointed public defender. She wants them to play dumb, she gets them off with senility and they get thirty days. Naturally, they are less than pleased with this plan. They are about to get off (nearly) Scot-free when Arturo has to mouth off to both the judge and to Tiffany...which gets them the thirty days in lock up.

Unfortunately, Arturo and Remmy pull a N.W.A. and escape (largely because instead of an armed escort that have one guy in business casual taking them away from the court).

As they head to their meeting, Quinn and Yuppie Wade talk, Quinn asking who Melanie White is - Yade telling him that she's a housewife who is trying to cut herself in on the profits of Edu-learn...and then admitting that her husband has been head of their R&D. Apparently, he was jealous of Yuinn and - when he realized he couldn't beat him - he killed himself.

At the meeting, Quinn stops the presentation after a demonstration of an addition problem using "Impact Cola", claiming that it's just an advertisement for the brand name and not actually helping kids in any way.

Like most education programs, though this one is admittedly a little more honest.

Yade attempts to save some face, getting everyone to leave the room. We get a short scene with Kyle and Kenny where Kenny tells Kyle to keep an eye on Quinn, reasoning that something's up.  Back in the board room, Yade and Quinn talk as she tries to school him on the finer points of how their world works...then bringing up that everything will be over a week from Wednesday when they meet with the Senator...which Quinn naturally takes issue with, since it means they'll miss the Slide. They share a kiss to tease the shippers before the secretary calls to tell them that Melanie White is there to see him...Yade angrily telling her to contact his lawyer.
It was as if millions of shippers suddenly squeed out in joy...and were suddenly silenced...
Quinn then talks to Wade, explaining the situation. Wade laments that Gillette is still watching her and tells Quinn that she called the Dominion, learning that Arturo and Remmy never checked in, though Quinn doesn't think there's any reason to worry.  Out on the mean streets, Remmy can't get the number of Yade and Yuinn's mansion, seeing as it's unlisted.  He and Arturo try to find somewhere to sleep for the night, only to be accosted by four teenagers on bicycles...the local police racket.  Having even less intimidation factor than grown men police on bicycles, Arturo is derisive as ever, though Remmy stopped him before he can cause another incident.

That statement he made about getting the authorities involved hurting yet?

Quinn is heading out to Yuinn's car after the meeting, stopped by a woman who gives him a subpoena. She, it seems, is Melanie White. She promises that the cover up is coming to light - Edu-learn and Yade, the whole thing. She claims that Yade fabricated the details of her husband's suicide, saying she killed him.  Naturally, not being an asshole and wanting to help, Quinn asks her if she has any proof of this. Melanie doesn't take it well, angrily declaring that she'll prove it if it's the last thing she does and warning Quinn that, when they're finished, they'll kill him too.

And we know who they are, do we not?

Quinn heads into his office to find Kenny rooting around.  The two talk, Quinn trying to play his way through and not realizing that Kenny sets him up with a comment about going sailing next weekend...as Yade tells him when she comes in.  Apparently, Yuinn was deathly afraid of water.  Quinn, however, confronts Yade with the words of Melanie White and, while Yade tries to seduce him into compliance, he has none of it.  He has also checked with the Senator's office, the Senator not getting back into the country until the weekend.  In essence, everything that Yade has told him has been a complete lie.

Yade doesn't take this well, but Quinn tells her to stow it. He wants the timer back.

Nevertheless, Quinn does agree to do a call with the Lieutenant Governor in exchange for Yade talking to Kyle about the timer. Yade praises him, but Quinn isn't flatter and tells her to call Gillette and let Wade off house arrest.  Yade tries once more to seduce her a Quinn, but he has absolutely no interest, claiming that the only thing they have in common was wishing that the person they were with was someone else.

Back with Arturo and Remmy, Remmy laments the slop of the homeless shelter they've found themselves in and that he'd rather just try and find themselves a way back to Quinn and Wade.  Arturo reasons that they should stay put and rejoin their fellows right before the slide.  Mind you, however they intend to accomplish this is left delightfully in the dark, but I don't guess it really matters seeing as the writer didn't much think of a way to weave the subplot in better.
"Ceiling Gillette is watching your escape attempt..."
Back with Quinn and Wade, they attempt to sneak through the mansion to find some kind of evidence against Yade. Quinn reasons that all he needs is a computer and some time and he can access the police records from the murder. Y'know, because this was the 90s and hacking was A-OK! As they escape, however, they fail to realize that they are not alone...Gillette is watching.

At the shelter, a sleeping Remmy and Arturo are roused by Tiffany. Arturo is surprised that she found them, but she turned them down because...plot. Despite their begging to be let go, since they're sliding in the morning, she tells them to stow it and rebukes the "remember why you became a lawyer" argument with the fact that her grades weren't high enough to get a high-priced corporate job, so that's out.  However, Remmy gives an impassioned speech about how her desire to have climbed up the corporate ladder got her nowhere and if she really wants to get out of being a public defender, she'll have to start standing out and impressing people and actually trying to win a case.

She rolls her eyes at this and it seems all is lost.

Back with Quinn and Wade, Quinn is committing his act of cyberterrorism in an internet cafe, and determines that Mr. White had enough amphetamines to kill a small elephant in his system...Wade mentioning the drugs she found in Yade's medicine drawer, though Quinn says that Yade wouldn't be that stupid...though he quickly theorized that Yade might have killed his double as well.  Sparking inspiration from this...Wade has an idea.
"There's a storm comin', suckers...and his name is Gillette. CAN YOU DIG IT?! CAAAAAN YOU DIG IT?!"
Outside, Wade elaborates that they don't need a smoking gun...just the illusion of one.  Before she can explain further, however, Gillette sits up in the back seat with a gun, smooth as silk, and tells them they need to head off on a little drive...Yade is more than a little upset at Quinn and Wade playing detective.

Later, after the board, Quinn is apparently more than alive and confronts Kyle...or rather, Kyle confronts him about his meddling and Quinn plays a tape for him.  Wade, dressed as Yade, confesses to everything - killing Melanie's husband even killing off Yuinn.  Despite Kyle's insistence, Quinn tells him that he'll leak the tape to the public unless he gets the timer back.

SMACKDOWN!

Even later, Quinn and Wade discuss if everything is set in place over the phone.  Neither of them have heard from Remmy or Arturo despite the fact they slide in three hours.  Now everyone's worried.

Back in the Murders' Anonymous meeting hall from "El Sid"...err... I mean, the courtroom, Remmy and Arturo are once more before the judge.  To the shock of both Remmy and Arturo, Tiffany actually shows up in decidedly more professional dress than before.  With a bit of errata, she gets the pair of them out of all the charges.  It seems that Tiffany took Remmy's words to heart, thanking them for their words at the shelter.

At the Mansion, Yade busts in and gives Quinn and Wade hell, apparently having been wrongfully dismissed from the company by Kyle.  But Quinn and Wade turn the tables on her, showing a video of the security camera from the pool...when Yade did in Yuinn.  She destroys the tape, but Quinn tells her they have back ups. While she insists that it's not a problem, seeing as they won't be around to testify...they reveal their trump card, someone who will MOTHERFUCKING GILLETTE!

In short, Yade gets arrested, Gillette inherits Yuinn's will, and the sliders reunite to slide away at the last minute.  Arturo brings up, as they're leaving, that the doubles that they meet on alternate worlds are essentially them, just that they've made different choices that have changed the courses of their lives.  Depending on that, they could be good or bad either way.

He also brings up Edu-learn and wonders what will happen to it, Quinn theorizing that with the bad publicity from the murders and Yade's arrest that the Governor might think twice and the public schools will stay open.  Arturo makes the rather depressing, though truthful, comment that they can't save every world before they all head through, Quinn leaving a picture of Yade and Yuinn in happier times sitting on a table nearby before they all jump through the vortex.

This is a mixed episode for me. On the one hand, the intricacies of corporate espionage can make for a very interesting plot. And they do. On the other hand, Remmy and Arturo's subplot is largely filler and doesn't really amount to anything.  Not that this is uncommon in Sliders, but this is really where you could have cut it out entirely and lost nothing but screen time - perhaps using it to build up on the single scene appearances of that blonde woman at the party or of Melanie White or others.

Arturo also almost immediately going against his warning to Quinn also makes me slap my face into my palm while shaking my head.

Still, this episode does have some really good points. Rather than simply a plot where the Sliders are screwed over by one of their doubles - either by accident or design - this is actually a pretty cool plot where the Sliders (particularly Wade, showing a stroke of genius as in "Time Again and World") use the fact that they are the exact physical doubles of their...well, doubles...to their advantage in achieving their aims.

Sure, it's not the most noble of ways to solve problems, but you play the hand you're dealt.

But while it's not as bad as some, the issues do bog it down a bit, at least for me.

Next week, we are introduced to an antagonist that is either beloved or loathed by Sliders fans...and no surprisingly, I'm not talking about David Peckinpah.

Next time: INVASION!

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.

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