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| "Thank you, thank you very much..." |
The episode begins with a woman in business dress and carrying a suitcase walking down the concrete hallway of a prison, being let into a cell where she tells an individual that the judge will be passing sentence tomorrow. A camera cut reveals that it is none other than Quinn Mallory imprisoned. The woman, no doubt his lawyer, urges him to take the insanity defense. However, using the truth of his sliding from universe to universe is apparently not an option for Quinn, and he has an unnerving amount of calm...for the lawyer, at least.
The rest of us, of course, know the score by this point.
So Quinn is brought into the courtroom where Arturo, Rembrandt, and Wade are all in attendance. According to the judge, Quinn will be getting the death penalty for his double spray painting graffiti. By lethal injection, no less! Really makes me wonder what the penalty for jaywalking is on this world. Castration?
After the title sequence, Quinn's lawyer tries to appeal the sentence and is rejected. She attempts further, whilst the other three Sliders note that they have only seventeen seconds before the next Slide. As the cops begin to drag Quinn away, the Slide portal is opened and a mistrial is surely called as Arturo and Remmy lay a smackdown to free Quinn and they escape.,,appearing in the same courtroom set sans actors as a cost-saving measure.
As they discuss the fact that other worlds may have taboos they're not aware of (such as graffiti being a capital offense), the group heads out to scope out the world that they've landed on and find some handcuff keys for Quinn. If this isn't their Earth, they have three days before the next window opens.
As they head out, a couple that passes them by has a chuckle at them...which understandably makes them quite uncomfortable. As they head down the street and even more individuals laugh at them, they quickly come to realize that they're laughing at Rembrandt. Then a passerby asks if they're here for the "Crying Man" convention, where apparently all the top Rembrandt impersonators are gathering.
To do a little backstory that I didn't go into back in the Pilot, Rembrandt was originally a member of the doowop group "The Spinning Topps". Back on Earth Prime, after going solo...his career promptly tanked. However, on this Earth, it seems that the exact opposite happened. So much so that when a woman spies him on the street, she mistakes him for the real Rembrandt (which...he is...) and a riot is started, forcing the Sliders to run for the hills.
...or just to the hotel they've been staying at on almost every world (again, to save the budget) safely, they get confirmation that Rembrandt is not only famous, he's super famous to the point of taking Elvis Presley's position as "The King" on this Earth. As the group settles into their room, we get a few moments of hilarity with Wade giving a knowing smile when Quinn asks how she learned to remove handcuffs so well, and a few bits of dialogue that implies that - on this Earth - the roles of Gilligan and the Skipper on Gilligan's Island are reversed.
However, we have some time for the mighty Television of Exposition to come in and give some of it's favorite device for advancing the plot - namely the knowledge that Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown died eight years ago on this world. The news report also lets them know that someone was recording their walk through San Francisco before the mob attacked (in footage that's surprisingly high quality for 1995) and that the entire world knows now that the King is back.
We then cut away to an older man, Jack Brim, chastising three elderly women with guitars following an acoustic version of Devo's "Whip It". He gets interrupted by his secretary, who informs him that a woman from the news is here to see him. Jack makes an attempt to sell new talent, but the anchor reveals that she's really only interested in Rembrandt, who he - apparently- was the agent for. But the anchor informs him that she's not here for a walk down memory lane, asking him if he's heard the news about the King being back in town.
Back with the Sliders, we get a Blue Hawaii joke before the news picks up again for more jokes at their expense - it's believed now by the media that Quinn is Jim Morrison and Arturo is Luciano Pavarotti - and Jack Brim shows up in an interview where Rembrandt gives a little background. Apparently, he had begged Rembrandt to take him on as an agent when he'd split from the Topps, but Rembrandt had turned him down. On the interview, Jack says he remains a "hopeful skeptic" about Rembrandt being alive...
...however, as soon as the cameras are turned off, he's absolutely overjoyed at the prospect that the King has returned. He plots to get back into Rembrandt's good graces.
Once more back with the Sliders, the hotel is under siege as the mob has grown and found where they are staying. Instead of doing the rational thing and heading out the back door to once more head for the hills, Rembrandt decides he's going to give his fans a little taste of the Crying Man. Having an ego that could blot out the sun, he is - of course - swept up in the mob and Arturo comes to save him, being likewise swept up.
Rembrandt escapes, but Arturo is sent crowd surfing much to his protests. When he returns, he gives the desk clerk nine kinds of British hell until he goes to call them a police escort. But before they can get that escort, Jack gets into the building (with a throwaway line about Michael Jackson rejoining Public Enemy) and with the promise of being able to get them out of the building alive, he's taken back to meet Rembrandt.
Apparently, Jack has a gig set up with the providers offering up one million dollars per song. Not that I have a completely intricate understanding of all of this, but I find it hard to believe that anyone could get this sort of thing worked up as quickly as Jack claims to have it ready by. That is...tomorrow. The Sliders talk it over, Quinn expressing his fears that the show comes too close to the Slide. Which makes we wonder how exactly three days turned into just one when the pacing is way off, but I said before that it's really just best to give the show a pass for that at this rate.
The group heads off, Rembrandt stopping to reminiscence over a Cadillac that looks suspiciously like his own. As the rest head off without him, Rembrandt is met by one of his impersonators...who strikes him over the head with a wine bottle. Somehow, the impersonator is able to phase the Cadillac through the building, as he doesn't seem to throw it in reverse before taking off down the alley. That or he warped reality so he could go right to the alley.
As they discuss the fact that other worlds may have taboos they're not aware of (such as graffiti being a capital offense), the group heads out to scope out the world that they've landed on and find some handcuff keys for Quinn. If this isn't their Earth, they have three days before the next window opens.
As they head out, a couple that passes them by has a chuckle at them...which understandably makes them quite uncomfortable. As they head down the street and even more individuals laugh at them, they quickly come to realize that they're laughing at Rembrandt. Then a passerby asks if they're here for the "Crying Man" convention, where apparently all the top Rembrandt impersonators are gathering.
To do a little backstory that I didn't go into back in the Pilot, Rembrandt was originally a member of the doowop group "The Spinning Topps". Back on Earth Prime, after going solo...his career promptly tanked. However, on this Earth, it seems that the exact opposite happened. So much so that when a woman spies him on the street, she mistakes him for the real Rembrandt (which...he is...) and a riot is started, forcing the Sliders to run for the hills.
...or just to the hotel they've been staying at on almost every world (again, to save the budget) safely, they get confirmation that Rembrandt is not only famous, he's super famous to the point of taking Elvis Presley's position as "The King" on this Earth. As the group settles into their room, we get a few moments of hilarity with Wade giving a knowing smile when Quinn asks how she learned to remove handcuffs so well, and a few bits of dialogue that implies that - on this Earth - the roles of Gilligan and the Skipper on Gilligan's Island are reversed.
However, we have some time for the mighty Television of Exposition to come in and give some of it's favorite device for advancing the plot - namely the knowledge that Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown died eight years ago on this world. The news report also lets them know that someone was recording their walk through San Francisco before the mob attacked (in footage that's surprisingly high quality for 1995) and that the entire world knows now that the King is back.
We then cut away to an older man, Jack Brim, chastising three elderly women with guitars following an acoustic version of Devo's "Whip It". He gets interrupted by his secretary, who informs him that a woman from the news is here to see him. Jack makes an attempt to sell new talent, but the anchor reveals that she's really only interested in Rembrandt, who he - apparently- was the agent for. But the anchor informs him that she's not here for a walk down memory lane, asking him if he's heard the news about the King being back in town.
Back with the Sliders, we get a Blue Hawaii joke before the news picks up again for more jokes at their expense - it's believed now by the media that Quinn is Jim Morrison and Arturo is Luciano Pavarotti - and Jack Brim shows up in an interview where Rembrandt gives a little background. Apparently, he had begged Rembrandt to take him on as an agent when he'd split from the Topps, but Rembrandt had turned him down. On the interview, Jack says he remains a "hopeful skeptic" about Rembrandt being alive...
...however, as soon as the cameras are turned off, he's absolutely overjoyed at the prospect that the King has returned. He plots to get back into Rembrandt's good graces.
Once more back with the Sliders, the hotel is under siege as the mob has grown and found where they are staying. Instead of doing the rational thing and heading out the back door to once more head for the hills, Rembrandt decides he's going to give his fans a little taste of the Crying Man. Having an ego that could blot out the sun, he is - of course - swept up in the mob and Arturo comes to save him, being likewise swept up.
Rembrandt escapes, but Arturo is sent crowd surfing much to his protests. When he returns, he gives the desk clerk nine kinds of British hell until he goes to call them a police escort. But before they can get that escort, Jack gets into the building (with a throwaway line about Michael Jackson rejoining Public Enemy) and with the promise of being able to get them out of the building alive, he's taken back to meet Rembrandt.
Apparently, Jack has a gig set up with the providers offering up one million dollars per song. Not that I have a completely intricate understanding of all of this, but I find it hard to believe that anyone could get this sort of thing worked up as quickly as Jack claims to have it ready by. That is...tomorrow. The Sliders talk it over, Quinn expressing his fears that the show comes too close to the Slide. Which makes we wonder how exactly three days turned into just one when the pacing is way off, but I said before that it's really just best to give the show a pass for that at this rate.
The group heads off, Rembrandt stopping to reminiscence over a Cadillac that looks suspiciously like his own. As the rest head off without him, Rembrandt is met by one of his impersonators...who strikes him over the head with a wine bottle. Somehow, the impersonator is able to phase the Cadillac through the building, as he doesn't seem to throw it in reverse before taking off down the alley. That or he warped reality so he could go right to the alley.
Either way, Quinn catches them departing and gets the tag number "KRI BABY".
We later cut to a cabin on a lake, apparently the next morning as it was night time when we left the Sliders. The Rembrandt of this world (played by Cleavant Derricks's real-life twin brother Clinton Derricks-Caroll) learns of the concert and is none too pleased.
Oh, and since it's going to happen...lemme throw this up...
Times the Sliders Have Run into Parallel Versions of Themselves: 6
We later cut to a cabin on a lake, apparently the next morning as it was night time when we left the Sliders. The Rembrandt of this world (played by Cleavant Derricks's real-life twin brother Clinton Derricks-Caroll) learns of the concert and is none too pleased.
Oh, and since it's going to happen...lemme throw this up...
Times the Sliders Have Run into Parallel Versions of Themselves: 6
Back with the group - apparently the night before given the lighting outside - Jack is mourning the loss of the money that Rembrandt would be bringing in, However, he doesn't want the police called and rather stupidly believes that Rembrandt was just kidnapped due to someone's vested interest and not just because they wanted to make him put the lotion in the basket. He starts to head down to line up some replacement acts while Quinn, not being a complete idiot, does the rational thing and calls the cops.
Meanwhile, Rembrandt finds himself in one of the Cryptkeeper's sets at the mercy of Maurice Fish, a former member of the Spinning Topps. He presents Remmy with a piece of paper, which he only has to sign to be free, where Remmy would be giving Maurice credit for all of his fame and fortune after stealing all his songs from him. Rembrandt, of course, breaks out in a laughter fit. This apparently makes Maurice very angry indeed.
Meanwhile, Rembrandt finds himself in one of the Cryptkeeper's sets at the mercy of Maurice Fish, a former member of the Spinning Topps. He presents Remmy with a piece of paper, which he only has to sign to be free, where Remmy would be giving Maurice credit for all of his fame and fortune after stealing all his songs from him. Rembrandt, of course, breaks out in a laughter fit. This apparently makes Maurice very angry indeed.
Back at the office of dear old Jack, the Sliders are having no luck with the San Francisco police. Quinn, however, has taken a proactive stance and has been spending the whole night (if the lighting outside is to be believed) hacking into the government database for the DMV records. Because Maurice apparently had the only vanity license plate in California, Quinn is able to pull the address just in time for them to leave and run into this world's version of Rembrandt, who demands to know where Jack is. He treats them with the smug attitude we've come to expect from Rembrandt before he recognizes them from the video footage. Yes, indeed, Rembrandt on this world faked his own death and demands to know their little secret.
In the words of Sam Beckett: oh, boy...
Wade gives him the one-liner Cliff Notes, and we learn that Rembrandt apparently had Maurice institutionalized. The King, putting two and two together, proves to be not a complete asshole and agrees to let them use his car, going with them to save Earth Prime's Rembrandt.
Back at the Casa di Skinflaying, Rembrandt is about to get the hose again when he tries to talk Maurice out of killing him by explaining the usually "I'm from a parallel Earth" story. However, as expected, crazy old Maurice finds him crazy (ironic) and threatens him with a straight razor. However, to make sure that Remmy's last moments are happy ones...Maurice serenades him.
We get a wonderful "I am Spartacus!" moment with some Rembrandt impersonators as apparently, in spite of getting the address for Maurice the other Sliders haven't actually started heading there to save Rembrandt. They needed to inform Jack to keep putting impersonators on...which is what he was already doing anyway...which makes the entire scene completely pointless.
When they do arrive, they find that Maurice's wife is living in their home and holds the group at gunpoint for breaking and entering. Thanks to the powers of plot convenience, she hasn't seen Maurice but knows where he is, thus the group heads there after some padding in the episode. Back at the Lecter residence, Maurice is about to teach Rembrandt not to stick his neck out but is interrupted by the group arriving for a Big Damn Heroes moment. Maurice being utterly confused at the sight of two Rembrandts allows Quinn to put to use his quarterback skills and take him down.
As Quinn and Wade drag him away to...out of the plot...Rembrandt and the King meet and discuss their differences. Apparently, the King "was full and had to leave the table" when it came to fame, seeing leaving the business as the only way he could be a normal person again. Rembrandt, however, is not daunted by it until the King hatches a wicked scheme - Rembrandt will take his place while he heads off into the sunset once again.
And we have come down, at last to the last ten minutes of the episode. The crowd is sick and tired of the impersonators and is demanding the real deal. Backstage, Rembrandt is getting ready and the other Sliders are expressing fears that he'll lose track of time...Remmy drops the bombshell that he won't be sliding with them this time, and that he hopes they'll just be happy for him, just as he would be for them if they found their paradise world.
Jack comes in to see him to the stage and they head out to a hungry crowd demanding the King. The other Sliders say their goodbyes in a very, very touching moment where Rembrandt even apologizes and takes back what he said to Quinn about this whole messing being his fault, and it seems to be taken, signifying just how far they've all come since the trial of the dreaded ice-nado six episodes ago.
But introduced, Rembrandt nonetheless takes the stage to his beloved public. The Sliders think he's making a terrible mistake, and notice that the King has returned (no, not that one) seeing as he wants to be sure that Remmy has the chops to take his throne. However, as soon as Wade lets slip that Remmy will be getting a million dollars per song, he is...less than pleased and heads off, where I'm sure we'll neveeeeeeeeeer see him again...
...yeah, as you can predict, Remmy starts to play to the crowd and the King powerslides onto stage to take it all back. There's a bit of Dueling Rembrandts before the King proclaims Remmy "the greatest Rembrandt impersonator of them all". The Sliders get Remmy off the stage just before the slide, though he's clearly beyond pissed. The group gives him some platitudes, Wade saying that he's the only Crying Man for them.
In the words of Sam Beckett: oh, boy...
Wade gives him the one-liner Cliff Notes, and we learn that Rembrandt apparently had Maurice institutionalized. The King, putting two and two together, proves to be not a complete asshole and agrees to let them use his car, going with them to save Earth Prime's Rembrandt.
Back at the Casa di Skinflaying, Rembrandt is about to get the hose again when he tries to talk Maurice out of killing him by explaining the usually "I'm from a parallel Earth" story. However, as expected, crazy old Maurice finds him crazy (ironic) and threatens him with a straight razor. However, to make sure that Remmy's last moments are happy ones...Maurice serenades him.
We get a wonderful "I am Spartacus!" moment with some Rembrandt impersonators as apparently, in spite of getting the address for Maurice the other Sliders haven't actually started heading there to save Rembrandt. They needed to inform Jack to keep putting impersonators on...which is what he was already doing anyway...which makes the entire scene completely pointless.
When they do arrive, they find that Maurice's wife is living in their home and holds the group at gunpoint for breaking and entering. Thanks to the powers of plot convenience, she hasn't seen Maurice but knows where he is, thus the group heads there after some padding in the episode. Back at the Lecter residence, Maurice is about to teach Rembrandt not to stick his neck out but is interrupted by the group arriving for a Big Damn Heroes moment. Maurice being utterly confused at the sight of two Rembrandts allows Quinn to put to use his quarterback skills and take him down.
As Quinn and Wade drag him away to...out of the plot...Rembrandt and the King meet and discuss their differences. Apparently, the King "was full and had to leave the table" when it came to fame, seeing leaving the business as the only way he could be a normal person again. Rembrandt, however, is not daunted by it until the King hatches a wicked scheme - Rembrandt will take his place while he heads off into the sunset once again.
And we have come down, at last to the last ten minutes of the episode. The crowd is sick and tired of the impersonators and is demanding the real deal. Backstage, Rembrandt is getting ready and the other Sliders are expressing fears that he'll lose track of time...Remmy drops the bombshell that he won't be sliding with them this time, and that he hopes they'll just be happy for him, just as he would be for them if they found their paradise world.
Jack comes in to see him to the stage and they head out to a hungry crowd demanding the King. The other Sliders say their goodbyes in a very, very touching moment where Rembrandt even apologizes and takes back what he said to Quinn about this whole messing being his fault, and it seems to be taken, signifying just how far they've all come since the trial of the dreaded ice-nado six episodes ago.
But introduced, Rembrandt nonetheless takes the stage to his beloved public. The Sliders think he's making a terrible mistake, and notice that the King has returned (no, not that one) seeing as he wants to be sure that Remmy has the chops to take his throne. However, as soon as Wade lets slip that Remmy will be getting a million dollars per song, he is...less than pleased and heads off, where I'm sure we'll neveeeeeeeeeer see him again...
...yeah, as you can predict, Remmy starts to play to the crowd and the King powerslides onto stage to take it all back. There's a bit of Dueling Rembrandts before the King proclaims Remmy "the greatest Rembrandt impersonator of them all". The Sliders get Remmy off the stage just before the slide, though he's clearly beyond pissed. The group gives him some platitudes, Wade saying that he's the only Crying Man for them.
 |
| ...I don't have a joke here, I just like the image. |
The portal is opened and they slide through...
...and cut to later, where a child asks Rembrandt if he's the real King. Quinn and Rembrandt have taken up working an ice cream cart with a royal theme on whatever world they've landed on, closing the episode out with a laugh...
"The King is Back" is actually a pretty good episode. It has it's problems in the pacing - three days seeming more like a day and night at best - and the fact that the moral it's trying to preach...isn't really brought across all that well: that fame is a monster all its own. We see some consequences of that, such as the mob that attacks the group in the beginning and the actions of Maurice, but we never see any real negative consequences for anyone. Indeed, even as the King warns Rembrandt about the dangerous of fame, he's more than happy to jump right back into his old life for one million dollars a song.
Ultimately, the episode is dragged down a bit by a Broken Aesop, but it also serves - in my opinion - as the start of Rembrandt's character arc through the seasons where he goes from an egotistical jackass into being a loveable, approachable everyman who is tempered by his experiences in Sliding and overcoming the adversity therein.
Mind you, there are points where that arc gets twisted around to ridiculous angles, but let's cross that bridge when we come to it.
Overall, it's a relatively light-hearted episode, with some good humor and a fantastic double act of Cleavant Derricks and his brother Clinton. What's not to love?
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
...and cut to later, where a child asks Rembrandt if he's the real King. Quinn and Rembrandt have taken up working an ice cream cart with a royal theme on whatever world they've landed on, closing the episode out with a laugh...
"The King is Back" is actually a pretty good episode. It has it's problems in the pacing - three days seeming more like a day and night at best - and the fact that the moral it's trying to preach...isn't really brought across all that well: that fame is a monster all its own. We see some consequences of that, such as the mob that attacks the group in the beginning and the actions of Maurice, but we never see any real negative consequences for anyone. Indeed, even as the King warns Rembrandt about the dangerous of fame, he's more than happy to jump right back into his old life for one million dollars a song.
Ultimately, the episode is dragged down a bit by a Broken Aesop, but it also serves - in my opinion - as the start of Rembrandt's character arc through the seasons where he goes from an egotistical jackass into being a loveable, approachable everyman who is tempered by his experiences in Sliding and overcoming the adversity therein.
Mind you, there are points where that arc gets twisted around to ridiculous angles, but let's cross that bridge when we come to it.
Overall, it's a relatively light-hearted episode, with some good humor and a fantastic double act of Cleavant Derricks and his brother Clinton. What's not to love?
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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