Sliders Season 3 Episode 1: Rules of the Game

Welcome back one and all, todays episode of Sliders is the first episode of season 3 to come out, but should have been the second. Due to the fact that we learn important information in the episode that comes after this for why the rules of Sliding have changed. Like most things in life, Fox messes it up. Firefly still hurts and always will. This episode was written by Josef Anderson and directed by Oscar L. Costo.

Due to the changes that Quinn's double made to the timer, our gang lands on a jet in the air. That's a scary thought. They are just lucky that they landed on a jet and not in the air. Wade rushes off to the restroom due to the fact that she gets airsick, while the rest of the gang hears about the games for the first time. They don't bother to ask any questions so they are blindsided by what is about to happen. 

The airplane starts to go down and they learn that no one is flying the plane. Quinn and Professor Arturo attempt to right the plane while everyone gets ready for a crash landing. Remy takes Wade's hand to help keep her from freaking out. 

The plane lands and we hear rules for the game being told to everyone. Wade and Remy go to find Quinn and the Professor who have figured out that the plane was just a simulation. It wasn't real. They didn't land in the air. 

The Sliders are in the middle of a real life war game. The other contestants tell them to get some gear before it's too late. They want to stay in the simulator until the 36 hours pass by and they can slide. That's not an option as the place heats up and catches fire. 

They take what they can and rush out of the simulator which looks to be a house from outside where they are immediately shot at. Quinn and the Professor take out the guns that are coming out of the ground. Not a fun start to this new world. 

They find out that some of the cars have bombs. Remy and the professor look the car over to see if it has a bomb in it. Turns out Remy overstated his skill level at finding them, but luckily the professor knows what he is doing. Remy goes in alone to test the car but everything works out fine. They now have wheels. 

It isn't long before they come under attack and have to flee the car. Which is made all the worst by the professor getting hit and going blind. The game moves up to level 2 with only 18 teams left. The professor is not taking going blind well. I wouldn't either. 

As the sliders make their way through the game we come across the team that was trying to give them advice, one of their members is dying. The Sliders learn that the teams don't fight each other until the last level. They have some time before things become even more hellish. Their somewhat friends give them a keycard to get into a safe haven before taking off and leaving them behind. 

They find their safe haven. It's a rundown looking building. It gives them food, water and ammo. Also letting them know that they are down to the last 16 teams. You really have to wonder about a world that takes enjoyment from watching people kill each other for fun. This type of event would take a toll on anyone, but the professor, dealing with the loss of his sight, is having a really hard time accepting it. He tells Quinn that every teacher goes through life wishing for a student as great as him. It's a sweet moment that makes it seem like he is saying goodbye to him. 

So of course the next scene we find the professor gone. We think he ran off, but it turns out he was trying to use the restroom, got hurt and busted his head open. Quinn  helps him get up and inside just as robot hunters show up. Things are getting intense. 

Quinn, a book warm scientist, is a surprising good shot and takes out the robot. He and Wade are separated from Remy and the Professor. They decide to both head to the finish line and try to catch up with each other. Wade starts playing an old hopscotch game, talking about when she was kid. Little did she know that it was a trap. A beam full of nails comes out behind her. Quinn tries to find a way to get her off without killing them both. He needs to displace her weight. 

It works, but only for a second. They manage to make it behind a wall before it goes off. They aren't hurt. The professor tries to talk Remy into leaving him behind. He doesn't want to go to new worlds if he can't see them. Remy offers to explain everything to him, but that isn't good enough. He wants to just give up. I love the professor, but he's very melodramatic. He just can't handle asking for help, or needing other people. He attempts to walk off, but walks into a truck and get caught. He finally caves and asks for help. Pride is the downfall of us all. 

Quinn and Wade keep looking for their lost friends, who have gotten stuck on a magnetic spiderweb. The professor is fine, but Remy needs him to the spiders. Who in their right mind would ask a blind man to fire in their general direction? It's insane, but Remy has no other choice. He directs him on where to aim. 

The first spider is toast. The second escapes, the first two times. The professor gets it at last. There is only one left and it's closing in on Remy. Getting way too close. The professor tries to shoot but is out of ammo. Shit is getting tense. Remy is sure that he is going to die, but the professor manages to reload and fire, just in time. Saving him just in time to join the final 12 teams in level four. 

While they are recovering, Quinn and Wade start to get closer. They have such an interesting relationship. Life long friends who have something more than friendship just under the surface. Just as they start to connect they are attacked and forced to run. Where they are saved by the sole survivor of the group that they keep befriending. She feels them in on everything that they are playing for. Just one member of the team needs to make it to the finish line. The three of them decide to stick together, because as long as one of her team makes it to the finish line, all their families get the five million dollar prize. 

The professor and Remy get attacked by a robot dog. They are having no luck in this damn game. Every three seconds they are attacked by something. Made all the harder by the professor's blindness. Quinn starts to bond with the other girl as the timer goes down to 2 hours. Still no sign of the others. She asks Quinn  to place her medallion in the recorder in case she doesn't make it. She wants to make sure her family is taken care of as they enter the last level where only three teams are left standing. 

No sooner do they announce that there are three teams left, then we witness one of those teams getting gunned down. Our heroes and their new friend are all that is left. Remy and the Professor find Quinn and Wade. It's all coming down to the wire now. Just as the Professor starts to regain his ability to see. 

Just as everything seems to be over, the new girl is shot. She is dying, but she reminds Quinn of her final request. Quinn tries to save her, but there isn't time. They only have a few minutes left, but Quinn wants to place the medallion on the victory pad first. The professor figures out they see heat so they use CO2 to blind the robots and get to the finish line. He places it in the machine and everything stops. The game is over and the Silders still have time to slide. Alls well that ends well. They leave this horrible world behind. The professor lets out a shout of glee as he can see the vertex. It's a fun episode that is well worth the watch.