2. Alternate Realities
90s cult TV was an explosion of ideas.
Quantum Leap and
Sliders presented us with two fascinating premises. A quasi-alternate reality show when one man attempted to change peoples lives for the better. And a show that had our heroes traversing one version of Earth to another. Both shows were about that one journey to find home.
Quantum Leap probably wouldn't survive one series in todays cutthroat world of ratings obsessed television. So thank god we got this then. Some episodes might look a little dated but it doesn't matter. In Scott Bakulas Sam Beckett and Dean Stockwells Al, we had two mesmerising characters that kept us coming back for more. The show had a simple but brilliant concept. Sam Beckett jumped from one body to another, guided by Al, a kind of anti-Rimmer hologram, the only man who could see the real him. Sams mission was to change the actions of the man or woman he was inhabiting. Only by making their lives better could he leap to the next body, hoping that the next leap would be the final leap home. There was a great blend of comedy in drama. Seeing Sam as a pregnant woman, a trapeze artist, a pageant queen, a rock artist ora chimpanzeewas always fun, but it was those dramatic moments that really made the show. Sam leaping into the body of a patient in a mental hospital made for a fascinating season 3 finale and a bizarre twist where Al began the leaper and Sam the guide. And earlier in that same season we had Sam desperately trying to save the life of his brother in Vietnam. Tackling everything from racism, sexism, mental health, alcoholism, the death penalty, suicide and even the death of JFK (Sam leaps into Lee Harvey Oswald),
Quantum Leap was as diverse in its focus on human issues as it was in the lives that Sam leaped into. And on a different take on alternate realities,
Sliders was an exciting, fun ride from one alternate world to another. Like Sam Beckett, we were waiting for our heroes to jump back into their own world but secretly hoping they didn't so we can have more fun along the way. And like
Quantum Leap,
Sliders introduced us to some very engaging characters who were as fun as the worlds they jumped into. Jerry OConnell was a dashing lead hero Quinn Mallory. Sabrina Lloyd played a heart warming yet sassy semi-love interest in Wade Wells. Cleavant Derricks was the fun, loveable heart of the show soul singer Rembrant Brown and of course with all his gruff gravitas we had John Rhys-Davies and Professor Arturo. For two and a half years we watched as they travelled from one reality to another. A male-oppressed world, a world where winning the lottery can loose you your life, a world of magic and a world of dinosaurs. Towards the end of season 2 we learned of the Kromaggs, inhabitants of an alternate worldthe first major arc in the series. And then came the epic season 3 two-parter 'Exodus'. With Arturo dying of a terminal illness, they arrived at a world that was about to be destroyed by a pulsar. Humanity had begun searching for an alternate world. In this episode we introduced to new regular Maggie and the ruthless Colonel Rickman. It was the episode where Arturo was killed off and everything began to change. The Kromaggs became a recurring threat, invading alternate worlds, including Earth Prime. Wade was lost, and finally in the final series, Quinn too, merged with the brother he discovered in the fourth series. Even with the ever-changing cast (only Rembrandt remains in the fifth and final series), the show continued to have fun with more elaborate alternate worlds and the continued Kromagg threat. Sure, some ideas never lived up to their potential but the sheer scope of the series was enough to sustain ever the weaker episodes. In the end, both series came to tragic ends. Sam never leaped home. Arturo was killed. Wade was enslaved and tortured by Kromaggs. Quinn was forever altered in slide gone wrong and Rembrandt jumped into the next portal in the series finale, knowing that he would probably die. There was no happy endings here. But across five seasons each, there was some truly remarkable television.