Greatfellas
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Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC
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Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
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(Sliders Story No. 15, starring Jerry O'Connell)
- story by Sean Clark & Scott Smith Miller
- teleplay by Scott Smith Miller
- directed by Allan Eastman
- music by Stephen Graziano
- produced by Mychelle Deschamps
(and Jon Povill, Tony Blake and Paul Jackson)
- Production # K0804
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Story: Leaving behind a world full of lawyers,
the sliders crash into a wedding ceremony and get mixed
up with singer Mel Tormé and a mafia merger. If only
Rembrandt had known who his double was on this world....
Meanwhile, Quinn loses some mafia bribe money,
and must work the casino to get it back.
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Buyers' Guide Review
by Martin Izsak
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(A more in-depth analysis, containing "SPOILERS" and intended
for those who have already seen the program, can be accessed
here.)
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Continuing to follow the sequence suggested by the production codes,
I may be unique amongst Sliders fans for pulling this episode this far
forward in my suggested "proper" order for the stories. There is method
in my madness. Bear with me.
Sliders cruises through another fun adventure here that
only manages to rank in the lower part of average for season two.
There are perhaps too many different ideas in play here, simply not
getting tied together as well as possible.
The opening hook features what is possibly my favourite throw-away world
in the whole of Sliders: Lawyer-world. In just one effective scene, several
common everyday actions are shown to be bizarrely different here, in manners
which evoke a lot of humorous interaction between the regulars and the
locals they encounter. This is Sliders in a nutshell - a great scene
to use to introduce new people to the show. Sadly the wormhole effect
is a bit cheap in this hook, with the camera always looking at our characters'
faces through the gentle ripple of the back-side of the vortex, but it's
enough to peak one's interest and hold it until the title sequence comes
along.
It looks as though the main lawyer they talk to is the same chap they
encountered on several worlds in
"Into the Mystic" (story no. 10),
but bizarrely none of the speaking roles from this section of the story
appear in the credits. One wonders if this hook was originally shot for
a different episode, and got spliced onto this one instead. Indeed,
I regularly forget which episode this hook belonged to.
The wormhole effect is done much better justice during the rest of
the story, beginning with a spectacular party-crashing entrance for
Rembrandt and the others.
The main plot works fairly well in this one, particularly where
Rembrandt's double is concerned. The main mafia villains are also
fleshed out decently, and work well on the screen.
William Sasso makes yet another welcome appearance in this story
as Dominion Hotel clerk Gomez Calhoun, and he is excellent as always.
Mel Tormé, famous father of one of the creators of "Sliders",
is also a nice feature in the story, fueling much of the intrigue
and entertainment value in the first half. He is easily the most
remembered element of this story. When the whole thing is over, however,
one is left scratching one's head wondering where the writers were
trying to go dramatically with half of his scenes,
or how we can possibly believe what we've seen.
Exactly what is the importance of this mysterious signal of his that he
keeps telling people to wait for?
Quinn has quite a bit of stuff to tackle proactively on his own in this
tale, all of which is a side-tangent with motivation as clear as mud.
Early on, the sliders find themselves with a large wad
of bribe money from the mafia, and a lengthy discussion ensues of what
this means and what they should do with it. At no point
on screen do any of them ever make clear what is finally decided though,
and it
remains unclear throughout some very lengthy beats of losing it all and
gambling to get it back. I like the scenes of Quinn working to
outsmart the casino system very much, but the sequence inspires little
emotional investment from the audience.
This side plot also involves Quinn coming to the aid
of a woman in distress - essentially a much weaker repeat of the situation
previously played out in
"El Sid" (story no. 14).
Sadly, this time around Quinn is even less observant and
on good footing than in his previous attempts, and worse,
this story's ultimate attempt to create some
kind of bond between Quinn and the woman falls completely flat,
inspiring many a "What the heck?" and "Who cares?" out of the audience
during the turning points of this subplot.
The story's main concluding action isn't really great for
any of the four sliders, although it does have some interesting points.
Enough said here, you can read a complete dissection of all the spoilers
in the in-depth analysis version of this review.
The episode isn't a total write off, thanks to some nice performances
from the cast, and a generally good atmosphere all the way through.
Cleavant Derricks is in fine form with his dual role, and there are some
really good moments throughout. However, this is not Sliders' finest
story by any means. Just enjoy it for what it is,
and let's move on to the good stuff....
This story has become available on DVD.
Click on the Amazon symbol for the location nearest you
for pricing and availability:
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Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
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Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
for the U.K.
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Season 2
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC - new for 2012
for the North American market:
U.S.
Canada 1
Canada 2
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