In Dino Veritas

Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC

Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
(Sliders Story No. 17, starring Jerry O'Connell)
  • written by creative consultant Steve Brown
  • directed by Oscar L. Costo
  • music by Anthony Marinelli
  • produced by Mychelle Deschamps (and Jon Povill, Tony Blake and Paul Jackson)
  • Production # K0813
Story: Still wearing truth-collars from a world obsessed with enforcing honesty, the Sliders find themselves in a forest with no sign of San Francisco anywhere, and a possible dinosaur stalking them. Separated from both Quinn and the lost timer, Wade, Rembrandt, and Arturo take refuge in a cave and find themselves caught in awkward confrontations with its occupants and each other.

Buyers' Guide Review

by Martin Izsak

(A more in-depth analysis, containing "SPOILERS" and intended for those who have already seen the program, can be accessed here.)


Although the "Sliders" staple of pinching premises from popular feature films won't come into full swing (and the heights of ridiculousness) until later in season three, you have to applaud their ambition of trying to cover the same CGI territory of "Jurassic Park" on a television budget and schedule in the spring of 1996, just shy of three years after Spielberg's revolutionary effects phenomenon hit theatres. But even if the "Dino" remains the most memorable aspect of this adventure, it really is the often forgotten "Veritas" angle that provides the story enough dramatic substance to flesh out its 45-minute time slot.


A very entertaining hook on honesty-world nicely sets up the whole backstory with the truth-collars. Apparently, honesty has bred trust on this world, and so its inhabitants are on a bit of a fast-track in learning about and believing in things like sliding. An excellent demonstration ensues, nicely bringing up to speed any audience member who might be completely new to the show. Nice one.

The dinosaur world provides our main characters with much to explore, and they waste no time sinking their teeth into it. Good.

All is not clear sailing though. As the story goes on, one clearly gets the impression that the script wanted more CGI dinosaur than they eventually had time and money to execute, even if it is just one allosaurus they need to deal with. The time factor may have been even more hampered if indeed this was the second-last episode shot for the season as the production codes suggest, and a studio over-excited by the effects premise rushed it to air closer to the middle of the season. POV shots eventually all but take over to make up for unavailable dino shots, and while this is made to work, you can't help feeling that they've stretched themselves a bit TOO thin this time.


Perhaps budget consciousness is what caused most of the episode to get stuffed into a dark old cave with a minimal supporting cast. In itself, this creates anticipation that we will have to endure a typical TV "filler" plot that goes nowhere for the middle 70% of the episode, before some quick and obvious ending puts all the characters back where they belong. Additionally, it looks like Jerry O'Connell was busy with other work or something for most of the episode's shooting, as Quinn doesn't appear at all during the middle half of the adventure. This is quite reminiscent of the missing Doctor phenomenon frequently encountered in 1960's Doctor Who ("The Celestial Toymaker" [Doctor Who story no. 24] is a good parallel) or the double-banked episodes from 2006 onwards. The big question usually arising there is whether or not the remaining regular/main characters successfully carry the adventure on their own, and if not, the episode usually becomes a chore to sit through.

Luckily, what actually ensues in "In Dino Veritas" is a lot of good stuff, even if the audience doesn't see it coming. Wade, Arturo, and Rembrandt still make an awesome team without Quinn, and manage a lot of great character moments between themselves - of course all with the truth collars putting an interesting angle on it.

Arturo, Wade, and Rembrandt also get to explore the situation of this world through the character of the ranger, who is additionally interesting when bringing a very different bit of effects eye-candy to the episode.

Quinn does wind up with some good stuff to do in the episode's final turns. The concluding action is exciting, despite what's missing from it, although not exactly the heroic ideal. Perhaps Wade fares better than the others here. Finally we end with a little coda which is okay, but not great.


In the end, Sliders has presented us with another decent episode, enticingly ambitious beyond its means, solid in more average ways, important to the characters' development in the series, yet not quite outstanding or with a great draw for what it delivers on best. It still remains a nice cog in a successful series.



This story has become available on DVD. Click on the Amazon symbol for the location nearest you for pricing and availability:

Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 1 NTSC
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
Seasons 1 & 2
DVD Box Set
Region 2 PAL
for the U.K.
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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Read the Buyers' Guide Review for the next story: "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome"



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