Season 3 DVD Review

The Third Season (Region 1)
Release Date: 7/19/05
3/5

This Third Season set is rather similar in appearance to the previous Dual-Dimension DVD. However, it’s a rather abrupt change towards my dissatisfaction. The package design is made of out an orange plastic which slides into a metallic looking cardboard slip. The discs are partially overlaid over one another which makes it quite difficult to remove them. Not only that, the discs are double sided, making it even more of a challenge to remove them without smearing and scratching the discs.

This is by far one of most cheapest and problematic DVD sets I’ve encountered. The orange plastic is sturdy by the way, so much so that you have to use both hands to open it, till you have no hands to remove a disc. If you don’t have patience or a steady hand I would highly recommend buying another DVD case for this set. Otherwise you will run the risk of smearing the discs and perhaps even scratching them.

The previous Dual-Dimension (The First and Second Seasons) set does come with an episode guide, but it’s out of order. Well this set doesn’t even have one at all. All it has is a brief synopsis of the series glued to the back of the box. Continuity plays a relatively small factor in watching the third season, but I still recommend Slidecage’s DVD Discography below, which is in accordance to the correct episode production order — the order they were meant to be watched.

The extras on this set aren’t much. Two different episodes from the series, Cleopatra 2525 and Earth 2 are provided. As for Sliders extras, a short six minute gag reel of the third season is given. It’s been edited quite a bit; and edited quite poorly if you ask me. They left out a lot of gags and even left in an large expletive by Kari Wuhrer. The video and audio is quite poor too, but at least we get something that’s about Sliders. More extras could have been presented but the whole B side of the disc is left blank.

The menus have episode summaries, subtitles, and scene selections. The main menu also contains some Sliders theme music with a short interval of collaborated video. The video and audio is presented well, but every time an episode is started an intro of Universal Studios and their logo is shown, which lasts about twenty seconds each time.

My major complaints are again the cheap materials of the set, as well as the extreme difficulty of removing the discs. However, the third season does offer a few excellent episodes and if you’re a Sliders fan this is a must have, regardless of the packaging.