Rules of the Game

Season 3
Airdate: 9/20/96
Rating: 4/5

“I was thinking I was gonna die. I was thinking just when I was beginning to enjoy this ride, it was gonna be over and I was sad because I knew I’d miss everybody.” – Quinn Mallory

The Sliders find a world that is consumed by a reality tv show war game. They’re thrust right into the middle of it and don’t have a clue. It’s a refreshing start when the Sliders land on a plane in the opening scenes. It immediately gets your brain wondering as to how, why, and what trouble are they going to fly into. Remmy is going at it with the airline food and for once he isn’t complaining about it. The Professor doesn’t take too kind with a woman declaring him too out of shape for the games. Take it from personal experience that ginger ale is good for nausea, even for Wade.

The engine of the plane catches fire, there’s no pilots, and they try to take control and somehow the Professor declares “dead foot, dead engine”. It’s not a term I would expect a professor of cosmology and ontology to know. Before we know it they’ve ‘crashed’ and the lights return back on. This whole five minute scene is quite brilliant really. Soon enough everyone on the plane is gearing up for a war, with guns, vests, and other various gear. The Sliders soon realize they have no choice but to play the game as the building soon erupts in flames. I’ve got to knock the filming area yet again. As soon as they exit they are in front of the classical studio backlot houses. A far fetch from the Vancouver, Canada filming area. It sets a whole different tone entirely. However, this imitation does make sense for the episode, after all it’s a high stakes game. It gives the notion the area is specifically for the game itself. After all, it’s a good day to die.

They must hurry to get a ride to finish the game. As they wonder upon a Hummer they may have to disarm it. As there was a vehicle already blown up next to it. Oddly enough Rembrandt declares he knows a lot about everything, from working in the Navy. There’s a bit of controversy about this, because his double was in the Army in the “Summer of Love” plus other nuances. However this is a TV series and there are bound to be inconsistencies. That’s what’s great about scifi, you can answer valid questions with your own made-up answers. They soon drive into the middle of a war zone with obliterated military vehicles, civilian cars, axels, and sadly, human bodies. The crew put together this ambiance well and it’s quite convincing. It’s no wonder it’s in the season 3 theme.

They have to escape the area from what can only be described as plasma shots. One hits the Professor straight in the head, rendering him blind. Wade’s ignorance and coping with the situation is off the charts. She declares to Quinn, “Maybe it’s like a flash on a camera. It goes away.” Three hours and the Professor still can’t see. Speaking of seeing, after the release of the movie franchise “The Hunger Games” based on the novel by author Suzanne Collins, many fans see the resemblance between the two. They suggest the movie had taken ideas from this episode. If it’s true, you could say it’s a compliment to Sliders itself.

Guns in hand the sliders carefully walk through the streets. This episode is full of dangerous robots, bombs, and even robotic dogs. They stumble upon the woman and her team who had insulted the Professor on the plane. One of her teammates is dying, which leaves her with only one other person. The sliders end up in a stand off but it ends up in a ceasefire and everyone goes about their way. The woman has declared “See you at the beach” twice now in this episode. It means “good luck.” It’s somewhat of a proverb within the Sliders fan community now. This scene illustrates compassion for one another even if they’re your enemy or opponent. This certainly isn’t always the case but has often been utilized in war.

The Sliders find refuge in a room with a TV blaring that this is the highest rated game in history. Rembrandt bashes a camera in disgust and mentions “Candid Camera”. For those not acquainted, it’s a hidden camera reality tv show where pranks are played on the every day American. I would assume their world’s “Candid Camera” are violent hidden camera pranks. The star of this episode is John Rhys-Davies. He manages to show the despair, anger and heartbreak when suffering a visually impaired injury. The Professor is too proud to be cared for with his condition. He sees it as there are times in war where you have to leave a wounded person behind. In his mind there’s no point in sliding when you can’t even see them with your eyes. At this point, all of us can see how good we’ve had it, until we lose it. The everyday blind person has to see the world in another point of view. They can overcome great obstacles too like the average person.

These Games came to be because they were on the verge of civil war and the government had outlawed sporting events. People wanted entertainment. So instead of creating quality television or movies, the most convenient idea were the Games. Everyone was already blood thirsty, so to them confined violence was their most logical answer.

This episode is filled with booby traps, combat action and ways to kill a man you couldn’t dream of. Rembrandt has to put his life in the hands of the blind Professor and trust him with the low odds they have for survival. It’s ridiculous to see a world that would view these type of violent war games as entertainment. However, I feel we are becoming that or will become it. We can sit back in the comfort of our own home and watch death and destruction on social media. From wars, riots, personal violence, and abuse, it’s all there for people to see. Spare the day that we have to see our lives in the upheaval of war, chaos, and destruction. See you at the beach.