Straight from a mathlete....

[Esohny]

that show has actually aged pretty well compared to quantum leap.

Blasphemy! I like Sliders, but...

[jade_hippo]

that show has actually aged pretty well compared to quantum leap.

Blasphemy! I like Sliders, but...

don't get me wrong, i love quantum leap, its one of my favorites with Lexx, StartrekDS9, and Farscape, but just subject matter wise even, its quite dated. robot chicken had it right when he leap'ed into Paris Hilton i think.

[Esohny]

that show has actually aged pretty well compared to quantum leap.

Blasphemy! I like Sliders, but...

don't get me wrong, i love quantum leap, its one of my favorites with Lexx, StartrekDS9, and Farscape, but just subject matter wise even, its quite dated. robot chicken had it right when he leap'ed into Paris Hilton i think.

Really? The themes are fairly timeless. Unless you're talking about the special effects, but the Sliders jumps are hardly state of the art at this point.

And yes, I would love to continue dissecting classic sci-fi until the rest of the forum cries uncle.

[jade_hippo]

Really? The themes are fairly timeless. Unless you're talking about the special effects, but the Sliders jumps are hardly state of the art at this point.

And yes, I would love to continue dissecting classic sci-fi until the rest of the forum cries uncle.

so much of quantum leap was all political statements and just nastalga from that generation. episodes with sock hops and crap like that means nothing to me. Leaping into Elvis or Marylin isn't nearly as exciting as him leaping into Aaliyah or Cobain. Political statements about Vietnam aren't going to hit home with anyone watching TV for very much longer. Its dated as far as subject matter. Look at Star Trek, its timeless because its a glimpse into the future, it ages so much better because its a look into what might become, not a snapshot of what was. as far as special effects, both are pretty lame by todays standards and i love it.

[shrink]

I think its a question of how the nostalgia can be done. Mad Men is a critical darling, though most of its viewers probably don't remember the time period personally. It carries shock appeal when, in the background, their young son jumps in the front seat, or the dad asks his 9-year old daughter to make him a Harvey Wallbanger. The drama is fine, but its the "look at the weird creatures in the zoo" appeal that keeps me coming back.

I'm a rare breed, but I personally liked the darker Deep Space Nine more than any of the other Star Trek series, though I'm certainly a fan of them all. We may all hope for a sunny future of the Next Generation, but people are people, and political, religious and personal ambitions still divide people. Few shows are willing to talk about religion (Big Love the best current exception), so I appreciate that daring.

But getting back to the point, I think the similarity between Star Trek and Sliders was their willingness to tell morality tells, which has always been a great use for science fiction. The writing on the first seasons of Sliders was excellent. Role reversal where men are second class citizens because women decide they are too aggressive (hormonal) to run things? Brilliant! Later writers forgot that it was the show's tongue-in-cheek social satrie that made the show appealing. Cro-mags? "Mallory?" Ugh.

[john2jer]

Quantum Leap, greatest show ever. What is this "Sliders" you all speak of? White Castle?

I hate all things Star Trek.

[horaceworthy]

Really? The themes are fairly timeless. Unless you're talking about the special effects, but the Sliders jumps are hardly state of the art at this point.

And yes, I would love to continue dissecting classic sci-fi until the rest of the forum cries uncle.

so much of quantum leap was all political statements and just nastalga from that generation. episodes with sock hops and crap like that means nothing to me. Leaping into Elvis or Marylin isn't nearly as exciting as him leaping into Aaliyah or Cobain. Political statements about Vietnam aren't going to hit home with anyone watching TV for very much longer. Its dated as far as subject matter. Look at Star Trek, its timeless because its a glimpse into the future, it ages so much better because its a look into what might become, not a snapshot of what was. as far as special effects, both are pretty lame by todays standards and i love it.

Aaliyah's your go-to modern celebrity death reference?

[jade_hippo]

Salina and TuPac and the lady from TLC no one really cares about anymore. Who else has died recently that was preventable and that were important. Ledger was only important because he had hot sex with Donny Darko and I'm pretty sure both the Olson twins Tila Tequila are still alive. In fact anyone who dies of an OD is probably off limits, Sam could just choose not to mainline as opposed to trying to stop a murderer or a crash.

[Esohny]

It's not like Sam Beckett jumped into famous people that often. The whole point was to examine issues through mostly normal people's problems and advocate making a difference.