Data World

Broadcast History

Original Airdate
March 19, 1999

Production Code
K2808

Network Code
SL-417

Logline

When the Sliders find themselves trapped in a completely virtual Chandler Hotel run by the enigmatic Archibald Chandler, they enlist the aid of a spirited hacker to escape and make their way back to the real world.

  • Written by: Joel Metzger
  • Directed by: Jerry O'Connell
  • Edited by: Stewart Schill
  • Music by: Danny Lux

Synopsis

The Sliders arrive on a desolate, barren, wind-blown street. As they proceed to the Chandler they are magnetized with a kind of digital energy. Suddenly, they are in the lobby of a brilliantly lit, bright-colored luxury hotel. There they meet the owner, the real Archibald Chandler.

The hotel and staff see to our heroes' every need, except for one. They are not allowed to leave The Chandler.

The Sliders soon realize that they have been transformed into computer-generated images while their real bodies are "outside" the hotel. The Chandler environment that seemed so luxurious is actually a computer-scape and the Sliders have been reduced to programs that reside within. They confront Archibald and demand to be released. He denies their request and retaliates by deleting Maggie from the computer.

But, as with all computer programs, a file deleted is not necessarily irretrievable. Quinn must distract Chandler while the others try to track down the missing Maggie program. She is still somewhere in the computer, immersed deep in the system's junk file.

The Travelogue

Data World: Man, it's so much easier on me when they spoonfeed the names to you. Those willing to loosen the mortal coil can live out their lives in digital resorts while their bodies decay out in the real world.

The Details

  • The Sliders stay in Room 1215 at the Chandler.

Chandler Hotel Rules

  • Proper dress and decorum in all public places.
  • No belts with suspenders.
  • No bowties.
  • No hats.
  • No bouffant hairdos for the ladies.
  • No blue eye shadow.
  • Do not pop your knuckles.
  • Do not use the phrase, "Yes, but it's a dry heat."
  • No singing in public places.

Quinn's Flashback Sequence

  • "The Alternateville Horror"
  • "Asylum"
  • "Slidecage"
  • "Way Out West"
  • "Slidecage"
  • "The Dying Fields"
  • "Genesis"
  • "The Dying Fields"
  • "Asylum"
  • "Slidecage"
  • "Slidecage"
  • "The Alternateville Horror"
  • "The Alternateville Horror"
  • "Just Say Yes"
  • "Just Say Yes"
  • "Just Say Yes"
  • "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
  • "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
  • "World Killer"
  • "World Killer"
  • "World Killer"
  • "Virtual Slide" [Nitpick]
  • "Net Worth"
  • "Virtual Slide" [Nitpick]
  • "Virtual Slide"
  • "Common Ground"
  • "Common Ground"
  • "Common Ground"
  • "Genesis"
  • "Prophets and Loss"
  • "Prophets and Loss"
  • "Prophets and Loss"
  • "Genesis"

Customized Computer Icons

A couple of the screens brought up during the show highlighted the icon-based "operating system" running in the Chandler Hotel. Below are the two clearly visible screens.

The Icons on Mac's computer:

  • Hockey player
  • Sword Fighter
  • Soldier
  • Kick boxer
  • Boxer

Maggie's Battle Outfit Menu:

  • Army boots
  • Flack jacket
  • Boxing gloves
  • Warrior princess
  • Karate
  • Armor

Character Information

  • Bobby Fischer was Quinn's idol when he was young, an allusion to his chess-playing ability.
  • Archibald Chandler's favorite style of tea is a blend of earl grey and salon.
  • Archibald Chandler disposed of his 'empty' upon the full-fledged implementation of the digital Chandler Hotel.

Notable Quotes

  • "Story of my life!" — Quinn, after three zombie-women in a row ignore him.
  • "What is this, a Michael Jackson video?" — Rembrandt, after seeing the zombified 'empties' roaming the streets..
  • "What is this, Scream 3?" — Rembrandt
  • "It's called sliding, and it's something you'll never be able to do." — Quinn's explanation of what he does during his interrogation.
  • "I've heard of getting in touch with your feminine side, but this is ridiculous." — Rembrandt, to Maggie (in Rembrandt's body), before she gets her own physique back.
  • "What's wrong, Rembrandt? Got some secrets you don't want me to know about?" — Maggie-as-Rembrandt, about to check out Rembrandt's goodies.
  • "If he ain't kosher this isn't gonna stop him." — Rembrandt, after getting a ham from Mac instead of a hammer.
  • "Never the face, bitch!" — Maggie, after getting whipped by Freya.
  • "Checkmate, Mr. Mallory. You win." — Archibald Chandler, moments before deletion.
  • "Sliding makes me sleepy." — Colin. Huh?

Parallel History

A while back, an anti-technological movement began to spread around the country. Fearful that the movement might gain enough momentum, hackers around the nation converged on the Chandler Hotel, which promised to be an environment free from the anti-tech movement. The Chandler, founded and operated by Archibald Chandler, allowed people to abandon the confines of their bodies and enter a completely virtual reality. However, their bodies wander the streets as 'empties.' It's unknown when, but eventually virtual resorts like this became a popular thing, and the population embraced it and left their mortal coils behind in favor of digital existence.

Song Lyrics

  • Rembrandt sings a bit of "Cry Like a Man" and the incorrect lyrics to "Purple Hawaii" (last heard in The King is Back):

    • I'm sinking in an ocean of tears
    And I feel like I've been sinking for years

    Real lyrics:

    I'm surfing
    In an ocean of tears
    And it feels like I've been
    Oh, I've been weeping for years

Neatpicks

  • Who is Chandler's tiny, but equally powerful competitor? Mac. Do I sense a metaphor here or what? Especially since Mac overpowers Chandler eventually.

Nitpicks

  • This is a global phenomenon? This is a state-wide phenomenon? This is a city-wide phenomenon? How could L.A. be abandoned if there's only 12-20 people staying at the Chandler? (Watch the screen when Quinn exports people back to their bodies. The number of people folders fits on one screen.)
  • How did everyone come to be wrapped up in the virtual Chandler?
  • How could the 'empties' live without food, water, or brain for more than a couple of minutes?
  • None of the television images about the Chandler resort on the television screen are actually of the Chandler. They're outside things like horseback riding!
  • Was the leg shot of Kari Wuhrer really necessary?
  • Rembrandt's lyrics to "Purple Hawaii" don't match up to the one's sung by Rembrandt's double in The King is Back. For that matter, Rembrandt thought the song was horrible! Why would he remember it or sing it?
  • The chess movers are Rickman timers!
  • During Quinn's flashback sequence, there's two or three scenes that were a part of Maggie's VR dream in Virtual Slide. How would Quinn know this stuff?
  • Why would a digital hotel where all your clothing needs are already packed in the room need a bellhop to take non-existent luggage?
  • For that matter, why would there be a maid? Can't the hotel self-clean?
  • If Thor and Freya's program is to get the Sliders, why do they spend 10 minutes looking for them by destroying the hotel and disturbing the other people?
  • Colin's stunt double looks nothing like him.
  • C'mon... Maggie, Warrior Princess?
  • After Maggie is whipped in the face, why is there no cut?

Money Matters

  • Chandler tells the Sliders that while it isn't free, everything at the hotel has been provided.

Additional Cast

Roy Dotrice   Archibald Chandler
Patrick O'Brien   Jake
Phil Fondacaro   Mac
  1. Roy Dotrice returns as Marc LeBeau in The Seer.
  2. Phil Fondacaro appeared as the bounty hunter in the second season premiere Into the Mystic.