To Catch a Slider

The Sliders become alarmed when their timer begins to malfunction. Landing roughly in the next world, the Sliders are puzzled as to what the problem might be. Diana takes the timer apart and concludes a defective crystal needs to replaced. Meanwhile, a film festival is taking place and the Chandler Hotel is brimming with movie stars. Monique Mansfield, the Goddess of Sex, sports a fabulous gem around her neck. Using Mallory’s charm to gain information from Monique, the Sliders plan to steal it from her in an elaborate heist a la Mission Impossible. Diana is in charge of disabling the hotel’s security system, Rembrandt will be the lookout, and Maggie and Mallory are the cat burglars. Everything goes smoothly until Maggie and Mallory discover another intruder in Monique’s room. Maggie runs after the burglar, but soon loses the chase. Diana begins dating Grant Curtis, unaware that he is the hotel’s security specialist. Soon, she and the rest of the Sliders are recruited to help catch the real thief, which they do. Unmasked, the burglar turns out to be…Monique! Grateful for their assistance, Grant rewards the Sliders with a gem, which they use to repair the timer.

Worlds Visited

Details

• A crystal of Chapare vibrating in the range of 9 Hz is worth $81,000. Each crystal is $9,000 a Hz.
• The Star of La Paz has a $100,000 insurance policy on it.
• The jewelry store is named Altobelli’s.
• Monique Mansfield is the Goddess of Sex and Queen of the Festival.
• Diana’s PDL doubles as a densitometer to measure frequency rates in living gems. Handy…
• No one questions Altobelli’s integrity.
• Monique is staying in Suite 243 of the Chandler.
• The Chandler of Chapare World has a pool.
• The fire escape doesn’t reach to Suite 243.
• The opening ceremonies of the Film Festival end at 11:00 p.m.
• The Chandler of Chapare World has a high tech safe-locking system that uses a digital push-pad for entering a personalized combination for the individual patron. It’s also run by Windows 95, which means it’s also very easy to crack.
• Sandra is still wearing Bob Mackie, believe it or not.
• The new James Bond movie, Midnight Never Cries, stars Steven Seagal.

Character Information

• Quinn and the Professor discussed scarabs extensively when they analyzed the structure of the new timer. (This discussion must have taken place off-screen shortly after Slide Like an Egyptian.)
• Mallory has seen — and enjoyed — Sneakers. Combine World isn’t terribly dissimilar to Earth Prime.
• Mallory infers that he has broken into a jewelry store before.
• Diana drinks tea.
• Mallory drinks lemonade.
• Monique’s insurance company won’t let her wear the Star of La Paz.
• Diana read up on the process of wine fermentation a lot when she was younger.

Money Matters

• The Sliders pay for a room at the Chandler for two nights.
• Maggie and Diana purchase a dresse for Diana for her date with Grant.
• The Sliders buy enough professional sneaking equipment to break into someone’s room without being identified.

Notable Quotes

• “I think it’s genetic. Do you know any men who obsessively try on shoes?” — Mallory, to Rembrandt, while they wait for Maggie and Diana on Shoe World.
• “Well, there was this drummer in Portland…” — Rembrandt’s reply.
• “That’s all we need.” — Rembrandt, when Diana tells them that the time has yet another problem.
• “Oh, here’s something. Quentin Tarantino just checked out. You can have his suite once we clear out the wreckage.” — Gomez Calhoun.
• “You ever call me sweet cakes again, I’ll pull your heart right through your rib cage.” — Maggie, to Mallory.
• “I loved ‘Sneakers.’ It didn’t get good reviews, but I loved it.” — Mallory, plugging the fine Universal property.
• “The way I see it we might as well forget about sliding because jail time is gonna add up to a lot more than 29 years.” — Rembrandt, off the others’ discussion to steal a gem.
• “[Your dress] needs to say ‘I’m an adult, on my own, love a good time, and have a healthy attitude about sex.'”
  “But without saying ‘Welcome aboard.'” — Maggie and Diana.
• “Too many classes, not enough glasses.” — Grant Curtis.
• “I swear to God we just talked about movies.” — Mallory, to Rembrandt and Maggie, after learning the Goddess of Sex’s true identity.

Nitpicks/Errors

• The Sliders do a dead stop in the middle of the vortex. Hello? Are we forgetting the laws of inertia like the shuttlecraft in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home?!
• Isn’t it a tad coincidental that these living gems, which no one has ever heard of before, power a timer created with Egyptian technology?

Guest Stars

• Lisa Stahl Sullivan as Monique Mansfield
• Todd Kimsey as Grant Curtis
• Israel Juarbe¹ as Gomez Calhoun
• Judith McConnell² as Clerk

1. Israel Juarbe previously appeared as Gomez Calhoun in Lipschitz Live and Roads Taken.
2. Judith McConnell previously appeared in My Brother’s Keeper as Sylvia.