Sliders (1995–2000): Season 3, Episode 4 - The Guardian - full transcript

♪ ♪

[machine humming]

(Quinn)
Professor, are you all right?

Mr. Mallory.

Ah, you gave me
quite a start.

I picked up your voice mail
at the hotel by mistake.

There was a message
from your doctor reminding you
about your scan this morning.

You had no right,
Mr. Mallory.

Neither do you.

[breathing heavily]

Tell me.



I have

a terminal illness.

Incurable,
inoperable, untreatable.

There must be something
they can do.

How long?

A month. Maybe a year.

Are you in pain?

Surprisingly little,
actually.

I have read the literature,

and the end
is inevitably cruel

and quite
without dignity.

So, uh, since I refuse
to be the object of pity, I--

I think it is time
that we said our goodbyes

and went our separate ways.



I want you
to remember your old prof

with a smile
and not with a tear.

Professor, we are all
leaving this world
in less than an hour.

Mr. Mallory, I've thought
about this a great deal,

and I think what I
would choose to do
with my time remaining

is to--to travel a little,

perhaps have an adventure,

and live every second
of my life remaining
to the fullest.

Well, then come with us.

What greater adventure
than sliding?

Trust me, Mr. Mallory,
this is for the best.

Give my farewells
to the others.

Fine. Go, then.

Go on.
We'll do fine without you.

Walk out on me. Go!

Professor, we need you.

Damn you, boy.

I'd sooner Mr. Brown
and Miss Wells
did not know about this.

Then it'll stay between us.

We've gotta hurry, Professor.

It's almost time to slide.

[whooshing]

Well, that was
an extraordinary slide.

Maybe it's something to do
with the gravitational pull
on this world.

Look.

(Wade)
This is the first time we've
slid back into San Francisco

since Logan St. Clair
messed with the timer.

Yeah, but there's
something different
about this place.

I can't put my finger
on it.

Look at the clothes.

(Rembrandt)
Yeah, and they really
take care of their cars.

Check that one out.
Showroom condition.

What is that, an '84?

I know this area,
and I know what's wrong.

On our world,
it was all destroyed
in the earthquake of '89.

(Rembrandt)
Looks like 1980 everywhere.

What's the matter?

[tram bells ringing]

(minister)
Praise thy name
forever and ever.

Great is the Lord,
and greatly to be praised

and his greatness
is unsearchable.

Do you know
these people?

It's my father's funeral.

The woman's my mother.

And the boy is me.

(Quinn)
What if you found a portal
to a parallel universe?

What if you could slide
into a thousand
different worlds,

where it's the same year,
and you're the same person,

but everything else
is different?

And what if you can't
find your way home?

(voice)
Sliders.

[bell tolling]

[people chattering]

(Wade)
Poor Quinn.

He's having to go through
the pain of losing his father
all over again.

Yes, I'm not sure
this is a very good idea.

The past should be remembered,

not relived.

(woman)
Are you a friend
of the family?

Kind of.

I'm Quinn's homeroom teacher.

I don't really
know the family,

but I wanted Quinn
to know that I care.

Heather Hanley.

Jim Hall, Miss Hanley.

You sound like
one of my students.

Please call me Heather.

Hey.

You okay?

Yeah. Thanks.

Guys, I'm lost.

Now, you said we couldn't
travel back in time, right?

Just parallel worlds.

So why are we here in '84?

No, it is actually 1996.

What we're doing is
proving Van Meer's theorem

of straight relativistic
time dilation.

Oh, sure. That explains it.

Herbert Van Meer
was a Dutch astrophysicist

who postulated
the idea of a parallel Earth

that was revolving
around the sun
in the same period of time,

but spinning on its axis
a little bit faster.

It is 1996,
but from our perspective

events are occurring
as if it was 12 years ago.

So, bottom line,
we have gone back in time.

As you wish, Mr. Brown.

I need some time
by myself.

I'll hook up
with you guys later.

Oh, Quinn, wait.

[stuttering]

Remember that, uh,
that great pizza place
over on Post

that burned down
a couple of years ago?

I bet it's still open.

Doggy bag me
a couple of slices.

There's somethin'
I gotta do.

(Mrs. Mallory)
Quinn.

Quinn.

Come up and eat something,
sweetheart.

Are they all gone?

Please come upstairs.

I'm not done with this.

[blows]

I'll fix a plate
and bring it down.

You can show me
what you're doing.

[sighs]

I'm taking Bopper
for a walk.

Bopper. Bopper.

You left the gate open!
He's gone!

Bopper's gone!

We'll find him.
We always do.

It's your fault!

It's all your fault!

Quinn, I'll help you
look for him!

No. Just leave me alone!

[Rembrandt laughing]

I cannot believe
that you rented
a luxury car like this.

Ahh, this is a cruise
down memory lane,
Mr. Brown.

When I wore
a younger man's clothes,
I owned a car like this.

Now, they were happy days.

Oh, relax, Professor.
We've been listening
to your music all day.

Loosen up. Live a little.

Yeah, you're stuck
in a rut, Professor.

My mother always said
the only difference

between a rut and the grave
is a few inches.

Right. Brilliant!

(Rembrandt)
Oh!

[car accelerating]

[Arturo laughing]

[whimpering]

Oh. Oh, my God.
My God, you found him.

On top of everything else
that's happened,
this was really too much.

Yeah. Bopper was
all mixed up.

Six blocks away and moving
in the wrong direction
when I spotted him.

How did you know
his name was Bopper?

A neighbor saw me
with him.

Tall lady, red hair,
thick glasses.

Mrs. Vanderbecken.

I've seen you before,
haven't I?

At Michael's funeral.

Yes, I was a friend
of your husband's.

My name is Jim Hall.

We used to play chess
together in the park
during our lunch hours.

Please, come inside.

[birds chirping]

He told me so much
about his family.

I feel as if
I know you already.

Returning our dog
was so kind of you, Jim.

When I was Quinn's age,
I lost a dog myself.

He ran away
and never came home.

So returning Bopper
to this house was my pleasure.

I was hoping I could
say hello to Quinn.

He's out looking for Bopper.

I hope he'll get over
being mad at me

when he sees the dog
safely home.

He's been angry at me
ever since Michael was killed.

I just can't seem
to do anything right.

He's mad
at the whole world.

He dumps on you because
he knows you'll love him,
no matter what.

Give him time.

I should be going.
You've had a long day.

Perhaps you can come by
another day.

I'm sure Quinn
will want to thank you.

Maybe I'll do that.

Goodbye,

and please accept
my condolences.

Thank you.

(Rembrandt)
Of course.

[Rembrandt laughs]

Hey.

Hey, Q-Ball.

So, is the pizza at Acovone's
still any good?

Try it for yourself.

It's better
when it's hot.

The grease has
congealed a little. Heh, heh.

(Quinn)
I'm tellin' you,

you can't beat this sausage
on any world we've been to.

I have just seen
my very first
American football game.

(Arturo)
It was fantastic.

There was this fellow,
Joe Montana.

He marshals his squad
like a general.

Teams, Professor.
They're called teams,
not squads.

[chuckles]

It was awesome, Q-Ball.

In spite of the fact that
I knew the final score
even before the game began,

just to see Joe
in action again...

Awesome, man.
I mean, awesome!

[Rembrandt chuckles]

So, did you talk
to yourself?

To little Quinn.

Not yet.

Did see my mom, though.

I'd forgotten
how rough it was for us
right after my dad died.

Today, I really saw the pain
she's going through.

She's got nobody
to be there for her.

I wish she had
someone to talk to.

Someone. Not you.

We can't allow ourselves
to interfere with these lives.

The timing of our sliding
onto to this world
is more than coincidence.

I'm here for a reason,
Professor.

Something's about to happen
to young Quinn

and the incident's going
to occur in the schoolyard
on the day we slide.

But it's not
going to happen here.

Not the same way.
I won't allow it.

Quinn, I--I think
that you just need
to take a step back.

Let us all discuss this.

Wade, don't try
and talk me out of this.

I know what I'm doin'.

I'm sorry.

So, how did you guys
talk the Professor

into going
to a football game?

[chuckles]

That was the weird part.
It was his idea.

When he said
he wanted to do
something extraordinary,

we thought he was
talkin' about museums
or art galleries, huh?

(Arturo)
I've been
to thousands of those.

I've never been
to a football game.

And it's all due to
that remarkable woman,

Mr. Brown's mother.

Mama.

Rembrandt's mom.

[Rembrandt chuckles]

[school bell ringing]

[kids chattering]

Whoa. Nice move, queer.

The name's Quinn.

Heard about your dad.

Heard he blew his brains out
in your bedroom.

That's a lie. He was--
he was hit by a car.

Yeah, and I was driving.

Splattered him good.

[kids shouting]

You think
you're so smart, Mallory.

You think
you're better than us,
don't you?

I'm gonna put a dent
in that special brain
of yours.

That's not very smart, Rex.
Even for you.

I understand you, Rex.
I know your secret.

You're dyslexic,
and you lash out
because you can't read.

Brady Oaks, one day
you'll be a born-again

and you'll regret
all the cruel things
you've done!

Find God now, son!
Don't wait!

♪[singing]

We found a stray
in the hallway.

Yes, I believe that
he's looking for you,
Mr., um...

Hey, Quinn.
You should be home. Mom--

Your mom will be worried.

Are you the guy
that found my dog?

You are, aren't you?

We should get you home
before your mother
puts an APB

with the San Francisco
Police Department out on you.

Your name's Jim.
Mom told me.

You guys should've seen
how he stood up
for me at school.

It was so cool.

We'll, uh,
see you guys later.

Oh, uh, Jim,
before you go, a word.

You must not get
involved like this.

I'm a big boy, Professor.
I know what I'm doin'.

Mom?

(Mrs. Mallory)
In here.

Jim's here, Mom.

Oh, Mr. Hall,
what a nice surprise.

I decided to take you up
on your offer to meet Quinn.

We kind of
ran into each other.

Mr. Hall, this is--

Actually, we met at
the service yesterday.

What are you doing here,
Miss Hanley?

She's been telling me
about the fight today.

Are you all right, Quinn?

It was no big deal.

It certainly is a big deal.

I won't have you bullied.

I'm calling
those boys' mothers and--

No, you can't do that!
I'll handle it.

(Mrs. Mallory)
It's my responsibility.
You can't be fighting with--

No! It's up to me. Dad said.

Just stay out of it.

[birds chirping]

She's just trying to do
what she thinks
is right, Quinn.

She's hurting, too.

She misses your dad
just as much as you do.

Just leave me alone.

You don't know
anything about me.

I know that
you were skipped two grades.

I know that
you're younger and smaller
than the other kids,

that you have no friends,

no one you can trust
or rely on,

and that those bullies
are making your life
a living hell.

But together

we can change things.

Poor Quinn's
in a lot of pain.

The last thing he needs
is to be terrorized
by bullies.

You know, if he won't let
his mother intervene,
maybe I can.

The only person
who can protect Quinn
is Quinn,

and they'll keep
coming after him
until he stands up to them.

You heard what
Mrs. Mallory said
about fighting back.

And besides,
I'm afraid he wouldn't
stand a chance.

Fighting back
is his only chance.

You know what, Q-Ball?

I agree with you, man.

Little Quinn
keeps on taking it,

he's gonna keep
on getting it.

I had to deal with it
more than once in my life
as a kid, you know.

That's great.

Teach a child that the way
to solve his problems
is through violence.

Look, Quinn,
I know you're trying
to help this kid,

but everything happens
for a reason,

even if we don't understand.

You sure
you won't change your mind

and come to the opera
with us?

I don't have a tux.

You can have mine.

[Wade laughing]

I thought
you wanted to try new things.

How many times
have you seen this opera?

Your generation
thinks nothing

of seeing
Indiana Jones 13 times.

Well, I happen to feel
the same about Mozart.

(Arturo)
Now, get a move on, children.

The curtain's up
in half an hour.

[whispering]
What is with him?

I've never seen him
act like this.

He's so happy.

He's actually fun
to be with.

He's talking about
taking it one day at a time.

That life is the performance,
not the rehearsal.

Think he might
be stressed out?

I think he's just tired
of being the adult
all the time.

Ha.

[school bell ringing]

[children chattering]

How was the opera?

Fantastic.

Wade and Rembrandt
had a wonderful time.

Glad to hear it.
What are you doing here?

Oh, I'm here to talk
some sense into you.

This business
with your double must stop,
and it must stop now.

Quinn, listen.
By using your knowledge
to alter events in his life,

you may be changing
his future.

That's the idea, Professor.
Change his immediate future

to spare him from
the humiliation and pain
I went through.

All right,
you see that pack of rats
moving toward me?

There were three fights.

One yesterday,
I stopped it.

One today,
I'm gonna stop it.

And one on Friday.

The bad one.

Quinn, I know
this is tough on you,
but you must not interfere.

Without this experience,
this boy may never reach
his full potential.

He may never become
a man like you.

Fight!

[kids clamoring]

I gotta stop this.

No, Quinn. No. No. No.

(Arturo)
Listen.

(Quinn)
Professor, let me go.

Think about it, Quinn!

Professor, get off me!

Quinn, think. Think. Think.

You owe it
to the Quinn of this world.

No!

(Arturo)
Use your head.

(Quinn)
No!

Quinn.

[kids continue clamoring]

Is that enough, Professor?

Can I stop it now?

You tell me.

How did it end
when you were a boy?

It was stopped
by Miss Hanley,
my homeroom teacher.

You saw her at the funeral.

(Quinn)
This is so bizarre.

Quinn? Quinn, are you okay?

(Quinn)
It's like
looking back in time.

[kids chattering]

You can look, Mr. Mallory,

but don't touch.

Heather.

Jim.

Thanks for helpin' out Quinn.
That was getting pretty ugly.

Look, I appreciate
your concern for his welfare,

but you really
shouldn't be hanging around
watching over him.

I'm not a freak.

I just can't stand by
and do nothing.

At least we got those bullies
off the playground.

Brady Oaks and Rex Crandall
were suspended.

I know, but they're gonna be
back in school on Friday

and something terrible
is goin' to happen.

On Friday?

How do you know
what's going to happen
on Friday?

That's a little hard
to explain.

Heather, I'm only in town
for a short while.

I leave
early Friday afternoon.

I need to talk to you
about Quinn.

Could you...

Would you have dinner
with me tonight?

(Quinn)
Quinn sees his genius
as a curse.

He'd much rather
be known as an athlete
than a brain.

But skipping two grades

has made him smaller
and slower
than his classmates.

But he's so gifted.

It's a blessing, not a curse.

Ah, and one day
he'll realize that,
believe me.

But even then,
he'll practice all his science
in his basement.

Work he does alone

in his fortress of solitude.

You know,
you keep talking about
what he will do.

How can you possibly know?

Educated guesses.

And you can't be there
to protect him
every minute, Heather.

And something tragic's
going to happen

unless I can help him
through this.

Well, that's up
to Mrs. Mallory, not me.

Yeah, I'm--I'm going to
stop by and see her
later tonight.

Why so much interest
in Quinn?

I can identify with him,
that's all.

Does that mean
that you went through
something like this

when you were Quinn's age?

You could say that, yeah.

I bet all the guys
feed you that famous line:

"Teachers never
looked like you
when they went to school."

Yeah. It's right behind,
"What's your sign?"

Don't tell me
that's what you
were going to say.

I--I can't.

My favorite teacher
looked exactly like you.

I was Quinn's age

and, man, I had
a crush on her. Intense.

Of course,
I knew it was impossible,

but I couldn't help myself.

Crazy, huh?

Yeah, maybe.

But not to you.

Not at the time.

Love's funny that way.

Sometimes it has
no boundaries.

(Quinn)
No, seriously,

um, when I'm gone,
could you keep
an eye on Quinn?

Just kind of
look out for him a little,

this is
an especially rough time
and he's gonna need a friend.

Somebody he can trust
and open up to.

[sighs]

You know,
I've never met anybody

who speaks about the future
with such certainty.

I know what I know.

I can't explain how,
but please believe me.

Of course, Jim.

Quinn can count on me.

Thank you, Miss Hanley.

Oh.

Thank you, Mr. Hall.

♪[music playing]

How very salubrious.

This place really
isn't your style, Professor.

What do you say
we get a drink
somewhere else?

Yes, well,
I'm surprised at you,
judging a book by its cover.

I look around,
I see a number of
very congenial souls.

A little bit
mangy perhaps, but...

[people chattering]

Barkeeper,
what ales do you have?

Well, that depends
on what ails you.

[laughs]

Ah, two lagers,
a Black Velvet for my friend,

and whatever for you, sir.

Thanks, pal.

Hi.

You're cool.

Well, I suppose I am.

So, what do they call you?

They call me Maximillian,
but you can call me Max,
if you like.

Hmm, I like. I'm Ambrosia.

You certainly are, ma'am.

[chuckles]

Would you like a drink,
Ambrosia?

I want a Skip-And-Go-Naked.

Fine, but why not
have a drink first?

[chuckles]

Skip-And-Go-Naked is a drink.

You're so spacey.

It's gonna be a long night.

And then they surrounded me.

If you had been there,
you could've stopped it.

But without you,
I'm helpless.

You know,
when I was your age,
I was picked on, too.

Really? You?

I'd be afraid
to close my eyes at night

because I might wake up
in the next instant

and it'd be time
to go to school.

Time to face
the monsters again.

All day long,
my stomach would be
in knots.

Right. That's how
it is for me, too.

But you must've
killed those guys.
They wouldn't mess with you.

I was a punching bag.

But I took it,
time and again

and it just got worse
and worse.

Quinn, I'm going to be
leaving soon.

No. You can't go.

I have to.
I don't have a choice.

What's more important
is that Rex and Brady
will be back

and this time
you'll have to be prepared.

But what can I do?

Without you, what can I do?

Learn to defend yourself.

Jim, may I speak
with you a moment?

My husband was a man
of peace.

He would never approve
of teaching Quinn to fight.

There has to be another way.

There is.

And it's worse
than you can imagine.

I'm asking you
to trust me.

I know
what he's going through.

I care about Quinn,
and I would never let
anything hurt him.

I do trust you.

I can't explain it,

but there's this connection
between you

and what's left
of this family.

Then let me help him.

Make your
punches count, Quinn.

Don't just throw wildly.

Come on, concentrate
on what you're doing.

Take aim.

That's it, let it go.
Let it all go.

He wouldn't help me.

I asked him to come to school
and get 'em off my back.

He wouldn't. He said
I had to deal with it.

Then he said he'd help me.

He didn't. He lied!

I screamed at him.

I told him I hated him.

My dad died
thinking I hated him.

No.

He knew how much
you loved him,

and he loved you
with all of his heart.

And what happened
to your father
was an accident.

It wasn't your mother's fault
and it wasn't yours.

Deep down,
you might even blame him
for leaving you,

and that's what
hurts most of all.

So you gotta
fight those feelings.

(Arturo)
"Love's not Time's fool,

"though rosy lips and cheeks
within his bending
sickle's compass come

"Love alters not
with his brief hours
and weeks,

"But bears it out
ev'n to the edge of doom.

[loud grunting]

If this be error..."

Will you just
shut the hell up?

Those words,
all those syllables...

It's like-- it's like
being back at school!

Well, at least that implies
that you did go to school.
This is good.

Are you hanging
with this loser, Ambrosia?

Is this Neanderthal
belonging to you, Ambrosia?

Hey, I'm talkin' to her!

But you're looking at me.
Are you confused?

First you kill my ears,
and now you're sniffin'
around my woman.

I'm gonna have
to mess you up good,
old dude.

Come on, man,
there's no need for violence.

We can sort this out
like rational men.

How about a drink?

Look, Bull,
you leave him alone, okay?

You don't own me.

Shut up.

I despise men who hit women!

Look what you did!
Somebody call the cops!

(Rembrandt)
Let's go, Professor.

I'm not looking to spend
my last night here in jail.

(Ambrosia)
You big bully!

(young Quinn)
My dad used
to take me stargazing.

He bought me a telescope
for my eighth birthday.

We used to go
to a mountaintop.

He taught me where
to find Orion's Belt,
Altair, and Ursa Major.

Did you know
we're all made from stardust?

You, me, your father.
All of us.

Our atoms were formed
in the stars.

Not the stars
you can see now. No.

The older ones.

The ones that went nova
and turned into dust.

Think about it, Quinn.

Our bodies are made
from remnants
of ancient suns.

Wow.

For real?

For real.

Of course,
you can't look to the heavens
and actually see your dad,

but one day
his physical essence
will blow into space,

yours and mine, too.

And together,

we'll make new stars.

Tell me that isn't cool.

(Quinn)
That's it.

Step into your left.
you ready? one, two...

[kids chattering]

Put your weight
into it.

Come on, hit me harder.

Hey, there's your friends.

All right! That's what
I'm talking about.

Why don't you go
get some water?

Okay.

This is what
you're teachin' him?

This is what you've been
spending your time doing,

teaching a little boy
how to bash
somebody's head in?

He's gotta face
those boys today.

They'll be waiting for him
in the playground
after school.

I'm gonna give that kid
everything I've got
until then,

and you're not
going to stop me.

Look, maybe it isn't
such a hot idea.

I mean,
the kid could get hurt.

You weren't there
12 years ago, Rembrandt.

You didn't see
what happened.

So what? A dozen years ago,
you got beat up
by some bullies.

And now you're using
this poor little kid

to get revenge
for what happened to you.

Oh, come on, Rembrandt.

We've got to find
a bungee cord

for the other lunatic
we slide with.

If bungee-cord jumping
hasn't been invented
in this world,

then it's just about to be.
So why shouldn't I be first?

I don't know
which of you is crazier.

It's gotta be something
in the air.

Don't start on me now.

I heard all the arguments.

I'm doin'
what has to be done.

For the boy or for you?

I think you're
a little confused, Professor.

This already happened to me,
and it scarred me for life.

I never got over
what happened
on that playground.

And you've been angry
all your life

because you thought
you went through it alone.

There's more to it than that.

You're angry now.

You're angry at me
because I'm going to die,

and I'm going to
leave you all alone.

That's all right.

Just don't deny it
the way you tried to deny
the death of your father.

It's must've been very hard
being that little boy.

All that happening at school

and then having to go home
and try to be the big man
of the house.

I know exactly
how Quinn feels.

I felt the same way.

I never cried.

I always pushed forward,
stuffing my feelings down,

trying to get through it
any way I could.

You know, forget what I said
about not intervening

in the lives
that we encounter.

By teaching this boy to box,
you--you teach him to heal.

No matter what happens,

you will have
been a positive force
for good in his life.

And your dad will be
very proud of you.

[Rembrandt grunting]

Are you sure that
you want to do this?

I mean, really sure?

Absolutely, Mr. Brown.

I want to fall free
and then soar like a bird.

[wind whistling]

[breathing deeply]

(Arturo)
Looks a lot more
than 100 feet.

Still...

...better to live
one day as a lion
than a thousand as a lamb.

(Rembrandt)
I guess that's why
there's so many lambs

and so few lions.

Carpe diem, Mr. Brown.

Carpe diem!

[laughing]

(Arturo)
Incredible!

Now haul me up, Mr. Brown,
and let me do it again.

How do we
get him up?

(Arturo)
Wonderful!

You don't know?

[birds chirping]

All right, it's started.

A bat?

You gave him a bat?

Watch.

He didn't do it.

Oh, thank God,
he didn't do it.

Brain boy
is gonna hurt me.

Ooh, I'm so scared.

(Rembrandt)
Check it out.

The little dude
doesn't need a bat.

Anybody else wanna go?

On our world,
I did hit Brady with the bat.

I busted his knee.

Broke the bone in four places.

He walked with a limp
for the rest of his life.

You trained your double
so he wouldn't strike out
like you did.

By teaching him
how to defend himself,

I was hoping
he wouldn't feel the need
to act out of desperation.

And he could trust his hands
instead of a weapon.

Hey.

I just wish
you could stay.

Just remember,

I'm always with you, Quinn.
Right there.

And I'm proud of you.

Will you be coming back
this way one day?

I don't think so.

You know,
I never asked who you are.

I mean, who you really are.

[car engine starting]

I think Quinn's
going to be okay now.

He earned the respect
of his peers

by standing up
to the worst terror
on the playground.

You know,
the kids are all talking
about what he did.

He's a real hero now
to a lot of them.

[sighs]

But, you know,
I'll look after him,
just in case.

Until you come back.

Heather,
I won't be coming back.

I can't explain it.
That's just the way it is.

But I thought--

I don't understand.

I know you don't,
and I'm sorry.

I wish I could change
the way things are,

but it's beyond my control.

I'll always
remember you, Heather.

Five seconds.

[vortex shooting]

[whooshing]

[whooshing]

[whooshing]

Jim. Jim, wait!

[vortex swirling]

(Quinn)
My name isn't Jim.

It's Quinn.

[whooshing]

[vortex disappears]