Sliders (1995–2000): Season 4, Episode 21 - Roads Taken - full transcript

Wow!

That was wild!

Something must be wrong,
that was the worst slide I've ever had!

Yeah, well, I've had worse.

It closed.

Yeah, I noticed.

Look, did you see Quinn and
Maggie go in on the other world?

They were right behind
me. I'm sure they made it!

Okay.

Maybe they got separated away
from us. That's happened before.

Quinn! Maggie!



What if they missed the jump?

You got the timer?

No. Quinn's got it.

Q-Ball!

Maggie! Maggie!

All right.

Okay,
look. That leaves two choices.

Either they got left back there.

Which means they're
stuck there for 29 years.

Or they got dropped off
someplace on this world.

I choose the second.

Yeah.

Let's see what
kind of world this is.

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?

Sliders.

Okay,
things seem pretty quiet now.

Maybe the explosion
was some kind of accident.

I don't know what the devil that was,
but it was no accident.

Somebody out
there is very angry.

I can't believe Quinn and
Maggie didn't make the slide.

This isn't happening to us!

Yeah, well,
get used to it. Damn!

Either they missed that slide

or they got trapped inside
and dropped off at another world

or someplace on this one.

Q-Ball's got the timer.

And we're stuck in the
middle of somebody else's war.

Is there an upside to this?

Not really.

You made it Quinn.
Maggie. Quinn. Maggie.

Whoa! We thought
we lost you guys!

It's good to see you guys,
too. But what's the big deal?

Really. It's not like we
weren't just with you.

Yes, it is.

Look, you don't understand.

The vortex is acting weird.

It opens. It closed.
It opens. It closed.

It was filled with turns,
drops and electric charges.

What are
you talking about?

Really,
I didn't see anything like that.

The slide seemed
perfectly normal.

In fact, it was a little more
comfortable than usual.

No, guys. You don't understand.

There were two different slides.

Ours was rough and different.
Yours was the same. It was normal.

Doesn't seem to
be any malfunction.

Yeah. Maybe you
guys just hit a detour.

You got the high-priced ride.

Extra thrills at
no extra charge.

That ride was no thrill.

Yeah, well, that last world
we were in was no thrill either.

I'm so glad we're out of there.

Oh, yeah? You okay?
Those guys were pretty rough.

I was holding my
own till you got there.

You always do.

Look,
how much time we got on this world?

Twelve hours.

What kind of place is this?

You're not gonna like it.

Company move! Company move! Go!

What's going on?

Hey,
you people better get off the street.

What's the problem, Lieutenant?

Some B-1 snipers
in that tenement.

They've got an anti-tank weapon.

We were looking for
the Chandler Hotel.

Better stay on this
side of the street.

The Chandler's clear,
last I heard.

Hurry.

What is it?

I'm just tired.

Lost my voice.

When are we gonna slide into a
world where nobody's killing each other?

I don't know.

Uh, we'd like a suite. 1215,
if available.

Damn! Piece of crap!

You're joking. I don't think so.

Look,
we never joke about hotel suites.

We've got plenty of cash,
for a change.

All the suites were
split up years ago.

Nobody could afford
them. WOMAN: Gomez!

Yeah. This place has changed
since the last time we were here.

I've never seen you here before.

Well, you must have something.

Some room, somewhere. Anything's
better than a cot in the lobby.

You have the Ambassador level.

The Deluxe Economy level.

Or the Regular Economy.

All right. Ambassador.
Shoot the moon.

Hey, we even have a key to the
shower room for the Ambassador.

Shower room?

Yeah, unisex.

But you can hang
up a sign for privacy.

We need to fill out a card?

Nah, nah, nah!

Pay in advance.

And I don't care who you are.

Hey.

Personal Entertainment center?

It's a wind-up model.

Just turn that thing power
goes around there. Then, yeah.

Works good. Thank you.

Yeah.

Hi-fi stereo.

Uh,
Remmy. Why don't you check this place out?

I'm gonna get Maggie up to
the room so she can lie down.

Yeah.

Can I get a draft?

We've got a bullet
hole in the satellite dish.

But Larry tells me it
won't affect transmission.

Did Bernie get
through to Dornan?

Look. The story's one-sided without
some kind of comment from the guy.

And tell Bernie I want to lead with
footage of that B-1 Bobbie on fire.

Oh. What can I
tell you? It's a war.

Tough assignment?

Not bad. Nothing like Detroit
after the war with Canada.

Yeah.

Detroit was a mess.

You up there?

No, no.

Wars and me, we don't get along.

That's why I try to
stay away from it.

So what are you
doing in this one?

Well, I'm just passing through.

Sort of been out
of touch lately.

You see, I'm a marine biologist.

I just spent the past year
underwater on the coast of Japan.

They don't get CNN in Japan?

Yeah, but it's in Japanese.

You're a reporter?

Caroline Tatashore.

Rembrandt Brown.

So maybe you could, uh,

bring me up to date about
what's going on around here.

Where do you want me to start?

The invasion or the stock
market crash that caused it?

The crash? Yeah,
yeah. I heard about that.

Just not clear on why.

Microsoft went under.
Took the whole market down.

President of Mexico thought
he might have a shot at

taking back some
land he said we stole.

Those guys have been
waiting for a shot at us.

Marvin, another shooter. Please.

Yeah. Make that two.

And the Mexican army didn't know every man,
woman and child

in the state has an
automatic weapon.

It's a law.

And they ran into the Willie
Nelson Suicide Brigades.

Drove them right back
across the Rio Grande.

Yeah,
don't mess with Texas, huh?

You do pretty good work. Mmm.

I'm a journalist.

Since we're not
gonna be here long,

and given the
gunplay on the streets,

it's probably a good idea
for us to lie low right here.

Any better?

I'm not dizzy anymore.
I'm just really tired.

Yeah. Me, too.

I guess that fight on the
last world took more out of me

than I thought.

I am gonna catch some z's.

Yeah, if I just lie here
for a while I'll be fine.

Attention. Attention.

New curfew hours have been
published for the Nuevo Los Angeles.

Due to an increased unrest in
the northern San Fernando Valley,

all residents must be off
the streets at night by 9:00.

Once again,
the ELL ruling council

has turned down demands for bilingual
education in the north Valley schools.

"This is a
Spanish-speaking country,"

Commissioner
Reyes told reporters,

"and
you Anglos had better get used to it."

California governor Robert
Dornan made a broadcast today.

Hey.

They sacked out?

Yeah,
they both seemed pretty tired.

Yeah.

Too many worlds at war.

It's bound to wear you down.

All right. Look, I'm beginning to get a
take on what happened on this world.

I ran into a reporter
down at the bar.

She was throwing down tequila
like they're running out of cactus.

You like Vienna sausage?

Never had it.

I better skip that. Anyway,
Mexico invaded.

All the fighting that's going
on out there in the streets?

Those are guerrillas
named B-1 Bobbies.

They're named after the
governor. A Robert Dornan.

And he's

upstate somewhere underground.

And he refuses to let the
UN weapons inspectors in.

"These beets are
chemically preserved

"and will retain their
wholesome color

"long after they are no
longer safe to eat." Oh.

So I think it's best if we
stay low until it's time to slide.

Yeah, that's what Quinn said.

Yeah. Whoa!

Tabasco.

Better hang onto
that. It just might go off.

Who the hell is that?

Hey!

What are you doing here?

I think this place is haunted.

Again?

I've checked all over the lobby.

I talked to the clerk
and to the reporter.

No one's seen a man
with that description.

Like I said. It could
have been a ghost.

Yeah, well,
I don't even think about that right now.

Look, does 50 bucks for a handful
of ice cubes sound right to you?

Quinn and Maggie
are running a fever.

A fever? Are they sick?

Looks that way.

Wonder how it could've happened?

I don't know.

It had to be that crazy slide.

They were all right until then.

It could've been something to
do with that man. Or that ghost.

He did something with his hands.

What? Did he come back?

No.

But he had some kind
of strange presence.

I don't know. It's
hard to explain.

Yeah, well, I want to land on a world
where everything is easy to explain.

No more wars. No more Kromaggs.
Just peace and quiet for a change.

Go ahead.

Go on ahead.

Go on ahead.

Go on "Go on
ahead". What does he mean?

Go on.

Go on ahead.

Go on ahead.

Go on ahead.

Go.

Oh!

It's him!

Hey,
farm boy. Come here a minute.

Does she look different to you?

She looks...

Yellow.

Yeah, I wonder what that means?

I don't know.

In my world, some people looked
like that when they were sick.

It's not a good sign.

Okay. Look, I don't like this.

They're gonna need a doctor.

I'm going to see
if I can find one.

You stay here. Try to
keep them comfortable.

I'll be back as soon as I can.

Left on attack!

Gotta get
that guy some help!

Now!

Move! Move! Move! Go! Go! Go!

Gunshot! I got gunshot here!

Let's go! Move! Move!

Come on! Let's go! Let's go!

He's hit! He's hit!

The sniper's down!
The sniper's down!

Watch for more!

Heads up!

You okay? Yeah.

But why was he shooting at me?

Maybe he thought you were
Latin. Maybe it's just your turn.

Okay! Let's move it out!

Red Flower. This is
Red Flower advance.

Sniper rubbed out.
Marshall building.

Street clear.

Hey, look. I need your help.

You've been helped.

Yeah. I know that. Thanks.

But I've got friends over here at the
hotel who are sick and need a doctor.

Yeah, good luck on that.

Look, I was told that you
people here have medics.

Can't spare any right now.

And
now for a news update.

Sporadic sniper fire
continues in Pacoima.

But this morning the
UN spokesman reported

that the area is fully
under peacekeeper control

after last night's
B-1 Bobbie raids

all through the north Valley.

California governor Robert
Dornan made a broadcast today.

Avocados actually got to them

instead of being diverted
to the Dornan's inner circle

and his...

Okay,
Hale. Take the point. Take the point!

Man on the left!

Man on the right!

Move out to the right.

Move it on up! Move it on up!

Turn it. Turn it.

Sniper!

You want one?

I owe you.

Get me to the doctor
and I'll get you one.

Thank God you're here.

I think they're getting worse.

Where'd you find a doctor?

A friend of his owed me a favor.

So can you tell anything, Doc?

In a moment. In a moment.

Interesting.

Very strange, but interesting.

What?

What's interesting?

Yeah? What's very strange?

The yellowish skin is
indicative of liver failure.

There is edema in
the lower extremities,

which could indicate
congestive heart failure.

Then there are the eyes.

Well,
what about the eyes?

The cloudiness.
That's rather advanced cataracts.

What? What do you mean?

I have never seen anything
like this in subjects so young and

I cannot be sure without
doing some blood work. But,

I would have to say that

your friends seem
to be dying of old age.

I've never seen
anything like this.

They can't be dying.
They're still very young.

Look, when we got here less
than five hours ago they were fine.

Now this just came over them. Now,
how is that possible?

Were they outside a lot?

No, once we got into the city.
We came straight to the hotel.

Wait a minute, what's wrong?

It just occurred to
me that this could be

the result of some sort
of biological weapon.

We suspect the
guerrillas have them.

But they have never been
crazy enough to use them.

We could all be at risk here.

I'm gonna have to report
this to the senior medical staff.

We're gonna have to put
your friends in quarantine.

Will they get treatment
in quarantine?

Yeah,
and how long will it take?

You haven't been
listening to me.

There is no treatment.

Your friends are dying

and we have to isolate
them to prevent this

thing from spreading.

We probably won't know
for certain until an autopsy.

Mash 105. This is Kurtz.

We have a possible
bio-chemical contamination.

Chandler Hotel.

Code red security. Code red.

Wait a minute. What is that?

I told you. Quarantine.

No one will be allowed
to enter or leave the hotel

until the subjects are isolated.

Okay, what do we do now?

They're dying.

We're under armed guard
where we cannot move.

How long till the slide?

Seven hours.

Okay, look.

If they get us to a hospital,
we're gonna have to try to stay together.

If they try to separate us, like try to
put them in some kind of isolation,

we won't be able
to take them with us.

Then what? We
stay here with them?

For 29 years?

Oh, man, it's bad, it's bad.

I think I've figured
out a correlation

between the appearance
of that ghost-like figure

and Quinn and
Maggie's condition.

What? What are
you talking about?

When I tried to manipulate
the coordinating functions,

I found some strange read-outs.

At first I thought it was caused
by something that happened in that

rough slide we made.

But then I saw that the energy
spikes were recorded at the same time

that we saw that ghostly image.

I can't read that.

What is it you
think you've found?

Somehow I think the appearance of
that figure is linked to the energy spikes.

Which means I think he's either

somehow linked to the slide

or another world.

I still don't see how
that could help us.

Your friend is quite right.

Oh, no. Don't be frightened.

I'm here to help.

Who are you? Where in
the devil did you come from?

I'm a trans-dimensional
traveler.

Just like you.

It's not easy to explain
what has happened here.

I only just figured
it out myself.

And I'm sorry that I had to
appear so ghost-like before.

But I had to make certain
that I maintained a link.

You know,
just an anchor, if you will,

to my own world while
traveling to this one.

All right.

During your last
trans-dimensional journey...

We call them slides.

Oh, I see.

All right. During your slide,
then,

something odd happened
in the electron field

of your friends'
physical composition.

I knew there was something
weird that happened with that.

You see,
you two weren't affected.

But they were spun off

and became the focal point of

a kind of bubble universe.

But,
forgive me if this isn't quite clear.

But I'm still working
out the physics myself.

You're a physicist?

Sorry.

Forgot to introduce myself.

I'm Thomas Mallory.

Mallory?

On the world I come from,

I'm their son.

All right, look, I know this must
be a little bit of a shock to you,

but look,
if you want me to help them,

you have to help me.

How?

I think I can make the necessary
calculations with your equipment.

Our equipment?

Your sliding device.

Oh.

I had a laptop computer
in the last world.

But a Navajo
shaman took it apart.

Yeah, well,
this will just have to do. Here.

The UN soldiers are setting
up a perimeter around the hotel.

The medic that we had here wants to put Quinn
and Maggie into some type of quarantine.

Maybe us too. We
can't let that happen.

Unless they are reunited
with their other selves,

they will die.

Then we have to get to work.

So, a lifetime on your world,
if I understand this,

is maybe like a dream to
this Quinn and this Maggie.

That's an excellent analogy.

Your friend's a philosopher.

Sometimes.

Hi. Hi.

I... I got this.

It's okay.

Shall we go?

My father wants you to come
inside so he can meet you.

Your father, the general,
wants to meet me now?

But we'll miss the grand march.

Oh, come on. Don't be silly.

If he asks you if you're joining the
Service, you tell him the Marines.

And if he starts complaining
about the Democrats,

you just kind of nod, all right?

Oh, you do own a gun, don't you?

Let's just enjoy the
view for a minute.

Why? Is it going to change soon?

No. No.

It's just that

things are moving very fast for us,
aren't they, Maggie?

Do you like the
way they're moving?

I do. I do.

Then what difference does
it make how fast they move?

This is getting serious,
isn't it, Maggie?

Yes.

Does that worry you?

No. No.

It scares the hell out of me.

Where are we going, Maggie?

Well,
it looks to me like we're going a long way.

What does that mean?

Marriage? House? Kids?

It usually does.

I don't know if I'm
ready for all that.

Well,
you don't get all of it at the same time.

In stages.

First we get engaged
and plan a wedding...

Hey,

put the top up.

According
to Isaac Newton,

everything attracts
everything else.

So how come I'm
only attracted to you?

That's because Einstein
changed all the rules.

According to him, space and
time are curved near heavy masses.

You're not so heavy.

Only on the outside. On the
inside I weigh more than 1,000 suns.

So do you.

Do you want children?

Of course. Don't you?

We need some time to
ourselves first. Don't you think?

I mean,
I gotta finish grad school

and then I want to get hooked up with a
good research department somewhere.

What? Now you want to teach?

Last summer,
when you had Doctor Feynman,

you wanted to do pure research.

I've never heard you so
excited about anything.

Feynman had that effect on us.

And if I could get a job at Caltech,
I could do both.

A boy.

What?

You were thinking,
"I wonder if she wants a boy or a girl."

How did you know that?

I don't know. Maybe it has
something to do with your "heavy mass"

and my "curved space".

So now you can read my mind?

Sometimes.

Okay,
where do I want to go tonight?

Um, you want to go to that

place by that
thing that you like.

Underneath the... Behind the...

Yeah.

We always talk about
what I want to do.

What do you want to do?

Fly like a bird.

Mom became a pilot.

Our Maggie was a pilot,
too.

Combat with the Marines.

You know,
there is no your Maggie or my Maggie.

They're not duplicates.

They are themselves.
Only split off.

I think the world that
Maggie and Quinn created

was in response to
some deep longing,

maybe a need for
peace. A way out of

harsh, real worlds like this.

You mean,
you can wish a whole world into being?

Why not?

Well,

no sign of an ambulance
or a hazmat team yet.

Maybe this air raid
is holding them up.

You know,
Dad used to talk about you a lot.

You know, you're my uncle.

I hadn't really
thought about that.

Good luck!

Bye!

They, look beautiful!

Yeah! Bye-bye!

They were supposed to
honeymoon for a week in Bermuda.

But they came home
after a couple days.

Dad had got an idea for a new
formula for relativistic energy

and needed his computer.

I don't want you to get the idea
that Dad neglected Mom for his work.

She was very happy.

So was I when I came along.

They
named me Thomas Michael.

Thomas for the general,
Michael

for my father's dad.

Your dad.

Hey,
come here. Come here come here. Come here.

I think I was a year and a half
when dad started planning my NFL career.

Good one. He's such a smart guy.

Whoa! Whoa! Yeah!

It seemed like only an instant. In a way,
it was.

Till I had my PhD in physics,
just like Dad.

Of course. No one could
ever be "just like Dad".

He was one of a kind.

After I left home,

I always wrote Mom and Dad so
they could keep up with my work.

I got a great job in
biophysics at the South Pole.

At least I thought
it was a great job.

A lot of my colleagues
complained about the weather.

Mom and Dad

were always very much
in love with each other

that never wavered.

And now,

that life is almost over.

I think I've got it.

You were right about
this complex conjugate.

It folds right back
into this other data.

Of course, there's a problem.

I knew there would be.

Can't be helped.

What? What problem?

The only way to save our Quinn and Maggie
is to reunite them with their other halves.

You see,
these are the real Quinn and Maggie.

The bubble universe

where I was born and grew up

isn't real.

Not in a material sense.

By reuniting the two entities,

your friends will be regenerated,
the life drain will stop,

and they will live.

Of course, it's just a theory.

Yeah, but a good one. I like it.

Now, will it work?

If it does,

there'll be a terrible price.

If it works,

the bubble universe
and everything in it

will cease to exist.

Including you?

Yeah, well,
we'd better do something.

The medical team
is already here.

Looks like they're suiting
up for germ warfare.

They're not taking any chances.

My parents
had a rich and full life.

Lives that Maggie and
Quinn would have wished for.

But now,
it's time to break the link.

And let your friends
return to this life.

What about you?

Without your friends,

my parents and their world
would never have existed.

Without my parents,
I wouldn't have existed.

Look, how close are you guys?

Look, I'm gonna need a second.

I just want a few
minutes of your time.

Look, not right now.

Look, just a statement.

Look, we know that the guerrillas
are using biological warfare and

we think that your
friends are involved.

Look, no comment.

Look,
the UN has sealed off the hotel

and the medical hazmat
team is coming up.

I just want the story.

Look, there is no story.

Someone is over-reacting.

In a few minutes,

the military police are
going to get your sick friends

to a sealed biomedical lab.

And everybody else in this
room is going to be arrested.

Don't you want to get
your story out there?

He said no comment!

All right.

If our numbers are right,

and I programmed
the right coordinate,

I'm ready to transport me

and your friends
back to my world.

Can you take us with you?

Yes,

but it's dangerous.

Look, Rembrandt...

You never existed
on the bubble world

and your presence there now
might upset the whole process.

You might even be
eliminated along with that world.

What about Quinn and Maggie?
What would happen to them?

They'll return here
because in reality,

they never left.

But they would still live?

That's the theory.

All right,
military police. Everybody, clear out!

Okay. Look, if we go with you

we're not sure what's gonna
happen. MAN: Let's move it!

Everybody. Clear out! Right now!

If we stay here,
we do know what's gonna happen.

It's not an easy selection. Open
the door this is the military police.

We can't let them die! Open the
door! This is the military police!

We're gonna count to three and
we're gonna knock this door down.

One! Here goes...

Two! everything.

Three!

Dad. Mom.

You made it.

I knew they would.

I knew Thomas would find a way.

You were always a bright boy.

You look just as I remembered.

Maybe even a little better.

Tsk, behave yourself, Quinn.

A little dignity, please!

I've always had a little dignity,
my dear.

Just enough to get by.

Who are they?

Uh,
Dad... Friends. This is Rembrandt Brown

and Dad, this is Uncle Colin,

your brother.

This is more than I
could have hoped.

Will the fabric of this cosmos
handle the extra mass?

I haven't had time to
refine the calculations.

They're taking a great risk.

You were always like that.

I don't know what to say.

I do. Thank you.

You gave us a wonderful life.

And because we lived it,

so, in a way, did you.

And you'll remember.

But now, it's over.

Everyone who's ever lived has known from
the beginning that there would be an end.

And some of us still
wouldn't believe it.

It must be very strange
to see your future.

Yes.

But not at all troubling.

I don't know. I feel, um,
at peace, somehow.

Good.

And you mustn't feel at all
bad about what is to happen.

We have lived long and well.

Worked hard.

Had more than our share of good times,
too.

And a loving son.

Perhaps the memory of all that
we have had will keep you strong.

In the hard times you
have ahead of you.

I think it will.

"I have been here before

"When and how I cannot tell"

Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

You do know him, don't you?

I probably should.

Physics major.

I don't know what's
happening with students today.

Physics majors should know as
much about Keats and Tennyson

and Rossetti as they
do about M-theory.

You do know M-theory, don't you?

Yes, sir. It's...

Stop lecturing the boy, Quinn!

Occupational hazard.

Oh, I know.

Well, Mags,

are you ready?

Yes.

Thomas, for this sacrifice,

there is no way
we can thank you.

And no need.

Colin. Rembrandt.

You may have given
your life for your friends.

We know.

Put your hands on top of ours.

Say it, Thomas.

You know the part we like.

"I have been here before

"But when and how I cannot tell

"I know the grass
beyond the door

"The sweet keen smell

"The sighing sound The
lights around the shore

"And you have been mine before

"How long ago I may not know

"Has this been thus before?

"And shall not thus
time's eddying flight

"Still with our lives
our love restore?

"In death's despite

"And day and night

"yield one delight

"once more?"

Well, we made it. We're back.

Yeah, but back where?

You all right?

Yeah, I feel fine.

Me, too.

Do you remember?

Everything.

How can I have a
lifetime of memories and

haven't even lived mine yet?

I don't know.

But I want to hold
onto every one.

And make some new ones.

Does any of this
seem at all familiar?

How much time do we have here?

Twelve hours.

We're right back
where we started.

The poem Thomas read,

"I've been here before But
when or how I cannot tell"

But, how?

The space-time of the
bubble universe was destroyed.

That space and that
time never existed.

Except for in our
memories. What's going on?

Hey,
you people better get off the street.

What's the problem, Lieutenant?

Some B-1 snipers
up in that tenement.

They've got an anti-tank weapon.

We were looking for
the Chandler Hotel.

The Chandler's clear,
last I heard.

Better stay on this
side of the street.

Yeah, we know.

By the way, Lieutenant,
be very careful today.

Keep a sharp eye
out over the rooftops!

I think we've reached
the beginning.

Come on, let's go!