In this parallel dimension intellectual agility is revered above physical prowess. With the possibility that this earth's Quinn and Arturo have also unlocked the key to sliding, our Quinn and Arturo assume the identities of their doubles. Arturo tries to repair the relationship with the love of his life while Quinn is forced to compete in the scholarly equivalent of the Super Bowl.

Chalk up another perfect score for the first season! This was one of the best eps all year. As with Last Days and The Pilot, the concept and the acting were first-rate.

The Sliders land on an earth where Quinn and Arturo are admired as much for their scientific achievements as a top basketball player would be here. Autograph-seekers and amateur photographers bombard them. Remmy and Wade are not stars, and this was the only weak point of the episode as it left them with nothing to do.

With a little digging, the group learns that Arturo is chairman of the university and Quinn is one of the hottest players in a sport called "Mindgame." Most importantly, the public here knows them as sliders! This makes them think that they will find sliding equipment at Quinn's house. They go there, but owing to a bank foreclosure the basement lab is gone.

Next stop: the university. When they come up dry one more, Arturo begins to suspect that the doubles made up sliding as a pretext to flee the country. Quinn's teammates find him, excited that he returned in time for the finals. But someone isn't very happy about it.

Arturo is then slapped with a divorce suit by his wife and tries to make up with her. John Rhys-Davies does a terrific acting job in this episode, especially in the scenes with Christina (his wife, who back home he lost to a brain aneurysm.) Quinn is forced to study up on the game and only pulls it off at the last minute. That night, a mobster visits the Sliders, who are living out of Quinn's abandoned home. On this earth, Quinn owed the man a million dollars. The man says that if Quinn throws the finals, his debt will be erased.

Quinn cannot bring himself to throw the game. He cuts a deal with the FBI and then heads out onto the court. Meanwhile, Arturo has slightly patched up things with Christina and leaves a video tape for his double to watch, if he ever comes back.

Back to the Mindgame, which Quinn has finally gotten the hang of. He gets the team light-years ahead, then tells the coach to keep a certain player out, who he learned is partners with the gangster. Thugs chase him to the roof, where he reunites with the others and delivers the mafia into the waiting hands of the FBI. The Sliders then open the vortex in mid-air and step off the building to the next world.

Again, this was a superb episode. Peter Spellos did a fantastic job in the role of the Latin-spouting mobster. I also liked the cameo by The X-Files' William B. Davis.

A highlight of the entire season. Definitely worth 4 out of 4 stars.

Previous: Fever
Next up: The Weaker Sex

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