As a geek, there are certain shows that the crowd I hang with (read as "talk to online") are drawn to. These tend towards science fiction and fantasy, shows that probably never really took off to achieve main stream glory, but still amassed a reasonable cult following. You know what I'm talking about. The Star Treks and Dr. Whos, the Buffys and Fireflys. That kind of thing.
One of these shows has come up in multiple conversations, and seems to be, if not incredibly well liked, at least recognized as being interesting. It seemed well made. It starred reasonable talents like Jerry O'Connell and John Rhys-Davies. It was prematurely cancelled by Fox, which almost invariably means that it was high quality and people loved it (not that I'm bitter over their cancellations of Buffy, Firefly, The Tick, or The Family Guy). The thing is, I never have and probably never will watch the show based purely on the name.
I am, of course, referring to Sliders.
See, as we have established here on multiple occasions, my sense of humor ranges from dry wit to childish, and most shades in between. That means that the thirteen year old boy in me can't fathom someone sitting around trying to come up with an edgy, sciifi name for a show and settling on Sliders. Even if I didn't live in the Midwest and associate the name with White Castle (a burger joint I have never actually been to, and since turning vegetarian doubt I ever will), I can't hear it without at least a tiny inner giggle at the connotations.
According to Wikipedia, the name is a reference to their method of traveling between dimensions, sliding through wormholes. Not very dignified, but not all of us can have a Tardis at our disposal I suppose. Nonetheless, I stand firm in the opinion that any other name would have been an improvements. Seriously. Dimension Jumpers. Wormhole Riders. Alternate Universe Traveling Group Selected To Appeal To The Vast Majority Of Television Viewers Despite Falling Into Slightly Cliched Roles. Anything.
Of course, I could be missing out. Hell, I missed out on the first five seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer simply because I couldn't bring myself to watch a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and as a result almost missed out on what I consider to be one of the finest shows ever on television. So maybe someday, if I come across it at a video store, I'll get over my naming prejudice and rent Sliders. If so, though, I'll make sure I'm in the television or science fiction section of the store.
With a name like that, better not be renting it from the small, adults-only section.
One of these shows has come up in multiple conversations, and seems to be, if not incredibly well liked, at least recognized as being interesting. It seemed well made. It starred reasonable talents like Jerry O'Connell and John Rhys-Davies. It was prematurely cancelled by Fox, which almost invariably means that it was high quality and people loved it (not that I'm bitter over their cancellations of Buffy, Firefly, The Tick, or The Family Guy). The thing is, I never have and probably never will watch the show based purely on the name.
I am, of course, referring to Sliders.
See, as we have established here on multiple occasions, my sense of humor ranges from dry wit to childish, and most shades in between. That means that the thirteen year old boy in me can't fathom someone sitting around trying to come up with an edgy, sciifi name for a show and settling on Sliders. Even if I didn't live in the Midwest and associate the name with White Castle (a burger joint I have never actually been to, and since turning vegetarian doubt I ever will), I can't hear it without at least a tiny inner giggle at the connotations.
According to Wikipedia, the name is a reference to their method of traveling between dimensions, sliding through wormholes. Not very dignified, but not all of us can have a Tardis at our disposal I suppose. Nonetheless, I stand firm in the opinion that any other name would have been an improvements. Seriously. Dimension Jumpers. Wormhole Riders. Alternate Universe Traveling Group Selected To Appeal To The Vast Majority Of Television Viewers Despite Falling Into Slightly Cliched Roles. Anything.
Of course, I could be missing out. Hell, I missed out on the first five seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer simply because I couldn't bring myself to watch a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and as a result almost missed out on what I consider to be one of the finest shows ever on television. So maybe someday, if I come across it at a video store, I'll get over my naming prejudice and rent Sliders. If so, though, I'll make sure I'm in the television or science fiction section of the store.
With a name like that, better not be renting it from the small, adults-only section.
2 comments:
It was a turd that was on for a mindboggling number of seasons. You missed nothing.
Keep in mind I hated:
Deep Space Nine
Babylon 5
Any Dr. Who other than Tom Baker
The new soap opera version of Battlestar Galactica
-Jasen the Sci-Fi Snob
A show called Sliders is a turd. Heh.
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