There's just one question that needs to be asked about the fifth-season premiere of "Sliders."
Why bother?If ever there was a show that had outlived its usefulness, this is it. And the most amazing thing is that the Sci-fi Channel and the production company (which are sister companies in the USA conglomerate) have decided to go ahead without series star Jerry O'Connell.
Once again, why bother?
Back when "Sliders" premiered on Fox in March 1995, it was a darn good show. Created and executive produced by Tracy Torme, it was an intriguing romp as the original cast slid from one dimension to another. They were always on Earth, but it was always a slightly skewed Earth -- Communism had prevailed in one; the British still ruled America in another; another ice age had nearly destroyed the planet in another.
And the four sliders -- Quinn (O'Connell), Wade (Sabrina Lloyd), Arturro (John Rhys-Davies) and Rembrandt (Cleavant Derricks) -- not only struggled to get to their own Earth but encountered doubles of themselves along the way. It was enormously entertaining.
But the ratings weren't great, so the folks at Fox decided to turn it into a monster-of-the-week gore fest. Didn't work. Torme quit in disgust. And a similarly disgusted Rhys-Davies was the first cast member to bail out.
He was followed shortly thereafter by Lloyd (who's now co-starring in "Sports Night"). And when the fifth season begins (tonight at 7 on Sci-fi), only Derricks remains.
Neither Jerry O'Connell nor his brother, Charlie (who joined the cast last season), will be there. They've also opted out of the show, and their disappearance sparks the start of the season.
After moving to the Sci-fi Channel, "Sliders" took another strange turn when it became a story about our heroes vs. the Kromaggs -- bad guys who slide from dimension to dimension and take over the various planets. And that changes yet again tonight.
As they're sliding through a wormhole, Rembrandt and Maggie (Kari Wuhrer) see a bolt of lightning strike near Colin (Charlie O'Connell) and Quinn (Jerry O'Connell) -- who never emerge from the slide. Instead, a confused young man (new cast member Robert Floyd) drops in on them.
Turns out the problems are part of a plot by an evil scientist (Peter Jurasik of "Babylon 5") whose beautiful young assistant (Tembi Locke) soon joins the sliders.
In addition to the fact that it's all pretty much a big bore, the tight budget means cheesy special effects that just look ridiculous. There's an enormous amount of bad acting and worse writing.
Why bother?
SAWYER TO DISCOVERY: Forrest Sawyer, who just quit his job at ABC News, has landed work. He'll be hosting the Discovery Channel's "On the Inside: Twister Week" from June 14-18, working out of the Severe Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.
Sawyer reportedly left ABC (after working there for the past six months without a contract) because his bosses would not promise him he'd succeed Ted Koppel as the anchor of "Nightline." (Not that Koppel has yet announced any firm plans to retire.)