These are scenes from the August 21, 1996 first revision of the production draft of the script for the episode The Dream Masters written by Scott Smith Miller and Melinda M. Snodgrass. These scenes did not make it into the final episode due to time, story considerations, and cost.
Our first missing part occurs right after one of the Dream Masters causes the skater to literally drop dead. This missing portion contained some alternate history that was unfortunately later dropped...
GERALD
All right. Drop dead.
And with that he slaps the man on the cheek. The image of the Pentagram lingers on the man's skin for a moment, then disappears.
The terrified skater struggles to his feet, skates away.
Henry and Byron start laughing. Gerald closes his eyes, wrinkles his brow in concentration. As we PUSH IN on his face, we can see REM motions under his lids.
The SLIDERS watch as the Skater comes towards them, trying to escape. The skater suddenly reaches up to grab his neck, as if someone were choking him. He collapses in front of the Sliders, beging to convulse. Arturo kneels beside him, grabs his shoulders.
ARTURO
He's having a seizure.
QUINN
Keep him from biting his tongue.
(to Wade)
Call an ambulance. Remmy, grab his
feet.
Wade looks over and sees a solar powered public phone nearby where Gerald, Byron, and Henry are standing. She runs for it.
Wade picks up the telephone. A sign reads emergency, dial 999. Wade punches in the numbers. Henry nudges Gerald who opens his eyes.
WADE
(into phone)
Operator, this is an emergency.
Gerald walks over to Wade, grabs the antenna on the phone stand and snaps it off. The line goes dead.
WADE
What's wrong with you? That man
needs help.
Gerald holds up his Pentagram to her.
GERALD
He's beyond help, even from a
pretty girl like you.
WADE
Get out of my way.
Wade knocks his hand as she pushes past him and heads back over to the Sliders.
BYRON
If you don't want her, I do.
Byron and Henry snicker at the thought.
GERALD
Maybe when I'm done.
Gerald closes his eyes again.
ANGLE - SLIDERS
Wade runs back to Quinn and the others. A few people are standing around watching. The Skater stops convulsing.
The rest of the scene plays out as we saw it, with the Sliders getting a cop to come over and Wade watching the indentations in the skater's throat made by invisible hands...
An interesting side note from the script...the name of the club the Dream Masters headquartered at was supposed to be "The Somnambulists Club".
The next missing portion comes when our Sliders meet up with Olivia, the underground doctor fighting the Dream Masters. Part of her dialogue was cut...
OLIVIA
Stage two. It may still be early
enough to try some intervention.
Sometimes we can make hypnotic
suggestions before they enter REM.
If we can reinforce the idea that
it is just a dream, it strengthens
their ability to withstand the
assault.
QUINN
Can't we just keep her awake?
OLIVIA
An exhausted person can slip into
micro sleep for a few seconds. It
happens a lot when we're driving a
car. You're miles down the road
before you realize you've lost
track of time. In actuality,
you've been asleep.
ARTURO
How did a bunch of social misfits
ever get so much power?
And the rest finishes out as we saw it in the finished episode...
Another missing scene explains just how the Dream Masters could transmit the drug from their hand without being affected themselves. This scene takes place as a missing portion of the scene after Wade's nightmare ride in the elevator...
Through the narrow gap in the doors, we can see flicks of light as the floors pass. The elevator picks up speed and begins to shake violently. Wade can't stand up, she falls to the floor.
INT. CLINIC LAB
Quinn turns his attention away from the bed for a moment to look at the notes with Arturo.
Olivia takes over the transfusion work while the Vamp moves on to Rembrandt and starts to take his blood sample.
ARTURO
(reading)
He theorizes that the substance
possibly resides in an implanted
and refillable device just below
the skin of the palm.
Wade begins to shake on the bed. Only Rembrandt notices it.
REMBRANDT
What's wrong with her?
They all notice now. Wade begins to shake more.
And the rest is as we saw it...
In the episode, it was never explained exactly how Quinn got the Dream Master drug...he just left and came back with it. Well, all was explained in some missing scenes per the original script...
This first scene takes place right after Arturo finds out that Rembrandt had a type of sedative in his system which caused him to fall asleep back at the hotel room...
EXT. SONAMBULISTS CLUB - NIGHT
Quinn stands across the street from the club. Two bodyguards still keep watch. He's considering a few options for assault when he notices a bottled water truck parked on the street. He watches the waterman carry a bottle up the steps. The guards open the door for him. Quinn crosses to the bottle truck, takes a bottle, slings it on his back, walks up to the front door.
QUINN
He forgot. They wanted an extra
one this month.
The guards open the door, let him inside.
INT. SONAMBULISTS CLUB
Quinn takes a moment to look around. A couple of geeks walk through, look at him.
QUINN
Hi. Water guy. Do you know where
this goes?
One of the geeks points to a hallway. Quinn nods, waits until they're gone. He looks up and sees a door labeled "Gentleman". He heads for the bathroom.
Then the scene cuts back to Remmy and Arturo's conversation about the realization that Remmy was drugged...just as we saw in the final version. But after that, we were supposed to cut back to Quinn in the bathroom...
EXT. SONAMBULISTS CLUB
The two guards watch the water truck drive away. They look at each other as if to say, what about the other guy? One of them goes inside to investigate.
INT. BATHROOM - SONAMBULISTS CLUB
CLOSE - a STALL where an unconsicous GEEK is sitting on the toilet. Quinn is holding up his palm, using a swab to collect some of the drug. He drops the swab in a baggie, shoves it in his pocket as we HEAR the door open.
ANGLE IN THE BATHROOM
A geek finishes at the urinal and steps to the wash basin as Quinn exits from the stall, careful not to let us see inside. Quinn walks over to the geek at the wash basin. Quinn washes his hands.
QUINN
Hi. Nice place you got here.
Quinn looks around for a towel.
QUINN
You don't mind, do you?
Quinn jerks the guy's shirt out and dries his hands on it. The geek is outraged. He raises his pentagram hand to strike and Quinn quickly grabs it by the wrist with a latex gloved hand. A short hard punch in the face leaves the geek hanging by his arm. Quinn drags him back into a stall, sits him on the seat, closes the door. He starts to swab the pentagram when he HEARS the bathroom door open.
ANGLE - BATHROOM
One of the security guards enters, looks around. He bends over to look under the stalls. There's a pair of legs on each of the three toilets.
In the stall, Quinn balances on the edge of the seat, keeping his feet off the ground. He bumps into the geek who slumps, letting one of his arms drop down to the floor.
The Guard sees this happen. Curious, he goes to investigate. When he opens the door, Quinn swings out and kicks him hard, sending him back into the wall where he hits his head, slides to the floor unconscious. Even Quinn's a little surprised it worked. He picks up the water bottle, heads for the door.
INT. SONAMBULISTS CLUB - NIGHT
Quinn exits the bathroom with the water bottle. The second guard has stepped inside and starts for him.
QUINN
Here, free sample.
Quinn throws the bottle into the man's chest. He catches it and goes down. Quinn takes off running out the door.
INT. CLINIC DAY ROOM - NIGHT
A PATIENT sits pulled up into a fetal position, rocking back and forth. Henry and Bryon enter the room, look around. Henry steps over to the patient, holds up his pentagram. The patient is terrified.
BYRON
Where's the girl?
The patient points. As they head for Wade's we...
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT THREE.
The next act takes us into something surprising, as Byron makes an attempt to steal Wade away from the clinic...
ACT FOUR
FADE IN:
INT. CLINIC HALLWAY - NIGHT
Arturo leans on Rembrandt as they make their way back to Wade's room.
ARTURO
Shamans often take a power object
with them into the dream. It's
something to remind them they are
in an altered state and have an
influence over their own survival.
REMBRANDT
I'd rather take a .45 with me.
ARTURO
What are you most afraid of?
REMBRANDT
Why are you asking me that?
ARTURO
Because that's what you can expect
to find once we engage them.
Rembrandt looks down the hall and sees Henry and Byron appear.
REMBRANDT
Hey.
Henry head into the ER where Wade is. Byron turns to face Rembrandt and Arturo.
ARTURO
Stop him.
Rembrandt starts down the hall. Byron holds up his pentagram to take a swipe at Remmy as he passes. It has the drama of a knife fight for a moment.
REMBRANDT
Come on man, make your move.
Byron's pentagram begins to pulsate slightly. The effect is hypnotic. Rembrandt is stunned for a moment. Byron starts to stop into him and lay a hand on his face.
ARTURO
Remmy!
That snaps Rembrandt out of it in time to deflect the blow, grab Byron by the arm and swing him around hard into the wall. Byron stays down, hurt. Rembrandt runs for the room.
INT. CLINIC LAB
Remmy enters. Henry is leaning over Wade on the table.
REMBRANDT
Get away from her!
Henry turns back. Too late. There's a pentagram fading on Wade's face.
HENRY
Next?
Henry holds up his hand, ready to strike Rembrandt. Rembrandt grabs a cart and shoves it hard into Henry, keeping him out of reach and slamming him back into a wall.
HENRY
Ow!
REMBRANDT
You want some more?
As Remmy pulls back on the cart to slam him again, Henry suddenly breaks for the door.
INT. CLINIC HALLWAY
Quinn comes down the hall. He sees Byron and Henry making their escape.
INT. CLINIC LAB
Olivia leans over Wade, checking her vital signs. Quinn enters.
QUINN
She all right?
ARTURO
They got to Wade before we could
stop them.
A monitor starts to register some reading.
OLIVIA
She's being engaged.
(to Quinn)
Did you get any?
Quinn hands her the bag.
OLIVIA
We've got to hurry.
INT. CLINIC LAB
Quinn and Olivia work to remove the drug and fill three syringes with a liquid substance.
The next part has our three Sliders hooked up and laying on tables ready to enter Wade's dream...just like the broadcast verion...
Did you wonder why Quinn was afraid of sinking? Originally he wasn't...he was afraid of something else and it was explained. Here is the scene taking place right after Remmy and Wade fend off the snake...
INT. SONAMBULIST CLUB - NIGHT
Gerald opens his eyes, looks about at a dozen geeks in the room. They are all now closing their eyes, ganging up on the SLIDERS.
INT. CAVE - (DREAMSCAPE)
Quinn appears from the white smoke and finds himself in a cave. There's a flashlight on the ground. He picks it up, looks about. Quinn's starting to panic.
QUINN
I know what you're thinking. But
let me tell you, I wasn't lost in
that cave. I knew where I was
going. This doesn't scare me.
It's a dream. Good try.
We HEAR some timbers groan.
QUINN
You'll have to do better than that.
And they do. The whole place starts to cave in and Quinn is buried in a ton of rock.
INT. DAY ROOM - NIGHT
Quinn violently jerks in the bed. He opens his eyes and cries out. Olivia goes to him. His monitor's alarm sounds. He has some small cuts on his face, a bruise or two.
OLIVIA
Dammit.
She grabs a cardiac needle and a loaded syringe, slams it into his chest and injects him with some adrenalin. Quinn is jerked back to consciousness.
And the scene commences as we saw it, with Quinn telling Olivia to send him back no matter what the cost...
The final altered bit comes in the last battle with the Dream Masters. In the original script, Quinn didn't get to be the hero...it was instead the other Sliders...
This scene begins just after Remmy has shot one of the Dream Masters with his new .45...
ANOTHER ANGLE
Gerald sends a bolt of laser light at Arturo. Arturo holds out his hand, and a prism suddenly appears. Just in time to deflect the laser beam away from them. Gerald isn't too pleased by this. He holds up his hands. Knives appear. Suddenly, all the geeks are holding knives.
They throw them.
ANGLE SLIDERS
ARTURO
Don't move. It's a dream.
They hold their places while the knives just miss, flying between them. Finally the barrage stops.
WADE
Kinda like being inside
a Cuisinart.
The geeks draw closer, some of them looking to Gerald and Cardoza to see what they should do next. Gerald steps up closer to Wade.
GERALD
Time to get real.
WADE
I agree.
And with that, Wade sucker punches Gerald. He disappears before he hits the floor. The other Sliders take this as a sign and start flailing away at the geeks.
Very quickly the other geeks bail out of the dream. In a moment, the Sliders are alone again. Quinn looks at the others, holds up his hand for a high five.
Then the scene cuts back to the lab where the Sliders are waking up...and the rest plays out as we saw it.
THE END.
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