These are scenes from the March 19, 1998 1st revision draft of the script for the episode Roads Taken with story by Marc Scott Zicree and teleplay by Bill Dial. These scenes did not make it into the final episode due to time and story considerations.
We begin with a missing observation by Remmy about the cause of the explosion...
ACT ONE
EXT. ALLEY - DAY - CONTINUOUS
Rembrandt and Colin have taken cover behind some crates and barrels and are looking cautiously out into the street.
REMBRANDT
Seems pretty quiet now.
COLIN
Maybe that explosion was some kind
of mistake.
REMBRANDT
That was an anti-tank rocket. They
don't go off by mistake. Somebody
out there is angry.
Rembrandt's reporter friend was also supposed to give us a bigger glimpse at this world's alternate history as well as the Hotel's food...
CAROLINE
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.
REMBRANDT
(playing along)
Those guys were just waiting for a
shot at us.
CAROLINE
They grabbed southern California,
parts of New Mexico, Arizona.
Just about the whole southwest is
under Mexican control except for
some hold-outs here in L.A. the
B-One Bobbies mostly, and of
course, Texas.
REMBRANDT
Of course.
CAROLINE
(to bartender)
Marvin, another Don Diablo shooter
down here.
(then)
The Mexican army didn't know that
every man, woman and child in the
state has an automatic weapon.
It's a law. Then they ran into the
Willie Nelson Suicide Brigades.
Drove them back across the Rio
Grande.
REMBRANDT
Don't mess wih Texas.
The bartender brings a shot glass of tequila. Caroline does the salt, shot and lime routine. Rembrandt notes it as he sips his beer.
REMBRANDT
You do nice work.
CAROLINE
(a shrug)
I'm a journalist.
REMBRANDT
Say, they used to have a pretty
good kitchen in this hotel. How's
the food?
CAROLINE
Kitchen's closed. No room service.
Your best shot is a Red Cross
package from the wagon on the
street.
REMBRANDT
Sounds tasty.
CAROLINE
Be careful. The stuff that looks
like cheese is actually Sterno.
Her phone chirps. She answers it.
CAROLINE
Tatashore.
(listens)
No, no, no, no...I don't care if
Ted doesn't want to see the guy on
fire...It's my report...
As she continues on the phone, Rembrandt leaves some money on the bar and slips away
CLOSE ON WIND-UP RADIO
A hand is cranking the lever.
And just as we saw, this hand belongs to Colin as he works the complimentary radio...
At the beginning of Act Two, we were supposed to be shown why Remmy was going after ice...
COLIN
Like I said. Could have been a
ghost.
REMBRANDT
I don't want to think like that.
(holds up ice bucket)
Does fifty bucks for a handful of
ice cubes sound right to you? Now
where's that artificial, simulated
soda I saw in the Red Cross box?
COLIN
Bring the ice over here. Quinn and
Maggie are running a fever.
Rembrandt crosses to Colin. During the following, Colin takes ice from the bucket, wraps it in cloths and places the cloths on Quinn's forehead, then Maggie's.
REMBRANDT
A fever? Are they sick?
During the first "dream sequence" view into Quinn and Maggie's life in the bubble universe, we were supposed to have a short break in the middle and get a view of what Rembrandt and Colin were doing...
EXT. PARK - DAY (DREAM SEQUENCE)
A titled, subjective, moving viewpoint of children running and playing in the park. We see, vaguely, a young couple walking toward the children. BRIGHT FLASH.
DISSOLVE TO
INT. HOTEL ROOM
It's later, and Colin and Rembrandt are playing cards at the table, listening to their wind-up radio. The timer and Colin's notebooks are on the table. A piece of music finishes, and the announcer comes on.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
It's 11:45, and Music Till Midnight
will continue after the news...
California Governor Robert Dornan
made a broadcast today from his
hidden fortress in the Sierra
Madres. He denounced the
continuing sanctions, claiming that
women and children are starving in
the streets, medicine and food are
in short supply. The U.N.
Secretary General responded that
the people of California would do
just fine if the humanitarian Aid-
for-Avocados actually got to them
instead of being diverted to
Dornan's inner circle, and his
Republican Guard.
REMBRANDT
I'm tired of this news.
He turns off the radio.
COLIN
I'm tired of this world.
(checks the timer)
Nine more hours to the slide.
(re: Quinn and Maggie)
What do we do if they're no better
by then?
REMBRANDT
We have to take them with us. Hope
for better help in the next world.
COLIN
The 'next world.' Where I come
from people only talk about that
when they're dying.
They look over toward Quinn and Maggie. Rembrandt is unable to consider such a possibility. He rises and crosses to Maggie's bed, takes the cloth from her forehaed, dips it in the now melted ice in the bucket and replaces the cloth.
CLOSE ON MAGGIE'S FACE
moving in closer and close until we dip into *her* dreams.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. CHURCH - DAY (DREAM SEQUENCE)
A wide angle up on the steeple of the church. We can see the bell inside, ringing, swaying back and forth. A BRIGHT FLASH.
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - A SUBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW (DREAM SEQUENCE)
We seem to be moving along the corridor as if we were in a wheelchair, moving through the waiting patients. BRIGHT FLASH.
When Rembrandt went to look for a doctor, he was originally supposed to run into his reporter friend Caroline again...
COLIN
I don't know. In my world, some
people looked like this when they
were sick. It's not a good sign.
REMBRANDT
I can't take this anymore. They
need a doctor, and I'm gonna find
one. Stay here, try to keep them
comfortable. I'll be back as soon
as I can.
Rembrandt leaves. Colin looks down at his brother.
CUT TO
INT. HOTEL CHECK-IN DESK
Gomez Calhoun is there. Rembrandt waits impatiently as Gomez deals with some people. He looks around the lobby, still crowded with a motley group of folks. He sees Caroline Tatashore is still at the bar.
INT. BAR
Still a group of reporters sitting around, working, drinking. Rembrandt approaches Caroline Tatashore. She's working on her laptop.
REMBRANDT
Excuse me, caroline?
CAROLINE
Yes?
REMBRANDT
I have two friends traveling with
me, and they've become ill. I
don't know any doctors around here.
Does the hotel have one?
CAROLINE
This hotel doesn't have aspirin.
You won't find any civilian doctors
in the city. They all took off
when the bombing started. The
Peace Keepers have medics and a
couple of field hospitals.
REMBRANDT
That'll have to do.
CAROLINE
They're pretty busy, and they only
take care of casualties. Unless
your friends have been shot, they
won't help you.
REMBRANDT
Maybe I can change their mind.
He exits. Caroline watches him a moment, then shakes her head and goes back to her note taking.
EXT. CITY STREET - DAY
Rembrandt comes out of the hotel and looks up and down the mostly deserted street. Suddenly, there is a rifle shot, and a bullet takes a divot out of the pavement right by Remmy's foot. He jumps back into the cover of the doorway. Then he peeks out cautiously to see who's shooting at him.
And that's the point that we started seeing events...
Did you wonder why Rembrandt offered the Lieutenant a cigarette after he was shot? It was supposed to be the pay off to something set up earlier...
REMBRANDT
Wait up. I need your help.
DODGE
You've *been* helped.
REMBRANDT
I know that. And, thanks. But I
have friend back in the hotel.
They're very sick and need a
doctor.
DODGE
Good luck on that.
REMBRANDT
I was told you people had medics.
DODGE
Can't spare any right now.
They make a quick move to the wall of a building at a street corner. One of the Peace Keepers peers around the corner. It seems to be clear, and the Peace Keepers start up the new street.
ANGLE ON STREET
as the Peace Keepers come around the corner. The partrol moves in a spread-out formation, each man scanning the building windows around them as they move. They get across the street, Rembrandt following, adn pause in the shelter of a stoop. Dodge posts a couple of lookouts, then directs the other men to take it easy for a few minutes. SOme of the soldiers sit on the steps of the building.
WITH REMBRANDT AND DODGE
as Dodge relaxes and takes out a pack of smokes. He offers one to Remmy, who declines.
DODGE
Don't blame you. I didn't smoke
myself until I got this duty.
Something about being scared all
the time, getting no sleep, and
shooting guys makes you want to
smoke.
REMBRANDT
Lieutenant...my friends...What can
I do to persuade you to get us a
medic?
DODGE
You ever heard of 'triage'?
REMBRANDT
Sounds French.
DODGE
It is. It's a way to decide who
gets medical help in a war zone.
The victims are rated on
survivability. The ones who are
gonna make it get the treatment.
The ones who aren't gonna make it
don't.
REMBRANDT
Sounds French.
Dodge shrugs and tosses his cigarette, turns to his men.
DODGE
Okay, let's move out.
Dodge and his men start up the street, turn and head down an alley.
Rembrandt sits there on the stoop for a moment, thinking things over. There's got to be something he can do. Not knowing anywhere else to go, he gets up and follows the Peace Keepers.
The the scene cuts back to Colin in the hotel room listening to the radio as he sees the spectral image of Thomas appear again...just as we saw in the finished episode.
After Dodge is shot and Remmy pulls him to safety, there were a few additional lines to help pay off the cigarettes mention before...
IN THE ALLEY
Rembrandt pulls Dodge to cover and props him against the wall. He finds Dodge's cigarettes in his pocket, offers one to the wounded man. Dodge shakes his head.
DODGE
Good time to quit.
Rembrandt tosses the pack.
DODGE
I owe you. Get me to a doctor, and
I'll get *you* to one.
The original script also had Rembrandt and Colin more concerned about the impending quarantine. In fact, the original version has them so concerned that they move themselves into hiding...
KURTZ
You two must stay in here with
them. We can't risk spreading
this...whatever it is?
He leaves. Colin and Rembrandt react to this twist.
REMBRANDT
Quarantine. We can't let that
happen.
COLIN
So what do we do now?
REMBRANDT
We have to move. Hide them until
we make the slide.
The move to Quinn and Maggie on the bunks.
DISSOLVE TO
INT. BASEMENT ROOM
Colin and Rembrandt have improvised bunks from flattened cardboard boxes. Quinn and Maggie are resting there beneath blankets. Colin is watching them, holding his notebook and the timer. Rembrandt enters with more ice in a bucket.
REMBRANDT
This is it for the ice. I'm out of
cash.
He takes ice and cloths and goes to work on Maggie and Quinn.
COLIN
Remmy, I'm sure it's connected.
REMBRANDT
Stop it right there. I don't want
to hear any more about that ghost.
And the rest goes on just as we saw it...with one small addition. When Thomas appears at the end of Colin's explanation, Thomas says:
VISITOR'S VOICE
You were right to bring them down
here. They'll be safe.
The original script also offers a much more detailed explanation of the bubble universe concept and how it occurred...
REMBRANDT
You're telling us that our Quinn
and Maggie split off into another
universe?
THOMAS
A part of them did, and a part of
them arrived here with you. The
two that split into the bubble have
lived an entire lifetime in what,
for you, has been only a few hours.
Colin is beginning to get it.
COLIN
The Quinn and Maggie who split off
are dying of old age in your world,
and somehow *our* Quinn and Maggie
are going with them.
Thomas is excited to find a kindred spirit here and goes on to explain quickly.
THOMAS
Exactly. They are linked to one
another. It took me a while, but I
determined that the quantum wave
occupied by my parents had to be
multiplied by the complex-conjugate
of the wave to fix this point,
where we are now. Of course, if
I'd thought it through, I would
have seen this was predicted
by Newton's Second Law.
REMBRANDT
Of course.
THOMAS
Think of the quantum wave as water
disturbed by a stone dropped in a
pond. The waves expand equally
toward the edge of the pond. The
complex-conjugate wave expands too,
but inward from the edge of the
pond to the center. We are now at
the point where the quantum wave
moving out meets the conjugate wave
moving in.
Colin and Rembrandt stare at him a moment.
COLIN
So now that we've met...
THOMAS
We have to 'unmeet.' Somehow.
REMBRANDT
What is this to you? Some kind of
experiment?
Thomas looks down at Quinn and Maggie.
THOMAS
I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce
myself. I'm Thomas Mallory.
The scene continues on as we saw it...with Thomas asking for some equipment and Colin explaining the Navaho fate of the famous laptop...
Colin also had a bit more to say at the end of his first conversation with Thomas...
THOMAS
Your friend is a philosopher.
COLIN
Sometimes.
THOMAS
Your travels have been hard?
COLIN
It seems that whatever world we
visit, certain things are always
the same. Peace, love,
happiness -- things that ought to
be easy for us to find are hard.
Thomas nods and studies the timer.
Another joke (and its later payoff) were inexplicably cut. The scene is when Quinn and Maggie are in the convertible talking about marriage and kids...
MAGGIE
That's why you don't get all that
all at the same time. We got a step
at a time. We get engaged. We
plan a wedding.
QUINN
Do you want to do it in a church?
MAGGIE
(a joke)
Get married?
Quinn gives an embarrassed laugh.
QUINN
Of course, what did you think I
meant?
Maggie just smiles at him a moment, then...
MAGGIE
Put up the top.
And Colin's role in the bubble universe? Thomas was to elaborate...along with giving the payoff to the church joke mentioned above...
REMBRANDT
You mean you can *wish* a whole
world into being?
THOMAS
Why not?
Thomas pauses, looking at Colin a moment. Then:
THOMAS
My dad used to talk about you a
lot.
COLIN
He did?
THOMAS
You were lost from the family when
you were very young. Somewhere in
the mountains above Big Bear. You
were never found. But Dad always
hoped you were safe somewhere, and
now, I can tell him you are. If we
can get back to him.
A pause as Colin continues to work.
THOMAS
Do you mind if I call you Uncle
Colin?
COLIN
Yes.
Thomas smiles at that. Colin shows him some calculations. Rembrandt looks across towards Maggie. Thomas continues to talk, and it will now become our narration for much of the following sequence.
THOMAS
They did it in a church.
REMMY'S POINT OF VIEW - CLOSE ON MAGGIE'S FACE
REMBRANDT'S VOICE
Did what?
We begin to hear the ringing of a church bell.
THOMAS' VOICE
Got married.
And then we dissolve into Maggie's dreams.
Thomas also originally gave more information on his birth...
THOMAS' VOICE
They named me Thomas Michael.
Thomas for the General, and Michael
for my father's dad. I was just
under eight pounds and a little
colicky.
Also, Thomas originally did not take Remmy and Colin with him...
COLIN
If this works, they should come
back on their own. They haven't
really left, you know.
REMBRANDT
The more I hear about quantum
physics, the less I understand it.
THOMAS
It's that way for everybody.
Using calculations from Colin's notebook, Thomas punches data into the timer. Then he looks up at Colin and Rembrandt.
THOMAS
Well, here goes...everything.
He shakes hands with Colin.
THOMAS
It's been a pleasure working with
you. *Uncle* Colin.
COLIN
Same here. Thank you for doing
this.
He turns to shake hands with Rembrandt.
THOMAS
There's a chance it might not work.
REMBRANDT
Than you for the *offer* to do it.
Thomas nods and smiles at him. He looks at Quinn and Maggie one last time, then points the timer at the wall between their beds. The laser streams that flow from the timer are a different color. He hands the timer back to Colin. Then, there is a FLASH OF LIGHT, and Thomas is gone. Quinn and Maggie are still in their beds. Remmy and Colin look worried. Did it work?
CUT TO
INT. WORMHOLE
Another twisting, plunging space inside a vortex. It's white this time, almost blinding.
DISSOLVE TO
INT. WHITE SPACE
Almost an undefined area. No walls. Maybe a kind of glowing mist along the floor. There are two beds in the space. Brass frames topped with white, chiffon-like fabric. On the beds: an old man and an old woman (this might be reminiscent of the scene at the end of "2001", with Keir Dullea on his death bed). To one side, we see a shiny stell machine, lights and dials blinking and glowing.
ANOTHER ANGLE
As Quinn, Maggie and Thomas enter the space and move toward the beds.
Old Quinn also cited a different poem originally...as well as a bit more criticism on his younger self...
OLD MAGGIE
(looks towards Thomas)
And a loving son.
(then to Maggie)
Perhaps the memory of all that
we have had will keep you strong
in the hard times you have ahead
of you.
MAGGIE
I think it will.
OLD QUINN
'The lights begin to twinkle from
the rocks. The long day wanes.'
Tennyson. Do you know him?
QUINN
Not as well as I should Physics
major.
OLD QUINN
(a little cranky)
I don't know what's happening with
students today. A physics major
should know Keats and Tennyson as
well as he knows M Theory. You
*do* know M Theory, don't you?
Quinn looks at the floor like a student called on the carpet.
QUINN
M Theory is the subsummation of
what used to be called 'String
Theory,' an effort to get
Einsteinian mechanics to comply
with known quantum rules.
Supersymmetry in sub-atomic
particles is measured in integer
spin...
OLD QUNN
(interrupting)
Yes...yes...good boy.
QUINN
Of course, there's still
disagreement...
OLD QUINN
Not from me. I'm satisfied
M Theory works. And that's that.
QUINN
Yes, sir.
OLD MAGGIE
Stop lecturing the boy, Quinn.
(apologetic look to
Maggie)
Occupational hazard.
Soon after, Thomas gives the larger portion of the original Tennyson poem chosen for the episode...
Thomas moves to the machine and starts to work some levers (this is the machine he was working earlier in his ghost-like appearances. We just didn't see it before).
Old Quinn nods and stretches out his hand between the beds. Maggie reaches out and takes it.
OLD QUINN
(to Quinn and Maggie)
Put your hands on top of ours.
Quinn and Maggie do.
OLD QUINN
(to Thomas)
Say it, Thomas. You know the part
we like.
Thomas steps forward and opens a small, leather-bound book.
THOMAS
'Tho' much is taken, much abides;
and tho'
We are not now that strength
which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which
we are, we are;
Made weak by time and fate, but
strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and
not to yield.'
As Thomas reads, we move in close on Old Quinn's face as he looks at Old Maggie. She looks back at him and smiles.
The ending is also very different and much better. No paradoxical "Groundhog Day" scenario...just a continuation from where we left off...
IN THE BASEMENT ROOM
Colin and Rembrandt waiting for whatever is to happen.
ANGLE ON QUINN
He stirs and opens his eyes. He looks over at Maggie, who is also waking up. They sit up. Quinn reaches out and takes her hand, and they stand and look at Rembrandt and Colin.
COLIN
(softly)
Thank God.
REMBRANDT
The right one to thank, brother.
The right one to thank.
They both move to Quinn and Maggie and check them out. They seem back to normal.
COLIN
Are you all right?
QUINN
Yes. I feel fine.
MAGGIE
Me, too.
REMBRANDT
Do you remember...anything?
Quinn and Maggie look at one another.
MAGGIE
I remember everything.
QUINN
Me too.
(then)
But how? How can I have a lifetime
of memories when I haven't lived my
life yet?
MAGGIE
I don't know. But I want to hold
onto every one. And in the
meantime, we'll make new ones.
Quinn smiles at her, then, suddenly worried.
QUINN
The timer. How long till we slide?
Colin grabs the timer.
COLIN
Less than five minutes.
QUINN
Thank heavens.
Rembrandt starts to laugh in relief at seeing his friends well again, and at the prospect of getting out of there, but suddenly...there is a HUGE EXPLOSION, shaking the room violently. The Sliders hit the deck. Now, the Sliders jump up and run out of the room.
INT. HOTEL - CORRIDOR
The Sliders run for their lives as the HOTEL EXPLODES around them. Ceilings cave in.
THE LOBBY/BAR
The residents and reporter have jumped off their cots and everyone is running for cover or to get outside. An EXPLOSION blows in a window. The Sliders dodge their way through the people and to the door.
EXT. CITY STREET
People running everywhere. U.N. soldiers jumping for cover. The Sliders come out of the hotel and run up the street. EXPLOSIONS LAND all around them. They turn into an alley.
EXT. ALLEY
as the Sliders round the corner. Colin holds up the timer. Seconds to go.
QUINN AND MAGGIE
Quinn takes her hand.
QUINN
I think we've reached the
beginning.
COLIN
activates the...
VORTEX
It looks normal, and downright welcoming. Colin and Remmy jump in, followed by Quinn and Maggie. The VORTEX CLOSES, and as it does, there is a BIG EXPLOSION from a direct hit right where our people were standing.
FADE OUT
THE END
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