Sliders s01e03 Episode Script

Then this is San Francisco? Yes, but is it our San Francisco? Plenty of time to find out.
Home or not, I really enjoy the vibe here.
People kissing like there's no tomorrow.
When was the last time you kissed someone? Wouldn't you like to know? Come along, Mr.
Mallory.
Behave.
(helicopter whirrs, glass shatters) $17 for an apple? What is this place, "Inflation World"? - I don't think so.
- (sirens blaring) - Where's everybody going? - Man: Come back! (crashing, alarm bell rings) Mister, I got enough problems here.
I wouldn't do that.
Or you'll what? What are you gonna do about it? You're not even worth the paperwork.
How many times do you get a chance to do that in your life? Excuse me, sir, could you tell us what is going on? Mr.
Moon: What's going on is the biggest sale in the history of discount electronics.
Now, how about a nice big-screen TV to monitor events as they happen from around the world? News anchor: In related news, residents along the West Coast continue to hit the highways today, clogging major arteries in a frantic attempt to reach higher ground, And in San Francisco, the Union of Concerned Scientists, led by Dr.
Lee Antonovich, met to consider last-minute solutions to the matter at hand.
What's going on? Yeah, what's everybody expecting to happen? You people just crawl out from under a rock? - The asteroid's coming.
- Asteroid? Yeah.
It's the end of the world.
We've known for months.
When does it arrive? What time, exactly? Friday, Pacific Standard Time.
- That's two days' time.
- How long are we here? (beeping) Three days.
Quinn: What if you could find brand new worlds right here on Earth, where anything is possible? Same planet, different dimension.
I found the gateway.
(theme music plays) - Rembrandt: Dagnabit, that does it! Shoot! - All right, calm down.
Rembrandt: What do you mean, "Calm down"? I'm not ready to die! Who is? You miss the point, girl.
The fact that I will never bless this world with another hit single is bad enough, but to think "The Crying Man" might be taken out by a passing comet? Not a comet, an asteroid.
You, I don't even want to talk to! Come back! Rembrandt! Now is not the time to split up.
He is the reason we're in this mess.
We'll figure something out, but we have to stick together.
How, Quinn? Huh? How are you going to figure it out? Good question.
(sighs) No hard feelings.
I just need some time to myself.
Try to figure out what I'm going to do.
All right, let him go.
We'll reconvene here Friday night, 5:00.
Rembrandt, are you going to be here? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Whatever.
I can't say I blame him at all.
- Quinn: Now what? - I don't know about you, but we should try and find our families.
Wade, we don't even know if they exist here.
Well, we should try.
I have no idea what the scientists of this world are doing to solve the problem.
Maybe we can give them a hand.
News anchor: safest place on Earth once the asteroid hits.
This set off a massive attempt All right, cut along with Miss Wells.
Are you sure you're okay with this? Thank you.
Here's my address.
This is where we'll be.
Otherwise we'll meet back here on Friday.
At least we'll be able to spend our last few hours together.
Professor: Until then.
Mr.
Moon, is your computer on the internet? It'll cost you.
(camera shutter clicks) Man: The object known as "2956 Yeoman" is 10.
36 miles in diameter, traveling at a speed of 43,000 miles per hour on an unalterable collision course with the westernmost portion of the United States.
(crowd murmurs, camera shutter clicks) Contrary to some of the blandishments being issued by our government, the asteroid will not bypass the Earth.
It cannot be brought down by missiles, and it will not shatter into smaller meteors when it enters the atmosphere.
And it is significantly larger than the asteroid that struck the Yucatan to which we attribute the extinction of the dinosaurs.
- What about nuclear weapons? - Guard: Hey, you, come on! Get back, man! Bennish? We got to try the atomic bomb! It's our only chance.
Einstein made a mistake! You are the only physicist in the world who believes that.
Einstein, Fermi and Oppenheimer explained their failures with the adiabiatic theory.
There isn't enough fissionable material available in nature.
Re-read my analysis, Dr.
Antonovich.
The detonator was misaligned.
- Let me go! - Take it easy.
When you have a credible theory we will listen to you.
The end of the world's on your head, man! It's on you! It's on you! You bystander! Ladies and gentlemen, please.
Bennish: Damn.
Can I help you? Don't touch my stuff! (chuckles) No matter how far I travel, Mr.
Bennish, you are always a thorn in my flesh.
And who are you, anyway? Let's just call me a fellow scientist.
Did I understand this debate correctly? The Trinity Program the first test of a nuclear device, was a failure? Not much of a scientist if you don't know that.
And Einstein attributed this failure to the fact that there was not enough uranium in the world to build a successful bomb? Right "The adiabatic limit.
" And thus the world was spared.
- Brilliant.
- Uh-uh.
Bogus.
That's what I've been trying to say.
Can I have a look at that? What for? Because, Mr.
Bennish, I believe that you are a genius.
(sirens wailing, helicopter whirrs) Man on P.
A: Attention, attention.
Attention, attention.
Can I help you, son? I haven't been inside a church in quite a while.
- No time like the present.
- Yeah, I was I was just thinking that we might be meeting our end soon, I'm a long way from home.
I was hoping you might have some answers.
Providing answers is a tall order.
What I tell my parishioners is, live these last few days to their fullest potential.
God loves you, son, count on that.
Yeah, I hope you're right.
If not, I'll find out soon enough.
You say you're a long way from home.
Perhaps we can provide the community that you seek.
(laughing) Church work? (laughing) Oh, God.
Helping others is the first step towards helping yourself.
Well, thanks, Rev, but I don't think that's for me.
Not with these being the last hours and all.
I sort of need to kick out the jams, you know? (chuckles) I understand.
Woman: Go ahead, son.
Okay.
Hi, Justin.
It's all here.
See? Einstein's letter to Roosevelt in 1944 saying the bomb was impossible.
How did you get hold of this incredible archive? I told you, dude, I'm a doctoral candidate.
I know more about Einstein than Mrs.
Einstein.
I've even got the prototype.
You've got the prototype of the Here? In San Francisco? Ready, willing and able.
- Fat Boy.
- I beg your pardon? "Fat Boy.
" The name of the bomb is "Fat Boy.
" The name of the bomb was "Fat Man," you blistering idiot.
The schematics seemed to track until I got my hands on the real deal and opened up the housing.
Do you mean to say they actually allowed you to touch the bomb? Yeah, sure.
Sort of.
It's a museum piece to them, gathering dust with a sign on it that said, "Einstein's Folly.
" Mr.
Bennish, appalling as this thought may be, you and I are going to be spending a lot of time together.
No way, chief.
I got a girlfriend.
Don't be an idiot! You and I are going to make an atom bomb.
(shouting, chatter, helicopter whirrs) (police radio chatter) What are you looking at? What, you couldn't wait until tomorrow, man? - You're going to die anyway.
- I didn't see you.
Hey, Jimmy, get her a size seven, huh? Driver: You like, huh? We plucked her right out of the emergency room, man.
She's got all the tranquilizers you can eat! (alarm bell ringing) All sales are final! (laughs) So where are you guys going? End-of-the-world blowout on Nob Hill.
The more the merrier! You coming, man? What's the name, man? Rembrandt.
Okay, guys, let's make room for Rembrandt.
Whoo! All right! Let's go! (bolt clicks) The key's under the mat.
That's a good sign.
What if they come back? They probably went down to Carmel to be with my grandparents.
If my family doesn't exist on this world, - what makes you think that yours does? - There's my picture.
Oh, nice haircut.
You know what this means? If I live here Quinn: This place hasn't been used in years.
Maybe some of my equipment is still here, though.
Let's hope so.
What? Dinosaur stuff? It's not a complete inconsistency.
I've always been into paleontology.
It's here.
The other Quinn's a slider.
They must've slid off this Earth to get away from the asteroid.
Maybe, but I can't tell what he did or how far he got till I check out some of the equipment.
Yeah, but there's a chance? It's our only chance.
Very interesting, Mr.
Bennish.
Very interesting.
Bennish: You ain't seen nothing yet.
- My God.
- Beauty, huh? Roosevelt was hoping they could use it to blow up Japan.
Second World War might've ended five years earlier, saved a lot of lives.
Mr.
Bennish do you have any idea of the incredible destructive power that lies dormant under our fingertips? Do we have the right to unleash the nuclear genie on an unsuspecting world? Yeah, well, it's not going to be a world if we don't You are absolutely right.
I have studied nuclear physics.
I believe I have a solution.
You are quite right about the detonator.
We have to focus the shockwaves.
Focus them? Yes follow my reasoning.
The explosives on the outer shell cannot produce a sufficient implosion to detonate the core.
Why? Because the shockwaves do not arrive simultaneously.
Now, we create "lenses.
" Bits of metal of differing densities to slow down the fast ones so they all arrive simultaneously.
Of course, the densities of the metal and the shapes are quite critical.
How are we going to do that? Trial and error? Oh, no, no.
It's all up here, Mr.
Bennish.
Now, we're going to need aluminum, lead beryllium if they have some.
Let's see what else.
The lens focuses the shockwaves sufficient to cause a chain reaction Whoa! I beg your pardon? Do you realize what you've done? At the moment, Mr.
Bennish, we have done nothing.
But I do believe that we have a chance of retrofitting this old brute, providing we can get the lenses made and act expeditiously.
Unreal.
We'll we'll share the patent, right? (chuckles) Mr.
Bennish, if we are successful, I'm sure there will be enough credit to go around.
And if we are not, there will not be another major lifeform on this planet for about - I trust you, dude.
- You do, Mr.
Bennish? - Huh! Awesome.
- All right! (loud music playing) Hey, who's place is this? Who cares? What're you worried about, the resale value? But people are packed in here like sardines.
Hey, Remmy, lighten up, man.
Eternity is forever.
We got 24 hours left.
I'm gonna party with every girl in this joint.
Having fun? I am now.
- Caroline Fontaine.
- Rembrandt Brown.
- Really? Like the painter? - No, like the singer.
Look out! (screaming) Man, he's trashing the place.
Don't worry about it.
It's my house.
- Hey, what's up? - This is Rembrandt.
This is Adam, my husband.
Hey, Rembrandt, welcome.
Mi casa es su casa, right? Whatever.
Rembrandt was just about to ask me to dance.
Yeah? Well, she's all yours, man.
(sighs) (sizzles) - All I could find was aluminum foil.
- That'll do.
How's it going? Getting there.
Is there anything else that I can do? Quinn? What time is it? It's after 2:00.
You've been working eight hours straight.
Oh, come here.
I got to show you something.
incredible discovery today.
I'm closing in on an infiltration of the space-time continuum.
Soon I may be able to voyage back through the centuries to the land of the allosaurus and the brachiothyx.
Maybe even to the dawn of time itself.
Could you imagine? Basically the guy was heavy into the dinosaurs.
He was working on time travel.
We don't want to go back in time, we want to go home.
I don't even think time travel's possible.
That's not the point.
If we can reconfigure the internals and then sync the timer to the new frequency, maybe there'll be enough kick to accelerate us out of here.
(laughs) What's wrong? We've got Has it ever occurred to you that maybe we could talk to one another? Maybe discuss how we feel about all this? You're right.
Just give me a half an hour and then I'll take a break.
Around the globe, the world braced for the apocalypse with an unprecedented show of peace and amity.
In Belfast, Ireland, Catholics and Protestants - shared a morning of prayer.
- (kettle whistling) Elsewhere, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the six-month truce between Serbs and Muslims continued to hold.
Not so in the occupied West Bank, however, where Israelis and Palestinians greeted the second-to-last day with renewed violence.
Meanwhile, at the Vatican, doctors forced Pope John Paul II to rest after he delivered Here we go.
(engine whines) (buzzing) No, no, no! (whining slows) Quinn? Are you okay? Now what? Quinn: It's fried.
It was our only chance.
Wade: Don't worry.
We'll be okay.
You tried.
You did everything you could.
We wouldn't be in this mess if I knew what the hell I was doing.
I'm the one that wanted to slide, remember? Our little "spin around the universe"? Quinn please sit down.
(sighs) Hey, look at me.
I have no regrets.
Understand? Yeah.
Yeah, I miss my family, and of course I don't want to die, but I have done more and seen more since we started sliding then I ever imagined possible.
I don't know, maybe I'm crazy, but I really feel connected to all those other Wades out there.
They're all me.
If I die here, at least I know they're going to go on.
(loud metal music playing) Will you shut up that bloody noise? The fate of the entire world is in my hands and I feel as if I've got guitars exploding in my head.
Oh, sorry, man.
Why don't I put on something a little more mellow? - (loud guitars playing) - (screams) (music stops) I could've finished these calculations half an hour ago if I didn't have to put up with this cacophonous wailing! Yeah, well, you better pick up the pace, bro', 'cause that asteroid's not going any slower.
Well, it's amazing I can actually add two to two with you in the same room, Mr.
Bennish.
You know, Max, I've been thinking.
If this thing really works and we live past tomorrow it opens up all kinds of possibilities.
Nuclear cars, nuclear power plants.
Electricity so cheap it'll cost pennies a month.
Yes, and what about nuclear waste, Bennish? Put it in a rocket shoot it straight into the sun.
Pow! Oh, that's a good one.
Yes, the rocket fails, you dump thousands and thousands of pounds of radioactivity on the general population.
So bury it or dump it in the ocean.
What's the big deal? We'll figure something out.
Oh, I'm sure you will, Bennish.
I'm sure you will.
Who's going to say no to us anyway, man? We've got the atom bomb.
(mimics whistling warhead) (mimics explosion) - I got to whizz.
- Again? It's all that cream soda, man.
Man on P.
A: Attention, attention.
Attention, attention.
(music playing) Oh, sugar-pie, honey bunch, you know that I love you Can't help myself I love you and nobody else Oh, in and out my life You come and you go Leaving all your pictures behind me I've kissed 'em a thousand times Yeah, when you call my name girl, it starts to flame Burnin' in my heart, tearin' it all apart No matter how I try, your love I cannot hide, baby.
Rembrandt Brown! - (cheering) - All right, everybody, there's only so let's party! There's no tomorrow! - Rembrandt: Hey, what's going on? - Jimmy: Party games.
Hey, man, I hope that thing isn't loaded.
Just one in the chamber.
And that's the fun of it.
Your turn, rich man.
Oooh.
- Adam, don't.
- Cool it, baby, cool it.
But I'm touched.
Truly I am.
I'm very touched.
Why don't you do it for me? Do it for us, baby.
Do it for me.
- I mean, I know you want to.
- Don't be ridiculous.
Why? We're all going to die anyway.
Come on, baby.
What the hell do you think you're doing? What the hell is wrong with you, huh? - She's your wife.
- So? So what? We're in this game together, right? Let's go, Caroline, okay? Let's just leave here.
(laughs) You're welcome to her, man.
You're both losers.
That'd be mine.
Well, don't hurt yourself.
Oh, I won't.
You have fun now.
Maybe the dust cloud won't be as bad as they think, or they miscalculated somehow.
Don't, okay? I don't want to spend my last few hours worrying about something I have no control over.
You're amazing.
I never realized it.
There's a lot of things about me you never realized.
Oh yeah? What else? Do you have any matches? I'll go check.
Great.
(soft music playing) If I had to do it over again I wouldn't have been so impatient.
I would've waited till I knew more about what I was doing before I started sliding.
Hmm.
Part of me likes not being in control, just having to go with the experience.
It's like when I am in control I just I just can't let go, you know? It's like I'm always afraid to do what I want or say what I'm really feeling.
(music volume increases) Come on.
And two.
Oh-hh.
Oh! Oh, yeah.
(giggles) This feels good.
It does? Dip.
Oh! - (door opens) - Professor: Ah! There you are.
You've got to come at once.
I need your help.
Food! I can't remember when I last ate.
Listen, I have just recreated the atom bomb with the help of your obnoxious friend Bennish.
- Quinn: Bennish? - Apparently in this world, the Manhattan Project was a hoax.
- Einstein rigged the bomb so it wouldn't explode.
- What? Couldn't accept the moral responsibility.
Frankly, I don't blame him.
Anyway, there are some inconsistencies in my calculations.
I refuse to trust that metalhead Bennish with anything so important.
You're going to have to run backstop for me so the technicians can make the final adjustments - when they load the bomb onto the missile.
- What missile? The missile we're about to launch against the asteroid.
Ah.
The head of the Union of Distinguished Scientists, Dr.
Antonovich, has been in touch with his contacts at the Pentagon.
We have a police escort.
The first thing I want you to do is calculate an assumed deviation of 6% on the asteroid.
What would Mr.
Mallory, do come on! Man on P.
A: Attention, attention.
Four hours to impact.
Attention, attention.
Four hours to impact.
Professor: developed an Atlas missile program to carry a massive payload.
A consequence of having to deliver a very large tonnage of orthodox My God.
Wade: It's almost beautiful.
News anchor: And at this hour the asteroid continues on its collision course with Earth.
Meanwhile, in Times Square, crowds have gathered for the final countdown.
The missile, a conventional ICBM with an experimental warhead, was the result of years of top-secret research conducted under the aegis of Dr.
Lee Antonovich, a university professor and advisor to NASA.
It was installed at the launchpad at Andrews Air Force Base at approximately 3:00 this afternoon.
The warhead is enough of a wild card, Katie.
It's got to be timed precisely.
A millisecond too early or too late and the bomb will fail.
This is a real long shot.
There it is.
Incredible.
Far out! How's it going? Conrad Bennish, Jr, this is my friend and protégé, Quinn Mallory.
Oh the "facts and figures guy.
" All right.
Hi, Wade Wells.
Any friend of "Big Max" is good enough for me.
She's a stone fox, man.
I say go for it.
They mention my name yet? Not yet.
Anybody want a licorice? Sure.
Treasure it.
Never mind.
We're going to save the world"Fat Boy"! "Fat Boy," in case you didn't know, is the name of the bomb, in case you had other ideas.
He's the key to the world's survival? Genius comes in all sorts of shape and size, however galling that may be.
I hope you know what you're doing.
You just gave Conrad Bennish the power to take over the world.
No, I did not I retained one of the key schematics.
The bomb will work, but Einstein's secret is safe for the time being.
- What time is it? - A little after 5:30.
Where's Rembrandt? Probably decided he doesn't want anything more to do with us.
I'm worried about him.
He's all alone on this world.
Aren't we all? (church organ playing faintly) More soup.
Ah, just in time.
- How are you feeling? - Oh, better, Reverend.
This place kind of brings me back to my roots.
It's only by helping others that we learn to understand the meaning of personal salvation.
Yeah.
Yeah, you got that right.
Rembrandt: Listen, Reverend, if it's okay with you, I promised some friends of mine that I would spend the last minutes with them.
- If you can spare me? - Of course.
Of course.
You want to come? Thanks for everything.
You take care.
Yeah.
If you'll just let me get that? Excuse me.
Thanks for everything.
(dog barking) News anchor: The ignition sequence has begun.
We can no longer make room for any adjustments.
Any unanticipated delays E equals MC squared.
It's in the bag! Mr.
Bennish, if we survive, I promise you this I will dedicate my life to isolating the gene that makes you so obnoxious, and destroy it.
(laughs) I love this guy.
Reporter: end ignition.
- (door opens) - Hey, hey! Wade: Rembrandt? Yeah, the "prodigal son" is back.
Wade: We thought we'd never see you again! What are you talking about, girl? I couldn't face the end of the world without my friends.
Huh? How you doing, Q-ball? Good to see you, Rembrandt.
Arturo and Bennish built an atom bomb.
They did what? They're firing it at the asteroid right now.
- You mean we've got a chance? - Professor: Our only chance.
News anchor: In a second or two, we will only be able to witness the blast flame of this rocket as it carries Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Nobel Prize, man! - No hard feelings, huh? - Come on.
- Let's do it.
- Wade: Come on.
I love you guys.
I see it! Right there! Five, four three, two, one! Uh-oh.
Light travels at 186,000 miles a second, Mr.
Bennish.
(rumbling) (whistling, cheers) It worked.
It worked! What'd I tell ya? - (all laughing) - Bennish: What did I tell ya? What did I tell ya? (fireworks exploding, cheering) We did it! We did it! (church bells ringing) (organ music playing) It's a beautiful morning, isn't it? Yes, it truly is.
Caroline: Coffee's in the back.
News anchor: as a result of behind the scenes maneuvering, the young physicist, a graduate student at University of California, is an international hero today.
Telegrams have been pouring in.
Do we have that footage, Terry? - (reporters shouting) - No comment.
- (shouting continues) - No comment.
- I shocked the world, man! - Woman: I love you! News anchor: While the scientific community will undoubtedly mark its formal approval The least he could've done is mention your name.
All fame is fleeting, Miss Wells.
But at least this world goes on.
Yeah, but it's got one hell of a hangover.
Hey, listen to this.
Ivan Boesky bought up half of Beverly Hills at $10,000 a house.
Now all those fools want their property back.
(laughing) Metermaid: Mr.
Moon! Quinn: We better hurry.
We only have three minutes.
Wade: I hope to God we get home.
(remote beeping) Quinn: What if Bennish is able to reconstitute the bomb? He may be a pothead, but he's not stupid.
- Professor: Not to worry.
- How can you be so sure? Because I have the real schematics here.
Quinn: We need to slide now.
They were there last night.
Better hurry up and find them.
It's time, man.
They were here this morning.
You guys figure it out.
I'm out of here.
Go, go! We don't have time! Go! Anybody messes with us now (loud music plays) boom!