Sliders is a fondly remembered cult show for many sci-fi fans, but it never truly recovered after the departure of Jerry O'Connnell's Quinn Mallory. Despite its loyal following, Sliders is in some ways a tale of a great concept receiving spotty execution. Borrowing more than a little from the premise of Quantum Leap, Sliders sends a group of four very different people on a mostly uncontrolled journey through a wormhole gateway leading to parallel worlds. This essentially enabled each episode to get creative, incorporating a new setting and supporting cast each time out.
At its best, Sliders was a truly great and sometimes thought-provoking bit of sci-fi dramedy, while at its worst, it became an excuse to rip off the popular movies of the times. Most of these issues didn't fall entirely on the creative team, as up and down ratings led FOX executives to constantly make content demands in the hopes of creating another X-Files-sized hit. Knowing this, it's unsurprising that so many fans wish for a Sliders revival in which the cast and crew were allowed to make the show they truly wanted to make the first time.
FOX canceled Sliders after season 3, but fans were thrilled when the then-Sci-Fi Channel picked it up for season 4. Thankfully, season 4 was an improvement on the highly erratic third year, which saw beloved character Professor Arturo get suddenly and harshly killed off. The principal cast, minus Wade Wells (Sabrina Lloyd), would thankfully make the jump to Sci-Fi. When it came time to make season 5 though, some major cast turnover took place, including the departure of Sliding's inventor, Quinn Mallory.
Why Quinn Mallory Didn't Return For Sliders Season 5
Going into season 5 of Sliders, Jerry O'Connell felt there wasn't much left for him there, as the absence of original co-stars John Rhys-Davies and Sabrina Lloyd, as well as co-creators Tracy Torme and Robert K. Weiss, made the production feel very much like a different show than the one he'd originally joined. O'Connell wanted to cease being a series regular and try to launch a film career but was willing to make a few appearances to not leave fans hanging about Quinn's fate. However, there was a catch to that offer. Jerry's brother Charlie O'Connell had joined Sliders for season 4, playing Quinn's own long-lost brother Colin, and Charlie wanted to stay on as a regular.
The problem then became that Sci-Fi executives and Sliders' current producers felt the Colin Mallory character only made sense alongside Quinn, and if Quinn wasn't going to be a regular, they didn't think it made sense for Colin to be one. Jerry O'Connell insisted that if those involved wanted him to take part in an exit story for Quinn, they guarantee Charlie would be kept on as a regular, and also grant Jerry himself an executive producer credit, which to be fair is quite common for the lead of a long-running show. Jerry's demands were denied, and both O'Connell brothers walked, leaving Sliders to scramble and come up with a story that would explain Quinn and Colin's sudden departures. Quinn was "merged" with an alternate universe double (played by new actor Robert Floyd), and Colin was left "unstuck" between dimensions. Neither brother ever returned.