Originally aired October 11, 1996
Written by Tracy Tormé
Directed by Adam Nimoy
On a world where events are unfolding as they did ten years ago on Earth Prime, Quinn encounters his young double, who is still reeling from the loss of his father, and takes it upon himself to change an upcoming event in his life.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Alliterative Name: Heather Hanley.
- Batter Up!: Quinn reveals that, on Earth Prime, he busted Rex's knee with a baseball bat. On the parallel world, he teaches his younger double Good Old Fisticuffs so he won't make the same mistake he made.
- The Bully: Rex Crandell and Brady Oakes.
- Bully Hunter: At one point, Quinn steps in and defends his young double against his tormentors.
- Call-Back: Arturo says he saw an American football game for the first time ever and bungles some terminology, despite seeming to know the game previously. This was not an error; it was deliberate.
- Child Prodigy: The episode reveals Quinn was skipped ahead a couple years.
- Children Are Cruel: The major bullies are vicious, while the other kids jeer the younger Quinn as he gets beaten up.
- Deadpan Snarker: At the bar, a thug accosts Arturo for talking to his girlfriend. Arturo repeatedly zings him.Thug: Those words, all those syllables—it's like... it's like bein' back in school!
Arturo: Well, at least that implies that you did go to school. This is good. - Didn't Think This Through: After Arturo takes his bungee jump:Arturo: Pull me up, Mr. Brown, and let me do it again!
Rembrandt: How do we get him up?
Wade: You don't know? - Freudian Excuse: Quinn implies his traumatic experiences as a child are why he practiced science alone in his basement.
- Hot for Teacher: Quinn had a crush on his teacher, Miss Hanley, when he was younger.
- Hot Teacher: Miss Heather Hanley, whom Quinn had a crush on when he was younger. On this episode's parallel world, he forms a relationship with her.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Quinn hated his intelligence growing up. He got skipped ahead, lost his friends, and became a frequent target for older and stronger bullies.
- Internal Reveal: Arturo has a terminal illness, and Quinn is the only one who knows.
- Knee-capping: Quinn did this to Rex using a baseball bat when he was younger. He prevents his younger double from doing the same thing by teaching him Good Old Fisticuffs.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Quinn deeply regretted using a baseball bat on Rex, which left him walking with a limp for life.
- According to Quinn, Brady grew up to regret all the awful things he had done.
- Nature vs. Nurture: Quinn and Arturo debate over the affect sparing the younger Quinn from his childhood trauma could have on him. Arturo comes to believe in the end that, whatever happens, Quinn's been a positive influence.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Arturo intended to give up sliding and use what time he has left. Quinn convinces him to not leave the group.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Arturo really lives it up—renting a pricey car, enjoying American football, having fun at a bar, picking a fight with an antagonistic thug, and going bungee jumping. Unaware he's actually dying, Wade and Rembrandt are quite confused by all this.
- Parental Substitute: Quinn has to relive losing her father after learning his surrogate father is dying.Arturo: You're angry now. You're angry at me because I'm going to die, and I'm gonna leave you all alone. That's all right. Just don't deny it the way you tried to deny the death of your father.
- Parting-Words Regret: Quinn told his father that he hated him before he died in a car accident, and is understandably filled with regret for having done so. Quinn's younger double did the same thing, so he helps him work through it.
- The Resenter: According to Quinn, Rex hated him because he was illiterate and dyslexic.
- Revenge by Proxy: Subverted. Wade accuses Quinn of using his younger double to revenge himself on doubles of his old bullies. Actually, Quinn is teaching his younger double basic self-defense so that he doesn't resort to kneecapping.
- The Scapegoat: Quinn blamed his mother for losing Bopper. As it plays out on this world, Quinn acknowledges that his mother was the only one he could lash out at because she'd love him regardless.
- Secret-Keeper: Quinn, though only because he stumbled onto the truth.
- Secretly Dying: Arturo learns he has a terminal illness, and Quinn becomes the only one privy to this information.
- Shout-Out: Arturo notes how his companions think nothing of seeing an Indiana Jones movie more than a dozen time. Doubles as an Actor Allusion.
- So Proud of You: Arturo to Quinn when talking about the influence he's had on his younger double.
- Time-Shifted Actor: Phillip Van Dyke plays Young!Quinn.
- Time Travel: A confusing instance of this. As Arturo explains, the Sliders haven't truly traveled back in time (it's still 1996), but events are playing out much more slowly in this world than they did on Earth Prime, meaning that it appears to be 1984. Rembrandt is content to just say they traveled back in time and leave it at that.
