Originally aired August 13, 1999
Written by Chris Black
Directed by Peter Ellis
The Sliders arrive on a world where Maggie's double was a widely-adored astronaut, and Maggie confronts a double of her estranged father, who is involved in a conspiracy.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Alternate History: In 1944, the Germans broke the Allied lines at the Battle of the Bulge and World War II continued until 1947. Given that Eisenhower was disgraced because of this failure, Adlai Stevenson won the 1952 presidential election (which he lost to Eisenhower on Earth Prime) and revealed that the US government had made contact with aliens called the Reticulans in 1947.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Played with. The Leader claims to believe the Sliders' story, but later dismisses it as ridiculous. Thomas, however, accepts Maggie's story at face value (possibly because she had already demonstrated a good deal of knowledge about him).
- Conspiracy Theorist: It's a planet full of them. Even Rembrandt notes he always believed the government was hiding the truth about aliens.
- Continuity Nod: When first seeing a headline about aliens, Mallory asks if this is another tabloid world.
- Daddy Issues: The main focus of Maggie's plot. She's also quite surprised that her double resolved her differences with Thomas.
- Due to the Dead: Thomas believes that keeping the Intrepid crew's true fate a secret is this, as he loathes the idea of the world seeing them dying a slow, painful death. Maggie believes his intentions are good, but also that he's misguided."You're the one dishonoring her with this charade, not me. She's a hero for how she lived, not how she died."
- E.T. Gave Us Wi-Fi: The reason why the featured world has more advanced technology. Rembrandt also expresses a personal belief in this trope—citing Velcro, among other things.
- Half-Human Hybrid: The Leader.
- Heel Realization: Thomas ultimately comes clean in the end. He releases all sealed records of the Intrepid crew's fate and apologizes for dishonoring their memory.
- Honor Before Reason: Thomas wants Maggie to publicly claim she's a fraud to make this story go away. Though it means being detained during the slide, Maggie refuses out of disgust for Thomas covering up the circumstances of her double's death.
- I Regret Nothing: Thomas watches alt-Maggie's final transmission, where she doesn't regret the mission.
- Morality Chain Beyond the Grave: Alt-Maggie's final transmission implores her father to not let people forget about what the crew accomplished. Re-watching this convinces Thomas to reveal the truth to the world.
- My Greatest Failure:
- Thomas says he could've prevented his Maggie from going on the Mars mission, but he didn't have the heart because it was her dream.
- Mr. Xybo designed the radiation shielding for the Intrepid crew's return vehicle. He blames himself for their deaths and started the Maggie museum as a form of penance.
- Never Found the Body: The reason everyone believes Maggie's double is still alive is because their shuttle allegedly disappeared. Actually, the government recovered it and covered up the truth.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Thomas.
- Parental Abandonment: Maggie's mother died when she was a kid and her father years later during a diplomatic mission.
- Parting-Words Regret: Given a twist. On Maggie's world, her father died when his helicopter was shot down. On this world, he was the only survivor."Before the chopper went down, I never told Maggie that I loved her. Just because I never said it..."
- Revealing Cover Up: The government insists that Maggie's double and her crew died on the return trip from Mars, but they covered up them dying from radiation poisoning. They instead made it look like the ship was merely lost in space. That, of course, just made people suspicious.
- Roswell That Ends Well: Diana says the American government did make contact with an alien species (the Reticulans) and went public about it under President Adlai Stevenson. Diana mentions the Roswell crash specifically.
- Shout-Out:
- When Diana first mentions Roswell and government cover-ups, Maggie mentions The X-Files.
- Surely naming Maggie Beckett's father "Thomas" wasn't a coincidence.
- So Proud of You: Thomas reflecting on his Maggie setting foot on Mars.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: Maggie says she only joined the Marines to get her father's attention."I never got a hug, so I settled for a salute."
- Zany Scheme: Mallory gets the idea to sell Maggie's belongings for money. He justifies it by needing a way to pay for their hotel room.
