Originally aired September 17, 1999
Written by Robert Massello
Directed by Paul Raimondi
The Sliders land in the middle of a riot in a mental hospital on an alternate world where any form of free thought is considered an aberration. Diana gets mistaken for a patient and has her brain remapped.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Culture Police: On this world, the Corporate States of America controls its population by banning all forms of creativity. Anyone who displays such tendencies is subjected to brain remapping in order to eliminate them.
- Foreshadowing: Malcolm cautions Diana that appearances can be deceiving and that they're not all who they seem to be.
- Go Among Mad People: In all the confusion of the supposed riot, Diana gets mistaken for a patient and taken away. She lampshades how trying to explain the truth (being from another universe) would make the doctors think she really was crazy.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Malcolm built the remapping machine to study human consciousness and his daughter, Jane, was a willing test subject. Then the government forced its way in and erased Jane's neural map, leaving Malcolm unable to restore her. He committed himself to the asylum as a form of penance.
- The Power of Friendship: When Malcolm asks him why he's going to all this trouble, Rembrandt says, "My friend needs help."
- Prison Riot: The Sliders arrive in the middle of a mundane riot, where the patients do out-of-the-norm things, like having tea on the lawn. Nonetheless, the riot police get called in and put it down hard. During the climax, Rembrandt rallies the patients into a more traditional riot by talking about all the things they're denied, how they're treated by the staff, and how angry they are about it. Mass damage ensues.
- Rousing Speech: Rembrandt delivers one to get the patients to riot. He credits the delivery to attending Baptist Church during his youth.
- You Are Not Alone: As Diana stares blankly into space, Rembrandt assures her the others are there for her and will find a way to fix this.
