“A Current Affair” is episode seven of season five of Sliders.
President Williams is giving a press conference. He answers a trivial question then pretends he can’t hear one about the war in Switzerland.
The Sliders arrive and Maggie hears the press conference. She wonders what’s going on. Rembrandt suggests it’s his double, reminiscing about the events of “The King is Back” that none of the others were around for. The president is now shaking hands and Maggie gets bumped from behind into him, and the president catches her. Afterwards, there’s a photo of this in the newspapers with a headline asking if the president has a girlfriend.
In their room, Maggie wants to forget what happened. Mallory shows her the paper. It’s also on the news, about the president’s apparent extramarital affair. It’s on every channel too, with claims the affair has been confirmed and speculation as to how long it’s been going on. Mallory has opened a drawer and found another paper, The Hawks Report. Maggie is reading the mainstream press and, given the headlines, asks if it’s tabloid world and wonders what the rags are like. Mallory says he’s found one and it seems to be covering real news. Bobby Hawks discusses the war between the US and the Swiss; the Swiss were responsible for a banking scandal and worldwide depression with rumours of ethnic cleansing in the French part of the country. Mallory would like a more recent issue.
The president is watching the same stories with his wife and Chuck Pierson. He wants Chuck to quash it. Chuck points out that because of the story, no-one is even interested in Switzerland. They should play it up. The president is unsure, but his wife and Chuck convince him it’s a good idea.
Maggie is hoping it will blow over but people are recognising her in the street. She heads back to the hotel. Mallory is going to have a prowl around, specifically to find The Hawks Report. It’s a tiny office, and Bobby Hawks, the reporter who was ignored, doesn’t seem to have had anyone genuinely interested in his work before. Most people are easily distracted, but he and a network of others around the world look into the real issues. Mallory asks about Switzerland. Their banks were nationalised, causing an economic crisis. President Williams couldn’t get approval from the UN or Congress, but sent in ground troops anyway. Most people think Bobby makes this stuff up, but they’d still only be interested in dirty laundry. He has a theory about this affair. The US is planning to use an illegal weapon and the affair is a distraction. Mallory offers some inside information. The affair is a fake. He knows the woman.
Maggie turns on the news to find that she’s been identified by name as the person having the affair and a reporter is going to see her. At a mobile home park. This Maggie Beckett is a stereotypical resident of such; even the reporter realises that she’s not the right one. There’s a knock on the door and Chuck is there with a Secret Service agent. Chuck says they know there isn’t an affair and this is an innocent misunderstanding. He’d like Maggie to come with them and see the president. And it turns out that’s not a request.
Rembrandt and Diana arrive to find the door open and go looking for Maggie. They speak to Mallory in the bar, who explains Hawks and the fake affair. Rembrandt says they’ll wait at the hotel for Maggie.
Maggie is sitting at a table with the president. They’re supposed to look as if they’re dining as photos are taken. Williams apologises. Maggie thinks this must be hard for his wife. She’s there and okay with it. She leaves the room once the photos are taken and meets with Chuck and stereotypical a computer tech, who then manipulates the photos. Mrs Williams and Chuck are concerned that Maggie is a bit bright and needs an eye keeping on her. Maggie is going to end up surplus to requirements. The others will need to somehow rescue her.
Certain elements of the story look rather similar to a news story at the time. And that is not a coincidence.