“A Thousand Deaths” is episode thirteen of season five of Sliders.
Rembrandt, Mallory and Maggie are wearing crowns and meeting three clowns in a dark alley. It seems the clowns want a formula in exchange for Diana. The formula is handed over and then three more crown-clad people show up. The situation degenerates into a gunfight as it seems burger wars are actual wars here, between totally not Burger King and totally not McDonalds. Diana is revealed to be in a box and Rembrandt goes to get her; the other two join them and they slide out. In the next world, Diana is not responsive.
Diana is in bed when Maggie enters her hotel room. Maggie goes to draw the curtains by Diana wants them open. She asks where they are; a beautiful resort hotel and the other two are scoping the place out. It looks normal.
Rembrandt joins Mallory; Rembrandt has been taking money from his duplicate’s ATM account. Across the room, a man with a book looks at a slumped customer and gives the nod; two people carry him away.
Diana is telling Maggie that she has a problem with claustrophobia. When she was a child, she shut herself in the teacher’s closet as an experiment into darkness, only to be locked inside for the entire weekend. Being shut in that box triggered it. Diana is feeling like a wimp. Maggie reassures her; Maggie knows sliding can be overwhelming and they’re depending on Diana as their resident scientist. And are no closer to finding Rembrandt’s home or where to begin finding Colin. Maggie is sure it weighs on Diana. It does.
The other two join them and Mallory turns on the television. There’s an advert by Mark Einman inviting people to the Arcade, the cutting-edge state of the art family entertainment centre with 30 role playing scenarios of great realism. Mallory explains that people play live on this world, in games that seem real, and as they’re there for two and a half days they should relax. Diana doesn’t fancy what Mallory and Rembrandt do; she fancies the Roman spa and Maggie agrees to join her.
Rembrandt is a detective from the 70s and Mallory is a Confederate soldier. He wanted to be part of the general staff to meet Lee, but you have to start as a private. Rembrandt explains when the Spinning Tops were at their peak, he was approached to do a television detective show, but the deal didn’t go down. The other two join them dressed for the spa.
Rembrandt is in his game and is approached by his partner, Fred. Fred has played the scenario before, almost every day. He’ll show Rembrandt how it’s done and they can skip the orientation vids. They look to be outside but Fred explains they’re in an indoor arena, holographic environments. The people are holograms too, but far more complex. Bullets are harmless to them, but their car, which looks to have been swiped from Starsky & Hutch, is real. Rembrandt checks that they are on the trail of a young girl who has been kidnapped.
Mallory is on the Confederate camp, practicing speaking to Lee, when the attack starts. A Union soldier is grappling with him when another Confederate shoots him. The Union soldier asks Mallory why they are killing them, as this is no game, then fades out.
Maggie and Diana are relaxing in a hot tub and talking. Diana got the impression that Maggie would have gone with the other two; Maggie explains she has more male friends than female, but not by choice. Some find her threatening. Diana says the problem is others feel so insecure they’re threatened by Maggie. They talk about Diana being afraid of the black box, which she thinks is similar to death, and Maggie is saying Diana is just afraid of death and nothingness. They sound barely conscious and see a man being wheeled out. Then dose off and the man who directed someone else removed has them taken from the tub.
Rembrandt, who seems to be being inspired by Shaft, and Mallory are both disappointed with their games, Fred especially who is trigger happy, and Mallory is somewhat shaken up by what the Union soldier said. It’s also too close to their everyday life. Then they discover the other two are missing, and need to find out where they’ve been taken.