Die 4. Dimension

Doorways should be given a chance and put out on DVD. Everyone I have talked to about this movie says that they really liked it and wish that they could purchase it for their collection. It has an unusual plot and was fun to see where each scene would take you. The whole idea of sci-fi is to take you away from the stress and strain of everyday drudgery. It gives you a feeling of other things and other worlds out there, if you don't watch it all the way through how can you even think of trying to rate the movie. Many people listen to these people that rate movies and take their word for truth. I have found many good movies that were supposed to be lousy but found them to be great movies. Give those poorly rated movies a chance because what sucks to one or two people may be a very good movie.

I caught the last half of this on cable last night. Looks like a pilot for a possible series. Except for the confused confrontation with the "Dark Lord" at the end it looked pretty good. I got involved with the characters and definitely wanted like to know how things turned out - I would expect no less from George R. R. Martin. Too bad it never got picked up.

George R. R. Martin, writer of "Beauty And The Beast," and a well known professional SF writer ("Tuff Voyaging" is heartily recommended) came up with this pilot for an alternate universe adventure show some time before Sliders, but Tracey Torme's version was the one that became a series. Ignore the disparaging remarks and watch it -- George Newbern goes well beyond the bounds of 'male ingenue (sp?)' and Kurtwood Smith delivers two good performances (conceivably he could have been the Kenny of live action TV, a comment you will need to watch it to understand, if the series had made it.

In the first half hour there are a number of plot flaws that are hard to accept. Had the writers thought about it just a bit more it might have worked out as a good series. But then again, they'd have had stiff competition from Sliders.

Also, I think the talent agent could have picked out some better actors. The mix clashed with each other while the variety in sliders melded better. It is a good comparison between a series that made the concept work vs a series that did not allow it to work. The behind the scenes crews is crucial in making a series a hit. I was going to say especially the casting director but that is not true. Without a good scrip writer... etc etc. Each part has to perform to a certain level for a series to make it. They did not meld well in this one.

This show preceded SLIDERS, at least by a year or two. It deals with a somewhat similar premise. Sliding thru parallel worlds, alternate realities, where it's the same time, date, continent...but somehow things are just not the same.

I also remembered, in one segment of this 2-hr cable movie...the story was sorta similar to the world of 'Kevin Costner's THE POSTMAN;' in this version, in order to cure some oil-spill catastrophe in the world's oceans...scientists had created this petrol-cured oil eating bacteria. But when they unleashed it...things got outta control, and it consumed all the oil-supplies in the world. So, now supposedly everything went back to being kinda the old west. Traveling in horse pulled buggy-coaches. Horse back riding. Seeing abandoned luxury cars on the side of cracked freeways.

Interesting premise. Too bad it didn't turn into a series. There's this other film with a similar title, starring RUGER HAUER...I think it called: CROSSWORLDS, which uses a similar plot.

REZULETA