While working in his basement, Quinn Mallory opens the gateway to parallel worlds. For a test run, Quinn invites co-worker Wade Welles and his teacher, Professor Arturo, along. Upon opening the vortex, Quinn uses too much power, which causes the vortex to suck them in along with Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown, who happened to be driving by Quinn's house. The four arrive on a world that experienced an ecological disaster and will have to survive until the timer hits zero.

After barely escaping the last world, the Sliders think they are home. But to their horror, Quinn and Arturo learn they are not and have instead arrived on a world where the Soviet Union rules America. Rembrandt has been arrested for trying to use American money and the only way to save him is for the others to help a group of revolutionaries rescue their imprisoned leader.

On a world where penicillin was never invented, Quinn is mistaken for his double, who is believed to be the cause of a massive epidemic. While he is imprisoned by a health agency, Wade shows signs of being infected and only Arturo can find the cure.

The Sliders arrive on a world that will be destroyed by an asteroid before they are due to slide. Arturo works with Bennish to develop an atom bomb to destroy the asteroid and Rembrandt gets caught up in an end of the world celebration, while Quinn and Wade confront their feelings for one another.

The Sliders arrive in the British States of America, where Arturo's double is plotting to assassinate a prince and take the throne. When the Sliders inadvertently foil the plot, they come into contact with a group of rebels trying to bring freedom to America.

The Sliders are separated on a world where the Hippie movement of the sixties is still alive and the US is at war with Australia. Wade and Rembrandt are mistaken for extraterrestrial prophets at a commune, while Quinn and Arturo race to fix a broken timer and rejoin the others.

On a world where being smart is the equivalent of being a sports star, Quinn is a popular college athlete and finds his double had underhanded dealings with gangsters. Meanwhile, Arturo discovers his late wife is alive on this world and tries for reconciliation after learning she is pressing for divorce.

The Sliders arrive on a world where roles are reversed with women holding the positions of power. Arturo becomes a candidate for the mayoral race in San Francisco, trying to bring about a "men's rights" movement.

Rembrandt has arrived on his dream world, where his double is as popular as Elvis, but has been dead for eight years. As Rembrandt gets to enjoy the fame he's long since wanted, an old enemy plots to make sure he disappears for good.

When the Sliders land on a seemingly ideal world, Wade wins the lottery. But Quinn discovers that the lottery is population control and the winners are killed.

After separating from Ryan and Henry the dog, the Sliders make a rough landing that reopens Quinn's bullet wound. On this world of mysticism and superstition, a witch doctor heals Quinn and has brains on the mind when they can't pay the bill. On the run from bounty hunters, the Sliders only hope is the mysterious Sorcerer, a man who could possibly get them home.

On a world where a biological weapon wiped out most of the male population, Quinn, Rembrandt and Arturo become objects of desire and are imprisoned by the government to be breeders. As they try to escape and regroup with Wade, they find there are others out to capture them.

A lightning bolt strikes the vortex during a slide, damaging the timer and trapping Quinn on the astral plane. Now the Sliders are stranded on a world with 1950s technology and Quinn can not be seen by the others. He tries to get the help from the only one who can see or hear him, a girl that has a history of hearing voices.

On a world where everything west of the Mississippi is part of the Nation of Texas, corporate lawyers carry gunslinging ways of the Old West. After Quinn gets mixed up in a showdown, he gains the reputation for fastest draw in San Francisco and tries to prevent the hostile takeover of a family-owned computer company.

While the Sliders wait to leave a world of violence, Quinn saves a woman named Michelle from her criminal boyfriend, Sid. Sid then goes after the Sliders through the vortex, where they all arrive on a world where San Francisco is a maximum security prison.

Wade witnesses a murder just before the slide, but as the Sliders land on the next world, the same murder is about to occur. This time, Wade intervenes and this gets the Sliders involved with a disgraced federal judge and a United States under martial law.

The Sliders land on a world where San Francisco is a national park dedicated to the preservation of dinosaurs, which is home to a deadly Allosaurus. A bad fall causes Arturo to injure himself and lose the timer. Quinn goes out alone to search for it, while the others hide out from the Allosaurus in a cave.

The Sliders have come to the most unexpected world of all... home. While Rembrandt and Wade use their sliding adventures to kickstart their careers, Arturo steals the timer and claims sliding as his invention. However, Quinn remains convinced they are not home.

Wade literally meets the man of her dreams, Derek Bond, on a world where ten percent of the population possess psychic abilities. It turns out Derek is a psychic and is next in line for the powerful position of Prime Oracle. But the future gets grim fast as Rembrandt and Arturo become prime suspects in a murder that hasn't happened yet.

On a world where Prohibition was never repealed, Rembrandt's double is famous for fighting crime and corruption. Unfortunately, the trouble starts when the Sliders land in the middle of a wedding, where the groom and bride are from mob organizations.

The Sliders arrive on a world where the young are in charge and Wade and Quinn's doubles were married corporate executives. Quinn winds up posing as his dead double and finds questions in his death. Meanwhile, Arturo and Rembrandt find themselves in trouble with the law and face jail time.

The Sliders land in the middle of a strange invasion and Quinn uses the timer to bring down one of the ships. Before barely escaping, the Sliders learn these new villains can slide at will and are soon captured on the next world. They learn their captors are the Kromaggs and are intent on conquering every parallel world.

The Sliders find themselves running into the same people on each new world, one of them being Quinn's former love, Daelin. After encounters on worlds where the Spanish rule America and Daelin is an abused wife, the Sliders arrive on a world where time moves backwards and they are accused of Daelin's murder. Quinn wants to save her, but it could have disastrous results.