main characters are transported to a new parallel universe each episode, with a different point of divergence for each universe; the transportation is triggered by an alien(?) device nicknamed ‘the timer’. They are trying to return to their ‘home’ universe(s)
the ‘timer’ device is a control panel with various unlabeled Switches/Knobs/Buttons/Settings [referred to as a SKuBS] (reminiscent of Kurt West’s original SimCity box design, or Space Quest 4’s SimSim spoof):
for TV production, the season’s control panel / set of SKuBS would be 3D-printed; the 3D model(s) would be made available publicly for free download after the season is wrapped / when the first episode of the season airs, to encourage fans to print their own and label it themselves
Main character is trying to document (on paper, when we first meet her) what the unlabeled SKuBS do (presumably in order to return to her original world)
Episodes
generally, one episode per ‘SKuBS’
every season will change the physical structure of the control panel, including the SKuBS on it, by using a ‘meta-SKuBS’ on the control panel (e.g., one season it might look like a video game controller, the next season it might look like a steampunk boombox)
Characters
Main character – Daft Punk-esque helmet, space suit, vocoder voice
perhaps turns out to be female a la Samus Aran and Boushh?
helmet visor is [red/green/blue/etc] and filtered out that color of light, therefore didn’t see the original text labels on the control panel (or on the ‘instruction booklet’ a la The Greatest American Hero) and therefore got lost dimension-hopping; “Have you tried decoding that alien writing?” “What writing?”
came from another world with different environment (possibly due to a setting that changed the predominant atmosphere of Earth, etc), hence the helmet/suit
might obtain method for surviving without helmet/suit later in the season/series
Secondary characters (‘Companions’) – from ‘Our Earth’ (Earth Prime)
Main character allows these folks to join the group, due to their greater familiarity with the current iteration of the world – they’ll be able to help her figure out the precise effect of the SKuBS faster
Tertiary characters
Recurring characters in each parallel world (‘archetypal characters’ whom our group meets time after time)
Allows us to quickly see otherwise consistent characters affected by changing SKuBS (e.g., the person who goes from taxi driver to millionaire)
The characters that move between worlds are selected by a method specified by a SKuBS
everyone touching the control panel
everyone within a certain radius of the control panel
selected from a dynamically-generated list?
everyone on the planet?
‘TV Show Bible‘ factoids/tidbits/premise for Tweakers
E’ – Our Earth, Earth Prime, Earth-1218, The Keystone World, etc.
In one episode, musician Mike is playing an out-of-tune piano – turns out he’s Michael Trent Reznor (frontman of the band Nine Inch Nails in our world).
show would be similar to the first season or two of Sliders, e.g. historical/hard science, rather than ‘monster of the week’
Don’t necessarily have a ‘time limit’ like in Sliders, but need an incentive to not stop at a ‘Perfect World’
If control panel is destroyed – return/reset to previous world? characters maintain their memories?
SKuBS – apparent changes are sometimes superficial “thesaurus swaps” (think Doctor Who –> Inspector Spacetime)
Some SKuBS are minor things (throw-away jokes or worthy of an intro/outro/anthology a la Interdimensional Cable or Treehouse of Horrors)
our characters will label/document SKuBS as they progress, either by divergence point / actual effect (Did Hitler win WWII?), or other times by most noticeable effect (What is the predominant language of USA?)
Traffic Light Stop Color: Red/Green/? (a reference to first Sliders episode)
nemesis/mentor with similar ‘timer’ device
mentor’s timer uses more precise SKuBS, with coordinate naming convention based on 3-syllable Mandela-effect inflection points, e.g. “set coordinates to Liberty-Pikachu-Berenstain-Moneybags”
Mandela
Berenstain
Cornucope/Fruit of Loom
Froot of Loops
Threepio
Liberty
Moneybags
Coke Zero
Pikachu
Dial to modify control panel itself (which changes the appearance of the control panel, similar to Dr Who’s regenerations/TARDIS reboots), and is used for season jumps and to introduce new SKuBS and remove old SKuBS
one setting would make it look like Sliding Machine from Sliders
one setting would make it look like SimCity cover art
etc
Checkboxes for the meaning of the verb ‘TWEAK’
twist something (such as a knob)
improve a system by making fine adjustments
become excited from taking amphetamines or another stimulant
“Ahhhh, that adds another meaning to Mike & Rich’sSkilled Dial Tweakers album”
Dial for actor replacements in Back to the Future (depending on who is available for cameo, either 1b or 2):
0 – Marty: Eric Stoltz, Doc: Christopher Lloyd
1a (E’): Eric Stoltz –> Michael J. Fox
1b: Christopher Lloyd –> John Rhys-Davies
2: Eric Stoltz –> Jerry O’Connell
Christopher Lloyd –> John Rhys-Davies
3: ?
Written language that the control panel shows
English
Braille
‘Alien’
etc etc
Wavelength of light of the control panel’s writing
ultraviolet/infrared writing (aka invisible)
human-visible (hooray!)
the color of Main character’s visor, and therefore invisible to her
