Maximillian Arturo

Professor
John Rhys-Davies as Professor Maximillian P. Arturo
Portrayed by  John Rhys-Davies First appearance "Sliders, Part I" Last appearance "The Exodus, Part II" (chronological) "The Last of Eden" (airdate)
Statistics Name Maximillian Arturo Nickname(s) Prof Professor Max Age 54-56 Date of birth September 23, 1940 Date of death February 28, 1997? (See Wrong Arturo) Occupation Professor Family Christina Fox (wife) (deceased), Unnamed son (estranged) Earth of origin Earth Prime? (See Wrong Arturo)

Professor Maximillian P. Arturo (often called The Professor, or simply Professor, or occasionally Max, during the third season) is a fictional character on the science fiction television show Sliders. He was played by John Rhys-Davies.

Synopsis

Maximillian P. Arturo was born in England during the early 1940s. (His driver's license, shown in "Summer of Love," indicates that his birthdate is September 23.) When he was a young child, his aunt's house was bombed while he and his mother were staying there. Both Arturo's mother and aunt were killed. His only memories of this incident were his mother's dead body being pulled off him. Since his father was fighting a war in India at the time, there was no way for Arturo to be identified, so he was put in an orphanage. After the war ended Arturo's father came to get him. (Reference: "Season's Greedings")

Arturo served in his country's armed forces as a young adult. After completing his service, Arturo emigrated to the United States, where he pursued graduate studies in physics, and met fellow student Christina Fox, whom he later married. Christina died of a brain aneurysm when she was 27 (Reference: "Eggheads"). Arturo had a son; however, it is not revealed in the show whether or not Christina Fox was the mother (Reference: "Into the Mystic"). At the beginning of "Sliders," Arturo was Regents professor of cosmology and ontology at the fictional California University.

As a travelling companion, Arturo was arrogant, hot-tempered, and pompous, often referring to people who failed to meet his expectations as "blistering idiots." But he was not without a soft spot, particularly toward individuals he perceived as kindred intellects. Having been estranged from his son before he began sliding, Arturo had expressed that he wished Quinn were his son. Arturo was somewhat resentful of Quinn, jealous of Quinn's greater intelligence, as well as the fact that Quinn (and not Arturo) invented sliding.

In 1996, when the Sliders mistakenly believed they had landed home, Arturo's double attempted to impersonate him. Quinn, Wade, and Rembrandt never knew whether they took the right Arturo sliding with them or not. (Reference: "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome") Later that year, Arturo was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and attempted to stop sliding. He continued to slide because Quinn needed him, and Quinn was more fearful of his friend and mentor's death than Arturo himself was. (Reference: "The Guardian") In mid-1997, while on an alternate Earth that was to be destroyed by a pulsar, Arturo was shot by ruthless Marine Colonel Angus Rickman. Rickman initially tried to shoot Quinn, but Arturo took the bullet for him. His last words to Quinn were, "Get them [Rembrandt and Wade] home . . . Sliders." (Reference: "The Exodus, Part II")

Since the Sliders never determined which Arturo they took in "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome," it is possible the Arturo from Earth Prime is still alive, as Rembrandt said at the end of the episode, "We've got an Arturo and we don't even know which one!"

Beliefs

In the episode "Into The Mystic," Arturo expresses strong opposition to the idea that any supernatural phenomena (such as psychics) around the Sliders were real. He believed that all that is perceived as "supernatural" is an illusion designed to fool the simple-minded. However, in the episode "Obsession," Arturo found it interesting that a psychic saved the life of that world's Abraham Lincoln. Though he'll never really admit anything supernatural back on Earth Prime.

Doubles

• A Soviet General ? in "Sliders"
• The Sheriff of San Francisco in "The Prince of Wails"
• A professor in "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome" that may have slid with the others instead

Wrong Arturo

When it was left as a possibility that a double of Arturo's had slid instead of the Earth Prime Arturo, controversy has been generated among fans about which Arturo actually slid. The show's creator, Tracy Tormé, has stated that he has decided which Arturo slid, but will not reveal which one. However, he said there are clues in the episodes. Due to Tormé losing control of the show and then leaving the following year, this issue was never resolved. In a 2009 interview with Tracy, he reveals that he believes that the wrong Arturo was the one who slid. Cleavant Derricks also confirmed this in a following interview.

As the "Wrong Arturo Theory" creates a loophole that can easily bring the character back, the idea of the "Wrong" Arturo joining the group and subsequently dying is the dominant belief in fan written fiction.

In the famous scene, the vortex had opened on Quinn's front lawn as the Arturos had a showdown. Quinn wanted to "take them both (and) sort it out after we slide," but one of the Arturos said "Like hell we will," and attacked his counterpart. After a brief scuffle, one of the Arturos slugged the other one and jumped into the vortex alongside Quinn. Once the vortex closed, the remaining Arturo said "Oh my god" with a worried look on his face.

Casting

In the DVD audio commentary on the Sliders pilot episode, series creators Tracy Tormé and Robert K. Weiss revealed that the character of Maximillian Arturo was very nearly played by actors other than John Rhys-Davies — Hector Elizondo was in fact the producers' final choice for the role prior to auditioning Rhys-Davies, but ultimately passed, due to the filming location. At one point, Elizondo went on a late-night talk show and mentioned that "I [would be] doing Sliders right now, except for one word: 'Vancouver'."

Also on the DVD commentary, Weiss and Tormé reveal that other actors who were considered for the role included Ricardo Montalban and David Ogden Stiers (who was reportedly one of the chief finalists).