Rhys-Davies told Digital Spy that he departed following a disagreement with the show's writers, and that the Sliders scripts were "incomprehensible nonsense." "It's difficult to rewrite on the go when you have a network that wants you to utter the words in the script," he said. "I would protest to [the writers]." The actor added that he was disappointed not to be given a chance to develop his character beyond its initial appearance. He also stated that he was unaware that he was being cast as a regular until after he had agreed to take part. Rhys-Davies first appeared on Sliders in 1997, when he was asked by co-creator Eric Kripke to play a new character named John Smith. The role was particularly interesting to play because it dealt with issues such as time travel and quantum physics which are rarely explored in television series. After one season, Kripke asked Rhys-Davies to return for another. This time around, however, the actor was asked to reprise his role as John Smith once more. This time though, Slater (David Boreanaz) has gone back in time and is living with his older self. Slater needs help from his younger self to defeat an evil villain named Lord Zedd (Mark Hamill). John Smith makes a third appearance in the final episode of Sliders titled "Slider's Day".