That Wacky Redhead

[John Fredrick Parker]

And Wawa makes her entrance...

 

[The Professor]

And Wawa makes her entrance...

For some reason I'd always assumed she was some (eg. SNL) character. Now I find she's real and it's like I've shifted to some ATL

Is The Show That Goes Nee added to the drinking list?
I've already had a big week and my liver cannae take anymuir!

A good and apt update BB

 

[ChucK Y]

As far as I know, my only reader old enough to have clear memories of the original Bill Cullen version of The Price is Right would be Chuck, and I'm curious as to what he - or anyone else who might have seen it - thought of the show. From my understanding, it was a far more sedate, conservative affair than the modern version - as different as night and day

I seldom watched the show. Due to my age, gender, and financial circumstances, I had little involvement in shopping, and had little chance of knowing the prices of things. (In the early 60s, my allowance went from fifty cents to a dollar a week, enough for a ten-cent comic book and a nickle candy bar on the way home from school.)

I remember that it was fairly staid, having somewhat the atmosphere of a Jeopardy set; the contestants were in a row, taking turns making bids.

 

[Brainbin]

Is it any wonder some Americans are wont to resort to inflicting recreational mayhem upon each other.

That's a perceptive observation. Maybe Wawa should host a special about how she has contributed to the degradation of society!

And Wawa makes her entrance...

Re-entrance, actually. Hard to believe it's been four months since I mentioned her last (chronology-wise, at the beginning of the 1967-68 cycle, five "years" ago). Amusingly, all of her previous mentions within the "canon" of this timeline can be found on page 1. But yes, this is the first time that I've treated her as an actual character, rather than as a plot device

For some reason I'd always assumed she was some (eg. SNL) character. Now I find she's real and it's like I've shifted to some ATL

Frightening, isn't she? Truth really is stranger than fiction, sometimes.

Is The Show That Goes Nee added to the drinking list?

How about you only drink whenever somebody quotes or references one of the myriad catchphrases? That should be enough. A few of you have already done so. Apparently it's just not possible to resist (I don't blame any of you; I'm very guilty of over-quoting too. As you might suspect, I lean more toward cribbing Star Trek quotes. Sauce for the goose, Mr. Saavik. The odds will be even.)

I've already had a big week and my liver cannae take anymuir!

I advise you to read the disclaimer on the That Wacky Redhead Drinking Game, good sir. I shall not be held responsible!

A good and apt update BB

Thank you

I seldom watched the show. Due to my age, gender, and financial circumstances, I had little involvement in shopping, and had little chance of knowing the prices of things. (In the early 60s, my allowance went from fifty cents to a dollar a week, enough for a ten-cent comic book and a nickle candy bar on the way home from school.)

I knew it would be a long shot, given that you were both too young and too male to fully appreciate The Price is Right during its original run, but I figured that I might as well inquire at any rate. And thank you for sharing

I remember that it was fairly staid, having somewhat the atmosphere of a Jeopardy set; the contestants were in a row, taking turns making bids.

This is what I've heard, so thank you for confirming that. Another reason to lament the disappearance of jumptheshark.com: their page on the original version of The Price is Right was full of posts from those who hated the modern version, talking about how much better it was, and going into considerable detail of why it was so. It would have made for some great research material, alas...

I may not have the next update ready for this weekend, considering that it's the Easter weekend; and beyond that, I have yet more RL work threatening to encroach on my personal thought bubble. In the event that there is no new update by this weekend, there will definitely be one over the course of the following week. And I do have some long-term good news, to compensate for the erratic short-term scheduling: starting in May, I'll be updating more frequently! I hope for this to be the Summer of That Wacky Redhead!

 

[phx1138]

Completely OT, but I can't resist. I'm looking at the Encyclopedia of TV Shows, & there was a '68 pilot starring Shat as Alexander the Great.

 

[Glen]

Completely OT, but I can't resist. I'm looking at the Encyclopedia of TV Shows, & there was a '68 pilot starring Shat as Alexander the Great.

Oh Dear GOD!!!

 

[Falkenburg]

Completely OT, but I can't resist. I'm looking at the Encyclopedia of TV Shows, & there was a '68 pilot starring Shat as Alexander the Great.

Can't be any worse than Colin Farrell. <Shudders>

Falkenburg

 

[Glen]

Can't be any worse than Colin Farrell. <Shudders>

Falkenburg

Yes, yes it can <CONVULSES>

 

[JJohnson]

"Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow."

- The Third Doctor, Doctor Who

---


[7] Yes, ladies and gentlemen, That Wacky Redhead has just saved all the OTL "lost episodes" of Doctor Who from oblivion ITTL.

[8] Ordinarily, what Americans call "seasons", the British instead refer to as "series". For the purposes of simplicity and comprehension, I will use only the term "season" in these instances, but I will also eschew the use of "series" to refer to British programs (programmes).

---

Very nice! All of Doctor Who available on DVD in TTL's 90's/2000's. I like this quite a bit. That along with more Star Trek, great stuff.

 

[Brainbin]

Happy Easter, Passover, and/or Long Weekend to all of my readers!

Unfortunately, there will be no update this weekend. Expect the update on That Which Replaces Moonshot Lunacy In The Popular Imagination next weekend. Thank you for your patience and understanding. And thank you all so much for 60,000 views!

I literally could not have done that without you

Completely OT, but I can't resist. I'm looking at the Encyclopedia of TV Shows, & there was a '68 pilot starring Shat as Alexander the Great.

Oh Dear GOD!!!

Can't be any worse than Colin Farrell. <Shudders>

Yes, yes it can <CONVULSES>

Some detail about this pilot: it was actually filmed in 1964, and, naturally, did not sell. (Yes, Shatner turned Dr. Kildare down, yet he deemed this travesty worthy of a series commitment. The Shat works in mysterious ways indeed...) And not only did it star Shatner as Alexander, but it also featured Adam West, of all people, in a supporting role. (This remains the one and only time that these two legendary hams have shared the screen.) It was released in 1968 IOTL (and ITTL, why not) in order to capitalize on their fame as Captain Kirk and Batman, respectively. Have some sympathy for John Cassavetes and Joseph Cotten, who also appeared in the pilot.

Very nice! All of Doctor Who available on DVD in TTL's 90's/2000's. I like this quite a bit. That along with more Star Trek, great stuff.

Welcome aboard, JJohnson! And thank you very much for your kind words. I'm honoured to have saved those "lost episodes".

 

[Falkenburg]

Judge for yourselves. Here's a little snippet.
Be advised this should not be consumed by those with a lactose intolerance.

I still say it looks better than the Colin Farrell version.

Falkenburg

 

[Lizzie_Harrison]

Great timeline. One of the timelines I joined AH.com to subscribe to. A relief from battle and ruler timelines and it is very well explained considering how little I know about this perion. I consider myself a Whovian despite only having seen Nine to Eleven and a Trek fan only having seen Enterprise and ST XI.

Loved the section on conventions and fanfiction.

Saving the DW lost episodes! Can't every timeline do this?

Keep writing, Brainbin.

 

[e of pi]

I consider myself a Whovian despite only having seen Nine to Eleven and a Trek fan only having seen Enterprise and ST XI.

That's interesting, I was aware of several people who were Whovians because of Nine through Eleven, but not of many people who picked up Trek for the first time on ENT or XI. As such, forgive any excessive curiosity, but has that given you any desire to look into any of the earlier material, the original series or Next gen or DS9?

 

[Lizzie_Harrison]

That's interesting, I was aware of several people who were Whovians because of Nine through Eleven, but not of many people who picked up Trek for the first time on ENT or XI. As such, forgive any excessive curiosity, but has that given you any desire to look into any of the earlier material, the original series or Next gen or DS9?

I've seen the films that form a trilogy (II-IV) since and like the arc they form but TNG and VOY have always been presented to me as not aging well. DS9 is never on telly. I came to XI, not through ENT, bizarrely but through Heroes and Princess Diaries (Chris Pine is the love interest in PD2).

 

[phx1138]

Have some sympathy for John Cassavetes and Joseph Cotten, who also appeared in the pilot.

3 words: fire your agent.

 

[Glen]

I've seen the films that form a trilogy (II-IV) since and like the arc they form but TNG and VOY have always been presented to me as not aging well. DS9 is never on telly. I came to XI, not through ENT, bizarrely but through Heroes and Princess Diaries (Chris Pine is the love interest in PD2).

How dated they seem depend on the episode but I would say they are worth watching at some point regardless. Some of the Next Generation stuff really is classic.

 

[JJohnson]

Nope, just raising the issue in case you missed it.

I felt as if it was a trifle more subtle in TOS. It got bad later... And there was at least the pretense of non-Earth civilizations in TOS, while the very goal of "Galactica" was the "mythical lost planet of Atlantis". (Oh, wait... That also had the stupid "evolving into energy forms"...) TOS at least had a major, pivotal character who was obviously alien, & other recurring aliens. "Galactica" had Lorne Greene, John Colicos, Richard Hatch, Terry Carter, & a character from Moby Dick. (Who was no better in "The A-Team", where his inability to actually act was less important.) They spent the whole budget on the miniature for Galactica & forgot they needed writers...

It might move him toward actual SF writers for screen stories, which can only help.

True. It's just the irony that strikes me.

Not his role. I recall watching them as a kid, & even then, I was pretty sure they were no good. Having seen them again recently... (Soles was the only one I recall, & that in part because his daughter, P.J., was in "Humongous".)

I'd count them examples of what not to do... Chris Reeve was not my ideal Superman, nor Clark, tho IMO Gene Hackman made a superb Lex. (For a continuing character, tho, I'd pick John Shea {"Lois & Clark"} or John Glover {"Smallville"}, I think.) I still put Dean Cain at the top of my "Clark" & "Superman" list. And I can't picture anybody better than Christian Bale as Bats: he's the only actor I've seen credible as both Bruce and Bats. (Clooney is the best Bruce, but there's no way in hell he'd put on that stupid suit; he'd hire somebody. And Keaton would put on the suit, but he's not a credible Bruce. Val Kilmer we shouldn't even mention, except maybe as Jason Todd, or somebody. And Chris O'Donnell has proven a much better actor than I thought from "Batman & Robin", judging by "NCIS:L.A.".)

A select group we are, then. I found no less than 5 shows I watched, & loved, from Episode 1 on that list. (Care to guess which ones? Feel free to save any of them you guess right.) I'll say this: "The Cape" isn't on it. Nor "Airwolf" or "Blue Thunder".

I suppose I ask a trifle more. No objection to the occasional romp, but I'd rather be challenged by a show. Which may also explain why shows I like go nowhere. (How "West Wing" surivived, I still haven't figured out. I do think "NYPD Blue" made it only because, for the first two seasons, I didn't notice how good it was, because all I wanted was to see Amy Brenneman's butt, so the curse never landed.)

He's not related to Alan Alda, by any chance...?

Ahem. Give him a smack.

I had that sense, but... This was the early/mid-'70s: "UFO", "1999", "Starlost", "$6 Million Man"... They were mediocre at best, but they were better than nothing at all, & I hadn't yet figured out the difference, & I wasn't expecting I Will Fear No Evil or Dune on TV anyhow.

Even now, shows I watch fairly faithfully, like "Stargate", have their weaknesses, which I'll overlook for the sake of their good points. I won't recommend them as good SF, but they're better than some of the junk, & at least they're watchable. There's scant chance anybody will see, or has seen, "Journeyman" or "The Dresden Files", or even "Human Target" (which is extremely different from the DC concept, as I understand it). (And I'm frankly deeply thankful the Sable adaptation got cancelled swiftly.)

If something about a show grabs me, I can often stick with it even if the rest is pretty awful. And sometimes, I'll completely flip: I watched the debut of NCIS, because I liked the backdoor pilot they did in "JAG" (not least because I liked Harmon as far back as "Reasonable Doubts", with Marlee Matlin; another of the short-lived ones I liked... Along with "Shannon's Deal", while I'm thinking of it, for which Jamey Sheridan deserved an Emmy IMO), & stopped watching after that, because it was "6 characters in search of a show". I came back at the end of Season 2 on the strength of a solid story & a really interesting new character (& the fact Cote is so hot). "NCIS" has kept me on the strength of those same characters (tho, even this long after, I still don't think they have a show: there isn't that unifying something; "JAG" had it). I will also confess I started watching "Buffy" only because I wanted to find out who Charisma was, after catching the end of an episode out of curiosity how bad it was, knowing the movie was dreck, & "X-Files" after catching a glimpse of Gillian. I stayed with "Buffy" on the solid writing (&, yes, the hotness of Charisma for an episode or 2), & with "X-Files" for the writing & the mature partnership without turning it into the "JAG"-style soap opera (or the absurd Picard-Crusher "romance"). (Yes, "Buffy" suffered from that a lot, too; it had other things going for it. Like vampires. And the coffee ad guy. And Charisma.)

(50 points to anybody who can name the sizzling blonde in the Michael J. Fox "Apartment 10G" Pepsi ad. She later became famous in a TV cop show. No Googling allowed.)

Salud!

Gail O'Grady. She was in two Matlock episodes, so I recognized her face.

 

[Glen]

So do we really have to wait until the weekend for the next update?

 

[Brainbin]

Judge for yourselves. Here's a little snippet.

Be advised this should not be consumed by those with a lactose intolerance.​

One interesting observation, worth adding to the "in my day, people had more talent in their little finger" column: Shatner, a skilled equestrian, does all of his own riding. Could you imagine a lead doing that for a TV pilot today? The horse would probably be CGI!
​

I still say it looks better than the Colin Farrell version.

Which I actually went to see in theatres with some of my friends. I had to leave early, though, but I'm sure I didn't miss much. (Somewhat poetically, I left right as the nude scene was starting. Probably should have left even earlier...)

Great timeline. One of the timelines I joined AH.com to subscribe to. A relief from battle and ruler timelines and it is very well explained considering how little I know about this perion.

Thank you very much for your incredibly generous compliments Welcome aboard! I'm really grateful to hear that you find this timeline accessible. I try my best, though I am helped by the trope known as Pop Cultural Osmosis, which essentially posits that people know what I'm talking about despite themselves. (Part of the reason that I went with Star Trek as a primary focal point.)

I consider myself a Whovian despite only having seen Nine to Eleven and a Trek fan only having seen Enterprise and ST XI.

I actually haven't seen any of Doctor Who - not the original series, not the reboot, none of it. I'm glad that my rather audacious crossover idea seems to have struck a chord with so many of my readers, although that was the reason for it in the first place

Loved the section on conventions and fanfiction.

Thank you. I think that fandom is near and dear to a lot of us. After all, Alternate History is essentially fan fiction of real life!

Saving the DW lost episodes! Can't every timeline do this?

I saw the opportunity and I went for it. Wanton destruction of culture should always be stopped.

Keep writing, Brainbin.

I will, as long as you keep reading

That's interesting, I was aware of several people who were Whovians because of Nine through Eleven, but not of many people who picked up Trek for the first time on ENT or XI.

Really? I've heard some anecdotal evidence about new audiences using the reboot film as a "gateway" into the franchise.

I've seen the films that form a trilogy (II-IV) since and like the arc they form

A fine trilogy, yes. And can I just say? III is underrated. It's not the masterpiece that II is, or the comic gem that IV is, but there are some great moments there. The Stealing the Enterprise sequence alone is magnificent, and the Bones scenes are fantastic, too.

TNG and VOY have always been presented to me as not aging well.

You and I are going to get along just fine

I came to XI, not through ENT, bizarrely but through Heroes and Princess Diaries (Chris Pine is the love interest in PD2).

You see, e of pi? Never underestimate the prettyboy and his ability to attract new audiences

3 words: fire your agent.

I somehow suspect that people weren't beating down Joseph Cotten's door in the early 1960s. He had to put food on the table somehow!

How dated they seem depend on the episode but I would say they are worth watching at some point regardless. Some of the [Original Series] stuff really is classic.

Fixed that for you, Glen

In all seriousness, Lizzie, I would recommend the original series. It's fun, and thought-provoking, and the writing and acting are much better than parodies would have you believe, and the chemistry between the characters has never been matched. It's also not at all pretentious, grimdark, or laden with technobabble. It's straightforward and easy to watch. And it's fun

But I won't pressure you, lest you develop a serious case of Hype Aversion. And besides, nobody who posts to this thread would ever pester anyone to watch a certain show incessantly. That would just be tiresome, though in a vaguely admirable way

Gail O'Grady. She was in two Matlock episodes, so I recognized her face.

I think you deserve a No-Prize for responding to such a long-unanswered question. I hereby award you Fermat's Last No-Prize!

So do we really have to wait until the weekend for the next update?

The earliest I can have it ready is Friday evening, ET, and even that is pushing it. Sorry, everyone. RL beckons

 

[Falkenburg]

One interesting observation, worth adding to the "in my day, people had more talent in their little finger" column: Shatner, a skilled equestrian, does all of his own riding. Could you imagine a lead doing that for a TV pilot today? The horse would probably be CGI!
​

That struck me too. He really does go hell for leather, doesn't he. Admirable.

I think you deserve a No-Prize for responding to such a long-unanswered question. I hereby award you Fermat's Last No-Prize!

And here it is.

Falkenburg