That Wacky Redhead

[Thande]

To quote Father Brown:



Kirk getting promoted to Captain isn't impossible, but it is incredible and that's why it's harder to believe in than Spock's Brain.

Cheers,
Nigel.

Nice quote, I'll have to remember that one.

 

[vultan]

Changing subjects, we're getting close to 100 pages...

 

[Space Oddity]

Nice quote, I'll have to remember that one.

It's GK Chesteron. The man's politics may have bordered on the horrific--and occasionally passed the border--but damn it, could he write.

 

[e of pi]

Changing subjects, we're getting close to 100 pages...

Well, we're also closing in on another milestone, but I'll leave celebrating that one up to Brainbin once we actually hit it.

 

[phx1138]

Wait long enough and some-one will colorize Schindler's List

That has to be the best argument I've heard against life-extension.

Parallel timelines are part of the canon (or at least part of the TNG canon). I prefer to think that the real Star Trek is just a quantum shift away.

A fair point, & I'll concede. Given the appearance of Old Spock, it's actually the more sensible than the "ST"-usual "wiping out history" approach.

Mind you, there are enough things wrong with the reboot anyway, starting with the fact that Kirk should never have been promoted to Captain that quickly. I think that it would have been more interesting to show the voyages of Captain Pike, starting with the arrival of Lieutenant Kirk.

Agreed. Which really comes to my original point: there's room enough in the canon not to need the "Big 6"...tho I somehow doubt the suits have the wit or nerve to use anybody else, whence the reboot.

EXCEPT AT THE SAME BLOODY TIME, they went back and "remastered" series 1-3 using THE SAME BAD CGI MODELS SO THE LINE ABOUT RED DWARF BEING A DIFFERENT DESIGN NOW MAKES NO EFFING SENSE! (And there's a scene with Blue Midget that now no longer makes any sense because it shows it walking on the surface of a planet when it was flying in the original).

(Note: I never actually watched "Red Dwarf", but that's stupid on its face.)

Fridge Horror: Starfleet was so badly crippled at the Battle of Vulcan that it became palatable to promote someone like Kirk to a command position.

(It's my theory, anyway.)

Sorry, no, IMO it's just another case of "didn't do the research" (or "thinks fans are stupid"): somebody who doesn't know "cadet" isn't the next step down from "captain".

That said, the "destruction of Starfleet" battles are very, very overblown. With so many planets in the Fed, the Fleet should be much more than the few dozen ships destroyed at Vulcan. This is on a par with the destruction of Fletcher's Task Force at Midway (had it happened), or losses at Pearl Harbor: not trivial, but not crippling by any means.

the majority of Starfleet Academy's graduating class.

I grant that's the way it's usually presented in-series, but is it known Earth's Academy is the only one? Or is it only the one for Humans & Vulcans (& a few others)? Also, do we know from the film (I can't say it was clear to me) if this was the entire class, or just an entire section? Since it's likely IMO there will be several concurrent groups up for, or close to, graduation at any given time.

I agree but if we start that discussion we'll be here all day and distract from Brainbin's timeline.

I most certainly don't want that.

 

[Thande]

(Note: I never actually watched "Red Dwarf", but that's stupid on its face.)

I would definitely recommend it, though like any show it varies in quality between episodes and series.

 

[NCW8]

I would definitely recommend it, though like any show it varies in quality between episodes and series.

I'd agree with that. For me, it went downhill after the sixth season when Rob Grant left the writing team, but the first five seasons are excellent. It uses SF tropes, but it isn't really making fun of SF. In that sense, it's like Galaxy Quest.

I'm glad that I haven't seen the remastered episodes. I don't see how remastering could possibly improve Red Dwarf as the model shots were actually pretty good. In the cast commentary on the season five dvd, it's interesting that the actors also say that the model shots are better than CGI.

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[Thande]

I'm glad that I haven't seen the remastered episodes. I don't see how remastering could possibly improve Red Dwarf as the model shots were actually pretty good. In the cast commentary on the season five dvd, it's interesting that the actors also say that the model shots are better than CGI.

In this case it was definitely true. It's actually worth watching just a little bit just to see how bad it was. Besides the CGI being bad (and the older model shots generally being pretty good, for the low budget) the remastering also took the same attitude as the Star Wars special editions, i.e. constantly throw lots of flashing nonsense onto the screen that only distracts from the action.

 

[Andrew T]

I would definitely recommend it, though like any show it varies in quality between episodes and series.

I would second that recommendation. Red Dwarf is often compared to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- and there are considerable similarities in writing style and tone -- but I think Grant and Naylor pull off (semi-)serious moments (e.g., Gunmen of the Apocalypse, Back to Reality) in a way that Douglas Adams never did (nor, to be fair to Adams, did he really try).

 

[Brainbin]

I’m Gonna Git You Sucka

“They say this cat Shaft is a baad mother – ”
“Shut your mouth!”
“But I’m talkin’ ’bout Shaft!”
“Then we can dig it!”

– The Theme from Shaft, written and performed by Isaac Hayes

Blaxploitation, as a genre, was one of complex contradictions. For the first time, it allowed performers, filmmakers, and other creative people of colour to make movies on their own terms; at the same time, this movement met with resistance from within the black community, who denigrated themes common to the movement, advocating the production of more serious, meaningful, and artistic films, in the New Hollywood vein. This division was a microcosm of wider society in the early 1970s, as exploitation in general proliferated in this era, enjoying unprecedented success thanks to what had commonly been known as the “new freedom of the screen”; there was naturally criticism of this from moral watchdogs, but the movie-going public largely ignored them. Indeed, Blaxploitation proved to have remarkable appeal to mainstream society, for many reasons: the mystique of the outré culture being depicted; the curiosity of seeing life “on the other side”; the sense of solidarity with other minority groups or subcultures; and the appeal of common themes such as rebellion and retribution that always spoke so powerfully to the younger generation. The call for “legitimacy” never faded as the years went by, however. Nichelle Nichols, one of the biggest stars in the black community in the early 1970s, was a staunch opponent of exploitation and would have no part in it, despite many offers for her to do so. [1] She was later joined by another luminary, Bill Cosby, who was an early supporter of the movement (he had funded Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song), but eventually came to appreciate what he saw as the need to depict the concrete benefits of his pet causes of education and the strong, traditional family unit. But criticism of Blaxploitation was just as controversial as Blaxploitation itself. It didn’t help that the definition of the genre (as is so often the case) was far more fluid than rigid; many people, particularly mainstream audiences, saw no substantive difference between the “exploitation” and the “serious films” that seemed to be polarizing the black community.

Indeed, moviegoers in the 1970s, for the first time in history, were not wanting for variety when it came to films depicting the experiences of minorities. The “new freedom of the screen” was especially critical to their success, as many of them (even the “serious” films) were rated R or even X [2], and intended for adult audiences. A number of the early Blaxploitation films were so successful that they spawned franchises of their own; in some cases, numerous sequels would follow. The defining example of this was Shaft, which featured the adventures of the titular P.I. John Shaft, legendarily described in his immortal theme song (written by Isaac Hayes, who won an Oscar for his composition) as “the black private dick that’s the sex machine to all the chicks”. Richard Roundtree played the character in what – surprisingly – emerged as a smash hit for MGM in 1971, reaching the Top 10 and becoming their second-highest-grossing picture of the year, after Napoleon. It was the first time that MGM had two hits in the Top 10 since 1962, serving to vindicate the policies of studio chief Edgar Bronfman. [3] The sequel, Shaft’s Big Score, released the following year, also proved highly profitable, leading to Shaft in Africa. Though only lukewarmly received at the time (the next sequel, Shaft Undercover, performed better and was considered a welcome return to form [4]), it eventually came to be regarded as a key antecedent to the later sub-genre of films attempting to expose the brutal living conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, or “Brother against Brother in the Motherland”, in the parlance of the time; somewhat more paternalistically, it would also be referred to as “shedding light on the Dark Continent”.

The role of women in Blaxploitation was strongly criticized, particularly by the rising feminist movement, as being little more than sex objects (the more puritanical and prudish societal critics would also object; hardly the first time that sexuality would make for such strange bedfellows). One of the major “responses” to this charge would result in the biggest female star within the black community, Pam Grier, starring in the Coffy series of movies (helmed by the white director, Jack Hill, with whom she worked frequently). Like Nichelle Nichols as Lt./Lt. Cmdr. Uhura on Star Trek before her, Grier blended unapologetic sexuality with a commanding screen presence in her portrayal of the competent professional character she played, in this case Coffy, who was a nurse (much like Julia, the first black female lead on television). The Coffy series (a trilogy: the 1973 original, 1974’s Burn, Coffy, Burn!, and 1975’s Cream ‘Em, Coffy! [5]) became known for its refusal to portray drug pushers and pimps in a positive light, unlike many other Blaxploitation films, along with its depiction of a strong, capable lead female. Perhaps Coffy had the greatest influence on mainstream culture of any property within the genre; however, this would not fully percolate until the later 1970s. But needless to say, its characterization of “tough and sexy” would define female action stars for the foreseeable future.

Blaxploitation occasionally ventured into the territory of more “serious” black films through use of historical settings. A prime example was a trilogy of works produced according to this theme – often described as the Black Trilogy or the Charley Trilogy [6] – which starred former football star Fred Williamson as Charley, depicted in the first film (The Legend of Black Charley) as a fugitive slave, and in the second (The Soul of Black Charley) working to secure his newfound freedom after the Civil War. But when it came to these films, the most intriguing point of comparison was with Blazing Saddles, set in roughly the same period; the third and final installment in the series, The Black Boss, which was released in the following year, even had largely the same plot; with Charley in the role of Bart, though obviously the events were played straighter and lacked the comedic and satirical elements of that Oscar-winning smash-hit (indeed, critics often dismissed it as a traditional potboiler western, though from a novel perspective).

Borrowing more from contemporary vigilante justice and revenge fantasies like Dirty Harry and Death Wish were films such as Finney, which starred the young actor Samuel L. Jackson as Lance Cpl. Ben Finney, a veteran of the recent unpleasantness in Southeast Asia, who had returned to his native Deep South only to continue to face discrimination, despite the civil rights breakthroughs of the previous decades. Unable to seek legal recourse, he decides to deal with these modern-day Klansmen in his own way. Finney was memorably described by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in their review of the film on Coming Attractions as “Birth of a Nation in reverse”; and the film did not shy away from controversy, as the central villain (a corrupt bureaucrat named, simply, “Wally”) was considered a transparent stand-in for Alabama Governor and American Party bigwig George Wallace. Jackson perhaps earned the most plaudits of any Blaxploitation actors for his dynamic, menacing performance as Lance Cpl. Finney; the film also saw benefit from an emerging cohort of young filmmakers of colour, eager to produce deliberately stylized content, as opposed to the cheap jury-rigging of traditional exploitation fare. This also held true for another period piece, Cooley High, often considered the “Blaxploitation American Graffiti”; a genuine retro nostalgia piece from that perspective, and a surprisingly fond look back at the ghetto life. Writer-producer Eric Monte was approached by network executives who invited him to adapt the film into a television series, partly as a response to Rock Around the Clock and breakout hit Welcome Back, Kotter. [7] The new show would premiere in the 1976-77 season, under the name What’s Going On!!.

Deconstruction of the genre came hard and fast, of course. Underground comedian Rudy Ray Moore adapted his signature stage persona, Dolemite, into a film of the same name, released in 1975, which slyly parodied the genre (to the extent that the uninitiated would likely take the film at face value). Nichelle Nichols, for her part, decided to challenge Blaxploitation directly when she starred in Equality, released in 1974, and set during the 1950s and 1960s in the industrial Midwest. She portrayed a single mother – originally a divorcée as Nichols herself had been, before producer Bill Cosby instead asked that her husband die a dignified death, fighting in Korea – raising her son through menial labour (originally as a waitress), and then – after the Civil Rights movement began in earnest in the mid-1950s – putting herself through school and becoming a secretary. She fought hard to ensure that her son was educated, in turn (and thus avoided the draft in the mid-1960s due to his student status). Intended to embrace women’s rights as well as those of minorities, this small film became a sleeper hit, drawing audiences from those groups as well as – most lucratively – Trekkies. The film included many details from Nichols’ own life experiences which served to enrich the story; her character, in one scene, expresses annoyance at having to answer phones for a living, an obvious reference to her role on the Enterprise. “If Uhura had lived in that time and place, that might have been her fate,” Nichols later commented on the similarity. “But she is so much more than many other black exploitation films would have her be.” Nichols would be awarded for her performance with, among other accolades, an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Sadly, this one-off was the singular triumph of her film career, or indeed any of her screen performances that were not Penda Uhura; she and Cosby would star in a spiritual sequel, Progress, which depicted them as a married couple living in a mixed-race neighbourhood, but it sadly failed to make much of an impact beyond the art-houses. Apart from her continuing work with NASA, and remaining a mainstay on the convention circuit, she returned to the stage, which she described as her first love.

The push toward “respectability” culminated in the production of several films in that most venerable and elaborate genre of the “talkie” era: the movie musical. Several contemporary black-oriented musicals were smash hits on Broadway: Purlie, Raisin, and The Wiz (all three of which had won the Tony Award for Best Musical). [8] That said, another hugely popular musical of the 1970s, the retro nostalgia landmark Greased Lightning, would also see the release of a film adaptation in the late-1970s. Though black-positive changes even leaked into that phenomenon, such as when the #1 series on television, Rock Around the Clock, began featuring more black characters in order to reflect their influx into Milwaukee in the 1950s, to work in the breweries. [9] (Indeed, the patriarch of one family is said to work as a foreman at “Shotz Brewery”, which produced the preferred libation of the Mash, with fast friendships formed a result). Blaxploitation even leaked into the latest James Bond film, Live and Let Die, which featured mainly American settings and “voodoo” trappings in its plot. Cast as the American counterpart to 007 was CIA Special Agent Cal Waters, played by Billy Dee Williams. Live and Let Die would also include the first significant Bond Girl of African extraction. [10] But the most immediately felt influence of black cinema of all stripes in the 1970s was musical: the proliferation of funk and its descendants were critical to defining the sound of the decade, for better and for worse…

---

[1] Nichols has spoken at length about her distaste for Blaxploitation, and this video features her discussing her thoughts on the matter. IOTL, she did appear in one Blaxploitation film, Truck Turner, released in 1974, in which she played a Madam (as she herself sheepishly admits in the linked interview), but declined further participation.

[2] ITTL, the X-rating was trademarked by the MPAA in 1972. From that point forward, many (though not all) pornographic films would either go unrated, or employ phony ratings such as “rated H for Hardcore”. Blaxploitation films, on the other hand, continued to submit to MPAA ratings to cement their “legitimacy”.

[3] IOTL, Shaft finished with a $13 million gross, good for #13 overall in the 1971 box office. ITTL, the film does about half-again as well, with $20 million and in ninth place (notably, ahead of the more militant Sweet Sweetback, which finished at #10 both IOTL and ITTL). Napoleon is the highest-grossing film of the year, and the only one to reach nine figures (Fiddler on the Roof, which was #1 IOTL, comes in second), replacing A Clockwork Orange, which was naturally not produced ITTL (it came in at #8 IOTL).

[4] Shaft was sold to television after the flop that was Shaft in Africa; ITTL, the film does well enough to keep MGM (which has better leadership ITTL anyway) to continue churning out sequels, confirming the Shaft series as the premier marque (such as it is) of the genre: the Black James Bond, for all intents and purposes.

[5] IOTL, the 1974 film Foxy Brown, which also starred Grier and was directed by Jack Hill, was originally intended as a sequel to Coffy, under the title given. For whatever reason, this was changed in pre-production; ITTL, on the other hand, it is not, and the sequel does so well that a third (and final) film is produced.

[6] Instead of the word “black”, you should read a certain synonym in the titles of those Fred Williamson films, which I will not repeat here.

[7] Monte also co-created and produced for the series Good Times IOTL, which does not exist ITTL because co-creator Mike Evans does not have his “in” with Norman Lear due to his being cast as Lionel Jefferson on All in the Family. (After Lear and his partner Bud Yorkin parted ways, Yorkin produced What’s Happening!!, its OTL title.)

[8] The Tony Award for Best Musical of 1970 went to Applause rather than Purlie IOTL, but Raisin and The Wiz both won the award (in 1974 and 1975, respectively).

[9] Famously, this did not happen on Laverne & Shirley, whose titular characters worked in a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s, IOTL.

[10] The first black Bond Girl IOTL, just as ITTL, appeared in Live and Let Die, though that film was released in 1973 IOTL (as opposed to 1976 ITTL).

---

Special thanks to Chipperback for his help and advice in the making of this update!

So now we’ve learned more about one of the primary subcultures, genres, and styles of the early-to-mid-1970s! It’s always tricky to write a post about something that touches virtually all facets of this timeline, and I hope that you got the impression that some aspects of what I’ve been discussing reach far beyond what you see here. We’ll return to these subjects in due time, there should be no doubt about that. Especially since both Blaxploitation and funk will have legs into the later 1970s ITTL!

 

[MaskedPickle]

This is excellent! Seeing Samuel Jackson's career taking off so early is really neat. But it's not as neat as the update's title (yeah, I really love this parody. )

 

[vultan]

Finney sounds like it'd be one of the most badass movies of the decade, especially if the production values are half-decent. Especially since it's starring Samuel L. Jackson. (Especially if he's quoting Bible verses as he's killing the bad guys.)

Man, it'd probably be Quentin Tarantino's favorite movie ITTL.

Speaking of good production values, is Dolemite a better quality film in this story? As it stands IOTL, it's a schlocky guilty pleasure at best.

And good on Nichelle Nichol for getting an Oscar nod!

 

[phx1138]

Another nice job, as usual.

Cosby...had funded Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song)

Does this impact Mario van Peebles' career, seeing his uncle isn't therefore producer, director, writer, editor, & caterer?

immortal theme song (written by Isaac Hayes, who won an Oscar for his composition)

And thoroughly deserved IMO.

With the success of "Shaft", I wonder if there's room, or inclination, for another sequel to "In the Heat of the Night". I understand there were several books featuring Tibbs (not counting later works). It's too early for Easy Rawlins...but I'm pretty sure there were other black detectives.

I also don't see Digger Jones & Coffin Ed Johnson, best known to me from "Cotton Comes to Harlem" & "Hell Up in Harlem", & also based on books dating as far back as 1945.

Pam Grier, starring in the Coffy series

But no mention of Cleopatra Jones... Not that I disliked Pam, mind.

As an aside, is "Hit!" affected at all? OTL, it starred Billy Dee Williams as a more/less Establishment fed, the only real diff being he was black. I thought that was handled nicely. (The "drug war" angle was unusual at the time.)

starred former football star Fred Williamson ...revenge fantasies like Dirty Harry and Death Wish were films such as Finney

Does this mean the proposed "black 'Dirty Harry'" doesn't get made TTL, either? Should I take it to mean this is the first of a string of "crazed vet" films?

I have the impression this also means "Tribes" (1970?) doesn't get made. (I kind of liked that one.) I also have the sense this could impact "Electra Glide in Blue". (If it makes it less stupid & Blake's character less of a dickhead, so much the better.)

Any chance of Bolan (debut 1969 OTL) making it to the silver screen? And of Joe Copp appearing in his place at Pinnacle, given the early end to the Armed Tourist Tour?

I'm presuming, generally, blaxploitation flicks are unaffected unless noted. So, frex, "Trick Baby" still gives Kiel Martin early exposure.

Ben Finney

*ahem* (That would go right by non-Trekkers, I'm sure. {I should, however, confess I missed the significance of your Herbert Rossoff response.})

Diitto on boosting Sam'l Jackson's career. So, for your next trick, how about casting him as an intellectual milquetoast instead of an iconic badass?

another period piece, Cooley High, often considered the “Blaxploitation American Graffiti”; a genuine retro nostalgia piece from that perspective, and a surprisingly fond look back at the ghetto life. Writer-producer Eric Monte was approached by network executives who invited him to adapt the film into a television series, partly as a response to Rock Around the Clock and breakout hit Welcome Back, Kotter. [7] The new show would premiere in the 1976-77 season, under the name What’s Going On!!.

This post-dated OTL's "Room 222", doesn't it? (Somehow, I always got the impression there was a "blacker" than usual cast on that show. Or maybe I was just starting to notice...)

Aside: I vaguely recall seeing "Cooley High", too...

as well as – most lucratively – Trekkies.

(For the record.)

starred in Equality

I like the idea of this film...but subtle that title ain't. I have a feeling it would get bigger over time, & by the '90s-'00s, it would be seen as a very significant film.

Nichols would be awarded for her performance with, among other accolades, an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Allowing for the character not getting much range, I was never terribly impressed with Nichols' acting, so this strikes me as a charity nom. Given the film, tho, not out of bounds.

when the #1 series on television, Rock Around the Clock, began featuring more black characters in order to reflect their influx into Milwaukee in the 1950s, to work in the breweries. (Indeed, the patriarch of one family is said to work as a foreman at “Shotz Brewery”

I suspect I'd like this, spun off, much better than the OTL version.

the first significant Bond Girl of African extraction.

Still Gloria Hendry, I presume, & not, say, Tamara Dobson?

proliferation of funk

Too early for a reggae influence? (I'd be happy if radio never played "I Shot the Sheriff"...)

the retro nostalgia landmark Greased Lightning

Allowing the music is more/less the same as OTL's Grease, this should be big, & the soundtrack pretty successful. (And "Grease" will still be the word.) Have you picked your leads? I'd be interested knowing. (I know it's way early, but I'm seeing Irene Cara & Gene Anthony Ray, somehow.)

 

[Thande]

Nice to see an update, though I don't know enough about the subject to immediately recognise the differences from OTL.

I should perhaps raise Todd in the Shadows' argument that blaxploitation had a crossover audience with kung fu films, as those were also action-focused and starring non-white casts.

 

[Brainbin]

Thank you all for your very kind words and responses to the penultimate update of the 1975-76 cycle! Before I respond, let me catch up with those that I missed beforehand...

So much could be said here... But I will restrain myself. I read The Essential Ellison as a kid, though, and wow what an interesting personage. I saw there is a revised version out, too, maybe I need to get that to keep up with everyone he has come to hate since the late 1980s.

Maybe that's why it's taking him so long to release The Last Dangerous Visions - he has to keep changing the preface every time he finds something new to rail against!

Yes to all of this! Ugh, why did they do this? Next step, 3D CGI! Oh, and we can also replace the original actors with the remake actors and... Wait, I shouldn't be giving anyone ideas here. And, of course, because of the cost of the new cast they will just film them saying common words and use CGI to "seamlessly" splice it all together making a superior Trek for us all! Ehem, enough ranting.

I believe I subsequently made my own opinion on the matter crystal-clear Suffice it to say, I completely agree.

Newhart did this very well, how could you not appreciate the ending? Though I am sure many fans who were not exposed to the original probably felt a bit let down. I was lucky enough to have seen some of the original in reruns so as to get it, but my main exposure to Bob Newhart was through the second show at the time.

As an enthusiast of popular culture, I love that ending, despite not really being an avid viewer of either of his shows - and it really demonstrates the potency of a live studio audience. They all knew they were watching history unfold, and they reacted accordingly. I don't think it would have been half as good without them. And major kudos to the two of them for managing to keep it together in the first (and only!) take - I have no idea how they could have done it.

See it again - or maybe for the first time. It really encapsulates the magic of television.

Brittas Empire used the dream trope? Wow, I missed that episode. I mean I thought I recalled how it ended, but I see it actually came back after that. I learn all sorts of new things here!

I almost couldn't believe that they (the BBC, no less!) actually brought it back after the finale - it seems so American.

Why so? Am I missing something?

Well, Memory Alpha is a fan wiki, and you'd think that they of all people would appreciate history (especially considering all the warring going on between their Star Wars brethren and their cruel master). As for SFDebris... well, it's hard to explain if you're not familiar with his work, but suffice it to say that he definitely does not seem the type to do something like that. But then again, if these last few pages have reinforced anything it's that some things aren't nearly as predictable as you might think.

Wait long enough and some-one will colorize Schindler's List

I might have said that it would be Spielberg himself, but at least he seems genuinely repentant about the changes that he made to E.T.

Abrams' official stance is that the original Star Trek is pretty much just a quantum shift away.

I accept this interpretation, myself. The universe we all know and love - well, at least the 23rd century thereof, anyway, as I could do without the 24th - is safe and sound.

Battle cruisers, not warbirds. Don't make the same mistake as Enterprise and Star Trek IX (the latter of which is probably pure trolling, considering how Berman and Braga actually apologised for doing this and admitted it was a mistake, and then Abrams comes along and does the exact same thing)

My apologies, I shall do penance by reading the entire Starfleet Technical Manual backwards and forwards Except not really.

As an indication of how terrible these CGI versions were, note that Sfdebris (whose exclusive use of remastered TOS footage does evoke mixed feelings in myself, even though I like the TOS-R stuff more than you) didn't touch them with a barge pole when he reviewed Red Dwarf Series 1-3/

Which is why I was truly surprised when he did the "remastered" version of Star Trek. And he changed his mind on it, too - I remember the YouTube version of "Space Seed" used the original effects, and he even talked about how he wasn't going to mock them simply because they were bad in the introduction to the episode (that's all been removed from the blip re-upload, which uses the "remastered" effects instead). I'm half-tempted to actually drop him a line and ask him what the deal is.

I agree but if we start that discussion we'll be here all day and distract from Brainbin's timeline.

Believe it or not, that topic of discussion isn't nearly as far afield as some of the other things my readers have fixated upon in the past!

Fridge Horror: Starfleet was so badly crippled at the Battle of Vulcan that it became palatable to promote someone like Kirk to a command position.

(It's my theory, anyway.)

Likewise, that's the only remotely logical explanation I could find to explain that promotion (a jump of six ranks, for the record).

I remember BlackWave taking issue with the fact that I said that Kirk's promotion at the end of Star Trek IX was less plausible and realistic than everything that happened in "Spock's Brain" put together, but I stand by that statement.

I love that episode. I know it's wrong, but I can't stop laughing whenever I watch it. Though that's a funny coincidence, how in both Star Trek XI and "Spock's Brain", the best performance is given by the actor who plays Dr. McCoy. DeForest Kelley acted his heart out in that episode, and Karl Urban imitated him masterfully.

Was Gone withe Wind not originally in color? What I meant was touching up degraded images. Black and white movies should stay black and white.

No, it was in colour. Don't worry, I understand what you meant

Changing subjects, we're getting close to 100 pages...

Indeed we are! And I very literally could not have done it without you guys, so thank you all!

It's GK Chesteron. The man's politics may have bordered on the horrific--and occasionally passed the border--but damn it, could he write.

It is a great quote, and also a perfect demonstration of how people interpret the rules of fiction, and how they contrast with those of reality.

Well, we're also closing in on another milestone, but I'll leave celebrating that one up to Brainbin once we actually hit it.

Just about a thousand more to go! I cannot believe how quickly that view count is rising. You guys really are amazing

I would definitely recommend it, though like any show it varies in quality between episodes and series.

I'd agree with that. For me, it went downhill after the sixth season when Rob Grant left the writing team, but the first five seasons are excellent. It uses SF tropes, but it isn't really making fun of SF. In that sense, it's like Galaxy Quest.

I would second that recommendation. Red Dwarf is often compared to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- and there are considerable similarities in writing style and tone -- but I think Grant and Naylor pull off (semi-)serious moments (e.g., Gunmen of the Apocalypse, Back to Reality) in a way that Douglas Adams never did (nor, to be fair to Adams, did he really try).

I've never actually seen Red Dwarf properly - my first real exposure (TV Tropes page - which left me mostly befuddled, actually - aside) was seeing the SFDebris reviews, back as they were first being uploaded onto YouTube. That, in turn, inspired me to watch bits and pieces of a few actual episodes (back when they were on YouTube), but I've never really sat down and decided to watch the show as a whole. Part of it is the Gilligan premise - I tend to avoid those until they get a definitive ending, so that I don't become invested and then get let down. And - let's face it - they're never going to get back home to Earth "for real", especially since Naylor seems to want to go on forever.

This is excellent! Seeing Samuel Jackson's career taking off so early is really neat. But it's not as neat as the update's title (yeah, I really love this parody. )

Thank you, MaskedPickle! Yes, I knew I needed a snappy title, so I "borrowed" it from one of the most famous Blaxploitation parodies, the film that put the Wayans family on the map. Samuel L. Jackson was a lot of fun because he's "from" the South (he was living in Atlanta in this era IOTL), and he was involved with militant groups, so Finney would basically be a semi-autobiographical character for him to play, and a nice way to him to sublimate his rage at the injustices against his people.

Finney sounds like it'd be one of the most badass movies of the decade, especially if the production values are half-decent. Especially since it's starring Samuel L. Jackson. (Especially if he's quoting Bible verses as he's killing the bad guys.)

Well, it's shot on film as opposed to video, which is obviously a huge step in the right direction. But yes, I was utterly unable to resist the opportunity to cast Samuel L. Jackson in a bona fide Blaxploitation movie (how could I not?) where he gets to utter his favourite word (you know the one!) to his heart's content

Man, it'd probably be Quentin Tarantino's favorite movie ITTL.

He'll even be sporting a real Afro! Eat your heart out, Jheri curl

Speaking of good production values, is Dolemite a better quality film in this story? As it stands IOTL, it's a schlocky guilty pleasure at best.

Apparently, the abysmal production values were deliberate, as a further parody of Blaxploitation. Sounds like a cheap excuse to me, though.

And good on Nichelle Nichol for getting an Oscar nod!

Eat your heart out, Pointy-Ears

Another nice job, as usual.

Thank you!

With the success of "Shaft", I wonder if there's room, or inclination, for another sequel to "In the Heat of the Night". I understand there were several books featuring Tibbs (not counting later works). It's too early for Easy Rawlins...but I'm pretty sure there were other black detectives.

Are you talking about They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!? That was released ITTL.

But no mention of Cleopatra Jones... Not that I disliked Pam, mind.

Well now, I'm not writing a Blaxploitation timeline

As an aside, is "Hit!" affected at all? OTL, it starred Billy Dee Williams as a more/less Establishment fed, the only real diff being he was black. I thought that was handled nicely. (The "drug war" angle was unusual at the time.)

No, that can be his springboard into Live and Let Die. I chose Williams largely because he's smooth and suave and could pull off the kind of role I'm envisioning (and we may yet hear some more about Special Agent Cal Waters - though I'm a bit surprised that you didn't catch the reference in that name).

Should I take it to mean this is the first of a string of "crazed vet" films?

One of many, yes, it's a sub-genre of Blaxploitation ITTL. They aren't crazed, though - they are righteous black men who wish to end the suffering of their Brothers by any means necessary. You have to remember the lingo of Blaxploitation. Also, recall that many more veterans of colour survived the overseas quagmire ITTL.

I'm presuming, generally, blaxploitation flicks are unaffected unless noted.

Yes, 100% absolutely yes. That is definitely a safe assumption.

*ahem* (That would go right by non-Trekkers, I'm sure. {I should, however, confess I missed the significance of your Herbert Rossoff response.})

Believe it or not, I did arrive at the name "Finney" organically. The first black military officer was named Flipper. And what's like a flipper? A fin! It was going to be Finn until I found the right first name (simple, preferably Biblical), and then I couldn't help but switch it over to Ben Finney

So, for your next trick, how about casting him as an intellectual milquetoast instead of an iconic badass?

There were three rather awful movies that attempted just that IOTL, and were not successful in that regard. You're welcome to watch those

This post-dated OTL's "Room 222", doesn't it? (Somehow, I always got the impression there was a "blacker" than usual cast on that show. Or maybe I was just starting to notice...)

Oh yes, Room 222 premiered in 1969, and ended in 1974.

I like the idea of this film...but subtle that title ain't. I have a feeling it would get bigger over time, & by the '90s-'00s, it would be seen as a very significant film.

What can I say? I've warned you all before that I'm not very good with titles. But let's face it, the struggle for equal rights was never very subtle either.

Allowing for the character not getting much range, I was never terribly impressed with Nichols' acting, so this strikes me as a charity nom. Given the film, tho, not out of bounds.

I disagree - I always found that Nichols would shine whenever she got the chance to do anything the least bit interesting. This is still the performance of her life, don't get me wrong, but she's a fine actress when she's given the proper material and direction (as is everyone on Star Trek - yes, even Shatner).

Still Gloria Hendry, I presume, & not, say, Tamara Dobson?

Being a Bond Girl isn't a very demanding role, I'm afraid. Make it whomever has the right age and body type and was on the cover of Ebony magazine sometime in 1974-75.

Too early for a reggae influence? (I'd be happy if radio never played "I Shot the Sheriff"...)

Allowing the music is more/less the same as OTL's Grease, this should be big, & the soundtrack pretty successful. (And "Grease" will still be the word.) Have you picked your leads? I'd be interested knowing. (I know it's way early, but I'm seeing Irene Cara & Gene Anthony Ray, somehow.)

In response to both of those questions: there's only one way to find out!

I should perhaps raise Todd in the Shadows' argument that blaxploitation had a crossover audience with kung fu films, as those were also action-focused and starring non-white casts.

Yes, I've seen that episode of One-Hit Wonderland, and it did inspire me, and you'll find out exactly how in due time

 

[vultan]

Apparently, the abysmal production values were deliberate, as a further parody of Blaxploitation. Sounds like a cheap excuse to me, though.

Hey man, Dolemite's fight choreography puts Bruce Lee to shame.

(WARNING: Language in the linked video.)

 

[phx1138]

Maybe that's why it's taking him so long to release The Last Dangerous Visions - he has to keep changing the preface every time he finds something new to rail against!

It's already twice as long as the rest of the book...

I believe I subsequently made my own opinion on the matter crystal-clear Suffice it to say, I completely agree.

For anyone who fears this, if you haven't seen "S1mone", watch it! Even without the (notional) CGI star, it would be a cutting look at the Hollywood system.

Well, Memory Alpha is a fan wiki, and you'd think that they of all people would appreciate history (especially considering all the warring going on between their Star Wars brethren and their cruel master).

I'm not a regular at MA, so I haven't noticed...

I might have said that it would be Spielberg himself, but at least he seems genuinely repentant about the changes that he made to E.T.

Kudos to the creators who don't make changes, given the chance. I can't recall, now, who it was, but I once read a preface where the writer says he was offered the chance to make corrections, and didn't, because he'd changed since then.

Karl Urban imitated him masterfully.

It was like he was channelling De, it really was. That was Oscar material. Tho I'll say, seeing Sylar as Spock was a bit neck-twisting. He, again, captured the character beautifully.

An aside: I never got the sense from "TOS" Pike was that much older than Kirk. (Hard to tell from "The Menagerie", what with him being so mangled.)

Indeed we are! And I very literally could not have done it without you guys, so thank you all!

We're the ones having all the fun, so it hasn't exactly been hard.

gets to utter his favourite word (you know the one!) to his heart's content

And cement his rep as the #1 badass in film a generation early?

Are you talking about They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!? That was released ITTL.

I meant following it. IIRC, there was a 3d that bombed. There's also original material that could (& IMO should) have been adapted, rather than the fairly standard cop film junk that led to "Mr Tibbs". (Poitier deserved better, especially after "Heat".)

Well now, I'm not writing a Blaxploitation timeline

Fair 'nuf. Just sayin'.

I'm a bit surprised that you didn't catch the reference in that name).

My recall, like the rest of me, is idiosyncratic... Make the right connections between neurons, bingo, I go from "star" to "seventh Beatle". Don't...

They aren't crazed, though - they are righteous black men who wish to end the suffering of their Brothers by any means necessary.

Oh, I'm thinking outside Blaxploitatin, here. Call it the "crazy vet" subgenre: "Seven-Ups", "Billy Jack" (more/less), & assorted others (none coming immediately to mind...).

Yes, 100% absolutely yes. That is definitely a safe assumption.

Also easier for you not to have to change any?

Believe it or not, I did arrive at the name "Finney" organically. The first black military officer was named Flipper. And what's like a flipper? A fin! It was going to be Finn until I found the right first name (simple, preferably Biblical), and then I couldn't help but switch it over to Ben Finney

I wouldn't have been able to resist, either, tho IDK if I'd have come to Finney. I think I'd have gone to Daystrom, or put a spin on Ben O. Davis or somebody from the 99th.

There were three rather awful movies that attempted just that IOTL, and were not successful in that regard. You're welcome to watch those

I"ve never even heard of them, I don't think... Which may explain why he doesn't do them as much. (One thing, tho: what was up with the kilt?)

Oh yes, Room 222 premiered in 1969, and ended in 1974.

TY.

What can I say? I've warned you all before that I'm not very good with titles. But let's face it, the struggle for equal rights was never very subtle either.

A fair point. And it's possible the title could be referring to something in the film itself, with the obvious "subtext" sublimated in the story.

I disagree - I always found that Nichols would shine whenever she got the chance to do anything the least bit interesting. This is still the performance of her life, don't get me wrong, but she's a fine actress when she's given the proper material and direction (as is everyone on Star Trek - yes, even Shatner).

Don't mistake me, either, I didn't dislike her, nor think she was a bad actress. I just can't think of anything where she really sticks in my memory, either.

Being a Bond Girl isn't a very demanding role, I'm afraid. Make it whomever has the right age and body type and was on the cover of Ebony magazine sometime in 1974-75.

Setting the bar that low, huh? I think I'd probably pick Tamara Dobson. Don't think Tyra or Iman were around yet.

In response to both of those questions: there's only one way to find out!

You're such a tease.

In ref chopsocky, if it gains even a little more traction TTL, you might save Iron Fist. (Tho that does butterfly him beating up the X-Men.)

 

[NCW8]

I've never actually seen Red Dwarf properly - my first real exposure (TV Tropes page - which left me mostly befuddled, actually - aside) was seeing the SFDebris reviews, back as they were first being uploaded onto YouTube. That, in turn, inspired me to watch bits and pieces of a few actual episodes (back when they were on YouTube), but I've never really sat down and decided to watch the show as a whole. Part of it is the Gilligan premise - I tend to avoid those until they get a definitive ending, so that I don't become invested and then get let down. And - let's face it - they're never going to get back home to Earth "for real", especially since Naylor seems to want to go on forever.

Don't let that stop you. Getting back to Earth isn't anywhere near as central to the plot of Red Dwarf as Gilligan's attempts to get off the island.

I disagree - I always found that Nichols would shine whenever she got the chance to do anything the least bit interesting. This is still the performance of her life, don't get me wrong, but she's a fine actress when she's given the proper material and direction (as is everyone on Star Trek - yes, even Shatner).

Any chance that she could land a role in Roots ? That series did have an affinity with Star Trek actors. Of course the book was only published in 1976, but it seems that Haley was inspired by a book by Harold Courlander which was published in 1967, so it's likely that he'll write something similar ITTL.

Kudos to the creators who don't make changes, given the chance. I can't recall, now, who it was, but I once read a preface where the writer says he was offered the chance to make corrections, and didn't, because he'd changed since then.

I don't know if it's the same book, but Douglas Hofstadter said something similar in the preface to the 20th anniversary edition of Gödel, Escher, Bach.

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[Thande]

Don't let that stop you. Getting back to Earth isn't anywhere near as central to the plot of Red Dwarf as Gilligan's attempts to get off the island.

Yes--it's never really about getting home, because they pretty much all assume the human race is extinct anyway. Grant Naylor pitched it as "Stepford and Son on acid IIIIIN SPAAAAAACE" (yes, those are the actual words they used). Like a lot of British comedy, much of the humour comes from clash of classes. But IIIIIN SPAAAAAACE.

 

[The Professor]

Interesting update tho I don't know enough about blaxploitation to comment.

BTW nice move getting the word "percolate" in there

Yes--it's never really about getting home, because they pretty much all assume the human race is extinct anyway. Grant Naylor pitched it as "Stepford and Son on acid IIIIIN SPAAAAAACE" (yes, those are the actual words they used). Like a lot of British comedy, much of the humour comes from clash of classes. But IIIIIN SPAAAAAACE.

I forgot about that