I actually read that story in a book. It was a nice one. You did an excellent job, and I hope Ms. Fontana liked it.
I'm glad you liked the Episode Guide entry, Orville. Unfortunately, I can't say whether or not D.C. Fontana liked it, since I have no idea if she's even aware of this timeline.
Thanks for the 'Yesteryear' write up BrainBin - as good as the TAS episode was this would have made a fantastic live action show!
No bird-men scientist/historian alas - but cool Andorian to make up for it!
I always thought it would make a great live-action episode as well, though it would have needed a lavish budget to pull it off, which I was happy to provide for it here.
Thank you!
A wonderful episode for your Star Trek. It was always my favourite episode of the animated Star Trek OTL and I have the distinct feeling it would be one of my favourite episodes of Star Trek ITTL.
I can't say for certain, because I'm not polling on it, but I'm pretty sure it's
most people's favourite episode of TAS. (Anyone care to claim otherwise?)
I remember that book, too. Another excellent write-up. I loved the line about pet euthanasia bringing more protests than the Kirk-Uhura kiss; definitely great progress.
Kirk and Uhura didn't kiss ITTL. Kirk and
the Girl of the Week played by Madge Sinclair did.
Journey to the Force is the final Paramount Pictures movie to be made.
Welcome aboard, The Watcher! Although I'm afraid that's incorrect -
Journey of
the Force was released in 1977, and Paramount was not absorbed into Lucasfilm until 1983.
More on that later...
I've seen the animated version, and read the story. It has some great moments, and is good Trek. You do it justice, and it's a shame it was never done live.
Thank you very much, Mr Teufel!
A most excellent update as always Mr Brainbin
And thank you, Dr Professor!
Nope, a running joke about Shatner constantly mis-pronouncing Kyle's name.
Indeed. This is actually per OTL, in what I believe is the only episode ("The Immunity Syndrome") where Kirk refers to Kyle by name (strewn amongst
this cavalcade of names). And yes, I checked the credits - John Winston is explicitly credited as "Lt. Kyle". Apparently, the reason Shatner calls him "Cowell" is because that's the Northern English variant of the name "Kyle", and John Winston (despite affecting a fake RP accent, like so many actors of his generation) is from Leeds, Yorkshire. (My legion of Northern readers can feel free to vouch for the veracity of this supposed explanation.)
nixonshead said:
Great update. This fleshed-out Thelin certainly seems an interesting character, and I can see why fans would be pleased to see him return in The New Voyages. The time-travel aspects seem a bit... illogical. But no more so than the average Doctor Who episode (in either timeline!).
Indeed, the time travel in "Yesteryear" seems to explicitly contradict how it was used in "City" even though D.C. Fontana wrote both episodes (the draft of "City" that was filmed was her handiwork). I like to imagine ITTL that Coon probably would have pointed this out but agreed to look the other way just because the story is such a strong one.
nixonshead said:
I'd love to see that "Muppet fight to the death"! I guess there'd be a real danger of that scene dragging the whole episode down unless executed effectively. Given the episode's warm in-universe reception, I'm assuming Henson must have done a first-rate job with the muppets.
Henson
and Prohaska, yes
I'd say it's the most accomplished work either of them had ever done up to that point in their careers.
Excellent writeup of Yesteryear - the original story is good enough that we can perceive that a live action episode would just consist of fleshing out characters and concepts given more time as you suggest, rather than any major changes compared to the OTL animated one.
Thank you, Thande! And yes, this definitely hits all the same action beats as the OTL episode, only the pacing is much,
much better, and the story has so much more room to breathe.
Thande said:
Remind me, does your version of Star Trek include the episodes where they planned to develop McCoy's backstory with his estranged daughter?
Indeed it does, as
VariantAberrant was good enough to point out. In addition to her debut appearance in "Joanna" (considered one of the show's ten best ITTL, and an episode I really want to cover in the Episode Guide later on), she returns in the following season (unsurprisingly, since S4 is loaded with Continuity Porn) in "The Stars of Sargasso", which was an OTL outline for the never-produced fourth season, in which Fontana made a second attempt to introduce the character. Here, in her return appearance, she fully reconciles the generation gap with her father and follows him into medicine.
If you want to see a Muppet tearing another apart...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKFBzgR_TBk
That's an excellent clip, Orville - thank you for sharing it. A fun "missing link" in the development of the Muppets, and roughly contemporary with when "Yesteryear" would have aired ITTL.
It's possible, but given that the story from which the effect takes its OTL name (Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder") had been published some years before the POD, not at all guaranteed.
I'm willing to go on the record to say that "the butterfly effect" will remain known by its OTL term ITTL. Personally, I'm happy enough to have supplanted the term "POD" with "SP". Some might be inclined to refer to it as a "point of separation", but given that the acronym for that is "POS", I can see why there might be some resistance there
Then what is the last Paramount movie made then?
The last film released by Paramount before the "interregnum" that preceded the sale to Lucasfilm (and the name transferring over to CanWest) was
Cold Wings, a romantic comedy about Alaskan bush pilots, released for Valentine's Day 1983. Note the delightful parallel with their pioneering 1927 release
Wings, the first movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
I haven't seen the animated episode but I'm aware of the story. This version sounds excellent; I could totally visualise Lenard and Wyatt in the scene of the family dinner.
I'm really thrilled that you connected so strongly with that scene.
e of pi and I worked hard to make sure the tone was
just right. There was definitely some mischief to Amanda's character in "Journey to Babel", but unfortunately (and justifiably) she got swept up in histrionics when her husband fell ill and her son was being so difficult about it all. Fortunately, since there's less immediacy to the proceedings in "Yesteryear", we're able to see a more even-handed relationship between the two of them, and I think it would allow them both to shine.
Daibhid C said:
McCoy needling Thelin about his hunches reminds me of a novella based on this AU which makes the point that due to Thelin's strong Andorian emotions, McCoy's become Kirk's rational, pragmatic advisor.
Are you referring to
The Chimes at Midnight? If so, that did have an influence in the characterization of Thelin and his relationship to Kirk and McCoy ITTL.