Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond

Thanks Mr President for that answer. I hope normalcy can return to both Turkey and NATO too. I was also wondering how VP Reagan handled his role as President of the Senate since traditionally it's very uneventful a role.
 
Chapter 101
Chapter 101 – Space Talk – A New Phase for Star Trek and the Launch of Star Wars

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OOC: This opening section on Star Trek was provided, once again, by the brilliant @Nerdman3000. Please enjoy his wonderful work!​

For five years, thousands of devoted fans of the hit late 60s TV series, Star Trek, had patiently waited for the day that they would once again be able to sneak in another glimpse at the future. That patience would be rewarded when in the fall of 1976, exactly ten years after the debut of its predecessor, Gene Roddenberry would present fans with the next exciting chapter of the adventures of the Starship USS Enterprise. This new series, titled Star Trek: Phase II, would be set more than ten years in-universe after the finale episode of the original series "These Were the Voyages", and offer audiences new adventures and stories of the future they had taken their first glimpse at ten years before. Yet the making of this series would not be made without intense difficulty on the part of Gene Roddenberry, largely due to intense internal strife between both him and NBC which plagued it’s early production.

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Above: Early test photographs of the original model used for the USS Enterprise-II, which was featured throughout the first season of Star Trek: Phase II. A slightly updated version of the model would premiere in Season 2 and beyond, with a newly corrected registry number labeled as NCC – 1701-II, as well as various other minor changes, such as making the ship slightly more greyish in color and the removal of the yellow bands on the saucer section.

Though the success of the original series had made it almost guaranteed that there would indeed eventually be a new series in the works, and in fact Roddenberry had for the last five years sketched out his plans for what he wanted to introduce in said new series, many of those plans would come under intense scrutiny by NBC. After the rather nightmarish and infamous production of the final season of the original series (which is often known today by fans as Star Trek: Phase I), many NBC execs wanted slightly more input in the production of the new series in order to avoid some of the mishaps that led to the embarrassing conflicts that plagued the original series final season. The problem NBC execs found however is, though they owned the rights to the original series, the rights for new Star Trek series were technically not completely owned by them, but were instead co-owned by Roddenberry himself, who had managed to secure a deal with former NBC President Julian Goodman during the airing of the fifth season of the original series in early 1970, to the right to co-own any future sequel Star Trek series or films, in return for Roddenberry's continued involvement, a deal which had proved to be controversial with many NBC execs and nearly led to Goodman getting canned from NBC.

With Roddenberry technically now co-owning the rights to the show and getting a much bigger say in what happened in the series despite the desires of many NBC execs, it is perhaps unsurprising that this led to various spats between Roddenberry and said various NBC suits, such as NBC TV President Robert T. Howard, whom Roddenberry found himself disliking immensely. Roddenberry would eventually remark to close friends, such as Phase II series writer George R.R. Martin, that he had come to feel as though he needed to fight tooth and nail for every choice he made in order to secure his vision for the new series, despite technically owning the whole thing.

One of the very first of such conflicts came in Roddenberry’s decision to not bring back most of the original cast. Roddenberry made the decision both due to not wanting the new show to be forever bound to the original series and its characters, as well as feeling that he had been able to successfully tell the stories of most of the original cast of characters, such as Kirk and Spock. Though more than a few execs at NBC, including NBC President Herb Schlosser, were in fact supportive of the direction, due to many of them not desiring a return of the ego filled spats and conflicts which had reared their head between the various actors of the original series, a vocal number of NBC execs, led by Howard, vocally opposed the move, as they were uncertain whether the show would be as successful without a returning William Shatner, Lenord Nimoy, and Deforest Kelly. This sentiment would only be exacerbated by just who exactly Roddenberry had decided he wanted to replace those three actors and helm the new series.

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Above: George Takai (left) would return to his role from the original series as Hikaru Sulu, this time though serving as the Captain of the USS Enterprise-II. As shown above (right), the series would also introduce new uniforms, which, though still retaining the yellow, blue, and red color scheme of the original series, would be designed to feel like ‘something that would that one could truly expect to see in an actual space organization’, as NBC President Herb Schlosser was reported to have said to friend and Paramount President, and later CEO of the Walt Disney Company, Michael Eisner.

Joining a returning James Doohan as Montgomery Scott, the Ship’s Engineer and George Takai as Hikaru Sulu, the former helmsmen of the original Enterprise-I and the new captain of the USS Enterprise-II, would be Lesley Ann Warren as Doctor Joanna McCoy, who would reprise her role from the original series as the daughter of the original Doctor Lenord McCoy, a role which she famously first played when she was 23 in the episode named after her character, Joanna, and then in the final episode of the original series, when she was 25. Further additions to the cast would be newcomers David Gautreaux as the Vulcan Science Officer Xon and Persis Khambatta as the bald-headed alien Deltan and ships navigator Ilia. Finishing off the new cast was the ship's First Officer, Willard Deckar, played by a 39 year old up and coming African-American actor by the name of Morgan Freeman, whom before his appearance in the new series would be most known for his work in the children’s show The Electric Company. The thirty-nine year old found his big break in February 1976, following an encounter at a Hollywood café with Gene Roddenberry, who recognized Freeman due to him often watching The Electric Company with his young son Rod Roddenberry. The two hit it off and Roddenberry eventually invited Freeman to audition for the still yet uncast role of Willard Decker, a role for which Freeman would eventually win weeks later.


To some at NBC however, the idea of replacing Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley with, as some NBC execs were said to have crudely put it, ‘an Asian man, a black man, and a woman’, seemed like too big a pill to swallow, even to the usually supportive NBC President Herb Schlosser. Not even former NBC President Julian Goodman, one of Roddenberry’s biggest supporters before his retirement, was not without skepticism at the choice to have Takai, Freeman, and Warren headline the new show, and reportedly called Roddenberry after he heard and have advised him to consider changing his tune and perhaps replacing either Takai or Freeman. Roddenberry however stubbornly refused to budge, leading to weeks long tension that drove production of the series to a halt, nearly coming to a head when Robert Howard himself attempted to fire Freeman without Roddenberry’s knowledge. The attempt failed when Freeman approached Roddenberry after he had been told the news, and Roddenberry responding by threatening to publicly walk out of the project entirely and literally take the show with him, leading Freeman to being rehired, and NBC execs begrudgingly accepting Roddenberry’s desires on the shows casting.

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Above: Actor Morgan Freeman (left) and actress Lesley Ann Warren (right); The thirty-nine year old Morgan Freeman and the thirty year old Lesley Ann Warren would join George Takai as the main leads to the new Star Trek series, leading to both finding a great deal of success later in life due to their work in the series. Freeman in particular would later remark during an interview in 1994 when he was promoting one of his films, The Shawshank Redemption, that his role as Will Deckar was the one for which he had become most proud of and the one which he had come to consider his favorite.

Though the threat of publicly walking out had worked in convincing NBC to allow Gene Roddenberry’s casting decisions to go through, and prevented Freeman from being fired, it would not be the end of conflict between Roddenberry and NBC, which would plague the shows production all the way to the show’s premiere in September of 1976. Most of these conflicts would be due to Roddenberry’s many bold choices in the series, which left many NBC execs wary and suddenly skeptical if the show would be as successful as the original series. One such example of this was Roddenberry’s choice to make Joanna McCoy’s character a single mother, especially when said son, Thomas, was heavily implied, and later confirmed two years later in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, when the cast of the original series and Phase II united, as the illegitimate son of James T. Kirk. This decision would even divide fans, some of whom mocked and derided Kirk’s new status as a ‘deadbeat dad’ and for having ‘knocked up his best friend’s daughter’. Yet just as some criticized and poked fun at the move, many more came to praise the bold decision for showcasing the harsh realities some single, unwed mothers face, as well as facing head on the often-criticized womanizing status which Kirk was infamous for in the Original Series. Thomas Kirk would later appear in Star Trek: Phase III, played by Jonathan Frakes, as a Star-fleet officer and reconcile with his father, bringing much contention in the fandom, at last, to an end.


Yet for with every conflict Gene Roddenberry would have with various execs at NBC that would end in victories for Roddenberry, there would be others where he would in fact be forced to concede on many decisions. Yet despite all that, Roddenberry himself would eventually be vindicated when Star Trek: Phase II premiered in September 9th, 1976 on NBC with the pilot episode "The New Voyages". Much to Roddenberry’s delight, the show quickly proved itself to be an instant smash hit with both fans and critics, who lauded the shows new cast, especially that of Morgan Freeman’s character of Willard Decker, who quickly became a fan favorite, and that of Warren’s Joanna McCoy.

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Above: Three years after the premiere of Star Trek: Phase II, the decision to have Original Series character Captain James T. Kirk be the father of Joanna McCoy’s son Thomas would even be made fun of on Saturday Night Live in a skit staring John Belushi which made fun of Kirk’s father status by having Kirk, as played by Belushi, confront all the women in the galaxy he impregnated.


Some of the most notable episodes which would both define and be commonly remembered by fans of the first season of Star Trek: Phase II would include:

  • Behind Walled Fences: The highly acclaimed sixth episode of the season, written by star and actor George Takai based on his childhood experiences, would feature Captain Sulu and First Officer Deckar being transported back in time to California during the Second World War after Pearl Harbor, only for Sulu to be detained and taken to a Japanese internment camp, with his only hope of rescue being Deckar. The episode would eventually win an Emmy and would be regarded as one of the best episodes of the first season, and would do much to highlight and bring attention to audiences the injustices endured towards Japanese-Americans during the Second World War and resulted in the US government and President Bush, under mounting pressure, to publicly ordering a investigation into whether the internment camps had been justified by the government and also to formally issue a official apology to all Japanese-Americans who were sent to the Internment camps during the war. The investigation would eventually find little evidence of Japanese-American disloyalty at the time and would conclude that the incarceration by the US government had been the product of racism. To this day, George Takai considers the episode, "the most important thing I've ever done."
  • Parallel Mirrors: The seventeenth episode of the first season of Phase II, beginning when a normal survey of a planet leads the Enterprise-II to discovery what seems seems to be a impossibly intact USS Enterprise-I (later revealed to be the ISS Enterprise-I of the Mirror Universe) would feature the return of both the Mirror Universe and the Genderbent Universe, both of which were first seen in the original series episodes Mirror, Mirror and Parallel Lives. One point of controversy and difficulty behind the scenes in the episode took place as a result of Roddenbery’s attempt to bring back Jane T. Kirk, as played by Sharon Tate in the original series episode in which she was featured. Due to the real life controversies involving Tate with her affair and recent marriage to Ted Kennedy, her difficult divorce to her ex-husband Roman Polanski, as well as the birth of their twin children Gwen and James Kennedy, NBC felt that Tate had simply become too controversial and was thus extremely hesitant to ask to bring her back, eventually advising Roddenberry to remove Jane Kirk from the episode entirely. Though initially hesitant, Roddenberry eventually rewrote the episode to replace Jane Kirk with the female Spock of the Genderbent universe, as played by actress Tuesday Weld.
  • Without Color: The 12th episode of the first season, remembered for having featured a cameo appearance by Reverand Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., would center on the character Willard Deckar finding himself straddled alone on a planet, struggling to survive with nothing but memories of his past. The episode, which would also showcase much of Deckar’s past told through a series of flashbacks and featuring Dr. King playing a cameo as Deckar's father Admiral Raymund Deckar, would allow Freeman to really show and impress with his acting chops, leading to Freeman eventually getting nominated for an Emmy (though he would ultimately fail to win). The episode was also notable for attempting to highlight a future where Dr. King's dream had indeed come true, and blacks and whites had truly become equals in society, for which the episode was praised. Sadly though, Dr. King himself would never live long enough to see the episode in question, having passed away in his sleep less then four days before the episode's premiere, leading to the episode to eventually be dedicated to him.
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RIP

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

January 15, 1929 - November 21st, 1976

Ultimately, with Phase II quickly showing itself to be NBC’s highest rated series of the year, Roddenberry soon found that many of the voices which had for the past two years lambasted his every decision soon became quiet, allowing him to continue working on the show in relative peace, for now at least.


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Above: The Cast of Star Trek: Phase II (Photo Credit to Nerdman3000)


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Above: Director George Lucas and star Mark Hamill on the set of Star Wars, sometime in late 1976.​

“This film is technically Sci-Fi, but it’s not about the future. It’s a fantasy, much more closely related to the Brothers Grimm than it is to 2001.” So began George Lucas’ “elevator pitch” for what would go down as one of the most popular and iconic films in cinema history. Years later, he would explain in an interview with Roger Ebert: “My main reason for making it was to give young people an honest, wholesome fantasy life, the kind my generation had. We had westerns, pirate movies, all kinds of great things. Now they have The Six Million Dollar Man and Kojak. Where are the romance, the adventure, the fun that used to be in practically every movie ever made?” Gene Roddenberry, seen as the King of Sci-Fi in the late 70’s with the success of Star Trek: Phase II would later agree that Star Wars was also “mislabeled” as science fiction by film producers who “didn’t know what they were really dealing with.” Lucas concurred. “I’ve always been an outsider to Hollywood types. They think I do weirdo films.” The film faced immense concern over its potentially gigantic budget, as well as Lucas’ constant, last minute rewrites and creative spats with his production staff, whom he often felt compromised his “vision” for the project. The influence and editing work of his wife, Marcia, however, would be highly valued and prove invaluable in the film’s ultimate success and iconic status. What Lucas and his team managed to create, as Sci-Fi came back to popularity in the late 70’s, was a Space fantasy film which perfectly captured the essence of Joseph Campbell’s theory of the Hero’s journey and played it out in cinemas around the world, capturing the hearts and imaginations of millions, and changing the film industry forever.


Since beginning his writing process in January of 1973, Lucas completed "various rewrites in the evenings after the day's work." He would write four different screenplays for Star Wars, "searching for just the right ingredients, characters and story-line. It's always been what you might call a good idea in search of a story.” By May of 1974, he had expanded the film treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a general by the name of Annikin Starkiller. He later changed Starkiller to an adolescent boy named Luke, and he shifted the general into a supporting role as a member of a family of dwarves. Lucas initially envisioned the Corellian smuggler, Han Solo, as a large, green-skinned monster with gills, though he was of course, later convinced to rewrite Han as a human. He conceived Chewbacca based on his Alaskan Malamute dog, Indiana (whom he would later use as namesake for his beloved character Indiana Jones, played by the suave, mustachioed Tom Selleck), who often acted as the director's "co-pilot" by sitting in the passenger seat of his car. By March of 1976, Lucas was on his fourth (and ultimately final) script and was ready to film. Final edits included removing Luke Skywalker’s father, Annakin, from the plot and replacing him with Obi Wan Kenobi, an old friend of Luke’s father’s and a Jedi Master. The film took on a “fairy tale” plot, heavily inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films in Japan, and finally centered around Luke, Obi Wan, Han and his co-pilot “Chewie” locating and rescuing the headstrong, independent Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader aboard the “Death Star” - his battle station. With the lore of the Jedi, Sith, and the “force” left purposefully mysterious, Lucas hoped to one day expand on this universe he was building by turning the film into a trilogy about the relationship between Luke and his lost father, Annakin. For the time being however, he focused on the initial film, and getting it to be the success he always dreamed it could be.


In designing the world of Star Wars, Lucas was careful to avoid the cliches which had befallen Science Fiction in recent years. Namely, Lucas felt that Sci-Fi always had a “polished” feel to it, with clean, chromatic surfaces, pristine computers, and neatly pressed uniforms. He wanted his world, this fairy tale place “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” to feel worn and lived in. He wanted the spaceships, uniforms, and weapons to appear used and beat up. There was a coat of dust, grime, and dirt on everything in the movie’s concept art, and that alone was enough to excite many in the business who were a little bored by the “neatness” of usual science fiction. Expectations for the film slowly began to rise, and by the time he actually got around to releasing it, the world waited with baited breath for George Lucas' "weird" creation.


With Lucas’ writing and design finally complete, it came time to cast the film. Though Lucas was wary of working too frequently with the same actors (he preferred to work with relative unknowns and let his vision for the characters shine through), he knew right out of the gate that he wanted to work again with American Graffiti alumni Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Though both were in increasingly high demand, especially Hamill after his role in the blockbuster Jaws the year before, Lucas managed to convince both Hamill and Fisher to work on the project, taking the roles of Luke and Leia respectively. Though Lucas was not initially sure that Luke and Leia would turn out to be siblings when he set out to make the first film, their prior portrayal as brother and sister in Graffiti would influence his later decision to write the characters that way, as would his desire to develop stronger, close working and creative relationships with his actors, something Lucas had often been reluctant to do in the past. He promised them it would be a decision that they would not live to regret. More than 100 actors would audition or screen test for the part of the handsome, charismatic smuggler Han Solo, including Sylvester Stallone (who would soon hit it way big with Rocky), Al Pacino, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Perry King, Burt Reynolds, Billy Dee Williams (who would later play the suave Lando Calrissian), and Kurt Russell, whom Lucas strongly liked, but ultimately passed over in favor of Harrison Ford, who won his first major role in a blockbuster motion picture. Ford’s character would later be credited as one of the “strongest in the film” and became an instant favorite with audiences for his cocky, brusque demeanor. He was the ultimate “cool guy”.


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Though Lucas’ preference for working with relative unknowns was maintained in casting Fisher and Ford, it was strongly opposed by Executive Producer Francis Ford Coppola and the studio executives. They demanded that Lucas cast a star for the leading role (which in part influenced his decision to call upon Hamill once again), as well as renowned, established actors for the “more challenging” roles of Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. Obi Wan was seen as difficult to cast because, according to Producer Gary Kurtz, “the role required a certain stability and gravitas as a character... which meant we needed a very strong character actor to play the part.” Though several well-known thespians would be considered, there was only one Lucas really wanted: legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune. Best known for his samurai roles in Kurosawa’s iconic films, Mifune was celebrated throughout the world for his imposing bearing, acting range, and facility with foreign languages, the last of which became pivotal in Lucas’ campaign to convince the studio to pay the large figures Mifune would want to star in the film. Though at first Mifune was suspicious of the project, as he did not wish to be part of a production which would “cheapen” the idea of the samurai, he was eventually convinced by his daughter, as well as personal appeals by George Lucas (who demonstrated just how big of a fan he was of Mifune’s other work) to accept the part of Obi Wan Kenobi, in exchange for 2.25% of the one-fifth gross royalties paid to George Lucas, and the understanding that he would not be asked to perform any publicity for the film. Lucas immediately agreed, and just like that, the film had its first world-famous star on the cast. The other performers would later credit Mifune’s tireless work ethic and good humor on set with always pushing them to do their best, even when the production grew tiresome and difficult at times. Next came the equally critical role of the film’s villain, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Though David Prowse would provide the “body in the suit” for Lucas’ villain, Prowse’s English West Country accent left a lot of menace to be desired, and would lead the cast to refer to the character (when voiced by Prowse) as “Darth Farmer”. In order to rectify this position, as well as mollify studio concerns about casting mostly lesser known actors, Lucas reached out to Christopher Lee, one of the most celebrated performers in film history, and offered him the role. Welles was eager to accept the part, especially after Mifune signed on, as he had always wanted to work with him, and viewed this “darling little project” as a true labor of love, not the “Hollywood wash that comes out year after year”. Employing his powerful, booming bass, Welles turned Darth Vader into arguably the greatest villain in the history of cinema. Joining Mifune, Welles, Hamill, Fisher, and Ford were Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, and several others in smaller parts.


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(Photo Credit for Mifune as Obi Wan to Nerdman3000)​

A film plagued by a long, drawn out production involving countless shooting locations and a grueling schedule, the finished product still needed to be “saved in post” by Marcia Lucas, whose editing is often credited by fans of the franchise with bringing the best out of the originally slow, flat, boring final sequence in which the Rebel Alliance destroy the Death Star. The final product, however, was worth the incredibly long and difficult road it took to get to the finish line. Eventually released in theaters on May 4th 1977 (a date which would forever afterward be known as ‘Star Wars Day’, Star Wars lived up to the hype and shocked countless film studios and the world by going on to become one of the most financially successful films of time, By the end of 1977, the film raked in more than $220 Million dollars within its initial, six-month North American release, smashing the previous box office record set only recently by Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. When combined with the worldwide gross it earned over the course of 1978, Star Wars’ total box-office drawings in less than two years was $410 Million, nearly $2 Billion in today’s dollars. Monetary gains were not the only boons awaiting George Lucas at the end of his own long and arduous hero’s journey. Critics were tripping over themselves to lavish praise and accolades upon the film. Roger Ebert called Star Wars, “An out of body experience,” compared its special effects favorably to the great 2001: A Space Odyssey and opined that “the film’s greatest strength is its ‘pure narrative’.” Lucas’ attempts to draw audiences back into the realm of romance and adventure which had captured his own imagination as a child had worked, BIG TIME. It was only a matter of time before Fox returned to Lucas and quickly greenlit a sequel, especially as the mountains of cash started to roll in from the myriad of merchandise tied to the film after its initial release. Star Wars was only the beginning of the Skywalker saga that happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...


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Next Time on Blue Skies in Camelot: The Democrats Battle for the Presidential Nomination
 
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Loved reading about this timeline's version of both Star Trek and Star Wars. I liked that MLK enjoyed Star Trek and even after dying an episode is dedicated to him. I also like the idea of Morgan Freeman being on Star Trek. Glad Star Wars A New Hope remains largely unchanged except for a few cast changes. James El Jones isn't going to be known as the voice of Darth Vader but I'm sure Orson Welles would be just as scary as Vader.
 
Nice to see Star Trek Phase II! The minority-led cast (Asian, black, and woman) is still far ahead of OTL I feel.

Star Wars looks even better TTL I feel. With Mifune instead of Guinness on board that's a huge butterfly. That said, what's James Earl Jones up to TTL?

Also RIP Dr King.
 
Cool updates for Star Trek and Star Wars. For later movie ideas, Halloween, with Christopher Lee as Doctor Loomis, and for other Star Wars films, Donald Pleasence as the Emperor.
 
Cool updates for Star Trek and Star Wars. For later movie ideas, Halloween, with Christopher Lee as Doctor Loomis, and for other Star Wars films, Donald Pleasence as the Emperor.
Personally I kind of hope Ian McDiarmid isn’t recasted from OTL and still plays the Emperor in ITTL. Like Mark, Carrie, and Harrison, he’s so iconic.
 
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Awesome as always!
Capt. Sulu FTW!
Morgan Freeman is always a good decision.
I just have a minor nitpick.....Sulu and Ilia are wearing Commander insignia and Deckar and Xon are wearing Captain insignia....
Good catch. I’ll have to try and fix that when I have the chance. In hindsight, I should probably do a bit of edits on the lighting on Ilia’s face anyways as well.

Although I should point out that Ilia should be a commander, so the insignia is not incorrect on her.
 
Oh? She got a promotion ITTL?
IOTL she was a Lt. in TMP and in Phase II pre-production...
I suppose? I admittedly haven’t watched TMP in years (Fun fact that I’ll shamelessly admit that I fell asleep during my first viewing of the movie). Lets just assume she gets promoted during the first season or starts as a commander ITTL.
 
I suppose? I admittedly haven’t watched TMP in years (Fun fact that I’ll shamelessly admit that I fell asleep during my first viewing of the movie). Lets just assume she gets promoted during the first season or starts as a commander ITTL.
Fair 'nuff; though she seems a bit young to be a commander...even moreso since the show is being made 3 years before the movie....
Though if the crew is actually getting promotions and progressing in their careers ITTL, it begs the question of who she pissed off to still be a navigator at that rank :p
(Sulu still being a helmsman and nothing else at his age and rank is both a plot hole created by the constraints of the movies, and in-universe arguably out of his loyalty to Adm. Kirk; but with TTL having the progression of characters actually moving forward in their careers, that isn't going to be an issue ITTL)
 
Good update.

Like the casting for Star Trek; Morgan Freeman and Lesley Ann Warren are both good choices, IMO, and it's Takei, not Takai, BTW. Like MLK, Jr.'s casting as Decker's father, and RIP to King, BTW...

As for Toshiro Mifune, that's a good choice for Obi-Wan (watch Shogun for an idea of how he might play him; BTW, what's Richard Chamberlain up to?); Orson Welles as Darth Vader is an inspired choice. I agree with those who also want Mark Hamill to play the Joker in the inevitable Batman live-action movie; either him or Crispin Glover (aka George McFly in Back to the Future). Like that Star Wars still becomes a success...

Like the mention of Sharon Tate, especially with the release of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood IOTL; she's married to Ted Kennedy and has twins?!? Wonder what'll happen to Roman Polanski (who got into...trouble at this time--basically, the guy's a child molester and pervert IOTL and should have served jail time)…

The song "Space Talk" was sung by Asha Puthli and released in 1976, so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln, and waiting for more...
 
This picture just confirms how much I want Mark Hamill to play a live-action Joker in this time line I mean tell me no one else sees the Joker face without makeup.
He played the Trickster in both the original and modern Flash tv series as well as voicing the animated Joker. Forget Luke Sywalker, Mark Hamill was destined to be the Joker. His most recent appearance in The Flash, even his makeup is very Joker-y/Man Who Laughs
trickster_e3.jpg
 
Thank you all for the kind words and feedback! :D As always, I'm so thrilled to hear that you guys enjoyed the update. SO much of the credit for this chapter belongs to @Nerdman3000, and I just wanted to thank him once more for the wonderful work he's provided here and throughout the TL as a whole.

In response to your comments about Hamill playing the Joker in a live action production of Batman, I am completely on board. It would require a minor retcon, as in a previous update I mentioned Robin Williams as playing the Joker in 1984's Batman ITTL. Is swapping out Williams (who is, admittedly, in the top three for my all time favorite actors) for Hamill (whom I believe to be the best Joker IOTL) something that everyone else is okay with? :)
 
In response to your comments about Hamill playing the Joker in a live action production of Batman, I am completely on board. It would require a minor retcon, as in a previous update I mentioned Robin Williams as playing the Joker in 1984's Batman ITTL. Is swapping out Williams (who is, admittedly, in the top three for my all time favorite actors) for Hamill (whom I believe to be the best Joker IOTL) something that everyone else is okay with? :)
Oh definitely!
I think Robin Williams is better suited to play The Riddler anyway ;)
 
I second that. A Robin Williams Riddler would be amazing, especially if you go with darker more sinister take on the character instead of manic like Jim Carrey
 
I second that. A Robin Williams Riddler would be amazing, especially if you go with darker more sinister take on the character instead of manic like Jim Carrey


I second this The villains Batman has should reflect him in various ways The Joker being the opposite to batman's seriousness, The Riddler needs to be equal to Batman's intelligence and Robin Williams would pull that off perfectly.
 
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