Okay, that does sound like a show George Carlin would come up with. Plus, we're a year away from Carlin debuting a certain monologue: The Seven Words you can't say on Television.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
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The show in question is a direct shot at the "Father Knows Best" or "Leave It to Beaver" paradigm that existed. Of course, Norman Lear and Rob Reiner is still out there in TTL. There is also the matter of the "Wholesome Western" genre that is waiting to get blown apart, because so is Mel Brooks.
Actually, that brings up a question: have the spaghetti Westerns become a thing? I don't recall any references to them...
Mel Brooks won an Academy Award for his directing debut "The Producers" which was about putting on the worst play in history so that it would flop on opening night and the producers would then keep all the money leftover that they raised.
The play in question: "Springtime for Hitler" somehow that is not going to be the case ITTL so what will take it's place, something about Franz Ferdinand?
The play in question: "Springtime for Hitler" somehow that is not going to be the case ITTL so what will take it's place, something about Franz Ferdinand?
Part 123, Chapter 2082
Chapter Two Thousand Eighty-Two
10th August 1971
Cologne, Germany
In the grey drizzle of the afternoon, Cologne didn’t seem too appealing as the Meta passed through. Kiki supposed that the museums, marketplace, and culture of the medieval city ought to appeal to her, but she wasn’t inclined to stop here. She was sitting under the canopy aft of the wheelhouse as she had been doing most afternoons. It was nice to watch the countryside roll past and not be in any hurry to get anywhere.
Whatever the plan had been, Kiki had looked at a map and suddenly exploring a city, she had never been to before had struck her fancy and Amsterdam was sort of hard to miss. Austria had been sort of a fizzle. Vienna had been almost as drab as Cologne seemed to be today. It seemed that her family wasn’t particularly popular in Austria, and they had gotten a rather frosty reception. It had something to do with history and how Vienna was no longer the seat of Empire while Berlin had ascended.
The sad reality was that as much as the Austrians wanted to lay the blame on Germany, Kiki remembered from History classes that what happened to them was almost inevitable past a certain point. By the time the Dual Monarchy had started to break apart, the best that anyone could have done was a controlled demolition. Not that she thought for an instant that her grandfather and great grandfather had not exploited the situation for all it was worth. It was like what the Americans said. How the difference between a rich man and a poor man was dependent upon whose grandfather had been the better horse thief. Kiki had no doubt that her ancestors were among the absolute best of horse thieves…
“What are you thinking about?” Ben asked, “You seem like you are a thousand kilometers away when you do that.”
“Austria and how things happen” Kiki replied.
“Still thinking about that” Ben said, “You just need to accept that not everyone loves you.”
“I am not allowed to ever forget that. It is why I need to have bodyguards” Kiki replied, realizing as she said it that two members of her security detail were within earshot. “That was different though. Those people disliked me because of my family.”
“Exactly what was your great grandfather supposed to have done?” Ben asked, “Have the Heer invade Hungary to keep their empire together at gunpoint? I’m not sure that having our soldiers in Vienna would have played well, especially after they had to take over on the Italian Front months earlier. There is a good reason why no one can see that ever happening.”
“You know that, and I would guess that they do too” Kiki said, “But you know how people are.”
They sat watching the bank roll by for several minutes.
“Fianna said that she is heating something up for supper” Ben said, “Next time we do this, we might have a dedicated Cook. That will be a major change.”
But for the better? Kiki thought to herself.
Next year the Epione would be ready and unlike the Meta, she would have dedicated crew berths according to the blueprints that Kiki had seen before she had approved construction to begin. Gregor was interested in staying on, but to manage a vessel the size of the Epione an additional crewman would need to be hired, possibly two. Typical of a Belgian Péniche, the crew quarters were just aft and below the wheelhouse similar to how the master’s cabin was situated on the Meta. Just on a larger scale.
A dedicated Cook would be the third or fourth person. Ben mentioning it was a reminder of how it seemed like Kiki’s life seemed to be growing ever more complicated. Hiring people to help seldom made things less complicated.
Comandante Luis Piedrabuena, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
When Tilo’s helicopter landed, he saw that there were a large number of vehicles parked in every bit of open space near the center of town and knew that this was the 7th Recon Battalion. He had been briefed about what had occurred here the day before. How the Chileans had blown the bridge to buy time so that they could retreat west. The 7th had been driving towards the bridge with the 2nd Recon Battalion right behind them. All of them had been forced to stop suddenly and there had been a few collisions. Then they had been forced to wait for the Pioneers to arrive so that a temporary bridge could be built across the Santa Cruz River. They had made it across just as elements from the 3rd MID had been entering the town from the north.
Tilo had been forced to remind them that this wasn’t a competition and there was still a lot of territory to cover before they pushed the Chileans back across the Andes. At the same time, he also understood that the 7th was a part of the 4th Panzer Division. They had spent months bottled up in Rio Gallegos and were clearly interested in making up for lost time. Tilo had also heard that it had been men from the 7th who had frequently launched aggressive patrols across no-man’s-land over the last several months. He knew of many uses for a hard charging Battalion like that.
Walking across a car park towards the building that had been commandeered for Battalion Headquarters. Tilo ran across a familiar face as he walked through the doors.
“I thought you were supposed to have retired by now?” Tilo asked his brother who gave him a look that could have frozen water.
“Tell that to Salvador Allende” Jost growled before stalking off.
Tilo chuckled as he walked towards the office of the Oberstleutnant who commanded the 7th. For as long as Jost had a breath in him there was no way that he would sit out a fight. The President of Chile had just provided him a handy excuse to stay in for as long as he could.
10th August 1971
Cologne, Germany
In the grey drizzle of the afternoon, Cologne didn’t seem too appealing as the Meta passed through. Kiki supposed that the museums, marketplace, and culture of the medieval city ought to appeal to her, but she wasn’t inclined to stop here. She was sitting under the canopy aft of the wheelhouse as she had been doing most afternoons. It was nice to watch the countryside roll past and not be in any hurry to get anywhere.
Whatever the plan had been, Kiki had looked at a map and suddenly exploring a city, she had never been to before had struck her fancy and Amsterdam was sort of hard to miss. Austria had been sort of a fizzle. Vienna had been almost as drab as Cologne seemed to be today. It seemed that her family wasn’t particularly popular in Austria, and they had gotten a rather frosty reception. It had something to do with history and how Vienna was no longer the seat of Empire while Berlin had ascended.
The sad reality was that as much as the Austrians wanted to lay the blame on Germany, Kiki remembered from History classes that what happened to them was almost inevitable past a certain point. By the time the Dual Monarchy had started to break apart, the best that anyone could have done was a controlled demolition. Not that she thought for an instant that her grandfather and great grandfather had not exploited the situation for all it was worth. It was like what the Americans said. How the difference between a rich man and a poor man was dependent upon whose grandfather had been the better horse thief. Kiki had no doubt that her ancestors were among the absolute best of horse thieves…
“What are you thinking about?” Ben asked, “You seem like you are a thousand kilometers away when you do that.”
“Austria and how things happen” Kiki replied.
“Still thinking about that” Ben said, “You just need to accept that not everyone loves you.”
“I am not allowed to ever forget that. It is why I need to have bodyguards” Kiki replied, realizing as she said it that two members of her security detail were within earshot. “That was different though. Those people disliked me because of my family.”
“Exactly what was your great grandfather supposed to have done?” Ben asked, “Have the Heer invade Hungary to keep their empire together at gunpoint? I’m not sure that having our soldiers in Vienna would have played well, especially after they had to take over on the Italian Front months earlier. There is a good reason why no one can see that ever happening.”
“You know that, and I would guess that they do too” Kiki said, “But you know how people are.”
They sat watching the bank roll by for several minutes.
“Fianna said that she is heating something up for supper” Ben said, “Next time we do this, we might have a dedicated Cook. That will be a major change.”
But for the better? Kiki thought to herself.
Next year the Epione would be ready and unlike the Meta, she would have dedicated crew berths according to the blueprints that Kiki had seen before she had approved construction to begin. Gregor was interested in staying on, but to manage a vessel the size of the Epione an additional crewman would need to be hired, possibly two. Typical of a Belgian Péniche, the crew quarters were just aft and below the wheelhouse similar to how the master’s cabin was situated on the Meta. Just on a larger scale.
A dedicated Cook would be the third or fourth person. Ben mentioning it was a reminder of how it seemed like Kiki’s life seemed to be growing ever more complicated. Hiring people to help seldom made things less complicated.
Comandante Luis Piedrabuena, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
When Tilo’s helicopter landed, he saw that there were a large number of vehicles parked in every bit of open space near the center of town and knew that this was the 7th Recon Battalion. He had been briefed about what had occurred here the day before. How the Chileans had blown the bridge to buy time so that they could retreat west. The 7th had been driving towards the bridge with the 2nd Recon Battalion right behind them. All of them had been forced to stop suddenly and there had been a few collisions. Then they had been forced to wait for the Pioneers to arrive so that a temporary bridge could be built across the Santa Cruz River. They had made it across just as elements from the 3rd MID had been entering the town from the north.
Tilo had been forced to remind them that this wasn’t a competition and there was still a lot of territory to cover before they pushed the Chileans back across the Andes. At the same time, he also understood that the 7th was a part of the 4th Panzer Division. They had spent months bottled up in Rio Gallegos and were clearly interested in making up for lost time. Tilo had also heard that it had been men from the 7th who had frequently launched aggressive patrols across no-man’s-land over the last several months. He knew of many uses for a hard charging Battalion like that.
Walking across a car park towards the building that had been commandeered for Battalion Headquarters. Tilo ran across a familiar face as he walked through the doors.
“I thought you were supposed to have retired by now?” Tilo asked his brother who gave him a look that could have frozen water.
“Tell that to Salvador Allende” Jost growled before stalking off.
Tilo chuckled as he walked towards the office of the Oberstleutnant who commanded the 7th. For as long as Jost had a breath in him there was no way that he would sit out a fight. The President of Chile had just provided him a handy excuse to stay in for as long as he could.
You know, for some reason I just want to know how George Bush is going? Or the Bush family remnants, as it were.
Bush Sr. is counting his new found wealth in Germany... and hopes that the da*n tourists will come back next year...
Ever since I saw 'The Producers', I have always wanted him to produce 'Springtime for Hitler'. I wanted to see Mel Brooks roast Hitler & his cronies. 'Jojo Rabbit' comes close, with Taika Waititi absolutely roasting Adolf in his adaptation. I would also love to see 'Springtime for Stalin' for the same reasons.
The thing is though, IOTL’s Norman Lear was one of the great ’adapters’ (or borrowers or thieves) of foreign TV formats into the US market. How different would ITTL’s Archie Bunker from All in the Family be if his prototype Alf Garnett from 'Til Death do us Part had a different backstory - one that didn't involve dodging being called up into the British Army in 1940? Similarly, how differently would Sanford and Son look if Arthur & Harold in Steptoe & Son hadn't been shaped by Britain's IOTL experience of 20th century wars (Arthur's in WWI and Harold's in the Malayan Emergency)?
For that matter, would ITTL’s Norman Lear even have the career he had IOTL without his experience as a B-17 crewman over Germany in WWII?
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Ah Prussian history writing....
(OTL it's only been in the last decade or so that you could find wide spread unbiased accounts of the late days of the HRE - and not primarily the Prussian 'decline of the Roman Empire' narrative. And I'm not certain if that trend really arrived in the English language discourse yet. This narrative of Austria sounds very much like that, and will probably need another century or so for a real critical examination between two mutually exclusive narratives.
And considering that, with no Cold War going on with all it's ideological implications, I'm uncertain if we will even see the changes that OTL went on in academic history - no rise of 'Social and Economic History' in the 70s, no moving away from singular actors and grand national narratives. Or at least not in the same way and scale as OTL. Maybe something where Ria's Galicia can take a lead in, just to offend the Prussian Junkers back home in Berlin?)
(OTL it's only been in the last decade or so that you could find wide spread unbiased accounts of the late days of the HRE - and not primarily the Prussian 'decline of the Roman Empire' narrative. And I'm not certain if that trend really arrived in the English language discourse yet. This narrative of Austria sounds very much like that, and will probably need another century or so for a real critical examination between two mutually exclusive narratives.
And considering that, with no Cold War going on with all it's ideological implications, I'm uncertain if we will even see the changes that OTL went on in academic history - no rise of 'Social and Economic History' in the 70s, no moving away from singular actors and grand national narratives. Or at least not in the same way and scale as OTL. Maybe something where Ria's Galicia can take a lead in, just to offend the Prussian Junkers back home in Berlin?)
So, Alt-Hist for this TL:
Of course there will be the fantasy fiction (OTL events become the fiction of TL), but how about one where WWI doesn't end and Europe becomes an armed camp ala North and South Korea.
The USA becomes overtly imperialistic towards Central and South America with Germany to the rescue.
An Orwellian world develops based on a Democratic Germany; an Imperialistic Asia; and a weak North America (because USA isolationism makes them unprepared for world events).
German economic superiority gives rise to a Corporate World where International German Conglomerates control whole regions of the world.
Of course there will be the fantasy fiction (OTL events become the fiction of TL), but how about one where WWI doesn't end and Europe becomes an armed camp ala North and South Korea.
The USA becomes overtly imperialistic towards Central and South America with Germany to the rescue.
An Orwellian world develops based on a Democratic Germany; an Imperialistic Asia; and a weak North America (because USA isolationism makes them unprepared for world events).
German economic superiority gives rise to a Corporate World where International German Conglomerates control whole regions of the world.
Tilo maybe tasked with his most dangerous assignment in his military career by informing Jost that his time in the Heer is over.
Unfortunately for Tilo he is also going to have the same talk with someone who is like brother to him also Reier, the problem is that I really can't see them functioning in the civilian world.
As for Kiki with the need for expanded staff that is something that was needed years ago when she was a student in Jena but she was too caught up in herself playing the poor student on a scholarship.
Once again use the Meta as a support boat, make Palace Security either buy or at least lease another boat on their Pfennig because if Kiki is required to have protection then she shouldn't have to foot the bill for it.
This way Kiki only has the bare minimum of staff on her new boat at night and gets some privacy and she can have more guests that she wants without it getting too crowded.
Unfortunately for Tilo he is also going to have the same talk with someone who is like brother to him also Reier, the problem is that I really can't see them functioning in the civilian world.
As for Kiki with the need for expanded staff that is something that was needed years ago when she was a student in Jena but she was too caught up in herself playing the poor student on a scholarship.
Once again use the Meta as a support boat, make Palace Security either buy or at least lease another boat on their Pfennig because if Kiki is required to have protection then she shouldn't have to foot the bill for it.
This way Kiki only has the bare minimum of staff on her new boat at night and gets some privacy and she can have more guests that she wants without it getting too crowded.
To be honest, I'm not really sure why the Chileans decided to attack in the first place; the Germans and their allies have proved that they are able and more importantly are willing to intervene in conflicts in the past, (Mexico, South Africa, Korea) and unlike the Chinese the Chileans know that there's no possible way they could have had a victory once an intervention occurred due to the force disparity.
IOTL in the Falklands and the Gulf War, Argentina and Iraq believed that after their invasion they could have presented the situation as a fait accompli, and that the UK/the US and allies wouldn't intervene for political reasons (and that the cost of winning would be too high if they did try thus they'd be able to keep their early gains), but ITTL the Germans and allies have shown that they both have the power and are willing to be the world policeman already; unless the Chilean government is approaching Imperial Japan levels of crazy they're not going to attack a German ally like Argentina- or at the very most, be like the German occupation of the Rhineland IOTL; do a smaller scale provocation and just withdraw if the Germans call their bluff.
IOTL in the Falklands and the Gulf War, Argentina and Iraq believed that after their invasion they could have presented the situation as a fait accompli, and that the UK/the US and allies wouldn't intervene for political reasons (and that the cost of winning would be too high if they did try thus they'd be able to keep their early gains), but ITTL the Germans and allies have shown that they both have the power and are willing to be the world policeman already; unless the Chilean government is approaching Imperial Japan levels of crazy they're not going to attack a German ally like Argentina- or at the very most, be like the German occupation of the Rhineland IOTL; do a smaller scale provocation and just withdraw if the Germans call their bluff.