Alternate histories of TV shows

[AltSptHst]

Married...With Children: They go ahead with the original cast(Sam Kinison, Roseanne Barr, Tina Caspary, and Hunter Carson), and the show bombs after the first season.

Sanford and Son: They have Barnard Hughes and Paul Sorvino play the father and son, and they never think about going the black route. The show dies after one season.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Dr Who - no hiatus for Colin Baker... Darker show, some quality scripts, annoyed Mary Whitehouse bitch, probable cancelation by 1988?

Or just possibly BBC fires Turner and they get a new producer at last, and manage to do something to save the show. Personally I liked McCoy and Ace but with Baker remaining for 3-4 years, his successor is likely to be someone more established in the acting world (serious) who could bring gravitas and high brow whilst bowing to reactionaries and cutting back on the darkness

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

 

[PrairieVoice]

Gilligans Island - according to the books they considered making it a show just about the Skipper and Gilligan's island charter service and would have had a rotating guest star list every week.

When the show was taken off the air they had actually planned to have them rescued the next season and the show would have switched to that format.

They used the idea again later when they did a 2nd "Rescue" movie and had the island turned into a resort called "The Castaways". It would have been kind of like "Love Boat" with different people every week dealing with personal issues with the island cast mixed in.

 

[Noravea]

From an alternate history where Hogan's Heroes lasts until it's 10th Season, and becomes a massive franchise afterwords. John Banner lives until the 1990's, and Bob Crane still lives to this day.


Hogan's Heroes Franchise (1965- )


Hogan's Heroes (1965-1975)
Hogan's Heroes-The Movie (1976)
Hogan at Home (1979-1983)
Klink: The Tale (1982-1984)
Colonel's Heroes (1989-1993)
Hogan's Heroes Reunion (1995-1996)
Hogan's Heroes 2000 (1999)
Hogan's Heroes- The Plot to Kill Hitler (2004)
Hogan's Heroes (Remake) (2009- )

The show is renewed for another season in 1972, however, actor John Banner lives past 1973 due to treatment of his hemorrhage, however, is absent during much of the 8th Season. He returns during the 9th Season as the famous Sergeant.
The show ends in 1975, when production of a movie begins, starring much of the original cast. The film is released in 1976, and is about the end of the War, and the heroes involved in the last few months. The 3 hour epic is regarded as one of the best comedy films ever.
Riding on the fame from Hogan's Heroes and the movie, Bob Crane produces Hogan At Home, which tells the tale of Hogan returning home to America. Although it lasts 4 years, it never picks up the same popularity Hogan's Heroes did.
Klink: The Tale, starring Werner Klemperer and the aging John Banner, is about Klink and Schultz telling younger people about their experiences in the First World War. The show was generally unpopular, and lasted only two years.
The next attempt to reap off the fame of the original series and move, was Hogan's Heroes Reunion, which was a reunion of all of the former cast, who are brought together by the US Military to spy on the Soviet Union. The show was generally popular with those who watched, but not many watched. It only last one and a half years.

Hogan's Heroes 2000 was an attempt to reboot the film series of Hogan's Heroes, and was generally a popular film. Most of the surviving cast starred in the film, about a Neo Nazi group in the 1970's trying to take over Germany. Although an implausible scenario, it is regarded as a good movie.

Hogan's Heroes- The Plot to Kill Hitler, which came out in 2004 was considered one of the better parts of the Hogan's Heroes Franchise . This is the first time the entire cast is replaced, with the exception of Bob Crane, Richard Dawson, and Robert Clary playing the father's of their characters from the show. It is about the Heroes in the Valkyrie plot to kill Hitler.

In 2007, Bob Crane, who officially owns the Franchise to Hogan's Heroes, announced his intentions to create a new TV Show, with the same premise as the original. Richard Dawson, Robert Clary, and Bob Crane all announced their intentions to star as new characters, while the actors from the 2004 movie will star as the old characters.

Hogan's Heroes premiered in 2009, it being a recreation of the original. The first episode was about Hogan crash landing in Germany, and starting up his operation under Stalag 13. The show has immense popularity during it's first season, surpassing 30 Rock, The Office, and The Big Bang Theory in views.

 

[Noravea]

Oh, and forgot.

Futurama (1999- Present Day)

Futurama is never canceled, and continues to air on FOX until today.

 

[Derek Jackson]

Star Trek with female 2nd in command

 

[Fletch]

Only Fools and Horses with Trigger as a serial killer.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Welcome Back, Kotter

(I hope I recall correctly it was on CBS - if not, this can still apply, just not the crossovers/tie-ins)

With their two biggest stars leaving, people often criticized the producers of this show for a very lame 4th season. It could have been worse, though - and weirder.

With Gabe Kaplan and John Travolta only wanting to do guest appearances, the latter maybe none at all, producers face a dilemma. Instead of bringing a Southerner in who never really seems like a Sweathog, they have a one-hour show with the Sweathogs graduating - they look like they're in their early 20s at the youngest, anyway - and at the very end, it's five years later, and a new teacher is brought in at the very last for a new group of Sweathogs...the final scene shows it's Freddie Washington, who also serves as basketball coach at Buchanan High.

The episode puts a new spin on the series, with Washington's antics trying to help the kids fromthe wrong side of the track while dealing with a basketball team that's comically wretched - in some episodes half the jokes are about how poorly they play - and two other new unorthodox teachers, Horshack (who did test out of the Sweathogs in season 1, and who is recently married to his sweetheart, Mary) and Epstein.

Beau is in the classes of all three, of course, and as in OTL they don't know what to do with them. However, they have a little more leeway with the different direction of the show. So, when "Dukes of Hazzard" is put on CBS at midseason and does well, the decision is made to tie Beau to Hazzard County. Despite the fact that it means WBK must have taken place five years earlier, producers figure they can try to work with it.

One of the finest episodes of all WBK is "It's still WHAT?," at the end of that 4th season, a 2-parter where Beau builds a still in Horshack's chemistry class. it's played for laughs for most of the first 3/4 of it, with a few serious things, but John Travolta also makes one final appearnace on the show, as budding drug and alcohol counselor (he rose there from the hospital where he was an orderly), and some poignant stuff is done about the dangers of underage drinking.

Viewership had still been down, but show producers are credited with "A save worthy of General Lee" for their work with limited resources and their 2 biggest stars leaving before the season, but are urged to use "It's still WHAT?" as a "Great, Petersburg-type stand which should let you surrender the show having done an incredible job getting it through one year."

But, as normal with TV producers, they dont' listen. Their success late has given them victory disease, and they bring WBK back for a disstrous 5th season.

Season 5 of WBK opens with Washington, Epstein, and Horshack taking a trip to Hazzard County to see Beau, in a crossover in which half the confusion seems to be over Beau and Bo getting mixed up; not to mention the craziness of crossing over a half hour sitcom with a hour comedy/drama.

It gets worse, though. Because ratings were somewhat good (only fromt he Dukes faithful, though), they do it again when James Best stages half multi-episode holdout. Instead of bringing in other sheriffs for a couple episodes, the creators of DoH allow WBK people to come again.

This time, a three-parter is done, with a time machine that one of Horshack's studetns built as a science project. They all go back to save a runaway Beau, who is now up in Brooklyn again and has escaped back to Civil War days, because he's "heard so much about those being the glory days of the South." They wind up in Hazzard County of the 1860s.

Seen as grossly unrealistic, the episode dooms WBK, and only James Best's return a few episodes earlier than in OTL saves DoH. When John Schneider and Tom Wopat hold out for much of season 5, despite interest by some in reviving the Brooklyn connection with Beau as one of the relacement Dukes, writers steadfastly refuse to have anything mroe to do with it.

 

[alphaboi867]

Star Trek with female 2nd in command

Star Trek: Phase II premieres as the cornerstone of Paramount Pictures attempt at a 4th network. The "Paramount Television Service" folds after 1 year (never having gotten much beyond ST2 and a movie of the week), but ST2 lasts 5 more seasons in first-run syndication. Shatner leaves after the first season due to salary disputes (as was feared IRL) and Kirk is given an off-screen promotion to the admiralty in between seasons 1 & 2. Shatner eventually makes a guestappearance in season 4. Cmdr. Will Decker is promoted to ship's Captain; Lt Cmdr. Uhura becomes his First Officer. Spock becomes a reccuring character (as a mentor figure roll to Lt Xon), but Nimoy never joins the cast full time.

I imagine Phase II would be very similiar to the early seasons of TNG, but with TOS characters and setting. For better or worse Roddenberry retains much stronger control over the franchise for a longer time. A triology of theatrical movies follow the series in the late 80s/early 90s followed by a revival series (set 100 years after the last film) in 2001, possibly on cable. The end result is a smaller franchise with fewer films only three TV series. Trek canon is of course radically different.

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

Fourth and final season of Family Guy premieres 2002; gains audience with reruns on Adult Swim, comes out with a series of DVD features in 2007, that later get shown on Adult Swim; recently returned with new episodes on Comedy Central

 

[Emperor Norton I]

Star Trek: Phase II premieres as the cornerstone of Paramount Pictures attempt at a 4th network. The "Paramount Television Service" folds after 1 year (never having gotten much beyond ST2 and a movie of the week), but ST2 lasts 5 more seasons in first-run syndication. Shatner leaves after the first season due to salary disputes (as was feared IRL) and Kirk is given an off-screen promotion to the admiralty in between seasons 1 & 2. Shatner eventually makes a guestappearance in season 4. Cmdr. Will Decker is promoted to ship's Captain; Lt Cmdr. Uhura becomes his First Officer. Spock becomes a reccuring character (as a mentor figure roll to Lt Xon), but Nimoy never joins the cast full time.

I imagine Phase II would be very similiar to the early seasons of TNG, but with TOS characters and setting. For better or worse Roddenberry retains much stronger control over the franchise for a longer time. A triology of theatrical movies follow the series in the late 80s/early 90s followed by a revival series (set 100 years after the last film) in 2001, possibly on cable. The end result is a smaller franchise with fewer films only three TV series. Trek canon is of course radically different.

The Klingons would be waaaay different.
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Kitumba

On the subject:

Star Trek
Multiple possibilities. The original pilot concept could be given the go ahead with Jeffery Hunter as Pike et al. Alternately, if NBC turned down the first pilot but asked for a second, Jeffery Hunter could agree to return to the role of Pike with the other modifications around him (Spock as first officer with the whole repressed emotions deal, the technicolor bridge, and all that).

Other possibilities include NBC canceling the show after the first or second season, better promoting the show or not giving it the "death slot" of Saturday night, thus ensuring greater success, or picking it up for a fourth season.

There's also the prospect of the original Spock going ahead; the character was supposed to be more demonic looking with pointed ears and red skin. However, as most home Televisions were still black and white, the makeup came off as black in screen tests which came off as a kind of black face to Roddenberry so it was dropped.

Gunsmoke
Originally to be canceled in the 1960's by network heads to make room for Gilligan's Island while their boss was on vacation. Boss came back, and as he loved Gunsmoke, kept the show on the air while canceling Gilligan. As this show would go on to be I think the longest running live action series in history, this possible cancellation would cut it short.

 

[Joe Bonkers]

From an alternate history where Hogan's Heroes lasts until it's 10th Season, and becomes a massive franchise afterwords. John Banner lives until the 1990's, and Bob Crane still lives to this day.


Hogan's Heroes Franchise (1965- )


Hogan's Heroes (1965-1975)
Hogan's Heroes-The Movie (1976)
Hogan at Home (1979-1983)
Klink: The Tale (1982-1984)
Colonel's Heroes (1989-1993)
Hogan's Heroes Reunion (1995-1996)
Hogan's Heroes 2000 (1999)
Hogan's Heroes- The Plot to Kill Hitler (2004)
Hogan's Heroes (Remake) (2009- )

The show is renewed for another season in 1972, however, actor John Banner lives past 1973 due to treatment of his hemorrhage, however, is absent during much of the 8th Season. He returns during the 9th Season as the famous Sergeant.
The show ends in 1975, when production of a movie begins, starring much of the original cast. The film is released in 1976, and is about the end of the War, and the heroes involved in the last few months. The 3 hour epic is regarded as one of the best comedy films ever.
Riding on the fame from Hogan's Heroes and the movie, Bob Crane produces Hogan At Home, which tells the tale of Hogan returning home to America. Although it lasts 4 years, it never picks up the same popularity Hogan's Heroes did.
Klink: The Tale, starring Werner Klemperer and the aging John Banner, is about Klink and Schultz telling younger people about their experiences in the First World War. The show was generally unpopular, and lasted only two years.
The next attempt to reap off the fame of the original series and move, was Hogan's Heroes Reunion, which was a reunion of all of the former cast, who are brought together by the US Military to spy on the Soviet Union. The show was generally popular with those who watched, but not many watched. It only last one and a half years.

Hogan's Heroes 2000 was an attempt to reboot the film series of Hogan's Heroes, and was generally a popular film. Most of the surviving cast starred in the film, about a Neo Nazi group in the 1970's trying to take over Germany. Although an implausible scenario, it is regarded as a good movie.

Hogan's Heroes- The Plot to Kill Hitler, which came out in 2004 was considered one of the better parts of the Hogan's Heroes Franchise . This is the first time the entire cast is replaced, with the exception of Bob Crane, Richard Dawson, and Robert Clary playing the father's of their characters from the show. It is about the Heroes in the Valkyrie plot to kill Hitler.

In 2007, Bob Crane, who officially owns the Franchise to Hogan's Heroes, announced his intentions to create a new TV Show, with the same premise as the original. Richard Dawson, Robert Clary, and Bob Crane all announced their intentions to star as new characters, while the actors from the 2004 movie will star as the old characters.

Hogan's Heroes premiered in 2009, it being a recreation of the original. The first episode was about Hogan crash landing in Germany, and starting up his operation under Stalag 13. The show has immense popularity during it's first season, surpassing 30 Rock, The Office, and The Big Bang Theory in views.

Interesting ideas for an often-overlooked series I always liked. I've often wondered how they would have handled the end of the war and the revelation to Klink of Hogan's operation. It would be funny as hell to have Burkhalter and Hochstedder there and see more and more veins popping out of their foreheads as their now-captors led them on a little tour of the underground facility. "KLINK!"

The way I pictured it, once the camp was liberated, Hogan would have vouched for Klink as being a soldier doing his duty who did not violate the Geneva rules and was not a war criminal. Burkhalter would have tried to cozy up to Hogan ("We have always had an excellent soldierly relationship, don't you think, Colonel?") but Hogan would have turned him in. Hochstedder would have been toast.

 

[PrairieVoice]

I've wondered why they dont start every new tv season with a movie where they try and include the people out of each of the different network tv programs for the season. At least in cameos.

 

[G.Fieendish]

Dr Who - no hiatus for Colin Baker... Darker show, some quality scripts, annoyed Mary Whitehouse bitch, probable cancelation by 1988?

Or just possibly BBC fires Turner and they get a new producer at last, and manage to do something to save the show. Personally I liked McCoy and Ace but with Baker remaining for 3-4 years, his successor is likely to be someone more established in the acting world (serious) who could bring gravitas and high brow whilst bowing to reactionaries and cutting back on the darkness

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

There are at least 2 ways that I know of that John Nathan-Turner could get fired by the BBC during the early 1980's alone, namely...
1) Matthew Waterhouse who played the role of Adric, gets arrested for cottaging, & takes John Nathan-Turner down with him, so to speak, as a result of the press headlines generated by said arrest...
(In his recently released autobiography, Blue Box Boy, Mr. Waterhouse mentions that he was technically a criminal for 3 years, as he was 18 at the time he "came out", as the age of consent for gay men at the time was then 21...).
2) The Electricians Union's "work to rule", during late 1982, means that production time for the last 2 stories of Season 20, runs out, meaning Terminus, ironically & aptly, is the last story of Season 20 shown, meaning the season ends on a "cliffhanger"...
Fan backlash against Mr Turner takes care of the rest...

 

[Fletch]

The Good Life, remember that seventies BBC comedy, with Tom raping Margo and then shooting up home-made heroin.

Are you being served? with a three-way with Mrs Slocombe, Old Mr Grace and Captain Peacock.

Songs of Praise from HMP Barlinnie.

Last of the Summer Wine, with Compo getting it on with Nora Batty followed by a complex episode on euthinasia.

The Loose Women reponse to the Budget.

This Week, hosted by Jordan, with guests Jeremy Kyle and Kerry Katona stepping in for Andrew Neil, Diane Abbott and Portaloo.

 

[G.Fieendish]

The Good Life, remember that seventies BBC comedy, with Tom raping Margo and then shooting up home-made heroin.

Are you being served? with a three-way with Mrs Slocombe, Old Mr Grace and Captain Peacock.

Songs of Praise from HMP Barlinnie.

Last of the Summer Wine, with Compo getting it on with Nora Batty followed by a complex episode on euthinasia.

The Loose Women reponse to the Budget.

This Week, hosted by Jordan, with guests Jeremy Kyle and Kerry Katona stepping in for Andrew Neil, Diane Abbott and Portaloo.

Nah, I preferred the Good Life episode where Tom tried to make Bio-fuel via distilling, & got arrested for Moonshine making, after the party with Jerry & Margo, ended up with the police being called in ...
(Mind you, a later episode where Tom realises that he made Margo pregnant, during said party, & is now carrying their child, has a large degree of Pathos, as she believes it's Jerry's...).
As for the Songs of Praise episode at HMP Barlinnie, was'nt that the one where the wardens were heavily armed, "just in case"...?

 

[Fletch]

As for the Songs of Praise episode at HMP Barlinnie, was'nt that the one where the wardens were heavily armed, "just in case"...?

Reminds me of that seventies comedy Porridge, although the episode where Godber was turned into a drug mule was a bit extreme.

 

[TheMann]

Oh, and forgot.

Futurama (1999- Present Day)

Futurama is never canceled, and continues to air on FOX until today.

I love that idea. They could make a few new regular characters, though, and give Bender more of an edge. FYI, he has one of the classic cartoon comments ever in the very first episode, when Fry asks him if he's a New Year's Eve costume:

"Bite my shiny metal ass."
"It's not that shiny."
"Shinier than yours, meatbag."



And along those lines.....

Dark Angel (1999-2006)

Season 3: Brought back for a third season, has the arrival of a number of new transgenics, and a growing rivalry between the Manticore crew and their European rivals, known as the Carrington Institute, while also fighting White. Late in the season, Lydecker returns and Thula changes sides, causing White to be replaced.

Season 4: White's replacement, Jason Harriman, is a whole lot more aggressive than his predecessor and casts concerns about his cover or civilian casualties out the window - he can blame it on transgenics. After a particularly ugly battle that claims the lives of two Manticore transgenics and the leader of the Carrington side's lover, the two join forces. As Season Four goes on, the mounting casualties start causing problems for the Conclave and its operators. In the finale of the season, a highly-public fight sees the transgenics save the lives of dozens of children caught in the crossfire, with one of their own dying in the process. This causes a complete shift in the views of Seattle residents, and puts the Conclave on the defensive.

Season 5: White is arrested and charged with murder, leading Harriman to make an attempt to bust him out which goes bad, leading to police being involved on the same side as the transgenics. Logan and his informants track down the Conclave bosses, hoping to end the madness for good. Alexander finds a cure for Max's virus, thus allowing her and Logan to be together at last. White's last-ditch attempt to attack the transgenics in Seattle fails, and he is killed by Alexander. Logan inherits his family's wealth and puts Eyes Only back in business for real - complete with his own private army to sweep Seattle of crime, a job that Alexander, the Carrington fighters and most of the Manticore transgenics are only too happy to help him with. In the season finale, White's father, Peter Sandeman, returns to the people he helped create, and Logan tracks down Senator Jacobs, the Conclave's lead man in the US Government.

Season 6: The Conclave declares war on Terminal City, its residents and the rest of Seattle, forcing everyone to hunker down - while also adding many to the transgenics' backers. Realizing that this is their last stand, virtually all of Manticore and Carrington's personnel go to Seattle to join the fight. Alec, Peter and Sketchy are killed by the Conclave fighters, which is the last straw. In the two-part final episode, the transgenics, now numbering in the hundreds, storm and destroy the Conclave's base in the Cascades, backed up by hundreds of volunteers and many policemen. Sandeman dies in the fight, while Logan, Lydecker, Alexander and Asha are wounded in it. The episode, and the series, end with Max and Joshua leading the service for Sandeman and the others, with Max commenting. "You can rest in peace, father. Your job is done, and your children will ensure that your people stay safe."

 

[sunsurf]

I read that Tina Louise was under the impression that Gilligan's Island was supposed to be a show about Ginger Grant!
Well, maybe that could have worked, if they revamped the other characters a bit.

One of the problems with the Courtship of Eddie's Father was, he was such a nice guy, he wouldn't stay unmarried for long.

The spring of 1972, it was canceled, and in the fall, All in the Family started its run. It dealt more directly with lots of controversial topics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_in_the_Family

So, the pilot episode of All in the Family could have been a two-hour movie which serves as the series finale of The Courtship of Eddie's Father.

Tom gets married to Brenda Benet, Bill Bixby's real-life wife, who starred in one episode. He also gets transfered from Los Angeles to New York, to edit a new magazine from the same publisher.

One problem is how to work in All in the Family. Mike Stivic gets a job as a photographer at the new magazine, and has a lot in common with Norman Tinker, the hippie-ish photographer friend of Tom Corbett. (And speaking of which, in-jokes about Tom Corbett Space Cadet would be mandatory).

So Tom gets invited over to dinner, and meets Archie Bunker.

Now that could be enough, but there's one more ingredient we could include.

A reason a popular TV character didn't get married was that he was gay. Now, gay marriage would be completely out of the question in 1972, though gays were talked about in All in the Family. Tom Corbett wouldn't be gay, and I don't know if they could have Norman Tinker come out as gay, but it's an interesting thought.

A possible spinoff show would be All in the Courtships, about Norman Tinker and Mike Stivic, one gay and one straight. (OTL, they had Mike and Gloria get a divorce. So Mike and Norman would go to a California commune and the sitcom/dramedy would be set there.)

You'll notice the kid gets short shrift here. Oh, well. Once the dad gets married, what else is the kid going to do?

In the 1990s, they could have Wilford Brimley as an older Eddie Corbett, in a new show set in the future, called The Courtship of Eddie. He's a widowed grandfather, and his grandkids are always setting him up on dates. There are frequent references to the original series.

In 2004 there could be a half-season of animated Saturday morning episodes of The Courtship of Eddie's Great-Great-Great Grandson. Eddie's still alive in the far future, everybody's living on a space station, and he's always trying to help his great-great-great grandson and his other descendants, who tolerate him but don't really need his help with their relationships.

 

[The Vulture]

MacGyver folds after ten episodes in 1985. Audiences find it repetitive and unoriginal, critics describe it as "just being about a guy who shoots his way out of trouble every five minutes".