Woo hoo! Forget trick-or-treating, a new TWR is always the better Halloween treat.
I have to say, this is the only thing that struck me as perhaps a tiny bit off. By 1981 IOTL, Carlin was transitioning from his "Hippy dippy weatherman" days to the observational comedy for which he's largely remembered today; we got the (very funny) A Place For My Stuff album that's half absurdist ("And now... a message from the National Apple Council") and half topical ("Ever notice how the men who are against abortion....?"). Carlin was also a perfectionist who rehearsed his bits down to the way he breathed during each one.
So it's sort of difficult to picture Carlin kind of riffing on current events, and it's also difficult to picture Carlin (who deeply admired Pryor IOTL) being quite so bitter in this particular instance -- although, obviously, Carlin's bitterness in general is the stuff of legends.
I positively adore Pryor as Gus Gorman in Superman III, which I realize places me as a member of one of the world's tiniest minorities. But seriously, Superman III has so much to give the world: Pryor, yes, but also Robert Vaughn channeling his inner Snidely Whiplash as a Lex Luthor knock-off! And to top it all off: 1983's conception of the world's mightiest supercomputer! And I haven't even gotten to drunken Superman....
Since it postdates the end of this TL, this butterflies away 1986's "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" incident, as well as (obviously) the R.E.M. song of the same name -- that is, if R.E.M. even exist in this universe (they probably don't).
[12] I’m paraphrasing. Those of you familiar with Carlin’s language can probably guess what he really said.
I have to say, this is the only thing that struck me as perhaps a tiny bit off. By 1981 IOTL, Carlin was transitioning from his "Hippy dippy weatherman" days to the observational comedy for which he's largely remembered today; we got the (very funny) A Place For My Stuff album that's half absurdist ("And now... a message from the National Apple Council") and half topical ("Ever notice how the men who are against abortion....?"). Carlin was also a perfectionist who rehearsed his bits down to the way he breathed during each one.
So it's sort of difficult to picture Carlin kind of riffing on current events, and it's also difficult to picture Carlin (who deeply admired Pryor IOTL) being quite so bitter in this particular instance -- although, obviously, Carlin's bitterness in general is the stuff of legends.
[13] Yes, an obvious reference to Pryor having appeared in 1983’s Superman III IOTL, though he did not play Superman but his wacky (and sadly, not Wacky) sidekick; this kickstarted his film career, for better and (mostly) for worse.
I positively adore Pryor as Gus Gorman in Superman III, which I realize places me as a member of one of the world's tiniest minorities. But seriously, Superman III has so much to give the world: Pryor, yes, but also Robert Vaughn channeling his inner Snidely Whiplash as a Lex Luthor knock-off! And to top it all off: 1983's conception of the world's mightiest supercomputer! And I haven't even gotten to drunken Superman....
[14] Cronkite was forced into retirement IOTL, and was replaced by Dan Rather, whose rise to prominence has been butterflied ITTL; the ratings and prestige once held by the CBS Evening News steadily declined throughout the quarter-century that Rather occupied the anchor desk – to this day the newscast remains in third place.
Since it postdates the end of this TL, this butterflies away 1986's "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" incident, as well as (obviously) the R.E.M. song of the same name -- that is, if R.E.M. even exist in this universe (they probably don't).