Part II, Chapter XIII: "Where Are We Now?"
“The few years following 1987 are by far the most important to this so-called ‘Golden Age of Science Fiction’. The returns of both Doctor Who and Star Trek to television began a popularisation of ‘nerd culture’ unlike almost anything since. But it is important to note that these were not the only important events in popular culture of the time.”
- Stephen Fry, taken from
The Golden Age of Science Fiction, a 2005 documentary about the popular culture of 1987-2001. [1]
1987
1987 was arguably the most important year for science fiction in popular culture. Primarily, it saw the release of the first season of
Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the final Amblin
Doctor Who film:
Doctor Who: The Mad Dog Gang. This was shortly followed by the announcement from NBC that they were to bring
Doctor Who back to television the following year.
British popular culture would get another rejuvenation, in the form of Timothy Dalton as James Bond. Replacing Roger Moore, Dalton’s first film,
The Living Daylights, would see a more mature take on the role and a return to classical espionage, a move that was almost universally praised by critics. Following the success of
The Living Daylights, Dalton would be signed on to a sequel, tentatively titled
License Revoked, and A-ha, who produced the film’s lead single, would see an increase in popularity. [2]
In Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast on the 9th of May 1987 from Brighton, United Kingdom. Following the late decision to award the victory to Switzerland, Swiss broadcast companies proved unwilling to prepare the event on short notice. The BBC stepped in, offering to host, as they had done previously when countries had to pull out. [3]
1987 also marked the first of five years of Belgian boycotting entry of the Eurovision Song Contest, although they still voted, as their 1986 victory had been given to Switzerland when it was discovered that their entry had broken the rules of the contest. This would not be the only controversy involving the contest this year either. The Israeli entry, ostensibly comedic in nature, so offended their culture minister that he resigned. [4]
The victor of the contest was Ireland’s Johnny Logan, who would become the first, and to date only, person to win the contest on more than one occasion.
1988
1988 saw the release of the second season of
Star Trek: The Next Generation, along with the twenty-second season of
Doctor Who, which was now a joint British-American production.
Comic Relief had its first biennial telethon in this year, hosted by actor Rowan Atkinson. It raised £15 million for charity, specifically to provide to Ethiopia. Its success would lead to the second telethon the following year, following which the telethon would happen every two years. [5]
The Eurovision Song Contest of 1988 was held in Dublin, Ireland, following the Irish victory the previous year. While relatively free of controversy, the scoring proved more tense than usual when both the United Kingdom and Switzerland scored 137 points, marking a tie break. Following the tie break rules of the time, the winner was to be decided by who had the most 12-point scores. Both the United Kingdom and Switzerland had received three, meaning that the tie had to be broken by which had received more 10-point scores. The UK received six, whereas Switzerland had only five, resulting in the United Kingdom, and their act Scott Fitzgerald with “Go” being declared victor. [6]
Despite this, Celine Dion, the Swiss entry, would go on to have a very successful career in English speaking nations, as before she had only been known in Francophone areas. [7]
1989
1989 saw the release of the third season of
Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the twenty-third of
Doctor Who.
Timothy Dalton’s second film as James Bond,
License to Kill, was released in July 1989, to mainly positive reviews. The original June release date would have seen it compete more with other blockbuster films, and the later premiere is generally seen as having saved the franchise. The darker themes continued, with the BBFC issuing it a 15 certificate. [8]
Red Nose Day 2, the second Comic Relief telethon was broadcast in March 1989, a slot that it retained in later years. Raising £27 million, the event was quickly becoming a staple of British life.
The Eurovision Song Contest of 1989 was one of the most interesting in its history. It saw the Soviet Union’s first entry to the competition, in the spirit of Gorbachev’s reforms. The initiative had been suggested by the Soviet Minister for Education in 1987, though it had been shot down at the time. When the idea was floated again, it was seen as a way to gain favour with the western nations. [9]
The 1989 contest also saw the third time that a host country won the competition. The contest was hosted in the Royal Festival Hall in London, and the winning entry was Live Report with “Why Do I Always Get It Wrong?” representing the United Kingdom. Commenting on the victory, host Terry Wogan quipped “I guess I’ll see you all back here next year!”. [10]
Arguably the most popular entry however was Dschinghis Khan, the West German entry. They had entered ten years prior with a song of the same name, splitting up briefly in the meantime. They came fourth with the song “Agincourt” a song following their pattern of historical events or persons. [11]
Once again, the contest would be marred by controversy as the French and Israeli entrants were disqualified shortly before airing. Both countries had submitted a performer or group containing a performer that was under sixteen years of age. Citing EBU regulations for the contest, the two were disqualified. This was done partially as a way of avoiding antagonism of the Belgian jury and public, whose winning entry had been disqualified in 1986 when it was discovered that the performer had been 13. Upon discovering the French and Israeli breach of the rules, the Swiss threatened to pull out, and the Dutch and Belgians threatened boycotts of future years. [12]
[1] Alright, the years on this may be a little spoilery, but the scope of this timeline is to the modern day, I'm not stopping at 2001.
[2] Dalton's films are seen as some of the better ones by today's standards, so I've shifted the "Craig Renaissance" back to Dalton. He'll be around for more than two films.
[3] The Eurovision of TTL is going to be a lot more interesting and dramatic. There were so many ways that they narrowly avoided controversy in OTL, and I think it makes the story a little more interesting.
[4] This nearly happened. The threat was actually made, just not acted on. With the more divisive nature of TTL's Eurovision, it actually happens.
[5] Red Nose Day will be a relatively common occurence in TTL, as will Children in Need. Doctor Who may interact a little bit down the line, as they did in OTL. Go watch "Curse of Fatal Death" on YeoTube if you haven't already. It was made for Comic Relief back in 1999, and brilliantly lampoons Classic Doctor Who.
[6] There was one point in this in OTL. Belgium, while not sending an entry, is still voting, as is common nowadays. The Netherlands give one point to the UK, giving them one of the most narrow victories possible.
[7] Although she's the runner up, it still gives her a great deal of exposure.
[8] Not his last outing in TTL. Bond stuff may get its own update in the future with how it's starting to deviate more.
[9] Nearly happened in 1987 of OTL as well. It was an interesting idea, so I though I'd use it.
[10] I may be a little biased towards my country of residence here. The UK came second in OTL, but the entry of the Soviet Union puts quite a few butterflies into the mix.
[11] I'd describe them as a guilty pleasure of mine, but there's nothing guilty about it. The reunion in 1986 sticks, and the original line-up is all back. I figured they'd go for something appropriately British here.
[12] The performers weren't disqualified in OTL, but with the harsher stance the EBU takes, it results in this. So while we get a Soviet performer, there's no French or Israeli performance. This helps Belgium smooth things over a little bit.