One thing I wanna say. After 1990's Oh, Mr. Toad, Cosgrove Hall's Wind in the Willows franchise kinda ended there. I think that Cosgrove Hall's adaptions can go further by using the sequels of William Horwood. It could work, if we can get Sir Michael Hordern, who played Badger, to live just a bit longer. Long enough to record lines for a feature length, big screen adaption of The Willows and Beyond.
A Hippie in the House of Mouse (Jim Henson at Disney, 1980)
- Thread starter Geekhis Khan
- Start date
- Status
Of course, that makes sense. I'd forgotten that was still underway.
The memory cheats, as a certain Doctor Who producer used to say. I could have sworn that I remembered a Cosgrove Hall version of The Willows in Winter, but nope; that was a sequel to the cel animation version with Alan Bennett and Rick Mayall.
BTW, Dallas wasn't just popular in Romania--when J.R.'s shooter (in the famous Who Shot JR? cliffhanger, which started cliffhangers in TV shows) was revealed, it caused a Turkish Parliament session to adjourn early so the members could find out who did it (it was Kristin, BTW)...
Suspects in J.R.'s shooting included, among others Tom Landry and Roger Staubach. Yes, the then-coach and former quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, respectively...
Suspects in J.R.'s shooting included, among others Tom Landry and Roger Staubach. Yes, the then-coach and former quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, respectively...
I'd be up for it! Though I'd want to first finish up everything I'm looking into in terms of Yugoslavia on a pop culture sense, especially as I could possibly run into something on the matter in my searching (for example, though the war might've impact it, OTL!1993's Black Blossom by Boban Knežević seems to be another work which implements not just Slavic myth, but Serbian literary tradition, to make a high fantasy work about violence begetting violence; though I can't find any English previews of it, the non-profit Project Rastko includes a Serbian preview alongside a whole slew of previews of 'fantastical' works [SF included] and articles of varying kinds).
Because, believe me everyone, going over film, television, music, animation, comics, to some degree puppetry, literature, etc, and seeing just the amount of things impacted by the 90s and what could or could not have been is staggering (and to some extent, inspiring)! And that's not even getting into the impact of folks within those industries in the west, i.e. how Mira Furlan's career in the West has been butterflied.
NOOOOOOO
We lost Delenn amidst the butterflies
......guess not even Babylon 5 is safe from the consequences of this timeline (as much I was hoping to keep it the same). Oh well.Hopefully we'll see her star in some Yugoslav media in exchange!
EDIT: I forgot she was in Lost too....
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The Nine Peahens sounds like a decent Renaissance-era pitch - and there's overlap with Stravinsky's version of The Firebird, which could get the Russians on board too.
Does anyone know who else auditioned for the role of Delenn? Is it possible she could still get cast ITTL while still in Yugoslavia?NOOOOOOO
We lost Delenn amidst the butterflies
Hopefully we'll see her star in some Yugoslav media in exchange!
EDIT: I forgot she was in Lost too....
On an unrelated noted is it possible for someone to transform The Silmarillion into an anthology cartoon series?
No, I haven't found anything on Babylon 5 Wiki, Wikipedia, or any other website that suggests that JMS looked for anyone else before casting Mira Furlan. Guess that means literally anyone could play her, assuming that we still get the same story changes (which I doubt).
One interesting change is that Delenn (or some other character) could be male, as was originally intended, while also being played by a female actor, only for him to transition to a female through the Chrysalis Device, thus creating one of the first examples of transgender representation in US television.
Delenn
Delenn of Mir was the Minbari ambassador to Babylon 5 and a founder of the Interstellar Alliance. In 2202, Delenn was born in the southern regions of Minbar into the family Mir, a member of the Tenth Fane of Elleya, a Religious Clan. As a small child, Delenn's father used to carry her on his...
babylon5.fandom.com
Delenn - Wikipedia
Alternatively, Delenn could be played by a male actor and just act as he was with Sheridan as OTL Delenn, creating a homosexual relationship between both characters. I personally find the former plan to be more compelling and more radical, and I definitely think Babylon 5 could do it if they were able to modulate her voice to appear more masculine with slightly better technology ITTL.
Having just found out it existed I hope the 1994 M.A.N.T.I.S Tv show still happens and lasts longer!
en.m.wikipedia.org
The premise would certainly work as a Marvel show…
First black Superhero lead on a TV show as well.
M.A.N.T.I.S. - Wikipedia
The premise would certainly work as a Marvel show…
First black Superhero lead on a TV show as well.
Best SITCOMs of 1990!
The Five Greatest SITCOMS of 1990
From Five Alive! Netsite, posted November 17th, 2017
As the ‘80s ended and the ‘90s began, the world was changing quickly. The year 1990 saw the rise of such watershed shows as Jerry and Salem Falls, but it also saw the rise of some more traditional ‘80s-style SITCOMS, like Wings and Family Matters. And yet even many of the sillier SITCOMS of the year had the seeds of what was to come. Take for example what we at Five Alive feel are The Five Greatest SITCOMS of 1990:
#5 – Cadets
(Image source “forums.lostmediawiki.com”)
Cadets follows 13-year-old Tyler McKay, an orphan whose troublemaking ways cause her foster parents to send her to the strict Appomattox Military Academy, where she becomes the first female cadet, much to the chagrin of the more conservative members. In 1988 Soleil Moon Fry, just finishing her run as the eponymous star of the popular Punky Brewster, was cast as Tyler in a TV pilot for Cadets alongside Richard Roundtree (the disciplinarian Sergeant Matt Gideon) and Jaleel White (the friendly rival Cadet Nicholls). The September ’88 pilot did well enough[1] that a tweaked second pilot was launched in the spring of 1989 to high regard. It eventually launched in the Spring of 1990. Lifted by Fry’s natural charm and the scene-stealing eccentricities of her sassy and awkward friend/rival Cadet Nichols, the show managed to ride a wave of pro-military fervor surrounding the Gulf War and the straight-from-the-headlines drama surrounding the attempted gender-integration of private military academies at the time to reach the Top 5. Lasting for six popular seasons, Cadets became iconic of the 1990s and spawned other “first girl in X” SITCOMS, none of which lived up to their inspiration. Today Cadets is a well-regarded SITCOM that addressed serious issues of gender equality in an entertaining way.
#4 – Molloy
(Image source “filmafinity.com”)
It was 1990 and Mayim Bialik was the most highly sought young actor in Hollywood following a star-making appearance as Bette Midler’s younger self in the Hollywood Pictures drama Beaches[2]. Several studios approached her, but it was veteran producer Lee Rich[3] who got her for Molloy. The story involves 11-year-old Molloy Martin (Bialik) who lives with her mother in New York while her father (divorced) lives in LA and visits on the weekend. When her mother suddenly dies, Molloy moves in with her father Paul (Kevin Scannell), his “hip and savvy” second wife of three years, Lynn Walker (Pamela Brull), and Molloy’s step siblings, the self-absorbed teenage Courtney (Jennifer Aniston) and precocious Jason (Luke Edwards). Molloy aired on PFN and, buoyed by great writing and a stellar cast, excelled, making a good five seasons. While Bialik largely retired from acting to pursue a Neuroscience degree with some voice acting on the side, Aniston would go on to achieve great things. Molloy is fondly remembered today as a smart, hip show lifted by Bialik’s wise-beyond-her-years screen presence and Aniston’s relatable neurosis.
#3 – Richie
Not this at all (Image source “imdb.com”)
In 1989 Don Reo, who was partnered with Witt/Thomas Productions on the failed Heartland, had an idea. Influenced by witnessing his “improbably hip” friend Dion DiMucci, the lead singer of Dion and the Belmonts, being the “coolest dad ever”, he devised an idea for a SITCOM based on such an idea. He then merged it with another idea he had for a wise-beyond-his-years, introspective teenage boy based on Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Thus, Richie was born. Witt/Thomas, who by this point had an established relationship with MGM TV, pitched the idea to Diana Birkenfield. Birkenfield, noting the superficial resemblance to the Marvel-owned property Richie Rich, consulted with Marvel President Jim Shooter. The idea soon evolved into a decidedly non-canonical Richie Rich TV series in all but name, but with the deconstructive concept being that main character Richard “Richie” Richmond (David Lascher) was a sarcastic, Gen-X Holden Caulfield who resented his privilege and made sure that the Fourth Wall was well aware of this (reportedly they were influenced by Ferris Bueller). He similarly resented his “too cool” hip jazz musician father Donn “Diamond” Richmond (Shadoe Stevens) and his precocious little sister Blossom (Jenna von Oÿ). They are impossibly wealthy thanks to Richie’s grandfather Richard A. Richmond, who created the Richie Rich comic along with Alfred Harvey and Warren Kremer (at least in this world). They took the idea to NBC, but Brandon Tartikoff was pushing for a female-centered series starring the highly-sought Mayim Bialik[4]. However, by this point Bialik had signed up for PFN’s Molloy, so Richie was greenlit, launching in the fall of ‘90. Richie was, like the competing Molloy, a series notably smarter than the average SITCOM of the time. It served as a subtle satire of the idle rich and a not-so-subtle stab at the privileged SITCOM family tropes of the ‘80s. Richie ran for six seasons and got some Emmy attention, but no statues. It would influence some of the similar fourth wall breaking SITCOMS of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
#2 – Yo Homes to Bel-Air
This, but with Jamie Foxx (Image source “imdb.com”)
In 1990 music manager Benny Medina and his business partner Jeff Pollack pitched an idea to Quincy Jones for a SITCOM based loosely upon Medina’s life as kid from East LA befriended by a wealthy family from Beverly Hills. Jones liked the idea and they took it to Brandon Tartikoff at NBC, who also liked the idea. The only question was who should play the lead role. After a brief search, they noticed the talented comedian Jamie Foxx, who was working the comedy clubs of LA at the time[5]. His combination of great comedic timing and amicable approachability made him the obvious choice for all involved. With a fresh Hip-Hop soundtrack and hip, street-smart vibe, the fish out of water story saw Jamie’s Ferdinand “Fox” Jameson as an inner-city young man from East LA who is sent by his aunt to live with his wealthy cousins in Bel-Air. With memorable supporting roles by James Avery as Philip Banks, Janet Hubert[6] as Vivian Banks, Karyn Parsons as Hilary Banks, and Alphonso Ribero as the nerdy breakout character Carlton Banks, along with Joseph Marcell as the butler Geoffrey, the show was an immediate hit, launching Foxx’s career in TV and film. It lasted a full 6 season before Foxx’s growing career eclipsed the show. Today it’s remembered as one of the first massively popular Black-led shows of the 1990s and a fresh change in Black representation from the Cosby-dominated 1980s.
#1 – Internal Combustion
Not this (Image source “commonsencemedia.com”)
In 1990 comedian Tim Allen came to the attention of MGM producer Bernie Brillstein. Impressed by both his stand-up act and his interesting life’s story as an ex-con trying to readapt to life after prison, Allen was recruited by Brillstein’s Hyperion TV. The ultimate result was Internal Combustion starring Tim Allen as ex-con Tim Stone, who is starting a garage and trying to turn his life around while on parole. Soon enough, he gets word that his ex-wife Helen has died in a traffic accident and he soon inherits guardianship of his estranged kids, who come to live with him. These include 15-year-old tomboy daughter Alex (Staci Keanan just finishing up My Two Dads), who loved him as a young girl and feels resentful, betrayed, and abandoned at his imprisonment, and sensitive and nerdy 10-year-old son Junior (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) who was born while Tim was in jail and hardly knows or thinks of him. To the conservative, traditional Allen, his grease-monkey daughter and sensitive, Broadway-loving son present as much of a challenge for him to adjust to as the usual trials and tribulations of raising kids as a single parent. Complicating things further is his ex-con status, as represented by his parole officer Marsha Dimes (recurring appearances by Marsha Warfield), and his struggles to run a small auto repair business in the face of nationwide chains, as represented by the wealthy Jimmy Swift, founder and CEO of the Swift Automotive chain (recurring appearances by John Goodman). With a combination of clever writing and a willingness to explore real world social issues, Internal Combustion was both a crowd and Emmy darling and launched Tim Allen’s and Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ careers.
So, what do you think? Are there any good 1990 SITCOMS that we missed? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to Like and Track! P-Sout!
[1] Never got picked up in our timeline. Different writers at NBC mean a slightly better showing. Note that with Jaleel White in a supporting role here, he’ll never make a guest appearance as Steve Urkel in Family Matters, which will never become “The Urkel Show” in all but name, and will thus be mostly remembered in this timeline as a good but unremarkable four-season Perfect Strangers spinoff.
[2] Based on a popular 1985 book, so its appearance around 1988 seems likely in this timeline, just as it seems likely that Eisner and Katzenberg will be the ones to greenlight it with their usual actors, including Bette Midler, so naturally Bialik is hired as “Midler as a kid” since there’s such a resemblance.
[3] In our timeline Bialik was simultaneously slated for two Pilots in 1990: Molloy and Blossom. Molloy took the initial lead, but died quickly at Fox where the studio producers dropped the ball (Here PFN is smarter thanks to Paramount’s extensive TV experience) so Blossom won out. But in this timeline Blossom is instead, well, see #3!
[4] He got his way in our timeline, leading to Blossom.
[5] In our timeline Medina ran into “Fresh Prince” Will Smith on the Arsenio Hall show, which Smith had been randomly urged to visit by his then girlfriend. Such a random event is hard to keep alive in the face of this many butterflies. We’ll hear from Smith later.
[6] No feud with Will Smith means no her getting fired and replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid in Season 4.
From Five Alive! Netsite, posted November 17th, 2017
As the ‘80s ended and the ‘90s began, the world was changing quickly. The year 1990 saw the rise of such watershed shows as Jerry and Salem Falls, but it also saw the rise of some more traditional ‘80s-style SITCOMS, like Wings and Family Matters. And yet even many of the sillier SITCOMS of the year had the seeds of what was to come. Take for example what we at Five Alive feel are The Five Greatest SITCOMS of 1990:
#5 – Cadets
(Image source “forums.lostmediawiki.com”)
Cadets follows 13-year-old Tyler McKay, an orphan whose troublemaking ways cause her foster parents to send her to the strict Appomattox Military Academy, where she becomes the first female cadet, much to the chagrin of the more conservative members. In 1988 Soleil Moon Fry, just finishing her run as the eponymous star of the popular Punky Brewster, was cast as Tyler in a TV pilot for Cadets alongside Richard Roundtree (the disciplinarian Sergeant Matt Gideon) and Jaleel White (the friendly rival Cadet Nicholls). The September ’88 pilot did well enough[1] that a tweaked second pilot was launched in the spring of 1989 to high regard. It eventually launched in the Spring of 1990. Lifted by Fry’s natural charm and the scene-stealing eccentricities of her sassy and awkward friend/rival Cadet Nichols, the show managed to ride a wave of pro-military fervor surrounding the Gulf War and the straight-from-the-headlines drama surrounding the attempted gender-integration of private military academies at the time to reach the Top 5. Lasting for six popular seasons, Cadets became iconic of the 1990s and spawned other “first girl in X” SITCOMS, none of which lived up to their inspiration. Today Cadets is a well-regarded SITCOM that addressed serious issues of gender equality in an entertaining way.
#4 – Molloy
(Image source “filmafinity.com”)
It was 1990 and Mayim Bialik was the most highly sought young actor in Hollywood following a star-making appearance as Bette Midler’s younger self in the Hollywood Pictures drama Beaches[2]. Several studios approached her, but it was veteran producer Lee Rich[3] who got her for Molloy. The story involves 11-year-old Molloy Martin (Bialik) who lives with her mother in New York while her father (divorced) lives in LA and visits on the weekend. When her mother suddenly dies, Molloy moves in with her father Paul (Kevin Scannell), his “hip and savvy” second wife of three years, Lynn Walker (Pamela Brull), and Molloy’s step siblings, the self-absorbed teenage Courtney (Jennifer Aniston) and precocious Jason (Luke Edwards). Molloy aired on PFN and, buoyed by great writing and a stellar cast, excelled, making a good five seasons. While Bialik largely retired from acting to pursue a Neuroscience degree with some voice acting on the side, Aniston would go on to achieve great things. Molloy is fondly remembered today as a smart, hip show lifted by Bialik’s wise-beyond-her-years screen presence and Aniston’s relatable neurosis.
#3 – Richie
Not this at all (Image source “imdb.com”)
In 1989 Don Reo, who was partnered with Witt/Thomas Productions on the failed Heartland, had an idea. Influenced by witnessing his “improbably hip” friend Dion DiMucci, the lead singer of Dion and the Belmonts, being the “coolest dad ever”, he devised an idea for a SITCOM based on such an idea. He then merged it with another idea he had for a wise-beyond-his-years, introspective teenage boy based on Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Thus, Richie was born. Witt/Thomas, who by this point had an established relationship with MGM TV, pitched the idea to Diana Birkenfield. Birkenfield, noting the superficial resemblance to the Marvel-owned property Richie Rich, consulted with Marvel President Jim Shooter. The idea soon evolved into a decidedly non-canonical Richie Rich TV series in all but name, but with the deconstructive concept being that main character Richard “Richie” Richmond (David Lascher) was a sarcastic, Gen-X Holden Caulfield who resented his privilege and made sure that the Fourth Wall was well aware of this (reportedly they were influenced by Ferris Bueller). He similarly resented his “too cool” hip jazz musician father Donn “Diamond” Richmond (Shadoe Stevens) and his precocious little sister Blossom (Jenna von Oÿ). They are impossibly wealthy thanks to Richie’s grandfather Richard A. Richmond, who created the Richie Rich comic along with Alfred Harvey and Warren Kremer (at least in this world). They took the idea to NBC, but Brandon Tartikoff was pushing for a female-centered series starring the highly-sought Mayim Bialik[4]. However, by this point Bialik had signed up for PFN’s Molloy, so Richie was greenlit, launching in the fall of ‘90. Richie was, like the competing Molloy, a series notably smarter than the average SITCOM of the time. It served as a subtle satire of the idle rich and a not-so-subtle stab at the privileged SITCOM family tropes of the ‘80s. Richie ran for six seasons and got some Emmy attention, but no statues. It would influence some of the similar fourth wall breaking SITCOMS of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
#2 – Yo Homes to Bel-Air
This, but with Jamie Foxx (Image source “imdb.com”)
In 1990 music manager Benny Medina and his business partner Jeff Pollack pitched an idea to Quincy Jones for a SITCOM based loosely upon Medina’s life as kid from East LA befriended by a wealthy family from Beverly Hills. Jones liked the idea and they took it to Brandon Tartikoff at NBC, who also liked the idea. The only question was who should play the lead role. After a brief search, they noticed the talented comedian Jamie Foxx, who was working the comedy clubs of LA at the time[5]. His combination of great comedic timing and amicable approachability made him the obvious choice for all involved. With a fresh Hip-Hop soundtrack and hip, street-smart vibe, the fish out of water story saw Jamie’s Ferdinand “Fox” Jameson as an inner-city young man from East LA who is sent by his aunt to live with his wealthy cousins in Bel-Air. With memorable supporting roles by James Avery as Philip Banks, Janet Hubert[6] as Vivian Banks, Karyn Parsons as Hilary Banks, and Alphonso Ribero as the nerdy breakout character Carlton Banks, along with Joseph Marcell as the butler Geoffrey, the show was an immediate hit, launching Foxx’s career in TV and film. It lasted a full 6 season before Foxx’s growing career eclipsed the show. Today it’s remembered as one of the first massively popular Black-led shows of the 1990s and a fresh change in Black representation from the Cosby-dominated 1980s.
#1 – Internal Combustion
Not this (Image source “commonsencemedia.com”)
In 1990 comedian Tim Allen came to the attention of MGM producer Bernie Brillstein. Impressed by both his stand-up act and his interesting life’s story as an ex-con trying to readapt to life after prison, Allen was recruited by Brillstein’s Hyperion TV. The ultimate result was Internal Combustion starring Tim Allen as ex-con Tim Stone, who is starting a garage and trying to turn his life around while on parole. Soon enough, he gets word that his ex-wife Helen has died in a traffic accident and he soon inherits guardianship of his estranged kids, who come to live with him. These include 15-year-old tomboy daughter Alex (Staci Keanan just finishing up My Two Dads), who loved him as a young girl and feels resentful, betrayed, and abandoned at his imprisonment, and sensitive and nerdy 10-year-old son Junior (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) who was born while Tim was in jail and hardly knows or thinks of him. To the conservative, traditional Allen, his grease-monkey daughter and sensitive, Broadway-loving son present as much of a challenge for him to adjust to as the usual trials and tribulations of raising kids as a single parent. Complicating things further is his ex-con status, as represented by his parole officer Marsha Dimes (recurring appearances by Marsha Warfield), and his struggles to run a small auto repair business in the face of nationwide chains, as represented by the wealthy Jimmy Swift, founder and CEO of the Swift Automotive chain (recurring appearances by John Goodman). With a combination of clever writing and a willingness to explore real world social issues, Internal Combustion was both a crowd and Emmy darling and launched Tim Allen’s and Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ careers.
So, what do you think? Are there any good 1990 SITCOMS that we missed? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to Like and Track! P-Sout!
[1] Never got picked up in our timeline. Different writers at NBC mean a slightly better showing. Note that with Jaleel White in a supporting role here, he’ll never make a guest appearance as Steve Urkel in Family Matters, which will never become “The Urkel Show” in all but name, and will thus be mostly remembered in this timeline as a good but unremarkable four-season Perfect Strangers spinoff.
[2] Based on a popular 1985 book, so its appearance around 1988 seems likely in this timeline, just as it seems likely that Eisner and Katzenberg will be the ones to greenlight it with their usual actors, including Bette Midler, so naturally Bialik is hired as “Midler as a kid” since there’s such a resemblance.
[3] In our timeline Bialik was simultaneously slated for two Pilots in 1990: Molloy and Blossom. Molloy took the initial lead, but died quickly at Fox where the studio producers dropped the ball (Here PFN is smarter thanks to Paramount’s extensive TV experience) so Blossom won out. But in this timeline Blossom is instead, well, see #3!
[4] He got his way in our timeline, leading to Blossom.
[5] In our timeline Medina ran into “Fresh Prince” Will Smith on the Arsenio Hall show, which Smith had been randomly urged to visit by his then girlfriend. Such a random event is hard to keep alive in the face of this many butterflies. We’ll hear from Smith later.
[6] No feud with Will Smith means no her getting fired and replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid in Season 4.
Wonder how Cadets dealt with time of it lasted 6 seasons? Did it allow Tyler to graduate and follow her career or did it do that thing where time never passes really and she only graduates in the final show?
Molloy sounds like an Sat afternoon ITV show to me. Probably ITTL me never saw it.
Richie sounds kinda fun. Not sure if I’d have watched it, but might have caught bits. Sounds like a Channel 4 show in the UK.
Fresh Prince but with Jamie Foxx? I didn’t watch the orginal so I don’t see that changing ITTL.
Hope Will Smith is doing ok!
Internal Combustion- now this sounds like a show I’d watch ITTL. It’s kinda got an ‘Everyman’ vibe to it the ‘rich kids’ shows do not and I like that kinda thing.
Molloy sounds like an Sat afternoon ITV show to me. Probably ITTL me never saw it.
Richie sounds kinda fun. Not sure if I’d have watched it, but might have caught bits. Sounds like a Channel 4 show in the UK.
Fresh Prince but with Jamie Foxx? I didn’t watch the orginal so I don’t see that changing ITTL.
Hope Will Smith is doing ok!
Internal Combustion- now this sounds like a show I’d watch ITTL. It’s kinda got an ‘Everyman’ vibe to it the ‘rich kids’ shows do not and I like that kinda thing.
Points of order:
A) I like how, immediately after having Yugoslavia hold together for the time being, you have Urkel get butterflied. This timeline is the gift that keeps on giving.
B) Boy, I hope Will Smith still does alright ITTL given how Jamie Foxx is the Fresh Prince...
C) I 100% wish Internal Combustion was real. I liked Home Improvement, but this show sounds like it has more teeth.
A) I like how, immediately after having Yugoslavia hold together for the time being, you have Urkel get butterflied. This timeline is the gift that keeps on giving.
B) Boy, I hope Will Smith still does alright ITTL given how Jamie Foxx is the Fresh Prince...
C) I 100% wish Internal Combustion was real. I liked Home Improvement, but this show sounds like it has more teeth.
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In-Universe:
"There is Dragonriders. No, not the cartoon spinoff, its parent (in more ways then one) NBC SITCOM about the trials and tribulations of producing a very 80's Saturday morning cartoon, doing for cartoons what WKRP did for radio, much like Just Duckie (even referencing each other and crossing over once). Whether its Mark Metcalf as the down to earth yet deadpan script doctor Charlie Flick, Joanna Kerns as voice director and occasional voice actor, its got plenty of nuance and laughs concerning a frank look at the industry, and even helped spurn change in it."
Out of universe:
(Remember that idea I pitched, @Geekhis Khan ?)
Any universe without Steve Urkel is always a good thing. NGL, I wouldn't watch Cadets, but I would catch Rich, Bel Air, and Internal Combustion.
"and spawned other “first girl in X” SITCOMS, none of which lived up to their inspiration"
I wonder what those could be?
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I was more into Jaleel White’s work voicing Sonic than I was with Urkel anyway.
Think Sonic (if he even is in ITTL) will be voiced by someone else without Jaleel getting Urkel's prominence?
Considering the name of the show I imagine the later.
I imagine we still get Steve Urkel but just as a one shot guess star character.
Not necessarily, Jaleel's time on Cadets might be good enough that he still gets Sonic.
Cadets went on for 6 seasons, no? Yeah, I think Jaleel would be popular enough to get roles like Sonic once his career takes off. I'd probably prefer his ITTL career compared to him being Urkel all the time.
Hooray for less typecasting, I guess!
Not gonna lie, these types of shows definitely aren't for me, but butterflying Urkel is always a positive thing. Cadets sounds like a more interesting show than Family Matters, anyways.
Jamie Foxx being the Fresh Prince does sound a bit off....but probably not a showbreaking casting choice, though I'd miss Will Smith as one of his titular characters. Hopefully there's some other films/shows where he can gain similar popularity for the 90s.
Can't wait to see more of the changes in 90s media...things are starting to get pretty interesting around here.
- Status