A thread dealing with assistance for my upcoming timeline

Hi! I'm planning to do my first timeline (I started one earlier, but it didn't do so well, I got distracted, and I gave the PoD to others to use. Meanwhile, I've come up with a different TL, one which will go into popular culture and politics (and you won't believe the PoD for this!).
I will have a few questions, starting with politics:
-How early would someone need to campaign to beat Obama for the Democratic nod?
-Do the Republicans have any prominent (as of 2008) Hispanic females born in the USA?
-How well is Peter DeLuise's work writing and directing for Stargate (and its spinoffs) regarded?
-Are US films routinely redubbed into Spanish for the Latin American market? Are they reshot as well at times?
-Has the BBC considered selling Doctor Who or its spinoffs to a US broadcast network?

Yes, all these are connected to the story- with more to come!
 

Thande

Donor
-Has the BBC considered selling Doctor Who or its spinoffs to a US broadcast network?

Absolutely not. It would be like selling off the Church of England. The absolute most is that they would let an American studio make its own localised version of something like Torchwood and even then they would either have to abide by BBC editorial demands or declare it's not the same continuity.
 
Absolutely not. It would be like selling off the Church of England. The absolute most is that they would let an American studio make its own localised version of something like Torchwood and even then they would either have to abide by BBC editorial demands or declare it's not the same continuity.
I should have phrased it more clearly. The BBC wouldn't be selling the show itself- more like the BBC would be the one making it, while the American network would broadcast it. As of now, the Doctor's stuck on BBC America since the BBC loves it and SYFY neglected it. The same goes for Torchwood. However, ITTL there may be two spinoffs in a place you might not expect...
(It should be noted that the BBC would be glad to allow another network to fund it, like the CBC did. I'm not sure if the network would be funding a bit more in exchange for a few episodes set or filmed in the US...)
 

Thande

Donor
I should have phrased it more clearly. The BBC wouldn't be selling the show itself- more like the BBC would be the one making it, while the American network would broadcast it. As of now, the Doctor's stuck on BBC America since the BBC loves it and SYFY neglected it. The same goes for Torchwood. However, ITTL there may be two spinoffs in a place you might not expect...
(It should be noted that the BBC would be glad to allow another network to fund it, like the CBC did. I'm not sure if the network would be funding a bit more in exchange for a few episodes set or filmed in the US...)

Ah, well that's more plausible. I would like to say that the Beeb wouldn't let the Americans chainsaw it to cram adverts in, but then they do for everything else such as Top Gear.

But American networks these days basically seem determined to grease the slope of decline for broadcast TV as much as possible by refusing to show anything that has a vocal fanbase.
 
Can't find any American-born Republican Hispanic women prominent in '08. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is a Cuban-born Republican who's reasonably significant on the Congressional level. Linda Chavez could've been prominent (being a Cabinet member and perhaps running for governor or Senate during her term), had her nomination not been torpedoed.

Ros-Lehtinen was on my list- then I found out she was born in Cuba. The same applies for an anonymous Republican who will play a key role in some posts. Chavez could be a good choice- hey, it's not like Palin was squeaky clean! (Palin will get pushed out quickly in my TL...)

More questions:
-If Clinton won't be Sec State (and she won't ITTL), who would be a good choice? Biden? (Lots of baggage- but Clinton had that too...) Kerry? (Repayment for 2004?)
-Who are some prominent Hispanic Republicans? (Besides the aforementioned ones and George P. Bush...)
-Would Hector Elizondo or Edward James Olmos make a better stage magician? (Any other Hispanic or Italian males you would suggest?)


Now a bigger question or two: Should you insert yourself in a wish fulfillment timeline? Should a timeline involving contemporary people be in post-1900 or ASB? Should one include minor characters based on real people if the depiction is negative (as in I disagree with them) but not libelous?
 
Ah, well that's more plausible. I would like to say that the Beeb wouldn't let the Americans chainsaw it to cram adverts in, but then they do for everything else such as Top Gear.

But American networks these days basically seem determined to grease the slope of decline for broadcast TV as much as possible by refusing to show anything that has a vocal fanbase.
Well, the spinoffs would be broadcast on cable- and get high ratings, in part from grown-up Whovians. The cable channel has a broadcast network as part of the conglomerate they are in. And they would be willing to have a fanbase...0
 
More questions

Biden would probably be one of the best Dem picks for SecState - he was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for quite a while, and was generally well-respected in Democratic foreign policy circles. Brent Scowcroft could also be tapped for SecState or National Security Advisor; he had drifted towards the Dems during the George W. Bush years.
***
Some prominent Hispanic Republicans:
There's the Diaz-Balarts, both Cuban-born, both long-time members of the House of Representatives.

There's Alberto Gonzalez, Bush's White House Counsel and later his Attorney General.

There's Mel Martinez, RNC chair from '06 to '07, Secretary of HUD under Bush, and Senator for Florida starting in 2005.
 
I should have phrased it more clearly. The BBC wouldn't be selling the show itself- more like the BBC would be the one making it, while the American network would broadcast it.

Several PBS stations did exactly that around the 1960s-1980s - broadcasting Doctor Who (the original, not the revived series). For a POD for this regarding the revived series, you would need to have WGBH-TV on board as well as CBC/Radio-Canada. (Which means I could theoretically watch it with ease, as WGBH's signal reaches Rhode Island.)
 
Chavez has the lead for me unless someone can prove otherwise. However, Gonzales may try and get into politics...thanks for the idea!
Biden won't be SecState for personal reasons (He was one reason why I lost any chance of voting for Obama),and given his gaffe nature, he'd be off the list. Clinton would be out as well, both due to my dislike of her, a need for a Female Republican on the ticket, and her dislike for the Presidential nominee snubbing her earlier. (It does sort of reflect an IRL incident...) I'm leaning Sec State Kerry.
While my story plans only involve the US conglomerate airing one specific set of BBC (and BBC-inspired) shows for starters on a cable channel (to name them would spoil some of the surprise...), I think that the media conglomerate might look to the BBC for ideas, given how British culture is seeping in in various ways.

A few more questions:
-Who might be some good actors you think are underappreciated that you think should be in a supporting cast role for various shows? (Bonus points for Hispanic ones!)
-Who was/would be good picks to replace Bruce Campbell on "Burn Notice" or Linda Hunt on "NCIS:Los Angeles"? (Don't be afraid to suggest someone entirely different from them personality-wise!)
-How is WB's marketing capability compared to, say Disney?
-Are fishnets still in style?
 
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While my story plans only involve the US conglomerate airing one specific set of BBC (and BBC-inspired) shows for starters on a cable channel (to name them would spoil some of the surprise...), I think that the media conglomerate might look to the BBC for ideas, given how British culture is seeping in in various ways.

Still, I'd suggest WGBH-TV (or the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council, in general, of which the WGBH Educational Foundation is only a part of) in Boston for airing Doctor Who and other BBC/ITV shows (Channel 4 seems to be more of a WNET-TV thing). If you want it cable-only, there's Discovery Communications, which I believe is part-owned by the BBC. I'd rather not have it through a media conglomerate, thank you very much.

-Are fishnets still in style?

Absolutely not. Fishnets are for prostitutes.
 
A bit of clarification:
The two Doctor who spinoffs will be run on a conglomerate. However, the shows aren't likely to change as a result. It should also be noted that this conglomerate will put a small amount of publicity for these shows into it- which will be FAR more than one of the shows got IRL when aired on a different media conglomerate. (I won't spoil the surprise...)

I appreciate all the help, though many questions I ask tend not to be answered since I may be one of the few who asks them. I would like someone letting me know where I should put my thread- in post 1900 or in ASB? (It could be considered ASB since there's no direct causal connection between the cultural changes and the political changes.)
 
Bumping to see if anyone will answer my unanswered questions.
(I may as well reveal the surprise. The original PoD is the 2005-written Zatanna film getting produced and distributed. I have an actress picked. Indirectly, thanks to her a number of changes will result. (Ironically, she was picked in part because she's part Italian...))
 
Bumping to see if anyone will answer my unanswered questions.
(I may as well reveal the surprise. The original PoD is the 2005-written Zatanna film getting produced and distributed. I have an actress picked. Indirectly, thanks to her a number of changes will result. (Ironically, she was picked in part because she's part Italian...))

Which questions have been left unanswered? :confused:
 
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