Hail, Britannia

[LeinadB93]

So to tide you all over whilst I get my house in order, I give you a bit of popular culture in the form of "the British Empire's favourite alien" - Doctor Who.

This is all the amazing work of @TPL99, with a few amendments/additions from myself. Enjoy

Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television show produced by the BBC since 1963. The show depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called "the Doctor", an extraterrestrial being from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS, and, accompanied by a vast number of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes, while working to save civilisations, planets, and entire alien races as well as helping people in need.

The show is a significant part of British popular culture, and elsewhere it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series across the Empire, from Alaska to New Zealand. The “classic” version of the show originally ran from November 1963 to December 1989. There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in May 1996 with a backdoor pilot movie, in the form of a television story titled “Doctor Who: The Enemy Within”, with the Doctor played by Alec Baldwin.

The “new” version of Doctor Who was relaunched in March 2005, and since then has been produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff and BBC New England in Worcester. Doctor Who has also spawned numerous spin-offs, including comic books, films, novels, audio dramas, and the television series Torchwood (2006–2014), The Sorcha Sìne Adventures (2007–2012), K-9 (2009–2011), and Class (2016–present), and has been the subject of many parodies and references in popular culture.

For the eleventh series of the “new” version of Doctor Who, set to air in 2018, the BBC announced that Colm Meaney, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill will join the show as the new companions of the Thirteenth Doctor. The Doctor is currently portrayed by English actress Jodie Whittaker, who took on the role after Tim DeKay's exit in the 2017 Christmas Special "Twice Upon A Time".

The Doctor, known simply as “Doctor”, “Dr. Who” or “Doctor Who”, is the pseudonym assumed by a centuries-old alien — a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey — who travels through space and time, frequently with his companions, in his dimensionally transcendental – "bigger on the inside" – time machine: the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space) which takes on the exterior form of a 1963 police telephone call box, and retains the appearance throughout the show.

Since the show's first episode in 1963, the character has been portrayed by twelve lead actors. The transition to each succeeding actor is explained within the show's narrative through the plot device of "regeneration", a biological function of Time Lords that allows a great change of appearance and cellular structure to recover following a potentially lethal injury. The outgoing Doctor is the Twelfth Doctor, played by Tim DeKay, who succeeded Chris Hemsworth in the role in the 2013 Christmas special "The Time of the Doctor". “The Doctor” has been generally received by the public, with anenduring popularity leading The Daily Telegraph to dub the character "the Empire’s favourite alien". On 1 February 2017, DeKay announced that the tenth series would be his last and on 16 July 2017 Jodie Whittaker was announced as Thirteenth Doctor, becoming the character at “Twice Upon a Time” at Christmas 2017.

The recasting of actors playing the part of the Doctor is explained within the show by the Time Lords' ability to regenerate after suffering illness, mortal injury or old age. The process repairs all damage and rejuvenates the Doctor's body, but as a side effect it changes the physical appearance and personality. This ability was not introduced until producers had to find a way to replace the ailing William Hartnell with Patrick Troughton and was not explicitly called "regeneration" until Vincent Price’s transformation to Leslie Nielsen at the climax of Planet of the Spiders (1974). On screen, the transformation from Hartnell to Troughton was called a "renewal" and from Troughton to Price a "change of appearance".

The regeneration’s original concept was that the Doctor's body would rebuild itself in a younger and healthier form, as the Second Doctor was intended to be a literally younger version of the First Doctor. Biological time would turn back, and several hundred years would get taken off the Doctor's age, rejuvenating him. In practice, however, since the Second Doctor stated his age in the serial "The Tomb of the Cybermen" (1967), his age has been recorded progressively by the ages of another Doctors. In eight out of thirteen transitions, the new actor was younger than their predecessor had been when they began the role. In the revived show, the pattern is resumed with the transition of the Ninth to the Tenth and the Tenth to the Eleventh Doctor, although Steaphan Moffàidh is on record stating the intention was to cast an actor in his mid-30s to 40s for the role of the Eleventh Doctor, despite casting Chris Hemsworth, who is the youngest actor to ever have played the role.

Different actors have used different regional accents in the role. The first two Doctors spoke in Received Pronunciation or "BBC English", as was standard on British television at the time. Vincent Price managed the use of his Missourian accent during all five seasons, being the first British American actor to use it. Leslie Nielsen tried to follow a different take on his Canadian accent, sometimes mixing with an English accent to become a strong feature of his Doctor. Geoffrey Rush and Tom Selleck, respectively, used their strong Australian and Ohioan accents, the latter with some inflections to the French or Gaelic sometimes. Sylvester McCoy and David Tennant both used a very mild version of their own Scottish accents in the role, and Alec Baldwin spoke with a classic Columbian lilt accent. Only rarely is this even addressed in the show, however when the accent of Jackie Chan's Doctor is clearly described as "Kongese", he responds with the line "lots of planets have city-states". Chris Hemsworth tried to escape from “Rush’s notorious accent” and applied a more “palatable” English for the public of the entire Empire. Tim DeKay's portrayal of the Doctor explicitly identified his own accent as "Columbian" after commenting on the English accents of his friends, Jenny Flint and Clarice Oswald, while experiencing post-regeneration trauma in Deep Breath (2014).

Harrison Ford's version of the Doctor was created retroactively as a previously unseen incarnation known as the "War Doctor", who existed outside of the regular numbering system. Ford's character first appears in the series seven finale, "The Name of the Doctor", as a shadowy figure within the Doctor's timeline, playing opposite the Eleventh Doctor (Chris Hemsworth). The origins of the War Doctor are given in the mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor", where the Eighth Doctor (Alec Baldwin) chooses to regenerate into a warrior to fight in the Time War. Digitally restored footage of Ford from Star Wars was used to make the actor appear younger. The only full appearance of Harrison Ford as the War Doctor was in the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" where he appears alongside the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors (Jackie Chan, David Tennant and Chris Hemsworth respectively). The reception of Ford's version of the Doctor was generally positive.

 

[Wayside]

First James Toler, and now the Twelfth Doctor? Tim DeKay really gets around on this site.

Seriously, though, I love everything about this update!

 

[puerto-nic0]

The best part of this is that Class hasn't been cancelled.

 

[Zharques]

Oh man. What a sight to behold that 50th special would be. Jackie Chan, David Tennant, Chris Hemsworth AND Harrison Ford?

 

[Damian0358]

As much as I am astounded by the Doctors of this timeline, it just begs the question of what happened to the careers of those that weren't picked TTL.

While for some, such as Davison, Colin, McGann, Hurt and hopefully Capaldi, I can assume that their careers worked out (even if the former two end up mainly in dramas, and also sitcoms for Davison [even though it's a shame we lost the gag of a Doctor marrying a Doctor's daughter]), while for the rest - I can only hope Pertwee found the role that had him "play Jon Pertwee," Eccleston achieved a good career in dramas, and Tom had a successful career in spite of his not gaining his most famous role, same with Smith.

 

[Excelsior]

Very cool choices, but we lost my favorite, Capaldi, as well as Tom Baker and Matt Smith. But the American actors and Leslie Nielsen, those are fantastic. It's a shame the show still went on hiatus.

 

[Pokemon Master]

Maybe Eccleston could be James Bond ITTL?

 

[Lost the game]

By a "Columbian" accent do you mean the sort of FDR-style Mid-Atlantic accent that died out IOTL?

 

[Pokemon Master]

By a "Columbian" accent do you mean the sort of FDR-style Mid-Atlantic accent that died out IOTL?

I think it refers to the standard Mid-Atlantic accent of the United States OTL.

 

[LeinadB93]

As much as I am astounded by the Doctors of this timeline, it just begs the question of what happened to the careers of those that weren't picked TTL.

While for some, such as Davison, Colin, McGann, Hurt and hopefully Capaldi, I can assume that their careers worked out (even if the former two end up mainly in dramas, and also sitcoms for Davison [even though it's a shame we lost the gag of a Doctor marrying a Doctor's daughter]), while for the rest - I can only hope Pertwee found the role that had him "play Jon Pertwee," Eccleston achieved a good career in dramas, and Tom had a successful career in spite of his not gaining his most famous role, same with Smith.

My assumption would be that they all did okay There's a lot of knock on effects from Britain-American being the same country as we are more likely to see actors crossing between shows that IOTL were exclusive to either country. Capaldi actually has a more prominent role ITTL The Thick of It.

Very cool choices, but we lost my favorite, Capaldi, as well as Tom Baker and Matt Smith. But the American actors and Leslie Nielsen, those are fantastic. It's a shame the show still went on hiatus.

Glad you liked it. As I said it was all @TPL99's work

Maybe Eccleston could be James Bond ITTL?

Hmm... Not sure if he would fit the bill.

By a "Columbian" accent do you mean the sort of FDR-style Mid-Atlantic accent that died out IOTL?

I think it refers to the standard Mid-Atlantic accent of the United States OTL.

Yes a Columbian accent is effectively the OTL accent of the Mid-Atlantic states, i.e. Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.

The FDR-style Mid-Atlantic accent is something I addressed earlier, as it is the "standard accent" of the present day for the middle classes. Accents are a difficult one, so I'm assuming each dominion (and regions within them) have their own accent, but BBC English (aka Queen's English) and Mid-Atlantic are two mainstream/stereotypical accents, which are used most often.

 

[CanadianTory]

Eccleston always struck me as someone who could be an awesome Bond villain

 

[LeinadB93]

Here are the next lot of requested constituencies; Beverwijck—Rensselaer for @Stuyvesant, North Wales for @Analytical Engine, and Okeechobee—Everglades Norte for @JwEX.

I struggled a bit with Beverwijck and Okeechobee, as the differing demographics to OTL have affected the choice of MIPs, so I had to use a few fictional people. Hope you enjoy them

Beverwijck—Rensselaer is a borough constituency of the British Imperial Parliament, that elects one Member of the Imperial Parliament (MIP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency is located in the Dutch-speaking province of Nassouwen, part of the Commonwealth of Columbia. The constituency is located in the northeast of the province, surrounding the capital Beverwijck and stretching along the Hudson River to cover the major cities of Rensselaer and Saratoga, the latter with its large Anglophone population.

Created in 1973, as part of the reorganisation of constituencies following the adoption of MMP, Beverwijck—Rensselaer was formed through the merger of the borough constituency of Beverwijck, and the county constituencies of Rensselaer—Hudson and Saratoga—Northern Nassouwen. The first MIP was Erastus Corning, who had represented Beverwijck since 1946, and was elected in a landslide every election until his death in 1983, a testament to the strength of the Liberal political machine in Beverwijck and Nassouwen. The 1983 by-election saw the Mayor of Beverwijck, Thomas Whalen, briefly succeed him until his own defeat in 1984 in the "Blue Wave", which saw the final collapse of the urban political machine. David Kelderman, a member of the Nassouwen House of Representatives, took the seat at the 1984 election for the Conservatives, in what was widely considered an upset at the time, and held it with solid majorities in 1988 and 1993. Kelderman would serve as Home Secretary under George H. W. Bush from 1990 to 1993, but his defeat in 1993 gave rise to the phenomenon of a "Kelderman moment".

The 1993 election saw the collapse of the Conservative vote, and Pieter Bernhardt, a former member of the Columbian House of Commons, successfully contested the seat for the Social Democrats. Four years later, in 1997, Jacolien Menneken would unseat Bernhardt in a narrow victory for the Alliance of Regions, attributed to the rise in support in Nassouwen politics for increased "states' rights". She has held the seat since then, with substantial majorities, although in 2015 she saw her majority slashed when she narrowly beat a Liberal challenger by only 12,000 votes.

North Wales is a county constituency of the British Imperial Parliament, that elects one Member of the Imperial Parliament (MIP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency is located in the northern part of the Principality of Wales, and covers most of the preserved counties of Gwynedd, Clywd and northern Powys, as well as the Isle of Anglesey. Wrexham is the largest settlement in the area, followed by the towns of the Colwyn Bay area. North Wales was formed in 1973 by the merger of the three northern Welsh constituencies: Wrexham and Clywd West, Conwy and Gwynedd, and Slywd South and Powys.

The first MIP was the Social Democrat Tom Ellis, who had previously represented Wrexham and Clywd East. With the fall of the Castle government in 1976, Ellis was succeeded by Martin Thomas of the Liberals, a member of the Welsh National Assembly, who went on to serve on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee before being defeated in the "Blue Wave" of 1984. He was succeeded by Robert Harvey, another former member of the Welsh legislature, who's tenure would be short lived as dissatisfaction with the Thatcher government in North Wales grew. This would manifest as a decline in support for the mainstream parties, and in 1988 Plaid Cymru candidate Dafydd Wigley unseated Harvey to take the constituency for the Alliance of Regions. Wigley held the seat until his retirement at the 2001 election to take up one of the Welsh seats in the Imperial Council of Lords, and he was succeeded by Hywell Williams, also representing the Alliance of Regions. Williams would hold the seat until 2005 when, as part of an Empire-wide trend, he was unseated by Albert Owen of the Social Democrats, another former Welsh Assembly Member, who has held the seat ever since. Owen has served on the Dominion Affairs Select Committee since 2010.

Okeechobee—Everglades Norte is a county constituency of the British Imperial Parliament, that elects one Member of the Imperial Parliament (MIP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency is located in South Florida, mainly along the east coast of Lake Okeechobee and the northern part of the Everglades. The region is notable for its large Seminole-descended population, who dominated the constituency politically prior to the 2000s. Since then, the growing Hispanic population has begun to displace the previous dominance of the traditional Seminole system.

The constituency was created in 1973 by the merger of the Okeechobee—Port Mayaca and Belle Glade—Everglades, as well as parts of the suburban Miami constituencies. Demographically it is dominated by mixed Seminole-Hispanics, who reside predominantly along the shores of Lake Okeechobee, but the growth of the Greater Miami Area westwards is altering the demographic makeup of the area. The first MIP of the new constituency was Billy Osceola, the local Seminole chief, who had represented parts of the area since 1959. His sudden death a year later led to a by-election that was won by Betty Mae Tiger Jumper of the Social Democrats, a nurse and the first Florida Seminole to read and write Spanish. She was a prominent member of the Imperial Parliament, and was briefly suggested as a potential successor to Barbara Castle as party leader. Tiger held the seat until her retirement at the 1988 election, when she was succeeded by Jim Billie of the Conservatives. Billie, a former soldier in the British Army and mixed race Anglo-Seminole, would hold the seat until 1993, and served on the Aboriginal Affairs Select Committee.

Billie was defeated for re-election at the 1993 imperial election by Louise Gopher of the Liberals. Gopher, the first Seminole to graduate from university, was an educator and activist within the Seminole community and was appointed as the Secretary of State for Education in the Tsongas and Gephardt governments. Upon her retirement from the Imperial Parliament in 2005, the changing demographics of the area took effect, as the election to replace her saw Javier Tejada of the Alliance of Regions, a former member of the Florida legislature, defeat the Liberal candidate by a margin and 2 to 1. Tejada, a regionalist rather than nationalist, has held the seat since then, and has worked hard to represent both his Hispanic and Seminole constituents.

 

[Analytical Engine]

Huzzah!

 

[Damian0358]

My assumption would be that they all did okay There's a lot of knock on effects from Britain-America being the same country as we are more likely to see actors crossing between shows that IOTL were exclusive to either country. Capaldi actually has a more prominent role ITTL The Thick of It.

That's grand! Good to hear Capaldi's gotten more prominent even here.

Eccleston always struck me as someone who could be an awesome Bond villain

Honestly, after a fruitful career in television and film TTL (which I would imagine would include his filmography prior to his OTL role as the Doctor), that would be an absolutely fitting role for him!

Perhaps Tom Baker finds luck in America then, after his role as Koura in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (assuming Harryhausen's film still exists TTL). If we wanted to be cheeky, perhaps he ends up with a TV role that hearkens to his OTL role as the 4th Doctor, with all of his trademarks, before becoming a popular actor in both television and film.

Matt Smith OTL had previously played a role in the series Party Animals, so it isn't hard to imagine him still remaining an actor in dramas, perhaps dabbling in more comedic roles akin to his OTL role as the 11th Doctor; perhaps a British sitcom?

The only one that's still left uncertain is Jon Pertwee then, and that's mainly down to my unfamiliarity with the BBC's programming in the late 60s and early 70s, or at the very least I can't imagine. The Head of Drama at the BBC advised Pertwee to "play Jon Pertwee" when acting as the 3rd Doctor, which helped him work out exactly who he really was when not playing any comedic roles, and thus it would only be fitting for him to still receive such a role TTL. Perhaps he ends up receiving such a role in America?

 

[Baconheimer]

I wouldn't mind seeing what's going on in Alexandria/Arlington, Virginia.

 

[Ranad]

snip

Wow

What about the Iberian Peninsula?

 

[JwEX]

Okeechobee—Everglades Norte

This is great, thank you!

 

[finnz]

Wow this update
Hopefully it's not too much to ask but if you could would you be able to add on the constituency that Auckland, NZ is in onto your list, I'm really interested at how it's looking in this TL.
I get so excited every time I get the notification that you've updated

 

[LeinadB93]

Honestly, after a fruitful career in television and film TTL (which I would imagine would include his filmography prior to his OTL role as the Doctor), that would be an absolutely fitting role for him!

Perhaps Tom Baker finds luck in America then, after his role as Koura in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (assuming Harryhausen's film still exists TTL). If we wanted to be cheeky, perhaps he ends up with a TV role that hearkens to his OTL role as the 4th Doctor, with all of his trademarks, before becoming a popular actor in both television and film.

Matt Smith OTL had previously played a role in the series Party Animals, so it isn't hard to imagine him still remaining an actor in dramas, perhaps dabbling in more comedic roles akin to his OTL role as the 11th Doctor; perhaps a British sitcom?

The only one that's still left uncertain is Jon Pertwee then, and that's mainly down to my unfamiliarity with the BBC's programming in the late 60s and early 70s, or at the very least I can't imagine. The Head of Drama at the BBC advised Pertwee to "play Jon Pertwee" when acting as the 3rd Doctor, which helped him work out exactly who he really was when not playing any comedic roles, and thus it would only be fitting for him to still receive such a role TTL. Perhaps he ends up receiving such a role in America?

All sounds fairly plausible. Unfortunately my pop-culture knowledge is limited outside of a very narrow range... But all believable!

I wouldn't mind seeing what's going on in Alexandria/Arlington, Virginia.

Of course: Arlington, Alexandria and Prince William added to the list

Wow

What about the Iberian Peninsula?

What about it? Anything in particular? I've got some monarch boxes/lists knocking round if people are interested?

Wow this update
Hopefully it's not too much to ask but if you could would you be able to add on the constituency that Auckland, NZ is in onto your list, I'm really interested at how it's looking in this TL.
I get so excited every time I get the notification that you've updated

Auckland has been added

Glad you're enjoying it!!!

 

[Wayside]

To celebrate the New Year (and with some credit to the New York Times for inspiration), here's a quick rundown of some of TTL's bestsellers:

BBC's Top Ten Books of 2017

Fiction:​

• Autumn by Ali Smith. Set in Badenoch, Scotland, Smith's novel chronicles the friendship between a centenarian songwriter and a 32-year-old teacher, in a meaningful reflection on how generations and people interact and change.
• Allenby in the Bardo by George Saunders. Through the story of WWI-era general Edmund Allenby, whose son died during the war, the Texas-born Saunders explores the nature of spiritualism, the afterlife, and the impact of war.
• Pioneers by Pai Hsien-yung. Set over the course of several generations, the Taiwanese writer chronicles two families--one Japanese-born, the other native Taiwanese--up until the present day. The book dives into the impact of Japanese rule on Taiwan and the Taiwanese people, and has been somewhat controversial in Japan, with several right-wing politicians calling for its banning.
• All of Our Triumphs by Naomi Alderman. In this novel, which blends science fiction with magical realism, Alderman paints the portrait of a near-future global feminist utopian movement, spurred by the development of strange powers in every woman on the planet. The book has attracted attention for its feminist themes and exploration of power dynamics between genders.
• Gulf Sunrises by Jesmyn Ward. This short story collection is heavily based on Ward's experiences as a child in DeLisle, Florida. Through six interwoven plots, she examines race, class, family, and history, in brutal, beautiful language. Ward won a MacArthur "Genius Grant" for her writing in this book, and for her previous works of literature.

Nonfiction:​

• On Finches and Beauty: Darwin, the Beagle, and the Theories of Evolution by Richard O. Prum. In this book, the Yale ornithologist explores the life of Charles Darwin, and his theories not only of evolution, but of sexual selection, paying particular attention to examples of how birds develop vibrant plumage.
• Laurier by Ron Chernow. Chernow's latest biography details the life of the first Francophone PM, Wilfrid Laurier, from his childhood in Saint-Lin-Laurentides, to his time leading the Wartime Coalition, and finally to his death in 1919, and his legacy in Canada, and the U.K.E. generally.
• A Modern Ohio Story by Amy Goldstein. Compiled between 1999 and 2016, A Modern Ohio Story is an oral history of economic decline and social change in the Ohio Country. The book features interviews with politicians, executives, factory workers, and many more to form a compelling narrative of a regional shift, and the pain that it caused.
• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. Grann's newest book covers a series of financially motivated murders in Sequoyah and Wichita, Louisiana in the early 20th century. However, the book also examines the larger relationship between Native Americans and white settlers, and the legacy of racist U.K.E. policies in Louisiana more broadly.
• How a Nation Dies by Hannah Dreier. Released late in the year, Dreier's first book is drawn from her experiences covering Venezuela for the BBC. How a Nation Dies explores the history of Venezuela, the rule and death of Hugo Chavez, and the country's current economic and political crisis. As a result of her publishing this book, the Maduro government has banned Dreier from entering Venezuela.