That Wacky Redhead

[Dan1988]

Oh yeah, and I just realized something - how's satellite TV going to affect everything (including HBO, the movie channels in Canada such as The Movie Network or Super Écran, the CBC's broadcasts of sessions of the House of Commons and the use of satellites by the CBC to beam TV programmes to Northern Canada, etc. etc.)? Would the networks want to get involved earlier? Keeping in mind that 1975 was when ANIK - North America's first domestic communications satellite - was launched and much of what cable and satellite TV in the US is like now is thanks to COMSAT (which launched the career of HBO, amongst other channels).

 

[NCW8]

Even that saw declines in the 1970s when contrasted against trucking, which was far more “cool” and “rebellious” and thus indicative of the American Spirit than the comfortable, efficient, and European-style trains. The rise in popularity of Citizens’ Band (or CB) Radio, the preferred mode of communication for truckers everywhere, played a key part in this image; the appeal of talking over the air with complete strangers – previously the exclusive province of call-in radio shows – was infectious, and many people had the radios installed into their station wagons for their own long drives along the interstate.

"Breaker, Breaker One-Nine for a Copy!"

CB was popular in the UK for a couple of years at the start of the Eighties. Strangely, it's popularity declined after the British Government made it legal

Back in 1976, a couple of Radio 1 DJ's made their own parody of the Convoy theme song.

With better development of these central US cities, will TTL still see references to Flyover Country ?

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[Brainbin]

Thank you all for your very encouraging words regarding my latest update! I'm aware that it was rather atypical, but I'm very flattered that it seems to have gone over so well. And now, as always, for my responses to your replies, but first, catching up on those which preceded my post...

So one more season, then we see if Reagan gets re-elected? (Or has that already been revealed?)

Whether or not Reagan is re-elected will not be revealed until the 1980-81 cycle, which is the one after the next one.

On the whole, I enjoyed the reboot film (I haven't seen Star Trek Into Darkness yet).

The jittery camera wasn't too atrocious, but the lens flare! Not sure what Abrams was thinking on that one. Also, I wholeheartedly agree with the "Apple store" criticisms of the new bridge; this "everything must be made of glass and translucent polymers" aesthetic really has to go. (The shiny surfaces didn't help with the lens flare, either.)

I wonder what Pam Dawber is doing in this timeline without Mork and Mindy?

Didn't she land a role in TTL's Three's Company ?

Oh, I remember this one: Dawber is Chrissy (OTL's Janice) in TTL's Three's Company.

Yes, as explained in the relevant update (written and posted during one of your absences from the board), Dawber plays Chrissy, who IOTL actually became the "Janet" character (on the original Man About the House, Chrissy was the brunette and "Jo" was the dumb blonde; for some reason, the names were swapped stateside).

I have got to devote a weekend to getting caught up with this TL, as the newer updates I scan are just outrageously cool retroactive teasers.

Keep up the good work, friend!

Thank you very much, TheInfiniteApe, and (since you've technically never posted to this thread before) welcome aboard! I do enjoy foreshadowing, probably because many of the TL authors who have inspired me have provided exquisite examples of the technique, and because in general I'm just a really big fan of setup and payoff.

I am definitely curious to see if the Atlanta Flames of the NHL will move to Calgary.

I had a feeling that someone (specifically, either you or TB-EI) would be asking after the Flames, and that question will be definitely answered.

And if I time things right, perhaps I can be topical as well!

Nice update, though again I can only appreciate parts of it from experience.

Thank you, Thande. I know that Britain has dealt with similar issues (trains and highways and "new towns" and what-have-you), but I felt that it would be best to focus on the suburban and commuter culture of North America, specifically. Given the length of the update, that was probably wise!

You're dead right about people from 'Tronno' having memorised that description of the CN Tower...not that it stopped the good people of Chicago, who are all compulsive liars when it comes to claiming city records, claiming the Sears Tower was taller for some technical reason.

Being a Torontonian myself, I definitely spoke from experience on that point

I seem to recall reading that the popularity of pickup trucks in America can be laid at the doors of attempts by US car makers in the seventies (possibly on political urging) to make more fuel efficient cars with smaller engines, and consumers dismissing them as 'pony-assed' and buying pickups instead. I don't know how much of that is true.

The problem with car culture is that it's both very macho and nostalgic to the point of impracticality. So the literature on the subject should best be construed as anecdotal evidence. The hard facts bear out that the iconic "muscle cars" of the 1960s went into severe decline through the 1970s, on account of being gas guzzlers, and obviously we all know that station wagons were duly replaced by minivans as "people-moving" vehicles (to employ an anachronism). Of course, once gas prices dropped again starting in the late 1980s, we saw the "revival" of the sports cars of yore, not to mention the replacement of the "square" (literally and figuratively) minivans with gas-guzzling SUVs.

Very interesting update, Brainbin. I like it.

Thank you, Dan!

I also like it. A fair bit of the sporting details meant relatively little but the improved transport connections and the better performance of the old US core territory could have some interesting impacts on the wider world, along with the social influences as a result. If the region is doing so much better than OTL its probable that there will be more, at least more positive representation of the region in fiction compared to OTL?

Thank you, Steve, especially for the excellent question. It's actually more an issue of allocation, because though the "Manufacturing Miracle" has helped to resuscitate most of the usual suspects, there's still going to be one major victim that will not "survive" ITTL: New York State. In fact, because everyone else is doing better, NYC (already just one step from total disaster in the OTL 1970s) is going to look even worse by comparison; likewise, the Upstate region is going to suffer not only by association with "the City", but also due to the Erie Canal having been effectively rendered obsolete by the St. Lawrence Seaway, which (once again) dates to the late 1950s. To borrow a term which I fortunately resisted using in the update proper, New York City will indeed be seen as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy".

Brainbin -- another great update. Just a quickie response here, for now: I wonder if expanded HSR ITTL will exacerbate highway revolts in major metropolitan U.S. (and Canadian!) cities; many of today's senior political leaders got their starts in these movements. Plus, if you haven't read Caro's The Power Broker, it'll give you a chance to head down an 800-page rabbit trail.

Thank you, Andrew, and I look forward to your more thorough response when it comes! The highway revolts would make for an excellent driving force in transportation policy, and I'll bear that in mind as we move ahead. But as for the humongous reference book you're recommending... don't you think you've been doing that enough already?

Nice bit of focus on private aviation. Would Reagan encourage things like the Civil Air Patrol? Would CAP get a boost from the rise in private pilots?

Excellent question, Orville_third! Unfortunately I can only provide you with my stock answer: There's only one way to find out!

The existence of a third American party that gets the racist vote instead of the Republicans being stuck with it (no southern strategy for one thing) is going to have significant effects.

What are this party's policies in other areas (not that it's likely to affect much)?

What are its iconography, apart from the turkey? Does it embrace Confederate symbols or reject them in an attempt to wrap itself in the flag and appeal to people outside the the old south?

And the important question. What effect does the existence of this party, and the iconography associated with it, have on "The Dukes of Hazzard"?

Welcome aboard, Jinx999, not only to this thread, but to the board in general! Thank you so much for bestowing your very first post upon That Wacky Redhead.

But I see that you, like Khan Noonien Singh, have many questions, and I'll do my best to give you the answers. As far as AIP/ADP policies, they are broadly populist (as is the case for many race-based parties), and pork-barrel to a fault. Obviously, there's a strong overall social conservative element there - most of the primordial Religious Right is affiliated with the party (to varying degrees), not to mention the traditional law-and-order platform. Their opinion on most of the policies and issues which I am deliberately avoiding talking about ITTL is obviously on the (far)-right-wing. However, most AIP/ADP legislators (and especially executives) in positions of authority tend to be more moderate (relatively speaking) than their rhetoric would seem to indicate (which is, again, quite common when radicals take political office). Not that things don't get ugly; they do, very much so. The American Party takes no official stance on Confederate iconography (after all, and especially under Wallace, they're trying to be a national party, and as noted, a lot of those downtrodden workers in states which fought for the Union are prime potential voters), but Confederate battle flags are ubiquitous at party political rallies south of the Mason-Dixon. American Party symbolism outside of the Old Confederacy has varied: the Christian cross, the Liberty Bell of the old Populists, the Bull Moose of the old Progressives, and the Gadsden snake have all been common, though none so much as the turkey. And as for The Dukes of Hazzard? "Looks like them Hazzard boys have a black best friend to affirm that they are good old boys who aren't racist like those awful AIP supporters." (Boss Hogg really hates him, of course.)

I wonder if the existence of Science Fiction land causes problems with trying to rescue Americans from Iran, or maybe there won't be a hostage crisis. You know what I'm talking about Brainbin.

Indeed I do know what you're talking about. But you're not going to be getting an answer on that for quite some time, I'm afraid.

Any involvement from Jack Kirby in regards to Science Fiction Land? (Scroll towards the bottom. It is the last image.)

Yes, absolutely. I plan on discussing Kirby a bit more in a future update, but he deserves some greater legacy during his own lifetime than the one he got IOTL.

Oh yeah, and I just realized something - how's satellite TV going to affect everything (including HBO, the movie channels in Canada such as The Movie Network or Super Écran, the CBC's broadcasts of sessions of the House of Commons and the use of satellites by the CBC to beam TV programmes to Northern Canada, etc. etc.)? Would the networks want to get involved earlier? Keeping in mind that 1975 was when ANIK - North America's first domestic communications satellite - was launched and much of what cable and satellite TV in the US is like now is thanks to COMSAT (which launched the career of HBO, amongst other channels).

Of course I'll be devoting at least one full update - and possibly more - to answering these very questions

"Breaker, Breaker One-Nine for a Copy!"

CB was popular in the UK for a couple of years at the start of the Eighties. Strangely, it's popularity declined after the British Government made it legal

Obviously I know they have "lorry" drivers over there (and they were quite the cause celebre in the late 1970s, of course) but I still find it hard to imagine people with British accents (even the working-class ones) barking into a CB radio. In the United States and Canada, what you quoted above is phrased slightly differently:

"Breaker one-nine, breaker one-nine, do you copy? This is..."

Back in 1976, a couple of Radio 1 DJ's made their own parody of the Convoy theme song.

Now that doesn't surprise me. What a dreadful song that was. Sung (or rather, spoken) by a low-rent Johnny Cash with a poor man's Dawn for the chorus.

With better development of these central US cities, will TTL still see references to Flyover Country ?

Yes, because even though the Midwest is doing better, so too is the Eastern Seaboard - and the West Coast certainly isn't doing any worse.

As penance for my not having covered European rail in this past update, I'll link you all to the Official Theme Song for HSR in TWR. Love those 1970s synthesizers!

 

[THE OBSERVER]

Please tell me more about the National Intercity Railways Act Brainbin. What does it do exactly?

 

[Shevek23]

...
I seem to recall reading that the popularity of pickup trucks in America can be laid at the doors of attempts by US car makers in the seventies (possibly on political urging) to make more fuel efficient cars with smaller engines, and consumers dismissing them as 'pony-assed' and buying pickups instead. I don't know how much of that is true.

Well, the manufacturers will tell you that--"Hey, we just humbly try to serve the market and all that jazz." More importantly, trucks were exempted from some regulations and had laxer versions of others, both regarding pollution and fuel efficiency, as well as laxer safety regulations. So they could be made and sold more cheaply. It was a matter of the regulations not applying equally, on the theory that trucks were rural utility vehicles and not urban consumer transports.

 

[NCW8]

Thank you, Thande. I know that Britain has dealt with similar issues (trains and highways and "new towns" and what-have-you), but I felt that it would be best to focus on the suburban and commuter culture of North America, specifically. Given the length of the update, that was probably wise!

The third and final wave of new town creation (which included the much maligned Milton Keynes) took place in the late sixties. I don't think that there would be a fourth wave in the late Seventies.

Obviously I know they have "lorry" drivers over there (and they were quite the cause celebre in the late 1970s, of course) but I still find it hard to imagine people with British accents (even the working-class ones) barking into a CB radio. In the United States and Canada, what you quoted above is phrased slightly differently:

"Breaker one-nine, breaker one-nine, do you copy? This is..."

I was going by memory, but I think that usage was a bit different in the UK - remember that peoples' main exposure to CB slang would be Convoy and The Dukes of Hazzard. Actually, from what I remember, Brits used channel 14 as the general calling channel rather than 19.

It wasn't particularly lorry drivers that were the main users of CB in the UK but mainly young people, who would often be broadcasting from home rather than a car. There was definitely an element of rebelliousness about it (hence the decline in popularity following legalisation).

As penance for my not having covered European rail in this past update, I'll link you all to the Official Theme Song for HSR in TWR. Love those 1970s synthesizers!

Any chance tat the Advanced Passenger Train could be a success ? I know that it would take a couple of miracles, but I can always hope.

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[Thande]

Obviously I know they have "lorry" drivers over there (and they were quite the cause celebre in the late 1970s, of course) but I still find it hard to imagine people with British accents (even the working-class ones) barking into a CB radio.

Lorry drivers here--certainly when I was growing up, may still be the case--somewhat idolise and romanticise the American trucker culture because they view it as people doing their job having a more respected role in society than is the case here, and somewhat try to emulate it here. As well as having better scenery of course and that sense of isolation and the magnificence of nature, which you don't really get here (or at least only in the Scottish and Welsh highlands, not combined with flat terrain and good roads for lorries like you do in North America). I know this because my step-grandfather was one, and it's a shame he never got to go to the USA as he always wanted to see it for himself.

(A corollary to this is that in the UK the Confederate flag is often used by lorry drivers as a symbol of this US rebellious trucker culture, and they don't realise that it has potential different connotations there, as this doesn't come up here).

As said above, CB radio is not considered as synonymous with lorry drivers in the UK as it is with truckers in the US, although it is/was used by them. I recall about fifteen years ago a techno genius friend (who now captains yachts for the Saudi royal family) had gotten hold of some CB radios and we were trying them out to communicate between two cars we had in a convoy (appropriately) going to the University of Sheffield for a school competition. This was just before widespread mobile phones so it was still quite a novelty. Anyway, rather than getting through to each other, we mostly ended up intruding on conversations between nearby lorry drivers on the motorway

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Great job. Nice to see that WKRP still lives as WMTM here; and thus we can see that famous turkey drop episode happen. And if Robin Williams won, I presume Mork and Mindy is made? though who guest stars, I glossed over that? (Of course with Williams, anyone else is about 5th with him 1, 2, 3, and 4 with all his ad libbing)

Given trhe number of people asking you to butterfly Anissa Jones' tragic death i thought there would be less apathy about The Brady Bunch, but I guess not.

However, to help those who wish that something could have been done, here's a fic someone helped me on which shows that in the universe in which "Family Affair" takes place, since the character is not the same as the performer, Buffy does get better. Although a way needed to be found as to why she would be like this in universe; but a crossover with Barney Miller helps solve that questions. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8908956/1/We-ll-Have-Forever

 

[CaptainCrowbar]

Nice to see that WKRP still lives as WMTM here; and thus we can see that famous turkey drop episode happen.

I can't help wondering if the American Party is going to have an opinion on that kind of treatment of their mascot...

(I can also imagine candidates from the other two parties, standing against the AP, starting a campaign speech with "As God is my witness..." to get an instant reaction from the audience.)

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

I can't help wondering if the American Party is going to have an opinion on that kind of treatment of their mascot...

(I can also imagine candidates from the other two parties, standing against the AP, starting a campaign speech with "As God is my witness..." to get an instant reaction from the audience.)

I hadn't had enough time to more than skim about the TV part, so I missed that. Yes, that might be even more golden in TTL becasue of that party, having not just the comedy but the subtle political message, too.

BTW, mention earlier was made if "The Dukes of Hazzard," why not a black Cooter Davenport? His fatehr a smal-time mechanic who was good friends with Jesse growing up at a time when race problems were big, and the Dukes were one of few white people to be willing to help him. This son grows up to have his own garage and be a whiz at mechanical thigns with cars.

Could evenbe a Star Trek tie-in, with Trek more popular, perhaps this Cooter is said to be tot he General what Scotty was to engines. Maybe with a little nod to Trek a time or two in some of his lines about getting the General fixed, etc..

 

[Orville_third]

I thought "The Foundry" term came from "The Nine Nations of North America". My dad has a copy I can look into.

 

[Clorox23]

I have a triple quandary:

A) I haven't ''exactly'' gotten caught up with the timeline yet, but last I checked, Doctor Who was about to end it's US run. Will anything else happen to this show in this timeline (change in Doctors, different episodes, preventing the "hiatus" hint-hint, ect.)?

B) I like this idea here. Keep doing it.

C) I have a feeling you're going to end this timeline at the interview shown at the start. Will there be a sequel? (This started bouncing around in my head once I started thinking about MST3K; dead serious.)

 

[Brainbin]

More replies? Well, all right then, here are some more responses!

Please tell me more about the National Intercity Railways Act Brainbin. What does it do exactly?

The National Intercity Railways Act creates a bureaucratic infrastructure (appropriately enough) for the funding of passenger rail by the federal government, allowing states to opt-in to the scheme as well. This allows direct government investment into maintenance (and expansion) of rail lines, formalizing and systemizing subsidies. This is because, in essence, Paxrail (and, IOTL, Amtrak) were intended by all sides as a temporary solution; here we have the permanent one, taking the well-worn Great Society approach to the problem. With regards to cargo lines, we're looking at strictly upkeep funding, justified under traditional support of interstate commerce.

The third and final wave of new town creation (which included the much maligned Milton Keynes) took place in the late sixties. I don't think that there would be a fourth wave in the late Seventies.

True, but my timeline began in 1966, and I have been known to begin updates with scene-setting in prior eras before bringing the narrative to the present.

I was going by memory, but I think that usage was a bit different in the UK - remember that peoples' main exposure to CB slang would be Convoy and The Dukes of Hazzard. Actually, from what I remember, Brits used channel 14 as the general calling channel rather than 19.

That doesn't surprise me, either - on British telly, Channel 1 is the most popular, but we don't even get Channel 1 in North America!

Any chance tat the Advanced Passenger Train could be a success ? I know that it would take a couple of miracles, but I can always hope.

I'll have to take that issue into consideration. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Lorry drivers here--certainly when I was growing up, may still be the case--somewhat idolise and romanticise the American trucker culture because they view it as people doing their job having a more respected role in society than is the case here, and somewhat try to emulate it here. As well as having better scenery of course and that sense of isolation and the magnificence of nature, which you don't really get here (or at least only in the Scottish and Welsh highlands, not combined with flat terrain and good roads for lorries like you do in North America). I know this because my step-grandfather was one, and it's a shame he never got to go to the USA as he always wanted to see it for himself.

I can definitely see how the British lorry drivers envy the American truckers - there's an undeniable romance in travelling along thousands of miles of open road.

(A corollary to this is that in the UK the Confederate flag is often used by lorry drivers as a symbol of this US rebellious trucker culture, and they don't realise that it has potential different connotations there, as this doesn't come up here).

Well, even in the United States, it still hasn't achieved the universal rejection of, say, blackface minstrelsy. After all, and as noted, the Confederate flag featured prominently in The Dukes of Hazzard, a generally benign show. Given that show's run being contemporary with the height of the trucker craze, it's easy to see how they were conflated.

As said above, CB radio is not considered as synonymous with lorry drivers in the UK as it is with truckers in the US, although it is/was used by them. I recall about fifteen years ago a techno genius friend (who now captains yachts for the Saudi royal family) had gotten hold of some CB radios and we were trying them out to communicate between two cars we had in a convoy (appropriately) going to the University of Sheffield for a school competition. This was just before widespread mobile phones so it was still quite a novelty. Anyway, rather than getting through to each other, we mostly ended up intruding on conversations between nearby lorry drivers on the motorway

I did something similar - though with walkie-talkies, not CB radios - just before cell phones became ubiquitous. They were way too expensive, too!

Great job. Nice to see that WKRP still lives as WMTM here; and thus we can see that famous turkey drop episode happen. And if Robin Williams won, I presume Mork and Mindy is made? though who guest stars, I glossed over that? (Of course with Williams, anyone else is about 5th with him 1, 2, 3, and 4 with all his ad libbing)

Glad you're still reading! Though perhaps you may have missed this update, in which I introduce Williams as co-starring in The Richard Pryor Show, a sketch-comedy series based on a (very) short-lived OTL program of the same name. Its failure, not its success, was what made Williams available for Mork and Mindy IOTL, and therefore the show will not exist ITTL. And as Penny Marshall (Garry's sister) starred on Those Were the Days and is working on her own show with Linda Bloodworth (one of that show's writers) instead, it is unlikely that Rock Around the Clock will have spinoffs that are analogous to those of OTL (and before anyone asks, there's no "Chachi" character ITTL, either).

However, to help those who wish that something could have been done, here's a fic someone helped me on which shows that in the universe in which "Family Affair" takes place, since the character is not the same as the performer, Buffy does get better. Although a way needed to be found as to why she would be like this in universe; but a crossover with Barney Miller helps solve that questions.

You know, I had a funny feeling that you might have written a relevant fan fiction!

I can't help wondering if the American Party is going to have an opinion on that kind of treatment of their mascot...

(I can also imagine candidates from the other two parties, standing against the AP, starting a campaign speech with "As God is my witness..." to get an instant reaction from the audience.)

Excellent observation, CaptainCrowbar! Unfortunately, I'm not sure how "butterfly-proof" specific episodes of WMTM would be; especially since, glancing at the episode guide, I note that creator Hugh Wilson did not write "Turkeys Away". But that's such a great idea that I might be willing to overlook how it flaunts strict casuality...

BTW, mention earlier was made if "The Dukes of Hazzard," why not a black Cooter Davenport? His fatehr a smal-time mechanic who was good friends with Jesse growing up at a time when race problems were big, and the Dukes were one of few white people to be willing to help him. This son grows up to have his own garage and be a whiz at mechanical thigns with cars.

That's certainly possible. Thank you for the suggestion.

Could evenbe a Star Trek tie-in, with Trek more popular, perhaps this Cooter is said to be tot he General what Scotty was to engines. Maybe with a little nod to Trek a time or two in some of his lines about getting the General fixed, etc..

I think I probably reference Star Trek far too much in the rest of the timeline as it is - any more, and I think the house of cards would collapse

(That would be another Brady Bunch reference, by the way )

I thought "The Foundry" term came from "The Nine Nations of North America". My dad has a copy I can look into.

You are correct, sir, and the term was inspired by its use in that resource, but it was the subject of convergent development ITTL, starting with the Humphrey administration repeatedly stating its objectives to "reforge the Foundries of the Nation". From context, it was obvious that they were referring specifically to manufacturing industry in the Northeast and Midwest, which poetically came to be known as "the Foundry of the Nation". From there, someone shortened the expression to, simply, "the Foundry". That said, "Manufacturing Belt" is also a popular term for the region, as it meshes with the "Manufacturing Miracle" which "revitalized" it.

I have a triple quandary:

And I'm glad you're still reading, Clorox! I'll be happy to answer your questions.

A) I haven't ''exactly'' gotten caught up with the timeline yet, but last I checked, Doctor Who was about to end it's US run. Will anything else happen to this show in this timeline (change in Doctors, different episodes, preventing the "hiatus" hint-hint, ect.)?

That question will be answered very shortly.

B) I like this idea here. Keep doing it.

Thank you! I am planning on continuing the Episode Guide in due time. Though I'm not sure which episode I'll cover next; does anyone have any requests?

C) I have a feeling you're going to end this timeline at the interview shown at the start. Will there be a sequel? (This started bouncing around in my head once I started thinking about MST3K; dead serious.)

You're not the first one to ask me if I plan on "book-ending" the timeline with that interview, and it is certainly a very nice, literary idea, is it not?

The problem with writing a sequel to That Wacky Redhead is that, by necessity, it won't feature That Wacky Redhead, and she would be a very tough act to follow (and any sequel would also, of course, entail writing about her death ). To be honest, when I first started writing, I thought it would be a real struggle for me to even get to 1986, but as we approach that date I have been dreaming up some potential plot threads that might sustain me further on into the future. I doubt I would ever say "absolutely not", under the "never say never" doctrine, but I'm still going to have to say "probably not". I won't make up my mind for sure until after the last update, though.

 

[THE OBSERVER]

Don't give up, Brainbin.

 

[The Blue-Eyed Infidel]

Work has kept me away for a while, so some rather belated comments ...

Perhaps the relative anonymity secured by the other Paramount show to premiere in the 1978-79 season was more desirable for the studio. WMTM in Cincinnati [6] was devised by Hugh Wilson, who based the premise – a new station manager hired to run an over-the-hill radio station – on his own experiences working in that medium. The titular WMTM station played “beautiful music”, one of the defining popular genres of the 1970s, perhaps unfairly maligned in certain corners; however, the format was changed to rock-and-roll at the insistence of the new manager. This allowed the show to play hit songs of the genre, more-or-less on demand; in an uncharacteristic act of foresight, studio executives made sure to licence the rights to these songs in perpetuity, inspired by Desilu and their consistent track record in syndication and, more recently, in their pioneering CED venture with RCA. [7] WMTM failed to clear the Top 30 for the season, but ratings with those precious and valuable demographics who did watch were more just about sufficient to justify continued production; this despite the fact that many higher-ups at Paramount were not particularly fond of the series.

Excellent ... however:

a) No notes on casting?
b) The WMTM call letters eliminate the main plot of "Fish Story" (S1E21).

Speaking of Carol Burnett and of Those Were the Days, Penny Marshall, who had played Gloria Bunker-Higgins in the latter show, had decided to start her own production company, Lucky Penny Productions. She used it to pitch her own sitcom – with the help of some scribes formerly in the employ of Tandem Productions, particularly their token woman writer, Linda Bloodworth [8] – which would feature Marshall as a blue-collar worker, a single, mature woman making an honest living in a traditionally male occupation. Marshall was particularly interested in directing for the series, as well as starring in it; she had never gotten the opportunity to do so on Those Were the Days, which she often derisively described as a “boys’ club”. Carroll O’Connor himself, in later years, would admit that they really had no idea what to make of women’s issues, choosing to focus on racial and class-based topics instead, and largely deferring to Marshall (and later Bloodworth). Her new show was due to premiere in the following season.

While not denying her talents, I would not have been displeased in the slightest if Linda Bloodworth's career had been butterflied away; far too many Author Filibusters in her work for my taste, especially as I come nowhere near sharing her politics.

I had a feeling that someone (specifically, either you or TB-EI) would be asking after the Flames, and that question will be definitely answered.

Thanks for thinking of me ... as to the question of the Flames, my opinion is:

• the Flames are unlikely to survive in Atlanta ITTL for the same reasons as OTL
• whether they move to Calgary is probably dependent on what happens with the Oil Crisis ITTL. While Trudeau is out of office ITTL (for which you have my sincere gratitude), the pressures which led to the NEP are not, IMO, butterflied away, and I'm not necessarily sure that Stanfield won't submit to the pressure to do something. What that something is will determine the near-term economic future of Calgary.

And as for The Dukes of Hazzard? "Looks like them Hazzard boys have a black best friend to affirm that they are good old boys who aren't racist like those awful AIP supporters." (Boss Hogg really hates him, of course.)

BTW, mention earlier was made if "The Dukes of Hazzard," why not a black Cooter Davenport? His father a small-time mechanic who was good friends with Jesse growing up at a time when race problems were big, and the Dukes were one of the few white people to be willing to help him. This son grows up to have his own garage and be a whiz at mechanical things with cars.

This is a terrific idea.

Anyways, well done - as I've come to expect - and looking forward to more.

TB-EI

 

[Asharella]

The problem with writing a sequel to That Wacky Redhead is that, by necessity, it won't feature That Wacky Redhead, and she would be a very tough act to follow (and any sequel would also, of course, entail writing about her death ). To be honest, when I first started writing, I thought it would be a real struggle for me to even get to 1986, but as we approach that date I have been dreaming up some potential plot threads that might sustain me further on into the future. I doubt I would ever say "absolutely not", under the "never say never" doctrine, but I'm still going to have to say "probably not". I won't make up my mind for sure until after the last update, though.

What about Lucie Arnaz? Who will take over when that Wacky Redhead dies? Maybe she'd groom her own daughter?

 

[JSmith]

And then there was Denver. Like Montreal, it had flourished in the years following its hosting of the Olympics (though those of the Winter, rather than of the Summer) in 1976. The Olympic Sports Arena built there housed the Denver Rockets [19], a basketball team that had been a charter member of the ABA, and the Colorado Rockies, an NHL team formerly located in Kansas City before travelling west along I-70, in the very same year that the city had hosted the Olympics in the first place. Sport, perhaps more than was the case in any other American city to thrive in the 1970s, was very much the lifeblood of Denver. Even as a tourist attraction, the “Mile High City” and its environs were primarily known as the site of some of the finest skiing in the world; newer outdoor activities, such as snowboarding and snowmobiling, also became very popular. However, the high mountains were treacherous, and accidents were plentiful. Indeed, for those wealthy travellers flying their own private planes to Colorado, there was an additional element of thrill and danger even beyond the typical risks of flight: the Cessna 172 had a maximum operational height of 13,500 feet above sea level, as the lower air pressures at higher elevations proved insufficient to keep the craft airborne. As it happened, the highest airport in the United States, Lake County Airport, was located in Leadville, Colorado; its location made it a potential stop-off for private flights from many points in the American Southwest. It was 10,000 feet above sea level, which was enough to make taking off and staying in the air quite an exhilarating challenge for the aspiring pilot. Despite perhaps managing to be an even bigger sports mecca than Indianapolis, the Denver suburbs were selected to play host to a brand-new amusement park, this one intended as a true theme park in every sense of the word. Science-Fiction Land, inspired in parts by the pulp novels, movie serials, and comic books of yesteryear, by venerable genre films, and by popular television shows and movies of the recent past and present (including all the usual suspects – Star Trek, Journey of the Force, Galactica, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Moonraker, among many others) broke ground in Aurora, Colorado, in 1979. [20] An eccentric by the name of Barry Ira Geller – truly, the Howard Hughes of the modern day – served as the impresario behind the theme park, but it was perhaps a testament to the economic recovery and the drive for free enterprise which characterised the mid-1970s, not to mention the strong fundamentals and good growth in Colorado in general and Denver in particular as a result of the post-Olympics boom. And the buzz that surrounded the construction – seemingly out-of-this-world promises about the coming attractions and events that were in store – were enticing, even enthralling. The 1970s being a decade of nostalgia, as infrastructure and modes of transportation tried to rebuild themselves to the heights of past glories, it was not altogether surprising that – coupled with other contemporary factors – the gradual return of the Moonie Loonies may well have reared its ugly head about as close as most people got to the stratosphere…

---

[20] Science-Fiction Land was planned IOTL, but never happened, partly because the economy was a disaster in the late-1970s, and partly because the idea simply collapsed under the weight of its own hubris. It’s highly unlikely that what Geller has conceptualized for the park will ever be fully realized, but at the very least, we’re going to get an honest stab at it. After all, TTL is probably the most hospitable for such a bold gamble!

Well my childhood just got a lot more fun Just tell there is still something like the Denver Broncos

 

[NCW8]

I'll have to take that issue into consideration. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Yes, implementing a high speed rail service in the UK is tricky because most of the current track isn't built for it and building dedicated lines is expensive and controversial.

One possible way of improving British rail services in the Seventies would be to reverse some of the closures of branch lines carried out in the Sixties. When some of the lines were eventually re-opened, they proved to be more profitable than even the proponents of reopening had claimed they would be.

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[Brainbin]

I wanted to thank all of you for your patience in awaiting the next update. As always, the omnipresent concerns of the dreaded RL have loomed over me, but I've also been corresponding with numerous members of this board (and you all know who you are), for various reasons, in hopes of getting all my ducks in a row. Some of those discussions continue, but enough of them have fully transpired, to the point where I feel that I can now resume intensive work on the coming updates!

So, be sure to look forward to the first of these in the next few days

Don't give up, Brainbin.

Thanks for the kind words, but I make no promises as to what will happen after 1986 until we find ourselves there

Work has kept me away for a while, so some rather belated comments ...

I appreciate that you took the time to make them at all, TB-EI! And I'm glad you're still reading.

No notes on casting?

I've since decided that Gordon Jump, Richard Sanders, and Frank Bonner will all appear in the series in roles roughly analogous to the ones they held IOTL.

The WMTM call letters eliminate the main plot of "Fish Story" (S1E21).

Good point!

While not denying her talents, I would not have been displeased in the slightest if Linda Bloodworth's career had been butterflied away; far too many Author Filibusters in her work for my taste, especially as I come nowhere near sharing her politics.

I'm not really a fan of the moral-before-story school of screenwriting for which Bloodworth is so well-known either, but she was far too useful for me to feature as a Woman Writer to ignore - surely you wouldn't want D.C. Fontana or Madelyn Pugh Davis going down that road in her stead, now would you?

Thanks for thinking of me ... as to the question of the Flames, my opinion is:

• the Flames are unlikely to survive in Atlanta ITTL for the same reasons as OTL
• whether they move to Calgary is probably dependent on what happens with the Oil Crisis ITTL. While Trudeau is out of office ITTL (for which you have my sincere gratitude), the pressures which led to the NEP are not, IMO, butterflied away, and I'm not necessarily sure that Stanfield won't submit to the pressure to do something. What that something is will determine the near-term economic future of Calgary.

Well, recall from the relevant update that the Houston Aeros, despite being a success, were not part of the merger into the NHL, and note the reasons given. The Atlanta Flames are the only team in NHL history to play in the entire Old Confederacy - IOTL, this distinction would stand until 1992, when the Tampa Bay Lightning were formed, after which point the floodgates opened (that this was the beginning of a very rough period for Canadian hockey teams is no coincidence).

Anyways, well done - as I've come to expect - and looking forward to more.

Thank you! You won't have to wait for very much longer.

What about Lucie Arnaz? Who will take over when that Wacky Redhead dies? Maybe she'd groom her own daughter?

IOTL, of course, the role of Lucie Arnaz in safeguarding the legacy of her parents is well-known (though, like her mother, she tends to deflect such claims).

Well my childhood just got a lot more fun Just tell there is still something like the Denver Broncos

Yes, the Broncos are in place, alongside the Rockets and the Rockies. Perhaps if a baseball team ever comes to Denver, they could use the name "Nuggets" instead...

Yes, implementing a high speed rail service in the UK is tricky because most of the current track isn't built for it and building dedicated lines is expensive and controversial.

Obviously, the same problem exists in North America, as well.

One possible way of improving British rail services in the Seventies would be to reverse some of the closures of branch lines carried out in the Sixties. When some of the lines were eventually re-opened, they proved to be more profitable than even the proponents of reopening had claimed they would be.

A most intriguing proposition...

 

[Mr Teufel]

Firstly, I've really enjoyed this enormous thread! It took me a month.

1) I'm disappointed you've butterflied away "The Six Million Dollar Man".

2) The Muppet Sci Fi running skit should be called "Muckraker" and the ship called "UMS Pasturise"

3) OMG! You saved Elvis! You beauty!

4)"This is interesting, because Star Trek (of course) frequently shined a light on (then-)modern society through allegory, but that's not why people still remember the show, and it's not why they still love it."

I beg to differ. I found the reboot *ok*, and realised it was because there was no attempt at allegory. Frex it should have been Spock/Sulu, not Spock/Uhura.
And the Romulan played by Eric Banna should have been avenging his family/planet being colateral in a war, not a natural disaster.

Characters are important, too. But Star Trek needs both; and only Karl Urban put enough meat into his character to hold up the character side of the equation.

5)"He'd be able to polish it up and give it the kind of focus than the OTL series never had, especially if he wrote a couple scripts for the pitch. I'd imagine without the Star Wars influence, and making a conscious decision not to mirror Star Trek too closely, it would focus even more heavily on the "Ancient Astronauts" angle. The significance of finding Kobol here would be even more important, and it's possible many of the alien races in the show would actually be the "basis", in-universe, for mythical creatures, like minotaurs and trolls and such."

Oooh, this actually piques my interest in the upcoming second 're-imagining' of BSG. I really liked the gritty version; but a more fantasy-influenced version could work too...

6) You butterflied Mork and Mindy?!

I loved that show. I'm not too keen on much else Robin Williams has done. But Mork was hilarious.