Well, let's assume Mother Angelica doesn't get her inspiration to start up EWTN, all on account of That Wacky Redhead (TM).
That Wacky Redhead
- Thread starter Brainbin
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Well, let's assume Mother Angelica doesn't get her inspiration to start up EWTN, all on account of That Wacky Redhead (TM).
That's basically the basic premise. Considering EWTN's somewhat un-orthodox take on Catholic television programming (such as its usage of Protestant programming in its early years!
), unlike the more "conventional" WIHS-cum-CatholicTV, it seems pretty likely.(The golden rule of TL writing - do NOT set out to create a utopia, because that's just being beyond ASB. For example, if I were to do a TL on French TV, I would not have France go for its OTL 819-line TV standard, but retain the more conventional 441-line TV system based on that used in Germany and introduced to France by the Wehrmacht.)
Orville_third
Banned
Nice update! Would the Religious right try and form their own channel? (Like OTL's CBN.)
Oh dear, no wonder they had problems! As I remember, the best thing on ITV around that time was Rainbow. (Then again, that might have just been down to my age...)
Another great update, and interesting to see the start of TV channel specialisation. And I hope HBO develops the same high-quality output it's achieved IOTL!
One question that's occurred to me before, perhaps slightly at a tangent to the main topic of the TL: ITTL and IOTL, do US viewers find all these "Wxyz" station names as absurd and confusing as I do?! How come someone in marketing never got them dropped for more distinctive names.
Speaking for myself, we never see them--or at least I didn't when I'd watch it at my grandparents place as a kid (they didn't have cable). Local affiliates go by their national brand or their local channel number (NBC Channel 7 New at 11!). Actually, for me, the Wxyz names are more of a public television thing--I watched a lot of PBS growing up, and they actually would identify as their call letters. "WIFY, Indianapolis Public Broadcasting" or "WOSU, Columbus". Or a radio thing--but even there the trend now is to drop the call letters from what I hear on the dial.
Let's see, off the top of my head there was The Sweeney, The Professionals, Return of the Saint, Rumpole of the Bailey, Tales of the Unexpected, Quatermass, Sapphire and Steel and The Muppet Show. Of course ITTL things will be different, but I'd expect that equivalents of most of these (except the Muppets) will still be made. However Quatermass and Rumpole could easily be made by the BBC ITTL.
Cheers,
Nigel.
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actuslly a lot of TV stations go by their call letters: WTBS in Atlanta before it went cable, WRAL in Raleigh, WOR in Chicago, among many others
Orville_third
Banned
OTL, "Star Trek: Phase II" was to be the flagship show of a new network Paramount was planning. Both show and network never came to be, though.
In OTL UPN was a joint venture by Paramount, who produced the shows, and Chris-Craft Industries, who owned the network. UPN stood for United Paramount Network, the United referring to Chris-Craft Industries "United Television" which owned the NYC and LA stations in the network.
The very first show was Voyager's pilot. I remember watching it.
Another UPN show that I remember fondly was Nowhere Man, with Bruce Greenwood, who went on to play the new version of Christopher Pike in the recent ST films.
After a year Paramonut/Viacom had bought half of UPN and became part owner as well as producer.
Eventually Viacom bought CBS and then they and Warner Bros. merged UPN with the WB to make CW, which remains the fifth commercial network.
Orville_third
Banned
All this is true, but the planned Paramount network was back in the late 70's to early 80's, predating ST:TMP.
Thank you all, as always, for your responses to my latest update, which (with help from my co-author) I was able to bring to you ahead of schedule! And so, tonight, on this last day of July (the originally scheduled posting date), I bring you my replies to your responses, beginning (as always) with those which predate the posting of my latest update.
But before we get to them, I would like to announce that time slip was good enough to make the winning suggestion for the role of Fortinbras in "The Sleepers of Selene": Albert Paulsen. Note his CV, loaded with portrayals of characters from the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, allowing his casting to subvert audience expectations; and (more importantly) his numerous appearances on Mission: Impossible, indicating a familiarity with the Desilu lot. As for MacLeod, I've decided to go ahead and have Jill St. John play the part, since nobody has claimed her incapable of doing so. This leaves Commodore Monroe. Feel free to PM me, as time slip did, if you'd rather not share any suggestions with the thread.
Although, to be fair, it's not as though American audiences flocked to those science-fiction series - after Star Trek was cancelled in 1969, not a single one would last for more than one season for many years after that (no, not even Battlestar Galactica - those were two separate shows).
(Also, remember that the Pope ITTL has been Innocent XIV since 1978 - neither JPI nor JPII occupied the Papal throne.)
Unfortunately, though, HBO was known almost exclusively for their movies before 1986.
But before we get to them, I would like to announce that time slip was good enough to make the winning suggestion for the role of Fortinbras in "The Sleepers of Selene": Albert Paulsen. Note his CV, loaded with portrayals of characters from the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, allowing his casting to subvert audience expectations; and (more importantly) his numerous appearances on Mission: Impossible, indicating a familiarity with the Desilu lot. As for MacLeod, I've decided to go ahead and have Jill St. John play the part, since nobody has claimed her incapable of doing so. This leaves Commodore Monroe. Feel free to PM me, as time slip did, if you'd rather not share any suggestions with the thread.
I've never seen it, but from what I've heard I understand that Landau and Bain were grossly miscast.
Thank you very much, Plumber, and welcome aboard!I've been reading a few updates here and there with no real consistency, and this is one of the most solid TLs on the site.
And Desilu won't be making movies anyway - in the 1950s, they did indeed flirt with the idea. That is a great story, though. Did your great-aunt ever share any anecdotes about the two of them, what they were like as people, how they ran the studio? And how did she come to know them? Old friends? Did she appear on I Love Lucy?Plumber said:
Excellent question. The Spy Who Loved Me was released in 1980, though not directed by Spielberg. The next film to be released is For Your Eyes Only, scheduled for 1982.
Recall that Eddie Murphy was 19 years old when he joined the SNL cast IOTL. He still has plenty of time to make himself known.
Well, Desilu may be vetting the scripts - but don't forget that NBC is the one with final approval
What a delightful aphorism!
Although, to be fair, it's not as though American audiences flocked to those science-fiction series - after Star Trek was cancelled in 1969, not a single one would last for more than one season for many years after that (no, not even Battlestar Galactica - those were two separate shows).Well said. And a fun fact - the same man who designed the reviled TMP costumes (Robert Fletcher) also designed the beloved uniforms introduced in The Wrath of Khan. This may have been a matter of pragmatism - most of the new outfits were in fact modified versions of the ones from TMP, and indeed some were reused without major changes, such as Dr. McCoy's medical uniform and Spock's black robe. I guess that's the ultimate vindication of giving someone a second chance!Looking at the costumes, I'm reminded of TMP's costumes. Shudder shudder
Welcome aboard, NHBL! And yes, you might say I've gotten some mileage out of Star Trek
And welcome aboard to you as well, Grouchio! Dune has not yet been mentioned in this timeline, though it may yet be. As for the Neil Gaiman version of Sandman, it was written and published entirely after 1986, and is therefore outside the scope of this timeline. After over two decades from the POD, though, it is highly susceptible to butterflies.
One thing that also needs to be considered is where EWTN was based IOTL, and how that location has changed between the POD and 1981 ITTL.That's basically the basic premise. Considering EWTN's somewhat un-orthodox take on Catholic television programming (such as its usage of Protestant programming in its early years!
(Also, remember that the Pope ITTL has been Innocent XIV since 1978 - neither JPI nor JPII occupied the Papal throne.)
Thank you, Orville! And to answer your question: that's a very safe bet, especially since... well, you'll see.
Though it was not explicitly clear, the decision to import ITV shows is exclusive to TTL, largely as a result of the stronger tradition of direct imports (as opposed to remakes - though obviously those are still very popular). Regardless of quality, at least it breaks the PBS monopoly of British imports in the largest media market in the United States.
Thank you, nixonsheadnixonshead said:
Unfortunately, though, HBO was known almost exclusively for their movies before 1986.Fortunately, I can answer that question, since Canada uses the same call-letters system as the United States. For reference: if the first letter is "W", it's an American station east of the Mississippi; if the first letter is "K", it's an American station west of the Mississippi; and if the first letter is "C", it's a Canadian station. As e of pi notes, identifying by the callsign as opposed to network affiliation, channel number, and/or market is more the province of radio (especially AM radio), but it is (or at least was - with the advent of digital and networks consolidating their owned-and-operated stations, it's falling out of favour) also very popular on television. In terms of how the call signs are perceived - it's a lot like a home address, or a phone number: a series of digits which is easy to memorize and soon becomes second nature. "CFTO" flows off the tongue a lot better than "CTV Toronto", for example. Now, certain stations do use the ITV strategy of having their own distinct names, but it's very rare on this side of the Pond.nixonshead said:
Thank you, and stay tuned
We'll be taking a look at some of That Wacky Redhead's other ventures in the very next update.
Welcome aboard, Screwy! Thanks for sharing your insight on the great call-letters debate
I know that. Wish he designed the beloved Wrath of Khan uniforms earlier, for TMP. That would've made the film a lot better.
That's basically the basic premise. Considering EWTN's somewhat un-orthodox take on Catholic television programming (such as its usage of Protestant programming in its early years!
(The golden rule of TL writing - do NOT set out to create a utopia, because that's just being beyond ASB. For example, if I were to do a TL on French TV, I would not have France go for its OTL 819-line TV standard, but retain the more conventional 441-line TV system based on that used in Germany and introduced to France by the Wehrmacht.)
I think that EWTN is going to be a different creature if it exists OTL. For example, it will probably have less Protestant programming from the outset owing to a very, very different Religious Right. No way is the good Mother Superior going to align with programming with paid shills for the AIP. So it probably will not broadcast from Irondale. Ironically, it may mean that the programming aside from Fulton Sheen reruns and the Mass might be even more horrible stylistically (many Catholics OTL who agree with the values expressed often find the style, which is basically a guy speaking to the screen with no scene change for 45 minutes, uninteresting), if Mother Angelica's attitudes towards Catholic broadcasting remain the same ITTL (she grew up having little exposure to television, and she and her successors are trying to shoehorn a radio format to television).
Perhaps we may see the niche taken over by a CatholicTV or NET Brooklyn analog. An interesting possibility is a Jesuit like Fr. Pacwa or Fr. Fessio running this alt-EWTN*. Unlike the Poor Clares, the Society of Jesus has access to more resources in terms of skilled talent, and a different approach to pop culture. We are talking about the order that gave us Pope Francis OTL, after all.
A lot might depend also on what kind of Pope Innocent XIV is. Is he TV friendly like St. John Paul? Or is he like Benedict, a man who, while I have great admiration for, forgot that the demands of senior faculty and those of Pope are different PR wise?
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Ooo! Exciting!! I love the book and loved the David Lynch movie (Patrick Stewart shouting "ATOMICS!" What's not to like?!), but in terms of giving storytelling space for the shear scale of the novel I prefer the 2000 miniseries (though some of the effects showed that early noughties computers still couldn't compete with early eighties craftsmen and women). With the increased prominence of the miniseries format ITTL following The Next Voyage, might we see that format tried first for Herbert's 'unfilmable' book?
BTW, any chance Mr Stewart and/or any of his crewmates might put in an appearance ITTL?
Eddie Murphy would appear on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, that would boost his career, and then give him his own show sometime, or a recurring role on the Crosby show?
I'm curious about this myself. What's his story, Mr Brainbin? (Besides being brave enough to take one of the more unfortunately joke-inducing papal names out there.)