Dom
Moderator
I suspect that Meadow added in the bit about Doctor Who as a bit of a joke, and a bit of teasing towards Roemeo.
TLIAD: Shuffling The Deck
- Thread starter Meadow
- Start date
I suspect that Meadow added in the bit about Doctor Who as a bit of a joke, and a bit of teasing towards Roemeo.
Hmm, the order could be something like:
William Hartnell
Jon Pertwee
Patrick Troughton
Colin Baker
Sylvester McCoy
Peter Capaldi
Peter Davison
Tom Baker (Only appeared in the TV Movie)
David Tennant
Matt Smith
Christopher Eccleston
Paul McGann
Cheers,
Nigel.
No coalition now, but there was the Lib-Lab coalition that was a success during the 1970s under the not-Lavender-at-all Harold Wilson. That one lasted 8 years.
Excellent writing. I must ask, has John Major shown any tendencies towards corruption in the real history? His character in TTL seems very different to how we view him in our world, but I am not sure which timeline is the more accurate to the man's true character!
Which is perhaps something of a backhanded complement. So good your readers aren't sure if it is truth!
fasquardon
Which is perhaps something of a backhanded complement. So good your readers aren't sure if it is truth!
fasquardon
I have to admit that I'm not hugely versed in British politics, but this was an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless. It's a fun premise and exercise, but you two managed to make it even better by only reversing specific aspects or perceptions whilst keeping them otherwise in-tact, instead of wholesale reversals. Putting Thatcher and Brown as a British Campbell and Chrétien, complete with a face ad equivalent was a welcome surprise, and the closing profile on Blair is nothing short of masterful.
Throughout the TL, there were references to swapped-around American presidents; could we see the full list? Or... are you saving it for a sequel?
Throughout the TL, there were references to swapped-around American presidents; could we see the full list? Or... are you saving it for a sequel?
Thank you. The thing about Major is that no, he didn't show much sign of corruption IOTL. He was seen as a decent man stuck with an appalling government - or at least that's how he is remembered. However, as most of his life was after the POD, and he gained his political upbringing in a different government to OTL (Heath, not Thatcher), we figured it was plausible for him to start to see the 'perks' that come with being a politician as more tempting than he did in OTL. By 1998 he'd left office IOTL, so we're dealing with an older, more cynical, and hungry for power Major. Hence his rampant corruption.
And his reputation as a decent, grey, honourable man was a bit dented when the news of his affair with ?Edwina Curry? came out. If he was willing to a bit of fiddling on the side one way iotl, Im open to the idea of a bit of fiddling on the side in another way....
Obligatory list.
Stanley Baldwin (Conservative leading National Government) 1935-1937
Neville Chamberlain (Conservative leading National Government/Wartime Coalition) 1937-1940
Winston Churchill (Conservative leading Wartime Coalition) 1940-1942
Anthony Eden (Conservative leading Wartime Coalition) 1942-1945
Anthony Eden (Conservative majority) 1945-1947
Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative majority) 1947-1955
Clement Attlee (Labour majority) 1955-1957
James Callaghan (Labour majority) 1957-1964
Harold Macmillan (Conservative majority) 1964-1968
James Callaghan (Labour majority) 1968-1972
Harold Wilson (Labour majority) 1972
Harold Wilson (Labour-Liberal coalition) 1972-1980
Harold Wilson (Labour minority) 1980
Edward Heath (Conservative majority) 1980-1989
Margaret Thatcher (Conservative majority) 1989-1990
Gordon Brown (Labour majority) 1990-1998
John Major (Conservative majority) 1998-2006
David Cameron (Conservative majority) 2006-2008
Anthony Blair (Labour majority) 2008-2014
Ed Miliband? (Labour majority) 2014-20??
Stanley Baldwin (Conservative leading National Government) 1935-1937
Neville Chamberlain (Conservative leading National Government/Wartime Coalition) 1937-1940
Winston Churchill (Conservative leading Wartime Coalition) 1940-1942
Anthony Eden (Conservative leading Wartime Coalition) 1942-1945
Anthony Eden (Conservative majority) 1945-1947
Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative majority) 1947-1955
Clement Attlee (Labour majority) 1955-1957
James Callaghan (Labour majority) 1957-1964
Harold Macmillan (Conservative majority) 1964-1968
James Callaghan (Labour majority) 1968-1972
Harold Wilson (Labour majority) 1972
Harold Wilson (Labour-Liberal coalition) 1972-1980
Harold Wilson (Labour minority) 1980
Edward Heath (Conservative majority) 1980-1989
Margaret Thatcher (Conservative majority) 1989-1990
Gordon Brown (Labour majority) 1990-1998
John Major (Conservative majority) 1998-2006
David Cameron (Conservative majority) 2006-2008
Anthony Blair (Labour majority) 2008-2014
Ed Miliband? (Labour majority) 2014-20??
Thande
Donor
Nice ending. Looks like everything else is shuffled as well, including Doctors (another one you could have done was James Bonds - I remember reading that Pierce Brosnan nearly got it when Timothy Dalton did OTL, etc., so there's a lot of potential there).
I like the little touches like Beckett being alt-Portillo and IDS replacing incompetent Howard. Looks like both Rodham and Obama were Republicans all along (what a tweest) which in the former case is quite a well-worn POD, as she was indeed one in her youth.
Also nice touch on the Mossadegh thing having gone differently in the past in contrast with Blair's greatly successful war.
The only bit that doesn't really ring true for me is that the public didn't like Blair because he was a 'grinning geek'. I can't really see this happening - I can easily see the idea of Blair being unpopular then popular as you've done it, but I'd have thought the source of his unpopularity would be a sense of him being out-of-touch, elitist and having more personal background in common with the opposition, in contrast to the down-to-earth Brown. More like John Kerry in 2004 than Al Gore in 2000.
Overall this was a very enjoyable project and one which I think could potentially have more mainstream appeal (among the politically aware UK public) than most of our work on this site.
I like the little touches like Beckett being alt-Portillo and IDS replacing incompetent Howard. Looks like both Rodham and Obama were Republicans all along (what a tweest) which in the former case is quite a well-worn POD, as she was indeed one in her youth.
Also nice touch on the Mossadegh thing having gone differently in the past in contrast with Blair's greatly successful war.
The only bit that doesn't really ring true for me is that the public didn't like Blair because he was a 'grinning geek'. I can't really see this happening - I can easily see the idea of Blair being unpopular then popular as you've done it, but I'd have thought the source of his unpopularity would be a sense of him being out-of-touch, elitist and having more personal background in common with the opposition, in contrast to the down-to-earth Brown. More like John Kerry in 2004 than Al Gore in 2000.
Overall this was a very enjoyable project and one which I think could potentially have more mainstream appeal (among the politically aware UK public) than most of our work on this site.
Why're you reading the comments at the end if you're not done! Rule one of not being spoiled - don't jump to the end!
Wha? If you're going to the back of the book, expect to find spoilers, really.
And, apparently posted on the Guardian website 24 minutes after this, I see:
Meet the Kosovan Albanians who named their sons after Tony Blair
The coincidence is striking!
We do plan on making our own list post, and we will be putting it in this thread, so I'd have to agree that you shouldn't be looking at the last page when you're working your way through the TL. I know I avoid looking at the latest comments on Decisive Darkness. Thanks for reading, though.
Oh, I didn't know you planned on a list. I'll remove mine if you want.