What We Do Here is Go Back!: An Open and Collaborative Throwback Timeline

[Montgomerie Ward]

The title of this timeline, based on this song, follows the outline of my post on the List Alternate Presidents and PMs Thread. The roles are as follows: John McCain=Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush=George H.W. Bush, Hillary Clinton=Bill Clinton, Jeb Bush=George W. Bush, Barack Obama=himself, etc. I am hoping contributors to not only contribute politically, but also, in popular culture (2000s containing 1980s throwbacks, 2010s containing 1990s throwback, 2020s containing 2000s throwbacks, 2030s containing 2010s throwbacks, etc.). Thank you all for contributing, and try not to contribute anything too ASB. If you would like to serve as an editor/veto-power contributor, PM me.

 

[Montgomerie Ward]

February 12th, 1999 - President Bill Clinton's Long Impeachment Trial Concludes (As OTL)​

 

[TehIrishSoap]

20th February 1999:
Film critic Gene Siskel is successfully treated for a brain tumor. He returns to work in April 1999 where he promptly gives Never Been Kissed a thrashing.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

16th July 1999:
John F Kennedy Jr's Piper Saratoga skids off the runway while Kennedy was preparing to taxi. The plane is moderately damaged but Kennedy, his wife, and his sister-in-law are all fine. They make arrangements for another flight to cousin Rory's wedding shortly after and a wonderful time is had by all.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

21st March 1999:

Saving Private Ryan wins Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Its lead actor Tom Hanks wins a third Best Actor Oscar for his role as a weary officer ordered to rescue a lone soldier.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

26th March 1999:
Dr. Jack Kevorkian is acquitted of second degree murder

20th April 1999:
Two high school students are involved in a fatal crash on their way to Columbine High School. It is only later that authorities reveal that the two "victims" were planning a massacre at their school...

12th October 1999: A commercial airliner crashes just miles away from Karachi airport in Pakistan. Most on board do not survive, including Pakistani Army Chief Pervez Musharraf. News of a coup against Prime Minister Sharif are dismissed as vile propaganda by the ruling government.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

I don't know if these are too far ahead, but here are some political stuff:

23rd February 1999:
In a shocking turn of events, incumbent Chicago Mayor Richard Daley loses reelection to US Representative Bobby Rush. Governor George Ryan announces a special election in July to fill Mayor-elect Rush's seat.

6th July 1999:
State Senator and college professor Barack H Obama is elected to the Illinois 1st Congressional District.

14th February 2000: Donald Trump decides against withdrawing from the Reform Party presidential campaign. Same goes for Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.

7th November 2000:
Political columnist and author Ann Coulter is elected to the Connecticut 4th congressional district, (in a rare combination, she was nominated by the Republican party and endorsed by the Libertarian party). Heidi Heitkamp (DNPL-ND) is elected Governor of North Dakota. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) is elected to the US Senate. Senator Chuck Robb (D-VA) is reelected over challenger George Allen.

25th June 2002:
The Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission rules that Mitt Romney is ineligible to be a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election.

5th November 2002: Former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich defeats incumbent Governor Jane Swift in the Massachusetts gubernatorial election.

2nd November 2004: Mitt Romney is elected Governor of Utah.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

4th November 1999:
The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 aka the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act fails to pass Congress.

15th May 1999:
The Duma successfully impeaches Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

29th June 2001:
Joe Dante's Godzilla Reborn is released by Columbia Tristar. Although some audience members are confused as to whether this is a sequel to the infamous 1998 remake or the limited release Japanese reboot, the 20 million dollar film does great business. Bruce Campbell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Scott Bakula, Christopher Lee, Leonard Nimoy, Ken Takakura, Bob Picardo, Belinda Balaski and Dick Miller are familiar faces in the cast with Anne Hathaway and Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson making their debut as a vacationing journalism student and ladies man hotel owner trying to survive Godzilla's first trip to Hawaii. The bumbling military commanders (Campbell, Bakula, and Picardo) actually manage to coordinate their forces and knock Godzilla unconscious, just before an "alien lava bat" emerges from an underwater volcano and the humans are forced to wake up Godzilla to save them. Unlike previous efforts, the monster action is played straight while almost every human character "could have come from the Simpsons" (said one critic.) Plans are made to continue this series as Toho still tries to innovate and improve their line up.

15th November 2003
Republican Bobby Jindal is elected Governor of Louisiana over Democrat Lt. Governor Kathleen Blanco.

9th December 2003
Matt Gonzalez (G-CA) narrowly defeats Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to become the next Mayor of San Francisco.

 

[Pericles]

TEXAS GOVERNOR GEORGE W BUSH DECLINES TO RUN-MARCH 28, 1999
"RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IS NOT IN MY HEART" SAYS BUSH
SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT OPENS UP GOP FIELD

​

 

[Jaguars4life]

November 1998: Ron Paul announces he will run for president in 2000.

February 2000: Ted Kennedy announces he will run for president.

 

[OldNavy1988]

So without Dubya, do the Republicans go with John McCain, Mitt Romney, Alan Keyes, John Kasich, Dan Quayle or Lamar Alexander?

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

July 1999:
Retired General Colin Powell (R-NY) announces his candidacy for president. Former Governor Richard Lamm (D-CO) announces his run for president as a candidate of the Reform party. Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) announces he is running for president.

August 1999:
Governor Gary Johnson (R-NM) announces he is running for president.

September 1999:
Senator Robert Kerrey (D-NE) announces his run for president.

October 1999:
Former Secretary and Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp announces his run for president.

February 2000:
Former Congressman Tim Penny (D-MN) announces his run for president for the Reform Party.

*11th September 2001:
John F. Kennedy Jr. narrowly wins the Democratic primary for the NYC mayoral election. Despite his immense war chest, Michael Bloomberg loses the Republican primary to Former Representative Herman Badillo.

*This doesn't have to be set in stone. I don't know if anyone has plans for continuing or cancelling 9/11, so I can change the date. Also, I believe there was talk of JFK Jr running for NY Governor in 2002, but I figured it would be better for him to start here.

*6th November 2001:
John F Kennedy Jr (D-NY) is elected Mayor of New York City in a landslide.

5th November 2002:
Michael Bloomberg, running on a Democrat-Independence Party fusion ticket, narrowly defeats incumbent George Pataki (R-NY) in the New York gubernatorial election.

 

[Pokemon Master]

May 14, 1999: Senator Bob Graham of Florida announces his campaign for President of the United States in 2000.

May 31, 1999: Former Governor Bill Weld of Massachusetts announces his campaign for President of the United States in 2000.

 

[Jaguars4life]

March 1 1999: Congressman Ron Paul wins a Iowa Straw Poll

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

February 2000:
Former Senator David Boren (D-OK) announces his run for president as a candidate of the Reform party.

21st March 2000:
The Supreme Court rules that the FDA has the authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug.

26th March 2000:
Neither Acting President Vladimir Putin nor Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov are victorious in the Russian election, causing much turmoil and will lead to a runoff...

12th August 2000:
Russian submarine Kursk accidentally fires a live torpedo at Northern Fleet flagship Pyotr Velikly. The nuclear battle cruiser takes a direct hit to her starboard side, crippling the ship and damaging her steering. The damage cause the battlecruiser to move into the path of the American submarine Toledo, causing a collision that results in six dead on the Toledo, and five more on the Velikly, adding to the death toll of 20 from the torpedo strike. Although the deaths are tragic, fortunately neither ship's reactor is damaged.

28th September 2000:
Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon is killed by an unknown assailant while visiting the Temple Mount.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

26th September 2001:
The newest spin-off of Star Trek, Excelsior, debuts on UPN. Originally it was to be a prequel to the original series, but a successful fan campaign changed the minds of the producers. Excelsior follows the voyages of the starship Excelsior, commanded by Starfleet veteran and hero Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), and takes places after the events of Star Trek VI but before Generations. Members of the crew include Voyager member Tim Russ as Vulcan science officer Tuvok, Grace Lee Whitney as Commander Janice Rand, Christian Slater as Comms Officer Clarence Worley, Elizabeth Pena as Chief Engineer Selena Chavez, and Linda Park as Captain Sulu's daughter Demora, whom plans to join Starfleet but also is finding herself attracted to Lt. Worley. After the success of the pilot, UPN gives an order for two more seasons right off the bat. Some guest stars include James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, and after much baiting and persuasion, William Shatner.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

8th October 1999:
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey announces, through a press release, that she is "willing" to be Donald Trump's running mate should he win the Reform Party nomination.

3rd December 1999:
At a debate for Reform party candidates held in Portland Oregon, Donald Trump rips into Pat Buchanan for his paleoconservative views and past anti-semitic remarks. Buchanan is unable to defend himself and many critics believe this a nail in his campaign's coffin and that Trump is taking the race seriously.

September 2000
The Federal Elections Commission rule that Donald Trump will receive ballot access and the nearly thirteen million in campaign funds available.

 

[Jaguars4life]

November 28 1999: Ron Paul is seeing as the winner of the first GOP debate with quotes such as President Clinton should of been impeached for crimes of war in Yugoslavia.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

March 2001:
George Romero's Resident Evil is released to theaters. The cast is led by Sarah Michelle Gellar who plays special operative Jill Valentine, with Buffy co-star David Boreanaz is Chris Redfield, Michelle Rodriguez as Rebecca Chambers (rewritten as a more of tough character), Michael Rooker as Barry Burton, and Guy Pearce as the traitorous Wesker. Many critics herald it as the first successful video game movie and a comeback for Romero. Plans for sequels are immediately are discussed.

May 2001:
Oliver Stone's Superman Lives is released to theaters. After a tumultuous,lengthy, and expensive production schedule, Warners Bros. decided to go ahead with Dan Gilroy's script and beg and bribe lead actor Nicholas Cage to remain in the role of Superman/ Clark Kent. The plot begins on Krypton, where Brainiac (Gary Oldman) slays Superman's parents before his rocket escapes to Earth before moving to the present where Lois Lane (Sandra Bullock) and Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) are close to discovering Superman's secret identity. Before this can open, Brainiac arrives and downloads his consciousness into Luthor before unleashing the Doomsday (Ron Perlman in green screen suit). Superman and Doomsday fight to death and destroy much of Metropolis before their deaths. Superman is resurrected by a Kryptonian mystical force and returns to Metropolis in time to defeat to Brainiac and save Lois and the world. Stone, the producers, and the Warner Bros' accountants hold their breaths until the film's profits sail past 500 million. The critics are divided, some praise how the finish result, others bash how rushed it seems. Plans for a sequel are made but, no one is for sure whether or not Stone or Cage will return...

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

16th June 1999:
Vice President Al Gore announces his candidacy for president during a speech. As he goes through the motions, he decides not to rebuke the President during the speech or the campaign.

5th November 2002:
George Wallace III aka George Wallace Jr (R-AL) is elected Governor over the incumbent Don Siegelman (D-AL)