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While the French elite will, I do imagine the youth and so on will take it in, as is the nature of rebellion. And yeah, alot of potential for the butting of heads, namely for the French establishment unwilling to admit being wrong.
Oh I expect younger French people to rebel and if there is earlier movement against powerful abusers we’ll see accuasations of assualt against leading figures in French Fashion and other places.
 
Hmmm... this could recieve an offhand mention sometime, but maybe one of the downtime activities Jim could be encouraged to do so he isn't consumed by work is writing short stories/novellas, purely just for fun - besides, I think he'd like to do something to release his creative energies again.

Heck, maybe Terry Pratchett is the one to suggest it.
 
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Hmmm... this could recieve an offhand mention sometime, but maybe one of the downtime activities Jim could be encouraged to do so he isn't consumed by work is writing short stories/novellas, purely just for fun - besides, I think he'd like to do something to release his creative energies again.

Heck, maybe Terry Pratchett is the one to suggest it.
I know what you mean, but it worries me that it would just add fuel to his being a workaholic.

For example, "Lady In the Water" started out as a bedtime story. And then M. Night Shyamalan was all "Why am I not writing this down? Why am I not making this into a film?"

How do you keep Henson from developing these ideas further, or handing them off for someone else to make? Then they've turned into work.
 
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Seems like a new age is dawning upon us with Al Gore's Presidency, the departure of Frank Wells towards politics, and Jim Henson becoming the Acting Chairman of Walt Disney Entertainment.

Aside from the parks, I am glad that Jim rejected plans to recreate the original EPCOT as a corporate owned city. While intriguing, it was never going to work in the long run, so having new housing for employees and shareholders seems like a good plan. I also think building new branch facilities for important branches such as the I-Works could also be worth it as Valencia and Port Disney has possibly expanded the pool of Imagineers working in the company right now. Just don't get rid of the original building (like OTL)!.

When it comes to the animated films, Kaguya, Shrek, and La Mancha were all successful, and with The Little Mermaid on the horizon, Disney may be looking at an another home-run. However, I don't know about you, but adapting Sundiata Keita's legend as part of The Lion King's plot is simply genius. I'm hoping that we can get some real African inspiration into the film with the use of Malian instruments (I love West African music a LOT, so this is seriously exciting). There's already a couple of Malian musicians that were performing in London before the 90s (and might be contacted through record companies there), so maybe Disney could recruit some for the soundtrack.


The Marvel/DC rivalry is in full swing, and I think it could be a far more concrete reality within American Pop Culture ITTL with the lack of the MCU and its success. Let's just hope that whatever Disney and WB cook up with their later films will be just as amazing as their previous outings.

I can see why Daryl Hannah would be so concerned with the concept of DisneySea, especially when she found out about the dredging (which Disney is trying its hardest to be as low-impact as possible). It'll be a source of contention among their relationship along with his increased responsibilities, but I'm hoping that this isn't something that will break it entirely.

Glad to see River Phoenix survive, and judging by how he responded to rehab, he might end up living to modern day quite easily.

As always, great post Geekhis!

Was in OTL at the time too. LA Riots, Crown Heights riots, etc.
I honestly think ITTL is worse with the Oscar controversy, a worse LA Riots, an earlier #MeToo, and the drama with increased LGBTQ visibility/representation.

Hmmm... this could recieve an offhand mention sometime, but maybe one of the downtime activities Jim could be encouraged to do so he isn't consumed by work is writing short stories/novellas, purely just for fun - besides, I think he'd like to do something to release his creative energies again.

Heck, maybe Terry Pratchett is the one to suggest it.
I mean, he could do that, but a vacation with Daryl could also be a good way to unwind from work.

Although they could go somewhere nice and pristine like New Mexico or Arizona, I'm gonna suggest something absolutely fucking wild that might make sense with Jim Henson/Daryl Hannah's environmentalist tendencies and the current politics of both California and the United States: The Salton Sea.

retro-postcard.jpg

Some photos of the Salton Sea at its prime.

She could take him on a vacation towards this seemingly innocuous tourist destination, only to see the rapidly deteriorating conditions of the whole area with its toxic off-putting smell and rapid fish/bird die-offs that happen constantly. Not to mention all of the deteriorating infrastructure that dots the shoreline due to its former residents taking flight, leaving the poor Latino community behind.

01_saltonsea_h_6_05451686_2x1.jpg

A literal post-apocalyptic setting in the making.

It's an environmental and economic disaster in the Imperial Valley, but something that could be alleviated or even prevented with adequate and immediate care from both American and Californian politicians as they could rebuild wetlands, help take care of agricultural runoff by bringing in fresh water, build desalination plants, and so forth. There's even a solution where the U.S. could build a canal or a series of pipes that could bring in seawater from the Gulf of Mexico, but hasn't come through for feasibility/monetary reasons.

While I doubt this will be a project that could even succeed ITTL due to the complexity in solving this issue (trust me, I've been hearing about this problem for at least a decade with solutions being implemented at a glacial pace), I would at least like to see the Gore Administration try to tackle this problem.

Well....if it does actually fail, Jim could leave Salton Sea with some pictures and fond memories (including Salvation Mountain, whose creator is still alive as of now).

1024px-Salvation_Mountain_001.jpg
 
Don't know much about Sundiata, but from the Wiki summary, I'm guessing they'll pad a lot of "Simba's" childhood arc with Shakespeare plays and/or their own invention. Gotta have those side characters for growing the protagonist and/or comic relief.

Edit: maybe we could have Herr Rhino as the Mema general?
 
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Depending on @Shiny_Agumon's age they may have only been taught either American exceptionalism (if American) or how America affected their countries history (if non-American)
I was mostly shocked because the whole Antisemitic angle isn't really discussed in po culture or at least not the one I'm consuming. Throw in the fact that I'm European and didn't really have any contact to African American culture growing up and it looks horrific from over here.

Also my dad was kinda an americophil so I grew up thinking that America really was like it's always advertised with Freedom and the American Way😅

The Marvel/DC rivalry is in full swing, and I think it could be a far more concrete reality within American Pop Culture ITTL with the lack of the MCU and its success. Let's just hope that whatever Disney and WB cook up with their later films will be just as amazing as their previous outings.
Well the Man of Steel review hinted at a darker and edgier reboot in the future, so there's that.

However I can totally see some nerds embracing the rivalry and make it popular to debate what's better. Like maybe instead of the Cola Wars we get the Comic Wars?
I wonder if that mean no Amalgam Comics.

Well....if it does actually fail, Jim could leave Salton Sea with some pictures and fond memories (including Salvation Mountain, whose creator is still alive as of now).
Idk if it's realistic to have Jim just happen to stumble into these types of environmental problems and then aspire others to fix them. Like at least with him trying to save some of LAs troubled youth there's a reason why he might run into them, but this just seems like random chance.

Also didn't we want to make him relax with this vacation, I wouldn't call stumbling into an environmental crisis relaxing 😂
 
It is interesting the influence film has on society from the wide to the narrow. The actions of Disney will reach wide and far. From girls in France saying no to powerful men in their industry and politicians possibly losing their seat because of sex stuff hurting more (it could hurt the Lion of the Senate, I said could). And films themselves can influence.

We got some archeologist because of Indiana Jones.

The odd thing is gonna be the UFO wave of the 1990s.
 
Idk if it's realistic to have Jim just happen to stumble into these types of environmental problems and then aspire others to fix them. Like at least with him trying to save some of LAs troubled youth there's a reason why he might run into them, but this just seems like random chance.
I wouldn't have suggested it if Daryl Hannah were not there. She's probably more aware of the real environmental problems in California than Jim and might want him to see the Salton Sea as the disaster that it is. Again, just a suggestion/speculation on my part.

Hell, the Gore Administration might have it as a possible priority if California's governor deems it as a huge problem that needs to be solved soon due to its increasing toxicity on the Imperial Valley and the local wildlife.

Also didn't we want to make him relax with this vacation, I wouldn't call stumbling into an environmental crisis relaxing 😂
Eh, does Salvation Mountain count towards a relaxing experience? :coldsweat:

In all seriousness, I don't really mind a vacation in somewhere like New Mexico, Arizona, or even the Mojave, since the wide open desert could be a relaxing place for someone like him.
 
Part IX: The Frog Prince

Part IX: The Frog Prince


Sir Robin the Brave: I'm valiant and daring/And noble of bearing/Courageous and gallant/A mountain of talent/No wonder folks curtsy and wave/I'm Robin, Sir Robin, the Brave.

Kermit: You're also a frog.

- From Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince


Chapter 6: The Next Summit (Cont’d)
Excerpt from The Visionary and the Vizier, Jim Henson and Frank Wells at Disney, by Derek N. Dedominos, MBA.


In January of 1993 Albert “Al” Gore was inaugurated as America’s 42nd President of the United States. While this meant big changes for the United States, of course, it also meant a big change for the Walt Disney Entertainment Company. Per the deal/bet that he’d made with CEO Ron Miller, Chairman and President Frank Wells would be temporarily stepping down to assume a job in the Gore administration while CCO and Vice Chair Jim Henson and Disney Recreation Chair Dick Nunis would be filling in as Acting Chairman and Acting President, respectively. Roy E. Disney would become Acting Vice Chairman as well as Acting Chair and President of Walt Disney Studios.

Wells, meanwhile, would become the Undersecretary of Commerce for Sustainable Growth, an ad hoc position with a small committee of government undersecretaries and technocrats and representatives from industry and academia. For the adventurous Wells, the public service position offered a new set of challenges and opportunities. The planned committee would begin as a 2-year pilot with the option to extend further. The pilot program would be the first step in a long-term move towards a sustainable economic policy for power, infrastructure, transport, and regulations and would cross over between the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Interior, Defense, and Transportation, to include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and National Science Foundation (NSF). Wells would alternate his physical location between the Department of Commerce offices in the Herbert Hoover Building in Washington, DC, and the NIST Building 1 in Boulder, Colorado. Not only did this arrangement give Wells the opportunity for an easy-out if public service didn’t work for him, but the Boulder location, deliberately chosen by Wells for this reason, would let him reacclimate to high altitudes and practice his mountain climbing skills with the local Sherpa expatriate community in preparation for finally summitting Everest, the last of the “seven summits” for Wells.

For the humble Henson, the Chairmanship was a job that he hadn’t really given much thought to, being perpetually in the “here and now” of late, but for which all agreed that he was fully qualified. Not only had he served with distinction as the Chairman for Walt Disney Studios for the last almost-decade, but as Vice-Chair he’d filled in for Wells on several occasions, where his easy going and gentle nature had proven very effective at averting or limiting arguments, keeping egos in check, and gaining meaningful consensus, even if it had meant a shift in his old not-exactly-professional inclinations. The successes of 1992 and The Bamboo Princess and expected success of Jurassic Park had won over the more hesitant directors and the board voted unanimously and without much argument to hand the job to Henson, who retained his position as Chief Creative Officer. “Gosh, everyone, I’m really flattered,” he reportedly said, honestly surprised at the opportunity.

For the ambitious Nunis, the Presidency was the job he’d been seeking for a decade, but which his bald ambition had ironically held him back from achieving. But the Dick Nunis of 1993 was a different man from the aggressive bully that openly angled for the job in ’84. His time juggling the competing interests of his increased duties as head of the ever-growing Walt Disney Recreation, a job that included working closely with the equally ambitious and aggressive Director Al Checchi of Marriott and the genteel but unwavering Bill Marriott, Jr. – not to mention his experiences dealing with the mercurial Dragados in Spain – had humbled him and forced him to accept the limitations of yelling your way to power. Similarly, the runaway costs of Disneyland Valencia and Port Disney and resulting “bailout” by Pearson had shaken his rock-solid self-assuredness, forcing a bit of self-reflection of late. Furthermore, despite having a rocky start together, his personal and professional relationship with Jim Henson had grown tight and mutually respectful, Henson the yin to his yang in nearly every respect, and it had taught him the value of positivity, trust, and appreciation for one’s employees while he in turn had taught Henson the advantages of confidence, assertiveness, and a strong handshake in dealing with egotistical people.

As Wells had long suspected, and had secretly worked to make happen, Henson and Nunis complimented one another and helped balance each other’s limitations as leaders. Furthermore, Miller would be there to serve as a stabilizing force while COO Stan Kinsey would be there to quietly maintain Wells’ well-oiled operations machine, keeping the Company Ship sailing regardless of what happened on the board.

And as it turned out, things did start out a bit rocky. Nunis was a humbler man than he was in ‘84, but he was still Dick Nunis, “SOB 1”, and acted aggressively to impose his will as the new President in an early show of force. This, needless to say, resulted in pushback from VPs and Department Heads who liked to remind him of the “Acting” part of that title. Nunis and Kinsey also clashed over boundaries and responsibilities and even who “outranked” the other. Miller, in turn, reminded them both that they both worked for him first. Nunis also pressed his authority with Acting Chairman Henson, assuming he could dominate his friend in the way that he often dominated their conversations on their surf outings together.

But if Nunis had mellowed over the decade, then Henson had learned to become more assertive, particularly within the performance of his official duties. He’d developed what his daughter Lisa dubbed “business Tai Chi”, letting the force of personalities and business stress move past him and redirecting it, defusing the conflict, and steering everyone towards the “win-win” consensus. “You can scream at Jim all you want,” Kinsey noted. “You might as well scream at a smiling statue.” Nunis, particularly once Miller had a word with him, ultimately settled in to a firm but comfortable position as benevolent master of his domain. Nunis and Kinsey, at the urging of both Henson and Miller, drew out the respective lines in their areas of authority and ultimately learned to rely heavily upon one another.

Once this “forming, storming, and norming” process worked itself out, the Disney Board and Executive Committee settled into the “new normal” of life without the firm but gentle hand of Frank Wells there to steady the rudder. As Wells suspected, the four professionals, each so different in their personalities and leadership styles, balanced each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The Walt Disney Entertainment Company would, he felt, carry on just fine in his absence, and the Symphony of Disney would harmoniously play on.
 
Here's another wrestler who might face a reckoning for their behavior: Ric Flair (he had a habit of exposing himself backstage). If a Plane Ride From Hell-type incident occurs in TTL, he won't get off lightly, methinks...
 
Here's another wrestler who might face a reckoning for their behavior: Ric Flair (he had a habit of exposing himself backstage). If a Plane Ride From Hell-type incident occurs in TTL, he won't get off lightly, methinks...

Screw that, the whole fucking industry would burn to the ground, minus Mick Foley - when a guy best known for insane hardcore violence is actually the most wholesome person in the industry, you know you have a problem. Even someone as admired as The Undertaker might go under, he never did anything weird as far as I know but he's always been a staunch Vince McMahon loyalist, and it wouldn't surprise me if he'd been very old school in the way he kept order in the locker room back in the day.

Basically what happened recently to the British scene, but to the US and Canada.
 
the NIST Building 1 in Boulder, Colorado. Not only did this arrangement give Wells the opportunity for an easy-out if public service didn’t work for him, but the Boulder location, deliberately chosen by Wells for this reason, would let him reacclimate to high altitudes and practice his mountain climbing skills with the local Sherpa expatriate community in preparation for finally summitting Everest, the last of the “seven summits” for Wells.
I wonder if he will run into Trey and Matt without realising it. I don't mean that they will work for Disney anytime soon, but more in a small world kinda situation.

Well hopefully he will be able to Conquer Everest (if he finds the time for it), maybe he can bring back a functioning Yeti?😂

But if Nunis had mellowed over the decade, then Henson had learned to become more assertive, particularly within the performance of his official duties. He’d developed what his daughter Lisa dubbed “business Tai Chi”, letting the force of personalities and business stress move past him and redirecting it, defusing the conflict, and steering everyone towards the “win-win” consensus. “You can scream at Jim all you want,” Kinsey noted. “You might as well scream at a smiling statue.”
A stark contrast to the grunting and running away at the first sign of trouble like in the early 80s. I love Character development!

Once this “forming, storming, and norming” process worked itself out, the Disney Board and Executive Committee settled into the “new normal” of life without the firm but gentle hand of Frank Wells there to steady the rudder. As Wells suspected, the four professionals, each so different in their personalities and leadership styles, balanced each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The Walt Disney Entertainment Company would, he felt, carry on just fine in his absence, and the Symphony of Disney would harmoniously play on.
Great that the symphony can play without the conductor for a while and I'm looking forward to what Wells will do in Colorado.

Great chapter as always @Geekhis Khan
 
Basically what happened recently to the British scene, but to the US and Canada.
Since I've been slacking on my wrestling knowledge, I decided to share the recent wrestling posts to a friend of mine who has been keeping up far more with wrestling than I, including its underbelly, along with context from the thread. His reaction indicates that, no, it wouldn't be like what happened recently to the British scene... it would be so much more worse than that.

Everyone here has to remember that North American professional wrestling has its roots in carnies, and for all intents and purposes, the McMahons are the biggest carnies in town. Anything bad that was going down? Vince knew. Jimmy Snuka murdering his girlfriend back in '83? Effectively covered up. Pat Patterson, whom the WWE keeps touting as definitive proof that they are gay friendly? Pedophilia accusations. Jerry Lawler? Actual public proof of being a pedophile, ignored by the WWE. The Fabulous Moolah? Exploited and manipulated the women's wrestling industry in the US, including prostituting the women out. And Taker only avoided attention during the 90s and forward because he kept his mouth shut, hence why we hardly know anything about his personal life until recently; for your information, man's a Trumper and Blue Lives Matter supporter now. And on WCW, all he could say was "so much shit in WCW". And this was everything he could remember on the spot, aside from everything else mentioned so far in the thread.

To quote my friend, "a #MeToo movement in the 90s would literally kill wrestling, at least in North America safe for Mexico; you can only pivot so much from all the scumbaggery." The OTL '94 Steroid Trial (United States v. McMahon) would look like a walk in the park compared to wrestling getting caught up in this. And after sharing with him the snippet of how Columbia is handling these developments from the "Boys will be Boys" update, and pointing out the mentions of WCW's existence by this point, all he could muster was "oh no, oh nonononon," as aside from Flair, there's also folks like Tully Blanchard and the rest of the Horsemen (at least by '93). To quote, "The Four Horsemen? More like, the Four Jailcells." And if Columbia already has drama in the press and courts, who knows what bringing attention to stuff in WCW might do for the industry...
 
To quote my friend, "a #MeToo movement in the 90s would literally kill wrestling, at least in North America safe for Mexico; you can only pivot so much from all the scumbaggery." The OTL '94 Steroid Trial (United States v. McMahon) would look like a walk in the park compared to wrestling getting caught up in this. And after sharing with him the snippet of how Columbia is handling these developments from the "Boys will be Boys" update, and pointing out the mentions of WCW's existence by this point, all he could muster was "oh no, oh nonononon," as aside from Flair, there's also folks like Tully Blanchard and the rest of the Horsemen (at least by '93). To quote, "The Four Horsemen? More like, the Four Jailcells." And if Columbia already has drama in the press and courts, who knows what bringing attention to stuff in WCW might do for the industry...
Now I'm wondering that if this would make Mexican mask-wrestling more popular as a result and if some of the American wrestlers would ban together to try and start something new as the whole thing is ending and McMahon's empire is crumbling.
 
Since I've been slacking on my wrestling knowledge, I decided to share the recent wrestling posts to a friend of mine who has been keeping up far more with wrestling than I, including its underbelly, along with context from the thread. His reaction indicates that, no, it wouldn't be like what happened recently to the British scene... it would be so much more worse than that.

Everyone here has to remember that North American professional wrestling has its roots in carnies, and for all intents and purposes, the McMahons are the biggest carnies in town. Anything bad that was going down? Vince knew. Jimmy Snuka murdering his girlfriend back in '83? Effectively covered up. Pat Patterson, whom the WWE keeps touting as definitive proof that they are gay friendly? Pedophilia accusations. Jerry Lawler? Actual public proof of being a pedophile, ignored by the WWE. The Fabulous Moolah? Exploited and manipulated the women's wrestling industry in the US, including prostituting the women out. And Taker only avoided attention during the 90s and forward because he kept his mouth shut, hence why we hardly know anything about his personal life until recently; for your information, man's a Trumper and Blue Lives Matter supporter now. And on WCW, all he could say was "so much shit in WCW". And this was everything he could remember on the spot, aside from everything else mentioned so far in the thread.

To quote my friend, "a #MeToo movement in the 90s would literally kill wrestling, at least in North America safe for Mexico; you can only pivot so much from all the scumbaggery." The OTL '94 Steroid Trial (United States v. McMahon) would look like a walk in the park compared to wrestling getting caught up in this. And after sharing with him the snippet of how Columbia is handling these developments from the "Boys will be Boys" update, and pointing out the mentions of WCW's existence by this point, all he could muster was "oh no, oh nonononon," as aside from Flair, there's also folks like Tully Blanchard and the rest of the Horsemen (at least by '93). To quote, "The Four Horsemen? More like, the Four Jailcells." And if Columbia already has drama in the press and courts, who knows what bringing attention to stuff in WCW might do for the industry...
I have one thing to say to this: Oh, no!!!

This is really going to suck for wrestling, isn't it? (Yeah, when Mick Foley is the best guy in your industry, you have a problem...) Forget one article--entire books are going to be written on how bad wrestling is in TTL if all this comes out. A whole bunch of investigative reporters are going to have their careers made if that happens...

Basically, this is like a grenade waiting to go off and detonate in the industry, isn't it?

Speaking of which, did Gary Webb still leave for the San Jose Mercury News in TTL? If he is still at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, he'd be the perfect investigative reporter to expose Dr. Richard Strauss at Ohio State (hopefully with Jim Jordan's help)--he did help expose Dr. Michael Swango in OTL...
 
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