"Where Are We Going This Time": The Golden Age of Science Fiction

[Professor Finklestink]

Homefront, Part II has a summary over three pages long. We've just spent the last three-and-a-half hours working it out. It reads more like a Memory Alpha summary than our usual fare.

A selected snippet:

President Sulu wants to know what’s happening outside. He has an awful feeling that something bad has happened. Bashir explains that Gardener has taken over, but he doesn’t know much more than that. Sulu turns on the news, which immediately informs them that Vulcan, Andor, and Kashee IV have seceded, and Arbaz, Bolia, and Coridan are expected to follow. Tellar is still weighing its options, as is Xelatii II. Bashir and Sulu are horrified, with the president murmuring, “My God, what has he done?”​

Wow

 

[Ogrebear]

I am fairly sure that the UFP has a process in place for succession and its not as simple as one day saying 'we are out' simply cos as the UK proved with the EU, and it will only be more complex for an entity like the UFP there are so, so many ties into the main structure- defence, trading, credits, energy, projects, staff, basing rights etc etc.

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

I am fairly sure that the UFP has a process in place for succession and its not as simple as one day saying 'we are out' simply cos as the UK proved with the EU, and it will only be more complex for an entity like the UFP there are so, so many ties into the main structure- defence, trading, credits, energy, projects, staff, basing rights etc etc.

Oh, definitely. As I put it to a friend who asked about this, the secessions are moreso declarations, I believe, rather than fully legal acts. A lot of this is television drama rather than actual realistic procedure. Whatever equivalent to YouTube crops up in this universe might have some sort of "Diplomats React to Star Trek DS9: Homefront" video on it where they rip this episode apart for that. We'll probably follow up on these secessions later in the season.

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

So we've more or less decided on the 1998 Brooks specials. With this, I have a little game... I've given you three of the holidays these will be released around. Can you all guess which other celebration goes with which story? (American holidays, so no bank holidays or Guy Fawkes' Night, folks.)

1998 Specials

The Time Ravagers (New Year’s Day)​

Save the King​

SLEEPY (Valentine’s Day)​

Where the Weeds Grow​

Mister Milk​

Lift Every Voice and Sing​

From Cradle to Early Grave?​

What Lies in the Stars​

The Wobblies​

At World’s End (Columbus Day)​

Nightmare Country​

Casualties of War​

A Lover Abroad in Tokyo​

 

[Professor Finklestink]

Casualties of war: veterans day or memorial day

 

[Finn Morgendorffer]

Lift Every Voice and Sing

MLK day

Nightmare Country

Halloween.

 

[Queelez]

Assuming that they're in calendar order...
The Time Ravagers (New Year’s Day)
Save the King (President's Day)
SLEEPY (Valentine’s Day)
Where the Weeds Grow (Arbor Day or Earth Day)
Mister Milk (May Day/International Workers' Day)
Lift Every Voice and Sing (Juneteenth)
From Cradle to Early Grave? (Independence day/July 4th)
What Lies in the Stars (Anniversary of the Moon Landing)
The Wobblies (Labor Day)
At World’s End (Columbus Day)
Nightmare Country (Halloween)
Casualties of War (Veteran's Day)
A Lover Abroad in Tokyo (Christmas)

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

Casualties of war: veterans day or memorial day

Veterans Day is correct.

MLK day

Incorrect.

Assuming that they're in calendar order...
The Time Ravagers (New Year’s Day)

Gave you that one...

Save the King (President's Day)

Nope.

SLEEPY (Valentine’s Day)

Gave you that one.

Where the Weeds Grow (Arbor Day or Earth Day)

Arbor Day is correct.

Mister Milk (May Day/International Workers' Day)

Incorrect.

Lift Every Voice and Sing (Juneteenth)

Very good!

From Cradle to Early Grave? (Independence day/July 4th)

Perfect.

What Lies in the Stars (Anniversary of the Moon Landing)

No.

The Wobblies (Labor Day)

Yes!

At World’s End (Columbus Day)

Gave you that one.

Nightmare Country (Halloween)

Kind of obvious, but yeah.

Casualties of War (Veteran's Day)

Correct!

A Lover Abroad in Tokyo (Christmas)

And yep, that's also correct.

Okay, so we now sit here. I'll give you a little note about each marked story. Can you guys guess the remaining two marked in bold?

1998 Specials

The Time Ravagers (New Year’s Day)​

Based on the 1985 AudioVisuals audio drama, the first to star Nicholas Briggs as their main Doctor.​

Save the King (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)​

Will look at how the Doctor deals with race relations, given that he now looks black.​

SLEEPY (Valentine’s Day)​

The Doctor is still not well after the events of the last story.​

Where the Weeds Grow (Arbor Day)​

At long last, the Krynoids return.​

Mister Milk​

Lift Every Voice and Sing (Juneteenth)​

A modern-day story that will likely be divisive due to not featuring any aliens. As critics will say, "It's a solid script, but how is this any different than a generic movie-of-the-week?"​

From Cradle to Early Grave? (Independence Day)​

The last appearance ITTL of the Ainley Master.​

What Lies in the Stars​

The Wobblies (Labor Day)​

The Doctor and his companions meet Eugene V. Debs and Helen Keller.​

At World’s End (Columbus Day)​

There's trouble in paradise and not simply because Columbus is brutalizing the natives. Oh, and there's a new face for an old villain.​

Nightmare Country (Halloween)​

"A wooden spaceship? Now I really have seen everything."​

Casualties of War (Veterans Day)​

Can you make a Sontaran sympathetic without him becoming a joke character? (No offense to Strax.)​

A Lover Abroad in Tokyo (Christmas)​

And finally, two big stars take time out of their busy schedules to help Avery Brooks hunt down an intergalactic lothario raising sexy, salacious hell in Japan's capital on Christmas Eve.​

 

[Queelez]

May Day was a total stab in the dark, and it's a stretch to call the Lunar Landing Anniversary a holiday, so I'm not surprised I got those wrong. Great hints for the episodes, though, looking forward to reading more!

 

[Professor Finklestink]

What Lies in the Stars

Might be a stretch, but Chinese new years?

 

[drwhom42]

So we've more or less decided on the 1998 Brooks specials. With this, I have a little game... I've given you three of the holidays these will be released around. Can you all guess which other celebration goes with which story? (American holidays, so no bank holidays or Guy Fawkes' Night, folks.)

1998 Specials

The Time Ravagers (New Year’s Day)​

Save the King​

SLEEPY (Valentine’s Day)​

Where the Weeds Grow​

Mister Milk​

Lift Every Voice and Sing​

From Cradle to Early Grave?​

What Lies in the Stars​

The Wobblies​

At World’s End (Columbus Day)​

Nightmare Country​

Casualties of War​

A Lover Abroad in Tokyo​

one for thanksgiving? (edit: only saw that message, but not seen it guessed for the remaining two, so still on)

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

Might be a stretch, but Chinese new years?

That's actually an amazing guess, but sadly incorrect. (Also, your username wouldn't happen to be a reference to the TV Comic story Return of the Daleks! where the Time Lord homeworld was identified as Jewel... after the TV series had already named it Gallifrey?)

What Lies in the Stars is for the Jewish holiday Tisha B'av. I had written this storyline out for The Doctor Who Project with my friend Daniel Tessier (who's currently busy with a newborn; we're all so happy for him and his fiance), but we both came down with COVID and couldn't write it. I may yet write something based on the outline, but anyway, expect a real meaty description for this one. The original notion I had was essentially doing the lost Second Doctor story Bar Kochbar (retitled to the more accurate Bar Kokhba) about Simon bar Kokhba, and researching resulted in us writing what is essentially a great tragedy. The title we gave it is something of a play on words.

one for thanksgiving? (edit: only saw that message, but not seen it guessed for the remaining two, so still on)

Ah, no. I'd considered it, definitely, but I was worried about having too many US-centric historicals given that the season already has Save the King, Mister Milk, Lift Every Voice and Sing, From Cradle to Early Grave?, The Wobblies, and At World's End. All of those qualify as either directly historical or around mythologized figures in the US. That said, I'd be open to the show having a Thanksgiving historical in the future. Vengeful turkey-like aliens, anyone?

As I've sort of given it away, Mister Milk is for Pride Month.

1998 Specials

The Time Ravagers (New Year’s Day)​

Based on the 1985 AudioVisuals audio drama, the first to star Nicholas Briggs as their main Doctor.​

Save the King (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)​

Will look at how the Doctor deals with race relations, given that he now looks black.​

SLEEPY (Valentine’s Day)​

The Doctor is still not well after the events of the last story.​

Where the Weeds Grow (Arbor Day)​

At long last, the Krynoids return.​

Mister Milk (Pride Month)​

One of the companions is revealed to be bisexual.​

Lift Every Voice and Sing (Juneteenth)​

A modern-day story that will likely be divisive due to not featuring any aliens. As critics will say, "It's a solid script, but how is this any different than a generic movie-of-the-week?"​

From Cradle to Early Grave? (Independence Day)​

The last appearance ITTL of the Ainley Master.​

What Lies in the Stars (Tisha B’av)​

Working title was The Second Revolt in Judea. Concerns the fourth phase of the Third Jewish-Roman War, specifically the Siege of Beitar, circa 134 CE. A true Hartnell-style historical.​

The Wobblies (Labor Day)​

The Doctor and his companions meet Eugene V. Debs and Helen Keller.​

At World’s End (Columbus Day)​

There's trouble in paradise and not simply because Columbus is brutalizing the natives. Oh, and there's a new face for an old villain.​

Nightmare Country (Halloween)​

"A wooden spaceship? Now I really have seen everything."​

Casualties of War (Veterans Day)​

Can you make a Sontaran sympathetic without him becoming a joke character? (No offense to Strax.)​

A Lover Abroad in Tokyo (Christmas)​

And finally, two big stars take time out of their busy schedules to help Avery Brooks hunt down an intergalactic lothario raising sexy, salacious hell in Japan's capital on Christmas Eve.​

Also, I may end up doing a different Sontaran story depending on if I can make Casualties of War work or not. If it does work out, expect that fun pseudo-historical with the Sontarans to instead show up sometime in the Eleventh Doctor's era. A tale of two emperors meeting while being targeted by alien forces... featuring the United States' only Emperor, Norton I. Here's an old cover I did for it when I'd had it planned for my own Doctor Who audios:

 

[Professor Finklestink]

(Also, your username wouldn't happen to be a reference to the TV Comic story Return of the Daleks! where the Time Lord homeworld was identified as Jewel... after the TV series had already named it Gallifrey?)

It is! You're actually the first person to get that reference, to be fair though, the TV comics are quite obscure.

 

[drwhom42]

What Lies in the Stars is for the Jewish holiday Tisha B'av.

As I've sort of given it away, Mister Milk is for Pride Month.

love both of these, a "doctor who" pride month special is definitely something that needs to happen in otl (rtd2 🤞)

can't wait to see all of these, hope you're all doing safe and well 💖💖💖

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

Rest in peace Leslie Jordan, who played Kol in Voyager's "False Profits." You will be missed.

Jordan will be retained as a guest star in the Odyssey version of the episode: "Small Prophets, Quick Return?"

 

[WolframandHart]

Chapter XXX: "Be Excellent to Each Other"​

Though the bulk of media covering the “Golden Age of Science-Fiction” focusses heavily on the television media of the time and the “Big Three” franchises (Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars), film also had an important part to play. [1]

Bill and Ted [2]

The exact dates of the beginning and end of the Golden Age of Science-Fiction are widely debated, but the Bill and Ted franchise is generally held to be a part of it, in spirit if nothing else. The series of films were commercially and critically successful at the time of their release, and have garnered a large cult following in the years since.

The titular duo of Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Theodore Logan were played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves respectively. Reeves was cast almost immediately after his audition, and subsequently, the casting of Bill was focussed around finding an actor that played well off of Reeves. [3]

The first film in the franchise, the 1989 film Bill and Ted’s Time Van, saw the duo recruiting famous historical figures from throughout time to help in their history report. They do this through the use of the “Time Van”, a 1969 Chevrolet Van that is gifted to them by Rufus (George Carlin), who comes from a utopian future that will be created by Bill and Ted.

The “Time Van” was one of two time-travel ‘vehicles’ proposed for the script, the other being a telephone box. The telephone box was initially favoured due to the potential visual gag of it ‘filling up’ with the historical figures, but was rejected for being too similar visually to the TARDIS from Doctor Who. Curiously, the initial draft of Doctor Who: Back to the Future, written before it became a Doctor Who film, featured a time-travelling car. [4]

The film was a critical and commercial success, making $45 million back on a $10 million budget, and a sequel was greenlit, as well as an animated television show. The television show, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures, ran for three seasons on CBS from 1990-93 and saw Reeves, Winter, and Carlin all reprising their roles. [5]


1991 would bring the sequel, Bill and Ted Go to Hell, which saw the duo facing off against evil robot duplicates of themselves sent from the future by Chuck De Nomolos (Ringo Starr), a contemporary of Rufus’ that hates rock music and wants to replace the utopian society he lives in with a more militaristic version. Partway through the story, Bill and Ted die and are met by Death (William Sadler) in a sequence that parodies The Seventh Seal.

Bill and Ted Go to Hell was positively reviewed and performed well at the box office, though it failed to reach the heights of the original. Nevertheless, New Line Cinema (which had bought Orion Pictures) were willing to finance another sequel. [6]


Bill and Ted Rock Out was released in 1994, and acted as the finale to the trilogy. Three years after the events of Bill and Ted Go to Hell, the duo have started to see some of the drawbacks of superstardom, and their relations with their respective wives have started to deteriorate. Things are made worse when Rufus reveals that their work is not yet done, and that they are to perform “the greatest song ever” soon, which will finally bring world peace. [7]

The film was met with mostly positive contemporary reviews, with retrospective reviews being more favourable. Filmed on a $15 million budget, a $5 million decrease from Bill and Ted Go to Hell, it made $40 million at the box office.

While most of the cast from the previous two films returned, William Sadler’s role as Death was greatly reduced from the original script as he had signed on to other projects which made him unavailable for most of the filming. Death was largely written out of the story with the excuse that he was “on holiday”. The remainder of his scenes were given to a new character called Mark, who “fills in” for Death when he is away, played by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.

Following the film, Reeves would take a short break from acting to focus on his band Dogstar, for which he was the bassist. Though the Bill and Ted series had been a success, many of Reeves’ other roles were less so, and increasingly, he noted that he was being typecast in films aimed at teen audiences. Dogstar soon found commercial success, opening for artists such as David Bowie, Bon Jovi, and Nirvana. [8]



Stargate

Of the three “Star” science-fiction franchises, Stargate is by far the most overlooked. The series of films, of which only the first two had been released by 1998, were subject to somewhat mixed reviews but box office success, and have garnered a large cult following in the years since their release.

The films, which starred Kurt Russell, are based around the concept of a “Stargate”, a ring-shaped device that allows for travel to different planets via wormhole. They also feature an alien species which used to be worshipped across the Earth as gods by various peoples.

The first film, which also starred James Spader, was set on an alien planet similar to Ancient Egypt. Unnamed in the first film, later films would give it the name Thinis. Spader would not return for the sequel, his character being written out as staying on Thinis. His character, Dr. Daniel Jackson, would be replaced by Dr. Mike Everett, played by Matthew Broderick, who filled a similar role for the remainder of the films. [9]

The second film, simply titled Stargate 2, was released in 1997, and takes place three years after the events of Stargate. In it, Colonel Jack O’Neill’s team uncovers another Stargate in the Yucatan peninsula, and travels through it to a planet (later named Itza) whose inhabitants appear to be Mayan. There, he and Dr. Everett, an expert on Mayan culture, encounter a being that calls itself Kukulkan that appears more friendly than Ra. However, he is later revealed to be plotting to take control of the Stargate for his own purposes.

Stargate 2 was, like its predecessors, a box office success, but met with mixed reviews. Commentators noted that the spectacle had only increased, especially in sequences that showed Kukulkan in his “feathered serpent” form. The film was met with some criticism in Mexico, as the portrayal of Mayan culture was somewhat criticised. Nevertheless, a third film had already been greenlit, and writer-director Roland Emmerich promised that it would “explain everything”. [10]



Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Though not actually science-fiction, the 1998 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula remains an important part of the pop-culture of the era. A critical and commercial success, it was notable for how faithful it was to the source material. Its success is credited with the “gothic horror revival” of the early 2000s, which saw critically praised adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde amongst others.

The film had been stuck in development hell for some years until Winona Ryder, who had seen James V. Hart’s screenplay around 1990, brought it to the attention of Kenneth Branagh, whom she had met at the 1995 BAFTA Awards. Ryder, as well as starring in the film, would produce it alongside Michael Apted. [11]

Cast of Bram Stoker’s Dracula:

• Count Dracula – Daniel Day-Lewis [12]
• Mina Harker – Winona Ryder
• Abraham Van Helsing – Alan Rickman [13]
• Jonathan Harker – Robert Downey Jr.
• Dr. Jack Seward – Richard E. Grant
• Lord Arthur Holmwood – Kenneth Branagh [14]
• Quincey P. Morris – Ethan Hawke
• Lucy Westenra – Kate Beckinsale
• R. M. Renfield – Sting

Among other things, the film was the last project Daniel Day-Lewis would participate in prior to his initial retirement, it would also earn him his third Oscar nomination. It also marked the beginning of Winona Ryder’s career in film production, and the first of her collaborations with Kenneth Branagh.

Robert Downey Jr., who played Jonathan Harker, was experiencing addiction problems at the time. He was eager to take part in the film as he was a fan of Doctor Who, in which Ryder had starred, but his casting was contingent on him undergoing rehab after the film wrapped, as in order to leave the country to film, he required permission from court. He subsequently remained clean, and undertook more work outside the US thereafter, becoming a frequent collaborator of Ryder’s. [15]


Next Time: "Paradise in Trouble" - The Production of Season 5 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Spoiler: Footnotes

[1] There was going to be an opening quote which featured alternate lyrics to the part of "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" which mentions Bill and Ted, but figuring out allternate lyrics to that song that incorporate changes to the timeline without spoiling anything was too difficult.
[2] I have to give huge thanks to @drwhom42 who gave me the idea to actually cover this series, while also giving me some of the ideas, specifically bringing the Time Van to my attention.
[3] The film is basically perfectly cast IOTL, I couldn't bear changing it. Reeves' film career is pretty different ITTL though from here.
[4] More or less an inverse of what happened in OTL. Time Van was the original plan, but they changed it due to BTTF.
[5] Animated show is from OTL, it just lasts longer here, and doesn't move to Fox.
[6] First two films are more or less OTL just with a van rather than a phone booth. Orion Pictures went bankrupt around this time in OTL, here they're saved by New Line Cinema, who considered buying them out IOTL before MGM eventually did. It also makes the creation of a third film a lot easier, as it was more or less just behind-the-scenes issues that prevented it from happening earlier.
[7] I couldn't come up with a complete synopsis I was happy with, so here's the rough idea. Somewhat similar to Bill and Ted Face the Music in some regards, but there's not another great way to close out the franchise.
[8] Dogstar are a little bigger here, though the first two acts they opened for are pure OTL. Only major difference is Nirvana surviving, which has already been established.
[9] Broderick was the runner-up for Dr. Jackson, so it makes sense that they'd cast him for his replacement.
[10] The sequels get greenlit here. Wasn't able to find much on the plans other than what's here.
[11] Ryder was who brought the script to Francis Ford Coppola's attention in OTL, her career has gone quite differently here, so Branagh gets it instead. It's probably a little different visually, but I feel like the film is kind of in keeping with his style for the time.
[12] His initial retirement happens later ITTL, and he was considered for the part.
[13] Considered for Dracula in OTL, but I think he'd make a good Van Helsing.
[14] I really like Cary Elwes' Holmwood, but I had to get Branagh in somewhere.
[15] Don't want to spoil too much, but Downey Jr. has a very different career here. Getting clean a little earlier is just part of that.

You took away the Stargate franchise! No SG-1, Atlantis or Universe, no Goa'uld, no Ancients, no Wraith, no Ori. Well that's shit

 

[drwhom42]

Rest in peace Leslie Jordan, who played Kol in Voyager's "False Profits." You will be missed.

Jordan will be retained as a guest star in the Odyssey version of the episode: "Small Prophets, Quick Return?"

and the libertine in "who" (also, 1000th thread post coming up soon, wahey)

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

and the libertine in "who" (also, 1000th thread post coming up soon, wahey)

We'll have to do something cool for that 1,000th post. I'll talk to @Timelordtoe.

And yes! He's the Libertine in ATL Doctor Who! How could I forget?

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

So, a couple things for post #999 here.

Firstly, DO NOT REPLY TO THIS AND TAKE POST #1000. WE'RE PLANNING ON GIVING YOU SOMETHING FUN, SO PLEASE DON'T SPOIL IT!

Marty’s young cousin Ernie has come to visit and is obsessed with Harry Houdini. After breaking much of Lorraine’s good china in an effort to perform tricks, he’s sent to stay in the back yard all day. While exploring, Ernie accidentally finds the TARDIS and begs to be taken back in time to meet his idol. Marty tells the Doctor it’s useless to argue as Ernie always gets what he wants, so the Doctor, Anges, and Ernie head back in time. Upon arriving in Detroit circa 1926, there’s just one problem. Harry Houdini is dead, and his widow, Bess, claims that she keeps seeing him standing just behind her in the mirror, beckoning for her to come through. However, she’s not sure it’s him and wonders if the recent gift of a dybbuk box might have something to do with all this…

Secondly, I'm gonna have to eat crow on this story from the animated series. The concept of a dybbuk box was invented IOTL by an eBay seller in 2003. It shouldn't be mentioned in this story from the 1990s. But it's ultimately a small thing. (Also, how did I not catch Agnes's name being misspelled?)

Thirdly, Andrew Kelly and KulinXap sh'Var, some of the OCs from our alt-Star Trek stories here, plus Stuart from the Star Trek Adventures game I ran that Timelordtoe was captain in, are now in my alternate take on Star Trek: The Next Generation, AKA Star Trek: Unbound! I can also confirm Colin Baker as Picard. If you haven't already seen it, go take a look over in Fandom AH! I'd love some feedback and comments and such.

On that note, third-and-a-halfly, our own dear Jennifer Marsh will be showing up in Who Are You?, my Doctor Who tabletop game in the new year! She'll be a bit different than how she was presented in WAWGTT - namely she's gonna be time-sensitive and a high schooler from the late 2030s after the balkanization of the USA - but at her core will be the same character. Recaps will likely be posted in Fandom AH, and I have made a title card for the first story! Click the image below to hear the title theme we'll be using!

​

Finally, happy holidays! From us here at WAWGTT, we want to wish you all the best holiday season, no matter what or if you celebrate! We'll see you all again quite soon!

 

[Timelordtoe]

Post 1000: The Cutting Room Floor​

Well hello, dear readers.

We’ve reached the thousandth post on this here timeline, and although progress has been slow as of late, this is still cause for celebration. While we work on what comes next, I figured I’d give you all a little bonus in the form of some “What Could Have Been”s for this.

I started writing this timeline back in early 2019, and frankly, I figured I’d have it done and brought up to the modern day within a year. Here we are almost four years on, now, and we’re still in the 90s. While things have got in the way of a fair bit of progress in the past couple of years, work does continue behind the scenes, and with that, quite a few ideas have been left on the cutting room floor.

I even repurposed a few of these to make “The Doctor Will See You Now, a TLIAW” a while back, and I’ve always been tempted to have another go at something like that as a creative exercise.

It would be remiss of me to not mention at this occasion just how much I owe to @Plus-Sized Scribe , who has masterminded so much of the recent material, especially when it comes to Star Trek and Doctor Who, and who has pushed this timeline to become something far more ambitious and unique than what it originally was. I don’t think I ever expected that when you first messaged me that we would become such close friends. (And you think I did? I can’t imagine ever not being your friend! - Scribe)

My thanks also goes out to all of you who have submitted ideas or stories to the timeline, or even just left a message or reaction to let me know you enjoyed it. I really can’t put it into words how much that means to me. (Same here! You guys should pitch more stories; my creativity and drive only goes so far, and the more the merrier! - Scribe)

What Might Have Been​

Occasionally, I like to slip in a little reference to something planned for the future when writing the quotes for each chapter. Unfortunately, given the fluctuating status of this timeline’s future, it can sometimes mean that a quote is now referencing something that isn’t going to happen. I’m aware of a couple particular cases that are in need of some minor retconning.

The Ryan Reynolds Companion
Timelordtoe:
As some of you figured, the “Ryan” that Nicole de Boer mentions joining the cast of Doctor Who in the next season was originally Ryan Reynolds. He had been present in my plans from the very start, even back in the first plans for this timeline (which was structured far more like a TLIAW).

I thought he’d be a good fit for the cast, and would work in-universe as a ploy to bring people over from Buffy. We ended up recasting as the character’s personality and personal arc changed to a point where Reynolds wasn’t as good a fit (and, to a lesser extent, as a move away from my original tendency to cast people who are very famous in OTL [see Tom Hanks as a companion for Seven]).

Plus-Sized Scribe:
Now, for my part, I knew nothing about these plans. I couldn’t help with the Buffy stuff anyway because I’ve only ever seen the series’ pilot, and that was years ago. I came up with a Ryan Reynolds companion independently as an original Big Finish companion for the Fourth Doctor. (I have been giving Big Finish some thought, but it hews more closely to the OTL Gary Russell era.) I suggested putting Reynolds in the main series instead since it seemed more believable that way. Timelordtoe agreed because she already had those plans. A happy little coincidence.

Then I saw the film Ginger Snaps and developed a big ol’ gay crush on Kris Lemche. Later, @Guajolote and I got close during plans for Subtractive Synthesis, our eventual crossover of the AH.com alternate Doctors (see below the fun pic he made and I touched up). Anyway, I think he was the one who noted that he finds it more than a little unbelievable that OTL celebrities are always cast in alt-media timelines with PODs occurring way back. Just look at his Doctor Who timeline “Phil Won’t Leave His Room,” where I hadn’t heard of his Seventh or Ninth Doctors at all, and every companion except Leah Remini was wholly unknown to me.

After some thought, I decided I wanted to show that in WAWGTT. As such, I swapped Lemche in and booted Reynolds out. With Timelordtoe’s permission, of course, given that she felt the same way!

The Phil-verse Seventh Doctor (Tony Haygarth) has
some thoughts on the WAWGTT Ninth Doctor (Avery Brooks).​

The Chloë Grace Moretz Doctor
Timelordtoe:
A pretty far out change, as we wouldn’t have seen her for quite a while. But in the quote where Alexander Siddig is discussing being the youngest cast Doctor at the time, there is mention of the “current” Doctor being played by someone even younger. That person in question was going to be Chloë Grace Moretz.

I originally cast her as an intentional “left field” cast, and she wouldn’t have stayed for long, no more than two seasons. As an actress, she never would have quite found her feet as the character, being passionate, but generally given material which did not fit her. Most likely, her Doctor would have found more of a home in the books, comics, and audio.

She stayed in the plans for quite a while. Eventually, though, it became clear that she was just a relic of the original iteration that felt out of place in the newer versions.

Plus-Sized Scribe:
Gonna be candid here… I never once bought her as the Doctor. But I kept her in because it’s ultimately Timelordtoe’s ATL. I just squat in this proverbial house, occasionally produce golden eggs, and once in a while offer a drop of my blood to enter the vault and maintain the huge Excel document with all our plans.

As it happens, the current very young Doctor eventually came from my own suggestions. I reckon he’s spectacular. Plus, at the current time of writing, he outlasts Tom Baker in the role.


Various Siskos and Janeways
Timelordtoe:
TNG was, at least in the earlier seasons, very close to OTL. As time went on and the project became more collaborative, the plans shifted from there being more direct parallels to OTL to making WAWGTT something much more unique. And I very much wanted to do this for both DS9 and VOY (now ODY). While the two retain a large resemblance to their OTL counterparts, this is much greater than they first did.

Sisko experienced the most changes in cast to begin with. Though I was initially reluctant to let Avery Brooks go, considering how incredible he is in the role, it wasn’t going to be feasible to have him as both Sisko and the Doctor. I decided to have either Pierce Brosnan or Peter Capaldi in the role, but I felt uncomfortable with the idea of a white person in the role. I toyed with the idea of introducing Sisko as the initial commander and later replacing him with a new commander, not dissimilar to Babylon 5, but this didn’t feel right either. Sisko staying was better for the story, and I ended up keeping both Capaldi and Brosnan around as recurring roles, the former as a character more or less lifted wholesale from B5.

Babylon 5 would provide me with the casting for Janeway, too. Originally I had considered a couple of different actresses, mainly Nicola Bryant or Nigel Havers (the latter of whom, again, I liked the idea of enough to keep them around). Still, neither felt quite right. On watching Babylon 5, I fell in love with the character of Ivanova, and realised how good a fit Claudia Christian would be for the role of Janeway.

Plus-Sized Scribe:
For my money, I liked the idea of Nicola Bryant as Janeway to give her increased profile ITTL. Nicola’s not given much credit as an actress, in my opinion, and I think she would’ve rocked Janeway. I’m also not that familiar with Claudia Christian. But the decision wasn’t mine, so I made Bryant the First Prelate in Innocence instead. I imagine she’s gotten a bit of a career in the US here as a B-list film star who eventually tires and becomes a household name in the UK doing minor parts on The Bill and other UK shows.

However, I’ve had far more influence on future Star Trek shows we have planned, such as the aforementioned Star Trek: The Monthly Audio Adventures. But I’ll elaborate more on what’s to come in a future post. Stay tuned, true believers!


Various Other Ideas
Timelordtoe:
So much has changed over time, and many ideas, characters, and castings have been left behind. I can’t go into all of them here, and frankly, for many of them I’ve either forgotten why we cut them or it’s as simple as “we had a better idea.”

Plus-Sized Scribe:
Yeah, remember when you wanted Jason Isaacs as the Eleventh Doctor? Then I pitched a counter-suggestion and you didn’t go for it. Well, imagine my surprise, dear reader, when she came back a day later like, “Dammit, I can’t stop thinking about it. Let’s do it!” Good thing, too. Isaacs (along with Ralph Fiennes) has stood staunchly by arch-TERF J.K. Rowling and that’s a huge no-no around here.

Also, side-note before this wraps up! We will be revamping the early Doctor Who and TNG seasons to bring them in line with the recent material. I have Season 22 mostly finished.

Timelordtoe:
As previously mentioned, the timeline has become more ambitious with time, and less prone to convergences. WAWGTT should end up as something very distinct from OTL, with a pop culture that would be very different to inhabit. I truly am proud of this timeline and how it has helped me grow as a writer, not to mention the friends it has brought me.

So here’s to the past thousand posts, and to a thousand more.

Thank you all for reading, from both of us!