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

[Timelordtoe]

Overview of Season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation​

Abductions
Following the events of “The Neutral Zone”, the Enterprise gains a new chief medical officer, Dr. Katherine Pulaski, and is tasked with identifying what destroyed the Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone, in conjunction with the Romulan ship I.R.W. Terix, and its captain Commander Tomalak. They are able to determine a point of origin, but find that it is many thousands of light years away, and thus out of their reach. [1]

Where Silence Has Lease
The Enterprise is trapped in a spatial phenomenon, and is subjected to unusual experiments by a strange entity known as Nagillum (played by Richard Mulligan). Eventually, the Enterprise escapes after Captain Picard activates the self-destruct sequence, asserting that they would rather die than to submit. After they escape, Picard is contacted by Nagillum, who criticises humanity, and claims that they have nothing in common with it. Picard retorts by showing that both are curious. Nagillum concedes the point and leaves. [2]

Elementary, Dear Data
After Data solves a Sherlock Holmes holonovel easily, LaForge tasks the computer with creating an adversary that will provide Data a real challenge. The resulting Moriarty proves to be more powerful than expected however, and after kidnapping Pulaski, reveals that he knows that his reality is a simulation, having gained access to the holodeck computer. Moriarty attempts to hijack the ship, but relents after Picard agrees to try to find a way to allow Moriarty to exist in the real world.

The Outrageous Okona
As the Enterprise passes through the space of the Coalition of Madena, they encounter a cargo ship under manual control, whose pilot, Captain Okona, asks for assistance. Upon boarding the vessel, Okona takes a keen eye to the women of the ship, especially Transporter Chief Robinson (played by Teri Hatcher), and actually has little interest in his repairs. The Enterprise soon encounters two ships, each wanting Okona. After Picard invites them aboard the Enterprise to settle the dispute, it becomes clear that Okona is acting as a go-between for two of the persons, and the situation is resolved. In a sub-plot, Data attempts to learn more about comedy through a holodeck recreation of an old comedian. [3]

Loud as a Whisper
The Enterprise is transporting a renowned negotiator, Riva, to resolve a conflict between two tribes on a planet. Riva is deaf and mute due to a hereditary condition, and communicates through a chorus of people who communicate with him telepathically. When the negotiations begin, the chorus is killed, and Riva is unable to communicate. Picard suggests that the two parties learn sign language in order to communicate with Riva, and Riva departs, after suggesting that the process may take several months.

The Schizoid Man
The Enterprise travels to provide medical assistance to the dying scientist Dr. Ira Graves. Upon arrival, Graves recognises Data as a creation of Dr Noonien Soong, and revels that he taight Dr. Soong, suggesting that Data call him “grandfather”. Graves and Data spend time together, where Graves reveals that he has found a way to upload his consciousness to a computer, and Data reveals that he has an off switch. When Graves appears to have died, Data begins taking on many of his mannerisms, revealing that Graves has put himself into Data, which could cause Data to be lost. After a plea from Picard, Graves uploads himself to the ship’s computer, but only his knowledge, his consciousness is gone.

Unnatural Selection
The Enterprise arrives to assist the USS Lantree, finding it adrift, and the crew rapidly ageing. They go to the Lantree’s last port of call, a genetic research station. While investigating one of the subjects, Pulaski becomes affected by the ailment, and attempts to find a cure for the ailment. The cause is revealed to be the children, who have been genetically engineered, and now have immune systems so potent that they attack other people. The Enterprise is able to save Pulaski and the others by using samples of their DNA from before they were infected and transporting them, reconstituting their DNA.

A Matter of Honor
As a Benzite Ensign comes aboard the Enterprise as part of an officer Exchange program, Picard suggests a similar system with the Klingons. Commander Riker is temporarily transferred to the I.K.S. Pagh, where he is quickly accepted after winning a fight against the second officer. An organism begins attacking the Enterprise and the Pagh’s hulls, and while the Enterprise is able to quickly remove it, it takes Riker mutinying on the Pagh to allow for it to be removed from the Pagh.

The Measure of a Man
While the Enterprise is undergoing repairs, they are visited by Commander Maddox, who takes an interest in Data. It soon becomes clear that Maddox intends to study Data, and get him transferred off of the ship. When Data refuses, Maddox turns to Starfleet, who rule that Data must hand himself over or resign. Picard challenges this, and begins a legal battle, where Riker is forced to represent Maddox. While Picard wins, Riker is ashamed for having to try to get his friend dismantled. Data reassures the Commander by telling him that had Riker not represented Maddox, Starfleet would likely have not accepted a legal battle.

The Dauphin
The Enterprise is tasked with transporting Salius, the heir to Daled IV. His parents are leaders of two opposing factions, and his return might bring unity. Onboard, he and Leslie crusher soon become smitten with each other. Salius’ governess, Anya, disapproves of this, and shows herself of being able to transform into a monstrous beast. After it is revealed that Salius also possesses this ability, Leslie refuses to speak with him. When Salius is about to leave however, Leslie returns to give him a parting gift.

Contagion
The Enterprise receives a distress call from its sister ship the USS Yamato. Shortly after the Enterprise’s arrival, the Yamato explodes, with no survivors. Shortly thereafter, a Romulan vessel, the Haakona decloaks and demands that the Enterprise leave the Neutral Zone. Picard studies that Yamato’s captain’s logs, and discovers that it is believed that the planet they orbit is the legendary lost planet Iconia, the home of the Iconians, an incredibly advances species. After a probe from the planet disables the Enterprise and the Haakona, an away team is sent to the surface. A gateway to various places in the galaxy is discovered, and Data is infected with the computer virus disabling the ships. When Data reboots after he is nearly overcome, he appears to have removed the virus. A similar procedure is undergone on the Enterprise and Haakona, and the two ships depart after the Iconian base self-destructs.

The Royale
The Enterprise follows a tip from a Klingon ship, arriving at a planet where they find an old American ship’s debris orbiting. The distance it has travelled is impossible for the era, and the planet seems to have one small area capable of hosting human life, suggesting that outside forces may be at play. Riker, Worf and Data beam down to investigate, discovering an Earth-style hotel, named The Royale. Upon entering, they find themselves unable to leave. It becomes clear that it is a recreation of an old novel carried by the last survivor of the ship. When it becomes clear that the novel is playing out, the away team decides to gather enough money in the simulation by Data rigging the games, and buying out the Hotel. They succeed, and are able to leave the hotel, returning to the Enterprise.

Time Squared
The Enterprise detects a lone shuttle drifting with no power or fuel. Upon bringing it aboard, they discover that it is a perfect copy of one of the Enterprise’s shuttles, and that it contains a duplicate of Picard, barely alive. The shuttle is determined to be from six hours in the future, and the logs contain a recording of the Enterprise falling into an energy vortex and being destroyed. The future Picard is woken, though is incoherent and seems to be unaware of his surroundings. The vortex appears, and seems to be controlled by an entity with an interest in Picard. It becomes clear that the future Picard flew the shuttle to try to distract the vortex. The Picards meet by the shuttle, where the present one incapacitates his future self, stating that “the cycle must be broken”. Picard returns to the bridge, ordering the Enterprise to fly through the centre of the vortex. The Enterprise survives and the alternate Picard and shuttle disappear.

The Icarus Factor
The Enterprise is en-route to a space station to undergo engine repairs. While underway, Riker receives an offer to command the Aries, on an exploration mission in a distant sector. The matter is complicated when the civilian advisor turns out to be his father, with whom he has an antagonistic relationship. The tension between the two boils over, and they settle the matter over a match of Anbo-Jitsu, where it becomes clear that Riker’s father is using an illegal move. Roker’s father confesses that that was the only way he was ever able to beat Riker, and the two repair their relationship. Meanwhile, Worf acts particularly agitated, apparently because he hissed an important Klingon ritual recently. The crew recreates the ritual in the holodeck for him.

Derelict
The Enterprise answers a distress call from a vessel while on their way to a space station for shore leave. The ship appears completely intact, although powered down, with no living occupants appearing on scans. An away team is sent to investigate. While there, they discover many of its walls covered in some sort of slime, which is determined to be a sort of creature using the ship like a shell, in the manner of a hermit crab. The ship detects the Enterprise, and attempts to latch itself on, and take the Enterprise as its new shell. The Enterprise is able to force the creature back into the other ship by emitting pulses of energy from the deflector dish, and attaches a probe to the ship sending out a warning for ships to stay away. [4]

Q Who
While on his way back to his quarters, Picard appears on a shuttlecraft with Q. Q transports them to Ten Forward, where Guinan seems to recognise him. Q reveals that he wishes to join the crew of the Enterprise to assist with a coming foe that they are “woefully underprepared for”. Picard refuses, and Q transports them thousands of light years away. Over two years from the closest starbase, Picard decides to explore the local area. He discovers that they are close to the source of the entity that they tracked in “Abductions”. A large cube shaped ship appears, which Guinan identifies as Borg, the group that nearly wiped out her species. A drone from the ship beams aboard, but is killed by Worf. Another beams over, and proves to be now invulnerable to phaser fire. The Borg ship cuts out a part of the hull, killing eighteen crewmembers. Picard returns fire, seemingly disabling the ship. He attempts to escape, though the ship regenerates and gives chase. When Q states that Picard cannot defeat the Borg and that they will never stop chasing, Picard admits that he needs Q’s help, and Q sends them back to their original location. Picard muses that Q may actually have helped, as they now know what they face in their future, and can prepare.

The Dream Pool
The Enterprise arrives at a planet that has seemingly had all of its population die out due to unknown circumstances. Riker, Worf and Data go to the surface to investigate, and discover that the bodies are only recently deceased, all seemingly having perished due to dehydration or starvation. As the planet is habitable, and it was reported that there were no food or water shortages, foul play is assumed. Riker discovers a device around which there are many more bodies, and when he activates it, he is seemingly sent to a paradisical place. Worf and Data find him, and deactivate the device. Riker seems agitated, and demands that they re-activate it. Riker is sent back to the ship to be examined, where it is determined that he has become addicted to a hallucinatory drug emitted by the device. Data finds a log from a civilian, which reveals that the device is a “Dream Pool”, and that people who use it keep on going back, forgetting their other needs, which led to the mass deaths. Riker is cured of his addiction, and the planet is placed under quarantine. [5]

Up the Long Ladder
The Enterprise discovers two colonies of humans, previously thought lost. One of them is discovered to be relatively primitive, and is of Irish culture. The other is more advanced, but comprised entirely of cloned individuals. The clones are all of only five people, and they are facing extinction as each new cloned individual introduces more flaws. The Enterprise crew visits the cloning area, and discovers that clones of them are being produced, produced from stolen DNA after the away team refused to donate their DNA. They destroy their clones, but suggest that they merge with the other colony to produce a stable gene pool.

Manhunt
The Enterprise is transporting two Antedean ambassadors who are kept in a self-induced catatonic state, in order to alleviate the stress of space travel. En route, they are ordered to rendezvous with a shuttle containing Lwaxana Troi, Deanna’s mother. Picard, less than pleased to have her aboard, is invited to dinner by Lwaxana, where she explains that she has entered a phase of Betazoid life where sex drive increases, and as a result, she seeks a new husband. She is rebuffed by both Picard and Riker however. When the Antedeans are revived, Lwaxana reveals that they are assassins. While the Antedeans deny it, they are found to be carrying bombs, intending to disrupt the conference. Lwaxana departs noting that she did some good, even if she was unable to find a husband.

The Emissary
The Enterprise is sent to a set of co-ordinates with no given instructions. When Picard asks Starfleet Command why they are being sent, they reply that the mission is a “top security matter”. An ambassador is sent to the Enterprise, revealed to be a half-human, half-Klingon named K’Ehleyr, with whom Worf has a history. The Enterprise is revealed to be travelling to the location of a Klingon ship whose crew has been in stasis for 75 years, and believes that the Federation is still at war with the Klingons. They are to try to keep the crew in stasis until a Klingon ship can arrive, but if unable to, destroy the ship. The crew of the ship have awakened, and fire on the Enterprise. Picard refuses to kill them, letting Worf and K’Ehleyr manage to convince them to surrender. K’Ehleyr departs with the Klingons to help them adjust to 24th Century life.

Peak Performance
The Enterprise conducts a simulated combat exercise to prepare for the Borg threat. Riker is temporarily given command of the USS Hathaway, an old vessel, to conduct the exercise. He chooses Sonia Gomez, Worf and Leslie Crusher for his senior staff. While the exercise is underway, a Ferengi vessel enters the system and disables the Enterprise’s phasers, leaving them unable to attack. Given the situation, the Ferengi believes that the Hathway is valuable, but Riker and Picard conspire to make it look as though the Enterprise has destroyed the Hathaway by firing photon torpedoes at it, and the Hathaway performing a short warp jump just before detonation. The ruse works, and Worf tricks the Ferengi into believing that another Federation ship is on the way, leading to the Ferengi fleeing. [6]

Icons
After a signal matching the one sent to a distant part of the galaxy in “Conspiracy” is detected by Federation listening posts near the Neutral Zone, the Enterprise is sent to investigate. The destination of the signal is revealed to be Iconia, the planet visited in “Contagion”. Covertly sending a shuttle to the planet to see if there is another Iconian base remaining, the Enterprise ends up in a stand-off with the Terix, under Commander Tomalak, who enters the Neutral Zone after the Romulans also detect the signal. Riker and Data, who have been sent on the shuttle, beam down to an area that seems to be emitting large amounts of energy. There they discover another gateway, which shows locations of high importance, suggesting that the Iconians may sill be alive somewhere, and may be behind the infiltration of Starfleet the year prior. Riker sets charges at the base, detonating them after he and Data return to the shuttle. They return to Federation space, but the discovery that they had been sent into the Neutral Zone increases tensions with the Romulans. [7]


[1] I've introduced Tomalak earlier here, but he is fundamentally the same character. A nice Romulan foil to Picard.
[2] The original casting sticks, and therefore so does the original name. (Nagillum is Mulligan backwards)
[3] Hatcher was in this episode in OTL, but was uncredited. Her character will be a recurring one. This season introduces a couple of characters who will recurr in the manner of Guinan, Broccol-I mean Barclay, and Ro Laren.
[4] Based on a script that didn't get produced. I think it's a neat idea, so I used it here.
[5] Another idea that didn't get produced in OTL. I wasn't able to find a story for it beyond that it would feature addiction, so I took inspiration from the Bliss plague in Gridlock from Series 3 of Doctor Who.
[6] Ensign Gomez was supposed to be a recurring character, but only appeared in two episodes of OTL. That's not the case here, and she'll be back in the future.
[7] I wanted to give a continuation from "Conspiracy", so I took the STO idea of the parasites working for the Iconians. Don't worry, we won't see them in person for years, but they'll be there in the background, scheming. I really like the idea of a race that uses other species for their dirty work. Also, more tension between the Romulans and Federation, so we'll see what happens with that...

In all, this is the biggest update yet at around 3k words. It took me a couple days to write, but I'm good to go now. Might not do them quite so large in the future, or could split it into multiple updates. I'll see what you think. The next update covers the first two seasons of another science fiction show, one of my favourites. You may already have an idea, but I'll drop the title of it now: "It's Cold Outside". See you then.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter VI: "It's Cold Outside"​

“He’s dead, Dave. Everybody is dead. Everybody is dead, Dave.​

- Holly, informing Dave Lister that the entire crew of Red Dwarf has perished, taken from “The End”. [1]


With Doctor Who and Star Trek both back on the air, it was becoming clear that science fiction was a genre with a large audience. And where there was a large amount of media, there was room for parody. Doug Naylor and Rob Grant recognised this. They had already produced a series of sketches set in space in their BBC Radio 4 series Son of Cliché.


The show, to be named Red Dwarf was to be a sitcom set on a space ship, three million years in the future, after the entire crew is killed by a radiation leak. The main character, Dave Lister, was the only survivor, and previously the lowest ranked member of the crew.

He would be joined by Arnold Rimmer, a holographic recreation of Lister’s old room-mate, and the second lowest ranked crewman. The ship’s computer, Holly, would have “gone a bit peculiar” in the three million years that Lister was in stasis, and would often play practical jokes on Lister and Rimmer. The final main cast member would be the Cat, a descendent of Lister’s cat, which was spared from the radiation leak by being sealed in the cargo hold.

For Lister, the producers cast Craig Charles, a Liverpudlian “punk poet”. Alfred Molina was originally cast in the role of Rimmer, though he left the show when he had difficulties with the script. In his place was Chris Barrie, with whom Grant and Naylor had worked with on Son of Cliché. For Holly, they chose Norman Lovett, a comedian known for his dry wit. Danny John-Jules was cast as the Cat, given his experience in dance and singing. [2]


Originally, only two seasons would be planned, both to be released in 1988, though its popularity would result in the commissioning of a third, to be released the following year.


Episodes of Season 1 of Red Dwarf:

• The End
• Future Echoes
• Balance of Power
• Waiting for God
• Confidence and Paranoia
• Me^2
  

Episodes of Season 2 of Red Dwarf:

• Kryten
• Better than Life
• Thanks for the Memory
• Stasis Leak
• Queeg
• Parallel Universe
  

[1] Almost nothing is changed here, but there will, as always, be changes in the future. As a result, I thought I'd just use a quote from the show here.
[2] Was tempted to change the casting, but I think that it was pretty much perfectly cast. This entire update is OTL.
Sorry that this is such a short update, it's just that there isn't so much to cover with this. I needed to bring Red Dwarf into the timeline for stuff that comes later, and there will be changes later on. My writers block seems to be gone now, so I'll try to keep updating regularly, though updates will come out when they're ready, I'm going to stop giving release dates in advance. 1988 is pretty much done now, next update will be more Doctor Who.

Also, there's a casting change about 5 years from this update that will be affected by Red Dwarf. I'd be interested to see if any of you can work it out, though given past experience, you'll probably get it instantly.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter VII: "Onwards and Upwards"​

“Of course, I knew how big Doctor Who was in the UK at the time, so I knew just how important this role could be for me. Despite that, playing the Doctor was nothing like what I had expected. There were a great many friends I made on the sets, Denise and Tom most notably. After the first season, I expected to be recognised on the streets a bit more than before. In the UK, many had watched Blackadder, but I couldn’t go an hour outside without being recognised after Doctor Who was released. I don’t think I was prepared for it, and that was the one piece of advice that I gave to my successors: ‘Understand that by taking this role, you are the Doctor, and that people will recognise you as such.’”​

- Hugh Laurie on being the Doctor, taken from The Doctor is Who?, a one-off show in 2014 to announce who would be playing the Doctor. [1]


Doctor Who was, put simply, a hit. NBC’s gamble had paid off, and they now had a serious competitor for Star Trek. Of course, many people working on Doctor Who had experience with Star Trek, not least of all Denise Crosby, who had been a main cast member in The Next Generation’s first season. In fact, it was not uncommon to see actors guest star in both of the shows, a phenomenon that would only become more pronounced as time went on.

Following the massively successful Season 22, the first American produced Doctor Who season, NBC ordered two more, and all three main cast members signed on. Between Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation, science fiction fans were getting an episode of a show that many loved every week for the majority of the year. [2]


Production began on Season 23 of Doctor Who while Season 22 was still airing. As a result, the show was affected by the 1988 Writers’ Guild of America strike, though being a production with many writers based in the UK, the effects of this were much less pronounced than they would prove to be on Season 2 of The Next Generation.[3]

Season 23 would follow much the same formula as Season 22, small stories with no over-arching plot. There were those writers who were more in favour of creating a larger plot over the course of a season, but the prevalence of syndication in the US resulted in the producers deciding that going for self-contained stories was the way to go. This would mean that channels would not feel pressured to show the stories in order when they gained syndication rights. [4]


Many old villains would be returning in this season, perhaps most notably the Cybermen, who had last been seen in the film The Cyber Invasion. For their return, Doctor Who would join forces with Jim Henson once more. The Cybermen would be redesigned once more, to appear more similar to how they had in the Classic series. The original proposal for the redesign would not see fruition until 1993 however, after it was deemed “too scary” for the show. [5]

Of course, the Daleks would return, continuing the story that was set up in Revelation of the Daleks, which culminated in the outbreak of a Dalek Civil War. This would be one of the few stories of the season to rely on a story from a previous season, though enough context would be left in so as to avoid the alienation of those who had missed that story.

The Master and the Rani would also show up once more. More focus would be given to the Rani, as Anthony Ainley would grow more tired with having to fly trans-Atlantic to be in the show. This did lead to some producers consider re-casting the Master, as had been done following the untimely death of Roger Delgado, though they would decide against it for the time being. Kahn was happy to do more work on the show, having been given plenty of opportunities to embrace her more comedic side in villainy.


The season would also see many more guest stars than the first of the revival run. Few British actors had been interested in being in Season 22 due to the distances involved, and few Americans were very familiar with the franchise outside of the three Amblin films. Given the success of Season 22 however, both of these worried became less of a concern.

Some of the most notable guest stars would be Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry, all of whom Laurie had worked with in the past. Fry had been the second choice for the Seventh Doctor, and both Fry and Laurie had been part of the Footlights with Thompson. Their partaking in the show would result in both Crosby and Hanks encouraging their colleagues from past endeavours to guest star in future seasons. [6]


The release date for the first episode of Season 23 of Doctor Who was set as May 14th 1989, to roughly coincide with the conclusion of Season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Unlike last season however, the producers now felt that Doctor Who would likely be able to hold its own against the other major science fiction show of the time.

It was quickly becoming clear to the cast and crew of both shows, in fact, that the two had more in common than they had at first thought. There was a very large overlap in the fan bases for the two shows, which resulted in the rivalry between the two becoming much more friendly. This would set the stage for something of an “exchange program”, where the cast of one show would begin to appear on the other. While this realisation would not come in time for Season 23, plans were made for Season 24 of Doctor Who and Season 3 of The Next Generation. [7]


[1] I very nearly revealed the number of this new Doctor, but decided against it. I'm going to start dropping more "future hints" though. Little things to pick up on for the future.
[2] Some might argue that this would gause genre fatigue down the line, but I'm tempted to disagree. The two are vastly different shows. Doctor Who has always been about adventure and action, whereas The Next Generation was more contemplatative. I adore both, which is why I couldn't bring myself to kill either.
[3] Sure I've mentioned this before, but here it is again. Just highlights the differences between the two franchises.
[4] Unlike The Next Generation, Doctor Who isn't in first-run syndication. This is just forward thinking on the executives' part.
[5] A little hint for the future. The first proposal is similar to the plans for The Dark Dimension, which was the initial plan for the 30th, before Dimensions in Time.
[6] There will be more guest stars this season. I'd be tempted to give you a little more information than that, but I'd risk spoiling something down the line.
[7] As much hinted before, there will be more of an actor overlap between the two franchises. There will be plenty more people who appear in all of the "Big Three" of sci-fi than the two(to my knowledge) of OTL.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter VIII: "Then Let Us Begin"
​

“It was a lot of fun, being on that show. I was rather worried during the first season, given my high profile exit of The Next Generation. But with how successful the first season was, I was just excited to get back on set. Hugh, Tom and I tended to keep in contact anyway, but it was always so much fun when we were together on set. So when the three of us get together for conventions or other meetups, there’s always a lot of laughter.”​

- Denise Crosby, taken from An Adventure in Space and Time.


Following the first season of the revival series of Doctor Who, there was much anticipation for the release of the second. The first had proved that Doctor Who could work in the American market in its classic form, and was a solid competitor for the other large franchises of the time.

All three main cast members would return from the first season, and were quickly becoming fan favourites. The three had become friends off set, and would often do interviews as a group, rather than individually.

The second revival season would see a slightly increased budget over the first, though the actors salaries would offset this somewhat. With many of the props and sets now left over after the first season, the production costs would be decreased somewhat, resulting in more guest stars coming on to the show. [1]


Season 23 of Doctor Who first aired on Sunday May 14th 1989 and was the second season of the revival series.

List of Episodes of Season 23 of Doctor Who: [2]

1. Eye in the Sky (Part 1)
2. Eye in the Sky (Part 2)
3. Vengeance on Varos (Part 1)
4. Vengeance on Varos (Part 2)
5. The Fall of the Hour (Part 1)
6. The Fall of the Hour (Part 2)
7. Overture (Part 1)
8. Overture (Part 2)
9. Time and the Rani (Part 1)
10. Time and the Rani (Part 2)
11. Recursion
12. Entropy (Part 1)
13. Entropy (Part 2)
14. Revolution of the Daleks (Part 1)
15. Revolution of the Daleks (Part 2)
16. Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Part 1)
17. Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Part 2)
18. Futureproof (Part 1)
19. Futureproof (Part 2)
20. Yellow Fever and How to Cure It (Part 1)
21. Yellow Fever and How to Cure It (Part 2)
22. Iceberg (Part 1)
23. Iceberg (Part 2)
24. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Part 1)
25. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Part 2)
26. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Part 3)

Cast of Season 23 of Doctor Who:

• The Seventh Doctor – Hugh Laurie
• Ace – Denise Crosby
• Jim Baines – Tom Hanks
• The Master – Anthony Ainley
• The Rani – Madeline Kahn

Season 23 of Doctor Who was released to mostly positive reviews. Critics saw it as a general improvement over the first season, with special note being given to the season finale, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, generally seen as one of Laurie’s best stories.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom was also singled out, being a story featuring T.E. Lawrence after the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Many critics felt that it handled the topics of self-determination well, constructing an interesting story around the characters of T.E. Lawrence and Faisal of Iraq. [3]


The second season had proved that the popularity of Doctor Who was not a one-off, but would be a mainstay of American television for years to come. But very soon, there would be trouble in paradise. [4]


[1] As mentioned before, expect to see more guest stars from here on out. Keep an eye on who's guest starring this season in particular.
[2] As before, a little bit of old, a little bit of new. I've not watched a whole lot of classic-Who, so I can't attest as to how good the stories I've reused are, but every show has its bad episodes.
[3] This story will have most of the cast of A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, as a result, that film never gets made. It will, however, have an alien aspect. I decided that it would be nice to start taking the show back to its roots of doing historical epsiodes.
[4] I say 'very soon', it's not going to be revealed for quite a few updates, though I'm sure you could guess as to what this entails. Next update will be the plot summaries of the stories.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Overview of Season 23 of Doctor Who​

Eye in the Sky
The Doctor, Jim and Ace return to 1989 America, where they learn of a Space Shuttle mission that will be delivering a payload of a “revolutionary satellite”, with technology that the Doctor recognises as anachronistic. Going undercover at NASA, they attempt to find out what has brought the technology, discovering the involvement of the Master. As the Doctors begins to suspect that this bay be his latest ploy at world domination, the team has a race against the clock to stop the Master’s plan.

Guest Star: Anthony Ainley as the Master


Vengeance on Varos
When the TARDIS breaks down, the Doctor realises that only the incredibly rare ore Zeiton-7 can fix the problem. The ore can only be found on Varos, a former prison planet where voting in mandatory and executions are a public spectacle. After the Doctor is able to repair the TARDIS sufficiently to get to the planet, he becomes embroiled in the political intrigue, based around the ongoing negotiations between the governor of Varos and the alien mining representative Sil.


The Fall of the Hour
The team arrives on the planet Lika, a planet where the inhabitants are forced to live their lives to a rigorous schedule that is given to them by the ruling body, known only as the “Chronal Council”. The arrival of the Doctor, Jim and Ace is quickly noticed, and after the three are split up, they must find a way back to the TARDIS, and to each other without falling out of line.


Overture
The TARDIS lands in Russia in 1812, during the Napoleonic invasion. There, they find the Russians doing worse than they are supposed to, according to their history. After being captured by a French contingent, they find that the French have weapons many years in advance of what they should, supposedly supplied by an “alien benefactor”. The trio work together to escape, then go back to stop the French from receiving extraterrestrial assistance in their war.


Time and the Rani
While in flight, the TARDIS is attacked by the Rani, crash landing on the planet Lakertya and all three inside are knocked out. The Rani enters and takes the Doctor, leaving the other two for dead. When they re-awaken, Jim and Ace must work together to find their way to the Rani, and rescue the Doctor, working with natives of the planet that are rebelling against the Rani’s rule.

Guest Star: Madeline Kahn as the Rani


Recursion
The TARDIS malfunctions, accidentally landing inside of itself. As the Doctor warns that the situation is not sustainable, and that they only have a short time before the TARDIS will be destroyed, they must find a way to return the TARDIS to normal space. [1]


Entropy
The TARDIS lands in a pocket universe, where entropy is rapidly increasing. The inhabitants have little hope for survival if the Doctor is unable to determine what the cause of the entropic acceleration is. The Doctor traces it back to its source, and finds that it is the Logopolis project, and that the universe he and his companions visited is one of the universes that the project is funnelling entropy into. He must face a difficult conundrum, leave his universe in a state where it may break down, or condemn other, smaller universes to the same? [2]


Revolution of the Daleks
The team arrive on the planet Talas, in the middle of the ongoing Dalek Civil War, between the Imperial Daleks (Davros loyalists) and the Renegade Daleks (Dalek Supreme loyalists). The planet Talas is of great strategic importance as it harbours a potential cure for the Movellan virus, which is affecting both sides. Faced with two seemingly insurmountable enemies, the Doctor may be forced to choose the lesser of two evils, or face the entire Dalek race. [3]


Seven Pillars of Wisdom
The TARDIS lands in Paris, 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference. There, the trio discover an alien plot to assassinate Faisal, who will become the King of Iraq. Discovering that the British and French delegations are involved, believing that it will give them a more free hand in the Middle East, the trio decide to work with Faisal and T. E. Lawrence to stop the plan, while not disrupting the ongoing peace efforts.

Guest Stars: Siddig El-Fadil as Faisal, Rowan Atkinson as Lord Curzon. [4]



Futureproof
The Doctor receives a summons via hypercube to a deserted planet, where he meets with an old friend, the Minister of Chance, known as the Minister. The Minister is a fellow Time Lord, who believes that he has discovered a plot by a coalition of alien species to overthrow the Time Lords, and end the Gallifreyan monopoly on time travel technology. The two Time Lords, along with the Doctor’s companions, travel to various planets to stop the plan before it can begin. However, Jim and Ace question whether it is the right thing and as to whether it will stop the coalition, or merely delay its formation.

Guest Star: Stephen Fry as the Minister [5]



Yellow Fever and How to Cure It
The TARDIS lands in modern Singapore, among an installation of various replicas of landmarks. There, the trio discover the Master and the Rani, who claim to simply be visiting. However, the Doctor knows better, and discovers that there are a large number of Autons present, that the two plan to use to take over the city, and then the rest of the world. The Doctor calls in UNIT for assistance, and works with them to stop the two Time Lords’ plan.

Guest Stars: Anthony Ainley as the Master, Madeline Kahn as the Rani [6]


Iceberg
In 2006, scientists at the North Pole are hurrying to complete a device that will stop the imminent reversal of Earth’s magnetic field, which they fear may cause an extinction level event. However, also present are the Cybermen, who are attempting to sabotage the device, in order to use the calamity as an opportunity to upgrade humanity. When the TARDIS arrived, the trio must work to stop the Cybermen, and save humanity.

Guest Star: Emma Thompson as Pamela Cutler [7]



The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
The Doctor, Jim and Ace are invited to the Psychic Circus on the planet Segonax. They quickly learn that, rather then being invited to see the show, they are expected to perform. The only audience members are a seemingly stoic family. The performers who do not impress the family are killed, and almost all of the invitees seem to have some secret. While the Doctor tries to keep the family entertained, Jim and Ace work with the other performers to try to find a way to escape.

Guest Star: Danny John-Jules as the Ringmaster [8]



[1] I think that my inspiration for this story was clear. It's the short CiN bit Space/Time extended to a whole episode, and played less for laughs. It's got a little bit of Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS as well, in the travelling to other parts of the TARDIS sense.
[2] While I can't recall if the question of "Where is the entropy going" was discussed in Logopolis, I bring an answer up here. It's going into other universes, many of which are inhabited. Something of a dilemma for the Doctor, can he save his own universe while not dooming others.
[3] I wanted to bring more of an arc in with the Daleks. It'll be short, finishing up next season, but I wanted to explore a bit more of the Dalek Civil War, and bring the Movellan virus back as a threat that affects both sides.
[4] Siddig El-Fadil, better known as Alexander Siddig, gets his big break a little earlier, though in the same role. This does mean no Lawrence After Arabia though, so Ralph Fiennes will be with the RSC for a little longer. He will have a career though.
[5] A character from the almost certainly non-canon Death Comes to Time, which I really like, and highly recommend (it's all on YouTube). He'll be a recurring character, more of a Doctor that intervenes a little more. Almost like a morally good version of the Monk.
[6] One of two stories this season based on an unproduced script, written by the late Robert Holmes. I thought about bringing the Brigadier in, but decided against it for now.
[7] The other story based on an unproduced script. Pamela Cutler is the daughter of General Cutler from the Tenth Planet, and the Cybermen here are remnants from the group that worked with Tobias Vaughn.
[8] The character seemed very Danny John-Jules-y, so I put him in.

Next update will be on something new, but very important.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter IX: "Evolution"​

“The films are much bigger now, but the modern superhero films owe almost everything to the two big franchises of the 1990s, Batman and X-Men.”​

- Stan Lee, during an interview in 2015.


1989 would prove to be one of the most important years in cinema for the burgeoning superhero film genre. DC would release the Tim Burton directed Batman, and Marvel would have some success with The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. The darker Punisher however, would prove to be a large flop, being critically panned. [1]


There was no denying that DC was dominating the market when it came to adaptations of comic book material. Batman proved to be a great success, starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Tim Curry as the Joker. While there was some criticism for how dark the film was, critics gave it positive reviews nonetheless.

With a successful Batman film under his belt, Burton was, unsurprisingly, asked to return to direct a sequel. Burton was none too keen on the prospect, agreeing to return only if the story “offered something new and exciting”. Despite the lack of a confirmed director, work soon began on the sequel, to be titled “Batman Returns”. [2]


Marvel needed to do something big if it was to compete with DC on the big screen. There had been many plans for Marvel films to be made, but few had come to fruition.

This would change in 1989, as talks between Stan Lee and Carolco Pictures turned into an agreement. The film rights to the X-Men characters were leased out to Carolco Pictures, and work began on the first film in what was hoped to be a franchise to beat Batman. [3]


Work on Wolverine and the X-Men began slowly at first, with Kathryn Bigelow attached to direct, James Cameron producing, and Gary Goldman writing. In 1989, only two main parts would be cast, with Bob Hoskins playing Wolverine and Angela Basset playing Storm. [4]

As 1989 passed, work began in earnest on completing the roster, and hopefully, beginning filming.


[1] Most of this update is OTL, but most of what happens for Marvel and DC here on out isn't.
[2] More OTL, the main change here is the casting of Tim Curry as the Joker, rather than Jack Nicholson. As a result, the Joker doesn't end up overshadowing Batman so much. Other casts are as OTL.
[3] This fell through in OTL, as James Cameron became distracted by the possibility of a Spider-Man film. This doesn't happen here, and we get some 1990s X-Men films.
[4] Why were only two main characters cast? These were the only two characters that they seemed to have people in mind for. I'm working on the other characters, but would appreciate suggestions if you have them.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter X: "There's No Kind of Atmosphere"
​

"Originally, the plan was to just do the first two seasons in 1988, but the success got us an offer to make more should we wish. Craig, Chris and Danny were all on board, so we thought 'why not' and went ahead with it."​

- Doug Naylor, in a 1992 interview.


The first two seasons of Red Dwarf, broadcast in 1988, had been a huge success. While Grant and Naylor’s original plan only lasted for two seasons, plans were made for three more, renewal permitting. 1989 would see the release of the third season, with two major cast changes.

While Craig Charles, Chris Barrie and Danny John-Jules would all stay for the next season, Normal Lovett, who played Holly, was less keen on returning. He was replaced by Hattie Hayridge, who had portrayed the female version of Holly in the Season 2 finale “Parallel Universe”.

The third season would also see Kryten brought from a one off character to a main one. David Ross, who had played Kryten in the one off appearance, was offered the role once more, but was busy with a stage production. The role was then offered to Robert Llewellyn, whom Naylor had seen play a robot in a separate stage show. Llewellyn accepted, rounding off the new cast. [1]


The addition of Kryten to the show gave Grant and Naylor more to work with going forward, as they had found the show to be increasingly difficult to write for. Like the first two seasons, the third season would consist of six episodes.

In addition, there would be more guest stars in the third season. The success of the first two had attracted the eyes of many British actors and actresses, including Graham Chapman. Chapman was cast in a cameo role in the penultimate episode of the season, “Timeslides”, as a television presenter. [2]

List of Episodes of Season 3 of Red Dwarf:

• Backwards
• Marooned
• Polymorph
• Bodyswap
• Timeslides
• The Last Day

The third season would prove to get even better reviews than the first two, resulting in the show being renewed for two more seasons, though the fourth would not be released until 1991.


[1] I kept the main cast the same, as I did last time. The castings were so good that I couldn't imagine better fits, and I need the show to be a success going forward for my plans (you may be able to guess from the year of the interview at the start).
[2] His cancer has been toned down. He still gets the tonsil tumors, but his cancer doesn't spread to his spinal cord, so he's free of cancer now. It's scared him though, so like drinking alcohol, he's given up pipe smoking. We'll be seeing more of Graham Chapman soon enough.

Sorry for the short update. To be honest, there isn't much I'm changing with Red Dwarf as of right now, but doing this now is important for a couple of things going forward. Next update, which I'll start writing tonight, will be out tomorrow hopefully, and covers the production of Season 3 of The Next Generation. I've got a surprise in store for you all as far as casting goes there.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XI: "Finding Your Feet"​

“The third season is often hailed as one of the best that we did. Fans give all sorts of reasons, but I think that one of the big ones is that we, as a cast, finally found our footing. We’d had two years to figure out all of our characters, and that experience really shows in the third season.”​

- Patrick Stewart, taken from Where None Had Gone Before.


As had happened with the second season, production of Season 3 began while the previous one was still airing. The success of the second season would give the writers a better idea of what worked in the new show and what did not. The third season would see many new writers join the crew, and some veterans leave.

Roddenberry would continue to have less influence on the show, the third season marking the end of his rewrites to certain scripts. Two notable writers who joined the show in its third season were Ronald D. Moore and Michael Piller, who would go on to write many stories for the Star Trek franchise. [1]


In addition, the departure of Diana Muldaur as Dr Katherine Pulaski left a vacany in the Chief Medical Officer position for the second time in as many years. There was a large letter writing campaign to bring back Gates McFadden, helped by the fact that her character had been written out, rather than killed off, at Roddenberry’s request. Though Maurice Hurley, the man behind McFadden’s firing, was no longer working on the show, there was some resistance among the writing staff to bringing her character back. [2]

As a result, the new character of Dr Amelia Henderson was introduced. To be played by English actress Stephanie Beacham, this new Chief Medical Offier hailed from the British Isles, and was appointed to the position following the retirement of Dr Pulaski. [3]

A second new character would also be introduced to the show, Ensign Andrew Kelly, a permanent tactical officer, to allow the character of Worf to be focussed on his job as Chief of Security. Long time fan and moderately successful film actor Christian Slater would land the role. Only 19 when cast, and just two years older than Carla Gugino, who played Leslie Crusher, Kelly would be written as a recent Starfleet Academy graduate. [4]


The third season would see the return of many enemies of the Federation, most notably the Borg in the finale episode, “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I”. The story would leave the season ending on a cliffhanger, with Picard assimilated by the Borg, and Riker in command of the Enterprise.

This would be done partially to cover for the fact that the contracts between the cast who had stayed since the first season only covered for three seasons. While most would sign new contracts that kept them on the show until an eighth season, Stewart would take longer to come to an agreement. As there was a real possibility of him leaving after the third season, the story was made to allow for his character to be written off, should the need arise. [5]


The season would also mark the start of actors from one of the “Big Two” of television science fiction guest starring on the other show. Denise Crosby, who had played Lt. Tasha Yar in the first season but was now known better as the Doctor’s companion Ace, would return to play Lt. Yar once more for the story “Yesterday’s Enterprise”. Her two co-stars, Hugh Laurie and Tom Hanks would also appear in episodes of the season, a favour that would be repaid by many cast members of The Next Generation in Doctor Who’s Season 24. [6]


At the request of Whoopi Goldberg, the character of Guinan and the rest of her El-Aurian species were given some more mystery. In addition to her being much older than she looked, and having prior knowledge of the being known as Q, she would be revealed to have a slightly different perception of time. Notably, this would come into play during “Yesterday’s Enterprise” where she would know intrinsically that the timeline she now existed in was ‘wrong’.

While some of the writers planned on explaining this in the show, they were stopped, so as to allow the fans to come up with their own theories. [7]


As the latter half of 1989 came, Star Trek: The Next Generation returned to television.


[1] Relatively little change from OTL as far as writing staff go. TNG operated an open spec script policy, meaning that anybody who had a script could send it, and they might be hired. This is how Moore joined. I've not said this explicitly, but Doctor Who doesn't operate in the same way, meaning that you get a lot more younger writers on Trek than Who (with one or two big exceptions that will be seen soon-ish).
[2] I nearly brought McFadden back, but decided that I would rather see somebody else take on the role. I personally never warmed to Pulaski, so Dr Henderson will be a little more like Crusher, but by no means a carbon copy.
[3] Her role in seaQuest is butterflied, as is that show (even though it's a bit down the line) as NBC already has a science fiction drama show in Doctor Who.
[4] His role in Heathers goes to Brad Pitt, who auditioned for it but was not cast in OTL due to the producers seeing him as "too nice". That doesn't happen here, so while Slater has some box office success, he never gets that breakout big screen role. When Paramount looks for a young actor to be in Star Trek, Slater steps up and gets the part. Slater is a Trekkie in OTL, appearing briefly in The Undiscovered Country.
[5] This is almost certainly an apocryphal tale, but I like it as a reason. Stewart will stick around for the rest of TNG, but we'll see more original characters in it from here on out.
[6] A little teaser for 5 updates in the future, which will cover the production of S24 of Who. As the relationship between the two shows is now much more amicable, it won't be uncommon to see people star in one show and guest in the other. Down the line, we may even see a few people have major roles in both franchises...
[7] I've got a plan for the El-Aurians in this timeline, but I'm not sure that I'll ever spell it out, rather just leaving enough for you all to piece it together. I'd describe it as a headcanon, but it only really works in this ATL.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XII: "Stepping Out"​

“I for one, was terrified. I was entering this situation where pretty much everyone had spent the past two years establishing a rapport with their fellow cast and crew, and I was nineteen, and a huge fan. When the airing date came around, I couldn’t bring myself to watch it, much as I loved the show. I’m all caught up now, but despite my experience, I was certain I was going to mess it up.”​

- Christian Slater, taken from Where None Had Gone Before.


The third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation would prove to be instrumental in securing the future of the Star Trek franchise on television. Following a disappointing first season, and a “hit and miss” second, the third season would elevate the show to the classic status it now enjoys. Deviations from the Original Series would continue, as The Next Generation showed that it was not afraid to tackle big social issues. [1]

The number of viewers would stabilise this season. There was now a devoted fan base that would watch every episode without fail, securing the future of the show nicely. The near certainty of a fourth season would result in the creation of “The Best of Both Worlds”, a two part episode to end the third season and begin the fourth.


Two new charaters would be introduced, Dr Amelia Henderson and Ensign Andrew Kelly, played by Stephanie Beacham and Christian Slater respectively. Dr Henderson replaced Dr Pulaski, portrayed by Diana Muldaur, as the Chief Medical Officer, while Ensign Kelly was created to allow for other characters to have more time away from the bridge.


While there would be no new “big bads” for the show, it would see the return of the Borg, in what is often considered one of the best episodes of the franchise. Also returning would be the Mirror Universe, first seen in the Original Series episode “Mirror Mirror”. Many minor villains would recur, including the Ferengi, who were increasing being used to criticize elements of modern capitalistic society. [2]


The third season would be received with critical acclaim, being nominated for many awards. While a fourth season would be ordered before the third began airing, there were plans being made for more beyond that. As actors’ contracts were now renewed up to a potential eighth season, the writers began scheming ideas for the years to come. [3]



List of Episodes of Season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation:

1. Evolution
2. The Ensigns of Command
3. The Survivors
4. Perchance to Dream [4]
   
5. Who Watches the Watchers
6. The Enemy
7. Booby Trap
8. Shattered Time [5]
   
9. The Price
10. The High Ground
11. The Defector
12. Mirror Image [6]
    
13. A Matter of Perspective
14. Tin Man
15. Yesterday’s Enterprise [7]
    
16. Hollow Pursuits
17. Ferengi Gold (Part 1) [8]
    
18. Ferengi Gold (Part 2)
19. The Offspring
20. Sins of the Father
21. Sarek
22. Captain’s Holiday
23. Deja Q
24. The Hunted
25. The Most Toys [9]
    
26. The Best of Both Worlds (Part I)

Main Cast of Season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation:

• Captain Julien Picard – Patrick Stewart
• Commander William Riker – Jonathan Frakes
• Lt. Cmdr. Data – Brent Spiner
• Dr. Amelia Henderson – Stephanie Beacham
• Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge – LeVar Burton
• Counselor (Lt. Cmdr.) Deanna Troi – Marina Sirtis
• Lt. Worf – Michael Dorn
• Ensign Andrew Kelly – Christian Slater
• Acting Ensign Leslie Crusher – Carla Gugino [10]

Work on the fourth season would begin quickly, with the second half of “The Best of Both Worlds” having already been filmed. Fears that Doctor Who would lead to the death of the franchise were allayed, and a spirit of friendly rivalry had been established between the two.


[1] The producers are keen to be more inclusive, as Doctor Who tried and succeeded with a concept that they turned down (namely Blood and Fire).
[2] Mix of old and new for this season. We never got a Mirror TNG episode. While we didn't get one with Voyager either, they at least had a couple of episodes that had things like it.
[3] The show is as, if not more, successful as OTL. The writers know what does and doesn't work now, so they have plenty of ideas going forward.
[4] Based on the novel of the same name.
[5] An idea from the earlier seasons that was never made, but rewritten to fit the tone of the third season.
[6] This is our Mirror Universe episode. This is the one with Hugh Laurie in, and it follows the plot of Dark Mirror pretty closely.
[7] Similar to OTL, but with a little more hinted at with Guinan. Crosby returns as OTL.
[8] A planned story, not dissimilar to "False Profits", but not played for laughs so much.
[9] David Rappaport doesn't commit suicide, so he appears in this episode as planned (this has a little knock on effect for the future)
[10] Unlike Wil Wheaton, Gugino doesn't ask to be written out, so she will be sticking around for a while.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Overview of Season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation​

Evolution
The Enterprise approaches a binary star system under the guidance of Dr Paul Stubbs, in order to observe neutronium decay as a result of stellar explosion. The event they are to witness occurs only once every 196 years and the data is to be gathered with a probe dubbed “The Egg”. Meanwhile, Dr Amelia Henderson and Ensign Andrew Kelly have recently joined the crew, and are settling in to life on the Enterprise. As the time approaches, the ship begins to malfunction in strange ways. It is revealed that some of Leslie Crusher’s nanites have escaped into the computer system. Eventually, the nanites are able to be purged from the system, and sent to a nearby planet, while Dr Stubbs is able to collect his data.


The Ensigns of Command
The Enterprise receives an automated message from the Sheliak: remove the colonists from Tau Cygni V in four days. The Sheliak hold little regard for human life, and under the terms of a strict treaty, the planet is owned by the Sheliak. Upon arriving at the planet, the majority of the colonists prove unwilling to leave, and the presence of hyperonic radiation prevents the use of transporters, meaning that it will take three weeks to evacuate the colony. The Sheliak are not required to give any more time, so Picard works on finding a loophole while Data attempts to convince the colonists to leave. A loophole is found, and Data sabotages the aqueduct system on the planet. The Sheliak give the Federation three weeks to evacuate the planet, rather than wait six months for third party arbitrators that have been nominated to awaken.


The Survivors
The Enterprise arrives at Delta Rana IV in response to a distress call. The planet is devastated with the exception of one small patch of land, which contains a house. The inhabitants, Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge seem oblivious to the fact that they are the only survivors and while Rishon is welcoming, Kevin seems eager for the crew to move on. Only a small music box seems to be of note, the music of which starts to play in Counsellor Troi’s head, causing her so much distress that she is placed into a medically induced coma. When the Enterprise refuses to leave, an unknown ship appears in orbit and attacks the Enterprise, despite its relative simplicity. The ship appears to destroy the house, but it later reappears. When confronted, Kevin admits that he is a being with a large amount of power, and killed all of the Husnock species when they attacked the world and killed his wife, the Rishon the crew have met is only an illusion. Picard states that they are not qualified to judge Kevin, as they have no laws to deal with the magnitude of Kevin’s crimes. The Enterprise leaves, leaving behind a warning to not approach the planet.


Perchance to Dream
While surveying a planet with no intelligent life, a shuttle containing Data, Troi and Leslie Crusher is captured by a race known as the Tenirans, who have claimed the planet. When Captain Picard attempts to negotiate for the release of the crew of the shuttle, it disappears in a flash of light. After confronting the Teniran captain, Picard disappears from the bridge, arriving on the planet with the Teniran captain. They soon realise that they are not alone, and must face an entity that can control the planet.



Who Watches the Watchers
The Enterprise arrives at Mintaka III, a planet with a proto-Vulcan primitive race, which is being observed covertly by the Federation. While the Enterprise assists the outpost, a power fluctuation causes the outpost to be revealed to one of the Mintakans, Liko. When Liko approaches, he is hit by an electrical discharge, greatly injuring him. In violation of the Prime Directive, Dr Henderson takes him to the Enterprise to treat him. In order to prevent cultural contamination, his memory of the event is wiped, but the process is not completely successful, as he retains knowledge of Picard, who he comes to see as a god. Troi and Riker are sent down in disguise to locate a missing member of the research team, while Liko spreads his new religion. In order to prevent a complete societal change, Picard contacts Nuria, the leader of the group of Mintakans. She sees the truth, but is unable to convince Liko. In order to prove his mortality, Picard allows Liko to shoot him with a bow and arrow. Picard having proved his mortality, the outpost is dismantled, and the Mintakans are left alone.


The Enemy
The Enterprise responds to a distress call coming from Galorndon Core, a planet in the Neutral Zone. There are storms on the planet which cause issues with transporters, so Riker, Kelly and La Forge transport down through a small window. They find one of the Romulan Survivors, who is near death, but La Forge falls down a hole. Riker and Kelly try to find La Forge, but are forced to leave before the window closes. La Forge is found by another survivor, who is injured. On the Enterprise, Dr Henderson tries to treat the Romulan, but he requires a rare variety of ribosomes to survive. While La Forge and the other survivor learn to work together to survive, the survivor on the Enterprise dies. The Enterprise is confronted by Commander Tomalak, who demands an explanation for the death of the survivor. When Geordi is able to contact the Enterprise, the situation is resolved, and the Romulans are escorted back to their space.



Booby Trap
When the Enterprise investigates an asteroid-laden area of space that was the location of the final battle between the Menthars and Promelians, they receive a distress call from a Promelian battlecruiser. Picard beams over, eager to investigate, but all of the crew is long dead. They discover that the ship fell prey to a Menthan trap that drained their power. Upon beaming back to the Enterprise, it is discovered that they are also in the trap. In order to escape, Geordi creates a holographic simulation of the Enterprise, and consults the plans of the Enterprise to find a way to escape. To assist him, La Forge creates a holographic version of Dr Leah Brahms, whom he begins to develop romantic feelings for. Despite this, La Forge is unable to find a way out of the trap, and Picard orders all extraneous power systems to be shut down. When power is restored, La Forge discovers a way to reduce power from the Enterprise and maneuver out of the trap using only thrusters. Gerodi’s plan is enacted, and Picard pilots the Enterprise to safety.


Shattered Time
The Enterprise investigates a distress signal from the USS Canberra, which claims to be under attack from an unknown power while exploring a previously uncharted area of space. Upon arriving at the Canberra’s location, the Enterprise finds it destroyed. The weapons used to destroy the ship do not match any known species. The weapons are traced back to their point of origin, an uncharted sector of space. There, they find the Marraba, a highly advanced society that highly values solitude. Their leader Jalas (Tom Hanks) reveals that they use a weapons system that destroys vessels that their computer deems a threat to their revelation. The presence of the Canberra tripped the system, and the Enterprise has been targeted. With help from Jalas, the crew of the Enterprise is able to stop the missiles from destroying the ship.


The Price
The crew host a large group of interplanetary dignitaries, who are bidding for the rights to a stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, discovered by the Barzans. Troi meets with Devinoni Ral, an empath and negotiator for one of the other powers, and the two begin a love affair. When the Ferengi incapacitate the Federation negotiator, Mendoza, Picard requests that Riker take over. Before signing a binding contract, Riker requests that Data and Kelly conduct an exploration of the other side of the wormhole. Arriving in the Delta Quadrant, they discover that the other end of the wormhole is not stable, and that therefore the wormhole is worthless. As negotiations continue, Troi discovers that Ral has been using his empathic abilities to gain an edge, narrowing the competitors down to the Federation and his employer, the Chrysalians. When the Ferengi threaten to destroy the wormhole, claiming that they have been informed that the Federation and the Barzans have a secret deal. When Riker leaves to deal with the situation, Ral is able to gain the upper hand in negotiations, playing on the Barzan fear of war. As the deal is about to be closed, the Enterprise shuttle returns, announcing how the wormhole is worthless.


The High Ground
While delivering medical supplied to the war-torn planet Rutia IV, Dr Henderson, Worf and Data relax in a cafe. The Federation is unable to intervene in the conflict on the planet due to the Prime Directive. When the cafe is attacked by the rebels, the Ansata, Dr Henderson goes to tend to the wounded, but is abducted by one of the rebels, using an unknown method of transportation. When the head of Rutian security, Devos, demands the apprehension and interrogation of all Ansata sympathisers, the Enterprise crew investigate the method of teleportation, which shifts the user through other dimensions. Dr Henderson is freed from her restraints on the condition that she treat the rebels. The teleportation device, an “inverter”, causes irreparable damage to the user’s DNA. Believing that the Enterprise is working with the Rutians, the rebels plant a bomb in the Enterprise’s warp engine. While it is transported away in time, Captain Picard is abducted too. With Picard as his captive, the leader of the Ansata, Finn, appears to Troi on the Enterprise to demand that the Federation mediate the dispute. Data and Leslie are able to determine the location of the base from the recent transportations, and Riker and Devos assemble their forces to storm the base. Finn, as a last resort, threatens to kill Picard, but is killed by Devos. When a young rebel is convinced to drop his weapon, Picard notes that there may be hope for future mediation.


The Defector
While helping Data explore the human condition, Picard is notified by Riker that a Romulan scout ship has entered the neutral zone, pursued by warbird. The Enterprise moves to intercept, causing the warbird to cloak. The occupant of the scout ship, Sub-Lieutenant Setal, a logic clerk seeking to defect, claiming to have information on a Romulan installation on Nelvana III. When Setal refuses to give any more information, the crew become suspicious that he may be still be working for the Romulans. Setal confides to Data that he regrets that he will be unable to see his family again. Although Data tries to help, Setal dismisses it, revealing that he is actually Admiral Jarok. Jarok provides more information and the Enterprise travels to Nelvana III, finding no installation. Two Romulan warbirds decloak, and demand the Enterprise surrender. Picard reveals that he has prepared for this, and three Klingon warbirds decloak. The Romulans depart, and Jarok is later found dead, having committed suicide. Picard muses on Jarok’s conviction to end the conflict between the Federation and the Romulans


Mirror Image
The Enterprise is sent to investigate a spatial anomaly that is preventing communications in a sector of space. Upon travelling there, the Enterprise discovers what appears to be an exact copy of the ship. Making contact, they discover that the other ship is their Mirror Universe counterpart, who claim to come in peace following Spock’s reforms to the Terran Empire. On travelling to the Mirror ship, the prime crew begin to see that little has changed for the Terrans since the original incident. The prime crew discover that the Mirror universe has conquered all of their galaxy, and plan to invade the prime universe, by covertly replacing people, beginning with the Enterprise. The plan, masterminded by the Mirror Picard’s commanding officer Admiral Darrow (Hugh Laurie), nearly comes to fruition, as the prime Enterprise is unable to send a warning message due to the anomaly that their mirror counterparts have travelled through. It is only stopped by the prime Picard starting a rebellion among the Mirror alien crewmembers, who are treated as slaves. The Mirror Enterprise is sent back to their own universe, and Picard suggests to the Mirror Worf that the Empire may be overextended, and could be vulnerable to a large rebellion.


A Matter of Perspective
While preparing for a planetary survey, Riker and La Forge are dropped off at the Botanica Four space station to observe the work of Dr Nel Apgar. When the Enterprise returns, Riker stays for a few moments longer to speak with Dr Apgar. Just after he is transported off, the space station explodes, killing Apgar. Shortly thereafter, a Tanugan investigator, Krag, arrives to arrest Riker, claiming that he murdered Apgar. Tanugan law practives guilty until proven innocent, so the crew must work to prove that Riker is innocent. In the course of the investigation, various different testimonies are seen, all showing the events slightly differently. Investigating a phenomenon that is now affecting the ship, Picard shows that Dr Apgar’s research was complete, and that he was more interested in the potential monetary gain from the work and in weaponising his research. Suspecting that Riker knew this, Apgar tried to kill him as Riker transported away, but the phaser beam reflected off of the transporter beam, striking the power core, causing the explosion.



Tin Man
The Enterprise brings a Betazoid emissary, Tam Elbrun, on a mission to a distant star system. Elbrun’s telepathic abilities are needed to communicate with a sentient spaceship, known as the Tim Man, that is close to a star that is about to go supernova. Upon arrival, the Enterprise is attacked by a Romulan warbird that intends to gain a head start in communication. Elbrun senses that the Romulans will destroy the ship if they are unable to use it, and sends a telepathic warning to the Tin Man. The Tim Man comes to life, sending out a pulse that disables the warbird and further damages the Enterprise. Elbrun, now in contact with the Tin Man, discovers that its real name is Gomtuu, and intends to die in the supernova as it no longer has a purpose. Elbrun requests to be beamed aboard with Data, though Picard is unwilling to comply until another warbird arrives to destroy the Enterprise. When aboard, Elbrun reveals that he intends to stay, as he feels that it is where he belongs. Data returns to the Enterprise and reports the situation. Just as the star goes supernova, Gomtuu sends out another pulse that pushes the Enterprise and the warbirds to safety.


Yesterday’s Enterprise
The Enterprise-D encounters a rift in spacetime when on a mission. As they monitor the anomany, the heavily damages Enterprise-C emerges. Instantly, the Enterprise-D undergoes a radical change as the timeline is altered, as the Enterprise-C was not destroyed protecting Klingons, and as a result, the Federation and Klingon Empire are at war and Tasha Yar is still alive. Guinan instinctively notices the change, and percieves that the current reality is “wrong”. Guinan consults with Picard and suggests that the Enterprise-C must return to the past. Captain Garrett of the Enterprise-C determines that she has travelled to the future, and meets with Picard. While Garrett is initially hesitant to return to the past, as it will likely result in the destruction of the Enterprise-C, Picard revels that the war is going very badly for the Federation, and that one more ship will make little difference. In the hope that they can save the Federation, Garrett announces that they are going to return to their own time. Unfortunately, they are than attacked by two Klingon Birds-of-Prey, and Garrett is killed, her helmsman Richard Callisto taking command. Over the repairs, Tasha Yar and Richard Callisto grow close, and following the revelation that in the “real” timeline Yar dies a meaningless death, Yar requests a transfer to the Enterprise-C. As the Enterprise-C prepares to return, three Klingon battlecruisers attack. The Enterprise-D tries to give cover, but suffers major crew losses. At the verge of destruction, the Enterprise-C goes back through the anomaly, and the main timeline is restored.


Hollow Pursuits
While transporting Mikulak biological tissue intended to be used to help treat an ourbreak of Correlium fever. When it is discovered that one of the containers is leaking, it is destroyed to prevent contamination. Meanwhile, La Forge tells Riker that his is concerned that Reginald Barclay, one of his engineers, is underperforming. La Forge requests that Barclay be transferred, but Picard suggests that he take Barclay on as a ‘pet project’. Unbeknownst to the bridge crew, Barclay has been indulging in a holodeck scenario with simulations of the Enterprise crewmembers, resulting in his avoidance of their real selves. Barclay is urged to make an appointment with Counsellor Troi, but Barclay bails when Troi tries to get him to relax. Following him, Riker, La Forge and Troi enter the holodeck, discovering the simulation. Before they are able to confront Barclay, the ship accelerates to warp speeds, and will continue to accelerate until the structural integrity has collapsed. While the Engineering team is unable to come up with any solutions, Barclay determines the cause, and is able to stop the ship. While the Enterprise travels to a starbase to undergo repairs, Barclay is commended for his assistance.


Ferengi Gold
The Enterprise is sent to survey an uncharted systen that is believed to house sentient life. Upon arrival, they find that a group of Ferengi have set themselves up as gods to the inhabitants of the planet, using their technology to perform “miracles”. While the crew of the Enterprise clearly see this as being morally wrong, they are unable to intervene due to the Prime Directive. Before the Enterprise is able to report back, they are attacked by the Ferengi, who believe that the Enterprise is there to interfere. As a result, the crew decide to intervene, and show the Ferengi for what they really are. However, to do so will likely result in strict disciplinary action against the crew, and matters are further complicated when another Federation ship arrives. Over the course of the story, the crew of the Enterprise must come to terms with the fact that their most absolute rule may, in some situations, be wrong, and that sometimes to do what is right involves breaking the rules.


The Offspring
Data invites Troi, Crusher and La Forge to his lab and introduces them to a featureless humanoid android, based on his own design and recent advances in cybernetic technology. He introduces the android as Lal, his daughter. Encouraging her to choose a gender and form, Lal decides on the form of a young human woman. Data encourages her to interact with the crewmembers to learn social interactions, and after a failed attempt at schooling, she is placed under the care of Guinan. Lal learns about various concepts quickly, showing a potential to be even more advanced than Data. Picard expresses concern over the secrecy of Lal’s construction to Data, though Data says that Picard would not have the same issue if two other crewmembers decided to procreate. While accepting this, Picard nevertheless reports to Starfleet in compliance with general orders. Admiral Haftel arrives to evacuate Lal, but she does not want to go. While speaking with Lal, Troi realises that Lal is feeling fear, and Lal begins to experience a cascade failure. Data and Haftel work together to try to save Lal, but they fail. Data apologises to Lal, but Lal thanks Data for her creation, and tells him that she loves him, and is feeling emotion for the both of them. Data returns to the bridge, and Picard gives him the ship’s condolences, though Data says that Lal lives on through him, as he uploaded her memories to his brain.


Sins of the Father
Klingon Commander Kurn has requested to be placed on the Enterprise as its first officer as a part of an officer exchange program. His command style aggravates the crew, especially Worf. Kurn reveals to Worf that he is Worf’s younger brother, and that their father, Mogh, is being tried posthumously for betraying the Klingon Empire. Worf requests a leave of absence to clear his father’s name, but Picard suggests that the Enterprise go with him, as his actions may be of note. At the High Council, Worf challenges Duras, who is presenting evidence. The aging chancellor suggests that Worf leave, but Worf and Picard find this suspicious. Duras ambushes Kurn and tries to get him to betray Worf. The Enterprise crew discover that the Khitomer logs were modified, and that there is another survivor, Kahlest. Picard brings Kahlest to the court, and bluffs that she knows the true traitor. Chancellor K’mpec calls Worf, Picard, Kahlest and Kurn to his quarters and reveals that it is known that the true traitor is Duras’ father, but to reveal so would likely cause a civil war. Worf begrudgingly takes a discommendation, in exchange for the proceedings remaining a secret, including the knowledge of Kurn’s heritage.


Sarek
Federation Ambassador Sarek arrives on the Enterprise to attend a conference between the Federation and Legarans. Although Picard tries to be accomodating, Sarek appears agitated regardless, and at a chamber music concert for him, Sarek begins crying and showing emotion, a trait that Vulcans normally repress. When crewmembers become increasingly agitated, culminating in a brawl in Ten-Forward, Troi and Dr Henderson determine that Sarek is suffering from Bendii syndrome, causing Sarek’s emotional control to wane and making him emit an “empathic field”, making others feel his emotions. Picard confronts Sarek about this, and when Sarek breaks down in tears, Picard decides to cancel the conference. Sarek’s wife Perrin suggests that someone enter a mind meld with Sarek, imparting his emotions onto someone else, allowing Sarek to retain control momentarily, meaning that the conference would not have to be cancelled. Picard volunteers, and while Sarek is able to maintain composure, Picard feels Sarek’s emotions, conveying Sarek’s regret at being unable to show his love for Spock, his old wife Amanda, and his new wife Perrin. The conference is a success, and Sarek departs, telling Picard that they “will always carry a piece of the best of each other with them”.


Captain’s Holiday
Pressured by the crew of the Enterprise, Captain Picard takes a vacation to the resort planet Risa. Shortly after his arrival, he is kissed by a woman called Vash, in an attempt to escape a Ferengi, Sovak. Picard returns to his room, finding two Vorgons, who claim to be time travelling police officers, looking for a weapon known as the Tox Uthat, which can stop fusion in a star. According to their records, Picard will locate the weapon on Risa. Picard confronts Vash about the Uthat, and they use the information on a data disc that Vash has to determine its location. When they arrive at the location, the Vorgons appear to witness its discovery. Sovak arrives, forcing Picard and Vash to excavate at gunpoint. When the Uthat is not found, Sovak begins digging with his rifle, while to Vorgons depart, disappointed. Picard catches Vash attempting to sneak away, surmising that she has already excavated it and hid it again to trick Sovat into thinking that it was lost. Vash shows Picard the Uthat, and the Vorgons reappear, demanding that they hand it over. When Vash suggests that the Vorgons may have an ulterior motive, Picard has the Enterprise’s transporters destroy it. The Vorgons admit that Picard has acted as their records show, and depart. Vash and Picard share an intimate moment before going their separate ways.


Deja Q
The Enterprise arrives at Bre’el IV to prevent the planet’s asteroid moon from falling from orbit and impacting the heavily populated planet. While the crew works, Q appears on the bridge naked and apparently stripped of his powers. Q requests asylum, but Picard sends him to the Brig. Realising that Q is still incredibly intelligent, and thus an asset, La Forge consults with Q on how to stop the asteroid. Q suggests changing the gravitational constant of the universe, which is beyond the Enterprise’s abilities. While learning to be human, Q encounters Guinan, who takes the opportunity to stab Q with a fork. Q is then attacked by a group of gaseous entities called the Calamarain, who want revenge on Q for tormenting them. They are stopped by the Enterprise raising shields. La Forge realises that while they may not be able to change the gravitational constant of the entire universe, they could alter it in a small space, just for the asteroid, preventing calamity. However, to do so involved lowering shields, and the Calamarain begin to attack Q, damaging the Enterprise. To save the Enterprise, Q departs on a shuttle, where he is given his powers back for the selfless act. Q reappears on the Bridge, giving Data a parting give of momentary emotion. Picard muses that there may be some humanity to Q, but a cigar appears in Picard’s hand along with Q’s voice telling him “don’t count on it”.


The Hunted
The Enterprise investigates Angosia III as a potential candidate for joining the Federation. Captain Picard is approached by Prime Minister Nayrok for help in apprehending an escaped convict. The Enterprise locates the ship, but finds no life signs. On a hunch, they beam it aboard regardless, finding the prisoner, Roga Danar, inside. He overpowers the guards, and phasers seemingly have no effect on him. Once subdued, Danar explains that he and other prisoners were genetically enhanced, to act as soldiers acting violently only when endangered. Nayrok confirms the story, but asserts that it is a matter of internal affairs when it is revealed that Danar has no criminal record. Danar escapes, beaming to the penal colony and rescues the other inmates. While Picars and Nayrok discuss the prisoner’s situation, Danar and the other inmates barge in, beginning a rebellion. When Nayrok pleads with Picard to intervene, Picard reminds him that it is a matter of “internal security” and departs. Picard notes that if the government survives, that they will be given assistance, and can reapply to join the Federation at a later date.


The Most Toys
The Enterprise arrives at a planet to help in decontaminating their water supply. The contaminant can only be removed with a rare mineral, hitridium, which few people sell. The nearest seller is Kivas Fajo, a collector of rare artefacts. As hitridium is unstable, it must be transported to the Enterprise by shuttle, a task Data undertakes. Just before the final shipment, Data is kidnapped by the crew, and the shuttle is sent, exploding enroute to make the crew of the Enterprise believe that Data is dead. Fajo attempts to get Data to comply, but has to resort to extreme measures, including spilling a solvent on him to make him change clothes, and threatening to kill another prisoner to get Data to show off for a guest. When the Enterprise decontaminates the water supply, they discover that the process is far quicker than expected, leading them to believe that the whole situation was staged. They return to arrest Fujo and free Data, confiscating Fujo’s collection. Fujo asks Data if he feels happy with the reversal of the situation, but Data replies that he does not, as he is an android, and cannot feel emotion.


The Best of Both Worlds (Part I)
The Enterprise arrives at a distant colony, responding to a distress call, only to find that the colony has disappeared. The Borg are suspected, so Federation Admiral Hanson travels to the Enterprise with Commander Shelby, an expert on the Borg. Riker has been offered command of a starship, and Picard suggests that Riker consider the offer. There is a significant tension between Riker and Shelby, as Shelby is vying for the position of the Enterprise’s first officer. A distress call from a Federation vessel is received, mentioning a “cube-like vessel”. The Enterprise moves to respond, and finds a Borg cube. The cube demands that Picard surrender himself to them, which he refuses. The crew try many different tactics to defeat the Borg, but none are successful in destroying the cube. The Enterprise flees into a nebula, and powers down systems, working on a modification to the deflector dish that should destroy the cube. The cube flushes the Enterprise out of the nebula by firing indiscriminately, and Borg drones beam aboard, abducting picard. The cube sets course for Earth, and the Enterprise, having completed the modifications, moves to intercept. Riker, now in command, sends an away team to retreive Picard, but the team is forced to beam out, glimpsing an assimilated Picard. The Borg contact the Enterprise, using Picard as a mouthpiece, naming him “Locutus of Borg”, telling the Enterprise to prepare for assimilation. Riker orders Kelly to fire the deflector dish.



This was another long one. All in all, it measures just shy of 5,000 words. As a result, I'm not going to do footnotes again. If there are any questions, I'll answer them in a separate post. If I think they're important enough, I might add them in as an edit to this post. There will be a follow up post after this, just as a courtesy. Phew. Hopefully, I can get back to updating on the regular again, these just really take the energy out of me.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XIII: "Where Are We Now?"​

“The few years following 1987 are by far the most important to this so-called ‘Golden Age of Science Fiction’. The returns of both Doctor Who and Star Trek to television began a popularisation of ‘nerd culture’ unlike almost anything since. But it is important to note that these were not the only important events in popular culture of the time.”​

- Stephen Fry, taken from The Golden Age of Science Fiction, a 2005 documentary about the popular culture of 1987-2001. [1]


1987

1987 was arguably the most important year for science fiction in popular culture. Primarily, it saw the release of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the final Amblin Doctor Who film: Doctor Who: The Mad Dog Gang. This was shortly followed by the announcement from NBC that they were to bring Doctor Who back to television the following year.

British popular culture would get another rejuvenation, in the form of Timothy Dalton as James Bond. Replacing Roger Moore, Dalton’s first film, The Living Daylights, would see a more mature take on the role and a return to classical espionage, a move that was almost universally praised by critics. Following the success of The Living Daylights, Dalton would be signed on to a sequel, tentatively titled License Revoked, and A-ha, who produced the film’s lead single, would see an increase in popularity. [2]

In Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast on the 9th of May 1987 from Brighton, United Kingdom. Following the late decision to award the victory to Switzerland, Swiss broadcast companies proved unwilling to prepare the event on short notice. The BBC stepped in, offering to host, as they had done previously when countries had to pull out. [3]

1987 also marked the first of five years of Belgian boycotting entry of the Eurovision Song Contest, although they still voted, as their 1986 victory had been given to Switzerland when it was discovered that their entry had broken the rules of the contest. This would not be the only controversy involving the contest this year either. The Israeli entry, ostensibly comedic in nature, so offended their culture minister that he resigned. [4]

The victor of the contest was Ireland’s Johnny Logan, who would become the first, and to date only, person to win the contest on more than one occasion.


1988

1988 saw the release of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, along with the twenty-second season of Doctor Who, which was now a joint British-American production.

Comic Relief had its first biennial telethon in this year, hosted by actor Rowan Atkinson. It raised £15 million for charity, specifically to provide to Ethiopia. Its success would lead to the second telethon the following year, following which the telethon would happen every two years. [5]

The Eurovision Song Contest of 1988 was held in Dublin, Ireland, following the Irish victory the previous year. While relatively free of controversy, the scoring proved more tense than usual when both the United Kingdom and Switzerland scored 137 points, marking a tie break. Following the tie break rules of the time, the winner was to be decided by who had the most 12-point scores. Both the United Kingdom and Switzerland had received three, meaning that the tie had to be broken by which had received more 10-point scores. The UK received six, whereas Switzerland had only five, resulting in the United Kingdom, and their act Scott Fitzgerald with “Go” being declared victor. [6]

Despite this, Celine Dion, the Swiss entry, would go on to have a very successful career in English speaking nations, as before she had only been known in Francophone areas. [7]


1989

1989 saw the release of the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the twenty-third of Doctor Who.

Timothy Dalton’s second film as James Bond, License to Kill, was released in July 1989, to mainly positive reviews. The original June release date would have seen it compete more with other blockbuster films, and the later premiere is generally seen as having saved the franchise. The darker themes continued, with the BBFC issuing it a 15 certificate. [8]

Red Nose Day 2, the second Comic Relief telethon was broadcast in March 1989, a slot that it retained in later years. Raising £27 million, the event was quickly becoming a staple of British life.

The Eurovision Song Contest of 1989 was one of the most interesting in its history. It saw the Soviet Union’s first entry to the competition, in the spirit of Gorbachev’s reforms. The initiative had been suggested by the Soviet Minister for Education in 1987, though it had been shot down at the time. When the idea was floated again, it was seen as a way to gain favour with the western nations. [9]

The 1989 contest also saw the third time that a host country won the competition. The contest was hosted in the Royal Festival Hall in London, and the winning entry was Live Report with “Why Do I Always Get It Wrong?” representing the United Kingdom. Commenting on the victory, host Terry Wogan quipped “I guess I’ll see you all back here next year!”. [10]

Arguably the most popular entry however was Dschinghis Khan, the West German entry. They had entered ten years prior with a song of the same name, splitting up briefly in the meantime. They came fourth with the song “Agincourt” a song following their pattern of historical events or persons. [11]

Once again, the contest would be marred by controversy as the French and Israeli entrants were disqualified shortly before airing. Both countries had submitted a performer or group containing a performer that was under sixteen years of age. Citing EBU regulations for the contest, the two were disqualified. This was done partially as a way of avoiding antagonism of the Belgian jury and public, whose winning entry had been disqualified in 1986 when it was discovered that the performer had been 13. Upon discovering the French and Israeli breach of the rules, the Swiss threatened to pull out, and the Dutch and Belgians threatened boycotts of future years. [12]


[1] Alright, the years on this may be a little spoilery, but the scope of this timeline is to the modern day, I'm not stopping at 2001.
[2] Dalton's films are seen as some of the better ones by today's standards, so I've shifted the "Craig Renaissance" back to Dalton. He'll be around for more than two films.
[3] The Eurovision of TTL is going to be a lot more interesting and dramatic. There were so many ways that they narrowly avoided controversy in OTL, and I think it makes the story a little more interesting.
[4] This nearly happened. The threat was actually made, just not acted on. With the more divisive nature of TTL's Eurovision, it actually happens.
[5] Red Nose Day will be a relatively common occurence in TTL, as will Children in Need. Doctor Who may interact a little bit down the line, as they did in OTL. Go watch "Curse of Fatal Death" on YeoTube if you haven't already. It was made for Comic Relief back in 1999, and brilliantly lampoons Classic Doctor Who.
[6] There was one point in this in OTL. Belgium, while not sending an entry, is still voting, as is common nowadays. The Netherlands give one point to the UK, giving them one of the most narrow victories possible.
[7] Although she's the runner up, it still gives her a great deal of exposure.
[8] Not his last outing in TTL. Bond stuff may get its own update in the future with how it's starting to deviate more.
[9] Nearly happened in 1987 of OTL as well. It was an interesting idea, so I though I'd use it.
[10] I may be a little biased towards my country of residence here. The UK came second in OTL, but the entry of the Soviet Union puts quite a few butterflies into the mix.
[11] I'd describe them as a guilty pleasure of mine, but there's nothing guilty about it. The reunion in 1986 sticks, and the original line-up is all back. I figured they'd go for something appropriately British here.
[12] The performers weren't disqualified in OTL, but with the harsher stance the EBU takes, it results in this. So while we get a Soviet performer, there's no French or Israeli performance. This helps Belgium smooth things over a little bit.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Supplemental: Diversity and Science Fiction​

The genre of science fiction had long since established itself as a place for the minorities of the world to be represented. Perhaps most notably, the presence of the characters of Uhura and Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series was clear proof of this. In the case of Uhura, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. had in fact convinced Nichelle Nichols to stay on the show when she was considering leaving, as there were almost no black characters on television that were not stereotypes, or whose skin colour was not their defining characteristic.


With the resurgence of mainstream science fiction on television, networks were keen to be inclusive in their programs. In the lead-up to the release of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gene Roddenberry announced that the show would feature a homosexual character. However, as of early 1990, no such character had appeared. This, unsurprisingly, did not earn the show many favours amongst minority groups. [1]

As casting went, Doctor Who was by far the less inclusive of the two shows. All three of the main cast members were white, and though many guest stars were persons of colour, fans agreed that it would be good to see one of the future cast members be from a minority group. [2]

Doctor Who had however made itself an ally of the LGBT community. Most notably, the stigma surrounding the community during the AIDS epidemic had been tackled in the story “Blood and Fire”, a script originally written for Star Trek. While the story did have its intended effect of increasing the number of blood donors, even if the effect had been small, the main consequence was to take a big step towards breaking the stigma of having LGBT characters in mainstream television. [3]


Unfortunately, wherever there was diversity, there were those intent on removing it. NBC and the BBC both reported a large increase in hate mail directed at Doctor Who following the airing of “Blood and Fire”. Some conservative groups in both the US and UK supported boycotts of the show in the following weeks. The publicity in fact resulted in an increase in viewership of the show, as the story became sensationalised. [4]

Fundamentally, both of the “Big Two” science fiction shows had their issues, and both intended to fix them in the near future. No show was without its sins, but it was the belief of the producers of both that they could, at the very least, try to commit as few as possible.


And as a result, 1990 would prove to be an important year for inclusivity in science fiction. [5]


[1] This is, in part my fault for not writing one in by this point. A fair bit of this update is me admitting a problem with this timeline thus far. It's pretty straight-white dominated. That wasn't the plan, but the increase in diversity in the coming few years is something that had been in the plan for as long as I've been writing.
[2] No piece of work is without sin. This timeline included. I've tried to make the media a bit more inclusive where I can, but I've not done it as much as I might like.
[3] Things are a little better for the LGBT community here. The underlying issues with society aren't going to go away for a long time, but the decision to make "Blood and Fire" has caused some people to change their points of view. No one piece of work is going to change all of the people who watch it, but it will change a few every time. The best we can hope for is that every time someone does something like tackle an issue like the horrible way many homosexual people were trated during the AIDS epidemic, that a few people see the light.
[4] Boycotts often have this effect.
[5] A little hint for the future. I'm not going to try to shoehorn people in because they're from a minority though. I cast people because I think they'd be good for the role.

Alright, an update that I had planned for a while, and one that I felt I needed to make. I'm sure that my stance on certain issues is crystal clear, which shouldn't be surprising. I've done my best to avoid being preachy in this update. I might come across as a little critical of the shows, but that's not my intention. There's almost always room for improvement, and there definitely is for the two main franchises of this timeline. Things will, as they tend to, get better with time.

Definitely not my best update, and one that I doubt will be remebered as a particularly important part of the timeline, but one that I felt I ought to make. I'm going to put a little RL update up in a few minutes, as I've changed some stuff in the running order coming up.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XIV: "A Wilbury Twist"​

“That first album, and the formation of the Wilburys, may have been one of the most important events in my life. At the time, we knew it was going to be a lot of fun. It wasn’t anything any of us were doing for our own egos, if anything, we were doing it to help each other. I think that that’s why it worked so well, we were just five mates making some music. And it led to the revivals of all of our careers.”​

- Jeff Lynne, speaking about his career in 2017.


The success of the first Traveling Wilburys album had spurred the group on to do more collaborations. Two years later, in late 1990, their second album, The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 2 would be released. The original intention had been for an earlier release, but Roy Orbison’s recovery from his heart attack led to the recording taking more time. [1]

All five Wilburys would use Orbison’s recovery time to pursue other projects that they had been working on.



Tom Petty would finish his first solo album, following the breakup of his group “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”. While a solo album in name, many of his former bandmates from the Heartbreakers would appear on the album, as would all other Wilburys, barring Dylan. A critical and commercial success, the album went 5xPlatinum in the United States.


Bob Dylan would focus on his own solo efforts, collaborating less with the other Wilburys. 1989 would see his album Oh Mercy released to critical acclaim. Following a string of less than successful albums, Oh Mercy marked a turning point in Dylan’s career outside of the Wilburys. Although his follow-up album Under the Red Sky would be less successful, Dylan’s career had gained a great amount of steam by the close of 1990.


The late 1980s had proved to be a critical point in Roy Orbison’s career. He had regained his success, and was now working on a solo album, Mystery Girl, with Lynne producing. The release of Mystery Girl would be a success, with it charting higher than any of Orbison’s other solo albums had.

Following his near-death experience from a heart attack, Orbison began writing an autobiography during his recovery. Orbison had, in his mind, been given a rare second shot at stardom, and he was determined to not let it pass by. In this time, he also began working with Johnny Cash on a potential collaboration. While no such project would be in place by 1990, the two were both interested. [2]


Jeff Lynne was, like the other Wilburys, working on a solo album. Titled Armchair Theatre, the album was a success in his home country of the UK, and would chart in the US. In addition to this, Lynne would continue to find work as a prolific producer, working on both Petty and Orbison’s solo albums.

In late 1988, Lynne would be approached by Bev Bevan about the possibility of making another ELO album. Lynne declined, so Bevan created “ELO Part II” after a dispute over the name. Legally, both Lynne and Bevan owned ELO equally, so the approval of both was required to do anything with regards to it.

As a result of the Wilburys’ success, and that of the albums he had produced, Jeff Lynne’s work was undergoing something of a revival in the US and the UK at the time. In 1989, Lynne would approach Bevan about touring, but Bevan was busy working on ELO Part II. Lynne still wanted to capitalise on his renewed stardom, so he revived a project that he had had in mind for a while. [3]

Eldorado, ELO’s fourth studio album, was their first concept album, featuring a man’s dreams and his quest to find “the eternal dream”, the Eldorado of the title. In 1978, American filmmaker Kenneth Anger would re-release his 1954 work Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome using the album as a soundtrack. Since then, Lynne had been interested in producing an entire film musical around the album. [4]

However, no studios appeared interested in the project, other than George Harrison’s own HandMade Films. Fresh off of the success of 1987’s Withnail and I, Harrison saw potential in the project, and tentatively greenlit it. [5]

Harrison himself embarked on no solo projects at the time other than a tour, and the release of a compilation album of his later solo efforts.


The release of The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 2 went well, the album being well received, as its predecessor had. Critics noted the seamless combination of the groups musical styles. With two successful albums under their belt, the Wilburys began discussion of a potential third album. [6]



[1] Although Orbison's survived his heart attack, he's still been put out of cervice for a little while.
[2] While Petty and Dylan's careers are OTL, Orbison living longer means we get to see a few things that we didn't in OTL.
[3] As far as I can tell, there were no such plans, but it was an idea I really wanted to use. I'd hinted a little at this in the opener to Part II, albeit very very peripherally.
[4] Bevan and Lynne will have to agree on this, but from what I've seen, Lynne tended to be the less approving one. A potential ELO revival will likely get Bevan's interest.
[5] What's the point in co-owning a film production company if you can't help your mate make a film.
[6] This isn't the last we'll be hearing of the Wilburys.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XV: "You Say Goodbye"​

“Our third and final season is either our worst or best, depending on who you ask, really. Some fans really liked the overarching plot of the season, especially having the first half all being one very large story, but others felt that that was a departure from what Doctor Who ‘was supposed to be’. Personally, I’m in the former category, not least because all of the courtroom scenes meant that we got the whole thing filmed a lot quicker.”​

- Denise Crosby speaking about Season 24 of Doctor Who in An Adventure in Space and Time. [1]


Doctor Who had spent two seasons on NBC now, and seemed to be holding steady in ratings. Any fears that the show would be a one hit wonder were allayed, and the production team were gearing up to make Doctor Who’s biggest season yet.

The increased budget over the classic series was not going amiss, with more notable guest stars beginning to appear. Following the main trio’s guest appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation’s third season, some of that show’s main cast would return the favour for Doctor Who’s twenty-fourth. [2]


But while all seemed well from the outside, 1990 was to be a year of large change for Doctor Who. Heeding the advice that had been given to him by Second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton, shortly after production of Season 24 began, Hugh Laurie announced his intention to depart at the end of the season. His contract expired then, and he was keen to avoid being typecast into roles similar to that of the Doctor. [3]

Without Laurie, neither Hanks nor Crosby were overly interested in staying for more time. In addition, veteran producer John Nathan-Turner was growing tired of his role, one that he had only begrudgingly taken. It would seem that season twenty-five would involve great changes for the show. Despite this, production continued on the upcoming season twenty-four. [4]


There had long been a dispute between two factions of the writing and production team over whether to start doing longer story arcs over the course of a season. Up until this point, there had been very few, and the arcs tended to be smaller. A compromise was once again reached. The first half of the season would be comprised of one larger story, split into smaller stories, themselves split into separate episodes, while the second half would consist of stand-alone stories, with the exception of the finale, which would tie into the arc.

The arc was taken from an idea that the late Robert Holmes had proposed, that the Doctor is taken back to his home planet to be punished for breaking the rules of his people. This had somewhat been tackled with the Second Doctor’s final story The War Games, but Holmes wanted to devote an entire season to it. [5]

The season would open with the Doctor’s TARDIS being overridden to take him to Gallifrey, where he would be put on trial. The ‘evidence’ presented at the trial would be the individual stories of the first half of the season. The accuser, named ‘The Valeyard’, would, at the climax of the arc, be revealed as an amalgamation of the Doctor’s darker tendencies that had been promised the Doctor’s remaining regenerations should he be found guilty.


The final episode of the season would feature the Doctor forging an uneasy alliance with the Master to defeat the Valeyard once and for all on the planet Karn, where unbeknownst to any of them, Morbius’ legendary weapons lie forgotten. [6]

Anthony Ainley, the actor portraying the Master, had expressed interest in leaving the role, as it now involved regular flights to the US for filming. He requested that he be written out of the show after the twenty-fourth season, possibly to be replaced by another actor as the Master.


For the twnety-fourth season, the producers decided that they wished to focus on primarily making new enemies for the Doctor, rather than relying too heavily on older ones. As a result, the only recurring villains to appear in the season other than the Master would be the Tractators and the Ice Warriors. [7]


Guest stars would be a real selling point of the season, with Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes and Christian Slater of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame appearing in roles throughout the season. [8]

They would not be alone, as upcoming star Gary Oldman would be cast as the Doctor’s to-be adversary the Valeyard, shortly before his mainstream Hollywood success. In the aftermath of the announcement of Laurie’s departure, there had been speculation that Oldman may be cast as the Eighth Doctor, but this put an end to those rumours. [9]


The release date of Season 24 of Doctor Who was set to be the 13th of May 1990, following the tradition of airing the episodes on a Sunday. This season, like its two predecessors, would consist of 26 episodes, each 45 minutes in length.

Given Doctor Who’s strength in ratings, there had been some discussion about moving the time slot and airing date, but this was stopped, as it might have caused issues with production, and resulted in a truncated or delayed season. [10]



[1] I'd like to specify that the quote refers to her time on the show, not the show on NBC.
[2] What's the point in having Doctor Who in the US at the same time as TNG if you don't have a little cast crossover every now and then?
[3] And this is why I wasn't telling you what that update is about. Three updates' time will cover the casting of Season 25 of Doctor Who and getting a new showrunner.
[4] I don't see either of them sticking around when they've spent so much time with Laurie.
[5] Alright, so it's Trial of a Time Lord. It was poorly executed in OTL, but I think it had real potential.
[6] A plot idea I have my good friend James W to thank for. I won't reveal how Jim and Ace leave until the plots update, but they've both left by now.
[7] I think that this is reasonable. They're taking a similar approach to Series 11, in trying to forge a newer image for themselves.
[8] I didn't want to use the entire TNG cast, so I only used a few. They were pretty much chosen at random.
[9] He's not quite a big star as of yet. He's yet to have a massive breakout role, with JFK, which does get butterflied by this. We may not see much of the Valeyard going forward because of this though.
[10] They've got a slot that works, and they don't want to ruin the show by moving it.

Right, this is an update I've been waiting to write for a while. This is the first of a four part Doctor Who mega-update. Next three updates are: Release of S24, Plots of S24, Casting the Eighth Doctor and their companion(s). I'll do my best to do these three next ones daily.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XVI: "A Last Hurrah"​

“Our third season was pretty melancholic for me. It always is when something you love is coming to an end. I considered staying on for more seasons, but it wouldn’t have been the same without Hugh. I’d watched a lot of Doctor Who when I was younger, so I knew that the show would live on. Although we didn’t appear in the same episode, I did get to meet the Eighth Doctor, and I knew that he would be a worthy successor to Hugh.”​

- Tom Hanks, taken from Becoming the Doctor, a 2011 documentary concerning the casting of the Doctor throughout the years. [1]


The release of a season of Doctor Who was increasingly becoming an event for television. It was one of NBC and the BBC’s more popular shows, almost certainly guaranteeing its longevity. The knowledge that the season would build to an explosive finale and the regeneration of the Doctor built a level of hype that many other shows were unable to replicate.

As they had for the previous two seasons, all three main cast members would do publicity, such as interviews, together. As the fandom in the US had grown, conventions based around Doctor Who were becoming more common, and the trio had started to appear as special guests at many of them, partially as publicity for the new seasons, but in some cases, due to their love for the show. [2]


Season 24 of Doctor Who was first aired on Sunday May 13th 1990 and was the third of the revival seasons.


List of Episodes of Season 24 of Doctor Who:

1. The Mysterious Planet (Part 1)
2. The Mysterious Planet (Part 2)
3. Blood and Iron (Part 1) [3]
4. Blood and Iron (Part 2)
5. The Hollows of Time (Part 1)
6. The Hollows of Time (Part 2)
7. A Familiar Face (Part 1) [4]
8. A Familiar Face (Part 2)
9. Terror of the Vervoids (Part 1)
10. Terror of the Vervoids (Part 2)
11. Desertion (Part 1) [5]
12. Desertion (Part 2)
13. The Ultimate Foe
14. Hostage (Part 1)
15. Hostage (Part 2)
16. Hostage (Part 3)
17. Alixion (Part 1)
18. Alixion (Part 2)
19. For Your Consideration (Part 1)
20. For Your Consideration (Part 2)
21. Paradise 5
22. Thin Ice (Part 1)
23. Thin Ice (Part 2)
24. The Valeyard (Part 1) [5]
25. The Valeyard (Part 2)
26. The Valeyard (Part 3)

Cast of Season 24 of Doctor Who:

• The Seventh Doctor – Hugh Laurie
• Ace – Denise Crosby
• Jim Baines – Tom Hanks
• The Master – Anthony Ainley
• The Valeyard – Gary Oldman

Season 24 was received well by critic and fans, though it was noted that the season was, at points, something of a mixed bag. The “Trial of a Time Lord” arc that dominated the first half of the season was praised, especially the reveal of the Valeyard, although some of the stories were considered weaker.

The finale gained special praise, with the Seventh Doctor proving that he did not need his companions, as Ace had departed in Thin Ice and Jim had departed after For Your Consideration. The departure of Hugh Laurie as the Seventh Doctor was described by one critic as “big, yet small, as he potentially saves his entire species, with nobody knowing.”


With the end of season 24, Hugh Laurie’s time as the Doctor came to an end, and the Eighth Doctor was revealed to the world… [6]


[1] This excerpt reveals a little bit about the Eighth Doctor, though not too much.
[2] The fandom in the US is growing, and as happened in the UK, the current and past cast are getting involved.
[3] While similarly titled to Gerrold's Blood and Fire, this script is penned by one Andrew Cartmel, who proposed the story for Doctor Who's unmade Season 27 in OTL.
[4] The premise for this episode comes from a good friend of mine, Martin, and it's only right that I give him credit.
[5] These two stories are the product of my good friend, and now user of this website, @Drorac, who has given me many ideas for stories going forward.
[6] But not quite yet to you, my readers, another update before we find out.

Sorry about the delay, but I've not been at my best, being ill and all. I'm pretty much better now, so I should be able to pose more frequently for the next week or so, until I go back to university.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Overview of Season 24 of Doctor Who​

The Mysterious Planet
The Doctor’s TARDIS is plucked out of time and space. The Seventh Doctor is put on trial by his people, the Time Lords, for breaking the First Law of Time, a law which forbids interference with alien species and galactic affairs. The Valeyard presents the transgressions, recordings depicting the Doctor’s adventures with Ace and Jim, though the Doctor is suspicious that evidence is being censored. In the first recording, the Doctor arrives on the planet Ravalox with Ace and Jim. The Doctor begins to notice similarities between Ravalox and Earth, and investigates to discover why.


Blood and Iron
The Valeyard presents his second piece of evidence. The Doctor arrives in England in 1990, answering a call from UNIT. They are investigating a researcher at Margrave University that is doing cybernetic experimentation of subjects that UNIT believes to be extraterrestrial in origin. Also at the university is a group of students that are planning on stealing the subjects for their own use. With enemies seemingly on all sides, the Doctor must work with UNIT before it is too late.

Guest Star: Marina Sirtis as Brigadier Winifred Bambera


The Hollows of Time
The Valeyard’s third piece of evidence continues directly on from the second. Not long after the events of Blood and Iron, the Doctor, Jim and Ace are seen in the TARDIS trying to recount the events of the past few days, when they travelled to meet Foxwell, an old friend of the Doctor. While there, they discover anachronistic technology, and after being shown Foxwell’s research, the Doctor determines that Foxwell is being manipulated to build a quantum gravity engine, a component necessary for time travel, and sets about stopping whatever is manipulating Foxwell.

Guest Star: Patrick Stewart as Professor Foxwell


A Familiar Face (idea by Martin)
The Valeyard’s final piece of evidence is presented. The TARDIS lands in the House of Commons of 1812 London, shortly before the assassination of Spencer Percival and the beginning of the War of 1812. Upon arrival, the Doctor discovers he bears a striking resemblance to the Prince Regent, as he is mistaken for him by the MPs. When the Doctor is taken away to a private residence, Ace and Jim try to find him, and help him escape. The public and higher ups are suspicious of Ace and Jim due to the tensions between the British Empire and the US at the time, worsened when it is discovered that there now seem to be two Princes Regent. [1]

Guest Star: Hugh Laurie as the Prince Regent George


Terror of the Vervoids
The Doctor is allowed to present evidence for his defence. He chooses events from his personal future, in the hopes that it will prove that he has reformed. During the presentation, the events appear different to how they did when the Doctor reviewed them, furthering his suspicions that the evidence has been tampered with. In the year 2986, the Doctor, Ace and Jim respond to a distress call from a ship under attack from Vervoids, a plant species that were genetically engineered to be slaves. Although the Doctor is able to stop the Vervoids, he confirms that none survived the voyage, and the Valeyard charges the Doctor with genocide under Article 7 of Galifreyan law.


Desertion (idea by @Drorac)
The Doctor is able to present another piece of evidence to prove that he works to uphold historical continuity. The TARDIS lands in WWI Belgium, on the eve of the Battle of the Somme. As the battle breaks out, Ace is separated, being captured by the Entente forces, while the Doctor and Jim are captured by the Germans. Ace is believed to be a spy, and is sentenced to execution by firing squad, while the Doctor and Jim are handed to Commander Raven, a fanatically devoted officer who believes the Doctor is actually a time traveller, and threatens to kill Jim unless the Doctor reveals how to win the ongoing battle.


The Ultimate Foe
The Doctor claims that the Matrix has been deliberately altered, and when the Keeper of the Matrix is summoned, the Master appears on the Matrix’s screen. Sabalon Glitz, Ace and Jim are called to the defence, and it is revealed that the secrets on Ravalox were Time Lord in origin, and Earth was moved and ravaged to preserve them. The Doctor was used as a scapegoat, and the Valeyard, revealed to be an amalgamation of the Doctor’s evil personalities between his twelfth and final incarnations, was promised the Doctor’s remaining regenerations if he could get a guilty verdict. The Valeyard tampered with the evidence to assure this. The Doctor tries to stop the Valeyard from killing the High Council, but is stopped by the Master, who wishes to dispose of the Doctor. The Doctor is able to stop the Valeyard by destroying the Matrix’s archives. The Doctor is cleared of all charges, and offered the presidency, but opts to leave. As he leaves, the Inquisitor tasks the Keeper with the repairing of the Matrix. As he turns. The face of the Keeper is revealed to be that of the Valeyard. [2]

Guest Star: Anthony Ainley as the Master


Hostage
Right after his trial, the Doctor lands in a ruined alien compound in the future with Ace and Jim. There they meet a group of elite soldiers, who are tracking down two shapeshifting criminals, named Butler and Swarfe. The soldiers treat them with a great deal of suspicion, but they choose to help catch the criminals. When cornered, Swarfe transforms into a large monster that begins to hunt down the members of the unit. The trio must not only find a way to survive, but also to catch Butler, who remains on the run.

Guest Star: Christian Slater as Butler


Alixion
The TARDIS lands on a monastic planet inhabited by humans and large beetles. The human inhabitants produce an elixir that increases intelligence, made of secretions the beetles make when they feed on intelligent beings. Upon the arrival of the Doctor, the abbot realises that he could be used to make the most potent elixir yet, and increase his intelligence massively. Jim Is taken hostage by the monks when the Doctor discovers the truth, to prevent him from leaving. The Doctor must then compete with the abbot in a battle of wits to save Jim.


For Your Consideration
The Doctor, Jim, and Ace return to 1988 San Francisco, three days after they left. Although it has been close to three years for Jim and Ace, they are surprised to find that little has changed, and they have difficulty in fitting in to their old lives. Upon the arrival of the trio, the Valor, who tracked the Doctor down in New Beginnings plan to steal the TARDIS once more. Upon returning to his job, Jim discovers that he has been offered a position high up in another soliciting firm, one that would require he end his travels with the Doctor. After helping the Doctor and Ace to defeat the Valor for good, Jim decides to leave, citing his recent near-death experiences. They part amicably, and the Doctor offers Ace the opportunity to go, but she simply says “there’s nothing left here for me”. [3]


Paradise 5
The Doctor investigates the resort of Paradise 5 in the 35th century, while Ace goes undercover as a hostess. People have been disappearing from the resort, including a friend of the Doctor’s. They uncover a plan to steal the minds of the guests and use them to wage a multi-dimensional war, and that the Doctor’s friend has fallen prey to the trap. Fearing that the local authorities have found them out, the manager processes the remaining guests, and sets the station to fall into the local planet. While the Doctor is able to stop the plans to start a war, he is unable to save the guests, and leaves heavy hearted.


Thin Ice
The TARDIS lands in London 1968, where the Doctor and Ace find an Ice Warrior’s armour in the London Dungeons. While investigating strange occurrences, the Doctor meets Anthony Gates, an American ex-pat with underworld connections who helps him out. The Doctor, Ace and Anthony find that two Ice Warriors have reawakened and are continuing a long rivalry. After managing to return them to a post-terraforming Mars, the Doctor and Ace witness the birth of Anthony’s daughter. In thanks for saving Anthony’s life, Anthony’s wife requests that the Doctor name her daughter. He chooses the name Isabella. As they depart, Ace requests that the Doctor take her to Gallifrey, so that she may enrol in the Prydonian Academy, as the Doctor did, and become a Time Lord. The Doctor takes her to Gallifrey, and they share a teary goodbye before a lonely Doctor departs. [4]

Guest Star: Jonathan Frakes as Anthony Gates


The Valeyard (written by @Drorac)

Episode I: The Tale of Three Time Lords.

The Doctor arrives on Karn, having received a call from across the universe. There he is met with the Master, who proposes a truce. The Master reveals that he summoned him because he needs help. The Valeyard has returned and seeks vengeance on the Master. After the Doctor’s trial, the Valeyard has pursued the Master around the universe:

• He narrowly escaped him in Ancient Egypt,
• Sending his Tardis into a collision course with a Cyber Warship,
• Sending three androids to decapitate him on Mars in the 23rd century.

The Doctor rejects this proposal outright and does not understand why he should save the Master from a plan of his own making. Meanwhile, the Sisterhood are holding a meeting about the three Time Lords, and what they should do about this intervention. However ultimately, they remain indecisive, and resolve to watch closely.

Meanwhile the Doctor has followed the path to castle, only to find large proportions of it blown up, with two of the towers in cinders and holes in the wall. The Master reveals this was the Valeyard, who has uncovered a cache of Morbius’s weapons from before his execution, buried on Karn. The Doctor and the Master enter the castle and make their way into the courtyard where suddenly the doors close behind them. Laughter rings in the air as the two Time Lords make their way into the dining hall, where they find the Valeyard sitting on the throne. He is overjoyed to make good on both his aims; to kill both Time Lords. However, as the Time Lords rush towards him, his hologram fades and behind it is a small, but very powerful neutron bomb. With not a lot of time left on the clock!


Episode II: The Agreement

Having successfully defused the bomb by a combination of dexterity, luck and throwing it out the nearest window, the Doctor and the Master continue their search through the castle to find the Valeyard. After walking through the ruins of the old castle they return to the courtyard to find three members of the Sisterhood awaiting them. The Sisterhood tell the Time Lords that the Valeyard’s presence on this planet is disturbing, and the weapons he has uncovered should not be used again due to their destructive capabilities. As the Sisterhood make their leave, one of them presses a blade into the Doctor’s hand, with the promise to use it against whichever Time Lord leaves Karn with any of Morbius’s weapons.

Having left the courtyard the two Time Lords descend to the caves beneath the castle and enter, hoping to find any of the weapons that they can use against Morbius. As they enter the cave, an arrow flies past the Doctor’s ear; a Raston Warrior Robot. Admittely a bit cruder than the last one, one of Solon’s failed experiments. The robot chases the Doctor and Master through the caves. The two Time Lords end up separated in the cave system, and the Robot chooses to follow the Doctor. The Doctor continues being chased through the cave, even though the Robot has shot and arrow through his leg. He eventually stops an open box, clearly the cache of weapons although it is half emptied. The Doctor ends up with a second arrow through his arm as he falls to ground and finds what he was looking for; an ultraviolet gun. Firing it at the robot overloads the body with too much radiation causing it to explode, lacerating the Doctor with cuts.

Meanwhile the Master has escaped the robot, and escapes the caves. There he comes face to face with the Valeyard, but the Valeyard offers him a deal; he has one day to dispose of the Doctor and allow the Valeyard access to the TARDIS, in return for his life. The story ends with the two Time Lords shaking hands.


Episode III: The Last Battle

Following the Doctor’s escape from the Raston Warrior Robot, he reaches the daylight outside the cave. There he is joined by the Master, who notices the Doctor’s injuries attempts to persuade him to return to the Tardis to seek medical attention. However the Doctor refuses his request, and continues to wander out into the ruined landscape with the aim of finding himself a weapon capable of stopping the Valeyard. After limping to a nearby spaceship he finds exactly what he wants, a Dalek gun from a crashed spaceship. His injuries have taken a turn for the worst however, and he is finding it more and more difficult to walk because of the damage of his legs. After arming both himself and the Master with a weapon, he realizes he needs to return to the TARDIS, not noticing the Masters pleasure at the idea. However, as he approaches the TARDIS a massive cloud of dust approaches sweeps the Time Lords off their feet and when the dust settles, the Valeyard appears.

The Valeyard congratulates the Master on his success on getting him to the Tardis, before pulling out a laser gun and shooting the Master in one of his hearts. The Doctor is angered at the Master’s betrayal, but the Valeyard reveals he has kept the Master alive to adjudicate the final battle, a Mexican standoff between the two. The two Time Lords stand back to back, and at the count of 10 they turn around. At the count of 10, the Doctor turns around and shoots the Valeyard with the Dalek gun, at the same time, the Valeyard shoots the Doctor with his laser pistol, damaging one of his hearts. Both sink to the floor, the Valeyard dead. The Doctor crawls to the TARDIS, but the Master stands up and walks towards to the Doctor gloating, and squats down to laugh. The Doctor, using every ounce of strength, reaches in his pocket and stabs the Master with his blade. The Master cries out in pain and falls to the floor and dies. The Doctor crawls into the TARDIS, and regenerates.

The TARDIS is sent into space, where it soon crashes on Earth. [5]

A final shot reveals a post-regeneration Doctor turning to the camera, revealing his new face.

Guest Stars: Anthony Ainley as the Master, Gary Oldman as the Valeyard

Siddig El-Fadil as the Eighth Doctor [6]​

[1] I really liked this idea, I was given a concept, and sort of based a story around it. I'm pretty sure that's the plural of Prince Regent, as Regent is a descriptor, not the title.
[2] I kept this largely the same. Also, for every episode up to this point, assume that the Valeyard is in it.
[3] The eternal work-life struggle of being with the Doctor. When you're increasingly becoming the damsel in distress, you might want to leave if you have a good job lined up. Ace is still technically a wanted criminal, so it makes sense that she wouldn't want to stay.
[4] I went with the OTL plan for Ace, as it works, and it's really nice to have a character leave in order to become someone like the Doctor. One of the rare cases where acting like him doesn't end up with you dead.
[5] All of this story, up to here was written by my close friend @Drorac. If you're wondering why it's structured a little different, that's why. Almost all shows have multiple writers, so you get different styles, and I felt he'd do his idea better justice than I.
[6] Surprise! We're doing it now! Our Eighth Doctor revealed. An actor that I often see on "Who should play the Doctor" lists, but I think he'd work better young. In fact, those more observant among you may have noticed his first big role of OTL wasn't until 1992. Well, I shifted that to 1989, and made it a Doctor Who story, from last season. That was his breakout role of TTL, and it's made him a name to remember for the producers of Who here. If that's a little unbelievable, remember that he was the asked to play Benjamin Sisko, but was clearly too young, so they created Bashir for him to have a role. He'd only been in about three things before that, so I don't think it's so unreasonable. Yes, at 25 he'll be one of the youngest people to play the Doctor in TTL, but that's just how things are sometimes.

The next update will cover why Siddig was cast, and who his companion(s) will be for the next season. See you then.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XVII: "And I Say Hello"​

“So we are joined by not one, but two Doctors on the sofa this evening. Siddig, as I’m sure that as all of our audience knows, you played the Eighth Doctor some many years back. So is there any advice you have for her, as she is now the youngest person to play the Doctor, as you once were?”​

- Graham Norton, speaking on The Graham Norton Show in 2017. [1]


The casting of the Eighth Doctor had been the source of much speculation in the fandom. Names had been flying around the community, with the presence of Gary Oldman on set and the reluctance of producers to reveal his true role leading many to believe that he would be playing the Eighth Doctor.

In addition to Oldman, many other names were floated as potential replacements for Laurie. They had included many members of Monty Python and many other British actors. Some American names had been suggested, including James Cromwell, Avery Brooks and even Whoopi Goldberg. [2]


In fact, the producers were not adverse to the casting of a female in the traditionally male role of the Doctor, as they had considered some actresses for the Seventh Doctor. The producers had two women on their shortlist of four that they had come to screen test, though neither would get the part.

The shortlist comprised of Emma Thompson, Siddig El-Fadil, Joanna Lumley and Sean Bean. None of the four were well known in the US, and Siddig was almost completely unknown, as his guest role on Doctor Who’s twenty-third season was his first named role. [3]

The four screen tested for the producers, and it was decided that Siddig worked the best in the role, particularly with his slightly darker take on the Doctor. The producers had been considering making the Doctor darker for a while, hinting that he was something more than just a regular Time Lord. Writer Andrew Cartmel was particularly impressed by Siddig’s screen test, and lobbied internally for him to be cast.


For the companion, the intention was for the character Isabella Gates, who had been born in the twenty-fourth season story Thin Ice to join the Doctor, at a later point in her personal timeline, with her father, Anthony Gates, reappearing in a recurring role. Isabella would be written as an American living in the United Kingdom, having been born to two ex-pats, who had an expertise in burglary. [4]

Many actresses tried out for the role, but eventually, it was offered to Teri Hatcher, who was appearing in a recurring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Lt. Gail Robinson. Hatcher was looking for a larger role, but had enjoyed her work on The Next Generation, which led to her auditioning for the role. [5]

The announcement of the new Doctor and companion came halfway through the airing of the twenty-fourth season, providing a slight boost in ratings as hype grew for the regeneration of Hugh Laurie. The announcement that both the new Doctor and companion would appear in the season excited many fans, especially when it was revealed that the Doctor named Isabella.


The casting of Siddig was not completely without controversy. Many felt that he was too young to portray the character, as he was only 25 when cast. [6]

The relative inexperience of Siddig did turn some heads higher up, who felt less comfortable with placing the franchise on his shoulders. They were, however, quieted by the casting of Hatcher as the companion, who had had much more experience and the reassurance that if Siddig was not up to scratch, he could be replaced.


In addition to a new cast, a new showrunner was needed, as Nathan-Turner was departing. The position was offered to many of the more experienced writers, including David Gerrold, but all turned it down due to wanting to focus on writing single stories.

The role was eventually offered to newer writer, and script editor Andrew Cartmel, who had many ideas for the show. Cartmel was one of the younger writers, but had plenty of experience with having been in charge of editing scripts for the twenty-fourth season. [7]


As 1990 came to an end, the twenty-fifth season of Doctor Who was filming, with a new cast and new showrunner. Doctor Who was in for a serious change, and only time would tell if it would be successful. [8]


[1] Alright, this borders on spoiler territory, I'll grant you that much. It's very difficult to write in that style without referring to the actress by name. As you may expect, we won't actually see her in the timeline for a while.
[2] It's a big deal now, so there will be a tendency for the role to be given to people whose names you recognise. That and I'm lazy.
[3] That may have been the set-up for this payoff. Regardless, I think he's a very good actor, so I wanted to include him at the very start of his career.
[4] Following the OTL plan for the companion to-be after Ace. I'll be taking Who in a bit of a darker direction for a while, and she will be a big part of that.
[5] Would she work? In all honesty, I'm not sure. But another example of TNG cast coming over to Who. I swear this won't be a one way thing. To be completely honest, while I have the Doctor cast up to (and a little beyond) modern day, I don't have companions set in stone for a little while, so I'm having to consult Wikipedia for who appeared in US TV at the time.
[6] To be honest, Laurie was only 27 when cast, but those two years make a difference in the eyes of the producers.
[7] You can guess where I'm going here. The more things change. After Cartmel, things get very different with showrunners, but there was a concept I wanted to try out first.
[8] Alright, that's the last of that run I had planned for a while. Sorry about the wait, moved back to uni and had some personal stuff take precedence. Updates will likely be as intermittent as usual.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XVIII: "A Noble Band of Heroes"​

“The X-Men films were easily some of the most fun films I had been involved in. There is a certain… campiness and ridiculousness inherent to the superhero genre, and I think we made the right choice by leaning heavily into that. But we wanted to tackle some serious social issues present at the time as well.”



- James Cameron, speaking about his part in the 1990s X-Men films.


Production on Wolverine and the X-Men had been slow at first, with 1989 resulting in only to main characters being cast, Bob Hoskins as Wolverine and Angela Bassett as Storm.

In order to face off against the revived Batman franchise, producer James Cameron and director Kathryn Bigelow decided that they needed a proper ensemble cast to draw in a larger audience. By the end of 1990, the X-Men had been cast.

It had been decided that the team in the film would consist of four the original five, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast and Iceman, joined by Wolverine, Storm and newcomer Jubilee. The team would nominally be led by Professor X. The large team meant that certain characters would not get as much screen time, and the story was written with this in mind.

For Cyclops, the leader, Bigelow and Cameron decided to cast Tom Cruise. Cruise had been a fan of the Marvel comics for a time, and had been lobbying for a part since the announcement of the X-Men film. Marvel Girl, his teammate and love interest, would be portrayed by Molly Ringwald.

Laurence Fishburne, another Marvel Comics fan, was brought in to play Beast, while Iceman would be played by Robert Downey Jr.. The role of Jubilee, who was to be the “point of view character”, was given to Ann Yen. To round the team off, Pete Postlethwaite was cast as Professor X. [1]


In the story, the X-Men would be opposed Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, consisting of Magneto, Mastermind, Mystique and Toad. Magneto would be played by Max von Sydow, Mastermind by Brad Dourif, Mystique by Sharon Stone, and Toad by Nicolas Cage. [2]


The mixture of established star and up-and-coming actors worked well to build a significant level of hype for the film, with demands for a release date becoming louder and louder.

While there would be no such announcement until early 1991, the story had been finalised by the end of the year. The film would centre on Wolverine and Jubilee, two outcast mutants who find each other and end up under the protection of the X-Men, resulting in their eventually joining the team. Magneto and his associates would have an interest in Jubilee as a potential weapon to overthrow humanity, bringing them into conflict with the X-Men. [3]


While the relatively diverse main cast worked well for Marvel’s PR, that was not the main reason behind it. It was the opinion of Bigelow and Cameron that as the X-Men had historically been used as an allegory for minorities, it made sense to adapt that to the modern day, and to have the X-Men as paragons of acceptance. [4]


With the story finalised, and the cast ready, 1991 would bring filming and the announcement of the release date. [5]


[1] Just doing one footnote for all of the X-Men castings, as it keeps things more simple. I seriously considered adding Angel, but wasn't sure how well he could have been portrayed at the time, that and didn't have any good ideas. I think all of the casting here comes from your suggestions, so I thank you all very much for those.
[2] More suggestions from all of you. There were a few other characters I wanted to use, but decided to save for future installments. I have the rough plans laid out now for these films.
[3] To be completely honest, I've only started reading comics recently, so I don't know about too many X-Men storylines. I've dedicded to reuse some of the 2000 film's ideas, but reworked to fit the different mutants at play. I have a story worked out now.
[4] I wasn't wuite sure how to word this right, so this may be edited. If it is, so will this footnote.
[5] I'm looking forward to doing more of this in the future. Sorry about the delay, I've had proper writer's block for the first time in the timeline, as I genuinely didn't know what this update was going to be about. I figured it out in the end, but it's taken a bit of time. Sorry for my inconsistent updates. Also, I'll put a little update up after this, won't footnote it, listing the cast for Wolverine and the X-Men, just to make it a little more clear.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XIX: "Standing Tall"​

“Season Three is where the show ‘grew the beard’ but I don’t think we peaked until some point around the fourth or fifth season. That’s when we embraced a lot of things that made The Next Generation really good, and much of what makes shows that followed it so good as well. Although that might just be my wanting to be partly responsible for the franchise’s enduring success.”​

- Jonathan Frakes, taken from Where None Had Gone Before. [1]


With its fourth season, Star Trek: The Next Generation was making history for the franchise. Neither The Original Series nor The Animated Series, which was in a dubious state of canonicity at this point, had made it to a fourth season. The success of The Next Generation was making sure that the Star Trek franchise would last for many years into the future.

The fourth season would be the beginning of a marked change for the future of the franchise, the embracing of longer arcs. While arcs had been tried before, most notably with the introduction of the Borg and the Iconians, they had never lasted beyond two or three stories. [2]

Although only the first half of the story had been released, the success of “The Best of Both Worlds” led to the decision to leave this season, and presumably future seasons, on cliffhangers. It was the opinion of the producers that this would help to build hype for the following seasons, and keep the fandom actively talking about the show in the rest between seasons.


But The Next Generation would not only be making history in terms of story, but also in terms of its characters. It was announced shortly before the release of the season that the character of Dr. Amelia Henderson would be revealed to be homosexual, although this fact would rarely be mentioned. Nevertheless, this would be hailed by many LGBT groups as a step in the right direction for representation. [3]

Although homosexual characters had appeared on primetime television before, Star Trek had never features one as a member of the main cast. As with other homosexual characters, the reveal about Dr Henderson would draw fire from more conservative factions, and resulted in a small-scale boycott of the show by those groups.


The fourth season would also mark the first where there were no major cast changes. Although there had been rumours of Patrick Stewart leaving after the third season, he would renew his contract, along with the rest of the cast. As it stood going into the fourth season, all members of the main cast were signed up until a prospective eighth season, though no seasons beyond the fourth had been ordered as of yet.

The opener to the fourth season would be the concluding part of the third season story “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I”. The episode would see Picard liberated from the Borg, and the cube that was en-route to Earth destroyed, albeit at great cost. This episode would set up many plot lines for future seasons, and even other shows, to explore. [4]

In fact, many future plots and ideas would be set up in this season, to be paid off in the future. In particular, the season finale, “Redemption, Part I”, would set up the Klingon Civil War, which would be the overarching story of a prospective fifth season. This episode would also close with the reveal of Sela, a character that was to be played by Denise Crosby, ostensibly the daughter of the alternate timeline Tasha Yar seen in “Yesterday’s Enterprise”. [5]


As September 1990 came around, the cat and crew prepared for the release of Season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. [6]


[1] Much as I love the stories it has, as far as writing this timeline goes, S4 is actually a bit of a "filler season". There's some stuff coming up in S5 and beyond that I really can't wait to do. There's something expecially close to home in Season 5 for me.
[2] They're taking the Doctor Who approach for now, namely, arcs over multiple stories that remain episodicity. I really liked how TNG handled their longer arcs, even if I wish a couple had lasted longer. But hey, I'm in charge of this timeline, I'll take it where I want to.
[3] I'd had this in the back of my mind for a while for Dr Henderson, but wasn't completely sure when I was writing last season. As a result, I kept the reveal for this season. It won't come up much, apart from one episode this season.
[4] Spoiler? To be honest, it's getting really hard to write now without revealing something about my plans for the future. Just a warning, Trek may be a bit OTL for another few years, but changes are coming.
[5] Alright, I'm not really a fan of Sela. She felt a little implausible, with her looking exactly like her mother but Romulan. However, I've liked what they did with her in STO (which may be an umpopular opinion, I'm not sure what your opinions on the sotry of that game are), and she definitely had potential, so I've kept her.
[6] You know the drill for the next two updates now. See you when they are released.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XX: "Milestones"​

“The release of season four was much more relaxed for me. It had taken a little while to properly settle in to the cast, but by the end of my second season, I had been completely accepted, by both the cast and the fans. While there was the revelation of my character’s sexuality to come, I was at least secure that the fans seemed to like the character.”​

- Stephanie Beacham, taken from Where None Had Gone Before.


The fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation would continue the success of the third season. Having “found its feet”, the show would not undergo any drastic changes over the previous one, despite speculation that there could be a major change in cast.

The season began with the end of the “Best of Both Worlds” story that had been set up at the end of the third season. The cliffhanger ending of the first part had generated a large amount of discussion in fan circles following its airing. Following on from this, the fourth season was to end with the first part of another two part story, this time focussing on the Klingons.


The fourth season would, like the third season, be met with critical acclaim, with it many calling it the best season so far. Following three seasons of change, the stability seemed to be treating the show well.


List of Episodes of Season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation:

1. The Best of Both Worlds (Part II)
2. Family
3. Reconstruction [1]
   
4. Brothers
5. The Empath [2]
   
6. Suddenly Human
7. The Dreamscape [3]
   
8. Legacy
9. Generations [4]
   
10. Data’s Day
11. Future Imperfect
12. Reunion
13. Chronology [5]
    
14. The Wounded
15. Clues
16. Genius is Pain [6]
    
17. The Nth Degree
18. Galaxy’s Child [7]
    
19. After All [8]
    
20. The Drumhead
21. Qpid
22. The Host [9]
    
23. The Mind’s Eye
24. Beyond [10]
    
25. Half a Life
26. Redemption (Part I) [11]

Main Cast of Season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation:

• Captain Julien Picard – Patrick Stewart
• Commander William Riker – Jonathan Frakes
• Lt. Cmdr. Data – Brent Spiner
• Dr. Amelia Henderson – Stephanie Beacham
• Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge – LeVar Burton
• Counselor (Lt. Cmdr) Deanna Troi – Marina Sirtis
• Lt. Worf – Michael Dorn
• Ensign Andrew Kelly – Christian Slater
• Ensign Leslie Crusher – Carla Gugino

During the release of the fourth season, a fifth would be ordered by Paramount. Shortly after this, production would begin, in part due to the large number of scripts that the show had.


[1] This story focusses on the state of the Federation after the thwarting of the Borg decapitation strike.
[2] Another script that never got produced, it's a Geordi story.
[3] A more Trek-y story than some of the other stories in this season. It would be har to say what it is without just telling the entire story, si I'll leave it for now.
[4] This is a story that focusses on Dr Henderson and Leslie Crusher. Dr Henderson's wife comes aboard as part of a project, and Leslie has to deal with one of her grandparents that doesn't want her in Starfleet.
[5] A backwards episode.
[6] Another undeveloped script. Has a very John Cleese-y character.
[7] Similar to OTL, but Geordi is written less sympathetically.
[8] Another Borg aftermath episode. Focusses on a conference between Starfleet and the KDF, and involves the Romulans.
[9] Similar to OTL, but with the DS9 Trill makeup.
[10] Starfleet are contacted by an alien species from just outside the galaxy, which they cannot meet due to the galactic barrier. There is a plan to try to break through, but as you may guess, it goes awry.
[11] This part is mainly the same, but the arc will take longer.