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

[Timelordtoe]

The Sixth Doctor (1985-1987)

Christopher Lloyd​

The casting of an American for the traditionally British character of the Doctor was not an uncontroversial one. Many fans were outraged that their beloved franchise appeared to be being sold out to an American company. On the release of the film however, opinion changed sharply. Critics praised his portrayal for balancing the dramatic and comedic sides of the character.

Christopher Lloyd stayed for the three Amblin produced films, though left afterwards. Through the films, he was accompanied by Martin "Marty" McFly, portrayed by Michael J. Fox. Marty filled the role that many of his predecessors had, namely in being the "everyman" that the audience could identify with. The Amblin films brought in a large American audience, especially families and young people. The first film in the series was also credited with the popularisation of the skateboarding subculture.

Modern critics and other commenetators often list Lloyd's portrayal as a key reason for the strength of the franchise of Doctor Who becoming popular in the Americas. It is often argued that other actors would not have portrayed the Doctor with the same level of semi-insanity that lent him an air of genius, but also made him fun. Indeed, John Lithgow, who had originally been cast as the Sixth Doctor, once stated in an interview that he was glad that things did not end up working out between him and the studio, as he felt that he would not have been able to capture the essence of the character.

Behind the scenes, Lloyd was always in two minds about the character. While he enjoyed portraying him, Lloyd was worried about being typecast, especially following the advice of Peter Davison, whom he had met on the set of Doctor Who: Back to the Future. As a result, it was not for many years after leaving the role that he would begin to engage fully with the fans, many of whom had been introduced to the franchise with his portrayal. [1]


In the canon of Doctor Who, the Sixth Doctor first appears in Doctor Who: Back to the Future, which shows the Fifth Doctor regenerating after crashing the TARDIS in Hill Valley of 1952, following his being poisoned during the story The Caves of Androzani. Little was known about the Sixth Doctor's early life until after the films had been aired, barring the events that transpire during Back to the Future.

With the lowest amount of screen time of any of the Doctors, it is no surprise that most of the detail that is known about the Sixth Doctor comes from stories or books that are not strictly confirmed as canon. This, paired with Lloyd's eventual acceptance of the character, leaves many fans eager to see more Sixth Doctor media produced, even though such an endeavour has been confirmed as "unlikely" by the BBC. [2]


The Sixth Doctor is a great deal more unkempt and wild than his predecessors, and was the first to be portrayed by a non-Brit. His demeanour was done as such to allow for him to be a 'fun' character that all of the family could like. Lloyd's Doctor is so iconic and important in the history of Doctor Who that his face is the first to spring to mind when many are asked to picture the Doctor. [3]

Despite this, great effort was made to ensure that the character would still come across as the Doctor to those who had been fans for longer. This included the darker side hinted at at certain points in the film, such as the fact that the Doctor had been dealing with terrorists. In order to confirm that this was a continuation of continuity, rather than a reboot, the regereation scene was included, as well as many throwaway lines throughout the films including "at least I'm not wearing that celery anymore" when a character criticises the Doctor's dress sense. [4]


The Sixth Doctor's tenure was decidedly the most musical since that of Partick Troughton. Though the Doctor himself did not play any instruments, his companion Marty was in a rock band, and the films each saw singles released alongside them, from groups such as 'Huey Lewis and the News' and 'Electric Light Orchestra'. [5]


Christopher Lloyd would stay until the end of 1987, with the release of the third, and last of the Amblin trilogy of films. Citing a wish to avoid typecasting, he left the role, and had little interaction with the franchise until 1993, even then only participating minimally. [6]

[1] Lloyd was like this with Back to the Future, with how busy his schedule will be over the next two years, he will be even more eager to leave than in OTL. He will eventually, as hinted, return to the franchise, though more minimally.
[2] The BBC will eventually adopt a policy similar to the one IOTL, that no franchise owned by them can require fans to pay money to keep up with the story. That's why Big Finish and the like are in a grey area of canonicity.
[3] These films will be how the most audiences are introduced to Doctor Who for the next 15-20 years or so.
[4] Every Doctor has their look, and the Sixth Doctor will eventually settle on one almost identical to that seen in BTTF II, I just couldn't find a good picture to use.
[5] ELO didn't make music for BTTF IOTL, but they will for Doctor Who here. While they will break up at around the same time as OTL, Lynne will have a bigger part to play. He will be the focus of the "musical interlude" that I've alluded to before.
[6] Good old Troughton rule. We've not skipped to 1987 by the way, this is just an overview of Lloyd's time as the Doctor. Part I should last another 5-6 updates at least. Next update will be late 1985/early 1986, with the production on the sequels beginning.

 

[Timelordtoe]

The Seventh Doctor (1988-1990)

Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie as the Seventh Doctor, taken from That Sinking Feeling.
​

The Seventh Doctor was portrayed by the British actor Hugh Laurie. Before taking up the role, he was much less well known, his most notable role being the Prince Regent on the British television show Blackadder the Third.

Critical response to the Seventh Doctor was generally favourable, with many comparing him to the Fifth Doctor, both being young and action seeking. The Seventh Doctor maintained a generally positive outlook and was often nicknamed by the fans as “the wacky Doctor”, as many of his scenes called on Laurie’s comedic background. Despite this, the Seventh Doctor occasionally showed signs of a darker side, and a history he wished to forget. While glimpses of this side would be fleeting with the Seventh Doctor, it set a precedent for Doctors to come. [1]

The Seventh Doctor served as a “jumping on point” for many fans, as the producers at NBC wished to create a television show that was not overly reliant on prior canon, as most Americans had not seen the classic series. The Seventh Doctor proved very popular among fans, and his episodes remain some of the most watched in syndication.


Most of the time, the Seventh Doctor was seen in blue trousers, with a darker blue waistcoat, accompanied by a cravat and overcoat matching the shade of his trousers. Similar to his fifth incarnation, the white shirt he wore had question marks sewn into the points of the collar on either side. [2]

This attire would set him apart from his surroundings, though he would occasionally opt for other clothing when required, most notably in the season 23 story Seven Pillars of Wisdom, where he opted for a look more similar to that of the stereotypical “English Gentleman”. [3]

Laurie would often be seen at fan conventions with his co-stars Denise Crosby and Tom Hanks, who portrayed his companions Ace and Jim. They would be his only on-screen companions for his tenure.


The Seventh Doctor first appears in the final Amblin film The Mad Dog Gang, though when exactly this appearance occurs in the Doctor’s timeline is never explicitly stated. As he is not suffering from the effects of post-regenerative trauma, it is clear that this occurs some time after New Beginnings. Various “expanded Whoniverse” material has attempted to explain this, though no one definitive answer has been given. [4]


With 26 forty-five minute episodes per season, the Seventh Doctor quickly became one of the Doctors with the most screen time. His ranking among fan circles tends to be high, with his grouping with Crosby and Hanks being seen as one of the most iconic in the show’s history.


[1] I'm using elements of the Seventh Doctor of OTL here, though not nearly to the same degree. Think it a bit more like the Tenth or Eleventh Doctors of OTL, fun exterior, but a dark interior that occasionally sees the light of day.
[2] The Sixth Doctor's Big Finish outfit.
[3] Why yes, this is a Jeeves and Wooster reference.
[4] Me covering my tracks somewhat. But also out first hints at the larger Whoniverse that we will come to see more of as time goes by. At the moment, it's pretty much just magazines, but we'll see more as time goes on.

 

[Timelordtoe]

The Eighth Doctor (1991-1993)

Siddig El-Fadil
Siddig El-Fadil as the Eighth Doctor, in his usual garb. [1]
​

The Eighth Doctor was portrayed by British actor Siddig El-Fadil (later known as Alexander Siddig). With only two on-screen roles prior to his casting, one of them on the Season 23 story Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the casting of Siddig was controversial to many fans of the show.

Critical response to the Eighth Doctor was, at the time, mixed, in part due to Siddig’s darker take on the character of the Doctor. More modern reviews have, however, been much more favourable, citing the outward darkness of the Eighth Doctor as a cornerstone of the character from that point onward. The stark contrast from the Seventh Doctor was jarring to many audience members at the time, though the Eighth Doctor has become more popular among fans in the years since Siddig’s departure from the role.

The Eighth Doctor’s first season would see a large drop in ratings that would begin to recover over his later seasons. This was, in large part, due to the lack of chemistry between Siddig and Teri Hatcher, who portrayed his companion Isabella. Despite this rocky start, his later seasons were much better received. [2]


The Eighth Doctor’s attire was much more simple than his predecessors. The majority of the time, he opted for a grey suit with a blue and black tie. Despite his forgoing of the question mark motif of previous incarnations, the Eighth Doctor was, in many ways, a more mysterious character.

His attire would earn him the nickname “the businessman of time and space” from his companion Isabella. Despite the occasional mockery, the attire of the Eighth Doctor would set a trend for many future Doctors, who also opted for similar suits.


Despite his eventual success in the role, his experience on Doctor Who would lead to Siddig avoiding roles where he would be the main character, instead opting for more supporting roles. In part due to the initial backlash against his portrayal, Siddig would not appear at many conventions, though this would change later in his career. [3]


The Eighth Doctor would first appear in the final part of Season 24 story The Valeyard, though his first major outing was in Action at a Distance the following season.

The Eighth Doctor would have two main companions in his time on-screen: Isabella and Rachel, portrayed by Teri Hatcher and Gillian Anderson respectively. Expanded Whoniverse material gives additional companions, but many exist in a state of grey-canonicity. While Isabella would leave after the first season, Rachel would remain for the remainder of Siddig’s tenure as the Eighth Doctor.


The Eighth Doctor, due to the length of the seasons, would end up quickly becoming a Doctor with higher screen-time. Due to his somewhat divisive portrayal, his position in rankings of the Doctors varies greatly, though devoted fans tend to rank him higher. [4]


[1] Unsurprisingly, this still is actually taken from Our Man Bashir, because there's so few images of Siddig in a suit.
[2] While the Seventh Doctor of TTL is much more of an original character, I'm trying to make each of these Doctors distinct from any OTL Doctor (with two or three exceptions). Despite this, Eight of TTL is quite clearly inspired by Seven of OTL.
[3] This is a little hint for the future.
[4] I'm not sure that "more devoted fans" is exactly the right phrase, but I'm sure that you can all see what I'm getting at. Casual fans tend not to like his episodes so much, in much the same way that Capaldi is for some.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Dr. Rachel Vance - Profile

Gillian Anderson as Dr. Rachel Vance, taken from the Season 27 story "Meltdown".

​

Dr. Rachel Vance, played by American [1] actress Gillian Anderson, was a companion of the Eighth Doctor. Prior to her casting, Anderson was virtually unknown outside of certain theatrical circles in New York.

Dr. Vance was originally planned to be a one-off role, but midway through production of Season 25, Teri Hatcher made it clear that she had no intention of staying with the show. This necessitated the casting of a new companion, and the season finale, “Love and War”, was rewritten to facilitate Hatcher’s exit. During the filming of the story, the producers of the show took note of the chemistry between Siddig and Anderson, and offered her the opportunity to become a full-time companion.

Anderson did not initially plan on taking up the offer, as she would reveal in later interviews, but her struggle to find work during the two years she had been living in the city led her to accept. Anderson had been working part time as a waitress in order to support herself prior to her being cast in the then-small role of Vance, and struggled somewhat with her newfound fame.

For close shots, Anderson would often have to stand on a box, owing to the height difference between her and Siddig. This produced a seeming inconsistency in Dr. Vance's height throughout the show, which was often made fun of in the books, and serves as a running joke within the modern fandom.


Though not initially planned to be a companion, Dr. Vance fit showrunner Andrew Cartmel’s desire to have either a non-human companion or a companion from the future, in order to provide a different perspective.

Dr. Rachel Vance, in universe, is an archaeologist from Beta Caprisis in the 26th century. She joins the Doctor following the events of “Love and War”, which saw the exit of Isabella Gates. Vance joins mainly out of a realisation that the Doctor needs people with him to keep him grounded, but appreciates the opportunity that he has given her.

Dr. Vance’s occupation would come up on occasion, primarily to act as a source of banter between her and the Doctor (as a time traveller, the Doctor is stated to have a low opinion of archaeologists). However, on occasion, it would provide her with knowledge that is crucial to the story, such as in “The Element of Surprise”, where she is able to determine that there is an outside influence changing things thanks to her having studied the aftermath of the events.


Anderson would leave the show at the same time as Siddig, at the end of the 27th season, with the 30th anniversary story “The Dark Dimension”. However this story would see her playing an alternate version of her character, and the last main appearance of the “real” Dr. Rachel Vance would actually be in the prior story “Premonitions”.

Despite Anderson leaving with Siddig, her character would appear alongside the Ninth Doctor in other media. Later books and comics would establish that after his regeneration, the Ninth Doctor came back for Dr. Vance, and they continued their travels together for some time. Many of these works were written by Paul Cornell, who is credited with the creation of the character. [2]


In contrast to many of the other former Doctor Who actors, Anderson did not take up many major roles in the immediate aftermath of her being on the show, despite her popularity. Instead, she took the opportunity to move back to England (which she later stated was always her eventual plan), and returned to the stage.

Most of Anderson’s modern work is in the medium of voice acting, owing in part to her work with Big Finish, which produced a small range of stories focussed on her character in the late 1990s. Recently, however, she has started to take more screen roles, most notably as Dr. Catherine Halsey in the HBO drama Halo, from the fifth season onwards. [3]

Anderson is generally positive with regards to her time on the show, especially when speaking of working with Alexander Siddig, with whom she is still close friends.


[1] Right, this is a matter of some debate, so I've stuck with what Wikipedia says, after reading the Talk section. ITTL, it's pretty likely that she actually gets citizenship, but for ease of access, I'm referring to her as American.
[2] I've said this before, but Vance is more or less TTL's equivalent to Bernice Summerfield.
[3] A little hint about something that's going to happen down the line. Also, a pretty different career for Anderson that might see her showing up in some unexpected places.

 

[Timelordtoe]

The Ninth Doctor (1994-1995)

Avery Brooks
Avery Brooks as the Ninth Doctor, taken from Season 29 story "The Man Behind the Mask". [1]​

The Ninth Doctor was portrayed by American actor Avery Brooks, only the second non-British actor to play the role. Before his casting, he was best known as Hawk from the franchise Spenser: For Hire. Despite the fact that he was not the first, the casting of an American actor in the role of the Doctor was controversial.

Response to the Ninth Doctor was more mixed than his predecessors. In this incarnation, the Doctor would in many ways, seem more alien, and had far fewer action scenes, with the show taking a more subdued but darker approach to the story. As a result, some fans felt alienated by this shift in tone, and viewing figured dipped accordingly. In more recent times, the fan reaction has been more positive, and has become a more “cult classic” type of Doctor. [2]

Avery Brooks would admit in later interviews that he was surprised by the reaction to his portrayal at the time, as while he received praise for his acting, may disliked the characterisation. Nonetheless, Brooks said that it was one of his favourite roles to portray, and has returned to reprise it on many occasions, both officially and unofficially. [3]


The Ninth Doctor would see the Doctor take on a more sedentary role, as during the entirety of his run, he also worked as a professor of nuclear physics at the University of Washington, in order to keep an eye on the Rift nearby for UNIT. Accordingly, his attire was different to any of his predecessors, and tended to blend in better with other humans, though not in personality. The majority of the time, he wore a white collared shirt with a black waistcoat, though he would occasionally be seen in a longer brown shirt with a Mandarin collar.

In contrast to many of his previous incarnations, the Ninth Doctor had no real desire to appear human, making no secret of his alien heritage to people that he encountered. His sometimes impersonal and unfeeling demeanour would, at times, put him at odds with his companion, Jennifer, but he would open up more with time.

Due to his work at the University of Washington during this incarnation, the TARDIS would undergo a major redesign from the more simplistic designs of the Seventh and Eighth Doctors, with the console room being much larger, and doubling as an office for the Doctor. This larger console room would be carried over to the Tenth Doctor and later, though the furnishings would be different in each incarnation. [4]


His first “full canon” appearance was at the beginning of “A New Semester”, though where exactly this occurs within this Doctor’s lifetime is never explicitly stated, as the Doctor does not experience any post-regenerative trauma. Many “grey-canon” sources would flesh out the time before this, showing new companions and adventures. During his time on-screen, the Ninth Doctor would have only one companion, Jennifer, played by Winona Ryder.

Brooks’ run as the Doctor would see his other skills put to use, as he had an opportunity to showcase his musical talents, particularly his past work in opera, in the Season 29 story “The Crooner”. He would also become the first, and to date only, actor to both portray the Doctor and direct an episode of the show. [5]


Following his time on the show, Brooks would make relatively few television or film appearances, working on stage and on documentaries. In addition, he would continue to teach theatre at Rutgers University, a job he would draw on his experiences during his time on the show. [6]


Many years after his departure from the role, the Ninth Doctor still remains a divisive figure among fans, often appearing at the extremes of rankings of the incarnations. [7]


[1] Why yes, that photo is from "Our Man Bashir", the same episode of DS9 I got the photo for the Eighth Doctor profile from.
[2] I don't like making strict equivalences between OTL and TTL Doctors, but there's a decent pattern to TTL's 7, 8 and 9. They mirror a run of three Doctors from OTL, but telling you which would be a bit spoilery.
[3] There's nothing quite like BBV in TTL, but things like Devious will still be made. Expect it to be a bit like how Star Trek used to be with New Voyages, Renegades and the like, they're tolerated by the BBC provided they don't try to pass themselves off as official work.
[4] An answer to a question by @Ogrebear, which I had alreadyanswered. I just wanted to make it "canon" by putting it in an update.
[5] I like his music and directing work, so why not include both, I thought.
[6] This is one of the reasons I made the Doctor also a professor here, because the actor is also a professor. This sort of mirrors his post-Trek career from OTL.
[7] Sort of like the Twelfth Doctor. A lot of fans really like him (as will TTL's version of me), but some just don't like him and were a bit turned off.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Jennifer Marsh - Profile

Winona Ryder as Jennifer Marsh, taken from Season 28 story "When You Go"​

Jennifer Marsh, played by American actress Winona Ryder, was a companion of the Ninth Doctor. Ryder was best known for her appearance in the 1988 Tim Burton film Beetlejuice. Since then, she had largely taken smaller roles, though she did audition for some other films (most notably Heathers (1989) and Edward Scissorhands, the latter of which featured Doctor Who alumnus Tom Hanks in the title role).

In contrast to the Ninth Doctor, Jennifer proved to be popular among fans from the beginning, providing a more clear audience surrogate than any of the other revival companions to that point. Her popularity is further compounded by being the first cast member to win a BAFTA from her work on the show, winning in the Best Actress category during the 1995 awards for her work on the twenty-eighth season. That same year, the show won its first Best Drama Series award.

The portrayal of Jennifer as being a female studying for a degree in a traditionally male-dominated discipline was praised by many, especially many institutes of higher education. Her time on the show is associated with a marginal increase in applications to the University of Washington, the institution she attended.


Unlike many previous companions, Jennifer’s time with the Doctor did not see her “moving into” the TARDIS, as she continued her studies alongside her adventures. In addition, her relationship to the Doctor was very different to previous Doctor-companion relationships, as the Ninth Doctor and Jennifer had more of a mentor-mentee dynamic.

Often in her travels with the Doctor, she would act as a middle-man between the Doctor and the people they encountered, as he had a tendency to act more impersonal. Though this would sometimes put the two at odds with each other, over time the Ninth Doctor would begin to open up more with her.

Eventually, during the events of “The Other”, the Season 29 finale, Jennifer would decide to leave the Doctor, in order to properly focus on her studies and live “a human life”. Jennifer would not appear in main canon again until 2008, when she reunited with the Doctor, as they land at the University of Washington once more, where she now lectures.

Grey-canon sources after her departure from the show would often feature her teaming up with Dr. Rachel Vance, a companion of the Eighth Doctor, and tended to feature UNIT heavily. Ryder did not make any appearances in the Big Finish audios until relatively recently, making her debut in the Ninth Doctor’s fiftieth anniversary story in 2013.


Doctor Who reinvigorated Ryder’s career in many ways, as she began appearing in more films and television shows, having clearly broken her image of being “the goth girl from Beetlejuice”. In addition, it launched a career in production, as she began working in more behind-the-scenes roles. Most notably, this would include the 1998 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Kenneth Branagh, a script she brought to Branagh’s attention in the first of many collaborations.

Ryder has often spoken fondly of her time on the show, though is critical of the circumstances surrounding hers and Brooks’ departures. Jennifer Marsh remains a popular companion to this day, especially given Ryder’s position as one of many people to have received their “big break” from the show.

 

[Timelordtoe]

The Tenth Doctor (1996-) - Profile

Paul McGann
A still from the story "Underneath", showing the Season 30 costume.​

The Tenth Doctor was portrayed by British actor Paul McGann. McGann was well known to British audiences for his role as Richard Sharpe in the ITV series Sharpe, a role he retained for the majority of his time on Doctor Who. To international audiences, however, he was more well known for his roles in Withnail and I, Alien 3 and more recently, as villain Alec Trevelyan in Goldeneye.

McGann was well received as the Doctor. His portrayal of a friendly, often comedic Doctor was mixed with a significant darker streak, in keeping with his two previous incarnations. The shift of the show’s tone to a more Gothic approach was largely praised, as many felt that it suited McGann’s acting style well. McGann is considered by many fans to be the “defining” Doctor of his era, with all following incarnations being clearly influenced by the Tenth.

McGann has, in interviews following his departure, stated that he greatly enjoyed his time on the show, which has resulted in the large volume of material involving his version of the Doctor in the Big Finish audios, second only to Avery Brooks’ Ninth Doctor. [1]


The Tenth Doctor would be a far more action-oriented Doctor than his immediate predecessor, as he moved away from his position at the University of Washington, and took Lucie and Kahn-Tineta aboard. In contrast to how the Ninth Doctor could blend in with humans as an “eccentric professor”, the Tenth Doctor enjoyed standing out, opting for a Victorian-inspired outfit, moving to a more rag-tag militaristic costume later on in his time, though occasionally wearing a tweed outfit. Though initially he had longer “puffy” hair, he soon “cut” it after McGann complained about the wig being uncomfortable. [2]

Much like his immediate predecessor, the Tenth Doctor was not secretive about his alien heritage. His more energetic portrayal did give this Doctor an unfortunate habit of speaking without thinking, a habit many fans dubbed his “foot-in-mouth disease”.

The Tenth Doctor’s TARDIS was similar to the Ninth’s, though he opted for a change in furniture, giving the TARDIS a “lived-in” feeling, as it has many comforts in the console roon, as opposed to Nine’s more study-like TARDIS. More of the inside of the TARDIS would be seen at this time, with Lucie and Kahn-Tineta being shown to have “moved aboard” the TARDIS, having their own rooms. [3]


The Tenth Doctor first appeared in “The Other”, though his first main appearance would be in the Season 30 opener “Confederacy”. This story introduced his first two companions, Lucie and Kahn-Tineta. While Kahn-Tineta was a Mohawk woman from the mid-1700s, Lucie was more of a mystery, especially as it was revealed that there seemed to be no record of her anywhere in history prior to her travels with the Doctor.


Two decades after his departure from the role, McGann is still considered to be one of the best Doctors by many fans. Comparisons to the Fourth Doctor are common, with both Doctors’ times being seen retrospectively as “Golden Ages”. [4]


[1] Both he and OTL's Nine will have "Eighth Doctor Adventures" style audios down the line.
[2] A little nod to OTL's Eight, and how he changed. I don't see the longer hair sticking around.
[3] Another nod to OTL's Eight. One of my favourite TARDIS designs. I really like the ones where you really get the feeling that the TARDIS is inhabited. Up there with OTL's Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS.
[4] Following from the TLIAW, I think I'm going to do a little more "teasing" for the future of the timeline from now on. Nothing too major, just a little something to pique your interest.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Ensign Leslie Crusher - Profile

Ensign Leslie Crusher was played by American actress Carla Gugino. [1]​

Leslie Crusher was a regular character for the first six seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She was the daughter of Jack and Beverly Crusher, and was portrayed by Carla Gugino.

Initial critical response to the character of Leslie Crusher was negative, with many considering the character to be a “Mary Sue”. Later seasons toned these characteristics down, and Crusher became a more popular character among the fan base.


In-universe, Leslie Crusher initially comes aboard the Enterprise-D with her mother, Dr Beverly Crusher, who is to be the ship’s Chief Medical Officer. Initially, Picard has trouble dealing with the younger Crusher, as he is uncomfortable around children. Eventually, Picard realises the level of Leslie’s skills and appoints her as an Acting Ensign. This is made into a full field promotion following the events of The Best of Both Worlds. [2]

Initially, much of Leslie’s character was defined by her relationship to her mother. When Dr Crusher leaves to head up Starfleet Medical following the first season, Leslie decides to remain aboard. In this time, she becomes more friendly with Data, La Forge and much of the engineering crew. From the third season onwards, she strikes up a friendship with new tactical officer Ensign Andrew Kelly (Christian Slater). This quickly proves to be her most solid friendship on board the ship, as the two begin appearing together more and more often.

Had Gugino and Slater stayed beyond the sixth season, Rick Berman revealed that the writing would have hinted at a romantic relationship between the two of them. However, Leslie Crusher was written out of the show when Gugino decided to focus on her film career. Her character was seemingly killed when the Enterprise-D crash landed during All Good Things…, though beta canon would suggest that she had been rescued by the Traveller, hence her body never being found. [3]


Although All Good Things… (Part I) would be Carla Gugino’s final appearance in the franchise, her death would prove to be an important moment for the franchise, marking the moment where it began to take a darker turn, straying from the idealism of Gene Roddenberry. Her death would greatly affect Ensign, later Lieutenant, Kelly during his time at Deep Space Nine.

The fact that she had died under Captain Picard’s command, as her father had, would be of importance during the seventh season story The Departed, where Picard is reunited with Dr Beverly Crusher.

Gugino’s leaving the series left a space for a new series regular. This was taken up by Michelle Forbes, whose character of Ensign Ro Laren would take up Crusher’s position as Helmsman. [4]


Despite a rocky start, Leslie Crusher would become a well liked character, with many younger female fans cosplaying as her at conventions. Though not one of the fan favourites, she would become very important to the franchise, even after her death. [5]


[1] I had a really hard time making an image of Gugino in a Starfleet uniform, so you get this. I may come back and have another go later on in the timeline.
[2] As the events of Menage a Troi never occur, her promotion happens slightly later than Wesley's in OTL.
[3] A couple of things here. I wanted to mention that Kelly/Crusher was a big fan ship ITTL, but couldn't find a place to put it, so I just had this mentioned instead. Also, this is why they don't find her body. The producers wanted to leave a slight possibility that she had survived.
[4] A little reveal here. Kelly won't be getting a replacement on the ship, Worf will just get his job as tactical officer back as well as being Chief of Security. So while Michelle Forbes wasn't interested in Deep Space Nine, I could see her sticking around for the last two seasons of The Next Generation.
[5] And a little nod to the fans. Just after this update, I'll be putting up an "appendix" update and moving a few of the threadmarks around. As I'm starting to do non-Doctor Who character profiles, I needed somewhere to put them, and I've found a solution.

 

[Timelordtoe]

"Where Are We Going This Time?": One Year and One Hundred Thousand Words In

​

Well, a little over on both counts, but I wanted to make sure that I knew what I wanted to say, as this is the first “meta” update. I started posting this timeline on the 10th of January 2019, and one year and two weeks later, I thought I’d do a little retrospective. It’s pretty lucky that we recently hit 100k words in the timeline (the threadmarked posts, that is). Consider this like a director's commentary for the posts done so far. Well, for me, it feels like I’ve been working on this for more than a year, but that’s because I have. This all stemmed from a conversation I had with a couple of friends about how easy it would be to change Back to the Future into a Doctor Who story, and I thought I’d try my hand at writing it. Then, about a year later, I started putting it on this forum.


This may or may not come as a surprise to some of you, but at the beginning, I thought I’d be done writing it by now. There’s two main reasons why that hasn’t happened. 1. My mood and creative ability has been all over the place this past year, and I don’t like writing when it feels like I’m not going to be putting out good stuff. 2. The scope of the timeline has expanded significantly since its inception.

My first draft for this timeline, which remains unfinished, went up to the year 2001, and it was a purely Doctor Who timeline, more in the vein of “Who is the Doctor?” and “The Doctor is Who?”, both of which are great timelines I recommend checking out. Star Trek was going to play a peripheral role, only occasionally mentioned, and each Doctor would only have a couple of updates. Suffice it to say, the purview has expanded somewhat. The next two updates are focussing on the comics industry and Disney respectively, neither of which are things I was planning on tackling.

So, why the change? Well, I just really enjoyed writing the timeline, and when I began work on the second draft, I found that I wanted to flesh things out more, and we ended up with what we have now. I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out so far, even if we’re not at the point I thought I’d be a year ago. As mentioned before, my mood and mental state has been all over the place (I’m pretty sure you could plot a graph of my mood based on how often I update this). But I’m in a much better place now than I have in years, though I don’t want to go too much into personal stuff here.

Originally, each part was going to be about the same length as Part I is, that is, somewhere between 10-20 actual “chapters”. As you can see, that’s no longer the case, as Part II is shaping up to be about 5x the length of the first one. We’ve been in Part II for almost a year now, but I intend to get us into Part III soon enough.


So, as a belated treat for the one year anniversary, I thought that I’d tell you, my loyal and fantastic readers, some of the places we didn’t go this time, so to speak. It’s primarily casting that I altered at various points, but there are a few other changes. So, fully aware of the fact that these parts of the updates are effectively ATLs of an ATL, let’s begin.


1: The Sixth Doctor’s films/the Amblin era
The first film, Back to the Future, is basically unchanged, but the second and third films are very different to how they were in my original plan. The second film, The Cyber Invasion, was initially going to be an adaptation of the classic series story The Dalek Invasion of Earth, but taking place in Hill Valley. The Doctor and Marty would be joined by a girl from this future, Eve, who would exist as a “temporal anomaly” after the events of the film were averted, and she was technically never born.

The third film, which ITTL is The Mad Dog Gang, was pretty much going to be the 1996 TV Movie Doctor Who. The Sixth Doctor would play a relatively small role, after being shot at the start. It wouldn’t be until the end that he regenerated. The film would have also seen the return of the Master, this time played by Peter Cushing. I decided against both the story and the casting in the end, at the insistence of my friend @Drorac, who read my first draft and gave me feedback.


2: The Seventh Doctor’s Actor
The actors for the Seventh Doctor’s companions have remained the same throughout all iterations of this timeline, though why and when Tom Hanks signed on varied a little. Despite this, who I had to play the Seventh Doctor changed a lot. Initially, I cast Sean Bean, until I realised another timeline had already done it better than I could, and that he was pretty much completely unknown at the time of his “casting”. So Sean Bean got the boot.

Then, it was Anthony Stewart Head, but after bouncing the idea off of another couple of people, it was clear that we thought he would work better in a villainous capacity, as he did in School Reunion. But that line of thinking got me onto the possibility of Hugh Laurie, who, as you all know, was the final choice ITTL.


3: The Eighth Doctor’s Arc and Companions
I can’t go into a huge amount of detail for these last two, as elements of them touch on things that I haven’t covered yet in the timeline. So, originally, the Eighth Doctor was going to have the arc that I’m exploring with the Ninth Doctor. But I realised that that left me with nothing really to do with the Ninth Doctor, at least, nothing I could think of. His companions were different too, as were much of the other cast. For starters, the Monk was not originally going to be a recurring villain.

Originally, the Eighth Doctor was going to have two companions, Alex and Jeremy, played by Courtney Cox and Matthew Perry respectively. The Ninth Doctor’s companion was originally going to be Bernice Summerfield, played by Lisa Boweman (I was pretty unoriginal with this one). Alex and Bernice were reworked into Isabella and Rachel respectively.


4: Benjamin Sisko’s Actor
A shorter one here, but originally, Benjamin Sisko ITTL was going to be Peter Capaldi. I decided against this because it meant that certain stories I really liked and planned to reuse or work in another way would have to be dropped or rewritten in a way that would, in all likelihood, have been pretty janky. So Laurence Fishburne became Sisko, and I kept Capaldi in as Captain Sheridan, one of the few Babylon 5 elements (though barely) that I included in the first season of DS9. (Again, that will be different from here).


So, there’s a few things that you probably didn’t know about the timeline. I apologise I this isn’t what you were hoping for when you saw that I’d posted a new update. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, to show you the roads we didn’t go down. There likely won’t be an update tomorrow, as I’m busy (but with some brilliant stuff, that I hope will mean I can get back to posting more frequently).

This is cliché, but I really wouldn’t have been able to get this far without all of you continuing to read and interact. This past month has been the best for me in terms of writing, with all of you sending me messages, and I’ve finally hit the stuff I’ve really been wanting to get into.

So, one year in, we’re at 1994, and I have plans up to 2023. Let’s hope it doesn’t take three more years to get there. I wish you all the best, and I’ll see you soon with some more actual canon update stuff. See you around.

Timelordtoe

 

[Timelordtoe]

(META) With Regards to the Turtledove​

I’m sure you can guess what this is about from the title.

So, the timeline won a Turtledove! Specifically, you all voted for it as the Best Pop-Culture Timeline.
I was not expecting to win it at all, frankly, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this had been nominated. So I want to thank everyone who voted for the timeline in the poll, as well, it wouldn’t have won without you.

It’s important to also mention that this timeline is by no means a solo effort, and I must thank @tornadobusdriver, @Ogrebear, @Drorac, and especially @The Chimera Virus for the work they’ve put into this as well. (If you think you should be listed here too, please tell me, as I've probably just forgotten you.)

But I didn’t want to just thank you, I wanted to give a little something in return, so I’m making this an update like the one year anniversary one. So, this will be split into four parts: “What Was”, “What Might Have Been”, “What Will Be”, and “What May Be”. So yeah, it’s more of a “behind the scenes” update.



What Was
So, the last update took a little while. Both of us working on it hit creative blocks at points, and we changed a couple of stories after the update. But we discussed a few other things during our many talks, and I think we have a much better idea of where Odyssey is going to go in the future.

So, I’m going to touch on a couple of retcons that we’re pulling with the timeline, neither of which are massive changes, but I thought you deserved to know anyway.

1. Lt. Barclay will be played by Michael Jeter, not Dwight Schultz. Jeter is better for the type of characterisation we want to do with him. This will have a very minor effect elsewhere where we need change an actor in ODY season 1 (when Jeter guest starred originally).
2. Julian Amoros will become Julian Bashir. I’m having a very hard time getting his name right when I write, and Bashir works much better with the character’s ethnic background.

Generally, I try to avoid retconning, but these are a couple of cases where I think it will work in the timeline’s favour.



What Might Have Been
So, what with it only having been three months since the last update where I told you a couple of the ideas that I didn’t use, there’s not a massive amount here, but I thought I’d tell you all some of the other ones anyway.

1: The Other Captain Sisko
So, I may have lied a little last time, and this is mainly because I wasn’t sure whether I was going to do this or not. So, I wasn’t originally going to have Laurence Fishburne as Sisko after I decided against Capaldi, but rather Andre Braugher. I’d already settled on having Sheridan in the show at this point.

But I was seriously considering writing Sisko out at the end of Season 3 of DS9. I was going to lean into the Babylon 5 influences a little more, and have Sisko sent back into the past of Bajor, hence the description of the Emissary as being “A Bajoran not of Bajor”. Sisko was very much going to be a Jeffrey Sinclair-type character, and Sheridan would take his place as station commander. However, this gave me the problem of not being able to do a lot of the Sisko stories I wanted to, so I decided against it.


2: Dax Leaves Early
I won’t reveal my current plans for Dax, but suffice it to say that they are different to OTL. But for a while, Dax was going to be written out during Meridian. I was going to replace her with a male homosexual Klingon, to explore Klingon society. This was mainly because I wasn’t sure what to do with her character, especially since I had no plans for Worf to appear in the show.

As you might be able to guess, the male Klingon turned into K’Rene, and suddenly, I had more ideas for Dax. So, Dax stuck around. I don’t think it would be hugely surprising that many of my favourite characters from TTL are the ones that are either wholly or partially original to the timeline (Kelly, K’Rene, Evek (we saw very little of him in OTL, so much of his character is original).


3: The Other Captain Janeway
Sisko wasn’t the only captain I had some trouble casting. For a very long time, I had planned for Nicola Bryant to have the role, as I believe she was considered in OTL. This had the interesting side-effect that for a little while, all three “TNG era” captains were played by Brits. But I decided against her in the end, especially when I saw some of Claudia Christian’s acting, and saw that she was what I wanted for TTL’s Janeway.



What Will Be
So, here’s a little sneak peak at the plans for the future, specifically, the remainder of 1997.
The rough plan for the year is this:
1. Season 2 of Star Trek: Odyssey (done)
2. Season 4 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
3. Star Trek VIII
4. Season 31 of Doctor Who
5. 1997 Big Finish
6. Merchandising 1997
7. Titanic
8. Marvel and DC 1997
9. Video Gaming 1997
10. Disney 1997
11. MYSTERY UPDATE
12. Music 1997

As you can tell, this is going to be a real bumper year. I make it about 14 updates still to come, and that’s not counting the various Appendix updates that will be coming in-between (DW companions for now, but more to come).

I’d previously shied away from touching on anything related directly to politics in the timeline (apart from diversity), but that will be changing a bit. There won’t be any strictly political updates, apart from maybe the MYSTERY UPDATE, but I will mention how politics has changed, or not, in updates where it is relevant. (Next season of Doctor Who will be a case of this).

Also, I’ve mentioned doing a thread set in the Star Trek universe of TTL in the past, and I’m still working on that. I have a good draft for the initial update, so hopefully I’ll put that out soon. That’ll be over in Fandom AH, but I’ll post a link here too.

It will use Kelly as the “POV” character, though I did run into some writing problems when I realised how close he is to being the archetypical Mary-Sue (fresh out of the academy and posted to the Enterprise), but I think I’ve managed to write him in a non-Sue way. As we get further into the timeline, I realise that I’ve done a lot of worldbuilding for TTL’s Star Trek in my head that we don’t get to see here. Hopefully, that thread should give me an outlet for that. It’s more of a “Lower Decks” style thing, focussed on characters rather than the plot of the episodes the updates will take place in. Effectively, it’s my headcanon for what’s happening in TTL’s Star Trek beyond the updates here.



What Might Be
Okay, I’m not going to give any of the timeline’s story away, but I’ll be talking about a couple of the creative choices I’m considering.

Firstly, I’d like to bring more media into the timeline. I know I enjoy timelines with pictures more (because I apparently am still a child), so I’d like to do something with that, just to make it feel more alive, rather than just words on a screen. This would be things along the lines of Wikiboxes for the seasons, photos from the sets of TTL, etc. It could be fun, and would give me a chance to explore something other than strict writing.

Also, I want to continue fleshing out the Appendix, which I’ve started doing with the various companions, but I’d like to cover some of the concepts from the shows of TTL. As aforementioned, I do a lot of worldbuilding in my head, and I’d like to put some of that onto a page. I’d like to explain how the Web of Time works ITTL, especially as I’m doing it a little different to what it was in OTL, but that won’t be until after S31 of Doctor Who, as that will introduce a related concept that I want to tackle with that too. If there isn’t any interest, I’ll leave them be, but I’d like to do them.



Right, hopefully we’ll be back to a more regular update schedule. I’m not sure whether the next update will be DS9 or an Appendix update, but it should be out either tomorrow, or the day after.

So, I thank you all again for continuing to read this, and for voting this Best Pop-Culture Timeline 2020. I’ll see you all soon.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Post 1000: The Cutting Room Floor​

Well hello, dear readers.

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

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

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

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

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

What Might Have Been​

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Thank you all for reading, from both of us!

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

Logo-Polis
A brief look at Doctor Who's logos in the WAWGTT-verse.

The Amblin Film Logo
1985-1987
A clear riff on the Seasons 7-10 logo from the classic series, which would provide the basis for all the show's logo variations until 1996. This one, the Back to the Future logo, is the basic Sixth Doctor logo, being used on his merchandise and in the Animated Series. It has two notable variants, seen below: the first being used in The Cyber-Invasion and the second in The Mad Dog Gang.

The First NBC Logo
1988-1991
Taking what came before and tweaking it proved a great success. This is the logo that is used to represent the overall NBC Era in spinoff media, much like the Diamond Logo represents the Classic BBC Era. More specifically, this logo represents the Seventh Doctor, and was used for his first two seasons and the Trial of a Time Lord arc. After this it was superseded by the titanium variant (seen below), which also was used for the Eighth Doctor's first season.

The Second NBC Logo
1992-1993
Also called the Crystalline Logo, this variant began to be used in the Eighth Doctor's second season and is considered emblematic of his era finding its feet. While this variant was used in most of his TV stories, a green variant was implemented for The Dark Dimension, and an alternate gold-colored one has been used in spin-off media.

The Third NBC Logo
1994-1995, 1998
The Red Logo is used exclusively for the Ninth Doctor, and matches one of his jackets. It's often used for video reviews dismissive of the latter parts of the NBC Era as a whole. While a sizeable portion of the fandom sees it as emblematic of the Ninth Doctor's era being "a mistake," many fans adore this variant and the associated era.

The Fourth NBC Logo
1996-????
The current logo in the timeline as of this writing, and something of a riff on the Troughton logo. Representative of the Gaiman era's tone as a whole, though some fans would like a variant with brighter colors.

All logos created by Plus-Sized Scribe.​

 

[Timelordtoe]

Howdy,

So, I finally got around to making the political timeline I was talking about. If any of you want to read it, here's a link: [BEHOLD, A LINK]

If that's not your cup of tea, then fine. I'm going to avoid too much of a crossover between the timelines, except when it's really necessary. Still, I hope to see some of you over there! First update is out, and it covers how the Tiananmen Square protests end differently.

Timelordtoe