Just caught up with this timeline and it's brilliant. I love the twist in the most recent part of Colin Baker playing a fake Doctor - reminded me of the Big Finish audio The One Doctor, where Colin's Doctor faces a fake played by Christopher Biggins.

One minor nitpick over the Terry Pratchett entry - while I love the idea of Terry shaping the Warhammer Fantasy universe into Discworld, I can't see his publisher at the time rejecting The Colour of Magic for commercial reasons: Colin Smythe was an academic publisher who only published Terry's work because he liked it, and was taken aback when, after three mildly successful novels, he suddenly had a bestseller on his hands.

Are there also Warhammer novels by other writers? It occurs to me that Kim Newman's Genevieve might actually fit better into a Pratchettesque take on vampires...
 
Just caught up with this timeline and it's brilliant. I love the twist in the most recent part of Colin Baker playing a fake Doctor - reminded me of the Big Finish audio The One Doctor, where Colin's Doctor faces a fake played by Christopher Biggins.

One minor nitpick over the Terry Pratchett entry - while I love the idea of Terry shaping the Warhammer Fantasy universe into Discworld, I can't see his publisher at the time rejecting The Colour of Magic for commercial reasons: Colin Smythe was an academic publisher who only published Terry's work because he liked it, and was taken aback when, after three mildly successful novels, he suddenly had a bestseller on his hands.

Are there also Warhammer novels by other writers? It occurs to me that Kim Newman's Genevieve might actually fit better into a Pratchettesque take on vampires...

Thank you so much for the kind words. Colin Baker's part as a fake Doctor is something of a running gag as Peter Davison did something quite similar during the Fifth Doctor's run.

I wasn't really aware of that nature of their relationship between Pratchett and his publisher. I might have to re-edit that then to fix it up. Thanks for the heads up anyhow. I'll do what I can.

Pratchett's work makes up the 'core' books of ITTL's Warhammer Universe. There are other writers and other books with those done by Pterry himself recognised as the ones that need to be read. The fandom is fractured among the groups who are fans of other authors and what they consider canon. It's all good fun.
 
I wasn't really aware of that nature of their relationship between Pratchett and his publisher. I might have to re-edit that then to fix it up. Thanks for the heads up anyhow. I'll do what I can.

It was a very unusual situation. The way I remember Sir Terry describing it at a con was that he wrote The Carpet People, sent it to the only publisher he knew, who was Colin Smythe (he'd previously interviewed him for the Bucks Free Press) and Colin published it. And Young Terry thought "Gosh, that was easy."

(Cue slightly strained laughter from all the budding authors in the audience...)
 
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Part Twenty-Seven: Memories Are Made of This:




The Return Home:

The Doctor and Professor Alphys touch down on Earth after a bumpy ride, something having interfered with the touchdown to the planet. Before the duo can potentially find the cause, they're suddenly attacked the instant they leave the TARDIS, the Silence having tracked them down and began to try and kill them. When it seems that the duo are trapped, they're rescued by UNIT, who attack the Silence with weaponry far in advance than should be seen on Earth. With the Silence forced into retreat, the Doctor and Alphys are taken to the new Brigadier, who is somewhat sceptical over whether or not the blonde man before him is the Doctor. Despite that though, he does agree to help, revealing that the effects of the Time War were felt on Earth, UNIT being hard pressed to contain the technology from time and space that littered the planet. The Doctor manages to convince the Brigadier and himself of the truth when he uncovers an old series of photographs of his previous regenerations, the memories finally flooding back to him properly. Just in time as well as the Silence start to attack the UNIT base, leading the Doctor to hastily draw up a plan to repel them. Using some of the weaponry that UNIT has gathered, he and Alphys instead convert them into a shield that repels the Silence's time travelling technology, forcing them into a retreat away from Earth, for now. With his memories intact, the Doctor wishes to find a way to get Gallifrey back into the Universe. But, as the new Brigadier points out, it's only tempoary and the Silence will return, forcing the Doctor to protect Earth by leaving, getting the Silence to chase after him.

  • Synopsis of The Return Home, the third serial of the twenty-sixth serial of Doctor Who, 1991



“It was around the twenty-sixth series that we decided on giving the Silence a 'face' as such. It was something of a hassle to consider constantly casting someone different in each episode so we created the Captain to counter this. He was originally designed to give a more sympathetic side to the Silence and their aims while still able to retain control of matters. Of course, we had the twist in mind from the start and the eventual reveal did prove to be a lot of fun.”

  • Extract from an interview with PJ Hammond, 2000


alphonsia-emmanuel-actress-with-fellow-actor-miles-anderson-who-star-B4FXMA.jpg



  • Miles Anderson (The Captain) and Alphonsia Emmanuel (Doctor Alphys) in between scenes while working on the twenty-sixth series of Doctor Who



Profile:

The Captain was the man who organised the search for the Doctor led by the Silence. Genial and welcoming, the Captain actually spoke with the Doctor on several occasions, trying to convince him to hand himself over to the Silence for the sake of the time stream and its stability. His failure in this regard never seemed to lower his mood and he was constantly cheerful throughout his appearances. This would slip in time as his actions would lead to deaths in his pursuit of the Doctor and he would come across as a great deal more sinister. The reveal of who he actually was was also received well by fans as his real identity being...

  • Extract from the Captain's profile on the Doctor Who Wiki, 2011



“Working on Doctor Who at that time was a blast. The BBC was giving the show its full confidence on what to do creatively and the budget had been given a boost so they could allow some better effects. They even had some more American actors coming over. Adam especially proved to be popular throughout his run in the crew. It was just a really good time and we were all getting excited for the run up to the thirtieth anniversary. A shame they didn't let me stick around for that on screen, but they were nice enough to invite me to the party at least!”

  • Extract from an interview with Miles Anderson, 1999



[Scene: The Doctor rushes through a door, having managed to dodge the followers of the Silence into a small room, only to see the Captain standing there, smiling warmly.]




CAPTAIN:

You'll never make any friends if you're going to run from everyone you know.




DOCTOR:

Those are the kinds of friends I'll be happy to skip over, if it's all the same to you.




CAPTAIN:

Oh, come now Doctor. You should realise by now that you can't escape from the Silence. Every time period, every region in space, the Silence are there.​




DOCTOR:

Interesting that...




CAPTAIN:

Well, yes. Such abilities are...




DOCTOR:

Not that. It's always 'The Silence' with you, never 'we' or 'us'. Tell me Captain, do the higher ups know just how much of their resources you've wasted on hunting me down?​




[The Captain pauses, almost looking angered by this, but quickly collects himself. He raises a remote and presses a button on it.]




CAPTAIN:

No waste now Doctor, I've summoned them to this spot. You'll be taken in by the Silence and then the secrets of time travel will be kept in safe hands.




DOCTOR:

Yes, mine.​




[Reaching to a panel beside the door, the Doctor pressed some buttons in a certain order. The room suddenly went dark and the Captain calls out for reinforcements. When the lights flicker back on, the members of the Silence are at the door, but the Doctor has vanished. The Captain glares at the Silence, showing some of the cold anger from earlier.]

  • Extract from a scene from the To The Ends of The Earth, the second serial of the twenty-seventh series of Doctor Who, 1992



“I was still writing and doing comedy when I got the offer to go to Britain. At the time, there were a few American actors who had gone over there for a few months, did some work and then came back. Since SNL had turned down my application to write for them and I didn't have anything major going on, I thought, why not? With all the self-censorship going on in the US at the time, going to the UK was tempting to a few people. So I went. It lasted for a little bit longer than a few months, but I ain't complaining.”

  • Extract from an interview with Adam Sandler, 2008



Profile:

A businessman from the 30th century, Marcus Joxon was intrigued by the potential of a time travelling machine. Looking to invest into it, Joxon gained the attention of the Silence and the research facility he was in was attacked. The Doctor and Doctor Alphys interfered with Joxon being forced to flee along with them once the Silence call down an orbital bombardment onto the facility. Finding it too dangerous to return home, Joxon became one of the Doctor's companion, albeit among his most reluctant.




Joxon's character was meant to be parodying many of the business obsessed yuppie types in the period, but had deeper shades than that. With a dry, sarcastic wit, Joxon also helped bring in some humour to the series, constantly having a battle of wits and words with the Doctor that kept him occupied. He was also prone to snapping once the situation got out of hand, famously pushing an Ice Warrior down an elevator shaft after it had threatened a child. He would stay on from the Seventh Doctor up until the Eighth, eventually leaving in the middle of the twenty-ninth series.

  • Extract from The Heart of The TARDIS, a Doctor Who wiki, 2010



[Scene: The TARDIS has touched down on a planet away from the Silence for some relaxation. Stepping out to look at the scenic area, Doctor Alphys steps forward to enjoy it while Joxon looks disapprovingly. The Doctor stands beside him, looking far more at ease.]




DOCTOR:

How's this then? Nice, fresh air. Sun on your face. Idyllic really.




JOXON:

Uh-huh.




DOCTOR:

Oh come on, what's wrong now?




JOXON:

This place seems like such a waste. I mean, you've got untapped resources here. Look, perfect land to develop a tourist industry on these lakes. There's probably a bunch of fish in here ripe for a small business to take care of. And I could set up a logging industry here within days.




DOCTOR:

Do you ever stop?




JOXON:

… Do you?​




[The Doctor goes to say something, but eventually shrugs, conceding the point.]

  • Extract from a scene from Cold Vengeance, the first serial of the twenty-eighth series of Doctor Who, 1992



“Rumours? Ah yes, we all heard them eventually. As most things, there was a grain of truth but completely overblown. There were no arguments or anything like that, but Sean and Adam didn't have a relationship that extended beyond the professional. They weren't hostile but Sean was someone who liked to keep things simple and Adam's sense of humour probably just didn't appeal to him. Things were never tense, it was just how things were.”

  • Extract from an interview with Miles Anderson, 2013



“We had a bit of a juggling act in the twenty-eighth series. Continuing the story of the Silence had to be mixed with our plans for the thirtieth anniversary of the show. We were building up to something big and that was our hopes for the twenty-ninth series, to lead to something big. It's where The Seven Doctors started and, for that, we needed to build up to a big reveal at the end of series twenty-eight. Considering the reaction to it, I think we did a fairly good job.”

  • Extract from an interview with PJ Hammond, 2000



The Master Stroke:

Having gotten more proactive in his fight with the Silence, the Doctor and his companions touch down in Paris of 1919 where the Silence were planning to disrupt the timestream in a bid to make the TARDIS malfunction. The Doctor leads the way in chasing down the Captain while the leadership of the Silence finally make themselves known as they hunt down the TARDIS, disguised as a group of diplomats at the peace conference. The Captain finally reveals his true colours however, having led the leadership of the Silence into the Paris catacombs to capture the TARDIS, only to kill them all once they have helped him uncover it. A chaotic scuffle ensues as the Doctor and his companions, along with some French soldiers, try to protect the TARDIS, but are overwhelmed and captured by the Captain and some old enemies with only Doctor Alphys escaping. Flanked by his followers, the Silurians, the Captain looks to take control of the Silence completely as the TARDIS is captured. Touching it however causes its security systems to kick in, forcing the Captain to reveal his true identity to his captives.

  • Synopsis of The Master Stroke, the final serial of the twenty-eighth series of Doctor Who, 1992



[Scene: Surrounded by armed Silurians, the Doctor, Joxon and the soldiers watch as the Captain is sent to the floor after touching the TARDIS, his body starting to glow in an alien fashion.]




DOCTOR:

I knew it. I bloody knew it.




JOXON:

What? What is it? Is he on fire?




DOCTOR:

No. He's regenerating. It seems the TARDIS remembers what happened the last time we met. It helps I installed some security just in case he ever returned.​




[The glowing fades as the Captain stands up, having changed now, revealing his true colours.]




DOCTOR:

Who else could have been the mastermind behind all this?




???:

Oh come now Doctor, why so formal. Just address me as you always have. I'm just the Master.​

  • Final scene of The Master Stroke, the last serial of the twenty-eighth series of Doctor Who, 1992



964c00322a6be42cb9ef90c09bf0e1d4.jpg


  • Rowan Atkinson, in costume as the fourth actor to play the Master, 1992



The Year of The Doctors

- The name given to the twenty-ninth series of Doctor Who
 
Last edited:
Read through this. Was pleased to see that Quantum Leap got a sixth season ITTL. Shame the ending still didn't provide closure, though (even if it was better than "Dr. Sam Becket [sic] never returned home"). I know that the '80s have already come and gone, but I'd love to hear more about Quantum Leap's final season.
 
Read through this. Was pleased to see that Quantum Leap got a sixth season ITTL. Shame the ending still didn't provide closure, though (even if it was better than "Dr. Sam Becket [sic] never returned home"). I know that the '80s have already come and gone, but I'd love to hear more about Quantum Leap's final season.

In truth, there wasn't that much more to it. There were a few more hints towards Beckett getting home as he got closer and closer to his home time zone before finally ending up back where he started. Although, he may have been able to retain all his memories this time around...
 
In truth, there wasn't that much more to it. There were a few more hints towards Beckett getting home as he got closer and closer to his home time zone before finally ending up back where he started. Although, he may have been able to retain all his memories this time around...
Any specific episodes of note? Like, did "Mirror Image" happen ITTL? Did Sam wind up leaping into the future (I recall reading something that said that would've happened in the sixth season premiere)?
 
<snip>
The Captain finally reveals his true colours however, having leadership of the Silence into the Paris catacombs to captures the TARDIS, only to kills them all once they have helped
<snip>
I think you've a typo there. Otherwise excellent stuff.
 
I think you've a typo there. Otherwise excellent stuff.

And fixed, thanks. Anything in particular you like or feel could be improved upon?

Any specific episodes of note? Like, did "Mirror Image" happen ITTL? Did Sam wind up leaping into the future (I recall reading something that said that would've happened in the sixth season premiere)?

Not really thought about it to be honest. I just put it in as a nod to someone who was asking and didn't think too much in regards to it. Maybe something slightly into the future that incorporates different Sci-Fi style to help include the greater interest in the genre at the time.
 
I'm a bit mixed on Adam Sandler on Doctor Who, but I've seen crazier. Hell, I've done crazier (see the Elaine Stritch Doctor over at The Yankee Doctor or the Eartha Kitt Doctor for one of my upcoming projects).

But I called the Captain being the Master as soon as I saw him. (It was either him or the War Chief, honestly.)

Overall, I liked this update. Keep 'em coming, man. This is one of my favorite TLs.
 
I'm a bit mixed on Adam Sandler on Doctor Who, but I've seen crazier. Hell, I've done crazier (see the Elaine Stritch Doctor over at The Yankee Doctor or the Eartha Kitt Doctor for one of my upcoming projects).

But I called the Captain being the Master as soon as I saw him. (It was either him or the War Chief, honestly.)

Overall, I liked this update. Keep 'em coming, man. This is one of my favorite TLs.

With Sandler, it the effects of there being a fair bit more self-censorship in media at the time due to the Splatterhouse murders. Nothing's banned, but everyone's a bit more senstive to violence and more risque things in general. So Sandler, like a few others, decided to try their luck in the UK instead. It won't be the last we hear of him.

It was a bit obvious it being the Master I suppose. But I couldn't think of anything else to call him.

Thanks for that and I hope you continue to enjoy it.
 
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Part Twenty-Eight: Moments In The Woods:




“That was the problem that The Little Mermaid faced. It came right out after Into The Woods. It's like Disney never quite realised why no one released a disaster movie after Airplane!

  • Quote from Claxon, member of Alternate History Forms, 2013



Into The Woods is the first original production by Nelvana under its Studio Eleven banner and it is the right way to make an impact. Based off Stephen Sondheim's hit musical on Broadway, Into The Woods takes the fairy tales we all know so well and applies real consequences to them. Director Don Bluth has given the film a dark and foreboding feeling throughout that helps bring the characters and story to life. This is very different from the classical Disney fairy tale which has become something of a new tradition for Studio Elven itself.”

  • Extract from a review of Into The Woods from the Chicago Tribune, October, 1989



Into The Woods:

Released: October 20th, 1989

Studio: Studio Eleven

Budget: 35 Million US Dollars

Box Office: 168.4 Million US Dollars

  • Run down of Into The Wood's information and performance



The Little Mermaid:

Released: November 17th, 1989

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Budget: 40 Million US Dollars

Box Office: 166.1 Million US Dollars

  • Run down of The Little Mermaid's information and performance



“For the first time, we'd beaten Disney on our own terms. A movie we'd created and produced had gone up against them and we'd come out on top. Not just money wise, but also on a cultural basis. Sondheim's subverting the typical fairy tales as he did really was a great way to show how times had moved on from the standard Princess story. It wasn't a case of telling a story like that anymore, things had to be different. We really owe Sondheim a lot for his work as Into The Woods really helped secure our name as an independent studio away from what we were doing with Ghibli. The success also allowed us more freedom from the studios in pursuing other avenues for our films. It was a huge boost to the studio in general.”

  • Extract from an Interview with Clive Smith, 1998



“I honestly think The Little Mermaid is one of Disney's strongest movies, it just had really bad luck following Into The Woods. Despite what people say, Ariel wasn't your stereotypical Disney Princess, she was pro-active and actually pursued her goals. But, people got the impression from Nelvana's press releases that what Disney was doing was cliched and just out of date. Even then, people forget about movies like The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver And Company which came out before The Little Mermaid showed that Disney could easily do something different from that formula. But, thanks to stuff like Grave of The Fireflies really redefining what an animated movie could be, Nelvana could dictate the narrative on what things were like, at least until the second Evangelion movie came out.”

  • Quote from QLeaper, member of the Freakin' Awesome Network, 2015



With the ending of the 'Big Three' in the late 80's and early 90's, Nelvana was looking for more animated output to help fill in the gap. In 1989, Nelvana approached Marvel Comics in regards to their X-Men franchise. With a team of extraordinary beings still facing relatable problems being the lynchpin of the comic, it was felt that it would help develop on the strengths of their previous animated shows. After some negotiations, Nelvana was given the license to make the show with the creative process leading to a debut in the Summer of 1991.

  • Extract from A History of Nelvana, 2006



“I'd finished working on Duck Tales for Disney when I heard about Nelvana asking for writers for their X-Men cartoon. By that time, I'd gotten a reputation for some solid output and they were interested in what I had to offer. I read some of the comics to get a feel for the characters and helped start writing the pilot episode. Working for Nelvana was a great experience and I really enjoyed myself over the years. We did a lot of great stuff with the M.A.U.”

  • Extract from an interview with Paul Dini, 2009



Roster:

Cyclops

Jean Grey

Storm

Wolverine

Nightcrawler

Jubilee

Beast

Psylocke

Professor Xavier

  • Main characters of Nelvana's X-Men series



“The team we chose for the X-Men was based off the teams that had come before for the most part. Chris Claremont's stories were a big influence and we included a lot of the team members from that period. We brought in Psylocke as a way to bring in another female character and with a very different outlook from the others. We tried to give as many different characters with their own beliefs as the sheer variety is one of the group's biggest strengths. Jubilee was brought in as the newcomer character, letting the audience be introduced to the world that way. Paul was a great asset to the team from the start, able to bring out the individual quirks of the characters. When you have such a diverse cast of characters, it honestly makes writing the episodes a lot of fun.”

  • Extract from an interview with Tom Ruegger, 2000



The division of Studio Eleven and Nelvana continued its success throughout the early 90's. Although there were some concerns after the ending of the 'Big Three' that Nelvana would struggle to find shows to carry on the high quality precedent set by those programmes. The X-Men did a lot to put these fears to rest as it started out on a strong note and soon became one of the highest rated animated shows on television. Following the success of Into The Woods, Studio Eleven also continued its dubbing of Studio Ghibli movies with Kiki's Delivery Service getting a summer 1990 release to commercial and critical success despite attempted boycotts from campaigns led by Jimmy Swaggart and other evangelists. The continued success allowed for the increased creative freedom for Studio Eleven, resulting in 1992's Evangelion movie and its 1995 sequel.

  • Extract from A History of Western Animation, 2014



“Is there no end?! Is there no end to this indecency?! These blasphemous images, designed to do nothing more than corrupt our Christian society and our children are being broadcast nation wide! A movie where a young girl surrenders herself to Satanic forces to become a witch will be released soon! Turn away from this, show your disgust by refusing to see it. Make them realise that the Christian faith will not be oppressed!”

  • Extract from a sermon by Jimmy Swaggart, 1990



“Needless to say, we were all happy when we saw what Craig Charles did to that guy.”

  • Quote from an anonymous source in Nelvana



“It was a tough choice that could have gone either way at the end of it. I had been working with Nelvana for some years when the Warner Brothers offer came in and I spoke to numerous people in the company about it. But, I decided to go with it since the Justice League was going to be a show where I was going to be in charge. It was a huge opportunity I couldn't afford to miss out on. When it was time to leave Nelvana, they threw me a going away party and it was a great parting. I even received four little statues of the Usagi Yojimbo characters as a parting gift and they've always been near me ever since that point in my career.”

  • Extract from an interview with J. Michael Straczynski, 2015



Superman

Wonder Woman

Green Lantern

Batman

Black Canary

Zatanna

The Flash

  • Line up of the Justice League for Warner Brother's Justice League cartoon, 1991



Justice League

Green Lantern

Superman

Wonder Woman

Batman

The JSA

  • Line up of the 'DCCU' animated shows that would last throughout the 90's and early 00's



The X-Men

Spider-Man

Captain America

The Avengers

  • Line up of the Marvel animated shows tin the 1990's



Studio Elven's continued rivalry with Disney saw it take greater risks as it looked to keep an edge on the competition. MGM executives allowed them to look further into expanding themselves in a creative fashion. The Japanese influence was felt in the creation of the Evangelion movies and later acquisition of Artmic's creative properties. Disney would eventually respond, going back to fantasy but with a greater emphasis on better storytelling, leading to its adaptation of the Lord of The Ring novels in response. This would lead to the highest point of the rivalry in the late 90's where many believed the companies reached their creative heights with films from both companies receiving Best Picture nominations.

  • Extract from The Mouse & The Bear: The Two Giants of Western Animation, 2012



“Disney want us to do what?”

  • André Olbrich in a conversation with Hansi Kursch, 1992
 
Does anyone have any particular areas they'd like me to cover before 1993's Year of The Doctors?
 
It might have already been covered and I just might have missed it, but what do RPGs look like so far in this timeline? OTL, Elder Scrolls Arena came out in '94; I'm kind of wondering if Bethesda is any kind of major player in this TL.
 
It might have already been covered and I just might have missed it, but what do RPGs look like so far in this timeline? OTL, Elder Scrolls Arena came out in '94; I'm kind of wondering if Bethesda is any kind of major player in this TL.

I was planning on making an update on video games and RPG'd will have to be looked into. The much higher popularity of the Ultima series caused a boom for the genre, but is now part of the same code that is deeply hampering creative energies and mature themes in game. Think the first disc of Grandia as to how RPG's are going to play out for the time being.
 

Deleted member 100251

I like the TL so far. Good stuff, really interesting.
Can't wait for the next update!
Keep up the good work.
 
That sounds omnious.

Will the next animation update deal with Lord of the Rings?

Not as bad as it sounds. Certainly schadenfruede though. I'll be looking more into Disney in general for animation, see what Nelvana and Studio Ghibli's influence have meant for the company.

I like the TL so far. Good stuff, really interesting.
Can't wait for the next update!
Keep up the good work.

Glad you've enjoyed so far. Anything in particular that you feel worked well or could be improved upon?
 

Deleted member 100251

@DAv I really am loving the impacts on the movie section. Nothing I can see being improved upon atm.
Really great work. I
 
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