What if who bombs without the cancellation nostalgia or remake? would be an unique bu0tterfly who just fail in USA but the money of the licensee allow him to linger longer
Maggy attempt to remove TV licensee have even more backslash ITTL?
WI: The Enterprise completes its five year mission (Star Trek survives for 5 seasons)
Hard to say, if the BBC is getting funds from elsewhere they might try even harder. Doubt they'd succeed at that time though, or even BoJo's attempts now, to important and leads to own goals over freedom of speech and press.
They'll most likely have to cast an American companion for Peter Davison's Doctor (Note: I do not intend to change the Doctors until after Sylvester McCoy leaves, because I plan on Doctor Who avoiding a hiatus and having a nice long run into the 90s). In the early 80s ITTL, John Nathan-Turner will become showrunner just like IRL, but by 1985 or so Philip Hinchcliffe will return to save Colin Baker's Doctor. I have David Warner possibly in line to succeed Sylvester McCoy as an older, cantankerous Doctor in the 90s before Paul McGann gets the role in 1996...
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Come to think of it, Morgan Woodward was still active in the early eighties, so maybe he could've had a role, or two, to play...
Morgan Woodward, Late Seventies, early Eighties
Morgan Woodward, Late Seventies, early Eighties
LeGault and Woodward would be good castings for Battleground Earth as middle aged (LeGault) or older (Woodward) characters who are suspicious of the aliens who are bringing miraculous improvements to human society. I think Andromeda needs a younger cast, and I'd love to see a nonwhite or female lead for that series, like what they did with the BSG reboot
Maybe replace Adric? Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding were two of the best things about 80's Who, Waterhouse not so much, then later cast another American in place of Turlough. Also although its retroactive Tegan and Nyssa were the first gay couple on Doctor Who so might want to keep that (even if beyond all the lesyay in the show itself it was only confirmed in a web piece written by RTD last year https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Farewell,_Sarah_Jane_(webcast)).
Also for the 90's Doctor Ian Richardson was often suggested and if the Show is in higher esteem he might be willing to take the part. HOC was only on every couple of years after all so he would have the spare time, although Urquhart in the Tardis could lead to people assuming the show is going dark.
Then he subverts expectations by playing a kindly Grandfather trying to live down Seven's tendancy to plot and scheme...
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Doctor Who is the quintessential UK Sci-Fi export, but Space: 1999, UFO, Thunderbirds and a few other shows might cross the pond. I can oddly see a Uk soap like Coronation Street taking off- not mainstream but tucked away to fill an afternoon niche and doing well.
Paramount Television Network is the better name imho.
From @Geekhis Khan's Hippy in the House of Mouse thread I thought Disney's parks in the late 70's were frozen time capsules with prices out of date, so-so attendance, and dated facilities? Someone's got their work cut out to update them here.
Glenn simply beats out the other candidates when the vote is split and becomes the unlikely front runner. Weirder stuff has happened in politics. Beating Reagan is harder, but a sluggish economy, fears of him being a war monger, a lack of action on AIDS and world hunger, energy crisis, etc might be enough for a win?
Star Trek: Reliant - I would suggest a 12 episode mini-series. Perhaps starting with the re-launch of the Reliant after repairs and an 'introduce the crew' episode, with a decent, tense story involving escorting Klingon refugees/ asylum-seekers into the UFP allowing for some discussions regarding morality of allowing 'the enemy' in. Perhaps use it as a way of showing the 'smooth heads' had fallen from power and where now fleeing.
Other episode suggestions:
Hostage crisis on an UFP world where Romulans have infiltrated a data centre and been spying
Follow up to Miri showing what the UFP is doing to help the kids
Opening of a new Federation space station, but someone is trying to sabotage it
Follow up to A Piece of the Action wherein the Reliant has to go and get the 'cut' for the year
Another contact with the Gorn who have a problem with a hatchery on a border world and Reliant answers the distress call. Sulu beams down and fixes the problem which turns to be a Klingon virus from a visiting group of merchants.
Reliant does a survey of a planet which is in the throws of breaking up. They discover a group of Apocalypse survivors on the dying world and get them off, but have to deal with the PTSD before relived by a hospital ship (excuse to make a new model there)
While exploring an ancient alien wreck Kyle triggers what he thinks is a comms panel but is instead dosed with an alien fluid. He slowly turns into an alien killing machine (think Gundam suit) over the episode until a cure is found by Reliant's Doctor Wilder
Sulu and Chekov meet on a UFP space station - Chekov is on leave from Enterprise. They help the Station's Tellerite Commander with a mystery involving stolen goods which ends up being local alien children on-board who don't understand Starfleet property rules. Moral: crime is wrong, ignorance is no excuse. Learn.
End of the Series, final act: Reliant is asked to goto the Regula 1 station where they are placed at the disposal of Dr Carol Marus by an Admiral Nogura
In terms of other Mini-Series:
Between STII and STIII: a show about the Romulan-Klingon alliance breaking down? Perhaps from the POV of a bunch of UFP spooks including Klingon and Romulan members maybe 6 episodes- each episode showing a mission to undermine that deal, or blow up X facility? Used as a way to explore the Klingon 'Great Game' and Romulan society.
Between STIII and STIV: a 3-4 episode show dealing with the Enterprise crews 'exile' on Vulcan but from Sarek's POV dealing with the UFP politics. Used as a way to explain how the UFP worked, introduces the President (celeb casting) and other Ambassadors inculding Kamarag who are seeking to protect or punish Kirk and co.
Between STIV and STV: A 'below-decks' Mini-Series dealing with the new Enterprise-A (presuming it still happens!) and all the niggles Scotty has. Mostly uses younger Ensign level cast members, and a few Trek alumni as well as Scotty, and Chekov as their bosses. Show is more 'office drama' than 'action-adventure' but does have the crew dealing with a few situations like a stowaway, or [Alien from TNG s1?] invaders, or planetary surveys.
Between STV and STVI: Scotty and Uhura's honeymoon- starts well. Lots of goodbye's as they leave Enterprise in a shuttle. Flight to XX is interrupted by the discovery of an ancient Starfleet wreck (something from the 22ndC) which Scotty and Uhura discover is not totally uninhabited...
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Coronation Street could be a daytime soap for the Paramount Television Network, which is the better name, with the abbreviation PTN. Paramount would have to come up with a couple of soaps and a couple of game shows to fill their daytime programming.
I haven't read a lot of Geekhis's wonderful thread, but I believe that description of Disneyland is accurate (a park out of date with so-so attendance). Walt Disney World on the other hand was relatively new, built in 1971, and they were working on EPCOT center in the late 1970s, early 1980s, with an opening date in 1982. That could be accelerated with G+W wanting to make a quick buck in an attempt to recoup some of the $1.2 billion acquisition cost.
Glenn's path to the nomination is winning the Midwest so he has to hope Mondale doesn't enter the race to split some of the Midwest vote. Glenn will be the #2 candidate behind Carter in the Deep South and possibly the #1 Democratic candidate in states like Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Glenn could also have a shot at Florida due to his astronaut reputation.
I love all the Star Trek: Reliant miniseries ideas except for the Kyle turned into a killing machine idea. That's not Trek to me, that's the Terminator. I'd want Reliant to be 18-20 episodes instead of 12, so Paramount has close to a full season of material. Perhaps some of those ideas could be two-parters? The hostage crisis with the Romulans perhaps could be a two parter. The networks either went with a full season of episodes or only 3-4 TV movies for a miniseries (unless it's Roots which had 8 parts I believe). Plus, Paramount is short of programming so they'd like as many episodes of Reliant (or any original programming) that they can get.
I'd propose a few more ideas to get us to at least 18:
1. First episode: Reliant meets up with Enterprise, and they're sent on their first mission by Admiral Kirk: Deal humanely with a Klingon colony that is now in Federation space after the Federation annexed the Sherman sector. That would be a really tense episode and be a direct sequel to TMP. It could be a two-parter as well.
2. Terrell suffers PTSD from the Klingon war, and must conquer his demons in order to maintain command of his vessel. He's lost a lot of good men and women and it haunts him that he couldn't save Sherman's Planet.
3. Sulu considers resigning from Starfleet after his wife threatens to leave him for putting the service above his family, who are on Earth. Sulu is torn between family and Starfleet and has to make a critical decision, because he can't have both.
4. Xon (yes, we bring him back for this series) goes through pon farr and they can't get back to Vulcan in time. Reliant must figure out a way to save his life.
5. Decker's mother was rescued from Sherman's Planet and is in grief about her son (and still mourns her husband). She wants to meet Ilia for the first time because she finds out Ilia has a son with Decker. The mom gets over her prejudice against alien species and wants to live on Delta IV to help Ilia raise him.
The miniseries idea between Star Trek III and IV is wonderful. I think the idea between Star Trek II and III works too but it would be kind of costly to produce. I don't think we need miniseries after that because after ST: IV, we're entering the Next Generation era, so the need for Trek programming will be fulfilled. You want to give The Next Generation a shot to be the exclusive TV series, while the original cast is finishing their film run. You could probably do a 20th anniversary special in 1986 though.
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If you have started doing mini-series between movies, then will they not expected after ST IV as well?
The Kyle transform thing came from the TNG 'someone gets transformed' tradition plus a B5 show.
I think the UFP Spokes mini-series between STII and STIII could be done with existing sets and models- just needs some location stuff and some internal sets really. I was thinking more of a cultural study with some action-spy stuff alongside. Maybe a Klingon and Romulan in a Gimli-Legolas style competitive relationship.
The 20th Anniversary in 1986 was not really a special event OTL- ST IV was the 'big event' and we have the suggested Exile mini here?
However the 25th Anniversary in 1991 would be the time for a mini-series. TNG is in Season 4. Perhaps a group of Kirk era Enterprise crew are touring the Enterprise-D and telling stories of Kirk's ship which is shown in flashback - a Sickbay story from M'Benga, an Engineering story from R'trikahi, a Bridge story from Leslie- with questions from TNG crew members thrown in?
This site might help you with planning your Excelsior series: http://www.danhausertrek.com/Excelsior/SuluMain.html
The Kyle transform thing came from the TNG 'someone gets transformed' tradition plus a B5 show.
I think the UFP Spokes mini-series between STII and STIII could be done with existing sets and models- just needs some location stuff and some internal sets really. I was thinking more of a cultural study with some action-spy stuff alongside. Maybe a Klingon and Romulan in a Gimli-Legolas style competitive relationship.
The 20th Anniversary in 1986 was not really a special event OTL- ST IV was the 'big event' and we have the suggested Exile mini here?
However the 25th Anniversary in 1991 would be the time for a mini-series. TNG is in Season 4. Perhaps a group of Kirk era Enterprise crew are touring the Enterprise-D and telling stories of Kirk's ship which is shown in flashback - a Sickbay story from M'Benga, an Engineering story from R'trikahi, a Bridge story from Leslie- with questions from TNG crew members thrown in?
This site might help you with planning your Excelsior series: http://www.danhausertrek.com/Excelsior/SuluMain.html
I think when Next Gen begins, the miniseries should be very short, no longer than 3 or 4 episodes. Don't step on TNG, at least on television. That 25th anniversary might work, with flashbacks from the entire crew as a 2 hour special. It would be cheap to produce as well since they're just going into archival material for a lot of it
If a Paramount TV network does take off and grabs Doctor Who, could there be chances for more direct crossover episodes between Doctor Who and future ST series (or other sci-fi series for that matter )?
I did a Captain Kirk crossover with Tom Baker's Doctor earlier in the TL. I want to keep those to a minimum I think for Star Trek. Maybe for other sci-fi series
Maybe Doctor Who goes to ABC instead of PTN they are going to need the programming once Paramount pull the plug.
Does anyone know how the ABC of this period would get on with the BBC?
Chapter 140: August and September 1979
I'm going to put two months of updates out today. In August 1979 IRL, Michael Jackson's first album, Off the Wall, premieres. In September 1979 IRL, ESPN premieres. This update will focus on other things, but I'll post those pictures here:
STAR TREK RELIANT MINISERIES ANNOUNCED
August 7, 1979
Paramount has announced the development of a new Star Trek miniseries which will focus on the other ship that survived in the smash hit movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Paul Winfield, who played Captain Clark Terrell in that movie, will lead a new cast in Star Trek: Reliant. George Takei will join Winfield as Mr. Sulu, this time as second-in-command. Walter Koenig, another veteran of the original Star Trek, will also reprise his role as Mr. Chekov. It is expected that a young African-American actress, 27-year old Alfre Woodard, will don the Starfleet uniform as one of the junior officers on the Reliant in an unknown role. It is also rumored that Edward James Olmos, a fairly obscure Mexican-American actor, has signed on to play the role of chief engineer. Lawrence Montaigne, who replaced Spock at the end of the original Star Trek's television run, will play a Vulcan, and Marianna Hill will return to Star Trek as Dr. Helen Noel, a guest star on two episodes in the original television run. The Reliant series will use the sets developed for the Star Trek movie, and will feature similar action adventure to the old television series. Filming for Star Trek: Reliant will start early next year, and a two-hour pilot episode will premiere on opening night for the Paramount Television Network in September 1980.
CAST OF STAR TREK: RELIANT
Captain Clark Terrell: Paul Winfield
First Officer Hikaru Sulu: George Takei
Tactical Officer/Helmsman Pavel Chekov: Walter Koenig
Doctor Jabilo M'Benga: Booker Bradshaw
Helmsman Veronica Garvin: Alfre Woodard
Science Officer Xon: Lawrence Montaigne
Chief Engineer Santiago Arias: Edward James Olmos
Doctor Helen Noel: Marianna Hill
REAGAN ADDRESSES STATE OF NATION IN PRESS CONFERENCE
August 14, 1979
President Reagan held a press conference yesterday, where he discussed the successes and obstacles facing him and America during his turbulent first term as President. When the subject of Iran came up, the President had some fierce words for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "If he dares to take hostages or conduct an action against the American embassy in Tehran, we will take military action and degrade his ability to terrorize other nations in the Middle East," the President said. "Khomeini is a menace to the world, and must be stopped." The Wall Street Journal reported that the American economy will enter a recession in the autumn due to the Iranian oil embargo, which took effect in March. Since then, fuel prices have risen fifty cents per gallon. When pressed about economic conditions, the President was defiant. "We will produce enough oil to lower gas prices in the next six months," Reagan said. "The pain at the pump is only temporary, and the American people will see their economy back on track very soon. This is only a hiccup." President Reagan pressured his new Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, to lower interest rates to curb inflation, which remains at eight percent. "Inflation and unemployment are still unacceptably high," the President said. "We will attempt to lower inflation using the powers of the Federal Reserve, and provide loans for businesses seeking to hire new employees." When asked about his Democratic rivals in the upcoming election, Reagan cracked a smile. "I don't think the competition is that great," the President said. "I'm in pretty good position against all of them."
LAST VOYAGER PROBE LAUNCHED INTO SPACE BY NASA
September 9, 1979
On a warm Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy Space Center, the final Voyager probe, Voyager 6, began its journey into space. Voyager 6 will fly towards Pluto, giving scientists the first ever pictures of that cold, icy planet at the far reaches of our solar system. The other five Voyager probes have been hailed by NASA as huge successes. "The Voyager program comes to a close with the momentous occasion of Voyager 6," Robert Frosch, NASA administrator, told the Sun-Sentinel. "This mission will be a historic one. We will pass by Pluto for the first time, and learn more about our wonderful solar system. We anticipate no problems now or in the future with Voyager 6." NASA's next missions will involve an expansion of the Space Shuttle program and the development of technology for a Mars mission, a long-term project expected to take almost two decades. "We are glad that NASA receives bipartisan support in respect to funding from Congress," Frosch said. "Although some members of Congress wanted to reduce our funding, the President stepped in and said that NASA will be protected no matter what. He received bipartisan support, which we appreciated."
THE GEEKS SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH
Starlog, September 1979
Star Wars. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Superman. Star Trek. Battlestar Galactica. The Incredible Hulk. Six Million Dollar Man. Now Buck Rogers, and a possible new Star Trek series? I think it's never been a better time to be a geek! Our favorite entertainers have outdone themselves, and science fiction is the top genre for the first time in history. We are seeing top actors and actresses fully enjoy working in science fiction. Do you think the old stars of Hollywood would have ever appreciated sci-fi like the current generation? I think not. We're the most privileged generation of all because we have all this wonderful programming on television. This new Paramount network is going to be a huge boost for us geeks and nerds. They're going to need programming, and we think that Gene Roddenberry will come to our rescue with that new Star Trek series and maybe a couple of others. We've also heard rumors that Doctor Who is going to be broadcast in the United States on a network instead of public broadcasting. We've never been more excited, and we can't wait for this new decade to begin, because once again, the geeks shall inherit the earth.
STAR TREK RELIANT MINISERIES ANNOUNCED
August 7, 1979
Paramount has announced the development of a new Star Trek miniseries which will focus on the other ship that survived in the smash hit movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Paul Winfield, who played Captain Clark Terrell in that movie, will lead a new cast in Star Trek: Reliant. George Takei will join Winfield as Mr. Sulu, this time as second-in-command. Walter Koenig, another veteran of the original Star Trek, will also reprise his role as Mr. Chekov. It is expected that a young African-American actress, 27-year old Alfre Woodard, will don the Starfleet uniform as one of the junior officers on the Reliant in an unknown role. It is also rumored that Edward James Olmos, a fairly obscure Mexican-American actor, has signed on to play the role of chief engineer. Lawrence Montaigne, who replaced Spock at the end of the original Star Trek's television run, will play a Vulcan, and Marianna Hill will return to Star Trek as Dr. Helen Noel, a guest star on two episodes in the original television run. The Reliant series will use the sets developed for the Star Trek movie, and will feature similar action adventure to the old television series. Filming for Star Trek: Reliant will start early next year, and a two-hour pilot episode will premiere on opening night for the Paramount Television Network in September 1980.
CAST OF STAR TREK: RELIANT
Captain Clark Terrell: Paul Winfield
First Officer Hikaru Sulu: George Takei
Tactical Officer/Helmsman Pavel Chekov: Walter Koenig
Doctor Jabilo M'Benga: Booker Bradshaw
Helmsman Veronica Garvin: Alfre Woodard
Science Officer Xon: Lawrence Montaigne
Chief Engineer Santiago Arias: Edward James Olmos
Doctor Helen Noel: Marianna Hill
REAGAN ADDRESSES STATE OF NATION IN PRESS CONFERENCE
August 14, 1979
President Reagan held a press conference yesterday, where he discussed the successes and obstacles facing him and America during his turbulent first term as President. When the subject of Iran came up, the President had some fierce words for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "If he dares to take hostages or conduct an action against the American embassy in Tehran, we will take military action and degrade his ability to terrorize other nations in the Middle East," the President said. "Khomeini is a menace to the world, and must be stopped." The Wall Street Journal reported that the American economy will enter a recession in the autumn due to the Iranian oil embargo, which took effect in March. Since then, fuel prices have risen fifty cents per gallon. When pressed about economic conditions, the President was defiant. "We will produce enough oil to lower gas prices in the next six months," Reagan said. "The pain at the pump is only temporary, and the American people will see their economy back on track very soon. This is only a hiccup." President Reagan pressured his new Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, to lower interest rates to curb inflation, which remains at eight percent. "Inflation and unemployment are still unacceptably high," the President said. "We will attempt to lower inflation using the powers of the Federal Reserve, and provide loans for businesses seeking to hire new employees." When asked about his Democratic rivals in the upcoming election, Reagan cracked a smile. "I don't think the competition is that great," the President said. "I'm in pretty good position against all of them."
LAST VOYAGER PROBE LAUNCHED INTO SPACE BY NASA
September 9, 1979
On a warm Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy Space Center, the final Voyager probe, Voyager 6, began its journey into space. Voyager 6 will fly towards Pluto, giving scientists the first ever pictures of that cold, icy planet at the far reaches of our solar system. The other five Voyager probes have been hailed by NASA as huge successes. "The Voyager program comes to a close with the momentous occasion of Voyager 6," Robert Frosch, NASA administrator, told the Sun-Sentinel. "This mission will be a historic one. We will pass by Pluto for the first time, and learn more about our wonderful solar system. We anticipate no problems now or in the future with Voyager 6." NASA's next missions will involve an expansion of the Space Shuttle program and the development of technology for a Mars mission, a long-term project expected to take almost two decades. "We are glad that NASA receives bipartisan support in respect to funding from Congress," Frosch said. "Although some members of Congress wanted to reduce our funding, the President stepped in and said that NASA will be protected no matter what. He received bipartisan support, which we appreciated."
THE GEEKS SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH
Starlog, September 1979
Star Wars. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Superman. Star Trek. Battlestar Galactica. The Incredible Hulk. Six Million Dollar Man. Now Buck Rogers, and a possible new Star Trek series? I think it's never been a better time to be a geek! Our favorite entertainers have outdone themselves, and science fiction is the top genre for the first time in history. We are seeing top actors and actresses fully enjoy working in science fiction. Do you think the old stars of Hollywood would have ever appreciated sci-fi like the current generation? I think not. We're the most privileged generation of all because we have all this wonderful programming on television. This new Paramount network is going to be a huge boost for us geeks and nerds. They're going to need programming, and we think that Gene Roddenberry will come to our rescue with that new Star Trek series and maybe a couple of others. We've also heard rumors that Doctor Who is going to be broadcast in the United States on a network instead of public broadcasting. We've never been more excited, and we can't wait for this new decade to begin, because once again, the geeks shall inherit the earth.
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Derek Pullem
Donor
I think its too early for non white Dylan Hunt. Timing works for Arnold Schwarzenegger
He's still a man of few words at this point so I can't see him as Hunt, especially as Roddenberry version without the OTL interference will likely be a more cerebral thinking character probably closer to the Cord or Saxon versions from the two OTL Genesis pilots.
Would it be stupid of me if I'd suggested a certain Yorkshireman to be Dylan Hunt? Maybe to get him familiar with the US audience and the Great Bird?
What about Sam Shepard in the Andromeda lead role? He was great in The Right Stuff as Chuck Yeager. Very telegenic as well. Plus, Shepard was a talented writer so he can mold his character to be very three-dimensional and assist the producers that way.
By the way this is post 1000 on this thread. Happy 1000 to The Enterprise Completes its Five Year Mission!
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