Your Fringeworld

I haven't begun following it yet, but I've read on io9 and other blogs about Fringe and how that show has alternate world(s) very similar to OTL except with several major differences, including obligatory airships. I've had similar ideas myself, with specific quirks in otherwise unchanged timelines. So let's call this concept a "Fringeworld"- a place very similar to OTL, except for certain mysterious changes. And with the lack of butterflies a la Stirling/Turtledove, of course, causing the world to look very similar to our 2011, even if the HRE is still in existence or something like that. Actually, a better example would be Watchmen in terms of overall look and feel.

Here's a snippet from my Fringeworld, which I'm not done yet. I'm using "ohistorical" as shorthand to mean "historical in our timeline."

U.S. territorial changes
Nova Scotia joined the ohistorical Thirteen Colonies in rebellion, becoming the 'first brothers' alongside the Vermont Republic, the first two states to follow the original 13.
East Tennessee seceded during the Civil War and subsequently became a state, similar to West Virginia.
Baja California was annexed in the Treaty of Chapultepec at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War, along with the other ohistorical states.

U.S. governmental changes
The OSS remains in existence, even though the CIA was founded separately.
The Department of War was not renamed into the Department of Defense.

I've actually got more states in mind, but not much. Anyways, what's your Fringeworld?
 

Dialga

Banned
I'm more interested in where and what the POD was in the original Fringeworld. After eading that article, I would guess it was somewhere in the 18th Century.
 
I doubt there's any actual POD, it seems to be the type that's different for different's sake. Like Lyra's world from His Dark Materials- even when you ignore the existence of daemons, the world is clearly different from ours even if a major POD is that Calvin was somehow made Pope and moved the Vatican to Geneva.
 
So are people not understanding the premise of this, or are they just not interested...?


The latter most likely.

As you explain "I doubt there's any actual POD, it seems to be the type that's different for different's sake." They just made up "kewl" stuff, not a time line.
 
It's unfinished, but here's some stuff from my Fringeworld:

U.S. territorial changes
  • Nova Scotia joined the ohistorical Thirteen Colonies in rebellion, becoming the 'first brothers' alongside the Vermont Republic, the first two states to follow the original 13.
  • Baja California was annexed in the Treaty of Chapultepec at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War, along with the other ohistorical states.
  • East Tennessee seceded during the Civil War and subsequently became a state, similar to West Virginia.
U.S. governmental changes
  • The OSS remains in existence, even though the CIA was founded separately.
  • The FBI has regional international jurisdiction in North and South America, as well as formerly American-administrated countries such as the Philippines or Santo Domingo.
  • The Department of War was not renamed into the Department of Defense.
other Western Hemisphere territorial changes
  • Màayapáan was formed out of the Yucatán, Chiapas, Tabasco, and Guatemala, a Mayan state.
  • Newfoundland remains an independent nation, though it is the weakest of the four states within NAFTA.
  • The West Indies Federation never dissolved, and Rastafarianism is widespread in the Caribbean, not just in Jamaica.

East Asian territorial changes
  • The Japanese Empire intervened during the Russian Civil War, securing parts of Siberia for a puppet White Russian government. The U.S. likewise intervened from Alaska, buying Kamchatka from Admiral Kolchak, who was attempting to play both sides against each other. After World War II the Soviet Union regained its Far East territories from Japan, but Kamchatka remains an American territory.
  • The U.S. decided to reinforce the Nationalists at the last moment in 1949, protecting Taiwan and Hainan as the "sovereign territories of the Republic of China." Taiwan is known as the R.O.C., and separatist movements on both islands are effectively marginalized or regarded as illegal terrorist groups.
  • Tannu Tuva remained independent of the USSR. Communism fell there in the '80s just as in the rest of the EastBloc.
South Asian changes
Sikkim remained independent of India.
  • Sri Lanka is divided into Ceylon and Eelam.
  • Sikh separatism and other Indian extremist groups are more militarized, leading to terrorist attacks in Canada and the U.K. almost equivalent to Islamist violence in the U.S. This is due to British and other Commonewealth meddling in India during the 1980s.

European changes
  • Yidska, the Zionist Autonomous Oblast, was created by the Soviet Union from parts of East Prussia, later becoming the nation of Zion. As such, there was less overall immigration to Israel.
  • Catalonia is a separate nation-state from Spain.
Transportation changes
  • Large ocean liners are still in vogue, as while the Titanic sank as per ohistory, the Britannic did not and reverted to civilian use after WWI, again served as a hospital vessel in WWII, and finally returned to service as a luxury liner afterwards. The White Star Line is still in existence.
  • Airships are largely seen as weapons of war, especially for the Hundred Dirigible Raid on Moscow in 1941.
  • Electric cars started being in mainstream use in 1997. Hybrids are rare in comparison.
 
In all honestly, I much prefer your Fringeworld to the stupidity witnessed in the canon Fringeworld such as the District of Virginia or the Louisiana Territory.

As for my Fringeworld, I'd probably prefer something "simple" such as an independent New England, or California with cultural roles/influence similar to their OTL versions.
 
I just aim to be subtle, plus throwing in some of my pet ideas (Newfoundland still independent, Nova Scotia in the U.S., screw zepplins let's have more giant ocean liners!)
 
I agree with Venusian Si, SR. Your Fringeworld actually has some coherence to it, unlike the TV program.

The writers of Fringe are just throwing in "kewl" stuff, not plausible stuff.
 
My A Disturbance of Fate TL is my version of Fringeworld. I think I'll end that forum and start posting information on my world on this forum.
 
Hmmm, this got me thinking about how I would make subtle changes. (No, these probably aren't coherent :p)

Terrtiorial Changes
-The state of Colorado is called Jefferson and includes southeastern Wyoming.
-The capital of Wyoming is Casper.
-Hawaii is independent, while Puerto Rico is a US state.
-Brooklyn and Queens are a separate City of Brooklyn.
-The state of West Florida exists separate from Florida.
-The area of the Gadsden Purchase is part of Mexico.
-The Mississippi River flows into the Atchafalaya River instead of its OTL course.
-Sicily is an independent country.

Political Changes
-Ben Nighthorse Campbell was president instead of Bill Clinton.
-Upton Sinclair and Robert Heinlein were governor of California under the California Progressive Party.
-State and regional third parties are much more common.
-There is a National Quantum Research Laboratory which is located in Boulder, Colorado.

Architectural Changes
-The Watergate Complex in DC was fully built, including the namesake steps leading down to the Potomac which weren't built in OTL.
-In place of the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis is a large Roman-style triumphal arch.
-There is no Chunnel. Instead ferries and air travel run between Britain and the Continent.
-A 1,000 foot tall skyscraper dominated the Denver skyline in place of the Wells Fargo Center.

Cultural Changes
-George Lucas directed Flash Gordon. Star Wars never got made.
-Conan O'Brien hosts the Tonight Show.
-Stanley Kubrick made his movie Napoleon.
-Theodore Roosevelt is featured on the $50 bill.
-Since Heinlein goes into politics, none of his novels get written.
-Hungary beat West Germany in 1954 to win the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
-Morocco hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup instead of South Africa.
-Buenos Aires hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics, not Melbourne.
-Denver hosted the 1976 Winter Olympics.
-Byron White remains in American football and is inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
 
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Personally, I think this should be under the "Books and Media" section, but no big deal. I'd have Taiwan be a US state, as well as Liberia. They seem nice and random enough, but still plausible.
 
My Fringeworld? This should be fun.

Arts & entertainment:

  • The "Matrix" duology were landmark films in the history of cinema -- starring Brandon Lee as Neo, The Matrix was released in 1999 and The Matrix Reloaded in 2003. A third movie, a prequel showing the initial rise of the machines, is in development hell.
  • John Carpenter made a sequel to Escape From New York in 1984, called Snake Plissken. The movie had Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef and Donald Pleasance all reprising their roles, as well as Harry Dean Stanton for a one-scene cameo (the movie was also a semi-prequel, showing flashbacks of Snake's life before the first film in the style of The Godfather Part II).
  • George Lucas married Linda Ronstadt in 1989. Due to various butterflies, the Star Wars prequel trilogy (still released 1999 to 2005) was very different in story and style and was much more well-received.
  • Michael Jackson played Jareth the Goblin King in the movie Labyrinth, as well as doing the score for the film. He subsequently pursued an acting career in earnest, rather than simply being a "singer who occasionally acted", which led to his life going in an overall very different direction.
  • Avery Brooks played Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the first season of Babylon 5. He ended up leaving and being replaced with Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan for the second season onwards, but maintained an amicable relationship with everyone in the cast & crew and returned as a guest several times in the second and third seasons.
Star Trek: (sorry, this needs its own category)

  • Patrick Stewart left Star Trek: The Next Generation after its third season, and Jonathan Frakes became the new lead actor as Captain William T Riker. After his official departure, Stewart returned several times as a recurring guest (including "The Best of Both Worlds: Part Two", "Family", "QPid", "Redemption: Part Two", "The First Duty", and the show's two-part finale). The show would ultimately last six seasons, concluding in 1993.
  • Next Gen would be succeeded by Star Trek: Excelsior, starring George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu and Rene Auberjonois as Commander Malcolm West (brother of the deceased conspirator Colonel West from Star Trek VI). This show also lasted six seasons, from 1993 to 1998 (starting airing concurrently with Next Gen).
  • Star Trek: Voyager lasted five seasons, from 1995 to 1999. With most network and studio scrutiny on Excelsior as the "flagship show", Voyager (under the direction of showrunner Ira Behr and writers such as Ronald D Moore and Robert Hewitt Wolfe) was able to push the envelope further than any Star Trek show had done before -- however, all that pressure descended at once after Excelsior's conclusion and the show was cancelled.
  • A prequel show, Star Trek: Hyperion, began in 2001 and was cancelled after five seasons in 2006 upon the merger of UPN and The WB.
And, now, some more serious stuff.

Australia

  • The current federal government is a coalition between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party (a minor party). The main opposition is a coalition of the Conservative Party and Country Party (a minor party).
  • The country's internal borders look like the map below. Why? They just do.

My Fringeworld -- Australia.PNG
 
All these time line "quirks" are fun to read, but none of them reach the "Hey, wait a minute...", suspension of disbelief destroying quirks on Fringe.

Leaving aside the silliness about a "District" of Virginia or "Territory" of Louisiana, the show's alternate world has more advanced medical technology, which includes the use of nanotechnology, and yet that alternate has not eradicated small pox, something our world was able to do through fairly simple public health measures.

That's when it became clear to me that the writers were simply adding "kewl" bits rather than plausible ones.
 
All these time line "quirks" are fun to read, but none of them reach the "Hey, wait a minute...", suspension of disbelief destroying quirks on Fringe.

True, but since the majority of AH.com (trolls, idiots, and spambots not included) persumably gives a frak about actual history and plausibility, perhaps this thread can be dedicated to "serious" Fringeworlds, and the canon Fringeworld can be quietly ignored as the half-assed effort of Hollywood's idiocy.

That's when it became clear to me that the writers were simply adding "kewl" bits rather than plausible ones.

Personally, I came to this conclusion when I saw the ever so lovely "Southern British Columbia." Even though it's apparently a shout out to the fact that Fringe is filmed in British Columbia, it still annoyed the hell out of the historian in me...especially considering the fact that British Columbia is only called British to differentiate it from American Columbia.

Still, I suppose that can only be expected when writers either
(A.)think their viewers are apathetic morons, or
(B.)are apathetic morons themselves.

Hmm, I suppose it's Sliders all over again.
 
Hmm, I suppose it's Sliders all over again.


More like Sliders with a plot arc from the beginning rather than one bolted on after ratings dropped, but from an alternate history standpoint Fringe is basically Sliders.

Shows like B5 reminded the apathetic morons who make up the majority of the Hollywood script writing ranks that plot arcs can help with ratings. Of course not all plot arcs are equal.
 
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