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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 4, 2022 0:00:19 GMT
July
- Dad’s Army is less overtly comedic, given the differing culture and the Home Guard being an ongoing institution
- Armoured trains are being introduced for rather different purposes to those of old. They are to be used for patrol and strategic transport in the case of mobilisation
- JFK’s protestations that he would only reluctantly accept nomination are mainly for public consumption
- The RN gets into the battlecruiser business, with the type being markedly smaller than battleships and suited for a variety of missions - carrier escort, surface action, trade protection and strategic air defence
- Northrop and Grumman merge earlier, followed a pattern of partial consolidation of US aerospace companies into very big and powerful conglomerates
- Diversification of the Paladin follows the direction chosen earlier in the 1960s to increase options for land attack
- The Hong Kong flu fizzles in the face of new drugs and treatments. Butterflies abound
- Development on the Isle of Grain takes the form of a deep water port (@ Thamesport on steroids) and a large airport. Good for jobs and economic growth, not so good for marsh birds
- The Congo skirmish is extremely one sided; it is what the British wanted - a lopsided battle to use as a free fire zone for new weapons and tactics
- No one wants to take any risks with a beanstalk
- Intel, having been founded earlier, is rather more advanced
- Something is awry in Chiapas
- The W-G’s investigation into a baby named Charlie biting his brother’s finger is both a little joke at a news story and a sign that they are just a tad overzealous
- Mention of the Church of the United States is something with consequences if thoroughly thought through
- The SR-72 is a bloody paralyser of a strategic recon plane
- Theatre censorship, among other types, is still going strong in Britain, in quite marked contrast to the relaxation of @
- Swedish chefs always get up to hijinks.
- The Battle of London. Well. Quite a lot going on there and there are some large short, medium and long term consequences. I’d be interested in guesses as to what they are
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 4, 2022 1:37:46 GMT
August
- Argentine armament seems to be headed somewhere. Their young, vigorous Nationalist PM is a bit like Peron, but more realistic, ruthless, intelligent and active
- The healing at the carnival is a bit of a hat tip to Carnivale
- Australia continues its reaction to Konfrontasi and a Red Indonesia
- The Arab Legion is acting as a bit of a Praetorian Guard, with all that entails
- Mary Bell is nicked for only one murder, but still inspires a huge reaction and revulsion
- Rockefeller wins the Republican nomination, but it is a bit of a poisoned chalice with the late re-entry of Kennedy
- Something happened on Iapetus
- Dracula fighting in the night sky is never a good sign
- Over decades, the very climate, nature and culture of Southern Iraq is changing through the change to the land
- The geezers who pulled the Italian Job live happily ever after
- The US Army thought about naming the wrist mounted device a Pip Boy, but decided against it for copyright reasons
- In Dark Earth, the top Michelin level is 5 stars, rather than three
- Ireland is about to see a lot more investment and development
- ICBM class missiles being fielded by the US Army, USN and USAF is a sign of very high level rivalry
- The KGB is trying to get some sort of path "into" Central Europe, with Czech nationalists being one roundabout path
- A suspected Godzilla contact gets an ASTOR in the face, demonstrating how big a threat he is considered
- Lennon and McCartney, whilst living different and arguably happier lives, still manage to meet and become friends
- The Soviet Lead Zeppelin can't carry a tune
- Vietnam enters its next phase
- Rhodesia is shifting into a different phase; with only one really open front and both flanks a bit more secure through the Portuguese, there isn't the basis for an existential threat
- On top of previous royal unions, further ties are forged between Norway and Britain, as part of a general Anglo-Scandinavian policy
- ARPANET becomes operational much earlier
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 4, 2022 9:34:48 GMT
September
- Space fighter and spacecraft technology is advancing, albeit at a reduced rate compared to terrestrial planes due to the cost involved
- It seems as if Atlantis, or some vestige of it, has maybe been found
- Civil Defence is a very important issue in Britain, but the astroturfing campaign by Vault Tec is above and beyond that
- The Congolese coup was launched by an American backed faction and its failure is the harbinger of further trouble
- Nigerian princes and Scooby-Doo make for a glorious combination
- The Israeli heavy APC/AIFV built out of a Centurion is much earlier than @, but here is an experimental attempt at developing a clear overmatch. The threat of the Soviets rolling down through the Middle East remains a real one
- Steve McQueen gets to engage in his preferred job as well as acting
- The US Army combat beasts are noted for the deathly claws
- Laos is the big theatre in Indochina in the second half of the year
- Britain building and testing neutron bombs is a sign of some things to come when we consider the utility of such weapons
- Whilst the Boston Digital Arm is from @, the synthetic flesh and cyborg-y elements are not
- Soldier is one of the first military ‘fly on the wall’ series and showcases military equipment that is radically advanced compared to what is thought of as “the Army’s gear”. In popular culture understanding, the British Army is thought of as an amalgam of late WW2/Korea (Centurions, 25pdrs, Vickers GPMGs, Land Rovers, APCs and wartime camo uniforms) and some aspects of the 1950s (helicopters and Rotodynes, SLRs and self propelled guns); this comes through in children’s cartoons, Commando comics, children’s plastic and metal soldiers, dress up play kits, war films, comedy sketches and newspaper cartoons. The War Office and Army are trying to modernise that through television and MoI films
- Exercise Reforger begins in a slightly different context here, as there is no LBJ pullback of troops from (West) Germany, but rather a longer term plan put in place as a result of the lessons of 1960. Some of the initial process and ideas are discussed in From Sea to Shining Sea
- Sweden is in a very different place politically
- Sukarno starts to modify his position vis a vis Western New Guinea
- Saro are dabbling with something like an ekranoplan but a bit unique
- The Ashante Confederation isn’t a throwback Ashante kingdom, but rather a use of the older name in a similar manner to Ghana in @
- Superhero intervention prevents a Farnborough tragedy
- Bullit, Drebin and Callahan is a heck of a team
- Silly thieves trying to pinch the Queen Mary is a set up for a future potential story involving Sgt Joe Friday
- Willie Furman becomes but a brief footnote here
- The Arabian Union begins to react to some of the changing agricultural circumstances in the renewed Fertile Crescent
- The Orion-Kosmos link up is quite the feat, as they aren’t quite designed for the process in the same way as Apollo and Soyuz
- The CIA’s report on zombies in Haiti begets swift action. The Americans had been acting against outbreaks there for a number of years, but now there is a decision to crack down in a major way
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 4, 2022 9:36:42 GMT
July - Dad’s Army is less overtly comedic, given the differing culture and the Home Guard being an ongoing institution That was all the fun watching it. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 4, 2022 12:15:19 GMT
That isn't to mean that it isn't funny, but it tends more towards the good-natured than holding up Mainwaring et al as more farcical. There is a bit more of an overt emphasis on the good side of characters.
Pike is still held up as a naive and childish sort, but there isn't the same intimation that his father is Wilson. Walker is less of an overt spiv and more of a chap who knows how to bend the rules. Jones is a bit more of a solid, good sort than quite so eccentric, although he still has his moments. Godfrey is the least changed and indeed encapsulates the spirit of the DE Dad's Army - an affectionate portrayal of the past with a fair bit of gentle humour.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 4, 2022 12:17:39 GMT
- The CIA’s report on zombies in Haiti begets swift action. The Americans had been acting against outbreaks there for a number of years, but now there is a decision to crack down in a major way How would they deal with the zombie thread. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 4, 2022 12:50:53 GMT
Lock it.  More seriously, have a look at what happens the very next day: “October 1: President Kennedy orders an immediate full scale invasion of Haiti in response to the revelations of yesterday’s report. 75,000 US Marines and US Army paratroopers begin their surprise assault 10 hours later, supported by hundreds of planes of the Twenty-Fifth Air Force. The President gives a national address on all television networks that night, announcing that intelligence had revealed the direct involvement of the Duvalier regime with the ongoing zombie plague and that all means would be used to wipe it out and protect humanity.” No half measures. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 5, 2022 8:08:51 GMT
October
- A very quick invasion of Haiti reflects that there were forces ready for the contingency
- The Leopard is more akin to the @ Leopard II
- The unfortunate attack of dysentery refers to one of the iconic deaths on The Oregon Trail
- The IRA gets dealt a very heavy blow in the SAS raid
- Reverend Presley can’t avoid trouble even when on holiday
- The attempted VC hit on the Embassy is decisively smashed by heavy security
- As said the decision to get rid of the meg is not uncontroversial but is darn popular
- SSTs are becoming the perceived way of the future
- The USN SSN class is a parallel to the 688s of @ with certain improvements
- Argentina gets the Olympics rather than Mexico
- The unified West Indies Olympic team is a nascent titan for it’s smaller size
- Duvalier is captured, with the stinger that there may be a voodoo curse at play. General Max Viers does look very much like the Star Wars character of similar name
- A more conservative US SC does yield some quite different results
- Different patterns to the world rich list
- Tanaka’s speech makes sense when viewed in the context of the year as a whole
- The T-Rex thieves nab some of the younger ones in order to wreak havoc
- After a long time, Britain gets a new ITV to join the BBC. It ends up being a bipartisan idea for different reasons and will be added to in a much more expedited fashion than @
- The Big Picture continues to be reasonably popular and it’s very ambitious future predictions here are very much on the money
- The Anglican Church hasn’t experienced the liberal shift of the @ 1950s and 60s
- The French tourist is Monsieur Hulot
- A Peter Pan-esque entity is more than benign
- Someone has an interest in using Halloween, as it is a powerful date
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 5, 2022 9:53:32 GMT
October - The USN SSN class is a parallel to the 688s of @ with certain improvements So it better already then OTL. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 5, 2022 10:05:10 GMT
It will be quieter and faster, field the VLS of the Improved 688s from the start and also has a few larger torpedo tubes.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 5, 2022 10:06:10 GMT
It will be quieter and faster, field the VLS of the Improved 688s from the start and also has a few larger torpedo tubes. That is impressive for something of the 1960s, but then again the Darkearth verse is ahead in many things compared to OTL. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 5, 2022 10:23:42 GMT
November
- The prelude to Hydra outlines what the Allies hope will be the endgame in South Vietnam
- RAF drones over the Congo are rather more advanced; through use of magical links with crystal ball operators, they are capable of a fair bit of manoeuvre and are armed with a cannon, rockets and bombs. At this point, they are fairly inaccurate and limited to general area attack, but are good for recon and photography. The colour shifting battle capes are a form of active camouflage and quite, quite capable
- The journos are right and there is something that is missing from the public account
- Morris gets sentenced to death, which would have been on the cards anyway without abolition in @, but the offhand mention of public execution does cast a lot of matters in a different light
- JFK wins comfortably, which is no surprise. This does set up 1972 as a very different and significant election
- Heavy industry being opened up in Stratford/Greater London is very much the opposite of the @ trend
- The Sergeyev Doctrine is very ambitious, but he is an ambitious man. His character is a mix of Gorby, Khrushchev, Kennedy and Putin, which makes him more dangerous than Stalin Jr or Sr
- Old stocks of Redstones are being used up for the bombardment of North Vietnam and, in the process, getting the enemy to show some of the radars and comms
- The founding of the ILFCA (or FLIAC in Spanish) is a precursor to trouble in the region far greater than @
- Italy has an agreement allowing it to test in Libya based on the French in Algeria
- Darkmoor is going to be the first of several big fusion power plants that will transform British energy and replace a lot of older capacity
- Monty Burns does not approve of female students. Whatever could be next?!
- India has been the leading force in Burma in the 1960s and, after over 20 years, the insurgencies are crumbling
- Right, here we go: The Ho Chi Minh Trail has been severed. The dusting of Mu Gia Pass was bad enough, but there is now an extended line going through Laos towards the Thai border. This would not be possible or viable without a shedload of troops and can’t be maintained ad infinitum; rather, it will be followed by a big push in Cambodia and ongoing sweep and clear ops in South Vietnam. Without supply, the Viet Cong are doomed
- The Crown Prince of Egypt does his block and ends up doing a very silly thing in shooting PM Hassan, albeit for all the right reasons; what wasn’t viable in 1956 is still not viable now. The callback to the Haiphong Battleship Drop is a way of showing it as an unintended consequence; some think of it as a fearsome precision attack rather than a bit of a crazy idea that went into action
- The VC winners may be familiar. Lalabala died at the Battle of Mirbat in Oman in 1972, single-handedly firing a 25pdr; Bodie is Lewis Collins’ character from The Professionals; Jackson commanded British forces in Kosovo; Skellen is Lewis Collins’ character from Who Dares Wins and Dempsey is Miles Anderson’s character from Ultimate Force.
- HMS Speedy is indeed a bit of a game changer, designed for very fast speeds and heavy firepower, a bit like the LCS of a different world, but a bit smaller and more focused in its role without so much mission creep. It is designed as a ‘Super FAC/FAC Killer’ for ops in the North Sea, Baltic and up in the Norwegian north as well as a QRF boat for operations around Gibraltar. One part that is different from any @ ship is that there is an intent that it can be deployed globally by skyship. I’ll put together something on Light/Coastal Forces in due course
- Princess Victoria of Ruritania is intended as a match for HRH Prince Charles. There is a general desire for him to get married and settle down as soon as possible, rather than the more extended bachelor years he had in the @ 1970s
- NYC will get the 1976 Summer Games for the US Bicentennial
- Persia is entering a very prosperous period without some of the ticking time bombs of @
- Dracula kills another Romanian communist leader, or does he?
- The Venusian flu isn’t an Andromeda Strain or anything like that, but when Earthly influenza is cured, what else can throw a spanner in the works?
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 5, 2022 10:27:29 GMT
- Princess Victoria of Ruritania is intended as a match for HRH Prince Charles. There is a general desire for him to get married and settle down as soon as possible, rather than the more extended bachelor years he had in the @ 1970s I hope she looks good. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Feb 5, 2022 11:04:06 GMT
Not bad at all; the Royal House of Ruritania are renowned for being easy on the eye and Victoria is the most beautiful in a century.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 5, 2022 11:09:24 GMT
Not bad at all; the Royal House of Ruritania are renowned for being easy on the eye and Victoria is the most beautiful in a century. And being from a small country like Ruritania it is better than if she came from a big country. |
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