Five Earths, All in a Row

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Kind of, yeah, but the point is that the Atompunk stuff often was either clearly more advanced, or had a more advance feel to it, than the Dieselpunk stuff, so I'm using them as distinct eras (though the Atompunk era of Earth-2 is going to be somewhat different from the Atompunk era of a hypothetical parallel where Dieselpunk Earth never encountered the other four).

Though it would be a good question if Dieselpunk Earth has atomic (whatever) right now. Remember that was a part of Dieselpunk fiction with Buck Rodgers (1928) and Flash Gordon (1934) being the better known examples.

Also it can be shown that Dieselpunk and Atompunk did run parallel to each other. While the majority of rockets were big bulky with rounded front ends there was the occasional (though admittedly rare) sleek narrow aerodynamic design seen in the 1950s-1960s.

Heck the serial version of Quatermass and the Pit (1958-1959) has a very Dieselpunk design for the Martian ship while its movie (1967) counterpart is in the atompunk style and yet both were made in the atompunk era of fiction.

In fact, Tales of the Solar Patrol has elements of both, which I suspect it due to how vague the boundary between Dieselpunk and Atompunk is.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by maximara

Though it would be a good question if Dieselpunk Earth has atomic (whatever) right now. Remember that was a part of Dieselpunk fiction with Buck Rodgers (1928) and Flash Gordon (1934) being the better known examples.

The have some warships with atomic matter piles, and are working on atomic rockets.

Originally Posted by maximara

Also it can be shown that Dieselpunk and Atompunk did run parallel to each other. While the majority of rockets were big bulky with rounded front ends there was the occasional (though admittedly rare) sleek narrow aerodynamic design seen in the 1950s-1960s.

Heck the serial version of Quatermass and the Pit (1958-1959) has a very Dieselpunk design for the Martian ship while its movie (1967) counterpart is in the atompunk style and yet both were made in the atompunk era of fiction.

In fact, Tales of the Solar Patrol has elements of both, which I suspect it due to how vague the boundary between Dieselpunk and Atompunk is.

True, but treating them as separate makes for useful identifiers. The border between tech levels is also pretty vague.

Re: Tales of the Solar Patrol specifically, I've got a copy, and may be using elements of it for Earth-2. (Both as actual tech, and possibly as an in-setting movie serial or TV show).

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

True, but treating them as separate makes for useful identifiers. The border between tech levels is also pretty vague.

Re: Tales of the Solar Patrol specifically, I've got a copy, and may be using elements of it for Earth-2. (Both as actual tech, and possibly as an in-setting movie serial or TV show).

Dieselpunk has two "stages" to it:

Ottensia aka interbellum era (1918-1939)
Piecraftian aka WWII and perhaps into the mid 1950s

There is also the subcategory of Raygun Gothic which is more aesthetic then anything else.

Edit: I just realized something. How does the rest of the solar system interact with the five earths?

Say if the Cythereans succeed in their little operation which Venus do they return to if they take the direct route - theirs or the 90 atmosphere 800+ degrees Fahrenheit inferno of Infopunk Earth's Venus? Do they have to swing by DieselPunk Earth to return to "their" Venus?

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by maximara

Edit: I just realized something. How does the rest of the solar system interact with the five earths?

Say if the Cythereans succeed in their little operation which Venus do they return to if they take the direct route - theirs or the 90 atmosphere 800+ degrees Fahrenheit inferno of Infopunk Earth's Venus? Do they have to swing by DieselPunk Earth to return to "their" Venus?

When they leave from Earth-1, they do have to swing by Earth-2 to get to the Earth-2 universe, and thus to their Venus, yes.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

When they leave from Earth-1, they do have to swing by Earth-2 to get to the Earth-2 universe, and thus to their Venus, yes.

That makes Ip-Earth's apparently permanent presence on Dp-Earth's Luna a huge cause for concern for the Cythereans. If they stay there, too long, Ip-Earth becomes even more of an existential threat to Cytherea than it is, already.

That's the next major conflict, really; Dp-Mars is too divided to project much force, but probably stands to gain (unless it gets turned into road-kill) from the looming conflict between the Cythereans and Ip-Earth.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

That makes Ip-Earth's apparently permanent presence on Dp-Earth's Luna a huge cause for concern for the Cythereans. If they stay there, too long, Ip-Earth becomes even more of an existential threat to Cytherea than it is, already.

That's the next major conflict, really; Dp-Mars is too divided to project much force, but probably stands to gain (unless it gets turned into road-kill) from the looming conflict between the Cythereans and Ip-Earth.

Another thought: what are the solar systems of Dungeonpunk Earth, Cp Earth and Sp Earth like? Do the other planets of those Earths have life on them like Sp Earth's or are they dead as in the Ip Earth reality?

I don't feel like going through the thread again so how advanced are the Cythereans? Also given they way some things are being made "real" (but not as powerful as their fictional counterparts) on Ip getting in any kind of fight with Ip Earth amounts to a suicide run.

Even if they aren't going to be greeted by the Death Star, the Starcraft battlefleet, or the Cypermen armada there are plenty of things in Ip Earth Fiction that will ruin their day.

On that thought:

Typecast

It was bizarre to look into a mirror and see a face that hadn't been his in years. Though not as bizarre as the internal changes: two hearts, respiratory bypass system, and a few details he likely had forgotten.

Of course if he had become the character he had played for seven years then that implied the other aspects of the show could be out there as well.

It certainly didn't help that two of the villains were the most popular the show had produced. Even in watered down form they were potentially dangerous if not deadly. It certainly didn't help there now was a real life UNIT running around

Tom Baker chuckled sadly to himself. Actors often worried about being typecast to where no one saw them other then that character. But this in many respects was worst; for good or ill he was The Doctor and he had a job to do.

First order of business had been to get in contact with the other actors and see if the same thing had happened. Of them only Tennant was in the same boat as he was. Well at five years in the role that should have been expected.

Second order of business had been to call the BBC and ask them if anything unusual had happened regarding any of their props.

The third and final order of business was to get on the internet and look for any odd occurrences.

He looked up from his computer as a very familiar sound droned on. Baker frowned. It had only been a prop when he had used it but if it had even a fraction of the ability of the real TARDIS...

The door opened and a very confused man stepped out of the 1960's era Police Box. "What the bloody...", he started.

"You're Matt Smith, right?"

"Yes but...Tom Baker? But you're so young."

"You messed with the controls," Baker sighed. "Let's see if I can fly her."

"But it's a prop...It's not...real."

"Not any more. Let's see if I can pilot her.

[maximara]

Another thought: Who owns copyright, patents, and trademarks?

Think about it. Odds are many authors and companies that were long gone on Earth-Ip are now alive on Earth Dp and Earth Sp.

So with them now being alive or existing does that mean all their Earth-Ip material is now no longer in the Public Domain?

Then there are the companies that still exist. Who owns the rights to Fantasia (1940), Ip Disney or Dp Disney who is being run by Walt himself?

If Ip Disney wants to show anything made after their 1942 on Dp Earth does Dp Disney have any rights to the money?

More over can somebody get patent information from Ip Earth and lock down patents that would have been made by other people?

Then there is the issue of there being three Supreme Courts. Do rulings of the Ip Earth's have any bearing on law in the United States of Dp or Sp Earth as it is the "latest" Supreme Court?

Does citizenship carry over and if so what do you do then the country you belong to doesn't exist on the Earth you are visiting?

I imagine there are going to be a lot of bald lawyers and judges on Dp and Sp Earth thank to them pulling all their hair out over this mess.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by maximara

Another thought: what are the solar systems of Dungeonpunk Earth, Cp Earth and Sp Earth like? Do the other planets of those Earths have life on them like Sp Earth's or are they dead as in the Ip Earth reality?

Steampunk Earth's Solar system does have a fair bit of life on it, and even their Moon has silicon-based lifeforms, resembling nanotechnology (possibly evolved from nanotech left over from a crashed space vessel from millions to billions of years ago). There's a thread for that, though it hasn't been replied to in a while, having hit an argument that I guess lead people to give up (and I couldn't think of what to add after that, despite wanting to.

As for Clp-Earth and Fa-Earth (which hasn't quite become Dungeonpunk Earth yet, but is well on its way), their Sol systems are more inhabited than ours, but less inhabited than the two that are farther away from Earth-1.

Originally Posted by maximara

I don't feel like going through the thread again so how advanced are the Cythereans? Also given they way some things are being made "real" (but not as powerful as their fictional counterparts) on Ip getting in any kind of fight with Ip Earth amounts to a suicide run.

They've got mature TL9^ Safe-Tech. This means that they're pretty dangerous, but not overwhelmingly so given both Earth-1's allies, high population, and fairly large numbers of spellcasters and other powered individuals.

Originally Posted by maximara

On that thought:

Typecast

It was bizarre to look into a mirror and see a face that hadn't been his in years. Though not as bizarre as the internal changes: two hearts, respiratory bypass system, and a few details he likely had forgotten.

Of course if he had become the character he had played for seven years then that implied the other aspects of the show could be out there as well.

It certainly didn't help that two of the villains were the most popular the show had produced. Even in watered down form they were potentially dangerous if not deadly. It certainly didn't help there now was a real life UNIT running around

Tom Baker chuckled sadly to himself. Actors often worried about being typecast to where no one saw them other then that character. But this in many respects was worst; for good or ill he was The Doctor and he had a job to do.

First order of business had been to get in contact with the other actors and see if the same thing had happened. Of them only Tennant was in the same boat as he was. Well at five years in the role that should have been expected.

Second order of business had been to call the BBC and ask them if anything unusual had happened regarding any of their props.

The third and final order of business was to get on the internet and look for any odd occurrences.

He looked up from his computer as a very familiar sound droned on. Baker frowned. It had only been a prop when he had used it but if it had even a fraction of the ability of the real TARDIS...

The door opened and a very confused man stepped out of the 1960's era Police Box. "What the bloody...", he started.

"You're Matt Smith, right?"

"Yes but...Tom Baker? But you're so young."

"You messed with the controls," Baker sighed. "Let's see if I can fly her."

"But it's a prop...It's not...real."

"Not any more. Let's see if I can pilot her.

I'm not sure if I want this to be canon or Apocrypha, but it's good. Could probably be canon with a few adjustments (the other surviving Classic DW actors would at least be getting something from it, as would Smith, McGann, and to a lesser degree, Eccelston), anyway, and the changes to Baker and Tennant might need to be toned down a little - but only a little.

Need to think on it more, as well as see what, if any, adjustments you're inclined to make.

EDIT: Copyright ownership across dimensions is indeed a huge mess.

[dcarson]

David Tennant, the tenth Doctor Who, is to marry Georgia Moffett, the daughter of the fifth Doctor Who, Peter Davison. Tennant 39, met Miss Moffett, 26, when she had a guest role in an episode of the show in 2008, playing the Doctor's daughter, Jenny.

So you might even have a couple who are both Timelords.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

I'm not sure if I want this to be canon or Apocrypha, but it's good. Could probably be canon with a few adjustments (the other surviving Classic DW actors would at least be getting something from it, as would Smith, McGann, and to a lesser degree, Eccelston), anyway, and the changes to Baker and Tennant might need to be toned down a little - but only a little..

I figured that an actor had to be in the role for a while to hit a kind of gestalt critical mass for the transformation. Baker was the first Doctor to come across the pond via PBS in my area and they ran Robot through Invasion of Time on a loop (I think they got to three cycles before finally getting more material). That combined with his seven years in the role made him a shoe in for the transformation. The only actor by 2012 that was even close to his time in the role was Tennant.

Hartnell, Troughton, Cushing (the Doctor as a human inventor), and Pertwee were dead before the 20th century even ended so they aren't on the table.

Davison likely would be more likely to "become" Tristan Farnon, Colin Baker was not a popular doctor until the audio dramas showed the problem was the lack of good scripts so he is kind of on the skids even in 2014. As for the rest I think it all depends on their popularity with the fans and how long they were in the role.

Of course sometimes all it take is one film to set an image of an actor and then he reprices that role which helps reinforce the image. Waking up to find out he was a machine would certain ruin Schwarzenegger's day.

The Hollywood studios must be real nervous about their props "waking up" though they could offer assistance. Imagine how simple travel would be if MGM could get its Stargates working allowing travel between the Earths.