Didn't see a thread for discussion of AH on screen in general, as opposed to specific projects, so I thought I'd take a stab at it; if there is one, let me know and I'll move it there!
Though Alternate History has long had popularity in print, it seems only in the last 5-10 years (IMO, anyway) that this subgenre has really started to gain anything like popular appeal and recognition through movies and online/TV shows: SS-GB, Man in the High Castle, 11.22.63, Resistance, 1983, even comedic or dark examples like Watchmen and Inglourious Basterds, and family movies like The Good Dinosaur. Elements of "What If?" have of course been part of screen media for decades, in both the AH and traditional scenario fiction sense (Ex: Sliders, Star Trek TOS, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, and of course video games like World in Conflict, Resistance: Fall of Man, Command & Conquer, Fallout, Wolfenstein, etc.), but explicitly AH shows and movies have, it seems, been almost nonexistent or relegated to independent projects that never received much fanfare--until recently. Some might argue that this is a long-delayed recognition and exploration of a great genre; others, that it's simply the latest fad. What are your thoughts?
Though Alternate History has long had popularity in print, it seems only in the last 5-10 years (IMO, anyway) that this subgenre has really started to gain anything like popular appeal and recognition through movies and online/TV shows: SS-GB, Man in the High Castle, 11.22.63, Resistance, 1983, even comedic or dark examples like Watchmen and Inglourious Basterds, and family movies like The Good Dinosaur. Elements of "What If?" have of course been part of screen media for decades, in both the AH and traditional scenario fiction sense (Ex: Sliders, Star Trek TOS, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, and of course video games like World in Conflict, Resistance: Fall of Man, Command & Conquer, Fallout, Wolfenstein, etc.), but explicitly AH shows and movies have, it seems, been almost nonexistent or relegated to independent projects that never received much fanfare--until recently. Some might argue that this is a long-delayed recognition and exploration of a great genre; others, that it's simply the latest fad. What are your thoughts?