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[ThLunarian]

Some stories have pivotal moments where, if one tiny detail changes, the trajectory of the entire show is altered.

What if Karen hadn't left Jim in the waiting room to hang out with her friends? Or what if Pam hadn't had the opportunity to leave the gold yogurt lid in Jim's bag?

Jim takes the corporate job and moves to New York with Karen, meaning that he and Pam never get together (or at least, if they did then it would happen much later).

Ryan never gets the corporate gig, never gets hooked on drugs, and never creates the scandal that eventually tanked Dunder Mifflin and had them taken over by Sabre.

Ryan probably leaves the company soon after he's turned down for the corporate job, meaning that he and Kelly are probably done for good (since this is before Ryan goes off the deep end).

With Pam being single, Toby might never have gone to Costa Rica, meaning that Holly never shows up at Scranton, so she and Michael never meet.

Since Michael and Holly never meet, Michael never leaves Dunder Mifflin.

And then what happens with Jim and Karen? Are they able to live a happy life together in New York, since there is sufficient distance from the Pam drama? Does Pam eventually find love in Scranton (probably with someone outside of work)?

I think the ramifications of that small change are super interesting.

Anyone have ideas about how small changes would change other TV shows?

 

[Kirye]

Walter White never gets cancer.

So Breaking Bad is a story about a dude who's a teacher who hates his job. The end.

Or even better: He hates his life so much that he quits his job and leaves his family. Eventually he finds another job working a 9-5 in a cubicle. Meets the woman of his dreams, Lois. They have 5 kids together and get into wacky adventures. Their smartest child, the middle one would be called Malcolm.

Breaking Bad no longer seems to fit the title... what would I call this show?

 

[LumpOfCole]

Dunder Mifflin tanked because of the economy crashing and not being able to weather it. Ryan fucked up and made things worse but I don’t think he was the cause of the downfall.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

What if Pam didn't turn into a nearly-cheating dummy?

 

[old manatee]

Jim and Jan power couple getting elected to public office and cleaning up the paper industry is my headcanon.

 

[CheDominik]

What if Homer took Mr. Burns settlement offer, he would have been able to live his dream.

 

[SlipperyFishes]

What if Pam didn't turn into a nearly-cheating dummy?

Uhhhh she never was. That was just a creepy cameraman

 

[studyguy]

Dunder Mifflin was on the ropes long before coke Ryan came into the picture, that was literally part of the running gag on the show.

Also what if Michael never left?

Spoiler

We'd be on season 23 of The Office today

 

[rekameohs]

What if Hank Schrader’s bowels didn’t have a movement that one afternoon?

 

[strafer]

What if Oceanic Flight 815 never crashed?

 

[Poppy]

what if house md stopped abusing pain medication for more than like two episodes in a row

did this ever happen

 

[Lamel]

That was a great episode. Super touching how Jim asked Pam out.

 

[Sephzilla]

What would have happened to Picard, The Enterprise, and the Federation if Picard was never assimilated by The Borg?

 

[ThLunarian]

I've got another one too, from Friends.

When Chandler is planning to propose and goes overboard trying to make Monica think he never wants to get married, Monica is approached by Richard (Tom Selleck), who tells her he wants to have children with her (the only reason they ever broke up is because he said he was done with raising children).

In the actual show, she ultimately turns Richard down and chooses to stay with Chandler.

But what if instead, Monica decides to leave Chandler and get back together with Richard?

Chandler moves back in with Joey temporarily, but enters a deep depression and probably moves to his own apartment before too long, because he can't live across the hall from Monica since it's too painful, and he can't live with Ross either, because Monica's apartment is visible from there.

Monica and Richard, despite the initial drama caused by her decision to leave Chandler, have a healthy and happy relationship. I am not sure who would move in with whom, but my guess is that Richard moves into Monica's apartment because it's much nicer, plus the whole rent control thing.

Ross never impregnates Rachel, and they might actually never even get back together.

I don't see much changing for Phoebe.

 

[MC Safety]

The only alternate history I would care to see is the one where Riker takes over command of the Enterprise and Locutus becomes a persistent enemy.

 

[DietRob]

Now that The Office is on Netflix I just started a re-watch. Season 3 just started IMO season 3 and 4 are some of the best sitcom TV made.

 

[5taquitos]

You mean what if the writer's contrived plot point was a different contrived plot point?

 

[DeathyBoy]

What if Ben on Lost only told the truth?

 

[Previous]

What if Dexter didn't witness his mom being murdered and dismembered.

 

[Sephzilla]

Now that The Office is on Netflix I just started a re-watch. Season 3 just started IMO season 3 and 4 are some of the best sitcom TV made.

I tried rewatching season 1 again and ugh, those first episodes are not good

 

[Ninja Scooter]

What if Dick whitman died?

 

[ThLunarian]

The only alternate history I would care to see is the one where Riker takes over command of the Enterprise and Locutus becomes a persistent enemy.

This would be interesting, but my concern is that the Borg are not the type of threat that can hang around and be fought another day. If a Borg ship enters Federation space, either the ship needs to be destroyed or it ends up taking over the whole quadrant. I can't envision a scenario where both the Borg ship and the Enterprise survive a confrontation.

The only way it really works is if Locutus is separated from the Collective but doesn't lose the influence of the Borg, and turns into a Lore-like character.

 

[PantherLotus]

re: Breaking Bad -- you could keep the entire premise the same except have one obvious pivotal moment (getting caught out in the desert with his literal pants down) and the story ends there. Everything after is based on increasingly less likely success stories, such as walking out of a meeting with a drug lord in the hood where you blow up his HQ with a makeshift bomb.

Love that show, in my top 2 (after mad men). But alternate reality doesn't really work for it because every moment is less likely to happen than the last.

 

[BlueTsunami]

What if McNulty never crashed his Chevy cavelier?

 

[lunchtoast]

What if Homer took Mr. Burns settlement offer, he would have been able to live his dream.

I've lost count all the times the Simpsons turned down a bunch of money. There was even an episode where Homer won the lottery and hid the money in a tree.

 

[NealMcCauley]

What if Hawkeye was court-martialled for insubordination?

 

[karmaforgotme]

Walter White never gets cancer.

So Breaking Bad is a story about a dude who's a teacher who hates his job. The end.?

You know you could honestly do a Breaking Bad story without the cancer or drugs. Walter recruits the help of a former student named Jesse (in this case Jesse was one of his best students), and together they try to take down the former company Gray Matter. Walter believes that his former partners did him wrong, and helps Jesse (behind the scenes) to get a job at Gray Matter. Jesse starts to realize that maybe they didn't do Mr. White wrong, instead there is a chance that Mr White that did them wrong.

 

[Servbot24]

What if Pam didn't turn into a nearly-cheating dummy?

That never happened

Only dummy was Jim. Jim after season 3 really sucks.

 

[Switch Back 9]

What if someone punched Jim's obnoxious smug face in? That would have made me enjoy The Office a hell of a lot more.

Fuck Jim Halpert.

Only dummy was Jim. Jim really sucks.

ftfy

 

[MC Safety]

This would be interesting, but my concern is that the Borg are not the type of threat that can hang around and be fought another day. If a Borg ship enters Federation space, either the ship needs to be destroyed or it ends up taking over the whole quadrant. I can't envision a scenario where both the Borg ship and the Enterprise survive a confrontation.

The only way it really works is if Locutus is separated from the Collective but doesn't lose the influence of the Borg, and turns into a Lore-like character.

The Locutus bit isn't nearly as important as Riker taking over after the loss of the captain.

That two-parter was remarkable because the first half was as amazing as the second half was ridiculous.

 

[PoorChoices]

What if McNulty never crashed his Chevy cavelier?

He would have gotten to the restaurant sooner and fucked the waitress at 230 a.m. as opposed to 3 a.m., he was still on the downward spiral then, crashed car or not.

 

[Symphonia]

What if Oceanic Flight 815 never crashed?

You get season six.

 

[Drek]

The only alternate history I would care to see is the one where Riker takes over command of the Enterprise and Locutus becomes a persistent enemy.

I've suggested this to people as the best direction for the Next Gen follow up from the current Trek movies.

Liam Hemsworth would be the ideal fit for NuRiker too. Mike Colter as Worf. Rami Malek as Data. The potential is there.

 

[BlueTsunami]

He would have gotten to the restaurant sooner and fucked the waitress at 230 a.m. as opposed to 3 a.m., he was still on the downward spiral then, crashed car or not.

Yeah he would have had more time with that hottie. Maybe something even worse at rock bottom.

 

[Dice//]

Dunder Mifflin tanked because of the economy crashing and not being able to weather it. Ryan fucked up and made things worse but I don't think he was the cause of the downfall.

I'm actually kinda disappointed the series didn't end with Dunder Mifflin going out of business; I hated the self-aware "documentary" arc.

Also fuck Brian.

In terms of getting the corporate job; I still don't think it would have worked out with Karen -- they were fighting and while she was into it, he never really saw eye to eye with her and did a lot of the same with her that he did with Pam...but worse. But to the writer's credit, Karen isn't really a bad guy in the situation, just a lack of chemistry.

Now that The Office is on Netflix I just started a re-watch. Season 3 just started IMO season 3 and 4 are some of the best sitcom TV made.

I love the show but I still have trouble sitting through SSN 8 and 9... they feel so weirdly....'off topic'?
Also Season 2 deserves a mention.

 

[thekonamicode]

Now that The Office is on Netflix I just started a re-watch. Season 3 just started IMO season 3 and 4 are some of the best sitcom TV made.

My man.

 

[L Thammy]

what if jerry seinfeld's pilot got picked up
what a crazy world that would be

 

[Skellig Gra]

I tried rewatching season 1 again and ugh, those first episodes are not good

The first episode is so so horrible. It put me off the show for years. I have no idea what they were thinking.

 

[Subpar Spatula]

What if someone punched Jim's obnoxious smug face in? That would have made me enjoy The Office a hell of a lot more.

Fuck Jim Halpert.



ftfy

Someone's jelly of Jim.

 

[L Thammy]

what if andy never went off on that boat and got his and erin's characters derailed

 

[Dice//]

What if someone punched Jim's obnoxious smug face in? That would have made me enjoy The Office a hell of a lot more.

Fuck Jim Halpert.

ftfy

Which reminds me, I kinda prefer timid Pam over the confident one (for comedy purposes).

what if andy never went off on that boat and got his and erin's characters derailed

The last episode throwing in the Joan Cusack cameo felt pretty lame... Way too much celebrity interference with later seasons, kinda takes you out of the show's more down-to-earth space.

Funny how Andy sorta circles around from being unliked, to alright, to unliked again.

 

[plus]

What if Herk wasn't a dumbass obsessed with recovering a fucking camera and actually helped Randy like he was supposed to

 

[Clefargle]

What if someone punched Jim's obnoxious smug face in? That would have made me enjoy The Office a hell of a lot more.

Fuck Jim Halpert.



ftfy

Schrute detected

 

[Kinyou]

 

[L Thammy]

Schrute detected

 

[Leunam]

The Wire: Season Five

What if Clay Davis would have been found guilty? Would he have stood tall or would he bring down Clarence Royce and Nerese Campbell with him?

 

[Switch Back 9]

I did see a bear on my front porch (basically) once.

 

[PoorChoices]

What if Herk wasn't a dumbass obsessed with recovering a fucking camera and actually helped Randy like he was supposed to

The problem is it wasnt JUST Herc who let Randy down. Carver continually messed up. Then there's the whole foster system entirely. Worse than that, Carver never got his shit together to actually adopt Randy. He was told it could take a few weeks or months, but Carver never went back.

Herc didn't let Randy down. Baltimore as a whole did.

 

[HawksWinStanley]

They really should've drawn out the 'Ryan at corporate' storyline longer. That was excellent. I think season 4 was really underrated. The last truly great season.

 

[LordRaptor]

Suits: What if a partner was allowed to hire an associate not from Harvard.