Zeppelins, Alternate Realities, Doctor Who and Fringe
Some time ago (back in January 2011), I wrote a blog posts about Zeppelins in alternate realities. I used examples from television series Doctor Who and Fringe, two shows that both feature alternate universes. One key way of identifying that characters had gone from the regular universe to an alternate universe was the appearance of Zeppelins in the sky. They weren't travelling through time to go to an era in our past when Zeppelins were common; they were in the current era. Just somewhere a little different from where they were before. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more," those Zeppelins seemed to scream at the viewer.
While I did not intend my post to be read as meaning 'both alternate universes in Doctor Who and Fringe are the exact same universe', apparently someone did think that that's what I meant. A link to my blog post appeared on Reddit and suddenly my post got lots and lots of visitors. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Not at all. It just strikes me as a little odd that my writing got understood that way when I didn't intend it that way at all. Here's the relevant bit:
My original post mentioned Zeppelins in Doctor Who, Fringe and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials books. It also linked to two other posts about Zeppelins in fiction. Some time later, I watched the movie Riverworld (starring Tahmo Penikett of Battlestar Galactica fame, Alan Cumming, and Laura Vandervoort from Smallville) which also featured a Zeppelin. I thought about adding the reference to my earlier article but didn't. Watching Riverworld did inspire me to start thinking about a second Zeppelin post, the one you're reading now. I kept on searching for more Zeppelin references though - they may be dangerous, however they're also quite stunning and very intriguing.
The movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow also features Zeppelins, actually, it features a 1939 Hindenburg III, modelled after the original Hindenburg (there was only the one) - probably the world's most famous (or rather infamous) airship. Famous because it caught fire and crashed in 1937, that is.
Then there's the movie Aeon Flux starring Charlize Theron. The Relical, the airship that travels through the sky of the city Aeon lives in, resembles a Zeppelin to my rather untrained eye. As the Aeon Flux (film) Wikipedia page explains, it is a dirigible. Coming across the word dirigible once again, I looked it up.
Seeing I actually liked and enjoyed the movie Aeon Flux, here are two photos from the movie featuring the Relical. Both are from the page Aeon Flux at the Killuminatrix Wordpress Blog (in German). Also, if you're reading this blog post more because of the Zeppelins than the alternate reality / science-fiction tie-ins, check out some of the links in the quote above for a lot of very interesting information! And then there's this well-written article about The History of the Goodyear Blimp which I rather enjoyed.
Do I believe that the Zeppelins or Zeppelin-like airships of Aeon Flux, Riverworld and Sky Captain also fit into the same alternate universe as portrayed in Doctor Who and Fringe? I hope that this post explains that no, I don't believe that Doctor Who and Fringe were set in the same alternate universe, nor do I believe that these other movies are set in that universe. Yet it still strikes me as interesting that so many fictional worlds and alternate universes inside established fantasy / science fiction worlds and universes use Zeppelins and airships to convey the strangeness of the new world the heroes and viewers find themselves in. Clearly, we are fascinated by these stately and beautiful flying contraptions and enjoy giving them guest parts in our productions. For now - I'm going to dream of alternate universes, clones and flying through the sky in something a lot more comfortable than a regular passenger aircraft!
While I did not intend my post to be read as meaning 'both alternate universes in Doctor Who and Fringe are the exact same universe', apparently someone did think that that's what I meant. A link to my blog post appeared on Reddit and suddenly my post got lots and lots of visitors. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Not at all. It just strikes me as a little odd that my writing got understood that way when I didn't intend it that way at all. Here's the relevant bit:
submitted by Zero00430
I never wrote in or replied to the Reddit thread. I didn't actually discover it until some time after I'd written the post, so replying seemed a little pointless by that time. Also, I didn't want anyone to remove the link to my post as I quite liked it that someone cared enough to link to my blog and - yes, I admit - liked the extra visitors it got me. In the meantime, I kept an eye out for more Zeppelins.
My original post mentioned Zeppelins in Doctor Who, Fringe and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials books. It also linked to two other posts about Zeppelins in fiction. Some time later, I watched the movie Riverworld (starring Tahmo Penikett of Battlestar Galactica fame, Alan Cumming, and Laura Vandervoort from Smallville) which also featured a Zeppelin. I thought about adding the reference to my earlier article but didn't. Watching Riverworld did inspire me to start thinking about a second Zeppelin post, the one you're reading now. I kept on searching for more Zeppelin references though - they may be dangerous, however they're also quite stunning and very intriguing.
The movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow also features Zeppelins, actually, it features a 1939 Hindenburg III, modelled after the original Hindenburg (there was only the one) - probably the world's most famous (or rather infamous) airship. Famous because it caught fire and crashed in 1937, that is.
Then there's the movie Aeon Flux starring Charlize Theron. The Relical, the airship that travels through the sky of the city Aeon lives in, resembles a Zeppelin to my rather untrained eye. As the Aeon Flux (film) Wikipedia page explains, it is a dirigible. Coming across the word dirigible once again, I looked it up.
What is a Dirigible?
“Airship” and “dirigible” are synonyms; a dirigible is any lighter-than-air craft that is powered and steerable, as opposed to free floating like a balloon.
The word “dirigible” is often associated with large rigid airships but the term does not come from the word “rigid” but from the French verb diriger (“to steer”).
Rigid airships (like the Hindenburg), semi-rigid airships (like the Zeppelin NT), and blimps (like the Goodyear blimp) are all dirigibles.
What is a Blimp?
A blimp (technically a “pressure airship”) is a powered, steerable, lighter-than-air vehicle whose shape is maintained by the pressure of the gases within its envelope.
A blimp has no rigid internal structure; if a blimp deflates, it loses its shape.
Source: Dirigibles, Zeppelins, Blimps: The Differences Explained | Airships.net
Seeing I actually liked and enjoyed the movie Aeon Flux, here are two photos from the movie featuring the Relical. Both are from the page Aeon Flux at the Killuminatrix Wordpress Blog (in German). Also, if you're reading this blog post more because of the Zeppelins than the alternate reality / science-fiction tie-ins, check out some of the links in the quote above for a lot of very interesting information! And then there's this well-written article about The History of the Goodyear Blimp which I rather enjoyed.
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| Aeon Flux, source above |
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| Aeon Flux, source above |
Do I believe that the Zeppelins or Zeppelin-like airships of Aeon Flux, Riverworld and Sky Captain also fit into the same alternate universe as portrayed in Doctor Who and Fringe? I hope that this post explains that no, I don't believe that Doctor Who and Fringe were set in the same alternate universe, nor do I believe that these other movies are set in that universe. Yet it still strikes me as interesting that so many fictional worlds and alternate universes inside established fantasy / science fiction worlds and universes use Zeppelins and airships to convey the strangeness of the new world the heroes and viewers find themselves in. Clearly, we are fascinated by these stately and beautiful flying contraptions and enjoy giving them guest parts in our productions. For now - I'm going to dream of alternate universes, clones and flying through the sky in something a lot more comfortable than a regular passenger aircraft!
~~ Originally written and posted in 2016
