From Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ===== Lorena (Mariana Garza) is an introverted girl who dreams of "reaching a star" - that star being singer Eduardo Casablanca (Eduardo Capetillo). She gets to meet him at a press conference to present his latest album and his first telenovela. Lorena begins to write anonymous letters to Eduardo while her classmates ridicule her bad looks. Eduardo struggles to maintain a relationship with his goldigger girlfriend Déborah (Kenia Gazcón). ===== Harry Evers and Marvin Ellison are long time friends who meet each Thursday to play poker and get away from their wives. After the weekly game breaks up over a disagreement, the two men decide to continue meeting for other activities, which leads to friendship and rivalry as the men's lives take on very different paths. ===== Laura Wing, an impoverished American girl, is visiting her sister Selina Berrington in London. Selina's husband Lionel, boorish and often drunk, is preparing to divorce his wife for her adultery with Charlie Crispin. Laura challenges Selina about her affair and doubts Selina's protestations of innocence. Lady Davenant, an elderly friend of the family, counsels Laura not to take her sister's marital troubles so hard. Laura meets a pleasant but boring American named Wendover, who becomes a suitor. Eventually, after a tempestuous and (for the reader) entertaining scene at the opera, Selina leaves her husband and goes to Brussels with Crispin. Laura spurns Wendover's marriage proposal and pursues her sister to Brussels, where she accomplishes nothing. Laura finally goes back to America, where Wendover follows her though there is no assurance as to how their future will play out. The story ends with a reminder that the case of Berrington v. Berrington and others is upcoming in the courts. ===== A Greek military hero named Darios (Rory Calhoun) visits his uncle Lissipu (George Rigaud) on the island of Rhodes in the year 280 BC. Rhodes has just finished constructing an enormous colossal statue of the god Apollo to guard its harbor and is planning an alliance with Phoenicia, which would be hostile to Greece. Darios flirts with the beautiful Diala (Lea Massari), daughter of the statue's mastermind, Carete (Félix Fernández), while becoming involved with a group of rebels headed by Peliocles (Georges Marchal). These rebels seek to overthrow Rhodes' tyrannical king Serse (Roberto Camardiel); but so does Serse's evil second-in-command, Thar (Conrado San Martín). He has Phoenician soldiers smuggled into Rhodes as slaves, and his men occupy the Colossus to secure safe entrance for the Phoenician fleet. The rebels learn of this plan and decide to apply to the Greeks for help; Darios, who is forbidden to leave Rhodes as he is suspected a spy, is to serve as an unwitting message carrier. But as they try to exit the harbor under the cover of night, they are foiled by the Colossus's defensive weaponry and arrested; Darios is of course convicted as a fellow conspirator. However, just before the captives are to be executed, the rest of the rebels break them out. In their hideout, Peliocles decides that the only way to stop the invasion is to control the Colossus and free their fellow rebels who have already been captured and sentenced to work as slaves beneath the Colossus; the release mechanism for the dungeons is located in the statue itself. Darios realizes that without reconnaissance the mission is doomed to fail and tries to enlist Diala's aid. Unfortunately, he foolishly tells her about the rebels' hideout. Diala, who longs for power, betrays Darios and has Thar have the rebels nearly wiped out – with the exceptions of Mirte (Mabel Karr) and Koros (Ángel Aranda), Peliocles' sister and brother, who have managed to hide. Peliocles and his men are captured and forced to provide amusement in the local arena; but just when Darios arrives to publicly expose the traitor's plot, Thar executes his coup and kills Serse and his retainers. The rebels immediately set out to carry out their plan, but the rebellion seems doomed to fail: Darios is captured while he tries to work the release mechanism to the dungeons, and Koros, who accompanies him, is killed. An all-out assault of the rebels on the Colossus is foiled by its formidable arsenal, which forces them to retreat into the city. Thar's soldiers kill Diala's father, who does not want to see his life's work abused. An earthquake and a violent storm hit the island just as the enemy fleet is visible on the horizon. Thar and his men flee the Colossus when a tremor shakes the structure violently, only to be slain by the rebels in the city streets; Diala, plagued with remorse, frees Darios but is soon afterwards killed by falling debris. As the quake continues, the Colossus finally topples over and crashes into the harbor bay. After the fury of nature has passed, Darios and Mirte meet Lissipu outside the ruined city. Lissipu remarks that Darios is now free to leave, but his nephew announces that he will marry Mirte and stay in Rhodes to help make the island peaceful again. ===== The Swallows, Amazons and Ds are all on a sailing cruise with Captain Flint in the Outer Hebrides. While the older members of the party clean the boat before returning her to the owner, the younger ones explore inland and a mysterious bird is seen nesting on an island in a loch. The question arises whether it is a great northern diver, which has never been known to nest in the British Isles, or a black-throated diver. Mr Jemmerling, the expert whom they consult, turns out to be a deadly enemy of the birds, as he collects birds' eggs and stuffed skins of birds. Hence they try to protect the birds while gathering photographic evidence of their nesting. Complicating the matter is a misunderstanding with the local Scottish inhabitants or Gaels who are mostly Gaelic speaking, and believe that their visitors have been sent by rival landowners to spoil the deer-shooting (the local livelihood) by driving the deer from their traditional breeding grounds. While trying to distract Jemmerling and his employee, the children and Captain Flint are rounded up by the ghillies (gamekeepers or gamewardens) of the local laird (called "The McGinty") and locked in a barn. They succeed in attracting the laird's attention and eventually in explaining what is going on, and his conviction is reinforced by the sound of a gunshot, which angers the laird and alters his view. He turns out to be a person of impeccably good manners who apologises profusely to his visitors for the way they have been treated. His son Ian ("the young chieftain") also befriends the children, and everyone delights in the recovery of the divers' eggs and their restoration to the nest before they have gone cold. Ransome entrusts this task to Titty and Dick, the two characters whom his biographer Hugh Brogan considered to be Ransome's favourites, because they contained the most of his own personality. Ransome was personally a strong supporter of the protection of birds, and had previously advocated it in his novel Coot Club to which cross-reference is made in this book. As the plot involves more excitement and violence than usual, with the egg-collector attempting to shoot the rare bird of the title, some have classified this book as one of the metafictional stories in the series: a fantasy tale made up by the children themselves. The other two books generally agreed to be metafictional are Peter Duck and Missee Lee. However, Arthur Ransome himself made it clear that this story was not metafiction. Writing to Myles North, discussing the book's dedication, he says: :...At all costs it must do nothing to weaken the reality ... nothing to suggest that it is a mere story and not the record of an actual happening, even if for bird protection's sake, the details are somewhat disguised. (AR's own emphasis)Brogan, Hugh, editor, Signalling from Mars. Jonathan Cape, 1997 ===== Perhan lives with his devoted grandmother Khatidza, his lame sister Danira and his dissolute uncle Merdzan. Khatidza possesses a level of supernatural powers (mainly healing) and Perhan himself inherited some minor telekinetic abilities. He wants to marry a girl named Azra, but her mother won't allow it, as Perhan is the illegitimate son of a Slovenian soldier who had an affair with Perhan's late mother. Ahmed, the "Gypsy sheik," comes to the village with his brothers. Merdzan loses his clothes playing cards with Ahmed's brothers, and comes home desperate for money so that he can repay. It is raining and not finding any money, he accuses the grandmother of hiding the money from him and lifts the frame of the house up (using a rope and a truck), so that it is suspended in mid-air as the rain comes down on Perhan, his grandmother and Danira. Very soon after, Khatidza is summoned to use her powers to save Ahmed's sick son, Roberto, which Khatidza does. For repayment, she proposes a deal with Ahmed - to pay for Danira's leg to be healed at a hospital in Ljubljana. Perhan goes with Danira, promising his grandmother not to leave her, but Ahmed asks where will he stay and convinces him to go to Milan. At first Perhan wants to make money honestly, but after being dragged through the mud, Perhan begins stealing and squirreling money away in a shack. After being double-crossed by his brother Sadam, Ahmed appoints Perhan boss of the operation. Now relatively rich, Perhan goes home, where he is enraged to find Azra is pregnant. Perhan refuses to believe that the baby is his. They marry with the condition that she sell the baby. Perhan is also disappointed to find that the house Ahmed promised to build him is not being built at all, and that Danira was not operated on, but forced to be a beggar as part of Ahmed's money operation. On their wedding night, Azra tells him the child is theirs, and was conceived when they made love on the Feast of St George. Still wearing her wedding dress, Azra dies after giving birth to a boy while levitating mid-air (a sign that the boy, as he inherited the powers, is indeed Perhan's). Because Ahmed leaves with the baby, which we discover later is also named Perhan, he is raised by Ahmed's crew. After four years of searching, Perhan reunites with Danira in Rome, who leads him to Perhan Jr., whom Perhan now accepts as his child. Perhan drops the children off at the train station, promising to meet up with them after buying an accordion for his son and a present (sponges) for grandmother. The boy tells him he is mad at him because he will not return, and he will not get an accordion. Perhan assures him he will, "Cross my gypsy heart," but immediately runs out of the station to settle the score with Ahmed, who is about to be married. Perhan arrives at the wedding and kills Ahmed with a fork, using his telekinetic powers. He also kills Ahmed's brothers, but he is in turn killed by Ahmed's new wife. At the funeral, the grandmother passes out drinks to everyone and Perhan Jr. goes outside the house, peers through the window at his dead father, breaks the glass and steals the golden coins put on his father's eyes. Merdzan notices, and follows him out in the rain, as the child runs away hidden under a cardboard box. Merdzan is about to catch him up and pick up the board, but seems to have second thoughts, stops, and starts running toward the nearby church. ===== Dr. Savaard is obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. A young medical student offers his services to him, but before he can bring him back to life, Savaard is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to hang. He vows revenge on the judge and the jury before his hanging. His assistant claims his body and revives him by using his technique. The vengeful Savaard goes on a killing spree. ===== ===== Johnny Damico (Broderick Crawford), a detective going home in the rain one night, finds himself just a few feet from a shooting on a dark street, where the gunman claims to be a detective from another precinct, flashing a real badge—and then slipping away. Damico discovers that the victim of the shooting was a witness who was to have appeared before a grand jury investigating waterfront crime, and that the same man who shot him also murdered the chief investigator on the case just a few hours earlier (which is where the badge came from). Damico could lose his job, but instead he's given the chance to redeem himself—he's sent undercover and given a new identity as New Orleans tough-guy Tim Flynn, who insinuates himself onto the New York waterfront when he arrives on ship. He manages to hook up with union thug Joe Castro (Ernest Borgnine) and his strong-arm man Gunner (Neville Brand), who try to frame him for a murder that also gets a potential stoolie Culio (Frank DeKova) out of the way and that hooks Damico up with crooked police sergeant Bennion (Walter Klavun) who arrests him. After following one blind alley involving a federal agent Thomas Clancy (Richard Kiley) working as a longshoreman, Damico manages to get an intro to Blackie Clegg (Matt Crowley).http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-mob-v102617 ===== While sailing, Sinbad comes across a golden tablet dropped by a mysterious flying creature. That night, he dreams about a man dressed in black, repeatedly calling his name, as well as a beautiful girl with an eye tattooed on the palm of her right hand. A sudden storm throws the ship off course and Sinbad and his men find themselves near a coastal town in the country of Marabia. Swimming to the beach, he encounters the man from his dream, Prince Koura, who demands that he turn over the amulet. Sinbad narrowly escapes into the city, where he meets the Grand Vizier of Marabia, who has been acting as regent following the death of the sultan, who had no heir. The Vizier, who wears a golden mask to hide his disfigured face, explains that Sinbad's amulet is but one piece of a puzzle, of which the Vizier has another. The Vizier relates to Sinbad a legend, which claims that the three pieces, when joined together, will reveal a map showing the way to the fabled Fountain of Destiny on the lost continent of Lemuria. He who takes the three pieces to the Fountain will receive "youth, a shield of darkness and a crown of untold riches." Sinbad agrees to help the Vizier in his quest for the Fountain and they join forces against the evil Prince Koura, a magician bent on using the Fountain's gifts to conquer Marabia. Koura had previously locked the Vizier in a room and set it on fire, resulting in the disfiguring of the Vizier's face. The creature that dropped the gold tablet was Koura's minion, a homunculus created by his black magic. Koura uses the creature to spy on Sinbad and the Vizier and learn of their plans. Shortly afterwards, Sinbad meets the woman in his dream, a slave girl named Margiana. Her master hires Sinbad to make a man out of his lazy, no-good son Haroun. Sinbad agrees on the condition that Margiana come along. Koura hires a ship and a crew of his own and follows Sinbad, using his magic several times to try to stop Sinbad. However, each attempt drains away part of his life force, and he ages noticeably each time. On his journey, Sinbad encounters numerous perils, including a wooden siren figurehead on his own ship, animated by Koura's magic, which manages to steal the map, enabling Koura to locate Lemuria. The wizard uses another homunculus to overhear the Oracle of All Knowledge describe to Sinbad what he will face in his search for the Fountain. Koura seals the men inside the Oracle's cave, but Sinbad uses a makeshift rope to get everyone out. Haroun manages to destroy the homunculus as it attacks Sinbad. After he is captured by hostile natives, Koura animates a six-armed statue of Kali, causing the natives to set him free. Sinbad and his men arrive soon after. They fight and defeat Kali as she falls and breaks apart and find the final piece of the puzzle within Kali's shattered remains. The natives capture Sinbad and his crew, but after they see the eye tattoo on Margiana's hand, they instead decide to sacrifice her to a one-eyed centaur, the natives' God of the Single Eye and the Fountain's Guardian of Evil. Koura arrives at the Fountain of Destiny. When he drops the first piece of the tablet into the Fountain, his life force is restored. He then summons the centaur, which fights the Fountain's Guardian of Good, a griffin. Meanwhile, Sinbad and the others escape, rescue Margiana and reach the Fountain. They watch as the centaur kills the griffin with Koura's aid, then Sinbad slays the centaur. Koura drops the second piece into the Fountain, which turns him invisible (the "shield of darkness"). He engages Sinbad in a swordfight. Sinbad is barely able to fend off his invisible foe, but Koura makes a fatal mistake by stepping in the Fountain itself, which reveals his silhouette, enabling Sinbad to kill him. Sinbad then drops in the third piece, and a jewel-encrusted crown rises from the depths. He gives the crown to the Vizier. When the Vizier dons the crown, his mask dissolves, revealing his restored, unscarred face. Their quest completed, Sinbad and his crew journey back to Marabia. When Margiana asks him why he did not take the crown himself, Sinbad explains, "I value freedom. A king is never really free. Why, he's even told who he must marry." The two of them kiss. Haroun, hanging on a rope above, asks Sinbad if he will take him on as a fully fledged seamen now. Sinbad agrees but tells Haroun to make fast with the rope. Haroun replies, "Don't worry Captain, I trust in Allahhhhh--" just as the rope becomes loose, hurtling him downward. The rope becomes taut again leaving Haroun dangling in mid air just short of hitting the deck. Sinbad and the Vizier finish the old Arab saying Haroun started, "-- But tie up your camel!" They all laugh as the ship sails away into the sunset. ===== The play is set in Australia, in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton and it details the events of the summer of 1953, in the lives of six central characters. The structure of the play is such that the nature of these characters and their situation and history is not revealed immediately, but rather gradually established as the story unfolds. By the end, the story and all its facets have been indirectly explained. The summer that the story spans marks the 17th year of an annual tradition in the lives of the characters, wherein two masculine sugarcane cutters, Arthur "Barney" Ibbot and Reuben "Roo" Webber, travel south to Melbourne for five months of frivolity and celebration with two city women, Olive Leech and Nancy (Roo bringing with him as a gift for Olive a kewpie doll, hence the name of the play). One of the women, Nancy, has apparently married some months before, and she is not present in the play, so in her place Olive has invited Pearl Cunningham to partake in the tradition. The other women present in the play are Kathie "Bubba" Ryan, a 22-year-old girl who has been coveting Olive and Nancy's lifestyle from her neighbouring house almost all her life, and Emma Leech, Olive's cynical, irritable, but wise mother. As the play progresses, it becomes obvious that, for many collective reasons, this summer is different from others; it is full of tensions, strains to recreate lost youth, and from what is said of previous years, not a fraction of the fun that others have been. Steadily things become worse; Roo is revealed to be broke and is forced to take a job in a paint factory. He is disillusioned with his age and weaknesses, while relations between Barney and him are in doubt, due to a recent question of loyalty. The situation is agitated in part by Pearl's uptight indignation and refusal to accept the lifestyle she is being presented with as "proper" or "decent". The play ends with a bitter fight between Olive and Roo after he proposes marriage to her and she is affronted, threatened by the prospect of any lifestyle other than the one to which she is accustomed. In the final scene, the two men leave together, the summer prematurely ended and the characters' futures uncertain. Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is part of a trilogy generally referred to as the Doll Trilogy; the story of The Doll is preceded by the prequels Kid Stakes (1975), set in 1937, which tells the story of the first year of the tradition and the origin of the gift of the Kewpie doll, and Other Times (1976), which is set in 1945 and includes most of the same characters. ===== Art Dodge (Antonio Banderas), a former artist, is struggling to make ends meet with his art gallery, ignoring bills and delaying to pay his assistant Gloria (Joan Cusack) and his artist Manny (Gabino Diego). To survive, he is reading the obituaries and trying to convince the widows that the deceased purchased a painting shortly before dying. Things take an ugly turn when Art is trying this scam with mobster Gene (Danny Aiello) whose father just died. Not only does Gene not fall for it, but he tries to have his henchmen beat Art up. Art barely escapes by hiding in the Rolls Royce of Betty Kerner (Melanie Griffith), Gene's estranged two-time ex-wife and wealthy heiress. Betty is excited about helping the handsome stranger, and the two end up shortly thereafter making love. Betty being very impulsive, she wants to marry Art in two weeks. Because of the heiress fortune the news immediately makes the tabloids. Stuck between Betty who won't change her mind and Gene who still loves his ex-wife, Art doesn't like the idea of getting married with such short notice but decides to play along for now. One morning, at Betty's mansion, Art seductively enters her shower naked, only to realize it's not Betty who's in there but her sister Liz (Daryl Hannah), an art professor. If Art is attracted to Liz, she stays very cold and distant, seeing him as nothing more than a gigolo who hit the jackpot. Art decides to invent a fake twin brother Bart (who wears glasses and has his hair down instead of wearing a ponytail) who is allegedly a painter who just got back from Italy. Bart and Liz instantly hit it off while Gene still tries to romance Betty. Bart and Liz can't stop talking about everything, he plays with her dog and even invites her to Manny's studio when he's not in, pretending to show her his art. When Liz's favorite painting in the studio turns out to have been actually made by Art (who gave it to Manny as an "advance" on what he owes him), Bart gives her the painting. Thanks to his imaginary twin brother, Art manages to pursue a romance with both sisters. Because the two "twin brothers" must never be in the same place at the same time, it however involves a lot of running around, coming up with a lot of excuses and enlisting a very reluctant Gloria's help. One evening he needs to go out two separate dates with both Betty and Liz. At the restaurant with Betty, he decides to drug her wine, much to the horror of the sommelier (Vincent Schiavelli). This allows him to cut the date short and put a very sleepy Betty to bed. He then goes out with Liz (who chooses the very same restaurant) and ends up making love to her. The next morning, Art/Bart has to run back and forth between the two sister's bedrooms (whose two bathrooms share a private swimming pool) as he's supposed to be with them both at the same time. In the evening before the wedding, Art spots Gene's two henchmen around his house and manages to escape them thanks to his dad's help (Eli Wallach). He tries to spend the night at Gloria's but he discovers she started dating Manny. Manny however gives him the keys to his studio where he can spend the night. At the studio, Art starts to paint again when he is interrupted by Gene's henchmen who found him and start beating him up, before Gene shows up. When Art proposes Gene to leave town, Gene tells him to go ahead with the wedding and threatens to break one bone for each tear Betty cries. After they leave, Liz arrives to the studio, thinking Bart got beat up. When Bart tells her he is Art, that he fell in love when he saw her in the shower and tries to kiss her, Liz thinks Art is trying to make a pass at her, not realizing Bart doesn't exist. On the wedding day, Liz tells Bart his "brother" tried to kiss her, and that the wedding should be called off. Bart needs to "confront" Art in a study alone, with Liz and Gene listening outside -and, unbeknownst to anyone, also by Betty through the phone. When Gene enters the study, he confronts a lonely Art, and again threatens him if he doesn't marry Betty. He tells him that what Art or even himself want is irrelevant, and that the only thing that matters is Betty's happiness. During the wedding ceremony, Betty, shaken by Gene's selfless devotion, calls the wedding off and falls in Gene's arms acknowledging she still love him too. Gene and Betty elope. In the general confusion, Liz sees her dog wanting to play with Art and realizes Art and Bart are the same person. Bart then goes to see Liz, telling her a fake excuse to "go back to Italy" (which she of course doesn't buy), adding he's not worthy of her. A few months later, Art's gallery has experienced a dramatic turnaround (Gloria owns and manages it, and Art is the artist) and is now very successful. At the inauguration of his work, Art notices Liz who still has feeling for him but is not sure who he is really. Art manages to convince her he is the one she had feelings for, and the movie ends with the two happily walking in the street, hand in hand. ===== After she loses her husband to a car bomb, newly widowed Dottie Thorson and her daughter Brandi team up to pick up where her husband Ralph left off, to hunt down criminals that operate above the law. ===== The radio show's original storyline centered on a preacher named Rev. John Ruthledge and all the people of a fictional suburb in Chicago called Five Points. The townspeople's lives had revolved around him. The show's title refers to a lamp in his study that family and residents could see as a sign for them to find help when needed. Early ongoing storylines contrasted Ellis Smith (nicknamed Mr Nobody from Nowhere) with Rev. Ruthledge, the former's cynicism often acting as a foil to the optimism of the latter. Rev. Ruthledge's daughter Mary also embarked on a secret romance with her foster brother Ned Holden. Ned and Mary would eventually marry in a 1941 episode of the soap with Rev Ruthledge's blessing, but not before a series of complications arose, such as the return of Ned's parents, Frances and Paul Holden (a storyline which resulted in Frances shooting Paul dead when he made his plans to extort money from Ned known) and Ned's marriage to and subsequent divorce from lounge singer Torchy Reynolds (who later ended up in a relationship with Ellis Smith). Storylines in this era also touched on topics rarely discussed up to that point -- for example, the character of Rose Kransky had radio's first out-of-wedlock baby. During the radio years, succeeding preachers carried on the work Rev. Ruthledge had started, thus becoming keepers of the "guiding light." The show's setting moved to another fictional suburb in 1947, Selby Flats, in the Los Angeles, California area. The Bauers became central to the storyline in 1948. ===== In the late 1940s the show started focusing on the Bauer family, where it remained the main focus in the 1950s. The Bauers, living in the fictional suburb of Los Angeles, Selby Flats, were headed by a wise patriarch, Friedrich "Papa" Bauer, the father of three children, William "Bill" Edward (originally a pharmacist), Meta, and Gertrude "Trudy". Papa Bauer, who immigrated to this country from Germany with little more than a dream, and was a hard worker who was full of wisdom. He imparted his wisdom to his children in a folksy tone, commonly interweaving German words. The original primary focus of the Bauer story line was on Meta, who at one point earlier in the 1940s had left the Bauer household to pursue a career in modeling under the alias Jan Carter Meta as Jan had gotten involved, romantically, with the British Theodore "Ted" White, who headed for his father the California advertising agency that handled Jan's modeling career. Jan found herself pregnant with Ted's child and decided to get her son up for adoption to Ray Brandon and his wife, the former, Charlotte Wilson. Around the time Jan found out that Ray and Charlotte were the adoptive parents of her son, Charles "Chuckie", Ted reentered her life and she married him, so she could sue Ray and Charlotte for custody, despite the advice of her friends, pediatrician and the married Dr. Ross Boling and Dr. Mary Leland (Ross' wife) not to do so. Jan and Ted did win custody of Chuckie, but at the time they did Mary told Jan (who revealed her true identity as Meta) that her mother "Mama" Bauer was ill with cancer and soon died and Papa was continuing to ask for her and to make amends to Meta for what had happened to drive Meta out of the household. Meanwhile, Bill had married a woman who was striving for material success and thought Bill should as well, Bertha "Bert" Miller, who convinced Bill to give up his job working at the pharmacy to go into the work he had trained for, advertising. Meta, still as Jan to him, convinced Ted to hire Bill at his father's advertising agency. Ted did so, but later became mad at Meta for covering up who she really was. Meta and Papa did make amends, although Trudy was jealous of her older sister and her lifestyle and was in love with the married Dr. Ross Boling. Ted then started turning violent to her and Chuckie, and Meta sued for divorce and then Ted and Meta ended up in a custody battle over Chuckie which Meta won, but Ted was granted some lenient time of visitation and to take Chuckie on outings of his own. That's when Ted left the now, five-year-old, Chuckie to die in a freak boxing accident. Meta then left her house and then the Bauers in a daze and ended up in front of Ted's house and shot him dead. In 1950, on the radio version at one point listeners got the chance to choose whether or not to find Meta guilty of murdering her ex-husband Ted White. Ray, on Charlotte's urging, who defended Meta despite the previous custody battle, must have been convincing because the radio audience had Meta acquitted due to temporary insanity. Ray and Charlotte Brandon and Dr. Ross Boling and Dr. Mary Leland faded into obscurity shortly after this, with the only mention of the Brandon's being with Bill and Bert bought their house in the Hollywood Hills. Meta and Trudy later became best friends, with Trudy later marrying the well-off Clyde Palmer and they moved to New York City. The conflicts between the Bauer clan and Bill's headstrong wife Bert were an integral part of the plot in the television show's first decade. Although Bert and her sister-in-law Meta eventually became very close, initially there was a considerable amount of hostility between them. An additional plot-line in this period focused on Bill Bauer's alcoholism and his career difficulties, which were exacerbated by Bert's materialistic nature: she wanted to live much more extravagantly than Bill's salary allowed. Enter to all of this, in 1951, were two people who were going to cause this marriage much turmoil for the next four years of Bill and Bert's marriage. After Ted White's death, Bill had to seek employment with another advertising agency and worked with show business manager, Sid Harper, who was trying to get a singer named Gloria LaRue to sign with him and sought Bill's help. What neither one of the men knew was that Gloria was also an alcoholic and she and Bill started an affair. Gloria nearly had Bill divorce Bert, but Bert refused to let him go and then Bert discovered she was pregnant. When Bill discovered that Bert was pregnant, he agreed to stay with her. Gloria then fell off the wagon, and Sid offered her a new radio and television career which gave her the strength to get sober. Gloria and Sid were then married, and with Bill back with Bert and her expecting their first child, things seemed to stabilize for the Bauers. Bert gave birth to a boy named Michael (later named, "Mike", and named after Charita Bauer's first son who was also named Michael.) Later in 1952, Bill kept a secret from Bert when he was instrumental in signing Gloria LaRue Harper and new television contract. Soon both Bert and Sid had to watch in anger as Gloria became more emotionally dependent on Bill for her new career. However, Gloria developed vocal problems and had to abandon her new show and she and Sid moved to New York City. Things might have been fine after this, but in 1953, a new wrinkle was added to this problem via Meta's new stepdaughter and her former roommate. During Meta's murder trial, she acquired a champion for her cause to be acquitted, via City Times newspaper reporter Joseph "Joe" Roberts, Sr. who wrote a series of articles that helped Meta get acquitted. They quickly fell in love and it was found out that Joe had two children from a previous marriage, Katherine "Kathy" Roberts, an older teenager who was the oldest, and Joseph "Joey" Roberts, Jr., who was a pre-teen. Kathy and Joey's mother, and Joe's first wife, had died a few years earlier. A nanny, who was also a nurse, named Peggy Ashley Regan had been hired to look after the family, and Kathy and Joey had become quite fond of Peggy. But then Meta started hanging around Joe and the household, as Joe started dating Meta, and Joey liked Meta, but Kathy definitely did not. That's how innocent the problems Kathy was about to face started, and was reminiscent to Meta in many ways to what she had just faced in going to trial for shooting and killing Ted White. Joe wanted to marry Meta, but Meta kept putting him off, feeling that if both of his children were not comfortable with her being their new stepmother (i.e., Kathy), she was unwilling to proceed with a marriage. Meta even tried to escape to New York City and to her sister Trudy and her husband Clyde, to sort out her feelings, and she even started to become involved with one of Clyde's friends, Dr. Bruce Banning, who wanted to marry Meta. But Joe followed Meta there and wore down her defenses and finally she and Joe married, but they decided to keep the marriage a secret to everyone (Bill, Bert, Papa, Kathy and Joey) with only Trudy her bridesmaid and Clyde the best man knowing about this union. Meta, although thrilled to be married to Joe, who she truly loved, knew that they were in for some troubles with Kathy and Joe agreed that when they returned to Selby Flats that Meta was to live separately from Joe and his children, until they could win over Kathy. But once back in the Los Angeles area, Meta continued to struggle to get along with Kathy. Unknown to everyone else, including Meta and Joe, Kathy was having her own romantic difficulties. Kathy first became involved with a garage automobile mechanic several years older than her named, Bob Lang. Bob Lang tried his best to take Kathy to bed with him, but the teenaged Kathy wisely continued to feel that might not be for the best, but Kathy's defenses were weakening where Bob was concerned. Then Kathy suffered an illness for a few days and was taken to Cedars Hospital and that's where she met the eligible bachelor and first cousin to Peggy Ashley Regan, Dr. Richard "Dick" Grant, Jr. who had just moved from San Francisco. (Peggy was the niece of Dick's mother, Laura Ashley Grant, who was married to Dick's father, Richard Grant, Sr.) Dick was everything Kathy dreamed about when it came to a man, but although Meta and Joe approved of Dick, and Richard approved Kathy, the rich snobby Laura did not. Dick even proposed marriage to Kathy, but seeing how Laura disapproved her, she turned him down. Meta and Joe were still not be forthcoming about their marriage, until Kathy overheard them talking one day and found out about the whole marriage. Kathy was livid that her father betrayed her and Joey and their feelings regarding Peggy and wound up moving out of Joe's house and getting an apartment with a model that worked for Bill's advertising agency, Alice Graham. Then Kathy decided to accept Bob Lang's marriage proposal only telling Alice and Dick that she was marrying the man. Dick was not thrilled about this union, and when Kathy ended up getting pregnant with Bob's child, neither was she. For Bob, in marriage, became abusive and Kathy was his main target for the abuse. Finally having enough of the abuse, in the spring of 1952, Kathy moved out of the house she shared with Bob, and moved back in with Alice, who wasn't too thrilled to have a mother- to-be, as her roommate. Dick tried to get Kathy to divorce Bob, but she refused. But unknown to Kathy, Joe found out about his daughter being pregnant and then had her and Bob's marriage annulled. But in the summer of 1952, Bob was very unhappy about the marriage being ended and tried to force Kathy back into their sham of a marriage, but Kathy refused. So Bob tried to woo her, by becoming as romantic as he could, but Kathy still didn't budge, but agreed to see Bob, even while she was dating Dick. Caught in the middle of all of this was both Alice Graham and Meta Bauer White Roberts. Alice was caught in the middle, because she was the only one who knew that the pregnant Kathy was seeing both Bob and Dick, and Meta was caught in the middle, because Meta could wisely see that Kathy's actions were a direct result of Meta and Joe's marriage, so Meta ran off again to New York City and Trudy and Clyde. Then on September 12, 1952, a tragedy occurred that was to set the stage for Kathy to face a similar legal troubles as Meta had two years earlier. Kathy agreed to go for a driving date with Bob Lang, and during this date, Bob's car ended up having brake trouble. Bob got Kathy to leave the car shortly before it ended up going off a cliff near the Hollywood Hills, but Bob Lang ended up going, with the car, off the cliff to his death. Kathy was beside herself and had no idea what to do, but realized she needed to get away from the accident. Now a very much pregnant Kathy was not sure what to do or whom to turn to. Dick, going against Laura's wishes, agreed to marry Kathy, not only for the sake of her unborn child, but also to keep her from possibly getting into legal trouble over Bob Lang's death. Kathy realized she left one of her gloves in the crime scene, Bob Lang's car, the night he went over the cliff and the police found it. Then to top it all off, Kathy's new uncle and aunt, by marriage, Bert and Bill Bauer were dragged into the whole mess, when Alice Graham (Kathy's now former roommate) ended up being in breach of contract when she signed a deal to do television commercials without telling Bill's advertising agency. Then when Bill tried to force Alice to do the right thing and disavow the commercials, which Alice was unwilling to do, Alice spilled all the beans to Bill as to what and how much trouble Kathy was in including about Bob Lang's death and she was going to the police with the information, which would make Bill an accomplice after-the-fact to Kathy's "crimes". Meta, reading all about this in New York City, agreed, it was time for her to come back home, but the first few months of 1953 were going to be anything but comfortable for the Bauers or the Roberts or even the Grants. Kathy of course was put on trial for the murder of Bob Lang, with the District Attorney, Richard Hanley out for blood. The articles in the newspapers, both in the City Times (which had to be done, despite Joe pleading to his boss his editor not to do so) and the Times competition, had the effect of causing problems in the marriage of not only Joe and Meta (who finally had to reveal they were married to everyone), but also the marriage of Bill and Bert (with the latest episode with Alice Graham reminding Bert way too much of Bill's problems with Gloria La Rue Harper. Alice backed off her naming Bill as Kathy's accomplice, but she still testified at Kathy's trial and her testimony was nearly damaging enough to send a pregnant Kathy to prison), and the marriages of Kathy and Dick and Laura and Richard, with Richard trying to be lenient to the young couple, but Laura trying to take pound-of-flesh against Kathy at every chance she could. Bill was fired by the advertising agency due to all of this, and had to deal with a demanding Bert trying to get him to get another job, soon. Kathy was acquitted, by the end of March 1953, when Joe discovered that another mechanic who had claimed he had repaired Bob Lang's car's brakes, had really not done so, so it wasn't actually Kathy who caused Bob's tragic and fatal car accident. Shortly after this Meta, Joe and Joey faded into supporting roles, as Kathy and Dick's romantic difficulties started to take center stage on the show, with some story still given to Bill and Bert and their young child, Michael "Mike". However, Joe died in his sleep, peacefully, on Christmas Eve 1955, and she had to begin again. Joe's funeral was the last time that Joey Roberts appeared. Joey, who had never had problems with Meta and Joe's marriage, had since become a successful member of the Air Force had moved away to Arizona with his wife, Lois. Joe's death, finally showed Meta that she and Kathy were finally the mother-and-daughter team that Meta had hoped for from the beginning as both women consoled each other over the man both of them loved. Bill soon found another job at an advertising agency, but it required many hours and days away from his family and Selby Flats (although Bert was thrilled when they were able to afford to buy the Hollywood Hills home formerly occupied by Ray and Charlotte Brandon, and Papa moved out of Selby Flats and in with them.) Bert started relying more on Papa's sage advice and actually started feeling as his daughter as Papa had said for years she was to him. A young, slightly SORASed Michael though was another issue. With Bill spending so much time alone, Michael started feeling as though he was abandoned by his father. He even started telling Bert and Papa that he had no father and that he had died, which greatly hurt and confused the two of them. Bert took Michael to a child psychologist, despite Papa saying he had enough of advice to help, but the psychologist could do nothing but agree with Papa that Michael was headed for many problems down the road, unless Bill spent more time with him, soon. Bill finally on persuasion of Papa and Bert, took Michael on one of his advertising agency trips and in the hotel Bill made a game out of Michael trying to find his father, which Michael did and soon he and Bill bonded and became best of pals and Michael never spoke of his father being dead, again. (Well, at least not until the summer of 1969.) On New Year's Eve 1954, Bert gave birth to her and Bill's second son, named, William Edward or at the time "Billy" for short (later in the 1960s, as he aged, he'd refer to himself as Edward or "Ed" for short.) Coming from Arizona to help out was Bert's recently widowed mother, Elsie Miller, who Michael took an instant disliking too and acted up around, but Michael had every reason to do so, because Elsie herself started to turn the Bauer household upside down. Even Bill and Papa started to dislike her and her demands. And eventually even Bert became fed up with her own mother. Elsie was soon taken care of when the new man in her life, that she was actually escaping, Albert Franklin, came for a visit and quickly broke down her defenses and she and Albert soon married and left the Hollywood Hills home for Arizona. For a time, peace reigned in the Bauer household, but not for long, as Michael who was soon to go by the name of Mike was to face SORASing yet, again, and quickly become a teenager by the end of 1957. Meanwhile, Kathy's marriage to Dr. Dick Grant took some rather interesting twist and turns. Kathy gave birth to Bob Lang's child, whom she named Robin, for the spring time that she was born into. It wasn't an easy childbirth, with Kathy needing to be hospitalized both before, during and afterwards. Dick agreed to adopt Robin, despite his mother's protest, but Kathy faced an internal infection that caused her to hallucinate that many people were out to get her, and actually one was out to get something of hers, her new second husband, Dr. Dick Grant. Hired by Laura to look after and care for Kathy, was private nurse Janet Johnson, who took an instant shine to Dick and she was encouraged to go after him and break up his marriage by Laura herself. And Dick, waiting for Kathy to get better, nearly succumbed to the charms of Janet Johnson. Kathy's health improved, and so did the marriage of Dick and Kathy Grant, that is until Dick faced personal and professional crises at work, where he was overworked at Cedars and had to face a father and son team of doctors, who didn't realize for a while were father and son, that caused Dick to want to give up both his marriage to Kathy and also his profession as a world class surgeon. Soon, Dick left Cedars (during a middle of an operation) and then left Los Angeles and moved to New York City, where for a while he lived under an assumed name and met a young woman who became his new love interest, artist Marie Wallace. Laura, finally agreeing Kathy was not as bad as she had once seemed, rallied with both Kathy and Richard to try and figure out a way to get Dick back home, but none of them knew where he was and eventually Kathy sought a divorce due to abandonment of affection from Dick. Soon after this, Laura and Richard Grant were not seen again, in storyline or on air. Dick soon showed up in Los Angeles, and then Marie also did, and it was soon realized by all that they truly loved each other when Marie went temporarily blind, and Dick was the one who helped Marie regain her eyesight. By this time, it was 1957, and a new wrinkle entered the lives of the newlyweds Dick and Marie Grant. Cedars hired yet a new surgeon named, Dr. Paul Fletcher, and despite Dick and Marie's new marriage, Paul and Marie instantly hit it off, much to Dick's chagrin. Marie was also feeling less than a woman, when it was learned she couldn't get pregnant, and adoptions were not easy to move along enough to satisfy Marie's maternal instincts. Marie nearly had an affair with Dr. Paul Fletcher, but not all was as it seemed for his rival. Dr. Paul Fletcher was actually his assumed name that he adopted during the Korean War, based on what his mother Marion Winters Lipsey had told him about his biological father, Fred Fletcher, who had abandoned him and his mother many years earlier (or that's what he thought.) Paul had thought up to that point that the man who adopted him, his mom Marion Winters' husband, John Lipsey had done so because Fred had abandoned him and his mom, but as it turned out Marion left Fred. Paul did get to finally meet and forgive Fred a few short months before Fred died of cancer in April 1958, but for a time Paul felt he was less deserving of love than others. (Bert Bauer nicknamed Paul a "sour apple" due to Paul feeling this way during the first two years she knew him, 1956 to 1958.) Another woman soon entered Dr. Paul Fletcher's life, Anne Benedict from San Francisco, who soon became the love of his life and made him realize that he did deserve love. And the change in Paul even made Bert realize his personality wasn't bad as she first thought it was. Anne and Paul soon married, despite for a while Anne's rich father Henry disapproving. Anne Fletcher gave birth to Dr. Paul Fletcher's son, that they named Johnny, which sealed Henry, as well as his wife Helene approving of their daughter's marriage to Paul. In 1959, Dick and Marie Grant were caught up in criminal Joe Turino's illegal adoption scam ring, although quite innocently for them. One of Dick's patients was a run away drug addict by the name of Amy Sinclair, who gave birth in the spring of 1959 to a daughter she named Nora. Feeling as though she couldn't raise Nora on her own, she agreed to let Dick and Marie Grant adopt little Nora who they renamed Marie, but this adoption was set up through Joe Turino's scam ring. In 1960, the district attorney's investigation into this scam led Dick and Marie Grant heartbroken, when they lost custody of Marie and she was returned to Amy. (Dick gave Amy money to hide from Joe Turino and skip town in the process.) Later in the fall of 1960, Dick and Marie Grant tried again to adopt, and succeeded, adopting a boy by the name of Phillip Collins. Dick and Marie Grant left town with their adopted son, Phillip Collins Grant, in 1962, and were not heard from again. After Joe Robert's funeral, Meta, started seeing a man named Mark Holden, who was a rich well-off structural engineer friend of her brother-in-law, Clyde Palmer, hired at Cedars to do some work on the building. Bert tried to set up Meta with Mark, who took a shine to Meta's stepdaughter, Kathy. Meta agreed to step aside for Mark and Kathy, on the advice of Dr. Bruce Banning, who continued to have romantic feelings for Meta. Kathy soon married her third and final husband Mark Holden. It didn't take long for Kathy to find out that the old adage of "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" was very true when it came to her daughter with Bob Lang, Robin's personality, was concerned. By the time Kathy married Mark, Robin had also been SORASed into a pre-teen and she acted every bit the brat around Mark, at first. Kathy and Mark couldn't understand why, until she told him that she wanted Kathy to still be married to Dr. Dick Grant. That time, once both Meta and Dick had talk with the young girl, Robin turned around and agreed to accept Mark, just in time for Mark to agree to adopt Robin and Dick allowing that. Meanwhile, Mark's younger sister, a rebellious 16-year-old, Alice Holden showed up in Selby Flats to live with Kathy, Mark and Robin. Right away it was clear that Alice and Robin mixed like water and oil, nearly not at all. Alice was resentful how spoiled Robin appeared to be, and Robin couldn't stand having the older more worldly-wise Alice living in the same household. Enter into all of this a just turned teenaged Mike Bauer, the "cousin" of Robin, who Robin had a crush on and Mike did allow her some flirtations. But for the 13-year-old Mike, his hormones made him fall under the spell of the older Alice. And Alice picked up on that. This stalemate of constant tension between Robin, Mike and Alice was going to soon lead to a tragedy that compounded for the helpless Kathy. And all of this started just as Kathy found out she was pregnant, again, this time with Mark's child. One day to get back at Robin and to treat her as the spoiled brat she was, Alice took a kitchen chairchairman that Mike, being the young gentlemen he was, usually pulled out for Robin and decided to screw out some of the bolts used to hold the chair together, so it fell apart when Robin sat in it—so Robin would be embarrassed and perhaps keep her spoiled bratty mouth shut. At that exact time, a pregnant Kathy decided to use that chair to do some work in one of the kitchen cabinets and when Kathy stood on the chair, sure enough as Alice had intended (but for the wrong victim), the chair gave way and Kathy fell hard on to the kitchen floor. Kathy was taken to Cedars and it was clear the injury Kathy sustained was serious and she miscarried her and Mark's child. Kathy then developed another infection and soon found herself permanently restricted to a wheelchair as she developed paralysis. Alice was soon sent packing back to Mark's parents home, and then a year later to a school whose living arrangements were closer to where Mark lived with Robin. In March 1958, Kathy was killed when bicycling children accidentally pushed her wheelchair into oncoming traffic. Mark had to raise the now SORASed to a teenager Robin on his own. Robin and Mike as teenagers soon became more seriously romantically involved. But Robin also became a terribly troublesome to Mark and Meta, trying to break up Meta's romance with Bruce and get her to marry Mark so Meta would become her stepmother. Robin also took an instant disliking to Mark's new romantic involvement with housekeeper Ruth Jannings, a widow herself. On New Year's Eve 1959, Robin found out very harshly she couldn't control everything when she came to Mark's hotel only to discover there was a new Mrs. Mark Holden, and they were on their honeymoon. It only worsened for Robin when she went to Mark's hotel room and when the door opened to the hotel room the new Mrs. Mark Holden answered and it was revealed to be the former Mrs. Ruth Jannings. But Robin was soon to cause more trouble, in the New Year and first year of the new decade, 1960, by getting involved romantically, more, with Mike Bauer, but also Ruth's son, Karl. ===== Later in the decade, in 1966–1967, The Guiding Light was also the first show to regularly feature African American characters, Dr. Jim Frazier and his wife nurse Martha Frazier (played first by Billy Dee Williams and Cicely Tyson and then by James Earl Jones and Ruby Dee). The decade began with Meta Roberts marrying Bruce Banning, by the mid-1960s, the focus of the show slowly moved to Bill and Bert's children, Mike and Ed. Their lives and loves provided high drama for many years. Other popular characters of the time included Robin Lang Holden. By winter 1960, Mike and Robin were Seniors in high school and were growing more closely romantically. The only thing standing in their way to that continued romance was Robin's stepbrother, Karl Jannings, also a Senior in high school, who himself had romantic feelings for Robin. But Robin's romantic feelings were definitely aimed at her "cousin", Mike Bauer. In spring 1960, Mike proposed marriage to Robin and they got engaged. When Karl found out about this he went and told his mother Ruth and stepfather Mark Holdin, who quickly went to both Bill and Bert Bauer, as well as Meta and Bruce Banning who were all livid at the thought that Mike and Robin would marry well they were still in high school. Bert was the worse, and complained to Meta about how Robin was ending up like Kathy was at the same age, and Bert became like the Gestapo spying on Mike's every move. Mike and Robin having enough of Bert and the adults around them decided to elope in May 1960. Karl also found out about this and with the backing of Ruth got into fights with Mike, and Bert and Bill didn't know what to do, but had to take the young newlyweds into their home with Bert continuing her Gestapo-like policies on to the couple much to the chagrin of Papa Bauer. Tragedy soon struck with the fights between Mike and Karl escalating. On the July 4th holiday 1960, hosted by Meta and Bruce at their penthouse apartment, a drunk Karl picked a fight with Mike on Meta and Bruce's patio where in his defense he shoved Karl really hard with Karl landing head first onto one of Meta and Bruce's patio tables! For a couple of minutes Karl laid there not moving with the back of his head all bloody with no one sure what had happened, Bruce and Dr. Dick Grant checked Karl out and it turned out he was in a coma. Ruth Holden was beside herself, and when the police came, not sure of all the facts, yet, but Mike admitting he had shoved Karl, Mike was arrested for attempted murder. Robin and the Bauers stood by Mike as he went to trial for murdering Karl, after Karl died of his injuries at Cedars hospital. Ruth started to admit that Mike might not have been at fault as Dr. Dick Grant pointed out how much alcohol Karl had consumed that night. Fortunately before the end of the year 1960, Mike was charged and later acquitted of the death of Karl Jannings, when it was proved by his uncle Bruce and Dr. Dick Grant that Karl was way to drunk that night for Mike to have caused most of the damage that killed the young man. Once he was cleared of the death, Mike and Robin's marriage was annulled, by Bert. Mike still felt guilty for letting the tension between him and Karl escalate so much that Karl ended up dead even if he wasn't at fault. So, in January 1961, Mike decided to leave Bill and Bert and move to New York City and to his aunt Trudy and uncle Clyde and attend Columbia University as a pre-law student. Bill, Bert and Papa were happy for Mike, but just as with Robin sad to see him go. In the summer of 1961, Bill and Bert received a letter from Mike stating that he was taking a hiatus from his pre-law studies and moving to Venezuela to work on an oil rig which he would do so until January 1962 when he moved back to the Hollywood Hills home of his parents. Meanwhile, in November 1960, Robin met Alex Bowden an art dealer and art museum owner. After Mike left, Robin married Alex Bowden which surprised many people around her, as Alex had the personality of Svengali. Later after Robin learned how much Alex was as bad as everyone said, and after losing their child in miscarriage she divorced him. Dr. Paul Fletcher struggled to run a free clinic in a run- down area of Los Angeles' near the suburb of Selby Flats. Anne his wife, and later Paul's sister nurse Jane Fletcher, objected, especially when Alex Bowden's estranged first wife, the alcoholic Doris Crandall, who got involved temporarily with criminal Joe Turino, showed up in town and became one of Paul's patients. Things came to ahead one evening, in October 1962, when Doris got a hold of a gun, that Turino had given her for protection, and threatened to commit suicide inside the Fletcher's garage. Anne misinterpreted the whole situation and got into a struggle with Doris for control of the gun and it misfired and Anne was shot and killed with her and Paul's son, Johnny, witnessing the whole tragic event. This set Johnny into becoming a spoiled kid, with Anne's father, Henry, spoiling him the most—sending him money setting up a well-funded trust fund for when he became 18 years old, something that Paul would object to for years. Paul's sister Jane also started doting on Johnny to the point that Auntie Jane also started spoiling him. Joe Turino left for parts unknown shortly after Anne's death, and Doris Crandall left and returned to San Francisco. Mike, after returning from Venezuela and dealing with Bert having uterine cancer (discovered by Paul Fletcher) and having an operation, got a job as a legal assistant to attorney George Hayes. While finishing law school, Mike first fell for Paul's sister, Jane Fletcher and then Jane's roommate—who was also George's secretary, Julie Conrad. Bert loved Jane and became friends with her, but Bert found Julie to be nothing but a money grubbing floozy. Julie did taunt Mike with sexual suggestions and flirting, and Mike was willing, until a scorned Jane found out and tried to give both of them a hard time by telling all to Bert. Julie then moved out from Jane and then took the very willing Mike to her bed. When Julie wouldn't go to bed with him a second time, Mike forced himself on Julie, and then Julie ended up pregnant! Bert found out about the pregnancy and forced Mike and Julie into an old-fashioned shotgun wedding! And to top it all off, Bert forced Mike and Julie to live with her, Bill, Ed and Papa! Bert restarted her Gestapo type spying on Mike and Julie that she had used on Mike and Robin, earlier. And Mike, with a child on the way and a mother who was becoming increasingly overbearing (to the chagrin of both Papa and Bill), had a difficult time getting through law school studies. After her difficult pregnancy and then delivery of Hope, Mike's daughter, Julie started a downhill spiral into mental instability, especially when she couldn't get pregnant, again, after suffering a miscarriage of what would have been Mike's second child. As Julie became distant to Hope, Bert doted on Hope and acted as a surrogate mother to the young girl (a role she would take on as Hope got older, as well.) Mike didn't know what to do, but started to agree with Bert, Papa and Bill that Julie was not in the best of shape emotionally and eventually agreed she needed to be sent to a mental institution. Robin left town after divorcing Alex Bowden, and Alex left and returned to Doris Crandall in San Francisco. Robin then became involved with Dr. Paul Fletcher, but Paul's sister Jane was opposed to this union and decided to use Johnny to guilt Paul and Robin into not getting married. Jane after causing problems for Robin and Paul and keeping them apart as long as she could and by giving into young Johnny's demands to be treated special, reformed, and married George Hayes after George suffered severe injuries when saving Jane from getting hit by a car. Robin Lang Holden Bowden and Paul Fletcher then married, and Robin soon found herself pregnant with Paul's child. Around that same time, in a bit of "retroactive continuity", the show's writers changed the name and location of the series' locale from Selby Flats, which had been described as a suburb of Los Angeles, to Springfield, U.S.A.—no state designated, but apparently in the Midwest. Cedars Hospital (so named to suggest the real Cedars of Lebanon Hospital—now Cedars Sinai—in Los Angeles), introduced in Selby Flats on radio in 1947, remained a central location in Springfield. Springfield as a new locale was first introduced, in the summer of 1965, via Bill Bauer opening a new office of a New York City advertising agency, Carson & Associates, in Springfield, with Bill actually being the only associate. His secretary, at the new agency, Maggie Scott was a widow (or so she thought at that time) whose husband Ben had supposedly been killed in the Korean War. Maggie was raising her and Ben's teenage daughter, Peggy, and Maggie was romantically involved with the young Jason Weber, who started working with Bill at the agency. (This change of locale from Selby Flats to Springfield was clearly intended as a transition and not a move by all of the characters due to later 1966 script writing that aired. For example, Peggy would in dialogue tell others she enjoyed working with Dr. Paul Fletcher at his free clinic in the summer of 1965, although the clinic never did really move locations. And Papa Bauer would tell others he had lived in Springfield all his life that he lived in the United States, even though earlier radio and television episodes would not have been in support of Papa's assertions on that matter.) Mike Bauer was written off the show after becoming estranged from Bert's overbearing presence in his marriage to Julie and finally graduating law school and passing The Bar in the spring of 1965. Julie became mentally unstable and later committed suicide, in January 1966, in a mental facility just outside the town of Oakdale. (In later conversations, Mike is said to have worked in Oakdale and helped the characters of attorney Mitchell Dru, as well as lawyers Chris and Donald Hughes on some cases, but there seems to be very little evidence that the character of Mike ever appeared on As the World Turns.) In 1966, Mike and his daughter Hope moved to Bay City and the characters crossed over to Another World. Mike and Hope would return to The Guiding Light and its new locale of Springfield in 1968. While in Bay City, Mike got involved romantically and engaged to his boss, attorney John Randolph's daughter, Lee Carter Randolph. Lee Carter Randolph was the daughter of John and his deceased first wife, Lee Dwyer Randolph. Mike met John's second wife, the former Patricia "Pat" Matthews and Lee's stepmother who Lee already was not thrilled about. Mike and Pat found themselves falling in love with each other, despite trying to resist the attraction for John and Lee's sake, but one day they ended up kissing which Lee witnessed. And although Lee didn't tell her father, she became more estranged from Pat and then estranged from her father John who could not fathom the reason as to why. Mike after a confrontation with Lee, where Lee returned her engagement ring, left Bay City with Hope in February 1967. During the year 1967–1968, when the characters were not either on Another World or The Guiding Light, Mike and Hope would be listed, later, as working, going to school and living in Philadelphia. Mike's time and romantic entanglements, with Lee Carter Randolph and her stepmother Pat Matthews Randolph, in Bay City would not be without consequences in Bay City. Lee would end up getting involved, later, with mechanic, later turned attorney, Samuel "Sam" Lucas, who Lee's father John and her stepmother Pat objected. too, and they had good reasons. Sam Lucas was dealing drugs during the height of the drugs experimentation by younger people of the late-1960s. One day in 1969, Lee, unaware, would have her coffee laced with LSD by Sam Lucas. This would lead to Lee having her fatal car accident at that time. And much later, in the 1970s, Pat Matthews Randolph would give birth to her and John's son that she would name, Michael, possibly after Mike Bauer. Bill and Bert's younger SORASed son Ed began his residency at Cedars Hospital in Springfield under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen "Steve" Jackson, Cedars Chief of Surgery. Dr. Ed Bauer had to contend with two other interns at Cedars who were vying to become Steve's new protégé, Dr. Joseph "Joe" Werner and Dr. Jim Frazier, with Jim soon becoming a new resident. Furthermore, Bert was upset that her youngest son would be going by the name of Edward or "Ed", his given middle name, instead of the name she had been calling him since he was first born, "Billy" for William his first name. Unfortunately this would not be the only thing that Bert would find to be disappointing about her younger son. Meanwhile, Jason Weber started cooling things off with Maggie Scott in January 1966, with Maggie confused as to why. Then Jason, who Maggie realized was hiding something from her in his breaking things off, died in a car accident. Soon after that, Maggie and Bill Bauer started an affair, which Bill soon felt regrets and guilt about as Bert arrived in Springfield. Then in March 1966, Maggie Scott got a big shock, and soon realized why Jason had called off their relationship because Jason knew about this, when her thought to be dead husband, Ben Scott, showed up still very much alive! Apparently Ben had not died in the Korean War, after all, and was hiding out embarrassed that others might have died in his place. Ben then opened a new restaurant in Springfield and served as the restaurant's owner and manager. Soon Ben was ingratiating himself into Maggie and Peggy's life playing the role of the doting father and husband to the hilt. But Maggie, still carrying on her affair with her boss, Bill, started to suspect that Ben had ulterior motives. Soon enough, Maggie, much to her chagrin, would learn that she was right. Maggie was hoping and pleading with Bill to leave Bert and marry her, so she could be done with Ben. But Papa added to Bill's guilt by telling him that it would hurt Bert deeply, if he were to leave her and Bill decided to stay married to Bert and told a very disappointed Maggie that. Ben soon found out about the affair when Bill told Maggie to write a love letter to him, where she would break things off with him, so she might not feel so bad being rejected by him. Unfortunately Ben found this love letter and made a photocopy of it and decided he would blackmail the two of them. Also moving to Springfield from Selby Flats were the married couples of Dr. Paul Fletcher and his wife, Robin Lang Holden Bowden Fletcher and attorney George Hayes and his wife, nurse Jane Fletcher Hayes. Paul and Jane both got high-powered jobs at Cedars Hospital in Springfield and were prominent in story line at the hospital in the mid-1960s. For a while, Meta became a nursing assistant, answering phones, at Cedars, well Bruce became Chief of Staff at Cedars. The romantic troubles, of two young couples, Ed and Steve's daughter, Cedars nurse Leslie Jackson and Maggie and Ben's teenage daughter Peggy and Paul's son (Robin's stepson) Johnny and how the adults dealt with those romantic troubles became center stage in the show's story line in 1966–1967. Around this time, Meta left with her husband, Dr. Bruce Banning, for Bruce to get a high-powered job at New York City's Presbyterian Hospital as that hospital's Chief of Staff, with Dr. Paul Fletcher becoming Chief of Staff at Cedars. Ben Scott started blackmailing Bill and Maggie and forced Maggie to remarry him and forced her and Peggy to move into a new house and forced Maggie to stop working at Carson & Associates. Ben also forced Bill to remain married to Bert. Ed also found out about Bill and Maggie's affair and told Bill in no uncertain terms to cut it off or else he'd go to Bert and tell her all. Bill soon fell off the wagon and ended up drinking, again, much to Bert's horror. Maggie soon expressed boredom at being relegated to housewife status, but Ben told her he had her hogtied, due to the photocopy of the love letter, and she couldn't do anything else but be the doting mother and wife! Unknown to Ed and Ben, though, Bert found out about the affair anyway! First, in April 1966, Bert had gone to the offices of Carson & Associates and then found out from Bill's other secretary at the time, Carol, that Bill had gone to lunch without her and when she went to the restaurant she got to see Maggie and Bill having lunch together and getting all romantic in front of her. (What Bert didn't know at the time was that was when Bill told Maggie that they had to end the affair due to Ben's blackmailing of the two of them.) Then in July 1966, while Bert was waiting up for Bill to come home, Bill came in and blabbed about it during an alcoholic stupor. Bert decided to stay married to Bill, and expressed to her sister-in-law, before Meta left with Bruce, that she wanted to change her ways and be less demanding of Bill and agreed to stay with Bill through his latest return to the bottle. Bert also confronted Maggie, who had started working as George Hayes' part-time secretary in spite of and to spite Ben, about the affair at George and Jane Hayes' home, and told her to stay married with Ben and make him happy and not restart anything with Bill or 'else'. Meanwhile, the departure of Meta and Bruce, put Papa in a quandary as to where to live. Papa wasn't necessarily as enthused to live in New York City, and give up his efficiency apartment in the same neighborhood as where Paul and Robin lived, with his daughter and son-in-law and expressed this to a drunk Bill. Bill feeling bitter that Papa was nagging him over both the affair with Maggie and his alcoholism actually bitterly told off his father, as he had never done before, and Papa decided to temporarily move with Meta and Bruce to New York City. Unfortunately, when Papa came back to Springfield and again moved into the efficiency apartment and only told Ed this, Ed would go and gloat over this to Bill which set Bill to drinking again. Meanwhile, at the same time, Paul found out about Papa's living situation and was livid and suggested that Papa speak to Bert. And when Bert found out from Ed what he had said to Bill about Papa's living situation she was livid at him. Peggy also got a volunteer job as a part-time candy striper at Cedars. When Peggy overheard Ben and Maggie arguing, she confronted Ben at his restaurant office and Ben lied to her that the argument was about his Will that he had a photocopy of and that argument also had to do with Maggie not wanting to take a family trip to the Canadian Rockies so soon after getting the job with George Hayes. (Maggie later expressed to Peggy she'd reconsider.) Maggie would later express relief at Ben that he made up such a story. Unfortunately for Maggie and Ben, Peggy found out about the affair anyway, when one night she got stuck at Bill's office in an attempt to recover her mother's purse and Social Security card that George Hayes needed for employment papers for Maggie. Bill had stayed late at the office and was, again, in an alcoholic stupor where he started to believe that Peggy was Maggie and ended up blabbing about the affair to Peggy, who was in total shock and disbelief. Peggy turned more towards the continued to be spoiled Johnny for comfort, although Peggy didn't tell Johnny as to the whole reason why. Meanwhile, in the home of Paul and Robin Fletcher, Johnny was becoming a handful for Robin, especially in terms of him not cleaning after himself. Robin liked Peggy, but was resentful, of Maggie, after Peggy learned the truth of Bill and Maggie's affair, that Peggy would spend so much time with Johnny instead of at home. Robin, while pregnant, one day was cleaning Johnny's room when she had an accident and fell off a ladder and lost the child in a miscarriage. Robin then went into a severe depression, and Johnny blamed himself for what happened, although Paul tried to make his son see that it wasn't all his fault. Johnny moved out, and moved in briefly with his Uncle George and Aunt Jane and got a job as an orderly at Cedars, after he went to his grandfather Henry Benedict with how bad things were and despite Paul's disapproval became more spoiled due to Henry's giving Johnny his trust fund money earlier than when Johnny turned 18. Johnny then admitted to Peggy that he had felt resentment towards Robin, but not to the point that he wished her any harm or to what would have been his half-sibling. Johnny tried to turn to his Aunt Jane, but even the once giving in to Johnny's every whim, Jane Fletcher Hayes was dismayed how spoiled her nephew had become—even as another well-off daughter, Leslie Jackson was willing to do extra work and make extra money, beyond being a nurse at Cedars, was babysitting her and George Hayes' adopted daughter, Amy. Paul though thought that Peggy was becoming a stabilizing influence on his son, although Ben Scott was not of the same mind. Jane's turning Johnny down for any more help, then made Johnny move out on his aunt and uncle, which totally made Paul think he was losing his son, except for the grace of Peggy. In the later half of 1966, Agnes Nixon started a story that she only gave the genesis of before she left as head writer. Leslie Jackson would discover part of the reason why her father Steve would not talk about her mother, Victoria, that much despite him having a painted portrait of her in his living room (the portrait bore a striking resemblance to Lynne Adams who also played Leslie.) Steve told Leslie that Victoria had left the two of them and Springfield when Leslie was a toddler. But in flashbacks of Steve the audience got more: Victoria (played in the flashbacks by Adams) had enjoyed partying, dressing up and being seen. One night Victoria had embarrassed Steve and he ordered her to get out and stay away. As far as Steve knew Victoria was far away and that's how Steve hoped it would stay. In 1974, later writers of the show would pick-up this story from Nixon and expand on it. But from 1966 to 1974, Leslie believed as Steve told her that her mother, Victoria, was dead. This bit of feeling slightly estranged from Steve, because of her dead mother and Steve's ambivalence about talking to her about her mother, led Leslie to be open to romance to Ed, despite his soon to be turn towards alcoholism. Leslie also had had another would-be suitor at Cedars, by then resident Dr. Joe Werner, who for a while was in competition with Ed to get the most patients. Joe would continue to complain for a while in conversations with Ed and his mutual good friend, Dr. Jim Frazier, but eventually realized Ed was a very capable doctor. Ed though would win Leslie's heart and the two of them would marry in September 1967, with Steve's approval. In January 1967, Dr. Sara McIntyre arrived in Springfield and Cedars. Sara's specialty was psychology and she was known as a psychologist who would soon be called upon to help many of the residents in Springfield through some rather harsh emotional crisis. But Sara also did work in other areas of medicine, including in operations with Dr. Steve Jackson, Dr. Joe Werner and Dr. Ed Bauer. At this time, Joe considered Sara somewhat of usurper when it came to being involved in medicine. As it turned out Joe was actually quite chauvinistic when it came to Sara and woman in medicine, thinking that a woman's place was in the home not in an operating room or anywhere else in a hospital other than as a nurse. Sara though knew how to put Joe in his place and eventually started to win him over that she was just as capable as he was as a doctor. Sara also had a romantic past with Dr. Paul Fletcher. This romantic past between Sara and Paul, caused the already severely depressed Robin Fletcher to sink further into depression. This depression of Robin's would get so severe, that by October 1967, the writers of The Guiding Light recycled a story line and device used to kill off Robin's mother, Kathy, nearly a decade earlier, by having Robin Lang Holden Bowden Fletcher throw herself into oncoming traffic, which was just as unpopular with viewers as it was in 1958 when what happened to Kathy happened. After Ed and Leslie were married all was not happy with this young couple. As Bert started becoming more attentive to Bill and their marriage started to stabilize and Bill started going to AA and getting sober and with both of them getting Papa to move back in with them (although Papa did keep his efficiency apartment when he wanted to give Bill and Bert privacy or get away from them for his own privacy), Ed would begin drinking heavily and then became alcoholic after he discovered the affair between his father and Maggie Scott. Ed became verbally violent not only to Bert and Bill, but also towards Leslie and Papa. Ed became even more confused and more of an alcoholic, when Bert trying to change her old ways of being so demanding defended Bill towards Ed! And that's when Ed started to become emotionally and physically violent towards Leslie. Ben Scott continued to be very opposed and antagonistic towards the budding romance between the now 18-year-old Johnny Fletcher and his daughter, Peggy. Johnny and Peggy obtained a marriage license on Peggy's eighteenth birthday, in April 1967, that Ben found out about and then confronted Johnny and Peggy, about, and died of a heart attack. Peggy then got an annulment, disappointing Johnny. (Peggy's mother Maggie would die nearly a year later, after they became close after the tragedy of Ben's death and Peggy's annulment, in March 1968, from a stomach ailment while on the operating table while a drunk Ed was operating, forcing Peggy to live for a while with Bert.) Paul also forced Henry Benedict to stop funding Johnny and so Johnny lost the funds from Henry. In March 1968, Mike Bauer, with his daughter Hope, moved to Springfield and Mike began working as a partner with his former boss, George Hayes, until George Hayes and Jane Fletcher Hayes stopped appearing and disappeared from story line later that year. Mike immediately was dismayed at Ed's being abusive to Leslie. Leslie found a life line via Mike and then they became romantically attached to each other. Soon Mike and Leslie started an affair, despite Leslie still having romantic feelings for Ed. During this time, Peggy met Marty Dillman, a gang leader, when he was in Cedars after a gang fight and Peggy the nurse want-to-be, found herself falling in love with her patient and then a short-time later they married. Johnny during this time met another woman that he became romantically attached to named Tracey Delmar, who was already causing problems for another resident of Springfield, and would soon be involved with many more via her real name of Charlotte Waring. (Tracey Delmar also flirted with Dr. Ed Bauer, in the spring of 1967 when she first arrived in Springfield, several months before he married Leslie Jackson.) Tracey Delmar was originally introduced as the "niece" of Dr. Sara McIntyre. But "Tracey Delmar" wasn't really Sara's niece. But before Sara could find this out, Tracey had already swindled the good doctor McIntyre out of much money. One of the two men who found out, at first, that Tracey was really Charlotte Waring was none other than Marty Dillman, who Tracey started flirting with despite his marriage to Peggy (Charlotte was resentful that Johnny and Peggy were still hanging around each other, at Cedars, as Johnny started to want to become a doctor like his father.) Johnny and Tracey, though, did marry. But then the other man who found out who Tracey really was, garage mechanic Flip Malone, started putting the screws to both Marty and Charlotte and hit them up for his share of the money in the fleecing of Dr. Sara McIntyre. One person who soon recognized who Tracey really was, was Dr. Joe Werner, who had had romantic past with Charlotte. (Joe and Charlotte had dated while he was in medical school.) Joe was able to cue Sara into that "Tracey" might not be her niece and soon the gig was up for Charlotte. But in the meantime, Charlotte being ousted as not being "Tracey", would have to contend with both Marty Dillman and Flip Malone being angry that the money was drying up from "Tracey"'s former "aunt" Sara. Johnny soon asked "Tracey" for a divorce, with Mike successfully suing for Johnny for the divorce. Charlotte was now considered the town pariah by many. Soon though, Charlotte would find a way to redeem herself to many. In September 1968, after an alcoholic Ed, got into physical fight with Bill, Ed pushed Bill hard and Bill suffered a heart attack. Bill Bauer soon became a candidate for a Cedars first ever heart transplant. Bill was given only nine years to live after the successful surgery. Sara helped Bert through the difficult emotional turmoil that this transplant caused her. In January 1969, Marty Dillman eventually wound up being murdered and his pregnant wife Peggy was wrongly put on trial for it. (The actual murderer was Flip Malone, but Peggy was the last person who people saw Marty with and it was during a fight where Peggy was very visibly angry at him, because she had discovered how much Marty had been in cahoots with her rival Charlotte.) While in jail, Peggy gave birth to a son she named William Bauer Dillman, or Billy for short, in honor of Bill Bauer. Mike defended and exonerated Peggy of the crime. Peggy ended up being treated as a daughter by Bert and got help through the emotional turmoil via Sara. Peggy and Johnny would also reconcile and get married and Johnny would adopt Billy as his own as he started out as a surgeon at Cedars. Peggy also started as a registered nurse at Cedars at this time. Johnny also started to go by the name of Dr. John Fletcher. Dr. Paul Fletcher was thrilled to see his son, John, get his life straight and go into the profession that Paul also called his own. Despite Dr. Sara McIntyre doing well helping her friends, Bert Bauer and Peggy Scott Dillman through emotional storms, Sara's life post Charlotte trying to fleece her as her "niece" "Tracey" was anything but as easy for her to deal with. Dr. Paul Fletcher still expressed interest in Sara, but in the end nothing came of it due to how he still felt about the loss of his wives Anne and Robin. Dr. Joe Werner developed romantic feelings for Sara, but Sara held him off still concerned that Charlotte and Joe might restart their romantic past and also having romantic ideals on relationships that seemed old- fashioned to many that Joe should just never be with another woman then her if he was truly in love with her. Joe even proposed marriage to Sara and agreed to take her on a year-long sabbatical to England, but Sara turned him down and Joe went off to England alone. While Joe was, in England, sorting out his feelings for Sara, he met an attractive widow named Cindy Brown, an American living in London, who suffered from a mysterious illness and was not getting the help she needed in England, and Joe talked her into returning to Springfield with him for treatment. This made Sara very uneasy seeing the two of them together. Soon Joe, realizing Sara would still put him off, started a relationship with Cindy, who recovered from her illness. Joe and Cindy ended up having a brief affair with, and Cindy changed her last name back to her maiden name of Gardner because of the affair with Joe. Charlotte found out about the affair between Joe and Cindy, while at the courthouse during Peggy's trial with Cindy changing her last name legally, and blabbed about it to Sara just to get Joe in trouble with her rival, and so it did and Sara decided to move on to other men. Unfortunately the next man who she turned to nearly was her undoing and also nearly deadly to the good doctor McIntyre. Enter Lee Gantry, a malaria patient at Cedars at this time, who Sara found very attractive as well as charming and erudite. Lee Gantry soon recovered from malaria, and this prompted Sara to find out more about the man. Lee Gantry was also an American who had spent a comparatively large amount of time in England. Sara soon found herself attracted romantically to Lee and once he was cured of malaria she decided to take a trip with him to Great Britain, and on the trip they stayed at his English country estate, where she let herself be charmed even more by Lee Gantry, who the audience was let on to was a man who had a habit of being on the prowl for lonely women such as Sara. It also turned out that Lee had been widowed by a rich English woman named Alice Rawlings that he had married. What Sara didn't realize at that time, in late 1968, was that Lee had already gaslighted his Alice and was actually responsible for her death. Lee was also moving slowly, and incorporating into the architecture of his just outside Springfield farmhouse much of the architectural work of the Alice's English country estate. Enter Miss Mildred Foss. Miss Mildred Foss was Alice Rawlings Gantry's house hold manager and knew of Lee's killing of Alice and so she blackmailed him into rehiring her in Springfield. Sara also met Miss Mildred Foss, who decided this time to work with her boss Lee to gaslight Sara for all of her money. Surprisingly to all in Springfield, although none more than Dr. Joe Werner, Sara soon married Lee and, through, until the end of the decade, sure enough Miss Mildred Foss and Sara's first husband, Lee Gantry, were gaslighting Dr. Sara McIntyre by trying to make her think she was going insane. Lee and Miss Foss first started their gaslighting by changing appointments in Sara's appointment book. They also created noises in Lee's house's attic, that they claimed were squirrels on the roof. Then they started their work on her checkbook. When Lee took Sara on another trip to England, in the summer of 1969, with Miss Foss going with them, Miss Foss set up quite a scare for Sara by not introducing her to the country estate's groundskeeper, Tyler Meade, who could be quite a scary presence with his well built soccer player style form. Sara wasn't sure what to make of Tyler who was peeking into rooms, at the estate house, from outside, but it did make her scared out of her wits for several weeks. (It didn't help matters that Miss Mildred Foss and Tyler Meade were former lovers.) And when Sara got back home to Springfield, things got worse when she consulted another psychiatrist for anxiety and was prescribed medication that Miss Mildred Foss tampered with. Sara soon bought a gun, and Joe was very disconcerted, so much so that he sought out the advice of, and hopefully investigative work of, Springfield police Lieutenant Pete Stassen, who did a preliminary investigation but was convinced nothing was wrong and thought Joe was just being a nuisance, since Lt. Stassen's wife, Judy, had been one of Joe's past lovers. Frustrated by the lack of help from Lt. Pete Stassen, and getting a clue over the phone from his former lover, Cindy Gardner who turned out knew Miss Mildred Foss, Joe went back to England and discovered from one of Cindy and Mildred's shared former lovers, Dusty McGuire, that Miss Foss had previously been fired by Lee Gantry. Something bad was about to happen at Lee Gantry's house, and it would involve Sara. In March 1969, Ed's alcoholism finally caught up to him, when Leslie asked him to move out and gave him an ultimatum to either get sober or get a divorce! Ed ended up moving back in with Bill and Bert, but even a now sober Bill couldn't reason with Ed to go to AA and get sober. Shortly afterward, in April 1969, he was involved in a traffic accident that caused one of Sara's pregnant patients, Margie Wexler, who was driving the car Ed hit, to have a miscarriage and lose her and her husband, Peter Wexler's child. Peter Wexler was an attorney who was working with Mike Bauer in their law practice and had to later, in December 1969, watch as Margie would commit suicide due to the miscarriage and how busy Sara was dealing with Lee Gantry and Miss Mildred Foss. Ed didn't help matters any, by originally leaving the scene of the accident and originally resisting arrest by Springfield police Lt. Wally Campbell and Springfield police Sgt. DeMarco. Mike and Bill would post bail for Ed, but then Mike and Bill got more of a surprise when Ed would end up skipping town telling himself he couldn't face any of his family or his wife any longer. In July 1969, Bill took a plane trip for work to Alaska, and the plane crashed. Bill was then presumed dead. Sara again tried to console emotionally her friend, Bert, who was also dealing with the missing Ed. Mike and Leslie's romantic relationship went into a state of limbo as no one had any clue where Ed had gone, too. Hope, though, was hoping that Leslie would soon be her new stepmother because she really liked Leslie. During this time, Mike Bauer started to hang around Charlotte and in waiting for Leslie to reconcile how she felt about Ed, developed romantic feelings towards Charlotte. Although Charlotte was still considered by many in town the town pariah, Mike was much more lenient towards her, for Charlotte had been the one who would turn over evidence to Mike Bauer that would exonerate Peggy, by seducing Flip Malone. Charlotte, though, was still not over her feelings for Dr. Joe Werner, and Joe over his for Sara. This and Ed being missing, left an impasse over relationships for Mike, Leslie, Charlotte and Joe heading into the end of 1969 and the beginning of 1970. To field out how she felt about Joe, Charlotte was able to get a job as vice administrator of Cedars, which made more than a few people very unhappy. Before the end of 1969, Mike proposed marriage to Charlotte, but Hope was still hoping for Leslie to be her new stepmother. Hope told Bert that Charlotte would be bad news for her father, and Bert agreed with her granddaughter about the woman. Also in 1969, the rich businessman Stanley Norris was introduced. Stanley was divorced from his first wife, cookbook writer Barbara. Barbara was left alone to raise their three children, Kenneth ("Ken"), Andrew ("Andy") (who was listed as fighting in the Vietnam War), and Holly. Stanley would soon divorce his second wife, Katherine "Kit" Vestid, a Cedars volunteer, when she found out that he was carrying on affairs with several other women. One of those women was Deborah Herbert Mehren, who was the wife of one of Stanley's employees, Gilbert "Gil" Mehren. (Gil and Deborah Mehren were the second major African-American married couple seen on The Guiding Light played by David Pendleton and Olivia Cole.) Kit herself ended up having an affair with her stepson, Ken, who was an attorney who eventually went into practice with Mike. Kit also found herself falling for Dr. Joe Werner, despite befriending Charlotte Waring, who was also Kit's boss at Cedars. In September 1969, a sober, going to AA, Ed surfaced in nearby Clayton, working at Hastings Electrical Supply as the company's doctor, and got involved with the company's secretary, Janet Mason, from the nearby town of Tarrywood. Ed didn't know while in Clayton, that Bill had been declared dead in the Alaska plane crash and wouldn't learn of this until December 1969. Janet's father, Colonel Grove Mason, was the manager of Hasting Electrical Supply and therefore Ed and Janet's boss there. At first Grove was not happy to see his daughter involved with Ed. Ellen at first was also not happy with Janet's involvement with Ed, and then Janet also contacted, via phone, a friend of hers in Springfield named Debra Mehren (yes, that Debra Mehren), who told Janet she was aware of Ed and some of his romantic past (as well as his alcoholic past—although she didn't tell Janet that) and warned her cryptically to be on guard about starting a romance with Ed. But although Janet was warned she eventually had her defenses worn down and decided to take the romantic plunge into a deep romance with Ed. Ellen also came around quickly and realized how much of a great young man Ed was, and thought he was perfect for her daughter. Janet and her mother Ellen worked on Grove to change his mind, on the subject, and after a work accident where Ed saved many lives, Grove changed his mind. But Grove would be a bit concerned when he found out why Ed was returning to Springfield in December 1969. (Ed also wanted to find out if his wife Leslie wanted him back, Ed alluded to this to the Masons, but didn't tell them everything before he left.) ===== As the new year of 1970 began, what Dr. Sara McIntyre Gantry was experiencing at her husband Lee Gantry's farmhouse would start out the new decade with a bang, literally. The sounds that Sara continued to hear up on the roof continued with Lee and Miss Mildred Foss continuing to chalk them up to squirrels on the roof. One night in January 1970 with there being a lot of thunderstorms, while Lee was out of town, the sounds on the roof were particularly frightening to Sara and so she decided to go upstairs to the attic to investigate taking her gun with her. When Sara walked into the attic she saw a shadowy figure by the bay window and took a shot at it. The figure fell, and when Sara approached it, it ended up being the dead body of Miss Mildred Foss! Fortunately for Sara, the District Attorney's office ruled the incident an accident and dismissed any charges against Sara. But that didn't mean things with Sara at the farmhouse were copacetic, because Lee Gantry was still after her money and continued alone the gaslighting actions set in motion by him and Miss Mildred Foss a year earlier on his own. Sara spent a brief amount of time "resting" in the mental ward at Cedars where her former boyfriend, Dr. Paul Fletcher was still sympathetic, but thought Sara was blowing things out of proportion that were going on at the farmhouse. But Dr. Joe Werner continued to expect otherwise. Although Joe was fighting off the attentions of both Charlotte Waring and Kit Vestid at this time, Joe's main romantic interest remained the married Sara Gantry. With that romantic interest of Joe's and Sara's continuing problems at the farmhouse, enter the returning Meta Bauer Banning who told Joe she remembered visiting, as a child, Lee's first wife, Alice Rawlings' rambling family estate just outside Springfield, Meta recalled playing games at the farm as a child with Alice. Joe also enlisted Mike Bauer to help investigate the strange going on's at the farm and was able to poke some holes into some of lies that Lee was telling regarding Sara enough where Joe informed a disbelieving Sara that, "Lee Gantry married you for your money." But Joe found out he needed to do a little more investigating in England at the Rawlings estate there and when he went in July 1970 to do so, he wasn't disappointed to discover more evidence that Lee was up to no good as both Miss Mildred Foss' boyfriend Tyler Meade and another English private detective Dusty McGuire (James Donnelly) both informed Joe that there had long been suspicions about Lee and that he murdered Alice, just because of him moving the English estate house over to the farm outside of Springfield. On the August 1970 day that Joe returned to Springfield, Sara remembered Meta mentioning one of the games she used to play with Alice revealed to Meta a loose brick in the chimney in the farmhouse barn that Lee had transferred into the new architect of the house, itself. Sara went up to the attic to investigate and sure enough found the loose brick and found behind it Alice's diary that came open and Sara found that Alice had written about her suspicions about Lee. At that moment Lee came home and discovered Sara upstairs reading the diary and tried to murder Sara with one of loose floor boards knocking her out and leaving her for dead, fortunately Joe showed up and accessing the situation fought with Lee nearly losing when Lee started to choke him. Joe fought Lee off and pushed him hard backwards that made Lee going flying and then falling out of the glass of the bay window and three stories to his death! After Sara recovered at Cedars from her injuries, Sara was indeed grateful to Joe for saving her life and Joe was also exonerated in the death of Lee with it being ruled an accident and self-defense. And despite Kit and Charlotte wishing otherwise on New Year's Eve 1970 (December 31, 1970), Sara and Joe were married. Nurse Leslie Jackson Bauer's marriage to Stanley Norris ended up being a somewhat not very funny joke, as Leslie attended to her and Ed's new son Frederick "Freddy" (later Rick) and Stanley continued to have affairs all over town. Then in September 1971, Stanley Norris was found in his office shot to death. There were many suspects to the murder in Springfield, as many people were identified as having threatened him. But put on trial for the murder of Stanley was his third wife, Leslie, who was discovered by an employee of Stanley's over his dead body. (Charles Eiler also told the police that while he was walking his dog out in the rain, he saw Leslie running through the park in the pouring rain, earlier that evening, crying and shouting, "I could kill that man!") Mike Bauer would defend Leslie (as he had Peggy almost two years earlier). In the end, Marion Conway would confess to shooting Stanley because she was deeply troubled that her daughter, Linell had fantasies about her boss, Stanley, divorcing Leslie and marrying her. Stanley treated Linell like garbage. After Marion's eleventh-hour confession, she would suffer a heart attack and die in the courtroom. After Leslie was acquitted of Norris' murder, Linell left Springfield to make a fresh start. Through all of this, Mike's marriage to Charlotte continued to go down hill as all the stories that Mike was hearing from Hope and Bert about Charlotte being an awful stepmother to Hope were revealed to Mike to be true. During Leslie's trial, Charlotte also could tell that Mike was still very much in love with Leslie and Mike made no attempt to hide his true feelings for Leslie and that he wanted to divorce Charlotte and marry Leslie. But Charlotte was going to have none of that, she was growing accustomed to the life style of being a lawyer's wife. Charlotte became so jealous of Leslie and resentful of Mike's time with her, that she threw Mike's law books out in the pouring rain. And then she attempted to become pregnant by Mike. Unfortunately another party soon came into the picture, in the summer of 1972, Flip Malone escaped prison and then kidnapped Charlotte who had just told Bert that she was pregnant. Bert and Papa were angered by Mike when they found out that he and Leslie had started back up their affair, and Bert forced Mike's hand that he needed to go and rescue Charlotte, which he did. Unfortunately while Flip Malone was holding her hostage, Charlotte had a miscarriage and lost the child (Flip ended up dead in a shoot out with Mike.) Mike and Leslie looked like they were going to be able to get married anyway, until unfortunately, for them, Charlotte picked up a very interesting new ally in her quest to stay married to Mike, Dr. Steve Jackson, who told Mike he better not cause a scandal for his daughter by divorcing Charlotte who had just suffered a miscarriage. Mike and Leslie were forced to wait when Steve exhibited signs of having another heart attack. Charlotte then claimed she was pregnant, again, but was really not and the court, in winter of 1973, granted Mike a divorce from Charlotte. But for a while, Steve still thought that Charlotte might be pregnant and kept up that he was not going to let Mike and Leslie marry. Eventually though Steve gave-in and in the late spring of 1973, Mike and Leslie were finally wed. Although Johnny Fletcher was a good husband to Peggy and a good stepfather to Billy, Peggy and Johnny Fletcher's marriage hit the skids when he started to become overworked at Cedars with everyone telling Peggy that Johnny's work, as a doctor, was becoming erratic. (Peggy was surprised when she was confronted on that issue by a trio of Sara, her old nemesis Charlotte Waring Bauer and Dr. Steve Jackson.) Peggy was at wit ends, as Johnny became even more mentally unbalanced. Then in December 1972, Johnny just up and left town for parts unknown. For a long time Peggy had no idea what to do, to go ahead and have the marriage annulled or declare Johnny legally dead? For a while, Peggy just had to become the best both father and mother to Billy and work at Cedars as a nurse the best she could. Although they deeply loved each other, Sara and Joe's marriage became strained and Joe began having an affair with Sara's nemesis Charlotte Waring. Joe soon confessed the affair to Sara, but in the meantime, in August 1973, Charlotte was rushed to Cedars after suffering an apparent heart attack. Joe tried to save her life, but she did not pull through, and he was blamed for her death, which caused Cedars to deny him privileges and he was fired as a doctor which catapulted him into a self-destructive affair with the unstable Kit Vested, who'd had an obsession with Joe for some time. Joe made plans with Kit to leave Springfield. It would later come out that Kit had caused Charlotte's death by poisoning her tea, and, in an attempt to get her out of the way so she could be with Joe, she later poisoned Sara, poisoning her coffee. Fortunately, Joe learned of Kit's plans at the airport and was able to make it to Sara to get her to the hospital in time. Unfortunately Joe discovered that Kit was still in the house and Kit pointed a gun at Sara's head. Joe tried to talk Kit into giving him the gun, but they ended up in a struggle for the gun. During the struggle Kit was shot dead instead in April 1974, and Joe was shot and injured. When it was revealed to all that Kit had killed Charlotte, Joe was exonerated of Charlotte's death and was reinstated at Cedars. After Kit's death, Sara and Joe tried to resume their relationship, adopting a son, Timothy "T.J.". But Joe had a developed a heart condition, due to his being shot by Kit, and eventually had a heart attack in December 1976, while in India, and Sara was once again a widow. Papa Bauer died in his sleep in February 1973, a few months after Goetz died in December 1972. Religious matters gave way to cementing the bonds of family. In the 1970s, Bert Bauer's two sons fought over the lovely Leslie. Although Leslie loved Ed, her marriage to him didn't work, due to his alcoholism, and she became involved with his brother Mike. When things seemed to have finally resolved and she was happy with Mike, Leslie was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident in June 1976, leaving behind her and Ed's young son Freddie (known in later years as "Rick"). Mike and Leslie had overall an idyllic marriage (with the only two problems, besides Leslie's being put on trial falsely for Stanley's murder, being that Leslie would find out that Roy Mill's and not Dr. Steve Jackson was her biological father, and Mike being somewhat unsatisfied with Leslie wanting to better herself education wise). However, the lives of Ed, and Barbara and Stanley's children, Ken and Holly, took some rather interesting twists and turns. In December 1969, Ed had returned to Springfield after having learned of his father's presumed death in a plane crash, and Janet soon followed. Unfortunately, Janet was to learn that Ed was still in love with Leslie. Then Janet's father, Grove Mason also showed up in Springfield. When Grove discovered that Ed had been unfaithful to Leslie with his daughter, Grove confronted Ed at Cedars hospital and collapsed and died from a heart attack. Leslie would then grant Ed a divorce and married, first Stanley and later, Mike. Ed would be pursued by several women, but Janet cooled things off, still upset about her father's death. For a while, Ken Norris started a relationship with his former stepmother, Kit Vestid, but later would be attracted to the now available Janet Mason. It was a shock when Ken, who was Mike Bauer's law partner, ended up marrying Janet, because Ken was known to be somewhat mentally unstable. Janet seemed to love the man despite this knowledge. Meanwhile, Holly ended up in Cedars after nearly being run into by a car, and Ed became her physician. After having a series of uneventful relationships, the now 30-year-old Ed was wowed by Holly and, in late 1973, agreed to go to Las Vegas with her. Holly, not realizing that Ed was an alcoholic, got him drunk and then married him. When Holly and Ed returned to Springfield everyone was also shocked, none more than Ed's aunt Meta, who vehemently took a dislike to Holly. Meta's third husband Bruce Banning and Bert tried to tell Meta to not interfere, but Holly heard what Meta felt about her and was concerned that Ed might leave her at any moment. For his part, Ed, who felt somewhat remorseful over how he'd treated Leslie during their marriage, resolved to make his marriage to Holly work, despite the circumstances of their union. Janet found out that her mother, Ellen Mason had become an alcoholic after her husband's death. Janet asked Ed to help get her mother into Alcoholics Anonymous, and Ken seeing the two of them together started to become pathologically and violently jealous. While Kit was going after Joe and Sara Werner, Ken started to become violent with Janet, forcing her to have sex with him so she would get pregnant, which she did. She gave birth to a daughter named Emily. After the birth of Emily, Ellen started to go to AA, Janet developed back problems due to the difficult delivery of Emily, and Ken started to seem more mentally stable after Janet forced Ken to see a psychiatrist. Then he truly became loving and devoted to both Janet and Emily. But one evening when Ellen had an alcoholic relapse, Ken caught Janet and Ed talking privately to each other and Ken became even more jealous and stopped going to see his psychiatrist and stopped taking his medications. Ken did not tell Janet or his partner Mike about this. A few evenings later, while he and Janet were out on a date, Ken drove the car into a tree. Ken and Janet were taken to Cedars emergency room, and although bruised Janet seemed fine, Ken appeared to be blind. But none of the doctors could see any reason for Ken's blindness. Of course, Ken was faking his blindness. When Janet desperately started clinging more closely to Ed, Ken became even more jealous. Ken also talked his then pregnant sister, Holly, into believing the worst about Ed and Janet's renewed closeness, with their mother Barbara scolding both of them about how they were treating their spouses. Although Holly seemed to agree with her mother, secretly Ken did not. Then one evening, in April 1975, things came to ahead when Ken (who had secretly bought a revolver) went to Holly and Ed's house and waited outside in the bushes in front of the house. When Ed came home with Janet, Ken came out of the bushes and shot Ed in his right hand. Ed was taken to Cedars, and it would be learned that he could no longer perform surgery with his right hand. Ken was taken to a mental hospital and would not be seen again until 1998. Janet left town with Emily and Ellen, and relocated to San Francisco, although from time to time throughout the remainder of the 1970s, Barbara was said to be visiting them. Emily and Ellen remained living in San Diego with Ellen dying in 1995 prior to Barbara Norris returning to Springfield. Ken Norris was said to be living near his daughter Emily in 1999 after he too left Springfield again. After Joe Werner's untimely death in December 1976, Sara started dating Joe's former cardiologist Justin Marler, but decided to take things more slowly when Justin's first wife, the former Jacqueline "Jackie" Scott showed up in town and Sara could tell there was still feelings between Justin and Jackie despite protesting to the contrary. Jackie also started a dalliance with the now available Mike Bauer after she hired him as her attorney. Although Mike would later break up with Jackie partly because Mike thought Jackie was too wild for his taste. Sara would ultimately end things with Justin in 1977, when she learned that he'd had a one-night stand with an ex-girlfriend, Brandy Shelloe, a writer visiting Springfield to gather information for an article she was working on. In November 1977, Alan Spaulding arrived at the long vacated Spaulding summer estate with his emotionally distant wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth doted on young Phillip, whom she believed to be her son. In reality, her baby had been stillborn, and Alan had obtained Phillip from an unknown woman. That woman would turn out to be none other than, Jackie Marler! Although Jackie was still in love with Justin Marler, she married Alan after he and Elizabeth divorced in 1978 to make sure she was close to her son. (Justin had no idea he was a father; Alan had no idea Jackie was Phillip's mother.) Through all of this, Alan also carried on an affair with hard-boiled Diane Ballard. Originally Phillip's governess, Elizabeth fired Diane when she sensed inappropriate interactions between her and Alan; almost immediately, Alan then hired her as his personal assistant at Spaulding Enterprises. Diane, a sometime vindictive but shrewd businesswoman, harbored fantasies of being the next Mrs. Spaulding, but would continually be let down when Alan married two other women. Also brought to town for a while was Alan's personal attorney, the smooth talking Dean Blackford. Dean met the widowed Dr. Sara McIntyre, whom he romanced and married in Hawaii. Sara had attempted to romance Justin, but Justin was in over his head dealing with trashy journalist Brandy Shelloe, who had broken up his and Jackie's marriage eight years earlier. Mike Bauer tried to warn Sara that Dean was a shady character, and indeed Dean was. He tried to win sole custody of Phillip for Alan by paying off a man named Ramon de Vilar to falsely testify that Elizabeth had had an affair with him. This ploy did work for a while, and Alan was awarded sole custody after he married Jackie. Later it would be learned that Dean would have kept the de Vilar affidavits, that de Vilar had lied in court, and Dean would start being threatened. De Vilar threatened Dean that he'd admit that he had perjured himself, and Alan told Dean to deal with it as Dean saw fit. Dean then ended up shooting and killing de Vilar. Sara started having suspicions about her third husband, and Dean tried to do away with her on their honeymoon in January 1979, but Mike showed up and Dean ended falling to his death from a cliff. Elizabeth fell in love with Mike Bauer. However, she ultimately could not marry him because, thanks to Alan, Phillip blamed Mike for his parents' breakup and hated him as a result. In September 1975 a new nurse, Rita Stapleton, arrived in Springfield and began working at Cedars. Beautiful, but a bit of a social climber, Rita came from a modest upbringing in West Virginia, but was motivated to make a better life for herself. She briefly dated hotshot surgeon Tim Ryan, but didn't pursue a relationship with him, when she realized how much her friend and coworker, Cedars employee and unwed mother Pam Chandler loved him (and she even went so far as to push Tim in Pam's direction). Soon after breaking things off with Tim, Rita caught the eye of the recently separated Dr. Ed Bauer. On the rebound from neurotic Holly Norris, and depressed over his inability to perform surgery due to his hand injury, Ed had begun drinking heavily again, but he became infatuated with Rita, and was able to become sober with her help. Rita also apparently had a secret romantic past with Ed's nemesis, Roger Thorpe. Pam Chandler left Springfield, in the summer of 1976, after her former boyfriend and the father of her daughter returned to her. Tim was left without another fall back to Rita for love and pressured her to marry him. But despite her past with Roger and Tim's pressure, Rita had one man on her mind, Ed! And Ed, getting closer to divorcing Holly, was definitely willing to pursue Rita. Ed and Rita became even closer when Rita's younger sister Eve arrived in Springfield with their elderly mother Viola, who'd just suffered a stroke. Eve for a while ended up being wooed by Tim Ryan, until Eve found out that he and Rita had earlier been involved and for a few months, and blamed Rita when Tim left her and left town. Ed recruited stroke specialist Dr. Emmett Scott (Jackie Marler's father), and the two were able to help Viola make a complete recovery, and she and Eve decided to remain in Springfield. Unfortunately for Rita, a newly reformed Holly started to realize her mistakes in letting Ed and their marriage get away from her. But the divorce decree, with Holly's signature, from Mike and Holly's lawyer was about to hit Ed's desk at Cedars and Holly made one more phone call attempt at getting Ed back. But Rita discovered the phone message left in his apartment, by Holly, for Ed and ended up throwing the tape out into the garbage with Ed never hearing the message (Barbara would suspect that Rita did this and would continue to hold a grudge against Rita for the rest of the time the two were on the show.) During this time, 1975–76, Hope came back to town all grown-up and a somewhat naive college student. While at college in nearby Bay City, Hope had developed a relationship with one of her professors, Alex McDaniels. Mike was livid when he found out that Professor McDaniels was married! Bert tried to tell her son not to get involved in her granddaughter's love-life (as she had done with his in the previous decade), but Mike refused to listen. Eventually Mike went to San Francisco to confront McDaniels, and he showed up in Springfield to dump a confused and angry at her father when she found out why, Hope. Hope even moved out on Mike and Leslie and found her own apartment and a job at Roger Thorpe's night club, The Metro. A little later in 1976, Hope became infatuated with artist Ben McFarren who originally dated Pam Chandler, before she left town (Pam had also worked at The Metro when Sara had to let her go due to the rough economy. Pam told Ben she didn't feel any love for him as she did Tim Ryan.) When Hope told Mike she was over Alex McDaniels and was now seeing a much better man, Mike was happy and relieved, at first. Then Mike found out who the young man was, Ben McFarren, who Mike had defended in a robbery at a Deli several months earlier! Mike was now livid, and tried to get Hope to stop seeing this troubled young man. Although at first hesitant, Ben who was still paying restitution for the robbery, told Mike it was his younger brother Jerry who he was covering for and had actually committed the robbery. Mike then started to respect Ben for being willing to help his younger brother, as Mike had done for Ed on several occasions. But then Ben wanted Hope to pose in the nude, and Mike and Hope were both disturbed by this. Hope refused to do so, but then found one of Ben's painting was a nude of her, that Ben had painted from memory. This time, it was Mike who tried to tell Hope to have patience for Ben, but Hope refused to listen and dumped Ben and then decided to leave town to attend a design school. Ed asked Rita to marry him, but on the same day he proposed she was arrested and charged with murder. Rita, as it turned out, had a sordid past with bad boy Roger Thorpe which, unfortunately for her, came out during her ensuing murder trial. Rita was accused of murdering Cyrus Granger, an elderly rich rancher from Waco, Texas, for whom she'd worked as a private duty nurse a year earlier, as well as his son Malcolm Granger, who'd followed Rita to Springfield, and was admitted to Cedars after suffering a heart attack, where he later died under mysterious circumstances. During the lengthy trial, it was revealed that Rita could not have murdered Cyrus, as she was engaged in a sexual tryst with Roger at the time; with a solid alibi and no motive for wanting Malcolm dead, the jury also found her not guilty of his murder. The events taking place in Waco happened off-camera in 1974 and early 1975, prior to Rita's arrival in Springfield, and during a three-month-long period where Zaslow was absent from the show, so the story was told largely in flashbacks. Rita was exonerated, but at the cost of her budding relationship with Ed, who already hated Roger for his affair with Holly during their brief marriage. (Roger was, in fact the biological father of the child Holly had while married to Ed, Christina, who was born in July 1975; the truth about this came out when Chrissy needed a blood transfusion and Holly couldn't provide it because she had had hepatitis as a child. Roger had also at one point attempted to rape Holly's sister-in-law, Janet Mason Norris). On the rebound from Ed, Rita briefly dated Dr. Peter Chapman, but things did not progress when she realized that he was much more attracted to her nemesis Holly Norris Bauer. For a time, Rita was a subject of a stalker who pushed her down a flight of stairs, tampered with her brakes and set her apartment on fire (while her blind sister Eve was inside; she barely escaped). The stalker turned out to be Cyrus' mentally deranged daughter-in-law, Georgene Belmont Granger, who, regardless of the verdict, still blamed Rita for the deaths of her father-in-law, and her husband. While holding Rita and Eve at gunpoint in their apartment building laundry room in March 1978, Georgene would confess to being the real murderer of Cyrus, as well as being responsible for her husband Malcolm's death. Georgene had killed Cyrus for fear that he would change his will to leave the bulk of his fortune to Rita, unaware that he had, in fact, already done so; her husband Malcolm, admitted to Cedars following a heart attack in late 1976, died as result of a second, fatal heart attack, suffered in the midst of an argument with Georgene (who'd secretly followed him to Springfield), in which she incorrectly accused him of having had an affair with Rita. Ed and Springfield Police Chief Larry Wyatt were hiding outside the laundry room and overheard the confession, and so were able to overtake Georgene. She was arrested and Rita was then finally able to put the ordeal behind her. (Wanting no further connection to the Grangers, Rita donated the inheritance left to her by Cyrus to Cedars for construction of their proposed new pediatric wing.) Around the same time, a strange man started appearing around Springfield, following various members of the Bauer family around. A short while later, it was revealed that he was the father of Hillary Kincaid, a student nurse who'd recently moved to Springfield to do her internship at Cedars. However, Hillary became mystified when her father refused to meet any of her friends or colleagues from Cedars (particularly Ed and Rita). Shortly after this, Mike was honored as Man of the Year by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Rita attended the ceremony, but decided to watch from backstage so as not to run into Ed (from whom she was still estranged), and from where she was standing, she saw this same man, tearful, watching Mike receive his honor. Remembering having seen him around town, Rita followed him out and demanded to know who he was and what he was doing in Springfield. The man, "Bill Morrey", confessed to Rita that he was, in fact, Bill Bauer, Ed and Mike's presumed- dead father. He explained that during his last few years with Bert, he had also been having an affair with another woman, Simone Kincaid, in Vancouver. Although the plane he was to have been on eight years earlier had indeed crashed, Bill had actually missed the flight. In a drunken stupor, and tortured over his double life, he did not contact Bert to tell her he was alive; eventually he made his way to Simone, who got him sober, and he had remained with her ever since. Eventually he did reveal himself, first to Mike and then to Ed and then to Bert. Although he did not remain in Springfield, he was able to make peace with the Bauers. Ed and Mike also accepted Hillary as their half-sister. Bert, though, had to pay back the expenses on the life insurance payout that had happened back in 1969 when Bill had been thought of as dying in the plane crash. Roger Thorpe had been on the show and in a self- destructive relationship with Holly since 1971, but only when the Dobsons arrived did the character become truly malevolent. The meaner he got, the more popular he became with viewers. For a while, though, Roger seemed to be an upstanding citizen and even became involved with Peggy. Roger eventually even made Peggy see that it was time to have Johnny Fletcher declared legally dead. But during this time, in 1974, not everything was rosy for Peggy and Roger. Roger decided to open up a night club, The Metro, but borrowed heavily from loan sharks. Eventually he took back up with Holly, who he had been involved with off and on since his arrival on April 1, 1971. And Holly ended up bailing him out with the loan sharks (paying off the loan), after Roger was beaten-up and was afraid to go to Peggy. Holly and Roger ended up having an affair while she was married to Ed (who didn't know that he and Holly had never consummated their marriage, because he had been too drunk the night of their honeymoon and then too busy to be with her.) Holly, of course, found out she was pregnant with Chrissy and then lied to everyone that she was Ed's child (of course that would all come out after Chrissy needed a blood transfusion when she came down with hepatitis.) During all of this, Roger never told Peggy about the affair with Holly or about Chrissy. But out of a sense of guilt, not wanting to hurt Peggy or Billy, he told her anyway and then she told Ed! That is what led up to Ed and Holly's divorce. Peggy for a while kept her distance from Roger, but after Adam and Roger talked to her, she gave in and agreed to marry him with them marrying in the spring of 1976 with only Adam and Bert in attendance. Adam and Barbara's marriage though suffered through all of this, and they ended up getting a divorce when Barbara's "migraines" became too much and she blurted how angry she was at Roger and as to why (Chrissy's true parentage that Adam didn't know about up to that point.) During Rita Stapleton's trial and just before Roger made his last minute confession of their one-night stand in Waco, Roger found out that Jerry McFarren, who he had briefly hired at The Metro, had taken out his own loan against The Metro and needed to pay off loan sharks. When Jerry skipped town to let his older brother Ben take the blame in a robbery at a Deli, Roger was left to deal with loan sharks and came home to Peggy and Billy beaten up. Then Roger started to become verbally abusive to Peggy. And then when it came out about the one-night stand (Peggy expressed she could feel sympathy for Rita who was going through a similar ordeal in her trial as Peggy had eight years earlier), Peggy finally told Roger that their marriage was over! Peggy took Billy to live in Boise, Idaho. (Although in November 1977, Peggy returned to town, but left Billy in a Boise boarding school. Peggy would remain in town and working at Cedars until November 1979, but had very little interaction with Roger, and mainly was a support to all of her friends at Cedars. Peggy would end up moving back to Boise, Idaho and living with Billy.) Roger took up briefly with Hillary Kincaid Bauer, who was still vulnerable from having learned of her father's double life. Rita, who had grown close to Hillary and felt protective of her, saw that Roger was merely seeing Hillary to get to Ed and Mike (since she had been revealed to be their half-sister). On October 9, 1978, Rita confronted Roger about his misguided relationship with Hillary. Roger became enraged, blaming Rita for his own failed marriage to Peggy (due to his providing Rita an alibi during her murder trial) and raped Rita. By this time, she had patched things up with Ed and they were engaged. Rita, afraid to tell Ed for fear that he wouldn't believe her (given her and Roger's history), remained silent and they were married in November 1978. Roger also was involved with Dean Blackford, after Roger discovered the de Vilar affidavits. Dean tried to run down Roger with his car, in the Spaulding garage, but Dean didn't succeed. After Dean died, Roger stole the affidavits and would blackmail his then-boss, Alan, with them. Roger also bought a revolver, for protection, and stayed briefly in Katie and Hillary's apartment to investigate the hit-and-run (Roger assumed it was Rita wanting revenge for the rape, until he stumbled upon evidence pointing to Dean), until he wooed Holly into marrying him. (This would cause Hillary to break-up with Roger, despite the fact at the time she was working briefly at Spaulding Enterprises and had to continue to see him at work.) Holly would get mad at Roger for having a gun in the house, and Roger took it and put it in his desk drawer at Spaulding Enterprises. Zaslow was unhappy with his earlier rape scenes with Rita, which he felt came across as a seduction. The Dobsons crafted a full-fledged marital rape (at the time this was not considered a crime) in a March 1979 episode involving Roger and Holly who had married in January 1979. This rape scene was a counterattack against rival network NBC's soap opera Another World, whose much ballyhooed expansion to 90-minute telecasts (complete with the death of a major character) happened that same day. Holly bravely took Roger to court, but Justin's sleazy lawyer brother Ross, hired by Alan, got Roger acquitted. (Ross would quickly reform and became a core character, remaining on the show for the next twenty-five years.) In June 1979, when it looked as though Roger was going to be acquitted, Rita could no longer bear the guilt and came forward to confess to Ed that Roger had also raped her. Upon learning of Rita's rape, Ed angrily stormed off to confront Roger in his office at Spaulding. Meanwhile, as this was happening, Holly learned that Roger had told Chrissy (within earshot of Barbara) that he planned to take her out of the country, and also headed to Roger's office at Spaulding, walking in on Ed and Roger engaged in a fist fight. Holly pulled the gun out of Roger's desk and pointed it at Roger telling him to "Stop!" Afraid that he would be acquitted and terrified that he would take their daughter Christina out of the country, and also flashing back to the rape, Holly shot Roger three times! (The sequence of events of the shooting was the first set of scenes that were submitted that would help the show win its first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Drama in May 1980.) Roger was taken to Cedars, and then taken by Alan to a specialist out of the country and was declared legally dead. Holly was convicted, despite the extenuating circumstances and sent to prison (she'd had flashed back to the rape). While Holly was in prison, Ed and Rita raised Christina. Rita felt an enormous sense of guilt at not having come forward when Roger raped her, and felt that Ed also blamed her for Holly's troubles. To make matters worse, Ed seemed to be more concerned for Holly, and later Elaine "Lainie" Marler, Justin and Ross' younger sister (who had been a victim of a hit-and-run while training for a marathon), making Rita feel all the more neglected. She started having an affair with a former boyfriend from high school, Dr. Greg Fairbanks, who had just relocated to Springfield. Fairbanks was also dating Rita's younger sister Eve at the time, though neither sister initially knew that he was seeing the other. (Eve had just divorced her husband, artist Ben McFarren.) When Rita later found out she was pregnant, she wasn't sure if the baby was Ed's or Greg's; she initially planned to abort the pregnancy, but after discussing her situation with her mother, Viola (who offered to raise the baby herself, if Rita would go through with the pregnancy), she decided to have the baby. Shortly before Christmas 1979, Holly was released from prison when Sara and Mike showed the court that Holly had indeed flashed back to the rape the day she shot and "killed" Roger and Roger's "body" was exhumed and it turned out not to be Roger in the grave. Roger was very much alive and moved to Paris, France trying to get a woman doctor named Renee DuBois to give him, going by the name of Arthur Green, a face lift. (Renee gave him only surface face changes, realizing that Arthur Green was a suspicious character.) Then in February 1980, Roger attempted to abduct Christina from a charity carnival for Cedars at a nearby park, but instead, in an Emmy-winning sequence (the second set of scenes submitted), circumstances led to his chasing a pregnant Rita through a hall-of-mirrors as the Donna Summer/Barbra Streisand hit "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" played in the background. Roger kidnapped Rita, holding her captive in the Bauer cabin for several days. When in haste to escape Mike and Ed who were closing in, he knocked over a kerosene lantern, setting the cabin on fire. Ed and Mike were able to rescue Rita, but the baby did not survive the ordeal. (The baby would turn out to be a boy and be Ed's son—not Greg's as Rita had feared.) Kasdorf was also pregnant in real life at the time and later said that she found the emotional scenes were tough to play; the actress would take several months of maternity leave shortly after filming the miscarriage scenes. (It was explained that Rita returned with her mother, Viola, for a visit to West Virginia.) Roger would later attempt to kidnap Christina, in Santo Domingo but ended up kidnapping Holly, leading her into the Island of Lost Soul's jungle with Ed and Mike in pursuit. Roger would also be responsible for the death of Dr. Renee DuBois, who had arrived in town to testify at some future point that Arthur Green was indeed Roger. Renee in her short time in Springfield developed romantic feelings for Mike Bauer (he did as well back), but one evening Roger entered her hotel room and shocked her. As a scared Renee was backing out away from him she ended up falling backwards to her death, dying in Mike's arms. The Bauers' and the Spauldings' lives grew ever-more complicated as Alan married Mike's daughter Hope, against the wishes of her father. (Mike still resented Alan for sabotaging his relationship with ex-wife Elizabeth Spaulding, by poisoning his son Philip against Mike, and also because he felt certain that Alan was involved in criminal activity, possibly working with Roger.) Upon Rita's return to Springfield during the summer of 1980, she and Ed tried to resume their marriage, but were forced to admit that they'd grown too far apart; Rita and Alan became close during this time, and eventually, their relationship evolved into an ongoing affair (despite the fact that Rita was, by marriage, Hope's aunt). When the affair finally was exposed by blackmailer Andy Norris in June 1981, Rita left town for good. In 1977, the character Nurse Katie Parker was introduced around the same time that Roger's first wife (and longtime Bauer friend) Nurse Peggy Scott Dilman Fletcher Thorpe (still played by Fran Myers) left town with her teenage son Billy Fletcher, after learning about the tryst Roger had had with Rita. (Peggy and Myers though did make a return to the show from November 1978 to November 1979 when she came for Ed and Rita's wedding and stayed on staff at Cedars while others were busy with several other activities.) Kind natured, though somewhat insecure and weight-conscious, Katie became roommates with Hillary Bauer and, for a time, struck up a romance with Dr. Mark Hamilton who kept putting off marrying Katie. Hillary was also not bereft of suitors after her nasty break up with Roger Thorpe. Katie's rough-edged younger brother, Floyd Parker, showed up on Katie and Hillary's doorstep in March 1979 and took an instant shine to Hillary. Hillary though found Floyd not to be to her liking and still felt gun shy to get involved in relationship post her break-up with Roger. Floyd also found himself falling for Justin and Ross' younger sister, Lainie Marler, who had to learn to walk again (let alone run track and field as she had done before) after being run into by a van. Lainie briefly became enamored of both Ed and Mark while in recovery at Cedars. Katie for a time became a television personality involved with a children's show and later learned that Mark was two-timing her with other women and dumped him. Lainie briefly worked for Mike and another attorney, Derek Colby introduced in 1980, after Ann Jeffers left for another job offer. Lainie would later get involved with Chicago art gallery owner Carter Bowden and would marry him in February 1981 and they would move to Chicago. Lainie was briefly seen in June and July 1982. Mike got Holly's friend and former prison inmate, Clara Jones (played by Anna Maria Horsford) released from prison. Horsford was one of the first African-American characters on the show to be given a substantial story line. Mike proved that Clara had not shot her husband, but that he was killed by drug dealers with whom he had gotten involved (the same ones that had driven the van that hit Lainie Marler.) Hillary, though, would turn down both Floyd. During 1979, and early 1980, Hillary, Floyd, Katie and Mark provided much of the comic relief on the show. In July 1978, Lucille Wexler and her daughter Amanda Wexler were introduced via Eve Stapleton and her husband, artist Ben McFarren. Ben had originally been romantically involved with Mike's daughter, Hope, back in 1976. But when Hope found out that Mike and Ben were covering up crimes involving Ben's younger brother, Jerry McFarren, Hope dumped him and left Springfield for a while, until she returned in 1979. (Hope and Jerry did make a brief visit to Springfield for Ed and Rita's wedding in November 1978.) Unfortunately, as she left town, Eve caught sight of Ben kissing Hope (not realizing they were saying goodbye), and ran out in the pouring rain, tripped and fell. This was the onset of a disease that had an 80% chance of leaving Eve blind. Not wanting to be a burden to Ben and against his strenuous objections, Eve insisted on canceling their November 24, 1977 wedding. Eventually, the couple found their way back to one another. Eve was still blind when she and Ben were married on May 26, 1978. Later, a risky surgery helped regain Eve's eyesight. After they returned to Springfield from a second honeymoon, Ben and Eve moved into the Wexler Estate's small guest cottage. Lucille, an insecure, controlling woman, disapproved of Eve and her friends and family's rather liberal ways, and started becoming suspicious of the McFarrens. Lucille was harboring a secret that confused both Amanda and Amanda's first husband, architect Gordon Middleton, who Amanda left on her honeymoon when she couldn't be intimate with him. Later, Eve would find out from Gordon that the reason for Amanda's lack of intimacy stemmed from watching Lucille being raped by a man, when Amanda was a young girl. But Lucille was apparently harboring more secrets than that, because when Ben tried to show his art work at the Binnoker art gallery to raise funds to send Eve to college to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher (as her mother had been), Lucille secretly burned down the gallery. With no funds to send Eve to school, Lucille hired Ben and Eve to do various odd jobs around the main house at the Wexler Estate, and Ben was hired as a graphic artist at Spaulding Enterprises. Eve and Ben became virtual slaves to Lucille. Ben also met up with the wild Diane Ballard, who, in her loneliness waiting for Alan, seduced Ben and they had an affair. At the same time Ben got Amanda to put away her dolls and stop acting like a child, and restart her dream of becoming a concert pianist. Amanda herself was falling for the worldly Ben, and Lucille started becoming nervous that Ben was going to find out all her secrets. She started to find ways to get Ben in trouble, and even kill him. The first thing Lucille did was make sure that in a visit to the Wexler Estate by Diane, Amanda found out about Ben and Diane's affair. A livid Amanda told Eve, which caused Eve to leave Ben, and move out on her own. Eve would first start a relationship with Dr. Greg Fairbanks (who was simultaneously having an affair with her sister Rita) and then surprisingly, with Ross Marler. Ross would be hired by Lucille as her attorney, and Ross would fall for Amanda, creating a very interesting quadrangle between Eve-Ben-Amanda-Ross. Amanda also helped Ben get a gallery showing of his art work at Carter Bowden's Chicago gallery. Meanwhile, Lucille continued to look for ways to kill Ben, even though Lucille apparently had a debilitating stroke. Then in the November 1979, Lucille was summoned by Alan Spaulding's father, Brandon Spaulding to his "death" bed, and the audience would learn the startling secret that Lucille was hiding: that Amanda was actually the product of an affair between Alan and a woman that Alan had known when he was younger, Jane Marie Stafford. When Ben started to become suspicious of Lucille's involvement in Brandon's "death", Lucille continued to find even more bizarre ways to kill her nemesis, Ben McFarren. Of course Lucille couldn't stop Ben and Amanda from eventually marrying in March 1980. ===== ===== By the early 1990s, the Bauers, Spauldings, Lewises, and the Coopers had been established as core families in the fictional midwestern city of Springfield. Added to the Coopers (Harley and Frank) were Buzz Cooper, who had abandoned his wife Nadine and their two children, Harley and Frank, after his experiences in the Vietnam War. The Reardons also returned somewhat at this time, Tony and his wife Annabelle had a son named Tom Reardon (name after Tony's dad Hugh Thomas Reardon) who was born prior to Bea briefly appearing back on the show in 1990 via a video tape recording during daughter Chelsea's failed attempt to marry Johnny Bauer and then again in the guise of Bea Reardon's second son (younger than her son Dr. Jim Reardon, who had been involved in the Dreaming Death and the Barbados-Spaulding storylines and then left in February 1985; but older than Tony), Sean Reardon and his wife Mary's children, Bridget Reardon who was introduced and living for a while with Ed and Maureen (Bridget would also have the first child that was a grandson of Roger Thorpe's, Peter Lewis Reardon; Roger's long lost son, Hart Jessup), and also Matthew "Matt" Reardon, Bridget's older brother who would end up having a May – December romance and then marriage with Vanessa after Billy was sent to prison for attempting to murder Roger, in 1994. Bridget and Matt's younger siblings Ryan, Megan and Luke Reardon were mentioned but not seen. Chelsea Reardon left in early 1991. To the dismay of longtime viewers the entire Reardon family returned for Maureen's funeral in 1993. In 1998, it would be mentioned that Nola Reardon and Quinton Chamberlains daughter Stacey was attending college in California. In August 1989, Dana Jones was introduced. She pretended to be Beth Raines. She later became involved with Rick, but the relationship ended when Rick discovered she had been pretending to be Beth. Dana then became involved with Frank Cooper, resulting in an engagement. During this same time Chelsea Reardon and Johnny Bauer also became engaged, and Chelsea's college friend, and teacher, Rae Rooney came to Springfield to be Chelsea's matron of honor. Chelsea was stalked by an unknown person, originally thought to be a crazed fan of Johnny's, due to Johnny being a talk show host and singer on WSPR-TV. Chelsea nearly lost her life twice, once when she was attacked by someone wielding a pair of gardening shears in a park gazebo, and once when her coffee was poisoned. Dana Jones became chief suspect when Rick caught her impersonating Chelsea. Chelsea was a news anchor at WSPR and Dana just wanted to be like her. Later when Dana paid a visit to the control booth at WSPR she caught Rae about to kill Chelsea, again, and so it was Rae who was the stalker. Rae shot Dana, and Dana was temporarily in a coma, at Cedars Hospital. Chelsea, Rick, Johnny and now private investigator Frank Cooper, were unaware that Rae was the stalker. Rae paid a private visit to Dana's hospital room, and seeing Rae in her room caused Dana to die of shock. In April 1990, Rae attempted to murder Chelsea, isolating her in her apartment. Rae despised Chelsea for supposedly making advances towards Rae's younger brother, Bobby. Bobby had committed suicide while in a mental hospital. Rick, Johnny and Frank were able to deduce the stalker's identity, rescued Chelsea, and Rae was sent to prison. Shortly after this, Chelsea and Johnny were written out, when Johnny left to go to be with Roxie Shayne in Switzerland, and Chelsea left to go on tour as a singer. Johhny's mom Lainie Donovan Bauer would die (offscreen) at the end of 1990. Reintroduced to the show was first a SORASed, Samantha Marler (Suzy Cote) (who got involved with Dylan Lewis, and ended up being severely injured and for a time in a wheelchair, when she threw herself out of the car Reva would end up driving off the bridge to her supposed death), and then Dr. Justin Marler who had since broken up with Helen Manzini returned from India to help both his daughter and his brother, Ross. (Although Justin would leave in the spring of 1991 when he was cured of his malaria that he had contracted while in India). Samantha would depart in 1992. Blake played both ends against the middle with both Alan-Michael Spaulding (pretending to be pregnant and then pretending to have suffered from a miscarriage), Alan-Michael's older adopted brother, Phillip Spaulding, and her lover from her college days, Gary Swanson who tried to kill at various times in 1990, Alan-Michael, Phillip and Blake, kidnapped both Alan-Michael and Blake, and also killed the man who brought an alive, Beth Raines (now played by Beth Chamberlin) back to Springfield, architect, Neil Everest and tried to set up Phillip as Neil's murderer and almost succeeded, until Roger, Ross and a briefly returned to town, India von Halkein figured out his and Blake's plans (Alan-Michael would dump her, and Blake for a while would blame both her parents and Ross for doing this). Gary would end up going to the same prison as Alan was put in back in the summer of 1989. India would mention her adopted daughter Dorrie was doing well but that her father Leo Von Halkein had died. This would be the only time India would mention her late mother's Sabina name. After Long left, Holly and Roger were featured at the forefront, along with Roger's contentious marriage to Alexandra, which would culminate in a memorable scene where McKinsey's Alexandra decimated Roger in public. Holly would get involved (after suffering from migraine headaches), and almost marry for a short time a dangerous man who almost killed her and Harley Cooper, Dr. Daniel St. John (who originally arrived in town with Justin and helped to make Samantha walk again) who killed his former sister-in-law, Jean Weatherill, by knocking her in the head with his own name plate that Holly gave him as a gift, when Jean threatened to go to Holly about the truth that Daniel had killed his wife and Jean's sister, Carol. Daniel let Blake discover Jean's body that was floating face down in the Country Club pool, and later Daniel shot Roger in the shoulder (but Roger shot Daniel dead), at the Bauer cabin. Daniel also tried to kill Harley Cooper by locking her in the Bauer cabin's root cellar during a blizzard (Harley was rescued by Mallet). Samantha Marler, and Cote, who had clued in Harley about Daniel's rage would end up leaving shortly after this to go to law school and it would be later revealed off- camera that Samantha had become a lawyer like her uncle Ross. Holly instead of turning to Roger, as many people (including Roger) thought she would, instead ended up getting engaged to Ross. In the fall of 1993, another sibling was added to the Cooper Family. Lucy Cooper, who was the product of his off-screen relationship with Sylvie, a woman he'd met years earlier and then later "married" in Arizona. Sylvie (who was identified as being from Sweden) was a nurse Buzz had met while at a VA Hospital.Sylvie would have died sometime later. Lucy would get involved and later marry, Alan-Michael Spaulding (who had previously been married to Blake Thorpe—as had Phillip Spaulding—and then Harley Cooper and then Frank's eventual wife, Eleni Andros, a Greek immigrant). Blake, who still blamed Holly for her divorce from Alan-Michael, plotted to steal her mother Holly's fiance, Ross Marler, but ended up falling for him, and became somewhat "reformed" (Blake and Ross would marry in a very memorable wedding in June 1994, with even Roger agreeing to accept this union). Holly ended up for a time becoming addicted to pain relievers and alcohol and nearly accidentally killed herself. Harley Cooper, fresh from heartbreak with Josh Lewis, fell for cop AC Mallet and the two married (A.C. would later have an affair with an unnamed woman and the two of them would divorce with Harley coming back to the show in 1997; A.C. returned but with a different actor playing him in 2005). Ross Marler also ran for the U.S. Senate, in the fall of 1992, but in a story that nearly mirrored Bill Clinton's problems in the Presidential election that year, Ross would have to contend with someone blackmailing him over his love life with the unpredictable Blake (in a surprising move this blackmailer turned out to be a clean and sober, but very angry Holly—still angry at Blake taking Ross away from her --, not Roger—although Roger took the pictures of Ross and Blake in bed). On the election eve, 1992, episode, Ross had a very interesting dream where he couldn't even buy a vote from anyone in town, including the women characters he had formerly been or currently involved with still on the show (Vanessa, Holly, Nadine and Blake). This dream sequence from Ross was apparently well appreciated by the audience and is one of the things still discussed a great deal on the internet. Also presented by then-headwriter Nancy Curlee was a great story that still showed the capability of the acting of Maeve Kinkead, when Vanessa charged and rightly so, a fellow businessman, Jack Kiley (Tom Tammi), of attempted rape and sexual harassment (this was shortly after Anita Hill had charged Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas of nearly the same crimes). Maeve delivered great lines, from Vanessa to Billy, about the unfairness still existing in many businessplaces about the "good ol' boy" network that excluded many otherwise hardworking, well-educated, and capable women—especially those with children or older family members who needed their care. This brought Vanessa closer to Holly, since Holly urged Vanessa to continue to press charges against Kiley. Curlee, Reilly and others also introduced to Springfield several other new African-American characters that interacted with several characters including already established by Long characters, Gilly Grant and Hampton Speakes, amongst those was Gilly's brother, David Grant, who started out as a criminal but later "reformed" into a private investigator, and Hampton's daughter, Katherine "Kat" Speakes who had a relationship with David, until she went to school in Europe. Then- Executive Producer Phelps herself was a controversial figure among Guiding Light fans. Actress Beverlee McKinsey played Alexandra Spaulding, Alan's older sister, on Guiding Light during the Pam Long years, and executed an option in her contract that, combined with vacation time she had earned, allowed her to leave the show without giving the show notice. This was a great loss to the show, as McKinsey was part of a triangle of sorts, as the interfering party between her newly found son, originally named Nick McHenry who would end up being the twin of Lujack; and also was a newspaper reporter who would later be ensnared to be involved with the corporate intrigue at Spaulding, Enterprises) and his new girlfriend Mindy Lewis. (Eventually, veteran actress Marj Dusay would take over the role of Alexandra.) It is widely believed that Phelps didn't read McKinsey's contract and thus allowed the show to lose the legendary actress. Another move considered a blunder by fans was the death of Maureen Reardon Bauer, played by Ellen Parker, since 1986. Phelps' decision to kill off the character of Maureen was based largely on input by focus groups; however, Maureen's death removed the "tentpole character", which Guiding Light has not had since. After these two strong stories were either derailed or stopped in their tracks, the show lost its momentum, although into the first few months of 1994 things seemed to be okay, although not great, as such events as Nick's former girlfriend from the fictional island of Cambrai, Dr. Eve Guthrie went insane and tried to kill Mindy, until Eve went to a mental institution and when she got out started a relationship with the lonely Ed (Eve and Ed would later marry, but Eve was killed off from a chemical warfare induced leukemia in May 1995). Of course Ed didn't get off the hook for the way Mo had died, for it turned out that Mo had discovered that Ed had a one- night stand with her best friend, nurse Lillian Raines, when Lillian had a breast cancer scare, and Mo accused Holly of the affair (since Holly and Ed had an affair back in the first half of 1989), until Mo discovered a letter that Lillian had written to Ed right while Mo was cleaning her kitchen (Ed had apparently dropped the letter near the sink while he was trying to repair some pipes). After Mo died, headwriter Curlee presented a wonderful and powerful scene where Roger Thorpe visited Mo's grave, because Mo was the only one who treated Roger with any sympathy. But later when Roger had decided to fire Holly at WSPR television station, and hooked up with an English woman, and former jewel thief, Jenna Bradshaw, who at first claimed she was another daughter of Henry Chamberlain's and later Jenna got involved with and had a child with the re-married to Nadine, Buzz Cooper), it would be Holly who would become the sympathetic character as she helped Michelle through her first period, and later found out from Ed that he had a one-night stand with another woman (which totally shocked Holly and isolated the two of them, from each other, for a great while; Holly would later find herself falling for and marrying Fletcher Reade and they would have a daughter with Down syndrome named Meg). (Roger and Jenna married in the summer of 1993 in a rather gothic setting, with a divorced Jenna later telling Vanessa that she was the "Bride of Thorpestein"). Roger also saved Ed's life, in almost a reversal of what happened in April 1980 when Ed nearly fell off a cliff at a hideaway that Michelle and Holly were staying at. (Of course the person who set this up to happen was, Roger himself). And a little later, in November 1993, Roger threatened Jenna not to leave him while she was pregnant with his child (a child she'd later miscarry). Roger would crash Nick and Mindy's engagement party (with some great scenes of Alexandra and Roger going after each other, vocally, at the Country Club ballroom). And a little later a great mystery would be had, when Roger was shot, and left for dead (he later showed up back alive after getting Holly to treat his wounds and coercing Eve Guthrie to attend to him), at the Country Club's potting shed (this would later be revealed to be Billy Lewis, at the time being played by Geoffrey Scott, after Clarke had been arrested for drunk driving in Florida and was then fired by Procter & Gamble; Clarke would return in 1996). Billy would mention to his half-brother Josh Lewis at this time that Josh was the only brother Billy had left living indicating that Billy's other half-brother Kyle Sampson comatose in a Swiss Clinic since 1987 had indeed died sometime prior to 1994. One other actress who later became famous that was on during this time, was one of the Spaulding's maids (originally started out as Jenna's), who played comic relief on the show, Ginger (played by Allison Janney—later, C.J. Cregg of The West Wing fame) with one of the other Spaulding maids, Donna. But by the spring of 1994 storylines aimlessly wandered, many revolving solely around characters played by new hires who were close friends to Phelps (several episodes featured nothing more than Justin Deas yelling on a rooftop). In spite of their talent, some of these actors, such as Marcy Walker (Tangie Hill; formerly a ward of Roger Thorpe's), Scott Hoxby who would later change his name to Derek Hoxby (Detective Patrick Cutter) and Veronica Cruz (Gabriella Lopez Grant; who married David for a short time to not be deported), were enormously unpopular with viewers. The storylines themselves were often stagnant and silly, such as Alan's (by then played by Ron Raines) return from prison involving his hiding his face at all times and affecting a fake Japanese accent (he was pretending to be a foreign businessman so he could regain his company), Nick becoming more and more distracted by the power of Spaulding Enterprises, Alan shooting and wounding Alan-Michael (and Tangie acting as Alan-Michael's nurse, but caught in a romantic triangle between the father and son). Matt and Vanessa keeping their romance a secret from family and friends, and Alan and Jenna using a look alike of Ross' named Howie or "Hoss" (Jerry verDorn in a great dual role) to get to Blake's shares of Spaulding stock. From early-April through May 1995, A storyline involving Reva's ghost tormenting Josh and his new love Annie Dutton was panned by fans and critics as one of the worst in Guiding Light history. In March 1995, with rumors of cancellation growing stronger, Kim Zimmer's Reva character returned. As written, she had killed herself five years earlier by driving off a bridge in the Florida Keys during a bout with postpartum depression. With her April 1995 return, Reva was revealed to be an amnesiac living as an Amish woman. Also featured was a storyline about psychotic Brent Lawrence, who had raped Buzz's daughter Lucy and was then presumed dead. Lucy befriended a dowdy woman named Marian. Marian was actually Brent, disguised. The storyline garnered much attention due to some controversial twists such as Marian switching Lucy's AIDS test results to make her think she was HIV-positive, Marian killing Nadine Cooper when she found out the truth and then throwing Nadine's body in the river, killing Det. Cutter while on a "date" and beating an HIV- positive woman, Susan Bates, into a coma. Frank Beaty's bravura performance as Brent/Marian carried the show along for months, but unfortunately Beaty became ill near the climax of his storyline and was temporarily replaced by actor Marc Wolf. Beaty finished out his contract in early 1996 but declined the show's offer of a second contract. Brent Lawrence remains institutionalized to this day. After the Brent/Marian storyline wrapped, new storylines started. One memorable storyline involved Blake thinking that her twin babies had two different fathers, Rick and Ross (Blake later discovered that Ross sired both.) Dinah Marler, Vanessa and Ross' love child was brought back with Wendy Moniz now in the role in January 1995. Dinah had become penniless after partying her way through Europe and being kicked out of college (for failing grades) in Europe. Dinah tried to extort money out of the trust fund set up by her grandfather, Henry Chamberlain by setting up her own kidnapping (which went awry, with her mother's boyfriend, Matt Reardon saving the day). Dinah also tried to seduce Matt, but it backfired royally. Later, Dinah got involved with and married Roger Thorpe to gain access to her inheritance, with no one showing up to the wedding. Many of these scenes turned into Dinah becoming very agitated and yelling at many of the other characters. Matt and Vanessa did marry in a memorable wedding ceremony, in October 1995. Also In 1995, Lillian Told Ross she was going to Visit her sister Calla Matthews (Ross's ex- lover) who just became a grandmother. Jesse and Simon had a boy They named Brandon after Simon's Half-Brother Lujack. Simon and Lujacks twin Nick met one another (offscreen). Janet Mason Norris's mother Ellen Mason died off screen before Barbara Norris returned to Springfield in early 1995. In spring 1996, several months after the Brent/Marion storyline ended, Zachary Smith was introduced as a mysterious man trying to repair the lighthouse (which had caught fire several times before this), and later it appeared as though he was an angel who got involved with Michelle Bauer because of her resemblance to Mary who was Meta, Bill and Trudy Cousin and the daughter of Karl and Alice Bauer. Douglas and Ellen (not mentioned since 1986)and Otto and Myra and their son Jack Bauer (not mentioned since 1986 and 1990) were also given brief mentions. The Zachary Smith the Angel storyline was never resolved and Zach Disappeared soon after. In the summer of 1996, Buzz Cooper's Uncle Stavros Kouperkis died offscreen in Greece. Gilly Grant would find out that the man she thought was her biological father, wasn't and then ended up having a brief (and nearly sexual) relationship (although this was stopped by her mother) with the man who was her biological father. Her mother, Vivian, stopped the relationship before it could be consummated. Brought back in April 1996 was Grant Aleksander, who had left when Phillip married Beth in 1991). Phillip came back looking for which member of the Spaulding family had set him up all those years before. Roger Thorpe was gaslighted and drugged by his new wife, Dinah Marler-Thorpe, and Roger's son, Hart, who had recently returned. Amanda Spaulding returned from California as a former madam who counted Matt Reardon as one of her high priced escorts. Amanda would later turn out not to Alans daughter after all but to be Brandon Spauldings daughter and that Alexandra had known the truth all these years. This re-written piece history infuriated longtime viewers. Notably because the lack of how the writers did not brush up on the Spaulding and Stafford family history. Amanda's half-siblings Morgan Richards and Matthew Evans and their mother Jennifer (Jane–Marie Stafford) Richards were mentioned but did not return. All three had moved from New York City to Paris France and where not able to be tracked down by Amanda. One of the mayor goofs in this storyline was Jane–Marie's alias and married name Jennifer Richards appearing on Amanda's birth certificate. In 1996, feeling the show needed a matriarch, Ed's aunt, Meta Bauer returned to Springfield. Although Meta was referred to occasionally, the character had not been seen since 1974. Soap legend Mary Stuart was cast in the role. The move was seen as an attempt to reclaim longtime fans of Guiding Light, as well as Search for Tomorrow, on which Stuart had starred for 35 years. She portrayed the role until her death in 2002. Nola and Quint were also brought back, separately, but mostly ignored by the writers, and Quint left town in January 1997. Ratings continued to sink. In 1997 the story zeroed in on Josh Lewis' rocky marriage to Annie Dutton. Annie had once been a sweet nurse (and, at one point, Rick Bauer's wife; although this marriage would be later ruled to be illegal, as was the one with Josh, when it was revealed Annie had never even divorced her first husband, Eddie Banks) but had become a pill addict. Annie became a raving lunatic who got artificially inseminated to keep Josh at her side, and pretended to be Reva's long-lost sister to guilt her into staying away. When that didn't work and she also lost her baby, she pushed herself down a flight of stairs at the Spaulding mansion, framing Reva for the death of her fetus. A high-stakes murder trial led Annie to have a meltdown on the witness stand, after which she dramatically collapsed and was rendered barren. This somewhat campy material was bulldozed through by actress, Cynthia Watros, whose performance astonished viewers. Annie, with Alan Spaulding's help, then tried to manipulate Reva's real sister Cassie into breaking up Josh and Reva. Watros left the show in early 1998, after Annie was arrested for her past misdeeds at her and Alan's aborted wedding (and also having her attempting to be defended by another recently new character, attorney and also Ross, Justin and Lainie Marler's long lost surprise half-brother, Ben Warren), leaving a big hole in a show that had been largely centered on the Josh/Reva/Annie storyline. ===== At the turn of the century, a large segment of the show revolved around San Cristobel, Richard and Reva discovered that they had a son named Johnathan who had been hidden away to protect him from evil Edmund and that Johnathan was being raised by Richards ex-lover Olivia's sister and her husband. Then Cassie married Richard and Richard's evil brother Edmund plotted to keep them apart. Richard abdicated his throne after discovering that he was illegitimate. Democratic elections held a few weeks later to decide San Cristobel's political fate were halted in a coup by Edmund, who had himself crowned prince and ruler. After his coronation, he married Springfielder Beth Raines. Edmund was later deposed by Richard using an army of mercenaries paid for by Beth's ex-husband, Phillip Spaulding. Edmund escaped the island to avoid a trial and the island eventually became a democracy with Richard as the elected president. Another election was held less than a year later after a heretofore unknown Winslow son, Prince William aka Alonzo Baptiste, was discovered. This time the people voted to have the monarchy restored under Alonzo who quickly divorced and exiled his scheming wife Camille Baptiste (who would later perish in a car accident in Europe) and allowed Richard and Cassie to keep their adopted son Will who was in reality Alonzo's son with Camille. The second plot line focused on the Santoses and the Mob, specifically Michelle Bauer's mobster husband Danny Santos, his sister Pilar and cousin Tony, and his sociopathic mother, Carmen. Much of Danny and Michelle's story was fighting against the evil Carmen, and this story repeated several times until the character of Carmen was injured during a fight with Michelle in 2002, and went into a coma and was later transferred to a Switzerland clinic (dying at some point before the show ended). Most of the veteran characters, save Reva, had few if any story lines, and ratings went on a decline. Other developments included: Beth developing a split personality, Lorelei Hills, after she narrowly survived being kidnapped by her estranged husband, Edmund Winslow, while she was in Mexico attempting to procure a divorce. Harley Cooper becoming partners, first professional and then personal, with former FBI agent Gus Aitoro, who was later revealed to be Alan Spaulding's son. Gus's biological mother turned out to be Phillip's former nanny, Lucia Rinaldi, with whom Alan had had an affair before he arrived in Springfield. (Many longtime fans had been hoping Gus's mother would be turn out to be Rita Bauer, thus ending decades of speculation as to whether Rita had been pregnant when she left Springfield in 1981.) Reva became embroiled in a story that involved her traveling through time via a painting of her ex-husband Josh's new wife, Olivia, dressed as a Civil War era southern belle, Regina Robechaux. Her first stop was an upscale Civil War era home in New Orleans where she was presumed to be the new nurse for the master of the house, Jack Robechaux, who'd been wounded fighting for the Confederacy. Jack was the spitting image of her beloved Josh and she seemed to connect with "Jack." Next, she "visited" Edwardian England as a governess where she again saw "Josh". This time he was in the guise of farmhand John MacGregor. Finally Reva ended up in World War II Paris, this time meeting up with the real Josh who went through the painting himself. The overall story proved unpopular with many viewers even though longtime "supercouple" Josh and Reva reconciled as a direct result of it. In 2002 Hawk Shayne would return for Reva and Josh's third wedding, mentioning that Roxie (still with Johnny Bauer)'s health had improved. Meta Bauer would also depart because of her portrayer Mary Stuart's real life death. Meta was to have broken a hip in Nova Scotia, staying there for an undetermined amount of time while recovering presumably to have recovered at some point and went to live with her younger sister, Trudy Bauer, in New York City. In 2003, history was re-written when the characters of Billy, Josh, Ed, Alan, and Buzz were revealed to have been the cause of the death of a young girl, Maryanne Caruthers, when they were young men in 1977. The story line was roundly criticized for its plot-holes, most notably that only two of the characters, Ed and Alan, were even on the show in 1977, and even Alan was not introduced until a month after the story supposedly took place. The story line (widely considered by many fans to have taken place in an alternative reality) was also substantially similar to 1983's Annabelle Sims story line, which featured H.B. Lewis (father of Billy and Josh), Bill Bauer (father of Ed), and Brandon Spaulding (father of Alan) in a murder mystery similar to the one their sons were involved in, which was also met with minor backlash due to its rewriting of character histories. The goings-on so annoyed longtime actor Peter Simon (who played Ed Bauer for much of the 1980s, left in 1996, and returned in 2002) that he quit the show and refused to return. Also in 2003, David Grant (though never shown on screen) was now a private investigator in Paris, France, and the long absence of David's mother, Vivian Grant (who had not been seen on screen since 1999), was finally explained. At some point prior, Vivian and her husband, Dr. Charles Grant, divorced (offscreen) and Vivian left Springfield. Dr. Grant stopped appearing on screen in 2006 and was last mentioned having been asked a favor by Alan Spaulding in 2008 before being written out and the character moving to Chicago. Other stories featured during the "WesCon" regime included Cassie's falling in love with a "reformed" Edmund; Reva's discovering her psychic abilities; and her daughter Marah's falling in love with Sandy, a loner who talked to a sock puppet, who was initially thought to be Reva's son and Marah's half-brother. A particularly unpopular storyline featured the return of the now-20-something Ben Reade (Matthew Bomer), last seen as a teenager in 1997. There was a brief mention of Ben's grandmother Julia Stoddard, who died offscreen, and then Ben was eventually revealed as a serial killer (of non-contract, incidental players on the show) and a victim of child molestation. The story culminated with his suicide. Noticeably absent from this plot was Ben's adopted father, Fletcher Reade, who was presumably contacted offscreen but never returned to town for Ben's funeral. In 2005, Guiding Light found itself embroiled in a controversy when half-cousins Johnathan Randall and Tammy Winslow became involved as a couple. Viewers would also see the exit of much beloved couple Danny and Michelle Santos. Danny's mother, Carmen Santos, who was still comatose, was transferred to a Switzerland clinic where she would die sometime later. Blake's half-brother Sebastion Hulce and Bill Lewis would also leave town. By 2006, Guiding Light continued to end up near the bottom of the ratings. The longest running character, Ross Marler, was presumed dead in a plane crash. Phillip Spaulding was still lingering in a state of confusion somewhere out of town. The disappearing Holly Norris would make a cameo appearance before retreating back offscreen. Her daughter, Blake, became the Springfield Blogger, was poisoned, and fell into a coma for months. Blake's half-brother, Sebastion Hulce, was briefly mentioned. Harley Cooper would also receive powers for a crossover with comic book publisher Marvel Comics, including a continuation of the episodes in their comics released. This also marked the last on screen appearance of the character of Dr. Charles Grant, who would later be briefly mentioned in 2008 before moving to Chicago. Olivia, as a result of being raped as a teenager, had given birth to a baby girl in 1986. Olivia discovered the woman she tried to kill, Ava Peralta, was actually her own long-lost daughter, conceived from the rape. The baby was fathered by Jeffrey O'Neil and given up for adoption immediately after birth to a couple named Donna and John Sutton. Ava's adoptive parents, Donna and John Sutton separated. Ava's adoptive mother Donna remarried a man named Paul and took her stepfather's last name Peralta. Her adoptive mother Donna and stepfather Paul are both deceased. Olivia located her adoptive father John Sutton, only to discover he was seriously ill and died a few months later. Through time and anguish, mother and daughter eventually forgave each other. Olivia also managed to forgive Jeffrey O'Neil for raping her, but with difficulty. He apologized numerous times, and even said he would turn himself in, but did not have to do so, as, in time, all was forgiven. Reva was diagnosed with breast cancer, and though initially hesitant to accept her illness, underwent treatment. Her husband, Josh Lewis, remained in the dark, along with the rest of Springfield, until Billy Lewis revealed the truth with Reva on her deathbed at the end of October 2006. Reva appeared to be dead at the end of the November 3, 2006 show, but in the next episode, Josh heard a noise from Reva, she was resuscitated. Shortly after the Lewis' were told Reva's cancer was in remission, it was also revealed that the bone marrow transplant she underwent in Minnesota did in fact work and Reva was now free of cancer. She had a scare in early 2007 when she found a lump under her arm, but it turned out to be benign. In 2007, there were two new, notable pairings: Josh Lewis and ex-wife Reva's half-sister, Cassie Layne Winslow, were married, and half-cousins Johnathan Randall (Reva's son) and Tammy Winslow (Cassie's daughter) wed. Not long thereafter, Tammy was hit by a car while pushing Johnathan out of harm's way. The vehicle was driven by Tammy's cousin Daisy's boyfriend, "G", who was hired by Alan Spaulding to kill Johnathan. Johnathan eventually faked his and daughter Sarah's death to leave town and escape the wrath of Sarah's grandfather, Alan Spaulding. Their departure was difficult on Sarah's mother, Lizzie Spaulding, who would spend much of the year trying to find Jonathan and baby Sarah. In one of soap opera history's first de-aging of a character, Susan Lemay, now calling herself Daisy, returned to town still a teenager, causing problems for mom Harley Davidson Cooper and step-dad Gus Aitoro. Daisy's schemes would cause Gus to discover he had a long lost son, Rafe, with his ex-lover Natalia Rivera. Natalia and Rafe eventually moved to Springfield. Margaret Sedwick was said to have retired and left town (offscreen). The character of Holly Norris never again appeared on screen and was said to have been traveling Europe with her grandchildren—Kevin, Jason, and Clarissa—and visiting her mother, Barbara Norris. Holly returned prior to her daughter Blake's emergence from a coma with grandchildren Kevin, Jason, and Clarissa. Kevin and Jason would return to school at Lincoln Prep and later transfer to a boarding school in Europe. Holly would leave Springfield again (offscreen), selling her house and moving back to Europe with her mother Barbara, who died not long after. Holly then left Europe to live closer to her daughter, Meg Reade, presumably in Toronto, Canada. In 2008, Guiding Light remained controversial among viewers, breaking up fan favorite couples like Harley and Gus. Gus was then paired with Natalia, the mother of his son, Rafe, while Harley had an affair with her niece's fiancée Cyrus Foley. Gus died in a motorcycle accident and a grieving Harley fled to Greece with Rafe after he shot District Attorney Jeffrey O'Neil. Rafe returned to Springfield to face charges, but Harley elected to stay in Greece and broke up with Cyrus after she learned of his affair with Cassie Lewis. Offscreen, Harley reconciled with niece Marina for having an affair with Cyrus and her two sons, Zach and Jude, left Springfield to live with her Greece. Marina became involved with and married her godfather and her Aunt Harley's ex-husband, cop A.C. Mallet, after he divorced Dinah Marler. Marina and A.C. bought Harley and Gus's old house and finished it. Marina also received a visit by her mother, Eleni. Buzz began dating Beth's mom, Lillian Raines. Frank Cooper, however, remained loveless in 2008. Harley's ex-lover Dylan disappeared from the canvas and was said to be out of town on business. Harley and Dylan's daughter, Daisy, remained in Springfield and had a relationship first with Gus's son Rafe (which ended when she became pregnant and had an abortion) and later reconciled with her ex, "G", who turned out to be Cyrus's younger brother, Grady Foley.Daisy lied under oath in court for Grady, clearing him of her cousin Tammy's death, which received justified backlash from viewers. Harley's brother, Henry "Coop" Cooper Bradshaw and his girlfriend, Ashlee Wolf, broke up. Ashlee underwent surgery to lose weight (both in real life and on the show) and Coop found himself pursued by man-hungry Blake Marler. Blake's daughter Clarissa became a student of Coop's before she and her mother disappeared in the back ground again. Coop later became involved with his ex-lover Lizzy's mother Beth Raines. Prior to her relationship with Coop, Beth gave birth to ex-husband and former father-in-law Alan Spaulding's daughter, Peyton Raines, married and divorced Rick Bauer, and returned to school to study law. The Lewis family had its share of problems in 2008. Cassie frequently saw visions of and spoke with her late daughter Tammy's ghost; Cassie and Richard's adopted son Will was found to be responsible for the death of his biological father, Prince Alonzo Baptiste, and the near death of his uncle, Edmund Winslow. Edmund then lapsed into a coma, thanks to Jeffrey O'Neil tampering with his oxygen tube. Will tormented Cassie's son, R.J., and was later carted off to a reform school after trying to kill both Josh Lewis and his Aunt Reva. San Cristobal did away with the Monarchy once again after Alonzo's death. Alan sold the San Cristobal Spaulding Villa. Meanwhile, Cassie had an affair with Cyrus Foley, resulting in her divorce from Josh Lewis. Cassie then launched a short lived career as a petty thief with Cyrus, before selling her farm house to Natalia and moving to Hawaii with son R.J. to start a new life. The identity of Cassie's long lost father was never revealed but it was strongly hinted that the Chicago businessman who already had a family when he had an affair with Sarah Shayne, had ties with Alan's father Brandon Spaulding. Olivia, who sold her house in San Cristobal to a married couple, received a heart transplant—Gus's heart, following his death in a motorcycle accident. Olivia, who had grown to love Gus, had a pretend wedding with ex-lover Jeffrey O'Neil, father of her daughter, Ava Peralta, to ease her pain. Olivia's new hobby became making Gus's widow Natalia's life miserable before the two finally reconciled and Olivia moved into the farm house with Natalia (which Natalia purchased following Cassie's move to Hawaii). Reva's life took on a different spin when a movie that was made about her life brought her and ex-husband Joshua 'Bud' Lewis closer together. The movie even recreated their famed Crosscreek wedding. Reva had a cancer scare and then found out she was, despite her age and medical condition, pregnant. Reva married Jeffrey O'Neil. Jeffrey's daughter, Ava Peralta, became involved with and married Bill Lewis while she was pregnant with Remy Boudreau's baby, Max, who died days after birth. Ava left for Chicago to stay at a postpartum depression clinic and returned briefly near the end of 2008 in an attempt to salvage her relationship with Remy, who was now married to Christina Moore. Remy's parents, Clayton and Felecia, and sister, Mel, comforted Remy when Max died and expressed concern about his extremely sudden marriage to Christina. Ava moved to San Francisco. Meanwhile, Josh and Reva's son Shayne Lewis, now wheelchair bound, returned to Springfield at the end of 2008. The last of the Santos family members, Father Ray Santos, was finally written out when Ray joined his cousin Danny in Louisiana. Alan Spaulding developed a brain tumor, leading to a series of visions (not seen on screen) of his dead son, Gus. Alan lapsed into a coma and then recovered, only to have Spaulding Enterprises and the Spaulding mansion taken away from him by his adopted son Phillip's cousin Dinah and her half- brother Bill Lewis. Dinah's mom, Vanessa Chamberlain, moved from The Beacon into the Spaulding mansion with her daughter, Maureen, and ex-husband, Billy Lewis, joining Dinah and Bill. Alan later regained the Spaulding mansion and moved back in with his sister Alexandra, who along with Vanessa's ex, Matt Reardon, continued to exist mostly in the background, rarely seen on screen. Bill Lewis faced health problems while Dinah had her second cousin, Lizzie Spaulding, kidnapped by Grady Foley. Lizzie was rescued by Bill, and they were injured in a car accident fleeing the kidnapper (Grady). Bill fell into a coma and awoke to find that he was charged with the kidnapping. Alan, working with Grady, framed Bill in an attempt to wreck Bill and Lizzie's relationship. The charges were dropped when a warehouse containing evidence was burned in an apparent arson, but Bill and Lizzie broke up because Bill, who had not regained his memory of the kidnapping and ensuing accident, could not remember if he had actually kidnapped Lizzie. In 2009, Edmund, the former prince of San Cristobal, had emerged from his coma some time ago and returned to lurking around Springfield. It would turn out that Edmund was the long lost father of Shayne Lewis's late Girlfriend Lara. Dinah and Shayne, who had recovered from his injuries, became involved until Dinah trying to get Edmund out of their lives deleted a video of Lara from Edmunds lap-top. The Cooper family dealt with the aftermath of Coop's death after Coop was involved in a car accident (while on the phone arguing with Alan) via on his way to stop Beth from marrying Alan again. Coop was rescued from the car accident and taken to Cedars hospital by Phillip who had been tracked down by Bill Lewis and who returned to Springfield to make amends for his past misdeeds. Phillip caught up with best friend Rick Bauer, father Alan Spaulding, ex-wife Beth Raines, ex-father-in-law Buzz Cooper, and Lizzie, and learned that his and Beth's son James had been sent to boarding school, that ex-wife Harley and Phillip and Rick's son's Zach and Jude were clear across the continent and no longer lived in Springfield and that Lizzie had given birth to a daughter Sarah who had been sent out of town with her father and Reva's son Johnathan Randall. Phillip then found himself arrested and behind bars after Lizzie called the authorities. During Coop's funeral Alan burst in and made a scene and Phillip made a deal to appear at the funeral and grabbed a deputies gun and fired it into the air to get everyone's attention and was re-arrested after making a plea that the Coopers and Spauldings try to get along. Alan was persuaded by Beth and Lizzie to give Company back to Buzz and the Cooper family only to have Buzz turn down the offer and move out of Company and in with Mallet and Marina who because of ties with past Mob Connections were put on an adoption list but most likely was unable to ever adopt until Mallet overheard Shayne tell Reva at her Baby shower about orphaned children in Bosnia. Hawk Shayne would make another guest appearance back in Springfield for his daughter Reva's baby shower. Olivia's feelings for Natalia grew with Doris Wolfe trying to out them after Emma wrote a paper for school called my two mommies. Later Natalia felt guilty for having sex with Frank. Frank, who was head over heels for Natalia pushed forward with the relationship and proposed weeks later. Natalia couldn't answer the proposal because of her own growing feelings for Olivia. Although Natalia and Frank would become engaged after Olivia tells Natalia that she should marry Frank. A few weeks later, Natalia and Frank prepare to marry after Natalia's son is released from prison. Olivia and Natalia continue to dancing around their feelings for each other as the wedding gets close. At Gus's gravesite, Olivia finally admits to Natalia that she is love with her but tells Natalia to marry Frank because he can give her a life that Olivia cannot. Frank and Natalia's wedding starts but Natalia is unable to go ahead with wedding and runs out of the church. Natalia admits to Olivia that she loves her. Father Ray Santos returns to town in time to council Frank and Natalia about their marriage and then Natalia about her feeling's toward Olivia. Natalia and Olivia began seeing each other but worried about how to tell their children. Meanwhile, Mallet and Marina are allowed to adopt a baby from Bosnia that turns out to be Shayne and the late Lara's son that Marina names Henry after her late Uncle Henry Cooper"Coop" Bradshaw. Shayne finds out the truth from Dinah who found out the truth from a Nun in Bosnia who had known the late Lara. Shayne tells Marina and Mallet that he was baby Henry's real father. Then Remy finds Edmund dead, and Reva is arrested for his murder. Reva, however, is found innocent, and with the show going off the air in September 2009, every other storyline is wrapped up. ===== Charlie Castle, a very successful Hollywood actor, lives in a huge home with all the amenities associated with his stardom. But, his wife Marion has taken their young son and is living separately from him; she is, in fact, on the verge of filing for divorce. She has had enough of his drunken womanizing and of the fact that he has relinquished his ideals for lower Hollywood expectations. Influential gossip columnist Patty Benedict wants the lowdown on the marriage, but Castle refuses to confirm anything for her. Marion does not want him to renew his contract with powerful studio boss Stanley Shriner Hoff, and will not agree to a reconciliation with her husband if he signs. Castle wants to be free of the studio's grip on his life and his career. He is adamantly refusing to agree to the contract. However, Hoff and his right-hand man, Smiley Coy, have knowledge of the truth behind a hit-and-run accident in which Castle was behind the wheel and which resulted in a death. Castle's friend, Buddy Bliss, took the blame for the accident and served time for it. Castle's defiance enrages Hoff, who is willing to do anything, including blackmail regarding the accident, to force the actor to commit to a seven-year deal. An emotionally-tortured Castle wants desperately to win back Marion, who has been proposed to by writer, and friend of Castle's, Hank Teagle. Castle wants to do more inspiring work than the schlock films Hoff pushes on him, but he promises that if the studio head lets him go he will stop acting altogether. To no avail, he pleads with his needy agent, Nat, to help him be free. In the end, the simple fact of blackmail works and Castle signs the new contract. Buddy's aggressively flirtatious wife, Connie, comes by; despondent, Castle allows the darker side of his nature to prevail and he sleeps with her. Subsequently, Marion and Hank attend a gathering at Castle's place after which Castle prevails upon his wife to listen once again to his reasoning as to why they should reunite. She eventually leaves with Hank but is actually having second thoughts about Castle. Meanwhile, Smiley, who has been attending a party at one of Castle's neighbors, drops in to tell the actor that Dixie Evans, a struggling starlet who happens to have been in the car with Castle the night of the accident, is threatening to reveal what she knows about the crash. Smiley suggests Castle invite her over, to talk and see if he can persuade her to keep quiet. Castle does so and is sympathetic to her feelings about being treated shabbily and disregarded as an actress. She wants to damage Hoff, not Castle. Having had Hank take her back to Castle, Marion arrives while Dixie is there. The actress immediately leaves and the couple have an intense conversation; Marion makes it clear she is at least willing to try again to rekindle their marriage. Subsequently, Dixie goes to Hoff's office and causes such an upheaval that the studio head and Smiley decide that she must be permanently silenced. Smiley lays out a plan to achieve this which involves Castle, and murder. Finally spurred to stand up for his ideals, the actor summons Hoff and Nat and, with Marion present and now aware of Dixie's presence the night of the accident, defies these ruthless men who employ him; he also mandates that nothing should happen to Dixie. Hoff and Smiley try one more extortion ploy, producing recordings secretly made of Marion with Hank. Neither Marion nor Castle are moved by this attempt and, finally, an outraged Hoff lets Castle go. "You're through," Smiley tells the actor. After a brief, quiet respite, Buddy storms in to reveal that he has discovered Castle's fling with Connie; rather than take Castle up on his offer to allow himself to be hit, Buddy spits in his face. Marion has decided to leave the past behind and reconcile with her husband. Castle asks for a bath to be drawn and, after pledging to Marion "a better future", goes upstairs. Smiley returns to telephone Hoff and let him know that Dixie, staggering out of a bar and into the street, was struck and killed by a city bus. In spite of seemingly redeeming himself in many ways, Castle is devastated by the fact that he has betrayed a friend, sacrificed his integrity and anguished the woman he adores. He gets into the bath and ends his life. ===== The film emphasizes Mary's importance in Jesus's life, suggesting that his parables were inspired by stories she told him in his childhood. This, and similar details about Jesus's upbringing, cannot be confirmed, but are certainly not impossible. The resurrected Jesus also appears to his mother privately. This event is not found in the Gospels, but is probably based on an ancient Catholic tradition (not official teaching) that he appeared to her first of all people. The tradition influenced Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises among others. The film closes with Mary suggesting the disciples should start preaching about her son. ===== Dramacon focuses on Christie Leroux, a fledgling teenage writer who is debuting her manga with her artist boyfriend, Derek Hollman, at her first anime convention. Christie endures Derek ignoring her along with the culture shock of men in schoolgirl uniforms. During the three-day convention, Christie meets Lida Zeff, a famous manga artist and writer, who gives her advice on improving her manga, and Matt Green, a mysterious sun-glasses wearing cosplayer, whom she develops feelings for. Matt always wears sunglasses to conceal the fact that his eye is missing. Derek witnesses Matt and Christie kissing, and confronts her while drunk. During the argument, he attacks and attempts to rape her; however, she escapes to Matt's room, which leads Derek and Matt to fight. Christie spends her last day with Matt, his sister Sandra, and Greta, a friend of theirs. They have to wait another whole year before they see each other again since Christie is still in high school and lives on the east coast while Matt lives on the west coast and attends college. A year later, Christie returns to the convention with Bethany, a new artist. Christie discovers that Matt now has a girlfriend named Emily. While Christie deals with her feelings for Matt, Bethany faces off with a disgruntled manga purist and is offered a job at Mangapop. Lida Zeff helps the two girls with advice for Bethany about living in a manga publishing world. Emily pulls off Matt's sunglasses in a crowded fast food restaurant after a feud with a bystander, and he is then horrified at the people staring at him, so he runs off. When Christie chases after him, Matt tells her to "piss off". The next day, Christie runs away from him when he tries to apologize, and refuses his kiss. They part without saying good-bye. Bethany and Christie leave the convention with a promise to cosplay the next year and to continue to work hard on their manga. At the next convention, Christie meets up with Matt, but her friends follow her, and she constantly argues with Matt. She runs into Derek, which brings back the memories of him attacking her, but sees that he now has a pregnant fiancée. Matt and Christie try to control their tempers, with Matt particularly trying to hold his biting retorts, and they seem to have made up, even with Emily still around and finding ways to break into their dates as a form of payback for last year. Meanwhile, Bethany refuses to cosplay after learning that her mother is coming to the convention. She argues with her mother about her career choice; after her mom is in a car accident, Beth leaves the convention to be by her side in the hospital and they reconcile. Bethany gains her mother's blessing to pursue a job with Mangapop. Christie and company all leave the convention considerably happier than the past year. ===== Ajay Shastri (Ajay Devgn) is an unemployed, honest graduate who dreams of joining the police force. His father, Raghuvansh Shastri (Mohan Agashe) is a highly principled and moralistic man. An ex-schoolteacher and Gandhi follower, now a social activist, Prof. Shastri expects his son to follow in his steps and believe in his ideals and values. When his father's ideals start clashing with Ajay's ideologies, a rift between father and son emerges. Ajay borrows a lot of money, with the help of his friend (Ayub Khan) and bribes higher officials to get his name on the police force merit list. When Ajay's father discloses the corruption scandal to the media, things go awry, and left with pressure from his creditors, Ajay and his friend decide to kidnap a government official to repay the amount. The kidnapping goes wrong at the last minute. It turns out that the victim is under protection of Gaya Singh (Yashpal Sharma), one of Tabrez Alam's (Nana Patekar) henchmen. Tabrez Alam is a powerful MLA and influential Muslim party leader, who is also an underworld don and controller of a large kidnapping racket. Ajay and his friends are brought to jail. Gaya Singh and his men assault and humiliate Ajay and his friends, for meddling in their racket. Ajay pleads with the DSP, Shukla, to save him, who has recently developed strained relations with Gaya Singh due to severe conflict of opinions. DSP Shukla helps Ajay and his friends escape jail. Ajay then kidnaps Sooraj Mal, one of the leading businessman and a rising figure in local politics, who was for long, a target of Tabrez Alam and Gaya Singh, but neither could do the job because of the high security provided to him. Gaya Singh goes frantic upon learning about the kidnapping and is on the lookout of killer. DSP Shukla and Ajay join forces and lure Gaya Singh into a trap. Gaya Singh heads to a location where Ajay is told to be hiding. Gaya Singh soon learns that he has been trapped and Ajay kills him after a brief fight. He surrenders himself to Tabrez, and requests him to recruit him into his gang. Tabrez sees potential in Ajay and allows him to be a part of his gang. Ajay starts working hard and rapidly rises in the ranks of Tabrez's empire. He takes Ajay in and places him higher than his own brother Usmaan (Mukul Nag), with an ulterior motive. Swimming in power, Ajay becomes the state's most powerful gangster and, under Tabrez's authority, the head of Bihar's most successful kidnapping trade, which Ajay consolidates by killing smaller players and removing all competitors. The state's home minister's wife is caught on camera taking money and the scandal becomes the hottest news. The home minister offers Ajay to leave Tabrez Alam and join forces with him. He then provides the taped conversation between him and Ajay (which he surreptitiously records) to Tabrez to create differences between them. Meanwhile, news correspondent Akash Ranjan calls a press conference to clarify the scandal involving the home minister inviting a discussion. Tabrez sends Ajay to kill Akash so that he would bring a no-confidence motion against the government, bringing its fall. He would come to power by taking advantage of the political instability. Ajay is contacted by SP Anwar Khan who makes him aware of Tabrez's real motive. Ajay reaches the press conference venue only to find out that the real person behind the ongoing debate of bribery scandal is his father. He leaves without killing Akash Ranjan and is confronted by DSP Shukla, who is sent by Tabrez Alam to kill Ajay, but Ajay manages to kill Shukla and escape. Ajay surrenders himself to SP Khan and gives his statement revealing everything about Tabrez Alam's illegal activities. This report is presented to the home minister by the commissioner of police citing Tabrez Alam's arrest warrant. The home minister makes a deal with Tabrez Alam, to destroy the evidence against him in exchange for money and power, and both join hands to form new government in the state with the help of their respective MLA support. SP Khan is sorry for Ajay as all his efforts are ruined by the political upheaval. Ajay goes home one last time with the help from SP Khan where he watches his father reminiscing about him and make amends with him after knowing how much he loved him. He goes back to prison where Tabrez comes to meet him after becoming the new home minister of the state. He gloats in front of Ajay at the jail. Ajay suddenly takes out his pistol and guns down Tabrez. Upon hearing then gunshots, Tabrez's men enter the room and shoot Ajay, bringing an end to their lives. ===== The first crew to land on Mars discovers signs of microbial life—and might be dealing with a threat from much larger forms of life. ===== Eight months into their stay on Mars, the life-sciences specialist discovers a microbial fossil. Subsequent to this, the crew begin to suffer various mishaps, including damage to mission property and direct attacks upon themselves. Complicating the situation is the apparent psychiatric breakdown of the mission commander and his definite attempts to injure or kill his fellow crewmembers. On Earth, the Mars Mission Director, working with an agent of the FBI, races to discover who sabotaged the mission before the crew even arrived on Mars—and who might be trying to strand the crew on Mars now that they're on it. He is shocked to discover that his own Flight Director committed the initial sabotage—he was trying to seed Mars with a bacterium that would be taken as evidence of life on Mars, thus ensuring continued funding of Project Ares, the official name for the program. But when the life- sciences specialist falls ill from an actual microbial infection—from live bacteria which she has subsequently discovered—the mishaps multiply, with a corresponding increase in the physical danger to the crew. Someone other than the Flight Director is responsible for this. At the very end, that someone is revealed to be a NASA engineer who fears that the crew, now on their way back to Earth, are bringing back a germ that could potentially kill millions of people—this although the crew clearly showed that the germ was sensitive to the antibiotics they had carried with them. The mission ends with the psychiatrically challenged commander sacrificing his own life to save the rest of the crew—and the marriage of the two mission specialists aboard their Earth Return Vehicle. ===== On the last day of 1899, Jane and Robert Marryot, an upper- class couple, return to their townhouse in a fashionable area of London before midnight, so they can keep their tradition of celebrating the new year with a midnight toast. Although Jane and Robert have been married for some years and have two young sons, Edward and Joey, they are still very much in love. Jane worries because Robert has joined the City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) as an officer, and will soon be leaving to serve in the Second Boer War, where Jane's brother is already fighting in the Siege of Mafeking. Downstairs, the Marryots' butler Alfred Bridges mixes punch for their toast, while Cook dons her finest outfit to attend the public outdoor celebrations. Alfred has joined the CIV as a private and is also leaving soon. His wife Ellen, the Marryots' maid, worries about what will become of her and their new baby Fanny if Alfred is killed or seriously injured, but he is confident despite the pessimistic predictions of Ellen's elderly mother, Mrs. Snapper. At midnight, the Marryot and Bridges families ring in the new century while Cook dances with other revelers in the street. Shortly thereafter, Jane bids an emotional farewell to Robert at the dock when he boards the troop ship bound for Africa, while Ellen tearfully sees off Alfred, who is leaving on the same ship. While Robert is away, Jane's friend Margaret Harris keeps her company and gives her emotional support. Margaret's young daughter Edith plays Boer War games with Edward and Joey Marryot using toy soldiers and cannons, which distresses Jane. While Jane and Margaret are attending a comic operetta at the theatre to take Jane's mind off the war, the relief of Mafeking is announced from the stage, and the audience cheers. Robert and Alfred soon return home unharmed, to the delight of their families, and Robert is knighted for his service. Upon his arrival, Alfred announces to his wife and mother-in-law that he has bought his own pub with money partly provided by Robert, and he and Ellen will be leaving service and moving to a flat, along with Fanny and Mrs. Snapper. As the downstairs staff have a cup of tea to celebrate Alfred's return, they receive news of the death of Queen Victoria. Robert rides in the beginning part of her funeral procession and the family and staff watch it from their upstairs windows. A few years later, in 1908, Alfred has developed alcoholism and is managing the pub poorly and getting behind on the family's rent due to spending the rent money on drink. Ellen and Fanny, now a schoolgirl, are embarrassed and put off by Alfred's drinking and slovenly appearance. Ellen carefully plans a genteel social evening when Jane Marryot and her son Edward, who is now in college at Oxford, pay a visit to the Bridgeses' flat. Ellen does not tell Alfred about the visit and lies to the Marryots that he can't attend due to a leg injury, but just as the Marryots are leaving, Alfred shows up drunk, acts rudely and destroys a doll that Jane had given Fanny, causing Fanny to run away into the street, where she distracts herself by dancing with some Pearlies. An angry Alfred chases Fanny, attacks the Pearlies, and then stumbles into the street where he is fatally run over by a horse-drawn fire engine. The following year, on July 25, 1909, Ellen and Fanny Bridges encounter the Marryot family again at the seaside, where Ellen explains that she and Fanny are living off the proceeds from the pub, now owned by Ellen. Fanny has become a talented dancer and singer. Edward Marryot has fallen in love with his childhood playmate Edith Harris. The family witnesses the historic flight by Louis Blériot over the English Channel. Three years later, by April 1912, Edward and Edith have married and are spending their honeymoon on a luxurious four-funneled ocean liner, which is dramatically revealed by a camera shot on a life preserver on board to be the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Later scenes make it clear that Edward and Edith both perished in the sinking, although the sinking itself, their deaths, and their families' initial reaction to it are not shown but only briefly mentioned in later dialogue. Fanny and Joe Two years later, in 1914, World War I breaks out. Robert and Joe Marryot both serve as officers, thinking the war will be over within a few months. While on leave, Joe happens upon Fanny Bridges, whom he remembers from their childhood, performing as a featured singer and dancer in a nightclub. He re-introduces himself to her, and they bond while witnessing a Zeppelin air raid on London from the rooftop. She later becomes the star of a theatrical production. Fanny and Joe fall in love and Joe, who miraculously manages to survive the next four years of the war despite all his fellow officers being killed in action, spends most of his leave time with her, unbeknownst to his parents. He finally proposes, but she hesitates to say yes due to the difference in their social classes, although she does love him. Just after armistice is announced in 1918, Ellen, who has found out about Fanny and Joe's love affair, goes to see Jane, reveals the affair to her, and demands that Joe marry Fanny when he returns. While a surprised and upset Jane is arguing with Ellen, Jane receives a telegram informing her that Joe has been killed in battle. Later, a grief-stricken Jane walks sadly through armistice celebrations in Trafalgar Square. Following the war, a montage shows daily life becoming even more chaotic and the social order being further disrupted, while some advocate that mankind work towards peace. The film ends on New Year's Day 1933, with Jane and Robert, now elderly, carrying on their tradition of celebrating the new year with a midnight toast to their past memories, as well as to the future. ===== The Last Man on Earth It is 1968, and Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) lives in a world where everyone else has been infected by a plague that has turned them into undead, vampiric creatures that cannot stand sunlight, fear mirrors, and are repelled by garlic. They would kill Morgan if they could, but they are weak and unintelligent. Every day Morgan carries out the same routine: he wakes up, marks another day on the calendar, gathers his weapons, and then goes hunting for vampires, killing as many as he can and then burning the bodies to prevent them from coming back. At night, he locks himself inside his house. A flashback sequence explains that, three years earlier, Morgan's wife Virginia and daughter Kathy had succumbed to the plague before it was widely known by the public that the dead would return to life. Instead of taking his wife to the same public burn pit used to dispose of his daughter's corpse, Morgan buried her without the knowledge of the authorities. When his wife returned to his home and attacked him, Morgan became aware of the need to kill the plague victims with a wooden stake. Morgan hypothesizes that he is immune to the bacteria from a bite by an infected vampire bat when he was stationed in Panama, which may have introduced a diluted form of the plague into his blood. One day, a dog appears in the neighborhood. Desperate for companionship, Morgan chases after the dog but does not catch it. Sometime later the dog appears, wounded, at Morgan's doorstep. He takes the dog into his home and treats its wounds, looking forward to having company for the first time in three years. He quickly discovers, however, that it, too, has become infected with the plague. Morgan is seen burying the dog, which he has impaled with a wooden stake. Morgan sinks further into depression and loneliness. After burying the dog, Morgan spots a woman in the distance. The woman, Ruth, is terrified of Morgan at first sight and runs from him. Morgan convinces her to return to his home, but he is suspicious of her true nature. Ruth becomes ill when Morgan waves garlic in her face, who claims that she has a weak stomach. Morgan's suspicion that Ruth is infected is confirmed when he discovers her attempting to inject herself with a combination of blood and vaccine that holds the disease at bay. Ruth initially draws a gun on Morgan but ultimately surrenders it to him. She tells him that she is part of a group of people like her — infected, but under treatment — and was sent to spy on Morgan. The vaccine allows the people to function normally with the drug in the bloodstream, but once it wears off, the infection takes over the body again. Ruth explains that her people are planning to rebuild society as they destroy the remaining humans, and that many of the vampires Morgan killed were still alive. Ruth desperately urges Morgan to flee, but he inexplicably refuses. While Ruth is asleep, Morgan transfuses his own blood into her. She is immediately cured, and Morgan sees hope that, together, they can cure the rest of her people. Moments later, however, Ruth's people attack. Morgan takes the gun and flees his home while the attackers kill the vampires gathered around Morgan's home. Ruth's people spot Morgan and chase him. He exchanges gunfire with them and picks up tear gas grenades from a police station armory along the way. While the tear gas delays his pursuers somewhat, Morgan is wounded by gunfire and retreats into a church. Despite Ruth's protests to let Morgan live, his pursuers finally impale him on the altar with a spear. In his final moments, Morgan denounces his pursuers as "freaks" and, as Ruth cradles him, declares that he is the last true man on Earth. As Ruth walks away from Morgan's body, she notices a baby crying and tries to assure the child that everyone is safe now, implying that she will donate her own cured blood to save her people from the disease. ===== The first crewed ship to fly to Mars suffers damage from an in-space explosion, which severely limits the crew's oxygen supply, forcing them to make some hard, lifeboat-like choices to stay alive. ===== ===== Based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) at Wiley College, a historically black college related to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (now The United Methodist Church), to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when Jim Crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a fear for blacks. The fictional Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debate Harvard University. The movie explores social constructs in Texas during the Great Depression, from day-to-day insults African Americans endured to lynching. Also depicted is James L. Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), who, at 14 years old, was on Wiley's debate team after completing high school (and who later went on to co-found the Congress of Racial Equality). Another character on the team, Samantha Booke, is based on the real individual Henrietta Bell Wells, acclaimed poet and the only female member of the 1930 Wiley team who participated in the first collegiate interracial debate in the US. The key line of dialogue, used several times, is a famous paraphrase of theologian St. Augustine of Hippo: "An unjust law is no law at all." Another major line, repeated in slightly different versions according to context, concerns doing what you "have to do" in order that we "can do" what we "want to do." In all instances, these vital lines are spoken by the James L. Farmer Sr. and James L. Farmer, Jr. characters. ===== After a pregnancy scare, Peter reluctantly agrees to get a vasectomy to prevent further repeats. But in the case he and Lois end up wanting to have another baby, Peter donates sperm before his surgery. While in the sperm bank, Peter accidentally destroys all the existing samples, and decides to replace them with his own to prevent himself from getting into trouble. Nine months later, a lesbian couple, who took away some of Peter's sperm in order to conceive a child, gives birth to Bertram, Stewie's half-brother who first appeared in the episode "Emission Impossible". Shortly after birth, Bertram declares war with Stewie for control over the playground. They confront each other in the playground with F-117 Nighthawks and AH-1 Cobras, firing numerous bullets at each other. After the air battle ends with no winners, Bertram resorts to biological warfare, and uses Stewie's new-found girlfriend to infect Stewie with chickenpox. After recovering, an enraged Stewie confronts Bertram, and they engage in a sword fight in the play area. Stewie eventually wins by disarming Bertram, and later that night, is seen suspiciously digging a hole with Christopher Moltisanti, but the hole is actually for a young tree. When Christopher questions Stewie on what happened to Bertram, Stewie claims that Bertram admitted defeat to Stewie and ran away, with Christopher calling Bertram a mook. After the vasectomy, Peter loses his sex drive, much to the frustration of Lois, who embraces overeating as a substitute. As a result, she gains some weight and becomes chubby. After Peter makes fun of her weight gain, she decides to gorge herself so she can deliberately gain more weight out of spite. Her increased appetite results in her growing even fatter than Peter is, which ironically ends up reviving their sex life; after accidentally being crushed by a massive Lois in bed, Peter realizes that he finds her new enormous figure far sexier than her old slim one. A new "fat sex" life arises, where Peter embraces Lois' appetite by feeding her mountains of food to help her grow fatter. Lois enjoys being fattened up, as the sex continues to get better as she grows bigger. Sadly, the fat sex life is not meant to last, as Lois' enjoyment of fat sex causes her eating to spiral out of control; she eventually gains so much weight that her heart finally gives out during sex. She is rushed to the hospital, where she reluctantly agrees to let the doctors remove all of the excess fat from her body, returning her to her normal size. Though she admits that she will miss being huge, she realizes that she should not eat to solve her problems. ===== In 1969, a U.S. Army team is ordered to secure a village against North Vietnamese forces. Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude van Damme) discovers members of his squad and villagers murdered, all with their ears removed. Deveraux finds his sergeant, Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), who has gone insane and made a necklace of severed ears and who is holding a young couple hostage. Deveraux, who is near the end of his tour of duty, tries to reason with Scott, who executes the man and orders Deveraux to shoot the girl to prove his loyalty. Deveraux refuses and tries to save the girl, but she is killed by a grenade thrown by Scott. After shooting each other to death, Deveraux and Scott's corpses are recovered by a second squad and cryogenically frozen, their deaths classified as "missing in action". Deveraux and Scott's corpses are reanimated decades later (but with their memories lost) and selected for the "Universal Soldier" (UniSol) program, an elite counter- terrorism unit. They are deployed via an Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy to the Hoover Dam to resolve a hostage situation. The team demonstrates their superior training and physical abilities against the terrorists, such as when GR76 (Ralf Möller) withstands close-range rifle fire. After the area is secured, Deveraux begins to regain memory from his former life upon seeing two hostages who strongly resemble the villagers he tried to save in Vietnam, causing him to disobey commands from the control team and become unresponsive. In the mobile command center, it is revealed that the UniSols are genetically augmented soldiers with enhanced self-healing abilities and superior strength, but they also have a tendency to overheat and shut down. They are given a neural serum to keep their minds susceptible and their past memory suppressed. As a result of the glitch, Woodward (Leon Rippy), one of the technicians on the project, feels it may be better to remove Deveraux from the team until he can be further analyzed, but UniSol commander Colonel Perry (Ed O'Ross) refuses. TV journalist Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker), who was fired while covering the Hoover Dam incident, tries to get a story on the UniSol project in order to get her job back. Roberts sneaks onto the base with a cameraman, discovering GR76 immersed in ice, still alive despite normally-fatal injuries. When her presence is noticed, Deveraux and Scott are ordered to capture her dead or alive. She flees to her cameraman's car, but they crash. Scott coldly murders the cameraman against orders before Deveraux stops him from shooting Roberts. Together, Deveraux and Roberts escape in a UniSol vehicle. Colonel Perry insists on preventing knowledge of the UniSol program getting out and sends the remaining UniSols to find Deveraux and Roberts. Deveraux and Roberts flee to a motel, where Roberts discovers she has been framed for the murder of her cameraman. Deveraux collapses from overheating and has to take an ice bath. The UniSols completely destroy the motel but Deveraux and Roberts hide in a bed until they leave and steal a car. The couple flee to a gas station where Deveraux has Roberts remove a tracking device from his leg. They set a trap and when the UniSols arrive the gas station explodes. Colonel Perry terminates the mission after this failure and Scott's previously insane personality resurfaces, causing him to kill Perry and all but two doctors. Deveraux and Roberts sneak onto the command center bus and steal UniSol documents. Scott then takes control of the mindlessly obedient UniSol team, commanding them to kill Deveraux and Roberts. Deveraux continues to regain his memories while Roberts tries to find out more information about the UniSol program. They go to a diner; Deveraux devours plate after plate of food until the waitress asks how he's going to pay for it all. When Deveraux looks blankly at her, she calls out Hank (Allan Graf), the cook, who threatens him. However, Deveraux, though innocently saying he doesn't want to hurt him, easily beats Hank and every single patron who steps up to take him on. Using information from the stolen documents, Roberts gets in contact with a doctor linked to the program. Roberts and Deveraux meet Dr. Christopher Gregor (Jerry Orbach) who informs them that the UniSol project was started in the 1960s in order to develop the perfect soldier. Although they were able to reanimate dead humans, they were never able to overcome the body's need for cooling. The other major problem is that memories of the last moments of life are greatly amplified; Scott believes he is still in Vietnam fighting insurgents. When Deveraux and Roberts leave the doctor's home, they are caught and arrested by the police. En route to jail, the police convoy is ambushed by Scott and GR76. A chase ensues, ending when the police bus and the UniSol truck both drive off a cliff in the Grand Canyon and explode, killing GR76. Deveraux and Roberts head to Deveraux's family farm in Louisiana. After Deveraux is reunited with his parents, Scott appears and takes the family and Roberts hostage. A brutal fight ensues, and Scott's use of muscle enhancers enables him to beat Deveraux mercilessly. Roberts manages to escape, only to be seemingly killed by a grenade thrown by Scott. Deveraux grabs the muscle enhancers Scott used and injects himself. Now evenly matched, Deveraux fights back and is able to impale Scott on the spikes of a hay harvester. Deveraux then starts the machine up, grinding Scott to death. Roberts is revealed to have survived the explosion, and she and Deveraux embrace. ===== The story documents the emotional awakening of Norman Moonbloom, an isolated, apathetic man in his thirties who, having recently ended a career as 'perpetual student', is now reluctantly in the employ of his brother Irwin as a property agent. Irwin's tenants occupy a series of dilapidated apartments in some of the poorer areas of Manhattan, and Norman's life consists of attempting to collect their rent while constantly making them empty promises about much-needed repairs. At first, Moonbloom resolutely insulates himself against his troublesome tenants, with their incessant complaining and idiosyncratic ways. Little by little, however, his defenses begin crumbling as they talk to him, argue with him, and impart to him their secrets and hopes. These unaccustomed intimacies bring on a seismic shift in Norman's personality, eventually inspiring him to defy his brother (who wants the apartments left exactly as they are) by undertaking all the promised repairs himself. As he goes from apartment to apartment, painting, plastering, and further immersing himself in his tenants' lives, the meek little rent collector finally comes to life. ===== After the death of his father, Rocco Parondi (Alain Delon), one of the five sons of a poor rural Italian family, travels north from Lucania to join his older brother Vincenzo in Milan, led by the matriarch Rosaria (Katina Paxinou). She is the "hand to which the five fingers belong," as she states in the film, and she has a powerful influence on her sons. Presented in five distinct sections, the film weaves the story of the five brothers Vincenzo, Simone, Rocco, Ciro and Luca Parondi as each of them adapts to his new life in the city. Vincenzo, the eldest brother, is already living in Milan when his mother and brothers come to join him expecting to move in with him. An initial scene ensues between the Parondi family and Vincenzo's fiancée Ginetta's family, and the whole Parondi family moves in together. Despite early friction between Rosaria and Ginetta, he soon gets married and starts a family of his own. After settling down, Vincenzo doesn't interact much with the Parondi brothers. Simone, the second brother, struggles to adapt to urban life. He becomes attracted to a prostitute named Nadia (Annie Girardot), who urges him to pursue a career in boxing, which his mother also encourages, as a fast way to reach fame and wealth. After initially pursuing Vincenzo only to find him happy in his new family life, Nadia turns her interest to Simone. Simone falls in love with Nadia and demands for more than a casual relationship, but she rejects him. Rocco, the third brother, leaves to complete military service in Turin and meets Nadia, who has just been released from jail for prostitution charges. His innocence and purity of heart ignites her to give up her way of life and enter an exclusive relationship with him. When Simone learns of this, he attacks Nadia and Rocco with a gang of friends and rapes Nadia to "teach Rocco a lesson". Rocco subsequently sacrifices his relationship with Nadia, telling her that he did not realize how much their relationship hurt his brother. Rocco insists that Nadia return to Simone, and she reluctantly complies. Ciro, the second-youngest brother, perhaps by observing the trials of Simone and Rocco, decides to learn from their mistakes and mimic his brother Vincenzo. To that end, Ciro becomes engaged to a local woman from a good family and finds steady work in Milan at an automobile factory. Unlike Vincenzo, Ciro still lives with his mother and participates in family matters. Somewhat in the manner of Dostoyevsky's Prince Myshkin character, Rocco often acts to preserve the well-being of family members at some cost to his own happiness. He continues a boxing career he does not enjoy to provide for his family and covers for Simone in a myriad of ways, such as recovering an expensive brooch that Simone stole from Rocco's boss and agreeing to sign a long term boxing contract in order to pay back money that Simone has stolen. Ultimately, Simone loses the ability to compete as a boxer because of his obsession with Nadia, his alcoholism, and dissolute lifestyle. While Rocco fights and wins a championship bout, Simone kills Nadia in a jealous rage when she returns to prostitution and refuses to return to him. As the family celebrates Rocco's victory, he shares an anecdote about stonemasons, who, at the start of any building project, throw a stone into the shadow of a passerby in order to symbolize the sacrifice that is needed to erect a structure. Rocco's own habit of sacrificing his money and well-being can be likewise analogized as attempts to preserve his family after their upheaval from country life. Simone arrives at the apartment and confesses to Nadia's murder. Despite his anguish, Rocco tries to protect Simone, but Ciro refuses to go along and turns Simone in to the police. The youngest brother, Luca, does little but watch quietly in the background most of the time. Despite the fact that Luca had spent the least time in Southern Italy when the family moved to Milan, by the end of the film he wants to return with Rocco to the south. In one of the last scenes, Ciro speaks to Luca outside his factory and tells him that he won't find the south the same if he returns, and that while many people fear a changing world, he himself does not and he believes that Luca will benefit from the changes. ===== Albert Angelo tells the story of Albert Angelo, a substitute teacher who longs to be a professional architect. He has had to resort to teaching to make ends meet, as he is not an accomplished enough architect to make a living from it. Living in a flat in Angel in London, he finds himself teaching in increasingly tougher schools, and part of the story concerns his struggle with difficult pupils in class, mirroring Albert's struggle with life in general. Through the reproduction of some of their essays, we also learn the pupils' opinions of Albert and their attitudes towards him, which are often hilarious. Albert devotes much thought to his ex-girlfriend Jenny, with whom he is still very much in love and who he feels betrayed him. He reminisces about her frequently. His friend Terry, whom he accompanies to late-night cafes, was also 'betrayed' by a woman, and their friendship is built upon this common experience. The story is at times humorous and at others incredibly serious. As is usual in a Johnson novel sexuality is openly and frankly discussed. Johnson's writing technique allows us to view Albert's character from many angles. ===== In the future, a totalitarian government employs a force known as Firemen to seek out and destroy all literature. They have the power to search anyone, anywhere, at any time, and burn any books they find. One of the firemen, Guy Montag, meets one of his neighbours, Clarisse, a young schoolteacher who may be fired due to her unorthodox views. The two have a discussion about his job, where she asks whether he ever reads the books he burns. Curious, he begins to hide books in his house and read them, starting with Charles Dickens's David Copperfield. This leads to conflict with his wife, Linda, who is more concerned with being popular enough to be a member of The Family, an interactive television programme that refers to its viewers as "cousins". At the house of an illegal book collector, the fire captain talks with Montag at length about how books make people unhappy and make them want to think that they are better than others, which is considered anti-social. The book collector, an old woman who was seen with Clarisse a few times during Montag's rides to and from work, refuses to leave her house, opting instead to burn herself and the house, so she can die with her books. Returning home that day, Montag tries to tell Linda and her friends about the woman who martyred herself in the name of books and confronts them about knowing anything about what's going on in the world, calling them zombies and telling them that they're just killing time instead of living life. Disturbed over Montag's behaviour, Linda's friends try to leave, but Montag stops them by forcing them to sit and listen to him read a novel passage. During the reading, one of Linda's friends breaks down crying, aware of the feelings she repressed over the years, while Linda's other friends leave in disgust over Montag's alleged cruelty and the sick content of the novel. That night, Montag dreams of Clarisse as the book collector who killed herself. The same night, Clarisse's house is raided, but she escapes through a trapdoor in the roof, thanks to her uncle. Montag breaks into the captain's office, looking for information about the missing Clarisse, and is caught but not punished. Montag meets with Clarisse and helps her break back into her house to destroy papers that would bring the Firemen to others like her. She tells him of the "book people", a hidden sect of people who flout the law, each of whom has memorized a book to keep it alive. Later, Montag tells the captain that he is resigning but is convinced to go on one more call, which turns out to be Montag's house. Linda leaves the house, telling Montag that she couldn't live with his book obsession and leaves him to be punished by the Firemen. Angrily, he destroys the bedroom and television before setting fire to the books. The captain lectures him about the books and pulls a last book from Montag's coat, for which Montag kills him with the flamethrower. He escapes and finds the book people, where he views his "capture" on television, staged to keep the masses entertained and because the government doesn't want it to be known that he is alive. Montag selects a book to memorise, Tales of Mystery & Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe, and becomes one of the book people. ===== The Broken Angel House, the site of the documentary, in May, 2007 The film follows Chappelle during the summer of 2004, ending on September 18, 2004, when he threw a block party on the corner of Quincy Street and Downing Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The film features nearby sites, including the Broken Angel House in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn as well as areas in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The film was produced before Chappelle's highly publicized decision to walk away from a $50 million deal to continue his hit Chappelle's Show, and gained prominence after the announcement. Chappelle invited several hip hop and neo-soul musical artists to perform at the party, including Kanye West, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, and The Roots along with The Central State University Marching Band. Lauryn Hill was also scheduled to perform at the party, but since Columbia Records refused to release her songs for use in the production, she decided instead to reunite The Fugees for the occasion. In addition, Chappelle performed comedy monologues and sketches in between the musical acts. ===== Set against the backdrop of New Mexico, the film follows a boy, Josh Townsend, who moves because of his father's job and becomes involved with a group of teens attempting to preserve the buffalo and Navajo traditions. Along the way he makes friends and learns important lessons about life. The movie teaches about a few Navajo traditions. Josh eventually enters a race against his rival and proves to be the better of the two; however, he quits the race after seeing the buffalo herd stampeding. Josh quickly gathers his friends to save the town, and while his rival refuses to help, his friends do. Together, they herd the buffalo away from the town and back onto their preserve. During the process, Josh's friend Thomas Blackhorse falls in front of a buffalo, but is saved by his sister who finally speaks for the first time in years to help calm the buffalo. Josh and his friends are hailed as heroes by the town and in recognition of his bravery, Josh is made an honorary member of the Navajo tribe with the name Rides With the Wind. He and Thomas, who he had trouble getting along with before, make a pact to keep the buffalo safe together. ===== Pemberton, a penniless graduate of Oxford, takes a job to tutor Morgan Moreen, aged eleven, a brilliant and somewhat cynical member of a wandering American family. His mother and father refuse to pay Pemberton as they jump their bills from one hotel to another in Europe. Pemberton grows to dislike all the Moreens except Morgan, including older brother Ulick and sisters Paula and Amy. Morgan, who is afflicted with heart trouble, advises Pemberton to escape his family's baleful influence. But Pemberton stays on because he has come to love and admire his pupil and he hopes for at least some eventual payment. Pemberton finally has to take another tutoring job in London simply to make ends meet. He is summoned back to Paris, though, by a telegram from the Moreens that says Morgan has fallen ill. It turns out that Morgan is healthy enough, though the fatal day arrives when his family is evicted from their hotel for nonpayment. Morgan's parents beg Pemberton to take their son away with him while they try to find some money. Morgan is ecstatic at the prospect of leaving with Pemberton, but the tutor hesitates. Morgan suddenly collapses with a heart attack and dies. In the story's ironic final note, James says that Morgan's father takes his son's death with the perfect manner of "a man of the world." ===== Madrid, Christmas 1970. The Spanish State has declared a state of emergency curtailing civil liberties. A young prostitute, Isabel Plaza Caballero, gives birth on a bus to a son she names Víctor. Twenty years later, Víctor Plaza shows up for a date with Elena, a junkie with whom he had sex a week earlier. Elena is waiting for her drug dealer to arrive and orders Víctor to leave, eventually threatening him with a gun. Enraged, Víctor wrestles the gun from her; in the process Elena gets knocked out, and the gun goes off. A neighbour hears the shot and calls the police. Two cops respond to the report. The older cop, Sancho, is an unstable alcoholic who suspects his wife Clara of infidelity. The younger cop, David, is clean-cut and sober. Through the window they catch sight of Víctor physically struggling with Elena. Sancho is ready to storm the apartment, while David wants to call for a back-up. When they enter, Víctor holds Elena hostage at gunpoint. David tries to calm him down and get him to drop his gun, but Sancho sabotages his efforts by repeatedly threatening Víctor. Finally, David puts his gun to Sancho's head and gets first Sancho and then Víctor to put down their guns. David orders Elena to flee. Sancho then lunges for Víctor, and as they wrestle for the gun it fires. Two years later, Víctor, in jail, watches a wheelchair basketball match. David, now partially paralyzed from the gunshot two years earlier, is a star player in the 1992 Summer Paralympics. Elena, now his wife, cheers him on from the sidelines. Víctor has made good use of his time in jail, taking a correspondence course in education, working out, and enriching his mind with a variety of subjects, including the Bible. Four years later, he is released. His mother has died, leaving him some money and a house in an area scheduled for demolition. Víctor visits his mother's grave, where he encounters Elena at her father's burial service. Without identifying himself, he briefly offers her his condolences. Before leaving the cemetery he encounters Sancho's wife Clara, who has arrived too late for Elena's service. They leave together and she visits his apartment. They establish a tentative relationship. Elena, now off drugs and operating an orphanage, tells David of her encounter with Víctor. David stops by Víctor's house and warns him not to go near his wife. Víctor challenges him to prevent him from doing whatever he wants, but David punches him below the belt. David leaves, but he sees Clara arriving and watches from a distance. Clara, drawn by Víctor's enthusiasm and good looks, agrees to teach him how to make love while pampering him with gifts and affection. She eventually falls in love with him. Víctor is accepted as a volunteer by the orphanage, which accepts the qualifications he earned in prison and discovers he is very good with the children. Elena objects, but can offer no compelling argument against Víctor. David continues to trail Víctor and discovers that he works at his wife's orphanage. He confronts Víctor again, and Víctor denies responsibility for firing the shot that put him in a wheelchair. He demonstrates how Sancho made him squeeze the trigger because Sancho knew David was having an affair with Clara. Afterwards, David tells his wife what Víctor said, admitting that he was having an affair with Clara. Elena is disgusted, but still plans to leave the orphanage to get away from Víctor. Víctor tells Elena that his original plan of revenge was to become the world's greatest lover, make love to Elena all night long, and then abandon her, but that he now loves her too much to do so. Víctor tells Clara that they should stop meeting, and they break up. While Víctor is working overnight at the orphanage, Elena arrives to remove her belongings and offers Víctor a night of passion on condition he never contacts her again. Elena then tells David about this night of infidelity. She tells him she will remain his wife because he needs her more than Víctor does. David is nevertheless intent on avenging himself against Víctor. Clara, unable to bear Sancho's abuse any longer, leaves him in a violence scene, leaving him bloodied. David arrives and helps Sancho clean his wounds before showing Sancho photographs he has been taking of Víctor and Clara. Sancho and David drive to Víctor's house, arriving just as Clara has finished writing Víctor a farewell letter. Sancho and Clara hold each other at gunpoint and fire. Clara falls dead and Sancho is wounded. Sancho finally kills himself. At the end, David narrates a letter written to his wife from Miami, where he is spending Christmas with some friends, apologizing for the way everything turned out. At the orphanage, a pregnant Elena goes into labor and on the way to the hospital, she and Víctor get stuck in heavy traffic. Víctor is reminded of the circumstances of his own birth, and tells his unborn child that the Spanish people no longer live in fear as they did at the time of his birth. ===== Told in two distinct segments, the first involves a discussion between two house servants about their employer's little boy, who has a history of running away. The second segment explores the mother's efforts to reassure her son and help him cope with his fears.Slawenski, 2010, p. 174 - 175 The story opens with the two house servants, Mrs. Snell and Sandra, discussing the homeowner's young son, Lionel. Sandra is very worried that Lionel will tell Boo Boo (Mrs. Tannenbaum), her employer, that Sandra has made some anti-Semitic remarks about Lionel's Jewish father (“gonna have a nose just like his father” Slawenski, 2010, p. 174). Boo Boo finds Lionel in a dinghy preparing to cast off, and refuses to allow his mother to join him. Boo Boo pretends to be admiral of the imaginary ship in order to win Lionel over and discover why he is trying to run away. He resists, even going so far as to throw his uncle Seymour's old goggles into the lake. Lionel tells Boo Boo that Sandra called his father a "big sloppy kike".Salinger, 1949, p. 86 While he doesn't know what this ethnic slur means, conflating the epithet “kike” with “kite”, he nevertheless grasps its derogatory connotation. Boo Boo, in an effort to reassure the boy and help him cope with the episode, succeeds in providing him insights into her own needs and the love she feels for him. At the end of the story, they race across the beach toward home, and Lionel wins. ===== Swaabhimaan divulges the story of an attractive woman - Svetlana - who finds herself in a battle where there are no real winners. Insecurity, suspicion and fear threaten to erode her vivacious spirit as she struggles to come to terms with her position - that of a pampered mistress whose tycoon patron Keshav Malhotra (Naasir Abdulah) dies leaving her to cope with the ugly aftermath of the tragedy: inheritance wars, succession rights, property entanglements, petty quarrels and above all, emotional turmoil that threatens to destroy her. This serial was aired from 1995 to 1997. This was the first Indian TV show to complete 500 episodes. The show ended on the final episode, where most villains getting killed or jailed. ===== Patrick (David Hewlett) is single, loves his dog (Mars the Dog) and still lives in his parents' house ten years after their death. Shortly before Christmas, Patrick's sister Marilyn (Kate Hewlett) visits Patrick to introduce him to Ryan (Paul McGillion), a science fiction television star. After accidentally knocking Ryan out with a cricket bat, Patrick is shocked to learn of Marilyn's engagement to Ryan. Patrick also overhears a dialogue excerpt that Ryan cites over the phone, which makes Patrick believe that Ryan wants to kill Marilyn. From this time on, Patrick tries everything in his power to protect his sister. But an apparently fatal accident happens: While Patrick is on the phone with Marilyn, Ryan tries to mount Christmas lights and falls off the ladder. Patrick panics and tries everything to hide Ryan's death from his sister, disposing of the body in the garden and in a nearby lake. But Ryan's dead body reappears each time. In an effort to interest Marilyn in other men, Patrick posts a fake online dating profile and arranges a blind date between Marilyn and a man named Chris (Christopher Judge). When Marilyn alerts the police that Ryan is missing, Ryan's aunt investigates Ryan's disappearance. After first suspecting Marilyn, Patrick's cover blows. Because it looks bad for Marilyn, the siblings decide to dismember Ryan's body and give it to Mars and the neighbors' dogs as food. Finally, when Patrick admits that Ryan has basically always been a friend to him, Marilyn reveals her plan: She and Ryan just faked his death, and the body that Patrick has been trying to get rid of has been Marilyn's sex doll all the time. Ryan has assumed the role of his aunt. Some time later, when Patrick grows comfortable with the idea to accept Ryan as his brother-in- law, Ryan's sister Elise (Amanda Byram) arrives but is not enthused with the upcoming wedding. A love at first sight between Patrick and Elise is apparent. While Marilyn shows her sister-in-law to-be the house, Ryan leads Patrick to the lake, with a moose figure behind his back. ===== Soyo (Chun Jung-myung) is a quiet, conscientious sixth form student. Although he doesn't enjoy school, he attends dutifully, without a word of complaint. And then, one day, he discovers inline skating. A complete beginner, he practices at first in a hidden corner of the park. Here, he meets a group of wild skaters and immediately, one skater, Mogi (Kim Kang-woo), catches his eye. His adventurous jumps and breathtaking loops defy all laws of gravity. Mogi is without doubt the star of the group. His stunts, his style and the cool way he executes even the most daring of figures are unrivalled. Mogi's girlfriend, Hanjoo (Jo Yi-jin), invites Soyo to join their team and he accepts enthusiastically. No sooner does he become a member of the skaters than his life changes completely. The loneliness Soyo sometimes felt simply disappears – as does his quiet existence. He soon makes enormous progress as a skater. Soyo's life becomes faster and more exciting, and Mogi and Hanjoo turn out to be the kind of friends he always dreamed of having. The team are busy preparing for the world championships, in which Mogi is to take part. But then, disaster strikes. The film crew with whom Mogi is working on a commercial shoot is particularly condescending to him. He allows himself to be goaded into performing a particularly dangerous jump that ends in a bad accident. All at once, the whole team is completely absorbed with trying to scrape the money together to pay off their looming debts, and Mogi appears to have lost all interest in skating. Soyo's faith in his new friends dwindles and the once-successful team threatens to fall apart. ===== Shirlee Kenyon is a dance instructor living in Arkansas. After she is fired for giving advice to her clients rather than teaching them dance, she attempts to convince her common-law husband (Michael Madsen) to move to Chicago with her. After he declines and then belittles her, she decides to move there without him. Once she arrives, she stands on a bridge enjoying the view of the city when she accidentally drops a twenty dollar bill. As she climbs over the rail to retrieve the money, Jack (James Woods), an investigative journalist, sees her from the office window of the newspaper for which he works, and assumes that she is trying to commit suicide. He runs out to rescue her, but as he attempts to grab her and "save" her, Shirlee loses her balance, and almost falls into the water below; she loses the money she had been trying to recover. After they recover, and she informs Jack that she had, in fact, not been attempting suicide, but was merely trying to recover a twenty dollar bill, Jack tries to give her money, saying she must need it more than him if she is willing to risk her life to retrieve it. She refuses and the two part. Shirlee stops into a cafe for breakfast, and strikes up a conversation with another customer, Janice (Teri Hatcher), who is annoyed at having been stood up by her boyfriend the previous evening. Shirlee tells Janice that he is taking her for granted, and advises her to end the relationship, only to realize that Janice's boyfriend is, in fact, Jack; Jack shows up, and Janice tells him she no longer wants to see him. Jack thanks Shirlee for "wrecking his entire day", as he exits the cafe. After a series of failed job interviews, a manager at a local radio station (Paula Newsome) hires her as a switchboard operator, despite her lack of experience, and during her first day, she inadvertently walks into a studio, and is mistaken for the station's new call in therapist, is put on the air, and begins hesitantly talking with the show's callers. Upon completion of the show, the program director arrives, and fires Shirlee, along with the producer and engineer, who had made the mistake in putting her on the air. However, Shirlee's radio segment becomes in high demand with their audience, prompting the radio station boss, Mr. Perlman, to demand that Shirlee be the new radio personality. Alan finds Shirlee and convince her to do the show offering an $800 per week contract. Shirlee accepts the position, but there is one condition: she must pretend to be a real clinical doctor. She reluctantly accepts and becomes a popular radio figure as "Doctor Shirlee." Jack suspects something when he realizes the woman who was ready to risk her life for twenty dollars is a doctor. Although his editor disagrees, Jack pursues the story. He begins to date Shirlee, initially in an attempt to get closer to her to uncover her story, but he soon falls in love with her. Shirlee's boyfriend from Arkansas arrives in Chicago to try to get her back, though his attempts fall short, and Shirlee and Jack make love. Afterwards, Jack develops true feelings for her and refuses to publish the story, resigning from his job over the matter. However, Shirlee receives another visit from her ex, who tells her that he just remembered having previously met Jack in Arkansas, and that he was asking a number of questions about her. This leads Shirlee to realize that Jack is, in fact, a reporter, and his interest in her is merely a means to uncovering her story. She storms off, and refuses to take Jack's calls. As Shirlee's popularity increases, a mishap involving some of her previous advice to one of her callers eventually causes her to confess the truth to everyone on air that she is not a real doctor, and she then leaves the show. All of her listeners call in and want her back, regardless of her credentials. Someone calls the show and tells everyone listening to honk their horns at midnight if they want Shirlee back. Jack tracks Shirlee down on the same bridge where they had first met and convinces her to take him back. When she hears the horns, Jack tells her that they are for her. She eventually goes back to the radio show, but insists that she just wants to be called "Shirlee." ===== The story is a first-person account of the life of a writer, Sites, and his wife Inger, the heroine of this book. Inger Krogh is a Norwegian exchange student coming to America after World War II, and this account begins when James Sites (a merchant mariner for the United States at the time) first meets her at sea following a shipwreck. The story touches on many political subjects, as Sites and his wife worked for and around many senior government officials in the United States during his lifetime. ===== Writer Ben Rolf, his wife Marian, and their 12-year-old son Davey tour a large, shabby, remote neo-classical 19th-century mansion to rent for the summer. The home's eccentric owners, elderly siblings Arnold and Rosalyn Allardyce, offer them a bargain price of $900 for the entire summer, with one odd request: Their elderly mother, who they claim is 85 but could pass for 60, will continue to live in her upstairs room, and the Rolfs are to provide her with meals during their stay. The siblings explain that the old woman is obsessed with privacy and will not interact with them, so meals are to be left outside her door. Marian eagerly accepts this task, having begun to succumb to the allure of the ornate house and its period decor. The family arrives at the house at the beginning of summer along with Ben's elderly Aunt Elizabeth, a painter. Marian quickly becomes obsessed with caring for the home, and eventually wears the Victorian era garments she finds in Mrs. Allardyce's suite, while increasingly distancing herself from her family. Of particular interest to her is Mrs. Allardyce's sitting room, which contains a collection of framed portraits of people from different eras, presumably former occupants of the house, and a music box. Mrs. Allardyce's meals go mostly untouched, according to Marian, who expresses concern. Various unusual circumstances occur during the summer: After Davey falls and hurts his knee playing in the garden, a dead plant starts to grow again; Ben cuts his hand on a champagne bottle, and a dead light bulb in the kitchen storeroom is mysteriously repaired; while playing in the pool, Ben turns violent and almost drowns Davey; a gas heater in Davey's bedroom turns itself on and the windows and door lock shut; Ben is haunted by a dream and a waking vision of an eerie, malevolently grinning hearse driver whom Ben first saw, or thought he saw, at his mother's funeral many years earlier. With each "accident," the house further restores itself. Initially unknown to her family, Marian is becoming possessed by the spirit of the house. When Aunt Elizabeth suddenly becomes ill and dies, Marian does not attend the funeral. She steps into the previously barren conservatory to discover the plants have revived and bloomed. Ben and Davey return to the house after the funeral. Ben confronts Marian, who retreats to Mrs. Allardyce's sitting room. Ben angrily confronts her about what her obsession with the house is doing to their family. When she denies it, he reveals his intention to leave the next day, "with or without you". Ben sleeps in an armchair in his son's room but awakens to a commotion outside. Looking out the window, he sees that old shingles and siding are falling away, replaced by new ones as the house rejuvenates itself. He attempts to escape with his son, but a tree blocks the road. When Marian drives them back to the house, Ben accuses her of being a part of what is going on, then sees her as the chauffeur, and becomes catatonic. The next day, while Davey is swimming and a still catatonic Ben is watching him, the placid pool water turns churns into vicious waves, pulling the boy under as Ben is unable to move. Only Marian has the power to save her son. She dives in and rescues him, the incident awakening Ben out of his catatonic state. Marian agrees that it's time to leave. As Ben readies his family to leave, Marian insists on going back inside to tell Mrs. Allardyce they are leaving and give her their phone number. When Marian fails to return to the car, Ben goes inside to find her, but cannot. Ben decides to confront Mrs. Allardyce, whom he has never seen. He is horrified when he discovers that his wife is now the old woman in the attic. Ben is thrown from an attic window, landing on the windshield of his car. In shock, Davey runs toward the house and is killed when one of the chimneys falls on him. With the house and grounds now fully rejuvenated, the Allardyce siblings and Walker reappear and are heard marveling at the restored beauty of their home and rejoicing over the return of their "mother". The photo collection now includes photos of Ben, Davey and Aunt Elizabeth, the latest victims. ===== In the early morning hours on November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. murders his entire family with a shotgun at their home in Amityville, New York. One year later, George and Kathy Lutz, a young married couple, move into the property. George appears not to be strong of faith, but Kathy is a Catholic in name at least. She has three children from her prior marriage: Greg, Matt, and Amy. The couple turn to Father Delaney to quickly bless the home, but Delaney encounters troubles in trying to bless the home, including a room full of flies, out of season; violent stomach sickness; and later, blisters on his palm when trying to make a phone call to Kathy at their home. The experience eventually stops when a door is opened, then a voice whispers "get out". He rushes out of the house when the voice yells at him, and he decides to continue helping the Lutz family. Delaney is later involved in a car accident resulting from mysterious malfunctions, and he becomes frustrated at the lack of support from his superiors in the diocese. He ultimately appears to lose faith, becoming blind and having a breakdown. Kathy's aunt, a nun, comes by the house one afternoon, but becomes violently ill. George begins to be more sullen and angry over perceived cold in the house, and obsesses with splitting logs and keeping the fireplace stoked. Before Kathy's brother's engagement party one night, $1,500 to be used for the caterer inexplicably goes missing in the house. Meanwhile, the babysitter watching Amy for the evening is locked inside a bedroom closet by an unseen force. Further unexplained incidents occur with one of the two boys suffers a crushed hand when a sash window falls on it, and Amy having an imaginary friend, Jody, who seems to be of a malevolent nature. Kathy catches a glimpse of two red, swine-like eyes outside the daughter's second-story bedroom window. Even the family dog, Harry, obsesses over a secret room in the basement. George's land surveying business begins to suffer with his lack of attendance, and his partner grows concerned. His business partner's wife, very sensitive to the paranormal, is both repulsed and intrigued by the things she feels when at the house. While in the basement of the house, Carolyn begins demolishing a wall with a hammer, revealing a small room behind the wall. Discovering the damage, George takes down the rest of the wall, observing a small room with red walls. Carolyn, in terror, shrieks that they have found "the passage... to hell!" – only her voice now sounds like Father Delaney's voice. Throughout the strange incidents, Kathy observes George's persistent waking up at 3:15 a.m., feeling he must go check on the boathouse. She also has nightmares, in which she is given details about the killings of the home's prior family. Research at the library and county records office suggest that the house is built atop a Shinnecock burial ground and that a known Satanic worshipper named John Ketchum had once lived on the land. She also discovers the news clippings about the DeFeo murders and notices Ronald DeFeo's striking resemblance to George. Finally, the paranormal events culminate one stormy night. Blood oozes from the walls and down the staircase; Jody, appearing as a large, red-eyed pig, is seen through a window; and George attempts to kill the children with an axe, but regains his wits after Kathy disrupts him. After falling through the basement stairs into a pit of black sludge while rescuing Harry, George and the rest of the family drive away, abandoning their home and belongings. A final intertitle reads: "George and Kathleen Lutz and their family never reclaimed their house or their personal belongings. Today they live in another state." ===== After finding her husband asleep in bed with his mistress, Lucy Harbin decapitates them both with an axe. Her three-year-old daughter, Carol, witnesses the murders. Lucy is committed to a psychiatric hospital and deemed criminally insane. Twenty years later, after she is found to be mentally sound and reformed, Lucy is released from the institution. She takes up residence at the farm of her brother Bill Cutler and sister-in-law Emily. Carol, now an artist and sculptor, also lives on the farm, having been adopted by the Cutlers after Lucy was committed. Carol swiftly makes attempts to bond with Lucy, encouraging her to dress and act the way she did in the past. When Carol attempts to introduce her wealthy fiancé, Michael Fields, however, Lucy is evasive. Lucy's stress is compounded by apparent auditory hallucinations in which she hears children singing a nursery rhyme comparing her to Lizzie Borden, as well as disturbing nightmares in which she finds herself lying in bed with her husband and his lover's severed heads. Lucy eventually meets Michael at a dinner party, and Carol is angered when Lucy is overtly flirtatious with him. When Lucy has a subsequent emotional breakdown, her sanity is questioned by Dr. Anderson, the psychologist following her. Later that night, Dr. Anderson is brutally murdered and dismembered in the Cutlers' barn after visiting with Carol to discuss Lucy's mental health. When Dr. Anderson is reported missing, Carol hides his car on the farm, as Lucy fears she may have killed him during a blackout episode. Leo, the handyman on the Cutler farm, witnesses Carol hiding the car, and subsequently takes it for himself, threatening Carol with blackmail. He is subsequently decapitated in the barn. Lucy and Carol visit Michael's parents' home for a dinner, during which Lucy is harshly judged by Michael's mother, Allison, who believes Carol is of a low class and is not fit to marry into the family. This results in a confrontation, after which Lucy storms out of the house in a rage. She is pursued by Carol and Michael, leaving Michael's parents alone at their home. Michael's father, Raymond, is butchered by the killer while alone in his closet. Allison is subsequently confronted by the killer upstairs, donning a latex mask and dressed like Lucy—at this moment, Lucy herself also enters the room, having returned to the house. Lucy fights with the killer, removing the mask and revealing the murderer as Carol, who has been impersonating Lucy while committing the murders. Michael appears, and Carol admits to the killings, which were driven by a love-hate relationship with her mother. Carol hoped to murder Michael's parents and frame Lucy for the crimes, effectively allowing her to marry Michael. Some time later, Lucy, accepting responsibility for her daughter's mental illness and hatred, looks on at various props Carol created in an attempt to drive her mad, including a tape-recorded nursery rhyme, and fake severed heads she sculpted and placed in Lucy's bed. Lucy departs to visit Carol in the psychiatric hospital where she is now confined. ===== Bergman plays Karin, a displaced Lithuanian in Italy, who secures release from an internment camp by marrying an Italian ex-POW fisherman, (Mario Vitale), whom she meets in the camp. He promises her a great life in his home island of Stromboli, a volcanic island located between the mainland of Italy and Sicily. She soon discovers that Stromboli is very harsh and barren, not at all what she expected, and the people, very traditional and conservative, many fishermen, show hostility and disdain towards this foreign woman who does not follow their ways. Karin becomes increasingly despondent and eventually decides to escape the volcano island. The film also features documentary-like segments about fishing and an actual evacuation of the town after an eruption of the volcano. ===== Police Lieutenant Collier Bonnabel (Barry Sullivan) of the homicide department explains that he only knows one way to solve a case: by applying pressure to all the suspects, playing on their strengths and weaknesses, until one of them snaps under the tension. He then cites a murder case involving Warren Quimby (Richard Basehart). In flashback, the bespectacled Quimby, night manager of the 24-hour Coast-to-Coast drugstore in Culver City, is married to the sluttish Claire (Audrey Totter). Saving and doing without, he is able to afford a nice house in the suburbs, but she is utterly unimpressed, refusing even to look inside. She eventually leaves him for the latest of her conquests, rich Barney Deager (Lloyd Gough). Quimby goes to Deager's Malibu beachfront house to try to get his wife back, but she wants nothing to do with him. When Quimby persists, Deager beats him up. He tells his sympathetic employee, Freddie, what happened. Freddie remarks that if it had been him, he would have killed the man. Deeply humiliated, Quimby takes up Freddie's idea. He constructs a new identity, cosmetics salesman Paul Sothern, buys contact lenses and flashier clothes, and rents an apartment in Westwood. As he is moving in, he meets his new neighbor, beautiful, sweet Mary Chanler (Cyd Charisse), whom he starts dating. One night Quimby, identifying himself as Paul Sothern, makes a phone call, leaving a message with Narco (Tito Renaldo), Deager's servant, that he will get Deager for some unspecified wrong. On a later night, he hitchhikes to Deager's place, grabs a barbecue prong and walks through the open patio door. He finds Deager asleep in a chair, but cannot go through with the killing. When he drops his weapon, Deager awakes. Quimby grabs the prong and holds it to Deager's neck, explaining that he came to kill him, but suddenly has realized that Claire is not worth it. Then, seeing that his wife is absent, he mocks Deager, guessing that Claire has said she was going to the movies--the excuse she used while cheating on him. After Quimby leaves, Deager ponders his situation. Claire later surprises Quimby by returning to him in their Culver City apartment. When he refuses to believe she has come back out of love, she tells him Deager has been murdered. Before Quimby has time to absorb the news, Bonnabel and his partner Lieutenant Gonsales (William Conrad) arrive to question them. They know that Claire left the murder scene before they were called. She says that she only went to Deager's place as a day guest to swim regularly and that she and her husband were Deager's friends. Quimby is forced to play along to avoid suspicion. The police are looking for Paul Sothern, the prime suspect. However, following his stated policy, Bonnabel leads Claire on, pretending he is attracted to her. The police get a break when Mary goes to the Bureau of Missing Persons, concerned about Sothern's disappearance. She brings a photograph. Bonnabel eventually realizes Sothern and Quimby are the same man. However, Deager was shot, and they do not have the gun. Bonnabel maneuvers Mary to Quimby's workplace to identify him, but she refuses to do so, and states that her faith in Sothern is unshaken. The police arrest Quimby anyway. Under questioning, he tells them his story, but they find it hard to believe. Later, Bonnabel tells Claire that they had to release her husband due to insufficient evidence; he plants the idea that the gun is the vital clue they need to convict Quimby. Claire retrieves the gun from its hiding place under a rock and plants it in Sothern's apartment. Quimby arrives, followed very shortly by the police. Claire claims she was searching for the gun, and Bonnabel encourages her to continue; she "finds" it under a chair cushion, but then Bonnabel explains that all the furnishings had been replaced and that Claire has incriminated herself. Claire is resigned to her fate, but defiantly walks out in the custody of Gonsales. Mary protests that nothing in the apartment has been changed; Bonnabel replies that it would have been too much work. Quimby and Mary are free to resume their relationship. ===== Thambi Velu Thondaiman (Madhavan) is a rebellious youth who cannot tolerate violence and injustice by any means. His main target is Sankara Pandian (Biju Menon), a rich local goon. Thambi wants Sankara Pandian to leave all his illegal activities and violence. One day Thambi interrupts Archana’s (Pooja) stage performance when chasing a wrongdoer. Archana misunderstands Thambi as a rowdy and hates him, but Thambi saves Archana in a restaurant when a few guys try molesting her, following which she starts liking him, which gradually transforms into love. However, Thambi does not reciprocate and wants Archana to stop following him as he has so many enemies in the city. Thambi is invited to his alma mater to preside for a function where he opens up his personal story. A flashback is shown where Thambi was leading a joyful life with his parents and sister. Once, Thambi spots a murder committed by Saravana Pandian (Shanmugarajan), Sankara Pandian's brother. Thambi becomes the murder witness and identifies the murderer in court, which angers Sankara Pandian. To avenge his brother’s arrest, Sankara Pandian murders Thambi’s parents and sister. This made Thambi transform into a fearless youth trying to make the city free from violence. Thambi wants Sankara Pandian to transform into a good guy and prevents all his plans to erupt violence in the city. Finally, Sankara Pandian brings in violence and clashes in the city one day for political reasons. Unfortunately, his mother suddenly suffers a from heart attack, and he rushes to the hospital with her. On the way, however, his car gets blocked in traffic as there is violence everywhere on the roads, and he could not reach the hospital on time. Thambi comes to the spot, and Sankara Pandian thinks that Thambi will take revenge on him by killing his family. However, to his surprise, Thambi lifts Sankara Pandian’s mother from the car and runs to the hospital. Sankara Pandian’s mother is saved, following which Sankara Pandian realizes his mistake and admires Thambi’s great affection for the well-being of every person although not related to him. He also decides to leave all his violence and illegal activities and apologizes to Thambi for his wrongful acts committed. In the end, Thambi and Archana unite. ===== Mordecai C. Jones (Scott)a self-styled "M.B.S., C.S., D.D. Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork- Screwing and Dirty-Dealing!"is a drifting confidence trickster who makes his living defrauding people in the Southern United States using tricks such as rigged punchboards, playing cards, and found wallets. He befriends a young man named Curley (Sarrazin), a deserter from the United States Army, and the two form a team to make money. In their escapades, they wreck a town during a hair-raising chase in their stolen car, steal a truck loaded with moonshine whiskey that they sell, break out of a sheriff's office, and discover a riverboat brothel. In the ending scene, Mordecai explains how he sees himself. ===== After Gabrielle's daughter Hope kills Xena's son Solan in the previous episode, a rift grows between them, with Xena blaming Gabrielle for Solan's death. At the start of the episode, Xena attacks and attempts to kill Gabrielle, only to be thwarted at the last moment when both fall into the sea and are brought to the land of Illusia. Both of them awaken completely nude, and are guided and given new clothing by Callisto and Joxer. Then Ares, Lila, and their associates try to set Xena and Gabrielle against each other. The land of Illusia is never actually explained, though it is implied that it was created by a primordial divine force called 'Aleph', and by 'the fates'. The entire episode appears to be a deus ex machina to bring the two of them back together when nothing else could. Throughout the episode the two are forced to realize what drove them apart, and what is truly important to them. Ultimately realizing that the only thing separating the two of them is hate, and that they truly do love each other, and would sacrifice their own lives for each other. ===== Rocky Mulloy was sentenced to life in prison for a robbery and murder that he did not commit. He is released five years later when an "eyewitness", a one-legged ex-Marine named Delong, appears and provides a fake alibi. Delong wants a share of the missing loot: $100,000. Rocky insists he was not involved and sets out to find who framed him, hoping to free his friend Danny Morgan, still in prison for the same crime. They go see Morgan's wife Nancy, a former love of Rocky's, who now lives in a trailer park. Police Lt. Gus Cobb tells Rocky he will be under 24-hour surveillance. Rocky believes that bookie Louis Castro is the mastermind. He demands $50,000 at gunpoint. Castro only gives him $500 to bet on a longshot on a fixed horse race. Rocky collects $4000, but he soon finds out that the money is from a payroll robbery, gives it all back to the police, and is nearly arrested until Castro claims he never met with Rocky, a lie the police know is false since they tailed Rocky to Castro's office previously. Later, two men shoot at Delong and his girlfriend Darlene near Rocky's rented trailer. Driving away to escape, they are shot at and crash. Delong is injured and Darlene is killed. Nancy realizes they were mistaken for Rocky and her. Rocky then plays Russian roulette with Castro, with the gun always pointed at the bookie, until Castro reveals where the robbery money is. He also claims Morgan participated in the robbery and committed the murder and that Nancy has his share. Rocky orders Castro to telephone Cobb and tell him he will make a full confession. Castro instead calls his henchmen, the ones who killed Darlene. However, Rocky is not fooled. He calls Cobb himself, and the two killers walk into a police trap. Then Rocky goes to see Nancy and tells her he could not find Castro. Nancy confesses she has the money. She says she loves him and begs him to run away together with the loot. Rocky pretends to agree, but leaves her for the law. ===== The story of Hantsuki focuses on the budding relationship between the seventeen year old Yūichi Ezaki and Rika Akiba. They are hospitalized in Yūichi's home town for their conditions. Yūichi has hepatitis A, while Rika has problems with a weak heart valve. These teens then fall in love while they spend time with one another. The story is based in Ise, Mie prefecture. ===== The work traces the death of Claudius, his ascent to heaven and judgment by the gods, and his eventual descent to Hades. At each turn, of course, Seneca mocks the late emperor's personal failings, most notably his arrogant cruelty and his inarticulacy. After Mercury persuades Clotho to kill the emperor, Claudius walks to Mount Olympus, where he convinces Hercules to let the gods hear his suit for deification in a session of the divine senate. Proceedings are in Claudius' favor until Augustus delivers a long and sincere speech listing some of Claudius' most notorious crimes. Most of the speeches of the gods are lost through a large gap in the text. Mercury escorts him to Hades. On the way, they see the funeral procession for the emperor, in which a crew of venal characters mourn the loss of the perpetual Saturnalia of the previous reign. In Hades, Claudius is greeted by the ghosts of all the friends he has murdered. These shades carry him off to be punished, and the doom of the gods is that he should shake dice forever in a box with no bottom (gambling was one of Claudius' vices): every time he tries to throw the dice they fall out and he has to search the ground for them. Suddenly Caligula turns up, claims that Claudius is an ex-slave of his, and hands him over to be a law clerk in the court of the underworld. ===== Galahad Threepwood is in residence at Blandings Castle, and finds his brother Lord Emsworth, the ninth Earl, beset by the usual collection of woes. His sister, Lady Hermione Wedge, has not only hired a secretary (Sandy Callender) to mind his affairs, but has also invited Dame Daphne Winkworth to stay and, as Galahad discovers, to reignite an old flame and take up permanent residence as the next Countess. Joining the house party are Tipton Plimsoll, a young multimillionaire who is engaged to Lady Hermione's daughter Veronica, and Lady Hermione's nephew Wilfred Allsop, a struggling young pianist who is in love with Emsworth's pig-girl Monica Simmons. Wilfred and Tipton had met in New York several days earlier for an evening of dinner, drinks, and imprisonment. (They also met policeman Officer Garroway, from The Small Bachelor.) Wilfred has been engaged by Dame Daphne to teach music at her girls' school, a prospect that Wilfred cannot refuse but is also anxious about, as Dame Daphne is intolerant of drinking among her staff. Galahad's chief task at Blandings is to deal with sundered hearts, namely those of Sandy and her now-ex-betrothed Sam Bagshott. Gally has known Sandy for years, and was good friends with Sam's father "Boko" Bagshott, and is disturbed at their falling-out over a minor matter of a bet in the Drones Club marriage sweepstakes. Sam needs £700 to fix up his inherited family seat and sell it (to Oofy Prosser), and has drawn Tipton in the race for the next to be married. The other front-runners have dropped out, and Sam believes he has a sure winner, as Lady Hermione will not let Veronica lose her a multimillionaire son-in-law. Sandy, who knew Tipton from working for his uncle Chet Tipton in New York, believes that this engagement will go the way of all his others, and is upset at Sam for not selling his stake to a syndicate that has offered a firm £100. If Sam would come down to Blandings, Gally believes, and plead his case with Sandy, all would be resolved. But when Sam does so, his first accidental encounter with Sandy proves disastrous: he chases her, she eludes him, and in giving up the chase he is confronted by the local constabulary. Constable Evans informs him, and he discovers that he cannot dispute, that in leaving the Emsworth Arms he made off with Sebastian Beach's gold pocket watch. (Beach had left it with the barmaid Marlene to admire, and she had been showing it to Sam when he spied Sandy). Already grumpy from Sandy's rebuff, Sam deals with the accusation by punching Constable Evans in the eye and fleeing on the constable's bicycle. When Gally hears of this, he insists on bringing Sam into the Castle, and decides that he should enter under the name of Augustus Whipple, noted author of On The Care of the Pig, Emsworth's revered reference work for the care and feeding of his prize pig Empress of Blandings. On encountering Emsworth at the Empress' sty, Sam diagnoses her malady as not swine fever, but instead intoxication (from the contents of Wilfred's flask, intended to steel him for proposing to Monica Simmons but dropped when discovered by Dame Daphne's son Huxley.) In gratitude Emsworth invites Sam to stay at Blandings, while a boosted Wilfred wins his Monica. Meanwhile, Lady Hermione has learned from Emsworth that Tipton had lost all his money in the stock market crash and is now impoverished. She rushes up to London to instruct Veronica to break the engagement in a letter to be delivered by the next post. When Colonel Wedge receives Tipton, who is driving a Rolls-Royce and brandishing an £8000 necklace for Vee, he asks Gally to intercept the letter, which Gally is pleased to do. Gally goes a step further and gives the letter to Sam. On Hermione's return, when Beach informs her that the man who stole his watch is at the Castle impersonating Augustus Whipple, Gally threatens to deliver the letter to Tipton unless Hermione allows Sam to stay. Hermione tries searching Sam's room, but only succeeds in losing Wilfed his job with Dame Daphne, when her son Huxley discovers him singing in the corridor as a signal to his aunt. Sandy confronts Galahad, but ends up persuaded by him to take Sam back. They find him locked in the potting shed, where he has been imprisoned by Constable Evans. Sandy frees him from the shed and they are reconciled. But not all the couples remain happy: Emsworth discovers the fatal letter in his desk, where Gally had hidden it, and has it delivered to Tipton. Gally has hard work convincing Tipton that Veronica meant not a word of it, and Tipton phones Veronica and the rift is mended as quickly as made. Tipton takes Wilfred and Monica Simmons up to London to gather Vee and head to the registrar's for a double wedding. Not everything is wrapped up, though. Emsworth is still in peril of matrimony from Dame Daphne, Sam still has to collect on his winning ticket, and the Law still looms over Sam's shoulder. Sandy hears that another Drones Club member has won the sweepstakes, and Sam's stake is worthless. Lady Hermione, having discovered that the letter was delivered and nullified, now announces her intention to expose Sam; Gally leads her to the library where he claims Sam is, and locks her in. He rushes to Emsworth, to touch him for the thousand pounds before Lady Hermione can summon aid. He finds Emsworth rattled and deflated. In Monica Simmons' absence, young Huxley attempts to release the Empress from her sty. Having morning head after her bender, she responds by biting the lad's finger. Dame Winkworth deems her dangerous and demands that she be destroyed; Emsworth calls her a fool and telephones the veterinarian to find whether there was any risk of infection to the Empress. At that Dame Daphne leaves the household. Hermione, finding that Emsworth has driven away Dame Daphne, exposes Sam, declares Emsworth to be impossible to manage, and leaves as well. The ninth Earl is reluctant now to lend money to an impostor, but Gally reminds him that he has now been freed of the threat of marriage to Dame Daphne, and of the supervision of their sister Hermione, and that if he lends the money to Sam all his troubles will be ended, as Sam will take his secretary out of his life. Emsworth gladly does so, and peace reigns over Blandings once again. ===== The novel is set in a nursing home. It follows part of a typical day for a group of elderly people, both male and female. Their thoughts, memories and opinions of each other and the House Mother (head matron) are explored as they go about their activities, from playing pass-the-parcel to dancing. ===== alt= The play takes place in ancient Athens, but the world displayed is a complex construct which does not correspond to any particular historical period. Alongside references to classical Greece there are anachronisms and many elements particular to Western Europe, such as the jousting competition. The work is divided in the following five parts: I. After several years of marriage, a daughter (Aretousa) is born to the King of Athens (Heracles) and his wife. The son of the faithful adviser to the king (Erotokritos) falls in love with the princess. Because he cannot reveal his love, he sings under her window in the evenings. The girl gradually falls in love with the unknown singer. Heracles, when he learns about the singer, organizes an ambush to arrest him, but Erotokritos with his beloved friend kills the soldiers of the king. Erotokritos, realising that his love cannot have a happy ending travels to Chalkida to forget. During his absence, his father falls ill and when Aretousa visits him, she finds in the room of Erotokritos a painting of hers and the lyrics he sang. When he returns, he discovers the absence of his drawing and songs and learns that the only person that visited them was Aretousa. Realizing that his identity was revealed and that he may be at risk, he stays at home pretending to be ill. Aretousa sends him a basket of apples to wish him well and as an indication she shares his feelings. II. The king organizes a jousting competition for the entertainment of his daughter. Many noblemen from around the known world participate and Erotokritos is the winner. III. The couple begins to secretly meet under the window of Aretousa. The girl pleads with Erotokritos to ask her father to allow them to marry. Naturally, the king is angry with the audacity of the young man and has him exiled. Simultaneously a marriage proposal for Arethusa arrives by the king of Byzantium. The girl immediately gets engaged secretly to Erotokritos before he leaves the city. IV. Aretousa refuses to consider any marriage proposals and is imprisoned by the king alongside her faithful nanny. After three years, when the Vlachs besiege Athens, Erotokritos reappears, his true identity concealed through magic. In a battle he saves the life of the king and gets wounded in the process. V. In order to thank the wounded stranger the king offers him his daughter as spouse. Aretousa refuses to accept this marriage and in discussion with the disguised Erotokritos she persists in her refusal. Erotokritos submits her to tests to confirm her faith and finally reveals himself after breaking the spell that concealed his identity. The king accepts the marriage and reconciles with Erotokritos and his father, and Erotokritos ascends to the throne of Athens. ===== The action takes place in the period between 1880 and 1914 against the background of the slate quarries of north Wales, the region where the author was brought up. The main character, Jane Gruffydd, is a mother of six forced to overcome many hardships in order to bring up her family. Category:1936 British novels Category:Welsh-language novels Category:Novels set in Gwynedd ===== As the narrative opens, we meet Comet Jo at eighteen years of age. He has spent his entire life in a "simplex" society on Rhys, a satellite of a Jovian planet orbiting Tau Ceti. (At first it might seem that "simplex" means "simple" or "unintelligent," but after Jo's encounter with the "Geodesic Survey Station" at the latest, it will be clear the notion is much more complicated.) Jo comes upon the wreckage of a spacecraft and encounters two survivors. The first is quickly dying and asks Jo to bring an important message to Empire Star moments before passing away. The other is a lifeform known as Jewel. Jewel is a tritovian in crystallized form, and in that state can easily view situations from several points of view, thus enabling narration from the point of view of the omniscient observer. Jo quickly leaves Rhys in an attempt to deliver the message to Empire Star, and on his journey he meets several other characters along with a race of creatures known as the Lll. The Lll are incredible builders—not merely of structures, but of ecosystems, societies, and ethical systems. As such, they have been enslaved. However, in order to protect the Lll, the Empire has created a phenomenon known as “the sadness of the Lll”—any being who owns the Lll suffers from a constant, overpowering sadness. This sadness increases geometrically with each Lll owned and with how much each Lll builds, so it is only possible to own a few Lll at a time. Indeed, just being in the presence of the Lll is a heartbreaking experience for even non-owners, a lesson that Jo learns early in his travels. The story then follows Jo over the next few months. Once he reaches a certain point in his maturity, knowledge, and ability to perceive events around him, the linear narrative stops and the reader is left with a few pages of important events not arranged in a strict order; by this point, the reader may have learned enough to sort out the tangle. Along the way, several questions are raised, either explicitly or implicitly. What is the message that Comet Jo must deliver? Who is coming to free the Lll? Will the Lll ever actually be freed? Is the story a closed loop, or is there indeed an end (or at least a point at which events move on past the ones mentioned in the story)? Who, exactly, entered the Empire Star? How many of the events of the story are arranged by those people? ===== Two sailors sneak a talking duck aboard their ship. Complications ensue. The duck waddles all over the ship until he escapes. ===== After being kept behind in detention by his unpleasant French teacher, Mr Palis, Nicholas Simple (also known as "Nick Diamond") is visited by Chief Inspector Snape of Scotland Yard and his assistant, Boyle. They ask Nick if he would like to go to Strangeday Hall, an institution for criminals aged under 18, and befriend inmate Johnny Powers, a gang leader known as "Public Enemy Number One" following his recent conviction and 15-year prison sentence for armed robbery. They want Nick to find out the true identity of an unknown master criminal who controls all the buying and selling of stolen goods in London, known only as "the Fence". Nick refuses their offer and the police leave. Soon afterwards, Nick visits Woburn Abbey on a school trip, but is framed for attempting to steal the Woburn Carbuncles, and despite his attempts to evade police, is arrested and sentenced to 18 months at Strangeday Hall. He has to share a cell with Johnny Powers - just as Snape and Boyle wanted, and no doubt arranged, to happen. Soon after he arrives, Snape and Boyle visit Nick and reveal that they arranged to have Nick framed. Nick manages to gain Johnny's trust after he saves Johnny from being killed by three followers of a notorious London gangster known as Big Ed. Nick and Johnny soon escape Strangeday Hall with the help of Tim Diamond, Nick's brother (an unsuccessful private detective), and Ma Powers, Johnny's mother. They are pursued by the police but manage to escape. However, during the chase, Snape and Boyle appear and their car crashes and explodes, leaving Nick convinced that they are both dead and that he's the only person alive who knows he's innocent. Nick and Tim stay at Johnny's hideout in Wapping for a while, until Nick overhears Johnny telling Ma that he is going to see "Penelope". Believing Penelope to be the Fence, Nick follows Johnny into the Wapping tube station but loses him there. After making his way out onto the street, he is then captured by henchmen of Big Ed, who later tie him to a train track, intending for him to be killed by a train. Nick is rescued by a man who cuts him free from the tracks just before the train passes. Nick knows that he had seen that man before, but doesn't know where, and the man has quickly disappeared. To prove his loyalty to Johnny, and take revenge on Ed, Nick burns the railway carriage which is their hide-out, by emptying an oil drum and starting a fire. Nick decides that he must go back to Johnny and Tim, but he is still determined to find the Fence, in the hope of being able to barter his freedom. Nick realises that Palis, his French teacher, could have seen Snape and Boyle on the afternoon that he was serving a detention. He heads for Palis's flat in Chelsea but is nearly caught by the police there; they had spotted him in a nearby street. Palis saves him, and Nick explains his mission to him. He stays the night at Palis's flat. Palis drives Nick back to Wapping the following morning and tells him to get in touch if he needs anything. At the hideout, Nick sees a doorbell. Not recalling one, he enters the house through the back and rescues Tim from a bomb rigged to go off if the newly installed bell had been rung. Tim then explains that Johnny had come back the previous afternoon from wherever he had been to find Nick gone. They hadn't liked his answers, and during the night Johnny dragged Tim out of bed and tied him up before rigging the bomb. Nick and Tim discover that "Penelope" is actually a boat, and decide to keep a watch on the Penelope from a nearby derelict house. After seeing men storing objects aboard the Penelope, Nick remembers that Johnny went to "Penelope" through Wapping Tube Station. Nick and Tim go there and discover a secret entrance to a tunnel, which Johnny lost Nick through. The tunnel leads under the River Thames to the Fence's hideout where the brothers see many valuable stolen articles. They then encounter Nails Nathan, and Johnny appears on the scene, aware that Nick is working for the police. He ties them up and locks them in a room, but they soon escape. Nick has brought the bomb with him in his backpack, and uses it to destroy the door to the room they are locked in. On their way out, Johnny re-appears and is ready to shoot Nick and Tim, but they are stopped by Snape and a group of armed policemen, who have been tracking Nick through the tracking device in his prison shoes since he escaped. Snape, who survived the crash uninjured (and had also rescued Nick when he was tied to the railway track), is intent on arresting Powers and his gang, but the roof of the underground den collapses. Ultimately, Nick and Tim survive, Ma Powers is arrested, but Johnny and Nails Nathan escape, while the Fence is still nowhere to be seen and there is still no clue to his or her true identity, although the Fence's operation is destroyed. Nick is subsequently cleared of all charges. After Nick returns to school, he is sitting in a French lesson when Palis instructs Nick to translate a French paragraph. While doing so, Nick realises from the message he reads that Palis is the Fence, and that Palis had told Johnny Powers that he had been working for the police. At the end of the lesson, Palis announces to the class that he is leaving the school. He dismisses the whole class except Nick, who realises that Palis wants to kill him. Palis chases Nick to the school's roof with a gun, but wastes all his bullets trying to kill him. Palis attempts to plough into Nick, but falls over the side of the building, and dies when he impales himself on a fence. With Palis dead, the story ends with Nick's troubles over. ===== The novel starts with a foreword that assures that everything in the story is a real account of the title character's exploits in the Underworld. The story is set, according to the book, in the Norwegian harbor town of Bergen in 1664, after Klim returns from Copenhagen, where he has studied philosophy and theology at the University of Copenhagen and graduated magna cum laude. His curiosity drives him to investigate a strange cave in a mountainside above the town, which sends out regular gusts of warm air. He ends up falling down the hole, and after a while he finds himself floating in free space. After a few days of orbiting the planet which revolves around the inner sun, he is attacked by a gryphon, and he falls down on the planet, which is named Nazar. There he wanders about for a short while until he is attacked, this time by an ox. He climbs up into a tree, and to his astonishment the tree can move and talk (this one screamed), and he is taken prisoner by tree-like creatures with up to six arms and faces just below the branches. He is accused of attempted rape on the town clerk's wife, and is put on trial. The case is dismissed and he is set by the Lord of Potu (the utopian state in which he now is located) to learn the language. Klim quickly learns the language of the Potuans, but this reflects badly on him when the Lord is about to issue him a job, because the Potuans believe that if one perceives a problem at a slow rate, the better it will be understood and solved. But, since he has considerably longer legs than the Potuans, who walk very slowly, he is set to be the Lord's personal courier, delivering letters and suchlike. During the course of the book, Klim vividly chronicles the culture of the Potuans, their religion, their way of life and the many different countries located on Nazar. After his two-month-long circumnavigation on foot, he is appalled by the fact that men and women are equal and share the same kind of jobs, so he files a suggestion to the Lord of Potu to remove women from higher positions in society. His suggestion is poorly received and he is sentenced to be exiled to the inner rim of the Earth's crust. There he becomes familiar with a country inhabited by sentient monkeys, and after a few years he becomes emperor of the land of Quama, inhabited by the only creatures in the Underworld that look like humans. There, he marries and fathers a son. But again he is driven from hearth and home due to his tyranny and as he escapes he falls into a hole, which carries him through the crust and back up to Bergen again. There, he is mistaken by the townsfolk to be the Wandering Jew, mostly due to a lingual misunderstanding (he asks a couple of young boys where he is in quamittian, which is Jeru Pikal Salim, and the boys think he is talking about Jerusalem). He learns that he has been away for twelve years, and is taken in by his old friend, mayor Abelin, who writes down everything Klim tells him. He later receives a job as principal of the college of Bergen, and marries. ===== On September 27, 1941, Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most feared top officials of the Nazi Party, an architect of the Holocaust and Hitler's possible successor, is appointed "Reichsprotektor" of Bohemia and Moravia. As a result of his brutality and oppression he is also called "The Butcher of Prague" or "The Blond Beast". In UK, a squad of agents is selected, trained and parachuted into Czechoslovakia. The team operated in Prague and planned the attack for about six months. The mission, Operation Anthropoid, is executed in the capital on May 27, 1942 by means of an ambush; it almost fails when one of their Sten guns jams, but Heydrich is severely wounded by a grenade. Heydrich eventually succumbs to his wounds and during the frenzied aftermath the German high command takes savage reprisals, including the massacre of 340 men, women and children of the village of Lidice and the razing of the village. The group is eventually betrayed by one of its members and they are cornered in a church crypt in Prague. In the gun-battle that follows all agents commit suicide. ===== The narrator, an unnamed illustrator and aspiring painter, hires a faded genteel couple, the Monarchs, as models, after they have lost most of their money and must find some line of work. They are the "real thing" in that they perfectly represent the aristocratic type, but they prove inflexible for the painter's work. He comes to rely much more on two lower-class subjects who are nevertheless more capable: Oronte, an Italian, and Miss Churm, a lower-class Englishwoman. The illustrator finally has to get rid of the Monarchs, especially after his friend and fellow artist Jack Hawley criticizes the work in which the Monarchs are represented. Hawley says that the pair has hurt the narrator's art, perhaps permanently. In the final line of the story the narrator says he is "content to have paid the price--for the memory". ===== The Fuma Conspiracy begins at the wedding of Goemon Ishikawa XIII and his fiancée Murasaki Suminawa. During the ceremony, the Suminawa family heirloom, a valuable antique urn, is entrusted to Goemon. Before the ceremony is completed, several ninja attack and attempt to steal the urn. Arsène Lupin III and his colleagues fight off the ninja, but during the confusion, another group of ninja kidnap Murasaki and leave a ransom note proposing to trade Murasaki for the antique urn. Meanwhile, Inspector Koichi Zenigata has retired to a Buddhist temple following the apparent death of his long-time quarry, Lupin. Kazami, a colleague from the police force, tries to persuade him to return to work. Zenigata has "no interest in a world without Lupin"; but when shown a photograph of Lupin taken at the disrupted wedding, Zenigata comes out of retirement and resumes his lifelong pursuit of Lupin. Lupin and Jigen in their modified Fiat 500, with Inspector Zenigata in pursuit.At the Suminawa household, Clan Elder Suminawa explains to Goemon that the urn holds the secret location of the Suminawa family treasure. The Fuma Clan ninja, who attacked during the wedding, have been trying to steal the urn for centuries. He refuses to trade the family urn for his granddaughter Murasaki, so Lupin steals it. Lupin and Daisuke Jigen discover that the urn contains a hidden drawing revealing the location of the treasure: a cave deep in the mountains. Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon follow the ransom note instructions and exchange the urn for Murasaki, but the ninja double-cross them and start shooting. Zenigata and his officers arrive in time to see Lupin his friends escape on a train. The race is on as Lupin and company try to beat the Fuma Clan to the treasure, with Zenigata in hot pursuit. Following a lead, Fujiko Mine discovers the Fuma Clan headquarters, but they discover and capture her. Among the ranks of the Fuma Clan, Fujiko spots Inspector Kazami, who has secretly been working for the clan's Boss. The Fumas have also discovered the map on the urn; and now that the urn is useless, they handcuff Fujiko and Kazami puts the urn over her head to mock her. The Boss, Kazami, and the ninja leave for the treasure cave. Handcuffed to a thick post, Fujiko escapes by enticing the lone guard to scratch her back. When he does so, she bashes the urn on her head into the face of the guard and takes his cuffkeys. As she escapes, she sees a golden key among the urn shards. She takes the key and keeps it secret. Inside the treasure cave, Suminawa confronts The Boss. He disarms Suminawa and has him thrown over the cliff. When Murasaki and Goemon arrive, they begin negotiating the trap-laden caves beneath the mountain to find the ancient treasure. Murasaki discovers a secret passage, but the Boss and the Fuma Clan ninjas follow them stealthily. Goemon enters a hall lined with samurai armor, but his entrance has triggered the hall to fill with a hallucinogenic gas. The gas causes him to attack Lupin and his friends, and in the scuffle he inadvertently injures Murasaki. After surviving the gas, Lupin and company enter a large cavern, where they find an old castle furnished from top to bottom with items of solid gold. They are ambushed by the Fuma Clan; Kazami captures Murasaki and holds her hostage at knife point. Not wanting to cause the death of Goemon, Murasaki throws herself off the castle roof, taking the treacherous Kazami with her. Enraged, Goemon pursues the Boss in a running battle across the roof, ending with the Boss' death. Lupin and Jigen rescue Murasaki, who had just managed to catch a ledge to prevent her from falling to her death. At the cave entrance, Zenigata and his officers rescue Suminawa from the river at the base of the cliff. He explains that the cave is rigged to collapse, because the golden fail-safe key in the urn - the one Fujiko found - has been lost. Zenigata and Suminawa rush into the cave and arrive at the castle just in time to tell Lupin and friends about the collapse. Zenigata and Suminawa exit via the main tunnel, but Lupin's group exits through a distant tunnel and escapes from Zenigata and his officers. Fujiko saved a gold roof tile, but refuses to share it and rides off on her motorcycle. Goemon bids farewell to his fiancée, declaring that he must undergo training to address his weaknesses; only then will he return to marry Murasaki. She calls out to him, declaring that she won't wait for him. Goemon looks back at Murasaki for a moment, then continues on his journey. ===== A teenager named Or (Dana Ivgy) works a variety of odd jobs to help support herself and her mother. When her mother, Ruthie (Ronit Elkabetz), returns home after a hospital stay, Or tells Ruthie she has found her a job cleaning houses. However, Ruthie is unmotivated by her new poorly paid job and quickly returns to prostitution. In the meantime, Or begins a burgeoning romance with her neighbour and childhood friend, Ido. After they sleep together, Ido's mother confronts Ruthie and makes it clear that though she likes Or she does not approve of their relationship. Her relationship with Ido and his family crumbling, and finding herself unable to make rent and desperate to save her mother from the streets, Or begins to prostitute herself as well, first by offering sexual services to her landlord and finally by joining an escort service. ===== In 1979 in Charkhi,On location shooting actually done in Wah village, Northern Punjab. See a village in the Punjab province of Pakistan, Ayesha (a middle-aged widow) lives with her son Saleem, a teenager in love with schoolgirl Zubeida. Ayesha supports herself and Saleem with her late husband's pension and by giving lessons in the Qur'an to village girls. She refuses to go to the village well, and her neighbor's daughters draw water for her. Villagers like Amin, the postman, are troubled by the recent hanging of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by Zia-ul- Haq, the new military ruler who has promised to enforce Islamic law and encourages Islamic missionary and political groups. Two Islamic activists come to the village and, supported by the village choudhury, spread their message of Islamic zealotry and gain recruits to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The older men in the village are disdainful of their intolerance and puritanism, cynical about Zia's postponement of elections and angry when the activists accuse them of being traitors. The activists gain a following amongst the village youth, including Saleem. They cajole and intimidate Saleem into attending a political meeting in Rawalpindi, where the speakers exhort the audience to commit themselves to jihad for the creation of an Islamic Pakistani state. Attracted by their zeal and call to serve Islam and Pakistan, Saleem (who wants to be more than a village farmer) breaks up with Zubeida and becomes estranged from his mother. Ayesha unsuccessfully tries to discourage him from following the Islamists. Saleem helps build a wall around the girls' school to "protect" them and enforces the closing of village shops during namaaz in line with Zia-ul-Haq's Islamisation, and Ayesha and Zubeida are alarmed by his transformation. After an agreement between the Indian and Pakistani governments, a group of Sikh pilgrims from India, arrives in Pakistan to visit Sikh shrines. They come to Charkhi, the village they were forced to flee during the bloody partition of India in 1947. A pilgrim wants to look for his sister, who he believes survived the violence. The visitors have a mixed reception: a warm welcome from the village barber and hostility from the growing number of young Muslim zealots. Saleem is embarrassed that his mother sent food to the pilgrims and teaches the village girls that non- Muslims can go to heaven. The pilgrim asks some villagers, including Amin, if they knew if a Sikh woman survived the riots. They say they do not know, but Amin later visits the pilgrim's hut and tells him to look for the woman who never goes to the well. Following the girls who bring water to her house, the pilgrim finds Ayesha. When he asks her if she knows a Sikh woman who survived the riots, she anxiously tells him to leave. Saleem sees the pilgrim talking to his mother, and hears him call her "Veero" and tell her that her father wanted to see her before he died. Saleem is shocked to learn that Ayesha was Veero, a Sikh; in a flashback, she was amongst a group of village Sikh women lined up to jump into the village well rather than be raped by a Muslim mob in 1947. The Sikh men (including her father) want her to jump, but Veero runs away and is later caught, raped and imprisoned. Her rapist, remorseful, offers to marry her and she begins life as a Muslim. Saleem reports this to his friends, who demand that Ayesha make a public declaration of her Islamic faith; she refuses and is shunned by the villagers, including her best friends. For the first time in over thirty years, she must fetch her own water. Ayesha meets her Sikh brother at the well but refuses to accompany him, condemning her father for encouraging her to commit suicide and asking how he would feel knowing that she was living as a Muslim. Her isolation increases, with only Zubeida keeping in touch with her. Realizing that she cannot escape her past, Ayesha jumps into the well. Saleem buries her, gathers her papers and belongings and throws them into the river. In 2002 in Rawalpindi, Zubeida remembers Ayesha. In the street she sees a bearded Saleem, secretary-general of an Islamist organisation, answering questions about the compatibility of Islamic law with democracy. ===== Uzak tells the story of Yusuf (Mehmet Emin Toprak), a young factory worker who loses his job and travels to Istanbul to stay with his relative Mahmut (Muzaffer Özdemir) while looking for a job. Mahmut is a relatively wealthy and intellectual photographer, whereas Yusuf is almost illiterate, uneducated, and unsophisticated. The two do not get along well. Yusuf assumes that he will easily find work as a sailor, but there are no jobs, and he has no sense of direction or energy. Meanwhile, Mahmut, despite his wealth, is aimless too: his job, which consists of photographing tiles, is dull and inartistic, he can barely express emotions towards his ex-wife or his lover, and while he pretends to enjoy intellectual filmmakers like Andrei Tarkovsky, he switches channels to watch porn as soon as Yusuf leaves the room. Mahmut attempts to bond with Yusuf and recapture his love of art by taking him on a drive to photograph the beautiful Turkish countryside, but the attempt is a failure on both counts. At the end of the film, Yusuf leaves without telling Mahmut, who is left to sit by the docks, watching the ships on his own. ===== Dencombe, a novelist who has been seriously ill, is convalescing at the English seaside town of Bournemouth. He is sitting near the water and reading his latest book entitled, of course, The Middle Years. A young physician named Dr. Hugh comes over to Dencombe and begins to talk about his admiration for the novel, though he doesn't realize that he's speaking to the book's author. The weakened Dencombe suddenly loses consciousness. When he revives, he finds that Dr. Hugh has recognized him, and that the physician is also attending a wealthy woman referred to only as the Countess. Over the next few days Dr. Hugh pays more attention to Dencombe than to the Countess, and he is warned about this by the wealthy woman's companion, Miss Vernham. A few days later Dencombe relapses. Dr. Hugh tells Dencombe that the Countess has died and left him nothing in her will. Close to death Dencombe whispers to Dr. Hugh the eloquent words quoted above. The tale's final sentence tells how Dencombe's first and only chance at life and art has ended. ===== Elizabeth Sawyer is a poor, lonely, and unfairly ostracized old woman, who turns to witchcraft after having been unjustly accused of it, having nothing left to lose. A talking devil-dog Tom (performed by a human actor) appears, becoming her familiar and only friend. With Tom's help, Sawyer causes one of her neighbours to go mad and kill herself, but otherwise she does not achieve very much, since many of those around her are only too willing to sell their souls to the devil all by themselves. The play is divided fairly rigidly into separate plots, which only occasionally intersect or overlap. Alongside the main story of Elizabeth Sawyer, the other major plotline is a domestic tragedy centering on the farmer's son Frank Thorney. Frank is secretly married to the poor but virtuous Winnifride, whom he loves and believes is pregnant with his child, but his father insists that he marry Susan, elder daughter of the wealthy farmer Old Carter. Frank weakly gives in to a bigamous marriage but then tries to flee the county with Winnifride disguised as his page. When the doting Susan follows him, he stabs her. At this point, the witch's dog Tom is present on stage and it is left ambiguous whether Frank remains a fully responsible moral agent in the act. Frank inflicts superficial wounds on himself, so that he can pretend to have been attacked, and attempts to frame Warbeck, Susan's former suitor, and Somerton, suitor of Susan's younger sister Katherine. While the kindly Katherine is nursing her supposedly incapacitated brother-in-law, however, she finds a bloodstained knife in his pocket and immediately guesses the truth, which she reveals to her father. The devil-dog is on stage again at this point, and "shrugs for joy," according to the stage direction, which suggests that he has brought about Frank's downfall. Frank is executed for his crime at the same time as Mother Sawyer, but he, in marked contrast to her, is forgiven by all and the pregnant Winnifride is taken into the family of Old Carter. The play thus ends on a relatively happy note—Old Carter enjoins all those assembled at the execution, "So, let's every man home to Edmonton with heavy hearts, yet as merry as we can, though not as we would." The note of optimism is also heard in the play's other main plot, centering on the Morris dancing yokel Cuddy Banks, whose invincible innocence allows him to emerge unscathed from his own encounters with the dog Tom; he eventually banishes the dog from the stage with the words "Out, and avaunt!" Despite the optimism of the play's ending it remains clear that the execution of Mother Sawyer has done little or nothing to purge the play's world of an evil to which its inhabitants are only too ready to turn spontaneously. Firstly, the devil-dog has not been destroyed, and indeed resolves to go to London and corrupt souls there. Secondly, the village's voice of authority, the lord of the manor Sir Arthur Clarington, is represented as untrustworthy, and Mother Sawyer utters a lengthy tirade indicting his lechery (he has previously had an affair with Winnifride, which she now repents) and general corruption, a charge which the play as a whole supports. The Witch of Edmonton may be very ready to capitalize on the sensational story of a witch, but it does not permit an easy and comfortable demonization of her; it presents her as a product of society rather than an anomaly in it. ===== Worf and Ezri return to the station and the Breen attack Earth. Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge are damaged in the attack. Solbor reluctantly brings Winn the book of the Kosst Amojan but to her surprise, the pages of the book are blank. It isn't until Winn kills Solbor, after he finds out about the plan to release the Pah-Wraiths, that his blood makes the text visible. In the Second Battle of Chin'toka against the Breen, Cardassians and Jem'Hadar, the Federation alliance suffers one of its worst defeats of the war, in orbit of Chin'toka. The USS Defiant is among the many ships destroyed by a new weapon unleashed by the Breen - an energy-damping beam that renders weapons and drive systems powerless. Many escape pods eject from the Defiant and other ships as the Dominion forces retake Chin'toka. Weyoun wishes to destroy the pods but the Female Changeling allows them to be rescued, reasoning that the survivors' reports will have a demoralizing effect on their comrades. What could have been a Dominion juggernaut is halted when DS9 intercepts a message from within Cardassian boundaries. It is Damar, who announces that Cardassia will revolt against the Dominion and initiates this action by destroying one of the Vorta cloning facilities - the one responsible for cloning Weyoun. While this would buy valuable time for the Federation alliance to regroup, Sisko realizes that they would have to contact Damar to achieve final victory. ===== On the eve of World War II, Ivan Chonkin, the most dispensable soldier, is sent to guard a disabled military plane that crash landed on a kolkhoz (collective farm). Forgotten by his command, he earns favors of a nearby kolkhoznik woman Nyura and moves in with her. Nyura's cow eats the patch of experimental tomato-potato hybrids of the local mad genius agronomist Gladyshev, and in a retaliation the latter sends an anonymous note to NKVD that Chonkin is a deserter. When NKVDists come to arrest Chonkin, he, being a Good Soldier, refuses to leave the post, and arrests the NKVDists himself. Only after several days is the fact of missing secret police noticed, and the raion Party leader is told via phone that they have been arrested by "Chonkin and his baba (woman)", which he mishears as "Chonkin and his banda (gang)". A regiment is sent against "Chonkin's gang", but Chonkin successfully fends them off until they use artillery. When general Drynov incredulously learns that Chonkin single-handedly (with his baba) was holding off the whole regiment, he declares Chonkin a hero and awards him an order taken off his own chest. When the NKVD lieutenant shows the order for Chonkin's arrest, Drynov shrugs and tells them to carry out their duty, at which point Chonkin is arrested and carried off in the back of the truck to the "Right Place", leaving Nyura on her knees on the road weeping after Chonkin as the scene closes. The book ends with the joke on Gladyshev, whose misunderstanding of evolution (that monkeys became man through labor and intelligence) has been thoroughly unsettled by Chonkin's question why horses do not become men if they work harder than men do, finds a note attached to the bottom of a hoof of his dead horse which had earlier disappeared. Supposing the horse had evolved and written the note, he is spooked and crosses himself. ===== The first characters introduced are two unnamed women in mortal peril, one who is pregnant and one who has just given birth. The pregnant one is trying desperately to reach shelter during a snowstorm. She is an outcast of her people, the Avar because she has decided to carry her child, conceived during a festival and considered an abomination, to term. A group of demonic creatures, skraelings, watch as her unborn child brutally eats his way out of her womb, killing her. The monsters are delighted and decide to adopt the hateful child. The second woman had given birth to an illegitimate child two days before, who she believes is dead. The child was illegitimate, and she is of high-born, perhaps noble, birth. After giving birth, she is taken and dumped in the freezing cold mountains to die. ===== In the climax of Killzone 2, Emperor Scolar Visari is assassinated by ISA forces, triggering a full-scale attack by the Helghan First Army. Overwhelmed, ISA commanders order a full withdrawal, leaving thousands of their own soldiers to die on Helghan. With the Helghast now driven to seek revenge for Visari's death, the survivors must join forces to find a way home. ===== The Federation must contain a "virogen" (plague) that is killing plant life, damaging animal young, and killing people on several vital systems that collectively supply food for the entire Federation. Avenger opens with the Federation trying to maintain a strict quarantine to contain the spread of the virogen as the Federation's reserves run low. The Enterprise-E is assigned to a blockade of the Alta Vista system, home to the Gamrow Station, a research facility designed to house about 60 scientists which is temporarily being used as a refugee camp for 1400 people. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew attempt to stop a shuttlecraft, piloted by a Vulcan called Stron and a pregnant human woman, from fleeing the quarantined system, but the two appear to commit suicide by trying to jump into warp while caught in the Enterprise-E's tractor beam. Picard, however, knowing that Vulcans believe suicide to be illogical, is unconvinced that the couple actually died in the warp core explosion. Meanwhile, on the once-verdant planet of Chal (first referenced in The Ashes of Eden), a mysterious stranger walks through the desolation towards a Starfleet medical outpost. He meets with the commanding officer, Christine McDonald, and requests the location of the burial place of a native woman named Teilani. He discovers, with Christine's help, that Teilani is not dead, not yet, but will be soon with the virogen quickly working through her body. He goes to her and prepares an unusual herbal tea with dried leaves and hot water. Commander McDonald and the outpost's doctor, Andrea M'Benga, look on in amazement as Teilani begins to miraculously recover. The stranger reveals to M'Benga that the leaves are Trannin leaves, native to the Klingon home planet. Christine determines to send a message to Starfleet, announcing that a way to combat the virogen has been found. Christine's suspicions of the stranger's identity are aroused when Teilani calls the stranger "James." Her suspicions are further confirmed when she finds a plaque that the stranger had used as a tray for the tea, emblazoned with the name and number of the starship Enterprise from eighty years in the past. Christine confronts the stranger with her belief that he is actually James T. Kirk, which he does not deny, insisting that she only refer to him as "Jim," and that she reveal his real identity to no one. It is later revealed Kirk was saved by a fortuitous last-minute Borg transporter beam-out. Flung to another galaxy entirely, he materializes on planet which is used as a dumping ground for the detritus of failed Borg missions. At the verge of death, on a planet near a galactic core, Kirk is discovered by beings who were able to release themselves from Borg assimilation. His body is purged of the Borg nanites which had been killing him, and after two years of working, living, and learning from, and with, the survivors, he discovers a Borg scout ship which he uses to return to the planet Chal. Captain Picard dispatches a search party to an asteroid which was nearby to the explosion of the Vulcan shuttle to determine whether Stron and his wife really died there. Commander Data confirms that there are no traces of organic particles in the area, thus proving that Stron and his mate somehow escaped the shuttle prior to its detonation. However, the manner of their escape remains a mystery. Picard reports his findings personally to the commander of the Gamrow Station, Chiton Kincaid, by beaming down alone to speak with her. He realizes with horror as their conversation goes on that she was already, in fact, aware that Stron and the woman did not die in the explosion. Before he can react, she attacks him with a disruptor and he blacks out. Back on Chal, Teilani is almost fully recovered, but still weak. Kirk cares for her faithfully, and is in the process of building a home. However, their peaceful life is jarringly interrupted when a wing of Orion pirates begin mercilessly attacking the medical base. Jim begins running towards the base, only to be beamed up to Commander McDonald's ship, the U.S.S. Tobias. Christine insists that Kirk momentarily assume command and take out the Orion fighters. Reluctantly, Jim agrees on the condition that Teilani be beamed up immediately. Once he knows she is safe, he takes a course of action by bringing the Tobias into the planet's atmosphere and successfully outmaneuvering the pirate ships. To Christine's dismay, he insists on destroying all of the pirates, rather than letting the survivors flee. Jim explains that Orions are mercenaries, with no reason to attack Chal if there's no money in it; someone must have intercepted Christine's message to Starfleet about the Trannin leaves, and sent the Orions to ravage the base. Kirk's suspicions are aroused: there's no way in his mind that the rapid spread of the virogen is an accident. It is soon discovered that the virogen outbreak was created intentionally by the Symmetrists, a group of eco-terrorists who have links to Captain James T. Kirk's past. The resurrected Kirk, along with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and their respective crews, must unite to uncover the conspiracy that caused this before it undermines the Federation. Ambassador Spock, concurrently, is on a deeply personal mission of his own. He is personally bound to find the murderer of his father Sarek, believing that a conscious decision, not a disease, sealed his father's fate. He and Kirk reunite to avenge Sarek's death. During this time, Spock, though not entirely of his own volition, occasionally releases all his emotional self-control. This lack of control, uncharacteristic for a Vulcan, is a signature trait of Bendii disease, the same affliction which (supposedly) killed his father. Kirk and Spock discover that the people who assassinated Sarek are now after Spock, having infected him with a disease very similar to Bendii. It is revealed that a personal aide to both Sarek and Spock killed Sarek by using a poison whose effects were nearly identical to those of Bendii syndrome. In the end, it is Kirk, accompanied by Spock, who avenges Sarek's death. After, Kirk returns to Teilani and Spock is given treatment to expunge the poison from his body. ===== The novel opens with Ambassador Spock on planet Veridian III following the events of Star Trek Generations. He is standing at the site where Captain Jean-Luc Picard had buried Captain James T. Kirk, paying final respects to his fallen friend. The story then flashes back six months before Kirk was believed to have been 'killed' on the maiden voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B. Kirk is having trouble coping with retirement on Earth as the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A is decommissioned for war games. Kirk is having difficulties finding ways to spend his spare time and finds it distasteful that Starfleet cadets are using holodeck simulations of his 'adventures' in training, insisting "they were just my job." Kirk later attends a party at Starfleet Headquarters with his old friends Spock and 'Bones' McCoy, where they are disappointed to learn that the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief has been awarded to Admiral Androvar Drake (a former colleague of Kirk who has no qualms about cruelly mocking him). Kirk spots a mysterious young alien woman at the party, but doesn't get a chance to talk to her. Meanwhile, Chekov and Uhura are working undercover with a Starfleet Intelligence operative named Jade in Klingon territory. When Jade manages to obtain some information about something called the "Chalchaj 'Qmey", she betrays Chekov and Uhura, leaving them to die in a shuttle bay. Luckily, they are rescued by Sulu aboard the Excelsior (who have been secretly monitoring them during their mission) and, feeling they can no longer trust Starfleet Intelligence, return to Earth to report to Drake. Kirk returns to his parents' farm in Iowa, which he intends to sell soon. He is surprised to be reunited with the woman from the party, who gives her name as Teilani and explains that her world needs a hero. Suddenly, they are attacked and Teilani is shot. Kirk and Teilani manage to defeat and apparently kill their attackers, who Teilani explains are anarchists disrupting the peace of her homeworld. This world is called Chal and was originally colonized by both Klingons and Romulans (the inhabitants are all Klingon/Romulan hybrids), but both empires have now abandoned them. Chal apparently has fountain of youth properties, which seem proven when Teilani's wound miraculously heals, and the anarchists want to sell it. Kirk accepts Teilani's offer to help protect Chal, seeing it as a second chance. Despite protests from Spock and Bones, Kirk resigns from Starfleet and goes to Chal aboard the Enterprise, which Teilani got from the Federation as a 'goodwill gesture', being reunited with Scotty. When Sulu and the others report to Drake, he informs them about Kirk's resignation. The Chalchaj 'Qmey is believed to be some kind of doomsday weapon and Drake warns that there is a conspiracy within Starfleet trying to undermine peace talks with the Klingon Empire. Kirk and the Enterprise may be intended to help use this weapon against the Federation, so the group (now joined by Spock and Bones) are dispatched to find Chal and the weapon. After they leave, it is revealed that 'Jade' is actually Drake's daughter Ariadne, and that Drake is manipulating Kirk, his former crew and Teilani to get the Chalchaj 'Qmey for himself. Kirk arrives on Chal and quickly learns why its name is Klingon for 'heaven' - he starts feeling younger and more alive. The anarchists attack the power station in the center of Chal's only city and Teilani reveals that they are the older generation of her people - her group are fighting their own parents. Scotty puts down the attack from orbit, but starts to question the morality of the situation, so Kirk tells him about Chal's rejuvenation powers. However, Scotty does not believe him, leaving Kirk wondering if his revitalization and love for Teilani is just him denying his age. Later that night, Kirk leads a raid on the anarchists' camp and, having somehow survived being shot at point-blank range, takes a prisoner to the Enterprise brig for questioning. The prisoner, named Torl, explains that the people themselves are the Chalchaj 'Qmey, the 'Children of Heaven', and that the anarchists want to destroy their world's legacy, not sell it. Torl is shot dead by Teilani before he can tell Kirk more. Kirk realizes that things aren't how they seemed and confronts Teilani. The 'attackers' from the farm actually work for Teilani (they stopped their hearts to fake death) and Teilani faked her wound. She also secretly equipped Kirk with a force field emitter to prevent him being shot. Kirk declares he only came to Chal for the challenge of saving a world and he is not in love with Teilani, breaking her heart. They are suddenly called to the Enterprise as the Excelsior (now joined by Drake and a Klingon escort) arrives in orbit. Despite being equipped with only outdated Klingon disruptors (Starfleet stripped down the Enterprise prior to giving it to Chal) Kirk engages and manages to destroy one of the Klingon ships, causing Drake to angrily order the destruction of Kirk's ship. However, Kirk and his former crew agree that Drake's orders are against Starfleet protocol and the Excelsior withdraws for a general inquiry. Kirk and Teilani transport to the power station to find out the true secret of Chal. Lights and information displays are activated by Teilani's life signs, revealing that the power station actually contains weapons and that the Chalchaj 'Qmey were genetically created from not only Klingons and Romulans, but also stolen human tissue samples. Teilani is horrified, believing her people are little more than weapons themselves, but Kirk (who is shocked by a display depicting monstrous Starfleet agents brutally murdering Klingons and Romulans), discovers that they were actually created to be able to survive the contaminated environments the two empires believed would become the norm if the Federation conquered them. He comforts Teilani, assuring her that no-one can be held responsible for the world they are born into and that the important thing is to work to make the future better. Ariadne suddenly transports in, revealing that she and her father hope to make use of the Chalchaj 'Qmey by using them as living donor banks, using transplants from them to make immortality available to the Federation. She also tries to turn Teilani against Kirk, telling her that Kirk only came to Chal to gain immortality, but Kirk (who insists that his 'rejuvenation' was all in his mind) convinces Teilani to stop her heart. This puts the lights out, allowing Kirk to steal Ariadne's gun and use it to destroy the items and information so it can never fall into the wrong hands. Drake then arrives, explaining his intent to secure the future of the Federation by provoking them into all-out war with the Klingon Empire and devastating the latter. Refusing to accept Drake's vision of the future, Kirk and Teilani transport back to the Enterprise and are surprised to find all the old crew there awaiting Kirk's orders (having figured out Drake is the true head of the 'conspiracy'). Drake returns to the remaining Klingon ship, but instead of engaging in a fair fight orders it into a slingshot maneuver around Chal's sun, hoping to go back in time and destroy Kirk the day he arrived. With Sulu at the helm, the Enterprise manages to prevent this, but both ships get trapped in the sun. Drake refuses to attempt escape until Kirk is dead, gleefully watching as the Enterprise explodes. However, Kirk and the others actually survived by transporting to the Excelsior at the last minute. Kirk advises Drake to drop his ship's shields so he and his crew can be saved, but Drake refuses and his ship is destroyed as they try to escape. Teilani is confused, noting that Drake believed Kirk and wondering why he refused help. Kirk explains "He was once a starship captain. And starship captains believe they're invincible . . . they have to be. It's their job." Kirk visits Chal one last time, giving Teilani the Enterprise's dedication plaque (which he had ripped off the wall of the exploding bridge prior to its destruction) for safekeeping and advising her to tell her children about him. Back in Federation space, Kirk, Spock and Bones watch the construction of a new Enterprise and note how Drake's position will probably now be offered to Kirk. Kirk laughs at this, insisting that the adventure they've just had is proof he's not suitable. Bones reminds Kirk of how he's a living legend and how simulations of his adventures will be seen by Starfleet cadets for centuries to come. Kirk comments "I only hope they enjoy those adventures as much as I did", realizing that this way, he really will live forever. The novel then flashes 80 years into the future. Spock is still at Kirk's gravesite when the bright flash of phaser fire illuminates the night sky directly above him, where the U.S.S. Farragut is orbiting the planet, leading salvage operations of the crashed remains of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. One stream of phaser fire is consistent with starfleet-type weaponry, and the other is green, clearly alien in origin. Spock conjectures that the Farragut is engaged in combat. Suddenly a strong gust of wind envelops the gravesite, and Spock hears the unmistakable sound of a transporter beam activating, as Kirk's grave glows through the rocks from within. The grave then collapses in on itself, and the gust of wind stops. Spock looks up towards the stars, unsure of what has just transpired, or why. ===== As this is a location-based series of character sketches, there are a number of individual plots. The tales centre on the occupants of an English manor (based on Aston Hall, near Birmingham, England, which was occupied by members of the Bracebridge family and which Irving visited). ===== The game's protagonists are members of the "D.S.G. (Digital Security Guard)". Based on Digital Monster X-Evolution, it is immediately revealed that a computer virus known as the "X-virus" is spreading quickly and is infecting many Digimon. "The Yamato Server" has disappeared, and a new server known as "The Doom Server" has taken its place. They are sent to the first area of the game named Death Valley to search for Chief Leomon. When it is completed the player finds out that The Doom Server may in fact be The Yamato Server. The player is then sent to destroy the "Doom Dome". This is where the first real boss appears, Apocalymon. The player is then sent to Dry Land to stop the X-Virus spreading and must defeat MaloMyotismon. They are then sent to the Venom Jungle to stop the Dread Note from launching and must then defeat Lucemon. They are then sent to the final area of the game Machine Pit to destroy the final boss Mecha Rogue X. ===== Conceptual artist Anne Benton (Jodie Foster) creates electronic pieces that flash evocative statements. Her work has begun to attract major media attention. Driving home one night, Anne suffers a blowout on a road near some isolated industrial factories and, while looking for help, witnesses a mafia hit supervised by Leo Carelli (Joe Pesci), who kills another mobster and his bodyguard. Leo spots Anne, but she escapes and goes to the police. Two of the mobsters, Greek (Tony Sirico) and Pinella (John Turturro), go to Anne's house to silence her, but manage only to kill her boyfriend, Bob (Charlie Sheen). FBI agent Pauling (Fred Ward) -who's been after Carelli for some time- offers Anne a place in the United States Federal Witness Protection Program, but when she sees another mobster, Carelli's lawyer John Luponi (Dean Stockwell), at the police station, she disguises herself with another woman's wig and raincoat and flees. Meanwhile, mob boss Lino Avoca (Vincent Price), Carelli's boss, summons top-of-the-line hitman Milo (Dennis Hopper) to silence Anne. Milo purchases one of Anne's artworks and ransacks her house, discovering intimate Polaroids taken of her. Months pass. Anne has severed all ties with her past and re-established herself in Seattle as an advertising copywriter. Milo, who never gives up, recognizes the tagline of a lipstick ad as one of Anne's catchphrases, and tracks her down. Pauling and the police also track Anne down, but she manages to once again elude all the men who are pursuing her. Shortly after, Milo tracks Anne to New Mexico. There, he is followed by Pinella, who is tracking Milo's whereabouts for Carelli, and whom Milo quickly kills. This time, Milo corners Anne and offers her a deal: he'll let her live, if she'll do anything and everything he asks. Milo's interest in Anne, it turns out, is more than professional, but not exactly what she thinks; he doesn't want her to be his sex slave, though sex is part of the equation. A man obsessed, Milo has fallen in love with Anne. And he has no idea how to cope with the unfamiliar emotion. Astonishingly, after a rocky start, Anne realizes that she has also fallen for him. At the same time, when failing to kill Anne as he was hired to do, Milo has marked himself for death. Anne and Milo flee together to an isolated farm that Milo owns. Avoca's men track them there, and they narrowly escape. Milo and Anne realize that in order to be free, they must return and confront their pursuers. They concoct a plan leaving Avoca, Carelli and all of their men dead. Anne and Milo escape together to a new life, presumably in France. ===== Rosmersholm, Lessing Theater, 1906 The play opens one year after the suicide of Rosmer's wife, Beata. Rebecca had previously moved into the family home, Rosmersholm, as a friend of Beata, and she lives there still. It becomes plain that she and Rosmer are in love, but he insists throughout the play that their relationship is completely platonic. A highly respected member of his community, Rosmer intends to support the newly elected government and its reformist, if not revolutionary, agenda. However, when he announces this to his friend and brother-in-law Kroll, the local schoolmaster, the latter becomes enraged at what he sees as his friend's betrayal of his ruling-class roots. Kroll begins to sabotage Rosmer's plans, confronting him about his relationship with Rebecca and denouncing the pair, initially in guarded terms, in the local newspaper. Rosmer becomes consumed by his guilt, now believing he, rather than mental illness, caused his wife's suicide. He attempts to escape the guilt by erasing the memory of his wife and proposing marriage to Rebecca. But she rejects him outright. Kroll accuses her of using Rosmer as a tool to work her own political agenda. She admits that it was she who drove Mrs. Rosmer to deeper depths of despair and in a way even encouraged her suicide—initially to increase her power over Rosmer, but later because she actually fell in love with him. Because of her guilty past she cannot accept Rosmer's marriage proposal. This leads to the ultimate breakdown in the play where neither Rosmer nor Rebecca can cast off moral guilt: she has acknowledged her part in the destruction of Beata, but she has also committed incest with her supposedly adoptive father while suspecting that he was in truth her natural parent. Her suspicion is harshly confirmed by Kroll when he attempts to come between her and Rosmer; they can now no longer trust each other, or even themselves. Rosmer then asks Rebecca to prove her devotion to him by committing suicide the same way his former wife did—by jumping into the mill-race. As Rebecca calmly seems to agree, issuing instructions about the recovery of her body from the water, Rosmer says he will join her. He is still in love with her and, since he cannot conceive of a way in which they can live together, they will die together. The play concludes with both characters jumping into the mill-race and the housekeeper, Mrs. Helseth, screaming in terror: "The dead woman has taken them." ===== Researchers at a remote jungle island outpost discover the natives are practicing voodoo and black magic. After killing the local priest (James Sampson), a voodoo curse begins to raise the dead to feed on the living in retribution. The researchers on the island are killed by the newly risen zombies, except for Jenny (Candice Daly), the daughter of a scientist couple. She escapes, protected by an enchanted necklace charm given to her by her mother shortly before her death. She returns years later as an adult with a group of mercenaries (Tommy, Dan, Rod and Rod's girlfriend Louise) to try to uncover what happened to her parents. Shortly after arriving at the island their boat's engine dies, stranding them. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island a trio of hikers - Chuck, David, and Maddis 'Mad' - discover a cave, the same cave leading to the underground temple where the original curse was created. After accidentally reviving the curse, the dead once again return to kill any who trespass on their island. David is eaten by the zombies and Mad is also killed before she can escape the tunnels. The mercenaries encounter their first zombie, who injures Tommy. Taking shelter in the remains of the old research facilities medical quarters, they are soon joined by Chuck (Jeff Stryker), the only surviving hiker. Arming themselves with weapons left behind by the long dead research team, they make their stand as the dead once again rise. Rod is bitten by a zombie and later turns into one and kills Louise. A zombified David kills Dan before Chuck reluctantly kills him. Tommy stays behind and blows up the facility with himself and the zombies in it while Jenny and Chuck flee, the only survivors remaining. They stumble upon the cave once again, where the zombies appear and attack. Chuck is killed, and Jenny apparently becomes an advanced zombie. The ending is unclear. ===== The story begins with Beatrix Potter nervously packing her portfolio and narrating that she is a London spinster, and that her ambition to become a children's author meets with wide disapproval. She and her chaperone, Miss Wiggin, visit the publishing house of Harold and Fruing Warne, who decide to publish her The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Beatrix is thrilled and returns home, taking a drive through the parks to celebrate. However, it is revealed the Warne brothers think her book is ridiculous and will no doubt be a failure. The only reason they agreed to publish it is because they promised their younger brother, Norman, a project. When Norman visits Beatrix, they make decisions about her book regarding size, colour and price. Norman admits he has never done anything like this before but has given her book a great deal of thought. Beatrix realises what Norman's brothers have done, but she and Norman become determined to prove them wrong. Norman takes Beatrix to the printer, and she has her drawings reproduced and copies of her book sold. Beatrix and Norman visit the Warne family, where Beatrix meets the wheelchair-bound Mrs. Warne, and Norman's sister, Millie. Millie has decided that she and Beatrix are going to be friends and is overjoyed that Beatrix is a spinster, as is Millie, who believes men to be nothing but bores. The family befriends Beatrix, yet Helen Potter, Beatrix's social-climbing mother, is unhappy about her daughter spending time in the company of tradesmen. When she returns home, Beatrix and Helen bicker about Beatrix's decision not to marry. Beatrix reminds her mother of the book she wrote, and her mother retorts she believes the venture will fail. However, the book sales are very successful and copies are displayed in many store windows. Norman encourages Beatrix to submit other stories for publication. Even Beatrix's father, Rupert, buys a copy of The Tale of Two Bad Mice after hearing how his friends at the Reform Club were buying them. Encouraged by this success and her father's support, Beatrix invites Norman and Millie to her family's Christmas party. At the party everyone enjoys themselves and Beatrix shows Norman a story she is writing especially for him, "The Rabbits' Christmas Party". She shows him a drawing from the story and shows him her studio where she writes and draws. Miss Wiggin falls asleep from too much brandy (a generous portion of which had been added to her coffee cup by Norman), and Norman plucks up the courage to propose to Beatrix. Mrs. Potter interrupts before Beatrix can reply, and they join the other guests in the drawing room. Beatrix confides in Millie about Norman proposing, and Millie encourages her to say yes. Beatrix then tells the guests of the stories she writes and they are delighted and amused. Mrs. Potter, however, can not see what all the fuss is about. As the guests leave, Beatrix whispers her agreement to marry Norman, who is overjoyed. Norman visits Rupert Potter at his club to ask his consent and is dismissed within minutes. At the Potter household, Beatrix and her parents argue about her decision to marry Norman. Beatrix is adamant. Mrs. Potter tells her no Potter can marry into trade, but Beatrix reminds her that her grandfathers were both tradesmen. When Mrs. Potter threatens to cut her daughter off financially, Beatrix reminds them of her brother, Bertram, who married a wine merchant's daughter and was not disowned. She states she can survive on her own with her books. Mr. Potter attempts to reason with his daughter, but she tells him she wants to be loved and not simply marry someone because he can provide for her. Beatrix inquires with the bank about her royalty earnings, wondering if she would perhaps someday be able to buy a house in the country. She is amazed and delighted to learn that her book sales have made her wealthy enough to buy several estates and a house in town if she wishes. When she returns home her parents make a proposition: that Beatrix keep her engagement to Norman a secret and holiday with them in the Lake District for the summer. If she still wishes to marry him at the end of the summer, they agree that they will not object to the marriage. Beatrix agrees to the proposition and is quite convinced that she will not change her mind, telling her parents to prepare for an October wedding. Norman and Beatrix kiss each other goodbye at the railway station and write many letters during their time apart, until one day a letter arrives from his sister Millie, informing her that Norman is ill. Beatrix travels back to London only to find that Norman has died. Overcome with grief, Beatrix shuts herself up in her room. She turns to her drawing, but discovers that her characters disappear off the page. Millie comes to visit and comfort her, and Beatrix decides she must leave the house. Beatrix buys a farm in the country in the Lake District and moves there to resume her work. She hires a farmhand to run the farm and finds comfort in her surroundings. With the help of her solicitor, William Heelis, she outbids developers at auctions and buys many other farms and land in the area to preserve nature. In captions, it is explained that eight years after moving to the Lake District she marries William (to her mother's disapproval) and the land she purchased eventually forms part of the Lake District National Park in North West England. ===== In the dying days of the old west, two bank robbers, Barney and Luke, find themselves fighting in World War One in France. ===== Arthur Penhaligon has returned home when the telephone that the first part of the Will (now known as Dame Primus) gave him starts ringing. Dame Primus informs him that in the six months of House Time that have passed since he left, Grim Tuesday, the second of the Morrow Days, has found a loophole in the agreement not to interfere with the other Trustees. This allows him to take control of the Lower House, which Arthur obtained from Mister Monday. Dame Primus tells Arthur that there is a way to overcome this loophole if he returns to the House, but the phone is cut off before she can tell him its nature. Arthur then travels to the Far Reaches (Grim Tuesday's section of the House) with some difficulty, where he is mistaken for an indentured worker and forced to work. He then meets Japeth, a former Thesaurus. His work gang is forced to walk to another location, but Arthur and Japeth fall behind. A vehicle arrives suddenly, containing Suzy Turquoise Blue. She tells them that she brought equipment to break into Grim Tuesday's Treasure Tower, so as to retrieve the second part of the Will and the Second Key. The three decide that Japeth should catch up with the work gang on Suzy's vehicle while Arthur and Suzy break into the tower. They reach the tower by crossing the ceiling of the Far Reaches, to find that the tower is surrounded by a giant glass pyramid. A large mass of Nothing which claims to be Grim Tuesday's former eyebrow, called Soot, gives them a diamond to cut through the glass pyramid, in exchange for helping it into the treasure tower. Arthur and Suzy break into the treasure tower, where they meet Tom Shelvocke the Mariner, the second son of the Architect and the Old One, who is currently Tuesday's servant as a result of blackmail. The Mariner, when requested, provides them with transport to a worldlet inside a bottle, in which the second part of the Will is located. They manage to retrieve the Will, which is in the form of a bear, and return to the treasure tower. Grim Tuesday arrives and chases them through a weirdway (a type of distance-defying portal) into another part of the glass pyramid. They are then notified by one of Grim Tuesday's servants that the East Buttress of the Far Reaches is giving out, and that if not attended soon, it shall fall. Its fall will then lead to the destruction of all of them. Tuesday, whose power over the Far Reaches and his namesake day has been revoked by the Will, demands the Key to solve this problem; the Will, however, declares a contest between Arthur and Tuesday of creating something original with the Second Key, of which the Mariner is judge. The second key takes the form of two silver gauntlets, which can be used to form objects and creatures out of Nothing. Whoever wins the contest could claim the Second Key and the Far Reaches. Tuesday creates a beautiful tree of precious metals; Arthur, knowing he cannot compare in respect to physical beauty, creates a xylophone and plays a tune he composed. The Mariner, as judge, declares that while the tree is a great work, it was copied from a Secondary Realms sculptor; thus Arthur is the winner for having made something of his own. Arthur goes to mend the eastern buttress, where he encounters a high-ranking Denizen, presumed to be Superior Saturday's Dusk. A fight ensues, wherein Arthur stabs his opponent, revealing that this figure, unlike most Denizens, has golden rather than blue blood. Arthur manages to mend the wall, stopping the buttress from collapsing. Once he returns, he is appointed Lord of the Far Reaches; as with the Lower House, he appoints Dame Primus (who now consists of parts 1 and 2 of the Will) his Steward and returns home. Dame Primus reverses the effects of the First Key on him before he left (to slow the process of him becoming a Denizen), at his request, and so he is in very ill health when he returns, and is sent to the hospital. When he wakes up, he finds an invitation from Drowned Wednesday under his pillow. ===== Brothers Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), Reese (Justin Berfield), and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) wake up to a typical school morning - the three siblings fighting over waffles at breakfast and their mother Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) carelessly shaving their father Hal's (Bryan Cranston) excessive body hair. While walking to school, Malcolm and Dewey lay eyes upon the school bully, Dave Spath (Vincent Berry). In class, Malcolm's teacher (Merrin Dungey) comments on his talent for painting; in an act of jealousy, Spath pours red paint on his chair. Malcolm sits in the paint just before being called to see the school counselor, Caroline Miller (Catherine Lloyd Burns), and is ridiculed by everyone he passes on the way to her office. Caroline states her intentions to run some tests on Malcolm, and does so by holding up a tampered picture with several mistakes in it. Still annoyed at Spath's prank, Malcolm launches into a tirade, angrily yet correctly naming all the mistakes before yelling about the paint on his clothes. In an excited manner, Caroline stops her watch that she was using to time him. After school, Malcolm arrives for a "play-date" with Stevie Kenarban (Craig Lamar Traylor). Realizing that Stevie's mother Kitty Kenarban (Dungey) is very protective, Malcolm concludes there is nothing to do until Stevie reveals he has a closet full of comics. The discovery instantly sparks a friendship. The next day, a topless Lois, after lecturing Francis (Christopher Kennedy Masterson) about smoking, she is met by Caroline, who wishes to speak to her. After misconstruing that she wants to put Malcolm in a special class for intellectually disabled children, Lois is informed (off-camera) of Malcolm's academic capabilities. At the dinner table, Lois persuades a reluctant Malcolm to join the accelerated learning class ("the Krelboynes"), stating that it is important for him to join, as he will no doubt have a better future as a result. The next day, Malcolm's teacher informs his non- interested class about how he is a success, and Malcolm finds himself surrounded by geniuses only a short while later. After accidentally insulting Stevie, Malcolm tries to make amends with him but Spath once again picks on Malcolm. This causes Malcolm to lose his temper and begins to insult Spath, telling him he's worthless. As the two break into the fight, Malcolm ducks as Spath's fist accidentally and softly brushes against the cheek of Stevie's face. Stevie overhears Spath's friends talking and then falls over in his wheelchair, turning the crowd against Spath despite his claim that it was an accident. As Malcolm and Stevie smile at one another, Malcolm realizes there are things worse than being a Krelboyne. Afterwards, Malcolm then mentions what happens to Spath afterwards and debates whether he feels sorry for him or not. Dewey, who is under an overturned trash can on which Malcolm is sitting, yells to Malcolm to let him out. ===== Hercule Poirot and his friend Hastings are called upon to visit the home of the famous physicist Sir Claud Amory, who has devised the formula for a new type of explosive; but they learn that he has been poisoned (in his black coffee, hence the title) the night of their arrival. Poirot is now confronted with the challenge of figuring out which of the array of other people gathered at the Amory residence is the murderer. He questions every single person that was present at the night of the murder. He then concludes his investigation with the help of an old friend from Scotland Yard. ===== On Christmas Eve, Winnie the Pooh is having trouble setting up his Christmas tree. Pooh slips and falls, and breaks a shelf holding a present he made for Piglet. When Piglet suddenly arrives, Pooh desperately searches for a new hiding place for the present (since the broken shelf can no longer stay up) as more of his friends arrive, eventually putting it in an empty honey pot and then helping himself to a full pot of honey with satisfaction, in which he forgets to answer the door. The gang eventually open the door themselves per Roo's advice after wondering why Pooh won't let them in. Although surprised to see Pooh eating honey, they begin helping Pooh decorate his tree. After Tigger briefly annoys Rabbit with jingle bells, everyone (including Rabbit) joins in and sing a Winnie-the-Pooh version of "Jingle Bells". That night, Roo wonders if Santa is coming. Rabbit tells Roo the story of Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too which explains of how, on a previous Christmas Eve, their letter failed to reach Santa and that Pooh dressed up as Santa to bring gifts to his friends, but was unsuccessful. After a second failed attempt to deliver their letter, he returns with the bad news, but his friends say that he is more important than presents until Christopher Robin arrives with their presents. After Rabbit finishes the story, Pooh (who is once again dressed as Santa) arrives with a sack of gift for everyone. The next day, it is Christmas Day and everyone heads outside to have fun. While playing in the snow, Tigger again annoys Rabbit with his jingle bells, forcing him to take them away. Tigger nevertheless lets Rabbit have them, who then discards them into a tree stump. Sometime later, Piglet gives Pooh some honey pots as a Christmas present. Remembering his own present, Pooh suddenly begins searching for it, but the search lasts until New Year's Eve. When Pooh hears Christopher Robin calling for him, he heads outside to find him. After finding Christopher Robin, he reveals that he is preparing a party to celebrate New Year's Eve, in which Pooh suggests having the party at Rabbit's house. Pooh then takes the box of decorations and heads off there. At Rabbit's house, Rabbit and Piglet are tending to a potted carrot. While Rabbit goes to get the plant food, Pooh suddenly comes in, scaring Piglet into hiding with the carrot. While Pooh examines the honey in the Rabbit's cupboard, Rabbit returns and closes the cupboard, unknowingly pushing Pooh inside, but is shocked to find his carrot gone. A noise in the cupboard leads Rabbit to open it and finds Pooh inside eating honey, to his annoyance. After finding Piglet, another visitor knocks on the door, which turns out to be Tigger, followed by Eeyore emerging from the snow underneath them after Tigger bounces Rabbit. Tigger further annoys Rabbit after failing to catch a self-thrown snowball that lands in his house. When Pooh informs them of the party, an excited Tigger tries to decorate the place, but ends up making a mess, making Rabbit so angry that he throws everyone out, planning to move. Believing that their personalities are a threat to Rabbit, Pooh suggests doing a resolution (which Christopher Robin had told him about earlier), a promise which they must keep no matter what. Piglet starts behaving like Tigger, Tigger (who has a rock tied to his tail to keep him from bouncing) starts behaving like Piglet, Pooh starts behaving like Eeyore, and Eeyore starts behaving like Pooh (in which he is shown standing on two legs, eating honey, and wearing a red shirt that resembles Pooh's). As Rabbit prepares to move, his four friends return with their changed personalities, which immediately makes him leave, but after falling down a cliff, he is sent flying with his carrot. His friends find him stuck in a tree with bees attempting to abduct him. The four then regain their old personalities and Tigger unties the rock from his tail and rescues Rabbit. Rabbit reconciles with his friends, convincing them to just be themselves while admitting that he's the one who needs to change just as Christopher Robin arrives. The gang then head back to Rabbit's house to prepare for the party. Later at night and at the start of the New Year, Rabbit returns the Jingle Bells he took from Tigger. Pooh finally remembers where he left Piglet's gift and goes home to get it. After returning with the honey pot containing the present, revealed to be a music box, he then gives it to Piglet. After singing a song to Piglet following the music, Piglet claims that Pooh is a greater gift and everyone sings "Auld Lang Syne" to celebrate the New Year. ===== Darius Britt is a disillusioned college graduate who lives at home with her widower father and works as an intern at Seattle Magazine. One of the magazine's writers, Jeff Schwensen, proposes to investigate a newspaper classified ad that reads: Jeff's boss Bridget approves of his story idea and Jeff selects his team: Darius and a man named Arnau, a studious biology major interning at the magazine to diversify his résumé. They travel to the seaside community of Ocean View to find and profile the person behind the ad. Jeff later reveals an ulterior motive for this assignment: to track down a long-lost love interest who lives in town. Darius discovers that the person behind the ad is Kenneth Calloway, a stock clerk at a local grocery store. Jeff's attempt to approach Kenneth alienates him, so Jeff orders Darius to make contact. Darius's disaffected attitude serves her well, and she quickly endears herself to Kenneth as she poses as a candidate to accompany him on his mission. While Kenneth is paranoid and believes that secret agents are tracking his every move, Darius gains his trust as she participates in a series of training exercises in the woods around his house and begins to develop feelings for him. She tells Kenneth about losing her mother when she was young and that her mission is to prevent it. Kenneth says his mission is to go back to 2001 and prevent the death of his old girlfriend Belinda, who was killed when someone drove a car into her house. Meanwhile, Jeff tracks down Liz, a fling from his teenage years; although she is not as attractive as he recalls her being, they reconnect and sleep together. He asks her to come back with him to Seattle, but she believes this is just another fling for him, so she refuses. Upset by her rejection, Jeff takes Arnau out on the town and they pick up some young women. Jeff tells Arnau to not waste his youth and convinces him to spend the night with one of the women. The next morning, Jeff receives a phone call from Bridget, who has been following up the team's notes on the story; she informs him that Belinda is still alive. During an interview, Darius learns Belinda was only friends with Kenneth and that Kenneth had driven into her then- boyfriend's house, but no one was injured. After the interview, Darius is questioned by two government agents who have been following Kenneth and believe that he may be a spy because of his communication with government scientists. Darius returns to Kenneth's house to confront him, but Kenneth rationalizes Belinda is now alive because his time travel mission succeeded. Jeff runs in to warn them that the government agents are also on the property. Kenneth panics and runs into the woods. Darius follows Kenneth, who has boarded his time machine, which has been integrated into a small boat on the lake. Darius apologizes for lying to Kenneth, tells him everything else they shared was real, and joins him on the boat. Kenneth tells Darius that the mission is now only to go back for her. As Jeff, Arnau, and the agents watch, Kenneth and Darius activate the time machine and vanish. A filmed interview, presumably from earlier, shows Kenneth explaining why he chose to enlist a partner for his time travels. ===== Harry Collings (Fonda) and Arch Harris (Oates) are two saddle tramps who have grown weary after seven years of wandering through the American Southwest. Along with a younger companion, Dan Griffen (Robert Pratt), they stop off in Del Norte, a ramshackle town in the middle of nowhere, which is run by the corrupt McVey (Severn Darden). Harris and Griffen discuss traveling to California to look for work when Collings abruptly informs them he has decided to return to the wife he left years before. Griffen temporarily leaves the two in a bar and goes to buy supplies. Some town thugs shoot him to death out of pure meanness. Collings and Harris escape, but they return that night. Collings shoots McVey in the feet, crippling him. After riding hundreds of miles back to his old house, Collings finds a cold welcome from his wife Hannah (Bloom). In order to be allowed to stay, he offers his services simply as a "hired hand". Hannah agrees and quickly puts him to work. Gradually, the distrust and unease caused by years of estrangement slip away, and the two begin to become close again. For the first time, Collings feels willing to settle down, but Harris leaves, wanting "to see the ocean" and feeling himself a potential obstacle to the couple's new intimacy. McVey and his troupe of hooligans interrupt his life. Learning that they have kidnapped Harris, Collings leaves Hannah again, this time to save his friend. In a subsequent brutal shootout with McVey's gang, all of the villains are killed and Collings is fatally wounded. Harris rides alone to Hannah's house. ===== The game revolves around Bolt, an agent from Canewood's Lab. His first research expedition leads him to discover rare Karakuri robots known as Tokobots, one of which is Zero, a prototype gigantic, planet-destroying robot programmed for evil. Bolt must discover the secrets of the ruins, find Zero, and destroy it before it can destroy his world. There are three human villains in the game who own robots and battle Bolt with large Karakuri robots: Flames, Bart, and Colonel Fuel (in order of appearance). ===== Kazuto Izuka is an average 14-year-old boy who one day encounters an abandoned puppy that turns into a space alien creature but is saved by schoolmate named Narue Nanase. When he goes to thank her, he discovers she too is a space alien whose father was part of a galactic exploration team. With the encouragement of his friend, Masaki Maruo, Izuka asks Narue out on a date. Narue is reluctant at first, but after Kazuto confesses his love to her, and assures her that he is not bothered by her alien heritage, Narue agrees and they start dating. They must deal with classmates who do not look favorably upon aliens, including Hajime Yagi, Narue's classmate and ufologist, who does not believe Narue is really an alien and thinks that she is lying to get attention. Narue's half-sister Kanaka moves to Earth along with Kanaka's caretaker Bathyscaphe who is an android spaceship. They also interact with other assorted characters, some of whom are aliens. ===== Every year, all of the classic Hollywood monsters (consisting of Frankenstein's monster, his wife Repulsa, a Mummy, the Witch Sisters, Bone Jangles the Skeleton, Dr. Jackyll/Mr. Snyde, Swamp Thing, and Dragonfly) gather at Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania for the "Monster Road Rally", a road race similar to Wacky Races, awarding the winner with the "Monster of the Year" award as well as many other macabre prizes as announced by Dracula's wife and co-host, Vanna Pira. This year, however, Dracula receives a postcard from the Wolfman stating that he has retired to Florida and thus will not be participating in any more races. Dracula fears they will have to cancel the race due to this sudden absence. Luckily, Dracula's wolf-like minion Wolfgang also notifies him of a way to create a new werewolf. After searching an old book for information, it is revealed that every five centuries, the full moon comes into the perfect position to transform a human into a werewolf, on three nights in a row that begin the following night. The one next in line to become the next werewolf is revealed to be is none other than Shaggy Rogers, who recently demonstrated his skills on the racetrack by winning a car race with the help of his pet dogs that serve as his pit crew, a talking Great Dane named Scooby-Doo, and Scooby's young nephew Scrappy Doo. Dracula sends his hunchbacked henchmen, "The Hunch Bunch" (consisting of the unintelligent, incomprehensible Crunch and the sly, well-articulated Brunch), to America on a mission to turn Shaggy into a werewolf, and bring him back to his castle for the race. On the first night, the Hunch Bunch attempt to cut a hole in the roof above Shaggy's bedroom to let the moon shine on him. However, Scooby learns of their plan and rescues Shaggy just in time before his transformation could begin, but fails to convince Shaggy and Scrappy of the Hunch Bunch's presence. The second night, they go after Shaggy while he is shopping with Scooby at a supermarket, but they again miss their window due to their own incompetence. On the final night, while the trio is at a drive-in movie, along with Shaggy's girlfriend Googie, the Hunch Bunch manage to expose Shaggy to moonlight by dropping the sunroof of his customized race car with a push of its button, causing Shaggy to be transformed into a werewolf. However, an unexpected anomaly cuts the Hunch Bunch's celebration short when they learn that Shaggy’s hiccups are forcing him to alternate between human and werewolf. Not noticing Shaggy's transformations into a werewolf, Googie sends Shaggy to a nearby snack bar for something to cure his hiccups, and he attracts horror from the other movie watchers along the way. Scooby, hearing them speaking of a werewolf loose in the theater, hides in a nearby car. The Hunch Bunch attempts to abduct Shaggy, who flees from them, and is then chased by the crowd when they see him as a werewolf. Upon meeting Scooby and seeing his reflection, Shaggy flees the drive-in with his car, Scooby, Scrappy, and Googie in tow, escaping his pursuers with the car's customized features, losing his hiccups in the pursuit and thus remaining trapped in werewolf form. The Hunch Bunch then knocks the group out with moon dust from their vehicle, the "Bat-Copter" and fly back to Transylvania, towing the car. Upon reviving the group and cementing their predicament is indeed happening, Dracula informs Shaggy that he was turned into a werewolf in order to fill the missing slot in his monster road rally. Shaggy, having no desire to be a werewolf, is displeased with his current situation, and refuses to participate in Dracula's plans. Dracula attempts to pressure Shaggy, speaking of the pre-race party and all its rewards, showing the awards for the race, imprisoning Shaggy and his gang in a guest bedroom, and locking them in a trapped room during their attempt to escape. Ultimately, however, Shaggy still refuses, and Dracula finally offers him a bargain: if Shaggy agrees to drive in the race, and wins, Dracula will change him back to a human, and allow him and his friends to leave. The deal is made but Dracula is still determined to double-cross Shaggy and keep him as his werewolf. The gang is given good lodgings and treated as guests in the castle, allowed all the food they wish for breakfast. Dracula then shows them the trail that Shaggy will have to follow for the race and consents to let them navigate the track in their own racecar, with the "Werewolf Wagon" currently undergoing maintenance for Shaggy. Dracula attempts to rig the track through sending the Hunch Bunch to implement traps, but despite their efforts, Shaggy completes the course expertly, making the Count worry that he may lose his werewolf. He subsequently changes the racecourse, sabotages the Werewolf Wagon, and has the Hunch Bunch deprive Shaggy of sleep. The next morning, Googie energizes Shaggy with a kiss and he repairs the Werewolf Wagon shortly after the race begins. Throughout the entire race, everyone conspires against Shaggy and Scooby, from the Hunch Bunch's booby traps to some of the monstrous racers shrinking them or shooting lightning at them to Dracula himself putting up false detour signs and stealing their engine. But thanks to Googie and Scrappy, who follow along in their own car as their pit crew, they often end up doing more harm to themselves than him. After numerous failed attempts, Dracula loses his patience and unleashes his secret weapon, a towering ape-like beast named Genghis Kong. Genghis Kong grabs Scooby, much to his and Shaggy’s horror. As the other racers near the finish line, Googie and Scrappy return and rescue Shaggy and Scooby, then both pairs work together to make the monster fall down onto the other cars, leaving an easy path to victory for Shaggy. Furious to see all of his schemes have failed, Dracula refuses to revert the spell, stating that there is no way to turn Shaggy back. However, after Vanna Pira reveals that the solution is in Dracula's spellbook, the gang steals the book and make an escape. Dracula chases after them in his weaponized car, and then his own plane after the car is destroyed in the chase. The four only barely manage to dodge Dracula's powerful gadgets, and seconds before Dracula gets the best of them, a thunderstorm ensues and Dracula's plane is struck by lightning, sending him plummeting into the ocean below where he is chased off by a shark. In the end, back home, Googie uses the book to change Shaggy back to normal. That night, the gang all sit down to watch another horror movie and eat pizza. In this final scene, Dracula and the Hunch Bunch sneak up to their window and menacingly announce their return as the film ends. ===== The story circulates around a mysterious and dangerous island referred to simply as "G". A long time ago, a powerful god named Gestalt was banished to the earth and he had found refuge in the island known as G. To utter the name for which it stands is forbidden, for people were so afraid of the wrath of the god that they considered his name a curse. Father Olivier is a priest who has left his order and traveled to the island of G in order to discover the truth behind it. He ends up making the acquaintance of a young girl named Ohri, who turns out to be quite adept in magic. Meanwhile, the head of the order has hired a dark elf, Suzu, to track down Olivier and bring him back. Suzu finds him easily enough. However, she hadn't anticipated the powerful sorceress in his company, Ohri. The girl disposes of Suzu for the moment, and she and the Father continue on. As if things weren't rough enough, the island of G has its share of monsters and magic-users to get in the way of their travels. ===== Dr. Kaff (or Dr. Cops; 카프 박사 in Korean), an evil scientist bent on world domination, creates an army of giant robots to kidnap world-class athletes and conquer the world. To fight off this attack, Dr. Kim creates Robot Taekwon V. Kim Hoon, the taekwon-do champion and the eldest son of Dr Kim, pilots Robot Taekwon V either mechanically or through his physical power by merging his taekwon-do movements with the robot. Comic relief is provided by Kim Hoon's younger buddy, elementary school student Kim Cheol. He has fashioned himself as "Tin-Can Robot Cheol" by cutting eyeholes in a tea kettle and wearing it on his head. Kim Hoon's girlfriend, Yoon Yeong-hee, is a pilot and taekwon-do practitioner. She can also operate Robot Taekwon V with buttons and levers, and pilots Kim Hoon in and out of the robot. ===== The Digital Accident Tactics Squad (DATS) is a government organization established to maintain the peace between the Real World and the Digital World, transporting any Digimon back to the Digital World. Marcus, a junior high school student, becomes one of the members for the organization. He learns that the Digimon Merukimon is opposing mankind. However, the past is revealed that scientist Akihiro Kurata was responsible for invading the Digital World. He gained the support of the government to oppose all Digimon species, claiming they were a threat to mankind. When Kurata uses Belphemon, Marcus defeats them. Before dying, Kurata uses a bomb to make the Digital World merging with the human world. While the Digimon BanchoLeomon prevents the collision, Marcus meets King Drasil (Yggdrasil), the supreme ruler who attempts to protect the Digital World by destroying mankind, since they cannot exist in both dimensions. Marcus learns that his father, Spencer, was trapped in the Digital World for ten years, because Drasil possessed Spencer's body and BanchoLeomon kept the latter's soul. After Marcus defeats Drasil, Spencer's soul returns to his body. With both worlds restored, all Digimon partners return to their own world. Five years later, Marcus and his friends embrace their future. ===== 1000 years ago, the Strega appeared in the small country of Zamuel. These Strega possessed mysterious powers, and passed their knowledge to the people of Zamuel, transforming the poor country into a prosperous nation. They bestowed upon them mystical objects, known as Jeno, which would enable ordinary humans to exercise powers to their own. However, the Strega underestimated the overwhelming drive of human ambition and greed. With this new power, the people of Zamuel would invade their neighboring lands. In no time, the entire continent transformed itself into a world of destruction and death. Through the millennium, the continent struggled to return to the golden age of prosperity it enjoyed before the Jeno War. Then one day the objects (now called Relics) were discovered in the Empire of Ipsen. After learning that these objects could allow a person to wield great power, the Emperor ordered Lord Zauber to restore them. News of the revival reached the descendants of Strega, and they pleaded with the Emperor to suppress the Relics. The Emperor responded by declaring war on the Strega. In the ensuing battle, most of the Imperial family, a great number of the high-ranking ministers, and many Strega were killed. Almost immediately, the other lords began vying for power, but the contest was a short one. Using the power of the relics, Zauber easily crushed the opposition. Having seized control, he appointed himself Prime Minister and began eliminating anyone who posed a potential threat. Fearing that the Strega would try once again to seal off the power of the Relics, Zauber began to systematically hunt down any survivors... ===== Onion John is an unusual man: a European immigrant who lives in a hut made of stone and furnished with bathtubs. He befriends young Andy Rusch, the only person in Serenity who can understand his speech. As Andy comes to know Onion John (so named because he grows the best onions in town, and eats them like apples), he finds that the man believes some odd things. In Onion John's world, friendly spirits live in the clouds, and evil spirits can be banished by smoking them out. His needs are few, since the townspeople are happy to give him castoff clothing after someone dies, and he earns a little money by doing odd jobs around Serenity. Andy and his friends are always happy to go along with whatever Onion John says. Life turns upside-down for Onion John when Andy's father decides to get the Rotary Club to build Onion John a new modern home, complete with electricity, running water, stove, and only one bathtub. The whole town signs on, committees are created, and the house goes up on the site of John's old stone hut. Almost immediately after moving in, John, unused to modern appliances, leaves newspaper on the stove. The ensuing fire destroys the house. Mr. Rusch is determined to rebuild the house, never noticing that Onion John was uncomfortable and unhappy in his new surroundings. He wants to fumigate the whole town. Andy suggests to Onion John that for the people of Serenity to leave him alone, he should run away from town. However, Andy wants to run away with him. Onion John eventually leaves the town of Serenity. ===== Angel (Daryl Hannah) wishes for a baby of her own or a foster child to take care of, but her messy, dysfunctional existence makes this an impossible dream. Jo (Jennifer Tilly) is pregnant, wants an abortion, and can barely contain her rage at the world. Jasmine (Sandra Oh) writes beautiful poetry on the side and finally finds a boyfriend. She tells him she's a stripper, but he maintains that he is all right with it. However, once he sees her dance at the club, he disapproves silently and leaves. Jesse (Charlotte Ayanna), the youngest and newest stripper looks for acceptance and love among the strippers and customers, but is eventually beaten by her boyfriend, leading her to drink and depression. Stormy (Sheila Kelley) is having an incestuous relationship with her brother. ===== The film follows Josh Arnold (Thomas), whose family relocates to Corazon Sagrado, New Mexico during World War II. The title of the book/film comes from a line in an ancient mariner's rhyme, "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning" ===== A young research doctor named Tom Gray is on the verge of a genetic cure for cancer. Nurse Casey Gordon (played by Ayse Tezel) is desperate to save the life of a child in her care and seduces Tom into testing his therapy. Early success brings romance into Tom's life for the first time, but Casey has a secret lover whose jealous anger puts their lives in danger, and Tom finds his out his cure has a dark side.Gene-X Plot Summary ===== 35-year-old Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) still lives with his parents Al (Terry Bradshaw) and Sue (Kathy Bates) in Baltimore. His best friends Demo (Bradley Cooper) and Ace (Justin Bartha) also still live in their parents' homes and seem proud of it. Tripp has had a number of casual girlfriends. When he tires of them, he invites them to “his place"—and when they realize he still lives at home, they promptly dump him. Al and Sue are fascinated when their friends, whose adult son recently left home, reveal they hired an expert to induce him to move out. The expert is Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), who believes that men continue to live at home because they have low self-esteem. Her approach is to establish a relationship with the man to build his confidence, then transfer his attachment from his parents to her. However, she finds that Tripp does not fit her previous profiles, as he has normal social skills, good self-esteem, and a good job he enjoys. After an awkward encounter with his parents, Paula thwarts Tripp's attempt to dump her and has sex with him, all the while developing real feelings for him. She and Tripp find themselves in unfamiliar waters and confide in their friends. Paula's vocation exasperates her roommate Kit (Zooey Deschanel), who thinks Paula took the job because a man broke her heart who lived with his parents. Paula is shocked when she learns why Tripp lives at home: His life collapsed when his fiancée suddenly died, and his family has been his solace since then. Ace discovers what is going on and blackmails Paula for a date with Kit; although Kit is more attracted to Demo, she and Ace wind up falling in love. Ace then "outs" Paula to Demo, who then reveals all to Tripp. Tripp angrily confronts his parents and breaks up with Paula. Wracked with guilt, Paula refunds Al's and Sue's money. After an awkward confrontation, Tripp forgives his parents, but he can't forgive Paula for manipulating him. Tripp's parents and friends devise a plan to reconcile the two. They tie up and gag Tripp and lock him and Paula together in a room. Paula pours her heart out to him, and he finally forgives her. The film ends with Al and Sue in their empty nest, happily singing "Hit the Road, Tripp". This fades into the closing credits over the Ray Charles song "Hit the Road, Jack", and we see Tripp and Paula sail away on his newly purchased boat. ===== In 1990, friends Braling and Smith take a walk one evening, much to the surprise of the latter, as Braling's wife generally tries to keep him from doing things he enjoys. Braling reveals to Smith that he has been using a robot duplicate of himself, Braling Two, to fulfill his obligations as a husband while he pursues his personal interests. His wife is completely unaware of the duplication. He plans to visit Rio de Janeiro for a month while his robot covers for him at home. Smith, fascinated by this new (and technically illegal) technology, considers buying a duplicate to deal with his own wife, Nettie, who in the last month has been overly affectionate. Braling gives him a contact card for Marionettes, Inc. Smith goes home and finds his wife sleeping. He briefly wrestles with the ethics of deceiving his wife before getting out his bankbook to set aside the $8,000 he would need to purchase the duplicate. To his surprise, Smith finds that $10,000 is missing from their account. He checks the sleeping Nettie and realizes that she herself is a robot duplicate of his wife. When Braling tries to return home and hide Braling Two, the robot resists him, expressing a love for his wife. Realizing that the duplicate is trying to replace him, Braling panics. The story ends ambiguously in the Bralings' bedroom with "someone" kissing Mrs. Braling affectionately. ===== Monsieur Brunel, a French detective on an exchange scheme in London, is assigned to investigate the apparent murder of novelist John Morlar. As they examine the crime scene, Brunel discovers the victim is still alive in spite of his severe head injuries and has him rushed to hospital. With the help of Morlar's journals and Dr. Zonfeld, a psychiatrist Morlar was consulting, Brunel reconstructs Morlar's life. Seen in flashback, it is filled with seemingly inexplicable catastrophes and the sudden deaths of people he disliked or who grievously offended him. Morlar has become convinced that, consciously or unconsciously, he himself willed the things to happen. He had become even more convinced when a supposed psychic examined his hands, became greatly unsettled at what he foresaw, and refunded Morlar's fee. Dr. Zonfeld scoffs at this explanation, asking Morlar if he seriously believes in palmistry as a means of predicting the future. As flashbacks continue, it becomes shown that Morlar has powerful psychokinetic abilities. Morlar's earlier legal career is seen to have halted in a courtroom defence speech that reveals his disgust at the world and offends the judge resulting in a lengthy imprisonment for his client. He inadvertantly curses the judge, who soon after dies of a heart attack with a look of unaccountable terror. Later, he proves to Dr. Zonfeld that he is the instrument of disaster when, with her watching, he forces a Boeing airliner to crash into a London office tower, killing everyone on board. Brunel eventually concludes that Zonfeld has attempted to kill Morlar in order to stop him causing more disasters, the most recent, at the time that he was attacked, involving American astronauts on a space mission that is being widely broadcast in the media. Failing to get him to stop, she had bashed in Morlar's skull with a blunt object and left him for dead. Brunel confronts her and she admits trying to kill Morlar. Brunel does not arrest her right away, partly because he is also becoming convinced of Morlar's telekinetic powers. Later, Brunel returns to Dr. Zonfeld's office, but he discovers she has committed suicide, having left a note apologizing to him for leaving such a mess to deal with. From his hospital bed Morlar manages to bring down a cathedral on the "unworthy heads" of a VIP congregation attending a fundraising event for the crumbling building's restoration. Brunel races to the hospital and tries to kill Morlar to end the destruction, just as Zonfeld had, but he, too, is unsuccessful. Morlar, who is inexplicably still alive, writes on a pad the name of his next target: Windscale nuclear power station. It will be Morlar's most destructive disaster yet. ===== To relieve his boredom, Emperor Ming the Merciless of the planet Mongo declares that he will play with and destroy Earth by remotely causing natural disasters. On Earth, New York Jets football star "Flash" Gordon boards a small plane, where he meets travel agent Dale Arden. Mid- flight, the cockpit is hit by a meteorite and the pilots are lost. Flash takes control and manages to crash land into a greenhouse owned by Dr. Hans Zarkov. Zarkov believes the disasters are being caused by an extraterrestrial source pushing the moon towards Earth, and has secretly constructed a spacecraft that he plans to use to investigate. Zarkov's assistant refuses to go, so Zarkov lures Flash and Dale aboard. The rocket launches, taking them to Mongo, where they are captured by Ming's troops. The trio is brought before Ming, who orders Dale be prepared for his pleasure. Flash tries to resist, but is overpowered. Ming orders Zarkov be reprogrammed and Flash executed. Ming's daughter, Princess Aura, seduces Ming's surgeon into saving Flash, to whom she is attracted. As they escape, Flash sees Zarkov being brainwashed by Klytus, the metal-faced head of the secret police. Aura and Flash flee to Arboria, kingdom of Prince Barin, Aura's lover. En route, Aura teaches Flash to use a telepathic communicator to contact Dale. He lets her know he is alive. Dale is locked in Ming's bedchamber but, encouraged by Flash, she escapes. Klytus sends Zarkov to intercept Dale, who tells him and Klytus that Flash is alive. Zarkov then reveals he resisted the brainwashing, and escapes Mingo City with Dale. They are quickly captured by Prince Vultan's hawkmen and taken to Sky City. Aura and Flash arrive at Arboria. Aura asks the Prince to keep Flash safe. A distrustful Barin, in love with Aura, agrees not to kill Flash, but then forces him to perform a deadly ritual. Barin and Flash take turns sticking their hands into a hollow stump with a giant scorpion-like wood beast inside. When Flash has to take an extra turn, he pretends to be stung as a distraction and escapes. Barin follows, but they are both captured by the hawkmen. Klytus informs Ming that Gordon's alive and is given authority to find the responsible party. Aura returns and is taken prisoner and tortured by Klytus and General Kala. They force her to confess and Ming orders her banished to the ice moon Frigia once his wedding to Dale has taken place. Meanwhile, Flash and Barin are taken to Sky City, where Flash and Dale are briefly reunited. Flash is forced to fight Barin in a death match, but Flash instead saves Barin's life, causing Barin to join him. Klytus arrives, and Flash and Barin kill him. Knowing this will bring retribution, Vultan orders the hawkmen to evacuate, leaving Barin, Flash, Dale and Zarkov behind. Ming's ship arrives and he orders Barin, Zarkov and Dale to be taken aboard. Ming is impressed with Flash and offers him lordship over Earth in exchange for loyalty. Flash refuses and Ming gives the order to destroy Vultan's kingdom along with Flash. Flash finds a rocket cycle and escapes before Sky City is destroyed. Flash contacts Vultan, who is hiding on Arboria, and they plot an attack on Mingo City. Flash pretends to attack Mingo City alone on his rocket cycle. General Kala dispatches the war rocket Ajax to kill Flash, but the hawkmen ambush and seize the rocket. Meanwhile, Princess Aura overpowers her guard and frees Barin and Zarkov from the execution chamber. Flash and the hawkmen attack Mingo City in Ajax and Kala activates the defenses as Ming's and Dale's wedding begins. Mingo City's lightning field can only be penetrated by flying Ajax into it at a suicidal speed. Flash volunteers to stay at the helm to ensure success and enable the hawkmen to invade the city. Barin and Zarkov enter the control room and confront Kala, who refuses to cooperate. She attempts to kill Zarkov, but Barin shoots and kills her. Barin tells Zarkov to hold the fort while he heads to Sector Alpha 9 to deactivate the lightning field. Zarkov tries, but is unable to deactivate the shield from Kala's control room. Barin fights through Ming's guards and gets to Sector Alpha 9 and deactivates the lightning field before Ajax hits it. Flash flies the rocket ship into the city's wedding hall and the ship's bow impales Ming. He drags himself off the rocket nose, seriously wounded, and Flash offers to spare his life if he will stop the attack on Earth. Ming refuses and attempts to use his power ring on Flash, but his power falters and nothing happens. He then aims the ring at himself and is seemingly vaporized by its remaining power, seconds before the counter to the destruction of the Earth reaches zero. A huge victory celebration ensues. Barin and Aura become the new leaders in Ming's place. Barin names Vultan the leader of their armies. Flash, Dale and Zarkov discuss returning to Earth. Zarkov says he doesn't know how they will get back, but they will try. Barin tells them all they're welcome to stay, but Dale says she's a New York City girl, and it's now too quiet around Mongo. The final frame shows Ming's ring being picked up by the hand of an unseen person. Ming's evil laugh echoes as the ending credits roll. Following the credits, the text "The End" is shown on the screen before a question mark (?) is appended. ===== J G Miller, Jeff to his friends, takes on his first case at law with the aid of the father of his fiancée Myrtle Shoesmith. Miller’s performance questioning a witness is so lively that it is reported in the newspapers. Myrtle visits him to end their engagement, giving up on her project of moulding him. Jeff is relieved and happy. He celebrates with a drink, not tea, and tosses the rock cakes into the office across the way, which appears to be empty. He did not want to hurt his landlady’s feelings because he did not eat them. When the occupant of the office shows himself present and angry, Jeff races over to apologise. Chimp Twist, the detective in the office of J Sheringham Adair, thinks Jeff is coming to attack him and hides in a closet. Jeff arrives to the empty office, sits in the chair, and is present when Anne Benedick arrives to engage a detective. He falls in love with her on the spot and agrees to the job, as Jeff Adair. Her uncle George, Lord Uffenham, follows his niece. Niece and uncle explain how Shipley Hall is rented presently to Clarissa Cork, employer of Anne, and a woman on a crusade to get people to eat a vegetarian diet, excluding even chocolates, as the African tribe she admires did not eat them. Lord Uffenham has turned the family wealth into a stash of diamonds, and following a car crash, he has yet to recall where he last hid the diamonds. He is known as Cakebread the butler to Mrs Cork, and she cannot fire Cakebread as a term of the lease. Cakebread spends time searching the Hall, including guest rooms, which has led Mrs Cork to hire a detective. Anne does not want Jeff to reveal that Cakebread is her uncle. Once at the Hall, Mrs Cork expands Jeff's tasks to watching her nephew Lionel Green and Anne Benedick, as she fears they are romantically involved. Lionel Green was the witness Jeff questioned with such unlawyer-like verve. To work with this man he dislikes, Jeff uses his gifts for quick thinking and talking to make terms with Green, including a few meat meals for Lionel. Lord Uffenham likes Jeff, and tells him about Anne’s engagement to Green, and encourages him to pursue Anne. Mrs Cork sought a detective at J Sheringham Adair because Dolly Molloy, a guest at the Hall, recommended the firm. Dolly and her husband know Chimp Twist personally, and tell Jeff they are surprised to see him. Jeff says he bought the practice that day. The next day, Mrs Molloy goes to London to learn Chimp is still in business and that he heard the whole story about the mislaid stash of diamonds. The three plan to find the diamonds first, being small time crooks from Chicago. Mr Soapy Molloy has talked Mrs Cork into buying the phony oil stock he sells. Jeff makes terms with the Molloys; neither will expose the other. Nevertheless, Mrs Molloy drops heavy items that just miss Jeff, so he purchases accident insurance. Jeff talks with Anne often in the days he is at the Hall, professing his love. She recalls having seen him somewhere, and finally realizes it was at a rugby football game the previous fall where he played for England, and the program listed him as J G Miller. She is quite angry at J G Miller for making a fool of her fiancé in court. Jeff kisses her once before she can walk away. Mrs Cork sees Jeff kissing Anne. This scene persuades her that her nephew is not seeing Anne and Mrs Cork then heads to tell her nephew she will give him the loan he wants to buy to become a partner in the interior decorator shop with Mr Tarvin. Lionel has kept the engagement secret, wanting that loan more than he wants his fiancée. Anne is not pleased with him, especially when she discovers the deal Lionel made with Jeff, explaining why Lionel had not revealed Jeff's true name. The crisis arises when Chimp Twist arrives at the Hall. Mrs Molloy sets up Chimp Twist to be caught by Cakebread, but Twist eludes capture by Cakebread and meets Mrs Cork when she calls him out of the wardrobe in Mr Trumper's room. Jeff tells Mrs Cork that he came to the Hall under false pretenses because he is in love with Anne, and Mrs Cork allows him to stay. Then when she learns his correct name from her nephew, she orders him out. He then asks her to autograph his copy of her book, and she relents. Cakebread leads the Molloys to think he left the diamonds in a jar with Pond's tobacco, as they find him and Jeff in the process of finding that jar. A tussle with a gun happens, Jeff is hit on the head, and Anne cries out for Jeff's sake. After the Molloys drive away with the jar, Uffenham comes up after releasing Mrs Cork and Mr Trumper from the cellar. While in the cellar, the two got engaged. The true location of the diamonds occurs to Lord Uffenham, the bank of the pond at the Hall and he retrieves them from that spot. Anne agrees to marry Jeff. ===== Annie is 18 and Carl 20. Although both of their families are against their marriage, the couple weds anyway. They move to Carl's college campus where he is studying to become a lawyer. He quickly discovers that it is hard to keep up with school while trying to entertain a spouse. With the help of the college dean, Carl and Annie are able to stay afloat in their new life together. Life seems to be going perfectly until Annie learns that she is pregnant. Because she is concerned about how Carl, her mother, and her mother-in-law will react, she keeps her pregnancy secret. After Carl discovers that Annie is pregnant, he takes on two jobs to support them and the baby. After Carl's graduation, Annie and their child move to a different part of the state where Carl starts a law practice. ===== In the late 1920s, eighteen-year-old Brooklynite Annie McGairy moves to a college town in the Midwest to marry her law-student love, Carl Brown, at the local courthouse. The newlyweds must overcome many obstacles, including disapproval from their parents (who knew each other before emigrating to America from Ireland), financial problems, and Annie's sexual insecurities. Due to the marriage, Carl's law school cuts off his loans, and his father cuts off support from home, forcing Carl to work multiple jobs on top of studying. Annie causes gossip in the town by befriending a lonely gay florist and babysitting for the mistress of a married businessman. Annie discovers she is pregnant, but before she can tell Carl, the couple have a heated argument caused by the stress of his night job interfering with the couple's marital intimacy. Annie leaves Carl and returns to her mother in Brooklyn, without telling Carl she is pregnant, not wanting to burden him further while he finishes his education. Devastated by the loss of Annie, Carl's schoolwork suffers, putting him in danger of failing all his classes. When Carl's father discovers the situation, including Annie's now- obvious pregnancy, his attitude towards Annie softens and he convinces the couple to reconcile. Annie helps Carl to catch up in his studies and pass his exams on the same day Annie gives birth. Carl graduates, and he and Annie celebrate a church wedding with family and friends before happily riding away with their new baby son. ===== The novel opens with a brief flashforward of Bertie and Jeeves driving home, with Bertie remarking that there is an expression, something about Joy, that describes what he has just been through. Jeeves helpfully supplies the phrase, "Joy cometh in the morning".Wodehouse (2008) [1947], chapter 1, p. 9. Bertie proceeds to narrate the events that occurred. Jeeves wants to go fishing at the village of Steeple Bumpleigh, but Bertie refuses to go there because his fearsome Aunt Agatha and her second husband, the irascible Lord Worplesdon, live there at Bumpleigh Hall. Bertie makes it up to Jeeves by buying him a gift, a new edition of the works of Spinoza. In the bookshop, Bertie meets Florence Craye, Worplesdon's daughter, a serious, intellectual girl to whom Bertie was once engaged. She mistakenly thinks that Bertie is trying to improve his mind by reading Spinoza and her own book Spindrift. Shortly afterwards, Bertie meets his college friend D'Arcy "Stilton" Cheesewright, who is engaged to Florence. Meanwhile, Jeeves has been consulted by Worplesdon, who wants to arrange a clandestine meeting with an American businessman, Chichester Clam. Jeeves suggests that Bertie stay at a cottage (called Wee Nooke) in Steeple Bumpleigh, where the two businessmen could meet in secret. Aunt Agatha, who is away, bought a brooch as a birthday present for her step- daughter Florence and asks Bertie to deliver it. Bertie goes to Steeple Bumpleigh with his friend, Zenobia "Nobby" Hopwood. She is engaged to Bertie's friend George "Boko" Fittleworth, who lives in the village. Lord Worplesdon, Nobby's guardian, does not approve of Boko. On arrival, Bertie learns that Florence thinks that Stilton should be an M.P. instead of a village policeman. Stilton believes Bertie is wooing Florence and tells him to leave. At Wee Nooke, Bertie encounters Florence's troublesome young brother Edwin, a boy scout. As one of his daily acts of kindness, Edwin attempts to clean the chimney using gunpowder and paraffin, only to burn down the cottage. Lord Worplesdon blames Bertie for the fire; he invites Jeeves to stay at the Hall, but Bertie has to lodge with Boko. Bertie lost the brooch, so he sends Jeeves to London to obtain a replacement. After welcoming Bertie to his cottage, Boko tells Bertie his plan to win Worplesdon's approval: he will pretend to stop a burglar at the Hall, with Bertie playing the role of burglar. Before he can break in, Bertie is interrupted by Edwin. He then runs into Jeeves, who says that Worplesdon and Clam plan to meet in the potting shed. Boko mistakes Clam for an intruder and locks him in the shed, enraging Worplesdon. To improve Boko's standing, Jeeves suggests that Boko come to Worpleson's defense while Bertie insults Worplesdon, but Bertie refuses. Edwin tells Bertie that Florence and Stilton have fallen out. Edwin also found the brooch, and gave it to Florence. She believes that this was a present from Bertie and has renewed their engagement, to Bertie's horror. Boko, who was once engaged to Florence, agrees to disclose how he alienated her if Bertie insults Worplesdon, but Jeeves reveals that Boko alienated her by kicking Edwin. Bertie decides to do the same, yet Florence actually approves, as Edwin messed up her scrap album. Nobby promises Bertie to show Florence a letter in which he insulted Florence if Bertie insults Worplesdon. Bertie visits his uncle's study, but before the plan can proceed Boko is escorted from the grounds by a gardener. Worplesdon is impressed with Bertie for kicking Edwin. Jeeves suggests to Bertie that Worplesdon and Clam meet in disguise at the fancy-dress ball to take place that night; Bertie suggests this to Worplesdon. Worplesdon wears a Sindbad the Sailor costume that Bertie had brought for himself. Jeeves steals Stilton's police uniform for Bertie so he can attend the ball and persuade Worplesdon to approve Nobby marrying Boko. Worplesdon's negotiations with Clam are successfully concluded by the time Bertie arrives. Worplesdon detests Boko less when he hears that Boko has also kicked Edwin and will shortly be starting a job far away in Hollywood. He approves the marriage. In the morning, Bertie discovers that Worplesdon has been accidentally locked in Boko's garage overnight. Worplesdon emerges furious with Boko and withdraws his approval of Nobby marrying Boko. Worplesdon is horrified, however, when Jeeves informs him that Lady Agatha, who disapproves of fancy-dress balls, has returned unexpectedly and wants to know where Worplesdon has been. Jeeves suggests that Worplesdon say he spent the evening discussing the wedding plans with Nobby and Boko, then slept at Boko's cottage overnight. Worplesdon agrees, consenting to the marriage again. Stilton tries to arrest Bertie for stealing his uniform, but Worplesdon gives Bertie a false alibi. Edwin has destroyed the insulting letter that Bertie wanted Nobby to show to Florence, but Florence decides to marry Stilton after he resigns from the police force in disgust at Worplesdon's underhanded behaviour. Jeeves confesses to Bertie that he lied about Lady Agatha returning. The pair escape from Steeple Bumpleigh by car. Bertie tries to remember an expression which he feels sums up recent events, something about Joy, but notes that he already narrated all this before. ===== Los Angeles is being struck by a crime wave. There seems to be no link between the victims and their cause of death - burning from the inside out. Supernatural powers seem to be involved. Angel investigates the deaths, and Cordelia tries to find a band of child thieves. Both searches lead in the same direction - a rich slumlord who is imprisoning the children's immigrant parents. Angel, Doyle, and Cordelia all have difficulties in L.A., but they realize it's much harder for these immigrants. Angel hopes to help before it is too late. ===== After saving a young woman from her rogue bodyguards, Angel is hired by a big Hollywood studio head, Jack Willitts, to guard the girl in question; his daughter, Karinna. Angel is persuaded when his co- workers point out there is rent to deal with, and Cordelia even convinces Jack to give her a job (Unfortunately, it is as a tour guide rather than an actress). Angel takes Karinna to several popular nightspots, writing her off as a spoiled brat. Cordelia believes Angel is getting too close to the case, but the situation soon worsens. Karinna gets into trouble while Angel and company are being tracked by an unknown creature, trying to destroy anything getting in its way. Angel eventually finds himself trapped in a supernatural struggle for power and immortality, as an Irish magician, Mordractus, reveals that he has been tracking Angel. Mordractus is attempting to summon a powerful demon, but the spells are draining his life energy, and he will soon die unless a way of surviving is found. Knowing that Angel is immortal, yet retaining a soul, Mordractus attempts to steal Angel's 'essence' to allow him to duplicate that feat, but Angel escapes and Mordractus is banished to Hell. ===== In nineteenth-century Macao, Mr. Clay (Orson Welles) is a wealthy merchant at the end of his life. His only constant companion is his book-keeper, a Polish-Jewish emigrant named Levinsky (Roger Coggio). One evening, while reading to Clay before bed, Levinsky recites a prophecy. Clay declares his hatred of prophecies and begins to tell a story he once heard on a ship of a rich old man who offers a sailor five guineas to impregnate his wife, however Levinsky completes the story, having heard it himself from multiple other seamen. Clay becomes obsessed in making that legendary tale come true, and Levinsky is dispatched to find a sailor and a young woman who will play the part of Clay’s wife. Levinsky approaches Virginie (Jeanne Moreau), the daughter of Clay’s one-time business partner. Clay’s ruthless dealings drove Virginie’s father to bankruptcy and suicide, and she is eager to participate in this action to get her revenge. The destitute sailor, a young Dane named Paul (Norman Eshley), is discovered on the street and recruited. Virginie and Paul find an emotional bond in their brief union, but go their separate ways – Virginie is exorcised of her bitterness against Clay while Paul disappears into Macao’s teeming streets. Levinsky goes to inform Clay about what took place, but discovers the old merchant has died.Cowie, Peter. “The Cinema of Orson Welles.”1978, A.S. Barnes & Co. ===== Angel, better than most, understands the importance and meaning of the soul. Angel's soul have driven him on his journey of redemption. Now Angel discovers those who would pay for a soul. Doyle, Cordelia, and Angel find a girl whose soul has been taken away from her. It seems a soul trade is developing its own black market; the soul is an item of wealth to gamblers, junkies, and others in L.A.'s vast underworld. The soul of an innocent girl is a desirable item... until Angel appears on the scene, with a soul that is- literally- one-of-a- kind. ===== A wealthy actress, Whitney Tyler, requests the help of Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle. She plays a vampire on a popular TV show, and a small number of viewers seem to believe she is actually a real vampire and have made attempts to kill her. Doyle is pleased the case isn't relying on painful visions and Cordelia is starstruck, but Angel is confused; Whitney resembles someone he knew two centuries earlier. The attempts to kill Whitney continue, while Angel, Doyle and Cordy discover a symbol that links the attackers to an ancient battle. Angel must put the pieces together. ===== Doyle has a vision of a seismic shift, and everyone's guard goes up. After investigation, Angel is led to a group of Serpentine demons who live locally in a wealthy and private community. Despite close associations with telemarketing, this group of 'monsters' seems harmless and has no enemies, yet it has become the target of a clan of underground quake demons. The quake demons can reduce living things to a crushed mess. Cordy and Doyle are dubious of their new clients, but Angel soon finds out he has much in common with this community. ===== A decayed corpse at a Hollywood construction site appears to be a harbinger of more supernatural evil. Meanwhile, Doyle has a vision which leads him to a strange address. He, Angel and Cordelia start tracking a cigarette girl, Betty McCoy. Mike Slade, a new P.I. in town, is also tracking this girl. He dresses and acts behind the times, yet his agenda is modern, and he opposes local officials. Angel and his team soon find their research leads them to Slade. They must piece together a story involving the cigarette girl, a water commissioner, and a host of disappearing demons. ===== Cordelia suggests beginning a Web site for their detective agency, but Angel is hesitant—as Doyle points out, "people in trouble want to interface with a face." Meanwhile, the police discover a trail of corpses across the city. The only connection between these victims (apart from the cause of death) is their hobby of online chatting. It seems a techno-savvy demon must be on the prowl, hoping to complete a ritual going even beyond a World Wide Web. ===== On July 3, at the Uneeda medical supply warehouse, foreman Frank tries to impress new employee Freddy by showing him military drums that accidentally wound up in the basement of the building. Frank accidentally unleashes the toxic gas inside the barrel, which reanimates a cadaver inside a meat locker. Joined by their boss Burt, the three discover that every part of the zombie can survive independently. Burt has the zombie incinerated at a nearby mortuary by his friend Ernie, but this inadvertently causes the deadly gas to contaminate the air, creating a toxic rainfall that reanimates the corpses in a cemetery. Meanwhile, Freddy's girlfriend Tina and his friends Spider, Trash, Chuck, Casey, Scuz, and Suicide arrive at the cemetery to meet Freddy by his job. Tina enters the warehouse first and wanders into the basement, where she is confronted by the disfigured zombie Frank accidentally freed. The rest of the group arrives shortly after and saves her, although Suicide is killed. After Casey realizes she saw Freddy entering the mortuary, the group attempts to reach him through the cemetery, where they are attacked by the re-emerging zombies. Trash is killed and Chuck and Casey flee back to the warehouse, but Spider, Tina, and Scuz reach the mortuary. The three discover Frank and Freddy growing ill from their exposure to the gas, with a medical test implying they are no longer alive. When Burt and Ernie learn of the dead rising from their graves, they barricade the mortuary after. Scuz is killed while protecting the barricade and the zombies eat the paramedics and police who arrive on the scene. With Frank and Freddy showing signs of becoming zombies themselves, Burt has them locked in the chapel, accompanied by Tina when she refuses to abandon Freddy. Freddy soon attempts to eat Tina, prompting Burt, Ernie, and Spider to rescue her by reopening the chapel. Frank manages to escape during the chaos and, still having control over his mind, commits suicide by immolating himself. Burt and Spider flee the mortuary in a police car, but the large number of zombies forces Burt to leave Ernie and Tina behind. Ernie and Tina hid in the mortuary's attic, while the blinded Freddy attempts to break in. Burt and Spider manage to get back inside the warehouse where they find Casey and Chuck. After incapacitating the basement zombie, whom Spider names "Tarman", Burt attempts to contact the police but learns they are being massacred by the zombies. Burt then decides to call the number on the military drums, which reaches military officer Colonel Glover. Notified that the zombies have taken over the area, Glover has the town destroyed by nuclear artillery on the morning of July 4. In the wake of the nuclear strike on Louisville, Colonel Glover is heard telling his commanding officer that everything went as planned and that the results couldn’t be more positive. Only a small area was destroyed, he says, and casualties are limited; plus, the rain is putting out the fires. As he speaks, more zombies in Resurrection Cemetery are heard screaming in their graves, indicating that the invasion is about to begin again. ===== In February 1941, Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, nicknamed "Prew", reports to his new posting at G Company, a US Army infantry unit stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Prew is a career soldier (a "thirty-year man") with six years' service, an excellent bugler, and a former boxer. He was transferred from his last unit, a Bugle Corps, with a reduction to the lowest rank after complaining that a less skilled bugler, who was a friend (possibly a romantic partner) of the Chief Bugler, had been made First Bugler over him. G Company's commanding officer is Captain Dana "Dynamite" Holmes, the regimental boxing coach, who chose Prew for his unit because of Prew's past history as a talented welterweight boxer. Holmes thinks that winning a boxing championship will greatly help his chances for promotion and concentrates on building a strong team, offering incentives such as promotions to men who box well. However, Prew swore off boxing after accidentally blinding his sparring partner and even transferred out of a past regiment to get away from boxing. Prew refuses to box for Holmes' team, resulting in his being given "The Treatment" by his platoon guide Sergeant Galovitch and others. "The Treatment" is a daily hazing ritual in which Prew is constantly singled out for extra drill exercises, unwarranted punishments, and undesirable work assignments in hopes of breaking him down through exhaustion. Despite the abuse, Prew stubbornly refuses to change his mind about boxing. Holmes' First Sergeant Milt Warden is a career soldier, who, as the ranking non-commissioned officer, does most of the work of running the company while Captain Holmes is off pursuing either his promotion or women. Warden is both efficient at his job and understanding with the men under him. He comes to respect Prew, and at one point even stays out late getting drunk with him and then makes sure he gets home safely without being disciplined. Warden has also heard that Holmes' beautiful wife, Karen, has slept with a number of other men in his unit and begins an affair with her himself. Warden finds out that Karen's promiscuous behavior is due to her husband's cheating and giving her gonorrhea a few years after their marriage, forcing her to have a hysterectomy as part of the cure. Karen and Warden fall passionately in love, and Warden continues to see her in secret despite the risk to his career and a possible military prison sentence at Leavenworth if her husband finds out. Holmes realizes that his wife is having an affair but does not suspect that it is with Warden. Karen wants Warden to take a training course to become an officer so she can divorce Holmes and marry Warden, something that Warden feels would be improper on top of his already mixed feelings about officers. Over time, the strain of keeping the relationship secret also begins to put a damper on their feelings. Prew befriends a new young recruit, Private Angelo Maggio, whose temper and impetuous behavior sometimes get him into trouble. Returning from a drunken night on the town, Prew and Maggio encounter military policemen (MPs), and Maggio fights them. As a result, Maggio is sentenced to a term in the stockade, the local military prison. At a local brothel catering to servicemen, Prew meets a beautiful prostitute, Lorene, whose real name turns out to be Alma Schmidt. Lorene is planning to save the money she makes and use it to establish herself in respectable society back in her Oregon hometown and eventually marry a man who is so respectable that no one would ever believe she had been a prostitute. Over time, she and Prew fall in love, but she refuses to marry him because she does not think he is respectable enough. Just before the company's big boxing match, Prew gets into a fight with Private first class Isaac Bloom, one of the boxers, and beats him so badly there is a concern that Bloom can no longer box. However, Bloom boxes and wins his match with a quick knockout. Later, Sergeant Galovitch attacks Prew with a knife while Prew is unarmed. Prew knocks out Sergeant Galovitch but refuses to testify that Galovitch had a knife; as a result, Prew is sentenced to three months in the stockade. While Prew is in the stockade, Bloom, a closet homosexual, commits suicide. In the stockade, Prew sees prisoners routinely beaten and abused by Staff Sergeant "Fatso" Judson, the prison second-in-command. Prew reconnects with Maggio, who is in the "Number Two" barracks where the hardest and most recalcitrant prisoners are kept. Maggio has undergone repeated beatings and solitary confinement in the prison and is now hardened as a result. Prew schemes to be transferred into Number Two by committing an infraction and then being beaten and then spending time in the "Black Hole", a dark solitary confinement cell where prisoners are fed minimal bread and water rations. When he comes out, he is placed in Number Two and forms a camaraderie with the other prisoners there. Maggio finally schemes to get out of the prison and out of the Army altogether by pretending to have gone crazy. He is repeatedly beaten for many days by Judson, who strongly suspects that he is faking and is trying to get him to admit it. Judson fails to get an admission out of Maggio although Maggio manages to get a message back to his friends that he is all right. Maggio is finally given a Section 8 dishonorable discharge, and Prew never sees him again. Judson interrogates one of the other Number Two prisoners, Blues Berry, and ends up torturing and beating Berry to death in front of his Number Two barracks mates including Prew. Prew vows to kill Judson when he himself is released. Shortly thereafter, Prew is released and returns to Company G, which is much changed. Holmes received a promotion and left the company, and Galovitch was reduced in rank after the knife fight incident. After a few days, Prew goes into town, finds Judson, challenges him to a knife fight and kills him, but Prew sustains severe injuries. He goes AWOL to Alma's house to recover and stays there after he is well even though his relationship with Alma is slowly deteriorating. Prew no longer wishes to make the Army his career but has no other ideas about what he might do, and Alma is making plans to return to Oregon without him. Prew is afraid of imprisonment for killing Judson, but during a clandestine meeting with Warden, he finds out he has not been suspected in the killing. However, Warden tells Prew he might have to serve a month in the Stockade for the time he spent AWOL, causing Prew to go back into hiding at Alma's to avoid returning to the stockade. The Japanese suddenly attack Pearl Harbor although most of the damage is done at the harbor and Hickam Field rather than the Schofield Barracks. Prew decides he must return to his unit and says goodbye to Alma forever. On the way back, he is stopped by guards and because he has no identification, they begin to arrest him. Not wanting to go back to the stockade, he runs and is shot dead. Warden comes to identify him and collect his personal effects. Warden bids a fond farewell to Karen since he will be involved in combat in World War II, and she is returning to the mainland United States. The two are sad to be breaking up but better off for having known and loved each other. On the ship leaving Hawaii, Karen meets a beautiful and elegantly dressed girl, who says that she was an executive secretary on the island and that her fiancé, named Robert E. Lee Prewitt and from "an old Virginia family", was a bomber pilot killed in the attack on Hickam Field who posthumously received the Silver Star. Karen, told by Warden about Prew, realizes that the girl is the former prostitute, Lorene. ===== Elmer Fudd has purchased Bugs Bunny at a local grocery store (with a sign visible in the window offering a special on "Fresh Hare") and is taking him home to make a meal. As he walks along, he sings the tune of "Shortnin' Bread", substituting "Wabbit Stew". Bugs pops out of Elmer's basket, munching on a carrot that was in there with him, and asks, "Eh, whatcha got in the basket, doc?" Elmer replies, "I got me a wabbit! I'm gonna cook me a wabbit stew!" Bugs states his "love" of rabbit stew (though he is clearly a rabbit) and then begs to see Elmer's rabbit. When Elmer opens his basket and finds it empty (Bugs had quickly climbed out), Bugs pushes his nemesis into his own basket and then sings the tune Elmer had been singing -- but then Elmer realizes he has been tricked, and so he re-reverses the switch. Once at home, Bugs easily secures his escape by distracting Elmer, tricking him into thinking the phone has rung. However, just as he's about to leave, he decides that the setup's too easy and he just can't leave. He decides to stay and heckle his would-be devourer. Bugs effects a radio broadcast that warns of the dread disease "rabbititis", which is contracted from rabbits "sold within the last three days" and which causes people to see spots and have "delusions assuming the characteristics of rabbits", which is followed by the onset of schizophrenia and depersonalization disorder. This frightens the gullible Elmer and he informs Bugs that he is free to leave. Bugs, however, decides he doesn't want to leave by saying "Oh, no, Doc. Wouldn't think of it. We're gonna brew a stew, remember?", only to make Elmer back away, forcing him to hide on top of his door: "Oh no! Pwease, Mr. Wabbit! Go away! Don't come any cwoser! D-Don't come near me! Nooooooooo!". Bugs, thinking he has B.O., sniffs his glove and tells the audience "Oh, goodness! Don't tell me I offend." just as Elmer pleads with Bugs to "Make twacks. Scuwwy away. SCWAM!" to which Bugs angrily replies as he leaves "Okay! I can take a hint! I know when I'm not wanted! Goodbye!". But when Bugs returns, Elmer reminds him that Bugs has to "scwam", but Bugs points to a new sign on the front door that states "Quarantined for Rabbititus (RAbbititis). No one may leave premises." Bugs as "Dr. Killpatient", about to confuse Elmer again. Animation by Ben Washam.Thus Bugs stays to torment Elmer, and many hijinks ensue, including Bugs posing as Elmer's shower faucets {"Gurgle, gurgle. Why don't ya' pay ya' water bill, Doc?"} and a doctor ("Dr. Killpatient", parodying Dr. Kildare), painting a room with red, yellow and blue spots to make Elmer think he sees spots before his eyes and pretending to be Elmer's reflection in the mirror (like the mirror scene in the Marx Brothers' film, Duck Soup) and his own rabbity image reflected at him in a mirror that's really just Bugs after the glass has been removed. And when Dr. Killpatient (Bugs) tests Elmer's reflexes, Elmer goes into a familiar Russian kick dance, and Bugs decides to join him in a busby hat and boots. Finally, Elmer sees Bugs' game and chases him out of the house with a shotgun. But Bugs quickly halts the chase and, in an unusually lengthy breaking of the fourth wall, even by Bugs' standards, he convinces Elmer that members of the audience are now afflicted with rabbititis by saying "Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Look, the people out there in the audience - the lady there with the long ears. They're getting longer all the time. And the guy back there in the seventeenth row with the cute tomato - he's gettin' all fuzzy. Yeah, they've got it. Everybody out there's got rabbititis! Yaah!" which causes Elmer to flee back into his house in a terror of panic. Bugs then addresses the audience and says the whole thing was "just a gag, of course" and that if the audience really had rabbititis, they'd see swirling red and yellow spots, whereupon red and yellow spots are seen swirling on the screen, and the underscore starts to build dramatically. Immediately after Bugs says, "And then suddenly, everything'd go black!" the screen does suddenly go black, and the music stops abruptly and dramatically, followed by a second or two of dark silence. Bugs snickers and the cartoon ends. ===== Isabella Clara Eugenia, in this history the Spanish-imposed Queen of England Shakespeare, actor and renowned playwright, is contacted by Nicholas Skeres on behalf of members of an underground resistance movement who are plotting to overthrow the Spanish dominion of England and restore Elizabeth I to the throne. To do this, they employ Shakespeare himself, tasking him to write a play depicting the saga of Boudicca, an ancient Iceni queen who rebelled against the Roman invasion of Great Britain in the 1st century A.D. The conspirators hope that the play will inspire its audience, Britons once again under the heel of a foreign enemy, to overthrow the Spanish. The plan is complicated by the Spaniards who, also recognizing Shakespeare's talents, commission him to write a play depicting the life of King Philip II of Spain and the Spanish conquest of England. Now Shakespeare must write two plays—one glorifying the valor of England, the other glorifying its conquest and return to the Catholic Church—at the same time. There is also a subplot of the exploits of the skirt-chasing Spanish playwright and soldier Lope de Vega, who is tasked by his superiors in the Spanish military hierarchy to keep an eye on Shakespeare and while he does so flits from woman to woman. De Vega even acts in Shakespeare's King Philip. Despite danger at every turn from both the Spanish Inquisition and a home- grown English Inquisition, the secret play comes to fruition, and despite qualms from Shakespeare and his fellow players it is performed. As the conspirators had hoped, the audience is roused into an anti-Spanish fury and rampages through London, killing any Spaniard they see and freeing Elizabeth from the Tower of London. Despite this victory and England's reclaimed freedom, there is considerable loss of life on both sides. Shakespeare is rewarded by the reinstated Queen Elizabeth with a knighthood and an annulment of his unhappy marriage to Anne Hathaway, which frees him to marry his longtime mistress. The queen also grants his daring request that his King Philip play, which he considers to contain some of his best work, be staged. At the end of the story, Shakespeare uses his new status to facilitate the release of Lope de Vega from English captivity, provided that he immediately return to the Continent. ===== One thousand years ago, the Five Kingdoms (Weigard, Illes, Iscar, the Far Reaches, and Shadoan) were united under the benevolent rule of the Elder Kings until the evil wizard Sorsabal allied himself with dark forces from the land of Shadoan. With their dreadful power, Sorsabal destroyed the Elder Kings and claimed Shadoan as his own domain. The Elder Kings preserved their power by parting the Hand of Quoid (pronounced "kwode") - the great Amulet that was the source and focus of all true magic - and creating the Five Relics. They concealed one Relic in each of the Five Kingdoms knowing that, if Sorsabal possessed the Hand, he would wield absolute control over all he surveyed. Indeed, Sorsabal and his dark minions are searching for the Relics. As Thayer Alconred - a sorcerer's apprentice and the last survivor of the Elder Kings' bloodline - the player must find the Relics and restore the Amulet of Power before Sorsabal does. During the game, Thayer visits only three of the kingdoms and finds their relics. ===== Psychiatrist Dr. Tony Flagg (Fred Astaire) does his friend Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) a favor by taking on his fiancée, Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers), as a patient. Amanda, a singer on the radio, can't seem to make a decision about Stephen's many proposals of marriage, so Tony probes her subconscious mind to interpret her dreams. When Amanda dreams of dancing with her doctor, she's convinced that she's in love and to avoid telling Tony about the dream, makes up a wild dream. This leads Tony to believe that Amanda has serious psychiatric problems and he hypnotizes her to act on her impulses. By some chance, Stephen comes by, not knowing that she's under the spell and Amanda is crazy in public. The next day, there is a party and Amanda gets Tony to dance (the Yam) with her and in the process of trying to tell Stephen that she's in love with her doctor, Stephen thinks that she's saying that she's in love with him. Amanda then dances with Tony, telling him that "something terrible has happened, and you're mixed up in it." Tony hypnotizes Amanda again, saying that Tony does not love her and that "Men like him should be shot down like dogs". Amanda gets out again and finds a gun at the country club and starts shooting at Tony. Suddenly, Tony realizes that he's in love with Amanda and desperately tries to undo what he has done. Stephen accuses him of trying to take his fiancée away. At Amanda and Stephen's wedding day, he sneaks in and wants to punch Amanda so that she is unconscious and he can hypnotize her but can't bring himself to do it. Stephen barges in, aims a punch at Tony but smacks Amanda unconscious instead. Tony then tells Amanda that he loves her, and they get married. ===== Frank Warren is a treasury agent assigned to put an end to the activities of a powerful mob crime boss. The agent struggles to put together a case but is frustrated when all he finds are terrified witnesses and corrupt police officers. Although most informants end up dead, Agent Warren gets critical information about the mob from an unlikely source. ===== Jack and Stephanie Singleton, a married couple on the verge of a divorce, are driving to a counseling session when they find themselves lost on a deserted road in Alabama. Taking the advice of a highway patrolman, they head down a long dirt road, where they run over spikes, flattening all of their tires and stranding them. But they are near an old Victorian house in the backwoods of Alabama, occupied by a family of three and being used as an inn. They check in and have a strangely mysterious dinner with them, as well as another dating couple, Randy and Leslie. Things begin to go bitter, however. One of the family, Pete, begins staring down Leslie, stating that he wants her as his "wife." Betty, another one of the family members, keeps hounding Stephanie to get her more ice. Then, to make matters worse, the lights turn off, and a serial killer named White locks them inside of the House. He throws a soup can down through the chimney with a message scrawled on it. The message states that he has killed God and will murder all seven of them unless they kill one of their own by dawn. All the people frantically move through the house, but just get trapped in each new room while trying to avoid the man in the mask. ===== At a strategy meeting, Chief Miles O'Brien reveals that only one ship survived the Second Battle of Chin'Toka: a Klingon Bird-of-Prey that made a chance adjustment in its warp core which immunized it to the Breen's devastating energy dampening weapon. This fix cannot be applied to Federation and Romulan ships, putting the Allies at a severe disadvantage. The Dominion postpones its final offensive to deal with Damar's uprising of the Cardassian military. To help Damar lead the revolt against Cardassia, Benjamin Sisko orders Kira Nerys to go with Garak to Cardassia to teach the Cardassians the techniques of guerilla warfare. Admiral Ross grants Kira a field commission in Starfleet, with the rank of Commander. Julian Bashir's idea of using changeling tissue to create better synthetic organs for solids leads to his discovering that Odo is infected with the same disease plaguing the Great Link. Odo decides to go with Kira to Cardassia anyway. Bashir tries hard to get Odo's medical records from his visit to Earth three years ago but when he receives a phony file he realizes that Section 31 created the disease and used Odo as a carrier. After inducting Martok into the Order of Kahless, Gowron announces he will take a more active role in the conduct of the war. Gowron designs a plan to attack the Dominion, even though Worf and Martok point out that the Klingons would be outnumbered twenty to one. Anjohl Tennan (Dukat) sneaks a look at the book of the Kosst Amojan and the Pah-wraiths punish him by blinding him. Winn throws Anjohl out (she was already aware of his true identity) and tells him he can return when his sight is restored. ===== The series focuses on Flight Lieutenant Harrison, a young up-and-coming RAF officer, whose job is to survey and then recommend RAF stations for closure. The latest on the list is RAF Auchnacluchnie, Nuclear Command Bunker No. K553/44FS, a massive concrete Cold War facility and airstrip, which looms over the isolated Scottish fishing village of Auchnacluchnie. Far from being staffed by the 300 crew he expects, he is horrified to find the site is actually manned only by the eccentric, obtuse and war-ready Wing-Commander Campbell-Stokes and his gauche junior Airman Tench. All the other staff have been siphoned off over the years and never been replaced, resulting in RAF Auchnacluchnie receiving the full quota of supplies and budget for its supposed population. Campbell-Stokes and Tench have been left to eat from 100 pint tins of baked beans, make tea from 100,000 bag boxes of tea-bags, and keep ready for a war that will never come. The startling state of affairs is considered just as bad by the local villagers, who see the site as an English establishment foisted upon them. Harrison decides to file a report recommending the site's closure, but meanwhile becomes smitten with Eilidh, the pub landlord's beautiful daughter. She single-handedly runs the local school while her boyfriend, the impressively muscular and unseen Hamish, is away working on an oil rig. Alongside his romantic longings, Harrison realises that closing the site will have a profound impact on the village's school (which only stays open because Eilidh pretends she cares for the children of the 300 site staff). Falsifying his report to London, he is dismayed to find it has not only been accepted but also that he has been posted to the station permanently. Campbell-Stokes and Tench quickly accept him into the fold. ===== The film opens with a black crowd burning alive a black police officer, from a nearby ghetto that they regard as a traitor. It then switches to the peaceful home of Micah "Baba" Mangena, a black sergeant in the South African Police. His son Zweli Mangena increasingly questions Micah belief and Micah's wish that Zweli would follow him into the police. Micha's wife also has doubts as the once-peaceful township gets polarised and her neighbours start treating her as an enemy. The initial issue is the use of Afrikaans in the all-black school. The school children speak English, Afrikaans and their own African language, but they resent being taught Afrikaans. To reply in English is an act of rebellion. Zweli dislikes the system but fears the consequence of open opposition. He arranges a meeting between some of the hot-heads and Pule Rampa, a respected figure who has been in prison for anti-Apartheid activities. He seems to be trying to calm the situation, but the police have learned of the gathering and break it up, arresting some of the students and also Pule Rampa. He had been trying to slip away quietly, but Micah anticipates this and arrests him. Micah is in charge of the operation and has attempted moderation, letting some of the students go free. Micah wants to conduct his own questioning. But two members of South Africa's Special Branch have recently arrived and take over. They employ much more brutal methods. Both Micah and his white superior suggest to the Special Branch men that they are perhaps provoking opposition rather than quelling it, by torturing and hanging Pule in his cell. The situation does indeed escalate. Micah and Zweli are increasingly on opposite sides of a widening gap, even though each of them genuinely cares for the other. ===== Aging George Stransom holds sacred the memory of the great love of his life, Mary Antrim, who died before they could be married. One day Stransom happens to read of the death of Acton Hague, a former friend who had done him a terrible harm. Stransom starts to dwell on the many friends and acquaintances he is now losing to death. He begins to light candles at a side altar in a Catholic church, one for each of his Dead, except Hague. Later he notices a woman who regularly appears at the church and sits before his altar. He intuitively understands that she too honours her Dead, and they very gradually become friends. However Stransom later discovers that her Dead number only one: Acton Hague. Hague had wronged her too, but she has forgiven him. When his friend realises Stransom's feelings about Hague, she declares that she can no longer honour Hague at Stransom's altar. Stransom cannot bring himself to resolve the issue by forgiving Hague and adding a candle for him. This disagreement drives the two friends apart. Stransom's friend ceases visiting the altar, and Stransom himself can find no peace there. Months later, Stransom, now dying, visits his altar one last time. Collapsing before the altar, he has a vision of Mary Antrim, and it seems that Mary Antrim is asking him to forgive Hague: "[H]e felt his buried face grow hot as with some communicated knowledge that had the force of a reproach. It suddenly made him contrast that very rapture with the bliss he had refused to another. This breath of the passion immortal was all that other had asked; the descent of Mary Antrim opened his spirit with a great compunctious throb for the descent of Acton Hague." He turns and sees his friend, who has finally become reconciled to him, having decided to visit the altar to honour not her own Dead but Stransom's. Stransom, dying, tries to tell her that he is ready to add a candle for Hague, but is able only to say "One more, just one more". The story ends with his face showing "the whiteness of death." Thus Stransom's last words are rendered ambiguous. ===== Rolling Stone reporter Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) is sent from New York to Los Angeles to write an article about a businessman arrested for dealing drugs. During his stay in L.A., Adam sees a chance to collect material for another story about how "Fitness clubs are the singles bars of the '80s". He visits "The Sport Connection," a popular gym where he meets workout instructor Jessie Wilson (Jamie Lee Curtis) and asks her for an interview. Because of a previous bad experience with the press when she was a competitive swimmer, Jessie declines. Adam joins the fitness club and soon coaxes other club members to tell him about the gym and its impact on their love lives. Some, such as fun-loving Linda and Sally, are all too candid about their experiences with the opposite sex. Although she doesn't agree to be a part of his story, a romance does ultimately develop between Jessie and Adam, resulting in a moral dilemma; as a journalist he has lost his objective point of view. Jessie comes to trust him. Less cynical than before, Adam makes a concerted effort to show Jessie that not all journalists are out for the cheap sensation. He writes an in-depth, fair-minded analysis of fitness clubs as a singles meeting scene. But it is deemed unacceptable by his boss, Rolling Stone's editor in chief Mark Roth (Jann Wenner). Adam's article is turned over to others for editing, using material supplied by his colleague Frankie, a photographer. She finds an old magazine article featuring embarrassing details about a romance involving Jessie. Adam travels to Morocco for another assignment and is unaware of the changes being made in his story and too late to stop it. This has devastating impact on Jessie, as well as on others like Sally and Linda, described as "the most used piece of equipment in the gym." Adam tries to explain the whole situation to Jessie, but can't. Meanwhile, he must attend a trial at which he's supposed to testify. As a reporter, using rights granted by the First Amendment, he decides not to comply with a judge who orders Adam to hand over tapes from the businessman's interview. Adam is jailed for contempt of court. Jessie can see that Adam is a man of his word and believes him that he did not write the article the way it appeared in Rolling Stone. ===== Employees and customers spend time at a small gas station-diner in a fictional town next to a nuclear power plant unaware it is the last day on Earth. Young Otto Quartz has received ownership of the failing business by the Will of his recently deceased father. His employee, Lionel Switch, is the garage's goofy and bumbling auto mechanic who dreams of being a rock star. "I can do it!" Lionel often exclaims. After some modest character development and a collage- like dream sequence there is a tongue-in-cheek choreographed musical finale while nuclear war begins. At the destroyed gas station-diner post nuclear holocaust Booji Boy, is a lone survivor, but after his cynical proseThe prose is excerpted from "My Struggle", by Booji Boys, 1978. Film credits. the opening credits are a return to present time prior to apocalypse. [Some edits of the film place this scene at the end, including the most recent Director's Cut.] At the nuclear power plant nuclear garbage men (members of Devo) reveal that radioactive waste is routinely mishandled and dumped at the nearby town of Linear Valley. They sing a remake of "Worried Man Blues" while loading waste barrels on an old truck. Meanwhile, Lionel and his buddy Fred Kelly (Russ Tamblyn) ride bicycles to work. Fred states that Old Otto's recent death was by radiation poisoning. They remain unaware of the implications as Lionel laments it should have been himself that died because he has worked on "almost every radiator in every car in town." Early in the day at the diner Young Otto announces he must fire an employee for lack of money. He chooses waitress Kathryn, who has a tantrum and refuses to leave. She sits down weeping at a booth that has a picture on the wall of Old Otto and chooses on the juke box the song "The End of the World". Later, waitress Irene, overhears Young Otto's plans to fire everybody, destroy the buildings and collect on a fraud insurance claim. Irene demands to be included in the scheme and to seal the deal with a kiss. Although Lionel has a crush on the waitress Charlotte Goodnight, she has a crush on the milkman Earl Duke. After an earthquake Duke, dressed in white, enters the diner with a delivery. He flirts with her saying, "Charlotte ...on my way over here this morning I thought about you and the earth moved." She replies, "You felt it too!" He also offers her a milk bath. While he is there a dining Arab sheik offers him wealth in return for his "whiteness." A limousine stops at the gas station. After Lionel learns his rock star idol, Frankie Fontaine, is in the limousine he insists the vehicle will need work. After meeting rock star Frankie, who appears to lead an opulent, sequestered and drug influenced life-style, Lionel says to the wooden Indian in his shop, "Now there's a real human being!" Lionel receives a bump on the head while working on Frankie's limousine and enters a dream. He becomes a rock star with a back up band of wooden Indians. Back stage he is given a milk bath by Irene. Lionel travels with his band (the wooden Indians) and crew (all people from his waking life) by trucks through the desert. The wooden Indians become missing. During "Goin' Back" (a song by Young) the entourage recreates in the desert near a Pueblo. Native Americans prepare a bonfire to burn the wooden Indians which had been missing. Soon Lionel is playing music and dancing around the bonfire which appears to have become the center of a Pow-wow. "Goin' Back" ends gazing into the bonfire of burning wooden Indians. "Hey, Hey, My, My" is a ten-minute studio jam performance of Devo and Young. Lionel wakes from his dream surrounded by concerned friends much like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Soon there is the start of global nuclear war. No one is sure what is happening until it is announced by Booji Boy, as "the hour of sleep." He then provides shovels and commands everyone to "dig that hole and dance like a mole!" The cast then enters a choreographed adaptation of "Worried Man". The planet is engulfed in radioactive glow and the cast, still festive, climbs a stairway to heaven accompanied by harp music. Neil Young as "Lionel Switch" riding a stationary bike against a surreal backdrop, an example of the film's "hyper-real sets." ===== JC seems to have it all figured out. By day he runs a surf school, at night he lies down next to his beautiful girlfriend Chloe, his lifelong dream is to travel the world surfing. However, when old mates arrive from London unannounced it releases tensions which have long been simmering under the surface of JC and Chloe's seemingly perfect relationship. Chloe decides to buy the local surfer cafe and settle down, His friends, especially drug-dealer Dean are intent on causing mischief and sucking JC back into surfing a dangerous reef, which he had attempted before, seriously injuring his back. It turns out that Dean had a job as a journalist, and setting up JC was to get a story. As a requirement for keeping his job, he had to get a big story, preferably with a life or death situation involved. JC refuses to surf the 'boneyard' which prompts Dean to try it himself as he had already arranged media coverage, and his boss had decided to watch. Dean fails to surf the reef, hitting his head when smashed under by a huge wave. JC then dives in to rescue Dean and in doing so, successfully surfs the 'boneyard' therefore saving Dean's life and job at the same time. However Dean's boss gets knocked out by the local guru for his highly offensive attitude and remarks. JC's friend Terry, having been given drugs by Dean, has radically rethought his life, and buys JC's round the world tickets for him and his fiancé. JC then uses the money to buy a cafe for him and Chloe, deciding that his relationship with Chloe is more important than impressing his friends. ===== Elmer's hunting dogs have Bugs cornered when Elmer receives a telegram that says that his uncle, Louie, is dying and promises him $3 million in his will, but only if he never harms any animal, including rabbits. Elmer sets Bugs free and heads home. When Elmer arrives home, he hears Bugs singing in the shower and tries to kill him, but Bugs pokes out a sign that reminds Elmer of Uncle Louie. Elmer tries to get Bugs to leave the house and eventually tricks him out. Bugs then pretends to die, causing Elmer to take him back in. Elmer rocks Bugs and sings him a lullaby when a letter comes which says that Uncle Louie died, but many taxes have seemingly claimed the entirety of the inheritance, and Uncle Louie owes his lawyer $1.98 (however, based on the numbers on the form, Elmer still should be able to inherit nearly $900,000). Elmer chases Bugs around the house and Bugs eventually runs out. A few seconds later, a postman arrives and gives Elmer a giant Easter egg, which pops open and reveals many tiny Bugs Bunnies who jump out and run around the house. ===== Two huge interplanetary ships on an expedition into deep uncharted space receive a distress signal emanating from Aura, an unexplored planet. Both ships, the Galliott and the Argos, attempt to land on the surface of the fog-encased world. While entering the planet's atmosphere, the crew of the Argos becomes possessed by an unknown force and try to violently kill each other. Only Captain Markary has the will to resist, and is able to force all of the others aboard his ship out of their hypnotic, murderous state. After the Argos lands on the surface, the crew disembarks and explores the eerie landscape in search of the Galliott. Thick, pulsating mists, lit by ever-shifting eerie colors, saturate the terrain. When they finally arrive at the other ship, they find that the crew members have killed each other. Markary's younger brother, Toby, is among the dead. They proceed to bury as many of the corpses as they can, but several bodies are locked inside the ship's bridge. Markary departs to get tools for opening the sealed room, but the corpses disappear by the time he returns. Some of the Argos' crew are found dead. Tiona sees their corpses walking in the ship, and becomes paralyzed with fear. Markary advises the survivors that they must escape from Aura. Unfortunately, the Argos incurred serious damage during the landing, and repairs will take time. During the waiting period that ensues, several more killings occur. In a private tape recording, Markary admits that he suspects none of them will survive. While exploring Aura, Wes discovers the ruins of a spaceship a few miles from the Argos. Markary, Sanya and Carter investigate. Inside the ship, they discover large skeletal remains of the long dead crew and thus realize that they are not the first ones to have been drawn to the planet by the distress beacon. Markary and Sanya are temporarily trapped inside the ship, but manage to escape and return to the Argos. Carter inexplicably vanishes. Two crew members of the Galliott, Kier and Sallis, arrive at the Argos to steal the ship's Meteor Rejector device. Kier escapes with the machine, but Markary fights Sallis. Markary tears open Sallis' uniform, exposing his putrescent body. He learns that Sallis' corpse is being manipulated by an Auran, who reveals that the two ships were lured to the planet in order for the Aurans to escape from their dying world. With the crew of the Galliott under their complete control, they plan to use the ship to escape to the humans' home planet. Markary vows to stop them. Markary and his crew rush to the Galliott to retrieve the Meteor Rejector. They are successful, and manage to place explosives in the ship. During a struggle with the Aurans, Dr. Karan and Tiona are killed. Markary and Sanya return to the Argos and manage to escape as the Galliott is destroyed. After takeoff, however, they reveal themselves to be possessed by Aurans. They ask Wes, the last survivor, to join them. Wes refuses and tries to sabotage the Meteor Rejector, but fatally electrocutes himself while doing so. Because the device has been broken beyond repair, Markary and Sanya decide to change course for a nearby planet: Earth. ===== While the boys are Vacationing in Paris from working in a fish market in Des Moines, Ollie falls in love with Georgette (Jean Parker), the beautiful daughter of an innkeeper. She turns down his marriage proposal because she is married to a Foreign Legion officer named Francois (Reginald Gardiner). Heartbroken, Ollie contemplates suicide. He is joined by his friend Stan in sinking himself into a river. (In some versions this proceeding is complicated by the presence of an "escaped shark".) Stan repeatedly interrupts Ollie as he is about to throw the weight in, and asks him to consider the possibility of reincarnation. Ollie decides his preference is to be reincarnated as a horse. Francois catches sight of them and convinces them to enlist in the Foreign Legion in order to forget Ollie's failed romance ( little does Francois know that his wife was the object of Ollie's obsession ). When Stan asks how long it will take Ollie to forget, Francois says it will only take a matter of a few days. The commandant (Charles B. Middleton) introduces Ollie and Stan to their daily legionnaire duties, for which their daily wage is 100 centimes, which, translated into American currency amounts to only three cents. Ollie and Stan attempt to negotiate for a higher wage. For this uppity attitude they are sentenced to menial labor, washing and ironing a mountain of laundry, with legion officers constantly on their backs. Finally and 'miraculously', Ollie forgets his broken romance completely. His and Stan's purpose in joining the Foreign Legion fulfilled, they abandon their task, discarding the still hot iron, which unintentionally sets the laundry pile aflame. Angered by the hard work and low pay of the Foreign Legion, Ollie writes the commander an insulting farewell letter and signs it. After leaving the commandant's office, they meet Georgette again. Ollie, delighted that she has seemingly changed her mind and come back to him, proceeds to embrace and kiss her. Francois witnesses this and informs him that Georgette is his wife and warns him to stay away from her. After Francois leaves, the commandant appears and, having discovered their farewell note and the mountain of burning laundry, pronounces them under arrest for desertion. They are taken to the prison, locked up and sentenced to be shot at dawn. Stan amazes Ollie by playing "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" on the bedsprings. As he is about to play another piece, the jailor yells at them to be quiet. Later in the evening, someone throws a note that says they can escape by means of a tunnel leading from their cell to the outside wall. Stan brings on an accidental cave-in which causes the underground path to lead to Francois and Georgette's dwelling. The whole legion engages in hot pursuit of the boys, who flee to a nearby hangar and hide out in an airplane, which Stan accidentally starts up. The boys fly it until it crashes. Stan emerges unharmed from the crash, but Ollie has died, seen ascending into Heaven. However, Stan later bumps into Ollie, reincarnated as a horse in accordance with the wish he expressed during his aborted suicide attempt. Stan is elated to find his friend alive, but Ollie grumpily remarks, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." ===== In 1817, a young Spanish aristocrat, Tessa Alvarado, returns to Spanish California after the death of her father and finds her home in ruins, her father's manservant reduced to stealing. The town where she was born is run by a militaristic governor who abuses his power, resulting in the miscarriage of justice and the poor living conditions of his subjects. Upset about the state of her birthplace and the murder of her father, Tessa's path is revealed to her in a mysterious dream where her father comes to her and talks of his murder, his hidden gold, and of his "avenging angel". She will take up arms to protect the people from the town's governor and to avenge her father's death. Tessa will do this in disguise behind a mask, becoming that avenging angel, the Queen of Swords. As the Queen of Swords, Tessa becomes a vision of hope for the people who live in her long oppressed town. ===== Graham Dorn, a successful mystery writer, finds to his dismay that his most famous literary creation, a suave detective named Reginald de Meister, has become real. He usurps Dorn's life and even attempts to steal his fiancee. Graham counters by rewriting his current manuscript so that De Meister is married to the flashing-eyed, svelte, jealous Sancha Rodriguez, who promptly appears and accuses De Meister of two- timing her. The two characters disappear back into the world of fiction and Graham's life becomes his own again. ===== Playwright Ivan Travalian has a new Broadway play (English with Tears) in rehearsal and the backers want rewrites. His wife, Gloria, moves out, leaving him with custody of their five children: four from her previous marriages and his own son. His two stepdaughters and his stepson Spike return to their respective fathers but two of the boys, his biological son Igor and his stepson Geraldo, remain with Ivan. The producer of the theater production lies to investors, claiming that popular film actress Alice Detroit has already signed on to play the lead in the play. Ivan has no choice but to convince her to perform in the play over a dinner where she confesses that she is a big fan of his and would love to perform in his new play. She spends more and more time with him and then moves in with him and the remaining two children. One night Ivan explains to her that he was an abandoned baby who was adopted by a family with the Armenian name "Travalian". Alice becomes depressed because she misses her former social life so Ivan eventually asks her to move out. His two stepdaughters run away from their father's home to live with Ivan and the police come to take them back, but Ivan and the children stage a standoff on the roof of their building, eventually convincing the police and their father to let the girls stay. Spike also returns to the house, meaning that all of the children will be living with Ivan again. Ivan decides that his wife should return as well so he takes a taxi to Gloucester, Massachusetts, to retrieve her. He finds her painting on a snowy dock with her new boyfriend, where she resists his efforts to force her to return for the good of the children. Recognizing her selfishness, Ivan eventually gives up and tells her to stay in Gloucester. He returns to New York City and promises his stepchildren that they can remain with him. They attend the opening night of the play and film ends with them reading a positive review of the play in The New York Times. ===== Bertie's overbearing Aunt Agatha orders him to go to Deverill Hall, King's Deverill, Hants., to stay with some friends of hers and perform in the village concert. Jeeves, who knows about Deverill Hall because his uncle Charlie Silversmith is the butler there, says that Esmond Haddock, his aunt Dame Daphne Winkworth, four other aunts, and Dame Daphne's daughter Gertrude Winkworth live there. Bertie's friend Gussie Fink-Nottle will also go there. Gussie is upset because his fiancée Madeline Bassett was supposed to accompany him, but had to visit a friend, Hilda Gudgeon, instead. Another friend of Bertie's, Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright, an actor, wants to marry Gertrude. However, the aunts disapprove of actors. Catsmeat thinks Esmond is wooing Gertrude and asks Bertie to keep them apart. In exchange, Catsmeat will keep Gussie from brooding about Madeline; Bertie does not want Gussie and Madeline to split up because Madeline is resolved to marry Bertie if she does not marry Gussie. Bertie is also visited by Catsmeat's sister, Corky, who is arranging the village concert and wants Bertie to play Pat in a comedic Pat- and-Mike crosstalk act. Corky loves Esmond but won't marry him until he stands up to his domineering aunts, who disapprove of Corky because she is an actress. She believes Esmond has moved on to Gertrude. While drunk, Catsmeat makes Gussie wade through the Trafalgar Square fountain, and Gussie is sentenced to fourteen days in jail. To keep Madeline from learning about this, Jeeves suggests Bertie stay at Deverill Hall pretending to be Gussie. Bertie does so, taking Corky's dog Sam Goldwyn (a reference to film producer Samuel Goldwyn) with him at Corky's request. At Deverill Hall, Bertie ("Gussie") learns that Esmond is in love with Corky and not Gertrude. Esmond hopes to win applause at the concert by singing a hunting song to impress Corky. Catsmeat, wanting to be near Gertrude, comes to the Hall pretending to be Bertie's valet Meadowes. The next day, Gussie, who was let off with a fine, arrives, pretending to be Bertie, along with Jeeves, who acts as "Bertie's" valet. Jeeves, believing that applause at the concert would give Esmond the courage to defy his aunts and marry Corky, starts assembling a claque. Gussie will take Bertie's place in the crosstalk act, with Catsmeat as his partner. Bertie will take Gussie's place by reciting Christopher Robin poems. Catsmeat tells Bertie that Bertie's Aunt Agatha is coming to the house. Following a plan from Jeeves, Catsmeat asks Corky to invite Aunt Agatha's young son Thomas to visit her; Thomas, a fan of Corky's, runs away from school to see her, and Aunt Agatha cancels her trip when she learns her son has disappeared. Catsmeat tries to cheer up Queenie, the Hall's parlourmaid, who is distraught after ending her engagement to the local policeman Constable Dobbs, because he is an atheist. Gussie, who has fallen for Corky, writes to Madeline ending their engagement. Bertie intercepts the letter, despite briefly running into Madeline and Hilda, and returns to King's Deverill. Thomas has arrived. He has a rubber cosh and hopes to hit Constable Dobbs, since Dobbs arrested Corky's dog Sam after Sam bit him. Silversmith announces that Queenie, his daughter, is engaged to Catsmeat ("Meadowes"); Queenie had to tell her father they were engaged after he saw Catsmeat trying to comfort her with a kiss. Gussie and Catsmeat, both despondent, perform miserably at the concert. Esmond is very successful. Bertie, having forgotten the Christopher Robin poems, consults Jeeves, who has taken away Thomas's cosh. They get Esmond to read the poems. Gussie leaves to retrieve Sam for Corky while Dobbs is at the concert. When Jeeves learns that Dobbs has gone home early, Jeeves and Bertie try to stop Gussie. Sam is freed and picked up by Corky. Gussie, chased by Dobbs, climbs a tree, and Dobbs waits below. Jeeves knocks Dobbs unconscious from behind using the cosh. After his ordeal, Gussie's affections turn from Corky back to Madeline. Esmond and Corky become engaged. Dobbs claims he has become religious after being knocked out by a thunderbolt and reconciles with Queenie. Dobbs is also looking for "Bertie" for taking Sam Goldwyn, but Jeeves provides an alibi for Bertie. Dobbs then assumes it was Catsmeat who stole the dog; as Jeeves predicted, Gertrude rushes to defend Catsmeat. Corky reveals Catsmeat is her brother. Esmond, an influential Justice of the Peace, makes Dobbs drop the case. The aunts disapprove, but Esmond stands up to them. Aunt Agatha followed Thomas and is now waiting downstairs. Jeeves advises that Bertie escape by climbing down a water pipe, but Bertie, inspired by Esmond's example, goes to face her. ===== L.A. is shocked when a woman attacks a priest. The woman had just confessed to the priest that she had murdered her own son. Meanwhile, Angel and Co. get reports of a woman fighting with teens across L.A. The woman appears to be everywhere, a 'bruja' - a witch. She may be an embodiment of "La Llorona," known in Spanish lore as the "Weeping Woman." The priest soon goes into a coma, but Angel Investigations is busy with other matters: Doyle has a vision of a young mother and her son in danger at the docks. Meanwhile, Cordelia's looking for a big-shot producer's missing wife. Angel must find the connections between the missing wife and recent events. ===== Doyle's at the supermarket when his latest vision comes. He sees images of fear, fire, death, and an ornately engraved old amulet. The Powers That Be are not being too specific. When Doyle awakens an anxious young woman named Terri Miller is helping him. Terri is a shy woman from a small town, and new to Los Angeles. Soon after meeting Doyle, who disappears without saying thank-you, a charismatic man invites her to meet him at a club to which he belongs. Meanwhile, Angel and his team are investigating a murderer who seems to be burning his victims beyond recognition. Several of the dead are connected to Terri's newfound friends, and Cordy suddenly finds herself with an amulet that seems very familiar. ===== Cordelia Chase has a vision of a child being attacked by a squidlike demon. Meanwhile, Gunn is trying to rescue a young artist; the artist's studio is being attacked by vampires. Cordelia goes to investigate the mansion from her vision. She soon finds herself surrounded by baby products, portraits, and chased by a tentacled monster. When Angel arrives on the scene, he is surprised to discover that he recognizes some of the portraits. He holds distant memories of him and Darla spending a night with storytellers and artists. Angel reveals that he and Darla were present at the party where Mary Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein; indeed, they witnessed the event that gave Mary the initial idea. An old evil is trying to use a painting to preserve the life of its body, which, in the terms of the story, inspired the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. In their efforts to save a child the villain is focused on, Team Angel will learn not to judge everything by its image. ===== Cordy's finally getting a big break—she will be a contestant on some "reality programming". She must spend five days and four nights in an apparently haunted house. Living with a ghost and catching demons for a living, she sees this as an easy challenge. However, there is more going on than Cordy knows. In a vision on her first night, she sees one of the applicants who didn't make it to the show. She secretly communicates the scenario to Angel and Co., who are instantly on the case. Angel, Wesley and Gunn search for the missing actress as supernatural activity at the house increases. Soon, Wolfram & Hart also get involved and Cordelia is forced to consider her priorities. ===== Wesley opens a strange package that arrives by special delivery, which instantly sends him into a slumber. It seems likely he is the victim of a spell. Angel leaves with Gunn to investigate. They discover that other people who might be able to assist, such as magick-shop owners, have also fallen victim exactly like Wesley. Meanwhile, Cordy is struggling to research without Wes available. She soon begins to uncover a plot to plunge Earth into eternal darkness, so that vampires might rule over humans. Wesley is in the midst of a horrifying nightmare. If he cannot awaken, humankind may be in for a struggle. ===== L.A. is divided between the haves and the have-nots. Those in luck seem to have tanned good looks, toned bodies, riches and more. Some have-nots are beginning to grow tired of it. Lily Pierce is a motivational speaker who founded New Life Foundation, an organization sweeping across the country. Its mantra is: "Erase doubt. Erase fear. Become pure of purpose. Perfect in execution. Attain your dreams." Cordy's not impressed with Lily's message, but she doesn't suspect Lily is holding a secret of epic proportions. Wolfram & Hart puzzlingly soon want Angel's help to stop the insanity, but is Lily's hope of a perfect world tempting to Angel? ===== Cordelia has become used to being shaken by visions of horror, thanks to the Powers That Be. However, she is especially disturbed to see a vision of Faith being hunted in prison by the supernatural. Chaz Escobar, a game hunter, soon arrives at Angel Investigations looking for his wife Marianna, a vampire. He had hoped to cure her vampirism on a distant small island, but she escaped. He thinks she might be the monster harassing Faith. When Faith's out of jail it seems she may fall into Marianna's claws, but Angel's team and Chaz are off to the island to save her. Chaz's goal is to rid the world of all vampires, and Angel realises this may be a chance to right all his wrongs. This novel features a flashback to shortly after Angel fled from Darla when she attempted to make him feed on an innocent baby to prove himself. Making contact with a sorcerer, Darla attempted to have him remove Angel's soul, but the man refused, sensing that Angel's soul didn't want to be separated from his body, and noting that he had the potential to become a good person despite his vampire status. ===== It seems a quiet day at Angel Investigations until a desperate man arrives, chased by a demon. The gang kills the monster, which decomposes as soon as it dies. The man seems to have fallen victim to a stolen identity scam; he's been approached by a false Angel and is now distrustful of the real thing, so does not want to give up the ancient stone he's found. Angel's worried by the notion of an impersonator, but Cordy's just curious why he didn't impersonate more worthy celebrities. Meanwhile, Lorne reports some bad mojo from Caritas, and needs help. Something is getting under local demons' skins, and even bothering Angel, heightening the aggression of normally rather pacifistic demons. As their research continues, Cordelia and Fred learn that the Angel-impersonator- a photography student called David who saw Angel in action during his early days in Los Angeles- is impersonating Angel for no reason other than the power trip he gets when defeating demons, and doesn't truly understand the reasons why Angel does what he does. The stone that David's client possesses is later revealed to be the burial stone of a race of demons whose nature causes them to disintegrate upon death caused them to start using the stones as a memorial, the stones 'recording' their feelings at the moment of death. The stone the client possesses contains the rage and hostility of an honoured warrior who recently died in battle; in their home dimension, the stone's 'emissions' would normally be controlled by various spells, but without those spells the emotions are spilling out and 'infecting' every demon in the area. In the final confrontation, as Angel and his associates attempt to aid the stone's owners in acquiring the stone while holding off a mass of demons, Angel nearly surrenders to his rage, but David's act of sacrifice during the battle, giving his life to save Angel's, gets through Angel's rage and allows him to focus long enough to allow the stone to be destroyed, thus ending the wave of hostility. ===== The characters of Angel Investigations are shocked to find themselves euphoric after a long night they cannot remember. Their clothes are bloody and torn, their bodies bruised, but their memories of the previous evening are hazy. They soon determine that they've been affected by demon pixie dust. Angel, however, finds his superhuman healing failing him, and seems to be recovering at the rate of an average human. Unable to confide in his friends, Angel finds himself keeping secrets and collaborating with demons. If his friends go looking for another high in a battle of fearlessness, Angel is unsure if he can protect them. Characters include: Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne ===== Angel and Co. are enjoying some downtime at the karaoke bar Caritas when a loud explosion occurs. The gang and the rest of the bar are attracted outside. A building nearby is on fire. It seems that it may have been a diversionary tactic to distract from a drive-by shooting. When the smoke clears, Fred has gone missing. It seems Fred has been kidnapped, so Team Angel questions everyone nearby. Around a dozen demons were direct eyewitnesses, but each one has a different story. Whether it was gangs, monsters, or a runaway Fred, the team soon realize demons do not make the most reliable eyewitnesses. ===== A series of perfect clones of members at Angel Investigations are lurking in the city, planning to kill the originals. Team Angel must find out where the replicas are coming from and why, before the murder spree hits the whole city. Thanks to Wesley's research, the gang realise that they are facing the 'Seven Sinners', dimension-jumping demons who travel to other worlds, steal the negative aspects of the souls of some of the greatest heroes of that world, and subsequently gain power by killing the originals and absorbing their souls into their power source. Once they have been copied, only the original can kill 'their' Sinner, with other attempts simply incapacitating the Sinners until they can regenerate. The Sinners have targeted Angel Investigations with the intention of duplicating Angel, as they feel that only Angelus would possess the necessary skills to lead them in their destruction of this world. However, the final seven clones- consisting of Angelus, Lorne, Wesley, Connor, Fred, Gunn, and Lilah- are all killed by their templates, Angel subsequently destroying their power source. ===== In the fictional small town of Sand City, Kansas, the body of Harvey Merrick, a famed sculptor, is brought back to his parents' house. Only Jim Laird, Harvey's old friend, and Henry Steavens, his student, have any real emotion. While the mother cries out in overdone and insincere grief, Steavens and Laird talk, and we learn Laird never made it out of the town. Later, the mother, showing her cruelty, yells at her maid for forgetting to do the salad dressing. As the men sit up with the body, they moralize and criticize the deceased. This angers Laird, who comes into the room and points out how each of them are guilty, then exposing the corruption of their towns' leaders and how much they had hated Harvey. The next day, Laird, who is disgusted with himself for never having found a life elsewhere as Harvey had done, is too drunk to attend the funeral. The story ends with the notation that Laird dies of a cold shortly thereafter. ===== The widow Mildred Finster has been a fan of "cozy" mystery novels for years. At the age of seventy-one she decides she would like to become a real private detective. She finds a business card for Angel Investigations and likes the name. Team Angel is busy with its own personal problems, and has little time to deal with Mildred offering her services. Later a truckload of valuable antiquities is stolen and they assume a simple theft. The arrival of ruthless killers from afar soon gets the attention of the gang. They must cope with being followed everywhere by a well-meaning old lady, fight off poltergeists, and try to set aside their personal differences (at least temporarily) so that they can overcome the supernatural foe which is responsible for a centuries-old mystery. ===== Huge numbers of demon-killers are descending upon L.A., provoked by outspoken radio host Mac Lindley. They plan to rid the city of demons as rapidly and violently as possible. Angel Investigations is finding these angry mobs more of a hindrance than a help. Cordy knows bits and pieces but Angel Investigations is focusing on solving a case of a family who came to Los Angeles from Iowa; they were murdered together as Angel raced to try to save them. Soon Lorne is attacked and Connor goes missing. Angel realizes that the demon-hunters cannot tell the difference between a good demon and a bad one. None of them are safe from the crazy pack of do-gooders. ===== Like other parents, Angel wishes he could understand his son, Connor. But father-son bonding time is short because Angel is overworked, Connor is embarrassed by his father's blood-drinking, Hyconian demons are running rampant across L.A. - and a huge monolith suddenly appears on Hollywood Boulevard. Nobody understands this massive rock. It has two demon faces carved into it. The news stations assume it is a clever publicity stunt for a newly released movie, and religious extremists worry that it might be a sign of the impending apocalypse. As the staff of Angel Investigations tries to understand what the rock means, it soon becomes clear that Connor and Angel will have to work together for survival. Characters include: Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Lorne and Connor. ===== One of Fred's old friends from graduate school contacts her for help at a big scientific facility. Fred has conflicted feelings about her past, and the life she might be able to lead independent of demons. However on the night they are supposed to meet, her friend is shot down, a seemingly innocent victim of a misdirected hit. Angel and the others wish they could help Fred, but are needed to investigate a series of murders among a group of wizards. The wizards are the only ones standing against an apocalyptic breach; they are literally holding the walls of reality together from more-deadly worlds. Fred leaves the investigation and takes the place of her friend as researcher to try to uncover her murder. Soon the supernatural and the scientific research collide, and Fred realizes she might be the only one who can stop the coming end-time. ===== Wes has loved books since childhood. When a former colleague, Adrian O'Flaherty, arrives in town and invites him to a secret auction of rare occult books, Wes immediately agrees. However Adrian wants more than dusty old books at the auction. He wants revenge. Before the Watchers' Council was blown up (seen in 'Never Leave Me'), Rutherford Sirk took a number of rare books from the Council's libraries and killed the librarian who was Adrian's father. Wes buys a number of old books at the auction including one of the most famous books of magick, The Red Compendium, which is infamous for absorbing those who read it. Wes has always been a sucker for literature and soon finds he can't put it down even if he wants to. ===== The novel is set on the planet Pandora which is famous for its animated biosphere. Humans have built a base on it that serves as a biological laboratory and a hunting resort. The base is located at the top of 2 km high crag on a continent otherwise covered by forest. Biologists do not understand most of the processes occurring in the forest. Humans hunt in the forest for sport in the face of serious dangers. The novel is divided into two parts: life in the base and life in the forest. The director of the base is Paul Gnedykh. He is responsible for overall safety, supply, and communication with Earth. He replaced the previous director after several deaths occurred on the base. One of the deaths was the biologist Mikhail "Athos" Sidorov, Gnedykh's childhood friend. Some biologists claimed they saw people in the forest, but nobody took them seriously (partially because such visions were seen when the bioblocade of the observer was weakened or expired). The forest is rapidly changing, such that maps completely obsolete in two years. Some trees move from place to place, while others show signs of feeling the "pain" of other trees. Leonid Gorbovsky stays on Pandora believing that the forest is dangerous. He wants to be near when the forest "starts acting" to be able to influence the process. Gorbovsky is upset because the base staff are being negligent about the forest, not taking the forest seriously enough. One day a female hunter and gamekeeper becomes stranded in the forest and calls Paul Gnedykh for help. She calls from the same forest sector where Athos sent his last bearing signal. When Gnedykh and Gorbovsky arrive at the site, they see a mysterious organism that caused the helicopter crash. The organism is attracting trees and animals and eating them. It gives birth to several "children" every 87 minutes. The children are amorphous white creatures that move by means of pseudopods. The children first move from the parent uniformly in one direction. Gnedykh and Gorbovsky follow the children until they reach a lake and drown themselves. While observing the lake, Paul thinks he sees a human in the water, and records a video of the scene. In the forest segment of the novel, Athos attempts to return to the base after living in a village in the middle of the forest. The villagers are in foggy states of mind but have abilities to "grow" themselves food, clothes, and houses; and control the flora around them. Athos was brought to the village seriously ill by Hurt-Martyr and Broken Leg - two village natives - and given a wife named Nava. Athos too has troubles with his memory. He encourages two villagers, Fist and Broken Leg, to make a trip to The City, a mysterious place, where Athos hopes to get information about how to return. Hurt-Martyr went to The City before, but never returned. The tribe tries to talk Athos out of his journey, citing the rumored Dead Ones walking around in the forest. Slightly before the planned trip, he goes on reconnaissance, and Nava follows him. They are attacked by a group of bandits, and after a brief fight they escape. They end up in another unfamiliar village where Athos meets people he recognizes as Karl and Valentine, other biologists from the base. He is unable to talk to them, as some uncontrollable fear compels him and Nava to run away from the village, now engulfed in violet fog. When Nava wakes up the next morning she finds a scalpel in her hand. She is afraid of it, and Athos hides it in his clothing. Athos wants to return to the unfamiliar village, but when they do, they find it sinking into the water, the process referred to as Overcoming. After the trip to the sinking village, they meet three women, one of whom is Nava's mother who was captured by the Dead Ones before. Athos and Nava realize that the Dead Ones who capture women from the villages are actually droids that serve women who live in The City. These women (calling themselves Glorious Helpmates) consider men (and many other biological species) as useless, a "mistake", since the woman are able to breed non- sexually without men. These women profess control over "little ones", and control the violet fog, which is made up of bacteria that can be used for diverse purposes including communication and assassination. The Glorious Helpmates are participating in a battle with unspecified enemy. The front of this battle separates Athos from the base. The front is allegedly so biologically active that any living creature (even the Glorious Helpmates, who are protected) are likely to die there. The women take Nava from Athos. During the conversation he remembers several important experiences. Athos is attacked by a Dead droid, which he kills with his scalpel and flees. He returns to his village, where he again encourages Fist and Broken Leg who unite and travel to the base at Devils Crag. Athos now understands that the villages will disappear because of Overcoming (the process led by the Glorious Helpmates) and wants to prevent this mass murder. Broken Leg does not want Athos to go since he believes Athos will die. In the entire section of the novel, there is almost not a single object iⱱn the forest that is not a mutable living thing. One can grow clothing from the forest, eat the ground itself as a meal, and so on. The origin of people in the forest is unknown. ===== Valeria Brinton marries Eustace Woodville despite objections from Woodville's family; this decision worries Valeria's family and friends. Just a few days after the wedding, various incidents lead Valeria to suspect her husband of hiding a dark secret in his past. She discovers that he has been using a false name, "Woodville", when his true surname is "Macallan". Eustace refuses to discuss it, leading them to curtail their honeymoon and return to London where Valeria learns that he was on trial for his first wife's murder by arsenic. He was tried in a Scottish court and the verdict was 'not proven' rather than 'not guilty'. This implies that though Eustace is guilty, the jury did not have enough proof to convict him. Valeria sets out to save their happiness by proving her husband innocent of the crime. In her quest, she comes across the disabled character Miserrimus Dexter, a fascinating but mentally unstable genius, and Dexter's devoted female cousin, Ariel. Dexter will prove crucial to uncovering the disturbing truth behind the mysterious death. ===== Harry Morgan (John Garfield) is a sport-fishing boat captain whose business is on the skids and whose family is feeling the economic pinch. He begins to work with a shady lawyer, Duncan (Wallace Ford), who persuades him to smuggle eight Chinese men from Mexico into California in his boat, the Sea Queen. Harry also begins a flirtation with Leona Charles (Patricia Neal). When his plan with Duncan goes wrong, Harry comes even more under the influence of the lawyer, who blackmails him into helping the escape of a gang of crooks, who pull a racetrack heist, by using his fishing boat to get them away from authorities. Harry convinces himself that his illegal activities will financially help his family. His wife, Lucy (Phyllis Thaxter), suspects Harry is breaking the law and urges him to stop for the sake of the family. Harry refuses and walks out. As Harry waits for Duncan and the crooks on his boat, Harry's partner, Wesley Park (Juano Hernandez), arrives. Not wanting Wesley around when the crooks arrive, Harry tries to send him on an errand. The crooks arrive before Wesley leaves, though, and kill him. Harry is horrified, but is forced at gunpoint to transport the crooks out to open sea without drawing the attention of the Coast Guard. Harry also learns that Duncan was killed during the escape from the heist. Wesley's body is dumped overboard. Harry uses a ploy to get his hands on two guns he had hidden away prior to the journey and kills all the crooks in a dramatic shootout. Harry, however, is critically wounded. Authorities find his boat the next day and tow it to port. Lucy rushes to Harry's side and tries to convince Harry to allow his arm to be amputated to save his life. Speaking with difficulty, Harry reaffirms his love for Lucy and then closes his eyes. Paramedics arrive and carry Harry's motionless body into an ambulance. As they walk away from the wharf, Lucy pleads with the Coast Guard officer for assurance that Harry will live. The officer says nothing, as sorrowful music plays on the soundtrack. In the final scene, Wesley's son, who was briefly introduced earlier in the film, stands alone on the dock looking around for his father. ===== When a photojournalist (David Cubitt) in the fictional Bay City photographs a mysterious stranger performing an act of bravery, the act quickly becomes headline news and the town dubs the stranger "John Christmas". After seeing the photo, Kathleen McAllister (Valerie Bertinelli) becomes convinced that the mysterious stranger is in fact her long-lost brother Hank (William Russ), a former firefighter. With the town's help, Kathleen and Noah set about to find the stranger's true identity with the help of Max (Peter Falk), a Christmas angel. Filmed in Nova Scotia, Canada, the film featured a scene of a burning school based on the real Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago, Illinois in 1958."Ask Valerie." (). Finding John Christmas website, CBS.com ===== In 1956, Lewellen lives with her stern, religious grandmother, Grannie, who has taken it upon herself to raise the girl, as neither of Lewellen's parents can provide her a stable home. Her father, Lou, loves her and tries to please her, giving her gifts such as Elvis Presley recordings. Although he battles with alcoholism, he tries his best to give Lewellen a stable home. He even tries to provide a motherly figure in Lewellen's life by dating a mysterious girlfriend, Ellen, who promised one night to rescue Lewellen from life in the rural South should the relationship falter. We later learn that Ellen is in fact Lewellen's aunt, her mother's sister. Lewellen is able to maintain her innocence by finding consolation in playing with her best friend Buddy, idling away her last pre-teen summer with typical outdoor rural pastimes such as swimming in the pond and exploring the woods, meeting a new friend, Grasshopper, while spending the summer with her grandparents. Lewellen is enchanted by her idol, Elvis Presley, who is making a homecoming tour in the South. Her town is one of the venue stops. Lewellen finds that singing Elvis' music is a way to channel her trauma into something constructive and creative. Charles (Afemo Omilami) acts as a mentor, imparting wisdom of his snake handler religion to explain this emotional channelling to her — in other words, how to create something positive out of something venomous and deadly. Lewellen is challenged by many problems besides living in a "broken home". Ellen leaves one day and breaks Lewellen's heart, burdening her with the responsibility to be a "mother" despite not having one herself. Her father suffers a terrible accident, and is handicapped to the point of infantile retardation, but the thought of Elvis coming to town gives her the resolve to carry on despite this newest of many traumatic circumstances. Buddy tells Lewellen that Wooden's Boy has an Elvis ticket and is willing to give it to her if she does her Elvis dance for him naked. When she finds out the deal, she questions doing such an act for a moment. She then agrees to do so, Wooden's Boy then unzips his trousers, she asks for her ticket, but Wooden's Boy then rapes her. The sexual assault causes life-threatening emotional trauma, that manifests as an illness. Her loved ones, Charles and Grannie, are distressed by her sudden decline in health. In fits of feverish illness, she hallucinates she is being attacked by venomous snakes, and she also vomits after church. Enraged by hearing the cause of Lewellen's descent into figurative hell, Charles overhears Buddy talking to Wooden's Boy about what he had done to her, he then resolves to rescue his young friend from the depths of despair and tries to help her reclaim her stolen paralyzed voice by encouraging her to sing "Hound Dog". He nurses her back to health. Ellen soon returns to the town to keep her promise to Lewellen. Lewellen bids farewell to her father and departs for a better life with her new mother. ===== Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) defies his father (Tom Hanks) and leaves law school to pursue his dream of becoming a writer in Los Angeles. To support himself, he takes a job as a road manager for "The Great" Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a fading mentalist. Troy comes to enjoy traveling with Buck to performances in smaller venues such as Bakersfield and Akron. In particular, Troy sincerely admires Buck's signature trick: having someone in the audience hide his fee for that night's performance, which he then unfailingly discovers. (Kreskin is said to have actually performed this feat 6,000 times, only failing to find the money nine times.)United Airlines in-flight entertainment guide, August 2009. A reluctant publicist, Valerie Brennan (Emily Blunt), is sent to join them in Cincinnati as a replacement for a more senior colleague to promote Buck's still secret attempt to resurrect his career. Valerie is disgusted by Buck's verbal abuse towards her and Troy, with whom she becomes romantically involved. Buck reveals that his comeback will involve putting "hundreds" of people (actually only a few dozen) to sleep and then awakening them as if from the dead. The trick works, but despite a large press turnout, no one is there to record the act, since the news media is called away at the last second to cover a car accident involving Jerry Springer. Furious, Buck unfairly blames the mishap on Troy and Valerie, and then faints from exhaustion. In the hospital, Buck and Troy discover that the media absence actually worked in Buck's favor, as rumors reported by the news media exaggerate the scope of Buck's act; as a result, Buck returns to the limelight as a retro-"hip" phenomenon. He appears on television shows such as those of Jon Stewart, Regis Philbin, Conan O'Brien, and more. Buck is reunited with his estranged friend, George Takei, who sings "What the World Needs Now". Buck finally gets the call he has been waiting for: To perform once again on The Tonight Show. He previously had performed with Johnny Carson 61 times during the height of his career, but never since the show has been hosted by Jay Leno. Buck is bumped by Tom Arnold, who has too much material and uses up Buck's time. Buck refuses an immediate offer to come back and appear on The Tonight Show the following week, but agrees to receive an offer to headline a date in Las Vegas. When the limelight on Buck dims once more after he fails to find his money for the first time ever during his Las Vegas premiere, Troy leaves him and through Valerie's connections, lands a job with a celebrated TV writer (Griffin Dunne). After some time, Troy sees from an ad in the paper that Buck is doing his show again in Bakersfield. Buck is clearly back where he feels most comfortable, and once again successfully performs his signature trick, leaving Troy to wonder whether Buck doesn't have some mysterious talent after all. ===== After her first client, Albert Osborne (Robert Benchley), makes a heavy pass and refuses to take “No” for an answer, Susan Applegate (Ginger Rogers) quits her job as a Revigorous System scalp massager and decides to leave New York City and return home to Stevenson, Iowa. At the train station, she discovers she has only enough money to cover a half fare, so she disguises herself as a twelve-year-old girl named Su-Su. When two suspicious conductors catch her smoking, Su-Su takes refuge in the compartment of Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland) who, believing she is a frightened child, agrees to let her stay in his compartment until they reach his stop. When the train is detained by flooding, Philip's fiancée, Pamela Hill (Rita Johnson) and her father, his commanding officer at the military academy where he teaches, drive to meet him. Pamela boards the train and finds Su-Su sleeping in the lower berth. Imagining the worst, she accuses Philip of being unfaithful and reports his transgression to her father and the board. Amused, Philip introduces Su-Su to the assembled authorities. Pamela insists that she stay with them. Pamela's teenaged sister Lucy (Diana Lynn), a student of biology, immediately sees through Susan's disguise. She promises to keep her secret if Susan will help her sabotage Pamela's efforts to keep Philip at the academy instead of allowing him to be assigned to active duty. Pretending to be Pamela, Susan calls one of Pamela's Washington, D.C., connections and arranges to have Philip's status changed. Susan becomes popular with the cadets, most of whom have refined a technique for stealing kisses using a description of the fall of the Maginot Line. Philip tries to explain to Susan why she should not encourage them, losing himself in a metaphor of lightbulbs and moths. At one point, he looks at her through his bad eye and tells her she will be a “knockout” one day. At the big school dance, Philip thanks Pamela: He reports for active duty in a week. She does not deny her role but refuses to marry him at such short notice. Cadet Clifford Osborne introduces Susan to his parents: His father is the client whose behavior prompted her to quit her job. It takes a while for Osborne senior to recall, but he eventually recognizes Susan and reveals her identity to Pamela. Susan arranges to meet Philip after the dance. She rushes back to Lucy's room to change. Pamela tells Philip that Su-Su is sick, and Susan finds Pamela waiting instead. Pamela threatens to create a public scandal that will destroy Philip's career, unless Susan leaves immediately. Susan makes Lucy promise never to tell Philip about her. Susan returns home, but continues to daydream about Philip, staring for hours at the moths fluttering around the porch light, much to the frustration of her fiancé, Will Duffy (Richard Fiske), and the mystification of her mother (Lela E. Rogers). When Philip phones from the train station, Susan identifies herself as Su-Su's mother; Su-Su is at a school play. He is on his way to San Diego to report for active duty; he has a frog from Lucy. At the house, he is astonished by Mrs. Applegate's resemblance to her daughter. He delivers best wishes from everyone at the school and tells her that Pamela married someone else. Pamela was right about one thing: A man heading into war has no right to marry. He tells her about an officer on his train who is traveling with his girl. They will stop in Nevada to be married, she will see him off, and he will be gone. Mrs Applegate tells him that he underestimates women. At the station, the train draws near. Susan is standing at the far end of the platform. He approaches her, cautiously, starting to smile as the pieces fall into place. Her name? Susan Kathleen Applegate. She is going to marry a soldier—if he'll have her. She has a theory about the Fall of France... As she draws nearer, he looks at her with his bad eye. They kiss. “Su-Su!” he cries. “Come Philip!” she replies, and they run for the train. ===== Paul Bergot (Harry Langdon) is a Belgian emigrant to the United States who has fallen in love with Mary Brown (Priscilla Bonner), a blind woman. They met as pen-pals when he was fighting in Europe during World War I. Mary even sent Paul a photo of herself. Paul searches for Mary Brown by asking every woman he meets if she is Mary Brown. By accident he rescues her town from crooks and bootleggers. ===== Da Capo II takes place 53 years after the events of Da Capo, when Sakura Yoshino, weary of being alone for so long, wished upon a prototype artificial wish-granting magical cherry tree for a son—Yoshiyuki Sakurai. In the first arc, while Yoshiyuki attends Kazami Academy, beneath the school, he awakens Minatsu Amakase, a robot. Yoshiyuki helps her adapt to a life with humans despite robots being nothing more than mere tools. In the second arc, Yoshiyuki begins to harbor feelings for his stepsisters, Otome and Yume, the granddaughters of Jun'ichi and Nemu. However, the cherry tree starts malfunctioning, granting all wishes, regardless of how impure, which is causing numerous incidents to occur in Hatsune. The situation gradually worsens and Otome has to choose whether or not to wither the cherry tree, which would erase Yoshiyuki's existence in the process, so as to save Hatsune. The game centers on the same island as Da Capo from the original story. Yoshiyuki Sakurai is the protagonist of the game. Sakura and Jun'ichi are the only returning characters, and Nemu is the only other Da Capo character to be mentioned by name. Moe, Mako, Kotori, Miharu, and Yoriko are also mentioned, but indirectly. Yume, Nanaka, Minatsu, and Sakura's themes are remixes of themes from previous Circus games. Yume, Minatsu, and Sakura's are remixes of Nemu, Miharu, and Sakura's from Da Capo, and Nanaka's is a remix of Sayaka's from Suika. ===== One night in Portsmouth, England in 1787, a press gang breaks into a local tavern and presses all of the men drinking there into naval service. One of the men inquires as to what ship they will sail on, and the press gang leader informs him that it is . Upon inquiring as to who the captain is, another of the men is told the captain is William Bligh (Charles Laughton) and attempts to escape, as Bligh is a brutal tyrant who routinely administers harsh punishment to officers and crew alike who lack discipline, cause any infraction on board the ship, or in any manner defy his authority. The Bounty leaves England several days later on a two-year voyage over the Pacific Ocean. Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable), the ship's lieutenant, is a formidable yet compassionate man who disapproves of Bligh's treatment of the crew. Roger Byam (Franchot Tone) is an idealistic midshipman who is divided between his loyalty to Bligh, owing to his family's naval tradition, and his friendship with Christian. During the voyage, the enmity between Christian and Bligh grows after Christian openly challenges Bligh's unjust practices aboard the ship. When the ship arrives at the island of Tahiti, where the crew acquires breadfruit plants to take to the West Indies, as intended, Bligh punishes Christian by refusing to let him leave the ship during their stay. Byam, meanwhile, sets up residency on the island, living with the island chief, Hitihiti (William Bambridge), and his daughter, Tehani (Movita Castaneda), and compiling an English dictionary of the Tahitian language. Hitihiti persuades Bligh to allow Christian a day pass on the island. Bligh agrees but quickly repeals the pass out of spite. Christian disregards the order and spends his one-day off the ship romancing a Tahitian girl, Maimiti (Mamo Clark). Christian promises her he will be back someday. After leaving Tahiti the crew begins to talk of mutiny after Bligh's harsh discipline leads to the death of the ship's beloved surgeon, Mr. Bacchus (Dudley Digges), and Bligh severely cuts water rationing to the crew in favor of providing more water for the breadfruit plants. Christian, although initially opposing the idea, decides he can no longer tolerate Bligh's brutality when he witnesses crew members shackled in iron chains, and he approves the mutiny. The crew raids the weapons cabinet and seizes the ship. Bligh and his loyalists are cast into a boat and set adrift at sea with a map and rations to ensure their survival. Due to Bligh's steady leadership, they are able to find their way back to land. Meanwhile, Christian orders that Bounty return to Tahiti. Byam, who was in his cabin during the mutiny, disapproves of what Christian has done and decides the two can no longer be friends. Months later, Byam is married to Tehani and Christian has married Maimiti and has a child with her, while the rest of the crew are enjoying their freedom on the island. After a long estrangement, Byam and Christian reconcile their friendship. However, when the British ship HMS Pandora is spotted approaching, Byam and Christian decide they must part ways. Byam and several crew members remain on the island for the ship to take them back to England, while Christian leads the remaining crew, his wife and several Tahitian men and women back on board Bounty in search of a new island on which to seek refuge. Byam boards Pandora and, much to his surprise, discovers that Bligh is the captain. Bligh, who suspects that Byam was complicit in the mutiny, has him imprisoned for the remainder of the journey across the sea. Back in England Byam is court-martialed and found guilty of mutiny. Before the court condemns him, Byam speaks of Bligh's cruel, dehumanising conduct aboard Bounty. Due to the intervention of his friend Sir Joseph Banks (Henry Stephenson) and Lord Hood (David Torrence), Byam is pardoned by King George III and allowed to resume his naval career at sea. Meanwhile, Christian has found Pitcairn, an uninhabited yet sustainable island that he believes will provide adequate refuge from the reach of the Royal Navy. After Bounty crashes on the rocks, Christian orders her to be burned. ===== In the year 1787, the Bounty sets sail from Britain for Tahiti under the command of Captain William Bligh (Trevor Howard). His mission is to retrieve a shipload of breadfruit saplings and transport them to Jamaica. The government hopes it will thrive and provide a cheap source of food for the slaves. The voyage gets off to a difficult start with the discovery that some cheese is missing. Seaman John Mills (Richard Harris) accuses Bligh, the true pilferer, and Bligh has Mills brutally flogged for showing contempt to his superior officer, to the disgust of his patrician second-in-command, 1st Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando). The tone for the months to come is set by Bligh's ominous pronouncement: "Cruelty with a purpose is not cruelty, it is efficiency." Aristocrat Christian is deeply offended by his ambitious captain. Bligh tries to reach Tahiti sooner by attempting the shorter westbound route around Cape Horn, a navigational nightmare. The strategy fails and the Bounty backtracks eastward, costing the mission much precious time. Singlemindedly, Bligh makes up the lost time by pushing the crew harder and cutting their rations. When the Bounty reaches her destination, the crew revels in the easygoing life of the tropical paradise — and in the free-love philosophies of the Tahitian women. Christian himself is smitten with Maimiti (Tarita Teriipaia), daughter of the Tahitian king. Bligh's agitation is further fueled by the fact that the dormancy period of the breadfruit means more months of delay until the plants can be potted. As departure day nears, three men, including seaman Mills, attempt to desert but are caught by Christian and clapped in irons by Bligh. On the voyage to Jamaica, Bligh attempts to bring back twice the number of breadfruit plants to atone for his tardiness, and must reduce the water rations of the crew to water the extra plants. One member of the crew falls from the rigging to his death while attempting to retrieve the drinking ladle. Another assaults Bligh over conditions on the ship and is fatally keelhauled. Mills taunts Christian after each death, trying to egg him on to challenge Bligh. When a crewman becomes gravely ill from drinking seawater, Christian attempts to give him fresh water, in violation of the Captain's orders. Bligh strikes Christian when he ignores his second order to stop. In response, Christian strikes Bligh. Bligh informs Christian that he will hang for his actions when they reach port. With nothing left to lose, Christian takes command of the ship and sets Bligh and the loyalist members of the crew adrift in the longboat with navigational equipment, telling them to make for a local island. Bligh decides instead to cross much of the Pacific in order to reach British authorities sooner. He returns to Britain with remarkable speed. The military court exonerates Bligh of misdeeds and recommends an expedition to arrest the mutineers and put them on trial, but it also comes to the conclusion that the appointment of Bligh as captain of The Bounty was wrong. In the meantime, Christian sails back to Tahiti to pick up supplies and the girlfriends of the crew. Then they go on to remote Pitcairn Island—which is marked incorrectly on the charts—to hide from the wrath of the Royal Navy. However, once on Pitcairn, Christian decides that it is their duty to return to Britain and testify to Bligh's wrongdoing, and he asks his men to sail with him. To prevent this possibility, the men set the ship on fire and Christian is fatally burned while trying to save it. ===== The story revolves around the theft of two germ warfare agents, botulinum toxin and the indestructible "Satan Bug" (a laboratory-conceived derivative of poliovirus), from the Mordon Microbiological Research Establishment (similar to Porton Down). There is no vaccine for the "Satan Bug" and it is so infectious that any release will rapidly destroy all human life on Earth. With these phials of unstoppable power, a mad "environmentalist" threatens the country's population unless Mordon is razed to the ground. Like other of MacLean's works, the plot involves layers of deception. The first-person narrator, Pierre Cavell, is initially presented as an embittered figure who has been successively fired for insubordination from the British Army, the Metropolitan Police Service, and finally from Mordon. Cavell is called in by former colleagues at Special Branch after being "tested" with a bribe to ensure that he is still honest. The novel gradually reveals that for the past 16 years Cavell has in fact been working for "the General", apparently a senior intelligence director and Cavell's father-in-law, and that these thefts are the culmination of a series of security breaches at Mordon that Cavell and the General have been investigating for at least a year. During the theft the current head of security is killed with a cyanide-laced sweet, presumably given to him by an insider he trusted. A variety of scientists and support staff come under suspicion, and it emerges that several of them have been coerced by blackmail or kidnapping to help the principal villain, without knowing his identity. The villain releases botulinum toxin over an evacuated area of East Anglia, killing hundreds of livestock and proving that his threat to use the Satan Bug should be taken seriously. He takes Cavell's wife, Mary, hostage and sets off to London to blackmail the British government by threatening to release the "Satan Bug" in the City of London's financial district. The villain uses his hostage to capture Cavell and several police officers and attempts to kill them with botulinum toxin. Cavell escapes, though one constable is poisoned and dies rapidly. (For dramatic purposes this is from convulsions like nerve agent or strychnine poisoning, rather than the slower paralysis and respiratory failure usually associated with botulism.) Cavell uses Interpol to discover the villain's true identity and infers that the villain's London plan is really to cause the City of London to be evacuated, allowing a criminal gang time to break into and rob major banks and then escape by helicopter. After losing a fight on board the aircraft, the villain explains his motives and jumps to his death, leaving the remaining phials of agent unbreached. ===== Chancellor Gowron sent General Martok on a futile offensive against the Dominion due to being outnumbered. Gowron blames Martok but Sisko in turn blames Gowron for ordering such a suicidal mission in the first place. Worf tells Sisko that he suspects that Gowron's new military strategies are meant to humiliate Martok, with no thought of the consequences for the Klingon Empire. He urges Martok to challenge Gowron but he refuses to even talk about it. Garak tells Kira that Odo has been hiding the true extent of his illness; Kira says she knew but wants to let Odo put on a brave front. They go with Damar to a Jem'Hadar shipyard with the intent of stealing the Breen energy dampening weapon. Kira has a tense relationship with Damar's friend and second in command, Rusot. Garak warns her that Rusot will soon attempt to kill her and that she should kill him first. En route, Damar receives word that his family has been captured and executed by the Dominion. Kira responds to his outrage at the slaughter of innocent civilians by gently reminding him that he killed Ziyal. Damar leaves in disgust and Kira regrets her words but Garak points out that Damar is still a romantic idealist about the past. This incident along with her words may be what Damar needs to renounce his views and focus on freeing Cardassia from the Dominion. On board a Jem'Hadar ship, Odo takes the form of the female changeling, complete with skin damage and despite a delay they steal a ship equipped with the Breen weapon. Rusot tries to kill Kira and convince Damar to take the weapon for Cardassia alone. Damar kills Rusot, giving up his vision of restoring the old Cardassia and instead aiding the Federation in the hope of creating a better one. As the weapon is installed, the rebels depart the station and head for Federation space. Chief O'Brien suggests to Dr. Bashir that he announce that he has found a cure to the changeling illness as a way to lure someone from Section 31 to DS9. Worf discusses Gowron's actions with Ezri, who points out that when men as honorable as Martok and Worf knowingly allow corruption at the highest levels, there is no hope for the empire. Worf muses on this during a High Council meeting in which Gowron presents a suicidal plan of attack against the Dominion. Worf challenges Gowron to a duel, which is evenly matched. Gowron seems to have the upper hand, with Worf thrown through a glass display board and his bat'leth broken. Before Worf can be killed, he fatally stabs Gowron with a piece of the bat'leth. By Klingon law, this makes Worf the new Chancellor. Worf refuses the robe of office and hands it to Martok who refuses, but Worf reminds him of the words of Kahless who said, "Great men do not seek power. They have power thrust upon them". Martok becomes the new Chancellor. ===== ===== Harry Levine (Pacino) is a struggling writer barely eking out a living as a doorman— that is, until he is fired. Desperate for money, he pays a visit to his friend Jake Manheim (Orbach), an arts photographer, to collect an old debt. After Jake says he doesn't have the money, the two engage in an all-night conversation about their respective art, past and present loves, and the directions their lives are heading. The play and film are set in Greenwich Village circa 1982. ===== The plot concerns the title character, Aleksandr Ivanovich Luzhin. As a boy, he is considered unattractive, withdrawn, and an object of ridicule by his classmates. One day, when a guest comes to his father's party, he is asked whether he knows how to play chess. This encounter serves as his motivation to pick up chess. He skips school and visits his aunt's house to learn the basics. He quickly becomes a great player, enrolling in local competitions and rising in rank as a chess player. His talent is prodigious and he attains the level of a Grandmaster in less than ten years. For many years, he remains one of the top chess players in the world, but fails to become a world champion. During one of the tournaments, at a resort, he meets a young girl, never named in the novel, whose interest he captures. They become romantically involved, and Luzhin eventually proposes to her. Things turn for the worse when he is pitted against Turati, a grandmaster from Italy, in a competition to determine who would face the current world champion. Before and during the game, Luzhin has a mental breakdown, which climaxes when his carefully planned defense against Turati fails in the first moves, and the resulting game fails to produce a winner. When the game is suspended Luzhin wanders into the city in a state of complete detachment from reality. He is returned home and brought to a rest home, where he eventually recovers. His doctor convinces Luzhin's fiancée that chess was the reason for his downfall, and all reminders of chess are removed from his environment. Slowly however, chess begins to find its way back into his thoughts (aided by incidental occurrences, such as an old pocket chessboard found in a coat pocket, or an impractical chess game in a movie). Luzhin begins to see his life as a chess game, seeing repetitions of 'moves' that return his obsession with the game. He desperately tries to find the move that will defend him from losing his chess life-game, but feels the scenario growing closer and closer. Eventually, after an encounter with his old chess mentor, Valentinov, Luzhin realizes that he must "abandon the game," as he puts it to his wife (who is desperately trying to communicate with him). He locks himself in the bathroom (his wife and several dinner guests banging on the door). He climbs out of a window, and it is implied he falls to his death, but the ending is deliberately vague. The last line of the (translated) novel reads: "The door was burst in. 'Aleksandr Ivanovich, Aleksandr Ivanovich,' roared several voices. But there was no Aleksandr Ivanovich." ===== The plot concerns two brothers and their sister, simply called "the Lady", lost in a journey through the woods. The Lady becomes fatigued, and the brothers wander off in search of sustenance. While alone, she encounters the debauched Comus, a character inspired by the god of revelry (), who is disguised as a villager and claims he will lead her to her brothers. Deceived by his amiable countenance, the Lady follows him, only to be captured, brought to his pleasure palace and victimised by his necromancy. Seated on an enchanted chair, with "gums of glutinous heat", she is immobilised, and Comus accosts her while with one hand he holds a necromancer's wand and with the other he offers a vessel with a drink that would overpower her. Comus urges the Lady to "be not coy" and drink from his magical cup (representing sexual pleasure and intemperance), but she repeatedly refuses, arguing for the virtuousness of temperance and chastity. Within view at his palace is an array of cuisine intended to arouse the Lady's appetites and desires. Despite being restrained against her will, she continues to exercise right reason (recta ratio) in her disputation with Comus, thereby manifesting her freedom of mind. Whereas the would-be seducer argues appetites and desires issuing from one's nature are "natural" and therefore licit, the Lady contends that only rational self- control is enlightened and virtuous. To be self-indulgent and intemperate, she adds, is to forfeit one's higher nature and to yield to baser impulses. In this debate the Lady and Comus signify, respectively, soul and body, ratio and libido, sublimation and sensuality, virtue and vice, moral rectitude and immoral depravity. In line with the theme of the journey that distinguishes Comus, the Lady has been deceived by the guile of a treacherous character, temporarily waylaid, and besieged by sophistry that is disguised as wisdom. Meanwhile, her brothers, searching for her, come across the Attendant Spirit, an angelic figure sent to aid them, who takes the form of a shepherd and tells them how to defeat Comus. As the Lady continues to assert her freedom of mind and to exercise her free will by resistance and even defiance, she is rescued by the Attendant Spirit along with her brothers, who chase off Comus. The Lady remains magically bound to her chair. With a song, the Spirit conjures the water nymph Sabrina who frees the Lady on account of her steadfast virtue. She and her brothers are reunited with their parents in a triumphal celebration, which signifies the heavenly bliss awaiting the wayfaring soul that prevails over trials and travails, whether these are the threats posed by overt evil or the blandishments of temptation.John Milton." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 21 May 2009. ===== Returning to Wild Cat Island for their second summer holiday by the Lake, the Swallows find the Amazons and Captain Flint suffering from "native trouble". Great Aunt Maria has come to stay, and she is a stickler for "proper" behaviour; demanding that the Amazon pirates act like "young ladies", and be on hand and on time for meals. When they see the hound trail and forget the time Peggy says "all three meals" and Nancy says "We've fairly done it this time".Chapter 17: Later and later and later Despite this, Nancy and Peggy escape the Great Aunt and arrange a rendezvous, but on the way the Swallow hits Pike Rock and sinks. All are saved and the boat salvaged, but she needs repairing, so camping on the island is impossible. "Captain" John of the Swallows learns some valuable life lessons about following his instincts while commanding a ship, and has time to reflect on the accident while he fashions a new mast for Swallow. An alternative appears to replace camping on Wild Cat Island, as Roger and Titty find a beautiful hidden valley, Swallowdale, up on the moors above the lake. The Swallows discover a secret cave in Swallowdale, a trout tarn, the "knickerbockerbreaker", and enjoy new adventures of lakeland life. They meet local woodcutters and farmers, see a hound trail, and trek across the moors. The Amazons are only able to escape at intervals, and are punished for getting home late by being made to memorize and recite poetry. Eventually the Great Aunt leaves and the Swallows and Amazons mount an expedition to sleep under the stars on the summit of nearby commanding hill "Kanchenjunga" (in reality The Old Man of Coniston). While there, they discover a box with a small coin left by the Blackett's parents and uncle on climbing the "Matterhorn" thirty years earlier. Next morning, Roger and Titty return to Swallowdale following trails through the bracken across the moor, while the elders ferry the Amazons' camping gear by boat. Both parties get lost in a thick and sudden fog. After it lifts the elders arrive only to find an empty camp. Titty arrives late after hitching a ride with some woodsmen, and explains that Roger sprained his ankle, and will be spending the night with Old Billy, the charcoal burner. The next day the injured Roger is carried back to the camp on a stretcher. The Swallow is finally repaired, and the book ends with a race and a feast, followed by a return to Wild Cat Island. ===== The Resurrection of Broncho Billy is the story of a young man (Johnny Crawford) who lives in a big city in present time, but his dreams are of the old west and western film heroes. Scenes of his everyday life take on the style of a western film as he visits with a western old timer Wild Bill Tucker; he crosses a busy boulevard packed with traffic and we hear the sound of a cattle drive; he's late for work at the hardware store; at an intersection crosswalk he has a western street showdown with a businessman as the light changes; he enters a saloon but has no I.D. for a beer; he is accosted in an alleyway; a pretty counter girl (Merry Scanlon) gives him soda but he realizes he has no money to pay for it. Then he meets a lovely artist (Kristin Nelson) in a park who draws a sketch of him in an old west setting, and he talks to her for a time on a park bench about the old west and western films. The Artist gets up to leave and we hear the sound of hoofbeats as he rides up to her in the old west. The artist gives him back the watch he lost in the alley scuffle, she floats up onto his horse and they ride off across the prairie as the Broncho Billy theme song is heard over the scene. He's taken her back to the magic old west that he loves. Film Review: THE RESURRECTION OF BRONCHO BILLY (1970, James R. Rokos) ===== The story is set in the present day, with significant flashbacks to times beginning in the early 1970s. The protagonist is Ellen Fischer, a liberal senator from California. She is preparing for a difficult legislative battle over the conservative president's nomination of a deeply conservative female judge to the Supreme Court. Amid numerous particulars of the informal and formal governmental process in the United States, Boxer unfolds her heroine's dilemma and her past simultaneously. The dilemma is presented by a journalist, Greg Hunter, with pronounced right-wing views. Hunter is a figure from the senator's past. They had been lovers while he was in college; he lost her to his roommate, Joshua Fischer. Joshua later dies in the middle of a campaign for Senate; Ellen steps into his place and wins, launching her political career. Now, Hunter has returned, bringing with him information that could derail the judicial nominee's appointment. Fischer is buffeted by new revelations about Hunter and a well-founded distrust of his motives. ===== Calvin "Babyface" Simms (Marlon Wayans) is a very short convict. He is seen getting released and meeting up with his goofball cohort Percy (Tracy Morgan). Percy tells Calvin of a job involving stealing a valuable diamond, ordered by a mobster called Walken (Chazz Palminteri). After the successful robbery, the duo are almost arrested, but not before Calvin manages to stash the diamond in the purse of a nearby woman. The thieves follow the handbag's owner to her home where they discover a couple, Darryl (Shawn Wayans) and Vanessa Edwards (Kerry Washington), the former of whom is eager to have a child. Calvin and Percy hatch a plot to pass Calvin off as a baby left on the couple's doorstep in order to get the diamond back. After learning that Child Services is closed for the weekend, Darryl and Vanessa decide to look after Calvin in the meantime. However, Vanessa's dad Francis "Pops" (John Witherspoon) has a bad feeling about Calvin. Friends of the couple find Calvin strange as well. Despite this, Calvin eventually takes a liking to having a family and starts to feel remorse for using them. Walken grows impatient and demands the diamond from Percy. Percy attempts recover Calvin by posing as his father, but is thrown out by Darryl. Walken's men witness this and as a result believe that Darryl is Calvin. Darryl and Vanessa decide to adopt Calvin but upon coming home from a date, they find Pops and Calvin having a fight as the former has discovered Calvin's secret. Pops is sent to a retirement home, but before leaving he tells Darryl to "check the teddy bear", referring to a gift he gave to Calvin earlier. Darryl discovers the bear is actually a nanny cam and witnesses Calvin admit to his deception. Walken and his henchmen come by the house after Percy lies to get out of trouble. In a series of comedic maneuvers, Calvin manages to rescue Darryl and have Walken and his men arrested. Darryl is given a substantial reward for the recovery of the diamond, and since Calvin saved his life, he doesn't turn him over to the police. Before he leaves, Calvin thanks Darryl for taking care of him even though he wasn't really a baby and admits that he thinks Darryl would make a great father for a real child someday. As Calvin walks away, he begins to cry hysterically. Darryl then decides to let Calvin stay and the two men become the best of friends. The film ends at some point in the future with Calvin and Pops playing with Darryl and Vanessa's real baby, who looks exactly like Darryl (Shawn Wayans' face superimposed on that of the baby). ===== The Stooges are TV actors who are trying to sell ideas for their animated television show The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Unfortunately, their producer does not like anything. He gives the boys ten days to come up with a gimmick or their show will be canceled. In the meantime the Stooges lose their accommodation when they are caught cooking in their room because Curly-Joe turned up the TV-disguised refrigerator way too loud which distracted the landlady. The only affordable accommodation that will allow cooking is found in an advertisement in a newspaper. The home belongs to Professor Danforth (Emil Sitka) and it resembles a castle. Professor Danforth is convinced that Martians will soon invade Earth. He persuades the boys to help him with his new military invention—a land, air and sea vehicle (tank, helicopter, flying submarine). In return, Danforth will create a new "electronic animation" machine for the Stooges to use in their television show. The boys think the Professor a crank but accept his eccentricities along with his accommodation. No one, especially the FBI listens to the Professor's cries for help but the boys apprehend Danforth's butler who dresses like a monster to terrify the Professor. In reality the butler is a Martian spy made to look like a human. The Martians, meanwhile send two more alien spies named Ogg and Zogg who are not disguised as humans to Earth to prepare for the invasion. When Moe accidentally sends a television transmission of old films and scenes of the Twist craze through the Martian's communication device, they are offended and call off the invasion, opting instead to destroy Earth. Meanwhile, the Stooges give the vehicle a test run. They mistakenly enter a nuclear test area, when their engine malfunctions. They land near a test rig where a test nuclear depth bomb is set up. The Stooges take the bomb, thinking it is a carburetor, and fasten it to the engine. Water, meant to detonate the bomb, shoots out of the testing rig. The military is bewildered by test's failure. With the bomb attached to the engine, the vehicle now performs beyond expectations, even going into space. Later in the film, the Martians board the vehicle while it's parked and mount a ray gun on it. As they take off with orders to destroy Earth, the boys manage to get onto the craft to try to stop them and prevent the ray gun from destroying Disneyland. The Stooges are able to use one of the Martians' ray guns to separate the fuselage from the conning tower. The fuselage, holding Ogg and Zogg, crashes into the ocean, detonating the nuclear depth bomb. Clinging to the auto-rotating helicopter section, the Stooges survive, crashing through the roof of the television studio in the nick of time and saving their careers. ===== Brecht's play revolves around Anna Balicke, whose lover (Andreas) has left to fight in World War I. The war is now over but Anna and her family have not heard from him for four years. Anna's parents try to convince her that he is dead and that she should forget him and marry a wealthy war- materials manufacturer, Murk. Anna agrees to this arrangement eventually, just as Andreas returns, having spent the missing years as a prisoner-of-war in some remote location in Africa. Believing that the poor proletarian Andreas cannot provide the kind of life for Anna that the bourgeois Murk can, Anna's parents encourage her to stick to her agreement. Eventually Anna leaves Murk and her parents and, against the backdrop of the Spartacist uprising, searches for Andreas. In the final scene they are re-united; to the sound of "a white wild screaming" from the newspaper buildings above, they walk away together. The play dramatizes many of the grievances of the Spartacists in their uprising. The soldiers returning from the front felt that they had been fighting for nothing and that what they had before they left had been stolen. Murk, the war-profiteer who did not fight and who instead made a fortune from the fighting, and who attempts to steal the soldier's fiancée, symbolizes that feeling by the working class of having been cheated. ===== After missing a bus in the Swiss countryside, a fourteen year old Danish tourist, Vera Brandt, tries looking for help. She comes across a home and, upon entering, she is attacked by a stranger, who proceeds to chase and behead her with a pair of scissors. Eight months later, Jennifer Corvino arrives at the Swiss Richard Wagner Academy for Girls, chaperoned by Frau Brückner, who places her with roommate Sophie. While sleepwalking through the academy and out onto the roof, Jennifer witnesses a student being murdered. She awakens and falls, fleeing and eventually becoming lost in the woods. Forensic entomologist John McGregor's chimpanzee, Inga, finds her and leads her to him. Witnessing her apparent interaction with his insects, McGregor comes to believe she has a special gift for telepathy with them. Inspector Rudolf Geiger is on the case alongside McGregor. Back at the academy, the headmistress has Jennifer medically tested via EEG for her sleepwalking. The procedure makes Jennifer uneasy when she gets brief visions of the previous night's events, and so she leaves. Jennifer then asks Sophie to look out for her in case she sleepwalks again. Following a tryst the same night, Sophie is murdered. Jennifer sleepwalks again. When she goes outside, a firefly leads her to a maggot-infested glove. The next day, she shows it to McGregor, who identifies the maggots as Great Sarcophagus flies, which are drawn to decaying human flesh. He theorises that the larvae's presence on the glove indicates that the killer has been keeping his victims close to him post-mortem, unintentionally collecting the larvae on himself whilst physically interacting with the victims. This indicates that they are dealing with a psychopath. Later at the academy, when the other students taunt Jennifer for her connection to insects, she summons a swarm of flies that covers the entire building, then faints. Convinced that Jennifer is "diabolic" and possibly responsible for the killings, the headmistress arranges for her to be transferred to a mental hospital for the criminally insane. However, Jennifer flees to McGregor's home in time to evade the transfer. McGregor gives Jennifer a glass case with a Great Sarcophagus fly and suggests she use it to track the murderer. When the fly leads her to the same house that Vera had found earlier, Jennifer is told to leave when the real estate agent catches her, assuming her to be a thief. Geiger arrives and gets some information from the agent before leaving. Later that night, McGregor is murdered in his home after Inga is distracted and locked outside. With nowhere left to go, Jennifer calls her father's lawyer Morris Shapiro for help. He alerts Brückner, who finds Jennifer and offers to let the girl stay at her house overnight. Once there, Brückner insists that Jennifer take some pills before she goes to bed; when Jennifer does so, she becomes sick and assuming that the pills were poisonous, coughs them up. After leaving the bathroom, she attempts to call Morris but is knocked unconscious with a piece of wood by Brückner, who incarcerates her in the house. Geiger arrives at the house and is attacked by Brückner. After coming-to a brief time later, Jennifer engineers her escape through a large hole in the floor that leads through a tunnel to a dungeon and into a basement. There, she falls in a pool infested with maggots and dead bodies. Geiger is in the room, above Jennifer, struggling to free himself from chains attached to his wrists. Brückner appears and taunts Jennifer, but Geiger frees himself from the chains and holds Brückner just long enough to let Jennifer escape. Following her escape from the pool, she passes a room from which she hears sobbing. There she finds Brückner's son, who has a hideously deformed face; the result of a rape when Brückner was in a psychiatric asylum. He chases Jennifer onto a motorboat and tries to kill her, but she summons a swarm of flies that attack him, causing him to fall into the water. Jennifer is forced to jump into the water as the motorboat explodes, whereupon the child grabs her. Rising into the flaming waters, he is eventually killed. Jennifer reaches the shore just as Morris appears. A severely injured and disfigured Brückner reappears and decapitates him from behind with a metal plate as Jennifer screams in horror. She then leans over Jennifer, threatening her with the same fate before madly confessing that she murdered McGregor and Geiger out of fear that harm would have befallen her and her son. Suddenly, a wrathful Inga attacks Brückner and brutally kills her with a straight-razor. With the ordeal over, Jennifer and Inga embrace. =====