The series focuses on a family of anthropomorphic lions operating and living in a large, busy library called, “The Barnaby B. Busterfield III Memorial Public Library” starring alongside characters such as Click, an electronic, anthropomorphic computer mouse, the Information Hen, who answers library calls, and Heath, a dinosaur who serves as the library’s thesaurus. The program's format is intended to promote literacy and reading; in each episode, the lions introduce a picture book to the audience and read it. Some episodes have featured adaptions of well-known folktales or ancient myths or fables, while others have featured popular storybooks such as ''Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type'', or shown the lions learning or benefiting from the lessons presented by the story.

The series often features an array of educational segments formatted each in its own distinctive style, particularly parodies of well-known media redesigned educationally for younger audiences or simple animations, some sketches more repetitive than others. A distinctive feature of the series is that it is virtually never set outside of the library, as it usually chronicles the lions' experiences within it. A subplot features a pair of pigeons named Walter and Clay comically infuriating a living bust of the library's deceased founder, Barnaby B. Busterfield III, located in an upper section of the library, that is normally intended for comic relief.

After the fourth season, the series underwent a noticeable format change. Notably, the show consisted of two ten-minute shorts, each a condensation of an earlier episode, tied together and united around a theme. The series also began to focus on consonants instead of vowels. Old segments such as "Magic Time" "Sam Spud" and "The Monkey Pop-Up Theater" were replaced with new ones such as "Joy Learno" and "The Flying Trampolini Brothers". Later episodes shifted away from the earlier focus on reading, and stories were just told to tie into the theme of the episode. Major characters such as Busterfield, Heath, Walter, Clay, and Martha Reader vanished from the show as well, despite still appearing in the intro.

The show chronicles the life of Gary Hobson, a resident of Chicago, Illinois, who mysteriously receives the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' newspaper a day in advance, effectively giving him knowledge of the potential future. His newspaper is delivered by a mysteriously unknown entity at least once each day, and is accompanied by a ginger tabby cat, with the first copy arriving every morning at 6:30am, no matter what his physical location is. Armed with knowledge of the future, he then tries to prevent tragedies described in "tomorrow's" ''Sun-Times'' from occurring, thus changing the story text and headlines in the newspaper to reflect the outcome of his actions. Often, Gary doesn't wish to be saddled with the responsibility of performing these deeds. The paper presents him with many moral dilemmas where he must choose between helping different people in need of assistance.

The first season begins by showing Gary coming home from his job as a stockbroker, only to be thrown out of the house (and later divorced) for no apparent reason by his wife Marsha. Upon taking up residence in the Blackstone Hotel, Gary begins receiving a copy of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', accompanied by "The Cat", every morning. Slowly, Gary realizes the paper's contents reflect events that are to happen during that day, and confers with his co-workers and friends Chuck Fishman (a former fellow stock broker) and Marissa Clark (the blind former receptionist at the brokerage). After deciding to use his knowledge of the future only for "good," Gary is soon consumed by trying to prevent tragedies and help people, leading him to quit his job. During the season, Chuck consistently tries to use "The Paper" to make money, while Gary develops a precarious relationship with police Detective Marion Zeke Crumb. By the season's end, Gary has begun to uncover some of the mystery surrounding the paper, including confirmation that a man named Lucius Snow received the paper from the cat before him.

Season two continues Gary's adventures with the paper and his friends. Detective Crumb sometimes joins Gary, Chuck, and Marissa after retiring from the police force. Gary is working part-time at McGinty's as a bartender. Despite being closer to the paper, Crumb does not want to know how Gary gets his so-called "hunches," and never learns of the paper. At the end of season two, Chuck (Fisher Stevens) leaves the show as a regular character, leading to some major changes in season three. Within the course of the series, Gary discovers that a few other people share his gift of receiving a newspaper early. The only people who know about his gift besides Chuck and Marissa are his parents, Meredith Carson, and Erica and Henry Paget, a single mother and her son (Gary gives Erica a job at McGinty's); several times he begins to tell a few people, such as his attorney, and various police officers (Episode 407/408, "Fatal Edition"), but ultimately changes his mind. On some occasions, he is given the ability to wake up in another time (such as in the early 20th century) to change the past. People who encounter Gary often strongly suspect (or know) that he has a secret, but do not know what it is, e.g. Crumb.

During the course of the series, it is never clearly stated where the paper comes from. In one episode, Gary meets the group of people apparently responsible for giving him (as well as others) the Paper. Nothing much is revealed about them except that they have some sort of supernatural abilities, such as being able to mysteriously appear at any location.

In season four, episode 20, "Time" (the series finale that aired a few episodes early), it is briefly explained why Gary started receiving the paper. Apparently, he was given the responsibility by Lucius Snow (the man who received the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' before Gary), after Snow saved Gary's life when Gary was a child. The responsibility is represented by a pocket knife imprinted with the initials of the person next to receive the paper (Lucius gave Gary the red Swiss Army knife). The initials mysteriously change every time the current person decides on a new person to receive the responsibility. At the end of the same episode, Gary passes on the same pocket knife to a young girl named Lindsey Romick who had just lost her grandfather, and it is implied that Lindsey will begin receiving the paper when Gary is no longer able to carry on the responsibilities.

It follows the journey of Sally Beth Roe as she tries to escape her past and slowly overcomes her constant struggle to discern the Truth. Also told is the story of another small town, similar to that of ''This Present Darkness'' and called Bacon's Corner, and a resident named Tom Harris. His kids are ripped from his home by Child Services. Seeming to have no connection with other events at first, a young police officer, Ben Cole, is convinced what is being brushed off as a suicide is actually a murder, and ends up losing his job over the issue, which brings him to the side of the embattled Christian school. Caught in the crossfire is a little girl who's been forced into a curriculum of "meditation techniques" and "inner spiritual guides" that control her moods, attitudes, and actions, the little Amber, and her mother Lucy who realizes this lawsuit and the people who are "helping" her may be much, much more than she bargained for. Before the paths that Sally Roe and Tom Harris [and the others] are on collide, the ''Ashton Clarion'' editor and his wife, Marshall and Kate Hogan (from ''This Present Darkness''), make a return appearance as veteran fighters in this war against the powers of darkness that threaten freedom of religion everywhere. As the story unfolds, the lawsuit and its participants are soon locked in a struggle of ethics versus non-ethics, absolutes versus relativism, right versus wrong, and those with interest in this battle are shown to be even in the highest places of government.

''Jet Force Gemini'' revolves around the galactic law enforcement team Jet Force Gemini attempting to stop a horde of drones led by an insectoid called Mizar. The team is composed of Juno, Vela, and their wardog mascot Lupus. The game begins with the three characters in orbit around the planet Goldwood after barely escaping the destruction of the entire Jet Force fleet at the hands of Mizar, who has been capturing and enslaving a race of survivors known as the Tribals. When Juno, Vela and Lupus are attacked by several drones, the three decide to abandon their ship and go off on their own separate paths to stop the invasion. After traversing various planets, the heroes find themselves reunited at Mizar's Palace and face to face with Mizar, who escapes to a nearby asteroid where he sets course to impact with Earth. To help the heroes, Tribals leader King Jeff provides them with an ancient starship that can quickly catch up to Mizar's asteroid. In return, the team must rescue all the Tribals throughout the galaxy.

After rescuing all the Tribals and restoring the starship with several needed parts, the team, along with King Jeff, departs to the asteroid and confront Mizar. To the surprise of all though, Mizar is revealed to be a robot controlled by King Jeff's jealous brother, Barry. Realising that destroying Barry's robot ruined their best chance of destroying the asteroid, the team is out of options. In an honorable notion, Floyd, a little robot that defected from Mizar and followed the team, offers to sacrifice himself to destroy the asteroid. Hesitantly, the team agrees and attaches a timed warhead to Floyd before sending him into the core. The team returns to the starship and departs shortly before Floyd destroys the asteroid. Afterwards on Earth, the Jet Force Gemini team is given the highest honors for their accomplishments.

Norman Jones is just a run-of-the-mill CPA until he stumbles through a mysterious doorway into an alternate reality onto a spaceship where a talk show that is evolving mankind broadcasts from.

Unfortunately, he left the door open and the entire universe is at risk of being sucked through it. As well, World Control, a shadowy international corporation, has kidnapped Faith in an effort to capture Norman.

In 1907, young Alexander, his sister Fanny, and their well-to-do family, the Ekdahls, live in a Swedish town, running a moderately profitable theatre. At Christmastime, the Ekdahls hold a Nativity play and later a large Christmas party. The siblings' parents, Emilie and Oscar, are happily married until Oscar suddenly dies from a stroke. Shortly thereafter, Emilie marries Edvard Vergérus, the local bishop and a widower, and moves into his home where he lives with his mother, sister, aunt, and maids.

Emilie initially expects that she will be able to carry over the free, joyful qualities of her previous home into the marriage, but realises that Edvard's harsh authoritarian policies are unshakable. The relationship between the bishop and Alexander is especially cold, as Alexander invents stories, for which Edvard punishes him severely. As a result, Emilie asks for a divorce, which Edvard will not consent to; though she may leave the marriage, this would be legally considered desertion, placing the children in his custody. Meanwhile, the rest of the Ekdahl family has begun to worry about their condition, and Emilie secretly visits her former mother-in-law, Helena, revealing she is pregnant.

During Emilie's absence, Edvard confines the children to their bedroom, ostensibly for their safety. There, Alexander shares a story, claiming he was visited by the ghosts of the Vergérus family, who revealed the bishop was responsible for their deaths. The maid Justina reports the story to Edvard, who responds with corporal punishment. After Emilie returns, the Ekdahl family friend Isak Jacobi helps smuggle the children from the house. They live temporarily with Isak and his nephews in their store.

Emilie's former brothers-in-law confront Edvard to negotiate a divorce, using the children, the bishop's debts, and the threat of a public scandal for leverage, but Edvard is unmoved.

Emilie, now in the later stages of her pregnancy, refuses to restore the children to Edvard's home. Emilie allows Edvard to drink a large dosage of her bromide sedative. She explains to him, as the medication takes effect, that she intends to flee the home as he sleeps. He threatens to follow her family and ruin their lives, but falls unconscious. After she escapes, Edvard's dying Aunt Elsa accidentally overturns a gas lamp, setting her bedclothes, nightgown, and hair on fire. Engulfed in flames, she runs through the house, seeking Edvard's help, but he too, is set aflame. Although partially incapacitated by the sedative, he is able to disentangle himself from Aunt Elsa, but is badly burned and dies shortly thereafter.

Alexander had fantasised about his stepfather's death while living with Isak and his nephews Aron and Ismael Retzinsky. The mysterious Ismael explains that fantasy can become true as he dreams it.

The Ekdahl family reunites for the christening celebration of Emilie's and the late bishop's daughter as well as the extra-marital daughter of Alexander's uncle, Gustav Adolf, and the family maid, Maj. Alexander encounters the ghost of the bishop who knocks him to the floor, and tells him that he will never be free. Emilie, having inherited the theatre, hands Helena a copy of August Strindberg's play ''A Dream Play'' to read and tells her that they should perform it together onstage. Initially scoffing at the idea and declaring Strindberg a "misogynist," Helena takes to the idea and begins reading it to a sleeping Alexander.

Reporter and amateur sleuth Joseph Rouletabille is sent to investigate a criminal case at the Château du Glandier and takes along his friend the lawyer Sainclair, who narrates. Mathilde Stangerson, the 30-something daughter of the castle's owner, Professor Joseph Stangerson, was found near-critically battered in a room adjacent to his laboratory on the castle grounds, with the door still locked from the inside. She recovers slowly but can give no useful testimony. Rouletabille meets and interrogates several characters: the castle's concierges Mr & Mrs Bernier, the old servant Jacques, an unfriendly inn landlord and a womanising gamekeeper, and begins a friendly rivalry with France's top police detective Frédéric Larsan, who has been assigned the case. Larsan suspects Ms Stangerson's fiancé, another scientist called Robert Darzac, to Rouletabille's dismay.

More attempts are made on Ms Stangerson's life despite Rouletabille and Larsan's protection, and the perpetrator appears to vanish on two occasions when they are closing in on him, echoing Professor Stangerson's research into "matter dissociation". The gamekeeper is murdered during the second attempt. Ultimately, Larsan arrests Darzac who is charged with murder attempts. Rouletabille suspects that Darzac has secret reasons not to defend himself and he disappears to make further investigations.

Two-and-a-half months later, as Darzac's trial opens, Rouletabille reappears sensationally and tells the court that the culprit is Frédéric Larsan himself, whom he accuses of being an alter-ego of a master criminal called Ballmeyer. Larsan appeared to vanish on the two occasions he was nearly collared as he was one of the pursuers. Darzac is released when it emerges that Larsan has vanished after Rouletabille warned him he would accuse him in court. The mystery of the locked Yellow Room is explained thus: Larsan assaulted Ms Stangerson earlier in the day than originally thought, but she hid the traces of the attack and locked herself away. During the night, traumatised by the event, she fell off her bed and inflicted the gravest of the wounds by hitting her temple on the corner of her bed-side table.

The background to these events is kept secret in court but finally explained by Sainclair. Ballmeyer, in a different guise, had seduced Ms Stangerson in her youth and married her secretly in the United States. They had a child before he was arrested and his identity revealed to her. Ms Stangerson had arranged for her son's care and education and hidden the whole saga from her father; her silence and Robert Darzac's behaviour were motivated by her desperation to keep him from finding out. Ballmeyer however, hearing that she was engaged, had decided to reappear in her life and claim her as his wife once more, by force if necessary.

Members of a large and widespread Scottish family are brought together at a highland castle in order to resolve various pieces of family business following a death. Suspicious events soon begin to occur, the body count rises, and a verdict of suicide is not necessarily to be trusted. Enter the gargantuan Doctor Gideon Fell, who applies his substantial powers of deduction to the problem of how men can be indirectly murdered while they're inside locked, sealed and inaccessible rooms.

The novel begins with an introduction to the manor of L'Enfant where Cesaria lives along with three of her children, Marietta, Zabrina and Luman. Also living there is Edmund Maddox, the son of Nicodemus and a human woman. Maddox had been crippled in an accident many years before which also resulted in the death of Nicodemus and Maddox's wife, Chiyojo. Maddox decides to write a book telling of the conflict between the Gearys and the Barbarossas and when brought to a dome at the top of L'Enfant is provided back the usage of his legs along with new knowledge that enables him to tell the story. Throughout the novel we are told various stories involving Maddox and his half-siblings.

The story initially begins with the baptism of Galilee and how a witness named Zelim became a prophet and eventually a spirit bound to Cesaria. In the present day, Maddox tells the story of how Rachel Pallenberg met Mitchell Geary and married him. The Geary family is led by Mitchell's grandfather Cadmus, who while aged came back into power over the family after the mysterious murder of Mitchell's father George. Things are initially happy for Rachel, and she befriends much of the fellow women in the Geary family including Margie, wife to Mitchell's older brother Garrison. However, after a couple of years of marriage being married to Michell loses its luster. Things appear to be improving when Rachel becomes pregnant, but she suffers from a miscarriage and is told she can't have any more children. She decides that she wants to leave Mitchell and tells him so after a visit to her hometown in Ohio. The two of them decide to wait a few weeks before making a final decision.

Margie tells Rachel of a house in Hawaii that is specifically meant for the usage of the Geary women. Rachel heads there and encounters a man named Niolopua, and sees Galilee arrive on his boat, the Samarkand. Galilee tells Rachel a story of a water god and later brings her on his boat. The two fall in love, but fight after Rachel receives a message about Margie being murdered by Garrison. Rachel returns to the U.S. while Galilee decides to kill himself by heading out on the Samarkand without supplies and leaving himself to the elements. Upon her return to the U.S., Rachel meets Danny, a former lover of Margie's and agrees to take back some letters and pictures of his that were left in Margie's apartment. There, she also finds a diary written by a man named Charles Holt from the Civil War.

Rachel reads Holt's diary, telling of his experiences after the war with a cook named Nickleberry. They encounter a man named Galilee who Rachel soon realizes is the same Galilee in the present day when she reads of the same story that he told her when they first met. Meanwhile, Garrison, who has been released from prison, and Mitchell desire to destroy the Barbarossas and believe they can find their way to L'Enfant through the diary. Mitchell is eventually able to steal the diary from Rachel. With Cadmus close to death, Cesaria desires to see it and emits herself there, where she causes Cadmus to self-mutilate and die shortly afterwards. Rachel witnesses this and decides to return to Galilee. Meanwhile, Mitchell desires to have Rachel back and also heads there. Cesaria appears before Galilee and based on her encounter with Rachel convinces him to return to her. She summons a storm which causes the Samarkand to crash ashore. Rachel and Niolopua are able to find him and bring him back to their house. Mitchell meanwhile, who has brought a knife with him arrives and murders Niolopua, and tries to do the same to Galilee. The spirits of various Geary women appear however and he falls down the stairs, accidentally being stabbed by his knife and dies.

Galilee agrees to reveal how everything came about to Rachel. After encountering Holt and Nickleberry, Galilee traveled with them and was nearly killed by a mob, being saved by Nickleberry. The three of them arrive at L'Enfant but wear out their welcome. Holt kills himself while Galilee and Nickleberry depart. Galilee, feeling indebted to Nickleberry agrees to help make him rich. Nickleberry steals the identity of a dead soldier named Geary and with Galilee doing nefarious deeds for him becomes rich and powerful. He eventually marries a woman named Bedelia but is unable to satisfy her so Galilee assists. Galilee eventually runs away with Bedelia and she gives birth to Niolopua, but she eventually returns. On her death bed, years later, she makes the two of them agree that Galilee will always be there to comfort the Geary women at his house in Hawaii and he will no longer be bound to doing anything else for the Gearys. Wanting to make Rachel immortal, Galilee brings her to L'Enfant where and they see Cesaria, who forgives Galilee. Maddox meanwhile, having finished his book leaves L'Enfant to see the world.

Bounty Bob is a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on a mission to search through all of Nuclear Ned's abandoned uranium mines for the treacherous Yukon Yohan. Bob must claim each section of each mine by running over it. There are a wide variety of futuristic obstacles that he must deal with such as matter transporters, hydraulic scaffolds, and jet-speed floaters; plus, he must also avoid radioactive creatures that have been left behind in the mines.

The central character of the film is Tommy Matisse; his name combines the title of The Who's 1969 rock opera ''Tommy'' and the last name of twentieth century French painter Henri Matisse.

Tommy is a Melbourne boy studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is a violinist and composer who hears music in unusual sources such as the ambient noises of a train in the London Underground or the chirping of crickets. He is a rebel against the traditions of classical music and displays this by bringing a homeless woman living in the Underground on stage for a concert.

A sympathetic professor decides that he is the type of innovative artist needed to revive a dying opera artform. Having shocked opera's establishment, he returns home to Melbourne on the death of his younger sister Emma, who suffers a fatal overdose after experimenting with drugs at a rave dance party. He discovers a CD of her own mixes and decides to enter the genre of electronic music to follow the path she was pursuing in the hopes of discovering more about his sister and how she became involved in this dance world. Emma's death acts as a catalyst that drives Tommy and his girlfriend Alysse apart. In despair, Alysse falls prey to a sleazy entrepreneur named Hector Lee who owns a club called Trance-Zen-Dance and who is also a drug dealer. Hector Lee has a young assistant called Trig who is a VJ, and is always getting new footage and talent.

In the distant future, the spaceship ''Hunter-Gratzner'' is transporting passengers in cryostasis. Among them is Abu "Imam" al-Walid, a Muslim priest guiding three young pilgrims to New Mecca; a teenager named Jack; a pair of prospectors named Shazza and Zeke; a rich merchant named Paris; and a law enforcement officer, William J. Johns, who is escorting notorious criminal Richard B. Riddick. Riddick has surgically modified eyes that are highly sensitive to light.

Micrometeoroids rupture the ship's hull, killing the captain and sending the ship off course. The ship's first officer, Owens, and the docking pilot, Carolyn Fry, attempt to land the ship on a nearby planet. As the ship falls apart, Fry decides to dump the passenger section to reduce weight, but Owens stops her. The vessel crashes into the planet's surface, most of the passengers are killed, and Owens is fatally wounded. Riddick manages to escape into the desert despite Johns' attempts to keep him restrained.

The survivors explore their surroundings, noticing that the planet's three suns keep it in perpetual daylight. They find an abandoned geological research settlement, with a water well and a dropship that lacks power to fly. Zeke goes missing, and Riddick is suspected; while searching for Zeke, Fry escapes aggressive photosensitive creatures after finding his remains in their cave. Johns recaptures Riddick and offers him a deal: if he helps the survivors escape the planet, Johns will allow him to go free.

The group takes a power cell to the dropship. They realize the geologists must have been all killed by the creatures. One of the young pilgrims is ambushed and eaten while exploring the settlement. An orrery shows that an eclipse is imminent and the creatures will be free to hunt above ground. Johns informs Fry that Riddick is a capable pilot and could abandon them, and Riddick reveals that Johns is actually a bounty hunter and morphine addict who denied Owens the drug in his final moments.

The group returns to the crash site on a solar-powered sand truck to salvage power cells for the dropship before the eclipse, but it begins as they get there. Creatures pour out of the ground and devour Shazza and another pilgrim. With his enhanced sight, Riddick agrees to lead the group to the dropship on foot through the darkness. They build a rig from the ship's lighting rods as protection; Paris accidentally destroys the rig and is devoured. Riddick reveals to the group that Jack is female and the scent of her menstrual blood is drawing the attention of the creatures; Johns suggests to Riddick that they use her as bait. Instead, Riddick fights and wounds Johns and leaves him as a distraction. The rest of the group pushes on as Riddick drags the power cells behind him.

After Imam's last acolyte is killed and rainfall starts putting out their improvised torches, Riddick hides the others in a cave and goes to start the dropship himself. Inside the cave, the group discovers bioluminescent worms, which they stuff in bottles to use as light. Fry leaves the cave and finds Riddick powering the ship, ready to leave. She pleads with him to help her rescue the others, but instead he offers to take her with him. Riddick has a change of heart and they retrieve Imam and Jack, but Riddick is separated and wounded by the predators; Fry goes back for him but a creature stabs and carries her off. Riddick makes it to the ship and delays engaging the engines to incinerate as many creatures as possible. In space, Jack asks Riddick what they should tell the authorities about him; he tells her to say that Riddick died on the planet.

The storyline of ''Jesus of Nazareth'' is a cinematic Gospel harmony, blending the narratives of all four New Testament accounts. It presents Jesus as both God and man. During the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, John speaks God's words "this is my beloved son." The familiar Christian episodes are presented chronologically: the betrothal, and later marriage, of Mary and Joseph; the Annunciation; the Visitation; the circumcision of John the Baptist; the Nativity of Jesus; the visit of the Magi; the circumcision of Jesus; the Census of Quirinius; the flight into Egypt and Massacre of the Innocents; the Finding in the Temple; the Baptism of Jesus.

Gospel accounts in the movie also include the woman caught in adultery; the healing of Jairus' daughter; Jesus helping Peter catch the fish; the Parable of the Prodigal Son; a dialogue between Jesus and Barabbas (non-Biblical); Matthew's dinner party; the Sermon on the Mount; debating with Joseph of Arimathea; the curing of the blind man at the pool; the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:43); the Feeding of the Five Thousand; the entry into Jerusalem; Jesus and the money changers; the Parable of the Two Sons; healing the centurion's servant; dialogue with Nicodemus; the Last Supper; the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.

At the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus, Jesus is accused of blasphemy for calling himself the son of the God of Israel. Caiaphas announces "the LORD our God, the LORD is one", denying the God of Israel has a son. The ensuing scenes include Peter's denying Christ and repenting of it; the judgment of Jesus by Pilate ("Ecce Homo"); the Johannine Passion Narrative (John 18–19; including the Agony in the Garden); the Carrying of the Cross; the Crucifixion of Christ (Laurence Olivier's Nicodemus recites the "Suffering Servant" passage (Isaiah 53:3-5) as he looks helplessly on the crucified Messiah); the discovery of the empty tomb; and an appearance of the Risen Christ to his Disciples. The film's storyline concludes with the non-Biblical character Zerah and his colleagues gazing despairingly into the empty tomb. Zerah laments, "Now it begins. It all begins".

Detectives Roger Mortis and Doug Bigelow are called to the scene of a rather violent jewelry store robbery. The robbers take on a squadron of police in a messy shootout, but neither seems affected when they are riddled with bullets. Thanks to the combined, albeit extreme measures of Mortis and Bigelow, they are able to take out the criminals. Narrowly avoiding termination their captain assigns them to the investigation. Meanwhile, a coroner friend of Roger's, Rebecca informs the detectives that the two bodies they had brought in had previously been to the morgue: not only do they have autopsy scars, but she herself clearly remembers performing the autopsy and has pictures to prove it, suggesting they simply got up and left the morgue of their own volition.

There is a preservative chemical compound found in the bodies that connect the pair of detectives to a company that had ordered a great amount of it recently. Mortis and Bigelow investigate and meet the company's head public relations person, Randi James who gives them a tour of the facility. When Doug wanders off to investigate a suspicious room, he encounters the reanimated corpse of a biker on a strange machine. A fight ensues, Roger comes to aide his partner, and in the fray, he is knocked into a decompression room used to humanely kill failed test animals and is asphyxiated to death when an unknown person activates the room.

Encountering the machine, and realizing it is capable of bringing people back from the dead, Rebecca and Doug successfully bring Roger back from the dead. He says he feels fine, yet he has no heart beat and his skin is cold to the touch, Rebecca surmises he has about twelve hours before the reanimation process ends and he dissolves into a puddle of mush. Roger decides to take this time to find and exact his vengeance on the person who killed him, as well as solve the case he and Doug are working on. They go to Randi's house just shortly before she is attacked by two more undead thugs, which the partners are able to subdue. Randi says that she is the daughter of a rich industrialist, and the owner of the company she works for until his death, Arthur P. Laudermilk.

The two of them pay another visit to Rebecca, who says that she might have found a way to keep Roger in healthy condition indefinitely, but the unsure nature of the theory has him decide to spend his final hours finding the man who killed him. Doug splits from Roger, agreeing to meet back at Randi's home, while Roger and Randi pay a visit to Laudermilk's tomb. Randi admits she's not his daughter, more a protégé or daughter he'd never had. While there, they encounter a numeric code, which Roger discovers later is a vital clue. Upon returning to Randi's home, they find Doug dead, having been suspended and drowned in a fish tank for some time. Randi tells Roger that she too is undead, having been one of Laudermilk's first test subjects for resurrection, shortly before abruptly dissolving while asking for Roger's forgiveness.

Roger confronts the head coroner Dr. Ernest McNab, Rebecca's boss, who was linked to the secret numeric code that Roger had found. Roger also has determined that McNab reanimated the robbers to steal for him all while keeping his hands clean, in addition to killing Doug and himself. But McNab turns the tables on Roger, capturing him, then locking him in an ambulance with Rebecca's dead body, after killing her, in order to wait out his last hour to dissolution. He releases the brakes on the ambulance and puts it in neutral, sending it careening down the highway into a massive collision, from which he emerges, even more zombified and scarred almost beyond recognition. He returns to the laboratory where McNab and a resurrected Laudermilk are pitching the resurrection machine to a group of very rich clients. Mortis charges in and in the ensuing crossfire between him and McNab's men a few of the rich clients are killed, leaving Laudermilk cowering in a corner.

McNab reveals a test subject; Doug, resurrected by the machine. But because he's been dead for hours, the brain deterioration leaves him little more than an obedient zombie with no memory of who Roger is. Before he can obey McNab's orders to kill Mortis, however, Roger manages to trigger Doug's short-term memory and bring him back to normal. The pair go after McNab who immediately kills himself before they can do anything. Roger and Doug put McNab onto the resurrection table and resurrect him. But to exact revenge, Roger starts the resurrection process again and it overloads, causing a screaming McNab to explode in the machine. Despite Laudermilk's pleas and promises of eternal life, the pair then destroy the machine completely, leaving the room pondering about the afterlife and reincarnation; Doug's fond wish of being reincarnated as a girl's bicycle seat intriguing the both of them. The film ends with Roger stating, "This could be the end of a beautiful friendship."

Three years after the events the previous film, Dr. Anton Phibes emerges from suspended animation when the Moon enters into an alignment with the planets which last occurred 2,000 years ago. Phibes prepares to take Victoria's body to the River of Life in Egypt, which promises eternal life for him and Victoria. However, his ancient papyrus map to the river has been taken by Darius Biederbeck, a man who has lived for centuries through the regular use of a special elixir. After translating the papyrus, Biederbeck seeks the River of Life for himself and his lover Diana. Phibes and his silent assistant Vulnavia enter Biederbeck's house, kill his manservant, and reclaim the papyrus; they leave for Southampton to take a ship to Egypt. Biederbeck travels on the same ship with Diana and his assistant Ambrose. When Ambrose discovers Victoria's body stored in the hold, Phibes kills him. His body is stuffed in a giant bottle and thrown overboard. Inspector Trout discovers the corpse when the bottle washes ashore near Southampton. He and Superintendent Waverley question shipping agent Lombardo; upon hearing the descriptions of Vulnavia, an organ, and a clockwork band all being loaded aboard, they realize that Dr. Phibes is responsible.

Trout and Waverley pursue Phibes to Egypt, catching up to Biederbeck's archaeological party near the mountain housing the hidden temple. Phibes, having set up residence inside the temple, hides Victoria's body in a secret compartment of an empty sarcophagus. He also finds the silver key that opens the gates to the River of Life. Phibes begins killing Biederbeck's men one by one. Biederbeck's team breaks into the temple and takes the sarcophagus and the key. Phibes uses a giant screw press to crush the man guarding the sarcophagus and a giant fan to simulate a windstorm, muffling his screams. The sarcophagus is retrieved.

Biederbeck is unmoved by the murders and insists on continuing. He sends Diana and Hackett, the last remaining team member, back to England. Hackett is lured from his truck by Phibes' clockwork men impersonating British troops. When he returns to the truck, Diana is gone and he is sand-blasted to death. His truck crashes into Biederbeck's tent.

Realizing Phibes must have taken Diana, Biederbeck confronts him. Phibes demands the key in exchange for Diana's life, claiming that when the gate is opened the water will drain out of Diana's trap and flow through the gate. Unable to free her from Phibes' water trap, Biederbeck surrenders the key. Phibes unlocks the gate to the River of Life, boats Victoria's coffin through it, and summons Vulnavia to join them on the other side. Biederbeck returns to the gate as it closes, pleading through the bars for Phibes to take him along. Phibes ignores him. Diana attempts to comfort Biederbeck, but he rapidly ages and dies.

''Opposing Force'' opens with Shephard riding on a V-22 Osprey with his squad. His squad discuss their deployment, somewhat irritated that they have not been told what they are being deployed for. However, as they are nearing their Landing Zone at Black Mesa, airborne alien creatures attack the Osprey formation, causing Shephard's Osprey to crash land. Shephard regains consciousness in a Black Mesa medical bay, tended to by the science team, learning that the Marines are being steadily beaten by the alien forces from Xen and orders have come through to pull out. Consequently, Shephard departs to reach an extraction point and escape the facility. However, Shephard is prevented from reaching the extraction point by the enigmatic G-Man, forcing the evacuation craft to leave without him.

Other Marines who have also been left behind team up with Shephard and attempt to reach another extraction point near Black Mesa's Lambda Complex, but en route they come under attack from black operations units seeking to thoroughly contain the situation and eliminate all survivors. Shephard makes it to the Lambda Complex alive, and briefly sees Gordon Freeman as the latter teleports to Xen in the final stages of ''Half-Life''. To escape the teleportation chamber, Shephard is forced to enter a separate portal, briefly taking him to Xen before depositing him in an entirely different area of the facility. The facility is now heavily damaged, and it soon becomes clear that a new alien race, Race X, has exploited the situation to mount a localized invasion, attacking both human and Xen forces in Black Mesa indiscriminately. Fighting between the black operations units and Race X quickly intensifies.

Shephard soon encounters more stranded Marine units in the wreckage of Black Mesa, and attempts to reach an unknown exit route, encountering heavy resistance from Race X and black operations units. A surviving Black Mesa security guard reveals to Shephard that the black operators intend to detonate a tactical nuclear weapon in the base, thereby totally sealing it off and killing everything in it. After successfully neutralizing the guarding black operations unit, Shephard disarms the device and proceeds to a nearby storage facility, intent on escape. However, the G-Man rearms the device as Shephard departs. The storage facility has become a thick battleground between Race X and the black operation units, and although Shephard manages to evade them, he is informed by another security guard that something very large is coming through an alien portal blocking the exit path.

At the portal, Shephard discovers a gene worm, a massive creature facilitating the Race X invasion. Shephard is able to sufficiently wound the creature enough to force it back through the wormhole, but just afterwards he is teleported onto an Osprey by the G-Man. As the G-Man congratulates Shephard on his accomplishments, the nuclear device detonates in the background, destroying Black Mesa. The game closes with the G-Man detaining Shephard someplace where he can tell no one of what he has seen and cannot be harmed, pending further evaluation.

After enduring years of natural disaster and war, the world is left without its main supply of water; the river that provided water to the country dried up long ago. With the greedy king of the land's personal water supply becoming increasingly more expensive for the citizens of Sand Land to buy, the people begin robbing one another for water and money. Sheriff Rao, tired of the king's greed, approaches the demons of Sand Land for help in searching for a new water supply. Demon prince Beelzebub and his friend Thief agree to join Rao.

Soon after their quest begins, their car breaks down and they are forced to steal a tank from the king's army. This attracts the anger of the king and he mobilizes his forces to stop them. Sheriff Rao, a former legendary general of the king's army, is able to quickly deal with all of the current army's attempts to hinder their progress. Once they reach the supposed water supply at the end of the now dried up river bed, they find a lake that now acts as the king's private reserves. With the water sealed away behind a dam to give the king a monopoly over water, Rao, the demons, and those sympathetic to their cause tear it down. With the water returned to the world as a result, the king's oppressive rule is brought to an end.

''Drakengard'' opens with Caim in the midst of a battle to protect his sister from the Empire. During the battle, Caim is mortally injured, but continues to fight his way into Furiae's castle, where he finds Angelus severely wounded from torture. Despite their mutual mistrust, Caim and Angelus agree to make a pact and save each other. With the attack repelled, Caim is joined by Furiae and Inuart to find safety, encountering Verdelet on their travels. Inuart is captured, tortured and brainwashed by Manah, eventually kidnapping Furiae in the belief that he can save her from her fate as the Goddess and earn her love. Verdelet and Caim travel to each of the three Seals, but each time arrive too late to stop them being destroyed. Eventually, the Union and the Empire engage in battle, and the Union emerge victorious. After the battle, however, the Union's surviving troops are decimated by an unknown force from above, and the Empire's troops return to life. Caim and Angelus travel to an Imperial fortress that has appeared in the sky, where they find that Furiae has killed herself, breaking the final seal. Inuart, seeing her body, is released from his brainwashing and takes her away.

Optional missions allow Caim to find and recruit Leonard and Seere, and take along Arioch to protect others from her madness. Subsequent playthroughs and extra chapters reveal further details about the characters. Leonard's self-imposed seclusion is because he was trying to suppress his pedophilia, and the guilt at his brothers' deaths stems from the fact that he gave in to his cravings and left them unprotected. Arioch's madness takes the form of cannibalism of children, in the belief that they would be safe from harm within her. Furiae is revealed to love Caim romantically, which led to Inuart becoming jealous and vulnerable to Manah's influence. During the events leading to the third ending, Manah reveals Furiae's feelings for Caim, who shows revulsion at the revelation: due to this and the Watchers' influence, Furiae stabs herself. Manah was abused by her and Seere's mother, but Seere was never subjected to the abuse, leading him to feel guilty. The abuse Manah received and her longing for love eventually drove her insane, and she was chosen to become the Watchers' agent.

There are five possible endings, four of which are unlocked after fulfilling certain conditions. In the first ending, Caim and Angelus confront Manah and defeat her. Manah asks them to kill her, but Angelus declares that she must live with her crimes. Angelus then offers herself as the new Goddess of the Seal for Caim's sake. As Verdelet performs the ritual, Angelus tells Caim her name before fading away. In the second ending Inuart uses a magical object called a "Seed of Resurrection" to resurrect Furiae: while successful, the Seed turns her into a monster, and she kills Inuart. Caim is forced to kill her, but not before clones of her are produced from other Seeds to destroy humanity. In the third ending, after Furiae's suicide, Caim and Angelus stop Inuart's attempt to resurrect her and confront Manah, who is killed by another dragon. With the dragons now being driven to destroy mankind, Angelus breaks her pact with Caim and fights him to the death. Caim then prepares to die fighting the other dragons. In the fourth ending, Seere has his Golem pact partner kill the deranged Manah, causing the fortress to collapse. Caim, Seere, Leonard and Arioch escape, while Inuart and Furiae are killed inside. With Manah dead, the Watchers descend on the Imperial capital, with Leonard and Arioch dying at their hands. Caim and Angelus then sacrifice themselves to allow Seere to use his powers to seal the city and the Watchers in a timeless zone, nullifying their threat. In the fifth ending, instead of using Seere's power, Caim and Angelus instead attack the queen and the three disappear through a portal. After engaging the queen monster in a rhythm game in modern-day Tokyo, the two destroy it, and are then shot down by a fighter jet.

Dede Tate is a young working-class woman of average intelligence raising her seven-year-old son, Fred. Fred shows every indication of being a genius. Fred's reading and mathematics abilities are remarkable, and he plays the piano "at competition level," but his intellect has isolated him from his public school classmates.

Fred's abilities come to the attention of Jane Grierson, a former music prodigy and now a psychologist running a school for gifted children. She asks permission from Dede to admit Fred to the school, in order to develop his intellectual gifts in ways that a public school cannot. Dede is reluctant, preferring that Fred have a more normal upbringing, but when no friends come to Fred's seventh birthday party, Dede consents.

Fred joins other brilliant young people, and participates in Jane's Odyssey of the Mind event for part of the spring. There he meets one of his heroes, who is one of Jane's prized pupils, the brilliant but slightly bizarre "Mathemagician" Damon Wells, a whiz at math who wears a black cape wherever he goes. After Fred unintentionally upstages Damon at one of the competitions at Odyssey of the Mind, Damon is upset with Fred. Damon however warms up to Fred when out horseback riding on Jane's ranch, and is Fred's first insight to a world outside academia. Damon tells him, "it's not the size of a man's IQ that matters; it's how he uses it". Jane attempts to become more nurturing, but is unable to relate to Fred as anything other than a case study.

Fred is later enrolled at a university, where he studies quantum physics while his mother, aunt and cousins travel to Florida for the summer. An adult student named Eddie accidentally hits Fred with a globe when goofing around. To make it up to Fred, Eddie takes him out for a ride on his moped and shows him things such as how to shoot pool; it is good for Fred to spend time with someone who is not a genius. However, when Fred walks into Eddie's room while Eddie is in bed with a coed, Fred runs out and Eddie chases after him. Eddie explains that he cannot be a babysitter for Fred; although he enjoys Fred's company, Fred needs to find friends closer to his own age. The return to isolation takes its toll on Fred, as he suffers from nightmares in which he is treated as a freak and an outsider.

Jane is asked to bring Fred onto a TV panel discussion show on the topic of gifted children. Fred attends but breaks down. He claims his mother is dead, and recites a childish poem (a word-for-word repetition of a poem by one of his former grade school classmates) before taking off his microphone and walking out of the studio. Dede witnesses some of this as it is being broadcast, and flies back to New York. Jane is unable to find Fred, but Dede discovers him back at their apartment, and embraces him.

One year later, Fred has adjusted to the pressures of being a child genius, particularly after an even younger student is admitted to Jane's school. Dede hosts a well-attended birthday party for Fred, reconciling Fred's emotional development with his intellect.

A couple could not think of a suitable name for their newborn son. The father went to the local temple and asked the chief priest to think of an auspicious name. The priest suggested "Jugemu" ( ), and several other names. The father could not decide which name he preferred, and therefore, gave the baby all of the names.

Jugemu's full name is:

(the NHK version, (Video in the archive does not work. Archive of a script-only page: [https://web.archive.org/web/20201101020859/https://www2.nhk.or.jp/school/movie/outline.cgi?das_id=D0005150386_00000]) partially replaced with kanji)

In one version of the tale, Jugemu got into a fight with a friend one day, and the friend suffered a large bump on his head. In protest, he went crying to Jugemu's parents. However, due to the amount of time it took to recite his name, by the time he finished, the bump on his head had already healed. *

Another version states that Jugemu fell into a well and drowned; everyone who had to pass along the news spent a lot of time reciting his entire name. In yet another variant, Jugemu fell into a lake, and his parents barely arrived in time to save him.

On a wharf on Tokyo Bay is a small gallery named Gallery Fake. The owner of the gallery, , was once a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He was a learned curator with remarkable memory, keen aesthetic sense, great skill in restoration of paintings and knowledge of many languages, so he was called the "Professor". However, because of trouble in the workplace, Fujita was forced to quit the museum. Now he is an art dealer who sells paintings, authentic and fake alike, sometimes at extraordinary prices, depending on the circumstances or the type of buyer. His motto is "One without aesthetic sense can't help being cheated out of his money. And by being deceived, one may learn to distinguish real ones from the counterfeit."

However, Fujita has a strong sense of justice. He truly appreciates art and the artists who spent their lives to create it and does not try to deceive people by passing off fake paintings as genuine ones. He will go out of his way to help people in trouble, but also bring justice to politicians, businessmen or art dealers who are dishonest. He often touches the lives of those he encounters and people are attracted to him in spite of his sometimes gruff manner.

The plot centres on the neurotic young priest Serge Mouret, first seen in ''La Conquête de Plassans'', as he takes his orders and becomes the parish priest for the uninterested village of Artauds. The inbred villagers have no interest in religion and Serge is portrayed giving several wildly enthusiastic Masses to his completely empty, near-derelict church. Serge not only seems unperturbed by this state of affairs but actually appears to have positively sought it out especially, for it gives him time to contemplate religious affairs and to fully experience the fervour of his faith. Eventually he has a complete nervous breakdown and collapses into a near-comatose state, whereupon his distant relative, the unconventional doctor Pascal Rougon (the central character of the last novel in the series, 1893's ''Le Docteur Pascal''), places him in the care of the inhabitants of a nearby derelict stately home, Le Paradou.

The novel then takes a complete new direction in terms of both tone and style, as Serge — suffering from amnesia and total long-term memory loss, with no idea who or where he is beyond his first name — is doted upon by Albine, the whimsical, innocent and entirely uneducated girl who has been left to grow up practically alone and wild in the vast, sprawling, overgrown grounds of Le Paradou. The two of them live a life of idyllic bliss with many biblical parallels and over, the course of a number of months, they fall deeply in love with one another; however, at the moment they consummate their relationship, they are discovered by Serge's monstrous former monsignor and his memory is instantly returned to him. Wracked with guilt at his unwitting sins, Serge is plunged into a deeper religious fervour than ever before, and Albine is left bewildered at the loss of her lover. As with many of Zola's earlier works, the novel then builds to a tragic climax.

On the last day of British rule of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, Detective Inspector Lee of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force leads a raid at the wharf, hoping to arrest the unidentified, anonymous crime lord Juntao. He finds only Sang, Juntao's right-hand man, who escapes in a boat. Lee recovers numerous Chinese cultural treasures stolen by Juntao, which he presents as a farewell victory gift to his departing superiors, Chinese consul Solon Han and British police commander Thomas Griffin.

2 months later, after Han takes up his new diplomatic post in Los Angeles, his daughter Soo Yung is kidnapped by Sang while on her way to school. Han calls Lee to assist in the case, but the FBI, afraid Lee's involvement could cause an international incident, pawns him off on the LAPD. Detective James Carter is tricked into "babysitting" Lee as punishment for botching a sting operation; when he finds out, he decides to solve the case.

Carter takes Lee on a sightseeing tour, keeping him away from the embassy while contacting informants about the kidnapping. Lee makes his own way to the Chinese Consulate, where Han and the FBI await news about his daughter. While arguing with Special Agent-in-charge Warren Russ, Carter unwittingly negotiates with Sang, arranging a 50 million dollar ransom drop. The FBI traces the call to a warehouse, where a team of agents are killed by plastic explosive. Spotting Sang, Lee and Carter give chase but he escapes, dropping the detonator. Carter's colleague, LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson, traces it to Clive, a man previously arrested by Carter.

Lee presses Clive into revealing his business relationship with Juntao, whom he met at a restaurant in Chinatown, earning Carter's trust. Carter goes to the restaurant alone and sees a surveillance video of Juntao carrying Soo Yung into a van. Lee arrives and saves Carter from Juntao's syndicate, but they are taken off the case as the FBI blames them for the botched ransom drop, with Lee sent back to Hong Kong.

However, Carter refuses to give up and appeals to Johnson for assistance to sneak on board Lee's plane, where he persuades the Hong Kong detective to help stop Juntao together. Griffin later involves himself in the case, revealing more about the HKPF's past with Juntao's syndicate, and implores Han to pay the ransom to avoid further bloodshed. At the opening of a Chinese art exhibition at the Los Angeles Convention Center, overseen by Han and Griffin, the now 70 million dollar ransom is delivered, and Carter, Lee, and Johnson enter disguised as guests.

Carter orders the guests to evacuate for safety, angering the FBI, but Lee catches Griffin accepting a remote for the detonator from Sang. Lee and Johnson realize Griffin is Juntao when Carter recognizes him from the Chinatown surveillance tape. Griffin threatens to detonate a bomb vest attached to Soo Yung and demands that the ransom be paid in full, as compensation for the priceless Chinese artifacts which Lee recovered in his raid. Carter sneaks out, locates Soo Yung in the van, and drives it into the building within range of Griffin, preventing him from setting off the vest.

Johnson gets the vest off Soo Yung, while Griffin heads to the roof with the bag of money. Lee takes the vest and pursues Griffin, while Carter shoots Sang dead in a gunfight. Lee has a brief altercation with Griffin that culminates in both dangling from the rafters. Griffin, holding on to the vest, falls to his death when its straps are torn, but when Lee falls, Carter catches him with a large flag. Han and Soo Yung are reunited, and Han sends Carter and Lee on vacation to Hong Kong as a reward. Before Carter leaves, agents Russ and Whitney offer him a position in the FBI, which he mockingly refuses. Carter boards the plane with Lee, who annoyingly starts singing Edwin Starr's "War" off-key.

After MI6 agent James Bond fails a routine training exercise, his superior M orders Bond to a health clinic outside London to get back into shape. While there, Bond witnesses a mysterious nurse named Fatima Blush giving a sadomasochistic beating to a patient in a nearby room. The man's face is bandaged and after Blush finishes her beating, Bond sees the patient using a machine which scans his eye. Bond is seen by Blush, who sends an assassin, Lippe, to kill him in the clinic gym, but Bond manages to kill Lippe.

Blush is an operative of SPECTRE, a criminal organisation run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld and her charge, a heroin-addicted United States Air Force pilot named Jack Petachi. Petachi has undergone an operation on his right eye to make it match the retinal pattern of the US President, which he uses to circumvent iris recognition security at RAF Station Swadley, an American military base in England. While doing so, he replaces the dummy warheads of two AGM-86B cruise missiles with live nuclear warheads; SPECTRE then steals the warheads, intending to extort billions of dollars from NATO governments. Blush murders Petachi by causing his car to crash and explode, covering SPECTRE's tracks.

Foreign Secretary Lord Ambrose orders a reluctant M to reactivate the double-0 section, and Bond is tasked with tracking down the missing weapons. Bond follows a lead to the Bahamas where he finds Domino Petachi, the pilot's sister, and her wealthy lover Maximillian Largo, who is SPECTRE's top agent.

Bond is informed by Nigel Small-Fawcett of the British High Commission that Largo's yacht is now heading for Nice, France. There, Bond joins forces with his French contact Nicole, and his CIA counterpart and friend, Felix Leiter. Bond goes to a health and beauty centre where he poses as an employee and, while giving Domino a massage, is informed by her that Largo is hosting an event at a casino that evening. At the charity event, Largo and Bond play a 3-D video game called ''Domination''; the losing player of each turn receives a series of electric shocks of increasing intensity in proportion to the amount wagered. After losing a few games, Bond ultimately wins, and while dancing with Domino, he informs her that her brother had been killed on Largo's orders. Bond returns to his villa to find Nicole killed by Blush. After a vehicle chase on his Q-branch motorbike, Bond finds himself in an ambush and is eventually captured by Blush. She admits that she is impressed with him, and forces Bond to declare in writing that she is his "Number One" sexual partner. Bond distracts her with promises, then uses his Q-branch-issue fountain pen gun to kill Blush with an explosive dart.

Bond and Leiter attempt to board Largo's motor yacht, the ''Flying Saucer'', in search of the missing nuclear warheads. Bond finds Domino. He attempts to make Largo jealous by kissing Domino in front of a one-way mirror. Largo becomes enraged, traps Bond and takes him and Domino to Palmyra, Largo's base of operations in North Africa. Largo coldly punishes Domino for her betrayal by selling her to some passing Arabs. Bond subsequently escapes from his prison and rescues her.

Domino and Bond reunite with Leiter on a U.S. Navy submarine. After the first warhead is found and defused in Washington, D.C., they track Largo to a location known as the Tears of Allah, below a desert oasis on the Ethiopian coast. Bond and Leiter infiltrate the underground facility and a gun battle erupts between Leiter's team and Largo's men in the temple. In the confusion, Largo makes a getaway with the second warhead. Bond catches and fights Largo underwater. Just as Largo tries to use a spear gun to shoot Bond, he is shot with a spear gun by Domino, taking revenge for her brother's death. Bond then defuses the nuclear bomb underwater, saving the world. Bond retires from duty and returns to the Bahamas with Domino, vowing never again to be a secret agent.

Fleming structured the novel in three sections—"Me", "Them" and "Him" to describe the phases of the story.

;Me Vivienne "Viv" Michel, a young Canadian woman narrates her own story, detailing her past love affairs, the first being with Derek Mallaby, who took her virginity in a field after being thrown out of a cinema in Windsor for indecent exposure. Their physical relationship ended that night, and Viv was subsequently rejected when Mallaby sent her a letter from Oxford University saying he was forcibly engaged to someone else by his parents. Viv's second love affair was with her German boss, Kurt Rainer, by whom she would eventually become pregnant. She informed Rainer and he paid for her to go to Switzerland to have an abortion, telling her that their affair was over. After the procedure, Viv returned to her native Canada and started her journey through North America, stopping to work at "The Dreamy Pines Motor Court" in the Adirondack Mountains for managers Jed and Mildred Phancey.

;Them At the end of the vacation season, the Phanceys entrust Viv with looking after the motel for the night before the owner, Mr. Sanguinetti, can arrive to take inventory and close it up for the winter. Two mobsters, "Sluggsy" Morant and Sol "Horror" Horowitz, both of whom work for Sanguinetti, arrive and say they are there to look over the motel for insurance purposes. The two have been hired by Sanguinetti to burn down the motel so that Sanguinetti can make a profit on the insurance. The blame for the fire would fall on Viv, who was to perish in the incident. The mobsters are cruel to Viv and, when she says she does not want to dance with them, they attack her, holding her down and starting to remove her top. They are about to continue the attack with her rape when the door buzzer interrupts them.

;Him

British secret service agent James Bond appears at the door asking for a room, having had a flat tyre while passing. Bond quickly realises that Horror and Sluggsy are mobsters and that Viv is in danger. Pressuring the two men, he eventually gets the gangsters to agree to provide him a room. Bond tells Michel that he is in America in the wake of Operation Thunderball and was detailed to protect a Russian nuclear expert who defected to the West and who now lives in Toronto, as part of his quest to ferret out SPECTRE. That night Sluggsy and Horror set fire to the motel and attempt to kill Bond and Michel. A gun battle ensues and, during their escape, Horror and Sluggsy's car crashes into a lake. Bond and Michel retire to bed, but Sluggsy is still alive and makes a further attempt to kill them, before Bond shoots him.

Viv wakes to find Bond gone, leaving a note in which he promises to send her police assistance and which he concludes by telling her not to dwell too much on the ugly events through which she has just lived. As Viv finishes reading the note, a large police detachment arrives. After taking her statement, the officer in charge of the detail reiterates Bond's advice, but also warns Viv that ''all'' men involved in violent crime and espionage, regardless of which side they are on—including Bond himself—are dangerous and that Viv should avoid them. Viv reflects on this as she motors off at the end of the book, continuing her tour of America, but despite the officer's warning still devoted to the memory of the spy who loved her.

The series opens with Danny (David Morrissey) and Evelyn Brogan (Lucy Cohu) and their two teenage children, Zoe (Felicity Jones) and Mark (Harry Treadaway), entering a witness protection programme and moving to a bucolic neighbourhood known as Meadowlands to begin a new life. Picturesque and crime-free, Meadowlands appears to be a suburban paradise where the Brogan family can start a new life. However, they soon realise that it is not so easy to escape the past, and their haven becomes a world of paranoia and psychological intrigue with surprises around every corner, especially when they are stunned to learn that they can never leave.

''Contra'' is set in the distant future of the year 2633 A.D., when the evil Red Falcon Organization have set a base on the fictional Galuga archipelago near New Zealand in a plot to wipe out humanity. Two commandos, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean of the Earth Marine Corp's Contra unit (an elite group of soldiers specializing in guerrilla warfare), are sent to the island to destroy the enemy forces and uncover the true nature of the alien entity controlling them. The promotional materials for the US arcade version downplays the futuristic setting of the game, with the manual for the later NES and home computer versions changing the game's setting from the future to the present day and the location from Galuga to the Amazon Jungle.

Thirteen-year-old trainee witch Kiki leaves home with her talking black cat Jiji. She flies on her broomstick to the port city of Koriko. While trying to find somewhere to live, Kiki is pursued by Tombo, a geeky boy obsessed with aviation who admires her flying ability.

In exchange for accommodation, Kiki helps Osono, the kindly owner of a bakery. She opens a "Witch Delivery Business", delivering goods by broomstick - the "Witch Delivery Service". Her first delivery goes badly; she is caught in wind and loses the black cat toy she is supposed to deliver. Jiji pretends to be the toy until Kiki can retrieve the real item. She finds it in the home of a young painter, Ursula, who repairs and returns it to Kiki so she can complete the delivery and rescue Jiji.

Kiki accepts a party invitation from Tombo, but is delayed by her work and, exhausted, falls ill. When she recovers, Osono clandestinely arranges for Kiki to see Tombo again by assigning her a delivery addressed to him. After Kiki apologizes for missing the party, Tombo takes her for a test ride on the flying machine he is working on fashioned from a bicycle. Kiki warms to Tombo but is intimidated by his friends, and walks home.

Kiki becomes depressed and discovers she can no longer understand Jiji, who has befriended a pretty white cat. She has also lost her flying ability and is forced to suspend her delivery business. Kiki has a surprise visit from Ursula, who determines that Kiki's crisis is a form of artist's block. Ursula suggests that if Kiki can find a new purpose, she will regain her powers.

While Kiki is visiting a customer, she witnesses an airship accident on television. A strong gust leaves Tombo hanging in mid-air. Kiki regains her flying power and manages to rescue him. She regains her confidence, resumes her delivery service, and writes a letter home saying that she and Jiji are happy.

''Magnetic Rose''

The ''Corona'', a deep space salvage freighter, is out on a mission when it encounters a distress signal and responds to it. They come upon a spaceship graveyard orbiting a giant space station. The crew's two engineers, Heintz and Miguel, enter it to get a closer look. Once inside, they discover an opulent European interior and several furnished rooms (in varying states of decay) but find no signs of life. They discover that the station belongs to a once-famous opera diva named Eva Friedel who disappeared after the murder of her fiancé, Carlo Rambaldi, a fellow singer. Continuing the search for the source of the signal, the engineers split up, with each experiencing paranormal encounters, including strange noises and visions of Eva. Miguel enters the dilapidated underbelly of the station, and in a cavernous chamber, he finds a broken piano playing the distress signal. He begins to hallucinate and Eva suddenly runs up to kiss him. Heintz finds a theater stage and sees Eva, who stabs him when he approaches. Suddenly paralyzed, Heintz relives a memory of his family, with his wife and daughter Emily. The illusion disappears when Eva takes his wife's form and tells him that he "will never leave". Heintz rushes to save Miguel, only to find that he had been seduced by Eva into thinking he is Carlo. Eva reveals to Heintz that she murdered the real Carlo for refusing to marry her and has forced others to look like him. She makes Heintz relive his daughter's death and nearly convinces him to join her. He resists and shoots the massive computer embedded in the ceiling causing the AI hologram of Eva to malfunction.

The ''Corona'' has been struggling against a powerful magnetic field coming from the station, pulling the ship towards it. In desperation, they fire a powerful energy cannon, gouging the structure deep enough to reach the cavern. Heintz is ejected into space (along with Eva's past victims), as Eva hauntingly sings to a conjured audience. The ''Corona'' is crushed and becomes part of the rose-like shape around the station. The episode ends with the whereabouts of the real (and deceased) Eva being shown, and a representation of Eva talking romantically with Miguel as the two now exist only in Eva's lingering memories. Heintz is last seen drifting in space, still alive.

''Stink Bomb''

This story is based in part on the Gloria Ramirez incident. In it, lab technician Nobuo Tanaka, battling the flu, mistakes some experimental pills for cold pills and swallows one. The pills are part of a biological weapon program, reacting to the flu shot already in his body. Tanaka soon develops a deadly body odor and becomes a walking weapon of mass destruction. While taking a nap, the odor he emits kills everyone in the laboratory. Horrified, he reports the incident to headquarters, as they instruct him to deliver the experimental drug to Tokyo. Meanwhile, the odor he emits grows stronger to where it affects several miles of the surrounding area, killing every living thing that smells his odor, except flowers and plants. The Odor is so potent that gas masks nor NBC suits offer no protection against its effects. His odor kills everything in the Yamanashi Prefecture, including all 200,000 inhabitants of Kōfu city. Nobuo continues on to Tokyo unaware of the death his smell is causing, but the rest of the country is in a complete panic. The head of the research company and the Japanese military deduce that Tanaka is causing the poisonous gas and order him to be killed. The Japan Self Defense Forces try in vain to stop Nobuo, causing immense collateral damage to the Japanese countryside, but to no avail, as the chemicals on Nobuo smell cause interference on the targeting systems of its heat-seeking missiles.

The U.S. military, who have been observing the situation to that point, utilizes Japanese policy to take over the operation, and calls in a NASA unit with space suits to try and capture Nobuo alive. Unaware of this operation, the Japanese army collapses part of the bridge to prevent Nobuo from escaping, trapping him in a tunnel. They turn on wind generators loaded with liquid nitrogen in an attempt to freeze him. Nobuo becomes scared, disabling the machines while leaving the three astronauts unscathed. The soldiers force Nobuo into an exosuit and bring him back to military headquarters in Tokyo. Nobuo makes his way through the headquarters building, unaware that he is the source of the biological contamination. He then opens his exosuit, killing everyone.

''Cannon Fodder''

In a walled city perpetually at war, everyone's livelihood depends upon maintaining and firing the enormous cannons that make up most of the city. Nearly every building in the city is equipped with a cannon of varying size, able to fire huge artillery shells over the city walls. The story is centered on a young boy and his father, who works as a lowly cannon-loader.

The city is surrounded by clouds of smoke and dust provoked by the shots fired by the cannons. Despite news of successful bombardment of the "enemy moving city" by the local media, there is not any visual confirmation that it is true, or even if there is an enemy at all.

In the end, the boy comes home from school and hears a television news reporter talking about the near-destruction of the enemy city. The boy hops into his bed, saying that someday he wants to be the exalted officer who fires the cannons, and not be a simple worker like his father. As he sleeps, a civil defense siren sounds and a blue light sweeps across the window.

Setting

''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver'' are set in the region of Johto, situated to the west of the Kanto region from the previous ''Red'' and ''Blue'' games, and three years after the conclusion of the previous games. The design of Johto was inspired by Japan's Kansai and Tōkai regions, with many of the region's temples and more traditional Japanese aesthetics finding their way into Johto. The locations in the game within Johto include New Bark Town, Cherrygrove City, Violet City (キキョウシティ Kikyō City), Azalea Town (ヒワダタウン Hiwada Town), Goldenrod City (コガネシティ Kogane City), Ecruteak City (エンジュシティ Enju City), Olivine City (アサギシティ Asagi City), Cianwood City (タンバシティ Tanba City), Mahogany Town (チョウジタウン Chōji Town), and Blackthorn City (フスベシティ Fusube City). Most of the cities have one gym leader each, which serves as a boss, as do some of the towns.

Story

As with the previous games, the player character receives his first Pokémon, a choice between Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile, from the region's local Pokémon scientist, Professor Elm, and then begins his journey to win the eight Gym Badges of the Johto region and then challenge the Elite Four and Champion to become the region's new Pokémon Master. Opposing him is his mysterious rival, a boy who stole one of the other Pokémon from Professor Elm and regularly challenges the player to test his strengths. The player also encounters the villainous Team Rocket, having reunited to seek out their previous leader Giovanni to return the group to their former glory. Eventually, the player thwarts Team Rocket once and for all and defeats the Elite Four and Champion of the Pokémon League on Indigo Plateau. The player can then travel to the Kanto region from the previous games and challenge the Gym Leaders there, discovering how much has changed in the three years following the events of ''Red'' and ''Blue''. After defeating the Kanto region's Gym Leaders, the player is allowed to enter the treacherous Mt. Silver area, home to very powerful Pokémon. Deep within Mt. Silver's caves is Red, the protagonist of ''Red'' and ''Blue'', whom the player can challenge for the most difficult battle in the game.

The novel is principally the story of Gervaise Macquart, who is featured briefly in the first novel in the series, ''La Fortune des Rougon'', running away to Paris with her shiftless lover Lantier to work as a washerwoman in a hot, busy laundry in one of the seedier areas of the city.

''L'Assommoir'' begins with Gervaise and her two young sons being abandoned by Lantier, who takes off for parts unknown with another woman. Though at first she swears off men altogether, eventually she gives in to the advances of Coupeau, a teetotal roofer, and they are married. The marriage sequence is one of the most famous set-pieces of Zola's work; the account of the wedding party's impromptu and chaotic trip to the Louvre is one of the novelist's most famous passages. Through a combination of happy circumstances, Gervaise is able to realise her dream and raise enough money to open her own laundry. The couple's happiness appears to be complete with the birth of a daughter, Anna, nicknamed Nana (the protagonist of Zola's later novel of the same title).

However, later in the story, we witness the downward trajectory of Gervaise's life from this happy high point. Coupeau is injured in a fall from the roof of a new hospital he is working on, and during his lengthy convalescence he takes first to idleness, then to gluttony, and eventually to drink. In only a few years, Coupeau becomes a vindictive, wife-beating alcoholic, with no intention of trying to find more work. Gervaise struggles to keep her home together, but her excessive pride leads her to a number of embarrassing failures and before long everything is going downhill. Gervaise becomes infected by her husband’s newfound laziness and, in an effort to impress others, spends her money on lavish feasts and accumulates uncontrolled debt.

The home is further disrupted by the return of Lantier, who is warmly welcomed by Coupeau - by this point losing interest in both Gervaise and life itself, and becoming seriously ill. The ensuing chaos and financial strain is too much for Gervaise, who loses her laundry-shop and is sucked into a spiral of debt and despair. Eventually, she too finds solace in drink and, like Coupeau, slides into heavy alcoholism. All this prompts Nana - already suffering from the chaotic life at home and getting into trouble on a daily basis - to run away from her parents' home and become a casual prostitute.

Gervaise’s story is told against a backdrop of a rich array of other well-drawn characters with their own vices and idiosyncrasies. Notable amongst these being Goujet, a young blacksmith, who spends his life in unconsummated love for the hapless laundress.

Eventually, sunk by debt, hunger and alcohol, Coupeau and Gervaise both die. The latter’s corpse lies for two days in her unkempt hovel before it is noticed by her disdaining neighbors.

The seven-minute short follows the story of Chronos and his ill-fated love for a mortal woman named Dahlia. The story continues as Dahlia dances through surreal scenery inspired by Dalí's paintings. There is no dialogue, but the soundtrack includes music by the Mexican composer Armando Dominguez. The 17-second original footage that is included in the finished product is the segment with the two tortoises (this original footage is referred to in Bette Midler's host sequence for ''The Steadfast Tin Soldier'' in ''Fantasia 2000'', as an "idea that featured baseball as a metaphor for life").

In the kingdom of Aruk, witches tell high priest Maax [ ] a prophecy that he will die at the hands of King Zed's unborn son. Maax sends one of his witches to kidnap and kill the child, but before she can, a villager rescues the child and raises him as his own son in the village of Emur. Named Dar, the child learns how to fight and develops his ability to telepathically communicate with animals. Years later, a fully grown Dar witnesses his people being slaughtered by the Juns, a horde of fanatic barbarians allied with Maax. Dar, the only survivor of the attack, journeys to Aruk to avenge his people. In time, Dar is joined by a golden eagle he names Sharak, a pair of thieving ferrets he names Kodo and Podo, and a black tiger he names Ruh.

Dar meets a slave girl called Kiri before getting himself lost and ending up surrounded by an eerie half-bird, half-human race who externally dissolve their prey for nourishment. As the bird-men worship eagles, they spare Dar when he summons Sharak and give him an amulet. Dar soon arrives at Aruk where Maax had assumed total control with the Juns' support. Maax has taken the children of the townspeople and is sacrificing them to his god, Ar. After having Sharak save the child of a townsman named Sacco, Dar learns that Kiri is to be sacrificed. On his way to save her, Dar is joined by Zed's younger son Tal and his bodyguard Seth, and learns that Kiri is Zed's niece as the three work to save her. While Seth gathers their forces, Dar helps Kiri and Tal infiltrate the temple and rescue King Zed.

An obstinate Zed leads his forces to attack the city, despite the prudent warnings of Dar, who leaves the group in anger. They all are easily defeated and captured, and Dar decides to return to save them from being sacrificed. In the conflict that follows, Maax reveals Dar's relationship to Zed before slitting Zed's throat and facing the Beastmaster. Despite being stabbed, Maax is revived by a witch and, when he attempts to kill Dar, Kodo sacrifices himself to cause the high priest to fall into the sacrificial flames. The victory is short-lived as the Jun horde approaches Aruk, arriving by nightfall to face the trap Dar and the people set for them. Tal is wounded as Dar succeeds in burning most of the Juns alive while defeating their chieftain before the bird-men arrive to consume those remaining. The following day, Seth invites Dar to be the new king, but Dar explains that Tal would make a better king, and he leaves Aruk. Dar sets off into the wild with Kiri, Ruh, Sharak and Podo, who has given birth to two baby ferrets.

One day, Yuka Misaki, a daughter of a flower shop owner meets Akio Asami, a college student. They are both attracted to each other, but they have no way to get in touch with each other at that time.

One year later, Yuka begins a job at her father's flower shop and Akio becomes a mathematics teacher at Motokura High School. One day in November, Yuka goes to the Motokura High School to collect money for the flowers and meets Akio again. However, they can't get along well. In January, Yuka gets a call from Ryuta Fujisawa and they promise to meet that afternoon. In the morning, Yuka goes to the school again to collect money that she couldn't collect before.

Akio finds Yuka in the playground and calls out to her. At that moment, a large earthquake occurs. By the time it stops, their school is surrounded by dry and sandy desert. Not only Yuka and Akio, but other students including Tadashi Otomo, Shou Takamatsu, Fumiya Ikegaki are in the school that day.

The students begin to panic, but Yuka and Akio try to calm them. At first, the students are pessimistic because there is not enough food and water. However, they begin to accept what happened to them. Many strange things happen in the desert. They see a total eclipse of the sun that they can't see in 2002. They see a train which should not exist in 2002. From those two things, they notice that they are in the future.

They start to think that they have to survive in that world and change the "future." Otherwise, there will be no "future." They begin to think about the reasons why they are transferred to the future. That is because they are chosen to change the future.

At the same time, they write a letter to them in the past. Everyone says that people have to live "now" at the best they can.

One day, an eruption occurs and the earth gets its natural sources back. In the past, they were spoiling the sources a lot without noticing. However, they learn the importance of the natural resources by now. They decide to save them and will not spoil them again.

Also, they use water to water flowers to raise the flowers and grasses. Several years later, the earth revive again and the school building is surrounded by grasses instead of deserts. They tried their best to live in the future and the future is changed.

Three English art students in Paris (Taffy, Laird, and William Bagot alias ‘Little Billee’) meet musicians Svengali and Gecko and the artist's model and laundress Trilby O’Ferrall.

Trilby is cheerful, kindhearted, bohemian, and completely tone-deaf: "Svengali would test her ear, as he called it, and strike the C in the middle and then the F just above, and ask which was higher; and she would declare they were both exactly the same." To the bemusement of the other characters, Trilby is unable to sing "Ben Bolt" in tune. Yet despite being off-key, her singing voice nonetheless has an impressive quality.

The Englishmen and Trilby become friends. Svengali tries to persuade Trilby to let him train her voice, but she finds him repulsive and even frightening. She and Little Billee fall in love, but his scandalized relatives get her to promise to leave him. She leaves Paris with her little brother, who later dies of scarlet fever. Trilby then falls under Svengali's influence. He hypnotises her and transforms her into a diva, La Svengali. Under his spell, Trilby becomes a talented singer, performing always in an amnesiac trance.

Five years later, Little Billee is a famous painter. He, Laird and Taffy recognise Trilby as she performs at a concert. Trilby sings beautifully but does not appear to be in good health.

Shortly before another performance, Gecko suddenly turns on Svengali and slashes him with a penknife. At the concert, Svengali is stricken by a heart attack and is unable to induce the trance. Trilby is unable to sing in tune and is subjected to "laughter, hoots, hisses, cat-calls, cock-crows." Not having been hypnotised, she is baffled and, though she can remember living and travelling with Svengali, cannot remember anything of her singing career. Suddenly an audience member yells:

: "Oh, ye're Henglish, har yer? Why don't yer sing as yer ''ought'' to sing — yer've got ''voice'' enough, any'ow! Why don't yer sing in ''tune?''"'' she cries ''"I didn't want to sing at all — I only sang because I was asked to sing — that gentleman asked — that French gentleman with the white waistcoat! I won't sing another note!"

As she leaves the stage, Svengali dies. Trilby is stricken with a nervous affliction. Despite the efforts of her friends, she dies some weeks later—staring at a picture of Svengali. Little Billee is devastated and dies shortly afterwards.

Some years later, Taffy meets Gecko again and learns how Svengali had hypnotised Trilby and damaged her health in the process. Gecko reveals that he had tried to kill Svengali because he could not bear to see Trilby hurt during their awful rehearsals.

The story is about , a high school girl who struggles to become good at tennis. While attending , Hiromi begins playing tennis after becoming fascinated by , an older girl who is the best player on the team and is nicknamed owing to her grace on the tennis court. The team gets a new coach, , who sees potential in Hiromi and trains her to become a great tennis player.

Hiromi struggles to overcome her mental weakness. Later, she falls in love with another tennis player, , but coach Munakata tells her not to get too involved and that she should forget him and work on her tennis skills. Hiromi often loses confidence in her playing abilities, but with the support of her coach and her friends she overcomes her anxiety. By training herself to become a better player, Hiromi grows into a mentally stronger person. Her enthusiasm, her love of tennis and the support from people around her helps her to become one of the best players in the world.

An Englishman named Wilson travels to Los Angeles to investigate the death of his daughter, Jenny, reported to have died in a car accident, while Wilson suspects murder. Recently released from a British prison, he is a hardened man. Arriving in Los Angeles, he meets Jenny's friends Eduardo and Elaine and questions them. Finding they pass his initial inquiry, he elicits their help in investigating Jenny's death. One suspect who emerges is Jenny's boyfriend, a record producer named Terry Valentine. In investigating him it is learned that in addition to his legitimate record company business, Valentine has involvement in drug trafficking. His involvement is managed through his security consultant, Avery. Wilson locates a warehouse used by the drug trafficker and questions the men there. Laughing at him, they insult his daughter, they beat him, and throw him out onto the street. Undeterred, Wilson draws a hidden pistol and returns to the warehouse, shooting dead all but one of the employees. As the survivor flees, Wilson shouts "Tell him ... I'm fucking coming!"

Seeking more information from Valentine, Wilson and Eduardo sneak into a party held at Valentine's house. Once there, Wilson searches for evidence of Valentine's involvement. He finds and steals a picture of Jenny. Attracting suspicion from Avery, Wilson is accosted by a guard whom he swiftly head-butts and throws over a railing to his death. Wilson and Eduardo flee, only to be chased by Avery, who rams their car with his own. Wilson rams Avery's in return, forcing it over a cliff. He and Eduardo escape but not before Avery hears Eduardo call out Wilson's name.

Back with Elaine and Eduardo, Wilson reminisces about his earlier life with his daughter, whom he remembers only as a child. Worried her father would be sent away to prison, she would often threaten to call the police whenever she found evidence of the crimes he was involved in or planning. He recalls she had never followed through on her threats because she loved him and it eventually became a sad joke between them. However, his life of crime put a strain on his family. He ended up in prison after the men he was involved with sold him out to the police.

Avery hires a hitman, Stacy, to track down and kill Wilson and Elaine. Stacy is prevented from making the hit by agents of the DEA, who have been monitoring Valentine as part of their investigation. Wilson and Elaine are then taken to meet a DEA investigator. The head agent makes it clear the DEA is after the dealer who used Valentine to launder drug money, and that the agents do not intend to interfere with Wilson's personal mission. He lets Wilson see their file on Valentine, including a photograph and address of a second home in Big Sur. Meanwhile, Stacy and his partner, angry at their beating at the hands of the DEA agents, plot to double cross Avery.

Avery moves Valentine to the house in Big Sur, unaware that Wilson now has the address. That night, Wilson enters the grounds. Avery's guards shoot an intruder who turns out to be Stacy and engage in a shootout with his partner, Uncle John, resulting in several deaths, including that of Avery himself. Valentine flees to the beach with Wilson in pursuit. Falling and breaking his ankle, Valentine cannot escape and begs for his life. He tells Wilson that Jenny had found out about his drug ties and threatened to call the police on him (reminding Wilson of what she had done as a child) and in his attempt to stop her Valentine had pushed Jenny against a wall where she received a fatal injury. In an effort to deflect attention from Valentine, Avery staged the car accident. Wilson knows Jenny would never have turned Valentine in.

He turns away, allowing Valentine to live. Wilson makes his farewells to Elaine and Eduardo, and returns to London.

Henry starred as Gareth Blackstock, a talented, arrogant, tyrannical and obsessed chef who has endlessly inventive insults for his staff, unknowing customers, and almost anyone else he encounters. Chef Blackstock's traditional French cuisine with an eclectic flair is served at "Le Château Anglais," a gourmet restaurant in the English countryside that is one of the few in the United Kingdom to receive a two-star rating from Michelin. The chef's quest for perfection and his lack of awareness about the costs of that perfection mean that the restaurant is on the brink of financial collapse when he and his wife Janice (played by Caroline Lee-Johnson) buy it early in the first series. The establishment mostly remains on that brink, despite Janice's best efforts as manager, eventually coming under the control of the boorish Cyril Bryson (Dave Hill) in the final series.

Although focused on the restaurant's kitchen, the countryside (with its black market suppliers) and the Blackstocks' home life are also backdrops for the show; the chef's long hours mean that Janice is routinely neglected in the bedroom, and their plans for a family remain delayed.

The novel's protagonist, Aiah, is a minor functionary for the Plasm Authority in the metropolis of Jaspeer; the Authority is the public utility company that taps plasm wells and sells the plasm (at very high rates) to those who would use it. Aiah is one of the Barkazi, an ethnic group whose metropolis, Barkazil, was engulfed by civil war several generations ago, its territory partitioned and occupied by the adjacent metropolises and its population dispersed as refugees. Barkazi religion centers around a trickster god, Karlo, who is constantly running scams on others, and the tradition of the scam, or ''chonah,'' is central to their culture. Aiah briefly studied plasm use at university, but ended her studies because of the high cost of the plasm required to continue them.

Working for an emergency response team investigating a huge flaming apparition of a woman that damages several city blocks, she discovers a previously unknown plasm well of tremendous power (the apparition being caused by a woman who blundered into the well and tapped the plasm directly, killing herself in the process). Instead of disclosing its location, she leads the Authority on a wild goose chase while trying to decide on how best to use it to her advantage.

She decides to reveal it to Constantine, a resident of a luxury apartment complex near her own. Constantine is a skilled mage and visionary political theorist with dreams of moving the world beyond its stagnant situation. He became Metropolitan of his home metropolis and attempted to implement many reforms, but was betrayed, forced from power, and exiled by those closest to him. Aiah, an admirer of his political thought, discloses the plasm source to him so that he might make another attempt at realizing his plans for the "New City", asking only that she be made a part of whatever he carries out.

Aiah then effectively runs a ''chonah'' of enormous scale, misleading the Authority, dealing with her Barkazi extended family (who want a piece of whatever action she is in on) and the local organized crime group, keeping her Jaspeeri husband (working in a distant metropolis) in the dark, and avoiding the potentially lethal attentions of Constantine's right-hand-woman, Sorya. Through all of this she has a love affair with Constantine and receives training in magery from him, for which she has a great deal of natural talent.

At the novel's climax, Aiah's plasm source, and her own magical assistance, is a crucial element when Constantine orchestrates a revolution in the metropolis of Caraqui and installs himself in its post-revolutionary power structure, from which position he hopes to enact his New City reforms. Realizing that she has no hope of using her full potential as a bureaucrat in Jaspeer, Aiah leaves her job, family, and marriage behind and travels to Caraqui to help Constantine achieve his dream.

In 2026, a wormhole portal, the Ark, to an ancient city on Mars is discovered deep below the Nevada desert. Twenty years later, the 85 personnel at the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) research facility on Mars are attacked by an unknown assailant. Following a distress call sent by Dr. Carmack, a squad of eight Marines are sent to the research facility. The team includes squad leader Sgt. Asher "Sarge" Mahonin, "Duke", "Goat", "Destroyer", Portman, "Mac", a rookie ("Kid") and John "Reaper" Grimm. They are sent on a search-and-destroy mission to Mars, with UAC only concerned with the retrieval of computer data from their anthropology, archeology, and genetics experiments.

The team uses the Ark to reach Mars, ordering the Earth site on lockdown. Arriving on Mars, they are met by UAC employee "Pinky". Reaper finds his twin sister, Dr. Sam Grimm, and escorts her to retrieve the data. He learns that a dig site, where their parents were accidentally killed years earlier, was reopened and ancient skeletons of a humanoid race genetically enhanced with an artificial 24th chromosome pair were discovered.

While searching for survivors in the facility, the Marines find a traumatized and injured Dr. Carmack and escort him to the medical lab for treatment, but he later disappears. The Marines shoot at an unknown creature in the genetics lab that leads them down into the facility's sewer, where it attacks and kills Goat. They kill the creature and take it to the medical lab, where Sam performs an autopsy and discovers that its organs are human. She and Duke witness Goat resurrecting and killing himself by smashing his head against a reinforced window. The two are attacked by a creature, trap it, and soon deduce that it is a mutated Dr. Carmack.

The squad methodically tracks down and destroys several of the creatures, though Mac, Destroyer, and Portman die in the process. An angered Sarge kills the mutated Dr. Carmack. Sam, Reaper, and Sarge learn that UAC was experimenting on humans using the extra Martian Chromosome (C24) harvested from the remains of the ancient skeletons, but the mutants got loose, leading to the outbreak. Sam and Reaper try to convince Sarge that the creatures are humans from the facility, mutated by the C24 serum and that not all of those infected will fully transform into the creatures. Sam hypothesizes that some of those injected with C24 will develop superhuman abilities but retain their humanity, while others with a predisposition for violent or psychotic behavior will become creatures, a pattern she believes also happened with the Martians, who built the Ark to escape.

Some creatures use the Ark to reach Earth, where they slaughter or mutate the research staff. The Marines, Sam, and Pinky follow, and Sarge orders the squad to sanitize the entire facility. When Kid informs Sarge that he found, but refuses to kill, a group of survivors, Sarge executes Kid for insubordination, leading to a standoff with an armed Pinky. The group is suddenly attacked by creatures who kill Duke and drag Sarge and Pinky away. Reaper is wounded by a ricocheting bullet. To prevent him from bleeding to death, Sam injects her brother with the C24 serum, despite his concern that his violent past predisposes him to transform into a creature.

Reaper regains consciousness and finds his wounds have healed and that Sam has gone missing. Using his new C24 superhuman abilities, he fights his way through the facility, even battling a mutated and monstrous Pinky before finding an unconscious Sam with Sarge, who has become infected and has murdered the group of survivors Kid had previously found. Reaper and Sarge battle, both of them enhanced with superhuman powers. Reaper is able to gain the upper hand and throws Sarge through the Ark back to Mars along with a grenade, which destroys Sarge and the Mars facility. Reaper then carries his unconscious sister into the elevator and rides back up to the ground level in Nevada.

On October 6, 1971, an American infantryman, Jacob Singer, is with the 1st Air Cavalry Division, deployed in a village in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, when his close-knit unit comes under sudden attack. As many of Jacob's comrades are killed or wounded, others exhibit abnormal behavior with some suffering catatonia, convulsions, and seizures. Jacob flees into the jungle, only to be stabbed with a bayonet by an unseen assailant.

Jacob awakens in the New York City Subway, where, after glimpsing what he believes to be a tentacle protruding from a sleeping homeless person, an inexplicably locked subway station exit results in him almost being hit by a train. The year is 1975, he works as a postal clerk, and lives in a rundown apartment in Brooklyn with his girlfriend, Jezebel. Jacob misses his old family and experiences visions of them, especially the youngest of his sons, Gabe, who had died in an accident before the war. Jacob is increasingly beset by disturbing experiences and apparitions, including glimpses of faceless vibrating figures, and narrowly escapes being run over by a pursuing car. He attempts to contact his regular doctor at the local VA hospital, but after first being told that there is no record of him ever being a patient there, Jacob is told that his doctor has died in a car explosion.

At a party thrown by friends, a psychic reads Jacob's palm and tells him that he is already dead, which Jacob dismisses as a joke. After declining to dance with her, he appears to witness an enormous creature penetrating Jezzie before he collapses. At home, Jacob experiences a dangerous fever, which Jezzie attempts to bring down with a painful ice bath. Jacob briefly wakes up in another reality where he lives with his wife and sons, including a still-alive Gabe. First-person perspective scenes of apparent flashbacks to his time in Vietnam show Jacob, badly wounded, being discovered by American soldiers before being evacuated under fire in a helicopter.

One of Jacob's former platoon mates, Paul, contacts him to reveal he is suffering from similar experiences, but is soon afterwards killed when his car explodes. Commiserating after the funeral, other surviving members of the platoon confess that they have all been experiencing horrifying hallucinations. Believing that they are suffering the effects of a military experiment performed on them without their knowledge or consent, they hire a lawyer to investigate. However the lawyer quits the case after reading military files documenting that the soldiers were never in combat and were discharged for psychological reasons. Jacob's comrades soon back down while Jacob suspects they have been threatened into doing so. He is abducted by suited men who try to intimidate him. Jacob fights them and escapes but is injured and nearly paralyzed in the process. He is taken to a nightmarish hospital, where he is told he has been killed and this is home, but his chiropractor friend Louis comes to his rescue and heals him. Louis quotes the 14th-century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart:

Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: "The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you", he said. "They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and ... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."

Jacob is approached by a distressed man who had been following him from a distance and who also dragged him away from Paul's burning car. Introducing himself as Michael Newman, he tells a story of having been a chemist with the Army's chemical warfare division where he designed a drug he called the Ladder, which massively increased aggression. Michael claims that, to test the drug's effectiveness, a dose was secretly given to Jacob's unit before the battle, causing some of them to turn on each other in a homicidal frenzy. Michael's story triggers a vision of Jacob's wounding in Vietnam, which shows his attacker as a fellow American soldier. Jacob returns to his family's home, where he finds Gabe, who takes him by the hand and leads him up the staircase into a bright light. The scene turns to a triage tent in 1971 as military doctors declare Jacob dead. The doctor notes that Jacob had put up a tremendous fight to stay alive, but looked peaceful in death.

In 1889, Maggie is the only cow left on the Dixon Ranch after a wanted cattle rustler named Alameda Slim stole all the rest of Mr. Dixon's cattle. Dixon has no other choice than to sell Maggie to Pearl Gesner, a kind, aging woman who runs a small farm called Patch of Heaven. Sam Brown, the local Sheriff, arrives to tell Pearl that her bank is cracking down on debtors. Pearl has three days to pay the bank $750, or her farm will be sold to the highest bidder. Hearing this, Maggie convinces the other cows on the farm (Grace, a happy-go-lucky character, and Mrs. Calloway, who has had leadership go to her head) to go to town to attempt winning prize money at a fair. While the cows are in town, a bounty hunter named Rico (whom Buck, the Sheriff's horse, idolizes) drops a criminal off and collects the reward. Stating he needs a replacement horse to go after Alameda Slim while his own horse rests, he takes Buck. When Maggie finds out that the reward for capturing Slim is exactly $750, she convinces the other cows to try to capture him to save Patch of Heaven.

That night, they hide among a large herd of steers, when Alameda Slim appears. Before any of them can do anything, Slim begins a yodeling song which sends all the cattle (except Grace, who is tone deaf) into a trance that causes them to dance madly and follow Slim anywhere. Grace is able to bring Maggie and Mrs. Calloway back to their senses just before Slim closes the path behind him with a rock-slide to stop Rico and his men from chasing him. As Rico discusses with his men what his next move will be, Buck starts talking with Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway as old friends and miming actions. This causes Rico to believe Buck is frightened by cows, so he sends Buck back to the Sheriff. Buck escapes, determined to capture Slim for himself to prove his worth.

Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway continue their search for Slim, determined to pass Buck and get to Slim first, but they have a fallout when they lose the trail in a flash flood. Mrs. Calloway accuses Maggie of wanting to go after Slim only as a personal vendetta, arguing that she and Grace are better off without Maggie. The three spend the night under a large rock, with Maggie deciding to leave the next morning while Grace and Mrs. Calloway decide to return to Patch of Heaven to say their final farewells. The next morning, however, they are awakened by a peg-legged jackrabbit named Lucky Jack, who has also lost his home, an old mine, to Alameda Slim. Maggie decides to go after Slim with Lucky Jack in tow, but Grace convinces Mrs. Calloway that they help. Lucky Jack leads the three cows to Slim's lair in Echo Mine. At the mine, Slim reveals that he has been stealing all cattle from his former patrons. When his former patrons can no longer support their land, Slim buys the land when it is auctioned off, under the guise of the respectable-looking Yancy O'Dell, using the very money he gets from selling the cattle he stole.

After arriving at Slim's lair, the cows capture Slim. They run off with Slim's accomplices and buyer in pursuit on a steam train. Rico arrives. When the chase stops, Rico is revealed to work for Slim. Crushed by this, Buck decides to help the cows and fights Rico while setting the other cattle free. Slim dons his Yancy O'Dell costume and leaves the cows stranded in the middle of the desert with the train, while he goes to attend the auction. However, the cows arrive using the train to the farm and expose Slim. Slim is arrested, and Patch of Heaven is saved by the reward money.

A few weeks pass, and at the county fair, most of the livestock on Patch of Heaven have won prizes. Lucky Jack moves in with Jebb the Goat, and two steer and Slim's charming and gentlemanly steed Junior the Buffalo arrive unexpectedly to live at Patch of Heaven, expanding the farm.

The story is a satire of the film industry and Hollywood society. The main character, Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan), is a phenomenally successful film producer who has just made the first major flop of his career, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to his movie studio and his own sanity. Felix attempts suicide four times: He attempts to die of carbon monoxide poisoning in his car, only to have it accidentally slip into gear and crash through the side of his garage, down a sand dune and into the Pacific Ocean. He then attempts to hang himself from a rafter in an upstairs bedroom, only to fall and crash through the floor, landing on a poisonous Hollywood gossip columnist standing in the living room below. Subsequently, he tries to gas himself in his kitchen oven, but is prevented from carrying out his intent by two party guests with other things on their mind.

Felix spends roughly the first quarter of the film in a catatonic state or heavily sedated while his friends and hangers-on occupy his Malibu beach house. The occupation leads to a party which degenerates into an orgy. Finally, he tries to shoot himself with a police officer's gun, but is prevented from doing so by the ministrations of a young woman wearing only a pair of panties. The experience gives him the sudden realization that the reason for his film's failure was its lack of sex.

Felix resolves to save both the film and his reputation. He persuades the studio to sell him the rights to the film and then tries to convince his wife Sally Miles (Julie Andrews), an Oscar-winning movie star with a squeaky-clean image, to appear in the revised film - a soft-core pornographic musical in which she must appear topless. He liquidates most of his financial holdings to buy the existing footage and to finance further production. If he fails, both he and Sally will be impoverished, at least by Hollywood standards.

At first the studio executives are keen to unload the film onto Felix and recoup their investment, but when Sally goes through with the topless scene and the film seems a likely success, they plot to regain control. Using California's community property laws, they persuade Sally to sign a distribution deal which also gives the studio the right to edit the film. An angry and deranged Felix tries to steal the film negatives from the studio's color lab vault. Armed with his son's water pistol, Felix takes the lab's manager (Hamilton Camp) hostage. Hysterical, Felix points the water pistol at police; the police shoot and kill Felix, believing the toy gun to be real.

Felix's tragic death creates a crisis for his cronies Tim Culley (William Holden), the director of ''Night Wind''; Ben Coogan (Robert Webber), Sally's press agent; and Dr. Irving Finegarten (Robert Preston), Felix and Sally's physician; the trio plan to save their friend from the lavish but hypocritical Hollywood funeral and give Felix a proper sendoff. They steal his body from the funeral home, substituting the corpse of a once popular but largely forgotten character actor who died on the beach near the Farmer home in the first scene of the film. After toasting their fallen comrade, the three give Felix a Viking funeral in a burning dinghy, while the actor gets the elaborate Hollywood sendoff many thought he deserved.

The epilogue later reveals that Felix's revamped film was a box office smash for the studio and Sally won another Academy Award for her performance.

The movie within the movie

Little is seen of the movie which is the focus of the plot, except for an extended dream sequence and a brief shot close to the end. The title is ''Night Wind'', which provokes the headline "Critics Break Wind" seen on a copy of ''Variety'' at the start of ''S.O.B.'' after the initial flop. The plot of ''Night Wind'' is kept vague; it involves a frigid businesswoman (played by Sally) whose inability to love a "male chauvinist" rival executive stems from a childhood trauma that led to her sexual detachment.

The climax of ''Night Wind'' is the first scene of ''S.O.B.'', an elaborate song and dance sequence set to "Polly Wolly Doodle", in which Sally wanders through a room full of giant toys (several of which come to life), singing the song while dressed as a tomboy. The implication is that her father's death caused Andrews's character to renounce childhood and become a cold, frigid person.

A second scene, taking place at the end of the film, has Sally's character arrive at the home of her would-be lover after the dream, where he reveals that he still loves her, "despite everything."

When Felix rewrites the film to make it into soft porn, changes are made: Sally's character goes from sexually frigid to being a nymphomaniac. Her lover goes from male chauvinist to being a secret cross dresser. Felix axes the entire song sequence, turning it from a dream to a hallucination "... caused by a powerful aphrodisiac put into her Bosco" and replacing the regular version of "Polly Wolly Doodle" with a more haunting version. He has the "toys" dress in more erotic outfits, and includes a carnival barker-type muscle man (portrayed by ''S.O.B.'''s choreographer, Paddy Stone), who tempts Andrews' character before she rejects him by flashing her breasts.

Set in a fictional universe, Train Heartnet, once an assassin for Chronos, an organization bent on world peace that rules one third of the world's economy, is now an easygoing Sweeper (licensed bounty hunter) traveling with his partner Sven Vollfied. They meet and team up with professional thief Rinslet Walker in order to break into an arms dealer's home and obtain some data, but encounter a human bio-weapon named Eve that was created using nanotechnology. Sven and Train ultimately decide to free Eve from her owner and train her to be a Sweeper. Rinslet is kidnapped by Creed Diskenth, a former Chronos assassin that killed Train's friend Saya Minatsuki for changing Train's outlook on life and which contributed to him leaving Chronos, to persuade Train to join his group the Apostles of the Stars in order to overthrow Chronos and start a world revolution. The duel ends as a draw, with both Creed and Train injured.

The Apostles of the Stars launch their first attack on the World Summit, killing the leaders from 20 top nations, causing Chronos to declare war on them. Chronos even notify Train of a new Sweeper bounty on Creed in order to gain his help, though he resists, planning to go after him on his own terms. Chronos assassin Jenos Hazard is sent to hire Rinslet to gather information on the Apostles, however, this is really in order to use her as bait to lure Creed out of hiding and force Train to get involved, who was lured to the same area via false Sweeper intel. Jenos and the other two members of the special unit Cerebus launch an assault on Creed's lair, that results in it being turned to rubble, while Train simply rescues Rinslet and leaves. Creed then tries to kill Sven, believing he is holding Train back from joining him, but accidentally shoots Train with a nanomachine-enhanced bullet that has the unplanned effect of reverting his body to that of a child. In order to return Train to normal, Train, Sven and Eve visit nanotechnology expert Dr. Tearju, who is also Eve's creator. While there, the Apostles of the Stars attack to force Tearju to join them in order to grant Creed eternal life through nanomachines, but are defeated by a returned Train who can now fire a railgun shot thanks to the nanomachines. However, Eathes was able to copy Tearju, gaining all of her knowledge, and Train, Sven and Eve finally decide to put a stop to Creed.

They team up with a group called the Sweeper Alliance to storm the Apostles of the Stars' island, organized by Chronos assassin Lin Shaolee in disguise to act as decoys for Chronos' own attack. Separated upon arriving, Train, Sven and Eve each get involved in fights with members of the Apostles, while Chronos, who landed after them, get to Creed first. Sephiria Arks faces off against Creed, but loses. Sven, Eve and Chronos then fight bio-warrior weapons fused with nanotechnology, while Train begins his battle with Creed. Creed has obtained immortality, although he reveals to Train his only weakness; his brain cannot be repaired like the rest of his body. Train defeats Creed using one last full-powered railgun shot to destroy his Imagine Blade and Eve uses her own nanomachines to take those that give Creed immortality out of his body. Train and Sephiria allow Creed to walk away, and the survivors of the Apostles of the Stars are shown on the run or hiding.

Picking up where ''Power Rangers Turbo'' left off, Dark Specter has captured Zordon and is beginning to drain his powers. An assortment of old and new villains praise his victory, but an unexpected figure uncovers his plan: the Red Space Ranger, Andros. Dark Specter orders the Princess of Evil, Astronema, to eliminate Andros so he can't jeopardize his plans.

Meanwhile, four of the former Turbo Rangers (T.J. Johnson, Carlos Vallerte, Ashley Hammond and Cassie Chan) and Alpha 6 are traveling in a NASADA space shuttle with the intent to save Zordon. They are pulled aboard the Astro Megaship and later encounter Andros. Though initially suspicious and dismissive of the four former Turbo Rangers, Andros realizes he'll need their help to save Zordon and gives them each an Astro Morpher. Additionally, modifications allow the NASADA space shuttle and the Astro Megaship to combine into the powerful Astro Megazord. The new Space Rangers team then returns to Earth for repairs and supplies, but are followed by Astronema.

The Space Rangers alternate between searching for Zordon and protecting Earth. From the Dark Fortress, Astronema seeks to eliminate them via Ecliptor (who raised her), Quantrons and a variety of monsters. Elgar has also been added to her team, but he remains a comedic bungler. Over time, allies (such as Phantom Ranger, Justin Stewart and Adam Park) offer the Rangers invaluable aid, with Zhane (the Silver Space Ranger) emerging from cryo-sleep and joining the team. New Zords are also introduced. Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull become assistants to wacky scientist Professor Phenomenus and join him in searching for aliens.

While dedicated to finding Zordon, Andros has another quest: finding his sister, Karone, who was kidnapped when they were children. Over time, Andros discovers his sister was kidnapped by Darkonda, the arch rival of Ecliptor who has multiple lives. Much to Andros' surprise, it turns out that Karone is Astronema, who was raised by Ecliptor to be evil. Andros is able to convince Astronema of the truth and she defects with Ecliptor's help. Unfortunately just as quickly, she and Ecliptor are both recaptured and reprogrammed to follow Dark Specter.

The reprogramming of Ecliptor worked excellent at first in returning him to being completely hostile to the Space Rangers, but the reprogramming also seemed to fade a tiny bit towards the end of the season. On the other hand, Astronema had become more evil than ever, as she not only wants to destroy the Space Rangers, but also Dark Specter. To that end, she unleashes the Psycho Rangers. The five robotic and borderline insane villains possess great power, which secretly comes from Dark Specter. Every time they fight, Dark Specter is drained of power and grows weaker. Individually, each Psycho Ranger is too powerful for their Space Ranger equivalents. But the Psycho Rangers are not as good with teamwork, and the six Space Rangers are able to overcome them with a great deal of effort and teamwork. Soon after, the Rangers suffer setbacks that see two Megazords destroyed, which are the Delta Megazord and The Mega Voyager.

Everything culminates in the two-part finale, "Countdown to Destruction", where Zordon is nearly completely drained and Dark Specter orders the villains under his command to attack the entire universe. Across the universe, the Alien, Gold Zeo and Phantom Rangers, the Blue Senturion, and KO-35's rebels are defeated and captured. The Space Rangers struggle to defend Earth, but are overwhelmed and forced to retreat. Even Zhane and his Zord, the Mega Winger, are no match, with the Mega Winger ending up destroyed. The treacherous Darkonda kills Dark Specter, who returns the favor before his own death, leaving Astronema in command as the Queen of Evil. While Andros boards the Dark Fortress to appeal to his sister, the remaining five Space Rangers engage in one last fight for Earth and are joined by the citizens of Angel Grove, with Bulk and Skull leading the charge.

On the Dark Fortress, Andros finds Zordon, who requests his energy tube be shattered. Doing so will release good energy that will destroy the forces of evil and save the universe, but also kill him. Following battles with Astronema and Ecliptor, Andros has no choice but to comply. The many monsters are subsequently turned to dust by the energy wave (including Ecliptor), while Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, Divatox and Astronema are changed into normal, non-evil humans. With the universe now safe, T.J., Cassie, Carlos, Ashley and Alpha 6 intend to settle down on Earth. Though initially intending to remain on KO-35 with their people, Andros, Zhane and Karone decide to join their friends on Earth.

Every episode is followed up with at least one "''Planeteer Alert''" clip, often connected to the plot, where environmental-political and other social-political issues are discussed and how the viewer can contribute and be part of "the solution" rather than "the pollution".

A soccer player, a computer expert, a singer and then eventually both an artist and a teacher with a long history of such situations become Power Rangers to help save Earth from the ruthless scheming of the dinosauric Mesogog who wishes to eradicate all human life and return Earth to the age of dinosaurs. Mesogog is assisted in his ways by Elsa, Zeltrax, and an army each of both Tyrannodrones and Triptoids as well as monsters that they call their Mutations.

In this season, Tommy Oliver, from ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (starting from part 1 of season 1's 5-part story, 'Green With Evil') to ''Power Rangers Turbo'' (Tommy's last appearance in the franchise onwards would be in the final scene of part 2 of ''Turbo'' s two-part story 'Passing the Torch' (episodes 18 to 19)) fame with a guest appearance in ''Wild Force'' s Red Ranger team-up special 'Forever Red', returns as a paleontology professor in Reefside, California and so he is known as Dr. Tommy Oliver (sometimes named by some in short as Dr. O). When he is assigned three detention students by Principle Randall (the human disguise of Elsa):

• athlete Conner McKnight
• computer expert Ethan James
• singer Kira Ford

...they end up finding three Dino Gems - one for each teen, paving the way for their destiny as Dino Rangers. * Conner gains the powers of both the Tyrannozord and super running speed * Ethan gains the powers of both the Tricerazord and energy-formed skin-shield defense * Kira gains the powers of both the Pterazord and sonic screams

Five episodes into the series, Tommy once again becomes a Power Ranger by bonding with the Black Dino Gem (and receiving its power of invisibility - the first of two Dino Gem powers related to stealth) and therefore becoming the Black Dino Ranger (and ultimately becoming the first Power Ranger in history to also bear the role of the mentor of a new team of Rangers) and they are also later joined by Anton Mercer's adopted son Trent (some media reveals his family name, after 'Mercer', to be 'Fermandez' - 'Fermandez-Mercer') as the White Dino Ranger, whose White Dino Gem grants him the power of camouflage (another Dino Gem power related to stealth) - before he joins, he must deal with the inner struggle of good and evil (as Tommy himself once had to do as the evil Green Ranger) because he gained his powers from a raw Dino Gem in Mesogog's lab, with the powers originally intended to be Mesogog's. Mesogog is, in fact, Trent's adopted father, who, in a faulty lab experiment, began to mutate into Mesogog. Trent later sides with good and saves his father from the mutation.

During the course of the series, the team adds the following to its arsenal of Zords: Cephalozord (based on the ''Pachycephalosaurus''), Dimetrozord (based on the ''Dimetrodon''), Stegozord (based on the ''Stegosaurus''), Parasaurzord (based on the ''Parasaurolophus''), and Ankylozord (based on the ''Ankylosaurus''). The Stegozord later combines with Trent's Dragozord (based on the ''Tupuxuara'') to form the Dino Stegozord, effectively stealing the Stegozord. Tommy is paired with the Brachiozord (based on the ''Brachiosaurus''), a carrier Zord for most, but not all, of the other Zords. Conner is also later given the powers of the Shield of Triumph to morph into the Triassic Ranger for extra power and pilots the Mezodon Rover/Megazord (based on the ''Styracosaurus''), the Zord that corresponds with the Triassic Ranger powers, which can combine with the Cephalo, Dimetro, Parasaur and Ankylozords to form the Triceramax Megazord.

At the end of the series, the Rangers destroy Mesogog with their raw Dino Gem powers combined into a single last-resort attack which burns out the gems in the process beyond any possibility of the powers restoring at all (Just before this final battle, they are forced to sacrifice the Zords in their last battle with Zeltrax). Finally they return to their normal lives.

Like Nesbit's ''The Railway Children'', the story begins when a group of children move from London to the countryside of Kent. The five children – Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother, known as the Lamb – are playing in a gravel pit when they uncover a rather grumpy, ugly, and occasionally malevolent Psammead, a sand-fairy with the ability to grant wishes. The Psammead persuades the children to take one wish each day to be shared among them, with the caveat that the wishes will turn to stone at sunset. This, apparently, used to be the rule in the Stone Age, when all that children wished for was food, the bones of which then became fossils. The five children's first wish is to be "as beautiful as the day." The wish ends at sunset and its effects simply vanish, leading the Psammead to observe that some wishes are too fanciful to be changed to stone.

All the wishes go comically wrong. The children wish to be beautiful, but the servants do not recognise them and shut them out of the house. They wish to be rich, then find themselves with a gravel-pit full of gold spade guineas that no shop will accept as they are no longer in circulation, so they cannot buy anything. A wish for wings seems to be going well, but at sunset the children find themselves stuck on top of a church bell tower with no way down, getting them into trouble with the gamekeeper who must take them home (though this wish has the happy side-effect of introducing the gamekeeper to the children's housemaid, who later marries him). Robert is bullied by the baker's boy, then wishes that he was bigger — whereupon he becomes eleven feet tall, and the other children show him at a travelling fair for coins. They also wish themselves into a castle, only to learn that it is being besieged, while a wish to meet real Red Indians ends with the children nearly being scalped.

The children's infant brother, the Lamb, is the victim of two wishes gone awry. In one, the children become annoyed with tending their brother and wish that someone else would want him, leading to a situation where ''everyone'' wants the baby, and the children must fend off kidnappers and Gypsies. Later, they wish that the baby would grow up faster, causing him to grow all at once into a selfish, smug young man who promptly leaves them all behind.

Finally, the children accidentally wish that they could give a wealthy woman's jewellery to their mother, causing all the jewellery to appear in their home. It seems that the gamekeeper, who is now their friend, will be blamed for robbery, and the children must beg the Psammead for a complex series of wishes to set things right. It agrees, on the condition that they will never ask for any more wishes. Only Anthea, who has grown close to It, makes sure that the final wish is that they will meet It again. The Psammead assures them that this wish will be granted.

In 1945, beautiful ingenue Anne Welles moves to New York to escape the ennui of her hometown of Lawrenceville, Massachusetts. She finds employment as a secretary to Henry Bellamy, an entertainment lawyer, and befriends Neely O'Hara, an ebullient vaudevillian and aspiring stage actress. When the theatrical attorney Lyon Burke returns from the war to the agency, Anne quickly falls in love with him despite already casually dating a small-time salesman, Allen Cooper. Anne is warned, especially by Henry, not to get involved with Lyon, a known heartbreaker. After a short period of dating, Allen reveals to her that he is secretly a millionaire testing her feelings for him and that he is in love with her, before proposing to her. Despite Anne's protests that she does not want to marry him, Allen alerts the media, and the apparent love story becomes a sensation.

Anne befriends Helen Lawson, a brilliant but ruthless Broadway legend, whom Anne is drawn to because of her apparent vulnerability and loneliness. Neely and her familial troupe are hired onto Helen's latest production, but Helen takes a dislike to Neely and minimizes her role. Anne uses her friendship with Helen and Lyon to secure Neely a bigger role, and Neely becomes a breakout star; Helen cruelly rejects Anne by revealing she was only interested in Anne's friendship for the chance at a sexual relationship with Allen's father. Anne also ends up befriending Jennifer North, a kind-hearted actress famous for her attractive figure who is also involved in the production. Anne assists Jennifer in having her marriage to an impoverished foreign prince annulled. On the night of the show's opening, Anne and Lyon consummate their feelings, and Anne and Allen finally break up. Anne moves in with Lyon and sells Allen's engagement ring, investing the money with Henry's help on Jennifer's advice. The production is a massive success, and Neely enjoys a meteoric rise to fame and moves to California with her new husband to begin a film career. Anne's mother dies and she returns to Lawrenceville with Lyon, who wants the two of them to live in the inherited house so that he can start his career as a novelist. Though Anne loves Lyon and wants to be with him, she refuses to live in Lawrenceville and leave New York. Lyon, unwilling to be supported by her, breaks up with her and moves back to England to write, leaving Anne heartbroken. Though Anne takes years to move on, she eventually becomes the face of older, wealthy Kevin Gillmore's line of beauty products, and starts a relationship with him.

Meanwhile, Jennifer begins a relationship with the childish, sex-obsessed Tony Polar, a well-known singer, but their romantic progression is frequently intercepted by his domineering manager and older sister, Miriam. Jennifer, desiring only to be loved, pressures him into marrying her and quickly falls pregnant despite knowing of his infidelity. After reuniting with an increasingly unsympathetic Neely, who is in the midst of an affair, Jennifer becomes dependent on "dolls," amphetamines and barbiturates to calm her frayed nerves. Finally, Miriam reveals the reason for her opposition to the relationship: Tony, already barely mentally competent, has developmental issues, which the baby will likely inherit. Tony himself will likely be committed to a mental asylum within a few decades. Devastated, Jennifer has an abortion and agrees to the divorce. Jennifer then leaves for Europe, finding a career breakout in European arthouse films, which, owing to her nudity, are considered softcore pornography in the United States.

Years later, in 1950, Neely has become an established, celebrated actress enjoying a lucrative film career and twin sons with her second husband, with whom she had been having an affair. However, long workdays and the stress over her husband's infidelity (with both men and women) keep her dependent on the "dolls," and she is becoming increasingly unpopular with the studio because of her tantrums and walkouts running her films over budget. Neely's second husband leaves after she discovers his affair with a younger actress, and her studio head threatens to end her career if she walks out of another take. A stressed Neely accidentally overdoses on the "dolls," but makes a full recovery. The head still manages to get her fired from the production by ordering the director to put extra pressure on her, and Neely is replaced with the head's young lover. A sympathetic Anne reconnects with her; Kevin hatches a plot to resurrect Neely's career by having her sing on a televised spectacular for his brand. Neely at first refuses, but following a successful supper club performance and a belligerent run-in with a downturning Helen, she agrees to it. She is unable to cope with the demands of the rehearsals and overdoses to avoid performing. Owing to union rules that she has breached, she is unable to work for another year. To Anne's distress, Neely disappears to Europe.

Jennifer, in Europe, is pressured to undergo surgery to hide her age; as she has always lied about her true age, she is now ten years older than her claimed age of 27. She agrees to the surgery, after losing weight in a drastic "sleep cure" treatment. Unhappy with her European career and boyfriend, she returns to the United States to continue acting. Three years later, she becomes engaged to an older senator who she believes loves her for more than her body, and she is excited to get married and have a child; a routine test reveals that she has breast cancer and will require a mastectomy, and though the treatment will likely save her, it will render her infertile. After her unaware fiancé assures her that he didn't want children and makes a comment suggesting he's only interested in her body, a despondent Jennifer becomes convinced that she will never be loved for who she is. Escaping from the hospital, Jennifer returns to her hotel room and commits suicide.

In 1961, Neely reappears in the midst of Jennifer's funeral after a drug-ridden venture through Europe. Her career resurrection is halted when she loses her voice, apparently from psychological issues. After bungling a self-harm attempt, Neely becomes institutionalized, which a guilty Anne pays for. Though Neely initially chafes under the hospital's oppressive rules, she begrudgingly submits to them in order to be able to eventually leave. Meanwhile, Lyon returns to New York and reconnects with Anne, much to the chagrin of Kevin, who has been in a relationship with Anne for over a decade; weakened by an earlier heart attack, he fears losing Anne. Anne is unable to overcome her passion for Lyon, and the two begin an affair. Though Kevin alternates between lashing out at Anne in jealousy and pleading with her to return, he eventually breaks up with her, and Anne and Lyon reunite. Sometime later, Neely finds her voice again, after an impromptu sanitarium performance with a now-incompetent Tony Polar. Anne works with Henry, who is retiring, to get Lyon to abandon his nonstarter career as a writer and become a partner at the agency, with Henry loaning Lyon money secretly funded by Anne.

Lyon is initially put off by Neely, who has become obese but successfully plots her career comeback after her release. Anne and Lyon get married and Anne quickly becomes pregnant, but her happiness is short-lived when Neely demands that Lyon escort her everywhere on her lucrative comeback tour. Lyon learns from Neely about Anne's deception and is outraged by her help, feeling emasculated. Lyon begins a brazen affair with the rejuvenated, newly slim Neely despite his new baby with Anne; Anne is increasingly left alone as he and the now-possessive and cruel Neely (who has become self-centered and arrogant owing to her newfound success and resentful of Anne) spend every night together. Henry persuades Anne to wait out the humiliating, public affair and pretend she knows nothing, assuring her that Lyon will grow tired of Neely and return to her. The affair stretches out for years, with Neely pressuring Lyon to end his marriage and Anne becoming dependent on the "dolls" to relax, but Lyon reluctantly stays with Anne. After repaying Anne's loan, he breaks off the affair (losing Neely as a client in the process), but quickly begins a new one with a teenaged up-and-coming singer. Anne overhears their affair while throwing a New Year's party in 1965, and though she finally admits to herself that Lyon will never stop having affairs, she assures herself that she will eventually fall out of love and become numb to all of her pain before reaching for her "dolls" again.

Kenneth Zevo, owner of Zevo Toys in Moscow, Idaho, is dying. He surprises his assistant, Owen Owens, by announcing that instead of his son Leslie succeeding him, his younger brother, U.S. Army Lieutenant General Leland Zevo, will do so. Even Leland, whose relationship with Kenneth is strained, is surprised, noting how Leslie has been apprenticed at the toy factory most of his life. Kenneth agrees Leslie loves toys and his work, but his childlike demeanor would jeopardize the company. Kenneth had even hired Gwen Tyler to work in the factory, hoping she and Leslie would start a relationship to help Leslie mature. Leland reluctantly takes control after Kenneth's death, and since Leslie and his sister Alsatia know about toymaking, he first decides to effectively give them control of the factory. However, Leland's interest is piqued upon hearing about corporate secrets potentially being leaked, and he hires his son, Patrick, a soldier with covert military expertise, to manage security. From Patrick, Leland is inspired to build war toys, even though Leslie explains that Zevo Toys has never made war toys due to Kenneth's overall dislike of war, which caused the strained relationship with his brother. Meanwhile, Leslie finally notices Gwen, and they start dating.

One night, Leland and Patrick go into town, where they peruse a video arcade, watching children play intently at the flickering game consoles. Going to a local toy store, Leland is amazed at what other companies have produced regarding war toys. As they drive back to the countryside, Leland and Patrick stop at a small pond, and Leland soon realizes that if military aircraft and hardware could be shrunken down and operated by remote control, military spending could become less cumbersome.

Leland offers to drop the idea of Zevo Toys making war toys, but asks Leslie if he can partition off a small amount of the factory to develop toys of his own. He asks Leslie to avoid the area, fearing that his toys may not be good enough. Unknown to Leslie, Leland is using the space to develop miniature remotely controlled war machines, aspiring to sell these to the military. However, military leaders refuse to buy into his plan, and Leland, becoming unhinged by their refusal, moves ahead with his plan independently. He increasingly takes over the factory's space and increases security, shrinking other departments and shutting down Alsatia's, effectively laying off numerous workers. When Leslie sees children being led into a restricted area, he sneaks in and discovers Leland training children to operate the miniature war machines with arcade-like interfaces. Leslie barely escapes the "Sea Swine" amphibious drone guarding an exit, and flees to Gwen's house to reveal his findings. Unbeknownst to him, Leland, aware of Leslie's discovery, prepares to defend his parts of the factory, promoting himself to general of his own army. Patrick learns Leland lied about his mother's death and quits to warn Leslie.

Leslie, Alsatia, Patrick, Gwen, and Owen infiltrate the factory and then disperse to locate the main control center. Leland takes the opportunity to unleash some cute-yet-deadly toys, before setting his military-style "Tommy Tanks" and "Hurly-Burly Helicopters" on them. Leslie, Alsatia, Gwen and Owen end up finding their way into a storage warehouse, where he had the older Zevo Toys stored. Devising a plan, Leslie winds up the old toys and puts them to battle against Leland's war machines. He then manages to get to Leland, and during a fight, Leland's helicopter attempts to hit Leslie with a missile but misses and hits Leland's control panel, which shuts down all the military toys. As Leslie and Patrick confront Leland, Alsatia is attacked by the Sea Swine and is revealed to be a robot, built by Kenneth as a companion for Leslie after the death of his mother. As Leslie and Patrick tend to Alsatia, Leland tries to escape, but the Sea Swine attacks him. As Leland is hospitalized, Leslie takes over the factory and continues his relationship with Gwen, and Alsatia is fully repaired. Owen continues to work at Zevo, and Patrick prepares to depart for other missions, but remains with the others long enough to attend a brief memorial to Kenneth.

The movie is divided into five distinct episodes, each representing a different genre and having their own subplot.

Opening narration explains how the Book of Fate came to be. It is a book that is somehow able to change reality. Another civilization beyond the stars got it, and made a pen to control the future - by writing to the book, things could change. This led to a war, but the book vanished. It later reappeared on Earth in order to give another chance to a chosen soul.

The movie starts with a horror episode in Transylvania, where brothers, one of whom is a priest, are looking for a cross that can cure their sister who has been bitten by a vampire. As they find the cross, the priest also finds an ancient, strange book. Then they are suddenly assaulted by vampires. Just as everything seems to be lost and the vampire is about to defeat him, the book gives the priest another chance, and the scene changes.

The next scene starts with a gunfight duel in a typical Western setting. A lonesome bounty hunter - who quite resembles in appearance the priest - defeats a crook and finds the book again. He goes to a town to collect the money, and ends up in a gunfight where he's unable to save an innocent bystander who gets caught in crossfire. Three more crooks arrive to the town to pressure the sheriff to release their friend from the prison. The bounty hunter ends up in a massive gunfight, and it appears that he's getting killed, but once again, the book intervenes.

The next appearance of the book - and a soldier who again resembles the priest - is in the Winter War - Battle of Kollaa, Christmas Day 1939, to be specific. The soldier tries to sneak past a Soviet post, but gets pinned down in an enemy fire. The book intervenes just as a hand grenade is thrown at him.

The next scene opens in modern-day Tampere, in a typical action movie setting. A mad professor has developed a virus that kills everyone once released. The special agents, led by another familiar figure, steal it and its vaccine, but end up roughed up and detained in a distant manor where one of the mad professor's underlings is studying the Book of Fate. After a heroic escape attempt, and accidentally shooting his friend who was on the line of fire with an enemy, he gets stuck in Särkänniemi where the mad professor is about to release the virus.

The next scene, set on a space freighter, starts in virtual reality; a cyborg, again resembling the priest of the past, is playing a video game. This time, however, the priest's spirit is able to appear in the VR projection, and tries to warn the cyborg that the book can be used to prevent the deaths of innocent people - as has happened before. The cyborg's job is to take the book to a group of aliens and he spends good time studying it as he prepares for the journey. As he goes in cryosleep, an alien lady appears in the ship, and the priest's spirit awakens the cyborg, and he is able to stop the alien lady from defacing the book. A representative of the aliens whom the book is being delivered to calls, and tells how dangerous this lady is, and the cyborg is to kill her by depressurizing the ship - sacrificing himself in the process to save millions of lives. The priest's spirit notes too late that, as the cyborg is about to die, he has made the wrong choice again. The alien representative who contacted them earlier were the true antagonists, and the book, and the pen, are about to fall in his hands. The cyborg is, however, able to write a change of reality to the book at the very last moment.

The story then unravels itself: The cyborg reunites with his long-dead wife who lives again, the special agent stops the mad professor, the soldier saves the day, the gunfight is won, and the priest is able to destroy the vampire and save his sister.

The Robe

Andre-Louis Moreau, educated as a lawyer, lives in the village of Gavrillac in Brittany with his godfather, Quentin de Kercadiou, the Lord of Gavrillac, who refuses to disclose Moreau's parentage. Moreau has grown up alongside Aline, de Kercadiou's niece, and their relationship is that of cousins. Because he loves her as a cousin, he warns her against marrying the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr; however, she is ambitious and wishes to marry high, so she ignores him. A peasant, Mabey, is shot for poaching by the gamekeeper of the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr, on the Marquis's instructions. The idealistic Philippe de Vilmorin, a seminarian and Moreau's closest friend, denounces the act as murder. While pleading with the Marquis for justice, de Vilmorin is provoked into duelling with the Marquis and is killed for his "gift of eloquence", which the Marquis fears will set the common people against the clergy and nobility.

Moreau vows to avenge the death by undertaking Vilmorin's work, even though Moreau himself does not believe in the cause. He sets off from Gavrillac for Rennes, expecting that the King's lieutenant in Brittany will see justice done. After being brushed off by the arrogant official, who refuses to act against a man of the Marquis' status, Moreau discovers a large political gathering where one of the speakers against the nobility's excesses has been assassinated. Much to the surprise of his peers, who think he is on the side of the aristocracy, Moreau uses de Vilmorin's arguments to deliver a speech with inspiring rhetoric. Moreau goes on to Nantes and, using the name "Omnes Omnibus", whips up the crowds there. These events set the stage for the French Revolution and make Moreau a wanted man.

The Buskin

To hide from the law, Moreau joins a troupe of traveling commedia dell'arte actors lead by M. Binet. He takes on the role of Scaramouche, the scheming rogue. He discovers an aptitude for acting and writing that propels the troupe from near-poverty to success and the Feydau theater in Nantes. Binet, who plays "Pantaloon", grows ever more resentful of Moreau and his influence in the troupe. Moreau becomes engaged to Binet's daughter, Climene, but after Andre-Louis reveals that he is not of noble birth, she (to her father's delight) accepts a proposition from the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr and becomes his mistress.

Aline learns of the affair and, furious with the Marquis for carrying on with Climene while he is supposed to be wooing her, Aline breaks off relations with him. The Marquis, now notorious for brutally quelling an uprising in Rennes, is lying low in Nantes. When he attends a performance, Moreau reveals his presence to the audience and sparks a riot. When Binet, furious at being ruined, attacks Moreau, Moreau shoots him in self-defense. Binet is wounded, and Moreau escapes. It is later revealed that, during Binet's recovery, his entire troupe deserted him and actually thrived without him; he and his daughter (who was "dumped" by the Marquis following the riot) are both completely ruined.

The Sword

Moreau is now forced to go into hiding. Arriving in Paris, he finds a fencing academy seeking "a young man of good address with some knowledge of swordsmanship". Moreau manages to convince M. Bertrand des Amis, the ''Maître en fait d'Armes'' (Master at Arms), to hire him. Eventually des Amis sees that Andre-Louis shows promise as a swordsman and makes him his apprentice. Over time, Andre-Louis develops his own style of fencing, based on calculations of different moves, and the school begins to prosper. With the outbreak of the French Revolution, M. des Amis is killed in a street riot, and Moreau inherits the school. When he is established at the now-thriving school, he reconciles with his godfather, thanks to Aline and Mme. de Plougastel. Mme. de Plougastel is a relative of his godfather; Moreau has seen her only once in his life, but she takes an almost maternal interest in him.

The reconciliation is brief, however. After learning of his swordsmanship, Moreau's friends convince him to take a seat in the Estates-General of 1789. They face the scourge of ''spadassinicides'', aristocratic senators who provoke inexperienced Republicans to fight duels and wound or kill them, just as the Marquis did to de Vilmorin. Indeed, de La Tour d'Azyr is the chief ''spadassinicide''. Andre-Louis turns the tables and succeeds in killing or seriously wounding all who challenge him. Finally, Moreau manages to goad the Marquis into challenging him to a duel; at last, he can confront the murderer of his childhood friend, de Vilmorin. Hearing of this, Mme. de Plougastel and Aline hasten to stop the duel. They do not arrive in time, and they see the Marquis leaving the field, wounded, but not fatally. Andre-Louis becomes a full-time member of the National Assembly, and the Marquis becomes a counter-revolutionary.

In 1792, Paris is up in arms and the Tuileries are stormed by a mob. Mme. de Plougastel and Aline are there and in grave danger because the former's husband is a counter-revolutionary. Returning from an errand in Brittany, Moreau learns that his godfather needs travel permits to allow these two women to leave Paris, and he travels to Gavrillac to visit de Kercadiou. De Kercadiou tells him of the plight of Aline and Mme. de Plougastel in Paris. Moreau agrees to rescue Aline, but does not agree to help Mme. de Plougastel until Kercadiou reveals to Andre-Louis that Mme. de Plougastel is his mother. Moreau secures the needed travel permits and leaves to deliver them to the women.

However, before he arrives, de La Tour d'Azyr, on the run from the mob, seeks shelter in the same apartment as the women. He and Andre-Louis draw pistols on each other. Mme. de Plougastel is forced to reveal that the Marquis is Moreau's father. Andre-Louis refuses to reconcile with the Marquis but decides to end the feud with him and gives him one of the travel permits. De La Tour d'Azyr crosses safely to Austria and enters the service of the King of Austria.

Moreau knows that he cannot remain in Paris, or even in France, because of his recent actions. He decides to cross the border with the women and his godfather. After safely escaping from Paris and returning to relative safety in Gavrillac, Andre-Louis and Aline unravel their misconceptions about their feelings for each other and declare their love.

Setting

''Curse of the Azure Bonds'' takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting. The adventure begins in the city of Tilverton, a relatively small town that nonetheless contains all the essential shops and services to equip the party. Although the characters begin the game with no equipment, each character does receive money at the start of the game with which to buy weapons and armor. Outside the city of Tilverton, the characters may explore caverns, sewers, and outside in the wilds. Other locations include the Elven Forest, Zhentil Keep, the temple at Yulash, and the citadel at Hap, though these locations cannot be freely explored by the party. Instead, the player can use a menu to select places within the locations to visit. Yulash is under siege by marauders, and characters entering the town are also in danger from crumbling walls and sinkholes.

Plot summary

At the start of the game, the player characters are adventurers of great renown who wake up from a magic sleep to find themselves in a small inn in the city of Tilverton, with all of their possessions stolen and no memory of how it happened. A passing landlord informs the characters that they have been unconscious for over a month after suffering an attack. Each of the player characters has five azure-colored tattoo-like markings, called ''bonds'', on one arm. The party had been ambushed while traveling on the road to Tilverton. They were captured and cursed with the magical bonds embedded on their arms; the characters' quest is to get rid of them. Characters can visit the sage Filani, who will give them information about the bonds. Each bond represents a different evil faction, and through the bonds, which are the result of a possession-like spell and glow when active, the factions can control the actions of the characters.

The first bond forces the characters to attack the royal carriage as it goes past, resulting in a fight with some royal guards. The characters begin searching for the first controlling faction, a band of assassins known as the Fire Knives. After defeating the Fire Knives and ridding themselves of the first bond, the characters are banished from Tilverton for trying to kill the King. The characters may then journey to Shadowdale or Ashabenford. The player then spends the rest of the game deciding where to go next to remove another bond. As the story continues, the adventurers confront the King of Cormyr and his princess, rescue Dimswart the Sage, locate three artifacts, and explore Dagger Falls. Princess Nacacia of Cormyr went missing a year ago, when she fled to escape a marriage arranged by her father, and it is up to the party to find her. The game combines mini-adventures with major adventures in the quest to remove the Azure Bonds. In the game's climactic battle, the adventurers take on an old foe back from the dead.

The remaining four bonds are controlled by Mogion, leader of the cult of Moander, Dracandros the Red Wizard, Fzoul Chembryl and his beholder allies, and Tyranthraxus, the main antagonist from ''Pool of Radiance''. The cult of Moander is based in Yulash, where the characters encounter Alias and Dragonbait, who can join the party. After defeating the cult, the party must also defeat three Bits O' Moander, which behave as powerful shambling mounds. Dracandros is found in the Red Tower in Haptooth, and the characters will face a beholder in Zhentil Keep, along with a troop of minotaurs and a medusa.

After removing two bonds, characters may use the ''Search'' command on the wilderness map to locate mini-dungeons under certain towns; these caverns are dangerous, but the party can gain both experience and treasure in them. When four of the bonds have been removed, the characters go on to the final showdown with Tyranthraxus, who takes the form of a storm giant, in the ruins of Myth Drannor. After defeating Tyranthraxus, the game ends.

At the start of the game, the player characters are adventurers of great renown who wake up from a magic sleep to find themselves in a small inn in the city of Tilverton, with all of their possessions stolen and no memory of how it happened. A passing landlord informs the characters that they have been unconscious for over a month after suffering an attack. Each of the player characters has five azure-colored tattoo-like markings, called ''bonds'', on one arm. The party had been ambushed while traveling on the road to Tilverton. They were captured and cursed with the magical bonds embedded on their arms; the characters' quest is to get rid of them. Characters can visit the sage Filani, who will give them information about the bonds. Each bond represents a different evil faction, and through the bonds, which are the result of a possession-like spell and glow when active, the factions can control the actions of the characters.

The first bond forces the characters to attack the royal carriage as it goes past, resulting in a fight with some royal guards. The characters begin searching for the first controlling faction, a band of assassins known as the Fire Knives. After defeating the Fire Knives and ridding themselves of the first bond, the characters are banished from Tilverton for trying to kill the King. The characters may then journey to Shadowdale or Ashabenford. The player then spends the rest of the game deciding where to go next to remove another bond. As the story continues, the adventurers confront the King of Cormyr and his princess, rescue Dimswart the Sage, locate three artifacts, and explore Dagger Falls. Princess Nacacia of Cormyr went missing a year ago, when she fled to escape a marriage arranged by her father, and it is up to the party to find her. The game combines mini-adventures with major adventures in the quest to remove the Azure Bonds. In the game's climactic battle, the adventurers take on an old foe back from the dead.

The remaining four bonds are controlled by Mogion, leader of the cult of Moander, Dracandros the Red Wizard, Fzoul Chembryl and his beholder allies, and Tyranthraxus, the main antagonist from ''Pool of Radiance''. The cult of Moander is based in Yulash, where the characters encounter Alias and Dragonbait, who can join the party. After defeating the cult, the party must also defeat three Bits O' Moander, which behave as powerful shambling mounds. Dracandros is found in the Red Tower in Haptooth, and the characters will face a beholder in Zhentil Keep, along with a troop of minotaurs and a medusa.

After removing two bonds, characters may use the ''Search'' command on the wilderness map to locate mini-dungeons under certain towns; these caverns are dangerous, but the party can gain both experience and treasure in them. When four of the bonds have been removed, the characters go on to the final showdown with Tyranthraxus, who takes the form of a storm giant, in the ruins of Myth Drannor. After defeating Tyranthraxus, the game ends.

Original run

Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) is a recovering alcoholic who, in the show's first episode, returns to the fictional newsmagazine ''FYI'' for the first time following a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic residential treatment center. Over 40 and single, she is sharp-tongued and hard as nails. In her profession, she is considered one of the boys, having shattered many glass ceilings encountered during her career. Dominating the ''FYI'' news magazine, she is portrayed as one of America's hardest-hitting (though not the warmest or most sympathetic) media personalities.

Her colleagues at ''FYI'' include stuffy veteran anchor Jim Dial (Charles Kimbrough), who affectionately addresses Murphy as "Slugger" and reminisces about the glory days of Murrow and Cronkite. Murphy's best friend and sometime competitor is investigative reporter Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto), the only person who addresses her as "Murph". Though a daredevil reporter, insecurities regarding fame and (especially) his personal relationships have him in psychotherapy for the majority of the series. In early seasons, there was a running gag about Frank's toupée, which he hated, but which producers insisted he wear on the show.

Also present are the two newest members of the ''FYI'' team. Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud), a 25-year-old yuppie Harvard graduate and overachiever fresh from public television, is appointed the new executive producer of ''FYI'' during Murphy's stay at Betty Ford. Naive and neurotic despite his lightning intellect, Miles is the perfect foil for Murphy's wit. Shaud left at the end of the eighth season, and his character was replaced during Season 9 by veteran TV producer Kay Carter-Shepley (Lily Tomlin). Kay did not have a background in journalism but instead had made a career as a producer of game shows.

The other new-kid-on-the-block is Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford), who replaced Murphy during her stint in rehab. A former Miss America from the (fictional) town of Neebo, Louisiana, Corky is the bane of the other journalists with her perky, relentlessly sunny personality—and dumbfounding lack of sophistication. Due to overwhelming audience reaction, management decides to retain Corky's services after Murphy's return, usually assigning her to lifestyle pieces or lightweight celebrity profiles. Despite her omnipresent perkiness, Corky does mature and acquires a fair amount of worldliness over the years, not the least of which comes courtesy of her marriage to high school classmate and writer Will Forest (during which she humorously and cluelessly amends her on-air surname to "Corky Sherwood-Forest"), subsequent divorce, and later elopement with Miles, immediately after which the couple has second thoughts — even before consummating the relationship — and decides they should "first" date (despite already being married to one another), eventually separating on good terms.

The ''FYI'' team also frequently socializes at Phil's, a bar-and-grill across the street from their office/studio in Washington, D.C. Phil, the bar owner, was played by Pat Corley. Phil's was portrayed as a Washington institution, whose owner knew everything about everybody who had ever been anybody in the capital—ranging from what brand of lingerie J. Edgar Hoover preferred to the identity of Deep Throat (unknown to the public at the time of the series' production). In a running gag during early seasons, whenever someone entered Phil's (casting bright sunlight from the open door into the dark, murky bar), the patrons shouted in unison, "Close the door!"

Brown was unmarried, but had a home life as well: she hired a laid-back, New Age philosophy-dispensing house painter named Eldin Bernecky (Robert Pastorelli) to repaint her house. He had so many grand ideas that he was in her employ for six seasons. Because he was a highly talented artist, his renovations were often delayed when he was struck by the urge to paint socially relevant murals throughout the house.

Revival

Some twenty years later, Murphy has been retired from broadcast journalism for a few years but constantly receives offers to return to the air. Following Donald Trump's election as president of the United States, Brown decides to accept an offer from fictional cable news network CNC to host a new morning news show titled ''Murphy in the Morning''. She brings along her former ''FYI'' colleagues including Frank and Corky to co-host the program and Miles to produce it. The crew is joined by newcomer Pat Patel (Nik Dodani), who serves as the show's social media manager. As the program gets closer to air, Brown is startled to learn that her son Avery (Jake McDorman) has been given his own morning news program on Murphy's competitor, conservative cable news network Wolf News, with both of their shows scheduled to air against one another. Meanwhile, Murphy and the gang continue to spend their off-time at the bar and grill "Phil's Bar", now run by Phil's sister Phyllis (Tyne Daly) following Phil's death. Jim Dial, now in his 80s, widowed and retired, comes back on an occasional basis to act as an informal mentor to the ''Murphy In The Morning'' gang.

''The Frogs'' tells the story of the god Dionysus, who, despairing of the state of Athens' tragedians, travels to Hades (the underworld) to bring the playwright Euripides back from the dead. (Euripides had died the year before, in 406 BC.) He brings along his slave Xanthias, who is smarter and braver than Dionysus. As the play opens, Xanthias and Dionysus argue over what kind of jokes Xanthias can use to open the play. For the first half of the play, Dionysus routinely makes critical errors, forcing Xanthias to improvise in order to protect his master and prevent Dionysus from looking incompetent—but this only allows Dionysus to continue to make mistakes with no consequence.

To find a reliable path to Hades, Dionysus seeks advice from his half-brother Heracles, who had been there before in order to retrieve the hell hound Cerberus. Dionysus shows up at his doorstep dressed in a lion-hide and carrying a club. Heracles, upon seeing the effeminate Dionysus dressed up like himself, can't help laughing. When Dionysus asks which road is the quickest to get to Hades, Heracles tells him that he can hang himself, drink poison or jump off a tower. Dionysus opts for the longer journey, which Heracles himself had taken, across a lake (possibly Lake Acheron).

When Dionysus arrives at the lake, Charon ferries him across. Xanthias, being a slave, is not allowed in the boat, and has to walk around it, while Dionysus is made to help row the boat.

This is the point of the first choral interlude (parodos), sung by the eponymous chorus of frogs (the only scene in which frogs feature in the play). Their croaking refrain – (Greek: ) – greatly annoys Dionysus, who engages in a mocking debate (agon) with the frogs. When he arrives at the shore, Dionysus meets up with Xanthias, who teases him by claiming to see the frightening monster Empusa. A second chorus composed of spirits of Dionysian Mystics soon appear.

The next encounter is with Aeacus, who mistakes Dionysus for Heracles due to his attire. Still angry over Heracles' theft of Cerberus, Aeacus threatens to unleash several monsters on him in revenge. Frightened, Dionysus trades clothes with Xanthias. A maid then arrives and is happy to see Heracles. She invites him to a feast with virgin dancing girls, and Xanthias is more than happy to oblige. But Dionysus quickly wants to trade back the clothes. Dionysus, back in the Heracles lion-skin, encounters more people angry at Heracles, and so he makes Xanthias trade a third time.

When Aeacus returns to confront the alleged Heracles (i.e., Xanthias), Xanthias offers him his "slave" (Dionysus) for torturing, to obtain the truth as to whether or not he is really a thief. The terrified Dionysus tells the truth that he is a god. After each is whipped, Dionysus is brought before Aeacus' masters, and the truth is verified. The maid then catches Xanthias and chats him up, interrupted by preparations for the contest scene.

The maid describes the Euripides-Aeschylus conflict. Euripides, who had only just recently died, is challenging the great Aeschylus for the seat of "Best Tragic Poet" at the dinner table of Pluto, the ruler of the underworld. A contest is held with Dionysus as judge. The two playwrights take turns quoting verses from their plays and making fun of the other. Euripides argues the characters in his plays are better because they are more true to life and logical, whereas Aeschylus believes his idealized characters are better as they are heroic and models for virtue. Aeschylus mocks Euripides' verse as predictable and formulaic by having Euripides quote lines from many of his prologues, each time interrupting the declamation with the same phrase " " ("... lost his little flask of oil"). (The passage has given rise to the term ''lekythion'' for this type of rhythmic group in poetry.) Euripides counters by demonstrating the alleged monotony of Aeschylus' choral songs, parodying excerpts from his works and having each citation end in the same refrain ("oh, what a stroke, won't you come to the rescue?", from Aeschylus' lost play ''Myrmidons''). Aeschylus retorts to this by mocking Euripides' choral meters and lyric monodies with castanets.

During the contest, Dionysus redeems himself for his earlier role as the butt of every joke. He now rules the stage, adjudicating the contestants' squabbles fairly, breaking up their prolonged rants, and applying a deep understanding of Greek tragedy.

To end the debate, a balance is brought in and each are told to tell a few lines into it. Whoever's lines have the most "weight" will cause the balance to tip in their favor. Euripides produces verses of his that mention, in turn, the ship ''Argo'', Persuasion and a mace. Aeschylus responds with the river Spercheios, Death and two crashed chariots and two dead charioteers. Since the latter verses refer to "heavier" objects, Aeschylus wins, but Dionysus is still unable to decide whom he will revive. He finally decides to take the poet who gives the best advice about how to save the city. Euripides gives cleverly worded but essentially meaningless answers while Aeschylus provides more practical advice, and Dionysus decides to take Aeschylus back instead of Euripides. Pluto allows Aeschylus to return to life so that Athens may be succoured in her hour of need and invites everyone to a round of farewell drinks. Before leaving, Aeschylus proclaims that Sophocles should have his chair while he is gone, not Euripides.

The title of the series is explained in the first chapter where the author refers to the quote "Boys, be ambitious", which was said by William S. Clark and has become a popular motto in Japan.

The anime focuses upon the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of first love and teenage romance. Six students struggle to find the perfect partner and their adolescent limitations. While several characters are taken from stories in the manga, the story of the anime is unrelated to the manga. Each episode begins and ends with a philosophical quote which sums up the episode's content. The anime, while centered on Kyoichi and Chiharu, revolves around seven or eight main characters and their love lives.

Takuya Enoki loses his mother, Yukako, when she dies in a car accident. Takuya now lives with his father, Harumi, and his baby brother, Minoru. Takuya's baby brother is only two years old and requires much care. Although Takuya is only a fifth grader, he cooks, cleans, sews, scolds, and does everything that is normally a mother's job. Between his housework and looking after his baby brother, Takuya begins to feel a helpless gap between his friends who have fun every day after school. The Kimura family blame him for Minoru's constant crying. His stress gradually builds up and bursts at a point. Because of a mistake Minoru made, Takuya reacts violently. He cannot help feeling upset over Minoru, who is stressing him and taking up all his time.

One day, when Takuya picks Minoru up from preschool, he starts to walk faster imagining what it would be like to leave his little brother behind him. But soon, Takuya realizes what he has done and runs back. He finds Minoru with his eyes full of tears and a brutal dog is blocking Minoru's way. Takuya dashes in full speed and saves his little brother. After coming home and seeing Minoru sobbing, Takuya realizes that Minoru cries because he is just lonely and becomes ashamed of himself. From then on, Takuya learns to love his little brother as family and his long life story of being a mother and a brother at once begins.

One day, Shuji on his motorbike and Kyoko in her car meet at the crossroads—they get into a small argument over her driving. They don't have any interest in each other at that moment but at the library where Kyoko works. Shuji sees Kyoko using a wheelchair. That was how they first met. They begin to talk and Kyoko feels regarded because Shuji never looked at her as a disabled person. Gradually, her feelings change and she waits for Shuji to come to the library.

Shuji works as a hairstylist at a popular hair salon called HOT LIP. A fashion magazine asks the salon to choose its best haircut for an article, and the owner says that both Shuji and Satoru should find a cut model themselves and that he will choose the best haircut. After some thought, Shuji asks Kyoko to be his cut model. She first says no, worried about her appearance and her disability, but Shuji tells her that he will be her ‘barrier free’ so she does not need to be anxious about it.

Shuji's haircut is chosen for the magazine, but Kyoko feels ashamed when she sees it. Everyone thinks the magazine chose Shuji's design because Kyoko was in a wheelchair in the photo, just because of the 'impact' it makes. But soon, Sachie tells Kyoko she shouldn't care about her appearance.

Satoru feels jealous of Shuji because Shuji is becoming more popular. Satoru steals Shuji's haircut design and says it is his. But Shuji becomes a Top Stylist so he forgets about the stealing.

Gradually, Shuji and Kyoko get close. But still, Kyoko doesn't trust Shuji from her heart. Shuji is now the best hairstylist at HOT LIP and he is very busy. They don't have time to see each other.

Sachie and Masao are getting close too. At first they are both scared to speak because they like each other, but slowly, they get to know each other.

Kyoko is worried because she and Shuji live in completely different worlds. She thinks about breaking up with him. On the other hand, Takumi was resisting Shuji but he realizes that Shuji was the one who was right and forgets about all the jealousy.

Sachie gets pregnant but Masao tells her he can't marry yet because he is worried about Kyoko's disease. Kyoko's mother tells Shuji about her disease that she doesn't know how much of her life is left and she can die at any time.

The story is getting closer to the end now and Kyoko's condition is getting very bad. She is told to enter the hospital but soon after, knowing that it is not good for her body, she leaves the hospital and starts to live together with Shuji. Masao, Sachie, and Kyoko's parents all support Shuji and Kyoko.

Her sickness is getting worse every day. But one day, Shuji takes part in a fashion show as a hairstylist. Kyoko asks if she could go and see the show but her brother Masao and Sachie both tell her that her body will not be able to bear it. But in the end, the three of them go to the show.

Kyoko faints while watching the show and she is carried to the hospital. Soon, she passes away.

The series ends with a scene from a few years later. Shuji has opened a hair salon at the seaside and is living with the memory of Kyoko.

The story revolves around the mahjong gambling exploits of (voiced by Masato Hagiwara in the anime adaptation). After a death-defying game of chicken one evening in 1958, Akagi nonchalantly enters a yakuza mahjong parlor to shake the police's trail. Although he is unfamiliar with the rules of mahjong, his gambling intuition saves a small-time gambler, (voiced by Rikiya Koyama), and grants him a seat at the gambling table. As the night progresses, the stakes are raised both within the game and for Akagi, who is under the suspicion of the local policeman, (voiced by Tessho Genda). However, Akagi manages to defeat (voiced by Wataru Takagi)—despite Yagi's cheating during the game—and impresses the members of the gambling house.

Yasuoka arranges a new match against other yakuza members, in which Akagi defeats (voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka), a blind professional mahjong player with very accurate hearing. After defeating him, Akagi gains mythical status at 13 but then disappears, becoming a legendary figure all over Japan. Six years later, Yasuoka orders (voiced by Ginpei Sato) to pretend to be Akagi to impress some yakuza bosses and make money. Meanwhile, Nangō finds the real Akagi, now aged 19 and working at a toy factory. Akagi, however, does not need to play with Hirayama as Hirayama is defeated by (voiced by Morio Kazama), a professional mahjong player for another yakuza group who is later defeated by Akagi.

Akagi's ultimate rival is (voiced by Masane Tsukayama), an old man who has made a lot of money and become one of the most powerful people in the Japanese underworld. Having built up massive funds from shady dealings in Japan's post-war era, Washizu tempts people to bet their lives for the chance to win a large amount of money. Washizu and Akagi play mahjong in an unusual way that Washizu calls "Washizu Mahjong," in which transparent glass tiles replace most of the tiles and make the game different in many ways.

Three years after the fight with Washizu, Akagi is last seen winning big in Tehonbiki, a gambling game that leaves no room for chance, and wandering around local gambling dens with (voiced by Yūdai Satō), a freckled young coworker from the toy factory they used to work at.

''Dororo'' revolves around a ''rōnin'' named and young orphaned thief named during the Sengoku period. The rōnin was born malformed, limbless and without facial features or internal organs. This was the result of his birth father ''daimyō'' Kagemitsu Daigō forging a pact with 48 sealed demons so that he might rule the land and increase its wealth and prosperity. In return, he promised the demons anything that they wanted which belonged to him. This enabled them to roam free and commit atrocities along the countryside.

After his mother Nui no Kata was forced to set him adrift on the river, lest he be killed by his father, the infant was subsequently found and raised by Jukai, a medicine man who used healing magic and alchemist methods to give the child prostheses crafted from the remains of children who had died in the war. The boy became nearly invincible against any mortal blow as a result of the prostheses and healing magic. Grafted into his left arm was a very special blade that a traveling storyteller presented to Jukai, believing it was fated to be within his possession given that ever since the boy had been discovered, the doctor had been visited by goblins. As revealed in a short tale about the blade's origin, the blade had been forged out of vengeance to kill goblins as well as other supernatural entities.

After the sensei was forced to send him on his way because he was attracting demons, the young man learned from a ghostly voice of the curse that had been set upon him at birth and that by killing the demons responsible he could reclaim the stolen pieces of his body and thus regain his humanity. Across his travels, he earned the name among other names for his inhuman nature. On one such hunt of a demon, Hyakkimaru came across a young orphan thief named Dororo who thereafter travels by his side through the war-torn countryside. When Hyakkimaru met Dororo, he had already killed 15 demons.

Throughout their journey, Hyakkimaru killed six more demons, bringing the total to 21. Along the way, Hyakkimaru learns that Dororo was hiding a big secret. Dororo's father, Bandit Hibukuro, hid money he saved up on his raids on Bone Cape to later be distributed to the people squeezed dry by the samurai. Itachi, a bandit who betrayed Hibukuro and sided with the authorities, crippled Hibukuro. Hibukuro escaped with limping legs, along with his wife and young child. Hibukuro dies trying to let his remaining family escape. Fearing that she, too, will die, Ojyui had prayed to Buddha and, with her blood, drew the map that will lead him to Bone Cape. Three days later, she froze to death.

Itachi kidnapped Dororo and used the map on "his" back to lead them to Bone Cape. A mysterious boatman ferried them to the Cape but he had two demon sharks with him. One of the sharks ate half of Itachi's bandits while the other shark left with the boatman. However, Dororo and the remaining bandits managed to kill the shark. When the boatman and the second shark returned, Dororo was able to separate the boatman and the shark. Hyakkimaru arrived to stab the shark in one of its eyes, but It escaped. They held the boatman prisoner and then they landed on Bone Cape.

The boatman told the thirsty bandits of a spring not too far from their camp, and they went to drink, leaving Itachi, Dororo, the boatman and Hyakkimaru. Dororo later found their corpses and blood leading to the half-blind shark. Hyakkimaru killed the shark and the boatman, then recovered his real voice. Itachi went to search for the money but only found a letter from Hibukuro saying that he hid it somewhere else. The Magistrate arrived under the pretense of getting rid of the bandits but actually came for the treasure. Hyakkimaru, Dororo, and Itachi kill them, but Itachi was left for dead. Hyakkimaru and Dororo continued on their journey.

Sometime later Hyakkimaru learns that his father, Kagemitsu Daigo, was possessed by the 48 demons, and went to slay him. Things were going badly on the Daigo clan's land, and the citizens were forced to build a fort for him. The slaves were planning a rebellion, but one of the slaves told Kagemitsu of their plans, and he was prepared. His archers shot and killed many slaves and the remainder hid in a tunnel they had built under the fort.

Hyakkimaru left Dororo and ran into the fort. Dororo joined the slaves in their ambush, but Kagemitsu Daigo's soldiers caught Dororo. To prove his loyalty, Kagemitsu told Hyakkimaru to kill Dororo. Hyakkimaru acted as if he was about to kill Dororo but turned around and threw his sword into the dark stabbing the physical manifestation of the 48 demons, however, some of them managed to escape. The slaves charged through the tunnel and attacked Kagemitsu's soldiers. Kagemitsu, weak because of the slain demons, escaped with his wife Nui.

After he regained his eyes, Hyakkimaru figured out that Dororo is female, though Dororo rejects the notion and refers to himself as a boy despite Hyakkimaru's insistence to act more feminine. This is in part due to Dororo being raised as a boy by his parents in order to be tough. Hyakkimaru also wanted Dororo to fight with the farmers against those in power because Dororo's father was a farmer. Hyakkimaru gave his sword to Dororo, the one that he had desired throughout the series. Hyakkimaru planned to continue his journey alone, agreeing to meet Dororo again when Hyakkimaru's body was whole. They parted with Dororo crying at the doors. It wasn't until 50 years later that the last of the 48 demons was slain, and he reunited with the full-grown Dororo.

On March 5, 2001, Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu (nicknamed Hachi) cross paths when they both move to Tokyo after turning 20 years old: Nana O. to pursue a professional music career with her band, Black Stones, on her own merit; and Nana K. to join her friends and move in with her boyfriend. Despite having different personalities and ambitions, the two women find commonalities with each other and, by coincidence, move into the same apartment. However, as they follow their dreams, troubles of fame and love begin to test their friendship.

As the two women continue their lives in Tokyo, Nana K. breaks up with her boyfriend after he cheats on her, while Nana O. reunites with her ex-boyfriend Ren, the guitarist of Japan's current top band, Trapnest. Nana O.'s relationship with Ren eventually leads Nana K. into starting an on-and-off relationship with Trapnest's bassist, Takumi, causing her friendship with Nana O. to become awkward, while falling in love with Black Stones' guitarist, Nobu, at the same time. Ultimately, when Nana K. becomes pregnant, she chooses to marry Takumi instead. Nana O. begins to suffer from panic attacks at the thought of losing Nana K., but she later resolves to win her back from Trapnest by using the popularity and success of Black Stones.

When a tabloid magazine exposes Nana O. and Ren's relationship, this causes Black Stones to skyrocket in popularity and formally debut. Nana O. and Ren, however, start facing troubles in their relationship due to Nana O.'s jealousy of Trapnest and Ren's drug addiction, even as they become engaged. As the tabloids continue to target Black Stones and Trapnest, Nana K. begins to learn secrets behind Nana O.'s family history, including her birth mother. Shortly before Black Stones begin their first tour, their bassist, Shin, is arrested, causing Nana O. to embark on a solo career in the meantime. As she begins to make a name for herself, Ren dies in a car accident. While recovering from his death, Nana O. begins to question her dependency on Nana K. as well as the change in their relationship.

Starting with volume 12, scenes that take place years later are interspersed in the series, showing that in the present, Nana O. is rumored to have died, but Nana K. and her friends learn that she fled to England and try to find her.

Kimihiro Watanuki is a high school student plagued by ayakashi spirits which are invisible to everyone else but him. The series begins when Watanuki stumbles, seemingly by chance, into a shop that grants wishes. The shop is owned by Yūko Ichihara, a mysterious witch of many names and esoteric renown. For a price, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of the spirits. The price, according to Yūko, must be of equal value; so, as payment, he must become Yūko's temporary, part-time cook and housekeeper. While his established job consists of household chores, Yūko increasingly sends him on errands of a supernatural or spiritual nature as the series develops. Himawari Kunogi, Watanuki's love interest, and Shizuka Dōmeki, a classmate whom Watanuki initially detests, occasionally join him in his work as per Yūko's request. The three become increasingly close, and though Watanuki is often annoyed with Dōmeki, he grows to value the new friendships he makes and his life at the wish shop. At the same time, though, he begins to worry about Yūko, wondering if she who grants wishes to others ever has anything to wish for herself. Eventually, he makes a promise to try and grant her a wish, should she have one.

With each supernatural encounter, Watanuki becomes more familiar with and connected to the spiritual world. A crossing plotline with the concurrent series ''Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' reveals that Yūko is actually on the verge of death, and she is only alive now because her personal time was accidentally frozen long ago by the powerful wizard Clow Reed. As the magic binding her in time begins to dissolve, Yūko's ability to maintain the shop's magical existence fades, and she eventually passes on, telling Watanuki that he will finally be free of his ability to see demons. However, Watanuki chooses to retain his ability to see spirits in order to maintain Yūko's shop and take over her role of shopkeeper. Further cross-over plotlines reveal that Watanuki was born as a result of a wish to turn back time by a shop client, Syaoran of ''Tsubasa''. Since Syaoran was able to go back in time (at the cost of being removed from his timeline and becoming imprisoned by the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed), Watanuki was born to replace the void in timespace Syaoran left behind, and thus while they are different people, they share an "existence". As the series reaches its conclusion, Syaoran and Watanuki become trapped in a void by Fei-Wang and must pay a price to become free and continue existing. While Syaoran decides to keep traveling through dimensions, never stopping in a single place, Watanuki chooses to stay inside the shop and act as its owner, granting wishes until the day he sees Yūko again. As time progresses, Watanuki continues working in the shop without aging. Dōmeki, his assistant, frequently visits him, and the tradition continues with Dōmeki's descendants. After 100 years pass, Watanuki has a dream of Yūko, who tells him that he has finally become powerful enough to leave the shop. Despite this, he decides to continue waiting inside the shop for the day that they meet again.

The series is primarily set in Tokyo, and centers around Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy who attends , or for short, a school that is known for its strong tennis club and talented players. Shortly after entrance, Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen, securing himself a spot as one of the team's regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques. Ryoma also begins to develop his own style of tennis and eventually realizes what the sport really means to him.

Makoto Kido (Kenji Sawada), a high school science and chemistry teacher, has decided to build his own atomic bomb. Before stealing plutonium isotopes from Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant, he is involved in the botched hijack of one of his school's buses during a field trip. Along with a police detective, Yamashita (Bunta Sugawara), he is able to overcome the hijacker and is publicly hailed as a hero.

Meanwhile, Makoto is able to extract enough plutonium from his stolen isotopes to create two bombs—one genuine, the other containing only enough radioactive material to be detectable, but otherwise a fake. He plants the fake bomb in a public lavatory and phones the police and demands that Yamashita take the case. Since Makoto speaks to the police through a voice scrambler, Yamashita is unaware that Makoto is behind the whole thing.

Makoto manages to extort the government into showing baseball games without cutting away for commercials. Flush with success, he follows a suggestion by a radio personality, nicknamed "Zero", to use the real bomb to extort the government into allowing the Rolling Stones to play in Japan (despite being barred from doing so due to Keith Richards being arrested for narcotics possession). The request is soon granted and the band eventually plays in Tokyo.

As Makoto makes his way to the concert, Yamashita follows him. Makoto pulls out a gun and forces Yamashita to a rooftop, bomb in a package he is carrying. Makoto reveals that he was the extortionist, and gets into a fight with Yamashita. Eventually the two fall from the roof whilst Makoto holds on to the bomb. He is saved by grabbing on to a power line as Yamashita falls to his death. Still in possession of the bomb, Makoto decides to leave. As he walks away, a ticking sound is heard. The film ends on a freeze-frame of Makoto as the ticks stop, as an explosion is heard while film fades to black.

Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a young Japanese brain surgeon, working at Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Tenma is dissatisfied with the political bias of the hospital in treating patients, and seizes the chance to change things after a massacre brings fraternal twins Johan and Anna Liebert into the hospital. Johan has a gunshot wound to his head, and Anna mutters about killing; Tenma operates on Johan instead of the mayor, who arrived later. Johan is saved, but Mayor Roedecker dies; Tenma loses his social standing. Director Heinemann and the other doctors in Tenma's way are mysteriously murdered, and both children disappear from the hospital. The police suspect Tenma, but they have no evidence and can only question him.

Nine years later, Tenma is Chief of Surgery at Eisler Memorial. After saving a criminal named Adolf Junkers, Junkers mutters about a "monster." Tenma returns with a clock for Junkers, he finds the guard in front of Junkers' room dead and Junkers gone. Following the trail to the construction site of a half-finished building near the hospital, Tenma finds Junkers held at gunpoint. Junkers warns him against coming closer and pleads with him to run away. Tenma refuses, and the man holding the gun is revealed to be Johan Liebert. Despite Tenma's attempts to reason with him, Johan shoots Junkers. Telling Tenma he could never kill the man who saved his life, he walks off into the night, with Tenma too shocked to stop him.

Tenma is suspected by the police, particularly BKA Inspector Lunge, and he tries to find more information about Johan. He soon discovers that the boy's sister is living a happy life as an adopted daughter; the only traces of her terrible past are a few nightmares. Tenma finds Anna, who was subsequently named Nina by her foster parents, on her birthday; he keeps her from Johan, but is too late to stop him from murdering her foster parents. Tenma eventually learns the origins of this "monster": from the former East Germany's attempt to use a secret orphanage known as "511 Kinderheim" to create perfect soldiers through psychological reprogramming, to the author of children's books used in a eugenics experiment in the former Czechoslovakia. Tenma learns the scope of the atrocities committed by this "monster", and vows to fix the mistake he made by saving Johan's life.

Botchan (young master) is the first-person narrator of the novel. He grows up in Tokyo as a reckless and rambunctious youth. In the opening chapter he hurts himself jumping from the second floor of his elementary school, fights the boy next door, and tramples a neighbor's carrot patch by wrestling (sumo style) on the straw that covers the seedlings. His parents favor his older brother, who is quiet and studious. Botchan is also not well regarded in the neighborhood, having a reputation as the local roughneck. Kiyo, the family's elderly maidservant, is the only one who finds anything redeeming in Botchan's character.

After Botchan's mother passes away, Kiyo devotes herself fervently to his welfare, treating him from her own allowance with gifts and favors. Botchan initially finds her affection onerous, but over time he grows to appreciate her dedication, and she eventually becomes his mother figure and moral role model.

Six years after his mother's death, as Botchan is finishing middle school, his father falls ill and passes away. His older brother liquidates the family assets and provides Botchan with 600 yen before leaving to start his own career. Botchan uses this money to study physics for three years. On graduating, he accepts a job teaching middle school mathematics in Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku. He frequents Dōgo Onsen, a hot springs.

Botchan's tenure in Matsuyama turns out to be short (less than two months) but eventful. His arrogance and quick temper immediately lead to clashes with the students and staff. The students retaliate excessively by tracking his every movement in the small town and traumatizing him during his 'night duty' stay in the dormitory.

Mischief by the students turns out to be just the first salvo in a broader web of intrigue and villainy. The school's assistant head teacher (Red Shirt) and English teacher (Squash) are vying for the hand of the local beauty (Madonna), and two camps have formed within the middle school staff. Botchan struggles initially to see through the guises and sort out the players. After several missteps, he concludes that Squash and the head mathematics teacher (Porcupine) hold the moral high ground in the conflict. Red Shirt, who presents himself as a refined scholar, turns out to be highly superficial and self-serving.

As the story progresses, Red Shirt schemes to eliminate his rivals. He begins by having Uranari (Squash) transferred to a remote post on the pretext of furthering his career. Next he uses a contrived street brawl and his newspaper connections to defame both mathematics teachers (Botchan and Porcupine) and to force Porcupine's resignation.

Botchan and Porcupine realize that they cannot beat the system, so they scheme a way to get even. They stake out Red Shirt's known haunt, an inn near the hot springs town, and catch him and his sidekick Hanger-on sneaking home in the morning after overnighting with geisha. With his usual eloquence, Red Shirt points out that they have no direct proof of any wrongdoing. Botchan and Porcupine overcome this technicality by pummeling both Red Shirt and Hanger-on into submission on the spot.

After dispensing justice with his fists, Botchan drops a letter of resignation into the mail and immediately heads for the harbor. He returns to Tokyo, finds employment, and establishes a modest household with Kiyo. After Kiyo dies of pneumonia, he has her respectfully interred in his own family's grave plot.

Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese girl living in the United States, watches a program on TV featuring a high jumper named Izumi Sano. She was amazed by his performance and begins following his athletic career. Years later, she does research on him and discovers that he is currently attending Osaka High School. The school is unfortunately an all-boys school and Mizuki convinces her parents to send her to Japan by herself.

Oblivious to the fact that their daughter is going to attend a boys school, her parents let her go. To enter the school, she cuts off her long hair, disguises herself as a male, and tries her best to give hope to Sano after hearing that he no longer does the high jump anymore. As she settles in, an accident reveals her identity to Hokuto Umeda, the school doctor, and Izumi Sano. Izumi hides his knowledge of Mizuki's gender and tries to help her keep her secret, though it sure is not easy as many situations land Mizuki in compromising positions that will reveal her true gender.

Setting

or ''Ohsaka Gakuen'' as written in the entrance gate of the school in the Japanese drama adaptation, is an all-boys school and the setting of the series. Its sister school is St. Blossoms, an all-girls high school.

The three grade levels are divided into three classes. These nine classes are divided into three dormitories, as most of the students do not stay around the school area. The culture within the individual dormitories are immensely different.

Most students residing in the first dormitory are athletes who were accepted into Osaka High on a sports scholarship. The head of dormitory is Tennouji. The head of the second dormitory is Minami Nanba. The students in the second dorm are a mix of athletes and scholars who have a sports or academic scholarship. The third dormitory consists mainly of artistic and intelligent people and is headed by Masao Himejima. Inter-dorm rivalries are common and become particularly intense during the school's cultural festival.

The ''Enterprise'' investigates a lifeless Insectoid vessel crashed on a barren planet, hoping to find helpful information on its computer database. Archer leads an away team to explore the wreckage and discovers an Insectoid hatchery with several dozen surviving eggs, but a failing bio-support system. He is sprayed in the face by one of the eggs. Doctor Phlox concludes it was a defense mechanism and treats him with an analgesic. Dead Insectoids and one of their shuttles are then taken aboard for analysis, and computer logs reveal the survivors cut off their own life support in order to save the ship's hatchery.

Despite objections, Archer keeps ''Enterprise'' at the planet and orders Commander Tucker to repair the hatchery's bio-support. Incompatibilities with Starfleet portable power generators cause an overload, prematurely hatching one of the eggs, but Phlox cannot save it. Increasingly obsessive, Archer soon orders the transfer of one-third of ''Enterprise'' s antimatter supply to the Xindi ship so that full power can be restored. With the success of the mission in mind, Sub-Commander T'Pol refuses to carry out his order, so he relieves her of duty and confines her to quarters. Soon after, Lieutenant Reed, in control of the bridge, destroys an escaping Xindi ship. Archer relieves him as well, saying that the alien crew could have helped to save the eggs.

Archer promotes Major Hayes, non-Starfleet leader of the MACOs (Military Assault Command Operations), to First Officer. Hayes questions nothing about Archer's behavior, and has his MACOs man a number of critical positions on the ship. Archer orders Ensign Sato to prepare an Insectoid-language distress signal. With time running out, Tucker and Phlox conclude that a mutiny is in order, and they free T'Pol and Reed to assist. After a tense standoff and shootout with the MACOs, the ''Enterprise'' crew capture the bridge. Meanwhile, Tucker beams down to the hatchery and stuns Archer. Back on ''Enterprise'', a thorough medical scan by Phlox reveals that the egg had sprayed Archer with a "nurturing hormone", making him focus on preserving them. In the end, Archer is fully treated, Hayes confirms that he did not have a medical reason for thoughtlessly following questionable orders, and the ship resumes at full warp-speed towards Azati Prime.

Dennis Jennings (Steven Wright) is an introvert, showing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, paranoia, and a troubled youth. He works as a waiter and has an indifferent girlfriend, Emma, who only seems to patronize him. The "appointments" are with his psychiatrist (Rowan Atkinson), who is annoyed with him and uninterested in what he has to say. After finding his doctor sharing his (Dennis's) intimate secrets with a group of fellow psychiatrists at a bar, and then finding that his girlfriend is cheating on him with the doctor, Dennis decides he has had enough. He hunts the doctor, shoots him, and goes to jail afterwards.

The story begins with Kronos, still trapped in Tartarus, watching the Atlanteans survive the harsh winters in the Norselands after Atlantis was destroyed 10 years ago in the events of ''Age of Mythology''. He sends his unnamed servant to the colony, who kills the Theocrat Krios and possesses his body. "Krios" tells of a temple he saw in a vision. The Atlanteans leave the Norselands by using the foreseen temple, called a Sky Passage, and arrive at a resourceful island. Upon their arrival, Krios points out the plant-covered Temples to Oranos and Kronos, convincing everyone, including Kastor, to worship them. This angers the Greeks, who promptly attack them. The Atlanteans retaliate by destroying the entire Greek colony. The survivors tell of their defeat to General Melagius. The Atlanteans invade Melagius' city, Sikyos, and slay him. Just as the Atlanteans kill Melagius, his Egyptian and Norse allies come to aid the city. Kastor retreats, but decides to attack their homelands while they are defending Greece. In the Norselands, Kastor destroys Norse temples and replaces them with Atlantean temples. He also destroys the Tower of Odin with a god power from Kronos.

An Atlantean titan marches towards an Atlantean fortified city. Some Atlantean forces then sail to Egypt. Queen Amanra is warned by Arkantos that the Atlanteans are coming to steal relics. Despite Amanra's efforts, the Atlanteans succeed. Arkantos protects Amanra and tells her that Kastor is being tricked. Meanwhile, Krios congratulates Kastor and shows him a Sky Passage which will take him behind Greek lines. Kastor enters it and finds himself on Mount Olympus. Using temples that change his men into myth units, Kastor slays the followers of the Olympian Gods. However, once he does this, the temple to Zeus on the mountain collapses. Back in Greek territories, the Titan Prometheus and his army from Tartarus attack Sikyos. Krios announces that Kastor's actions in Greece, Egypt and the Norselands, along with his invasion of Olympus, have weakened the Olympian Gods' control over these territories and allowed titans to spawn. Krios reveals his true form and allegiance to Kronos, and flees.

Kastor is then attacked by other Atlanteans under Krios's control. Amanra meets Ajax, and aided by a flock of Rocs, they move to rescue Kastor. He expresses his regrets and journeys with Amanra and Ajax after the titans. In Egypt, they restore the Guardian (who previously aided them in ''Age of Mythology'') and use it to slay Cerberus. Next, they travel to the Norselands, and meet King Folstag, a powerful Frost Giant whose lands are being destroyed by the Titan Ymir. With the help of Folstag and the Nidhogg Dragon, the heroes kill Ymir and restore peace.

The heroes then travel to Greece to find the countryside in flames from Prometheus's attacks. Arkantos explains that Gaia, also a Titan, has been empowered by Kastor's actions, and has been using her power to heal Greece. They spread the green lush of the benevolent Titan, weakening Prometheus and overcoming him in his weakened state. The heroes then venture back to New Atlantis, which Kastor and his army retake from Automatons, and pursue Kronos' Servant to Old Atlantis. Kronos announces his future arrival as the King of the Titans. The only way to defeat him is to plant four magical seeds to summon Gaia. After the planting of the trees, Kronos appears.

As Kronos advances to destroy any opposition, Gaia is eventually released, battling Kronos and burying him in a landslide by Tartarus, and returns to the earth. Kronos' Servant attempts to escape, but Kastor stabs him through the heart. Arkantos appears to the Atlanteans and grants Kastor rulership of the Atlantean people by giving him the Staff of Atlantis, and the Atlanteans begin to rebuild their civilization.

The film begins on "Friday, April 17" at 4 p.m. in Venice, California. Huckleberry P. Jones (local pimp, narcotics peddler, and slumlord) enters a vacant house that he owns. While stashing heroin in the basement, he stumbles upon a mysterious door and enters it, falling into the Sixth Dimension, from which he promptly escapes. After retrieving the heroin, he sells the house to the Hercules family. On their way to school, Frenchy Hercules and her brother Flash have a conversation with Squeezit Henderson, who tells them that, while being violently beaten by his mother, he has a vision of his transgender sister René, who had fallen into the Sixth Dimension through the door in the Hercules' basement.

Frenchy returns home to confide in her mother, and decides to take just a "little peek" behind the forbidden door in the basement. After arriving in the Sixth Dimension, she is captured by the perpetually topless Princess, who brings Frenchy to the rulers of the Sixth Dimension, the midget King Fausto and his queen, Doris. When the king falls for Frenchy, Doris orders their frog servant, Bust Rod, to lock her up. In order to make sure that Frenchy is not harmed, Fausto tells Bust Rod to take Frenchy to Cell 63, where the king keeps his favorite concubines (as well as René).

The next day at school, Flash tries to convince Squeezit to help him rescue René and Frenchy. When Squeezit refuses, Flash enlists the help of Gramps instead. In the Sixth Dimension, they speak to an old Jewish man who tells them how to help Frenchy escape, but they soon are captured by Bust Rod. Doris interrogates Flash and Gramps before lowering them into a large septic tank. She then plots her revenge against Frenchy, relocating all the denizens of Cell 63 to a torture chamber. She leaves the Princess to oversee Frenchy's torture and execution, but when a fuse is blown, the torture is put on hold and the prisoners from Cell 63 are relocated to keep the King from finding them.

After escaping the septic tank, Flash and Gramps come across a woman who tells them that she was once happily married to the king, until Doris stole the throne by seducing her, "even though she's not my type". The ex-queen has been sitting in her cell for 1,000 years, and has been writing a screenplay in order to keep her sanity. Meanwhile, Pa Hercules is blasted through the stratosphere by an explosion caused by improperly extinguishing his cigarette in a vat of highly flammable tar during his work break at the La Brea Tar Pit Factory. After re-entry, Pa falls through the Hercules family basement and into the Sixth Dimension, where he is imprisoned.

Finding a phone, Flash calls Squeezit and again asks for his help. Finally, Squeezit agrees to go into the Sixth Dimension to help rescue Frenchy and René. There, he is captured by Satan, with whom he makes a deal to bring him the Princess in exchange for Satan's help freeing René and Frenchy. Squeezit accomplishes this task, but has failed to include himself in the deal to rescue his friends, and the devil has him decapitated. Queen Doris sends Bust Rod to keep an eye on the king, and to ensure he doesn't find out where she's hidden Frenchy.

Fausto catches Bust Rod and forces him to lead him to Frenchy and René, whom he orders to leave the Sixth Dimension to avoid the Queen's wrath. However, en route to safety, René is stricken with pseudo-menstrual cramps, and they are again captured by the frog. Squeezit's head, which has now sprouted chicken wings, finds the king and informs him of what has happened.

While preparing to kill Frenchy, Doris is confronted by the ex-queen, and the two engage in a cat-fight, with Doris eventually coming out as the victor. Just as she is about to kill Frenchy, Fausto stops her, explaining that Satan's Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo are holding the Princess hostage, and will kill her should anything befall Frenchy. Flash and Gramps arrive, and Flash is knocked down by Gramps. Ma Hercules enters and, seeing a seemingly dead Flash, shoots Doris. Fausto mourns Doris, then marries Frenchy.

The surviving characters look toward a great future as they plan to take over everyone and everything in the Galaxy.

''Them'' explores the complex struggles of American life through three down-on-their-luck characters—Loretta, Maureen, and Jules—who are attempting to reach normality and the American dream through marriage and money.

The story begins with Loretta Botsford and her brother Brock as teenagers, living in the 1930s in a "fair-sized city on a midwestern canal". Loretta falls in love with Bernie Malin, and sleeps with him. Later in the night, Brock fatally shoots Bernie in the head. Loretta runs away, and meets Howard Wendall, an older cop to whom she confesses the death of Bernie Malin.

They later marry, and she bears son Jules (who is hinted to be Bernie Malin's son). Loretta and Howard live close to Mama and Papa Wendall's house, on the south side of town. Soon after the birth of Jules, Howard is busted for taking money from prostitutes. The Wendalls move into the country house with Howard's family, where Loretta bore her daughters Maureen and Betty.

When World War II breaks out, Howard leaves his family to fight in Europe. Meanwhile, Jules grows up to be a fast, energetic child who hangs around older children, and is never still. Maureen is a quiet, shy, delicate girl, while Betty is a smart aleck. Jules as a child is fascinated by fire; when he burns down a deserted barn and when a plane crashes in Detroit.

Loretta decides to move to Detroit with her children while Howard is still at war. Jules takes on the role of the "bad boy" who hangs out with kids who steal from stores and smoke at school. Many conclude that Jules will not live past twenty. Soon Jules is expelled from the Catholic school and sent to a public school apart from his sisters.

As time progresses, Jules becomes more involved in petty theft but always has hopes for a better life. He falls passionately in love with a rich girl, Nadine, from the suburbs, whom he helps to run away to Texas. She abandons him in a hotel when he becomes ill, and steals his car and money.

After Howard dies in a work accident, Loretta remarries. She relies increasingly on Maureen to run the household. Feeling the desire to escape, Maureen turns to prostitution to build an escape fund. When her stepfather discovers her secret, he savagely beats her. He is convicted and jailed for assault, resulting in Loretta divorcing him, and Maureen suffering a year-long nervous breakdown. She gradually recovers with the care of Loretta's brother Brock, who has unexpectedly returned, and the letters of Jules, who slowly drifts back North from Texas.

Some time later, Jules is doing better in business working for his uncle when he reconnects with Nadine. She has married, but they initiate an affair. She has mental problems and shoots him. Jules survives, but has lost all his drive. Maureen has moved out and is working as a typist and taking night classes. She sets her sights on her professor, a married man, and they begin an affair. When Maureen coolly tells her mother of her plans to become a housewife, Loretta is incensed.

After his recovery, Jules is a defeated man, maintaining several affairs. He rapes a girl and later pimps her out. He also becomes involved with a group of intellectual radicals. He is present at the 1967 Detroit riots, when Loretta's apartment is among the buildings burned. In the chaos, Jules sinks to a new low and commits murder.

Later, Jules visits Maureen, who has isolated herself from the rest of her family in Dearborn, Michigan with her husband and is expecting a child. Loretta is surviving, and Jules plans to try his fortunes in California.

Set in a fictional MMORPG called ''The World'', the series follows twins Shugo and Rena. After winning a contest, Rena is given a pair of chibi avatars in the design of the legendary .hackers, Kite and BlackRose.The story takes place sometime between 2011 and 2014, after the conclusion of the original ''.hack'' games and during the period when Aura had become the "Ultimate AI" in order to take over management of ''The World''. The ''.hack//G.U.'' backstory videos within ''Terminal Disc'' reveal that Aura, not CC Corp, organized the contest that granted Shugo and Rena their avatars. After an odd occurrence, a mysterious AI named Aura gives Shugo the Twilight Bracelet, an item that both aids and hinders him. Rena and Shugo embark on an adventure to find Aura and unravel the mystery of the Twilight Bracelet.

Along the way, Shugo and Rena befriend Mireille, a rare item hunter; the fierce Ouka;Tokyopop's first printing of the first volume of the manga referred to Ouka as "Orca" (the name of a different character in the ''.hack'' continuity). and Hotaru, a peaceful girl. While waiting for an event to start, they encounter a strange girl named Zefie, who is lured to Shugo because she believes the bracelet smells like her mother, Aura. It is later realized that Zefie is a vagrant AI – an AI that acts independently outside the parameters of the game. Zefie's presence upsets many, including the Cobalt Knights, a group of administrators that follow the rule "If you can't control it, delete it" to an extreme.

Meanwhile, Balmung, another administrator in ''The World,'' encounters problems of his own. The suits, CC Corp's upper tier executives, are displeased with what little action Balmung has taken against Shugo and his illegal item, the Twilight Bracelet. Balmung's administrative duties are revoked.

Kamui, the leader of the Cobalt Knights, begins her pursuit of Shugo and company. She captures Shugo and his friends, but allows Mireille, Ouka, and Hotaru to leave after they promise they will not interfere with the workings of ''The World.'' Shugo, Rena, and Zefie are left in a cell together. Rena and Shugo disagree over whether to stay until the end. After they come to an agreement to stay and fight, Zefie opens the door to the cell, freeing them.

In the outside world, Ouka, Hotaru, and Mireille decide to return to ''The World'' and help Shugo. Kazu, a friend of Balmung, meets up with Shugo and party, carrying "Helba's Key," the key to an area called the Net Slums. Kamui shows up, demanding the key to the Net Slums with her knights in tow. Shugo and Kamui face off, which results in Kamui breaking her axe. Zefie tells her that everyone in ''The World'' is blessed. Shugo activates Helba's key and transports himself, Rena, Mireille, Hotaru, and Zefie to the Net Slums. Once at the Net Slums, the party is confronted by Balmung, refuses to allow the party to proceed to Aura unless Shugo can damage him. Shugo struggles, but manages to strike Balmung. Pleased, Balmung hands Shugo the virus cores he'll need to see Aura; he also explains that only three people can go see Aura. Hotaru and Mireille say their goodbyes to Zefie, Shugo, and Rena as they activate the virus cores and meet Aura. The manga ends with Zefie being reunited with her mother, and Shugo telling Aura of his adventures in ''The World''.

Anime

The anime has many differences from the manga, though the story begins in much the same way. Rena wins a limited edition character model contest for ''The World'' and invites her twin brother Shugo to play the legendary character Kite while she plays as the legendary BlackRose. On their first outing together, Shugo is killed by a monster, but is revived by a mysterious girl named Aura. As well as reviving Shugo, Aura gives him a mysterious bracelet. Shugo and Rena continue to play "The World" and find many warped monsters. They eventually meet new friends, Mireille, Ouka, Hotaru and Sanjuro. However, while searching through a haunted mansion, Rena disappears and falls into a coma. Shugo and Rena's friends frantically search for a solution, while a group of children plan something terrible. The Cerulean Knights, a debugging team for CC Corp, hinder the situation by trying to capture Shugo because of his bracelet. When Shugo and company reach a mysterious place where Rena might be, they are met by a hostile AI named Morti. Using the bracelet and a little help from an inside ally, the group locates the source of the problem and proceed to stop it. They transport themselves to a root town that is not open to the public yet, where Shugo manages to defeat the AI; however, due to some of the programming of the AI, ''The World'' will be destroyed. Shugo and Rena then activate Kite and Blackrose's joint power to save ''The World.''

Seventeen years after the events of ''The Decline of the American Empire'', Sébastien is enjoying a successful career in quantitative finance in London when he receives a call from his mother, Louise, that his father and Louise's ex-husband Rémy is terminally ill with cancer. Sébastien is not enthused about seeing Rémy, whom he blames for breaking up the family with his many adulteries. Rémy and his friends of the older generation are still largely social-democrats and proponents of Quebec nationalism, positions seeming somewhat anachronistic long after the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. Rémy does not like Sébastien's career, lack of reading or fondness for video games.

The father and son travel to the U.S. state of Vermont to briefly receive medical care before returning to the overcrowded and disorganized Quebec hospital. Sébastien attempts to bribe hospital administration for better care, and calls Rémy's old friends about a possible visit. Upon hearing heroin is "800%" more effective than morphine, he tracks some down for Rémy from a drug addict, Nathalie.

Meanwhile, Rémy is reunited with his friends, including Pierre, Dominique, Claude and Diane, Nathalie's mother, and they share a conversation on their old sex drive and the gradual decline of their vitality. Diane is concerned for Nathalie, while Rémy, a history professor, lectures the hospital chaplain Constance on the relative peace of the 20th century compared to past centuries. At the same time, another scholar describes the September 11 attacks as historically small except as a possible beginning of modern barbarian invasions. After Rémy and his friends retreat to the countryside, they speak of their devotion to constantly evolving -isms. Rémy dies in the company of his friends and Sébastien, after a heroin injection from Nathalie, whom Rémy calls his guardian angel.

The story starts when Yota Moteuchi finds out that the girl he likes, Moemi Hayakawa, is in love with his best friend, Takashi Niimai. Disappointed by this fact, he decides to rent a video from a mysterious video store that appeared in front of him on his way home. The video store was called "Gokuraku" ("Paradise"). The unique thing about this video store was that the videos in the store contained "video girls", girls which literally come to life and out of the user's television when the video tape is played to cheer the renter up. Not knowing about the video girls, Yota chooses to rent the video 'I'll Cheer You Up!', starring Ai Amano. Ai comes to life with the purpose to brighten up Yota's life and encourage him to pursue his love.

However, Yota plays the video on a broken video recorder, which causes Ai to come out "broken"; among other effects she has the ability to feel emotions. This additional feature of Ai causes her to eventually fall in love with Yota; a feeling which, after giving up on Moemi, Yota begins to return. However, a mysterious man related to Gokuraku known as Rolex enters the story and tries to recall Ai as she is faulty, and the fact that Ai's tape is nearing the end of its playing time makes matters even worse.

From this point on, the story changes focus slightly and concentrates on Yota and Ai attempting to overcome the difficulties presented by Gokuraku. Various other complications come into the story; for example Yota's continuing love for Moemi, and his relationship with a new character, Nobuko Nizaki.

Initially, Ai spends some of her time teasing Yota mercilessly in various sexual manners i.e. pretending to initiate intercourse, or joining Yota "innocently" in the bath "to help him wash". Yota's resulting embarrassment and attempt to extricate himself from the situation results, as always, in some slapstick humor and more resulting sexual tension.

Chance is a twenty-something slacker living in Los Angeles, who relies on a trust fund for finances and shares an apartment with her friend Simon, an unsuccessful telemarketer who is self-conscious about his body odor. One day, Simon comes home from the grocery store to find an unconscious woman in Chance's bed.

The film then goes back several months. Chance is annoyed when Rory, a struggling soap opera actor with whom Chance had a one-night stand, appears at her door and becomes emotional trying to convince her that they have a connection beyond just sex. Chance and Simon spin a story about meeting in a mental institution, which makes Rory uncomfortable enough to stop crying and to leave.

Simon tricks Chance into answering a phone call from her mother by telling her that it is a man named Jack whom she was immediately attracted to when she met him at a nightclub. Her mother, Desiree, is calling to tell her that she is coming to visit. Trying to escape spending time with her mother, Chance persuades Simon to switch roles with her for the weekend and Simon spends time with Desiree pretending to be Chance until Desiree tells Simon that she needs to talk to Chance about something in particular. Desiree tells Chance that she is leaving Chance's father Malcolm, who is in a relationship with another woman named Heidi.

Upset, Chance tells Simon about her parents' divorce and reveals that Desiree wants to stay with them for a while. Chance is suspicious when Simon tries to offer some comfort, and he begs again for $200 to pay off some unpaid parking tickets. Though hesitant to loan anyone money because of a bad experience with her first serious boyfriend, Chance agrees to give him the money for playing along with her charade for her mother.

Uncomfortable with the idea of her mother living with her, Chance arranges for Desiree and her to have dinner with Malcolm and Heidi. Chance also invites Rory and, as Chance had hoped, Heidi is immediately smitten with him because she watches the soap opera in which he stars. When Rory manages to get Heidi out of the room, Chance asks her parents about the divorce. Malcolm reveals that Desiree had suggested that they experiment sexually with Heidi, and Desiree felt rejected when Heidi preferred him. Desiree insists that he seduced her, but Malcolm denies it. Malcolm says that while attractions may come and go he loves her.

Chance goes out to a nightclub one night and meets a woman named Sara, who makes sexual advances on her. Chance brings Sara home with her, and after spending a day in bed together, Sara suggests that they take some drugs. Chance refuses and takes the drugs away. Chance leaves her apartment the next morning, and when she returns she finds Simon in her bedroom with Sara, who has apparently overdosed; Chance fears that Sara may have died from the drugs. Simon, overcome with emotion, kisses her and they have sex. Afterward, the two quickly begin to fight about the significance of the sex and Simon leaves the apartment.

The next morning Chance awakes to find Sara, alive, sitting at the kitchen table. She thanks Chance for a place to sleep off the drugs and then leaves. Meanwhile, Simon runs into Jack, who recognizes him from the nightclub. When Simon realizes that Jack is hitting on him, he tells him that Chance has a crush on him and thinks that he is straight. Simon then tells Jack about what had happened the night before and about his frustration and attraction to Chance. Jack tells Simon that, even though he is gay, he sometimes has sex with women because he needs the contact with human beings, and Simon realizes that he needs that human contact too.

Simon returns to Chance's apartment, and Chance is happy to see him, greeting him with a hug. They apologize for their actions and both admit that they are ready to try a relationship.

''2061 ''is set 60 years after the events of ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' and 51 years after those of ''2010: Odyssey Two''. At the end of the second novel, the enigmatic aliens who built the Monolith had transformed the planet Jupiter into a mini-sun in order to aid the evolution of life on Jupiter's moon Europa. A message was sent to Earth referring to Jupiter's moons:

The opening chapters of ''2061'' gradually explain the events that have taken place in the interim years. The new sun, dubbed "Lucifer", has transformed the moons of the former Jupiter: Io has become a volcanic hellhole, Europa an ocean world shrouded by clouds, and Ganymede a temperate world that the human race is colonizing. Large-scale interplanetary travel is now commercially viable with muon-catalyzed fusion-powered spacecraft. Due to the prior message, humanity is wary of sending spacecraft close to Europa despite its fascinating mysteries, including the appearance of a large mountain, dubbed "Mount Zeus", on its surface. On Earth, a period of relative peace has evolved between the United States, Soviet Union and China, although a non-violent revolution has taken place in South Africa (now the United States of Southern Africa or USSA); the white population has fled, taking most of the country's wealth with them and leaving the black population to rebuild the economy, which they do in a matter of weeks thanks to the country's diamond mines.

Dr. Heywood Floyd, the protagonist of ''2010'', has had an accident and become a permanent resident of an orbital space hospital. His estranged grandson, Chris II, works aboard the spacecraft ''Galaxy''. Now, at the age of 103, Floyd is chosen as one of six "celebrity guests" to travel aboard the privately owned spaceliner ''Universe'' for the first-ever human landing on the surface of Halley's Comet as it again nears Earth. The ''Universe'' lands on Halley, and the crew explores its surface and its caves.

On Ganymede, Rolf van der Berg, a second-generation Afrikaner refugee, studies data on satellite surveys of Mount Zeus and forms an astonishing thesis about its nature. He communicates his discovery to his uncle Paul Kreuger, and van der Berg is also invited to join the crew of the spacecraft ''Galaxy'' for its flyby of Europa. As ''Galaxy'' nears Europa, Rosie, a stewardess, attempts to hijack the craft, forcing it to crash into Europa's ocean. Failing in her (unexplained) plan, she commits suicide, and the ''Galaxy's'' crew is stranded. Observing the burgeoning aquatic life forms of Europa, the crew pilots ''Galaxy'' to an island that they name Haven.

''Universe'' abandons its exploration of Halley to rescue ''Galaxy''. After siphoning water from Halley's vents to refuel, an idea conceived by ''Universe'' s navigation officer and advanced by Floyd, ''Universe'' heads directly for Europa. During the flight, the celebrity passengers discuss the mystery surrounding Dave Bowman and the monoliths, and whether they would be allowed to land on Europa to rescue ''Galaxy'' s crew. Floyd follows a suggestion that he simply try to call Bowman on the radio, and later has a strange dream in which he sees a small monolith floating at the foot of his bed.

On Europa, Van der Berg and Chris Floyd take the shuttle ''William Tsung'' (nicknamed ''Bill Tee'') to study Mount Zeus. Near Mount Zeus, van der Berg relays the message "LUCY IS HERE" to his uncle Paul. It is revealed that Van der Berg's hypothesis, now proven true, was that Mount Zeus is one huge diamond, a remnant from the core of the exploded Jupiter. The revelation about Mount Zeus explains how Van der Berg got onto ''Galaxy ''and why Rosie tried to hijack it; the rulers of the USSA are concerned and the exiled Afrikaners are interested about what might happen to the world diamond market if a vast mountain of diamond were discovered.

Travelling further, the two men find the wreck of the Chinese spacecraft ''Tsien ''(which had crashed on Europa in ''2010''), which has been completely stripped of its metals, and then find the enormous, long monolith lying on its side at the border between the dayside and nightside, dubbed the "Great Wall". Beneath it is a town of igloo-like dwellings, but the inhabitants are not in sight. There, Chris sees an image of his grandfather, who appears to Chris in the same way that Bowman appeared to Floyd in ''2010'', and tells him that the ''Universe'' is coming.

''Universe'' rescues ''Galaxy'' s crew; they are brought to Ganymede, where they watch as Mount Zeus, which has been steadily sinking, finally disappears beneath the Europan surface. Kreuger writes a follow-up article for ''Nature'', stating that Mount Zeus was a mere fragment of Jupiter's diamond material, and that it is almost certain that many more such large pieces of diamond are currently in orbit around Lucifer. Krueger therefore proposes a scouting project to seek diamond in the Lucifer system, for eventual mining.

Floyd, Chris, and van der Berg become close. In a later chapter, another Heywood Floyd, now a disembodied creature of pure consciousness, talks with Dave Bowman. It is revealed that the small monolith duplicated Floyd's consciousness; there are now two Heywood Floyds, one an immortal being who resides with Bowman and HAL inside the Great Wall, another who will live and die without knowing this. Bowman shows Floyd images of his experience of studying the life forms of Jupiter before they were killed in the creation of Lucifer, explaining that the monolith weighed the Jovians against the Europans and decided the latter held more promise. Bowman states that during the diamond meteor impact, the immensely powerful monolith tipped over on its side, and may be damaged. He and HAL believe that when Lucifer begins to fail, the monolith will weigh the Europans against humanity and they have only about a thousand years to prepare for that moment.

In an epilogue, set in 3001, the original monolith discovered on the Moon in 1999 has been placed in the plaza of the ancient United Nations Building. Humans have found more quantities of diamond from the former Jupiter and have used it to create space elevators and an orbital ring connecting them, as suggested by Kreuger. (This idea will later be a central concept in ''3001: The Final Odyssey''.) Suddenly, Lucifer's light begins to fade and the Monolith reawakens for the first time in a thousand years.

Outside references to scientific literature

Late in the novel (Chapter 56, "Perturbation Theory"), two real scientific articles are explicitly cited by Paul Krueger, van der Berg's uncle. A 1981 article in ''Nature'' lends plausibility to ''2061's'' basic premise that other solar system bodies may contain massive quantities of diamond material, and serves as the basis for ''2061's'' premise of a large diamond being discovered on Europa. A 1966 article in ''Science'' examines the feasibility of various materials for the theoretical construction of a space elevator, identifying diamond as the best available known material, and likewise serves as a basis for the space elevators (or towers) which extend from Earth's surface out into space.

The elevators are major pieces of technology in the sequel novel ''3001'', and settings of much of the latter novel's action. The intervening implication is that over the next millennium, humanity finds other large sources of diamond in the Lucifer–Jupiter system, precipitate which resulted from the transformation of the latter into the former, and mines this diamond material, using it for (previously impossible) construction projects.

The novel begins with a brief prologue describing the bioforms – dubbed the First-Born – who created the black monoliths. They evolved from "primordial soup", and over the course of millions of years, became a space-faring species. Perceiving that nothing was more precious than "mind," they catalysed the evolution of intelligent species wherever they went, by increasing the intelligent species' chance of survival. After visiting Earth, the First-Born found a way to impress themselves into the fabric of space and time, becoming effectively immortal. Meanwhile, the monoliths—implied to have been forgotten by their creators when they ascended to a higher state of being—continued to watch over their subjects.

''3001'' follows the adventures of Frank Poole, the astronaut killed by the HAL 9000 computer in ''2001: A Space Odyssey''. One millennium later, Poole's freeze-dried body is discovered in the Kuiper belt by a comet-collecting space tug named the ''Goliath'', and revived. Poole is taken home to learn about the Earth in the year 3001. Some of its notable features include the BrainCap, a brain–computer interface technology; genetically engineered dinosaur servants; and four gigantic space elevators located evenly around the Equator. Humans have also colonised the Jovian moons Ganymede and Callisto. ''TMA-1'', the black monolith found on the Moon in 1999, has been brought to Earth in 2006 and installed in front of the United Nations Building in New York City.

Poole integrates into the society of 3001, but is prompted by a friend to revisit Europa, a cradle of nascent life from which the monolith had banned humanity almost a thousand years earlier. It is believed he might be the first person allowed to visit there. On Europa he is greeted by the voice of David Bowman and computer HAL 9000, who have now become a single entity—''Halman''—residing as digitized lifeforms in the monolith's computational matrix. In subsequent conversations he learns that the monoliths themselves are mechanisms, answerable to an unknown superior monolith, or perhaps lifeforms, almost 450 light-years away.

Thirty years later, Poole is married, and a member of a small team responsible for monitoring Europa. Halman contacts him to warn that following the events of ''2010: Odyssey Two'' and ''2061: Odyssey Three'', the Jovian monolith had sent a report to its superior monolith, containing details about the human species after first contact. Since this report took place shortly after the wars of the 20th century, Halman believes the response just received after the 900-year round trip contains instructions to destroy humanity, due to its failure as a species.

Unsure whether they can physically harm the Monolith, the Europa team decide instead to infect it – as a computational mechanism – with a virulent and subtle computer virus that will confound its calculational capabilities. Poole requests Halman to act as a Trojan Horse and place the virus inside the monolith, where it will be executed. Suitable computer and biological viruses already exist in the Pico Vault, an ultrasecure storage on the Moon, used for the most dangerous agents of these kinds. The Europa team also agree to leave a petabyte-capacity holographic 3D storage medium on Europa to allow Halman and other lifeforms in the monolith to upload themselves and escape the monolith's failure.

The monolith does receive orders to exterminate humanity, and starts a duplication, whereupon millions of monoliths form two cascade screens to prevent Solar light and heat from reaching Earth and its colonies, but the monoliths all quickly disintegrate as a result of the virus. The monoliths' makers' response to its destruction will occur in another 900 years as the earliest possibility.

The petabyte storage device, containing Halman and other lifeforms, but also infected with the virus, is subsequently sealed by scientists in the Pico Vault. At the close of the story, Poole and other humans land on Europa to start peaceful relations with the primitive native Europans. A statement is made that the monolith's makers will not determine humanity's fate until "the Last Days".

''La Haine'' opens with a montage of news footage of urban riots in a ''banlieue'' in the commune of Chanteloup-les-Vignes near Paris. A local man, Abdel Ichaha, is in intensive care having been gravely injured in police custody. In the ensuing riots the local police station is besieged, and a police officer loses his revolver. The film depicts approximately twenty consecutive hours in the lives of three friends of Abdel, all young men from immigrant families, in the aftermath of the riot.

Vinz is a young Jewish man with an aggressive temperament who wishes to avenge Abdel, has a blanket condemnation of all police officers, and secretly reenacts Travis Bickle from ''Taxi Driver'' in the bathroom mirror. Hubert is an Afro-French boxer and small-time drug dealer who yearns to leave the ''banlieue'' for a better life and refuses to provoke the police, but whose boxing gymnasium was burned down in the riots. Saïd is a young North African Muslim who plays a mediating role between Vinz and Hubert.

The three go through an aimless daily routine, frequently finding themselves under police scrutiny. After the police break a rooftop gathering and the three sit idly on a playground, Vinz reveals to the other two that he has found the .44 Magnum revolver lost in the riot, and plans to use it to kill a police officer if Abdel dies. Although Hubert disapproves, Vinz secretly takes the gun with him. The three go to see Abdel in the hospital, but are turned away by the police. Saïd is arrested after their aggressive refusal to leave. He is later released with the help of a familiar police officer.

Following a disagreement between Vinz and Hubert about their perspectives on policing and violence, the two men part ways. Saïd accompanies Vinz, while Hubert briefly returns to his home. They reunite at another gathering in the banlieue, but the situation quickly turns chaotic when Abdel's brother attempts to kill a police officer in revenge. A confrontation with the police ensues, and the group narrowly escapes after Vinz nearly shoots a riot officer. They take a train to Paris, where their responses to both benign and malicious Parisians cause several situations to escalate to dangerous hostility. In a public restroom, a Gulag survivor tells them of a friend who refused to relieve himself in public and subsequently froze to death, puzzling the three as to the meaning of the story.

They then go to see Snoopy, an avid cocaine user who owes Saïd money, leading to a violent confrontation as he appears to try to force Vinz to play Russian roulette (the gun is secretly unloaded). They have a run-in with sadistic plainclothes police, who arrest Saïd and Hubert while Vinz flees. The police verbally and physically abuse the duo and lock them up until late night, which results in the three missing the last train from Saint-Lazare station and spending the night on the streets.

After being kicked out of an art gallery and unsuccessfully trying to hotwire a car, the trio stay in a shopping mall and learn from a news broadcast that Abdel is dead. They travel to a rooftop from which they insult skinheads and policemen, before encountering the same group of skinheads who begin to beat Saïd and Hubert savagely. Vinz breaks up the fight at gunpoint and captures one of the skinheads. His plan to execute him is thwarted by his reluctance to go through with the deed, and, cleverly goaded by Hubert, he is forced to confront the fact that his heartless gangster pose does not reflect his true nature. Vinz lets the skinhead flee.

Early in the morning, the trio return home and Vinz turns the gun over to Hubert. Vinz and Saïd encounter a plainclothes officer whom Vinz had insulted earlier whilst with his friends on a local rooftop. The officer grabs and threatens Vinz, taunting him with a loaded gun held to his head. Hubert rushes to their aid, but the officer's gun accidentally goes off, killing Vinz. As Hubert and the officer point their guns at each other and Saïd closes his eyes, a single gunshot is heard, with no indication of who fired or who may have been hit.

This stand-off is underlined by a voice-over of Hubert's slightly modified opening lines ("It's about a society in free fall..."), underlining the fact that, as the lines say, ''jusqu'ici tout va bien'' ("so far so good"); all seems to be going relatively well until Vinz is killed, and from there no one knows what will happen, a microcosm of French society's descent through hostility into pointless violence.

The book picks up the story immediately after the end of ''The Garden of Rama''. The book follows the story of Nicole Wakefield and her escape from imprisonment left at the cliffhanger of the previous book.

At this point, the humans had already come into contact with two alien species known as "octospiders" and "myrmicats". The octospiders were a simple species until a space-faring species made contact with them and forever changed their society. By undergoing genetic enhancements, the octospiders became biological wizards and were eventually able to form a utopia of sorts. The myrmicats (named by Richard Wakefield, a combination of the Greek word for ant, myrmex, due to their ant-like appearance, and the English word "cat" due to their feline size and running gait) were a naturally heteromorphic species whose final form was a large, interconnected sentient mesh which was able to directly interface with the human brain through a network of fibers connected to the body. Through this medium, it was able to communicate to Richard the threat posed to the species by the violent colonists, and at the request of the myrmicats he leaves their habitat carrying some of their eggs for preservation.

As the human colony continues to degenerate with respect to living conditions and human rights, the members of Nicole's family escape to the region nicknamed "New York", where they used to live in ''Rama II,'' and are eventually reunited with Richard.

Before long, the human colony police come after Nicole's family in "New York" and they flee to the octospider city. After the human colony leader starts bombing the octospider city under a made-up pretext and the octospiders retaliate, the situation becomes dire enough that Rama's controlling intelligence intervenes to end the conflict caused by the humans aboard, by sending everybody into hibernation until the end of the journey, except for the surviving myrmicats which are allowed to lead their daily life.

The Rama spacecraft rendezvous with another Node, an enormous tetrahedron near the star Tau Ceti, designed to research any intelligent life capable of spaceflight. The humans are divided into two groups based mainly on the degree of xenophobia they had exhibited during the journey. One group will stay at the Node to be studied; the xenophobes are segregated and never allowed to see another alien again. To some of the more adaptable group, the purpose of the universe is revealed by the Nodal intelligence, to create universes and search through their galaxies for lifeforms that could make up a completely harmonious universe.

The film opens with Michael Alig as a small-town outcast who lived with his mom before moving to New York. Michael learns the New York party scene from James St. James, who teaches him the "rules of fabulousness", which mostly revolve around attracting as much attention to oneself as possible.

Despite James' warning, Alig hosts a party at The Limelight, a local club owned by Peter Gatien. With Alig as its main attraction, The Limelight soon becomes the hottest club in New York. Alig is named "King of the Club Kids" and goes on a cross country journey in search of more club kids. Alig and James pick up Angel Melendez, Gitsie, and Brooke. Gitsie becomes Michael's latest sidekick although the movie implies the relationship was little more than platonic. However, after Michael descends further into drug abuse, his life starts to spiral out of control, eventually culminating in his involvement in the murder of Angel. Gitsie and Michael decide to go to rehab but ultimately return to NY with the same drug problems as before, causing Michael to lose his job and end up in a motel in New Jersey where he is arrested and sent to prison after being ousted by James. James then begins to write his "Great American Novel", published first as ''Disco Bloodbath'' and later as ''Party Monster''.

After returning home from a two-year training mission, Billy and Jimmy Lee come across a fortune teller named Hiruko. The woman tells the Lee brothers that in order to challenge the world's strongest adversary, they must seek out the three Rosetta Stones that have been scattered around the world.

The game begins in the United States, where the Lee brothers must defeat the remnants of the Black Warriors gang from the previous games before they set off to find the stones. Afterward, the heroes must travel to China, Japan, Italy, and finally Egypt, where each of the stones are being guarded by formidable fighters unique to each country (such as the shinobi in Japan and archers in Italy) who will refuse to give them up without a fight. Once all three Rosetta Stones have been procured, the Lee brothers' journey reaches its final destination in Egypt, where they face all sorts of supernatural creatures as they enter Cleopatra's tomb to uncover the mystery surrounding the stones.

The story is narrated in a first-person perspective by the geologist William Dyer, a professor at Arkham's Miskatonic University, in the hope to prevent an important and much publicized scientific expedition to Antarctica. Throughout the course of his explanation, Dyer relates how he led a group of scholars from Miskatonic University on a previous expedition to Antarctica, during which they discovered ancient ruins and a dangerous secret beyond a range of mountains higher than the Himalayas.

A small advance group, led by Professor Lake, discovers the remains of fourteen prehistoric life-forms previously unknown to science, and also unidentifiable as either plants or animals. Six of the specimens have been badly damaged, while another eight have been preserved in pristine condition. The specimens' stratum places them far too early on the geologic time scale for the features of the specimens to have evolved. Some fossils of Cambrian age show signs of the use of tools to carve a specimen for food.

When the main expedition loses contact with Lake's party, Dyer and his colleagues investigate. Lake's camp is devastated, with the majority of men and dogs slaughtered, while a man named Gedney and one of the dogs are absent. Near the expedition's campsite, they find six star-shaped snow mounds with one specimen under each. They also discover that the better preserved life-forms have vanished, and that some form of dissection experiment has been done on both an unnamed man and a dog. The missing man Gedney is suspected of having gone utterly insane and having killed and mutilated all the others.

specimen (illustration by Tom Ardans) Dyer and a graduate student named Danforth fly an aeroplane across the mountains, which they identify as the outer walls of a vast, abandoned stone city, alien to any human architecture. For their resemblance to creatures of myth mentioned in the ''Necronomicon'', the builders of this lost civilization are dubbed the "Elder Things." By exploring these fantastic structures, the men learn through hieroglyphic murals that the Elder Things first came to Earth shortly after the Moon took form, and built their cities with the help of "shoggoths"—biological entities created to perform any task, assume any form, and reflect any thought. There is a hint that all Earthly life evolved from cellular material left over from the creation of the shoggoths.

As more buildings are explored, the explorers learn about the Elder Things' conflict with both the Star-spawn of Cthulhu and the Mi-Go, who arrived on Earth shortly afterwards. The images also reflect a degradation of their civilization, once the shoggoths gain independence. As more resources are applied in maintaining order, the etchings become haphazard and primitive. The murals also allude to an unnamed evil lurking within an even larger mountain range located beyond the city. This mountain range rose in one night and certain phenomena and incidents deterred the Elder Things from exploring it. When Antarctica became uninhabitable, even for the Elder Things, they soon migrated into a large, subterranean ocean.

(illustration by Nottsuo) Dyer and Danforth eventually realize that the Elder Things missing from the advance party's camp had somehow returned to life and, after slaughtering the explorers, have returned to their city. Dyer and Danforth also discover traces of the Elder Things' earlier exploration, as well as sleds containing the corpses of both Gedney and his missing dog. They are ultimately drawn towards the entrance of a tunnel, into the subterranean region depicted in the murals. Here, they find evidence of various Elder Things killed in a brutal struggle and blind six-foot-tall penguins wandering placidly, apparently used as livestock. They are then confronted by a black, bubbling mass, which they identify as a shoggoth, and escape. Aboard the plane, high above the plateau, Danforth looks back and sees something which causes him to go insane, implied to be the unnamed evil itself.

Dyer concludes the Elder Things are survivors of a bygone era, who slaughtered Lake's group only in self-defense or scientific curiosity. Their civilization was eventually destroyed by the shoggoths, which now prey on the enormous penguins. He warns the planners of the next proposed Antarctic expedition to stay away from the site.

In 1992, following his mother's murder in a drive-by shooting, CJ returns home to Los Santos to attend her funeral. Upon arrival, he is intercepted by C.R.A.S.H., who threaten to frame him for the recent murder of a police officer (actually killed by them for trying to expose their corruption) unless he co-operates with them. After leaving them, CJ reunites with Sweet, Kendl, Big Smoke, and Ryder at the funeral, and learns that the Grove Street Families have lost most of their influence and territories to their main rivals, the Ballas. CJ agrees to stay in Los Santos until the gang's problems are resolved, and works closely with his brother and friends to restore the Families' strength. During this time, he also befriends Cesar Vialpando after realizing he genuinely cares for Kendl, and helps to jumpstart OG Loc's rap career. Shortly after the Families' resurgence, Sweet plans to ambush a large group of Ballas. Before he can join the attack, CJ is contacted by Cesar with information on the drive-by shooting, revealing that C.R.A.S.H. ordered it with the intent of killing Sweet, and have been working with the Ballas, Big Smoke, and Ryder to end the Families and profit off the drug trade.

Realizing Sweet is headed into a trap, CJ attempts to save him, but both are arrested by the police. While Sweet is incarcerated, CJ is released on bail by C.R.A.S.H. and driven out of Los Santos, where he is forced to assist with several jobs to prevent C.R.A.S.H.'s corruption from going public. With the Families disbanded and the Ballas flooding Los Santos with drugs, CJ focuses on earning money to financially support himself, Kendl, and Cesar. He commits several robberies alongside Catalina and engages in illegal street racing. After winning a garage in San Fierro from Claude, CJ travels there with his associates and transforms it into a profitable business. While in San Fierro, CJ works for the local Triads after befriending Woozie, and infiltrates the Loco Syndicate, the Ballas' main cocaine supplier, to destroy them from the inside. After earning their trust, he kills the organization's leaders, as well as Ryder, and destroys their drug laboratory.

Later, CJ is surprised when Mike Toreno, who faked his death, contacts him for assistance, revealing himself to be a government agent. After carrying out several operations for Toreno in return for Sweet's release from prison, CJ travels to Las Venturas to help Woozie open a casino. Facing competition from the Mafia, CJ and the Triads organize a robbery of the rival mob-run casino. To gather intel on the place, CJ befriends Ken Rosenberg, the casino's manager, whom he eventually helps flee the city, and works for Salvatore Leone, who vows revenge after CJ robs his establishment. During this time, CJ continues to work for C.R.A.S.H., until Tenpenny betrays him and orders Pulaski to kill CJ and Hernandez, who secretly turned on his partners. After killing Hernandez, Pulaski is in turn killed by CJ. After saving Madd Dogg (who was driven to depression when CJ inadvertently ruined his career while helping OG Loc) from a suicide attempt, he approaches CJ to ask him to become his manager and help him rebuild his career. CJ returns to Los Santos and does so with his associates' help.

Toreno eventually honours his promise and allows CJ to be reunited with Sweet. Although happy to have him back, Sweet berates CJ for forgetting about their gang again, and talks him into helping to rebuild the Families. Meanwhile, Tenpenny is arrested for corruption, but is acquitted in his trial, provoking violent riots across Los Santos. CJ helps Madd Dogg exact revenge on OG Loc, and assists with retaking the Families' and the Varrios Los Aztecas' territories from the Ballas and Vagos. After tracking down Big Smoke at his fortress, CJ confronts and kills him over his betrayal. Tenpenny then arrives to claim his share of Smoke's money and kill CJ, but the latter survives and pursues Tenpenny with Sweet's help. The brothers' pursuit eventually causes Tenpenny to crash his getaway vehicle in outside CJ's family home, where he dies from his injuries. With the riots eventually over and the Families restored, CJ and his allies celebrate their success in his home. In the midst of the celebrations, CJ leaves to check things out around the neighbourhood.

Jabez Wilson, a London pawnbroker, comes to consult Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson on a Saturday. While studying this prospective client, both Holmes and Watson notice his red hair, which has a distinct flame-like hue. Wilson tells them that some weeks before, his young assistant, Vincent Spaulding, urged him to respond to a newspaper advertisement by "The Red-Headed League" offering highly-paid work to only red-headed male applicants. The next morning, Wilson had waited in a long line of fellow red-headed men, was interviewed, and was the only applicant hired because none of the others had hair colour to match his.

Wilson was grateful to secure the position, as his pawnshop was struggling. He was required to occupy an office from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every day and copy out the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', for which he was paid £4 per week ( ). The work was useless clerical labour, performed in nominal compliance with the will of an American millionaire who wanted to provide for the welfare of red-headed men like himself.

After eight weeks, Wilson reported to the office only to find a note on the door stating that the Red-Headed League had been dissolved. He spoke with the landlord, who stated that he had never heard of either the organisation or of Duncan Ross, the person who had hired Wilson for the position. The landlord did remember a tenant with scarlet hair, who had given his name as William Morris and presented a business card for an artificial kneecap company, but no one there knew of either Ross or Morris. He decided to bring his problem to Holmes immediately afterward.

Holmes and Watson laugh at Wilson's frustration over losing the job; Holmes points out that Wilson has earned a considerable sum of money, but promises to solve the case quickly. Wilson provides a description of Spaulding, after which Holmes and Watson visit the pawnshop. Holmes strikes the pavement in front with his walking stick and focuses on the knees of Spaulding's trousers when he answers the door. Concluding that a crime is about to be committed at a bank near the shop, Holmes gathers Watson, Inspector Jones of Scotland Yard, and bank chairman Mr. Merryweather that night.

As the four hide in the darkened bank vault, Merryweather reveals that it holds a shipment of gold coins borrowed from a French bank; Holmes suspects a wanted criminal named John Clay of planning to steal them. After more than an hour's wait, Clay and his red-headed accomplice Archie break upward through the vault floor − inadvertently found to be hollow by Merryweather earlier. Clay is quickly captured while Archie escapes, but Holmes leaves the latter man to be caught by the additional police officers Jones has stationed around Wilson's shop.

Back at Baker Street, Holmes explains his reasoning to Watson. Archie and Spaulding, whom Holmes had recognised as Clay from Wilson's description, concocted the Red-Headed League as a way to keep Wilson occupied during the day so that Clay could tunnel into the bank vault from the cellar of the shop. Holmes had noticed that Clay's trouser knees were worn and dirty from digging, and striking the pavement had informed him that the cellar extended behind the shop and toward the bank. Archie had posed as Morris to rent the office, then as Ross to hire Wilson, and closed the office once the tunnel was completed.

The story begins with Agnes Nitt leaving Lancre to seek a career at the Opera House in Ankh-Morpork, recently purchased by Seldom Bucket, formerly a cheesemonger. When Granny Weatherwax realizes Nanny Ogg has written an immensely popular "cookbook" but has not been paid by the publisher (and that the nom de plume of 'A Lancre Witch' may lead people to believe that she rather than Nanny wrote it), the witches leave for Ankh-Morpork to collect the money. They also hope to recruit Agnes into their coven, to replace Magrat Garlick who left the coven when she became Queen of Lancre (in ''Lords and Ladies''). This has the side benefit of distracting Granny from becoming obsessive and self-centered, or so Nanny believes to her great relief. En route, they meet Henry Slugg, an Ankh-Morporkian opera singer who adopted a Brindisian persona of Enrico Basilica to further his career but yearns for Ankh-Morporkian cuisine after years of Brindisian pasta, squid and tomato sauce; and Granny makes a deal with Death for him not to claim the fatally-ill son of an innkeeper.

Agnes Nitt is chosen as a member of the chorus, where she meets Christine, a more popular but less talented girl whose father lent Bucket large sums of money to purchase the Opera House. The Opera Ghost, who has long haunted the opera house without much incident, begins to commit seemingly random murders staged as "accidents", and also requests that Christine be given lead roles in several upcoming productions. Due to her incredibly powerful, versatile and possibly magical voice, Agnes is asked to sing the parts from the background, unbeknownst to Christine or the audience. After swapping rooms with Christine, Agnes begins receiving late-night training from the Opera Ghost originally intended for Christine.

Having discovered the problems at the Opera House and also having coerced the publisher to pay Nanny richly for her book, the witches investigate the mystery, with Granny posing as a rich patron, Nanny insinuating herself into the opera house staff, and Greebo being transmogrified into human form (as during ''Witches Abroad'') to pose as Granny's companion. Agnes unmasks Walter Plinge, the janitor, as the ghost, though as he is seemingly harmless, the others are unconvinced. Andre, another employee, is suspected, but he turns out to be a Cable Street Particular. Granny determines that the finances of the Opera House, which are a complete mess, have been made so intentionally in order to hide the fact that money is being stolen, with the murders being used either as a distraction or to cover the evidence.

It is finally revealed that two people had been masquerading as the ghost. The original (and harmless) ghost, Walter Plinge, was being psychologically manipulated and blackmailed by the second ghost, Mr Salzella (Director of Music at the Opera House), who assumed the identity to commit the murders and theft. With the witches' help, Walter is able to overcome his fears and help defeat the murderer, who is killed by believing that the fencing staged in opera is actual lethal swordplay, dying despite not actually being injured. Walter then goes on to become the new Director of Music, integrating his own music into the opera, turning them into musicals. Slugg, decidedly abandoning his Enrico Basilica persona after being assaulted and concussed by Salzella, reunites with Angeline Lawsy, his childhood sweetheart, and is introduced to his long-lost son Henry Lawsy. Agnes, after realising that she does not fit in with the environment of the opera, returns to Lancre to learn how to be a witch from Granny and to serve as the third member of the Lancre Coven.

The alien Fithp resemble baby elephants with multiple prehensile trunks. They possess more advanced technology than humans, but did not develop any of it on their own. In the distant past on their planet, another species was dominant. The predecessor species badly damaged the environment, rendering itself and many other species extinct, but left behind their knowledge inscribed on large stone cubes from which the Fithp gained their technology. An arms race between two rival herds threatened to render the species extinct, so they wagered to see who would depart in a starship and seek a new home elsewhere. The leadership of the loser formed the ''Chtaptisk Fithp'' ('Traveling Herd').

The herd was divided into "Sleepers" and the "Spaceborn", as the starship is both a generation ship and a sleeper ship. The original leaders are subordinate to the Spaceborn, who are prepared to start a space-based civilization, but are still dedicated to the generations-old goal of conquest.

The Fithp are herd creatures and fight wars differently from humans. When two herds meet, they fight until it is evident which is dominant. Fighting then ceased, and the losers are incorporated into the winning herd. The Fithp are confused by human attempts at peaceful contact. Upon arrival, they attack the Soviet space station, the country still being a world superpower, where Soviets and Americans wait to greet them. They proceed to destroy military sites and important infrastructure on Earth. US Congressman Wes Dawson and Soviet cosmonauts are captured from the ruins of the space station.

The human characters fall into two major groups: those on Earth and those who are taken aboard the Fithp spaceship as captives. Civilians are used to show the effects of the war on day-to-day life in the US, and military and government personnel convey a more strategic overview of events. Science fiction writers are employed as technical advisers on alien technology and behavior; the characters are based on real writers, including Niven ("Nat Reynolds"), Pournelle ("Wade Curtis"), and Robert Anson Heinlein ("Bob Anson").

After their initial assault, the Fithp land ground forces in the center of North America, primarily in and around Kansas. They initially repel attacks with orbital lasers and kinetic energy weapons, but a combined Soviet and US nuclear attack wipes out their beachhead. The Fithp, who are familiar with nuclear weapons, but prefer to use cleaner ones, are shocked by what they consider the barbarity of humans' willingness to "sow radioactive fire on their own croplands". The Fithp respond to the defeat of their invasion by dropping a large asteroid into the Indian Ocean, whose impact results in environmental damage on a global scale, particularly the almost total destruction of India. The Fithp then invade southern Africa, successfully subjugating most of its people. On numerous occasions, the Fithp are assisted by human leaders seeking to keep their power over the masses.

The US secretly builds a large, heavily armed spacecraft in Washington state that is propelled by nuclear bombs, a real concept known as Project Orion. The ship is named after the Biblical archangel Michael, who cast Lucifer out of Heaven. When there is a security leak, ''Michael'' launches prematurely and battles through small enemy "digit" ships, aided by one-man gunships and larger space shuttles carried aboard ''Michael'' and released as needed. Though seriously damaged, she pursues the alien mothership. One of the shuttles rams the Fithp ship, damaging it badly enough that it cannot escape ''Michael''.

On Earth, US President David Coffey receives an offer of conditional surrender from the Fithp. Coffey is willing to let the Fithp withdraw into space and is reluctant to destroy their technology and cargo of females and children. He is opposed by his advisors, who feel that by allowing the Fithp to escape and regroup, he risks the whole of humanity. When Coffey seemingly folds under the pressure, National Security Adviser Admiral Carrell stages a bloodless ''coup d'état'', circumventing the President and rejecting the aliens' proposal. An act of sabotage by the humans aboard the alien vessel disables the Fithp engines, allowing ''Michael'' to inflict heavy damage, which forces the Fithp to accept humanity as the stronger species and surrender themselves to become part of the human "herd". In the final scene, the Fithp leader lies on his back and allows the former captive Dawson to place his foot on his chest, which is the formal Fithp gesture of surrender.

Lionel Powers and Julian Messenger are filthy rich men with dirty family secrets. They play dirty as well, fighting for control over a professional football team in Los Angeles with every weapon at their disposal.

While the billionaires scheme and squabble, the married couple Rita and Jerry Pascoe can barely make ends meet. Their marriage becomes strained with Jerry's continuing inability to hold or find a job. While rich people blackmail one another, homeless people look for handouts and Jerry Pascoe is reduced to cleaning stadium restrooms and applying for a job as a peanut vendor.

The tabloid-worthy secrets in the lives of Powers' wife Ariel and right-hand man Alan Blanchard lead to dire consequences for all. The marriage of the Pascoes, meanwhile, turns tragi-comically from a terrible climax to fodder for reality TV.

In suburban Kansas City, 18-year-old Scotty White and 16-year-old Janice Wilson are very much in love, but her parents stand between them because Janice is "too young to go steady" and Scotty "hangs out with the wrong crowd". At the drive-in alone one night, Scotty gets wrongly targeted by a gang who are looking for the person who slashed one of their tires. Cholly, a hot-rod greaser who heads a gang of carousing delinquents, comes to Scotty's rescue. Cholly cooks up the idea of posing as Janice's new boyfriend and bringing her to meet Scotty the next night. The plan works well, and the teen crowd all meet at an abandoned mansion on the edge of town. However, the party gets out of hand with wild drinking and dancing, and Scotty and Janice leave to be alone.

Soon after, the police mysteriously appear and break up the drunken free-for-all. Cholly and his right-hand-delinquent Eddy suspect Scotty of tipping off the police, and the whole gang kidnaps Scotty the next day and force him to gulp down an entire bottle of Scotch when he won't admit to being the informant. In panic after Scotty passes out from drinking, the gang begins to drive him out to the country with the intention of abandoning him on the side of the road but on the way they pull into a service station to get some gas. Eddy decides to hold up the station, but Scotty unknowingly bungles it when he wakes up. Cholly hits the station attendant on the head with a gas pump, and the gang speeds off, leaving Scotty behind with the cash and the attendant. Scotty staggers home, finds the gang has kidnapped Janice, has several fights, and then has a switchblade fight with Cholly in a home kitchen. Scotty then goes to the police.

The film opens on Nippon Farm, with a mother cat who has given birth to kittens. One of the kittens is named Milo, or Chatran in the Japanese version ( , literally Brown Tiger), and has a habit of being too curious and getting himself into trouble. He finds a pug puppy named Otis, or Poosky in the Japanese version ( ), and they soon become friends. When Milo is hiding inside a box floating in the river, it breaks loose and he accidentally drifts downstream. Otis runs after Milo, who himself goes on many adventures, escaping one obstacle after another.

Milo encounters a bear, escapes from a raven and Deadwood Swamp, steals a dead muskrat from a fox, follows a railroad called Nippon Bearway to the home of a deer who shelters him, sleeps in a nest with an owl, stays for a while with a pig and her piglets, catches a fish and is robbed of it by a raccoon, is mobbed by seagulls, and evades another bear, then a snake, before falling into a deep pit.

For his part, Otis follows Milo throughout, usually only an hour behind and less than a mile out of range. Finally, the two catch up with one another. While Milo is in the hole, Otis pulls him out by means of a rope. Milo and Otis are reunited, and soon find mates of their own: Joyce, a white cat, for Milo; and Sondra, a French pug, for Otis. Afterward, they briefly part ways and raise offspring of their own. Later, Milo, Otis, Joyce, and Sondra (along with their litters) happily find their way back together through the forest to their farm as the credits roll.

The film's premise is that there is another way to heaven than adherence to the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. A secular Sin Eater can remove all taint of sin, no matter how foul, from the soul just before death. The purified soul can then ascend into heaven. The Roman Catholic Church, according to the film, considers this heresy.

Alex Bernier (Heath Ledger), an unhappy and disillusioned priest and a member of the fictitious Carolingian order, which specializes in fighting demons and other hell-spawn. Father Dominic, the head of the Carolingians, has died in Rome under suspicious circumstances and Alex is sent by Cardinal Driscoll (Peter Weller), who is tipped to be the next Pope, to investigate. Mara Williams, an artist Alex once exorcised, comes to Alex at his church and says that she has a feeling that something terrible is going to happen to him. The police come looking for her, and tell Alex that Mara has escaped from a mental hospital. Alex lies and denies that he's seen her and it is revealed that Mara was in the hospital because she had tried to kill Alex during the exorcism. Mara goes to Rome with Alex after promising that she won't try to kill him again.

In Rome, Alex visits the morgue and sees strange markings on Dominic's corpse. He contacts Thomas Garrett, another Carolingian, who comes to Rome to help investigate Dominic's death. Alex comes across a book that explains the markings as being the sign of a Sin Eater's work. He heads to the Vatican, where an official tells him that Sin Eaters don't exist and that Dominic may not be buried on sacred ground because he had been excommunicated. Alex, moving ever farther from his vocation, defies his superiors and secretly reads a holy service over the body and buries Dominic in the Carolingian cemetery.

Driscoll arrives in Rome and gives Alex a special dagger. According to a fragment of parchment Alex and Thomas find among Dominic's books, the dagger is to be plunged into the Sin Eater while reciting a text in Aramaic. Alex and Thomas take these instructions to mean that the dagger and incantation will kill the Sin Eater and they begin hunting for the Sin Eater and the remainder of the parchment instructions.

Thomas leads Alex to a nightclub where they are taken to the underground base of operations of a masked man called Chirac, the 'Black Pope.' The Black Pope owes a favor to Thomas and Alex asks where to find the Sin Eater. The Black Pope then hangs three people and tells Alex to ask his question of the dying men who can see what the living cannot. One of the dying tells Alex a riddle that leads to a rendezvous with the Sin Eater. On the way out of the Black Pope's headquarters, demons attack and injure Thomas, but Alex saves him and gets him to a hospital.

Alex leaves Thomas in the hospital and meets the Sin Eater, William Eden, at St. Peter's Cathedral who explains that he has been a Sin Eater for centuries, taking over for an earlier Sin Eater (a Carolingian priest) who ate the sins of Eden's brother, who died during the construction of the cathedral. Eden is very charismatic and talks with Alex about the priest's desires, and Alex admits he wants Mara. He goes to her and they make love. After, Alex leaves Mara asleep and goes to Eden, who tells Alex that he is tired and ready to die and asks Alex to take his place. Alex has the dagger with him, but is curious and doesn't use it. He assists Eden with a sin eating ritual, but ultimately refuses Eden's offer because he has decided to leave the priesthood to be with Mara.

Eden visits Mara, slits her wrists to make it appear that she has committed suicide, and leaves her for Alex to find. Alex returns and finds Mara near death and beyond medical help. He quickly performs the sin-eating ritual so that she can go to Heaven. After absorbing Mara's sins, Alex sees that there is no sin of suicide on Mara's conscience and realizes Eden's deception. Alex goes after Eden to kill him.

Meanwhile, the injured Thomas is out of the hospital and goes to see the Black Pope, who is revealed to be Cardinal Driscoll. Driscoll shows Thomas the second half of the parchment, which horrifies him. Driscoll prevents Thomas from leaving to warn Alex.

Alex cannot find Eden and returns to the Black Pope to learn where Eden is. The Black Pope (face hidden) again tells Alex to ask the dying. Alex recognizes that Thomas is the man being hanged, and frees him using a pistol. However, Thomas's throat is too injured by the noose to tell Alex the truth of the parchment.

Alex finds Eden and stabs him with the dagger while reciting the incantation, with Thomas arriving too late to stop him. Eden's powers are transferred to Alex, and Eden, happy to be free of his burden of the sins of others, dies. Thomas reveals that instead of being instructions on how to kill a Sin Eater, the parchment is actually instructions on how to become a Sin Eater. In the meantime, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome crumbles around them. The entirety of Alex's and Mara's lives have been a plot among Dominic, Eden and Driscoll to entrap Alex. Eden wants to die, Driscoll wants to be Pope and Dominic wanted the financial resources to pursue arcane knowledge.

Alex informs the church about Driscoll's activities and Driscoll is ruined. Driscoll then decides to kill himself and calls on the Sin Eater, now Alex, to remove his sins. Driscoll slits his wrists and when he is near death, Alex tells him that he knows that Eden and Driscoll caused Mara's death. Alex does not eat Driscoll's sins but forces them down Driscoll's throat.

The Sin Eater William Eden used his power to accumulate wealth. The Sin Eater Alex Bernier decides to act as a power for good, saving only those who deserve it and allowing evildoers to die in sin.

In Montreal, an unknown actor named Daniel is hired by a Roman Catholic site of pilgrimage ("le sanctuaire") to present a Passion play in its gardens. The priest, Father Leclerc, asks him to "modernize" the classic play the church has been using, which he considers dated. Despite working with material others consider to be clichéd, Daniel is inspired and carries out intensive academic research, consulting archaeology to check the historicity of Jesus and drawing on supposed information on Jesus in the Talmud, using the Talmud name Yeshua Ben Pantera for Jesus, whom he portrays. He also includes arguments that the biological father of Jesus was a Roman soldier who left Palestine shortly after impregnating the unwed Mary. He assembles his cast, found from insignificant and disreputable backgrounds, and moves in with two of them, Constance and Mireille.

When the play is performed, it receives excellent reviews from critics but is regarded as unconventional and controversial by Father Leclerc, who angrily distances himself from Daniel. Daniel's life is further complicated when he attends one of Mireille's auditions. Mireille is told to remove her top, causing an outburst from Daniel in which he damages lights and cameras, resulting in him facing criminal charges. When the higher authorities of the Roman Catholic Church strongly object to his Biblical interpretation and security forcibly stops a performance, the audience and actors object and he is injured in an ensuing accident.

Daniel is first taken by ambulance to a Catholic hospital where he is neglected. He leaves and collapses on a Montreal Metro platform. The same ambulance takes him to the Jewish General Hospital. Despite immediate, skilled, and energetic efforts by the doctors and nurses, he is pronounced brain-dead. His doctor asks for the consent of his friends, since he has no known relatives, to take his organs for donation. His physician states that they would have been able to save him if he had been brought to them half an hour earlier. After his death, his eyes and heart are used to restore the health of other patients.

In the wake of his death, Daniel's friends start a theatre company to carry on his work.

A boy nicknamed Gold-Eye, a fifteen-year-old, was born near the time of the Change. He was physically affected by the Change radiation and his eyes, including his pupils, are a bright golden color. He has a very special talent known as being able to see in the "soon to be now." He is also unusual in that he managed to escape and elude the Trackers and Myrmidons for a time. Yet as the story begins, he is finally trapped by the Myrmidons, and prepares to kill himself to prevent his organs from being harvested. This turns out to be unnecessary as he is saved by a team of strangers who stun the Myrmidons with a flashbang grenade and lift him to safety. These strangers are a team of Shade's Children, and after the group eludes some Ferrets by hiding in a tall building, he accompanies them back to the Submarine, Shade's Children's hideout.

Gold-Eye joins Shade's Children, and is soon sent off on his first mission with the team that saved him: Ella, Ninde, and Drum. Each team member is unique, and has Change abilities that correspond somewhat to their personality.

This mission is a critical one: to retrieve the equipment and data from Shade's abandoned laboratory on the University campus in the Department of Abstract Computing, including a device that measures Change radiation. It is also one of the most dangerous missions: All of the teams who have previously attempted this retrieval have been killed or captured in the process. Ella's team is successful, even when the Overlord Black Banner surrounds and invades the building, alerted by Leamington, a pre-Change artificial intelligence who calls the police on detection of the intruders. Leamington is notably different from Shade in that he is an artificial intelligence as opposed to an uploaded consciousness.

After resting at the Sub, Shade unveils the reward created with the recovered data: metal crowns called Deceptors which scramble the sensory input of the Overlords' creatures, effectively making a human wearer invisible and non-olfactive to them as long as the power supply is maintained. It also is later revealed that scent trails are equally scrambled, although footprints are not. With this sudden new advantage and information, Shade is more curious about the method of distribution of Change radiation and sends Ella's team on a newer, even more dangerous mission: to steal a Change Projector from Fort Robertson, the stronghold of the Overlord named Red Diamond. This mission is not successful: on entry, the team discovers that the stronghold stretches underground, allowing for the unforeseen presence of creatures. The team's Deceptors run out prematurely as they discover a Myrmidon barracks, and they escape with a conch-shaped Overlord device called a Thinker, but without Drum who, having been winded, stays behind to fight. It is presumed by the rest of the team that he is killed.

On return to the Sub, however, Gold-Eye has a vision in which he sees Drum being stored temporarily in the Meat Factory, indicating that Drum is still alive. The group presents the device to Shade, who appreciates the Overlord device Ninde took from Fort Robertson but refuses a request to rescue Drum, as the Meat Factory is one of the most heavily guarded Overlord facilities.

The team, led by Ella, defies Shade's orders and infiltrates the Meat Factory, successfully rescuing Drum. They then leave cautiously, using the Deceptors to mask their trail. While resting among the branches of a large tree, Ninde telepathically detects an Overlord. The detection proves not only to be hard mentally on her since the Overlord is of human or greater intelligence, but also emotionally hard: Ninde discovers that the Overlords are essentially human. Despite the difficulty, she discovers that the Overlord may know something about "a mind in a machine" -a dangerous thing for them, since Shade - a machine intelligence- is their leader and benefactor. They continue, to discover on reaching the Submarine that it has been invaded by an Overlord, Red Diamond, and that all of the people inside have been killed or captured. Fortunately, Shade had realized long before that the Sub was not a permanent base, and established multiple supply caches throughout the city in case a team was stranded in the field or the Sub was taken. True to their training, the team heads immediately to the nearest cache - to discover Shade, who escaped, apparently by chance, while testing a mobile robotic body for himself based around the Thinker. Shade's escape is doubly fortuitous in that the Overlord used an electromagnetic pulse weapon to disable the Submarine; had he been within range of the weapon, he would have been incapacitated.

Despite the loss of all of Shade's Children except for Ella's team, the meeting is a good one: Shade has discovered how to defeat the Overlords. Examining and measuring Change radiation, he had discovered that all known Change Projectors were actually redistributors of Change radiation from a single source, a so-called Grand Projector. Were this projector destroyed, all creatures would cease to function, and the Overlords would likely be removed whence they came. Having discovered the source of the Change Radiation - at Mount Silverstone - they set out with Deceptors to find and destroy the source, which would hopefully bring reality back to normal.

But soon the team is betrayed by Shade, who had made a deal with the Overlords. Desiring a body with which to survive the Overlords' destruction (since the Thinker is also a product of the Change), he betrayed the children, bartering them and the knowledge of their Change talents in exchange for Overlord body technology (his Thinker is destroyed by an Overlord later). Gold-Eye and Ninde are taken prisoner. Ella and Drum, managing to escape, climb to the top of Mount Silverstone, meet a hologram of Shade, who though having been physically destroyed, is spread through the Overlords' computer systems. His original personality had been attempting to manifest itself, such as when Shade was speaking to Gold-Eye and Ninde about their fate at the hands of the Overlords, or when Shade was inwardly arguing with himself. However, it only managed to when the Thinker was destroyed. He guides them to the Grand Projector, when, about to disable it, they hear an Overlord approaching. Ella, desperate, destroys the Thinker which regulates the Grand Projector, causing it to overload. This has the positive effect of disabling all Overlord creatures and removing the Overlords, but exposes Ella and Drum to lethal amounts of Change radiation, killing them. The burst of Change radiation, while not lethal where Ninde and Gold-Eye are (they are being executed by an Overlord), enables them to respectively read the minds of thousands of newly freed children, and see a distant future, at which time he and Ninde are the parents of two children named for Ella and Drum. Ninde sends this "soon to be now" to Ella and Drum through her Change Talent, and those thoughts are the last things that they see.

The story centers on Sherman McCoy, a successful New York City bond trader. His $3 million Park Avenue co-op apartment, combined with his wife's extravagances and other expenses required to keep up appearances are depleting his great income, or as McCoy calls it, a "hemorrhaging of money." McCoy's secure life as a self-regarded "Master of The Universe" on Wall Street is gradually destroyed when he and his mistress, Maria Ruskin, accidentally enter the Bronx at night while they are driving back to Manhattan from Kennedy Airport. Finding the ramp back to the highway blocked by trash cans and a tire, McCoy exits the car to clear the way. Approached by two black men whom they perceive—uncertainly, in McCoy's case—as predators, McCoy and Ruskin flee. After Ruskin takes the wheel of the car to race away, it fishtails, apparently striking one of the two would-be assailants—a "skinny boy."

Peter Fallow, a has-been, alcoholic journalist for the tabloid ''City Light'', is soon given the opportunity of a lifetime when he is persuaded to write a series of articles about Henry Lamb, a black youth who has said he been the victim of a hit and run by a wealthy white driver. Fallow cynically tolerates the manipulations of Reverend Bacon, a Harlem religious and political leader who sees the hospitalized youth as a projects success story gone wrong. Fallow's articles on the matter ignite a series of protests and media coverage of the Lamb case.

Up for re-election and accused of foot-dragging in the Lamb case, the media-obsessed Bronx County District Attorney Abe Weiss pushes for McCoy's arrest. The evidence includes McCoy's car (which matches the description of the vehicle involved in the alleged hit and run), plus McCoy's evasive response to police questioning. The arrest all but ruins McCoy; distraction at work causes him to flub on finding an investor for a $600 million bond on which he had pegged all his hopes of paying the loan on his home and covering his family costs. While McCoy is getting a dressing down from his boss for failing to sell the bond, his lawyer, Tommy Killian, calls to tell him of his upcoming arrest, forcing him to admit his legal problems to his boss, who forces him to take a leave of absence as a result. McCoy's upper class friends ostracize him, and his wife leaves him and takes their daughter Campbell (McCoy's only source of genuine family love) to live with his parents.

Hoping to impress his boss as well as an attractive former juror, Shelly Thomas, Assistant District Attorney Larry Kramer aggressively prosecutes the case, opening with an unsuccessful bid to set McCoy's bail at $250,000. Released on $10,000 bail, McCoy is besieged by demonstrators who are protesting outside his home.

Fallow hears a rumor that Maria Ruskin was at the wheel of McCoy's car when it struck Lamb but has fled the country. Trying to smoke out the truth, on the pretense of interviewing the rich and famous, Fallow meets with her husband, Arthur, at a pricey French restaurant. While recounting his life, Arthur has a fatal heart attack, as disturbed patrons and an annoyed maître d'hôtel look on. Maria is forced to return to the United States for his funeral, where McCoy confronts her about being "the only witness." Fallow overhears that she, not McCoy, was driving.

Fallow's write-up of the association between Sherman McCoy and Maria Ruskin prompts Assistant D.A. Kramer to offer her a deal: corroborate the other witness and receive immunity, or be treated as an accomplice. Ruskin recounts this to McCoy while he is wearing a wire. When a private investigator employed by Killian discovers a recording of a conversation that contradicts Ruskin's statement to the grand jury - a recording that was obtained from an illegal voice-activated intercom device installed by the landlord of a rent-controlled apartment as a way to remove tenants - the judge assigned to the case declares her testimony "tainted" and dismisses the case.

In the epilogue, a fictional ''New York Times'' article informs us that Fallow has won the Pulitzer Prize and married the daughter of ''City Light'' owner Sir Gerald Steiner, while Ruskin has escaped prosecution and remarried. McCoy's first trial ends in a hung jury, split along racial lines. Kramer is removed from the prosecution after it is revealed he was involved with Shelly Thomas in a sexual tryst at the apartment formerly used by Ruskin and McCoy. It is additionally revealed that McCoy has lost a civil trial to the Lamb family and, pending appeal, has a $12 million liability, which has resulted in the freezing of his assets. The all-but-forgotten Henry Lamb succumbs to his injuries from the accident; McCoy, penniless and estranged from his wife and daughter, awaits trial for vehicular manslaughter. In the novel's closing, Tommy Killian holds forth:If this case was being tried ''in foro conscientiae'' [in the court of the conscience], the defendants would be Abe Weiss, Reginald Bacon, and Peter Fallow of ''The City Light''.

In the mid-1950s, Richard Dadier is a new teacher at North Manual Trades High School, an inner-city school of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Led by student Gregory Miller, most engage in anti-social behavior. The school principal, Mr. Warneke, denies there are discipline issues, but the school faculty, particularly Mr. Murdock, warn Dadier otherwise. Dadier befriends two other new teachers, Joshua Edwards and Lois Hammond.

Dadier's class includes Miller and Artie West, a rebellious bully and gang leader. The class shows no respect for Dadier. Dadier encourages Miller to lead the class in the right direction. After Dadier subdues a student who attacks Miss Hammond, the class gives Dadier the silent treatment and are even more uncooperative. Dadier and Edwards are mugged by a gang that includes West.

Reluctant to quitting, Dadier seeks advice from his former teacher, Professor Kraal, the principal of an academically superior school with disciplined students. Kraal offers Dadier a job, but he declines. After chastising his class for calling each other racially divisive names, Dadier is himself falsely accused by Mr. Warneke of using racial epithets in the classroom. West encounters Dadier during his gang's robbery of a newspaper truck. West tells Dadier his classroom is on the streets and to leave him alone. Several students, led by West, assault Edwards in his classroom and destroy his music record collection.

Dadier's wife, Anne, who is pregnant, begins receiving anonymous letters and phone calls telling her Dadier and Miss Hammond are having an affair. Dadier discovers Miller can play piano and sing, and wonders why Miller can show such talent but also be so rebellious. Dadier shows his class an animated film about "Jack and the Beanstalk" which sparks discussion about moral choices. Anne goes into premature labor caused by the stress of the phone calls about Dadier's alleged affair. When a neighbor shows Dadier the anonymous letters, he angrily decides to quit. Mr. Murdock encourages him to stay telling Dadier he is making progress and has inspired him too. Anne apologizes for doubting Dadier's loyalty in their marriage and says she was wrong for telling him to quit. Their premature baby boy, though weak, eventually thrives.

When Dadier observes West openly copying from another student, he demands that West bring his paper to the front to have it docked five points. West rebuffs his repeated request, but Dadier is unrelenting. The conflict quickly escalates, and West pulls out a switchblade. Dadier does not back down. Miller stops another of the gang from jumping Dadier from behind. The rest of West's gang fails to assist.

Dadier accuses West of the false allegations made to both Mr. Warneke and Anne. Dadier subdues West, and the other students join in to subdue classmate Belazi, who has picked up the knife to escape. Miller then leads the class in helping Dadier take West and Belazi to the principal's office. In the final scene, Miller and Dadier ask if the other is quitting at the end of the school year. Miller said no, because the two of them had a deal that neither would quit if the other stayed, and Dadier's expression makes clear he has no intention of breaking the agreement.

Much of the film is without dialogue and the story is presented in flashbacks, nightmares, and fantasy sequences set to Tchaikovsky's music. As a child, the composer sees his mother die horribly, forcibly immersed in scalding water as a supposed cure for cholera, and is haunted by the scene throughout his musical career. Despite his difficulty in establishing his reputation, he attracts Madame Nadezhda von Meck as his patron. His marriage to the allegedly nymphomaniacal Antonina Miliukova is plagued by his homosexual urges and lustful desire for Count Anton Chiluvsky. The dynamics of his life lead to deteriorating mental health and the loss of von Meck's patronage, and he dies of cholera after deliberately drinking contaminated water.

A lonely couple, who long for a child, live next to a large, extensive, high-walled subsistence garden, belonging to a sorceress. The wife, experiencing pregnancy cravings, longs for the ''rapunzel'' that she sees growing in the garden (''rapunzel'' is either the salad green and root vegetable ''Campanula rapunculus'', or the salad green ''Valerianella locusta''). She refuses to eat anything else and begins to waste away. Her husband fears for her life and one night he breaks into the garden to get some for her. When he returns, she makes a salad out of it and eats it, but she longs for more so her husband returns to the garden to retrieve more. As he scales the wall to return home, the sorceress catches him and accuses him of theft. He begs for mercy and she agrees to be lenient, allowing him to take all the rapunzel he wants on condition that the baby be given to her when it's born. Desperate, he agrees.

When his wife has a baby girl, the sorceress takes her to raise as her own and names her "Rapunzel" after the plant her mother craved (in one version, the couple moves away before the birth in an attempt to avoid surrendering the baby, only for the sorceress to turn up at their door upon the baby's birth, unhampered by their attempt at relocation). Rapunzel grows up to be a beautiful child with long golden hair. When she turns twelve, the sorceress locks her up inside a tower in the middle of the woods, with neither stairs nor a door, and only one room and one window. In order to visit Rapunzel, the sorceress stands beneath the tower and calls out:

:''Rapunzel!'' :''Rapunzel!'' :''Let down your hair'' :''That I may climb thy golden stair!''

One day, a prince rides through the forest and hears Rapunzel singing from the tower. Entranced by her ethereal voice, he searches for her and discovers the tower, but is unable to enter it. He returns often, listening to her beautiful singing, and one day sees the sorceress visit and learns how to gain access. When the sorceress leaves, he bids Rapunzel let her hair down. When she does so, he climbs up and they fall in love. He eventually asks her to marry him, which she agrees to.

Together they plan a means of escape, wherein he will come each night (thus avoiding the sorceress who visits her by day) and bring Rapunzel a piece of silk that she will gradually weave into a ladder. Before the plan can come to fruition, however, she foolishly gives him away. In the first edition (1812) of ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' (''Children's and Household Tales'', most commonly known in English as ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''), she innocently says that her dress is growing tighter around her waist, hinting at pregnancy. In later editions, she asks "Dame Gothel", in a moment of forgetfulness, why it is easier for her to draw up the prince than her.Maria Tatar (1987) ''The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales'', Princeton University Press, p. 18, In anger, the sorceress cuts off Rapunzel's hair and casts her out into the wilderness to fend for herself.

When the prince calls that night, the sorceress lets the severed hair down to haul him up. To his horror, he finds himself meeting her instead of Rapunzel, who is nowhere to be found. After she tells him in a rage that he will never see Rapunzel again, he leaps or falls from the tower, landing in a thorn bush. Although the thorn bush breaks his fall and saves his life, it scratches his eyes and blinds him.

For years, he wanders through the wastelands of the country and eventually comes to the wilderness where Rapunzel now lives with the twins to whom she has given birth, a boy and a girl. One day, as she sings, he hears her voice again, and they are reunited. When they fall into each other's arms, her tears immediately restore his sight. He leads her and their twins to his kingdom where they live happily ever after.

Another version of the story ends with the revelation that her foster mother had untied Rapunzel's hair after the prince leapt from the tower, and it slipped from her hands and landed far below, leaving her trapped in the tower.Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1884) ''Household Tales'' (English translation by Margaretmm Hunt), "[http://myweb.dal.ca/barkerb/fairies/grimm/012.html Rapunzel]"

After fictional folk music producer Irving Steinbloom dies, his children Jonathan, Naomi, and Elliott organize a memorial concert, which they hope to feature his three most famous acts: The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and Mitch & Mickey.

The Folksmen trio — Mark Shubb, Alan Barrows, and Jerry Palter — were once the most popular of the acts but have not appeared together in decades. They had several minor hits, and their most famous song was "Old Joe's Place." Despite not playing or seeing each other for many years, their reunion (a cookout) is a very positive affair as the Folksmen give each other big hugs and are happy to see one another.

The New Main Street Singers are the second generation of the original Main Street Singers, formed by George Menschell, the only living member of the original group, who sings and holds a guitar he cannot play. Performers include Terry Bohner and his wife Laurie, a former adult film star, now founders of Witches in Nature's Colors (WINC), a coven of modern-day witches that worships the power of color. Another member is former juvenile delinquent Sissy Knox, the daughter of Fred Knox, one of the original Main Street Singers. Their manager is Mike LaFontaine, whose fifteen minutes of fame came via a failed 1970s sitcom, ''Wha' Happened?'' The show lasted for less than one season and has largely been forgotten, but LaFontaine is constantly puzzling others by quoting his catchphrases, including the show's titular tagline. The group is known for their complex harmonies, forming what Menschell terms a "neuftet."

Mitch Cohen and Mickey Crabbe appeared as Mitch & Mickey, a former couple that released seven albums until their dramatic break-up years before the events of the film. Mickey seemingly moved on and has married a medical supply salesman, but Mitch had an emotional breakdown and has never fully recovered. Their most famous song was "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," at the end of which the pair would kiss on stage.

The three groups, which had sunk to various levels of musical irrelevance since their respective heyday, agree to the reunion performance, to be held at The Town Hall in New York and televised live on PBN (a reference to PBS). The film features rehearsals for the show along with interviews with the performers discussing their activities over the previous years and their feelings about performing again. The very enthusiastic Folksmen work hard to relearn their songs and hope to wow the audience, while Mitch and Mickey (particularly Mitch) are very apprehensive about how it will go.

The show itself goes off with only two hitches: The song that The Folksmen intend to open their set with is played first by the New Main Street Singers (a song called "Never Did No Wanderin'", which the Folksmen sing in a rugged, emotional manner consistent with the spirit of the song, while the New Main Street Singers perform it in their usual peppy, upbeat way), and Mitch temporarily disappears minutes before he and Mickey are to perform. It turns out that Mitch had gone to buy a rose for Mickey, which she gratefully accepts as they go on stage. Mitch and Mickey perform "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow", and after a suspenseful pause, they do the much-anticipated kiss at the end. In the finale, all three acts sing "A Mighty Wind" together.

The film then jumps to interviews with many of the performers six months after the concert in which they detail subsequent events. Mickey is performing "The Sure-Flo Song" (about a medical device used for bladder control) at her husband's trade show booth. Mitch is writing poetry again, claiming to be in a "prolific phase." Mickey claims that Mitch overreacted to their onstage kiss, while Mitch insists that he no longer has feelings for Mickey, but had worried that Mickey's feelings for him might have returned. LaFontaine is trying to drum up interest for a sitcom starring the New Main Street Singers. He wants to call it "Supreme Folk" and have each play Supreme Court judges by day, folk singers sharing a house by night. The Folksmen have reunited, but Mark Shubb has realized that she is a transgender woman and has revamped her wardrobe. She continues to sing in her deep bass voice, followed now by a girlish giggle.

Sisters Kat and Daisy Araújo and their friend Jojo Barbosa are Portuguese-American teenage girls working as waitresses at Mystic Pizza, a pizza parlor owned by Leona in the fishing town of Mystic, Connecticut.

Kat and Daisy are total opposites. Kat, the younger sister, is an aspiring astronomer working at the planetarium in the Whaling Museum of the Mystic Seaport, and Yale University accepted her on a partial scholarship. Kat works at the restaurant and as a babysitter to raise money for school. Daisy's goal is to have as much fun as possible. Their mother is pleased with Kat, while often questioning Daisy's life choices.

Daisy meets Charles, a rich young man at a bar. The two are immediately attracted to each other and begin a relationship, much to her mother's dismay. At a family dinner, Charles's relatives unintentionally make insensitive comments about Daisy's ethnicity, and Charles overreacts. Daisy breaks up with him, accusing him of using her to rebel against his parents.

Kat finds herself infatuated with her employer Tim, an architect and Yale graduate, who hired her to babysit his four-year-old daughter Phoebe while his wife works in England. A relationship ultimately develops between them that she believes to be love, and they have sex. However, when his wife returns, Kat's illusions are shattered. Daisy consoles her devastated sister, and they bond.

Jojo fainted at her wedding to Bill because she had cold feet about making a lifetime commitment. Nonetheless, she wants to continue having sex with Bill until she is ready to be married. Bill eventually breaks up with her because she will not make a commitment.

A famous television food critic called "The Fireside Gourmet" unexpectedly visits Mystic Pizza. As Kat, Daisy, Jojo, and Leona watch from the counter, he takes a few bites of one pizza slice, jots notes in his notebook, and leaves after paying the check. His approval can do wonders for a restaurant, but they are not optimistic. However, a few days later he gives the pizzeria his highest rating, calling the pizza "superb". The restaurant phone immediately starts ringing, with Leona laughing as she informs the caller that no reservations are needed.

In the end, Tim brings Phoebe to Mystic Pizza because she wants to say goodbye to Kat. Tim gives her a check to help cover her tuition expenses, but she tears it up; she later accepts money from Leona. Jojo finally marries Bill, and Daisy and Charles reconcile at the wedding. The film ends with the three girls overlooking the water from the restaurant's balcony, reminiscing about their time together and wondering about the future.

Osic is a morphogenic pharmacologist who tended in a booth in a feria in Gatun city, Panama. He is approached by a stranger, the woman Tamara Marian de la Garza, who requires him to regrow her right hand. The bloody stump on the end of her arm, signifying a traumatic amputation. It transpires that she is on the run from powerful political forces, the assassins of which attempt to kill her and Osic.

He flees from the Earth with Tamara who is in an incapacitated state. On board the orbital shuttle, he attempts to get employment with a Japanese company, Motoki Corporation, as a Pharmacologist, but his application is rejected. Instead he is offered to fight as a mercenary for Motoki, who are attempting to gain control of the planet Baker, a satellite of the Delta Pavonis system. The story describes Osic's reaction to the intense battle training that takes place on board the starship '''Chaeron''' and his interaction with the mostly South American '''refugiados''', and chimeras, genetically upgraded humans, who are also escaping their uncertain future on Earth.

Their arrival on Baker highlights the vast cultural differences between the mercenaries and their Japanese employers, who have trained them to fight a rival Japanese company of settlers, the Yabajin. These differences culminate in rebellion, with the mercenaries (now self described as Conquistadors) seizing the Motoki city, after a bloody battle and then setting out to attack the Yabajin settlement which lay 3,000 kilometers away. across forbidding deserts, encountering the wildlife of Baker.

In New York City, Sonny Koufax is a 32-year-old slacker and law school graduate who hasn't taken the bar exam, works one day a week as a toll booth attendant, and lives off a $200,000 compensation from a minor accident. His girlfriend Vanessa threatens to break up with him unless he takes more responsibility. His roommate Kevin Gerrity proposes to his podiatrist girlfriend Corinne Maloney before he leaves for China to work on a case for his law firm, and she accepts. Corinne vehemently dislikes Sonny, including him constantly teasing her about her former job at Hooters.

The next day, Sonny wakes up to find Julian McGrath, a five-year-old left at their apartment. A note states that his mother is no longer able to care for him and that Kevin is his biological father. Sonny contacts Kevin, who is puzzled by the news. Despite his selfishness and lack of parenting skills, Sonny assures him that he will take care of Julian until Kevin returns from China. To win Vanessa back, Sonny introduces her to Julian. However, he discovers that she is now dating Sid, an elderly man whom, despite being 36 years her senior, she reveres as more motivated and intelligent, with a "five-year plan".

Posing as Kevin, Sonny takes Julian to his social worker Arthur Brooks, telling him that Julian should return to his mother. However, Brooks informs Sonny that Julian's mother died of cancer. Sonny then decides to raise Julian his own way. They develop a strong bond, and Julian helps Sonny find a new girlfriend in Corinne's lawyer sister Layla. Brooks finds a foster home for Julian and leaves messages for Sonny, but is suspicious when he does not respond.

At a meeting at Julian's school, Sonny rethinks his parenting methods after Julian's teacher complains about the habits he has developed due to Sonny's influence. He turns Julian's behavior around, but then Brooks arrives to find out Sonny impersonated Kevin, and threatens to arrest him if he does not hand over Julian. Sonny complies but contacts Layla to help take legal action.

In court, numerous people, including Corinne, testify on Sonny's behalf and tell the judge he is a good father. Julian also testifies and provides information regarding his heritage. Sonny then calls himself to the stand and asks his lawyer father Lenny, visiting from Florida, to question him. Despite Lenny's fervent belief that he is not father material, Sonny convinces him that he will not fail at being a father. Impressed by Sonny's sincerity, Lenny vouches for him. Nonetheless, the unconvinced judge orders Sonny's arrest. Kevin, realizing he truly is Julian's biological father, refuses to press charges against Sonny. Kevin is granted custody of Julian, and Sonny promises him that he will always be there for him. He then passes Julian to Kevin, and they start to bond.

One year later, Sonny has completely turned his life around: he is a successful lawyer, is married to Layla, and they have a child of their own. Sonny is given a surprise birthday party at a Hooters, attended by his friends, including Julian, who is happy in his new family with Kevin and Corinne (and often meets up with Sonny for activities, such as basketball). Sonny then encounters Vanessa working there as a waitress with Sid working as a cook, revealing that his "five-year plan" did not go as she had hoped. Everyone but a frustrated Vanessa celebrates Sonny's birthday.

Conker, an anthropomorphic red squirrel, has a night at a bar named The Cock and Plucker, where he parties with the other attendants that are drafted to fight a war; he contacts his girlfriend Berri to inform her he will be at her place, but a bit late. He leaves the bar and moves into the rainy outside drunk with blurry vision and a lack of balance, making it difficult for him to maneuver. He falls asleep in an area far away from Berri's place way, waking up next to a farm consisting of a scarecrow named Birdy, of whom he asks for help. Birdy teaches Conker about the game's context-sensitive button mechanic. A context-sensitive area gives him a pill that re-energizes Conker and makes him able to move actively again. The various moves and button commands for Conker's movements and action, such as jumping, flying, and his frying pan attack, also come back to his memory. Meanwhile, the Panther King, ruler of the land that Conker is lost in, finds that his throne's side table is missing one of its legs and orders his servant, Professor Von Kriplespac, to solve the problem. When Von Kriplespac suggests the use of a red squirrel as the fourth leg of his table, the Panther King sends his minions to capture one.

Conker enters Windy, where he saves the hive of Queen Bee from the Nasty Wasps twice; in both situations she uses the hive to shoot the wasps to death. He then goes to Barn Boys. There, he first helps a box get off of another box by feeding a mouse cheese to the point where he explodes.

When Conker enters Spooky, he finds Death (the reaper responsible for Conker's multiple lives), who provides him a shotgun and informs him one of his ancestors is undead, rich, and living in a mansion around the area. He wonders around looking for the ancestor's mansion, hoping to inherit the wealth, and shoots several squirrel zombies along the way. He finds the house and meets its owner, 300-year-old vampire Count Batula, who provides the red squirrel a dinner and wine, as well as shows him around the property. During Conker's feast, Batula tells of his war-crusading forefather, as well as the fact that there used to be a union between the squirrels and panthers when he was alive. A raid of the property by the surrounding villagers occurs, not for the first time, and interrupts the conversation. After Batula drinks a bit of Conker's blood, figuring out Conker is his "great, great, great, great, great grandson", and turns himself and Conker into a bat, he gives Conker a task: to catch the villagers and place them into a grinder for Batula to eat their blood. Conker is successful, but he feeds Batula so much that his body weight becomes too big for the rope he's latching on hold, causing him to fall in the grinder.

Conker turns back into his normal squirrel form and leaves with the inheritance, entering Windy at nightfall, when a new entrance for It's War appears. Conker walks into the war zone, where it is the squirrels against the Tediz. Although he is not in the proper attire for the situation and did not sign up beforehand, the General accepts him after Conker gets a fallen plane out of the way of the squirrel team's route. The team arrives at the beach, the location of the Tediz' base location. With the context-sensitive button equipping him with machine guns, Conker breaks in the warehouse and traverses, fighting several Tediz, including scalpel-throwing scientists, in the process. He encounters a squirrel soldier about to be shot to death by the Tediz. Conker kills the Tediz and saves the squirrel, who is named Rodent and met Conker before. Rodent is the only fight wearing experiment number G7224, a titanium laminate suit that protects him from any weapon, and joins Conker as his "Operation Squirrel Shield". Conker, pulling a switch that's in a secret area filled with toxic chemicals and using a tank, enters the underground area Submariner. There, she finds a seemingly little girl, but turns out to be a puppet on the hand of a bigger Tedi machine. Conker successfully defeats the big robot Tedi, but not before the little girl turns on a self-destruct mechanism that will blow up the entire war zone in four minutes in 30 seconds. All of the remaining squirrels escape in time, while the Tediz' base explodes.

Conker returns to Windy, only to find parts of the scenery and a windmill on top of a mountain no longer there.

When Conker finds Berri, Don Weaso, head of the Weasel Mafia, enlists their help in robbing a bank. After entering the vault, Conker and Berri find that the bank scene was an elaborate trap set by the Panther King to capture Conker. Berri steps forward to resolve the situation, but is shot and killed by Weaso on the Panther King's orders. The Panther King suddenly begins having chest pains and calls for Von Kriplespac, who takes Conker aside, and they both watch as a Xenomorph-like creature bursts out of the Panther King's chest, killing him instantly. Von Kriplespac explains that the creature, which he names "Heinrich", is one of his creations and that he had planned to use this opportunity to kill the Panther King and escape his captivity. He then reveals that they are inside a spaceship, which he activates and takes into low orbit. From there, he instructs the creature to attack and kill Conker as revenge for destroying the Tediz, which were also his creations. Conker opens an airlock, expelling Kriplespac and the Panther King and Berri's corpses into space, and then battles Heinrich with the aid of a robotic suit. After Conker fails to successfully throw the creature out the airlock, Heinrich lunges at Conker, who braces for his seemingly inevitable death, but the game then suddenly freezes, and Conker expresses disbelief that Rare did not test the game properly. Asking for the programmers' assistance, the programmers give Conker a katana and teleport him to the Panther King's throne room, where he decapitates Heinrich with ease. Conker is then crowned the new king of the land.

As the King, Conker realizes that he should have brought Berri back to life when he negotiated with the programmers. He then calls out to bring her back to life, only to realize that the programmers have already left. Characters that Conker first encountered begin hailing him, despite his animosity towards them. Conker gives a closing monologue, in which he discusses appreciating what one already has instead of always wanting more, stating that "the grass is always greener, and you don't really know what it is you have until it's gone". After the credits roll, Conker is seen back at The Cock and Plucker, where he was seen at the start of the game. As it begins to storm outside, he drunkenly exits the bar, leaving in the opposite direction he took previously.

Two years after the events of the first game, Max Payne (James McCaffrey) has been acquitted of the charges against him and reinstated in his old job as a detective for the NYPD, thanks to his connections to the Inner Circle secret society. The story is narrated from Max's perspective, who recalls the events of the past few days. The first flashback takes place in the hospital, where Max is recovering from a gunshot wound. Several assassins raid the hospital to try and kill him, but Max avoids them and makes his way to the morgue, where he finds the body of a woman he has recently killed. The game then goes back further in time, to a few nights prior.

While investigating a gunfight at a warehouse owned by his ally, Russian mobster Vladimir "Vlad" Lem (Jonathan Davis), Max encounters a group of hitmen called "the Cleaners", who raided the warheouse for guns. Max is also surprised to run into contract killer Mona Sax (Wendy Hoopes), who he thought had died two years ago. Max heads to Vlad's restaurant to question him about the raid, only to find him under attack by gangsters led by their mutual enemy, Vinnie Gognitti (Fred Berman). After saving Vlad, he claims that Vinnie, now the underboss of the New York Mafia, is trying to monopolize the black market gun trade and sees Vlad as a threat.

After evading an attack by the Cleaners in his apartment, Max tracks Mona to an abandoned funhouse and learns that the Cleaners are trying to eliminate anyone who knows about the Inner Circle. While tracking down Mona's contact within the Inner Circle, Max discovers that he has been killed by the Cleaners, and Mona is arrested by the NYPD for being a wanted suspect in the murder of a senator. While at the police station, Max overhears his colleague, Valerie Winterson (Jennifer Server), talking on the phone about Mona, moments before the Cleaners attack the station to kill Mona. She manages to escape and, after fighting off a Cleaner attack on her hideout, sets out to hunt down those responsible with Max's help.

Their search leads them to a construction site, which Max and Mona discover is being used as a base by the Cleaners. After killing most of them, Winterson arrives and holds Mona at gunpoint. Mona claims that Winterson is there to kill her, while Winterson insists that she is simply trying to arrest a fleeing fugitive. After several moments of consideration, Max fatally shoots Winterson, allowing Mona to escape. Before she dies, Winterson shoots Max, hospitalizing him. The game then returns to the earlier hospital scene, where Max eliminates the Cleaners trying to kill him and escapes. He decides to visit Senator Alfred Woden (John Braden), the leader of the Inner Circle, who reveals that Vlad is also a member and the one who hired the Cleaners to eliminate his opposition in order to take over both the Inner Circle and New York's criminal underworld.

Now aware of Vlad's deception, Max raids his restaurant, but finds that Vlad has already left to kill Vinnie. He also discovers that Winterson was Vlad's mistress and was secretly helping him. Max manages to save Vinnie from Vlad's men, and the two head to Mona's hideout to seek her help. However, Vlad ambushes them, killing Vinnie and injuring Max, though not before revealing that Mona is working for Woden. After Mona rescues Max, the two head to Woden's mansion to save him from Vlad. After eliminating Vlad's men, Mona suddenly betrays Max and attempts to follow her orders to kill him, but finds herself unable to do so because of her feelings for him. Realizing this, Vlad shoots Mona, then kills Woden when the latter confronts him. Max fights Vlad as the mansion burns around them, and eventually kills him. As the police arrive at the scene, Max returns to Mona, who dies in his arms. Despite this, Max has come to terms with all the tragedy in his life, and is ready to move on. In an alternate ending unlocked on the highest difficulty, Mona survives, and she and Max kiss.

''Arcanum'' begins with a cut scene of the ''IFS Zephyr'', a luxury zeppelin, on her maiden voyage from Caladon to Tarant. Two monoplanes, piloted by Half-Ogre bandits, close in on the craft and commence attack runs, succeeding in shooting it down. An old gnome who is a passenger aboard the ''Zephyr'' is now in his death throes under charred debris and tells the player to bring a silver ring to "the boy," and promptly dies. Being the only survivor of the crash, the main character is proclaimed as "The Living One," a holy reincarnate, by the only witness to the crash, Virgil. The story follows the player's path as he or she searches for the origin of the ring. Over the course of the game, the player uncovers more about the history of the continent, the motivation of the assassins who are trying to kill him or her, and the identity of the one threatening to end all life in the land.

''Arcanum'' is an example of a non-linear role-playing game. At various points throughout the game, players may take the story in different directions, sometimes permanently removing different paths of action. The game's central quest ultimately develops according to how players navigate its dichotomies, the most apparent being that of magic and technology. Many of the game's side quests allow for more than one solution depending on the player character's specializations and certain portions of the main quest can be solved more easily through dialogue than through combat. The game's magic/technology and good/evil alignments also influence what followers a character can attract throughout the game or how other NPCs will react to the player.

The game is also notable for being possible to complete in everything from a completely pacifist to a completely violent way. The player can, technically, kill every person he meets and still complete the game, even the very first companion he meets at the start of the game - if the person was an important NPC with plot information to divulge, they will carry that information with them in the form of a journal or the like. Likewise, the player is technically able to avoid combat altogether from start to finish, and can defeat even the final boss of the game without using violence (although this requires certain conditions to be fulfilled to be possible to do). Most players will of course fall somewhere between these two extremes, but the possibility is unusual for a role-playing game and also something that remains popular with fans.

Drift ice Station Zebra, a British meteorological station built on an ice floe in the Arctic Sea, suffers a catastrophic oil fire; several of its men die, and their shelter and supplies are destroyed. The survivors take refuge in one hut with little food and heat.

The (fictional) American nuclear-powered submarine USS ''Dolphin'' is dispatched on a rescue mission. Just before she departs, Dr. Carpenter, the narrator, is sent to accompany her. Carpenter's background is unknown, but he claims that he is an expert in dealing with frostbite and other deep-cold medical conditions, and he carries orders from the Chief of Naval Operations of the United States Navy. Commander Swanson, the ''Dolphin'' submarine captain, is suspicious of Carpenter, and calls in his superior Admiral Garvie. Garvie refuses to allow Carpenter on board without knowing his mission. Under duress, Carpenter finally reveals that the ice station is actually a highly equipped listening post, keeping watch for nuclear missile launches from the Soviet Union, a statement which convinces the commander and the admiral.

''Dolphin'' reaches the Arctic ice-pack, and dives under it. She surfaces in a break in the ice and succeeds in making tenuous radio contact with Ice Station Zebra. Carpenter confides to the Captain that the commander of the station is his brother. Having obtained a bearing on the station, ''Dolphin'' dives again, and succeeds in finding a lead from the station and breaks through a crack in the ice above. Carpenter, Executive Officer Hansen, and two crewmen are put above on the icepack and make the journey to the station through an Arctic storm on foot, taking with them as many supplies as they can. They reach Zebra after a near-impossible trek, and find that eight of the men on the station are dead, while the 11 others are barely alive. Investigating the corpses, Carpenter finds that one of them has been shot. They find that their radio has been damaged, and so Carpenter and Hansen return to ''Dolphin''. The US submarine moves close to the station, and finding no open water, blows a hole in the ice using a torpedo.

The sick men are cared for by ''Dolphin''. Carpenter does some more investigating, and finds that the fire was no accident; it was a cover to hide that three of the dead men, one of whom was his brother, were murdered. He also discovers several unburned supplies hidden in the bottom of a hut, while Swanson finds a gun hidden in a petrol tank. The surviving members of Zebra are brought on board the ''Dolphin'', and the station is abandoned. While still under the ice, a fire breaks out in the engine room and the sub is forced to shut down its nuclear reactor. The crew succeeds in saving the ship, after several hours of hard labour, and thanks to Swanson's ingenuity.

Carpenter calls a meeting of the survivors, and announces that the fire was no accident. He reveals that he is an MI6 officer, and that his real mission was to retrieve photographic film from a reconnaissance satellite (see Corona) that has photographed every missile base in the US. The film had been ejected from the satellite so that Soviet agents operating under cover at Zebra could retrieve it; Carpenter's brother had been sent to the station to prevent this. Carpenter reveals the identity of the Soviet agents, and arrests them.

The film of the US bases is recovered, but Carpenter has switched the film on the Soviets. The film they successfully sent to the Soviet surface ships is actually photographs of cartoon characters on the walls of the submarine's sick bay.

Voyslava and her father Mstivoy, the Prince of Retra, have poisoned Mlada, the betrothed of Yaromir, Prince of Arkona. Voyslava sells her soul to Morena, an evil goddess, to obtain her aid in making Yaromir forget Mlada so she may have him to herself. In act 3, the shade (ghost) of Mlada leads Yaromir up the slopes of Mount Triglav to a pine wood in a gorge on top of the mountain. Mlada's shade joins a gathering of the spirits of the dead. She expresses in mime to Yaromir the wish to be reunited with him in the kingdom of dead souls. He is eager to join her. However, there is a rumbling sound announcing the appearance, apparently from underground, of the following fantastic characters (many of whom also appear in ''Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad'' from ''The Fair at Sorochyntsi'', described below):

The evil spirits sing in a strange demonic language, in the manner of the "demons and the damned" of Hector Berlioz's ''La damnation de Faust''. Morena calls on Chernobog to help make Yaromir forsake Mlada. Kashchey determines that Morena and Chernobog will be successful if Yaromir is seduced by another. Chernobog commands Yaromir's soul to separate from his body, and for Queen Cleopatra to appear. Instantly the scene changes to a hall in Egypt, where the shade of Cleopatra attempts to entice Yaromir's soul to her side with a seductive dance. She almost succeeds in doing so when a cock crow announcing the break of day causes the entire infernal host to vanish. Yaromir awakens and ponders the mysterious events he has witnessed.

The peasant Solopiy Cherevik, his domineering wife Khivrya, and pretty daughter Parasya are visiting the Sorochyntsi Fair. Parasya is wooed by Gritsko Golopupenko, the "peasant lad" of the title. Gritsko desires Cherevik's consent to marry his daughter. Although Cherevik is not against the match, his wife objects because Gritsko had thrown mud in her face on the way to the fair. Gritsko strikes a bargain with a gypsy to assist him in winning Parasya. They exploit the superstitious fears of the fairgoers, who believe that the location of the fair this year is ill-chosen, it being the haunt of a devil who was thrown out of hell, took to drinking, went broke, pawned his jacket, and has returned to claim it. After various pranks and comic circumstances, Gritsko achieves his goal and all ends happily.

At the end of act 1, Gritsko falls asleep some distance from the fair, and, because there has been talk of devilry, has a dream of a witches' sabbath. The following remarks are taken from the score (page numbers supplied):

Act 1, scene 2 – "Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad" (Intermezzo) :p. 1) A hilly desolate area. An approaching subterranean choir of infernal forces. The curtain rises. The peasant lad sleeps at the foot of a hill. :p. 3) Witches and devils surround the sleeping peasant lad. :p. 5) On a hill appear fiery serpents. The approach of Chernobog. Chernobog rises from underground. Following him are Kashchey, Cherv, Chuma, Topelets, Smert, and the rest of his retinue. :p. 7) Worship of Chernobog. :p. 10) Sabbath. :p. 11) Ballet. :p. 16) Stroke of a matins bell. :p. 17) Satan and his retinue vanish. The scene is covered by clouds. :p. 21) The peasant lad awakens and stands up, stretching and looking around wildly. The clouds disperse. The scene is illuminated by the rising sun. Первое действие, вторая картина: «Сонное видение паробка» (Intermezzo) :л. 1: Холмистая глухая местность. Подземный приближающийся хор адских сил. Занавес поднимается. У подножия холма спит Паробок. :л. 3: Ведьмы и бесы окружают спящего паробка. :л. 5: На холме показываются огненные змеи; приближение Чернобога. Из под земли поднимается Чернобог; за ним Кащей, Червь, Топелец, Чума, Смерть и прочая свита. :л. 7: Служба Чернобогу. :л. 10: Шабаш. :л. 11: Балет. :л. 16: Удар утреннего колокола. :л. 17: Сатана и его свита исчезают. Сцена покрывается облаками. :л. 21: Паробок просыпается и встает, потягиваясь и дико оглядываясь. Облака разбегаются. Сцена освещается восходящим солнцем.

Surviving the transfer from ''Glorification of Chernobog'' are the same supernatural characters, although Morena has been replaced by Death ( , ''Smert'''). Chernobog and his accomplices form a kind of Six Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The demon language the characters sing, of which Mussorgsky was contemptuous in a letter, is preserved.

Mussorgsky sent the following program to Vladimir Stasov about three months after its composition in 1880:

The peasant lad sleeps at the foot of a hillock at some distance from the hut where he should have been. In his sleep appear to him: #Subterranean roar of non-human voices, uttering non-human words. #The subterranean kingdom of darkness comes into its own—mocking the sleeping peasant lad. #Foreshadowing of the appearance of Chernobog (Satan). #The peasant lad left by the spirits of darkness. Appearance of Chernobog. #Worship of Chernobog and the black mass. #Sabbath. #At the wildest moment of the sabbath the sound of a Christian church bell. Chernobog suddenly disappears. #Suffering of the demons. #Voices of the clergy in church. #Disappearance of the demons and the peasant lad's awakening. Паробок спит у подножия пригорка, далеко, вдали от хаты, куда бы должен попасть. Во сне ему мерещатся: #Подземный гул нечеловеческих голосов, произносящих нечеловеческие слова. #Подземное царство тьмы входит в свои права – трунит над спящим Паробком. #Предзнамение появления Чернобога (Сатаны). #Паробок оставлен духами тьмы. Появление Чернобога. #Величание Чернобога и Черная служба. #Шабаш. #В самом разгаре шабаша удар колокола христианской церкви. Чернобог исчезает мгновенно. #Страдания бесов. #Голоса церковного клира. #Исчезновение бесов и пробуждение Паробка.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1932, Plath developed a precocious talent as a writer, publishing her first poem when she was only eight years old. That same year, tragedy introduced itself into her life as Plath was forced to confront the unexpected death of her father. In 1950, she began studying at Smith College on a literary scholarship, and while she was an outstanding student, she also began suffering from bouts of extreme depression. Following her junior year, she attempted suicide for the first time. Plath survived, and, in 1955, she was granted a Fulbright Scholarship to study in England at the University of Cambridge.

The film begins with a shot of Plath sleeping, then opening her eyes. As a student at Cambridge she rides along on her red bicycle and wearing an academic gown. She hears of a party to celebrate the publishing of a magazine called St. Botolph's, where she meets the young poet Ted Hughes. The two fall in love and marry in 1956, then go off to Massachusetts where her mother lives (Aurelia Plath, played by Paltrow's mother Blythe Danner). While they are both teaching at Smith College, Sylvia quickly learns that others are also enthralled by her husband, due to his combination of good looks, charisma, fame and success. They return to England, first to London and then to Devon, where Sylvia raises their two children and lives in her husband's professional shadow as she tries to eke out her own writing career, which doesn't come as naturally to her as it does to Ted. After a visit by David and Assia Wevill, who had rented their London flat, Sylvia rightly accuses Ted of infidelity. She kicks him out and then begins to write the poems that would be published posthumously in her collection titled Ariel. Sylvia then moves back to London with her children. Ted visits at Christmas and they make love again but he says he cannot leave Assia, who is pregnant. Shortly thereafter she prepares for her suicide, sealing off the children's room from the gas from her gas oven. A nurse comes to take out the children and Ted sees Plath's manuscript on her desk. A closing title informs us that her book made her much beloved and that Ted wrote his response in 1998 (just before his death), in a collection titled ''Birthday Letters''.

The series follows the adventures of Princess Adora, Prince Adam/He-Man's twin sister, who leads a group of freedom fighters known as the Great Rebellion in the fight to free Etheria from the tyrannical rule of Hordak and the Evil Horde. With her Sword of Protection, Adora can transform into She-Ra, just as Prince Adam can transform into He-Man.

Born on the planet Eternia to Queen Marlena and King Randor, Princess Adora is kidnapped at birth by Hordak and taken to Etheria. There she serves as a mind-controlled Horde Force Captain before He-Man rescues her. After reuniting with her parents on Eternia, She-Ra decides to return to Etheria and lead the Great Rebellion.

Otaru Mamiya is an 18-year-old day laborer living on his own in the fictional city state of Japoness. Employed as a fish peddler and running a morning's catch, he is hit by a car driven by Mitsurugi Hanagata, an acquaintance, spoiling his merchandise and sparking a fight the two agree to take elsewhere.

Traveling to a gully outside of the town, the boys continue their quarrel on a bridge where a skilled Otaru makes quick work of his opponent. In an unfortunate turn of events however, Otaru, balancing himself on a fence post which breaks off, is dumped into the river below where he is helplessly washed away.

Moments later, having drifted ashore in a small pond, Otaru finds himself at a rural athenaeum, the Japoness Pioneer Museum. He curiously explores the decrepit building, falling through a trapdoor and into a secret underground basement where he finds and awakens an encapsulated marionette. She introduces herself as Lime, embracing the dumbfounded boy with a laugh and revealing an unprecedented ability to express emotion.

Setting

The prologue of ''Saber Marionette J'' is set sometime into the 22nd century, when Earth's population has grown to such a magnitude that humanity cannot feasibly continue without colonizing space. The initial stages of the project make a promising effort of moving civilization into orbit, however it is during travel to a planet name Terra II that a transport vessel, the Mesopotamia, experiences a catastrophic fate, destroying all but a lone escape pod of people who plunge to the surface below. Of the handful of survivors however, only six males survive the crash, a ratio that both cripples their manpower and leaves them unable to reproduce.

Marooned and without communication, the men turn to genetic engineering as a method to produce clones of themselves, enough to populate the planet and sustain habitation. The effort is critically fruitful, and over a course of three centuries, each of the survivors and their successors establish individual settlements in the form of six city-states.

In spite of the remarkable success however, notwithstanding even advancements in technology, Terra II remains uninhabited by women. An effort to substitute this absence is made with the manufacture of feminine androids name ''marionettes''; creations that, while they serve their purpose, operate without sapience, emotion, or free will.

Themes

''Saber Marionette J'' contains several groups of notable themes, mainly in the names of characters and locations. The focal heroines, Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry, are named after fruits, while their counterparts, Tiger, Luchs, and Panther are named after animals, specifically of the family Felidae (using the German words and pronunciations for tiger, lynx, and panther due to their Galtland origins). Ieyasu Tokugawa, the fictional shogun of Japoness, derives his name and appearance from Tokugawa Ieyasu, while Gerhardt von Faust, führer of Galtland, is an allusion of Adolf Hitler whose name may be derived from Faust, a character of German folklore.

The city-states established by the male survivors are also based on the political and developmental histories and periods of countries. Japoness is a reminiscence of feudal Japan, Galtland portrays the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany, Peterburg is structured after Soviet Russia, New Texas is representative of the modern United States, Xi'an paints the image of Imperial China and Romana takes after the Roman Empire. The letters that affix the titles of the franchise have also been explained to represent the city-state in which a particular series is set in. ''Saber Marionette R'', for example, takes place in Romana while ''Saber Marionette J'', occurs in Japoness.

Besides the show's botanic, animal and historic references, as well as its generally comedic overtones, ''Saber Marionette J'' briefly explores deeper motifs as well. One such motif, outspoken by Mitsurugi, is the discriminatory notion that marionettes are of no importance to humans beyond their menial labor, and should be disenfranchised to the affection or privileges of people. This idea becomes more recurrent later in the series when Otaru finds himself growing closer to the girls and questions himself for it. Another visited theme is the exploration of life, its senescence, and death. These truths have a major impact on the girls' developmental identity as they come to terms with themselves and humans.

''Slacker'' follows a single day in the life of an ensemble of mostly under-30 bohemians and misfits in Austin, Texas. The film follows various eccentric and misfit characters and scenes, never staying with one character or conversation for more than a few minutes before picking up someone else in the scene and following them.

The characters include Linklater as a talkative taxi passenger, a UFO buff who insists the U.S. has been on the moon since the 1950s, a JFK conspiracy theorist, an elderly anarchist who befriends a man trying to rob his house, a television set collector, and a hipster woman trying to sell a Madonna pap smear. The woman selling the pap smear appears on the film poster, and was played by Butthole Surfers drummer Teresa Taylor.

Most of the characters grapple with feelings of social exclusion or political marginalization, which are recurring themes in their conversations. They discuss social class, terrorism, joblessness, and government control of the media.

It is May 28, 1976, the last day of school at Lee High School in Austin, Texas. The next year's group of seniors are preparing for the annual hazing of incoming freshmen. Randall "Pink" Floyd, the school's star football player, is asked to sign a pledge promising not to take drugs during the summer or do anything that would "jeopardize the goal of a championship season". When classes end, the incoming freshman boys are hunted down by the seniors and paddled. The incoming freshman girls are also hazed; they are rounded up in the school parking lot by senior girls, covered in mustard, ketchup, flour and raw eggs and forced to propose to senior boys.

As day fades to night, freshman Mitch Kramer escapes the initial hazing with his best friend Carl Burnett, but is later cornered after a baseball game and violently paddled. Fred O'Bannion, a senior participating in the hazing tradition for a second year after failing to graduate, delights in punishing Mitch. Pink gives the injured Mitch a ride home and offers to take him cruising with friends that night. Plans for the evening are ruined when Kevin Pickford's parents discover his intention to host a keg party. Elsewhere, the intellectual trio of Cynthia Dunn, Tony Olson, and Mike Newhouse decide to participate in the evening's festivities. Pink and his friend David Wooderson, a man in his early 30s who still socializes with high school students, pick up Mitch and head for the Emporium, a pool hall frequented by teenagers.

As the night progresses, students loiter around the Emporium, listen to rock music, cruise the neighborhood and stop at the hamburger drive-in. Mitch is introduced to sophomore Julie Simms, with whom he shares a mutual attraction. While cruising again with Pink, Pickford and Don Dawson, Mitch drinks beer and smokes marijuana for the first time. After a game of mailbox baseball, a neighborhood resident brandishing a gun threatens to call the police. They barely escape after the resident fires at their car. After returning to the Emporium, Mitch runs into his middle school friends. They hatch a plan to exact revenge on O'Bannion. It culminates with them dumping paint on O'Bannion, who leaves in a fit of rage.

After the Emporium closes, an impromptu keg party is planned in a field under a moonlight tower. Cynthia, Tony, and Mike arrive at their first keg party, where Mike is threatened by tough guy Clint Bruno. Tony runs into freshman Sabrina Davis, whom he met earlier during the hazing and they begin hanging out together. Cynthia likes Wooderson and exchanges phone numbers with him. Mike, suffering from the humiliation of his confrontation with Clint, decides to make a stand by punching him; in return, he gets tackled by Clint and receives a beating from him. The fight is broken up by Pink and Wooderson. Football player Benny O'Donnell confronts Pink about his refusal to sign the pledge. Pink, the only player not to have signed, believes it violates his individuality and beliefs. Mitch leaves the keg party with Julie. They drive to a nearby hill overlooking town to make out. Tony gives Sabrina a ride home and they kiss goodnight.

As night turns to dawn, Pink, Wooderson, Don, Ron Slater and several other friends decide to smoke marijuana on the 50-yard line of the football field. The police arrive so they ditch the drugs. Recognizing Pink and Dawson, the police call Coach Conrad, his football coach. Conrad lectures Pink about hanging out with "losers" and insists that he sign the pledge. Pink says that he might play football, but he is not going to sign it. Pink leaves with his friends to Houston to obtain tickets to an Aerosmith concert. Mitch arrives home after sunrise to find his mother has waited up for him. She decides against punishment, but warns him about coming home late again. Mitch goes to his bedroom, puts on headphones, and listens to "Slow Ride" by Foghat, as Pink, Wooderson, Slater, and Simone Kerr travel down a highway to purchase their tickets.

On a summer evening, while engaged in an aimless conversation that has come round to the topic of hereditary attributes, Doctor Watson learns that Sherlock Holmes, far from being a one-off in terms of his powers of observation and deductive reasoning, in fact has an elder brother whose skills, or so Holmes claims, outstrip even his own. As a consequence of this, Watson becomes acquainted with the Diogenes Club and his friend's brother, Mycroft.

Mycroft, as Watson learns, does not have the energy of his younger brother and as a consequence is incapable of using his great skills for detective work:

In spite of his inertia, the elder Holmes has often delivered the correct answer to a problem that Sherlock has brought to him. On this occasion, however, it is Mycroft who has need to consult Sherlock. Mr. Melas, a Greek interpreter and neighbour of Mycroft, tells of a rather unnerving experience he has recently gone through.

Melas was called upon one evening by a man named Harold Latimer to go to a house, supposedly in Kensington, to translate on a business matter. On the way there in Latimer's coach, Melas noticed that the windows were papered over so that he could not see where he was. Latimer also produced a bludgeon, laying it beside him as an implied threat. Melas protested, saying that what Latimer was doing was unlawful. The kidnapper replied that he would make it up to Melas, but also threatened him with unspecified retribution should the evening's business ever be made public.

For approximately two hours they drove, at last arriving at a house. It was dark, and Melas only got a general impression of a large property as he was hustled out of the coach and into the house. The house itself was poorly lit, but Melas made out that it was quite big. In the room into which he was led by Latimer and another, nervous, giggling gentleman—whose name is later discovered to be Wilson Kemp—Melas noticed a deep-pile carpet, a high marble mantel, and a suit of Japanese armour.

Another man was brought into the room. He was thin and emaciated and had sticking plaster all over his face, and a bandage sealing his mouth. Melas knew then that things were not right. Melas was sly enough to observe that his kidnappers were utterly ignorant of Greek, and used this to find out some information. While Latimer and his giggling companion had Melas translate demands that this man sign some papers, Melas added his own short questions to the dialogue. The man not only answered Latimer that he would never sign these papers, but he also answered Melas that his name was Kratides, that he had been in London for three weeks, that he had no idea what house he was in, and that his captors at the house were starving him. He wrote all his answers, unable as he was to speak through the sticking plaster.

Much could be inferred from Kratides's answers to Latimer, too. Evidently, Latimer was trying to coerce Kratides into signing over property to him, and a woman was also involved. Latimer had warned Kratides that his obstinacy would do her no good.

Melas would have extracted the whole story from this stranger had the woman herself not burst in unexpectedly, but even that event furnished new information. She recognised Kratides as "Paul", whereupon he managed to get the bandage off his mouth and he called her "Sophy". They both behaved as though neither had expected to see the other.

Melas was ushered back into the coach for another interminable ride and was deposited far from his home on Wandsworth Common. He made it to Clapham Junction just in time for the last train to Victoria. He has now presented his story at the Diogenes Club to Mycroft, who asks his brother Sherlock to look into it.

An advertisement has already been placed begging the public for information. It yields a result. A Mr. Davenport knows the woman in question, and she is currently residing at The Myrtles, a house in Beckenham. Sherlock Holmes and his brother Mycroft, who received the message from Davenport, decide that they must go to Beckenham to see about this. Watson comes, too, and they decide to pick up Inspector Gregson, and Melas as well in case some translating needs to be done. They find, however, that he has already been picked up, by a nervous, giggling man brandishing a bludgeon. Holmes knows that this means trouble. Obviously the thugs know that Melas has betrayed them.

After the necessary legal procedures for securing a search warrant have been completed, the group proceeds to Beckenham only to discover that the house, which indeed turns out to be as Melas has described, has been abandoned. Tracks indicate that a fully loaded coach has recently pulled out of the drive. Breaking in, they discover Melas and Kratides bound in a closed room where some charcoal has been lit to gas the two of them: Melas recovers thanks to Watson's timely intervention, but Kratides is already dead.

Apparently, Kratides never signed any papers. It turns out that Sophy's friends contacted Kratides, who was Sophy's brother, in Greece to tell of what they thought was a bad situation for her with Latimer. He then came to England and wound up in Latimer's power. Latimer tried to force Kratides to sign over his sister's property, but he refused absolutely.

All that is ever again heard of the thugs Latimer and Kemp is a news story from Hungary describing the deaths of "two Englishmen who had been travelling with a woman". The official report attributes their deaths to a fight between the two of them; however, Watson notes in closing that Holmes believes Sophy to have avenged the abuse of Kratides and herself by stabbing both Latimer and Kemp.

In the 26th century, humanity has colonized a new solar system. The central planets formed the Alliance and won a war against the outer planet Independents who resisted joining the Alliance. River Tam is conditioned by Alliance scientists into becoming a psychic and an assassin but is soon rescued by her brother Dr. Simon Tam. During her training, River inadvertently read the minds of several top government officials and learned their secrets. Consequently, an Alliance agent known only as the Operative is tasked with recapturing her.

The siblings have found refuge aboard the transport spaceship ''Serenity'' with Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, first mate Zoe Washburne, pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne, mercenary Jayne Cobb, and mechanic Kaylee Frye. Despite Simon's objections, Mal brings River on a bank robbery. River warns them that savage and cannibalistic Reavers are coming. They escape, but Simon decides he and River will leave ''Serenity'' at the next port. Once there, however, a subliminal message in a television commercial causes River to attack numerous bar patrons, and Mal takes the siblings back aboard the ship. The crew contacts reclusive hacker Mr. Universe, who discovers the message designed to trigger River's mental conditioning. He notes River whispered "Miranda" before attacking and warns that someone else has viewed the footage.

Mal receives an invitation from Inara Serra. Realising it is a trap, Mal goes to confront the Operative who promises to let him go free if he hands over River. Mal barely escapes. Miranda is discovered to be a planet located beyond a region of space swarming with Reavers. The crew flies to the planet Haven but find it devastated and their friend Shepherd Book mortally wounded. The Operative promises to kill anyone who assists them until he gets River.

Mal has the crew disguise ''Serenity'' as a Reaver ship and they travel to Miranda undetected. They find its 30 million colonists dead, and a recording that explains an experimental chemical to suppress aggression had been added into Miranda's atmosphere. The population became so docile they stopped performing all activities of daily living and placidly died. A small proportion of them had the opposite reaction and became insanely aggressive and violent. The Alliance had created the Reavers and this was the secret in River's subconscious.

Mr. Universe agrees to broadcast the recording. However, the Operative kills him and prepares an ambush. Knowing this, the crew provoke the Reaver fleet into chasing them toward the Alliance armada. The Reavers and Alliance battle while Wash pilots ''Serenity'' through the crossfire. He crash lands near the broadcast tower before being fatally impaled by a Reaver spear.

The crew make a last stand against the Reavers to buy Mal time to broadcast the recording. The crew retreats behind a set of blast doors that fail to properly close. Simon is shot, and River dives through the doors to throw back Simon's medical kit and close the doors before the Reavers drag her away. At the transmitter, Mal fights the Operative, finally subduing him and forcing him to watch as the recording is broadcast. Mal returns to the crew. The blast doors open to reveal that River has killed all the Reavers. The Operative orders the Alliance troops to stand down.

The Operative provides medical aid and resources to repair ''Serenity.'' He tells Mal the broadcast has weakened the Alliance government, but while he will try to convince the Parliament that River and Simon are no longer threats, he warns that they may continue their pursuit in retribution for getting the word out. ''Serenity'' takes off, with River as Mal's new pilot.

The novel ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' is split into two unequal parts: the bulk of the book, Saturday Night, and the much smaller second part, Sunday Morning.

'''Saturday Night'''

Saturday Night begins in a working man's club in Nottingham. Arthur Seaton is 22 years old, and enjoying a night out with Brenda, the wife of a colleague at work. Challenged to a drinking contest, Arthur defeats "Loudmouth" before falling down the stairs drunk. Brenda takes him home with her and they spend the night together. Arthur enjoys breakfast with Brenda before her husband Jack gets home from a weekend at the races.

Arthur works at a lathe at a bicycle factory with his friend Jack. Arthur keeps his mind occupied during the mundane and repetitive work through a mental collage of imagined fantasies, and memories of the past. He earns a good wage of 14 pounds a week, and Robboe, his superior, fears he may get in trouble for letting Arthur earn so much. Soon Arthur hears the news that Jack has been switched to nights, which pleases Arthur as he can now spend more time with Jack's wife. At the same time, Arthur carries on with Brenda's sister Winnie.

During another night out at the pub, Arthur meets Doreen, a young unmarried girl with whom he begins a relatively innocent courtship — all the while keeping Brenda and Winnie a secret. However, although Jack is oblivious to his wife's infidelity, Winnie's husband Bill catches on — and Arthur's actions catch up with him when Bill and an accomplice jump Arthur one night, leaving him beaten and bed-ridden for days.

'''Sunday Morning'''

Sunday Morning follows the course of events after Arthur's assault. When Doreen comes to check up on him, Arthur finally comes clean about his affairs with Brenda and Winnie. Doreen stays in a relationship with Arthur despite his dishonesty; Brenda and Winnie disappear from the story. By the end of the novel, Arthur and Doreen have made plans to marry.

The story revolves around the case of Miss Mary Sutherland, a woman with a substantial income from the interest on a fund set up for her. She is engaged to a quiet Londoner who has recently disappeared. Sherlock Holmes' detective powers are barely challenged as this turns out to be quite an elementary case for him, much as it puzzles Watson.

The fiancé, Hosmer Angel, is a peculiar character, rather quiet, and rather secretive about his life. Miss Sutherland only knows that he works in an office in Leadenhall Street, but nothing more specific than that. All his letters to her are typewritten, even the signature, and he insists that she write back to him through the local Post Office.

The climax of the sad liaison comes when Mr. Angel abandons Miss Sutherland at the altar on their wedding day.

Holmes, noting all these things, Hosmer Angel's description, and the fact that he only seems to meet with Miss Sutherland while her disapproving youngish stepfather, James Windibank, is out of the country on business, reaches a conclusion quite quickly. A typewritten letter confirms his belief beyond doubt. Only one person could have gained by this: Mr. James Windibank. Holmes deduces "Angel" had "disappeared" by simply going out the other side of a four-wheeler cab.

After solving the mystery, Holmes chooses not to tell his client the solution, since "If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old Persian saying, 'There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.' There is as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much knowledge of the world." Holmes had earlier advised his client to forget "Mr. Angel", but Miss Sutherland refused to take Holmes' advice and vowed to remain faithful to "Angel" until he reappears – for at least ten years.

Holmes predicts Windibank will continue a career in crime and end up on the gallows.

The ''Darkstalkers'' games take place on the planet Earth that is in the process of merging with a realm known as Makai. The reason for this merger varies depending on the continuity, but a continuing theme is that the union of realms brings the arrival of the Darkstalkers to the human world, the term being a catch-all for the various creatures of legend. The greatest of these supernatural creatures, and the greatest among those who hunt them, meet in battle to determine who will rule the night.

In the original game and the sequel, ''Vampire Hunter'' (''Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge''), an alien overlord named Pyron returns to Earth after being away for many years. His quest to conquer the world using an army of robots brings the Darkstalkers out of hiding to oppose his rule over humanity and the supernatural. A second sequel, ''Vampire Savior'' (''Darkstalkers 3''), saw the debut of Jedah, previously one of the nobles of Makai, who decides that the only way to save the realm is to take control of it by force. Accordingly, he lures the Darkstalkers into a trap to use their collective souls to remake the realm and control both humanity and the supernatural.

Characters

''Darkstalkers'' characters are either based on various iconic literary and cinematic monsters, or inspired by international mythology and fairy tales. The 1997 anime miniseries ''Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge'', which was based on the first two titles, was faithful to the characters' in-game personalities. The 1995 American-produced cartoon series, simply titled ''Darkstalkers'', dropped the backstory of the games altogether in favor of a standard good-versus-evil plot, altering certain characters' storylines in the process.

style. The story begins with brief profiles of each of the Endless, a reference to manga where brief character bios (in statistic form) are often displayed in the margins, and then segues right into Destiny's council. At the family meeting, Desire taunts Morpheus about Nada, the former lover he banished to Hell 10,000 years past. Shortly afterward, Death gives him a sound scolding and Dream feels convinced he must go to Lucifer and recover Nada.

Expecting a battle, Dream arrives just as Lucifer is closing down Hell. Upon leaving, Lucifer hands the key to Morpheus.

The evicted dead gravitate towards Death's realm, unexpectedly swamping her in the mistaken belief that they will then be admitted to Heaven. Shortly afterward, Delirium appears, followed by Despair. They soon realize the problem and Death resolves to gather all the damned in one place until Morpheus finds an appropriate solution to Hell's closing, endowing her sisters with two ankhs to help her accomplish the mission.

Meanwhile, in Dream, various deities such as Bast, Odin, and others arrive to contest who will take over ownership of Hell; the events of ''Season of Mists'' are told here in a greatly abbreviated version.

Behind schedule on collecting the recently deceased, Death runs out to do her duty, leaving Delirium in charge. She returns to find a raucous party with her little sister serving "Horse Doovers" ([ ], hors d'oeuvres) of unusual variety, such as pencils on crackers or green mouse and telephone ice cream. A subplot involves Edgar Allan Poe, one of the deceased staying in Death's home, who apparently has a crush on Despair, his muse. As Death leaves again, the party is rudely interrupted by demons from Hell, also without a home, who intend to cause chaos. Upon her return, Death prepares to battle the demons, only to have them disappear as Dream finishes his negotiations in Hell, reclaims Nada and hands off the Key to the angels, Remiel and Duma.

Zach and Randy are two kids who run a YouTube channel dedicated to exploring their town somewhere in Missouri. However, they don't get as many views as they expect to, due to the fact that their town has nothing interesting going on. Zach is in love with a girl named Kayla, a lacrosse player over at the local high school, but she only regards him as a friend, she is concerned over soon having to study overseas as it means leaving her younger brother Joey since their parents don't have any time for him. During the day, Zach and Randy meet a neighbor, Ms. Bisette, who is concerned about a strange bug moving in an unnatural, synchronized pattern on her apples, they then notice a boy being dragged by his arm by his mother who the boy is screaming to onlookers that this woman is not his mother but is ignored on the basis he is just acting out.

One night, Zach and Randy hear screaming from Ms. Bisette's house, and when they go in, she screams that something bit her. However, the next day Ms. Bisette claims that nothing happened when questioned by Deputy Josh Haywood. Zach and Randy begin to see disturbing events unfold the next day, with the pastor and sheriff acting emotionless. However, Haywood dismisses the claims, telling the two not to cause any more trouble.

Outside, they run into Kayla, who is worried about the erratic behavior of her parents. Their suspicions are confirmed when Zach witnesses a bug running around the attic, with Kayla's mom's body in a hamper. However, Haywood finds nothing during a search the next day. Around that time, Kayla's mom comes, but also displays the same emotionless behavior. With no other choice, Zach, Randy, and Kayla leave, leaving behind Kayla's now clearly distressed younger brother Joey, greatly upsetting Kayla. The three go to Zach's farmhouse, where they see Zach's dad, an amputee, but he oddly gets up from his wheelchair, having been replaced by a copycat. The townspeople surround Zach and Randy and lock them in the farmhouse, putting two ice coolers in front of them. Zach then witnesses his mom being killed and "assimilated" by the bug. Luckily, Zach and Randy escape and with Kayla's help, run to Haywood's RV. By now, Haywood has begun to believe Zach and Randy, having killed his double. The four plan to radio the National Guard and send someone in, but the townspeople swarm the RV. In the ensuing chaos, Haywood is dragged out of the window and killed, and Randy leads the assimilated away as a distraction while Zach and Kayla run.

Kayla explains that there is a flower shop van that could serve as an escape vehicle. In order to reach it, they display the same emotions as the copies, fooling the doubles. They pass by the burned corpses of the townspeople, and Zach manages to get the keys. However, Kayla witnesses a process in which the kids are coerced by their parents to be bitten and copied. Kayla poses as a copy and finds Joey, but a single tear is seen by a copy and exposes her ruse. Zach is able to grab Kayla, but Joey runs off to a family cabin in the woods (Kayla having instructed him to). In the forest, Zach finds Randy, but it's revealed that Randy was killed and replaced with a copycat, and Kayla and Zach are forced to drown the copy. Zach makes a plan to upload another one of his vlogs to YouTube, hoping to tell the world what is happening. However, since both Zach and Kayla were bitten by the bugs earlier, their copies come to kill them. Zach and Kayla fend off their clones with cyanide gas (distracting them with images on the monitors), killing them, and they are able to upload the vlog onto YouTube.

The two run into the woods into the cabin, where they find Joey staring at the TV screen, having escaped with both Kayla and Joey cuddling each other for comfort as they weep over being orphaned. In a reveal through TV displays, Zach and Kayla watch in horror as feeds from Washington, D.C., Beijing, Agra, Paris, London, New York and Tokyo show copies burning the corpses of dead humans and walking in the same emotionless state as previously seen. Zach, Kayla, and Joey realize their town was among the last to be hit by the copies.

The final scene shows the YouTube video comment section, where it's revealed that multiple people are still alive in different cities of the world, specifically Boston, Nanjing and Prague. However, the state of the Earth is unknown, with the copies now outnumbering the humans.

Career bank robber Jack Foley is caught after a spur-of-the-moment robbery in Miami. Sent to Glades Correctional Institution, he deduces that fellow inmate Chino is orchestrating a breakout. Planning his own escape. Jack calls his ex-wife Adele, an out-of-work magician's assistant, to notify his friend and accomplice Buddy.

That night, U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco arrives at the prison, as does Buddy, and spots the escapees tunneling outside. In the confusion, Jack exits the tunnel in a guard's uniform and overpowers Karen. They are forced to share the trunk of her car as Buddy drives them to meet Glenn, an unreliable associate. Karen convinces Glenn to drive off with her, but he crashes the car and flees while she is taken to the hospital.

Karen has a dream about tracking Jack down, but instead of arresting him, they have sex. Determined to join the task force hunting the fugitives, she questions Adele and happens to arrest Chino, who arrives seeking revenge on Jack. Karen is forced to wait in the lobby while the task force raids Buddy’s apartment, but she and Jack spot each other as he and Buddy escape.

Two years earlier, Jack, Buddy, and Glenn were incarcerated at Lompoc Penitentiary, where wealthy inmate Richard Ripley bragged to Glenn about a cache of uncut diamonds hidden at his home in Detroit. Jack saved Richard from being extorted by vicious criminal Maurice "Snoopy" Miller, leading Richard to promise Jack a job. After his release, Jack balked at the menial position and Richard's disdain for his criminal past. Thrown out of the building, he impulsively robbed the bank across the street and was sent to Glades.

In Detroit, Maurice plans to steal the diamonds with his brother-in-law Kenneth, henchman White Boy Bob, and a reluctant Glenn, whom Maurice forces to help kill a rival drug dealer. Jack and Buddy meet Maurice and his crew, agreeing to team up on the robbery. Following Jack to Detroit, Karen questions Maurice's wife Moselle, and defends herself when Kenneth attempts to assault her. Jack finds Karen at her hotel, where they share a romantic interlude at the bar and spend the night together.

Glenn gets cold feet and runs into Karen, who lets him escape but continues to tail Jack. The thieves force their way inside Richard's mansion, but the housekeeper Midge tells them Richard is out of town. While Maurice and his crew struggle to shoot open the safe upstairs, Jack and Buddy find Richard hiding in his study, and discover the diamonds hidden in his fish tank. Richard, in love with Midge, refuses to leave without her and is captured by Maurice.

Jack sends Buddy away with the diamonds and goes back with Buddy's gun. He is held at gunpoint by White Boy Bob, who trips on the stairs and accidentally shoots himself in the head. Jack shoots Kenneth as he attempts to rape Midge, while Karen enters and shoots Maurice in self-defense. Unwilling to return to prison, Jack confronts Karen with his empty gun, imploring her to kill him. Instead, Karen wounds him in the leg and arrests him.

Karen prepares to transport Jack back to Glades, joined by another detainee, Hejira Henry, who mentions having already escaped from prison nine times. Having arranged for him to join Jack, Karen smiles as the van leaves for Florida.

;Act one The soldier Spurius Titus Mamma arrives at Romulus's run-down country residence, bleeding and exhausted, having ridden day and night to inform the Emperor of the fall of Pavia. Romulus is eventually to be found bartering over the sale of the busts of some of Rome's greatest historical figures. Romulus refuses to receive the news brought to him, instead insisting that Spurius Titus Mamma go to sleep whilst he himself breakfasts. Meanwhile, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire Zeno arrives, whose Byzantine Empire has been flooded with German ranks. His initiative is that both sides of Rome unite to fight, yet on seeing Romulus's complacence soon decides he would rather set his resistance campaign in motion from Alexandria, whence he resolves to sail the following day. At this point the rich German trouser manufacturer Caesar Rupf arrives, offering to pay the Germanic forces 10 Million sestertii in return for a retreat, yet only if he can take the Princess Rea as his bride. Romulus refuses this, stating he would readily sell the Empire for a handful of sestertii, but he will not sell his daughter.

;Act two The remaining secretaries of the Empire gather in the Villa's Park, musing on the impending destruction of the Empire and contemplate begging Romulus to resume reigning and defeat the Germanic people. Meanwhile, tortured, scalped, thin and pale, Emilian, fiancé of Rea, arrives after spending three years in German captivity. Patriotic to the core, he is disgusted at the Emperor's "dirty henhouse". On meeting, the Princess does not recognise him. He eventually reveals his identity, but speaks only of his former self, as if he were now a ghost. Rea, of course, still loves the man to whom she was engaged three years ago, which Emilian sees and takes advantage of, demanding her to "take a knife" and herself struggle against the Germans. Hearing of Caesar Rupf's offer, Emilian tells Rea that she must marry the trouser manufacturer; it is because she loves him that he is able to demand this of her. The assembled, thinking the Empire has been rescued, break out into joy. However, Romulus will not grant permission for the marriage to take place.

The first signs of Romulus's darker purpose emerge here:

''"My daughter will comply with the will of the Emperor. The Emperor knows what he does when he throws his realm into the fire, when he lets fall what must be destroyed, and grinds with his foot what belongs to the earth."''

;Act three The night of the Ides of March. Romulus is visited in his bedchamber by the Empress Julia, who informs him of her plan to flee to Sicily. Romulus refuses to accompany her or to reconsider his decision to forbid Rea's marriage to Rupf. It becomes clear here that Julia and Romulus never loved one another, instead, each used the marriage for his own purpose. Julia wished to attain the status of Empress, and so married the well-descended Romulus. Romulus, however, married into the ruling bloodline with the sole purpose of liquidating a nation whose nature had become too bloody and violent to justify defence. Later that night, Rea also visits her father, whom he persuades to pursue her engagement to Emilian, for

''"it is much greater and harder to be faithful to a person than to the State."''

Meanwhile, a cloaked figure slips in through the window and lies in wait in the darkness. Romulus sees this in the reflection on his wineglass and once Rea has gone, calls out to the figure, Emilian, to reveal himself. From here, further conspirators are discovered concealed in absurd places in Romulus's bedchamber: the Home Secretary under the divan, Zeno in the cupboard, Spurius Titus Mamma in the wardrobe, all cloaked in black and bearing daggers.

Yet even this last try for revolution against Romulus goes awry. Romulus is unmoved; he is only surprised to learn that his Cook is one amongst the sworn traitors. The group flees as soon as news is shouted at them that a Germanic army has arrived, abandoning their plot and leaving Romulus to await his death at the hands of the German Prince Odoacer.

;Act four Romulus awakes on the morning following the Ides of March. News is brought to him that his two butlers have been offered positions serving Caesar Rupf, with excellent pay, and that the raft carrying Rea, Julia, Emilian, the Home Secretary, the War Minister and the Cook capsized, drowning all those aboard except Zeno. Romulus receives this news stoically, declining to mourn, in anticipation of his own impending death. As Odoacer enters the Villa, Romulus has to see he is tragically mistaken - his adversary is as world-weary as himself, having been forced into a bloody streak of conquest by his people and especially his bloodthirsty nephew Theoderic. Instead of coming to kill Romulus, Odoacer begs him for help. Each tries to surrender to the other.

Both eventually conclude that they have been trying to preside over the world, when in fact the only control they truly have is over the present. Odoacer admits that if he continued to rule, Theoderic will one day depose him. Nonetheless he yields to the title "King of Italy", bestowing upon Romulus a pension of 6,000 gold coins per year and a countryside villa, in which he must live with his folly for the rest of his life.

Fiona Maye is a respected High Court Judge specialising in Family Law and living in Gray's Inn Square. While reviewing a case, she is approached by her husband, Jack, who tells her that because of their lack of physical intimacy he would like to embark on a sexual affair, with her permission, with a 28 year old statistician. Fiona is horrified and refuses to agree to Jack's terms. Fiona had developed a horror of the body after presiding over a case in which she ruled that conjoined twins should be separated despite the fact that one twin would immediately die due to her verdict. Though her peers lauded her elegant solution to the case, Fiona is privately troubled by it and nevertheless refuses to share this detail with Jack. In the middle of their fight, Fiona receives a call about an emergency case of a young teenager with leukemia who refuses a blood transfusion as a member of Jehovah's Witnesses. Jack leaves the apartment.

Going to work Fiona finds herself pondering her marriage, her childlessness (in part due to her dedication to her career). Impulsively she decides to change the locks to her home despite knowing that this is illegal. Returning home she realizes that Jack has not returned or tried to contact her.

The following day Fiona hears arguments for the case involving Adam, the young Jehovah's Witness. As he is only three months shy of his 18th birthday Fiona decides to visit him in the hospital to try to ascertain whether he is capable of denying treatment or not. She finds him a precocious and kind boy and he reads her poetry and plays a tune on his violin with her, with Fiona joining him by singing to his playing in an encore. Returning to court she rules that the hospital be allowed to give him the blood transfusion. Feeling elated with her decision she walks home and, upon returning, discovers that Jack has returned feeling foolish about his attempts to leave her. Fiona realizes that everything will eventually go back to normal and is ultimately disappointed that he returned at a time when she was happy and actually anticipating being alone.

Months later Fiona's marriage is still tense. She begins to receive letters, at first at her work, and later at her apartment, from Adam Henry, telling her he is now grateful for her ruling and that he sees the hypocrisy in his parents and has become disillusioned with religion. Fiona decides to ignore the letters. Travelling to Newcastle to oversee local cases, she is surprised to find that Adam has followed her there, desperate to talk to her. Adam eventually confesses that he has left home and wants to live with Fiona. She refuses his request and tells him to call his mother. Arranging for a taxi and a train ticket she goes to kiss him on the cheek goodbye, but the two end up kissing on the lips. Panicked after the kiss, Fiona calls her husband to arrange for dinner when she returns and the two begin to reconcile.

Returning home Fiona and Jack slowly grow closer to one another. Fiona receives another letter from Adam, a religious poem, which implies that he thinks of her as Satan for tempting him away from religion and has returned to the faith. Like his other letters, Fiona ignores it.

Fiona prepares for a Christmas concert to be performed before her colleagues. The night before the concert she and Jack reconcile with a kiss and promise to dedicate themselves to each other anew. Going to the concert, before she performs, Fiona is informed that Adam has died after his leukemia returned and he refused treatment, now being of the age of majority. Fiona performs at the concert and then runs home. When Jack returns she tells him of the case, the kiss, and his death, feeling guilty for kissing Adam and then turning him away causing him to go back to his religious convictions. She falls asleep crying in her own bed, but when she wakes up Jack has followed her and he promises to love her as she reveals further details about her guilt.

Lestrade summons Holmes to a community in Herefordshire, where a local landowner has been murdered outdoors. The deceased's estranged son is strongly implicated. Holmes quickly determines that a mysterious third man may be responsible for the crime, unravelling a thread involving a secret criminal past, thwarted love, and blackmail.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson take a train to Boscombe Valley, in Herefordshire. En route, Holmes reads the news and briefs Watson on their new case.

John Turner, a widower and a major landowner who has a daughter named Alice, lives there with a fellow expatriate from Australia, Charles McCarthy, a widower who has a son named James. Charles has been found dead near Boscombe Pool; it was reported that he was there to meet someone. Two witnesses testify that they saw Charles walking into the woods followed by James, who was carrying a gun. Patience Moran, daughter of a lodgekeeper, says that she saw Charles and James arguing and that, when James raised his hand as if to hit his father, she ran to her mother, and while she was telling her mother what she saw James rushed to their house seeking help. The Morans followed James back to the Pool, where they found his father dead. James was arrested and charged with murder. Alice Turner believes that James is innocent and has contacted Lestrade, a Scotland Yard detective who in turn has asked Holmes' help.

James confirms the testimonies of the witnesses, but explains that he was going into the woods to hunt, not to follow his father. He later heard his father calling "Cooee" and found his father standing by the pool, surprised to see him. They argued heatedly, and James decided to return to Hatherley Farm. Shortly after that he heard his father cry out, and returned to find his father lying on the ground. James insists that he tried to help him, but his father died in his arms. James refuses to give the cause of their argument, despite the coroner's warning that it could be damaging to his case if he does not reveal it. James also remembers that his father's last words were something about "a rat", but James is uncertain of their meaning in the situation. He also thinks he saw a cloak on the ground, which vanished while he was helping his father.

Alice meets Holmes, Watson and Lestrade in the hotel, and she hopes that Holmes has found a way to prove James's innocence. She also believes that she was the subject of the argument between the McCarthys - Charles wanted his son to marry her, but James had refused. Alice had taken James's side out of respect for him, and her father was also against the union. Holmes asks Alice if he could meet her father, but she says his health worsened after the death of Charles, whom he had known since they were in Victoria. Holmes decides to see James.

Holmes mistakenly surmises that James knows who killed his father and is protecting someone. It emerges that Alice is right about the cause of the argument between James and Charles. What she does not know is that James actually loves her, but could not follow his father's demand because he had married a barmaid before Alice had returned from boarding school. This burdened him, but he could not tell his father about his marriage because he would have been kicked out of the house and left unable to support himself. When his wife heard of his troubles, however, she confessed that she was already married before they met, and therefore their marriage is invalid.

Holmes, Watson and Lestrade go to Hatherley Farm, and examine Charles's and James's boots. They then head to Boscombe Pool, following the track from the courtyard. After examining the ground, Holmes finds evidence of the presence of another man, besides Charles and James, whom he believes to be the murderer. Holmes deduces that the killer is left-handed (because Charles was struck neatly on the left side of his head from behind, where a right-handed man would have struck him on the other side), and that the stranger is tall, has a limp, and smokes cigars. Lestrade is not convinced.

At the hotel Holmes explains to Watson that "Cooee" is an Australian cry and that the apparent reference to "a rat", overheard by James, in fact comprised the last syllables of "Ballarat", a place in Australia. The person Charles was meeting was, therefore, someone he knew from Australia. John Turner, Alice's father, then comes to their room (coincidentally being announced by a hotel employee right as Watson is about to name him as the killer, after correctly interpreting the hints Holmes has offered him), entering with a limp, and, realizing that Holmes has deduced the crime, confesses.

In his confession, John explains that he was a member of the Ballarat Gang, a group of bushrangers in Australia. They robbed a gold convoy in which Charles was the wagon driver, and John spared his life, despite knowing that Charles could later identify him. The loot made the surviving gang members rich, and they moved to England. Resolved to change, John parted ways with his friends. He bought land and got married, and then Alice was born. Some time later, Charles tracked down John and threatened to blackmail him unless he and his son were provided for. In response, John gave Charles Hatherley Farm and money, hoping this would satisfy him. However, this was not enough, and Charles eventually demanded the marriage of James and Alice. Although he liked James, John did not want Charles' "cursed blood" mixed with his family's, so he resisted the union. After much pressure, John agreed to meet Charles secretly at the Pool to resolve the matter. Seeing Charles and James there arguing, John hid, intending to wait until James left. However, he became angry when he heard the nature of the argument, and killed Charles to preserve his freedom and spare his daughter. James heard his father's death cry and returned, but John was able to hide in the woods. He had to return later to retrieve the cloak that he had dropped in his haste.

John signs his statement, and Holmes vows to keep it secret unless it is needed to free James. In the end, Holmes's objections are sufficient to acquit James, and John dies seven months after the meeting with Holmes and Watson. Meanwhile, Watson surmises that James and Alice will likely marry and live in happiness without ever discovering the true history of their fathers.

''Inferno'' is based upon the hell described in Dante's ''Inferno''. However, it adds a modern twist to the story. The story is told in the first person by Allen Carpenter (who spelled his name "Carpentier" on his novels), an agnostic science fiction writer who died in a failed attempt to entertain his fans at a science fiction convention party. He is only released, after many decades, from a Djinn-bottle in the Vestibule on the outer edge to Hell when he finally calls upon God for mercy. Upon release he is met by Benito, or Benny, a Virgil-like figure whose full identity is not immediately apparent. Benito offers to take him out of Hell by bringing him to the center.

At first, as Allen and Benito travel through Hell, Allen tries to scientifically rationalize everything he sees, renaming his surroundings as 'Infernoland', a high-tech amusement park some thousand years in the future. It isn't until he sees a man recover from incineration and his own leg heal from a compound fracture that he starts to actually believe that he is in Hell. From this point on, as Allen travels through the inner circles of Hell, he sees how he is guilty of each of the sins in some fashion, commenting to himself that he is in no danger from ditch 3 of circle 8 (simony) only because he has never had any holy offices to sell. At first Allen views the punishments for these sins as far surpassing the crime, repeatedly thinking, "We're in the hands of infinite power and infinite sadism", although he comes more and more to accept the justice of the situation as he realizes that it is their continuing denial of their sins that keeps many of the condemned in hell. Eventually Allen takes over Benito's role in helping reformed souls proceed on to Paradise via Purgatory, allowing Benito to move on towards Purgatory himself. It is revealed that Benito is actually Benito Mussolini, the former dictator of Italy.

Along the way Allen meets a number of his Californian acquaintances and notable people from history (e.g. Epictetus, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Bob Ford, L Ron Hubbard, Henry VIII of England, Vlad Tepes, Aimee Semple McPherson, William M. Tweed, Al Capone) and from classical mythology (e.g. Hector, Aeneas, Charon, Minos, Phlegyas, Geryon). Due to the long time he spent bottled up in the outer vestibule he also meets some people from the future of 1976, such as a Space Shuttle pilot.

Former RAF squadron leader Richard Blaney (Jon Finch) is fired from his job as a bartender in a pub near Covent Garden. He laments his loss with his friend Bob Rusk (Barry Foster), who runs a produce stand in Covent Garden. Rusk consoles him and gives a tip on a forthcoming horse-race, but Blaney has no money to bet. He visits his ex-wife Brenda (Barbara Leigh-Hunt), who runs a successful matchmaking agency, and complains loudly about his situation. They briefly argue, but she invites him to dinner. Broke, Blaney ends up spending the night at a Salvation Army shelter, where he discovers that Brenda has slipped money into his coat pocket.

On the following day, Rusk, whom the agency has turned away because of his creepy sexual proclivities, arrives at Brenda's office. Finding her alone, he rapes her, then strangles her with his necktie, revealing that he is the serial killer whom the newspapers have dubbed the "Necktie Murderer." After Rusk leaves, Blaney arrives, hoping to talk to Brenda again, but he finds her office locked. Brenda's secretary, returning from lunch, sees Blaney leaving. When the murder is discovered, Blaney becomes the prime suspect.

Blaney meets up with Barbara "Babs" Milligan (Anna Massey), his former pub co-worker, and convinces her that he is innocent. The two stay at a hotel, where they make love, then narrowly dodge the police. They appeal to one of Blaney's RAF buddies for help, but the man's wife refuses to harbour a fugitive. Blaney persuades Babs to fetch his belongings from the pub, so he can flee. While there, Babs runs into Rusk, who offers to let her use his flat for the night. After taking Babs there, he rapes and murders her. He hides her body in a sack and, late that night, stows it in the back of a lorry hauling potatoes. Back in his room, Rusk discovers that his distinctive jewelled tie pin (with the initial R) is missing, and realizes that Babs must have torn it off while he was strangling her. Knowing the tie pin will incriminate him, Rusk goes to retrieve it, but the lorry starts off on its journey while he is still inside. In spite of the bumpy ride, he retrieves the pin that is still clutched in Babs's hand. Dishevelled and covered in potato-dust, he gets out at a roadside café, then returns to his Covent Garden flat. When Babs's body is discovered, Blaney is suspected of her murder as well as Brenda's.

Blaney, unaware that Rusk is the actual murderer, turns to him for help. Rusk offers to hide Blaney at his flat and then tips off the police. In the face of this treachery, Blaney realizes that Rusk must be the murderer. At the trial, the jury finds Blaney guilty. During the trial and while being led away to prison, Blaney loudly protests that he is innocent and that Rusk is the real killer. Chief Inspector Oxford (Alec McCowen) reconsiders the evidence and quietly investigates Rusk. He discusses the case with his wife (Vivien Merchant) while trying to avoid eating the unappetizing food she has learned to prepare in an "exotic cooking" course.

Blaney, now in prison, vows to escape and avenge himself on Rusk. He deliberately injures himself and is taken to the hospital. His fellow inmate patients help him escape the locked ward. He goes to Rusk's flat. Rusk is not there, but Blaney finds a dead woman in Rusk's bed with Rusk's necktie around her neck. Inspector Oxford, who has anticipated that Blaney would go after Rusk, arrives to find Blaney with the dead woman. Just as Blaney begins to protest his innocence, the two hear a loud banging noise coming from the stairwell. The Inspector hastily conceals himself behind the door. Rusk enters, dragging a large trunk into the flat, and is shocked to see Blaney. Oxford reveals himself and wryly notes that Rusk is not wearing his tie. Realizing that both Blanley and Oxford can overpower him if he tries to do anything, Rusk resigns his fate and drops the trunk, surrendering himself to the authority.

Part One: Perhaps an Accident

The first few pages of the first chapter explain the book's basic premise: the story centers on a fictional event that happened in Peru on the road between Lima and Cuzco, at noon on Friday, July 20, 1714. A rope bridge woven by the Inca a century earlier collapsed at that particular moment, while five people were crossing it, sending them falling from a great height to their deaths in the river below. The collapse was witnessed by Brother Juniper, a Franciscan friar who was on his way to cross the bridge himself. A deeply pious man who seeks to provide some sort of empirical evidence that might prove to the world God's Divine Providence, he sets out to interview everyone he can find who knew the five victims. Over the course of six years, he compiles a huge book of all of the evidence he gathers to show that the beginning and end of a person is all part of God's plan for that person. Part One foretells the burning of the book that occurs at the end of the novel, but it also says that one copy of Brother Juniper's book survives and is at the library of the University of San Marco, where it now sits neglected.

Part Two: the Marquesa de Montemayor; Pepita

Part Two focuses on one of the victims of the collapse: Doña María, the Marquesa de Montemayor. The daughter of a wealthy cloth merchant, the Marquesa was an ugly child who eventually entered into an arranged marriage and bore a daughter, Clara, whom she loved dearly. Clara was indifferent to her mother, though, and became engaged to a Spanish man and moved across the ocean to Spain where she married. Doña María visits her daughter in Spain, but when they cannot get along, she returns to Lima. The only way that they can communicate comfortably is by letter, and Doña María pours her heart into her writing, which becomes so polished that her letters will be read in schools for hundreds of years after her death.

Doña María takes as her companion Pepita, a girl raised at the Convent of Santa María Rosa de las Rosas. When she learns that her daughter is pregnant in Spain, Doña María decides to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Santa María de Cluxambuqua to pray that the baby will be healthy and loved. Pepita goes along as company and to supervise the staff. When Doña María is out at the shrine, Pepita stays at the inn and writes a letter to her patron, the Abbess María del Pilar, complaining about her misery and loneliness. Doña María sees the letter on the table when she gets back and reads it. Later, she asks Pepita about the letter, and Pepita says she tore it up because the letter was not brave. Doña María has new insight into the ways in which her own life and love for her daughter have lacked bravery. She writes her "first letter" (actually Letter LVI) of courageous love to her daughter, but two days later, returning to Lima, she and Pepita are on the bridge of San Luis Rey when it collapses.

Part Three: Esteban

Esteban and Manuel are twins who were left at the Convent of Santa María Rosa de las Rosas as infants. The Abbess of the convent, Madre María del Pilar, developed a fondness for them as they grew up. When they became older, they decided to be scribes. They are so close that they have developed a secret language that only they understand. Their closeness becomes strained when Manuel falls in love with Camila Perichole, a famous actress.

Perichole flirts with Manuel and swears him to secrecy when she retains him to write letters to her lover, the Viceroy. Esteban has no idea of their relationship until she turns up at the twins' room one night in a hurry and has Manuel write to a matador with whom she is having an affair. Esteban encourages his brother to follow her, but instead Manuel swears that he will never see her again. Later, Manuel cuts his knee on a piece of metal and it becomes infected. The surgeon instructs Esteban to put cold compresses on the injury: the compresses are so painful that Manuel curses Esteban, though he later remembers nothing of his curses. Esteban offers to send for the Perichole, but Manuel refuses. Soon after, Manuel dies.

When the Abbess comes to prepare the body, she asks Esteban his name, and he says he is Manuel. Gossip about his ensuing strange behavior spreads all over town. He goes to the theater but runs away before the Perichole can talk to him; the Abbess also tries to talk to him, but he runs away, so she sends for Captain Alvarado.

Captain Alvarado, a well-known sailor and explorer, goes to see Esteban in Cuzco and hires him to sail the world with him, far from Peru. Esteban agrees, then refuses, then acquiesces if he can get all his pay in advance to buy a present for the Abbess before he departs. That night Esteban attempts suicide but is saved by Captain Alvarado. The Captain offers to take him back to Lima to buy the present, and at the ravine spanned by the bridge of San Luis Rey, the Captain goes down to a boat that is ferrying some materials across the water. Esteban goes to the bridge and is on it when it collapses.

Part Four: Uncle Pio; Don Jaime

Uncle Pio acts as Camila Perichole's valet, and, in addition, "her singing-master, her coiffeur, her masseur, her reader, her errand-boy, her banker; rumor added: her father." He was born the bastard son of a Madrid aristocrat and later traveled the world engaged in a wide variety of dubious, though legal, businesses, most related to being a go-between or agent of the powerful, including (briefly) conducting interrogations for the Inquisition. His life "became too complicated" and he fled to Peru. He came to realize that he had just three interests in the world: independence; the constant presence of beautiful women; and the masterpieces of Spanish literature, particularly those of the theater.

He finds work as the confidential agent of the Viceroy of Peru. One day, he discovers a twelve-year-old café singer, Micaela Villegas, and takes her under his protection. Over the course of years, as they travel from tavern to tavern throughout Latin America, she grows into a beautiful and talented young woman. Uncle Pio instructs her in the etiquette of high society and goads her to greatness by expressing perpetual disappointment with her performances. She develops into Camila Perichole, the most honored actress in Lima.

After many years of success, the Perichole becomes bored with the stage. The elderly Viceroy, Don Andrés, takes her as his mistress; she and Uncle Pio and the Archbishop of Peru and, eventually, Captain Alvarado meet frequently at midnight for dinner at the Viceroy's mansion. Through it all, Uncle Pio remains faithfully devoted to her, but as Camila ages and bears three children by the Viceroy she focuses on becoming a lady rather than an actress. She avoids Uncle Pio, and when he talks to her she tells him to not use her stage name.

When a smallpox epidemic sweeps through Lima, Camila is disfigured by it. She takes her young son Don Jaime, who suffers from convulsions, to the country. Uncle Pio sees her one night trying hopelessly to cover her pockmarked face with powder; ashamed, she refuses to ever see him again. He begs her to allow him to take her son to Lima and teach the boy as he taught her. Despairing at the turn her life has taken, she reluctantly agrees. Uncle Pio and Jaime leave the next morning, and are the fourth and fifth people on the bridge of San Luis Rey when it collapses.

Part Five: Perhaps an Intention

Brother Juniper labors for six years on his book about the bridge collapse, talking to everyone he can find who knew the victims, trying various mathematical formulas to measure spiritual traits, with no results beyond conventionally pious generalizations. He compiles his huge book of interviews with complete faith in God's goodness and justice, but a council pronounces his work heretical, and the book and Brother Juniper are publicly burned for their heresy.

The story then shifts back in time to the day of a funeral service for those who died in the bridge collapse. The Archbishop, the Viceroy, and Captain Alvarado are at the ceremony. At the Convent of Santa María Rosa de las Rosas, the Abbess feels, having lost Pepita and the twin brothers, that her work to help the poor and infirm will die with her. A year after the accident, Camila Perichole seeks out the Abbess to ask how she can go on, having lost her son and Uncle Pio. Camila gains comfort and insight from the Abbess and, it is later revealed, becomes a helper at the Convent. Later, Doña Clara arrives from Spain, also seeking out the Abbess to speak with her about her mother, the Marquesa de Montemayor. She is greatly moved by the work of the Abbess in caring for the deaf, the insane, and the dying. The novel ends with the Abbess' observation: "There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."

Roger and Alison are stepbrother and sister. Alison's father died and her mother Margaret has married Clive, a businessman and former RAF officer. Clive's former wife was notoriously unfaithful, bringing shame to the family and a particular kind of pain to his son, Roger. To bond the new family together they are spending a few weeks of the summer in an isolated valley in Wales, a few hours' drive from Aberystwyth. They occupy a fine house formerly owned by Alison's father, subsequently transferred to her to avoid death duty. He in turn inherited it from a cousin, Bertram, who died there in mysterious circumstances around the time Alison was born.

With the house comes Huw Halfbacon, also known as Huw the Flitch, a handyman and gardener. He is the last of the original domestic staff to remain at the house. The former cook, Nancy, had left to live in Aberystwyth but is offered a substantial amount to come and resume her duties. With her comes her son Gwyn. He has never seen the valley before but knows everything about it, courtesy of his mother's stories. Someone else who knows a lot about the place is Huw, but he is very mysterious about it. Oddly, Nancy has told Gwyn nothing about Huw.

Alison hears scratching noises in the attic above her bed and persuades Gwyn to investigate. He finds stacks of dinner plates with a floral pattern. When he picks one up, something odd happens. He almost falls through the ceiling while simultaneously Roger, lounging by a large flat stone near the river, hears a scream and seems to see something flying through the air toward him. The stone is known as the Stone of Gronw. It has a hole neatly bored through it, and legend says that Lleu killed Gronw by throwing his spear clear through the stone that Gronw was holding to shield himself.

Alison begins behaving peculiarly. She traces the pattern on the plate onto paper and folds the result to make an owl. Finding out that Gwyn has been in the attic, Nancy demands that Alison give up the plate. Alison asserts she has no right to it, and eventually produces a blank white plate. She maintains that the pattern disappeared from the plate. Alison becomes obsessed by the plates. One by one she traces them and makes the owls, and one by one the plates become blank. The owls themselves disappear, though no one cares at first about some folded paper models.

In the house's billiard room part of the wall has been covered with pebble-dash. Bit by bit this begins to crack and fall away, exposing first a pair of painted eyes, and then an entire portrait of a woman made of flowers. Tensions between the occupants of the house began to rise. Gwyn is intelligent and wants to further his education, but Clive expresses a stereotypical clannish closed-ranks attitudes of the upper middle class towards him. Roger begins to feel hostile despite his initial friendliness. Eventually he takes to ridiculing Gwyn's efforts to improve himself with elocution lessons on gramophone records, calling them "improve-a-prole." Alison seems friendly to Gwyn and the two go on long walks together. She has visions where she sees herself next to him, even though he is some distance away. Margaret, her mother, never appears but the need to keep her happy affects everyone else.

As the holiday slides into disaster, the British attitude of "seeing it through to the end" prevails, even though Clive could pay off all the staff and leave at any time. Nancy repeatedly threatens to quit, and is repeatedly mollified with crisp banknotes. She constantly warns Gwyn to stay away from the others, lest he be taken out of school and forced to work in a shop to earn some money. Nancy gradually reveals her resentment of Margaret and Alison, as she once expected to marry Bertram and should have been mistress of the very house she toils in.

Competition between the boys for Alison is, at most, a subtext here, although Garner's television script is much more overt about Gwyn's attraction to her, despite his poverty. Alison, notwithstanding any attraction to him, would rather keep her privileges, such as her tennis club membership, than cross her mother. This is something she eventually admits to Gwyn.

The mysterious Huw presides over this like some ringmaster at a circus, making strange pronouncements. There is a background of odd comments from the villagers, noises of motorcycles in the distance, sounds of birds, and mysterious noises from locked buildings.

Gwyn follows Alison on one of her inexplicable midnight walks. She is completing her tracing of the plates somewhere in the woods. Gwyn is harassed by columns of flame, which he tries to convince himself are merely marsh gas. He finds Alison when she has made the final owl, then escorts her back to the house. Huw is waiting, and greets them with the remark "She's come."

By this time the connection between the legend and the events is becoming clear. Gwyn tries to see things rationally. He attempts to run away, walking up the sides of the valley as the weather worsens, but is chased back by a pack of sheepdogs. Stealing Roger's hiking gear, he tries the other side of the valley, only to find Huw waiting for him. Huw tells him of the power that exists in the valley, how those of the blood have to re-enact the legend each time, and how Blodeuwedd always comes as owls instead of flowers because of the hatred. Huw, of course, is Gwyn's real father, so Gwyn is the next generation. Huw was responsible for Bertram's death, sabotaging the old motorcycle Bertram liked to ride around the garden, not realising he would take it out on the dangerous hill road. The dinner plates and the wall painting were done by Huw's ancestors, trying to lock up the magic in their creations, but Alison has let it loose again.

Huw directs Gwyn to a crack in an ancient tree where he finds various things, including a spear head. All the men of Huw's line come to this tree, where they leave something and take something. Gwyn removes a carved stone, leaving a cheap owl-decorated trinket. He tells Huw to give the stone to Alison. Gwyn is going to return to the house and leave with his mother, who has finally and irrevocably quit.

In a locked room, Roger discovers a stuffed owl, which Bertram shot in his own attempt to lay the ghost of Blodeuwedd, along with all the paper owls that have traced intricate patterns in the dust of a storeroom. He also finds the sabotaged motorcycle. Nancy charges in and wrecks the place, destroying the owl and then attempting to knock the very feathers out of the air.

Alison, having been given the stone by Huw, collapses and is brought into the kitchen, where she writhes in the grip of some force that makes claw marks on her skin. Huw begs Gwyn to comfort her, but Gwyn by now feels totally betrayed by Alison and can say nothing. A storm rages outside, branches smashing through the windows and skylight, a sound of owls and eagles pressing in on them. Feathers swirl in the room and trace owl patterns on the walls and ceiling.

Roger is desperate, abasing himself before Gwyn, but to no avail. "It is always owls, over and over and over," says Huw. Then Roger shouts that it's not true, that she is flowers. He yells this at Alison until abruptly all is peaceful, and the room is filled not with feathers but with petals.

The lives of two unhappily married couples intertwine in Montreal, Canada. The marriage between Lucky Mann, a contractor and his beautiful British wife, former actress Phyllis Hart, has been in a poor state for years. Their relationship fell apart when Phyllis revealed to Lucky that their daughter Cassie was not his biological child. She had her with an actor while Lucky was in the Navy. Cassie ran away to Montreal and they have not spoken in years. The Manns moved from California to Montreal to find Cassie, but without success. Phyllis is depressed after learning that her daughter's father, actor Jack Dana, recently died. She begins to question her own mortality and goes to see a doctor for a checkup. She also spends her time watching her old films that she starred in with Dana. Phyllis knows Lucky cheats on her with his construction clients, and therefore they have a silent agreement that they will not have sex. Lucky is shown cheating on her with Gloria Marino.

Meanwhile, corporate executive Jeffrey Byron and his wife Marianne are also unhappily married. Marianne desires children and is starved of affection by Jeffrey, who seems only to be in love with himself. Jeffrey is depressed and seems to be contemplating his sexuality and, perhaps, suicide. One day after work, Marianne tries to get Jeffrey to have sex with her because she is ovulating, but he denies her. She decides to start preparing a room for a baby in their condo anyway and hires a contractor, who happens to be Lucky Mann, referred to her by her friend Isabel's mother Gloria. She is instantly attracted to him and they begin an affair. Jeffrey meets Phyllis in a bar where Phyllis had just witnessed Marianne and Lucky on a date. Jeffrey is instantly attracted to Phyllis, and seems to have a need to be with an older woman after having shown a sudden attraction to his older secretary, Helene. Marianne is attracted to the older and rugged Lucky. Jeffrey invites Phyllis away for a weekend at a resort. She initially says no and goes home to Lucky. Phyllis tries to sleep with Lucky and he brushes her off, so she tells him that she knows about Marianne. She ends up meeting Jeffrey and going away with him. Once they are at the resort, they meet up with Jeffrey's big cheese client, Bernard Ornay and his mistress Monica Bloom. Ornay also becomes attracted to Phyllis which causes a rift with Jeffrey. Jeffrey and Phyllis look likely to sleep together in her room, but Jeffrey terminates contact after Phyllis responds flirtatiously when Ornay knocks on her door. They leave the resort the next morning.

The two couples end up in the same hotel bar, and Jeffrey and Lucky have a physical fight. Marianne and Phyllis leave together and go back to the Byrons' apartment, where Marianne reveals she is pregnant with Lucky's baby. Marianne does not know yet that Phyllis is his wife. Phyllis becomes upset and leaves. Jeffrey and Marianne have sex and reconcile. Lucky finds Cassie and they reconcile. At the end of the story, the same thing that had happened to Phyllis has happened to Marianne. They will both have raised a child with another man that is not the father. Marianne tells her friend Isabel the baby's father is Jeffrey, which reveals she does not plan on telling Lucky that it is his, just as Phyllis had done with Jack Dana. The final scene shows Phyllis in bed crying, knowing that Marianne will have Lucky's baby, and emotional over Cassie coming home.

The show focused on a group of four superhuman brothers who attempt to fight crime from their base, RIPCOT (the Really Impressive Prototype City Of (Next) Tuesday): Crag, Rip, Slab, and Chunk Nuggett, Crag being the leader. Friends of the four include Jimmy The Idiot Boy, a mentally-challenged drooling child, and their foster mother He-Mom (the name speaks for itself). The villains range from the Indigestible Wad (a wad of gum who sucks moisture out of people), to the evil Euroslavian dictator Citracett, to Flathead (an invertebrate in search of a spine), to their own underpants.

Each episode was usually tagged with a short episode which Kricfalusi says was composed of "left overs". These segments were called "Rip Along with the Ripping Friends" and usually portrayed the Ripping Friends solving the problems of fans. These included: addressing the fact that hot dogs come in packs of 12 and the buns in packs of 8; "ripping" the man who creates insane video game controllers and the man who writes the instructions for them; and finding out why toys no longer come in cereal boxes, among others. In each segment viewers (referred to as "kids") are asked to "rip along" with the action by ripping pieces of paper up in front of the television when coaxed to.

The film is narrated by a mother who tells her daughter a bedtime story from a large book: In the city of Basra, the evil vizier Jaffar has clouded the caliph's mind and imprisoned his daughter, Princess Alina in order to marry her. Jaffar has four of the town's five sacred gems sent to dangerous and evil places where they will be carefully guarded by magical forces. Sinbad and his crew arrive at the caliph's palace, only to be captured by the hypnotised soldiers. Jaffar sentences Sinbad's crew to the torture chamber while the mighty sailor is to be locked in a pit full of snakes. Sinbad gets out of the snake pit using some snakes tied together into a rope and later rescues his companions from the torture chamber. As they flee the controlled Basra, Jaffar grants power from evil forces to help him kill Sinbad, this summons an evil cloud over Sinbad's ship and the Legions of Darkness, undead warriors. Together with the help of his friends, Sinbad manages to defeat the undead and the leader.

Sinbad then heads to a mysterious island to seek the help of a wise Oracle, who tells them the location of the four sacred gems of Basra. Then, he sails to an island and finds the gem by himself, he destroys a towering rock monster and retrieves the gem. Jaffar is joined by another ally, Soukra, a sorceress, and they prepare Jaffar's scheming plan. The second gem is on the island of the Amazons, the Amazons hypnotise Sinbad's crew and their leader, Queen Farida takes Sinbad with her. The Bald Cook and Poochie the dwarf save Sinbad, and he retrieves the second gem, the Queen's necklace. Next, Sinbad and his team head to the Isle of the Dead, where they battle Ghost Knights who have risen from the dead to fulfill their destiny. Sinbad goes for the Ghost King while his companions battle the Knights. Jaffar casts Sinbad's ship and his crew in the middle of the sea, leaving the sailor alone on the Isle of the Dead. Jaffar gives life to the Ghost King using his evil powers, and it weakens Sinbad, but he resists and destroys the Ghost King with his own sword and takes the third sacred gem.

Later, Sinbad meets Kira, and her father, Nadir the wizard, two survivors on the Isle of the Dead who came there on a flying balloon. Sinbad agrees to help them get rid of the vicious monsters of the island and is aided by Kira, they encounter a group of ghouls, Sinbad fights them, but they capture Kira. Sinbad rescues Kira, but has to face a terrible monster known as the Lord of Darkness, which is able to fire bolts of energy from its wrists guarding the last sacred gem of Basra, Sinbad defeats the evil creature with the gems he has and retrieves the last one and they, along with Nadir, escape the island on a balloon.

Sinbad meets up with his companions and they go off to face Jaffar, Sinbad's men face off with the soldiers while Sinbad battles Jaffar. The wizard creates an exact Sinbad clone to battle the sailor, but he manages to defeat it. Eventually, Jaffar is captured by Sinbad and Princess Alina is rescued. Peace has been restored to the world with the sacred gems.

After being wounded at Antietam, Captain Robert Gould Shaw is sent home to Boston on medical leave. His well-connected father obtains for him a promotion to colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first all-black regiments in the Union Army. Shaw appoints his friend and fellow soldier Cabot Forbes as his second-in-command. Their first volunteer is Thomas Searles, a bookish, free African-American who works as the Shaw family's secretary. Other recruits include John Rawlins, Jupiter Sharts, Silas Trip, and a mute teenage drummer boy whom Rawlins refers to as "Honey".

The men learn that in response to the Emancipation Proclamation, the Confederacy has issued an order that captured black men are to be returned to slavery. Black soldiers found wearing uniforms will be executed as well as their white officers. Shaw offers honorable discharges to any man who does not want to fight, but no one takes his offer. The men undergo rigorous training from Sergeant-Major Mulcahy, who is particularly hard on Searles. Despite Mulcahy's treatment of his friend and the abuse he inflicts on the other recruits, Shaw reluctantly accepts that tough discipline is needed to prepare them for the coming challenges the regiment must face.

Trip deserts and is caught; Shaw orders him flogged in front of the regiment. He then learns that Trip left to find proper shoes because his men are being denied these supplies. Shaw confronts the base's racist quartermaster on their behalf and gets the supplies. He also supports his men in a pay dispute; the federal government decrees that black soldiers will only be paid $10, not the $13 per month all white soldiers receive. When the men, led by Trip, begin tearing up their pay vouchers in protest of this unequal treatment, Shaw tears up his own voucher and declares that none of the white officers will accept pay. In recognition of the leadership he has displayed, Rawlins is promoted to the rank of sergeant major.

Once the 54th completes its training, the unit is transferred to serve under the command of Brigadier General Charles Harker. On their first mission, the 54th is ordered by Colonel James Montgomery to sack and burn Darien, Georgia with Montgomery's own poorly disciplined black soldiers. Shaw initially refuses to obey an unlawful order but reluctantly agrees under threat of facing a court-martial and being relieved of his command. He continues to lobby his superiors to allow his regiment to fight after weeks of having nothing to do but backbreaking manual labor.

Shaw finally gets the 54th a combat assignment after he blackmails Harker and Montgomery by threatening to inform the War Department of their involvement in illegal profiteering. In its first battle at James Island, South Carolina, the 54th successfully repels a Confederate attack that had routed other units. During the battle, Searles is wounded but saves Trip from being stabbed in the back. Shaw offers Trip the honor of bearing the regimental flag in battle. He declines, unsure if winning the war would result in a better life for ex-slaves like himself.

General George Strong informs Shaw along with his fellow commanders of a major campaign to secure a foothold at Charleston Harbor. This involves assaulting Morris Island and capturing Fort Wagner, whose only landward approach is a strip of open beach; a charge is certain to result in heavy casualties. Shaw volunteers the 54th to lead the attack. The night before the battle, the black soldiers conduct a religious service. Several make emotional speeches, including Trip, who finally embraces his fellow soldiers. On its way to the battlefield, the 54th is cheered by the same Union troops who had scorned them earlier.

The 54th leads the charge on the fort at dusk, suffering serious losses. As night falls, the regiment is pinned down against the fort's walls. Attempting to encourage his men forward, Shaw is struck by several bullets and killed. Trip, despite his previous assertion that he would not do it, lifts the flag and tries to rally the men before being shot dead. Forbes and Rawlins take charge, and the soldiers break through the fort's outer defenses. Seemingly on the brink of victory, Forbes, Rawlins, Searles, Sharts, and the two color sergeants realize that the enemy has cannons pointed right at them. The morning after the battle, the beach is littered with the bodies of black and white Union soldiers; the Confederate flag is raised over the fort. The dead Union soldiers are buried in a mass communal grave, with Shaw and Trip's bodies next to each other.

A textual epilogue reveals that the regiment lost over half its number during the assault and that Fort Wagner never fell to the Union Army. However, the courage demonstrated by the 54th spurred Congress to authorize the raising of black soldiers throughout the Union. Over 180,000 volunteered and President Abraham Lincoln credited them with helping to turn the tide of the war.

Bonsels' original book contains fewer than 200 pages. The storyline is centered on the relation of Maya and her many adventures.

Maya is a bee born in a bee hive during internal unrest: the hive is dividing itself into two new colonies. Maya is raised by her teacher, Miss Cassandra. Despite Miss Cassandra's warnings, Maya wants to explore the wide world and commits the unforgivable crime of leaving the hive. During her adventures, Maya, now in exile, befriends other insects and braves dangers with them. In the climax of the book, Maya is taken prisoner by hornets, the bees' sworn enemies.

Prisoner of the hornets, Maya learns of a hornet plan to attack her native hive. Maya is faced with the decision to either return to hive and suffer her due punishment, saving the hive, or leaving the plan unannounced, saving herself but destroying the hive. After severe pondering, she makes the decision to return. In the hive, she announces the coming attack and is unexpectedly pardoned. The forewarned bees triumph over the hornet attack force. Maya, now a heroine of the hive, becomes a teacher like Miss Cassandra and shares her experiences and wisdom with the future generation.

Analysis of the book

It has been suggested that the book may have carried a political message, analogous to Jean de La Fontaine's or Ivan Krylov's work. According to this view, Maya represents the ideal citizen, and the beehive represents a well-organised militarist society. It has also elements of nationalism and speciesism. Maya gets angry in two instances. First, a grasshopper fails to distinguish between bees and wasps. Maya's verbal response includes calling the wasps "a useless gang of bandits" [''Räubergeschlecht''] that have no "home or faith" [''Heimat und Glauben'']. Second, a fly calls Maya an idiot, which prompts Maya to shout that she's going to teach "respect for bees" and to threaten the fly with her stinger. The critic interprets this to mean that respect is based on the threat of violence. Collectivism versus individualism is also a theme. Maya's independence and departure from the beehive is seen as reproachable, but it is atoned by her warning of the hornets' attack. This show of loyalty restores her position in the society. In the hornet attack part of the story, the bees' will to defend the hive and the heroic deaths of bee officers are glorified, often in overtly militarist tones.

In the post-WWII adaptations, the militarist element was toned down considerably, the hornets' role reduced, and the character of Willy, a lazy and quite un-warlike drone bee, was introduced (he does not appear in the novel). In the cartoon series, the briskly marching, but ridiculously incompetent ant armies provide a parody of militarism.

As the story opens, Foxglove is a very successful singer-songwriter currently on a very important tour. Her relationship with Hazel is slowly unravelling, due mainly to the building pressures of her newfound fame. One night, Hazel's son, Alvie (an accidental result of Hazel's one and only heterosexual encounter), dies. When Death, personified as a teenage girl in a goth dress, shows up to take him, Hazel makes a promise in desperation. The promise is that either Hazel or Fox will take Alvie's place when Death returns, if only she will let Alvie live for a while longer. The story touches upon the pressures of living private and public lives, as well as fidelity, love, and duty.

In 1925, Frida Kahlo suffers a traumatic accident at the age of 18 onboard a wooden-bodied bus that collides with a streetcar. Impaled by a metal pole, the injuries she sustains plague her for the rest of her life. To help her through convalescence, her father brings her a canvas to paint on.

Once regaining the ability to walk with a cane, Frida visits muralist Diego Rivera, demanding an honest critique of her paintings. Rivera falls in love with her work, and they begin a dysfunctional relationship. When he proposes, she tells him she expects loyalty from him, if not fidelity. Throughout the marriage, Rivera has affairs with a wide array of women. At the same time, the bisexual Kahlo takes on male and female lovers, including, in one case, with the same woman as Rivera.

The couple travels to New York City in 1934, so Rivera may paint the mural ''Man at the Crossroads'', at the behest of the Rockefeller family, inside Rockefeller Center. While living in the United States, Kahlo suffers a miscarriage and travels back to Mexico for her mother's funeral. Rivera refuses to compromise his communist vision of the work to the needs of the patron, Nelson Rockefeller; as a result, the mural is destroyed. The pair return to Mexico, with Rivera more reluctant.

Kahlo's sister, Cristina, moves in with them at their San Ángel studio home as Rivera's assistant. Soon afterward, Kahlo discovers Rivera is sleeping with her. Leaving him, she subsequently sinks into alcoholism after moving back to her family's Coyoacán home. They reunite during a ''Día de los Muertos'' celebration where he asks her to welcome and house Leon Trotsky, who has been granted political asylum in Mexico. Trotsky expresses his love for Kahlo's work during an excursion to Teotihuacan, and they begin an affair. Soon, Trotsky's wife learns of the affair, forcing the couple to leave the safety of Kahlo's home.

Kahlo leaves for Paris when Diego realizes she was unfaithful to him with Trotsky. However, Rivera had little problem with Kahlo's other affairs, as Trotsky was too important to be intimately involved with his wife. When she returns to Mexico, he asks for a divorce. In 1940, Trotsky is murdered in Mexico City. Initially, Rivera is suspected by police of orchestrating the assassination. When they fail to locate him, Kahlo is arrested. Cristina arrives and escorts Kahlo out of prison, explaining that Rivera convinced President Cárdenas to release her.

Kahlo has her toes removed when her doctor notices they have become gangrenous. Rivera remorsefully asks Kahlo to remarry him, and she agrees. Her health worsens, leading to the amputation of a leg and bronchopneumonia, which leaves her bedridden. In 1953, Kahlo's bed is carried from her home to a museum to attend her first solo exhibition in her native country.

The film is set in Turin, Italy. It opens with a prologue sequence showing the young Italian Carabinieri clerk Filippo (Ribisi) learning to fly a helicopter using a flight simulator. When he accidentally crashes the virtual helicopter by ascending too dramatically, his instructor tells him, "In a real helicopter, you can't just keep going up and up", prompting Filippo to ask, "How high can I fly?"

The film then cuts to Philippa (Blanchett), who is preparing to plant a bomb in the downtown office of a high-ranking businessman. Although everything goes according to her plan, the garbage bin in which she places the bomb is emptied by a cleaner immediately after she leaves and later explodes in an elevator, killing four people.

Philippa is tracked down by the Carabinieri, arrested, and brought to the station where Filippo works. When she is questioned, she reveals that she is an English teacher at a local school where several students have recently died of drug-related causes. Discovering that they had all been supplied by the same local cartel, she had contacted the Carabinieri with the names of the drug ring leaders, begging them to intervene, but was repeatedly ignored.

At her wits' end, she decided to kill the leader of the cartel, the businessman whose office she targeted. In the process of her interrogation, Filippo (who is translating her confession for his superiors) falls in love with Philippa and helps her escape from Carabinieri custody. After she kills the drug lord who was her original target, the pair become fugitives from the law and flee to the countryside, where they eventually find refuge with one of Philippa's friends and finally consummate their relationship.

When the authorities raid the house where they are hiding, the fugitives steal a Carabinieri helicopter parked on the front lawn and escape by air. The officers on the ground fire repeatedly at them, to no avail, as the craft climbs higher and higher and finally disappears.

The episodes of the series generally revolved around the "cases" of Monica (played by Roma Downey), an angel recently promoted from the "search and rescue" division, who works under the guidance of Tess (played by Della Reese), a sarcastic boss who is sometimes hard on her teen colleague, but is more of a surrogate mother than a mentor.

Monica in one episode outlines that she started in the choir, then annunciations, followed by search and rescue and then case work. Most cases involve a single person or a group of people who are at a crossroads in their lives and facing a large problem or tough decision. Monica and Tess bring them messages of hope from God and give them guidance to help make decisions. During their first episode, the pair receive a red 1972 Cadillac Eldorado convertible as a gift; they use it for transportation throughout the rest of the series while in the human world, with Tess doing the driving. As the series progresses, Monica continues gaining experience as a case worker and, during some cases must learn lessons of her own.

During the series pilot, an angel of death named Adam is introduced. In the season two premiere, "Interview with an Angel", a new Angel of Death named Henry is introduced. Then in the season two episode entitled "The One That Got Away", Andrew (played by John Dye) is introduced as the Angel of Death. Initially a recurring character, he becomes a main character in season three, making him the permanent Angel of Death for the remainder of the series. The original angel of death, Adam, continued to appear in guest appearances over the next few seasons.

In Season 4, a new angel is introduced named Rafael (Alexis Cruz), who appears throughout the series on a recurring basis, often assisting the main trio (Monica, Tess, and Andrew) in their cases. Rafael is a younger looking angel than the others and thus is occasionally involved in situations involving teenagers and young adults so they can relate to each other. Towards the end of the seventh season, a new angel, Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli), is created by God during one of Monica's assignments, designed to adapt to life on Earth in the 21st century. She becomes a regular character for seasons eight and nine, as a trainee under Monica and Tess's guidance.

In the series finale, Monica is up for promotion to supervisor, pending the outcome of a difficult case in which she must defend Zach (Scott Bairstow), an innocent drifter accused of causing a boiler explosion at a school two years ago in the small town of Ascension, Colorado. The explosion killed most of the children, leaving the citizens devastated. During the case, Monica sees many familiar faces, including Joey Machulis (Paul Wittenburg), one of Monica's previous assignments who is a witness to the events, his brother Wayne (Randy Travis), who is now sheriff, Sophie (Marion Ross), a formerly homeless acquaintance, and Mike (Patrick Duffy), a lawyer Monica saved during her search and rescue days who is now the Mayor. An out of town developer claims Zach is the perpetrator and despite the lack of evidence, Zach is put on trial. Monica does all she can to help him, including asking Mike to represent him, but the prosecutor in the case, Jones, is really Satan in disguise, and Zach is eventually convicted.

After the trial, Monica is able to help the citizens realize their mistake and to see that Zach's return to the town had helped them finally start living again. They begin going back to church, welcomed by the pastor they had once abandoned. Their change of heart, however, cannot free Zach, so Monica visits him in jail and reveals that she is an angel. She then promises him that she will become his guardian angel, forgoing all future assignments and the coveted promotion, to protect him from harm in prison. When she returns in the morning, however, the cell is empty. The citizens decide not to search for him, and it is revealed that Joey inadvertently caused the explosion after the devil tricked him into turning the boiler too high to warm some kittens he'd found.

The perplexed Monica returns to the desert to find Tess and Zach. There, she learns that Zach was actually Jesus, and that her defending him was a test, which she passed by being willing to sacrifice herself for him. Monica is promoted to supervisor. As she leaves, she says her goodbyes to Gloria, and to Andrew, who gives her a pocket watch to remember their friendship by. Before parting, Tess gives Monica the keys to the Cadillac, as she is leaving her job to sit at God's feet. Monica is last shown driving away as the camera pans out over the desert.

The SS ''Poseidon'', an ocean liner slated for retirement, is traveling from New York City to Athens. Despite safety concerns from Captain Harrison, the new owner's representative Linarcos insists he go full speed to save money, preventing ''Poseidon'' from taking on ballast.

Reverend Frank Scott, a minister who believes "God helps those who help themselves", is traveling to a new parish in Africa as punishment for his unorthodox views. Detective Lieutenant Mike Rogo and wife Linda, a former prostitute, deal with her seasickness. Susan Shelby and her younger brother Robin are traveling to meet up with their parents, who are on vacation in Greece. Susan has a crush on Scott while Robin is interested in how the ship works and frequently visits the engine room. Retired Jewish store owner Manny Rosen and wife, Belle, are going to Israel to meet their 2-year-old grandson for the first time. Haberdasher James Martin is a love-shy, health-conscious bachelor. The ship's singer, Nonnie Parry, rehearses for the New Year's Day celebration.

Passengers gather in the promenade room to celebrate. The captain is called to the bridge in response to a report of an undersea earthquake. He receives word from the lookout that a tsunami is approaching from the direction of Crete. He issues a mayday distress signal. The ship is hit broadside and capsizes, floating upside-down.

In the dining room, survivors take stock of their predicament. Acres, an injured waiter, is trapped at the galley door now high above. At Martin's prompting, Scott determines that the escape route will be found "upwards", at the outer hull, now above water. Robin tells him the hull near the propeller shaft is only thick. Scott believes they will all survive by travelling with him to the ship's engine room. He tries to convince the dozens of survivors to join him on the journey to the engine room but the ship's purser orders everyone to wait for help. Most of the survivors side with the purser.

Only the Rosens, the Rogos, Susan and Robin, Acres, Nonnie, and Martin agree to go with Scott, using the inner metal frame of the promenade room's Christmas tree as a makeshift ladder. After the group climbs up to the galley, there is a series of explosions. As seawater floods the dining room below, those remaining attempt to climb the tree, but their weight causes it to fall. Water fills up the room and ''Poseidon'' begins sinking.

Scott leads his group toward the engine room. While climbing a ladder inside a ventilation shaft, the ship rocks from more explosions. Acres falls and dies when the shaft explodes. Leaving the shaft, the group meets a large band of survivors led by the ship's doctor, heading toward the bow. Scott believes they are heading for their doom, but Rogo wants to follow them and gives Scott 15 minutes to find the engine room. Although he takes longer than allowed, Scott succeeds.

The engine room is on the other side of a flooded corridor. Belle reveals she is a former competitive swimmer and volunteers to go through, but Scott refuses her and dives in. Halfway through, a panel collapses on him. The survivors notice the delay, and Belle dives in. She frees Scott and they make it to the other side, but Belle suffers a heart attack. Before dying, she tells Scott to give her Chai pendant to her husband, to give to their grandson. Rogo swims over to make sure Belle and Scott are all right, then leads the rest over. When Manny finds Belle's body, he is unwilling to go on, but Scott gives him her pendant, reminding him that he has a reason to live.

Scott leads the survivors to the propeller shaft room's watertight door, but additional explosions cause Linda to lose her grip and fall to her death. A heartbroken and infuriated Rogo blames Scott. A ruptured pipe releases steam, blocking their escape. Scott rants at God for the survivors' deaths as he leaps across a pool of flaming oil, grabbing onto the burning-hot valve wheel to shut down the steam. Scott tells Rogo to lead the group on before falling to his death.

Rogo leads the remaining survivors — Manny, Martin, Nonnie, Susan, and Robin — through the watertight doors and into the propeller shaft tunnel. They hear a noise from outside and bang on the hull to attract attention. The rescuers cut through the hull, assist the six survivors from the ship, inform them that no one else survived, and fly them to safety.

In the year of 1204, Baudolino of Alessandria enters Constantinople, unaware of the Fourth Crusade that has thrown the city into chaos. In the confusion, he meets Niketas Choniates and saves his life. Niketas is amazed by his language genius, speaking many languages he has never heard, and Baudolino begins to recount his life story to Niketas.

His story begins in 1155, when Baudolino – a highly talented Italian peasant boy – is sold to and adopted by the emperor Frederick I. At court and on the battlefield, he is educated in reading and writing Latin and learns about the power struggles and battles of northern Italy at the time. He is sent to Paris to become a scholar.

In Paris, he gains friends (such as the Archpoet, Abdul, Robert de Boron and Kyot, the purported source of Wolfram von Eschenbach's ''Parzival'') and learns about the legendary kingdom of Prester John. From this event onward, Baudolino dreams of reaching this fabled land.

The earlier parts of the story follow the general historical and geographical outlines of 12th-century Europe, with special emphasis on the Emperor Frederick's futile efforts to subdue the increasingly independent and assertive city states of Northern Italy. Baudolino, both a beloved adopted son to the Emperor and a loyal native of the newly founded and highly rebellious town of Alessandria, plays a key role in reconciliation between the Emperor and the Alessandria townspeople, who are led by Baudolino's biological father; a way is found for the Emperor to recognize Alessandria's independence without losing face. (It is no accident that Alessandria is Umberto Eco's own hometown.) During the siege, Baudolino works on the side of Frederick Barbarossa, but concocts a plan to help win the Alessandrian townspeople independence. He attempts to convince the emperor's forces that Alessandria is more prepared for a siege than them through stuffing a cow with the last of Alessandria's wheat and sends the cow out to the Emperor's forces. When the cow is cut open, it reveals a full belly of wheat. The emperor's forces are convinced that Alessandria is not worth besieging, and thus leave.

The incident of the death of Emperor Frederick, while on the Third Crusade, is a key element of the plot. This part involves an element of secret history – the book asserts that Emperor Frederick had not drowned in a river, as history records, but died mysteriously at night while hosted at the castle of a sinister Armenian noble. This part also constitutes a historical detective mystery – specifically, a historical locked room mystery – with various suspects suggested, each of whom had a clever means of killing the Emperor, and with Baudolino acting as the detective.

After the Emperor's death, Baudolino and his friends set off on a long journey, encompassing 15 years, to find the Kingdom of Prester John. From the moment when they depart eastwards, the book becomes pure fantasy – the lands which the band travels bearing no resemblance to the continent of Asia at that or any other historical time, being rather derived from the various myths which Europeans had about Asia – including the aforementioned Christian myth of the Kingdom of Prester John, as well as the Jewish myth of the Ten Lost Tribes and the River Sambation, and some earlier accounts provided by Herodotos. Baudolino meets eunuchs, unicorns, Blemmyes, skiapods and pygmies. At one point, he falls in love with a female satyr-like creature who recounts to him the full Gnostic creation myth (Gnosticism is a pervasive presence in another of Eco's novels, ''Foucault's Pendulum''). Philosophical debates are mixed with comedy, epic adventure and creatures drawn from medieval bestiaries.

After many disastrous adventures, the destruction of Prester John's Kingdom by the White Huns followed by a long stint of slavery at the hands of the Old Man of the Mountain, Baudolino and surviving members of his band of friends return to Constantinople undergoing the agony of the Fourth Crusade – the book's starting point. Niketas Choniates helps Baudolino discover the truth about how the Emperor Frederick died – with shattering results for Baudolino and his friends.

Characters in ''Baudolino''

;Invented by Eco Baudolino – young man of Alessandria, protagonist, apparently a reference to the patron saint. The monopod Gavagai, a reference to Quine's example of indeterminacy of translation. The putative successors of Hypatia of Alexandria Deacon John, leprous sub-ruler of Pndapetzim, apparently based on Baldwin IV of Jerusalem.

;Other fictional or legendary beings Kyot Gagliaudo Aulari, legendary saviour of Alessandria, and his wife, who are Baudolino's biological parents Prester John Basilisk Manticore Chimera Satyrs Blemmyes Panotti Unicorn
Cynocephaly Roc

;Historical Frederick Barbarossa Niketas Choniates Rainald of Dassel The Old Man of the Mountain Pope Alexander III Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy The Archpoet (unknown except through his poetry) Otto of Freising A member of the ancient Artsruni noble clan Andronicus I Comnenus Stephen Hagiochristophorites Isaac II Angelos The Venerable Bede White Huns Enrico Dandolo Robert de Boron

Born with two stomachs, Patrick Smash (Bruce Cook) is uncontrollably and devastatingly flatulent. No more than thirty seconds after his birth, he first breaks wind, horrifying his parents (Bronagh Gallagher, and Victor McGuire) and doctor (Robert Hardy). As he grows up, Patrick's farts become so uncontrollable and destructive that his father has to flee their home, as he is often injured by his son's gaseous emissions, whose force is so strong that it can blow people over. Patrick is bullied at school as a result of his condition, but eventually finds strength in his disorder, ultimately gaining revenge on the school bully Damon (Joshua Herdman) by passing gas in his face, leaving him scarred for life. Patrick's only friend is child prodigy Alan A. Allen (Rupert Grint), who has anosmia, and, therefore, lacks the ability to smell. Alan and Patrick team up to make Thunderpants, reinforced short trousers strong enough to contain Patrick's emissions. Eventually, Patrick learns that Alan went to the US to assist astronauts who are trapped in outer space, and Patrick finds that his condition may be of use to the spacemen in peril.

Clark Griswold, wanting to spend more time with his wife Ellen and children Rusty and Audrey, decides to lead the family on a cross-country expedition from the Chicago suburbs to the southern California amusement park Walley World, billed as "America's Favorite Family Fun Park". Ellen wants to fly, but Clark insists on driving, so he can bond with his family. He has ordered a new car in preparation for the trip, but the dealer claims that it will not be ready for six weeks. Clark is forced to buy the 'Wagon Queen Family Truckster', an ugly, oversized station wagon, after the car he brought to trade in has been hauled away and crushed.

During the family's travels, they experience numerous mishaps, such as being tagged by vandals in St. Louis, Missouri. Clark aggravates a bartender in Dodge City, Kansas and is tantalized on numerous occasions by a beautiful young woman driving a flashy red Ferrari 308 GTS.

They stop in Coolidge, Kansas to visit Ellen's cousin Catherine and her husband Eddie, who foist cranky Aunt Edna and her mean dog Dinky on the Griswolds, asking them to drop her off at her son Norman's home in Phoenix.

After stopping at a decrepit and dirty campground in South Fork, Colorado for the night, Clark forgets to untie Dinky's leash from the bumper before driving off the next morning, killing the dog. A motorcycle cop pulls the Griswolds over and angrily lectures Clark over animal cruelty, but accepts Clark's apology. Edna learns of her dog's death and becomes more irate with Clark. Exiting Colorado, Ellen loses her bag which had her credit cards, forcing Clark to cash a check for future spending.

While Ellen and Clark argue during a drive between Utah and Arizona, they crash and become stranded in the desert near Monument Valley. Clark and Rusty have a bonding experience explaining why Clark wants to take this vacation. After setting off alone in the desert to look for help, Clark eventually reunites with his family, who have been rescued and taken to a local mechanic. The mechanic extorts Clark's remaining cash only to render the car barely operational. Frustrated, they stop at the Grand Canyon. When Clark is unable to convince a hotel clerk to cash a personal check because his credit card was reported stolen, he raids the cash register behind the clerk's back and leaves the check.

Leaving, they find that Aunt Edna has died in her sleep. They tie her corpse to the roof of the car, wrapped in a tarpaulin. When they reach Norman's home, they discover he is out of town so they leave Edna's body by the back door with a note. The family has a small memorial for her.

Overwhelmed by the mishaps they have encountered during the road trip, Ellen and the children want to go back home, but Clark has become obsessed with reaching Walley World and they continue on. After an argument with Ellen, Clark eventually meets the Ferrari-driving blonde beauty at a hotel bar and goes skinny-dipping with her in its pool, but they are discovered by the family before anything intimate happens. Ellen forgives Clark and they go skinny-dipping themselves.

Despite the family's misfortunes, they finally arrive at Walley World the next day only to discover the park closed for the next two weeks for repairs. Finally slipping into madness and realizing that all his efforts have been for nothing, Clark buys a realistic-looking BB gun and demands that park security guard Russ Lasky take them through Walley World. Ellen and the kids follow, attempting to placate Clark. Eventually, an LAPD SWAT team arrives and just as the family is about to be arrested, the park owner Roy Walley appears. Roy understands Clark's impassioned longing to achieve the perfect vacation, bringing back memories of his own family vacation headaches. He decides not to file criminal charges against the Griswolds and lets the family – along with the SWAT team – enjoy the park as his guests.

During the credits, a photo montage is seen. The final photo shows that the family flew back to Chicago with souvenir hats.

The film features three primary sets of characters, each within their own distinct story:

• A young man (''Matsumoto'', played by Hidetoshi Nishijima) who rejects his engagement to his fiancée (''Sawako'', played by Miho Kanno) to marry the daughter of his company's president. When his former fiancée attempts suicide and ends up in a semi-catatonic state, he takes her out of the hospital and they run away.
• Another young man (''Nukui'', played by Tsutomu Takeshige) is obsessed with the pop-star ''Haruna'' (played by Kyoko Fukada); he blinds himself when she is involved in a disfiguring car accident.
• An aged yakuza (''Hiro'', played by Tatsuya Mihashi), who tries to meet a girlfriend from his youth (played by Chieko Matsubara).

These stories do have some incidental visual cross-over with each other in the film, but are mostly separate. The first story is the one on which the film centers. The film leads into it by opening with a performance of Bunraku theatre, and closes with a shot of dolls from the same. The performance is that of "The Courier for Hell" by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, and it alludes to themes that reappear later in the film. Because the rest of the film itself (as Kitano himself has said) can be treated as Bunraku in film form, the film is quite symbolic. In some cases, it is not clear whether a particular scene is meant to be taken literally. The film is also not in strict chronological order, but there is a strong visual emphasis on the changing of the seasons and the bonds of love over the progression of time (Matsumoto and Sawako spend most of the film physically connected by a red rope).

Jim Douglas, his partner and mechanic Wheely Applegate, and Herbie arrive in Paris to qualify for and compete in the Trans-France Race (a fictional version of the Monte Carlo Rally), in the hopes of staging a career comeback. The team has three major opponents in the race: Bruno Von Stickle (Eric Braeden), a German driver with experience in the "European Racing Circuit," Claude Gilbert (Mike Kulcsar), a French driver, and Diane Darcy (Julie Sommars), a beautiful young woman and the only female driver in the Trans-France Race. She initially hates Jim for apparently his, but what was actually Herbie's, knee-jerk behavior that ruin her chances of succeeding during the first qualifying rounds. This was because of Herbie seeing and falling in love at first sight with Giselle, her Lancia Scorpion. Herbie's infatuation with Giselle results in him compromising the plan to win the Trans-France Race, turning against Jim and Wheely. However, the strong-willed Diane does not appear to believe in any cars that can be alive and have a mind of their own.

Diane and Giselle crash into a lake towards the end of the race. After being rescued by Herbie and Jim, Diane's attitude toward Jim softens. When Herbie seems to have trouble restarting because of being determined to stay with Giselle, Diane begins to understand that cars can have minds of their own. She encourages Herbie not to relent in the quest for victory in the Trans-France Race. With Diane out of the race (followed shortly thereafter by Claude Gilbert in the aforementioned crash), Jim pursues Von Stickle through the streets of Monte Carlo, leading to a thrilling duel for the win. Herbie takes the lead by driving upside down on a tunnel roof, and Jim drives Herbie to victory for the 20th time in their careers.

As the film progresses, two thieves, Max (Bernard Fox) and Quincey (Roy Kinnear), steal the famous ''Étoile de Joie'' (French for "Star of Joy") diamond and cleverly hide it in Herbie's fuel tank (Herbie was fitted with an external fuel filler cap for this film - a 1963 Beetle's cap actually being inside the front luggage compartment) in order to avoid being captured by a swarm of searching policemen. But little did they know that they picked the wrong car to hide it in, because it was alive and had a mind of its own. That causes them to blow every chance they get in getting back the diamond they hid inside him. Because of this, and on account of an attempt where they tried to threaten Jim and Wheely at gunpoint to relinquish the car to them, an encounter from which Herbie managed to escape, and thanks to a misunderstood conclusion thereafter that Diane would have tried to mastermind the whole event. Subsequently, Herbie is placed under the protection of the French police. It is also revealed not too far in that Inspector Bouchet (Jacques Marin), also known as "Double X" as a code name to the thieves, is the mastermind behind the museum robbery, though the fact of his scheme is revealed near the end of the movie. It is the eager, and somewhat knee-jerk and unpunctual young detective Fontenoy (Xavier Saint-Macary), of whom the Inspector is the superior officer, who unravels the mystery of L'Étoile de Joie, and has Bouchet clapped in handcuffs.

In the end, Jim and Diane begin to fall in love, as do Wheely and the Monte Carlo trophy girl. Most of all, Herbie and Giselle (which Diane names her car) fall in love again as well.

In Edo period-Japan, the mines gold in secret, and sends a shipment to the Toyotomi as payment for his protection. The Shogun of the Dark intends to use the gold to buy advanced Spanish weaponry and overthrow the current government, the Tokugawa Shogunate. The ship runs aground onto in a storm, and the , a ninja team with supernatural powers in the employ of the Yamashiro, kill the people of the nearby to keep the gold shipment a secret.

While investigating the deaths, a Mochizuki Kōga ninja team is massacred by the Devils. The sole survivor, the kunoichi , is captured by a Devil, , who attempts to rape her. She is rescued by , a mercenary ex-Yamashiro ninja, who fights and eventually kills Tessai. , a Tokugawa spy, blackmails Jubei into helping him kill the remaining Devils. To ensure his compliance, Dakuan stabs Jubei with a poisoned shuriken, and promises to give him an antidote once the mission is complete. Jubei learns from Dakuan that the leader of the Devils is , the former Yamashiro ninja leader, who had ordered his team's members to kill each other to cover up the location of the goldmine five years earlier. Jubei, who had been forced to kill his comrades to survive, decapitated Gemma in revenge; Gemma survived due to his immortality. Jubei is attacked by another Devil, , but he is saved by Kagero; before she can be questioned, Benisato is killed from afar by , Gemma's right-hand man, for failing her mission. Kagero agrees to work alongside Jubei and Dakuan, who informs Jubei that her body is infused with such deadly toxins that anyone who kisses or sleeps with her dies, which was why Jubei could kill Tessai.

The trio arrive in Shimoda, where they discover that the villagers died due to their water supply being poisoned, making it appear that they were killed by a plague. Jubei and Kagero fend off attacks from three of the Devils – , , and ; Jubei succeeds in killing Mushizo and Utsutsu. After finding the beached ship, Kagero deduces that the gold has been taken to Kashima Harbor, where it will be transported to the Shogun of the Dark in another ship.

Jubei, Kagero, and Dakuan arrive at Kashima, which has been evacuated due to the townspeople's fear of the plague. While Jubei battles another Devil, , Kagero sends a message to , the Mochizuki chamberlain, to bring his army to the harbour. She also learns from Dakuan that Jubei's poisoning will only be cured if he copulates with her – the poisons in her body will counteract his. Kagero is captured by Shijima, and Jubei kills him, rescuing her once more. Kagero asks Jubei to sleep with her to cure himself. He decides against it, and upon the arrival of the Shogun of the Dark's envoy in a ship, he leaves to prevent the gold reaching its destination.

Kagero arrives to meet Sakaki, but he stabs her, revealing himself to be Gemma in disguise. Enraged, Jubei fights through waves of ninjas, but is nearly killed by Yurimaru. A gunpowder-rigged rat, left as a trap by Zakuro for Yurimaru for rejecting her advances, kills him, allowing Jubei to escape. He finds Kagero; mortally wounded, she admits her love for him and they kiss, curing Jubei's poisoning. Before dying, Kagero gives Jubei her headband.

Jubei and Dakuan board the departing ship. On board, Gemma reveals his true intentions – to use the gold to raise a ninja army to terrorize Japan rather than serve as an ally to the Toyotomi – to a masked samurai who serves as the Shogun of the Dark's envoy, and proceeds to kill him. During an altercation with Zakuro, Jubei and Dakuan set the ship ablaze. As Jubei and Gemma engage in a brutal fight, the gold becomes molten and engulfs Gemma, who sinks to the bottom of the sea. Afterwards, Dakuan thanks Jubei, and expresses admiration for his and Kagero's humanity. Jubei resumes his vagabond lifestyle, with Kagero's headband tied around his sword's hilt.

''Enterprise'' approaches Azati Prime where the Xindi are constructing their super weapon. Captain Archer sends Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather on board a Xindi shuttle they had just captured to investigate the planet. Working their way past security, they approach the weapon, which is being built underwater. Archer orders ''Enterprise'' to destroy a Xindi detection facility on the planet's moon to prevent it from signalling the ship's presence. The shuttle returns with scans of the weapon and Archer decides to pilot a suicide mission to destroy it. The crew try to talk him out of it but he is resolute.

Archer then finds himself 400 years in the future on board the USS ''Enterprise''-J, alongside Temporal Agent Daniels. They are at the battle where the Sphere Builders (the alien species first seen in episode "Harbinger") are defeated and Daniels gives Archer an initiation medal from a Xindi who had joined Starfleet as temporal evidence. Back on his ''Enterprise'', Archer rejects the notion of a Human–Xindi détente and leaves on the shuttle. He arrives at the super weapon construction site but finds it gone, and is rapidly captured by the Xindi Commander Dolim.

The Reptilians begin to interrogate Archer, who then asks to speak to Degra, the Primate scientist from episode Stratagem. Using Daniels' medal, Archer tries to convince Degra that the Reptilians cannot be trusted but Dolim arrives with armed colleagues and takes the Primates away. Sub-Commander T'Pol, in command of ''Enterprise'', displays signs of an emotional breakdown. She also decides to go on a mission, to negotiate a peace and reacts angrily when Tucker tries to stop her. An attack from four Xindi ships follows, and the episode concludes with a cliffhanger, as ''Enterprise'' is left severely damaged.

A Neanderthal child is brought to the present day as a result of time travel experiments by Stasis Inc, a research organization. He cannot be removed from his immediate area because of the vast energy loss and time paradoxes that would result, and is kept in the present by way of a Stasis module. In order to care for the boy the organization hires Edith Fellowes, a children's nurse.

Initially repelled by the boy's appearance, Edith soon begins to regard him as her own child, learning to love him and realizing that he is far more intelligent than she first imagined. She dubs him 'Timmie' and attempts to ensure that he has the best possible childhood despite his circumstance. She is enraged when the newspapers refer to him as an "ape-boy." Edith's love for Timmie brings her into conflict with her employer, for whom he is more of an experimental animal than a human being.

Eventually, her employer comes to the conclusion that his organization has exacted all the knowledge and publicity it can from Timmie and that the time has come to move on to the next project. This involves bringing a Medieval peasant into the present, which necessitates the return of Timmie to his own time. Edith fights the decision, knowing the boy cannot survive if returned to his own time due to his acquisition of modern dependencies and speech. She attempts to smuggle the boy out of the facility, but when that plan fails she disrupts the integrity of the Stasis module and returns to the ancient past with Timmie.

In 1939 New Orleans, slightly good-natured but generally scheming Charlie B. Barkin escapes from the dog pound where he was to be put down with the help of his best friend Itchy Itchiford and returns to their casino riverboat on the bayou, formerly run by Charlie himself and his business partner, Carface Caruthers. Refusing to share the profits with Charlie, Carface had been responsible for Charlie getting committed to the pound and persuades Charlie to leave town with half of the casino's earnings. Charlie agrees, but is later intoxicated and killed by a car pushed downhill by Carface and his assistant, Killer. Charlie is sent to Heaven by default despite not having done any good deeds in his life; a whippet angel explains to him that because dogs are inherently good and loyal, all dogs go to Heaven and are entitled to paradise. Charlie cheats death by stealing a gold pocket watch representing his life and winding it back. As Charlie descends back to Earth, the whippet angel tells him that he can never return to Heaven; when the watch stops again, he will be sent to Hell instead. However, as long as the watch continues to run, Charlie will be immortal.

After Charlie reunites with Itchy and plots revenge in the form of a rivaling business, they discover that Carface has kidnapped a young orphaned girl named Anne-Marie for her ability to talk to animals, which proves advantageous when betting on races. Charlie rescues her and promises to feed the poor and help her find a family. The next day at the race track, Charlie steals a wallet from a couple as they talk to Anne-Marie and become alarmed by her ragged appearance. Charlie and Itchy use their winnings to build a successful casino in the junkyard where they live. Anne-Marie, upon realizing that she has been used, threatens to leave. To persuade her to stay, Charlie brings pizza to a family of poor puppies and their mother, Flo, at an abandoned church. While there, Anne-Marie becomes angry at Charlie for stealing the wallet. As Charlie has a nightmare in which he is condemned to Hell, Anne-Marie returns the wallet to the couple, Kate and Harold. While they privately discuss adopting her, Charlie arrives and tricks her into leaving with him. Charlie and Anne-Marie narrowly escape an ambush by Carface and Killer and hide in an abandoned building, but the ground breaks and they fall into the lair of King Gator, a giant effeminate alligator. He and Charlie bond over a love of music and he lets them go, but Anne-Marie contracts pneumonia.

Carface and his thugs destroy Charlie's casino and attack Itchy. An injured Itchy limps back to the church and confronts Charlie about his relationship with Anne-Marie, who Itchy thinks matters more than him. In his exasperation, Charlie loudly proclaims that he is using her and will eventually "dump her in an orphanage". A heartbroken Anne-Marie overhears the conversation and tearfully runs away before she is kidnapped by Carface. Charlie follows them to Carface's casino, where he is ambushed by Carface and his thugs. They fight with Charlie, inadvertently setting an oil fire that soon engulfs the whole structure. Charlie's pained howls from their bites summon King Gator, who chases down and devours Carface. In the chaos, both Anne-Marie and the watch fall into the water. Unable to rescue both at the same time, Charlie rescues Anne-Marie and places her onto some driftwood and pushes her toward safety; however, the watch stops before he can reach it, ending his life, so Killer finishes pushing her to shore, where Kate and Harold are waiting with police and medical personnel. Sometime later, Kate and Harold adopt Anne-Marie, who has also adopted Itchy. Charlie, having sacrificed himself to save Anne-Marie, has earned back his place in Heaven, and is allowed to return in ghost form to reconcile with Anne-Marie. Leaving Itchy in her care, Charlie returns to Heaven, where Carface finally arrives and takes his own clock, vowing revenge against King Gator. As the whippet angel chases him and warns against using it, Charlie assures the audience that "he'll be back" before winking and retrieving his halo.

An American film crew disappears in the Amazon rainforest while filming a documentary about indigenous cannibal tribes. The team consists of Alan Yates, the director; Faye Daniels, script writer; and two cameramen, Jack Anders and Mark Tomaso. Harold Monroe, an anthropologist at New York University, agrees to lead a rescue mission in hopes of finding the missing filmmakers. In anticipation of his arrival, military personnel stationed in the rainforest conduct a raid on the local Yacumo tribe and take a young male hostage in order to negotiate with the natives. Monroe flies in via floatplane and is introduced to his guides, Chaco and his assistant, Miguel.

After several days of trekking through the jungle, the rescue team encounters the Yacumo. They arrange the release of their hostage in exchange for being taken to the Yacumo village. Once there, the group is initially greeted with hostility and learns that the filmmakers caused great unrest among the people. The next day, Monroe and his guides head deeper into the rainforest to locate two warring cannibal tribes, the Ya̧nomamö and the Shamatari. They encounter a group of Shamatari warriors and follow them to a riverbank, where Monroe's team saves a smaller group of Ya̧nomamö from death. The Ya̧nomamö invite the team back to their village in gratitude, but they are still suspicious of the foreigners. To gain their trust, Monroe bathes naked in a river, where he is joined by a group of Ya̧nomamö women. The women lead Monroe from the river to a shrine, where he discovers the skeletal remains of the filmmakers with their film reels nearby. Shocked by what he sees, he confronts the Ya̧nomamö in the village, during which time he plays music from a tape recorder. The intrigued natives agree to trade it for the filmmakers' surviving reels of film.

Back in New York, executives of the Pan American Broadcasting System invite Monroe to host a broadcast of the documentary to be made from the recovered film, but Monroe insists on viewing the raw footage before making a decision. One of the executives first introduces him to Alan's work by showing an excerpt from his previous documentary, ''The Last Road to Hell'', after which she informs Monroe that Alan staged dramatic scenes to get more exciting footage. Monroe then begins to view the recovered footage, which first follows the group's trek through the rainforest. After walking for days, their guide, Felipe, is bitten by a venomous snake. The group amputates Felipe's leg with a machete to save his life, but he dies and is left behind. Upon locating the Yacumo in a clearing, Jack shoots one in the leg so they can easily follow him to the village. Once they arrive, the crew proceeds to intimidate the tribe before herding the natives into a hut, which they burn down in order to stage a massacre for their film. Monroe expresses apprehension about the staged footage and the treatment of the natives, but his concerns are ignored.

After he finishes viewing the remaining footage, Monroe expresses his disgust toward the station's decision to air the documentary. To convince the executives otherwise, he shows them the remaining unedited footage that only he has seen. The final two reels begin with the filmmakers locating a Ya̧nomamö girl, whom the men take turns raping against Faye's protests, stating they are wasting film footage. They later encounter the same girl impaled on a wooden pole by a riverbank, where they claim that the natives killed her for loss of virginity, although it is implied that the group themselves killed her and staged it as a murder by the natives for dramatic effect. Shortly afterwards, they are attacked by the Ya̧nomamö tribe as revenge for the girl's rape and death. Jack is hit by a spear, and Alan shoots him to prevent his escape. The scene then moves to the crew filming the natives undressing Jack in their captivity and cutting his genitalia off with a large Machete before completely mutilating Jack's lifeless body. Shortly afterwards, an exhausted Alan says they have gotten completely lost trying to escape, and are now surrounded by the natives who pursued them. As a last resort, Alan attempts to scare them off with a flare gun. During the commotion, Faye is captured by the Ya̧nomamö. Alan insists that they attempt to rescue her, but Mark continues to film as she is stripped naked, gang-raped, beaten to death, and beheaded. The Ya̧nomamö then locate and kill the last two team members as the camera drops to the ground. Disturbed by what they have seen, the executives order all of the footage to be burned. As Monroe leaves, he ponders "who the real cannibals are".

Colonel John Patterson is to build a bridge in East Africa (later Kenya). While he is working on this, two man-eating lions show up. They will stop at nothing for a bite of human flesh and the first attempts to stalk, capture or keep them out of the camp fail. They attack the camp hospital and kill a patient. Even after the hospital is moved, one lion penetrates the thick, thorn fence called a boma built to protect it and drags the water carrier away to his death. In the course of hunting these lions, Patterson encounters a red spitting cobra, a rhinoceros, a hippopotamus, a pack of wild dogs, a wildebeest that faked dying, and a herd of zebra, of which he captured six. He also shoots a new type of antelope, T. oryx pattersonianus. Eventually, the first lion is defeated by baiting it with a tethered donkey while Patterson keeps watch from an elevated stand – though for a few tense moments Patterson himself becomes the hunted. Patterson and Mahina hunt the second lion on the plains. When they find and shoot it, the lion charges them and it takes repeated shots to bring it down.

The lions are not the only challenge to completing the bridge project. Tensions between native workers and Sikhs brought in from British East India to work on the project (coolies) threaten to stop the project. At one point, Patterson meets a danger far greater than the lions – a fierce flood. It wipes out the supply bridges and wraps iron girders around tree trunks like wire. Uprooted tree trunks act like battering rams trying to annihilate the bridge. But the well-built bridge stays intact. This challenge proves that the year spent working on the bridge has not been wasted.

Some time after Patterson completes the bridge, he learns of the death of his friend, Railway Police Superintendent Charles H. Ryall. Ryall had learned of a man-eating lion preying on railway staff at Kima station, notably an incident where it had tried to break through the station's roof. In response, he went to Kima with two companions, intending to shoot the lion before it attacked again. Ryall set up an ambush from his personal railway carriage, but saw nothing, and, perhaps deciding that the lion would not appear, retired for the night. Later that night, the man-eater broke into Ryall's carriage. The three hunters were in the main compartment, and an uncertain number of coolies in the adjoining one. The lion went for Ryall immediately, standing on one of his companions in order to get to him. The third man, in an effort to get to the other section, leapt onto the lion's back, and tried desperately to open the door. The coolies, who had been holding the door shut with their turbans, opened it just wide enough for him to get through, and then tied it shut again. Immediately afterwards, the lion leapt out the window with Ryall, leaving the remaining hunter to seek refuge in the station. Some time later, a member of the railway staff trapped the lion, which was displayed alive for several days, then shot.

Another close encounter with a lion occurs when a lion is aboard a gharri, a means of transportation in Kenya similar to a small trolley. Another time, on the way back to the train station, Patterson converses with a friend who has never shot a lion. A couple of hundred yards away, Patterson points out a pair of lions and encourages the friend to shoot them. One runs off at the first shot, but he successfully bags the other lion. The end of the book includes a photo of the lion that the friend killed.

When the time comes for Patterson to leave, some of the coolies and the natives want to go with him. However, Patterson knows that they do not have the immune defense system to combat the diseases outside of Africa. So he politely says no and leaves Africa for some years. (He later returns to Africa, but this part of his life is not recorded in this book.)

Resurrected by Mistress Death to correct a perceived imbalance between life and death, the Titan Thanos first encounters the Silver Surfer, and subsequently fakes his own death to proceed without interference. Thanos decides to reacquire the six Infinity Gems that he had previously used as a simple weapon. After defeating several of the Elders of the Universe and the In-Betweener, Thanos regains the gems and now has control over the six aspects of existence: Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality and Power. Ironically, now that Thanos is in possession of his "Infinity Gauntlet", Death advises him via an intermediary she cannot speak directly to him as he is now her superior.

When the Silver Surfer learns that Thanos is still alive and confronts him, Thanos traps the Silver Surfer's soul inside the Soul Gem. On "Soul World", the Silver Surfer encounters former enemy of Thanos, Adam Warlock. Warlock returns the Surfer to his body and promises to help defeat Thanos. The Surfer races to Earth to warn super-team the Avengers about the coming threat. Demonic entity Mephisto senses the power in the Infinity Gauntlet and offers to instruct Thanos in its use, while secretly waiting for an opportunity to steal it for himself.

Angry at Mistress Death's rejection, Thanos creates a shrine in her image, and then traps and burns Nebula – who pretended to be his "grand-daughter" – as an offering. When still rejected, Thanos in a fit of rage destroys several stars and then eliminates half of all living beings in the universe. The Surfer warns Doctor Strange about Thanos and encourages him to summon Earth's heroes. Cosmic entities Galactus and Epoch seek the source of the sudden imbalance, while Warlock and companions Gamora and Pip the Troll leave Soul World and occupy recently dead humans on Earth, reviving and altering the bodies to match their former appearance. Warlock appears before Doctor Strange and claims Thanos can only be defeated if Earth's remaining heroes unite under his command.

Warlock meets with a group of cosmic entities, who, despite the reluctance and withdrawal of the Living Tribunal and Eternity, agree to attack Thanos. The combined heroes attack while Warlock and the Surfer observe, with Thanos almost defeated after heeding Mephisto's advice to limit his power to demonstrate his devotion to Death.

After the heroes fail, the cosmic entities attack, with Mephisto and Mistress Death also joining in the assault on Thanos. Thanos, however, traps all the entities in stasis and changes the shrine to feature himself instead of Mistress Death. Believing he has defeated all of his enemies; Thanos separates his consciousness from his body and assumes an astral form taking the place of Eternity. Nebula uses this opportunity to steal the now-discarded Infinity Gauntlet. After restoring herself, Nebula banishes Thanos to drift through interstellar space, but he is rescued and brought to Earth by Doctor Strange. Warlock advises Thanos that whilst in Soul World he was able to examine the Titan's soul. Courtesy of his bond with the Soul Gem, Warlock knew Thanos would eventually lose the Infinity Gauntlet because, at his core, Thanos felt himself unworthy of the power. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Thanos agrees to help Warlock, Doctor Strange, and the Silver Surfer oppose Nebula.

Thanos tricks Nebula into restoring the universe to its prior condition, inadvertently reverting into a burn victim in the process. Nebula wills herself back to health before Thanos can retrieve the gauntlet, but during this distraction Warlock returns to Soul World and uses his connection to the gem to create disharmony between the other gems. This causes Nebula to remove the gauntlet, which an emerging Warlock claims for himself. Preferring death to imprisonment, Thanos apparently dies in a suicide bomb blast. The heroes have reservations about Warlock keeping the gauntlet, but he returns them to Earth. Warlock then travels 60 days into the future to visit an unnamed planet where Thanos is living as a farmer. Thanos advises Warlock he has given up his quest for power and plans to lead a quiet, introspective life.

In 1898, Robert Beaumont, the primary financier of a railway project in Tsavo, Kenya, seeks out the expertise of Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson, an Anglo-Irish British military engineer, to get the project on schedule. Patterson travels from England to Tsavo, promising his wife, Helena, that he will complete the bridge and be back in London for the birth of their child. Shortly after his arrival, he meets British supervisor Angus Starling, Kenyan foreman Samuel, and Doctor David Hawthorne. Hawthorne informs Patterson of a recent lion attack that has affected the undertaking.

That same night, Patterson ends the life of an approaching lion with a single gunshot, earning the respect of the laborers and allowing them to resume their activities safely. Only a few weeks after, however, Mahina, the construction foreman, is dragged from his tent. At sunrise, his mutilated body is recovered, and Patterson tries another night-time hunt, seeking to catch the lion that ate Mahina, but in the morning, he is informed by Starling that the corpse of a second worker has been found at the opposing end of the camp from his position.

Patterson, heeding the advice of Samuel, employs the workers in building thorn fences around the tents in order to prevent any lions from entering. Several days later, in broad daylight, a lion assails the camp, killing another worker. As Patterson, Starling, and Samuel corner the lion while it is feasting on the body, another lion leaps upon them from the roof of a building, slicing Starling across the throat and injuring Patterson on the left arm. Patterson recovers and attempts to shoot them, but both lions escape. Samuel states that there has never been a pair of man-eaters before; they have always been solitary hunters.

The workers, led by a man named Abdullah, begin to turn on Patterson and, consequently, progress on the bridge comes to a halt. Patterson requests soldiers from England as protection, but he is denied. During a brief visit to the site, Beaumont threatens Patterson that, should his commission not be concluded on time, he will tarnish his reputation. He also announces that he will be contacting the famed hunter Charles Remington to help Patterson in eliminating the threat due to his past failures.

A short time later, Remington reaches Tsavo with the company of skilled Maasai warriors, who dub the lions "the Ghost" and "the Darkness" because of their notorious methods. Remington’s initial attempt to trap one lion in a thicket fails when Patterson's borrowed gun misfires. The warriors decide to leave, daunted by the beast, but Remington elects to stay behind. He constructs a new hospital tent for sick and injured workers and tempts the lions to the abandoned building with animal parts and blood. The man-eaters seemingly fall for the trap, but Remington and Patterson shoot at them, and they retreat to the new hospital, slaughtering many patients and Hawthorne.

Abdullah and the workers depart, leaving Patterson, Remington, and Samuel alone. The former two locate the animals' lair and discover the bones of dozens of victims, leading Remington to the realization that the lions are acting as they have been merely for sport. Back at camp that evening, Patterson mounts a hunting stand in a clearing and lures one of the predators to his position using a baboon as bait. The plan goes awry after Patterson falls from the stand, but Remington manages to slay the feline before it can leap on Patterson. He, Patterson, and Samuel spend the remainder of the night drinking and celebrating, but the next morning, Patterson awakes to find that the remaining lion has devoured Remington as he and Samuel slept.

The two men cremate Remington’s remains and burn the tall grass surrounding the camp, driving the surviving lion toward the trap that they have set there. It ambushes them on the partially constructed bridge and, after a lengthy chase, Patterson finally dispatches it with a double-rifle Samuel has thrown to him from a nearby tree. Abdullah and the workers return, and the bridge is completed on time. Patterson reunites with his wife and meets his son for the first time.

On his way to work, former football star Stewart Graff, having just fought with his wife Remy, visits Denise Marshall, an actress who is the widow of one of his friends. He drops off an autographed football for her son Corry.

A mild earthquake jolts the Los Angeles metro area. At the California Seismological Institute (CSI), Walter Russell has calculated that Los Angeles will suffer a major earthquake within the next few days. Scientists at the CSI debate whether to go public with their prediction of a major quake. Fearful their funding will be jeopardized, they decide only to alert the National Guard and police so that they can be ready to mobilize.

When Rosa Amici realizes she does not have enough money to pay for her groceries, store manager Jody Joad says she can pay the difference next time. Joad learns that his Guard unit is being called up, so he heads home to change. His housemates harass and tease him for having posters of male bodybuilders on his wall.

The tremor cancels Denise's film shoot, so she goes to Stewart's office. The pair go back to Denise's house for sex. He promises to come back later that night. Returning to work, his boss and father-in-law, Sam Royce, offers Stewart the company presidency. Stewart calls Denise, breaks off their plans, and then goes to Sam's office to accept his offer. He is stunned to find Remy there, assumes she convinced Sam to offer the promotion to save their marriage, and he storms off. As Remy follows him out of the building, an earthquake measuring 9.9 on the Richter Scale strikes, destroying much of Los Angeles.

Sam and many others are trapped on the upper floors of their building. Sam rigs a fire hose to a chair and lowers his staff down one at a time. Before he can descend, Sam suffers a heart attack, and Stewart climbs up to rescue him.

Corry has been caught on a bridge, entangled with high voltage electric cables. Denise finds him unconscious and climbs down to save him. Unable to climb back out, she hails a passing truck, driven by Miles Quade and Sal Amici. After saving Denise and her son, LAPD Sgt. Lou Slade commandeers the truck to use as an ambulance.

Rosa is arrested for looting by a National Guard unit led by Jody. He orders her to stay inside a secluded store for safety. Another group of troops arrives with Jody's housemates, who are being detained for looting. Jody executes them for all the ridicule he has endured from them.

Stewart escorts his co-workers to the Wilson Plaza shopping center, now a triage center. While Stewart searches for Denise and Corry, Sam is taken to Dr. Jim Vance, but he does not survive.

Stewart drives Sgt. Lou around, searching for survivors when they come across Jody and his unit. As Jody threatens to fire on them, Rosa emerges from the store, screaming for help. Stewart drives away but stops out of sight. Lou sneaks back and gets the jump on Jody, shooting him in self-defense and rescuing Rosa.

They return to Wilson Plaza, which an aftershock has destroyed. When they realize that there are survivors trapped in an underground garage, Stewart and Lou crawl into a sewer and drill through to the garage using a jackhammer. Stewart is overjoyed to find Denise alive and, as he hugs her, he sees Remy standing just behind her.

The Mulholland Dam finally gives way, flooding the sewers. Lou and Denise make it up a ladder to safety, but as Remy climbs out, she is knocked off into the flooded sewer. Stewart looks up at Denise, but he cannot abandon Remy. Both of them, along with many others, are swept away, leaving Denise in shock and grief.

Dr. Vance tells Lou that Los Angeles "used to be a hell of a town," as the remaining survivors take in the devastated cityscape.

Scene 1

It is Martin's 50th birthday. In his suburban living room, he and his wife Stevie prepare to be interviewed on television by their friend Ross. Martin seems distracted and cannot remember anything. Stevie casually asks Martin about a woman's business card in his pocket and his odd scent. Martin denies having an affair with a woman, but confesses to falling in love with a goat named Sylvia. Stevie laughs it off, thinking it is a joke. Stevie leaves when Ross arrives. Ross begins interviewing Martin, congratulating him for being the youngest man ever to win the Pritzker Prize and recently being chosen to design a multi-billion-dollar city. However, Ross soon becomes frustrated with Martin’s inability to concentrate on the interview. Martin confides that the reason for his absent-mindedness is his affair with Sylvia, which began during his search for a country home. Amazed that Martin could fall in love with anyone but Stevie, Ross asks repeatedly, "Who is Sylvia?" Martin reveals a photo of Sylvia and Ross screams that Sylvia is a goat.

Scene 2

Ross has written Stevie a letter regarding Martin's affair and Sylvia's identity. Stevie confronts Martin about this, with their son Billy also in the room. Billy is shocked and flees (throughout this scene, he enters and exits sporadically). Stevie recounts the normalcy of her life before she opened Ross's letter. She realizes that Martin was telling the truth in Scene 1 and that she was right to worry about the business card and the odd scent. The card belongs to a member of a support group for bestiality. Martin claims that people like him seek animal company as a coping mechanism. For him, Sylvia is not just an animal; she has a soul and reciprocates his love. As Martin tries to justify himself, Stevie breaks various objects and overturns furniture. Finally, she exits, vowing revenge.

Scene 3

Billy enters the ruined living room where Martin remains. Billy claims that Martin and Stevie are good people and are better than most of his classmates' parents. However, he begins crying once he realizes that Martin's bestiality has torn their once happy family apart beyond repair.

Overwhelmed with a sense of loss and love for his father, Billy embraces Martin and kisses him sexually on the mouth. Martin pushes Billy away just as Ross enters to witness the scene. Martin angrily defends both his son and himself. Ross says he received a call from Stevie saying Martin needed him. Ross and Martin spar over Ross's letter and how Martin's public image can be saved from disgrace.

Stevie then enters, dragging a dead goat. She killed Sylvia because she could not stand the idea that she and Sylvia loved Martin equally and were loved as equally by him. Ross freezes and Martin breaks down. The scene ends with Billy crying out.

The story revolves around the meetings of an Oxford arts discussion group, the Notion Club. During these meetings, Alwin Arundel Lowdham discusses his lucid dreams about Númenor, a lost civilisation connected with Atlantis and with Tolkien's Middle-earth. Through these dreams, he "discovers" much about the Númenor story and the languages of Middle-earth (notably Quenya, Sindarin, and Adûnaic). While not finished, at the end of the given story it becomes clear Lowdham himself is a reincarnation of sorts of Elendil. Other members of the Club mention their vivid dreams of other times and places.

''The Notion Club Papers'' is elaborately constructed. The main story (the Notion Club, itself the frame of the Númenor story) is set within a frame story. Both are set in the future; Tolkien created the work in 1945.

In the frame story, a Mr. Green finds documents in sacks of waste paper at Oxford in 2012. These documents, the Notion Club Papers of the title, are the incomplete notes of meetings of the Notion Club; these meetings are said to have occurred in the 1980s. The notes, written by one of the participants, include references to events that 'occurred' in the 1970s and 1980s. Green publishes a first edition containing excerpts from the documents. Two scholars read the first edition, ask to examine the documents, and then submit a full report. The "Notes to the Second Edition" mentions the contradictory evidence in dating the documents, and an alternative date is presented: they may have been written in the 1940s (which was of course when Tolkien actually created the matter).

''Kirby's Dream Land'' is set in the fictional country of Dream Land, which is located on a tiny star-shaped planet far, far away from Earth, named "Planet Popstar" in later games. The Dream Landers are a very peaceful and carefree people that use their magical Sparkling Stars to play and work among the heavens. One night, under the cover of darkness, the gluttonous King Dedede and his minions swoop down from his castle on Mt. Dedede and steal all the food in Dream Land, as well as the Sparkling Stars, which the King distributes among his minions. Without the Sparkling Stars, the Dream Landers can no longer harvest food, and begin to go hungry. As the residents are discussing what to do, a spry little boy named Kirby flies in on the spring breeze, and volunteers to defeat King Dedede and retrieve the food and Stars. Upon successfully doing so, he uses the magic of the Sparkling Stars to transform into a hot air balloon and return the King's stolen food back to the people of Dream Land.

At Bilbo Baggins's 129th birthday party in Rivendell, his nephew Frodo explains why he is missing a finger from his hand while the Minstrel of Gondor sings a ballad that tells the story of the quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.

In Mordor, Frodo's friend and companion Samwise Gamgee bears the Ring in Frodo's absence as he ventures to rescue Frodo from the Orc fortress of Cirith Ungol. During his journey, Sam is tempted to claim the Ring for himself, but ultimately resists its power. He rescues Frodo, and the two Hobbits head out for Mount Doom to destroy the Ring.

Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf the White and the Hobbit Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith to warn Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, about the upcoming war—only to discover that the Steward has gone insane and means to take his own life. Frodo and Samwise continue toward Mount Doom (eluding Ringwraiths and infiltrating a battalion of Orcs in the process) only to be attacked by Gollum, the creature from whom Bilbo took the Ring decades before. Frodo casts Gollum down, however, and goes to the Crack of Doom. Sam prepares to kill Gollum, but is overcome with pity and allows him to flee.

At the same time, Gondor's neighbouring country, Rohan, battles Sauron's forces in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, but its King, Theoden, is killed by the Witch-king of Angmar. Theoden's niece Eowyn, who had disguised herself as a man to take part in the battle, kills the Witch-king with help from Pippin, momentarily defeating Sauron's armies. Those forces momentarily rally upon the arrival of the black fleet coming from the west, the despairing vision of which drove Denethor to his suicide, but their morale shatters upon realizing that fleet is under the command of Prince Aragorn of Gondor. Upon his own arrival, Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, plans to confront Sauron at the Black Gate. Here, he quarrels with the Mouth of Sauron and the two armies prepare for battle.

On Mount Doom, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and puts it on, becoming invisible. Sam discovers Gollum and Frodo fighting over the Ring, which results in Gollum's biting off Frodo's finger to claim it. While dancing with joy at the retrieval of his "precious", Gollum falls into the lava of Mount Doom, taking the Ring with him. The Ring is destroyed, and Sauron perishes. Sam and Frodo are rescued by the Eagles from the erupting Mount Doom. A few months later, Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor. The story concludes with Frodo accompanying Bilbo, Gandalf, and Elrond as they leave Middle-earth. He gives the Red Book of Westmarch (consisting of Bilbo's memoirs with some spare pages) to Sam, assuring him that a good life is still in store for him. Gandalf assures them that Hobbits will someday have descendants among humans, to preserve their own existence; and the film ends in Frodo's departure from the Grey Havens.

A Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, lives in his hobbit-hole. Gandalf informs him he is looking for someone to share an adventure, and introduces thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield. They invite themselves into Bilbo's house, eat dinner, and play music. The magic in the music makes Bilbo suddenly long for adventure.

Thorin explains Bilbo is to be a lucky number fourteen for them, and tells how the once-prosperous dwarves were driven out of the Lonely Mountain by the dragon Smaug, who also stole their treasure. Gandalf accepts the mission before the Hobbit can speak. Bilbo decides not to argue, and departs with the company the next morning.

The company discovers a camp of three trolls, who promptly capture all but Gandalf and Bilbo. Bilbo hides while Gandalf uses his magic to bring the sunrise, which turns the trolls to stone. In the troll's cave, Bilbo discovers some stolen treasure, which the dwarves claim. They also find two swords, and a dagger for Bilbo.

Gandalf shows Thorin a map of the Lonely Mountain and a key, given to him by Thorin's father. The map shows a secret passage. When they reach Rivendell, Elrond discovers letters on the map visible only in moonlight, revealing instructions to find the entrance.

Travelling through the Misty Mountains, the group shelters from a thunderstorm in a cave, and all but Gandalf are captured by goblins. Just as the Great Goblin is about to eat Thorin, Gandalf kills him, and the dwarves escape. Bilbo hits his head and loses the group; he finds an underground lake, where he discovers a ring, and meets the creature Gollum, who challenges him to a riddle contest. Bilbo wins by a trick, and Gollum goes to get the ring to use against Bilbo. Finding it missing, he suspects Bilbo stole it and hunts him. Bilbo, having discovered the ring grants invisibility, follows Gollum to the back door, and rejoins the dwarves.

The Goblins, riding Wargs, pursue the company into a pine forest, setting it ablaze. The Lord of the Eagles rescues the company to Mirkwood, where Gandalf leaves on urgent business. Bilbo is in charge as they enter Mirkwood; he and the dwarves are captured by giant spiders, but Bilbo puts on his ring and drives off the spiders with his dagger, which he then names "Sting". The dwarves are apprehended by the wood elves. Thorin refuses to answer any of the elf king's questions, not wanting to share the treasure, so the dwarves are imprisoned. Bilbo escapes using his ring. After weeks of searching, Bilbo pilfers a sleeping guard's keys, and floats the dwarves in barrels down the river into Laketown.

The people of Laketown, led by the captain of the guard Bard the Bowman, nurse the company back to health. The fourteen reach the Lonely Mountain, and follow the map's instructions to enter. Bilbo goes in first, and meets Smaug, using the ring to hide. He and Smaug converse; the dragon assumes Bilbo must be a Laketowner. Bilbo discovers a patch of skin on Smaug not covered by protective scales. When Smaug attacks him for stealing, he escapes, mocking the dragon. In a rage, Smaug flies off to take revenge on Laketown. Bilbo sends a thrush to tell Bard about the bare patch, and Bard shoots and kills Smaug with his family's black arrow. Smaug destroys Laketown in his death throes.

The Dwarves reclaim their treasure, only to find that the Lakemen and the Elves have arrived, wanting recompense for Smaug's many damages over the years. Thorin refuses to share, and declares war. Bilbo rebukes him, as they are outnumbered 14 to thousands. Thorin calls Bilbo as a coward, nearly ending their friendship. Thorin's cousin, Dain, brings more dwarves, but before the battle can begin, Gandalf arrives, warning all parties that the Goblins are coming. The men, elves, and dwarves unite against the common foe, and Bilbo uses his ring to hide as a great battle rages. The Eagles arrive to aid the alliance against the Goblins.

Much later, Bilbo finds a dying Bombur, and explains he was knocked unconscious while hiding. Bombur informs Bilbo that the battle has been won. Bilbo learns that only seven of the thirteen dwarves are left, and is led by Gandalf to Thorin, who is also dying. Thorin and Bilbo part in friendship. Bilbo only accepts two small chests of gold and Sting as payment from the dwarves, and Gandalf escorts him home. Gandalf warns Bilbo that the adventure is only just beginning, thanks to the ring he has found.

In Boston, two Irish immigrant fraternal twin brothers, Connor and Murphy MacManus (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus), attend Mass, where the priest mentions the fate of Kitty Genovese. Later, when Connor and Murphy are celebrating Saint Patrick's Day with friends, three Russian mobsters arrive and announce they want to close the pub and take over the land it is built on. A brawl ensues, in which the Russians are defeated and humiliated. The next morning, two of the Russians seek revenge on Connor and Murphy, but Connor and Murphy gain the upper hand and kill the two mobsters in self-defense.

FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) is assigned to the case, and finds that the police and local news reporters see the MacManus twin brothers as heroes. The brothers turn themselves in at a police station, where Smecker interviews them. After the twin brothers retell their story, Smecker declines to press charges and allows them to spend the night in a holding cell to avoid attention from the media. That night, Connor and Murphy receive a "calling" from God telling them to hunt down wicked men so that the innocent will flourish and resolve to rid Boston of evil men. After the brothers are released from the holding cell the next morning, Connor learns of a meeting of Russian syndicate bosses at a hotel and, having equipped themselves with weaponry from a local underground gun dealer, the twin brothers storm the room and quickly kill all nine of the Russian mobsters. Rocco, a friend of the twin brothers and errand boy for local mafia boss Giuseppe "Papa Joe" Yakavetta (Carlo Rota), is sent on a hit as an unknowing pawn. The next day, learning that he was betrayed, having been sent to kill nine Russian mobsters with only a six-shooter revolver, Rocco commits himself to helping Connor and Murphy. That night, the trio hunt down and kill Vincenzo Lapazzi (Ron Jeremy), an underboss of the Yakavetta crime family and two others.

Concerned he may be a target, Papa Joe contacts a hitman, Il Duce (Billy Connolly), to deal with them. After killing several more criminals, one of whom Rocco had a personal hatred for, the twins and Rocco are ambushed by Il Duce, leading to an intense shootout. Although they manage to chase Il Duce away, the three men suffer serious wounds, including the loss of Rocco's finger. The three return to a safehouse where they treat their wounds.

Hours later as the police conduct an investigation at the crime scene, the investigation seems futile since the twin brothers have covered their tracks by spraying any blood left behind with ammonia. However, Smecker happens upon the part of the finger lost by Rocco and decides to do an independent investigation to see who was behind the gun battle. Smecker is able to obtain a fingerprint from the severed finger and track down Rocco and his allies. This leaves Smecker in a difficult scenario, and he struggles with the choice of whether to prosecute the three men, or join them in their cause, as Smecker believes they are doing the right thing. After getting drunk at a gay bar and subsequently getting advice from a reluctant priest, Smecker decides to help the trio.

Later, the twin brothers and Rocco inform Smecker that they plan to infiltrate the Yakavetta headquarters to finish off the family, but Smecker learns they are walking into a trap. The twin brothers are captured and beaten by four capos working for the Yakavetta family, and Rocco is shot and killed by Papa Jo. The brothers are able to free themselves, with Murphy stabbing to death one of the capos. As Papa Joe leaves his house, Smecker arrives in drag and shoots and kills two of the capos before being knocked unconscious by Il Duce, who has snuck into the Yakavetta house and fatally slashed the throat of the fourth and final capo. As the twin brothers say their family prayer over Rocco, Il Duce enters the room and prepares to open fire. However, he instead finishes the prayer, revealing himself to be the twin brothers' father. He then joins his twin sons in their mission.

Three months later, Papa Joe is sent to trial for a third time with reporters on-scene anticipating his acquittal. The twin brothers and Il Duce, aided by Smecker, Dolly, Duffy and Greenly, infiltrate the trial after sliding their weapons over the metal detector. Unmasked, Connor and Murphy make a speech stating that they intend to eradicate evil wherever they find it. The twins and their father recite their family prayer and execute Papa Joe, much to the horror of the people in the courtroom. The media dubs the MacManus family of three as "the Saints".

Unemployed 28-year-old cartoonist Gordon "Gord" Brody leaves his parents' home in Portland, Oregon, to pursue his lifelong ambition of obtaining a contract for an animated television series. His parents, Jim and Julie, give him a car which he drives to Los Angeles and starts work at a cheese sandwich factory. Gord shows his drawings to Dave Davidson, the CEO of a major animation studio; Davidson commends the artwork but calls the concepts depicted, including a vigilante "X-Ray Cat", nonsensical. Disheartened, Gord quits his job and returns to his parents.

Jim constantly insults and belittles Gord following his return, telling him to forget about being an animator and "get a job". When Gord pressures his friend Darren into skating on a wooden half-pipe he has built outside the Brody home, Darren falls and breaks his leg. At the hospital, Gord impersonates a doctor, delivers a baby, and meets an attractive nurse named Betty, who uses a wheelchair, has an obsessive penchant for fellatio, and wants to create a rocket-powered wheelchair. Gord lies to his father that he has got a job in the computer industry and goes out to a restaurant with Betty, pretending he is at work. However, Jim sees him there and disparages Betty due to her disabilities. After a fight in the restaurant, Gord is arrested and Betty bails him out. Following her advice, Gord attempts to continue drawing; however, he gets into an argument with Jim, who then smashes Gord's half-pipe. Gord and his parents then go to a family therapy session, where Gord falsely accuses Jim of "fingering" Gord's younger brother, Freddy. The 25-year-old Freddy is sent to a home for sexually molested children despite looking nothing like a child while Julie, being fed up with his abusive behavior and short temper, leaves Jim and ends up dating the basketball player Shaquille O'Neal. While in a drunken stupor, Jim tells Gord how much of a disappointment he is to him. Affected by Jim's words, Gord decides to abandon his aspirations to be a cartoonist and gets a job at a local sandwich shop.

After seeing a television news report on Betty's successful rocket-powered wheelchair, Gord is inspired to pursue his dreams once again. He returns to Hollywood with a concept based on his relationship with his father: an animated series called ''Zebras in America''. Jim follows him there after threatening Darren into revealing where he had gone. While Gord is pitching the show to Davidson, Jim bursts in and trashes Davidson's office. Thinking Jim's actions are part of Gord's pitch, Davidson greenlights ''Zebras in America'' and gives Gord a million-dollar check. Gord spends a tenth of that money on an elaborate thank you to Betty for inspiring him, and the remainder to relocate the Brody house to Pakistan with his father inside, unconscious—a response to Jim's earlier put-down that "If this were Pakistan, you would have been sewing soccer balls when you were four years old!"

Gord and Jim soon come to terms but are then abducted and held hostage. The kidnapping becomes a news item, as Gord's series has already become popular. After 18 months in captivity, Gord and Jim return to America, where a huge crowd, including Betty and Darren, welcomes them home.

In the module T1 ''The Village of Hommlet'', the player characters must defeat the raiders in a nearby fort, and thereafter Hommlet can be used as a base for the party's subsequent adventures. The adventure begins in the eponymous village of Hommlet, situated near the site of a past battle against evil forces operating from the Temple. The adventurers travel through Hommlet and are drawn into a web of conspiracy and deception.

The module is recommended for first-level characters, who begin the adventure "weary, weak, and practically void of money". They travel to a town that is supposed to be a great place to earn fortunes, defeat enemy creatures, but also to lose one's life. While the town initially appears warm and hospitable, the characters soon learn that many of its inhabitants are powerful spies for minions of evil.

The T1 adventure stands alone, but also forms the first part of T1–4. In ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'', the characters start off at low level, and after establishing themselves in Hommlet, they gradually work their way through the immense dungeons beneath the Temple, thereby gaining experience. T1 culminates in a ruined moathouse where agents secretly plan to re-enter the Temple and free the demoness Zuggtmoy, imprisoned therein. ''The Village of Hommlet'' module has been described as a beginner's scenario, which starts in the village, and leads to a nearby dungeon, while ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' continues the adventure. ([https://books.google.com/books?id=UMY9AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover preview]) In the next section, T2, the adventurers move on to the nearby village of Nulb to confront several nefarious opponents, including agents from the Temple. Based on the outcome of these encounters, the player characters can then enter the Temple itself to interact with its many denizens and test their mettle against Zuggtmoy herself.

History of the temple

The temple referenced in the module's title is an unholy structure located in the central Flanaess not far from the city-state of Verbobonc. In 566 CY, forces of evil from Dyvers or the Wild Coast constructed a small chapel outside the nearby village of Nulb. The chapel was quickly built into a stone temple from which bandits and evil humanoids began to operate with increasing frequency.

In 569 CY, a combined force was sent to destroy the Temple and put an end to the marauding. This allied army clashed with a horde of evil men and humanoids, including orcs, ogres and gnolls, at the Battle of Emridy Meadows. Men-at-arms from Furyondy and Veluna united with dwarves from the Lortmils, gnomes from the Kron Hills, and an army of elven archers to face the threat of the Horde of Elemental Evil, consisting largely of savage humanoids such as orcs, ogres, and gnolls. The arrival of the elves from the shadows of the Gnarley Forest turned the tide of battle, trapping the savage humanoids against a bend in the Velverdyva where they were routed and slaughtered.

At some point in this battle, Serten, cleric of Saint Cuthbert and member of the Citadel of Eight, was slain. The Citadel was notable for its absence at this pivotal moment in the history of the Flanaess, and their failure to take part in the Battle of Emridy Meadows contributed to the group's decline and eventual disbandment.

After dispersing the Horde of Elemental Evil, the allied forces laid siege to the Temple of Elemental Evil itself, defeating it within a fortnight. Spellcasters loyal to the goodly army cooperated on a spell of sealing that bound the demoness Zuggtmoy (a major instigator in the Horde of Elemental Evil) to some of the deepest chambers in the castle's dungeons.

The site itself remained, however, and over the following decade rumors of evil presence there persisted. The Viscount of Verbobonc and the Archcleric of Veluna became increasingly concerned, and cooperated to build a small castle outside the Village of Hommlet to guard against the possibility of the Temple rising again.

For the next five years, Hommlet gained in wealth thanks to adventurers who came to the area seeking out remnants of evil to slay. Things quieted down for another four years as the area returned to peace and normalcy, but in 578 CY evil began to stir again, with groups of bandits riding the roads. In 579 CY, the events in the T1–4 module occur.

''Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil'' is set 12 years later, in 591 CY.

The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South, and stumble in the beginning with the difficulties of getting used to their equipment; Bryson also soon realizes how difficult it is to travel with his friend, who is a crude, overweight recovering alcoholic, and even less prepared for the ordeal than he is. Overburdened, they soon discard much extra food and equipment to lighten their loads.

After hiking for what seemed to him a large distance, they realize they have still barely begun while in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and that the whole endeavor is simply too much for them. They skip a huge section of the trail, beginning again in Roanoke, Virginia. The book recounts Bryson's desire to seek easier terrain as well as "a powerful urge not to be this far south any longer". This section of the hike finally ends (after nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) of hiking) with Bryson going on a book tour and Katz returning to Des Moines, Iowa, to work.

In the following months Bryson continues to hike several smaller parts of the trail, including a visit to Centralia, Pennsylvania, the site of a coal seam fire, and eventually reunites with Katz to hike the Hundred-Mile Wilderness in Maine, which again proves too daunting. Ultimately Bryson hiked about 40% of the trail. In the 21st Century, about 25% of thru-hike attempts are successful. Bryson quotes the older figure of 10%.

At the time of his attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, Bryson was aged in his forties.

The novel takes the form of a letter from a young woman named Anna Blume. Anna has ventured into an unnamed city that has collapsed into chaos and disorder. In this environment, no industry takes place and most of the population collects garbage or scavenges for objects to resell. Anna has entered the city to search for her brother William, a journalist, and it is suggested that the Blumes come from a world to the East which has not collapsed.

Anna arrives in the city with William's address, and an address and photo for Samuel Farr, whom William's editor sent to the city after failing to receive word from William. However, in a turn of events she later understands to be typical of life in the city, she finds that not only has William's house been demolished, but the entire street where he lived has been reduced to rubble. Anna lives on the streets of the city as an 'object hunter', a job which involves scavenging for specific objects rather than collecting general waste.

One day, Anna saves the life of Isabel, an older woman. Isabel is, like Anna, an object hunter, despite her advanced age, and has an uncanny knowledge of where and when to find the objects they require. She lives with her husband, Ferdinand, a rude man who does not work, but makes ships in bottles from small waste materials he finds. Ferdinand tries to rape Anna, but she, trying to scare him away, accidentally starts to strangle him and gives up before he dies, while Isabel is supposedly asleep. Anna and Isabel discover that Ferdinand had died in the morning, hinting that Isabel had finished the job later that evening. Isabel and Anna, not wanting to simply leave his body in the street or carry it to a crematorium, throw it from the roof of their apartment building, making it seem as if Ferdinand had committed suicide. Soon after, Isabel becomes ill, and can no longer work. She dies, and after Anna has taken her body to be cremated, housebreakers arrive at her apartment and overpower her, making her homeless once again.

After having been homeless for a period, Anna is forced to run from a police officer, and goes through the first open door she sees, which turns out to be the city's national library. Parts of the library have been allocated by the government for academics and religious groups. She meets a rabbi, leading a small group of Jewish inhabitants of the city. Anna reveals that she too is a Jew, but no longer believes in God (see Jewish atheism). The group cannot help Anna on her mission to find William, but one of the rabbi's accomplices directs her to Samuel Farr, who it transpires is also living in the library.

Despite initial hostility, Sam accepts Anna into his life, and the two live together and become lovers. Sam is working on a book about the city, but is swiftly running out of money. Anna remedies the couple's financial situation with the money she has obtained from selling Isabel and Ferdinand's possessions, and the two are able to live in relative comfort and afford luxury items such as cigarettes. This period is described as one of Anna's happiest. However, the Jewish groups are forced to leave the library when the government decides to exert its authority, and are replaced by a man named Dujardin, of whom Anna is suspicious.

Anna's shoes start to wear out, and Sam refuses to let Anna leave their apartment until he has procured a new pair, especially because Anna is now pregnant. This takes time, however, and Anna is tempted by an offer from Dujardin to buy her a pair from his cousin, and, despite her initial dislike of him, she accepts his offer. She follows him to his cousin's house, but realizes she has been tricked, and that the house is a human slaughterhouse. Anna jumps from a window and escapes, and is taken in by the patrons of Woburn House, a homeless shelter. When she awakes, she lives in luxury, but is deeply distressed to hear that a fire has broken out at the library, Sam's whereabouts are unknown, and she has had a miscarriage. Anna takes a position at Woburn House, and becomes close to her colleagues; Victoria, the daughter of the House's founder, Dr. Woburn; Frick, an older man who serves as a driver and has a strange way of speaking; Willie, Frick's introverted fifteen-year-old grandson; and Boris Stepanovich, an enigmatic character responsible for procuring food and supplies for the House.

Anna enters a love affair with Victoria, which helps her recover from losing Sam. She is appointed to a position in which she interviews prospective residents of the House, which she finds emotionally draining. She vents her anger on an interviewee, then falls asleep, and awakes to find Sam sitting opposite her. He has lived in an abandoned railway station since the fire in the library, and has become almost unrecognizable. He is taken in immediately, though, and begins to make progress. When he returns to full health, Victoria asks him to contribute to the House by pretending to be a doctor: there is no longer any medical equipment except for painkillers and bandages, so the charade is unlikely to be uncovered, and people enjoy telling him their stories. However, Boris tells Anna that Woburn House is financially unsustainable, as it relies on a finite supply of items taken from Dr. Woburn's collection. She comes to realize that the House cannot continue forever, and cutbacks are made to the provisions granted to residents.

Frick dies, and is given a burial in the House's garden, against the city's laws. However, the burial is reported to the police by an unknown resident, and they arrive to dig up the body. The police are dissuaded by Boris Stepanovich from taking further measures, but Willie has been deeply affected by the events. He starts to act erratically, and eventually violently, taking a gun and murdering several residents of the House, before turning on Victoria, Sam and Anna. Sam shoots him before he can reach them, but too much damage has been done to the House and its reputation for it to continue.

The House closes down and, with the last of their money (taken from selling the remnants of the Woburn collection and Boris's personal wealth), the four obtain travel permits. The novel ends with Anna considering the best way for them to leave the city, and telling the unknown acquaintance to whom she is writing that she will write again. It is unknown whether the letter was sent, and whether Anna, Victoria, Sam and Boris were successful in their attempt to leave the city.

The 'last things' in the title of the book refers not only to the disappearance of manufactured objects and technology but also the fading of memories of them and the words used to describe them.

Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, lives with his sister, a prostitute and spends as much time as he can at a seedy bar where he amuses the adult patrons. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi sailor, Pin searches for an identity with an Italian partisan group. All the while, the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust.

The beautiful Angelica, daughter of the king of Cataio (Cathay), comes to Charlemagne's court for a tournament in which both Christians and Pagans can participate. She offers herself as a prize to whoever will defeat her brother, Argalia, who in the consequent fighting competition imprisons one of the Christians. But the second knight to fight, Ferraguto (a.k.a. Ferraù), kills Argalia and Angelica flees, chased by leading paladins, especially Orlando and Rinaldo. Stopping in the Ardenne forest, she drinks at the Stream of Love (making her fall in love with Rinaldo), while Rinaldo drinks at the fount of hate (making him conceive a passionate hatred of Angelica). She asks the magician Malagigi to kidnap Rinaldo, and the magician brings him to an enchanted island, while she returns to Cataio where she is besieged by King Agrican, another of her admirers, in the fortress of Albraccà. Orlando comes to kill Agrican and to free her, and he succeeds. Afterwards, Rinaldo, who has escaped from the enchanted island, tries to convince him to return to France to fight alongside Charlemagne: consequently, Orlando and Rinaldo duel furiously.

In the meantime the Saracen king Agramante has invaded France with a massive army (along with Rodomonte, Ferraù, Gradasso, and many others), to avenge his father Troiano, previously killed by Orlando. Rinaldo rushes back to France, chased by Angelica in love with him, in turn chased by Orlando. Back in the Ardenne forest, this time Rinaldo and Angelica drink at the opposite founts. Orlando and Rinaldo duel again for Angelica, and Charlemagne decides to entrust her to the old and wise duke Namo, offering her to the one who will fight most valorously against the infidels. In the meantime, the Saracen paladin Ruggiero and Rinaldo's sister, Bradamante, fall in love. The poem stops there abruptly, with Boiardo's narrator explaining that he can write no more because Italy has been invaded by French troops headed by king Charles VIII.

In the 1970s, Fred Wilson, an executive of the Petrox Oil Company, forms an expedition based on infrared imagery which reveals a previously undiscovered Indian Ocean island hidden by a permanent cloud bank. Wilson believes the island has a huge deposit of oil. Jack Prescott, a primate paleontologist, sneaks onto the expedition's vessel and attempts to warn the team against traveling to the island, citing an ominous final message about "the roar of the greatest beast" from previous doomed explorers. Wilson orders Prescott locked up, assuming that he is a spy from a rival corporation. Wilson eventually makes Prescott the expedition’s photographer. The ship happens upon a life raft which carries the beautiful and unconscious Dwan. Upon waking, Dwan tells Prescott that she is an aspiring actress who was aboard a director's yacht which suddenly exploded. During the rest of the ship's voyage, Prescott and Dwan become attracted to each other.

Upon arriving at the island, the team discovers a primitive tribe of natives who live within the confines of a gigantic wall, built to protect them from a mysterious god known as Kong. The team finds that while there is a large deposit of oil, it is of such low quality that it is unusable. The natives kidnap Dwan, drug her, and offer her as a sacrifice to Kong. A monumental ape grabs Dwan from the altar and departs back into the jungle.

Although an awesome and terrifying sight, the soft-hearted Kong quickly becomes tamed by Dwan, whose rambling monologue calms and fascinates the monstrous beast. After she falls in the mud, Kong takes Dwan back to a waterfall to wash herself, and then uses great gusts of his warm breath to dry her.

In the meantime, Prescott and First Mate Carnahan lead a rescue mission to save Dwan. The rescue party encounters Kong while crossing a log bridge over a ravine, and Kong rolls the huge log, sending Carnahan and the rest of the sailors falling to their deaths. Prescott and Boan are the only ones to survive. Kong takes Dwan to his lair. A giant snake appears and attacks the pair, and while Kong dispatches the snake, Prescott escapes with Dwan. Kong chases the pair back to the native village, only to fall into a pit trap and be smothered with chloroform.

Without any of the promised new oil, Wilson decides to transport Kong to America as a promotional gimmick for his company. When they finally reach New York City, Kong is put on display in a beauty and the beast farce, bound in chains with a large crown on his head. When Kong sees a group of reporters crowding around Dwan, hoping for interviews, the ape breaks free of his bonds and goes on a rampage throughout the city. In the commotion, Wilson is killed when Kong steps on him. The ape also destroys an elevated train in his search for Dwan. Prescott and Dwan flee across the Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan while Kong pursues them. Prescott calls the military and in return for a promise that Kong will be captured unharmed, he tells them that Kong will climb the World Trade Center, which resembles a mountain on his native island. Kong locates Dwan and takes her; he begins to make his way to the World Trade Center, with Jack and the military in hot pursuit.

In the climax, Kong climbs the South Tower of the World Trade Center. After being attacked by men with flamethrowers while standing on the roof, Kong leaps across to the North Tower. Then he is attacked by military helicopters while Dwan is trying to stop them. The fatally injured Kong falls from the roof to the World Trade Center plaza, where he dies from his injuries. Dwan is bombarded by a sea of photographers. The crowd is so big, though, that Dwan can't even get close to Jack. She stands still and is photographed relentlessly by reporters while Kong lies dead in a pool of blood and broken concrete.

In the year 1506, the sorcerer Dr. Erasmus Craven has been mourning the death of his wife Lenore for over two years, much to the dismay of his daughter, Estelle. One night he is visited by a raven, who happens to be a transformed wizard, Dr. Bedlo. Together they brew a potion that restores Bedlo to his old self. Bedlo explains that he had been transformed by the evil Dr. Scarabus in an unfair duel, and both decide to see Scarabus, Bedlo to exact revenge and Craven to look for his wife's ghost, which Bedlo reportedly saw at Scarabus' castle. After fighting off an attack by Craven's coachman, who acted under the influence of Scarabus, they are joined by Craven's daughter Estelle and Bedlo's son Rexford, and set out to the castle.

At the castle, Scarabus greets his guests with false friendship, and Bedlo is apparently killed as he conjures a storm in an act of defiance. At night, however, Rexford finds Bedlo alive and well, hiding in the castle. Craven, meanwhile, is visited and tormented by Lenore, who is revealed to be alive and well too, having faked her death two years before to become Scarabus' mistress. As Craven, Estelle, Rexford and Bedlo try to escape from the castle, Scarabus stops them, and they are imprisoned. Bedlo panics and begs Scarabus to turn him back into a raven rather than torture him. He then flees the dungeon by flying away. Craven is forced to choose between surrendering his magical secrets to Scarabus or watching his daughter be tortured. Bedlo secretly returns and frees Rexford, and together they aid Craven.

Craven and Scarabus sit facing each other, and engage in a magic duel. After a series of attacks, counterattacks and insults, during which Scarabus sets the castle on fire, Craven defeats Scarabus. Lenore tries to reconcile with him, claiming that she had been bewitched by Scarabus, but Craven rejects her. Craven, Bedlo, Estelle and Rexford escape just as the castle collapses on Scarabus and his mistress.

In the final scene, Bedlo, still a raven, tries to convince Craven to restore him to human form. Craven tells him to shut his beak, and says, to camera, "Quoth the raven – nevermore."

After catching his wife Amy having an affair with their friend Ted, mystery writer Mort Rainey retreats to his cabin at Tashmore Lake in upstate New York, while Amy stays in their marital home. Six months later, Mort, depressed and suffering from writer's block, has delayed finalizing the divorce.

One day, a man named John Shooter arrives at the cabin and accuses Mort of plagiarizing his short story, "Sowing Season". Upon reading Shooter's manuscript, Mort discovers it is virtually identical to his own story, "Secret Window", except for the ending. The following day, Mort, who once plagiarized another author's story, tells Shooter that his story was published in a mystery magazine two years before Shooter's, invalidating his plagiarism claim. Shooter demands proof and warns Mort against contacting the police. That night, Mort's dog, Chico, is found dead outside the cabin, along with a note from Shooter giving Mort three days to provide proof.

Mort reports the incident to Sheriff Newsome. Mort drives to his and Amy's house intending to retrieve a copy of the magazine but leaves because Ted and Amy are there. Mort instead hires private investigator Ken Karsch, who stakes out the cabin and speaks to Tom Greenleaf, a local resident who may have seen Shooter and Mort talking together. At the cabin, Shooter appears and demands that Mort revise his story's ending to Shooter's version, where the protagonist kills his wife. When an arson fire destroys Amy and Mort's house, and presumably the magazine, Mort reveals to the police that he has an enemy.

Karsch tells Mort that he suspects Shooter has threatened Greenleaf after Greenleaf claimed he never saw Mort and Shooter talking together. Mort and Karsch agree to confront Shooter but first choose to meet up with Greenleaf at the local diner the next morning. Arriving late, Mort discovers that neither Karsch nor Greenleaf showed up at the diner. On his way back, Mort encounters Ted at a gas station where Ted demands Mort sign the divorce papers. Believing Shooter is in Ted's employ, Mort refuses, taunts Ted, and leaves.

Later, Shooter summons Mort to a meeting place; when he arrives, Mort finds Karsch and Greenleaf dead inside Greenleaf's truck and passes out at the sight. When he recovers Shooter tells Mort he killed the two men because they had "interfered" in his business, and warns Mort he has deliberately implicated him in the two men's murders (having used Mort's axe and screwdriver as the murder weapons) and implies Mort should dispose of the bodies. Mort agrees to meet Shooter at his cabin to show him the magazine containing his story, which is supposed to arrive that day, having been sent overnight by his literary agent. Mort later retrieves his tools and then pushes Greenleaf's truck with both bodies still in it off a steep cliff into a water-filled quarry where it sinks.

Mort retrieves the package containing the magazine from the post office but finds that it has already been opened with the pages containing his story ripped out. At Mort's cabin, Mort sees Shooter's hat and puts it on and begins speaking to himself, trying to make sense of the events. Frustrated and in denial, Mort throws an object at the wall and is surprised to see a growing crack fracture the cabin in half. Looking in the mirror, he's startled to see the back of his head reflected instead. Mort realizes that Shooter is a figment of his imagination, a created character brought to life through Mort's undetected dissociative identity disorder, unwittingly created to cope and carry out malevolent tasks that Mort cannot - like killing Chico, Greenleaf and Karsch, as well as arson. That persona now takes full control of Mort.

Amy arrives at the cabin, finding it ransacked and sees the word "SHOOTER" carved repeatedly on the walls and furniture. Mort appears, speaking and acting as Shooter, wearing his hat. Amy realizes the name "Shooter" represents Mort's desire to "SHOOT HER". He chases Amy and stabs her in the ankle. Ted, looking for Amy, arrives and is ambushed by Mort, who smashes his face with a shovel. Amy watches helplessly as Mort bludgeons Ted with the shovel, while reciting the ending of "Sowing Season". He then murders Amy offscreen.

Months later, Mort has recovered from his writer's block and his overall mood has improved. He is feared and shunned in town because of the rumors about the missing people associated with him. Sheriff Newsome arrives and tells Mort that he is the prime suspect in the supposed murders. He warns him that the bodies will eventually be found and he will be caught, then says he is no longer welcome in town. Mort passively dismisses the threat, and tells Newsome that the ending to his new story is "perfect". It is implied that Amy and Ted's bodies are buried under the corn growing in Mort's garden, allowing Mort to slowly destroy any evidence of their murders. (In an alternative ending cut for home media their bodies are shown under the earth.)

The typical ''KochiKame'' plot involves Kankichi "Ryo-san" Ryotsu coming up with a money-making scheme by inventing a new gadget or capitalizing on a fad, achieving great success, calling on Keiichi Nakagawa's help as things turn sour, and finally losing it all as the fad runs out of steam or out of control. While the plots are gag-driven, much of the humor comes from the combination of mundane characters with those that are bizarrely out of place; such as Nakagawa who has wealth and Ai Asato who is a transsexual. What they have in common is everyone's lack of actual police work, most of which is never explained or rationalized in the slightest. (It is explained in ''Jump'' that Ryo-san is one of the best officers at catching criminals.) Nakagawa and Reiko Akimoto have special licenses (such as for wearing personal clothes instead of uniforms to work) from police headquarters because of their skills in linguistics.

The plot consistently evolved with the times and most of the main characters do not really age, despite the fact that the series started in the 1970s and is later clearly set in the 2010s. However, some characters do age, like the grandchild of Buchao, who was a baby in the early volumes, but is now close to junior high, which the author has self-mocked in a few "look back" chapters/episodes.

''KochiKame'' has a broad audience, ranging from adolescent boys to middle-aged salarymen. Ryo-san's antics appeal to children who can laugh at an old buffoon, and to men fearing that they are becoming old buffoons themselves—and also because it often subtly mocks the latest fads and trends. The stories are generally innocent in content, and what little violence appears is comical, while the occasional risqué subjects are included strictly for laughs rather than to titillate. ''KochiKame'' s immense popularity has led to guest appearances in the strip by real-life Japanese celebrities such as Tetsuya Komuro.

For creator Osamu Akimoto, ''KochiKame'' is an homage to the working-class people and districts of old Tokyo, and most chapters open with an elaborate full-page illustration of a Shitamachi (downtown) street scene, typically with old wooden buildings and boys playing in the streets.

A worldwide nuclear war sometime in the 1990s has resulted in the destruction of most of civilization, turning the world into a desert wasteland. The remnants of mankind fight over whatever supply of food and uncontaminated water still remaining as the strong prey on the weak. Kenshiro is the successor to ''Hokuto Shinken'', an ancient martial art of assassination that trains its practitioners to kill from within an opponent's body through the use of hidden meridian points. Kenshiro wishes to live his life in peace, but after he is separated from his fiancée Yuria by a jealous rival, he begins his journey to become the savior of the post-apocalyptic world, defending the weak and innocent from the many gangs and organizations that threaten their survival. Along the way, Kenshiro meets a young thief named Bat and an orphaned girl named Lin, who join him as his traveling companions and bear witnesses to Ken's many battles.

Kenshiro's many rivals and allies include the six grandmasters of ''Nanto Seiken'', a rival assassin's art that ended splitting into two factions after the nuclear war, as well as his own "Brothers of Hokuto" who trained alongside him for the succession of ''Hokuto Shinken''. Kenshiro's ultimate nemesis ends up becoming his eldest brother-in-training Raoh, a warrior who broke the law of ''Hokuto Shinken'' by killing his master Ryuken and refusing to surrender the succession to Kenshiro. Raoh seeks to conquer the post-apocalyptic world as a warlord under the mantle of ''Ken-oh'', the King of the Fist, by challenging every martial artist he sees as a threat. After a long series of battles, Kenshiro emerges victorious over Raoh and it seems peace has finally come to the post-apocalyptic world, concluding the first half of the story.

The second half begins several years later after a tyrannical empire under the name of the Celestial Empress has risen to power, oppressing anyone who dares to oppose them. Kenshiro comes into action, joining the now-grown Bat and Lin under the banner of the Hokuto Army. As they fight their way into the Empire's capital city, they discover that the Empire has been taken over by the Viceroy Jakoh, a usurper who is keeping the real Celestial Empress captive in his dungeon. The Hokuto Army free the Empress and Jakoh is shortly vanquished afterward.

However, Lin is taken captive by the remnant of Jakoh's forces and is sent off to the mysterious Kingdom of Shura, a brutal land of warriors ruled by three overlords who have all mastered the ways of ''Hokuto Ryūken'', a martial art which branched off from the same clan alongside ''Hokuto Shinken'' into the ways of darkness. Kaioh, the head of the three overlords, plans to conquer the post-apocalyptic world in the name of evil by wiping out the followers of ''Hokuto Shinken''. Kenshiro uncovers the sealed testament of the ''Hokuto Shinken'' founder, Shuken, which holds the secret to overcoming Kaioh's ultimate technique. Kenshiro emerges victorious over Kaioh and rescues Lin, leaving her under Bat's care. During the final chapters, Kenshiro goes on a journey with Raoh's orphaned son Ryu, in order to lead him on the path to become the next ''Hokuto Shinken'' successor, encountering and battling various opponents along the way, before returning to Bat and Lin to protect them from a past enemy.

In the Dark Kingdom, an organization of great evil, Queen Beryl, her generalsーthe Four Kings of Heavenー, and an amorphous evil power named Queen Metaria reside. They attempt to steal energy so that Beryl can take over the world.

Standing in their way are the Sailor Guardians, five middle-school-aged girls - perky Usagi Tsukino, genius Ami Mizuno, paranormally gifted shrine maiden Rei Hino, tomboyish Makoto Kino, and J-pop idol Minako Aino - are sworn to protect the Princess of the Moon and defeat the Dark Kingdom. Two beings that appear to be sentient, stuffed toy cats, Luna and Artemis, serve as the girls' mentors. The Guardians also encounter Tuxedo Mask, a jewel thief in search of an immensely powerful, mystical Silver Crystal belonging to the Princess of the Moon.

While searching together for the Princess of the Moon and the Silver Crystal, the initially disparate girls develop a strong bond of friendship. Additionally, Usagi struggles with her feelings for the irksome and mysterious Mamoru Chiba. Later in the series, Metaria and Sailor Moon each get too powerful to be reined in, and the conflict shifts to one in which the Sailor Guardians attempt to postpone the inevitable destruction of the planet Earth.

Alterations to the original story

While the first few episodes of the television series are based directly on the manga and anime storylines, by the time the introduction of Sailor Jupiter was broadcast, the television show began to spin off in its own direction. Many divergences between the television series and the manga and anime were introduced. Overall, the storylines for television were more character-based and character-driven. They focused more on the girls' civilian lives and their connection to the past than on action sequences.

One of the most profound changes in the television version was made to the character of Minako Aino, who, rather than being an ordinary girl among the other Sailor Guardians, was portrayed as a famous pop idol. When introduced, she is fighting crime as "Sailor V", and makes subtle reference to this double life in her music. Her most popular song, , is a Japanese pun: and are pronounced nearly identically. Also, for the television series, Minako was given a debilitating head condition that causes her to have headaches, blurry vision, and fainting spells, which plague her through most of the series. She agrees to have an operation, but dies before the operation can be performed. This introduces a major change to the Sailor Guardian makeup as well, although Minako does later return for the final act.

In addition to plot changes, some updating was made to minor elements of the series, bringing them more in line with modern culture. For example, in the original anime and manga, there were scenes involving Ami and a cassette tape. In the new version, the tape is replaced by a MiniDisc. Instead of a transforming pen and communicators, each Guardian is given a bracelet and a magical camera phone. Also, their secret hideout is not hidden in a video arcade, but rather in a magic karaoke room.

With the new adaptation of the series, certain characters were modified to give it freshness and originality. The new characters included Sailor Luna, Dark Sailor Mercury, and Princess Sailor Moon. A new antagonist, Mio Kuroki, was also introduced.

The narrator is an unnamed elderly lawyer who works with legal documents and has an office on Wall Street. He already employs two scriveners, Turkey and Nippers, to copy documents by hand, but an increase in business leads him to advertise for a third. He hires the forlorn-looking Bartleby in the hope that his calmness will soothe the other two, each of whom displays an irascible temperament during an opposite half of the day. An office boy nicknamed Ginger Nut completes the staff.

At first, Bartleby produces a large volume of high-quality work, but one day, when asked to help proofread a document, Bartleby answers with what soon becomes his perpetual response to every request: "I would prefer not to." To the dismay of the narrator and the irritation of the other employees, Bartleby begins to perform fewer and fewer tasks and eventually none. He instead spends long periods of time staring out one of the office's windows at a brick wall. The narrator makes several attempts to reason with Bartleby or to learn something about him, but never has any success. When the narrator stops by the office one Sunday morning, he discovers that Bartleby is living there. He is saddened by the thought of the life the young man must lead.

Tension builds as business associates wonder why Bartleby is always present in the office, yet does not appear to do any work. Sensing the threat to his reputation, but emotionally unable to evict Bartleby, the narrator moves his business to a different building. The new tenant of his old office comes to ask for help in removing Bartleby, and the narrator tells the man that he is not responsible for his former employee. A week or so after this, several other tenants of the narrator's former office building come to him with their landlord because Bartleby is still making a nuisance of himself; even though he has been put out of the office, he sits on the building stairs all day and sleeps in its doorway at night. The narrator agrees to visit Bartleby and attempts to reason with him. He suggests several jobs that Bartleby might try and even invites Bartleby to live with him until they figure out a better solution. Bartleby replies that he would "prefer not to make any change", and declines the offer. The narrator leaves the building and flees the neighborhood for several days, in order not to be bothered by the landlord and tenants.

When the narrator returns to work, he learns that the landlord has called the police. The officers have arrested Bartleby and imprisoned him in the Tombs as a vagrant. He goes to visit Bartleby, who spurns him, and bribes a cook to make sure Bartleby gets enough food. The narrator returns a few days later to check on Bartleby and discovers him dead of starvation, having preferred not to eat.

Months later, the narrator hears a rumor that Bartleby had once worked in a dead letter office and reflects on how this might have affected him. The story ends with the narrator saying, "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!"

Canopus, a benevolent galactic empire centred at Canopus in the constellation Argo Navis, colonises a young and promising planet they name Rohanda (the fruitful). They nurture its bourgeoning humanoids and accelerate their evolution. When the Natives are ready, Canopus imposes a "Lock" on Rohanda that links it via "astral currents" to the harmony and strength of the Canopean Empire. In addition to Canopus, two other empires also establish a presence on the planet: their ally, Sirius from the star of the same name, and their mutual enemy, Puttiora. The Sirians confine their activities largely to genetic experiments on the southern continents during Rohanda's prehistory (described in Lessing's third book in the ''Canopus'' series, ''The Sirian Experiments''), while the Shammat of Puttiora remain dormant, waiting for opportunities to strike.

For many millennia the Natives of Rohanda prosper in a Canopean induced climate of peaceful coexistence and accelerated development. Then an unforeseen "cosmic re-alignment" puts Rohanda out of phase with Canopus which causes the Lock to break. Deprived of Canopus's resources and a steady stream of a substance called SOWF (substance-of-we-feeling), the Natives develop a "Degenerative Disease" that puts the goals of the individual ahead of those of the community. The Shammat exploit this disturbance and begin undermining Canopus's influence by infecting the Natives with their evil ways. As Rohanda degenerates into greed and conflict, the Canopeans reluctantly change its name to Shikasta (the stricken). Later in the book, Shikasta is identified as Earth.

In an attempt to salvage Canopus's plans for Shikasta and correct the Natives' decline, Canopean emissaries are sent to the planet. Johor is one such emissary, who takes on the form of a Native and begins identifying those individuals who have not degenerated too far and are amenable to his corrective instructions. Johor then sends those he has successfully "converted" to spread the word among other Natives, and soon isolated communities begin to return to the pre-Shikastan days. But without the SOWF, Canopus is fighting a losing battle against Shammat's influence over the Natives and the planet declines further. By the Shikastan's 20th century, the planet has degenerated into war and self-destruction. Johor returns, but this time through Zone 6 from which he is born on the planet (incarnated) as a Shikastan, George Sherban. As Sherban grows up, he establishes contact with other Canopeans in disguise and then resumes his work trying to help the Shikastans. But famine and unemployment grow, and anarchy spreads.

On the eve of World War III, Sherban and other emissaries relocate a small number of promising Shikastans to remote locations to escape the coming nuclear holocaust. He also takes part in the trial of all Europeans for the crimes of colonialism. Europe has been conquered by China, but he persuades people that Europe was not the only offender.

The war reduces Shikasta's population by 99% and sweeps the planet clean of the "barbarians". The Shammat, who set the Shikastans on a course of self-destruction, self-destruct themselves and withdraw from the planet. The Canopeans help the survivors rebuild their lives and re-align themselves with Canopus. With a strengthened Lock and the SOWF flowing freely again, harmony and prosperity return to Shikasta.

On Corneria, the fourth planet of the Lylat system, Andross is driven to madness and nearly destroys the planet using biological weapons. General Pepper exiles Andross to the remote planet Venom. Five years later, Pepper detects suspicious activity on Venom. Pepper hires the Star Fox team (including James McCloud, Peppy Hare, and Pigma Dengar) to investigate. After Pigma betrays the team and Andross captures James, Peppy escapes from Venom and informs his son Fox about James's fate.

Two years later, Andross launches an attack across the Lylat system. Defending Corneria, Pepper summons the new Star Fox team, now consisting of Fox, Peppy, Falco, and Slippy. While traveling through several planets, the team battles with several of Andross' henchmen, including the rival mercenary team Star Wolf. After the team arrives at Venom, Fox confronts and defeats Andross alone, then returns with his teams to Corneria for a victory celebration. Pepper offers Fox the opportunity to join the Cornerian Army, but he declines and the team departs.

Two endings are available depending on how Fox approaches Venom and defeats Andross. The Easy route ending occurs when Fox arrives from Bolse and destroys a robotic version of Andross, leaving Andross himself drifting in the Lylat system. In the Hard route ending from Area 6, Fox reveals Andross' true form as that of a floating brain, and kills him. Shortly before his death, Andross activates his base's self-destruct system in a last-ditch attempt to kill Fox. However, his father James appears and guides Fox out of the exploding base before disappearing again.

In a post-credits scene, Pepper receives a bill from Star Fox presenting the number of enemies killed and multiplies it by 64, resulting in the amount of money due. If the price is between $50,000 and $69,999 (between 781 and 1,093 enemies killed) he will say, "This is one steep bill....but it's worth it." If the price is over $70,000 (1,094 or more), he says "What?!" At this point, the bill is stamped.

Main Characters

The '''Star Fox''' team is a group of mercenaries who are enlisted by General Pepper to defend the Lylat system. The team consists of: * '''Fox McCloud''': A red fox who took over leadership of the team after his father, James, was captured by Andross in a prior assault. Fox is the game's protagonist and only playable character in Story Mode. * '''Peppy Hare''': A rabbit who was part of the original Star Fox team. He survived and escaped when Pigma betrayed the team, which led to James's capture. He serves on the current Star Fox team as a mentor to Fox during missions. * '''Falco Lombardi''': A falcon who is an excellent fighter, but is also quite cocky and self-assured. He looks for alternate routes and shortcuts. * '''Slippy Toad''': A frog who is the team's mechanical expert. He is cheerful and energetic, but also prone to getting himself in trouble. He provides the player with valuable information about certain enemies and bosses.

Star Fox receives instructions and support from '''General Pepper''', a bloodhound and leader of the Cornerian militia. The team's mothership, '''The Great Fox''', is piloted by a robot named '''ROB 64''' (NUS64 in the Japanese version). Two other supporting characters appear in certain missions to provide aid to the Star Fox team: '''Bill Grey''', Fox's bulldog friend and leader of two fighter units; and '''Katt Monroe''', Falco's friend and former gang member.

'''Andross''' is the game's primary antagonist who resembles a monkey or ape, although his species has never been officially confirmed . He is a mad scientist who is intent on capturing and controlling the Lylat system.

The '''Star Wolf''' team is a rival band of mercenaries recruited by Andross to attack Star Fox and stop their progress. This team consists of '''Wolf O'Donnell''', a wolf and Fox's long-time rival; '''Leon Powalski''', a sinister chameleon who targets Falco; '''Andrew Oikonny''', Andross's nephew, who goes after Slippy; and '''Pigma Dengar''', a pig who betrayed the original Star Fox team, leading to James's capture. Pigma taunts and chases his former teammate Peppy.

''Expedition to the Barrier Peaks'' takes place on a spaceship in the Barrier Peaks mountain range of the ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting. In the adventure's introduction, it is explained that the Grand Duchy of Geoff is under constant attack by a succession of monsters that have been emerging from a cave in the mountains. The Grand Duke of Geoff has hired the characters to discover the origin of the creatures, and stop their incursions.

The cave is actually an entrance to a downed spacecraft whose inhabitants have succumbed to a virus, leaving them dead. Many of the ship's robots are still functioning, however, and the players must either avoid or defeat them; some may also be ignored. As later seen in video games, "plot coupons" need to be collected. The adventure requires the players to gather colored access cards (the "coupons") to advance to the next story arc: entering restricted areas, commanding robots, and other actions are all dependent on the cards. ''Expedition to the Barrier Peaks'' comes with a booklet of 63 numbered illustrations, depicting the various monsters, high tech devices, and situations encountered in the adventure. Much of the artwork for the adventure, including the cover, was produced by Erol Otus. Several of his contributions were printed in full color. Jeff Dee, Greg K. Fleming, David S. LaForce, Jim Roslof and David C. Sutherland III provided additional illustrations for the adventure.

''Expedition to the Barrier Peaks's'' 32-page adventure guide is divided into six sections. These describe the crew's quarters, the lounge area, the gardens and menagerie, and the activity deck. Along the way, the characters find colored access cards and futuristic devices such as blaster rifles and suits of powered armor that they can use to aid their journey. The first two sections involve various monsters, vegepygmys—short humanoid plant creatures—who have commandeered the crew's quarters, and a repair robot that follows instructions before its batteries run out. There is also a medical robot trying in vain to find a cure for the virus that killed the ship's crew. In the lounge area, a "Dining Servo Robot" still works, although the "food" it serves is now moldy poison.

The gardens and menagerie area includes an encounter with a "cute little bunnyoid on the stump". It looks like a horned rabbit on a tree stump, but when approached, the stump develops fangs and its roots become tentacles, which it then uses to attack the characters. The next encounter involves a froghemoth, a large alien frog-like creature with tentacles and three eyes on an eyestalk. In the sixth and final section, the activity deck, the players' characters must contend with various sports robots, including a "boxing and wrestling trainer" and a "karate master". If the characters can communicate with the karate master and tell it that boxing is superior to karate, it will attack the boxing robot until both are destroyed, else they will both attack the characters. The last area of the activity deck is the loading area, where the characters can leave the spaceship. The adventure then ends, with no postscript.

Brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke own a commodities brokerage firm, Duke & Duke Commodity Brokers, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holding opposing views on the issue of nature versus nurture, they make a wager and agree to conduct an experiment—switching the lives of two people on opposite sides of the social hierarchy and observing the results. They witness an encounter between their managing director—the well-mannered and educated Louis Winthorpe III, engaged to the Dukes' grandniece Penelope—and a poor black street hustler named Billy Ray Valentine; Valentine is arrested at Winthorpe's insistence after the latter assumes he is being robbed. The Dukes decide to use the two men for their experiment.

Winthorpe is framed as a thief, drug dealer and philanderer by Clarence Beeks, a man on the Dukes' payroll. Winthorpe is fired from Duke & Duke, his bank accounts are frozen, he is denied entry to his Duke-owned home, and he is vilified by Penelope and his friends. He befriends Ophelia, a prostitute who helps him in exchange for a financial reward once he is exonerated to secure her own retirement. The Dukes post bail for Valentine, install him in Winthorpe's former job, and grant him use of Winthorpe's home. Valentine becomes well versed in the business, using his street smarts to achieve success, and begins to act in a well-mannered way.

During the firm's Christmas party, Winthorpe plants drugs in Valentine's desk, attempting to frame him, and brandishes a gun to escape. Later, the Dukes discuss their experiment and settle their wager for $1. They plot to return Valentine to the streets, but have no intention of taking back Winthorpe. Valentine overhears the conversation and seeks out Winthorpe, who has attempted suicide by overdosing on pills. Valentine, Ophelia, and Winthorpe's butler, Coleman, nurse him back to health and inform him of the experiment. Watching a television news broadcast, they learn that Beeks is transporting a secret United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on orange crop forecasts. Winthorpe and Valentine recall large payments made to Beeks by the Dukes. They realize the Dukes will obtain the report early to corner the market on frozen concentrated orange juice.

On New Year's Eve, the four board Beeks' train in disguise, intending to switch the original report with a forgery that predicts low orange crop yields. Beeks uncovers their scheme, and attempts to kill them, but is knocked unconscious by a gorilla being transported on the train. The four disguise Beeks with a gorilla costume and cage him with the real gorilla. The group deliver the forged report to the Dukes in Beeks' place. After sharing a kiss with Ophelia, Winthorpe travels to New York City with Valentine, carrying with them Coleman's and Ophelia's life savings to carry out their plan.

On the commodities trading floor, the Dukes commit their holdings to buying frozen concentrated orange juice futures contracts, legally committing themselves to buying the commodity at a later date. Other traders follow their lead, driving the price up; Valentine and Winthorpe short-sell juice futures contracts at the inflated price. Following the broadcast of the actual crop report and its prediction of a normal harvest, the price of juice futures plummets. Valentine and Winthorpe buy at the lower price from everyone except the Dukes, fulfilling the contracts they had short-sold earlier and turning an immense profit. After the closing bell, Valentine and Winthorpe explain to the Dukes that they made a wager on whether they could get rich and make the Dukes poor at the same time, and Valentine collects $1 from Winthorpe. When the Dukes prove unable to supply the $394 million required to satisfy their margin call, the exchange manager orders their seats sold and their corporate and personal assets confiscated, effectively bankrupting them. Randolph collapses holding his chest and Mortimer shouts at the others, demanding the floor be reopened in a futile plea to recoup their losses. The now-wealthy Valentine, Winthorpe, Ophelia, and Coleman vacation on a luxurious tropical beach, while Beeks and the gorilla are loaded onto a ship bound for Africa.

While in the Delphic Expanse, ''Enterprise'' discovers a planet inhabited by 6,000 humans who are living in the fashion of the 1860s American frontier. Captain Archer, Commander Tucker and Sub-Commander T'Pol beam-down to the surface in period costume to investigate. They head into one of the numerous towns to observe the humans and aliens first-hand, and while Tucker and T'Pol acquire a horse, Archer stops Deputy Bennings from belittling a "Skag" waiter in the town's tavern. After questioning Archer on his plans and intentions, Sheriff MacReady tells Bennings to keep a close eye on Archer.

Archer, wishing to learn more about the Skagarans, enters the house of a teacher named Bethany he had seen earlier. The two depart for "Skag Town", the remnants of a 300-year-old wrecked spacecraft, but the deputy notices them leave. They arrive and meet Tucker and T'Pol, who had arrived earlier. Tucker and T'Pol travel back to ''Enterprise'' to investigate some data logs found in the wreckage, while Archer stays behind. On ''Enterprise'' Ensign Sato discovers that the humans overthrew their Skagaran masters after being brought to the planet. Bennings arrests and imprisons Bethany for teaching the children. Archer helps her to escape, but she is shot by Bennings. Archer orders an emergency beam-up in front of Bennings and other locals.

Doctor Phlox treats her injury and discovers that she is one-quarter Skagaran. Meanwhile, back on the planet, Bennings hands in his deputy badge after MacReady orders him not to take further action against the Skagarans. Archer returns in a shuttlepod along with T'Pol and a security crew, led by Lieutenant Reed — all wearing their modern uniforms. Landing in the center of town, he informs the Sheriff that he is from Earth and will return to help them once their mission is over. Bennings then shoots MacReady, starting a firefight. In the chaos, Archer is also shot by Bennings, but finally overpowers him in a fistfight. ''Enterprise'' then departs, but not before returning Bethany to the surface, and providing her with a PADD to educate the local children about Earth's recent history.

This future history book takes place in the 22nd century, mostly in Walt Disney World. Disney World is run by rival adhocracies, each dedicated to providing the best experience to the park's visitors and competing for the Whuffie the guests offer.

The story is told in first person by Julius, whose old college buddy Dan used to be one of the most popular people in the country (as measured by Whuffie). Julius and girlfriend Lil are working with the committee (called an ''ad hoc'') that oversees the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square. Dan, who has hit rock bottom and lost all his Whuffie, doesn't believe in rejuvenation and wishes to die, but not while he's at rock bottom. He moves in with Julius and Lil in order to rebuild his life. At the park, Julius is murdered and soon refreshed. By the time he wakes up, Debra's ''ad hoc'' group has taken control of the Hall of Presidents, and is planning to replace its old-fashioned animatronic robots with the synthetic memory imprinting of the experience of being the president for a moment. Julius believes that this rival committee had him killed as a distraction so that they could seize the Hall in the interim.

Fearing that they will next try to revamp his favorite ride, the Haunted Mansion, he resolves to take a stand against the virtualization of the park, endangering his relationship with both Lil and Dan; eventually Lil leaves Julius for Dan. Julius finally "cracks" when he sees his dreams turned to dust and he bashes up the attractions in the Hall of Presidents, in the process also damaging his own cranial interface to the point that he can no longer back himself up. This pushes his Whuffie to ground level when he is caught and gives Debra and her colleagues enough "sympathy Whuffie" to take over the Haunted Mansion, by invitation of the same fans that Julius had recruited to work in the Mansion.

Dan leaves Lil, Julius is kicked out of the ''ad hoc'' and his Whuffie hits rock bottom — low enough that others take his possessions with impunity and elevators don't stop for him. Then comes the revelation: a few days before Dan's planned suicide by lethal injection, Dan reveals that it was in fact he who had arranged to kill Julius, in collusion with Debra, in exchange for the Whuffie that her team could give him. Dan had asked one of his converts from his missionary days, a young girl, to do the dirty work. Debra then had herself restored from a backup made before this plan, so that she would honestly believe that she wasn't involved. He makes this public; Debra is thrown out, Julius gets sympathy Whuffie and develops a friendly affection for his sweet young murderer. He never restores himself, because doing so would erase his memories of that entire year, his last with Dan, but lives with his damaged interface. The book is his attempt to manually document the happenings of the previous year so that, when this incarnation is eventually killed by age or accident, his restored backup will have a partial record of the transpiring events. Dan decides not to take a lethal injection, but to deadhead (putting oneself into a voluntary coma) till the heat death of the Universe.

''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named Velvet Brown, who trains and rides her horse, named The Piebald, to victory in the Grand National steeplechase.

The novel focuses on the ability of ordinary people, particularly women, to accomplish great things. Velvet is a teenager in the late 1920s, living in a small English coastal village in Sussex, dreaming of one day owning many horses. She is a high-strung, shy, nervous child with a delicate stomach. Her mother is a wise, taciturn woman who was once famous for swimming the English Channel; her father is a butcher.

Velvet's best friend is her father's assistant, Mi (Michael) Taylor, whose father – as Mrs. Brown's swimming coach – helped her cross the channel. Mi formerly worked in stables and is familiar with the horse racing world. One day they both watch The Piebald jump over a five-foot-high cobbled fence to escape a field. Mi remarks that "a horse like that'd win the National". Velvet becomes obsessed with winning the horse in an upcoming raffle and riding him to greatness.

In addition to inheriting several horses from one of her father's customers, Velvet also wins The Pie, her dream horse. After riding him in a local gymkhana, she and Mi seriously consider entering the Grand National steeplechase at Aintree racecourse and train the Piebald accordingly.

Mi uses his connections to the horse training/racing world and obtains a fake clearance document for Velvet in the name of James Tasky, a Russian jockey. Velvet wins the race, but is disqualified for dismounting too soon after she slides off the saddle due to exhaustion. Her gender is discovered in the first-aid station.

The racing world is both dismayed and fascinated by a young girl's winning its toughest race. Velvet and The Piebald become instant celebrities, with Velvet and her family nearly drowning in notoriety (echoing her mother's unsought fame after swimming the English Channel), complete with merchandising. Velvet strongly objects to the publicity, saying The Piebald is a creature of glory who should not be cheapened in tabloid trash and newsreels. She insists that she did not win the race, the horse did, and she simply wanted to see him go down in history. The National Hunt Committee finds no evidence of fraud, exonerates all involved, and Velvet and her family return to their ordinary lives; or rather, Velvet goes on "to her next adventures", for clearly she is a person to whom great things happen.

Film adaptation

The novel was made into a more or less faithful, highly successful film version in 1944, starring twelve-year-old Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney, with Donald Crisp, Anne Revere and a young Angela Lansbury. In 2008 the film was voted the ninth best American film in the sports genre. In the film the horse, who was solid coloured, hence not a piebald (British English) or pinto (American English), was renamed The Pie.

Radio adaptation

''National Velvet'' was presented on ''Hallmark Playhouse'' on the CBS radio network on 6 October 1949. The half-hour adaptation starred Roddy McDowell and Anne Whitfield.

Television adaptation

From 1960 to 1962, there was a half-hour B&W American television series, with Lori Martin, Ann Doran and James McCallion. In this version her horse was named King. This aired on NBC for 52 episodes.

Film sequel

A 1978 film sequel, ''International Velvet'', was made starring Tatum O'Neal as Sarah Brown, a young orphaned American teenager living in England with her aunt Velvet Brown (Nanette Newman) after Sarah's parents die in a car accident. Sarah and Velvet purchase the descendant of The Pie after Sarah earns the money by working for Velvet's boyfriend John. They name him Arizona Pie after Sarah's home state. Working with Arizona Pie, Sarah is selected to represent Britain in the equine three-day Olympic event. While working with the horse with trainer Captain Johnson (Anthony Hopkins), she falls for an American competitor, Scott Saunders (Jeffrey Byron). Though distracted by him, she wins the event. Later, after getting engaged to Scott, Sarah returns to England and presents the medal to her aunt Velvet as a keepsake and introduces her and John to Scott.

The storyline follows a young boy named who sneaks aboard a freighter in order to leave Earth. As the freighter is flying through space they are attacked by an Afressian ship bearing the Skull and Crossbones insignia. However, the train is saved by a mysterious and incredibly powerful spaceship (which also bears the insignia) and is able to make it to their destination, a desert planet with a Western atmosphere, complete with saloons and bar fights. The boy meets up with another stowaway, an old man, and becomes friends with him. He tells the old man that he came to the planet in order to become a stronger individual. He gets himself a job in a bar with the roughest reputation on the planet to prove himself.

When the attacking ship, led by , lands on the planet to search for whoever attacked him, Emeraldas appears to confront him, demanding that he remove the insignia from his ship; "Only two ships have the right to bear it!" In the second episode, after a final confrontation with Eldomain and later with , of , Emeraldas presents Hiroshi with the Cosmo Dragoon once owned by Tochiro.

Another divergence from the manga takes place here when Emeraldas states that there are five Cosmo Dragoons in existence (hers and the ones owned by Tochiro, Captain Harlock, Tetsuro and Maetel), whereas in the manga there are only four. Later, Hiroshi Umino and his elderly friend visit a planet whose inhabitants have been forced out by a murderous cyborg. This cyborg killed one of the planet's inhabitants and drove his son mad. Umino meets the son and his sister and with their help and Emeraldas', he kills the oppressive cyborg.

While the story can stand on its own, independent of Matsumoto's other works, it mostly assumes that the viewer has seen the other ''Harlock'' titles, especially ''Galaxy Express 999'' (the TV series and the movies), which featured Maetel, Emeraldas' sister, but had the occasional appearance of Emeraldas (Note: Maetel, for some reason in the English dub is referred to as Mataire). The story of ''Queen Emeraldas'' is set five years after the events of the final ''Galaxy Express 999'' movie and was designed to give Matsumoto's fans a further glimpse into what became of Emeraldas. However, of the other characters, most are only mentioned in passing, except for Captain Harlock who has a brief cameo appearance.

''Queen Emeraldas'' first two episodes were produced by OLM, Inc. and licensed for American distribution by ADV Films, being one of their earlier releases on the DVD format. Those two episodes also have regular runs on the Action Channel. In Japan, the remaining two episodes were produced by MAC (''Multi Access Company'') and were released the following year after the initial two, indicating that a separate contract (that is not yet forthcoming) would be required for anyone to license the concluding episodes of the story outside Japan.

Three young, female lawyers share a deep friendship and a common desire to leave their mark on the legal system. After graduating, they move to San Francisco where they find employment in the same law firm called Myers, Berry, Cherry & Fitch. There, the women attempt to break through the barriers of the male-dominated workforce. In describing the concept of ''girls club'' Kelley said, "I'm looking to capture both the nerves of a young associate and also the gender politics that go on inside big corporate law firms."

Part 1

Starfleet Admiral Brackett informs Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) that Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is missing and an intelligence scan has placed him on Romulus, raising fears that he may have defected. Picard orders the ''Enterprise'' to Vulcan to speak to Spock's ailing father, Sarek (Mark Lenard), with whom Picard shares a close bond. Sarek mentions Pardek, a Romulan Senator with whom Spock had been maintaining a dialogue for several decades. Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) discovers a visual record of Pardek from a trade conference and confirms that he is the figure seen on the intelligence scan of Spock on Romulus. The ''Enterprise'' crew find the remains of a decommissioned Vulcan ship, the ''T'Pau'', in the debris of a Ferengi ship which crashed in the Hanolin asteroid belt.

Picard calls in a favor from Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly), speaking to one of his aides and convincing him to lend them a Klingon ship that could take them to Romulus while cloaked. Picard and Data board the ship, with Picard ordering Riker to investigate the ''T'Pau'' and try to find a link to the Romulans. En route, the Klingons inform Picard that they intercepted a message of interest to him: Sarek has died.

On Romulus, Picard and Data (disguised as Romulans) locate the spot where the picture of Pardek and Spock was taken, which Data determines is an intelligence bureau building. They wait until Pardek arrives, but when they approach him they find themselves met by soldiers and taken to a cavern. Pardek arrives, explaining that Romulan security knew they were on-planet and they've been brought underground for their safety. Picard states that he is looking for Ambassador Spock, who emerges from a nearby tunnel.

Part 2

Spock demands that Picard leave Romulus. Picard informs him of the Federation's concern over his "cowboy diplomacy" and tells him that Sarek has died. Spock takes the news of his father's death stoically. He explains to Picard that during the peace negotiations with the Klingons decades earlier, he felt responsible for putting Captain Kirk and his crew at risk, and so is now working alone on a "personal mission of peace" to re-unify the Vulcan and Romulan people. He is working with an underground movement to achieve that aim. Pardek has asked Spock to come to Romulus to meet with the new Proconsul of the Romulan Senate, a young idealist who has promised reforms. Picard expresses concern that the willingness of the Romulans may be part of a larger ploy; Spock agrees but points out that if a larger plot is at work, it is best they play out their roles within it to uncover it. On the Klingon ship both Spock and Data working on a Romulian code and Compliant one another-Spock remarks that Data has achieved the idea Vulcan state of pure logic without emotion; Data remarks that Spock feels emotion, which Data is trying achieve.

Picard, Data, and Spock are soon captured by Commander Sela, who is planning a Romulan conquest of Vulcan. The stolen Vulcan ship and two others are carrying a 2,000 men Romulan invasion force, under the guise of escorting a peace envoy. Spock refuses to deceive his people by announcing the false news, even after Sela threatens to kill him, and she locks the three in her office and leaves to order the ships on their way. By the time she returns, Data has hacked into the Romulan computer system and created a holographic simulation that distracts her long enough for the three captives to incapacitate her and her officers.

Meanwhile, the ''Enterprise'' arrives at Galorndon Core, discovering the three Vulcan ships, and moves to block their approach to Vulcan. A medical distress signal comes in—a distraction created by Sela—but as Riker orders the ship toward its source, they receive a broadcast from Romulus in which Spock reveals the true nature of the Vulcan ships. A Romulan Warbird uncloaks, destroys the ships, and recloaks, killing the troops instead of allowing them to be captured.

On Romulus, Data and Picard bid farewell to Spock. The Ambassador is intent upon his goal, realizing that it cannot be achieved through diplomacy or politics but that the Vulcan philiosophy is beginning to spread among the young persons of Rolumlus. Picard offers Spock a chance to touch what Sarek shared with him, and the two mind-meld.

Valentine Wilmot's Piccadilly Circus, a nightclub and restaurant in London, is a great success due to his star attraction: dancing partners Mabel (Gilda Gray) and Vic (Cyril Ritchard). One night, a dissatisfied diner (Charles Laughton) disrupts Mabel's solo with his loud complaints about a dirty plate. When Wilmot investigates, he finds Shosho (Anna May Wong) distracting the other dishwashers with her dancing. He fires her on the spot.

After the performance, Vic tries to persuade Mabel to become his partner personally as well as professionally and to go to Hollywood with him. She coldly rebuffs him because she is romantically involved with Wilmot. That night, Wilmot summons Vic to his office, and before Wilmot can fire him, Vic quits.

This decision turns out to be disastrous for the nightclub. The customers had come to see Vic, not Mabel. Business drops off dramatically. In desperation, Wilmot hires Shosho to perform a Chinese dance. She insists that her boyfriend Jim play the accompanying music. Shosho is an instant sensation, earning a standing ovation after her first performance.

Both Mabel and Jim become jealous of the evident attraction between Shosho and Wilmot. Mabel breaks off her relationship with Wilmot.

One night, Shosho invites Wilmot to be the first to see her new rooms. Mabel has followed the couple and waits outside. After Wilmot leaves, she persuades Jim to let her in. She pleads with her romantic rival to give Wilmot up, saying he is too old for her, but Shosho replies that it is Mabel who is too old and that she will keep him. When Mabel reaches into her purse for a handkerchief, Shosho sees a pistol inside and grabs a dagger used as a wall decoration. Frightened, Mabel picks up the gun, then faints.

The next day, the newspapers report that Shosho has been murdered. Wilmot is charged with the crime. During the ensuing trial, he admits that the pistol is his, but refuses to divulge what happened that night. Jim testifies that Wilmot was Shosho's only visitor. Mabel insists on telling her story. However, she can recall nothing after fainting until she found herself running in the streets. Realizing that either Mabel or Jim must be lying, the judge summons Jim. By then, however, Jim has shot himself at Shosho's mausoleum. As he lies dying, he confesses that he killed Shosho.

During the first day of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Israeli Defense Force (I.D.F.) prepares to conduct a tactical nuclear strike to stave off defeat. The necessity for the strike is averted, but an Israeli Mark 12 nuclear bomb is accidentally left on an A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft flown by Captain Mutti Zadin; which is subsequently shot down over Syria, near Kafr Shams. The nuclear weapon is lost, buried in the field of a Druze farmer. Eighteen years later, an Israeli police captain (coincidentally the brother of the downed pilot) converts to a fundamentalist sect of Hasidic Judaism after discovering his wife had an extramarital affair and attempts to instigate a violent demonstration of Palestinians at the Temple Mount. When the demonstrators unexpectedly conduct a peaceful protest, Zadin orders the police to fire tear gas and Rubber bullets at the protesters anyway. Captain Zadin then kills the leader of the demonstration by shooting him point-blank. The United States finds it hard to diplomatically defend Israel, yet knows it cannot withdraw its support without risk of destabilizing the Middle East.

Following the advice of Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI) Jack Ryan, National Security Advisor Dr. Charles Alden enacts a plan to accelerate the peace process by converting Jerusalem into a Vatican-like independent city-state to be administered by a tribunal of Jewish, Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox religious leaders, and secured by an independent contingent of the Swiss Guards. As a nod to Israel, the U.S. Army supplies the I.D.F. with more sophisticated equipment and agrees to construct a training base in the Negev Desert run by the U.S. Army's tank warfare specialists and the revived 10th Cavalry Regiment. To everyone's surprise, Ryan's plan seems to work, in large part due to Ryan's meetings with officials in Israel and Saudi Arabia and the acquiescence of the reformist President Andrey Narmonov in the democratized Soviet Union. With their religious contentions appeased, the factions in the Middle East find it much easier to negotiate their disputes.

White House Foreign Affairs Advisor Elizabeth Elliot holds a grudge against Ryan and Alden and maneuvers against them. She first takes Alden's job as National Security Advisor by taking advantage of a sex scandal involving a child fathered by Alden out of wedlock, with the stress contributing to Alden's death in a severe stroke that causes a blowout fracture. She concurrently begins a sexual relationship with widowed President J. Robert Fowler and manipulates him to publicly omit Ryan's role in the peace settlement, taking credit for himself. After Ryan accuses her of wishing to silence an American opponent of the deal, Elliot engineers a smear campaign accusing Ryan of engaging in an extramarital affair and fathering a child with a young widow. Jack's friends, CIA operatives John Clark and Domingo Chavez, convince Ryan's wife Cathy that the allegations are false. Jack's alleged mistress is Carol Zimmer, widow of Buck Zimmer, who was killed during Ryan and Clark's earlier mission to rescue Chavez and his Army teammates from Colombia. Ryan later decides to retire from the CIA, but not before he puts together a covert operation to uncover corrupt dealings between Japanese and Mexican government officials.

Meanwhile, a small group of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorists, enraged at the looming failure of their jihad against Israel, come across the lost Israeli bomb and use it to construct their own weapon by using the bomb's plutonium pit as fissile material for a new bomb. The terrorists enlist the help of disaffected East German nuclear physicist Manfred Fromm who agrees to the plot, wishing to exact his own revenge against his former communist country's reunification as a capitalist democratic state. With Fromm's expertise, the terrorists enhance the weapon by turning it into a modern style boosted fission weapon. The terrorists' plan is to detonate the weapon at the Super Bowl in Denver while simultaneously staging a false flag attack on U.S. military forces in stationed in Berlin by East Germans disguised as Soviet soldiers. The terrorists are trying to begin a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The East Germans hope that the war will eliminate both superpowers and punish the Soviets for betraying World Socialism, while the Palestinians hope the attack will destroy the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and end U.S. aid to Israel.

Thinking that his work on the bomb is complete, the Palestinians kill Fromm. However, Fromm had not yet told them that the tritium for the booster still needed to be filtered before use, to eliminate accumulated helium-3. The Palestinians assemble the bomb for use, but when detonated, the impure booster material causes only a low yield fizzle to occur. Even with low yield, the bomb still destroys the Super Bowl venue, killing nearly everyone there including the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the commander of NORAD. With the corresponding attacks in Berlin, the United States briefly assumes DEFCON-1 status as Fowler and Elliott prepare for a nuclear war. The crisis is averted by Ryan, who learns the domestic origin of the bomb's plutonium, gains access to the hotline, and convinces the Soviet President to stand down his country's military.

When the terrorists are captured and interrogated by Clark in Mexico City, they implicate the Iranian ayatollah in the attack. President Fowler orders the Ayatollah's residence in the holy city of Qom to be destroyed by a nuclear strike. Ryan averts the attack by enforcing the two-man rule. The terrorists are delivered to the FBI field office in Buzzard Point, where Ryan questions them. During questioning, Ryan falsely asserts that Qom was destroyed, tricking Qati into revealing that Iran was not involved, and that their deceit was meant to discredit the United States; thus destroying the peace process and allowing the campaign against Israel to continue. Elliot is hospitalized after suffering a nervous breakdown, while Fowler leaves office and is succeeded by his Vice President, Roger Durling (it is implied that Fowler was removed from office through the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, but a later novel clarifies that Fowler resigned in disgrace, while Elliott was forcibly removed).

The terrorists are executed by beheading in Riyadh by the commander of the Saudi Arabian special forces using an ancient sword owned by the Saudi royal family. Later, the sword is presented to Ryan as a gift. In the sequels, the gift (combined with his origins as a Marine) inspires Ryan's Secret Service codename of "Swordsman."

The main story of ''He, She and It'' is situated in North America in the near future of the year 2059. At that time, the economic and political power is held by few ''multis''—huge multi-national enterprises with their own social hierarchy that have produced an affluent society. The main part of the population, however, lives in the ''glop'' outside of the multis' enclaves within an environment that has mainly been destroyed. Here, the life is dominated by poverty, gangs and the law of the stronger man. An exception from this are the so-called free towns that are able to sell their technologies to the multis but remain autonomous. Communication is handled via a network which allows the participants to project themselves into Cyberspace.

When the protagonist Shira loses custody of her son Ari to her ex-husband Josh, she returns from her multi Yakamura-Stichen (Y-S) to her hometown Tikva (Hope in Hebrew) - a Jewish freetown. There, she starts working on the socialization of the cyborg Yod (the tenth letter in Hebrew and a symbol for God in Kabbalah), who has been created illegally by Avram to protect the city. Yod is the tenth cyborg (a robot with human appearance and programmed human characteristics) in a row of previously failed experiments whose programming has partially been completed by Malkah, Shira's grandmother. While Shira and Yod build up a (sexual) relationship, Shira's childhood sweetheart Gadi, Avram's son, also comes back to Tikva. Gadi returns due to his banishment for sleeping with a young girl. When Malkah is working on a chimaera (security software) to protect the city from online attack, she is attacked by Y-S. Yod, however, is able to prevent the attack. Eventually, Y-S invites Shira to a new hearing concerning the custody of her son. Shira is accompanied by Yod, her mother Riva, and Nili, a biotechnologically enhanced woman from a nuclear-devastated Israel, when the situation escalates. The Y-S delegation and Riva die in the fight. Thereupon Shira, Malkah and Yod decide to infiltrate the Y-S network base. They manage to get hold of personnel files revealing a conspiracy against Shira and Tikva.

As next step, Shira and Yod are accompanied by Nili and Gadi into the Glop. Here, they get in contact with an organized underground group in which they discover Riva still alive and participating in resistance activities. From the Glop they travel into the Y-S enclave in Nebraska to kidnap Ari. There, Josh is killed by Yod. Back to Tikva, Shira's family spends some quiet time until Y-S invites them to a further meeting in the net. Y-S demands that Yod be handed over, for Y-S to acquire its technology. Avram agrees to the deal with the hope of creating another cyborg. So, Yod agrees to destroy him/itself when sent to the enclave. However, Yod made sure that his own explosion would cause a synchronous explosion in Avram's lab. As Avram dies in this accident and all his notes are destroyed the creation of a further cyborg becomes impossible.

Finally, Malkah leaves Tikva with Nili to visit to a secret town in post-nuclear holocaust Israel and to profit from the possible biotechnological enhancements. Shira is integrated into Tikva's society further. When she discovers copies of the notes concerning Yod, she initially plans on recreating Yod; ultimately she respects Yod's wishes and destroys them.

The main plot is interwoven with a story Malkah tells Yod that deals with Rabbi Judah Loew who Malkah depicts as her ancestor living in the ghetto of Prague around 1600. To protect the Jewish community from the Christian mob, Loew uses the knowledge of Kabbalah to create the golem Joseph from clay. His granddaughter Chava, a highly educated woman, teaches Joseph to read and to write. Joseph successfully protects the ghetto and begins to think of himself as human and makes a plea for his right to a human existence. However, when the pogrom climate calms down, Loew returns Joseph to clay. The two stories are mutually illuminating, both asking what it means to be human both from the perspective of the man-made life and that of those who love the artificial lives.

In Arizona, Dignan "rescues" his friend Anthony from a voluntary psychiatric unit, where he has been staying for self-described exhaustion. Dignan has an elaborate escape plan and has developed a 75-year plan that he shows to Anthony. The plan is to pull off several heists, and then meet up with a Mr. Henry, a landscaper and part-time criminal known to Dignan.

As a practice heist, the two friends break into Anthony's family's house, stealing specific items from a previously agreed upon list. Afterward, critiquing the heist, Dignan reveals that he took a pair of earrings not specified on the list. This upsets Anthony, as he had purchased the earrings for his mother as a gift and specifically left them off the list. Anthony visits his little sister at her school and asks her to return the earrings. Dignan recruits Bob Mapplethorpe as a getaway driver because he is the only person they know with a car. The three of them buy a gun and return to Bob's house to plan their next heist, which will be at a local bookstore. The group bickers as Dignan struggles to describe his intricate plan.

The group steals a small sum of money from the bookstore and go "on the lam", stopping to stay at a motel. Anthony meets Inez, one of the motel maids, and the two spark a romance despite their language barrier (Inez speaks little English, and Anthony barely any Spanish). Bob learns that his marijuana crop back home has been discovered by police, and that his older brother has been arrested. Bob leaves in his car the following day to help his brother, without telling Dignan. Before leaving the motel themselves, Anthony gives Dignan an envelope to give to Inez. Dignan delivers it to her while she is cleaning a room, not knowing that the envelope has most of his and Anthony's money inside. Inez does not open the envelope and hugs Dignan to say goodbye. As Dignan is leaving, Inez asks an English-speaking male friend of hers to chase after Dignan and tell him that she loves Anthony. When he delivers the message he says, "Tell Anthony I love him". Dignan fails to realize he is speaking for Inez and does not deliver the message.

Dignan discovers a dilapidated but functional Alfa Romeo Spider, and Dignan and Anthony continue with the 75-year plan. The car breaks down eventually and Anthony reveals that the envelope Dignan gave to Inez contained the rest of their cash. The two get in a confrontation and go their separate ways. Narrating a letter to his sister, Anthony says he and Bob have settled into a routine back at home that is keeping him busy. Dignan, who has joined Mr. Henry's gang, tracks Anthony down and they reconcile. Dignan invites Anthony to a heist with Mr. Henry and Anthony accepts on the condition that Bob is allowed in too. The trio meet the eccentric Mr. Henry and plan to rob a safe at a cold storage facility. Mr. Henry becomes a role model for the trio, standing up to Bob's abusive brother and tutoring Dignan on success. He invites the trio to a party at his house, and visits the group at the Mapplethorpes' house, which he compliments. Anthony learns of Inez's love for him and contacts her via phone. Her English has improved and the two rekindle their relationship.

The group conducts their heist at the cold storage facility with Applejack and Kumar, accomplices from Mr. Henry's landscaping company. The plan quickly falls apart with Kumar unable to crack the safe, and Bob accidentally firing his gun, which in turn triggers a cardiac event in Applejack. As the police arrive, Dignan has locked himself out of the escape van and is arrested and brutalized by the police. At the same time as the crew are doing their heist, Mr. Henry loads furniture from Bob's house into a truck. Later, Anthony and Bob visit Dignan in prison and tell him about Mr. Henry robbing Bob's house. While Bob and Anthony are saying their goodbyes, Dignan begins rattling off an escape plan and tells his friends to get into position for a get-away. After a tense moment, the two realize Dignan is joking. Dignan says to Anthony, "Isn't it funny that you used to be in the nuthouse and now I'm in jail?" as he walks back into the prison.

Martin "Marty" Barnes, a neurotic businessman (director-writer Mike Binder) who works as a building contractor in Los Angeles, tries to improve his sex life with his wife Laura (Mariel Hemingway) by encouraging her to have a threesome involving another woman. Though Marty is fortunate enough to find that Laura likes the idea, he does not count on her decision that she not only has no need of her husband for enjoyment with ladies but also ends up actually preferring them to men. Nor does he anticipate her becoming a sexual tigress who seduces every female she encounters, including even Marty's own secretary.

The series revolved around cases investigated by the Blue Moon Detective Agency and its two partners, Madeleine "Maddie" Hayes (Shepherd) and David Addison Jr. (Willis). The show, with a mix of mystery, sharp dialogue, and sexual tension between its leads, introduced Willis to the world and brought Shepherd back into the spotlight after a nearly decade-long absence. The characters were introduced in a two-hour pilot episode.

The show's storyline begins with the reversal of fortune of Maddie Hayes, a former model who finds herself bankrupt after her accountant embezzles all her liquid assets. She is left saddled with several failing businesses formerly maintained as tax writeoffs, one of which is the City of Angels Detective Agency, helmed by the carefree David Addison. Between the pilot and the first one-hour episode, David persuades Maddie to keep the business and run it as a partnership. The agency is renamed Blue Moon Investigations because Maddie was most famous for being the spokesmodel for the Blue Moon Shampoo Company. In many episodes, she was recognized as "the Blue Moon shampoo girl," if not by name.

In his audio commentary for the Season 3 DVD, creator Glenn Gordon Caron says that the inspiration for the series was a production of ''The Taming of the Shrew'' he saw in Central Park starring Meryl Streep and Raúl Julia. The show parodied the play in the Season 3 episode ''Atomic Shakespeare''.

Major Vic "Deak" Deakins and Captain Riley Hale, pilots in the United States Air Force (USAF), are assigned to a secret exercise flying a stealth bomber with two B83 nuclear bombs. After successfully evading Air Force radar, Deakins suddenly attacks Hale and ejects him from the plane. Deakins releases the bombs without activating them, then reports that Hale has gone rogue. He ejects from the plane, leaving it to crash in a Utah state park.

A USAF team led by Lt. Colonel Rhodes is sent to find the missing warheads, declared as a "Broken Arrow" situation. The search team eventually locates the warheads in a canyon, but is ambushed by mercenaries. Rhodes tries to disable the warhead but is killed by the other search team survivor, Master Sergeant Kelly, who is serving as a mole for Deakins. Deakins arrives and plots his next move with Pritchett, the mercenaries' financier. They plan to blackmail the US government with the threat of detonating the warhead in a populated area.

Hale, who survived the ejection, is arrested by park ranger Terry Carmichael, who had been investigating the unusual events in the park. He instead convinces her to help him track down Deakins. Deakins' mercenaries commandeer a USAF search and rescue helicopter to kill Hale, but Hale and Terry manage to bring it down. The loss of the helicopter forces Deakins' men to continue in Humvees.

Hale and Terry carjack the Humvee with the warheads, escaping to a nearby abandoned copper mine, where Hale starts to disable one, only for Deakins to reveal via radio that he has programmed it so that Hale’s attempts to disarm it will cause the bomb to activate. Hale and Terry take the armed warhead down the shaft, where the mine is deep enough to contain the nuclear blast. Before they can bring down the second warhead, Deakins' team arrives and secures it. After a gun battle deep in the mines, Deakins shortens the countdown of the armed warhead while leaving Hale and Terry trapped.

They escape via an underground river just before the bomb detonates. The bomb's nuclear electromagnetic pulse disables an approaching NEST helicopter, allowing Deakins to escape. Deakins then kills Pritchett, having grown tired of his complaints and for straying from the mission plan. Terry and Hale track the mercenaries to a motorboat used for transporting the warhead down the river. While trying to steal the boat, Terry is forced to hide onboard, while military forces rescue Hale.

Hale deduces that Deakins intends to use a train to transport the warhead. Colonel Max Wilkins decides to disobey orders to help Hale. Stowing on the train, Terry tries to sabotage the warhead but is caught by Deakins, who arms the bomb. Catching up on a USAF helicopter, Hale saves Terry before Deakins can throw her off the train. A gunfight ensues, killing Wilkins and causing the helicopter to crash, and most of the mercenaries die in the aftermath.

Deakins has prepared a remote control that can either disarm or detonate the warhead and gets ready to depart the train on his own getaway helicopter. Hale's sabotage of the helicopter's fuel pump causes it to explode, leaving Deakins and Kelly stranded with the ticking bomb. With his plan falling apart, Deakins decides to shorten the countdown timer out of spite. Not wanting to die, Kelly holds Deakins at gunpoint and orders him to disarm the weapon. Hale sneaks up on them during their bickering and kicks Kelly out of the boxcar to his death, then engages in a gun battle with Deakins.

Terry detaches the section of the train containing the bomb but gets into a shootout with the engineer. The latter is shot and falls on the train brakes, allowing the detached boxcars to catch up, at increasingly higher speed. Deakins still has the remote detonator, so he forces Hale to drop his gun and challenges him to a fight. Hale eventually overpowers Deakins, acquires the remote detonator, disarms the warhead and leaps out of the train. As the detached boxcars slam into the halted front half, the warhead flies through Deakins, while the entire train derails and explodes.

Hale finds Terry and the dormant warhead. The two formally introduce themselves amidst the wreckage.

An unnamed engineer quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife, he agrees to guide two criminals through the chemical plant where he previously worked so that they can rob the playing card company next to it. The police inform him that his wife and unborn child have died in a household accident. Grief-stricken, the engineer tries to withdraw from the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment.

At the plant, the criminals encounter security personnel, a shootout ensues, and the two criminals are killed. The engineer is confronted by Batman. Terrified, he jumps into the chemical plant's waste pound lock to escape and is swept through a pipe leading outside. He discovers to his horror that the chemicals have permanently bleached his skin chalk-white, stained his lips red and dyed his hair green. His disfigurement, compounded with the loss of his family, drives him completely insane and marks the birth of the Joker. The Joker later admits that he is not sure whether this actually happened, as the memories of his previous life are ambiguous.

In present day, Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to talk with the Joker about ending their years-long feud, only to find that the Joker has escaped. The Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon and kidnaps her father, Commissioner James Gordon. He takes Gordon to a run-down amusement park, where he cages him in the park's freak show. He forces Gordon to view blown-up photos of a wounded Barbara, lying nude on the floor after the shooting. He then puts Gordon on display before the park's freaks, ridiculing him as "the average man", a weakling doomed to insanity.

Batman's attempts to locate Commissioner Gordon are unsuccessful until the Joker sends him an invitation to the amusement park. Though traumatized by his ordeal, Gordon retains his sanity and moral code, and insists that Batman capture the Joker "by the book" to "show him that our way works". Batman dodges a series of booby traps while the Joker tries to persuade his nemesis that the world is a "black, awful joke" that is not worth fighting for, and it only takes "one bad day" to drive an ordinary man insane.

Batman subdues the Joker and tells him that Gordon is as sane as ever, and the Joker is alone in his madness. He offers to help the Joker rehabilitate in order to end their everlasting war, which Batman fears may one day result in a fight to the death. The Joker apologetically declines, saying it is too late for that. He says that the situation reminds him of a joke about two inmates in an asylum who try to escape. Batman chuckles at the joke's punchline, and as the two old foes share a laugh, he grabs the Joker as police arrive.

Englishman William Asquith "Will" Farnaby deliberately wrecks his boat on the shores of the Kingdom of Pala, an island halfway between Sumatra and the Andaman Islands, thus forcing his entry to this otherwise "forbidden island". Farnaby, a journalist, political huckster, and lackey for the oil baron Lord Joseph "Joe" Aldehyde, is tasked with persuading the island's current queen—the Rani—to sell Aldehyde rights to Pala's untapped oil assets. Farnaby awakens on the island with a leg injury, hearing a myna bird screaming "Attention", when a local boy and girl notice him and take him for medical treatment to their grandfather, Dr. Robert MacPhail. Dr. Robert and a young man named Murugan Mailendra carry Farnaby to Robert's house for a surprisingly successful hypnotherapy session led by Susila, Robert's daughter-in-law and the mother of the two children. Susila's husband (Robert's son) recently died in a climbing accident, and Susila is still grappling with the grief.

Farnaby and Murugan recognise each other from a recent meeting with Colonel Dipa, the military dictator of a threatening country called Rendang-Lobo that neighbours Pala—another force coveting Pala's oil. In private, Murugan reveals to Farnaby that he is in fact the Rani's son and will be assuming control over Pala in a few days as its new Raja. Both the Rani and Murugan were raised outside of Palanese culture, however, and so both are largely westernised, with Murugan especially influenced by materialism and consumerist greed. Contrary to these philosophies, most Palanese islanders engage in peaceful living, intellectual pursuits, and deep spiritualism that avoids superstition. The kingdom has no military and its inhabitants have cultivated a nearly utopian society by blending the most applicable elements from western science and eastern Mahayana Buddhism, also adopting a multiple-parents child-rearing strategy of mutual adoption clubs (MACs), as well as a bilingual culture of English and Palanese. Palanese citizens strive to live always in the moment, to directly confront suffering and death, to meditate often, to engage shamelessly in coitus reservatus called ''maithuna'', and to use ''moksha''-medicine—a local psychedelic drug or entheogen—to help achieve these other goals. The Rani, however, who comes to visit Farnaby and is theatrical, larger-than-life, and more traditionally religious, is disgusted by these mainstream Palanese values and wishes to reform the country. Farnaby convinces her that Joe Aldehyde's oil money will help her in her quest to "save" the nation from blasphemy.

As he recuperates, Farnaby reads Dr. Robert's copy of the Old Raja's ''Notes on What's What, and What It Might be Reasonable to do about What's What'', which outlines Palanese practical philosophies for self-improvement and self-actualisation. He then tours the island's educational system, which merges the sciences, the arts, and self-control techniques with the personal search for spiritual self-fulfillment. Dr. Robert recounts the island's history, including how his own Scottish grandfather, Dr. Andrew MacPhail, was called to the island over a century ago to treat the Old Raja's facial tumour using both trance-based mesmerization and actual surgery; this first brought scientific practices and the English language into Palanese culture.

Farnaby sees many other aspects of Palanese society as well, including a marionette version of ''Oedipus Rex'' called ''Oepidus in Pala'' with a revised and happy ending. The Palanese are so intimately connected with the reality of the moment that they even have taught the local myna birds to say "Attention" and "Karuṇā", to remind the people to stay focused on the here-and-now and to have compassion. The Palanese people are well aware that they will likely be invaded soon by Colonel Dipa's forces from Rendang, though they are resigned to pacifism. Farnaby too has been accepting the potential downfall of the island as a given, though he realises with discomfort that he may be an instrumental factor in causing such a downfall.

Farnaby begins to establish a strong bond with Susila, who directs Farnaby to re-explore his own troubled past, including the death of his wife, Molly, on the night he confessed to cheating on her and his whole hateful childhood; Susila guides him through his painful memories. In the meantime, Susila's mother-in-law and Dr. Robert's wife, Lakshmi, is now also dying, due to cancer. One night, when the Rani urgently sends a letter to Farnaby to meet with her, he decides to finally take a stand against the exploitation of the island by Aldehyde and Dipa, and so he ignores her letter, instead going to visit the quickly-fading Lakshmi who, surrounded by her family, finally dies.

Susila then invites Farnaby to try the ''moksha''-medicine at last. His ensuing hallucinatory visions are vividly philosophical and unspeakably vibrant; he feels a loss of self in the oneness of everything and "knowledgeless understanding", and he also horrifically watches a nearby mantis sexually cannibalise her partner, before Susila encourages him to let the medicine help him see the beauty in all things. As morning approaches, they suddenly hear gunfire and spot a caravan of military vehicles. Murugan's voice through a loudspeaker encourages the people to remain calm and welcome the invading forces, while announcing the formation of the new United Kingdom of Rendang and Pala with himself as the monarch and Colonel Dipa as its prime minister. The caravan stops to fire shots at Dr. Robert's house and then moves on, Susila horror-stricken, as a myna cries "Attention" one final time.

In 1879, members of an outlaw gang known to wear red sashes called the Cowboys, led by "Curly Bill" Brocius, ride into a Mexican town and interrupt a local police officer's wedding. They then proceed to massacre the assembled policemen in retribution for killing two of their fellow gang members. Shortly before being shot, a local priest warns them that their acts of murder and savagery will be avenged, referencing the biblical fourth horseman.

Wyatt Earp, a retired peace officer with a notable reputation, reunites with his brothers Virgil and Morgan in Tucson, Arizona, where they venture on toward Tombstone to settle down. There they encounter Wyatt's long-time friend Doc Holliday, who is seeking relief in the dry climate from his worsening tuberculosis. Josephine Marcus and Mr. Fabian are also newly arrived with a traveling theater troupe. Meanwhile, Wyatt's common-law wife, Mattie Blaylock, is becoming dependent on laudanum. Wyatt and his brothers begin to profit from a stake in a gambling emporium and saloon when they have their first encounter with the Cowboys.

As tensions rise, Wyatt is pressured to help rid the town of the Cowboys, though he is no longer a lawman. Curly Bill begins shooting at the sky after a visit to an opium den and is told by Marshal Fred White to relinquish his firearms. Curly Bill instead shoots the marshal dead and is forcibly taken into custody by Wyatt. The arrest infuriates Ike Clanton and the other Cowboys. Curly Bill stands trial but is found not guilty due to a lack of witnesses. Virgil, unable to tolerate lawlessness, becomes the new marshal and imposes a weapons ban within the city limits. This leads to a gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers are killed. Virgil and Morgan are wounded, and the allegiance of county sheriff Johnny Behan with the Cowboys is made clear. As retribution for the Cowboy deaths, Wyatt's brothers are ambushed; Morgan is killed, while Virgil is left handicapped. A despondent Wyatt and his family leave Tombstone and board a train, with Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell close behind, preparing to ambush them. Wyatt sees that his family leaves safely, and then surprises the assassins. He kills Stilwell but lets Clanton live to send a message: Wyatt announces that he is a U.S. marshal and that he intends to kill any man he sees wearing a red sash. Wyatt, Doc, a reformed Cowboy named Sherman McMasters, Texas Jack Vermillion, and Turkey Creek Jack Johnson form a posse to seek revenge.

Wyatt and his posse are ambushed in a riverside forest by the Cowboys. Wyatt walks into the creek, miraculously surviving the enemy fire, and kills Curly Bill along with many of his men. Curly Bill's second-in-command, Johnny Ringo, becomes the new head of the Cowboys. When Doc's health worsens, the group is accommodated by Henry Hooker at his ranch. Ringo lures McMasters into the Cowboys' clutches under the pretense of parley and then sends a messenger (dragging McMasters' corpse) to tell Wyatt that he wants a showdown to end the hostilities; Wyatt agrees. Wyatt sets off for the showdown, not knowing that Doc has already arrived at the scene. Doc confronts a surprised Ringo, who was expecting Wyatt, and challenges him to a duel to finish their "game," which Ringo accepts (Doc and Ringo have already had a couple of stand-offs in Tombstone that were ultimately broken up). Wyatt runs when he hears a gunshot, only to encounter Doc, who has killed Ringo. They then press on to complete their task of eliminating the Cowboys, although Clanton escapes their vengeance by renouncing his red sash. Doc is sent to a sanatorium in Colorado, where he dies of his illness. At Doc's urging, Wyatt pursues Josephine to begin a new life.

Commander Trip Tucker, while endeavoring to increase the stable speed of ''Enterprise'' to Warp 5, becomes comatose when the engines destabilize and explode. Doctor Phlox suggests a radical and controversial procedure to save him — growing a mimetic symbiote as a neurological donor. Archer, concerned with the overarching goal of their mission, gives the order to do so. The symbiote, with a natural life-span of two weeks, is then injected with Tucker's blood and is soon born. Phlox names him "Sim", and as he develops rapidly, Tucker's memories and personality begin to express themselves, including an interest in engineering, and a romantic attraction to Sub-Commander T'Pol.

The window of time approaches when Phlox ''must'' perform the transplant, which turns out will unfortunately be fatal to Sim-Trip. Sim, having now 'met' himself in sickbay, reveals knowledge of an experimental procedure that might allow for a significant extension of his lifespan. Archer learns that Phlox was aware of this procedure, but concealed his knowledge of it due to its highly experimental and poorly researched nature. Sim then expresses a strong desire to live — Tucker's own life notwithstanding— through the rest of his natural life. Later, a tired-looking Archer, angered at finding Sim in Tucker's quarters, states he would rather Sim voluntarily submit to the fatal procedure than be forced to do so.

Sim planned an escape but resigned himself to the transplant, after contemplating the death of his sister due to the Xindi attack on Earth. He realizes his and the crew's options are limited. Before leaving for Sickbay, T'Pol arrives and gives him a kiss. Sim thanks Phlox for being a good father to him. With the medical procedure successful, Archer honors his sacrifice in the presence of part of the crew, including Trip. The episode begins and ends with the funeral and burial of Sim in space.

The pregnant Bride and her groom rehearse their wedding. Bill − the Bride's former lover, the father of her child, and the leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad − arrives unexpectedly and orders the Deadly Vipers to kill everyone at the wedding. Bill shoots the Bride in the head, but she survives and swears revenge.

Four years later, the Bride, having already assassinated Deadly Vipers O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green, goes to the trailer of Bill's brother and Deadly Viper Budd, planning to ambush him. Having been warned by Bill beforehand, he incapacitates her with a non-lethal shotgun blast of rock salt and sedates her. He calls Elle Driver, another former Deadly Viper, and arranges to sell her the Bride's unique sword for $1 million. He seals the Bride inside a coffin and buries her alive.

Years earlier, Bill tells the young Bride of the legendary martial arts master Pai Mei and his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a death blow that Pai refuses to teach his students; properly used, the attack is reputed to leave an opponent able to take only five steps before dying. Bill takes the Bride to Pai's temple for training. Pai ridicules and torments her during training, but she eventually gains his respect. In the present, the Bride uses Pai's techniques to escape from the coffin and claw her way to the surface.

Elle arrives at Budd's trailer and kills him with a black mamba hidden with the money for the sword. She calls Bill and tells him that the Bride has killed Budd and that she has killed the Bride, using the Bride's real name: Beatrix Kiddo. As Elle exits the trailer, Beatrix ambushes her and they fight. Elle, who was also taught by Pai, taunts Beatrix by revealing that she killed Pai by poisoning his favorite meal in retribution for him plucking out her eye after she called him "a miserable old fool". Enraged, Beatrix plucks out Elle's remaining eye and leaves her screaming in the trailer with the black mamba.

In Acuña, Mexico, Beatrix meets a retired pimp, Esteban Vihaio, who helps her find Bill. She tracks him to a hotel, and discovers that their daughter B.B. is still alive, now four years old. Beatrix spends the evening with them. After she puts B.B. to bed, Bill shoots Beatrix with a dart containing truth serum and interrogates her. She explains that she left the Deadly Vipers when she discovered she was pregnant to give B.B. a better life. Bill explains that he assumed she was dead; he ordered her assassination when he discovered she was alive and engaged to a "jerk" he assumed was the father of her child. The two begin to fight, but Beatrix traps Bill's sword in her scabbard and strikes him with the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique. Surprised that Pai taught her the attack, Bill reconciles with her, then falls dead as he walks away. Beatrix leaves with B.B. to start a new life.

In 1890, Frank T. Hopkins and his mustang, Hidalgo, are part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, advertised as "the world's greatest endurance horse and rider." A famous long-distance racer, cowboy, and dispatch rider for the United States government, Hopkins is plagued by guilt for having carried a message to the 7th Cavalry Regiment authorizing the Wounded Knee Massacre of Lakota Sioux. He translates a futile request from another performer, Chief Eagle Horn, for Bill to help his nation’s mustangs that have been rounded up by the government to be eradicated.

Wealthy Sheikh Riyadh sends his attaché Aziz, accompanied by Rau Rasmussen, to challenge Hopkins and Hidalgo to enter the "Ocean of Fire": an annual 3,000-mile race across the Najd desert region for a $100,000 prize. The Sheikh is custodian of the ''al-Khamsa'' line, considered the greatest distance horses in the world, and traditionally the race has been restricted to pure-bred Arabian horses and Bedouin or Arab riders. Hopkins’ fellow performers raise his entrance fee, and he encounters unscrupulous English horse breeder Lady Anne Davenport. He meets Sheikh Riyadh, an admirer of the Wild West, who has promised his daughter Jazira as the fifth wife to the prince riding the Sheikh's horse Al-Hattal, should he win.

The race begins, and Hopkins and Hidalgo face grueling conditions and contempt for an "infidel" riding an "impure" horse, and survive sabotage and a sandstorm. Determined to live her own life, Jazira advises Hopkins on surviving in the desert, but they are discovered together in his tent. The Sheikh prepares to have Hopkins gelded as punishment, but his outcast nephew Katib raids the camp, seeking control of the al-Khamsa line. The prince flees on Al-Hattal, but Aziz steals the Sheikh’s family journal of horse breeding for Katib, who kidnaps Jazira and demands Al-Hattal as ransom.

Hopkins rescues Jazira, who recovers the journal. Journeying back to camp, Hopkins reveals that his mother was Lakota Sioux, deepening his guilt over his role at Wounded Knee. Jazira compares his relationship to his heritage with her desire to avoid wearing the veil, urging him not to "go through life hiding what God made you." Davenport bribes Hopkins to drop out of the race, but he declines her offer and her advances toward him. Unbeknownst to him, Davenport is in league with Katib; they plan to kill Hidalgo and steal Al-Hattal, allowing her mare to win the race and breed with the Sheikh’s horse.

Enduring a swarm of locusts, Hopkins remembers Jazira’s advice and he and Hidalgo resort to eating them. Although it is forbidden to help other riders, he saves his opponent Sakr from quicksand. Hopkins is ambushed by Katib and falls into a trap, severely injuring Hidalgo, and is rescued by Sakr. They fight off Katib's men but Sakr is shot, and Hopkins kills Katib in one of his own traps. Hidalgo collapses, and Hopkins considers shooting him in mercy, but a vision of Lakota elders and his mother appears to him as he chants a prayer to ''Wakan Tanka.''

The prince arrives and taunts Hopkins that the end of the race is in sight, and Hidalgo suddenly struggles upright. Riding bareback, Hopkins comes from behind to surpass Davenport's mare and the prince, winning the race. He befriends the Sheikh, giving him his revolver, and bids farewell to an unveiled Jazira, who calls him by his Lakota name, ''Blue Child.'' Returning to the United States, Frank uses his winnings to buy the mustangs from the government, releasing them into the wild and freeing Hidalgo to join them. An epilogue reveals that Hopkins went on to reportedly win 400 long-distance races and was an outspoken supporter for wild mustangs until his death in 1951, while Hidalgo's descendants live free in the wilderness of Oklahoma.

Former CIA SAD/SOG officer John W. Creasy visits his old friend Paul Rayburn in Mexico. Rayburn convinces him to take a bodyguard position with Samuel Ramos, a Mexico City automaker whose young daughter Lupita "Pita" requires a bodyguard for her kidnapping insurance policy to take effect. Struggling with alcoholism, burnout, and guilt over his actions with the CIA, Creasy tries to commit suicide but the bullet in his gun misfires. While coaching Pita to become a more confident swimmer, he bonds with her.

Waiting outside Pita’s piano lesson, Creasy recognizes a car that followed them earlier, as two Federal Police officers block the street. Realizing that Pita is about to be abducted, Creasy kills four of the attackers including the officers, but is critically wounded and Pita is taken. Recovering from his injuries, Creasy is declared a suspect, but reporter Mariana Garcia Guerrero questions the story. AFI agent Miguel Manzano relocates Creasy to a veterinary clinic to protect him from corrupt police.

"The Voice," leader of the kidnapping ring, demands a $10 million ransom and Samuel complies, with the help of police Lt. Victor Fuentes. However, the kidnappers are ambushed at the ransom drop and the Voice’s nephew is killed. Holding the Ramoses responsible, the Voice informs them that Pita will be lost to them forever as retribution. Guerrero warns Creasy that the kidnappers belong to a powerful “brotherhood” called La Hermandad that consists of corrupt officials, police, and criminals, but Creasy promises Pita’s mother, Lisa, that he will kill everyone responsible for Pita's death.

With Rayburn’s help, Creasy obtains a small arsenal of weapons and equipment. He brutally interrogates and kills the getaway driver, who points him to a club where he confronts three of the kidnappers. Killing middle man "Jersey Boy" and another criminal, Creasy recovers an incriminating ATM card and another kidnapped girl. He turns both over to Guerrero, who reveals that Fuentes is part of the brotherhood. Manzano interviews Rayburn, who describes Creasy as an “artist of death.”

Guerrero convinces Manzano to help Creasy wage war against the kidnappers. Waylaying Fuentes’ motorcade with a rocket-propelled grenade, Creasy abducts the officer, who admits that he had his officers ambush the ransom drop, but discovered afterwards most of the ransom money had already been stolen by Jordan Kalfus, Samuel's lawyer. After killing Fuentes with a bomb in his rectum, Creasy searches Kalfus’ home and finds his decapitated body and a fax with bank account information leading to Samuel.

Creasy confronts the Ramoses, and Samuel confesses that Kalfus suggested they arrange Pita’s kidnapping to claim the insurance payout to pay his father's debts, though they were promised Pita would be unharmed. When Fuentes interfered with the drop, Samuel blamed Kalfus for Pita's death and killed him. Lisa, unaware of Samuel's involvement, angrily tells Creasy to kill her husband or she’ll do it herself; he leaves Samuel a gun and the bullet he attempted suicide with, and a remorseful Samuel shoots himself.

Guerrero and Manzano trace the ATM card to the Voice’s wife and find her address, allowing Manzano's officers to infiltrate her home and obtain a photo of the Voice. Despite the brotherhood’s threats, Guerrero publishes the photo, and passes the address on to Creasy. Taking the Voice’s wife and his brother Aurelio prisoner, Creasy is shot in the chest but learns the ringleader’s real name is Daniel Sanchez. He calls Daniel and threatens his family, but Daniel reveals that Pita is alive, offering to trade her for his brother and for Creasy, which Creasy accepts.

Instructing Lisa to join him at the exchange, Creasy reunites with Pita in the middle of an overpass, assuring her that he loves her before sending her to her mother. He and Aurelio are taken by Daniel’s men, but Creasy succumbs to his wounds. Manzano tracks Daniel down and shoots him dead “during the course of arrest.”

Newlyweds Shrek and Fiona return from their honeymoon to find they have been invited by Fiona's parents to a royal ball to celebrate their marriage. Shrek initially refuses to attend, but Fiona convinces him, and along with Donkey, they travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away. They meet Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian, who are shocked to see the ogres, with Harold particularly repulsed. At dinner, Shrek and Harold get into a heated argument and Fiona, disgusted at their behavior, locks herself away in her room. Shrek worries that he is losing Fiona, particularly after finding her childhood diary and reading that she was once infatuated with Prince Charming.

Harold is reprimanded by the Fairy Godmother, as her son, Prince Charming, was to marry Fiona in exchange for Harold's own happy ending. She orders him to get rid of Shrek, so Harold arranges for Puss in Boots to assassinate him under the guise of a hunting trip. Unable to defeat Shrek, Puss reveals that he was paid by Harold and offers to be an ally. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss sneak into the Fairy Godmother's factory and steal a "Happily Ever After" potion that Shrek thinks will make him good enough for Fiona. Shrek and Donkey both drink the potion but nothing happens. Shrek laments before he and Donkey both suddenly fall asleep. Meanwhile, in Far Far Away, Fiona prepares to find Shrek so they can return home, but she too falls asleep.

The following morning, the potion's effects are clear: Shrek and Fiona are human, and Donkey is a white stallion. In order to make the change permanent, Shrek must kiss Fiona by midnight. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss return to the castle. However, the Fairy Godmother, having discovered the theft, has sent Charming to pose as Shrek and win Fiona's love. At the Fairy Godmother's urging, Shrek leaves the castle, believing that the best way to make Fiona happy is to let her go.

Fiona does not reciprocate Charming's advances, so to ensure she falls in love with Charming, the Fairy Godmother gives Harold a love potion to put into Fiona's tea. This exchange is overheard by Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, who are arrested by the royal knights. While the royal ball begins, the Gingerbread Man, Pinocchio, the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, and the Three Blind Mice rescue the trio and they storm the castle with the help of the Muffin Man's monster-sized gingerbread man.

Shrek fails to prevent Charming from kissing Fiona, but instead of falling in love, Fiona knocks him out; Harold reveals that he didn't give Fiona the love potion. The now-enraged Fairy Godmother tries to kill Shrek with her magic wand, but Harold jumps in front of it; the spell ricochets off his armor and disintegrates her. With the Fairy Godmother gone, Harold reverts back into the Frog Prince. Harold apologizes, admitting to using the "Happily Ever After" potion years earlier to gain Lillian's love, and approves Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Lillian assures Harold that she still loves him.

As the clock strikes midnight, Fiona rejects Shrek's offer to remain human, and they revert into ogres, while Donkey also returns to normal. In the mid-credits scene, Dragon, who had previously married Donkey, reveals that they now have several dragon-donkey hybrid babies.

In the 1750s, Spanish Jesuit priest Father Gabriel enters the northeastern Argentina and eastern Paraguayan jungle to build a mission station and convert a Guaraní community to Christianity. The Guaraní are not initially receptive to Christianity or outsiders in general and, when Gabriel sends a priest to make contact with them, they tie the priest to a wooden cross and send him to his death over the Iguazu Falls. Father Gabriel himself then travels to the falls, climbs to the top and, in an attempt to make a connection with them through music, plays his oboe. One of the Guaraní warriors, seeing that the stranger and his music are European, breaks the oboe, throws it down into the water, and stalks off. Father Gabriel does not react, however, and the remaining Guaraní (who were captivated by the music) allow him to live and take him to their village.

Mercenary and slaver Rodrigo Mendoza makes his living kidnapping natives such as the Guaraní community and selling them to nearby plantations, including the plantation of the Spanish Governor Don Cabeza. After returning from another kidnapping trip, his assumed fiancée, Carlotta, confesses to Mendoza that she is actually in love with his younger half-brother Felipe. Mendoza later finds them in bed together and, in a fit of rage, kills Felipe in a duel. Although he is acquitted of the killing of Felipe, Mendoza spirals into depression. Father Gabriel visits and challenges Mendoza to undertake a suitable penance. Mendoza accompanies the Jesuits on their return journey, dragging a heavy bundle containing his armour and sword. After initially tense moments upon reaching the outskirts of the natives' territory, since they recognize their former persecutor, the natives soon come to forgive a tearful Mendoza and cut away his heavy bundle.

Father Gabriel's mission is depicted as a place of sanctuary and education for the Guaraní. Moved by the Guaraní's acceptance, Mendoza wishes to help at the mission and Father Gabriel gives him a Bible. In time, Mendoza takes vows and becomes a Jesuit under Father Gabriel and his colleague, Father John.

With the protection offered to Missions under Spanish law, the Jesuit missions have been safe. However, the Treaty of Madrid (1750) reapportioned South American land on which the Jesuit missions were located, transferring the area to the Portuguese, who allowed slavery. The Portuguese colonials seek to enslave the natives and, as the independent Jesuit missions might impede this, Papal emissary Cardinal Altamirano, a former Jesuit priest, is sent from the Vatican to survey the missions and decide which, if any, should be allowed to remain.

Under pressure from both Cabeza and Portuguese representative Hontar, Cardinal Altamirano is forced to choose between two evils. If he rules in favour of the colonists, the indigenous peoples will become enslaved; if he rules in favour of the missions, the entire Jesuit Order may be condemned by the Portuguese and the European Catholic Church could fracture. Altamirano visits the missions and is amazed at their industry and success, both in converting the Indians and, in some cases, economically. At Father Gabriel's mission of San Carlos, he tries to explain the reasons behind closing the missions and instructs the Guaraní that they must leave, because "it is God's will." The Guaraní question the validity of his claim and argue God's will was to settle and develop the mission. Father Gabriel and Mendoza, under threat of excommunication, state their intention to defend the mission alongside the Guaraní if the plantation owners and colonists attack. They are, however, divided on how to do this, and they debate how to respond to the impending military attack. Father Gabriel believes that violence is a direct crime against God. Mendoza, however, decides to break his vows by militarily defending the Mission. Against Father Gabriel's wishes, he teaches the natives the European art of war and, once more, takes up his sword.

When a joint Portuguese and Spanish force attacks, the mission is initially defended by Mendoza, John, and the Guaraní. Although they put up a good fight, they are no match for the military force. Father John is killed while luring the Portuguese commander into a trap. Mendoza is shot and fatally wounded after the soldiers destroy a trap, allowing them to enter the village. Upon seeing the church service at the mission village, the soldiers become reluctant to fire. When the soldiers enter the mission village, they encounter the singing of Father Gabriel and the Guaraní women and children who march in a religious procession. Father Gabriel leads, carrying a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament. Ignoring this, the Spanish commander orders the attack; Father Gabriel, the rest of the priests and most of the Guaraní, including women and children, are systematically gunned down. After Father Gabriel is shot, a man picks up the Blessed Sacrament and continues leading the procession. Only a handful of children escape into the jungle.

In a final exchange between Cardinal Altamirano and Hontar, Hontar laments, saying what has happened was unfortunate but inevitable: "We must work in the world; the world is thus." Altamirano rejoins: "No, thus have we made the world. Thus have I made it." Days later, a canoe of young children return to the scene of the Mission massacre and salvage a few belongings. They set off up the river, going deeper into the jungle, with the thought that the events will remain in their memories. A final title declares that many priests have continued to fight for the rights of indigenous people into the present day. The text of John 1:5 is displayed: "The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness hath not overcome it."

The film takes place in one room and stars the toy of the title, a mechanical one-man band player named Tinny, and an infant named Billy. At first, Tinny is delighted at the prospect of being played with by Billy until he sees how destructive the infant can be, including sucking on his Rock-a-Stack and thrashing his garland of beads. When Tinny tries to walk out of Billy's reach, the musical instruments on the former's back begin to play, attracting Billy's attention. Tinny begins to run, but is chased by Billy. Tinny soon finds cover under a couch, there finding a collection of toys in hiding, similarly terrified of Billy. Unaware of this, Billy trips and falls while searching for Tinny and begins to cry. Feeling sorry for the baby, and in disbelief at the other toys' lack of sympathy, Tinny leaves his couch sanctuary and begins to play near Billy to calm him down. Upon seeing this, Billy stops crying and picks up Tinny to play with, the latter fearing the worst. However, Billy soon lets go of the toy, more interested in his packaging, but ignores Tinny, and then plays with his box. This annoys Tinny, who again plays music, following around Billy in hopes of being noticed, but is still mad and ignored. Eventually, Billy, whose face is now covered in a shopping bag, leaves the room, followed by Tinny and the newly optimistic toys from underneath the couch.

Ashe Marson and his fellow lodger Joan Valentine discover that they both work as writers for the Mammoth Publishing Company. Joan urges Ashe to overcome his discontentment and take a fresh direction in life.

Meanwhile, Freddie Threepwood, younger son of the Earl of Emsworth, is engaged to marry Aline Peters, the daughter of American millionaire J. Preston Peters. Freddie pays a visit to a shady fixer, R. Jones, hoping to recover letters he once sent to a certain chorus girl, feeling they might be used to make a breach of promise case against him. His father later calls on Aline's father to view his collection of scarabs and absent-mindedly puts Mr Peters’ prize exhibit in his pocket. Though Peters suspects the Earl, he cannot confront him for fear of endangering his daughter's marriage.

Aline is being pursued by George Emerson, a Hong Kong police officer, who wishes to marry her. Having befriended Freddie Threepwood, George has been invited to Blandings Castle, the family home, at the same time that Aline and her father are paying a visit. R. Jones finds the address of Freddie's ex-sweetheart, Joan Valentine, who tells him she has long since destroyed any letters she may have had from Freddie. As Jones is leaving, Aline, a former school friend of Joan, arrives on a visit, and the suspicious Jones listens at the door. Hearing that Aline's father is offering £1,000 to anybody who can retrieve his scarab, Joan decides that she will go herself to Blandings, posing as Aline's maid, so as to recover the scarab and scoop the reward. Acting separately, Ashe answers a newspaper advert and is engaged as his valet by Mr. Peters, who is looking for somebody to steal back the scarab during his visit to Blandings.

Ashe informs Joan about this as they both take the train from London. During the trip Joan warns Ashe of the complicated system of etiquette observed among servants of a large house. She hopes this will persuade him to give up his quest and remove himself as her competitor. After their arrival, Ashe is terrified to be interviewed by the butler, Beach, and has to listen to a recital of his troubles with his feet and his stomach. Mr Peters also has stomach trouble and Ashe threatens him with non-cooperation unless he takes some exercise and stops smoking cigars.

At night, Ashe and Joan are both trying to get at the scarab when Lord Emsworth's watchful secretary, Rupert Baxter, nearly catches them. Next morning, Ashe and Joan decide to become allies and, after flipping a coin, agree to take turns at stealing the scarab. Since Aline is following the same reduced diet as her father, George steals downstairs to prepare her a midnight feast and collides with Ashe in the dark hall. They start a noisy fight but escape after the suspicious Baxter trips over them and is found surrounded by food and broken china by the time the lights are turned on. He is blamed for waking everyone and roundly criticised by Lord Emsworth for going in search of food in the middle of the night.

The next night is Joan's turn to make her attempt, but she finds the scarab has already gone. Putting together clues, she and Ashe discover that Freddie needs money to pay R. Jones, who is pretending that Joan is demanding it for the return of his letters. But Freddie is an admirer of the detective tales that Ashe writes and decides to trust him, confessing to the theft and returning the scarab. As Ashe leaves, Lord Emsworth arrives to announce that Aline has eloped on the train to London with George Emerson, who has been recalled to Hong Kong. Freddie is more relieved than hurt at this revelation.

When Ashe returns the scarab, Mr Peters offers to take Ashe back to America as his personal trainer in reward for the improvement in his health. Ashe hesitates long enough to ask Joan to marry him, and she admits she has been grieving at what seems to be the end of their partnership; as a result, a scullery maid looking out of the window has her dull life enriched as she sees them kissing.

Captain Scott is given the men, but not the funds, to go on a second expedition to the Antarctic. As his wife works on a bust of him, she tells him that she's "not the least jealous" that he's going to the Antarctic again. The wife of Dr. E. A. Wilson, whom Scott hopes to recruit, is much less enthusiastic, but Wilson agrees to go on condition it is a scientific expedition. Scott also visits Fridtjof Nansen, who insists that a polar expedition must use only dogs, not machines or horses. Scott goes on a fundraising campaign, with mixed results, finding scepticism among Liverpool businessmen, but enthusiasm among schoolchildren who fund the sledge dogs. With the help of a government grant he finally manages to raise enough money to finance the expedition.

After a stop in New Zealand, the ship sets sail for Antarctica. They set up a camp at the coast, where they spend the winter and hold a MidWinter Feast on 22 June 1911. In the spring a small contingent of men, ponies and dogs begins the trek towards the pole. About halfway, the ponies are, as planned, shot for food and some of the men are sent back with the dogs. At the three quarter mark, Scott selects the five-man team to make the push to the pole, hoping to return by the end of March 1912. They reach the pole only to find the Norwegian flag already planted there and a letter from Roald Amundsen asking Scott to deliver it to the King of Norway.

Hugely disappointed, Scott's team begins the long journey back. When reaching the mountains bordering the polar plateau, Wilson shows the men some sea plant and tree fossils he has found, also a piece of coal, to Scott's satisfaction, proving that the Antarctic must have been a warm place once, and opening economic possibilities. The perceived lack of such opportunities had been one criticism leveled at Scott while fundraising. Nevertheless, Scott is increasingly concerned about the health of two men: Evans, who fell and has a serious cut on his hand, and Oates, whose foot is appallingly frostbitten. Evans eventually collapses and dies, and is buried under the snow. Realising that his condition is slowing the team down, Oates says "I hope I don't wake tomorrow" but when he does, he sacrifices himself crawling out of the tent, saying ''"I'm just going outside; I may be away some time."'' (''sic''`; the words as famously recorded by Scott are "...and may be some time"] Finally, just 11 miles short of a supply depot, the rest of the team dies in their tent trapped by a blizzard. Each man writes his farewell letters, with frostbitten Scott recalling his wife and writing the famous Message to the Public "I do not regret this journey…"

Months later, on a clear sunny day, the search party discovers the completely snowed-over tent. After a shot of Scott's diary being recovered, the film ends with the sight of a wooden cross with the five names of the dead inscribed on it as well as the quote: "To strive to seek to find and not to yield." (Commas left out; a line from the poem "Ulysses", by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.)