Main plot

Sol and Tião are born to different social backgrounds—she to a poor suburban family in Rio, and him to an even poorer family who raised cattle in West São Paulo State. They eventually meet, due to unlikely circumstances, but part again, as she has set as her ultimate priority to reach the United States or bust. While she comes to the U.S. to live as an illegal immigrant, he remains in Brazil and, despite many trials and tribulations, he becomes a successful rodeo cowboy.

Subplots

''América'' has several secondary plots about a variety of compelling characters. These, for the most part, take place in four locales: Vila Isabel, a middle-class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro; Boiadeiros, a fictional town in West São Paulo State; the home of a rich family in Rio; and Miami. Various characters from each subplots often meet each other due to character linkages within the story.

The main subplots were: * A love triangle involving Feitosa, a man who worked with pets, his girlfriend Islene (who happened to have a blind daughter from a previous relationship) and Creusa (a virginal woman who turned out to be too lustful). * The problems and achievements of a blind man, Jatobá, trying to live with his disability in a country with no infrastructure for the visually impaired. He is engaged to a non-blind woman. * The mischievous Alex and Djanira, smugglers and "coyotes". * The love life of Glauco, a 50-year-old businessman married to a kleptomaniac woman that strives for a divorce in order to marry her lover (but he later leaves both for a 19-year-old girl). * The complicated relationship between a middle-class American professor, Edward Talbot, and his rich girlfriend, May, who does social work at a ghetto school in Miami. Due to fan demand, the author of the soap opera changed its ending so Edward ends up marrying the main character, Sol. * The lives of several illegal immigrants living in a boarding house in Miami kept by a Mexican woman, with Brazilian roots, named Consuelo. * The thriving Brazil rodeo culture. Rodeo is a traditional sport in many countries in the Americas, with influences from the history of Mexican and Brazilian ''vaqueros'' or ''vaqueiros'' (cowboys) and American cowboys.

Sabrina Fairchild is the daughter of a chauffeur to the wealthy Larrabee family, who live in a mansion on the North Shore of Long Island. Returning from a stay in Paris after working as the private secretary to the "Assistant Economic Commissioner Office of Special Representative for Europe Economic Cooperation Administration", she presents herself as a young woman of beauty, charm, incredible sophistication and zest for living, so different from the domestic's daughter the family had largely ignored. She proclaims her desire "to do everything and see everything, sense everything; to know that life is an enormous experience and must be used. To be in the world, and of the world, and never stand aside and watch."

Although she once had a crush on David Larrabee, the young playboy of the family, and returns to America with a wealthy French suitor in tow, she finds herself drawn to Linus Larrabee, whose intelligence, lack of sentimentality, and knowledge of the world stimulates her. She, out of all the Larabees, sees something about Linus. When it's revealed that Sabrina's father has amassed a fortune on the stock market over the past decades, she wants to return to Paris that she feels is her home. As her financial, as well as intellectual, equal, she falls in love with Linus.

The title cites John Milton's song from his masque ''Comus'' (1634), which is quoted in the play:

With its patrician setting, witty dialogue, and development of a romantic plot between two clever and committed idealists across class lines, ''Sabrina Fair'' has much in common with Philip Barry's 1928 comedy ''Holiday''.

The children return to school for the first time since the death of Ms. Choksondik in the episode "Simpsons Already Did It", for the time being Mr. Mackey will teach them. During the break, Bebe (Wendy's best friend) has started to develop breasts. Though they are small (she at first thought they were mosquito bites), they prompt all the boys in town to begin to think that she is unusually smart and cool, without even understanding why. However, this causes Wendy and the other girls to get incredibly jealous, especially since Stan, Wendy's boyfriend (who hasn't asked Wendy to hang out with Stan and the other boys), is one of the boys affected. The girls begin making up malicious rumors about Bebe and accuse her of being sexually promiscuous.

Consequently, the boys begin to fight and bicker about who gets to play with Bebe, sound effects from ''Cannibal Holocaust'' play as the boys fight like the primitive men from ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' and ''Planet of the Apes''.

Throughout the episode Cartman plays a game he calls 'Lambs', which involves placing one of his dolls in a pit in his basement and torturing it, saying, "It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again.", as a reference to ''Silence of the Lambs''.

Eventually, the boys get into a fight and seem to permanently turn into cavemen. Meanwhile, Bebe, worried that boys might never take her seriously (as happened to her mother, a stereotypical dumb blonde), consults a plastic surgeon about breast reduction surgery; however, he rejects the proposition because he considers breast reduction "insane" (which is made apparent especially after giving contrasting personalities to two female colleagues: one with large breasts, and the other flat-chested). He then tells her that if she wants them bigger, "now might be the time to size up"; Bebe leaves his office in frustration and disgust. Similarly when Wendy asks for a breast implant he accepts her request, but only after she announces she has three thousand dollars in cash, despite her mother's protest that she is too young. Meanwhile, Stan draws pictures of breasts on the wall of his house referring to his work and breasts as "Ah-tah," an apparent reference to the film ''Quest for Fire'', wherein prehistoric man refers to fire as "Atar." Stan's father, Randy, has a talk with him about his breast-obsession, going along with Stan's calling breasts "Ah-tahs", and describes all women have breasts: "And one day you'll meet a pair of boobs you want to marry." This eventually convinces Stan to snap out of his caveman-like trance.

After this scene, Bebe is shown in bed, with her breasts glowing and speaking to each other, plotting to rule the world by taking over the boys' minds. Bebe awakens and screams, her mother quickly runs into the room to ask her what is happening, she explains what she heard and her mother calmly replies that it is only natural for a growing woman to have boobs that plot to take over boys minds. This is where Bebe snaps, claiming she does not want boobs that are going to try to rule the world, and begins to come up with a plan to fix this problem.

The next time they are seen, at school, Bebe walks in wearing a box over her chest, which causes all the boys to suddenly break out of their trance; Stan shares his father's advice not to let breasts control their lives, and the boys all agree that it is for the best. Consequently, when Wendy shows up with her new breast implants, she is ridiculed rather than praised. Butters goes up and pokes them, saying that they are all "hard and oogy," to which Cartman replies "What a stupid bitch!" Wendy looks embarrassed.

Native American rodeo rider Joe Lightcloud is a Navajo whose family still lives on the reservation. He returns to the reservation in a white Cadillac convertible that he uses to drive cattle.

Joe persuades his congressman to give him 20 heifers and a prize bull so that he and his father can prove that the Navajos can successfully raise cattle on the reservation. If their experiment is successful, the government will help all the Navajo people. But Joe's friend Bronc Hoverty accidentally barbecues the prize bull, while Joe sells the heifers to buy home improvements for his stepmother Annie Lightcloud.

Joe is able to borrow a bull named Dominick, but the bull is homosexual and shows no interest in the heifers. Mamie Callahan, the daughter of shotgun-toting tavern owner Glenda Callahan, can't seem to stay away from the girl-chasing Joe. Joe trades in his horse at a used car dealership for a red convertible automobile from which he sells off the parts to obtain cash from a salvage yard. After almost all of the usable car parts are sold, Joe rides around on a beat-up motorcycle.

To raise money, Joe organizes a contest in which riders have to ride Dominick the bull. Joe has to ride Dominick and hang on in order to win the prize money, which he does. In a fight at his father's house, Joe and his friends are involved in a large fight that destroys the house that they have been building.

Bart, needing money for the new video game console Gamestation 256, takes a job hanging menus on doors for a Thai restaurant. Lisa is concerned that the menus are wasting paper and hurting the environment, but the family ignores her worries. On a trip to Krusty Burger to celebrate Bart's new job, they see protesters dressed as cows on the roof of the restaurant. The protesters unfurl a banner and accuse Krusty Burger of deforesting the rainforest to create grazing land for cattle. The police arrive and shoot the protesters with bean bag rounds. As the protesters are being arrested, Lisa meets their leader—radical environmentalist Jesse Grass—and is instantly smitten with him.

Lisa visits Jesse in jail, but feels intimidated when she sees that he is more dedicated to environmentalism than she is. She attends a meeting of Jesse's activist group, Dirt First, and learns that an ancient tree in Springfield is scheduled for demolition. Jesse asks if anyone in the group would be willing to live in the tree to prevent its destruction. Lisa, hoping to impress him, volunteers. She climbs the tree and sets up camp, but after a few days she begins to miss her family. She sneaks away from the tree at night and goes home to see them, but finds them asleep. She lies down with them and accidentally falls asleep. When she rushes to the tree in the morning, she finds it has collapsed.

Upon returning home, Lisa learns that the tree was not cut down by the loggers, but struck down by lightning, and that she is presumed dead. When Lisa learns that the forest will be turned into a nature preserve in her honor, she decides not to reveal that she is alive. Marge is angered by Lisa's decision, considering the fact that the Simpson family had suffered bad luck when it comes to farces for a noble cause. Homer and Bart immediately begin to take advantage of the sympathy of the townspeople. But when the Rich Texan decides to turn the forest into an amusement park called "Lisa Land" rather than a nature preserve, Lisa reveals that she survived. Jesse Grass cuts down the log that has been turned into a "Lisa Land" sign, and it slides down a hill and into Springfield's business district. Jesse is jailed again, and the log travels across the country, passing Mount Rushmore and ultimately winding its way down Lombard Street in San Francisco before reaching the Pacific Ocean and heading out to sea, all set to a parody of "This Land is Your Land" called "This Log is Your Log".

A new family, the Harrisons, move into South Park, and their son, Gary, stereotypically depicted as unusually perfect (achieving high grades, being state champion in sports, being perfectly polite, etc.), invokes the wrath of the other boys. Stan is drafted into the job of beating him up by the other children, but Gary's sheer politeness leads Stan to discover himself walking away with an invitation to dinner that night. Stan meets Gary's family, an overly friendly, loving, talented family (including a very articulate infant). After dinner, the five-child, two-parent family has "Family Home Evening" where they play games, do performance art and read from the Book of Mormon. Stan is intrigued and confused by all this, and asks his parents about the Mormon family's beliefs. Randy (his father) concludes that they must be religious fanatics attempting to brainwash Stan, and heads over to confront Mr. Harrison and beat him up. Instead, he too finds himself quelled by the family's perfection and politeness, and in the end, actually decides to convert to Mormonism himself. The next day, Kenny, Cartman and Kyle cruelly mock Stan for hanging around with Gary and his family, accusing Stan of going on a date with Gary. When the Harrisons and Gary show up, the three children walk off lying about going to "put in some volunteer work at the homeless shelter".

Throughout the episode, characters ask questions about Mormonism, and the story then breaks off to a sub-story about Joseph Smith and the founding of the religion. For satirical purposes, the show deviates from the original accounts of Mormonism's founding by adding extra details to stories originally left vague (e.g. the precise location where Martin Harris lost the only transcript of the Book of Lehi given to him by Joseph Smith); furthermore, during the narration, an upbeat tune plays in the background, with a choral "Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum" following the lyrical lines of the song. When skeptic Lucy Harris appears in the sub-story, the chorus changes to "Smart, smart, smart, smart, smart", and it becomes clear that the voices are actually singing "Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb" after the specifics of Smith's story. The show asserts flaws in the religion's founding, which especially concern Stan (for example, that Joseph Smith offered no proof to the general public of finding the golden plates, and that he claimed to have translated from a slightly different plate after the first translation was lost while in the possession of Martin Harris). Stan ends up shouting at the Mormons that they are ridiculous for believing in it without proof; they smile and patiently explain that it is a matter of faith, while Stan argues that it should be a matter of empirical evidence. He further lashes out at them for acting unusually nice all the time, claiming it blindsides stupid people like his father into believing in Mormonism (to which Randy Marsh responds with a determined "Yeah!").

Stan's anger doesn't upset anyone in the Mormon family other than Gary, who confronts Stan and the other boys the next day, pointing out that he believes his religion does not need to be factually true, but it still supports good family values and helping the poor. Gary also condemns their bigotry and ignorance in language that is normal for the main characters but extremely surprising and powerful coming from Gary, as he ends his dialogue telling Stan to "suck my balls". He walks away, leaving the boys in utter shock. The episode ends as Cartman, with a new-found respect for Gary, says "Damn, that kid is cool, huh?".

Frightened into piety by Father Maxi's fire-and-brimstone sermon, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny begin to attend Sunday school classes with a nun named Sister Anne, who teaches them about Communion and confession. Issues arise when the children begin to ask questions regarding their classmates Kyle, who is Jewish, and Timmy, who is disabled and can say little more than his own name. The priest explains that both will go to Hell if they do not confess their sins. Later, in the confessional, Father Maxi tries to choke Cartman after he unwittingly confesses all the pranks he has played on the priest. Cartman tells the other kids that he has felt God's angry hand, which scares them even more.

Meanwhile, in Hell, Satan and the people of Hell sing ''The Hukilau Song'' (featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tiny Tim, Mao Zedong, Princess Diana, Adolf Hitler, among many others). Satan is torn between two lovers: Chris, an overly-sensitive man he is living with (voiced by Dian Bachar), and Saddam Hussein, Satan's emotionally-abusive ex whom he had killed at the end of ''South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut''. Satan is surprised to see Saddam, though Saddam points out the obvious logic: "Yeah, you killed me. Where was I gonna go, Detroit?" It's apparent that Satan is still attracted to Saddam, and he struggles to choose between him and Chris. Chris invites Saddam over for dinner.

Back in South Park, the boys, frightened of dying without having confessed all their sins, are rushing to church when Kenny is hit by a bus. When they arrive at the church, they discover Father Maxi copulating with a woman in the confessional. A brunette woman with glasses runs away and shortly after Father Maxi is on his knees begging forgiveness then yells "Mrs. Donovan is a temptress from hell!" The boys, horrified at the priest's blatant sinfulness and hypocrisy, decide that they will have to save everyone themselves. The episode ends with Cartman using a bullhorn and a stereotypical, exaggerated Southern Protestant preacher's accent on a street corner, directing a large group of children to the creation of a new religious movement.

On an ordinary day at Springfield Elementary, Lisa attempts to make friends with a new girl, Francine, but Francine, who is much larger and tougher than Lisa, punches Lisa in the face, giving her a severe black eye. Even attempting to share an interest in Malibu Stacy does not work since the doll that Francine has turns out to be Lisa's, which she then ruins. Lisa attempts to hire the school bullies (Nelson and his friends Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney) to protect her, but they decline since girls fight dirtier than boys and boys tend to be more vulnerable to falling in love. It is up to Lisa to investigate by herself the reason why Francine is targeting her and the nerds.

Meanwhile, Homer starts to fear that Maggie could die from touching things unsafe to her when he hears this from a childproofing saleswoman; and is alarmed when he learns of the cost of childproofing his house. As a result, he starts his own childproofing crusade, selling cheap but safe and effective products and making Springfield safe for children. However, this causes the baby-injury-related business in Springfield to go in decline. Homer feels bad for making people such as pediatricians lose their jobs and urges the children to get themselves hurt in order to save the pediatricians' careers.

After realizing that Francine did not beat her up at the swimming pool because she was wearing a nose blocker, Lisa does scientific research on nerds and discovers that the odor of the chemical nerd pheromone "poindextrose" attracts bullies like Francine, proving that both nerds and bullies are predisposed to be what they are. Lisa then tests the poindextrose extracted from the nerds on famous boxer Drederick Tatum by putting it on his clothes when he visits the school. This causes Nelson to start punching Tatum uncontrollably and give him a wedgie. Lisa demonstrates her experiment at Professor Frink's science conference, the "12th Annual Big Science Thing", using an antidote on herself and making Francine peaceful and friendly towards her, the antidote being just salad dressing which covers up the smell of the poindextrose. The audience is impressed and Lisa is awarded a gift certificate from J. C. Penney for her research. However, the salad dressing soon runs out and Francine goes on an unprovoked rampage beating up all the scientists in the room. Francine’s parents suggest just letting Francine tire herself out from the beatings, just before Francine ends the episode by lunging herself at the cameraman.

The Simpson family visits Blockoland, a theme park similar to Legoland which is completely made of blocks. When Lisa finds a piece missing from an Eiffel Tower kit she has bought, Homer persuades the gift shop clerk to give it to her. Energized by the idea of "standing up for the little guy", Homer talks a girl Bart likes into going to a school dance with him, gets a beauty salon owner to put free highlights in Marge's hair, and finds a way for the salon to cut its expenses. He next tries to get Lenny a refund on his season tickets for the Springfield Isotopes baseball team (previously introduced in the season 2 episode "Dancin' Homer"), after they continue to lose games repeatedly since being taken over by Duff Beer. At the Isotopes' ballpark, Homer encounters team owner Howard K. Duff VIII, who refuses to grant a refund. As he leaves, Homer goes through the wrong door and discovers a room filled with merchandise for the "Albuquerque Isotopes" and realizes that Howard is planning to move the team. Howard denies the idea, then has Duffman drug Homer and dump him at the Simpsons' house to cover up the truth.

Homer attempts to warn the media of Howard's plan, but by the time he can lead reporters to the ballpark, Howard has removed all evidence of it. Homer is denounced a liar by the media and Howard embarrasses him further by showing footage of him with his pants on fire on television. In retaliation, Homer stages a hunger strike, chaining himself to a pole in the parking lot and refusing to leave or eat until Howard admits the truth. After Homer begins to attract public attention, the team secretly moves him into the ballpark one night and dubs him "Hungry, Hungry Homer" as a publicity stunt. They claim publicly that Homer will not eat until the Isotopes win the pennant, covering up his real message. As his health declines and he begins rapidly losing weight, he nearly gives in while seeing fans eat at the ballpark. However, a visit by the ghost of Cesar Chavez (who assumes the appearance of Cesar Romero, since Homer does not know what Chavez looks like) inspires him to stand his ground.

Thinking that Homer has gone insane and that his popularity is waning, Howard unchains him and offers him a hot dog in a public ceremony during an Isotopes game. As Homer is about to eat it, he realizes that it is loaded with Southwestern-style toppings and angrily denounces Howard. Inspecting their own hot dogs, the fans discover their wrappers marked with the "Albuquerque Isotopes" team name and realize that Homer was right from the start. The crowd boos Howard, and Duffman turns against him and throws him bodily off the field. Homer earns a round of cheers from the crowd and ends his hunger strike, eagerly devouring the food they throw to him. Watching the scenes on television, the mayor of Albuquerque abandons his plan to steal the Isotopes from Springfield and decides to turn his attention to purchasing the Dallas Cowboys, with the intent of forcing them to play baseball instead of football, declaring, "For I am the Mayor of Albuquerque!"

When the popular game show ''Me Wantee!'' steals ratings from ''The Krusty the Clown Show'', Krusty, annoyed with the network executives, announces his fifth—and final—retirement. During an interview with Kent Brockman, he says he is tired of doing his show, and admits to taping ''Judge Judy'' over all his old shows featuring Sideshow Bob. Upon hearing this on TV, Bob vows revenge and plots to kill Krusty. Bob is released from prison and applies for a job at Springfield Elementary as an assistant janitor. However, Principal Skinner decides to make him the morning announcer. Over the announcements, he asks Bart to meet him in the abandoned tool shed. Sideshow Bob then hypnotizes Bart, and starts to program him to kill Krusty on sight. Bob tests his hypnoses by having Bart smash a statue of Krusty at a local Krusty Burger location.

The next night is Krusty's farewell special, and as Krusty describes the history of his career, Bob straps Bart with explosives in order to kill Krusty. Bart attempts to hug Krusty, thereby setting off the explosives, but before he can, Krusty talks to the audience about how he regrets mistreating Sideshow Bob, holding himself responsible of turning Bob into a ruthless criminal. Krusty even goes far by singing a song on behalf of Bob, stating how very remorseful he is of mistreating him. Upon witnessing this, Bob is touched and develops a change of heart, but does not have enough time to stop his original plan from being carried out. Luckily, Krusty's trained chimp Mr. Teeny sees the life-threatening explosives, which he throws into the network executives' office, breaking Bart's hypnotic state and killing all the executives, though they then reanimate themselves like the T-1000. After the show, the Simpsons have dinner with Krusty, Bob and Sideshow Mel in a restaurant. Although Krusty and Bob reconcile, the police decide to execute Bob by guillotine for his attempted murder plot, although he wonders to Chief Wiggum that he should have a trial for it at least.

"Big John" McMasters and "Square John"/"Shorty" Sand are two down-on-their-luck oil wildcatters who join forces. Without enough money, they steal drilling equipment from a skeptical Luther Aldrich. Their well proves a bust and they have to hastily depart when Aldrich shows up with the sheriff to take back his property. The two oilmen team up and make enough money to partially pay Aldrich. To get him to back them for a second try, they cut him in for a percentage of the well. This time, they strike it rich.

When Elizabeth "Betsy" Bartlett shows up, McMasters sweeps her off her feet (without knowing that Sand considers her his girl) and marries her. Sand accepts the situation, wanting Betsy to be happy. However, on their first anniversary, she catches her husband dancing with a barroom floozy. As a result, Sand quarrels with McMasters and they flip a coin for the entire oilfield. Betsy leaves her husband, but returns when she learns that he has lost almost everything to Sand and needs her.

Each man goes through booms and busts. Building on his renewed success as a wildcatter, McMasters moves to New York to expand into refineries and distribution, competing against former customer Harry Compton. Seeking inside information about his rivals, he hires away Compton's adviser Karen Vanmeer, who uses her social contacts and womanly charms to gather industry information.

Meanwhile, Sand loses everything he has built up in South America to a revolution. When he meets McMasters at an oilmen's convention, the two finally reconcile, and Sand goes to work for his old friend. When he suspects that McMasters is carrying on an affair with Karen, he tries to save Betsy's marriage by offering to marry Karen. However, she deduces his motives and declines. When a miserable Betsy tries to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills, Sand decides that the only way to help her is to bankrupt McMasters. Sand loses his costly battle with his former friend and goes broke. It is only when he asks McMasters to give his wife a divorce that the married man finally comes to his senses. Later, McMasters is prosecuted by the government for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and loses his business. In the end, poor, but happier, Sand and McMasters team up again, with the blissful Betsy looking on. Aldrich supplies them with equipment and the whole cycle begins again.

Opening screen (C64)First graphical screen (C64)

The character controlled by the player is knocked unconscious and awakens in the fairy land of Kerovnia, a silver bracelet around their wrist that cannot be removed. A general election is about to be held to decide whether King Erik will be replaced by a dwarf whose campaign promise is to "rid dungeons of mazes of any sort." The character must interact with others and perform tasks for them, gathering objects that will be needed for later tasks in order to escape from Kerovnia and return to reality.

The show was called ''The Riordans'' after the name of the central family, consisting of the middle-aged parents, Tom and Mary, and their oldest son, Benjy, as well as the latter's siblings Michael and Jude, who had left farming for other careers and had more adventurous personal lives. Other leading characters included the family doctor, his Protestant gentry-born wife, the (radical Vatican II-oriented) Catholic priest, the conservative Church of Ireland rector, the local pub owner, some nomadic Irish Travellers and others.

The novel tells the story of Divine, a drag queen who, when the novel opens, has died of tuberculosis and been canonised as a result. The narrator tells us that the stories he is telling are mainly to amuse himself whilst he passes his sentence in prison – and the highly erotic, often explicitly sexual, stories are spun to assist his masturbation. Jean-Paul Sartre called it "the epic of masturbation".

Divine lives in an attic room overlooking Montmartre cemetery, which he shares with various lovers, the most important of whom is a pimp called Darling Daintyfoot. One day Darling brings home a young hoodlum and murderer, dubbed Our Lady of the Flowers. Our Lady is eventually arrested and tried, and executed. Death and ecstasy accompany the acts of every character, as Genet performs a transvaluation of all values, making betrayal the highest moral value, murder an act of virtue and sexual appeal.

In the world of underground motorcycle drag racing, the undefeated phenom known as Smoke (Laurence Fishburne) is the undisputed "King of Cali" fending off challengers who are determined to win Smoke's "crown" and earn the coveted title.

Kid (Derek Luke), a novice rider and motorcycle club "prospect", has been assisting his father, mechanic Slick Will (Eriq La Salle), as they prepare Smoke's bike for an evening of racing. In narration, Kid quotes his dad as saying “the difference between men and boys is the lessons they learn” and adds that his father taught him plenty.

Kid practices stunts on the set and meets Tina (Meagan Good), while an eager, local biker issues a challenge to Smoke, who accepts. Smoke, casually utilizing “tunnel vision”, wins the race but the challenger loses control when his bike suffers a hydraulics malfunction well over 100 MPH and crashes into a row of parked bikes. Upended, the motorcycle is sent flipping though the air, striking Slick Will and throwing him through a plate storefront window. Both men are instantly killed. At Slick Will's funeral, Smoke leads dozens of bikers from the "Black Knights", to personally offer his condolences to Slick Will’s widow Anita (Vanessa Bell Calloway) and drops a signed Black Knights flag into his grave. Kid is unimpressed with the gesture and triggered.

Six months later, Kid is now a capable rider with his own custom-powered bike. Winning his first "race" by dangerously interfering in a challenge between a drunken biker and biker Donny (Tyson Beckford), Kid displays his speed and skill, successfully pulling off stunts hinted at earlier. The crowd loves it, much to the dissatisfaction of Smoke. Kid calls Smoke out to challenge but the latter dismisses this and tells the inexperienced youth to get more experience and clout first.

At a diner, Kid meets the “drunk” racer Stuntman (Brendan Fehr) where it is revealed that the two are secret hustling partners and they split the winnings. To cover their tracks, fellow biker Primo (Rick Gonzalez) suggests that the trio form a bike club and after a bit of persuasion they agree. Kid also tracks down Tina, a tattoo artist and the two start a romance.

Kid makes amends to the biker jury consisting of 10 leaders of the most powerful biker gangs. He apologizes for his disrespect, specifically towards their chairman - Smoke and they agree to verify the new club with the trio calling themselves "Biker Boyz". At a local fund raising event, the trio becomes a quintet. Smoke courts an old flame and later, is challenged by leader of the Strays and long-time rival Dogg (Kid Rock), and the two wager thousands, their lids (helmets) and the title.

The day of the race, Smoke defeats the aggressive Dogg without issue and afterwards, in late but stunting fashion, the Biker Boyz arrive. Kid trash talks Motherland (Djimon Hounsou) in an impromptu move to provoke Smoke. Smoke is unamused with Kid’s bid to "make an entrance" and the Black Knights exit. Motherland and Kid race until Police descend upon the finish line and the young racer is arrested. The rest of the bikers manage to escape. A lawyer for the Black Knights bails Kid out and Anita confronts him, threatening to evict Kid from her house if he races again.

The night of the Black Knights annual dance, Kid is challenged by proxy to race Dogg and accepts after a squabble with Tina’s brother and Strays mechanic (Larenz Tate) Wood. Having overheard, Anita finds Smoke before the race and demands that he stop it. Smoke and Anita argue until she relents, telling Smoke that Kid is actually ''his'' son and not Slick Will's. Incredulous, Smoke is moved to act and manages to draw Kid into an altercation. Kid attacks Smoke but the veteran confiscates Kid’s keys and knocks him out cold, successfully averting the race.

Recovering at home, Kid confronts Anita, who confesses decades old truths. Enraged and grief stricken, Kid leaves home and moves in with his girlfriend Tina. Kid elects to go rogue and after gaining more followers for his club, gathers his team, declaring "we're gonna win more lids than any crew on the set and we're gonna out hustle every crew off the set" and indicates at reinvention, "Biker Boyz set their own rules."

The Biker Boyz get their own hangout and begin hustling several races, but when Stuntman successfully hustles the nephew of a dangerous biker, he and Primo are ambushed at a party. Kid comes to the rescue but is quickly overpowered by the leader of the other club who pulls a gun. Smoke and a group of Black Knights intervene to settle terms and convince the vengeful bikers to stand down. Smoke and Kid have a sit down at the Biker Boyz spot but Kid is more dismissive and angry as ever. Aggravated, Smoke finally agrees to race Kid, under the condition that whoever loses will never race again; but first Smoke has to allow Kid to race Dogg at the next circuit event. Soon thereafter Kid reconciles with Anita.

At the race track, Kid and his team face the Strays with Smoke and the Black Knights at watch from the stands. Dogg and Kid race down the strip until Dogg does a “bump and run“ causing Kid to “lay the bike down” into a crash. Although Kid is unhurt, his bike is wrecked. Later that day, Smoke informs Kid that the authorities are closing the track, due to the amount of crashes, but he has managed to rent a farm outside of town, securing their race. Kid agrees to arrive the next day.

Later that night, Kid, Primo, and Stuntman are trying unsuccessfully to fix Kid's bike when the Strays arrive to confront them. Wood confirms that the damage is too severe to mend in time for the race. Dogg concedes that only their bikes are as strong and fast as Smoke’s. As a peace offering, Dogg lends Kid his bike, giving the youth a viable shot at winning.

The following day, Black Knights and Biker Boyz arrive and line up in opposing formation in the open field, not unlike an old western showdown. Smoke calls for a fair race, with no nitrous oxide system; Kid wants Tina to call the start. Smoke and Kid race on a dirt road behind the farm and Kid adopts Smoke’s “tunnel vision” with the finish line in sight. On course to win, Smoke is suddenly filled with emotions and instead slows down to let his son win - giving way to Kid becoming the new "King of Cali".

Smoke, impressed and proud, relinquishes the crown to a humbled and respectful Kid who tells Smoke to keep his helmet. The two men reconcile their differences and enjoy an embrace. Kid watches on as his father rides off into the sunset and in narration repeats Slick Will’s sentiment in full context that “the difference between men and boys are the lessons they learn” and adds that his father taught him plenty.

When the Simpson family visits an animation festival, Homer discovers Animotion, a motion capture technology that enables a real person to control a cartoon character with his or her own movements. Homer volunteers to demonstrate this technology and likes it so much that he invests his life savings in the Animotion stock. Two days later, he discovers that the stock has plunged and the company behind the technology has gone out of business. At Moe's Tavern, he tells Barney and Moe about his economic troubles, and Barney suggests that Homer become a human guinea pig to earn money.

Homer gets a job at a medical testing center. During one experiment, while commenting on Homer's stupidity, the doctors find a crayon lodged in Homer's brain from a childhood incident when he stuck sixteen crayons up his nose and didn’t sneeze one of them out. The doctors offer to surgically remove the crayon, and Homer accepts their offer. Homer survives the operation, and his IQ goes up fifty points, allowing him to form a bond with his intelligent daughter Lisa. Homer's newfound brain capacity soon brings him enemies, however, after he performs a thorough report on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's many hazards, leading to massive layoffs when the plant is shut down until its many problems can be repaired or resolved.

When Homer visits Moe's Tavern, he sees an effigy of himself being burnt by his friends who worked at the plant. Homer realizes that due to his improved intelligence, he is no longer welcome and that his life was a lot more enjoyable when he was an idiot. He therefore begs the test center doctors to put the crayon back into his brain. The scientists refuse to do it, but recommend Homer to someone who can: Moe, who is also an unlicensed physician. At his bar, Moe inserts a crayon into Homer's brain, returning him to the idiot he was before. Lisa is initially saddened that she and her father have lost the new connection they shared. However, she finds a note written by Homer before the operation that reads: "Lisa, I’m taking the coward’s way out. But before I do, I just want you to know being smart made me appreciate how amazing you really are.". After reading the note, she gets emotional and hugs her father.

While Marge takes Maggie to the hospital after Maggie swallows an issue of ''Time'' magazine whole, Homer, Bart and Lisa go grocery shopping. Homer and other shoppers at the store mistreat the bag boys, which results in every bag boy and server in Springfield going on strike, which extends to knocking self-packed grocery bags out of the hands of customers. When the Simpsons run out of food in their home, the family follows Santa's Little Helper into the attic, where he finds a 30-year-old box of animal crackers.

Homer bites into a solid-gold giraffe, which is the winning contest piece for a trip to Africa. The animal cracker company initially refuses to honor the prize because the contest ended a number of years ago. But when Homer is hit in the eye by a sharp corner of the box, the company gives the Simpsons their Africa trip in order to avoid a lawsuit.

The family lands in Tanzania. When the family is in Africa, their tour guide Kitenge takes them to experience such sights as the Masai Mara, Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and meet with a group of Maasai tribesmen. During a vigorous tribal dance, Homer manages to enrage a hippo. It chases after the family, but they managed to escape by using a tribal shield as a raft going down the raging Zambezi river. After surviving the plunge over Victoria Falls, the family eventually reaches Mount Kilimanjaro and stumbles upon a nearby chimpanzee sanctuary maintained by the scientist Dr. Joan Bushwell (a parody of Jane Goodall). She claims to be researching the animals behavior when a group of poachers arrive to take the chimps.

The Simpsons try to hold off the poachers but eventually they break into the sanctuary. The poachers are revealed to be Greenpeace activists, who prove that Dr. Bushwell is actually a chimp slave master, exploiting their labor at a nearby diamond mine. Worried that the Simpsons will report her to the authorities, Dr. Bushwell offers everyone diamonds as a bribe – which all the Simpsons except Lisa happily accept. On the plane ride back to Springfield, it is revealed that their former tour guide, Kitenge, is now president of the country, with the former president now the Simpsons' flight attendant.

Jonathan Safran Foer (the author), a young American Jew, who is vegetarian and an avid collector of his family's heritage, journeys to Ukraine in search of Augustine, the woman who saved his grandfather's life during the Nazi liquidation of Trachimbrod, his family shtetl (a small town) in occupied eastern Poland. Armed with maps, cigarettes and many copies of an old photograph of Augustine and his grandfather, Jonathan begins his search with the help from Ukrainian native and soon-to-be good friend, Alexander "Alex" Perchov, who is Foer's age and very fond of American pop culture, albeit culture that is already out of date in the United States. Alexander studied English at his university, and even though his knowledge of the language is not "first-rate", he becomes Foer's translator. Alex's "blind" grandfather and his "deranged seeing-eye bitch," Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr., accompany them on their journey. Interspersed throughout the book is the story that Jonathan Safran Foer (the character) learns about his ancestors—namely, his great-times-five-or-six grandmother Brod and his grandfather Safran. Brod has a magical, maybe-virgin birth, when she, as a baby, bobs to the surface after her father dies in a wagon accident in the river Brod, for which the baby is later named. A man named Yankel raises her until he dies.

Ten years after the war for the Mini-Cons and the apparent destruction of Unicron, the mysterious Alpha Q (which stands for "Quintesson"), operating out of the husk of the planet-eater's body, releases energy-eating Terrorcons to attack the Autobots' Cybertron Cities in the Solar system, gathering Energon for Alpha Q's plan. As the Autobots mobilize against the new threat alongside their human allies (including the teenager Kicker), Alpha Q creates Scorponok to lead the Terrorcons and forges a sword from the Spark of the Decepticon leader Megatron (whose corpse lies within Unicron), later known as Galvatron, in order to turn the other Decepticons on Earth to his side. Megatron engineers his own resurrection, however, taking control of Unicron's body and forcing Alpha Q to flee inside Unicron's head, then attacking Ocean City on Earth. Alpha Q recreates Starscream to assassinate Optimus Prime, but Starscream is brainwashed into Megatron's service, all along Scorponok continues to act as Alpha Q's mole within the Decepticons. Meanwhile, as the Autobots begin construction of Energon Towers to protect the Earth, the legendary figure from Cybertron history known as Rodimus makes his reappearance.

With the activation of Earth's new Energon Grid, shielding it from attack by the Decepticons, the Autobots turn their attention to Unicron. Leaving Earth in the ship, the ''Miranda II'', they locate Unicron's body. Megatron mobilizes the chaos-bringer, and pursues the Autobots through their space bridge, emerging in the vicinity of Cybertron. The Transformers' homeworld riddled with Energon towers, fired, leaving Unicron badly damaged. The Autobots form an alliance with Alpha Q, who is already working with Rodimus and his crew, and learn his origin and his motives for stealing Energon: he seeks to use it to recreate that which Unicron has destroyed. Meanwhile, Megatron's forces attack Cybertron, and the Decepticon criminal Shockblast is inducted into their ranks. In the course of Shockblast's escape from prison, guard Wing Dagger swears revenge for the death of his partner, Padlock, and when an Energon tower collapses on him and Tidal Wave, Megatron reconstructs his minion as Mirage, while Primus recreates Wing Dagger as the mighty Wing Saber, who joins the battle alongside Optimus Prime within Unicron. As the battle rages, Kicker arranges to channel all of Earth's Energon into Unicron's head, which Alpha Q then rams into Unicron's body. The resultant reaction with the negatively charged Energon within the body causes a fissure in reality, through which all the combatants are sucked.

In the new region of space on the other side of the fissure, Alpha Q has successfully recreated all the worlds destroyed by Unicron, sustaining them from within Unicron's head, which has now become an Energon sun. The Autobots set about establishing Energon Towers on the new planets to protect them, while Megatron sees the new worlds as a source of more Energon to reactivate Unicron. Having brainwashed Scorponok to become fully loyal to him, Megatron attempts to do the same to Inferno, but he fights the process. A rescue team consisting of Cliffjumper, Downshift, and Bulkhead is dispatched from Cybertron and Earth and teams up with the Autobots to protect the new worlds, but Inferno is then destroyed when he falls into the Energon sun, defeating the Decepticon influence of Megatron. Thankfully, his Spark is saved and he is reborn as Roadblock, just as the ancient Autobot, Omega Supreme, is awakened on Cybertron and joins the Autobots. Megatron succeeds in animating Unicron, who reclaims his head, killing Alpha Q in the process, but then Shockblast attempts to seize control of Unicron, only to have his own mind taken over by the "demi-god", ultimately destroying him. Megatron then resumes control, but falls prey to Unicron's influence as well, as the two minds battle for control as they struggle with Optimus Supreme, the combined form of Optimus Prime and Omega Supreme. Optimus Supreme is enlarged to giant size with a power boost from Primus which also energises several of the other Autobots. In a veritable battle of the titans, Optimus Supreme destroys Unicron, but his mind lives on within Megatron.

Although many of the Decepticons are captured and imprisoned on Cybertron, Megatron and his remaining forces soon attack the planet and free them. Another fugitive is Shockblast's younger brother, Sixshot, who joins Megatron's team to get revenge on Optimus Prime for his brother's death. Guided by Unicron's consciousness, Megatron is led to a subterranean reservoir of Super Energon, which transforms him into Galvatron. Two of the Super Energon's guardians, Bruticus Maximus and Constructicon Maximus, awake from stasis and side with him, but the third, Superion Maximus, sides with the Autobots. In the ensuing battle, the rupture of several Energon Towers sees a blanket of damaging Energon gas coat Cybertron's surface, keeping the Autobots trapped off the planet, forcing them to send in Kicker and the Omnicons to stop the gas flow while Galvatron seizes control of the planet and directs its movement back to Alpha Q's region of space. In a multi-pronged attack, the Autobots turn the tables, but Galvatron then immerses himself in the Super Energon again, growing to a colossal size, as Unicron's mind once again takes over his own and directs him into space to merge with his Spark, still intact in the void. Optimus Prime grows to gigantic size also and forces Galvatron into a battle, bringing his consciousness back to the surface, at which point Prime drains Unicron's essence from his body. Galvatron then seeks to destroy Unicron's spark, but is possessed by it, while all of the Autobots combine their Sparks of Combination with Optimus Prime, reviving him and leading into the final battle with Unicron, which is promptly aborted when Galvatron takes control of his body again and plunges himself into the foundling sun created by Primus from the Super Energon, preferring to die than to be manipulated. With this action, the sun ignites, breathing new life into Alpha Q's worlds, lighting the way to a brighter tomorrow.

By the terms of her late father's will, spoiled London heiress Epifania Ognissanti di Parerga, the richest woman in the world, cannot marry unless her prospective husband is able to turn £500 into £15,000 within a three-month period. When Epifania becomes smitten with Alastair, a muscular tennis player, she rigs the contest by giving him £500 in stock and then buying it back for £15,000. Alastair is unable to live peacefully with the domineering Epifania, however, and is carrying on with the more domestic Polly Smith.

Contemplating suicide, Epifania melodramatically plunges into the Thames, and when Dr. Ahmed el Kabir, a self-effacing, selfless Indian physician who runs an inadequately equipped clinic for the poor, ignores her plight and paddles past in his rowboat, she swims to shore and accuses him of being an assassin. Julius Sagamore, the shrewd family solicitor, then suggests that Epifania undergo therapy with noted society psychiatrist Adrian Bland. The opportunist Bland makes a bid for her hand, but after he criticises her father, Epifania throws him into the Thames, and when Kabir rows out to help Bland, Epifania jumps in the river after him. Kabir takes her to a fishmonger's place to dry off. Attempting to ensnare him, Epifania feigns injury; the dedicated doctor remains impervious to her charms, indifferent to her wealth, even as they experience a definite 'connection' when he takes her wrist.

Determined to win the doctor, Epifania buys the property surrounding his clinic and then erects a new, modern facility. After Kabir rejects Epifania's offer to run the facility, she suggests that they marry instead. Intimidated by the headstrong heiress, Kabir manufactures a deathbed promise that he made to his mother, pledging that he would not marry unless his prospective bride can take 35 shillings and earn her own living for three months. Undaunted, Epifania accepts his challenge and then discloses the details of her father's will and hands him £500. When Kabir protests that he has no head for money, Epifania—knowing she will be able to again rig the situation—plops down the wad of bills and leaves.

Setting out to prove her worth, Epifania takes 35 shillings and heads for a sweatshop pasta factory. There, she threatens to expose the labour violations unless Joe, the proprietor, allows her to manage the plant. Three months later, Epifania has installed labour-saving machines, thus boosting productivity and making the plant a big success. Kabir, meanwhile, has tried in vain to give away his £500. After Kabir becomes drunk at a scientific dinner hosted by a wealthy doctor, he finds a sympathetic ear in his former professor and mentor, who offers to accept his money. At the clinic, Kabir eagerly turns over the cash to the professor. Soon after the professor leaves, Epifania appears and informs Kabir that she has met his mother's challenge. When he replies that he has failed and given all the money away, Epifania is deeply offended. Deciding to turn her back on the world of men, she announces that she plans to fire her board of directors, disband her empire and retire to a Tibetan monastery once she has evicted all the monks.

Desperate to keep his job, Sagamore realises that Kabir is responsible for Epifania's erratic behaviour and goes to see the doctor. At the clinic, Sagamore tells Kabir that Epifania has vowed to withdraw from the world at the stroke of midnight. Concerned that this means she is seriously considering suicide, Kabir hurries to the reception where Epifania is to bid farewell to her previous existence. Certain that their marriage is now imminent, Sagamore meets the terms of the will by purchasing Kabir's medical papers for £15,000. After Kabir rushes to Epifania, they kiss and he finally expresses his love.

''Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan'' tells the story of 13-year-old junior high schooler Sakura Kusakabe, who twenty years in the future develops a technology that causes all women to stop physically aging after they reach twelve years old in an attempt to create a "Lolicon's World". However, this act accidentally creates immortality amongst humans, thus offending God. Dokuro Mitsukai, a member of an order of assassin angels that are called Lulutie, has been sent from the future to kill him. Believing that Sakura can be redeemed, Dokuro decides instead to keep Sakura so occupied and distracted that he can never develop the immortality technology. In response to her reluctance to complete the assassination mission, Sabato, another assassin of the Lulutie order, is dispatched to ensure the mandate of God is carried out. Using her feminine wiles along with her electric baton as her weapons of choice, Sabato seeks to kill Sakura herself and Dokuro is forced to oppose her. In so doing, Dokuro pits herself against the will of Heaven itself in order to protect him.

Ironically, she herself quite possibly poses a greater threat to his well-being as a result of her capricious and highly volatile personality. Due to her impulsive nature and super-human strength, she often carelessly or unthinkingly kills him with her massive spiked ''kanabō'' (club), ''Excalibolg'', only to regret it moments later and return him to life with angelic power accompanied by her whimsical personal chant of "Pipiru-piru-piru-pipiru-pii". This repeated trauma, along with myriad other problems she causes for him, prompts Sakura to ultimately question whether her "protection" is worth it and ponder that it might be ultimately preferable to simply allow Sabato to kill him permanently and put an end to his perpetual misery.

Steve Grayson (Presley) is a generous NASCAR race car driver with a heart of gold who feels compelled to bail friends and acquaintances out of financial hardship. However, Steve's manager Kenny Donford, a compulsive gambler, had been mismanaging Steve's winnings to support his gambling habits, landing Steve in deep trouble with the IRS for nonpayment of back taxes and causing many of Steve's valuable possessions to be repossessed. This proves to be a problem for Steve in his efforts to continue racing competitively and support those who depend on his intense generosity.

Enter Susan Jacks (Sinatra), an IRS agent assigned to keep tabs on Steve and apply his future prize money toward his $150,000 debt, but she ends up taking a romantic interest in him as well.

Despite indications of a malfunction in the TARDIS, its fault locator shows nothing is wrong and that it is safe to go outside. The First Doctor (William Hartnell), Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford) consequently explore the vicinity, finding the remains of giant earthworm and ant, which appear to have died instantaneously. The travellers realise they have returned to Earth but have shrunk to the height of an inch. Ian investigates the interior of a discarded matchbox when it is picked up by a government scientist called Farrow (Frank Crawshaw), who is visiting a callous industrialist named Forester (Alan Tilvern) to tell him that his application for a new insecticide called DN6 has been rejected as it is far too deadly to all forms of insect life. News of this appraisal prompts Forester to fatally shoot Farrow. The Doctor, Barbara, and Susan hear the gunshot and head for the house to find Ian unhurt near Farrow's corpse.

Forester's aide, Smithers (Reginald Barratt), arrives but does not report the murder for fear of undermining the DN6 project to which he has dedicated his life. Ian and Barbara hide inside Farrow's briefcase to avoid being stepped on by Forester and Smithers, and get separated from the Doctor and Susan after the briefcase is brought inside the house. The Doctor and Susan climb up a drain pipe to find them. Forester alters Farrow's report to give support to the DN6 licence application and, disguising his voice as Farrow’s, makes a supportive phone call to the ministry to the same effect. This is overheard by the local telephone operator Hilda Rowse (Rosemary Johnson) and her policeman husband Bert (Fred Ferris), who suspect something is wrong.

Within the house, Ian and Barbara encounter a giant fly, which is killed instantly when it contacts sample seeds that had been sprayed with DN6. Barbara had handled one of these seeds and begins to feel unwell. The Doctor, realising the toxic nature of DN6 and the probable contamination of Barbara, proposes they alert someone by hoisting up the giant telephone receiver, but they cannot make themselves heard. At the telephone exchange, the engaged signal makes Hilda and Bert increasingly concerned. Bert heads off to the house to investigate. The Doctor and his companions decide to attract attention by starting a fire, succeeding in manoeuvring an aerosol can into the flames of the Bunsen burner gas outlet. This coincides with Smithers discovering the true virulence of DN6 and demanding Forester cease his licence application. In the lab, the makeshift bomb explodes in Forester’s face as PC Rowse arrives. Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor succeeds in returning the craft and crew to normal size, a process which cures Barbara of her infection by DN6.

The game package acknowledges the strong influence of Tolkien on the plot of ''Journey''. A land reminiscent of Middle-earth has been ravaged by a mysterious, evil power. Crops, water, and the inhabitants themselves suffer from unexplainable illnesses and blights. A group of villagers ventured forth to seek the help of the reclusive wizard Astrix, but they have not been heard from in months. It is feared that few will survive the additional hardships of the coming winter, and so a second group is being dispatched. The four chosen are Bergon (a young carpenter), Praxix (a wizard), Esher (a healer), and Tag (a merchant). They leave their village behind to cross unknown lands with two goals: to discover the fate of the earlier party, and to plead Astrix for assistance. While Bergon is the leader the group, the story is told by Tag and, for the most part, seen through his eyes.

The ''Enterprise'' arrives at Tyrus 7A to oversee a fledgling mining technology, a "particle fountain", engineered by Dr. Farallon. While on the planet, the crew observe the use of small machines called Exocomps that Dr. Farallon claims can analyze a problem, replicate the correct tool to repair it, and "learn" this for future situations. During a test, one Exocomp refuses to enter a tunnel; moments later a confined explosion occurs within the tunnel. Dr. Farallon, Lt. Commander Data, and Lt. La Forge investigate the Exocomp, finding several more new electronic pathways in its circuits than they expected. Dr. Farallon, having encountered this before, would normally erase the unit's memory, but Data suggests that the unit may have exhibited self-preservation behavior and wishes to examine it further. Data asserts that if this is true, the Exocomps should no longer be used on the particle fountain, but Dr. Farallon dismisses his claims, and says that any delay will ruin the years of work she has put into the project already.

Data tests the Exocomp aboard the ''Enterprise'', instructing it to repair a malfunction in a Jeffries tube, though having jury-rigged a false alarm that would alert the Exocomp to danger. To his disappointment, the Exocomp continues to repair the malfunction through the alarm. However, when Data investigates the unit, he finds that it has repaired not only the malfunction but his false alarm, having sensed it was not in any danger from the test. Data concludes the Exocomps possess self-preservation and are sentient.

While Picard and other ''Enterprise'' crew are visiting the fountain, a malfunction occurs, threatening to release massive doses of radiation. All but Picard and La Forge are beamed to the ''Enterprise'' before the radiation blocks any further attempts. Riker and Dr. Farallon arrange to have the Exocomps beamed into the facility to shield Picard and La Forge long enough to beam them out at the cost of destroying the Exocomps, but Data has locked out the transporter controllers, claiming the machines are sentient and refusing to allow them to be forced to die for others. After some negotiating, Data allows the Exocomps to be used but only if they are given the choice to go. The Exocomps show their intent to proceed and are beamed to the fountain. The units configure themselves such that they not only allow Picard and La Forge to be rescued, but for all but one of the Exocomps to return to the ''Enterprise'', the last one sacrificing itself for this purpose.

As the damage to the fountain is repaired, Dr. Farallon admits she is still not sure if the Exocomps are sentient but promises not to abuse them again. Data explains to Picard that he had to stand up for the Exocomps, just as Picard had stood up for him when his own sentience was questioned. Picard acknowledges that Data's actions were probably the most human thing he has ever done.

Greg Nolan (Presley) is a newspaper photographer who lives a carefree life until he encounters an eccentric, lovelorn woman named Bernice on the beach. Bernice assumes different names and personalities whenever the mood hits her. She introduces herself to Greg as "Alice" but she is known to the grocery delivery boy as "Susie" and to the milkman as "Betty."

After having her Great Dane dog Albert (which was reportedly Presley's real-life dog Brutus, though Priscilla Presley has stated that it was a trained dog used for the film) chase Greg into the water when he insults her after a kiss, Bernice invites him to stay at her beachfront home. Bernice later causes Greg to get fired from his job and get evicted from his apartment after drugging him, which leaves him in a deep sleep for days.

However, Bernice manages to find Greg another home. Greg wants to repay her, so he procures two full-time photographer jobs: one for a ''Playboy''-like magazine owned by Mike Lansdown (Don Porter), and the other for a very conservative advertising firm co-owned by Mr. Penlow (Vallee). The two jobs are in the same building, forcing Greg to run from one to the other without being detected. Greg also deals with Bernice and her eccentric ways, and finally realizes he's fallen in love with her.

After Otto destroys the school bus, Homer is forced to carpool several students to school. He is shocked to find all the kids hate the classic rock radio station he listens to. Homer realizes that music from his high school days is no longer considered cool after a hipster at a record store derides it.

Hoping to impress them, Homer takes Bart and Lisa to the Hullabalooza music festival. Homer tries to act cool by wearing a Rastafarian hat, but an angry crowd of Generation Xers confronts him after mistaking him for a narc. After being tossed out by the crowd, Homer angrily kicks a cannon, which shoots one of Peter Frampton's inflatable pigs at his stomach. The festival head is impressed by Homer's ability to absorb cannon fire and hires him for the festival's freak show (played by the Jim Rose Circus), called the pageant of the transmundane.

Homer tours with the festival and parties with rap and rock stars — Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill and The Smashing Pumpkins — while earning respect among young people, including Bart. As the tour approaches a stop in Springfield, Homer's stomach aches and he is sent to a veterinarian. The doctor informs Homer he will die if he takes another cannonball to his gut. Homer decides to perform his act one last time, but he dodges the cannonball at the last second. After a warm sendoff from the touring bands, Homer leaves the festival and loses his kids' respect for no longer being cool, which he embraces.

Steven (Hugo Stiglitz) a U.S.-born Mexican businessman, arrives in a Mexican resort village on a yacht anchored offshore. One of the local fishermen and the caretaker of the yacht, Colorado (Roberto Guzmán), takes Steven with him when he goes to haul in the sharks he has caught, but is annoyed to find that another shark has taken a huge bite out of one of them.

Steven then sets his sights on Patricia (Fiona Lewis), an Englishwoman on vacation. They have a whirlwind romance but break up when Steven can't decide if he's in love with her. Steven is extremely jealous, however, when she begins a relationship with Miguel (Andrés García), a womanizing swimming instructor at the nearby resort hotel. While Steven stews on the yacht, Patricia and Miguel have sex. Then she goes skinny-dipping in the ocean and is eaten by a large tiger shark.

The next day, Steven confronts Miguel in the hotel bar. Miguel tells Steven that Patricia was in love with Steven, but she must have returned to England. Neither man ever learns of her true fate. Miguel introduces Steven to two sisters, American college students Kelly and Cynthia Madison (Jennifer Ashley and Laura Lyons). They go on a double date and swim to the yacht for some skinny-dipping at the sisters' suggestion. The shark is in the water nearby, but they safely make it to the boat. Kelly and Cynthia then hop back and forth between Miguel's and Steven's beds. They all swim back to shore the next morning, and the submerged tiger shark again chooses not to bother them. When Miguel and Steven start a shark hunting business, Miguel tells Steven that they must immediately get out of the water if a tiger shark ever appears.

One night, Miguel and Steven meet Gabriella (Susan George) a young English tourist. Miguel and Steven take Gabriella shark hunting with them. She is appalled by what they do, but admits her feelings for them have become powerful. The three of them decide to have a triangular relationship; she'll be sexually involved with both of them, but they won't fall in love with her or with them. They tour the local Mayan archaeological sites together, then retire to the yacht for sex. The next time they go shark hunting, a shark appears and rips Miguel in half.

Gabriella is so upset that she decides to return to England. Steven, meanwhile, vows revenge on the shark, enlisting the local coastguard and fishermen in a campaign to kill the tiger shark and seemingly every other shark in the area. "I hate the bastards", Steven tells the troubled Colonado, who in turn assures him that so many sharks have been killed, the tiger shark must have been one of them. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Steven or Colonado, the tiger shark attacks another small fishing boat and eats two fishermen.

Steven goes to a nighttime beach party with Kelly, Cynthia and two other American women (Priscilla Barnes and Pamela Garner). After the party ends, Kelly and Cynthia suggest more skinny-dipping. This time, the tiger shark attacks, ripping Cynthia from Steven's arms as he makes out with her in the water. The other women make it safely to shore.

After Kelly's father arrives to take her home, Steven vows to kill the shark himself. That night, Steven attempts to lure the shark with a devilfish he's speared for the occasion. When he spots the shark, he shoots it with a speargun, hitting it between the eyes, killing it. Steven's fate is left unknown.

Jess Wade, a former member of a gang of outlaws led by Vince Hackett, is led to believe that an old flame, Tracy Winters, wants to meet him in a seedy Mexican saloon. Jess sees Billy Roy Hackett, Vince's younger brother, summoning Vince and the other members of the gang into the saloon, and realizes he is being set up. Jess orders the bar patrons to leave before a shootout ensues. Making a break for the door, Jess is stopped by Gunner, another gang member, and is forced to relinquish his gun and to go with them to their hideout in the mountains. Vince later tells him that the gang has stolen a gold-plated cannon that was used by Emperor Maximilian in his ill-fated fight against popular Mexican leader Benito Juárez. Vince informs him that, according to a wanted poster, Jess was in the gang who stole the cannon and had sustained a neck wound as a result of being shot by one of the guards. Ordering his men to subdue Jess on the ground, Vince uses a branding iron to burn his neck. They take his horse, leaving him stranded. He captures a wild horse in the desert and saddle-breaks it. The gang's motive is to force a ransom from the town they stole the cannon from, but the gang also use the cannon to hold the townspeople at bay. Only Wade can save the people from his former gang.

In a small Iowa town in 1927, a traveling Chautauqua company arrives, with internal squabbles dividing the troupe. The new manager, Walter Hale (Elvis Presley), is trying to prevent Charlene, the troupe's "Story Lady" (Marlyn Mason), from recruiting the performers to form a union.

Meanwhile, the town has a scandal following the murder of the local pharmacist Wilby (Dabney Coleman). Although a shady gambler is arrested, Walter realizes that the real killer is Nita (Sheree North), one of Wilby's employees.

Walter successfully gets Nita to confess during a Chautauqua performance, where she makes public the sexual harassment that Wilby directed at her. Nita's self-defense plea frees the wrongly jailed man, but Charlene is outraged that Walter used the crime to financially enrich the Chautauqua, and attempts to quit.

Walter attempts to reason with Charlene, but when she refuses to give in, he deceives her and uses the local police force to be sure that she must leave on the train with the rest of the troupe.

Willow and Tara snuggle in bed together after their reconciliation, discussing the possibility that something is going on between Buffy and Spike. Tara confirms Willow's suspicions, adding that Buffy feels ashamed of her sexual relationship with Spike. Willow is hurt that she was never told, but simply puts it aside when she remembers what Buffy is going through. Willow goes to check on Buffy, but instead encounters Dawn in the hallway. When Tara appears wearing just a sheet, Dawn is thrilled to see they are back together.

Buffy meanwhile has decided to take care of the Trio once and for all and breaks into their lair, but finds the place deserted and dangerous traps waiting for her. She escapes, managing to grab a few items before large saw blades tear apart the house. Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Tara gather to go over those items, realizing sadly that the rest of the group will not be helping since they are all preoccupied. Anya sits with a young scorned woman who wants to wish vengeance on her cheating boyfriend, but Anya is too busy talking about her own relationship problems to notice the young woman's wish. Dawn visits Spike at his crypt, informing him that she knows he had sex with Anya and Buffy. She lectures him about hurting Buffy when he supposedly loves her and leaves him wondering how he could show his love to her.

Meanwhile in a cave, the Trio kill a large Nezzla demon who is guarding the Orbs of Nezzla'khan. Warren and Andrew make Jonathan wrap himself in the dead Nezzla's skin to cross a barrier that can only be passed by one of the demons, and as he fetches the orbs the other two conspire against him. Warren tests the power of the orbs and is pleased when he can easily kill another demon.

Xander, aghast that Buffy slept with Spike, storms out of an argument with her. He walks the streets alone, pausing briefly to secretly look in on Anya as she works at the Magic Shop. He ends up at The Bronze drinking away his sorrow over Anya and Spike, when the nerds enter. Orb-enhanced Warren hits on a former schoolmate's girlfriend, and when the woman's boyfriend steps in Warren fights off the boyfriend and several others with ease. Xander tries to intervene but is tossed aside.

Later, at home in bed, Willow reviews some files on her laptop, but is quickly distracted by Tara. Buffy, badly injured from patrolling earlier, runs a bath for herself to soothe her aching back. Spike shows up uninvited and tries to convince her that she loves him and just needs to admit it. She protests as he forces himself on her, his attempt to make her feel love for him again. With her back injured, Buffy barely manages to stop his advance on her. Immediately horrified by his behavior, Spike attempts to apologize, but Buffy knows he only stopped because she made him. He flees before Xander finds his coat on the stairs, then finds Buffy on the floor in the bathroom with a large bruise on her leg. Xander is stopped from going after Spike when Willow and Tara arrive to tell Buffy they found plans indicating the Trio are planning to steal a large amount of money. After Xander warns her of Warren's new strength, Buffy rushes off to stop them.

Returning to his crypt, Spike pours himself a drink, but is too traumatized by his rape attempt that he crushes the glass in his hand in anger. Just then Clem visits, and Spike begins to wonder exactly what he is. He becomes distraught both that he attacked Buffy and that he backed off – something the pre-chip Spike would never have done. He questions whether his feelings for Buffy really are love, realizing he is not a monster, yet cannot be a man. After Clem tells him that things change, Spike boards his motorcycle at the city limits and leaves Sunnydale, vowing to return a changed being.

Warren overturns an armored car loaded up with money from a big weekend at an amusement park. Buffy shows up and fights him, but quickly finds herself outmatched against Warren's strength; Warren taunts Buffy with his supposed mastery. Jonathan jumps on Buffy's back and appears to be fighting her, but he quietly informs her that she needs to smash the orbs in order to defeat Warren. Buffy smashes the orbs on Warren's belt. No longer strong, Warren uses a hidden jet pack to escape freely into the sky. Andrew reveals he too has a jet pack, but when he tries to escape, he only knocks himself out on the overhanging roof above him. As the cops haul Jonathan and Andrew off to jail, the jetpack-less Jonathan realizes that the two were about to betray him.

Willow and Tara get dressed and while hugging, Tara notices Xander and Buffy in the backyard together. Buffy and Xander begin to discuss Buffy's relationship with Spike, and the two make up and reaffirm their friendship. As the two hug, Xander spots Warren entering the backyard with a gun. Warren rants about his recent defeat, pulls out the gun, fires directly at Buffy as revenge, then shoots randomly over his shoulder as he runs away. Buffy and Xander topple to the ground as a bullet fires at the window to Willow's bedroom and strikes Tara in the back as she is facing Willow. The blood from her wound splatters on Willow's shirt. Tara stares at the stain and manages to acknowledge the bloodied shirt before she collapses and dies. Xander tries to staunch the bleeding of Buffy's chest wound, while in the house, Willow cries out as she holds Tara's lifeless body and her eyes turn magically dark red with pain and fury.

The story is set before the events that took place in the original ''Mortal Kombat'' and follows the Lin Kuei assassin and thief Sub-Zero hired by the sorcerer Quan Chi to steal a map of elements from a Shaolin temple. Battling through the Shaolin monks who guarded the map, Sub-Zero faces his rival, Scorpion from the Shirai Ryu clan who was also hired by Quan Chi. Sub-Zero kills Scorpion and retrieves the map. Back at the headquarters of the Lin Kuei, Sub-Zero delivers the map to Quan Chi, who repays the Lin Kuei by eliminating all the members of the Shirai Ryu, the Lin Kuei's rival clan. Retaining the Lin Kuei's services, Quan Chi has Sub-Zero follow the map to the Temple of Elements, where an amulet of "sentimental value" was resting.

Sub-Zero reaches the temple and went through its many challenges and obstacles, defeating the gods of Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire that protected the amulet. Just as Sub-Zero reaches out for it, Quan Chi takes the amulet, saying that it was actually the source of power for a fallen Elder God named Shinnok. Quan Chi disappears through a portal, and the thunder god Raiden accuses Sub-Zero, ordering him to go to the Netherealm to retrieve the amulet.

Sub-Zero is sent to the Netherealm but is trapped in the Prison of Souls by Quan Chi's guards. There, he is met by the undead spectre of his nemesis, Scorpion, who blames Sub-Zero for the destruction of his clan and family. Sub-Zero once again defeats Scorpion and escapes. He then fights Quan Chi's underlings: Kia, Sareena, and Jataaka. Retrieving their transportation crystals, he is able to get to Quan Chi's fortress. Sub-Zero defeats the three of them but canonically spares Sareena's life and goes to Quan Chi's room. The fight against Quan Chi ends with Sub-Zero's victory and Sareena finishing Quan Chi and him falling to his apparent death. As Sareena pleads to escape from the Netherealm, she is temporarily incapacitated by Shinnok. Sub-Zero steals the amulet from Shinnok and either defeats the Elder God in demonic form or escapes through a portal created by Raiden, and delivers the amulet to the god. Returning to the Lin Kuei headquarters, Sub-Zero is once again hired by another sorcerer named Shang Tsung to compete in a tournament called Mortal Kombat.

Set in 1987, Carla's Song tells the story of love in a time of war. The plot follows the relationship between a Scottish bus driver, George Lennox (Robert Carlyle) and Carla (Oyanka Cabezas), a Nicaraguan refugee living in Glasgow. George first encounters Carla when she sneaks onto his bus without paying the fare. They go out for coffee but Carla seems hesitant to tell George anything about her life or where she's from. When Carla needs a place to stay George arranges for her to stay at his friend's place.

Later George returns to his friend's flat and finds Carla in the bathtub where she has slit her wrists. George takes her to the hospital where he learns that Carla also attempted suicide six weeks ago. George stays by Carla's side in the hospital while she is recovering.

Carla later explains that she read letters from her boyfriend, Antonio (Richard Loza), which she had never been able to open before. She was so horrified by the content of the letters that she tried to take her own life. Carla tells him that she doesn't know what happened to her boyfriend Antonio or to her family and asks George to hold her. She appears to be haunted by her past and suffering the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder.

George decides they need to return to a war-torn Nicaragua to find out what happened to Antonio and Carla's family. George begins to learn and about the U.S.-sponsored Contra insurgency against the Sandinistas. When they return to Nicaragua, they find Bradley, a U.S. citizen who is working as an aid worker and helping other U.S. citizens document human rights abuses conducted by the Contras. Bradley claims that he doesn't know the whereabouts of Carla's boyfriend and says that he will be heading North soon and that Carla should join him.

While Carla and George are taking a truck to the North of the country, the truck engine overheats and explodes in a burst of steam making a sound resembling gunfire. Carla completely breaks down and becomes catatonic when she hears this, and George tries to comfort her. Bradley happens by in a 4x4 and offers to take them off the truck and give them a ride while attempting to calm Carla down.

Bradley later admits that Antonio has been staying with him. Carla tells Bradley that he needs to let go of his past, which he seems to be struggling with also. Carla has terrible night horrors where she relives the experience of being in the revolution and their group being attacked by the Contras. In the nightmare, Carla is shot in the back several times yet manages to flee while the Contras descend on Antonio who falls after being shot. Carla's watches on in horror from some bushes.

On the way to Carla's family, a group of Sandinistas warns them that there are Contra fighters in the area. Carla finds her family and introduces George to them. Later that night, heavily armed Contras attack the village. The Contras kill many people and huge explosions go off around the village, while Sandinista villagers return fire.

In the morning George discovers that Carla and Antonio have a baby daughter. George asks Carla to return to Glasgow with him and bring the baby, but Carla refuses. George meets Bradley who seems absolutely incensed. Bradley explains that the Contras, who are operating out of Honduras, are a CIA-organized and funded group. Bradley then explains how Antonio was captured by the Contras, who used CIA torture methods. The Contras cut out Antonio's tongue, broke his spine in several places with rifle butts leaving him paralysed, and poured acid on his face, all while Carla watched from her hiding place in the bushes.

George breaks down when he hears what Carla has suffered through and runs to find her. George finds Carla's family who gives him a letter which Carla left for him. The letter says that Carla is heading north to find Antonio, and implies she may try to take her own life again. George steals a bus and Bradley joins him to help find Carla. They head to Bradley's village and find Carla in a room curled up and terrified of reuniting with Antonio. George encourages her to visit Antonio and explains that she will have to do this alone, that he can't do it with her.

Antonio is sitting on a stool in Bradley's house, a guitar in hand. Antonio's face is severely disfigured from the acid mutilation. Antonio reaches out to Carla and begins to play his guitar. Carla tearfully sings her song in accompaniment with the guitar. George prepares to return to Glasgow the next day, having found closure as both he and Carla keep one another in their hearts.

The Ninth Doctor, Rose, and Adam arrive on Satellite 5, a space station orbiting Earth in the year 200,000. The Doctor gets Adam and Rose some credits to buy food while he looks around the station. The Doctor meets a woman named Cathica, a reporter who tells him that the station is a giant broadcast tower transmitting news across Earth. Cathica leads them to a room where she sits down in a chair located in the centre of a round table. The reporters are connected to the computer via a special port installed directly into the brain. The Doctor believes there is a malevolent purpose to the station that is holding back human development. He learns from Cathica that a select few are invited to Floor 500, which is believed to be the highest promotion that can be earned on the station.

The Doctor, with Rose, hacks into the computer systems of the station and is detected by the Editor. The Editor allows the Doctor and Rose to travel to Floor 500, with Cathica following soon after. On Floor 500 the Doctor and Rose find the Editor directing control over the station through a number of dead humans. On the ceiling resides the Editor-in-Chief, the Jagrafess, to whom the Editor answers. The Doctor learns that the Jagrafess controls the lives of the people on the planet below by manipulating the news.

Meanwhile, Adam discovers that he can gain access to information about Earth's future. He has an information port installed in his brain and uses Rose's phone to call his answering machine at home and transfer data to it. The port also allows the Jagrafess into Adam's mind. The Jagrafess learns about the Doctor and makes plans to kill him. The Doctor, aware of Cathica's presence outside the room, loudly comments on how altering the environmental systems will likely kill the Jagrafess. Cathica reverses the cooling system, causing Floor 500 to overheat, killing the Jagrafess and the Editor. As the humans on board the station and on Earth come to wake from the stupor they have been in, the Doctor congratulates Cathica and gives her hope for the future. The Doctor discovers Adam's duplicity and takes him to his home on Earth. The Doctor destroys the answering machine with the data from the future on it and tells Adam he is no longer welcome in the TARDIS. The Doctor warns Adam that he cannot allow anyone to discover the information port and must live a quiet life from now on, but his mother accidentally activates it shortly after returning home.

The action takes place in 2023–2025 in Galveston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Grenada, an island on the northeast coast of South America; Singapore; and Africa. Protagonist Laura Webster, mother of three-month-old Loretta, works as a public relations employee for Rizome, a global corporation of economic democrats. Together with her husband David they run the Lodge, a resort for Rizome workers on the island of Galveston.

The action sets off when Rizome organizes a conference between itself and three data havens - EFT Commerzbank of Luxembourg, The Young Soo Chim Islamic Bank and Grenada United Bank - in the Lodge. After the first day of the conference Winston Stubbs, the Grenadan representative, is assassinated. The organization which admits to killing him calls itself "F.A.C.T." (Free Army of Counter-Terrorism). Rizome decides to send Laura with her husband and baby to Grenada on a diplomatic mission to prove that Rizome had nothing to do with the murder.

While in Grenada, Laura and David learn about its tragic history and the advanced technology flourishing on the island thanks to “mad-doctors” like the American Brian Prentis. Grenada is ruled by one party, the New Millennium Movement, with Prime Minister Eric Louison who uses voodoo tradition as a means of keeping order in the country. Food is plentiful and cheaply produced on one of the huge tankers adapted for factories and housing. Drugs, in the form of a pure synthetic THC, are also cheap and widely accessible. Laura and David manage to escape Grenada after Singapore attacks it. They return to Atlanta and separate. David takes the baby to one of Rizome’s Retreats and Laura sets off to Singapore to continue her mission to improve the world.

In Singapore, Laura witnesses the launching of the first Singaporean space rocket, celebrated by a speech by Singapore’s prime minister and leader of the People’s Innovation Party, Kim Sue Lok. The celebration ends in chaos as the prime minister spits fire and explodes, a victim, as it turns out, of Grenada’s pseudo-voodoo tricks. This event triggers national panic and riots. Grenada invades Singapore in reaction to Singapore’s previous attack. In addition, Singapore’s opposition party Anti-Labour Party tries to use the situation to get into power. The last group to invade Singapore is the Red Cross.

Cut off from the Net, Laura cannot contact her husband or Rizome’s headquarters. Together with other Rizome’s workers in Singapore, she decides to get herself arrested and wait in prison for the end of war. Unfortunately, Laura gets separated from her companions and ends up on the roof of The Young Soo Chim Islamic Bank. From there a chopper takes her and with other survivors of the riots to a cargo ship somewhere in mid-ocean. The ship is bombed by F.A.C.T., and Laura is taken to one of F.A.C.T.’s submarines, where she learns more about the organization. She is then taken by plane to a prison in Bamako, the capital of Mali; F.A.C.T. had taken over the Malian government to provide themselves a military base. After a conversation with the Inspector of Prisons, she finds out that she poses a threat to the organization because they think she knows they have an atomic bomb, which they keep on board of ''Thermopylae'', the submarine she has been kept on.

She spends two years in the prison. When a South African country supported by European authority of the Vienna convention attacks Mali, she is taken in a convoy to the atomic site to be shot on camera as a hostage. She is miraculously freed when the convoy is attacked by a group of Inadin Cultural Revolutionists. Their leader is Jonathan Gresham, an American journalist and radical, who helps Inadin people (also called Tuaregs, the nomadic tribes of the Sahara) fight against any forms of outside interference in their traditional way of life.

Gresham takes Laura to an Azanian relief camp in order to save the life of her convoy companion, Azanian doctor Katje Selous, who was wounded in the action. Outside of the relief camp Gresham records Laura’s statement on all that happened to her and sends it on the Net. Laura and Gresham get romantically involved, but this feeling has no future as she has to go back to the States while Gresham will continue to help Inadins.

Laura arrives at Galveston and takes part in an official Rizome party organized for her. Her husband David had lost hope that she was alive and gotten involved with Emily Donato, her closest friend, and Laura and David’s daughter Loretta is raised by Laura’s mother Margaret. Laura continues to work for Rizome and tries to improve the world by doing so. The last scene in the novel describes Hiroshima being bombed by F.A.C.T. Fortunately, this time the bomb did not explode.

Lawrence’s doctrine

In the fictional world of ''Islands'' there exists a book titled ''The Lawrence Doctrine and Postindustrial Insurgency'' by Colonel Jonathan Gresham. It is banned by Vienna and widely read in the political underground. It draws on the example of T. E. Lawrence, who during the First World War helped the Arabs, who were fighting the Ottoman Turks. Lawrence convinced them, instead, to block the Ottomans' expansion by destroying their communication lines, which at the time were railway tracks and telegraphs. Although the Arabs were successful in fighting the Turks, they became dependent on the British Empire to provide them with industrial products such as explosives and canned food. Gresham calls the First World War “a proto-Net civil war”. In Sterling's 21st century, the Tuaregs' enemy is the Net. But whereas the Arabs were colonized by the British with industrial products such as guns, cotton, dynamite, and canned food, for Sterling's Tuaregs the necessary products of the Networld are solar power, plastique, and single-cell protein.

Gresham’s book shows a pessimistic view of globalization and its mechanisms. It takes the view that it is impossible for small and economically weaker nations to stay completely independent; global influence will always be present with its positive and negative aspects.

Political order of the world in ''Islands''

In the world of the novel the USA and the Soviet Union are still the world powers. The international political order, which is guarded by the Vienna Convention and uses censorship as a means of keeping the world order, is weak and divided, and to avoid world panic protects the terrorists from F.A.C.T. Countries that grow in power are Grenada, Singapore and Luxemburg, the so-called data havens where data piracy is legitimate. Organizations that feel threatened by the growing influence of havens are Rizome Industries Group, an economic democracy global corporation which suffers losses because of the data piracy and wants to negotiate with the pirates, and the Free Army of Counter-Terrorism (F.A.C.T.) which calls itself “the ''real'' world police” and plans to deal with any signs of attacks on “doctrines of national sovereignty”. This is the main reason why F.A.C.T. assassinates Winston Stubbs and bombs the ship on which Laura was sailing with Singaporean pirates.

The novel shows a new phenomenon emerging in the political world. The global organizations start realizing that they no longer need governments to successfully run their affairs; “Let us cut out the middleman,” says a worker for another corporation. The F.A.C.T. seems to be fighting signs of such thinking, while at the same time it is itself a global corporation which took over the government of Mali in order to have its own military base. Africa is still “a mess”. The only problem which has been solved is famine, thanks to "the scop", a single-cell protein. The countries still suffer from poverty and political instability. People die from retroviruses and have no perspectives, and developed countries are not interested in what is going on there.

The Simpsons are at Springfield War Memorial Stadium, watching a Springfield Isotopes baseball game. After the first pitch, Homer becomes disappointed by the poor performance of the Isotopes and goes to wait in the car. The game picks up as the Isotopes and the rival team are deadlocked into a tight game. Six months later, he enters Moe's Tavern and is informed by Lenny and Carl that the Isotopes are in the playoffs, and have been playing well (although a sniper is credited with much of their success as well). Homer jumps on the Isotopes bandwagon as they win the pennant. To celebrate, Homer, Lenny, Carl, and Barney go on a drunken rampage and end up vandalizing Springfield Elementary School.

The next morning, Homer discovers his now badly damaged car, oblivious that he and his friends were responsible. Chief Wiggum jumps to the conclusion that the vandalism at the school is the work of "no good punk kids", and immediately enforces a curfew on all of Springfield's children, prohibiting them from being on the local streets after dark. However, the kids do not react well to the new rules, and soon rally together to break curfew so they can see an 1950s drive-in horror movie which they saw advertised on television, called ''The Bloodening''. While at the movie, the screening is suddenly stopped by Chief Wiggum. As punishment for breaking curfew, the children must clean a police billboard with Chief Wiggum on it.

To get even with their parents and the other grownups, the children set up a late night pirate radio show called ''We Know All Your Secrets'', in which they expose the grownup's secrets all through Springfield, similar to the children in the movie. They are tracked down at the billboard by Professor Frink, resulting in a musical confrontation, between the kids and adults of Springfield. However, this in turn rouses the ire of Grampa Simpson and the other senior citizens trying to get some sleep. To get even with both groups, they take the measure of voting a brand new curfew, sending everyone under the age of seventy to their own homes before sunset. It is passed by a single vote, due to Homer refusing to cast a ballot, claiming "it wouldn't have made a difference."

Homer becomes depressed after learning he has lived past the halfway point of the average life expectancy for men without accomplishing anything worthwhile. His family tries to cheer him up by showing him a film of his accomplishments and a special appearance by the character KITT from the ''Knight Rider'' television series that Homer is a fan of. When the film projector stops working, Lisa mentions that Thomas Edison invented the projector and many other inventions. Homer decides to learn more about Edison and eventually idolizes him. In an attempt to follow his footsteps, he quits his job at the power plant to become an inventor.

The family disapproves of his first few inventions, including a make-up shotgun, electric hammer, alarm that only stops beeping when something is wrong, and reclining chair with a built-in toilet, making Homer more depressed. However, they like one particular invention, a chair with two hinged legs on the back, making it impossible to tip over backwards. Homer is encouraged until he notices his poster of Edison shows him sitting in the same type of chair. Bart points out that the chair is not featured on a list of Edison's inventions, meaning he never told anyone of this invention.

Homer and Bart travel to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey, with his electric hammer to destroy the chair, but Homer notices a poster of Edison comparing himself to Leonardo da Vinci, much like how Homer compared himself to Edison. Feeling a renewed connection to Edison, he decides not to destroy the chair.

Homer and Bart return to Springfield, unaware they left Homer's electric hammer at the museum. Later when the family watches the news on television, Kent Brockman announces that the chair and electric hammer have been discovered at the Edison Museum and are expected to generate millions for Edison's already wealthy heirs, to the ire of the family.

After the Simpsons win a trip to Delaware, Homer refuses to pay a $5 airport tax for his flight. After Homer was in violation of the Anti-Fist Shaking Law, the family jumps onto a freight train where they meet a singing hobo who tells them three stories.

Paul Bunyan

Homer portrays Paul Bunyan, a giant who quickly becomes a great burden on the local townspeople, as he crushes their houses and greedily eats all their food. Eventually, the townspeople drug him and drag him out of their town. Out of loneliness, Bunyan carves a block of stone from the mountains into a blue ox that he calls Babe, who is rendered alive by an electric shock. In his travels with Babe, Homer creates several landmarks. Bunyan later meets a young woman, Marge, and though she is initially frightened of him, the two fall in love. When a meteor is soon to hit the town, the townspeople call Paul back to help them. Paul obliges and throws the meteor towards Chicago, starting the Great Fire there, but not before it hits him in the backside.

After the hobo has told this story, he asks them for a sponge bath as compensation. Disgusted, Homer is forced to oblige, as nobody else will do so, but the hobo does not mind anyone seeing his nakedness.

Connie Appleseed

The hobo's second tall tale revolves around Lisa as Connie. Connie is part of a wagon train, and all of the travelers shoot and eat buffalo. Connie, who is against the practice, tries to urge them to stop slaughter or they will wipe out the buffalo, to much ridicule. She worries that no one is eating a renewable source of food and finds some apples for the pioneers to eat, but they reject them. Eventually, she changes her last name to "Appleseed", and leaves her family to journey across the United States and plant apple seeds wherever she goes. Meanwhile, the Simpsons change their surname to "Bufflekill" and they succeed in killing all the buffalo in the land. The travelers eventually starve, and just as they are about to cannibalize Homer, Connie returns and offers them apples instead. Won over by the taste of apples, they agree to the trade, sparing Homer.

Tom and Huck

The hobo's third tale tells the story of Tom Sawyer (Bart) and Huckleberry Finn (Nelson). Tom is a rebellious trouble maker while Huck is a bully. Huck is caught holding hands with Becky (Lisa) after he falls over in her garden from the fence and is forced to marry her by her father, Homer. During the ceremony, Huck switches places with a pig and goes on the run with Tom, leaving Missouri for Missoura. However, they are chased by townspeople led by Becky's father and their families. Huck and Tom flee to a river boat, but are thrown into the Mississippi River and are caught by the townspeople. The townspeople take them back to town and execute them before lowering their bodies into coffins.

Conclusion

The family arrives in Delaware and disembarks the train, but the hobo reminds them that they owe him one more sponge bath as compensation. Homer volunteers to stay behind to do the dirty work and promises to catch up with them in Wilmington.

During an ice cream social at church, Ned Flanders reunites with Rachel Jordan, a woman he met after hearing her and her Christian rock band sing at church after suffering the loss of his wife Maude. Rachel decides to stay with Ned for the night, but leaves after waking up to find Ned, who she notices has not gotten over Maude's death, cutting her hair to resemble Maude's. Ned asks the Simpson family to help him forget about Maude by throwing away everything in the house that reminds him of her except for a sketchbook. Ned looks through her many sketches until he finds designs for a Christian theme park, called Praiseland. With the encouragement of his sons and the Simpsons, he decides to fulfill Maude's dream by building a Christian theme park in her honor.

When Praiseland opens, the townspeople are put off by its excessive wholesomeness and leave, until a mask of Maude's face rises up in the air in front of a memorial statue of her. Believing they are witnessing a miracle, the townspeople gather to watch the mask float around briefly until Principal Skinner collapses near the statue, writhes and experiences a vision of Heaven. The park-goers then immediately decide to experience their own visions of Heaven from the statue; with the Simpsons encouraging Ned to donate the extra money from these proceedings to the local orphanage.

Ned explains to his children this is God's will until he notices Homer trying to work the gas grill at a concession stand. He then discovers a gas line near Maude's statue is leaking, causing everyone to inhale the fumes, which explains the visions. He finds out from the utility company that the gas is dangerous and tries to shut the place down, but Homer points out that Praiseland has brought everyone together. The joy is short-lived when Homer spots two orphans lighting candles near the leaking gas, forcing him and Ned to tackle them before an explosion can happen. The townspeople believe Ned and Homer assaulted the children and the former is forced to shut down Praiseland. Rachel, now in a wig to cover the Maude hair, returns to accept a date from Ned. That night, they get rid of Maude's imprint on Ned's bed and make plans for another date.

The family goes to the local YMCA to attend one-time-only free classes. Homer participates in a basketball class, but suffers a torn ACL after a dunk attempt ends with the backboard crashing down on his leg. After Homer gets surgery, he is told by Dr. Hibbert that he cannot go to work and must stay home, where he finds himself extremely bored. One evening, Ned asks Homer to watch Rod and Todd while he attends a Chris Rock concert (that he believes is a Christian rock concert). Rod and Todd enjoy having Homer take care of them, which gives Homer the idea to establish his own day care center.

Homer turns his house into the "Uncle Homer's Day Care Center". With Homer giving all his attention to other kids, Bart and Lisa feel neglected. The daycare center is wildly successful, and Homer earns a nomination for the "Good Guy Awards", but during a video tribute at the awards ceremony, Bart and Lisa splice in home movie footage of Homer at his worst (passed out drunk next to the tree on Christmas day, losing Maggie to Moe in a poker game, and chasing Bart with a medieval flail while yelling, "I'll mace you good!"). The audience becomes outraged and Homer angrily strangles Bart on stage, unwittingly exposing his worst behavior in front of everyone in the audience, who become horrified by Homer's behavior, and they decide to prevent him from watching their kids. Homer escapes from the ceremony with all the kids in a van, until he crashes into a tree, and is caught by the police.

After three mistrials, Homer apologizes to Bart and Lisa for neglecting them, and promises to care for his own children instead of the neighborhood kids. The episode ends with the family eating from the craft services table because the union workers never came to retrieve it.

After emerging victorious from a tournament, the Guardian finds the city under attack by large Spiders. Pursuing through the sewers, the Guardian discovers that the benevolent ruler Kaylee and the Overseer Lysetta have been corrupted by praetox and a dark disease that twists their minds. After dealing with a series of threats and would-be usurpers, the Guardian is told that Kaylee has finally succumbed to the dark curse and is forced to kill her and the forces that started the series of attacks.

Frank Vanderwal, having spent a year at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C., is impatient with what he sees as its passivity and its reluctance to demand serious political change in the face of severe climate change. He keeps an eye on environmental triggers such as climate change in the Arctic and thermohaline circulation. Though he likes his colleague, Anna Quibler, and much of her work, he misses his hometown, San Diego. An athletic man, he frequently goes climbing and canyoneering when he can. Interested in sociobiology, he views both his own behavior and others' as that of primates who evolved on the African savannahs and who are not entirely biologically prepared to live in the urban environment. He considers behaviors in ordinary situations, such as traffic, and in extraordinary situations in light of the game theory decision making strategy known as the prisoner's dilemma.

Anna's husband, Charlie Quibler, feels as urgently as Frank does about environmental issues. He juggles the raising of their two young sons, Nick and Joe, with encouraging Senator Phil Chase and Chase's chief of staff, Roy, to badger the conservatives in Congress about passing legislation to convert the United States to a non-anthropogenic global warming society, to construct carbon sinks, and to work for international cooperation for amelioration of climate change. (It is clear that the President, never named, is George W. Bush; we are told that his predecessor was Bill Clinton; he views climate change as a "downer" and refers to it as "climactic [not climatic] terrorism.")

Anna, a devoted wife and mother, is, in Frank's view, something of an ultra-rationalist; Charlie is amused by her constant search for quantifiable measurements in all parts of her life. She discovers the new Khembali embassy in the NSF building and invites Drepung and Rudra Cakrin to lunch. When they all get along well, and she becomes interested in their concern about the threat of rising sea levels to Khembalung, their small island nation in the Bay of Bengal, she invites them to come for dinner when they all have time.

Leo Mulhouse, a science director at Torrey Pines Generique, a biotechnology startup company in San Diego, searches for therapies for various human diseases. He is alarmed to learn that his boss, Derek, has spent $51 million to buy another company which might (and might not) work in tandem; Torrey Pines has not yet been able to show any profits, which puts them at risk for sale to investors who might care to purchase or even quash any patentable techniques they come up with. He turns out to be right when the company is sold some weeks later. Leo has another worry: his house, located on a cliff over the Pacific, is threatened by coastal erosion.

Frank, eager to return to California, writes an angry denunciation of NSF and leaves it in the in-box of the director, Diane Chang, for her to find the next morning. That evening, he unexpectedly has a romantic encounter with a beautiful woman in a Washington Metro subway elevator when the elevator is stuck between floors. They are released, and she disappears before he can learn her name. Invited to the Quiblers' house to meet the Khembalis, he tells Anna about the woman; she is pleased to find him so excited and talkative, and urges him to track her down.

Frank, thinking that now he might want to stay in D.C., regrets the angry letter about the NSF and decides to break into Chang's office and remove it. Using his climbing skills, he enters the NSF building from the roof, descends through the atrium skylight, manages his way down a large mobile, and gets into Chang's office. The letter, however, is gone; Chang often comes into her office at all hours. Nervous and upset, he returns home. The next day, Chang tells him to prepare a talk for the NSF Board of Directors. Frank realizes that Chang has read his letter, but he tells the directors honestly how he feels about the NSF and urges them to become more daring and more politically active. During the discussion, he sees that many of them feel as he does. Frank accepts an invitation to remain at NSF for another year.

A catastrophic "trigger event" occurs when what Robinson calls the Hyperniño creates an enormous storm on the West Coast. The sandstone cliffs of California begin shelving off into the Pacific Ocean. Leo, now unemployed, witnesses this at his Leucadia, California home and, in the rainstorm, joins members of the United States Geological Survey and an army of volunteers in attempting to shore up the cliffs.

Meanwhile, another enormous storm in the Atlantic creates a flood in Washington. Charlie is trapped at the Capitol Building with other co-workers. They watch as the rain comes down for hours and the National Mall is drowned. "Constitution Avenue looked like the Grand Canal in Venice." The Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay overflow, flooding the city:

When the National Zoo faces rising waters, the Khembalis help the staff to unlock the cages and free the animals. Drepung and his associates arrange for two tigers to be brought to the Quiblers' house, where one is kept in a zoo truck and the other is put into their cellar.

Frank, joining other volunteers in deploying sandbags out in the storm, is amazed to see his mystery woman pass in a boat up the river. Spotting the boat's number, he gets her phone number and calls her; she promises that, after a while, she will call him back.

After days, the storm and the floodwaters subside. Charlie, finally arranging a lift home from the office, says to Senator Chase, "Are you going to do something about global warming ''now''?"

As Tottington Hall's annual giant vegetable competition approaches, cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his intelligent beagle Gromit provide a humane pest control business known as "Anti-Pesto," protecting the townspeople's vegetables from pests, including rabbits. One evening after capturing rabbits found in Lady Tottington's garden, Wallace uses two of his latest inventions, the "Bun-Vac 6000" and "Mind Manipulation-O-Matic," to brainwash them into hating vegetables. All goes well until Wallace accidentally sets the Bun-Vac to "BLOW," and his brain is fused with a rabbit's, forcing Gromit to destroy the Mind-O-Matic. The transfer appears to have worked, as the rabbit shows no interest in vegetables. They name the rabbit Hutch and place him in a cage.

That night, a giant rabbit devours many of the town's vegetables and the duo fail to respond. During a town meeting the next day, the creature is revealed as the legendary ''Were-Rabbit''. The hunter Lord Victor Quartermaine offers to shoot the creature, but Tottington persuades the townsfolk to give Anti-Pesto a second chance. Wallace and Gromit attempt to catch it with a giant, stuffed female rabbit attached to their van, which breaks off after they go through a tunnel. Wallace goes to retrieve it, but fails to return when the giant rabbit shows up, forcing Gromit to take action himself. After a wild pursuit towards the creature, Wallace suspects that Hutch may be the rabbit and has Gromit lock him in a high-security cage. Gromit then finds a trail of giant muddy rabbit tracks that become human footprints leading up to Wallace's room. There, he finds a giant pile of half-eaten vegetables on Wallace's bed, revealing Wallace as the true culprit. Victor, who seeks to woo Tottington, corners Wallace in the forest, but Wallace transforms into a Were-Rabbit under the light of the full moon and flees. Now seeing the perfect chance to eliminate his rival, Victor obtains three "24-carrot" gold bullets from the town's vicar, Reverend Clement Hedges, to use against rabbit Wallace.

On the day of the vegetable competition, Gromit reveals to Wallace that he is indeed the Were-Rabbit by showing him that the experiment has swapped his and Hutch's personalities; the latter is now carrying his human traits and is the only one who can fix the Mind-O-Matic to undo the curse. Tottington, who has developed feelings for Wallace, visits and tells him about Victor's plan while offering him a chance to remain friends. As the moon rises, Wallace begins to transform into the Were-Rabbit and hastily forces Tottington to leave, to which she is distraught and leaves in tears. Victor arrives and attempts to shoot Wallace with the golden bullets. Gromit creates a distraction using the female rabbit costume to allow Wallace to escape, and Victor gives chase to the competition. Gromit begins working with Hutch, and plans to sacrifice the giant marrow he has grown for the competition as bait to lure Wallace to safety.

Wallace creates chaos at the fair. Using up all his gold bullets, Victor takes the Golden Carrot trophy to use as ammunition. Wallace, having suddenly snapped out of his rabbit-like behavior, carries Tottington atop Tottington Hall, where she discovers that the Were-Rabbit is really Wallace. Victor gives chase, revealing that he only wants to impress Lady Tottington for her fortune. Victor's dog, Philip, engages Gromit in a dogfight in aeroplanes taken from a fairground attraction. After defeating Philip, Gromit then steers his plane into Victor's line of fire as he takes aim at Wallace, causing the bullet to hit the plane instead. The damaged plane falls and Wallace jumps to grab Gromit, sacrificing himself to break his fall into a cheese tent. Victor gloats about his apparent victory, but Tottington knocks him out by smacking him in the head with her giant carrot and he falls into the tent as well. To protect Wallace from the angry townspeople, Gromit quickly disguises Victor as the Were-Rabbit with the female rabbit costume, causing Philip and the townspeople to chase him away instead.

Wallace transforms back to his human self and appears dead, but Gromit revives him with some Stinking Bishop cheese, undoing the curse of the Were-Rabbit. Tottington awards Gromit the dented Golden Carrot for his valor, and converts the grounds of Tottington Hall into a nature reserve for Hutch and the other rabbits.

A group of soldiers, led by Major Baker, investigate a basement-level station and believed it was attacked. After Baker contacts his commander, General Slater, they continue investigating who drove a civilian van into the base. It is revealed to be owned by a scientist named Dr. Bradford Crane, who arrived after the attack. Slater orders two helicopters to check for a black mass which turns out to be bees, but the helicopters are destroyed by the bees. Crane insists to Slater that the base was attacked by the same African killer bees that destroyed the helicopters. Helena Anderson, one of the base's doctors, supports Crane's story.

Meanwhile, in the countryside, the Durant family is attacked by a swarm of the bees. The mother and father die from the bee stings, but Paul, their son, escapes in a Mustang. Although he is stung, Paul manages to make it into town and crashes into the Marysville town square, where the citizens are preparing for the annual flower festival. The boy is brought into the hands of military personnel, where he hallucinates a vision of giant bees attacking him, due to the aftereffects of the bee sting. Wheelchair-bound Dr. Walter Krim confirms to Crane that the very war they have feared for a long time has started against the bees. At the gates of the base, Slater confronts angry county engineer Jed Hawkins, who demands to see the dead body of his son, who was killed by the bees. Hawkins takes the body bag and departs, leaving the entire watching crowd silent over the loss. Slater suggests airdropping poison on the swarm, but Crane considers the ecological possibilities of the situation.

Recovering from his earlier bee attack, Paul and his friends search for the hive to firebomb it in revenge for his family, which results only in angering the bees, who make their way to Marysville and kill hundreds, including some children at the local school. Crane and Helena take shelter at the local diner, with pregnant café waitress Rita. Reporter Anne McGregor watches from the safety of her news van, hoping to get some exciting footage about the siege. After this most recent attack, Slater suggests evacuating many of the townsfolk in a train. However, the bees arrive at the train, killing several evacuees, including a love triangle made up of schoolteacher Maureen Scheuster, retiree Felix Austin, and town mayor and drug store owner Clarence Tuttle.

Rita tries to board the ill-fated train but is saved at the last minute by going into labor and is confined to the hospital. She gives birth to her child while falling in love with the doctor in the process; but Paul suffers a relapse from the effects of being stung earlier and later dies, devastating Helena and sending her into a rage about why the children have to die. The savage swarm heads for Houston, and Crane decides to drop eco-friendly poison pellets on them, hoping that the swarm senses will harm them and stay away from the city. Unfortunately, the plan fails. Dr. Krim self-injects an experimental bee venom antidote, planning to track the results, but the trial proves fatal and he dies. Meanwhile, nuclear power plant manager Dr. Andrews is convinced that his plant can withstand the attacks of the bees, ignoring the warnings of Dr. Hubbard. However, at that moment, the alarm sounds, and the bees invade the plant, killing Andrews and Hubbard, destroying the plant, and wiping out an entire town.

Meanwhile, in downtown Houston, Crane analyzes tapes from the bee invasion and comes to the conclusion that their alarm system attracted the swarm into the base. The bees invade once more, resulting in the deaths of Major Baker and Dr. Newman, one of Crane's associates. Slater sacrifices himself to save Crane and Helena from the bees. Helicopters lure the bees out to sea, where they douse the water with oil and set the swarm ablaze. Helena wonders if their victory was just temporary. Crane responds that he does not know, but decides that "if we use our time wisely, the world just might survive."

The TARDIS misses Metebelis Three and materialises on the SS ''Bernice'', a ship that suddenly disappeared while travelling the Indian Ocean. Being repeatedly arrested as stowaways, the Third Doctor and Jo find out that ship's occupants keep repeating their actions, having no recollection of earlier encounters. The pair escape from the ship through a strange hatch plainly visible to them both but ignored by the crew and passengers. The Doctor and Jo venture through the circuitry of some sort of giant machine and arrive at marshlands.

They soon discover that they are not outside but are still inside the machine. Chased by Drashigs, huge swamp-dwelling carnivores, they escape back into the circuitry. Here, the Doctor realises that they have materialised inside the compression field of a Miniscope, a machine that keeps miniaturised groups of creatures in miniaturised versions of their natural environments. The Time Lords have banned such machines, but apparently one escaped. The Drashigs break into the circuitry and the Doctor and Jo flee back to the ship. They are separated in the confusion as the crew defend against the Drashigs.

The events inside the miniscope are intercut with events involving its owners, travelling showman Vorg and his assistant Shirna, who have just arrived at the planet of Inter Minor but are suspected of being spies and refused entrance by a tribunal. The tribunal learns that objects removed from the machine soon return to their normal size when Vorg extracts a foreign object stuck in the circuitry – actually the TARDIS – from the machine. Two of the tribunal members, Kalik and Orum, dissatisfied with the leadership of their planet, plot to let the Drashigs escape from the machine and allow them to wreak havoc, causing a crisis and the president's resignation.

The Doctor eventually finds a way to the real outside and is restored to normal size. He cooperates with a reluctant Vorg to return into the machine by linking it with the TARDIS. After he goes back into the Scope, which is now overheating due to the Drashigs' damage, the device he attached is shot by a tribunal member and ceases to function, leaving the Doctor stranded. He finds Jo, but they collapse on the floor as the heat gets to be too much for them.

Two Drashigs escape, but Vorg kills them by fixing the eradicator, sabotaged by the mutinous tribunal members, who later are killed by the Drashigs. He fixes the Doctor's device, pushing the Phase Two switch which brings the Doctor and Jo back, just in time, and also returning all of the Scope's other occupants to their rightful space-time positions.

As the penniless Vorg tries to get enough credit bars to return home by using the old three-magum-pods-and-a-yarrow-seed trick, the two travellers depart in the TARDIS.

Continuity

The aliens on display in Vorg's miniscope include: Drashigs, Ogrons and Cybermen.

The Third Doctor is making adjustments to the TARDIS' coordinate programmer in preparation for a visit to Metebelis Three, when Jo reads in a newspaper about the mysterious death of a miner named Hughes in the abandoned coal mine in Llanfairfach in South Wales. The miner was found dead and glowing bright green. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Jo go down to investigate the miner's death. The Doctor agrees to follow the Brigadier, but is determined to go to Metebelis Three first.

The Brigadier's first port of call is the recently opened Global Chemicals oil plant, close to the abandoned mine. Its headman, Stevens, claims that the plant can "produce 25% more petrol and diesel fuel from a given quantity of crude oil"—but that the 'Stevens process' only produces a minimal amount of waste. Local environmental scientist Professor Cliff Jones is convinced that the oil-making process must create thousands of gallons of waste. He also believes that there is a link between Global Chemicals and Hughes' death—but his research is too demanding for him to go down the mine and investigate. Jo heads for the mineshaft.

The Doctor reaches Metebelis Three, but it is far from the "blue paradise" he described. He is attacked by various unseen creatures, and returns to the UNIT laboratory with only a small blue crystal to show for his misadventure. He then drives down to South Wales in his car, Bessie, and meets the Brigadier at Global Chemicals. They then set off to go down the mine to investigate, despite Stevens' insistence that it should be sealed. Stevens summons his henchman, Hinks, and tells him in a strange emotionless voice "nobody must go down the mine". Hinks leaves and Stevens dons a pair of strange headphones.

Jo has arrived at the pithead ahead of the Doctor and the Brigadier, and gone down the shaft with a miner called Bert to help another man, Dai Evans, who has called for help at the bottom of the mine. When the Doctor and the Brigadier arrive, Dave, the man controlling the cage's descent, finds that the brake has been sabotaged. The Doctor slows the cage's descent, but his efforts leave Jo and Bert trapped at the bottom of the shaft. There, they find Dai, who is turning bright green and dying. Bert remembers there is an emergency shaft out of the mine, and he and Jo set off.

The Doctor suggests cutting the mineshaft cables and linking it up to a donkey engine, which would enable him to use the second cage to get down the mine. The Brigadier goes to Global Chemicals to request some cutting equipment, but a man named Fell informs him that they do not have such equipment. The Doctor has Professor Jones and his environmentalist friends create a demonstration at the Global Chemicals gate, while he slips in, in an attempt to steal the equipment. However, he is captured. Fortunately, Dave and the Brigadier, while on their way to get cutting equipment, stopped at a petrol station and found a man using the required equipment to cut up an old car. They borrow this, free the secondary mine cage, and the Doctor goes down the shaft with Dave and two other miners. They find Dai now dead and a note from Jo telling them that she and Bert have headed for the emergency shaft.

Jo and Bert have made good progress through the old mine tunnels, when they find a green slime trickling down the wall. When Bert touches this, he begins to grow weak, and his hand starts to turn bright green. At Bert's insistence, Jo goes on without him. Dave and the Doctor find Bert, and the Doctor goes on to find Jo. By the time they reunite, Jo has found a vast lake of bright green slime, filled with huge maggot creatures. When the tunnel collapses behind them, they use an old mining wagon to get across the green lake. They then climb a steep shaft, where the Doctor collects a huge egg to take back for experimentation. At the top of the natural shaft, they find a large pipe, with the insides covered with traces of crude oil waste—meaning that the pipe leads to the Global Chemicals plant.

In the plant, a worker named Elgin, an old friend of Fell, tells him about Dai's death and the dying Bert. Elgin later follows Fell into a pumping control room, where Fell is pumping the oil waste from the main tank on level four into another tank. The security system then registers the Doctor and Jo's presence in the pipe. Fell, who has actually arranged for the waste to be pumped down the pipe into the abandoned mine workings, is initially reluctant to rescue the two in the pipe. Elgin convinces Fell to help him open the hatch, and the Doctor and Jo escape as the oil waste cascades down the pipe. Fell goes to see Stevens, complaining about a 'headache', and Stevens puts the headphones on Fell. A voice tells Stevens that 'Fell's 'processing' was a failure' and orders self-destruction. After Stevens presses a button on a control panel, Fell leaves the room and jumps off a balcony to his death.

The Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier end the day with a meal of fungus at Jones' retreat, the "Nuthutch", but the frivolity is cut short when they hear Bert too has died. After everyone retires to bed the egg the Doctor brought back from the mine hatches out into a giant maggot. Escaping from the lab where the egg was left, the maggot first heads for Jo, but then jumps on and bites Hinks, sent to the Nuthutch by Stevens to steal the egg. The maggot escapes from the house into the dark, and Hinks quickly weakens as the poisonous "green death" infection spreads through his body. The next morning, the Brigadier has the UNIT troops lay explosives and detonate the whole mine pithead, to the Doctor's fury. This fails to trap the maggots in the mine, as they begin to emerge; first, attempting to escape up the Global Chemicals waste disposal pipe, then burrowing through the slagheap near the mine.

At Global Chemicals, Mike Yates has been sent in undercover by the Brigadier, and is contacted by the Doctor, who dons some improbable disguises in order to get through the gates and move freely. Having liaised with Yates, the Doctor learns that Stevens takes his instructions from someone on the top floor of the complex, and heads up there in the special lift to find out who is in charge. He discovers that this is the home of the BOSS, a supercomputer with its own megalomaniacal personality. It runs the company, controls Stevens and other key staff members, and is responsible for the polluting chemical process. The Doctor rejects the brainwashing technique that Stevens and the BOSS subject him to – but Yates is more susceptible and is converted into one of the computer's slaves. After the Doctor escapes, Yates is sent to the Nuthutch to kill the Doctor. His conditioning is deep, and is only broken by the Doctor's use of the blue crystal he brought from Metebelis Three.

Jo has alienated Jones, with whom she is falling in love, by ruining one of his experimenting slides of green slime. Determined to make amends, she heads to the slagheap in search of a maggot to run some tests on. Meanwhile, Jones finds that the fungus powder Jo spilt on the slides is actually a cure for the "green death" infection. He races to the slag heap to find Jo surrounded by giant maggots, and they are both caught in an RAF bombing raid on the maggots. Jones is infected with the 'green death' and begins to turn green — and all before he was able to share his knowledge of the cure. Jo contacts her UNIT friends with her radio, and the Doctor and Sergeant Benton rescue the two from the maggots in Bessie. Hearing Jones utter the word "serendipity", the Doctor realises that Jones might have stumbled upon something that could combat the maggots and their infection. Benton arrives with a maggot chrysalis—proof that the maggots are beginning to transform into mature giant insects. Then, the maggot that escaped from the laboratory is found on the table—dead. Realising that the creature died from eating some of the fungus, the Doctor also discovers the cure for Jones. The Doctor and Benton drive around the slag heaps, scattering the fungus, which proves deadly to the maggots. They are then attacked by a giant fly creature—the mature adult form of the maggots—which the Doctor kills by throwing his cloak over it when it is in mid-air, causing it to get tangled in it and fall to the ground.

The Doctor returns to Global Chemicals to confront the BOSS. The computer plans to link up with others and effect a corporate takeover of the human race. By now, Stevens is completely under the computer's control. The Doctor tells Stevens that the BOSS' "efficiency" will result in greater pollution, brainless brainwashed humans, and more death and disease. The Doctor then uses his blue crystal to break Stevens' hypnotic state, and Stevens, infuriated at what the BOSS has done to him, cross-feeds the generator circuits, causing the whole plant to explode, apparently destroying Stevens and the computer.

The menace defeated, UNIT troops and environmentalists gather at the Nuthutch for a celebration made all the more special when Jo and Jones announce they are getting married. The Doctor gives his blessing and gives Jo the blue crystal as a wedding present, but since this means the end of Jo's travels with the Doctor, he is evidently upset by the situation and quietly slips away while the party is in full swing.

As Jo and Jones dance, the Doctor drives Bessie off into the sunset.

In 19th century Switzerland, Baron Victor Frankenstein is awaiting execution for the murder of his maid Justine. He tells the story of his life to a visiting priest.

At age 15, the death of Victor's mother leaves him in sole control of the Frankenstein estate. He agrees to continue to pay a monthly allowance to his impoverished aunt Sophia and his young cousin Elizabeth. Soon afterwards, he engages scientist Paul Krempe to tutor him. After two years of intense study, Victor and Paul begin collaborating on scientific experiments. One night, after a successful experiment in which they bring a dead puppy back to life, Victor suggests that they create a perfect human being from body parts. Paul assists Victor at first but eventually withdraws, unable to tolerate the continued scavenging of human remains, particularly after Victor's fiancée—his now grown-up cousin Elizabeth—comes to live with them.

Victor assembles his creation, with a robber's corpse found on a gibbet, and both hands and eyes purchased from charnelhouse workers. For the brain, Victor seeks out an ageing and distinguished professor, so that the creature can have a sharp mind and the accumulation of a lifetime of knowledge. He invites the professor to his house in the guise of a friendly visit, but pushes him over the stair banister and kills him, making it look like an accident. After the professor is buried, Victor proceeds to the vault and removes his brain. Paul attempts to stop him, and the brain is damaged in the ensuing scuffle. Paul also tries to persuade Elizabeth to leave the house, as he has before, but she refuses.

With all of the parts assembled, Victor brings the creature to life. Unfortunately, the creature's damaged brain leaves it violent and psychotic, without the professor's intelligence. Victor locks up the creature, but it escapes and kills an old blind man that it encounters in the woods. After Paul shoots the creature in the eye, he and Victor bury it in the woods. However, after Paul leaves town, Victor digs up the creature and brings it back to life. Justine, with whom Victor has been having an affair, claims that she is pregnant by him and threatens to tell the authorities about his strange experiments if he refuses to marry her. He has her killed by the monster.

Paul returns to the house at Elizabeth's invitation the evening before she and Victor are to be married. Victor shows him the revived creature, and Paul threatens to report him to the authorities. The monster escapes up on to the roof where it threatens Elizabeth. Victor arrives with a gun and accidentally shoots Elizabeth after seeing the monster grabbing her. She falls unconscious, and without any more bullets, Victor throws an oil lamp at it, causing it to fall through the roof-light and into a vat of acid, destroying all evidence that it existed.

The priest does not believe Victor's story. When Paul visits him, Victor begs Paul to testify that it was the creature who killed Justine, but he refuses and denies all knowledge of the mad experiment. Paul joins Elizabeth, who is waiting outside, and tells her there is nothing they can do for Victor. After they leave, Victor is led away to the guillotine.

Series One

In the first series of six episodes Alison decides, for the time being, to not tell her family about the lottery win as she worries it may have a negative effect on them. In an attempt to do something good with the money, she starts a charity with the help of her good friend, Marion, and an idealistic out-of-work accountant, Pauline. David begins to regret having started an affair. Virginia falls in love with their new next door neighbour, the selfish and manipulative Megan. A group of journalists attempt to track down and reveal the identity of the mystery lottery winner. Sarah has her advances toward her drama teacher rejected, and she reacts by sleeping with Phil, the boy next door, and becomes pregnant. By the end of the series, the truth comes out regarding Alison's lottery win and David's affair.

Series Two

In the second series of eight episodes, the Braithwaites have moved into a mansion in the countryside. Alison and David struggle to rebuild their marriage and end up separating. Alison then has a romance with David's brother, Graham, much to David's dismay, until she realises that Graham is still seeing his wife. Sarah gives birth to a son and secretly marries Phil. Charlotte starts getting bullied at school because of her family's newfound wealth. Virginia is going out with Tamsin, a kind and sensible girl, but is still obsessed with Megan. By the end of the series, Alison and David decide to give their marriage another go.

Series Three

In the third series of six episodes, Alison is awarded a damehood by the Queen for her charity work, and discovers that she is pregnant with Graham's baby. David suggests that they pretend he is the father, until it comes out that Graham actually is. Tamsin is also pregnant, as the result of a one night stand with a guy from university. She and Virginia decide to raise the child together, until Tamsin realises that Virginia is still infatuated with Megan. A newspaper prints a story saying that it was 12-year-old Charlotte who purchased the winning lottery ticket, and the lottery company take the family to court, claiming back all £38 million as it was illegal for an under-16 to enter the lottery. A heavily pregnant Alison cracks and confesses during the trial, forcing the Braithwaites back to their old home and their old lives. Sarah starts seeing a married teacher. By the end of the series, Alison gives birth to a baby girl, Katherine 'Kate/Katie', and the family manage to retrieve their fortune following a legal technicality and a retrial.

Series Four

In the fourth and final series of six episodes, Alison and David start divorce proceedings. Alison has a romance with her gardener, Nick. David starts seeing Elaine again. Sarah quits college, and starts a business as a wedding planner. She also discovers that Phil, the father of her child, still has feelings for her. Charlotte starts going out with Jordan, Elaine's son, and the pair hatch a plan to get rid of the lottery winnings that Charlotte believes has caused all of the problems within her family. Virginia has finally to choose between Tamsin, who now has a baby girl, Rowena, and Megan. Disapproving of her recent actions, Virginia, Sarah, and Charlotte all struggle to get along with Alison. The final scene of the series sees the whole family, and their friends, arguing with each other, as Charlotte announces that she thinks she might be pregnant.

Sally Wainwright wrote the first two episodes of this series while Jonathan Harvey wrote the next two with the final episodes written by Katie Baxendale.

The Doctor and Leela arrive in London so that Leela can learn about the customs of her ancestors. Performing at the Palace Theatre is the stage magician Li H'sen Chang. On their way to the theatre, the Doctor and Leela encounter a group of Chinese men who have apparently killed a cab driver. All but one escape, and he, the Doctor and Leela are taken to the local police station.

At the station, Li H'sen Chang is called in to act as an interpreter, but unbeknownst to everyone else he is the leader of the group – the Tong of the Black Scorpion, followers of the god Weng-Chiang. He stealthily gives the captive henchman a pill of concentrated scorpion venom, which the henchman takes and dies.

The body is taken to the local mortuary, along with the body of the cabbie. There they meet Professor Litefoot, who is performing the autopsies. The cabbie is Joseph Buller, who had been looking for his wife Emma, the latest in a string of missing women in the area. Buller had gone down to the Palace Theatre where he had confronted Chang about his wife's disappearance. Afterwards, Chang had sent his men, including the diminutive Mr Sin, to kill Buller. Chang is in the service of Magnus Greel, a despot from the 51st century who had fled from the authorities in a time cabinet, now masquerading as the Chinese god Weng-Chiang. The technology of the cabinet is unstable and has disrupted Greel's own DNA, deforming him horribly. This forces him to drain the life essences from young women to keep himself alive. At the same time, Greel is in search of his cabinet, which is now in the possession of Professor Litefoot. Mr Sin is also from the future but is a robotic toy constructed with the cerebral cortex of a pig.

Greel tracks down the time cabinet and steals it, whilst concurrently the Doctor tracks Greel to the sewers underneath the theatre, aided by the theatre's owner, Henry Gordon Jago. However, Greel has already fled, abandoning Chang to the police. Chang escapes into the sewers, only to be mauled by one of Greel's giant rats.

While the Doctor and Leela try to find Greel's new hideout, Jago comes across the key to the time cabinet. He takes it to Professor Litefoot's house, and there, after leaving the key and a note for the Doctor, the Professor and Jago set out to follow anyone coming around the theatre in search of the bag. However, they are captured. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Leela find Chang in an opium den, dying from his injury. The Doctor and Leela ask where Greel can be found, and Chang tells them he can be found in the House of the Dragon, but dies before he can give them the exact location.

The Doctor and Leela return to Professor Litefoot's house. There they find the note and the key to the time cabinet. They decide to wait for Greel and his henchmen. When they arrive, the Doctor uses the key, a fragile crystal, as a bargaining chip. He asks to be taken to the House of the Dragon, offering the key in exchange for Litefoot and Jago's release. Instead, Greel overpowers the Doctor and locks him in with the two.

Leela, who had been left at Litefoot's house, has followed them and confronts Greel. She is captured by Greel, but before her life essence is drained, the Doctor, Jago and Litefoot escape and rescue her. In a final confrontation, Mr Sin turns on Greel as the Doctor convinces it that Greel escaping in his time cabinet will create a catastrophic implosion. The Doctor defeats Greel by forcibly pushing him into his own extraction machine, causing it to overload and Greel to disintegrate. The Doctor then captures and deactivates Mr Sin.

The White Guardian recruits the Fourth Doctor to collect the six hidden and disguised segments of the powerful Key to Time. He assigns him an assistant Time Lady named Romanadvoratrelundar, whom the Doctor calls Romana. He warns him that the Black Guardian also seeks these segments, but for an evil purpose. The White Guardian provides them with a wand-like device, which can locate the pieces and remove their disguise. When inserted into the TARDIS console, the locator first reveals a segment to be on Cyrrenhis Minima, but then moves to Ribos.

Ribos is an icy planet with late-medieval-type inhabitants who are unaware of alien cultures. A human from Earth named Garron tries to sell Ribos to an exiled tyrant called the Graff Vynda-K. The Graff is impressed by the planet's supposed quantity of jethrik, the rarest and most valued mineral in the galaxy. He believes the opportunity confirmed when he sees a piece of jethrik among the Ribos crown jewels. This is all part of a ruse orchestrated by Garron; the jethrik was planted by Garron's assistant Unstoffe, who also was playing a native with an "honest face" who spins a yarn to the Graff about a nearby lost mine. The locator points the Doctor and Romana to the same jethrik, which must be the disguised segment of the Key to Time.

The Graff Vynda-K provides a large sum of money as a deposit for the planet that is to be kept safely in the room with the crown jewels, watched by Ribos guards by day and a shrivenzale beast by night. Later, Unstoffe distracts the shrivenzale, recovers their piece of jethrik, and takes the money from the safe. The Graff learns of Garron's deception when he discovers a covert listening device in his room. He imprisons Garron with his "accomplices", the Doctor and Romana, and starts the search for Unstoffe, who still has the money and the jethrik. Unstoffe hides with Binro, a homeless outcast who believes that Ribos is a planet orbiting a star, and that there are other stars in the universe, which Unstoffe confirms to be true (because he was from Earth). The Ribos guards summon a Seeker who locates Unstoffe's hideout. Using the listening device in the Graff's room, Garron warns Unstoffe about the Graff. Binro, thankful for Unstoffe's encouragement, leads him to the labyrinthine Catacombs under the city, where the natives bury their dead.

The Graff and his men enter the Catacombs without the guards, who fear the place, and the Seeker warns that if they enter, "All but one are doomed to die." K9 helps the Doctor, Romana, and Garron escape and go to the Catacombs. The guards destroy the entrance to the Catacombs causing the ceiling to collapse on the Graff's men. Having recovered the money and the jethrik, the Graff gives his last surviving guard an explosive to kill himself with. The guard, actually the Doctor in disguise, swaps the explosive for the jethrik. The Graff walks off into the maze yelling like a madman as the sounds of one of his previous battles resound around him, before exploding.

After leaving the Catacombs, the Doctor, Romana, and K9 dematerialise in the TARDIS. Garron and Unstoffe claim the Graff's deserted ship, full of years of plunder, while the Doctor and Romana transform the jethrik into the first piece of the Key to Time.

We3, a squad of three prototype "animal weapons", are part of a government project headed by Dr. Rosanne Berry and her superior Doctor Trendle. The group consists of a dog, "Bandit" a.k.a. "1"; a cat, "Tinker" a.k.a. "2"; and a rabbit, "Pirate" a.k.a. "3", who were all kidnapped from a nearby city and encased in robotic armor. They have also been given a limited ability to speak through skull implants. Their body armor fields numerous weapons, including mine laying devices, machine guns and razor claws.

After the group carries out another successful assignment of assassinating U.S. enemies, a senator makes a visit to the project's facility to see it, where he congratulates the project staff members, only for the General in charge of the project to decide afterwards to decommission We3 in favor of creating newer animal weapons. Berry, unwilling to end the lives of the three animals, instead has them break free. Feeling guilt over her part in what has been done to them, she hopes to be killed by them in the process of their escape; to her surprise, they leave her alive. She is taken into custody by the government while Trendle works closely with the General and the military to terminate We3.

We3 escape into the wild and, confused by their new surroundings, decide to look for "HOME". They are later found and chased by the military, but they manage to brutally kill the attacking soldiers thanks to their cybernetic enhancements. Trendle decides to send his cybernetic enhanced rats to attack We3, telling Berry that if the rats fail the military will use her to lure We3 back. While fighting the rats on a bridge, Pirate drops several landmines after spotting an oncoming train. The mines explode causing the train to derail and fall into the lake below. Bandit attempts to rescue the conductor, but Tinker points out that the man is already dead. Pirate is nowhere to be seen.

Bandit and Tinker manage to find Pirate, but Pirate is in a confrontation with a family who mistake Pirate for an alien. Pirate ends up getting shot in the head by the father, damaging his speech. Angered, Bandit and Tinker kill the father and the family's dog, but leave the boy alive. Realizing that the situation is getting far worse, the military send out We4, an enhanced English Mastiff, against the wishes of Berry.

We3 take refuge in a homeless man's domain and gain his sympathy. The homeless man encounters the military who have the police escort him from the area, while the man claims that he didn't see anything. Setting up around the area, the military unleash We4, who kills Pirate but is in turn damaged by one of Pirate's mines in the process. Berry is then sent by the military to calm Bandit and lead him into military sniper fire, but as the snipers prepare to take out Bandit, she instead tells him his real name and sacrifices herself by jumping in the way of the sniper bullets. Enraged, Bandit and Tinker both brutally attack We4 and all combatants end up breaking through a wall onto the highway, causing a car pile up. We4 begins to attack a police officer whom Bandit then rescues. At Trendle's insistence, the military terminate We4 from afar using a code word to trigger a bomb in We4's head.

Bandit and Tinker escape and, with painful effort, shed their armor, leaving it to explode and taking out some more soldiers on their trail. The homeless man manages to find them again and he removes the two's remaining cybernetic enhancements. Trendle then speaks out against the government's actions, and it is revealed that the now normal Bandit and Tinker have been taken into the care of the homeless man. As he compliments how well behaved the animals are, Trendle gives hundreds of dollars to the homeless man before walking up the steps of the courthouse to a crowd of reporters.

Tracking the third segment of the Key to Time, the Fourth Doctor, Romana, and K9 arrive in modern-day Cornwall. They meet Professor Emilia Rumford and her friend Vivien Fay, studying the "Nine Travellers"--standing stones in Boscombe Moor. Their work is disrupted by a Druidic sect that worships the Cailleach, the Druidic goddess of war and magic, led by de Vries. De Vries and the sect are hostile to the newcomers, but the Doctor later finds the sect killed by mobile stones similar to those of the Nine Travellers and determines the stones must be alien beings that feed on blood. He and Emilia find evidence that suggests Vivien is older than she looks. Meanwhile, Romana catches Vivien awakening more stones with blood, and Vivien uses a device to send her to a spacecraft in hyperspace. When the Doctor and Emilia arrive, Vivien tells them that Romana will be safe before disappearing herself. The Doctor recognises the stones as Ogri, a life form from the planet Ogros.

The Doctor constructs a projector to cross into hyperspace, leaving Emilia and K9 to guard it. On the spacecraft, the Doctor determines it is a prison ship, and inadvertently releases two floating globes called Megara that serve as justice machines. They accuse the Doctor of breaking a seal on the ship and prepare to put him on trial. Elsewhere, Vivien finds the Doctor's presence, and returns to Earth, awakening one of the Ogri and damages the Doctor's projector, but sparing Emilia's life as a friend. She and the Ogri return to the craft to attend the Doctor's trial. K9 guides Emilia in repairing the projector, allowing them to bring back Romana, along with an Ogri. They are pursued by the Ogri, leading them back to Vivien's cottage. There, Romana discovers an alien device that proves Vivien is not human. They lure the Ogri back to the projector, and she and the Ogri return to the spacecraft.

On the ship, the Doctor learns the Megara are seeking a criminal known as Cessair, who had stolen the Great Seal of the planet Diplos, which grants its bearer great powers. The Doctor suspects Vivien is Cessair, and attempts to force the Megara to question her, but their law prevents such intervention. Having decided the Doctor's guilt, they fire an energy weapon at him, but at the last moment, the Doctor drags Vivien into the shot. The Megara immediately stop their attack and scan Vivien to see if she is unharmed, but instead discover that she is Cessair. Romana arrives with the additional evidence, and the Megara pass judgement on her. They return her to Earth and transform her into a standing stone in the moor, but not before the Doctor recovers the Great Seal which she wore. The Megara are about to pass judgment on the Doctor when they're forced to return to their ship and depart to Diplos. The Doctor had set the controls of the ship before leaving, and he affirms the Great Seal is the third segment of the Key, and he, Romana, and K9 thank Emilia for her assistance before they leave in the TARDIS. She smiles as she now has a new stone in the circle to study.

The Fourth Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Tara in search of the fourth segment of the Key to Time. While the Doctor goes fishing, Romana finds the fourth segment. She is attacked by a native Taran bear and saved by Count Grendel, who takes Romana to his castle on the pretext of treating her injured ankle. Once there, it becomes clear that Grendel believes she is an android, because she exactly resembles the captive Princess Strella. When Grendel finds Romana is real, Romana is imprisoned in Grendel's dungeon.

The noble swordsmen Zadek and Farrah recruit the Doctor to assist Prince Reynart, who must reach the throne room of the castle in time to be crowned king or forfeit his crown to Grendel. The Doctor agrees to help repair an android copy of the Prince to be used as a decoy to distract Grendel's men. Grendel strikes first, drugging the Prince and his retinue and kidnapping Reynart. When the Doctor and the swordsmen recover, they decide to crown the android Reynart instead. The Doctor and his party sneak the android Prince into the throne room, and the Prince is crowned King.

Till, Grendel's manservant, arrives at the Reynart estate and offers the Doctor a chance to collect Romana. It turns out to be a trap; the real Romana has been replaced by an android. K9 detects the android Romana and eliminates it. Meanwhile, the real Romana escapes from Castle Gracht and helps the Doctor flee. Grendel, coming under a flag of truce to secretly offer the crown to the Doctor, destroys the Reynart android and recaptures Romana. The evil Count now plots to have Romana pose as Strella and marry the real King Reynart. Once they are married and she is his Queen, Reynart will be killed, leaving Grendel free to marry her and become King of Tara.

The Doctor has K9 assist him to gain access to the castle by means of the moat and tunnels. The Doctor reaches the throne room just in time to stop Reynart's coerced marriage to Romana. He then engages the Count in a deadly duel with electro-swords, eventually defeating him and forcing him to flee. Romana has meanwhile freed Strella who is finally reunited with Reynart. Having retrieved the fourth segment of the Key to Time, the Doctor, Romana and K9 depart.

A cozy mystery series set in beautiful British and European gardens, ''Rosemary & Thyme'' features two women brought together by a sudden death who discover their shared love of the soil. Being gardeners means that they overhear secrets and dig up clues which lead them to handle floral problems, solve crimes and capture criminals.

The Fourth Doctor and Romana have arrived on the third moon of Delta Magna, searching for the penultimate segment of the Key to Time. They find themselves caught in the middle of a dispute between the crew of a methane refinery and the natives (known as 'Swampies'). The Swampies claim that the crew have disturbed the waters, and will incur the wrath of their god, Kroll. Kroll is revealed to be a giant squid, which surfaces to feed every few centuries and is the source of the abnormally large amount of methane being mined. Originally a normal size squid, Kroll ingested the fifth segment of the Key to Time and began to grow, becoming a god-like figure to the Swampies and their descendants.

After Kroll awakens and begins to attack both the Swampies and the refinery indiscriminately, the Doctor uses the tracer to retrieve the segment of the Key, which destroys Kroll and instigates cellular regeneration within the creature to produce hundreds of normal-sized squid. This process not only saves the planet's inhabitants but removes the source of methane from the refinery. The Doctor and Romana return to the TARDIS and set off on their next adventure.

Searching for the final segment of the Key to Time, the Fourth Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Atrios, which has endured a recent bombing by their neighbouring planet Zeos, with whom they are at war. The Doctor finds that Zeos is deserted save for the giant computer Mentalis, which is controlling the war. He also discovers that the true opponent is a third planet called the Planet of Evil, ruled by "the Shadow". The Shadow, an agent of the Black Guardian, has Princess Astra of Atrios captive, threatening to torture her if she doesn't give him the location of the final segment of the Key to Time.

On the Planet of Evil, the Doctor encounters another Time Lord, Drax, who he last met at the Academy. Drax has been employed under duress by the Shadow but agrees to help the Doctor. The Doctor leads a servant of the Shadow, known as a Mute, to his TARDIS and opens the door, but is suddenly shrunk to tiny size by Drax, who then shrinks himself using the dimensional stabiliser from his own TARDIS. Drax had misinterpreted the Doctor's plan and shrank the Doctor instead of the Mute.

The Mute returns to the Shadow with the Key, and the Doctor realises why the Shadow has requested it: Astra is the final segment, and is transformed in front of everyone. Using their diminished size, the Doctor and Drax smuggle themselves into the Shadow's lair inside of K9, who pretends to still be under the Shadow's power. Drax again uses the stabiliser, this time to return them to their normal size. The Doctor snatches the partially assembled Key and the final segment, and disappears with Romana and K9 in the TARDIS, assembling the Key after setting up a shield around Zeos to deflect the Marshal's missiles towards the Shadow's base, destroying it.

The White Guardian appears to congratulate the Doctor on finding and assembling the Key to Time, and requests that it be sent to him. However, the Doctor, realising that it is actually the Black Guardian in disguise, orders the Key to re-disperse. Enraged, the Black Guardian threatens to kill him. In an attempt to evade him, the Doctor fits a randomiser into the TARDIS guidance system, sending it to an unknown location in time and space, leaving the Doctor with no idea of where they are headed, and the Guardian being unable to follow.

The Fourth Doctor and Romana's holiday in Brighton ends abruptly when K9 chases a ball, takes in seawater, and explodes. They instead venture to the Leisure Hive of Argolis, a holiday complex and message of peace built by surviving Argolins after their devastating 20-minute war with the Foamasi forty years earlier. They arrive at a point of crisis: the Leisure Hive is facing bankruptcy (because of falling tourist trade due to stiff competition from other leisure planets) and the Argolins' Earth agent, Brock, and his lawyer Klout have arrived bearing an offer to buy the planet outright. However, the offer is from the Foamasi, the only species that could live on the planet's radiation-infused surface, and the Argolin board will not consider it. The shock of events causes Board Chairman Morix's rapid death – from the Argolin war curse of advanced cellular degradation – and his consort Mena is declared the new Chairman. The Doctor is intrigued by the manipulation of tachyons in the Hive’s Tachyon Recreation Generator, which is the main tourist attraction and can duplicate and manipulate organic matter. He witnesses a human tourist being killed after it is sabotaged in the latest of a series of such acts.

When Mena returns to Argolis, her body clock begins to speed up, a side-effect of the radiation-heavy atmosphere. Earth scientist Hardin has been brought to Argolis to help her and her people by using time experiments to rejuvenate a people rendered sterile by the war. Recognising their value as scientists, Mena, instead of confining them, engages the Doctor and Romana to help Hardin with his work. The time travellers know Hardin has been faking his work, but Romana feels that the experiments should have worked.

After discovering a skin of Klout in a wardrobe, Stimson, Hardin's financier, who travelled with him and persuaded him to fake the demonstrations, is brutally murdered and the Doctor is blamed. He is put on trial while Romana and Hardin perfect the time experiments. Just in time, they succeed and are able to bargain for the Doctor's freedom. However, after they leave, the hourglass of their experiment shatters. Due to her worsening condition, Mena volunteers to be the first guinea pig to test the time experiment, but the Doctor is selected instead. The machine malfunctions while he is inside and he emerges – having aged 500 years – an old man with flowing white hair. Mena's son, Pangol, the most warlike and vindictive of the Argolins, orders that the Doctor and Romana be confined. Hardin later frees them, which is when the slower-witted Doctor notices something odd about the name ''Recreation Chamber''. Romana sees it too, eventually: recreation is ''re-creation'', the repeated creation of things or people.

Sneaking back to the Recreation Room, the trio discover a group of Argolins, led by Pangol, performing dangerous experiments in order to perfect a secret project, under the guise of entertainment. Meanwhile, Brock and Klout bring a new offer from a mysterious organisation called West Lodge. It is then, while tearing up the offer, that Pangol reveals the secret of his past and the reason he is the only young Argolin in the Hive. He was the only successful, undeformed child from a cloning experiment meant to save the Argolin using the Recreation Generator. But, driven insane by hatred of the Foamasi and a xenophobic fear of all aliens, he lusts for a war-forged empire like that of their ancestor Theron (who started the war and doomed the Argolins to extinction). He needs an alien witness to his taking Mena's place after her death, and to the beginning of "New Argolis".

The Doctor, Romana, and Hardin find Foamasi agents in the Hive and escort them to the council chamber, where the agents reveal Brock and Klout to be Foamasi impersonators. The lead agent reveals West Lodge to be a criminal group who need Argolis as a base of operations. With the leader, Brock, captured, the organisation is doomed to fold and the Foamasi prepare to take the rogues for trial. Pangol refuses to let them pass, and takes up the Helmet of Theron (a sacred symbol for Argolins and a reminder to espouse peace and understanding) and rallies the Argolins to his cause. The Doctor, seeing what he is up to, takes the Randomiser from the TARDIS and attaches it to the Recreation Chamber, hoping to destabilise the mechanism.

Romana tries to dissuade Pangol from using the Generator, but fails. The Foamasi shuttle tries to leave and is destroyed by Pangol, who dons the Helmet of Theron and uses the Generator to create an army of Tachyon replicas, in order to rebuild the Argolin race. He orders that Romana be put outside, while Hardin finds Mena dying and carries her to the Generator room. As Romana is taken, the clones are revealed to be merely tachyon images of a rejuvenated Doctor built up in a FIFO stack; first in, first out. She and the first Doctor to emerge (the real one) return to the Generator Room, where Hardin has put Mena into the Recreation Generator.

Pangol, enraged that the Doctor has foiled his attempt to create an army, reenters the Generator, which closes behind him. The Doctor reveals that he set the machine to "rejuvenate", and it cannot be stopped. Pangol and Mena seem to be merging, so the Doctor grabs the Helmet of Theron and throws it into the visualising crystal, stopping the mechanism. Mena exits rejuvenated, holding Pangol, who has regressed to a baby. The Foamasi agents reappear, revealing that the West Lodge criminals tried to escape in the shuttle (so, in the words of the Doctor "Brock and Klout are kaput"). Against Romana's advice, the Doctor leaves the Argolins and Foamasi to make up and the Randomiser attached to the Recreation Generator (thus leaving the TARDIS vulnerable to the Black Guardian).

The book begins with Vercingetorix conceding defeat to Julius Caesar. His surrendered weapons remain at Caesar's chair for several hours, until a Roman archer steals Vercingetorix's famous shield, which he loses in a game of dice to another legionary, who then loses it to a drunken centurion, in return for the centurion not reporting him for a military offence. The centurion himself uses the shield to pay for a jar of wine at a nearby Gaulish inn; later, the shield is given by the innkeeper to a survivor of the Battle of Alesia.

Following this prologue, Chief Vitalstatistix is made helpless by a sore liver, a consequence of overeating and drinking at his last banquet. Having demonstrated this, and temporarily eased the chief's pain, the druid Getafix sends Vitalstatistix to a hydrotherapeutic center in Arverne to be cured, with Asterix and Obelix (and Dogmatix) as his escort. On the way, they stop at various inns, where the heavy food revives the chief's sickness. At Arverne, the Gauls initially remain together; but because Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix are in no need of special diets, they feast on wild boar and beer while everyone else eats "boiled vegetables". When other patients complain, Vitalstatistix sends Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix to Gergovia.

Along the way, the Gauls are offended by Roman envoy Noxius Vapus, and vanquish his guards. In the aftermath, Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix befriend the local tavern-keeper Winesanspirix, who retains them thereafter as guests. When Noxius Vapus makes his report to Caesar in Rome, Caesar plans a triumph on Vercingetorix's shield to "show them who's boss", and orders Vapus to search Arverne for it. When the initial investigations fail, the Romans send a spy, Legionary Pusillanimus; but on drinking too much wine at Winesanspirix's tavern, the latter discloses Caesar's plan and reveals his own knowledge of the shield's history, whereupon Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix set off in search of the shield themselves. To that end, they interrogate the archer, Lucius Circumbendibus, who now owns a wheel manufacturing business; the second legionary, Marcus Carniverus, who worked at a health resort before opening a restaurant; and the drunken Centurion Crapulus. Vapus and his men in turn search in vain for both the shield and Asterix and Obelix, as a running gag dirtying themselves with charcoal dust while searching the coal heaps belonging to Winesanspirix and their neighbors.

The search eventually leads the two Gauls back to Winesanspirix, to whom Crapulus had given the shield in the prologue. Upon the protagonists' reunion with him, Winesanspirix confesses having given the shield to a dispirited Gaulish warrior, who is thereupon identified with the arrival of a newly cured and much slimmer Vitalstatistix. Vitalstatistix reveals he had the shield the whole time and it is the very one he is always carried upon. Upon Caesar's arrival at Gergovia, Asterix and the locals organize a triumph in which Vitalstatistix is carried on Vercingetorix's shield. Caesar then deports Vapus and his troops to Numidia, and Caesar promotes Centurion Crapulus to command of the garrison of Gergovia, and Legionary Pusillanimus to Centurion, on the grounds that they are the only "clean" legionaries present (despite both being visibly drunk). The Gauls return to their village (Vitalstatistix regaining his customary weight at the inns visited earlier in the story) to celebrate; but Vitalstatistix is forced into abstinence from the latter by his wife Impedimenta.

The TARDIS lands in 17th Century London. Upon stepping outside, The Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, and Adric immediately smell sulphur and head off to find the source. Richard Mace, a highwayman and self-proclaimed thespian, encounters the group and takes them to safety inside a barn. While questioning Mace, they find out that some kind of comet recently landed nearby.

The Doctor and his friends discover the "comet" was actually a spaceship inhabited by a Terileptil fugitive, who uses mind controlling bracelets to subdue the local villagers. In a nearby manor house, they find a cellar full of caged rats and a device emitting soliton gas. The Terileptil plan to use rats infected with a genetically enhanced plague to devastate the population and conquer the planet.

Using the TARDIS scanner, the Doctor locates the Terileptil in London. The TARDIS rematerialises there and the five enter the building. With the Terileptil leader are two others who get the jump on the Doctor and Mace. They manage to stop them, but the Terileptil leader's weapon starts to overload and detonates. The resulting explosion destroys the building and starts a raging fire. Mace stays behind to fight the blaze as the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric leave in the TARDIS.

It is revealed that the fire is at Pudding Lane, the location where the Great Fire of London started.

As the TARDIS materialises in Earth's future, Adric argues with the Fifth Doctor about the lack of attention and respect he receives compared to Nyssa or Tegan. They explore a series of caves and are caught by soldiers led by Lieutenant Scott; Professor Kyle, accompanying Scott, accuses the four of killing the rest of her archaeological team. The Doctor convinces them to help, and Kyle leads them to the bodies of her team, near where they find an odd metal hatch. The group is attacked by androids, killing some of Scott's men, but the Doctor defeats them. He suspects the androids were guarding the hatch, and eventually opens it to reveal a powerful bomb that could destroy the planet. The Doctor and Adric defuse the bomb and trace its signal back to a freighter that is entering the Solar System. Scott and Kyle join the Doctor as they return to the TARDIS and travel to the freighter. The Doctor instructs the others to wait in the TARDIS while he and Adric explore the ship, and find a similar number of corpses in the cargo holds, before they are caught by the ship's security and taken to Captain Briggs, where they try to explain their situation.

Throughout this, the Doctor and the humans are unaware that they are being monitored by the Cybermen, who seek to destroy the Earth. With the bomb defused on Earth, and the Doctor now interfering here, the Cyber Leader decides it is time to take command of the freighter. They leave the sealed containers they stowed away in, and begin to march to the bridge. The ship's crew, along with help from Tegan, Scott, and Kyle, attempt to barricade their progress, but the Cybermen overpower them, killing Kyle and capturing Tegan, and soon the Cybermen control the bridge. Using Tegan to keep the Doctor in check, the Cybermen install a device that locks the controls of the freighter after setting it on warp-speed collision course with Earth, expecting the anti-matter engines will be powerful enough to destroy the Earth. The Cybermen then order the Doctor to take them to his TARDIS to escape, leaving behind Adric, Briggs, and other crewmen. Adric is able to pass the Doctor his gold Badge for Mathematical Excellence before they depart, knowing the Cybermen are allergic to gold.

Scott and his men are able to overpower the minimal guard left on the bridge, and Adric immediately starts working to try to undo the control lock. His first attempt causes the ship to jump back in time about 65 million years; the Doctor, monitoring this on the TARDIS, observes that is about the same time of the extinction of the dinosaurs. Adric's second attempt brings the ship out of warp; though still on course to strike Earth, the impact would not be as devastating. Briggs, Scott, and the remaining crew use the opportunity to leave in escape pods. They try to convince Adric to come, but at the last moment, he returns, having another insight on defeating the lock. Scott relays their status to the TARDIS, and the Cyber Leader orders the Cybermen to kill the TARDIS crew, but the Doctor smashes Adric's badge on the Cyber Leader's chestplate, momentarily stunning it and allowing them to disable the Cybermen.

The Doctor finds the TARDIS' controls have been damaged, making it impossible to rescue Adric. On the bridge, Adric nears undoing the lock when a weakened Cyberman fires on him, missing him and striking the keyboard, preventing Adric from making any further attempts. The TARDIS crew watches helplessly as the freighter collides with Earth in a massive explosion, killing the dinosaurs and Adric in the process.

A group of futuristic humanoids in 1984 London are shot by two policemen led by Commander Lytton. Two of the them, Galloway and Stien, escape into the adjacent Butler's Wharf where a time corridor is situated, but Galloway is killed. Lytton transports back to his battle cruiser in the far future and prepares to attack a prison space station whose only prisoner is the creator of the Daleks, Davros, who has been held there since the events of ''Destiny of the Daleks''.

The Fifth Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough are being dragged down a time corridor in the TARDIS following on from the events at the end of ''Frontios''. They emerge in the London Docklands.

The station crew, led by Dr. Styles and Lt. Mercer, fight off the Daleks. Lytton persuades the Dalek Supreme to use poisonous gas and the Daleks take over the ship. Osborn attempts to destroy Davros, but Lytton and an engineer break into the cell and kill Osborn before she can complete her mission, then release Davros from his cryogenic imprisonment.

The Doctor and friends meet the traumatised Stien and all return to the warehouse to hunt for the time corridor. They meet a military bomb disposal squad, called in by builders. While the others are distracted, Turlough stumbles into the time corridor, ending up on the Dalek ship.

Having learned that the Doctor is in the warehouse, the Supreme Dalek orders a Dalek to detain him. It travels through the time corridor and kills several men before the Doctor advises them to focus their fire on its eyestalk, blinding it. Then they push it out window and it explodes on hitting the ground. Tegan is injured and blacks out. Only Styles, Mercer, and two guards are left alive of the original crew. Disguised in uniforms taken from Lytton's guards, they plan to blow up the station via its self-destruct system.

Davros vows to take his revenge on the Doctor. While Davros's travel chair is undergoing maintenance, Lytton explains that the Daleks lost their war against the Movellans because of a virus that attacks Dalek tissue. They have awakened Davros to find a cure. He demands that he remain on the ship while working on the virus. When Lytton leaves to discuss this with the Supreme Dalek, Davros uses a hypodermic-like mind control device to take control of Kiston.

The Doctor and the bomb disposal squad search for the Kaled mutant that was housed inside the destroyed Dalek. They kill it when it wounds one of the men. The Doctor and Stien head into the TARDIS to see what is happening at the other end of the time corridor. The TARDIS materialises inside the Dalek ship and the Doctor tells Stien that they should find Turlough and leave. But Stien reveals that he is an agent of the Daleks. A Dalek patrol closes in to exterminate the Doctor, but Lytton enters and tells them that the Supreme Dalek has ordered that the Doctor be taken alive. The Daleks lead the Doctor away. Turlough joins the remnants of the ship's crew, telling them that the time corridor might help them escape the effects of the ship's self-destruct.

On Earth, the man attacked by the Dalek is disorientated. The group commander, Colonel Archer, decides to radio for help; he seeks help from two policemen (Lytton's associates). As he tries their radio, a policeman holds a gun to his head.

The Daleks plan to clone the Doctor and his companions, using them to assassinate the Gallifrey High Council. Styles and two station guards are killed when trying to activate the self-destruct system.

On Earth, Colonel Archer's clone goes to the warehouse under Dalek control. The bodies of Colonel Archer and his men are seen aboard the Dalek ship. Tegan attempts to escape but is recaptured and taken to the Dalek ship. The squad's scientific advisor, Professor Laird, is shot while trying to flee the soldiers. Davros demands tissue to find a cure. After consulting The Supreme Dalek, they agree but Davros uses the mind control device to take control of them.

In the duplication chamber, Stien becomes confused: the Doctor has realised that Stien's conditioning is unstable and tries to reawaken his ability to think for himself. As the mind-copying sequence nears completion, Stien breaks his conditioning and stops the process, freeing the Doctor. The Doctor finds Turlough and Tegan, and they return to the TARDIS along with Stien and another. Rather than depart, the Doctor decides to destroy Davros. With Stien and Lt. Mercer he heads to the station lab, leaving Tegan and Turlough in the TARDIS, which he has programmed to return them to the warehouse. The Doctor confronts Davros in the lab, but loses his chance to kill him when Stien's conditioning re-asserts itself long enough to let Lytton's troops kill Mercer. Stien refuses to accompany the Doctor back to the time corridor and runs off into the station.

Davros dispatches his Daleks to Earth. Anticipating resistance from the Daleks not loyal to him, Davros opens a capsule of the Movellan virus. Two Daleks enter with the intention of killing him but are killed by the virus. At the warehouse, Davros' Daleks battle those loyal to the Supreme Dalek. The Doctor returns through the time corridor, realising that the "unexploded bombs" discovered earlier conrain the Movellan virus. He opens one and places it behind the Daleks, who start to die.

Lytton has escaped and sees the Daleks' demise. He swaps his Dalek uniform for a policeman's and joins his two fellow "bobbies". Davros prepares to flee the space station, but the Movellan virus apparently kills hm. The Supreme Dalek appears on the TARDIS scanner and threatens the Doctor, claiming that the Daleks have duplicates of prominent humans all over Earth. Meanwhile, Stien is trying to activate the self-destruct sequence. Just as he is about to finish, the Daleks enter and exterminate him, but he manages to complete the sequence and destroys both the station and the Dalek ship.

The Doctor calls for them all to leave, but Tegan refuses, saying she no longer enjoys her adventures, and runs off. The Doctor is saddened by this, and he and Turlough leave. As the TARDIS vanishes, Tegan runs back, remembering the Doctor's old admonition: "Brave heart, Tegan." She calls out to the empty air that she will miss him.

While repairing the TARDIS console, the Sixth Doctor finds that the TARDIS has unexpectedly stopped in deep space and he can do nothing to fix it. Peri locates the TARDIS manual and presents it to the Doctor who dismisses it, as he knows perfectly well that transitional elements within the TARDIS have stopped producing orbital energy and only Zeiton-7 ore can realign the power systems. But as the Doctor explains, Zeiton-7 is exceptionally rare and only comes from one planet in the Cetes constellation: Varos.

On Varos, originally a prison planet that now functions as a government system where voting is mandatory and torture and executions are televised, the Galatron Mining Corporation's swindling Mentor representative Sil is negotiating with Varos's Governor over the price of Zeiton-7 ore. Wanting a fair price for his people, and unaware that his Chief Officer is in league with Sil, the governor addresses his people to vote if they should hold out longer for a fair price. However, the popular vote is against the Governor, and as a consequence, he is subjected to exposure to potentially lethal Human Cell Disintegration Bombardment. As losing a subsequent vote will almost surely kill him, the Governor is forced to please the citizens by ordering the execution of a rebel leader named Jondar. By this time, the Doctor has managed to repair the TARDIS sufficiently and arrives at Varos's Punishment Dome close to where Jondar is to be executed.

The guard stationed at the execution believes the TARDIS and its occupants are a hallucination resulting from the psychological effects of the Dome, which allows the Doctor and Peri to incapacitate the guard and free Jondar. But with their way back to the TARDIS blocked by more guards, the three flee, meeting up with Jondar's wife Areta. Venturing through the Punishment Dome to find another route to the TARDIS, the Doctor is separated from the others, who are arrested. With his attempt to escape now being broadcast as entertainment to all of Varos, he enters a corridor that appears in his mind as a desert, and due to its psychological effects, begins to die from thirst. By this time, Peri has been brought to the control centre in the company of the Governor, Sil and the other officers.

They question Peri as she watches the Doctor's body being taken away to an acid bath for disposal. However, the Doctor has survived, and though he escapes, causing the death of two guards in the process, he is quickly arrested by Quillam, Varos's chief scientist. The Governor decrees that the Doctor and Jondar will be executed by hanging, while Peri and Areta are to be subjected to horrific scientific experiments at the hands of Quillam and his cell mutator. At the gallows, at the last moment, the Doctor questions the Governor about Sil and his extortion while offering to help in the Zeiton-7 matter, causing Sil to order his bodyguards to rush the platform to pull the lever to silence the Doctor. But it turns out the execution was actually a farce to extract information out of the Doctor. The Doctor, who suspected this, agrees to help Varos on the condition that Peri and Areta are returned unharmed. However, Quillam refuses, even under duress, forcing the Doctor to resort to shooting the entire control panel. Luckily, the process has been halted in time, and the mutations are only temporary, and Peri and Areta soon return to their original selves. The four then escape back into the depths of the Punishment Dome towards a possible escape route before Peri, still in a stupor after the effects of the mutator, is recaptured and taken to the control centre.

The Chief Officer and Sil make their final move on the Governor in hopes that losing the next vote will finally kill him, securing the way for them to control Varos and the Zeiton-7 ore. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Jondar, and Areta make their way into the End Game of the Dome and the supposed exit. The vote starts and the bombardment begins, but the guard Meldak has a change of heart and stops the device, saving the Governor and Peri. The three then make their way to meet up with the Doctor.

The Doctor's group is then chased by two cannibals, but loses them thanks to some deadly plant tendrils. The Chief and Quillam arrive on the scene but are entangled in the tendrils, killing them. The group then meet up with Peri, the Governor, and Meldak. They all make their way back to the control centre as Sil reveals the invasion force he had dispatched hours earlier to take Varos by force. However, Sil is mortified to learn that the invasion force has been called back, and a second Zeiton-7 deposit has been discovered, so his company has ordered him to obtain the Varosian ore at any price. The Doctor and Peri then bid the Governor farewell, taking some ore with them for the TARDIS. Soon after, the Governor issues a message to the citizens to abolish their government's injustice, torture, and executions. Citizens watch in disbelief, wondering what they should do now with their new-found freedom.

• '''Act I'''. The first act begins at the entrance to a grotto where Pridamant and Dorante are trying to discover the cause of the disappearance of Clindor, Pridamant's son. Dorante wants to introduce Pridamant to a magician who can help. This magician, Alcandre, correctly determines the reasons why Pridamant has come to him and tells him that he can show him his son through a device. Alcandre asks Dorante to leave. After Dorante leaves, Alcandre tells Pridamant that his son is living the life of a ''picaro'' since his disappearance and that he is now in the service of a captain of soldiers in the region of Bordeaux.
• '''Act II'''. At the beginning of Act II, Alcandre and Pridamant are looking at the magician's instrument and are able to see Clindor and his master Matamore. Clindor is listening to Matamore brag about his impossible feats while waiting for the arrival of Isabelle, who appears accompanied by her official servant. Clindor and Matamore hide themselves; and Adraste approaches Isabelle. She rejects his advances but this does not keep him from asking her father for permission to marry her. After his departure, Matamore and Clindor come out of hiding and Matamore leaves when a page arrives to tell him that he has pressing affairs elsewhere. Alone with Clindor, Isabelle reaffirms her love for him. She flees when Adraste returns. Clindor also leaves, and Adraste begins to suspect that Clindor is his rival. Isabelle's servant, Lyse, tells Adraste he should go and spy on the two of them. Alone, Lyse reveals that she is in love with Clindor and hopes to get revenge on her mistress by sending Adraste. Alcandre tries to reassure Pridamant that all will be well for his son.
• '''Act III'''. The third act begins with the reproaches of Isabelle's father, Géronte, who wants her to marry Adraste. Alone, Géronte decides to force her to do his will. He then dismisses Matamore, who vows revenge. Lyse appears and Clindor tries to seduce her, pretending that he only loves Isabelle for her money. He leaves, and Lyse hesitates before continuing with her plot against the lovers. Matamore arrives on stage and hides himself when Isabelle and Clindor appear. Clindor and Isabelle try to kiss, when Adraste arrives with Géronte and his valets. Matamore flees, Clindor attacks Adraste, but Adraste strikes back. The final image is of Pridamant, who believes his son is dead.
• '''Act IV'''. Act IV opens with Isabelle's tragic monologue. Adraste is dead, Clindor is hurt and also sentenced to death. Isabelle vows that she will die. She is rejoined by Lyse who makes fun of her and then reassures her: Isabelle and Clindor can flee that night with Lyse and the jailer, who is now Lyse's lover. Isabelle goes to prepare her affairs, and Lyse admits that she didn't resent Clindor so much as to want his death. Isabelle runs across Matamore who has been in hiding for several days. She and Lyse make fun of him and chase him off. The jailer arrives to let them know that all is ready. They liberate Clindor from prison. Alcandre assures Pridamant that the foursome will find great fortune.
• '''Act V'''. Alcandre asks Pridamant to stay near him, as the young heroes arrive, completely changed. Isabelle appears at night, dressed as a princess in a palace garden to tell Lyse that her husband has a lover's meeting with Princess Rosine. Clindor arrives, and mistaking Rosine for Isabelle, declares his love for her. Isabelle reproaches him for his infidelities and reminds him that she left everything in order to follow him. Clindor reaffirms his love for her, but Isabelle threatens suicide. Clindor renounces Rosine just as Rosine arrives. Isabelle watches from the shadows as Clindor resists her advances. Suddenly, Prince Florilame's men enter and kill both Rosine and Clindor. Isabelle is taken to the prince, who is in love with her. Pridamant is beside himself, when Alcandre begins laughing. He reveals Clindor and the other characters alive and in the process of dividing money. Clindor and his friends have become actors and what Pridamant observed was their performance of the final act of a tragedy. The play ends with Alcandre's apology explaining the virtue of becoming an actor.

Malcolm King (Anthony Anderson) is a wealthy, selfish, obnoxious businessman who is about to divorce his wife Renee (Kellita Smith). She plans to ruin him financially during the court proceedings, and King is willing to do anything to protect his fortune.

He enlists his mistress, Peaches (Regina Hall), and her brother, Herb (Charlie Murphy), to stage a mock kidnapping. They are to make and receive a huge ransom demand, which would keep the money safe from his wife.

Unfortunately for him, two other people have similar plans to kidnap him; Angela (Nicole Ari Parker), an aggrieved employee and Corey (Jay Mohr), a good-natured yet hapless nobody who lives in his grandmother's basement and needs $10,000 after being threatened by his adopted sister.

The plot and graphics are similar to those of ''Yoshi's Story'' for the Nintendo 64.

When Bowser starts wreaking havoc on ''Yoshi's Island'', a book spirit named Hongo traps the entire island within the pages of a storybook. Only by locking Bowser away, Yoshi can convince Hongo to release the rest of the island, so he sets out to progress through the chapters of the book.

The film follows the lives of multiple characters, all of whom are connected via their patronage of a small Brooklyn tobacconist store managed by Auggie (Harvey Keitel). Brooklyn Cigar Co. was located on the corner of 16th Street and Prospect Park West.

Auggie has been taking photographs of the store from across the street at 8:00am every morning and has been collecting all his photos in albums. A recently-widowed writer Paul Benjamin (William Hurt) spends an evening with Auggie, during which Auggie tells Paul of his photographs, which he describes as his "life's work". Auggie asks Paul to look through the photographs, which are collected in a large number of albums. At first, Paul does not take the photographs seriously, saying that "they're all the same". Auggie says that they only look the same superficially, but they are all different, with each photo representing a unique moment in time. Auggie implores Paul to "slow down", which Paul agrees to do. Paul sees his wife in one of the pictures, and breaks down.

The next day, Paul is lost in thought as he crosses the road and is saved from being run down by a truck by a young black man named Rashid (Harold Perrineau Jr.), whom he invites to stay in his apartment as a form of thanks. Rashid accepts, but irritates Paul by making noise, and breaking dishes, while Paul is writing. Paul asks Rashid to leave, which he does. Paul is visited by Rashid's aunt, who aggressively demands to know why Rashid has been staying with Paul. She reveals that Rashid's name is in fact Thomas, and that he is from an underprivileged background. She also says that Rashid has been estranged from his father since childhood, and that his father had been spotted recently at a gas station outside the city.

Rashid tracks down his father, Cyrus Cole (Forest Whitaker) to a small-town gas station, which he sketches. Cyrus, not recognising him, befriends him and hires Rashid to carry out renovation work at his gas station. Rashid conceals his identity and tells Cyrus that his name is Paul Benjamin. His father has an artificial arm, which he tells Rashid was the result of a car accident in which his then wife (who was in fact Rashid's mother) was killed. Cyrus says that he was driving drunk and that his artificial arm was a way for God to remind him to better himself. Rashid leaves the station, without any notice.

Rashid returns to Paul's apartment to give him a second hand television as a gift. As Rashid tries to leave, Paul forces him to stay and to call his aunt to reassure her that he is safe. Paul finds $5,000 that Rashid has stashed in the apartment. Paul confronts Rashid about the money, and Rashid reveals that he took the money from the robbers as he fled, which is why he is in hiding. Paul implores Rashid to return the money but Rashid refuses. Rashid disappears one day, without explaining where he has gone.

Paul and Auggie track Rashid down. Paul introduces himself to Rashid's father, who comments that Rashid and he share a name. Rashid confesses that his real name is Thomas Jefferson Cole. His father finally understands that Rashid is in fact his son, but reacts by rejecting him violently. After an emotional breakdown, they reconcile.

Rashid is hired to work at the tobacconist. Auggie imports a box of Cuban cigars that he intends to sell to public officials in the city. Auggie has spent $5,000 on the shipment, the entirety of his savings. Rashid ruins the cigars when he is left to look after the shop on his own by allowing the sink to overflow. He gives Auggie the $5000 to keep his job. Auggie initially refuses but eventually agrees to keep the money.

Auggie's old girlfriend (Stockard Channing) Ruby McNutt visits him in the tobacconist. Ruby asks Auggie for money to cover rehab costs for Felicity (Ashley Judd), whom she says is his daughter and who is pregnant on drugs. Auggie later gives her the same $5000 that was given to him by Rashid. Auggie asks Ruby if Felicity really is his daughter, to which he receives an ambiguous response.

Paul tells Auggie that he has been asked by the New York Times to write a Christmas story to be published on Christmas day. After Paul says that he does not have any ideas, Auggie offers to tell him the best Christmas story he has ever heard in exchange for lunch. Auggie tells Paul a tender story about spending Christmas with a blind grandmother who at first thinks, and then pretends, he is her grandson. After the grandmother falls asleep, Auggie finds stacks of stolen cameras in the bathroom and decides to take one for himself. Weeks later, he regrets his decision to take the camera, and decides to return but then finds that the grandmother had died in the meantime, meaning that she had spent her last Christmas with him. The story is based on writer Paul Auster's piece "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story", published in The New York Times on Christmas day, 1990. Paul is impressed by the story, and thanks Auggie for it. The exchange ends ambiguously, with Paul suggesting that he suspects that Auggie has in fact invented and perhaps even improvised the whole story, and Auggie suggesting that Paul's understanding is correct, without actually confirming that to be the case.

During and after the closing credits, Auggie's story is enacted in a poignant black-and-white sequence to the soundtrack of Tom Waits's ''Innocent When You Dream''.

''The Buzz on Maggie'' follows Maggie Pesky (Jessica DiCicco), an expressive 13-year-old fly and her family; parents Chauncey (Brian Doyle-Murray) and Frieda (Susan Tolsky); brothers Aldrin (David Kaufman) and Pupert (Thom Adcox); and sister Bella (Tara Strong), who is still a maggot. The family resides in an old milk carton in a suburban fly metropolis called Stickyfeet, which is located in a dump. Maggie has an ambitious and adventurous personality and aspires to become a rock star. Her approach to life often suffers unexpected consequences that puts herself in jeopardy, as she often follows her own impulses although they go against the rules or her parents' wishes. However, she ultimately learns her lesson, which was one of the core themes for the show's conception.

Maggie attends a junior high school called Buzzdale Academy with her best friend Rayna Cartflight (Cree Summer) and nemesis Dawn Swatworthy (Tara Strong). The school's staff include the sneaky Principal Peststrip (Jeff Bennett), pompous Mr. Bugspit (Curtis Armstrong) and gruff Mrs. Wingston (Candi Milo). ''The Buzz on Maggie'' uses a slapstick comedy style and relies slightly on gross-out humor. It also includes several insect aspects, such as flies' appetite for spoiled and rotten food. The show features various references to pop culture and common themes, such as sibling rivalry and peer pressure, from a fly's point of view.

While the four boys are camping at Stark's Pond they hear something in the woods. They seek help from Stan's uncle Jimbo and his war buddy Ned, who has lost his electrolarynx. Using a trap they discover an unusual creature that resembles a humanoid duck which turns out to be extremely annoying to everyone in town with the exception of Cartman, who is enchanted by its antics.

The town has a meeting to decide what is to be done about the creature when representatives from the Department of Interior (DOI) show up and inform the townspeople that it is a near-extinct "Jakovasaur", which they intend to use to repopulate the species. The townspeople name the creature "Hope" despite its name actually being "Joon-Joon".

Another Jakovasaur, which speaks English and is named "Jakov" makes itself known by seeking out Cartman and telling him he's looking for his wife Joon-Joon. Cartman, Kyle and Stan take Jakov to his wife in the barn where she is being held, but the townspeople hear them. Meanwhile, Jimbo brings Ned another voicebox, however he buys the wrong model and Ned is now forced to speak with an Irish accent.

It is decided that the Jakovasaurs are to be given their own home in the hope that they will breed. However, problems arise when it is determined that both Jakov and Joon-Joon lack any genitalia. Dr. Mephisto instead artificially inseminates Joon-Joon, and after a gestation period of only four days, Joon-Joon gives birth to an entire litter of baby Jakovasaurs. It is quickly determined that the Jakovasaurs are a major disruption to everyday life for the people of South Park. The DOI reps sent to help repopulate the Jakovasaur species decide to abandon their duties because of how annoying the Jakovasaurs are. They make Cartman an official "Department of Interior Person", telling him he has authority and people must respect it.

Fed up with the Jakovasaurs, the townspeople convince them to move to Memphis where they'll fit in as all the people there are "big, loud, annoying, and stupid". When Cartman finds out about the plan, he convinces the Jakovasaurs to stay in South Park instead. The townspeople then come up with a different way to get rid of the Jakovasaurs forever by rigging a game show in which Jakov will play against Officer Barbrady so that Jakov will win a trip to France with "50 of his closest relatives." Because Jakov is so stupid, Barbrady actually wins, but everyone wants the Jakovasaurs gone so they declare him the winner anyway. Stan, Kyle and Kenny try to distract Cartman from the game show so he does not realize it is fixed and take him to classify a "new antelope species" they found in the woods (which is actually Kenny with branches taped to his head, who eventually gets eaten by a bear that mistakes him for an antelope). Cartman realizes the trick and figures out the game is rigged, prompting him to rush to warn Jakov.

Cartman is too late and he arrives at the airport just as the plane carrying Jakov and his family taxis down the runway and lifts off. The townspeople approach Cartman and tell him they learned that not every form of life is worth saving, and that it is better to let nature run its course. During this, Ned voices his input with a voice box that accurately captures his original voice (as heard in flashback during "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka"), only for him and Jimbo to conclude that said voice box sucks.

The episode ends showing the Jakovasaurs on tour in Paris, looking for the Pyramid, when Jakov trips and crashes into a cafe full of French people. Rather than getting annoyed, the French people instead laugh and remark on how he reminds them of Jerry Lewis.

When the destruction of Unicron results in the formation of a massive black hole, the planet Cybertron, home world of the Transformers, is threatened, and its population is evacuated to Earth, taking the forms of local vehicles and machinery to hide from humanity. As this occurs, Optimus Prime's elite team of Autobot warriors are approached by the ancient Transformer Vector Prime, who has emerged from his resting place in the void outside of time to inform them of the legendary Cyber Planet Keys, ancient artifacts of power which can stop the black hole and save the universe. Lost due to an accident during an attempt to create a cross-universal space bridge network, the Cyber Planet Keys now reside on four worlds somewhere in the universe – unfortunately, Vector Prime's map showing their location is stolen by Decepticon leader Megatron, and both forces relocate to Earth as the race to find them begins.

On Earth, the Autobots befriend three human children named Coby, Bud and Lori who aid them in locating the Omega Lock, the focusing device for the Cyber Planet Key's power. With new "Cyber Key Powers" awakened in them, the Transformers battle on many fronts, searching for the Lock on Earth while Hot Shot and Red Alert head for Velocitron, the Speed Planet which is the resting place of the first key and most of its inhabitants have racing vehicles modes. It is here that Megatron recruits known troublemakers Ransack and Crumplezone into the Decepticons. As Hot Shot competes in the planet's grand racing championship to win the key from planet leader Override, the Lock is located on Earth in the bulk of the crashed Transformer spaceship the Atlantis. Autobot Overhaul heads for Animatros the Jungle Planet which is the home of the Transformers who have beast modes. The power of Animatros' Cyber Planet Key reformats him into Leobreaker. Megatron ingratiates himself with Jungle Planet's dictator Scourge while his scheming lieutenant Starscream teams up with the mysterious Sideways, working towards his own goals.

Ultimately, the Autobots succeed in acquiring the Keys of both Velocitron and Jungle Planet, at which point the existence of Earth's own Cyber Planet Key is revealed. Starscream makes his power play and overthrows Megatron, stealing the Omega Lock and all three keys from the Autobots and using them to grow in size and power. Their forces bolstered by the ancient Autobots from Earth and the arrival of Wing Saber, who combines with Optimus Prime, the Autobots fight their way through a vengeful Megatron and defeat Starscream – but the battle is not without casualties, as Hot Shot, Red Alert and Scattershot are gravely wounded and rebuilt into the even more powerful "Cybertron Defense Team".

Upon returning to Cybertron, the Autobots use the Omega Lock and Cyber Planet Keys, which awakens the spirit of Primus, the deity who is creator of the Transformers, and Cybertron itself actually transforms into the god's body. After a battle in which Starscream taps the power of Primus and grows to planetary size – only to be defeated by Primus himself – the location of the fourth and final key is determined as Gigantion the Giant Planet which is the homeworld of the Minicons and the Transformers who are larger than normal while having construction vehicle modes. Gigantion, however, exists in another dimension, having fallen through a rift in space/time, And except for the kids and the Minicons, the others can't enter without having their minds separated from their bodies. Luckily, Red Alert has created a vaccine program (based on Technology from Vector prime's sword) to help but it is revealed that Jetfire has Trypanophobia and while the Autobots are able to reach the planet, the Decepticons are led there by the enigmatic Soundwave. Bested by the planet's leader Metroplex, Megatron taps the key's power to become Galvatron, and Sideways and Soundwave reveal themselves to be inhabitants of Planet X, a world destroyed by the Gigantions, upon whom they seek revenge. Galvatron blasts them and Starscream into another dimension and acquires the Lock and Keys for himself, intending to use their power to accelerate the universal degeneration caused by the black hole and remake the cosmos in his own image. Vector Prime sacrifices his life to allow the Autobots to return to their home universe, and the five planet leaders confront Galvatron within the black hole and defeat him. With all the Cyber Planet Keys now in his possession, Primus uses their power to finally seal the black hole, ending its threat.

As the planet's various civilizations attempt to return to life as normal, Galvatron attacks the Autobots for one final time. Without any troops to call his own, Galvatron engages Optimus Prime in a one-on-one duel, and is finally destroyed for good. As Galvatron is dying, he places his fist on Optimus' chest and says his final words. In the Japanese dub, he says "Galaxy Convoy..." which is Optimus' name in the Japanese version of the show. His last words in the American dub, however, are "I still function. You haven't won. Not while my spark still burns..." As he starts chuckling evilly, Optimus says "You fought well. Goodbye, Galvatron." As Galvatron disintegrates to space dust, Optimus kneels in front of Vector Prime's sword that Optimus used to slay Galvatron, still injured. As Jetfire and the others run over to Optimus to check on him, Optimus says "Don't worry. You won't get rid of me that easily." Galvatron is later seen in the credits of the last episode engaging Vector Prime in battle. With this final victory, Optimus Prime begins a new space bridge initiative, and the Transformers set sail for the four corners of the universe, and new adventures.

Cyber Planet Keys

'''Cyber Planet Keys''' ('''Planet Force''' in ''Galaxy Force'') are four mystical items that form the crux of ''Transformers: Cybertron'''s plot; in order to stop the black hole that is threatening the universe, the Autobots must gather all four. Also seeking to attain them are the Decepticons, who want to use their power for their own ends.

The Cyber Planet Keys are formed from the spark of Primus and were used eons ago in the Space Bridge project that was meant to link all populated planets together. They were carried to various planets by four Cybertronian spacecraft, the Atlantis, the Ogygia, the Hyperborea, and the Lemuria. All four are controlled by a device called the Omega Lock, and when they are all inserted, they awaken Primus's power.

Unfortunately, the effort failed and the four Cyber Planet Keys were lost. They would remain that way for eons, until the black hole threatened Cybertron. At that point, Vector Prime emerged and told the story of the Keys to the Autobots. Eventually, they agreed to attempt Vector Prime's plan. Unfortunately, Megatron also learned of the scheme and began his own effort to gain the Planet Keys.

The Cyber Planet Keys were each marked with a symbol and colored gold. The four Cyber Planet Keys were found on Earth, Velocitron, Jungle Planet, and Gigantion.

• On Velocitron, the Key was disguised as a racing trophy.
• On Jungle Planet, it was disguised as a dragon statue in Scourge's lair.
• The Earth Key was possessed and hidden by Evac in ice.
• The Giant Planet Key lay at the very center of planet in the spaceship Lemuria.

Finally, the Autobots found the Cyber Planet Keys and the Omega Lock, and awoke Primus, who shut down the black hole, saving Cybertron and the universe. The four planets started a new space bridge project, and, finally, peace was restored.

Ann Burden is a teenage girl who believes she is the last survivor of a nuclear war. Since her family's disappearance on a search expedition, she has lived alone on her farm in a small valley spared from radiation poisoning. A year after the war, a stranger in a radiation-proof suit approaches her valley. Afraid he might be dangerous, Ann hides in a cave and does not warn the man when he mistakenly bathes in a radioactive stream. When he falls ill, her fear of being alone forever leads her to reveal herself to help him. She discovers that the stranger is John Loomis, a chemist who helped design a prototype radiation-proof "safe-suit" at an underground lab near Ithaca, New York. Ann moves him into her house and fantasizes about eventually marrying him.

Loomis becomes delirious, with traumatic flashbacks to the underground lab. He talks of how he shot his coworker, Edward, who tried to take the safe-suit to find his family. Though troubled by this revelation, Ann nurses him through his illness and keeps secret her knowledge of Edward's death. As Loomis recovers, Ann is taken aback when he forbids her to touch the safe-suit and begins giving her orders on farming and managing resources. His explanation that they have to plan "as if this valley is the whole world and we are starting a colony," makes her uneasy. Her uneasiness increases when she asks if he was ever married, and he grabs her hand roughly, rebuking her when she accidentally hits him while trying to regain her balance. One night soon afterwards, she awakes to hear Loomis in her room. When he attempts to rape her, she flees to the cave again.

Later, Ann approaches Loomis and proposes sharing the valley and farm work but living apart. He professes surprise when she tells him she won't live with him anymore and asks why, as if he has no idea. Ann remembers that he acted the same after he had grabbed her hand, "as if nothing had happened, or as if he had forgotten it," She refuses to justify her choice to him, to tell him where she is living, or to come back to live with him. Loomis answers that he has no choice but to accept her proposal, though he hopes she will reconsider and "act more like an adult and less like a schoolgirl". Though the arrangement is "unnatural and uneasy," and Ann worries about surviving winter, she sticks by her decision and wishes Loomis had never come. Loomis locks the store, cutting off her supplies. When she approaches him for the key, Loomis shoots her in the ankle. Ann flees, realizing that he had not shot to kill, only to lame her to make her easy to capture. Loomis uses her dog, Faro, to track her to the cave, where he burns her belongings, though Ann escapes. Ann's ankle wound becomes infected. As she recovers, she has feverish dreams of another valley where children wait for her to teach them. Ann comes to believe the dreams may be true and Loomis is insane, so she plans to steal the safe-suit and find her dream valley. Moreover, she decides to kill Faro to prevent Loomis from tracking her, though she is later unable to do so. However, Faro is fatally poisoned swimming across the dead creek to her.

Ann finally acts on her plan. She lures Loomis from the house with a note offering to talk if he meets her unarmed, then steals the safe-suit and waits for Loomis to arrive. When he does, she reveals her knowledge of Edward's murder, which shocks Loomis enough to stop him from shooting her. He begs her not to leave him alone. Ann tells him she will send people to him if she finds any, and leaves. Loomis's last action is to call out that he once saw birds circling to the west. Ann walks west into the radiated zone, hoping to see a green horizon.

Homer Simpson sits on a park bench holding a box of chocolates, when Chief Wiggum appears to arrest him for impersonating a movie character. Homer tells Wiggum a story that he is not interested in at first, but becomes more intrigued when Homer uses flashbacks to help him tell the story. The Simpson family then arrives to take Homer to the Friars' Club, where he is roasted by Krusty the Clown and other prominent citizens of Springfield. Among those roasting him are his children, Bart and Lisa, and his boss Mr. Burns who tries to warn the people of Springfield of Homer's incompetence which, much to his dismay, they think is a joke. The roasters utilize more clips from previous episodes.

Soon, Kang and Kodos arrive at the roast and declare that humans are stupid, as demonstrated by more clips. However, when they probe Maggie's brain and see her memories through a monitor, the emotional impact is too much for them that they cry with joy, but Kodos angrily attempts to hide it by claiming that they were vomiting from their eyes. However, Maggie's mind also reveals more clips, this time consisting of various celebrities. Kang and Kodos love celebrities so they and the citizens make a deal, they agree to spare the Earth if everyone agrees to give them tickets to the People's Choice Awards and the Daytime Emmys. They do, and Kang and Kodos enjoy the award ceremony.

The episode ends with the song "They'll Never Stop the Simpsons", which recounts additional past plots, possible future plots, and an apology for airing this clip show.

Homer is told that he has an overdue book from the library, which he checked out when Bart was a baby. He says that he had intended to read to Bart every day, but various things had gotten in his way. Before he returns it, he reads from the book, telling three stories.

D'oh, Brother Where Art Thou?

In this story, Homer is Odysseus, and delivers the King of Troy (Ned Flanders) a Trojan horse. He and his crew, including Apu, Lenny, Moe, Professor Frink and Carl, kill all of Troy's citizens and win. However, he refuses to sacrifice a sheep, angering the gods, Zeus (Mayor Quimby), Dionysus (Barney), and Poseidon (Captain Horatio McCallister). Dionysus tries to destroy Odysseus with a lightning bolt, but misses and instead destroys the island of Atlantis. Poseidon literally blows Odysseus and his crew to the Sirens (Patty and Selma) and visit Circe (Lindsey Naegle), who turns his crew into pigs, whom Odysseus eats. Circe orders Odysseus to go through Hades, crossing the River Styx (which has the Styx song "Lady" playing during the crossing), in order to go home so he can see Penelope (Marge) and Telemachus (Bart). When he arrives back to Ithaca, he spears all of the suitors (Krusty the Klown, Kirk Van Houten, Groundskeeper Willie, Mr. Burns, and Sideshow Mel) trying to please Penelope. Penelope decides to take him back, though he leaves to go to Moe's (even though Moe is killed and eaten by Odysseus earlier in the episode).

Hot Child in the City

Lisa is Joan of Arc, who leads the French against the English in the Hundred Years' War, which Homer implies was also called "Operation Speedy Resolution". Despite her family's concern, she joins the army, where she has new ideas about defeating the enemy. She meets the King of France (Milhouse). During a battle, the English capture Joan and put her on trial. She is accused of witchcraft, and sentenced to death. When Lisa claims that she was following God's will, Groundskeeper Willie reveals that he too was chosen by God, but to lead the English armies against the French. God's voice then excuses himself by revealing that the two were never supposed to meet.

As they read the end, Joan of Arc is being burnt at the stake, still waiting for God to save her. Shocked, Lisa asks Homer if she was really burned to death. Marge then interrupts, claiming that Joan of Arc was rescued by Sir Lancelot, and they get married and live in a spaceship. She then rips out the last page and eats it, remarking that it is easier to chew than the video of ''Bambi''.

Do the Bard, Man

Bart is Prince Hamlet in this ''Simpsons'' version of William Shakespeare's classic. His uncle Claudius (Moe) marries Gertrude (Marge) after killing King Hamlet (Homer) by way of poison. The King returns to his son as a ghost, telling him of the betrayal and requesting that his death be avenged. Prince Hamlet (Bart), with the help of a professional actor (Krusty), puts on a play to make Claudius reveal himself to be guilty; however, Hamlet's reaction leads everyone to believe that he is crazy, so Ophelia (Lisa) decides to "out-crazy" him by prancing around and singing a stupid song, eventually jumping out the window and into the moat where she drowns. Because Hamlet knows what he did, Claudius attempts to kill him. Hamlet, aiming to kill Claudius, accidentally kills Polonius (Chief Wiggum). Polonius implores his son, Laertes (Ralph Wiggum), to avenge his death ("I like revenging!"). Set to duel Hamlet, Laertes accidentally kills himself taking his "practice stab", and Hamlet proceeds to murder Claudius. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Carl and Lenny), meanwhile, have been covered in poison and kill each other with a high five. Hamlet walks away to celebrate, but he slips on some blood and dies. Seeing a big mess she does not want to clean up, Gertrude commits suicide by hitting herself in the head with a mace. Bart thinks ''Hamlet'' was boring despite every character being murdered, but Homer tells him that the story became a great film called ''Ghostbusters'', and all the Simpsons dance to the theme.

The Simpson family attempts to leave Springfield Elementary after watching a poor talent show by the school's teachers. As they sit at the parking lot due to Marge's timid driving, Homer sees Krusty driving a Canyonero and buys one for himself. However, Lenny and Carl tell him he bought the "F-series", which is intended for women. Embarrassed, he gives the vehicle to Marge, who dislikes it at first due to its size and features, but soon grows fond of it and develops road rage. Later, Marge is given a traffic ticket by Chief Wiggum for cutting through a funeral procession and ordered to take a defensive driving course. While leaving the class, she accidentally drives the Canyonero into a prison, letting some inmates escape, and loses her license.

Later, Homer, Bart, and Lisa visit a zoo, where Homer sling-shoots a rock at a lemur, causing a chain reaction that makes the rhinoceroses go berserk and escape. The police ask Marge to use her Canyonero to stop the wild animals, but she declines until she sees her family in danger. She succeeds in rounding up the animals and saving the children, but one escapes with Homer on its horn. She chases the angry rhino into a construction site and deliberately crashes the vehicle, making it explode. The rhino attempts to stamp out the fire, allowing zookeepers to capture it and Homer to escape.

The Simpson family watches the pilot episode of ''Police Cops'', which follows a duo of suave and dashing detectives, Lance Kaufman and Homer Simpson. Homer is delighted with the positive attention he receives from townspeople for sharing the lead character's name, as well as the character's personality, despite the family telling him it is just a coincidence.

Following the pilot, however, the Homer Simpson character is rewritten as Lance's overweight and inept comic relief sidekick who mistakes the toys for guns program as "guns for toys" and the police chief's insulin shipment for illegal drugs. He also spouts the mindless catchphrase “Uh-oh! SpaghettiOs!”, resulting in Homer being mocked by the people of Springfield. Humiliated, he appeals to the producers to change the character back, but they refuse. Then, after unsuccessfully attempting to sue the company for improper usage of his old name, Homer legally changes his name to "Max Power", the only correctly spelt or sensible name on the list he presented to the presiding judge. Though the negative attention fades away, Marge is unhappy that Homer changed his name without consulting her.

With his new identity comes a massive change in attitude, as Max is much more assertive and freewheeling than Homer was. While shopping at Costington's, Max meets a successful businessman named Trent Steel. Trent invites Max and the family to a garden party, despite Marge's reservations, where they meet many famous people, but Max finds out the party is an excuse to save a redwood forest from destruction. After travelling with the party guests to the forest, Max, Marge, and everyone else chain themselves to the trees to prevent the bulldozers from knocking them down. The Springfield police arrive and Eddie and Lou chase Max around his tree, trying to "swab" him with mace. As Max rounds the tree, the chain cuts into it. The redwood falls and knocks down all other redwoods, angering their newfound friends. Max later changes his name back to "Homer Simpson", but attempts to get Marge to agree to change her's.

When Marge takes the family to the Family Fun Center, she notices Nelson intentionally knocking Milhouse off a racetrack and winning a BB gun from stolen prize tickets. Bart and Nelson attempt to be friends but Marge forbids Bart to be with Nelson. Bart goes to his house anyway to use his BB gun. When Nelson pressures Bart to shoot a bird in a nest, Bart accidentally kills it. Marge learns where he went, goes to Nelson's house and is furious after seeing what he did but instead of punishing him, she refuses to have anything to do with his destructive ways and leaves. Bart discovers two eggs in the bird's nest and not wanting the babies to die too, decides to hatch them, secretly keeping the eggs warm in his treehouse. Marge gets suspicious after noticing him spending more time in his treehouse but forgives him after finding out what he has been doing. With Marge's help, the eggs eventually hatch but the Simpson family is shocked when a pair of lizards emerge from them, whom Bart had already named Chirpy Boy and Bart Jr.

Bart and Marge take the lizards to the Springfield Birdwatching Society, where Principal Skinner, explains they are Bolivian tree lizards, a breed that steals a bird's eggs and leaves their own to be watched after by the mother bird, which is then eaten by the offspring once they hatch. As Skinner wonders how their mother ended up in Springfield, the audience gets a flashback from a nervous Apu's perspective, revealing that a pair of the lizards had come with his shipment of Bolivian donuts and escaped his store while he was putting them on the shelf. Skinner says the lizards must be killed by law because they have killed many bird species. Bart escapes and runs away with the lizards, but Skinner catches up to him and they struggle on top of the society building. The lizards fall off the side but to everyone's disbelief (except Skinner's), glide to the ground. The lizards grow in population and start to eradicate pigeons in Springfield. Since the town considered the pigeons a nuisance, they are delighted and Bart is thanked and honored by Mayor Quimby with a loganberry scented candle. Lisa worries the town will become infested by lizards but Skinner assures her they will send in Chinese needle snakes to eat them, followed by snake-eating gorillas, which will "simply freeze to death" when wintertime rolls around. After the ceremony, Lisa asks Bart why he felt remorse after killing one bird, but does not after effectively killing thousands.

After going back-to-school shopping, Homer Simpson learns from Apu Nahasapeemapetilon that he can sell grease to make a profit. At breakfast, Homer begins frying up various amounts of bacon to use the grease to make money and decides to have Bart help him with his "grease business" and forces Bart to quit school. Meanwhile, on the first day back at school, Lisa volunteers to help Alex Whitney, a fashion conscious new student, by showing her around the school. To help her make new friends, Lisa takes Alex, Sherri, Terri, Allison Taylor and Janey Powers for lunch in the cafeteria after the two groups meet up, but shortly afterwards, they abandon Lisa after seeing that Alex owns sophisticated accessories like a cell phone, a purse, and perfume.

Homer and Bart begin their grease business and make sixty-three cents worth of grease from twenty-seven dollars' worth of bacon, much to Homer's glee and Bart's disappointment. After Bart points out that they need larger amounts of grease, the pair drive to Krusty Burger, where they attempt to steal grease from the fryers. After loading it into Marge's car, two employees of the Acne Grease and Shovel Company steal it, claiming they control the grease and shoveling business in the city.

Alex convinces Principal Skinner to have a school-dance rather than the regular yearly event of apple picking. Skinner agrees, so Alex and Lisa, accompanied by Sherri, Terri, Janey, and Allison, visit the mall to purchase party supplies, but the girls detour and begin trying on outfits for the dance, despite Lisa's protests. The group leaves the mall, none speaking to each other. After failing to get a date to the dance and intimidating Milhouse after he manages to do so, Lisa decides not to attend the dance, but changes her mind and goes to the school to take tickets at the door. She is later forced to enter the dance hall, discovering the boys and girls are standing on different sides of the room, and explains to Alex that it is like this because they are only children, not adults.

Homer and Bart arrive at the school during the school-dance to steal the grease in the school's kitchen which Bart told him about. They sneak inside and plant a hose in the fryer to suck it into the car, but Willie spots them and finds the hose, claiming the grease to be his retirement plan, and attempts to stop them inside the school vents; Willie grabs Homer's leg and strangles him with the hose sucking the grease, which explodes due to the increased pressure, causing the grease to flood into the dance hall. A grease fight begins among the students, where Alex eventually joins in after being told by Lisa to act her own age.

''Mortal Kombat: Special Forces'' is chronologically the first game in the ''Mortal Kombat'' storyline, as its events take place even before ''Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero''. The story of the game involves Kano freeing his gang, the Black Dragon from a maximum security prison. US Army Major Jax Briggs, seeking revenge for the slaughter of his Special Forces comrades at the hands of the Black Dragon, undertakes a mission to stop them from retrieving an artifact of great power, the Eye of Chitian. The true power of the artifact is shown in the ending that it can open portals to other realms when Jax uses the artifact to teleport himself and Kano back to Earthrealm after defeating him.

Generally, the film is a dark and quirky "tragicomedy". The "everyman" protagonist, Dr. Frank Sangster (Steve Martin), is a dentist with a fairly pleasant but rather innocuous, ordinary and uneventful life. But all of this gets derailed, and Frank's life descends into an increasingly complex mess, from the minute a beautiful and seductive new patient named Susan Ivey (Helena Bonham Carter) comes to him, seeking a root canal and a little pain relief.

On Susan's initial office visit, Frank schedules her for a root canal the very next day, and offers her some Ibuprofen to address her pain in the meanwhile. Claiming that she is allergic to the offered medication, Susan requests a prescription for the addictive pain-killer Demerol. Frank provides the prescription, but only for five tablets. However, Susan changes the dosage from five tablets to fifty when she collects the medication from her pharmacist.

Susan arrives for her appointment twelve hours late, claiming to have mistaken the time. She seduces Frank, talking him into getting drunk and having sex with her. During the night, Susan steals all of Frank's narcotics. The next day, there is a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent at Frank's office demanding to see the dentist's narcotics supply, because an 18-year-old has driven a car off a cliff under the influence of cocaine hydrochloride from a bottle registered to the dentist. Knowing that Susan has stolen his entire drug supply, Frank puts the agent off, saying he dispensed it all to patients. The agent leaves with the promise that if Frank fails to produce the empty containers in two days, the DEA will place him under arrest.

That night Frank goes to Susan's hotel room to demand the empty containers, threatening that he'll call the police if she doesn't provide them. Once again, she overrides his initial intentions and seduces him - with the result that they have sex and he spends the night with her.

The next day at his office, Frank is confronted by Susan's brother, Duane Ivey (Scott Caan) having a violent scene, saying: "Stay the hell away from my sister" and "I don't appreciate your threats". Duane ends the conversation with, "I don't ever want to see you again, because if I do, goddamn it, I'm gonna hurt you."

That night, Frank returns to Susan's hotel room and, assuming that Susan is the form he sees the bed, starts talking to her. The person under the blanket turns out to be not Susan but brother Duane, who leaps up and attacks Frank, attempting to strangle him. Frank takes scissors from a nearby desk and stabs Duane in the hand, impaling him and embedding the scissors. Frank flees, stopping off at a bar to calm down. On arriving at home, just minutes ahead of his girlfriend Jean (Laura Dern), he finds Duane dead on the floor.

Police arrive on the scene to question Frank. Comically adding to Frank's distress and anxiety is actor Lance Phelps (Kevin Bacon), a hack actor doing research for a role, and permitted by the police to question Frank at aggressive levels that cause Frank heightened discomfort. After the police arrive and depart, Frank tells Jean about the whole ordeal.

A while later, Frank is arrested for the murder of Duane Ivey based on finding Frank's teeth marks on the body - that someone else put there after killing Duane. After Frank breaks free, all of Chicago is on the look out for him. He goes to his office in the night, only to find his brother Harlan lying dead.

At this point, it is revealed that Frank's girlfriend Jean is behind all of the killing. Jean had been conspiring with Harlan, whom she'd been having an affair with, to use Susan to frame Frank for selling drugs so she could take full control of the company she and Frank had started together. However, Duane came along with Susan, which was not part of the plan, and Jean ended up killing him, using Frank's dentures to make the bite marks. Unfortunately for Harlan, her plan was to eventually kill him as well with the shotgun to tie up all loose ends and make it appear that Frank killed him after Duane.

Realizing he'll never be free without starting over, Frank pulls out all of his dead brother's teeth, as well as all of his own. Frank uses his dental skills to place his own teeth into his dead brother's skull, and then sets fire to the dental office with Harlan's corpse, replete with replaced teeth, left inside. Frank and Susan, now lovers, escape to France, where they live happily ever after in a little cottage on the countryside.

Meanwhile, Jean's attempts to frame Frank fall apart. Unbeknownst to her, Harlan was playing with a medical video camera while he was shot and the recovered footage shows Jean firing the shotgun at the camera holder but fails to show it was Harlan who was shot. Therefore, the police wrongly assume that Jean shot Frank and arrest her.

Maury Dann (Rip Torn) is a successful country-western singer who travels around the Southern states in a Cadillac and gets himself into all sorts of adventures.

The film opens with Dann performing in a small club with his band, entourage, and nagging girlfriend, Mayleen, in tow. He meets a young girl named Sandy backstage and seduces her in the back of his car while her boyfriend and boss, Mr. Bridgeway, is looking for her.

The band returns to a nearby motel, bringing along Rosamond, a young lady from the show. The next day, Maury visits his invalid mother and, along with a couple of the guys from the band, goes on a hunting trip. He gets into a fistfight with Bob Tally over Maury's dog Snapper, who is not being properly taken care of by Maury's sick mother. After the fight, Maury reluctantly gives Snapper away to Bob, but fires him from the band before returning to the motel.

During the trip, Maury seduces Rosamond in the back of the Cadillac, much to Mayleen's dismay. Later, while in the ladies' room, Mayleen warns Rosamond to stay away from Maury. The band stops by a local radio station to help promote Maury's new album, ''Payday,'' and to bribe a DJ with a gift of Wild Turkey liquor to keep playing more of Maury's records on-air.

During a heated exchange, Maury kicks Mayleen out of the car and leaves her stranded by the side of the road. Maury take a detour and goes to visit his ex-wife, Galen, to celebrate his son's birthday. They get into an argument as well and Maury leaves without seeing his son.

At a restaurant, Maury and company are confronted by a drunken Bridgeway, who claims that Maury had raped Sandy the day before. Maury and Bridgeway step outside to discuss the matter. Bridgeway pulls out a knife and tries to attack Maury, who quickly turns the knife around and stabs Bridgeway to death. To avoid a scandal and missing tour dates, Maury's tour manager McGinty arranges for his chauffeur, Chicago, to take the blame for Bridgeway's death.

With Chicago gone, Maury hires a young fan named Ted, an aspiring country singer, to be his new driver. Rosamond, feeling distraught over Bridgeway's death, tells Ted that she wants to go home but doesn't have any money to go back. The local police and district attorney come to Maury's motel to bring him in for questioning over Bridgeway's death. He makes a dash for the Cadillac. With Ted in the back seat and Maury driving the car, Maury suffers a heart attack and dies behind the wheel.

The film ends with Ted, who survives the crash but is badly injured, running out of a wooded area looking for help.

After dropping Shelly off at Cartman's home, the Marshes and Stan are off to a party at the home of Mr. Mackey. Stan is upset that he has to go and becomes even more angered when he is locked in a room with nerdy "Melvin" classmates that he does not like: Pip, Butters, and Dougie. After finding a box of women's clothing, the three insist on playing ''Charlie's Angels'', and an unenthusiastic Stan uses the game to find a way out of the basement to an upstairs bedroom where there are cookies and TV. Meanwhile, at the party, Mr. Mackey gives the Broflovskis and Marshes a tour of his home and leads them out to the hot tub. The wives leave Randy and Gerald outside in the hot tub, who declare the present evening to be a night of experimenting. The two talk about threesomes and decide to masturbate in front of one another. This leads to awkwardness after Randy questions his sexuality.

The ATF thinks that the party inside is a suicide cult, and that they plan to kill themselves at the start of the meteor shower. Determined to prevent this, they set up a blockade and prepare to open fire on the cult if they do not desist; at one point, a couple of party-goers leave and are immediately fatally shot (due to the ATF believing they had weapons despite them clearly not having any). The Newsman recalls that the last time the ATF did this was at the Waco siege, where their aggressive tactics resulted in the deaths of many innocent people, but the ATF dismisses him. All the while, the party-goers (who progressively become drunk) inside are unaware of their presence. Stan and the kids discover what is happening and try to speak to the ATF, but are shot at and forced to flee back inside. The kids record a video tape showing that the party inside is not a cult to the Newsman; the ATF realizes their mistake, claiming it was a "test simulation" and quickly disperse after their secret weapon, a large rocket called "The Negotiator", fires and destroys every home in the neighborhood except for Mackey's.

Inside, Randy is extremely uncomfortable being around Gerald, who is concerned about Randy's behavior. When Randy finally admits to the entire party that he and Gerald engaged in group masturbation, he is relieved upon discovering that he is not the only one to have masturbated in front of a person of the same sex. Outside, the boys rejoice their triumph of saving the day and Stan realizes that the others are just normal kids like him. All is immediately forgotten, however, when Kyle returns from Jewbilee camp and Stan goes back to his old ways, telling Kyle that he had to "spend the evening with these friggin' Melvins".

The credits roll with a parody version of Cher's "Believe" (which the ATF used to drown out the party-goers in an effort for them to submit, unaware that Mackey was playing the same song and which everyone enjoyed).

Prologue: An unnamed narrator tells how he befriended an old "Hispano-American" gentleman who never spoke of his past. His interest piqued, the narrator finally elicits the story.

Venezuela, c. 1875. Abel, a young man of wealth, fails at a revolution and flees Caracas into the uncharted forests of Guayana. Surviving fever, failing at journal-keeping and gold hunting, he settles in an Indian village to waste away his life: playing guitar for old Cla-Cla, hunting badly with Kua-kó, telling stories to the children. After some exploring, Abel discovers an enchanting forest where he hears a strange bird-like singing. His Indian friends avoid the forest because of its evil spirit-protector, "the Daughter of the Didi." Persisting in the search, Abel finally finds Rima the Bird Girl. She has dark hair, a smock of spider webs, and can communicate with birds in an unknown tongue. When she shields a coral snake, Abel is bitten and falls unconscious.

Abel awakens in the hut of Nuflo, an old man who protects his "granddaughter" Rima, and won't reveal her origin. As Abel recovers, Rima leads him through the forest, and Abel wonders about her identity and place of origin. Abel returns to the Indians, but relations become icy, because they would kill Rima, if they could. Rima often speaks of her dead mother, who was always depressed. Abel falls in love with Rima, but she (17 and a stranger to white men) is confused by "odd feelings". This relationship is further strained because Abel cannot speak her unknown language.

Atop Ytaiao Mountain, Rima questions Abel about "the world" known and unknown, asking him if she was unique and alone. Abel sadly reveals that it is true. However, when he mentions the storied mountains of Riolama, Rima perks up. It turns out that "Riolama" is her real name. Nuflo must know where Riolama is, so a wrathful Rima demands that Nuflo guide her to Riolama under threats of eternal damnation from her sainted mother. Old, guilty and religious, Nuflo caves in to the pressure. Abel pays a last visit to the Indians, but they capture him as a prisoner, suspecting that he is a spy for an enemy tribe or consorts with demons. Abel manages to escape and return to Rima and Nuflo. The three then trek to distant Riolama. Along the way, Nuflo reveals his past, and Rima's origin.

Seventeen years ago, Nuflo led bandits who preyed on Christians and Indians. Eventually, forced to flee to the mountains, they found a cave to live in. Hiding in the cave was a strange woman speaking a bird-like language. She was to be Rima's mother (never named). Nuflo assumed the woman was a saint sent to save his soul. Nuflo left the bandits and carried Rima's mother, now crippled for life, to Voa, a Christian community, to deliver Rima. Rima and her mother talked in their magical language for seven years, until Mother wasted away in the dampness and died. As contrition, Nuflo brought Rima to the drier mountains. The local Indians found her queer, and resented how she chased off game animals, and therefore tried to kill her. A mis-shot dart killed an Indian, and they fled Rima's "magic".

In the cave, Rima is eager to enter Riolama valley. Abel reveals sad news: her mother left because nothing remained. She belonged to a gentle, vegetarian people without weapons, who were wiped out by Indians, plague and other causes. Rima is indeed unique and alone. Rima is saddened but suspected it: her mother was always depressed. Now she decides to return to the forest and prepare a life for herself and Abel. She flits away, leaving Abel to fret as he and Nuflo walk home, delayed by rain and hunger. They return to find the forest silent, Nuflo's hut burned down, and Indians hunting game. Abel, exhausted, is again taken prisoner, but isn't killed, as he quickly makes a vow to go to war against the enemy tribe. On the war trail, he drops hints about Rima and her whereabouts. Kua-Ko explains how, thanks to Abel's "bravery", the Indians dared enter the forbidden forest. They caught Rima in the open, chased her up the giant tree. They heaped brush underneath it and burned Rima.

Abel kills Kua-kó and runs to the enemy tribe, sounding the alarm. Days later he returns. All his Indian friends are dead. He finds the giant tree burned, and collects Rima's ashes in a pot. Trekking homeward, despondent and hallucinating, Abel is helped by Indians and Christians until he reaches the sea, sane and healthy again. Now an old man, his only ambition is to be buried with Rima's ashes. Reflecting back, he believes neither God nor man can forgive his sins, but that gentle Rima would, provided he has forgiven himself.

San Diego

The player begins in San Diego by meeting Oscar, the mechanic of Six-One-Nine Customs, a tuning garage in San Diego. Oscar guides the player through the game by providing helpful tips and information about races. The player begins with a choice of six cars: a 1964 Chevrolet Impala, a 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a 2004 Dodge Neon SRT-4, a 2004 Mitsubishi Eclipse, a Volkswagen Golf R32, or a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta (''Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix'' added the option of a Scion tC). As the player wins races new customization options and cars are unlocked for purchase.

The street racers available to challenge at the beginning of the game are: Vanessa (Mitsubishi Eclipse), Bishop (Lexus GS430), and Carlos (1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo). Beating each of these street racers will unlock an invitation to challenge a racing club the rival racer is part of; Vannessa unlock the Unbeatable Street Racers (Tuners), Bishop unlocks the Luxury Rollers (Luxury Sedans) and Carlos unlocks the American Royalty Car Club (Muscle Cars) Beating two of these street racers will allow the player to challenge Phil for ownership of his Hotmatch Cuevito, and an invitation to challenge the Chopper of America bike club. Once the player defeats Phil, Vanessa will challenge them again.

After defeating all racers and tournaments in San Diego, the player is introduced to Vince, a mechanic from Detroit. Oscar mentions that the player has been building a reputation as a skilled racer, and that there are some big time races in Atlanta that the player may be interested in. He tells the player to go to the shipping company to make the trip.

Atlanta

The player arrives in a rather nice looking garage in Atlanta called "Apone Team Racing". The owner, Apone, introduces himself, but is distracted by his most prized procession: a 1964 gold painted Chevrolet Impala that he customized and is constantly tinkering with. In Atlanta, the player is challenged by three racers. There is also a tournament going on, for which the prize is a "DUB'd-Out" 2004 Cadillac Escalade EXT. After defeating all racers and tournaments in Atlanta, Apone mentions that there are more races going on in Detroit and that he thinks it's a good idea for the player to check it out.

Street racers in Atlanta are: Roy (1969 Dodge Charger R/T, later a 1999 Dodge Charger R/T Concept), Dre (2005 Cadillac Escalade), Cheng (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII), Vito (Ducati Monster S4R), Lamont (Chevrolet Silverado SS) and Naomi (Hotmatch Skully). Defeating Vito unlocks the Original Riders (Sport Bikes), defeating Dre unlocks the Big Playas (SUV/Trucks).

Detroit

The player arrives in Detroit and sees a familiar face, Vince. Remembering him, he welcomes the player to town and his shop. He later points to a Lamborghini Murciélago and says it's the prize to whatever car club turns out the best street racer. Some returning faces from Atlanta come to Detroit, including Roy and Angel, who are plot-affected racers but they are never seen or mentioned. The player races them a couple of times, as well as the car clubs. Early in the player's Detroit career, a tournament is held and a 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline (as Oscar describes it "Just the car to win in Detroit!") is the prize. Upon defeating the racers, the player scores a challenge from the By Invitation Only Exotic Car Club. Defeating them unlocks "Zone" for Exotics and a special, rare 2004 Chrysler ME Four-Twelve. At this point, the player races all drivers twice, and upon defeating them, is crowned the victor of the U.S. Champion Series. Afterwards, the player returns to Vince's and is rewarded the Lamborghini Murcielago from before. Vince says: "It should be driven with respect, and not by some San Diego swinger who thinks he's hot stuff or something".

Street racers in Detroit are: Roy (returning with a Dodge Viper GTS-R), Spider (Hotmatch D'Elegance), Leo (1981 Camaro Z28), Caesar (Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, later a Lamborghini Gallardo), Kioshi (Aprilla Mille Factory), and Angel (Saleen S7).

The book begins with an "out-take" section, written as a movie script, which describes the scene from the original movie in which Leon is subjected to the Voight-Kampff test. However, in this version, the blade runner performing the test is a woman, and Leon kills her at the end of the test. The section ends with an unknown person commenting "This one didn't work, either; we'll have to try another one.."

The story begins with the introduction of Iris, a female Blade Runner, and the best in her unit. Meyer - her boss - tells her that the blade runner division is in danger; far fewer replicants are coming to Earth, and thus the economic value of the blade runners is dropping, giving the risk of a "reorganisation". Meyer gives Iris the assignment to track down an owl - an extremely rare, ''real'' owl, named Scrappy. Iris is skeptical, since if the owl is real (and thus not a replicant) the case seems to be nothing to do with the blade runners, but she accepts the job anyway.

Returning to her apartment, Iris uses a surresper - a version of the esper machine from the original ''Blade Runner'' which behaves as a virtual reality machine rather than a simple viewer - to analyse the data Meyer gave her about the owl. The data record contains two recorded scenes. The first shows Eldon Tyrell, feeding the owl. The second shows Deckard's and Rachael's first meeting, in sight of the owl. Iris does not recognise Deckard, and reacts with surprise when the surresper tells her that he was a blade runner; she's never heard of him, and his data have disappeared from many of the blade runner department's files. Iris talks the events through with her pet "chat" - an artificial cat whose fur is designed to release relaxing drugs into the owner when it is stroked.

With no good leads, Iris steps out into the shopping districts of Los Angeles and starts asking around after the owl. She does not make any progress, until a mysterious man approaches, knowing both her name and what she is doing. At first, Iris attacks him, but he persuades her to trust him and takes her to his "home" within the wreckage of a downed advertising blimp. The man, Vogel, tells Iris the owl's current location: hidden in a disused movie theatre nearby, guarded by men with illegal modified automatic weapons. Iris is immediately shocked: she was never given any warning that the owl could be so heavily guarded, and her casual investigation could have gotten her shot. Iris begins to distrust Meyer, for giving her the job; and she also does not trust Vogel, because she has no idea why he would give her this information.

Iris calls Meyer to ask for access to the police armory, and Meyer grudgingly agrees. As Iris collects the weapons, the novel describes a scene in which a director and camera operator are monitoring both Iris and Vogel as they collect and prepare the weapons, and already have a monitoring camera prepared for the disused theatre in which they will be used.

Using the weapons, plus a drug supplied by Vogel to fool the temperature sensitive alarms, Vogel and Iris together enter the building and recapture the owl. Iris then betrays Vogel, leaving him in the building while she escapes with the owl via an elevator. Still not trusting Meyer, Iris takes the owl back to her apartment, where she confirms that it is the correct owl, and then quickly becomes afraid that she could be in danger if she is caught with the owl before she finds out what is so important about it. Her cat offers her a mild 'hit' to relax her, but the moment she touches the cat's head, she is slammed with a massive overdose that leaves her sprawled on the floor. An unknown man walks into the room and takes away the owl, explaining that he booby-trapped the cat, and remarking that he is doing Iris a favor by buying her more time.

Iris is taken to hospital to recover from the overdose, and while there she is met by Meyer, who is extremely angry that Iris did not bring the owl straight back to him and - as a result - lost it. He tells her that she is being sacked from the Blade Runner division. Meyer hands Iris the one remaining item that was found with the owl - a chain which had been used to fasten it to its perch. Once Meyer is gone, Iris realises that the scratch marks on the inside of the ring are actually encoded data giving a GPS location. She rushes out of the hospital to investigate.

The coordinate turns out to be the location of the ruined Tyrell building (destroyed in ''The Edge of Human''). Iris is surprised to meet Vogel there. Vogel takes Iris into the ruins of the Tyrell building to show her where the owl came from, and talks about Tyrell's history, including the death of Tyrell at the hands of Roy Batty. Iris has not heard of this murder, and Vogel is surprised, and uses a video projector in the quarters to show her the movie ''Blade Runner'' (which, within the book's setting, is a documentary). Vogel then points out something that Iris herself had not noticed: that the Rachael replicant looks identical to Iris. In the monitoring suite, the director comments that Vogel was not supposed to say that, and the camera operator asks why Iris would not have spotted it for herself.

As Iris and Vogel are in Tyrell's quarters, they hear someone else trying to break in. Vogel says that he has "gone off-script", and that the people coming are probably the film crew. Iris and Vogel escape through a tunnel in the ruins, but Iris is quickly captured by a fleet of spinners and taken to a distant location in the desert.

In the desert base, Iris asks if she will be allowed to meet the director, but the guard claims never to have heard of him, and then leads Iris to meet an elderly man called Carsten. He explains that their group is an alliance of former technical staff from other replicant companies. Tyrell did not invent the replicant process; the UN destroyed the other replicant manufacturers in order to artificially create Tyrell's monopoly, using Tyrell just as a pawn.

Carsten takes Iris into a frozen duplicate of one of the Tyrell labs - Chew's eye lab. He explains that Voight-Kampff machines did not really scan people's eyes and breathing to determine if they were replicants or not; the machines were searching for something else, and even contained lethal booby-traps to catch those who attempted to dismantle them to find out what it was. Carsten then shows her that the lab also contains a number of replicant duplicates of Eldon Tyrell.

Iris is unimpressed. Carsten explains that this was the original purpose of replicants - not to create multiple Tyrells at once, but for the replicants to be activated in ''sequence'', each one extending Tyrell's own life by four years. Although the ability to transfer the gestalt of a living person into a replicant body had been developed, it had not been perfected, and error inevitably crept into the process, meaning that after only a few iterations the generated replicants were insane, or vegetables. What Eldon Tyrell discovered was a way to prevent that from happening.

Carsten asks her to think back to the moment when Tyrell was murdered by Batty, highlighting several unexplained discrepancies in the movie. His claim is that Batty did not ever plan to have his lifespan extended. That was only an excuse, to allow him to get close to Tyrell. Batty came back to Earth to kill Eldon Tyrell, and for no other reason. And not just to kill Tyrell, but to kill him in a very specific way - by crushing his eyes. Carsten opens the eyelids of each of the duplicates, revealing that there are no eyes in any of them. The eyes, the windows of the soul, were also the key to transferring a gestalt between multiple replicants without error; and Batty destroyed Tyrell's. Batty's goal was to get revenge on Tyrell for consigning him to a life of slavery in the colonies, but he was aided by the UN, who had realised that Tyrell had discovered the key to eternal life.

Scrappy, the owl, contains a backup of Tyrell's personality. With the owl, plus a suitable replicant, Tyrell could be brought to life once more. Finally, Carsten opens the last transport container in the line, revealing an eyeless replicant of Iris, aka Rachael, aka Sarah. Iris instantly shoots the suspended replicant. The director, and the camera operator, are still monitoring the scene, observing all of Iris's reactions. The camera operator begins to have doubts about what he is doing, wanting to warn Iris, to tell her that something about Carsten's story is not straight.

Two intruders burst into the base, shooting Carsten dead. Iris quickly hides as Meyer walks into the room, but he mistakes the dead female replicant duplicate for her and leaves. Outside, she hears him talking to someone else, then shooting him dead. Leaving the compound, she finds that the other man was Vogel, and that the two of them together have murdered almost every living thing in the base.

A moment later, she sees Scrappy, the lost owl, flying over to perch on another man's elbow. Approaching him, she recognises him as the blade runner Rick Deckard, accompanied by the child Rachael. He admits that it was he who took the owl from her apartment, and that if he had not done so, she would now be dead. Iris asks if he will take her back to LA, and the child Rachael interrupts, saying that she cannot go back to LA, because she has never been there in the first place. Iris is confused, and Deckard points upwards, remarking that "Those aren't the stars you see from Earth." Iris, Deckard, and Rachael depart in Deckard's spinner.

On July 24, 1998, when a series of bizarre murders occur on the outskirts of the fictional Midwestern town of Raccoon City, the Raccoon City Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. team are assigned to investigate. After contact with Bravo Team is lost, Alpha Team is sent to investigate their disappearance. Alpha Team locates Bravo Team's crashed helicopter and land at the site, where they are suddenly attacked by a pack of monstrous dogs. After Alpha Team's helicopter pilot, Brad Vickers, panics and takes off alone, the remaining members of the team — Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Albert Wesker, and Barry Burton — are forced to seek refuge in a nearby abandoned mansion. Depending on which character the player chooses to assume control of (Chris or Jill), either Barry or Chris are separated from the rest of the team during the chase and do not make it to the mansion. The team decides to investigate the mansion to search for their missing team member.

As the team members explore the mansion, they encounter dangerous creatures roaming its halls. The player character eventually learns that a series of illegal experiments were being undertaken by a clandestine research team under the supervision of biomedical company Umbrella Corporation. The creatures roaming the mansion and its surrounding areas are the results of these experiments, which have exposed the mansion's personnel and various animals and insects to a highly contagious and mutagenic biological agent known as the T-virus. The player character may also encounter several members of Bravo Team, including Enrico Marini, who reveals that one of Alpha Team's members is a traitor before being shot and killed by an unseen assailant.

Eventually, the player character discovers a secret underground laboratory containing Umbrella's experiments. In the lab, the player encounters Wesker, who reveals that he is a double agent working for Umbrella, and plans to use the Tyrant, a giant humanoid supersoldier, to kill the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members. However, in the ensuing confrontation, Wesker is supposedly killed, and the player character defeats the Tyrant. After activating the lab's self-destruct system, the player character reaches the heliport and manages to contact Brad for extraction, at which point the player may be confronted by Tyrant one last time.

The game features multiple endings depending on the player's actions at key points over the course of the game. The best ending sees that the player character saves their partner (Rebecca Chambers for Chris's campaign, and Barry for Jill's campaign) as well as a team member imprisoned in the lab (Jill for Chris's campaign, and vice versa). If at least the partner survives, the Tyrant is defeated and the mansion destroyed, otherwise the mansion remains intact and the Tyrant remains loose in the forest if the partner or team member is left to permanently die.

Chaplin plays a laborer on a house construction site. When he gets paid, his wife wants all the money, but he manages to keep enough of it to go out drinking. He returns home just in time to pretend he has just woken up to go to work.

Part One

Dick Hannay, under forty and already a successful Brigadier-General with good prospects of advancement, is called out of uniform by his old comrade, spymaster Sir Walter Bullivant, and sent to Fosse Manor in the Cotswolds to receive further instructions. He must pose as a South African, an objector to the war, and once more takes on the name ''Cornelius Brand'' (an Anglicisation of the name he had used on his adventures in Germany in ''Greenmantle''). He is upset by the idea of such a pose, but comforted by thoughts of his friend Peter Pienaar, briefly a successful airman and now a prisoner in Germany, and by the beauty of the Cotswold countryside.

At Fosse, he meets two middle-aged spinsters, their cousin Launcelot Wake, a conscientious objector, and their niece Mary Lamington, a girl whose prettiness had struck Hannay earlier, while visiting a shell-shocked friend in the hospital where she works. It emerges that she is his contact, but she can tell him little more than that he must immerse himself in the world of pacifists and objectors, picking up "atmosphere". She gives him a label to paste inside his watch, an address where he will be staying, and advises him to pick up a copy of ''Pilgrim's Progress''. However, Mary gives Hannay some inkling of the gravity of his mission; "You and I and some hundred others are hunting the most dangerous man in all the world".

Hannay heads to Biggleswick, a small town full of artists and writers. He buries himself in their pacifist community, attending meetings at a local hall, and meets Moxon Ivery, a local bigwig who seems vaguely familiar; he also sees Mary about the place. He hears of his old comrade John Blenkiron, and one day the American appears at one of the town's meetings; he passes a message to Hannay, arranging to meet in London.

Blenkiron reveals that he has been hard at work for some time, around the world and undercover around England, on the track of a huge network of German spies and agents, with their head somewhere in Britain, leaking vital information to the enemy. He believes Ivery to be the spider at the centre of the web, but cannot prove it, and wants to use Ivery to feed misinformation to the Germans. He tells Hannay to try and head for Scotland and an American called Gresson, as he believes the information is being sent that way.

Hannay goes to Glasgow, and contacts a trade union man named Amos, through whom he moves into Gresson's circles. He speaks at a meeting which descends into violence, and finds himself in at Gresson's side in a street fight. He saves the day, but makes an enemy of a big Fusilier named Geordie Hamilton. He later learns that Gresson makes regular boat trips up the coast, and plans to tag along.

He rides the foul boat, but realises he needs a passport to go all the way north, and must follow it on shore, dodging the law. He has a hint from his contact that a mine at a place called Ranna may be what he seeks, and hears the boat stops at an iron mine, so he resolves to head that way. He leaves the boat and treks inland, but soon finds he is wanted by the law, and is caught by some soldiers. He claims to be a soldier too, and their Colonel takes him home with him, to meet his son to check his story; the son confirms all Hannay's army knowledge, and suspicions are allayed.

He moves on, staying overnight with peasants, making his way onto Skye and towards Ranna. Arriving there, he meets Amos, who goes to fetch supplies, and sees the boat and Gresson, who meets a stranger on the hill. Hannay tracks the foreign-looking stranger, who Hannay describes as 'The Portuguese Jew', to a rocky bay, where the man disappears for a time before heading back. Hannay stays there overnight, and next morning fetches his provisions and searches the beach, finding the deep water of the bay ideal for submarines. He finds a hidden cave, and while preparing to lay in wait there sees Launcelot Wake climbing in. They fight and Hannay ties the other man up, but they soon realise they are on the same side.

They stake out the cave, and in the night the man Hannay followed returns, meeting with a German from the sea; they exchange pass-phrases, and Hannay sees the hiding place they plan to use to pass messages. Wake identifies some of their talk as extracts from Goethe, and is sent back with messages for Amos and Bullivant, while Hannay ponders the phrases he overheard - Bommaerts, Chelius, Elfenbein ('Ivory', homophone of 'Ivery'), Wild Bird and Caged Bird. He heads for home, but Amos warns him the police are still after him, and gives him a new disguise, as a travelling bookseller.

On the way south he takes up with another salesman, a man named Linklater who Amos had seen with Gresson. In a small town, Hannay is recognised by Geordie Hamilton, the big soldier he fought with in Glasgow, and flees once more with half the town, including Linklater, on his tail. He hides out in a troop train heading south; he gets off when it stops, is seen by Linklater, but at the station hooks up with his old pal Archie Roylance, a pilot who flies him on southwards. The plane breaks down, and Hannay, still pursued, flees afoot once more, upsetting a film set, stealing a bicycle and making his way into another town. On the verge of capture, his watch is stolen, and he is dragged off the streets by a man who recognises the badge he carries there; he is given a soldier's outfit and sent on his way.

He arrives in London in the midst of an air raid; in a tube station he sees Ivery, the spymaster's guard down in fear, and Hannay finally recognises him as one of the "Black Stone" men he had tangled with in ''The Thirty-Nine Steps''. Hurrying to tell his colleagues, he is arrested as a deserter and delayed. He eventually gets word through to Macgillivray at Scotland Yard, but his enemy has two hours start and evades capture.

Hannay is encouraged by a letter from Peter Pienaar, and at a meeting with Bullivant, Blenkiron and Mary, he pushes for them to hound the man down. They discuss the clues Hannay overheard on the beach, and Ivery's fear of the bombing, and Mary reveals that Ivery has proposed to her.

Part Two

Hannay returns to the war in Europe for several months. He finds Geordie Hamilton, and employs him as his batman; he runs into Launcelot Wake, working as a support labourer behind the lines; he sees several adverts in English and German newspapers, which he suspects may be some kind of coded communication. Hamilton reports having seen Gresson in a party of touring visitors, and Hannay learns he had stayed behind in a small village for a time; he later hears a story of mysterious goings-on at a chateau near the same village.

Flying with Archie Roylance on a reconnoitre, they get lost in fog and land near the chateau in question, where Hannay sees a mysterious old woman in a gas mask. Finding the castle is in a vital strategic spot, he returns to investigate, and learns the place is leased by a man named Bommaerts, one of the words he had overheard on the beach in Skye. Sneaking into the house at night, he finds Mary there too, and learns she has seen Ivery, now calling himself Bommaerts, who is in love with her. They find anthrax powder and a newspaper with one of the adverts deciphered, and then Ivery arrives. Confronted by Hannay, he flees, and Hannay shoots after him; the chateau burns down.

A few days later, in January 1918, Hannay is withdrawn from the front for more special duties. Blenkiron gives dinner for Hannay and Mary, now engaged, where he learns that the newspaper advert scam has been broken up and its operatives, led by Gresson, arrested. Blenkiron has found a second code in the messages, used by Ivery and his masters, and has identified Ivery as the Graf von Schwabing, a former high-flyer unseated by scandal. He hears of the Wild Birds, a ruthless and deadly band of German spies, of whom Ivery is a leading member, and learns that they plan to head to Switzerland to pin Ivery down, using Mary as bait.

Hannay makes his way south to Switzerland, where he poses as an injured Swiss, servant to the crippled Peter Pienaar, who has been released there. The two catch up, swap stories, and await instructions, keeping an eye on the nearby Pink Chalet, believed to be the base of the Wild Birds. Finally receiving Blenkiron's instructions, Hannay goes one night to the chalet, where he meets his contact, but is betrayed and taken prisoner by von Schwabing. The German tells Hannay he plans to capture Mary too, and send them both back to Germany to deal with at his pleasure, while the German army attacks and crushes their enemies.

Von Schwabing leaves him pinned in an ancient rack, but he breaks free. He runs into the man he followed across Skye, and, using the pass-phrases he overheard there, poses as a conspirator. He is provided with a car and chases after von Schwabing, sending Peter to alert the others. After a long drive through the mountains, he crashes the car and runs the rest of the way, but arrives to find Mary already gone and Launcelot Wake waiting for him. Learning that von Schwabing is returning to the chalet the long way, they resolve to head over the mountains on foot, cutting out much of the road.

Wake, an experienced mountaineer, leads a tough climb through snow and ice, exhausting himself in the process. Hannay drags him to the safety of a cottage, then continues by train and again on foot. He arrives at the house, and staggers in, to see von Schwabing gloating over Blenkiron, who appears to have walked into the same trap Hannay had the night before. However, Blenkiron was warned by Hannay's message, and has the house in his command; Geordie Hamilton and Amos emerge and take von Schwabing prisoner.

At Hannay's suggestion, von Schwabing is sent to the front to see battle, while the others head to Paris, just as the Germans begin a mighty attack. As they near the front, they hear the defenses are crumbling beneath the onslaught, with Hannay's men at the heart of things. He resumes his command, and holds a thin line against the German advance, with Wake running messages for him, Blenkiron engineering the reserve trenches and Mary nursing in a nearby hospital. Amos and Hamilton guard von Schwabing, whose mind has gone strange.

A long and hard battle ensues, in the course of which Wake dies heroically, von Schwabing runs into No Man's Land and is shot by his countrymen, and Blenkiron joins the fray with a party of Americans. At the last, with reinforcements due any moment, a party of German planes overflies Hannay's position, and are sure to bear news of the weak point if allowed to return; British planes fly against them, but one, flown by flying ace Lensch, evades them. Peter Pienaar, flying Archie Roylance's plane despite his bad leg, flies into him, bringing him down and killing himself in the process, but the day is saved.

Marge and Homer attend a parent-teacher night at Springfield Elementary School. Although Miss Hoover tells Homer that Lisa is doing well, Mrs. Krabappel tells Marge that Bart is continually causing trouble. She urges Homer and Marge to enforce stronger discipline and plants the idea that Bart could grow up to become a Supreme Court Justice if he turns his life around. The two return home to find that Bart has stolen and broken Grampa's false teeth. He is sent up to his room without dinner as punishment, but Homer sneaks up and brings him some pizza, making Bart promise to behave. However, Bart continues to get in trouble and Homer's attempts to discipline him fail. Eventually, Homer vows to make the next punishment stick.

Bart buys himself a ticket for the upcoming ''Itchy & Scratchy Movie''. Later on, Bart is left to babysit Maggie but he neglects to watch her, as he is distracted by the history of ''Itchy & Scratchy''. She takes Homer's car for a joyride and crashes into the wall of Springfield Prison, releasing the prisoners. An angry Homer then punishes Bart by banning him from ever seeing ''The Itchy & Scratchy Movie'', tearing up Bart's ticket. Bart begs to be given another punishment, but Homer refuses. For the next two months after the film's release, Bart becomes angry and sad that he is the only kid in Springfield who has not seen the film, and tries to watch it secretly, but Homer has instructed the theater employees not to sell him a ticket. Marge and Lisa unsuccessfully beg Homer to change his mind, with Marge claiming Bart has been punished enough. Eventually, the film is removed from theaters and Bart reluctantly tells Homer he won, to which Homer replies that they both won because by using his punishment Bart will grow up to be responsible for his actions and will have a better life.

40 years later, Bart, now Chief Justice of the United States, and Homer, a senior citizen, walk down the street and discover the film is back in the local theater as a classic re-release. Homer decides that Bart has learned his lesson and the two watch the movie happily together, although Homer is no longer sure which one is Itchy. .

Marc Revere, an American TV singer of Italian heritage, travels to Italy in search of his jet-setting fiancée, Carol Ralston, played by Peggie Castle. Revere moves in with his comical and good hearted cousin Pepe Bonelli (Renato Rascel), a struggling artist who also befriends a beautiful young girl, Raffaella Marini (Marisa Allasio), whom Revere had met on a train, and who develops a crush on him.

Lanza, after some difficulty, lands a contract to sing in a fine nightclub, but misses his opening night due to unforeseen circumstances during a date with Carol.

Luther Heggs is a typesetter for the ''Rachel Courier Express'' in Rachel City, Kansas, who lives at the Natalie Miller boarding house and aspires to be a reporter. Luther is not taken seriously, and his peers mock him when his report of a murder near the supposedly haunted Simmons Mansion proves to be nothing more than a local drunk knocked unconscious by his irate wife. Full-time reporter Ollie Weaver ridicules Luther over his mistake. Ollie is dating Alma Parker, who Luther has a crush on. While at work, asked to add some filler to the paper, Luther learns from the newspaper's janitor Mr. Kelsey, who was a gardener at the Simmons Mansion, that the mansion was the site of a murder–suicide. Mr. Simmons killed his wife with a bladed instrument before leaping to his death from the organ loft. Legend has it that the ghost of Mr. Simmons can still occasionally be heard playing the organ at midnight.

Kelsey encourages Luther to write about the Simmons Mansion. When the editor, George Beckett, reads the article, Kelsey plants subtle hints resulting in Beckett assigning Luther to spend the night in the manor on the 20th anniversary of the murder-suicide and write about his experience. Fear makes Luther hesitant to take the job, but the realization that this is his big chance to become a reporter as well as an opportunity to impress Alma pushes him to accept. While staying at the mansion, he hurls a book at a bookshelf in an effort to silence eerie knocking and laughter which is keeping him from sleep, inadvertently opening a hidden passage to the organ loft. At midnight, the bloodstained organ begins to play by itself. Luther flees downstairs and finds pruning shears stabbed in a painting of Mrs. Simmons, with blood gushing from her neck.

Luther's story gets the town abuzz and makes him a local hero. He begins dating Alma, who tells Luther (and later Ollie himself) that her relationship with Ollie is not committed. Nicholas Simmons, the nephew of the deceased couple, had been planning to demolish the mansion, but his banker now refuses to close on the deal due to his spiritualist wife considering it a local landmark. Nicholas attempts to discredit Luther by taking him and ''Rachel Courier Express'' to court for libel. Nicholas' attorney brings in Luther's grade school teacher as a character witness and accuses Luther of concocting the story in the Simmons Manor to win a job as a full-time reporter. The judge orders the jury and all interested parties to reconvene at the Simmons house before midnight to settle the issue.

At the mansion, Luther is unable to make the hidden passage open again. Alma remains to continue searching for the passage, while everyone else leaves the mansion, convinced Luther fabricated the story. Luther starts to walk home but hears the old organ and finds it played by Kelsey. Kelsey confesses to staging the mysterious happenings Luther witnessed, unable to help Luther confirm his story as he was kept out of the mansion by officer Herkie. Kelsey explains that he needs Luther's help to expose the true cause of the Simmons' deaths.

They hear a scream from the secret passage, and find Nicholas holding Alma captive. Kelsey accuses Nicholas of attempting to frame him for the murder of the Simmons couple by using Kelsey's shears as the murder weapon, and tearing down the Simmons Mansion to destroy the hidden passage he used as his alibi. Luther rescues Alma by knocking Nicholas over with a full body lunge from behind. Nicholas is arrested, and Kelsey explains everything. Alma and Luther marry. At the end of the wedding, the organ music segues to the theme played in the Simmons mansion. Everyone turns to see the small organ's keys moving by themselves, hinting that there really ''is'' a ghost after all.

Many, many years ago, a spaceship carrying precious life-giving ore crashes to Earth. The chunks of ore scatter across the planet, and over the years, ten humans each find a stone of the ore, and are transformed into powerful beings, War Gods. And now, they are fighting each other to possess all the stones and become the ultimate super-warrior. To do this the player must beat the other 9 fighters, and a clone of the character the player has chosen, before going on to fight the sub-boss, Grox, and the main boss, Exor.

Characters

Ahau Kin - an evil high priest who, after having a vision, sent his slaves to their death diving into his tribe's sacrificial well to reach the Ore, before retrieving the Ore himself. Anubis - after uncovering a hidden burial chamber guarded by the Ore in the Valley of the Kings, his body was captured by the Ore and his soul was cursed to return as Anubis. CY-5 - a cyborg from the future implanted with the Ore by scientists who are unaware of the Ore's true power, CY-5 seeks additional Ore to achieve greater human consciousness. Kabuki Jo - a medieval samurai who seeks to master the power of the Ore after it causes him to slaughter his own men in a rage of fire and fury. Maximus - a gladiator who killed his opponent in battle and his masters, escaping with the Ore and fighting for all who have been enslaved. Pagan - a mistress of the black arts who finds the Ore, which increases her hunger for power and destruction. Tak - a stone idol brought to life by the Ore as the avenger of a lost civilization. Vallah - a warrior princess who stumbles upon a piece of the Ore while taking shelter during a storm; it transforms her into a Viking goddess who rules the realm of ice. Her physical likeness was portrayed by Kerri Hoskins, who portrayed Sonya Blade from early ''Mortal Kombat'' titles. Voodoo - an evil Caribbean witch doctor who is killed and thrown into a swamp containing some of the Ore, which brings him back to life as Voodoo, god of the undead. Warhead - a former soldier who was the product of an explosion due to a failed attempt by the government to merge nuclear weapons with The Ore. His physical likeness was portrayed by Brian Glynn, the physical actor for Shao Kahn from early Mortal Kombat titles.

At a WNBA game which the Simpson family are attending, the announcer offers a $50,000 prize for successfully shooting a half-court basket. Ned Flanders kneels and prays before shooting the basket, and makes it. He declares he will donate the money, much to Homer's dismay, which is then doubled to $100,000 by the Rich Texan. After Ned's car is blocked from leaving the parking lot, Homer witnesses the Flanders family being allowed to drive a Hot-Dog-mobile home instead. The following day, Homer asks Ned what his secret is, and Ned replies it is hard work, clean living, and prayer; since the first two would require effort on his part, Homer focuses on prayer, which he believes to work after achieving minor feats such as finding the remote control and creating a new snack (fudge-covered bacon).

After noticing his excessive praying, Marge tells Homer that he should not ask God to do everything for him, which he bluntly refuses to consider. On a Sunday, Homer is walking towards the church and prays to God for a better house. Not looking where he is going, he falls into a shallow hole. A lawyer convinces Homer to sue the church. In court, the jury finds in Homer's favor and he receives the deed to the church, after Reverend Lovejoy admits he cannot pay the original sum of $1 million. Despite Marge's objections, he moves the family there and throws a house warming party. Meanwhile, Lovejoy sets up a temporary congregation at Barney's Bowlarama, but the sermon is a disaster, and a disheartened Lovejoy leaves Springfield, much to Ned's dismay.

Homer's party goes on for several days and the church becomes a bar and hangout for the townspeople, and Ned observes that they have violated all Ten Commandments. As Marge worries that Homer is incurring God's wrath, a rainstorm begins and Homer is struck by lightning in the mouth (God's way of smiting him for his blasphemy, sacrilege and heresy). The town begins to flood, and the townspeople flee to the roof of the church. Just as the townspeople are about to kill Homer, Reverend Lovejoy returns in a helicopter and leads everyone in prayer, asking God to forgive them. The flood subsides, and afterwards Lisa gives logical reasons for the cause of the events that had happened, with the storm and flood caused by bonfire and trees being cut down, but when questioned about why the rain suddenly stopped, Lisa just says "I don't know. Buddha?". The camera then pans to God, Buddha and Colonel Sanders watching from Heaven, rationalizing that the humans have suffered enough, with God asking for Colonel Sanders' popcorn chicken.

The hero, Adi Cherryson, also known as Sneer (named after one of Zajdel's fellow science fiction writers Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg), is a ''lifter'' who "helps" people cheat during the computer controlled IQ exams by giving them the correct answers through a micro-radio communicator or taking the exam for them. Sneer, who is officially only a level 4, could easily become the top level 0, but he prefers his medium level which doesn't attract much attention. In addition to ''lifters'' a whole gallery of black market figures is presented - there are ''downers'' (who use their low IQ to provide realistic 'stupid' answers for those who want to keep their class artificially low like Sneer), ''chameleons'' (black market point dealers), ''key-makers'' (providing all sorts of illegal, special purpose Keys).

The story starts when Sneer is questioned by an undercover police agent on the street and unintentionally reveals his intelligence by his answers (or so Sneer thinks). As a result, a few hours later his Key is locked and he is told to report to a testing station for an IQ test. Knowing that in such situation "electro-hipnosis" is used to prevent subjects from hiding their true intelligence, he solicits help of a "downer". He finds a suitable specialist through another "lifter" - Karl Pron.

He goes to the testing station with the "downer", who takes his Key and goes inside, leaving Sneer waiting outside. A few minutes later Sneer sees the "downer" arrested.

Without his Key he faces the reality of not having a shelter and being able to even find anything to eat without points. Wandering through the city, he sees some of the misery of life in Argoland he didn't notice before. Finally, he meets mysterious Alice, who gives him shelter and some mysterious clues about a singer and a song about the lake Tibigan.

In the morning he meets the "downer" and learns how he secured his release through a ruse - he reported Sneer's Key as found on the street. Sneer goes to the central police station and retrieves his Key, but the experience makes him uncomfortable, and he starts to look at his world in a different way. He visits his parents and an old friend, a doctor, revealing to the reader the history of this world and some further facts about it. He also tries to listen to the song Alice told him about and discovers that theoretical freedom of press is in fact a fiction as some songs etc. can be prohibited.

Meanwhile, Sneer is hired by a government official (a 'zero') to monitor the scientific lab dealing with Keys - The Key Institute. Working undercover as a doorman, Sneer discovers to his amazement that the Key Institute that should know everything about the Keys, having designed them, is in fact studying them as if they were an alien object.

Meanwhile, his "lifter" friend Karl Pron tests a new counterfeited Key, which gives the owner an unlimited number of yellow points. This Key was ordered by the group of '0's – who in fact work in the lab on which Sneer is now spying upon.

When Sneer obtains the super Key, he is taken to the meeting with top officials of the local government, where he learns that the social system of 'Argoland' is, in fact, an experiment imposed upon the humanity by the Aliens. The 'over-zeroes' form a ruling class, which suppresses dissent fearful of the Aliens but permits all kinds of irregularities which they see as preserving the human nature of people.

The end is largely mystical, but it suggests that, with the help of Alice, Sneer succeeds in saving humanity, though it is not clear exactly how he achieves that.

Summer 1966

Two brothers go their separate ways after attempting to rescue a young girl, Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca), from an abusive sanitarium. The brothers are Matteo and Nicola Carati (Alessio Boni and Luigi Lo Cascio). Their parents are Angelo (Andrea Tidona) and Adriana (Adriana Asti), their older sister is Giovanna (Lidia Vitale), and their younger sister is Francesca (Valentina Carnelutti). Their friends, their lovers and others drift through, including Giorgia who struggles with mental issues, but whose life seems to follow in parallel.

Matteo walks out of his first exam, while Nicola qualifies as a doctor (and will pursue a career in psychiatry). Matteo takes mental patients for walks to help them begin to feel normal and takes a particular interest in his patient Giorgia. Noticing that Giorgia has been wounded by electroshock therapy, he decides to remove her from the institution and take her along with him and Nicola—who are about to go on a trip to Norway.

Eventually, Giorgia is captured by the police and taken back to the asylum. Matteo, filled with sadness and depression, returns to Rome and joins the army. Nicola continues to Norway and gets a job as a lumberjack. The brothers meet again in Florence just after the 1966 Arno River flood. Here, Nicola meets a university student, Giulia (Sonia Bergamasco).

February 1968

Nicola and Giulia are living together in Turin, but the two do not marry.

1974

Matteo leaves the army and joins the police force. During this time, Matteo shows signs of continuing depression and anger. He accepts an assignment in Sicily, a place corrupted by the Mafia. Meanwhile, Nicola and Giulia conceive and care for Sara, their daughter.

1977

In Sicily, Matteo meets a photographer in a ''caffè'' named Mirella (Maya Sansa). She wants to be a librarian, and he advises her to work at a beautiful library in Rome.

Because of his temper, Matteo is forced to leave Sicily. He decides to reside in Rome but refuses to visit his mother.

Meanwhile, Nicola becomes a psychiatrist, and works to eliminate the abuse and maltreatment of patients in mental hospitals. He finds Giorgia in one of these hospitals. She is tied to a bed in inhumane conditions, does not talk, and shows fear of being touched by others. After some time, Giulia gets drawn into a secret Red Brigades cell. One night, she leaves Nicola and Sara and disappears into the terrorist underground.

1983

Years later Matteo walks into that same library and sees Mirella for the second time. They fall in love, and one evening, make love in a car. Eventually he pushes her away.

December 1983

Mirella meets with Matteo with news for him, but he behaves harshly and forces her to leave. On New Year's Eve, Matteo decides to finally visit his mother. Everyone is there to celebrate. Instead of waiting for the traditional toasts, however, Matteo decides to leave early and, at midnight, jumps off the balcony of his apartment and kills himself.

The family is devastated by the tragedy. No longer motivated, Nicola's mother quits her teaching job and lives a life in solitude in Rome. Nicola, feeling that he could have saved Matteo and not wanting to make the same mistake again, arranges for the capture of Giulia to prevent her from killing someone else or from getting killed. She is sentenced to 17 years in jail. During her jail term, Nicola visits Giulia and proposes to her but is rejected.

Spring 1992

Nicola finds a photograph of Matteo taken by Mirella. He is encouraged by Giorgia to meet with Mirella which, after some hesitation, he agrees to do. When he meets Mirella, Nicola learns about her son (Andrea) and that Matteo was the father. Nicola breaks this exciting news to his mother and they visit Mirella and the boy on the small island of Stromboli. Inspired by new meaning in her life, Nicola's mother decides to stay with Mirella and her grandson.

Spring 1995

Nicola and his friends acquire and plan the reconstruction of an old villa house in Tuscany. Giulia (out of jail) meets Francesca but chooses not to talk to Sara, watching her from afar. Meanwhile, Sara, now in her early twenties, is still struggling with the poor choices her mother has made. She decides to move to Rome to study art conservation and becomes engaged to Mimmo. During this time, Nicola finds out his mother has died and, as a result, travels to Stromboli to visit Mirella and pay his respects.

Spring 2000

Having finally moved past the death of Matteo, Nicola and Mirella fall in love. Sara, now happy and strong, is encouraged by Nicola to confront her mother and try to patch things up. Giulia, in desperate need of love, embraces Sara, but is not ready to open up completely.

2003

The film ends with Matteo's son, Andrea, visiting Norway, specifically North Cape, which is where his father and Nicola ventured to go at the beginning of the movie, but never completed their journey.

Having achieved fame and financial security, Captain Sir Horatio Hornblower has married Lady Barbara Leighton (née Wellesley) and is preparing to settle down to unaccustomed life as the squire of Smallbridge in Kent. He still yearns to serve at sea and accepts with alacrity when the Admiralty appoints him a commodore, puts him in command of a squadron and sends him on a diplomatic and military mission to the Baltic. His primary aim is to bring Russia into the war against Napoleon.

Hornblower is shown dealing with the problems of squadron command, and using naval mortars (carried on special ships known as bomb vessels) to destroy a French privateer. This leads to the French invasion of Swedish Pomerania. Later his squadron calls at Kronstadt, where he meets with Russian officials, including Tsar Alexander I, who is favourably impressed by Hornblower and his squadron. Hornblower narrowly averts a major diplomatic incident when his secretary and interpreter (a Finnish refugee assigned to him by the Admiralty) attempts to assassinate the Tsar at a court function.

After Russia enters the war, Hornblower's squadron takes an important role in the defence of Riga, which is besieged by French forces. The bomb vessels again take an important role, and so do amphibious operations under the protection of the squadron.

At the end of the novel, the French and Prussian troops abandon the siege and retreat. Hornblower accompanies the pursuing Russian forces until they meet the Prussian army, which has halted to form a rearguard. Hornblower meets with the Prussian general - Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg and persuades him to change sides.

At this point it becomes clear to the accompanying Brown that Hornblower is gravely ill, apparently with typhus. In some editions of the novel the story ends here with the hallucinating Hornblower imagining himself being greeted in Hampton Court by Lady Barbara and his infant son. C.S. Forester however provided an additional chapter in which the convalescent Hornblower returns safely to Smallbridge in time for Christmas.

During the siege and pursuit, Carl von Clausewitz, a German officer in Russian service, who is later to become famous as a military theorist and writer, is a character.

In 1814, Hornblower is delegated to deal with the ''Flame'', a brig full of mutineers off the French coast, near the mouth of the Seine. It is a tricky situation because the mutineers' demands cannot be met, but they have threatened that if a Royal Navy force tries to force their hand, they will slip into a nearby French port.

Hornblower alters the appearance of his own vessel, the ''Porta Coeli'', so it can masquerade as the mutinous vessel. As dusk falls, he follows a valuable blockade runner into port, pretending to be the ''Flame''. Then, once the two vessels are moored, he captures it and takes it out to sea. He then pursues the ''Flame'', which retreats to the French port. Believing the mutineers responsible, the French send four gunboats to take her. Hornblower manages to exploit the fighting to capture both the ''Flame'' and a gunboat. Seine River

Among the French prisoners is Lebrun, the young and ambitious assistant to the mayor of Le Havre. Lebrun asks to speak with Hornblower privately; he proposes to surrender Le Havre to the English fleet. Hornblower and Lebrun arrange a plan: Lebrun's role is to undermine those parties who would resist a British seizure of the city. Overcoming some tense moments with audacity, Hornblower is able to capture the city with a half battalion of Royal Marines and finds himself its military governor.

Hornblower finds his new duties different from that of commanding a naval vessel or squadron. He finds his role demanding, in part because he is such a demanding perfectionist. The Duke of Angoulême, one of the heirs to the Bourbon dynasty, is sent to assume control of the civil leadership.

Hornblower hears that Napoleon has been able to amass a strong force, to be transported by barge down the Seine to retake Le Havre. He sends a force, borne by half a dozen large ship's boats, to try to blow up the barges and ammunition. He puts his best friend, Captain William Bush, in command. The raid is a success and the French force is stopped, but an unexpected explosion kills most of the British, including Bush.

Hornblower is raised to the peerage, possibly in part to provide him with more dignity, gravitas, when dealing with the French heir's entourage, as well to reward him for his accomplishments.

During the following peace, Hornblower's wife Barbara accompanies her brother, the Duke of Wellington, to the Congress of Vienna, leaving Hornblower at loose ends. He decides to visit the Comte de Graçay, where he resumes his relationship with the Comte's widowed daughter-in-law, Marie. When Napoleon escapes from Elba and raises a new army, Hornblower, the Comte and Marie lead a guerrilla fight against the Imperial forces. They are eventually defeated, and Marie dies from a leg wound. Hornblower and the Comte are captured and condemned to death, but news of the Emperor's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo arrives just in time to save their lives.

The Simpson family gathers to celebrate Maggie's birthday. After the party, Grampa feels depressed, so Marge sets him up for a date with her mother, Jacqueline. Eventually, the couple falls in love, which enrages Homer, who believes that old people should not date each other — especially in-laws — and fears that his children will become "freaks" if the two decide to marry.

To impress Jacqueline, Grampa takes her out dancing, but when he does, Mr. Burns steals her from him and breaks his heart. Burns declares that he is in love with Jacqueline, and they are going to get married, against Marge's interest. Meanwhile, Bart buys a $350 ''Itchy & Scratchy'' animation cel with one of Homer's credit cards, which turns out to be poor quality with only part of Scratchy's arm drawn. Bart tries to trade it to Comic Book Guy for money but is offered a telephone in the shape of Mary Worth instead. In order to pay Homer back, Bart blackmails Burns by threatening to ruin his suit before his date.

On the day of the wedding, Grampa crashes Burns' and Jacqueline's wedding ceremony and asks that Jacqueline marry him instead. Partly due to Burns' behavior, especially when he threatens Bart after he accidentally drops the wedding rings, she decides not to marry either man. Deciding that Jacqueline's decision is good enough for him, Grampa grabs her and they run out of the church and onto on a bus, leaving Burns heartbroken. On the bus, the two sit silently, contemplating what will happen between them now, before Grampa yells at bus driver Otto to turn the music off. After being rebuffed, Grampa talks over the song and credits about why he loves Jacqueline, before being cut off by the Gracie Films logo.

At 3:15 AM on November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family at their house at 412 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. He claimed that he was persuaded to kill them by voices he heard in the house.

One year later, a married couple George and Kathy Lutz move into the house along with Kathy's three children from a previous marriage, Billy, Michael, and Chelsea. The family soon begins experiencing paranormal events in the house. Chelsea claims that she has befriended a girl named Jodie, a name belonging to one of the murdered DeFeo children.

One night the couple decide to go out, and they hire a babysitter to watch the three kids. When the babysitter, Lisa, arrives, they come to find out that she had previously been hired to babysit for the DeFeo's. Lisa tells them about the murders that took place in their house. When she goes to Chelsea's room, Chelsea tells her that she is a bad babysitter, claiming that Jodie told her so. Lisa begins to scold Jodie for being the reason behind her getting fired. Then Billy dares Lisa to go inside the closet (the same closet where Jodie was murdered), and she gets locked inside. After a few seconds, she encounters Jodie herself and begs to be let out. She goes into shock and the paramedics arrive to take her away; on the way to the hospital, Lisa tells Kathy that she had seen Jodie.

George's behaviour towards Kathy and her children becomes abusive and the paranormal activity continues. One night, George hears Harry barking in the boathouse. Seemingly possessed, he grabs the axe and proceeds to murder the family dog. The children look for Harry the next day, with George denying he knows where he is, despite Billy's suspicions.

Kathy asks the priest Father Callaway (Philip Baker Hall) to bless the house, as a protective measure to prevent any future paranormal incidents, but Father Callaway flees the house when he encounters such occurrences himself. Kathy discovers that the house once belonged to a cult preacher named Reverend Jeremiah Ketcham, whose evil actions towards Native Americans during his "mission" in 17th-century Amityville are said to be the cause of the haunting. Meanwhile, George, as he is walking through the basement of the house, encounters the apparitions of the various Native Americans who were tortured and killed there by Ketcham centuries ago. Entering a dimly-lit room, George encounters Ketcham himself (though he is not aware of who he is), and the ghostly figure of the evil missionary turns around, picks up a knife, and slits his throat in an act of recreating his suicide, covering George with blood, and causing him to become nearly completely possessed.

Kathy becomes convinced that George's abusive behavior is owed to a spiritual possession. Following urgent advice from Father Callaway, Kathy tries to evacuate her children from the house and escort them to safety, but the possessed George attempts to kill her and the children; Kathy knocks him out to prevent him from doing so and transports him away from the residence. Subsequently, George is released from the spirit's control and the family permanently leaves the house. A title card states that the family left within 28 days of arriving and never returned. Jodie is shown standing in the now-empty house and screaming in terror while the house rearranges itself back to its original state before the family's arrival. Subsequently, she is pulled beneath the floor by a pair of disembodied hands.

On land after ceasing his use of laudanum, Stephen Maturin finds he has changed; his naturally "ardent" temperament returns and alters his relationship with his wife Diana, who is now pregnant with their child. Maturin looks forward to the arrival of the child he is certain is a daughter. As the high level traitor in British intelligence is not yet identified, the time on land raises risks to his friend Jack Aubrey, who agrees to sail immediately. Aubrey, Maturin, and their shipmates prepare for a mission to sail the letter of marque ''Surprise'' on a mission to South America. Upon reaching Lisbon, Sir Joseph Blaine intercepts Maturin with news that he and Aubrey are required to carry a diplomat to the Sultan of Pulo Prabang, a piratical Malay state in the South China Sea. Edward Fox is the envoy leading the mission to persuade the Sultan to become an English rather than French ally. The French mission includes the same English traitors - Ledward and Wray - who were responsible for Aubrey's former disgrace. With the ''Surprise'' under the command of Captain Pullings, Aubrey and Maturin return with Blaine to England, where Lord Melville, First Lord of the Admiralty, reinstates Aubrey as a Post-Captain in the Royal Navy and gives him command of the recently captured French ship ''Diane''. The voyage south forms the crew, with frequent training on the guns; by the luck of a timely breeze and much hard rowing in the ship's boats, ''Diane'' escapes the inshore currents of Inaccessible Island. Sailing through the high forties (south latitude), she first touches land at Java, meeting Lieutenant Governor Raffles near Batavia, where they hear the first word of bank failures in England.

Arriving in Pulo Prabang, Maturin meets fellow natural philosopher van Buren and helps the arrogant envoy Fox plot against the French mission. During the leisurely negotiations with the Sultan, Maturin climbs the "Thousand Steps" to Kumai, a protected valley in the crater of a volcano and home to the orangutans he has been longing to see. Returning to town, he learns that Abdul, the Sultan's cupbearer and catamite has been caught in a compromising position with both Ledward and Wray. Abdul is executed and Ledward and Wray are banished from the court for their indiscretions, effectively ending the French mission. Wray and Ledward are eventually assassinated and Maturin and van Buren dissect their bodies.

After a feast to celebrate the treaty, at which Fox and his retinue behave without discretion, the ''Diane'' makes for Batavia and to rendezvous with the ''Surprise''. Fox behaves with increasing arrogance during the return voyage, the success of the treaty having gone to his head. After missing their rendezvous, the ''Diane'' sails toward Batavia, so Fox can sail to England on another ship. The frigate strikes a hidden reef and the ship cannot be floated again. They set up camp on a small island, but Fox insists on sailing in ''Diane'''s pinnace, rather than waiting until the ship is again afloat. He leaves Edwards aboard with an official duplicate of the treaty. A typhoon destroys the marooned ''Diane'' and Aubrey believes that the pinnace, if caught in the same storm, likely did not survive. With the situation growing desperate, Aubrey directs the men to build a vessel to get them to Batavia.

Bart is behaving wildly: he teases and exasperates Principal Skinner, and floods the gymnasium. Skinner has Homer and Marge come to the school, and tells them Bart has attention deficit disorder (ADD). He will be expelled unless he takes "a radical, untested, potentially dangerous" new drug called Focusyn.

Taking the drug, Bart becomes an eager and diligent student. His parents think they can safely go out for an intimate evening together, but when they come home Bart is in his room wrapped in aluminum foil, with a garbage can on his head, and numerous coat hangers dangling from the ceiling. He claims that Major League Baseball is spying on the town using a satellite. The doctors recommend that Bart be weaned off Focusyn, but he refuses, swallows several handfuls of the pills and runs away.

Bart enters a U.S. Army base and manages to steal a tank. He cuts a swath of destruction through the town and eventually stops at the school. There, persuaded not to destroy the school or any other building, he points the tank's cannon into the sky and shoots down a Major League Baseball satellite; inside are detailed documents on everybody's behavior. Mark McGwire appears, distracts the citizens with a long home run, and hides all the evidence under his cap. Marge takes Bart off Focusyn for good and puts him back on Ritalin. Major League Baseball, however, is still spying on the Simpson family: the autographed bat that McGwire gave Bart has a hidden camera.

A large amount of "evidence" is presented. For example, there is analysis of television recordings of the matches, where houses can be seen in the background that never actually stood there. The film also analyzes how the shadows of the players in the field were falling, and were angled in a way that is not possible in Sweden given the position of the sun at the time. The Chairman of KSP58, Bror Jacques de Wærn, who was employed by the Swedish National Agency for more than twenty years, states that he has looked for evidence that the tournament really took place, but didn't find anything. After the end of the film it was revealed that the film was a mockumentary.

The aim of the film, according to the director Johan Löfstedt, was to illustrate how historical revisionism (in particular Holocaust denial) works and to highlight the importance of source criticism when getting information from, for example, the media.[http://www.corren.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?articleid=4441919 Dokumentär i tv var fejkad] corren.se accessed 2012-09-03

The majority of the characters in the film are real celebrities who were playing themselves.

Homer is extremely late for work after sleeping for more than a whole day. As punishment for his lateness, Mr. Burns makes Homer eat toxic waste in a dark room. Lenny and Carl come in and invite Homer to go bowling. Homer lies to Marge on the phone, telling her that he was not able to attend a tea party date with Maggie because there was a breakdown at the plant and Lenny was hospitalized. Homer then goes bowling with Lenny and Carl. He bowls a 300 game, and makes the evening news, earning the attention of the entire town. With this accomplishment, Homer becomes a celebrity, appearing on ''The Springfield Squares''. The appearance ends disastrously, with Homer getting into a fight with fellow celebrity guest Ron Howard, leading Kent Brockman to lament inviting a "flavor of the month" like Homer onto the show. Determined to prolong his moment in the limelight, Homer attempts a walk-on during a Penn & Teller special. This also backfires on him as Penn chases him off the stage with a crossbow (and leaves Teller slowly descending into a tub of shark-filled water).

Homer's 15 minutes of fame wanes, and he becomes "yesterday's news" according to an entertainment news show. Worrying that his life has peaked, he attempts to commit suicide by jumping from a tall building, but Otto, who is bungee jumping, saves him. Thankful for being alive, Homer dedicates his life to his children after seeing Ron Howard take his children to a zoo. He tries, but fails to connect with Bart (who already has a father figure in construction workers, the Internet, and Nelson Muntz) and Lisa (who is too intellectual for him), so he decides to spend more time with Maggie. He tries to teach her how to swim, but she does not trust him and will not go in the water. When Homer takes Maggie to the beach, he gets caught in a rip current and nearly drowns. Maggie swims out and pulls him to shore. For saving him, Homer treats Maggie to a game of bowling—and she bowls a perfect game, but Homer penalizes her for going over the foul line.

Homer gets a magazine loaded with personality tests and quizzes his friends and family with them. Later on, he takes his own test which reveals that he has only three years left to live. Terrified of his supposedly impending death, he develops insomnia and goes insane. Homer visits the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's psychiatrist, who suggests that he take a long vacation. The Simpsons go on a trip to Florida and find themselves in the middle of a raucous spring break when they get there. Marge wants Homer to stay in his hotel room, but he escapes to party and attends a concert featuring Joe C. and Kid Rock. Homer becomes the life of spring break until it ends and the wild college students return to their studies.

Homer, who still wants to party, rents an airboat and forces his family to come with him. He races through a swamp, accidentally killing the state's most famous resident and reptile – an alligator named Captain Jack, whom Marge, Maggie, Lisa, and Bart saw on a tour earlier, while Homer made a fool of himself at the concert. A sheriff quickly arrives on the scene, and although Homer is the sole guilty culprit, the entire family is charged for killing the alligator (possibly due to the fact that a beer company pays him to be easy going during spring break while being cruel and hard during the rest of the year). The family flees from the sheriff and during a car chase they are hit by a train that pushes their car on the rails for several miles. Eventually, the car is dislodged from the train, and the Simpsons escape to a restaurant, where they are given employment. They live in a nearby trailer and progressively turn into hillbillies.

The sheriff eventually tracks them down and kidnaps them while they are sleeping. For their crimes (and Homer's foolish attempt at defending himself in court), the family is put into forced labor. One night when they are working at a party held by a judge in front of the capitol, tending to the guests (and failing to escape), Captain Jack strolls out of the capitol's doors, revealing that he was never killed, but was simply knocked out. The family is released, though they are banned from entering the state of Florida again - leaving them only able to travel to Arizona or North Dakota, though Homer rejects the former state because he dislikes the odor there.

The book begins with Asterix and Obelix hunting wild boar until one boar leads them to a Roman patrol, which the Gauls vanquish while the boars escape. In Rome, Julius Caesar orders M. Devius Surreptitious, the head of M.I.VI, to send an agent to infiltrate the Gauls. This agent is a Gaulish-Roman druid known as Dubbelosix, who travels in a folding chariot full of secret devices. Dubbelosix and Surreptitius communicate via a carrier fly, who develops a crush for Dubbelosix. In the Gaulish village, Getafix is depressed because he has run out of rock oil, which he requires to make the magic potion enabling the Gaulish resistance to Rome.

The following day, Getafix is cheered by the arrival of Ekonomikrisis the Phoenician merchant but suffers a stroke upon hearing that he forgot to bring rock oil. When Chief Vitalstatistix tells Asterix and Obelix to fetch another druid to treat him, they discover Dubbelosix, who successfully revives Getafix with an alcoholic tonic. Asterix determines to go with Obelix and Dogmatix to obtain rock oil from Mesopotamia; Dubbelosix insists on coming, and they set off on Ekonomikrisis' ship. Along the way, they defeat pirates and Roman warships, while Dubbelosix secretly corresponds with the Romans, to arrange a blockade. The Phoenician ship finally lands at Judea, where Asterix, Obelix, Dogmatix, and Dubbelosix disembark for Jerusalem, where some sympathetic traders help the Gauls to enter secretly, in spite of an attempt by Dubbelosix to alert the city guards. Leaving him behind, Asterix and Obelix make contact with Ekonomikrisis' supplier, Samson Alius, who directs them to Babylon as the Romans have destroyed rock oil supplies in Jerusalem.

In the Syrian desert, Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix find themselves caught up in ongoing wars between the Sumerians, Akkadians, Hittites, Assyrians, and Medes, much to Asterix's frustration. In the ensuing arrow battles, their waterskin is pierced, but they find a source of rock oil in the ground and carry some back to Jerusalem in the repaired waterskin. There, the two Gauls capture Caesar's personal ship, as well as Surreptitious and Dubbelosix. Near the coast of Gaul, Dubbelosix seizes the waterskin of rock oil and, as he tries to force it open, Obelix leaps upon him, spilling the oil into the sea. Asterix has lost all hope, but when they come back to the village, they find the Gauls fighting Romans as merrily as ever, and learn Getafix has replaced the rock oil in his potion with beetroot juice. Out of dismay, Asterix has a stroke, but after being cured with the new potion, convinces Getafix to perform experiments before testing him. Thereafter, the Gauls send Dubbelosix and Surreptitius to Caesar in a gift-wrapped box. Caesar sends them to the Circus Maximus as punishment for failure, where they are covered in honey and chased by bees, with the lovesick carrier fly following behind.

The battle to save the outside world starts within as Jen Tate, a young woman of our world, faces the demons of alternate planes and discovers her own supernatural origin. In Oblivion, there are four distinct realms, each occupied by a demon race. Two are aligned with order and two with chaos. But the scales of balance are overthrown, and chaos is engulfing Oblivion.

Mortalis

The place where Jen and Lewis are from, the "real" world. Belahzur used his power to abduct Lewis from Mortalis.

The game starts in a club where Lewis and his band play, Lewis spots a tall monstrous looking man in the crowd (who is later revealed to be a demon called Balahzur) and he gets frightened. After the show Jen talks with Lewis and Lewis informs Jen about the scary looking figure in the crowd but Jennifer dismisses Lewis's fears. As they make their way out of the club Balahzur follows them until he is stopped by the doorman resulting to the doorman's decapitation. The pair witnessing the event try to make a run for it but Balahzur takes his true form and grabs Lewis critically wounding Jennifer in the process.

Nexus

The place where it all comes together. It is here that ''Chronos'' uses the Oracle machine to maintain the balance of Oblivion. All the realms can be entered through the Nexus.

Oblivion

The name given to all four realms.

Solum

A harsh realm where the sun never shines and an eternal winter blankets the ground and freezes the soul. This is a world reminiscent of the mortal Ancient Rome with columns high enough to reach the gods, and arenas to honour the brave and strong.

The occupants of this realm are the '''Ferai'''. Although fierce, strong and rugged in appearance, the Ferai are fundamentally a good race, aligned with the forces of Order.

Scree notes that each king of the Ferai has vast power and strength, but at the height of his power, must sacrifice himself, or the entire realm will collapse. Further, this is traditionally accomplished using an object called "the Burning Crown." The king and queen are named Herne and Queen Davena.

In this realm Jen learns her first demon form, based on the Ferai race.

Aquis

Under an eternal Autumn sunset, deep beneath an endless, poisonous ocean lies the sub-aquatic realm of Aquis. The deadly waters are home to vast sea monsters, but the occupants of this realm, the Undine, have built their own safe-havens where they can live their lives free from the leviathans and the polluted waters of the deep.

The '''Undine''' are able to communicate telepathically and survive only due to complex water purification machines. This humanoid race is perfectly adapted to life underwater with efficient gills and fins that power them through the shadowy depths. The queen of the realm is named Aino.

Jen's second demon form is based on the Undine race.

Aetha

Set in the cloud-draped peaks is the far-from-heavenly realm of Aetha. The sheer mountains and treacherous rocks mean the inhabitants have to make their precarious homes on the plateaus and peaks above the clouds. The gloom and drizzle hides Tudor-like architecture with foreboding towers, heavy black beams and crumbling white walls. Overhanging balconies seek to steal what little light the street lanterns cast.

The occupants of Aetha are the '''Wraith''' race. These fearsome and cadaverous beings have created a warped aristocratic society, with the ruling Wraith class living a life of opulence and excess while the "Helot" peasants live in filth and squalor. Unsurprisingly the ruling class is selfish and evil, throwing lavish masked balls within sight of the starving masses. The Wraith are shown to have vampiric characteristics, such as increased powers and vitality through drinking helot blood. The leaders of Wraith aristocracy are Count Raum and Countess Empusa.

Jen's third demon form is based on the Wraith race.

Volca

A wasted landscape of sand and rock forms Volca, the fourth realm. An endless scorched desert, the burning horizon is dominated by a vast volcano. Volcan architecture is very similar to that of the Aztecs or ancient Egyptians.

This realm's occupants are the '''Djinn''' race. The Djinn are quite possibly the strongest of Oblivion's inhabitants. Their bodies are formed from a living metal and they resemble ancient Egyptian gods. Their health is linked directly to the rhythms of the volcano; when it is dormant they are at their weakest and as it builds towards the violent eruption they feel their most empowered. (As Scree says, "When [the volcano] erupts, we'd better be long gone.")

Jen's fourth and final demon form is based on the Djinn race.

Sid Boggle (Sid James) and his friend Bernie Lugg (Bernard Bresslaw) are partners in a plumbing business. They take their girlfriends, prudish Joan Fussey (Joan Sims) and meek Anthea Meeks (Dilys Laye), to the cinema to see a film about a nudist camp called Paradise. Sid has the idea of the group holidaying there, reasoning that in that environment their heretofore chaste girlfriends will relax their strict moral standards. Sid easily gains Bernie's co-operation in the scheme, which they attempt to keep secret from the girls.

They travel to the campsite named Paradise. After paying the membership fees to the owner, money-grabbing farmer Josh Fiddler (Peter Butterworth), Sid realises it is not the camp seen in the film, but merely a standard family campsite. To add to their disappointment, it is no paradise but instead, a damp field; the only facilities being a very basic toilet and a washing block. They reluctantly agree to stay there after Fiddler refuses a refund and the girls approve of the place. There is further disappointment when the girls will not share a tent with the boys.

Sid and Bernie soon set their sights on a bunch of young ladies on holiday from the Chayste Place finishing school. The ringleader of the girls is blonde and bouncy Babs (Barbara Windsor). In charge of the girls is Dr. Soaper (Kenneth Williams), who is fervently pursued by his lovelorn colleague, the school's matron, Miss Haggard (Hattie Jacques). The girls soon leave for Ballsworth Youth Hostel, where Babs and her friend Fanny (Sandra Caron) change the room numbers on Dr. Soaper's and Miss Haggard's doors and convince Dr. Soaper that the female washroom, where Miss Haggard is, is the male washroom. Dr Soaper leads an outdoor aerobics session, during which Babs' bikini top flies off; he catches it.

Other campers are Peter Potter (Terry Scott), who loathes camping but must endure his jolly yet domineering wife Harriet (Betty Marsden), with her irritating laugh, and naïve first-time camper Charlie Muggins (Charles Hawtrey).

Chaos ensues when a group of hippies arrive in the next field for a noisy all-night rave led by band The Flowerbuds. The campers club together and successfully drive the ravers away, but all the girls leave with them. However, there is a happy ending for Bernie and Sid when their girlfriends finally agree to move into their tent. Their joy is short-lived when Joan's mother (Amelia Bayntun) turns up, but Anthea lets loose a goat that chases Mrs Fussey away. Meanwhile, Peter vows to Harriet that this camping holiday will most definitely be their last.

Bart and Lisa persuade their parents to spend the day at Lake Springfield. While there, Homer attempts parasailing and is involved in an accident when he tells Marge to send him up far too high; as a result, his rope detaches. He crashes through a skylight and into the bedroom of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger's secluded summer home. The couple and Homer become acquainted. Homer convinces the couple to allow him to be their assistant, while keeping it secret that the celebrity couple are in Springfield. Homer, at first, works well with the couple, and they all become good friends. Homer also befriends Ron Howard when he visits the couple, and soon attempts to pitch a screenplay about a "killer robot driving instructor that travels back in time for some reason," as well as a talking pie, the robot's best friend.

Due to his inability to keep a secret, Homer eventually releases the information that Baldwin and Basinger are in Springfield, and the couple's house is discovered by Springfield citizens and the media. Baldwin and Basinger are furious at Homer for breaking their trust, and immediately end their friendship with him and kick him out of their house, and Homer sadly walks to the gate while being pelted with rocks by the citizens. Bitter about losing his celebrity friends and once again feeling like a nobody, Homer begins a mobile museum, entitled "Museum of Hollywood Jerks", which displays the couple's personal belongings in an attempt to expose them as being selfish and uncaring. Basinger, Baldwin, and Howard discover the museum while intending to apologize to Homer. A high-speed chase quickly ensues between Homer, in his mobile museum, and the celebrities in their Hummer. Homer agrees to stop after Howard is injured during the chase. Homer is ordered by a court of law to remain 500 miles away from any celebrity, both living or dead. One month later, Howard pitches Homer's screenplay from earlier to Brian Grazer of 20th Century Fox.

Homer test drives (and destroys) a new electric car so that he can get a free gift, which turns out to be—to his disappointment—free tickets to a preview screening of the new Mel Gibson film, a remake of ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington''. Homer is also disconcerted to discover that Marge thinks Mel is very attractive. At the screening, which Gibson attends unannounced, the audience members are given comment cards to fill in. Homer, incensed by Mel's apparent flirting with Marge, makes the only critical comment; Gibson thinks Homer is the only person brave enough to tell the truth.

Gibson invites Homer and his family to come with him to Hollywood to improve the film. Homer and Gibson work together while the rest of the family explores Hollywood, but Homer's ideas are not useful, and Gibson begins to wonder whether he made a mistake. However, he is enthusiastic when Homer tells him his ideas for the famous "filibuster" scene at the end. The next day, they show the producers the new ending, in which Mr. Smith slaughters not only the President but also every member of the United States Congress in a mindless action movie sequence. The producers are horrified at this, saying that the film was meant to be the studio's prestige picture. They attempt to burn the new ending, but Homer and Gibson, determined to save their film, run away with it.

They meet up with the rest of the family at a car museum, where they steal a replica of the main villain's car from ''The Road Warrior'' and engage in a car chase through the streets of Hollywood, with the film executives on their trail. Homer, taking an idea he believes to be from ''Braveheart'', moons the executives along with Gibson so that they will stop their car out of disgust. Homer and Gibson then attend the film's premiere in Springfield, but at the end the entire audience walks out disgusted, and Jimmy Stewart's granddaughter threatens to sue them. Homer then tries to apologize to Gibson, who does not blame him, concluding there is no place for violence-lovers like themselves in Hollywood; however, after Homer suggests too many more worthless film ideas, Gibson kicks him out of his limousine.

The plot centered around Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke), a former United States Army doctor who served in a MASH unit. After his service ended, Dr. Sloan became a renowned physician and consults with the local police, and can't resist a good mystery or a friend in need. Cases often involved his son, Detective Steve Sloan (Barry Van Dyke), and the elder Sloan's friend Norman Briggs (Michael Tucci in seasons in 1–4), a hospital administrator. Also assisting Dr. Sloan are his colleagues, medical examiner/pathology Dr. Amanda Bentley (Victoria Rowell) and Dr. Jack Stewart (Scott Baio in the first two seasons), who is later replaced by a new resident, Dr. Jesse Travis (Charlie Schlatter from season 3 onward).

The film opens with a series of still photographs appearing over melancholic music, representing the abstract memories of the unseen Herman Raucher, now a middle-aged man. Raucher recalls the summer he spent on Nantucket island in 1942. The film flashes back to a day that then-15-year-old "Hermie" and his friends – jock Oscy and introverted nerd Benjie – spent playing on the beach. They spot a young soldier carrying his new bride into a house on the beach, and are struck by her beauty, especially Hermie, who is unable to get her out of his mind.

They continue spending afternoons on the beach where, in the midst of scantily-clad teenage girls, their thoughts invariably turn to sex. All of them are virgins: Oscy is obsessed with the act of sex, while Hermie finds himself developing romantic interest in the bride, whose husband he spots leaving the island on a water taxi one morning. Later that day, Hermie sees her outside the local market struggling with grocery bags that she subsequently drops and comes to her aid and offers to carry the bags home for her, which she gladly accepts, and in this way gets to meet her.

Meanwhile, Oscy and Hermie, thanks to an illustrated sex manual discovered by Benjie, become convinced they know everything necessary to lose their virginity. Led by Oscy, they test this by going to the cinema and picking up a trio of high-school girls. Oscy stakes out the most attractive one, Miriam, "giving" Hermie her less attractive friend, Aggie, and leaving Benjie with Gloria, a heavyset girl with dental braces. Frightened by the immediacy of sex, Benjie runs off, and is not seen by Hermie or Oscy again that night. Initially the two girls who were with Hermie and Oscy say they will not go in without Benjie's would-be date, but she tells them to go without her, then leaves herself. While they are waiting in the ticket line for the movie, the young war bride appears and greets Hermie and asks him if he can help her move some boxes the next day. The remainder of the evening is devoted to attempting to "put the moves" on Miriam and Aggie while they watch the film. Oscy pursues Miriam, eventually making out with her during the movie, and later learns her ways are well-known on the island. Hermie finds himself succeeding with Aggie, who allows him to grope what he thinks is her breast; Oscy later points out Hermie was fondling her arm.

The next morning, Hermie helps the bride move boxes into her attic, her bare thigh at one point passing by his face on a ladder, and she thanks him by giving him a kiss on the forehead. Later, in preparation for a marshmallow roast on the beach with Aggie and Miriam, Hermie goes to the local drugstore and builds up the nerve to ask the druggist (Lou Frizzell) for condoms. That night, Hermie roasts marshmallows with Aggie while Oscy succeeds in having sex with Miriam between the dunes. He is so successful he sneaks over to Hermie and Aggie to ask for more condoms. Confused as to what is happening, Aggie follows Oscy back, where she sees him having sex with Miriam and runs home, upset.

The next day, Hermie comes across the bride sitting outside her house, writing to her husband. Hermie offers to keep her company that night and she says she looks forward to seeing him, revealing her name is Dorothy. An elated Hermie goes home and puts on a suit, dress shirt, and dress shoes, and heads back to Dorothy's house, running into Oscy on the way; Oscy relates that Miriam's appendix burst and she has been rushed to the mainland. Hermie, convinced he is at the brink of adulthood because of his relationship with Dorothy, brushes Oscy off.

He heads to her house, which is eerily quiet. Going in, he discovers a bottle of whiskey, a record player spinning at the end of a record, several cigarette butts, and a telegram from the government. Dorothy's husband is dead, his plane shot down over France. Dorothy comes out of her bedroom, crying, and Hermie tells her "I'm sorry." She turns on the record player and invites Hermie to dance with her. They kiss and embrace, tears on both their faces. Without speaking, they move to the bedroom, where she draws him into bed and gently makes love with him. Afterward, withdrawing again, Dorothy retires to the porch, leaving Hermie alone in her bedroom. He approaches her on the porch, where she can only quietly say "Good night, Hermie." He leaves, his last image of Dorothy being of her leaning against the railing, as she smokes a cigarette and stares into the night sky.

At dawn Hermie meets Oscy and the two share a moment of reconciliation, with Oscy informing Hermie that Miriam will recover. Oscy, in an uncharacteristic act of sensitivity, lets Hermie be by himself, departing with the words, "Sometimes life is one big pain in the ass."

Trying to sort out what has happened, Hermie goes back to Dorothy's house. Dorothy has fled the island in the night and an envelope is in the front door with Hermie's name on it. Inside is a note from Dorothy, saying she hopes he understands she must go back home as there is much to do. She assures Hermie she will never forget him, and he will find his way of remembering what happened that night. Her note closes with the hope that Hermie may be spared the senseless tragedies of life.

In one of the final scenes, Hermie, suddenly approaching adulthood, is seen looking at Dorothy's old house and the ocean from a distance before he turns to join his friends. The adult Raucher sadly recounts that he has never seen Dorothy again or learned what became of her.

Raucher's narration continues with the notion that kids were different back then, and it took longer for them to figure out how they feel. The audience learns Hermie has rejoined his friends with a rundown of the summer's statistics: they raided the Coast Guard station four times, saw five movies, and had nine days of rain. Raucher concludes with, "Benjie broke his watch, Oscy gave up the harmonica, and in a very special way, I lost Hermie. Forever."

It is an unseasonably hot Easter at church, and no one is interested in Reverend Lovejoy's sermons. When the collection plate is passed around, Homer puts in a chocolate Easter bunny that he found in the dumpster, enraging Reverend Lovejoy, calling it a wicked idol, and provoking him to read the Bible from the beginning. The Simpsons all fall asleep.

Marge's dream

Marge dreams that she and Homer are Adam and Eve. They peacefully live in the Garden of Eden until a snake (Snake Jailbird) tempts Adam into eating dozens of apples from the forbidden tree. He persuades Eve to try one when God (Ned Flanders) witnesses his sin. Even though Adam ate many apples, God only caught Eve eating an apple, and she is therefore banished from the Garden of Eden. Adam is unwilling to come clean, but misses Eve and thinks of a way of getting her back in by digging a tunnel with the help of some of the animals. God's unicorn, named Gary, becomes exhausted from the digging and dies just before God catches Adam trying to smuggle Eve back into the Garden. The death of the unicorn enrages him further, and he expels them both from the Garden of Eden.

Lisa's dream

Lisa imagines she and all the other Springfield Elementary students are Hebrews in ancient Egypt, with the Pharaoh (Principal Skinner) making them build a pyramid. Only Moses (Milhouse) can liberate the Hebrews. When Bart defaces the Pharaoh's sarcophagus, supposedly incited by the burning bush, he gets the other students punished. Lisa helps Moses produce plagues to scare the Pharaoh into freeing the Israelites; they fail. This in turn gets Lisa and Moses thrown in a Pyramid prison. When they escape, Moses gathers all the students and they attempt to leave. When they reach the sea, Lisa has an idea to get across: They simultaneously flush all the Egyptians' toilets to drain the sea. As they cross, the Pharaoh and his guards follow, but the water fills the sea back up and swallows them. They enjoy splashing each other, and then return to the shore. Pleased that they have escaped, Moses asks Lisa what the future holds for the Israelites, but Lisa disappoints Moses when she says that they have to wander the desert for forty years. Moses then asks if it is going to be smooth sailing for the Jews after that. Rather than disappoint Moses again with news of the ongoing anti-Semitism that will plague the Jews for many centuries, she distracts the crowd by sending them to search for manna.

Homer's dream

Homer pictures himself as King Solomon. Lenny and Carl fight over ownership of a pie. Solomon cuts it in half, sentences Lenny and Carl to death, and then eats the pie, before presiding over a civil case between Jesus and Checker Chariot.

Bart's dream

Bart sees himself as King David, who kills Goliath, but has not won the war yet: Nelson is Goliath's son, Goliath II, who has killed Methuselah (Grampa), David's oldest friend in revenge. In retaliation, David challenges Goliath II, but having no stones to sling at him, David loses and is catapulted from the city. David then meets Ralph, a shepherd, who claims he can kill Goliath II. After Ralph is presumed dead, David then trains with Ralph's sheep to try to slay Goliath II. Having to climb up the enormous Tower of Babel beforehand, David manages to subdue Goliath II by throwing a lit lantern down his throat. Goliath II is surprisingly still alive, but is quickly killed by Ralph's gravestone, hurled by Ralph himself, who also survived. Much to his shock, David is sent to jail as the townspeople claim that Goliath II was the best King they ever had, building roads, libraries and hospitals.

Epilogue

As the family wakes up, they find themselves alone in the church. Upon exiting they realize that the Apocalypse has come; fire rains from a red sky, and the Four Horsemen ride past. The Flanders ascend into Heaven, but the Simpsons do not; Lisa begins to ascend, but Homer grabs her leg and pulls her back down. Instead, the Simpsons descend via a staircase into Hell, where Homer follows the delicious scent of barbecue only to be disappointed by the lack of junk food as "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC plays over the credits.

After a long morning at church, the Simpsons go to the grocery store Eatie Gourmet's to take advantage of free samples in lieu of a Sunday brunch and Bart's suggestion that the family go Catholic so they can have "communion wafers and booze". At the store, Homer wants to buy a lobster, but since the larger ones are too expensive at $8 a pound, he decides to buy a baby lobster at $8 and fatten it up to 5lb ($80) for him to eat. Homer also tries to look for normal flavors of ice cream among the unusually named flavors at the "Ken & Harry's" factory plant, so he puts Lisa into the freezer to look for some in the back, which ultimately causes her to catch a cold.

Although Lisa hates the idea, Marge wants her to stay home from school for the next few days to recover from her cold. Lisa is derisive about playing one of Bart's video games in order to pass the time, but soon becomes addicted to it, and consequently ignores the homework on ''The Wind in the Willows'' that she is given by Ralph. She even fakes the perpetuation of her illness so that she can continue playing the game. When Marge finally compels her to return to school, Lisa realizes she is unprepared for a test on the book, having not read it. In a panic she visits Bart, who brings her to Nelson, from whom she gets the test answers. Miss Hoover grades the tests over lunch, and Lisa is awarded the rare grade of A+++. Meanwhile, Homer becomes attached to his lobster and names him Pinchy. When the time comes to cook Pinchy, Homer cannot bring himself to do it, and instead declares him a part of the family.

The family is extremely proud of Lisa's "achievement", although she is guilt-ridden at having cheated. The next day at school, Principal Skinner informs Lisa that her test grade has brought Springfield Elementary's GPA up to the state's minimum standard, and they now qualify for a basic assistance grant. Lisa admits that she cheated on the test, but Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers persuade her to keep it a secret so the school can keep the money. During the presentation, Lisa says that she understands how desperately the school needs the basic assistance grant money, but also says that the truth is more important, confessing that she cheated. After she leaves the auditorium, however, it is revealed that Skinner, Chalmers and Bart have fooled Lisa by staging a fake presentation before the real one as the "comptroller" is Otto in a rubber mask. When the real comptroller arrives, Bart manipulates a puppet of Lisa, allowing the school to keep the money. Meanwhile, Homer discovers that he has accidentally cooked Pinchy while giving him a hot bath. Later that night, a distraught Homer eats Pinchy, finding him delicious.

Having robbed and thoroughly destroyed a gas station, a group of street thugs with gripes against society rob a gas station convenience store (as the title card reads, "Why do they attack the gas station? Just because!"). But, since the manager had the foresight and sense to stash away the money, the four gang members take the manager and the employees hostage, dispensing gas on all the customers.

A range of characters stop for gas throughout the film, not all with good intentions, but with ludicrous results. A gang of school bullies come by the gas station to harass one of the employees for money (they end up being taken hostages, while the bullied employee ends up being forced into a fist fight with one of the bullies... and wins) The police come by demanding free gasoline (the four thugs refuse, as the police clearly aren't doing their job). A customer refuses to pay for a full tank of gas, only asking for half a tank, and is taken hostage. More school bullies come by the gas station, seeking revenge for the first fight, but then they too are taken hostage. The four titular thugs also order unusually large amounts of food from a Chinese restaurant, and the deliveryman becomes suspicious.

It's not long until they start attracting the wrong kind of attention, which leads to a violent confrontation with the police and further gang members. The fight ends when No Mark sprays everyone in the chaos with gasoline and threatens to throw a lighter at them. The four thugs escape while everyone else remains panicked at the gas station.

During the credits, four scenes show what the characters do after the events in the film: Paint appears to be a successful painter, but he angers a customer when he celebrates by spilling red paint all over one of the paintings. Rockstar restarts his career as a lead singer, and he bosses his members as they prepare for their next performance. Bulldozer becomes a policeman, and he scolds teenagers for smoking. He punishes the kids the same way he dealt with the hostages, and warns them about their futures by alluding to his own past. No Mark joins a baseball team, but accidentally hits the catcher while pitching.

Rukmani, an old woman, reflects on her life. The educated daughter of a village headman fallen on hard times, she is married at the age of 12 to Nathan, a tenant farmer. Nathan treats her with kindness and respect as she learns the chores her new life requires. Within a year they have a beautiful daughter, Ira, and good rice harvests. During the next six years, Rukmani does not conceive. Troubled that she cannot produce a son for Nathan, Rukmani visits her ill mother and there meets Kenny, a foreign doctor. He treats her infertility without Nathan's knowledge. In quick succession, Rukmani bears five sons. With each birth, however, the family has a little less to eat. When a tannery is built nearby, unpleasant changes come to village life. Rukmani's two oldest sons eventually work there. They help the family a great deal with their wages but are eventually dismissed for being ringleaders in a labor strike.

The year they arrange a good marriage for Ira, monsoon rains destroy their crops. Rukmani sacrifices her savings to buy food for the family. Ira's husband returns Ira to her parents’ home because she is barren. Again Rukmani turns to Kenny without her husband's knowledge, this time to help Ira conceive. His treatments are too late, however, since Ira's husband has taken another woman. Rukmani becomes pregnant again and bears her last son, Kuti. Caring for Kuti lifts Ira out of her depression and despair until the crops fail from drought and the family once again goes hungry. They sell most of their possessions just to pay half of what they owe the landowner for their lease. Reduced to foraging for roots and leaves, the family begins to weaken and starve. Kenny secures a servant's position in the city for Rukmani's third son. Rukmani's fourth son is killed stealing a calfskin from the tannery. Kuti suffers the most from hunger, and Ira prostitutes herself to feed him. Despite her efforts, he dies. A good rice harvest arrives too late to save Rukmani's sons.

Kenny returns from one of his long absences with money raised to build a hospital in the village. He offers to train Rukmani's remaining son, Selvam, as his assistant. Some villagers speculate that Kenny is kind to Rukmani because they have an illicit relationship. Kunthi, a neighborhood wife who became a prostitute, spreads this rumor out of spite. When they were both young, Nathan fathered Kunthi's two sons. Kunthi uses this as leverage over them until Rukmani learns the truth and forgives Nathan. Now, as Nathan nears fifty, he has no sons left to work the land. He suffers from rheumatism and debilitating fevers. Rukmani and Ira try to help, but they are not strong enough. Ira has a baby to care for, an albino boy conceived in prostitution but loved nonetheless. The family experiences its greatest loss when the land agent tells Nathan and Rukmani their land has been sold to the despised tannery. No one else will lease land to a man as old and ill as Nathan, and Rukmani and Nathan must leave their home of 30 years to live with to their son Murugan in the city. They leave Ira and their grandchild under Selvam's care.

Their possessions reduced to the few bundles they carry, Nathan and Rukmani try to find Murugan in the city. They rest one night at a temple, where thieves steal their bundles and money. A leprous street urchin named Puli helps them find the home of Kenny's doctor friend. They learn that Murugan has not worked there for the past two years and that he left the position for better wages at the Collector's house. At the Collector's, Murugan's wife informs them that Murugan has deserted her. Her older boy, their grandson, is thin with hunger. Her starving baby is too little to be Murugan's son. Rukmani sees that she and Nathan cannot impose upon their daughter-in-law. They return to the temple, where food is distributed each night to the destitute.

Rukmani and Nathan dream of home but have no means to make the trip. Rukmani tries to get work as a letter reader but earns only enough to buy rice cakes. Puli takes them to a stone quarry where there is better-paying work. He helps them learn to break stones, and they come to rely on him. They entrust him with their earnings, and, as they save, they begin to hope. One evening, Rukmani splurges on extra food and toys for Puli and her grandson. When she returns to Nathan at the temple, she expects him to be angry, but instead he is violently ill. During a week of monsoon rains, Nathan continues to work in the quarry despite his fevers and chills. One evening, after she gets paid, Rukmani begins to plan for a cart to take them home. Hurrying to catch up with Nathan, she finds him collapsed in the mud in the street. Kind strangers help carry him to the temple, where he dies in her arms after reminding her of their happiness together. After his death, Rukmani rashly promises Puli his health if he returns to the country with her, a promise Kenny and Selvam will help her keep. She introduces Puli to Selvam and Ira as the son she and Nathan adopted while they were away. Demonstrating hope and compassion, Ira hastens to prepare a meal for Puli, and Selvam promises his mother they will manage.

Homer takes the family to a ghost town tourist destination, complaining about how out of the way it is. On their way, their car breaks down in front of the Springfield Retirement Castle, leading Grampa to wrongly assume they have come to visit him on his birthday. Homer is forced to take Grampa with them. Grampa drinks too much sarsaparilla, but Homer refuses to stop to let him use the bathroom, wanting to get home to watch an episode of ''Inside the Actors Studio''. After several hours in the car without stopping, Grampa's kidneys explode.

Dr. Hibbert informs the family that the only way Grampa can be saved is if Homer donates one of his kidneys because Homer has conditions and he is a perfect match. Homer agrees, to the admiration his family, but becomes frightened after learning the risks from Moe, and runs away from the surgery room via the window.

Guilt-ridden, Homer deems himself unworthy of living amongst civilized people and decides to start a new life aboard Captain McAllister's ship. He meets several strange people who have their own tales of misery. Homer tells them his story, but the others are appalled and kick him off of the ship. Homer drifts back to shore, where he witnesses a father and son build a sandcastle and laments his relationship with his own father and children. Homer decides to rectify his mistake and takes off for the hospital.

Homer arrives in time, reconciling with Grampa and apologizing, but panics and flees again at the last minute. His mad dash from the hospital is stopped by an oncoming car carrier. While the driver, Hans Moleman, hits the brakes in time, one of its cars slides off and lands on Homer. Homer wakes up in a hospital bed and is greeted by Dr. Hibbert, Marge and the children. When Grampa appears in the doorway alive and well, Homer discovers that while he was unconscious, the doctors took out one of his kidneys. Homer is angry at first, but settles down after his family tells him he did the right thing for Grampa. They engage in a group hug, and Homer proceeds to give Bart's lower back (where the kidney is located) a long pat, considering him as a potential donor for himself, in which Bart realizes of what his father is thinking.

While watching television, the Simpson family sees a commercial for the "Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con", a science-fiction convention featuring Mark Hamill and others, and decide to attend. A riot breaks out at the convention after Hamill offers the chance for someone in the crowd to act out a scene with him. Homer notices that Hamill and Mayor Quimby are in danger of being trampled due to the riot and quickly rescues them. In gratitude, Quimby employs Homer as his bodyguard, whilst firing his security detail for cloud watching instead of rescuing him.

Homer begins training at "Leavelle's Bodyguard Academy," where he quickly graduates and begins his new job. Unbeknownst to Homer, Quimby made a deal with Fat Tony shortly after Homer was employed to provide milk to the schools of Springfield. Homer discovers the milk is from rats and confronts Quimby, accidentally knocking him out a window. Discovering Quimby hanging from a ledge, Homer makes him promise to expose Fat Tony in return for being pulled to safety.

Quimby organizes the arrests of Fat Tony and his men, but Fat Tony threatens Quimby's life. Scared at having to defend Quimby due to the death threats, Homer attempts to reassure the Mayor by taking him to a dinner theater to see Hamill portray Nathan Detroit in ''Guys and Dolls''. Homer discovers Fat Tony is there alongside his henchman, Louie, having been released on bail, and unwittingly made the situation worse when he did what Fat Tony told him to do by planting a kiss on Mayor Quimby, oblivious to the fact that he had given the Mayor the kiss of death. Louie attempts to stab Quimby but is stopped in a scuffle with Homer after Hamill advises Homer to "use the forks." However, Fat Tony is still able to savagely beat Quimby with a baseball bat. Hamill says to Homer that Quimby will be fine, and Homer helps Hamill escape from the paparazzi.

Summary

''Destinos'' recounts the story of Los Angeles-based lawyer Raquel Rodríguez who is hired by the family of Fernando Castillo (Augusto Benedico). He had discovered that his first wife, Rosario, did not die in the Spanish Civil War as he had believed, but had survived and had an unknown child. In the course of her investigation of the case, Raquel travels to a number of Spanish-speaking areas — Seville and Madrid, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; San Juan and San Germán, Puerto Rico; and Mexico — has a number of adventures and mishaps, meets a love interest (Arturo Puig) and faces a number of melodramatic conflicts.

Recurring plot elements include Raquel traveling in pursuit of the investigation, letters (primarily to determine last known addresses of people), comic mix-ups, and death (although nobody dies during the series, many characters are found to have died before then, and Don Fernando is on the verge of dying).

Details

'''The beginning:''' In a large estate called La Gavia outside Mexico City, a very old Don Fernando has been keeping a secret for some time: he received a letter, from one Señora Teresa Suárez of Seville, Spain, stating that his first wife, Rosario, did not die in the Spanish Civil War as he had thought.

Fernando's (unspecified) medical problems are increasing, however, and when he starts seeing hallucinations of Rosario he finally decides to act. He gathers his entire extended family, which includes the families of his children, Juan, Carlos, Ramon, and Mercedes, together and explains to them that he wants to find out what happened to Rosario, who was pregnant when they lost contact. His brother Pedro hires Raquel, a lawyer of his acquaintance, to investigate.

'''Spain Arc:''' Raquel first travels to Seville to meet Sra. Suárez. She meets and spends time with family members, son Miguel, and Sra. Suarez' grandson Jaime, and soon learns from them that Sra. Suárez has since moved to Madrid and won't talk by telephone. Raquel travels to Madrid; after a comic mix-up of identities and hotel rooms, where she is thought to be the winner of the Spanish lottery, she then meets Sra. Suárez's son and is taken to see her. She learns that Rosario has moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina and is given the address from Rosario's last letter. She also learns that Rosario had likewise thought Fernando had died in the war and that Rosario and Fernando have a son named Angel. In parting, Sra. Suárez's last words to Raquel prove prophetic: "Life is not all work: you also need to dedicate some time to your heart!"

'''Argentina Arc:''' Raquel then travels to Argentina to search for Rosario. When she finds that Rosario no longer lives at the address on the letter Sra. Suárez gave her (the Estancia Santa Susana, a real tourist ranch near Buenos Aires), she follows a lead from a local gaucho, happens upon the office of psychiatrist Dr. Arturo Iglesias, and soon finds out he is Angel's half-brother and a son of Rosario. Arturo takes Raquel to the family crypt, and there, Raquel discovers that Rosario had actually died. For years, Arturo has been estranged from Angel, whom he blamed for his father's deadly heart attack. Arturo and Raquel begin a long search for acquaintances of Angel in his last known location, an Italian seaport neighborhood of Buenos Aires called La Boca. Armed only with a picture of a 20-year-old Angel, they eventually find an outgoing old sailor named Héctor Condotti, who remembers his good friend Angel. After several days, during which Raquel and Arturo start to develop a romance, Héctor produces a letter with Angel's address in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

'''Puerto Rico Arc:''' Raquel then flies to San Juan and goes to the address in Old San Juan. From a neighbor, Raquel finds out that Angel died only a few months ago and had a wife who died several years before. While photographing the grave of Angel, Raquel runs into Angel's daughter, Angela. She tells Angela the whole story, including that she has a grandfather in Mexico and an uncle in Argentina she has never heard of. Raquel also finds out that Angela has a brother, Roberto, living in Mexico. Angela's stern aunt Olga does not want her to travel to Mexico with Raquel, but after a trip to see her grandmother in San Germán, her grandmother gives her blessing to travel. Along the two-hour trip to San Germán, they have car trouble and must stay overnight in Ponce.

Finally, we meet Angela's boyfriend and nauseating ''mujeriego'' ("womanizer"), Jorge. He makes several clumsy passes at Raquel. A mild fight between Raquel and Angela ensues; not because Raquel tells Angela about the passes (she decides not to based on advice from her mother), but because Angela thinks the world of him and wants to give him a significant amount of money to start a theater. Nonetheless, Raquel and Angela are about to travel together to Mexico when they learn that Angela's brother Roberto has been trapped in an archaeological excavation in Mexico.

'''Mexico/Rescuing Roberto Arc:''' Raquel and Angela travel to Mexico, where they quickly drive to a small town where Roberto is trapped in a pre-Columbian excavation. Arturo was to meet them in Mexico City, but they cannot get in contact with him, so he spends several days in Mexico City wondering what happened to them, while they stay at a local church. Several episodes (possibly the slowest in the series) pass where Raquel and Angela are waiting for Roberto to be rescued and Arturo is wondering what happened to Raquel. Finally, Roberto is rescued and Angela and Roberto meet their uncle Arturo.

'''Love Triangle Arc:''' After Raquel calls her mother back in Los Angeles to catch up, her mother hatches a scheme to get Raquel back together with Luis, an old boyfriend. Luis called and talked to Raquel's mother and began trying to get back into Raquel's life. Luis impressed Raquel's mother with his apparent maturity and wealth, so, despite her advice to Raquel not to get mixed up in other people's lives, and despite her husband's misgivings, she invites Luis down to Mexico unbeknownst to Raquel. Arturo and Luis meet, resulting in some tense moments, but they generally get along well, leaving Raquel wondering what is happening.

Finally, Arturo meets Raquel's parents. Arturo finds Raquel's father is amiable but her mother is clearly not. Raquel had by now figured out that her mother asked Luis to come down to Mexico, and a fight between the two ensues. Her mother finally admits that the only reason she's opposed to Arturo is that she's afraid that Raquel, their only daughter, will move to Argentina with Arturo. After Raquel assures her she will not leave her parents alone, her mother has a change of heart. When Luis presents Raquel with tickets to go away for a romantic weekend with him, she tells him that there is no chance. Luis leaves a good-bye note for Raquel and returns to the United States.

'''Family Problems Arc:''' Meanwhile, after Don Fernando is transported to Guadalajara to see a medical specialist, a financial irregularity comes to light. Don Fernando's son Carlos has been embezzling money from the family company's office in Miami. It turns out that his wife, Gloria, is a gambling addict and Carlos took the money to bail her out. The whole family company (including the La Gavia ranch) is endangered. Because of this, they close the Miami office and consider selling the ranch. Another monetary difficulty arises, this time between Angela and Roberto, over the fact that she wants to give her part of the money from the sale of their father's home to her Jorge. Avuncular Arturo starts playing mediator and tries to talk them through the situation.

'''Doubts (Review Arc):''' Finally, they all meet Don Fernando. It is a happy meeting, though Fernando is near death, so when Don Fernando suddenly walks in on their reunion dinner fully dressed and looking quite a bit stronger, they are all confused. To their amazement, Don Fernando tells them that he doubts their story: he does not believe that Arturo is really his step-son and Angela and Roberto are really his grandchildren. This device gives Raquel an opportunity to review the entire series, which takes four episodes.

'''At Long Last (Final Arc):''' At last, Don Fernando is convinced, not just because of Raquel's recounting and documentation, but because Angela produces a matching wedding cup that was passed from Rosario to Angel, to Angela's grandmother, to Angela. Another plot element is tied up when it turns out that Don Fernando has been squirreling away money all along, with the intention of turning the family ranch into an orphanage after his death. Carlos loves kids, having taken care of their kids while Gloria was out gambling, so they name Carlos the leader of the new orphanage.

'''Finale:''' To wrap up the series, Arturo expresses his interest to move to Los Angeles to be with Raquel, since he has no family and few friends in Argentina.

Buffy surprises Angel with a visit to Los Angeles. Their emotion-driven discussion is interrupted by the arrival of a Mohra demon. Angel stabs the demon, but it retreats to the sewers. Buffy and Angel hesitantly follow, discussing their future as a couple and the feelings about each other. They split up; Angel meets the demon on his route. As they fight, the Mohra demon cuts Angel. Angel kills the demon. Its blood, eventually found to be the Blood of Eternity, merges with his own, and he becomes human.

Realizing what this means for their relationship, Angel spends the night with Buffy. However, Doyle shares the news that the Mohra demon is alive: the demon's rejuvenating blood also worked on itself. So, Angel sets out with Doyle to kill the demon, without Buffy's much-needed supernatural assistance. Angel fails miserably until Buffy shows up and slays the demon. Angel realizes how useless he is in his human form, and asks the Oracles to turn back time to make him a "demon with a soul" once more. They consent, and time is set back twenty four hours despite a heartbroken Buffy begging Angel to remain human before the Mohra demon is killed, with only Angel as a witness to the night he and Buffy shared in the erased timeline.

Riley and a couple of friends, Forrest and Graham, watch Buffy as she manages to make a mess of the soda machine and yogurt machine. They comment on what a catch she is, and how interested they all are, but Riley is reluctant to make fun. Giles and Xander discover the commando guys are human and that their help will not be needed, again. When Buffy decides to go to a party with Willow to hopefully cheer her up, Giles and Xander decide to patrol for her.

Spike, having been knocked out by a Taser at the beginning of the previous episode, wakes up in a facility where various types of demons are held captive behind electrically charged barriers. A packet of blood drops from the ceiling into Spike's cell but before he drinks it, a vampire in the next cell - Tom, captured in "The Freshman" - warns him that doctors starve the vampires and then feed them drugged blood before doing experiments on them.

In class, Willow asks about Oz but Riley and Professor Walsh inform her that he dropped out of class and will not likely be come back, saddening her. Buffy approaches the professor and tells her off for her harsh behavior, prompting Walsh to comment to Riley that she likes her. Forrest asks Parker about Buffy, and when Parker vulgarly brags about having sex with her, Riley punches him, realizing that he likes Buffy. He visits Willow and asks her advice in wooing Buffy; Willow, still emotionally distressed, questions his motives, but eventually relents, listing some of Buffy's likes and interests.

Spike lies on the floor of his cell, pretending to have drunk the drugged blood, and when the doctors come to get him he attacks. He escapes the Initiative and returns to Harmony's lair to visit her, then immediately leaves to kill the Slayer. Xander later discovers Harmony crying, burning some of Spike's things. After a brief inept slap-fight, Harmony tells Xander that Spike is back.

At the party, Willow tries to help Riley flirt with Buffy, but his attempts are thwarted when Xander arrives to inform Buffy that Spike has returned. Riley is also called away; he and Forrest break away from the party and, after passing through several electronic checkpoints, go down a hidden elevator to the underground facility where Spike had been held. The operation's head, Walsh, informs them that Spike has escaped, and Riley gives orders to three teams that he sends out all over Sunnydale to find Spike. When Riley's team spots Buffy sitting on a bench, Riley refuses to allow them to use her as bait; each unaware of the other's secret identity, Riley and Buffy try to send each other out of harm's way.

Meanwhile, Spike has found Buffy's dorm through the school computer system. Willow, moping in her room, hears a knock on the door and invites the person in without thinking. Spike swaggers through the door and attempts to bite Willow, but is stopped by an intense pain in his head. After a short, calm dialogue with multiple metaphorical references to impotence, Willow hits him with a lamp and runs out just as Riley and friends cut the power and then work their way up to the dorm room. They capture Spike but, while they consider whether to take Willow or not, Spike breaks free. Buffy arrives and fights Riley and his friends while Spike manages to escape through a window. Unable to make out the identity of their attacker, Riley orders them to retreat.

Walsh is not happy with what happened or with Riley's report on the event. It is revealed that Spike cannot harm a human without feeling pain in his head thanks to an implant they placed there. Riley catches up with Buffy and they talk. Buffy tells him he is a little peculiar, a term used by Riley before he realized he liked Buffy, and he responds that he can "live with that".

As Gerald and Sheila Broflovski are getting ready to attend Mr. Mackey's meteor shower party, Kyle and his brother Ike are preparing to go to Jewbilee, a Boy Scout-esque camp for Jewish boys. Kyle invites Kenny to attend, even though Gerald and Sheila warn Kyle that Kenny may not be accepted because he is not Jewish. Kyle persuades them to let Kenny come along, and they explain the basic tenets of Judaism during the car ride to the camp. After dropping the boys off, Gerald and Sheila drive to Mr. Mackey's party.

The camp attendees are divided into two age groups, Jew Scouts (older boys) and Squirts (younger, similar to the Cub Scouts). Following the induction ceremony, the boys make arts-and-crafts projects to honor the prophet Moses, whose spirit manifests itself on the site. Kenny is banished from the camp after Moses identifies him as a non-Jew; as he tries to return home, police officers and ATF agents drive past and away from Mr. Mackey's house, having mistaken it for a cult meeting place. Kenny returns to the camp only to find that Garth, one of its "elders" (leaders), has trapped Moses in a conch shell and locked the Jew Scouts and the other elders in a cabin. Garth, secretly an antisemite, intends to summon the spirit of Haman and force Jews into servitude.

Meanwhile, the Squirts' leader, Shlomo, mobilizes the troop to help catch a bear in the surrounding woods so he can earn his "Chutzpah" merit badge. The bear captures one Squirt after another, and Shlomo continues to devise plans that ultimately fail. After all the Squirts have been captured, Shlomo seeks out the chief elder but stumbles across Garth's plan to summon Haman; he tries to free Moses, but Garth shoots and wounds him. Kenny is captured by the bear as well, but finds that instead of harming the Squirts, it has brought them to celebrate the birthday of its cub. Kenny leads the Squirts back to camp, finding the summoning ritual nearly completed. As the Squirts form a human ladder to reach the cabin keys and free the captives, Kenny disrupts the ritual and smashes the conch with his own head, freeing Moses but fatally injuring himself. Moses destroys Haman, kills Garth, and declares a new annual holiday in which the Jew Scouts will gather at the camp and honor Kenny's sacrifice by making arts-and-crafts projects.

A joint task force operation between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Army has been formed to dismantle one of the largest drug cartels operating in South America. Multiple attempts to assault the cartel's mountainous compound have been thwarted by a (fictional) Scorpion-attack helicopter (based on MD500 helicopter) piloted by a mercenary pilot, Eric Stoller (Bert Rhine). After having several aircraft shot down, most notably a pair of UH–60 Black Hawks and their AH–1 Cobra escorts, the army turns to the new AH–64 Apache attack helicopter, which can match its enemies' maneuverability and firepower.

Pilot Jake Preston (Nicolas Cage) is subsequently enlisted in the Apache air-to-air combat training program. Earlier, Preston was the sole survivor of a previous air-attack by Stoller. Upon his arrival at the training course, he encounters his ex-girlfriend Billie Lee Guthrie (Sean Young), who broke off their relationship to pursue a separate career flying OH–58 Kiowa scout helicopters which often work alongside the Apache as target identifiers and designators. Jake's arrogance and loose improvised style quickly earn him the mixed respect and chagrin of veteran pilot and flight instructor Brad Little (Tommy Lee Jones). During the training schedule, Preston is revealed to be suffering from an eye dominance disability, which makes it difficult for him to utilize the Apache's visual input. Using an unconventional but effective training method, Little helps Preston deal with his handicap.

A formation of military aircraft consisting of four Apaches and Guthrie's Kiowa, flies down to South America to provide air support for a DEA mission to hunt down and arrest drug cartel leaders. However, they are soon attacked at their base camp, and one Apache is destroyed. With another Apache left to protect the DEA personnel, Preston, Little and Guthrie attempt to seek out Stoller. They soon locate his position, as well as a pair of Draken jet fighter aircraft who are also protecting the cartel. Little destroys one aircraft, but is shot down in aerial combat by Stoller. He survives, but his Apache is disabled. Stoller later targets Guthrie, but Preston reaches their coordinates and engages him in a fierce dogfight. Using the Apache's manoeuvrability near a mountainous peak, Preston manages to trick Stoller into flying past him; then attacks and destroys his helicopter. Meanwhile, Guthrie uses one of the Stinger missiles onboard Little's downed Apache to destroy the remaining enemy aircraft. With no air support, the cartel's defenses cease, and their leaders are later apprehended. As an injured Little is loaded onto a Medevac helicopter, he expresses pride in both Preston and Guthrie.

After the episode's end credits have scrolled, a BBC voiceover announces that there will be "Five more minutes of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus.''" In the ensuing sketch, an unnamed man portrayed by Michael Palin approaches a receptionist (Rita Davies) and says he would like to have an argument. She directs him to a Mr. Barnard (identified as Mr. Vibrating in episode transcripts), who occupies an office along the corridor. Palin initially enters the wrong office, in which a man played by Graham Chapman hurls angry insults at him. Palin says that he came into Chapman's room for an argument, causing Chapman to apologize and clarify that his office is dedicated to "abuse". Even after politely sending Palin on his way, Chapman calls him a "stupid git".

Palin enters the next office, which contains Mr. Barnard/Vibrating, played by John Cleese. Palin asks if he is in the right office for an argument, to which Cleese responds that he has already told him he is. Palin disputes this, and the men begin an argumentative back-and-forth. Their exchange is a very shallow one, consisting mostly of petty and contradictory "is/isn't" responses, to the point that Palin feels he is not getting what he paid for. They then argue over the very definition of an argument until Cleese rings a bell and announces that Palin's paid time has concluded.

Palin is dissatisfied, and tries to argue with Cleese over whether he really got as much time as he paid for, but Cleese insists he is not allowed to argue unless Palin pays for another session. When Palin finally relents and pays more money for additional arguing time, Cleese continues to insist he has not paid, and another argument breaks out over that issue. Palin believes he has caught Cleese in a contradiction—arguing without being paid—but Cleese counters that he could be arguing in his spare time. Frustrated, Palin storms out of the room.

The original broadcast version features Palin exploring other rooms in the clinic; he enters a room marked "Complaints" hoping to lodge a complaint, only to find that it is a complaint ''clinic'' in which Eric Idle is complaining about his shoes. The next office contains Terry Jones offering "being-hit-on-the-head lessons", which Palin finds a stupid concept. Eventually, a series of policemen enter the room to enter the sketch, one remarking on the skits’ tendency to end in policemen halting the skit. As he realizes he is a part of the skits’ absurdity, another policeman enters the room, and the sketch ends.

In the tale, a spoiled princess reluctantly befriends the Frog Prince, whom she met after dropping a golden ball into a pond under a linden tree, and he retrieves it for her in exchange for her friendship. The Frog Prince, who is under a wicked fairy's spell, magically transforms back into a handsome prince. In the original Grimm version of the story, the frog's spell was broken when the princess threw the frog against the wall, at which he transformed back into a prince, while in modern versions the transformation is triggered by the princess kissing the frog.

In other early versions, it was sufficient for the frog to spend the night on the princess' pillow.

The frog prince also has a loyal servant named Henry (or Harry) who had three iron bands affixed around his heart to prevent it from breaking in his sadness when his master got under a spell. When the frog prince reverts to his human form, Henry's overwhelming happiness causes all three bands to break, freeing his heart from its bonds.Lily Owens, ed. (1981). ''The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales''. p.3. Avenel Books.

File:The Princess Meets The Frog By The Fountain - Illustration For The Frog Prince by Walter Crane - Walter Crane - ABDAG003354.jpg|''The Princess meets the Frog by the Fountain'' by Walter Crane, 1874, Aberdeen Art Gallery File:The Frog Asks To Be Allowed To Enter The Castle - Illustration For The Frog Prince by Walter C ... - Walter Crane - ABDAG003355.jpg|''The Frog Asks To Be Allowed To Enter The Castle'' by Walter Crane, 1874, Aberdeen Art Gallery File:The Frog Shares The Princess' Meal - Illustration For The Frog Prince by Walter Crane - Walter Crane - ABDAG003356.jpg|''The Frog shares the Princess' Meal'' by Walter Crane, 1874, Aberdeen Art Gallery File:The Frog Turns Into A Prince - Illustration For The Frog Prince by Walter Crane - Walter Crane - ABDAG003357.jpg|''The Frog Turns Into A Prince'' by Walter Crane, 1874, Aberdeen Art Gallery File:The Wedding Procession - Illustration For The Frog Prince by Walter Crane - Walter Crane - ABDAG003358.jpg|''The Wedding Procession'' by Walter Crane, 1874, Aberdeen Art Gallery

Players take the role of Sanjuro Makabe, a Mobile Combat Armor (MCA) pilot and a commander in the '''U'''nited '''C'''orporate '''A'''uthority (UCA) army, during a brutal war for the planet Cronus and its precious liquid reactant, kato. Players must locate and assassinate a rebel leader known only as Gabriel. Prior to the game's first level, Sanjuro had lost his brother, Toshiro; his best friend, Baku; and his girlfriend, Kura, during the war. He is now driven by revenge and his romantic relationship with Kathryn, Kura's sister; in Sanjuro's words, "It's kinda complicated."

At two pivotal points in the game, the player also has the opportunity to make a crucial decision, which can alter the game's ending. While the first decision is almost purely a narrative decision, the second decision actually determines who the player will be facing the rest of the game and how the game will end.

Trevor Hale is attractive, witty, uncommonly intelligent—and he may be Cupid, the Greco-Roman god of erotic love. Probably not, but he thinks so. Trevor's insistence that he is Cupid lands him in a mental hospital, where he meets psychologist Claire Allen, a renowned authority on romance. Trevor tells Claire that he has been stripped of his godly powers by Zeus, and exiled from Mount Olympus as a punishment for arrogance. To win his way back among the gods, Trevor must unite 100 couples in everlasting love, without his bow and arrows. Claire does not believe in Cupid, but she risks her career by releasing Trevor from the hospital, assuming responsibility for his behavior. Trevor finds work as a bartender, and regularly disrupts Claire's group therapy sessions. All the while, he plots his campaign to promote romance, and earn his way back to Olympus. While encouraging sexual abandon in others, Trevor remains chaste; he believes sex with a mortal will confine him to Earth forever.

A rare collection of artifacts from an archeological dig in Egypt are brought to the famous Musée du Louvre in Paris. While experts are using a laser scanning device to determine the age of a sarcophagus, a spirit escapes and makes its way into the museum's electrical system. Museum curator Faussier (Jean-Francois Balmer) brings in noted Egyptologist, Glenda Spencer (Julie Christie), to examine the findings, and she announces that the mummy inside the coffin was actually the evil spirit Belphegor.

Meanwhile, Lisa (Sophie Marceau), a young woman who lives across the street from the museum, follows her runaway cat into the Louvre after closing time. She accidentally receives an electrical shock that transfers the stray spirit into her body. Soon Lisa is disguising herself as Belphegor and making off with the rare Egyptian treasures on display at the museum, convinced that they are rightfully hers. When Belphegor proves more than a match for the Louvre's security forces, renowned detective Verlac (Michel Serrault) is brought out of retirement to find out why the museum's Egyptian collection has been shrinking.

The picture opens with the District Attorney (Adolfo Yanelli), listening to voices from a recording in the black box retrieved from an air disaster. The docudrama then tells the story of director Enrique Piñeyro, who plays himself as T, a principled pilot at LAPA, an Argentine airline, upset over his company's disregard of basic safety regulations in order to save money.

When T complains, he is labeled a troublemaker by the airline company. Soon he's chastised by his fellow pilots. When things get worse he walks out of the cockpit after multiple navigational instruments are inoperative and refuses to fly. The company simply replaces him and gets another pilot to fly. Increasingly frustrated and worried about a crash, T finally writes an angry letter to his superiors, warning that a crash is inevitable if action is not taken.

The letter is leaked to the media, and the airline is sold, but the new owners want Pineyro to retract his statement. Complicating matters, their public relations person is Marcela (Mercedes Morán), a love interest from his youth. Even though Marcela is married, T pursues her. T's story is inter-cut with the District Attorney who is looking into the LAPA flight 3142 crash, and starts receiving death threats. Yanelli's character manages to bring the company’s chief executives and the Argentine Air Force authorities before a criminal court, establishing a unique precedent in commercial aviation history.

The story is set in the fictional Caribbean island and British colony of Cascara. Widely ignored by the British Government, media, and general public, local Governor Baxter Thwaites is having an easy life in his small and peaceful colony. That peace is disturbed when an abandoned oil rig starts delivering water - at the standard of the finest table water brands (and laxative companies, as it contains a substance that makes you "shit like clockwork"). Different parties, including Downing Street, the Cascara Liberation Front, the White House, French bottled water producers, and Cuban guerrillas take interest in the future of the island and threaten to destroy the cosy way of life enjoyed by the island's inhabitants.

Inside the TARDIS, the Fourth Doctor, Romana, Adric, and K9, while travelling between E-Space and the normal universe (N-Space), become trapped in a white null space between the universes. Elsewhere in the void, a slave vessel, run by Captain Rorvik, has also become trapped. It uses members of the leonine Tharil race as their navigators. On becoming stuck, the current navigator, Biroc, escapes the ship and makes his way to the TARDIS on the winds of time. Biroc warns the TARDIS crew of Rorvik's treachery before disappearing. K9's memory wafers are shredded by the winds of time, leaving him functional but lacking long-term memories. The Doctor leaves on his own to explore the null space. He encounters some robots, called Gundans.

Meanwhile, Rorvik and his crew have discovered the TARDIS. Romana leaves to talk to them. Rorvik, believing Romana to be time-sensitive like the Tharils, dupes her into returning to their ship to examine the engines. When Romana does not return, Adric and K9 leave to recover her, but get separated; Adric eventually makes it to the ship and hides aboard, while K9 reunites with the Doctor and aids in repairing the Gundan, after which he learns from it that they were built by slaves and used to overthrow their masters in a violent battle. The Doctor's work is disrupted when Rorvik and several of his men arrive. During a stand-off between the crew and the Doctor, another Gundan activates and walks through the seemingly-solid mirror. Rorvik demands an explanation from the Doctor, revealing he has Romana captive, but the Doctor's only response is to walk through the mirror himself.

Aboard the slaver ship, Romana is freed by another Tharil named Lazlo, and she hides in the hull. She encounters Adric; the two work out that the ship is made from an incredibly dense dwarf star alloy that can contain the Tharils. K9 arrives, and informs the two of dimensional instability in the null space, which they attribute to the alloy, causing the space to collapse in on itself. Romana rejoins Lazlo, and takes her to the gateway and through the mirror, while Adric remains aboard the ship.

On the other side of the mirror, the Doctor and Romana are reunited with Biroc in a stable, time-locked universe. A repentant Biroc explains they were the slave masters, travelling on the winds of time in order to ravage other planets and subjugate their populations as slaves until the Gundan revolt. The Doctor and Romana are returned to the null space, and are immediately captured by Rorvik. Rorvik's crew realise that the null space is shrinking as the distances between the gateway, the TARDIS, and slaver ship continue to decrease. Rorvik has ordered the crew to try to blast through the mirrors in gateway, believing it to be the way out, but the mirrors resist all attacks. With the gateway and ship in visible distance of each other, Rorvik resorts to one last attempt to break the mirrors by using the exhaust of the ship's engines against them. While the Doctor warns that this action will be as doomed as the previous ones, Romana regroups with Lazlo and Adric, and together they free the remaining Tharils on the slaver ship. The TARDIS crew flee to the TARDIS as Rorvik initiates his plan—the blast from the engines is reflected by the mirrors back onto the ship, destroying it and its crew.

As the saved Tharils pass through the mirror, Romana announces that she will be staying with them, having become empathetic to their plight and not wanting to return to Gallifrey. The Doctor gives her K9, as passing through the mirror will restore his memory but he will be unable to return. The Tharils, in exchange, provide the Doctor with information on how to leave the void back to N-Space.

At a shareholders meeting for International Projects, a billion-dollar corporation, John T. Blessington announces that he is replacing Edward L. McKeever, the company's founder, president and chairman of the board who is resigning to work for the federal government in Washington D.C. Laura Partridge, a stockholder with just ten shares, infuriates the company's arrogant, self-serving executives with her incessant questioning during the meeting and continues to do so in subsequent meetings.

Blessington devises a plan to hire Laura for the meaningless position of director of shareholder relations in order to keep her occupied and out of the executives' business. He assigns her a secretary named Amelia with secret instructions to obstruct Laura as much as possible. With no substantial job duties, Laura begins to write letters to the stockholders. She gains Amelia's friendship and assistance by helping her develop a romantic relationship with the office manager.

When the directors discover that Amelia is helping Laura, they fire Amelia. However, Laura discovers that Blessington's unqualified brother-in-law Harry Harkness has driven an apparent competitor into bankruptcy, unaware that International Projects actually owns the company. With that as leverage, she gets Amelia rehired.

Still determined to neutralize Laura, the board sends her to Washington to persuade McKeever to award them some government contracts. She agrees to go, but secretly intends to convince McKeever to return and retake control from the crooked board even though he has sold his shares in the company. After Laura tells him about Harry's blunder, McKeever agrees to leave his government post and try to wrest control of the company. However, Blessington and his men block his attempt, and Laura quits.

McKeever brings the company to court, arguing that sending Laura to persuade him violated the lobbying laws, as she was not a registered lobbyist. When Laura is forced to admit on the stand that she had a romantic reason for seeing McKeever, the case is dropped. However, many of the smaller investors with whom Laura had forged relationships through her letters send their proxy votes, granting Laura the right to vote their shares. Laura and McKeever use these votes to replace the entire board. At a meeting of the new board, it is revealed that Laura has married McKeever.

For its final scene, the film changes from black-and-white to color, showing the small stockholders' wedding gift to Laura, a gleaming solid gold Cadillac that she drives around Manhattan.

The game starts off with Spawn on a decrepit rooftop above a forgotten chapel in New York City. He then receives flashbacks of his former life, and his betrayal by Jason Wynn. Suddenly, a brilliant green flash of light tears through the city, signaling the demon's war against the angels in battle known as Armageddon. Knocked off the rooftops, Spawn takes to the street not only to answer the call but maybe even to get revenge.

Various characters from the ''Spawn'' comic book are featured in the game: '''Spawn''' — the protagonist of the game. Once the assassin, Al Simmons, who was murdered and sold his soul to the Devil, Malebolgia in order to see his beloved wife again. Spawn must find out the cause of the green beam. As he is searching for answers he is caught up in a war between Heaven and Hell. '''Violator''' — also known as the Clown. Despite his appearance, he is not a human being but a demon. He believes himself to be the perfect demon to lead the armies of Hell, but Malebolgia prefers someone with a soul of Sigilkind — namely, Spawn. Violator's jealousy has brought both the two together on many occasions. '''Mammon''' — one of Spawn's guides and his mentor. His motives are unclear to Spawn, who is not sure whether he can wholly trust this suave character. However, Mammon is extremely knowledgeable and Spawn can take advantage of that. '''Cy Gor''' — an escaped experiment. Cy Gor is a cyborg gorilla, an experimental creature by Jason Wynn. Apparently freed by the green beam, Cy Gor now roams the city, destroying anything that tries to stop him. It is up to Spawn to stop this raging beast. '''Malebolgia''' — the one who made a deal with Al Simmons so he could see his beloved wife again. He and his sister, Goddess are preparing their war known as Armageddon by using both good and evil souls on Gazer itself. He also sent the Violator to Gazer to bring Spawn into the path of darkness. '''Goddess''' — the one who caused that green beam as signal for the army of souls and angels to attack Malebolgia and his forces of Hell itself. She allows the Star Hive to watch Spawn himself. She and her brother Malebolgia have begun their war now. *'''Redeemer''' — The Anti-Spawn created by Heaven to act as their equivalent of Spawn. Marilyn Manson's song "Use Your Fist and Not Your Mouth" from his 2003 album ''The Golden Age of Grotesque'' is used for the intro video and credits.

As the Earth cargo ship C982 moves through hyperspace, it narrowly avoids a collision with the TARDIS. As the Third Doctor determines that they are in the 26th century, Jo sees a ship come alongside. Before her eyes, the ship shimmers, changing shape, turning into a Draconian Galaxy-class battlecruiser. The two pilots, Stewart and Hardy, send out a distress signal and prepare for battle. When Hardy goes to get weapons, he meets the Doctor, but sees him and Jo as Draconians. Hardy escorts them at gunpoint to the ship.

On Earth, the President and the Draconian ambassador (who is also the Emperor's son) accuse each other of attacking the other's ships and violating the frontier established by treaty between the two empires. General Williams reports to the President that a mission to rescue C982 is being prepared. Williams's hostility against the Draconians is well known — it was his actions that started the original war between the two sides and the Prince believes Williams wants war again, a war the Prince warns the President that will see Earth destroyed. News of the attack spreads and anti-Draconian riots break out on Earth, with the opposition calling for the government to take action.

Locked up in C982's hold, the Doctor deduces that the strange sound was some kind of sonic hypnosis device that caused Hardy to hallucinate and see what he most feared. As the enemy boarding party burns its way through the airlocks, Hardy gets the Doctor and Jo to use as hostages, but when the airlock door bursts open, the boarders are not Draconians, but Ogrons. The Ogrons' energy weapons stun the two pilots and the Doctor. They then tie Jo up, taking the ship's cargo and the TARDIS as they leave. When the Doctor revives and releases Jo, she tells him what the Ogrons did, and wonders if they are working for the Daleks, as they were when she first met them. The Doctor points out, however, that the Ogrons are mercenaries.

When the rescue party arrives, Hardy and Stewart have stopped hallucinating, but with their memories garbled, accuse the Doctor and Jo of being Draconian spies...

The two travellers get locked up again as C982 heads back to Earth. General Williams believes they are human agents planted by the Draconians to sabotage any war effort by Earth. He brings the two travellers to confront the Draconian Prince, but the Doctor denies working for the Draconians. He tries to convince the President that a third party is trying to provoke the two empires into war. However, as he can provide no reason why someone would want to, Williams orders the Doctor and Jo be taken away and vows he will get the truth out of them.

In the Draconian embassy, the Prince arranges to help Jo and the Doctor "escape" so that they can be questioned. When the two are escorted from their cell to be brought to the President, a Draconian squad attacks, taking the Doctor prisoner. When Jo tries to get more guards to help, she is arrested instead. The Draconians question the Doctor, believing that he is involved in a plot with Williams to provoke a new war. The Doctor manages to escape the embassy, but is recaptured in the compound by Earth troops. Once back in the cell with Jo, however, she hears the same sound as on C982. Outside, the Ogrons raid the prison, being seen as Draconians thanks to the hypnosound. They break into the Doctor's cell and order him to go with them.

The second escape goes no better than the first: the Doctor is recaptured yet again and the Ogrons disappear. This second "rescue attempt" cements Williams' suspicions, making him demand that the President give him the authority to strike first against the Draconians. The President agrees to break off diplomatic relations but will not go further without conclusive proof.

Williams places the Doctor under a mind probe, but it indicates the Doctor is telling the truth. Refusing to believe it, Williams orders increased power, but eventually the probe overloads. The President orders that the Doctor be sent to the Lunar Penal Colony where political prisoners are exiled for life, while Jo remains on Earth. Williams and the President receive records from the Dominion government of Sirius IV, an Earth colony planet that has achieved a degree of autonomy from Earth. The records "prove" the Doctor and Jo are citizens of Sirius IV as well as career criminals. A commissioner from the Dominion has arrived to claim jurisdiction — who is in actuality the Doctor's old enemy, the Master.

On the Moon, the Doctor meets Professor Dale of the Peace Party, who shows him around. The Doctor tries to get Dale to trust him and include him in his plans for escape. On Earth, Jo of course recognises the Master immediately, and surmises correctly that he was behind the Ogron attacks. The Master found out about the Doctor and Jo's presence when the Ogrons brought him the TARDIS. Given the unsavoury choice of going with the Master or staying in her cell, Jo agrees to go with him to fetch the Doctor.

Despite his fantastic story, Dale believes the Doctor. The peace with the Draconians lasted many years, but suddenly devolved into senseless acts of hostility. The Doctor's story would explain a great deal. Dale outlines the escape plan: Cross, one of the overseers, will leave two spacesuits near an airlock, and they will walk across the lunar surface to steal a spaceship. Dale offers to take the Doctor back to Earth where he can tell his story to Dale's contacts in the press and government. However, once inside the airlock, they find oxygen tanks for the suits are empty. Cross has double-crossed them, and the room is depressurising.

At the last moment, the Master arrives and restores the room's atmosphere. The Master obtains custody of the Doctor, and gets the Doctor to come along quietly by revealing that he has Jo. Reunited with Jo in a cell in the Master's ship, the Doctor wonders why he is still alive. The Master explains that his employers are very interested in the Doctor. The Master sets the automatic controls for the Ogron homeworld. Under the cover of telling Jo stories of his life, the Doctor uses a hidden steel wire to file his way through the hinges of the cell. While Jo blocks the security camera and natters on, pretending to continue their conversation, the Doctor sneaks out. Donning a spacesuit, the Doctor exits the ship and makes his way to the flight deck. The Master puts Jo in an airlock, threatening to eject her into space if the Doctor does not surrender, but the Doctor takes him by surprise. As the two face off, they do not notice a Draconian battlecruiser approaching. It docks, and enters the airlock where Jo is located.

The Draconian captain informs them that, as all diplomatic relations with Earth have been severed, violating Draconian space is punishable by death. The Doctor says he has vital evidence for the Emperor and asks to speak to him. The captain decides to lock up all three of them and take them back to Draconia. However, the Master secretly activates a device whose signal is picked up by the Ogrons.

As the ship arrives on Draconia, the Prince is speaking with his father, asking him for permission to strike first at Earth. The Emperor, like the President, is hesitant, as he knows such a war could bring down both empires.

The Doctor, Jo and the Master are presented to the Emperor and the Doctor gives the ritual greeting, "My life at your command." The Prince is incensed that the Doctor has the temerity to address the Emperor like a Draconian noble, but the Doctor says that he ''is'' a noble of Draconia — the title was given him by the 15th Emperor, five centuries before when he aided Draconia against a plague from outer space. The Doctor accuses the Master of trying to instigate a war between Earth and Draconia using Ogrons and the hypnosound device. As the Emperor considers this, a courtier announces that an Earth spaceship has arrived. Jo hears the sound of the sonic device, and realises it is the Ogrons. They burst in, guns blazing, and retreat with the Master, leaving several dead Draconians in their wake. One Ogron has been knocked out by the Doctor, and as the effects of the hypnosound fade, the Emperor sees the "Earthman" before him transform into its true form. He then realises the Doctor is speaking the truth.

The Emperor determines that the Ogron must be shown to the Earth authorities, but as a Draconian ship would be shot down, the Prince, the Doctor and Jo will take the Master's police ship. As they cross the frontier into Earth space, they spot another ship following them. However, by the time they identify it as the Ogron ship, it has already launched its missiles. As the Doctor takes evasive action, the captive Ogron breaks out of its cell, overpowering its Draconian guard. It enters the flight deck and in the struggle cuts the ship's speed. The Prince and the Doctor subdue the Ogron, but the Master's ship catches up and a party boards the police ship. A firefight breaks out on the flight deck, just as an Earth battlecruiser shows up. The Master recalls the boarding party, who take Jo captive along with rescuing the Ogron prisoner, and their ship zips away. The Earth battlercruiser places the Doctor's ship under arrest.

Without the Ogron, the President is not convinced. The Doctor suggests an expedition to the Ogron homeworld, but Williams thinks it is a Draconian trick to divide Earth's forces. The Prince expects such a response from Williams — after all, he started the first war. Williams protests, but the Prince reveals what is in the Draconian court records. Twenty years before, the Draconians sent a battlecruiser to meet the Earth Empire on a diplomatic mission. When the Draconian ship did not answer the Earth ship's hails, Williams gave the order to attack, believing that the Draconian ship was about to attack his damaged vessel. The battlecruiser was unarmed, its missile banks empty, and the reason it did not answer was because its communications systems were destroyed in a neutron storm, the same storm that had damaged Williams's ship. Williams is shaken by the Prince's revelation and apologises for the wrong he had done to the Draconians. Williams now intends to lead the expedition to the Ogron planet himself.

The Master brings Jo to a bunker on the Ogron homeworld, where he shows her the TARDIS, which he plans to use as bait for the Doctor in addition to Jo herself. He tries to hypnotise Jo, first with his own powers and then with the hypnosound.

However, Jo's mind is strong enough to resist, and the Master orders her to be taken away. An Ogron reports that one of their ships found and attacked two Earth cargo ships, destroying one. The Master is delighted, as this means that war is not far off, and indeed, demands for war from Earth are at a fever pitch.

Williams prepares his personal scout ship, with the Doctor and the Prince accompanying and heads at maximum speed to the coordinates the Doctor took from the Master's ship. Jo manages to dig her way into the next, unlocked cell and sneak further into the bunker as Williams's ship enters orbit. She pockets the hypnosound, then finds a pad with the coordinates of the planet and bunker on it and transmits a distress signal with the information. The Master shows up, revealing that the signal was muted, and the only person who could have picked it up was the Doctor, whose ship he detected in orbit around the planet. When the Doctor comes, the trap will be sprung.

Williams's crew lands the scout nearby, not knowing the Ogrons have set up an ambush. The Ogrons open fire on the landing party, but are frightened away by an orange, slug-like lizard they call the Eater. The Master is furious, and warns the Ogrons that their masters are coming, which makes them even more terrified than they were of the monster. Williams's party hears the roar of a spaceship landing, and when they look up on the ridge, they see the Master... accompanied by several Daleks, who exterminate Williams's men before they can even fire. The Daleks want to exterminate the Doctor immediately, but the Master proposes that the Doctor be placed in his hands, to be allowed to see the galaxy and Earth in ruins before they kill him. The Gold Dalek agrees, and leaves for its ship, to go and prepare the Dalek army on another planet.

Answering the Prince's question, the Doctor explains that the Daleks want a war between Earth and Draconia so both empires will destroy each other, and then the Daleks can pick up the pieces. The Doctor modifies the stolen hypnosound, making the Ogron guard see him as the Gold Dalek, and in fear, it unlocks the gate to the cell. The Doctor tells Williams and the Prince to get the word back to their respective governments and mount a joint expedition against the base on the Ogron planet. The Doctor and Jo find their way to the TARDIS, but are surrounded by the Ogrons and the Master, who trains a blaster on the Doctor. The Doctor activates the hypnosound, panicking the Ogrons. One knocks the Master's arm, making him fire, the shot grazing the Doctor's head. The Master and the Ogrons scatter.

The Doctor, barely conscious, asks Jo to help him into the TARDIS. He staggers over to the console, dematerialising the ship then pressing his palms to the telepathic circuits. He is sending a message to the Time Lords.

Dr. Susan Wheeler, a surgical resident at Boston Memorial Hospital, is devastated when her friend, Nancy Greenly, a young healthy woman, is left brain dead after undergoing a routine procedure there. Her suspicions are aroused when, soon after, another young and otherwise healthy patient also falls comatose during knee surgery.

Susan investigates and discovers that over the previous year an unusual number of other fit, young patients have suffered the same fate and that all surgeries took place in operating room #8. Those patients also had a tissue-type sample taken before being transferred to the Jefferson Institute, a remote care facility. Susan's physician boyfriend, Mark Bellows, believes it is merely coincidence.

Susan offends Chief of Anesthesiology, Dr. George, by asking to review the relevant patient charts. Increasingly isolated and under mounting pressure from superiors and colleagues, Susan also begins doubting Mark's trustworthiness. She visits the hospital morgue where a postmortem is being performed on Nancy, who has since died. Susan asks the pathologists on ways someone could deliberately be put into a coma without detection. One pathologist suggests carbon monoxide poisoning. Soon after, Kelly, a hospital maintenance worker who tipped off Susan that her suspicions about OR #8 are correct, is fatally electrocuted by an unknown man. Based on his assertions, Susan searches in the hospital basement and finds a tank with a line leading from it, through the ventilation system, to OR #8.

The man who killed Kelly has been stalking Susan. Late one night, he attempts to attack her at the hospital. After a brief struggle, Susan barely escapes and traps him in the anatomy lab's cadaver cooler.

Dr. Harris, the chief of surgery, has twice reproached Susan about her recent behavior and interaction with Dr. George. He warns that she could be dismissed and insists she speak with a psychiatrist as a condition of her staying on; he is sympathetic, however, and has her take the weekend off to cope with her grief and stress over Nancy's death. She and Mark spend a relaxing weekend at the seaside. While driving back to Boston, Susan sees a highway sign for the Jefferson Institute and wants to go there. Mark waits in the car while Susan enters the austere building. Nurse Emerson greets Susan and explains the facility is closed to visitors, but says there is physicians' tour on Tuesday.

Susan joins the tour for what is apparently an advanced, low-cost care facility for comatose patients. She leaves the tour to secretly investigate the restricted areas. Susan discovers that the institute is a front for an international human organ black-market. Patients' organs are being sold to the highest bidder. Boston Memorial purposely induces comas in select patients whose organs match potential buyers. The patients are rendered brain-dead via carbon monoxide being pumped from a hidden tank in the basement to the anesthesia equipment in operating room #8. The line is controlled by a radio signal.

Jefferson security spot Susan on surveillance cameras, but she escapes atop an ambulance as it leaves the compound to transport harvested organs to the airport. Susan, believing Dr. George is the operation's mastermind, rushes to Dr. Harris to share what she has discovered. Dr. Harris offers Susan a drink, and she quickly becomes incapacitated and experiences severe abdominal pain mimicking appendicitis. Susan realizes she has been drugged and that "Dr. George" is actually Dr. George Harris. Susan, barely conscious, is rushed to surgery where Dr. Harris will perform an appendectomy. As Susan is prepped for surgery, staff inform Dr. Harris that OR #7 is ready. His vehement insistence on using OR #8 arouses Mark's suspicions. Mark locates the gas line going from the basement to OR 8 and destroys it. To Dr. Harris' shock, Susan awakens after surgery. Two police officers are waiting outside to arrest Dr. Harris.

In the late 1940s backdrop of a small Cajun community, Jefferson, a young black man, is accused and convicted of a murder for perpetrating a shoot-out in a liquor store which left three men killed. Being the sole survivor of a crime that occurred unwittingly, Jefferson is sentenced to the capital punishment of death. The story unfolds his search for justice as within his trial, Jefferson's attorney explains to the jury "What justice would there be to take his life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." Jefferson's godmother, Miss Emma Glenn, and Tante (Aunt) Lou, the aunt of local school teacher Grant Wiggins, ask Lou's nephew Wiggins to turn Jefferson from a "hog" to a "man." However, in order to accomplish this they must first get permission from Sheriff Sam Guidry. They successfully ask Sheriff Guidry's brother-in-law Henri Pichot, whose family Miss Emma served for years, for assistance. Wiggins, who left his hometown for tertiary education, has returned from university to teach locally. Whilst Wiggins takes the job in contemplation of whether to maintain his position or to completely move away from the place of his childhood, both Jefferson's godmother and his aunt successfully persuade him to go on a prison-visit and impart wisdom to Jefferson before his death. Over the course of the novel, Grant and Jefferson unexpectedly form a close friendship as the two men both come to comprehend the importance of resistance and defying conformity. As they understand compassion, human struggles and existential revelations through their newfound brotherhood, Grant also forms a bond with the white Deputy Paul Bonin. In early February, it is announced that Jefferson will be executed soon, on April 8. Around then, Reverend Ambrose becomes concerned that Grant, an agnostic, is not teaching Jefferson about God and thus begins to visit him regularly to reverse Grant's spiritual impartments. The conflict reaches a head when Grant buys Jefferson a radio, which the seniors in the black community, or "quarter," see as sinful. The novel ends with the anti-climax of Jefferson's death by execution and, much to Grant's surprise, a visit from Paul in which he tells Grant that "Jefferson was the strongest man in that crowded room".

During the late 16th century, Catholics and Protestant Huguenots are fighting over political control of France, which is ruled by the neurotic, hypochondriac King Charles IX, and his mother, Catherine de' Medici, a scheming power player. Catherine decides to make an overture of goodwill by offering up her daughter Margot in marriage to Henri de Bourbon, a prominent Huguenot and King of Navarre, although she also schemes to bring about the notorious St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572, when thousands of Protestants are slaughtered. The marriage goes forward but Margot, who does not love Henri, begins a passionate affair with the soldier La Môle, also a Protestant from a well-to-do family. Murders by poisoning follow, as court intrigues multiply and Queen Catherine's villainous plotting to place her son the Duke of Anjou on the throne threatens the lives of La Môle, Margot and Henri of Navarre. A book with pages painted with arsenic is intended for Henri but instead causes the slow, agonizing death of King Charles. Henri escapes to Navarre and sends La Môle to fetch Margot, but Guise apprehends him. La Môle is beheaded in the Bastille before Margot can save him, and King Charles finally dies. Margot escapes carrying La Môle's embalmed head as Anjou is proclaimed King of France as Henry III.

''The Midnight Bell'' tells the story of Bob, a sailor turned bar waiter who becomes infatuated with Jenny, a prostitute who visits the pub. Ella, the barmaid at the pub, is secretly in love with Bob. In one of the most autobiographical narratives Hamilton ever wrote, Bob squanders his life savings on Jenny, whose lack of interest in Bob (beyond his money) is painfully evident to all but Bob. Eventually, Jenny loses all interest once Bob has spent all his savings on her.

''The Siege of Pleasure'' is the shortest of the three stories, and recounts a little over twenty-four hours in Jenny's earlier life. She gets a new job as a housemaid to two elderly sisters, but later the same day along with her friend encounters three men in a bar. She elects to stand her erstwhile boyfriend up, gets drunk and is involved in a car accident where there is a possible fatality. The following morning, having spent the night in the home of one of the men, she determines not to go back to the sisters' employ. Bob and Ella do not feature at all in this novel.

''The Plains of Cement'' is set during the events in ''The Midnight Bell'', with Ella as the focus. Ella, still nursing a sublimated affection for Bob, has to deal with the increasingly unwelcome (and not always comprehensible) advances of the lower-middle class Ernest Eccles, an elderly customer of the pub. She is torn between a possible escape from her dull routine and a potential marriage to a man she does not love. We are also introduced to Ella's mother, trapped in a loveless marriage to Ella's violent stepfather. One of the episodes is a replication of that in ''The Midnight Bell'', but told from Ella's perspective. The narrative concludes one day after the final scene of ''The Midnight Bell''.

A common theme across all three stories is Hamilton's use of "narrated monologue or free indirect discourse", wherein a single character's thoughts (in this trilogy Bob, Jenny and Ella respectively) are reproduced directly through the third-person narrator. This is particularly evident in the third section, where Ella is attempting to interpret Eccles' semi-coherent intentions, from trying to work out if a bunch of flowers are for her, to an apparent proposal of marriage.

In ''I, Jedi'', Corran Horn must develop his Jedi powers in order to save the life of his wife, Mirax Terrik.

Corran Horn was a member of the elite X-wing force Rogue Squadron. After returning home from a long campaign to find his wife kidnapped, he turns to Luke Skywalker, the only remaining Jedi Master at the time, for help. This coincides nicely with the master's timing, as he is seeking students for his new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Corran knows that he is Force-sensitive, and that only with the Force as his ally can he track down his enemy.

It turns out that Corran's wife, Mirax, was tracking down a group of elusive pirates known as the Invids. The Invids' primary tactic is to drop out of hyperspace with the flagship, an Imperial Star Destroyer named the ''Invidious'', strike, and disappear with perfect timing. As she grew closer to solving the mystery of how these pirates performed their supernaturally accurate attacks, she was kidnapped and placed into stasis on their fortress planet. On the journey to save Mirax, Corran learns that his grandfather was a Jedi, a member of the Halcyon line. His adopted grandfather shows Corran the records that the Jedi had left behind, and with that, Corran eventually makes up his mind to follow in his ancestor's footsteps and become a Jedi. After extensive training and being caught in a crisis involving the risen spirit of the Dark Sith Lord Exar Kun, Corran goes as far as he can, and infiltrates the pirates using his CorSec training. He quickly rises through the ranks, and finds out where Mirax is being held. With the timely help of Luke Skywalker and his squadron friend and wingman, Ooryl Qrygg, he fights his way past the Jensaarai, a splinter group of Jedi who focus on stealth and premonition, and into the fortress, where he is able to rescue his wife.

The movie chronicles New Orleans through the eyes of Master P growing up in the notorious Calliope Projects. His brother Kevin Miller played by Anthony Boswell. Master P wrote, directed and acted in the film. The movie itself was a huge success for No Limit Records and No Limit Films. It was an independent release.

In an underground city in a dystopian future, the protagonist, whose name is "THX 1138 4EB", is shown running through passageways and enclosed spaces. It is soon discovered that THX is escaping his community. The government uses computers and cameras to track down THX and attempt to stop him; however, they fail. He escapes by breaking open a door and runs off into the sunset. The government sends their condolences to YYO 7117, THX's mate, claiming that THX has destroyed himself.

The USC program guide accompanying the film describes it as a "nightmare impression of a world in which a man is trying to escape a computerized world which constantly tracks his movements".

The action takes place in the early nineteenth century. Tsar Nicolas I admires a tiny dancing flea made of steel by English workmen and given to Nicolas’s elder brother Tsar Alexander I. He challenges Russian workmen to create something better. In a flashback the flea is presented to Alexander at Buckingham Palace and its dancing is shown (described in an onomatopoeic orchestral interlude). Back in Nicolas's time, the Left-Hander of the title, a workman, manages to affix minute horseshoes to the English flea; Nicolas is pleased and sends the Left-Hander to England. There he is admiringly interviewed by the Court who try to persuade him to take an English bride, but he refuses. After a tour of English armouries he returns to St Petersburg, his voyage imperilled by a storm and a drunken English “under-skipper”. Arriving drunk himself, he is arrested. He sends a message to the Tsar: the Russian army should stop cleaning their muskets with brick-dust, for the English don’t do that, and if war comes between the two nations the Russian guns will be no good. He dies, the Flea sings a lullaby and the opera ends with a burial rite.

Set in Europe in the year 1521, at the time of the Protestant Reformation, the story follows two women, Adele the acrobat and Karin the fortuneteller. Afraid of being accused of witchcraft, they disguise their special powers, working as common performers (''professionisti'') to earn enough money to buy indulgences from the Catholic Church that will hopefully free them from their sins. However, their powers soon get them involved in a great religious battle involving the Medici family, the Este family, Girolamo Savonarola's "prophecies," and many others.

Savonarola's prophecies or the Friar's Predictions are the main basis for the series. These prophecies made many predictions about the Catholic Church; even the demise of Rome. Before all these predictions, a battle was to take place.

''Ark'' takes place on a dying alien world in which a global war between two technologically advanced human civilizations has reduced the planet to a wasteland. The only way to escape the world is by activating the Ark, an ancient giant robot capable of supporting a human city as well as traveling through space.

James Woods plays Jallak, the military general of the reigning civilization, the Storrians, who captured the Ark from the Ceveans. But they are unable to get the Ark to work in order to save their people. The Ceveans, having been enslaved and with only the wasteland to roam free are constantly attacked and brutalised by the Storrians. A leader of their resistance movement is a young resistance fighter named Rogan. Rogan is arrested during a resistance uprising, but manages to escape. He bumps into the general's adopted daughter Amarinth, whom the general had secretly rescued from a Cevean hibernation pod cluster where they had hidden their children for safety. They then meet again during a civilian protest rally and she offers to help hide him and tend to his wounds. Rogan goes with her back to her apartment and meets her pet JuJu, but then vanishes when he discovers she's the Storrian general's daughter.

Baramanda, the Empress's manipulative right-hand man, arrives unexpectedly to take Amarinth into custody after discovering the truth of her lineage. Rogan helps her escape from Baramanda and takes her to the resistance base within the slave quarters of the Ark. There she meets with an elderly man who explains Amarinth's birthright with the help of JuJu, who turns out to have originally belonged to him. Unknown to Rogan, and to Amarinth herself, she turns out to be the daughter of the Cevean priestess who originally built the Ark, Amiel, who had disappeared 100 years earlier. Amiel helped construct not just the Ark the Storrians hold, but another known as The Ark of York. The plans for the Arks passed down from the Gods (another alien race). It took all her strength to create them, causing her to fall into a deep sleep and not awaken again. Before entering her eternal hibernation, she placed her very young daughter into the hidden hibernation pod. Then her body was secretly hidden by her people until discovered by the Storrians.

They find Amiel's molecular structure enables her body to generate a pulsing electronic field throughout her bloodstream. Not only does this make her body perfectly preserved despite how long she had been inactive, it is the reason the Arks will not work: she and Amarinth are descendants of the gods themselves and only they have the ability to pilot the Arks. A cell of her dead blood can supply power to an entire building, but it becomes apparent that no matter how much energy Amiel's body retains, since she is dead it's not enough to move the ark.

Both civilizations scramble to use Amiel's daughter, Amarinth, to activate their Ark and leave the other civilization behind to die. However, Amarinth, who has ties to both civilizations, wishes to try to find a way to use her power to save everyone. She is opposed by the lifeforce-stealing wraith Baramanda, who wishes to steal the power of the Ark for his own selfish purposes.

Amarinth after going to the Ark of York, refuses to pilot it and leave the Storrians behind. Despite her lineage as a Cevean, she was raised as a Storrian. When she finds out her father, Jallak, had been arrested for high treason and was to be executed for hiding her, she demands that Rogan and the others help her rescue him if they want her help. They agree and return to save him.

After freeing Jallak, Baramunda tries to drain Amarith's blood but is stopped by Amiel who awakens momentarily to stop him. All escape but Jallak remains behind to save his people, as the Ark starts to fall apart. Rogan takes Amarinth back to The Ark of York as Baramanda merges with the core of the other Ark and awakens it. Amarinth discovers that, just as her mother Amiel died in constructing the Arks, so she would perish to pilot one. Rogan and Amarinth kiss for the first and final time as she merges with the core of York just as The Ark comes stomping up to it. The Arks clash in a giant battle with the earth breaking down beneath their feet. Amarinth grabs the city plate off of SidArk as Jallak and his friend set the self-destruct mechanism. They perish in the explosion as the planet begins to crumble.

Rogan narrates at the end as it shows The Ark of York kneeling with the SidArk city plate on another planet flourishing with vegetation. He states that no one knew both civilizations would make it and neither does anyone think it would work out, living together, sharing the planet. He continues saying that it was hard to imagine that their old world, which was now no more, might have looked like this before the war. So the Storrians and Ceveans are going to try to coexist, to preserve this planet and Amarinth's sacrifice. It's difficult at times, and Rogan wishes that Amarinth was there to bridge the gap between the two civilizations. He states that they could have learned so much from her, but that they already had.

Set between June 1932 and December 1933, ''Runaway Horses'' tells the story of young Isao Iinuma, a rightist reactionary trained in the samurai code by his father. Isao becomes the instigator of a plot to topple the zaibatsu that he feels have corrupted the Yamato-damashii and betrayed the will of the Emperor. He is assured of the army's assistance by the young Lieutenant Hori. They plan to assassinate many key government figures simultaneously on December 3, 1932.

Shigekuni Honda, a character who figured prominently in ''Spring Snow'', the first novel of the cycle, appears again here as a judge and later lawyer. He comes to believe that Isao is the reincarnation of Kiyoaki Matsugae, the aristocratic schoolfriend whose story was told in ''Spring Snow''. Realising that Isao too seems to be hurtling towards a "picturesque" death, he makes strenuous efforts to save him without revealing this personal connection.

Honda and Isao (ch. 1-8)

It is just after the May 15 Incident of 1932. Shigekuni Honda, the law student from ''Spring Snow'', is now a junior associate judge at the Osaka Court of Appeals. He is asked by Judge Sugawa to give an address at a kendo tournament on June 16 at the Ōmiwa Shrine in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture.

At the tournament, the chief priest points out to him a promising athlete called Isao Iinuma. Honda realises that this is the son of Shigeyuki Iinuma, Kiyoaki's old tutor, now a right-wing "personality". After lunch, Honda climbs the sugi-clad Mount Miwa and afterwards descends to Sanko Falls to bathe. Some of the kendoists are already there. Honda is startled to see that Isao has the same three moles on his side that Kiyoaki had, and remembers Kiyoaki's dying words: "I'll see you again. I know it. Beneath the falls."

The next day, at the Saigusa Festival at Izagawa Shrine in Nara, Honda is introduced to Mr. Iinuma. He now runs the and is slowly going to seed, morbidly talkative, his face "marked by the years and by the common tribulations." Honda invites him and his son to dinner that evening. Iinuma accepts, and responds by introducing Honda to the poet, retired Lt.-Gen. Kito, and his 30-year-old divorced daughter Makiko.

Iinuma and his son leave for Tokyo after the dinner. Just before they go, Isao lends Honda a copy of his favourite book, ''The League of the Divine Wind'' by Tsunanori Yamao, and urges him to read it.

The League of the Divine Wind

Part 1: The Rite of Ukei

"At the time of the... Imperial Restoration, the indications had been altogether favourable that the august wish of His Late Majesty Komei to expel the barbarians would be fulfilled. But clouds soon cut off the light of Heaven... swords were forbidden to the common people... it was decreed that samurai could cut off their topknot and that they might go without swords."

In 1873, four samurai worship at Shingai Shrine in Kumamoto Prefecture, and then await the results of a divination performed by the priest Ōtaguro Tomoo, the heir of the late, revered Hayashi Ōen, whose 200 followers will come to be known as "the League of the Divine Wind". The proposals they have put to the gods are: "To bring an end to misgovernment by admonishing authority even to the forfeiture of life" and "to cut down the unworthy ministers by striking in darkness with the sword". Both return the response "Not propitious." In 1874, the proposal Otaguro puts is to take advantage of the vulnerability induced by the Saga Rebellion. Again, the Ukei rite returns "Not propitious."

On 18 March 1876, the wearing of swords is prohibited. Harukata Kaya resigns as priest of Kinzan Shrine and presents a petition to the prefectural governor. In May, the rite of Ukei is performed by Otaguro, this time returning "Propitious." The others wish Kaya to join them in rebellion, but he is reluctant. A further rite convinces Kaya that it is his duty.

Part 2: The Combat of the Ukei

On arriving at Kumamoto Castle on the night of 24 October 1876, the 200 warriors split into three units. The first attacks the residences of the major officials; Governor Yasuoka is killed. The second attacks the artillery battalion, with great success; the third attacks the infantry encampment, breaking down barrack doors and throwing in grenades. The tide turns when ammunition is found for the garrisoned troops, and when the second unit rushes to the aid of the third, it is entrapped, and both Kaya and Otaguro die.

Part 3: One with the Gods

The next morning, on the 9th day of the 9th month (lunar calendar), 46 survivors gather on Mount Kinpo, less than four miles (6 km) west of Kumamoto Castle. The six boats intended for escape are stuck in tidal mud and it is debated what they should do. The seven youngest rebels are sent away with Tsuruda, and the rest descend to Chikozu beach. A scouting party returns with the report that a crackdown is underway and no further military action can be taken. Accordingly, the survivors split up. One by one they surrender or commit seppuku, and a detailed accounting is given of each man's end. The pamphlet concludes with a quotation from the , a book later written by the captured rebel while serving a life sentence in prison.

Honda's letter to Isao (ch. 10)

Honda sends the book back with a letter that Isao reads when he arrives at school. In it, Honda expresses a new respect for the League, and for the forces of the irrational in general (influenced by his new belief in reincarnation, although that is a secret) and discusses the dead Kiyoaki and his passion for Satoko. However, he warns Isao that the tale of the League is "unsuitable" for him, and dangerous, and lectures him at length on the need for "the comprehensive picture offered by history."

Isao concludes that Honda's "age and profession have turned him into a coward", but that the judge is still in some sense "a man of 'purity'."

Isao's circle (ch. 11-14)

After school, Isao and two schoolfriends (Izutsu and Sagara) go to the boarding-house of a right-wing army officer, Lieutenant Hori. (It is Kitazaki's—the same inn that appeared in ''Spring Snow''.) Isao boldly announces his intention of organising a "Showa League" and voices extreme sentiments for which Hori expresses sympathy, although the lieutenant become tense when Isao asks direct questions about Hori's connections to men involved in the May 15 Incident. The three boys stay until 9pm, listening to him discuss current affairs. Isao lends him ''The League of the Divine Wind''.

On Sunday morning in July, Isao conducts a kendo practice for young boys in the drill hall of the neighbourhood police station. While a detective called Tsuboi talks to him, four Communists are brought to the prison, and Isao feels a stab of envy. Iinuma runs an "Academy of Patriotism" in a wing of his large house in Hongō. We learn about what happened to Iinuma and Miné between 1914 and 1932, and meet the 40-year-old student named Sawa. After Master Kaido's Sunday lecture, Isao shows his two schoolfriends a map of Tokyo, suggesting an air-raid on the areas he has coloured in purple. Later on they have dinner with Makiko at her house, and the four discuss who in Japan most deserves assassination. Isao names Kurahara. Makiko has kept the lilies Isao brought from Izagawa Shrine a month ago, and hands them one each.

Isao visits Hori at the garrison. Hori expresses irritation with Isao's hot-headed talk. During kendo practice, he is impressed with Isao's abilities, and proposes taking him to an audience with Prince Harunori Toin, the military royal for whom Satoko had been intended.

The Capitalists (ch. 15-19)

Baron Shinkawa gives a banquet at his villa in Karuizawa. Five couples sit and chat in his garden before dinner: the Matsugaes, the Shinkawas, the Kuraharas, the Matsudairas, and the Minister of State and his wife. They discuss current affairs in great detail, with prominence given to the personality and monetaristic opinions of Kurahara. We discover the fate of members of the Matsugae household. The Marquis Matsugae himself is humiliated by his insignificance, even by the fact he has no bodyguard.

Isao has an audience with Prince Toin, against Iinuma's wishes. Hori and the Prince chat for a while; when the Prince criticises the nobility, Isao uses the opportunity to give him ''The League'' and to express his ideas about ''bushido''.

By this time, Isao has gathered 20 more boys into his circle, and Izutsu and Sagara have studied explosives. Two weeks before the end of summer vacation, he sends all the boys a telegram ordering them to return to Tokyo for a meeting at the school shrine at 6pm. All turn up and are stunned when Isao tells them it was only a drill; three leave. Isao then has the remaining boys swear vows of fealty. To Isao's surprise, Makiko turns up, and takes them all to dinner at a restaurant in Shibuya.

Chapter 19 gives a description of the opening of a Noh play attended by Honda in Osaka, called ''Matsukaze''. While watching the two ghostly women ladle seawater into their brine-cart, Honda suddenly decides that his grief for Kiyoaki has deceived him and that there could be no real connection between Kiyoaki and Isao.

Isao's plot (ch. 20-30)

While hanging out his washing in October (on a certain Mr Koyama's 77th birthday), Sawa asks Isao if he can go with him and his "study group" to Master Kaido's training camp in the week starting on the 20 October. Isao makes no reply. Sawa, while serving him tea in his own room, starts to describe how three years ago Iinuma helped extort 50,000 yen from a newspaper and used his 10,000 yen share to bolster the Academy. Isao is disappointed, but not shocked until Sawa warns him, without explanation, that he cannot hurt Kurahara without betraying his father. Wondering if Kurahara is a secret patron of the Academy, Isao later returns to Sawa's room and demands an explanation. Sawa responds by begging to be allowed to kill Kurahara himself. But after hearing him out, Isao smilingly denies there is any plot.

Honda hears an account of the ''coup d'état'' that took place in Siam on 24 June, during which the country became a constitutional monarchy controlled by Col. Phahon Phonphayuhasena. On Friday 21 October, Honda attends a judicial conference in Tokyo, and on Sunday goes with Iinuma to see Isao at the riverside training camp at Yanagawa. Isao is in trouble: he has taken offence at the bland Shintoism espoused by Master Kaido and gone out to kill an animal after having been ritually purified. When he accompanies the whole group as they look for Isao, Honda is startled to realise that one of the dreams in Kiyoaki's journal is now being acted out in detail.

Isao holds a secret meeting on Monday evening and shows the other boys his elaborate plan for a "Shōwa Restoration" placing all government functions under the Emperor's control, through (1) destroying Tokyo's six electric transformer substations, (2) assassinating Shinkawa, Nagasaki and Kurahara, and (3) burning the Bank of Japan, events that would lead to the desired declaration of martial law, after which they would all commit ''seppuku''. The plan mentions Hori and Prince Toin. They discuss details of the plot; Isao names December 3 at random as the date, and they receive an unexpected windfall of 1000 yen from Sawa, who claims he acquired the money by selling land.

Honda visits Kiyoaki's grave before returning to Osaka. On November 7, Lieutenant Hori summons Isao and tells him he is being sent to Manchuria on November 15. When Hori suggests moving the date of the plot to this week, Isao realises that he has no intention of taking part. Hori suddenly urges Isao to give up the plot, and Isao pretends to be persuaded. At the group's secret headquarters (a rented house in Yotsuya Sumon) Isao tries to salvage the plan. Seyama, Tsujimura and Ui argue with Isao in private, and he dismisses them from the group. Within days, only 10 are left with Isao, and on November 12 they are joined by Sawa, who sets out a plan for the 12 of them to assassinate one capitalist each. Sawa is assigned Kurahara, and Isao is assigned Baron Shinkawa.

Isao visits the Kitos one last time on November 29 to deliver a present of oysters, but Makiko follows him, guessing that he has resolved to die, and they kiss on a hill opposite Hakusan Park. Makiko promises to go to Ōmiwa Shrine at Sakurai and bring them each back a talisman the day before they go ahead. Isao does not admit they already each have one of her lily petals.

The morning of December 1, the boy conspirators are at their hideout, discussing the daggers they have bought, when they are arrested by detectives. In the afternoon Sawa is arrested at the Academy.

Discovery and trial (ch. 31-37)

On reading about Isao in the newspaper, Honda resolves to save him, and resigns his judgeship to act as defence lawyer for Isao. In Tokyo, Iinuma thanks him, and then claims that it was he himself who informed the police, and that he did it to save his son from death. Prince Toin summons Honda to his house on December 30. The prince expresses sympathy for the twelve, but is horrified when Honda informs him that he was mentioned by name in the propaganda leaflets they prepared, and loses interest in helping them. Honda saves the situation by persuading him to lean on the Imperial Household Minister to have that part of the evidence suppressed.

Isao is moved to Ichigaya Prison in late January, and a long prophetic dream is described. He learns that Honda will be defending him, and realises that he has awakened popular sympathy. During an interrogation he hears Communists being tortured, and asks why he is not tortured; the interrogator replies that as a rightist he has his heart in the right place. In June he receives a Saigusa Festival lily from Makiko, which she has gone all the way to Nara to pick. The trial opens on June 25. The evidence of the leaflets has been suppressed, and it becomes clear that Lt. Hori is unlikely to be indicted.

At the second session on July 19, Isao boldly admits to planning the assassinations. Honda tries to fudge the issue by bringing up the purchase of the daggers and leading the witness Izutsu to admit that, as imitators of the League of Divine Wind, these weapons would be more appropriate for committing ''seppuku'' than for murder. The innkeeper Kitazaki is called as witness, and he says he heard Hori telling a lone visitor to "Give it up!" although he did not know to whom Hori was speaking. Pressed to identify the person, Kitazaki points to Isao, but his strange words seem to suggest he is confusing Isao with Kiyoaki, although they had no physical resemblance. Most assume he is senile. Only Honda realizes the significance of his confusion of Kiyoaki and Isao.

Makiko is called as witness, and while reading a mendacious diary entry for November 29, she manages to cleverly insinuate that Isao was not only planning to abandon the conspiracy, but that he was merely a schoolboy in over his head, boasting and play-acting all along. The manipulative older woman hopes that her young lover will surrender his ideals and save himself by lying, since he cannot contradict her in court without exposing her to a charge of perjury. Thinking fast, Isao sidesteps dishonor by claiming that he did indeed talk of giving up the conspiracy, but only to spare her from any consequences of his actions. The judge, who becomes sympathetic, allows him to enlarge on his motives, and he delivers a long address on the suffering of the common people and the need to destroy the deadly spirit poisoning Japan. The prosecutor expresses doubts about Makiko's testimony, but it is clear he senses defeat.

Denouement (ch. 38-40)

The verdict is handed down on December 26. They are found guilty, but punishment is remitted on account of their youth and pure motives, and they are released. That evening, a celebratory dinner is held at the Academy of Patriotism. Tsumura, the youngest student, is irritated by the jolly atmosphere and shows Isao a newspaper account of desecratory blunders made by Kurahara on December 16 at the Inner Ise Shrine. Iinuma, drunk, tells Isao that he was the informant. Isao is not surprised until Iinuma goes on to say that the Academy is run entirely with money paid by Baron Shinkawa as protection, and that Shinkawa made him promise, just before the May 15 Incident, never to allow Kurahara to be touched. Later, Honda hears the sleeping Isao mutter "Far to the south. Very hot...in the rose sunshine of a southern land," predicting his next reincarnation. In the morning he meets Tsuboi, who asks him to teach kendo to children, and he has a vision of himself doing so till old age. Sawa takes Isao into his room and lets him know that it was Makiko (whom Isao has not seen since the trial) who told Iinuma of their plan by telephone. This is the final straw for Isao.

On 29 December, Isao slips away from Sawa during a lantern procession, buys a dagger, and travels to Inamura, a seaside village near Atami, Shizuoka. He breaks into Kurahara's weekend house, stabs him to death because of his blasphemy at Ise Shrine, then runs through his tangerine orchards down to a cave on the shore where he commits seppuku.

In a Baltimore neighborhood known for having the thickest local accent, unassuming 18-year-old Pecker works in a sandwich shop and takes photos of his loving but peculiar family and friends on the side. Pecker, named for his childhood habit of "pecking" at his food, becomes unexpectedly popular when savvy New York art dealer Rorey Wheeler "discovers" his work. Pecker's pictures, taken with a cheap Canon Canonet 28, are grainy, out-of-focus studies of unglamorous subjects, but they strike a chord with New York art collectors.

Unfortunately, Pecker discovers that instant over-exposure has its downsides. Rorey's efforts to turn Pecker into an art sensation threaten to ruin the low-key lifestyle that inspired him. He abandons his trusty old rangefinder camera for a new, full-featured Nikon N50. Pecker finds that his best friend, Matt, can't shoplift anymore because Pecker's photographs have increased his visibility. Shelley, Pecker's obsessive girlfriend who runs a laundromat, seems especially distressed when the press dub her a "stain goddess", mistaking her good-natured "pin-up" poses for pornographic come-ons.

When an overzealous critic dubs Pecker's family "culturally challenged", they begin to feel the uncomfortable glare of stardom. His mother Joyce can no longer freely dispense fashion tips to the homeless clientele at her thrift shop; his grandmother, Memama, endures public ridicule when her experience with a talking statue of the Virgin Mary is exposed on the cover of a national art magazine, and his older sister Tina is fired from her job emceeing go-go dancing at a gay bar because Pecker's edgy photographs chronicle the sex practices of the club's patrons. Even Little Chrissy, his six-year-old sister, feels the pressure of celebrity when her eating disorder is exposed, bringing unwanted attention from nosy child welfare agencies, and she is mistakenly diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and prescribed Ritalin.

Having seen his new-found fame disrupt the lives of his family and friends, Pecker upsets the art world by refusing to participate in a scheduled show at the Whitney Museum of Art. Instead, he forces New York art collectors to come to Baltimore to see his latest photographs, which insultingly portray the same people who disparaged his family, with one photo showing Lynn Wentworth adjusting her breasts in a mirror.

Asked what he plans to do next, Pecker replies that he would like to direct a film.

The chief of the CIA, Helen Dexter, decides, on her own, to order the murder of political figures of other nations on the basis of their views on the United States. The book starts with the murder of a candidate for the Colombian presidency. During this time, Helen finds out that she would be fired if she is found out to be ordering assassinations on several nations. To cover up her work she plans to have her chief assassin, Connor Fitzgerald, eliminated. The CIA rejects Connor's resignation and asks him to go on a final mission to assassinate a candidate for the Russian presidency. While attending a speech, Connor is arrested and placed in a Russian jail to be executed. A friend of his arrives in time and tries to rescue him by making a bargain with the Russian Mafia. In exchange for Fitzgerald to be replaced with his friend, Fitzgerald will have to assassinate the Russian president. Fitzgerald fails in the attempt and "dies." Later on he returns home with the name of a professor and he has lost his arm.

On the planet Karn, an insect-like alien is killed by Condo who takes its head to a castle and his master Solon. However, the head is unsuitable — Solon needs a head from a warm-blooded humanoid.

The TARDIS materialises and the Fourth Doctor rushes out, the Time Lords having diverted him to this planet. Sarah Jane Smith finds a valley filled with wrecked spacecraft, as well as the headless body of the alien which is identified as a Mutt. She and the Doctor make for the castle that she spots. The travellers are welcomed by Solon who compliments the Doctor on his "magnificent" head.

Meanwhile, the Sisterhood of Karn discover the TARDIS and teleport it to their temple. Their elderly leader, Maren, identifies it as a Time Lord vessel, and believes that the Doctor has come to steal their Elixir of Life.

The Doctor knows of Solon as an authority on microsurgical techniques and tissue transplant. The Doctor recognises a clay bust as that of Morbius, one of the Time Lords' greatest criminals. Before he can say anything further, a drug takes effect, and the Doctor passes out. Sarah Jane pretends that she has succumbed. In the laboratory, Solon's examination of the Doctor confirms that he is a Time Lord. As he and Condo leave the room, the Doctor vanishes. Sarah Jane keeps hidden and enters the lab. She draws back the curtain on a bed, thinking it is the Doctor, but as the lights come up, she sees a headless, patchwork creature made from various body parts.

The Doctor regains consciousness to find himself surrounded by members of the Sisterhood. The Doctor realises that just before he passed out, he felt the mind of Morbius. Maren refuses to believe him.

Sarah Jane follows Solon and Condo as they make their way towards the temple. Solon asks the Sisters to spare the Doctor, or at least give him the Doctor's head. A disguised Sarah frees the Doctor, but she is blinded by the energy from Maren's ring. They return to the castle, where the Doctor asks Solon to examine Sarah Jane's eyes. Solon tells him that Sarah's retinas have been almost completely destroyed, but there is one chance: the Elixir of Life. The Doctor goes to the Sisterhood, unaware that Solon has lied about Sarah Jane's condition and has notified the Sisterhood that the Doctor is coming back.

Sarah Jane hears a voice calling for Solon. Following the sound, she enters a hidden laboratory and stumbles blindly towards a glowing brain in a tank, which accuses her of being sent by the Sisterhood to destroy it. Solon enters and drags her away. As he closes the door, she hears Solon address the voice as "Morbius" and hears how Solon has sent the Doctor into a trap. She locks Solon in the laboratory and, still blind, makes her way out of the castle.

The Doctor is captured by the Sisterhood. When he explains why he came back, Maren tells him that the ray's effect is not permanent, and Solon knows that. The Doctor believes that something evil related to Morbius is happening. Maren affirms that she saw Morbius dispersed. The Doctor asks if Solon was present. Morbius had led an army of mercenaries, promising them the Elixir and immortality and revealing its existence to the cosmos. The Doctor reignites the flame with a "Little Demon."

Sarah Jane is captured and taken back to the castle. Learning that the Doctor is a Time Lord, Morbius fears the Time Lords have tracked him down and will return in force. Morbius insists that he be transferred into the patchwork body now, with an artificial brain casing that Solon constructed. Solon protests, as there may be severe pain and seizures, but Morbius insists. Back in the castle, Solon prepares to operate, but Condo is enraged when he recognises his lost arm attached to the patchwork body. He attacks Solon before being shot in the stomach, their struggle knocking Morbius' brain to the floor. Not knowing what damage has been done, Solon places the fallen brain in the casing, releasing Sarah Jane so she can assist in the operation. He threatens her into doing so, saying that if Morbius dies, then so does she.

The wounded Condo crawls into the hallway as outside, the Sisters carry the Doctor through the lightning storm. In the meantime, the operation is finished — within minutes Morbius will live again. Solon goes to answer the doorbell, and sees the Sisters leaving the Doctor's body in the parlour. In the laboratory, Sarah Jane's eyesight starts to clear, but the monstrous body of Morbius gets off the operating table and lumbers towards her.

Sarah Jane screams as she sees the Morbius creature, and dodges out of the way. She warns Solon that the creature is loose and he runs back to the lab. Sarah Jane notices the Doctor's body, but as she approaches, the Doctor wakes up and smiles at her. He is here to stop Solon, but Sarah Jane tells him it is too late. But Morbius is revealed to not be in his right mind as he knocks Solon out and then the Doctor. Morbius chases Sarah Jane, but Condo intervenes, knocking Sarah Jane down the stairs into the cellar while he grapples with Morbius. Morbius kills Condo then wanders out of the castle as the Doctor regains consciousness. He carries Sarah Jane into the secret lab to let her recover.

Solon has awakened and assembles a tranquilliser gun. He tells the Doctor that the operation was not complete, only the motor functions are working, the rest on an instinctual level. Knowing Morbius' hatred, he will seek out the Sisterhood. Morbius finds one of the Sisters in some ruins nearby and kills her. The Doctor and Solon find the body and they search the ruins. Morbius attacks the Doctor, but is knocked out by Solon's tranquilliser. As they carry the creature back to the castle, the Doctor tells Solon that Morbius's brain will be detached and returned to the Time Lords.

The body of the dead Sister is brought back to Maren. Ohica reports that witnesses saw a creature and then the Doctor and Solon hunting for it. Maren realises that Solon has succeeded in his experiments and resurrected their ancient enemy. But Maren is too old and weak to leave the shrine, and she gives Ohica permission to lead the Sisters to the castle.

The Doctor gives Solon five minutes to disconnect the brain as he goes and checks on Sarah Jane. However, Solon locks them in the secret lab instead and begins to repair Morbius. Using materials from the secret lab, the Doctor makes cyanogen gas, which he then pipes through a vent that leads to the operating room above, reaching Solon and killing him, but Morbius survives, as his lungs filter out the poison. Morbius confronts Sarah Jane and the Doctor, claiming that when the knowledge of his resurrection spreads, his followers will rise in their millions. The Doctor and Sarah Jane mock Morbius in an attempt to overheat his brain, and the Doctor challenges him to a mindbending contest.

They grab hold of the appropriate apparatus in the laboratory and begin. The machine's display shows Morbius' brain casing head, then his previous face, then the Doctor, then the Doctor's previous incarnation. After going through the Doctor's previous incarnations, eight other faces are shown before Morbius' brain case shorts out. The Doctor collapses, as Morbius stumbles out in a daze. The Sisterhood arrive and chase Morbius over a cliff, apparently to his death. Then Ohica finds Sarah Jane crying over the Doctor.

Taking the Doctor back to the shrine, Maren says only the Elixir of Life can save him, but there is none left. However, the revived Flame has gathered enough Elixir. There is enough for the Doctor, but not for Maren, who accepts that the Doctor was right: there should be an end. The Elixir is given to the Doctor, who revives almost immediately. Maren steps into the Flame of Life, becoming younger, and then vanishes.

Ohica starts to thank the Doctor, but he stops her, saying that he and Sarah Jane have another engagement. He gives her a pair of curious objects in case they need to relight the Flame again. When Ohica asks what they are, the Doctor answers, "A mighty atom and a thunderflash." He explains that the writing on the cardboard tubes reads: "Light the blue touch paper and stand clear." This time, the TARDIS vanishes in a puff of light and smoke.

Continuity

The 2020 series finale of season 12, ''The Timeless Children'', revealed that The Doctor is in fact a transdimensional foundling originally known as the Timeless Child, possessing an infinite capacity to regenerate but now retaining only memories from the incarnation known as the "First Doctor" (Hartnell) forward. The Time Lords developed the ability to regenerate by studying the Timeless Child's natural ability. The episode included a sequence where scenes from throughout the programme's run are used to represent the Doctor's recollection of her past incarnations, with the incarnations from ''The Brain of Morbius'' specifically included.

The book consists of four distinct parts. The primary purpose of part one is the introduction of the characters, in ancient Britain and the present. Part two introduces a modern first-person view of the Order in Rome while following Regina's budding legacy centuries before. Part three hosts the clash and resolution of Poole and the Order's realities. Part four is a look eons into Humanity's Expansion into the Universe and provides a conclusion in George Poole's present.

Part one

George Poole

George Poole copes with the mid-life crisis of losing his father. He meets Peter McLachlan, an eccentric member of an online free-thinking Internet group called the Slan(t)ers, who is researching dark matter and who is fascinated by a new and unknown artificial object discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto. George Poole uncovers an old picture showing a sister he never knew. Poole also discovers that his father regularly donated large sums of money to an organisation called the "Puissant Order of Holy Mary Queen of Virgins". Combined with a sense of futility in determining his future and encouragement from both Peter and his former wife Linda, Poole decides to uncover the mystery of his missing sister.

Poole leaves England to visit his sister Gina (who is ''not'' his newly discovered missing sister) in Florida for information, despite their strained relationship. After spoiling his clever nephews as well as clashing with his distant sister Gina, Poole extracts the contact of a Jesuit priest in Rome and his own retired uncle in Florida. Poole learns from his uncle, Lou Casella, that his twin sister was given to the ancient Order when Poole's parents were unexpectedly landed with twins.

Regina

Born into a wealthy mosaic-designing family of 5th-century Roman Britain, seven-year-old Regina is uprooted from her comfortable villa due to her father's death and the Roman Empire's withdrawal. The Roman Empire loses its strength in Britain as invading Saxons pummel the Great Wall north of Roman settlements to where Regina and her grandfather Aetius relocated. Aetius dies after losing control over his unpaid mutinous soldiers.

Regina seeks refuge with her servant Cartumandua's relatives in Verulamium but is betrayed by Carta's cousin Amator who rapes and abandons her. Verulamium burns down, forcing Regina and Cartumandua's family to live off the land in poverty for over sixteen years. Regina kills a roaming Saxon who nearly rapes her daughter, Brica. This event convinces Regina, the leader of their hamlet, to accept the invitation of warlord Artorius to help restore order to Britain again.

Part two

Lucia

In modern Rome, Lucia, a fifteen-year-old scribe for the Order, is devastated when she begins to menstruate — unlike any of her friends and colleagues within the Order. Once this is discovered Lucia is initiated into in her new role within the Order. Meanwhile, Lucia falls in love with seventeen-year-old American Daniel Stannard but is snatched back into the Order to do what is expected of her. After being impregnated by an anonymous distant cousin in a ceremony held deep within the Order's chambers Lucia gives birth following only three months of pregnancy. The baby is removed from her at once and Lucia never sees her baby again. Emotionally unstable, she runs away with Daniel.

Regina

Back in 5th Century Britain, Regina establishes her life working with Artorius, eventually managing his kingdom's record keeping. Artorius takes Regina as his wife for symbolic and moral reasons. She disdains Artorius' barbaric practices and thirst for conquest. Regina accompanies Artorius to a War Council where she realises to stay attached with the reckless Artorius would mean certain doom for her progeny. To search out her mother, Julia, Regina secures passage to Rome by allowing herself and her daughter to give sexual favours to a wealthy merchant named Ceawlin.

Upon arriving in Rome, Regina contacts Amator, now openly homosexual and a wealthy bakery owner, and demands recompense for abandoning her and her family. Regina re-establishes contact with her mother, Julia, after a cool reunion. Regina joins the Puissant Order of Holy Mary Queen of Virgins, a Christian-adapted faction of the Vestal Virgins located on the Appian Way – an organisation that her family has become intimate with. Regina's leadership revives the ageing Order by converting it into a successful private school. Years later, on the night following her daughter's marriage, the Sack of Rome in 455 by the Vandals occurs. Regina's foresight saves the Order when the women and children are evacuated into the catacombs she had dug for a sanctuary.

In Regina's twilight years, she establishes important rules precedents for the Order. Unnecessary and unsupportable births are prohibited. A handful of mothers must dedicate their lives to replenishing the Order with births. Before her death in 476 AD, Regina establishes three main rules to govern the Order:

''Sisters matter more than daughters.'' ''Ignorance is strength.'' *''Listen to your sisters.''

Part three

In the centuries following Regina's death, the Order assists the poor, robbed, and injured, gaining donations to its coffers from the occasional assisted person who became wealthy. Another Crypt that developed similarly to the Order is found and plans made for its eradication and occupation. In 1527, the Order survives the pillage of Rome during the Papacy of Clement VII by sacrificing five of its members to rape and death to divert Clement and his men's attention from an entrance to the Crypt.

George Poole

Meanwhile, in the present, George Poole, followed by a nervous Peter McLachlan, has a cool reunion with his lost sister Rosa. Rosa gives George a tour of the Crypt, the Order's secret human cache. Peter speculates with George about evidence of intelligent dark matter life moving through earth. Daniel serendipitously meets with George Poole, who is searching for additional information about the Order. Daniel, George Poole, and Peter take the very pregnant Lucia to a hospital where Peter becomes suspicious of the mysterious Order. The Order promptly retrieves Lucia from the hospital but not before Peter and George learn that most of the Crypt's inhabitants remain prepubescent indefinitely.

George Poole convinces his Jesuit priest contact to grant Peter access to ancient Catholic records. George's patriarchal roots are traced to a British surveyor named George Poole who came to Rome in 1863. George returns to the Crypt looking for information and finds himself smothered with the familiar smell and contact of those in the Crypt, all of whom share his similar facial features (namely, cloudy grey eyes). His sister Rosa almost persuades him to become assimilated into the Order as a stud but an urgent text message by Peter brings him to his senses.

Peter has a theory explaining the strange peculiarities of the Order. The Order is a family of eusocial humans that evolved from the intense pressures to survive the various conquests of Rome over the centuries. He cites naked mole rats as an example of eusocial behaviour in mammals. He explains how Regina's three rules result in a "genetic mandate for eusociality." He calls the Order a "human hive" and labels them "Coalescents" — a new kind of human. Peter then suddenly leaves after receiving a text message.

Days later, George learns that Peter has invaded the Crypt and is threatening to set off Semtex plastic explosives to expose the Order. Peter and the Slan(t)ers are responsible for the recent bombing of a San Jose research facility investigating quantum gravity technology – under the belief that a higher intelligence would notice the manipulation of space-time and eradicate a possible threat to their superiority. Peter's reasoning in exposing the Crypt is that the Order does not exist for any purpose except for itself. It threatens to destroy humanity as individuals and replace it with mindless drones. Peter Mclachlan then detonates his bombs and dies. George begins the evacuation of the Crypt, and the mob of drones emerge hive-like from the crater in the middle of Via Cristoforo Colombo.

Part four

Toward the end of the novel there are also two short sections telling of a hive planet in the far future. A planet has been knocked out of its solar orbit, and the hives have survived deep underground for aeons. A military mission arrives, aiming to secure workers for the war-effort, and invades a colony. They fight their way into the hive, and ship the survivors off-world.

The TARDIS materialises, apparently in the English countryside, where the Doctor detects an odd energy reading. He and Sarah Jane meet a group of men in white suits and opaque helmets who shoot at them with their index fingers. As they flee, the Doctor and Sarah see a UNIT soldier run over a cliff and fall to his death. The Doctor searches the body, finding a wallet full of freshly-minted coins, all dated the same year. They also spot a casket-shaped pod nearby, which the Doctor finds familiar. Pursued again by the white-suited men, they reach a deserted village, which Sarah recognises as Devesham; it is located near to a Space Defence Station. The Doctor finds the same coins in the register of the empty pub. The white suits enter the village, accompanied by the "dead" soldier. Villagers in a trance-like state arrive. Morgan, the pub landlord, enters along with several others while Sarah and the Doctor hide. The villagers take their seats silently, waiting motionless until the clock strikes, when they suddenly come to life, acting normally.

The Doctor intends to get to the Space Defence Station and contact UNIT. The soldier finds Sarah and questions her; Morgan suggests that Sarah might be part of "the test" and tells her to go. She observes that behind the visors of the white-suits are nothing but plastic and electronics. While examining one of the pods which she has found near to the TARDIS, the time machine dematerialises. Sarah is attacked by a man lying in the pod, but breaks free.

At the defence station, Senior Defence Astronaut Guy Crayford is addressed by the voice of Styggron, who orders him to check for an intruder. The Doctor enters Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's office, but it is empty. Discovered by Crayford, the Doctor introduces himself as UNIT's scientific advisor, but is placed in detention. Sarah arrives and frees the Doctor from his cell, but is unaware that an alien – a Kraal – is observing them. When the Doctor tells Sarah about Crayford, she reveals that he vanished in deep space, presumed dead, during testing of a craft. The Doctor and Sarah are able to escape despite the efforts of Crayford's men, including their friends Sergeant Benton and Harry Sullivan, and are pursued by tracker dogs. When Sarah twists her ankle, the Doctor hides her in a tree. He is able to throw the dogs off his own trail, but when the soldiers turn back they capture Sarah. Styggron tells Crayford to locate, but not seize, the Doctor; he has other plans for him. In an alien-looking room, Sarah is strapped to a table and scanned by Harry. In the village, the Doctor finds that the telephones are not working. Styggron speaks to another Kraal, Chedaki, to discuss their experiments and plans to conquer Earth and other worlds. Styggron contacts Crayford and tells him to commence the final test.

In the pub, the Doctor finds more oddities, such as a tear-off calendar with only one date on every page, 6 July. He is telephoned by Sarah, who tells him that she was captured but escaped; she asks the Doctor to meet her in the village. Afterwards he finds that the telephone has stopped working again. The Doctor meets Sarah, who explains how she escaped. The Doctor remarks on the providence of her finding the only telephone in the village that worked; he believes they are being tested. Discovering the TARDIS has gone, the Doctor is puzzled, before realising it has continued its journey to Earth; they are not on Earth, and "Sarah" is really an android duplicate, which he realised since it is wearing a copy of the scarf that he took from her earlier. When the Doctor grabs the duplicate and demands to know where the real Sarah is, it breaks free and falls to the ground, its face opening to reveal the electronics underneath. The Doctor retreats as the android Sarah pulls out a pistol and fires at him.

Styggron tells Chedaki that the village and the Doctor will be destroyed by a matter-dissolving bomb. The real Sarah is being kept alive so Styggron can test the virus he intends to use on Earth. She subsequently escapes to the village and frees the Doctor, who has been captured by Styggron and tied up with the bomb at his feet. With seconds to spare, they run into the base and shut the door as the village dissolves into a wasteland, only to be captured by androids. The Doctor explains that the radiation levels he picked up earlier were those of Oseidon, the Kraal planet. The levels are increasing and the planet will soon be uninhabitable, hence the invasion of Earth. The duplicated village was an android training ground. Crayford enters and explains that he is helping the Kraals because they rescued him and reconstructed his body, while Earth left him for dead. He has contacted Earth with a cover story explaining his survival and with his return providing a distraction, the androids will also land on Earth, paving the way for the main invasion fleet. Although the Kraals have promised Crayford no humans will be harmed as long as they obey, Styggron subsequently reveals that he ''does'' intend to wipe out humanity using the androids to distribute the virus. Styggron leaves the Doctor to die strapped to the Kraal analysis table, but he is rescued by Sarah and they escape aboard Crayford's rocket. They eject from the rocket aboard pods and travel to Earth to warn the real defence station, but aboard another pod is an android Doctor. Meanwhile, having found the TARDIS in the woods near Devesham, the real Benton and Harry have been searching for the Doctor and Sarah.

Station commander Colonel Faraday welcomes Crayford home on the radio, but the signal is broken up by the "meteor shower" of pods which slow down as they enter the atmosphere. The Doctor and Sarah land separately on Earth in their pods, and Sarah finds the TARDIS in the woods. As she looks around, the Doctor taps her on the shoulder. However, this Doctor is an android, and behind it a pod opens to reveal another Sarah replica. The real Sarah runs for it. When Crayford's rocket lands, Harry and Faraday head there, not knowing that Styggron is there with Crayford. The real Doctor enters the Station and meets Benton, who tells him where Harry and Faraday are. The Doctor contacts them by radio and urges them not to enter the rocket.

The Doctor tries to jam electronic equipment in the area using the Station's radar dish, and explains the Kraal invasion to Faraday. However, the Doctor is too late: Harry and Faraday have been replaced, and the android Doctor is pointing a gun at him. He escapes and meets Sarah, telling her their only chance is to stop the androids before they take over the complex. He runs back toward the scanner room, bluffing his way past "Benton" by posing as his duplicate. Sarah climbs up the rocket towards the real Harry and Faraday. The android Doctor is about to shoot the original when Crayford enters, saying that Styggron promised no killing. The android Doctor calls him a fool and tells him about the virus. Crayford cannot believe this, but the real Doctor tells him that his rocket was actually hijacked by the Kraal, and they did not reconstruct him but merely brainwashed him. Realising the truth, Crayford rushes out, distracting the android long enough for the Doctor to make his move. In the struggle, the Doctor manages to activate the power to the radar, jamming all the androids in mid-step. In the rocket, Sarah unties Harry and Faraday. Styggron enters, holding a ray gun on them, but Crayford appears and attacks him. The two grapple, and Styggron shoots Crayford. The Doctor makes his own entrance, punching the Kraal, who falls face first onto the vial of virus, cracking it open. Styggron shoots the Doctor before he dies. Sarah is horrified, but the real Doctor appears, revealing he had reprogrammed his duplicate to distract Styggron.

In Antarctica, British scientists Charles Winlett and Derek Moberley discover a pod buried in the permafrost and take it back to their camp. John Stevenson, the base botanist, identifies it as vegetable-based and estimates it has been buried in the ice for twenty thousand years.

In London, Richard Dunbar of the World Ecology Bureau shows the Fourth Doctor photographs of the pod at the urging of his superior, Sir Colin Thackeray. The Doctor believes it to be extraterrestrial. He tells Dunbar to tell the expedition not to touch it until he arrives.

Back at the base, Stevenson discovers that the pod is growing larger and he believes it is absorbing ultraviolet radiation. In England, Dunbar visits the estate of millionaire Harrison Chase, who considers it his mission to protect the plant life of Mother Earth. Dunbar gives Chase the location of the pod. Chase sends his men, Scorby and Keeler, to retrieve the pod.

At the base, the pod opens and stings Winlett. When Stevenson and Moberley find him, Winlett's face is covered with green hives. The Doctor and Sarah arrive at the base, and find that Winlett's face and body are rapidly becoming covered with green fungus. Outside the base, the Doctor uncovers another pod and notes that they travel in pairs. Winlett's blood is found to contain no blood platelets, but instead has schizophytes – microscopic organisms akin to plant bacteria. The Doctor tells Sarah that Winlett is turning into a Krynoid, a galactic weed that settles on planets and eats the animal life. Scorby and Keeler arrive, claiming that their private plane got lost.

Moberley is killed by the mutated Winlett. Transformed into a Krynoid, Winlett flees the base and shelters in the outside generator hut. Scorby and Keeler steal the remaining pod then escape in their plane. The Doctor and the others are attacked by the Krynoid, which kills Stevenson. The Doctor and Sarah flee the base as a bomb set by Scorby and Keeler destroys the area. The Doctor and Sarah are picked up by a team from South Bend, while Scorby and Keeler return to Chase in England with the second pod. Dunbar warns Chase that the Doctor and Sarah are still alive and are scheduled to meet with him and Sir Colin in two hours.

At the meeting, the Doctor and Sarah describe the theft of the pod. He tells Dunbar to arrange for him to go to the Botanic Institute. As they leave a driver meets them. However, the limousine stops in the countryside, and the driver orders them out at gunpoint. The Doctor jumps the driver and punches him out. The Doctor and Sarah search the car and find a painting by Amelia Ducat, a flower artist. When they visit her, Ducat tells them that the owner of the painting is Harrison Chase, who never paid her for it.

Chase orders Keeler to inject the pod with fixed nitrogen. When the Doctor and Sarah try to sneak into the mansion, they are captured and brought before Chase, who decides to show them around the mansion and his plant laboratory before he executes them. When Scorby escorts the Doctor and Sarah into the gardens to kill them, the two overpower him. Sarah escapes but is captured again. The Doctor rescues her and in the confusion, a frond from the pod stings Keeler's arm. Keeler soon begins to transform.

When the Doctor returns to the laboratory, he is captured and taken to the compost room, where Scorby activates the crusher. Meanwhile, Sarah escapes back to the house, attracts Ducat's attention and asks her to take a message to Sir Colin. Outside, Ducat enters a car with Sir Colin and Dunbar inside and tells them what Sarah said. Dunbar, realising he has made a terrible mistake, says he will get the Doctor. He tells Sir Colin that, if he does not return in half an hour, to return to London and call UNIT.

Sarah turns off the crusher in time to save the Doctor. Hargreaves finds that Keeler has almost completed his transformation and runs in a panic as the creature frees itself. In the mansion, Dunbar pleads with Chase to abandon the experiment as Hargreaves reports Keeler's transformation to Chase. Dunbar goes to get help and is pursued by Scorby.

The Doctor realises that Keeler is missing, and goes with Sarah to search for the Krynoid. Dunbar runs into the monster and is killed. His screams attract the attention of Scorby and the guards as well as the Doctor and Sarah. They escape to a cottage and barricade themselves in. The Krynoid speaks using Keeler's voice, demanding that the Doctor join it and it will spare the others. Scorby throws a Molotov cocktail at the Krynoid, allowing the Doctor to escape. Chase makes his way through the grounds and confronts the Krynoid. It notices him and he approaches, taking photographs.

The Doctor arrives at the Bureau, where UNIT Major Beresford warns he can't do anything without evidence. The Doctor shows reports of people near Chase's estates being killed by plants. He then calls Sarah and tells them Beresford is preparing to attack the Krynoid with a laser gun, but the Krynoid cuts the phone wires. Chase arrives and tells them that it's the plants' world, and humans are parasites. He goes to the manor to develop his photographs then begins speaking to the plants in his greenhouse.

Scorby, Sarah, and Hargreaves confront Chase, and he speaks of how the world will be made perfect. Sarah notices that the plants are closing in on them. The Doctor and a UNIT soldier drive onto the grounds while the plants overwhelm Sarah and the others and start to strangle them.

The Doctor and UNIT Sgt. Henderson arrive with chemical plant-killer. They dispose of the plants, saving Scorby and Sarah, but Hargreaves is killed. Chase runs away, and the Doctor and the others go into the lab and start removing the plants. Once they're outside, Chase locks the door behind them and they watch as the now enormous Krynoid towers over them. UNIT soldiers arrive and open fire with their laser gun, distracting the Krynoid so that the Doctor and his group can get to another door.

After they leave, Chase slips back into the laboratory and destroys the loudspeaker system. The others return to the laboratory, and the Krynoid tries to break in. Meanwhile, Chase puts Henderson in the compost machine and activates it, killing the unconscious soldier.

The Doctor works to repair the loudspeaker system as the Krynoid renews its attack, and Scorby panics and runs. He makes his way across a pond, but the plants grab and pull him underwater, killing him.

The Doctor and Sarah realise that Henderson is gone, and Sarah goes to look for him. She makes her way to the compost machine room, and Chase confronts her, telling him he's become part of the plant world thanks to the Krynoid. Chase plans to support the Krynoid and refers to humanity as parasites, then attacks Sarah and knocks her unconscious.

Beresford contacts the Doctor, who warns they have 15 minutes until the Krynoid germinates, spreading its seeds across England. The Doctor tells them to launch an air strike before it's too late.

Chase has tied up Sarah and starts feeding her into the compost machine. The Doctor arrives and shuts off the machine. In the ensuing struggle, Sarah is saved, but Chase is pulled into the machine.

The RAF launches a sighting run as Beresford and Sir Colin look for the Doctor. Sarah and the Doctor cannot get out through the plant life covering the house, but the Doctor rigs a steam pipe and they blast their way out. They make their way through the hostile plant life and take refuge as the RAF opens fire and destroys the Krynoid and the mansion.

Outside references

Scorby quotes Voltaire's line "when it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion", but the Doctor seems to attribute it to Franklin Pierce Adams.

In December 1998, three months after escaping from Raccoon City (seen in ''Resident Evil 2)'' prior to its eventual destruction (seen in ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis''), Claire Redfield raids an Umbrella Corporation facility in Paris in search of her brother, Chris Redfield. Discovered by Umbrella's security forces and eventually captured, Claire is imprisoned on Rockfort Island, a prison complex owned by the corporation, situated in the Southern Ocean. Sometime after her imprisonment, Claire finds herself released by the man who captured her, and discovers that an outbreak of the T-virus has occurred. In the resulting chaos, she finds herself teaming up with Steve Burnside, another inmate seeking to escape.

In their repeated efforts to explore the island and find the means to leave, the pair finds themselves confronting the island's commander, Alfred Ashford. Both Claire and Steve find him to be mentally unstable as a result of him switching between two personalities—his own, and that of his twin sister Alexia. Eventually, the pair manages to find a seaplane and use it to escape, only for Alfred to pursue them and switch their plane to autopilot, directing it towards another Umbrella facility in Antarctica. Upon their arrival, the pair finds that the facility had suffered an outbreak, and fight their way through the zombies and monsters within to seek a means of escape, battling with Alfred and fatally wounding him. Before he dies, Alfred frees his sister, Alexia, who had been in cryogenic sleep within the facility after injecting herself with the T-Veronica virus, an experimental virus that the Ashford family had developed 15 years ago. Awakened, Alexia manages to recapture Claire and Steve as they attempt to escape.

Meanwhile, Chris Redfield arrives on Rockfort Island in search of Claire, after receiving a message from her via Leon S. Kennedy. Upon learning that she had left, Chris focuses on determining where and begins searching the island. In the process of doing so, he comes across Albert Wesker, an independent agent since the Spencer mansion incident (the events of ''Resident Evil''), who is seeking to retrieve a sample of the T-Veronica virus. After Chris learns of his sister's whereabouts, and Wesker discovers that Alexia is alive and carries what he needs, the two separately find their way to Antarctica. Once there, Chris frees his sister and helps her to search for Steve, only for them to find that he had been experimented with and injected with the T-Veronica virus. After mutating, Steve attempts to kill Claire, but fails, regaining control of himself to turn on Alexia, who then inflicts a mortal wound on him. Before Steve dies, he confesses his love for Claire. Meanwhile, Chris and Wesker confront Alexia. In the resulting conflict, Wesker escapes and manages to retrieve Steve's corpse for further experimentation, while Chris manages to defeat Alexia and escape with his sister, before the Antarctic facility self-destructs.

Gascon poet and swashbuckler Cyrano de Bergerac is self-conscious about his enormous nose, but pretends to be proud of it. He is admired and respected by many people for his bravery and good swordsmanship. He madly loves his cousin, the beautiful Roxane; however, he is sure that she will reject him because of his appearance. To elevate himself in her eyes, he interferes with a play being staged at the Hôtel du Bourgogne, in Paris, and wins a duel with a marquis.

In the second act of the play and film, Cyrano meets with Roxane at her request. He is crushed when Roxane tells him she is infatuated with Christian de Neuvillette, a handsome and dashing new recruit to the Cadets de Gascogne (the military unit in which Cyrano is serving). However, Cyrano learns that Christian is tongue-tied when speaking with women. Seeing an opportunity to vicariously declare his love to Roxane, Cyrano approaches Christian with a proposal: Cyrano will write the love letters, and Christian will woo Roxane with them. Christian agrees.

Cyrano aids Christian, writing heartfelt love letters and poems. Roxane begins to appreciate Christian, not only for his good looks but also his apparent eloquence. She eventually falls in love with him. But the Comte de Guiche, an arrogant and exceptionally powerful older nobleman, also has designs on Roxane. Roxane and Cyrano thwart De Guiche's attempt to visit Roxane by arranging a quick secret marriage between Roxane and Christian. In revenge, De Guiche orders his company of cadets--including Cyrano and Christian--to report immediately for military duty in the Siege of Arras against the Spanish.

The siege is harsh and brutal: the Cadets de Gascogne are starving. Christian does not know that Cyrano escapes over enemy lines twice each day to deliver a love letter written by Cyrano himself but signed with Christian's name, sent to Roxane. These letters draw Roxane out from the city of Paris to the war front. Although she has come to visit Christian, she admits to him that she has fallen in love with the author's soul, and would love the author even if he were ugly. Christian tries to find out whether Roxane loves him or Cyrano, and asks Cyrano to find out. However, during the subsequent battle, Christian is mortally wounded. The scene ends with the French returning to the battle.

In the final scene of the play and film, fourteen years later, Roxane has entered a convent and retired from the world. Cyrano has made many enemies with his writings; he is still free, but now poor. During this time, Cyrano has faithfully visited Roxane every week, never declaring his love. On this day, his enemies attack and mortally injure him. Cyrano nevertheless visits Roxane at the convent. When she mentions Christian's last letter, sensing his own mortality, Cyrano asks if he can read it. Roxane gives him the letter, which he reads movingly. Just before Cyrano dies, Roxane realizes that she has loved him all along.

In the series pilot, 11-year-old Jay tries to join a tree-fort club, led by the tough Keith. As per the prearranged agreement, Jay has brought something of value to contribute to the club: a telescope that belonged to his father (who has been missing several years and is presumed dead). Keith double-crosses Jay and takes the telescope, denying him admission into the club. Jay tries to retrieve the telescope with the help of his physically disabled friend Donna, who uses a crutch and a leg brace in order to walk. Jay falls from the tree-fort, striking his head against a rock and lapsing into a coma.

In the coma, Jay finds himself in a fantasy world called Downworld where no one reaches the age of 16. Not having heard of adults, the children here have shaped society in their own ways, forming mostly tribal clans in the form of Clubs, such as the Pool Club and the Library Club. The biggest and most powerful Club is the Tower, a brutal despotic police state run by the oldest kids, with Brad as the absolute ruler because he is 15, and "knows everything". Jay, not knowing how he has got here and aided by his friends Alpha and Flash (who are identical to Donna and Keith), embarks on a journey to return home — a place he can't remember. The journey becomes a quest to find his long-lost father, whose name happens to be Brad, who fell overboard from a small boat into a lake while they were on a fishing trip together and has not been seen since.

Meanwhile, Jay's mother and a coma therapist try to get Jay to regain consciousness, with the help of his friends.

A turning point is reached when Jay's father appears to him as he is regaining consciousness, which Jay is forced to keep as a secret from his mother. As Jay struggles to reorient himself in the waking world and the many changes that have occurred, he finds that he is still dealing with issues through the world from his subconscious.

An Edwardian home, Christmas 1906. Or is it? The Doctor and Charley are caught in a mysterious house outside of time and when the grandfather clock strikes, someone will get murdered. Can the Doctor unmask the murderer? Or is something far more sinister at work?

When the Doctor finally manages to bring Charley to Singapore in 1930, they meet the immortal being Sebastian Grayle whose secret power they must discover in order to defeat him. Travelling across Earth in four different periods of its history, the Doctor comes face to face with an old enemy...

The Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard encounter an ancient race in the Cimmerian System, whose return could prove apocalyptic. But as the Darkness envelops the station the Doctor learns that their seemingly evil acts might be more than they appear. To save the day, the Doctor must battle an artificial intelligence as well as the Cimmerians

The Doctor is confused enough when he finds that Charley has never heard of William Shakespeare. But when he travels to Britain in the near future and discovers a leader obsessed with watching Shakespeare's plays — and the Daleks wanting to help her — the mystery grows more sinister. Can the Daleks really claim to be the 'Masters of Time'?

As the paradox from the R-101 airship starts to unravel time and space, The Doctor and Charley, together with President Romana, go beyond the confines of our Universe to a world populated by "neverpeople", those who exist outside of time and space. It is in this Neverland that the Doctor uncovers the origins of a legend from the earliest days of Gallifrey's history that tells the story of a powerful Time Lord and a creature from an ancient nursery rhyme known as Zagreus.

A radio announcer declares that after six years training Crewman Donald Philpott will become the first human to set foot on the surface of Mondas since the inhabitants were forced to retreat underground. Once Philpott emerges, however, his heartbeat and breathing increase rapidly until, screaming, he is overcome by the vastness of the universe. Months or years later, the Doctor and Nyssa have arrived in what strongly resembles a 1950s London street, but in a huge cavern. They separate to explore. Nyssa encounters Mr Hartley, a Mat-catcher who traps wild Cybermats, and his daughter Yvonne. With curfew approaching, they insist on taking Nyssa home with them. Meanwhile, the Doctor finds his way into the shop of Thomas Dodd, a dealer in human body parts for transplant. Dodd confirms the Doctor’s suspicion that the planet he has landed on is indeed Mondas, and explains that the population is down to a few thousand in a single underground city. Mondas has drifted so far from any star that the surface is no longer habitable. The Doctor intends to return to the TARDIS, but Dodd tries to stop him as curfew has fallen. Outside the shop they encounter a cybernetic Policeman, a primitive cyborg, similar to but not yet as advanced as a Cyberman, who tries to arrest them for breaking curfew. The Doctor and Dodd flee. Back at the Hartley’s, Yvonne, her father and Nyssa discover Sisterman Constant, a medical official who works as a Selector, is visiting. She is choosing candidates to become Crewmen (i.e. Cybermen), to work on the propulsion system on the surface of the planet. Constant is highly suspicious of Nyssa, and later reports the stranger’s presence to her superiors. Elsewhere, the Doctor and Dodd are puzzled by heavy traffic movement. After climbing the tower of the abandoned Church of Former-Day Souls they discover the Police are digging up the graveyard for body parts. They are attacked by a Policeman, who the Doctor kills by pushing it into the church clock mechanism. He then sets the bell tolling, summoning the population. He hopes that, when they discover what is going on, the people will force the government to change the direction of their work, thus stopping the development of the Cybermen. At the Hartley’s a Police squad arrive in search of Nyssa. She flees, after Yvonne gives Nyssa her pet Cybermat, Matty, as a present. Meanwhile, the Central Committee have decided that the Doctor and Nyssa must be found and eliminated as insurgents.

Reunited, the Doctor and Nyssa argue over what to do. Nyssa believes that they should intervene to stop the creation of the Cybermen. The Doctor maintains that they must not interfere – he hopes that his ‘wake-up call’ with the church bell will be sufficient to make the Mondasians change their own future. However, the Police have used force to crush the unrest. In any case, the TARDIS is trapped as Matty has escaped and severed the energy conduit in the console. At the Committee Palace hospital ward, Doctorman Allan, the Surgeon-General of Mondas and chief medical officer in charge of the Cyberman programme, is becoming increasingly cynical about the project. She is short of resources, and most of the Cybermen survive barely a week as their bodies' immune systems reject the cybernetic implants. Meanwhile, Frank, Yvonne’s brother, arrives at the TARDIS and tells Nyssa that Yvonne has received her call-up papers – in other words, she has been taken to be converted into a Cyberman. The Doctor leaves to make another attempt to stir up insurrection, causing a truck-load of bones from the graveyard to lose its load in public. The Committee decide to summon Commander Zheng, the leading Cyberman, from the surface to restore order. The Doctor approaches Dodd, hoping he knows a way into the Committee Palace, but Dodd – planning to steal the Doctor’s undamaged body-parts – locks him in his freezer. However, a security Cybermat has observed the Doctor at Dodd’s shop, and a squad of Policemen arrive. They intend to kill the Doctor, but Allan stops them, taking him and Dodd into her own custody in the belief that the Doctor could prove useful. At the home of the Hartleys, Nyssa observes the new ‘Crewmen’ being paraded on television, and is horrified to see that they are fully processed Cybermen. However, a sudden power-failure throughout the city causes mass panic. The latest batch of Cybermen, including Yvonne, become out-of-control as the systems have shut down before processing was complete. The Doctor realises that Mondas is entering the Cherrybowl Nebula, a large tract of unstable Space, with the result that the destruction of Mondas is imminent.

Debris caused by planetary-wide turbulence crushes the Police Escort of the Doctor and Dodd, allowing them to escape into the shelter of the Palace. There, Constant is attempting to restrain the half-processed Cybermen, but one of them – Yvonne – has escaped. Allan goes to try to restore power to the Central Committee. She encounters the Doctor – Dodd having run off in terror – who offers to help. As they are searching for a way to restore power to the City, the Doctor discovers the truth behind the Committee: twenty of Mondas’s finest thinkers permanently plugged into a giant computer. Back in the hospital ward, one of the semi-processed Cybermen, wrongly believing that Constant is withholding important data, attacks her. However, Commander Zheng arrives and kills the rogue Crewman. His squad take the semi-processed Cybermen into custody until processing can be completed, and sends an appalled Constant to be cyber-converted as a way of ‘healing’ the injuries caused by her attacker. He then goes to consult with the Committee, and oversees the Doctor’s and Allan’s attempts to restore power. As the Doctor closes the final circuit Zheng reactivates the power before the Doctor is clear, apparently killing him. At the Hartley apartment, a distressed Yvonne forces her way in, the remnant of her humanity reminding her that she wanted her father to see her in her ‘uniform’ before she joined the work crews. Mr Hartley, Frank and Nyssa are horrified when they realise who the Cyberman is. However, with the power back on the processing automatically starts to complete. Away from the hospital support, Yvonne’s body is unable to cope and she dies. Shortly afterwards a Policeman arrives and arrests Nyssa. Meanwhile, the Doctor has recovered consciousness. Allan is astonished by his physical resilience, surviving an electric shock from generators big enough to power several cities, and is convinced he is the solution to the destabilising Cybermen. A scan reveals that the Doctor has an additional lobe to his brain, not present in humans, which deals with all bodily functions. Allan realises she can reproduce this in all future Cybermen, which will prevent their bodies rejecting the cybernetic implants. The Committee instructs her to proceed, declaring that from now on the Cybermen will be invincible.

As the Doctor is prepared for a scan to produce the necessary template for the new Cybermen, the Committee decides, in spite of Zheng’s doubts, that the entire population must be processed. To achieve maximum efficiency, the Committee abandons all remnants of individuality and adopts a single persona, the ‘Cyberplanner’. Meanwhile, a shocked Allan protests at the plan to convert all Mondasians, but Zheng, obeying the Cyberplanner’s instructions, relieves her of her duties and takes command himself. However, Zheng is increasingly doubtful of the Cyberplanner’s intentions. His Cybermen have been building a propulsion unit on the surface of Mondas capable of sending the planet on a reverse trajectory out of the Cherrybowl Nebula. The Cyberplanner, though, is insisting that the power necessary to operate the propulsion unit must be directed into processing the population. A large force of Cybermen is despatched to herd the populace – including Mr Hartley and Frank – into the Palace for conversion. They resist at first, but the turbulence caused by entering the Nebula is causing the cavern ceiling to start to collapse, and the Hartleys flee inside for safety. Back in the hospital ward the Doctor has vanished. Believing the Doctor has been tricked, Nyssa is appalled to be confronted by a Cyberman which she believes to be him. However, the Doctor reappears, and Allan reveals that the Cyberman is actually Thomas Dodd. Realising that every Cyberman he has ever met or ever will meet is based on himself the Doctor is more determined than ever to stop them. The Palace still has a large wine cellar, and the Doctor decides to pour the wine into the nutrient vats which feed the Cyberplanner, causing it to malfunction. Allan goes to warn the Cyberplanner, but Zheng intervenes, finally having decided that the safety of the planet takes priority over the safety of its government. Another Cyberman tries to stop the Doctor and Nyssa, but the Hartleys, having escaped, attack the cyborg and throw it into the nutrient vat. Zheng and Allan arrive in the Committee Chamber. The Cyberplanner refuses to believe the nutrients have been poisoned, and Allan is taken away to be processed whilst Zheng argues with the Cyberplanner. As Zheng moves to activate the propulsion unit the Cyberplanner shoots him. Elsewhere, the Hartleys realise that they can convert the generators into a giant ‘cheeser’ – a device to attract Cybermats – causing a massive swarm which will attack the Cyberplanner. They complete their work but are captured and sent for processing. To give them time, the Doctor had also allowed himself to be captured and taken before the Cyberplanner. Thanks to its slipping faculties (caused by the wine), the Doctor is able to engage the Cyberplanner in a discussion on Mondasian history, delaying it until the Cybermats arrive. When they do, the swarm kills the Cyberplanner, allowing the dying Zheng to activate the propulsion unit. Some time later, the Doctor and Nyssa leave, believing that, whilst they have not stopped the Cybermen, they have redirected their evolution into something good. Mr Hartley has been put in charge of reconstructing the ceiling, with the work carried out by Cybermen. Processing has been halted, and the Doctor has provided Allan with instructions on how to partially reverse the conversion. As she works at her desk, however, assisted by the Cyberman version of Constant, Zheng – who she believed dead – walks in and announces, “Doctorman Allan. We begin again.”

Wally Pinner is a Punch and Judy man working on the beach in the (fictional) seaside town of Piltdown. He works with his assistant (Hugh Lloyd) who also makes and repairs the puppets.

Wally and the other individuals who have beach businesses, including the Sandman (John Le Mesurier) who makes sand sculptures and Nevil the photographer (Mario Fabrizi), are a friendly community of people who pride themselves on their independence. This community is, however, frowned upon by the mayor (Ronald Fraser) and council, who consider it a social blight.

Wally's wife, Delia (Sylvia Syms), runs a seaside curios shop below their flat, and is socially ambitious for herself and also for Wally, despite his reluctance. To achieve this, she makes moves to have Wally invited to entertain at the official reception for Lady Jane Caterham (Barbara Murray), who is to switch on the town's illuminations. At the mayoress's suggestion the reception committee invites Wally to entertain, despite her husband's reluctance. Although their marriage is lacking in passion, Wally wants to please his wife and eventually agrees to do it.

The illumination ceremony ends in farce when Wally's electric shaver leads to a disruption of the power, resulting in some of the illuminated signs displaying unflattering comments about the town. Wally then puts on his show for the guests at the formal dinner and dance, but a drunken guest heckles Punch and disrupts the performance, leading to a food fight involving all the guests. Lady Jane's attempt to leave is blocked and she gets into an argument with Wally, during which she insults and slaps Delia who responds by flooring her with a punch, to the horror of the mayor and mayoress.

The next morning Delia has a black eye: her dreams of social acceptance have vanished, but Wally and Delia are now closer, and happily decide to leave Piltdown for pastures new.

The Sixth Doctor and Peri attend a conference of lexicographers at a college where an unfortunate murder has occurred. The victim was a perfectionist linguist compiling the galaxy's biggest dictionary, and also a personal friend of The Doctor, but the only suspect is her holographic assistant, named Book, who is also a repository for every word in the English language.

The Omniverbum is the mythical longest word in existence. According to records, no one who has found the Omniverbum, or its sentient affix "Ish", has lived to tell of it. Except one. Book found the Ish on an obscure world and accidentally brought back to the college as per his programming. But now it's escaped, and is out to cause havoc on the speech centers of the human brain unless The Doctor can stop it.

Peri is in a different kind of danger. Swiftly falling in with a so-called "word anarchist" named Warren, she might come face to face with the slowly degenerating Book, who is distraught and unhinged over his master's death by possibly his own hands. Distraught and unhinged enough to kill her....

Jack Butler lives with his wife, Caroline, and their children Alex, Kenny, and Megan, in a Detroit suburb. During the early-1980s recession, Jack and his friends Larry and Stan lose their engineering jobs at the Ford Motor Company. Caroline, having been a housewife for years, uses her college education and experience working in advertising to re-enter the workforce, leaving Jack to deal with the new and bewildering responsibilities of a stay-at-home dad.

Jack discovers childcare and house maintenance involve a complex juggling act, and his initial struggles in daily errands gain the attention and company of other neighborhood housewives. Eventually, he hits his stride and although somewhat distracted by the flirtatious Joan (a neighbor and friend of Caroline's), he begins to feel confined by suburban domestic life. Simultaneously, he feels threatened by Caroline's responsibilities and work-life as a fast-climbing ad executive.

Meanwhile, Caroline contends with challenges in the workforce: her maternal and housekeeping instincts jeopardize her position as a sophisticated executive, and her boss Ron Richardson is intent on having his way with her. During a pitch to a hard-to-please client, Caroline's insight as a budget-conscious housewife proves invaluable. The client's president wants her to fly to Los Angeles to help shoot a commercial.

In the meantime, Jack's former employer invites him to interview for his old job, but his former supervisor Jinx betrayed his reputation. Jack lectures them on dirty practices and storms out.

Ron tries to convince her to leave Jack and marry him while Joan continues to try and seduce Jack. After a commercial shoot in Los Angeles, Caroline relaxes in her hotel bathtub. Ron sneaks into her room with champagne. Back home, Jack tries calling her so the kids can talk to her, but Ron answers. He hangs up, leading Jack to think his wife is having an affair. Caroline fends off Ron and quits her job.

The next day dawns with repair people in the home to fix a broken television and spray for bugs. Caroline arrives home unexpectedly, and she and Jack talk over their misunderstandings, reuniting as a stronger couple. Ron stops by begging Caroline to come back to work as the client thinks only she can properly handle their account. However, Caroline says she intends to get a better job and has missed her family. Though she finally agrees to stay with the agency after Ron agrees to offer her the chance to work from home 2 days a week and reduce her workload in order for her to have the chance to spend more time with her family. Jinx also comes begging for Jack to return to work. Jack punches Jinx in the face for being rude to Jack's son and says he won't come back to work unless Larry and Stan do also. Jinx accepts the conditions.

On the newly repaired TV, the national commercial Caroline helped produce is being broadcast.

The TARDIS picks up a distress call and the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith arrive on the planet Zeta Minor. There they discover that a Morestran geological expedition has fallen prey to an unseen killer and only the leader, Professor Sorenson, remains alive.

A military mission from Morestra has also arrived to investigate. At first they suspect the Doctor and Sarah Jane of responsibility for the deaths of the expedition members, but the culprit is eventually revealed to be a creature from a universe of antimatter, retaliating for the removal by Sorenson of some antimatter samples from around the pit that acts as an interface between the two universes.

The Morestrans take off in their ship, but it is slowly dragged back towards the planet due to the antimatter on board. Sorenson himself becomes infected by antimatter and gradually transforms into an 'antiman', a monster capable of draining the life from others.

The Morestran commander, the increasingly unhinged Salamar, attacks Sorenson with a radiation source, but this only causes him to produce multiple anti-matter versions of Sorenson which soon overrun the ship. The Doctor finds the original Sorenson, takes him back to the planet in the TARDIS and throws both him and his samples into the pit, fulfilling a bargain he earlier made with the anti-matter creature. Sorenson reappears unharmed, and the Doctor returns him to the Morestran ship, which is now freed of the planet's influence.

Outside references

The Doctor quotes from ''Romeo and Juliet'' and ''Hamlet'', and says that he met William Shakespeare once.

The Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan arrive via the TARDIS in Scotland near the North Sea where Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and U.N.I.T. are investigating the destruction of oil rigs. The survivors' assertion that the rigs were destroyed by a huge sea creature is corroborated by giant teeth marks in the wreckage.

During their investigation, Harry is captured by the Zygons, a shape-shifting alien race hiding in their submerged spacecraft. Their leader, Broton, tells Harry that their spaceship had sustained damage and landed on Earth centuries ago to await rescue, but when they discovered that their home planet had been destroyed in a stellar explosion they decided instead to conquer the Earth and terraform it to suit their physiology. To achieve this goal, they have captured several humans to use as "body prints" to infiltrate key leadership positions, including the influential Duke of Forgill who serves as head of the Scotland Energy Commission. They had also brought an embryonic sea creature called the Skarasen to Earth and augmented it with cyborg technology until it has reached giant proportions. They are directing it with a signalling device to attack the rigs as part of their larger plan.

Whilst investigating the similarity between the Skarasen and the monster in nearby Loch Ness, Sarah Jane stumbles upon a secret passageway at the Duke of Forgill's mansion. She follows the passage to the Zygons' submerged spacecraft. Whilst searching the ship she locates and frees Harry, who reveals the Zygon stratagem.

With their presence discovered, Broton accelerates their plan. He takes the Duke's form and leaves for London, while the remaining Zygons fly their ship to a nearby quarry, starting reactors to convert the Earth's atmosphere to one hospitable to Zygons but poisonous to humans. The Doctor sneaks aboard the ship, frees the remaining humans and sets the ship to self-destruct, killing the Zygon crew.

Among the rescued humans, the Duke warns that he was scheduled to attend the first international energy conference in London that day, at which several high-level dignitaries will be in attendance. With the conference located in a building near the Thames, the Doctor fears that Broton will lure the Skarasen to attack the conference. U.N.I.T. races them to London but, before the Doctor can stop him, Broton activates the signalling device. The Brigadier kills Broton, and the Doctor recovers the device just as the Skarasen surfaces. The Doctor throws the device into the Thames, the creature eats it and, no longer a threat, returns to Loch Ness.

The group returns to Scotland to close up the investigation, with the Brigadier reporting that the Cabinet will cover up the incident. The Doctor offers them all a return trip back to London via the TARDIS, but the Brigadier and Harry decline.

Following on from ''Genesis of the Daleks'', the Fourth Doctor, Harry and Sarah use the Time Ring to return to Space Station Nerva. They arrive aboard the space station thousands of years before the events of ''The Ark in Space'' and ''The Sontaran Experiment''. The TARDIS is not aboard Nerva, as it is travelling back in time towards them. The trio discover that the space station is full of dead bodies.

The time travellers come into contact with the surviving Nerva crew. The space station is now operating as an orbital beacon, warning ships away from a drifting planetoid named Voga. Professor Kellman, a civilian planetary surveyor has been using Nerva as a base for cataloguing Vogan geology, travelling there via a Transmat teleportation system. Nerva Beacon is now under quarantine due to an outbreak of an unidentified plague. In space, an unknown ship approaches Nerva.

It is revealed that Voga is inhabited by a race of intelligent domed-headed beings who live beneath its surface in a network of caves. Vorus, leader of the Guardians of the mines, is leading a revolt against the Vogan leader, Chief Councillor Tyrum.

On board Nerva, a mysterious silver, snake-like creature attacks and kills a crewmember by injecting him with poison. The Doctor identifies it as a Cybermat, a cybernetic creature used by Cybermen, and that it has been responsible for the deaths aboard Nerva rather than a plague. He realises that Voga is the legendary Planet of Gold, an enemy world of the Cybermen – Cybermen are vulnerable to gold dust as it can be used to clog their breathing apparatus and suffocate them. The Doctor deduces that Cybermen are planning a fresh attack on Voga. Kellman secretly contacts the unidentified spaceship, which is crewed by Cybermen.

While the Doctor investigates Kellman, Sarah is attacked and poisoned by a Cybermat. The Doctor reasons that putting Sarah through a Transmat would cleanse her body of the toxin. Harry beams down to Voga with Sarah, who regains consciousness and recovers instantly, and they are captured by Vogans. Amid fighting between rival Vogan factions, Harry and Sarah explain their story to Tyrum and win his trust.

The Cybership docks with Nerva Beacon. Cybermen board the station and overpower the Doctor and the crew. The Cyberleader forces the Doctor and two crewmembers to strap on high-power explosives, and instructs them to beam down to Voga in the Transmat where the bombs will explode, destroying Voga. As the gold-rich environment is hostile to Cybermen, they cannot carry out the attack themselves. The bomb straps are booby-trapped so they cannot remove the bombs until they have reached Voga's core. The captives beam down with the bombs, accompanied by two Cybermen.

Kellman also beams down to Voga, where it emerges that he is a double agent working for Vorus in a plan to lure the Cybermen to Nerva Beacon. Vorus then plans to destroy the station with a giant missile, the ''Sky Striker''. Thinking the Doctor is still aboard Nerva Beacon, Harry joins Tyrum in attempting to stop the rocket launch, while Sarah beams back up to Nerva to warn the Doctor about the rocket. She finds the station overrun with Cybermen.

Harry and Kellman are caught in a rock fall which kills Kellman. The Doctor and Harry are reunited and try to attack the Cybermen with gold dust. The Cybermen are destroyed when Nerva crewmember Lester sacrifices himself by detonating his explosive pack. On Nerva, the Cyberleader orders immediate detonation of the bombs, but Sarah intervenes, creating enough delay for the Doctor to disarm his explosive pack. The Cybermen change to an alternative plan to load Nerva Beacon with more explosives and set it on a collision course with Voga.

The Doctor Transmats back to Nerva in an attempt to stop the attack. The Doctor is forced by the Cyber-Leader to tie himself and Sarah up, where they will watch helplessly as Nerva crashes into Voga, while the Cybermen depart. On Voga, Vorus sees Nerva's collision course and launches the rocket just as he is shot by Tyrum. The Doctor unties himself and Sarah, and contacts Voga, instructing them to aim the rocket at the departing Cybership. The Cybership is destroyed, while the Doctor steers the space station away from Voga, narrowly missing an impact with the surface. Harry returns to Nerva Beacon via transmat and the TARDIS materialises on the station. The Doctor receives a message from Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart asking him to return to 20th-century Earth due to an emergency. They quickly board the TARDIS and it dematerialises.

Millennia ago on the planet Kastria, a traitor and criminal named Eldrad is sentenced to death for his crimes, including the destruction of the barriers that have kept the solar winds at bay. The pod containing the criminal is obliterated—but his hand survives. In the present day the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith arrive in the TARDIS at a quarry and are caught up in an explosion. Sarah is rendered unconscious, but in that state, she makes contact with the fossilised hand, its ring placing her under its control. The Doctor takes her to the local hospital, where the mesmeric power of the hand becomes more complete and both Sarah Jane and a pathologist called Dr Carter are brought under its control.

Sarah heads for the nearest nuclear generator, the Nunton Complex, where she breaks into the reactor with the hand. It seems to thrive on radiation and begins to regenerate, growing back its missing finger and moving around unaided. The head of the complex, Professor Watson, remains at his post when the reactor goes critical. He offers the Doctor aid and advice in trying to get to Sarah despite Carter attempting to stop the Doctor before falling to his death. Eventually the Doctor reaches Sarah and knocks her down, but not before the hand has absorbed a significant amount of radiation. Retreating, the Doctor takes Sarah to the medical centre.

The hand's ring next takes over a nuclear operative called Driscoll, who is manipulated into bringing the hand into the reactor core while everyone else flees. An RAF bombing raid simply adds to the available radiation and allows Eldrad to regenerate into a fully humanoid form. Finding herself in a female form, she uses her powers to learn from the Doctor why the humans have attempted to destroy her. Eldrad convinces him to take her back to Kastria, explaining that she created the solar barriers that enable her people to thrive, claiming that they were subsequently destroyed when Kastria was caught in the middle of an interstellar war.

The Doctor, Sarah and Eldrad travel in the TARDIS to Kastria in the present time—150 million years after she left. They find a barren and frozen world, with a few signs of civilisation many floors below ground. Eldrad is seemingly caught and destroyed by one of a series of traps while travelling with the Doctor to a regeneration chamber. Eldrad emerges in his true masculine form, however, and then commences a tirade against King Rokon upon seeing a hologram of him. Admitting that he destroyed the barriers during his attempt to usurp the Kastrian leadership, Eldrad finds the remains of Rokon and learns from a pre-recorded message that the Kastrian race accepted extinction over living a miserable existence underground, destroying their race banks in case Eldrad returned. When Eldrad decides to make his new empire on Earth, the Doctor trips the would-be tyrant into an abyss, keeping the Kastrian's ring to ensure he cannot regenerate.

Not long after departure in the TARDIS, Sarah becomes fed up after everything they have been through together and, after she states her intention to leave, goes off to pack. The Doctor receives a telepathic summons to Gallifrey and declares he cannot take Sarah with him. This news upsets her, despite having already packed. The Doctor returns her to Earth where she tells the Doctor not to forget her. As the TARDIS dematerialises, Sarah realises that the Doctor has not left her in Hillview Road as planned, and probably not even in South Croydon.

Domasi "Tommy" Tawodi (voiced by Michael Greyeyes) is a Cherokee mechanic and former United States Army soldier living on a Native American reservation in Oklahoma. The game begins with Tommy in a bar owned by his girlfriend, Jen. Tired of life on the reservation, Tommy tries to convince Jen to leave it with him, but she refuses. After a fight between the two, a fight erupts when two men at the bar will not leave. The building is lifted up by some kind of force into a green light above. Tommy, Jen, Tommy's grandfather Enisi, and other captives are transported to a massive alien starship called the Sphere. Tommy is freed in an explosion set off by a mysterious stranger, who, despite being a cybernetic being like most of the Sphere's inhabitants, appears to be working against the Sphere.

Tommy witnesses Enisi's brutal death in an alien device. While attempting to find Jen, he has a near-death experience and travels to an after-life known as the Land of The Ancients, where his grandfather bestows spiritual powers upon him. Tommy gains the ability to separate from his body to pass through obstacles, come back to life after being killed, and aid from his spirit guide, the ghost of his childhood pet hawk, Talon. Despite being entrusted by his ancestors with the mission to protect Earth from the Sphere, Tommy is only interested in rescuing Jen.

Tommy finds Jen, whose torso has been surgically attached to a reptile-like creature that attempts to kill Tommy. Because Jen cannot control the beast she is attached to, Tommy is reluctantly forced to kill it, in the process also mercy-killing Jen. Tommy learns that the Sphere is an organic alien ship with the main goal of maintaining itself by preying on various alien races. The Sphere houses many of these alien races, which have become mindless drones in servitude of the Sphere. The Keepers of the Sphere, who appear to be responsible for its creation, plant life on other planets, and periodically return to harvest it. A small band of human rebels on the Sphere named the Hidden have not lost control of themselves. Led by Elhuit, the Hidden hope to destroy the Sphere and return to Earth.

Tommy finds that the Keepers and their drones are controlled by the Mother (voiced by Tyne Turner), who communicates telepathically with him throughout the game. She reveals to Tommy that she was once human, too, and fought the previous Mother of the Sphere, who persuaded her to take its place as the new Mother. After Tommy defeats her, the Mother begs Tommy to take her place, acquiring god-like powers in the process, or else the Sphere will perish. While tempted, Enisi's spirit contacts Tommy, reminding him of his humanity and duty. Tommy heeds his grandfather's advice and drives the Sphere into the Sun, and ends up in the Land of the Ancients once more to see Enisi and Jen. Tommy returns to Earth, knowing that he will see them both again when it is his time to live in the Land of the Ancients.

Six months later, Tommy has rebuilt the bar. The official story of the bar's disappearance is that the original building and the people within it at the time of its disappearance vanished due to an unknown natural phenomenon. Elhuit arrives in the bar and explains to Tommy that she and other Hidden escaped through a portal just before Tommy destroyed the Sphere, and tells Tommy that powerful beings elsewhere wish to meet him. Tommy steps through a portal made by Elhuit as the words "Prey will continue ..." appear on-screen.

The story concerns Italian-American U.S. Army Major Joppolo (John Hodiak), who is placed in charge of the town of Adano during the invasion of Sicily. Major Joppolo asks the town elders what the town needs most: some say food but most say "a bell" and his curiosity is raised. The priest explains that the whole heart of the town's activities centred upon the bell ringing. He then starts a long struggle to replace the 700-year-old bell that was taken from the town by the Fascists at the start of the war to be melted down for weapons. Through his actions, Joppolo also wins the trust and love of the people.

Some of the changes Joppolo brings into the town include: * Democracy * Free fishing privilege * The freedom of mule carts * A bell from the American Navy to replace the town bell

The short-tempered American commander, General Marvin, fires Major Joppolo from his position when Joppolo disobeys an order to prohibit mule cart traffic in Adano, which has been disrupting Allied supply trucks, because the mule carts are vital to the survival of the town.

The character of Joppolo was based on the real life experiences of Frank Toscani, who was military governor of the town of Licata, Sicily after the Allied invasion.

In Ireland, 1964, so-called "fallen" women are considered sinners who needed to be redeemed. Four young women – Margaret (raped by her cousin), Bernadette (too beautiful and coquettish), Rose (an unmarried mother) and Crispina (an intellectually disabled unmarried mother) – are forced by their families or caretakers into the Magdalene asylum. The film details the disastrous lives of the four girls whilst they are inmates, portraying their harsh daily regimen and their squalid living conditions at the laundries.

Each woman suffers horrific cruelty and violence from the Mother Superior. Sister Bridget, despite her gentle-faced appearance and outwardly soft-spoken demeanour, is characterised as sadistic and almost inhuman at times, as conveyed through her merciless beating of Rose in full view of Bernadette, or when she mockingly laughs at Una as she hopelessly clutches at her fallen hair locks.

Sister Bridget relishes the money the business receives and it is suggested that little of it is distributed appropriately. Those who liken themselves to Mary Magdalene, who deprived herself of all pleasures of the flesh including food and drink, eat hearty breakfasts of buttered toast and bacon while the working women subsist on oatmeal. In one particularly humiliating scene, the women are forced to stand naked in a line after taking a communal shower. The nuns then hold a "contest" on who has the most pubic hair, biggest bottom, biggest breasts and smallest breasts. The corruption of the resident priest, Father Fitzroy, is made very clear through his sexual abuse of Crispina. However, as the years pass, automatic washing machines start to appear, a modern household appliance whose growing ubiquity would eventually fatally undermine the economic viability of commercial laundries and make the Magdalene asylums unsustainable.

Three of the girls are shown, to some extent, to triumph over their situation and their captors. Margaret, although she is allowed to leave by the intervention of her younger brother, does not leave the asylum without leaving her mark. When she deliberately asks Sister Bridget to step aside for her to freely pass and is sharply shot down, Margaret falls to her knees in prayer. The Mother Superior is so surprised, she only moves past her after the Bishop tells her to come along. Bernadette and Rose finally decide to escape together, trashing Sister Bridget's study in search for the key to the asylum door and engaging her in a suspenseful confrontation. The two girls escape her clutches and are helped to return to the real world by a sympathetic relative, their story optimistically ending when Rose boards a coach bound for the ferry to Liverpool and Bernadette becomes an apprentice hairdresser. Crispina's end, however, is not a happy one; she spends the rest of her days in a mental institution (where she was sent to silence her from revealing the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Father Fitzroy) and dies of anorexia at age 24. The film's script is fictional, but based on four testimonies reported in the documentary ''Sex in a Cold Climate''. Some have challenged the historical accuracy of some aspects of the film.

The film, set over the course of four consecutive New Year's Eves from 1964 to 1967, depicts scenes from each of these years, intertwined with one another as though events happen simultaneously. The audience is protected from confusion by the use of a distinct cinematic style for each section. For example, the 1966 sequences echo the movie of Woodstock using split screens and multiple angles of the same event simultaneously on screen, the 1965 sequences (set in Vietnam) shot hand-held on grainy super 16 mm film designed to resemble war reporters' footage. The film attempts to memorialize the 1960s with sequences that recreate the sense and style of those days with references to Haight-Ashbury, the campus peace movement, the beginnings of the modern woman's liberation movement and the accompanying social revolt. One character burns his draft card, showing a younger audience what so many Americans had done on the television news ten years before the movie's release. Other characters are shown frantically disposing of their marijuana before a traffic stop as a police officer pulls them over, and another scene shows the police overreaction during an anti-Vietnam protest.

The storylines and fates of the main characters include the following: * '''New Year's Eve 1964''': John Milner is a drag-strip racer and falls in love with Eva, an attractive young woman from Iceland who speaks almost no English. Regardless, Milner does his best to communicate with her. He is briefly visited at the dragstrip by Steve, Laurie, Terry and Debbie, with Laurie pregnant and Terry in a military uniform, going to ship out to Vietnam the same night. '''Epilogue''': Milner wins the final competition of the season on New Year's Eve 1964. Later that night, he is shown driving his trademark yellow deuce coupe down a long, hilly road with another vehicle's headlights coming the opposite direction. After disappearing over a small hill, neither Milner's taillights nor the approaching car's headlights are seen again, hinting that this may have been the crash in which Milner was killed. The anniversary of Milner's death is mentioned in both the 1965 and 1966 sequences. * '''New Year's Eve 1965''': Terry "The Toad" Fields is in Vietnam and wants desperately to get out of the war and the abuse of his superiors, attempting to injure himself to do so. His desperation escalates after Joe Young (the leader of The Pharaohs) is killed by a sniper in Vietnam after promising to make Fields a Pharaoh once they return to civilian life. '''Epilogue''': Fields fakes his own death and deserts for Europe; his superiors believe him to be dead in 1965, as do Debbie in 1966 and Steve and Laurie in 1967. * '''New Year's Eve 1966''': Free-spirited Debbie "Deb" Dunham has switched from Old Harper whisky to marijuana and has given up her platinum blonde persona for one as a hippie/groupie. She misses Terry, mentioning that they were planning to get married before he went MIA in Vietnam. She is currently dating another hippie, Lance Harris, and wants to get married, but he isn't interested. At the beginning of the storyline, as they drive around San Francisco, they get pulled over by Bob Falfa, the drag racer from the first movie who has gone on to become a SFPD motorcycle patrolman, and arrests Lance for possession of a marijuana joint. She bails him out, but he still isn't interested at the idea of marriage, and acts distant towards her. She then joins some hippies of the band "Electric Haze" on a long, strange trip running over garbage cans, and they end up in a country-and-western bar. '''Epilogue''': Dancing at the country-and-western bar, Debbie sees Lance dancing with another woman, so she hits him in the face and dumps him, causing a bar fight, and later joins the Electric Haze on another trip, as they go to watch the sunset. She ends up getting a full-time job as lead singer of a country-and-western music group. * '''New Year's Eve 1967''': Steve Bolander and Laurie Henderson are married with two children, but their relationship is strained by her insistence that she start her own career. Steve forbids it, saying he wants her to be a mom to their young twins. Way beyond the end of her rope, Laurie leaves Steve and goes to stay with her brother Andy, who with his girlfriend Vicki (played by Cindy Williams' real-life sister, Carol-Ann Williams) is participating in an anti-war protest on a college campus, and is unsympathetic to her concerns. However, as Andy goes to the protest, he forgets his wallet behind and calls her to ask her to retrieve it. However, when she finds out that Andy is going to burn his draft card, she refuses to give it to him, just as the campus is surrounded by the police, and attempts to leave. She criticizes Andy's anti-war protest actions, saying that if the war was ended, Terry would have "died" for nothing. As they evade the police on the campus, Steve arrives, they embrace and he agrees to let her work, albeit in a few years, causing another argument between them and they are detained by the police. '''Epilogue:''' As the night falls, with Laurie, Vicki and all the female detainees held in a prison bus, Steve talks to her through the bus window bars, agreeing to let her work if she wants and they reconcile. However, as they attempt to convince the police that they are not demonstrators, a policeman hits the bus window bars with a truncheon, barely missing Laurie's fingers. When Steve tries to intervene, the policeman hits him in the chest, sparking a riot, and Steve and Andy escape, driving the bus off the campus. Steve, Laurie, Andy and Vicki watch the ball drop on a TV in a store window. Steve continues to work as an insurance agent and Laurie becomes the head of a consumer group. The final scene of the movie shows Steve, Laurie, Andy and Vicki in front of the television store, Debbie and the Electric Haze in the band's van and Terry walking alone AWOL, all singing "Auld Lang Syne". Also, Milner is seen driving in his deuce coupe, listening to it on the radio, as he drives down the long, hilly road.

Wolfman Jack briefly reprised his role, but in voice only. The drag racing scenes were filmed at the Fremont Raceway, later Baylands Raceway Park (now the site of automobile dealerships), in Fremont, California.

The Fourth Doctor, travelling alone in the TARDIS, arrives on a jungle planet and encounters Leela, a savage from the local tribe, who denounces him as the Evil One of fable among her people. She has been exiled from her tribe, the Sevateem, for profaning their god Xoanon who is kept prisoner by the Evil One and his followers, the Tesh, beyond a black wall. He speaks to them through the tribe's shaman, Neeva. The Doctor finds a sophisticated sonic disruptor, which creates the force field that keeps creatures from attacking the village. The Sevateem will launch an attack on the domain of the Tesh to free their god, led by the combative Andor who suspects Neeva of being a false prophet.

In Neeva's holy tent, the Doctor inspects the ancient tribal relics, artifacts from an Earth survey expedition. He finds a transceiver used by Neeva to hear the commands of Xoanon. It speaks with the Doctor's own voice, conveying exhilaration on hearing the Doctor that "At last we are here. At last I shall be free of ''us''." The Doctor tells some of the tribe the Sevateem are the descendants of a “survey team” which left a Starfall Seven Earth colony ship.

The Doctor and Leela arrive at a clearing beyond which, carved into a mountain nearby, is a depiction of the Doctor's face. The Doctor, however, cannot recall why his likeness would be there. They notice a figure in a space suit in the “mouth” entrance and follow it through a projection of a wall. Beyond is a rocket, which the Doctor recalls as belonging to the Mordee Expedition, his memory of earlier events now returning. Xoanon has detected the Doctor nearby, and when he reaches the ship the god-creature is both ecstatic that "We are here" while also manically pledging that "We must destroy us." The Doctor and Leela meet three representatives of the Tesh, who serve and worship Xoanon. The Doctor deduces both Sevateem and Tesh are descendants of the same crew from the Mordee Expedition, with the Tesh (or technicians) involved in the same deadly eugenics exercise as the Sevateem (or survey team). The invisible creatures that attacked the Sevateem are part of the same deranged scheme: Xoanon is a computer, designed to think independently. The Doctor had once repaired Xoanon but forgot to wipe his personality print from the data core, leaving the computer with a split personality. The Doctor, speaking as Xoanon with the communicator, instructs Neeva to tell Calib, who is now tribal leader, to lead the Sevateem survivors through the face in the mountain. With Leela keeping guard and holding the Tesh at bay, the Doctor ventures into the computer room of the ship to confront Xoanon. When Xoanon refuses to shut itself down, it channels a vicious mental assault at the Doctor, causing him to collapse, while Xoanon booms: "Who am I?"

The Tesh come under attack from Calib, Tomas and the survivors of the Sevateem, who now reach the spaceship too. This diverts the Tesh while the Doctor and Leela return to the computer room, where Xoanon briefly takes control of Leela's mind. Most of the Sevateem come under the telepathic control of the computer too. The Tesh and Sevateem soon converge on the computer room too and interrupt the Doctor as he tries to repair Xoanon, realising the computer has now triggered the countdown to an atomic explosion. Elsewhere in the ship Neeva is alone but crazed, his faith in Xoanon shattered. The shaman uses the disruptor gun against one of the images of Xoanon/the Doctor projected through a wall. The ensuing blast kills Neeva but also interrupts Xoanon's control of its subjects, allowing the Doctor to resume and complete his repairs. Xoanon's circuits explode, knocking the Doctor out.

Two days later the Doctor wakes up to find himself aboard the spaceship in the care of Leela. She explains Xoanon has been quiet and he interprets this as success for his extraction experiment. They visit the computer room and find Xoanon's identity and sanity restored. The computer confirms it was running a eugenics experiment and thanks the Doctor for his repair work. The Doctor then contacts the survivors of the Tesh and Sevateem and tells them Xoanon is now cured and able to support their new society. Leela then jumps aboard the TARDIS despite the protests of the Doctor, initiating take-off.

A team of Allied prisoners of war (POWs), coached and led by English Captain John Colby (Michael Caine), a professional footballer for West Ham United before the war, agree to play an exhibition match against a German team, only to find themselves involved in a German propaganda stunt.

Colby is the captain and essentially the manager of the team and thus chooses his squad of players. Another POW, Robert Hatch (Sylvester Stallone), an American who is serving with the Canadian Army, is not initially chosen, but eventually nags the reluctant Colby into letting him on the team as the team's trainer, as Hatch needs to be with the team to facilitate his upcoming escape attempt.

Colby's superior officers repeatedly try to convince Colby to use the match as an opportunity for an escape attempt, but Colby consistently refuses, fearing that such an attempt will only result in getting his players killed. Meanwhile, Hatch has been planning his unrelated escape attempt, and Colby's superiors agree to help him, if he in return agrees to journey to Paris, make contact with the French Resistance, and try to convince them to help the football team escape.

Hatch succeeds in escaping the prison camp, travelling to Paris, and finding the Resistance; at first, the Resistance decides that the plan to help the football team escape is too risky, but once they realise the game will be at the Colombes Stadium they plan the escape using a tunnel from the Paris sewer system to the showers in the players' changing room. They convince Hatch to let himself be recaptured, so he can pass information along back to the leading British officers at the prison camp.

Hatch is indeed recaptured, and is put in solitary confinement. Because of this, the prisoners do not know if the intended escape has actually been planned with the underground, so Colby tells the Germans that he needs Hatch on the team because Hatch is the backup goalkeeper and the starting goalkeeper has broken his arm. Colby actually has to break the existing goalkeeper's arm because the Germans want proof of his injury before they will agree to let Hatch onto the team.

In the end, the POWs can leave the German camp only to play the match; they are to be imprisoned again following the match. The resistance's tunnellers break through to the showers in the dressing room at halftime, in an escape Hatch leads. But the rest of the team (led by Russell Osman saying "but we can win this") persuade him to continue the game, despite being behind 4–1 at halftime.

Despite the match officials being heavily biased towards the Germans, and the German team causing several deliberate injuries to the Allied players, a draw is achieved after great performances from Luis Fernandez (portrayed by Pelé), Carlos Rey (portrayed by Osvaldo Ardiles) and Terry Brady (portrayed by Bobby Moore). Hatch plays goalkeeper, and makes excellent saves including one last save from a penalty kick as time expires to deny the Germans the win, drawing the game 4–4. An Allied goal had been blatantly disallowed earlier in the match, so the POW team should have won 5–4.

After Hatch preserves the draw, the crowd storms the field and swarms the players. In the chaos, some of the spectators help the Allied players disguise themselves so they can escape, and they all burst through the gates to freedom.

While engaging in sexual intercourse in Morningside Cemetery, Tommy is stabbed by the Lady in Lavender (actually the Tall Man, the Morningside mortician, in another form). At the funeral, Tommy's friends, Jody and Reggie, believe he committed suicide. Jody's 13-year-old brother Mike secretly observes the funeral and sees the Tall Man placing Tommy's heavy casket, seemingly with little or no effort, back into the hearse instead of completing the burial. Mike then goes to a fortune teller and tells her what he saw. She has him stick his hand in a box, and at first something seems to grab it, but then he removes it unharmed.

Later, Jody is seduced by the Lady in Lavender and taken to the cemetery to have sex. However, they are interrupted by Mike, who has been following Jody and has been driven out of his hiding place by a short, hooded figure. Mike tries to tell Jody about the hooded figure, but Jody dismisses the story. Mike investigates further. At the mausoleum, Mike narrowly avoids a bladed silver sphere flying through the air. He is accosted by a caretaker but escapes after the sphere impales itself on the caretaker's skull and drills into his brain. Mike then flees the Tall Man. As Mike slams a door to get away, the Tall Man's fingers get caught and then cut off, but continue to move, dripping yellow ichor. Taking one of the fingers with him, Mike escapes the mausoleum.

The still-moving finger is enough to convince Jody about Mike's stories. Jody decides to bring the finger to the sheriff, but it transforms into a flying insect. Reggie, who witnesses the finger-turned-insect attack them, joins the brothers in their suspicions. Jody goes to the cemetery alone but is chased away by dwarves and a seemingly driverless hearse. He is rescued by Mike in Jody's Plymouth Barracuda. Running the hearse off the road, they discover that it was driven by one of the hooded figures, a re-animated and shrunken Tommy, whom they hide in Reggie's ice cream truck.

Reggie and Jody resolve to defeat the Tall Man, while Mike is hidden at an antique store owned by Jody's friends Sally and Sue. There, Mike discovers an old photograph of the Tall Man and insists on being taken home. On the way, Mike, Sally and Sue come across the ice cream truck, overturned. They are attacked by a mob of hooded dwarves. Mike manages to escape, presuming the girls and Reggie dead.

Jody goes to the mausoleum to kill the Tall Man. Mike, who is locked in his bedroom for safety but escapes, runs into the Tall Man, who was waiting for him outside his front door. He kidnaps Mike in a hearse, but Mike escapes and causes the hearse to strike a pole and explode. Looking for Jody in the mausoleum, Mike is targeted by the silver sphere until Jody destroys it with a shotgun. Together with Reggie, they enter a brightly lit room, which is filled with canisters containing more dwarves. Mike catches a brief glimpse through a portal, seeing a red, hot world where the dwarves are toiling as slaves.

A sudden power outage separates the trio. Left alone in the room, Reggie activates the portal, creating a powerful vacuum from which he narrowly escapes. In the ensuing storm, Reggie is stabbed by the Lady in Lavender while Jody and Mike flee and the mausoleum vanishes. Jody devises a plan to trap the Tall Man in an abandoned mine shaft. The Tall Man attacks Mike at home and chases him outside, where he eventually falls into the mine shaft and is buried under an avalanche of rocks triggered by Jody.

After this, Mike wakes up in his bed, still worried about the Tall Man. Reggie, still alive, tells Mike that he had a nightmare, that Jody died in a car wreck and proposes a road trip. When Mike enters his bedroom to pack, the Tall Man appears and hands crash through the bedroom mirror, pulling Mike inside.

The boys are watching an episode of ''Maury'' on which several children with bodily defects are shown. A girl born with no midsection wins a gift certificate, so Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Butters decide to try to get on the show with a faked deformity to win a prize. The group decide that Butters should be the one to go on the show with a scrotum on his chin. Butters then agrees, and the town's two sci-fi geeks make fake balls to put on Butters.

Butters then flies alone to New York to appear on the show. In the green room, he meets other variously deformed people, who welcome Butters to their union, which ensures that US TV talk shows interview their members regularly.

On the show, Maury introduces Butters as "Napoleon Bonaparte from South Park." Butters wins a trip to the largest miniature golf course in the world. Stan, Kyle, and Cartman are watching the show at home and become angry that Butters got "their" prize. Cartman calls ''Maury'' and tries to get himself on the show. The operator tells him they aren't currently interviewing people with deformities, but are trying to find "out of control kids" for a future episode. Cartman convinces his mom to take him on that show and lie that he's out of control.

Butters is grounded by his parents for putting fake deformity on the Maury show. The freaks strike in protest of ''Maury'''s decision to stop interviewing people with deformities, and head to Butters' house to recruit him. Fear of being discovered as a faker leads him to reluctantly agree, and he goes on strike with the group.

Cartman and his mom go on ''Maury''. Seeing a teenage girl's "out of control" behaviour, Cartman dresses up as a slutty girl to try to win the prize. The deformed people's union hijacks the TV studio's video screen and broadcasts a plea to the audience. They state that they are the "true" freaks and they should not lose their means of employment to people who are only freaks because they are "stupid trailer trash from the South". The union members present a music video about looking for the "True Freak Label" on talk shows, and most of the audience agrees and leave the studio. Maury agrees to negotiate with the deformed people. Cartman is irate that Butters once again ruined his chance to win a prize. He rips the fake balls off of Butters' chin. Butters fears he will be found out, but the union chases Cartman, who believe he was physically harming Butters. Butters' parents arrive in a taxi, and he knows he is in trouble again.

The film is centered on Spencer (Bradford), who moves to Los Angeles and (literally) runs into Melora (Kirshner), the girl he's been in love with since he was a child. Spencer is plagued by many obstacles in his new life: winning the girl of his dreams, finding success in his new job, and dealing with his two ambiguously-oriented roommates (Krumholtz and Goldberg), who are obsessed with making a pornographic film and submitting it to what they believe is a contest.

The arms of Lee Ho are chopped off by the white-faced henchman known as White, while another man named Tang supervises. It is declared that Lee Ho has betrayed his master, Lin Chang Cao, the boss of the Pluahchi organization, and thus his punishment is justified. Tang is congratulated for carrying out his master's orders and is praised for his loyalty.

After getting his arms cut off and thrown out of the dojo, Lee Ho walks into town to try to get some food. He gets beat up in a restaurant by the bouncer and left for dead with the local coffin maker. The henchmen Black and White then show up and start beating up the coffin maker and Lee Ho. Lee Ho escapes and runs for his life into the wilderness. He comes across a small rural farm and begins to work as hired help. It is here that he learns to live without his arms; he becomes resourceful at using his stump and chin as a gripping device.

Tang is punished by Lin Chang Cao for "knowing too much". Instead of having his arms chopped off, Tang is held down and has acid poured on his legs. Tang is also cast away into the wilderness to die. As he stumbles over rocks by the river, Tang meets up with Lee Ho, who is determined to get his revenge. Lee Ho drags Tang into a cave and begins to beat him. Before he can finish him off, a mysterious Old Man appears and announces that he will start training the two men so that they can get revenge on Lin Chang Cao. At the Old Man's secret training grounds, both Lee Ho and Tang learn kung fu that complements their disabilities.

Lin Chang Cao instructs his henchman to go attack some jewelry thieves. Cao's right-hand man, Pow, ventures with Black and White into the wilderness to take stolen jewelry away from the thieves. On their way back to the Lin Chang Cao's headquarters, they meet up with Lee Ho and Tang. Lee Ho and Tang kill Black and White, but let Pow escape back to report what happened to Lin Chang Cao. In town, Pow gets into a fight with a man named Ho in front of a whorehouse. Lin Chang Cao instructs Pow to hire Ho to kill Lee Ho and Tang. After Ho proves his kung fu ability to Lin Chang Cao, he is hired to be a guard at the main headquarters.

The Old Man instructs Lee Ho and Tang to sneak back into Lin Chang Cao's headquarters and steal back the Eight Jade Horses. Apparently many years ago, the Old Man found this ancient treasure only to have it stolen away by Lin Chang Cao. Under the cover of darkness, the three infiltrate Lin Chang Cao's compound and steal the box containing the horses. But they are discovered as they flee and are followed by Ho. After a big fight scene, Ho tells Lee Ho and Tang that he is a provincial government agent sent to find the missing Eight Jade Horses. He also tells them that the horses are special because they depict special kung fu techniques.

Ho then tries to fight Lin Chang Cao but is unable to defeat him; Lin Chang Cao has a special metal plate in his back that shields him from injuries. Lee Ho and Tang break into Lin Chang Cao's headquarters to rescue Ho. As they escape, they are again followed by henchmen. In anticipation of the final showdown, Lee Ho and Tang study the moves from the Eight Jade Horses. Lin Chang Cao appears and beats up the Old Man. Lee Ho and Tang band together and defeat Lin Chang Cao, ending his reign of terror.

John Russell, a composer from New York City, moves to Seattle following the deaths of his wife and daughter in a traffic accident while having car trouble. He soon views and rents a mansion from an agent of the local historic society, Claire Norman, who tells him that the property has been vacant for twelve years.

Not long after moving in, John begins to experience unexplained phenomena, starting with a loud banging every morning. One night, he discovers all of the water taps turned on and sees the apparition of a drowned boy in a bathtub. Soon after a red stained glass window pane shatters as he is outside and, upon investigation, he finds a locked, boarded up door in a closet leading to a hidden attic bedroom. John takes a music box from the mantel and discovers it plays the exact piano tune he has just recorded downstairs. John and Claire investigate the history of the house, believing that the ghost is that of a young girl killed outside the house in a traffic accident in 1909. John holds a seance and overhears the voice of the spirit on audio equipment, calling himself Joseph Carmichael.

John discovers that Joseph Carmichael was a crippled and sickly six-year-old who was murdered in 1906 by his father Richard because he was unlikely to reach the age of 21, upon which he would have inherited an enormous fortune from his late grandfather. To ensure the inheritance, Richard replaced the dead boy with one procured from a local orphanage and spirited him away to Europe under the pretense of seeking treatment for his condition. After years away, he returned with the boy when he was 18, claiming that he was cured. The boy is now an old man, a prominent U.S. Senator who is also a major patron of the historical society that owns the house where his adoptive father committed the murder.

John's investigation leads him to a property built on land that was once owned by the Carmichael family, where he believes the body of the murdered boy, the real Joseph Carmichael, was dumped in a well. There, he finds the skeleton of a young child with his christening medal. John attempts to speak to Senator Carmichael but is restrained. The Senator is disturbed to see the medal, as it is identical to the one in his possession given to him by his adoptive father. The society cancels John's lease on the house and fires Claire. Senator Carmichael sends a detective, DeWitt, to John's home in an attempt to intimidate him and retrieve the medal. John refuses, and when DeWitt leaves to obtain a search warrant, his vehicle mysteriously crashes, killing him.

After DeWitt's death, Senator Carmichael agrees to meet with John; John tells him the story. Carmichael angrily berates John for accusing his adoptive father of murder. John leaves the skeleton's christening medal, along with the only copy of the seance recording, and apologizes. Claire goes to the house to find John and is chased by Joseph's wheelchair until she falls down the stairs. When John arrives the house begins to shake. He tries to appease Joseph's ghost but falls from the second floor as Joseph's ghost sets the house on fire. Simultaneously, Senator Carmichael compares the two medals, and, realizing the truth, he falls into a trance staring at the portrait of his adoptive father. John witnesses the Senator's astral body climbing the burning stairs to Joseph's room. Claire rescues John while Carmichael witnesses the murder of the boy Joseph and suffers a fatal heart attack. John and Claire see the Senator's body being loaded into the ambulance.

The next morning, Joseph's burnt wheelchair sits amid the ruins of the mansion and his music box begins playing a lullaby.

Part 1

The ''Enterprise'' is recalled to Earth on a priority mission regarding evidence of aliens on the planet 500 years before. They are shown a cavern near Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco containing 19th century relics, and the disembodied head of Data. Investigation reveals cellular fossils native to the planet of Devidia II, indicating a race of shapeshifters were visiting Earth's past. The ''Enterprise'' leaves for the planet, taking Data's second head. Upon arrival they discover a temporal disturbance on the planet. Though no life forms are visible, Deanna Troi senses the presence of suffering humans. The crew determine that the aliens are slightly out of phase with time. Data notes that his android body has a phase discriminator that would allow him to see the aliens. Captain Picard reluctantly allows him to join the away team. Data establishes a means of communicating what he sees to the rest of the crew. Once in phase with the aliens, Data describes them as absorbing strands of light from a device in the center of the cavern, appearing otherwise benign. He describes two aliens entering a time portal, that he is drawn into. Data finds himself on Earth in San Francisco on August 11, 1893.

Data realizes he needs money to accomplish his goals. He wins a sizable amount beating card sharks at their own game in poker. Data takes up residence in a local hotel, befriending the bellhop (future author Jack London). Data claims to be a French inventor. He enlists London to acquire 19th century supplies under the pretense of building an automobile engine, when in fact Data is building a detector to find the aliens. Data sees a photo of Guinan, the bartender from the ''Enterprise'', in a newspaper. He goes to a reception she will be attending, believing she also came back in time from the future. Data interrupts her speaking with Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), speaking to her as if she is from the 24th century, which spark's Clemens' curiosity. Speaking privately, it becomes clear to Data that Guinan is native to 1893 and has yet to meet the ''Enterprise'' crew. Clemens is discovered eavesdropping on this conversation, and he becomes determined to discover the truth behind Data and Guinan.

Meanwhile in the 24th century, the ''Enterprise'' crew has determined how to build a similar phase discriminator to Data's. This will allow them to see the aliens, and go back in time to rescue Data. Guinan convinces Picard to join the pending away mission, warning that otherwise Picard and Guinan will have never met at all. The away team activates the phase discriminator and see the aliens as Data described. The strands of light are human life forces, taken at the moment of death. The away team uses the time portal to travel back to the past to put a stop to the aliens.

Part 2

The away team is in 1893, investigating the current cholera outbreak. They determine that the alien shapeshifters are taking advantage of the epidemic to mask their draining of life-force from 19th century humans. While investigating at a hospital, they encounter two shapeshifters. When confronted, the aliens escape, which alerts Data to their location and reunites him with the team. They use Data's device to follow the aliens to the same cavern near San Francisco. They are followed by Guinan and Clemens. The aliens' cane-like device is used to open a time portal back to future Devidia II. In a struggle over the device, Data's head is detached from his body and left in 1893. The away team follows one alien into the future, bringing Data's body and the cane device. Clemens follows the others into the future, while Picard remains in 1893, tending to an injured Guinan. Picard learns from the remaining shapeshifter that 19th century Earth would be in jeopardy if the aliens' habitat in the 24th century is attacked, due to amplifying the time shift effect. Picard uses iron filings to place a binary message in Data's static memory, to warn his crew in the future.

In the 24th century, Geordi La Forge reattaches Data's 500-year-old head onto his body. Once conscious, Data discovers Picard's message and they engineer a solution. They determine that using photon torpedoes in phase with the alien habitat will negate the dangerous time shift amplification. Riker decides to rescue Picard. After studying the portal-opening device, it is determined that only one person would be able to travel to the 19th century to exchange places with Picard. Riker allows Clemens to return to his native time. Clemens meets Picard in the 1893 cavern. Picard thanks him for agreeing to take care of Guinan's injuries and settle their 19th century affairs, and he laments not having the opportunity to know Clemens. The author replies that his personality is written into his books. Picard returns to the future, and is transported to safety as the Enterprise fires the time-phased torpedoes, which destroys the alien habitat.

Joseph Frail (Gary Cooper)—doctor, gambler, gunslinger—rides into the small town of Skull Creek, Montana, with miners in a gold rush, looking to set up a doctor's office. He passes by the "hanging tree," an old oak with a thick branch over which has been slung a rope with a frayed end, presumably a former noose.

He rescues and treats Rune (Ben Piazza), a young man who was shot by Frenchy (Karl Malden) while trying to steal gold from a sluice. As Rune has no money to pay for his care, Frail forces Rune into temporary servitude with the threat of revealing he is the thief.

A stagecoach is robbed and overturned, killing the driver and a male passenger. A search party is formed, and Frenchy finds the sole survivor, Swiss immigrant Elizabeth Mahler (Maria Schell), daughter of the male passenger.

Crippled by burns, blindness and dehydration, Elizabeth is moved into a house next to the doctor's house to recover. The placement causes much chagrin among the town's righteous women, who believe that Elizabeth may be paying for her medical care through illicit behavior.

Frenchy sneaks in under the guise of trying to strike a business deal with Elizabeth, but instead tries to kiss her. Frail witnesses the aggression and chases Frenchy back to town. Frail beats him up and threatens to kill him. Meanwhile, a faith healer named Dr. Grubb (George C. Scott) sees Frail's medical practice as a threat.

Elizabeth eventually regains her sight and makes romantic overtures toward Frail. He rejects her. She leaves in a huff, determined to strike it rich as a prospector so that she can pay off Frail and get out from under his control.

She teams with Rune and Frenchy, who plan to buy a claim and set up a sluice. To get money, she pawns a family heirloom necklace. It is worthless, but Frail secretly tells the storekeeper to loan her however much money she needs.

She finds out and asks Frail why he did not respond to her affection. He reveals that his wife had an affair with his own brother. He found them together, both dead, an apparent murder-suicide. In a rage, he burned down his house with their bodies in it. He tells Elizabeth he is "not allowed to forget."

Elizabeth, Frenchy and Rune strike it rich on their claim, finding a "glory hole" of gold under a large tree stump. They ride into town, tossing a few pieces of gold to the townsfolk. Frenchy, overwhelmed by his sudden importance in the town, uses some of the gold to buy whiskey for everyone. The gaiety quickly turns into a riot of the lawless town members led by Dr. Grubb. While the lawful citizens of the town are engaged in fighting fires set by Grubb, Frenchy takes advantage of the commotion to make advances on Elizabeth. Her disinterest sparks a brutal physical assault as he attempts to rape her. Frail again catches Frenchy just in time. Frenchy pulls his pistol and shoots, but misses. Frail kills Frenchy.

Seeing his opportunity to remove his "competition", Grubb incites the mob to lynch Frail. They carry him to the hanging tree, tie his hands, and stand him up in a wagon bed, the rope around his neck. Rune and Elizabeth rush in carrying their gold and the deed to their claim. Elizabeth offers everything to the townsfolk if they will let Frail live. As the mob turns on itself in the struggle to grab the gold and the deed, the lynch party disperses.

Elizabeth now feels she has repaid Frail in full. Rune slips the noose off, and Elizabeth turns to walk away. Frail calls out her name. She turns back, and steps to the end of the wagon. He kneels down, cups her chin with both hands, and they kiss.

The show's premise had King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table trapped in the Cave of Glass by Arthur's sister, the evil enchantress Queen Morgana. Unable to free King Arthur and the Knights himself, the wizard Merlin searches the timeline for replacement Knights. He finds the quarterback of the New York Knights football team Arthur King and transports him and his teammates to Camelot after one of their football games. He appoints Arthur King as their leader with his teammates as the new Knights of the Round Table and assigns them the task of freeing the true King and Knights. To do so, they must find the Twelve Keys of Truth, one for each knight that only the knight in question can initially touch. Once all the keys are found, the real knights will be free and the team will return home. In the meantime, they pledge "fairness to all, to protect the weak and vanquish the evil". The Knights are armed with special armor and are able to summon their respective creatures at any time when in battle armor. These animals, such as King Arthur's wyvern, are emblazoned on their shields.

The series had a progressive story with both sides advanced towards their goals. Continuity was also established in the episodes which would be brought up in later episodes, along with some repeat minor characters, character relationships, and previously overcome weaknesses of the Knights. Despite the continual movement towards a resolution, the series is incomplete and ended abruptly during the second season.

At Springfield Elementary, Lisa is presented with a brain teaser, which she is unable to solve. Following this incident, Lisa finds herself unable to perform simple tasks. Later, Lisa tells Grampa about her recent cognitive problems. He seems to recognize this, and tells Lisa about the "Simpson Gene", which apparently causes all members of the Simpson family to gradually lose their intelligence as they get older.

Lisa appears on the TV news program ''Smartline'' to tell the citizens of Springfield to treasure their brains. As she does this, Homer decides to prove her wrong, and contacts the entire extended Simpson family to visit. However, when they arrive, Homer realizes they are also unsuccessful, unintelligent people, which only depresses Lisa further and causes Homer to send them home.

However, before they leave, Marge urges Homer to talk to the Simpson women. Reluctantly, he talks to one of them at her request and he discovers that the women are all successful. Lisa asks why the women in her family were not affected by the "Simpson Gene". Dr. Simpson reveals that the defective gene is only found in the Y-chromosome and only the males are affected. As a female, Dr. Simpson tells Lisa that she will be successful like they are. She is relieved that she is fine and she will not suffer the "Simpson Gene". When Bart realizes he will be a failure in life due to his gender, he is wary and bemoaning his future. However, Homer reassures him that he will be a spectacular failure. Lisa is soon finally able to solve the brain teaser she was unable to finish earlier in the episode.

Meanwhile, Jasper visits the Kwik-E-Mart and attempts to empty the freezer containing ice cream in order to freeze himself, with the intention of being defrosted sometime in the distant future. Apu decides to take advantage of this unusual situation for financial gain, exhibiting Jasper as "Frostillicus". The convenience store, now renamed the "Freak-E-Mart", becomes more profitable as a tourist trap, until the freezer's cooling system fails, causing Jasper to defrost and walk away. Apu then decides to turn the Kwik-E-Mart into a nude nightclub called the "Nude-E-Mart".

Annemarie Johansen and her Jewish best friend, Ellen Rosen, are ten-year-old girls living in Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II. Annemarie has a five-year-old sister, Kirsti. There are Nazis on every street corner in Copenhagen. Butter, sugar, coffee, cigarettes, and electricity are rationed.

After an encounter with two German soldiers, Annemarie and Ellen are told to be much more careful. Later, it turns out that for unknown reasons, the Germans are "relocating" Denmark's Jews. At the synagogue, the Nazis have taken the names and addresses of all Jewish people in Copenhagen. Ellen's parents have fled with Peter, the former fiancé of Annemarie's older sister, Lise, who died because of a car accident. Ellen must stay with the Johansens and pretend to be Lise even though she is half the age of the real Lise. Soldiers enter the Johansens' apartment at 4 a.m. and think that the Rosens are "paying a visit" to the Johansens. Annemarie and Ellen wake up, and Annemarie breaks the Star of David necklace off Ellen's neck. If the soldiers had seen it, they would have known that Ellen is a Jew. The soldiers see Ellen's dark hair and become suspicious because the Johansens have blond hair, and Ellen has brown hair. Luckily, Lise had brown hair as an infant. Mr. Johansen shows the Nazis a picture of the baby Lise, and they leave.

Mrs. Johansen, Annemarie, Ellen, and Kirsti leave the next morning to go to Uncle Henrik's house by the sea. Sweden, a Nazi-free country, can be seen from Uncle Henrik's house. Before they go to his house, Mr. Johansen spoke in code to Henrik. When they get there, Henrik seems like his ordinary self. The next day, Henrik says that Annemarie's Great-Aunt Birte has died. A huge casket is placed in the middle of the living room. Annemarie knows that there is no Aunt Birte but learns from her uncle that it is easier to be brave without knowing something and so she does not tell Ellen the truth about her "aunt".

Later, many people come to mourn "Aunt Birte" to Annemarie's puzzlement. Nazis come to the house and see all the people and start questioning the family. They explain that Great-Aunt Birte has died, and they are carrying out traditional rituals. The Nazis order the casket opened, and Mrs. Johansen acts fast. She says that Great-Aunt Birte had typhus, a very contagious and dangerous disease, as the doctor said. She goes to the casket to open it, but one of the soldiers slaps her in the face and says that they (the Johansens) can open it when the soldiers leave.

After they leave, the wake continues. Peter, who is present, reads the beginning of Psalm 147 from the Bible to the group, which recounts the Lord God numbering the stars. As the psalm is not familiar to Annemarie, her thoughts begin to wander. She wonders how it is possible to number the stars in the sky and remembers Ellen saying that her mother is afraid of the ocean because her mother thinks that it is cold and cruel. Annemarie thinks that the night sky and the world are also cold and cruel. Peter opens the casket and gives the warm clothing and blankets concealed inside it to the Jewish families. They depart in smaller groups to avoid attracting attention. Ellen says goodbye to Annemarie and her mother.

In the morning, Annemarie sees her mother crawling in the distance because she had broken her ankle. After helping her mother back to the house, Annemarie finds a packet of great importance to the Resistance. Mr. Rosen dropped the packet when he accidentally tripped on a flight of stairs. Mrs. Johansen tells Annemarie to fill a basket with food and the packet and to run as fast as she can. Annemarie runs off onto a wooded path in the direction of her uncle's boat. She is halted by Nazi soldiers with dogs. When they question Annemarie about what she is doing out so early, she lies that she is taking a basket with a meal to her uncle. The soldiers do not believe her, and one of them grabs at the basket. However, the soldiers eventually let her go, and Annemarie makes it to her uncle's boat. She gives Henrik an envelope that contains a handkerchief. It had traces of cocaine on it to numb the dog's sense of smell. When the Nazi dogs took onto the boat sniff the handkerchief, they could no longer smell Uncle Henrik's hidden "cargo," the Jews that he is smuggling to safety.

Henrik returns to Denmark later that evening from Sweden. He tells Annemarie that many Jewish people, including the Rosens, were hiding in his boat. He also explains that the handkerchief in her package contained the scent of rabbit blood, which attracted the dogs, and the strong odor of cocaine, which numbed their noses, preventing them from tracking down the Jews in Henrik's boat. Several revelations are made, including that Peter is in the Danish Resistance. It also reveals that Annemarie's older sister Lise had not died from a car accident but from being run over by a tank because she was part of the Resistance.

Several years later, Denmark is liberated after the wars end. Peter has since been executed by the Nazis and is buried in an unmarked grave. Annemarie finds Ellen's Star Of David necklace and decides to wear it until Ellen comes back to Denmark.

The TARDIS lands on Necros, the location of the funeral home Tranquil Repose. The Sixth Doctor is attacked by a mutant, which Peri kills. Before he dies, the mutant tells the Doctor that the Great Healer used him as a genetic experiment and his appearance and hostility were a result of the experiments.

At Tranquil Repose, a disc jockey plays songs and chats to entertain those who are in suspended animation. A couple, Natasha and Grigory, have illegally entered Tranquil Repose, looking for the man the Doctor is seeking—Arthur Stengos, Natasha's father. Upon finding his assigned suspended animation capsule, they discover it is empty. Shocked, they find a dark room filled with pulsating brains and other experiments. Grigory walks past a Glass Dalek casing with a mutating red creature inside it. Natasha realises it is the head of her father, and he is being metamorphosised into a Dalek.

Kara, who owns a company that distributes food, is a pawn of the Great Healer, in reality Davros. To dissolve this arrangement, she has hired the mercenary Orcini and his squire, Bostock. Orcini accepts the contract for the honour of killing Davros.

Arthur Stengos, who is now a head with red flesh growing over him, explains to Natasha and Grigory that the brains of everybody in Tranquil Repose are being used to metamorphosise into new Dalek mutants. Moving in and out of moments of lucidity and Dalek-like hateful ranting, Stengos orders his daughter to kill him before he fully mutates. Natasha does, and then she and Grigory are captured and questioned by Takis and Lilt who are in charge of security.

The Doctor and Peri are met by Mr. Jobel and his subservient assistant Tasambeker. The Doctor sends Peri off with Jobel to meet the DJ while he digs into the situation. Orcini destroys a Dalek, and Davros is notified. He is convinced Kara has sent assassins, so he deploys Daleks to bring her to him. Tasambeker, who has been coerced by Davros to spy on Jobel, attempts to warn the Chief Embalmer out of misplaced love for him. When Jobel spurns her offer, Tasambeker fatally stabs him with a syringe. She is then exterminated by Daleks.

The Daleks capture the Doctor and throw him into a cell with Natasha and Grigory. They are then rescued by Orcini.

Orcini and Bostock arrive at Davros's laboratory. They attempt to kill Davros but fail, and Bostock is shot by a Dalek. Kara is then brought in, and Orcini betrays her motives to Davros. Orcini stabs Kara to death for lying to him, making good on an earlier threat if she was dishonest about her motives.

Natasha and Grigory fail to destroy the brains scheduled for metamorphosis and are killed by a Dalek. The Doctor tells Peri to hail the President's ship. Overhearing the transmission, Davros orders Peri captured. The Doctor rushes to save her but is also caught. Both are taken to Davros's laboratory, where he reveals that he has created a new army of Daleks.

Daleks loyal to the Dalek Supreme arrive from Skaro, called by Takis who now realises what has been going on. Takis leads the grey Skaro Daleks to Davros's laboratory, where they are met by cream and gold Necros Daleks who are loyal only to Davros. A battle ensues, during which Davros's only usable hand is shot off by Bostock before the Daleks exterminate him. The grey Daleks then take Davros to Skaro to stand trial.

The wounded Orcini wants to detonate his bomb before Davros's ship leaves and refuses to use a timer. The Dalek ship takes off before the blast, however, but the Doctor states that Orcini died for something honourable: the destruction of Davros's new Daleks.

Takis complains to the Doctor that they are now all out of a job. The Doctor tells him that they can harvest the flowers that grow on the planet and use them as a new food source.

The TARDIS is ensnared by a Kontron tunnel (similar to a time corridor) and is drawn to its source on the planet Karfel, which the Doctor has previously visited.

Its population is now ruled by the Borad, a sadistic ruler never seen in person, only via security monitors which reveal him to be an old man. His law is enforced by blue androids; and all rebels are dealt with either by summary execution or dispatch via the Timelash - exiled down a corridor of Time and Space. At the time of the Doctor's return, the neighbouring planet of Bandrils are posed to invade after the Borad rescinds the grain supply treaty which underpinned the relationship between the two civilisations.

Acting as a proxy for the Borad, the Maylin is the most senior of the five councillors of Karfel. When one of these fellow councillors, Mykros, actively plots with Maylin Renis to overthrow the Borad's rule, the Maylin is executed and Mykros sentenced to exile via the Timelash. Before he can be dispatched however, Vena - Renis' daughter and Mykros' lover - intervenes to plead for his life. When this fails, she steals an amulet conferring the power to the new Maylin - a sycophant named Tekker - and accidentally falls into the Timelash herself.

The arrival of the TARDIS presents Maylin Tekker with an opportunity to retrieve the amulet. When the Doctor refuses to help, Tekker explains that Peri has been taken hostage to ensure his co-operation. She has been taken to a cave of Morlox, large lizards indigenous to Karfel, but is rescued by some Karfelon rebels. However, they are soon captured by guards.

To protect Peri, the Doctor follows the Timelash tunnel back to Scotland in 1885. When he arrives he finds Vena with the amulet and a young man named Herbert. All return to Karfel, where the amulet is seized and the travellers rounded up with the rebels to await sentencing. They fight back and seal the chamber doors. The Doctor retrieves two kontron crystals from the Timelash, which he uses to create a time manipulator that allows him to slip out of the Chamber.

Tekker has meanwhile fled to the Borad, and blames the setback on the last remaining loyal Counsellor, Kendron, whom the Borad executes. Tekker remains with the Borad, now revealed to be a hideous amalgam of human and Morlox. They watch on a screen as Peri is brought into a cave and strapped down while Morlox gather to feed. A canister of the chemical Mustakozene-80 is placed nearby, which has the ability to fuse together the tissue of different species. The Borad has taken a liking to Peri and wishes to mutate her like himself. The Doctor arrives to confront Tekker and the Borad, recognising the latter as Megelen, a crazed scientist he encountered on his previous visit to Karfel and exposed to the Council for unethical experiments on Morloxes. Megelen wishes to replicate its effects to create a partner. His plan has been to provoke a war with the Bandrils that will result in their use of warheads which will wipe out all the Karfelons – but leave the Morlox and himself alive – allowing him to repopulate the world in his own image. This revelation prompts Tekker too to rebel, but he is aged to death. The Doctor then uses a Kontron Crystal to deflect Megelen's beam back at him, killing the mutant in his wheelchair.

Herbert helps the Doctor rescue Peri. They return to the Council Chamber where the imminent threat of a Bandril nuclear strike prompts the Doctor to take drastic action. He materialises the TARDIS in the path of the incoming warhead, risking his own life to save Karfel. He does so successfully and returns to Karfel to find Megelen returned from the dead and threatening the Council Chamber – or rather the other one was a clone of this original. Megelen is made unbalanced by the image of himself in a boarded up mirror, revealing the reason he hid himself away, and in this state is pushed into the Timelash by the Doctor, where he may have ended up as the Loch Ness monster (The Doctor says "he may be seen from time to time").

As they depart, the Doctor shows Peri Herbert's calling card which gives his name as Herbert George Wells.

Continuity

A mural of the Third Doctor's face is revealed behind a section of wall panelling in the Timelash control room, while Peri recognises a photograph of Jo Grant.

In the 2010 ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' story ''Death of the Doctor'', Jo Grant recounts her visit to the planet, explaining, "The Doctor took me to this planet once called Karfel. And they had a leisure garden. And the plants could sing."

Outside references

This serial makes several references to Wells' novels: ''The Time Machine'', ''The War of the Worlds'', ''The Invisible Man'', and ''The Island of Doctor Moreau''.

After discovering that she is losing her hair at an alarming rate, Marge visits Dr. Hibbert, who informs her that stress is the cause. The Simpson family decide to hire a nanny to perform housework and childcare, but have trouble finding the right one. Bart and Lisa sing a song about the ideal nanny, and a woman glides from the sky with a magical umbrella, introducing herself as Shary Bobbins. She is deemed perfect and is hired. Shary proves helpful for the Simpson family: Marge's stress subsides and her hair grows back. As the reformed family sits down to a perfect dinner, Shary declares her work done. After leaving the house, she sees the family reverting to its previous state of dysfunction, forcing Shary to stay, after Grampa accidentally steals her umbrella claiming it has been switched.

Soon the family treats her rudely and loses interest in her zest for life and zealous reform. Declaring that the Simpsons will be the death of her, she becomes depressed and starts to cry, drink, and channel her misery into her singing. Realizing the effect the Simpsons have had on Shary, Marge admits that nothing can change them, and the family expresses self-gratitude through a song. Shary accepts and leaves using her umbrella that she retrieves from Grampa. Homer suggests they might see her again someday, but unbeknown to them, she is sucked into the engine of a passing airliner.

The Seventh Doctor and Mel arrive at the trading colony Iceworld on the dark side of the planet Svartos. They soon run into Sabalom Glitz, who is on Svartos to work off a debt that he owes to the crime lord Kane, and is preparing to explore the depths of Svartos to locate a treasure reportedly protected by a dragon, aided by a map given to him by Kane; in exchange, Kane will return Glitz's ship, the ''Nosferatu'', and clear him of his debts. The Doctor and Mel offer to help, but Glitz asserts the expedition is too dangerous for Mel, and she stays behind at a local diner. She befriends Ace, a young woman who turns out to have actually come from 20th-century Earth, propelled forward in time when a mysterious time storm appeared in her bedroom while she was trying to experiment with "Nitro-9", an explosive of her own creation. The two eventually become weary of waiting and follow the Doctor and Glitz.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Glitz follow Glitz's map, unaware that Kane has implanted a tracking and listening device into it. Kane controls a large number of beings that had been unable to repay their debts, their memories wiped and turned into cold-proof henchmen by Kane's touch. Kane has a number of these follow the Doctor and Glitz so as to grab the treasure once it is found. The Doctor and Glitz eventually encounter the "dragon", which turns out to be a biomechanoid that can shoot lasers from its eyes. When Mel and Ace arrive and are pursued by Kane's men, the "dragon" helps to protect the two and defeat the men. The "dragon" leads the four to a control room where it plays a holographic message. The message explains that Kane is one half of the Kane-Xana criminal gang from the planet Proamon. They were chased down by authorities, and Xana, Kane's lover, killed herself in the process, while Kane was exiled to Svartos. The message continues that the Iceworld spaceport is really a giant spacecraft, whose power source lies in the "dragon"'s head, and Kane seeks this as to be able to escape Svartos. The Doctor suspects Kane must have been trapped here for millennia.

Kane, overhearing this, sends more of his forces to seize the "dragon"'s head, while causing chaos among the spaceport, including destroying the ''Nosferatu'' with numerous escaping passengers aboard. Kane's men succeed in decapitating the "dragon" before they are killed, and Kane uses a communicator to tell the Doctor and the others to bring him the head. The Doctor does so, accompanied by his allies. Kane uses the head to initiate Iceworld's engines and it detaches itself from the planet. Kane attempts to set course to Proamon, but finds the computers unable to do so; the Doctor explains that Proamon was destroyed a thousand years after Kane was exiled on Svartos when the sun it was orbiting went supernova. Driven insane by this revelation, Kane commits suicide by purposely allowing his body to be exposed to the light of a nearby star, which causes him to melt into a puddle of water.

As order is restored on Iceworld, Glitz declares himself owner of the vessel, and renames it ''Nosferatu II''. Mel decides to stay with Glitz, while the Doctor offers to take Ace home to Perivale via the "scenic route".

The Seventh Doctor and Ace visit a human colony on the planet Terra Alpha, where the planet's secret police force, the Happiness Patrol, roam the streets hunting down and killing so-called 'Killjoys'. The colony is governed by Helen A, obsessed with eliminating unhappiness. Also in her employment is the Kandy Man, a grotesque, sweet-based robot created by Gilbert M, one of Helen A's senior advisers.

The Doctor and Ace meet an unhappy guard, Susan Q, who becomes an ally, and Earl Sigma, a wandering harmonica player. They, along with the native inhabitants of Terra Alpha, the Pipe People, work to overthrow the tyranny of Helen A. They begin supporting public demonstrations of unhappiness, encouraging the people to revolt, and attempting to expose Helen A's population control programme to Trevor Sigma, an official galactic census taker.

The first to be disposed of is Helen A’s pet Stigorax, Fifi, a rat-dog creature used to hunt down the Pipe People, as it is crushed in the pipes below the city when Earl causes an avalanche of crystallised sugar with his harmonica. Then they destroy the Kandyman in a flow of his own fondant surprise (previously used to execute dissidents). Realising that she is beaten, Helen A attempts to escape the planet in a rocket, only to discover that the rocket has already been commandeered by Gilbert M and Joseph C, her husband. She tries to flee, but the Doctor stops her, and tries to teach her about the true nature of happiness, which can only be understood if counterbalanced by sadness. Helen A at first sneers at the Doctor, but when she discovers the remains of her beloved pet Fifi, she collapses in tears, and finally feels some sadness of her own.

The Seventh Doctor and Ace are invited to the Psychic Circus on Segonax. Aside from others who have been invited, the Circus is surprisingly empty; a few entertainers and stagehands are present alongside the Ringmaster and Morgana, the ticket seller and fortune teller; the only audience is a stoic family of three: a father, mother, and daughter. The Doctor and Ace learn that they are expected to perform and those who fail to entertain the family are annihilated. Escape is nearly impossible, as the Chief Clown, aided by numerous kites used for surveillance, leads a group of mechanical clowns around the wastelands of Segonax to recapture escapees.

The Doctor and Ace discover the corpse of Flower Child, who had attempted to escape. Ace takes one of her earrings and pins it to her jacket as a keepsake. The Chief Clown later notices this and demands to know where Ace got it; she flees into the circus, finding the robot-mechanic Bellboy hiding there. He recognises Flower Child's earring; although his memories were disrupted when he was captured, he tells Ace he remembers there being more people at the circus. Ace unties him and they hide in a circus caravan, where Ace tries to help Bellboy recover his memory.

The Doctor, meanwhile, has joined with intergalactic explorer Captain Cook and Mags, who had also been invited to the circus. The Ringmaster tells them that they will be expected to entertain soon. Mags joins the Doctor as he explores the circus to try to learn what really is going on. They find a well, with a glowing energy source at the bottom, featuring an eye symbol similar to that on the Chief Clown's kites and Morgana's crystal ball. They are cornered by Cook along with several mechanical clowns, who tell the Doctor that he is on next. The Doctor escapes, encountering a worker named Dead Beat who has a medallion with the same eye symbol.

The Doctor enters the same caravan in which Ace and Bellboy are hiding. Ace has helped Bellboy restore his memories. In the past, Dead Beat, then known as Kingpin and owner of the Psychic Circus, had come to Segonax in search of a great power; in finding it, the power drove him mad and caused him to enslave the rest of the circus to that power. The Chief Clown locates the three in the caravan, and Bellboy, feeling responsible for Flower Child's death as he had been forced to construct the robotic bus conductor, sacrifices himself to let the Doctor and Ace escape.

The Doctor and Ace locate Dead Beat and take him to the well. The Doctor recognises Dead Beat's medallion is missing a piece; he believes it to be in the bus and offers to cover for Ace and Dead Beat to look for it by taking his role in the ring. Cook says that the Doctor, he, and Mags are up next. Cook asks for a beam of moonlight to aid in his performance, which reveals Mags to be a werewolf. However, instead of attacking the Doctor, she attacks and kills Cook. The family cheers, entertained by the violent display, and the Doctor and Mags escape. With no other entertainment, the family orders the Ringmaster and Morgana to perform, but they fail to entertain and are also killed.

Ace and Dead Beat recover the medallion piece from the bus and, once attached, Dead Beat recovers his Kingpin personality. Kingpin helps defeat the Chief Clown and his robots before they return to the circus, only to find the Doctor has again been called to entertain the family. The Doctor has determined that the family are really Gods of Ragnarok, who feed on entertainment and kill those who do not satisfy them. The Doctor instructs Ace and Kingpin to throw Kingpin's medallion, linked to the dimensional portal that the Gods use, into the energy well while he tries to give them time by performing for them. Ace and Kingpin complete this task just as the Doctor is about to be obliterated; the medallion falls into the ring—as the well was a dimensional portal—and the Doctor uses the medallion to reflect the Gods' powers back onto them. The Doctor leaves the main tent as it explodes.

The Doctor regroups with Ace, Mags, and Kingpin. Kingpin and Mags decide to reclaim the circus and take it to a new planet to start it anew. The Doctor and Ace say their goodbyes.

Howard Hughes (Tommy Lee Jones), from early life, is portrayed as an eccentric perfectionist and later, a hypochondriac. He grew up as a wealthy but isolated individual who was able to indulge some of his obsessions. As a Hollywood producer, he was able to create some of the most iconic films of the era, including ''Hell's Angels'' (1930), ''Scarface'' (1932) and ''The Outlaw'' (1943, 1946). His passion as an aviator led to both designing as the head of the Hughes Aircraft Company, as well as flying top-secret aircraft he had built in record-breaking speed and endurance flights (Hughes H-1 Racer).

As well as pouring money into films and projects such as the huge H-4 Hercules aircraft, Hughes is also seen with many of the women in his life, including Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn (Tovah Feldshuh), and Jane Russell (Marla Carlis).

One incident in a 1946 involved a test flight of the XF-11, an experimental aircraft. The test flight culminated in a horrific crash, resulting in a concussion that left Hughes with brain damage and mental dysfunction, going into his old age and eventual death. His final years were spent as a recluse and while aboard a private flight to Mexico, Hughes died.

In 1984, an Iranian physician, Sayyed Bozorg "Moody" Mahmoody lives in the United States with his American wife Betty and their daughter Mahtob. Due to his background, he is often mocked and ridiculed by American physicians at the hospital where he works. Moody claims that his Iranian family wants to meet Betty and Mahtob, and asks them to come with him for a two-week visit.

Despite her deep fears about visiting Iran, particularly due to the Iranian Hostage Crisis of several years earlier, Betty reluctantly agrees after her husband promises they will safely return to America. Upon their arrival, Mahtob is embraced, while Betty's unfamiliarity with Iranian culture inadvertently offends some members of Moody's family. The night before their flight back to the United States, Moody's brother Mammal tells Moody and Betty that in order for them to go back home, their passports would have to have been taken to the airport for approval three days prior. Betty questions this, but Moody brushes this off, suggesting that they will take a later flight.

After Betty insists that they go to the airport anyway, Moody reveals that he never intended for them to return, and that they will remain in Iran permanently. When Betty protests, Moody becomes enraged and strikes her. Betty tries to earn sympathy from Moody's family, but is scorned by them. Iran's war with Iraq continues, with the family having to shelter in place during an Iraqi missile attack; Moody blames these difficulties on American support for Iraq.

Moody becomes more hostile and abusive to his wife and daughter, preventing Betty from leaving the house or even using the telephone. One day Betty answers a phone call from her mother and reveals she is trapped in Iran. Her mother tells her to seek help from the American Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy. Betty sneaks out of the house and visits the embassy, but is told that under Iran's nationality law, she acquired Iranian citizenship upon her marriage to Moody and thus is not entitled to consular protection. Because Iran is an Islamic republic governed by sharia law, Betty cannot leave the country or make decisions concerning her daughter without her husband's permission. Moody, alarmed by Betty's absence from the house, threatens to kill her if she tries anything again.

For 18 months Betty conforms to her husband's wishes in order to gain Moody's trust. Watched by Moody's sister, Betty convinces him that they should move out of her home and into Mammal's home. By chance, during a trip to the marketplace, she meets a sympathetic storekeeper who allows her to use his telephone and overhears her conversations with the Swiss Embassy. He puts her in contact with a pair of humanitarian Iranians, Hossein and his sister, who offer to help Betty and Mahtob return to the United States. Betty accepts Hossein's assistance, especially after he warns her that Mahtob, when she reaches nine years old, could be at risk of being forced into marriage. Mahtob does not adjust to her new Iranian school and has to be accompanied to school by Betty. The women at the school tell Betty that they sympathize with her, and though they will not allow her to use the telephone, they allow her to bring Mahtob to school hours after she would normally arrive. Betty uses this time to meet with Hossein, and they discuss an escape route. When she and Mahtob arrive at school, Moody is there waiting for them and attacks Betty. She leaves with Moody, but flees when he is distracted. She finds a telephone booth and calls a woman from the Swiss embassy whom she had spoken with previously. They return to the school, but the women from the school forbid her from taking Mahtob. With no other options, Betty and Mahtob return home with Moody.

Betty learns that her father is seriously ill. Moody tells Betty he will allow her to return to see her dying father, but will not let Mahtob go with her. He tells Betty while she is in the United States, she is to liquidate their assets and return to Iran. Hossein warns Betty that if she visits her father, she may never see Mahtob again. Betty decides to wait to return to the United States with Mahtob. Moody unknowingly foils her plans by having her booked on a flight several days early, thanks to his relatives' contacts in the airport.

Moody is called to the clinic for an emergency. On the pretense of going to buy presents for her father, Betty takes Mahtob and they contact Hossein, who supplies Betty and Mahtob with fake identity documents, and they make their way past checkpoint with Iranian smugglers.

Betty and Mahtob are dropped off in a street in Ankara, where they see the flag of the American Embassy in the distance. Betty and Mahtob make it back home to the United States. Betty becomes a successful author and dedicates herself to helping those in need.

Giovanni is a lonely boy, whose father is away on a long fishing trip, while his mother is ill at home. As a result, the young Giovanni must undertake paid jobs before and after school, delivering papers and setting type at the printers, in order to provide food for his poor family. These adult responsibilities leave him with no time to study or socialize, and he is ridiculed by his classmates. Apart from Giovanni's mother and sister, the only person who really cares for him is his former playmate Campanella, whose father is a close friend of Giovanni's father.

During a lesson about the galaxy, the teacher asks Giovanni what the Milky Way is made of. Giovanni knows it is formed of stars, but is unable to say so, and Campanella does the same to save Giovanni from further teasing by the rest of the class. At the end of the lesson, the teacher encourages all the children to attend the festival of stars that evening. Upon returning home, Giovanni finds that no milk was delivered that day, so he heads out to the dairy to fetch it for his mother's dinner. Giovanni only encounters an elderly woman at the dairy, and once he pleads that his ill mother needs her milk that night, the woman advises him to come back later.

Giovanni intends to watch the festival with Campanella, but on his way into town, he is mocked by his schoolmates for expecting an otter-skin coat from his father. Upset by this taunt, Giovanni flees from the town. He walks alone to the top of a nearby hill and lies on the ground at the base of a "weather wheel" (天気輪). As he gazes up at the Milky Way in the sky above, Giovanni suddenly finds himself with Campanella onboard a steam train, which travels past the Northern Cross and many other stars in its journey across the galaxy. The two boys witness many amazing sights and meet various people, including scholars excavating a fossil from sands of white crystal, and a man who catches herons to turn them into candy.

When a ticket inspector appears, Giovanni discovers he has a rare ticket which allows him to go anywhere that the train runs. Shortly after, the boys are joined in their seats by a tutor and two children, Kaoru and Tadashi, who were onboard a ship that sank after hitting an iceberg. As the train passes the flame of Scorpio, Kaoru recalls that it was once a scorpion who ate other insects, but perished in a well after escaping a weasel; regretting that it did not sacrifice itself for a good cause, the scorpion prayed to bring happiness to others in the next life, and its body burst into a bright flame that still burns in the night sky.

The train next stops at the Southern Cross, where all the other passengers disembark for the Christian heaven, leaving only Giovanni and Campanella onboard as the train continues its journey. Giovanni pledges that they should go on together for ever, and vows to follow Scorpio's example of bringing true happiness to everyone. However, as the train approaches the Coalsack - a hole in the sky - Campanella sees what he considers 'the true heaven', where his mother is waiting for him, and suddenly vanishes from the train, leaving Giovanni alone in despair.

Giovanni wakes up on the hilltop, and initially dismisses his journey through the Milky Way as a dream. He heads back to the dairy, where this time he collects a bottle of milk from a farmer, who explains that an escaped calf drank half of the day's milk supply. As Giovanni passes through town on his way home, he learns that Campanella has fallen into the river while saving another boy from drowning. Giovanni hurries to the river, in fear of what he already knows, and finds Campanella's father just as he sadly gives up searching for his son, believing Campanella to have drowned. He tells Giovanni that he has received a letter from his father, announcing that he will be home soon. Continuing homeward to deliver this news and the milk to his mother, Giovanni secretly knows where Campanella went, and vows to stay strong throughout life.

Master Sardu (Seamus O'Brien) runs a Grand Guignol-style theatre with his assistant, the little person Ralphus. They present grotesque sadomasochism shows depicting torture and murder. Unbeknownst to audiences and critics, the events depicted are real, not staged; the tortured participants are kidnapped victims forced into sexual slavery.

Theatre critic Creasy Silo incurs Sardu's wrath by mocking his pretensions of art. Sardu responds by kidnapping and torturing Silo, hoping he will give the show a positive review, and by kidnapping ballerina Natasha DeNatalie to force her to participate in shows and lend them some artistic legitimacy. Natasha's football-player boyfriend Tom Maverick and corrupt policeman Detective John Tucci try to find Natasha and unravel the mystery of Sardu's operation. Sardu ultimately gets his comeuppance at the hands of his former captives.

''Cosmopolis'' is the story of Eric Packer, a 28-year-old multi-billionaire asset manager who makes an odyssey across midtown Manhattan to get a haircut. He drives around in a stretch limo, which is richly described as luxurious, spacious and highly technical, filled with television screens and computer monitors, bulletproofed and floored with Carrara marble. It is also cork-lined to eliminate (although unsuccessfully, as Packer notes) the intrusion of street noise.

Packer's voyage is obstructed by various traffic jams caused by a presidential visit to the city, a full-fledged anti-capitalist riot, and a funeral procession for a Sufi rap star. Along the way, the hero has several chance meetings with his wife and sexual encounters with other women. Packer is also stalked by two men, a comical "pastry assassin" and an unstable "credible threat". Through the course of the day, the protagonist loses incredible amounts of money for his clients by betting against the rise of the Yen.

Buffy, patrolling, finds a vampire, engages, and then slays him, while Angel watches her from behind some bushes. The college's Dean Guerrero orates for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Anthropology building, and Xander is one of the construction workers. Xander begins to dig, but the ground suddenly caves out under him, and he drops into an old abandoned building, which is soon discovered to be a long-lost Mission, buried underground in an earthquake centuries ago.

Buffy, upset that her mother is going to be out of town for Thanksgiving, decides to cook her own Thanksgiving dinner and invite all her friends. Anya arrives at Xander's house to find him incredibly sick, and right away starts taking care of him.

A green haze comes up from the old Mission and goes to the Cultural Center where some weapons are being kept. After the haze comes in contact with a knife, it turns into a large Native American man and kills the curator. Buffy and Willow later secretly investigate the murder, and wonder why the curator's body is missing an ear. They discover that a Chumash knife is missing.

After Giles agrees to look up information on the Chumash people, and Buffy leaves, Angel appears from Giles's back room, having come to Sunnydale because his friend had a vision of Buffy in danger. Willow goes to get coffee and runs into Angel. He tells her he is just looking out for Buffy because she might be in trouble. Buffy attempts to find a reverend in a church for information on the Chumash, but finds him having been hanged by the Native American man, Hus, who attacks her before fleeing. When Willow researches the Chumash, she discovers that they were imprisoned into slavery and forced labor for various supposed misdeeds, and that they attacked their accusers by severing their ears in retaliation. Buffy realizes that Hus is recreating the wrongs done to his people in vengeance. After overhearing the conversation from the bushes, Hus returns to the Mission where he resurrects his warriors.

Covered in a blanket and in terrible shape, Spike runs through the woods, trying to escape Riley and his Initiative team as they look for him. Starving, Spike tries to get food from Harmony, but she threatens him with a stake and he leaves. With only a blanket to protect him from the sun, Spike shows up at Giles's place, asking for help. Buffy is reluctant to give in, but after he offers inside information on the Initiative and Willow helps him explain that he cannot bite anyone anymore, she allows him in. Giles conjures that Hus is seeking out figures of authority as his targets, and Buffy worries that Guerrero could be next. When Willow feels bad about how their people treated the Chumash and refuses to cast a spell to kill the spirits, Spike calls the gang out on their apologetic behavior towards them. He especially points out that Hus would not accept anyone's apologies for rightfully killing his people as a conquering nation, and that Buffy must persevere and kill him in order to survive. Willow, Xander and Anya leave to warn Guerrero as Buffy and Giles prep for dinner.

The spirits attack Buffy, Giles, and Spike with arrows. Helplessly tied to a chair, all Spike can do is try to move out of the way as he gets hit with arrows. Willow, Xander, and Anya encounter Angel on their way back and they determine that the Chumash went after Buffy, realizing that she must be a figure of authority. Angel shows up and helps them out. Buffy cuts Hus with his own knife, and reaches the conclusion that his own weapon can kill him and his warriors. Hus turns into a large black bear, causing Spike to panic and knock his chair over. Buffy struggles with Hus and then stabs him, causing the spirits to disappear.

Angel walks away without being seen by Buffy, and later the gang sits down to Thanksgiving dinner, with Spike joining them whilst still tied up. Xander accidentally lets it slip that Angel was in town.

Adam Sullivan (Scott Foley) is a naive and well-intentioned federal prosecutor (an Assistant United States Attorney) in New York City, who must contend with the difficulties of both his work life and his romantic life. While being part of the Department of Justice, Sullivan finds both colleagues and opponents challenging his every move.

The Axons land on Earth, desperately in need of fuel. They propose to exchange the miracle substance they call Axonite for some much needed energy. Axonite is a "thinking" molecule that can replicate any substance... or so they claim. As it turns out, the ship is a single organism called Axos whose purpose is to feed itself by draining all energy through the Axonite (which is just a part of itself), including the energy of every life form on Earth. The deception about the Axonite's beneficial properties was to facilitate the distribution of Axonite across the globe.

Meanwhile, the Master, who was captured by Axos and used his knowledge of Earth as a bargaining chip for his life and freedom, escapes Axos and makes his way to the Third Doctor's TARDIS—his own having been seized by Axos. He plans to repair it to escape from Earth.

Axos itself becomes interested in the Doctor's knowledge of time travel. It now plans to broaden its feeding base by travelling through time as well as space. The Doctor, realising this, plans to trick Axos into linking up its drive unit to his TARDIS so that he can send Axos into a perpetual time loop. After fooling the Master into completing the repairs on his TARDIS, the Doctor does just that. This results in every part of Axos dematerialising from Earth, including the Axon automatons and the Axonite.

At the end, with the Master having escaped in his own TARDIS during the confusion aboard Axos, the Doctor returns to Earth, but not of his own volition. The Time Lords have programmed the TARDIS to always return to Earth, making the Doctor, as he notes, "some kind of a galactic yo-yo!".

The ruthless Mr. Big is timing the arrival of an armored car picking up money from a bank and a flower delivery truck. He plans to rob the armored car with three men: Peter Harris (a gambler wanted for murder); Boyd Kane (a cop killer); and Tony Romano (a womanizing get-away driver). When interviewing them, he wears a mask so they cannot identify him. They were selected because each has a reason for fleeing the US.

The plan includes using a duplicate flower delivery truck. The robbery and pursuit go as planned, with each crook wearing a mask so none can identify each other. The gang arrives in the look-alike floral truck as Rolfe, unaware, drives away. The gang subdues the armored car guards, grabs the money and flees. Mr. Big gives each gang member a torn King playing card. He tells them to hang on to the cards and that, in case something goes wrong and Mr. Big cannot make it, the cards will serve to identify them to whoever he sends. The other members await the payment in Mexico.

The police arrest Rolfe and try to beat a confession out of him while he maintains his innocence. He gets released when his alibi checks out and the real robbery vehicle is found. Rolfe loses his job and decides to find the criminals and clear his name. He finds out Harris fled the city. Correctly believing he must be one of the robbers, Rolfe pursues him to Tijuana.

Rolfe finds and beats Harris into revealing the gang's meeting place. At the airport the police recognize Harris and kill him. Rolfe realizes he can impersonate Harris. In Harris’s luggage, he finds the mask and torn playing card.

In Borados, Rolfe meets Kane and Romano. Unknown to Rolfe, Mr. Big is there, too. He is Tim Foster, a one-time high-ranking Kansas City police officer who was forced to retire when his name was linked to a scandal. His conversation with the insurance investigator of the Kansas City robbery, Scott, who Foster had summoned to Barados, reveals his plan: Foster never intended for the three goons to split the money and get away. He will spring a trap on them, pretend he solved the robbery, get the 25% reward for having done so, and possibly reclaim his job with the Kansas City police.

Foster's plan is thrown off when his daughter Helen, a law student, arrives. She tells her father she spoke to Kansas City's mayor, who agreed to look into the scandal that cost him his job. Foster tells Helen he doesn't want to return. She tells him she met Rolfe and likes him. That night Rolfe uses a game of poker as a pretext to show the gang members the torn card. Kane and Romano react, but Foster does not. He knows Rolfe is not Harris. Soon after, Rolfe catches Romano searching his room and beats him. Romano submits and they agree to cooperate until the money is split. Returning to his room the next day, Rolfe is beaten by Romano and Kane, who have teamed up. Kane knows Rolfe is an impostor because he was in prison with Harris. Helen knocks on the door and some quick thinking by Rolfe compels Romano and Kane to leave them alone.

Foster, as Mr. Big, writes individual notes to Rolfe, Kane, and Romano to meet him on his boat. Before it can happen, Kane and Romano try to ambush Rolfe, who gets the drop on them. He admits he is Rolfe, not Harris, and tells them he insists on getting Harris’s share.

Kane and Romano waylay Rolfe and discover he's going to the boat. All three are driven there by Foster, pretending to be going out fishing. They still do not know he is Mr. Big. On board, Rolfe escapes and comes across the money that Foster had made easy to spot. Romano, gun in hand, confronts him. To buy time, Rolfe shows him the money. Romano, planning to keep it all, kills Kane. Foster arrives on the scene, but says too much. Rolfe deduces he is Mr. Big and says so out loud. In the gun battle that follows, Foster kills Romano, but not before Romano fatally shoots him. As Foster is dying he tells Rolfe his one wish is that Helen doesn't find out his duplicity. With his dying breath, he tells the insurance investigator that Rolfe was his source and deserves the $300,000 reward for having helped recover the stolen money from the robbery.

Eight-year-old Seth Dove (Jeremy Cooper) lives in an isolated American prairie community in the 1950s. The film opens with Seth and his friends, Eben and Kim, playing with a frog Seth has found in the fields. The boys inflate the frog by inserting a reed up its anus and leave it by the side of the road. When a local English widow, Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan), stops to inspect it, Seth shoots the inflated frog with a slingshot, causing it to explode over Dolphin.

Seth retreats back to the small gas station where he lives with his overworked, harsh, longing mother Ruth (Sheila Moore) and shy, closeted, detached father Luke (Duncan Fraser). Seth's older brother, Cameron (Viggo Mortensen), is away on military service in the Pacific (Ruth refers to them as "the pretty islands"). Seth serves gas to a mysterious group of young men driving a black Cadillac, who promise to see him again soon and drive off.

Seth is sent to Dolphin's house to apologise for the frog prank. Dolphin is haunted by the memory of her dead husband, who hanged himself for unknown reasons a week after their wedding. Surrounded by artifacts from her husband's family's whaling past, Seth takes some of her self-pitying remarks (she claims to be "two hundred years old") literally. After having just learned about vampires from his father, Seth begins to believe that Dolphin must be a vampire.

After Eben goes missing, Seth and Kim go to Dolphin's house to investigate, because Seth believes she is responsible for Eben's disappearance. They go up to Dolphin's bedroom and demolish her belongings. They later hear Dolphin downstairs. The boys proceed to spy on her as she sits on a chair, moaning and touching herself. After getting caught, the boys scream and run outside. Seth sees the same black Cadillac from before, after which he runs home and later finds Eben's dead body floating in the water cistern. The local authorities believe that Seth's father, Luke, is responsible, because of a homosexual indiscretion years previously; believing himself to be doomed, Luke douses himself with gasoline and incinerates himself.

Cameron returns home to look after his brother Seth, as Ruth has become shell-shocked following her husband's self-immolation. Whilst visiting his grave, Cameron meets Dolphin, and romance sparks between the two, much to Seth's horror. In a nearby barn, Seth and Kim discover an ossified dead fetus, which Seth takes home with him, believing it to be Eben incarnate as a fallen angel. Cameron shows Seth a photograph of a baby dying from radiation poisoning, which both fascinates and disturbs Seth. The next day, Seth follows Cameron to Dolphin's house, where he observes Cameron emotionally confessing to Dolphin his culpability in atomic bomb experiments. Cameron and Dolphin begin to make love; running in terror from the house, Seth witnesses the men in the Cadillac abducting Kim.

Cameron's body begins to deteriorate from radiation sickness, which Seth attributes to Dolphin's supposed vampirism. Kim's body is discovered the next day, and law enforcement authorities still believe that Luke is alive and responsible. As Cameron and Dolphin grow closer and plot to run away together, Seth focuses his rage at Dolphin. He consults with the fetus "angel Eben" that night on how to deal with her. On the spur of the moment the next day, as she is about to get a ride from them, he does not warn Dolphin of the men in the black Cadillac. Dolphin's body is found, and Cameron breaks down in front of Seth. Realizing he has effectively broken his brother, Seth runs to a nearby field and, overwhelmed with anger, screams at the setting sun.

The film follows big band leader Glenn Miller (1904–1944) (James Stewart) from his early days in the music business in 1929 through to his 1944 death when the airplane he was flying in was lost over the English Channel during World War II. Prominent placement in the film is given to Miller's courtship and marriage to Helen Burger (June Allyson), and various cameos by actual musicians who were colleagues of Miller.

Several turning points in Miller's career are depicted with varying degrees of accuracy, including: the success of an early jazz band arrangement; his departure from the Broadway pit and sideman work to front a band of his own; the failure of his first band on the road; and the subsequent re-forming of his successful big band and the establishment of the "Miller Sound" as typified by "Moonlight Serenade". Also depicted is Miller's international success touring his band in support of the Allies in World War II.

There are several anachronisms in the picture. When the military band led by Miller is playing in front of General "Hap" Arnold, a B-29 bomber is in the background. The marching troops are desegregated, which did not occur until 1948. Scenes ostensibly shot in England are clearly staged in the U.S., as witness the presence of RCA Type 44 microphones during a BBC broadcast. In reality, the BBC could not afford them and commissioned its own, cheaper version.

In addition, several key plot points are either highly fictionalized from actual events or were invented for the film: * Miller is shown as disliking the tune "Little Brown Jug" and only performing it in 1944 as a "special arrangement" for his wife. The song was actually first performed and recorded in 1939, became one of his most popular early hits, and was performed numerous times by both the civilian and AAF Orchestras. The 1939 recording went on to sell over a million copies. * Miller was, in fact, dressed down for performing jazz marches and told by a superior officer that Sousa's marches served the military well in World War I. However, in the film, his character apologizes sheepishly and is only rescued by another officer whose children are fans. Miller's biographer George T. Simon states that his actual response was "Are you still flying the same planes you flew in the last war?", after which the jazz marches stayed. * Neither Frances Langford nor the Modernaires performed with Miller's Army Air Force Band.

Japanese organized crimes are growing rapidly and rigidly as the Japanese government ordered a nationwide arrest plan (Senkoku Taitaiseki) throughout the whole nation to arrest all involved criminals. Criminal activity has increased by order of the infamous Gokudo-kai yakuza group, who has entered a partnership with a Hong Kong Triad called (''Dragonhead'' in English). Finally, a mysterious kingpin is hiding behind-the-scenes to ensure that Japan falls down to the hands of the Gokudo-kai and the Ryuuto.

Players start the investigation inside an office building where a collaboration deal is taking place between the Gokudo-kai and the Dragonheads. After arresting the first wave of criminals, nationwide arrest warrants have been issued for the capture of the following suspects holed in Osaka, Hakata, Shinjuku, Kobe, Nagoya, and Sapporo: , , , , Koji Motomura (sometimes mistranslated as Hiroshi Motomura; 本村 弘司 ''Motomura Koji''), Sadaharu Kitaya (sometimes mistranslated as Sadaharu Kitadani; 北谷 貞治 ''Kitaya Sadaharu''), and Hung Ko Cheung (熊 谷章). Arresting 3 behind-the-scene criminals throughout the game gives players a chance to capture the behind-the-scenes kingpin, ''Shigenobu Matsuyama''.

Shiratori Ryushi wants to become a children's picture book writer, and he moves to an apartment, Narutaki-Sou (Narutaki Villa), in order to go to an art school in Tokyo. Narutaki-Sou is an old Japanese style one-story house which doesn't fit in urban scenery. The complex is owned by his mother's cousin and the manager of the apartment is his second cousin, Aoba Kozue. They met each other when they were children, although Shiratori doesn't remember much of it. Kozue is in the second grade of a high school attached to Aoba Junior College.

There are seven residents of Narutaki-Sou. The first, Chanohata Tamami, lives in room #1 and she is Kozue's childhood friend and best friend. Shiratori Ryushi, the main character of the series, resides in room #2. In room #3 resides Momono Megumi, a person who goes her own way in life. Kurosaki Sayoko and her daughter Asami, who is in the first grade of middle school, live in room #5. Finally, in room #6, Haibara Yukio lives with his puppet Johnny.

Narutaki-Sou is filled with characteristic and eccentric people. However, the most eccentric person is Kozue herself. She has a secret of which even she does not know; when she is shocked at something, her personality changes. Not knowing this, Ryushi moves to Narutaki-Sou to realize his dream.

The main character, David, finds a device at the beach that can duplicate any living organism. After testing the device on his pet fish, David makes a clone of himself so that he could go on a date with his crush, Angela, while his clone attends his grandmother's birthday. His plan backfires because the Duplicate believes himself to be the original, and refuses to take orders. David ends up having to go to his grandmother's birthday after he loses a coin toss to the duplicate.

David's real problems begin when the Duplicate uses the device to create a clone of himself. The new duplicate is a less-than-perfect reproduction, being a copy of a copy, and has goals and desires that differ from the original David. Eventually, the second duplicate turns on Angela and the original David, and he has to find a way to stop him. Later, he stumbles upon something that will change his life.