Garson Poole wakes up after a flying-car-crash to find that he is missing a hand. He then finds out that he is an 'electric ant' an "organic" robot. He further finds out that what he believes is his subjective reality is being fed to him from a micro-punched tape in his chest cavity. He experiments on this tape by adding new holes, which adds things to his reality. Convinced that his entire reality is constrained by the tape, he makes a major change to it, with a major effect on his reality. The change affects everyone else he interacts with, which raises the question of whether any of them – or he himself – are "real" at all.

Dick said of the story:

Mick O'Brien is a 16-year-old Irish-American hoodlum from Chicago. While most of Mick's crimes involve snatching purses, vandalism, and getting into fights, he aspires to bigger and meaner things, which leads him to attempt ripping off a Puerto Rican rival, Paco Moreno. Everything goes wrong: Mick's partner and best friend Carl is killed, and Mick, while trying to escape the police, accidentally runs over and kills an eight-year-old boy who happens to be Paco's brother.

Mick is sent to the Rainford Juvenile Correctional Facility rather than a state prison for adults. Most of the wardens and counselors seem to have lowered themselves to the role of zookeepers. One exception is Ramon Herrera, a former gang member who talks tough to the inmates, but holds out hope for some of them, especially Mick.

Mick's cellmate is Barry Horowitz, a small, wiry, brainy Jewish kid who firebombed a bowling alley after some boys there severely beat him for flirting with their girlfriends. Their cell block is dominated by a pair of brawny sadists named "Viking" Lofgren and Warren "Tweety" Jerome, who take an immediate dislike to Mick. Mick puts up with them at first, but after he witnesses Tweety killing another inmate (who attempted to stab Tweety in retaliation for raping him) by throwing him off the catwalk, he refuses to be intimidated by them.

Suspecting that Mick may have revealed Tweety's guilt to the authorities, Tweety and Viking go to Mick's cell to confront him about this. But Mick, having anticipated their arrival, beats them up with a pillowcase full of unopened soda cans. His victory over Viking and Tweety earns him the respect of the block and recognition as the new "barn boss". Meanwhile, to avenge his brother's death, Paco attacks and rapes Mick's girlfriend J.C.

After learning that J.C. was raped, Mick is desperate to see her, so he and Horowitz escape the double perimeter fences during football practice using a corrosive paste placed on the fence, making the fences weak enough to kick open. Mick escapes, but Horowitz falls on barbed wire and is then caught, at which point a counselor beats Horowitz up for calling him names and escaping. Ramon believes that Mick had gone to J.C.'s house, and soon picks him up. Before they return to Rainford, Ramon takes Mick on a trip to a maximum-security prison to show where he could end up should he continue down the path of crime.

After the police find out that Paco raped J.C., Paco is arrested and sentenced to the same dormitory in Rainford that Mick is in. The staff are fully aware of this potential danger, but no other reform school has a vacancy. Paco attempts to provoke Mick into a fight, but Mick avoids the confrontation, since he may qualify for early release if he stays out of trouble. However, he also loses the respect of many of the inmates, who now want to see Paco put Mick away.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to retaliate on behalf of Mick, Horowitz plants fertilizer into a radio that he has placed in Paco and Viking's cell, to create a bomb. When the charge explodes prematurely and only injures Viking, Horowitz is condemned to solitary confinement, a fate he fears more than any other.

Paco's transfer is arranged, so he plans his showdown with Mick for the night before. While Ramon was on night patrol, Paco fakes a ruptured appendix so Ramon comes to his aid. Ramon is assaulted, then caged in the office. The door into the cells is then barricaded, and the entire dormitory is aroused by the brawl. Eventually, Mick comes out on top, and the film ends with him very nearly killing Paco while being encouraged by the others to do it. However, resisting at the last second, he does not do it. He then drags a beaten Paco in front of the caged Ramon and other detention officers and heads back to his cell, crying in remorse.

Former President of the United States Monroe "Eagle" Cole retires to his vacation home in the town of Mooseport, Maine, to escape from his ex-wife Charlotte. Harold "Handy" Harrison is the town's local hardware store owner and plumber. Harrison's job keeps him so busy that he has neglected his relationship with girlfriend (and the town veternarian) Sally Mannis, who is on the verge of dumping him.

After the death of the town mayor, the town council decides to approach former president Cole about running for the office. Cole agrees because, if he is mayor, his Mooseport house can serve as his office and, therefore, can no longer be divided up or sold off in his divorce settlement. As a surprise to Cole, Harison's name has also been entered into the race. When Harrison finds out Cole is running, he decides to withdraw, until he witnesses Cole make a pass at Sally. Handy believes that, by becoming mayor, he can show Sally he is a mature decision maker and win back her heart.

Tempers rise following the arrival of Cole's ex-wife and campaign spoiler Charlotte. Cole's team, led by long-time executive secretary Grace Sutherland and presidential aide Will Bullard, bring in strong support in the form of campaign strategist Bert Langdon, who is looking for excitement since Cole's retirement. As the campaigns progress, Cole and Harrison both become obsessed with winning the race at all costs, although Harrison refuses to resort to cheating. Cole realizes that in all his years of campaigning this may be his toughest as he is taking on a genuinely honest everyman.

On the night before the election, both candidates urge the voters to vote for the other candidate by saying that neither of them will vote for themselves. Harrison keeps his promise, but Cole votes for himself. Upon the revelation that Cole won by one vote, his conscience gets the better of him and he concedes the match to Harrison. However, Harrison lies that he voted for himself as well, and declines office, making Cole end up as mayor. Harrison later reveals to Sally that he conceded the election because Cole needs the mayorship more than he does and that all he really wanted was to propose marriage to her, which he does. As Handy is proposing to Sally, Monroe also proposes to Grace. The film ends with Bert Langdon telling Handy that he ran an excellent campaign and offers to be his campaign manager for Governor of Maine, which Handy shows some interest in when he realizes a governor has certain authority over mayors.

Set in 1958, the coming of age story follows four lower middle-class Brooklyn teenagers known as The Lords of Flatbush. The Lords chase girls, steal cars, shoot pool, get into street fights, and hang out at a local malt shop. Chico attempts to win over hard-to-get, waspy Jane while throwing over easier-to-get Annie. Stanley seemingly impregnates his girlfriend Frannie, who pressures him to marry her. Stanley eventually agrees to marry even after finding out before the wedding that Frannie was never pregnant. Butchey Weinstein is highly intelligent but hides his brains behind a clownish front in order to fit in with the gang. Wimpy Murgalo is a loyal follower in awe of Stanley, eventually becoming best man at his wedding. All 4 boys seem to discover maturity and responsibility at the end of the film as we witness them bonding during the wedding in their dress suits, eschewing their typical leather jackets.

Eight years ago a nuclear war began between the United States and the Soviet Union. American survivors evacuated to gigantic bunkers miles under ground. Sophisticated, radioactivity-immune robots called "leadys" continue fighting the war on the devastated surface that is too dangerous for humans. The Soviets have similarly evacuated underground, and each side builds powerful weapons and vehicles for the remote-controlled war they only see from film that the robots deliver.

The security department asks Taylor, an American war planner, to observe the interrogation of a leady regarding the progress of the war. Although the robot reports that lethal radioactivity and sophisticated new Soviet weapons continue to make the surface dangerous for humans, the observers find that the leady is not radioactive. Taylor learns that this is the second such robot the security department has found; it assigns him to an expedition, wearing lead suits, to investigate the truth about surface conditions.

Taylor's group surprises the leadys at the surface and demands to see the outside. Although the robots attempt to delay the humans as long as possible, the group discovers outside the bunker an undamaged valley with forests, animals, and a farm. The leadys reveal that the war ended as soon as the humans evacuated because the robots could not see a rational purpose for it. Analyzing history, they found that groups of humans warred with each other until they matured to overcome conflict. Humanity is almost ready for a single culture, the current worldwide division into American and Soviet sides being the final step. The leadys create counterfeit photographs of the devastated planet to fool humans, while destroying weapons they received and rebuilding the world for their creators' return.

The Americans believe that because the Soviets do not know that they were also tricked, the United States can quickly win the war. The robots reveal, however, that during their explanation they sealed all tubes to under ground. Although this prevents the expedition from leaving, the leadys expect that by the time their countrymen dig new tunnels, humanity will be ready for the truth. The robots invite Taylor and the others to join a group of Soviets who were similarly stranded after visiting the surface. "The working out of daily problems of existence", the leadys suggest, "will teach you how to get along in the same world. It will not be easy, but it will be done."

Hardened New York City homicide detective Emily Eden (Melanie Griffith), daughter of a divorced former cop, and her partner Nick (Jamey Sheridan) attempt to arrest two drug dealers. However, Nick is stabbed by one of the dealers, whom Emily wounds instead of alerting assistance at first. As a result, her superior Lt. Oliver (David Margulies) temporarily takes away her gun. After Nick is hospitalized, eventually heading to recovery, while the dealers have been apprehended, Emily goes undercover to investigate the murder of a Hasidic diamond-cutter named Yaakov Klausman (Jake Weber). She questions the family of the Hasidic rebbe (Lee Richardson), an elderly Holocaust survivor who is revered for his wisdom and compassion toward his fellow Jews. He says to her, "You and I have something in common: We are both intimately familiar with evil. It does something to your soul."

While living with the rebbe's family, Emily changes her appearance and takes a liking to his son, Ariel (Eric Thal), a young man who works as a diamond-cutter but teaches in the yeshiva and is expected to follow his father as the next rebbe. In addition to keeping all 613 Mitzvot, he is waiting for his intended, or basherte, the daughter of a Paris rebbe whom he has not yet actually met. They are the subjects of an arranged marriage, but he believes that she is his soul mate, chosen by God. He is also studying the Kabbalah, which is regarded as rather daring for a man under 40. Its discussion of sexual intimacy is restrained but specific, as well as a metaphor for the relationship between Man and God.

Emily finds out that the "inside man" in the murder plot is the rebbe's adopted daughter Mara (Tracy Pollan), who had been living a disorderly life until Yaakov introduced her to the rebbe. Afterwards, she joined the community as a repentant ''baalat tshuva,'' "one who has returned," until a person from her past approached her and she let him into the Diamond Center to steal diamonds worth about $750,000 and kill Yaakov.

Shortly after, Emily saves the rebbe's daughter Leah (Mia Sara) from being scammed by the Baldessari brothers Anthony (James Gandolfini) and Christopher (Chris Latta), who claim to be Yaakov's killers. Emily instructs her second partner Levine (John Pankow) to alert assistance and arrests the Baldessaris, but the Baldessaris manage to escape. In the ensuing chase, Levine is injured, while Emily fatally shoots the Baldessaris. Before succumbing to his wounds, Anthony admits to Emily that he and Christopher were not responsible for Yaakov's death.

Having solved the case such as Mara now an accessory to murder, Emily rejects Nick's proposal, secretly romances Ariel to overcome her personal problems, and returns to the rebbe's home with him, but finds that Mara has taken Leah hostage. After Emily attempts to negotiate, Mara knocks her out, and Ariel kills Mara with Emily's revolver, avenging Yaakov. Ariel comments that sometimes an evil deed has a partially good result. Emily is hospitalized for an examination, while the rebbe and his family bid her farewell. Ariel and his basherte Shayna Singer (Rena Sofer) get married, in which a reformed Emily watches from a distance. Eventually, she returns to work and catches up with an also reformed Levine, who is on leave and invites her on a two-week trip to Aruba. However, she declines and awaits her bashert.

Natasha leaves her parents' home and runs away with Alyosha (Prince Alexey), the son of Prince Valkovsky. As a result of his pain, her father, Nikolai, curses her. The only friend that remains by Natasha's side is Ivan – her childhood friend who is deeply in love with her, and whom Natasha has rejected despite their being engaged. Prince Valkovsky tries to destroy Alyosha's plans to marry Natasha, and wants to make him marry the rich princess Katerina. Alyosha is a naïve but lovable young man who is easily manipulated by his father. Following his father's plan, Alyosha falls in love with Katerina, but still loves Natasha. He is constantly torn between these two women, too indecisive and infatuated with both to make a decision. Eventually, Natasha sacrifices her own feelings and withdraws in order for Alyosha to choose Katerina. Meanwhile, Ivan rescues an orphan girl, Elena (known as Nellie), from the clutches of a procuress and learns that her mother ran away from her father's (Jeremy Smith's) home with her sweetheart, a man who abandoned her when Nellie's mother gave birth. It is later revealed that Prince Valkovsky is Nellie's father. Her parents were legally married, but Prince Valkovsky persuaded his young and innocent wife to rob her father, Jeremy. After moving to Petersburg, Nellie's mother asks her father for forgiveness, but he rejects them. Before dying, Nellie's mother makes Nellie promise to never go to her real father, whose name is on a document she leaves her daughter. In an attempt to make Nikolai (Natasha's father) reconcile with Natasha, Ivan persuades Nikolai and his wife to adopt Nellie. By telling them her life story, Nellie makes Nikolai's heart soften and he forgives Natasha and removes his curse, and they are reunited. Natasha's family plans to move from Petersburg, but just before they leave Nellie dies from a chronic heart condition; the little girl makes it clear to Ivan she does not forgive her father for his cruel treatment of her mother. She also tells him he should marry Natasha. The story ends on an ambiguous note with Natasha and Ivan reflecting on the events that have unfolded.

The game takes place on the world of Aio. Years ago, an alien ship crashed on the planet, breaking into 4 parts. Each part fell on a different region.

The game begins as Lord Petruzzo, ruler of the Vinci city of Miana, his brother Giacomo, and General Carlini are sent with a group of soldiers to recover an object found in a mine shaft that is making the miners sick. When they arrive, they are attacked by the Doge of Venucci, a bloodthirsty warlord, who has already captured the mysterious device. The Doge fires a laser beam at a nearby outcrop, causing an avalanche. The rubble crushes Petruzzo and many of the soldiers. Giacomo sets out on a quest to kill the Doge and avenge his brother.

Along the way, Giacomo's army helps the land of Pirata break a Venucci siege, and Lenora, their leader, joins Giacomo on his quest. Further on, they liberate Venucci political prisoners, and discover that Venucci has access to unknown technology.

Giacomo levels Venucci using a weapon that the Doge intended for Miana, Giacomo's home city, called the Doge Hammer. However, he discovers that the Doge has taken another Hammer to Miana while the battle at Venucci was fought. On returning to Miana, Giacomo finds the city destroyed.

He pursues the Doge into the Alin Desert, where the army is attacked by the Dark Alin Marwan. They are saved by an army led by Giacomo's friend, the Alin princess Arri. She takes Giacomo to the Alin king, who gives him rest but does not offer military aid. He tells the story of Sawu, the Dark Alin who was driven mad by an object that fell from the sky. Sawu began covering the land in a substance called Dark Glass. To stop the spread of Sawu’ influence, he was sealed in the city of Mezekesh. Giacomo leaves to break the seal and stop Sawu once and for all. He is accompanied by Arri, while Lenora returns to Pirata to prepare her armies.

Defeating Sawu cures his insanity. As Sawu is defeated, however, the Doge arrives to take the object that drove Sawu mad. With the help of the armies of Pirata, the object is kept away from the Doge, who is killed. An alien ship arrives at this time to take the Sawu's artifact and the one the Doge stole at the beginning of the game.

Giacomo wants to know more about these "aliens", so he travels to Cuotl Rainforest, where there have been reports of them being seen. When he arrives, he finds Ix, the Moon God, one of the False Gods that rule the Cuotl, searching for an object like the ones mentioned before, now revealed to be pieces of Cuotl technology. Giacomo battles with Ix, but is nearly defeated until Carlini arrives and kills Ix. Czin, the god of death, then arrives, seeking the device. Giacomo attempts to stop him, but is badly injured when the device explodes. Carlini challenges Czin, who kills Carlini with little effort.

Giacomo has gained strange new powers from the explosion, which have altered his body and mind. He spends some time building a robotic walker suit to simulate the power that Ix had, so that he can avenge Carlini's death. He is joined by Kakoolha, rightful leader of the Cuotl, in his assault on the Cuotl gods. When Giacomo's army reaches Czin's capital city, they discover that the Death God is preparing a massive machine that will "talk to the Stars" and bring about the apocalypse. Giacomo confronts Czin inside the massive machine, and eventually kills him. After slaying Czin, Giacomo is faced by a mysterious holographic image of what appears to be an alien. Giacomo then destroys the machine while still inside it, and the entire structure explodes.

Later, in the Vinci city-states, statues of Giacomo are made in remembrance of him, and Lenora is now tasked with the matter of unifying the Vinci under a single banner. Arri leaves to travel the world, exiled by her father, the king, for helping Giacomo. The Cuotl, under Kakhoola's rule, are adapting to the new technology the False Gods spread among them.

The film begins with a scene of the 1920 presidential election, in which Harvard educated lawyer, New York assemblyman and assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a rousing speech mentioning his cousin Teddy. Roosevelt is the vice presidential candidate on the ticket with James Cox. They are overwhelmingly defeated by Republican Warren Harding but the seeds are planted for Roosevelt's rise to greatness . In the beginning, he is portrayed as rather arrogant looked upon as a lightweight by opponents (they mock his initials FDR as standing for feather duster).

His wife Eleanor discovers evidence of an affair and it is only the intervention of Roosevelt's domineering mother that prevents a divorce, however Eleanor is never able to forgive him and they only have a marriage of convenience. Roosevelt's friend and political advisor Louis Howe is determined to make him the President of the United States. However, Roosevelt is crippled by polio and forced to accept the possibility that he may never walk again.

Devastated and refusing to be a burden, Roosevelt takes two employees of his named Stanley and Eugene and moves to Florida when he starts living on a house boat. He lives this way until the September 1924 when a storm wreaks the boat. After taking shelter at a nearby restaurant, Louis visits Franklin to persuade him to return to New York with him to resume his political career. However, Franklin finds a letter from George Foster Peabody, an old friend who invites Franklin to Meriweather Inn, a resort he owns in Warm Springs Georgia, claiming a crippled boy regained his ability to walk by swimming in the pool at his resort. Intrigued, Franklin heads to Warm Springs, Georgia with Eleanor in tow.

There he meets Tom Loyless and the Collier Brothers Roy and Pete who escort him to the Meriweather Inn. Tom initially offers the Roosevelts a two story cottage which Franklin rejects on the due to the fact his condition has given him a fear of fire and he can't get out of a building in time if it catches fire if he's upstairs. Tom moves them to a one story cottage. Franklin asks Roy to stay on as his valet. Tom takes the Roosevelts to the pool where Franklin can't even stand but Tom assures him he will if he spends time in the pool. Eleanor realizes this is why Franklin wanted to come to Georgia and that he intends to stay.

Repulsed by how different how different things are in Georgia from New York and horrified by the idea of her husband living in such a rat trap like Meriweather Inn, Eleanor tries to persuade her husband to return to New York City by telling Franklin that New York has the best doctors and hospitals in the county but Franklin, still refusing to be a burden and believing he has a chance to walk again, refuses to leave but agrees to let Eleanor return home.

Eleanor returns to New York where Louis helps her launch a career as an activist. Meanwhile, Franklin becomes able to stand and move around in the pool, gets interviewed and makes a speech to a class. Franklin feels they were pitying him but Tom assures him that because of how things are for most people in Georgia most people don't even care about his legs.

When Christmas approaches, Tom insists that Franklin go home. When Spring comes, Franklin returns to the resort with Roy where he discovers that thanks to the interview he gave other victims of polio have arrived to regain their ability to walk prompting Franklin to storm out. Tom angrily tells Franklin off for his behavior by telling him "This isn't your private spa! I have a business to run!" Tom also calls Franklin out on the fact he looks at them with the same revulsion and pity as everyone else and his ignorance for not knowing what they went through to get to Warm Springs by stating "You don't want to be around them because that would make you one of them."

Franklin discovers exactly what Tom means when he arrives at the train station. Before he can get on a train for New York, Tom arrives to pick up a victim of polio named Fred Botts. Much to his horror, Franklin learns that Fred was forced to ride in the baggage car on the train that brought him to Warm Springs and hadn't eaten for two days just because he had polio. Franklin protests this to the conductor who dismisses what he says out of both prejudice and ignorance. Tom and Franklin take Fred back to the resort where Franklin nurses him back to health due to the fact that the nearest hospital is all the way in Atlanta and the closest doctor is also too far away. Tom informs Franklin that, due to concerns from the able bodied folk, he can't use the pool during regular hours or eat in the dining room.

Later, a physical therapist named Helena Mahonny arrives at the resort due to reading the interview Franklin gave. Helena examines Franklin and tells him the waters are helping him but that to be able to walk again he needs to spend more time in the pool than he's allowed. This inspires Franklin to decide to buy the resort and turn it into a rehab center for those who caught polio.

Tom tells Franklin he discovered he has cancer while he was away and goes home to die in his own bed. Franklin's mother, who never understood what Franklin is trying to do at Warm Springs, sends Louis and Eleanor to the resort to prevent Franklin's purchase and bring him back to New York. However, upon arriving, Eleanor instantly becomes supportive and together with Franklin gets a doctor sent to the resort.

Louis meanwhile believes that Franklin is ready to resume his political career and persuades the Democratic Party to have Franklin nominate Al Smith for President and ensure Franklin can get elected Governor of New York. Meanwhile, Franklin receives that doctor's report and it's not favorable. Upset that his plans to turn the resort into a rehab center for polio victims and regain his ability to walk again is in danger of being derailed, Franklin sinks into despair.

However Helena, Louis, and Eleanor snap Franklin out of it by telling Franklin he can fulfill his plans if he resumes his political career and gets elected. To ensure he can appear in public without riding in a wheelchair and on crutches, they come up with plan to enable Franklin to move without them with he arm strength, a cane, and his son Elliot. The plan works and Franklin resumes his political career and gets elected Governor of New York.

The epilogue reveals that Franklin got elected President four years later becoming the only President to serve more than two terms and served until he died in his cottage at Warm Springs in 1945. The recipient of his life insurance policy was the rehab center he founded there which continues to operate to this day.

Bart and Milhouse find $20 that Homer lost and order a Super Squishee made entirely of syrup from Apu at the Kwik-E-Mart. With their senses reeling from the high sugar content, they spend the rest of the money on a bender in Springfield. The next morning, Bart wakes up with a hangover and realizes he joined the Junior Campers, an organization like the Boy Scouts, during his revelry.

Bart plans to quit the group as soon as possible, but he attends a meeting to avoid a pop quiz at school. When he learns that Junior Campers are issued pocket knives, he keeps attending meetings. Homer mocks him relentlessly for embracing the scouts. When a father-son rafting trip is planned, neither Bart nor Homer wish to go together. They offer invitations to each other thinking they will both refuse them, but inadvertently end up agreeing to attend. Homer is distressed when he learns that he and Bart will share a raft with Ned and his son Rod.

When Homer loses the map after folding it into a makeshift hat that blows away, they paddle the wrong way and find themselves lost at sea. Their plan to ration the little food onboard fails when Homer greedily eats most of it. They are stranded with no food or water for several days; the Springfield Police Department refuses to search for them because their rescue boat is out of refreshments. The raft springs a leak after Homer accidentally drops a pocket knife he was intending to gift to Bart. All seems lost, but Homer smells the scent of food from a Krusty Burger on an unmanned offshore oil rig and places a large order. Bart is proud of his father after the rafting party survives their ordeal.

Led by Ernest Borgnine, the other Junior Campers take the right route but suffer a worse fate: they become trapped in a dark, tangled swamp while being hunted by mountain men. Borgnine is unable to repel a bear attack because Homer has stolen his Swiss Army knife (the same one that punctured Homer's raft), so they flee to an abandoned summer camp. They start singing campfire songs, but soon an unseen figure lurking in the woods attacks them.

The episode is a series of shorts ranging in length from under half a minute to over two and a half minutes, each showing daily life in Springfield, after Bart wonders if anything interesting happens to the town's citizens.

• Bart and Milhouse spit and squirt condiments from a highway overpass onto cars, then go to the Kwik-E-Mart.
• Apu closes the Kwik-E-Mart for five minutes to attend a party at Sanjay's house, trapping Moleman in the store.
• Bart unknowingly throws gum in Lisa's hair, and Marge tries to remove the gum by putting peanut butter and mayonnaise on her hair.
• Lisa's hair attracts a swarm of bees, one of which flies away.
• While bike riding with Mr. Burns, Smithers suffers an allergic reaction to the bee's sting and rides to the hospital, but the orderlies admit only Burns.
• Dr. Nick is criticized by the hospital board for his unorthodox medical procedures, only to treat Grampa with an electric light socket, saving his career.
• Moe gets robbed by Snake after Barney gives him $2,000 to pay for a portion of his $14 billion bar tab.
• While hosting Superintendent Chalmers for lunch, Principal Skinner burns his roast and bluffs his way through the meal.
• Homer accidentally traps Maggie in a newspaper vending box.
• Chief Wiggum, Lou, and Eddie compare McDonald's and Krusty Burger.
• Bumblebee Man arrives home after a horrible day at work and his house is destroyed, causing his wife to leave him.
• Snake runs Wiggum over, and their ensuing fight ends with Herman capturing them at gunpoint in his store.
• Reverend Lovejoy urges his pet Old English Sheepdog to use Ned Flanders's lawn as a toilet.
• Various townspeople advise Marge and Lisa how to remove the gum stuck in Lisa's hair.
• Cletus offers Brandine some shoes he found on a telephone line.
• Milhouse tries to use the bathroom in Comic Book Guy's Android's Dungeon, but is forced to leave the store before he can use it.
• Milhouse goes with his father to use the bathroom in Herman's store and accidentally knocks out Herman with a flail, saving his father, Snake, and Wiggum.
• Jake the barber cuts the gum out of Lisa's hair, leaving her with a different hairstyle.
• Nelson laughs at an extremely tall man in a small car, who then publicly humiliates Nelson to teach him a lesson.
• Bart and Milhouse squirt ketchup and mustard onto Nelson from the overpass, and conclude that life is interesting in their town after all.
• Professor Frink attempts to tell his story but is cut off by the ending credits.

The film tells the story of Boxcar Bertha Thompson, a poor southern girl, and "Big" Bill Shelly, a union organizer. Bertha's father died of a plane crash and they become lovers. Together with Rake Brown, a gambler, and Von Morton, who worked for Bertha's father, they start train and bank robbery by accident, and eventually face up to the railway boss H. Buckram Sartoris in the American South. The group become notorious fugitives of the law and are hunted down by the railway company. In the process, Rake is gunned down and Bill and Von are sent to a chain gang. Bertha escapes but is lured into prostitution. She meets Von by chance in a tavern for blacks and learns that Bill broke the jail and is now in hiding. Von leads Bertha to the hiding place where she has a moment of sweet reunion with Bill before Sartoris's henchmen break in and crucify Bill. Before they can leave, Von appears, wipes out all henchmen and releases Bertha from the bondage.

J.R. is a typical Catholic Italian-American young man on the streets of New York City. Even as an adult, he stays close to home with a core group of friends with whom he drinks and carouses around. He gets involved with a local girl he meets on the Staten Island Ferry, and decides he wants to get married and settle down. As their relationship deepens, he declines her offer to have sex because he thinks she is a virgin and he wants to wait rather than "spoil" her.

One day, his girlfriend tells him that she was once raped by a former boyfriend. This crushes J.R., and he rejects her and attempts to return to his old life of drinking with his friends. However, after a particularly wild party with friends, he realizes he still loves her and returns to her apartment one early morning. He awkwardly tells her that he forgives her and says that he will "marry her anyway." Upon hearing this, the girl tells him marriage would never work if her past weighs on him so much. J.R. becomes enraged and calls her a whore, but quickly recants and says he is confused by the whole situation. She tells him to go home, and he returns to the Catholic church, but finds no solace.

The physics professor, Dr. Phineas Welch, has gotten himself slightly drunk and begins speaking with Scott Robertson, a young English teacher. Welch announces, "I can bring back the spirits of the illustrious dead." He goes on to explain that, via "temporal transference", he can bring people from the past into the present. At first, Robertson treats Welch's story as an amusing, alcohol-induced fantasy, and he begins to enjoy the conversation. Welch says that he first tried bringing eminent scientists from earlier eras—Archimedes, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei. However, none of the scientists were adaptable enough to handle twentieth-century society; Welch realized that he needed to find an adaptable, universal mind.

"So," he continues, "I tried Shakespeare." This startles and incenses Robertson, since it strikes "closer to home". Shakespeare, according to Welch, was flexible enough to understand human beings of ''every'' era, and he adjusted to the modern world much more easily. Welch reports that Shakespeare was eager to find what future generations thought of him. When Welch finds him a book of literary criticism, Shakespeare cries in exasperation, "God ha' mercy! What cannot be racked from words in five centuries? One could wring, methinks, a flood from a damp clout!"

Eventually, Welch says, he enrolled Shakespeare in a night school class on Shakespeare's plays—taught, as it happens, by Robertson. At this point, Robertson begins to become genuinely worried. He recalls a bald man with an unusual accent, and starts to doubt whether Welch's story was all alcoholic fantasy. Timidly, he asks Welch what happened, and the physicist explodes with anger. Shakespeare had been humiliated, he says, and Welch had to send him back to 1600: "You poor simpleton, you ''flunked him!''"

Asimov comments that he wrote the story to get back at English teachers. Additionally he says, that the story is really about himself. Not being able to answer most of the questions he's posed on his works, he realizes he would probably flunk a test on himself.

Tsukiko Sagi, a shy character designer who created the immensely popular pink dog Maromi, finds herself under pressure to repeat her success. As she walks home one night, she is attacked by an elementary school boy on inline skates. Two police detectives, Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa, are assigned to the case. They suspect that Tsukiko is lying about the attack, until they receive word of a second victim.

Soon the attacker, dubbed Lil' Slugger (''Shōnen Batto'' in Japanese, meaning "Bat Boy"), is blamed for a series of street assaults in Tokyo. None of the victims can recall the boy's face and only three distinct details are left in their memories: golden inline skates, a baseball cap, and the weapon: a bent golden baseball bat. Ikari and Maniwa set out to track down the perpetrator and put an end to his crimes.

Names

Many of the characters in ''Paranoia Agent'' are often referred to with animal names, especially in each "Prophetic Vision" (a segment at the end of each episode that previews the next) and the episode "The Holy Warrior," in which some characters are depicted as animal-like creatures. In many cases, their Japanese names translate directly to the type of animal which they are referred to as: "sagi" means heron, "kawazu" is an archaic term for frog, "ushi" means cow, "tai" means sea bream or red snapper, "chō" means butterfly (chō-cho can also mean butterfly, possibly alluding to her split personality), and "hiru" means leech. "Kamome" means seagull.The following Japanese words are from Jim Breen's JMDict. Alternative references are listed here.
[http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?L=J&T=kawazu&I=on&IK=on RUT.org] * [http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?L=J&T=ushi&I=on&IK=on RUT.org]
[http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?L=J&T=cho&I=on&IK=on Rut.org] * [http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?L=J&T=cho-cho&I=on&IK=on RUT.org] * [http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/inline/dosearch?sDict=on&H=PS&L=J&T=Kamome&WC=none&FG=r&BG=b&S=26&I=on RUT.org] * [http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?L=J&T=hiru&I=on&IK=on RUT.org]

Violette Bushell is a young woman whose father is English, and whose mother is French, living in London early in the Second World War. She meets French Army officer Etienne Szabo, stationed in the city, and they become engaged to be married. They have a daughter, Tania, but Etienne never sees the child, as he is killed fighting in the North African front; Violette Szabo and her daughter move into her parents' home.

Because of her linguistic skills, the widowed Szabo is recruited as a spy by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for operations in France. On her first mission, she is teamed with Captain Tony Fraser (Paul Scofield), a man she had met earlier socially and liked. She arrives by small plane in France, and shares a train compartment to Rouen with curious German soldiers. The French Resistance group Fraser had set up in Rouen has been betrayed. The job of the new arrivals is to contact any survivors and to blow up a major railway viaduct. One Resistance member who Szabo contacts tells her that another survivor, a garage mechanic (André Maranne), is suspect, but Szabo takes the risk of meeting him anyway. He informs her that only three of 98 group members remain. Nonetheless, she persuades him to try to blow up the viaduct. Szabo is picked up and questioned by the Gestapo. She is released, and meets in Paris with Fraser, who congratulates her: The viaduct was destroyed.

They return to Britain, and Szabo reluctantly agrees to another mission. Once again, she is under Fraser's command, this time in the Limoges region. She sets out with a guide to contact the various Resistance units to coordinate their actions. She and her guide become involved in a firefight with German soldiers. They are outnumbered and they flee. Szabo injures her ankle, and she insists on remaining behind. She runs out of ammunition and is captured.

Though tortured, she defiantly refuses to provide any information. Eventually she is reunited with two fellow women agents she had befriended during their initial training, Lilian Rolfe and Denise Bloch, in a Nazi prison. As Allied forces advance on Paris, the women are placed on a train for Germany. When the train is bombed by Allied aircraft, the women have a chance to attempt to escape, but Szabo instead fetches water for male prisoners. One of them is Fraser. That night, Szabo and Fraser acknowledge their love for each other.

The men and women are separated. The three women are taken to a concentration camp, where they are executed.

After the war, Tania and her grandparents go to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI gives the child her mother's posthumous George Cross. Afterwards, they meet Fraser.

Mr. Badii, a middle-aged man, drives through Tehran looking for someone to do a job for him, for which he offers a large amount of money. During his drives with prospective candidates, Badii reveals that he plans to kill himself and has already dug the grave. He tells the people he is soliciting to go to the spot he has chosen the next morning, and either help him up, if he has chosen to live, or to bury him, if he has chosen to die. He does not discuss why he wants to commit suicide.

His first recruit is a young, shy Kurdish soldier, who refuses to do the job and flees from Badii's car. His second recruit is an Afghan seminarist, who also declines because he has religious objections to suicide. The third is Mr. Bagheri, an Azeri taxidermist. He is willing to help Badii because he needs the money for his sick child. He tries to convince Badii not to commit suicide, and reveals that he too wanted to commit suicide in 1960 but chose to live when, after failing his attempt, he tasted mulberries which dropped from a tree, and reveals that he then went home with the mulberries, and gave it to his wife, which she enjoyed. He continues to discuss what he perceives to be the beauty of life, including sunrises and the moon and stars. Bagheri promises to throw dirt on Badii if he finds him dead in the morning. Badii drops him back at his workplace, but suddenly runs back to meet him, requesting that Bagheri confirm if he's actually dead by throwing some stones at him and jolting him awake, in case he is asleep.

That night, Badii lies in his grave while a thunderstorm begins. After a long blackout, the film ends by breaking the fourth wall with camcorder footage of Kiarostami and the film crew filming ''Taste of Cherry'', leaving Badii's choice unknown.

The novel takes place in Toronto, briefly in 1995 and chiefly in 2011. Dr. Peter Hobson, a biomedical engineer, has invented many devices in the field of home automation. He has always been haunted by memories of monitoring an EKG during the dissection of a "corpse" for organ donation when he was in graduate school; the donor's heart was still beating and the body exhibited signs of anesthesia awareness. Now, Peter devises what he calls a superEEG in order to determine the exact moment when all electrical energy ceases in the brain; he wants to precisely "determine that someone is dead before they begin carving out his organs."

Peter is hurt and angry when his beloved wife, Cathy, admits that she had sex with Hans Larsen, whom neither of them respects. A psychotherapist helps her to understand that she has low self-esteem because of emotional neglect by her critical father Rod. Peter throws himself into his work. This is the emotional set-up that drives events in the following five months.

To his shock, when Peter places his superEEG on the head of a willing terminal patient, he afterwards finds in the readouts a small electrical field leaving the brain after death. He shares this discovery with his friend Sarkar Muhammed, who runs his own startup firm doing expert system design. Sarkar declares it a soul, which Peter, a skeptic, is reluctant to believe. To maintain precise scientific language, they call it a soulwave: "The soulwave had a distinctive electrical signature. The frequency was very high, well above that of normal electrochemical brain activity, so, even though the voltage was minuscule, it wasn't washed out in the mass of other signals within the brain."

Peter experiments with more terminal patients to verify his finding; he tests pregnant women to discover when the fetus gains a soulwave (at about ten weeks); and he finds that, among animals, at least chimpanzees also have souls.

When Peter holds a press conference to announce his breakthrough, human society around the world undergoes a revolution. He is repeatedly asked what life after death is like, though he has no idea.

In order to learn about immortality and life after death, Peter and Sarkar create three electronic simulations of Peter's own personality after a comprehensive scan of his mind and memories. From one, they seek "which neural nets are activated exclusively by biological concerns, and then zero those out" (p. 131), so that it is purely intellect; they call it Spirit. From the second, they edit all fears of aging and death, so that it "feels" itself to be immortal; they call this one Ambrotos. The third is a control, with Peter's knowledge up to the point of the brain scan. At first, the three "sims" enjoy exploring all that the Internet has to offer. One sim, however, hires a hit man to kill Hans and then, days later, Cathy's father.

Detective Sandra Philo takes the case and, questioning Cathy and her co-workers, realizes at once that Cathy is concealing her relationship with Hans. She also knows Peter is rich enough to afford hiring a professional hit. What she doesn't realize is that the guilty sim is prepared to have her killed, too. Peter and Sarkar race to find a way to "pull the plug" on the sims before Philo and perhaps others die.

Linus is an alien from the planet Linoleum who crashed into the legendary planet Earth. After returning home and expecting a hero's welcome, Linus soon found his fellow Linomen were skeptical of the existence of the so-called "planet Earth" and decides to return to it, this time with a camera. However, he has no money (Linoleum currency is the Linobuck), and must adventure around the planet to acquire a vehicle and a camera. In his adventures, Linus leaves Linoleum (using a fake ID for Larry Flynt to compete in a bumper car contest), quashes a robot revolution in ''Detroitica'' and gets gas from an abandoned space station.

The main story begins in Easton, when the protagonist Rhapsody finds herself in jeopardy, having refused the advances of Michael, the self-titled Wind of Death. In her attempt to get away, she falls in with two mysterious men named Grunthor and Achmed and soon finds herself the unwilling accomplice in their own escape. Though they run from their pasts, they eventually realize that no one can outrun their destinies.

The movie begins with a showing of the short The Night of the Living Duck before going into the opening credits. The story of the film serves as a continuation/re-working of ''Daffy Dilly''.

Street corner salesman Daffy tries to make a pitch to reclusive millionaire and "ailing buzzsaw baron" J.P. Cubish (a dog) - who has offered wealth to anyone who can make him laugh before he passes on - only to be stymied by Cubish's butler (also a dog). Eventually driving off the butler, Daffy becomes Cubish's jester, taking uncounted pies in the face while Cubish laughs uproariously. After Cubish's death soon afterward ("died laughing", reports one newspaper), Daffy inherits the Cubish fortune, which is locked in a safe, under the provision that he will use the money to provide a beneficial public service and follow Cubish's creed to display honesty in business affairs. The now-wealthy Daffy derides the idea ("What a rube!" he says of Cubish), but his deceased benefactor returns as an unseen ghost, with the intention of reclaiming his fortune from Daffy, unless Daffy agrees to provide a service to the community as the terms of Cubish's will stated. The irked Daffy vows to use the money to wipe out ghosts (à la ''Ghostbusters'') such as Cubish.

Setting himself up as a "Paranormalist at Large", Daffy persuades Bugs Bunny to appear in commercials (despite the rabbit's insistence of going to Palm Springs for his vacation), then hires Porky Pig (accompanied by Sylvester) as an underling; Cubish continues to make money vanish from inside the safe whenever Daffy seems to do or say something dishonest. Sylvester has an exploit with Tweety, where Sylvester is relentlessly chased by a monstrous version of Tweety and develops paranoia in front of Daffy and Porky. Daffy assigns Porky to investigate the resort town of Dry Gulch for any suspicious ghost activity. Porky agrees to take the case and takes the now-paranoid Sylvester with him, who has to defend his owner from killer mice in the town's hotel.

Meanwhile, Daffy successfully exorcises the ghosts possessing a lady duck (with Daffy momentarily falling under possession from them himself), but upon returning to his office, he discovers that Cubish has stripped his money down to his last million. He then receives a call from Porky, who is returning with Sylvester from their assignment to Dry Gulch, and Daffy reassigns him to the Superstition Mountains, much to Sylvester's chagrin. After receiving a call from Transylvania, Daffy then calls up Bugs and assigns him to investigate. Bugs encounters Count Blood Count, whom the rabbit defeats in a duel of magic words, but Daffy is displeased to hear from him about "getting two couples together". After receiving a call from the Himalayas, Daffy phones up Bugs again, who is leaving following his encounter with Count Blood Count, and together they go up against Hugo the Abominable Snowman, with Hugo repeatedly mistaking Daffy for a rabbit.

When the city is swept with reports of a tiny elephant, Daffy, presuming this "teensy-elephant thing" to be mere hysteria, hopes to profit by soothing the public with his "expert" testimony. However, no sooner does he announce to the audience that there is no such thing as a tiny elephant when it turns up on Daffy's television interview, rendering him a public laughing stock. Daffy decides to blame the debacle on the absent Porky and absent-mindedly remarks that there was "nothing wrong with a little dishonesty in business affairs." This proves to be Daffy's undoing however, as upon realization of what he said, Daffy discovers that the safe is now completely empty except for a few cobwebs and a sign from Cubish: "YOU LOSE, DUCK!" Things get worse for a defeated Daffy when Egghead appears with a singing telegram, announcing to Daffy that due to unpaid rent, he is being dispossessed. After the repo crew takes away his desks, the building is condemned and destroyed, with Daffy still inside. Before impact, Daffy sadly tells the audience, "One thing's for sure, I've got nowhere else to go but ''up''!"

In the epilogue, Bugs is shown enjoying his vacation in Palm Springs (after the encounter with Hugo) and reading about Daffy's downfall ("Quackbusted", reports the newspaper Bugs is reading), and Porky and Sylvester are stranded in the Superstition Mountains, with Sylvester as cowardly as ever. After a shot of Cubish's grave is shown where it states that Cubish is still dead, it is revealed that Daffy is back where he started, as a street corner salesman, this time selling paranormal-themed trinkets (including wind-up dolls of Gossamer). However, when Daffy earns a dollar bill, it instantly vanishes. The film ends with Daffy angrily shaking his fist at the sky and screaming "Cubish!", implying that Cubish is still haunting Daffy.

Carrie Lange has just begun her career in social work. She wants to make a difference but must first learn what life is really like for New York City's homeless. She meets an elderly woman named Florabelle, who makes it known she does not want company or help. Equipped with the precious cart that contains all of her belongings, Flora takes care of herself on the streets of Manhattan. Carrie wins Flora's trust after saving her cart. Flora takes her for a runaway, and Carrie plays along as Flora finds her the best food and warmest places the streets have to offer. Flora even divulges painful memories about her past life. They go to Grand Central Terminal for the night, but are separated after the police throw everyone out. Flora looks for Carrie at a shelter and is stunned to find her working there. She feels she has been betrayed. Against her will, Flora is shuttled off to a woman's shelter in Brooklyn, where she is treated poorly, and then must find her way back to Manhattan. Finding compassion difficult to come by even in those within her profession, Carrie decides she can make a difference one person at a time. Finally realizing she cannot go on living the way she does, Flora accepts Carrie's helping hand. Through Carrie's intervention, for the first time in years, Flora has a place to call home.

The book is a political parable that describes the construction of an important bridge on the Via Egnatia in Albanian territory in the Balkans from 1377–1378, shortly before the occupation by the Ottoman Empire began.

Told by an Albanian Catholic monk, Gjon (a name used by Northern Albanians who were mostly Catholic prior to Turkish invasions), the story of the bridge, as seen by Gjon is filled with prissy, unhappy bureaucrats, who take the events at face value without ever trying to understand the larger forces at work. Both the river Ujana e Keqe and the bridge itself are major characters in the book, and they undergo significant transformations.

One of the startling events of the book is when a "volunteer" is immured inside the bridge in order to make a "sacrifice" to the river. The man's face is captured in the plaster that surrounds him, as unforgettable as it is horrifying. Though clearly a punishment for the crime of sabotage against the bridge, as Gjon recounts this event, it is less an act of vengeance than it is a true sacrifice. But more than that, it becomes a symbol for the ignorance of and squabbling among tiny Albanian principalities and their fight amongst one another, in front of a major threat.

''The New York Times'' called the novel "an utterly captivating yarn: strange, vivid, ominous, macabre and wise."

Dr. Noah Praetorius is a physician who teaches in a medical school and founded a clinic dedicated to treating patients humanely and holistically. A colleague who dislikes Praetorius's unorthodox but effective methods, Dr. Rodney Elwell, has hired a detective to investigate Praetorius. A housemaid who once worked for Praetorius reacts visibly when Elwell asks her about Praetorius's mysterious friend Mr. Shunderson, who rarely leaves Praetorius's side and has a deep, intuitive understanding of human and animal nature.

Meanwhile, student Deborah Higgins enters Praetorius's life, displaying signs of emotional distress. After she faints during a lecture, Praetorius examines her and informs her that she's pregnant. Upset by this news, "Mrs. Higgins" admits that she's not really married. She will not reveal who the unborn child’s father is, and says knowing about her condition would be too much for her own father to bear. In a hallway near Praetorius's office, she shoots herself.

After successfully operating on Deborah, Praetorius tries to calm her by telling her there was a mistake in her pregnancy test, but she has fallen in love with him, and becomes upset at her own embarrassing behavior. She runs away from the clinic, forcing him to find her so he can tell her she really is pregnant.

Praetorius and Shunderson drive out to where Deborah and her father Arthur live, a farm owned by Arthur's brother, John. Deborah and Praetorius hide Deborah's shooting incident from her father, who is a failure in life and lives unhappily as a dependent of his stingy brother. Deborah is his only pride in life, which might become intolerable for him with a baby to take care of and his daughter's reputation ruined.

While showing Praetorius the farm, Deborah admits her love for him. She also wonders why he is visiting and begins to suspect that he is attracted to her. After she seductively interrogates him, they share a passionate kiss. They soon get married, and Arthur comes to live with them. A few weeks later, Deborah suggests to Noah that she may be pregnant, and he admits that she was pregnant all along. She ruefully concludes that he married her out of pity, but he convinces her that he really did fall in love with her.

Elwell's detective discovers that Shunderson was once convicted of murder, and Elwell calls for a misconduct hearing against Praetorius. At the hearing, Praetorius explains that he started his career in a small town by opening a butcher shop as a front for his undeclared medical practice, because the people of the town didn't trust doctors. Elwell accuses Praetorius of "quackery", but Praetorius defends himself with the fact that he was a licensed practitioner, describing how he was forced to leave town after his maid discovered his medical degree.

Praetorius refuses to answer questions about Shunderson, but Shunderson explains that he served 15 years in prison for the alleged death of a man who had tried to murder him, then somehow survived being hanged after actually murdering the man, who had gone into hiding during the first trial. When he woke up, he was lying on a table in front of Praetorius, who was at that time a medical student examining what he believed was a cadaver. Praetorius kept Shunderson's survival a secret, and Shunderson became Praetorius's devoted friend. After this story is told, the chairman concludes the hearing in Praetorius's favor, and Elwell walks away alone and discredited.

Elwell had purposefully arranged for Praetorius's misconduct hearing to be scheduled for the same time as the student/faculty orchestra's concert. After the hearing and Praetorius' acquittal, the film ends with Deborah, her father, and Shunderson in the audience watching Praetorius' good friend and confidant, physics professor Lyonel Barker, play in the orchestra while Praetorius conducts it in the finale of Brahms's ''Academic Festival Overture'', "Gaudeamus Igitur".

''FTL:2448'' is set in the mid-25th century. Humans have developed faster-than-light travel. The game focus is, instead of a gleaming high-tech space setting or space battlefield, more of an industrial space-as-workplace view of the galaxy. Humanity has made contact with a number of alien races and is a primary force in the intergalactic governing body, ISCO.

Characters face the trials of maintaining and operating a starship. While not a war-based setting, there are hostile races. The game has been compared, in look and feel, to movies and settings such as ''Outland'', ''Space Rangers'', and ''Firefly'', in that each of these present the galaxy as a less-than-perfect place.

Maximus (Claude Rains), "King of the Mind Readers", performs an English music hall mind-reading act with the help of his wife, Rene (Fay Wray), using a secret code. One night, he sees the beautiful Christine Shawn (Jane Baxter) in the audience, and his act becomes reality. He is able to tell what is in a sealed letter without Rene's assistance.

Maximus does not think much of it, until he and Christine meet by chance on a train and he foresees an impending crash. He pulls the emergency cord to stop the train, but nobody believes him. He, his family and Christine disembark, and a few minutes later the train crashes. Christine tells her father, who owns a newspaper. He publishes the story, making Maximus famous.

Maximus realizes that his power only works when Christine is near. As they spend more time together, Christine falls in love with him and Rene becomes jealous. Maximus' mother (Mary Clare) believes that no good can come of this new gift, but Maximus pays little attention, enjoying his well-paid success.

Another of his well-publicized predictions comes true: a 100-to-1 long shot wins The Derby. He chooses to ignore his own prophecy of his mother's death; when it comes true, he is so distraught that he decides to follow her wishes and abandon his ability. He feels compelled to act, however, when he foresees a great mining disaster. He is unable to convince the mining company to evacuate the mine. When the disaster occurs, hundreds are killed and more are missing and presumed dead.

He is publicly accused of causing the accident and is brought to trial. The prosecution claims that Maximus himself caused both tragedies, by delaying the train and by panicking the miners into making a mistake. Maximus predicts in the courtroom that the missing miners will be found alive. When this becomes true, he is released. Maximus decides to give up his gift and he and Rene slip away into obscurity.

The narrator describes a trip by his family to the fictional seaside town of Torre di Venere, Italy (a fictional town based on the touristic city of Forte dei Marmi). It becomes unpleasant, partly because he finds the Italian people to be too nationalistic. The family attends a performance by a magician and hypnotist named Cipolla, who uses his mental powers in a fascist way to control his audience. Cipolla represents the mesmerizing power of authoritarian leaders in Europe at the time — he is autocratic, misuses power, and is able to subjugate the crowd, counterbalancing his inferiority complex by artificially boosting his self-confidence. Cipolla's assassination by Mario, a native of Torre di Venere, is not a tragedy but a liberation for the audience.

''Micro Maniacs'' is set in a time where the Earth's resources are being depleted and the very planet is at risk. However, a scientist named Dr. Minimizer has an idea: using a device he calls "The Minimizer Ray", he will shrink the planet's population to 1/360 of its original size, and so create a world more suitable to our current status. If this is to be successful, the doctor needs to create a supersoldier: somebody who can prepare the planet for us when we are eventually minimized. In order to do this, the doctor enlists the help of 12 volunteers for an experiment. The experiment consists of racetracks that are considered various dangerous environments as to ascertain the suitable skills for the supersoldier.

The plot concerns an old man who claims to have travelled back in time from a future in which Earth has lost a devastating war to its own Martian and Venusian colonies. The man turns out to be a synthetic human, designed to trick the Earth people into believing they could never win the war, forcing them to make peace. This type of android is a forerunner of the type appearing in Dick's novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' and its film adaptation.

A similar, supposedly time-displaced "war veteran" character appears in Dick's novel ''The Zap Gun''.

The book begins with an ancient vampire of Nordic descent awaking after being frozen in a block of ice for hundreds of years. The vampire, Thorne, meets Marius de Romanus and inquires about Marius' past. Marius then provides his life story.

As a young Roman patrician, Marius was abducted by druids who were trying to find a replacement for their "god of the grove"—a vampire, kept locked inside a chamber underneath a tree, who took on the role of a god in a druidic religion. Marius does not want to receive the powers of the dying god, but is given them nonetheless.

Unable to face a life imprisoned in a tree, Marius escapes from the druids (one of whom is Mael). He embarks on a trip to Egypt, where he learns of Akasha and Enkil, the Mother and Father or Those Who Must Be Kept—the progenitors of all vampire-kind. He takes them back to Rome with him after learning that if they die then every other vampire in the world will suffer the same fate.

He falls in love with a mortal woman, Pandora, and turns her into a vampire. They live together happily for a long time, although they argue frequently. One day, their house is attacked by a group of vampires who want to know the secrets of Those Who Must Be Kept. Though they destroy these vampires, the attack leads to an argument between the two and Marius, filled with anger, leaves Pandora.

Marius then returns to Rome, where he creates a life for himself as a socialite, fraternizing with mortals and practicing painting. It is here that he meets Mael and Avicus, the latter of which is a former god of the grove—a vampire older than Marius, but who does not seem to know his own power. There is still much enmity between Mael and Marius, and Marius asks them to leave. They do so, but remain in the city of Rome. Marius does not mind this, as they keep the city free from other blood-drinkers who may pry the secrets of Those Who Must Be Kept from his mind. Marius continues to live this way even as the Roman Empire splits, with its capital city moving to Constantinople.

Eventually, Marius, Mael, and Avicus leave Rome when it is sacked by barbarians. They travel to Constantinople, taking with them the Mother and Father. There they meet a powerful vampire named Eudoxia, who wants Marius to put Those Who Must Be Kept into her care. After praying to Those Who Must Be Kept for an answer, he relents just far enough to allow Eudoxia to see them. After a series of violent conflicts, Marius angrily drags Eudoxia back down into the shrine and casts her at Akasha, who suddenly awakens to destroy her.

Realizing that he cannot live with other vampires due to his custody of the Divine Parents, Marius elects to return to Italy. He becomes disheartened by the horrors of the Black Death and sleeps for hundreds of years. He awakes again during the Renaissance and travels all around Italy, visiting Venice and Florence, admiring the art and culture. In Rome he meets the vampire Santino, who claims that Marius is living in sin by not serving Satan. Marius threatens him and tells Santino to never come near him again.

Marius decides to make his home in Venice, and he establishes himself as an amateur painter. His house is set up as a place where young boys can come and improve themselves, preparing to go to university or to become craftsmen. During this time, he also falls in love with the works of Botticelli, whom he briefly considers turning into a vampire.

It is in Venice that Marius meets Amadeo (Armand), whom he discovers in a filthy cellar, waiting to become a prostitute in the city's brothels. He purchases the boy from the slave traders and takes him back to his house, where he bathes him and promises him a better life.

As the years pass Marius happily continues his life, disappearing occasionally to attend to the Divine Parents. Amadeo grows up, and the two often share a bed. Marius is sorely tempted to give Amadeo the Dark Gift, making him into a vampire, but he stops himself from doing so.

When Marius is away looking after the Divine Parents, his house is attacked by the Englishman Lord Harlech who became obsessed with Amadeo after sleeping with him. Amadeo manages to kill Harlech, but sustains several wounds from Harlech's poisoned blade. He slips into a fever. Marius arrives and is told that Amadeo will die as the poison is too strong. Marius turns Amadeo into a vampire in order to prevent the boy from dying. He teaches him to prey only on evildoers in order to save his conscience.

Some time after Amadeo becomes a vampire, the house is attacked by a large mob of Satan-worshiping vampires under the leadership of Santino. Marius is burnt and almost killed, but manages to save his own life by jumping into a canal. Nonetheless, he is severely wounded and believes that Amadeo will be killed.

He calls a woman named Bianca to his aid. The two have known each other for a number of years and have a close relationship. Marius is too weak to hunt, so he transforms Bianca into a vampire in order to have her help him to recover his strength. The two move to the shrine of Those Who Must Be Kept and live there for over a century, where Marius gradually recovers his strength by drinking from Akasha.

After Amadeo had transformed, Marius had met with Raymond Gallant, a man from the Talamasca, a group of scholars who found out information about supernatural things, just for information. He hears from him that Pandora is being kept hostage by another vampire and moved around Europe and Russia; so Marius decides to move to Dresden to try meeting with Pandora, whom he still loves. He does not tell Bianca of this. Marius does indeed find Pandora there, but discovers that she does not want to live with him and Bianca and wants to stay with her traveling companion, who was not holding her hostage after all. Marius offers to leave Bianca for Pandora, but Pandora refuses this offer. When Marius sees Bianca the next day, she declares that she is leaving him because she overheard what he said to Pandora. 50 years later, as he is shifting to America, Marius discovers a letter from Pandora offering to live with him if he comes to collect her at a certain place, but it is too late and she is gone.

Marius then shelters a young vampire named Lestat de Lioncourt, who wakes up Akasha when playing a song for her on his violin. She comes to him and they drink each other's blood. Enkil is furious and almost crushes Lestat when a shocked Marius saves him. Marius sends Lestat away, thinking that he can pose a danger, but is sad that it is the fourth time he is losing a love. Years later, Marius brings a television into Those Who Must Be Kept's Chapel, for their entertainment. On this they see news, songs, etc. and also The Vampire Lestat's rock guitar music. This, Marius feels, corrupts their minds, and Akasha awakens from her slumber with the evil idea of taking over the world. She destroys Enkil and buries Marius in the ruins of his house, where he lies, injured.

Marius lies there trapped, for weeks, but with the Mind Gift informs Lestat that he is in danger, and also asks for help. He is soon found by Pandora, and Santino—whom he tries to kill, but realizes that all force would be needed to stop Akasha from her evil deed of taking over the world, killing all men and having a female-dominated world with her as the leader. A council is formed and the vampires try to convince Akasha, but she does not listen. Finally, Maharet's (who created Thorne) mute sister Mekare fights with Akasha and destroys her. That is the end of Marius's story through time.

The story then moves back to the present day, where Marius and Thorne are at a jungle hideaway with other old and powerful vampires—Amadeo (now going by the name Armand), Santino, Maharet, Mekare, and Pandora. Marius wants justice against Santino for taking Armand away from him, but Maharet refuses to let Marius kill Santino, who is weak. Thorne does not want to accept her decision and so kills Santino himself with the Fire Gift. In penance for his deed, he gives over his eyes to Maharet.

Category:The Vampire Chronicles novels Category:2001 American novels Category:2001 fantasy novels Category:Alfred A. Knopf books Category:American LGBT novels Category:Novels by Anne Rice Category:Vampire novels Category:LGBT speculative fiction novels

The film opens some time after the original film with Tonny serving out his last day of a prison sentence. His cell-mate delivers a monologue advising Tonny to conquer his fear. He then reminds Tonny that he owes him money, but has chosen to give him more time out of respect for Tonny's father, the Duke, a vicious gangster. Upon his release, Tonny visits his father's garage business seeking employment. The Duke has a younger son from a different mother now and receives Tonny coldly, but he ultimately allows Tonny to work for him on a trial basis. Tonny steals a Ferrari in an effort to impress his father, but the car is rejected and the Duke berates Tonny mercilessly for his lack of responsibility.

While hanging out with his friend Ø, Tonny is told that he has a child with a local woman Charlotte. Charlotte has raised the child by herself so far and demands that Tonny start paying her child support. Tonny makes empty promises to pay, but soon comes to care for the child. Tonny successfully participates in a car heist for the Duke, but is forced to ride in the trunk of the escape car because there are no seats left.

Tonny helps a local pimp and hoodlum, "Kurt the Cunt", make a heroin deal with Milo, the drug lord from the first movie. When one of Milo's thugs arrives late, a spooked Kurt flushes the heroin down the toilet. Kurt now has no money or drugs to sell and cannot pay back the money he borrowed for the deal. Kurt convinces Tonny to help buy him a gun and shoot him in the arm to convince Kurt's backers that he was robbed. While visiting with Charlotte and his son, Tonny learns how to change his son's diaper. Ø watches and reveals that he is about to marry his girlfriend Gry and have a child of his own.

At Ø's wedding reception, the Duke delivers a toast telling Ø that he thinks of him as a son, and then chides Tonny. Tonny gets drunk and becomes angry as he watches Charlotte neglecting their child to snort cocaine with Gry in the club's kitchen. He insists that she take the baby home, but she refuses by berating and humiliating Tonny. Enraged, Tonny attacks Charlotte before several men pull him away. Realizing that he has once again made a fool of himself, Tonny leaves the party and meets Kurt, who is lingering outside. Kurt convinces Tonny to help him smash up his apartment to further support their story. In return Kurt promises to put in a good word for Tonny with the Duke. After Kurt attacks a prostitute that emerges from his bedroom, he tells Tonny he is going to finish her off and Tonny, wanting no part of it, leaves. Kurt reveals that his financial backer is the Duke and that he has lied so that Tonny will share in Kurt's debt.

Tonny visits his father to find a way to reconcile and pay off his debt. Tonny volunteers to intimidate the Duke's ex-wife Jeanette, who is trying to take custody of his young half-brother, to force her to drop the custody claim. The Duke is hesitant to give the job to Tonny, but his brother Red vouches for Tonny because he did well during the car heist. The Duke insists that Tonny kill Jeanette, and he agrees. Tonny visits Jeanette where she works, at Kurt's brothel, but he cannot go through with the murder. After returning and admitting his failure to his father, the Duke berates him savagely. Tonny snaps and viciously stabs the Duke to death. He flees and goes looking for Ø, but instead finds Gry and Charlotte getting high. They deride Tonny and then leave the baby unattended. Tonny takes the child and gets on a bus, fleeing the city. The film ends with a shot of the tattoo on the back of Tonny's head which reads "''Respect''".

After Homer nearly causes the nuclear plant to go into meltdown by putting a doughnut into the reactor core to enlarge it, he is fired by Mr. Burns. While at home he sees a recruitment advertisement on television for the Naval Reserve and decides to enlist, with Moe, Barney, and Apu deciding to join him. Meanwhile, Bart purchases an earring, which an outraged Homer confiscates.

Homer and the others are placed on a nuclear submarine. While participating in a military exercise, Homer unintentionally has the captain fired out of a torpedo tube and pilots the submarine into Russian waters, which is seen by the United States government as an attempt to defect. This event creates a political schism between the USA and Russia, leading to the revelation that the Soviet Union in fact never truly dissolved, complete with the Berlin Wall rising from the ground, Soviet troops and tanks appearing on the streets and Vladimir Lenin rising from his tomb in Moscow.

Nuclear war is anticipated until the US Navy drops depth charges on Homer's sub, aiming either to destroy it or force it to surface. The consequent explosion causes a pinhole leak in the submarine's hull, but Homer uses Bart's earring to plug the leak and saves the submarine. The vessel surfaces and Homer is taken to be court-martialed, but the officers on the review committee have themselves been indicted on unrelated charges, and Homer's punishment ends up being a mild dishonorable discharge and he immediately forgives Bart, as the earring saved his life.

Death is followed by a period of 'half-life', a short amount of time which can be rationed out over long periods in which the dead can be revived—so that, potentially, they can 'live' on for a long time. When attempts to bring back important businessman Louis Sarapis fail, it's clearly more than mere negligence. Sure enough, Sarapis starts speaking from beyond the grave. From outer space, in fact. Yet no-one seems terribly bothered, other than those directly concerned in the plot mechanics. Eventually entire communications networks (phones, TV, radio) are blocked by Sarapis' broadcasts.

The concept of 'half-life' was used again and developed in Dick's 1969 novel ''Ubik'', which even re-uses a page of the novella verbatim.

It's 1945. Ensign Sam Drake attends a party on his last night stationed in Hawaii and meets the woman of his dreams. But before the night is out, her best friend is dead in an upstairs room at the party. It appears to be suicide.

The next day Sam starts his leave before receiving a new post. He returns to his home town of Detroit, and decides to check into a connection there between the dead woman and a radical group of black activists. Another death quickly follows and Sam finds himself on a cross-country adventure, haunted by dangerous characters everywhere he turns.

''Trouble Follows Me'' was reprinted by Lion Paperbacks in 1950 and 1955 under the title of ''Night Train'', with cover art that presented it as a "race novel" to capitalize on the Detroit race riot of 1943.

The story is about a pop idol band named ''Mix Juice'' that need any kind of gig to make their name famous. At the same time, a young boy genius plans on taking a trip to the Moon without using fossil fuels to pollute Earth's atmosphere. Thanks to some clever managing, the girls of Mix Juice and the scientist plan on making their first concert on the Moon by any means necessary.

The player takes on the role of Joseph and his party. Joseph is an ordinary peasant farmer who is also born a Summoner who can control the rings of Summoning. Joseph and his companions travel throughout the land to acquire the rings to protect the realm of Medeva from attacks by the tyrannical Emperor Murod of Orenia, who is determined to destroy the Summoner and prevent a prophecy that foretells the end of the Emperor's reign by his hands. The characters must also simultaneously attempt to restore the power of the air god, Urath, and foil the depravations of the disciples of his fire and death goddess nemesis, Laharah.

''The Lonely Doll'' tells the story of a doll named Edith, who lives by herself until two teddy bears, called Mr. Bear and Little Bear, appear in her life. One day, Mr. Bear goes out for a walk leaving the two alone in the house; He returns to find they have rummaged in a closet for dress-up clothing, smeared themselves with makeup, and written "Mr. Bear is just a silly old thing" in lipstick on the mirror. Mr. Bear proceeds to discipline both Little Bear and Edith, leaving Edith to worry that he will take Little Bear and leave. Mr. Bear assures her that he will never, ever, leave her.

Phyllis Nefler is a socialite wife recently separated from her husband Freddy, a wealthy owner of an auto shop chain. In an attempt to maintain the relationship with her daughter Hannah during the contentious divorce, Phyllis becomes the den mother of Hannah's unruly, leaderless local girl scout troop of Wilderness Girls.

Their first campout results in the troop getting caught in a rain squall, prompting Phyllis to take the girls to 'camp out' at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Despite her lack of wilderness skills, Phyllis demonstrates an unwavering commitment to the girls' well-being and becomes a surrogate mother to the troop. She resolves to teach the girls how to survive in "the wilds of Beverly Hills", even customizing new merit badges for her troop.

Phyllis' unorthodox methods run afoul of another scout leader, Velda Plendor, a mean-spirited, retired army nurse who runs the Culver City "Red Feathers", of which her own daughter Cleo is a member of. Because Velda has considerable influence at the regional council level, she declares Phyllis' customized merit badges ineligible. Velda sends her assistant troop leader Annie Herman to infiltrate Troop Beverly Hills and sabotage them. Velda and Annie’s attempts at sabotage prove unsuccessful, as Velda’s boss and regional council leader Frances Temple states that while Phyllis may have unusual methods, she has taken an active interest in these girls and is trying to help them learn to survive their personal environment.

Troop Beverly Hills can gain recognition from the regional council by passing a series of tests at an upcoming Jamboree. In order to qualify, the troop needs to sell 1,000 boxes of cookies. To prevent this, Velda one-ups Troop Beverly Hills by selling cookies in their own neighborhood. Annie breaks ties with Velda and sides with Phyllis. The Troop ends up selling over 4,000 boxes of cookies, more than enough to qualify for the Jamboree. At a party for the Troop, Velda takes her anger out on Annie, who snaps back, standing up to her superior for the first time.

Meanwhile, Phyllis reconnects with Freddy, who tells her he is proud she has accomplished something. However, Phyllis soon learns that Freddy still wants to proceed with the divorce, including seeking joint custody of Hannah, which devastates Phyllis. She decides to disband the troop, but Hannah and the other girls change her mind, telling Phyllis she has given them a new sense of self-esteem.

During the Jamboree, the Red Feathers trick Troop Beverly Hills during the competition by misdirecting them into a snake-infested swamp. Luckily, a skunk scares them into running through a shortcut, making them first in the qualifying event. The next day, Velda cheats again by cutting a rope bridge after her troop crosses and by leading them into a restricted area used only for hunting. However, Velda falls and breaks her ankle. The Red Feathers, now led by Cleo, abandon Velda for the sake of winning. Troop Beverly Hills repairs the bridge and finds Velda. Tessa diagnoses her broken ankle (and a severe personality disorder). The girls reluctantly carry her to the finish line after Phyllis reminds them that they have to be considerate to those in need — especially a fellow Wilderness Girl.

Though the Red Feathers cross the finish line first, they are disqualified because council law stipulates the leader must be with the troop. Troop Beverly Hills is declared the winners of the Jamboree and are recognized as Wilderness Girls. Frances fires Velda for cheating and for placing the Troop Beverly Hills girls in jeopardy. Freddy, intrigued by Phyllis's complete turnaround, shows interest in calling off the divorce and they reconcile.

The next year, Troop Beverly Hills is the designated Poster Troop. Velda is forced to take a job at Kmart after her actions made her virtually unemployable, and a final scene shows her making a store-wide announcement about cookies.

In ''Egmont'', Goethe relates the fight of Count Egmont (1522–1568) in the Eighty Years' War against the despotic Duke of Alba. Egmont is a famous Dutch warrior and the Duke of Alba represents the Spanish invader. Though under threat of arrest, Egmont refuses to run away and give up his ideal of liberty. Imprisoned and abandoned because of the cowardice of his people, and despite the desperate efforts of his mistress Klärchen, he is sentenced to death.

Thus, faced with her failure and despair, Klärchen puts an end to her life. The play ends on the hero's last call to fight for independence. His death as a martyr appears as a victory against oppression.

''Egmont'' is a political manifesto in which Egmont's craving for justice and national liberty is opposed to the despotic authority of the Duke of Alba. It is also a drama of destiny in which the Flemish nobleman, with fatalism, accepts the dire consequences of his straightforwardness and honesty.

Butters expresses excitement about his parents' upcoming anniversary, which they are going to celebrate at Butters' favorite restaurant, Bennigan's. A few days before their anniversary, his mother, Linda, asks Butters to spy on his father, Chris, in order to find out what his gift for her will be so that her own will not fall short. While spying, Butters watches Chris enter first a gay theater and then a gay bathhouse (though Butters is too naive to understand the nature of his father's activity). Upon returning home, Butters reports to his mother about his father's whereabouts, leaving her appalled by her husband's homosexual affairs, becoming visibly distraught and unhinged. Linda then attempts to murder Butters by dumping her car in a river with him inside.

Hours later, Chris enters the home to find his wife attempting to hang herself. He rushes to her side and explains that his homoerotic tendencies stem from chatting with other bi-curious and married men on the Internet. He insists he still loves her and does not want to lose his family over his "addiction". Linda then admits to having drowned Butters, to which Chris promises that he will not let her go to jail. The next day, the Stotches confront the press about their son, stating that he was abducted by "some Puerto Rican guy". As the media centers in on the "missing child" case, the pair are inducted into a club of infamous, highly publicized characters whose loved ones have also been "taken from them by Some Puerto Rican Guy", including Gary Condit, O. J. Simpson, and John and Patricia Ramsey.

Butters, however, survives his mother's attempt to kill him, and brushes off the incident as an accident. He then sets off home, eager to get back in time to celebrate his parents' anniversary with them. He first does some singing and dancing at a seedy 'dance' club, and then heads down a scary road after getting directions from an Old Mechanic. He returns home to find his parents fighting over all the lies they have told. Upon hearing what the quarrel was about, he scolds them for lying and trying to teach him to lie.

Deciding to follow in their son's footsteps, they come clean to the media about the cover-up, revealing many unsettling facts to Butters in the process. Afterwards, Stan, Kyle and Cartman chastise Butters about his unhinged parents. Although he attempts to make light of the situation, Butters admits that he is now probably scarred for life, the boys are gonna really go to town on him, and sometimes lying really can be for the best.

In the beginning, Nanako was the subject of a cyborg experiment conducted by Dr. Ogami for one of his most powerful robots. Through rigorous training, Dr. Ogami trained Nanako to withstand the pain. However, he made her too strong, and the plan ultimately failed. However, recent developments between the Pentagon and the Vatican to resurrect Jesus for the Second Coming have landed Nanako as the subject of an operation in which she will give birth to the new Jesus.

Throughout the series, we learn that Nanako is, in fact, the third clone in a series of clones cloned from the original Nanako. The original died from a mysterious illness, and an experiment to clone her was successful. However, around the age of 20, each Nanako clone dies of the same mysterious illness that claimed the life of the first Nanako. It has been Dr. Ogami's quest to cure the "Nanako illness" ever since he promised the second clone that he would heal her before she died when he was young.

Sportswriter Eddie Willis, broke after the newspaper he works for goes under, is hired as a PR man by boxing promoter Nick Benko. Nick has recruited Toro Moreno, a towering Argentinian. Despite Toro's lack of fighting ability, Nick plans to use his size as a gimmick to draw fans to his fights. Unbeknownst to Toro and his manager, Luís Agrandi, all of his fights are fixed to make the public believe that he is a talented boxer.

Eddie feels misgivings about the scheme, but the lure of a huge payday is enough to make him ignore the venture's dishonesty. He is able to spin Toro as a legitimate up-and-comer even when his first fight goes so disastrously wrong that the boxing commission threatens to open an investigation.

As Benko's entourage crosses the country in a bus bedecked with advertising for the fighter, Toro gradually becomes a ranked contender. Throughout the tour, Eddie handles negotiations with other boxing managers to ensure Toro's fights remain fixed.

Toro fights Gus Dundee, whose previous fight with champion Buddy Brannen has left him with a broken neck. After the Toro fight, Dundee collapses and dies. Toro is overcome with guilt, thinking he killed Dundee, and wishes to return to Argentina. In a last-ditch attempt to protect the upcoming bout with Brannen, Eddie tells Toro the truth: that Brannen was responsible for Dundee's condition, that Toro is no fighter, and that all his fights have been fixed.

During the Brannen fight, Toro sustains a brutal beating. Afterward, Eddie learns that Benko has sold Toro's contract to another manager. While Eddie gets his promised payout of $26,000, Benko has rigged the accounting so Toro earns only $49.07. Ashamed of his part in the farce and not wanting to see Toro exploited any further, Eddie gives Toro the $26,000 and puts him on a plane to Argentina before Benko's men can stop them.

Though Benko threatens to harm Eddie, Eddie begins writing an exposé about the corruption.

Successful mystery novelist Adrienne Delaney (Victoria Morsell) and her photographer husband Don Gordon (David Homb) along with her pet cat Spaz have just purchased a remote mansion off the coast of a small New England island previously owned by a famous 19th-century magician, Zoltan "Carno" Carnovasch (Robert Miano), whose five wives all died mysteriously. Adrienne hopes to find an inspiration for her next novel in her new home, but starts having nightmares immediately upon moving in. She is comforted by the loving and supportive Don. Adrienne explores the estate, making mysterious discoveries like strange music, warnings written on her computer, and ominous messages from a fortune-teller automaton. Unbeknownst to the happy couple, Carno had practiced black magic when he lived in the mansion and had summoned an evil demon that possessed him and caused him to murder his wives.

During her exploration of the grounds, Adrienne finds a secret chapel hidden behind a bricked off fireplace. After opening a locked box atop an altar, Adrienne unknowingly releases the demon that possessed Carno, which possesses Don. Don starts acting menacingly toward Adrienne and drinking heavily, culminating in him raping her later on. Adrienne meets Harriet Hockaday (V. Joy Lee), a superstitious vagrant, and her strong but dim-witted son, Cyrus (Steven W. Bailey), who are secretly living in a barn on the estate. After Adrienne agrees to let them stay, they volunteer to help around the mansion, though Don disapproves. When a technician named Mike (Carl Neimic) visits the mansion to install the phone-line, Don screams at him in a jealous rage, warning him to stay away from his wife. Spaz also goes missing. Adrienne later discovers Spaz's collar where Don had been sitting by the fireplace earlier.

While the local townspeople believe all Carno's wives died of natural causes or accidentally, Adrienne learns through a series of visions that he murdered them in grotesque ways. Hortencia (Christine Armond), who avoided Zoltan's abuse by secluding herself in her greenhouse, is stabbed with gardening tools and suffocated with mulch. Victoria (Holley Chant), an alcoholic, is killed when Zoltan impales her eye with a wine bottle during an argument. An overly talkative third wife, Leonora (Dana Moody), has her mouth gagged and her neck contorted in a torture device. Finally, the food-loving Regina (Wanda Smith) is force-fed animal entrails through a funnel until she chokes to death. Harriet performs a séance for Adrienne, in which she vomits a green ectoplasm that takes the form of Carno. A repentant Carno tells her that he was possessed by the demon when he tried to learn black magic to use in his performances. He reveals that the previously trapped demon must be stopped and only she can contain it once again. Adrienne is later horrified to discover Spaz's dead body in the garden.

Adrienne visits the nearly 110-year-old Malcolm Wyrmshadow (Douglas Seale), who had been Carno's apprentice as a young boy. Malcolm reveals that Carno met his demise after his last wife, Marie (Traci Clauson), who was tired of being abused by him, discovered he was a murderer. Marie conspired with her lover, Gaston (Jeff Rector), Carno's prop master, to kill Carno by sabotaging the equipment for his most dangerous escapology trick "The Throne Of Terror", in which Carno donned a burning hood and escaped from bonds on a throne underneath a swinging axe. The sabotage left Carno horribly burned and disfigured and he was assumed dead, but he astonishingly survived and mutilated Marie and Gaston. After killing Marie by beheading her, Carno was impaled by Gaston, who then succumbed to his own wounds. Malcolm reveals that it was he who had originally sealed the demon in the estate's chapel. Malcolm also tells Adrienne about a ritual that can eradicate the demon. Later that night, Mike leaves the mansion, finally having completed installing the phone-line. Unbeknownst to Adrienne, Don murders Mike with an axe.

Harriet, fearing for her safety, decides to leave with Cyrus as Don becomes more abusive and erratic. The next day Adrienne discovers she cannot leave the mansion and later finds a collection of photos of her in Don's darkroom which have her head cut off. She is confronted by Don, who is now completely insane and dressed like Carno. Adrienne scars Don's face with acid from his darkroom when he tries to kill her and flees, discovering the corpses of Mike, Harriet and Cyrus hidden throughout the mansion. Don captures Adrienne and straps her into the throne, but she distracts him long enough to free herself and trigger the swinging axe, which impales and kills Don. His death unleashes the demon, which pursues Adrienne through the mansion. She escapes long enough to perform a ritual that traps the demon once again. The game ends with Adrienne walking out of the mansion with a vacant stare, almost catatonic.

In the remote village of Ndotsheni, in the Natal province of eastern South Africa, the Reverend Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from a fellow minister summoning him to Johannesburg. He is needed there, the letter says, to help his sister, Gertrude, who the letter says has fallen ill.

Kumalo undertakes the difficult and expensive journey to the city in the hopes of aiding Gertrude and of finding his son, Absalom, who traveled to Johannesburg from Ndotsheni and never returned. In Johannesburg, Kumalo is warmly welcomed by Msimangu, the priest who sent him the letter, and given comfortable lodging by Mrs. Lithebe, a Christian woman who feels that helping others is her duty.

Kumalo visits Gertrude, who is now a prostitute and liquor seller, and persuades her to come back to Ndotsheni with her young son.

A more difficult quest follows, when Kumalo and Msimangu begin searching the labyrinthine metropolis of Johannesburg for Absalom. They visit Kumalo's brother, John, who has become a successful businessman and politician, and he directs them to the factory where his son and Absalom once worked together.

One clue leads to another, and as Kumalo travels from place to place, he begins to see the gaping racial and economic divisions that are threatening to split his country. Eventually, Kumalo discovers that his son has spent time in a reformatory and that he has gotten a girl pregnant.

Meanwhile, the newspapers announce that Arthur Jarvis, a prominent white crusader for racial justice, has been murdered in his home by a gang of burglars. Kumalo and Msimangu learn that the police are looking for Absalom, and Kumalo's worst suspicions are confirmed when Absalom is arrested for the murder. Absalom confesses to the crime but states that two others, including John's son, Matthew, aided him and that he did not intend to murder Jarvis.

With the help of friends, Kumalo obtains a lawyer for Absalom and attempts to understand what his son has become. John, however, makes arrangements for his own son's defense, even though this split will worsen Absalom’s case. When Kumalo tells Absalom's pregnant girlfriend what has happened, she is saddened by the news, but she joyfully agrees to his proposal that she marry his son and return to Ndotsheni as Kumalo's daughter-in-law.

Meanwhile, in the hills above Ndotsheni, Arthur Jarvis' father, James Jarvis, tends his bountiful land and hopes for rain. The local police bring him news of his son's death, and he leaves immediately for Johannesburg with his wife. In an attempt to come to terms with what has happened, Jarvis reads his son's articles and speeches on social inequality and begins a radical reconsideration of his own prejudices.

He and Kumalo meet for the first time by accident, and after Kumalo has recovered from his shock, he expresses sadness and regret for Jarvis' loss. Both men attend Absalom’s trial, a fairly straightforward process that ends with the death penalty for Absalom and an acquittal for the two other defendants.

Kumalo arranges for Absalom to get married to the girl he had slept with, and who was bearing his child. The morning of his departure, Kumalo rouses his new family to bring them back to Ndotsheni, only to find that Gertrude has disappeared.

Kumalo is now deeply aware of how his people have lost the tribal structure that once held them together and returns to his village troubled by the situation. It turns out that James Jarvis has been having similar thoughts.

Arthur Jarvis' young son befriends Kumalo. As the young boy and the old man become acquainted, James Jarvis becomes increasingly involved with helping the struggling village. He donates milk at first, and then makes plans for a dam and hires an agricultural expert to demonstrate newer, less devastating farming techniques.

When Jarvis’ wife dies, Kumalo and his congregation send a wreath to express their sympathy. Just as the bishop is on the verge of transferring Kumalo, Jarvis sends a note of thanks for the wreath and offers to build the congregation a new church, and Kumalo is permitted to stay in his parish.

On the evening before his son's execution, Kumalo goes into the mountains to await the appointed time in solitude. On the way, he encounters Jarvis, and the two men speak of the village, of lost sons, and of Jarvis' bright young grandson, whose innocence and honesty have impressed both men. When Kumalo is alone, he weeps for his son’s death and clasps his hands in prayer as dawn breaks over the valley.

After surviving an air raid during World War II, the Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy) are evacuated from London to the country home of Professor Kirke.

During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy discovers a wardrobe and hides inside, only to find that she has entered a magical winter world. Lucy finds a lamppost and encounters a faun named Mr. Tumnus, who invites her to his home and tells her that she is in Narnia. Tumnus puts Lucy to sleep by playing a flute lullaby, and when Lucy wakes up, he sadly explains that the White Witch cursed Narnia to eternally experience winter and never Christmas, and any humans encountered are to be brought to her. However, Tumnus instead sends her home, where Lucy finds hardly any time had passed, and her siblings disbelieve her story due to the normal state of the wardrobe.

One night, Lucy successfully returns through the wardrobe, but Edmund follows her. Edmund meets the White Witch, who claims to be queen of Narnia. Edmund tells her about his siblings and Tumnus, and the Witch offers him Turkish delight and kingship if he brings his siblings to her castle. After she departs, Edmund and Lucy reunite. Lucy informs Peter and Susan, but Edmund lies out of spite. When Peter and Susan bring the issue to Professor Kirke, he suggests Lucy is telling the truth.

While fleeing the housekeeper after accidentally breaking a window, the four siblings retreat to the wardrobe and enter Narnia. Peter berates Edmund for lying and forces him to apologize to Lucy. They discover that the Witch has taken Tumnus, and they meet a couple of talking beavers, who say Aslan plans to return and regain control of Narnia, and there is a prophecy that says if two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve sit on the thrones of Cair Paravel, the Witch's reign will end.

Edmund sneaks off to visit the Witch, but she becomes furious that he came without his siblings. The Witch sends wolves to find the children, and Edmund is imprisoned, where he meets Tumnus. The children and beavers escape, and the Witch demands Edmund reveal their location. Tumnus defends Edmund, but the Witch reveals Edmund's treachery before turning Tumnus to stone.

While Peter, Lucy, Susan, and the beavers travel, they encounter Father Christmas, a sign that the Witch's power is weakening. He gives them tools to defend themselves — Lucy receives a cordial that can heal any injury, and a dagger; Susan receives a magical horn, and a bow and quiver of arrows; and Peter receives a sword and shield. After evading Maugrim's wolves due to the melting ice, the group finally reaches Aslan's camp, where he is revealed to be a noble lion who promises to help Edmund. Two wolves ambush Lucy and Susan, but Peter kills Maugrim, and some of Aslan's troops follow the other wolf to the Witch's camp and rescue Edmund.

The White Witch journeys to Aslan's camp to claim Edmund, but Aslan secretly offers himself instead. That night, as Lucy and Susan covertly watch, the White Witch kills Aslan, then deploys an army to slaughter Aslan's troops. Lucy and Susan send a warning, and Edmund persuades Peter to take command. In the morning, both armies violently clash, but Aslan is resurrected, citing magic beyond the Witch's understanding. Aslan takes Susan and Lucy to the Witch's castle to free the petrified prisoners. Edmund is mortally wounded while saving Peter from the Witch, but the reinforcements arrive and Aslan kills the Witch. Edmund is healed by Lucy's cordial, and the Pevensies are crowned King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant.

Fifteen years later, the Pevensie children, now young adults, pursue a white stag. They encounter the lamppost Lucy first saw and suddenly tumble out of the wardrobe at the same time and day they left, becoming children again. Professor Kirke finds the children, asking why they were in the wardrobe.

In a mid-credits scene, Lucy attempts to use the wardrobe, but Professor Kirke tells her he has also tried, and they will probably return to Narnia when they least expect it.

The game's plot begins fourteen years after Emergence Day (E-Day), when the Locust Horde overran and killed many COG soldiers and civilians, declaring war against humanity. Marcus Fenix, a former COG soldier, is reinstated into the military after spending four years in prison for abandoning his military post in order to make a vain attempt to save his father, Adam Fenix. Dominic "Dom" Santiago, Marcus' best friend and fellow COG, successfully extracts Fenix from the prison, and takes him to meet Delta Squad. The group seeks to obtain the "resonator", a device that will map "The Hollow", the caverns which the Locust inhabit and later deploy the "Lightmass Bomb", which will destroy the heart of the Locust forces inside the Hollow. Fenix and his allies recover the device, but suffer multiple casualties in the process including Anthony Carmine and Squad leader Kim. Fleeing RAAM's forces, Fenix leads the remaining soldiers through the ruins of Ephyra to claim a "Junker" APC, drive to a mining facility, and finally into the planet's depths.

Delta Squad successfully detonates the resonator, but the device fails to map enough of the tunnel network. They discover a larger map of the network that originates from Fenix's old home, specifically his father's laboratory. The group ventures to the Fenix estate at East Barricade Academy, where Fenix originally attempted to rescue his father. When they arrive, Delta encounters heavy Locust resistance. After collecting the data, the group fights their way past Locust forces and boards a train carrying the Lightmass Bomb. Fenix and Santiago battle their way through the train, and are able to kill General RAAM, before uploading the data. Fully activated, the Lightmass Bomb launches into the Hollow, and eradicates the Locust tunnel networks. In the game's final sequence, Hoffman delivers a victory speech as the tunnels collapse and explode, whereupon the voice of the Locust Queen promises that the Locust will continue to fight onward, despite their losses.

Porter, a career thief and former U.S. Marine, lies facedown on the kitchen table of an unlicensed doctor, after having been shot twice and betrayed for $70,000. As the doctor uses the whiskey he is drinking as a sterilizing agent and digs out the bullets, Porter begins making his plans to get the money back and take revenge.

Broke after five months recuperating, Porter uses a series of petty thefts and short cons to quickly acquire $1,000 cash, a new suit, a revolver, and a few meals. He then begins tracking down his estranged wife Lynn and former partner-in-crime Val Resnick. In flashbacks, Porter recalls that they betrayed him following a $140,000 heist from local Chinese Triad. Resnick had manipulated Lynn into helping him with a picture showing Porter with another woman, a high-priced call girl named Rosie, and implying that the two were having an affair. Lynn shoots Porter, then she and Resnick leave Porter for dead. Val used the cash to buy his way back into "the Outfit," a local organized crime syndicate, by paying off his outstanding debt of $130,000 to them.

Porter first seeks out his wife, Lynn, out of loyalty to their marriage; however, she has been consumed by guilt and become addicted to heroin. Porter attempts to help her sober up by confining her and confiscating her drugs, but the next morning he finds her dead from an overdose using a hidden stash. Believing that Resnick was funding her drug habit, Porter interrogates Lynn's drug connection, who points him towards Resnick's middle-man, Arthur Stegman, a sleazy drug, muscle, and weapons supplier for the bottom rung of the criminal underworld. Porter finds Stegman in the company of two corrupt police detectives, Hicks and Leary, who threaten him for a share of the $70,000, once he acquires it.

Using Stegman's information, Porter enlists the help of Rosie, who is now affiliated with the Outfit. Rosie agrees, revealing that she still cares about Porter from when he was her bodyguard; Porter agrees, and the two lament that they never moved forward with their relationship, as they were each repelled by the others' career and Porter could not abandon Lynn. Rosie tells Porter that he can track Resnick through his employ of specialty prostitutes, as he is barred from soliciting Outfit call girls because his sadistic tendencies nearly killed one of them.

Porter finds Resnick during a session with a Triad-connected dominatrix named Pearl, when Porter ambushes him and demands his money. Fearful, Resnick later begs the Outfit for help but is told to solve his own problems. He then uses Pearl to frame Porter for the $140,000 heist so the Triads will kill him; however, this attempt fails. Resnick follows Porter's trail to Rosie's apartment, beats and threatens to rape her when she fights back. Porter arrives and wounds Resnick, who attempts to bargain for his life by giving him the names of the Outfit bosses Fairfax and Carter; since Resnick does not have the money, Porter kills him. He takes Rosie to a safe house, only to find that it is now compromised and rigged with plastic explosives, connected to the telephone by three of Carter's hitmen. Porter kills them and later confronts Carter in his own office, threatening to kill him unless he pays the $70,000. Carter states he is only an underboss, thus unauthorized to make financial decisions and calls Bronson, the head of the Outfit. During the negotiation, both Carter and Bronson believe that Porter is demanding the full $130,000 that Resnick paid the Outfit, though Porter repeatedly corrects them that all he wants is his share, which Resnick stole. When Bronson refuses over the phone, Porter carries out his threat and kills Carter. Porter then frames Hicks and Leary by planting Leary's fingerprints on the gun used to kill Resnick, as well as stealing Hicks's badge and leaving it with the gun in Resnick's hand.

With the aid of Rosie, Porter kidnaps Bronson's son, Johnny. He then visits and threatens Fairfax; Hicks and Leary, who are waiting outside Fairfax's house, are promptly arrested by Internal Affairs on account of the false evidence left earlier. A shootout ensues involving Porter, Stegman, his driver, Pearl and the Triads; only Porter and Pearl survive. Porter is later captured by Fairfax's men, taken to a warehouse and beaten for hours. Bronson arrives with his own men and the $130,000 ransom, though he swears that Porter will never lay his hands on it. Porter unsuccessfully tries to reason that all he wanted was the $70,000 that Resnick owed him, but Bronson then authorizes his men to hammer Porter's toes one-by-one, until he reveals Johnny's location; Bronson's men smash two toes before he gives them a location.

Bronson, Fairfax, and their men take Porter with them to investigate the address; however, the address is actually the compromised safe house wired with explosives. While they make their way to the apartment, Porter breaks free through the locked trunk and makes his way to the car's cell phone, and then dials the bomb's trigger just as they enter the room. The explosion kills Bronson, Fairfax, and their men, and Porter flees the scene to contact Rosie. Upon his arrival, Rosie leaves Johnny behind and joins Porter in the car to start new lives together, beginning by "going for breakfast...in Canada."

When the tale opens, a child has died, and an angel is escorting him to Heaven. They wander over the Earth for a while, visiting well-known places. Along the way they gather flowers to transplant into the gardens of Heaven. The angel takes the child to a poverty-stricken area where a dead field lily lies in a trash heap. The angel salvages the flower explaining that it had cheered a crippled boy before he died. The angel then reveals he was the boy, and they continue their journey.

Blair Maynard is a British-born American journalist in New York City who was once in the Navy and who decides to investigate the mystery of why so many boats disappear in the Bermuda Triangle of the Caribbean. He takes his estranged son Justin with him to Florida with the promise of a vacation to Disney World and, while fishing, both are attacked by an unkempt man and forcibly brought to an uncharted island. On the island, Blair discovers that the inhabitants are a centuries-old colony of savage French pirates.

The group has been living on the island for centuries, unseen by society (except for an English archeologist obsessively keeping their secret) and sustain themselves by raiding pleasure boats. The pirates kill whoever comes to the island; however, Blair and his son are both kept alive due to a false assumption that they are descended from Robert Maynard and a need to offset the negative effects of inbreeding. Blair is used to impregnate a female and act as a scribe for the largely illiterate group, while Justin is brainwashed to become a surrogate heir to Nau, the pirate leader. Blair struggles to escape from the island, but all attempts fail.

Blair begins his captivity as a very peaceable and civilized everyman, but he is helpless in the absence of law and the presence of the almost unlimited violence the pirates commit. Subjecting him to constant fear and abuse, the pirates fail to realize how desperate Blair is becoming as his repeated escape attempts continually fail. He eventually arranges for the pirates to come head to head with a US Coast Guard cutter, but they manage to wipe out the crew and take over the vessel. Blair sneaks aboard and, while most of the pirates are gathered on the aft deck of the ship, he discovers a deck-mounted M2 machine gun hidden underneath a tarp. He opens fire on the pirates, and continues to fire even after they are all dead.

He then learns that Nau was not on the deck. The two men then stalk each other through various parts of the decimated vessel. Blair eventually gets the upper hand and kills Nau with a flare gun. Blair and his son, who no longer desires to be a pirate and seems much more respectful of his father, are reunited.

Behind the scenes of the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Tokyo, there exist many people who strive to become stronger by competing against each other in street fights. Maki Aikawa is a 16-year-old high school student. A former gymnast, Maki adapts her skills to a different way of life — street fighting. The only thing that truly makes her feel alive is the rush and pressure experienced while fighting. With amazing power and grace, she fights opponent after opponent, repeatedly demonstrating the gymnastic talent that earns her the street name, "Air Master". Eventually, Maki is exposed to a fighting league of sorts, known as the "Fukamichi Rankings".

The Fukamichi Rankings consist of the world's greatest street fighters and martial artists. The Fukamichi Ranking fights are held for various reasons. Firstly, many fighters wish to test themselves, achieving the highest rank possible and stretching themselves to their physical limits. However, there is also a corporate side to the competitions, with many viewers around the world eager to watch the brutal yet awe-inspiring showdowns. Each Fukamichi ranker is paid a respective amount for winning within their fight. Maki, seeking to quench her thirst for that pressure or buzz she experiences only through fighting and to find her place within this world, scales the Fukamichi Rankings, clashing with the world's greatest fighting prodigies.

The year is 80 BC, and the dictator Sulla rules Rome. The young lawyer Cicero is defending Sextus Roscius, a man accused of murdering his own father. (The gruesome Roman punishment for patricide is described.) Cicero hires Gordianus the Finder to discover the truth of the matter. We are introduced to Gordianus' slave, Bethesda, the mute boy Eco, and historical persons such as the plutocrat Marcus Licinius Crassus, the powerful freedman Lucius Cornelius Chrysogonus and Cicero's scribe Marcus Tullius Tiro.

Category:Roma Sub Rosa Category:1991 American novels Category:Historical mystery novels Category:Minotaur Books books Category:80 BC

Setting

''Blood Omen'' introduces the land of Nosgoth, a fantasy setting dominated by humans and vampires. The health of the world is inextricably connected to the Pillars of Nosgoth—nine supernatural edifices, each one protected and represented by a human guardian. These sorcerers collectively comprise the Circle of Nine, and if a member dies, a new guardian is called to take their place by the Pillars. Hundreds of years prior to the events of the story, the Circle formed and sponsored the Sarafan, an order of monastic warriors devoted to eradicating the vampire race, and in the game's prologue, the vampire Vorador reacts vengefully by killing six of the guardians and defeating Malek, the Sarafan leader. Though the Sarafan disband, vampires continue to be persecuted.'''Vorador:''' After slaughtering six of the sheep I defeated their pathetic little shepherd – Malek. Since then our kind has not bothered with the cattle, except to feed. And I suggest you do the same. Meddling with the affairs of man can do us no good. Sarafan witchhunts are much too tedious to concern ourselves with. Am I understood Kain?

In the intervening years, new guardians have been summoned, Nosgoth's surviving vampires have retreated into hiding, and humanity has separated into two opposing factions: the kingdom of Willendorf, inspired by Arthurian legend, and the Legions of the Nemesis, an all-conquering army determined to bring an end to civilization.'''Ariel:''' The Legions of the Nemesis are on the march from the north, crushing all in their path. 'Twas not too long ago that the Nemesis was known as William the Just, a caring and gentle benefactor of the land. But, as his army grew in strength and he himself grew in power, the veil of tyranny fell and one kingdom was not enough. So many cities, so many dead. Willendorf will be sure to follow. The Nemesis must be stopped or all shall be lost... / '''Kain:''' How can one stop an army? / '''Ariel:''' You must rally the forces of Willendorf; they are the last Hope of Nosgoth. When the guardian of balance, Ariel, dies at the hands of a mysterious, malevolent entity, her lover Nupraptor the Mentalist turns his powers against his fellow Circle members, tainting the incumbent guardians with irrevocable madness and leaving the Pillars corrupt. To restore balance to Nosgoth, Kain must overcome the Legions and kill the insane sorcerers; as each Circle member is purged and their token returned, their respective Pillar is cleansed, and when he heals all nine Pillars, replacement guardians can be born.

Characters

Kain (voiced by Simon Templeman), an ambitious, cynical young nobleman murdered and reluctantly raised as a vampire, is the protagonist of ''Blood Omen''. Conceived as an antihero whose nature reflects the story's moral ambiguity, Kain was partially modeled on the character of William Munny from the 1992 Clint Eastwood film, ''Unforgiven''. Mortanius the Necromancer (Tony Jay), an ancient wizard, resurrects Kain in a Faustian bargain, and serves as his enigmatic benefactor and semi-father figure throughout the game. The reclusive and decadent vampire Vorador (Paul Lukather) acts as a mentor and father figure to Kain, encouraging him to accept vampirism, whereas the specter of the deceased balance guardian, Ariel (Anna Gunn), directs Kain in his quest to restore the land. The corrupt guardians—such as Moebius the Time Streamer (Richard Doyle), a devious manipulator of history, and Malek the Paladin (Neil Ross), now an animated suit of armor eternally condemned to protect the Circle following his defeat against Vorador—feature as the villains in the game. Other major characters include King Ottmar (Ross), the ruler of Willendorf; The Nemesis (Jay), a once-benign monarch known as William the Just, turned despot and tyrant; and The Dark Entity (Jay), an otherworldly being capable of demonic possession who is the overall mastermind behind events, and a primary antagonist and final boss of ''Blood Omen'', seeking to topple the Circle and the Pillars and establish its reign in Nosgoth.

Story

During a journey, the human nobleman Kain is ambushed and killed by a band of assassins. Mortanius offers him the chance to exact revenge; Kain assents, heedless of the cost, and awakes as a vampire. Once he kills his attackers, Mortanius tells him that, while they were the instruments of his death, they were not the ultimate cause. In search of the truth, and a cure to his vampiric curse, Kain travels to the Pillars of Nosgoth. There, Ariel explains that he has to destroy the Circle of Nine before he can realize peace. Kain begins by tracking down and killing Nupraptor, and then confronts Malek, but their duel ends in a stalemate. To defeat Malek, Kain solicits the advice of the Oracle of Nosgoth. The Oracle forewarns him of the Legions of the Nemesis, and instructs him to seek out Vorador, Malek's old adversary. When the two meet, Vorador welcomes Kain, and offers his assistance, but urges the fledgling to embrace vampirism and refrain from interfering in the affairs of mankind.

Haunted by the elder vampire, who serves as an example of what he will become if he fails to find a cure, Kain persists, and, in a decisive showdown, Vorador vanquishes Malek while Kain kills Bane the Druid and DeJoule the Energist. Later, after he slays Azimuth the Planer and recovers a time-streaming device, Ariel informs Kain that he must instead prioritize the war against The Nemesis, whose armies threaten to conquer Willendorf. Kain convinces King Ottmar to rally his troops against the Legions in a final stand, but the battle proves disastrous. Ottmar perishes, the Willendorf forces are overwhelmed, and Kain, cornered, uses the time-streaming device to escape. He emerges 50 years in the past, and kills the younger version of The Nemesis from this era—the beloved King William the Just—to trigger a temporal paradox which expunges the Legions from the timestream. However, when Kain returns to the present day, he discovers that William's murder has sparked a renewed vampire purge.

The Oracle of Nosgoth—revealed to be Moebius the Time Streamer, a member of the Circle—leads the genocidal crusade, and, having masterminded Kain's actions from the outset, consummates his trap by executing Vorador. Kain kills Moebius, but is left the last of his kind.'''Kain:''' Thirty years hence, I am presented with a dilemma – let's call it a two-sided coin. If the coin falls one way, I sacrifice myself and thus restore the Pillars. But as the last surviving vampire in Nosgoth, this would mean the annihilation of our species. Moebius made sure of that. If the coin lands on the reverse, I refuse the sacrifice and thus doom the Pillars to an eternity of collapse. Either way, the game is rigged. At the Pillars, he witnesses Mortanius arguing with Anarcrothe the Alchemist, who reveals that Mortanius is a guardian, and culpable for both Ariel and Kain's deaths. Seduced by The Dark Entity, Mortanius was unwillingly controlled and forced to kill Ariel. To correct the imbalance, he created Kain, a creature potent enough to destroy the Circle. Mortanius slays Anarcrothe, and then succumbs to possession from The Dark Entity (the latter one's actions being the reason behind everything that happened in Nosgoth) whom Kain defeats. With only one Pillar left unrestored, Kain reaches an epiphany: he himself is the final insane Circle member, Ariel's unwitting successor as guardian of balance, culled in the brief interval between her death and the Pillars' corruption. The "cure" to vampirism which he sought is his own death.

Players can choose whether to heal the world - an ending in which Kain sacrifices his life, ensuring the extinction of the vampires and restoration of Nosgoth - or damn the world, in which case the Pillars collapse, leaving Nosgoth an irredeemable wasteland, with Kain fully embracing his curse and living on as the most powerful entity in the land. The latter choice is considered the canon ending leading to the rest of the series.

The episodes combine elements of science fiction and western genres. It is set in the 23rd century on a multi-cultural desert planet called New Texas.

As on other ''Filmation'' series (''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'', ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'', ''Shazam!'', ''The Secret of Isis'', and the animated ''Ghostbusters''), a moral lesson is told at the end of each episode. One notable episode is "The Price", in which a boy buys a drug called "Spin", becomes addicted to it, and dies of an overdose.

The film begins in 1933. Students at Kyoto Imperial University protest the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Prominent professor Yagihara (Denjiro Okochi) is relieved of his post because of his views against fascism. The professor's daughter Yukie (Setsuko Hara) is courted by two of her father's students: Ryukichi Noge (Susumu Fujita) and Itokawa (Akitake Kôno). Itokawa is equable and moderate while Noge is fiery and a radical leftist. Although she fights with him vigorously, Yukie is eventually drawn toward Noge.

Noge disappears following an anti-militarist student protest, the result of being arrested and spending four years in jail. By the time Itokawa, now a prosecutor for the government, tells Yukie of Noge's whereabouts, he has been out of jail for a year. He warns her that he is a changed man and no longer how Yukie remembered him.

Itokawa brings Noge over to the Yagihara residence. During dinner, Professor Yagihara mentions that Noge would not have been released unless the government was convinced that Noge had "converted" from his radical ways. Noge confirms this and says that Itokawa vouched for him and had even found him a job in the army.

After realizing that Noge has changed from his days at university, Yukie excuses herself from the dinner table and locks herself in her room. Her mother eventually tells her that the young men are leaving. Yukie is reluctant to see them out, but once her mother tells her that Noge is leaving for China she decides to see Noge one last time to say goodbye.

After Noge's departure, Yukie begins to pack for Tokyo and has a deep conversation with her father. For three years in Tokyo, Yukie works in menial jobs to get by. One day she runs into Itokawa and is told that Noge is in the city. She goes to Noge's offices, but is reluctant to reconnect. Yukie is shown outside of the offices several times until eventually Noge notices her. They spend several years together and get married.

Yukie discovers that Noge is involved in dangerous and illegal activities, but they agree that she should not know exactly what they are. Noge is arrested the night before his plans are to go into effect. Yukie is interrogated, but she proffers no information. She is treated badly during the interrogations but Itokawa is eventually able to free her.

Her parents take the train into Tokyo where Yukie's father meets up with Itokawa, thanks him for what he has done and informs him that he intends to represent Noge in court. Itokawa mournfully responds that Noge died the night before. Yukie is crushed. She brings his ashes to his parents, farmers in the countryside, and tells them she is his wife. Noge's father rejects her, believing that she has come to mock them because their son was convicted of being a spy but Yukie stays and works the rice fields with them. They are scorned and harassed in their village, and Yukie tries to convince them of her sincerity and that their son was a good man. The work in the rice fields is hard on her, but she is determined to prove her mettle, even to the point of working through a severe fever.

The night that Yukie and her mother-in-law finally finish planting all of the fields, the neighbors sneak in and destroy their work. When Yukie mourns the vandalism, Noge's father finally accepts her and his son is redeemed in his eyes. At the end of the war, Professor Yagihara is reinstated and Noge is honored for his anti-war efforts. Yukie returns to Kyoto to visit her parents. Yukie's mother invites her to stay since it seems her daughter has achieved her goal: Noge's parents are no longer ashamed of their son. However, Yukie now feels more comfortable planting rice than playing the piano and sees the value in the social work that still must be done in the village (obliquely referencing occupation-era reforms like land reform and women's enfranchisement), so she returns to Noge's parents.

Gene Watson, a mild-mannered, separated and widowed accountant, arrives with his daughter Lynn at Union Station in Los Angeles. As Gene makes a pay phone call informing an unidentified person that his train was late, two mysterious strangers in suits, known only as Mr. Smith and Ms. Jones, survey the station from a catwalk, discussing a yet-to-be-elaborated scheme. Noticing Gene retaliate against a skater who was harassing his daughter, Smith and Jones set their sights on him and swiftly approach the pair. Showing a badge, the two strangers convince Gene that they are police officers and whisk both father and daughter into a van without justification. Once in the vehicle, Gene begins to notice things are not right and gets nervous, but Smith subsequently pistol whips him in the leg to get his attention. Smith then informs Gene that they will kill his daughter by 1:30 p.m. unless he murders a woman depicted in a photograph. He soon learns that the woman is Eleanor Grant, the governor of California, and realizes that killing her would be a suicide mission.

Once at the Bonaventure Hotel, where a number of campaign appearances are being held, Gene makes several attempts to warn people about his situation, but Smith consistently follows him around, taunts and viciously beats him whenever he does not make a move. Gene manages to find a young campaign assistant, Krista Brooks, who believes Gene's story and encourages him to report the matter to the governor's husband, Brendan Grant. Once in his suite, however, Brendan and a campaign lobbyist appear to disbelieve the story, and before anything more can be said, Smith shows up in the room and fatally shoots Krista, causing a tense scuffle between Gene and Smith. Gene awakens after unconsciousness and finds nearly everyone on the campaign, including the governor's staff and husband, are involved in the plot, with an unnamed lobbyist masterminding it all in revenge for the governor not carrying out her campaign promises to his interests.

Gene eventually finds a disabled war veteran named Huey who polishes people's shoes at the hotel. While at first he does not believe the man's story, Smith talks to Gene about the plot, believing Huey to be completely deaf according to a sign. Huey reluctantly assists Gene to get to Governor Grant's suite and advise her of the conspiracy. Although skeptical at first of Gene's story, she later notices Brendan act suspiciously about Krista's whereabouts and realizes Gene was telling the truth. Being hastened by her husband to make the last speech, the governor greets supporters in a ballroom when Gene takes out the gun, points it at a projector room where Smith is watching him and shoots at the window. This unleashes a panic in the ballroom, causing a stampede and brief shootout between Gene and the security people. Thinking that his wife is dead, Brendan openly gloats about the plot's success, only to find out in horror that she had heard everything, confirming her suspicions about him.

In the meantime, Huey stalls the armed Jones, who is in the van with Lynn after she cannot get a signal from Smith. He then annoys her with a squeegee man scheme to the point of a violent confrontation in which she shoots his wooden leg. Lynn quickly tries to get out of the van when Smith opens the door and begins to shoot at her. Right after she hides under the seat, Gene appears and shoots Smith. Ailing from his wounds, Smith congratulates Gene for becoming a killer just before he's finally killed by him. Before Jones can get a clear shot at the father and daughter, Huey beats her unconscious with his prosthetic leg and wing tip shoe. The final scene shows the conspiracy mastermind stepping on Gene's broken wristwatch and leaving the hotel in a car.

An alternate TV scene (and on some DVD versions) also shows the governor thanking Gene and Huey for saving her life.

Charlie Cantilini is a temp/dog walker/yoga instructor and aspiring fashion designer from Venice Beach, California, who meets doctor Kevin Fields. At first, she believes he is gay because of a lie his vindictive ex-girlfriend Fiona told her, but Kevin later asks her out and she feels she has finally found the right man.

Things start to sour when Kevin introduces Charlie to his mother Viola, a former newscaster-turned-talk show host who was recently replaced by someone younger, leading to her having a meltdown and attacking a guest on-air. Loathing Charlie immediately, Viola becomes more distraught when Kevin proposes to her, fearing she will lose her son just as she lost her career. Determined to ruin Kevin and Charlie's relationship, she enlists the help of her loyal assistant Ruby as well as Fiona. At the engagement party, Fiona kisses Kevin as he’s dressing in his room, deeply hurting Charlie who feels out of place in Kevin’s world, exactly as Viola and Fiona planned. Viola feigns an anxiety attack and moves in with Charlie while Kevin is away for a medical conference, hoping to drive her crazy with her antics.

Charlie soon catches onto Viola's plan and retaliates by destroying her bedroom and tampering with her anti-psychotic medication (which Viola had replaced with vitamin C tablets). Charlie eventually confronts her, forcing her to move out. Finding no way to stop the wedding, Viola tricks Charlie into eating nuts during the rehearsal dinner, causing an extreme allergic reaction, resulting in Charlie's face swelling up. Luckily, it subsides by morning.

On the day of the wedding, Viola turns up wearing an extravagant white dress instead of the peach-colored one Charlie had specially made for her. This leads to a violent standoff between them, with Viola refusing to accept Charlie and declaring she will never be good enough for Kevin.

Suddenly, Viola's own dreadful mother-in-law, Kevin's grandmother Gertrude, appears and they have an indignant argument, with Gertrude holding her responsible for the "terminal disappointment", from which Gertrude claims her son, Kevin's father, died many years earlier. Gertrude's resentment of Viola bears a strong resemblance to Viola's animosity towards Charlie, who decides to back down as she feels the same thing will happen to them in 30 years.

Charlie leaves to tell Kevin the wedding is off, but before she can, Ruby finally gets through to Viola. Viola resentfully expresses disbelief over being compared to Gertrude, but Ruby points out that Viola is actually far worse, as Gertrude never tried to poison her (referring to the rehearsal dinner incident), as well as the fact that she wore black to Viola's wedding due to being "in mourning" for her son, a contrasting but still disrespectful mirror of Viola's own behavior. When Viola claims that she just wants her son to be happy, Ruby asks her what made her think he wasn’t happy with Charlie.

Viola has an epiphany and ultimately realizes that she wants Charlie to stay and tells her that she will leave the two of them alone if that means her son is happy. Charlie, however, tells Viola that she wants her to be a part of their lives, with some boundaries and ground rules.

Charlie and Kevin get married and, when she throws the bouquet, Viola (now wearing the peach-colored dress) catches it. As the newlyweds drive away to their honeymoon, Viola and Ruby leave to go out drinking.

The plot centers on Leo Kall and is written in the form of a diary or memoir. Kall lives with his wife, Linda Kall, in a city intended for chemical industry. Leo is a scientist, who is initially very loyal to the government and develops the truth drug Kallocain. It has the effect that anyone who takes it will reveal anything, even things of which they were not consciously aware.

Major themes include the notion of the self in a totalitarian state, the meaning of life, and the power of love. Another central theme is the criminalization of thoughts. Oneself is not an individual, rather a part of the state. And through the effects of Kallocain, the last sanctuary of self is invaded. Apart from the laboratory work and testing by Leo Kall, much of the novel takes place in the home of Leo and Linda.

In Narnia, almost 1,300 years after the Pevensie siblings left, Caspian, a Telmarine prince, is awoken by his mentor Doctor Cornelius, who informs him that his aunt has just given birth to a son and that his life is now in grave danger. Cornelius gives him Queen Susan's ancient magical horn and instructs him to use it if he is in dire need of help. Knowing that his Uncle Miraz would kill him in order to be king, Caspian flees. Chased by several Telmarine soldiers, Caspian falls off his horse and encounters two Narnian dwarfs and a talking badger in the woods. One of the dwarfs, Trumpkin, is captured by the soldiers after sacrificing himself to save Caspian, while the other dwarf, Nikabrik, and the badger, Trufflehunter, save Caspian. Not knowing that they are trying to save him, Caspian blows the magical horn, trying to summon help.

In England, the four Pevensie children wait at the Strand tube station for their train which will take them to boarding school. One year has passed in their world after they left Narnia. Just as the train pulls into the station, the station tears apart transporting them back to Narnia. There, they discover their castle, Cair Paravel, was attacked and ruined in their absence. The Pevensies save a bound and gagged Trumpkin, who is about to be drowned, and they set off together. Lucy sees Aslan trying to show them a safe path, but finds her siblings unable to see him, she later manages to contact him in a dream, but only Edmund believes her.

Meanwhile, Nikabrik and Trufflehunter lead Caspian to the Dancing Lawn, where all the old Narnians have assembled. Caspian convinces them to help him win his throne. Caspian and his troops encounter the Pevensies and Trumpkin, and they journey together to Aslan's How, a huge underground hall built over the Stone Table. Lucy wants to wait for Aslan, but Peter decides they have waited long enough and suggests attacking Miraz's castle. The Narnians succeed in infiltrating the castle, but Caspian, learning that Miraz is responsible for his father's death, goes to confront his uncle. He is wounded by a crossbolt, Miraz escapes, and Peter calls for a retreat when the gate is sabotaged. Half of the Narnians manage to escape, but the rest are trapped behind the closed gate and brutally slaughtered by crossbowmen.

Nikabrik tells Caspian that there is a way he can claim his throne and guarantee Miraz's death. When Caspian agrees, a hag uses black sorcery to summon the White Witch. From inside a wall of ice, the Witch tries to convince Caspian to give her a drop of his blood in order to resurrect her. Peter, Edmund, Trumpkin and Lucy arrive and dispatch Nikabrik while Edmund shatters the wall of ice before the Witch can be freed.

Miraz and his army arrive at Aslan's How. Peter challenges Miraz to a one-on-one duel, in order to buy Lucy time to find Aslan. Peter is able to wound Miraz, and gives his sword to Caspian to finish him off. Caspian, who cannot bring himself to do it, spares Miraz's life but says that he intends to give Narnia back to its people. Lord Sopespian, one of Miraz's generals, suddenly stabs and kills Miraz with an arrow and blames the Narnians, igniting a massive battle between the Narnians and the Telmarines. Lucy, meanwhile, has found Aslan in the woods; he awakens the trees and the whole forest suddenly attacks the Telmarines. Lord Sopespian orders the retreat, only to be confronted by Lucy and Aslan. Aslan summons a river god, which wipes out the majority of the Telmarine army, including Sopespian; all of the surviving Telmarine soldiers surrender and hand over their weapons.

Caspian becomes the King of Narnia and, with Aslan's help, brings peace between the Narnian and Telmarine kingdoms. Before the Pevensies depart, Peter and Susan reveal that Aslan has told them they will never re-enter Narnia again since they have learned all they can from Narnia, but Lucy and Edmund might still come back. Susan kisses Caspian, knowing she will never see him again, before the Pevensies return to England, leaving Caspian as King of Narnia.

The series is set in London and follows the character of Godfrey Spry, played by Briers. As he is standing outside the post office, a wheelbarrow full of building rubble falls on top of him, causing serious physical injuries (from which he recovers) and leaving him with a greatly reduced attention span. As a result, he spends most of his time watching television commercials, and believes every claim made by them. After seeing an advertisement for a car, he proceeds to copy it by test-driving the same car at high speed along the top of a cliff at sunset, the resulting accident leaving him paralysed.

He convinces his wife to take a relaxing break with him in Hamburg, which he describes to the viewer in idyllic terms, before casually mentioning that on the last night his wife 'popped out [of the hotel] for a packet of cough sweets and was stoned to death by a mob of drunken soccer fans'. This entire back-story is played out very early in episode one, with the main part of the series starting with Godfrey calling his nephew Gordon for help after his wife's death.

Every episode was punctuated by deadpan parody advertisements for fictional products and companies, often juxtaposing the idealistic view of the adverts with the far bleaker reality. Much of the humour of the show derived from Godfrey's cheery interpretations of unpleasant events and circumstances. One memorable scene involves him cheerfully passing a group of people outside his neighbour's flat, blissfully unaware that he has driven the man to suicide, attributing the man's disappearance to him moving up the property ladder.

In a later episode, Godfrey befriends a young school-boy after offering to purchase for him some age-restricted craft material. Godfrey however has a very bad influence on the boy and his school friends, as they become a gang of shoplifters who become news media with an unidentified elderly man as the suspected ring-leader. Eventually the children are apprehended by the police, and an elderly member of the black community – who is also paraplegic – is mistaken for Godfrey and arrested; mass riots result in protest.

In the last episode, after seeing government advertisements promoting free-enterprise, Godfrey sets up his own business in Gordon and Muriel's house, hiring an elderly lady he met in hospital to knit tea-cosies in the shed. When she falls dead of a heart attack, Godfrey attempts to perform a post mortem, which he believes himself to be an expert in after purchasing a partwork of Complete Medical Knowledge. As a result, he is arrested for murder.

At the trial, Gordon makes an impassioned plea, claiming that it is not Godfrey who should be on trial, but the advertisers who are murdering all of our minds. Godfrey is convicted and sent to a hospital for the criminally insane; languishing in his cell, he is happy under the illusion that he is the centre of attention at a dinner party, where fancy chocolates are being served.

After a meteor wipes out the majority of forces from the nations of Uhra and Khent, Kaim joins Seth and Jansen to investigate the Grand Staff at the behest of the council of Uhra. At the Staff, the three are captured by hostile scouts who take them to Numara, where they meet with Queen Ming, another immortal who has lost her memory. The queen allows the group to go free in Numara, where Kaim meets Cooke and Mack, his grandchildren, who join the group after the death of their mother.

News eventually arrives in Numara that Gongora has encouraged Tolten to reestablish the monarchy in Uhra and prepare for war. The general of Numara, Kakanas, uses the opportunity to usurp control of the country from Ming, forcing her to flee with Kaim and others as enemies of the state. The group travels towards the nation of Gohtza, hoping to seek help from its King. On the way, Sarah Sisulart, Kaim's wife, joins the party after she is recovered from the Old Sorceress Mansion.

Arriving in Gohtza, Kaim and Sarah arrange for a peace negotiation between the Gohtzan King, Queen Ming, and Tolten to take place on a train. However, Kaim and Sarah are forced to go after Cooke and Mack, who steal a train to again try to find the spirit of their departed mother, leaving Jansen and Seth to participate in the negotiation alone. During the meeting, Gongora activates Grand Staff and flash freezes the entire country. Kaim and Sarah locate Cooke and Mack but are forced to separate due to a vicious magic attack by Gongora. Kaim and Sarah's train crashes, while Cooke and Mack are stranded on the train tracks in the freezing cold. The children are later saved by Ming and Jansen. The four unite and rescue Kaim and Sarah. In Uhra, Tolten learns that Gongora has announced Tolten's death and has usurped the throne, thus he joins with Seth to help free her son Sed, who joins the party, and his pirate hydrofoil submarine, the Nautilus. The entire party reconvenes in Gohtza.

The immortals talk and begin to recover their memories, realizing that they are actually observers from a parallel universe. In Gongora's diary, he explains the difference in space-time, where 1000 years is equivalent to 1 year in the parallel universe. The diary also explains that the immortals' world has been affected by the emotions of people in the mortal realm.

After regaining their memories, the party heads for Grand Staff. They recognize that Gongora is attempting to use the Grand Staff to destroy the portal between the two worlds, killing the other immortals and making himself effectively invincible. The group confronts Gongora in the Hall of Mirrors, the only place where they are vulnerable to death. The mortals help to block the mirror's power while the immortals fight Gongora, but their powers are equally matched. When the mortals become trapped in their own barrier after absorbing too much power, Seth drags Gongora through the mirror, allowing Kaim to break it and prevent him from ever returning.

In the epilogue, the nations led by Ming and Tolten come together to rebuild society, and the monarchy is restored in Uhra. Ming and Jansen get married, while Kaim and Sarah settle down to help raise Cooke and Mack, all aware that Seth is able to observe their happy endings.

In the summer of 1963, Jeffrey Willis (Matt Dillon) joins some friends for a day of gin rummy at the El Flamingo Club, a private beach resort. There, he meets the girl of his dreams Carla Sampson (Janet Jones). After the gin game and being told of the club's strict policy regarding guests, Jeffrey is upset, but not for long, since he immediately lands a job as a car valet and eventually, cabana steward. Jeffrey is a kid from a middle class Brooklyn family and his father (Elizondo) does not approve of him working at the private club.

His hero and mentor at the resort is the reigning gin rummy card game champ, Phil Brody (Crenna), a salesman of exotic sports and luxury cars.

Jeffrey, a winning gin rummy player himself, and his friends admire Brody and how his wins at the Gin rummy table make him seem "psychic," knowing which cards to give up. Brody also takes a liking to Jeffrey, eventually showing him his car business, and gives him hopes that car sales are where he belongs as a career.

Jeffrey gets further immersed in the "easy buck", as evidenced by Phil showing off his success, as opposed to Mr. Willis' manual labor, or the example of Phil's brother, who studied for years to become a lawyer but has had little financial return. During dinner, Jeffrey notably says he "will not be needing college" and plans to pursue being a car salesman instead. Jeffrey and his co-workers at the El Flamingo also venture to Yonkers Raceway together, risking cash on a horse tip but coming up short when the trotter breaks stride.

Eventually, Jeffrey leaves home to pursue the sales job. However, Brody, angry that Jeffrey disturbed him during a dance class, reveals to Jeffrey that the job opening at the car dealership is for a stock boy, not as a salesman as Jeffrey had been led to believe was his when he asked for it. Brody lectures Jeffrey in a similar lesson that Mr. Willis had "You can't plant a tree and expect to hang a swing on it the next day", and recommends Jeffrey accept the stock boy job to prove himself and work his way up. Jeffrey becomes shocked at his mentor's actions and reconsiders college. Near summer's end, Jeffrey observes that a regular onlooker, "Big Sid", is feeding signals to Brody, the true cause of Brody's winning ways. When Big Sid and a member of the gin team playing against Brody's team are overcome by the heat, Jeffrey fills in, opposing Brody, and seeking to help win back the unfair profits Brody won from his friends over the course of the summer. Jeffrey and his team eventually win back what was unfairly lost, including a good profit besides. Impressed that Jeffrey defeated him without cheating, Phil says they can "skip this stock boy nonsense" and offers him the salesman job, but Jeffrey declines. Realizing the mistakes he made in rejecting his father's good advice, Jeffrey makes up with his dad in a touching scene at Larry's Fish House ("Any Fish You Wish"), where his family is dining.

Set in a devastated early 21st century United States with logical expected advances in current technology such as a fledgling moon base, this series of science-fiction novels describe the invasion of Earth by an alien ecology. The story is unusual in that the tactics used by the aliens eschew the usual direct attack in favor of terraforming the ecosystem.

The United States has suffered serious political and social upheavals. These have come from unintended consequences of US government choices regarding geopolitical crises and interventionism. In the timeline of the books, there had been another US/Eastern Bloc proxy war -- between the State of Israel and certain other Middle Eastern nations -- in the recent past. This had been similar to a larger, higher-technology version of the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, and others. The books do not explain the detailed conduct of the fictional new war, neither do they state which countries fought Israel.

In the summer of 1997, Israel had deployed a nuclear weapon — and the world's perception was that Israel had done so at the instructions of the United States. In a case rather like a reversal of the Cuban Missile Crisis, America had been placed under an explicit nuclear ultimatum from the Soviet Union. Modern printings of the books, however, state that the ultimatum came from Russia.

The unnamed President of the United States had refused to accept that a nuclear World War III was inevitable, so he had decided to travel to Moscow, where in the year 2000 “the Millennium Treaties” had been signed. The United States had been substantially hobbled by the Millennium Treaties. Years later there had been subsequent treaties after the United States entered a bitter war in Pakistan. The US failed in its objectives there, and it was given another nuclear ultimatum. The second ultimatum came from the People's Republic of China. As a result, the United States was required to greatly weaken its armed forces, to comply with new bans on certain weapon systems, to make official statements of culpability for warmongering, and to undertake new programs of civic education for the young that were supposed to establish precautions against the possibility of Americans making choices to start future wars. Also, the United States was made to pay heavy reparations to the international community. America's network of allies continues to realign and break apart. Other countries continue to become more hostile, even though it is not always in a military sense of hostility.

U.S. leaders respond by stimulating the domestic economy with large investments in new technologies. Secondly, the U.S. manages to surreptitiously re-structure the reparations required under the Millennium Treaties. The new US national security strategy is subtle, and has a focus on making other countries more reliant on the United States. This was done through applying economic diplomacy, sharp power, soft power, and other measures to increase foreign dependency on a variety of assets and systems controlled or heavily influenced by America. These include America's new generations of advanced robotic systems, American space-based solar power technologies, American food exports, American space transportation systems such as spaceplanes, and newly expanded efforts by agencies such as the Peace Corps and USAID.

In great secrecy, the American government continues work on advanced military technologies, dual-use technologies, and finding means to leverage the revolution in military affairs to gain advantage in this radically new geopolitical situation. The books give attention to such things as high-energy microwave weapons, cyberwarfare, military teleoperation, and intelligent agents that can be militarized. All these efforts are forbidden under the Millennium Treaties.

Soon afterwards, a lengthy onslaught of devastating plagues sweeps the world, killing 60% of humanity. As the survivors struggle to rebuild civilization, they gradually discover that hundreds of alien plant and animal species have mysteriously begun to entrench themselves. All these strange species are far more opportunistic and aggressive than the native organisms occupying the same ecological niches. As a result, Earth's entire ecology is being rapidly supplanted (or "chtorraformed"). The invaders are called Chtorrans after the sound made by the most deadly predator encountered so far.

There are no signs of sentient aliens, but humans presume the invasion to be deliberate, either "seeded" from space or brought by undetected spacecraft. Many of the Chtorran organisms (see below) exhibit behaviors that are quasi-sentient (building structures, creating and using tools, farming/herding, setting traps, singing), yet the central question of whether they are doing so out of sentience or collective and programmed behavior is as yet unanswered. With each new layer of organisms, a bit more hierarchy to the Chtorran "societal" structure is revealed, allowing the possibility that all these organisms will transform the Earth in support of some worse, higher form of Chtorran life. The presumed goal of these off-stage aliens appears to be the complete replacement of Earth's ecology -- such that most macroscopic native organisms would be wiped out, a tiny percentage of native organisms would be altered or reconditioned to be placed under husbandry, and the aliens would presumably be able claim Earth without a single shot. Another possibility is that collectively the Chtorr ''are'' the aliens. The ecological invasion has gained enormous footholds, and humanity has yet to figure out who the true enemy is; let alone how to fight back successfully).

The books largely follow the adventures of Jim McCarthy, a scientist and soldier in the U.S. Army, who attempts to understand the Chtorran ecology even as he engages in combat to destroy it. His early efforts primarily focus on the "Worms", a particularly large and dangerous apex predator Chtorran species whose prey consists largely of human beings. McCarthy and other scientists investigate the rapidly expanding webs of Chtorran ecosystems and attempt to unravel the relationships between the species.

In addition to descriptions of alien ecology, the Chtorr series includes lengthy expositions on various aspects of human psychology, particularly under wartime and survival conditions.

Arienrhod, the Snow Queen, has secretly implanted several Summer women with clones of herself, in the hopes of extending her rule past her ritual execution at the end of Winter. Moon Dawntreader Summer is the only one of these clones to survive to adolescence. She and her cousin Sparks are lovers. Moon becomes a sibyl, a position of high status among the Summer people. Sibyls are both feared and revered; they possess the ability to answer any question by going into a trance state. Sibyls believe that they receive visions from the Lady, a sea goddess. Sparks is not chosen to become a sibyl. Angry at Moon for joining the sibyls without him and curious about his offworld heritage, he travels to Carbuncle, Tiamat's capital. He is immediately caught up by Arienrhod and eventually becomes the "Starbuck", the Snow Queen's consort and commander of the mer hunts.

Moon receives a message, apparently from Sparks, urging her to come to Carbuncle, though sibyls may not legally enter the city. On her way, she becomes entangled with smugglers and is taken offworld. This is normally a one way trip for a Tiamatan citizen. Hegemony law prevents any native Tiamatian from returning after leaving the planet, fearing that travelers would realize how Tiamat is being exploited and use this knowledge to foment rebellion. Arienrhod is crushed; she had planned to draw Moon to Carbuncle and make her the next Summer Queen. Moon was supposed to reject the Summer fear of technology and develop resistance to the Hegemony during the next Summer reign. Arienrhod devises a backup plan; she will unleash a plague at the Change which will kill most Summers and spare most Winters, allowing Tiamat to continue its technological growth before the Hegemony returns.

Moon is taken to the capital planet, Kharemough, and discovers that the Winters' prejudice against sibyls is a political tool used by the Hegemony to preserve its control of technology on Tiamat. Sibyls are highly respected throughout the other planets of the Hegemony; only on Tiamat, due to a careful reinforcement of superstitions during the reign of Winter, are they considered dangerous and mentally unstable. The sibyls are actually part of a data network devised by the Old Empire as a way to rebuild society more quickly after the Empire's fall. Sibyls have the ability to communicate with a vast electronic databank, which explains their ability to answer seemingly unknowable questions. Moon learns from another sibyl that Sparks is in danger, and returns to Tiamat illegally. Due to time dilation, five years pass on Tiamat while Moon is only gone for a period of weeks.

After a crash landing and short sojourn as a captive of Winter outlaws, Moon returns to Carbuncle and confronts Arienrhod. Arienrhod's plan to unleash the plague is foiled, but Moon is chosen to become the next Summer Queen. She prepares Tiamat to face the Hegemony as a peer when the 150 years of summer end and interstellar travel is again possible through the black hole.

Nicole Oakley, the out-of-control daughter of congressman Tom Oakley, meets a working class Mexican-American straight-A student, Carlos Nuñez. Nicole is troubled because her mother committed suicide when she was very young, feeling unwanted by her father, who has another young daughter with his new wife. Carlos, on the other hand, is from a poor background and is working hard towards becoming a Navy pilot.

They fall in love, and Carlos spends so much time with her that he stops performing well in school. Carlos is applying to the U.S. Naval Academy and Nicole's father suggests Carlos talk to him about gaining his Congressional sponsorship to the Academy. During their meeting, Nicole's father tells Carlos that he needs to end his relationship with Nicole, or she will destroy his life. Carlos breaks up with her, which leads Nicole into depression and back into wild, drunken partying. One night, Carlos calls her and finds out she is getting drunk at a high school party. He saves Nicole from a boy trying to take advantage of her. Carlos drives her home, but they get stopped by the police.

As a result of this incident, Nicole's father and step-mother decide that she needs to go to a boarding school far away from home; Carlos rescues her and they run away together. While they are away, Nicole realizes she is getting in the way of Carlos's dreams, so she decides it is time to stop running away from her problems, feeling she wants to be better for Carlos and have a future with him. They go back home and she makes up with her father. Her father thanks Carlos for not listening to his advice to abandon Nicole. In the end credits, we see that Carlos has become a pilot with the United States Navy.

Following the murder of Diana Floss in a restaurant in Cape Ann, Massachusetts in 1972, her fiancé Joe Nast elects to stay with her parents. Her father, Ben, is a realtor whose business partner has recently left. Ben and Joe go into business as Floss & Son, as this was their plan before Diana's death. Joe goes to the post office to retrieve all the invitations that had been sent out for his and Diana's wedding, and with the help of Bertie Knox he retrieves seventy-four of seventy-five. She finds the last invitation and takes it to his house later that night. He drops her off at a local bar, and returns home, despite her inviting him in for a drink. Joe and Ben attend a local property fair, and Ben pitches the idea of redeveloping a block in the town to developer Mike Mulcahey. Mulcahey agrees, but they need to get all the tenants to agree.

Diana's friends come around to look through her possessions, much to the consternation of her mother, Jojo. They then take Joe out for a drink at the same bar Bertie went to the previous night. Joe puts "Moonlight Mile" on the jukebox and Bertie dances with him. Joe convinces Ben to let him talk to the bar's owner to convince them to sell. Feeling trapped at the Floss home, he meets Bertie and tells her about Diana. He confesses to her that he had split up with Diana three days before she was killed. Bertie tells Joe about her boyfriend, the owner of the bar, who is lost in Vietnam.

One night Joe sneaks out the window to go see Bertie again. They sleep together, and he leaves the next morning, slipping back into Diana's house through the window. Jojo is sitting in the room, drinking, knowing that he was out seeing another woman, and saddened by the idea that she had always known he would have never ended up with her daughter. She does not want Joe to leave, as they have formed a bond.

Joe goes to dinner at the Mulcahey's, where Mike's wife presumes aloud that Joe was not still tied up with thoughts of his fiancee's murder. Joe states that this is not the case, upsetting the mood at the dinner table. Mike calls Ben and ends their deal.

Bertie confronts Joe about what happened between them, and they have an argument in which he tells her no one believes her boyfriend is coming home and that she deserved better anyway. She leaves, upset.

The family attends the trial of Diana's murderer. However, the murderer's wife elicits sympathy from the jury, and the prosecutor, Mona Camp, asks Joe to testify and help the jury gain sympathy for Diana. While on the witness stand, Joe confesses that he and Diana had broken up prior to her death, and had not told her parents. Ben and Jojo are happy with the confession and gain closure. Joe symbolically writes 75 letters expressing his newfound clarity about what course his life ought to take and his love for Bertie, and places them in mailboxes around town, hoping that one will get to her.

Ben closes the shop, Jojo resumes her writing career, Bertie sells the bar, and she and Joe leave town.

Don Lockwood is a popular silent film star with humble roots as a "hoofer" and stuntman. Don barely tolerates his vain, cunning, spoiled, conniving, and shallow leading lady, Lina Lamont, though their studio, Monumental Pictures, links them romantically to increase their popularity. Lina is convinced that they are in love, despite Don's protestations otherwise.

At the premiere of their latest film, ''The Royal Rascal'', Don tells the gathered crowd a version of his life story, including his motto: "Dignity, always dignity." His words are humorously contradicted by flashbacks showing him alongside his best friend Cosmo Brown ("Fit as a Fiddle"). To escape from his fans after the premiere, Don jumps into a passing car driven by Kathy Selden. She drops him off, but not before claiming to be a stage actress and sneering at his "undignified" accomplishments as a movie star.

Later, at an after-party, the head of Don's studio, R.F. Simpson, shows a short demonstration of a talking picture, but his guests are unimpressed. To Don's amusement, Kathy pops out of a mock cake right in front of him, revealing herself to be a chorus girl ("All I Do is Dream of You"). Furious at Don's teasing, she throws a cake at him, accidentally hitting Lina in the face, and then flees. Don becomes smitten with Kathy and searches for her for weeks, with Cosmo trying to cheer him up ("Make 'Em Laugh"). While filming a romantic scene, a jealous Lina reveals that her influence is behind Kathy's loss of work and subsequent disappearance. On the studio lot, Cosmo finally finds Kathy quietly working in another Monumental Pictures production ("Beautiful Girl") and they reconcile. Don sings her a love song, and she confesses to having been a fan of his all along ("You Were Meant for Me").

After rival studio Warner Bros. has an enormous hit with its first talking picture, the 1927 film ''The Jazz Singer'', R.F. decides he has no choice but to convert the next Lockwood and Lamont film, ''The Dueling Cavalier'', into a talkie. The production is beset with difficulties, including Lina's grating voice and strong Brooklyn accent. An exasperated diction coach tries to teach her how to speak properly, but to no avail. In contrast, Don fares better when taking diction lessons ("Moses Supposes"). ''The Dueling Cavalier'' s preview screening is a disaster; the actors are barely audible thanks to the awkward placing of the microphones, Don repeats the line "I love you" to Lina over and over, to the audience's derisive laughter, and in the middle of the film, the sound goes out of synchronization, with hilarious results as Lina shakes her head while the villain's deep voice says, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and the villain nods his head while Lina's squeaky soprano says, "No! No! No!"

Afterward ("Good Morning"), Kathy and Cosmo help Don come up with the idea to turn ''The Dueling Cavalier'' into a musical called ''The Dancing Cavalier,'' complete with a modern musical number and backstory. The three are disheartened when they realize Lina's terrible voice remains a problem. Still, Cosmo, inspired by a scene in ''The Dueling Cavalier'' where Lina's voice was out of sync, suggests that they dub Lina's voice with Kathy's ("Singin' in the Rain"). After hearing Don and Cosmo pitch the idea ("Broadway Melody"), R.F. approves but tells them not to inform Lina that Kathy is doing the dubbing ("Would You"). Having learned the truth, an infuriated Lina barges in on a dubbing session, and becomes even angrier when she is told that Don and Kathy are in love and intend to marry, and that R.F. intends to give Kathy a screen credit and a big publicity buildup. Lina threatens to sue R.F. unless he makes sure no one ever hears of Kathy and that she keeps dubbing for the rest of her career. R.F. reluctantly agrees because of a clause in Lina's contract which holds the studio responsible for positive media coverage.

The premiere of ''The Dancing Cavalier'' is a tremendous success. When the audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don, Cosmo, and R.F. tell her to lip sync into a microphone while Kathy, concealed behind the curtain, sings into a second one. While Lina is "singing" ("Singin' in the Rain Reprise"), Don, Cosmo, and R.F. gleefully open the curtain, revealing the fakery. The defeated Lina flees in humiliation, and a distressed Kathy tries to run away as well, but Don proudly announces to the audience that she's "the real star" of the film ("You Are My Lucky Star"). Later, Kathy and Don kiss in front of a billboard for their new film, ''Singin' in the Rain''.

''The following is a detailed overview of the mini-movie's plot, which is considered non-canonical.''

Space battle above Kashyyyk

The movie begins with a short opening crawl, detailing that droids belonging to the "evil Separatists" have amassed above the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk, and that Jedi Knights have been sent to stop the invasion and restore peace.

Two Republic fighters appear above the planet and fly towards a Trade Federation control ship (from ''The Phantom Menace''). Count Dooku watches from inside, and then, smiling, presses a button, which turns a revolving chair with General Grievous sitting on it.

Back outside, Anakin Skywalker (along with a clone trooper pilot) is being chased in his ARC-170 by three enemy Droid Tri-fighters. Anakin leads them into a trench and has two of the enemy ships destroyed by laser cannons fired by their own side. The remaining craft launches a Buzz droid at the ARC-170, which lands near the clone trooper rear gunner, who uses a can of "Buzz Spray" to dislodge the robot. The Buzz droid moves over to Anakin's window, and after being removed by Anakin's windshield wipers, the droid lands on the craft's engine and begins to cut into it. Back inside the control ship, Count Dooku tries to watch the battle outside on his television, but only receives static or intermittent test patterns. The shot zooms out to reveal General Grievous balancing on top of the television, acting as a living antenna.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi is being chased by another Vulture Droid, who launches two missiles at his Jedi interceptor. Obi-Wan uses the Force to dismantle his ship into individual LEGO pieces, and reassembles it after the missiles pass, which instead hits two other enemy ships, destroying them. Anakin's ship is hit by laser fire from the control ship and explodes into its component pieces, but Anakin uses the Force to reassemble it – into a biplane. Looking embarrassed, he again reassembles his craft into a new starfighter, and Force-pushes the Buzz droid into the Trade Federation control ship, creating a hole in the wall. Anakin's craft flies through the hole (with Anakin standing on top of the craft rather than sitting inside it), and encounters three droidekas standing on a platform. As his clone trooper pilot hangs onto the wing for dear life, Anakin throws his lightsaber like a Boomerang, which destroys the platform's support, sending it tumbling down.

Obi-Wan's Jedi interceptor is hit by enemy laser fire, and his right wing is destroyed. However, he uses the Force to disassemble several droid fighters to their individual pieces and attaches them to his craft. He pilots his y-wing towards the Trade Federation control ship and fires a few well-placed shots at it, causing a giant explosion. Anakin's ship escapes from an access tunnel just in time as the control ship spectacularly explodes, and Obi-Wan and Anakin head down to Kashyyyk.

Battle on Kashyyyk

The sequence shifts to Kashyyyk. Yoda spots some battle droids and uses his Force powers to destroy several of these droids and reassemble them in a higgledy-piggledy fashion, and then uses his lightsaber to destroy the remaining droids. An A5 Juggernaut arrives, and Mace Windu and the clone troopers come out of the vehicle and attack, joined by the Wookiees under Chewbacca, Anakin and Obi-Wan.

As the battle commences, Chewbacca dodges an enemy droid tank, which skids to a halt and turns to charge again, determined to run him down. Chewbacca hastily assembles a rocket launcher out of spare Lego pieces and shoots a rocket at the enemy, hitting one of its tracks. The tank skids out of control and almost hits Chewbacca, who faints from shock.

Almost all the clones and Wookiees have been destroyed or have run away; Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace Windu and Chewbacca find themselves surrounded. But then Wookiee reinforcements arrive and beat the droids back. The remaining droids retreat in a demoralised rabble.

Epilogue

The next sequence takes place in a setting similar to the cantina in ''A New Hope'', including its famous soundtrack, with General Grievous acting as the bartender and several other ''Star Wars'' characters in attendance. R2-D2, carrying some drinks on a tray strapped to his back, passes Yoda, who uses his force powers to deliver the drinks to the next table. Obi-Wan and Anakin are drinking happily when Chewbacca takes a Polaroid picture of Anakin and Obi-Wan. Seeing that the picture is actually of Darth Vader and Old Ben Kenobi in a lightsaber battle (instead of Anakin and a younger Obi-Wan standing together happily), Chewbacca faints yet again, ending the movie.

The end credits show, accompanied by a clip of Darth Vader conducting, with his lightsaber as a baton, some clones in the famous Imperial March.

A history of ecological excesses had led other nations to levy vast sanctions against the US for "stealing" world resources.

Author Michael A. Sheyahshe noted in ''Native Americans in Comic Books – A Critical Study'', that "Scout is presented in a respectful and genuine manner with tribally specific cultural ties".

Soviet campaign

The player controls Private Vasili Koslov of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, initially involved in the defense of Moscow from the advancing German forces. The next level involves the destruction of a German stronghold in Stalingrad during September 1942. The next objective involves battling for strongholds throughout Stalingrad throughout December 1942, including re-connecting cut telephone wires and re-capturing the rail-yard and train-station. The final mission takes place during the final Soviet offensive in Stalingrad in January 1943, which involves the re-capture and defense of city blocks and Stalingrad city hall.

British campaign

The player controls a British soldier, Sergeant John Davis of the 7th Armoured Division in North Africa, led by Captain Price. The first level has the player taking part in a sneak attack on German Afrika Korps troops, ending with the destruction of a German supply station. The next level has the player defending a town from overwhelming numbers of Germans sending counter attacks from North, West, South and East; finally achieving victory by destroying much of the German tank force using artillery. This is followed by the Second Battle of El Alamein, during which the player has to fight through several trenches, machine gun nests, 88mm Flak 36 guns and finally taking the German field headquarters. The assault on El Dabaa to intercept the remaining Germans in Egypt and destroy several 88mm guns soon follows, ending the first British campaign. An addendum to the second set of missions has the player taking on the role of a British tank commander, David Welsh, while engaging German forces in Libya. The first mission of the third campaign in Toujane, Tunisia, has the player immediately under fire, holding a house until they break out and rendezvous with the second squad. They then retake Toujane with reinforcements the next day all before assaulting Matmata. The final British campaign takes place during the Battle for Caen as part of Operation Overlord.

American campaign

As Corporal Bill Taylor of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the player starts off by playing a part in D-Day, at the assault of Pointe du Hoc, to destroy a German artillery battery, and hold it against a massive German counter-offensive in the following mission. Soon after, the player captures a nearby town and serves as a sniper against mortar crews until reinforcements arrive. The second objective is focused on Hill 400, involving the capture of Bergstein, a disastrous charge at Hill 400's bunkers and the defense against the German counterattack, with the player again performing sniper work against German mortar teams, destroying enemy armor, and generally holding the hill against a massive counter-attack, all the while burdened by artillery and overwhelming numbers of German soldiers. The final mission is set amongst the Americans in the Rhine River crossing into Germany. It begins as one of the few missions with the player immediately under fire, providing cover fire against the Germans until reaching the river banks and then fighting through most of the town. The final fight has the player defeat two German Tiger Is.

Ending

The end credits depict the dramatic rescue of Captain Price from the Germans by a group of American soldiers. After the credits end, the words "No cows were harmed in the making of this game" appear, as in the original ''Call of Duty''. This is a reference to the dead cattle visible in the Normandy missions.

Writer Mickey King lives in Malta churning out a string of violent, sexually charged hardboiled pulp fiction novels under an array of lewd pen names like "S. Odomy".

King is offered an abnormally large sum to ghostwrite the autobiography of a mystery celebrity. The intrigued King agrees and is transported to a remote island, during which time he will make contact with a representative for the celebrity. King meets a man named Miller, who identifies himself as an English professor. King assumes Miller is the mysterious contact—until discovering Miller dead in his bathtub after a hotel room mix-up.

Finally arriving on the island, King meets his subject: Preston Gilbert. A retired movie star, Gilbert is known for portraying gangsters and notorious for hanging out with real-life mobsters off the set. Now suffering from cancer, the pompous, vain Gilbert wants King to immortalize his life story before he dies.

Gilbert is planning a fancy birthday celebration. Among the attendees is Princess Betty Cippola, a man-hungry social climber who seems to have a sordid history with Gilbert. However, after the party is underway and Gilbert has staged a practical joke, Miller returns, now dressed as a Catholic priest. Sensing danger, King flees as Miller opens fire, killing Gilbert. The partygoers assume it's another prank, and applaud as Gilbert dies.

Gilbert's death leaves King with no conclusion to his tale. Playing detective like the heroes of his stories, King pieces together the mystery. He learns that Gilbert's proposed autobiography has alarmed several of the actor's erstwhile associates, who worry their schemes and crimes might be exposed.

On the last day of school in the summer of 1918 in the little town of Brailsford Junction in central Wisconsin, Willard North picks up his son, Sterling, taking him out into the woods, where a lynx surprises a family of raccoons, who get away but leaving the youngest raccoon behind. Sterling brings the raccoon home and names him Rascal. Willard has to leave for work, so Sterling's sister, Theo, lines up interviews for a potential live-in housekeeper before returning to her own job in Chicago. Willard agrees to meet with Theo's favorite, Mrs. Slatterfield, but dismisses her afterwards, deciding that Sterling can take care of himself.

During the summer, Rascal starts causing trouble, including trashing up a local store and digging up a neighbor's corn patch. A local constable threatens to hold Sterling responsible for damages unless he keeps Rascal caged up. On his way home, Sterling takes Rascal to a race between a Stanley Steamer and a sulky. Rascal's presence inspires the sulky's horse, Donnybrook, to win the race, changing the town's opinion of him. Theo returns home from Chicago with her fiancé, Norman, finding the home in a mess. Enraged, Theo confronts Willard, reminding him that Sterling is his son and needs help. Willard vows to become a better father to Sterling.

Later that night, Rascal hears the mating call of a female raccoon through the window and tries to escape through Theo’s room, waking her and everyone else. Following a scuffle where Rascal bites his finger, Sterling realizes it is time to let Rascal go, and sets out in his homemade canoe to return Rascal to his old stomping grounds, where he quickly locates a female racoon. But before Sterling leaves, the lynx returns. As he comes to help, Rascal and his new mate outwit the lynx, sending him tumbling into the water. Sterling leaves knowing that the two will be able to protect each other from the lynx.

Cartman has skipped class, but shows up at the bus stop to meet the boys when they get off the bus, wearing a goatee and acting strangely agreeable. Cartman explains that he missed school that day because he was taking care of the house for his mother, who has the flu. The boys are shocked and confused at this news coming from the normally obnoxious and uncaring Cartman. Later, Stan arrives home, where his mother, Sharon Marsh, tells him that his Aunt Flo has come to visit. Aunt Flo gives Stan's sister Shelly a huge stereo system and gives Stan a goldfish in a bowl. Stan doesn't like the fish and finds it spooky because of the way it stares at him, but Sharon insists that he put it in his room.

The next morning at the bus stop, Stan and Kyle expect to meet the new version of Cartman. However, Cartman arrives in his normal obnoxious mood. That night, it is stormy, and the nice version of Cartman appears at Kenny's house to deliver some provisions for the storm. Stan is in bed, trying to sleep despite being repeatedly terrorized by the fish. Despite what Stan says, Sharon remains unconvinced that there is any trouble until Stan finds a dead body on the floor. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny discover that the two personalities of Cartman are in fact two separate people. Chef tells the boys that the kinder version of Cartman is from a parallel universe and that Stan's fish must be from the same world. Stan, Kyle, and the kind Cartman track down the Ancient Indian Burial Ground Pet Store, where they find the portal to the alternate universe.

After returning the fish to the owner, the boys leave, just as Stan and Kyle from the evil world arrive to retrieve their Cartman. They align with the regular Cartman, and the trio find the regular Stan and Kyle along with Evil Cartman. The evil Stan and Kyle have a gun that sends things back to the alternate world, which is used on them by regular Stan. Stan and Kyle attempt to send their Cartman to the parallel universe, so they can retain the friendly Cartman, but the regular Cartman tricks them by saying something he wouldn't normally say.

John Murdoch awakens in a hotel bathtub, suffering from amnesia. He receives a phone call from Dr. Daniel Schreber, who urges him to flee the hotel to evade a group of men who are after him. In the room, Murdoch discovers the corpse of a ritualistically murdered woman along with a bloody knife. He flees the scene, just as the group of pale men in trenchcoats (later identified as "the Strangers") arrive.

Following clues, Murdoch learns his own name and finds out he has a wife named Emma; Police Inspector Frank Bumstead also wants Murdoch as a suspect in a series of murders committed around the city, though he cannot remember killing anybody. Pursued by the Strangers, Murdoch discovers that he has psychokinesis—the ability to alter reality at will—which the Strangers also possess, and refer to as "tuning". He manages to use these powers to escape from them.

Murdoch explores the anachronistic city, where nobody seems to notice the perpetual nighttime. At midnight, he watches as everyone except himself falls asleep as the Strangers physically rearrange the city as well as change people's identities and memories. Murdoch learns that he came from a coastal town called Shell Beach: a town familiar to everyone, though nobody knows how to get there, and all of his attempts to do so are unsuccessful for varying reasons. Meanwhile, the Strangers inject one of their men, Mr. Hand, with memories intended for Murdoch in an attempt to predict his movements and track him down.

Inspector Bumstead eventually catches Murdoch, acknowledging that Murdoch is most likely innocent, and by then has his own misgivings about the nature of the city. They confront Schreber, who explains that the Strangers are extraterrestrials who use corpses as their hosts. Having a hive mind, the Strangers are experimenting with humans to analyze their individuality, hoping that some insight might be revealed that will help their own race survive.

Schreber reveals that Murdoch is an anomaly who inadvertently awoke when Schreber was in the middle of imprinting his latest identity as a murderer. The three embark to find Shell Beach, but it exists only as a poster on a wall at the edge of the city. Frustrated, Murdoch and Bumstead break through the wall, revealing outer space. The men are confronted by the Strangers, including Mr. Hand, who holds Emma hostage. In the ensuing fight, Bumstead and one of the Strangers fall through the hole into space, revealing the city as a deep space habitat surrounded by a force field.

The Strangers bring Murdoch to their home beneath the city and force Schreber to imprint Murdoch with their collective memory, believing Murdoch to be the culmination of their experiments. Schreber betrays them by instead inserting false memories in Murdoch which artificially reestablish his childhood as years spent training and honing his tuning skills and learning about the Strangers and their machines. Murdoch awakens, fully realizing his skills. He frees himself and battles with the Strangers, defeating their leader Mr. Book in a psychokinetic fight high above the city.

After learning from Schreber that Emma has been re-imprinted and cannot be restored, Murdoch exercises his new-found powers, amplified by the Strangers' machine, to create an actual Shell Beach by flooding the area within the force field with water and forming mountains and beaches. On his way to Shell Beach, Murdoch encounters a dying Mr. Hand and informs him that they have been searching in the wrong place—the mind—to understand humanity. Murdoch rotates the habitat toward the star it had been turned away from, and the city experiences sunlight for the first time.

He opens a door leading out of the city, and steps out to view the sunrise. Beyond him is a pier, where he finds the woman he knew as Emma, now with new memories and a new identity as Anna. Murdoch reintroduces himself as they walk to Shell Beach, beginning their relationship anew.

Virtua Fighter 2 presents no narrative in-game; there is no story-based intro sequence, no narrative character endings and very little text to supply much of a plot. However, the game was given a story in its supporting material, such as the manual for the Sega Saturn version.

Virtua Fighter 2 hinges around a fighting tournament, where the greatest fighters in the world seek to compete for fame and glory. However, the tournament is organised by the sinister "J6" syndicate, who intend to use the information gathered to perfect their fighting cyborg "Dural" (the game's boss, who uses a move-set made up of other character's moves).

The story is told by a first-person narrator and well-to-do author, William Ashenden, who, at the beginning of the novel is suddenly and unexpectedly contacted by Alroy Kear, a busybody literary figure in London who has been asked by Amy, the second Mrs Driffield, to write the biography of her deceased husband, Edward Driffield. Driffield, once scorned for his realist representation of late-Victorian working-class characters, had in his later years come to be lionised by scholars of English letters. The second Mrs Driffield, a nurse to the ailing Edward after his first wife left him, is known for her propriety, and her interest in augmenting and cementing her husband's literary reputation. Her only identity is that of caretaker of her husband in life and of his reputation in death. It is well-known, however, that Driffield wrote his best novels while he was married to his first wife and muse, Rosie.

Kear, who is trying to prove his own literary worth, jumps at the opportunity to ride the coat-tails of the great Edward Driffield by writing the biography. Knowing that Ashenden had a long acquaintanceship with the Driffields as a young man, Kear contacts him for inside information about Edward's past, including about his first wife, who has been oddly erased from the official narrative of Edward's genius.

The story relates Ashenden's recollections of his past associations with the Driffields, especially Rosie. Due to his intimate association with her he hesitates to reveal how much information he will divulge to Driffield's second wife and Kear, who ostensibly wants a "complete" picture of the famous author, but who routinely glosses over the untoward stories that might upset Driffield's surviving wife. Ashenden holds the key to the deep mystery of love, and the act of love, in the life of each character, as he recounts a history of creativity, infidelity and literary memory.

In the French countryside near the Pyrenees, a baby donkey is adopted by young children - Jacques and his sisters, who live on a farm. They baptize the donkey (and christen it Balthazar) along with Marie, Jacques' childhood sweetheart, whose father is the teacher at the small school next-door. When one of Jacques' sisters dies, his family vacates the farm, and Marie's family take it over in a loose arrangement. The donkey is given away to local farmhands who work it very hard. Years pass until Balthazar is involved in an accident and runs off, finding its way back to Marie, who is now a teenager. Marie's father gets involved in legal wrangles over the farm with Jacques’s father, and the donkey is given away to a local bakery for delivery work.

Gérard, leader of a young criminal gang, is the delivery boy at the bakery. He is jealous of Balthazar because Marie loves him, and takes charge of the donkey, treating it cruelly. Marie, driving a 2CV one day, sees the donkey at the roadside and stops to greet it. Gérard, who'd been sleeping nearby, gets into her car and refuses to leave when demanded. It is implied that Gérard sexually assaults her after she gives up on attempting to flee, and afterwards she drives home. Marie enters into an abusive relationship with the violent Gérard, leaving her parents. Gérard is summoned to the local police station and questioned about a murder along with Arnold, an alcoholic who is also a suspect. Neither is arrested. Gérard and his gang assault Arnold, calling him a murderer and a stool-pigeon. Balthazar becomes ill and is nearly euthanized, but Arnold interrupts and takes the donkey off their hands.

Balthazar recovers and Arnold uses the donkey and another to guide tourists around the Pyrenees. When the season ends, Balthazar escapes and joins a circus. But when the donkey sees Arnold in the audience it goes berserk, and Arnold retrieves it. Arnold's uncle dies and he inherits a fortune. He throws a wild party at a bar, at which Marie and her mother talk and she is asked to come home, which Marie refuses. Gérard puts Arnold on Balthazar's back to ride home. However, he is so drunk he falls off, hits his head on the ground and dies. The police send Balthazar to market. An avaricious local miller buys the donkey, using (and abusing) it for pumping water and milling. One rainy night, Marie, soaking wet, knocks on the miller's door asking for shelter - she has run away from Gérard. The miller says he'll be her companion and help her to escape, as she confided in him that she wished to 'run away' - but the next morning sees her parents and offers them the donkey, the implication being that Marie will follow. Marie goes back to her parents. Jacques visits, wanting to marry her, and when Marie tells him about the abuse she has suffered he does not change his mind. Jacques also says that his father does not want the money the court ordered Marie's father to pay him. Marie is conflicted and is not sure if she is angry with Jacques or if she wants to be with him. She says she wants to 'have it out' with Gérard and goes to visit a barn where they used to meet. Gérard is there with his gang, and they strip her, beat her, then lock her in.

Marie's father and Jacques find her and break a window to get in. They take her home, pulled in a cart by Balthazar. Later Jacques wants to see Marie, but her mother comes downstairs and says 'she's gone and will never come back'. Marie's father dies shortly after, when visited by a priest. While Marie's mother is grieving, Gérard turns up with his gang and asks if they can borrow Balthazar. Marie's mother refuses as Balthazar is to carry the ashes of Marie's father in procession. In the dark of night Gérard abducts Balthazar to carry contraband over the Spanish border.

When Gérard and his accomplice are supposed to meet their contact, they are instead shot at by customs guards and they flee, leaving Balthazar to his fate. In the morning, we see Balthazar has a gunshot wound. A shepherd and flock comes. The sheep gather around Balthazar, their bells jangling. He lays down and dies.

A mysterious figure known only as "The Visitor" appears in the lives of a typical bourgeois Italian family. His arrival is heralded at the gates of the family's Milanese estate by an arm-flapping postman. The enigmatic stranger soon engages in sexual affairs with all members of the household: the devoutly religious maid, the sensitive son, the sexually repressed mother, the timid daughter and, finally, the tormented father. The stranger gives unstintingly of himself, asking nothing in return. He stops the passionate maid from committing suicide with a gas hose and tenderly consoles her; he befriends and sleeps with the frightened son, soothing his doubts and anxiety and endowing him with confidence; he becomes emotionally intimate with the overprotected daughter, removing her childish innocence about men; he seduces the bored and dissatisfied mother, giving her sexual joy and fulfillment; he cares for and comforts the despondent and suffering father, who has fallen ill.

Then one day the herald returns and announces that the stranger will soon leave the household, just as suddenly and mysteriously as he came. In the subsequent void of the stranger's absence, each family member is forced to confront what was previously concealed by the trappings of bourgeois life. The maid returns to the rural village where she was born and is seen to perform miracles; ultimately, she immolates herself by having her body buried in dirt while shedding ecstatic tears of regeneration. The mother seeks sexual encounters with young men; the son leaves the family home to become an artist; the daughter sinks into a catatonic state; and the father strips himself of all material effects, handing his factory over to its workers, removing his clothes at a railway station and wandering naked into the wilderness, where he finally screams in primal rage and despair.

In Canada during the spring of 1968, the cob (the name for an adult male swan) and the pen (the name for an adult female swan), both trumpeter swans, build their summer nest on a small island in a pond. The swans are worried when Sam Beaver, an 11-year-old boy on a camping trip with his father, begins coming to the lake every day to watch them; the cob believes that human boys are dangerous. One day while the pen steps away from her eggs to stretch her legs, a fox slips up behind her. Sam chases the fox away, saving both the female and her eggs. After this incident, the swans begin to trust him. After the hatching of their cygnets, the cob proudly leads his brood to Sam to introduce them. The cygnets each chirp at Sam in greeting, except for the youngest who is named Louis and is unable to chirp but pulls Sam's shoelace instead. The adult swans gradually realize that Louis is mute.

The adults grow increasingly concerned about Louis, worrying that he will not be able to find a mate if he cannot trumpet like all the other swans. Louis's father promises to find a way for him to communicate. At the end of summer, the swan family flies to the winter refuge, Red Rock Lakes in Montana. Louis decides he should learn to read and write in order to communicate, and flies away from the refuge to visit Sam Beaver. Sam takes his swan friend to school with him the next morning. Louis turns out to be a natural at reading and writing, and Sam buys him a portable blackboard and chalk so he can communicate. Unfortunately, because the other swans cannot read, Louis is still lonely.

When Louis returns to the Red Rock Lakes, he falls in love with a young swan, Serena, but cannot attract her attention. Louis's father is aware that trumpeter swans are named after the human musical instrument and becomes determined to acquire a trumpet as a substitute "voice" for Louis. The cob crashes through the window of a music store in Billings, Montana and steals a brass trumpet on a cord. By the time Louis learns to effectively play the trumpet, Serena has migrated north. Instead of accompanying his family north where he might have to face Serena again, Louis visits Sam on his ranch and explains that he feels guilty about the stolen trumpet. Sam suggests that Louis should get a job so he can pay the store for the trumpet and the damaged window. He helps Louis find a position as camp bugler at Camp Kookooskoos, the boys' camp Sam attends. Louis convinces Sam to split one of his webbed feet with a razor blade, making "fingers" so that he can play more notes.

Over the course of the summer, Louis plays taps, reveille, and mess call, and composes a love song for Serena. He also receives a Lifesaving Medal for rescuing a drowning camper. At the end of the summer, he has earned $100, which he carries in a waterproof pouch around his neck along with his slate, chalk, medal, and trumpet. Sam suggests that Louis can get a job with the Swan Boats in Boston. Louis flies across country and becomes an instant success, with a salary of $100 per week and a private suite in the Ritz Hotel.

A Philadelphia nightclub offers Louis a higher salary, $500 per week. He leaves Boston and takes up temporary residence at the Philadelphia Zoo. The zookeeper promises that because Louis is only a guest, he will not be pinioned (have a wing tip cut off to prevent escape) like all the other swans at the zoo. One stormy night, Serena, blown off course, falls into the Zoo's Bird Lake. Louis serenades her by playing "Beautiful Dreamer" on his trumpet, and she falls in love with him, impressed by his song and the numerous possessions hanging around his neck. When the zookeepers spot Serena, they try to clip her wings, and Louis attacks them. He convinces the Head Man to postpone the operation for a short while and sends a telegram to Sam, asking for help. Sam goes to Philadelphia and strikes a deal with the Head Man: in every clutch of cygnets, there is always one that needs special care, just as Louis did in his own family. If the Head Man will let Louis and Serena go free, they will donate one of their cygnets to the zoo every year.

Louis and Serena fly back to the Red Rock Lakes. Now intending to live the rest of his life among other swans, he no longer needs his slate. Louis writes an apology on the slate and gives it and the money bag to his father, who flies back to the music store in Billings. Afraid that the swan will destroy another window, the storekeeper shoots the cob in the shoulder, but is amazed to find the note and the money, which amounts to several times the cost of both the stolen trumpet and the window. Because the cob is a protected species, he is taken to a wildlife veterinarian, where his injury is treated. When he is recovered, he flies back to the Red Rock Lakes to rejoin his family, including Louis and Serena.

Many years later, when Sam is about 20 years old, he is again camping in Canada when he hears the sound of a trumpet playing across the lake and knows it must be Louis. He writes in his journal:

"Tonight I heard Louis's horn. My father heard it, too. The wind was right, and I could hear the notes of taps, just as darkness fell. There is nothing in all the world I like better than the trumpet of the swan."

The player takes the role of Prince Ali, who has discovered a buried gold "armlet" which once belonged to a wizard who waged a long war against the evil wielder of a silver armlet. The silver armlet was used to create chaos and destruction, while the gold armlet had the power to summon four spirits: the water spirit, "Dytto"; the fire spirit, "Efreet"; the shadow spirit, "Shade"; and the plant spirit, "Bow". Ali travels the land of Oasis, gradually acquiring the ability to summon all these spirits, in an attempt to stop the person who has discovered the ancient silver armlet and is once again using it for evil.

The story is set on a separatist Earth colony where the society is becoming dominated by mutants with psionic abilities. The colony is protected from Earth by an enormously powerful but infantile mutant called Big Noodle. The central character is a precog, Curtis or Curt, who uncovers the existence of 'anti-psi's' - humans with the ability to cancel out or nullify the powers of the psionic mutants.

He attempts to get the non-psychic or 'Norm'-led government to officially recognize the anti-psi's, knowing that this could balance out the corrupting power that the psi's would soon possess over the rest of humanity. He is thwarted, however, by the powerful psi Corps of mutants, who murder his anti-psi lover, Patricia Ann Connley or Pat.

Curt has a young son, Tim, who, though seemingly a somewhat autistic, untalented 'norm', is actually the ultimate precog. This is due to both his ability to travel in time and his power to change the course of events as well. In the end, an older Tim appears to his father from the future, telling him that he was right about the need to balance the power of the psi's. His compassion for his father in the wake of Curt's recent loss compels him to alter the timeline in a very specific way.

The film opens with Paul Körner (Conrad Veidt), a successful violinist reading the daily newspaper obituaries, which are filled with vaguely worded and seemingly inexplicable suicides. Körner, however, knows that Paragraph 175 is hidden behind them all—that it hangs over German homosexuals "like the Sword of Damocles."

After this thesis statement, the main plot begins. Kurt Sivers (Fritz Schulz) is a fan and admirer of Körner and approaches him in hopes of becoming a student of his. Körner agrees, and they begin lessons together, during which they fall for one another.

Both men experience the disapproval of their parents. Neither are out, but Sivers's parents object to the increasingly large amount of attention he focuses on the violin and his unusual infatuation with Körner, and the Körners do not understand why he has shown no interest in finding a wife and starting a family. Körner sends his parents to see his mentor, the Doctor (Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld).

The Doctor appears several times in the film, each time to deliver speeches more intended for the audience than the advancement of the plot. In this, his first appearance, he tells Körner's parents:

You must not condemn your son because he is a homosexual, he is not to blame for his orientation. It is not wrong, nor should it be a crime. Indeed, it is not even an illness, merely a variation, and one that is common to all of nature.

After Körner's coming out, he and Sivers begin seeing each other more openly. While walking together, hand in hand, through the park, they pass a man, Franz Bollek (Reinhold Schünzel), who recognizes Körner. Later that day, when Körner is alone, Bollek confronts him and demands hush money or else he will expose Sivers.

Körner pays him and keeps it a secret from Sivers that he does so. Eventually, however, the blackmailer's demands become too great and Körner refuses to pay (Bollek reads Körner's reply to his demand in a gay bar). Bollek decides instead to break into Körner's house while he and Sivers are performing, but he is discovered by Sivers and Körner on their return and a fight breaks out. In the course of the fight, Bollek reveals to Sivers that he has been blackmailing him.

Sivers runs away and faces hardships trying to survive alone. Körner is left dejected and, over a photo of Sivers, remembers his past.

His first memory is of boarding school, when he and his boyfriend Max are discovered kissing by their teacher and he is expelled. Next, he remembers University and his solitary and lonely life there, and the growing impossibility of trying to play straight.

He remembers trying an ex-gay hypnotherapist, but finding him only to be a charlatan. Then he first met the Doctor, whose reaction was much different from those he had previously met. Among other things, he told him:

Love for one of the same sex is no less pure or noble than for one of the opposite. This orientation can be found in all levels of society, and among respected people. Those that say otherwise come only from ignorance and bigotry.

Remembering further, he recalled first meeting Bollek at a gay dance hall, and Bollek leading him on before ultimately turning on him and using his homosexuality to blackmail him.

Back in the present, Körner takes Else Sivers (Anita Berber), Kurt Sivers' sister, to the Doctor's lecture on alternative sexuality. The Doctor speaks on topics such as homosexuality, lesbianism, gender identity, intersexuality, the perils of stereotypes, and the idea that sexuality is physically determined, rather than a mental condition. Enlightened by the presentation, Else renounces her wish for a relationship with Körner and instead pledges her friendship and support.

Körner reports Bollek for blackmail and has him arrested. In retaliation, Bollek exposes Körner. The Doctor gives testimony on Körner's behalf, but both are found guilty of their respective crimes. Bollek is sentenced to three years for extortion. The judge is sympathetic to Körner, and gives him the minimum sentence allowable: one week.

Allowed to go home before starting his term, Körner finds himself shunned by friends and strangers alike, and no longer employable. Even his family tells him there is only one honorable way out. He then takes a handful of pills, committing suicide.

Sivers rushes to his side as he lies dead. Körner's parents blame Sivers for what has happened, but Else harshly rebukes them. Meanwhile, Sivers attempts to kill himself as well, but the Doctor prevents him and delivers his final speech:

You have to keep living; live to change the prejudices by which this man has been made one of the countless victims. ... [Y]ou must restore the honor of this man and bring justice to him, and all those who came before him, and all those to come after him. Justice through knowledge!

The film closes with an open German law book, turned to Paragraph 175, as a hand holding a brush crosses it out.

Bart and Milhouse have to remain inside The Simpsons house when an ozone hole moves over Springfield. The two dress up as ladies and jump on the bed, singing "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves". When Homer comes in abruptly, Bart falls off of the bed and lands on one of Homer's bowling balls, breaking his coccyx. Dr. Hibbert informs Homer and Marge that Bart will have to use a wheelchair until the bone has healed. When Bart arrives at Springfield Elementary School the following day, he finds that he cannot enter because the school lacks ramps for the disabled. As Principal Skinner considers a ramp for the school, mafia boss Fat Tony emerges and suggests that his construction company would be a good choice of company to build it. Although the new ramp system almost immediately collapses (due to it being made out of breadsticks), Fat Tony informs Skinner that the construction supposedly cost $200,000 and that the school will still have to pay. In response, Principal Skinner decides to close Springfield Elementary due to lack of funds (having used them to pay off Fat Tony and thus avoid brutal mob reprisals).

All pleas for financial help are in vain, including a private school play performed in front of Mr. Burns at his mansion, until Jim Hope, the president of a company named Kid First Industries, buys the school and privatizes it. The school's staff is replaced, and classes now focus on toys and marketing. Lisa soon discovers that the company that bought Springfield Elementary is a toy company, using students for research to make a new popular toy in time for the Christmas shopping season. She is then frightened by the appearance of a robotic figure. When Bart and Lisa are back at home, watching television, they see an advertisement for a toy named Funzo. It has many features suggested by Springfield Elementary students during brainstorming sessions at the school. They visit Jim Hope's office to complain, and he apologetically gives them a free Funzo toy, and calls it "the first toy made by children, for children, with all the profits going to children". Bart and Lisa later discover that Funzo is programmed to destroy other toys.

On Christmas Eve, with Homer's help, the two steal all the Funzo toys from underneath every Christmas tree in Springfield with the intention of burning them in the town's long-running tire fire. However, Gary Coleman, who is a security guard at Kid First Industries, comes to stop them. The two parties argue all night; in the morning they settle down into civilized discussion about the commercialization of Christmas. Coleman changes his opinion about the toy company and helps the Simpsons destroy the remaining Funzo toys. Coleman accepts Homer's invitation to Christmas dinner at the Simpsons', though he was going to spend Christmas with George Clooney. Mr. Burns shows up, having been visited by three ghosts that night; he has decided to donate to Springfield Elementary. Moe also comes, having decided not to commit suicide after seeing what the world would have been like if he had not been born. He tells everyone he "kind of banged up that Jeep in the driveway". Upon hearing this, Coleman says, "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Moe?" The whole group laughs and Coleman turns around and asks the audience, "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Everyone."

The family visit a 50s-style diner where Homer and Marge win a dancing contest. Their prize is a vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Bart teaches his father how to ride it, and he then rides it everywhere — into the school, the church, and the bedroom. He forms an outlaw motorcycle club named the Hell's Satans. Its members are: Moe, riding an old motorcycle; Carl, riding a Vespa; Ned Flanders, riding a bicycle; and Lenny, riding a lawnmower. They assert themselves all over Springfield. But Homer is then confronted by a real motorcycle gang with the same name; they force him to eat all his apparel on which their name is marked; and they take over the Simpsons' home.

They trash the place, but Marge cleans up and takes good care of them; when they leave, they take her with them. They assure her she is safe because none of them find her sexually attractive, which she hears with mixed feelings. She is a good influence, and persuades them to give up violence and find proper jobs. But Homer tracks them down, fights with their leader, and wins her back. On the way home, he goes into at a biker bar where he had been beaten up, and comes out with a Duff keg.

George, Lizzie, and Ralph have been released due to an explosion at a Scumlabs facility. The trio begin to destroy all of Scumlabs' bases scattered throughout the world and kill its employees. In the last levels, Scumlabs CEO Eustace DeMonic turns himself into a monster in an attempt to combat George, Lizzie, and Ralph, but is defeated during a battle on a lunar base. After this, the only surviving Scumlabs employee Dr. Elizabeth Veronica tries to disintegrate the monsters with a ray gun on her spaceship, but it only shrinks them to a miniature size, and they wind up inside her ship. George and Ralph pose on the shelves, while Lizzie bounces atop of Veronica's breasts (though the latter portion is censored on home ports).

In a small town in the South, Sheriff Track Bascomb breaks up a crowd of black and white men molesting a black woman. He visits Breck Stancill, a local land owner who is politically liberal.

White woman Nancy Poteet is sexually assaulted and beaten by a black man. Sheriff Track Bascomb tries to find the guilty party while Ku Klux Klan members – including Bascomb's deputy, Butt Cutt Cates – take matters into their own hands.

Members of the Klan – not wearing their uniform – approach a bar frequented by blacks. They chase after two men, one of whom is Garth. Garth escapes but his associate is captured, castrated and shot by the Klan.

Loretta Sykes, a black woman who grew up in the town, returns home. She is approached by members of the civil rights movement. They try to get Breck Stancill involved.

Nancy Poteet's husband leaves her and she finds herself an outcast in the town. She is befriended by Stancill.

Garth dresses up as a Klansman and kills one of the vigilante gang who killed his friend. At a funeral for the dead man, held by the Klan, Garth shoots another Klansman from a tree.

Homer stops Marge from throwing away the junk in the attic. When he finds some skis, never used, among the junk, he decides to take the family on a skiing holiday. Marge stays safely (she thinks) in the lodge – but a clock falls off a wall, fracturing a leg, and she is hospitalized.

Lisa assures her mother she can take her place at home, but Homer and Bart are no help, and the house is soon an utter mess. Lisa phones Marge and asks her to come back but Marge, who is enjoying her rest in hospital, untruthfully says she is not well enough.

The ghost of Lucille Ball appears to Lisa and suggests a scheme, which Lisa carries out: she applies oatmeal and green poster paint to Homer and Bart's skin while they are asleep, and next morning both are convinced they have leprosy. On Ned Flanders’ advice, they flee to a leper colony in Hawaii.

Marge comes home; Lisa has made it perfectly clean again. They go to Hawaii to retrieve the boys and assure them they do not have leprosy. But they already know: Homer has, with relish, eaten one of his “sores”. They decline to go home: despite the painful electric needle treatments, they are enjoying the vacation too much.

Homer attends a Springfield University reunion party, but it is really a fundraiser and he is forced to donate. To take revenge on the dean, Homer rigs a bucket of glue to fall on his head when he opens the front door of his home. However, Homer falls victim to an identical prank set up by a fraternity. It is impossible to remove the bucket.

The Simpson family come across a preacher’s revival tent. Despite his faith, the preacher cannot remove the bucket, but he lifts up Bart to try – and he does it. The preacher declares that Bart has the gift of faith healing. Lisa’s scientific explanation that metal bucket has expanded from the heat in the tent is dismissed. Bart starts his own revival movement and has great success apparently working cures. Milhouse is convinced that Bart has cured his weak eyesight and is run over by a truck he thinks is a dog. In the hospital, powerless to cure him, Bart admits that his career as a faith healer is over.

Homer builds a float for the homecoming football game halftime show. He gets drunk and drives late onto the field, when the players are already there. He runs over Springfield U’s star place-kicker, breaking his leg. Fat Tony has made a large bet on SU and threatens to kill Homer if the team loses; Bart reluctantly prays to God for help in effecting a cure. Somehow, the player is apparently cured. He returns to the field and attempts a field goal. It looks as if it is just going to miss – but the lower half of his leg, severed, appears in the air and nudges it in. Springfield U have won. Dr. Hibbert says that, with Bart’s help, he will be able to reattach the leg. Bart wearily repeats that he has no healing powers.

Lisse and her friends are unemployed sixteen year olds after graduating from a respected private government run school, and are dumped in the city along with nearly a hundred others at different locations, called Designated Areas or DAs. At the local Unemployed Rehab Center, the reality of their new lives is spelled out for them. They cannot leave their designated area unless they have a travel pass, something that is apparently quite rare. If they are caught outside their DA, they will be arrested by the Thought Police. As Unemployed, Lisse and her friends receive a monthly stipend of credits that they can only use at Government controlled food stores. Government controlled clothing stores are apparently free for the unemployed, and provide clothing in fantastic and garish colors and styles, a sharp contrast to the drab and simple clothes most employed workers wear. The group speculates that it's to make the unemployed stick out more in their colorless surroundings. Things like travel passes and non food related purchases are restricted to the employed, though it seems that both groups use the same type of credits, since unemployeds can make things to sell to the employed masses, and there is no mention of having to exchange one set of credits for another. The Unemployment center provides the monthly credit stipend, a free dining room that supplies 3 simple meals a day, a dorm that can be used for a very limited amount of time, and locations of rent free housing that the unemployed are allowed to live in. Lisse's group decides to stick together and, by claiming to be a "corporation" that makes things for the employed to buy, are allowed to move into a warehouse. Since they aren't allowed to buy anything but food and cleaning supplies, the unemployed must "scrounge" for everything else they would need, like bedding, furniture, cooking supplies, electronic devices that can be repurposed into other things.

They discover that by day, the area they live in is a dreary, dirty, and unsafe place. By night, however, the unemployed residents come out and are far more active. Coffee bars, tea houses and discos are open and very active at night, along with much more foot traffic, in garish and wild colors that make what Lisse's group is wearing look like drab worker clothes. Lisse and her friends spend several evenings trying to fit into their new world and meet other unemployed groups after they realize that this is their life now. Karen, Trent, Katie, Paul and Alden all have skills that aren't easily translated into the very simplistic lifestyle of the unemployed. They are the catalyst of venturing out into the night to find out how the other unemployed groups spend their lives in the their new reality.

The thought police quickly step in to quell any large problems or disputes. For their own safety, they study karate from Katie, one of the housemates. The local library has old fashioned books to help them learn other self-preservation skills to protect themselves and their home. Lisse finds many books of interest there, as she can lose herself in the fantasy of fiction and daydreams of a better life, a better world. Each of the housemates try to add their expertise to the home and keep their group busy. Brad uses his carpentry and mechanical skills, along with materials the group scrounges to turn their warehouse into a protected "castle". Scylla uses her artistic ability to paint murals on the walls of fantastic landscapes and outlandish scenes of fantasy, to help lessen the dreariness of their new existence. They also sell her paintings and Brad's toys to the employed to help bolster the meagre credits they receive every month. On one of their nightly excursions, Lisse and her friends hear of a mysterious 'game', called "The Game" with capital letters. It is known that participants can only be selected, and that anyone who requests to join will always be declined. In the unsafe night, they encounter a suspicious man named Charlie, who offers Lisse's friend and housemate Alden a partnership. Charlie wants to use Alden's skills in chemistry to create mind altering substances and offers the group money, travel and protection. Realizing that Charlie is a powerful gang leader, Alden refuses to help and is attacked on his way home. Thankfully his friends were watching and were able to help before Alden was seriously hurt. The thought police arrive very quickly and arrest Charlie's thugs, but Lisse's group manages to get away. This incident and earlier encounters with other young, unemployed people drive home the helplessness of their existence.

One day, the group gets invited to "The Game", which turns out to be a virtual-reality, full-world simulation. They are given electronic passes and have to travel by train to where The Game is taking place. During the journey, they are treated disdainfully by the employed workers they encounter. Once at The Game's location, they lay on couches and enter the simulated world of The Game. This simulation feels very real and is based in an outdoor wilderness environment and the aim seems to be survival in this different climate. Having little else to look forward to in their lives, the group focuses on training and information gathering during their time between Game sessions. They develop a schedule of regular exercise (consisting of jogging, weight-training and karate), search for information in the local library, and discuss their experiences and motivations with each other. As they progress in The Game, they find that they have a need for a doctor and someone with agricultural knowledge after a game session is ended after their ignorance endangers the group. During their sessions in The Game, they are always brought back to reality if they experience danger, such as eating poisoned berries. Rich and Benta, people they knew from school re-enter their lives, filling those needs, although they initially believe this to be a coincidence. Discovering that their lives and their families lives have been ruined for a "game", Rich and Benta are originally very angry and wish that they had never been remembered by their schoolmates. However, after their next Game session, both Rich and Benta realize what an opportunity The Game is, and their sessions keep them interested and fully invested in the group. In the real world, the group records everything that happens in The Game, mapping the areas they find and keeping track of the flora and fauna they encounter. They also speculate what they would win if they won The Game, thinking about prizes of credits to buy anything they like, including travel.

After a year of such training, The Game session abruptly changes; they have a different initial experience. And although they are placed in the same world, it feels different. They discover that they are not awakened if they are in danger of hurting themselves. At first, they think that this means they have progressed to a new, higher level of The Game – but start to realize that they are never going to "wake up" and that they are in their new home forever. Next, they believe that they have been sent to another country – but they recognize that this cannot be true when they realize they have never seen the moon, which is visible from everywhere on Earth. They stay up at night to look at the stars, whose position in the sky makes them discover that they are in a totally different part of the galaxy. This planet is very different from Earth – colorful, fresh, underwhelming, quiet, healthy, and more. This is a new opportunity to create a world without problems that have destroyed the old: health problems, political problems, pollution, rampant unemployment and most of all, the Robots. The robots had taken over almost every job that had originally been performed by humans, creating the unemployment quicksand problem the government couldn't stop.

They come to realize that The Game was a kind of training program meant to prepare their group, and others like them, for an off-world colonizing project – a project designed to halt the massive overpopulation their world is suffering. The different start of this phase of The Game, which they thought was a new level, was in fact their transportation to the new world, where they have been left forever. Lisse starts to remember them landing in an egg-like structure. They retrace their steps and rediscover the landing site – this confirms that they have been transported, and that their memories had been tampered with. Eventually, they christen the new world "Prize" – ironically at first – as their new life there is what they have won in The Game.

It is hinted that part of the reason such a group of people were unemployable out of school was to help in the colonization of other worlds, since each seed group would need a variety of talents. Indeed, an early portion of the book reinforces this supposition, as it explains that the prestigious school from which Lisse and her friends graduated once had a 90% job-placement rate, which is now a mere 10% – possibly suggesting that the most qualified graduates are being placed within the Game system rather than the workforce.

Lisse and her group encounter and integrate with another group; they all eventually pair off into relationships. Lisse explains that her original group could not intermarry as they are too close and feel like family. The book ends with Lisse making paper to write a story to the unborn baby she is revealed to be carrying, which she thinks will be a girl – the first child born on Prize.

The first sentence she writes is the first of the book; by this literary device, it is revealed that the book itself is Lisse's recounting of these events of her life.

Charlie Madison, a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Reserve, is a cynical and highly efficient adjutant to Rear Admiral William Jessup. Charlie's job as a batman is to keep his boss and other high-ranking officers supplied with luxury goods and amiable Englishwomen. He falls in love with a driver from the motor pool, Emily Barham, who has lost her husband, brother, and father in the war. Charlie's pleasure-seeking "American" lifestyle amid wartime rationing both fascinates and disgusts Emily, but she does not want to lose another loved one to war and finds the "practising coward" Charlie irresistible.

Profoundly despondent since the death of his wife, Jessup obsesses over the United States Army and its Air Force overshadowing the Navy in the forthcoming D-Day invasion. The admiral decides that "The first dead man on Omaha Beach must be a sailor". A combat film will document the death, and the casualty will be buried in a "Tomb of the Unknown Sailor". He orders Charlie to get the film made.

Despite his best efforts to avoid the duty, Charlie and his now gung ho friend, Commander "Bus" Cummings, find themselves and a film crew on board ship with the combat engineers who will be the first sailors ashore. When Charlie tries to retreat from the beach, Cummings shoots him in the leg with a Colt .45 pistol. A German artillery shell lands near the limping-running Charlie, making him the first American casualty on Omaha Beach. Hundreds of newspaper and magazine covers reprint the photograph of Charlie running ashore, alone, making him a war hero. Having recovered from his breakdown, Jessup is horrified by his part in Charlie's apparent death. He plans to use the heroic death in support of the Navy when testifying before a Senate committee. Emily is devastated to have lost another person she loves to the war.

Then comes unexpected news: Charlie is not dead but alive at the Allied 6th relocation center in Southampton, England. A relieved Jessup plans to show him off during his Senate testimony as the "first man on Omaha Beach", a ''sailor''. Limping from his injury and angry about his senseless near-death, Charlie plans to act nobly by telling the world the truth about what happened, even if it means being imprisoned for cowardice. By recounting what he had told her previously, Emily persuades Charlie to choose happiness with her instead, and to keep quiet and accept his role as a hero.

Kent Brockman and Britney Spears host the annual Springfield Pride Awards, given to prominent Springfield citizens for their achievements. The award for the oldest man in town goes to 108-year-old Cornelius Chapman, but Spears' congratulatory kiss on the cheek causes him to die of a heart attack. The award therefore goes to the oldest Springfieldian now present, Mr. Burns. Suddenly, Burns realizes he is not young anymore, so he and his assistant Smithers go to the Mayo Clinic for a check-up. Burns engages the Simpson family to house sit his private mansion.

After enjoying life as a billionaire for a few days, Homer decides to throw a party before Burns returns. He heads to Moe's Tavern to buy beer and invite his friends to the party. However, Moe informs Homer that he can not sell him alcohol before 2:00 pm as it is Sunday. When Homer is told the only way he could buy alcohol would be to sail 12 miles out to international waters where there are no laws, he and his friends (including his son Bart) set sail in Burns' private yacht to throw the party there. Once out in international waters, Bart spots a coast guard ship (who can't stop them because it's out of their jurisdiction) but the Coast Guard sailor on deck says he just wants to party and begins playing The Doobie Brothers´ song "China Grove".

Back at the Mayo Clinic, Burns discovers that he not only has all previously discovered diseases, but numerous new diseases the doctors have just discovered in him. However, the sheer number of diseases prevents any one disease from actually doing harm to him. This leads Burns to conclude that he is indestructible, even though the doctors protest that even a slight breeze could disrupt the balance in his body.

Meanwhile, the party continues and the partygoers force Burns' monkeys into a knife fight. The yacht is eventually boarded by Chinese pirates who take the ship hostage. The pirates rob everyone on board and tie them up in a big net which they then toss overboard. But to the luck of Homer and the others who are at the top of the pile, the net floats and they don't drown (though the others at the bottom presumably do). After Marge and Lisa have scrubbed all the rooms clean, the family return the mansion to Mr. Burns.

Back home, the family is glad to live a normal life again, with the exception of Homer, who regrets that he does not live the lifestyle of rich people. As the closing credits roll, Homer wails about how rich nearly all the people are and threatens to report them to the Internal Revenue Service.

The prisoner Nemov, apparently the story's hero, is an honest man serving a term of 10 years for violations of Article 58. At the play's start, Nemov is the production chief of his work group and is later replaced by, Prisoner Engineer Khomich. One of the play's clear recurring themes is the idea that Nemov's honesty is worthless in the face of the realities of camp life. All of the characters who prosper in the play can only do so by means of moral compromises.

The most accessible and traditional plot element is the romance between the two prisoners Nemov (the "innocent" of the title) and Lyuba (the "love-girl"). Nemov learns that Lyuba is having sex with the camp doctor Mereshchun in exchange for better food and living conditions. When Nemov demands that she stop seeing Mereshchun, Lyuba refuses and a conflict arises.

This lovers' conflict does not arise until almost the end of the play, in the final scene of Act III. Their dilemma is apparently resolved in the very brief Act IV, at the end of which an injured and dejected Nemov watches Lyuba enter Mereshchun's office yet again.

The title of the play suggests that the romance of Nemov and Lyuba is meant to be the central plot element, but the romance occupies relatively little stage time. Most of the play is spent in developing the characters of Nemov and Lyuba as they live and work in total ignorance of each other, and in exploring the realities of camp life. Much of the play develops characters and situations that have little or nothing at all to do with the specifics of the romance.

Category:1969 plays Category:Plays by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Category:Plays set in the Gulag

A horrified Stan announces to Kyle, Kenny, Cartman, and Butters that Trent Boyett, a notorious bully from their preschool years, is being released from juvenile hall after a five-year sentence. In a flashback set five years previously, the boys play "fireman", a game in which they extinguish a fire by urinating on it. Wanting to put out an actual fire, they ask Trent to start one. However, the fire soon becomes uncontrollable and their teacher, Miss Claridge, is badly burned. Instead of going the easier way by saying that the fire was an accident and risking punishment, the four boys immediately place the sole blame on Trent. Trent attempts to have Butters defend him, but Butters, afraid of potentially being punished by his parents, declines to explain the truth, and Trent is sentenced to juvenile hall.

Now free, Trent seeks revenge. For not defending Trent despite his innocence, Butters ends up hospitalized after sustaining a number of childhood pranks while his parents refuse to acknowledge that their son is in danger. Aware that this is Trent's way of warning them, the boys ask the sixth-graders for protection, which they agree to in exchange for a photo of Stan's mother's breasts (which are actually Cartman's buttocks with nipples drawn on with a black Sharpie, using Madonna’s book ''Sex'' as a guide). After Trent dispatches all of the sixth-graders, the boys ask Stan's sister, Shelley, to defend them. She softens her usually-mean stance against them when she sees how truly terrified of Trent her brother is and offers protection, but only if they confess to Miss Claridge what really happened five years ago.

The boys meet Miss Claridge, who now must use a futuristic machine to get around and beep a single light on it once to say "yes" and twice to say "no", and attempt to confess about what happened five years ago, but Trent arrives to confront them before they can finish. Cartman takes out his mother's taser and fires it at Trent, but the electrodes land on Miss Claridge's electric chair instead, causing it to crash into a propane shop, creating an explosion that destroys the shop and sets her on fire and crashes into a pet shop. When the police arrive, the boys, having learned nothing from the experience, make the same mistake they made five years earlier, claiming total uninvolvement regarding the incident. The police then ask her if Trent caused the incident, and she replies "no" with two beeps, but the police misinterpret them as "yes, yes" and arrest Trent. As Trent is taken away, Cartman taunts him with his buttocks, but the sixth-graders, having just been released from the hospital, come upon Cartman and, mistaking the "breasts" on his buttocks for actual breasts, carry him off to pleasure themselves to the very sight of them, while a slightly panicked Cartman objects.

In the first act, Scipio appears with his generals in the Roman camp before Numantia. He explains that this war has been going on for many years and that the Roman Senate has sent him to finish the task. He reprimands his troops, whose martial spirit has begun to be superseded by the pleasures of Venus and Bacchus. The soldiers are re-inspired with courage. Numantian ambassadors enter with proposals for peace, which are rejected. The Greek Chorus, in Cervantes' work is replaced by allegorical figures. Spain appears, and she summons the river Duero, on whose banks Numantia stands. The old river god appears, attended by a retinue of the deities of the smaller rivers of the surrounding country. These allegorical characters consult fate, in the guise of Proteus and discover that Numantia cannot be saved. The lengthy speech dealing with Spanish history has been taken as a moment of praise for the future Spanish empire, and as containing elements that question imperial expansionism.

In Act Two, the scene is now transferred to Numantia. The senate is assembled to deliberate on the affairs of the city. The senate adopts bold resolutions. The story moves into light redondillas - the loves of a young Numantian, named Marandro for Lira. Although Venus is invoked, Marandro assures his friend Leoncio that true love (as opposed to Roman lust) does not impede his duties as citizen and soldier. A solemn sacrifice is prepared; but amidst the ceremony an evil spirit appears, seizes the sacrificial ram, and extinguishes the fire. The confusion in the town increases. A dead man is resuscitated by magic in a dramatic scene reminiscent of the necromantic revivification by the witch Erichto in the Pharsalia.

In the third act, all hope for a successful resolution of the dispute between Romans and Numantians has now vanished. While the men would go out and fight the Romans in the field rather than die of hunger in the siege, the women of the play prevent them from doing this. It is they who recommend a mass suicide, for, in this manner, they will not become enslaved to the Romans. It is the women, then, who impel Theagenes to carry out this fatal action, thus playing a key role in the tragic denouement. The city resolves to burn all their valuable property, to put their wives and children to death, and to throw themselves into the flames, lest any of the inhabitants of the town should become the slaves of the Romans. Scenes of domestic misery and of patriotism ensue. Famine rages in Numantia. Marandro, accompanied by his friend, Leoncio, ventures to enter the Roman camp.

The tragic denouement ensues in Act Four. Here, Marandro returns with some bread smeared with blood in order to feed Lira, but he falls at her feet mortally wounded, foregrounding the theme of sacrifice. Scenes of destruction and mass suicide ensue, as men kill their women and then turn the sword on themselves or duel with each other. The allegorical figures of War, Sickness and Hunger take over the stage in an apocalyptic ambiance. When Bariato, the last youth left alive, commits suicide by throwing himself from a tower, the Roman general realizes that he cannot go home with slaves and spoil, and that the small city of Numantia has triumphed over the power of the Romans. His lament signals for some critics the final catastrophe and his role as tragic hero. His hubris and desire for domination rather than negotiation has brought him to his knees. The allegorical figure of Fame enters at the end of the piece, and announces the future glory of Spain, a great power that will rise out of the ashes of Numantia like the phoenix.

Aliens from the communist planet of Rooskee are invading peaceful, democratic planets and turning their inhabitants into "Communist Mutants." The communist mutant armies are controlled by the Mother Creature, a strange alien who has gone mad due to irradiated vodka.

Set in an unnamed coastal city in Italy, the film tells a story of an American girl, Nancy, who takes shelter in a villa filled with strange guests. There, she gets into a relationship with a retired pimp, Alex.

In the future, while Elroy is busy working on a time machine, George Jetson comes to Mr. Spacely's office for a serious discussion. Spacely's rival, Cogswell, has been stealing Spacely's business ideas, putting their jobs in jeopardy. Spacely wrongfully blames George, suspecting that he was spying for Cogswell. Spacely orders George to spy on Cogswell to clear his name to avoid getting fired. George finds out that Cogswell's robot computer, S.A.R.A., has been seducing the Spacely robot computer, R.U.D.I., into leaking Mr. Spacely's secrets. George tries to report this to Spacely, but R.U.D.I. sabotages his efforts.

In the Stone Age, Wilma and Betty are trying to convince Fred Flintstone to have their vacation in Honolurock (Honolulu), but Fred ignores their efforts. Later, at work, Fred tells Barney Rubble that he plans to vacation somewhere even better, and that he wishes to attend a poker tournament being held at the Water Buffalo lodge later that day. However, Mr. Slate shows up and informs the duo that they must work the late shift because they're going on vacation, and Turk Tarpit, Slate's business rival, and nemesis, has been outproducing them. Fred and Barney disobey Slate's orders and go to the poker tournament. However, after seeing that Slate is playing there too, they disguise themselves. Fred plays against Slate but loses. A spider exposes Barney, and ultimately Fred. Furious that they deceived and disobeyed him, Slate fires Fred and Barney.

Back in the future, Elroy completes his time machine. The Jetsons decide to use it to take a trip to the 25th century to relax. Right before Elroy gets the machine working, his dog, Astro, accidentally sets the switch to "Past."

With no job, the Flintstones and Rubbles are forced to settle for a camping holiday. As Fred and Barney set up the tent, the Jetsons arrive from the future. Fred and George eventually communicate, and the families become friends. Fred is amazed by George's futuristic gadgets and decides to use them to help Mr. Slate in a competition at the upcoming company picnic. Fred introduces George to Slate, claiming that George is a distant cousin. Slate is reluctant at first to trust George, but since rival businessman, Turk Tarpit's cheating has set him back, Slate accepts their help in exchange for getting their jobs back. George and Fred use future technology to help Slate win several games, but in the last event, Astro's and Dino's actions cause Tarpit to become the winner. In the end, Slate once again fires Fred and Barney.

While Mr. Spacely continues to vent over his failing business, Henry Orbit and Rosie the Robot Maid assemble a "time machine retriever" to bring the Jetsons back. But when they turn it on, the time machine returns with the Flintstones instead. Upon seeing they really are cavemen, Spacely introduces them to the press.

Stuck in the past, George asks Mr. Slate for a job. Slate initially rejects, but when Tarpit offers George work, Slate immediately makes George his partner, and George soon becomes famous. Using their newfound fame and riches, the Jetsons buy multiple local businesses and are soon overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Mr. Spacely makes Fred the spokesman for his company, but R.U.D.I. leaks this information to S.A.R.A. When Spacely is introducing Fred to some important investors, Cogswell introduces Barney instead, leading to a rift in Fred's and Barney's friendship. Meanwhile, Rosie requests R.U.D.I. to help Henry and her try to fix the time machine to find the Jetsons. S.A.R.A. appears and demands that R.U.D.I. get rid of Rosie before she departs, but R.U.D.I. agrees to do whatever he can to get the Jetsons back and leaves S.A.R.A. for good. They fix the time machine, and Rosie is transported to the Stone Age where she finds her family.

Now able to return home, the Jetsons leave, taking Fred's car with them, after Judy says goodbye to a teen idol, Iggy. Mr. Spacely concocts a plan to use Fred's car as a model for futuristic replicas. Cogswell sends his robotic dog, Sentro, to steal this information since S.A.R.A. is no longer useful when she tells him that R.U.D.I. broke up with her and told her off. The two families manage to stop Sentro, destroying the evidence he had collected. Spacely's business of selling Stone Age style cars becomes successful, and he even agrees to sell one to Cogswell. However, Spacely warns Cogswell that if he copies any part of it, Spacely will sue him and take over his business. Fred and Barney repair their friendship, Spacely lets George keep his job, and George offers his partnership with Mr. Slate to Fred and Barney to give them their jobs back. Just as they are about to leave for home, Elroy tells them the time machine is broken and cannot be repaired. Fortunately, they are able to return to the Stone Age because Fred's car absorbed the time machine's "quadrapotents." The Flintstones and the Rubbles then bid a fond farewell to the Jetsons and are sent back to the Stone Age.

An enormous artifact is discovered in hyperspace and is towed to ''Babylon 5'' for investigation. The xenoarchaeology corporation Interplanetary Expeditions sends a representative, Dr. Elizabeth Trent, to take control of the artifact's examination.

The artifact begins to influence the dreams of many inhabitants of ''Babylon 5'', eventually controlling many of them during their waking hours as well. These thralls, led by Deuce, first demand that the excavation be accelerated, and then become increasingly violent towards the rest of the ''Babylon 5'' population. Dr. Trent conjectures that the artifact is a Jumpgate that takes one neither to normal space nor to hyperspace but to a "third" space (hence the movie's title). With the reluctant support of her colleague, they order the device to be turned on, without notifying Captain Sheridan.

Sheridan and Delenn visit Lyta Alexander, who, transmitting a "race memory", explains that the gate was built by the Vorlons a million years ago with a purpose that cannot be expressed in human terms except as an attempt to make contact with the gods. The Vorlons discovered that Thirdspace is a parallel universe inhabited by a violent, telepathic alien species even older and more powerful than the Vorlons that is bent on exterminating all life other than their own.

Long ago, the Thirdspace aliens telepathically converted a small army of Vorlons to fight and die for them. The ensuing battle ended in a stalemate; the non-thrall Vorlons shut down the gate, but the remaining Vorlon thralls prevented the artifact's destruction by sending it into hyperspace where it was lost but preserved (in hopes that it might one day be reawakened). Lyta then telepathically informs Captain Sheridan how to deactivate the gate.

When the device is finally reactivated, the Thirdspace aliens stream out from the portal in small fighters and begin a devastating assault on ''Babylon 5'', obliterating large cruisers with little effort. The Thirdspace fleet is highly advanced and the single-occupant fighters possess deflector shield technology, making them extremely hard to destroy. The violent behavior of the individuals under the artifact's control is intended to disrupt the station's defenses. The struggle is ended when Sheridan uses a thermonuclear device to destroy the artifact just as the first wave of Thirdspace heavy warships begins to emerge. Once the artifact is destroyed, the telepathic influence stops and the station returns to normal. Trent, shaken by the way in which the artifact affected her, turns over her final report and goes on an indefinite hiatus.

Sheridan and the others conceal the true nature of the artifact from those who ask questions and confidently assure themselves that the incident is unlikely to occur again. In private, Lyta broods with the knowledge that the artifact was only one of many mistakes the Vorlons have made.

In 2278, the planet Centauri Prime is in flames. Londo Mollari, the emperor of the Centauri Republic, tells two children, Luc and Lyssa, the story of the Earth-Minbari War, which took place 35 years ago while he was a diplomatic liaison to Earth.

In 2243, the human race, emboldened by recent victories, is rapidly expanding into space. Word reaches them of the mysterious Minbari. Though they are warned by Londo to leave this race alone, they send an expedition to study the Minbari, led by the starship ''Prometheus''. Meanwhile, the Minbari leadership—the Grey Council, led by Dukhat—are voyaging to investigate concerns that an ancient enemy, the Shadows, may be returning. The ''Prometheus'' expedition encounters the Grey Council's convoy by chance. As the Minbari ships approach the Earth ships, they open their gun ports—a sign of respect in their culture. The captain of ''Prometheus'', interpreting this as a signal of intent to attack, opens fire. The Minbari ships are heavily damaged, and Dukhat is killed. In retaliation, the Grey Council declares a holy war against humanity, with Dukhat's protégée Delenn casting the deciding vote.

The war continues for several months, and human forces are overwhelmed by superior Minbari technology. Lieutenant Commander John Sheridan, first officer of the ''Lexington'', is part of a battlegroup engaging the Minbari. After Sheridan's commanding officer is killed, Sheridan assumes command of the damaged ship and lays a trap for the enemy, seeding the local asteroids with nuclear mines. The Minbari flagship ''Black Star'' closes in to finish off the ''Lexington'', but is itself destroyed by the mines—Earth's only real victory during the war.

The Minbari faction that feels the war has caused enough senseless bloodshed—led by Delenn, who has learned that Dukhat believed an alliance with humans would be necessary to defeat the Shadows—uses this as an opportunity to engage in peace talks with Earth. However, the Centauri discover that the humans are having a secret meeting that is being brokered by the Narn, a rival of the Centauri. Not understanding the purpose of the meeting, the Centauri bomb the peace conference, with neither the humans nor Minbari suspecting their intervention. All hope for peace is lost, and humanity's losses at the hands of the Minbari continue for two more years.

In a last, desperate effort, the President of Earth orders all available ships to form a "line" around the planet in an attempt to delay the Minbari to give some humans time to flee the planet. During the battle, a human pilot, Jeffrey Sinclair, is captured for interrogation. The Grey Council is startled to discover that he possesses the soul of the revered Minbari religious leader Valen. Delenn infers that the reincarnation of Valen as a human is a signal that the humans must not be destroyed, and so the Minbari surrender to the defenseless Earth forces. Because of the damage this revelation could do to their own culture, they keep the reason for the surrender a secret.

In the wake of the war, Earth plans to build a space station, the Babylon 5, that will serve as a venue for peaceful collaboration to prevent future wars.

After the children leave him, Londo views Delenn and Sheridan being held captive in the Centauri palace. Toasting them as his friends, he begins drinking heavily, and orders the prisoners to be brought to him in one hour.

On his way to Queen Iris's masquerade ball in honor of Trent's accession to the throne one year before, Bink is attacked by a floating sword, which he deflects using his talent of protection against magical harm. At the ball, he is attacked again by an unseen enemy. Finally, Bink confides in King Trent, who decides to remove Bink from harm's way by sending him out on a mission to find the source of magic of Xanth. To help him, King Trent sends Chester the Centaur and the soldier Crombie. Crombie is turned into a griffin by King Trent, whose magical talent is the ability to transform living things.

First, the party heads to the Good Magician Humfrey's castle, to ask his advice about their quest. When they tell him they are attempting to discover Xanth's source of magic, Humfrey decides he wants to come as well. They come across Beauregard the Demon who tells them they should abandon their quest, as it could result in the destruction of all magic in Xanth. At this time they also find Grundy the Golem, whose talent is understanding any language. This is particularly useful because Crombie in griffin form can only speak in squawks, which Grundy is able to translate.

On their quest, they meet many obstacles, including a Siren, a Gorgon whose face turns men to stone, madness itself, a dragon, tangle trees, and an ogre. Bink narrowly escapes all enemies through a series of seemingly circumstantial events, due to his talent. Eventually they find the source of magic - a demon named X(A/N)^th imprisoned deep below the surface. Bink is faced with a moral dilemma, to let it be free and destroy all magic in Xanth and act against the Brain Coral, or to keep it against its will. He eventually lets the magic go by freeing the demon, but is convinced by Cherie Centaur to go back and look for the demon again, hoping to convince it to stay. After some negotiation, the demon agrees under the condition that the magic shield which separated Xanth from Mundania will protect him from foolish intruders.

Upon Bink's return home, he discovers his son Dor possesses a magician caliber talent - he can talk to inanimate objects.

Dor, a twelve-year-old magician, is next in line to inherit the throne of Xanth. However, his confidence is low because he is bullied by his agemates, including royal princess Irene, because of his power of making unliving objects talk. Adding to Dor's chagrin is his onsetting puberty, which makes him aware of his nanny Millie, a former ghost for 800 years who is in love with a zombie named Jonathan. To teach him the skills he will need to rule the kingdom, and to help him get over his attraction to Millie, King Trent sends him on a mission 800 years into Xanth's past to find the ancient and mysterious Zombie Master, who was the only Xanthian with the knowledge to create an elixir which could return a zombie to life. After striking a deal with the Brain Coral to safeguard his body during his trip, Dor casts his consciousness into the past via Magician Humfrey's magic and a decorative wall tapestry inside Castle Roogna.

In the past, Dor finds himself inhabiting the body of an invading Mundanian barbarian, and accompanied by a spider named Jumper, who had accidentally been drawn into the past with him and was enlarged to giant size by the magical transfer. They end up rescuing a young girl, who turns out to be a younger Millie. Together they travel to Castle Roogna, which is still under construction in that era and is about to be caught in the midst of a massive battle between a horde of goblins and a flock of harpies, and—indirectly—by the magician Murphy. With King Roogna's forces too small to ward off the attack, Dor, Jumper and Millie are sent to ask the Zombie Master for aid. The Zombie Master, living as a hermit due to his power, at first refuses, but is swayed when he and Millie fall in love with each other.

After deflecting a Mundanian attack against the Zombie Master's castle by making a temporary alliance with the local Dragon King, Dor, Jumper, Millie and the Zombie Master return to Castle Roogna in the nick of time to relieve the defenders. Among the castle's occupants, they meet the neo-Sorceress Vadne, who expresses a desire to wed the Zombie Master. With great effort, Dor's inventive use of his magical gift, and the use of a powerful forget spell, they are eventually able to defeat their monstrous assailants and even resolve the cause for the conflict between the two species. However, disaster nearly strikes when Millie suddenly disappears. Jealous of Millie's relationship with the Zombie Master, Vadne transformed and concealed her, threatening to let her die unless the Zombie Master marries her. Outraged, King Roogna sentences Vadne to eternal stasis in the Brain Coral's abode. Despite the loss of Millie, the Zombie Master declares that his zombie forces will remain to defend Castle Roogna, before he hangs himself and his own magic turns him into a zombie. This defeats Murphy's power, and he eventually exiles himself to stasis with the Brain Coral as well.

After bidding their friends goodbye, Dor and Jumper return to their original time, where Jumper resumes his previous life as a tiny spider in Castle Roogna. When Dor returns to report to Trent, he discovers that the Brain Coral has used his body to find out more about human relationships, leading to Irene discovering her true romantic inclinations towards Dor. In the end, Dor uses the resurrection elixir to restore Jonathan to life, revealing him as the Zombie Master and reuniting him with his love Millie.

''Night Mare'' centres around Mare Imbrium, one of the night mares charged with delivering bad dreams to the people of Xanth. Imbri carries half a soul, her fee for carrying Chem Centaur out of the void in the previous book. She is unwilling to relinquish her soul, though the conscience that comes with it impedes her ability to deliver bad dreams. The Night Stallion, ruler of the gourd realm, makes Imbri the liaison to the day world and sends her to meet Trent, King of Xanth, with the message, "Beware the Horseman".

Imbri leaves the gourd realm and sets out for Castle Roogna with her warning. Along the way she meets a white stallion, which she calls the day horse, with a brass bracelet around one leg, who is scared by her attempt at contact via a brief daydream, and runs away. She also meets an intelligent man wearing a brass bracelet, similar to that of the day horse. He asks her if she has seen the horse and convinces her to allow him to ride her so they can track it. She allows him to insert a bit into her mouth, but dislikes it and asks him to remove it. He refuses and uses spurs on her, capturing her.

Imbri asks the man who he is, and he says "I am the Horseman". He then corrals her at his camp and builds a large bonfire to shine light on her and prevent her from turning intangible during the night. As the Horseman and his henchmen sleep, the day horse approaches. She tells him of her plight, and he affirms that he is terrified of the Horseman, but assists her anyway by urinating on the fire and enabling her to escape.

Imbri makes her way to Castle Roogna. She arrives in time to witness the elopement of Prince Dor and King Trent's daughter, Princess Irene. Upon becoming acquainted with Chameleon, the wife of Bink and mother of Prince Dor, she is led to find King Trent, only to discover that he has been ensorcelled, staring blankly into space. Prince Dor, next in line to the crown and newly wed to Princess Irene, assumes the throne. He informs Imbri and others that the Nextwave Invasion is occurring; an army of barbarians from the neighbouring, non-magical land of Mundania has just entered Xanth.

King Dor orders Imbri and Chameleon to seek advice from the Good Magician Humphrey. Imbri and Chameleon travel to Humphrey's castle and navigate through the standard three challenges, gaining access to the inside. The old man casually repeats the Night Stallion's warning, "Beware the Horseman" and adds another cryptic instruction: "Break the chain."

After battling the Mundanes with King Trent's army from ''A Spell For Chameleon'', Dor falls to the same ensorcellement as King Trent. Since the law of Xanth requires that a Magician sit on the throne, the Zombie Master (Jonathon) becomes the new king. Jonathan's magic talent is to reanimate the deceased, and he rallies his zombies to form an army to fight the Punic invasion from Mundania, but falls to the same bewitchment as Trent and Dor.

Humphrey assumes the throne, and prepares himself for battle against the Punic horde and its leader Hasbinbad. He informs Imbri, much to the chagrin of the Gorgon, that he is not destined to be the saviour of Xanth, and that he expects to make a tragic mistake in battle. Before departing to the battle, Humphrey identifies his successor: Dor's father Bink, whom everybody assumed had no magic talent. Humphrey reveals to Queen Iris that Bink's talent is immunity from magical harm. It is hoped Bink will be immune from the effects of the Horseman's spell. Imbri is sent north to the border of Mundania, where Bink and the centaur scholar Arnolde are traveling. Imbri brings news to Bink and Arnolde of the invasion, and informs Bink of the situation. Bink agrees to return with Imbri and instructs Arnolde to follow, as he is next in the line of succession.

Bink and Imbri travel to the baobab tree and find Humphrey, taken by the power of the enemy. He has a bottle in his hand, and when Bink uncorks it, Humphrey's voice emits from it, with one word: "Horseman". Bink surmises that Humphrey's voice was identifying his assailant, and that they now know who was ensorcelling the kings. Bink and Imbri prepare for battle alone, armed with Humphrey's numerous spells and potions. They set aside a box marked "Pandora". He and Imbri are victorious but are separated in the battle. When Imbri tracks down Bink, she finds that he has killed the Punic leader Hasbinbad, but has been taken with the Horseman's power nonetheless. Imbri returns to Castle Roogna to inform Arnolde the Centaur that he is now King of Xanth.

Arnolde begins laying plans for his successor, and he interprets Xanthian law to his advantage. The law states that the king must be a Magician but had no precedence on whether the king had to be human or what sex. Arnolde states that a Sorceress is simply a female Magician, and that the law does not prohibit a woman from becoming king. He selects Queen Iris to be his successor, and he proclaims her daughter Irene to be a full Sorceress, thus establishing who would be the seventh and eights kings after him. Arnolde then instructs Imbri to report to the Night Stallion with an update.

King Arnolde, realising that the previous king's condition is similar to that of a person trapped by the hypno gourd, sends Imbri through, to the Night Stallion's dimension, to see if the missing Kings are within. Upon arrival, Imbri is amazed to learn that all five of the bewitched kings are present in the gourd. They surmise that the Horseman's magic talent is to connect a person's line of sight to another object, and that he has used this ability to make them all see into a hypnogourd, trapping their souls inside.

Imbri brings this news to Castle Roogna, and eventually brings Princess Irene to the gourd to visit her new husband Dor, taken from her after their nuptials. Shortly after the pair return to Castle Roogna, Arnolde is taken by the Horseman, and Queen Iris becomes King Iris, the first female king.

Iris uses her talent of illusion to inflict massive casualties on the Punic horde, who are now marching on Castle Roogna under the command of the Horseman. She briefly forms an image of her own face in front of the Horseman to mock him, whereupon he simply uses his talent to enscroll her. Princess Irene becomes king of Xanth next, and she identifies Chameleon as the next king, stating that, although Chameleon does not have Magician-Caliber talent, she would be the best option for king because she is in her ugly, but extremely intelligent phase.

The Horseman expends nearly the rest of his forces in reaching Castle Roogna. Chameleon, realising that the Day Horse and the Horseman are one and the same, lures him into the castle, and once he is inside, Irene uses her talent of accelerated plant growth to wrap the castle in a tight cocoon of plants, trapping him inside. Enraged, he uses his magic to ensnare her, whereupon Chameleon becomes king of Xanth and informs him that he will fail. He takes Chameleon with his power, too, and Xanth is left without a king.

Imbri returns to Castle Roogna, having been previously named the Tenth King by Chameleon, because she is a creature of the Gourd, and can not enter the world via the peep hole, and therefore can not be forced into it.

Imbri enters Roogna at night, so she is able to slip by the plants, and confronts the Horseman. He is now sitting on the throne, having proclaimed himself the new king of Xanth. As Imbri approaches, he shifts into his alternate form, and Imbri is stricken; she is in season, and he is a male horse. She is unable to act under his dominating power, but when the barbarians break into the castle and call out for their leader, he shifts back to his human form to answer. Imbri attacks and kills him, but the nine catatonic kings do not revive.

Imbri realizes that the Horseman's magic talent was shape-shifting, and that the bands he wore around his wrists were magical bands that allowed him to perform his enscrollement. Devastated, and with nothing to lose, she destroys the box marked PANDORA, and is surrounded by a pink smoke, and feels suddenly hopeful. She removes the band but does not destroy it, because that might not accomplish the goal of releasing the kings. She decides to travel to the Void, an area in the Elemental region of Xanth, from which nothing can escape and will hopefully nullify the band's powers. She takes the band there and throws it in, but is trapped by the gravitational pull of the Void. Terrified, her physical body is destroyed by the Void.

The nine kings revive as the magical band is nullified, and Imbri returns as a day mare, thanks to Humfrey, and is now charged with bringing pleasant daydreams instead of nightmares to the people of Xanth. King Trent and Queen Iris retire, leaving the throne to their new son-in-law, King Dor.

The book begins with Lacuna, one of the mischievous Castle Zombie twins, seeking a way to fix her "dull" life. To do so she comes to ask Grey, Ivy's betrothed and pro-tem magician of knowledge, for the answer. However, Grey doesn't want to answer her question because he knows that something terrible will come of it. Lacuna decides to make a deal that even Grey can't refuse, a way to outwit Com-Pewter. Lacuna plans to use her ability to change prints and write new ones to help Grey. Seeing no other choice, Grey decides to help her, but he realizes that he can't fathom what the book of knowledge is trying to say. Therefore, he sends her to the anteroom of hell to talk to Magician Humfrey. When Lacuna arrives in the anteroom, she finds Humfrey sleeping. After waking Humfrey up, she found out that he is waiting to talk to the Demon X(A/N)^th to free his wife Rose. Humfrey tells her to write down his life story (and most of Xanth's history in the process), on the walls, so that he can get the demon's attention. It turns out that Humfrey has five wives. Humfrey manages to save his wives from the pits of hell (sort of) and Lacuna changes her life.

Mela, like all merpeople, is able to turn into a full human so that she can walk on land. To follow "landbound custom", she finds clothing and shoes (conveniently growing on trees, as is common on Xanth). Of particular concern is which panties to choose - after all, there is significant interest in the color of her panties. After trying on dozens of pairs, Mela finally decides on plaid (the color she would choose was the subject of an Impossible Question that the Demon X(A/N)th asked the Good Magician Humfrey in ''Question Quest'').

Gwenny has to prove her courage to become leader of Goblin Mountain. Her task is to steal an egg from the Roc's nest. The two storylines are brought together when Mela has to help save Gwenny from a Roc and a hard place.

Hurricane Happy Bottom is causing problems in Mundania and Xanth. The Mundane Baldwin family is blown into Xanth by a Yon Ill Wind. Also, Demon X(A/N)^th has made a wager with Demon JU(P/I)^ter that he could get one Xanthian to shed a tear. The demons change up by making X(A/N)^th into a dragon ass and is only able to talk once explaining to a Xanthian what the quest is. As Nimby, Demon X(A/N)^th meets Chlorine and makes her beautiful and talented. Together with the Baldwin family, they must banish Happy Bottom From Xanth.

Breanna, a beautiful young newcomer to the enchanted land of Xanth, must deal with a distressing dilemma. She has unwittingly attracted the affections of King Xeth, ruler of Xanth's Zombies, who yearns to make her Queen of the Undead.

The play opens in "a corner inside an enormous circus tent". Two vendors, Mr. Zuss (evoking the chief Greek god Zeus) and Nickles (i.e. "Old Nick," a folk name for the Devil) begin the play-within-a-play by assuming the roles of God and Satan, respectively. They overhear J.B., a wealthy New York banker, describe his prosperity as a just reward for his faithfulness to God. Scorning him, Nickles wagers that J.B. will curse God if his life is ruined. Nickles and Zuss then watch as J.B.'s children are killed and his property is ruined and the former millionaire is left to the streets. J.B. is then visited by three Comforters: Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar (representing history, science, and religion), who each offer a different explanation for his plight. J.B. declines to believe any of them, instead asking God himself to explain. Instead, he encounters Zuss and Nickles. Nickles urges him to commit suicide to spite God; Zuss offers him his old life back if he will promise to obey God. J.B. rejects them both, and instead finds comfort in the person of his wife Sarah. The play ends with the two building a new life together.

Harry Lockhart unintentionally wins a screen test in New York City by showing remorse in an audition for a botched burglary he committed, which casting director Dabney Shaw mistakes for method acting. He is sent to Los Angeles for a screen test.

At a party there, Harry meets his childhood crush Harmony Lane and "Gay" Perry van Shrike, a private investigator hired to give him on-the-job tutelage for his screen test. Party host Harlan Dexter, a retired actor, has recently resolved a feud over his wife's inheritance with his estranged daughter, Veronica.

During a stakeout at a Big Bear Lake cabin, Perry and Harry see a car being dumped in the lake. Noticing a female body in the trunk, Perry shoots the lock in a rescue attempt, but accidentally hits the corpse. They decide against reporting it as it will appear he killed her. Believing Harry is a private investigator, Harmony tells him of her sister, Jenna, who supposedly killed herself; he finds the lake corpse, identified as Veronica, in his bathroom and dumps it with Perry, but soon discovers Jenna used Harmony's credit card to hire Perry. Harry goes to see Harmony, who accidentally cuts off his finger when she slams the door, after finding out he lied about being a private investigator.

At a party where Harmony is working, Mr. Frying Pan and Mr. Fire, the two men from the lake, beat Harry to cease his investigation. Harmony and Harry follow them to Perry's latest stakeout: she goes to warn Perry, leaving Harry sleeping in the car, ending in Mr. Frying Pan being killed by an armed food-cart operator. A pink-haired girl, affiliated with Mr. Frying Pan and Mr. Fire, steals Harmony's car and unwittingly drives an unconscious Harry to her home. Mr. Fire arrives and kills her, then Harry kills him.

Harry meets Harmony at his hotel where she reveals she told Jenna that Harlan was her real father, to diminish the pain of their sexually abusive father. She also reveals she slept with Harry's best friend in high school, so he throws her out.

Hearing of Harmony's supposed disappearance, Harry and Perry investigate a mental hospital owned by Harlan. They discover Veronica was locked in there by him, to be replaced by Pink Hair Girl, to end the inheritance feud. Harry unintentionally kills a murderous orderly, and then they are captured by Harlan. Harry contacts Harmony, who steals the van with Veronica's corpse. The men escape, and are shot by the same bullet; Harry then manages to kill Harlan.

In hospital, the trio learn Jenna committed suicide after witnessing Harlan having sex with Veronica's replacement, believing her "new father" was also incestuous. Perry slaps Jenna's father, who is bed-ridden, as Harry secures a job working for Perry.

Springfield Elementary School is holding its medieval festival. All the students are given roles: Lisa is queen, Martin is king, and Bart is the cooper. Bart is mad about his role and is treated terribly by everyone. Against his will, Groundskeeper Willie is chosen to play the village idiot; seeking revenge, Willie unleashes hundreds of rats from a pie. Bart is blamed for this, and is expelled from school. After looking through other schools, Marge decides to enroll Bart in St. Jerome's Catholic School. There, Bart's rebel attitude is frowned upon.

While holding dictionaries as a punishment, Bart meets Father Sean (voiced by Liam Neeson), who converted to Catholicism after St. Peter told him to repent. He is sympathetic to Bart and gives him a comic book about saints, and he is drawn into it. Marge becomes concerned over Bart's interest in the Catholic Church, due to the Catholic ban on birth control. Homer goes to the school to confront Father Sean, but after an expansive confession, Homer decides to convert to Catholicism as well for easy absolution of his sins. With Bart and Homer considering joining the Church, Marge (worried she might be alone in Protestant Heaven) seeks help from Rev. Lovejoy and Ned Flanders, who agree to get them back. While they are learning about First Communion, Marge, Lovejoy and Ned capture Bart.

On the road, Marge, Ned and Lovejoy try to bring Bart back to the "one true faith": The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism. Back at home, Lisa agrees with Homer and Bart's desire to join a new faith, and reveals Marge is taking Bart to a Protestant Youth Festival. At the Festival, Marge fails to bribe Bart with the Christian rock of Quiet Riot (Pious Riot after conversion). However, he agrees after playing paintball. Homer and Fr. Sean arrive with a motorcycle, and engage in a Mexican standoff with Ned and Lovejoy. Bart mocks the feuds between the different forms of Christianity, explaining that the stupid things they disagree on are nothing compared to the stupid things they agree on. The two groups agree to fight monogamist gays and stem cells, taking Bart's idea to heart. The episode then jumps 1,000 years into the future, when Bart is believed to be the last Prophet of God. Mankind is waging war over whether Bart's teachings were about love and tolerance, or understanding and peace (and whether he was betrayed by Milhouse). Engaging in a bloody battle, one side cries Bart's catchphrase "Eat my shorts", the other cries "Cowabunga".

Lisa and the other members of Springfield Elementary's school band enter a music competition together at a state fair, performing James Brown's "Living in America". However, they lose to the Ogdenville Elementary band, which performs John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" and uses red, white, and blue glowsticks to form a flag. Lisa accuses Ogdenville of cheating as the use of visual aids is against the rules of the competition. She later writes a letter to President Clinton(Karl Wiedergott), complaining about the situation. At the fair, Homer and Bart see a horse named Duncan that can dive into pools. The Simpsons take Duncan home after his sleazy owner is accused of animal cruelty and flees. However, they find themselves spending $500 a week for Duncan's upkeep.

Homer and Bart try to think of a way that Duncan can make money to help offset the costs of keeping him. Bart discovers that Duncan is a fast runner and suggests that he should be a racehorse. Homer enters Duncan at the Springfield Downs race track, with Bart as the jockey. However, a frightened Duncan loses his first race as he refuses to leave the stall until all other horses have finished. Homer and Bart find a strategy for Duncan to win by turning him into a frightening horse named "Furious D", complete with dyed hair and one of Lisa's bracelets for a nose ring. He intimidates the other horses and wins several races. Homer is soon invited by the losing jockeys to have a beer in their lounge, which turns out to be a secret lair. The jockeys reveal themselves to be crazy, arrogant elf-based creatures and threaten to eat Homer's brain unless he makes Duncan lose the upcoming Springfield Derby. Though frightened at first, Homer changes his mind due to his loyalty to his son and his horse as well as his own pride, vowing to deal with those "murderous trolls".

Duncan wins the Derby, sending the jockeys into a rage, and they begin chasing after Homer and Bart with swords. However, Marge and Lisa spray the jockeys with water to subdue them, and Homer stuffs them all into a garbage bag and leaves them at the curb to be hauled away with the garbage. Homer and Bart prepare to retire Duncan from racing so he can become a stud. President Clinton then shows up at the Simpsons' house and presents Lisa with a plaque, overruling the state fair judges and declaring Springfield Elementary the winner of the music competition.

The Simpson family are hiking in the countryside, which Lisa says is "paradise"; but she is dismayed when they discover that a bird sanctuary is encircled by an oval racing track. However, given free tickets, they stay to watch the races. Ned Flanders and his family are there: he says he appreciates the drivers' excellent safety measures. Later, a squad of cheerleaders fires free T-shirts from air cannons into the crowd, and Homer, stripped to the waist, urges them to send him one. The cheerleaders send a full salvo of T-shirts to him, but he happens to bend down and the shirts hit Maude, Ned's wife. She is knocked over the back of the bleachers and falls to her death.

Homer goes home with Ned after the funeral and tries to console him, but unwittingly cites his culpability in Maude's death (including parking in the ambulance zone, making it impossible for Maude to be resuscitated). Feeling bad for his part in Maude's death, Homer secretly makes a videotape of Ned to show to single women, hoping this would help him get on with his life. In spite of the amateur editing (there is footage of Maggie's birth that Homer could not tape over), Ned meets several women, but the meetings are unsuccessful.

On a Saturday night, Ned prays, and is angry not to receive any response. Next morning, still angry, he tells his sons, to their alarm, that he is not going to church. Guilt-ridden, he later rushes there, and upon entering sees a Christian rock band, Kovenant, performing. He speaks later to the singer, Rachel Jordan, and they seem to like each other. She says she will see Ned again when she returns from a tour. His belief in God is revitalized.

Judy Davis plays the two roles of a mother, Georgia, and her daughter Nina. The film is presented as a series of flashbacks as Nina investigates her mother's death, which led to her adoption as a young child.

Part one

Briony Tallis, a 13-year-old English girl with a talent for writing, lives at her family's country estate with her parents Jack and Emily Tallis, who are members of the landed gentry. Her older sister Cecilia has recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with Robbie Turner, the Tallis family housekeeper's son and Cecilia's childhood friend, whose university education was funded by Jack.

In the summer of 1935, Briony's maternal cousins, 15-year-old Lola and 9-year-old twins Jackson and Pierrot, visit the family amidst their parents' divorce. Briony and Cecilia's older brother Leon returns from London, accompanied by his friend from Oxford, the well-off manufacturer Paul Marshall. Cecilia and Robbie bicker over a vase, which breaks and falls into a pond. Cecilia strips to her underwear and dives in to retrieve the pieces, surprising Robbie. Briony, watching from a window, is confused and intrigued by Cecilia and Robbie's actions. She is inspired to begin writing psychological realism, and the reader is informed that this will eventually become a hallmark of her fiction.

In the wake of the incident by the pond, Robbie realizes he is attracted to Cecilia, and writes several drafts of a love letter to her. He gives the letter to Briony to deliver to Cecilia; however, he inadvertently gives her a version he had meant to discard, which contains lewd references ("In my dreams I kiss your cunt"). By the time Robbie realizes his mistake, Briony has already returned to the house with his letter.

Despite Robbie's instructions to the contrary, Briony opens the letter and reads it. She is shocked by its vulgar language, and becomes convinced that Robbie intends to harm Cecilia. An injured Lola goes to Briony for comfort, claiming that her younger brothers attacked her, although it is implied to have instead been Paul Marshall, who has a long scratch on his face. Briony relates the contents of the letter to Lola, who labels Robbie a "maniac," re-affirming Briony's feelings. Robbie arrives at the main house for a family dinner party, and is confronted by Cecilia. He confesses his feelings to her, and she responds in kind. Later the same evening, Briony walks in on Robbie and Cecilia having sex in the library. The immature Briony believes she interrupted a vicious assault on Cecilia, and stands stunned while Robbie and Cecilia quickly exit.

At the dinner, which is generally tense, it is discovered the twins have run away. The party breaks into teams to search for them. When Cecilia goes with Leon, Robbie and Briony each set off on their own. In the darkness, while everyone is searching for the twins, Briony discovers her cousin Lola being raped by an assailant neither girl can clearly see. The attacker flees. Briony, convinced that it must have been Robbie, gets Lola to agree that she likely heard Robbie's voice, despite Lola being too shocked to recall anything. The girls return home, and Briony identifies Robbie to the police as the rapist, claiming she saw his face in the dark. Lola is sedated by the local doctor, Cecilia screams at Briony and locks herself in her room, and Paul Marshall shares cigarettes with the policemen.

Robbie does not return, and the family and police officers stay awake waiting for him. As dawn breaks, Robbie appears in the driveway with Jackson and Pierrot, having found and rescued them. He is arrested on the spot and taken away, with only Cecilia and his mother believing his protestations of innocence. Briony is satisfied by this conclusion to her mythologized version of the events, with she as the hero and Robbie as the villain.

Part two

By the time the Second World War has started, Robbie has spent several years in prison. He and Cecilia have passed several years exchanging letters, maintaining their love for each other. Robbie is released from prison on the condition he enlists in the army. Meanwhile, Cecilia has completed training as a nurse, and cut off all contact with her family for the parts they played in locking Robbie up. Shortly before Robbie is deployed to France, they meet once for half an hour, during Cecilia's lunch break. Their reunion starts awkwardly, but they share a kiss before leaving each other.

In France, the war is going badly, and the army is retreating to Dunkirk. As the injured Robbie makes his way there, he thinks about his love for Cecilia and his hatred for Briony. However, he eventually concludes that Briony was too young to be blamed fully, and writes Cecilia a letter encouraging her to reconnect with her family. His condition deteriorates over the course of the section; he weakens and becomes delirious. Robbie falls asleep in Dunkirk, one day before the evacuation begins.

Part three

A remorseful Briony, now eighteen years old, has refused her place at Cambridge and instead is a trainee nurse in London. She has realised the full extent of her mistake and decides it was Paul Marshall, Leon's friend, whom she saw raping Lola. Briony still writes fiction, mostly inspired by Robbie and Cecilia's relationship, although she has been rejected by several literary publications.

Briony travels to attend the wedding of Paul Marshall and her cousin Lola, with the knowledge that Lola is marrying her rapist. Briony considers speaking up during the wedding, but does not. Afterwards, she visits Cecilia, who is cold but invites Briony in nonetheless. While Briony is apologizing to Cecilia, Robbie unexpectedly appears from the bedroom. He has been living with Cecilia while he is on leave from the army. Robbie expresses his fury at Briony, but with Cecilia's soothing remains civil.

Cecilia and Robbie both refuse to forgive Briony, who nonetheless tells them she will try to put things right. She promises to begin the legal procedures needed to exonerate Robbie, even though Paul Marshall will never be held responsible for his crime because of his marriage to Lola. As Briony leaves Cecilia's, she is optimistic about her role in Robbie's exoneration, thinking that it will be "a new draft, an atonement" and that she is ready to begin.

Postscript

The final section, titled "London 1999," is narrated by Briony herself in the form of a diary entry. Now 77, she is a successful novelist who has recently been diagnosed with vascular dementia, so she is facing rapid mental decline and death.

The reader learns that Briony is the author of the preceding sections of the novel. Briony attends a party in her honor at the Tallis family home, where the extended Tallis children perform ''The Trials of Arabella'', the play that 13-year-old Briony had written and unsuccessfully attempted to stage with her cousins in the summer of 1935. Leon and Pierrot are in attendance, Jackson is fifteen years deceased, and Lola is alive but does not attend. Finally, Briony reveals to the reader that Robbie Turner died of septicaemia on the beaches of Dunkirk, that Cecilia was killed several months later when a bomb destroyed Balham Underground station during the Blitz, and that Briony's story of seeing them together in 1940 was a fabrication. Briony did attend Lola's wedding to Paul Marshall, but confesses she was too "cowardly" to visit the recently bereaved Cecilia to make amends. The novel, which she says is factually true apart from Robbie and Cecilia being reunited, is her lifelong attempt at "atonement" for what she did to them.

Briony justifies her invented happy ending by saying she does not see what purpose it would serve to give readers a "pitiless" story. She writes, "I like to think that it isn't weakness or evasion, but a final act of kindness, a stand against oblivion and despair, to let my lovers live and to unite them at the end."

''Alien Planet'' starts out with an interstellar spacecraft named ''Von Braun'', leaving Earth's orbit. Traveling at 20% the speed of light (37,000 miles/s), it reaches Darwin IV, a planet 6.5 light-years away, in 42 years. Upon reaching orbit, it deploys the ''Darwin Reconnaissance Orbiter'', which looks for potential landing sites for the probes. The first probe, ''Balboa,'' explodes along with its lifting body transport during entry, because one of its wings failed to unfold. Two backup probes, ''Leonardo da Vinci'' (nicknamed Leo) and ''Isaac Newton'' (nicknamed Ike), successfully land on the planet, and learn much about its bizarre indigenous lifeforms, including an apparently sapient species.

The robotic probes sent out to research on Darwin IV are called Horus Probes. Each Horus probe consists of an high, long inflatable, hydrogen-filled balloon, which is covered with solar receptors, a computer 'brain', a 'head' covered with sensors, and several smaller robots that can be sent to places too dangerous for the probes themselves. The probes have a limited degree of artificial intelligence, very similar to the 'processing power' of a 4-year-old. All the real thinking is done by a supercomputer in the orbiting ''Von Braun''. The probes are programmed with different personalities; Ike is more cautious, while Leo is the risk-taker. The two probes are also equipped with a holographic message that will be projected to any sentient life found on Darwin.

After the two probes inflate their gas-bags, they encounter a voracious Arrowtongue and watch it pursue a Gyrosprinter. Later that night, the twins find the wreckage of Balboa and are ordered to split up, Ike studying the unique plant life and Leo going after big game. Ike's voyage takes him to one of Darwin IV's pocket forests, where he encounters a flock of Trunk Suckers and their predator, the Daggerwrist. Before his research is finished, a massive hurricane-like storm hits and Ike must take to the sky, launching weather balloons. Leo goes to the mountain ranges and finds a herd of Unths engaged in rutting-like behavior.

Afterward, Leo finds a pair of Bladderhorns engaging in combat. It tries to communicate with one, but a sonic ping interrupts the conversation and scares off the animal, and he is knocked out by a mysterious creature. Ike ventures to the meadows and gullies of Darwin IV, encountering massive Grovebacks and a herd of Littoralopes. Flying above are dangerous predators: the Skewers.

Leo briefly re-establishes contact with ''Von Braun'', but soon gets destroyed by a mysterious and evasive creature, and Ike is ordered by the mothership to search for Leo and his attacker. Ike's route takes him over perilous terrain, and across the Amoebic Sea. As he embarks on his journey, one of the Grovebacks seen earlier falls victim to a swarm of Beach Quills. Ike then finds a pack of Prongheads hunting a Gyrosprinter, and crosses the Amoebic Sea (which attempts to attack him), encountering a herd of giant Sea Striders.

Ike manages to find Leo after a harrowing experience with a Skewer which tries to attack him, but is killed by a spear thrown by the newly discovered floating Eosapien. Shortly afterward, Ike communicates with the Eosapien tribe and discovers that they are truly intelligent. Ike launches a camera disk to record the moment, or perhaps "to assess the threat" due to a third Eosapien appearing; however one of the Eosapiens mistakes it as an attack and destroys the camera disk. Before shutting down, the wrecked camera disk records the Eosapien tribe carrying Ike away.

Commentary from notable people discussing the details behind the fictional world of Darwin IV and the likelihood of extraterrestrial life, in general, is interspersed throughout the special.

The bands head north up through San Francisco, Oregon, and Seattle. The film documents Social Distortion and Youth Brigade live shows; it also features Minor Threat at band practice. At one point in the movie, Social Distortion's Mike Ness sits on a porch and writes future underground hit Another State of Mind. The film documents not only the complex and challenging social dynamics of the punk scene, the touring bands and their crew, but also documents the DIY punk touring circuit in its infancy.

A final bus break-down in D.C. causes Social Distortion to split up. Liles and Danell abandon the group to stay with friends of Brinson's, where they voice their exhaustion with the tour and the rest of the group. Out of desperation, the others go to the local Kmart to shop for tarps with the members of Minor Threat.

Mike Ness ends up being stranded when the rest of Social Distortion heads back to OC where they feel they have a better chance of making money rather than staying on the difficult tour. Ness has really no choice but to grab a flight back to LA himself and try to regroup. Youth Brigade rents a truck and drives back to Los Angeles.

Catherine Bennett, a falsely convicted man's wife, together with alcoholic musician Marty Blair, team up in an attempt to clear her adulterous husband of the murder of the singer, Mavis Marlowe, who had once been Marty's wife. Their investigation leads them to confrontations with a determined policeman, LAPD Captain Flood, and a shifty nightclub owner, Mr. Marko, whom Catherine and Marty suspect may be the real killer.

Marty had seen Marko heading for Mavis Marlowe’s apartment on the night of the murder. Since Marty is a composer and pianist, while Catherine is a former singer, the two audition for a spot in Marko's club and are hired. Their suspicion is increased when Catherine recognises an envelope from Mavis's branded stationery in Marko's office; she therefore decides to search it in his absence. When she is caught, Marko admits that his daughter was being blackmailed by Mavis, but the main evidence they had been looking for, a distinctive heart-shaped brooch that Marty once gave Mavis, is not there.

Marty has fallen in love with Catherine during their partnership and he has given up drinking. On the night Catherine's husband Kirk is due to be executed, she admits to Marty that Kirk had always been the only man for her and that their own association has no future. In his disappointment, Marty goes back to the bars where he used to drink and chances on a girl wearing the brooch for which he and Catherine had been searching. The girl insists that it was Marty himself who had given it her on the night the murder was discovered.

Marty now has a flashback and realises that it was he himself who had strangled Mavis and then drunkenly forgotten. Marty's subsequent attempts to contact Captain Flood are thwarted as the final minutes tick away for Kirk, but he manages to call Flood at last to a meeting at Catherine's home, where Marty confesses what had really happened in time for Flood to get the execution stayed.

An investigation keeps Lew Archer constantly on the move about South California, beginning in Santa Monica, where Mrs. Samuel Lawrence gives Lew Archer 50 dollars for one day of his time to find her missing daughter Galatea (a.k.a. Galley). Archer soon discovers that Galley has married a small-time mobster named Joe Tarantine. Starting the investigation in the most likely place, with Tarantine's brother, Mario, Archer finds the man in hospital after a severe beating. Shortly after that Mr. Dowser, a big-time mobster and drug runner living near Pacific Palisades, offers him a retainer to find Tarantine, who has absconded with property of his. That this was a shipment of heroin stolen from Dowser's agent, Herman Speed, is not revealed until later.

Archer travels to Palm Springs, where Galley was last sighted, and is led to Joe Tarantine's hideout by her admirer Keith Dalling. Though Archer manages to speak to Galley briefly, he is slugged from behind and is found lying by the roadside by Mrs Marjorie Fellows. When he returns to Dalling's apartment, it is to find him shot; then later Tarantine's body is discovered in a motorboat awash on the rocks beyond the fictitious Pacific Point. Following another lead, Archer discovers that Marjorie's husband, "Colonel Henry Fellows", is in fact Herman Speed, who has borrowed $30,000 from her to invest on her behalf. In reality he had used it to buy the stolen heroin from Joe Tarantine, hoping to sell it on at a profit. Archer tracks Speed down in San Francisco and forces him to hand over the drugs, after which Speed commits suicide. Archer then hands the heroin over to Dowser and arranges for the police to raid the house and arrest him immediately afterwards.

When Archer returns to the Pacific Point morgue, he learns that Joe Tarantine had been dead before being placed in his boat and set adrift. Mario suspects that it was Galley who was responsible, using Dalling as an accomplice, and goes after her. Archer discovers her in Dalling's house, where she has shot Mario after he attacked her. She admits to having helped kill Joe and then Dalling and is about to shoot Archer when the badly injured Mario enters the room and she empties the gun into him before he will die. Galley now admits that she had been Speed's hospital nurse after he was shot during the heroin robbery and had met Joe Tarantine through him. After Archer has her arrested, he visits Mrs Lawrence to tell her the case is closed. Finding her convinced of Galley's innocence, he gives her the fee he had originally accepted from Dowser in order to help pay her legal fees.

50 Cent finds himself being dragged back into the criminal underworld, taking on the most dangerous criminal organizations in New York City. 50 Cent gets a call from his former cellmate and friend K Dog, letting him know he is in trouble. 50 Cent gets his gun and leaves, getting his crew together: rappers Lloyd Banks, the locksmith, Young Buck and Tony Yayo, a demolition expert. The crew goes to Queens, where they see K Dog being physically assaulted by unknown masked assailants. After killing multiple assailants, 50 Cent is shot nine times and left for dead. 50 Cent is brought to Doc Friday, a former licensed doctor until he started writing prescriptions for himself. After recovering, 50 Cent goes to Detective Aaron McVicar, a corrupt cop, for information. McVicar agrees to help 50 Cent in exchange for money. 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks go to see K Dog at a safe house, where they run into the same masked men from earlier, who are also there for K-Dog. They discover K Dog as well as the federal prosecutors' corpses. 50 gets K Dog's belongings and brings it back to Bugs, who is able to listen to the messages left on the phone. The messages say K Dog was supposed to meet up with "Spyder", a crystal meth drug dealer about transport routes. 50 decides to go after Spyder and goes to a junkyard to meet up with him. After killing Spyder's assailants along with McVicar, he kills Spyder. They notice a tattoo similar to the one on K Dog. He cuts Spyder's skin with the tattoo on it and gives it to Bugs. The tattoo is traced back to Wu-Jang, a Chinese drug kingpin. 50 kills Wu-Jang in Chinatown and takes his money.

50 Cent later finds himself being hunted by masked assailants, who have tracked him from K Dog's cellphone. He fights his way through the subway system and kills the masked assailants' leader, taking his wallet which belongs to DEA special agent Gabriel Espinoza. Later, McVicar asks 50 to kill Petra, a fellow detective who agreed to sell out McVicar in exchange for immunity. He goes to a series of old projects, fighting his way through Petra's gang before killing Petra himself.

The Simpsons' elderly neighbors, the Winfields, finally relocate because of Homer's antics. The new neighbors are Ruth Powers, who is divorced, and her young daughter Laura, with whom Bart falls in love at first sight.

After seeing a television advertisement about an all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant called "The Frying Dutchman", Homer forces Marge to come with him, leaving Laura to babysit Bart and Lisa. Bart is delighted to have Laura babysitting him and attempts to impress her. But later—to Bart's dismay—she tells him that she is dating Jimbo Jones, one of the bullies from his school. When Laura, babysitting, invites Jimbo over to the Simpson household, Bart, in an attempt to break them up, prank-calls Moe's Tavern, giving his name as "Jimbo Jones", and giving Moe the Simpsons' address. Believing Jimbo is the one who has been pranking him all the time, Moe rushes to the Simpson house brandishing a large, "rusty and dull" kitchen knife. He finds Jimbo, who bursts into tears and begs for his life; Moe spares him. Laura breaks up with Jimbo for not being the tough "outlaw" she thought. She tells Bart that she would certainly date him if he were older, and the episode ends with the pair laughing after prank-calling Moe again.

Meanwhile, at the restaurant Homer quickly enrages the Sea Captain, devouring nearly all the food in the buffet, and is eventually hauled out before he has finished. Enraged, Homer sues the restaurant for false advertising, as the ad that he heard on the television prior to the incident claimed that it was "All You Can Eat", despite Homer still not being full. Homer hires Lionel Hutz to represent him in court and the case is successful after Hutz convinces the overweight jurors that a similar buffet mishap could befall them. To avoid further legal trouble, the Sea Captain and Homer eventually strike a deal together that Homer shall be displayed in the restaurant as "Bottomless Pete: Nature's Cruelest Mistake" to draw in more customers and offset the cost of his eating, much to Marge's embarrassment.

In the near future, Britain is ruled by the Norsefire political party, a fascist and authoritarian regime led by High Chancellor Adam Sutler, which controls the populace through propaganda, and imprisons or executes those deemed undesirable, including immigrants, homosexuals, and people of alternative religions.

Evey Hammond is the daughter of activists who died in prison and her brother was killed in the St Mary's school terrorist attack fourteen years earlier. One evening a Guy Fawkes masked vigilante, "V", rescues her from assault by the secret police and has her witness as his bombs destroy the Old Bailey. On November 5, V hijacks the state-run television network to address the nation, claiming credit for the attack and encouraging the populace to resist Norsefire by joining him outside the Houses of Parliament on Guy Fawkes Night in one year's time. Evey is knocked unconscious aiding V's escape and he takes her with him to avoid her arrest and likely execution.

V kills Norsefire propagandist Lewis Prothero, Dr. Delia Surridge, and, with Evey's assistance, Anthony Lilliman the Bishop of London. Evey flees after betraying V, hoping to be forgiven by Norsefire. Assigned to capture V, Chief Inspector Eric Finch uses Surridge's journal and information from former covert operative, William Rockwood (actually V in disguise), to learn that, two decades earlier, Surridge led biological weapon research and human experimentation at the Larkhill Detention Facility on behalf of Norsefire, creating the "St Mary's Virus". Although dozens of political prisoners died during experimentation, an amnesiac in cell "V" developed mutated immunities and disfigurements as well as physical enhancements and eventually destroyed Larkhill during his escape. Peter Creedy, head of the secret police, faked a terrorist attack by releasing the virus at targets including St. Mary's, and used the resulting public fear to embed Norsefire in power, while the company manufacturing the cure enriched party members such as Prothero and Lilliman.

Evey takes shelter with her former boss, talkshow host Gordon Dietrich, who shares with her his collection of illegal materials such as subversive paintings, an antique Quran, and homoerotic photographs. Emboldened by Evey and V, he satirizes Sutler on his show, leading to his execution and Evey's arrest. She takes solace in a note hidden in her cell written by Valerie Page, a woman imprisoned in the cell next to V, detailing her hopes despite her impending death. Tortured and facing her own execution, Evey refuses to submit to her captors and is released, finding herself in V's lair. V had intercepted Evey before Creedy's men and subjected her to false imprisonment so she could learn to live without fear. Although initially angry at V, Evey realizes that he has been avenging Valerie and the other Larkhill victims, and promises to return to see him before November 5. To kill the otherwise unreachable High Chancellor, V convinces Creedy to kill Sutler and take his place in exchange for V's surrender.

On November 5, V has hundreds of thousands of Guy Fawkes masks distributed across the nation, leading to a rise in masked, anonymous chaos and eventually riots after the secret police kill a young masked girl. V shares a dance with Evey before leading her to the shuttered London underground he restored over the previous decade. Not intending to survive the night, V bequeaths the decision to start the explosive-filled train to Evey. Although she pleads that he abandon his crusade and leave with her, he refuses. Creedy meets V and executes Sutler before demanding V unmask, but he kills Creedy and his men, stating that the idea he represents is more important than his identity. V returns to Evey, dying in her arms after admitting he loves her, and Finch finds her placing V's body aboard the train, but allows her to start it after she affirms that the people need hope. With Sutler and Creedy dead, the military forces in London stand down as countless citizens dressed as V descend on Parliament and witness its destruction. Finch asks for V's true identity, to which Evey replies that "he was all of us".

The novel features numerous real-life historical figures in its narrative, including a first person description of reality by scientist Albert Einstein and Irish author James Joyce, while the plot involves English author and occultist Aleister Crowley, British nobles, the Loch Ness Monster and mystical experiences.

The plot revolves primarily around the description by a young English gentleman, Sir John Babcock, of his initiation into the Argenteum Astrum. Ancestors of Sir John are major characters in ''The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles.''

The film starts in Dallas when a school bus full of children, including the teacher, was nearly struck by an oncoming freight train, which the only damage done by the train was the rear door.

In Colorado, Bradshaw Disposal Services has a nuclear bomb made in Russia to transport, and an employee (named Henry Bradshaw) decides to save money by concealing it on a freight train. This train is also loaded with hazardous and flammable chemicals, including metallic sodium, which spontaneously ignites on contact with water. The train suffers a brake failure and becomes a runaway heading for Denver. John Seger, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator, boards the train and with the assistance of the railwaymen tries various ways to stop the train. Several ideas are tried, such as coupling a following train to the caboose (the coupling mechanism on the caboose breaks, which also results in the death of one of the train's crew members), a derailing attempt (after it is revealed, the catastrophe that the chemicals would cause if ignited) in which a helicopter narrowly avoids being hit, and finally, an attempt at manually activating the brakes (via hitting a part of the engine mechanism with a wrench). The final attempt works successfully but is short-lived. The following rescue train, unaware of the freight's slowing, speeds forward and crushes the caboose (killing an injured crew member in the process). The force disengages the brakes, this time for good, causing the train to speed up once again. Meanwhile, Denver residents are struggling to collect their families and then leave town, despite rioters, looters, and gridlock. Realizing that there is no way to stop it, John and the engineer (who was initially reluctant) abandon the train by jumping off before it can speed up too much.

The train derails and becomes a terrific wreck. Discovering the now highly unstable bomb on board, firefighters struggle to extinguish the fire at the crash site. After realizing that metallic sodium is on the train, the firefighters and NEST teams retreat to evaluate a strategy. In the meantime, all firefighting aircraft are grounded. The misinterpretation of a radio call to a water bombing helicopter leads it to dump its load of water onto the wreck. Water comes into contact with the metallic sodium, which explodes and in turn causes the nuclear bomb to detonate. The blast causes severe damage throughout Denver and releases an electromagnetic pulse. No cars work, electricity is out and anything with a computer is shut down.

After the blast, Denver lies in ruins. John (who made it back to town via helicopter) then attempts to get his family out of Denver before nuclear fallout starts, but is separated again from Megan and their family as Noris takes his son and Grace Seger through the mines for a quicker route towards Eminence, while the bus heading for Kansas has just departed, taking Megan and Grace's boyfriend Danny away, leaving John on his own. He eventually finds a working car and then reunites with his family at a FEMA refugee camp in Eminence, Kansas.

The story begins with Frank and Joe Hardy barely avoiding being hit by a speeding driver, who they notice has bright red hair. Later, this same red-haired driver attempts a ferry boat ticket office robbery and successfully steals a yellow jalopy called ''Queen'' from the Hardys' friend, Chet Morton. Due to one witness reporting that the villain had dark hair, the Hardys assume he is using a red wig. It is learned that the thief returned to Chet's home to steal a tire, helping Frank and Joe to find ''Queen'' abandoned in a public wooded area.

The excitement of finding ''Queen'' is quickly gone when it is reported that there has been a robbery of forty thousand dollars in securities and jewels from the Tower Mansion owned by siblings Hurd and Adelia Applegate. Hurd Applegate is convinced that the Tower's caretaker, Henry Robinson, is the guilty party. The Hardys are especially concerned by this accusation, because Henry's son, Perry, is a friend of theirs who will have to quit school to work since his father can no longer get a job as a result of Applegate's accusation. The only "proof" of Henry Robinson's guilt is that he was suddenly able to pay off a debt and refused to reveal where he got the money to do so.

The Hardys suspect that the red-haired man may be involved with the Tower robbery and search the place where ''The Queen'' was found, finding the red wig. The Hardys' dad, detective Fenton Hardy, learns that the wig was manufactured in New York City. Fenton Hardy goes to New York and learns of a criminal named John "Red" Jackley who is fond of using disguises. Soon, Jackley is injured in a railroad handcar accident, causing him to be hospitalized. About to die, Jackley confesses that he committed the Tower Mansion robbery and put the loot "in the old tower..." Jackley dies before he is able to explain further. Jackley is a tall man with dark hair.

Frank and Joe decide to go to the railroad where Jackley used to work to find more information. While investigating, they see two water towers nearby. Inside the water tower they find the stolen items, but are locked in the tower by a man calling himself Hobo Johnny. Johnny believes that anything in the tower belongs to him. Frank and Joe break out of the water tower and return the missing securities and jewelry, whereupon they receive the $1,000 reward. Following the revelations and with the stolen loot returned, Hurd re-hires Henry with an increase in salary and Hurd builds the greenhouse that Henry has been wanting.

During the thirteen years of publication of Druuna's adventures in ''Morbus Gravis'', the plot has evolved through several stages, differentiated with numerous jumps in the storyline, with some attendant inconsistencies.

In the first volumes in the series, the action unfolds in a place called The City, a futuristic but degraded urban environment. Humans live in a cramped, hostile, and decadent society, controlled by a religious oligarchy based on the knowledge of "Truth." In this society, books are banned and power is exercised by a corrupt and despotic militarized bureaucracy.

Although never clearly stated, this current era, known as the "Age of Man", is presumed to be the aftermath of a war. As told by the priests, an incurable, infectious disease called Evil has spread among the population that transforms people in a progressive and rapid fashion into amorphous, tentacled mutants. As a precautionary measure, all of the City's inhabitants are forcibly injected with a serum periodically distributed in overcrowded health facilities. Many believe that those found to be "healthy" will be sent to the City's upper levels, a place inaccessible to the majority but where those selected enjoy a better life free from want and hardship. Similarly, those infected with "Evil" are sent to the lower levels. Druuna and her lover Shastar exist in this environment.

After a series of adventures, Druuna discovers that the City is actually a giant spaceship which left Earth after an unspecified cataclysm and has drifted through space for centuries. At some point, Lewis, the ship's captain, delegated control to the computer Delta, which is responsible for creating the current state of affairs. (The Priests are actually androids operated by Delta.) Delta transformed Lewis into an immortal being, using organic parts from the healthy people who had been admitted to the upper levels of the City. Now, Lewis, tired of immortality, wants to die, which would eliminate Delta and destroy the City. This conflict is partially responsible for the gradual degradation of life on the ship/planetoid.

Druuna is recruited by Lewis to help him destroy Delta. Unaware of fact that it would mean destruction of the City and all its inhabitants, Druuna finds Delta and carries out Lewis's plan. At the end Lewis reveals his true plan to destroy the City, but also confesses he fell in love with her and changes his mind about destruction. In turn, Lewis puts Druuna in a state similar to hibernation for centuries, waiting for an opportunity to improve conditions on the City. The story then introduces a man named Will, who commands another ship, similar to the City, which has become, thanks to the evolution of Evil, a super-organism. It is revealed that apart from the City, humanity is not entirely extinguished, but that other groups of humans survived, using genetic engineering to improve their abilities.

Embarking on Commander Will's spacecraft, Druuna discovers that the minds of Shastar and Lewis have been merged and transferred to the new ship's computer. The disease called Evil appears among the new ship's crew, so Will and Doc (author Serpieri's alter-ego) telepathically introduce Druuna into the mind of Lewis-Shastar, discovering the elements that make up the antidote serum. When Druuna gets trapped in the computer mind, Will enters it to rescue her. Discovering that they actually have no means to develop a cure for the disease, they decide to destroy the ship and crew (as well as the computer that houses the merged minds of Shastar and Lewis). Druuna, Will, and a few others escape in a rescue capsule, where they are all put into a state of suspended animation.

After the capsule crashes on an unknown planet, Druuna awakens alone. She is soon caught in a war between two alien species, one of which is composed of parasitic beings who need organic specimens as hosts, and the other of intelligent robots pursuing the objective of creating organic life. Apparently, the planet is Earth thousands of years after a war between men and machines resulted in the extinction of the former. The machines want to recreate their creators to try to understand humanity. Will briefly reappears and is kidnapped. Shastar also reappears, now working with the machines in their aim to recover the human species. Toward that aim, they decide to clone Druuna.

Senator Kinsey has seen to it that the Stargate program is shut down. After his recent visit to an alternate reality Earth, which had been devastated by the Goa'uld Apophis, Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) convinces his SG-1 teammates that their Earth will suffer the same fate unless they act. Having learnt where he believes the attack will originate from in the other reality, the team violate orders and travel through the Stargate. On the other side, they find themselves in a pitch-black room filled with containers full of Goa'uld weapons.

As they navigate the corridors, SG-1 soon discover they're not on another planet, but rather a Goa'uld mothership which is heading for Earth. Back on Earth, General Hammond (Don S. Davis) orders Major Ferretti (Brent Stait) to retrieve SG-1, but they are unable to reconnect to the Stargate coordinates Dr. Jackson used.

SG-1 return to the cargo room, where the Goa'uld soldiers are gathered around a Sarcophagus as they watch a communication from Apophis. The Sarcophagus opens and Apophis unveils his son, Klorel. The team immediately recognise Klorel as the now Goal'uld possessed Skaara (Alexis Cruz). Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) orders Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Daniel to plant explosives all over the ship while he and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) grab Klorel, in the hope that Skaara can fight the Goa'uld within him.

They capture Klorel and only after shooting him with a Goa'uld Zat'nik'tel is Skaara able to surface long enough to ask for O'Neill's forgiveness in what he's about to do. As Klorel regains control, the Jaffa guard force their way into the room and capture O'Neill and Teal'c. Apophis orders Klorel to kill O'Neill and Teal'c, but Skaara is able to assert enough influence to delay it and instead takes them to the bridge. Carter and Daniel attack Klorel's forces in order to free O'Neill and Teal'c, but in the firefight Klorel grabs Daniel attempting to kill him with a Goa'uld hand device. Left with no other choice, O'Neill shoots Klorel. The team look out of the window as the ship approaches Earth.

A young Army nurse, Lieutenant Ruth McCara, is newly assigned to the 8666th MASH, a mobile field hospital constantly on the move during the Korean War. Ruth's personal mission is to serve suffering humanity. She initially experiences an uncomfortable welcoming by the unit's hard-drinking, no-nonsense chief surgeon, Major Jed Webbe. Jed engages in a helicopter rescue of army casualties while under fire. He is a much-tried doctor by the continual movement of the outfit due to the changing battle lines. Responsible for the dismantling and re-pitching of the tent hospital is Sergeant Orvil Statt, a former circus roustabout.

At first, Ruth is a bumbling addition to the nurse corps, but she attracts the attention of Jed immediately because of the needless risks she takes. Against her resilience, he continues with sequential passes. After seeing that he is beloved by the unit, she agrees to his advances. He later cautions her that he wants a "no strings" relationship. Ruth is warned by the other nurses of his womanizing ways, and that he is probably married. When she asks him if he has someone else back home, he refuses to answer, and they separate.

When a young Korean child needs special care, Ruth entreats Jed to perform an open-heart operation, despite the reservations of the unit commander, Lieutenant Colonel Hilary Whalters. Jed ends up saving the life of the child. Jed is a relentless taskmaster, demanding Captain John Rustford fly desperately needed blood supplies at night, even in the teeth of a fierce storm. After the helicopter lands safely, Jed goes on a binge, forcing Whalters to tell his chief surgeon either straighten up or ship out. When a now more assured Ruth treats some North Korean prisoners, a frightened prisoner with a concealed grenade is calmly disarmed by her soothing words and manner.

After a North Korean advance forces the MASH unit to escape through enemy lines, the lovers are temporarily separated. When the unit's commander is wounded in an attack, Jed has to take command to lead the unit out of danger. Traveling cross-country, he sets out on a perilous journey, attempting to meet up with the nurses who have gone on ahead by rail to a preset rendezvous. Eventually the two caravans safely negotiate the battlefield, and Jed and Ruth are reunited.

Story

The game begins with Gideon Wyeth; the protagonist, escorting a group of human ambassadors from a space station to a meeting with an alien race called the Aurelians. At the meeting, the Aurelians tell the humans that they view them as gods and then warn them of another race of aliens called the Seekers who intend to destroy all humanity. Shortly thereafter, the space station is attacked by the Seekers. Gideon manages to board an escape pod and lands on the planet Edumea below.

On the planet, Gideon aids the Marines in their battle against the Seekers, but soon learns that the planet will shortly be destroyed by a meteor shower. The planet is evacuated, and Gideon accepts an invitation from the Aurelians to board their ship. After learning that humans have untapped mystical powers, he begins training with the Aurelians.

As Gideon is training, the ship is attacked by the Seekers. Gideon and some of the Aurelians evacuate to the Seeker vessel, though it is on a crash course with the Aurelian homeworld. Gideon and the remaining Aurelians find the planet overrun by Seekers. After liberating the planet, they travel to the Galactic Council to seek their help in combating the Seeker assault on humanity.

When the Council calls the Seekers to explain themselves, a being materializes in the Council chambers claiming to be a “true” human and a god. The being, a Koroem, takes full responsibility for the human genocide and claims that it ordered the Seekers to exterminate humanity because they were physically imitating the Koroem.

A battle ensues after the Koroem wounds one of the Aurelians, but it is ultimately killed when Gideon uses a previously unknown mystical ability. This opens a portal that Gideon is dragged into. He finds himself on an ice planet, where a horned creature dubbed "The Stranger" appears and says, "Come with me, human. There is much to be done." It then beckons Gideon to follow.

Characters

• Gideon Wyeth (voiced by Will Friedle) — The main character of the game. He is a member of one of the last human outposts.
• Ethan Wyeth — Gideon's hotshot older brother. Because of his celebrity following the Independence Wars, he is assigned the role of pilot for the mission of first contact with the Aurelians. He used his connections to instate Gideon as his co-pilot.
• Olivia Morgan (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) — Gideon's fiancé, a scientist assigned to Luriam space station.
• Marin Steel — A decorated pilot from the Independence Wars, she encounters Gideon as he attempts to escape Bahr Han on her ship. She is captured by the Seekers and unsuccessfully imprisoned on the island of Teran, having developed her own psychic powers.
• Kelehm Farwaters (voiced by Dwight Schultz) — A ninth-tier Garhgon (an Aurelian religious caste), he has trained himself in the telekinetic arts. Kelehm belongs to "the old faith" which states that the discovery of humans is part of a prophecy and the Aurelians will gain greater psychic power through them.
• Enorym Tenspur (voiced by Michael Bell) — Ally to Gideon and the most highly trained of the Aurelian elite fighters, Enorym serves as a commander of the elite Felidic warriors. Enorym leads an assault on a Seeker ship shortly after Gideon learns how to use his psychic powers.
• Bud - A troublemaking Marine that starts a bar fight with Gideon and later challenges him and Ethan to a training match. After losing, Bud fires a blaster at Ethan. The player then has the choice of either using a stungun to disable Bud or picking up a blaster and killing him, which determines whether his squadmates help you or abandon you in a later gameplay segment.
• K'Chell — A Seeker ambassador who interrupts the planetary ruling council and demands that the Aurelians hand over Gideon and Marin. When Kelehm refuses, K'Chell kills him, then escapes to the ansible to inform the Seeker armada.
• Sevan — A council member on Aurelia, he leads a rebellion to give the humans to the Seekers and avoid retaliation. After staging a coup, he co-opts the council, gives Marin to the Seekers, and puts Enorym on trial for treason.
• Banath — Originally serving as Enorym's best warrior, he is revealed to be a double agent for Sevan. Having planted a Seeker ambush inside the ansible, Banath becomes visibly angry after Enorym orders him to escort Marin back to the Aurelian capital. He returns with a dropship crewed by other rebels after giving Marin to the Seekers and announces his betrayal by killing one of Enorym's warriors. Gideon kills Banath shortly after Enorym is put on trial.

At a movie theater, Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Tweek express contempt at Steven Spielberg and George Lucas altering their films prior to their reissue to "make them more PC". They decide to form an organization to promote their cause. As an incentive, Cartman writes "free hat" on the sign and has Tweek fold paper hats to offer the attendees. Tweek is unable to make enough hats and the boys are surprised by the large turnout at the organization's first meeting. However, the attendees misconstrue the incentive and believe that the club supports the release of Hat McCullough, who was convicted of murdering twenty-three infants.

The crowd focuses on persuading the governor to release McCullough, while the boys appear on ''Nightline'' to explain their motives. Spielberg and Lucas are also guests on the show, and when the boys mention altering ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', the two directors are convinced to do exactly that. Determined to stop them, the boys sneak into Lucas' house and steal the original negative for the film, but Lucas catches them. Lucas calls the police, and the boys attempt to convince him to defy Spielberg. As their attempts begin to sway him, Spielberg arrives, accompanied by guards, and Lucas reluctantly gives Spielberg the film. Stan, Kyle and Cartman are taken prisoner to be guests at the film's premiere, but Tweek escapes. At this point, a fictional trailer is shown for a remastered version of ''South Park'' s pilot episode.

At the club, Tweek alerts everybody else to the situation at hand, but the crowd remains focused on McCullough. Meanwhile, Spielberg and Lucas, now joined by Francis Ford Coppola, travel to the premiere in a convoy with the film's print enclosed in an ark being carried. Tweek ambushes the convoy wielding a bazooka and threatens to launch it unless they release his friends (Minus Cartman). The negotiation ends when Spielberg convinces Tweek that his life has been in pursuit of seeing a great film, and due to the additional effects, he wants to see it screened just as much as Spielberg does. Tweek hesitates to use the bazooka and is subsequently captured. At the premiere, Spielberg reveals his plan to destroy the original film as the premiere begins. Knowing the quality of the final result, the boys turn away while the audience reacts hostilely to the film. In a parody of ''Raiders'' climax, the altered film kills Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, and the assembled audience before sealing itself inside the ark. The boys open their eyes to find their bondages removed and Cartman remarks that the film "must've sucked balls."

Back in South Park, the boys believe that they are going to be congratulated for defeating Spielberg and Lucas. Instead, they are congratulated for McCullough's successful release from prison. Despite his derangement, McCullough is given a standing ovation and is presented with an infant who is implied to have been immediately killed. The boys realize that what they have done might not matter now, but may matter later. Tweek wonders if someone else will attempt to alter the film; Stan answers that it is "somewhere safe, somewhere where nobody will ever find it." Elsewhere, the original prints of the film are crated up and stored within a warehouse labeled "Red Cross 9/11 Relief Funds."

Following the break-up of his marriage caused by his wife's affair with another man named Bullen, Smith arranges to live on the Coromandel Peninsula on an island owned by a Maori tribe. Meanwhile, political tension escalates as an oil embargo leaves the country in an energy crisis. Tension boils over into a civil war and guerrilla activity. However, Smith and his dog enjoy peaceful island life, having little interaction with the rest of society.

Smith's idyllic life is shattered when a bomb is exploded in a nearby town, and police arrive on his island to arrest him and search for illegal weapons. After they find a cache of explosives that Smith had been unaware of, he is taken to a police station, where he is imprisoned, interrogated, and tortured. The dog is last seen swimming after the boat in which Smith is being taken away. Smith recognizes one policeman as a former schoolmate, Jesperson, who then takes over the interrogation. Jesperson reveals that the government regard Smith as a key leader of the guerillas and offers expulsion from New Zealand in return for a confession, or alternatively trial by a military tribunal with a likely death sentence.

During a prison transfer, Smith deliberately forces himself to vomit to confuse his captors, and escapes. He then flees the city, finding work at a small campground and love with a local girl. Happy to be outside the civil war again, Smith blends in until a US Army unit arrives and takes over the campground. Smith clashes with Willoughby, the commander of the US forces, who suspects Smith of being a rebel sympathiser. The arrival of Bullen, who is now a senior leader of the underground guerrilla movement, complicates matters further. As the US forces capture and kill more rebels, Smith is unwillingly drawn into participating in an attack on the military unit by Bullen.

Fleeing the scene of the successful attack, Smith and Bullen are pursued by government forces and cornered in a nearby forest. After government forces surround the guerrillas and bomb their encampment, Smith and Bullen escape, only to be cornered by Jesperson and his elite squad. After Bullen is fatally wounded, Smith wishing an end to what is happening deliberately provokes Jesperson into shooting him.

J. L. "Fatman" McCabe is a Hawaii-born, tough former HPD officer turned Los Angeles district attorney. He is teamed with a handsome, happy-go-lucky special investigator named Jake Styles. They often clash due to their different styles and personalities. "Fatman" hardly travels anywhere without Max, his pet bulldog. The show was set in Los Angeles during the first season. After the end of ''Magnum, P.I.'', the show was moved to Hawaii. The second and third seasons and half of the fourth season were filmed in Honolulu. The show then returned to Los Angeles for the remainder of its run.

The player takes the role of Julian Gardna, a Pirate and thief. Early on, the Khaak, a hostile alien race, emerge to threaten the X-Universe. The player is asked to undertake a series of missions to uncover their origins, their intentions, and to determine their connection to his missing father. Ultimately, Julian must fight off a massive attack by Khaak, rescuing numerous other characters in the process. Key non-player characters include: * '''Bret Serra''': rogue, pirate and Julian's closest friend; * '''Ban Danna''': the head of Argon Secret Service who shares a close relationship with Julian's father dating back to the previous game, ''X: Beyond the Frontier''; * '''Elena Kho''', Chief Executive in the influential Terracorp corporation; * '''Saya Kho''', daughter of Elena Kho; * '''Kyle Brennan''', Julian's father, founder of Terracorp, and protagonist from the previous games. Due to the expense of completing the plot, the players are periodically prompted to break away from the plot and increase their resources through trade and other open-ended play.

In 1998, Leone mobster Antonio "Toni" Cipriani (Danny Mastrogiorgio), forced to live abroad for four years following his murder of a made man, returns home to Liberty City. His boss, Don Salvatore Leone (Frank Vincent), welcomes him back and assigns him to work under another Leone mobster, Vincenzo "Lucky" Cilli (Joe Lo Truglio), who despises Toni, and a former member of the Sindacco family looking to switch allegiances, JD O'Toole (Greg Wilson). At the same time, Toni finds that his mother (Sondra James) disapproves of his low rank in the Leone family, and is forced to stay away from her when she calls a hit on him. After Toni escapes being arrested on a job, he quickly discovers Vincenzo seeks to take his place within the Leone family. Vincenzo later leads Toni into another ambush to be killed, resulting in Toni escaping the trap and killing Vincenzo in revenge. Following Vincezo's death, Salvatore begins to personally assign work to Toni, including looking after his trophy wife Maria (Fiona Gallagher).

Toni soon uncovers evidence that Sicilian Mafia underboss Massimo Torini (Duccio Faggella) is orchestrating plans for minor gangs to take control of the Leones' territory, whilst they're engaged in a war with the Sindacco and Forelli families. After helping to escort Salvatore downtown as problems arise, Toni earns his trust and becomes a made man within the Leone family, causing his mother to call off the hit on him. Toni soon finds himself entrusted with killing the city's mayor, controlled by the Forellis, and assisting media mogul Donald Love (Will Janowitz) into becoming his replacement. However, Donald goes bankrupt after losing to his rival Miles O'Donovan (John Braden), who promptly has Salvatore arrested on several charges soon after his election. Toni remains loyal to Salvatore, and continues to take jobs from him in prison, including killing Don Paulie Sindacco (Jeff Gurner) as revenge for having Salvatore arrested. Meanwhile, Donald also enlists Toni's help in rebuilding his fortune, and hires him to destroy the Forelli-controlled district of Little Italy in Fort Staunton with explosives, so that Donald's company would receive city funding to redevelop it.

With the Leones now the most powerful and sole-surviving Mafia family in Liberty City following the Sindaccos and the Forellis' defeat, Salvatore finds himself targeted by his rivals, forcing Toni to protect him before his trial. Upon being released on bail, Salvatore quickly deduces that Torini organised the mob war and rigged the mayoral elections. Suspecting Torini will likely kidnap Mayor O'Donovan to prevent him from dropping the charges against Salvatore, he joins Toni to rescue him and Toni proceeds to kill Torini. In return, Salvatore demands that O'Donovan grant his family protection, which he reluctantly accepts to do. Shortly after, Salvatore reveals to Toni that Torini was working for his uncle (Bruce MacVittie), who wanted to weaken his nephew's control over the city as revenge for not paying him tribute. When Salvatore and Toni confront him, Uncle Leone admits defeat and decides to leave for Sicily for good. With his uncle no longer a threat, Salvatore settles in with controlling the city, while Toni is promoted to ''caporegime'' as repayment for his assistance.

Jupiter is fondling Ganymede, who says that Jupiter's wife Juno has been mistreating him because of her jealousy. Venus enters, and complains that Jupiter is neglecting her son Aeneas, who has left Troy with survivors of the defeated city. Aeneas was on his way to Italy, but is now lost in a storm. Jupiter tells her not to worry; he will quiet the storm. Venus travels to Libya, where she disguises herself as a mortal and meets Aeneas, who has arrived, lost, on the coast. He and a few followers have become separated from their comrades. He recognises her, but she denies her identity. She helps him meet up with Illioneus, Sergestus and Cloanthes, other surviving Trojans who have already received generous hospitality from the local ruler Dido, Queen of Carthage. Dido meets Aeneas and promises to supply his ships. She asks him to give her the true story of the fall of Troy, which he does in detail, describing the death of Priam, the loss of his own wife and his escape with his son Ascanius and other survivors.

Dido's suitor, Iarbas, presses her to agree to marry him. She seems to favour him, but Venus has other plans. She disguises Cupid as Aeneas's son Ascanius, so that he can get close to Dido and touch her with his arrow. He does so; Dido immediately falls in love with Aeneas and rejects Iarbas out of hand, to his horror and confusion. Dido's sister Anna, who is in love with Iarbas, encourages Dido to pursue Aeneas. Dido and Aeneas meet at a cave, where Dido declares her love. They enter the cave to make love. Iarbas swears he will get revenge. Venus and Juno appear, arguing over Aeneas. Venus believes that Juno wants to harm her son, but Juno denies it, saying she has important plans for him.

Aeneas's followers say they must leave Libya, to fulfil their destiny in Italy. Aeneas seems to agree, and prepares to depart. Dido sends Anna to find out what is happening. She brings Aeneas back, who denies he intended to leave. Dido forgives him, but as a precaution removes all the sails and tackle from his ships. She also places Ascanius in the custody of the Nurse, believing that Aeneas will not leave without him. However, "Ascanius" is really the disguised Cupid. Dido says that Aeneas will be king of Carthage and anyone who objects will be executed. Aeneas agrees and plans to build a new city to rival Troy and strike back at the Greeks.

Mercury appears with the real Ascanius (a.k.a. Cupid) and informs Aeneas that his destiny is in Italy and that he must leave on the orders of Jupiter. Aeneas reluctantly accepts the divine command. Iarbas sees the opportunity to be rid of his rival and agrees to supply Aeneas with the missing tackle. Aeneas tells Dido he must leave. She pleads with him to ignore Jupiter's command, but he refuses to do so. He departs, leaving Dido in despair. The Nurse says that "Ascanius" has disappeared. Dido orders her to be imprisoned. She tells Iarbas and Anna that she intends to make a funeral pyre on which she will burn everything that reminds her of Aeneas. After cursing Aeneas' progeny, she throws herself into the fire. Iarbas, horrified, kills himself too. Anna, seeing Iarbas dead, kills herself.

Unmarried fifty-four-year-old Virginia Miner (Vinnie), a professor at Corinth University who specializes in children's literature, is off to London for another research trip. She loves England and likes to feel that she fits in well there. She is hoping to produce an important new book about playground rhymes. However, she finds that her work has been trashed by a critic, L. D. Zimmern of Columbia, for whom she imagines monstrous dooms.

The author makes a point of telling us that Vinnie is not beautiful — perhaps rather homely — but that she has had her share of affairs nevertheless, and a brief marriage. Although she enjoys these flings, she has stopped believing that falling or being in love is a good thing.

A 'pro' at long flights, her serenity is ruffled by her seatmate, a garrulous married man from Tulsa, Chuck Mumpson. She puts him off by giving him ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' to read. But smoking, drinking, loudly American Chuck is persistent, and ends up contacting her in London. He has been inspired by ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' to want to trace his own family history. Vinnie slowly becomes involved with his project, and then with him.

Meanwhile, her young colleague Fred Turner has left his wife, Roo, at home for his own sabbatical in London, where he is researching John Gay. Fred and Roo have quarreled and he fears the marriage is over. He consoles himself with the affections of a beautiful TV actress, Lady Rosemary Radley, who gives him the entree into London high life. The exquisite but not so young Rosemary has never managed to have a really successful love relationship—though she is not resigned to this, as Vinnie is. Although Fred is very much in love with her, he cannot give her the commitment she wants, since he must return to Corinth to teach summer school. Rosemary also has a concealed side to her personality that her friends wish to keep hidden from the public, and from journalists including contributors to ''Private Eye'', who lampoon her as "Rosalie Raddled". When Fred encounters this side of her, the friends close ranks and shut him out.

Quite by accident and with the encouragement of Chuck, Vinnie becomes an emissary for Fred's estranged wife in an improbable midnight walk on Hampstead Heath. What makes this favor more challenging for Vinnie is that Roo's father is the nefarious critic L. D. Zimmern.

Just as she begins to think Chuck's affections have cooled, because of his silence of several days duration, Vinnie is visited by his daughter who describes his sudden death while climbing the stairs of a small town hall. When an English friend speaks condescendingly of Chuck, Vinnie realizes with surprise that he loved her and she loved him. She returns to her life in Corinth, solitary and unloved, but altered for having loved and been loved.

Alan Wake (voiced by Matthew Porretta) is a bestselling crime fiction author suffering from a two-year stretch of writer's block. He and his wife Alice travel to the small mountain town of Bright Falls, Washington for a short vacation on the advice of Alice and Alan's friend and agent Barry Wheeler. Before their arrival, Alan has a nightmare about shadowy figures who try to kill him, before an ethereal figure interrupts the dream and teaches him how to utilize the light to fend off the shadows.

Upon arrival in Bright Falls, Alan goes to retrieve the keys and map to their rented cabin from Carl Stucky, the cabin's landlord, but encounters a mysterious old woman, who tells him that Stucky had fallen ill and she was entrusted to give Alan the keys. The woman directs Alan and Alice to a cabin on an island in the middle of Cauldron Lake, a volcanic crater lake. As they unpack, Alice reveals to Alan that the real purpose of their trip is to help break his writer's block by arranging for him to see a famous Bright Falls psychologist named Dr. Emil Hartman and leaving a typewriter in one of the cabin's rooms for him to work on his next book. Alan is infuriated and storms out of the cabin, but rushes back when he hears Alice crying for help. Alan returns to the cabin just as Alice is being dragged into the lake's waters by a mysterious force. Alan dives into the water after her, blacking out as he submerges.

Alan regains consciousness a week later, apparently having driven his car off the road, but with no memory of how he got there. He attempts to reach a nearby gas station, but his progress is hampered by murderous, shadowy figures resembling those in his dream. While fighting the shadows with light, Alan repeatedly encounters an ethereal figure in a diving suit similar to the one from his dream, which leaves behind pages of a manuscript entitled ''Departure'', ostensibly written by Alan, which he has no memory of writing. Alan soon discovers that the events of the manuscript are coming true, and that the shadowy figures, or "Taken," are townsfolk possessed by a dark force. After killing a possessed Carl Stucky and reaching the gas station, Alan tries to alert Sheriff Sarah Breaker of his wife's disappearance, but Sarah states that there has been no island or cabin in Cauldron Lake for years after it sank following a volcanic eruption years prior. Alan is taken to the police station, and Barry arrives in Bright Falls in search of him.

Alan receives a call from a man purporting to be Alice's kidnapper, demanding the pages of ''Departure'' in exchange for her. Meeting at a nearby national park, Alan witnesses the kidnapper at the mercy of the mysterious old woman, confessing that he never actually had Alice. Alan and the kidnapper are then attacked by a dark tornado, which hurls Alan into Cauldron Lake. He awakens in the lodge overlooking Cauldron Lake under the care of Hartman, who claims that Alan is suffering a psychotic break, with the supernatural phenomena being fabrications of his imagination. Alan attempts to escape the lodge as the shadowy force starts to attack it, learning in the process that the fake kidnapper was employed by Hartman to lure Alan to him. Hartman tries to stop Alan from escaping, and gives the impression that he is aware of the supernatural events surrounding the lake. Barry helps Alan to escape the lodge before the shadow subsumes it and all those inside.

Alan and Barry gradually begin to learn the truth about Cauldron Lake from the other townsfolk. An entity known as the Dark Presence (taking the form of the old woman, Barbara Jagger) is trapped within the lake, attempting to escape by using the lake's power to turn fiction into reality. It had previously tried this with a poet named Thomas Zane – the figure in the diving suit – but Zane was able to resist its will and used his writings to cause the volcanic eruption that sank the island, stranding himself within the lake. The Dark Presence has grown strong enough to start to influence the townspeople and create the forces that have pursued Alan. That night, as Alan and Barry take shelter, they get drunk on moonshine, and Alan starts to recall memories of being forced to write ''Departure'' during the prior week, realizing that the Dark Presence is now trying to use his writings to escape, and is holding Alice within the lake in order to coerce him.

Alan and Barry are arrested by an FBI agent, but the Taken assault the police station and drag the agent away. Sarah, now convinced of the Dark Presence's existence, helps Alan and Barry reach Cynthia Weaver, a hermit who knew Thomas Zane and prepared countermeasures for the Dark Presence's return. She leads them to the "Well-Lit Room," containing a light switch known as the Clicker, which, through the power of Alan's writings, possesses the narrative ability to destroy the Dark Presence. Alan returns to Cauldron Lake alone and dives in, finding himself in a surreal alternate dimension known as the Dark Place, where thoughts and ideas become reality. Alan encounters Jagger and destroys her with the Clicker; realizing he must maintain balance in the story, Alan completes ''Departure'' by freeing Alice, but strands himself in the Dark Place in the process. Finishing ''Departure,'' Alan writes the final line - "It's not a lake, it's an ocean."

Special One: The Signal

Continuing from the end of the main game, Alan finds himself in a surreal version of Bright Falls and realizes he is still trapped in the Dark Place. Zane directs Alan to follow a signal through a cell phone in order to "focus" and guide himself through the Dark Place. While navigating the realm's shifting, dreamlike topography, Alan encounters television screens depicting a more maniacal version of himself, who uses the power of the Dark Place to narrate circumstances that plunge Alan into danger, sending hordes of Taken after him. Alan also encounters an ethereal version of Barry, a figment of his subconsciousness, who helps guide Alan safely across the abstract landscape.

Zane eventually reveals that Alan himself is the cause of his current circumstance; the maniacal version of Alan on the television screens is an irrational aspect of Alan consumed by fear, his frenzied thoughts affecting the subjective world of the Dark Place. Alan encounters a monstrous conglomeration of televisions, through which the irrational Alan tries to kill him. Alan defeats the televisions, but wakes up back in the cabin again, and realizes he is still trapped.

Special Two: The Writer

Still trapped in the Dark Place, Alan regains consciousness and accepts that he is the cause of the insanity he is experiencing, regaining his memories in the process. Zane tells him that the "irrational Alan" is still inside the cabin, controlling the Dark Place; the "rational Alan" must regain control in order to have any chance of escaping the Dark Place. Zane directs Alan to a lighthouse across the increasingly surreal landscape of the Dark Place, while the irrational Alan attempts to stop him by creating delusions of Alice, manipulating the landscape, and sending armies of Taken after him. Alan eventually outwits his other self and reaches the lighthouse, passing through it to reach the cabin.

As Alan nears the cabin, the imaginary Barry reappears and tells Alan that he will have to reject all the illusions before he can face off against the insane version of Alan, including the apparition of Barry. Alan is forced to confront Taken versions of Barry and the other townsfolk, defeating them all and reentering the cabin. The irrational Alan is in a paranoid state on the cabin floor; when Alan touches him, the two are made whole again. Alan realizes that he cannot let himself fall into a delusional state again for fear of never being able to escape, and returns to the typewriter to start a new story—''"Return"''.

This novel is part of the series that follows the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom from 1960 to 1990. ''Rabbit at Rest'' focuses on the years 1988–89. Harry, nearly 40 years after his glory days as a high school basketball star in a mid-sized Pennsylvania city, has retired with Janice, his wife of 33 years, to sunny Florida during the cold months, where Harry is depressed, dangerously overweight and desperate for reasons to keep on living.

Unable to stop nibbling corn chips, macadamia nuts and other junk food, Rabbit nearly dies after a heart attack while sunfishing with his nine-year-old granddaughter, Judy. In a "redemption" of the drowning death of his infant daughter Rebecca in the earlier novel ''Rabbit, Run'', he saves Judy from drowning during their sunfishing afternoon.

He is distracted from his own existential worries by the acts of his drug-addicted son, Nelson, to whom Janice (the actual owner of the Angstroms' wealth) has given control of the family's thriving business, a Pennsylvania Toyota dealership. The discovery that Nelson has been stealing from the company to support his drug habit causes Harry to lose the family business. Despite his multiplying difficulties, Rabbit manages to take solace in the presence of Judy, who has matured into a beautiful and charming young lady, reminding him of his high-school glory days. He is less attached to his four-year-old grandson Roy, who seems wary and fearful of Rabbit, much like Nelson.

While recuperating from heart surgery, Rabbit recognizes a nurse, Annabelle Byer, as his illegitimate daughter by his old girlfriend, Ruth. He spends time with her without identifying himself as her likely father. Then, his long-term mistress, Thelma Harrison (wife of his high-school nemesis Ron), dies of lupus. Ron confronts Harry at Thelma's funeral, but the men later reconcile over golf. Harry also encounters Cindy Murkett at the funeral, a woman he had once been obsessed with, and is saddened to see she has become an obese and bitter divorcee.

After Nelson comes back from a treatment program, and Janice begins work as a real estate agent, the family finds out that Harry has had a one-night stand with Pru, Nelson's wife, on the night after he was released from the hospital. Janice's anger over this betrayal prompts Harry to escape to Florida. While in hiding, Harry has a heart attack shortly after winning a one-on-one basketball game with a local youth (echoing the opening of ''Rabbit, Run'' in which Harry impulsively joins a group of teenagers playing basketball). Nelson and Janice reach Harry's bedside while he is still alive. Janice forgives him for his infidelities and he reconciles with his son. His personal business now largely resolved, Rabbit dies.

This third novel of Updike's ''Rabbit'' series examines the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, a one-time high school basketball star, who has reached a paunchy middle-age without relocating from Brewer, Pennsylvania, the poor, fictional city of his birth. Harry and Janice, his wife of 22 years, live comfortably, having inherited her late father's Toyota dealership. He is indeed rich, but Harry's persistent problems—his wife's drinking, his troubled son's schemes, his libido, and spectres from his past—complicate life. Having achieved an opulent lifestyle that would have embarrassed his working-class parents, Harry is not greedy, but neither is he ever quite satisfied. Harry has grown smitten with a country-club friend's young wife. He worries about Nelson, his indecisive son, a student at Kent State University. Throughout the book, Harry wonders whether his former lover, Ruth, ever gave birth to their illegitimate daughter.

Part I: The Longhair

''House Made of Dawn'' begins with the protagonist, Abel, returning to his reservation in New Mexico after fighting in World War II. The war has left him emotionally devastated and he arrives too drunk to recognize his grandfather, Francisco. Now an old man with a lame leg, Francisco had earlier been a respected hunter and participant in the village's religious ceremonies. He raised Abel after the death of Abel's mother and older brother, Vidal. Francisco instilled in Abel a sense of native traditions and values, but the war and other events severed Abel's connections to that world of spiritual and physical wholeness and connectedness to the land and its people, a world known as a "house made of dawn".

After arriving in the village, Abel attains a job through Father Olguin chopping wood for Angela St. John, a rich white woman who is visiting the area to bathe in the mineral waters. Angela seduces Abel to distract herself from her own unhappiness, but also because she senses an animal-like quality in Abel. She promises to help him leave the reservation to find better means of employment. Possibly as a result of this affair, Abel realizes that his return to the reservation has been unsuccessful. He no longer feels at home and he is confused. His turmoil becomes clearer when he is beaten in a game of horsemanship by a local albino Indian named Juan Reyes, described as "the white man". Deciding Juan is a witch, Abel stabs him to death outside of a bar. Abel is then found guilty of murder and sent to jail.

Part II: The Priest of the Sun

Part II takes place in Los Angeles, California six and a half years later. Abel has been released from prison and unites with a local group of Indians. The leader of the group, Reverend John Big Bluff Tosamah, Priest of the Sun, teases Abel as a "longhair" who is unable to assimilate to the demands of the modern world. However, Abel befriends a man named Ben Benally from a reservation in New Mexico and develops an intimate relationship with Milly, a kind, blonde social worker. However, his overall situation has not improved and Abel ends up drunk on the beach with his hands, head, and upper body beaten and broken. Memories run through his mind of the reservation, the war, jail, and Milly. Abel eventually finds the strength to pick himself up and he stumbles across town to the apartment he shares with Ben.

Part III: The Night Chanter

Ben puts Abel on a train back to the reservation and narrates what has happened to Abel in Los Angeles. Life had not been easy for Abel in the city. First, he was ridiculed by Reverend Tosamah during a poker game with the Indian group. Abel is too drunk to fight back. He remains drunk for the next two days and misses work. When he returns to his job, the boss harasses him and Abel quits. A downward spiral begins and Abel continues to get drunk every day, borrow money from Ben and Milly, and laze around the apartment. Fed up with Abel's behavior, Ben throws him out of the apartment. Abel then seeks revenge on Martinez, a corrupt policeman who robbed Ben one night and hit Abel across the knuckles with his big stick. Abel finds Martinez and is almost beaten to death. While Abel is in the hospital recovering, Ben calls Angela who visits him and revives his spirit, just as he helped revive her spirit years ago, by reciting a story about a bear and a maiden which incidentally matches an old Navajo myth.

Part IV: The Dawn Runner

Abel returns to the reservation in New Mexico to take care of his grandfather, who is dying. His grandfather tells him the stories from his youth and stresses the importance of staying connected to his people's traditions. When the time comes, Abel dresses his grandfather for burial and smears his own body with ashes. As the dawn breaks, Abel begins to run. He is participating in a ritual his grandfather told him about—the race of the dead. As he runs, Abel begins to sing for himself and Francisco. He is coming back to his people and his place in the world.

Storm Boy likes to wander alone along the fierce deserted coast among the dunes that face out into the Southern Ocean. After a pelican mother is shot, Storm Boy rescues the three baby pelicans and nurses them back to health. He names them Mr Proud, Mr Ponder and Mr Percival. After he releases them, his favourite, Mr Percival, returns. The story then concentrates on the conflict between his lifestyle, the externally imposed requirement for him to attend a school, the fate of the pelican, and the relationship of the boy, and later his father, with Fingerbone.

When Garak sees a Cardassian boy on Deep Space Nine, he decides to introduce himself, but the boy, Rugal, bites him on the hand. The boy has been raised by Bajoran parents and taught to hate and fear Cardassians. His adoptive parents claim that they do not consider him a Cardassian any more, but allegations of abuse lead to an investigation into the family. Gul Dukat, the Cardassian officer who was the prefect of Bajor during the occupation, tells DS9's commander Benjamin Sisko that he is trying to bring orphaned Cardassians back from Bajor and that the discovery of Rugal will strengthen his case. Miles and Keiko O'Brien agree to care for Rugal during the investigation, and Rugal helps Miles overcome his prejudice against Cardassians.

Garak, suspecting (or perhaps knowing) that there is more to this series of events than meets the eye, persuades Bashir to request permission from Sisko to allow them to travel to Bajor look into the matter. The request is granted after Dukat informs Sisko that Rugal is the son of a prominent Cardassian civilian politician, Kotan Pa'Dar. Garak and Bashir investigate records at an orphanage that took in Cardassian orphans when the occupation ended. Garak suggests that the situation is tied to a conflict between military and civilian interests on Cardassia: Pa'Dar is a political rival of Dukat, having cost Dukat his position as prefect by ordering the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor.

Back on the station, Pa'Dar arrives to greet Rugal, but the boy does not remember him and calls Pa'Dar a "Cardassian butcher." Regardless of this, Pa'Dar wants his son back, but Rugal's adoptive father refuses to relinquish him.

A formal tribunal is established, headed by Sisko, who is seen to be a neutral arbiter. Dukat attends the ensuing hearing. Meanwhile, on Bajor, Garak and Bashir track down the woman who took Rugal in at the orphanage, who remembers that a Cardassian woman attached to Terok Nor (the Cardassian name for DS9) brought Rugal to her.

Bashir interrupts the hearing, alleging that Rugal's discovery was part of a conspiracy planned by Dukat all along: that Dukat ordered one of his subordinates to leave Rugal behind knowing that the boy would one day be found and that as a result Pa'Dar would be humiliated. The plot having been exposed, Dukat storms out of the room; Sisko awards custody of the boy to Pa'Dar, who reassures Sisko that Dukat will never reveal what happened now that he too has been humiliated. Later, Bashir and Garak sit down for lunch, and Bashir asks Garak for the truth about his history with Dukat. Garak smiles and tells him to notice the details, which he compares to crumbs scattered across the table.

The Scions of Shannara is set in a land ruled by the cruel military order called the Federation. The Elves have vanished, while the dwarves are imprisoned for having fought the Federation in the past. The Dwarves are sent to dig in mines, and will soon be extinct because of the Federation's wickedness. Magic is forbidden.

Par Ohmsford and his brother Coll start the story in Varfleet, telling legends and important histories of the past about the adventures of the Ohmsfords and the druids in a tavern through the use of Par's magic, the wishsong. The wishsong is but an illusion seen when Par sings what he wants to create. However, what Par and Coll are doing is illegal under the law of the Federation because magic is supposedly the cause for various problems that are occurring in the Four Lands. On one night, Rimmer Dall, first Seeker for the Federation, bursts into the tavern, having found out about Par and Coll, and tries to arrest them. Par and Coll are rescued by a mysterious man, who claims to be a leader of the rebel group (or the Movement). The man does not give them his name, though he does hand Par a ring with a hawk insignia. He tells them that when they need help they can go to a certain forge, show the ring, and they will be led to the Movement's base. Thus, the two brothers escape and after much debate decide to travel to Leah to meet up with their friend, Morgan Leah. Upon their way, they are attacked by a frightening woods hag who is a Shadowen, a beast of legend and of great power. Yet they are saved by an old man, Cogline, who was once a Druid, and is now a messenger for the Shade of Allanon. He informs them that they must travel to the Hadeshorn in order to meet with the ancient Druid, Allanon. The fate of the Four Lands lies upon them and the other scions of Shannara: Wren in the Westland and Walker Boh who lives somewhere in the Eastland, and to whom Cogline is to deliver the message also. The Shadowen threaten to overcome all the Races.

The two brothers, and later Walker Boh and Wren, travel to the Hadeshorn through much peril. All the scions meet at the Valley of Shale and receive tasks from the shade of Allanon. Wren is charged to return the missing Elves, Walker is charged with returning Paranor and the Druids, and Par is charged with finding the lost Sword of Shannara. Both Wren and Walker see their charges as impossible (Walker even goes as far to say that he would rather lose his hand than recover lost Paranor and restore the druid order) and leave, but Par is determined to fulfill his task.

Par heads to the forge, hoping that the Movement will know more of the Four Land in order to find the Sword. He comes to the city of Varfleet with his companions, Morgan Leah, Coll Ohmsford, Steff, and Teel to request for help from an outlaw ally. Upon reaching their meeting point, however, they are pursued by Federation. Hirehone, one of the outlaws, hides them in an underground basement before taking them to the Parma Key, base of the Movement. The company meets the mysterious leader who then tells them that he is Padishar Creel. He says he knows where the Sword is, leaving the Dwarves behind, Creel, Morgan, Coll, a group of outlaws, and Par set out for Tyrsis, the last known place of the Sword of Shannara. Once in Tyrsis, Creel leads them to a hiding place. Padishar Creel goes out to show Par about the truth. They meet with a girl, Damson Rhee. The three of them go for a walk and Creel explains that the Bridge of Sendric and People's Park in Tyrsis where the Sword was said to be placed many years before were destroyed. The ancient Bridge and Park were covered up in the Pit, a place guarded and unseen, and that fake ones were built in their place. They devise a plan so that Morgan, Par, Coll, Padishar, and some of the other outlaws venture into the Pit, where the Sword of Shannara was last seen.

Then at night, the group go into out to the pit. They lower a ladder into the Pit, but unfortunately the Federation guards see them. The rebels and Par, Coll, and Morgan are captured and are told that one of the outlaws had betrayed them. Par uses the Wishsong to distract the guards so he could escape. He meets with Damson, and together they make a plan to free their companions. They do just that, and after hiding in another place, they make a plan to go into the Pit again. The second time the company, excluding Damson, makes it to the bottom of the Pit safely. There Par finds out that he can use another kind of magic that can find things that he wants, and he sees through this that the Sword is indeed there. However, they are confronted by Shadowen. Creel and Morgan make a stand in order for Par and Coll to escape. Par and Coll flee and are hidden by Damson, thinking that their friends are dead. Par insists on them to venture into the Pit a last time, and Damson knows a creature that might know another way into it. She leads them to the Mole, who agrees to help them, and escorts them through a series of tunnels and into the Pit. Damson and the Mole stay outside, while Par and Coll go in. This time Par does find the Vault, where the Sword is placed, and goes in, leaving Coll to stand guard outside (Coll wanted to). Par finds the Sword, and meets Rimmer Dall there, who shows him that he is a Shadowen and asks Par to join him. Par does not agree, and Rimmer Dall leaves, saying that once Par comes out of the Vault something precious will be lost. Par takes the Sword and runs out of the Vault to find that while he was gone Coll was possessed by Shadowen and that his brother has become one himself. Par kills him to escape and runs away from the Pit. He finds Damson and they hide in the tunnels that The Mole live in. Par, depressed and confused, becomes sick and Damson slowly but surely nurtures him back to health before vowing to get revenge for what happened to his brother.

Meanwhile, Padishar and Morgan are actually not dead, and have fled from the city of Tyrsis, having survived using Morgan's magical Sword of Leah. But the Sword of Leah is broken in the act of breaking free from the Pit and Morgan turns ill because of this. The two of them run to Parma Key, and are closely pursued by an army of the Federation who want to put an end to the Movement once and for all, having found out the base of the rebels from a traitor. The companions come to Parma Key and prepare to battle away the Federation with the Movement. A long battle takes place, in which Morgan finds out who the traitor is - it being Teel the Dwarf, who is now a Shadowen, who is on her way to opening a passageway into Parma Key for the Federation to breach. Creel and Morgan fight her, and both are wounded in the act, while Steff, her lover, is killed by Teel. However, the passageway was opened, since they were too late, and so Morgan and Creel head back. The Movement then escapes using another secret tunnel and are free for the time. The battle ends thus, with the escape of the Movement.

Walker Boh believes it is impossible for him to recover lost Paranor and the Druids, until Cogline brings him an old Druid History. Then Walker learns that he must first find the Black Elfstone from the Hall of Kings and with it accomplish his task. He goes to the Hall of Kings, which is an ancient place of great evil. There he goes and upon coming there goes to the location of the Black Elfstone. Using the magic he had mastered, he senses where the black elfstone is. He goes to where he feels something and there he encounters an Asphinx, a snake that turns everything it poisons to stone before becoming rock itself, instead of the black elfstone. The Asphinx bites him and Walker finds that his hand has turned to stone, effectively trapping him. Walker also knows that he is doomed because the poison of the Asphinx will spread until he has been completely turned to stone.

Lisa calls in to an unpopular public radio station and wins tickets for four to an Albanian movie called ''Kosovo Autumn''. Homer leaves Maggie with Ned Flanders, who agrees to babysit free of charge, while the rest of the family watches the movie. When Marge picks up Maggie and hastily offers to pay Ned admits to needing extra money as a giant retail store called Left-Mart is threatening his business. Marge suggests he rent out one of his rooms to someone. He agrees, giving the room to Katja and Vicky, two female community college students.

Taking advantage of his trusting nature, the two use their room as a staging area for a softcore pornographic website, sexyslumberparty.com. Bart and Milhouse come across a banner ad for the site and share their discovery with Homer, who proceeds to spread the news around town. Marge soon discovers Homer and Bart viewing the website and forces Homer to tell Ned everything. Ned angrily forces the girls to leave, but realizes that everyone has arrived to cheer for them. Horrified at both the town's mockery and Homer's betrayal, Ned leaves town, moving to "Humbleton, Pennsylvania", home of the porcelain "Humble figurines", which he collects. Angered by Homer's actions, Marge and Lisa tell him to be on his best behavior for their new neighbor, "Coach" Clay Roberts, who becomes a cynical bully towards Homer and litters the Simpsons' yard with Ned's fallen trees, cutting their cable, and siphoning gas from Homer's car.

Meanwhile, Ned finds the friendly pseudo-Germanic town of Humbleton to be everything he ever dreamed. However, when applying for a job at the Humbleton Figurine Workshop, the manager requests him to shave his moustache, declaring it "hippie-ish" and distracting. Ned briefly considers it, but soon decides it is more important than the opinions of the townspeople, who shun him.

Homer drives to Humbleton and pleads with Ned to return, who, upon seeing the judgmental faces of the Humbleton residents glaring at him, agrees. Clay refuses to leave the house, despite Ned pointing out that his $200,000 check bounced, thus he legally still owns the property, but is persuaded once Ned and Homer overpower him by sheer force. A few hours later, Homer obtains a pipe organ, which Ned believes is from the local church, and places it in Ned's backyard for a welcome-home party, which several Springfield residents attend. Ned is happy at the party, which soon irritates Homer.

The title of the film refers to the duration of a relationship between Wall Street arbitrageur John Gray and SoHo art gallery employee Elizabeth McGraw. John initiates and controls the various experimental sexual practices of this abusive relationship to push Elizabeth's boundaries. In doing so, Elizabeth experiences a gradual downward spiral toward an emotional breakdown.

Elizabeth first sees John in New York City at a Chinese grocer, and later at a street fair where she decides against buying an expensive scarf. John finds her and produces the scarf and the two go on a date. They start dating and Elizabeth is increasingly subjected to John's behavioral peculiarities; as he increases the sense of danger and pushes her normal boundaries. He gives her an expensive gold watch, and instructs her to use it to think about him touching her every day at noon. She takes this imperative even further by masturbating at her workplace at the designated time.

Elizabeth wants to include John in her life and meet her friends, but he makes it clear he only wishes to see her in the evenings and instructs her to see her friends in the daytime. Elizabeth is then left alone at his apartment in the evening. She examines his closet until she discovers a photograph of him with another woman, April Tover. John calls her and asks her if she went through his things, declaring that he will punish her. She admits that she has. When he returns home he tells her to face the wall and receive a spanking. Elizabeth attempts to leave but finds the door locked, she shouts at him and he slaps her, she slaps him back. He then rapes her.

John begins to control all aspects of Elizabeth's life, such as picking out what she should wear and choosing what she will eat, brushing her hair and feeding her. Elizabeth becomes increasingly dependent on John for mental and emotional stability as she loses her sense of self. She follows him to work one day and brings him lunch. She mentions to him that she would like to "be one of the guys". As a surprise, John contrives for her to crossdress for a rendezvous at a bar. On leaving the establishment, two men hurl an insult when they mistake John and Elizabeth for a gay couple. The men chase them and a fight ensues. The two men begin assaulting John and drop a knife. Elizabeth picks up the knife and stabs one of the attackers in the buttocks and both attackers flee. Elated from her triumph, Elizabeth exclaims she loves John. They strip and she reveals a wet tank-top and the two have passionate sex at the site of the crime.

Following this encounter John begins to make the BDSM-style relationship dynamic more obvious in public. During a visit to a bed store, he asks Elizabeth to "spread your legs for daddy" in front of the sales woman. They visit a store for equestrian accessories and John whips Elizabeth on the leg with a riding crop before telling the salesman, "I'll take this one". At his apartment, John asks Elizabeth to crawl on the floor and pick up money as he throws it on the ground. Elizabeth reluctantly obliges before stopping and saying "This is stupid, John". John insists that she crawl and pick up the money and takes off his belt, whipping items in the apartment. Elizabeth says, "John, don't play with me like that", but John continues to insist that she crawl. Elizabeth protests that "It's only a game" before John unexpectedly begins whipping the ground directly next to Elizabeth demanding that she crawl. Scared, she screams, "No! Don't touch me!" and begins to cry. John continues to tell her to crawl and pick up the money, grabbing her. Elizabeth shouts "I don't want to pick up the money!" John continues to tell her to pick up the money. She eventually grabs the money around her, crying, before John declares, "Elizabeth you love this game, don't you?" and sits beside her with grin on his face. Elizabeth says, "I hate it" and throws the money in his face.

Elizabeth is shown as confident and sexy at home with John, but increasingly withdrawn at work and ruminates over her previous lover. She goes to the countryside to visit an artist named Farnsworth and secure an exhibit.

Elizabeth is asked to meet John at a hotel room. There he phones her and asks her to wear what is in the drawers. She opens the drawer to discover a scarf to be used as a blindfold. Elizabeth removes her dress and waits for John. He arrives and says "It was a simple thing that I asked you to do, now do it" referring to the blindfold. Elizabeth reluctantly puts on the blindfold with his help. John touches her briefly before a woman enters the room speaking Spanish and starts caressing Elizabeth as John observes them. Elizabeth shows signs of anxiety and the woman tries to reassure Elizabeth and removes her blindfold. John then takes the woman into the next room, in sight of Elizabeth and begins to remove her clothes. As he attempts to kiss her neck, Elizabeth violently intervenes and then flees the hotel, with John in pursuit. They run until they find themselves in an adult entertainment venue. Elizabeth enters a room where a group of men are watching a couple have sex on the ground. Elizabeth, visibly upset, notices John watching her and she starts kissing the man next to her. John moves towards her and they embrace.

During a successful opening night, Elizabeth's gallery exhibits Farnsworth's work. The humanity and reclusivity of Farnsworth is a clear contrast with the frenzy of the partying crowd. Farnsworth, clearly uncomfortable at the party, sees Elizabeth as she retreats to a corner in tears. Dependent on John for her emotional stability, Elizabeth phones him. She wears a large cuff-like, metal bracelet. The following morning, we see Elizabeth has spent the night at John's. She gets up and opens his closet, clinging to the suits she finds there for a moment and cries as she looks over at him asleep. She begins to collect her things and John awakes. Realizing she is leaving, he attempts to bring her back by sharing some details of his family before saying "I want you to know there's been lots of other girls, lots of women, but I never felt anything like this before". Elizabeth tells him that it is too late as she leaves the apartment. John begins a mental countdown from 50, hoping she will come back by the time he is finished. As in the beginning of the movie, Elizabeth is shown walking among the crowd, although this time she is crying.

24-year-old Bertie Wooster returns to London from Easeby, his Uncle Willoughby's home, after firing his valet for stealing. An agency sends him Jeeves, who prepares a drink that cures both Bertie's hangover and his fatigue after trying to read a difficult book titled "Types of Ethical Theory", which his fiancée, Lady Florence Craye, expects him to read. Impressed, Bertie hires Jeeves. Bertie receives a telegram from Florence, who is at Easeby, telling him to return at once. Jeeves wants Bertie to wear a simple brown or blue suit with a hint of quiet twill, but Bertie wears his check suit instead.

At Easeby, Florence tells Bertie that his uncle is writing a memoir called "Recollections of a Long Life". Many of the stories feature Florence's father, Lord Worplesdon. Florence is appalled by the rowdy stories. She tells Bertie to destroy the manuscript. Bertie does not want to upset his uncle, upon whom he is financially dependent, but Florence is adamant. Bertie steals the parcel, and after running into Florence's young brother Edwin, Bertie locks it in a drawer in his room.

Uncle Willoughby tells Bertie that his publishers have not received his manuscript. He fears it has been stolen. Feeling guilty, Bertie tries to take a walk, but overhears Edwin telling Willoughby that he saw Bertie hiding a parcel. Bertie rushes back to his room to move the parcel but finds he has misplaced the key to the locked drawer. Willoughby arrives, and searches. When he reaches the locked drawer, Jeeves appears and provides the key. At first Bertie is angry with Jeeves, but the drawer is empty. After Willoughby leaves, Bertie thanks Jeeves, who moved the parcel.

Later, Willoughby reports that his publishers received his manuscript. Florence is furious with Bertie and ends their engagement. Distressed, Bertie questions Jeeves, who admits sending the parcel to the publishers. He says Florence overestimated the offensiveness of Sir Willoughby's "Recollections". When Jeeves shows no sympathy about the broken engagement, Bertie fires him. Jeeves opines that Bertie would not have been happy with Florence. After sleeping on it, Bertie realizes that Jeeves is right. He rehires Jeeves and allows Jeeves to dispose of the check suit. Jeeves thanks him and says he has already given the suit away to the under-gardener.

In September 1939, Władysław Szpilman, a Polish-Jewish pianist, is playing live on the radio in Warsaw when the station is bombed during the Nazi German invasion of Poland. Hoping for a quick victory, Szpilman rejoices with his family at home when he learns that Britain and France have declared war on Germany, but the promised aid does not come. The fighting lasts for just over a month, with both the German and Soviet armies invading Poland at the same time on different fronts. Warsaw becomes part of the Nazi-controlled General Government. Jews are soon prevented from working or owning businesses and are also made to wear blue Star of David armbands.

By November 1940, Szpilman and his family are forced from their home into the isolated and overcrowded Warsaw Ghetto, where conditions only get worse. People starve, the SS guards are brutal, starving children are abandoned, and dead bodies are everywhere. On one occasion, the Szpilmans witness the SS kill an entire family in an apartment across the street during a round-up, including dumping an elderly man in a wheelchair out a window four stories up.

On 16 August 1942, Szpilman and his family are about to be transported to Treblinka extermination camp as part of Operation Reinhard. However, a friend in the Jewish Ghetto Police recognizes Władysław at the ''Umschlagplatz'' and separates him from his family. He becomes a slave labourer and learns of a coming Jewish revolt. He helps the resistance by smuggling weapons into the ghetto, on one occasion narrowly avoiding a suspicious guard. Szpilman eventually manages to escape and goes into hiding with help from a non-Jewish friend, Andrzej Bogucki, and his wife, Janina.

In April 1943, Szpilman watches from his window as the first of two uprisings, Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which he aided, unfolds and ultimately fails. Soon thereafter, when a neighbor discovers Szpilman hiding in the flat, he is forced to flee to a second hiding place. His new hiding location is another vacant apartment, and it has a piano in it which he feels drawn to play; but he does not as he must keep quiet to avoid discovery. While in hiding at this location, malnutrition due to very limited food supplies takes effect; he loses weight and begins to suffer from jaundice.

In August 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the Home Army attacks a German building across the street from Szpilman's hideout. Tank shells hit the apartment, forcing him to flee. Over the course of the following months, Warsaw is destroyed. Szpilman is left alone to search desperately for shelter and supplies among the ruins. He eventually makes his way to a house where he finds a can of pickles. While trying to open it, he is noticed by ''Wehrmacht'' officer Wilm Hosenfeld, who learns that Szpilman is a pianist. He asks Szpilman to play on a grand piano in the house. The decrepit Szpilman manages to play Chopin's Ballade in G minor. Hosenfeld lets Szpilman hide in the attic of the empty house. Whilst there, he is regularly supplied with food by the German officer.

In January 1945, the Germans are retreating from the Red Army. Hosenfeld meets Szpilman for the last time, promising he will listen to him on Polish Radio after the war. He gives Szpilman his greatcoat to keep warm and leaves. In Spring 1945, former inmates of a Nazi concentration camp pass by a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp holding captured German soldiers and verbally abuse them. Hosenfeld, being one of the prisoners, overhears a released inmate lamenting over his former career as a violinist. He asks him whether he knows Szpilman, which he confirms, and Hosenfeld says he helped Szpilman and begs him to tell Szpilman he is in the camp. Later, the violinist and Szpilman reach the camp but find it abandoned.

After the war, Szpilman is back at the Polish Radio, where he performs Chopin's "Grand Polonaise brillante" to a large prestigious audience. A textual epilogue states that Szpilman died on July 6, 2000, at the age of 88, and all that is known of Hosenfeld is that he died in 1952 while still in Soviet captivity.

In this semi-autobiographical tale of his childhood in Swaziland during the last days of the British Empire in Africa in the 1960s, Grant relates the story of Ralph Compton, whose family’s disintegration mirrors the end of British rule. After witnessing his mother's adultery with his father's best friend, Ralph must survive not only boarding school but also his beloved father's remarriage to Ruby, a fast-talking American Airlines flight attendant, and his father's gradual descent into alcoholism.

The book opens with an objective narration about a group of five travellers travelling through Exmoor in rural England. They arrive at an inn in a small village, and soon it becomes clear that they are not who they seem to be. The "maid" Louise casually rebuffs the sexual advances of the servant, Dick Thurlow, but then goes to his master's room and undresses before them both. Bartholomew calls his supposed uncle "Lacy" and they discuss Bartholomew's refusal to disclose his journey's secret purpose, as well as fate versus free will. Eventually the narration stops and is followed by letters, interview transcripts, and snatches of more third-person narration, interspersed with facsimile pages from contemporary issues of ''The Gentleman's Magazine''. We learn from a fictional news story that a man has been found hanged near the place where the travellers were staying.

The subsequent interviews are conducted by Henry Ayscough, a lawyer employed by Bartholomew's father, who is a Duke. The interviews reveal that Bartholomew had hired the party to travel with him but deceived them about the purpose of his journey. Variations of his story are (1) he was on his way to elope against the wishes of family; (2) he was visiting a wealthy, aged aunt to secure an inheritance from her; (3) he was seeking a cure for impotence; (4) he was pursuing some scientific or occult knowledge, possibly concerning knowledge of the future. He takes Rebecca and Dick to a cave in a remote area. Rebecca's initial tale, retold by Jones, is that he there performed a satanic ritual, and Rebecca herself was raped by Satan and forced to view a panorama of human suffering and cruelty. Rebecca's own testimony admits this was a deception to quiet Jones. She says that she actually saw Bartholomew meet a noble lady who took them all inside a strange floating craft (which she calls "the maggot"). In this craft she sees what she describes as a divine revelation of heaven ("June Eternal") and the Shaker Trinity (Father, Son, and female Holy Spirit or "Mother Wisdom"). She also sees a vision of human suffering and cruelty in this version of her story. Modern readers may interpret her visions as films and her overall experience as a contact with time travellers or extraterrestrials. Rebecca then loses consciousness; she wakes, finds Jones outside the cave, and they leave together. She then tells Jones the satanic version of her experience. Meanwhile, Jones has seen Dick leave the cave in terror, presumably to go and hang himself.

Rebecca later finds herself pregnant. She returns to her Quaker parents but then converts to Shakerism, marries a blacksmith named John Lee, and gives birth to Ann Lee, the future leader of the American Shakers. The mystery of Bartholomew's disappearance is never solved, and Ayscough surmises that he committed suicide out of guilt from his disobedience to his father in the matter of an arranged marriage.

The story is based around the lives of Sasaki Kenji and Hans Kleif, two young A.D. Police Detectives who find themselves forging a bond after being forced to work together in order to stop the rogue VOOMERS from turning Genom City back into an urban wasteland. Kenji is a loner who is known for his lack of teamwork. It is this attitude that causes many of his previous partners to be injured or even killed. His latest partner, Paul, was heavily injured during their last mission together and it is said that nobody is willing to work with Kenji. He goes to his favorite bar and has a fight with a man named Hans. When he goes to his office the next morning, he is informed that Hans is actually his new partner.

Throughout the series Kenji, Hans, and the rest of the A.D. Police Force find themselves pitted against Liam Fletcher, the series' main antagonist and a leading figure in the Packer Syndicate. The series features different members of the police force responding to BOOMER-related situations and growing closer, not only as a unit of police officers, but as a group of friends. The series places an extremely heavy emphasis on the growing relationship between Kenji and Hans although others, such as the romantic connection between Kenji and Kyoko, also play an important role.

In the 1970s, James Robert "Radio" Kennedy, a 23-year-old mentally-disabled man, lives alone with his mother who, as a nurse, spends much of the day at work. Radio spends much of his day roaming the town and pushing a shopping cart, which he uses to collect anything interesting he finds. Radio often pauses to observe the local high school football team in their training sessions, led by Coach Harold Jones. During one such session, the football falls out of bounds, allowing Radio to collect it and haul it away in his cart. A group of players retaliate the following day by tying Radio's hands and feet, locking him in the gear shed, and throwing footballs at the door to scare him. Coach Jones frees Radio and punishes the wrongdoers by making them run extra wind sprints after practice. Jones takes it upon himself to assist in Radio's care, and gives him his nickname due to his penchant for listening to the radio. Radio begins assisting Coach Jones on the football team, and inspires the team before each game as a mascot-type figure. Radio's increased attention from Jones is faced with resistance from the football team's parents, who see Radio as a distraction from their own sons' successes.

Upon the end of the football season, Jones involves Radio with several activities within the high school, and winds up neglecting his daughter Mary Helen, who is a member of the high school's cheerleading squad. At a Christmas mass, Radio receives several gifts from the townspeople, and Mary Helen confides to her father that while she does not blame him for neglecting her, she cannot understand the reason for his interest in Radio. The following day, Radio distributes the gifts around town. He soon encounters a suspicious police officer, and his impaired ability to communicate leads to his arrest on the charge of possessing stolen property. However, the other officers recognize Radio and he is released. To make up for the wrongful arrest, the arresting officer is forced to ferry Radio around town to finish delivering the gifts. Following the holidays, Radio begins taking classes in the high school to complete his formal education. One of the football players who had previously tormented him tricks Radio into entering the girls' locker room. Radio is reluctant to tell Coach Jones who set him up, but Coach Jones determines the player's identity by interviewing other players and punishes him by benching him for a decisive game. Radio's mother suddenly dies of a heart attack, and Radio finds himself living alone until his absent older brother Walter finally returns to care for him. That same evening, Jones reveals to Mary Helen that his attachment to Radio and need to assist him stems from a childhood incident in which Jones, as a child making a living off delivering newspapers, did not help a mentally-disabled boy his own age crying behind barbed wire. Following the death of Radio's mother, pressure from the school board to have Radio put in a specialized institution strengthens. The association between Radio and Coach Jones is further blamed for the team's inability to win. In a meeting with the townspeople, Jones speaks of Radio being a blessing for the community by showing how people should treat one another, and announces his resignation as head coach so that he may spend more time with his family. At Radio's high school graduation, he receives an honorary diploma and a letterman jacket. The film ends with clips being shown of the real-life Radio and Coach Jones leading the football team.

The narrator, Mike Noonan, a bestselling novelist, suffers severe writer's block after his pregnant wife Jo suddenly dies due to a brain aneurysm. Four years later, Mike, still grieving, is plagued by nightmares set at his summer house in TR-90 (an unincorporated town named for its map coordinates), Maine. He decides to confront his fears and moves to his vacation house on Dark Score Lake, known as "Sara Laughs".

On his first day, he meets Kyra, a 3-year-old girl and her young widowed mother, 20-year-old Mattie Devore. Mattie's father-in-law is Max Devore, an elderly rich man who will do anything to gain custody of his granddaughter, Kyra. Drawn to Kyra and Mattie, Mike hires John Storrow, a custody lawyer, for Mattie, and things start looking up. Mike begins to write again, and realizes that Jo's ghost is helping him to solve the mystery of Sara Tidwell, a blues singer whose ghost haunts the house. He also learns that Jo frequently returned to the town in the year before her death, without telling him.

Mike begins having recurring, disturbing dreams and visions, and realizes he shares a psychic connection with Kyra. Max and his personal assistant, Rogette, try to drown Mike but he survives with the help of his wife's spirit. Max unexpectedly commits suicide that same night. Mike sees a pattern when he sees that local inhabitants have names that begin with "K" or "C" and learns how relatives of townspeople have drowned in childhood.

While Storrow and the private detective he hired are celebrating the end of the custody battle, Mattie attempts to seduce Mike. As they are embracing, Mattie's trailer is subjected to a drive-by shooting, injuring Storrow and the detective and killing Mattie. The detective is able to kill the driver and incapacitate the shooter with Mike's help. Mike then grabs Kyra and drives back to his home as a violent thunderstorm begins. The shooter's buddies try to stop them, but refuse to follow him to "Sara Laughs". Under the influence of Sara's ghost, Mike is tormented to drown Kyra and commit suicide himself. Jo's ghost prevents him and calls his attention to the novel he has begun to write. In the pages there are clues that lead Mike to discover documents Jo had hidden, among them a genealogy showing Mike's blood relationship to one of the town families.

Several families whose origin lay within the town had firstborn children with "K" names who were all murdered—Kyra, as a descendant of Max Devore, is scheduled to be the next to die. The genealogy also shows that Mike and Jo's child would have been the next firstborn child with a "K" name in the family line. Mike realizes this must be Sara Tidwell's curse for something that had been done to her. He leaves and searches for Sara's grave, stopped by the ghosts of several members of the old families. He learns in a vision that these men had viciously raped and killed Sara, and drowned her son Kito in the lake; all the "K" children who died were descendants of those men. Mike reaches Sara's grave and succeeds in destroying her bones, ending the curse.

Upon returning to the house, Mike discovers that Rogette has kidnapped Kyra. He follows them to the lake, where Mattie's ghost appears and knocks Rogette into the water. Rogette tries to pull Mike in with her, but is impaled by the storm's wreckage from the dock. Mattie's ghost says her goodbyes to Mike and Kyra.

The novel ends with an epilogue, revealing that Mike has retired from writing and is attempting to adopt Kyra. His status as a single, unrelated male complicates things, and the adoption has taken longer than anticipated. The outcome of the adoption is left unresolved at the end, but the reader is given hope that it will be positive.

Opening ''in medias res'' as the news staff of ''The Weekly Islander'' pays for lunch at a restaurant, editor Dave Bowie and founder Vince Teague test young intern Stephanie McCann's powers of deduction regarding their unorthodox tipping procedure. She impresses them by discerning that the restaurant management pools all the tips and splits them equally among the staff, while Dave and Vince want to leave an especially large tip earmarked for their waitress who has fallen on hard times. They discuss some local unsolved crimes and oddities, which have gained circulation in mainland newspapers as far away as Boston during the traditional Halloween season interest in such tales. The friendly assessment becomes more intense as the elderly island natives and Stephanie return to the office, and she asks if the veteran reporters have "ever come across a real unexplained mystery". Dave and Vince take turns recounting a strange incident and investigation.

On April 24, 1980, two teenagers stumbled across a man's body, early in the morning. Slumped against a trash can, and carrying no identification, the body bore no clear indicators of foul play. Cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, as a large chunk of steak was extracted from the victim's throat. Every potential clue leads to small revelations, but bigger mysteries. Though the investigation is lightly bungled, everything seems inexplicable, from how the fish-dinner stomach contents could line up with his ferry boat crossing, to the single Russian coin in his pocket, and the pack of cigarettes missing one cigarette when the autopsy indicated he was not a smoker.

More than a year later, thanks to a sharp-eyed rookie spotting an out-of-state cigarette tax stamp among the man's personal effects, the John Doe becomes known as The Colorado Kid. Eventually the man's identity is traced: James Cogan of Nederland, Colorado. He was a commercial artist living a normal middle-class life with his wife, last seen at a seemingly average workday before inexplicably disappearing. There was no hint of money troubles, adultery, drug addiction or mental illness -- the factors normally associated with someone leaving home so suddenly. Everyone involved with the case is at a loss as to how or why the man could have traveled over 2000 miles (3000 km) in the five hours between when he was last sighted in Colorado and first sighted in Maine, when there was at the time no direct airline flight to account for his arrival.

In the ''Weekly Islander'' offices, the three friends, old and new, ferret out all the answers they can from the facts of the 25-year-old investigation, then speculate on what might have happened, and meditate on the nature of true mysteries. Despite the lack of clear evidence, Dave and Vince hypothesize the Colorado Kid was murdered. He probably flew to Maine on a chartered jet under an uncertain but pressing emergency and carried the Colorado cigarettes as a clue to his origins should he come to harm. Though Dave and Vince shared other unsolved crimes and oddities with outsiders, they have kept the Colorado Kid a secret due to their belief that a big-town newspaper or glossy travel magazine would tell the story inaccurately by wanting to provide resolution to the account that stubbornly defied a clean culmination. They inform Stephanie that while they were "the last people alive who know the whole thing", having heard the tale of The Colorado Kid, "Now there's you, Steffi." The warm proclamation seems to signal the young woman's final approval by the old guard of the ''Islander''.

Jeeves Exerts the Old Cerebellum

Bertie is appalled by his friend Bingo Little's new crimson tie, which is decorated with horseshoes. Bingo received it from a waitress named Mabel. It is springtime, and Bingo, who always falls in love in the spring, is in love with Mabel. He met her at a charity subscription (i.e., pay-to-attend) dance, where Bingo also happened to see Bertie's valet Jeeves.

Bingo depends on his uncle Mr. Mortimer Little for an allowance, and fears Mr. Little will not approve of Bingo marrying a waitress. To get married, Bingo needs his uncle's approval and also an increase in his allowance. Bingo asks Bertie to pose the problem to Jeeves, who often helps Bertie's pals. When Bertie asks Jeeves for advice, Jeeves agrees to help. He already knows about Mr. Mortimer Little because he is engaged to Mr. Little's cook, Miss Watson. This news surprises Bertie.

Knowing that the elder Mr. Little is bedridden with gout, Jeeves suggests that Bingo take the opportunity to read to him. Particularly, Jeeves suggests books by the romance novelist Rosie M. Banks, which portray inter-class marriage as not only possible but noble. Bertie approves the scheme and asks Jeeves to fetch the books for Bingo.

No Wedding Bells for Bingo

Bingo's uncle is deeply moved by the books, and Bertie is confident that Jeeves's plan will succeed. Later, Bingo tells Bertie that his uncle, who has recovered from his gout, wants to have lunch with Bertie. Bingo asks Bertie to tell his uncle that Bingo wants to marry a waitress, which Bingo does not have the nerve to do himself. Though reluctant, Bertie agrees.

He has lunch with Mr. Little, who extols Bertie's accomplishments. This confuses Bertie, who has not done much. Bingo telephones to tell Bertie that, to increase Bertie's influence, Bingo told his uncle that Bertie is the author Rosie M. Banks. Bertie maintains the ruse, albeit unhappily.

Bertie tells Mr. Little that Bingo wants to marry a waitress, and Mr. Little, moved by the books, approves. When Bertie asks him to raise Bingo's allowance, however, Mr. Little refuses, saying it would not be fair to the woman he soon intends to marry, his cook, Miss Watson.

Bertie is sorry to have to tell Jeeves that the woman he was engaged to, Miss Watson, has chosen someone else. Yet Jeeves admits he had wanted to end the engagement anyway. In fact, he has another engagement of sorts with another girl, Mabel, the waitress whom Bingo had wanted to marry.

When Coraje, a young idealist, sets out on a journey to La Cruz, his life is forever changed. Coraje and his friends come across Father John, a priest who has been assaulted by thieves while on his way to take over the parish at a church in La Cruz. Unable to save Father John's life, Coraje decides to pose as the priest. Coraje soon meets Ana and Clara Guericco, whose highly respected father was recently assassinated. Coraje soon finds himself entangled in a web of passion and secret desires. He is caught in a love triangle with the Guericco sisters. Coraje loves the Clara, and the wheelchair-using Ana cannot hide her desire for the priest. Deceit and treachery also drive the plot as the mystery of Guericco's death waits to be solved.

''The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, of the Famous Captain Singleton (1720)'' covers both land and sea in one volume, in two neatly composed halves. The first half of the novel includes a remarkable overland trek across Africa after the characters are stranded in Madagascar, and the second half is almost entirely at sea, involving piratical heists in the East Indies. Eventually, Captain Bob and his close friend William Walters return to England with their spoils via Venice, disguised as Armenians.'

At the beginning of the novel, Singleton, as a young boy, is kidnapped and sold to a gypsy by a beggar-woman. He is raised as a ward of a parish, and sent to sea at age twelve. Soon he is captured by Turkish pirates, rescued by sailors from Portugal, and after a two-year stay in that country, sails for the East Indies. By his own account, young Singleton is a rogue who steals from the ship's captain and harbors the desire to kill his master. Nearly hanged for his part in an attempted mutiny, Singleton is set ashore with four companions on the coast of Madagascar. A score of other sailors from the ship join them and the ensuing narrative relates their efforts to survive on the island. The sailors find and rebuild an abandoned boat and eventually decide to pursue a journey through Africa. In their encounters with African natives, the Europeans prove resourceful but brutal.

During the hazardous trip Singleton becomes the leader of the group by virtue of his fearlessness and ingenuity. He is a cold pragmatist whose lack of compassion is exceeded only by his talent for survival. When they find a wounded native, Singleton makes a decision based purely on expediency. Singleton makes the decision, after considering to let the native die, that they might find the man useful to them - as is written "I found the man had some respect showed him, it presently occurred to my thoughts that we might bring him to be useful to us, and perhaps make him a kind of commander over them", they then take to call the native 'prince'. During the arduous march through lands teeming with leopards, elephants, crocodiles, and snakes, the travellers avoid catastrophe because of their modern weaponry and their European belief in reason rather than in magic. The marchers meet an English merchant who has been living with the natives and who persuades Singleton and his companions to stop awhile in order to dig for gold. Having loaded themselves down with gold and elephant tusks, the adventurers finally reach a Dutch settlement, where they divide the spoils and immediately go their separate ways.

Once Singleton has spent his fortune in England, he sets out again, this time for the West Indies where, by his boastful admission, he quickly takes to piracy. Singleton's abilities bring him high command, although his piratical activities encourage the growth of a callousness so pervasive that at times it leads to cruelty. He denies that his men have committed certain atrocities, but calmly admits that "more was done than it is fit to speak of here" (p. 188). In this portion of the novel events pile up rapidly, and there are chases and sea battles in which Singleton proves himself an able, courageous, and imaginative leader. From the Indies the scene shifts to the East African coast and Madagascar where the pirates continue to plunder and sail restlessly in search of new conquests. Defoe draws a portrait of men whose love of gold is less urgent than their need for adventure. This lust for novelty takes Singleton and his men into the Pacific as far as the Philippines, before they trace their way back to the Indian Ocean and Ceylon.'''

Friend William, a Quaker surgeon, becomes the center of the narrative as he outwits a Ceylonese King and rescues a Dutch slave. William displays further resourcefulness by succeeding in trade negotiations with English merchants in India. He serves Singleton loyally and bravely as a kind of man Friday: he is, moreover, a Christian humanist and healer who ultimately persuades his captain that a life of piracy leads nowhere. When Singleton contemplates suicide in the throes of repentance, William convinces him that the idea of taking one's life is the "Devil's Notion" (p. 332) and therefore must be ignored.

When they return to England, they make the decision to stay together for the rest of their lives. Singleton marries William's sister, a widow, and the story ends rapidly on a note of domestic peace.

Miss Giddens applies for her first job as a governess. The wealthy bachelor uncle who interviews her is unconcerned with her lack of experience. He values his freedom to travel and socialise and unabashedly confesses that he has "no room, mentally or emotionally" for his niece and nephew. They were orphaned and left in his care as infants, and he keeps them at Bly, his large country estate. The previous governess, Mary Jessel, died suddenly less than a year ago. All he cares about is that Miss Giddens accept full responsibility for the children, never troubling him with whatever problems may arise.

At Bly, Miss Giddens is instantly taken with Flora, the niece. She also forges a friendship with Mrs. Grose, the kindly housekeeper. The boy, Miles, is away at boarding school, but soon returns to Bly after being expelled from school for being a "bad influence" on his peers. Mrs. Grose says she cannot imagine Miles misbehaving, and when Miss Giddens meets the boy herself, she too thinks his teachers must have exaggerated. He seems charming and mature – though perhaps too mature, with flirtatious flattery towards his governess.

Miss Giddens soon grows disturbed by the children's occasional odd behaviours and secretiveness, and is bothered by disembodied voices and apparitions of a man and woman she witnesses in the house, whom Mrs. Grose identifies, from their descriptions, as Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, another deceased employee of the children's uncle. Mrs. Grose also reluctantly reveals that the two were in a relationship prior to their deaths. Miss Giddens concludes that the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel possess the bodies of the children so they can physically continue their relationship. She is determined to rescue them from this possession.

One night, while left alone with Miles, Miss Giddens presses him to talk about the ghosts, and about why he was expelled from school. Initially, Miles is glib and evasive, but he eventually admits that he frightened the other boys with violence and vulgar language. Miss Giddens enjoins him to say who taught him this language and behaviour. Miles suddenly begins yelling obscene insults and laughing maniacally, and Quint's face appears in the window behind him, joining in the boy's laughter. Miles then runs outside; Miss Giddens follows, begging him to "say his name." Quint appears on a hedge nearby, but Miles does not seem to see him. He finally shouts Quint's name, and Quint waves his hand. Miles grows still and falls to the ground. Miss Giddens cradles him and assures him that he is free. She then realises that Miles is dead. Sobbing, she leans over him and kisses him on the lips.

During a mission to Domrémy, Karin's unit is attacked by a demon. To combat him, Karin is partnered with Nicolai to retrieve an artifact called the Holy Mistletoe from Apoina Tower in the Vatican City. Returning to Domrémy, the "demon" turns out to be Yuri, and Nicolai reveals his true goal of destroying Yuri before he can threaten Sapientes Gladio while holding the girl Jeanne hostage. Yuri ends up impaled by the Mistletoe, which begins disrupting his powers and releasing trapped Malice, dark energy generated by monsters. During the attacks on Domrémy, Jeanne is killed, and in Yuri's journey, her spirit resides in the Graveyard. Nicolai blackmails Yuri into retrieving the forbidden Émigré Manuscript in exchange for releasing the captured Roger Bacon. The group is double-crossed and ultimately rescues Bacon. Guided by Bacon, they head to Russia to face Rasputin. Rasputin is fuelling the war through Sapientes Gladio and an alliance with Japanese sympathizers, his ultimate goal being to replace Nicholas II of Russia with Nicolai, the tzar's illegitimate heir. After learning of Rasputin's invulnerability due to his pact with the god Asmodeus, the group flees Russia along with the endangered Anastasia.

To overcome Rasputin's power, the group finds Abraham; he reveals that Albert Simons' actions during the events of ''Shadow Hearts'' were an attempt to foil Rasputin. Yuri travels inside his soul with Karin's help, meeting Simons' spirit and taming the god Amon. The group returns to Russia, exposing Rasputin. Defeated by Amon, Rasputin sacrifices his soul to Asmodeus, who takes over his body and summons a magical fortress, aiming to obliterate humanity. Prior to leaving, Nicolai confronts Rasputin, revealing that he has made a pact with the god Astaroth. Yuri's group defeats Rasputin, but before dying he reveals that the Mistletoe's Curse will destroy Yuri's memories and that Nicolai intends to release the Malice from Apoina Tower, increasing the War's barbarity. The group is too late to stop Nicolai from releasing Malice into the world as an act of defiance against Yuri. They are about to kill him when Kato intervenes, sealing Apoina Tower and leaving with both Nicolai and the Émigré Manuscript due to Japan's alliance with Russia.

In Japan, Foreign Minister Ishimura intends to use Nicolai to destabilize the West and protect Japan from its influence. Attempts to extract Astaroth give the demon full control of Nicolai's body. Yuri's group, allied with his cousin Kurando, fails to prevent Astaroth's escape due to the opposition of Kato and his cloned group of soldiers which includes Ouka. After Astaroth's escape, Kato helps Yuri's group defeat the god at its lair in Mount Fuji. The enraged Nicholai tries to kill Yuri, then attacks Kato when he intercedes; Ouka blocks the blow, dying in Kato's arms. Kato kills Nicolai, later giving Yuri the Émigré Manuscript to attempt Alice's resurrection and declaring them now enemies. The group confronts Ishimura, and when his grandson appears and Ishimura begs they spare him, Yuri flies into a rage and nearly kills Ishimura before breaking down in tears, having forgotten his reason for fighting. Bacon helps Yuri attempt Alice's resurrection. The ritual briefly works, with Alice assuring her love for Yuri before her new body disintegrates. Bacon deduces that Kato encouraged the ritual to use its side effect of time warping for his own ends; Kato plans to travel back in time and rewrite history, unmaking the current world.

After meeting Alice's spirit and having a final talk with Jeanne, Yuri faces Kato as he summons the magical Asuka Stone Platform to enact his plan. Kato is defeated, and tells Yuri that the group must wish for their heart's desire in order to escape. As the others depart to places they can find happiness, the Mistletoe's Curse manifests, and Yuri bids Karin farewell and remains behind. Depending on his answer to a question from Jeanne, Yuri can allow the Curse to consume him and end up in Roger's care as an amnesiac; or commit suicide, reuniting with Alice's spirit before going back in time to the day they met and getting the chance to save her. The latter has been confirmed as the canon ending. Whatever Yuri's choice, Karin is sent back in time to Tokyo in 1887, there meeting Yuri's father and deciding to move on with her life; Karin uses the name "Anne", and becomes Yuri's mother.

On a visit to Moe's, Homer has no money to pay for his beer and Moe will not give him any freebies. As a result, he goes around town trying other things to feel drunk, such as breathing thin air on top of a mountain, licking toads and giving blood. Moe feels guilty about refusing to serve Homer and gives him a free beer, but Homer is already heavily intoxicated. Moe, Lenny and Carl put Homer in a taxi to take him home. In the cab he is secretly videotaped for a reality show called ''Taxicab Conversations'', and says some unpleasant things about Marge and the kids, as well as revealing his dream of becoming a rock star. His family is not impressed with him, but soon realize that they do somewhat burden him. To make up for this, the family takes Homer to a Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp, run by the Rolling Stones. At the camp, Homer and a bunch of other Springfield citizens learn about rock music, from instructors Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty and Brian Setzer. Finally, the wannabe-rockstars have a mock rock concert, with Homer as the lead guitarist and singer.

When Homer learns that the camp is just a one-week only camp, he is bitterly disappointed and refuses to leave. Mick Jagger eventually placates Homer by offering him a chance to perform at a benefit gig, the "Concert for Planet Hollywood". An excited Homer gets passes for his friends so they can see him at the concert. Homer's glee turns to embarrassment when he is asked to perform the duties of a roadie. When he goes on stage to test the microphone, seeing his family and friends out there rooting for him, he sings a rock song and steals the show. This angers the rock stars, who attempt to run Homer off the stage with a big mobile fire-breathing devil's head. The devil's head goes out of control and plows into the audience.

The performers, feeling sorry about their actions, offer Homer an opportunity to perform at another benefit concert (for the victims of the recently messed-up gig), but he declines and prefers to perform at home instead. However, at the end of the episode he replaces his car with the big devil's head (given to him by the band) using it to take Bart and Lisa to school. Principal Skinner tells Homer that he is not allowed to stop his car in the school bus zone. In retaliation, Homer activates the devil's fire breath, burning off Skinner's clothes, much to the delight of the kids.

Homer buys a satellite system with over 500 channels. He and Bart become addicted to it, and Bart does not study at all for an important upcoming achievement test, even as Lisa is spending all her time preparing. Once the test is done, Principal Skinner announces the results at a school assembly. Not only does Bart fail the test and is demoted to the third grade, but Lisa aces the test and gets promoted to the third grade, where they meet their new teacher, Audrey McConnell. Interestingly during class, Bart performs well on tests, having memorized the answers from his previous experience in the third grade, while Lisa has a hard time adjusting to the class. Audrey decides to clamp their desks together after Bart answers a trick question he had seen the previous year, as the teacher thinks Lisa needs Bart's help. Later, Bart gets an A on a map test while Lisa only gets an A−. Bart says that the test was easy and recites all of the answers to Lisa, which he had memorized from last year in third grade (because he claims that the answer key never changes). Lisa proclaims that Bart cheated but the teacher did not hear Bart's recitation and tells Lisa to stop being jealous.

Bart and Lisa are made field trip partners as part of the buddy system on a field trip to Capital City. When they are there, they hear that the flag for the state Springfield is an embarrassment (it contains a Confederate flag, despite the state being from the North), and their teacher assigns for homework an assignment to design a new flag. Lisa calls Marge as she designs her flag, which says "To Fraternal Love". On the phone, she complains about and makes fun of Bart, unmindful of the fact that Bart is overhearing the conversation on another phone and getting very angry about her comments. The next day, Bart, Lisa and the other third-graders hand over their flag designs to the Governor. When the Governor sees Lisa's design, she starts to cry and displays the flag which now reads "Learn to Fart". This appalls Lisa, as Bart innocently admonishes her for making the Governor cry.

Later, Bart again teases Lisa and they get in a fight and miss the bus heading back to Springfield. The fight brings them out of the parking lot and into the forest. As a result, the two wind up getting lost. Lisa tells Bart she is hurt by his behavior and Bart sounds somewhat apologetic, though he also adds in the interest of full disclosure that he wants to say he is sorry for using Homer's steamroller a while back to crush Lisa's bike, which he then blamed on Gypsies. Back in Springfield, Skinner informs Homer and Marge that Bart and Lisa are missing. They go to Capital City to find them. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa are found by a family of hillbillies, who save them by driving them back to Capital City. Marge is ecstatic on seeing her children safe and sound. Worried about the effects of placing Bart and Lisa in the same class, Skinner suggests that they return to the "status quo ante" – both Simpson kids go back to their proper grades.

Donald Duck is beckoned by his uncle Scrooge McDuck from a curse which has puffed him up into a floating balloon.

Alpha Kimori's story takes place 50 years after the alien invasion of Earth. The newly discovered planet Kimori plays host to two warring human factions – the Bidarians, who want to reclaim Earth, and the Jinrians, who are contented with their new home. The Bidarians are equipped with Robotic Intelligent Cybernetic Armor (RICA) technology while the Jinrians have the ability to transmute into colossal indigenous creatures. Despite the technological background story, the core is about a young Bidarian warrior, Rick, who falls in love with Jinrian princess, Yuki.

In an attempt to end a pledge drive which interrupts a favorite show of his on PBS (a Thames Television British sitcom titled ''Do Shut Up''), Homer pledges $10,000 to the network. Traced by PBS, he is applauded for saving the network, but it quickly becomes apparent that he does not have the money, prompting pledge drive host Betty White and a mob of characters and personalities from various PBS shows (including the cast of ''Do Shut Up'', Fred Rogers, Yo-Yo Ma, the Teletubbies, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Elmo) to chase him through the streets. Reverend Lovejoy saves Homer when he runs into the church and claims sanctuary. He gets Homer past the mob by hiding him in a bag disguised as a sack of children's letters to God. He then puts Homer on a cargo plane to Micronesia where he will become a missionary, even though he has no religious faith and no knowledge of Christianity.

Homer calls back to Marge in Springfield via a ham radio. In the call he promotes Bart to "the man of the house", Lisa to "boy", Maggie to the "brainy girl" and the toaster to "Maggie", making Marge a consultant. Bart replaces Homer at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, where Mr. Burns criticizes Homer's record and, thinking he is talking to Homer, pokes Bart with a stick.

Homer arrives on an island and meets the outgoing missionaries and the natives, including a native girl who he names Lisa Jr because she is just like Lisa. With no television or beer, he is so desperate that he drops to the ground writhing and crying "Oh God!" (which the natives all imitate, believing it to be a form of prayer). He later resorts to licking frogs for their hallucinogenic venom. The natives are first portrayed as noble savages, ignorant of and unspoiled by North American civilization. Homer eventually begins trying to teach them about religion, but realizing that he knows nothing, he tries something new and decides to build a casino, which he names "The Lucky Savage". It introduces alcohol (brewed from holy water), gambling, gluttony, and violence to the island, and ruins the natives' virtuous way of life.

After the failure of the casino, Homer builds a chapel in penance, but he and Lisa Jr. ring the bell too loudly, causing an earthquake that releases a river of lava. The chapel, carrying Homer and Lisa Jr., starts to sink into the lava. As the two are about to meet their deaths, the scene cuts to another pledge drive; this time, however, for the Fox network. It is revealed that the ''The Simpsons'' itself is in danger of cancellation, while the entire network is facing financial hardship. Various Fox show personalities, with a cranky Rupert Murdoch, are manning the phones; the host is again Betty White, who entreats the viewers to help keep "crude, low-brow programming", such as ''Family Guy'', on air. Bart calls in and pledges $10,000. Murdoch excitedly remarks that Bart has saved the network, to which he replies "Wouldn't be the first time".

In feudal Korea, during the Goryeo Dynasty, a king controls the land with an iron fist, subjecting the peasantry to misery and starvation. An old blacksmith who was sent to prison for defending his people creates a tiny figurine of a monster by making a doll of rice and before dying asks the gods of earth and sky to make his creation a living creature that protects the rebels and the oppressed. When the figurine comes into contact with the blood of the blacksmith's daughter, the creature springs to life, becoming a giant metal-eating monster whom the blacksmith's daughter names Pulgasari, which is the name of the mythical monster her father used to mention as an eater of iron and steel. Pulgasari now shares a special bond with the blacksmith's daughter, and after he starts eating some of the farmer's tools, becomes a giant and powerful figure.

After much suffering, the peasants form an army, storm the palace of the region's Governor and kill him. Soon after the evil king becomes aware that there is a rebellion being planned in the country and he intends to crush it, but he runs into Pulgasari, who fights with the peasant army to overthrow the corrupt monarchy. Pulgasari wins many battles because of his unending hunger for all kind of metal, readily provided by its enemies. Nevertheless, after capturing and executing the leader of the rebellion (who was also the future husband of the blacksmith's daughter), the king's army threatens to kill the blacksmith's daughter if Pulgasari does not surrender. Pulgasari lets itself be trapped to save the woman, and the royal army apparently kills the creature by burying it under the ground. After escaping, the blacksmith's daughter revives Pulgasari by again pouring some of her blood on the burial site. Pulgasari grows strong once more and attacks the king's palace, destroying it and simultaneously killing the king.

After the defeat of the king, Pulgasari becomes a new problem, since he starts eating the rebel's weapons and farmer's tools, which are given to the creature without objection, since the peasants still believe Pulgasari is a benign savior. The blacksmith's daughter realizes that Pulgasari's hunger will never stop, and that he is inadvertently oppressing the people he fought for. She decides to sacrifice herself by hiding inside a big bell that Pulgasari finds and quickly eats. Pulgasari yells in anguish as the blacksmith's daughter's presence in its system causes it to turn to stone and crumble into pieces, tragically killing both of them, but saving the people once and for all.

Bertie receives a letter from his cousin Eustace, who is with his twin Claude and Bertie's friend Bingo Little at Twing Hall. Eustace invites Bertie, claiming there is an opportunity to make money. The letter includes a baffling list of ministers, times, and prices. Bertie goes to Twing, where he talks to a friend, Lady Cynthia. Bertie later sees Bingo, who confesses to being in love with Cynthia.

The next morning, Bingo enters Bertie's bedroom to share his poetry about Cynthia. Claude and Eustace follow. Eustace says that an acquaintance, Steggles, came up with a fun variation on the standard horse race: the Sermon Handicap. Each local parson's Sunday sermon will be timed, and the parson who preaches the longest wins. Steggles made the list of parsons, their handicaps, and their current odds being taken for bets. One parson, Heppenstall, gives long sermons, but has a moderate handicap since Steggles underestimated him; Bertie funds bets on Heppenstall for a syndicate made of himself, Bingo, Claude, and Eustace. Eustace invites Jeeves to join them but Jeeves declines.

Later, Claude and Eustace alert Bertie that another parson, G. Hayward, also gives long sermons. To protect their bets, Bertie asks Heppenstall to preach his long sermon on Brotherly Love. However, Heppenstall falls ill; his succinct nephew Bates will take his place. Bertie's syndicate placed ante-post (pre-event) bets; consequently, they will lose their wagers when Heppenstall fails to appear at the event. They bet on G. Hayward to make up for their anticipated losses.

On Sunday, G. Hayward gives a long sermon. Bertie and Bingo return to the Hall, where Bingo chastises Jeeves, who placed an S.P. (starting price, i.e. price at start of event) bet on Bates. Jeeves gives Bertie a letter, delivered earlier by Heppenstall's butler Brookfield, informing that Bates will give the full sermon on Brotherly Love. Jeeves had heard this from Brookfield. Jeeves adds, to Bingo's dismay, that Bates is engaged to Lady Cynthia.

When the famed explorer Louis Rondelle (Hobart Bosworth) requests the U.S. Navy's assistance in reaching the South Pole, officer Jack Bradon (Jack Holt) convinces Rear Admiral John S. Martin (Emmett Corrigan) to offer his dirigible, the USS ''Pensacola'', for the attempt.

Jack asks his best friend, "Frisky" Pierce (Ralph Graves), to pilot the biplane that will be carried on the airship. Frisky, who is adventurous to the point of recklessness, is eager to go even though he has just completed a record-setting coast-to-coast flight and has barely spent any time with his wife, Helen (Fay Wray). Basking in the acclaim, he has even forgotten to read the sealed love letter she gave him to open when he arrived.

Helen loves Frisky but cannot make him believe how much she is hurt by the risks he takes. She sees Jack without her husband's knowledge and begs him to drop Frisky from the expedition, and for the sake of their marriage, not tell him why. Jack, who also loves her, agrees. Frisky, assuming Jack does not want to share the fame, ends their friendship.

The expedition soon ends in disaster: the ''Pensacola'' breaks in two and crashes into the ocean during a storm. Frisky participates in the rescue of the expedition by aircraft carrier. He now gets a leave of absence from the Navy to pilot a Fokker Trimotor transport aircraft for Rondelle's next attempt at the South Pole. This proves too much for Helen. When she is unable to get Frisky to change his mind, she gives him another sealed letter (to be read when he reaches the Pole), but this time it says that she is divorcing him and will ask Jack to marry her.

Frisky, Rondelle, Sock McGuire (Roscoe Karns), and Hansen (Harold Goodwin) reach the South Pole. When Frisky suggests landing on the snow, Rondelle accepts his judgment that there will be no danger. But in fact the aircraft flips over and bursts into flames, destroying most of their supplies. Rondelle's leg is broken and Sock's foot is injured.

After radioing their base camp, they attempt to walk the 900 miles back to it, dragging Rondelle on a sled. Rondelle soon dies and is buried. Later, Frisky has to amputate Sock's foot. When Sock realizes he is too much of a burden, he drags himself away to die while the other two are sleeping. They carry on, but Hansen breaks down when he finds they have been going in a circle and have returned to Rondelle's grave. Frisky refuses to give up and forces Hansen to continue on.

When Helen hears the news of the crash, she realizes she no longer wants a divorce and wishes she could go to Frisky. Jack realizes he can, and talks Rear Admiral Martin into letting him attempt a rescue with his new dirigible, the USS ''Los Angeles''. The two survivors are found and rescued. On the way back, Frisky remembers that he has again forgotten to read Helen's letter, but he has snow blindness and asks Jack to read it to him. Jack quickly substitutes his own improvised version, in which Helen is proud of his accomplishment and waiting for her husband with undiminished love. He then destroys the letter. When they return, Frisky uncharacteristically skips a ticker tape parade through New York City to be with his wife. He is the first to mention the contents of the letter; to Helen's great relief, she realizes that Jack has not only brought Frisky back to her but also saved their marriage.

"Roog" is a story told from the point of view of a dog named Boris, who observes his masters carefully storing food in containers outside of their house day after day. Unbeknownst to the dog, these are the human's trash cans for garbage. The dog is later horrified to witness some food being 'stolen' by garbagemen who the dog believes are predatory carnivores from another planet. The dog comes to know these beings as 'Roogs', and tries to warn his master of each 'theft' with cries of 'Roog!' 'Roog!'. The humans, unable to comprehend the hound's message, think the dog is just being rowdy. Thus they attribute the sound the dog makes to be the sound that all dogs make when they are excited: 'Roog!' 'Roog!' The tale concludes with the animal being somewhat distraught, barking "ROOG!" very loudly at the garbagemen before they make off once more with trash in their garbage truck.

In the town of Socorro, New Mexico, Professor Shepherd was forced to relinquish an experimental transdogmafier technology to General Parvo in exchange for his lost dog, but instead Parvo gives him a bomb that destroys his laboratory. One year later, as normal dogs begin to mutate into monsters, Shephard, who miraculously survived the attack, takes measures to stop Parvo who is behind this.

Shepherd selects five different dogs and in his new, secret underground lab, he uses his new transdogmifier on the five, turning them into "Cano-sapiens". These dogs are the pets of world leaders and when called to action they are a team of crime fighters known as the "Road Rovers".

After being tricked into evacuating the house by Homer, who had set off the fire alarm early in the morning, the family goes to the Duff Days festival sponsored by Duff Beer. While there, they see Moe Szyslak enter a bartending competition and win the grand prize of having his photo taken for the upcoming Duff calendar. However, when the calendar goes on sale, Moe is dismayed to find his face covered by several layers of stickers due to his ugliness. He takes Lenny and Carl up on their suggestion that he have plastic surgery; although he is reluctant to go through with the procedure, it leaves him with a handsome face. Filled with new confidence, he confronts old adversaries, including the producers of the soap opera ''It Never Ends'', complaining that he was rejected for the part of Dr. Tad Winslow 25 years earlier because of his appearance. When the actor portraying the role is fired after demanding a salary increase, the producers hire Moe to replace him.

Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa discover that Maggie's pink Duff Days elephant balloon has blown away in the wind. They go after it until it ends up in a gay Republican coalition's office where the members are discussing what their mascot should be. One member dismisses the pink elephant as being too precise about their group's identity. They then give Lisa a bumper sticker supporting a gay president in 2084, admitting that they have to be realistic about their long-term goals.

Taping of ''It Never Ends'' goes well until Moe reads in a top-secret book of future plot lines that his character is to be killed off. Infuriated, he gets revenge by revealing all the plots on the air, with help from Homer. The producer angrily interrupts to tell Moe that his character's death was meant to be part of a dream sequence, as indicated by the book's color-coding of pages that Moe had remembered incorrectly, and fires him. Moe confidently states that he can get a role on any other soap opera he wants, but as he is leaving, a set piece falls on his face and crushes it back to its original appearance. His life returns to normal at the bar, where he wonders how the accident left him with his original face instead of an entirely new one.

After watching his embarrassing birthday party video and being mocked by his friends with gag gifts, Barney realizes he is a hideous drunk, and promises to get sober. At first, he finds sustaining sobriety tough, but he finds his way to an AA meeting with Homer's help, and soon goes to The Springfield Flight School where he takes helicopter-flying lessons. At Moe's Tavern, Homer is treated as the new Barney and is forced by Moe, Lenny, and Carl to perform drunken antics. Barney gives Homer a ride in the helicopter a few lessons later with the two arguing about Barney's new sobriety and Homer's unhappiness that they no longer have ridiculous adventures.

Meanwhile, to get their picture on the cover of the new phone book and win the prize of a new bicycle, Bart and Lisa enter an amateur photo contest. They find an old camera with an old roll of film and start to take snapshots with it. One day, they are taking pictures atop Mt. Springfield when Bart inadvertently starts a forest fire by carelessly discarding a hot flashbulb, putting them in imminent danger.

At Moe's, Barney arrives to make amends for his drunken behavior; when he and Homer see the news report of the fire, they band together to save Bart and Lisa. They hop in the helicopter, but land in the middle of a bridge when Barney panics over flying the helicopter, having not yet finished the lessons. When a Duff beer truck on the bridge spills its contents in front of Barney, Homer refuses to let him give up on sobriety and drinks an entire six-pack in his place, leaving Barney touched at his gesture. Together, Barney and a drunken Homer save the kids, and Bart commemorates the moment by taking a photo of the fire on Mt. Springfield, submitting it as his and Lisa's entry to the photo contest.

The next day, at the Simpson house, Marge tells the children that the new phone books are here, and they have Bart and Lisa's picture on the front cover. Bart and Lisa realize that the picture on one of the phone books is not the one of the fire on Mt. Springfield; it is actually a photo of baby Bart and Lisa naked on the toilet, causing them to scream in horror. Marge says that the shot was in the film on the camera and that since she had taken it, she won the bike for them. Bart and Lisa, after accepting that they will be the laughingstock of the entire town, happily hug their mother, because they got the bike. Meanwhile, Barney's confidence and his friendship with Homer are restored, and he looks forward to an alcohol-free future, although he is now addicted to double-tall mocha lattes. It transpires that the coffees Barney drink are really supplied by Moe's coffee cart, who delights in the fact that Barney, having swapped his addiction from alcohol to coffee, is still a customer to him.

On a trip to the mall, Homer sees an optometrist to get his eyes examined and gets laser surgery after rejecting a number of eyeglasses. After the surgery, Homer rejects the optometrist's advice to take eye drops to keep his eyes from crusting over. While he is temporarily blinded, he gets tricked into driving to the liquor store to buy Jack Daniel's and "a carton of smokes" for Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney.

At the same time, Marge and Lisa find items for Bart's school camping trip. While watching the film ''Tango de La Muerte'' at the mall's cineplex, Lisa identifies with the main female character, a bookworm named "Lisabella" whom the tango champion asks to be his partner and with whom he then falls in love. This inspires Lisa to enroll at a dance school, where she wants to take tango classes. She is pushed into tap lessons by an obnoxious former child star named Vicki Valentine. Lisa's hopes of being a dancer are crushed when she finds that she is the worst dancer there, even being out-performed by Ralph Wiggum. She continues to attend the tap classes because she does not want to upset Homer and Marge. When the school organizes a dance recital, Lisa finds that she will not be dancing and has been relegated to pulling the curtain to open the show (Vicki eventually decides that the curtain-pulling is too important for Lisa and instead does it herself). Professor Frink, overhearing, devises a plan to attach a device to Lisa's shoes that will make them automatically tap at any percussive sound. This allows her to mimic the other dancers and take part in the recital. She becomes a star at the show, even upstaging an enraged Vicki, but when the audience applauds her, her shoes go out of control. Homer stops the shoes from going haywire by tripping Lisa. Vicki finally seems to empathize with Lisa's desperation to be a star (though she notes, to the bemusement of Homer and Marge, that this involved Vicki's destroying the credit rating of Buddy Ebsen). Lisa walks off with her parents, having decided that tap dancing is not for her.

Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse sneak out of their camping trip after discovering that Nelson Muntz will be there with them with plans to beat them both up on the reg. They decide to hide in the mall and spend the night there, having shoe fights and causing havoc once the mall has closed. The next morning, the mall manager and Chief Wiggum see the mess that Bart and Milhouse have created and blindly jumps to the conclusion that it was caused by a giant rat, closing the mall as a result. He releases a puma inside the mall to catch the rat, but Bart and Milhouse use a ball of yarn to distract the puma and escape. Wiggum later sees a piece of red yarn hanging from the mountain lion's mouth and thinks it is the rat's tail, which prompts him to close the case and not focus on putting the puma back in its cage.

Following the events of ''Up Your Arsenal'', Ratchet, Clank and Big Al have been given the job of running the Starship Phoenix. After the crew are informed that many heroes have disappeared, robot troops overrun the Phoenix, taking Ratchet, Clank, and Al captive.

They are transported to the Shadow Sector, a lawless region of space on the edge of the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet meets Gleeman Vox, the creator of DreadZone, a barbaric game show in which contestants are forced to kill each other for public entertainment. Ratchet is forced to compete in DreadZone, and is fitted with a "DeadLock" collar which will explode if he becomes uncooperative or boring. Collectively referred to as "Team DarkStar", Ratchet and his combat bots, Merc and Green must fight for their lives while Clank serves as Ratchet's "Mission Engineer".

Ratchet competes in a variety of DreadZone challenges, quickly becoming DreadZone's most popular contestant despite Vox's numerous slander campaigns against him, leaving Dreadzone's previous star, Ace Hardlight jealous. Ratchet is eventually sent to compete against Ace, who Ratchet defeats. As Ratchet leaves, Ace tells him to not let Vox corrupt him. Afterwards, Vox offers to make Ratchet a new exterminator and turn him into DreadZone's superstar, but he is enraged when Ratchet refuses and decides to have him participate in an arena scientifically proven to be unbeatable, which he narrowly wins.

Meanwhile, Clank devises a plan to escape from the DreadZone facility by reprogramming the arena transport pod to take Ratchet to the station's control level. Here, he can destroy the central computer and deactivate the containment field holding all of the heroes hostage.

Upon his arrival at the control level, Ratchet discovers that Vox has wired the station to explode, and if Ratchet cannot deactivate the explosives, everyone there will die. Running a massive gauntlet of enemies and destroying the station's power generators, Ratchet deactivates the containment fields and unlocks the station's escape shuttles. After being defeated by Ratchet, Vox manually activates the station's self-destruct sequence, planning to kill both himself and Ratchet.

The last shuttle, however, piloted by Al, swoops in to rescue Ratchet. Ratchet climbs aboard and Clank removes his DeadLock collar. The DreadZone station explodes soon afterwards, taking Vox with it. After the credits, Doctor Nefarious and his butler, Lawrence make a cameo appearance, still trapped on an asteroid. Nefarious states that they were supposed to be coming in range of a space station, to which Lawrence retorts he had no idea it was going to explode. Nefarious gets angry and short-circuits, and a clip from the soap opera "Lance and Janice" plays as the game ends. Afterwards it is informed that The Plumber was unable to make an appearance in the game "due to a sump dump on the Rygyllian Nebula".

Each student in Bart's class is given a video camera for a school project to create a movie. Otto drives the school bus to a drive-through restaurant where his girlfriend Becky works. Otto proposes to her, and she accepts. On Bart's suggestion, they decide to have the wedding at the Simpson house and sends out flyers. Marge reluctantly agrees, since she still has everything from Apu's wedding. The wedding is a success up until the point when Otto gets a Poison tribute band (called Cyanide) to play "Nothin' but a Good Time". Becky admits to Marge that she hates heavy metal music. At the wedding, Marge suggests to Becky that she gives Otto a choice; he can either have herself or heavy metal. Otto chooses heavy metal, and breaks up with Becky.

Becky stays with the Simpson family, on Bart's suggestion. Marge consoles her, but when Becky begins to help out around the house and is praised for her contribution, Marge begins to worry that her family likes Becky more than her. Eventually, she becomes paranoid and suspects that Becky is trying to kill her, after discovering that her car will not stop due to malfunctioning brakes. Later, Becky and the rest of the family meet without Marge at an ice cream parlor, and Becky tells everyone that she has found a new apartment and is moving out. After she buys a Noah's Ark-themed bowl of ice cream, featuring two scoops of every flavour, Homer freaks out upon the presence of so much ice cream and suddenly collapses face first into the dessert. Becky gives him mouth-to-mouth but Marge comes in, thinking she is kissing him. She grabs a cone and smashes it like a glass bottle, to attack Becky. Marge is arrested and put on trial. At a psychiatric hearing, Marge attempts to prove she is sane; however, due to her past affection on Ringo Starr and her belief in God, the certifying board decide to commit her for the sake of it.

When Marge escapes from the hearing room and goes to the library to see who Becky really is, she realizes that she is insane and being unfair to Becky, after finding nothing bad about her and a newspaper tablet of how Marge ruined Becky's wedding. Finally, she returns home, only to find Becky appearing to torture the Simpsons, with Lisa stuck to the wall, Maggie is stuck in a cage, and Becky about to sacrifice a tied-up Homer with a knife. Marge intervenes, snatching the knife from Becky and attempting to strangle her, but the scene is revealed to be a sequence Bart is filming for his school project. Homer admits that he accidentally drained the brake fluid from Marge's car while changing its oil. Marge apologizes to Becky, who admits that she did intend to kill Marge and steal her family, but decided not to after she could not get a shovel. Suddenly, the mental hospital doctors show up and shoot three tranquilizer darts into Marge's neck, which do not take effect; Marge tells them that she has too much work to do to take a nap. She instructs Lisa to take Maggie out of the cage, and tells Homer to scrub and mop the room, since he is dressed for the job. As Marge giggles, Homer fires a dart borrowed from the doctors into her, which sends her straight to sleep.

Julia and her husband, Roddy Davenant, along with their young son, Oliver, and Roddy's cousin, Eleanor, are temporarily living at Mrs. Lippincote's, a house filled with old mahogany furniture and other reminders of earlier wealth. Julia and the others have joined Roddy, who is an officer in the Royal Air Force.

She must be mother and, above all, an officer's wife. Roddy, a "leader of men," requires that she fulfil her role impeccably. Julia accepts the pompousness of Armed forces service life, but her honesty and sense of humour prevent her from taking her role too seriously.

K9 has lost his voice, and the Fourth Doctor is confused as to why a robot would have laryngitis. Romana, for reasons unknown, regenerates, choosing the form of Princess Astra of the planet Atrios, in spite of the Doctor's initial disapproval of it.

The TARDIS lands on a rocky planet. The Doctor and Romana see a group of ragged-looking humans burying one of their dead, followed by a spaceship landing and half-burying itself in the ground in a valley. As the Doctor and Romana are about to investigate, underground explosions force them back towards the ruins. Whilst exploring them, another explosion occurs, trapping the Doctor. Romana returns to the TARDIS to reassemble K9 so he can assist, but finds the TARDIS half-buried in rubble. She finds that the Doctor has vanished. As she turns to leave, a man who has been following her blocks her path. She backs away, falls down a rubble chute, and loses consciousness. She recovers only to have three Daleks burst through the wall and capture her, commanding her to work at a drilling site.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is thanking the white-clad, silver-haired humanoids who have rescued him, remarking on their strength. He asks their leader, Commander Sharrel, where he is, and is told that the planet is D-5-Gamma-Z-Alpha, otherwise known as Skaro. The Doctor learns that the Movellans are here to wage war against the Daleks. Two Movellans bring in a new prisoner, the man who has been following the Doctor and Romana. He is Starship Engineer Tyssan. He reveals that the Daleks used him as slave labour as part of a search operation. He tells the Doctor about what has happened to Romana, and they set out to rescue her.

The Doctor, Tyssan, and three Movellans find Romana and head into the Dalek headquarters. The Doctor establishes that the Daleks are searching for something on a level that they have yet to access, and remembers an alternative route to this area, so they make their way to this floor. There they discover Davros, the creator of the Daleks, who was in suspended animation and slowly comes to life.

The Doctor moves the revived Davros into a blocked-off room in the ruins of the Dalek city. They talk about the Daleks' "accomplishments" during the thousands of years he has been in suspended animation, and while the Doctor comments on the lives the Daleks have ruined, Davros replies that the Daleks have only just begun their conquest of the cosmos. Daleks find them both, and the Doctor holds Davros hostage with a makeshift explosive, bargaining with the Daleks to free all their prisoners and to let him escape. Davros makes them see that the Doctor's logic is "impaired by irrational sentiment" and the Daleks comply. The Daleks remove the explosive and Davros vows to make them invincible, the supreme power of the universe.

Romana reaches the Movellan spaceship; but learns that they are not as altruistic as they appear when they knock her out. The Movellans test their nova device: a weapon which changes air molecules so that a planet's atmosphere becomes flammable and can be set alight, killing all life. The Doctor meets up with Tyssan and they find a female Movellan scout. The Doctor confirms his suspicion that the Movellans are actually robots by removing the power pack on her belt and deactivating her. He finds Romana but is captured by the Movellans.

The Doctor learns that the Daleks and Movellans have been in a stalemate for two centuries and that both sides' battle computers have been calculating the best strategy and precise moment at which to attack. So far, not a single shot has been fired. The Daleks want Davros to help them gain an advantage. The Movellans want the Doctor to do the same for them. The Doctor refuses. Davros is eager to give the Daleks the upper hand. He orders them to make a suicide bombing attack on the Movellan craft. Meanwhile, Tyssan leads the prisoners in an attack on the Movellans, deactivating them all, while Romana is able to disable the Movellan's Commander before he can set off the nova device.

The Doctor tells Davros that the Movellans have been disabled; Davros does not believe him and still intends to destroy the Movellan ship. As Daleks approach the ship, the Doctor goes to detonate the bombs but is ambushed by a Dalek, which holds him at gunpoint. The Doctor throws his hat on the Dalek's eyestalk, blinding it, then destroys it with one of the remaining bombs. He then detonates the bombs on the Dalek suicide squad before it reaches the Movellan ship.

The Doctor then puts Davros into the custody of the former slave workers. He is placed in cryogenic suspension and taken to Earth to stand trial for his crimes. The Doctor and Romana leave, remarking on the fact that whoever makes mistakes often wins.

Outside references

The Doctor reads Oolon Colluphid's book ''The Origins of the Universe'' and says he got it wrong "on the first line". Colluphid is a character from ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' written by script editor Douglas Adams, who inserted the reference to his own work.

Unlike ''Superstar Saga'', ''Partners in Time'' is not set in the Beanbean Kingdom, but the traditional Mushroom Kingdom featured in most games of the ''Mario'' series. The setting features a mixture of locations, from those that appeared in previous ''Mario'' games, such as Bowser's Castle, to original locations such as Koopaseum. Mario and Luigi can travel into the past via "time holes", which is how the concept of baby characters is introduced. Much of this game takes place in the past Mushroom Kingdom, with only Peach's Castle being visited in the present Mushroom Kingdom.

Story

The game starts at the Peach's Castle of the past Mushroom Kingdom, when Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser were babies, and Toadsworth was much younger. The game then cuts to Peach's Castle in the present, when Professor E. Gadd completes his newest invention of a time machine powered by a gem called the Cobalt Star, which is presented at Peach's Castle. Peach enters the time machine into the past, but fails to return, only leaving a member of an alien species known only as the Shroobs within the damaged time machine. The Mushroom Kingdom of the past had actually been invaded by the Shroobs, with Peach being kidnapped and held hostage at a Shroob-modified version of her castle, known as Shroob Castle. After defeating the monster, a time hole opens, leaving a passageway into the past. While searching for Peach, Mario and Luigi locate their younger selves, and agree to locate the crystal shards, which are remnants of the Cobalt Star which had been shattered during Peach's journey. Unwittingly, the brothers collect all of the shards, while being pestered by Baby Bowser (Bowser in the past) who wants the Cobalt Star. At the end, they restore the Cobalt Star only to unleash the Elder Princess Shroob, who was trapped inside the Cobalt Star by Peach and serves as the game's final boss character. The story ends when she is defeated, Peach is rescued, and Mario and Luigi say goodbye to their baby counterparts who are sent back to the past, now that the past Mushroom Kingdom is safe and Shroob-free.

Characters

''Partners in Time'' features both original characters and those that were introduced before the game. Professor E. Gadd provides the player with advice throughout the game, while Toadsworth teaches the player new moves and skills to progress through the adventure. Although the older Peach is kidnapped, Baby Peach is retrieved from the past into the present by Toadsworth, where she is nurtured by both the old and young renditions of him. Baby Bowser appeared near the beginning of the game in the past to kidnap Baby Peach, although his plans were halted by an encounter with the Mario brothers and a subsequent attack from the Shroobs. Baby Bowser harasses the quartet frequently during their journey by stealing their Cobalt Star shards, and later attacking the group with his older self. Kamek the Magikoopa, Petey Piranha and Fawful, an antagonist from ''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga'', appear in the game as well.

The Shroobs, introduced in ''Partners in Time'', are fungal like creatures who are the main antagonists of the game. The name "Shroob" is, of course, a deliberate corruption of the word "shroom", short for "mushroom." The Shroobs derive from the "Shroob planet" and are ruled by Princess Shroob, who is the primary antagonist. After invading the Mushroom Kingdom, both she and her twin sister, Elder Princess Shroob, are defeated. Different species of Shroobs (with designs based on existing ''Mario'' franchise characters and enemies) are present throughout the game as both minor enemies and boss characters. AlphaDream also introduced Stuffwell, a talking briefcase created by E. Gadd who gives the player and brothers advice regarding items and accessories, which he stores.

In 1953, Joe Morelli is traveling rural Sicily, offering to take screen tests of wannabe actors for a fee. He claims to work for big Roman film studios, but in reality he is a fraud. He meets several people who express their deepest feelings and secrets in front of the camera. At one of his stops he meets a young girl, Beata, a convent girl who becomes attached to him despite his protestations.

Joe and Beata's relationship gradually evolves into a romantic one, when he's exposed as a fraud, beaten, and arrested. After serving his prison term, Joe comes back to seek Beata, but finds her in a mentally disturbed state assuming Joe died. Pretending to be Joe's friend, he conveys to her a message that she was the love of his life, and promises he shall come back with money and take care of her.

Valentine's Day approaches, and Wendy suggests to her boyfriend Stan ways to spend time together. However, when their schoolteacher Mr. Garrison decides to get a rhinoplasty, a new substitute arrives named Ms. Ellen (Natasha Henstridge) and all the boys in class find themselves inexplicably enamored with her, including Stan. Wendy becomes incredibly jealous and warns Ms. Ellen to stay away from Stan, unaware that the substitute teacher does not return Stan's affection.

Concerned about the children's education, Ms. Ellen reveals she will buy dinner for the winner of a spelling test. The boys actively try to court Ms. Ellen, but Chef (having beaten them to it) warns them she is a lesbian and thus only likes other lesbians. The boys do not realise what this means and try to become lesbians in order to attract Ms. Ellen. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison's nose job makes him a "hot and sexy" man, with his face resembling David Hasselhoff, and he decides to quit teaching to pursue women. Stan wins the dinner (much to Wendy's dismay), but finds out that Ms. Ellen has no intention of making love with him. Wendy however sees them through the window and leaves distraught. The next day, several Iraqi men burst into the classroom and declare that Ms. Ellen is actually an Iraqi fugitive. As she resists arrest, she inadvertently kills Kenny by impaling him with a sword to his face. The soldiers take her into custody and shoot her into the center of the sun via a rocket.

Mr. Garrison becomes a successful model, but he soon finds himself being chased throughout the streets by a large group of women attracted to him. Frightened by all the attention, Mr. Garrison decides to return to his normal looks. Wendy reclaims Stan as her boyfriend by having him vomit on her, and it is made clear that she encouraged the town's women to pursue Mr. Garrison so relentlessly that he decided to return to teaching. Wendy speaks with the Iraqi men in fluent Arabic and pays them with a wad of American money. Later, Wendy watches joyfully as the rocket blows up in the sun, and Kyle realizes Wendy hired the Iraqis to kill Ms. Ellen. Outraged by this, Kyle angrily confronts Wendy for this, but Wendy declares (with deranged eyes), "I told her: 'Don't... fuck... with... Wendy... Testaburger!'" Kyle looks shocked.

The narrator of the novel is Hodgins "Hodge" McCormick Backmaker, who writes a diary of his life in our timeline, year 1877. Hodge was born in 1921 in the alternate timeline in Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County, New York. In 1938 at age 17, he travels to New York City, the largest city of the United States (and yet a backwater compared to some Confederate cities), in a desperate attempt to gain admittance to a college or university. After being robbed of his few possessions, he comes into contact with the "Grand Army", a nationalistic organization working to restore the United States to its former glory through acts of sabotage and terrorism. One of the Grand Army's operations involves counterfeiting Spanish currency, with the goal of provoking war between the Confederacy and the German Union in Spanish territories, sparing the U.S. from becoming the two superpowers' battlefield. Despite remaining critical of the organization's activities, Hodge accepts work and lodging with a Grand Army member working from a bookshop. Content to work for food and the opportunity to read at every waking hour, Hodge stays in the bookshop for six years. (Young Hodge's life is largely autobiographical of Ward Moore.) One friend he meets during this time is Consul Enfandin, an emissary of the Republic of Haiti, the only independent American republic south of the Mason–Dixon line.

Hodge leaves New York in 1944 for rural Pennsylvania, where his aspiration of becoming a historian, specializing in the war between North and South, becomes a reality when he is invited to join a co-operative society named Haggershaven. The society was founded by the children of a Confederate Major named Herbert Haggerwells, who settled after the war in the land he had helped defeat. He becomes acquainted with his recruiter Barbara Haggerwells, an emotionally disturbed research scientist on the verge of developing time travel. Many secondary characters with their own subplots are introduced during this part of the story, including some of the last few Asian-Americans alive (after a series of horrifying pogroms against their kind throughout North America) and a mysterious Spanish refugee woman who forms a love triangle with Hodge and Barbara. In 1952, the time machine has been perfected, and Hodge takes the opportunity to finally see in person the Battle of Gettysburg which was fought not far from Haggershaven. Wearing a special watch to keep track of the differences in time, he travels back in time to 1863, where he then inadvertently causes the death of Captain Herbert Haggerwells ("never to be Major now", remarks Hodge when he recognizes that the dead man was a younger version of the exalted portrait on Haggershaven's living room walls), who would have occupied Little Round Top for the South during the battle. In Hodge's timeline, Haggerwells' men held the hill so that the Confederates won the Battle of Gettysburg, paving the way for their victory over the Union in Philadelphia a year later; in the resultant timeline (our own), Union Colonel Strong Vincent's 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment occupy the hill early on and successfully repel Confederate advances. In the novel, Hodge asserts that Little Round Top is the key to the battle, and thus the war. Hodge's actions have led to Union control of the hill, so events play out as they did in our timeline, much to the surprise of Hodge, who witnesses Pickett's Charge having a different outcome than he read about. The South loses the battle, and eventually the war.

With history changed to make the world we know, Hodge discovers he is unable to return to his previous reality since the circumstances that had made the development of time travel possible have been unalterably changed: technology evolves along different lines, and Haggerwells has died before siring any descendants including Barbara, so Haggershaven and the time machine will never exist. Hodge, stranded in our timeline, hires himself out as a farmhand at the estate which would have been Haggershaven but is now owned by the Thammis family. Between 1863 and 1877 (when he is writing this story), Hodge comes to realize that the changed post-war United States is in some ways superior to the equivalent timeline in his past. He also finds it fascinating that people always talk of the Civil War rather than the War of Southron Independence, since the victors' name for the war takes precedence. However, he has an ominous feeling about the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes, suspecting that it will end the Reconstruction Era prematurely and weaken the cause of civil rights. Hodge then explains why he felt his story had to be written down, because he has considered the possibility of other timelines existing in parallel universes but has come to the conclusion that by preventing the future he was born in, he destroyed the only dimension where travel between them was possible. With this, the story ends abruptly in mid-sentence.

An "editorial note" following the story relates how one Frederick Winter Thammis had found Hodge's diary while remodeling his house in 1953, the year the real life book came out. Frederick's father had grown up knowing Hodge as a beloved ex-servant kept on a pension after he was too old to work. The family enjoyed listening to Hodge's stories of the world he was born in, but had not thought him fully sane. Thammis junior says the story reminds him of ''The Wizard of Oz''. Thammis notes that he has found a watch of a unique, two-dialed design with the manuscript, and ends the book by quoting from a recent history book which asks what could possibly have caused the Confederates' failure to occupy Little Round Top, "an error with momentous consequences".

Geoff Carter is the head pilot and manager of Barranca Airways, a small, barely solvent company owned by "Dutchy" Van Ruyter carrying airmail from the fictional South American port town of Barranca through a high pass in the Andes Mountains. Bonnie Lee, a piano-playing entertainer, arrives on a banana boat one day. After making her acquaintance, Joe Souther crashes and dies trying to land in fog later that day. Bonnie becomes infatuated with Geoff, despite his fatalistic attitude about the dangerous flying, and stays on in Barranca (''not'' at his invitation, as he insists on telling her).

The situation is complicated by the arrival of pilot Bat MacPherson and his wife (and Geoff's old flame) Judy. McPherson cannot find work in the United States because he once bailed out of an airplane, leaving his mechanic—the brother of "Kid" Dabb, Carter's best friend—to die in the ensuing crash. When Geoff is forced to ground the Kid because of failing eyesight, he hires MacPherson on the understanding that he will get the most dangerous assignments.

Dutchy will secure a lucrative government contract if he can provide reliable mail service during a six-month trial. On the last day of the probation period, bad weather closes the mountain pass. Geoff decides to try to fly a new Ford Trimotor over the mountains instead. The Kid asks to go with him as co-pilot. Geoff refuses, but then lets the Kid toss a coin to decide the matter. When it lands on the floor, Geoff discovers that the coin has two heads. Geoff still agrees to take him along. Just before leaving, Bonnie tries to talk Geoff out of going. She takes his gun out of his holster and points it at him. When she realizes that she cannot stop him, she drops the gun on the table, but it accidentally fires, hitting Geoff in the shoulder.

Unable to fly, Geoff lets MacPherson take his place. However, MacPherson and the Kid are unable to climb high enough; the plane stalls and drops thousands of feet before leveling off. Geoff tells them to turn around, but they decide to try to fly through the fogged-in pass. In the pass, they encounter a flock of condors. One crashes through the windshield, paralyzing the Kid; another hits the No. 1 engine, setting it on fire. Later the No. 2 engine also catches fire. The Kid tells MacPherson to bail out, but he refuses. He turns around and returns to Barranca, managing to crash-land the burning Trimotor on the field. The Kid dies from a broken neck, but not before telling Geoff what MacPherson did. As a result, MacPherson is finally accepted by the other pilots.

Bonnie is torn between leaving and staying, and confronts Geoff in the hope he will ask her to stay. However, with mere hours to spare on the trial period, the weather clears and Geoff has to rush off to secure the all-important contract. Before he goes, he offers to toss a coin to decide: heads, Bonnie stays; tails, she leaves. The coin comes up heads, but Bonnie despairs that this is the result of chance, not love. Geoff leaves her with the coin. She then realizes that it is the Kid's trick coin, dispelling her sadness.

Fleet Admiral Castor Dane, the commander of a Galactic Federation flagship ''Olympus'', calls for a meeting with Samus Aran and three other bounty hunters—Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda. The bounty hunters receive orders to clear a computer virus from several organic supercomputers called "Aurora Units", located throughout the galaxy. The meeting ends abruptly when Space Pirates attack the Federation fleet. Samus and the other bounty hunters are deployed to the planet Norion, where the Space Pirates are concentrating an attack on the Federation base. While suppressing the attack, Samus learns that a Phazon meteoroid, called a Leviathan Seed, will soon collide into Norion. Samus and the other bounty hunters attempt to activate the base's defense systems, when they are suddenly attacked by Dark Samus. With the other bounty hunters knocked out, a severely wounded Samus manages to activate the system just in time to destroy the Leviathan Seed before she falls unconscious.

A month later, Samus awakens aboard ''Olympus'', where she learns that Dark Samus's Phazon-based attacks have corrupted her. The Federation equips her suit with a Phazon Enhancement Device (PED) that enables her to harness the Phazon energy within herself. She is informed that her fellow bounty hunters, also corrupted with Phazon and equipped with PEDs, have gone missing during their missions to investigate several planets embedded with Leviathan Seeds. Samus is first sent to the planet Bryyo and later Elysia to determine what happened to her missing comrades. She soon discovers that both planets and their inhabitants are slowly being corrupted by the Leviathan Seeds and that she must destroy the seeds to reverse this. Samus encounters heavy resistance from the Space Pirates, Phazon-corrupted monstrosities, and her fellow bounty hunters who have been corrupted by Dark Samus.

Throughout her mission, which eventually takes her to the Space Pirate homeworld, Samus slowly becomes further Phazon-corrupted. She manages to stop the Space Pirate assault with the assistance of the Federation troops. After stealing a Leviathan battleship, Samus and the Federation fleet use it to create a wormhole that leads to the planet Phaaze, the origin point of Phazon. Samus travels to the planet's core, where she finally defeats Dark Samus and then the corrupted Aurora Unit 313. As a result, Dark Samus is obliterated, and Phaaze explodes, rendering all Phazon in the galaxy inert. The Federation fleet escapes Phaaze's destruction, but loses contact with Samus in the process. Samus eventually appears in her gunship, and reports that the mission is accomplished before flying off into space.

Samus returns to Elysia, where she mourns the loss of her fellow bounty hunters. If the player completes the game with all of the items obtained, Samus is seen flying into hyperspace, with Sylux's spaceship following her.

The plot is set in the 1960s, which chronicles the awakening of the hippie stoner Divine Right (alter ego of the main character D.R. Davenport) as he travels from Kentucky with his girlfriend Estelle across the country, in a patient and introspective 1963 VW Bus, Urge. Divine Right has no idea where he is or where he is going.

D.R. and Estelle take turns sleeping and driving, but D.R.'s constant straddling between waking and sleeping makes the journey as much an inner trip as it is a physical seemingly random trip from Urge to anywhere. The first helper character to be encountered is the Lone Outdoorsman who is a non-moving object in this road-trip story, stuck camping on the same site since years ago, watching TV in his solitude. He is a suspicious soul.

The next helper is the Greek, who is named for his talking. The Greek is on a journey back to Norman, Oklahoma, to destroy the last remaining record of himself, which is an autobiographical Master's thesis. He wants to erase himself and forget his name, and hopes to come closer to Nirvana by doing this. It seems D.R. and the Greek have a lot in common in this quest, but while the Greek is moving toward some goal, D.R. is only running away from home.

Next up is the Native, whom D.R. meets while attending a funeral for his friend Eddie. After this D.R. heads for his sister and tells Estelle he would prefer to see his sister's family without her. He is reluctant to mix his two identities; with Estelle he is D.R. and with his sister he is David Ray. This results in Estelle leaving D.R., and the story, for good. D.R. settles in at his sister Marcella and Doyle's house as if he were born there, and he finds out about a person called Emmit, his chance for salvation.

While Marcella's family is at church, D.R. gets his own message from what he perceives as God (Mrs. Godsey) over the phone. She tells him to come home and take care of Emmit. As D.R. crosses the Ohio River, the narration suddenly shifts from Divine Right's journey home to David Ray's weekend trips as a boy from Cincinnati back to the old homeplace. When we change back to Divine Right he is at a crossroads in Kentucky and so is the story: the two D.R.'s are about to converge.

D.R. struggles with his two selves as he gets closer to home. He hallucinates in the back of the van, meets a dragon with "seven horns". He perceives himself as the "monster". Even so, when he gets to Mrs. Godsey's, he exits the van as David Ray and the two identities finally converged into one after a face off in a nearby coal mine.

D.R. psychically returns home, helping his dead grandmother with the laundry and sharing tea with his Uncle Emmit. D.R. becomes a part of his Uncle Emmit, a part of his family, and a part of the hillside where he will live and where his Uncle Emmit will be buried. Emmit is planted in the ground "like a seed," and D.R. sleeps in Emmit's bed. Emmit is in the box marked "past," and D.R. is in the one marked "present." Everything seems to be in harmony, except for the fact that Estelle is missing. She returns and D.R. marries her, and the story is completed. Divine Right has found himself travelling back to his Appalachian roots.

The novel's protagonist, Henry Bowman, shows an early proficiency with firearms, practicing whenever he can find the time. Encouraged by his father, he gathers an impressive firearms collection and gains extensive experience in piloting small aircraft. During college, Bowman is robbed, beaten, and sodomized by a rural gang. The incident nearly destroys him and causes him to become an alcoholic for a period.

While at a gun show in Indianapolis, Indiana with friend Allen Kane, Bowman publicly embarrasses an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Wilson Blair. One of Blair's men was trying to trick and entrap a fellow firearms dealer. Blair takes the offense personally, and with the support of the ATF's director, begins to plan revenge. Several years later, Blair and subordinate agents of the ATF plan to frame Henry and his friends as terrorists, smugglers, and counterfeiters. They plan to plant "evidence" when the men are away on vacation. Unbeknownst to Blair, Bowman delays his departure at the last minute due to a work commitment, and is on a friend's property when the agents arrive. Bowman assumes the agents are burglars and engages in a gun battle with them, killing or capturing all and in the process discovering the truth about the raid.

Bowman realizes that his life has been irrevocably changed. He makes Blair record a video taped confession of his illegal actions, kills Blair, and disposes of all forensic evidence of the agents' presence. Afterwards, he hunts down and kills Blair's remaining subordinates. Bowman and his closest friends begin to systematically kill ATF agents around the nation – whom Bowman views as supporting the infringement of citizen's constitutional rights, and abusing government powers – as well as politicians who had supported unconstitutional gun control legislation. Simultaneously Bowman releases the video tape of Blair to CNN, which claims that Blair and his companions have had a change of heart, realize what they are doing is wrong, and are now dedicated to killing other ATF agents. Amidst the national search for Blair and company, Bowman continues to rack up the body count.

Eventually, as the ATF and FBI are unable to effectively track down those responsible for the killings, the President of the United States is forced to give an address to the nation relating his intent to repeal the unconstitutional laws, including the National Firearms Act of 1934 and Gun Control Act of 1968.

Fictionalized accounts of historical events

The story contains several items of historical fiction (accounts of real events with fictionalized thoughts & dialog) that are not widely known and advance the book's premise and plot. The following events are featured prominently:

• Bonus Army March on Washington, D.C. (1932)
• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943)
• Battle of Athens, Tennessee (1946)
• Ken Ballew raid (1971)
• 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia (1985)
• FBI shootout in Miami, Florida (1986)
• Jerry Drasen (1988) NFA-licensed firearm dealer sent to prison without breaking any law, the applicable law interpreted to apply to inoperable and unassembled portions of a rifle as well as the entire rifle [http://www.constitution.org/2ll/bardwell/cases2.html]
• John Lawmaster ATF raid in Tulsa (1991)
• Ruby Ridge incident in Idaho (1992)
• Aron S. Lipman (1992) ATF confiscated gun inventory, prosecuted Aron only after his demanding inventory back. Prosecuted for "conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws." [https://www.jenkinslaw.org/research/member-databases/court-records-and-briefs-index/564992-rollison-barbara-v-lipman-aron-s-dba]
• Waco Siege (1993)
• William Fleming (1994) Class 3 NFA dealer sent to prison for embarrassing the ATF as expert witness for defense, raided in retaliation, sent to prison for obscure and non-criminal paperwork violations [http://www.constitution.org/2ll/bardwell/cases2.html]
• Harry and Terry Lamplugh May 25, 1994 raid, ATF stomped pet cat to death, destroyed the Lamplughs' house, in their illegal and unconstitutional "raid."[http://articles.philly.com/1995-07-17/news/25679273_1_borderline-gun-collectors-association-atf-gun-show]
• Oklahoma City bombing (1995)

Don Johnston, a former ''Don Juan'' who made a small fortune in the computer industry, wants to live in quiet retirement. He is content to lounge around watching old movies and listening to classical or easy listening music. His current girlfriend, Sherry, is ending their relationship and moving out of his house when a letter in a pink envelope arrives.

Later Don reads the letter; it purports to be from an unnamed former girlfriend, informing him that he has a son who is nearly nineteen years old, and who may be looking for him. Initially, Don does not intend to do anything about it, but his busybody neighbor Winston, who is a mystery novel enthusiast, urges Don to investigate. Winston researches the current locations of the five women most likely to have written the letter and gives Don the information along with maps and flight reservations, and persuades him to visit them.

Ultimately Don meets with four women (the fifth one had died before the events of the film), each encounter worse than the last and each woman damaged in some way: * Laura works as a closet and drawer organizer and is the widow of a race car driver. She is very warm and receptive to Don's visit, but has a very forward teenage daughter, Lolita, who parades nude in front of him before her mother arrives. Both mom and daughter are oblivious to the implications of the name "Lolita". That night, Laura sleeps with Don. * Dora is a realtor. Once a "flower child" of the 1960s, she has reversed to the opposite extreme and is now living a suburban conservative middle class existence married to Ron. The encounter, while friendly on the surface belies a great deal of tension with Ron coming across as threatening, and Dora as pained and nervous. * Carmen Markowski works as an "animal communicator". Don recalls how she was formerly so passionate about becoming a lawyer. She is cold to Don and seems to have a close relationship with her secretary, who is very protective of her and unimpressed by Don's sudden visit. * Penny lives in a rural area amongst bikers. She appears to still harbour a great deal of resentment against Don, and when he asks if she has a son, she becomes furious. Two of the men appear after the commotion and punch Don out. The next morning, Don finds himself in his car, in the middle of a field, with a nasty cut near his left eye.

Later, Don stops at a florist to buy flowers from a young woman named Sun Green who treats his cut. Don leaves the flowers at the grave of the fifth woman, Michelle Pepe.

Finally, Don returns home where he finds a pink letter from Sherry, admitting she still likes him. He discusses the trip and second letter with Winston, who theorizes that Sherry might have written the original letter as a hoax. He then goes home to compare the two letters.

Don then meets a young man in the street who he suspects may be his son. He buys him a meal, but when he remarks that the young man believes that Don is his father, the young man becomes agitated and flees. Don attempts to chase the man but gives up, standing in the middle of a crossroads. Don watches a Volkswagen Beetle drive past from which a young man (Bill Murray's son, Homer Murray) in the passenger seat makes eye contact with Don, while the same music Don has listened to on his trip plays from the passing car.

During a firefight in Vietnam, U.S. soldiers John Eastland and his best friend, Michael Jefferson, are captured by the Viet Cong. They are tied to wooden stakes with several other men, and tortured for information. When Eastland refuses to answer, the VC commander decapitates the soldier beside him with a machete. Jefferson escapes moments later, kills the remaining VC soldiers, and unties Eastland, who then kills the commander.

The film then shifts to New York, where Eastland and Jefferson work in a warehouse. One day, Eastland catches a group of thugs, called the Ghetto Ghouls, trying to steal beer. He is attacked, but Jefferson comes to his aid. They defeat them, but the gang return to cripple Jefferson, gouging his spine with a meat hook. Eastland, after this incident, captures and interrogates one of the gang members with a flamethrower. He then attacks the gang's base of operations with his rifle, shooting one gang member and leaving two others tied up in a basement (also shooting one of them afterwards), which is full of hungry rats.

Eastland's vigilante justice doesn't end there. The warehouse where he works has been forced into paying protection money. Gino Pontivini, the mob boss behind the scheme, has even taxed the workers' paychecks. Eastland kidnaps Pontivini, and chains him above an industrial meat grinder. Eastland then demands information to get to Pontivini's safe, which Pontivini reluctantly gives. Eastland barely survives an attack by Pontivini's Dobermann, so upon returning, he lowers Pontivini into the grinder for lying about the dog. Jefferson and his family are given Pontivini's money to help pay their bills.

Detective James Dalton begins investigating the attacks, while the press dub Eastland the "Exterminator". Meanwhile, Eastland kills the ring leader of a child prostitution ring, as well as a state senator from New Jersey who sexually abuses children. He also kills three more members of the Ghetto Ghouls (one of which being the gang member he interrogated earlier), after witnessing them rob an elderly woman. Meanwhile, the CIA has heard of the Exterminator and reaches an odd conclusion. Based on the current administration's promise to cut down crime rates, they believe the Exterminator is either an opposition party's stunt, or a foreign power's ruse to humiliate the current administration; by exposing their inability to handle the city's crime problem.

They monitor Dalton's investigation of the Exterminator. Dalton, working from a bootprint found at Pontivini's home, discovers the Exterminator wears hunting boots manufactured by a mail order firm in Maine. Asking them for a list of clients in New York, and following the hunch that the Exterminator may be a Vietnam War veteran; since he killed the Ghetto Ghouls with an M16 rifle, Dalton has narrowed his suspects accordingly. Eastland visits Jefferson in the hospital, and because he will never be able to walk again, Jefferson asks Eastland to kill him.

Eastland does, but coincidentally, Dalton is visiting the hospital at the same time. When he learns about Jefferson's death, Dalton surmises that one of Jefferson's friends was the Exterminator, and learns that one of his suspects, Eastland, was Jefferson's closest friend. Eastland is aware that Dalton is staking out his apartment, so he arranges a private meeting with him, where he hopes to explain why he became a vigilante. However, the CIA are aware of the rendezvous after bugging Eastland's phone. They ambush him at his meeting with Dalton, which results in Dalton being killed while helping Eastland escape.

A German high school student, Sonja (Lena Stolze as a fictionalized version of Anna Rosmus) wins an essay contest and goes on a trip to Paris. Martin Wegmus begins teaching physics at Sonja's school and one of Sonja's classmates falls in love with him. Almost by luck, Mr. Wegmus and Sonja kiss. The teacher promises to return for her. The next year, she enters the contest again. She chooses "My Town During the Third Reich" from the possible topics. Her research leads her to discover that her picture-perfect town had been intimately involved in the Third Reich and that nearly all of the city's prominent families were members of the Nazi party long before it came to power. As she digs further, local authorities stonewall her efforts.

Sonja persists and learns that there had been eight concentration camps in the area and that all the Jews were forced out of the town and had their property confiscated. Sonja marries Martin and the townsfolk think Sonja has dropped the issue of Nazi involvement. Sonja bears two daughters and studies history at the University. She resumes her research into the town's Nazi past and wins court cases granting her access to archives. She still has to employ trickery to get the information she wants. The townsfolks' hostility grows from verbal abuse, to death threats to physical assaults as they attempt to silence her with increasing desperation but nothing deters her. Her husband feels emasculated as he's forced to take care of the children. The family survives a bomb attack but Sonja keeps up her research. At the end, the townspeople change their tune, even putting a bust of Sonja at the town hall. Sonja sees this as a means to silence her and rejects the honor.

The book tells of the adventures of Dr. Michael Ong, a paranormal scientist and former seminarian, who is assigned by the United States government to a head researcher's position at an Area 51-esque laboratory in his hometown of Turlock, California, called Research Technical Institute. In exchange for granting the government the lease to build the facility, the City of Turlock demanded for it to be staffed primarily by locals. Ong's task is to open the hundreds of crates in the facility's warehouse, then to catalog and classify the items in each crate. Many of these artifacts are proven to be highly dangerous and thoroughly insane, as they all cover a wide range from Russian teleportation technology to aliens and mutants, even a were-pig. As such, the town nicknames the facility "Creature Tech".

During what is just another ordinary day at the office, the ghost of the evil Dr. Jameson looses a slug-beast from its stasis capsule. Jameson was killed a century prior, after making a deal with a demon named Hellcat in exchange for the power to bring a "giant space eel" to Earth. Jameson succeeded a little ''too'' thoroughly, and he was crushed when the eel crash-landed into gold-rush-era Turlock.

The ghost of Dr. Jameson, generations later, seeks an artifact in one of the crates at Creature Tech, the authentic Shroud of Turin, and released the slug-beast in order to distract the facility staff to abscond with the shroud. During the ensuing battle, Ong is stabbed through the heart by a parasite attached to the slug-beast. The parasite detaches itself from the beast and attaches to Ong's chest, replacing his heart, but creating a permanent symbiosis.

Using the Shroud, Jameson resurrects his old body and begins a search for the remains of the space eel that killed him, so that he can resurrect it and use its power to destroy the world. In the meantime, he uses his demonic powers to unleash an army of demon-possessed cats upon Turlock. It's a race against time as Ong, the parasite on his chest, the human residents of Turlock and the monsters of Creature Tech defend their town against the demon onslaught and attempt to stop Jameson from destroying the world.

Setting

''Cave Story'' takes place within the cavernous interior of a floating island. The island is populated by Mimiga, a race of sentient, rabbit-like creatures. A particular species of red flower that grows in the island causes the normally peaceful Mimiga to fall into a violent frenzy when ingested. The island also conceals an artifact called the Demon Crown, which has vast magical powers. An army of robot soldiers was sent to the floating island on a military expedition, seeking to harness the Demon Crown as a weapon for wars on the surface. These robots slaughtered the Mimiga indiscriminately in their search for the crown, but were defeated when the Mimiga decided to eat the red flowers as a last resort. Shortly before the game begins, Professor Booster, the Sakamoto family, and various assistants formed a scientific party to research the island, but they became stranded when their medical doctor managed to acquire the Crown; he then forced the expedition to search for the red flowers.

Story

The player character awakens in a cave with no memory of how he came to be there. He finds a village of Mimiga, who are being persecuted by the Doctor. The Doctor's servants Misery and Balrog are looking for Sue Sakamoto, a girl who had been transformed into a Mimiga. Not finding her, they mistakenly abduct another Mimiga named Toroko instead. The player finds Sue in the Egg Corridor, where she discovers the egg of a Sky Dragon, which could allow her to escape the floating island if hatched. Sue attempts to rescue her brother Kazuma, but King, the leader of Mimiga Village, captures her and holds her responsible for Toroko's kidnapping. Sue tasks the player with retrieving Kazuma from Grasstown. After freeing him, they meet Professor Booster, who reveals that the Doctor plans to use the red flowers on Mimigas to create an army to take over the surface world. Booster sends the player to the Sand Zone to destroy the red flowers before the Doctor can find them. While there, the player meets Curly Brace, a female robot who also has no memories of her past, and Jenka, an old witch who is Misery's mother and guardian of the red flowers. Jenka calls the player character a "soldier from the surface", one of many who were sent to the island to slaughter the Mimiga. Balrog manages to steal the key to the warehouse containing the red flowers from Jenka, who urges the player to stop them. Before the player can reach the warehouse, however, the Doctor force-feeds the captured Toroko a red flower and fatally injures King, leaving the player to fight the rabid Toroko, who ultimately dies.

Misery banishes the player to the Labyrinth deep inside the island as punishment for interfering with the Doctor's plans. Curly Brace has also been thrown into the Labyrinth and the two cooperate to escape. Balrog helps them to move the boulder blocking the exit, revealing his kind nature. The pair find and defeat the Core, a magical creature whose power keeps the island afloat. However, the Doctor steps in to save it before the island collapses. Depending on certain conditions, the player may rescue Curly Brace, who had sacrificed her air tank to save the player character. When he returns to Mimiga Village, he finds that the Doctor has captured the Mimiga. In the Egg Corridor, Kazuma offers the player a choice to escape the island with him using a Sky Dragon, leading to an alternate ending in which the Doctor conquers the surface world while Kazuma and the player hide in the mountains. The player may instead choose to confront the Doctor and destroy the island's Core, which would return the Mimiga to normal. The player scales the outer wall of the island to reach the Plantation where the Doctor is using the Mimigas as slave laborers to grow red flowers. The Doctor's servants capture the player and place him in a jail cell with Sue. She is taken away before the player wakes up, but her letter reveals that the Doctor was a member of the research expedition that included Sue's family and Professor Booster, but he betrayed them once he found the Demon Crown. Sue directs the player to find her mother who may have a plan to stop the Doctor.

If the main player saved Curly Brace earlier, the player may find an item to restore her memories. She remembers that the player character's name is Quote, and that they were not the killer robots who slaughtered Mimigas in the past. Instead, they were sent to destroy the Demon Crown to prevent its power from falling into the wrong hands. Quote finds Sue's mother, Momorin, who is building a rocket that will allow access to the top of the island where the Doctor resides. After helping her complete the rocket, Quote confronts Misery and the Doctor. The Doctor has purified the essence of the red flowers into a crystal, which allows him to survive even after Quote kills him. The Doctor's spirit possesses the Core of the island, but Quote succeeds in destroying that as well, causing the island to begin falling to Earth. Unless the player has saved Curly, restored her memories and acquired the Booster V2.0 from Professor Booster, Sue will lead the player to jump off the island, where the two are rescued by Kazuma and his Sky Dragon while Momorin and her assistant Itoh escape on the helicopter, leaving everyone else on the island to die. If the player should complete these tasks, however, they may proceed into the Bloodstained Sanctuary, a bonus stage where Curly can be found and rescued; it is also here that Ballos —creator of the Demon Crown and Jenka's younger brother — is imprisoned. A powerful wizard who went insane and destroyed his homeland after being tortured by a jealous king, Ballos was sealed deep within the island by his sister. At some point, his niece Misery forced him to create the Demon Crown, but she and Balrog became cursed to serve whoever possessed it. Additionally, it is stated via narration that the Demon Crown will repair itself if it is destroyed, and will only truly lose its power if Ballos is killed, necessitating that Quote and Curly kill him.

With the big help of Curly Brace, Quote defeats Ballos and stops the source of the negative energy that was causing the island to fall, saving its inhabitants. Balrog saves the two before they are crushed by Ballos' collapsing prison; he had been sent by Misery as thanks for breaking her curse. Quote, Curly Brace, and Balrog leave the island to live out their days in peace.

The Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem attempt to discover the secret of the domain of the dead.

A cat named "Pufftail" (he says that he truly has no name) tells his life story to his daughter Tabitha and his grandson. He tells of his life on the streets, in a pet shop, at a convent, with a kind grandmother, and with the cruel "June and Jim," among others and says that he has three tragic parts in his life.

In chronological order, the most important events of Pufftail's life are:

• Being born
• Separated from his mum with his brother
• Being taken to a pet shop
• Being taken in by Grandma Harris, until she dies
• Being taken in by June and Jim Harbottle
• The death of his brother
• Being taken in by a convent of nuns
• Joining the gang called "The Commune"
• Being used to test a shampoo
• Meeting his "wife"
• The birth of his children
• The death of his "wife"
• Meeting his daughter, Tabitha
• The birth of his grandchildren

Category:1987 British novels Category:Novels by A. N. Wilson Category:English novels Category:Novels about cats Category:Walker Books books

''London Fields'' is set in London in 1999 against a backdrop of environmental, social, and moral degradation, and the looming threat of world instability and nuclear war (referred to as "The Crisis"). The novel opens with Samson explaining how grateful he is to have found this story, already formed, already happening, waiting to be written down.

This is the story of a murder. It hasn't happened yet. But it will. (It had better.) I know the murderer, I know the murderee. I know the time, I know the place. I know the motive (''her'' motive) and I know the means. I know who will be the foil, the fool, the poor foal, also utterly destroyed. I couldn't stop them, I don't think, even if I wanted to. The girl will die. It's what she always wanted. You can't stop people, once they ''start''. You can't stop people, once they ''start creating''. What a gift. This page is briefly stained by my tears of gratitude. Novelists don't usually have it so good, do they, when something real happens (something unified, dramatic, and pretty saleable), and they just write it down?

The characters have few, if any, redeeming features. Sam, the narrator of the novel (who twice emphasizes that he is "a reliable narrator"), is an American, a failed non-fiction writer with decades-long writer's block who is slowly dying of some sort of terminal disease. Recently arrived in London, he immediately meets Keith Talent, a ''cheat'' (small-time criminal) and aspiring professional darts player, at Heathrow Airport where Keith is posing as a minicab driver. Keith gives Sam an extortionately priced ride into town. The two converse in Keith's car, and Keith invites Sam to the Black Cross, a pub on the Portobello Road, Keith's main hangout. At the Black Cross, Sam meets Guy Clinch, a rich upper-class banker who is bored with life, with his terrifyingly snobbish American wife, Hope, and his out-of-control toddler, Marmaduke. Shortly after, the two both meet the anti-heroine, Nicola Six, a 34-year-old local resident, of uncertain nationality, who has entered the pub after attending a funeral.

Later that day, Sam sees Nicola dramatically dumping what turns out to be her diaries in a litter bin outside the flat where he is staying (it belongs to Mark Asprey, a wildly successful English writer). The diaries tell Sam that Nicola believes she can somehow see her own future, and, bored with life and fearing the ageing process, is plotting her own murder for midnight on 5 November, her 35th birthday. Sam, who considers that he lacks the imagination and courage to write fiction, realises he can simply document the progress towards the murder to create a plausible, lucrative, story. He assumes that Keith, the bad guy, will be the murderer. Sam enters into a strange relationship with Nicola where he regularly interviews her and is updated on the "plot".

The novel proceeds on the basis that Keith Talent, the known criminal, will kill Nicola Six, with Guy Clinch as the fall guy necessary to provoke him into doing it (and, incidentally, to provide funds to help Talent avoid being beaten up by loan sharks, and to further his darts career so he can appear in the Sparrow Masters darts final the day before the planned murder). But there is an unexpected twist at the finale. Amis hints at a false ending, in one of Samson Young's terrifying dreams, simply to confuse the reader.

The game is set in an alternate year of 1964, in which World War I never ended. The Baron Nikolai Alexsandrovich von Ugenberg seized Mongolia in 1921 in an uprising following the Russian Revolution, and later invaded Russia itself to crush the Bolsheviks. His plan was to establish a Russo-Mongolian Empire stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. With the help of the United States, the Allied nations of Europe were reformed as the United States of Western Europe, or the Alliance, in 1933 to counter Ugenberg's plan.

Instead of the Great War ending in 1918, it was continued for almost half a century, with the battlelines drawn down Europe's center in 1929 shifting little for either side for the next several decades. As the USWE could no longer independently contribute to the war, the Alliance army was introduced into the American stock market, allowing private investors to speculate on the lives of the soldiers who carried on the war. The outcome of the war now depended almost entirely on the economy of the Alliance's member nations.

The player takes on the role as U.S. Army Lieutenant James Anderson, only 19 when he joined the Alliance in 1943, and now a legend among the soldiers in the field. Anderson is recruited for a possibly suicidal mission: to breach enemy defenses and stop the Russo-Mongolians from developing a deadly weapon that could devastate the world. Captain Cecile Newcastle of the Royal Highlands Regiment is Anderson's immediate supervisor and is responsible for guiding him through his mission. Colonel Mitchell is the commander of the operation, but has an ulterior motive for wanting the mission to succeed.

The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice investigate the legendary Cult of the Dark Flame.

The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn confront the feared pirate captain Red Jasper, and the Doctor sings "I am the very model of a Gallifreyan buccaneer..."

While Princess Dejiko is reading a book, she realizes that she "needs" to help people all over the world. Dejiko takes Puchiko with her and tries to leave the castle, but Dejiko's tutor interrupts because it is her study time. Dejiko uses her laser eye beam and attempts to escape the castle numerous times, each time being thwarted by traps and gadgets set up by the tutor. Eventually, the duo are caught. A very petulant Dejiko stands her ground, and the tutor finally relents and lets Dejiko and Puchiko go outside the castle grounds, on the condition that they take Gema with them as a chaperon.

In the following episode the trio arrive at the popular Rinna's Cake Shop. The shop is closed, and people are in line in front of the shop, waiting patiently for it to open. Dejiko, Puchiko, and Gema forcibly enter the shop and find that the owner, Rinna, is asleep. Dejiko decides that she and her friends will make the cakes for Rinna while she is sleeping. Everything seems to be okay until the cakes fall in the oven. When Dejiko laments, Rinna suddenly awakens to make the cakes. As she bakes, she sings that the missing ingredient in Dejiko's cake recipe was love and the anticipation of seeing her customers' happy faces, which she calls "baking powder of the heart." Confident again, Dejiko says that she will help Rinna make the day's cakes, but Rinna is asleep again. Later on, Rinna decides to close the cake shop to take an extended break and join Dejiko and her friends.

A cat appears and jumps on Dejiko's head. A girl named Meek, appears in pursuit of the cat, but Dejiko mistakes Meek for the devil. Later, at a fish shop, where the group again runs into Meek, the cat appears and steals some fish. Meek, this time with the help of Dejiko and friends, tries again to catch the cat, but fails once more. When it appears that the cat is cornered, her kittens emerge from a hole in the wall. Meek finally realizes that the cat only wanted to feed its family and blithely decides to blame Dejiko and friends for stealing the fish. Meek joins the merry band not long after.

The story recounts the tragic love of Lucy Ashton and Edgar, Master of Ravenswood. Edgar's father was stripped of his title for supporting the deposed King James VII. Lucy's ambitious father, Sir William Ashton, then bought the Ravenswood estate. Edgar hates Sir William for this usurpation of his family's heritage, but on meeting Lucy, falls in love with her, and renounces his plans for vengeance.

Sir William's haughty and manipulative wife, Lady Ashton, is the villainess of the story. She is determined to end the initial happy engagement of Edgar and Lucy, and force Lucy into a politically advantageous arranged marriage. Lady Ashton intercepts Edgar's letters to Lucy and persuades Lucy that Edgar has forgotten her. Edgar leaves Scotland for France, to continue his political activities. While he is away, Lady Ashton continues her campaign. She gets Captain Westenho, a wandering soldier of fortune, to tell everyone that Edgar is about to get married in France. She even recruits "wise woman" Ailsie Gourlay (a witch in all but name) to show Lucy omens and tokens of Edgar's unfaithfulness. Lucy still clings to her troth, asking for word from Edgar that he has broken off with her; she writes to him. Lady Ashton suppresses Lucy's letter, and brings the Reverend Bide-the-bent to apply religious persuasion to Lucy. However, Bide-the-bent instead helps Lucy send a new letter, but there is no answer.

Lady Ashton finally bullies Lucy into marrying Francis, Laird of Bucklaw. But on the day before the wedding, Edgar returns. Seeing that Lucy has signed the betrothal papers with Bucklaw, he repudiates Lucy, who can barely speak. The wedding takes place the next day, followed by a celebration at Ravenswood. While the guests are dancing, Lucy stabs Bucklaw in the bridal chamber, severely wounding him. She descends quickly into insanity and dies. Bucklaw recovers, but refuses to say what had happened. Edgar reappears at Lucy's funeral. Lucy's older brother, blaming him for her death, insists that they meet in a duel. Edgar, in despair, reluctantly agrees. But on the way to the meeting, Edgar falls into quicksand and dies.

The book focuses on several key events that happen after Nafai, Elemak, Issib, Mebbekew, Zdorab and the father Volemak leave for the desert. Elemak has a dream from the Oversoul, foretelling Volemak's sons going back to the city of Basilica to get wives. The sons proceed to Nafai's and Issib's mother, Rasa, who is attempting to keep order within the city. However Hushidh, a raveler under Rasa's care, makes the disastrous mistake of severing the ties between Rashgallivak and his men, leading to widespread riots across the city.

At the same time, General Moozh, leader of the "Wetheads" nation (Gorayni), is attempting to conquer cities around Basilica. He sees a strategic chance, and taking only 1000 soldiers, marches across the desert to conquer the city. He arrives in time to help the local city guard quell the uprising, and slowly begins taking control of its affairs.

The remainder of the book deals with Nafai and his brothers' (Elemak and Mebbekew, who had come) attempts at finding wives. In the end, they are all forced into a house arrest along with Rasa, where Elemak takes Eiadh as his wife, Mebbekew takes Dol, Nafai takes Luet, the waterseer, with Rasa and Hushidh deciding to come as wives for Volemak and Issib, respectively. Shedemei (a Basilican geneticist) is dragged along with enough plants and animals to populate the future earth with new species, also as a wife to Zdorab.

The ending comes when Moozh decides to marry Hushidh to politically tie himself with the city. Hushidh's original mother arrives to stop the ceremony, since Hushidh is actually the daughter of Moozh. Nafai's party is escorted out of the city with the women and supplies for the camp.

Moozh ends up conquering the "Wetheads" he had been working for, while his Basilican second-in-command defends the city against the rival nation, Potokgavan. In the end he is killed during an invasion and Basilica falls, scattering the citizens to various other nations and cities on Harmony. Earlier in the book, the Oversoul had revealed the purpose of this dispersal was to force people with a strong connection to it to breed with people who had a weak connection, and so delay the eventual time when the Oversoul loses control of the people of Harmony.

The story is set in Paris in 1482. Quasimodo is a deaf, half-blind, hunchbacked bell-ringer of the famous Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. His master is a man named Jehan, the evil brother of Notre Dame's saintly archdeacon Dom Claude. One night, Jehan prevails upon Quasimodo to kidnap the fair Esmeralda, a dancing Roma girl (and the adopted daughter of Clopin, the king of the oppressed beggars of Paris' underworld).

The dashing Captain Phoebus rescues Esmeralda from Quasimodo, while Jehan abandons him and flees (later in the film, Quasimodo hates Jehan for abandoning him and is no longer loyal to him). At first seeking a casual romance, Phoebus becomes entranced by Esmeralda, and takes her under his wing. Quasimodo is sentenced to be lashed in the public square before Esmeralda and Dom Claude come to his aid.

To their dismay, Jehan and Clopin learn that Phoebus hopes to marry Esmeralda, despite being engaged to Fleur de Lys. Phoebus persuades Esmeralda to accompany him to a ball celebrating his appointment as Captain of the Guard by King Louis XI. He provides her with rich garments and introduces her to their hostess, Madame de Gondelaurier, as a Princess of Egypt.

Clopin, accompanied by his beggars, crashes the festivities and demands Esmeralda be returned. To avoid bloodshed, Esmeralda says that she does not belong with the aristocracy. Later, however, Esmeralda sends the street poet Pierre Gringoire to give Phoebus a note, arranging a rendezvous at Notre Dame to say goodbye to him. Phoebus arrives and is stabbed in the back by Jehan. After Esmeralda is falsely sentenced to death for the crime, she is rescued from the gallows by Quasimodo and carried inside the cathedral, where he and Dom Claude grant her sanctuary.

Later that night, Clopin leads the whole of the underworld to storm the cathedral, and Jehan attempts to take Esmeralda, first by guile (telling her that Phoebus's dying wish was for him to take care of her), then by force. Quasimodo holds off the invaders with rocks and torrents of molten lead. Meanwhile, the healed Phoebus is alerted by Gringoire and leads his men against the rabble. Clopin is killed in the battle.

When Quasimodo finds Jehan attacking Esmeralda, he throws his former master off the ramparts of Notre Dame, but not before Jehan fatally stabs him three times in the back. Phoebus finds and embraces Esmeralda. Witnessing this, Quasimodo rings his own death toll, and Gringoire and Dom Claude enter the bell tower just in time to see him die. The last image is of the great bell swinging silently above Quasimodo's corpse.

During a truce in the third Crusade, Sir Kenneth and a Saracen Emir ride together towards the cave of the hermit Theodoric of Engaddi, where Theodoric gives Sir Kenneth some secret information. The Emir falls asleep and the other two men go to a chapel, where Sir Kenneth meets his old lover, Lady Edith.

Ruins of Ascalon, 1880s Sir Kenneth travels to Ascalon, where Richard Coeur de Lion lays ill in his tent. Sir Kenneth and the King discuss Sir Kenneth's visit to the chapel and a doctor gives the King some medicine. While King Richard sleeps, Conrade of Montserrat, who wishes to become King of Jerusalem, incites Archduke Leopold of Austria to plant his flag in the centre of the camp. The King wakes up and when he discovers what Leopold has done, he tears down the flag. Philip of France persuades him to refer the matter to the council, and Sir Kenneth is asked to watch the English flag until daybreak. Soon after midnight, Sir Kenneth is lured away under false pretences. The flag is stolen and Sir Kenneth's dog is deliberately injured.

The camp doctor tells Sir Kenneth that Sultan Saladin wishes to marry the Lady Edith. Sir Kenneth tries to warn the King, but the King does not believe him and banishes Sir Kenneth from court. Sir Kenneth spends a few days in Saladin's court, disguised as a Nubian slave. Saladin gives the disguised Sir Kenneth to King Richard as a gift. Shortly afterwards, Sir Kenneth, still in disguise, saves the king from an assassination attempt. He promises King Richard he can discover who stole the flag.

At a procession of the Christian armies and their leaders, Sir Kenneth's dog attacks the Marquis Conrade, recognizing the Marquis as the man who injured him. The Marquis betrays his guilt by exclaiming, "I never touched the banner" and challenges the King to a duel. Since the King is not allowed to participate in a duel, he chooses Sir Kenneth as his champion. While preparing for the duel, the King discovers that his court physician was really Saladin in disguise. It is also revealed that Saladin was the Emir whom Sir Kenneth met on the road.

Sir Kenneth wins the duel and King Richard makes him Earl of Huntingdon and Prince Royal of Scotland. Sir Kenneth marries Lady Edith and the Crusade is abandoned. Richard, on his way homewards, is imprisoned by the Austrians in the Tyrol.

Jack Sawyer, twelve years old, sets out from Arcadia Beach, New Hampshire, in a bid to save his mother Lily, who is dying from cancer, by finding a crystal called "the Talisman". Jack's journey takes him simultaneously through the American heartland and "the Territories", a strange fantasy land that is set in a universe parallel to that of Jack's United States. Individuals in the Territories have "twinners", or parallel individuals, in our world. Twinners' births, deaths, and (it is intimated) other major life events are usually paralleled. Twinners can also "flip" or migrate to the other world but only share the body of their alternate universe's analogue. When flipped, the twinner, or the actual person, will automatically start speaking and thinking the language of where they are flipping into subconsciously.

In rare instances (such as Jack's), a person may die in one world but not the other, making the survivor "single-natured", with the ability to switch back and forth, body and mind, between the two worlds. Jack is taught how to flip by a mysterious figure known as Speedy Parker, who is the twinner of a gunslinger named Parkus in the Territories. In the Territories, the beloved Queen Laura DeLoessian, the twinner of Jack's mother (a movie actress known as the "Queen of the B Movies"), is dying as well.

Jack sets off for the mystical Talisman in the Territories with help and encouragement from Speedy Parker. After running into a man named Osmond who works for Morgan Sloat’s twinner, Jack leaves the village and heads down a road with the help of a soldier. Jack almost gets caught by Morgan in the woods and hides. The trees then attack Jack, nearly choking him to death and forcing him to flip back into the United States. Jack continues his journey through the U.S and gets a job working as a bartender in the fictional town of Oatley, New York. The owner, Smokey Updike, is ruthless and abusive towards Jack and holds him as a slave.

Jack escapes Oatley a few days later and is chased by a creature named Elroy that has been stalking him throughout his stay in Oatley. He evades Elroy long enough to return to the Territories, where Jack remembers another associate of his father named Jerry Bledsoe, who died in a freak explosion. Jack then pieces that Morgan Sloat had caused the explosion by simply flipping between the two worlds. Jack returns to the American Territories after running into Elroy and Morgan again and learns that he inadvertently caused the death of eight construction workers nearby, causing severe grief within Jack and reminding him of Jerry Bledsoe.

In Ohio, Jack meets a blind singer named Snowball, who may or may not be Speedy, who motivates Jack to continue on his journey. On the road, Jack runs into Morgan at a rest stop, flips into the Territories, and nearly drowns in a river. A large werewolf creature simply named Wolf saves Jack. The two befriend each other before Morgan arrives through a portal and uses a device that causes lighting bolts to strike. Using the last sip of the juice Jack flips back into his world with Wolf. Jack ponders if he can possibly return to the Territories now that his juice is gone. Wolf harshly gets adjusted to the United States as they reach Indiana. Jack and Wolf are arrested by a police officer who takes them to the Sunlight Home, a boys school for misfits.

The owner, evangelist psychopath Robert Gardner, is the twinner of Osmond, who is on the hunt for Jack. The boys are harassed by the prefects at the school, Sonny Singer and Heck Bast, among others. After a few incidents with the prefects and Gardner, wherein a student escapes the school and the kids are interrogated in the middle of the night, Jack and Wolf escape into the Territories and learn that the twinner of the school is a prison camp return soon after. The prefects fight Jack and Wolf in the bathroom and Gardner, deducing who Jack is, drugs Wolf and kidnaps Jack and begins torturing him to reveal himself. Wolf, having been stuffed into a box in the fields, transforms into a werewolf and wreaks havoc on the school, massacring numerous students and breaking into Gardners office. Wolf kills the prefects in Gardner’s office but is shot to death by Sonny, who then bleeds to death from his wounds. Jack comforts the dying Wolf before moving on.

Jack finds Morgan Sloat’s son Richard at a boarding school in Illinois. Jack attempts to persuade Richard of his adventures and Morgan’s plan but is unsuccessful. After the school is transformed into a grotesque version of itself and the students turn into werewolves and attempt to goad Richard into throwing out Jack, the two escape and flip into the Territories. There they meet a man named Anders who is sending a shipment of weapons to Morgan’s soldiers for a final stand against Jack. Richard, now believing he has a tumor and is hallucinating, is actually suffering from a sickness given to him by Morgan. Jack decided to take the shipment himself and plan an ambush. Firstly they must travel on train through the Blasted Lands, a hellish landscape full fireballs and mutated creatures and smugglers.

Jack and a sickly Richard bombard the army base, destroying most of Morgan’s armada and killing Elroy and Osmond’s son. Jack flips into California, where Richard finally admits to the Territories' existence. They arrive at Point Venuti and sneak into the Agincourt Hotel (the twinner of the Alhambra Inn) undetected by the remaining werewolves. They meet Speedy Parker on the beachfront, who is weak and dying. Inside the Black Castle, Jack battles stone suits of armor defending the Talisman and takes it, triggering an earthquake, disbanding the rest of the werewolves who allied with Morgan Sloat. Jack realizes there are multiple worlds beside the two he is familiar with and the Talisman is the axis of all of them. He heals Richard with the Talisman, kills Gardner on the castle steps and faces off with Morgan on the beach. Eventually he manages to kill Sloat, heals Speedy and returns to New Hampshire in a limousine. Jack reunites with Lily and uses the Talisman a final time to save his mother and the Queen.

Due to an administrative error two male college students, the shy and intellectual Eddy (Josh Charles) and the All-American jock Stuart (Stephen Baldwin) end up with a female roommate. The university thought that Alex (Lara Flynn Boyle) was a man (based on her name) and thus the three students are forced to live with each other until the university can move Alex to a female residence hall.

Alex falls in love and tries unsuccessfully to seduce Eddy (who is gay); Eddy falls in love with Stuart; Stuart is in love with Alex. The trio become good friends and scare off anyone who tries to seduce the other. Eventually Alex, Stuart and Eddy agree to have an actual threesome that seems to destroy the friendship, and raises the possibility that Alex might have become pregnant.

After the threesome, they start to drift apart. Three weeks later the semester ends; Alex moves to an apartment and Eddy gets a single dorm. Eddy (the film's narrator) eventually finds a boyfriend, Stuart finds happiness in a monogamous relationship with a woman and Alex remains single. While they now only see each other for lunch occasionally, they do not seem to regret the friendship they had while in college.

In the desert outside of San Angelo, California, a meteorite crashes, scattering hundreds of black fragments. The next day, Federal geologist Ben Gilbert brings one of the fragments to his office. He and local newspaper publisher Martin Cochrane examine it. That night, a strong wind blows over a full water container onto the black rock, starting a chemical reaction.

Dave Miller, the head of San Angelo's district geological office, returns from a business trip and finds Ben's corpse in a rock-hard, petrified state and the office's lab damaged by rock fragments. Dave's girlfriend, teacher Cathy Barrett, takes her students on a desert field trip; young Ginny Simpson pockets a piece of the black meteorite rock, later washing it in a tub outside her family's farmhouse. In town Dr. E. J. Reynolds performs Ben's autopsy and cannot explain the body's condition; he sends the body to a specialist. Martin returns to the wrecked office with Dave, where he recognizes the fragments as the same type of black rock Ben had been examining.

Cathy joins them, also recognizing the fragments. They go to the Simpson farm, which they find in ruins under a pile of black rocks. Ginny's parents are dead, and Ginny is in a catatonic state. At Dr. Reynolds' request, they rush her to Dr. Steve Hendricks at the California Medical Research Institute in Los Angeles. He reports that Ginny is turning to stone. Dave brings a fragment to his old college professor, Arthur Flanders, who determines that it came from a meteorite. Back at the Simpson farm, both men notice a discoloration in the ground; tests show the black rock is draining silicon from everything it touches. Dr. Reynolds says research indicates that one possible function of silicon in the human body is to maintain tissue flexibility. They realize that absorption of silicon is the cause of Ben's death and Ginny's condition. Steve prepares and administers a silicon solution injection to Ginny.

Dave and Arthur trace the fragments to the crashed meteor. Arthur deduces that the meteorite's atomic structure has been radically altered by the intense heat of atmospheric friction. Back in the lab, Dave and Arthur investigate why the black rocks seem to be multiplying. A piece of black rock falls into the sink and reacts when coffee is poured on it; the men then realize that water is the cause of its growth. With a rainstorm now in progress, they return to the desert and see the black fragments growing into stories-tall monoliths that collapse under their own weight, breaking into fragments, each fragment then repeating that cycle. Dave realizes that the monoliths' path will take them directly through San Angelo, and from there the monoliths could spread and possibly threaten all life on Earth.

They explain the threat to Police Chief Dan Corey, who makes plans to evacuate San Angelo. The governor is notified, and declares a state of emergency in the San Angelo area. At the hospital, Ginny revives, and Dave deduces that something in the silicon solution will check the fragments' growth. More locals are rushed to Dr. Reynolds' office in various stages of petrification. With little time left, and the telephone and electricity cut off, the monoliths continue to multiply and advance, soaking up water from the rain-soaked soil. Through lab experimentation, Dave and Arthur discover the monoliths can be stopped with a simple saline solution, a part of Steve's silicon formula.

Dave plans to dynamite the local dam and flood the nearby salt flats, creating a large supply of salt water. Because the dam is private property, Dan attempts to contact the governor for permission to blow up the dam. Knowing they must halt the monoliths at the canyon's edge, Dave acts without waiting for the governor's approval. A torrent of water flows over the salt deposits at the canyon's edge, reaching the monoliths; their growth is halted. Dan reports that he reached the governor who told him not to blow up the dam unless Dave was absolutely certain of success. Dave comments on Martin's earlier assertion that the region's salt flat was "Mother Nature's worst mistake", pointing out that this near-disaster has proved otherwise.