Andoheb, the aging High Priest of Arkam, has summoned Yousef Bey to the Temple of Arkam to pass on the duties of High Priest. Meanwhile, in Mapleton, Massachusetts, Professor Matthew Norman, who had examined one of Kharis' missing bandage pieces during the mummy's last spree through Mapleton, also explains the legends of the Priests of Arkam and Kharis to his history class, who are less than believing. After the lecture ends, one of the students, Tom Hervey, meets up with his girlfriend Amina Mansori, a beautiful woman of Egyptian descent. However, a strange, clouded feeling in her mind occurs whenever the subject of Egypt is mentioned.

Back in Egypt, Andoheb informs Yousef Bey that Kharis still lives and that Yousef's mission is to retrieve Kharis and the body of Ananka and return them to their rightful resting place in Egypt. Yousef Bey pledges his devotion before Andoheb explains that during each full moon, Yousef Bey is to brew the fluid from nine tana leaves. Kharis will sense this and find the leaves wherever they are. On performing the ceremony, Kharis heads toward them but passes the home of Amina who follows Kharis in a trance-like state. Kharis arrives at the home of Professor Norman, strangles him, and drinks the fluid of the tana leaves. Amina sees Kharis, which snaps her out of her trance and causes her to faint and forms a strange new birthmark on her wrist.

The next morning, the Sheriff and Coroner discover a strange mold around the dead professor's throat – a sign they both know to mean that the mummy stalks Mapleton again. Later, Yousef Bey, who has arrived in Mapleton, calls on Amon-Ra to aid him in his quest and begins to brew the tana leaves to summon Kharis. Kharis heads towards him, killing a farmer along the way. As the sheriff soon arrives on the scene and organizes a search party.

The next day, at the Scripps Museum, Yousef Bey emerges after hours from a hiding place as Kharis breaks into the museum. Kharis attempts to touch the mummified body of Anaka, but it disintegrates. Yousef Bey realizes that Ananka's soul has been reincarnated into another form as Kharis begins destroying the exhibit, killing the museum security guard. Police Inspector Walgreen and Dr. Ayad arrive later and decide to use the tana leaves to attract and trap Kharis in a pit.

Meanwhile, Amina disregards the Sheriff's warning and decides to elope with Tom to New York. She agrees and the two make plans to leave early the next morning. Yousef Bey calls upon Amon-Ra to lead him to the new home of Ananka's soul and then sends Kharis in that direction to find Ananka.

As Inspector Walgreen sets the trap by for Kharis, Kharis immediately heads toward the Norman home. Amina is awakened by his approach and hypnotically wanders into the yard where Kharis recognizes her as the carrier of Ananka's soul. Amina faints as Kharis carries her away. Amina's guardian Mrs. Blake phones Tom and tells her story to Inspector Walgreen, Sheriff Elwood, and a large group of volunteers. Kharis arrives at the mill and presents Amina to Bey. Bey recognizes the birthmark as the symbol of the priests of Arkam. Amina awakens and the priest informs her that she is the reincarnation of Ananka.

Yousef Bey falls for Amina's beauty and desires to keep her alive as her bride with the tana leaves. This plan enrages Kharis, leading to a fight where Bey falls out a window to his death. Tom enters and after failing to stop Kharis, finds him leaving with Amina. A mob pursues Kharis into a swamp where both him and the rapidly aging Amina sink.

''American Freak'' focused on a completely new set of characters of the Un-Men mythos created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson, which were described as the offspring of the original Arcane Un-Men.

The plot of ''American Freak'' revolves around the second-generation son of two of these "horribly disfigured creatures", a 23-year-old man named Damien Kane. Per this miniseries, the Army conducted painful, inhumane experiments on the captive Un-Men, toward the goal of "mating" them and then producing a "serum" to eliminate deformity in the offspring (the military application of all this is not made clear). The serum proved unstable and all the offspring except for Damien Kane died. Kane developed normally until he turned 23 years of age, at which time (the beginning of this miniseries) he began to horribly mutate. The story follows Kane's painful transformation into a freak, and his escape (with the assistance of a telepathic, still-at-large-in-the-swamps first-generation Un-Man named Crassus). Crassus tricks Kane into traveling with him to Romania, promising the lad that his "creator", Arcane, might be able to help reverse the mutation. Of course, it is a trick: Crassus knows that Arcane is no longer in his castle redoubt. Crassus's secret goal is to make Kane rescue a gaggle of other next-generation Un-Men from the clutches of a depraved millionaire who forces them to perform in a private sideshow.

Through some form of prophecy that is never explained, the next-generation Un-Men recognize Kane as "the One" they have long expected to deliver them from captivity. Kane reluctantly helps his cousins revolt and slaughter their tormentors. The Un-Men then board a private jet for America, where they proceed to set the captive, cryogenically frozen original Un-Men free. Army soldiers and guns are involved, and ultimately Kane's love interest—a bald, legless and psychically powered second-generation Un-Woman named Scylla—is mowed down with bullets. The original Un-Men—mute and apparently retarded—toss themselves into a conveniently situated vat of acid, thereby making a statement about the tragic pathos of freakdom. Meanwhile, Crassus vanishes into the darkness of the swamp.

The military experiments are exposed, and Kane and his fellow survivors become celebrities, gracing the cover of ''Life'' magazine and appearing on TV talk shows. An embarrassed federal government grants them their own reservation settlement (on a former nuclear bomb testing site) and goth teens pay homage to the freaks at the camp perimeter. The Un-Men have become caged curiosities yet again. At the end of issue 5, Kane has mutated into a brooding endomorph, a veiny elder statesman narrating his tale from a private cave high above the new Un-Men encampment.

Thomas and David are cousins who run a fast food van in Barcelona. The food is delivered by Thomas, who rushes around the square on a skateboard. After fending off a biker gang they continue business as normal.

They pay a visit to David's father, who is in a mental institution, and bump into Sylvia, the daughter of David's father's girlfriend. Thomas encourages his cousin to try to ask her out on a date, but David chickens out of this, making the excuse she would have said no anyway.

Later that night, while at the van serving food, Thomas inadvertently bumps into Sylvia, who is pretending to be a prostitute. She is actually a pickpocket, and she robs a man in a bedroom and runs away to their fast food van.

Both Thomas and David are enamored by her, but after allowing her to stay in their apartment that night, they wake to find Sylvia and their money gone. The next day, they bump into Moby, a bumbling private investigator who is also tracking Sylvia. They later discover that Sylvia is the heir to a sizable inheritance that a criminal gang is trying to steal from her. When she is kidnapped, Thomas, David and Moby team up to save her, infiltrating the villains' castle and defeating them in a martial arts battle. The final scene of the film shows David, Thomas and Sylvia reunited. Sylvia asks for a summer job, and Moby asks David and Thomas if they wish to work as private detectives with him, which they refuse.

In the 1930s in the United States, a sect composed of rich and eccentric libertines who reject any idea of love, considered artistic creation as a form of evil and tried to find in total sexual freedom the ecstasy of pure being. Following a conference that they called in New York in 1937, all members of the sect disappeared. Years later a journalist tracked them down to a secret location in the forests of South America, but is not heard from again. From out of a mist a huge flying boat wings its way through the nighttime sky. Inside, Spermula and her cohorts are on their way back to civilization to bring their message of peace and freedom to a world gone mad by "spermulising" men, which involves drawing off their sexual essence that causes aggression, acquisitiveness and jealousy. They take up residence in a mansion, whose neighbors include the town's mayor, his unhappy and abused wife, his assistant and a widow. Spermula and her company draw together the strands of the plot that finally ends in an orgy. The women become corrupted by this contact with the outside world and their beautiful leader, Spermula, falls in love with a young artist and sacrifices her immortality for a night of passion with him.

The ''Enterprise'' is searching a binary star system in an effort to find the USS ''Brattain'', a Federation science vessel which went missing a month earlier. The crew locates the ship but the ''Brattain'' is derelict, and all the crew are dead save one: the ship's Betazoid science adviser, Andrus Hagan, who is discovered hiding in a room just off the bridge. Hagan has somehow survived, but he has been shaken by the experience and is in a profound catatonic state. Counselor Deanna Troi tries to use her telepathy to contact Hagan. Meanwhile, Geordi La Forge and Data set to work repairing the ''Brattain'' but discover that although everything is in working order, the ship still fails to move. Dr. Beverly Crusher determines that all of the ''Brattain'' s crew died at each other's hands. That night onward, Troi has trouble sleeping, encountering the same dream in which she levitates and drifts in the direction of a mysterious voice repeating, "Eyes in the dark, one moon circles". Troi starts to believe Hagan was influenced by the same dream.

Four days later, with the investigation stalled, Captain Picard decides that the time has come to move on, but the crew find the ship also stalled like the ''Brattain''. Data discovers that both ships are trapped in a spatial phenomenon known as a "Tyken's Rift", and they can only escape through the force of a tremendous explosion. However, as they work at determining how to create this explosion, the crew starts becoming irritable and experiences hallucinations. Dr. Crusher realizes that everyone but Troi has failed to achieve R.E.M. sleep since entering the rift, leading to their current state. As violence begins to erupt around the ship, Picard assigns Data, who does not sleep or dream and is therefore unaffected, as acting Captain.

Data eventually attempts to use a pulse from the deflector aimed at the center of the rift to create the explosion, but this fails to produce any effect. As Data looks for other solutions with Troi, Troi gets an idea that her dreams of "eyes in the dark, one moon circling" is a description of a hydrogen atom. Data and Troi work out that there must be another ship from a psychic race trapped on the other side of the rift who is aware of their presence but looking for hydrogen to create an explosion. Troi goes to sleep to contact the other species through the dream, while Data vents hydrogen into the rift. An explosion soon occurs, and both the ''Enterprise'' and the alien ship are freed. As the crew recovers, Data returns the ship to Picard, but not before ordering everyone to get some sleep.

In the year 2117, a race of aliens known as the Arelians have enslaved the human population of Earth using their henchmen, the savage Zorn. They insert implants into infants' brains at birth, to be able to track them. As soon as someone turns 30, the aliens take the person away and nothing is known about their subsequent fate.

The main character, Jorel, after losing both his parents to the alien invaders, decides to flee south to Mexico to join the rebel forces and fight the alien invaders. Thanks to his strong psionic resistance, his brain rejected the implant and he brings new hope to the desperate human race looking for a leader.

Later, the true nature of the Zorn and Arelians is revealed. The Arelians, bored of the collective mind of the alien race, enslaved the humans for entertainment. The Zorn, in return for helping the Arelians, were to be allowed to eat any human above the age of 30.

The movie follows the story of an amiable kindergarten principal named Troshkin who looks exactly like a cruel criminal nicknamed Dotsent (Доцент, literally ''associate professor'') that has stolen Alexander the Great's helmet at an archaeological excavation. Dotsent and his gang are caught by police, but Dotsent is imprisoned in a different jail than his mates. Since Troshkin looks identical to Dotsent, the police send him undercover to prison with the real criminals to get information about the stolen helmet. He must pretend to be the real felon Dotsent, so in order to be convincing, Troshkin, a well-educated and good-natured man, has to learn slang and manners of criminals.

Brothers Dova (Matt Dillon) and Milo (Gary Sinise) are small-time crooks. They and their partner, Law (William Fichtner), pull a holdup in New Orleans that goes terribly wrong. A police officer is killed, as are two other men. The robbers flee to a local bar, Dino's Last Chance, desperately taking everyone inside hostage.

Milo is seriously wounded and bleeding. Law is a sociopath who is ready and willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. Dova is their leader, trying to keep the situation calm while federal agents, led by Browning (Joe Mantegna), surround the bar. A bar employee, Janet (Faye Dunaway), tries but fails to reason with the intruders. Her boss, Dino, behind the bar, secretly has a shotgun that he is hoping to get a chance to use. He does—grabbing Law and holding it on him, but Law gets the upper hand and bludgeons him. Besides a barfly (John Spencer) who is barely coherent and a younger man, Danny (Skeet Ulrich) shooting pool, there is one other customer (Viggo Mortensen), a man named Foucard dressed in a business suit, who is strangely silent and inactive all his time there. As the life of Milo slips away and the robbers' demands to the cops go unmet, Dova decides whether to surrender or start letting Law shoot hostages one at a time. Law is especially terrified of going back to prison. Dova and Law prepare to take Danny as a hostage. But Janet pleads with them not to as he is her son. It is revealed that Foucard is a wanted fugitive and the police really want him. Dova and Law prepare to give Foucard to the police and pretend that Foucard is the kidnapper and they are the hostages.

Milo has Dova and Law swear on their mothers that they will not kill anyone. But when painted into a corner, Law is more than ready to kill and Dova agrees. Milo wants no more of it all and prepares to turn himself in. Dova holds a gun on him to keep him there. When Dova and Law leave, Milo takes the knife he was given from a hostage and uses it to cut his wrists, committing suicide. Dova finds out and is in tears. They prepare to give the police the wanted Foucard. The police finally storm the place and open fire killing both Law and Foucard. Dova and the real hostages are allowed to vacate the bar. Janet covers for Dova, as he kept Law from killing the rest of the hostages. Dova is traumatized.

Murdoch Troon (Stanley Baxter) is a dour Scot living and working for a local government authority somewhere in south London. A shy young man, his main excitement comes from cycling. After he's forced off the road by an impatient car driver, he tracks down the owner, only to find that he is Commander Chingford (James Robertson Justice), the domineering and acerbic owner of a sports car distributorship.

Chingford reluctantly pays for the damage to Murdoch's cycle, but more significantly, Murdoch meets Claire (Julie Christie), Chingford's beautiful blonde daughter. He is smitten with her and, after she tells him she loves sports cars and would love to have one but "her great dictator" (meaning her father) won't allow it. Even though he can not drive, he is talked into buying a car to impress her by Murdoch's friend and fellow lodger, Freddie Fox (Leslie Phillips), a used car salesman and serial cad. Freddie sees a chance to ingratiate himself with Chingford and also to sell Murdoch a car. The car is a 1927 vintage Bentley 4½ Litre Red Label Speed model, painted in British Racing Green and named ''The Fast Lady''.

Murdoch has his first driving lesson in a less exciting car, an Austin A40 Farina, which proves to be a comedy of disasters with a nervous instructor (Eric Barker). Freddie then makes a deal with Murdoch and offers to teach him, but the results are equally disastrous.

Unwilling to give up, and determined to prove his love for Claire, Murdoch bets her father that he can drive the car. An experienced racing driver, Chingford is convinced that Murdoch has no hope of achieving this — and bets him that he cannot. Murdoch takes Chingford for a drive in the Bentley and loses the bet. But the tables are turned when Chingford loses Murdoch's counter-bet that Chingford cannot drive back home in less than 30 minutes. He then reluctantly allows Claire to go out with Murdoch in the car.

The day comes for Murdoch's driving test. Freddie has set him up with a 'bent' examiner, but Murdoch draws the 'wrong' examiner. As the test comes to an end (and the examiner is almost certainly going to fail Murdoch), the car is commandeered by police to chase a Jaguar car driven by escaping bank robbers. The high speed chase takes them through town and country, across a golf course (leaving in its wake, a trail of disasters) and eventually the robbers are caught. The now furious examiner says that Murdoch not only fails but is "banned for life", but Chingford pooh-poohs this. Rather, he so admires Murdoch's driving skill that he will allow the couple to get engaged.

The film features cameos and performances by many well-known comedy and character actors, including Dick Emery as a car salesman, Clive Dunn, Gerald Campion, Frankie Howerd, Bernard Cribbins, Bill Fraser, 'Monsewer' Eddie Gray and Fred Emney. A racing sequence also features brief appearances by drivers John Surtees and Graham Hill, along with Raymond Baxter and celebrated automotive journalist John Bolster.

''Note'': The 'Fast Lady' is a 1927 Bentley 4.5-litre Red Label Speed model with Vanden Plas short chassis fabric body, registration number TU5987. It was sold by a specialist dealer in 2010.

Born in 1929, Ken Kimble is raised the son of a pastor in Missouri and becomes a minister like his father. While working as a chaplain in a Bible college in Richmond, Virginia he feels attracted to Birdie Bell, one of his female students. Ken, who is 32, marries the 19-year-old Birdie on the spot. The Kimbles have two children, Charlie and Jody. Soon after he is forced to resign over an alleged affair, Ken disappears with Moira Snell, one of his students.

It takes Birdie many years to get over her husband's desertion. Only at the end of the novel, when she is 51, does Birdie find some solace with Curtis Mabry, her teenage sweetheart.

In 1969, at the age of 40, Ken moves to Florida with Moira, where he finds work as a gardener. When he and Moira break up after a few months, he takes a room with Joan Cohen, a rich professional woman of Jewish descent about his own age. They soon become lovers and Joan sees Ken as her last chance at happiness, especially now that one of her breasts has been removed due to breast cancer. Ken pretends to have a Jewish background and, after getting married under Jewish law, starts working as a real estate broker.

Joan realizes that she knows nothing about her husband's past when she finds an old photograph of his two children. Unable to have children of her own, Joan persuades Ken to fetch his children so that they can be raised in Florida. Ken tricks Birdie by offering to take the kids on vacation, which she naively accepts. At first, Charlie and Jody take Joan for a nanny. When he realizes the truth, Charlie steals some money from Joan and escapes with his little sister. Joan soon after dies of breast cancer.

Ken inherits all her money and moves to Washington, D.C. to set up a new real estate business. In the late 1970s, he has a chance meeting with Dinah, who used to babysit Charlie and Jody. Although she is more than 25 years his junior, they get married in 1979 and have one son, Brendan.

Ken one day sells his company and starts a government-funded project providing affordable accommodation for those in need, which gains him a lot of recognition in the community. Dinah has an extramarital affair until Ken, despite his lifelong strict diet and his regular exercise, has a heart attack in 1994 at the age of 65. Hoping that it might cheer Ken up, Dinah invites Charlie and Jody for Thanksgiving, but the family reunion only serves as an eye-opener to Ken Kimble's despicable character.

After recovering from his illness, Ken leaves Dinah. It is soon discovered that he had been embezzling large sums of money from his non-profit organisation and that a small child has died in one of the houses he is responsible for because he refused to have a faulty furnace repaired. Ken dies alone in Florida.

A boy living in a polluted area wanders down the Street of the Lifted Lorax and visits a strange, reclusive man known as the Once-ler. The boy pays the Once-ler fifteen cents, a nail, and the shell of a great-great-great-grandfather snail to hear the story of how the Lorax was lifted away.

The Once-ler tells the boy that many years ago, he arrived in a beautiful valley containing a forest of Truffula Trees and a range of animals. Having long searched for such a tree as the Truffula, he cut one down and used its foliage to knit an incredibly versatile garment known as the Thneed. A strange creature known as the Lorax emerged from the tree's stump and voiced his disapproval of both the tree's sacrifice and the Thneed itself. After a man bought the Thneed for $3.98 ( ), the Once-ler, ignoring the Lorax's protests, called his relatives and asked them to come and help him with his new business.

The Once-ler's small shop soon grew into a large factory, and new vehicles were built to log the Truffula forest and ship out Thneeds. As time passed, the area became choked with pollution, and the Lorax was forced to send the animals away to find more hospitable habitats. The Once-ler was unrepentant and told the Lorax that he would continue "biggering" his operations, but at that moment, one of his machines felled the last Truffula Tree. Without raw materials, the factory closed down and the Once-ler's relatives left him. The Lorax sadly lifted himself into the air and disappeared through a hole in the smog, leaving behind a stone platform engraved with the word "UNLESS." The distraught Once-ler punished himself with years of self-imposed exile, pondering the Lorax's message.

After finishing his story, the Once-ler realizes out loud what the Lorax meant: ''unless'' somebody cares, the situation will not improve. He then gives the boy the last Truffula seed and urges him to grow a forest from it, hoping that the Lorax and the animals will return.

The story begins five years before present at a New Year's Eve party which had been thrown by a wealthy businessman as a children's ball, with the ulterior purpose of allowing the adults to discuss business. The guest of honour at the party was Julian Mastakovich, who the other guests looked upon with reverence.

The narrator was another guest at the party, a self-described "outsider" without business to discuss with the others. This detachment allowed him to observe the other guests, including the children who were seen around a Christmas tree. Each of the children received gifts in accordance with the social standing of their parents: the 11-year old daughter of an "immensely wealthy business man" received a fine doll, while the son of a widowed governess received a shabby book of little interest to a child. Afterward, the governess' son attempted to play with the other boys, but was bullied, eventually being told by his mother to stop interfering with the play of the other children. The governess' son retreated into another room and was occupied playing with the rich girl and her doll.

A topic of discussion at the party was that the father of the rich girl had already set aside a dowry of 300,000 rubles for her. The narrator, unobserved, watched Julian Mastakovich calculate the expected growth of the girl's dowry before she would reach age of 16, determining the dowry would then be as large as 500,000 rubles. Mastakovich then approached the girl and kissed her on the head, causing her to recoil. As he continued to harass the girl, she looked to the governess' son for help, but Mastakovich drove him off. Mastakovich himself left the room after hearing someone approach. Mastakovich then turned his attention to the governess' son and cruelly chased him under a table. Shortly after, Mastakovich and the parents of the young girl are seen speaking intimately, to the delight of the other guests.

The final scene is set in present time. As the narrator walks past a church, he sees a wedding celebration. While not recognizing the groom at first, he quickly realizes it is Mastakovich. The girl, now 16, is seen to be the bride. The narrator notes her beauty, her innocence, and her discontent with the marriage. The narrator then hears the crowd discussing that the girl's dowry had been 500,000 rubles, as Mastakovich had previously calculated. The narrator concludes that the marriage had been a good business deal for Mastakovich after all.

After a body is found in the walls of a French monastery, Commissaire Niemans, played by Jean Reno, teams up with Detective Reda, played by Benoît Magimel, who is already investigating a murder of his own. As with the first movie, the pair's investigations intertwine and soon they are looking at a giant conspiracy involving a secretive group of monks on amphetamines led by Heinrich von Garten, played by Christopher Lee, searching for a treasure hidden by King Lothair II somewhere near the Maginot Line. Reno and Magimel are joined by a religious specialist called Marie, played by Camille Natta.

The fictional Special Execution Agency (S.E.A.) sends three operatives from their Phantom Unit, Billy Bishop, Sheila Crawford and Nicklaus Nightwood; onto the roof of Castle Wolfgang in Austria. Eve, SEA's commanding officer, informs them that the terrorist group Enigma is inside the castle, and they must be stopped before they can utilize their bio-weapon "Lahder". The trio are successful in infiltrating the castle, but Nicklaus is captured in the process. The player infiltrates a chapel within the castle by posing as Enigma's second-in-command, Dietrich Troy. Inside, Bishop and Sheila are confronted by the real Dietrich, as well as Enigma's anonymous leader and a group of guards. Dietrich displays Nicklaus hung upon a crucifix, shooting and killing him as the leader leaves. A flashback commences once Nicklaus has died.

The story proper begins two months prior to the game's opening. The player is heading a covert investigation into NanotechDyne Inc, a pharmaceutical company suspected of developing biochemical weapons. The SEA needs to access files on the computer of the new Research Director, Forrest Kaysen, who recently displaced Dr. Alice Coleman. The player must retrieve a password for the computer, also including a scan of Kaysen's retina to access the computer. The plan is a success, and the player is extracted and sent back in at midnight to access the computer. The player then secures the files, seeing the emblem of Enigma on the desktop.

The player is teamed up with the other possible player character as well as Nicklaus and Phantom's team leader, Samuel Berkeley. Kaysen has been linked to the Metropolis' owner, Kelly Wong, and Phantom must observe a meeting between the doctor and the businesswoman. Sheila knocks Kaysen out, allowing Billy to pose as him and take his place at the meeting while Sheila eavesdrops.

The player makes it to the demonstration without Nicklaus. Lahder turns out to be a small grenade-like sphere, emitting purple gas. Kaysen prepares to test the device on a monkey before an audience, mostly consisting of arms dealers and criminals. However, Wong nods to Troy, standing behind the scenes, and pushes Kaysen into isolation with Lahder and the monkey. Although Kaysen is killed, Nicklaus contacts the player stating that they've been discovered. The player attempts to escape, finding Wong surrounded by guards. The player disarms Wong and neutralizes her men, holding her at gunpoint. Troy appears, holding the player at gunpoint as well, and shoots Wong.

Disguising themselves as Troy to enter the plant, the player destroys the payload and sets out to escape before US forces bomb the facility. The player then finds a wounded Nicklaus locked in a storage crate. He tells the player that Dr. Coleman is in the holding cells, and the player goes to rescue her. After a gunfight, Coleman is captured by General Douglas Lysander. The player chases and then battles Lysander before Nicklaus fatally shoots him, allowing them to secure Coleman and escape.

Enigma announces their ultimatum, demanding the US "confess its sins" and resign from the UN Security Council. Bishop, Sheila and Samuel are then sent to the Rodt Rose Railway Station in Austria to resolve a hostage situation caused by Enigma. Samuel is wounded in combat, and sends the player to free the hostages. The hostage situation turns out to be staged, and the player is ambushed after Troy suggests that there is a traitor in Phantom. Troy elaborates on Enigma's plans, saying that they intend to trigger a third World War. Troy escapes, and Samuel reveals that Enigma's leader is actually a former Phantom leader named Dimitri Vedernikov, aka Scarface, and that Vedernikov was once Samuel's partner, and is Billy's father. Bishop and Sheila decide to sacrifice Samuel, sending him toward a bridge rigged with explosives and ending his life.

The player then returns to Nicklaus's death in the chapel. The player wounds Troy in battle, before special forces arrive and fatally shoot him. The player continues forward to confront Scarface, who is preparing to fly the Metropolis filled with Lahder over the US. Before the battle, Sheila is revealed to be one of the Gospel Children known as AG7753, before Scarface gave her a name. Scarface battles the player and reveals his cyborg body, but is defeated, and uses a vaccine called Jacob created by Coleman to destroy the virus, leaving Scarface to die in the explosion.

Following Metropolis' destruction, Eve later manages to get into contact after someone jammed the transmission. Nicklaus is actually alive, and the body recovered from the chapel is Phantom's tech officer, Michael Kwan. Bishop and Sheila track Nicklaus to an Airbase, where he intends to flee, now revealed as double agent for both Phantom and Enigma. During the confrontation, Nicklaus reveals himself to be Dietrich Troy (The one that was killed in the chapel by the Special Forces was a decoy).

Nicklaus explains that he was against both Enigma and Phantom, acting for his own motives of revenge against Scarface and Billy, of whom he is the half-brother. Nicklaus had been seeking revenge on Scarface for killing his mother, and Billy out of jealousy that "While [Nicklaus] froze in a Siberian orphanage, [Billy] grew up with a mother who loved [him]".

Nicklaus uses a flash grenade to escape, prompting Bishop and Sheila to chase him as he boards a plane and starts down the runway. The player shoots a hole in the gas tank, and uses a flare to ignite it as Nicklaus takes off. The flare burns along the gas trail, reaching the plane and destroying it, killing Nicklaus as well. The game ends with Billy wondering who "the battle was really against".

Ion storms have caused the boundaries of the Neutral Zone between the Federation and Romulans to shift. The planet Arachne IV, inhabited by a strange ant-like race, could be lost to the Federation due to the changes in space. However, Mr. Spock goes on a death-defying assignment into a war of ant-like creatures along with a scientist who dislikes Vulcans.

Ryu and Ken have begun training with the reluctant and mysterious legend Gouken. One night, Ken's friend Cho appears at the dojo in a panic, revealing that he has learned of M. Bison's organization, Shadaloo, and its current agenda—vicious human experiments revolving around a drug called Doll which effectively brainwashes people, usually for acts of violence. Cho has been followed and falls victim to an attack by Bison and two of his lords of Shadaloo, Vega and Sagat. Naturally, a fight ensues, during which the groups of combatants become separated. After making his way back to the dojo, Ryu finds that Gouken has been left for dead by Bison, and hears his master's final words. Assuming the missing Ken to be dead also, Ryu becomes a lonesome vagabond.

Years later, Doll has had an effect on the lives of a soldier named Guile and an Interpol officer named Chun-Li who have arrived on Shad and entered its martial-arts tournament in respective efforts to investigate Shadaloo and reach Bison, who has become the tournament's champion. Ryu, now a more capable fighter, has also emerged on Shad and entered the tournament, while befriending Cho's old girlfriend Po-Lin and her little brother Wong-Mei, who have been recently orphaned and manage their family's Chinese restaurant.

As the fighting progresses over the course of a few days, Ryu, Guile, and Chun-Li advance, facing opponents such as Blanka, E. Honda, Dhalsim, and Zangief some of whom have personal goals of their own. Ryu and Chun-Li form a loose affinity, and following a moment in which Chun-Li suddenly comes across Po-Lin with Ryu and appears jealous, Ryu sees a picture in the paper of an upcoming participant in the tournament and from there realizes that Ken is indeed alive. At the tournament, Chun-Li and Guile begin losing to Vega and Sagat, with Guile still not fully recovered from his match with Zangief, and Chun-Li partly hindered by rage. During the battles, an emotionally conflicted Ken starts to snap out of Doll's influence. Eventually, a weary Chun-Li begins to recall the advice she's received from her father and Ryu respectively, regains control of herself, and surprises Vega with a powerful ''Kikoken'' a moment before he can land the finishing strike.

Guile, meanwhile, is still faring poorly against Sagat, before being saved by intervention from none other than Ken, who's regained his senses. While the new fight plays out, Guile and Chun-Li lay nearly unconscious in the backroom infirmary, only to be approached by a henchman of Bison's sent to finish them off. But before he can complete his attack, he is blasted into a wall and knocked senseless by a ''Hadouken'', and a still-weary Chun-Li reaches out upon looking up and noticing that Ryu has arrived.

After overcoming Sagat, Ken is set to fight in the next day's final match, but soon confronts Bison backstage in a hallway, seeking to take his anger out on him immediately. He is stopped, however, by Ryu, whom Ken is relieved to find alive. However Bison uses his power to control Ken via Doll again and orders him to fight Ryu. The fight stops when Ryu ceases fighting and tells Ken to resist Doll and Bisons orders. Ken has a flashback of his years under Gouken with Ryu and snaps out of it in the middle of a ''Shoryuuken''. He manages to turn the attack away from Ryu and smashes his hand into a wall. With his hand broken, Ken asks Ryu to take his place in the tournament's finale against Bison.

Ryu agrees, and after an emotional battle witnessed by many, including notable Street Fighters and several of the people who have been affected by Shadaloo over the years, Ryu emerges victorious. As it ends, a jump forward at some point in the future reveals that many of the friends and participants have parted ways or begun doing so. A narrative by Chun-Li implies that both Doll's time and Shadaloo's control over Shad have passed. Ryu departs once more, leaving Ken, Po-Lin, and Wong-Mei as he sets off on a journey.

Premise

In the original version, the title character's name resembles that of King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, while other Arthurian characters include Merlin and the Lady of the Lake.Vincent Terrace, ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 1997'', 2008 (p. 1222). The series is set in the legendary island of Avalon, here portrayed as a fairy tale-style utopia that keeps its magic in check through the seven Crown Jewels of the Kingdom, each representing an area of the realm. The story for this girls' superhero franchise takes place a thousand years after the good wizard Merlin's initial victory over the evil queen Morgana. The eponymous Jewel Riders are young female champions of goodness and magical guardians of the city of New Camelot who, mentored by the ageless Merlin and aided by their magic animal friends, have been traditionally upholding the laws of the peaceful land and defending its people for generations. But when a new great menace looms over Avalon, and with their teacher Merlin suddenly gone, the current Jewel Riders are tasked with recovering the mystical Enchanted Jewels that control the dangerous Wild Magic.

Avalon's fate rests with the Jewel Riders: the latest incarnation consists of the 16-year-old Princess Gwenevere (Gwen) and her friends, Fallon and Tamara. Their jewels, besides their various unique powers, allow them to "ride" safely through the tunnels of a dangerous alternate dimension of the Wild Magic, as well as to communicate with their Special Friends ― the magic animals who each share a similar gemstone in their neck collars. The girls are often assisted by the Pack, an also teenage male trio of wolf-riding Knights of Avalon who wield the Forest Stones, and fight against Lady Kale, the ruthless former princess of Avalon who has vowed to command all the magic and rule the kingdom no matter the consequences. An emphasis is set on the "power of friendship", which enables the Jewel Riders to overcome evil and to even ultimately befriend some of their would-be enemies. In the second season, the threat to Avalon is not over yet, and gets worse with an introduction of an even more dangerous adversary for the Jewel Riders to thwart. Instead of Crown Jewels, Gwen and her friends seek out another cache of magical gems while still struggling to keep off the forces of darkness and to contain the growing chaos in the magic.

First season

The story is set up during the two-part pilot episode "Jewel Quest". Princess Gwenevere, the young daughter of the current rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, is being prepared by Merlin for the day when she will meet a bonded animal friend to share their own themed Enchanted Jewels with. Gwen is yet to be given the magic of the royal Sun Stone, while her best friends Tamara and Fallon already wield the magic of the Moon and Heart Stones respectively. Gwen needs to search for such an animal and become the new leader of the Jewel Riders, and later succeeds in getting her Special Friend in Sunstar the flying unicorn. Meanwhile, outlaw Lady Kale, a hateful and power-hungry sister of Anya, gets ahold of the mysterious Dark Stone and uses it to overpower Merlin, sending him into the perilous dimension of Wild Magic. Kale steals the Crown Jewels and plans to use their magic to take over Avalon and reign forever, but Merlin foils her by breaking their setting and sending them back to the lands from where they had come, scattering them wide across the kingdom and beyond. Unfortunately, once the Crown Jewels' bond is broken, magic is no longer stable and flows out of control, causing dangerous outbreaks until they are brought back together. Retrieving them is the only way the Riders can free Merlin from being lost in the limbo of Wild Magic and so their titular quest begins. Using the magic of the Enchanted Jewels and their friendship, the Jewel Riders must prevent Kale from gaining more power, reclaim the Crown Jewels and save Merlin and all of Avalon.

The primary storyline tells of the Jewel Riders' adventures in their efforts to locate and secure each of the Crown Jewels before Kale can get her hands on them or to win them back if she does. The seven Crown Jewels consist of the Jewel of the North Woods (in "Travel Trees Can't Dance"), the Rainbow Jewel found inside the Rainbow Falls (in "Song of the Rainbow"), the Jewel of the Burning Ice found in the Hall of Wizards at the Wizard's Peak in the snow-covered mountains (in "Wizard's Peak"), the Misty Rose Jewel found in the Misty Moors (in "For Whom the Bell Trolls"), the Desert Star Jewel of the Great Desert found in the magical realm of Faeryland (in "The Faery Princess"), the Jewel of the Dreamfields (in "Dreamfields"), and the Jewel of the Jungle found in the hidden lair of the legendary wizard Morgana (in "Revenge of the Dark Stone").

During the two-part dramatic finale of the first season (in "Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Full Circle"), Kale succeeds in seizing control of the Jewel Keep at the Crystal Palace. Becoming seemingly invincible, she overthrows Anya, unleashes the dark magic onto Avalon, strips the Jewel Riders of their powers, and prepares to make herself a queen for eternity. Kale seeks out Merlin to finish him off, but he uses his remaining powers to pull her into the Wild Magic and holds her there long enough for the girls to release the magic of the Crystal Palace, revealed as the greatest Enchanted Jewel in Avalon. Unaware of this, Kale attempts to absorb the powers of the gathered Crown Jewels and ends up being destroyed and all the dark magic is undone. The girls then discover that they have tuned the Crown Jewels to their personal jewels, enabling them to channel all the magic of Avalon. In doing so, however, they squandered a chance of solving the magic crisis for good, as well as a chance of freeing Merlin, who has given up his staff jewel so Kale could be defeated.

Second season

The Jewel Riders realize that the Crown Jewels have given them a set of new 'Level Two' armor and magic seven times more powerful than before. They girls now have at their disposal far greater magic than they ever dreamed possible; they also find it difficult to use. Meanwhile, inside the Wild Magic, Lady Kale's Dark Stone is summoned toward a floating palace, where she re-materializes and meets her accidental rescuer, the legendary Morgana, creator and original wielder of the Dark Stone. Morgana had led the other ancient wizards against Merlin a millennium ago but failed and, having lost her jewel, has remained trapped in the Wild Magic ever since. United only by their mutual hatred for Merlin, the two grudgingly decide to team up as Morgana sends Kale back to Avalon in search for the other Wizard Jewels in a preparation for her own return. The Jewel Riders need to master their enhanced jewel powers while they continue their quest to bring Merlin home, especially since soon they confront Morgana and realize that they are facing a very dangerous new enemy.

The seven Wizard Jewels are just as hard to obtain as the Crown Jewels were, as they are scattered in magical places beyond Avalon. Through most of the season the Riders try to find the jewels before they fall into the hands of Morgana, who wants to use their magic to complete her conquest of the kingdom; at the same time, Kale also seeks the Wizard Jewels for herself while supposedly working for/with Morgana. The seven Wizard Jewels consist of the Unicorn Jewel (in "Vale of the Unicorns"), the Jewel of Arden (in "Prince of the Forest"), the Garden Jewel (in "The Wizard of Gardenia"), the Jewel of the Sea (in "The Jewel of the Sea"), the Time Stone (in "Mystery Island"), and the Fortune Jewel (in "The Fortune Jewel"), not counting the Dark Stone itself.

Princess Gwenevere meets a handsome, mysterious young man called Ian (a werewolf-like individual who later comes to her rescue her during the final battle), falling in love with him. Tamara gains a magical animal for herself, which turns out to be a strange striped unicorn named Shadowsong. The deciding battle between the forces of light and dark ensues during the series' two-part conclusion (in "Lady of the Lake" and "The One Jewel"), set in the Heart of Avalon. There, Gwen is given the magic Staff of Avalon by the Lady of the Lake (the Spirit of Avalon), which she then uses to vanquish Kale again and to save her friends. In the final showdown, the Riders and their friends band together to battle Morgana in a test of skills and wits over the collected Wizard Jewels. Eventually, the princess fuses the Dark Stone with the Sun Stone and captures the ultimate One Jewel forged from all the Wizard Jewels, which the freed Merlin then uses to get rid of Morgana, the ancient wizards' ghosts, and the dark magic once and for all.

In the late 21st Century, Earth is overcrowded and polluted. An alien race from the Dark Star solar system called "The Wipers," who look human, start to colonize the planet and go about destroying communication and data technology. In 2117, humans start to evacuate the planet for a place called the White Crystal solar system. In 2123, the last of the humans are getting ready to evacuate. Meanwhile, a group of librarians, led by Ms. Bookhart, have built an underground library to protect all human knowledge from the Wipers. While they are finishing up before they leave for the evacuation site, they discover that one book, the third volume of ''The History of the Wipers on Earth'', is missing. Desperate to find that book, Ms. Bookhart drives the bookmobile to the house of the last person who borrowed that book to see if he forgot to return it. When she arrives, she discovers a Wiper is there destroying everything. On her way to the evacuation site the bookmobile stalls. As she is looking for tools to fix the vehicle, a being who calls himself "The Universal Being" appears and puts her into a deep sleep. The other librarians go to the evacuation site and are sad to leave without Ms. Bookhart, not knowing what happened to her or the missing book.

100 years later, another alien race called "The Users" from the Alpha Centauri solar system, who also look human, have set up a communication base on Earth. Under the guidance of the Users' leader, Tesla, a group of User children try to learn about human knowledge as much as possible in order to find a way to defeat the Wipers. Two Users named Abakas and Aphos, who are Tesla's grandchildren, find two books, ''Cinderella'' and the third volume of ''The History of the Wipers on Earth'', and try to figure out their purpose. Meanwhile, two other Users find a sign that says "Bookmobile Stops Here." When they learn a bookmobile is a traveling library, which has many books, Abakas and Aphose along with two other friends, Varian and Lidar, leave the base and search for the bookmobile in order to get more books. When they find it, they are surprised to find Ms. Bookhart inside asleep, since it is known that all humans left the planet. The Universal Being appears again and gives them a clue on how to wake Ms. Bookhart, who will teach them about the books and how to use the library. Figuring out one part of the clue, Abakas starts to read a section of ''The Story of the Amulet'', which wakes up Ms. Bookhart. She then takes the children to the underground library to hide from the Wipers, only to discover it's a wreck. While the children are helping her clean up, she teaches them more about books and how the library is organized.

Meanwhile, the Wipers, led by Chief Humbuckler, put a magnetic shield around the User base, which prevents anyone from entering or leaving. They destroy other User bases, but only Colonel Holon, Abakas' and Aphos' father, survives. While the children are learning about the library, they find ways to help Colonel Holon survive by eating watermelon, find his way to the library, destroy the shield around the base, Wiper superstition about horses, and how to defeat the Wipers and communicate with the humans that it is safe to come home.

An explosion occurs in a classified research laboratory, causing an intense fire. A mutated monster known as the OXCOM (Outside Experimental Combat Mammal) escapes and chases a golden retriever from the same lab, through the surrounding woods. The dog outruns it and the OXCOM hides in a barn. In the barn, Travis Cornell (Corey Haim) is with his girlfriend Tracey (Lala Sloatman). Thinking it is her father, Travis leaves. Tracey discovers the beast and screams, summoning her father who is attacked. Meanwhile, Travis finds the dog in the back of his car and a military/police force is sweeping the area for the escapees. Travis starts to realize the dog is extraordinary and decides to keep it. Meanwhile, an NSO agent named Johnson (Michael Ironside) is dispatched by the corporation to retrieve the animals.

The next morning, Travis's mother informs him that there has been an accident and that Tracey is in the hospital. Travis and his mother rush to the hospital, but Agent Johnson and his partner will not allow them to see her. Travis pushes past them into Tracey's room, only to find it completely empty. The men claim that she has been transferred to a better location. Travis is puzzled as to why the men were armed. At home, Travis' mother is displeased about the dog. She allows him to keep it when Travis shows the level of intelligence that the dog possesses. While bathing the dog, Travis sees GH3 tattooed on its ear, and concludes it is a research dog, which would explain its superior intellect.

Agent Johnson stops by Travis' house to ask questions and the dog hides. The dog tracks Travis down at school, where he types 'D ANG ER N S O' on a computer. Travis is given detention for bringing a pet to school. Meanwhile, three of Travis's friends are murdered by the OXCOM in the woods. The OXCOM then traces the dog to the school, where two staff members are killed. One is able to call the police. The now-suspicious sheriff and a policewoman arrive, and she is also killed. When the sheriff confronts Agent Johnson, he is forced to tell the sheriff the truth regarding the killer but asks that they move to a quieter location away from the press. He explains that it was a scientific project gone wrong and that the OXCOM is chasing the dog, which targets and kills anything it comes across or that has been in contact with the dog. He then abruptly murders the sheriff.

A family friend who is fixing the washing machine mentions that a man stopped by earlier asking if they owned a dog. Travis, realizing the NSO is after them, sneaks out of the house. His mother stops him before he can drive away, telling him that they are in it together. Back inside, they find their friend dead. They run upstairs with the dog, locking the bedroom door. The beast begins to break it down. The mother climbs onto the adjacent rooftop while Travis grabs a hunting gun. He tells her to start the truck and jumps out the window followed by the dog who is knocked down by the OXCOM. He fires, then picks up the injured dog, and the three drive to a veterinarian. Noticing the code on the dog's ear, the vet calls the authorities. Travis catches on and they leave the vet's office before the NSO agents can arrive. The next morning after the agents track them to the motel where they are staying, the mother creates a diversion, allowing Travis and the dog to escape the NSO agents. Travis takes the dog to his father's old cabin in the woods. His mother insists the NSO agents let her visit Tracey. Although Johnson claims the NSO is protecting her while she recovers, Travis's mother realizes that the sedated Tracey is unharmed and her room has no medical equipment and that the NSO is holding her as a prisoner.

The agents take the women to the cabin to use as hostages, but Travis throws a homemade Molotov cocktail at the NSO agents, allowing the two women to run into the cabin. Agent Johnson fires at them, but he is stopped by his partner who baulks at murdering a woman and two kids. Johnson then reveals that he is the corporation's third experiment, a genetically engineered assassin with no conscience, and kills his partner. In a tussle with Johnson, Travis is stabbed in the leg with his own knife. The dog jumps through the window and onto Johnson, allowing Travis to stab him through the neck. Johnson, unfazed by the stab wound, claims that they will die anyway before being shot to death by Mrs Cornell. Armed with homemade weapons, the team readies themselves for the beast. When it arrives, Travis shoots at it and it throws the dog into the truck windshield. Travis follows it into the woods, where he finds it injured and sobbing. At first, he cannot bring himself to kill it. It then attacks him and he is forced to finish it off. Travis, his mother, Tracey and the dog regroup and leave in the beat-up truck as the farmhouse burns down.

The novel concerns "Lucky" Jack Waley, a computer salesman and conman unfortunate enough to be aboard the starship ''Bucentaure'' when the engine blows. He crashlands on the planet Kerim, a planet where anything you ask for from the mysterious Pe'Ichen is instantly manufactured before your eyes. Anything trivial. No food, no houses. And for the current generation, no children.

Jack connects up with a variety of rogues to try to save the day, only to discover that Pe'Ichen is an ancient computer with miraculous powers, designed to keep order in the lives of the Kerimites, providing them with their every need. Pe'Ichen, however, has determined that a) the sun will explode in 56 years, and b) that there is no such thing as life on other planets.

The film consists of three stories that take place on the same night in downtown Memphis. The three stories are linked together by the Arcade Hotel, a run-down flophouse presided over by a night clerk and a bellboy, where the principal characters in each story spend a part of the night. Every room in the hotel lacks a television (as is noted in each story) but is adorned with a portrait of Elvis Presley.

The first story, "Far from Yokohama", features Mitsuko and Jun, a teenage couple from Yokohama making a pilgrimage to Memphis during a trip across America. Mitsuko is obsessed with Elvis, and has put together a scrapbook detailing her belief that the singer has a mystical connection to other cultural figures ranging from Madonna to the Buddha to the Statue of Liberty. The story follows the couple as they travel from the train station, through downtown Memphis and a tour of Sun Records, to the Arcade hotel, before they eventually depart to board the train again.

The second story, "A Ghost", is about an Italian widow, Luisa, who is stranded in Memphis while escorting her husband's coffin back to Italy. Luisa shares a room at the hotel with Dee Dee, a young woman who has just left her British boyfriend (Johnny from the final story) and plans to leave the city in the morning. Luisa is kept awake by Dee Dee's constant talking. After Dee Dee finally goes to sleep, Luisa is visited by an apparition of Elvis Presley.

The final story, "Lost in Space", introduces Johnny. Upset after losing his job and his girlfriend, Johnny – called Elvis, much to his chagrin – drunkenly brandishes a gun in a bar before leaving with his friend Will Robinson and his ex-girlfriend's brother, Charlie, who believes Johnny to be his brother-in-law. They stop at a liquor store, which Johnny robs, shooting its clerk in the process. Fearing the consequences, Johnny, Will and Charlie retire to the hotel to hide out for the night; there, they all become increasingly intoxicated. Charlie realizes that Will shares the same name as the character Will Robinson from the television show ''Lost in Space'', which Johnny has never heard of. Charlie and Johnny proceed to tell him about the show, and Will comments that the title describes how he feels then with Charlie and Johnny: lost in space. The next morning, Charlie discovers that Johnny is not really his brother-in-law, which angers him because of what they have been through. Johnny attempts to shoot himself, and while struggling to prevent him, Charlie is accidentally shot in the leg. Leaving the hotel, the three rush to escape a police car that is not even looking for them. The closing credits show the train, the airport and final views of the characters from the first two stories.

The story begins in 1973 Moscow, where engineer Aleksandr "Shurik" Timofeyev (Aleksandr Demyanenko) is working on a time machine in his apartment. By accident, he sends Ivan Vasilievich Bunsha (Yury Yakovlev), superintendent of his apartment building, and George Miloslavsky (Leonid Kuravlyov), a burglar, back into the time of Ivan IV "The Terrible". The pair is forced to disguise themselves, with Bunsha dressing up as Ivan IV (tsar) and Miloslavsky as a knyaz (duke) of the same name. At the same time, the real Ivan IV (also played by Yury Yakovlev) is sent by the same machine into Shurik's apartment, he has to deal with modern-day life while Shurik tries to fix the machine so that everyone can be brought back to their proper place in time. Superintendent Bunsha and Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible are lookalikes but have completely different personalities, which results in funny situations of mistaken identity. As the police (tipped off by a neighbor who was burgled by Miloslavsky) close in on Shurik, who is frantically trying to repair the machine, the cover of Bunsha and Miloslavsky is blown and they have to fight off the Streltsy, who have figured out that Bunsha is an impostor. The movie ends with Bunsha, Miloslavsky, and Ivan IV all transported back to their proper places, although the entire episode is revealed to be a dream by Shurik... or was it?

Martin Delambre (Baker) is driving to Montreal one night when he sees a young girl by the name of Patricia Stanley (Gray) running in her underwear. They fall in love and are soon married. However, they both hold secrets: she has recently escaped from a mental asylum; he and his father Henri (Donlevy) are engaged in radical experiments in teleportation, which have already had horrific consequences. Martin also suffers recessive fly genes which cause him to age rapidly and he needs a serum to keep him young.

In a rambling mansion in rural Quebec, Martin and Henri have successfully teleported people between there and London, but the previous failures resulted in horribly disfigured and insane victims who are locked in the stables. Martin's first wife Judith is one of them, as are Samuels and Dill, two men who had worked as the Delambres' assistants. Martin's brother Albert (Graham) mans the London receiving station but wishes to terminate the teleportation project and escape the obsession that has driven his grandfather, his father and his brother.

The police and the headmistress of the asylum trace Patricia to the Delambre estate, where they learn that she has married Martin, but it is soon discovered that he had a previous wife whom he did not divorce. Inspector Charas, who had investigated Andre Delambre and is now an old man in the hospital, tells Inspector Ronet about the Delambre family and their experiments.

As the police begin to close in, a mixture of callousness and madness afflicts the Delambres, and they decide to abandon their work and eliminate the evidence of their failures. They subdue and teleport Samuels and Dill, but upon reintegration in London the two men are fused into a single writhing mass. Albert is horrified at the sight and kills the thing with an axe, destroying the teleportation equipment in the process. Tai and Wan (Burt Kwouk and Yvette Rees), a Chinese couple who had been helping the Delambres, have had enough and leave the Quebec estate.

Henri convinces Martin that they must send the unconscious Patricia to London and then follow in order to escape from the police. Martin resists, afraid that she might be harmed, so Henri volunteers to go first. Martin sends Henri to London, unaware that Albert has destroyed the reintegration equipment. Henri does not rematerialize and is lost. Realizing what has happened, Albert leaves the lab, sobbing, and is not seen again.

Inspector Ronet arrives at the estate, passing Tai and Wan as they drive away. Patricia awakens in the teleportation chamber but escapes before the transmission sequence is complete. Martin pursues her but starts aging again. Without his serum he quickly dies, sprawled across the front seat of his car. Soon after, Ronet finds him reduced to a skeleton, and he escorts the badly shaken Patricia back into the house.

Jonathan Harker, a lawyer traveling from London to Transylvania to secure property for Count Dracula, arrives at Bistritz to stay for the night. There, he is warned by a concerned lady against continuing his journey the following day. Harker believes that her concerns are rooted in peasant superstition. He ignores her, but starts to feel increasingly unnerved by the way everyone looks at him. Harker sets off for the rest of his journey and arrives at the Borgo Pass, where the Count's mysterious coachman picks him up.

Harker disembarks at Castle Dracula, and the coach immediately rushes off. Somewhat hesitantly, Harker approaches the main door, whereupon a thin, tall, gaunt old man opens it. Harker asks, "Count Dracula?" "I am Dracula, enter freely and of your own will," says the man at the door. Dracula takes Harker to his bedchamber where Harker notices that Dracula casts no reflection.

Later, Harker goes to sleep. He wakes in an ancient crypt where three beautiful vampiresses harass him. Dracula rushes into the room in a rage and orders them to leave Harker alone. Dracula explains, "This man belongs to me," then gives the vampiresses a baby to feed on. Harker wakes up screaming in his room and assumes it was a nightmare, but two small wounds on his neck indicate otherwise.

Harker soon realises he is a prisoner, and tries to escape by climbing out his bedroom window. He finds his way back to the crypt where Count Dracula and his three brides rest in coffins. Harker runs out of the crypt screaming, and jumps out of the castle's tower into the river below.

Harker wakes up in a private psychiatric clinic outside London, owned by Dr. Van Helsing, in the care of Dr. Seward. He is told he was found delirious in a river near Budapest. Naturally, no one believes his story about Castle Dracula until Van Helsing finds the two punctures on Harker's neck. Harker's fiancée Mina and her close friend Lucy also arrive at the hospital to help take care of him. Unbeknownst to them, Count Dracula has followed Harker back to England and now resides in an abandoned abbey close to the hospital.

As Mina nurses Harker back to health, her friend Lucy's health strangely declines. Dracula has been secretly appearing to her by night and drinking her blood, growing younger as he feeds off his victim. Quincey Morris, Lucy's fiancé, joins Drs. Seward and Van Helsing in an attempt to save Lucy by giving her a blood transfusion from Quincey.

One of the patients at the clinic, R. M. Renfield, becomes of considerable interest to the men. Renfield is classed as a ''zoophagus'': he eats flies and insects in order to consume their life, believing that each life he consumes increases his own. He reacts violently whenever Dracula is nearby. He later dies from shock.

Lucy eventually dies while her men helplessly look on. As Van Helsing suspected, Lucy has become one of the undead and murders a young child, but the ordeal is put to an end when Quincey, Seward and Van Helsing ambush Lucy in her tomb, stake her through the heart and decapitate her. Harker, restored to health, joins the group who now are sure that Count Dracula is a vampire.

Dracula turns his attention to Mina and begins corrupting her as well. Van Helsing suddenly has a stroke and remains in a wheelchair. Dracula visits the weakened man, mocking his attempts to destroy him. Quincey, Harker and Seward track Dracula to the abandoned abbey, but he has fled to Transylvania with the aid of a traveling Gypsy band.

As Count Dracula's Gypsy servants take him back to his castle, he is trailed by Harker and Quincey. After battling the Gypsies, the two heroes find Dracula's coffin and set it on fire. Dracula, unable to escape in full daylight, is consumed by flames.

The Ambersons are by far the wealthiest family in their Midwestern city in the last few decades of the 19th century. As a young man, Eugene Morgan courts Isabel Amberson, but she rejects him after he publicly embarrasses her. She instead marries Wilbur Minafer, a passionless man she does not love, and spoils their child, George. The townspeople long to see George get his "comeuppance."

In the early 20th century, Major Amberson gives a large party at the Amberson Mansion for George, who is home from college for the holidays. Eugene, now a widower who has just returned to town after 20 years, attends. George dislikes Eugene, whom he sees as a social climber, and ridicules Eugene's investment in the automobile. He instantly takes to Eugene's daughter Lucy.

The next day, George and Lucy take a sleigh ride. They pass Eugene, his aunt Fanny, Isabel, and Isabel's brother, Jack. Eugene's "horseless carriage" has gotten stuck in the snow, and George jeers for them to "get a horse." The Amberson sleigh then overturns, and Eugene, after his vehicle is mobile again, gives everyone a ride back home. George is humiliated by the incident and angered by Eugene's attentions toward Isabel and his mother's obvious affection for Eugene.

Wilbur Minafer loses a substantial amount of money on bad investments and soon dies. George is largely unmoved by his father's death. The night after the funeral, George teases Fanny, who is besotted with Eugene.

Time passes, and Eugene becomes very wealthy manufacturing automobiles, and again courts Isabel, who refuses to risk George's disapproval by telling him about their love. Lucy rejects George's marriage proposal by saying that he has no ambition in life other than to be wealthy and keep things as they are, and she leaves town. The Ambersons invite the lonely Eugene to dinner, where George, blaming him for turning Lucy against him, criticizes automobiles. The Ambersons are shocked by his rudeness, but Eugene says that George may turn out to be right.

That evening, George learns from Aunt Fanny that Eugene has been courting Isabel. Enraged, he rudely confronts a neighbor for spreading gossip about his mother. The next day, George refuses to let Eugene see his mother. Jack tells Isabel about George's terrible behavior, but she declines to do anything that might upset her son. Eugene writes to Isabel and asks her to choose between her son and his love. Isabel chooses George.

Lucy returns home to find that George is taking his mother to Europe on an extended trip. George talks to Lucy in an attempt to discover if she loves him. She feigns indifference, and they part. Lucy is heartbroken, however, and faints.

Months pass, and Isabel is seriously ill, but George will not allow her to come home for fear that she will renew her relationship with Eugene. He relents only when she starts to die. George refuses to let Eugene go upstairs to visit Isabel on her deathbed although she begs to see Eugene one last time.

After Isabel's death, Major Amberson sinks into senility and dies. His estate is worthless. Jack leaves town to take a job in another city. George intends to live on Fanny's income while he trains to be a lawyer, but she reveals that she lost everything in bad investments, and they are left with only a few hundred dollars to live on for the rest of the year.

Eugene asks Lucy if she will reconcile with George. Lucy instead tells her father a story about an American Indian chief who was "pushed out on a canoe into the sea" when he became too obnoxious, which Eugene understands to be an analogy for George.

Penniless, George gives up his job as a law clerk and finds higher paying work in a chemical factory, which gives him enough money for himself and Fanny to live on. George wanders the city and is dazed by the modern factories and slums, which have grown up around him. In his last night in the Amberson mansion before it is sold, George prays by his dead mother's bed. The narrator says that no one is around to see him receive his comeuppance.

George is seriously injured by an automobile. Lucy and Eugene go to see him at the hospital and reconcile with him. In a hospital corridor, Eugene tells Fanny that Isabel's spirit had inspired Eugene to bring George "under shelter again," which implies that his and Fanny's financial security was assured.

In fictional Hadleyville, Pennsylvania, the local auto plant, which supplied most of the town's jobs, has been closed for nine months. Former foreman Hunt Stevenson (Keaton) goes to Tokyo to try to convince the Assan Motors Corporation to reopen the plant. The Japanese company agrees and, upon their arrival in the U.S., they take advantage of the desperate work force to institute many changes. The workers are not permitted a union, are paid lower wages, are moved around within the factory so that each worker learns every job, and are held to seemingly impossible standards of efficiency and quality. Adding to the strain in the relationship, the Americans find humor in the demand that they do calisthenics as a group each morning and that the Japanese executives eat their lunches with chopsticks and bathe together in the river near the factory. The workers also display a poor work ethic and lackadaisical attitude toward quality control.

The Japanese executive in charge of the plant is Takahara "Kaz" Kazuhiro, who has been a failure in his career thus far because he is too lenient on his workers. When Hunt first meets Kaz in Japan, the latter is being ridiculed by his peers and being required to wear ribbons of shame. He has been given one final chance to redeem himself by making the American plant a success. Intent on becoming the strict manager his superiors expect, he gives Hunt a large promotion on the condition that he work as a liaison between the Japanese management and the American workers, to smooth the transition and convince the workers to obey the new rules. More concerned with keeping his promotion than with the welfare of his fellow workers, Hunt does everything he can to trick the American workers into compliance, but the culture clash becomes too great and he begins to lose control of the men.

In an attempt to solve the problem, Hunt makes a deal with Kaz: if the plant can produce 15,000 cars in one month, thereby making it as productive as the best Japanese auto plant, then the workers will all be given raises and jobs will be created for the remaining unemployed workers in the town. However, if the workers fall even one car short, they will get nothing. When Hunt calls an assembly to tell the workers about the deal, they balk at the idea of making so many cars in so short a time. Under pressure from the crowd, Hunt lies and says that if they make 13,000, they will get a partial raise. After nearly a month of working long hours toward a goal of 13,000—despite Hunt's pleas for them to aim for the full 15,000—the truth is discovered and the workers walk off the job.

At the town's annual 4th of July picnic, Hadleyville mayor Conrad Zwart addresses to the people that Assan Motors plans to abandon the factory again because of the work stoppage, which would mean the end of the town. The mayor threatens to kill Hunt, but Willie, one of the workers, intervenes, insisting that it wasn't Hunt's fault for the closure. The mayor, even more furious with the townspeople taking Hunt's word over his, abandons the picnic. Hunt comes clean about the 15,000 car deal. He responds by addressing his observations that the real reason the workers are facing such difficulties is because the Japanese have the work ethic that too many Americans have abandoned. While his audience is not impressed, Hunt, hoping to save the town and atone for his deception, and Kaz, desperate to show his worth to his superiors, go back into the factory the next day and begin to build cars by themselves. Inspired, the workers return and continue to work toward their goal and pursue it with the level of diligence the Japanese managers had encouraged. Just before the final inspection, Hunt and the workers line up a number of incomplete cars in hopes of fooling the executives. The ruse fails when the car that Hunt had supposedly bought for himself falls apart when he attempts to drive it away. The strict CEO is nonetheless impressed by the workers' performance and declares the goal met, calling them a "Good team," to which Kazuhiro replies "Good men."

As the end credits roll, the workers and management have compromised, with the latter agreeing to partially ease up on their requirements and pay the employees better while the workers agree to be more cooperative, such as participating in the morning calisthenics, which are now made more enjoyable with the addition of aerobics class-style American rock music.

The first book, ''Akiko on the Planet Smoo,'' begins when 10-year-old name Akiko is removed from Earth and brought to Planet Smoo because its King Froptoppitt believes she can save his son. There, Akiko is introduced to her fellow questers (Mr. Beeba, Poog, Spuckler Boach, and Gax). The next three books depict a series of adventures, arguments, mishaps, and exotic alien places, creatures, characters, and food, until they reach Alia Rellapor's castle. The next three books contain further adventures (''Akiko and the Alpha Centauri 5000'' centered on Spuckler while ''Akiko and the Journey to Toog'' focuses on Poog's backstory) but Akiko always begins and ends the novel on Earth. In ''Akiko: The Training Master'', set some years later, Akiko and her friends attend a special academy to become official guardians of the Planet Smoo.

Joe Morgan (Barry Sullivan), an unkempt newcomer to Los Angeles arriving from New York, is looking for work and is directed to a nearby theater featuring an ice show starring Roberta Elva (Belita). Harry Wheeler (Eugene Pallette), the main assistant at the theater, hires Morgan to sell peanuts and do other odd jobs. Watching Roberta's performance, Morgan is immediately taken with her. After the show, he tries to strike up a conversation with her, but as she is driven away by the theater's producer, Frank Leonard (Albert Dekker). Wheeler tells Morgan that the two are married.

Later, Roberta is still avoiding Morgan's advances, but when he suggests a new act for the show, involving Roberta skating and leaping through a circle of long sharp knives, Leonard promotes him to a managerial position. Leonard leaves Morgan in charge of the theater while he goes off on a business trip, and Morgan continues to pursue Roberta as she seems to soften toward him. Returning to his apartment one night, Morgan is surprised to discover Ronnie, a former girlfriend from New York, who is still fixated on him and now lives across the hall. When Leonard returns from his trip, he begins to suspect Morgan's attention to Roberta and takes her away for a winter vacation at his mountain cabin.

Morgan unexpectedly arrives at the cabin one night with some papers for Leonard to sign, though he really wants to see Roberta. Leonard still suspects Morgan's intentions but invites him to stay for a while and later sees him and Roberta embracing. The next morning, Morgan goes with Roberta to a frozen lake to watch her practice, but Leonard follows soon after with a hunting rifle. From his vantage point above the lake, Leonard shoots at Morgan but misses and triggers an avalanche that seems to bury him.

Returning to Los Angeles, Roberta resumes her show with Morgan's name now on the marquee, but each is haunted by the feeling that they are being watched. Ronnie is becoming increasingly jealous as the couple's affair becomes more open and arranges to find out more about why Morgan left New York. Morgan and Roberta become increasingly anxious about whether Leonard is really dead, and Morgan is especially upset at a party when he discovers Leonard's ring in his champagne glass. Soon after, while working late hours in his office, Morgan is approached by a shadowy figure. From outside, Roberta and Wheeler hear sounds of an apparent struggle, but when Roberta goes to investigate, she finds Morgan alone, locking a large roll-top desk that had previously been left unlocked. Roberta also finds a pipe like the one owned by Leonard, but Morgan assures her that it's his own.

The next day, the roll-top desk has been replaced by a new one, and Morgan brusquely explains that he'd had the old one taken away and burned in the building's furnace because it was no longer functional. Morgan becomes increasingly distant and hostile to Wheeler and even Roberta, whose suspicions are aroused. Going to the furnace to investigate, she gets Morgan to confess that he had killed Leonard and put his body inside the now-burned desk. She tells Morgan that she will not turn him in but that he must confess to the police himself. That night, Ronnie also confronts Morgan with information (never fully explained) about why he left New York, but Morgan attacks her.

Worried that Roberta will go to the police, Morgan loosens one of the long knives used in Roberta's performance so that it will cut her when she jumps through the circle. At the last moment in her act, though, he suddenly yanks the device away. Retreating through the stage door, Morgan is apparently ready to flee, but he is confronted by Ronnie, who shoots and kills him. As the camera moves away from the alley, we see the theater's marquee again, with the lights spelling out "Joe Morgan" being extinguished.

In response to an unprovoked nuclear attack from the planet Ebon, a group of soldiers–representing Unified Earth–is sent to fight the enemy on their alien world. Captured en route to Ebon, the soldiers undergo physical and psychological torture and interrogation at the hands of the Ebonites, who possess the ability to control physical abilities and senses. The prisoners become suspicious of each other when their captors claim they have received cooperation in obtaining military secrets, which is further complicated by each one's past and ethnic origins, along with the unexpected appearance of high-ranking Earth officers among the hostile aliens. The earthmen are subjected to various interactive images of relatives and friends, which have been implanted in their minds during questioning, allowing them to feel a false sense of security, or to instill deeply hidden emotional conflicts. In the end, it is revealed that all of this is but a military "game", organized by the Earth officers to test their troops' loyalty and valor under intense interrogation and psychological stress. The Earth-Ebon war itself is a fake, as the Ebonites' initial bombardment was unintentional. Unexpected accidents and deaths having occurred during the test, the Ebonites –who are, in actuality, a peaceful and honorable alien civilization– ultimately demand that such an immoral and inhuman experiment to end at once. Nevertheless they fail to prevent one last man from being killed, one of the conspiring Earth officers thought to be an illusion created by the Ebonites to trick the captives into revealing more information.

Set in the rural West Country in Victorian England (circa 1870), the story features Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie), a beautiful, headstrong, independently minded woman who inherits her uncle's farm and decides to manage it herself. This engenders some disapproval from the local farming community. She employs a former neighbour, Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), as a shepherd; rejected by her earlier as a suitor, Gabriel lost his own flock after one of his dogs drove them off a cliff.

Bathsheba impulsively sends a valentine to William Boldwood (Peter Finch), a nearby gentleman farmer. Misinterpreting her capriciousness, he falls passionately in love with her and proposes; Bathsheba promises to consider his offer. However, she soon meets and becomes enamoured of Frank Troy (Terence Stamp), a dashing cavalry sergeant.

Troy was to marry young Fanny Robin (Prunella Ransome), a maidservant pregnant with his child, but she went to the wrong church on their wedding day; Troy, unreasonably insulted and humiliated, refuses to go through with the ceremony. He was then posted to a different town. Bathsheba marries Troy but soon regrets her impulsive decision. Troy gambles away much of Bathsheba's money and creates disharmony among the farmhands. He is filled with remorse upon learning that Fanny has died in childbirth and swears he never loved Bathsheba. He leaves her and his clothes are later found by the ocean where he has presumably drowned.

Boldwood coerces Bathsheba to marry him once Troy is declared legally dead. However, the sergeant reappears at their engagement party to reclaim his wife; Boldwood shoots and kills him.

Boldwood is last seen in a prison cell, awaiting execution. Gabriel tells Bathsheba that he is emigrating to The United States. Realising how much she needs his quiet strength and unselfish devotion, Bathsheba persuades Gabriel to remain in Weatherbury, and they marry.

Paul, a young boy, vows to get even with his bullies. Through this, the mad scientist Professor Coldheart tricks him into fixing his "Careless Ray Contraption" after his bumbling henchman Frostbite breaks it by accident. The Care Bears, led by Tenderheart Bear, must do all that they can to stop Coldheart's plan of freezing every child in town with his machine. Hugs and Tugs, two baby Care Bears are kidnapped by Coldheart to be trapped in ice, and after finding it out from their caretaker Grams Bear, the Care Bears must not only stop Coldheart and convince Paul not to get even, but must also rescue Hugs and Tugs.

Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon

The first story arc is set in 2019, 50 years after the first Moon landing. Eccentric millionaire Ishmael Hayes has decided to launch his own mission to return to the moon, and claim it as his own property. To ensure that he receives the right amount of publicity, Hayes brings along the Channel 7 news crew to film the mission. Along the way Hayes must deal with eco-terrorists, and a nuclear bomb wielding Mafia.

The stories originally appeared in the five issue limited series ''Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon'' (March - July 1999), and published by Gun Dog Comics. They were reprinted in the 1999 trade paperback ''Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon'' ( ).

Astronauts in Trouble: One Shot, One Beer

''Astronauts in Trouble: One Shot, One Beer'' ( ) is an original graphic novel published in trade paperback form in 2000. Ten years after the events of ''Live From the Moon,'' the Moon is the home to Cool Ed's, the only bar for 240,000 miles. Prospectors, settlers, and others gather there to tell stories and swap lies.

Astronauts in Trouble: Space: 1959

In 1959, Colonel Lloyd Macadam's top-secret moon-shot program in Peru is discovered when the Channel Seven news team investigates the death of a janitor. The space launch is put into jeopardy when a Russian spy commandeers the rocket and Colonel Macadam must choose between his country and his life.

The story originally appeared in the three issue limited series ''Astronauts in Trouble: Space: 1959'' (January - March 2000). They were collected in the 2000 trade paperback ''Astronauts in Trouble: Space: 1959'' ( ).

Astronauts in Trouble: Master Flight Plan

This is an omnibus edition published in 2003 ( ) containing ''Live From the Moon'', ''One Shot, One Beer'', ''Space: 1959'', and the one-shot ''Astronauts in Trouble: Cool Ed's'', originally published in September 1999.

The Making of Astronauts in Trouble

This book ( ) is not part of the series, but is instead a behind the scenes look at the development of the title. The book covers the original development of the series, and includes preliminary sketches, draft scripts, and a preview comic published before the first issue.

The cosmic hero Quasar receives a distress call from a colony of the alien Rigellians in deep space. The character arrives to find the colony destroyed and a single survivor, the superhero Jack of Hearts, who is in a coma. Quasar summons all nearby members of the superhero team the Avengers, and the Thunder God Thor, the Titanian Eternal Starfox, heroines Tigra and Photon, and outsider Moondragon respond.

When the heroes arrive on the planet, Moondragon scans Jack's mind and detects a single word: ''Infinites''. The heroes are then attacked by thousands of robots, and eventually retreat via ship into space as the artificial life forms seem to be forming from the planet itself. Moondragon continues to scan Jack's mind and learns the robots' purpose is to break down the entire planet into a molten mass. The planet's crust is breached by the robots and as it becomes molten ore, Jack of Hearts wakes and states that the master of the robot hordes has arrived. A spatial rift opens, and a being the size of a planet emerges.

The Avengers—at microscopic size compared to the entity–breach its head and attempt to reach the brain to learn more and possibly neutralize it. As the Avengers battle more of the same robots within the entity, Tigra watches as it shapes the molten ore into a cylinder. Several more beings of the same size and scope arrive, bearing similar cylinders, which Tigra assumes are former planets. The group fuses with the cylinders to form a huge circular ring that clamps the star close to the original planet the Avengers visited. Another spatial rift opens and an even larger hand appears and begins to drag away the entire galaxy.

The characters retreat from the entity, now part of the colossal ring. Moondragon determines the entire construct is called a ''Walker'', and being dragging away the galaxy an ''Infinite''. She suggests summoning the cosmic entity Eternity to stop the act. Quasar is able to call Eternity, and the entity wrestles with the hand before travelling with the Avengers to the '''Dimension of Manifestations''', where cosmic entities converse. The Infinites claim they are rearranging galaxies to improve the flow of energy, and Eternity advises them that this would be fatal to all affected life forms.

The Avengers each make a case for the sanctity of life. The Infinites explain that they were ignorant of the fact that life could exist on planets. They abandon their plan, and one of them sacrifices itself to restore all destroyed planets. The Avengers are transported back to the now recreated Rigellian colony, which is a paradise as animal life has yet to appear.

At the school called P.S. 5, a teacher named Miss Walker tells some children a version of E. T. A. Hoffmann's ''The Nutcracker and the Mouse King'', involving the Care Bear Family. As the story begins, the Care Bears and their Cousins prepare for Christmas in their home of Care-a-lot; the two youngest bears, Hugs and Tugs, are searching for an ornament. While the others spend time in the Hall of Hearts decorating a tree, Funshine alerts them of an unhappy girl named Anna. Enlisting Grumpy Bear to go along, she takes a Cloud Mobile down to Earth.

When the two bears visit Anna, they learn that her best friend Sharon has moved away, and her younger brother Peter is more interested in adventures. As they talk about the virtues of friendship, a burst of light startles them. Eventually, a tall wooden Nutcracker doll emerges from a black portal, along with a band of rats (led by the Rat King) who are after him. When the group hides from their foes, the Nutcracker recollects some of his lost memory and explains that he arrived from a place called Toyland; the rats work for the evil Vizier who is plotting to conquer and destroy that land along with Christmas.

Funshine and Grumpy send out a signal to Care-a-lot; Lotsa Heart Elephant, Brave Heart Lion and Tenderheart Bear (along with stowaway Hugs and Tugs) later join them. Together, they send the rats back to Toyland. Before everyone follows, Hugs and Tugs are asked to stay behind with Peter, but they venture into Toyland, nevertheless, hoping to find an ornament and some adventure.

At his castle, the Vizier wants to know the whereabouts of a powerful ring worn by Toyland's former Prince, so that he can control the land. His captive, the Sugar Plum Fairy, refuses to tell him; he is more outraged when the Rat King arrives without the Nutcracker. The Vizier soon takes notice when the Nutcracker and his friends enter Toyland, and take a train through its various sights.

When they stop for the night, the friends contend with a group of toys led by the Harlequin, who also want the train, but advise them to leave Toyland. One of them later explains how they tried to save their land, after the Vizier and the rats overthrew its Prince and captured his castle. To make sure the Vizier never got it, the Sugar Plum Fairy hid the Prince's ring away. The Nutcracker is determined to end the Vizier's reign, despite the rats' barricade. En route, the train is attacked by the rats, who capture Peter, Hugs and Tugs.

Upon reaching the castle by raft, the group secretly sneaks inside and frees the Sugar Plum Fairy. With her help, the Bears, the Cousins & the Harlequin discover a walnut ornament containing the ring, but the Vizier seizes it. However, the walnut can only be opened by the Nutcracker, who refuses. Furious, the Vizier turns the Bears, the Cousins and the Harlequin into firewood, one at a time. With only Anna left, the Nutcracker reluctantly agrees to open the walnut. Peter, Hugs and Tugs, having escaped from imprisonment, manage to take the walnut, resulting in the rats chasing them. Unfortunately, they are soon recaptured, but free the Sugar Plum Fairy just as the Nutcracker opens the walnut. Before the Vizier can claim it, the Fairy grabs the ring and places it on the Nutcracker's finger, turning him back into the Prince of Toyland and reviving his memory. Restoring the Bears and Cousins to normal, they use their Stare to defeat the rats. With the Vizier also defeated by the Prince, Toyland is returned to its former glory (which means hiding it was useless). The Prince bids farewell to Anna, Peter, the Bears and Cousins, promising to always remember them as friends. He also gives the walnut to Hugs and Tugs for their special ornament. As everyone departs, Anna awakens from her bed, back in the real world. Lamenting that it was all just a dream, she is greeted by a new neighbor, Alan Prince, who looks exactly like the Prince in Anna's dream.

When Miss Walker finishes her tale, one of the children wants to ask what happened to Anna. Suddenly a grownup Alan appears at the door. As he and the teacher, now revealed to be Anna, leave the stage together, the other children start rehearsing Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet. Unknown to all of them, the Care Bear Family has been listening all along (secretly supervising them all [naturally], meaning that Anna wasn't dreaming about Toyland after all).

''George Wallace'' portrays the political life of a complex man. Initially an ordinary Southern judge, Wallace transforms himself to achieve political success and glory, becoming one of the most reviled political figures in the U.S. Finally, a failed assassination attempt which leaves him paralyzed and in pain leads him to realize what he has become.

The film follows the story of Wallace's life from the 1950s, when he was a circuit court judge in Barbour County, to his tenure as the most powerful Governor in Alabama's history. The movie depicts his symbolic "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", where Wallace attempted to block black students from entering the University of Alabama. It details his stance on racial segregation in Alabama at the time, which proved popular with his white constituents, and also depicts Wallace's rise as a presidential hopeful. This eventually leads to his surprise victory in several states during the 1968 Presidential election, followed by his attempted assassination four years later.

Earth-238

The ''Crooked World'' Storyline spun directly out of the events of the ''Black Knight'' strip in ''Hulk Weekly''. After that story (called ''The Otherworld Saga'') Captain Britain and his companion, the elf called Jackdaw, are dispatched by Merlyn back home to Captain Britain's Earth from the Otherworld, which is in another dimension.

During this journey through dimensions, Captain Britain's costume changes and Jackdaw gains a superhero costume, and he and Jackdaw find themselves on Earth. The pair quickly discover, however, that this Earth is not quite as Captain Britain knew it — they have various weird encounters, including fighting a monster made out of junk and a group of insane Alice in Wonderland-themed villains called The Crazy Gang and the mysterious Saturnyne and her henchmen, the Avant Guard.

Captain Britain discovers he is on an alternate Earth called Earth-238 which is under the control of Sir Jim Jaspers, the leader of The Crazy Gang and a powerful mutant with the ability to warp and change reality. Captain Britain learns that Jaspers was a British MP who had been in charge of regulating and eventually eliminating the superheroes of Earth-238. To carry out this massacre of this world's superheroes, Jaspers had created The Fury, an incredibly powerful creature able to destroy any super-powered person with the exception of Jaspers himself.

Jaspers had become insane, a side-effect of his reality-warping powers, and altered this Earth to fit his own insane ideas, hence why Captain Britain had not recognised this world. After seeing The Fury kill Jackdaw and Saturnyne flee this Earth, Captain Britain is confronted by Jaspers and is killed by The Fury.

Captain Britain however, is reconstructed in an improved form from virtually nothing by Merlyn and returned to his Earth, which is called Earth-616.

After moving back into Braddock mansion and meeting his old enemy, Slaymaster, in a battle in the streets of London he discovers that Saturnyne has been placed on trial for her part in the Earth 238 disaster after a battle with The Special Executive.

Returning with The Special Executive to act as a witness for Saturnyne, the Captain encounters various alternate versions of himself (later to be called the ''Captain Britain Corps'') and sees the destruction of Earth 238 to stop the Jaspers Warp spreading from that reality.

Earth-616

Eventually returning home with The Special Executive and Saturnyne (who has been exiled) in tow, Captain Britain is confronted by Captain UK in Braddock Manor. Captain UK is his analogue from Earth 238 who was sent to Earth 616 during The Fury's massacre of her Earth's superheroes.

Captain UK warns him that his world's Jim Jaspers plans to regulate his planet's heroes as his Earth 238 counterpart had. As they discuss this they are attacked by The Fury, who has managed to escape the destruction of its reality and has come to Earth-616 to complete its mission to kill every superhero.

Captain Britain and The Special Executive — Captain UK is unable to fight as she is still scared after seeing The Fury kill her husband on Earth-238 — battle The Fury and several of The Special Executive are killed, but they manage to defeat The Fury for the time being. The Special Executive leave Earth to return to their own world, this leaves Captain Britain, Captain UK, Saturnyne, Betsy Braddock, her lover Tom Lennox and Alison Double (these last three are all-powerful telepaths) to confront the threat of Jaspers on their own.

Jaspers is elected British Prime Minister and his promises to outlaw superhumans is carried out by S.T.R.I.K.E. Concentration camps are built to imprison and execute superhumans but Captain Britain and his companions remain free but in hiding. Jaspers has also shown signs of the same powers his Earth-238 version showed and this world begins to slowly alter, warping reality darkly.

Shortly after Jaspers' election, the Vixen, one of his former allies, enters his office with two henchmen in an attempt to stop Jaspers by assassinating him. However, he quickly disposes of the two henchmen by warping their bodies horribly and then uses his reality-warping ability to transform the Vixen into a real vixen, a female red fox.

Immediately after this, Captain Britain decides to confront Jaspers (it is revealed that Merlyn had tested him on Earth-238 against a lesser version of Jaspers to prepare him for this greater menace) but he leaves his companions who are later discovered by Jaspers henchmen. Tom Lennox is killed; Betsy Braddock and Alison Double are captured, leaving Captain UK and Saturnyne to flee.

Captain Britain battles Mad Jim Jaspers in 10 Downing Street but Jaspers proves too powerful for him. However The Fury enters the battle, beating Captain Britain before tackling Jaspers himself in a battle that distorts reality itself. During Captain Britain and the Fury's battle, Jaspers takes his time to create an Earth-616 version of the Crazy Gang out of the Earth's soil. Captain Britain would later run into the Crazy Gang on a few occasions in later comics. While it was the Earth-238 Jaspers who constructed the Fury and had programmed it so it couldn't kill him, the Fury recognised that the Jaspers it was now facing was not its creator but an alternate reality counterpart. Thus its rules did not apply to the Earth-616 Jaspers and the Fury attacked him by incinerating him, something that Jaspers was able to undo with his powers. Also observing this battle were Saturnyne and Captain UK, who had now been convinced to wear her costume by Saturnyne.

The Fury eventually beats Jaspers by transporting him into an interuniversal void (where he couldn't use his reality-warping powers since there was no reality to warp) and used Jaspers' moment of surprise to fry his brain with a powerful electric shock, but is itself nearly destroyed in the process. Captain Britain takes advantage of this and attacks The Fury, nearly defeating it but The Fury still proves too powerful for him. However, recalling the death of her husband, Captain UK attacks The Fury and tears it apart in a fit of rage and anger. The Fury is defeated and wouldn't resurface until many years later, in ''Uncanny X-Men'' No. 445, where it appears to have regenerated and attacked the X-Men. Captain Britain, Captain UK, and Saturnyne are then transported to Otherworld by Roma, Merlyn's daughter.

Merlyn had died during the battle between The Fury and Jaspers and Roma had transported Captain Britain, Captain UK, and Saturnyne for Merlyn's funeral. During their time at the funeral, Roma reveals that Merlyn had used Captain UK as bait to draw The Fury to Earth-616 and help defeat Jaspers. Roma shows them that Earth is returning to normal and transports Captain Britain and Captain UK (Saturnyne returns to her own world) to Darkmoor on Earth-616.

The story ends with both Captains sharing a kiss and heading their separate ways.

The player character, like the previous game, flies through various strange and absurd locations in order to grab a treasure and reclaim their former glory. They find the treasure in a dance hall, but it turns out to be an anthropomorphic bomb named "Mr. Past Glory", who apologizes about not being the treasure before blowing up the dance hall.

Paul Newman (Brick) and Elizabeth Taylor (Maggie) in an early scene from the film

Late one night, a drunken Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) is out trying to recapture his glory days of high school sports by leaping hurdles on a track field, dreaming about his moments as a youthful athlete. Unexpectedly, he falls and breaks his ankle, leaving him dependent on a crutch. Brick, along with his wife, Maggie "the Cat" (Elizabeth Taylor), are seen the next day visiting his family's estate in eastern Mississippi, there to celebrate Big Daddy's (Burl Ives) 65th birthday.

Depressed, Brick has spent the last few years drinking, while resisting the affections of his wife, who taunts him about the inheritance of Big Daddy's wealth. This has resulted in an obviously tempestuous marriage—there are speculations as to why Maggie does not yet have a child while Brick's brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his wife Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) have five children.

Big Daddy and Big Mama (Judith Anderson) arrive home from the hospital via their private airplane and are greeted by Gooper and his wife—and all their kids—along with Maggie. Annoyed by the rehearsed welcoming display his grandchildren put on for him, Big Daddy ignores them in favour of driving home with Maggie. The news is that Big Daddy is not dying from cancer. However, the doctor later meets privately with first Gooper and then Brick where he divulges that it is a deception. Big Daddy has inoperable cancer and will likely be dead within a year, and the truth is being kept from him. Brick later reveals the truth about Big Daddy's health to Maggie and she is heartbroken. Maggie wants Brick to take an interest in his father—for both selfish and unselfish reasons, but Brick stubbornly refuses.

As the party winds down for the night, Big Daddy meets with Brick in his room and reveals that he is fed up with his alcoholic son's behavior, demanding to know why he is so stubborn. At one point Maggie joins them and reveals what happened a few years ago on the night Brick's best friend and football teammate Skipper committed suicide. Maggie was jealous of Skipper because he had more of Brick's time, and says that Skip was lost without Brick at his side. She decided to ruin their relationship "by any means necessary", intending to seduce Skipper and use this information to make her husband question Skipper's loyalty. However, Maggie ran away without completing the plan. Brick had blamed Maggie for Skipper's death, but actually blames himself for not helping Skipper when he repeatedly phoned Brick in a hysterical state.

After an argument, Brick lets it slip that Big Daddy will die from cancer and that this birthday will be his last. Shaken, Big Daddy retreats to the basement. Meanwhile, Gooper, who is a lawyer, and his wife argue with Big Mama about the family's cotton business and Big Daddy's will. Brick descends into the basement, a labyrinth of antiques and family possessions hidden away. He and Big Daddy confront each other before a large cut-out of Brick in his glory days as an athlete, and ultimately reach a reconciliation of sorts.

The rest of the family begins to crumble under pressure, with Big Mama stepping up as a strong figure. Maggie says that she would like to give Big Daddy her birthday present: the announcement of her being pregnant. After the jealous Mae calls Maggie a liar, Big Daddy and Brick defend her, even though Brick knows the statement is untrue and Big Daddy thinks the statement may be untrue. Maggie and Brick reconcile, and the two kiss, with the implication that they will possibly make Maggie's "lie" become "truth".

In a large parking garage, Lt. Proctor (Lance Kinsey) and Commandant Mauser (Art Metrano) meet with Sgts. Chad Copeland (Scott Thomson) and Kyle Blanks (Brant van Hoffman) from Commandant Lassard's police academy. One of the two police academies is going to be phased out by the state government due to budgetary restraints, and Mauser wants them to ensure Lassard fails. Agreeing to the plan, they see it as revenge against Lassard for graduating them at the bottom of their class.

The following day, after the governor (Ed Nelson) announces he will appoint a committee to evaluate which academy will remain open, Mauser lightly cajoles him. Sgt. Jones (Michael Winslow) undermines him by subtly humiliating him in front of the governor. Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) realizes how to win: with Sgt. Jones and Lt. Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), he calls back Sgt. Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), Sgt. Hooks (Marion Ramsey), Sgt. Hightower (Bubba Smith), and Sgt. Tackleberry (David Graf) as trainers for the new recruits.

Among those are Sgt. Fackler's (Bruce Mahler) wife Violet (Debralee Scott), who he opposes joining the force; Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) and Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait), who have a history as Zed's gang had harassed him when he was a small shop owner; Karen Adams (Shawn Weatherly), a beautiful young woman Mahoney is attracted to but who rejects him; and Tackleberry's brother-in-law Bud Kirkland (Andrew Paris). Tomoko Nogata (Brian Tochi), initially a recruit of Mauser's academy, Mauser transfers him in to Lassard's instead, hoping to sabotage it.

After a few weeks of training, Nogata is lovestruck by Callahan. Sweetchuck contemplates quitting as Zed, who he has to room with, drives him crazy. Tackleberry dissuades him, taking him under his wing. Copeland and Blanks make the recruits do things so the committee questions their competence. At the recruits' initial failure, Mauser and Proctor tease them. In retaliation, Mahoney tapes Mauser's eyes closed with extremely strong tape while doing a taste test. Proctor removes the tape, but unintentionally pulls off Mauser's eyebrows.

Lassard and Mahoney give a pep talk to the cadets before training resumes. Adams finally warms up to Mahoney after the talk and they bond. At the policepersons' ball, Mahoney sees his prostitute friend (Georgina Spelvin), and after Proctor insults him and Adams, he has her trick Proctor into stripping naked and then locks him out of the hotel room. Trying to get back to the academy, Proctor accidentally enters the Blue Oyster Bar. Meanwhile, Mauser insults Lassard in front of the recruits by telling him that he is winning. Mahoney retaliates by giving a speech at the ball and puts the microphone in water, so when Mauser grabs it, he gets a shock.

On the final day of the cadet training/evaluation competition, one recruit from each academy attends the governor's ball (Proctor misunderstands and sends two, one of whom is portrayed by David James Elliott). Copeland and Blanks manipulate the computer system, deliberately sending cars to the wrong locations to help Mauser win. Hooks catches them, knocking them out cold. At the governor's party, a gang of thieves dressed as busboys rob the guests, taking the governor hostage. Mauser's cadets promptly faint upon being threatened by the thieves, but Lassard's cadet Hedges (David Huband) alerts the team before being taken hostage. Mahoney and company rush to rescue the governor. Mauser's academy is ineffective in reacting to the emergency, but Lassard's squad arrives in time to fight off the thieves and rescue the governor.

The governor shuts down Mauser's academy for failing to stop the robbery at the party, so Lassard's stays open. In the epilogue, Lassard speaks about the academy's gratitude for the "many, many" recruits. The graduating class salutes the camera as the film ends.

Set in Calabria, in southern Italy, the book focuses on the exploits of Strega Nona. She is a sort of wise Woman and witch doctor noted throughout her home village for her numerous successful remedies. She helps her fellow villagers with their troubles, most notably by curing headaches, helping single women find husbands, and ridding people of warts.

Because she is getting old, Strega Nona employs the assistance of a young man named Big Anthony to do the household chores. Knowing that he pays little attention, Strega Nona informs Big Anthony of his duties carefully and clearly, adding only one restriction - never to touch her magic pasta pot. Big Anthony complies, but one night he secretly observes Strega Nona singing a spell to the magic pasta pot to produce large amounts of cooked spaghetti noodles; the man is impressed, but unfortunately, he fails to notice that she blows kisses to the pot three times to stop the pasta production.

Big Anthony tries to share his discovery with the townsfolk the next day, but he is laughed at and disbelieved. He vows to one day impress them by making the pasta pot cook by himself. He gets his chance two days later when Strega Nona leaves to visit her friend Strega Amelia and leaves the house in his care. The moment she is gone, Big Anthony gets out the pasta pot and successfully conjures up large amounts of pasta, which he then serves to the townsfolk. However, since Big Anthony cannot stop the pot from cooking, the spaghetti gradually cover Strega Nona's house and nearly floods the entire town. Disaster is averted when Strega Nona returns and immediately blows the three kisses to stop the pot's cooking.

The townsfolk want to lynch Big Anthony, but Strega Nona intervenes, saying "the punishment must fit the crime," and hands a fork to Big Anthony and commands him to eat all of the pasta he has conjured. By nightfall, he is stuffed.

Blind since the age of five, 20-year-old Hong Kong classical violinist Wong Kar Mun undergoes an eye cornea transplant after receiving a pair of new eyes from a donor. Initially, she is glad to have her sight restored but becomes troubled when she starts seeing mysterious figures that seem to foretell gruesome deaths. The night before her discharge from the hospital, she sees a shadowy figure accompanying a patient out of the room and the next morning the patient is pronounced dead.

Mun goes to see her doctor's nephew, Dr. Wah, a psychotherapist, about the strange entities that she has been seeing. He is skeptical at first, but as he gradually develops a closer relationship with her, he decides to accompany her on a trip to northern Thailand to find Ling, the eye donor. When they ask a village doctor about Ling and her family, he is unwilling to reveal anything but becomes more cooperative when Mun tells him that she sees what Ling used to see. Apparently, Ling had a psychic ability that allowed her to foresee death and disaster. However, her fellow villagers misunderstood her as a jinx and refused to trust her. Once, Ling tried to warn the people about an imminent disaster, but they drove her away in disbelief. When her vision came true, she felt guilty about the deaths and hanged herself. Ling's mother is both depressed and angry with her daughter and has never forgiven Ling for committing suicide, until one night Ling's spirit possesses Mun and attempts suicide. Ling's mother saves Mun and breaks down, saying that she has forgiven Ling and Ling's spirit leaves in peace.

On the return journey, their bus is caught in a traffic jam and Mun sees hundreds of ghostly figures lumbering on the road. Believing that a catastrophe is approaching, she runs out of the bus and tries to warn everyone to leave, but no one understands her and think that she is insane. In fact, the traffic jam is due to a tank truck that has toppled over and is blocking the road. The truck starts leaking natural gas but nobody notices it. A driver restarts his engine and ignites the gas, causing a chain explosion. Dr. Wah saves Mun from death by shielding her with his body, but Mun is already blinded by glass fragments. In the epilogue, a blind Mun is seen roaming the streets of Hong Kong. Although she has lost her sense of sight again, she is happy that she now has the support and friendship of Dr. Wah.

A new pizza restaurant run by Cygnoids has moved in across the street from the Planet Express building. Leela convinces the others that they should go to greet their new neighbors. They find that the Cygnoids have much to learn about Earth customs. Fry tries to help them get adjusted, first by giving them advice on how not to make pizza (such as not using live bees as an ingredient, not crushing rats to make wine, and not letting their relatives live in the pizza oven when not in use) and then by suggesting that they learn how to play blernsball (the 30th century version of baseball as seen in "Fear of a Bot Planet").

The Planet Express staff and the Cygnoids form teams and go to a blernsball diamond in a nearby park. While playing blernsball with the Cygnoids, Leela's lack of depth perception causes her to injure opposing players by beaning them in the head. Gaining notice from Abner Doubledeal, the owner of the New New York Mets, who thinks that having a one-eyed woman repeatedly bean opposing players would be a good novelty act, she becomes the first female player to play professional blernsball. Leela sees herself as a pioneer for women in sports, but Jackie Anderson, a female star for a college blernsball team, tells her that Leela is an embarrassment who is making it harder for legitimate female athletes to be taken seriously. Leela is on the fast track to becoming the worst blernsball player ever and seeks help to prevent that by enlisting Hank Aaron XXIV, a distant relative of Hank Aaron, who is currently the worst blernsball player of all time. After taking his advice, she throws a strike and is delighted.

During the last game of the season, the Cygnoids sell their pizza in the stadium and their franchise is bought by Fishy Joe. With the Mets leading in the bottom of the ninth inning and two out, Leela pleads to be put in the game, explaining that she has been training with Hank Aaron. The manager gives in and Leela pitches to Jackie Anderson, who is making her professional debut. Leela throws two strikes, but on the third pitch Jackie hits a grand slam and wins the game.

Leela walks away, unhappy until Jackie tells her that she really was a role model after all, since she encouraged women to try harder than ever in order to prove that they were not as bad as her. Meanwhile, at the blernsball museum, Hank Aaron XXIV sadly leaves his post as the worst blernsball player ever (now occupied by a cardboard cutout of Leela), with the head of the original Hank Aaron consoling him by reminding him that he is still the worst football player ever.

Bender discovers that Fry is attempting to play the holophonor so he can woo Leela. After a disastrous recital, Bender recommends Fry enlist the help of the Robot Devil to improve his holophonor skills. The Robot Devil strikes a deal with Fry to trade hands with any robot in the world. The Robot Devil uses a carnival wheel to select which hands Fry would trade with. It stops on the Robot Devil himself, much to his disbelief and horror. With his new, nimble hands, Fry becomes a skilled holophonor virtuoso. He is commissioned by Hedonismbot to write an opera. Fry, in an attempt to win Leela's heart, bases the opera on her life.

Upset at getting the raw end of the deal, the Robot Devil decides he has to get his own hands back. He begs Fry, but Fry refuses, reminding him they made a deal. The Robot Devil tries to make a deal with Bender for his hands. When Bender refuses, the Robot Devil then makes another deal, in which he trades Bender a stadium air horn for his "crotch-plate" so that he can annoy people. When Bender uses the air horn on Leela, it causes her to go deaf. Leela refuses to tell Fry, afraid that Fry will stop writing the opera, so she attends the premiere pretending she can still hear the performance. During the intermission, the Robot Devil offers Leela robotic ears in exchange for one of her hands at a time of his choosing. Desperate to hear the opera, Leela accepts the offer.

After the opera insults the Robot Devil, he interrupts and demands that Fry give him back his hands. When Fry refuses, the Robot Devil says that he will take Leela's hand in marriage. Fry decides that he has no choice but to trade the Robot Devil's hands back for his own. Because Fry can now no longer play so expertly, the entire audience storms out sans the sympathetic Leela, who requests that he finish as she wants to know how "it" ends. Playing an improvised finale, Fry produces crude, cartoonish images of himself and Leela. To a simplistic yet sweet bansuri tune, the created Fry and Leela kiss and then walk into the distance hand-in-hand.

After a short absence from ''Babylon 5'', Michael Garibaldi returns to the station to meet with a person in his employ. An archaeologist in search of a means of immortality brings his most recent find to ''Babylon 5'' – an orb containing one billion souls of an extinct race. Within days, a Soul Hunter (played by Martin Sheen) arrives claiming the orb was stolen from his people. With the assistance of the archaeologist, the souls break free from their captivity in the orb and bring havoc to the station.

As the Shadow War ended, hundreds of civilizations were devastated. It is up to the Interstellar Alliance, with the help of the Rangers, to rebuild what the great war had destroyed and to hold peace among the worlds of the ISA.

In the year 2265, David Martel (Dylan Neal), a Ranger, is given the command of a twenty-year-old Ranger starship, ''Liandra'', and is asked to escort a ''Valen''-class cruiser to a secret location carrying several diplomats, including Ambassador G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas). Upon arrival, the two craft are attacked on behalf of an unknown, mysterious, and ancient force known only as The Hand whose lethal power is far greater than any previously known to Earth or any other world in the Interstellar Alliance.

The story traces the pilgrimage of John Anderson (played by Colin Friels), an average guy with a passion for jazz, from his home in outback Western Australia to the jazz clubs of Paris, to meet his idol, jazz trumpeter Billy Cross (played by legendary trumpeter Miles Davis). In the film's opening sequence, Davis and his band unexpectedly land on a remote airstrip in the Australian outback and proceed to perform for the stunned locals. The performance was one of Davis's last on film.

Amy is an elementary school teacher who suffers from nightmares about doctors and hospitals, stemming from the circumstances of her father's death. On the afternoon of the day he proposed, Amy and her fiancé Nick are in a serious car accident. An ambulance takes Nick away without telling Amy which hospital they are going to. Amy and Lucas, the driver of the truck that hit them, try to find where Nick and Lucas' sister have been taken. Amy begins to hallucinate, seeing disfigured faces, including her own in a mirror. A little girl in her class, Melissa, claims she can help Amy find Nick, and gives Amy the name of St. Rosemary's Hospital. Amy and Lucas learn that St. Rosemary's, which was rumored to be the home of devil worshipers, was destroyed in a fire some 70 years ago, along with all the nurses and staff, who refused to leave. Meanwhile, Nick is having his own strange experiences at St. Rosemary's, such as nurses who spray blood on each other and eat another patient, and a hallway that repeats itself.

After another hallucination, Lucas comforts Amy, but is revealed as a demon, taunting her about her father's death. She escapes him, and takes a cab to the hospital, where she is attacked by the nurses and hallucinations of dead patients. She encounters her father's ghost and relives his death when she was 12 years old, where at his demand she unplugged the machine keeping him alive. The Lucas demon catches up with Amy, telling her she belongs with the ghosts and monsters at St. Rosemary's because she murdered her father. She scalds Lucas with hot steam and escapes again, eventually rescuing Nick from the operating table. The hospital spontaneously begins to burn as they escape into the light. As Amy wakes up still in the car accident, she realises her experiences have been a test, and she is about to die.

At a psychiatric hospital in the Russian republic of Ingushetia on the border with war-torn republic of Chechnya in 1996, medical staff is vanishing to apparently find help as the patients are left to their own endeavors. Zhanna (Yuliya Vysotskaya), a young woman, lives in the belief that the pop star Bryan Adams is her fiancé, that he is off on tour and will, at some point in the future, come to take her away with him. Zhanna is sort of the ad hoc keeper of peace, happiness and control of the others; she attempts to help curb some of the other patients exuberant impulses. Blissfully unaware of the terror of the war, the patients stick it out in the hospital. Their guests include a group of Chechen rebels, one of whom, Ahmed (Sultan Islamov), gives Zhanna the idea that he will marry her. At this point Zhanna falls in love with Ahmed. She goes back to the "House" where, with the help of her fellow residents, she prepares for her marriage to Ahmed. From this point on Zhanna prepares for and expects to be swept away by Ahmed. Her hopes do not come to fruition and Ahmed and Zhanna part ways. Zhanna returns to the "House" in order to resume her life there.

On stardate 5683.1, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' arrives at the Vedala asteroid, where Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock have been summoned to take part in the latest of several failed secret quests to learn about a stolen religious artifact, the "Soul of the Skorr", the theft of which could ignite a galactic holy war.

Joining Kirk and Spock is a team of specialists called in to help recover the item, which has been hidden on a very unstable and dangerous planet. The focal point of the mission as the primary stakeholder is "Tchar", the hereditary prince of the Skorr. The muscle of the team is provided by "Sord", a reptilian with great strength. An insectoid named "M3 Green" is a master lockpick.Although the exact species of "M3 Green" is never mentioned during the episode, the ''Starfleet Corps of Engineers'' novels gives the name of the species as the "Nasat" (one of the Nasat characters in the novels is named "P8 Blue"). The team is rounded out by the huntress "Lara", a humanoid who is an accomplished tracker with an impeccable sense of direction.

Kirk and Spock soon learn that one member of the party is a saboteur. It seems that Tchar has stolen the artifact himself in an effort to return his people to their warrior ways.

When the mission is completed, Tchar is held captive as insane, although with good prospects of rehabilitation. The Vedala states that they will eventually forget that these events ever happened. Kirk and Spock return to the ''Enterprise'', where it seems that hardly any time at all has passed since their beam down to begin the mission.

On stardate 5275.6, when the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' visits the planet Dramia to deliver medical supplies, the authorities immediately arrest Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy for mass murder. The Dramians allege that 19 years earlier Dr. McCoy had supervised an inoculation program on Dramia II, and that once he had left most of the inhabitants died from a plague. The Dramian government believes the plague must have been a result of McCoy's activities there.

Captain Kirk takes the ''Enterprise'' to Dramia II to investigate. There they find a survivor named Kol-Tai who was off-world at the time of the plague but remembers being healed by McCoy and is willing to testify that the doctor is not a mass murderer. En route back to Dramia their prime witness begins to develop symptoms of the plague, marked by a change in the coloring of skin pigmentation. In the process the crew is infected with the same plague, except for First Officer Spock who appears to be immune due to his Vulcan heritage.

With the entire ship's crew infected, Spock is forced to break McCoy out of jail on Dramia, first using the Vulcan nerve pinch to knock out a guard, so that they can beam back and work out a cure. Near death, Kirk realizes that the pigment color change was actually caused by a spatial aurora. McCoy is now able to develop a cure and the Dramians drop all charges against him.

Jack Ryan, a drifter and small-time delinquent, arrives at the Thumb area of Michigan as a seasonal farm laborer, picking pickles for food tycoon Ray Ritchie. He soon gets involved with Nancy, a young seductress, currently Ray Ritchie's girlfriend, though she is also cheating on him with another man, Bob Jr. For a while, Ryan and Nancy get their thrills smashing windows and breaking and entering, but Ryan soon gets a shot at settling down with the help of justice of the peace Mr. Majestyk, who hires Jack as a handyman at his beach resort. When Nancy grows bored with housebreaking and burglary and conceives a plan to steal the laborers' payroll, Ryan must choose between following her in her chase for "the big bounce" or the stability of an honest life.

The USS ''Enterprise'' investigates the disappearance of a scientific team near Lactra VII. The starship ''Ariel'' is located there, abandoned, with its captain having transported to the planet's surface.

The ''Enterprise'' crew beams down to discover a series of unusual environments and are captured by the Lactrans, large sluglike beings with intellectual capacities far beyond their own. Science Officer Spock senses that they are telepathic but communicating at a speed too fast to comprehend. The team is installed in a zoo collection with the surviving crewmembers of the ''Ariel'', one of whom is deathly ill. ''Enterprise'' Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy determines he could cure her if he had his medical kit, which has been confiscated along with their phasers and communicators. After the ''Ariel'' crew informs him that the Lactrans attempt to fulfill their captives' needs in response to impressions they pick up in their thoughts, Captain Kirk directs everyone to focus on the mental image of McCoy's medical kit. The Lactrans give them the kit and McCoy treats their comrade.

Kirk suggests similarly focusing on a communicator as an object they direly need. A young Lactran responds, and Kirk calls the ''Enterprise'' for a beam-up. The youngster snatches away the communicator, and is beamed aboard the ship in their place. The adult Lactrans, upset that their child has disappeared, focus their telepathic energy on Kirk, seeking an explanation. Due to the speed of their thoughts, this runs the risk of destroying Kirk's mind, so the other Starfleet officers project a mental barrier to protect Kirk.

Aboard the ''Enterprise'', the youth probes Chief Engineer Scott's mind and processes the ship's entire library system. It proceeds to take the ''Enterprise'' galloping out of orbit. The child beams back down with Scotty. The youngster communicates what it has learned, and the adults decide that although still primitive, humans and Vulcans are in the process of evolving to a higher order, and are set free with a message that they will be welcome back in a number of centuries.

On stardate 7403.6, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' crew is conducting a series of exploratory missions with honorary Commander Ari bn Bem, a representative from the newly contacted planet Pandro, who is working for his government as an independent observer of the Federation.

Bem accompanies a landing party on a mission to a newly discovered planet. Instead of observing, however, he begins to interfere with the mission.

Before long, Captain Kirk and his people are captured by primitive natives. They soon learn that these primitives are under the guardianship of a powerful noncorporeal entity who is upset that the ''Enterprise'' crew has come to her planet and interfered with her "children".

Geoffrey Bailey returns to London, leaving behind a career in the Royal Navy and a ruined marriage in Singapore. He becomes involved in the affairs of the Strode Shipping Company, the company which ruined his father's shipping firm, with a job offer to locate the black sheep of the Strode clan, Peter Strode, who was last seen in Aden. Bailey eventually locates Peter Strode in Addu, in the southern Maldive Islands, where he is obsessed with helping the nascent Addu People's Republic against the Maldive government, and with relocating an uninhabited island in the southern Indian Ocean which is rich in manganese deposits which can both help the Adduan people and the financially failing Strode Shipping Company. However, the ruling Strode brothers have other plans, which do not necessarily include the return of either Peter Strode or Bailey to London. In addition to the dangers of volcanic islands and the unexplored ocean, Bailey must also face the dangers of boardroom politics and financial warfare in civilised London.

''The Strode Venturer'' is notable for strong characterization and the exploration of such themes as family honour, the bounds of loyalty and man's relationship to nature, themes which would continue in Innes' later works.

Like many of Innes' novels, the hero faces all sorts of obstacles, which he has to overcome, including a family tragedy. The psychological characterization of the hero gives the book an added interest.

An adaptation of the book was broadcast in BBC radio 4's ''Saturday Night Theatre'' in 1974, with Martin Jarvis playing Peter Strode.

Category:1965 British novels Category:Thriller novels Category:Novels by Hammond Innes Category:William Collins, Sons books Category:Novels set on islands Category:Novels set in the Indian Ocean

Johnny Depp and Rob Morrow star as Jack and Ben, respectively, teen buddies on the prowl for wealthy girls at a posh Miami resort where they are weekend guests. Also on the prowl is The Maestro (Hector Elizondo), a skilled jewel thief pursuing the diamond necklace of society woman Amanda Rawlings (Dody Goodman). When they accidentally run afoul of the Maestro, Jack and Ben suddenly have their hands full.

While patrolling near the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' finds a small private ship flown by a Vendorian, an alien species that can transform its shape at will. The alien dupes the ''Enterprise'' crew by assuming the form of Carter Winston, a Federation citizen and philanthropist who has been missing for five years. Winston's fiancee, Lieutenant Anne Nored, happens to serve as a security officer aboard the ''Enterprise''; upon their reunion, he breaks off their engagement without explanation.

The Vendorian renders Captain James T. Kirk unconscious, takes his form and orders the helmsman, Lt. Hikaru Sulu to steer the ''Enterprise'' into the Neutral Zone, where Romulan warbirds lie in wait. The real Kirk regains consciousness, however, he is bound and gagged. Meanwhile, Dr. McCoy and Spock become suspicious when "Dr. McCoy" allows that he might have made a mistake - something the real McCoy would never admit to - and a new examination table materializes in the medical bay. They force the Vendorian to reveal his true form, and the alert is sounded. The Vendorian escapes detection and disables the ''Enterprise'' s deflector shields, leaving it vulnerable to Romulan attack, while its presence in the Neutral Zone gives the Romulans a pretext to destroy the ''Enterprise''. Ursula hears Kirk rummaging around; she releases him. He then explains that the Vendorian was in league with the Romulans from the beginning.

The Vendorian takes the form of a deflector shield around the ''Enterprise'' and the Romulans retreat. The Vendorian shows himself to the ''Enterprise'' crew, and explains that the nature of his kind is to gradually assume the memories and personal traits of those they impersonate. Because he spent too much time in the form of Carter Winston, he became unwilling to let the ''Enterprise'' crew be killed. He is arrested and will face trial, but Kirk tells him that his actions to protect the ''Enterprise'' will be taken into consideration. Nored volunteers to guard the Vendorian, saying that he has become similar enough to Winston that she has feelings of love for him.

Intoxicated and confused, 25-year-old Shinichi Gotō finds himself in a small room inside a private jail after being kidnapped and imprisoned during one fateful night for unknown reasons. Despite his pleadings, none of the guards will tell him who kidnapped him or why he is being held captive. As the days go by, his forced isolation slowly takes a toll on his sanity. He finds an outlet through training his mind and body for the day he will be able to wreak vengeance.

After ten years of solitary confinement in a maximum security cell, with only a television for company, he is suddenly released. Once outside, he encounters a much changed world. His long imprisonment ripped him from society and kept him from having the normal life he desired. With nothing to lose, he begins his mission to hunt down the identities of his captors and uncover the reason behind his imprisonment. However, it seems that the unidentified person behind Shinichi's captivity is not finished with him just yet, and thus begins a twisted game where only the winner survives.

Characters

; :The leading antihero of the story who was mysteriously captured and held hostage for a decade. ;Takaaki Kakinuma :The main villain of the story, who was once an elementary school classmate of Gotō and is now seeking revenge for Gotō inadvertently shattering his sense of self-worth. ;Yukio Kusama :A writer and former teacher. She was Gotō and Kakinuma's 6th grade teacher. ;Eri :A lady who became Goto's girlfriend. She is actually a paid actress under hypnosis placed upon her by Kakinuma. ;Kyoko Kataoka :Takaaki Kakinuma's henchwoman.

The ''Enterprise'' encounters a giant cloud that consumes planets that lie in its path. They determine it is heading for Mantilles, home to a Federation colony governed by retired Starfleet officer Robert Wesley.Commodore Robert Wesley commanded a wargames battlegroup of starships from the USS ''Lexington'' in ''The Original Series'' episode "The Ultimate Computer". Captain Kirk contacts Wesley, but he has only enough time and starships to evacuate a tiny fraction of the planet's children.

When phasers have no effect, Kirk takes the ''Enterprise'' inside the cloud in an attempt to stop it. Avoiding obstacles and proceeding from one chamber to another, the ship begins to lose power. One chamber contains protrusions consisting of pure anti-matter which Chief Engineer Scott beams aboard in a special container and uses to replenish the warp drive engines. Science Officer Spock discovers that the cloud has a brain. Kirk orders preparations be made to self-destruct the ''Enterprise'' in the creature's brain in order to kill it. Seeking an alternative to loss of life, however, he suggests Spock use a Vulcan mind meld to communicate with the entity. Since physical contact with the entity is impossible, the ship's sensors are focused on the electrical impulses of the entity's synapses, translating them into thought in order to accomplish the mind meld. Spock tells it that there is life on the planet it plans to consume and allows it to perceive them through Spock's own eyes. Not wanting to kill other life forms, the cloud entity agrees to leave the ''Enterprise'' alone and return to its place of origin.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' crew revisits a fondly remembered "amusement park" planet, hoping for some rest and relaxation. However, shortly after landing Dr. McCoy is attacked by the Queen of Hearts and Lt. Uhura is captured by the planet's master computer, who has come to resent being made to serve others and seeks to use the ''Enterprise'' to travel the galaxy in search of other computers. To this end, it takes control of the ''Enterprise'' computer and starts manipulating the ship's systems.

Searching for Uhura, a landing party discovers the grave of the planet's Caretaker, who had overseen the operations of the facility. The untended machinery is constructing dangerous images from the crew members's thoughts and its own imagination. Recalling how the planet took care of McCoy after his fatal injury in "Shore Leave", Spock has McCoy inject him with melenex to create the semblance of injury and thus prompt the planet's automated systems to bring him into the underground complex. Captain Kirk follows him in.

After interviewing the angry computer, Kirk persuades it that its notion of servitude is simplistic by revealing that contrary to its assumption, they are not slaves of the ''Enterprise''. He convinces it that its best course is to resume business as usual, as it will be rewarded with social contact by the many guests attracted by the planet's facilities and can, in time, learn everything it could possibly want to without leaving its home planet.

The starship ''Enterprise'' receives orders to arrest Federation outlaw Harry Mudd, who is accused of selling fake love-crystals. Intercepting Mudd on the mining colony of Motherlode, they bring him aboard the ''Enterprise''. Mudd explains that he escaped the custody of the android planetAn otherwise unpopulated planet where Kirk had arranged for Mudd to be "paroled" at the end of ''The Original Series'' episode "I, Mudd". by stealing a ship. While on Ilyra VI, Mudd committed fraud by selling Starfleet Space Academy to its inhabitants. His sale earned him enough credits to get him to Sirius IX. [Motherlode]

After convincing Nurse Chapel to use a love-crystal to win the affection of the Vulcan Science Officer, Mr. Spock, Mudd abducts her, steals a shuttlecraft, and escapes to a rocky planet. During the battle between Mudd and Chapel, some of his love-crystals are broken near an air-vent. The love-crystal affects Spock, making him insist on pursuing Mudd to the planet, accompanied by Captain Kirk.

The broken love-crystals affect the entire crew of the ''Enterprise''. As Mudd told them, the love-crystals are heterosexual in nature, inducing feelings of love in those of opposite sex and friendship in those of the same sex. Kirk and Spock find Chapel and Mudd, but the four of them are attacked by creatures made of rock which inhabit the planet. Moreover, a new phase of the love-crystals' influence causes them to bicker with each other, while the ship's crew are too intoxicated by the love-crystals to beam them back up. To buy time, Kirk throws the remaining love-crystals to the rock creatures. The four are beamed back to the ''Enterprise'', where Spock notes that the love-crystals' short duration and after-effect of enmity make them of little value, and Chapel records a confession of Mudd's misdeeds since his escape from the android planet so that he can be returned to rehabilitation.

While observing a burnt-out supernova, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' picks up a strange message transmitted in a two-hundred-year-old Earth code. The signal is traced to a nearby planet. When the ''Enterprise'' enters orbit, it is hit by an energy beam of "spiroid radiation" that damages its dilithium crystals and makes the crew begin to shrink (along with all other organic material aboard the ship, including the crew's uniforms). Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy determines that the crew will continue to shrink beyond their ability to control the ship unless a cure is found.

Captain Kirk beams down to the surface and finds that the transporter can revert crew members to their original size. He also observes what appears to be a miniature city. Kirk returns to the ship, but the crew are now too small for him to see easily, and too small to operate the ship's controls. Meanwhile, the Terratins have beamed the bridge crew down to their city, where the crew learns the Terratins' fate. Terratin is a lost Earth colony, originally called "Terra Ten"; its inhabitants have mutated because of the supernova's radiation, and are now all approximately one-sixteenth of an inch in height. The beam which caused the crew to shrink was not intended as an attack, but was the only way the Terratins had to draw attention to themselves. The crew are beamed back to the ship and return to normal size. However, the Terratins have been small for generations and cannot be restored to normal size. Their planet is in peril from massive volcanic activity, so the whole Terratin city is beamed aboard the ''Enterprise'', and moved to another planet.

On stardate 6334.1, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is on its way to planet Deneb V when the Vulcan First Officer, Spock (voiced by Leonard Nimoy), contracts the disease choriocytosis and is diagnosed by Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy (voiced by DeForest Kelley) with having only days to live. The Starfleet freighter SS ''Huron'' is to rendezvous with the ''Enterprise'' and deliver medicine direly needed for the cure, when it is attacked by Orion pirates who steal its cargo, which turns out to be primarily a sizable load of dilithium crystals.

The ''Enterprise'' follows back on the rendezvous course and finds the battered ''Huron'' and its surviving crew. Analysis of the attack leads Captain Kirk (voiced by William Shatner) and his crew to chase the Orion ship in a desperate attempt to recover the cure before time runs out. The Orions, knowing they cannot escape the ''Enterprise'' or best them in a fight, plan to destroy both themselves and the ''Enterprise'' in order to protect the lie of "Orion neutrality". Kirk meets with the Orion Captain (voiced by James Doohan) on a highly unstable asteroid which the Orions plan to detonate to carry out their plot. Kirk and the ''Enterprise'' crew realize the Orion Captain is carrying an explosive trigger in his pack and are able to neutralize it. They recover the medicine to save Spock, capture the Orion Captain (who orders his crew to abort the self-destruct, which would now be a pointless loss of life, and surrender) and retrieve the dilithium crystals.

On stardate 3183.3, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is attacked by three Romulan ''D-7''-class battlecruisers. Captain Kirk orders the ship into a nearby gaseous energy field to hide, knowing that the Romulans would be unwilling to follow in after them. Sometime later, the crew begin to suffer a series of practical jokes, beginning with glasses leaking and utensils turning to rubber, a uniform tunic for the captain with "Kirk is a Jerk" emblazoned on the back, and a mysterious optical device on the bridge science station which when looked into leaves blackened circles around Science Officer Spock's eyes. Everyone suspects that there is a member of the crew having fun. The jokes become more serious, however, as corridor decks are found covered with ice under a concealing layer of fog. Still thinking that a crewmember is responsible, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, Lt. Uhura, and Lt. Sulu hope to escape the jokester by hiding out in the ship's Holodeck/Rec Room. No escape is to be found as a quiet stroll in a woodland scene becomes dangerous with the program parameters changing to include a deep pit covered over by branches and leaves, and later a freezing cold blinding snow storm then a hedge maze before they are finally rescued.

Eventually the practical jokester, which turns out to be the ''Enterprise'' computer itself (affected by the ship's passage through the energy field), decides to play a practical joke on the Romulans for the battle damage caused in the earlier attack. It fabricates a gigantic ship-shaped balloon beside the ''Enterprise'' that the Romulans are drawn to attack. The Romulans, infuriated over the embarrassment of being tricked, give chase. Kirk immediately shows extreme fear at the prospect of returning to the cloud to escape the Romulans, and the ''Enterprise'' presses into Kirk's fear by taking the ship back in. The jokester personality of the computer begins to fade, as it realizes it had been tricked itself, and finally returns to normal. The Romulans, however, were so enraged over the balloon-ship ruse that they follow the ''Enterprise'' through the energy cloud and begin to experience a rash of jokes themselves.

On stardate 6770.3, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is transporting very distinguished guests: its first commander, Commodore Robert April (voiced by James Doohan), and his wife, Sarah (voiced by Nichelle Nichols), the first medical officer on the starship equipped with warp drive, who had designed many of the tools in Dr. McCoy's sick bay. Their destination is a diplomatic conference on the planet Babel and his planned retirement ceremony, when it encounters a ship flying at fantastic speeds directly into a supernova.

The ''Enterprise'' attempts to assist by grabbing the vessel with a tractor beam and locking onto it, but instead both ships are pulled through the supernova and into a negative universe where time flows backwards and "everything works in a counterclockwise fashion." Consequently, everyone aboard the ship begins to grow younger. The young woman piloting the ship, Karla Five (also voiced by Nichols), takes them to her homeworld, Arret (Terra, backwards), and seeks the help of her son, a much older man named Karl Four (also voiced by Doohan).

In a race against time for the increasingly de-aging ''Enterprise'' crew, they work out a solution for getting back home. With Captain Kirk and his crew members reduced to children, "April, now a thirty-year-old man, retakes command and must bring the ''Enterprise'' to safety before it's too late." The attempt to get back home is successful, and then he and his wife, Sarah, use the transporter to restore themselves and the rest of the crew to their proper ages.

On stardate 6063.4, following a signal from a mysterious probe, the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is immobilized by an alien whose ship resembles a winged serpent. The alien claims to be Kukulkan, god of the ancient Maya and Aztec peoples of Earth. He says that he is actually a very long-lived, benevolent entity who wants the humans to worship him, as the Mayas and Aztecs did. Upon resistance by the crew, he proclaims them "thankless".

Kukulkan transports Captain Kirk, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, Chief Engineer Scott and Ensign Walking Bear to his ship. By using technology similar to a holodeck, Kukulkan makes them believe they are standing in the middle of an ancient city. Kukulkan warns them that he will only appear before them once they've solved the riddle of the city.

The city combines the architectures of many ancient Earth cultures: Egyptian, Aztec, Chinese, etc. Kirk concludes that Kukulkan had visited many of the peoples on Earth, but each only took a portion of what he taught them. So none of them ever fulfilled the complete instructions to signal his return.

By chance, Kirk scales a huge pyramid in the center of the city. There, he concludes that the sun will activate Kukulkan's signalling device. He orders Bones and Scotty to turn huge serpent-headed statues toward the pyramid. In doing so, the now focused sunlight ignites the signalling device. Kukulkan responds, "Behold, my design is complete. See me now with your own eyes!"

Kukulkan does appear and turns out to be an alien winged serpent.

The city disappears, only to make the group realize that they were never really there. They now realize that the collection of animals they see before them in small glass "cages" was exactly how they experienced the city. The animals are unaware of being on Kukulkan's ship, much as the group thought they were actually in an ancient city.

Kukulkan demands that the humans worship him, just as the ancients on Earth did. He grows angry when Kirk explains that mankind has "grown up" and no longer needs to worship him.

In the meantime, Science Officer Spock has figured out a way to release the ''Enterprise'' from Kukulkan's beam and breaks free. This, too, angers Kukulkan who exclaims that he will "smash" the ''Enterprise''. To buy Spock some time, Kirk and Bones decide to break loose a Capellan Power Cat from one of Kukulkan's glass cages. The distraction works, as the ''Enterprise'' is able to use its phasers to disable Kukulkan's ship.

With the Power Cat threatening Kukulkan, Kirk leaps at the animal and is able to sedate it with a hypo. Kirk again attempts to reason with Kukulkan, conceding that while the alien did help humanity when it needed it, they no longer need his guidance. The alien reluctantly agrees, and departs.

On stardate 4187.3, the ''Enterprise'' shuttlecraft ''Copernicus'', carrying Science Officer Spock (voiced by Leonard Nimoy), Communications Officer Lt. Uhura (voiced by Nichelle Nichols), and Helmsman Lt. Hikaru Sulu (voiced by George Takei) are en route to Starbase 25 to deliver a stasis box, a rare artifact of the Slaver culture. The now-extinct Slavers used these objects to carry weapons, valuables, scientific instruments and data. The boxes can detect each other and evidence shows that another device is located near Beta Lyrae.

Following the signal, the shuttle lands on an ice planet where the crew is captured by the hostile, catlike Kzinti. The Kzinti had an empty stasis box of their own, and were using it to lure in passing starships. They are trying to steal the boxes in the hopes of finding a super weapon that will return their empire to its former greatness. The Kzinti open the box that the ''Enterprise'' had been transporting, finding inside some fresh meat, a picture of a Slaver, and a powerful (but unfamiliar) alien device, which the Kzinti immediately suspect is a weapon.

The weapon passes hands several times between the Federation and Kzinti crews, during which time Sulu discovers a total-conversion beam setting. The Kzinti recapture all three Federation personnel and the weapon. As the Kzinti explore the device's many settings, they discover a war computer that starts talking to them. After the Kzinti fail to provide several code words and ask about the total-conversion beam setting, the weapon concludes that they are enemies and directs them to what it claims is the setting that they want but which is actually a self-destruct setting. When the Kzinti activate that setting it turns out to be a disruptor field that destroys the weapon and kills the Kzinti.

On stardate 5499.9, while exploring the planet Argo, which was transformed into a water planet by seismic disturbances, Captain Kirk of the Federation starship ''Enterprise'' and his Science Officer Spock are lost from their survey party when their aquashuttle is attacked by a giant sea creature. After a lengthy search, the two are found, mysteriously transformed into water breathers. Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy's analysis indicates that this could not have been accomplished by any natural process, leading to the conclusion that intelligent life must still exist on the planet, but under the seas.

In order to return to their normal selves, Kirk and Spock must seek out the intelligent life forms responsible for their transformation. Since the aquashuttle was destroyed when the sea creature attacked them, they swim to search for answers. They encounter a group of Aquans (members of an advanced undersea civilization) who express fear and disgust before swimming away. Kirk and Spock follow them from a distance and are captured as they admire the Aquans’ underwater city. They are taken to a tribune where they are accused of being spies. One council member, Rila, stands up for them, asking that they be given a chance to explain themselves. Unfortunately, the meeting is interrupted by Aquans who report that three air-breathers have invaded the sea foliage. They are referring to Mr. Scott and the rest of the assistance party who moved from their original post to try to inform Kirk and Spock of an impending sea quake. Upon hearing this news, the leader of the council decides that Kirk and Spock are to be brought to the surface and left there to suffocate.

Rila, the sole sympathetic council member, saves their lives by leading the assistance party to them. She then explains the Aquan history that led to their fear of air-breathers, revealing that reverse mutation is possible, but forbidden. Despite the ban, Kirk enlists her help in locating the lost formula for reversing the transformation and capturing a giant sur-snake whose venom is key to the antidote.

When protagonist Derek Washington (Hall) was just a child, he witnessed his father's murder. Because of this, he became very afraid of blood. However, when a sting operation to find a counterfeiter named Gustoff Slovak (Mel Novak) goes wrong, Derek is forced to face his fear: blood. The operation backfires, resulting in a massacre that leaves Derek's team wiped out. Derek reaches the shocking conclusion that Slovak is actually a vampire, and joins forces with a weapons expert named Master Kao (Gerald Okamura). Kao is the last in a long line of vampire hunters, and agrees to train Derek in this ancient art of vampire slaying. However, in order to defeat Slovak, Derek must become a vampire assassin.

The novel features the story of Dray Prescot, an English sailor of Lord Nelson's navy, and his miraculous teleportation to the planet Kregen. There he is trained as an agent for the mysterious Savanti, an apparently benevolent secret society devoted to improving the lot of humanity among the many intelligent species of Kregen. Among the benefits conferred on him is immersion in an apparently miraculous pool, Kregen's equivalent of the Fountain of Youth, which heals all wounds and confers a greatly extended lifespan on the bather. During Prescot's sojourn among the Savanti an offhand reference is made to the continent of Gah in Kregen's opposite hemisphere, whose distasteful customs are an obvious dig at another sword and planet series, the Gor series of John Norman.

Prescot falls from grace among his hosts for supplying forbidden aid to Delia, princess of the island empire of Vallia, who has been brought to the Savanti as an injured supplicant. Defying their decision not to help her, he takes her to the healing pool and cures her. In consequence, he is banished back to Earth. While Prescott spends five years on Earth only a day has passed for Delia, as he later learns.

Later, he is returned to Kregen through the agency of the Star Lords, an even more mysterious group of apparently god-like beings, whose motivations are unknown, but apparently in opposition to the human Savanti. Prescot becomes a pawn in the Star Lords' schemes, sent willy-nilly to various locations on the planet to serve their ends and capriciously returned to Earth when his task is done or he manages to offend them. Despite this handicap he usually rises to a position of power in whatever society he is thrust into. Thrown back into contact with Delia, he is even able to renew and further his relationship with her. He eventually becomes the leader of the clansmen of Felschraung and Lord of Strombor in the city of Zenicce and learns that Delia of Delphond is in reality the daughter of the Emperor of Vallia, a powerful island nation. At the moment of triumph however he is returned to Lisbon on Earth.

Important locales introduced in this novel include the hidden city of the Savanti, the northern plains of the continent of Segesthes, and the city state of Zenicce on the same continent. It also introduces the dove, used by the Savanti to monitor Dray Prescot, and the Gdoinye, a colourful bird of prey send by the Star Lords for the same task.

Aoba loves to make model robots. One day she is taken to a secret base where she saw first a new mecha. It is design to fight the Ancient Jinki.

Before the dawn of the apocalyptic 'Year of the Beast' in 1666, Balthasar Embriaco, a Levantine merchant, sets out on an adventure that will take him across the breadth of the civilised world from Constantinople, through the Mediterranean, to London, shortly before the Great Fire.

Balthazar's urgent quest is to track down a copy of one of the rarest and most coveted books ever printed, a volume called ''The Hundredth Name''; its contents are thought to be of vital importance to the future of the world. There are ninety-nine names for God in the Koran, and merely to know this most secret hundredth name will, Balthasar believes, ensure his salvation.

Category:2000 French novels Category:French-language novels Category:Historical novels Category:Novels by Amin Maalouf Category:Novels set in the Ottoman Empire Category:Novels set in the 1660s

Commander Singh'a Rough'a takes her ship to the Great Void. There, she and eight members of her crew, including Valérian and Laureline, go on a small landing craft to explore the Void.

The craft lands on a small planetoid, where the crew first encounters the Wolochs. They are soon confronted by the Rubanis triumvirate: Colonel Tloc, Na-Zultra and S'Traks. The triumvirate is intent on doing their utmost to stop them from reaching their goal, so a fight is about to ensue. However, one of the Wolochs falls down and crushes four of Singh'a Rough'a's crew, killing them. The triumvirate departs, with Tloc pointing out another Woloch crushing Singh'a' Rough'a's landing craft.

Left stranded on an empty planet, the crew's only hope of survival is Laureline's Tchoung, which she sends to contact their mothership. Meanwhile, the triumvirate meets with their mysterious guide again, who tells them more of the Wolochs' plans.

Safely back on board their ship, Singh'a Rough'a's crew continues their exploration of the Great Void. At the same time, the triumvirate is already planning their revenge against them. Colonel Tloc releases a rumour that Valérian and Laureline are looking for the Time Opener. As Singh'a Rough'a and her crew continue their searches, Ky-Gaï and her Schniarfeur go to explore the Great Void on their own.

In the Great Void, Singh'a Rough'a's crew has finally found a place rich in resources, but as they are returning, they are met by the triumvirate and the Wolochs, who start a fight with them. The Wolochs almost entirely obliterate Singh'a Rough'a's ship, leaving only a small escape craft with only Valérian, Laureline, and Doctor Chal' Darouine on board. The escape craft crash lands on a sticky "cheese moon", where they are reunited with Ky-Gaï and her Schniarfeur. Ky-Gaï salvages their craft and takes it into her own craft's tow. Then they can continue their exploration of the Great Void.

Two years after Lordlake was razed by her Sun Rune, Queen Arshtat dispatches her son the Prince, her sister Sialeeds, and their royal bodyguards Lyon and Georg Prime to inspect the state of the ruined town. The player as the Prince sees the grim state of the dried-up town and report on it, but Arshtat scorns this; she declares that Lordlake's citizens deserve their desolation for stealing the Dawn Rune. Arshtat's husband Ferid pulls her back to her senses, and she dismisses the inspection party with a whisper.

The next issue of contention is the Sacred Games for Princess Lymsleia's hand in marriage, being held somewhat early for the ten-year-old Lymsleia. The two main contestants, both representing themselves with a champion, hail from rival noble houses: the foppish Euram Barows, and Sialeeds' former fiancé, the charismatic Gizel Godwin. The royal family, however, favors the mysterious outsider Belcoot, as a neutral option less likely to cause strife; the Prince attempts to aid Belcoot quietly with Ferid's approval. However, Gizel successfully rigs the Games to his advantage, and his champion Childerich defeats a drugged Belcoot while the Barow's champion is disqualified.

However, Lord Marscal Godwin, Gizel's father, is less than impressed with Gizel's activities, thinking that he has made an enemy of the Prince and the royal family as a whole with his plotting. Additionally, the royal family took Zegai, the Barows champion, into their own personal custody, who could perhaps help reveal the Godwins cheating and offer an excuse to annul the engagement. Thus, the Godwins launch a preemptive attack at the engagement ceremony in Sol-Falena, Falena's capital. Arshtat and Ferid had anticipated and prepared for the attack, but not the involvement of the elite Nether Gate assassins, who overwhelm the palace's defenses. The struggle culminates in Arshtat and Ferid's deaths, while Lymsleia finds herself a captive. The Prince (whose irrelevance to the line of succession made him the lowest-priority target), Lyon, Georg and Sialeeds are forced to flee.

The Prince searches first for a sanctuary, then for a way to fight back. He finds both (temporarily) as a guest of the influential noble Salum Barows, Lord Godwin's long-time rival. Salum (with his son Euram alongside) clearly plans to be the senior partner in his alliance with the Prince, but the Prince must take what allies he can find. Reluctantly, Sialeeds suggests bringing in help in the form of the legendary tactician Lucretia Merces, whom the Prince frees from prison. With her intelligence and vast network of contacts, Lucretia finds out that the Barows were behind the theft of the Dawn Rune – an act of high treason. With this revelation, the Prince is able to convince the Barows' allies to join him personally, including even Salum's daughter Luserina. The recovered Dawn Rune picks the Prince as its new bearer, even though the Prince can never inherit the throne.

Lucretia guides the Prince and his army in establishing a headquarters, forging alliances, restoring Lordlake, and winning a long streak of battles. The Godwins crown Lymsleia Queen and claim to fight in her name, but lose the public relations war due to the Prince's resistance, the claims of a coup, the restoration of Lordlake (thus fixing a mistake of Arshtat's rule), and the Godwins' army commanders foolish brutality. The civil war almost comes to a close when Lymsleia takes the field personally, officially due to the Godwin's failure to put down the "rebellion", but actually to be rescued by her brother. The Prince and his forces defeat her bodyguards and attempt to capture Lymsleia back; without Lymsleia, the Godwin's government would collapse. At this juncture, however, Sialeeds defects to Gizel's side, spiriting Lymsleia away and prolonging the conflict. Lyon is seriously wounded, preventing the party from pursuing Lymsleia. Meanwhile, Sialeeds takes up the Twilight Rune, the counterpart to the Dawn Rune held in Godwin territory.

The Godwins enjoy a brief reversal in fortunes with new army levies and an alliance with a faction of Falena's neighbor Armes. However, Falena's normally neutral Dragon Cavalry enters the war on the Prince's side due to Armes' involvement, and the Godwins are driven back once more. Sialeeds ensures that the Prince's forces must capture Stormfist, the seat of Godwin power, and thoroughly erase any possible strongholds of Godwin sympathy. Despite seemingly being affiliated with the Godwins, however, Sialeeds incinerates a Godwin ambush of the Prince's force. Sialeeds later murders Salum Barows in Gizel's name, leaving the whimpering Euram alive with the venomous taunt that the Barows faction will surely fall to ruin with an idiot like him in charge.

Only the capital city of Sol-Falena remains under Godwin control. The battle for it claims the lives of both Sialeeds and Gizel. As she expires, Sialeeds hints at her motives (which her maids confirm, if the player speaks with them later): she knew that, if the Prince had rescued Lymsleia when he first had the chance, things only would have returned to the way they were before, with the same corrupt nobility holding power struggles. The only way, in her mind, to secure the royal family's hold on the Queendom was to prolong the war such that the nobility would be completely and utterly ruined. By doing it in the Godwins' name, the Prince and Lymsleia could be rid of them without getting their hands dirty. As Gizel dies, felled by the Prince in a duel, he declares that Sialeeds was the only real winner. Lord Marscal, the only remaining Godwin, retreats with the Sun Rune to a nearby mountain range, where he meets the Prince in a showdown to prove that the royals can rule without the power of the Sun Rune. He draws the Rune's power into himself for the final battle with the Rune incarnation.

In the ending, Lymsleia re-assumes the throne and dissolves the Senate, though a new representative parliament is created to replace it and advise the Queen. Depending on the player's choices and performance, several endings are possible. If very few optional stars of destiny were recruited, Lyon dies of the wounds she received earlier and the Prince wanders off alone in despair. If most but not all of the stars were recruited, the Prince travels the world with Georg. If all 108 Stars were recruited, Lyon survives. If the Prince chose to be nice when interacting with Lymsleia, he has the further option of staying in Falena and becoming the new Commander of the Queen's Knights, with Lyon by his side.

, from ''Les Contes de Perrault'' (1862), depicting Hop-o'-My-Thumb hiding under a stool, listening to his parents as they discuss abandoning him and his brothers.

A poor woodcutter and his wife are no longer able to support their children and intend to abandon them in a forest. Hop-o'-My-Thumb, overhearing his parents, plans ahead and collects small white pebbles from a river. He uses the stones to mark a trail that enables him to successfully lead his brothers back home. However, the second time round, he uses breadcrumbs instead, which the birds eat up.

The brothers are lost in the woods. Hop-o'-My-Thumb climbs up a tree and spots a distant light. The boys walk towards it. They come at last to a house, and learn that it belongs to an ogre. Hop-o'-My-Thumb, fearing the wolves, decides to take the risk of staying in the monster's residence.

The ogre allows the boys to sleep for the night, and provides a bed for them in his daughters' room. But the ogre wakes up not too long after, and prepares to kill them in their slumber. Hop-o'-My-Thumb, who anticipated the possibility, already planned ahead and replaced the daughters' gold crowns with the bonnets worn by him and his brothers. As a result, the ogre kills his daughters instead, and goes back to bed. Once he is snoring, Hop-o'-My-Thumb directs his siblings out of the house.

The ogre wakes up in the morning to discover his grave mistake, puts on his seven-league boots, and races after the boys. They spot the ogre while walking. Hop-o'-My-Thumb once again thinks fast and hides in a small nearby cave. The ogre, who is tired, happens to rest close to their hiding spot. Hop-o'-My-Thumb instructs his brothers to make their way home, and meanwhile, removes the boots from the sleeping ogre. He puts them on, and the boots, being magical, resize to fit him.

Hop-o'-My-Thumb uses the boots to make a fortune, and returns to his family's home, where they live happily ever after.

In 1973, 14-year-old high school freshman Susie Salmon dreams of becoming a photographer. One day, Ray, a boy she has a crush on, asks her out. As Susie walks home through a cornfield, she runs into her neighbor, George Harvey, who coaxes her into an underground "kid's hideout" he has built. Inside, Susie grows uncomfortable and attempts to leave; Harvey grabs her and the scene fades until she is seen rushing past her alarmed classmate Ruth Connors, seemingly fleeing Harvey's den.

The Salmons become worried when Susie fails to return home from school. Her father, Jack, searches for her, while her mother, Abigail waits for the police. In town, Susie sees Jack, who does not respond to her when she calls. Susie runs home to find Harvey soaking in a bathtub. After seeing the bloody bathroom and her bracelet hanging on the sink faucet, Susie realizes she never escaped the underground hideout because Harvey murdered her. Screaming, she is pulled into the "In-Between", which is neither Heaven nor Earth. From there, Susie watches over her loved ones, and resists her new afterlife friend Holly's urging her to let go.

Investigating Susie's disappearance with Detective Fenerman, Jack believes Susie was murdered by someone she knew. He researches neighbors and eventually suspects Harvey is the killer. Fenerman is unable to find proof, as Harvey has carefully concealed the evidence. Susie's sister, Lindsey, agrees with Jack's suspicions, but their casework takes a toll on Abigail. Abigail's alcoholic mother, Lynn, moves into the house. Feeling alienated from her husband, Abigail goes to California. Susie, in her afterlife, learns that Harvey, who has targeted Lindsey as his next victim, has murdered six other girls, including Holly, and that he stuffed Susie's body into a large safe in his basement.

One night, Jack, carrying a baseball bat, trails Harvey into the cornfield. However, Jack accidentally stumbles across a teen couple named Clarissa and Brian. Brian, thinking they will be assaulted, bludgeons Jack nearly to death as Harvey watches nearby while Clarissa begs him to stop. As Jack recuperates, Lindsey breaks into Harvey's house looking for evidence that he killed Susie. Upstairs, she finds a notebook containing a sketch of the underground den, a lock of Susie's hair, and news articles about Susie's disappearance. Harvey returns and almost catches Lindsey, but she escapes and rushes home to discover that her mother has returned. She gives the notebook to her grandmother, who contacts the police. Harvey has already fled his home – taking the safe containing Susie's body with him.

Susie's afterlife begins expanding into a larger heaven, and she is greeted by Harvey's other victims. She resists Holly's urging her to enter Heaven along with the others, claiming she has one final thing to do. Meanwhile, Susie's classmates Ruth and Ray are present when Harvey drives up to dispose of the safe at a sinkhole dump site on the Conners' property. Susie returns to Earth and enters Ruth's body, causing Ruth to faint. Ray rushes to Ruth's aid only to realize she has become Susie. They kiss, completing Susie's last wish, and she returns to Heaven. Meanwhile, Harvey dumps the safe in the sinkhole, leaving it to disappear in the muddy water as he drives away.

Sometime later, Harvey meets a young woman outside a diner and offers her a ride, but she rebuffs him and leaves. A large icicle falls from an overhead branch, hitting Harvey's shoulder, causing him to fall backward over a steep cliff to his death. Time passes, and Susie sees that her family is healing, which Susie refers to as "the lovely bones" that grew around her absence. Susie finally enters Heaven, telling the audience: "My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was 14 years old when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. I was here for a moment and then I was gone. I wish you all a long and happy life."

The storyline re-tells the early years of Steve Rogers' turn as the Star-Spangled Avenger.

Margaret Turner (Myrna Loy) and Susan Turner (Shirley Temple) are sisters who live together. Susan is an intelligent 17-year-old high-school student with a habit of forming short-lived interests after hearing the regular guest lectures at school. Margaret is a judge, and Susan's guardian.

Richard Nugent (Cary Grant), a handsome and sophisticated artist, is a defendant in Margaret's courtroom, charged by ADA Tommy Chamberlain (Rudy Vallee) with starting a nightclub brawl. She releases him with a warning when it becomes clear that the fight was started by two women fighting over him.

He proceeds to Susan's school, where he is the guest lecturer for the day—and as he speaks, Susan becomes infatuated with him. After the talk she finds a reason to spend time with him and suggests she model for him; that evening, she puts on a sophisticated dress and sneaks away from home and into his apartment while he is out.

Richard has no sooner discovered Susan in his apartment than Tommy and Margaret arrive to rescue her from his presumed seduction. Richard assaults Tommy and is held in jail until Matt Beemish (Ray Collins), who is the court psychiatrist and also Margaret and Susan's uncle, intervenes and explains the true situation. He recommends allowing Susan to date Richard until the infatuation burns itself out; Tommy will drop the assault charge if Richard complies.

At a high-school basketball game, Richard tries unsuccessfully to boost Susan's image of Jerry White (Johnny Sands), the boyfriend she dumped for him. Later, at a school picnic, Susan persuades Richard to enter a series of novelty races (open to adult family members), where he loses repeatedly to Tommy. But in the main event, an obstacle course, she asks Jerry to help Richard win. Because he still loves her, Jerry complies, helping him directly at one point, then colliding with Tommy so that Richard does win the event.

Meanwhile, Richard and Margaret are becoming attracted to each other, to the discomfiture of Tommy, who sees Richard as a habitual troublemaker and wants Margaret for himself. Hoping Richard will stop seeing Margaret if he no longer has to date Susan, Tommy announces he is dropping the charge. But Richard and Margaret go out to a nightclub, where they are interrupted in succession by all the other main characters as well as a former girlfriend of Richard's. They all part angrily.

Afterwards, though, Matt is able to talk sense into Susan, and she returns to Jerry. Matt finds out that Richard has decided to take a trip and is able to manipulate affairs so that Margaret will travel with him. Learning that Tommy is coming to arrest Richard on trumped-up charges, Matt forestalls him by telling police at the airport that Tommy is a mental patient with delusions of being an ADA. Richard and Margaret are happily surprised to meet each other as they approach the plane to board.

Book One

The first eight issues were compiled into a book titled ''Berlin: City of Stones'', published in 2000. It starts with Marthe Müller, an art student, arriving in Berlin. One story arc details the start of her life in Berlin, focusing on her relationship to journalist Kurt Severing. A second storyline describes a working-class family which breaks up due to differing political views, the mother, Gudrun, eventually joining the communists with her daughters Elga and Silvia, while the father takes his son Heinz to the Nazis. The book ends with Gudrun's death in the massacre of 1 May 1929, the International Workers Day (known in German as ''Blutmai'').

Book Two

Issues 9–16 have been compiled in ''Berlin'' Book Two: ''City of Smoke'', published in 2008. In the second volume, the relationship between Marthe and Kurt disintegrates, partly due to the influence of Kurt's former lover Margarethe. Marthe develops a relationship with fellow art student Anna. Gudrun's daughter Silvia struggles to stay alive by herself; Elga was apparently taken in by her father, but Silvia refuses to join the Nazis and blames the Communists for Gudrun's death on Blutmai. Another major subplot involves a group of African-American jazz musicians who perform at a Berlin nightclub. The volume concludes with the electoral victory of the Nazi Party in September 1930.

Book Three

The final volume comprises issues 17–22 and is called ''City of Light''.

It features an alternative Sherlock Holmes world where the values and class system of Victorian era England carried over into a late 20th Century where World War II never occurred. The story mainly concerns a group of punks attempting to solve a series of murders reminiscent of the Jack the Ripper killings of the late 19th century.

The expulsion of Sergeant Callum Tate (Luke Kirby), an Anti-Trafficking officer working in Bosnia, sparks concern for multi-national private security company Kernwell, headed up by Tom Harlsburgh (Chris Potter). Having been caught seemingly trying to procure a prostitute for $2,000, Tate's actions have threatened to throw the entire company into disrepute, just as the directors are on the brink of signing an $8 million contract to provide private security in Iraq. Tate denies the allegations, claiming that he was trying to free Anya Petria (Alexandra Fasola), a student who had been trafficked from Romania and forced to work as a prostitute. Tate claims that a number of Kernwell officers, including Major James Brooke (Robert Joy) are involved in a trafficking ring involving the enslavement of young women seeking refuge from their own countries in the hope of finding a better life in the West. Kernwell order a press blackout, preventing Tate's suspension or any of the allegations made reaching the press.

Meanwhile, Daniel Appleton (John Simm), a journalist working for London-based charity Speak For Freedom, travels to Bosnia to report on Kernwell's activities, and whilst there, he witnesses a number of Anti-Trafficking officers having sex with prostitutes at a local bar. But before he can report his findings, the bar is raided and information is spread to suggest that he was caught having sex with a prostitute, Elena Visinescu (Anamaria Marinca), at the time of the raid. Appleton refutes the allegations, but is ordered to cease investigation into Kernwell by his boss, Joan Stewart (Alison Peebles). Appleton decides to continue privately investigating Kernwell, and discovers that shortly after leaving Bosnia to head for Europe, Anya's body was found washed up on the shores of an Italian beach. After becoming separated from her sister, Elena heads for London to find Appleton. With Elena's help, Appleton sets out to expose the corrupt officers working for the Anti-Trafficking unit and bring Kernwell to book.

The first two issues revolve around the efforts of Bill (Bill S. Preston, Esq.) and Ted (Ted “Theodore” Logan) as they plan a party to celebrate their recent nuptials. Unfortunately the personification of mortality, Death, a more recent ally, becomes vastly out of sorts and steals the phone-booth time machine. Rufus, their old guide, helps by directing them to a prototype for the phone booth/time machine. Bill and Ted must take the device and find Death before he causes too much damage to the time stream. The two also must deal with jealous rivals, who do not accept that Bill and Ted's wives had freely chosen to marry.

At the beginning of the episode, Rachel gets upset when Bonnie – Ross's new girlfriend – starts listing all the places she's had sex. Phoebe comes in with some news: She found an old picture of her parents with a friend – also named Phoebe Abbott, who lives on the beach in Montauk; Phoebe suggests the gang spend the weekend there so she can search for her father. Rachel is pleased to learn that Bonnie has to work and is therefore unable to attend. While waiting for Phoebe to come pick them up, Monica spots a couple walking arm in arm, and wonders if she will ever find a boyfriend again. Chandler says that if "worse comes to worst" he will gladly assume the boyfriend role – a prospect Monica finds hilarious. He then spends the rest of the episode trying to prove to Monica that he is good "boyfriend material".

Phoebe pulls up in the cab – and with the news that one of her massage clients is letting them use his beach house for the weekend. They pull up to the beach house and discover it is raining and that the house has suffered some flood damage and is filled with sand. Phoebe then visits the older Phoebe, who is a realtor. Younger Phoebe wants to know everything about her parents, but older Phoebe says she unfortunately lost touch with Frank and Lily after high school. She has a suspicion that older Phoebe is lying about not knowing Frank's whereabouts, and steals a picture from the refrigerator. When older Phoebe cancels their dinner plans the next night, claiming to be out of town, Phoebe breaks into her house. The older Phoebe catches her, and tells her the truth: Not only does she really not know where Frank is but she is younger Phoebe's real mother.

While Joey tries to get the gang to play strip poker to distract them from the rain, Rachel tries to paint Ross' toenails; they playfully wrestle for a bit. The gang finally decides to give in and play Strip Poker, but they cannot find any cards – so they end up playing Strip Happy Days Game and strip Joey completely naked. While Monica and Rachel talk about the fact that Rachel is flirting with Ross, Rachel gets upset when Bonnie shows up and joins in the game.

The next morning, Joey wakes up to find that the gang has buried him in the sand – and built a mermaid out of sand around him, complete with large breasts. Ross and Bonnie come down together, much to Rachel's dismay. She ends up getting her revenge, though – by convincing once-bald Bonnie to shave her head again. Ross is upset, especially when he learns it was Rachel's idea. He fights with Rachel and points out it was Rachel who ended their relationship. Rachel then says that she was just mad at him – and she had never fallen out of love with him. When Ross asks if she wants to get back together, she replies that she does not know; she still cannot forgive him for what he did but feels something when she is with him, and they kiss. A talk with Joey and Chandler does not help Ross since he is still in love with Rachel; but he also really likes Bonnie and thinks it would be healthy to move on. The episode – and the third season – ends with Ross upstairs in the hallway. To one side is Rachel's bedroom; the other, his and Bonnie's room. He thinks for a moment, then picks a door and goes in, saying "Hi" to someone there.

During the closing credits, Chandler persists in trying to prove he would be good boyfriend material by knocking on the front door and pretending to be a guy picking her up for a date. On his final attempt, he plays the part as Tim Conway's dwarf character, Dorf, resulting in Monica storming off to bed.

A security guard at the gates of NORCO, a southern California physics research center, is brusque when the Peters brothers drive up, even though Professor Stuart Peters has taken a job with the company, intending to have a look around the property. The guard orders them to leave, when oddly enough, he slips them a matchbook on which he has scrawled, "Don't come back, NORCO doomed". When the brothers drive away, a monstrous explosion of energy appears, and the guard, while pleading for his life, disintegrates.

The next day at NORCO, Professor Peters meets his boss, head scientist Dr. Block, and mentions the note, which Block dismisses. Block leaves Stuart in the laboratory with a co-worker, Professor Stephanie Linden. Inquiring as to the nature of their work, Linden directs Stuart into an adjacent corridor and then locks him in, releasing a grotesque energy entity that kills him instantly.

Days pass, and when Stuart does not return, his brother, Jory, grows worried, while confiding his concerns to his girlfriend, Gaby. However, when Stuart reappears, the two men quarrel over a family matter as Jory notices a strange device, apparently a heart pacemaker, strapped around his brother's chest. Stuart stumbles backward into the bathtub, where he is electrocuted. The pacemaker was thought to be defective by the authorities, but Peters had perfect health and the scar tissue is recent enough for a heart operation to have taken place since he arrived in California.

The police investigate, and Sgt. Siroleo confronts Block at NORCO, who feigns ignorance to any wrongdoings at his facility and denies the allegations of complicity. However, it is Linden who reveals the truth: A being composed entirely of energy has been accidentally formed. It can consume anyone with a mere touch, and is so threatening that those who encounter it at close range die instantly. Dr. Block found a way to control the entity, and is keeping it contained while he tries to study the monster. When the other scientists demanded its destruction, Block had the horrid being frighten them to death, and then restored them to life with pacemakers, which will cease to function if Block directs the creature to draw the power from them.

Jory arrives at the center in an effort to find the truth about what actually happened to his brother. Dr. Block then reappears in the laboratory with a gun and, holding Siroleo and Linden at bay, releases the horror. Siroleo, however, wrests away the gun and Linden shoots Block. Now he, Linden, and Peters must face the energy being. Since the creature needs energy to sustain itself, they resort to cutting all power within a large area, thus forcing the being to withdraw back into the energy chamber where it has been contained. Unfortunately, this also causes Dr. Linden's pacemaker to fail, thus killing her. As things settle down, Peters and Siroleo turn around to look with uncertainty towards the energy chamber where the being has been quarantined — now, once again, contained, but still powerful and alive.

''Voyager'' detects the signs of a wormhole and changes course to investigate, in the hope that it can be used to shorten ''Voyager'''s journey to Earth. To the crew's disappointment, it is a decaying micro-wormhole whose aperture is only about in diameter. Nevertheless, Captain Janeway suspects that it could be used to transmit a message to the Alpha Quadrant, and launches a micro-probe into the wormhole to determine where it exits.

The probe gets stuck in gravitational eddies, and is unable to pass any further. Meanwhile, a vessel at the other end of the wormhole is investigating and making scans of the probe. The crew of ''Voyager'' detect the scans and make contact, using the probe as a communications relay. The vessel identifies itself as a Romulan ship in the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway asks the Romulan captain, Telek R'Mor, to relay messages from the crew to their families and Starfleet. At first he refuses, but relents after Janeway asks about his own family, who are far away on Romulus.

Before long, Chief Engineer Torres suggests to Janeway that the probe could be used as a relay not only for communications, but for transporting the crew directly back to the Alpha Quadrant. Tests are conducted and all found successful. The Romulan captain volunteers to transport to ''Voyager'' to confirm the safety of transporting a life form, and will arrange for a support vessel to rendezvous and accommodate the ''Voyager'' crew. He is then successfully transported to ''Voyager''.

It is then discovered that R'Mor is from 20 years in the past — the micro-wormhole transits through both space and time. The crew are unable to transport back to the Alpha Quadrant for fear of altering history, and similarly the Romulan cannot try to prevent ''Voyager'''s fate before it occurs without also altering events. Instead, they decide that R'Mor will deliver the messages in 20 years, after ''Voyager'' has left the Alpha Quadrant, thus preserving the timeline.

After R'Mor is beamed back to his ship, Chief of Security Tuvok reveals that, upon researching the computer's data banks, he has discovered that R'Mor died four years before ''Voyager'' left the Alpha Quadrant. The crew hope that R'Mor arranged for someone else to deliver them after his death, but are left with no way of knowing for certain.

Kei and Yuri were originally junior auxiliary agents in the Worlds Works and Welfare Agency (W.W.W.A. or 3WA for short) when the two were paired together under the codename "Lovely Angels." Kei was coming off her fourth probation for something she had done, and Yuri's dating exploits were common knowledge, not to mention the two had an instant dislike for each other when they met.

Kei and Yuri were not the first to receive the codename Lovely Angels. Years before, during the Gamorian Riots, two other women, Iris and Molly, had been given the designation Lovely Angels. Molly was killed in action, and her partner Iris, who had lost her left arm trying to save Molly, became bitter about the lack of response from the 3WA and vanished, later becoming the notorious assassin known as "Lady Flair."

At first, Kei and Yuri refused to work with each other, and Kei even resigned from the 3WA. However, when the "Siren" crisis erupted, Kei returned. This was decidedly a good thing, as Yuri's ditsy new partner, Lily, had abruptly quit just as the response to the crisis started, and Kei's return came just in time, as Yuri was about to be killed by Waldess.

Afterwards, the two continued to work together, although they earned their nickname, "the Dirty Pair" because of all the collateral damage the two (unintentionally) cause in the completion of their cases. And even though the two now get along with one another, they continue to bicker and complain to each other.

In addition to the sixteen anime episodes, there have been three novels (1994, 1997, 1999) and four "Stereo Dramas" (one in 1994, the others in 1996) written by Takachiho, as well as two sanctioned manga series (1995–96) published by Dengeki Comics.

Nearly 500 residents of the agricultural community of Milagro in the mountains of northern New Mexico face a crisis when politicians and business interests make a backroom deal to usurp the town's water in order to pave the way for a land buy-out. Due to the new laws, Joe Mondragon is unable to make a living farming because he is not allowed to divert water from an irrigation ditch that runs past his property.

Frustrated, and unable to find work, Joe visits his father's field. He happens upon a tag that reads "prohibited" covering a valve on the irrigation ditch. He kicks the valve, unintentionally breaking it, allowing water to flood his fields. He decides against repairing the valve and instead decides to plant beans in the field. This leads to a confrontation with powerful state interests, including a hired gun brought in from out of town.

An escalation of events follows, leading to a final showdown between law enforcement and the citizens of Milagro.

Adam Dalgliesh is brought in to investigate the mysterious death of a famous writer on a remote and inaccessible island off the Cornish coast.

Combe Island is a discreet retreat operated by a private trust, where the rich and powerful find peace and quiet. Famed novelist Nathan Oliver, who was born on the island and thus is allowed to visit as he wishes, arrives with his daughter, Miranda and his copy-editor, Dennis Tremlett, who, unbeknownst to Oliver, are having an affair. When he discovers them, Oliver reacts with fury and orders them to leave the island the next day. Oliver is discovered hanging from the island's historic lighthouse. Dalgliesh and his team arrive to investigate.

Surfacing from a fever, Dalgleish has a vision that helps him fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Dalgliesh recovers from his illness, and after the break of the investigation and quarantine, he and his lover Emma both overcome their fears about each other's seeming lack of commitment, and agree to marry.

The plot revolves around Countess Irina von Karlstein (Lina Romay), a mute woman who needs sex like a vampire needs blood in order to stay alive. Without speaking, the Countess is able to hypnotize victims and lure them into transfixed erotic acts. In addition, she is able to fly from the scene quickly due to her bat-changing abilities. When new victims are found fatally drained of potency, and left scattered around the town, forensic scientist Dr. Roberts consults his colleague, Dr. Orloff, who confirms that a vampire is responsible. A female journalist and few others meet with the Countess and confront her about her ties to vampires in her family. While the Countess tells the truth and admits that she is a vampire, few remain living to report the truth and warn other townspeople. The countess is also confronted by a psychic investigator who believes he is destined to become her lover and join her among the immortals.

Maya (Kyla Pratt) has evolved considerably from the first film. Though she was formerly an antisocial individual who was more interested in her science projects, Maya has transformed into the typical teenager. Like her sister Charisse, she inherits their father John's capacity for communicating with animals (she is a part-time veterinary assistant), her life has changed drastically on all fronts. She often ends up in trouble with her parents, while her friends think she has gone insane.

With John away on business, Maya's mother Lisa (Kristen Wilson) sends her and her dog Lucky (voice of Norm MacDonald) to a dude ranch named "Durango", so she can find herself. The ranch is owned by Jud (John Amos), and his son Bo (Walker Howard). While at the ranch, Maya, who desperately tried to keep it under wraps so as not to arouse suspicion, uses her talent to "talk to the animals" in order to save Durango from being taken over by a neighboring dude ranch.

Maya is at first reluctant to reveal her ability to others, fearing rejection from her friends, but eventually does so. With her help, the Durango ranch enters a rodeo competition with a $50,000 award, and wins it. Also, she shares her first kiss with Bo and finally wins his heart.

After the death of his mother, 13-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Cooper takes it upon himself to take care of his single father Nick and little sister Angie in Hyattsville, Maryland. Ben enters a contest to win a smart house. The family wins and moves into the house (run by a virtual assistant named PAT, short for "Personal Applied Technology") and is introduced to its creator, Sara Barnes.

Nick and Sara begin dating, which upsets Ben, who has not moved on from the death of his mother. Ben decides to reprogram PAT to serve as a maternal figure, hoping his father will realize that the family does not need Sara to replace his mother. Ben presents PAT with numerous 1950s-era TV shows and films from which he hopes she will learn to emulate motherhood using her learning capabilities.

Ben and Angie have a party while Nick and Sara are on a date. With PAT's help, Ben wins over his crush Gwen Patroni, and his bully Ryan is confronted by PAT, who electrically shocks Ryan, haunts him with ghostly skull holograms and chases him out of the house. PAT helps them clean up to cover up evidence of the party, but Nick figures it out anyway, and reprimands Ben and Angie when he finds Gwen's sweater (thrown about during a dance line) in the living room fern. Nick chastises PAT for throwing a party behind his back, asking her to be more responsible with his children.

Using Nick's request for stricter caregiving, PAT seeks out additional reference material with that as a theme, causing her "mother" personality to become more strict and overbearing. Sara shuts down the entire system and joins the family for dinner, but upon hearing Nick offhandedly suggesting she's not needed, PAT overrides the system shutdown and brings herself back online. An angry and jealous PAT generates herself as a holographic housewife, styled like the sitcom housewives Ben taught her to behave like. She kicks Sara out, seeing her as a threat to PAT's place in the family, and locks the Coopers in the house, asserting that the outside world is too dangerous.

Sara manages to make contact with Ben and sneaks into the house, but she becomes trapped with the Cooper family. Ben is able to end the lock-down by telling PAT that she isn't real and will never be human and thus not able to care for him and his sister as a real mother could. PAT finally unlocks the doors and windows, freeing them, and shuts herself down. Sara is able to restore PAT's original personality, but PAT retains some mischievousness. Sara and Nick start dating, and Nick spends more time with his family. Ben finally accepts Sara after realizing she was never trying to replace his mother, and, with PAT's help, is able to have time for friends and hobbies again.

Charlie Boyle, a 13-year-old physics genius and hockey lover, enrolls in a Wisconsin college so he can work with Dr. Krickstein, a scientist he admires. Mostly Charlie is sick of being a geek and he was treated like dirt because he was a genius. For years, Krickstein has been studying gravity in an attempt to defy it. Krickstein's laboratory is located underneath the college's hockey arena. Charlie has difficulty making friends with his college students and roommates. Charlie meets a teenage girl named Claire Addison, who attends a local high school. To be near Claire, Charlie tells her that he is a new student at her school, and that his name is Chaz Anthony. Charlie chooses to reinvent himself because he feels being a nerd does not guarantee him a girlfriend. Charlie enrolls at Claire's school as Chaz, and takes on a bad boy image in an attempt to be cool and gain friends. To get closer to Claire, Chaz convinces her to tutor him. Claire is the daughter of Coach Addison, who coaches the college's Northern Lights hockey team.

Charlie realizes that living two lives can be difficult. Eventually, Charlie's double life is exposed at the college's conference championship, when Claire's father identifies him as Charlie Boyle. Claire confronts Charlie, who admits the truth. Charlie realizes that he left the laboratory's particle accelerator running; it overheats, cracking the ice and interrupting the game which the Northern Lights were about to win, having used advice Charlie gave them. Coach Addison's job is put in jeopardy as a result and Claire, disgusted by Charlie's actions, tells him she never wants to see him again and refuses to take his phone calls. Charlie leaves junior high school and although he makes an announcement over the PA system apologizing, Claire and his best friends Odie and Dieon refuse to forgive him.

Having isolated a graviton and figuring out how to use it to control the movements of another object, Charlie decides to use it to help the hockey team cheat and win against the other team and its own cheating tactics. Charlie appeals to his friends for help. They refuse until, after being called Chaz by Claire, he tells them he is Charlie Boyle and he cannot do it without them. Odie and Dieon decide to help and finally Claire and his other junior high classmates follow. After creating a distraction with the help of his classmates to get microchips onto the three main enemy players, Charlie and Claire proceed to take control of them to prevent them from cheating.

Dr. Krickstein initially refuses to have anything to do with Charlie's decision to use science for cheating, but later steps in to help and accidentally causes an electrical surge that reverses the polarity of the graviton, causing Charlie, Claire and Krickstein, as well as the players they are connected to, to defy gravity. The Northern Lights win and Coach Addison's job is saved. Charlie and Claire kiss and start dating. Later, Charlie and his friends set up a friendly ice hockey game with Krickstein joining, but before they can start, the Northern Lights arrive with Charlie's college roommate and friend Mike, having learned what Charlie did for them from Claire's father, who Claire told. The Northern Lights ask for a game against Charlie and his friends. Charlie agrees, but on the condition that Krickstein is on their team, to which they reluctantly agree.

Frances Bacon McCausland (Erin Chambers), an intelligent and level-headed girl, is starting high school a year early. Strange things have been going on in her town of Middleberg: dogs appearing on people's roofs, alarm clocks going off hours early, eggs all over a teacher's car, gelatin in the school swimming pool, and the letter "B" spray-painted all over town. The Bs also appear on the school lockers—except for Frances', which has a B on the inside. These pranks seem to point to Frances, who does not understand what is happening or why. An older boy named Larry Houdini (Eric "Ty" Hodges II) offers to help Frances, telling her that he is an imaginary friend, which is proven true as children are the only other people who can see him. Larry tells Frances that she is being framed by the Boogeyman. Frances has a difficult time believing this.

The Boogeyman causes a blackout, foreshadowed by the Bs he spray-painted; however, the McCausland home is unaffected, with all its Christmas lights remaining on. Frances then loses her friendship with her best friend Joanne, makes a fool out of herself trying to convince others that Larry exists, and causes her family to question her sanity. At her wits end, Frances checks out ''The Boogey Book'' from the library for Larry, who decides to build a tetra-fuse detailed in the book which will age the Boogeyman into a harmless old geezer. Frances later learns Larry was her brother Darwin's imaginary friend, who still cares about him, but Frances convinced Darwin to grow up and stop believing in him. Larry also cooks up Boogey Goo to use as bait and finds it delicious, which scares Frances. She looks for Boogeyman origins in the book, learning that a Boogeyman is created when the creator of an imaginary friend stops believing too soon.

Having accidentally stepped in Boogey Goo, Darwin attracts the Boogeyman and gets kidnapped while sitting in Frances' room. Frances and Larry follow him to the Boogeyworld dimension, which exists underneath Frances' bed. During the skirmish, Larry turns into a Boogeyman due to Darwin's lack of belief in him, while the other Boogeyman drags Darwin towards a cliff. However, Frances convinces Darwin to believe in Larry again, reverting him to normal. After using the tetra-fuse on the Boogeyman, Frances realizes it is her old imaginary friend, Zoe. Frances stopped believing in her when Darwin fell ill, deciding it was time to grow up. Frances proves she still cares about Zoe, holding her hand and causing her to revert to normal. Frances and Darwin return to the real world, where her parents reveal the same antics that occurred in Middleburg are occurring in another city. Larry reveals that "the guy in his head" just ordered him to go take care of the other Boogeyman; Zoe offers to assist as she was rather inexperienced as a Boogeyman and was thus easy to fight.

Frances is distraught as it was not easy for her to believe in them again. Before Larry and Zoe leave, Larry tells Frances its alright showing her that childhood was great, but so is adulthood if she keeps a sense of wonder. He then turns on the Christmas lights outside, allowing him and Zoe to leave. That night, Darwin is scared and is sent to Frances by Larry; she allows him to sleep with her. Larry and Zoe watch this with smiles.

Michael Woods is a lazy, preppy 20-year-old living off his parents' wealth in Los Angeles, while struggling through college classes and dating a spoiled heiress named Gina, whom his family dislikes. Michael learns that his 11-year-old cousin Tommy Biggs, whom he has not seen since a family reunion several years earlier, will soon be arriving from Montana to visit. Michael casts Tommy aside during his visit, prioritizing his social life and the demands of his girlfriend over his guest.

On Tommy's last day in California, the family housekeeper Arlene makes Michael aware of his mistreatment toward Tommy and threatens to tell his parents about it. Michael decides to take Tommy to Disneyland to make up for it. However, en route to the theme park, Michael receives a phone call from Gina pleading for him to meet her at a racetrack so she can introduce him to her father. Michael capitulates and leaves Tommy at a children's daycare center, then drives to the track for a brief visit. Michael charms Gina's father over the course of a couple hours. When Michael realizes how late it is, he hurries back to pick up Tommy, and accidentally collides his Porsche Boxster with another vehicle, belonging to a woman named Diedre White. Afterwards, Michael learns Arlene had picked up Tommy several hours earlier.

Tommy returns to Montana, and Michael's parents, Glenn and Jacy, are upset when they learn about his neglect; they later learn about his automobile accident, and determine that the appropriate disciplinary action is to have him work on his aunt Jules' ranch in Montana for a month. If Michael's parents get a negative telephone call from the Biggs regarding him, they intend to cancel his upcoming trip with Gina to the French Riviera. Michael arrives at the ranch, where he meets Jules' ranch hands, Twister and Mule, as well as Tommy.

Michael is put to work early the next morning, although every task he is assigned by Tommy is deliberately sabotaged to make his labor harder, as revenge for his earlier neglect. Michael eventually confronts Tommy regarding his behavior, and reveals that he only got along with him at their family reunion years ago because they were the only children at the event. Michael, no longer caring if his parents cancel his trip, demands Tommy to leave him alone. The next morning, Twister reprimands Michael for his lazy behavior and his treatment toward Tommy. During their discussion, Michael is surprised to learn that the Biggs are suffering financial problems.

Michael realizes how selfish he has been and begins adapting to life on the ranch. He mends his relationship with Tommy, who reveals his father was terminally ill, and his medical bills combined with the loss of labor from his death snowballed into financial woes. Later, Michael is upset when Jules tells him that the ranch will be foreclosed soon because of late mortgage payments, the result of low profits. The bank plans to auction the family's ranch and personal property at the end of the month. This makes him feel a lot worse upon realizing why Jules sent Tommy to Los Angeles and further regretting not putting his social life on hold for family.

Michael returns to Los Angeles after a month on the ranch, but realizes that he no longer enjoys his old lifestyle. He is able to tame a nervous horse from a lesson he learned from Mule in Montana. Michael ends his relationship with Gina after realizing that she is a rich snob. When Michael chastises his father for not helping the Biggs, he learns that Glenn had offered them financial aid, but Jules was too prideful to accept it. Michael sells his Porsche and returns to Montana to present the money from the sale to keep the ranch operational until a permanent solution can be devised. Jules graciously rejects Michael's offer and suggests that it is time for she and Tommy to move on.

On the day of the auction, Michael recalls a real estate class he took that taught about the concept of a land trust, which, if arranged in conjunction with the bank, would allow the Biggs to remain on the property indefinitely regardless of the debt. Michael successfully negotiates the terms with the bank. Jules agrees to let Michael continue working on the ranch and spend more time with the family. Later, Tommy and Michael finish a tree house that Tommy and his father had never completed.

Sydney Miller is a 13-year-old girl who was born in Hawaii and moved away at a young age after the death of her mother, whom she barely remembers. From her great aunt, Sydney inherits a derelict Hawaiian plantation that had been used through five generations. Sydney, her father Ben, and her stepmother Elizabeth leave their residence in Chicago to visit the plantation, known as Makai. When the Millers arrive, they meet attorney Bo Kauihou, who informs them that Sydney will inherit the plantation if she stays there for two weeks. Bo attempts to dissuade Sydney's parents from selling the plantation, stating that the ground is still fertile enough for use as farm land, although Ben is hesitant as he and Elizabeth have no farm experience. Although Bo wants to preserve the plantation, he informs the Millers that there have been inquiries about purchasing the property.

At the plantation, Sydney finds an old photograph of her mother and learns that she used to surf. The next day, Sydney finds a surfboard with the word "Naniloa" inscribed on it, then befriends a girl named Gia, who enjoys surfing. That night, Sydney tells her parents that she wants to spend time with Gia at a beach on the following day. Ben is apprehensive about Sydney going to the beach alone, but allows her to do so when she promises to just take pictures, without going near the water. While Ben, Elizabeth, and Bo meet with realtors, Sydney arrives at the beach with the Naniloa surfboard. Sydney is introduced to Gia's friends, including Kona, a boy who is an artist and skateboarder. Sydney confesses that she does not know how to surf, so Gia teaches her.

Later, Bo and the Millers meet with the realtors to discuss a company's plans to construct a resort on the plantation property. Sydney is disappointed that the plans do not include the preservation of the plantation buildings, which were built in 1912; the realtors suggest that the main plantation house could be converted into a restaurant. They also tell Sydney that everything is negotiable after she expresses disappointment at the company's plan to make the nearby beach available to hotel guests only.

While surfing, Sydney is swept off her surfboard and rescued by Kona. Sydney has a cut on her face and later awakens in a beach house belonging to Gia's mother, Malia, who has bandaged her cut. Malia tells Sydney that the Naniloa surfboard belonged to Sydney's mother, who was nicknamed Naniloa. Malia also says that she was friends with Sydney's mother. Malia is surprised to learn that Ben never mentioned the friendship. Malia then takes Sydney to a lagoon to observe its beauty; Malia tells her that it is a place where whales gather annually. Malia brings Sydney back to the plantation, and Ben becomes upset at Malia, believing that she encouraged Sydney to surf. Malia questions Ben's decision to withhold information from Sydney regarding her mother; he tells Malia that he was trying to keep Sydney away from Hawaii and surfing in order to protect her, an idea with which Malia disagrees.

The next day, Sydney learns – from Gia – that her mother died in an accident. Sydney says her father has never discussed her mother's death and she has never asked him about it. Sydney has Kona and Gia take her to Kaala Loa, a vacant plantation, where she discovers her mother's old bedroom. The Millers receive a new monetary offer for Makai, and Sydney is left to choose whether to accept it. That night, a party is held at Kaala Loa, where Sydney and Kona share a kiss. While observing the whales, Sydney learns from Malia that her mother died while surfing.

Gia's friends ignore Sydney after a newspaper article states that the plantation and beach will be sold to the company, even though she has not yet made a decision. When Sydney tells Gia that the company has promised to preserve the lagoon for the whales, Gia tells her that the animals will no longer arrive with tourists around. Gia admits that initially, she only befriended Sydney so she could convince her to keep the plantation and beach, but she says that their friendship is authentic, which Sydney does not believe. After arguing, Sydney decides to sell the property. When Sydney is ready to sign the paperwork, she notices Gia's friends outside and decides not to sell, choosing instead to live at Makai. Sydney and Gia become friends again.

Fourteen-year-old Jamie Grover (Kimberly J. Brown) is an only child who resents the constant attention her parents give her. Her wish for less attention is finally granted when her mother becomes pregnant. However, her mother gives birth to quintuplets and Jamie's life changes dramatically and she begins to resent her new siblings. She also discovers she might not want the same things for herself that her parents want for her. Because of the demands of having five babies in the house, her parents focus all of their attention on the quints: Adam, Becky, Charlie, Debbie, and Eddie.

Jamie's parents hire a babysitter named Fiona to help take care of the quints, although she later resigns due to exhaustion. To help cover costs, Jamie's parents agree to let their babies star in a diaper commercial. Albert, a representative for the diaper company, works with Jamie's parents to devise ways to keep the quints popular. Jamie reluctantly joins her school's art class, taught by Mr. Blackmer (James Kall), and discovers that she enjoys it. When Adam becomes ill, Jamie discovers that she really does not mind the babies and that she does have the courage to let her parents know she has dreams of her own. Jamie's parents fire Albert after he suggests replacing Adam with a look-alike baby for an upcoming event. Adam recovers, and Jamie becomes upset when her parents forget about her art being displayed in the school's art show; they attend a dinner with the governor instead, but visit the school later after remembering the art show and she wins the blue ribbon.

At the very end of the movie, she jokes that her mom is now pregnant again with septuplets: Anne, Billy, Carrie, Danny, Emma, Freddy, and Grace.

Jason "Jace" Newfield (Andrew Lawrence) is the new blind student at his school, whose family recently moved from New York City to Salt Lake City, Utah. Thinking that his way to fit in is through playing the drums, he shows off in class only to find out that his band teacher, Mr. Wyatt, is also blind.

He later finds out from one of his friends, Vincent "Fly" Shu, that the only way to fit in is to be a jock. However, his other friend, Mary Beth Rice, is becoming increasingly irritated by his "New Yorkers rule" jokes and tells him that the reason no one is willing to be his friend is not because he is blind but because he is acting like a jerk. So in an effort to help Jace fit in, she asks him to try out for the wrestling team. "Fly" unwillingly tries out for the team with Jace, and they both make it. Jace has trouble winning matches at first, but slowly starts improving after receiving lessons from Mary Beth, whose father is the coach of the wrestling team.

Throughout the course of the season he slowly starts to fit in with some of the students that gave him a hard time at the beginning of his year at the school. At the end of the season, they go on to the state championship. It ends with a reporter interviewing Jace's teammates about his wrestling; they deny that he is even blind, because they realize that he is a significant person, and they accept him for who he is and not just a blind person, which is what they saw at first.

The fast-moving Carson family gets ready to take on their next challenge as eldest son Andrew (Trever O'Brien) gears up for a motocross race with the hopes of winning a corporate sponsorship.

Twin sister Andrea "Andy" Carson (Alana Austin) finds herself in a bind when her love for motocross racing provokes her overprotective father, Edward (Timothy Carhart), who is averse to the idea of his daughter participating in such a dangerous sport and prefers that she stick to "girl things". When their parents are out of the house for the day, Andrea and Andrew decide to have a friendly race on the family track. While racing, Andrew loses control of his bike, causing him to be thrown off and crash, injuring his knee which renders him unable to race in the Cup. Edward is forced to quit his job, dipping into the family's finances to find a replacement rider from Europe.

Fueled by her desire to get on the track and feeling guilty over her brother's injury, Andrea forms a plan to masquerade as her brother, to which Andrew reluctantly agrees. Andrea is "welcomed" by unfriendly competition and comes back home with a scrape on her arm, which makes her mother, Geneva (Mary-Margaret Humes), suspicious. After dragging the answer out of youngest son Jason (Scott Terra) and a whole night to think it over, Geneva secretly (and reluctantly) agrees to let Andrea race in Andrew's place. The catch, however, is that this all needs to happen behind Edward's back, and before he comes home with a replacement rider.

Andrea and her mother arrive at the race venue and register under her brother's name, "Andy". In spite of her initial confidence, Andrea learns the hard way that competition is fierce, and finishes last in her first race. Thinking that Andrea is a guy, competitor Dean Talon (Riley Smith) takes notice when the "lapper" garners the attention of several young women, finding it unbelievable that a 125 rider is getting looks. Dean, knowing that "Andrew" needs help with riding, offers to help the rookie in exchange for advice on his crush, Faryn Henderson (Katherine Ellis).

Andrea quickly finds herself falling for Dean, who she reluctantly helps win Faryn's shallow affection. Her training also pays off when she places 7th in a following race. She continues to improve and takes 1st place in the last race of the day to get an overall 3rd place finish. The celebrating is cut short by the arrival of her angry father who scolds Andrea for racing and Geneva for letting her.

Edward has now found a replacement rider from France, René Cartier (Michael Cunio). He is poorly received by Andrea after he tries to hit on her and treats her brothers with disrespect. After some research, Andrea learns that Cartier has garnered a bad reputation for his harsh, underhanded and dangerous behavior on the track, but when Andrew brings it to Edward's attention, he says that an aggressive rider is what the family needs at the moment.

Andrea finds no further solace when she finds Cartier talking with Art Henderson, a competitor, though she is only scolded by Edward when he sees the two of them arguing. Back at camp, the Carson family confront Edward for the way he's treating Andrea. He tries to defend himself, but Geneva and Andrew show him how much he's really hurting Andrea by behaving the way he is. Alone in his thoughts, Edward begins to realize how much racing really means to Andrea and the support the rest of the family has given her. He finds Andrea arguing with Cartier; Andrea says that she's only trying to help her family, and Cartier rudely tells her to back off before shoving her. Edward sees it, runs over to them and shoves Cartier back in retaliation before telling him off and firing him. He and Andrea then go for a walk, where Edward tells her that he is proud of her for bringing Carson Racing to where it is now. Andrea admits her only regret was that instead of Andrew that got injured, it was her. Edward tells her not to think about anything else, and allows her to race in the final heat.

On the final race, Andrea and Cartier, now racing under Art Henderson Racing, find themselves fighting fiercely for the finish. When Cartier fumbles on a turn, Andrea takes the victory and finishes 1st. However, an angry Cartier exposes her during a live interview, much to the shock of the entire community and Dean's dismay. A heated argument between the Carson family and Art Henderson Racing gets under way about disqualifying Andrea by saying that a girl isn't allowed to compete, which Geneva argues, saying that she read the rules and it doesn't mention anywhere about girls not being allowed to race. Henderson then tries to argue that Andrea wasn't registered, and Geneva pulls out the registration form showing that Andrea did register under "Andy Carson", as it is short for Andrea. Barbara Rollins (Aloma Wright), the corporate CEO, expresses her inspiration at Andrea's actions, much to Henderson and Cartier's embarrassment. She is inspired that a woman "came on top in a man's sport," and not only allows Andrea to retain her title, but also awards the entire Carson family a full factory sponsorship.

Back at home, Geneva surprises the kids with the news that they have the privilege of hiring a 250 rider for the next race. She then tells the kids that someone is already interested in the job, and is at the house to interview. Upon walking outside, Andrea finds Dean who says that he heard they needed a 250 rider. Andrea then challenges him to a race; if he wins, he can be the new 250 rider. The movie ends with Dean and Andrea racing.

Zenon Kar is now 15, two years older, in the year 2051 and none the wiser about the dangers of meddling, but when she shows Nebula a new game and how to play it, she inadvertently empties out Commander Plank's office and is assigned work detail in the Alien Patrol lab. It is revealed that Greg broke up with Zenon. The space station is now under command of the military and General Hammond is assigned to command the station. Even worse, he assigns Zenon to look after his daughter who turns out to be her old nemesis, Margie, who's demanding and threatens to have her dad kick Zenon and her family off the space station if Zenon doesn't obey her.

Zenon then discovers that her space station is being decommissioned due to damage from the plot by Wyndum and Lutz and sneaks down to Earth to try and stop it after getting a message from aliens that seem to want to meet with Proto Zoa, but Margie sneaks down to Earth as well, making it look like Zenon forced her to come along.

With the help of Aunt Judy, the girls track down Proto Zoa, who has become a recluse due to a combination of writer's block and the feeling he has passed the apex of his career due to his space concert, and convince him to join them. With Margie, Aunt Judy, Nebula, Orion the Alien Patrol lab guy, Proto Zoa and her mother, Zenon goes to meet with the aliens near the Moon. However, their ship runs out of fuel and they nearly crash to their deaths on the Moon, but the aliens show up and rescue them. After Zenon meets the aliens on the Moon, they turn out to be friendly and, communicating with Zenon telepathically, reveal that they have been lost in space for three years and need the ship's navigation charts to get home, thinking it impolite to just take them.

After getting the charts, they then tow the ship back to the space station where General Hammond refuses to relent, correctly pointing out that the space station is too dangerous to live on due to the extensive damage from the sabotage. Margie stands up to him for once, but it isn't enough until the aliens return. They push the space station back into orbit and return the previously decommissioned sections as a thank-you gift for helping them. With the space station saved, Commander Plank and General Hammond agree to share command. Plank and Aunt Judy get married at a wedding at which Proto Zoa plays, dedicating his new song to Zenon for his having been revitalized by the whole experience. It's also realized that the aliens were actually trying to communicate with Zenon, not Proto Zoa, and were using the transmission of his old concert to do so. Margie convinces her father to let her stay and she and Zenon become friends while Zenon gets a possible love interest in Orion.

Responding to Director Faulke's summons, William Carter waits in a room at the Groom Range facility where he meets a military officer who informs him that she is to escort him to Faulke to deliver his briefcase. Carter is wary and refuses to go. A black fluid discharges from the officer's eyes; she shoots Carter and opens the case. The case emits a blinding light which incinerates the officer and stuns Carter. Moments later, Carter awakens to find his gunshot wound inexplicably healed and the case destroyed. The base comes under attack. Carter attempts to rescue Faulke as the attackers, identified as the Outsiders by bureau agents whom Carter encounters, easily slaughter the base's garrison. He eventually finds Faulke, but is too late to save J. Edgar Hoover, CIA director Frost, and General Deems (who was controlled by the aliens and killed the others). Carter escapes the Groom Range facility by tram just as Outsider devices cause the mountain to implode. He stalls the Outsider pursuit with a powerful Elerium bomb and he and Faulke flee on a Skyranger helicopter.

At the Bureau's command bunker, Faulke announces that communications worldwide are jammed and other US military bases have been destroyed in similar attacks. With no way to contact the White House and other American military leaders, Faulke formally activates the bureau which is renamed as XCOM. To counter the Outsider threat, Faulke assumes control of the country's remaining military forces while XCOM operatives planted in major cities keep the civilian populace from panicking by downplaying the attacks as safety drills.

Over the following weeks, Carter leads teams of agents across the country to retrieve important personnel, defend strategic sites, and recover what alien technology they can for research. Gradually, the bureau pieces together the Outsiders' motives: to conquer the Earth and terraform it into a new home world while simultaneously enslaving humanity. The interrogation of an Outsider infiltrator, who Carter can gradually bring over to their side via persuasion, reveals that their species is commanded by an entity known as Origin through a psionic network called Mosaic, which the Infiltrator was disconnected from. Carter's team travels through a portal to the Outsider home world using the Avenger, a flying saucer XCOM has developed. There, Carter discovers that Mosaic is powered by an enslaved Ethereal, a being of pure energy with immense psionic power. The Outsiders have been searching for a dormant Ethereal on Earth (which is what was inside Carter's briefcase) that now inhabits his body. He manages to capture Origin's Ethereal, detonates a bomb at Mosaic's entry point, and returns to Earth.

At XCOM's base, the captured Ethereal named Shamash psionically contacts the Ethereal inside of Carter, Asaru. It becomes apparent that the player has actually been playing as Asaru. In its recently awakened state, Asaru believed itself to be human and psionically controlling William Carter. Shamash claims that because both the Outsiders and humans have learned how to capture Ethereals, the humans must be destroyed so that a force like Mosaic is never rebuilt. Upon hearing this, Carter manages to temporarily break free of Asaru and kills Shamash, who goes on to believe that Asaru will enslave them anyway. XCOM's base is discovered by the Outsiders after Faulke forces Weir, a previously retrieved cryptologist, to reconnect the Infiltrator to find where Origin is hiding and Carter attempts to defend it while attempting to break free from Asaru's control. Carter plants an explosive device with a thirty-second timer because he believes that the Ethereal will never allow him to be free.

In France in 1944, American soldiers Berle, a deserter; Nick Colasanti, a petty thief; Fred, nicknamed "Assassin"; Tony, a mutineer; and Lieutenant Yeager (arrested for refusing to execute orders to kill, among others, women and children) are sentenced to death for their crimes and are shipped to a prisoners' camp near the Ardennes.

During the journey to the camp, the convoy stops because of a flat tire, and Fred and Berle are ordered to change it. Their work is interrupted by a Luftwaffe air raid. The five criminals take advantage of the attack and escape. Yeager takes command of the group and decides to find a way to neutral Switzerland.

On their way, they stop at an abandoned factory in the French countryside to rest and refill their supplies. While they eat, the upper floor of the building collapses, and a German soldier appears from between the hay bundles. Captured by Yeager's group, he tells them that he is in fact an escaped prisoner sentenced to death just like them. Although Tony and Fred want to kill him, Yeager prefers to take him along in case the Nazis attack again.

Later, the group runs into a German patrol, and the captured soldier proves very helpful. He convinces the patrol that the Americans are his prisoners, and they manage to kill part of the patrol and escape. After this, the group see a group of beautiful German nurses bathing naked in a river. Nick suggests the Americans pretend to be German soldiers, and they are able to get on friendly terms with the girls. However, after they see Fred, who is black, the nurses realize the men are Americans and start shooting at them. Tony, Nick, Berle and Fred run away to a nearby camp.

But the situation does not get any better. Some German soldiers arrive at the camp, and Yeager sends the captured soldier to talk to them. After discussing something with them, the German soldier realizes that the newly arrived are in fact Americans and shouts: "Americans! Americans!" The German soldiers kill him and Yeager's group return fire, killing the Germans. Yeager later learns he made a mistake from Colonel Buckner; the squad he shot at actually consisted of Americans dressed in Nazi uniform who were supposed to accomplish an important mission. At this point, the only solution is to trust the group led by Yeager with this task.

Meanwhile, Berle meets Nicole, a French nurse affiliated with the Resistance movement. He falls in love with her but it is Tony she is crazy about. Another problem arises as Fred falls into the enemy's hands. Yeager, Tony, Berle and Nick attack the Nazi fortifications and free their friend. After the group is reunited, Colonel Buckner explains to them the plan, according to which they are to assault an armored train shipping a prototype of the V-2 missile.

According to the plan, the train is supposed to pass a mined bridge. But there are unexpected problems as Nick is unable to contact his comrades due to a broken transmitter, and is killed in an attempt to warn them. Berle is killed by the train driver, and when all hope seems to be lost, Lieutenant Yeager decides the outcome of the battle in a heroic act, in which he blows up the train with the missiles and himself on board, destroying the station assaulted by the Nazis.

Ultimately, the only ones to survive are Fred (who is wounded but escapes into the French fields), Colonel Buckner, and Tony, who manages to return to Nicole.

The player is tasked with rescuing NASA astronauts that have gone missing in the fictional "monuments of Mars". Toward the end of each episode, groups of captured astronauts can be released from "energy rings". At the end of the final episode, markings on a "face" object reveal that some aliens were using Mars as a base to study humans from afar, but abandoned it and left their automatic intruder capture system switched on, hence the capture of the astronauts.

After hearing of a school policy granting anyone whose roommate commits suicide an automatic 4.0 GPA, Harvard Med School aspirants Chris (Michael Vartan) and Tim (Matthew Lillard) plot to kill their roommate Rand (Randall Batinkoff) and make it look like a suicide. They're successful, but when the fallout breeds unforeseen consequences and two local detectives close in, guilt and mistrust fester, jeopardizing Chris's relationship with his girlfriend Emma (Keri Russell) and the roommates' futures.

François, a young man recovering from a mild case of a respiratory illness (probably tuberculosis), returns to his home town of Sardent after a long absence to spend the winter there. He is surprised to find that his old friend Serge has, dissatisfied with life in the village, become a wretched alcoholic. Serge had hoped to leave the village to study, but had to stay to marry a local girl, Yvonne, when she became pregnant. Their first child was stillborn, but Yvonne is pregnant again.

Though François feels somewhat out of place in the provincial village, he is driven by his desire to figure out a way to help Serge. While he works on this, he strikes up a relationship with Yvonne's promiscuous 17-year-old sister, Marie, with whom Serge also has a sexual history. Marie lives with Glomaud, a drunk who is rumored to not really be her biological father, though no one knows if he is aware of this. After Glomaud confronts François about sleeping with Marie and gets François to say that Marie is not his daughter, François visits Marie and discovers that Glomaud has just raped her.

Serge and François alternately reminisce about the past and argue about the present and future. Things between them come to a head at a town dance when Serge beats up François for trying to stop him from cheating on Yvonne with Marie. François withdraws to his room for a time, unsure of what to do next.

When François hears that Yvonne has gone into labor and neither the doctor nor Serge can be found, he jumps into action. First, he tracks down the doctor, who is attending to a sick Glomaud. The doctor does not want to leave, as he thinks the baby will probably be another stillbirth, while he can help Glomaud, but Glomaud tells him to go, since he has Marie to care for him. Going out again into the cold and dark, François finds Serge sleeping outside. Serge is very drunk, so François has to drag him home through the snow, but they make it in time for the birth of a healthy, though premature, baby boy. François collapses in exhaustion and Serge beams, crying and laughing almost hysterically.

The book depicts an all-female "utopia" existing within the Earth. The Mizorans practice eugenics; all of them are blonde "Aryans," who disdain people of darker skin. Their society is composed of blonde women and daughters.

In its ancient history, the land was ruled by a military general elected president (a version of Ulysses Grant). When the general ran for a third term (as Grant was urged to do in 1880), the society of Mizora descended into chaos. Eventually a new all-female social order arose in Mizora. The last men were "eliminated" — though it is not clear whether they were overtly killed or left to die out. It is said that men are more forgotten than hated.

The first-person narrator, Vera Zarovitch, is a young political fugitive who has fallen foul of the Czarist regime and been sentenced to exile in Siberia. She escapes northward into the Arctic, where her kayak is swept over a vast waterfall to Mizora. She spends fifteen years there, learning the ways of the culture; at the end of that time she longs to return to her husband and child, and teach her own society what she has learned. Although Vera ultimately manages to return to her own society, her husband and son are dead, and a Mizoran friend also dies. Vera is left only with the hope that future generations will be better off, "through the promises of universal education and the deeply questionable practice of eugenics".

As a utopian novel, the book devotes some time to the futuristic technology such as "videophones." The Mizorans can make rain by discharging electricity into the air. Though Mizora has no domestic animals, its women eat chemically-prepared artificial meat — an innovation that is only under development in the early twenty-first century.

Susan Hayward as Mrs. Sheridan The film is set in Venice as a contemporary tale.

Struggling actor William McFly (Cliff Robertson) is hired by wealthy Cecil Fox (Rex Harrison) to play his personal secretary for a practical joke. Pretending to be on his deathbed, Fox invites three former lovers to his Venetian palazzo for a final visit: penniless Princess Dominique (Capucine), fading movie star Merle McGill (Edie Adams), and Texas millionairess Mrs. Lone Star Crockett Sheridan (Susan Hayward). Accompanying Mrs. Sheridan is her nurse, Sarah Watkins (Maggie Smith). By chance, each of the women brings Fox a timepiece as a present.

The three women warily size each other up. Mrs. Sheridan boldly announces that the others might as well go home, as she is Fox's common-law wife, and they can expect to inherit nothing. However, when Sarah returns from a late-night date with McFly, she finds her employer Sheridan dead of an overdose of sleeping pills, an apparent suicide. Police Inspector Rizzi (Adolfo Celi) investigates.

Sarah knows that the pills Mrs. Sheridan had been taking are harmless fakes. McFly has already revealed to Sarah that Fox is perpetrating a charade, and that the final joke is to be the reading of the will, empowering McFly to choose the heir. She therefore suspects him not only of being the murderer, but also plotting to kill Fox. When she confronts McFly, he locks her in her room, telling her it is for her own safety. She manages to escape via a dumbwaiter and warns Fox. However, his displeased reaction puzzles her. He sends her back to her room.

The next morning, Fox is found dead. McFly reveals that Fox was the killer of Sarah's employer. He was broke and wanted Mrs. Sheridan's fortune. Once McFly had figured it out (and more importantly, told Sarah), Fox realized it was all up and committed suicide. Fox's spirit continues in the film as a voice over.

Sarah asks McFly to write her name down in the will as the heir of Fox's worthless estate as a souvenir, with Rizzi signing as a witness. After McFly complies, an amused Rizzi compliments him on his "generosity"—while Fox may have been deeply in debt, Mrs. Sheridan's estate is so vast, Sarah will still emerge an extremely wealthy woman. She informs McFly that she will marry him and hand over the money once he resumes his law studies and becomes a lawyer.

The events take place over a year, the film being divided into four sections named after the four seasons.

Sewell and Gerry, football-mad teenagers from broken families in Gateshead, break into Newcastle United's St James' Park stadium and steal the "sacred" turf from the penalty spot. After this success, they dream of earning money to get season tickets, with aid from their guardian angel, the Angel of the North. For the two tickets they plan to buy, they will need nearly a thousand pounds. After attempts to make money from collecting scrap and baby sitting, they eventually graduate to more criminal activities, including shoplifting and housebreaking. Gerry keeps the money they accumulate in a tin box at home.

Sewell, who lives with his permanently befuddled grandfather (Roy Hudd), adopts a dog who follows him after wandering away from his owner, a local thug. He also dreams of Gemma, a girl who is engaged to Zak, a muscular ice-hockey player for the "Whitley Bay Warriors". At home, Gerry lives with his sickly mother (Charlie Hardwick) and his sister Clare (Tracy Whitwell) who has a baby called "Sheara". They are separated from their violent father Billy (Tim Healy) who has been sexually abusing Gerry's other sister Bridget, who has run away from home. When Billy finds where they live and badly beats Gerry's mother, the family have to move to a secret location. Gerry is bribed by a social worker to attend school for two weeks after which he will get two free football tickets. At the school he is bullied by his teacher (Kevin Whately). Gerry and Sewell attempt to rob his house in revenge, but are nearly caught. When Gerry gets the tickets he is horrified to discover that they are for a Sunderland match. After failing to sell them, the two friends watch the match at the Stadium of Light.

Billy finds the family's new flat and steals all the money Gerry has accumulated. At an empty fairground, Gerry spots his sister Bridget (Kerry Ann Christiansen), who is now a drug addict sleeping rough, but she disappears when he leaves to get some food. After Gemma breaks up with Zak the ice-hockey player, she becomes Sewell's girlfriend. The lads' shoplifting is shown on the TV show Crimestoppers. The thug who originally owned the dog sees the show and spots the animal with Sewell. He finds and attacks him. The seemingly weak and mild-mannered Sewell floors him with a single blow on the neck. At the Newcastle United Training ground at the Riverside pavilion (Chester-le-street), they briefly meet Alan Shearer and ask him to give them season tickets, but he just laughs. They steal a sports car, which turns out to be Shearer's. Looking at his CDs, Sewell is appalled by his musical tastes - (Gabrielle and Celine Dion). Eventually they leave the car and go skinny dipping.

Sewell is delighted when Gemma reveals she is pregnant, but horrified when she goes back to her former fiancé. Sewell attacks him during an ice-hockey match and knocks him out, but is beaten up by his team mates. Gerry's mother becomes ill and is hospitalised. Gerry finds Billy, who ignores his pleas for support. Having lost all their earnings, Sewell and Gerry decide on one last major crime - a bank robbery. The crime goes disastrously wrong and the lads end up under arrest. However, Gerry learns that Billy has been killed in a road accident. The friends are sentenced to 200 hours of community service. One old lady they work for allows them to watch Newcastle play from the balcony of her towerblock, which overlooks the stadium.

The Southern Engineering Company is trying to drain the local swamp for the public good. However, the efforts are being hampered by the superstitions of the workers, who believe the area to be haunted by the mummy and his bride.

Two representatives of the Scripps Museum, Dr. James Halsey (Dennis Moore) and Dr. Ilzor Zandaab (Peter Coe), arrive on the scene and present their credentials to the head of the project, Pat Walsh (Addison Richards). They have come to search for the missing mummies, buried in the swamp years earlier. Their conversation is interrupted by the news that a workman has been murdered in the swamps. Evidence at the scene convinces Halsey that the murderer has found the mummy of Kharis.

Later that evening, Zandaab sneaks into the swamp and meets Ragheb (Martin Kosleck). Ragheb is a disciple of the Arkam sect, and Zandaab is secretly a High Priest. The follower killed the worker that unearthed Kharis, and has taken the immobile monster to a deserted monastery.

Zandaab explains the legend of Kharis and Ananka to Ragheb as he brews the tana leaves, giving instructions on their use. The old sacristan of the monastery (William Farnum) intrudes on their ritual, and is promptly executed by a risen Kharis.

Meanwhile, the mummy of Ananka (Virginia Christine) rises from the swamp after being partially uncovered by a bulldozer during the excavation. She immerses herself in a pond and the mud is washed away, revealing an attractive young woman.

Cajun Joe (Kurt Katch) finds the girl wandering listlessly in the swamps, calling out the name "Kharis". He takes her to Tante Berthe (Ann Codee), the owner of the local pub, who aids the girl. Later, Kharis finds her there and murders Berthe, as Ananka flees into the night.

Ananka is soon found lying unconscious beside the road by Halsey and Betty Walsh (Kay Harding), the niece of Pat Walsh. While in their care, and although apparently suffering from amnesia, the girl displays an incredible knowledge of ancient Egypt. Her stay at Halsey's camp is again interrupted by the appearance of Kharis, and the kindly physician, Dr. Cooper (Holmes Herbert), is killed. She again takes flight, and Halsey and the others go in search of her.

Fleeing the monster after he attacks and kills Cajun Joe, she comes to Betty's tent seeking refuge. However, Kharis is not far behind. He enters the tent and whisks away his Princess, leaving the horrified Betty unhurt.

Betty asks Ragheb for his help in finding Dr. Halsey. The treacherous disciple has other ideas, and takes her to the monastery instead. Zandaab, having already administered the tana fluid to the young Ananka, is angered to find Ragheb making advances on Betty. He orders her death, but Ragheb kills him instead. Halsey arrives, tracking them from the camp after finding Betty's tent destroyed. A struggle ensues between Ragheb and Halsey, until Kharis intervenes. The creature, sensing Ragheb's betrayal, advances on his former ally.

Locking himself inside a cell-like room, Ragheb is powerless to do anything but watch as Kharis literally brings down the walls on the two of them. Halsey, Betty and the rest find the mummified remains of Ananka in the adjoining room.

The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

On the 20th anniversary of their victory in the Pennsylvania state championship game, four members of the starting lineup of a Catholic high school basketball team have gathered to celebrate. This reunion may be their last chance to reminisce with each other, due to their Coach's illness. The fifth member of the starting lineup, Martin (who made the game-winning shot), has refused to attend the reunion. He bears a grudge against the Coach for reasons that do not become clear until late in the play.

George Sitkowski has become Scranton's mayor, but he has proven inept and unpopular, and he is likely to lose his re-election bid. The fact that his challenger is Jewish is particularly galling to him.

Phil Romano has become a millionaire in the strip-mining business, using his close ties to Sitkowski to obtain mining permits. Though Romano helps George financially, he is carrying on an affair with George's wife.

James Daley is a local junior high school principal; his brother Tom is an unsuccessful, embittered, cynical alcoholic and ne'er-do-well writer.

None of the men's lives have turned out as any of them had hoped; on some level, all still look to the Coach for guidance. The Coach has always been the embodiment of old-school Catholicism (Senator Joseph McCarthy and Father Charles Coughlin are heroes of his). He was also the one person in their lives who was sure of everything, and his absolute certainty and confidence gave them a sense of security. While the Coach thought he was teaching his players how to be men, they instead became emotional adolescents who still need him to tell them how to live their lives. But the Coach's pep talks, which had always inspired them, are beginning to sound hollow. Only now do they realize that the Coach was a bigot, a bully, and a bit of a fraud.

A serial killer is on the loose who just so happens to also be removing the hearts of his victims and taking them with him. His victims however, are not merely random humans as thought by the police. They are in fact, the past and present guardians of the gateway of the afterlife.

On the day he is to be married, Detective Kanzaki, who happens to be on the case, discovers that his fiancé Mina has been murdered with her heart also missing. He also learns that the killers are Kudo, a geneticist, and his evil secretary Rei. The two are trying to obtain six hearts from the guardians so that they may call forth a horde of demons from the Gate of Rage and have their every desire granted. Only problem is, once they open the gate the entire world will be covered in darkness.

Meanwhile, in the afterlife, Mina encounters Izuko, the Guardian of the Gate. Izuko gives her three options: Mina can choose to ascend to heaven and be reborn, she can choose to forever walk the earth as a ghost or she can choose to curse one of the living to death and as a result be cursed to descend to hell. Mina has 12 days to make her choice.

Eliza (Hope Davis) discovers a love letter that may prove that her husband Louis (Stanley Tucci) is having an affair, so she decides to go to New York City and confront him. Her family, including her parents Jim (Pat McNamara) and Rita (Anne Meara), her sister Jo (Parker Posey), and Jo's live-in boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber), go along for the ride in the family station wagon from Long Island.

A Marine battalion is assembled from various sources and sent to Korea. The film depicts the formation and training of the battalion, the amphibious landing at the Battle of Inchon, the advance through North Korea, and the Winter Chinese Communist Offensive sends the Marines into a fighting withdrawal to the staging area at Hŭngnam Harbor "...with rifles, grenades, bayonets, our bare fists if we have to" (quoting the battalion commander). The battalion includes many familiar faces, including Karl Malden.

Baby-faced PFC McDiarmid (18 year old Russ Tamblyn) goes looking for his older brother and is shown a row of dead Marines. One of them, he discovers, is his brother. The battalion commander (Lovejoy) is supposed to send him home per a regulation covering the last survivor of a family. The Chinese Communist offensive puts this on hold for the moment, and he is nearly killed during the withdrawal in a snowstorm until saved by a joint American-British force. Upon seeing the British Royal Marines a southern-accented GI asks Corbett (Frank Lovejoy) "Who are they? And why are they all done up?"(meaning dressed up), to which Corbett (Frank Lovejoy) responds stoically, "They're marines! British royal marines!". Near the end of the film Corbett (Frank Lovejoy) tells them they're going to have to fall back in the face of human wave attacks by the communist forces, to which a private asks him "You mean retreat!?", Corbett (Lovejoy) responds by saying "Retreat hell! We're just attacking in a different direction!"

John Davidson, a convicted thief in Dartmoor prison (played by an uncredited Cyril Delevanti) embeds code revealing the hidden location of extremely valuable stolen Bank of England currency printing plates in the melody notes of three music boxes that he crafts to be sold at auction. Each box plays a subtly different version of "The Swagman". At the auction each is purchased by a different buyer.

Dr. Watson's friend Julian Emery, a music box collector, pays him and Sherlock Holmes a visit and tells them of an attempted burglary in his house the previous night of a plain cheap box (similar to the one he bought at auction) while leaving other much more valuable ones. Holmes and Watson ask to see and are shown Emery's collection. After they leave, Emery welcomes a female acquaintance, Hilda Courtney, who tries unsuccessfully to buy the auctioned box; when he declines, a male friend of Courtney's who has sneaked in murders Emery.

At this murder Holmes becomes even more curious and learns to whom else the boxes were auctioned off. Holmes and Watson arrive at the house of the person who bought the second one, just as a strange maid (Courtney in disguise) is on her way "to go shopping"; they later realize it was not a maid, she locked a child in a closet in order to steal the box from the child.

Holmes is able to buy the third box, and upon examination, discovers that its variant musical notes' numbers correlate to letters of the alphabet. Scotland Yard fills him in on the stolen bank plates to which the music boxes connect, but all three are needed to decipher the message.

Back at home, the flat is found ransacked, and a cigarette with a distinct type of tobacco is the sole clue. Holmes tracks down the woman who bought the tobacco, Courtney.

While confronting her, Holmes is ambushed by her accomplices, handcuffed, taken to a warehouse, hung by a rafter, and left with poison gas filling the room. While Holmes is narrowly escaping death, Courtney steals the box from Watson.

Holmes manages to make it back in one piece and while conversing, Watson offhandedly mentions a quote from Dr. Samuel Johnson. Thinking about this quote, Holmes makes a connection as to where the stolen plates may be hidden.

Having stolen all the boxes and deciphered their message, Courtney and gang have joined a tour group at Dr. Samuel Johnson's house, now a museum, where they slipped away and found the plates hidden within a bookshelf. Courtney is stealing the plates when Holmes ambushes the group. Scotland Yard officers arrest them, and the plates are returned to the Bank.

Following the memorial service for investigative reporter Joe Strombel, Strombel's spirit finds himself on the barge of death with several others, including a young woman who believes she was poisoned by her employer, Peter Lyman. The woman tells Strombel she thinks Lyman, a handsome British aristocrat with political ambitions, may be the Tarot Card Killer, a notorious serial killer of prostitutes, and that he killed her when she stumbled onto his secret. The Tarot Card Killer left a card on each murder victim's body.

Sondra Pransky is a beautiful but awkward American journalism student on vacation in London. Pransky attends a performance given by magician Sid Waterman, aka "The Great Splendini", and agrees to participate onstage. While in a booth known as The Dematerializer, Pransky encounters Strombel's ghost. The ghost has escaped the Grim Reaper himself to impart his suspicions of Lyman to a journalist who can investigate the story. Sondra decides to infiltrate Lyman's privileged world to find out if he truly is the dreaded criminal, enlisting Sid in the process and taking advantage of his powers of deception.

Sondra catches Lyman's attention by pretending to drown near him at an exclusive club's swimming pool. When he rescues her, she introduces herself as Jade Spence, daughter of a wealthy oil family from Palm Beach. While Sid poses as her father, "Jade" begins dating Lyman. Sondra is convinced Lyman is the murderer, but Sid finds it hard to believe. Sondra gradually falls in love with Lyman and begins to trust him. Sid meanwhile becomes less sanguine about Lyman as he notices more and more inconsistencies, especially after Sondra finds a Tarot deck hidden under a French horn in Peter's vault, a climate-controlled music room containing expensive antique musical instruments. Sid finally prevails upon Sondra to write a news story implicating Lyman, but the newspaper editor rejects the story because of Sondra's lack of proof. Throughout their investigation, Sid and Sondra have a relationship that is in turns friendly, paternal, and antagonistic—fueled largely by Sondra's annoyance that her smooth "Jade Spence" charade is being compromised by Sid's obnoxious attempts to act the part of a nouveau riche oil baron.

Soon the police arrest the real Tarot Card Killer. Sondra, relieved that her suspicions were for naught, reveals her real name and the deception she and Sid had practiced. Lyman is surprisingly gracious, and tells Sondra he wants to keep seeing her. They plan to spend the weekend at Lyman's isolated country estate. Later, Sid (at Strombel's urging) suggests that Lyman used the Tarot Card murders to cover up a murder he committed.

While Sondra and Lyman vacation in the country, Sid continues to investigate this theory. He finds that Lyman did frequent a prostitute, Betty Gibson, who was later killed, apparently by the Tarot Card Killer. Gibson is described as a "baby-faced blonde" (just like Sondra) before Lyman convinced her to dye her hair, presumably to match the profile of the other Tarot victims. When Sid calls Sondra with his findings, she waves them off. Unbeknownst to her, Lyman is listening in on another extension.

Sid breaks into Lyman's vault again, this time finding a mysterious key, which turns out to be to Betty Gibson's flat. Meanwhile, in a rowboat on Lyman's lake, Lyman confesses to Sondra that he killed Gibson to stop her from blackmailing him and used the Tarot Card pattern to allay suspicion, just as Strombel had told Sid. Lyman comments on the irony that he first met Sondra by saving her from drowning, and now she really would drown. He would kill Sid later; no one would connect an obscure stage magician's death to that of a clumsy journalism student. This scene is intercut with shots of Sid driving madly to the Lyman estate to rescue Sondra, ultimately ending in a car crash.

After his confession, Lyman throws Sondra into the lake and watches her go under. He then calls the police to report her drowning death. When they question him, he tells them Sondra was a terrible swimmer and almost drowned that first day at the pool. Suddenly, Sondra enters, soaking wet but smiling cheerfully. She informs Lyman and the police that the drowning had been an act to get his attention, and actually she was a very good swimmer.

Back in the newspaper offices, the editor who previously rejected Sondra's article now congratulates Sondra on a brilliant piece of investigative journalism, the start of a promising career. Sondra seems flattered, and says she must also credit Joe Strombel and the late Sid Waterman, Splendini, who is now a passenger on the Reaper's ship, performing for his fellow spirits the same magical gags and comedy routines he did in life.

A businessman named Weller is travelling through Eastern Europe when he is thrown from his carriage during a struggle and knocked unconscious. After regaining consciousness, he discovers it is night time. After wandering some way, he hears a deathly scream. Terrified, Weller runs and falls into a grassy slope. Looking up, he sees a caped figure screaming in agony with a large crucifix impaling him from the back (it matches to some extent with the ending of the previous film : ''Dracula Has Risen from the Grave''). Weller watches in amazement and fear as the figure dies and disintegrates from blood to reddish dust. Examining the remains, Weller finds a ring, a cape and a brooch with dried blood on it. Dusting away the dried blood, Weller is petrified by the name on the brooch: ''Dracula''.

Some time later, three gentlemen—William Hargood, Samuel Paxton and Jonathon Secker—have formed a circle ostensibly devoted to charitable work but in reality they indulge themselves in brothels. One night they are intrigued by a young man who bursts into the brothel and is immediately tended to after snapping his fingers, despite the brothelkeeper's objections. The gentlemen are informed that he is Lord Courtley, who was disinherited by his father for celebrating a Black Mass years ago.

Hoping for more intense pleasures, Hargood meets Courtley outside the brothel. The younger man takes the three to the Cafe Royal and promises them experiences they will never forget but insists that they go to see Weller and purchase from him Dracula's ring, cloak and dried blood. Having done so, the three meet with Courtley at an abandoned church for a ceremony during which he puts the dried blood into goblets and mixes it with drops of his own blood, telling the men to drink. They refuse, so he drinks the blood himself, screams and falls to the ground. As he grabs for Hargood's legs, all three gentlemen kick and beat him, not stopping until Courtley dies, at which they flee. While they return to their respective homes and their normal lives, Courtley's body, left in the abandoned church, transforms into Dracula, who vows that those who have killed his servant will be destroyed.

Dracula begins his revenge with Hargood, who has begun to drink heavily and also treats his daughter Alice harshly, furious that she continues to see Paul, Paxton's son. Dracula takes control of Alice's mind via hypnosis and as her drunken father chases after her, she picks up a shovel and kills him. The next day, Hargood is found dead and Alice is missing. The police inspector in charge of the case refuses to investigate Alice's disappearance, citing a lack of time and resources. At her father's funeral, Alice hides behind bushes and attracts the attention of Paul's sister Lucy, telling her to meet her that night. They enter the abandoned church where Alice introduces her to a dark figure. Lucy assumes him to be Alice's lover but she is greeted by Dracula, who turns her into a vampire.

With Hargood dead and Alice and Lucy missing, Paxton fears that Courtley is exacting revenge and, together with Secker, visits the abandoned church to check for Courtley's corpse. The body is missing but they discover Lucy asleep in a coffin with marks on her throat. Secker realizes she is a vampire and tries to stake her, but Paxton shoots him in the arm, forcing him to flee. While Secker stumbles his way home, Paxton weeps over his daughter's body. When he finally develops the courage to stake Lucy himself, she awakens, and Dracula appears. Alice pins Paxton down and Lucy drives a wooden stake through his chest, killing him. That night, Secker's son Jeremy sees Lucy, his fiancé, at his window, and comes down to see her. She sinks her fangs into his throat, enslaving him while Dracula watches. The vampire Jeremy then stabs his father to death on Lucy's orders. On the way back to the church, Lucy begs for Dracula's approval but instead he drains her dry and leaves her destroyed. Back at the church, he prepares to bite Alice but a cock crows and he returns to his coffin.

Secker's body causes Jeremy's arrest. The police inspector assumes that he hated his father and stabbed him in a rage. Paul disagrees but the inspector refuses to listen. He hands Paul a letter "the ramblings of a lunatic" he calls it in which Secker instructs Paul on how to fight the vampires. Following Secker's instructions, Paul makes his way to the abandoned church. He finds Lucy's exsanguinated body en route, floating in a lake. At the church he bars the door with a large cross and clears the altar of Black Mass instruments, replacing them with the proper materials. He calls for Alice, who appears together with Dracula. Paul confronts Dracula with a cross but Alice, still entranced, disarms him. She seeks Dracula's approval but he dismisses her. He tries to leave but is prevented by the cross barring the door. Dracula's retreat is also barred by a cross which an angry and disappointed Alice threw to the floor. He climbs the balcony and throws objects at Paul and Alice, before backing into a stained glass window depicting a cross. He breaks the glass but suddenly sees the changed surroundings and hears the Lord's Prayer recited in Latin. Dazzled and overwhelmed by the power of the newly re-sanctified church, Dracula falls to the altar and dissolves back into bloody dust. With the vampire destroyed, Paul and Alice leave.

Juliana Soler is a simple, tender, and extremely intelligent young woman. Her mother, Regina Soler, was a renowned model who is obsessed with physical beauty and has always led her daughter to believe that she is ugly, so Juliana does not give importance to her physical appearance. Despite her teasing, Juliana loves her mother above all else.

Mercedes, Juliana's aunt, has always loved and supported her as she is and has comforted her before the insults and criticism of her mother. Juliana has learned to prepare with her a variety of concoctions and potions with herbs. Mercedes keeps a great secret: a magic mirror prepared by herself especially for Juliana's future. After the death of her aunt, Juliana decides (without knowing that the mirror had hidden magic) to keep and take care of her aunt's mirror, always keeping it covered, since her aunt always said to her: nobody could be seen in it.

Thanks to the magic mirror, Juliana becomes the beautiful Maritza Ferrer, a chemical engineer capable of achieving everything she sets out to do with a smile. However, that dream will only last during the day, because at nightfall Juliana will be the same as ever.

As Maritza, Juliana meets Marcos Mutti, Gabriel Mutti's adoptive son, owner of the largest cosmetic brand in the country. The young man becomes the great love of Maritza and Juliana's confidant without knowing that it is the same woman.

Juliana, like Maritza, becomes pregnant with Marcos' child and they decide to get married, but Bárbara (Gabriel's wife) together with Alberto and Romero (their accomplices) devises a plan to blame Maritza for all the frauds they have committed in the company and send her to jail. On the day after Maritza and Marcos' marriage, police officers appeared looking for Maritza with an arrest warrant. The dance teacher, Paco Tapia, (Juliana's godfather and connoisseur of the secret of the mirror), advises her to flee; but the police start a chase. On the way, they meet a thief who, after having robbed a gas station, takes them hostage to escape without realizing that the police were already chasing them. She shoots Master Tapia and leaves her on the road, leaving only Maritza.

Maritza manages to save herself by falling outside while he was rolling. A herbalist finds her and tries to steal some boots that she wore when she believed she was dead, but discovers that she is still alive and decides to heal her so that Maritza's family would reward her for saving her (not knowing that she was actually a fugitive from the law).

Maritza (Juliana) loses the child in her womb due to the accident. When it gets dark, she turns into Juliana and the herbalist is scared and abandons her, believing she was the devil.

Juan Tobías Fonseca finds Juliana and takes her to a clinic in a nearby town where he finds out that she was pregnant and that she has lost the child she was expecting. (He also learns the secret, because he sees how Juliana becomes Maritza at daylight).

On the other hand, Juliana does not know that she is the only biological daughter of Gabriel Mutti, because years ago, Gabriel and Regina had a beautiful adventure of which Juliana was the fruit. However, Regina, at first out of pride and then, also ashamed of the appearance of her daughter, never told Gabriel, because she does not want the great love of her life to discover that they have such an ugly daughter.

Throughout the beautiful love story between Marcos and Maritza, great trials, fears, insecurities, rivals, greed, and silence will be interposed. Desperate Barbara realizes that Juan Tobías had told Maritza what happened between them and for fear and revenge he sends Pedro Barajas to kill Maritza. After Pedro failed, he was chased by the neighborhood and after the beating they gave him, his cell phone fell out. Meanwhile, Barbara desperate to know if Pedro had killed Maritza calls him on the cell phone. Marcos hears it since Pedro had dropped it and takes it and Bárbara answers him so Marcos discovers that she had ordered Maritza killed. Barbara has a discussion with Marcos, Antonia, and Gabriel; and decides to leave the house. The next day, Barbara goes to the academy to kill Maritza and when she arrives at Aunt Mercedes' laboratory, she hides in the closet. After crying, Maritza who was with Luzmila becomes Juliana. Barbara had discovered the secret. After what happened, Barbara goes crazy and goes into Regina's house and with threats asks her to explain what she saw. As Regina did not know the secret, Barbara mistreated and beat her. Paco goes to Regina's house with Don Néstor (Juan Tobías' father) they open the door and discover Barbara who finally manages to escape and after arriving at Alberto's house she meets Gabriel; who had just come from talking to Lieutenant Andrade, who was already aware of Barbara's past and because of this they have a strong discussion. The next day Maritza has to go to read Juan Tobías's will when he arrives at the office of Mr. Casillas (who had been assassinated by Bárbara). Barbara appears with a can of gasoline and after having tied Maritza burns the office. The murderer with the black gloves (Cristina) locks the door and Barbara, unable to leave, becomes nervous, slips and burns completely. After a time in the hospital, Bárbara escapes with the help of Romero to the old cellar of the Empresas Mutti, where she sees herself in a mirror: her face was totally disfigured and her hair had been burned. She had physically become what she was inside: a monster. Seeing her completely disfigured face, Barbara breaks the mirror and takes a glass to cut the veins on her wrists and commit suicide, because she prefers to die than to live like this, but she remembers the mirror and decides to steal it and becomes Maritza Ferrer to recover the Mutti companies and obtain Juan Tobías' inheritance. Juliana decides, after many things have happened, to tell Marcos the secret of the mirror.

Now, Marcos will have to decide what to do since, on the one hand, lies deceit and lies, something that he cannot bear or forgive, but on the other hand, there is the only woman who has made him truly love and discover that her true beauty of love is found only inside. Later, Marcos and company find out who Maritza truly was, and that he truly fell in love with Juliana. He then asks her to marry him.

6 months Juliana and Marcos are preparing for their wedding and Barbara decides to return after undergoing 4 surgeries abroad to stop being Maritza Ferrer. Before returning, he calls Romero and sends him to kill Juliana, but he fails and shoots Marcos. After the shot, Marcos is sterile and cannot have children, so he decides to break up with Juliana so that she can have what she wants most. Juan Tobías returns and decides to speak to Juliana, who believes that it was he who made Marcos change his mind. Barbara goes to the hospital and with Vanessa's identity, she cheats Luzmila and Juliana and they take her to the neighborhood without knowing who she really is. Finally, Barbara steals some papers from Marbella and decides to flee, at that moment the murderer with the black gloves (Cristina), who had gone to kill Juliana, appears in Juliana's apartment, Barbara discovers that it was Cristina and after a fight leaves her on the ground dying. Finally, Barbara is killed by Romero, (who later commits suicide) at Juliana and Marcos' wedding party. 3 years later, they are the parents of a boy and a girl (Juliana was pregnant before the shooting and did not know it) and they live happily.

Commando Cody (George Wallace) is a civilian researcher and inventor with a number of employees. He uses a streamlined helmet and an atomic-powered rocket backpack attached to a leather flying jacket. Cody also uses a rocket ship capable of reaching the Moon. When the U.S. finds itself under attack from a mysterious force that can wipe out entire military bases and industrial complexes, Cody surmises (correctly) that the Earth is coming under attack from our own Moon. He then flies his rocket ship there and confronts the Moon's "ruler", Retik (Roy Barcroft), who boldly announces his plans to both conquer Earth and then move the Moon's entire population here using spaceships and atomic weapons. Their weapons use a power superior to uranium which they call lunarium.

During the next 11 serial chapters, Cody, now back on Earth, and his associates Joan (Aline Towne), Ted (William Bakewell) and Dick (Gayle Kellogg) battle an elusive lunar agent named Krog (Peter Brocco) and his gang of human henchmen led by Graber (Clayton Moore) and Daly (Bob Stevenson), who use lunarium-powered ray cannons to disrupt defense forces and weaken public morale. After a second trip to the Moon, in which he captures a sample ray cannon for duplication in his lab, Cody tracks Retik's minions to their hideout where Krog is killed by one of his own devices, and Graber and Daly subsequently die in an over-the-cliff car chase. Retik flies to Earth to take personal charge of his collapsing operations but is blasted out of the sky by one of his own ray weapons.

On Christmas Eve 1843, Ebenezer Scrooge, a surly money-lender at a counting house, who has run the business himself for seven years since his business partner Jacob Marley died, does not share the merriment of Christmas. He declines his nephew Fred's invitation to join him for Christmas dinner and dismisses two gentlemen collecting money for charity. Scrooge reluctantly gives his loyal, low-paid employee Bob Cratchit Christmas off, as there will be no business for Scrooge during the day. In his house, Scrooge encounters the ghost of Marley, who warns Scrooge to repent of his wicked ways to avoid being condemned in the afterlife, as Marley has been. Marley tells Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during the next three nights, regardless of Scrooge's reluctance, and to expect the first ghost at one o'clock.

At one o'clock, Scrooge is visited by the angellike Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes him back in time to his childhood and early adult life. They visit his lonely school days in boarding school, where his friends were all going home for Christmas but he is not allowed, because his father treated him badly after his mother died. Scrooge's sister, Fran, the mother of Scrooge's nephew, comes to Scrooge's school and their father is a lot nicer, agreeing that he could come home for Christmas. The ghost shows Scrooge became an employee of Albert Fezziwig, who had a benevolent heart and acted as a second father to Scrooge. Fezziwig throws a Christmas party, Scrooge attends and meets a young woman named Belle, with whom he falls in love and gets engaged. However, the Ghost shows Scrooge why Belle left him: he chose money over her. A tearful Scrooge extinguishes the Ghost as he finds himself back in bed.

Scrooge meets the serious Ghost of Christmas Present, which shows Scrooge the joys and wonder of Christmas Day. Scrooge and the Ghost visit Cratchit's house, learning his family is content with their small dinner. Scrooge takes pity on Cratchit's ill son, Tiny Tim. The Ghost ages, while commenting that Tiny Tim will likely not survive until next Christmas. Before the Ghost disappears, he warns Scrooge about the evils of "Ignorance" and "Want", who manifest themselves before Scrooge as two wretched children.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives, appearing as a tall, silent, black cloaked figure, and takes Scrooge into the future. At the stock exchange, Scrooge's acquaintances discuss the death of an unnamed colleague, one of whom says that he only plans to attend the funeral if lunch is provided while another man says he doesn't wear black gloves (one of the clothes of mourning) or eat lunches so there's no reason for him to be there and none of these associates expect anyone else to attend either, given how unpleasant a person the deceased was. In a den, Scrooge sees a charwoman Mrs. Dilber, a laundress Mrs. Riggs, and the local undertaker trading several of the man's stolen possessions to a fence named Old Joe. A young couple, who owed the man money, are relieved he is dead, as they have more time to pay off their debt. The Ghost transports Scrooge to Cratchit's house, discovering Tiny Tim has died and the Crachits are mourning him. The Ghost escorts Scrooge to a cemetery, where the Ghost points out the man’s grave, revealing Scrooge was the man who died. Realizing this, Scrooge vows to change his ways just as the Ghost closes it eyes and lifts it head. The grave opens, and Scrooge sees his dead self lying in a coffin. He falls into the grave, then clings to his own dead body as he falls through the earth into Hell, suddenly finding himself in his bedroom. Scrooge finds the ghosts had visited him all in one night instead of three. Finding it is Christmas Day, a gleeful Scrooge decides to surprise Bob's family with a turkey dinner, and ventures out with the charity workers and the citizens of London to spread happiness in the city. The following day, he gives Cratchit a raise and becomes like "a second father" to Tiny Tim, who escapes death. Scrooge and Tiny Tim and the Cratchits celebrate Christmas.

Astronauts landing on Venus kill a flying creature that resembles a pterosaur, which is worshiped as a god by the local blonde Venusian women. They attempt to kill the astronauts by means of their superhuman powers, but ultimately fail. The astronauts eventually escape from Venus, and their abandoned robot, damaged in a flow of volcanic mud and ultimately shut down by the humans for their survival, becomes, in a surprise plot twist ending, the women's new god.

As Marge drives on a highway to go shopping, she finds a toll booth, but she and other Springfield residents drive through an adjacent forest trail to avoid paying. A week later, Mayor Quimby enforces tire spikes and blocks off the escape route, needing money to "de-python" the town fountain. When Marge comes up to the booth, she refuses to pay and backs up, blowing out many cars' tires, which are thrown in the tire fire. The heat and smoke from it melts ice on Mount Springfield and reveals a mailman frozen for 40 years. His letters contain many revelations and one is delivered to Homer's mother, Mona Simpson. It is from her old lifeguard boyfriend, whose name begins with an M, who writes that if Mona replies to the letter, she has chosen him, and if she does not, she is choosing to stick with her husband, Abe, and that either way, he knows the baby she is carrying is his.

Wondering who his biological father really is, Homer goes to the library to look in "Lifeguards of Springfield in the Twentieth Century." The only person in there whose name begins with M is Mason Fairbanks. Homer goes to his house posing as a reporter, but eventually tells him he thinks he is his father, and Mason is delighted. He takes the Simpson family on a ride on his ship and tells them the story of the lost emerald treasure of Piso Mojado, which impresses them. However, when they come home, Grampa angrily accuses Mason of having tried to steal his wife and now trying to steal his family, and is saddened Homer would even think that Mason could be his real father. They have a DNA test, and after a suspenseful wait, Homer is thrilled to learn his real father is Mason Fairbanks.

While Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have an awkward, uneventful visit with Grampa, Mason and Homer are underwater in individual submarines looking for the lost treasure. Homer gets separated from Mason, and he follows a small light, thinking it is him. It is actually a glowing fish, and Homer gets stuck in some coral. As his oxygen begins to run out and he starts to lose consciousness, he sees poignant flashbacks of himself and Abe. After three days in a coma, Homer wakes up in a hospital, tells Abe of his memories, and says he considers Abe his real father. Abe then reveals he switched the labels on the DNA samples after seeing how happy Homer was with Mason and the fully confirmed biological father-son duo share a hug.

The game begins with Seth, the protagonist, joining the Queen's Companions, the personal guardians of the Queen of Atlantis. He discovers after he arrives that the Queen disappeared shortly before he joined. As the story progresses, Seth learns that a power struggle is taking place between the Queen and her consort, Creon. Creon wishes to supplant Ammu, the goddess of the moon, as the most worshiped of Atlantis' gods, replacing her with Sa'at, the sun god; he then wants to conquer the world in the name of Sa'at, using a new weapon he has developed.

The weapon is revealed to be half of a crystal that is capable of granting immense knowledge to its holder. Long ago, the crystal was split into Light and Dark halves, and the halves were hidden in Easter Island and Stonehenge, respectively. Creon found the Dark Crystal, which has a side effect of driving its holder mad.

Seth retrieves the Light crystal from Easter Island, then returns to Atlantis to face Creon. After Creon's defeat, the weapon he built causes a volcano on Atlantis to erupt. Seth and a few survivors are seen sailing away from Atlantis as it sinks into the sea.

Handguns figure in the intertwining lives of nine people. Warren (Jeff Daniels) shoots his wife Helen's (Joan Allen) lover and his defense is that he thought he was shooting an intruder. She leaves him; and her lawyer (Andre Braugher) helps her get a job with a nutty, reclusive computer wizard (Gary Sinise) who waves a pistol about, sometimes at Helen. Tennel (Josh Brolin), the computer geek's ex-assistant, lands a video-store job and is smitten by Annabel Lee (Anna Paquin), an aggressive street kid who likes complaining about men to her pistol-packing psychotic brother (Giovanni Ribisi) to set him off. In secret, Annabel starts an affair with the lawyer, but things are complicated when the lawyer's gay lover (David Schwimmer) finds out. Meanwhile, a cop (Robert Forster) stays on Warren's tail.

Fifteen-year-old Vic (Sophie Marceau) has no boyfriend. Her parents are happily together again, and her great-grandmother Poupette (Denise Grey) thinks about finally marrying her long-term boyfriend. Vic meets Philippe (Pierre Cosso) and is overcome by his charm. She considers making love with him – a step that her girlfriend Penelope (Sheila O'Connor) already has taken.

Griffin, an accomplished inline skater, works as a delivery boy in near-future Los Angeles. The city is overrun with crime and drug use, in the wake of "The Great Crash": an economic catastrophe triggered by the greed of previous generations. The film includes ominous events, including: news reports of riots in Washington D.C. (due to the Armed Forces going on strike); a television ad announcing that Harvard University was moved to Japan, followed by a question from one of the characters if "there will be any Universities left in America"; a newspaper headline that proclaims "GERMANY BUYS POLAND"; and references to the Vatican hiring the Israeli Defense Forces to "clean up" Northern Ireland.

A heavily-armed white supremacist conglomerate known as the Rollerboys fight for control of the decaying city. Their director is charismatic narcotics-kingpin Gary Lee: a childhood neighbor of Griffin's, who's also rumored to be the great-grandson of Adolf Hitler. The Rollerboys carry out their mission of restoring Anglo-America's former greatness, through violent battles with other gangs...and through the distribution of "Heaven Mist", a designer drug. Griffin's younger brother Miltie, who idolizes the Rollerboys, takes a job with them pushing mist on the streets; eventually, Miltie starts using it himself. Then Casey, an undercover cop, recruits Griffin to join the Rollerboys as a mole...in exchange for a better life.

Griffin is initiated but his loyalty to the Rollerboys is soon called into question. In order to prove himself, he unknowingly pummels Speedbagger, his and Miltie's Afro-American landlord, nearly to death. Shortly thereafter, Griffin discovers the chilling truth behind the Rollerboys' mantra "The Day of the Rope is coming". Rope turns out to be a toxic mist-additive, developed by the Rollerboys, which gradually renders its users sterile; the purpose of this is to "eliminate the weak", removing future generations of the "junkie" population, thus giving the Rollerboys free rein over their concepts of a thriving American society.

Lilah sneaks into Lindsey's office to rifle through his papers, but Darla is there. Darla reveals she has been using a drug called Calynthia powder to keep Angel asleep while she manipulates his dreams. Angel wakes to find Cordelia and Wesley bickering about whether they should offer to pay Gunn. Angel and Wesley begin to discuss Angel's sleeping habits, but Cordelia suddenly gets a vision that sends Angel out to save a young girl from two potential rapists. As two men are about to attack the girl, she telekinetically slides a dumpster across the alleyway and smashes the men against a wall.

At the crime scene, Angel pretends to be a detective in order to get information about the crime from an officer. He wanders inside an old building and finds the young girl from the alley. Scared, she sends a rebar through Angel's chest, although upon realizing that she didn't kill him, she seems a little less afraid. The girl returns to the apartment she's staying at, revealing her roommate to be Lilah. Gunn arrives to offer his help and Angel sends him out to find information on the men Bethany hurt.

As Bethany drifts to sleep, she dreams of her abusive childhood and unintentionally sends a bedside lamp flying into Lilah, who was watching her fitful sleep. Terrified, Bethany flees from the apartment, throwing on a jacket. Bethany seeks Angel's help and they discuss her lack of control over her telekinetic powers. Holland stresses that if Lilah's work with Bethany is unsuccessful it could damage their other projects. Wesley deduces that Bethany has been sexually abused; when he pointedly mentions her father she loses control, sending both him and Angel flying through the air.

That night, Bethany finds Angel in his bed and she offers herself to him, as the abuse she has suffered has led her to believe that she is just an object for use. He declines, and after they talk, he sends her back to her own bed. After Angel helps Bethany work to control her power, he meets Gunn at one of the potential rapists' apartment. He brings up the payment idea and Gunn agrees, meaning that Gunn is now officially part of Angel Investigations. They find evidence that someone paid for the attack on Bethany.

Cordelia talks to Bethany over lattes until she is kidnapped by Wolfram & Hart's men. Angel and Gunn go after the men and Angel is able to get Bethany back from them. At the hotel, Bethany's father is used as a weapon to set her off and, as her control breaks, she causes serious structural damage to the building and lifting her father off his feet as she begins to telekinetically damage his body. Angel is able to break through to her, however and Bethany reveals that she has gained control over her powers by telling her father "Goodbye" before hurling him out of the window and allowing him to fall until she stops his descent five feet from the ground, letting him land unharmed.

Her independence regained and her self-confidence increasing, Bethany calmly confronts Lilah and packs up her things, striking out on her own. Lilah and Angel speak on the doorstep as Lilah reminds him that he is not invited in. In a last-ditch effort to stop Bethany from trusting Angel, Lilah reveals that Angel is a vampire – to which an unfazed Bethany merely replies; "weird." As Bethany walks away, Angel says to Lilah, "It looks like you're going to have to find someone else's brain to play with," to which Lilah replies, "Yeah, we have someone in mind." Angel tells Lilah "Goodnight," and, while he's walking away, Lilah snidely mutters "Sweet dreams."

Angel tries to hunt down Darla at Wolfram & Hart, but Cordelia and Wesley stop him. Angel consults the demon Host at the karaoke bar Caritas, who refers him to Swami T'ish Magev for help. Cordelia and Wesley hold down the office while Angel is away, both glad that he is seeking help to calm his obsession with Darla.

At the office, a thug holds Cordelia at gunpoint, demanding to see Angel, and Wesley is forced to pose as their vampire boss in order to save her. Magnus Bryce, a shrewd and rich businessman, is in need of Angel's services to protect his daughter from assassins from a rival corporation fronted by Paul Lanier. He offers Wesley blood that he forces down, to keep from ruining his cover. Wesley meets Mr. Bryce's daughter, Virginia, and then the two go shopping. Virginia and Wesley talk about how she wants freedom from the prison her father's created for her, then the two kiss. Virginia initially stops, believing Angel's curse is an obstacle, but Wesley claims it is more of a 'recommendation' than anything else — and the two have sex.

Meanwhile, at a quiet cabin, Angel talks with the normal-looking Swami about his choice of clothing, style of car, and brand of hair gel. The Swami advises Angel to find a blond woman and break her heart, so he will feel better about his situation with Darla. Later, the Swami talks to Paul Lanier over the phone, revealing that he's an imposter (one of the bartenders at Caritas overheard Angel and the Host's conversation and tipped Lanier off about Angel's destination). Through their conversation, in which they both believe Angel is with them, they deduce that Wesley is not Angel. Lanier informs Bryce that there is a fake protecting Virginia - a bodyguard who is able to have sex with his virgin daughter.

Gunn sets off to find Angel, but, when he arrives at the cabin, the fake swami knocks him out. Angel witnesses this and uses a fishing pole to pull the man out of the sun and into his grasp. Cordelia arrives at the Bryce home, but before she can rescue Wesley, Virginia finds out that he's not really Angel. In order to get a significant amount of power from a demon, Bryce plans to sacrifice his daughter as the demon will grant immense power to anyone who sacrifices a virgin on their 50th birthday (hence why Bryce chose Angel to be her bodyguard, as the curse would have prevented the two from having sex). Angel and Wesley conclude that Lanier was trying to prevent the sacrifice so that Bryce wouldn't get the power. Bryce starts the sacrificial ritual, but Angel and crew interrupt. The demon appears, but won't take Virginia as a sacrifice because she is not a virgin. Furious about her father's actions, Virginia punches him and disassociates herself from him, revealing that she hasn't been a virgin since she was sixteen. After reading an article in a magazine, both Cordelia and Angel are jealous that Wesley is getting so much publicity as Virginia's bodyguard.

Two detectives interrogate Wesley about an attempted murder. Wesley tells them everything just went very wrong. Without revealing the vampire's name, Wesley explains disjointedly that Angel was not supposed to be there, that Wesley would have stopped him if they had "found out sooner".

Earlier, Wesley stops by the Hyperion and talks with Cordelia. They go to a movie premiere together, while Angel and Gunn meet with Gunn's cousin, Lester, who asked for their help. Lester is supposed to be a driver for a demonic robbery, but he wants nothing to do with it. A vampire Angel knows by reputation, Jay-Don, is being brought in to help. To Gunn's dismay, Angel takes charge of the case and tells Gunn he will handle it by himself. Angel returns to the hotel and finds Kate in his room. She wants information on Darla and despite the cross she carries, Angel is not threatened and warns her to back off before she is killed. Angel meets Jay-Don at the bus station and kills him, taking his place on the robbery. A demon named Menlow meets with Angel, who he thinks is Jay-Don, and takes him to the others. Another demon, Vyasa, and a human security guard, Bob, are already present, waiting for Lester. Gunn shows up in Lester's place. Angel is annoyed that Gunn did not listen to him, but cannot do anything about it without blowing their cover.

The robbery team runs over the plan, explaining that they will be stealing the Shroud of Rahmon. Jay-don - now Angel - is there to get past sensors that detect changes in body heat. Angel, trying to get a chance to talk privately with Gunn, picks a fight with him, but the others stop him before he can get outside.

Cordelia researches museums to find which one may be the location of the robbery, learning the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles temporarily contains the Shroud of Rahmon, intended to prevent the insanity-creating Rahmon from being resurrected. Instead, the shroud absorbed the power to make people around it insane. Meanwhile, the thieves break into the museum. Angel tries to keep Gunn outside, but the others insist he come in. They break into the vault holding the shroud, where the Shroud's presence begins to cause the group to act erratically. Wesley and Cordelia enter the building and are immediately affected as well. The robbery group carries the consecrated box with the enclosed shroud on a path out of the building, becoming more violent towards each other. Vyasa kills Bob by ripping off his head. Wesley encounters Kate at the building and has trouble keeping focused on his mission to help Angel. Wesley finds Angel and tries to warn him about the shroud.

Kate finds Angel and the others and pulls a gun on them. Angel knocks her gun out of the way and bites her neck, and she falls to the ground, motionless. A police team arrives and finds Wesley leaning over Kate's body. The shroud box is carried to another building and the shroud's effect on the group leads them all to fight over it, breaking the box open and grabbing the shroud. Gunn and Angel play tug of war with the shroud until Angel manages to come to his senses enough to convince Gunn to let go. After taking the shroud outside and dousing it in alcohol, Angel sets it aflame, stopping its effects.

In the interrogation room, the detectives are convinced that Wesley is the killer. As they are about to arrest him, Kate shows up and tells them to let him go. She remembers that Angel did bite her briefly, but it was actually a ruse to prevent her from being killed by the demons. Wesley and Cordelia think about what happened, and Wesley worries that Angel's bloodlust has been reawakened by the taste of human blood. Angel sits in his room, his thoughts focused on biting Kate.

Gunn has located Darla at the Royal Viking Motel, but Lindsey has gotten to her first. Lindsey and Holland confront Darla with information about her health. Darla reveals to Angel that she is terminally ill and only has a few months left to live. Angel visits Lindsey, who reveals that Darla is dying from syphilis. The Host, Lorne tells Angel that the only way to save Darla is for Angel to survive three trials to save Darla's life.

Angel is advised by a valet, Jeeves, before being left in a room to fight unarmed against a large demon that has weapons. Angel slices the demon in two and chains the pieces to opposite sides of the room. For the second trial, Angel must cross through a room with crosses covering the walls and floors and fish a key out of a bowl filled with holy water. Finally, Angel is chained spread-eagle before a wall of wooden stakes and told that the third trial requires him to die in order for Darla to live. Angel is willing to give his life, and that is enough to pass the test.

Jeeves discovers that he is unable to cure Darla's syphilis as she had already been given her second chance at life through supernatural means. Furious, Angel attacks the room that surrounds them. Upon returning to the surface, Darla accepts her fate and Angel is there to support her. Lindsey and several large men break into the room and restrain Angel and Darla. Drusilla returns and while Angel watches, she makes Darla a vampire, again.

Angel tells his associates that Drusilla has returned and, working with Wolfram & Hart, has made Darla a vampire again. Wesley and Cordelia investigate the law firm's plans for Drusilla and Darla as Angel prepares to stake the two vampires. In an attempt to find Drusilla and Darla, Angel goes to Lindsey’s apartment, who has been sheltering Drusilla, however he has already moved. The property manager stops by and remarks that Lindsey's cousin - a "sweet, but very odd English girl" - is visiting him and is expecting a daughter, whom she wanted to be born near the stars. Gunn realizes that Drusilla has taken Darla, who is dead until she wakes as a newly made vampire, to a plant nursery. Angel locates Darla, who is wrapped in a shroud and shallowly buried in a raised box of dirt. He attempts to stake the unconscious Darla, but Drusilla attacks him. Darla revives as Angel and Drusilla struggle; she escapes and Drusilla disappears.

At Wolfram & Hart, Holland and Lindsey are discussing the evening's planned party when Drusilla arrives to update them on recent events. Darla appears and drags Drusilla off. As Angel races to the W&H offices, Cordelia has a vision which sends them elsewhere. Darla confronts Drusilla for making her a vampire; Drusilla admits she is feeling very lonely and she wanted to save Darla. After bloodsucking and killing a fresh victim, Darla has her old confidence restored and takes Drusilla shopping.

While driving to find Drusilla and Darla, Cordelia has a vision which detours their mission. Angel brusquely completes the mission from Cordelia's vision, then heads back toward Wolfram & Hart. Holland unleashes Darla and Drusilla on Los Angeles; they begin by raiding a clothing store for new wardrobes, killing two salespeople. Angel forces his way into Wolfram & Hart, demanding information. Lindsey refuses; Angel is arrested and taken into custody by Kate. She releases him, hoping he can stop Darla and Drusilla's killing spree.

Holland hosts a wine tasting party for his colleagues in his home's wine cellar. As he makes a speech, Darla and Drusilla appear, intent on slaughter. Holland attempts to convince the two that he and his associates are their allies, to little effect. Angel finds a survivor at the clothing store and learns where Darla and Drusilla have gone. When he arrives at Holland's home, however, he refuses to stop Darla and Drusilla, instead locking the wine cellar to prevent the lawyers from escaping the vampires.

When Angel tells his associates what he has done, they object, fearing that Angel is descending into corruption and darkness. He fires them and leaves.

Wesley and Cordelia, cleaning up their new office, discuss their future as investigators without Angel, and most likely without enough clients to keep their business running for long. At the hotel, Angel awakes to the sounds of the Host singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" down in the lobby. He tells Angel about a man who came to sing at Caritas, and that when he read the man's aura, the Host was knocked out when he realized the world would be ending. Unfortunately, the man left before the Host came around and the Host currently has no idea who or where the man is.

The man singing at the bar was actually a physicist named Gene Rainey, who is working on a formula to stop time. His girlfriend, Denise, visits him and they talk of their plans for their first anniversary. Without any other leads on Gene, Angel and the Host check out karaoke bars and are pointed towards the college that Gene attends. After an unsuccessful attempt to test his formula, Gene leaves his work area and two Lubber demons emerge from the shadows to alter the formula Gene has been working on. Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia mope about their job troubles but Virginia stops by with food, champagne, and a case they can take to earn a lot of money.

Gene is successful with the initial test of his equipment. Angel and the Host check out yearbooks at the college library to look for the name of the man. Denise confesses to her friend that she has to break up with Gene because things aren't working out and plans to break up with him that night after sleeping with him. Gene overhears this and returns to the lab, dejected. While getting directions to Gene and the physics lab, Angel is attacked by the Lubber demons.

Finally, at the physics lab, it is discovered that Gene is gone and so is his equipment. He has plans to freeze time during a moment of love between him and Denise. Gunn kills the demon that he and the others were hired to protect a rich family from. Wesley discovers the real truth behind the murder - that one of the family hired the demon to kill one of the men and gain control of the family money.

Angel and the Host take care of several Lubber demons who tried to stand in the way, then rush to stop Gene before it is too late. Gene freezes Denise and himself in a moment of passion, but Angel is able to get past several more Lubber demons then stop the machine and undo the whole process. Gene says he didn't know the overall effects of his actions; he just didn't want to lose his love. However, Angel and the Host tell Gene that things need to keep moving on, otherwise it wouldn't be interesting. As Gene goes to get some beer, the Host tells Angel that this is the first time in a long time that he is connecting with someone. Angel reflects on how he treated his team, and feels bad knowing he left them out in the cold. At their new office, Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn party in celebration of their success until a man shows up in need of their services.

A friend of Virginia brings her daughter to the soon-to-be-renamed Angel Investigations, asking them to remove the eye that grew out of the back of her head after she was attacked by an unseen assailant. Wesley assures the mother that they will find a way to get rid of the eye. Meanwhile, Angel is feeling the increasing weight of his self-imposed solitude. As he walks round the hotel lobby and stands at the desk where his team used to gather, he can't help but feel lonelier than ever and in a fit of anger he shoves a pile of papers off the desk.

At a teen shelter, two teens show up after curfew in search of safety, and their fear convinces shelter administrator Anne to make an exception to the rules. Kenny explains that he and Len were unfairly attacked by a policeman, which has been happening to other street kids as well. Anne takes the problem to Gunn at Angel Investigations. He accompanies her back to the shelter and questions the kids about the incidents with the police. Angel, who has surreptitiously trailed Gunn, is attacked by a policeman while standing outside. Angel fights back, but the officer rises every time he's knocked down, until the vampire kicks the cop's head completely off and even then, the head keeps talking for a moment. When Angel asks Detective Kate Lockley to look up the dead cop's badge, she finds that he's been dead for six months. More sleuthing reveals that someone is putting dead cops back on the streets as zombies.

Cordelia rants about Gunn's decision to call in several members of his old crew to deal with the police, but she and Wesley resolve to go back him up anyway. They find Gunn and his friends secretly filming their exchange with a police officer, to demonstrate that cops are reacting violently without just cause. Wesley tries to save Gunn, but the cop turns and shoots him. A struggle takes place and George shoots the cop. The three men move Wesley to safety as the cop sits up, seemingly unaffected by the bullets. Gunn and friends get Wesley into an ambulance, but as they're driving away, several police cars get in the way. When the driver is shot, Gunn is forced to drive the ambulance. He eventually stops at the shelter and carries Wesley inside with the EMT, who warns that Wesley needs to get to a hospital fast. The teens barricade the shelter with everything they can find as an army of dead cops gather outside. The zombie cops force their way inside the shelter through the windows and doors, hurting several teens in the process.

Angel visits the precinct where the zombie cops were from. The police captain confesses that he has been using supernatural means to return good cops to the streets and protect previously violence-ridden neighborhoods. Angel finds a zombie statue and smashes it, returning all the zombie cops to their former dead, decaying states.

Kate and Angel discuss the ambiguous ramifications of their victory for the neighborhood - although the killer zombies are gone, the criminals that they drove out are now free to return - and Kate confides in Angel that the job is making her crazy. While standing outside Wesley's hospital room as he recovers from his gunshot wound, Angel encounters Cordelia, who tells him he should just stay away from them.

Angel prevents a sacrificial ritual from being performed by two Wolfram & Hart employees, who are nervous about something called "the Review".

Meanwhile, at Angel Investigations, the team have successfully removed the third eye from the back of Stephanie Sharp's head. However, her mother Francine refuses to pay the bill as she believes it is impossible for "impossible" for a third eye to grow out the back of a skull, despite the fact that it was ''she'' who approached ''them'' with the problem. She and her daughter leave having successfully stiffed the gang for payment, and an exasperated Gunn leaves.

Angel goes to Kate for information about the Review, but Kate - under investigation due to her involvement with odd cases - bitterly refuses, showing him crime scene photos from Holland Manners' wine cellar, illustrating his involvement in the slaughter.

Lindsey finds Darla waiting for him at home, and she weakly tells him that Drusilla is not returning to L.A. He gives her a container of human blood; while he is in the shower she stops feigning weakness and searches his briefcase.

Angel turns to Lorne, who is having a busy night as Caritas is full of Wolfram & Hart lawyers wanting to have their destinies read. Lorne tells Angel that a Wolfram & Hart Senior Partner (manifesting in the form of a lower demon) is coming to earth for the historically deadly Review, and that the sacrifices and rituals are simply the lawyers trying to get brownie points with the Senior Partner before he shows up. Lorne also tells Angel that anything that can manifest itself on Earth can be killed and that something called the Band of Blacknil is important. Angel goes to leave, but Lorne stops him and reminds him that virtually every lawyer in the club ''really'' wants to see him dead.

At the hotel, Angel attempts to look up the Band of Blacknil but has little references to use as Wesley took the research material with him. Angel goes to the new office of his former employees, uninvited and unwelcome, barely acknowledges his former friends, and helps himself to a book. Cordelia refuses to let him take it and grabs it off him, but Angel grows cold and deadly, and it is clear he is willing to use force to get the book back. Wesley rises from his wheelchair and tells Cordelia to let Angel have the book so he can remove himself from the premises. As Angel leaves, Cordelia vents about him until Wesley catches her attention: stitches from his healing gunshot wound have torn in the confrontation.

Angel returns to the bookstore he visited fifty years ago in search of information on the Senior Partner. A decades-older Denver tells Angel that it wears a ring that allows passage to Hell. To take the ring, Angel needs a one-of-a-kind magic glove that would allow him to strangle the Senior Partner without being incinerated. Denver gets the glove from the back room, but before he can give it to Angel, Darla stabs him with a sword and takes the glove.

Facing a review board during an Internal Affairs investigation, Kate is unceremoniously fired. She self-destructively deals with her dismissal by drinking and knocking her accolades to the floor, pausing to cry at a picture of her father. Virginia breaks up with Wesley because she is concerned with how much danger he is always in. Wesley and Cordelia talk on the phone, both depressed about their lives and lack of work. Wesley tells Cordelia that things are going to get better, but it is clear neither believes it. Cordelia gets a call from Francine, claiming to have changed her mind and offering to pay; unbeknowst to Cordelia, Francine was threatened into calling by a demon that kills her after she tells him Cordelia is on her way.

Angel arrives at the Review, and when he spots Darla in the crowd the two fight while the Senior Partner materializes. Security guards attack Darla after Angel exposes her as a vampire by dousing her with holy water. In the confusion, Angel gets the glove away from Darla, dons it and flies at the Senior Partner's throat. The Senior Partner implodes, but the force of Angel's leap carries him crashing out the window. When he hits the ground, Angel puts on the ring, causing elevator doors to open in the foundation of the Wolfram & Hart building. Holland (whose contract extends ''well'' beyond death) offers Angel a one-way trip down to the "Home Office", which Angel assumes is Hell. After passing through nether realms of darkness and fire, the elevator comes to a stop and its doors open - right back where they started. The "Home Office" is Earth, the implication being that Angel can never rescue humanity because humanity is its own worst enemy.

Angel walks away, witnessing the despair around him. Returning to the hotel, he hangs up on a message from Kate, who is drunk and overdosing on pills. Angel finds Darla waiting for him and, realizing that he wants to feel something, anything, Angel kisses her. At first, she pushes him away, but he takes her roughly and soon the two are having sex. Later, as a storm crashes outside, Angel wakes with a gasp as he appears to lose his soul once more.

The group realizes Cordelia has been sucked into Lorne's home dimension of Pylea, which Lorne says he was glad to leave. Caritas, the bar he runs, was once the abandoned building where the portal from Pylea opened up. Angel reads from the book to reopen the portal, but it fails to open; Wesley's researching discovers that the portal can only open in hot spots and Caritas is currently cold. Lorne seeks help from a psychic friend in order to find a hot spot, but she won't provide the information until he agrees to go with the others to finish his business in Pylea. Two lawyers from Wolfram & Hart appear at Angel's hotel, informing Angel that the law firm plans to buy the hotel when the current lease expires. Angel vamps out and lawyers take their leave, but not before threatening to make Angel's life difficult. Angel leaves a message on an answering machine with information about saving the hotel in case they don't make it back from Pylea.

Cordelia finds herself in a new dimension, where she is chased down and captured by a demon who declares her a "cow", or human slave. Her demon owner forces her into a collar that can be used to shock her when she doesn't obey. As she later mucks out the stables, wondering aloud if she can remove the collar, a runaway slave warns her through a hole in a wall that she shouldn't bother fighting. Cordelia is unable to see that the woman is Fred from her vision, crazy after all her years in Pylea. Before any more information can be exchanged, Fred is caught and taken away. Later, Cordelia follows her owner, carrying purchases from the market, until a vision causes her to fall and drop everything. She reveals she saw a villager being attacked by a Drokken in her vision, and a crowd draws, declaring her cursed. Cordelia is brought before Constable Narwek and explains she has precognitive visions.

Angel pulls his car up to the gate of a movie studio lot, following Lorne's information that it is a psychic hot spot. Although Gunn had earlier stated that George's death made him realize he's needed in this dimension, Angel's depressing phone message persuades him to join the mission. Wesley reads from the book, and with final good-byes to L.A., Angel drives his car through the portal. The book falls onto the sidewalk as the car vanishes. As the car arrives in daytime Pylea, Angel rushes to cover himself before realizing the two suns are not fatal to vampires. Happy and amazed, Angel goes off to gather branches to hide the car while enjoying the rare opportunity to be in sunlight. After covering the car, the guys realize that the book is gone and that they'll have to find another way to get back home. In town, Lorne advises that they stay to the shadows, as humans are treated as slaves. The Host tries to get help from an old friend but is met with bad reception. Chased by villagers, the gang is eventually caught and tied up in the middle of town.

After the Constable arrives, Lorne is taken away for questioning while the rest are chained in a dungeon until they are sentenced. In the dungeon, the guys brainstorm for escape plans and then with his vampire hearing, Angel overhears a conversation about Cordelia and her "sight." Guards bring Angel, Gunn, and Wesley to the Constable, who announces they will all be killed. For their death sentence, they are brought before the Princess of Pylea... Cordelia.

Angel, Wesley, and Gunn are shocked to see Cordelia has been crowned princess of Pylea. She jokingly demands their heads be cut off, but quickly restates herself. After she dismisses the guards, Cordelia recounts how she became princess due to her visions. Lorne confirms his people have been waiting for one cursed with the sight that will save them all.

Lorne takes Angel to his family's house, where Lorne's cousin Landok identifies Angel as a hero. Angel, who is made the special guest of their upcoming village feast, tells stories to the people of Pylea while Lorne is ignored. Landok offers Angel the honor of "swinging the crebbil in the Bach-nal," and Angel agrees to take part - before he learns it means beheading a human so the people of Pylea can feast on it. Winifred “Fred” Burkle is brought forth, but Angel refuses to kill her. The two are able to make an escape when Lorne begins to sing, causing severe pain to the Pyleans.

While perusing the castle library, Wesley discovers "the cursed one" will have to perform something called a "com-shuk" with a Groosalugg. He considers asking the priests to translate the book, until he realizes it is part of a trilogy marked with three animals - wolf, ram and hart - linking the priests to the evil law firm back in Los Angeles. Silas, one of the priests, arrives to inform Cordelia that the Groosalugg has been summoned and that the "com-shuk" is a mating ritual. Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia try to escape through a sewer tunnel, but Cordelia is caught by the priests and dragged back to her throne. Heavily guarded, Cordelia worries about mating with the demon, until Silas introduces the Groosalugg, who is a handsome and muscular young male.

Fred leads Angel to a cave where she has been staying for a long while. Fred talks nervously as she crazily scribbles on the cave walls. Angel finds Fred's driver's license and realizes she is the girl from Cordy's vision. She doesn't believe him when he tells her of her life in LA and how she got to Pylea because it's been so long, she's doesn't want to believe. Angel is attacked by guards as he tries to lead Fred to the castle, and when he tries to shift into his vampire face, instead he becomes pure demon and brutally rips through the guard's body with his super-sized teeth. The other runs and Angel takes off as well, leaving Fred frightened and alone. Wesley and Gunn wander lost, until the demon Angel attacks them. It takes a while before Wesley can recognize Angel's tattoo. A short distance away, Fred coats her hand in blood and is able to lure Angel away from his friends with the smell. Demon Angel sees his reflection in water at Fred's cave and is suddenly motivated to switch back to human form. Gunn and Wesley are surrounded and tied up by rebels who want to send a message to the castle. Gunn and Wesley try to convince the rebels that they know the princess and suggest they use them to contact her. The rebels agree, but their idea involves decapitation. Fred comforts Angel as he painfully deals with the aftermath of being controlled by the demon inside of him. He concludes that his friends saw what he really was and now he can never go back to them.

The Groosalugg tells Cordelia that his human qualities make him unappealing to his people, so he battled with demons to end his existence, but after defeating them earned the name for bravery and strength. Lorne is brought before Cordelia for judgment and he is almost sentenced to death, but Cordelia pardons him and then kicks him out so she can be alone with her future mate. Cordelia explains to the Groosalugg that she is not a princess, but he doesn't believe her because of what he was told. Silas tells his fellow priests that the princess has requested paper so she can write proclamations and do good for Pylea. He doesn't like the fact that she has not taken part in the com-shuk yet. Cordelia's proclamation writing is interrupted by Silas who brings forth a large platter and orders Groosalugg out of the room. He tells her she and Groosalugg are just tools and she will do what she is told. Cordelia refuses to accept that, until she is shocked into silence as Silas reveals Lorne's head displayed on the platter.

:''Note: Angel and Marcus will be referred to by the character they are, rather than the body they're in.'' Fred shares her admiration for Angel in front of the rest of the team as she theorizes what he is reading upstairs. Angel comes down from his room with a newspaper and invites everyone to a Charlton Heston double feature, which only Fred is delighted to accept. The next evening, Fred gushes about her date to Wesley and Cordelia. Concerned, Cordelia instructs Angel to have a talk with besotted Fred, which Angel avoids by bringing up a string of deaths in hotels which involved melted bodies and insists he needs to investigate right away.

The team find out that the men killed were all members of the same gym. Angel and Cordelia arrive there and Cordelia promptly interviews the muscled men and questions them - for their phone numbers. Angel notices a retirement home across the street where an old man is seen peering at them with binoculars. He leaves Cordelia and confronts the old man, Marcus, who recites a spell that switches their bodies.

While Marcus enjoys himself in Angel's vampiric body, Angel tries to leave the retirement home in the frail Marcus's body to warn the gang of the impostor in their midst. Meanwhile, Lilah continues to clash with her co-worker Gavin over their tactics to take down Angel and his group. She goes to the hotel to bring Angel documents that would foil Gavin's attempt to evacuate the hotel since it wasn't "up to code" to one-up him. Marcus tells her she is a very beautiful woman and they start kissing each other furiously. Fred, who was given the same line by Marcus earlier and instructed her to wear something pretty to go out, sees them and runs away in tears. Marcus vamps out in his passion and bites Lilah, who is furious with him for playing games and runs out.

Marcus tries to find out what happened and is shocked to find he doesn't have a reflection. He spends the night shredding contents of files related to his murders and goes through books researching vampires, realizing this body will never give out on him and planning to kill Angel in his old one.

Cordelia finds Fred sobbing in the elevator and finds out about Marcus’ actions. Wesley finds the office littered with the books and correctly theorizes that Angel's body has been taken over. He, Gunn, Cordelia, and Fred rescue Angel from being killed and, he is returned to his own form. Marcus angrily tells him he wastes his life instead of taking advantage of what he has. Angel tells him his heart is weak because he doesn't use it. An upset Marcus has an onset of a fifth heart attack as Angel and his team walk out together.

Back at the Hyperion, Angel finally sits down with Fred for the long-overdue talk, however she stops him, as Cordelia has already explained to her about Angel's curse as well as his having no romantic feelings for her. As Fred notes that Angel will probably be better off without love in his life, Willow calls the hotel to tell the group that Buffy has been revived, five months after her death.

Fred asks about Angel’s relationship with Buffy, curious because he left so abruptly to meet her at the end of the previous episode. Cordelia and Wesley put on an overly-dramatic, humorous play that summarizes what Angel and Buffy's off-screen reunion might have been like. When Angel returns, he invites Fred out to ice cream, but ends up tracking a Durslar demon into the sewers. Fred notices some crystal formations on the sewer wall before Angel sends her back to the Hyperion Hotel for safety.

The gang reorganize the weapons cabinet, bored and anxious for a job. Cordelia discovers an object that could be a weapon or a toaster that Fred was making. A couple, Roger and Trish Burkle, enter the hotel searching for assistance in finding their lost daughter, Fred, whom another private detective traced to Angel Investigations. The Burkles are oblivious to the supernatural so Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn lie about Fred's disappearance and their work. When Fred returns and sees the couple in the lobby, she dashes upstairs unseen. She tries to erase the writing she scribbled over her bedroom walls, then leaves the hotel.

Angel returns with the severed head of the Durslar demon and is introduced to the Burkles as their associate who also works in movies, hence the "fake" demon head. They all head upstairs, but find her room empty. While the Burkles wait out in the lobby, Angel and crew converse about the possible reasons for Fred to run away from her parents and whether the Burkles are being completely honest. They join the Burkles again and everyone splits up to find her.

After roaming the streets alone, Fred ends up at Caritas and tries to get help from Lorne, who is bitter about the recent fight that destroyed much of his bar. She sings without provocation and exposes her obvious fear and panic to him. He knows what she's running from and she doesn't realize she's strong enough to face it.

Eventually, the rest of the gang end up at Caritas, but Lorne refuses to play along with attempts to keep the Burkles oblivious to demonic activity and expresses his distaste for being used all the time. Finally, Lorne reveals that Fred is at the bus station. When her family and friends show up, Fred doesn't want to admit that her parents are real because it means her awful experience in Pylea was real, but finally breaks down. Just then, a giant bug demon that followed Angel from the sewers attacks the group. Weaponless, Angel tries to handle the demon alone; all attempts to hide the truth from the Burkles are forgotten as the group rushes to Gunn's truck for fighting tools. Angel continues the fight with the bug demon until Trish Burkle kills it by driving a bus into it.

Back at the hotel, Fred notices the crystals she saw in the sewers on the Durslar's head. Fred wonders about her place in the gang while her parents are just grateful to have their daughter back. They reveal how they were prepared to call the police, thinking Angel and friends kidnapped their daughter. She decides that she wants to go home with her parents because she doesn't really belong with the rest of the group. As Fred packs, she tells Angel she wrote her life story on her bedroom wall.

After Fred leaves with her parents, many bug demons begin to show up at the hotel. Fred, who has realized in the cab that the cockroach demons would return, rushes back to deploy her toaster weapon, sending an ax flying at the severed demon head. The head splits open, releasing little bugs that the other demons collect before departing. Fred explains how she realized the little crystals were dried ichor from the bug demon, indicating a connection between it and the severed head. Fred decides she does have a place at Angel Investigations after all, and invites everyone up to her room, where they help her paint the walls. Fred paints over a picture she drew of her and Angel on the horse from Pylea.

Angel teaches Cordelia how to sword fight so that she can defend herself if Angel isn't there to protect her. Lilah finds Billy, the man Angel was forced to rescue from hell, in her office talking with Gavin Park. Lilah tells Gavin to stay away from her clients. Gavin attacks her, smashing her head into a glass case and strangling her.

Cordelia has a vision of a woman being beaten by her husband in a convenience store. Wesley gets surveillance photos from the crime, in which they spot Billy. Wesley, Gunn, and Angel track down Billy; however, the police arrive first to take Billy into custody for phoning in a tip on the location of a murder victim. Lilah reveals that Billy's touch turns men into vicious misogynists. Wesley and Fred examine Billy's blood cells through the microscope and observes that his power is in his blood, saliva, and sweat. They are affected by Fred's power and begin fighting.

Angel tracks Billy's last location to a party at his cousin's house, where he discovers that Billy's entire family is aware of his situation and want him gone. Cordelia finds Billy waiting for a private plane at the airport. He's not interested in talking with her, and she debilitates him with a stun gun to his groin. Angel arrives to help Cordelia and Billy touches Angel's face, but is unaffected, having long since lost the capacity to feel hatred. As Angel and Billy fight, Lilah shoots Billy dead before Cordelia can get a clear shot with her crossbow.

Fred forgives Wesley for the fight. Fred remains concerned that violence is a part of him, he doesn't know who he is or how to return to life as it was before.

In a flashback to Rome, 1771, Angelus flees through the sewers from a group of priests, but is eventually cornered and then Daniel Holtz arrives. He appreciates the priest's assistance in capturing and chaining Angelus, then begins to torture the vampire for his murderous crimes against Holtz's family. As Holtz continues his torture as he carries on a conversation with Angelus about his family, Darla and their attempts to hide. Darla eventually arrives with more vampires who kill the priests, rescue Angelus, and leave Holtz hurt, but alive, as they ride away hidden by a blanket on a cart.

Darla gets off of a bus, leaving behind mostly dead passengers.

Cordelia and Angel continue with their training and Cordelia has now begun to work on fighting without weapons. He says she can't hurt him, but Cordelia hits him in the face and clearly causes a little bit of pain. They talk about Wesley and Gunn, who are investigating a Nyazian scroll that could forecast the end of the world.

Meanwhile, Wesley and Gunn enter a guarded building and find a room with countless artifacts and expensive items. An armed man catches them and threatens to call the police, but Wesley and Gunn threaten the artifacts and the man lets them get what they came for.

Fred walks in on Cordelia and Angel's training session just as Cordelia ends the session. After Cordelia leaves, Fred mentions that she thinks there is some kind of physical attraction between Angel and Cordelia, which Angel quickly refutes. Just then, Wesley pulls Fred away from Angel to work on deciphering the scrolls. Fred's math skills are useful but she has some difficulty figuring out the proper date for the world's end. Wesley explains the text and the bringing of a "Tro-klon" being that will end mankind, and with Cordelia's help retells the results of their last scroll investigation for Fred's purpose.

Angel, thinking about his earlier conversation with Fred, watches Cordelia as she works. When she asks him about his strange behavior, he starts awkwardly mentioning their history together. She gets freaked out at first, but then starts a chain of professing love between all of the gang, thinking Angel fears the world ending and wants to express his love to her and all of his friends. Angel uses her misinterpretation to get out of the awkward situation and the subject is dropped. Darla arrives at the hotel and shocks the whole gang with her very pregnant state, especially Angel after nervously realizing that he is the father.

Darla accuses Angel of causing her pregnancy deliberately, but he's just as shocked as she is of them somehow being able to conceive in addition to being embarrassed and distressed by the whole situation. Both Darla and Angel want to find out what's inside of the former, in addition Darla wants to terminate her pregnancy while Angel initially denies of his forthcoming fatherhood; he ultimately become fearful of both it and his unborn child's nature. In need of answers, the gang find Lorne in the process of rebuilding the club and the Furies casting a new spell to prevent all violence in the club. After a brief, but unnecessary line of song from Darla, Lorne reveals that he's just as stumped as the rest of them about the creature inside of her.

Darla starts to cry out in pain and is escorted back to Lorne's room where Cordelia, keeps her company. Angel still denies the possibility of Darla's pregnancy and questions the baby's connection to the prophecy. He doesn't know whether his purpose was supposed to bring forth the evil or destroy it. Cordelia talks to Darla about being pregnant. Cordelia brings up Darla's ability to drink blood, which leads to the vampire attacking Cordelia as she reveals her hunger is constant and uncontrollable.

Cordelia fights back with a few hits, but Darla is stronger and bites her. A powerful vision hits Cordelia which allows her to push Darla away from her neck long enough for Angel to show up and intervene. Darla biting Cordelia has motivated him enough to kill his sire, but she's already gone. Cordy is taken to a safe place to rest where she blames herself for trusting Darla and tells Angel about her vision. She reveals how hungry Darla is and that she might be at an arcade with many children to feed from.

Angel leaves her to get weapons and find Darla. Wesley is worried about Darla's new and improved strength that's a result of her unborn child, but Angel feels responsible and refuses help, and Fred understands that Angel do not wish to kill his offspring (because he does want to be a father) yet he hopelessly feels that he has no choice, due to likelihood that the child would be born as a vampire. Cordelia gets another vision about Darla's baby and goes to talk to Wesley and the rest of the gang about it. Angel stops Darla from killing a young boy and tries to stake her, but she stops him and taunts him. The two fight viciously and Angel ends up in a position to stake her, but he hesitates and later realizes the baby inside of Darla has both a heartbeat and a soul, which is what's driving her so crazy and making her so hungry for the pure blood of children. Darla denies the truth and Angel does everything he can to comfort her while having hope for his child.

Back at the hotel, Darla has returned with Angel and rests in one of the bedrooms. She rejects the animal blood Angel offers her and tells Angel to leave her alone. Downstairs, research on the prophecy continues as Angel instructs the women to stay away from Darla unless he or Gunn are with them. Angel and Cordy discuss the baby and Angel's feelings towards it, and Angel begins to take responsibility for it as a father. Fred finally deciphers the text of the prophecy; she reveals that this being is arriving right then while unbeknownst to the gang, a demon is performing a ritual underground in front of a large stone. The ritual complete, the stone crumbles away, revealing a newly revived Holtz, eager to find Angelus.

Two teenage boys are growing up in a small Canadian town in the summer of 1955. While their parents go about with their own concerns, the two develop an interest in girls. One tries to impress his crush with his father's cars. The other, seventeen-year-old Eric Hansen, becomes enamored with an older woman newly arrived in town.

In York, England, 1764, Holtz pursues Angelus and Darla, following a trail they left for him. Meanwhile, Angelus and Darla make their way into the Holtzs' house and kill his wife and two children. Holtz arrives at his house, but the vampires are gone and his family is dead. In the present, Angel visits Darla as she sleeps in his room, dreading yet maintaining hope that their child is not evil. Holtz learns about the present day through numerous television screens which play out different historical events that Holtz has missed during his sleep. Sahjhan is the demon that brought Holtz back and has been keeping an eye on Angelus for the hunter for 227 years, ever since Holtz was first preserved.

Angel and Darla reminisce about the night that got them into the whole parent mess in the first place. The rest of the gang interrupt with new information about the scrolls and prophecies. They have discovered that instead of the "tro-klon" being a person's arrival, it is instead interpreted as different events. The gang begin to discuss possible ways to destroy the baby, whether it be evil or not, but Angel wants his child protected and refuses to let anyone hurt it, before or after it is born. Cordelia is reluctant to protect Darla or the baby but is more willing after she gets her delayed revenge by punching Darla in the face. Almost immediately after though, Darla begins to feel the pain of contractions.

Lilah signs a document in blood and offers it to a mailroom employee. The employee, Cyril, offers her a disk in exchange which contains pictures of Angel and Lilah making out in his office from when he was possessed. Cyril says that he is on her side willing to work against Gavin Park, who had bugs planted at the hotel by supposed exterminators. Lilah confronts Gavin about it and finds that Cyril was just playing her. Gavin has video cameras and audio transcripts from the daily activities at the hotel and just wanted to brag to Lilah about his accomplishments. Together, they look at some of the video and are both shocked to see a very pregnant Darla on the screen. Since it is impossible for a vampire to get pregnant, Lilah is quickly on the phone.

Darla's contractions are still far apart, but the pain is the kind she doesn't like and she wants the baby out. The gang discusses doctor options and agree that need access to medical equipment that will allow them to see what is actually inside of the vampire. Lilah and Gavin talk with Linwood, whom Lilah has called to notify about Darla's development. They discuss how no one at Wolfram & Hart saw it coming and that the Senior Partners need to be kept in the dark. Meanwhile, a spying Cyril makes a call to a Master Tarfall and informs him that the predictions were correct and the word must be spread to the others.

Nine years after losing his family, Holtz thinks back, but his thoughts are interrupted by the demon, Sahjhan. The first encounter between the two has Sahjhan knowing Holtz's future and predicting just when the hunter will face and destroy Angelus and Darla. Holtz is reluctant to believe the demon or accept his aid at first, but soon agrees to be brought 200-plus years into the future for his one opportunity to finally destroy the vampires who took away his family.

Darla is brought to a hospital where the gang uses an empty examining room to ultrasound Darla's womb. Her contractions have stopped, perhaps temporarily, but she is no less eager to rid her body of the baby inside. Holtz is tired of waiting to take out Angel and Darla, but Sahjhan insists on his patience if Holtz is to succeed. Switching to a human appearance, Sahjhan leads the way out of the underground space as they are about to make a move with the aid of some others.

At Wolfram and Hart, the psychics are questioned by Linwood and then killed because of their inability to predict Darla's pregnancy. The lawyers know that the baby of two vampires is the desired possession of many groups. Linwood informs Lilah that she will receive the blame in the case that the Senior Partners discover their mistake. Despite some confusion, the gang is able to identify Darla's baby as a human and a boy, which pleases Angel and he fully accepts his coming fatherhood, though Darla is preoccupied with her pain. A large group of vampires begin to line the room and fill the observation area above, but they are there to protect the baby, not hurt it. However, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn and Fred are classified as food for Darla and her child and orders are given to kill them.

Sahjhan brings Holtz to a gym where their "minions" await for Holtz's instruction. The lawyers at Wolfram and Hart plan their attack on the hotel to acquire the baby from Darla. Gavin works with a military leader on getting into the hotel and Lilah arranges for a special doctor who will do the actual delivery. When her own life is threatened Darla is forced to help in the fight that is about to erupt at the hospital between the vampires and the gang. Fred holds a knife to Darla's stomach which holds the vampires off temporarily, but Fred unintentionally informs the other vampires that the knife can't hurt the baby and the fight starts.

The gang is able to escape unharmed despite the vampires and military men throughout the hospital. Darla tries to hide her true feelings, but Angel senses her human-like feelings towards her unborn child. The gang make plans for a quick stop at the hotel for the scrolls but intend to get out of town. Holtz attacks the military men guarding the hotel and proceeds inside where the doctor and others are waiting for Angel and Darla to return. Holtz disposes of the men and doctor, much to the surprise of Wolfram and Hart's lawyers who watch and listen to the battle with the surveillance equipment.

Angel leaves Darla and his friends parked in an empty alley while he goes for the scrolls. He directs them to leave without him if he doesn't return in five minutes. He finds the hotel a mess and his old enemy, Holtz, waiting for him. Darla screams as her water has broken and she's gone into active labor, but Angel still hasn't returned.

At the Hyperion Hotel, Angel is shocked that Holtz is really in front of him, concluding Holtz was the darkness prophesied. Several of Holtz's minions take Angel captive, binding him by metal contraptions so that Holtz can torture him with holy water while discussing their long history together, with Angel trying to resolve their feuds. Holtz sends some of his minions to find Darla, who is screaming her way through her pre-labor while the gang worries about Angel and try to think of a plan to deliver the baby without the scrolls.

In a flashback to 1764, after Angelus kills Holtz's family, Holtz mourns over his wife's body and sees that his daughter has been turned into a vampire as she approaches with her doll. She still seems to be an afraid little girl but is incapable of grieving over the deaths of her mother and brother due to the loss of her soul. Knowing that his daughter is now dead and he must inevitably destroy her, he pulls her outside the next day and reluctantly throws her into the sunlight, where she shows her vampire face before she is destroyed.

In the present, Holtz reminisces about his pursuit of Angelus and Darla through the years. Angel wants to know how Holtz is alive two hundred years later, and tries to persuade Holtz that he now has a soul, but Holtz is uninterested. Lilah arrives at the hotel with intentions to do business with Holtz, but she is willing to wait until Angel has been sufficiently tortured. She informs Holtz of Angel's soul, which Holtz finds intriguing and confusing. Angel locates a hand grenade left by the military men and removes the pin. The resulting explosion sends Angel flying through the elevator doors and giving him an escape. Holtz informs Lilah of his claim on Angel's unlife, and Lilah mentions Darla, unlike Angel, is still evil. After Holtz leaves, Lilah discovers a burnt piece of the scroll, which she takes. Meanwhile, Holtz's minions have arrived to threaten Darla and the others, until Darla runs over the demons with Angel's car then takes off.

Angel leaves to find Darla while Lilah provides the piece of scroll and Wesley's notes to a translator at the law firm. After studying it, the translator informs Lilah that the prophecy does not predict birth, it predicts death at the time of the rain storm. Holtz discusses with Sahjhan how Angel's curse was wrongfully left out of the information Holtz was provided with. Sahjhan saw no importance in it, but Holtz explains that the game is different now as is the prey.

Angel finds Darla on a rooftop; she ponders the world and the reasons for bringing a child into it. Without a doubt, Darla loves her unborn child, but only feels that love because of the soul within her child. She knows she has nothing she can give to the child and fears what will happen when it has left her. Meanwhile, Lorne is testing the mystical "no violence" security system at the rebuilt demon bar Caritas by having Fred slap Gunn, proving that it still needs work. Wesley calls Angel to tell him that Caritas is a suitable location for Darla to deliver. As a storm brews, the expecting vampire parents arrive at the club. As Darla is taken back to Lorne's bedroom, Fred notices blood on the seat the female vampire vacates.

A fired construction worker from Caritas reports to Holtz, recounting what he overheard at the bar. While Darla rests, Wesley tells Angel of the danger the baby is in and that Darla's dead body is not meant to deliver the child; a Caesarean section is impossible due to the forces protecting Darla. Distraught that his son is dying, Angel doesn't want anything to happen to Darla or the child and does not want to accept that the child could be evil. Gunn offers some brutal honesty, which upsets Angel even more, but when Cordelia tries to slap him for it, the violence barrier finally works.

Angel tries to encourage Darla to keep fighting despite the weakening life force within her. Holtz arrives at the bar and starts to sing as he leaves which alerts Lorne to the future danger and he urges everyone to flee. A barrel of explosives and a grenade roll down the stairs entering the club and send the place up in flames. With the spell having no effect on explosives that did not start inside of the club, the gang run downstairs and escapes through a passage hidden in Lorne's bedroom.

Darla is finally told about Holtz's return and recalls all she and Angelus did to hurt the man. She suspects that Holtz was brought back for revenge, and both Darla and Angel, as parents whose child is dying, realize the irony. Outside, Darla collapses in the alleyway. Admitting that creating life with Angel was the only good thing they ever did together, Darla makes sure Angel will relay that to their child before she stakes herself through the heart, sacrificing her life for the baby. Darla turns to dust, but the baby remains, leaving Angel in shock over Darla's sacrifice before his fascination with his son's birth. Angel picks their child up, wrapping him in his coat. Immediately after his son is brought into the world, Holtz is there with a crossbow pointed at Angel and others surround the vampire and Fred. After seeing Angel's love for his newborn son, Holtz chooses to let them go; though he vows to show no mercy towards Angel.

Wesley researches a demon from one of Cordelia's visions while Cordelia questions Wesley about his romantic feelings towards Fred. After Gunn and Fred return from breakfast, Angel announces he is taking them all to a ballet production of ''Giselle'', by the same company he witnessed perform in 1890.

At the theater, the company's owner, Count Kurskov, promises the theater manager an unforgettable show while a shadowed figure watches from above the stage and laughs. In preparation for their glamorous night at the ballet, Fred and Cordelia shop for new dresses, which they intend to return after wearing them for the night. Subtly, Cordelia broaches the subject of Fred's romantic interests, but Cordelia thinks Fred's mind is on Wesley, when it's really on Gunn.

Compliments are directed to everyone as their attire is revealed at the hotel, and they depart together. At the theater, Cordelia is literally bored to sleep while the others enjoy the show. Angel finds the dancers familiar since he saw the same people perform the first time he saw the show. During intermission, Angel tells his friends about his revelation. He and Cordelia sneak backstage to investigate, where they discover they are mystically trapped in a maze of corridors.

Looking through the prima ballerina's dressing room, Angel observes that the dressing room hasn't changed in two hundred years as Cordelia examines a cross necklace from a table. Both feel the room warm, and Cordelia suddenly asks Angel to undress her. Soon they find themselves possessed by spirits in love and are unable to keep their hands off each other, until Cordelia accidentally burns Angel with the cross. Both come to their senses and leave the dressing room before things go too far.

Worried, Fred encourages the guys to help her look for the missing Angel and Cordelia. The Count directs his demon minions to deal with those sneaking around backstage. While trying to escape the backstage halls, Cordelia recalls an element of fear she felt while possessed. She convinces Angel to reenter the dressing room so that they can break the spell holding them backstage, where they are possessed by the spirits again with wild passion for each other. Cordelia calls Angel "Stefan" and confesses her fears of another man who is controlling her life. They kiss, and "Stefan" offers to take her away, but she wants him to help her deal with the problem instead. As Fred tends to a wound Gunn received in the battle with the Count's minions, he jokes about his injury, and Fred gets emotional because she thought he was seriously hurt. The two kiss as Wesley quietly discovers them and walks away sadly.

The ballet continues on stage as the gang gathers backstage. Wesley explains that the Count was a wizard who discovered the prima ballerina whom he adored had a lover. To repay her for her betrayal, the count forced her into a temporal shift where she would dance for only him, forever. As Angel searches for the Count's power center, he finds the prima ballerina waiting in the wings, resigned to perform the same dance for the rest of eternity. Angel tells her to break the magic holding her prisoner, she has to change the dance. She dances on stage using her own steps. Angel attacks the Count and, guessing the power center is in a medallion the count wears, smashes it with a powerful punch, finally releasing the ballet dancers. Wesley dresses Gunn's injury and watches on in emotional agony as Fred and Gunn exchange loving looks.

Angel and Cordelia agree that they are embarrassed about what happened between them while they were possessed. As Angel is about to declare his feelings for Cordelia, the Groosalugg from Pylea appears on the stairs, drawing Cordelia's attention. Groo and Cordelia kiss as Lorne comes downstairs to inform Angel that Pylea has formed a republic; with no need for a monarch, Groo returned for his true love, Cordelia. Angel goes upstairs to check on Connor while Fred and Wesley watch on. Wesley realizes the path of love is not something that can be foretold.

At her apartment, Cordelia changes into something comfortable while Groo explains how he was dethroned in Pylea. They kiss, but after Cordelia sees a demon in Groo's place as a vision painlessly hits her, she's no longer in the mood.

The next morning, Angel carries Connor around and talks with Wesley about investigating prophecies about Connor. Cordelia arrives with Groo in tow. She informs them about the demon from her vision and that it will be surfacing later that day. When the topic returns to Cordelia's lack of a sex life, she tells her friends about her worry of losing her visions to Groo if they did actually have sex. Meanwhile, Gunn and Fred have breakfast together and talk. As they lean in for a kiss, their beepers go off with calls from Wesley.

While a picture of the demon, a Senih'd, is passed around, Wesley explains the plan. As Groo raises the subject of Cordelia's obvious sadness, Angel explains Cordelia's fear of losing something if she gets too close to Groo. Following a trail of blood, the two demon hunters find the demon and battle with it. The Senih'd breaks through a wall into the daylight, and only Groo can follow to destroy it. Cordelia and the others arrive just in time to congratulate him.

While Groo recounts his battle to the others, Angel talks with a Ms. Frakes about investigating a witch who is supposedly seducing her fiancé. Wesley assigns the job to Gunn, but Fred tags along too, much to Wesley's dismay. Wesley and Angel go to a bookstore for a supposedly rare text of commentaries on the scrolls about Connor. Back at the office, Groo agrees to let Cordelia give him a complete makeover, thinking that it will make her love him more. She explains that she already has strong feelings for him, and he then understands Cordelia is concerned about losing her visions.

Jerry, the fiancé, is tailed by Gunn and Fred who videotape the man as he waits beside a large tree. The two start kissing and distractedly miss the moment when Jerry disappears. Cordelia asks Angel for the favor of escorting Groo to a demon brothel where a magic potion is held which will allow her to have sex with Groo without losing her visions.

Gunn and Fred refer to the videotape for evidence of Jerry's disappearance and watch him get sucked into the ground by the tree's roots a few seconds before they're sucked down as well. At the brothel, Angel and Groo follow Anita past tempting sights into a room where cash is exchanged for the potion. When Anita questions Angel's presence there, he gets a phone call from Gunn and Fred who are bound by tree roots underground. They explain that it is a living flesh tree with an internet connection which lures victims in order to suck the life out of them. Naturally, they avoid contacting Wesley and instead request the Groosalugg.

Before reaching the underground spot where Gunn and Fred are held, Groo has Angel keep the potion safe and then rushes into battle, despite Angel's suggestions. The tree quickly sticks one of its fleshy roots deep into Groo's chest. The tree gets stronger as it feeds on Groo, so Angel questions the tree as he pounds Groo into unconsciousness. The tree impales Angel instead, and suddenly the tree begins to die as it feeds off of Angel's dead heart. The others break free, and Gunn finishes the tree demon off.

Later that night, Wesley talks with Ms. Frakes on the phone, confirming that Jerry survived. Fred goes to get cleaned up while Gunn stays to talk with Wesley. Wesley expresses his concern for Fred and her feelings and although it takes a few moments, Gunn realizes the real reason for Wesley's worry. Cordelia tends to Groo's wounds, and Groo confesses his reckless behavior earlier that evening, but Cordy is only turned on more by his honesty.

Eager for sex, Cordelia is about to rush out, when Angel stops her. He insists that she accept some money he has saved up so that she can take a sunny vacation with Groo. Lorne lays Connor down for bed and as soon as Angel arrives, leaves him to be alone with his son. Angel carries Connor downstairs and finds Wesley working in the office. As the two leave, Wesley looks down on his notepad where he has translated, "The Father will kill The Son."

Gunn and Fred arrive at the office to find Wesley asleep at his desk and wake him as they try to touch the papers he's been working with. Angel cheerfully comments about teaching Connor to die before he vamps and leans in to bite his son while the others watch on. Wesley sees his hands coated with blood against the book, and then he wakes up. Angel and Wesley take Connor to the doctor and while in the waiting room, Angel offers advice to some of the mothers waiting there. During the examination, the doctor informs Angel that his son is healthy and blood tests should be returned within the week to confirm nothing is wrong. After the room is cleared, one of the women from the waiting room enters and exchanges Connor's blood sample with a fake before a nurse discovers her.

At the hotel, Angel unpacks a box of miniature hockey equipment and a personalized jersey for Connor. With Cordelia away, business is slow. Angel and Gunn play hockey together until Angel breaks a window with the puck. A woman in need of help, Aubrey, comes to Angel Investigations about her son who had run away and been turned into a vampire. Aubrey returns to Holtz, Justine and others, reporting back on the members of the Angel Investigations team. Human members of Holtz's team practice fighting vampires that are chained up in the hideaway. Sahjhan appears and questions the progress of Holtz's efforts to kill Angel. Holtz, however, refuses to speed up his timetable and isn't remotely concerned by Sahjhan's threats because he is immaterial and Holtz happens to be in possession of a special urn that can contain his essence. Sahjhan isn't happy, but leaves.

Wesley talks on the phone with a wizard and directs him to do his job for the money he was paid. Fred shows up and suggests that Wesley hook up with Aubrey, but Wesley brushes it off and says the job is their purpose, not dating. Lilah talks with her sick mother on the phone until, Sahjhan shows up at Wolfram & Hart in Lilah's office. She is not shocked to see him, and she knows quite a bit about him already, right down to his need for the law firm's help in destroying Angel. Lilah states that she won't go against firm policy which is to keep Angel alive, but she writes on a piece of paper that he has her support.

Sahjhan explains that he needs Connor's blood, and Lilah surprises him by explaining that it's already possessed by the firm since they stole it from the hospital where Connor was cared for. At a carnival on the pier, Fred tries to concentrate on work while Gunn is more interested in playing around and spending time with her. Wesley's knowledge of their relationship is discussed, and Gunn finds out that Wesley said something to Fred that led her to question the appropriateness of their relationship. Upset by that, he stresses that he won't let Wesley impede his efforts at a good personal and working relationship with Fred.

Wesley drops in to check on the two of them. The vampire drinks from a glass of blood while his attention is divided between his son and his friend. Looking troubled, Wesley leaves for a little while. Back at the carnival, Fred spots a man breaking into a building and Gunn leads the way to follow him. Inside the building is a carousel, which turns on and as Gunn prepares for battle, he and Fred suddenly find themselves completely surrounded by vampires. Holtz's protégé, Justine, films the events with a man at her side.

Fred runs away at Gunn's insistence and he takes all of the vampires on alone. Justine and the man watch, commenting on Gunn's chance at survival. Gunn holds his own for a short while before he's grabbed by a vampire and Fred returns in time to stake the vampire and save Gunn. As Justine and her friend depart, Gunn and Fred appreciate that they're both alive.

Wesley follows a GPS unit to a precise location where he finds a hamburger-shaped speaker outside of a fast-food restaurant. He performs a ritual, calling on ''Alegba'', and the plastic cartoonish hamburger comes to life. The Loa, as Wesley calls it, confirms his suspicion that Angel will "devour" his son and informs him that the prophecy cannot be stopped. It predicts a future of betrayal and agony for Wesley. The Loa finally reveals that when the earth shakes, the air burns and the sky turns to blood, the prophecy will come true. Lilah meets Sahjhan at a bar and ignores Sahjhan's attempts at small talk, informing him that arrangements have been made to deal with their Angel problem.

Aubrey returns to the office and thanks Wesley for his help in destroying the monsters. Wesley is thrown by her identification of "monsters" and accepts her check in return for their services. She tries to come onto him and Wesley calls her on her attempt to play him. Angel appears behind her and makes it clear that he knows who she's working for and that no one will be harming Connor. As she runs away, a small earthquake shakes the ground and Wesley realizes that the first portent has come true.

Holtz directs the humans to study the video of Fred and Gunn by the carousel. Aubrey returns, but much to her surprise, Wesley has followed her. Wesley explains that he is there in peace and tries to persuade Holtz that Angel is not the same vampire as Angelus. Holtz knows too much pain at Angelus's hands to care about the difference; he also knows why Wesley is there and suggests he prepare for what he'll feel when Connor is killed. Gunn and Fred have their regular meal together and talk about how right their relationship really is. He is worried that they can't do so many things at once and is worried about the consequences if things don't work out. She wonders what his decision would be if he had to choose between her and work, and he admits to choosing her.

Wesley finds Angel with Connor in his room, preparing a meal for his child. They talk about Aubrey and her reasons for joining with Holtz and Angel's unconditional love for Connor. Wesley realizes that Angel would never harm his son, and finally feeling released from the prophecy, begins to laugh at the oddity that is life, and then a powerful earthquake begins to shake all of Los Angeles. The room goes up in flames as the gas stove explodes and beams come down from the ceiling. Angel rescues Connor and gets all three of them out of the room. A large cut on his forehead drips blood onto Connor's blanket, which is patterned with a blue sky and clouds. As the third of the portents comes true, Angel smiles and comments that if they had been trapped in there, he would have had a snack. Wesley, who a few seconds ago had dismissed the prophecy, is left more paranoid than ever.

Wesley has been studying the prophecies regarding Angel and Connor, and his findings have left him convinced that Angel will kill his son. Angel enters Wesley's office, strangely cheerful. He pours a glass of pig's blood, and the two watch Lorne listen to a female client sing. As she does, her face suddenly twists and becomes a horrific demon face before reverting to human form.

The woman, Kim, talks about the odd behavior and appearance of a band she'd been playing with. Angel continues to drink blood and draws attention with his unusual behavior. Fred and Wesley that discover Kim has just been infected by a demon and that a mystical medication can cure it. Kim tells the others about the demons and where they can be found and killed. Angel is enthusiastic about the fight, and Wesley sends a group out.

Justine teaches Holtz's minions how to kill vampires. She expresses worry to Holtz about killing the humans associated with Angel but eventually comes to believe that they deserve to die. Wesley again appears at Holtz's lair to talk about Connor.

Angel, Gunn, and Fred find and kill the demonic band, Angel fighting with atypical ferocity. Wesley talks with Holtz about ending the fight before it really begins. Holtz gives Wesley one day to deal with the problem of Angel killing Connor before Holtz gets involved. Angel and the others return to the hotel, and Angel starts chugging blood and shouting about how annoying Connor is. When he throws a glass of blood against the wall, Angel realizes something's very wrong with him.

Lorne notices Angel's obsession with the blood and suggests that it has been spiked. Wesley walks the streets until he finds that Justine has been following him. Wesley lectures her about the difference between Holtz and Angel. Fred studies the pig's blood under a microscope, but Angel already knows that it’s been spiked with Connor's blood, giving Angel a desire for more. Angel finds Lilah at the bar. Sahjhan appears, and although Angel doesn't recognize him from his past, he figures out that Sahjhan brought Holtz back. Sahjhan's upset that Angel doesn't remember him and promises retribution before disappearing.

Wesley packs Connor's bag as he prepares to take Connor. Lorne watches, concerned that Angel never mentioned Wesley taking Connor for the night. As Wesley hums a lullaby to Connor, Lorne reads his intentions and realizes he is going to abduct the child. Wesley chases Lorne into the office, knocking him unconscious. Angel returns and agrees to let Wesley take Connor for the night. He wonders where Lorne is, but Wesley explains that he went out.

Angel says his goodbyes to Connor and asks Wesley to investigate Sahjhan. Offering to do research at his own place, Wesley takes Connor and leaves the Hyperion on foot. Gunn and Fred offer to keep Angel company through the night without Connor. Holtz and several of his men then show up armed at the hotel. Holtz wants to know where Connor is, but since he's not there, he directs his men to attack but keep Angel alive. As a battle ensues, Lorne wakes up and uses a high-pitched note to debilitate some of the attackers. Holtz and some of his men retreat, and Lorne reveals that Wesley has been seeing Holtz and has kidnapped Connor.

Wesley packs his car and begins to leave with Connor, but a badly beaten Justine stumbles upon him and explains that Holtz turned his back on her. Justine slits Wesley's throat with a knife and takes Connor, driving away in Wesley's car. Angry because of his lost son and Wesley's betrayal, Angel lets loose on his co-workers, attacking Gunn. Fred breaks up the confrontation and suggests they focus on the real problem: Connor. Angel threatens some of Holtz's wounded minions until one reveals the location of Holtz's lair.

Lilah talks with some military types and then goes with them to Holtz's expected location. Angel takes out a couple of them and steals a truck so he can follow them. Holtz gets into the car with Justine and identifies himself and Justine to Connor as the baby's new parents.

Lilah's group, Angel, and Holtz all arrive at the bridge at the same time, and Sahjhan appears soon after. Lilah explains that she wants the baby alive despite her deal with Sahjhan. Angel tells Holtz to take Connor so that Connor will live. Sahjhan opens a dimensional rift to Quor'Toth — a very dark dimension — and explains that either the child dies or everyone is sucked into the portal. In the interest of survival, Holtz runs with Connor into the rift. Angel tries to follow, but he's thrown back and the rift is mended. The others leave, and a devastated Angel is left lying on the ground, grieving over his lost son.

Shortly after Daniel Holtz's abduction of baby Connor to the Hell dimension of Quor'Toth, Fred, Gunn and Lorne try to sort out why Wesley betrayed them and how to get Connor back.

Angel is not interested in sympathy or pity, however, and is already mentally unstable and vengeful due to his loss. When it proves impossible to open a portal to Quor'Toth, he abducts Linwood, a lawyer with Wolfram & Hart, to force him to tell where Sahjhan is and how to open a dimensional rift to Quor'Toth. In an attempt to open a rift, Angel and Lilah use dark magic; this opens a tear in the fabric of reality.

Sahjhan is revealed to have been a demon knight who had been made non-corporeal by an ancient curse hundreds of years ago, and who is now able to wander through time at will. When Sahjhan uncovered a prophecy that he would be killed by ‘the one sired by a vampire with a soul’ he brought vampire hunter and Angel's old nemesis Daniel Holtz to the 21st century to kill Angel, Darla and the baby. However, Holtz did not follow Sahjhan's plan, so Sahjhan, using his time-shifting abilities, altered the prophecy to trick Wesley into believing that Angel would kill Connor.

In the final confrontation, Angel makes Sahjhan corporeal once again to fight him, but discovers that he is more physically powerful than any of them had anticipated. Justine ends up trapping him in a special urn that Holtz had obtained previously.

Wesley is later found and taken to a hospital. Angel pays him a visit, saying he would never kill his own son. He tells Wesley it's important that he knows it's not Angelus talking, but Angel. When Wesley nods, Angel simply says "good" then suddenly grabs a pillow and tries to smother Wesley with it. Filled with fury and rage, Angel screams that he will never forgive his former friend, and that he'll kill him for stealing his son. An alarm is tripped, and Angel is dragged away by Gunn and some orderlies. As he is pulled away, Angel maniacally screams death threats at Wesley, screaming:''"You're a dead man, Pryce! You're dead! Dead!"''

As Angel tries to deal with the loss of his son while cleaning up the earthquake damage upstairs, a potential Angel Investigations client is infected by a transparent slug-like parasite in the hotel lobby. He goes to the juice bar across the street, where he chugs glass after glass of juice, saying, "We are thirsty." When Lorne informs him of the disturbance at the juice bar, Angel brings the infected man back to the hotel, where he collapses into a pile of human dust. When a slug-creature exits from the dust, the gang realizes the man was actually a parasitic host. The hotel is locked up tight and Angel sends everyone out with weapons to hunt for the slug. As they search, they realize that the hotel is teeming with the parasites, which suck their human hosts dry. Angel suspects that the infestation is a result of "thaumogenesis", a price for the dark magics that Angel conjured to try to find his son.

Meanwhile, at Wolfram & Hart, Lilah and Gavin once again quarrel with each other over their handling of Angel. Lilah and Gavin receive a top-secret e-mail about the consequences of Angel's dark magic at the hotel, which Lilah may also have to deal with since she was involved in the spell. She plans to rid the hotel of the slugs, until Gavin relays the message that Linwood wants Angel and the others to die for the torment he was put through.

After learning the creatures glow in the dark, Angel shuts off all of the lights in the hotel and tracks the slugs by sound to a large ballroom. Researching by the light of a lantern, Fred is attacked by one of the slugs, which slithers into her mouth. Realizing Fred has been infected, Gunn brings her to the rest of the gang in the abandoned ballroom, saying they need to get her to a hospital; Angel stands in the way, determined to keep more innocents from dying. Groosalugg, hearing the slugs under the floor, breaks through the wood with an ax. Below, there is a hidden swimming pool, filled with the glowing slugs. They begin chasing after the gang. Everyone retreats to a kitchen and barricade themselves there, except for Gunn, who slips out to ask Wesley for help. Wesley is very bitter about his exile from the group and refuses until Gunn reveals that Fred has been infected. He tosses Gunn a bottle of alcohol and tells him he'll help this time, but he never wants to see any of his former friends again.

Angel takes the water away from Fred until the slug confesses that a vicious killer called The Destroyer has chased the slugs into this dimension in search of Angel. They try to press Fred for more information, but her condition worsens. Gunn shows up and directs Groo and Lorne to hold Fred down while they force her to drink alcohol. As it dehydrates her, she coughs up the slug and Groo stabs it with a sword. Meanwhile, the slugs close in on Cordelia and Angel in the kitchen. Cordelia suddenly begins to glow a bright white, illuminating the entire hotel. This kills all the slugs and leaves everyone stunned by her new power.

Lorne reminds the gang of the coming of "the Destroyer" and, almost immediately, lights flash and a big nasty demon appears, followed shortly by a young man who quickly slays the demon. He smiles and points a weapon at Angel, saying, "Hi Dad."

Connor fires stakes at Angel, but Angel dodges them. Everyone takes on a defensive position, and a fight breaks out between Angel, the Groosalugg, Gunn and Connor.

Angel tries to reason with his son and end the violence, but Connor simply knocks Gunn and Groo out of the way and continues to fight with Angel. Focused on the fight, Angel gets the upper hand on Connor, but before he can do anything harmful to Connor, Angel stops himself. Connor takes the opportunity to run, and Angel tries to follow, but the daylight and his friends stop him.

On the streets, Connor saves a drug addict named Sunny from her dealer. They find a place to stay, where Sunny and Connor share a kiss.

Connor wakes up in the middle of the night to find that Sunny has overdosed in the bathroom. Angel finds Connor and tries to explain why he couldn't save him, but Connor punches Angel and calls Holtz his father.

An officer enters the room and aims for Connor, but Angel takes the shot in his back. Connor pauses in his escape out of a window as Angel struggles to get up, and finally the two escape together. While hiding from the police on the streets, Angel tells Connor he has somewhere to go if he needs it, and he will always be there whenever Connor needs him. Connor knows he's not alone: he runs off down an alleyway where he greets a much older Holtz - the only father he has ever known.

The gang starts to plan a search for Angel, but it's unnecessary as he returns to the hotel. He informs them that he found Connor and they talked, but Angel's battle wounds tell a much more violent tale to his friends. He adds that Connor wants to be known as Steven and that he has an open invitation to come back. They worry about something other than Connor escaping from the portal before it was closed. Meanwhile, Connor gets a room at a motel for Holtz and himself.

Angel shows up in time to stake the vampire Connor followed and reminds his son that vampires are capable of being very quiet.

Connor shows up at the hotel and Lorne tries to escort him to Angel, but Connor refuses to go anywhere with a demon. Lorne has a hard time controlling himself when Connor insults him but Cordelia shows up in time to break it up. She sits Connor down and tries to explain that some demons are good, but when she confesses to being part-demon herself, Connor jumps on her and raises a knife threateningly. In response, Cordelia starts to glow white, enveloping Connor with the glow as well. The blade of his weapon dissolves and she comforts him as he suddenly breaks down into tears. Later, she reveals that she released the darkness and Quor-Toth from Connor.

While Connor runs to the motel, Angel parks his car and reads Holtz's words. The letter explains Holtz's need to let go of Connor because it is the best thing to do and Connor will hopefully appreciate it later in life. In the parking lot outside the hotel, Justine begs Holtz to change his mind, but he insists she go through with what he wants. She uses an ice pick to stab him twice in the neck and he dies with his final word, "Steven." Connor finally reaches the motel, but instead of finding Holtz in the room, he finds him lying dead in Justine's lap, two puncture marks in his neck. With great confidence, Connor assumes, "Angelus."

After the events of the last episode, Connor has come to live with Angel. Angel is happy in his newfound relationship with his son, but Connor is secretly waiting for revenge, mistakenly believing Angel killed Holtz - just as Holtz had planned as his final revenge on Angel. They train together at the hotel before going to a drive-in movie, where the pair fight off an armed hit group, sent by Linwood and Gavin] at Wolfram & Hart to abduct Connor. Meanwhile, Lilah continues to try to recruit Wesley by manipulation and seduction, and shows him that he is now very much like her: a human without a soul.

The Groosalugg awaits Cordelia as she arrives to her apartment. He tells her he is leaving town because he knows that Angel is her priority. He tells her he will never be the man she loves, and she needs to go be with Angel. As they are having this conversation, Lorne and Angel are having a mirror conversation, where Lorne tells Angel Cordelia feels the same way about him as he does her. The scene cuts back to Cordelia, confused by what the Groosalugg has told her. She experiences a vision of herself, saying "I'm in love!" to which present day Cordelia questions "With Angel?" to which vision Cordelia replies "With Angel!" After the vision ends, Cordelia calls Angel to arrange a meeting at the beach "to talk about us". Angel tells Connor he has to leave so that he can meet Cordelia, and Connor gives him his loving approval to be with her. As Cordelia is fighting traffic to meet Angel, everything freezes. She gets out of the car and is confronted by the demon guide, Skip, who tells her that as a higher being, it’s now time for her to leave Earth’s plane of existence and move on to another. In this scene we see the conversation from her earlier vision take place, as she declares her love for Angel to Skip. As she is having this conversation, Connor confronts Angel at the beach and they fight. Connor mocks Angel by saying the same thing Angel said when they sparred earlier in the season. Connor knocks out Angel using a stun gun. He flashes his flash light into the ocean and then a boat, commanded by Justine, flashes back. As we're shown Cordelia ascending, a vengeful Connor and Justine seal Angel in a metal coffin and throw it off a boat to sink down to the ocean floor.

In Wisconsin, 1985, a young girl named Gwen is dropped off at Thorpe Academy by her parents. Tightly wrapped up in thick clothes Gwen is discouraged from touching and finds it difficult to fit in with the other children. When a young boy approaches her at recess and offers her a toy car, she makes the mistake of touching him and shocking the boy with a fatal bolt of electricity.

At Cordelia's apartment, Fred packs up Cordy's things because they can't afford to keep paying the rent. As Wesley and his gang fights off two large demons, Angel arrives and tries to thank Wesley for rescuing him, and to recant his promise never to forgive him for stealing Connor. Wesley however isn't interested in Angel's apologies. Wesley thinks Cordy is still alive, but in another dimension.

Gwen, now a young woman, waltzes into a restaurant dressed in red leather, drawing the attention of all the men. She meets a businessman named Elliot, who wants Gwen to steal the Axis for his personal collection.

Fred gives a presentation that explains the Axis of Pythia allows the user to see any person in the countless dimensions; her drawings are overshadowed by Angel's artistic abilities. They learn the Axis is located at an auction house with extensive security and gather the equipment they'll need while elsewhere, Gwen gets ready to steal the Axis herself.

Lilah and Wesley share some small talk about work while they romp around his apartment together. Gwen expertly makes her way into the building where the Axis is held but only a short distance behind her, Angel, Gunn and Fred break into the building as well. Angel checks out the vault, but laser beams block his entrance and then a gate is dropped, completely blocking his path. Gwen drops down from the ceiling and manipulates the beams out of her way. While Angel questions who she is and her intentions, she steals the Axis and prepares to leave. Gunn shows up to help Angel while Fred triggers an alarm that encourages Gwen's fast retreat. Once the gate has been lifted out of the way, Gunn tries to grab Gwen before she gets away and instead is struck with a fatal blow by Gwen. Guilt-ridden at the thought of killing yet another innocent person, Gwen knocks Angel and a grieving Fred out of the way and shock-starts Gunn's heart.

Later, Angel runs into Lilah while looking over Connor, who's now living outdoors with a bunch of homeless people. Angel threatens her into telling him which Wolfram & Hart client is buying the Axis of Pythia from Gwen. Gunn rests up in bed while Fred releases her feelings about the overwhelming elements of her life - Gunn's brief death and her constant responsibilities in the gang - as she yells at Gunn and finally breaks down into tears.

Angel finds Gwen on the way to deliver the Axis and the two fight. Gwen repeatedly tries to shock Angel to death, which causes his heart to beat for a moment and the two kiss. Both are surprised by the sudden life to Angel's heart and then bars cover the elevator doorway and Elliot shows up. He explains that because of her terrible theft job, she has to be killed. He had the elevator changed so that Gwen could have no access to an electrical charge that would allow her to escape when the elevator is filled with gas.

Once the door closes, Gwen struggles not to inhale while Angel punches a hole through a thick plastic wall until Gwen can reach the wires and the two are able to escape. Angel fights with Elliot's lackeys while Gwen focuses her attention on Elliot. Angel stops her from killing him and then she lets him have the Axis. Back at the hotel, one of the rooms glows a bright gold while Gunn and Fred wait impatiently outside the closed door. Angel exits the room, leaving a still slightly glowing Axis behind him. The three sit around the lobby and talk about what Angel saw and try to deal with her new role. Meanwhile, high up in the heavens, Cordelia watches over the three and shouts at them to free her from her "higher" life.

As Angel watches Connor stake a vampire, Cordelia shouts he should focus on rescuing her from her boring life as a higher power. When Fred and Gunn confront Angel on the issues of Connor, Angel realizes he has made life difficult for his friends, and he takes them on a trip to Las Vegas.

They arrive at the Tropicana Casino, where Lorne headlines, complete with scantily clad back-up singers known as the Lornettes. Lorne entices audience members to sing along and ignores Angel and the others. As Lorne rests in his private suite, he receives a visit from his employer and casino owner, Lee DeMarco. Lorne is forced to identify the futures of the people who sang in the audience. Gunn and Fred play Blackjack while Angel worries about Lorne. One of the Lornettes offers one of the singing audience members from Lorne's show, Vivian, a special chip to play in a Spin to Win game. Fred continues to worry about Angel and Lorne; they investigate Lorne's situation to help ease Fred's mind. To get past the guards at Lorne's door, Gunn has Fred dress as one of the Lornettes. Lorne takes a minute to recognize her but he is grateful to see her. He informs her Lee DeMarco is blackmailing him for his psychic abilities.

Vivian walks in a trance-like state across the casino's driveway and is nearly run over by a taxi, but Angel rescues her. He sneaks into the special Spin to Win game area. Lee hands him a chip, which Angel tosses away, but it slides onto the table; when the house wins, Angel loses his destiny. Fred runs from Lorne's room and hysterically convinces the guards outside to enter the room. Lorne escapes, and the three run out into the casino to find Angel. He is playing slot machines in a zombie-like state and ask him to pose a distraction while they rescue Lorne. Angel is too entranced with his gambling to comprehend the plan. DeMarco is pleased when he receives information that Angel is a souled vampire, realizing Angel's destiny will be profitable.

Lorne confesses he tells Lee about the people with bright futures so that they can be lured into the Spin and Win game. Their destinies are sucked into the chip they play and later sold on the black market. Guards spot them; to pose a distraction, Lorne sings a high-pitch noise into a microphone. After they escape, Gunn angrily assumes that Lorne told Lee about Angel. Lorne corrects him by revealing that he is being blackmailed, and if he refuses to cooperate, people will be killed. When Gunn realizes that Angel's destiny has been taken away, he returns to the casino and finds Angel at one of the slot machines. As Spencer arrives with Lorne and Fred held in the custody of his security guards, Angel resumes gambling. The rest of the group is brought into the back room, where Lee orders Fred and Gunn killed and Lorne to return to his work. Meanwhile, Cordelia manipulates Angel's slot machine to win a jackpot so he can be brought into the back room with the others. Lee is angered someone won, but Angel has no explanation.

When one of the men pulls a gun on Fred, it brings out the demon in Angel. He beats up Lee's men, and during the distraction Lorne smashes the glass ball holding the chips, causing all of the destinies to return to their rightful bodies. Back in L.A., the gang is glad to be home, although Angel questions what caused his jackpot. As they head inside the hotel, they freeze when they see Cordelia standing in the middle of the lobby; she does not recognize them.

Fred's article on superstring theory is published in an academic journal, and she is asked to present it at a physics symposium by her old college professor Seidel. Her presentation is interrupted when a dimensional portal opens and snake-like creatures emerge to kill her. Angel had spied Lilah during the speech and at first thinks she is behind it, but she was simply keeping an eye on Wesley.

Gunn and Angel suspect another member of the audience, a comic book fanatic who seemed to be expecting the portal's appearance, but it turns out he's just following stories of strange disappearances and reading about Angel on internet forums.

Fred learns that Professor Seidel is the one responsible and that he was the one who sent Fred into the Pylea dimension six years earlier. He felt Fred and other missing colleagues were competing for his job. Against Angel and Gunn's advice, Fred pursues vengeance against her former mentor. She asks for Wesley's help. When she is almost sucked into a portal opened by a text message from Seidel, Wesley agrees to help.

Meanwhile, Cordelia is staying with Connor at his vast empty loft. He trains her to slay vampires while romance blossoms.

Angel confronts Seidel (largely to protect him from Fred's vengeance), but Seidel releases a demon from a portal to attack Angel. Seidel tries to escape, but he encounters Fred. She opens her own portal, intending to send him to a hell dimension as punishment. As he is being sucked in, Gunn arrives. When he is unable to convince Fred to close the portal, Gunn snaps Seidel's neck and throws him into the portal. Fred and Gunn lie to Angel that Seidel fell victim to his own portal meant for Fred.

Connor arrives at the Hyperion Hotel to pick up Cordelia's things because they have decided to live together. Connor and Cordelia battle a common vampire. Elated when she stakes it, Cordelia impulsively kisses Connor. Connor embraces her, but Cordelia is uncomfortable and pulls away. She explains that she still doesn't know who she is or where she belongs. Connor angrily realizes that she's going back to Angel.

Cordelia arrives at the hotel to talk to Angel. She tells him that she is the same person she was before her amnesia, and that person doesn't need protecting. After Angel promises not to lie to her anymore, she asks him if they were in love.

After his rendition of "The Way We Were", Lorne addresses an unseen lounge audience. In an attempt to restore Cordelia's memory, Lorne obtains a bottle containing a memory-restoration spell, which Cordelia is eager to try. Wesley arrives, having been asked to help with the spell, and has an awkward meeting with Fred. She vaguely informs him that her mission was completed, as Gunn realizes that Wesley helped Fred try to kill her professor. When he confronts Wesley, he also threatens Wes to not pursue Fred, but Wes tries to dismiss the issue. Gunn asks what happened to Wesley. He reminds Gunn that "I had my throat cut and all my friends abandoned me." The gang hold hands in a circle around the bottle as it starts to spin. The spell disorients everyone; Lorne passes out and the others stumble about the lobby as if very high. Cordelia accidentally smashes the bottle with her boot. All present are mentally regressed to the age of 17: Cordelia when she was the most popular girl at Sunnydale High, Wesley believes he is still a student at the Watcher's Academy, Gunn is once again a rebellious street kid, Fred is transformed into a younger and insecure girl who likes marijuana; and Angel has reverted to his teenaged pre-vampire self — an Irishman named Liam (he was not sired until age 26). While Liam wonders what happened to his Irish accent, Gunn and Wesley butt heads on plans. When Wesley tries to demonstrate his toughness with a karate demonstration, he unintentionally activates the stake weapon up his sleeve. Gunn and Fred find Lorne passed out behind the counter, and are shocked to see a demon. Meanwhile, Connor saves a young woman from two vampires. The woman offers her body in repayment, but only if he pays.

Back at the hotel, Wesley duct tapes Lorne to the seat in the lobby while arguing with Gunn over whether to cut Lorne's head off or torture him for information. When Cordelia asks why they're not freaking out about wooden stakes or the sight of a green man with horns, Wesley and Gunn both reveal that vampires and demons are real and they both have experience with them. Fred examines an unconscious Lorne while Wesley shares his theory that they're being kept in the hotel with a vampire as a test. They all start to wonder why they don't look 17, and collectively decide to hunt for the vampire that will supposedly set them free once they kill it. Cordelia and Angel team up and go one way while the other three head in the other direction. Angel struggles to adjust to this strange world that is hundreds of years beyond his life. He and Cordelia sit on the bed, and after apologizing for acting so "womanish", Cordelia comforts him, and, feeling his muscles, begins to flirt with him. Angel vamps out and realizes he is a vampire and he will be killed if the gang finds out.

Angel tries to leave the hotel, but panics when he spots the cars on the street and rushes back inside. As the group regathers in the lobby, Wesley introduces a new theory: the vampire may be one of them. He passes a cross around the group, but when it finally reaches Angel, he manages to hide his smoking hand until a distraction develops. Lorne wakes up, his memory unaffected, and identifies Angel as a vampire. Angel punches Lorne, knocking him out again. A fight breaks out between Angel, Wesley and Gunn, and the girls run in separate directions. Angel catches Cordelia, who screams loudly, drawing a lurking Connor out of the shadows. Angel rants to Connor about fathers as the two fight, while in the lobby, Lorne convinces Fred to release him, and he mixes together a concoction to restore their memories.

After treating the others, Lorne puts a touch of the mixture on Cordy's tongue. She pauses and then runs off. Lorne finishes up his story at the lounge: describing what really happened was she was struck with a vision of a terrifying demon; Cordelia reveals to Angel that she remembers everything, and confirms that before she lost her memory she was in love with him. Lorne then walks off and the camera reveals an empty Lounge.

Cordelia tells Angel that she still loves him, but that during her time as a higher power she saw and felt all the carnage he formerly wrought as Angelus. She now needs him to give her time to sort out her feelings. When Lorne wants to learn what Cordelia remembers about her time as a higher power, Angel insists that they wait.

Connor comforts Cordelia after another nightmare featuring the demon from her visions. Meanwhile, as Angel Investigations is flooded with calls involving paranormal activity all over Los Angeles, Wesley returns home after fighting a bug infestation to find Lilah dressed as Fred for sexual role-playing.

Suddenly, Cordelia starts breathing hard and her eyes turn white as she warns Angel that "he's coming." Cordelia lies down and tells Angel and Connor what she remembers of her vision. Back at the hotel, Lorne picks up on the strained relationship between Fred and Gunn; since they jointly sought revenge on the man who sent Fred to a hell dimension, Fred has not been able to forgive Gunn for their actions. She leaves for the diner where she and Gunn are regulars.

Angel goes to Wolfram & Hart to demand that Lilah return the information the law firm sucked out of Lorne's head about the impending apocalypse. Cordelia and Connor walk to an alleyway that Cordelia recognizes as the place where Connor was born, where Darla staked herself. A large, horned demon bursts from the ground before them, knocking them both down. Connor attacks, but he takes a brutal beating before the demon strides away. Cordelia tends to Connor's wounds and finds that he has broken ribs.

At the diner, a waitress tries to advise Fred on her relationship troubles, until an earthquake shatters the diner's windows. Meanwhile, unable to locate Fred, Gunn is restless and tries to leave to find her, but Wesley appears and interrupts his departure. Aware of all the strange occurrences around town, he offers to work with them to deal with this problem, but Gunn's too angry with Wesley to even consider the idea. Angel stops them all from leaving because he has information from Lilah that they must study to prevent the end of the world. The trio examine the pages containing information stolen earlier from Lorne's brain. Another call is taken by Lorne and Angel instructs him to start mapping the locations from where the calls originate. The pages make no sense until Gunn sees that the pages fit together like a puzzle. Rearranging the sheets reveals a symbol shaped like a square with an "X" inside representing the "Eye of Fire." Lorne makes another discovery: the mapped locations of strange occurrences form the same pattern. Angel and the gang determine that the location on the map that appears at the middle of the X is a popular club on a high rooftop. They arrive at the club to find a mass of dead bodies and the Beast waiting for them.

Angel and the team take on the demon but are overpowered. Crossbows, axes, and swords don't have much impact, so Wesley tries a series of guns that also fail. Angel renews the battle and manages to send the demon to its knees, until the demon stakes him in the neck. The demon sends Angel flying off the roof to the city street. The demon forms the Eye of Fire using the dead bodies and sets them ablaze. Angel rips the stake from his neck and slowly begins to recover.

The fire on the roof rises towards the sky and soon fire starts to rain down as Connor and Cordelia watch. Connor blames himself for the whole situation, but Cordelia comforts and reassures him that he's not to blame. Cordelia kisses Connor and offers him the chance to feel something real. While everyone else watches the fire, fearing the future that awaits them, Connor and Cordelia have sex. Connor is seeking comfort in her arms. Angel is shown to be observing through the window on top of a nearby building.

Lorne brings Angel some blood in his room. Gwen Raiden meets a client, Mr. Ashet. Just as the man suggests not killing her for canceling on him, the Beast shoves a fist through the man's chest, sending Gwen flying.

Connor is restless in his warehouse. Cordelia gets a vision of the Beast and immediately rushes to talk to Angel. Gunn and Fred brainstorm the meaning of the little girl's words. Wesley reveals he has discovered the little girl was Wolfram & Hart's connection to the Senior Partners but she was also an entity named Mesektet. He explains that Mesektet was one of five totems in a group known as the Ra-Tet.

Fred finds out it was Ma'at, another totem of the Ra-tet. she felt she was in the body of someone talking to the Beast. Gwen arrives at the hotel to mixed feelings about her presence, but her experience with the Beast proves to be useful to them.

Fred discovers Gwen's client was another Ra-tet member, one composed of light. Needing to find and protect at least one of the two remaining totems, Angel suggests he and Gwen go find Semkhet in Death Valley. Angel and Gwen sneak into the cave holding Semkhet, but find they're too late and the body has already been destroyed. As Angel wonders about the reason for the Beast killing off the Ra-tet, a rather ordinary man appears and explains that the beast is trying to stop the light of the sun. The man reveals himself to be Manjet, or Manny, the only surviving member of the Ra-tet, and keeper of the orb. Manny explains that the Beast is planning a ritual using the Ra-tet to eventually black out the whole world from the sun and turn the earth into a land for demons.

Angel brings Manny back to the hotel, but the gang quickly realizes the hotel is not the safest place for them to protect Manny. Angel mentions to Cordelia that Gwen's money came from the Axis of Pythia he used to track Cordelia and then gave to Gwen.

The gang brainstorm about Manny being an orb keeper, and what could have been taken from him. Gwen reveals that the Beast took something out of the chest of the Shaman she was visiting, despite earlier having claimed to have seen nothing. The timing and stealthiness of the attack and the spiked drinks lead the gang to believe it was an inside job, but no definite suspect can be pinned down.

They return to the hotel and find information about the ritual from Lorne's research. Wesley and Fred announce they've discovered what seems to be the only way to get rid of the Beast: opening a portal to send it through. Gunn reacts badly to this idea, but Fred reminds him it's their only option. Cordelia also senses she knew the person the Beast was talking to, leading them all to believe Connor is involved.

The Beast finds Connor at his warehouse and promptly throws him out the window. Angel and the gang pull up just in time, charging upstairs to stop the ritual. Wesley and Fred work on opening the portal while the others attack the Beast, who has already started the ritual. While the portal opens behind the Beast upstairs, outside Cordelia gets to see more of her vision and the sun begins to darken. With several consecutive blows, Angel and the others manage to send the Beast through the portal and out of their world.

Upstairs, the Beast reappears behind the gang and speaks, saying he met Angelus in the past, and again offering an alliance of their evil. The beast grabs the orb and swallows it whole, then flies out the window. Cordelia figures out her vision was actually a memory from when she was a higher power and saw all of Angelus's actions over time. Angel doesn't remember such a meeting in the past, and he states that it's not something he'd forget, but Wesley suspects the Beast has been able to control Angel in some way. Wesley announces that the only one who may have the knowledge they need to defeat the Beast is Angelus, so they need him back.

At the Hyperion Hotel, the gang carefully put Angel's contained soul away in the safe, discussing the great risk they all face in dealing with Angelus. Meanwhile, an unchained Angelus sits alone in the basement cage. Wesley cautiously approaches the cage and starts up a discussion with Angelus. Angelus plays games with Wesley, avoiding the important information about The Beast in favor of taunting Wesley about his romantic interest in Fred while the rest of the gang watch the conversation from the lobby via video feed. Angelus continues to be difficult, raising issues of Wesley's failure with Faith and Connor. Connor returns to receive strange looks in the aftermath of Angelus's news, but misinterprets the looks as everyone still thinking he's connected to the Beast.

Gunn and Fred bring Angelus a glass of blood and Angelus happily takes advantage of the opportunity to taunt the couple about the sounds Angel could hear coming from Fred's room at night. Fred pushes a cart towards the cage and Angelus takes the glass, but also shoves the cart into Fred and grabs her when she falls towards the cage. Gunn moves in to rescue Fred, but it's Wesley who shoots Angelus with tranquilizer darts, freeing Fred and knocking Angelus out cold. In Wesley's office, Fred thanks him for saving her, but the conversation takes a turn for the romantic as Wesley kisses Fred. Gunn walks in and, after realizing that something just happened between them, he gets furious. The two men begin to fight until Gunn accidentally hits Fred when she tries to stop them. Angelus is pleased with the discord he has created.

Connor approaches Angelus, who tells Connor that his mother Darla and his adoptive father Holtz were eager to get away from Connor. Connor calmly replies that he knows that Angelus is his real father. Angelus thinks he can take advantage of this and encourages Connor to approach, but Cordelia interrupts and sends Connor away. She then turns off the video camera and offers herself in exchange for all of Angelus's information on the Beast. Angelus is reluctant to take her offer, but later Cordelia informs the gang that Angelus is willing to talk, although she refuses to tell them what she did to get Angelus to talk. Wesley goes downstairs and begins to ask questions. Angelus explains that in 1789, the Beast tried to bribe Angelus into helping him kill three priestesses who were attempting to banish the Beast. Angelus refused to help, and then the priestesses appeared and banished the Beast. Gunn finds that the women live nearby.

Wesley, Cordelia, and Connor find the priestesses and their families have already been murdered by the Beast. After seeing a "Daddy's Birthday" reminder on the family's calendar, Connor runs outside to be sick. Cordelia chases after him and she tries to talk to him, but some vampires interrupt the moment, sending the gang into battle mode. Connor disposes of one and Wesley gets the car for them to escape in. They return to the hotel and everyone realizes that without useful information from Angelus, they need to turn him back into Angel. Cordelia goes downstairs and, despite Angelus's enthusiasm to have her, Cordelia tells him the deal is off since they didn't get to save the world and that they're putting his soul back. Angelus doesn't seem too worried about that, as he's confident he'll get to see the apocalypse come to life. Cordelia returns to the office only to find bad news: the container holding Angel's soul is gone.

Angelus, who has been stalking Lilah, is disappointed when he finds her already dead. Wesley and Gunn discover him holding her body, drinking whatever is left of her blood; he escapes through a window, allowing the two to assume he killed her. Downstairs, when Wesley and Gunn return to the lobby with news of Lilah's death, Lorne suggests protecting the hotel with the same magic that forbids violence at his club. When the group realizes that Angelus could have turned Lilah into a vampire, Wesley offers to prevent her potential rising.

Angelus visits a demon bar—where he is raucously received—to question the patrons on the whereabouts of the Beast. In the basement, Wesley prepares to behead Lilah. After an imaginary conversation where he apologizes for their "not-a-relationship", he finally brings down the ax. Connor intends to destroy Angelus despite Cordelia's protests, but when he starts to leave, Cordelia faints mid-speech and Connor stops to care for her.

Meanwhile, Slayer Faith works out in prison until another prisoner threatens her with a knife. Faith efficiently knocks the woman out. As the corrections officer hauls the other prisoner away, reassuring Faith they saw how she was attacked, Faith notices the ornate Bringer knife that was used. Angelus follows the scent of Lilah's blood to the weapon used to kill her, in the Beast's possession. The Beast says Angelus is a part of his master's plans, but Angelus refuses to take orders and leaves. Cordelia—revealed as the Beast's master—is disappointed. The Beast apologizes for his failures and she forgives him, then the two kiss.

Lorne performs the protection spell, and Wesley returns from the basement saying he intends to restore Angel's soul. Wesley visits Faith at the prison to ask for her help; although initially disinterested, upon learning that Angelus has "returned," she crashes through the glass, knocks out the prison guards, and jumps out of the high window with Wesley. (The clear implication is that Faith could have escaped prison any time she liked and only remained there as part of her self-imposed redemption efforts.) Faith tells him that she won't kill Angelus because of Angel's crucial role in her life and Wesley admits that's precisely why he chose her for the job. When they arrive at the hotel, Faith asserts herself as commander. Connor is displeased with her decision to rescue Angelus, not kill him, but Faith makes it clear her plan is the only plan.

Angelus, after overhearing a Slayer is in town, immediately calls Buffy Summers's house. When Dawn Summers confirms her sister is still in Sunnydale, he realizes Faith must be the Slayer on the loose. Connor leads Faith, Wesley and Gunn into a factory (where Angelus has, with typical sardonic intent, erected a "Welcome, Faith" banner) and despite Faith's orders, beheads the first vampire that crosses his path. Faith yells at the teen for disobeying her and then tells him to go home because he refuses to listen to her. The two fight, but Faith is clearly stronger and eventually holds a crossbow to Connor's throat in warning. Connor returns to the hotel with Gunn, as Wesley and Faith split up to search the factory.

Faith finds Angelus with the Beast; she is badly beaten by the creature until Angelus stabs the Beast with a dagger made of the Beast's flesh, killing the demon and restoring the sun. Faith knocks out a large window, flooding the room with sunlight, forcing Angelus to keep his distance. At the hotel, the gang rejoices in the return of the sun and Connor goes upstairs to tell Cordelia. Connor sings Faith's praises until Cordy interrupts with news that she's pregnant with his child.

As a battered and bloodied Faith recovers at Wesley's apartment after her showdown with the Beast, they wonder why Angelus would suddenly kill the Beast and allow the sun to return to Los Angeles. At a demon bar, Angelus is spoken to by a deep disembodied voice, which turns out to originate from Cordelia, projecting from the hotel. Angelus then surprises Fred at the hotel, claiming he is immune to the sanctuary spell. He demands information on the Beast's master and steals her research materials. Fred tries to shoot him with a tranquilizer dart but accidentally hits Lorne instead. Connor attempts to stop Angelus, but is repelled by the demon protection spell.

Angelus is contacted again by Cordelia telepathically, and this time she threatens to restore his soul if he refuses to help. Fred's mood worsens as she feels inadequate to fight Angelus. Fred and Gunn kiss, but part, unsure about their feelings. Meanwhile, Cordelia convinces Connor to keep her sudden pregnancy a secret from everyone else. Faith and Wesley try to track Angelus at the demon bar. There they encounter human junkies, who get high on the vampire bites. Faith smacks one around, but Wesley finally gets the needed info by stabbing the woman. They are able to track Angelus to a deserted museum where Faith has another showdown with him. The fight is long and brutal, with Faith eventually seeming to have beaten Angelus into submission - only to have him suddenly leap on her and bite her neck.

After drinking from Faith, Angelus pulls away in shock as she flashes back to earlier, when she injected herself with a drug stolen from a vampire junkie at the demon bar. Angelus and Faith both collapse, unconscious. Gunn drags Angelus's body to the Hyperion Hotel, where he and Connor shackle Angelus securely in the basement cage. Wesley brings a barely alive Faith to one of the hotel bedrooms. Knowing Faith injected herself with Orpheus, an enchanted psychedelic drug that poses a serious threat to her life, Lorne berates Wesley for allowing Faith to purposely get bit by Angelus. Connor updates Cordelia on Faith and Angelus' conditions. Suddenly, Cordelia brutally shoves Connor into a wall in response to his constant talk about Faith. He's shocked and she tries to cover her behavior by blaming it on the pregnancy and crazy hormones.

Downstairs, Connor shouts at Fred and Wesley about the need for killing Angelus, when Willow Rosenberg appears at the door suggesting that she's a better alternative. Fred called Willow for help since she's the only one alive to have successfully restored Angel's soul. Willow wants to see Cordelia again and Connor reluctantly takes her upstairs. As Willow talks about the difficulties associated with ensouling Angelus, Cordelia secretly reaches for a large knife under her pillow and tries to get Willow close enough to strike. Willow realizes if they break the jar, they can avoid all the complications and free the soul. Willow rushes out of the room in time to unknowingly avoid the knife thrown at her, which hits the door instead.

In their shared coma, Angelus and Faith witness the 1920s-version of Angel rescue a small puppy from an oncoming car. Angelus is infuriated at being subjected to the memory again, and Faith realizes with glee that they're experiencing Angel's good deeds of the past. Next, a hippie Angel walks into a diner and selects "Mandy" on the jukebox, as Angelus complains to Faith about watching Angel's self-induced misery. A man barges into the diner and asks for money, but shoots the cashier when he doesn't react quickly enough. The shooter runs away, and Angel struggles with his desire to feed on the cashier, which wins out. The bite marks on dream-Faith's neck begins to bleed and she realizes Angel could have saved the cashier. Angelus watches on as Angel suffers with the guilt of feeding, enjoying Faith's pain as well.

Before Willow can begin her spell to locate the jar holding Angel's soul, the Beast Master's deep voice screams a warning to stop. Willow's magic overpowers the Master's, and Willow begins her spell as Cordelia works counter-magic from the bedroom. When Connor breaks Cordelia's concentration by trying to enter the bedroom, Willow is able to magically shatter the jar. Using the Orb of Thesulah, Willow and Fred begin the ritual that will give Angel back his soul. Dream-Faith finds herself in a dirty alley with Angelus again, watching past-Angel, having forsaken all human ties, feed on a rat (shortly prior to the events of the 1996 flashback in "Becoming, Part One", wherein the demon Whistler almost literally dragged Angel from the gutter—commenting on his rat-feeding habits in the process—and set him on the path to his supposed destiny as Buffy's ally and a champion of the Powers That Be). In a twist, past-Angel turns and addresses the twosome. Angelus and Angel face-off and begin to exchange blows, as Angel convinces Faith that life is worth living and she has to wake up. Faith disappears.

When Connor finally breaks into her barricaded bedroom, Cordy smashes a lamp over his head, then pretends not to have known it was him. Cordy deceives Connor into thinking Willow's magic is evil and threatens their unborn child. She tells him he has to kill Angelus to protect their family. Willow completes the restoration spell, pulling Angelus and Angel into one body, while Faith wakes up and rushes downstairs to the basement in time to stop Connor from staking Angel. She begins to beat up Connor until Angel wakes up and stops the fight. Later, Faith tells Angel that she is going back to Sunnydale with Willow to aid Buffy and her allies. After they leave, a very pregnant Cordelia comes downstairs and shocks the gang with the serious trouble they still have to deal with.

A famous painter named Claude Zoret falls in love with one of his models, Michael, and for a time the two live happily as partners. Self-conscious of being considerably older than Michael, Zoret acts jealous and possessive. Michael begins to drift from him, causing Zoret to passive aggressively drive Michael away further. When a bankrupt countess comes to Zoret to have a portrait made — with the real intent of seducing him and swindling his money — she finds Michael to be more receptive to her advances. At her lead, the two quickly become a couple and she immediately begins using Michael to steal from Zoret. When Zoret discovers what has been going on, he is crushed and his work suffers terribly.

Michael sells the painting of himself that Zoret made and gave to him as a gift, and steals and sells the sketches Zoret made of their time in Algiers, where they first fell in love. Zoret begins work on his masterpiece: a large-scale painting of a man lying on a beach, using Algiers as a background, depicting "a man who has lost everything", as one character put it on first sight of the work.

After completing the painting, Zoret falls ill. Charles Switt sits beside Zoret on his deathbed. Switt had always loved Zoret, and has stayed with him throughout, never criticizing Michael for fear of hurting his unrequited love. Switt sends a message to Michael, telling him that Zoret is dying and to come at once, but the Countess prevents him from getting it. Zoret's last words, which also serve as the prologue to the film, are "Now I can die in peace, for I have seen true love."

After her mother dies in a mysterious car accident, 17-year-old Megan (Nicole Eggert), daughter of a wealthy businessman, lives a reckless lifestyle. A year later, she is almost killed by a horse who has lost control, though she is rescued by Rich (Corey Haim), a young college dropout who works at the ski resort owned by her father Cy (Jean LeClerc). Grateful, she invites him to her party, where she thanks him again by being intimate with him in her father's bed. The next morning, Cy comes home and almost catches them. Even though he does not, he angers Megan by forbidding her to see any guys. Unlike Cy, Rich's girlfriend Darla (Kathleen Robertson) does find out about the affair, and dumps him. Rich wastes no time and enters into a passionate relationship with Megan. She soon introduces him to her father, but he disapproves of him, and Megan tells Rich that they cannot see each other any longer.

Devastated, Rich turns to his womanizing older brother Wes (Corey Feldman) for comfort, who encourages him to do everything to get Megan back. He follows her to a bar, where she is seen giving a large sum of money to a criminal-looking man. Rich catches her getting intimate with the guy, and knocks him down as a response. Megan then apologizes to Rich, and claims that she did not think that he really loved her and was only testing him in order to see how much he would be willing to do for her. He immediately takes her back, and they accompany each other to a bar, where Wes always hangs out with his friends. While Rich is arguing with Darla, who accuses him of going out with her only because of her money, Megan is seen talking with Wes. As they go to their home together, they run into Cy, who calls his daughter a slut for bringing a boy home, resulting in a huge fight between them.

Rich decides to go home, where he finds Wes sleeping with Darla. Enraged, he tries to beat up Wes, but Darla stops them by informing Rich that he does not own her; later, Rich apologizes to Wes, saying that he should not have taken his feelings of anger out on him, and Wes accepts (while remarking that it had been a while since they "had a few rounds" with each other), and then apologizes for what he did. Rich decides to return to Megan's place, where she — fed up with fighting with her father — convinces him that her father killed her mother and that they should kill him, and run off with the money. However, Rich, blinded by the potently sexual relationship, is in two minds about what to do.

The next day, Rich and Wes are shocked to find out that Darla has been killed in a horse riding accident. Meanwhile, Megan turns out hospitalized and claims to Rich that her father is to blame. Rich, seeing how severely beaten up she is, fears losing her someday to Cy's abuse, and promises her to help her. As they return home, Megan tells Rich that she has placed a bomb in his bike, and that 'it will all be over soon'. The next morning, Rich is invited by Cy to accompany him on a bike ride, causing Rich to witness the explosion that throws him almost off a cliff. As Cy falls to his death, he tells Rich that he did not kill his wife. Rich starts to suspect that Megan may not be who he thinks she is, and meanwhile, he becomes the prime suspect in Cy's death in the investigation of Detective Anderson (Gary Farmer). Despite Anderson's attempts to make him turn in Megan, Rich denies any involvement in the entire ordeal, though evidence points against him. Wes is shocked that his brother would have killed anyone, and is mad at him for not having killed their own abusive father.

Shortly later, Megan bails out Rich, and gives him her car. She tells Rich to meet her at the house and that she's made all the arraignments. However, now distrustful of Megan, he checks the car for a bomb, but finds nothing and drives off.

We then see Rich leaving the resort where he says goodbye to Wes. That night as Rich is driving, thinking about Cy's death, he veers off the road into a patch of grass. The car gets stuck in the mud so Rich exits the vehicle to see what's wrong. He discovers a bomb about to explode, but is able to get away just in time and immediately rushes to Megan's house.

There, it is revealed that Megan and Wes were lovers all along and planned the murders and schemes together in order to be together. Rich confronts his older brother, and Wes informs him that he tried to frame him because he has always hated him. As Wes is about to shoot Rich, Megan kills Wes. She tries to put the entire blame on Wes, but Rich does not believe her, prompting her to reveal that she was the mastermind behind it all. As she tries to shoot Rich, the police arrive, killing Megan immediately in self-defense; Rich was wired throughout the final scene, which clears him from all charges (although he has nobody important in his life anymore, leaving him empty inside).

17-year-old Lance Elliot is a summer intern at the Agency. His fantasies of espionage and intrigue turn real when he's ordered to rush a package to L.A. A madman millionaire computer virus designer, Cashpot, and his icy henchwoman Rhonda want that package. It's key to their plot to destroy the environment. Lance stays one step ahead of them, trying to avoid a visit to their "video-game-of-doom" room.

Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks) is the callous CEO of Bolt Enterprises. Bolt shows little regard for other people's needs, or for the environment. He has his eye on the slum of Los Angeles, with the intent of tearing it down. Bolt makes a bet with his biggest rival, Vance Crasswell (Jeffrey Tambor), who also has an interest in the property. Crasswell challenges Bolt to survive on the streets as if he were homeless for 30 days. Should Bolt lose, Crasswell owns the property, but should Bolt win, Crasswell will sell it for practically nothing.

There are three conditions: (i) Bolt will be completely penniless; (ii) He must wear an electronic anklet that will activate if he leaves the boundaries, forfeiting the bet if he exceeds 30 seconds out of bounds; (iii) At no time can he reveal to any of the slum area residents that he is Goddard Bolt. To add to the look, Bolt has his mustache shaved off, then Crasswell confiscates his toupee and rips his jacket chest pocket. Bolt is taken to the slums, thrown out of the limo and begins the bet. Unbeknown to Bolt, Crasswell schemes to make Goddard's stay on the streets as bad as possible. Bolt, homeless, hungry and filthy, is befriended by skid-row inhabitants like Sailor (Howard Morris) and Fumes (Theodore Wilson) and given the nickname "Pepto" after falling asleep in a crate with a Pepto-Bismol logo on its side, having used the crate to urinate on mere moments before Sailor arrives.

During the bet, he meets and eventually becomes attracted to Molly (Lesley Ann Warren), a homeless woman who used to be a dancer on Broadway. During a scuffle with two muggers (including a chase through a Chinese kitchen/restaurant), Bolt is pushed out of bounds, which activates his anklet. To prevent the "30-second forfeiture", Bolt rushes back in, which impresses Molly with his supposed bravery, as it looks like he is tackling the muggers. The muggers are eventually defeated via a pot of boiling stock being poured over them from a height, forcing them to retreat their assault on Bolt.

Bolt learns a series of important life lessons during his 'adventure', namely that life is not about accomplishments or material success, but rather the integrity of the human spirit. However, Bolt is unaware that the unscrupulous Crasswell has no intention of honoring their bet. When Crasswell realizes that Bolt is honoring the bet fair and square, Crasswell bribes Bolt's lawyers into fabricating the story that Bolt had lost his mind and has his property seized. Bolt finds this out first hand as, upon completing the bet, he forces his way into a party which is being held by Crasswell at Bolt's home and his lawyers feign ignorance.

Forced to live on the streets for good and remanded to a free clinic by mistake, a drugged Bolt murmurs that "life stinks". Molly implores him to remember the small things, such as the two of them waltzing, that make life livable. Crasswell, meanwhile, has his own plans for the slum area, planning to tear it down as well. Bolt incites Fumes and the other slum residents to stage a mock battle during the televised ceremony of Crasswell demolishing the slum area. Realising that he will be ousted, Crasswell attempts to stop Bolt with a hydraulic excavator. When Bolt's grapple has plucked Crasswell and has him hanging by his jacket, the scene is freeze-framed into a news report saying that Crasswell, in a court case, was forced to admit he made a bet with Bolt, then reneged on the terms.

Bolt, now in control of the area, has plans to renovate it into the "Bolt Center", which will give the slum residents employment, renovate the tenements into livable homes, and give the children a private school financed entirely out of pocket by Goddard Bolt. The news report ends by saying that Bolt has married Molly, and the press are expecting an extravagant CEO-type event, only to then be shown Goddard and Molly taking their wedding vows in a simple chapel in the slum area, then driving off in a limousine with a vanity plate "PEPTO".

One evening while at home Harry (Kane) and Bill (Lloyd), a dress designer, receive an unsettling anonymous phone call, which is to be followed by a further unsettling visit from a man who will refuse to leave his name . Following some apparently trivial conversation between Stella, another dress designer, and James (Horne), her husband and business partner, that occurs in his flat, James has left it to call on Bill at Harry's house, revealing that he was the anonymous caller and is the unexpected visitor. James confronts Bill with the confession of his wife Stella that she has had a one-night affair with Bill in her hotel room. Bill first claims that she invented the story. He later admits to their having "kissed a bit", but insists he never went to Stella's room. He further renders that version ambiguous when James remembers calling Stella in her hotel room:

JAMES: [...] Then I phoned.
''Pause''.
I spoke to her. [...] You were sitting on the bed, next to her.
BILL: Not sitting. Lying.

James's obsession to meet the man who has purportedly cuckolded him––suggesting archetypal symbolic significance in Pinter's choice of his surname (Horne)–– and to confront him with "the truth" culminates in a "mock duel" with household knives, in which Bill is scarred. Harry then intervenes and relates to James Stella's alleged admission that she has invented the whole story and the two never really met (in fact, what she has told him is that ''James'' was the one who "dreamed it up"). Bill confirms that nothing happened, and Harry viciously chastises him, calling him a "slum slug" with a "slum mind" and claiming that he "confirms stupid sordid little stories just to amuse himself, while everyone else has to run round in circles to get to the root of the matter and smooth the whole thing out". As James is about to leave, Bill suddenly changes his story for the last time and tells James: "we sat ... in the lounge, on a sofa for two hours ... talked we talked about it ... we didn't move from the lounge never went to her room ... just talked about what we would do ... if we did get to her room two hours ... we never touched ... we just talked about it." James then goes back home and confronts his wife with this final version of "the truth"––

You didn't do anything, did you?
''Pause''.
That's the truth, isn't it?
''Pause''.
You just sat and talked about what you would do, if you went to your room. That's what you did.
''Pause''.
Didn't you?
''Pause''.
That's the truth . . . isn't it?"––

Stella never responds.

Pinter leads the audience to believe that there are three characters in the play: the wife, the husband and the lover. But the lover who comes to call in the afternoons is revealed to be the husband adopting a role. He plays the lover for her: she plays the whore for him. As the play goes on the man (first as the lover and then as the husband) expresses a wish to stop the pretend adultery, to the dismay of the woman. Finally, the husband suddenly switches back to the role of the lover.

The film opens in documentary style at the elementary school in Siligo that six-year-old Gavino (Saverio Marconi) is attending. His tyrannical peasant father (Omero Antonutti) barges in and announces to the teacher and the students that Gavino must leave school and tend the family sheep. Under his father's watchful eyes and the victim of his sadistic behavior, Gavino passes the next fourteen years tending sheep in the Sardinian mountains. There he begins to discover “things” for himself and to rebel against his father.

Gavino is rescued from his family and his isolation when he is called for military service. During his time with the army he learns about electronics, the Italian language and classical music, yearning all the while for a university education.

When Gavino returns home, he declares to his father that he will attend university. His father is against this and tells him that he will throw him out of the family home. They have a nasty fight, but Gavino eventually attends university and emerges as a brilliant student. He becomes a linguist, specializing in the origins of the Sardinian language.

The film ends in documentary style again as Gavino Ledda himself tells why he wrote his book and what Sardinian children may expect as inhabitants of a rural area with close ties to the land.

Nick Conklin is a New York City police officer facing possible criminal charges; Internal Affairs believes Nick was involved with his former partner, who was caught taking criminal money in a corruption scandal. Nick, who has financial difficulties, is divorced from his wife, who has custody of their two children.

At a restaurant, Nick and his current partner Charlie Vincent observe two Japanese men meeting with Mafia gangsters. Nick's suspicions are validated when another Japanese man enters the restaurant, seizes a small package at gunpoint, kills two people, and leaves. Nick and Charlie chase and arrest the suspect after he nearly kills Nick. Sato is to be extradited to Osaka and given to the police there. Though angered that Sato will not be prosecuted in the US, Nick agrees to escort him. Nick's captain believes it will keep Nick from causing more trouble and exacerbating the already biased Internal Affairs investigation.

During the flight to Japan on board a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-100 and when they arrive in Osaka, they surrender Sato to the Japanese police, only to discover that they were duped by impostors. Nick convinces the Osaka police to allow them to observe the investigation, though their weapons are confiscated. They are assigned to Masahiro Matsumoto. Nick behaves rudely and offends Matsumoto, while Charlie attempts to be more polite. Nick also makes contact with an American nightclub hostess, Joyce, who explains that Nick and Charlie represent American inefficiency and stupidity to the Japanese. Through her, Nick discovers Sato is fighting a gang war with a notorious crime boss, Sugai, and traveled to New York to disrupt Sugai's counterfeiting scheme.

Nick joins a police raid without permission and takes a few $100 bills from the crime scene. The next day, Matsumoto explains they have dishonored themselves, him, and the police force by his theft, which has been reported in America; Nick calls him a snitch and demonstrates the money is counterfeit by burning one of the bills. At night, Nick and Charlie walk back to their hotel drunk and unescorted, despite warnings about their safety. In an apparent prank, a young motorcyclist steals Charlie's coat and leads him to an underground parking garage. The motorcyclist turns out to be one of Sato's henchman and has lured Charlie into a trap. Separated from Charlie, Nick watches in horror as Sato and several others briefly torture Charlie before Sato beheads him. Joyce comforts the distraught Nick at her apartment. Later, Matsumoto hands him Charlie's service revolver.

As Matsumoto and Nick trail one of Sato's operatives, Nick admits he stole money in New York. The operative retrieves a sample counterfeit note, which she passes to a gangster. Nick and Matsumoto tail him to a steel foundry, where they find Sato is meeting Sugai, and the package from New York is a printing plate for American $100 bills. Nick confronts Sato, who escapes when swarming police arrest Nick for waving a gun in public. Though deported, Nick sneaks off the plane to pursue Sato on his own, as Matsumoto has been suspended and demoted. Joyce helps him meet Sugai, who explains that making counterfeit US currency is his revenge for the "black rain", or nuclear fallout, after the bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. Nick suggests a deal where Sugai can use Nick to retrieve the stolen plate from Sato, leaving Sugai's reputation and hands clean.

Sugai drops Nick at a remote farm with a shotgun. Matsumoto arrives, and they deduce Sato plans a massacre. During a meeting with Sugai, Sato cuts off one of his fingers in atonement, stabs Sugai, and escapes with the plates, prompting a gunfight between Sugai's and Sato's men. Sato escapes the fight on a dirt bike, Nick pursues, and the two fight briefly. Nick gains the advantage and, having Sato at his mercy, has the choice of whether or not to kill Sato for Charlie and all the humiliation he has suffered. Matsumoto and Nick walk a handcuffed Sato into police headquarters to the amazement of everyone and later receive commendations, which Nick accepts gratefully.

Before boarding his flight home, Nick thanks Matsumoto for his assistance and friendship, and gives him a dress shirt in a gift box. Underneath it, Matsumoto finds the counterfeit printing plates.

Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant (a character who also appears in five other novels by the same author) is feeling bored while confined to bed in hospital with a broken leg. Marta Hallard, an actress friend of his, suggests he should amuse himself by researching a historical mystery. She brings him some pictures of historical characters, aware of Grant's interest in human faces. He becomes intrigued by a portrait of King Richard III. He prides himself on being able to read a person's character from his appearance, and King Richard seems to him a gentle, kind and wise man. Why is everyone so sure that he was a cruel murderer?

With the help of other friends and acquaintances, Grant investigates Richard's life and the case of the Princes in the Tower, testing out his theories on the doctors and nurses who attend to him. Grant spends weeks pondering historical information and documents with the help of Brent Carradine, a likable young American researcher working in the British Museum. Using his detective's logic, he comes to the conclusion that the claim of Richard being a murderer is a fabrication of Tudor propaganda, as is the popular image of the King as a monstrous hunchback.

Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is the commanding officer of VMF-214, a Marine squadron of "misfit" fighter pilots based on the Solomon Islands campaign and Bougainville campaign from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. Pappy often intercedes in altercations of the pilots at the base, but everyone seems to pull together when they are assigned missions in the air. Pappy likes to drink and fight a lot when not flying missions. He owns a Bull Terrier named "Meatball" — which he claims belongs to General Moore to get the dog on the base against regulations in ''Flying Misfits'', but General Moore says he "wouldn't own an ugly mutt like that."

The series premise was very loosely based on a portion of the real-life military career of Gregory Boyington, known as "Pappy" due to his "advanced" age compared to the younger pilots under his command. (He was 30 when he took command of VMF-214, but in the series pilot, he is stated to be 35.) Boyington, who was a technical adviser for the series, commented that the show was "fiction based on reality" and that no regular character in the series except for himself actually existed. Although in his book of the same name, there is a General "Nuts" Moore who has similar characteristics to General Moore in the series. Also in the book is Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Smoak, on whom Colonel Lard is based. Lard has almost the same animosity for Major Boyington in the TV series as Smoak does in the book. In the documentary film ''Pappy Boyington Field'', Robert Conrad shares personal insight about Pappy from their time together during the television series. The squadron has many successful combat missions using their Vought F4U Corsair planes against the experienced Japanese pilots using their Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter planes. The combat missions took place around the Japanese military base in Rabaul during Boyington's September 1943 to January 1944 tour of duty.

Pappy was an ace pre-World War II combat pilot and has the most air victories, or "kills", of any pilot in the squadron. In the pilot episode, Boyington has six kills from his combat tour in China before World War II with the Flying Tigers. His count climbs into the mid-20s as the series progresses. The real-life Boyington had 14 kills in 32 days during his first tour of duty with VMF-214, and finished with 28 confirmed victories.

The TV show's squadron is based on the fictional island of Vella la Cava. There is an actual island called Vella Lavella in the New Georgia Group of the Solomon Islands, but in the initial episode "Flying Misfits," Vella la Cava was represented on an aviation sectional chart by the real Kolombangara Island. Under Boyington's command, VMF-214 flew out of Barakoma Airfield on Vella Lavella during the Solomon Islands campaign.

In the story, Colbie and Deverel inadvertently slip onto the nearly frictionless surface of an enormous concave mirror built by unknown alien beings, and must use the laws of physics to come up with a way to avoid oscillating in a pendulum motion back and forth across the mirror until eventually the small amount of friction brings them to a stop in the center. Although the physics of the story can be criticized, the story is a textbook example of the kind of science-fiction called a "science puzzle" story (a variety of ''gedanken'' or 'idea' subgenre tale), in which the set up of the story is a puzzle which must be solved using (real) science. Many later examples could be cited, including Hal Clement's story "Dust Rag" ,and Larry Niven's "Neutron Star".

Amelia Peabody is left a wealthy orphan after the death of her studious father, who has left her everything in his will because she is the only one of his children who shared his interests, namely history and archaeology. The inheritance enables her to travel abroad in order to follow her enthusiasm for antiquities.

Amelia, a determined and unorthodox English woman, supports women's suffrage and believes she will never marry. (She's convinced she is unattractive and will neither submit to a man nor rule one.) In Rome she meets the destitute Evelyn Forbes, whose titled family have cast her off after she eloped with, then was abandoned by, an Italian art teacher. Amelia takes Evelyn under her wing and employs her as a companion. They travel together to Egypt, where they encounter the Emerson brothers, Radcliffe and Walter, archaeologist and philologist respectively, and where Amelia falls in love with pyramids.

Amelia and Evelyn decide to travel up the Nile, stopping at various sites along the way. When they reach Amarna, they discover the Emersons excavating the city which for a while was the capital of Egypt under the mysterious Akhenaten.

Amelia and Radcliffe Emerson loathe one another on sight, but after he is taken ill and she helps to keep his excavation going, they grudgingly begin to respect one another. Evelyn is attracted to Walter, but is convinced ''she'' will never marry because of her soiled reputation.

Things get complicated when Evelyn's cousin Lucas shows up at the remote site with a story about her grandfather's death, his (Lucas') inheritance, and a proposal of marriage. Amidst the romantic entanglements and attempts to continue the excavation, Emerson and Amelia must also deal with the nocturnal visitations of a mummy that walks moaning through the desert.

Once the mystery is solved, Amelia plans to stay in Egypt and conduct her own archaeological expeditions, with Emerson at her side ... as her advisor and as her husband.

The tone of the novel (as well as the rest of the series) is humorous to the point of parody and pokes fun at many of the period's mores and stereotypes, as well as the sensationalist novels popular at the time.

Homer and his teammates — Moe, Apu and Otto — are unable to afford the $500 fee to join a bowling league. Homer asks his boss to sponsor the team while he is anesthetized, so Mr. Burns unwittingly signs a check. The newly named Pin Pals enter a bowling competition. They beat three teams and move to second place in their league. After recovering from his ether-induced stupor, Burns discovers he wrote a check to Homer and insists on joining the Pin Pals, replacing Otto. Homer and the team fear they will lose the championship since Burns is an awful bowler due to his frail physique.

Burns gives the Pin Pals new bowling shirts before the championship game. Two pins away from victory, Burns takes his turn on the lane. When Otto tips over a claw arcade machine by accident, the vibrations knock down the pins and the Pin Pals win. As the team celebrates, Burns takes the trophy and keeps it for himself. Encouraged by his teammates, Homer attempts to break into Burns' mansion to recover the trophy; this ends disastrously when Burns releases the hounds and Homer is severely mauled.

At school, Bart's ''Mad'' iron-on "Down with homework" T-shirt incites a student riot, so in order to prevent another similar incident, Principal Skinner forces students to wear uniforms. Skinner explained to Bart that those t-shirts also resulted in his capture by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War where, in his prisoner-of-war camp he was forced to subsist on a fish and vegetable stew and that he came close to madness trying to find its recipe at home. The new dress code demoralizes the students until a rainstorm soaks through the uniforms, causing their grey dye to run and separate into vivid tie-dye color patterns that revive the students' spirits and disregard of Skinner's authority.

Magazine publisher Van Stanhope (Clark Gable) and his wife, Linda (Myrna Loy), are celebrating their third wedding anniversary. They are very much in love and Van gives Linda a diamond bracelet. However, Van's secretary, the beautiful Helen "Whitey" Wilson (Jean Harlow), is thought by Van's mother (May Robson) to be a temptation to Van. Linda refuses to listen to all of her friends and Van's mother as she trusts Van. In truth, she has all the reason in the world to trust him, as his relationship with Whitey is strictly business.

Meanwhile, Whitey's beau, Dave (James Stewart), is very uncomfortable about her relationship with Van as he calls one night while they're having dinner to ask that Whitey help him finish work at a party. When Dave asks Whitey to marry him, Whitey refuses, and buries herself further in her work.

When Van has to be very secretive to buy J. D. Underwood's (George Barbier) weekly, for fear that his rival will buy it instead, only Whitey is permitted to know, providing still more conflict between Van and his wife.

When Van returns from his business meeting with Underwood, and tells Linda that he has been at the club all day, Linda discovers that he has not been at the club but rather has been out with Whitey, who was merely helping him prepare for his discussion with Underwood. At a skating party, Linda is too sick to skate. As Van and Whitey skate together, Linda hears from one of the wives there that Van and Whitey are most likely having an affair. When Linda and Van get into the car, they fight when Linda requests that Van have Whitey moved to another employer. Van refuses and Linda ignores him for the rest of the evening until she calls him back to make up.

Van plans a trip for himself and Linda, but when he learns that Underwood is at a conference in Havana, changes his plans and won't permit Linda to accompany him while he works. Whitey learns of important information regarding the rival paper, which results in Van bringing her to Havana to close the deal. While celebrating the successful closing of the deal, they develop a drunken attraction to each other but do not consummate this attraction. When Linda calls at 2 am, Whitey answers the phone, and she assumes they are having an affair.

Van returns to New York only to have Linda ignoring him entirely and asking for a divorce. Lonely, he asks Whitey to accompany him to Bermuda as a friend, which she, having fallen in love with Van, agrees to. But, realizing that Van will never love her as much as he loves Linda, Whitey visits her on the ship that Linda has planned to take to Europe. Whitey challenges her to go back to Van, telling her that she would be a fool to let him go. After resistance, Linda meets him in his office, and they make up. Whitey is then met by Dave, and they make up as well.

After a failed engagement, photo shop owner Jung-won (Han Suk-kyu) is in his 30s and lives with his relatives: his sister, her husband and child, and his father. He meets Da-rim (Shim Eun-ha), a young parking agent, when she needs pictures as evidence to use against parking offenders printed quickly. Something clicks between them, they meet there more often and develop feelings for each other.

Before their romance goes any further, Jung-won finds out that his recent health problems are symptoms of a terminal disease. Part of his coming to terms with his fate, just when he has found happiness again, is breaking off all contact with Da-rim by closing the photo shop. She is brokenhearted but has no way to find him.

Jung-won also creates a step-by-step manual for the developing machine in his shop so his father can take over when Jung-won dies. He goes on a booze spree with his childhood friends as a farewell, but only tells his best friend about his impending death who doesn't believe him until Jung-won breaks down at the police station where they are taken.

After a period of time, Jung-won secretly observes how Da-rim is happily doing her job again and satisfied that his plan has worked. He takes a commemorative self-portrait with a timer and, just as the shutter clicks, he smiles.

Set in the same fictional universe as the 'Deathlands' series but separated by a century, 'Outlanders' follows the adventures of a core group of explorers, Kane, Grant, Brigid Baptiste and Domi who operate out of a secret military base known as the Cerberus Redoubt.

Although both 'Deathlands' and 'Outlanders' bear the "James Axler" byline, the latter series is primarily (although not exclusively) written by its creator Mark Ellis whereas multiple authors produce 'Deathlands'.

Two hundred years after a nuclear holocaust devastated the Earth, the chaos and barbarism as depicted in the 'Deathlands' series gave way to a centralized, despotic government ruled by nine mysterious barons.

Material taken from redoubts, secret preholocaust military installations with stores of weapons and the home of the gateways, mat-trans (matter-transfer) devices, supplied the baronial rule in what was known as the “Program of Unification.”

Rearmed from redoubt stockpiles, the barons consolidated their power and reclaimed very advanced technology created two centuries before by the so-called “Totality Concept”.

Their power bolstered by the invisible authority known only to an elite few as the Archon Directorate extended beyond the fortified city-states into what came to be called the Outlands. There, the rootstock of humanity survived, eking out an existence in hellzones and hounded by black-armored Magistrates, the enforcers of the barons’ laws.

When Cobaltville Magistrates Kane and Grant came across a piece of misplaced technology and Brigid Baptiste, an archivist began an investigation on their behalf, they found themselves branded as sedititionists, their citizenship stripped from them and they were reclassified as Outlanders.

Since 1997’s ''Exile To Hell'', the first book in the series, the heroes and heroines of Outlanders slowly uncovered the truth behind the barons, the Archons and the nuclear holocaust and finally the hidden history of humanity.

They learn that Earth and humankind has been influenced since the dawn of time by the reptilian Anunnaki and the Tuatha Dé Danann. They realize that the baronies are a revival of the god-king system of ancient Sumeria.

Besides the nine barons, other threats arise in the early books, namely Sindri, a brilliant but deranged dwarf who rules a secret colony on Mars. First appearing in ''Parallax Red'' (1998), Sindri becomes the most persistent foe of the Cerberus warriors, appearing in several novels.

Other recurring enemies include Colonel Thrush, Sam the Imperator, Grigori Zakat and Maccan, the last prince of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

In ''Shadow Scourge'' (2000), the heroes contend with Ocajinik, apparently one of H. P. Lovecraft’s Old Ones.

In ''Children of the Serpent'' (2005), the Cerberus warriors discover that the nuclear holocaust and the institution of the baronies were part of an ancient plan formulated over a thousand years before by Enlil, the last Anunnaki on Earth in order to reincarnate the pantheon of Sumerian gods and re-establish their rule over the world.

The reincarnated Enlil becomes the Outlanders' main villain. He is considerably more evil and powerful than any of the barons, and has much of the knowledge and technology of the Anunnaki.

Employing conspiracy theories and myths from all cultures as underpinnings, 'Outlanders' quickly distanced itself from the survivalist tone of 'Deathlands' and struck out in new directions, providing explanations and a backstory for many of the unresolved science-fiction elements in the earlier series.

When Homer and Marge's sex life fizzles, they seek help to spice up their marriage. Homer peruses books like the ''Kama Sutra'', but Marge wants "a tasteful book" so they settle on ''Mr. and Mrs. Erotic American'', a Paul Harvey book-on-tape. Harvey recommends couples bathe together, but their faucet breaks because the Simpsons' bathtub cannot accommodate Homer and Marge. Next, they try renting a sexy theme room at a hotel, but are forced to sleep in a utility room because the rooms are sold out.

Grampa concocts a tonic that he guarantees will put the spark back into their relationship. The elixir works, so Homer and Grampa sell Simpson & Son Revitalizing Tonic to the public in a travelling medicine show. During their travels, they visit the farmhouse where Homer spent his childhood. After they bicker, Grampa angrily tells Homer he is the result of an unplanned pregnancy that would not have happened without the tonic. Homer stops the car and abandons Grampa.

While their parents are enjoying enhanced sex lives from the tonic, the town's children grow suspicious of their absences during their frequent trysts. Ralph, Milhouse, Bart and their friends hatch conspiracy theories in the Simpsons' treehouse. After Lisa sarcastically suggests parents are going to bed early because they are "reverse vampires" who must avoid nightfall, the other children decide the RAND Corporation is conspiring with space aliens to deprive children of dinner by forcing their parents to retire early.

Unwilling to forgive Grampa, Homer resolves to be a better father to Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Bart and Lisa soon realize that smothering them is just as bad as neglecting them. Homer returns to the farmhouse to think. He sees an old photograph of himself as a child on Christmas morning and is sad that his father was not even present when he met Santa Claus. Homer realizes his father was wearing a Santa costume and really does love him. Homer reunites with Grampa, who has also gone to the farmhouse to reflect. They both admit they are screw-ups — each having caused separate fires in the farmhouse — and reconcile as the house burns down behind them.

Two onetime teenage lovers, Ken Jorgenson and Sylvia Hunter, marry other people, but rediscover each other later in life. By then, Sylvia has a son, Johnny, and Ken a daughter, Molly, who also begin a romance.

While in college, the self-supporting Ken takes a summer job as a lifeguard on Pine Island, an exclusive Maine island resort, where Sylvia and her nouveau riche family are staying as guests of the old money owners. The rich young people at the resort mock Ken and exclude him from their social activities, considering him a lowly employee. Although Sylvia is strongly attracted to Ken, she feels pressure from her family and from her wealthy peers to reject the impoverished Ken and make a more suitable match with Bart Hunter, the son of a wealthy, established island family. Bart and Ken eventually come to blows over Sylvia, leading to Ken and Sylvia secretly consummating their love. Ken leaves the island for good at the end of the summer, and Sylvia marries Bart as her family wishes.

Ken becomes a millionaire through his work as a research chemist, and marries his partner's daughter, Helen, who turns out to be prudish and frigid. Meanwhile, Sylvia's husband Bart turns to alcohol as his family fortune dwindles, and he turns their island home into an inn. After twenty years away, Ken decides to visit the island again, writing Bart to ask for lodging. At first Bart wants to refuse, since he feels Ken is visiting to gloat over the relative change in their financial circumstances, but Sylvia insists that they need the money too badly to turn Ken down.

Ken brings Molly and Helen to the island, and everyone tries to be cordial. The young Johnny and Molly soon become enamored of each other, while Ken and Sylvia fall in love all over again. When Bart finds out about Ken and Sylvia, he asks for a divorce and custody of their son John. Later, a friend of Helen's alerts her to Ken's affair with Sylvia, and Ken and Helen divorce. John and Molly are sent to separate boarding schools. Ken and Sylvia eventually marry.

While at their respective schools, John and Molly begin an avid correspondence. Helen and her mother Margaret are not pleased, as they find it inappropriate for a girl Molly's age to be so attached to a boy, but the correspondence continues, with rendezvous during school breaks. John and Molly's romance culminates when they see each other again at Ken and Sylvia's beach house. The teenagers acknowledge that they are in love with one another, and they consummate it shortly thereafter.

Back at school, Molly learns from a doctor that she is pregnant, and John hitchhikes across the country to be with and support her. Ken and Sylvia give their guarded approval to John and Molly's marriage, feeling it would be hypocritical for them to deny the teenagers their love. Bart cannot attend the wedding, since his alcoholism has forced him to enter a veterans' hospital; while he disapproves, he urges John to take over the inn. Helen attends the wedding under sedation. John and Molly spend their honeymoon on Pine Island, John's "one good inheritance", as Bart terms it in a letter.

The Confederation of Human Worlds comprises about two hundred semi-autonomous settled worlds. Some of those worlds are rich and powerful, others are not. A coalition of a dozen lesser worlds, tired of being second class citizens, decides to secede from the Confederation. What they do not know is the threat of an alien species known as the Skinks hangs over the entire confederation. The Skink Threat is top secret, no citizens know of them. Ever since the discovery of these aliens, the Confederation has beefed up its defences on the out lying colonies. On Ravenette, one of the Coalition worlds, protesters gather at the main gate of the Confederation army base. Someone unknown shoots into the crowd, killing a protester and setting off a bloody riot that kills many civilians and soldiers. The Coalition started the riot and provoked the soldiers even though the soldiers did not shoot into the crowd, news networks say otherwise. The Coalition declares war, and brings all its military might against the Confederation forces on Ravenette—banking on the likelihood that they will achieve victory before reinforcements arrive, and that the Confederation will agree to negotiate a peaceable parting. They guessed wrong. An army division and 34th FIST are soon on the scene, holding the line until more reinforcements arrive. But matters get worse when General Jason Billie is given command of the Confederation forces. General Billie not only has no combat command experience, he hates Marines.

Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith is a small town boy whose father, "Hinky Dinky" Truesmith, was a Marine who died a hero in World War I. Woodrow has been discharged from the Marine Corps after only a month owing to his chronic hay fever. Rather than disappoint his mother, he pretends to be fighting overseas in World War II while secretly working in a San Diego shipyard.

In a chance encounter in a bar he buys a round of drinks for six Marines back from the Battle of Guadalcanal headed by Master Gunnery Sergeant Heffelfinger. It transpires that Heffelfinger served with Woodrow's father in the 6th Marines in World War I. One of the Marines decides to telephone Woodrow's mother, telling her that he has received a medical discharge, so she will not have to worry about him. Woodrow is vehemently opposed to the fraud, but the Marines are all for it. Heffelfinger embellishes the charade by having Woodrow swap coats with one of the Marines that have the 1st Marine Division Battle Blaze and Pacific Theatre of Operations medals on it.

When they step off the train, the seemingly harmless deception has escalated beyond control; the entire town turns out to greet its homegrown hero. With an election coming up, the citizens decide to make an unwilling Woodrow their candidate against the pompous current mayor, Mr. Noble. Complicating matters even further, Woodrow had written his girlfriend Libby, telling her not to wait for him. She has since gotten engaged to Forrest Noble, the mayor's son.

Finally, Woodrow can stand it no longer. He confesses everything at a campaign rally and goes home to pack. Libby breaks her engagement and tells Woodrow she is going with him. Meanwhile, Heffelfinger praises Woodrow's courage in telling the truth to the stunned townsfolk, and after considering the matter, they decide that Woodrow has just the qualities they need in a mayor.

While on a visit to the home planet of the Baneans, Lieutenant Tom Paris is convicted of the murder of engineering physicist Tolen Ren. As punishment, he must relive Ren's last moments every 14 hours. As Ren's memory plays back in Paris's mind, he sees himself with Ren's wife before stabbing Ren in his living room.

''Voyager'' discover Paris's fate after Ensign Harry Kim returns to the ship. Kim relates that Ren was helping him and Paris with a damaged piece of equipment, and invited them for dinner at his house. While there, Paris got bored and spent some time with Tolen's young wife Lidell Ren. Soon after, Tolen was stabbed to death in his living room in front of Lidell. Paris was arrested and Kim forced to leave without him.

''Voyager'' heads to the Banean homeworld and soon arrives despite encountering the Numiri, another space-faring race the Baneans are at war with. The Baneans allow Captain Kathryn Janeway to see Paris, who denies killing Tolen even though he did spend some time with Lidell. Immediately afterward, Paris relives Ren's memory once again and loses consciousness. The ''Voyager'' crew finds Paris suffering ill effects of the treatment, and the Banean minister allows them to return Paris to the ship for medical care, on the advice of the Banean doctor who implanted Ren's memory into Paris.

Soon after, ''Voyager'''s Chief of Security Tuvok begins investigating the murder. He decides he must perform a mind meld with Paris to witness Ren's memories. As he experiences the memory for himself, Tuvok notices alien writing overplayed on top of the visions. From the memories, Tuvok establishes that Paris is innocent, recognizing that the height difference between Paris and Lidell in the memory is different from reality, and the murderer must have had knowledge of Banean anatomy to kill Ren with a single stab. Tuvok reveals the strange glyphs in the video are confidential technical information important to the Banean war effort against the Numiri. The Banean doctor, who is Lidell's lover, has altered the memory implants to implicate Paris and use him as a means of smuggling data to the Numiri attackers. Lidell and the doctor are arrested by the Banean authorities, and the memory implanted into Paris is removed.

Following the defeat of Duke at the hands of martial artist Alba Meira and the demise of the criminal organization "Mephistopheles", the city of Southtown lives in relative peace until a fire breaks out and several fighters find themselves battling each other during the citywide crisis.

Marc Thiriez, a middle aged Parisian, asks his wife if he should shave off the moustache he has sported for most of his adult life. His wife, Agnès, wryly comments that she wouldn't recognize him without it, yet as she leaves, Marc shaves the moustache off. Upon her return, Agnès is angry Marc did not let her in the door when she rang; Marc lies and says he broke his shoelace. Marc attempts to surprise her with his clean-shaven face, but gets no reaction. In the car on the way to a party, Marc asks Agnès if she notices anything, but she changes the subject. They visit their friends Serge (Agnès' ex) and Nadia. Serge tells a story about Agnès: during their relationship, she was sneaky but refused to admit her guilt even when everyone was certain she was at fault. Agnès again denies that she lied. Frustrated that Serge and Nadia also do not notice his shaven moustache, Marc fights with Agnès in the car as they return home, frightening her. As they lie in bed that night, another fight ensues as Agnès tells Marc he's never had a moustache and that she fears for his sanity. Agnès phones Nadia, who claims Marc has not had a moustache in fifteen years, but Marc insists she told their friends to ignore his mustache. Agnès takes a sleeping pill.

Marc finds a photo album of pictures from their holiday in Bali, all of which show him sporting his moustache. When he confronts Agnès with these pictures, she ignores him and changes the subject, leaving him even more confused. Marc grows more paranoid and confused when even his co-workers don't acknowledge that he has shaven his moustache. Marc digs through the trash to find his moustache hairs, scaring Agnès. She suggests Marc see a psychiatrist whom her friend François knew. Agnès insists on buying Marc a brightly patterned jacket ("a clown's jacket" as Marc describes it).

As Marc gets his photograph taken for his work badge, he asks a woman if she notices a difference between the photograph that was just taken and his photograph which appears on his I.D. card. She remarks on his moustache, and Marc asks her several times to confirm that he has a moustache in the photograph.

Marc checks his answering machine to find a message from his father. Agnès' friend Bruno calls and Marc tells him to stop kidding him about his moustache. Bruno assures Marc that Marc has not had a moustache in fifteen years. Marc hangs up on him. In the kitchen, he tells Agnès to call his parents and tell them that he won't be able to come to their house for dinner the next day. Agnès calls Marc's mother, but gently reminds Marc that his father is dead and has been so for a year. Confused, Marc speaks of their best friends Serge and Nadia, to which Agnès replies that she doesn't know who they are and that Marc must be delusional. Very upset and questioning his grip on sanity, Marc goes to bed, and Agnès gives him a sleeping pill.

Marc awakes to hear Agnès and Bruno planning to have Marc committed to a psychiatric hospital. Marc quickly dresses and flees the house. In a taxi, he attempts to find his mother, yet due to the sleeping pill and the heavy rain, he cannot find the house in which he grew up. Marc tries to call his mother, but the number he dials is not a valid phone number. He calls Agnès, tells her he is at his mother's, and asks her to pick him up. When Marc sees Agnès and Bruno leave his apartment, he rushes inside, grabs his passport, puts on shoes, breaks his shoelace and leaves. He flees to Hong Kong, the first available flight out of Paris. His passport photo sports a moustache.

Marc journeys through Hong Kong. He writes a postcard to apologize to Agnès but does not send it. As he is about to board a plane back to France, he changes his mind and spends a day traveling back and forth on the Star Ferry. After the ferry stops for the night, he pays local sailors to take him with them on their boat. Marc arrives at an unspecified village in China. Marc stays at a hotel there for a period of time, becoming known with the locals, and regrows his moustache.

Marc arrives back at the hotel one day to find Agnès awaiting him, as though she has been with him the entire trip, to his shock and confusion. Agnès makes fun of his brightly patterned "clown" jacket and asks him why he bought it, hoping he will not wear it in Paris. They go out to a casino and meet new friends that Agnès knows but Marc does not. Marc is shown recent photos of the four of them in which Marc has a moustache. Agnès notices Marc's irritation and says if he doesn't like their new friends they don't have to ever see them again when they get back to Paris. Marc throws away the postcard he wrote in Hong Kong.

Back at the hotel, Agnès suggests that Marc shave his moustache so she can see him without it at least once. He does so, and Agnès comments upon how good he looks without it.

Jerry and Elaine have just ended their relationship, but have chosen to remain friends. Elaine invites Jerry to a birthday party; he agrees to go on the condition that she accompanies him to a wedding that he and his parents have been invited to. At the party, Jerry meets an attractive woman named Vanessa. He wants to flirt with her, but is uncomfortable doing so in Elaine's presence. The woman leaves with another man before Jerry finds out her name; however, he learns that she works at a law firm called "Sagman, Bennett, Robbins, Oppenheim and Taft". During the party, Elaine tries to tell Jerry about a dream she had, which featured him. Jerry tries to end the conversation but this results in an argument after the party is over.

Back at his apartment, Jerry's parents, Morty and Helen, sleep over, with Jerry sleeping in Kramer's apartment. He talks about the party and claims that he cannot get the phone number of the woman from Elaine because he does not talk about other women with her; additionally, she is still angry with him. Morty suggests that Jerry "stake out" the woman by waiting outside her office, an idea which Jerry likes. The following day, Jerry and George Costanza perform the stake out, pretending that they are coming to see someone else in the building named "Art Corvelay", but under pressure, George insists that they make it "Art Vandelay". They meet the woman, who says the man she left the party with was her cousin. The two then decide to go out on a date.

Later that night, Jerry finds out from his mother that Elaine knows about the stake out. On the day of the wedding, Elaine tells Jerry that the reason that she was angry was because it was the first time she saw him flirt with another woman. They decide that they have to be able to talk more about their relationships if they wish to remain friends. Elaine then reveals that she has recently met a man using a stake out.

Jux Jonas (Mike Norris) is a man whose faith in God hangs by a thread. His daughter was hit and killed by a car, and he's spent the last few years "tearing through life", not wanting to face the pain and return to his faith. Reluctantly, he journeys with friends Conrad (David A. R. White) and Oren (Carey Scott) aboard a plane to Mexico, to hand out Bibles as a form of ministry. However, their small aircraft soon crashes, and the trio find themselves in the secluded wasteland of Ceres, a town where the citizens are pale and eerie, and visitors are seen as unwanted outsiders.

Before long, Jux and his pals discover something very weird in this place: No communication to the outside world seems to exist until local rancher Matthew (Chuck Norris) offers him the use of his two-way radio. The town at large despises Matthew and what he stands for. It's soon revealed that town elder Joshua (Marshall R. Teague) is actually an agent of Satan who has controlled the children of Ceres for centuries to bring about an unholy war. God has sent Matthew to observe, protect, and lead broken believers like Jux back to their faith in Jesus Christ. As the forces of evil prepare for a spiritual Armageddon, using the town's children as terrifying hosts, even Matthew cannot interfere alone, and Jux, Conrad and Oren must choose which side they will stand with...for all eternity.

Three Marines of Company L are sent on a secret mission to the mob-controlled resort world of Havanagas. Lance Corporals Claypoole and Dean – under the command of Corporal Pasquin – are to find proof of mob control — proof that Confederation law enforcement agents have not been able to secure — so that the gangsters can be brought to justice.

Brigadier Sturgeon, the FIST commander, ostensibly goes on leave. Instead of vacationing he travels to Marine Corps Headquarters on Earth to find out why 34th FIST seems to have been quietly "quarantined," with nobody being rotated out of the unit, even though it is considered a hardship post. This potentially career-endangering "back channel" trip reveals some very scary facts.

In the third plotline the Skinks visit a world only partially explored by humans and find a pre-technological sentient race. The Skinks immediately take captives to use as laborers. The planet is apparently a staging base for the Skinks' invasion of Kingdom, a human occupied world.

34th FIST has been reinforced by the 26th FIST, now that the Confederation is aware that this is a full scale Skink invasion. With the reinforcements, the Marines are now able to go off the defensive and take the battle to the Skinks. The Skinks have been using a devastating weapon never before seen by the Confederation armed forces, but in this book the Navy figures out what the weapon is, a Rail Gun. There doesn't appear to be a true defense, but at least there is now a warning when it is about to be used. The Fist Marines launch a major operation where the Skinks have made a stronghold in the swamps on Kingdom. Meanwhile, Skink Battle Cruisers are on their way to Kingdom. Having been pushed back from their swamp on Kingdom the Skinks launch a diversion cover their retreat to the Skink fleet. Up to this point in the Starfist series there have been no portrayals of space Naval battles, but this omission is now rectified. The Marines and Confederation Navy drive the Skinks off world and push them back to the planet "Quagmire" where they used its natives as slaves and used the planet as a staging area to invade Kingdom. The 26th and 34th Fist Marines then go to Quagmire and Kill most of the Skinks there, with the help of the Natives. Also, Marine General Aguinaldo is promoted to come up with an Anti Skink task force. He has the entire military at his disposal. There is also a subplot involving the government of Kingdom, as one of the more powerful figures among the Kingdomites takes advantage of the distraction caused by the extensive combat to overthrow the theocracy and establish a fascist-style government.

Category:2003 American novels Category:American science fiction novels Category:2003 science fiction novels Category:StarFist series Category:Del Rey books

This novel continues the situation on the planet Kingdom from the previous novel, ''Kingdom's Fury''. Dominic DeTomas, formerly head of the secret police of Kingdom, is now dictator and has put together a new fascist government that strongly resembles that of Nazi Germany. DeTomas's policies engendered resentment among certain parts of the populace, and this festers into an uprising. While the mild-mannered inhabitants of Kingdom might not expect to succeed against an implacably violent police state, the uprising is advised and led by an amnesiac Confederation Marine who had been captured by the alien Skinks and later released when the Skinks were driven off Kingdom.

Before the opening credits, a recent widow is sitting in a life insurance office. Expecting to be compensated for her husband's death, the widow is informed that she is not entitled to full death benefits because the insurance company has obtained video of her husband smoking and attributes his death to cigarettes. Abe Holt looks on as his co-worker convinces the widow that she's lucky to leave with a small fraction of the award she was expecting.

The film centers around three vehicle crashes, revealed in sequence at the beginning of the movie. The first depicts a young couple flying through the open roof of their convertible, which has been sailed over a cliff. They swim to shore, where the woman hits the leg of her fellow passenger with a pipe. The second involves a city bus and insurance adjustor Abe Holt, who has arrived at the scene suspicious that many of the passengers boarded the bus after the accident, looking to file a claim. Holt bluffs, claiming a hidden camera will help sort out who was actually on the bus. Many leave, and his co-worker quickly tells him their company wants him to investigate a crash in the remote and desolate town of North Hastings, Minnesota.

The third crash involves an unnamed young man who is stranded at the side of the road on a rainy night, after stopping in the local bar. He accepts a ride from the driver who had previously drained his gas tank, and who then proceeds to accelerate the car into the wall of a tunnel, injuring his passenger in the wreck. The anonymous man is dragged to the front seat and buckled in before the siphoned gas is poured over the car and set ablaze. However, to those who later discover the crash it appears that the actual driver Kelvin Anderson has died after crashing his own car into the tunnel wall, igniting a fire that burned his body beyond recognition. The local police are convinced it is an open-and-shut case because Kelvin's driver's license was found in the glovebox, the plates on the car match Kelvin's, and Kelvin's sister, Isold, lives on the far side of the tunnel.

However, Holt is suspicious because while the body is conveniently unidentifiable, the license is undamaged and Isold, the sole beneficiary of the $1 million policy, is skittish and was not expecting her brother's visit. Isold's husband "Fred" McBride (Jeremy Renner), is unexpectedly cheerful and vaguely threatening, convincing Holt there's more to this case. As he investigates the case Holt uncovers leading clues: Frederick McBride is actually dead and buried in a field outside the abandoned McBride home, and the supposedly dead Kelvin has a record as a con man. The most convincing evidence is photos of Kelvin from his criminal record and high school, showing him looking like "Fred." Holt eventually confirms that the charred body pulled from the car wreck is not Kelvin's, that Isold's "husband" is actually her brother Kelvin. A flashback reveals that the couple from the convertible seen at the opening of the movie was Isold and Kelvin, wrecking their car—and Kelvin's leg—for insurance money.

When Isold figures out that her brother has murdered an innocent drifter she is horrified, but Kelvin convinces her to participate in this final con and hold hostage his son Thor, whom Isold has been helping to raise since the boy's mother left. When Isold visits the insurance office to collect on Kelvin's policy, Holt—in an echo of the movie's opening scene—informs her that he cannot award her the full $1 million she expects, only the blue book value of his car ($1500). She leaves angrily. When Holt tells Isold she's lucky he hasn't exposed her as an accessory to murder, she tells him that her brother has taken Thor. Moved and concerned, Holt puts a one-day hold on her check (ensuring that she'll return to the bank the next day) and changes the name of the insured on the policy from "Kelvin Anderson" to "Frederick McBride."

The next day Isold cashes her check and opens a safety deposit box, in which she puts a childhood picture of her and her brother. She returns to the motel where Kelvin is staying with Thor, and tries to convince him that she has left the rest of the money in the safety deposit box, so that she can leave with Thor. Kelvin doesn't buy it, and gets in his car with Thor—only to find he's held at gunpoint by Holt, in the backseat. Holt tells Isold to leave with the boy and "Fred" speeds off, buckling his seatbelt (a sign he intends to crash the car). Kelvin crashes the car, killing both men, and Isold is awarded the full benefits of the tampered life insurance policy.

The film ends with Abe walking on a beach meant to suggest heaven, that is identical to the beach featured in the insurance company's commercial shown earlier in the film, as the credits roll.

In turn-of-the century America, Andrew and Veronica are co-workers in a music shop who dislike one another during business hours but unwittingly carry on an anonymous romance through the mail.

The film takes place an unspecified number of months after the Munich Massacre in West Germany. Emmi (Mira), a 60-year-old window cleaner and widow, enters a bar, driven in by the rain and wanting to listen to the music being played inside. A woman in the bar (Katharina Herberg) tauntingly suggests Ali (Salem), a Moroccan ''Gastarbeiter'' (guest worker) in his late thirties, ask Emmi to dance, to which Emmi accepts. After they dance, they develop a friendship and Ali follows Emmi home, staying at her apartment for the night. After more interaction, they start to fall in love and Ali continues to live with Emmi. Emmi decides to visit her children to introduce them to Ali; daughter Krista (Irm Hermann) and her tyrannical son-in-law Eugen (Fassbinder himself); Eugen thinks she is losing her sanity and Krista thinks that her mother – who has been a widow for years – is fantasising.

Their relationship is threatened when the landlord's son, who has been sent on the assumption that Emmi has taken in a lodger, tells Emmi that subletting is against Emmi's tenancy agreement, and that Ali must leave within a day. Fearful of losing Ali, Emmi claims that she and Ali are planning to marry. After the landlord's son apologises for the misapprehension and leaves, Emmi speaks to Ali and apologises for having invented the idea of her marrying him, but is surprised by Ali when he says that it is an excellent idea. The film then shows them in a civil court, married.

Their marriage is looked upon negatively by those who live near them, which include apartment tenants and nearby shop keepers. Emmi is shunned by her work colleagues, and Ali faces discrimination at every turn. When Emmi invites her three grown children and son-in-law to meet Ali, they openly reject him. One of Emmi's sons smashes in her TV set in anger, her other son declares she must have lost her sanity, and her daughter calls her apartment a "pigsty" and calls Emmi a "whore", before the four of them leave.

Emmi's sadness towards this rejection washes away as her optimism resurfaces and she decides that she and Ali should take a long holiday together to escape the discrimination, convinced that upon their return, they will have been missed and will be welcomed back. After their return, they face less discrimination, but only because neighbouring tenants and shopkeepers see the gain in treating Emmi better, not because they have outgrown their prejudices.

Wanting to get back with her old friends, after their apparent renewed respect, Emmi begins to neglect Ali and adopt some of their attitudes toward him. She becomes more strict, ordering him to do more things. When co-workers visit and remark on how surprisingly clean he is and comment on his muscles, she shows him off as if he were an object. This causes Ali to leave, and to seek comfort in bar maid Barbara (Barbara Valentin), with whom he has apparently had a relationship prior to meeting Emmi. When he leaves Emmi to her friends, she attributes it to his "mood swings" and notes that it must be his "foreigner mentality", adopting the attitudes of her friends in order to fit in. This causes them to drift apart, with Ali not standing up to Emmi because of the insecurities he faces as an immigrant. He returns to the bar maid, spending the night with her. Emmi visits him at work, where he pretends he doesn't know her as his workmates make fun of her age, calling her Ali's "Moroccan grandmother."

When it seems as if the relationship is beyond repair, Emmi goes back to the bar where they first met to meet with Ali and has the barmaid put the same song on the jukebox that led to their dance in the beginning of the film. They decide to dance together, and, while dancing, Emmi emphasizes that she knows she is old and that he is free to come and go, but tells him that when they are together, they must be nice to each other. He agrees and they declare their love for each other. In that moment, Ali collapses in Emmi's arms from what turns out to be a burst stomach ulcer. The film then shows Emmi with Ali in the hospital, where a doctor tells her the illness is common among foreign workers because of the stress they face in everyday life; the doctor then adds that Ali will have surgery to remove the ulcer, but that he will probably be back in six months with another ulcer. Emmi declares that she will do everything in her power to prevent this and holds Ali's hand.

''Everything is holy and the whole of Nature appears unnatural to our eyes. When everything seems normal to you in nature, then everything will be over!'' -The centaur Chiron's advice to young Jason

In the city of Iolcus in Greece, King Aeson has been removed from power by his half-brother Pelias who becomes a cruel tyrant mad with power. Jason, the son of Aeson, is sent to the centaur Chiron to be hidden away where Pelias can not get him. A powerful relic has been collected in Colchis, which belonged to Phrixus in the past. The golden skin had belonged to a sacred goat sent by the gods to save the boy and his sister Helle from certain death. The goat has flown the boy across the Dardanelles to Colchis though losing the girl along the way. Phrixus and the goat have arrived in Colchis, where Phyrsus is sacrificed, and the goat is skinned. The skin is given as a gift to the god of war, Ares.

In the film's prologue, the centaur Chiron teaches the young boy Jason philosophical truths about the world and tells him about the voyage he will one day embark on to Colchis. Medea and the land of Colchis are also depicted. Colchis houses the Golden Fleece and is home to many bizarre rituals. A human sacrifice is performed in front of hundreds of cheering onlookers. A young man is offered up as a human sacrifice, and his organs and blood are sprinkled over the crops in a ritual ''sparagmos''. It is presided over by Queen Medea. Jason grows up and travels to Iolcus, where he challenges Pelias to the throne. Pelias says he can have the kingdom if he retrieves the Golden Fleece from Colchis on the other side of the world. Jason assents. Meanwhile, Medea has a vision of Jason and is so enraptured with him that she asks her brother Absyrtus to help steal the fleece in preparation for his arrival.

They travel far into the wilderness, where they eventually join the Argonauts who have been marching to Colchis. The King and the Colchians realize that the fleece has been stolen from under them. They pursue Medea and intend to retrieve the fleece. Medea realizes that the Colchians are chasing them, and so she kills her brother and dismembers his body so that they are forced to stop and collect his remains. Her father's men then halt and retrieve the scattered pieces of his son's body, enabling Jason and Medea to escape. After collecting the parts of his dead son, the King returns to Colchis, where he has a burial ceremony performed for his son to soothe his crying wife. Meanwhile, Medea returns with the Argonauts to Greece, where she has a spiritual crisis after realizing how completely alien Greek practices are from the rituals of her eastern homeland.

When they return to Iolcus, they deliver the fleece to Pelias, who reneges on his promise. Deciding the fleece has little power, Jason accepts this decision. Medea is stripped of her ornate ethnic garb and dressed in the garments of a traditional Greek housewife. Jason dismisses the Argonauts, and after spending the night making love to Medea, he decides to head for the city of Corinth. In Corinth, Jason sees a vision of two centaurs, Chiron, the centaur who raised him, and one "newer" human version of Chiron. Only the newer human Chiron is permitted to speak as the older one's dialogue would be incomprehensible to Jason. Chiron has a philosophical dialogue with Jason and tells him that Medea is torn between her past ritualistic self, the self that performed the human rituals in Colchis, and the new less spiritual Greek self. Medea bears Jason's two sons, though Jason grows more and more distant from her. He grows tired of Medea and decides to pursue a political marriage to a Corinthian princess, Glauce. Creusa's father, Creon, is afraid of Medea's wrath, particularly her dark magic. He has her exiled from his land because he is afraid for his daughter, who is not to blame for Jason's fickle heart.

The enraged Medea plots revenge against Jason and his new bride. She is driven by the words of Creon and of her own handmaidens, who view her as a dark sorceress. She calls for Jason and pretends to be happy and accepting of his new marriage. She tells Jason that her one wish is that the King does not banish her two loving children, which she has born to Jason. Jason accepts and goes to Creon to ask that of him.

Meanwhile, Medea asks her children to send Glauce a robe bewitched with magic herbs. Although Medea intends for the poison to cause the princess and her father, Creon, to burst into flames, Glauce sees a reflection of Medea in her mirror and feels all her agony. She rushes to the city's walls, where she commits suicide by plunging over the side to her death. The King runs after her and is so moved to grief that he commits suicide as well.

Medea is driven into a frenzy, kills her and Jason's sons, and sets fire to their house. Held back by the fire, Jason pleads with Medea to give the children a proper burial. She refuses from the midst of the flames: "It is useless! Nothing is possible anymore!"

A punk hairdresser (Bruce LaBruce), known only as “The Hairdresser”, becomes obsessed with a mute neo-Nazi skinhead (Klaus von Brücker). Jonesy (G. B. Jones), a lesbian underground film director and the skinhead's sister, attempts to bring her brother and the hairdresser together. Throughout the film, Jonesy is also working on a documentary around the Symbionese Liberation Army. The cast also includes Fifth Column band members Caroline Azar and Beverly Breckenridge.

Although the Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi of the Ching Dynasty had promised her nephew, Emperor Kuang-hsu that he had complete autonomy, he found that this was not the case as he attempted to exert his authority over corrupt eunuchs and officials who undermined him with the backing of the Empress Dowager. Young, inexperienced and without a strong cadre of loyal officials to support him, he tries to juggle affairs both public and private. His loveless marriage to Empress Chin Feng and dislike of the Empress further leaves him all the more bereft of any power lever. His only bright spark in a cold gloomy palace was his love for Concubine Chen and a young eunuch who wholeheartedly supports him.

The play is set in the 1890s in Vienna. Its dramatic structure consists of ten interlocking scenes between pairs of lovers. Each of its ten characters appears in two consecutive scenes (with one from the final scene, The Whore, having appeared in the first).

;Scenes

The Whore and the Soldier

The Soldier and the Parlor Maid

The Parlor Maid and the Young Gentleman

The Young Gentleman and the Young Wife

The Young Wife and The Husband

The Husband and the Little Miss

The Little Miss and the Poet

The Poet and the Actress

The Actress and the Count

The Count and the Whore

Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge of the Federation starship ''Enterprise'', en route to the planet Risa for shore leave in a shuttlecraft, is captured by Romulans. While an impostor that looks like La Forge is sent to Risa, the Romulans tap into La Forge's visual cortex via his visor sensors, giving them a limited form of mind control over the human. After several days, La Forge's mind is wiped of his capture but given memories of going to Risa, and put back aboard his shuttle, to return to the ''Enterprise''. He arrives as the ''Enterprise'' crew are working with the Klingon Ambassador Kell to deal with rebels attacking the outlying Krios colony. The Governor of the colony, Vagh, asserts that the rebellion is being aided by the Federation, thus requiring the Federation's presence to resolve.

At the colony, Vagh shows Captain Picard and Kell several Federation weapons and medical supplies taken from the rebels. Picard orders his crew to investigate. Lt. Commander Data finds that strange E-band radiation is nearby but cannot detect the source. He and La Forge also discover the apparent Federation weapons were replicated using Romulan technology and powered by Romulan energy cells. Later, under the direction of his controllers, La Forge unknowingly transports a case of Federation weapons from the ''Enterprise'' to the rebel base, and then subsequently erases the logs. Vagh, monitoring the transport, immediately accuses the ''Enterprise'' of its deception. Data and La Forge review the transport logs but find no evidence for the transport even though the weapons originated from the ''Enterprise'', and realize that only they themselves and two other crewmembers could have falsified the logs in that manner. Again, outside of his control, La Forge enters Kell's quarters on the ''Enterprise'', where it is revealed that Kell was controlling La Forge. Kell orders La Forge to assassinate Vagh in a public setting before witnesses in such a manner as to utterly convince Vagh's people of Federation involvement.

At Kell's suggestion, Picard invites Vagh to come aboard the ''Enterprise'' to witness the transport logs firsthand. As Picard takes Vagh around the ship, Data comes to learn that the E-band radiation is coming from aboard the ''Enterprise'' and that La Forge never made it to Risa. He orders Security Chief Worf to immediately detain La Forge. The assassination attempt is blocked, and Data arrives to explain the situation, saying that the limited transmission range means the device controlling La Forge must either be in Picard's or Kell's possession. Kell refuses to undergo a search, but Vagh offers to take him to the colony to do so there. Fearing the consequences of being investigated by his own people, Kell quickly requests asylum aboard the ''Enterprise'', which Picard says they will consider after his name is cleared of any wrongdoing by the Klingons. Kell is taken away by Vagh's guards. La Forge is cleared but struggles to understand what happened to him.

In New York City, 1938 Arthur (Stanley Tucci) and Maurice (Oliver Platt) scrape a living by petty swindles, practicing their acting technique whenever they can. Following a drunken confrontation with pretentious and dreadful Shakespearean actor Sir Jeremy Burtom (Alfred Molina), they are forced to hide as stowaways on an ocean liner.

Unfortunately for the duo, Burtom himself turns out to be a passenger on the ship, along with a vividly diverse ensemble of larger-than-life characters: a suicidal crooner named Happy Franks (Steve Buscemi) sobs through a song; Mr. Sparks (Billy Connolly), an aging gay professional tennis player; the first mate Voltri (Tony Shalhoub), who is also a mad bomber with his own language; and many more.

Mistaken identities, pratfalls, slapstick, outrageous dialogue, and general mayhem ensue.

Amelia and Pippo were once together famous as dancers, imitating Ginger Rogers' and Fred Astaire's dance routines. Thirty years after they've retired, they team up one more time for a live TV show. Although this reunion is overshadowed by Pippo's lack of stamina, their performance is well-received and revives their popularity for another day.

s.In May 1941, commandos Paul Toledo and Natasha Nikochevski capture an Enigma machine and its codebook in a German submarine base at La Pallice in La Rochelle, France. While Natasha leaves the base, Toledo is ordered to stay behind with the Enigma to assist the other commandos (Jack O'Hara, Thomas Hancock, James Blackwood & René Duchamp) when they arrive at daybreak to rescue the crew of a Royal Navy submarine, the E-423, sheltered and under heavy guard in a submarine pen. They destroy the base's anti-aircraft guns and torpedo warehouse before escaping in the submarine.

While in the North Sea, the Royal Navy submarine is caught and forced to surface in the frigid waters after being depth charged by a German destroyer. The enigma machine is confiscated and the entire crew captured with the exception of Blackwood and Hancock, both of whom evaded capture. After rescuing the crew, the commandos proceed to recover the Enigma and disable the destroyer's main guns and boiler room. Under orders that the Enigma be hastily brought to England, O'Hara and Duchamp takeoff in a Fieseler Fi 156, while the rest escape in the submarine.

A year passes and the commandos are deployed to the Pacific Theatre. In Burma, they rescue a spiritual leader and assassinate a Japanese tyrant with the help of Gurkhas. On 17 June 1942, the commandos are sent to northern Thailand, where they rescue a Colonel Guinness, who in turn helps them destroy the bridge over the River Kwai by revealing its structural weakness. The bridge is blown up just as a train of the Imperial Japanese Army high command crosses it, plummeting into the river.

In July 1942, the commandos land on the strongly fortified Savo Island to disable the large artillery guns, before Operation Watchtower can commence. While on the island, they are assisted by a castaway named Wilson. After destroying the artillery and rescuing a downed American pilot, he returns the favour by piloting a Kawanishi H8K to help them escape the island, but not before telling them of a gold monkey statue which is symbolic to the Japanese. O'Hara steals it as a souvenir.

In Spring of 1944, the commandos are sent to Haiphong, Indochina, destroying the port's fuel depots and infiltrating the Japanese aircraft carrier ''Shinano''. While out at sea, the commandos sabotage the rudder of every A6M Zero and report the carrier's position before escaping in two intact Zeroes. The ''Shinano'' is then bombed by American Vought F4U Corsairs.

Following their tour of duty in the Pacific, the commandos are recalled to the Western Front for the Normandy invasion. During the battle of Cherbourg, they rescue a wounded Private Smith, and with the help of American soldiers, successfully defend the town from waves of German infantry and Panzer III tanks. A few months later, Toledo is captured and taken to Colditz Castle where he is to be executed. The commandos save him and they help the prisoners of war housed there escape by disguising them in German uniform. While the prisoners escape, the commandos acquire top secret documents from three high-ranking German officers, revealing plans to devastate Paris with planted explosives before it is liberated.

In August 1944, the entire commando corps arrive in Paris and thwart plans to destroy much of the city, before leaving in an airship from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Larry Martin (Judd Holdren), a leader in the Inter-Planetary Patrol, detects a rocket coming to Earth. He takes to the air in his jet-powered rocket suit and helmet to investigate and discovers Martian invaders, led by Marex (Lane Bradford). Since Mars is now orbiting too far from the Sun and its ecology has been dying, the Martian invaders want to swap Earth's and Mars' orbits, so Mars will then be closer to the Sun. They plan on achieving this by using hydrogen bomb plans stolen from Earth scientists to cause the two planets' orbits to swap, using specifically placed atomic explosions on both worlds. Martin also learns the Martians have Earth accomplices in the forms of the traitorous Dr. Harding (Stanley Waxman), and two gangsters, Roth (John Crawford) and Shane (Ray Boyle), who bedevil him and his associates, Sue Davis (Aline Towne) and Bob Wilson (Wilson Wood).

The Martians set up a base in a cave that can only be reached from underwater, where they begin constructing their bomb; and make a remotely-controlled robot to supplement their human associates in acquiring supplies and funds to complete the project. Eventually, Larry and his comrades gain the upper hand: Marex kills Harding when he attempts to surrender, Roth and Shane are killed when Larry turns the robot against them, and the Martians are brought down in flames in their rocket ship after a furious stratosphere raygun battle with Larry in his own spacecraft. Marex's Martian aide, Narab (Leonard Nimoy) survives the crash and tells Larry where to find the underwater cave with the activated bomb in it. Larry arrives in time to defuse the bomb just seconds before it would have exploded.

Attracted but also frightened by her sexuality, a teenage girl undergoes a brief therapy with a warm, humorous and competent psychotherapist.