Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien enjoy an evening in the holosuite at Vic Fontaine's hotel lounge, when the lounge suddenly changes into a noisy cabaret. Frankie Eyes, a mobster and Vic's longtime rival, shows up to throw Vic out, announcing that he has bought the hotel. Bashir and O'Brien try to delete the character of Frankie from the simulation, but to no avail.

Bashir learns that, short of resetting the simulation, Frankie can only be eliminated by means that are appropriate to the 1960s Las Vegas setting. Since resetting the program would result in Vic forgetting all the experiences he has shared with the crew of Deep Space Nine, they recruit their friends and crewmates to defeat Frankie within the structure of the simulation. Although Captain Benjamin Sisko initially dislikes the program, citing the pervasive racism against Black people in the real 1960s Las Vegas, his girlfriend Kasidy Yates eventually persuades him to participate.

DS9 crew members Kira and Odo befriend Frankie and his bodyguard Cicci in the simulation, and learn that Frankie works for crime boss Carl Zeemo, who expects to receive a share of the hotel's huge daily profits. The crew hatches a plan to rob the hotel casino the night before Zeemo arrives by breaking into the safe in Frankie's count room, hoping Zeemo will have Frankie killed in retaliation for not having his money. Sisko will pose as a high roller to draw attention away from the count room; Yates will start a fight with O'Brien to distract the security guard; Ezri Dax, posing as a waitress, will bring the accountant in the count room a drugged martini, forcing him to leave the safe unattended; and Nog will crack the safe.

The evening of the heist presents several glitches to the plan—especially when Nog discovers that the lock on the safe is of a different type than expected. While he struggles to crack the lock, Zeemo arrives a day early to pick up his cash. Vic and the others fabricate enough distractions to stall him until Nog can open the safe and he and Odo slip away with the cash. After Zeemo finds the safe empty, his thugs lead Frankie and Cicci out of the casino—and Vic's lounge is restored to the way it was originally. Vic takes the stage with his band, and Sisko joins him in a duet of "The Best Is Yet to Come".

Following the events of "The Python," Dian Belmont left New York City for London. Dodds uses a murder case as an excuse to follow her, and he finds her working at a church's soup kitchen. While Belmont deliberately avoids Dodds, both end up, for different reasons, at a party held by Roderick Burgess, the man who imprisoned Dream in his cellar.

In the year 2113 aliens of unknown origin, known simply as LEDs (Light-Emitting Demons) launch an attack on Earth, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Earth comes out of the fighting victorious, but advanced US intelligence discovers that the LEDs have invaded Earth's colony on Mars. Believing that the LEDs intend to launch another attack on Earth, but unsure how to deal with the problem, the US army chief decides to send in an RTX (Radical Tactics Expert) to properly evaluate the situation.

This brings him to Major Wheeler. Wheeler undertakes the mission, despite his fear of Mars and goes off along with his robotic sidekick IRIS.

The film begins with the invention of a racing game called Poohsticks in which Pooh takes a walk to a wooden bridge over a river where he likes to do nothing in particular. On this day, though, he finds a fir cone and picks it up. Pooh thinks up a rhyme to go with the fir cone, but he accidentally trips on a tree root and drops it in the river. Noticing that the flow of the river takes the cone under the bridge, Pooh invents a racing game out of it. As the game uses sticks instead of cones, he calls it "Poohsticks".

Later that day Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit and Roo are playing Poohsticks, then see Eeyore floating in the river. After somehow rescuing him with a rock, he tells them that he fell in due to being bounced from behind. Piglet assumes it was Tigger who bounced Eeyore into the river. When Tigger arrives on the scene, he claims that his bounce was actually a cough, leading to an argument between him and Eeyore, but with some outside help from the narrator, Winnie the Pooh and his friends find out that he had indeed deliberately bounced Eeyore on page 245. Tigger says it was all a joke, but nobody else feels that way. Tigger disgustedly says that they have no sense of humor, and bounces away.

But as Eeyore seems particularly depressed this day, Pooh follows him to his Gloomy Spot and asks what the problem is. Eeyore says that it is his birthday, and nobody has taken any notice to celebrate it. Pooh decides to give him a jar of honey, but does not get far before he has a hunger attack and ends up eating the honey. He decides to ask Owl for advice. Owl suggests that he writes to Eeyore on the pot so that Eeyore could use it to put things in. Owl ends up writing a misspelled greeting (''hipy papy bthuthdth thuthda bthuthdy'' means A Very Happy Birthday, With Love from Pooh) on the pot and flies off to tell Christopher Robin about the birthday. Piglet, who heard about Eeyore's birthday from Pooh, planned to give a red balloon to Eeyore, but when Owl greets him from the sky, Piglet forgets to look where he is going, until he bumps into a tree and the balloon is sent bouncing off course, taking Piglet with it until it stops and the balloon bursts soon after.

Piglet is very sad that his gift for Eeyore is spoiled, but he presents it to him anyway, and only a minute later, Pooh brings the empty pot. Eeyore is gladdened, as he puts the busted balloon into the pot and removes it again (he also claimed that he likes the color red). Pooh and his friends then pitch in and plan a surprise party for their friend.

During the party, Tigger arrives and bounces Rabbit out of his chair, after Owl had a conversation talk. Roo welcomes him to the festivities as Rabbit draws himself up from being bounced on by Tigger, incensed. Rabbit wants Tigger to leave because of the way he treated Eeyore earlier, Roo wants Tigger to stay, and Christopher Robin's solution is for everyone to go to the bridge and play Poohsticks to settle this, which Pooh asked him. Eeyore, a first-time player, wins the most games, but Tigger wins nothing at all, causing him to conclude that "Tiggers don't like Poohsticks". However, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Rabbit decide to go home, because they had to go to bed, as Christopher Robin waves goodbye and Eeyore said, "Thank you.", but Tigger walks sadly away from the bridge, because he did not win at all. Eeyore's secret for winning, as he explains to Tigger afterwards, is to "let his stick drop in a twitchy sort of way." As Tigger bounces Eeyore again, they both go home as it was getting late and meanwhile, Christopher Robin, Pooh and finally Piglet all decide that "Tigger's all right, really" and "everyone's all right, really".

The game chronicles the quest of Thor, son of Odin and god of thunder as he tries to reclaim Midgard for his father. Midgard, the beloved land of Odin's, was stolen from him during his "Odinsleep" by Loki, the god of mischief, with the help of Jormangund the serpent and Nognir, the Prince of the Underworld. To help in his quest, Thor is given the mythical hammer Mjolnir by Odin.

As Thor progresses, he must solve puzzles set before him by Jormangund, Nognir and finally Loki. He also has to fight his way through the countryside, past city guards, and into the lairs of the gods. Along with puzzles and action, role-playing elements are included. Thor slowly gains more powers as he progresses, and his hammer and armor are upgraded when he defeats Jormangund and Nognir. Through the entire game, Odin watches over Thor and admonishes him if Mjolnir fells an innocent person.

After dismissing the idea of taking Simpson family home videos and a geode, Bart brings Santa's Little Helper to school for show and tell. Bart's show-and-tell presentation is well received by the class, but the dog escapes into the air ducts and is spotted by Ralph. Principal Skinner sends Groundskeeper Willie through a vent to retrieve the dog. Willie catches the dog but becomes trapped in the ducts. As firemen attempt to rescue him, Superintendent Chalmers arrives for a surprise inspection that initially doesn't go well until he is charmed by Santa's Little Helper. However, Willie promptly falls from the vent and lands on him, and Chalmers fires Skinner on the spot, much to Bart's shock.

Chalmers hires Ned Flanders as the new principal of Springfield Elementary School. When Ned is hesitant to use discipline, the children run amok and the school becomes a mad house. Instead of rejoicing at the lack of discipline, Bart feels guilty for getting Skinner fired. He befriends the former principal and shares stories about Ned's failure as the school's head. Feeling lonely, Skinner decides to re-enlist in the United States Army, but he and the Army's new recruits don't get along well and Skinner soon wants to de-enlist.

To get Skinner his job back, Bart tries to expose Ned's poor leadership to Chalmers. Skinner and Bart sadly note that they won't be able to be friends anymore if Skinner gets his job back (unless Bart becomes a good student, which Bart bluntly says is unlikely to happen), but agree to work with Homer (who wants to ruin Ned's new career). They start by telling Skinner how to get out of the Army: by violating Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Despite the chaos at the school, Chalmers is unconcerned because he always disliked Skinner and thinks the school is no worse under Flanders than most public schools end up being. After hearing Ned utter a brief mention of God during school announcements (which is part of Bart's plan), however, Chalmers realizes in horror that Ned is conducting a school prayer in a public school and resolves to fire Ned and re-hire Skinner. Bart and Skinner share a friendly chat about their typically antagonistic relationship and affectionately hug each other. During their hug, Bart tapes a "Kick Me" sign on Skinner's back; Skinner tapes a "Teach Me" sign on Bart. The two chuckle to themselves as they walk away.

A man (later identified as the thief), representing The Fool tarot card, lies in the desert with flies covering his face. He is befriended by a footless, handless dwarf representing the Five of Swords, and the pair travel into the city where they make money entertaining tourists. Because the thief resembles Jesus Christ in appearance, some locals — a nun and three warriors — cast an impression of his body and sell the resulting crucifixes. After a dispute with a priest, the thief eats off the face of his wax statue and sends it skyward with balloons, symbolically eating the body of Christ and offering "himself" up to Heaven. Soon after, he notices a crowd gathered around a tall tower, where a large hook with a bag of gold has been sent down in exchange for food.

The thief, wishing to find the source of the gold, ascends the tower. There he finds the alchemist and his silent assistant. After a confrontation with the alchemist, the thief defecates into a container. The excrement is transformed into gold by the alchemist, who proclaims: "You are excrement. You can change yourself into gold." The thief accepts the gold, but smashes a mirror with the gold when shown his reflection. The alchemist then takes the thief as an apprentice.

The thief is introduced to seven people who will accompany him on his journey. Each is introduced as a personification of one of the planets, in particular the negative characteristics that are associated with the respective planet. They consist of a cosmetics manufacturer representing Venus, a weapons manufacturer representing Mars, a millionaire art dealer representing Jupiter, a war toy maker representing Saturn, a political financial advisor representing Uranus, a police chief representing Neptune, and an architect representing Pluto. The alchemist instructs the seven to burn their money as well as wax effigies of themselves. Together with the alchemist, the thief, and the alchemist's assistant, they form a group of ten.

The characters are led by the alchemist through various transformation rituals. The ten journey by boat to "Lotus Island" in order to gain the secret of immortality from nine immortal masters who live on a holy mountain. Once on Lotus Island they are sidetracked by the Pantheon Bar, a cemetery party where people have abandoned their quest for the holy mountain and instead engage in drugs, poetry, or acts of physical prowess. Leaving the bar behind, they ascend the mountain. Each has a personal symbolic vision representing their worst fears and obsessions.

Near the top, the thief is sent back to his "people" along with a young prostitute and an ape who have followed him from the city to the mountain. The rest confront the cloaked immortals, who are shown to be only faceless dummies. The alchemist then breaks the fourth wall with the command "Zoom back, camera!" and reveals the film apparatus (cameras, microphones, lights, and crew) just outside the frame. He instructs everyone, including the audience of the film, to leave the holy mountain: "Goodbye Holy Mountain, Real life awaits us."

Colin, a principled screenwriter of some success, and his wife Kate, the editor for a publishing house, relocate from the warmer Melbourne to the more ruthless Sydney and soon become lured by the bright lights of the big city. Colin meets Mike, a hack but resourceful screenwriter with commercial ambitions, and strikes a partnership with him, while instantly falling for his attractive girlfriend Helen. Meanwhile, Kate starts working on a socially important book but soon begins to lose sight of her ideals in this new world of hustlers and cynics.

Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier, is a night manager at a hotel. Pine has a complex character with a military background and schooling at the Duke of York's Royal Military School in Dover. We first meet him in that capacity at the Hotel Meister Palace in Zurich. He is on duty when the "worst man in the world", Richard Onslow Roper, arrives with his entourage on a cold, blizzardy night. Roper is a billionaire criminal who traffics illegal arms and drugs. The novel is about Pine's preoccupation with undoing Roper's criminal enterprise, which began earlier, in Cairo, where Pine was working as the night manager at the luxurious Queen Nefertiti hotel.

One night in Cairo, Pine met Sophie, a French-Arab woman, the mistress of the hotel owner, Freddie Hamid, who had ties to Roper. Sophie characterised Roper as "the worst man in the world". She provided Pine with incriminating documents, asking him to forward them to the Egyptian authorities. Pine did so but disregarded her warning that Roper had ties to British intelligence. He forwarded copies to a friend with MI6. A short time later, Sophie was murdered.

Several years later, Pine is working in Switzerland. He is approached by ex-SIS Chief Leonard Burr and his senior civil servant backer Rex Goodhew, who have set up a small counter arms-proliferation office and are planning an elaborate sting operation against Roper. Eager to avenge Sophie, Pine agrees to go undercover to infiltrate Roper's vast criminal empire. All the while, however, the operation is jeopardised by an inter-agency turf war within the intelligence community, with a suspicion that collusion with Roper is taking place somewhere.

Burr's operation, a joint effort between his group and sympathetic American colleagues, is code-named "Limpet." The first stage requires Pine to fabricate a criminal identity and cover story and head to the Bahamas, the location of Roper's primary residence. Pine wins the confidence of Roper by "rescuing" his son from a phony kidnapping orchestrated by Burr and suffering a severe beating from the "kidnappers". When Pine recovers, Roper recruits him into his organisation, in preparation for his latest and largest illegal arms deal, with a Colombian drug cartel.

Unknown to Pine, another part of Operation Limpet is that the cartel's lawyer, Dr. Paul Apostoll, is secretly an informant for the American FBI and DEA. He explains to Burr that Roper has convinced the cartel to organise its bands of enforcers along the lines of a professional army, in preparation for the inevitable day when the Western nations to whom they peddle cocaine decide to take direct military action against them. Roper has agreed to supply the cartel with military-grade weaponry and training from experienced mercenaries, in exchange for a large shipment of cocaine, at a discount price, which Roper will then sell in Europe for an enormous profit.

Apostoll plants the suggestion in his employers' minds that Roper's normal front man, Major Corkoran, is unreliable, forcing Roper to use Pine instead. Corkoran is convinced that Pine is a plant, but cannot find any proof. While signing the paperwork Pine gathers information to convict Roper. He has also fallen in love with Roper's innocent English mistress, Jed. However, corrupt factions within both the CIA and British Intelligence are profiting from the illegal arms trade and mount their own operation, which they call 'Flagship', to scuttle Burr's sting operation. They subtly threaten Goodhew, who backs off the whole case, and betray Apostoll's status as an informant to the cartels. Before being killed, Apostoll reveals Pine's true identity to Roper under torture. Pine is held captive on Roper's yacht and tortured.

The outlines of Flagship are confessed to Burr by a drunken Harry Palfrey, the Legal Adviser to the British Secret Intelligence Service, who is privy to it all but now stricken by conscience. Burr also puts additional pressure on Palfrey by faking correspondence between himself, Goodhew, and his American partner to the effect that they know about Palfrey's duplicity, to get him to work for them. To save Pine, Burr sacrifices his operation and allows Roper to get away, by contacting Roper's "satrap," Sir Anthony Bradshaw, and bluffing that he has enough evidence to send Roper to prison with harsh consequences for any associates, but will stay his hand if Pine and Jed are released unharmed. Bradshaw and Roper fall for the deception, and Roper complies. With his life falling apart, Palfrey commits suicide.

Pine and Jed are saved. They live together in his isolated cottage at the Lanyon, a few miles from Land's End.

In the distant future, humans live in a computer-aided society and have forgotten the fundamentals of mathematics, including even the rudimentary skill of counting.

The Terrestrial Federation is at war with Deneb, and the war is conducted by long-range weapons controlled by computers which are expensive and hard to replace. Myron Aub, a low grade Technician, discovers how to reverse-engineer the principles of pencil-and-paper arithmetic by studying the workings of ancient computers which were programmed by human beings, before bootstrapping became the norm—a development which is later dubbed "Graphitics".

The discovery is demonstrated to senior programmer Shuman, who realizes the value of it. But it is appropriated by the military establishment, who use it to re-invent their understanding of mathematics. They also plan to replace their computer-operated ships with lower cost, more expendable (in their opinion) crewed ships and manned missiles, to continue the war.

Aub is so upset by the appropriation of his discovery for military purposes that he commits suicide, aiming a protein depolarizer at his head and dropping instantly and painlessly dead. As Aub's funeral proceeds, his supervisor realizes that even with Aub dead, the advancement of Graphitics is unstoppable. He executes simple multiplications in his mind without help from any machine, which gives him a great feeling of power.

''A Woman of the Iron people'' is divided into two parts. The first primarily deals with Lixia's growing understanding and involvement with life on the planet. Soon after arriving on the planet she meets Nia and starts to pick up the ''language of gifts'', which is a sort of trade language, from her. They leave their current location and journey west, meeting Derek and the Voice of the Waterfall along the way.

The second part of the novel deals primarily with the question of intervention. The various factions of humans, most of whom are still in space, disagree as to how much the humans should intervene on the planet. Questions are raised about the policy of intervention.

The Hurrians, a small, tailed, vegetarian primate species have found on their space travels that large, non-tailed omnivorous intelligent ape species always end up destroying themselves in a nuclear war. The Hurrians adopted the policy of helping to rebuild the remains of these planetary societies after their nuclear wars, while genetically modifying the inhabitants into more peaceful races. They are not acting completely selflessly, either: as is discovered in the subsequent conversation with a captured human, each race "helped" in this fashion pays the Hurrians a "modest" contribution, choosing the product that this race is best at. In one case, an otherwise poor race pays in its own members, by forfeiting a set number of individuals into servitude each year.

The Hurrians learned of Earth at the beginning of the Cold War but were surprised that an atomic war did not immediately develop. They establish a base on the Moon to wait for Earth's civilization to destroy itself. However, despite their calculations, after fifteen years the war has not come. The Hurrians cannot simply leave either: their calculations indicate that if the people of Earth do not destroy their civilization, they will soon develop space travel and, presumably because of their violence, quickly set chaos among the Hurrians' civilization.

In desperation, the Hurrians kidnap a human to try to discover why the nuclear war has not happened. The human taunts the Hurrians by calling them vultures, since the Hurrians never try to prevent the nuclear wars, but wait for them to occur and then assist the survivors. After conversing with the human and analyzing his conversation, the Hurrians reach an astounding conclusion. As the inspector, who came to supervise such an unusual case, tells to the resident director of the base, the war will not start by itself; it needs to be "helped". Refusing to understand the meaning of the word, the director fearfully asks for clarification, and is told that the Hurrians need to drop an atomic bomb themselves, in order to initiate the conflict which will then escalate on its own. Such a method, while computed to be the only way to start the war, and thus prevent the destruction of advanced space civilizations, is nevertheless completely unacceptable to the Hurrians, a race of absolute pacifists who cannot envision killing a sentient being.

Even though such an act is needed, explains the director, it simply cannot be done, for no Hurrian will be able to drop the bomb himself, or even order someone else to do so. Unable to solve this dilemma, the Hurrians are forced to return home, plagued by the visions of humans conquering space.

Stewart "Stew" Smith (Robert Williams), ace reporter for the ''Post'', is assigned to get the story about the latest escapade of playboy Michael Schuyler (Donald Dillaway), a breach of promise suit by chorus girl Gloria Golden, who has been paid to drop it. Unlike rival ''Daily Tribune'' reporter Bingy Baker (Walter Catlett), he turns down a $50 bribe from Dexter Grayson (Reginald Owen), the Schuylers' lawyer, to not write anything. He does pretend to be swayed by the pleas of Anne (Jean Harlow), Michael's sister, but then brazenly calls his editor with the scoop, appalling the Schuylers.

Stew returns to the house to return a copy of Conrad he had taken from the Schuylers' library. The butler, Smythe (Halliwell Hobbes), tries to make him leave, but Anne sees him. Stew surprises Anne by presenting her with Michael's love letters to Gloria, who had intended to use them to extort more money from the Schuylers. Anne offers Stew a $5,000 check, which he refuses. She asks why he reported the suit, but not the love notes. Stew explains that one was news, the other, blackmail. He later tells her he is writing a play. Intrigued, Anne wonders if she can turn him into a gentleman. She invites him to a party at the house.

They fall in love and soon elope, horrifying Anne's widowed mother, Mrs. Schuyler (Louise Closser Hale), an imperious dowager who looks down on Stew's lower-class background. Michael takes it in stride, telling Stew he's not as bad as everyone thinks. The wedding is scooped by the rival ''Daily Tribune'', enraging his editor, Conroy (Edmund Breese). Even more upset is Stew's best friend Gallagher (Loretta Young), a "sob sister" columnist secretly pining for him. Conroy taunts Stew as "a bird in a gilded cage." Despite his bravado, Stew is upset by the implication he is no longer his own man, vowing not to live on Anne's money. However, she cajoles him into moving into the mansion and starts to make him over, buying him garters (despite his objections) and hiring a valet, Dawson (Claud Allister).

When the Schuylers hold a reception for the Spanish ambassador, Gallagher substitutes for the society reporter and chats with Stew. Anne is surprised to learn that her husband's best friend (whom she had assumed was a man) is actually a lovely young woman and treats Gallagher icily. Then, Bingy tells Stew the ''Tribune'' will give him a column if he signs it "Anne Schuyler's husband." Insulted, Stew punches Bingy when he calls him Cinderella Man. The next morning, Mrs. Schuyler is aghast to find Stew's brawl has made the front page.

Wrestling with his play, Stew invites Gallagher and another friend, Hank (Eddy Chandler) from Joe's. They arrive with Joe and several bar patrons in tow and even Bingy shows up to apologize. A raucous party ensues. Meanwhile, Stew and Gallagher ponder the play, deciding to base it on Stew's marriage. Anne, Mrs. Schuyler, and Grayson return as the party is in full swing. Stew apologizes for letting the party get out of control, but protests that he can invite friends to "my house." Anne replies, "Your house?"

Stew returns with Gallagher to his own apartment. Along the way, he gives a homeless man his expensive garters. Grayson stops by to say Anne will pay him alimony, whereupon Stew punches him (earlier, Stew had warned Grayson that his twentieth insult would earn him a "sock to the nose"). Stew tells Gallagher the play could end with the protagonist divorcing his rich wife and marrying the woman whom he had always loved without ever realizing it. Overwhelmed, Gallagher hugs him.

In 1878, Chiefs Little Wolf and Dull Knife lead over three hundred starved and weary Cheyenne Indians from their reservation in the Oklahoma Territory to their former traditional home in Wyoming. The U.S. government sees this as an act of rebellion, and the sympathetic Captain Thomas Archer of the U.S. Army is forced to lead his troops in an attempt to stop the tribe. As the press misrepresents the natives' motives and goals for their trek as malicious, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz tries to prevent violence from erupting between the Army and the natives. Also featured are James Stewart as Marshal Wyatt Earp, Dolores del Río as Spanish Woman, and Carroll Baker as a pacifist Quaker school teacher and Archer's love interest.

Opening scene narrated by Richard Widmark

"The beginning of a day. September 7th, 1878. It dawned like any other day on the Cheyenne reservation... in that vast barren land in the American Southwest... which was then called Indian Territory.

But this wasn't just another day to the Cheyenne. Far from their homeland... as out of place in this desert as eagles in a cage... their three great chiefs prayed over the sacred bundle... that at last, the promises made to them... when the white man sent them here more than a year ago... would today be honored. The promises that had led them to give up their own way of life... in their own green and fertile country, 1500 miles to the north."

Freshly graduated and commissioned Planeteer (the space-going equivalent of a Marine) Lt. Richard Ingalls Peter ("Rip") Foster, already contending with inter-service rivalry with the Space Force (equivalent to Navy) crewmen with whom he serves, is tasked with retrieving an asteroid made of pure thorium from the asteroid belt and bringing it to Earth for use as fissionable material. In this he is opposed by agents of the "Consolidation of Peoples Governments", who also seek control and use of the asteroid.

On Halloween in Haddonfield, Illinois, having already exhibited signs of psychopathic tendencies, ten-year-old Michael Myers murders a school bully, his older sister Judith, her boyfriend Steve Haley, and his mother's abusive boyfriend Ronnie White. He only spares his infant sister. After one of the longest trials in the state's history, Michael is found guilty of first-degree murder and sent to Smith's Grove Sanitarium under the care of child psychologist Dr. Samuel Loomis.

Michael initially cooperates with Loomis and his mother Deborah visits him regularly. Over the following year, Michael becomes dissociative, fixating on papier-mâché masks and withdrawing from the people around him, even his mother. When Michael kills a nurse as Deborah is leaving from one of her visits, she is unable to handle the situation and commits suicide.

For the next 15 years, Michael continues making his masks and not speaking to people. Loomis, having continued to treat Michael over the years, attempts to move forward with his life and closes Michael's case. Later, Michael escapes from Smith's Grove, killing the guards and hospital staff in the process. He then kills a truck driver for his clothes and makes his way back to Haddonfield. On Halloween, Michael arrives at his now-abandoned childhood home, where he recovers the kitchen knife and Halloween mask he stored under the floorboards the night he killed his sister.

Laurie Strode and her friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van Der Klok prepare for Halloween. Throughout the day, Laurie witnesses Michael watching her from a distance. Later that night, Lynda meets up with her boyfriend Bob Simms at Michael's abandoned home. Michael appears, murders them, and then heads to the Strode home while Laurie is babysitting Tommy Doyle and murders her parents Mason and Cynthia. Dr. Loomis, having been alerted of Michael's escape, arrives in Haddonfield looking for Michael. After obtaining a handgun, Loomis attempts to warn Sheriff Lee Brackett that Michael has returned to Haddonfield. Loomis and Brackett head to the Strode home, with Brackett explaining along the way that Laurie is really Michael's baby sister, having been adopted by the Strodes following their mother's suicide.

After convincing Laurie to babysit Lindsey Wallace while spending time with her boyfriend Paul, Annie is attacked by Michael after he kills Paul at the Wallace residence. Bringing Lindsey home, Laurie finds Annie badly injured on the floor but still alive, and calls for help. Michael attacks Laurie and chases her back to the Doyle residence. Loomis and Brackett hear the call over the radio and head toward the Wallace residence. Michael kidnaps Laurie and takes her back to their old home. He tries to show Laurie that she is his sister, presenting a picture of them with their mother. Unable to understand, Laurie stabs Michael before escaping the house. Michael chases after her, but Loomis arrives and shoots him three times. Recovering, Michael recaptures Laurie and heads back to the house. Loomis intervenes, but Michael subdues him. Laurie takes the gun and runs upstairs, but Michael corners her on a balcony and charges her head-on, knocking both of them over the railing. Laurie awakens on top of an unconscious Michael. Laurie aims the gun at Michael, with Michael's hand grabbing her wrist just as the gun is fired.

The beautiful, successful, but also vain and egotistical actress Regine meets the strange Italian Raymond Fosca in France in the 1930s. At first he is reluctant to make her acquaintance, but then he seems to fall in love with Regine and soon reveals his secret to her: he is immortal. Regine does not understand the dimension of this revelation and at first only thinks about how she herself could attain immortality through the Romance with him - in his memory. Fosca then withdraws from her, but when she seeks him out and confronts him, he tells her his story.

Born the son of a patrician in the (fictional) 13th-century northern Italian town of Carmona, the world presents itself to Fosca as a mixture of violence and intrigue: While in the city the influential families fight for supremacy, this struggle is repeated in the outside world as a permanent state of war between the city-states and small states of Italy at the time and their ever-changing constellations of alliances. Neither the respective rulers nor their subjects achieve any real progress. Fosca gets the impression that these battles only go on endlessly because neither party has the time to permanently consolidate the power and rule it has won - and so the desire arises in him for a life that will last forever and thus give him the decisive advantage. In return for his pardon, he receives a magic potion from a beggar in his hometown who has been sentenced to death. After trying it on a mouse, he drinks it himself and promptly becomes immortal - but the hoped-for success does not materialize. Again and again a new opponent rises up; even his own son (when he has long since become an adult and wants to inherit the regency from his father) finally fights him, and Fosca kills him himself. Despite this, he does not want to give up and initially fights on for two centuries, but never gets beyond his role as lord of the city of Carmona.

Outside Italy, however, the world had changed during this time, and when a new, influential warlord appeared in Italy in the form of the Habsburg Maximilian I, Fosca had the idea of putting his forces at the service of a successful ruler rather than trying any longer to become one himself. He leaves his hometown, for which he has fought for so long, to the Habsburgs and serves as an advisor to Maximilian and later to his son Philip and his grandson Charles V. At the imperial court, he finds that the same old intrigues for power and influence are being spun here, too, without the people necessarily being better off as a result. On the contrary, on a journey to the American colonies, Fosca is made vividly aware of all the misery of the inhabitants of this seemingly glamorous empire. He flees from this realization into the wilderness of North America.

There, by chance, Fosca meets the adventurer Pierre Carlier, who succeeds in infecting him with his joy of discovery: The young man has set himself the ambitious goal of traveling to China and, on his way there, becoming the first European to cross the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean. Fosca joins him. Thanks to his immortality, he saves his new friend several times from dicey situations, but they get no closer to their goal. The adventurer eventually dies, and Fosca's search for further discoveries is thus spoiled. He retreats to the natives for several generations.

Tracked down there, he ends up in absolutist Paris carrying with him riches he acquired in North America. In the decadent circles of the nobility there, he first becomes a ruthless gambler who outplays all opponents and cannot be killed even in a duel - but this behavior does not provide him with lasting distraction. He begins to take an interest in science and rises to become an renowned chemist. As a result, he first wins the affection of young Marianne, who maintains an intellectual salon. He falls in love and marries her, but almost loses her when she finds out his secret. And he, for all his love, does not really understand her, for her actions and motives are those of a mortal, and Fosca is literally "free" of such motives, whereas no one else understands his ever-increasing fear of infinity, which no amount of activity can permanently subdue. As long as Marianne lives, Fosca clings to her, but he becomes increasingly aware of the insurmountable contrast with his fellow human beings, and becomes more and more indifferent to life. After Marianne's death, he finally abandons his scientific interests.

In the Paris of the July Revolution of 1830, Fosca is able to take an interest in the new trends of the time for a last time, partly because one of the revolutionaries is a descendant of his. But as before, he sees in the latter's efforts to improve people's lives mainly the recurring failure. He does not find any consolation for his personal fate in this either. Not even the love of the revolutionary Laure can reach him now. So one day he marches out of the city and lies down in the forest to sleep for sixty years. When he is found, he is not believed and is taken to a mental asylum.

When Fosca finishes his story, he tells that he suffers from nightmares in which the whole world is white and dead, populated only by two living beings: him and the mouse on which he tested the immortality potion. Regine finally understands the enormity of his fate; but she also realizes that she means nothing to him. Fosca still gives her cold comfort, saying that for her it will pass. Then he goes away.

The main tension exists between the meaninglessness of daily life, rituals, style from the perspective of an immortal man contrasted by the seeming trivial concerns of a mortal woman: the importance and the value they put on things are at opposite ends of the spectrum. From his perspective everything is essentially the same. From her perspective even the most trivial is unique and carries significance.

One husband's journey is documented as he attempts to rescue his pregnant wife who was sold by a trafficker who befriended them, to a notoriously powerful and violent pimp in Turkey.

Cheryl Draper looks out of her bedroom window, and witnesses a young woman being strangled to death and reports it to the police, but when the killer, Albert Richter, sees detectives arriving downstairs, he moves the body. When the police show up to his door, Albert acts nonchalant, and, when no body is found, the police are convinced that Cheryl dreamt it up.

The next day, Albert puts the body in a trunk and leaves to dispose of it. While he is out, Cheryl notices that an apartment on the same floor is for rent, and she is given a tour by the building manager. She finds torn drapery, which Albert dubiously re-ripped in front of the police, and a pair of earrings. Albert returns and sees Cheryl drive away to the police department with the earrings. He pre-emptively phones the police, and Cheryl is accused of robbery. The two confront each other at the police station, but Albert opts not to press charges. However, the scene leaves Police Lt. Lawrence Mathews suspicious.

Lawrence goes to Cheryl's apartment and tells her that Albert is an ex-Nazi who had been "denazified" and is now an unsuccessful author who is marrying a wealthy heiress. The two meet again when the body of an unidentified woman is found in Griffith Park. Cheryl comes off as conspiratorial and Lawrence believes she is pretending and obsessing about the case; he believes she is telling the truth that she saw something, but does not think what she saw was reality. She is forcibly admitted to an insane asylum after Albert surreptitiously types threatening letters from Cheryl to him to frame her as crazy and a threat to his safety.

After Cheryl is released, Lawrence and a fellow policeman go to the apartment building of the deceased woman (who was revealed to be a Miss Joyce Stewart) to see if anyone there recognizes Albert but no one does, and the police have no case. After Cheryl is released, Albert is at her home and confesses that he killed the woman because she was insignificant to him and he did not want his future wealth to be threatened. However, because she is officially labeled insane by the police and has no credibility, he does not fear admitting anything to her.

Albert later returns to her home with a purported suicide note wherein Cheryl says she will kill herself, and he tries to push her out of her window. Just as he is about to throw her out, a policewoman buzzes at the door and Cheryl flees. She is pursued by Albert, as well as the police, who think she is suicidal. Cheryl runs up a high-rise that is under construction, and gets to the top and is cornered by Albert, and he pushes her off the tower. There are a few construction planks below the precipice onto which she falls and is saved. Lawrence arrives and Albert attempts to push him off as well, but after a brief struggle, it is Albert who falls to his death. Lawrence rescues Cheryl and the police now come to believe her story.

Part 1

Jerry's parents are staying with him for three days until they leave for Paris, leaving him yearning for some private time with his girlfriend, Rachel, who lives with her parents. Alec approaches George in Monk's with an offer to join the Big Brother program. George reluctantly agrees to look after young Joey. He asks Helen and Morty to send a postcard to Alec from Paris, so it looks like he is in Paris, thus getting out of the Big Brother program. George invites Morty and Helen over for dinner with his parents, but they claim they have plans for the night. In reality, they can't stand George's parents Frank and Estelle. Elaine brings her new boyfriend, Aaron up to the apartment. Aaron stands unusually close to others when speaking to them. Aaron volunteers to escort Jerry’s parents on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After they leave, Jerry phones Rachel, but she is not home. By the time Rachel calls Jerry back, his parents have returned. Kramer greets Helen and Morty. Morty notices Kramer’s raincoat, which is the Executive line (a belt-less model, created by Morty years ago). Kramer says they are a hot item at Rudy’s Antique Boutique. Morty makes plans to get Jack Klompus to send his boxes of unsold Executives up to New York City before he leaves for Paris.

When George tells Alec about his invented trip to Paris, Alec replies that this is great news: Joey’s estranged father lives in Paris but Joey is too scared to fly alone. George goes down to Rudy’s to sell Frank’s old clothes, claiming his father has died. Kramer arrives and explains to George how he and Morty went into business over an impromptu dinner; this alerts George that the Seinfelds lied about having plans, which outrages him. Elaine questions Aaron's actions with Helen and Morty, considering them abnormally nice. Aaron takes Elaine to see a stage production of ''My Fair Lady'', and acquires additional tickets for Helen and Morty. Elaine is annoyed at having to share her date with them. George spots the group riding in a buggy and tells his parents the Seinfelds were avoiding them again.

When the Costanzas make plans to go on a cruise, Frank realizes his vacation clothes are missing. Rudy sells some of Frank's clothes to Kramer, and burns the rest after discovering them to be moth-ridden.

Part 2

Jerry and Rachel go to see ''Schindler's List'' but cannot help making out since they have not been alone in such a long time. Newman, also in the cinema, spots them. When Jerry arrives back at his apartment, Helen and Morty quiz him about the film and Jerry bluffs his way through. George goes to Rudy’s to buy back his father’s clothes, and is told of their fate.

Newman informs Helen and Morty of Jerry and Rachel's making out. When the Seinfelds rebuke Jerry, he realizes Newman must have told. Jack Klompus rings again to tell Morty he had to break a window to get into the garage and that the Executives will be in New York City by 2:00 in the afternoon the next day. Since their flight is at 3:00, Morty decides to cancel the trip to Paris. George asks Jerry for the tickets to Paris, as they are non-refundable. Kramer arrives at the Costanzas' for dinner. Frank notices Kramer is wearing one of his missing vacation shirts, which forces George to confess that he sold Frank's clothes.

Rudy refuses to buy the Executives from Kramer and Morty; after his store was infested with moths from Frank's clothes, he now has a policy of not buying clothes off the street. Frank arrives to buy back his clothes and argues with Morty. At the airport, Jerry and Elaine say farewell to Morty and Helen as they leave to return to Florida. Aaron goes crazy, thinking he could have done more for them while they were in New York City. Rachel’s father forbids her from seeing Jerry again after Newman informs him of their behavior at ''Schindler's List''.

Back at Monk’s, Jerry tells Elaine that his parents were robbed because Jack Klompus never fixed the broken window. Newman comes into the shop and Jerry, angry that he sabotaged his relationship with Rachel, chases him out into the street. George goes to Paris with Joey, who gives him a hard time as they wait for Joey's father to show up. Helen and Morty go on a cruise, but discover that the Costanzas are on the same one.

The movie starts by introducing gnomes in general, and a particular family of forest gnomes who live together in a home under a tree. The family consists of a father, mother, grandfather, older son Tor, and a set of young twins, Im and Impy. Tor is about to marry his fiancée Lisa, and the gnomes are busy decorating and preparing for the wedding.

In the same forest live a family of trolls: a large and stupid father troll, a somewhat more intelligent mother troll (who wears a snake in her hair and smokes a cigar), their two bumbling older sons and a young troll child affectionately called "Runt". When the father gnome frees the trapped bear cub they had intended to have for their supper, the trolls resolve to get their revenge.

The trolls’ intended method of revenge is to set the gnome dwelling on fire, and each member of the troll family marches toward the gnomes’ household, memorably chanting “burn, burn, burn” in unison.

Lisa and her parents arrive, carried by a goose from the city. They are "house gnomes" who live among humans and are the "aristocrats" of gnome society. Another less welcome arrival is Uncle Kostya from Siberia who crashes the wedding ceremony, adding extra alcohol to Grandpa's punch and making inappropriate advances to the mother of the bride. Their differences are soon forgotten however when the trolls strike.

The movie also contains a handful of vignettes, which use still illustrations from the original book and narration to explain some of the facts about the different sorts of gnomes, and what sorts of duties gnomes perform to help the creatures they live among.

In London, Julia Ross (Nina Foch) goes to a new employment agency, desperate for work. When Mrs. Sparkes (Anita Sharp-Bolster) learns that she has no near relations, she recommends Julia for a job as a live-in personal secretary to a wealthy widow, Mrs. Hughes (Dame May Whitty). Mrs. Hughes approves and insists that she move that very night into her house. Two days later, Julia awakes as a prisoner at an isolated seaside estate in Cornwall.

All her possessions have disappeared and the young woman is told she is really Marion, the wife of Ralph Hughes (George Macready), Mrs. Hughes's son. The staff have been told that she has suffered a nervous breakdown; as a result, they ignore her seemingly wild claims, and her attempts to escape are all foiled.

Julia writes a letter to Dennis Bruce (Roland Varno), her only close friend and admirer, and cleverly leaves it where it can be found. The Hugheses substitute a blank sheet of paper and allow her to post it, unaware that Julia has anticipated them and written a second letter. That night, Julia discovers a secret passage to her room and overhears Ralph admit to his mother that he murdered his wife in a fit of rage and disposed of her body in the sea. Even so, when a "doctor" comes in response to a fake poisoning attempt, she blurts out her plan to him, only to discover that he (along with Mrs. Sparkes) is in on the scheme. He is dispatched to London to intercept the letter. When the real doctor shows up, Julia thinks he's also a fake and refuses to see him. The doctor recommends she be taken to a hospital immediately, but Mrs. Hughes persuades him to come back in the morning.

Julia's captors have to make it appear that she has committed suicide before the doctor can take her away.

Julia throws her gown out the window, making it look like she threw herself to her death, then hides in the secret passage. When the doctor drives up, Mrs. Hughes delays him so that her son can get to the body first. Ralph picks up a rock to ensure that Julia is really dead, but is stopped by Dennis and a policeman, who had been alerted by the letter. (The fake doctor had been apprehended in London when he tried to intercept the letter.) When Ralph tries to flee, he is shot down. Later, Julia and Dennis drive away and talk about getting married.

The series is the story of a scientific inventor boy genius named Eiichi Kite a.k.a. Kiteretsu, descendant of a great inventor named D. Kiteretsu, who has built a companion robot named Korosuke. He frequently travels in time with his friends and Korosuke in the time machine he built. He has friends such as Miyoko Nonohana, a girl in his neighborhood who is his love interest, Buta Gorira (Kumada Kaoru), a typical neighborhood bully and his friend, Tongari, who both often antagonize Korosuke (though they are in grade school).

As his mother is dying of disease, David (Benny Moshe) runs away from an abusive father and lives with other homeless children in a series of large concrete construction pipes. A few years later, David, who now goes by Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae), is the leader of a gang that includes his friends Butcher (Zenzo Ngqobe), Aap (Kenneth Nkosi), and Boston (Mothusi Magano).

After getting involved in a murder committed by Butcher during a mugging, Tsotsi and Boston get into a fight that leaves Boston badly injured. Tsotsi later shoots Pumla (Nambitha Mpumlwana), a young woman, while stealing her car, only to discover a three-month-old in the back seat. Tsotsi hastily strips the car of its valuables and takes the baby back to his shack. Pumla survives the attack and works with a police artist to create a composite sketch of Tsotsi's face, which is then run in the newspapers.

Realizing that he cannot properly care for the baby on his own, Tsotsi spots Miriam (Terry Pheto) with a young child strapped to her back, collecting water from a public tap. He follows her to her shack and forces her at gunpoint to feed the kidnapped child. Meanwhile, rich gang leader Fela (Zola) begins attempting to recruit Aap, Boston, and Butcher to work for him. When Tsotsi takes the child to Miriam a second time, she asks him to leave the boy with her so that she can care for him on Tsotsi's behalf, and Tsotsi agrees.

Tsotsi decides to take care of the injured Boston, and has Aap and Butcher take Boston to his shack. Boston, who is called Teacher Boy by his friends, explains that he never took the teachers' examination. Tsotsi tells him that the gang will raise the money so that Boston can take the exam, which means that they will have to commit another robbery.

Tsotsi and Aap go to Pumla's house. When Pumla's husband John (Rapulana Seiphemo) returns from the hospital, they follow him into the house and tie him up. Aap is assigned to watch John while Butcher ransacks the bedroom and Tsotsi collects items from the baby's room.

When Aap goes to raid the fridge, John activates the alarm. In a panic, Butcher attempts to kill John with John's pistol that he found. Tsotsi shoots and kills Butcher with his pistol. He and Aap escape in John's car moments before the security company arrives.

Traumatized by Tsotsi's killing of Butcher and fearing that Tsotsi will one day harm him too, Aap decides to leave the gang and quit as Tsotsi's friend. When Tsotsi goes back to Miriam's house, she reveals that she knows where he got the baby, and begs him to return the child to his parents.

Tsotsi sets off to return the baby. He reaches John's house and tells John over the intercom that he will leave the child outside the gate. Meanwhile, an officer stationed at the house alerts Captain Smit (Ian Roberts), who rushes to the scene, arriving just as Tsotsi is about to walk away.

The police train their guns on Tsotsi, ordering him to return the baby. However, John urges them to lower their weapons so that he can retrieve the baby himself. As Tsotsi holds the baby in his arms, John convinces him to give up the baby. Tsotsi emotionally hands the baby to John, then is told to put up his hands and turns himself in as the film ends.

Alternate endings

The film ends with Tsotsi raising his hands, and does not disclose what happens thereafter. Two unused endings were shot for the film, which can be seen on the ''Tsotsi'' DVD. In one, Tsotsi is shot in the shoulder, and while the officers are shocked at what happened, he escapes through a large field back to the Alexandra slums after avoiding another shot from the chief police officer. In the other, Tsotsi is shot in the chest while reaching for a milk bottle he brought. He collapses and dies while John and Pumla look on in horror.

Late one night, private investigator Philip Marlowe is visited by his close friend Terry Lennox, who asks for a lift from Los Angeles to the California–Mexico border at Tijuana. Marlowe obliges. On returning home, Marlowe is met by two police detectives who accuse Lennox of having murdered his rich wife, Sylvia. Marlowe refuses to give them any information, so they arrest him. After he is jailed for three days, the police release him, because they have learned that Lennox has committed suicide in Mexico. The police and the press seem to believe it is an obvious case, but Marlowe does not accept the official facts.

Marlowe is hired by Eileen Wade, who asks him to find her missing husband Roger, an alcoholic novelist with writer's block whose macho, Hemingway-like persona is proving self-destructive, resulting in days-long disappearances from their Malibu home. While investigating Eileen's missing husband, Marlowe visits the subculture of private detoxification clinics for rich alcoholics and drug addicts. He locates and recovers Roger and learns that the Wades knew the Lennoxes socially, and suspects that there is more to Lennox's suicide and Sylvia's murder. Marlowe incurs the wrath of gangster Marty Augustine, who wants money returned that Lennox owed him, and threatens Marlowe by maiming his own mistress.

After a side-trip to Mexico, where officials corroborate the details of Lennox's death, Marlowe returns to the Wade house. A party breaks up after an argument over Roger's unpaid bill from the detoxification clinic. Later that night, Eileen and Marlowe are interrupted when she sees a drunken Roger wandering into the sea; before they can stop him, he drowns. Eileen confesses that Roger had been having an affair with Sylvia, and might have killed her. Marlowe tells this to the police, who tell him that Roger's time at the clinic provides an alibi.

After visiting Augustine, whose missing money has been returned, Marlowe sees Eileen driving away in her open topped Mercedes-Benz 450SL. While running after her, he is struck by a car and hospitalized. Waking up, he is given a harmonica by the heavily-bandaged patient in the next bed. Returning to Malibu, he finds the Wade house being packed up by a real estate company and Eileen gone.

He returns to Mexico, where he bribes local officials into revealing the truth. They confess to having set up Terry's apparent suicide and reveal he is alive and well in a Mexican villa. Marlowe finds Terry, who admits to killing Sylvia and reveals that he is having an affair with Eileen. Roger had discovered the affair and disclosed it to Sylvia, after which Terry killed her in the course of a violent argument. Terry gloats that Marlowe fell for his manipulations, causing Marlowe to fatally shoot Terry. As Marlowe walks away, he passes Eileen, who is on her way to meeting Terry. Marlowe pulls out his harmonica and plays it while strolling jauntily down the road.

The show begins shortly after his valedictorian speech, when his world comes crashing down after his first book is rejected by his literary agent. His life becomes worse as his nemesis becomes a published author who appears in "Vancouver Magazine's" top 10 writers list. He becomes a recluse who constantly wears his graduation robe (a reminder of his more successful times) and plays video games all day. However, he quickly recovers by writing a vicious 'letter to the editor' to Vancouver Magazine where he decries the selection of his nemesis as a top 10 writer. This letter angers so many readers of the magazine that they offer him a job as an anonymous "Hate Male" article writer.

He lives in downtown Vancouver in a flat with several friends. Emily Hampshire plays a recent law school graduate named Iona Goldenthal, a binge drinker (and perhaps an alcoholic) who must deal with the chauvinistic world of law. Rainbow Sun Francks plays a recent graduate named Barnaby Sharpe who majored in economics and Russian literature. He fails his first audition (a PSA for genital warts) and ends up working at a Jar Heads, a Starbucks parody, as a "coffee jerk". Kea Wong plays Rumour Wong, a medical intern and Lucky's girlfriend, who must deal with Lucky's mental breakdown and reclusive nature. Jason Bryden plays Elliot Hayden, a mutual gay friend who speaks Mandarin and frequents Chinatown. He teaches English to immigrant children and acts as a foil to the rest of the characters.

Like Lucky, Iona and Barnaby must deal with the problems in their burgeoning careers and achieve success by the end of the episode. Iona angrily (and drunkenly) declares that she cannot stand the chauvinistic nature of the law firm she works at while Burnaby angrily quits his job as a "coffee jerk" to audition for another part, which he lands.

All three variants of the film show Robbie, a young boy of about 8 years old with a keen interest in both trains and football, being persuaded by his elder brother to climb through a hole in the fence surrounding a nearby railway line and go onto the track. The three different editions continue as follows:

• ''Version 1'' (non-electrified railway lines): As he is walking along the railway line, Robbie gets the laces of his football boots caught in the track, and desperately tries to pull his feet free. We then hear and see a train approaching. The shoelace then pops and Robbie stumbles back in time, but trips on the other tracks; then we hear and see another train approaching.
• ''Version 2'' (overhead electric line): To encourage Robbie to cross the train tracks Robbie's brother snatches Robbie's football boots and throws them to the other side of the track. Unfortunately they get caught on the overhead electric line and when Robbie tries to retrieve them with a long metal pole he is electrocuted.
• ''Version 3'' (third rail electrified line): Robbie accidentally steps on the electrified third rail and is electrocuted.

In the next scene, Robbie's mother is informed that Robbie has been seriously injured, and has had to have both feet amputated. The cause of the injury is not mentioned, because it is different in all three variants. The film ends with a disfigured Robbie confined to a wheelchair. He is watching some other children play football, with a commentary by the narrator about how he will never be able to play again. The final shot is of his football boots, which he will now never need again, hanging up on the back of his bedroom door at home.

Yuko Takai and a few other Japanese political activists in the Middle East were kidnapped and used as hostages. Upon returning to Japan, Yuko is mistreated for basically "making ripples in the water;" in other words, for not committing suicide and for making the Japanese look weak. This story is based on the real affairs of the kidnapping of three Japanese political activists by militia in Iraq in April 2004. Yuko Takai is a model of Nahoko Takato, a political activist, who was also harshly criticised by almost all Japanese.

Wataru Mitani is a quiet and unassuming fifth grader in Japan. A new student called Mitsuru Ashikawa begins attending Wataru's school, though he is in a different class. There are also rumors circulating about the Daimatsu building, an empty, unfinished building near Wataru's school: witnesses claimed to have seen a ghost wandering behind the building's blue tarps. One day after school, while out with his uncle, Wataru witnesses an old man entering the abandoned building. Wataru follows him into the building and stumbles into the strange world of Vision. In Vision, he is told that the portal he crossed, called the Porta Nectere, opens only once every ten years for ninety days. People from his world are strictly forbidden to enter Vision unless they obtain the status of Traveler from "the gatekeeper". Unfortunately, he is also told he will forget everything of his visit. Upon re-entering the Porta Nectere, his uncle wakens him and he finds that Vision was a dream; Wataru supposedly fell from the stairs of the Daimatsu building. Wataru's uncle brings Wataru home only to discover a terrible truth: the boy's parents are divorcing and his father is leaving with his mistress, leaving his wife and Wataru behind. Both Wataru and his mother are shocked, and to add to Wataru's stress, he finds his memories of Vision slipping away. Later, Wataru's father's lover confronts Wataru's mother over who Wataru's father really loves. After this encounter, Wataru's mother attempts suicide by leaving on the gas in the house. Mitsuru visits him, warns him of the gas, and tells him to go to Vision if he wants to change his fate. Wataru struggles to remember, but he finally goes to the Daimatsu building to cross the portal to Vision. Thus, Wataru's journey in Vision begins.

When he arrives in Vision, Wataru meets an old man who calls himself the Wayfinder. He tells Wataru what he must do to change his destiny: Wataru has to collect five gemstones to go to the Tower of Destiny, where the Goddess grants each Traveler one wish. Each stone has a different quality: charity, bravery, faith, grace, and the power of darkness and light. Wataru encounters friends and foes during his adventures, and he ultimately comes to terms with the nature of himself.

Thanos

Thanos visits the intergalactic prison, the Kyln. With the help of Star-Lord, he defeats the Beyonder. Thanos also befriends Skreet, a chaos mite, and enslaves a former herald of Galactus, the Fallen One.

Drax the Destroyer: Earthfall

Drax the Destroyer is on a prison transport ship that crashes in Alaska. He befriends a teenage girl named Cammi and protects the locals from the Blood Brothers, Lunatik, and Paibok. During the battle, Drax gains a new body. A second prison ship arrives and arrests both Drax and Cammi.

Annihilation: Prologue

'''The Annihilation Wave''', a large armada of warships under the control of Annihilus, enters this universe through "'''The Crunch'''", the area of space where the Negative Zone and this Universe meet. The Kyln and several neighboring star systems are quickly annexed. The Nova Corps, an intergalactic police force, immediately calls in all Nova Centurions for a top level briefing in Xandar, the Nova Corps home world. During the briefing, The Annihilation Wave invades and successfully destroys the planet, including all Nova Corp members save for Richard Rider, the lone human Nova Corps member. Having also been delivered to Xandar prior to the attack, Drax and Cammi also survive the onslaught of The Annihilation Wave.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, Ronan the Accuser, Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire, is arrested for treason. The Super-Skrull learns that the Annihilation Wave is moving toward the Skrull Empire, while the Silver Surfer decides to investigate.

Annihilation: Nova

After the fall of Xandar, Richard Rider, the last surviving known Nova Corps member in the universe, allows the Xandarian Worldmind, the artificial intelligence compiled of the eons of knowledge and experiences of the entire Xandarian race and the repository for the Nova Force—the cosmic power utilized by all Nova Corps members—to download itself in its entirety into his mind and body in order to prevent itself from being lost to the universe.

With the entire knowledge and experiences of the Xandarian culture, as well as the full power of the Nova Force at his disposal, Richard Rider becomes Nova Prime. To compensate for this upgrade, Worldmind creates a new uniform designed to help regulate the immense power of the Nova Force, as well as also augment Nova Prime's mental and emotional capacities with its own to in order to prevent Richard Rider from going insane.

Nova Prime, along with Drax and Cammi, leaves what remains of Xandar and speeds to the next star system. Once there, they find Quasar, wielder of the Quantum Bands, assisting in the exodus of one of its star system planets. The Annihilation Wave arrives and Nova Prime and Quasar attack in order to give the exodus enough time to succeed. In the ensuing battle, Quasar is consumed by Annihilus, who now wields the Quantum Bands.

Annihilation: Silver Surfer

Annihilus dispatches the Seekers, led by Ravenous, to capture beings imbued with the Power Cosmic. While avoiding them, the Silver Surfer joins forces with other former heralds of Galactus Firelord and Air-Walker. Air-Walker is killed, and the seekers capture Terrax and Morg in separate engagements. To protect Galactus from the Seekers, Surfer replaces Stardust as his herald. Stardust, Firelord, and Red Shift join the United Front against the Annihilation Wave.

Galactus reveals that the Annihilation Wave's destruction of the Kyln may have freed two Proemial Gods, Tenebrous and Aegis, whom he imprisoned when "the universe was young." Thanos, guided by Skreet and Mistress Death, allies with Annihilus. Thanos also pursues an alliance with Tenebrous and Aegis. Before they agree to it, they kill the Fallen One.

Annihilation: Super Skrull

Once the Annihilation Wave reaches the Skrull empire, it begins using a weapon known as the '''Harvester of Sorrows''', a massive ship which renders entire planets into fuel for the armada. Learning that the planet his son lives on is in its path, Kl'rt the Super-Skrull and a young Skrull engineer, R'Kin, travel to the Negative Zone to find a way to stop the Harvester. Kl'rt locates Hawal, the warden of a prison planet and designer of the Harvester. Using torture, Kl'rt forces Hawal to design a virus that can destroy the Harvester. He also unites the planet's prisoners into an army.

When Kl'rt brings his army back to the Skrull empire to attack the Harvester, R'Kin betrays them. Kl'rt is able to escape and destroy the Harvester, but not before his son is consumed by it. Kl'rt appears to be killed in the process.

Annihilation: Ronan

On the run from Kree authorities since his trial, Ronan the Accuser seeks Tana Nile, a witness who falsely accused him of treason. Ronan lands on Godthab Omega, where he finds an encampment of exiled Kree, including his old friend Korath, and learns that Tana Nile has joined the Graces, a group of cosmically powered women led by Gamora. After defeating Nebula and Stellaris, Ronan ends up in battle against Gamora herself, who now possesses the power cosmic. However, their conflict, as well as several others, is in truth caused by the manipulation of Glorian, who is using the energy from their battles to reshape the world.

Just as Glorian's plan approaches completion, the Annihilation Wave attacks Godthab Omega. Ronan, Korath, Gamora, and Glorian all battle Annihilus's forces. Tana Nile is killed, preventing Ronan from proving his innocence. Undeterred, Ronan resolves to return to the Kree, violating his exile to warn them of the coming danger.

Annihilation

205 days after Annihilation Day, Richard Rider has formed an army, the United Front, to oppose the Annihilation Wave. His land-based army includes Drax, Gamora, Ronan the Accuser and Peter Quill, while his outer space forces consist primarily of Firelord, Red Shift and Stardust. They capture one of Annihilus' queens, who reveals that Thanos, Tenebrous and Aegis had attacked and incapacitated Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Believing the Power Cosmic to be within his grasp, Annihilus orders his troops to kill the remaining former Heralds of Galactus.

Thanos kidnaps Moondragon and tells Drax via Phyla-Vell that she will be killed if Drax pursues him. Ravenous leads an attack on the United Front and he has many of Nova's former allies in his thrall, including Terrax. During the conflict, a huge energy spike restores the deceased Super-Skrull Kl'rt to his full power. Ravenous' troops retreat as Annihilus' ship arrives. With Thanos' aid, Annihilus has turned an imprisoned Galactus into a weapon. The United Front is broken and defeated. In the aftermath of the battle, Nova sends out a warning to the heroes of Earth about the approaching wave. Drax stays behind to hunt and kill Thanos.

Thanos had allied himself with Annihilus out of curiosity. When he learns Annihilus' plan is to extinguish all life in the universe, Thanos plans to betray him by releasing Galactus. Just before he can do so, Drax appears and kills him. Drax and Moondragon then release the Silver Surfer, who in turn releases Galactus.

At the same time, Ronan the Accuser and a small band of allies (including Ronan's sworn enemy, the Super-Skrull) arrive on the homeworld of ruling Kree House Fiyero. Ronan learns that House Fiyero had allied themselves with Ravenous and Annihilus. Ronan kills the members of Fiyero and is called by the populace to be the new emperor.

Galactus proceeds to unleash a massive, omnidirectional blast that later becomes known as the "Galactus event." Silver Surfer is sent ahead of the blast by Galactus to herald the imminent destruction, as the unleashed "Galactus obliteration perimeter" wipes out the majority of the Annihilation Wave, more than three star systems and even vaporizes a Watcher.

Nova, Peter Quill and Phyla-Vell have teleported close to Annihilus' flagship and are preparing to make the last jump when Galactus' energy wave arrives. Annihilus, finding that he has been betrayed by Thanos and undone by Galactus, uses Quasar's quantum bands to protect himself from the energy blast. Nova battles Annihilus, but is unable to win until Phyla manages to steal the Quantum bands from Annihilus. Nova kills the weakened villain.

A treaty between the remains of the Annihilation Wave and the Kree was signed, ceding certain Kree territories to Ravenous. This ends the overt hostilities, but both sides are unhappy.

Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus

After being captured, enslaved and made a pawn of Annihilus, Terrax has broken free only to crash-land on a planet ruled by the Space Parasite. He decides to destroy this murderous entity as a way to regain his honor.''Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus'' #1 (Jan 2007)

Stardust returns from death and re-devotes himself to Galactus. As proof of his commitment, Stardust feeds the last of his race to the malnourished Galactus.

Galactus sends the Silver Surfer to track Tenebrous and Aegis. Surfer ends up destroying them with the energy of the Crunch.''Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus'' #2 (Feb 2007)

Firelord tracks down many of the Centurians—Annihilus's elite force that murdered his homeworld and many other worlds. He kills some, but others plead for mercy, saying they were tricked. Firelord allows them to live, but only if they behave from that moment on.

Walter and Danny are two brothers who do not get along with each other or with their cantankerous teenage sister, Lisa. While their divorced father is away at work and Lisa, whom he left in charge, is napping, Danny discovers an old science fiction-themed board game called ''Zathura'' in the basement. When he starts playing, the game produces a card that details a meteor shower. After an actual meteor shower occurs in the living room, Walter and Danny realize the game is affecting reality.

The boys discover the house is floating in outer space. Lisa thinks she has overslept and it is evening and prepares to go out. The next card puts her in cryonic sleep for the next five turns of the game, leaving her frozen solid. Walter soon concludes they must win the game to return everything to normal. As they continue to play, Walter and Danny overcome the dangers presented by the game, including the appearance of a defective robot, passing too close to a star, and an attack on the house by a race of reptilian aliens called Zorgons. One of Danny's turns causes an astronaut to appear, who methodically eliminates the house's heat sources, as the Zorgons are attracted to heat. He tells Walter to blow out the pilot light on the furnace, but Walter does not do so, out of fear of getting attacked by the robot. The astronaut lures the Zorgons' ship away by setting the boys' father's couch on fire and ejecting it from the house.

Walter demands that the astronaut leave, but Danny chooses to let him stay. Growing increasingly agitated, Walter accuses Danny of cheating by supposedly moving his piece prematurely; when Walter tries to move the piece back and takes his next turn, the game reacts as if Walter was cheating and ejects him from the house, but the astronaut rescues him. After the rescue because of Danny cheating in the game, he failed apologized to Walter. But Walter won't accept because he's angry that he will not talk to him until they back home based on Danny's behavior. On Walter's next turn, he receives a card that brings a shooting star that allows him to make a wish, resulting in another heated argument between the boys. The astronaut warns Walter not to make a wish out of anger. Fearing the worst, the astronaut is relieved to discover that Walter merely wished for an autographed football. He explains his origins, saying that he and his brother had played the game fifteen years before. He received the shooting star card that allowed him to make a wish, but after an escalating fight, he wished his brother was never born. This resulted in him being trapped, as he was unable to finish the game without the second player. Upon hearing this, Danny and Walter finally put their differences aside.

Lisa awakens from her stasis and, still oblivious to the situation, turns up the heat. The Zorgons return and anchor their ships to the house. Lisa finally discovers the predicament and the quartet hide, but realize that they left the game behind. Danny finds the game aboard one of the Zorgon ships, but is spotted. Walter uses a "Reprogram" card he drew earlier to fix the robot, who attacks the Zorgons instead, causing them to retreat.

Walter receives another wish card; he uses it to bring the astronaut's brother back into existence in gratitude for his help and support and he appears, and looks similar to Danny. The astronaut reveals he is actually an older version of Walter from an alternate timeline and commends his past self for making a better choice than he did. The astronaut and the alternate Danny merge with their counterparts as the timeline changes.

The Zorgons return to the house with a massive fleet, intent on destroying it. When Danny makes the winning move, it is revealed that Zathura is a black hole, which proceeds to suck up the Zorgons' fleet and the house. The siblings find themselves back in the house as it was before the brothers started the game, just as their father returns home. Their bond renewed, they promise to each other and Lisa to not tell anyone about the game and their adventure. After they leave with their mother, Walter's bicycle, which had been orbiting their house, falls from the sky.

While on his way home from school, Yuri Shibuya sees his classmate, Ken Murata, being harassed by bullies. When Yuri intervenes, Murata runs away, and Yuri becomes their new target. They force him into the girls' bathroom and shove his face into a toilet, where a portal suddenly appears. Yuri is sucked in and is rendered unconscious. He wakes up to discover himself in a strange world where no one speaks Japanese. Yuri comes to find out that he is of lineage and is the of this world, .

He is taken to the capital by Günter and Conrad. When he arrives at the castle, he meets Wolfram and Gwendal, who find it hard to believe that Yuri is their new king. At dinner the next day, Yuri slaps Wolfram after the latter insults Yuri's mother for being human. Unknown to Yuri, among the nobles in the Demon Kingdom, a slap on the cheek is considered a marriage proposal. Wolfram is insulted and immediately challenges him to a duel by throwing his knife on the floor. Yuri, again being unfamiliar with the kingdom's customs, picks up the knife, unknowingly accepting the duel. After Yuri wins by using magical powers he was unaware he possessed, he is accepted as the true demon king.

The story follows Yuri on his adventures trying to learn the ways of the Great Demon Kingdom while battling discrimination and fear. He does not know much of the world but applies his moral judgment onto every situation in order to find a peaceful outcome. His ultimate goal is to bring peace to both demons and humans, hoping to one day live together while avoiding war at all costs. Even though he has the choice of leaving his responsibilities to his advisers, he continues to involve himself in most affairs in the belief that to be a great king he must be willing to know his subjects and risk everything to protect the kingdom.

Yuri also battles with the notion of belonging to one world. While he misses his home in Japan on Earth, he develops a family and home in the Great Demon Kingdom, which leads to some very hard choices.

Although romance is not a main focus of the story, the anime has been noted for its shōnen-ai undertones. For example, Yuri and Wolfram are engaged, and a number of jokes in the series revolve around misunderstandings that arise from this arrangement.

The story starts with a comet called Gallia, that touches the Earth in its flight and collects a few small chunks of it. The disaster occurs on January 1 of the year 188x in the area around Gibraltar. On the territory that is carried away by the comet there remain a total of thirty-six people of French, English, Spanish and Russian nationality. These people do not realize at first what has happened, and consider the collision an earthquake.

They first notice weight loss: Captain Servadac's adjutant Ben Zoof, to his amazement, jumps high. Zoof with Servadac also soon notice that the alternation of day and night is shortened to six hours, that east and west have changed sides, and that water begins to boil at , from which they rightly deduce that the atmosphere became thinner and pressure dropped. At the beginning of their stay in Gallia they notice the Earth with the Moon, but think it is an unknown planet. Other important information is obtained through their research expedition with a ship, which the comet also took.

During the voyage they discover a mountain chain blocking the sea, which they initially consider to be the Mediterranean Sea and then they find the island of Formentera (before the catastrophe a part of the Balearic Islands), where they find French astronomer Palmyrin Rosette, who helps them to solve all the mysterious phenomena. They are all on a comet which Rosette discovered by a year ago and predicted to be on a collision course with Earth, but no one believed the astronomer, because a layer of thick fog at the time prevented astronomical observations in other places.

A new research expedition determines the circumference of Gallia to be . The mass of the comet is calculated by Rosette. He determines it at 209,346 billion tonnes. For the calculation he uses spring scales and forty 5-franc silver coins, the weight of which on earth equaled exactly . However, the owner of the scales, Isaac Hakkabut, has rigged the instrument, so the results have to be cut by a quarter.

The involuntary travelers through the Solar system do not have any hope for long-term colonization of their new world, because it is lacking arable land. They feed themselves mainly with the animals that were left on the chunk carried away by Gallia. One strange phenomenon they meet is that the sea on the comet does not freeze, even though the temperature drops below the freezing point (believed to be due to the theory that a stagnant water surface resists freezing longer than when rippled by wind). Once a stone is thrown into the sea, the sea freezes in a few moments. The ice is completely smooth and allows skating and sleigh sailing.

Despite the dire situation in which the castaways find themselves, old power disputes from Earth continue on Gallia, because the French and English officers consider themselves the representatives of their respective governments. The object of their interest is for example previously Spanish Ceuta, which has become an island on the comet and which both parties start to consider an unclaimed territory. Captain Servadac therefore attempts to occupy Ceuta, without success. It turns out that the island has been occupied by Englishmen, who maintain a connection to their base at Gibraltar through an optical telegraph.

Gallia gets to an extreme point of its orbit and begins its return to Earth. In early November Rossete's refined calculations show that there will be a new collision with the Earth, exactly two years after the first, again on January 1. Therefore, the idea is conceived of leaving the comet at collision time in a balloon. The proposal is approved and the castaways make a balloon out of the sails of their ship. In mid-December there is an earthquake, in which Gallia partially falls apart and loses a fragment, which probably kills all Englishmen in Ceuta and Gibraltar. When on January 1 there is again a contact between the atmospheres of Gallia and Earth, the space castaways leave in the balloon and land safely two kilometers from Mostaganem in Algeria.

William FitzWilliam Delamere Chalmers, Lord Dawlish, or "Bill", makes his living as a London club secretary. His beautiful fiancée, Claire Fenwick, will not marry him unless he makes more money. Bill hopes to make money in America, and his American friend Gates lends Bill the keys to his New York apartment. Claire gets a letter from her American friend Pauline or "Polly", who married Algie, Lord Wetherby, another impecunious English lord. Polly is earning a large salary in New York dancing at Reigelheimer's Restaurant. She invites Claire to visit, and mentions that she bought a snake named Clarence and a monkey named Eustace for publicity as directed by her press agent, Roscoe Sherriff. Bill learns from his friend, lawyer Jerry Nichols, that he inherited a million pounds from Ira Nutcombe, an American whom Bill once helped at golf. The millionaire left his nephew only twenty pounds, and nothing to his niece, to whom he had left all his money in older wills. Bill feels he should see her and split the money with her. The niece, Elizabeth Boyd, is a hard-working beekeeper in Brookport, Long Island, where she lives with her irresponsible brother "Nutty", Claude Nutcombe Boyd. A letter from Jerry informs them that Nutcombe's money went to someone called Lord Dawlish.

In New York, Bill sends a letter to Elizabeth offering to split the money, but she sends a reply refusing. Nutty, a friend of Gates, shows up at Gates's apartment and meets Bill. He invites Bill, who only calls himself Bill Chalmers, to join him with friends at Reigelheimer's. At the restaurant, Claire sees Bill, who crashes loudly into a waiter while dancing, but does not approach him because Polly's rich friend Dudley Pickering is interested in Claire. Nutty learns Bill is Lord Dawlish, and, hoping to get some money, invites him to the bee farm. Elizabeth is initially annoyed when Nutty brings a stranger home, but she bonds with Bill over beekeeping and golf. Since she is angry at Lord Dawlish, feeling he tried to give her charity, Bill keeps his identity secret. Polly brings Algie, Claire, Dudley, and the monkey to her house in Brookport. Dudley and Claire get engaged. She sees Bill again, and breaks up with him, using the excuse that she saw Bill dancing with a girl at Reigelheimer's. Dudley, concerned by recent local burglaries, suspects Bill is a thief.

At Polly's house, the monkey throws eggs and plates, and bites Dudley, then runs off. Nutty sees the monkey, but Elizabeth, who wants Nutty to stop drinking, pretends not to see it, and Nutty swears off drink. Elizabeth decides to keep the monkey for a day or two in case Nutty changes his mind. Bill discovers that Claire got engaged to Dudley shortly before breaking up with him. Claire denies knowing Bill, making Dudley more certain Bill is a burglar. Dudley investigates the bee farm carrying a revolver, and accidentally fires his gun and kills the monkey without realizing it. Bill and Elizabeth find the dead monkey, and uncertain of what to do, they carry him away. Dudley follows, thinking they are burglars carrying their loot, and Elizabeth hears him. She gets scared, but Bill comforts her and they confess their feelings for each other. They leave the dead monkey in Algie's shack, which Dudley enters. He is found there by Polly, Algie, and Claire. They rebuke Dudley for shooting the monkey and Claire ends their engagement.

Claire finds out about Bill's inheritance and tries to win him back, but he refuses, being happily engaged to Elizabeth. Claire insists that Elizabeth knows who Bill is and is marrying him for his money, and returns to Dudley. Nutty, mistakenly believing Elizabeth got engaged to Bill for the money, tries to console her. Bill overhears this, and thinks that Claire was right. Elizabeth explains that Nutty told her Bill was Lord Dawlish days ago but she truly loves him. Bill believes her, but Elizabeth, afraid that Bill will come to doubt her feelings for him, tells him to go, and he reluctantly leaves for the city. Jerry Nichols appears, and asks Elizabeth not to tell his father, the head of his legal firm, about how he acted prematurely; Nutcombe actually left his money to Elizabeth in his final will. Nutty celebrates with Jerry while Elizabeth rushes off and catches Bill's train. They plan to get married when the train reaches New York and later run a big bee farm together.

Pilot John Dooley and the crew of a World War II-era Douglas C-47 Skytrain (the military version of the DC-3) experience icy conditions and are forced to execute an emergency landing on a frozen lake in the uncharted wildlands near the Quebec–Labrador border. Dooley is a former airline pilot who had been pressed into duty hauling war supplies across the northern route to England. Far from settled country, the survivors can provide only an approximate position to rescuers.

Dooley must keep his men alive while waiting for rescue in the extreme winter cold with temperatures plummeting to . At headquarters, Col. Fuller gathers fellow airmen who are determined to find the downed crew before the men succumb to hunger and the cold. The search pilots experience tension and fear and are unsure about their course of action, aware that a wrong decision could doom the missing crew.

It all began on the day when a new boarder, Flore (Jane Meuris), arrived on the scene. Flore considers the home as a hotel. Jules (Marcel Josz), surprised by her comes to life. And disaster follows... The management steps in: Claire (Claude Jade), the nurse has a love-affair, Jacques (Jacques Perrin), the social worker, highly regarded by the old folks, is sacked. Now the town, which has a stake in the home, takes drastic measures: the chief of police (Jacques Lippe) assists the manager (Ann Petersen) with loving care. Home Sainte-Marguerite is running amok. It all happens in a flash: the mutiny, the fire on the fourth floor, the fire brigade, the panic.

The protagonists of this film are elderly people who live in an old folks home in Brussels where daily living is dictated by militarist rules and where they are treated with condescension, and are there even humiliated as disobedient children. Claire, a beautiful and hard nurse is a young woman under the influence of the director, who does not dare say what she thinks, and the rules applies. Gradually, thanks to welfare Jacques, Claire realises, that old people the right have to live and independent to believe in that Home.

As the title suggests, the game is based on Arthurian legend. Both fictional and historical sources are used to recreate the atmosphere of the age of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and to draw out characters' names, history and relationships. The game's sources include medieval works such as Thomas Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', modern ones such as Marion Zimmer Bradley's ''The Mists of Avalon'', and a number of historical treatises on Arthur of the late 1980s. The game is set in the year 539, shortly after the Battle of Camlann at which King Arthur has been mortally wounded by the traitorous Mordred. Britain urgently needs a new king who can reunite its scattered realms and bring the Round Table back to its former glory. Arthur left a successor in the person of Lord Constantine the Crown Regent.

''Spirit of Excalibur'' consists of five different episodes each with its main quest and a number of lesser ones to solve both to achieve the episode main goal and the game aim of reuniting Britain. During the game the player first leads Constantine to Camelot where he can claim Arthur's throne, then gathers forces to defeat both the Saxon invaders and the sons of Mordred who seek to usurp the throne just as their father did. As the game progresses, enchanted beings threaten Constantine's kingdom and the player must find the magical means to stop these menaces as well, up to the final confrontation with Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay who is dabbling in dark arts. The game is won if the player can unite all the fragmented kingdoms of Britain and successfully keep Constantine alive past the last episode.

In New York, Mrs. Lora Delane Porter, domineering writer of books about eugenics and germs, drives too fast and hits George Pennicut, whose leg is injured. George is a man-of-all-work employed by Kirk Winfield, an amiable though unsuccessful artist who lives on modest private means. Kirk carries George into his apartment and calls in a doctor. George will recover completely after a couple of days. Mrs. Porter notices that Kirk is healthy and physically fit, and decides he should marry her niece Ruth Bannister, daughter of wealthy financier John Bannister. Ruth believes in her aunt's views on eugenics, in contrast to her brother Bailey Bannister, John Bannister's son and junior partner, who thinks Mrs. Porter is a bad influence on Ruth. Mrs. Porter introduces Ruth to Kirk, and they fall in love. Percy Shanklyn, an unemployed actor who borrows money from Kirk, does not want him to marry Ruth, so he tells Bailey about Kirk and Ruth. Bailey suspects Mrs. Porter's interference. He objects to Mrs. Porter and Ruth that Kirk is a nobody and an outsider. He also confronts Kirk, but inadvertently reveals to him that Ruth returns his feelings. Kirk's friend Steve Dingle, self-described roughneck and retired boxer who is employed as physical instructor for the Bannisters, advises him to elope with Ruth to avoid trouble with her controlling father. Mr. Bannister rejects Ruth after she marries Kirk.

Some months later, Kirk is happily married to Ruth, though she forbids him from employing models. She decides to pose for Kirk once but faints, and it is revealed that she is pregnant. Time passes, and Kirk and Ruth have a son, "Bill", William Bannister Winfield. Steve, Bill's godfather, wants the baby to become heavyweight boxing champion of the world and encourages this by calling him the "White Hope". Steve is also in love with his old friend Mamie, Bill's nurse. Mrs. Porter feels that Bill must not be exposed to germs and his nursery should be sterilized, though Ruth dismisses this. When Bill is three years old, Kirk's private income drops when a stock he invested in fails. Bailey's fiancée Sybil Wilbur, a friend of Ruth's, wants Kirk to paint her portrait. Kirk has lost his skill due to not working and the portrait turns out badly. Bailey accuses Kirk of being an idle waster. Kirk sees the truth in this and joins his friend Hank Jardine mining gold in Columbia.

A year later, Kirk returns to New York, his trip to Columbia a failure. He nearly died of fever in Columbia, and Hank Jardine did die. Kirk is glad to see Ruth again. He is surprised that they are now rich, because John Bannister died and Ruth inherited half his money. Ruth now agrees with Mrs. Porter about germs, since Bill became extremely ill once. Bill lives in a sterilized environment and is not supposed to be hugged, which Kirk finds absurd. Steve visits Mamie in Bill's nursery without permission from Mrs. Porter, but does not manage to confess his feelings for her and she helps him escape when Mrs. Porter comes with a doctor to show her the sanitized nursery. Kirk and Ruth drift apart, since Ruth has been changed by her father's money and has devoted herself to high society life. Kirk notices that Ruth is not really concerned about germs and thinks that she is keeping her distance from Bill because she is bored of him. Kirk hires an old acquaintance, artist Robert Dwight Penway, to teach him painting, and starts selling illustrations.

Bailey still dislikes Kirk but he hates Basil Milbank, a man who once came close to marrying Ruth, and warns Kirk that Ruth has been associating with Basil. Kirk suggests to Ruth they go with Bill to Kirk's shack in Connecticut, but Ruth refuses. Kirk, upset with Ruth for being distant and allowing Mrs. Porter to interfere, leaves. Steve, hoping to reunite Kirk and Ruth, decides to kidnap Bill. Bill happily goes with him to Connecticut. Steve leaves a note for Mamie. She tells Kirk, and they follow Steve. Meanwhile, Ruth, who has realized Kirk was right, goes to see Bailey. He is very ill due to stress from work. Bailey recovers, but his financial risks have failed and he and Ruth have lost their money. Ruth is glad the money is gone, and has new respect for Bailey, since she sees how much his wife Sybil cares about him. Ruth assures Sybil that Bailey will be successful again. Mrs. Porter, thinking Kirk has run off with Mamie, finds Ruth and brings her to Connecticut. In Connecticut, Mrs. Porter is defeated when Steve says Mamie is his fiancée and Ruth reconciles with Kirk. Kirk looks forward to living a happy, simple life with her and Bill.

The story begins with Clark Kent's adoptive father Jonathan writing to his adopted son (Superman) about the memoirs he has discovered on the family farm. They reveal that the Kent family in the 19th century were noted abolitionists who assisted the personnel of the Underground Railroad, like Harriet Tubman. The family moved to Kansas Territory during its infamous violent conflict over its status concerning slavery, Bleeding Kansas, to promote the cause of creating a free state by running a newspaper for the region.

However, the family patriarch was murdered by border ruffians who wanted to silence him. Furthermore, the sons, Nathaniel and Jeb, argued and had a parting of the ways so deep about slavery that they found themselves on opposing sides of the American Civil War, with Jeb fighting with the notorious Confederate guerrilla unit led by William Quantrill and Nathaniel fighting for the North and marrying a half-Native American woman who gave him a special traditional spiritual symbol that was apparently a forerunner and inspiration for Superman's chest symbol.

After the war, Nathaniel became a sheriff in Smallville, while Jeb became the leader of a group of bandits. Eventually, Jeb discovered he had a son out of wedlock years ago, and allowed him to join his gang. But his son turned out to be a murderous sociopath and Jeb approached his estranged brother to arrange a trap to stop his son.

In springing the trap, the son mortally wounded his father before being killed himself and Jeb has just enough time to fully reconcile with Nate before dying. Nate remained in Smallville and there the Kents have since stayed for generations, including Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman's adoptive parents.

Lady Maud Marsh, daughter of the widowed 7th Earl of Marshmoreton, is in love with Geoffrey Raymond, whom she met the previous summer in Wales. Maud has not revealed the man's name to her aristocratic family but has admitted that he is a penniless American. Her family, led by Lord Marshmoreton's haughty sister, Lady Caroline Byng, disapprove of the match and will not allow Maud to leave their home of Belpher Castle in Hampshire, in order to keep her from seeing the man. Lady Caroline wants her step-son, Reginald "Reggie" Byng, to marry Maud, though unbeknownst to her, Reggie is actually in love with Lord Marshmoreton's secretary, Alice Faraday. Lord Marshmoreton meekly listens to his sister, and to Alice, who is insistent that he write the history of his family, though he only wants to tend to his rose garden.

In London's Piccadilly, George Bevan, a bored and lonely American composer of successful musical comedies, sees a pretty girl in brown and laments that he has no justification to approach her, thinking that if only they were in the Middle Ages, he could approach her as a hero offering assistance to a damsel in distress. Depressed, George hails a taxicab, and is surprised when the girl in brown jumps into the cab and asks George to hide her. George wastes no time helping her hide from a stout, disagreeable, well-dressed young man. The man becomes angry and distracted when George knocks his silk hat off, allowing George and the girl to escape, but she soon disappears. George has fallen in love with her, though he does not know her name. Thanks to a newspaper report about the disagreeable young man (who spent the night in jail after punching a policeman), George discovers that the girl in brown was Lady Maud Marsh of Belpher Castle. He is not aware that she had sneaked off to London hoping to see Geoffrey.

The disagreeable man was Maud's brother Percy Marsh, Lord Belpher. At the castle, Percy mistakenly believes that George is the unsuitable man Maud is in love with, due to seeing her flee with him in a taxi, though Maud denies this. George, hoping to meet Maud again, rents a cottage near Belpher Castle. Meanwhile, George's friend and colleague Billie Dore, a chorus girl, visits the castle and bonds with Lord Marshmoreton over their shared love of roses.

George is able to see Maud again and offer further assistance to her, though Percy and Lady Caroline make it difficult for them to meet. Everyone at the castle comes to believe that George is the man Maud met in Wales, and George is delighted to hear from Reggie Byng and Lord Marshmoreton that Maud loves him. When George confesses his feelings to Maud, she explains that she loves a different man, Geoffrey Raymond. George is dejected, but remains a helpful friend to her. Reggie Byng elopes with Alice Faraday, and Lord Marshmoreton is relieved that Alice will no longer be his secretary. Billie tells the earl that George is rich due to his success as a composer and has good character.

Throughout these events, the servants of the castle are holding a sweepstake in which whoever drew the ticket with the name of the man Maud marries will win the money. At first, the cunning page-boy Albert is in a position to win if Maud marries "Mr. X" (an outsider, ostensibly the unknown American) and helps George, but after the butler Keggs (who drew Reggie Byng) blackmails Albert into trading tickets, Keggs becomes George's ally instead. Keggs convinces Lord Belpher to invite George to a dinner party at the castle, where George proves to be popular.

Lady Caroline and Percy continue to disapprove of George, but Lord Marshmoreton, who still believes George is the man Maud has wanted to marry all along, defies his sister and publicly announces that Maud and George are engaged. The earl also marries Billie. George suggests that Maud elope with Geoffrey to avoid awkward explanations. She meets with Geoffrey in London, only to discover that Geoffrey is nothing like she remembers. Though he has inherited a great deal of money, he is now overweight, talks only of food, and is being sued for a breach of promise case after a recent flirtation with another girl. Maud leaves Geoffrey and realizes she is in love with George. She tells George and they happily agree to get married.

As Bashir prepares for a conference on Romulus, Section 31 agent Luther Sloan appears with an assignment for him. Captain Sisko advises him to accept it, in order to learn more about the secretive agency.

Bashir is asked to determine whether Koval, the anti-Federation head of the Romulan Tal Shiar intelligence agency and a candidate for the influential Continuing Committee, suffers from Tuvan syndrome, a degenerative disease. Bashir discusses the issue with Admiral William Ross, who says it would be better for the Federation if Senator Cretak were appointed to the committee instead.

Bashir meets Koval at the conference, and later tells Sloan that he believes Koval does have Tuvan syndrome. Sloan asks how the disease could be accelerated. Bashir, suspecting that Sloan is plotting to covertly assassinate Koval, informs Admiral Ross, who plans to have Sloan arrested. Ross muses that Sloan could have an accomplice on Romulus.

Before Sloan can be arrested, Bashir overhears that Ross has suffered an aneurysm. With nowhere else to turn, Bashir tells Cretak of his suspicions about Sloan. Cretak agrees to help Bashir identify Sloan's accomplice by giving him classified Tal Shiar information.

The next day, Koval has Bashir arrested and tortured. Bashir and Cretak are brought before the Continuing Committee, and Bashir tells them about the Section 31 plot against Koval. Koval brings in Sloan, badly beaten, and says Section 31 does not exist; Sloan is merely a renegade Starfleet officer obsessed with getting revenge for his mentor's death. The committee convicts Cretak of treason for planning to share Tal Shiar intelligence with Bashir; Sloan is to be held for further interrogation. Enraged, Sloan grabs a guard's weapon; Koval fires first, apparently vaporizing him.

That night, Bashir demands the truth from Admiral Ross. Off the record, Ross reveals that Koval is secretly working for Starfleet. The real mission was to discredit Cretak, who would abandon the Federation alliance if she thought it in the best interest of the Romulans to do so, and get Koval onto the committee. Sloan was transported away just before he was shot. Bashir is disgusted that the Federation would resort to such machinations.

Back aboard Deep Space Nine, Sloan appears in Bashir's quarters, explaining that he needed a man of conscience for the operation—that the Federation needs men of conscience, but it also needs men like Sloan. Bashir considers reporting Sloan's visit to station security, but decides not to.

Nevada is a Las Vegas chorus girl with a pet performing ostrich named "Bolero". One day, reality begins to change; while investigating, she finds herself fighting against a mobster with a lava lamp for a head.

The character also appeared in ''Vertigo: Winter's Edge'' #1 (January 1998) and #2 (January 1999), and was parodied by Gerber as "Utah" in ''Howard the Duck'' vol. 2, #4 (June 2002). Leonard the Duck appeared in the story in ''Winter's Edge'' #2. As Nevada is a creator-owned character, she has made no more subsequent appearances.

Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Force B-25 bombardier, is stationed on the Mediterranean base on Pianosa during World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape.

While most crews are rotated out after twenty-five missions, his commanding officer, Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable eighty missions; a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated Saturday Evening Post magazine.

Futilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a mental breakdown is no release when Doc Daneeka explains the "Catch-22" the Army Air Force employs: An airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy he would be unfit to fly. Yet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions, basically an impossible "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

Yossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of Snowden, the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lt. Milo Minderbinder, who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many additional comically strange characters. Major Major Major, the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane, and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing Sergeant Towser that people can see him when he's out. The person had to wait in the waiting room until Major Major Major was gone, then the visitor could go right in.

Trapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Lt. Milo Minderbinder concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark commits murder to silence a girl he raped. Lieutenant Nately falls for a prostitute, Major Danby delivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run and Captain Orr keeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile, Nurse Duckett occasionally beds Yossarian.

Nately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Captain Nately's Whore, who then tries to kill him.

Because of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and Lt. Colonel Korn eventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to "like" the Colonels and praise them when he gets home.

Immediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's Whore, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from the chaplain and Major Danby that Captain Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated "crash" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run.

Yossarian decides to ditch the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling.

Magic Knight returns home, having obtained a second-hand time machine from the Tyme Guardians at the end of ''Knight Tyme''. However, there has been an accident whilst travelling back and there are now two Magic Knights - the other being "Off-White Knight", the dreaded Stormbringer (so called because of his storm cloud which he plans to use to destroy Magic Knight). Magic Knight cannot kill Off-White Knight without destroying himself in the process. His only option is to find Off-White Knight and merge with him.

''Hated'' includes concert and rehearsal footage as well as interviews with Allin, fellow band members, friends, detractors, and dedicated fans. Later, Allin discusses the earliest years of his childhood in rural New Hampshire, and how his father tried to encourage his family to assist him in a mass suicide. Footage of his controversial performances include a violent confrontation with audience members at a spoken word appearance at New York University (where director Phillips was a student), as well as scenes of Allin defecating during shows, mutilating himself and assaulting concertgoers at a rock club in East Village, Manhattan.

Quieter moments are also included, such as Allin offstage playing an acoustic version of Warren Zevon's "Carmelita". Also included is footage of Allin cavorting at a party, and his appearance on Geraldo Rivera's talk show.

After the credits, his funeral and corpse are also briefly included.

After receiving a hefty bonus from work, Stan buys extravagant gadgets while Francine pleads for her dream kiosk at the mall. Upset about his lack of support, Francine opens a muffin shop without his approval and gives Stan a taste of life without a housewife. In a desperate move, Stan puts Klaus' brain back into a human body - that of the frontman of an Earth, Wind & Fire cover band who was abducted by the CIA in retaliation for ripping them off at the summer mixer - thinking that Klaus will cook breakfast for him only to discover it was a huge mistake as Klaus takes Stan hostage, steals Stan's cash and then gets rid of his former goldfish body by flushing it down the toilet. Klaus then sets out to win over Francine. Meanwhile, Steve is convinced he's a teen werewolf after watching a horror film and being attacked randomly by a wolf. In actuality, Roger adopted a wolf from the woods (after accidentily killing his sea monkeys), named it "Felicity" and, in the night, it killed another animal and covered Steve's room with blood. Another night, Steve and his friends go into the woods for his friends to kill him with a silver bullet; the actual wolf shows up and, in a confusing situation, they wind up thinking a silver bullet restored Steve to his normal self and separated the wolf from his body.

Klaus, after some quick preparations, seduces Francine at the mall before Stan arrives, revealing the ruse; but an eco-terrorist friend of Hayley sets off a series of bombs, blowing up a statue of Chief Shop-a-holic in the mall. Klaus dives out of the way to protect his new body; Stan, however, pushes Francine out of the way, but the statue piece hits his clock necklace of Stan's, ruining it but keeping Francine and Stan safe. Hayley's eco-terrorist friend is then placed under arrest. Francine becomes proud that Stan had saved her, and they reconcile. Klaus' body is half-crushed by a large piece of the statue, and near death he pleads with Stan to save his life. Francine also pleads with Stan to save Klaus' life, thinking he has learned his lesson about attempting adultery. Stan says the CIA has no more abducted people, so he purchases a goldfish from the mall pet shop and places Klaus' mind in it to save his life.

The first series, published in the SteelDragon Press run, tells how the first Captain Confederacy, a white man, becomes disillusioned with Confederate society after the death of his friend. Both the Captain and his friend are actors in a series of staged TV "news events" which are actually propaganda designed to maintain and reinforce the Confederate ideals by portraying Confederate-themed superheroes Captain Confederacy and his female sidekick Miss Dixie battling a black supervillain Blacksnake (his friend in real life). When his friend becomes fed up with his status as a second class citizen within the Confederacy and his own culpability in perpetuating same for his race through his participation in the propaganda, he refuses to continue in his TV role, and he is shot. This leads Captain Confederacy to rebel against his country. All of the superheroes/actors involved were given medical treatments which produced genuine superpowers (both physical and psionic), to enhance the realism of the propaganda news telecasts. They discover that the effects of these treatments have both made them addicts and are slowly killing them.

The second series focuses on the struggle to control the politics of the North American countries, at a world superhero conference in Free Louisiana.

Drama about a small-time gangster Thomas Gynn (Dennis Waterman) from London who discovers a new life up north in Yorkshire.

Helping widowed, self-sufficient businesswoman Sally Hardcastle (Jan Francis) when her car breaks down on the motorway, Thomas reluctantly accepts an offer of a lift to Leeds.

Over the coming months, the two become involved in a series of misadventures that soon find them being drawn closer together.

During World War II, Nazi sympathizers begin a ritual using Dr. Occult to bring a being known as Koth to Earth, in order to ensure an Axis victory in the war. Hourman and several magical heroes attempt to stop them, but are unsuccessful. The spell goes wrong, however, and the Nazis release a villain known as Stalker, whose sole purpose is to end life everywhere. The magical heroes are either killed or captured by Stalker, and only Hourman and Dr. Occult escape. Hourman informs the rest of the Justice Society of America about Stalker, and the group battles with him in Washington, DC. The JSA manages to wound Stalker enough so that he must create seven disciples (the men who originally brought Stalker to earth) to carry on his work while he recuperates. The JSA splits up to battle each of the disciples. Each team is able to defeat a disciple. Dr. Occult gathers everyone together to battle Stalker in Antarctica, where Stalker is building a machine that will destroy all life on Earth. After a long fight, the machine is destroyed and Stalker is defeated.

The series centers on the life of Hideki Motosuwa, a held-back student attempting to qualify for university by studying at Seki prep school in Tokyo. Besides a girlfriend, he dreams of having a : an android used as a personal computer, which is expensive. On his way home one evening, he stumbles across a persocom in the form of a beautiful girl with floor-length hair lying against a pile of trash bags, and he carries her home, not noticing that a disk fell on the ground. Upon turning her on, she instantly regards Hideki with adoration. The only word the persocom seems capable of saying is , thus he names her that. Hideki assumes that there must be something wrong with her, and so the following morning he has his neighbor Hiromu Shinbo analyze her with his mobile persocom Sumomo. After Sumomo crashes during the attempt they conclude that she must be custom-built.

Shinbo introduces Hideki to Minoru Kokubunji, a twelve-year-old prodigy who specializes in the field of custom-built ''persocoms.'' Minoru's persocoms, including Yuzuki, a fairly exceptional custom-built ''persocom,'' are not able to analyze Chi either, and thus they conclude that she may be one of the Chobits, a legendary series of persocoms rumoured to have free will and emotions. Although this is a possibility, Minoru is confident that it is only rumour. Yuzuki also adds that she does not resemble any persocom model in any available database and so she must be custom made after all.

A major part of the plot involves Hideki attempting to teach Chi words, concepts, and appropriate behaviours, in between his crammed schedule of school and work. At the same time, Chi seems to be developing feelings for Hideki, at an emotional depth she is not supposed to possess, and Hideki struggles with his feelings for her. The need to figure out more about Chi and her mysterious functions and past becomes a pull for the characters in the series.

Hideki's feelings intensify for Chi regardless of her being a persocom and despite his friends' painful experiences involving other persocoms. Chi becomes aware of her purpose through a picture book series called ''A City with No People'' which she finds in a bookstore. The books speak about many different things involving human and persocom relationships: persocoms and their convenience as friends and lovers, how there are things that they cannot do and questioning whether a relationship between a persocom and a human is really one-sided. It also speaks about the Chobits series; that they are different from other persocoms, and what they are incapable of doing unlike other persocoms. These picture books awaken Chi's other self, her sibling Freya who is aware of their past and helps Chi realize what she must do when she decides who her "person just for me" is. Together, Chi and Hideki explore the relationship between human beings and persocoms, as well as their friends' and their own.

The lives of the inhabitants of El Callejón de los Milagros, in downtown Mexico City, are as closely knitted as the threads of a rug. Fifty-something Don Ru owns a small "cantina" where all the men spend afternoons playing domino. He's tired of his longtime marriage with Eusebia and has recently discovered new feelings inside his heart. It does not matter if these feelings are not aimed to a young lady but to a young clerk after all, as one of the characters says, "it's platonic love". Don Ru's son Chava does not like what he sees and almost kills his father's lover. Running away from Don Ru's anger, Chava escapes to the US with his friend Abel who is deeply in love with beautiful Alma, the daughter of Doña Cata, a tarot reader with bad luck in love. Susanita, the ugly landlady looking for love; Guicho, Don Ru's cynical employee, Maru, Don Fidel, Doña Flor, Zacarias and mean Jose Luis complete the cast of characters of this complex portrait of lives.

Structure

The film is divided into four successive and clearly labeled chapters. The first three are named after key individuals, and the fourth wraps up the story. Each chapter starts at the same time, with the same game of dominoes, and describes the same time period, but from the viewpoints of the named people; the chapters tell each person's story. Each chapter thus provides the viewer with details which help to explain things which happened in the other chapters.

'''Rutilio''' deals with Don Ru's dissatisfaction with his marriage and his poorly hidden homosexual love affair with a young man.

'''Alma''' deals with Alma's life and her falling in love with Abel. He leaves with Chava for the U.S. and Alma "disappears". She has been seduced and ends up in a whorehouse.

'''Susanita''' is the landlady with horrible teeth whose feelings and romantic hopes are awakened. She marries Guicho.

'''The Return''' describes the return of Abel and Chava, and Abel's search for Alma. Chava is married and has his wife and baby boy with him. Abel finds Alma in the whorehouse and is heartbroken. He tries to attack her pimp and is stabbed several times. He dies in her arms.

20 years after the events of ''Kingdom Come'', a survivor of the Kansas disaster is granted power by four members of the Quintessence (Shazam, Ganthet, Zeus, and Izaya Highfather), who dub him Gog. The power drives him mad, and he takes out his anger on Superman, killing him and carving his "S" shield on the ground. He then travels a day backward in time and kills him again...and again. A shadowed figure vaguely resembling the Phantom Stranger, the fifth Quintessence member, opposes this action, as Gog now intends to accelerate the Kansas Holocaust, but the other four are prepared to let things unfold; Shazam hopes that Captain Marvel will no longer have to die, Ganthet hopes that his chosen Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) will avert the catastrophe and become more renowned than Superman, Zeus hopes that the ancient gods may be 'worshiped' once more as Earth seeks something to believe in, and Highfather feels that a new war may fracture Earth in a manner similar to New Genesis and Apokolips. This shadowy being sees a crisis of this scheme and plans to recruit his own agent to stop Gog.

As Gog travels closer to the modern DC Universe, the Linear Men panic when they see that their ordered index of time is unraveling. Superman is dead in the 21st century, yet alive in the 853rd, and their instruments register no error. When Rip Hunter, acting upon the orders of the shadowed figure, tries to stop Gog from killing Superman on the day his and Wonder Woman's child is born (that being a day when 'anything seemed possible'), Gog manages to steal the infant (named Jonathan), whom he plans to raise and name Magog (in issue #2, this was revealed to be a red herring. The child did not grow up to become Magog; instead, he became the shadowed figure, whose true identity is then revealed to be Hyperman, a Hypertime-traveling superhero wearing a costume based on the costumes of his parents and his godfather, Batman).

Although the other Linear Men object to the idea of the heroes of that time travelling back to defeat Gog, Rip Hunter recruits Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman from the ''Kingdom Come'' era to stop Gog in 1998, the heroes concluding that, since innocent people will die if they do or do not take action, they will take the heroic option and go back despite the apparent loss of their own reality by having them interfere in their own pasts in such a manner. Four young heroes-Kid Flash, Offspring, Nightstar, and Ibn al Xu'ffasch-come together to try stopping Gog on their own, and are recruited by Rip Hunter to assist in his plan. When Jonathan seemingly erased from existence soon after being rescued, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman team up with their 'past selves' and battle Gog to a final confrontation in a "Planet Krypton" restaurant outside of reality, where they use various weapons gathered from across Hypertime against Gog. During the fight, the future Wonder Woman reveals to the Superman of the present why Gog is after him, and Superman vows that the timeline of ''Kingdom Come'' will never happen in his universe, as he strikes back at Gog, finishing the battle once and for all. As the heroes return to their proper places in time, Hyperman reveals himself, assuring the future heroes that his infant self actually hid himself within the stream of Hypertime upon being rescued from Gog, and Rip Hunter explains the existence of timelines, so the ''Kingdom Come'' reality still exists as a parallel universe, but it will no longer be the future of the DC Universe.

Later, during the ''Infinite Crisis'' storyarc, it is retroactively established that Superboy-Prime is responsible for the creation of Hypertime when he fractures the timeline from the pocket dimension he was trapped in.

Finster, the protagonist, is a teenager, who works in a comic shop, while also being an artist. He daydreams about, and has had real, adventures. He usually mixes his own life with Fantasy, and is always talking to the reader.

US Marshall Carrie Stetko is pulled from vacation by agents of the US government. They inform her that an explosion has occurred at an Antarctic Russian research station long suspected of building weapons for the Russian government. They ask her to investigate and offer her a ticket back to the States if she succeeds.

Stetko arrives at the station, where she finds among the corpses that one has been shot. Her suspicions piqued, she investigates the ruins, only to fall through a loose floorboard into the confirmed weapons cache. She also discovers crates that once contained nuclear weapons that have been stolen. She then meets GRU agent Aleks Kuchin, who informs her that the culprits are Speznas agents hired by the Russian government to steal the weapons. After alerting her contacts, Stetko is ordered to work with Kuchin to find the weapons and deliver them to America by any means necessary.

After being provided thermal imaging of the group's trail, Stetko and Kuchin set out in pursuit. They find the vehicle of one of the men who fell into a crevasse, then the body when they fall in while avoiding a booby trap. After escaping, they continue on and find another body. Before they can keep going, a massive storm hits and they're forced to take shelter. That night, they give in to rising passions and have sex.

The next day, Stetko finds that Kuchin has left her behind. He finds the Spetsnaz, who are hopelessly lost, but manage to take him captive. Stetko arrives and in the ensuing fight, they manage to kill the remaining men. Stetko almost kills Kuchin, but ultimately decides to leave him and the nukes, planning to claim he abandoned her in the crevasse.

Jack Herriman is hired by Alex Jordan on the recommendation of Jack's father's friend Detective Sergeant Paul Reynolds SFPD. Jordan is trying to find her younger sister Maggie who has been missing for nearly a month. Herriman follows Maggie's trail to an open house for a commune called ''Lunarhouse''. ''Lunarhouse'' is continuing the ideals of the Summer of Love in modern-day San Francisco, Jack confronts the charismatic leader Joseph Lunar about Maggie, Lunar feigns ignorance but directs Jack to the commune secretary. The secretary informs Jack that Maggie was indeed at the commune for a few weeks but left suddenly with no explanation. She also informs Jack that Maggie had slept with Lunar, but brushed off the detail saying that Lunar slept with everybody. Later, Jack sneaks outside and rifles though the house recycling bin, finding a phone message from Maggie and a contact number that leads to a motel upstate.

Reluctant to stake out the motel himself Jack takes along his uncle Knut. When Maggie finally turns up at her motel room she is drunk and being robbed by the guy she came home with. Herriman tries to fight the man but is taken by surprise and winded, Knut then manages to scare the guy off with his camera flash. They take Maggie inside and dump her in the bathtub.

When Maggie awakens, Jack interrogates her about her disappearance, and learns that Maggie has lived a wild life due to feeling lost. After talking for a while, Jack drops off Maggie back at her motel and leaves, with the idea of perhaps talking to her again later. It is also hinted that he is attracted to her.

This all comes to an end the next morning, when Jack receives a phone call that Maggie's body was found shot to death in her motel, probably soon after Jack had dropped her off. Initially believing that Maggie was involved in some sort of blackmail scheme, police later discover that a suitcase filled with $10,000 was left untouched in Maggie's closet, meaning Maggie's death was not money-related, and that something bigger than blackmail was going on.

Heartbroken and frustrated, Jack begins yet another round of investigations.

In his investigations, Jack learns that the Joseph Lunar's name is actually Virgil. From pictures his Uncle Knut took several years before, Jack discovers that Virgil was the leader of yet another compound similar to Lunar House, and that it burned down. Knut further finds a photograph featuring a young Maggie, her sister Jordan, and their mother standing before a dead body. The body was that of their father, Geoffe, who died in the fire along with 12 other people. Virgil was also reported to have died in the fire, but Jack does not believe this.

Jack decides to interrogate survivors of the fire for information. When asking one of the survivors about the fire, the girl revealed that the fire started in the children's dorm, and no one knows who started it. She also seems to harbor hatred towards Virgil, claiming that he ruined her life, and reveals, to Jack's horror, that half of her face is scarred from the burns.

As the investigation continues, another twist in the case comes up when Maggie's mother visits Jack at Knut's house (where Jack has been living to try and clean up from his previous drug and alcohol addictions). Maggie's mother sees the photograph of herself standing with her daughters before her dead husband, which had been put on display in Knut's public gallery. The mother reveals that ''Maggie'' started the fire, and alludes that she was a pyromaniac. She further explains to Jack how free love at the communals, such as Lunar House, worked. The parents at the communal lived separate from their children. The children were all put together and placed in their own dormitory, where adults would take turns taking shifts to watch the kids. In the meantime, the parents would indulge in Free Love. However, Virgil soon began encouraging the children to participate in sexual activities too. He wanted the children to have experience and to "find themselves". This escalated to the men of the compound taking sexual advantage of the children. In proof of this, Jack finds a picture of Virgil raping one of the then-young Jordan sisters.

Jacks investigation continues, and he finds further secrets, and discovers that the Jordans did not reveal all the details of their family problems to him...

The story of ''Saint Seiya Episode.G'' is set seven years before the events of Masami Kurumada's ''Saint Seiya'', in the same fictional world in which the Greek gods cyclically reincarnate to dispute dominion of Earth. The story revolves around the Saints of Athena, humans with superhuman powers who are devoted to the Goddess of War Athena, and whose duty is to protect the world from evil. The protagonist is the Leo Gold Saint Aiolia, who is mistrusted by the rest of the Saints because of the seemingly traitorous actions of his brother Aiolos in the past. In turn, he holds a grudge against the Saints as a whole, and against the elite order of the Gold Saints in particular.

While the Pope, the leader of the Saints, sends Aiolia on mission after mission to prove his loyalty, evil forces manifest that threaten to destroy Sanctuary, the home of the Saints. A modern-day Titanomachy begins as the Titans, ancient gods with a desire for revenge on the Olympian gods, attack Sanctuary to retrieve the "Megas Drepanon", the weapon into which Zeus had sealed their King, Kronos, in the age of mythology. Their first assault is thwarted by Aiolia, who subsequently gains the attention of the Titans as the "man of the evil omen" who is destined to free their King.

With the Titans once again roaming the Earth, ancient monsters are also resurrected worldwide and the Saints have to contain them. Meanwhile, the Titans gather their forces to strike at Sanctuary a second time. In the course of their next assault, Kronos is inadvertently released from Zeus's lightning seal by Aiolia's own lightning-based technique, but the god appears to be amnesiac. The Titans determine that it was Aiolia's attack that was responsible for this condition and that the Leo Saint might hold the means to fix it as well. They retreat to their base at the Time Labyrinth and kidnap Aiolia's servant Lithos to lure him there. Aiolia does not hesitate to go to Lithos's aid and, together with five other Gold Saints, initiates a series of battles in which the Titans fall one by one.

Throughout these battles, the primordial god Pontos, who first released the Titans from their imprisonment in Tartarus and initially claimed that he wished to help Kronos, reveals his true intentions, stating that he only revived the Titans as part of a larger plan and has been playing them in order to awaken his true mistress, Gaia. He means to help her take control of the Earth, destroying gods and humans alike in the process. Pontos's plan ultimately fails, as after fighting Aiolia Kronos comes to appreciate the worth of humans. The Titan King robs Gaia of his power, offering it to Hades instead so that the Saints of Athena and his followers will be spared from death.

Six months after the events of ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', a meteorite collides with the Z Plan rocket and frees Gamera, who returns to Earth and attacks Kurobe Dam in Japan. Ichiro, a World War II veteran, sends Kawajiri, Onodera, and his brother Keisuke, to an island in New Guinea to retrieve an opal he once found and hid in a cave. Despite warnings from the local villagers, the trio find and locate the opal, but Kawajiri dies from a fatal scorpion sting. Keisuke is betrayed by Onodera and nearly killed. Keisuke is rescued by the locals and tells one of them, Karen, about the opal they found. Karen reveals that the alleged "opal" is not really a jewel, and convinces Keisuke to take her to Japan to retrieve it.

En route back to Japan, Onodera accidentally leaves the opal exposed to an infrared light. The heat incubates the opal - revealed to be an egg - and a lizard, Barugon, hatches. Upon arriving to Kobe Harbor, the ship is suddenly destroyed. Ichiro finds Onodera, who tells him that Keisuke and Kawajiri died in the jungle. Having grown to immense size, Barugon surfaces from the harbor and proceeds to attack. While debating how to recover the opal, which he still believes to be aboard the sunken ship, Onodera inadvertently blurts out that he killed his two companions and then murders both Ichiro and his wife to cover up his crime. Barugon's rainbow ray attracts Gamera and the two battle in Osaka. However, Barugon freezes Gamera in place. Keisuke and Karen find Onodera, subdue him, and leave him tied up in his home. Keisuke and Karen suggest a plan to the defense ministry by using a huge diamond to lure Barugon into a lake to drown.

The plan fails due to the diamond's insufficient radiation. Another attempt by irradiating the diamond with additional infrared radiation almost succeeds, until Onodera interferes and steals the gem. However, both he and the diamond are devoured by Barugon. Keisuke discovers that mirrors are not affected by Barugon's rainbow ray, so the military devises a plan to reflect its own rainbow emanation back with a giant mirror. Barugon is wounded, but realizing its mistake, refuses to shoot another rainbow. Gamera thaws out and attacks Barugon once again. After battling, Gamera drowns Barugon in Lake Biwa, then flies away. Keisuke mourns over the events caused by his greed, believing he is now alone. However, Karen holds his hand and tells him he is not alone.

The story begins with Metropolis suffering a devastating meteor shower. Superman uses his full array of powers, including his strength, freeze breath, and heat vision to destroy the deadly rocks before they can strike the city.

Following this incident, astronomers announce that they have discovered the remains of the dead planet Krypton. Superman flies to the distant galaxy in the space rocket that his father sent him to Earth in to investigate the ruins of his homeworld and to see if there is anything left. He finds only gigantic, asteroid-sized chunks of kryptonite, pieces of the planet that were irradiated by the supernova that destroyed the great civilization. Superman turns his ship around and heads back to Earth, but along the way he is intercepted by Mongul and forced to compete in gladiatorial combat in Warworld. Mongul first puts him against an elite team of warriors known as the Plahtune, but the Man of Steel easily beats them. Next, he confronts Overkhast, an alien who can fire energy from his hands and who can also transform into a gigantic energy-based creature that can emit shock waves of power. After Superman overcomes him, Mongul himself steps into the arena to battle Superman. Though he is powerful and possesses great strength, Mongul is still no match for the Last Son of Krypton. At the conclusion of their fight, Superman picks up Mongul and prepares to deliver what would most certainly be a killing strike. Mongul taunts him, "Go on, Superman. You know you want to." Superman then throws Mongul to the floor and states that the fight is over. Superman then finds his ship and sets off for Earth, but Mongul vows that he will find him.

Superman's return to Metropolis is greeted with ecstatic applause by most, but Lois Lane seems somewhat hesitant to put her faith in him again. Soon after his return however, Metallo attacks the city with an army of robots when he hears Superman is back. He fights both the supervillain and his minions. While the lesser opponents are of little consequence to the Kryptonian, Metallo is another matter. After many fights, they have their last battle where Metallo transforms into a towering monstrosity that Superman cannot directly touch because of his kryptonite-powered body. He compensates for this by throwing objects at the villain. Realizing that he is about to be defeated, Metallo fires a large missile to destroy Metropolis, but Superman intercepts the projectile and hurls it into the sky. Superman shows Metallo no mercy, gathering all of his strength and charging the villain, tearing through his body and ripping out his power source.

Unknown to Superman during his absence, Lex Luthor broke into the Fortress of Solitude and stole his data crystals. Lex Luthor experiments with the crystals by adding a small particle to water, also causing an electromagnetic pulse that releases numerous villains and genetic creatures including Bizarro. Bizarro begins a rampage throughout Metropolis, destroying buildings and attacking citizens. Though Bizarro is of equal might, Superman is a much more experienced fighter. In the end, Superman defeats Bizarro, but does not kill him because he knows that the poor creature is incapable of understanding his actions.

Then Superman faces off against Riot and his clones in the Hyper Sector of Metropolis. Superman defeats Riot with a combination of his fists and freeze breath. No sooner has he defeated Riot then an old enemy returns for a rematch. Mongul and his minions have followed Superman to Earth. Superman battles Plahtune and Overkhast, and confronts Mongul after once again. The fight is fierce, but as before the Man of Steel emerges victorious. Mongul admits that he is defeated and flees Earth.

There is no time to celebrate this victory, because Lex Luthor has put his diabolical scheme of creating a new continent over America with the Kryptonian crystals into effect. Luthor plants the main crystal and an entire new landmass begins to form off the coast of Metropolis, which causes several tornadoes to form and tear through the city. Superman deflects the tornadoes and extinguishes the fires that have erupted throughout the city, then flies out over the water to investigate. He finds Lex Luthor's boat sinking, the evil mastermind having abandoned it after planting the crystal. Lois had sneaked onto the ship and is trapped as it is sinking, and Superman rescues her and takes her unconscious form to the coast guard. He then discovers the gigantic new island forming as a result of the crystal. Superman lands on the island and discovers too late that he has fallen into a trap. The island is laced with kryptonite. Lex Luthor beats on and tortures the Man of Steel, then kicks the powerless Superman into the ocean far below. But Lois arrives with the coast guard and rescues Superman, who flies into outer space to bask in the rays of the sun before burrowing his way under the ocean floor and lifting the landmass directly out of the water and throwing it into space.

Superman flies back to Metropolis to take care of the few remaining villains who earlier escaped him, ending the game.

''Bleach: The Blade of Fate'' follows Ichigo Kurosaki on his quest to save a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki, who is scheduled for execution for giving Ichigo her Soul Reaper powers so he could save his family from a Hollow. The story modes for each character vary and an additional 22 episodes can be unlocked upon completing the new unlocked episodes after Rescue Rukia. A 23rd episode more accurately details the Soul Society arc beginning with Ichigo's fight against Ganju Shiba and ending with Sōsuke Aizen's betrayal.

The core narrative of the film portrays the last months in the life of Serge Alexandre (Stavisky), from late 1933 to January 1934. We see glimpses of his operations as a "financial consultant", setting up a mysterious company to deal in international bonds, his 'laundering' of stolen jewellery, and his juggling of funds to stave off the discovery of fraudulent bonds that he has sold through the Crédit Municipal in Bayonne (municipal pawnbrokers); we see his activity as a theatre impresario in Paris, his casino gambling, his purchase of influence among the press, the police, and politicians, and always his extravagant lifestyle and desire to impress; we see his devotion to his glamorous wife Arlette, his exploitation of her beauty to lure funds from a Spanish revolutionary fascist, his contradictory accounts to his friends of events in his own past, and gleams of political idealism - which may yet be just expedients to create further webs of deception.

Interposed in the narrative are moments of flashback (to his teenage awakening to a hedonistic life, to his arrest as the petty crook Stavisky in 1926, and to his father's suicide after this family dishonour) and flash-forwards (to his funeral, and to the parliamentary enquiry into the Stavisky affair at which his friends and associates testify with varying degrees of honesty).

Also punctuating the main story are scenes depicting the arrival of Trotsky in France to seek political asylum, and his sojourn in various country houses and hotels, receiving visits from left-wing activists. These scenes appear to have no link with the main narrative (apart from two minor characters: the young German-Jewish actress who moves between both stories, and the police-inspector who monitors Trotsky's movements and then also investigates Alexandre), until the end of the film when, in the wake of Stavisky's fall and exposure as a Ukrainian immigrant, a Jew, and a confidant of members of the left-of-centre government, Trotsky's presence is deemed undesirable and he is expelled from the country, while a new 'government of national unity' is formed.

The death of Alexandre/Stavisky in a chalet in Chamonix becomes a further mystery: either a suicide by gunshot, like that of his father, or an assassination by the security forces to ensure his silence.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four al-Qaeda terrorists, Ziad Jarrah, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi pray in a Newark, New Jersey hotel, and after Jarrah makes a final phone call to his girlfriend, board United Airlines Flight 93, piloted by Captain Jason Dahl and First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr., at Newark International Airport.

Air traffic controllers determine that American Airlines Flight 11 has been hijacked and is heading toward New York City. Flight 93 takes off after a slight delay. Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and United Airlines Flight 175 is also hijacked and heads toward New York City. Air traffic controllers learn that American Airlines Flight 77 has also been hijacked and watch as Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower.

As the passengers are served breakfast on Flight 93, Jarrah hesitates to give the sign to start the hijacking. Via an ACARS message, Dahl and Homer are notified of the WTC attacks and to beware cockpit intrusion. The hijackers violently take control of the plane, stabbing a passenger before killing the pilots and a flight attendant. Jarrah begins piloting the aircraft, and redirects it towards Washington, D.C., to crash it into the United States Capitol. The hijackers jubilantly react to the WTC attack. While flight attendants Sandra Bradshaw and CeeCee Lyles unsuccessfully attempt to revive the stabbed passenger, Bradshaw sees the hijackers moving the bodies of the pilots.

After Flight 77 crashes into The Pentagon, FAA National Operations Manager Ben Sliney shuts down all United States air space and grounds all flights. Passengers on Flight 93 learn of the other attacks from family members via airphone. Realizing their plane is going to be used as a weapon, a number of the passengers organize an assault against the hijackers to retake the plane, with assistance from flight staff, arming themselves with makeshift weapons. Learning that one of their passengers is a pilot, they plan to have the pilot land the plane with assistance from the ground if they retake the plane. Seeing the group gather, the hijackers grow anxious. One passenger, attempting to counsel appeasement, is restrained by some of the passengers, while other passengers pray and make final calls to loved ones.

The passengers revolt, killing the two hijackers in the cabin. As Jarrah violently rocks the plane to throw the passengers off balance, they attempt to breach the cockpit, using a serving cart as a battering ram. The passengers breach the cockpit just as Jarrah puts the plane into a steep dive, and chaotically wrestle with the two remaining hijackers for control. The aircraft inverts and crashes into a Shanksville field, killing everyone aboard.

The Professor announces some good news: Leela's old orphanarium has named her orphan of the year, and that he has invented a machine that makes glow-in-the-dark noses. The machine produces enormous amounts of toxic waste, and Hermes tells him to get rid of it. The Professor hires Bender for the job, and he dumps the waste into the sewer. At the orphanarium's award ceremony, the headmaster presents a story of Leela's arrival and Leela delivers a speech which profoundly inspires the orphans. However, back at Planet Express, Fry finds Leela in tears, and she admits she still longs to have parents.

Bender expands his one-time dumping into a full waste management service. The sewer mutants grow angry with Bender's disposal technique and abduct him, Fry, and Leela. The mutants sentence them to be lowered into a lake of chemicals which will turn them into mutants. Two hooded mutants break from the group and swing the crane the three are tied to, dropping them on the far side of the mutagenic lake. The mutant mob pursue them. Fry, Leela, and Bender take refuge in a mutant home, where they find photos and news clippings of every major event in Leela's life. Leela is frozen in horror at the thought of a mutant having been stalking her her whole life, giving the mob the opportunity to capture them. However, after a whispered word from the hooded mutants, the crew's sentence is commuted to exile. They are flown by hot air balloon to a surface access ladder hanging over the lake. Fry and Bender emerge on the surface, but Leela, determined to find out what the hooded mutants know about her, dives into the chemical lake. To her surprise, she is unaffected by the chemicals. Fry heads to the orphanarium to get some clues to what is going on, and the headmaster gives him the alien-language note that was left with Leela when she was abandoned. Fry takes the note to the Professor for analysis.

Leela pursues the hooded mutants through the sewers back to the home with the shrine to herself. Finding that one of them has a bracelet identical to one she has had since before coming to her orphanarium, Leela hypothesizes that they killed her parents, and the hooded mutants confess. Before Leela can kill the two in her rage, Bender shoots Fry through the ceiling using his waste disposal pump. Fry stops Leela and removes the mutants' hoods, revealing they are one-eyed. Fry explains that though the Professor could not translate the note, his analysis showed that it was written on a brand of toilet paper that is used primarily in the sewers, cluing Fry in to the fact that the hooded mutants are Leela's parents. Her parents confess that, wanting Leela to have a better life than that of a mutant, they left her at the orphanarium with an alienese note so she would be assumed to be an alien. A tearful reunion ensues, and the episode closes with a montage of scenes that show Leela's parents secretly watching over her throughout her life.

A few days before Valentine's Day, the Planet Express crew tries to land a delivery contract with Romanticorp, a company that produces romantic things. During a tour of the facilities, Fry becomes obsessed with finding the perfect conversation heart to express his feelings for Leela, but she just finds this antic annoying, and says she finds words irrelevant next to the quality of the man saying them. Planet Express gets the contract and with the additional funding, Professor Farnsworth makes some upgrades to the ''Planet Express Ship''. The upgrades include a new personality, complete with a female voice module. Bender and the ship's new personality fall for each other and start dating. Bender quickly grows tired of the ship, and begins cheating on her. The ship, suspicious of Bender, begins acting in an increasingly possessive and erratic manner.

The crew is assigned the task of delivering several tons of conversation hearts to Lrrr as a peace offering. The Omicronians are highly offended by the chalky candies and their saccharine messages. While escaping from the Omicronian death fleet, Bender decides to break up with the ''Planet Express Ship''. This cracks the ship's fragile mind, and it comes to a stop, allowing the Omicronian missiles to strike.

The ship is sent tumbling through space, dented and scorched, but physically intact. Leela attempts to console the ship, but fails. The ship decides to fly into a quasar so that the power of the ten billion black holes in it will merge her and Bender into a perfect quantum singularity. She offers to stop if Bender merges his programming with hers, but he refuses. To eliminate any interference from Fry or Leela, the ship turns off the oxygen and artificial gravity. They don the on-board oxygen tanks to survive and make plans to disable the ship.

Bender distracts the ship by taking her up on her earlier proposal to merge their programming, while Leela begins shutting down the ship's brain by popping the tops of its carbonated logic unit. While searching the conversation hearts, Fry notices that Leela's oxygen supply is critically low. He hooks her mask up to his tank to keep her alive. Completely oblivious to this sacrifice, Leela finishes shutting down the ship's artificial intelligence, returning every system to normal. She then finds Fry unresponsive due to the lack of oxygen. Leela gives him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Fry awakens and coughs up a candy heart with the perfect message, "U leave me breathless"; the two smile and wish each other a Happy Valentine's Day. Bender emerges, unaware that a little of the ship's program is still merged with his. Leela decides to dump the undelivered hearts into the quasar instead of cleaning them up. The hearts vaporize, producing a romantic fuchsia-colored radiation that is harmless on Earth and visible during Valentine's Day, but that destroys many planets en route. Couples around Earth (and Zoidberg, who is inexplicably narrating this section) happily gaze at the beautiful space phenomena.

Confident that the destruction of Thor's starship has ended the Replicator threat to Earth ("Nemesis"), the SG-1 team returns home through the second Stargate that has been put up at Stargate Command. Shortly after they learn that a Russian Foxtrot class submarine has been hijacked by creatures whose descriptions match the Replicators, Thor arrives at Stargate Command and asks SG-1 for help against the Replicators in the Asgard galaxy. As Colonel O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) go to deal with the hijacked submarine, Major Carter (Amanda Tapping) goes with Thor.

O'Neill, Daniel, and Teal'c try to obtain intelligence on the little self-replicating robotic invaders in the submarine, but they are forced to fall back. With Daniel's new theory that the Replicators are made up of the same materials they consume, the Replicators may be eliminated through sinking the iron submarine as long as the surviving Replicator from Thor's advanced ship is destroyed beforehand. Meanwhile, Carter witnesses a short battle against the Replicators in the Asgard galaxy during which five Asgard ships are lost. Carter notices the Replicators' attraction to new technology and proposes to use the ''O'Neill'', an incomplete Asgard ship originally designed to fight the Replicators, as a lure to draw the Replicators into hyperspace and destroy them in the ''O'Neill'''s self-destruct. Thor eventually accepts the plan, the Replicators take the bait and are destroyed.

Back on Earth, O'Neill and Teal'c penetrate the submarine and find and destroy the original Replicator. When the other Replicators take full control of the submarine, O'Neill orders the forces outside to destroy the submarine and prepares for the end, but Thor beams the team onto his ship before the explosion occurs. With the imminent Replicator threat over, Thor promises that when the Asgard defeat the Replicators, he will come to assist Earth in the war against the Goa'uld.

A large drug deal between New Jersey mobsters and a Jamaican gang goes awry, leading to a shootout that kills two corrupt police officers who were attempting to rob the gangs. Mobster Tommy Perello orders his subordinate, Joey Gazelle, to dispose of the guns; Joey goes home to his wife Teresa and their ten-and-a-half-year-old son Nicky, and stashes the guns in his basement. Unbeknownst to him, Nicky and his friend Oleg secretly watch him.

Oleg steals one of the guns before heading home to his mother Mila and his abusive stepfather, Anzor. When Anzor becomes belligerent, Oleg shoots him before leaving the house. When Joey goes to investigate the disturbance, he finds a wounded Anzor who then describes the gun. Joey realizes that it is one of the weapons he hid earlier, and rushes to track down Oleg before the police do.

Throughout the night, Oleg runs into many unsavory people: a homeless crack addict, a drug dealer, then finally an abusive pimp named Lester and his prostitute, Divina. After Oleg helps Divina, she decides to look after him. She takes him to a diner where they find Joey, who is explaining to his boss Frankie Perello that Oleg has the gun. Oleg stashes the gun in the diner bathroom, and after leaving with Divina, he is found by police officers who then return him to Anzor.

Oleg once again escapes, and is taken in by a kindly family. When Oleg becomes suspicious of them, he discreetly calls Teresa, who then arrives and threatens her way into their apartment. She rescues Oleg and tells him to leave with the other children, then murders the parents after finding evidence of snuff films and other paraphernalia. Meanwhile, Joey continues his search, and eventually finds Oleg. However, just before he can retrieve the gun, both he and Oleg are found by Tommy, who goes to take them to Frankie.

Tommy takes Joey and Oleg to an ice hockey rink to meet Frankie and Russian mob boss Ivan. Ivan has brought Anzor to try and get Oleg to tell them the source of the gun he used. When Ivan slaps the boy, Joey lashes out at Ivan, and he, in turn, is subdued and beaten by Ivan's thugs. When Anzor refuses to kill Oleg, Ivan kills him, and then turns to kill Oleg. Before he can, Joey distracts him by accusing Frankie of planning to attack the Russians because Anzor was cooking meth in Frankie's territory. A shootout ensues between the two gangs, leading to the deaths of Tommy and Ivan. When Frankie attempts to shoot Joey, the latter reveals that he is an undercover FBI agent, showing a hidden wire under his shirt. Oleg then distracts Frankie, allowing Joey to disarm and kill him. Joey and Oleg then exit as the FBI and local police storm the building.

Joey and Oleg return to the diner for breakfast, and they encounter Lester holding the gun that Oleg had hidden earlier. In the ensuing struggle, Lester shoots Joey in the stomach, but not before Joey fatally stabs Lester with a switchblade. Joey and Oleg struggle to return to Teresa and Nicky. Meanwhile, Mila, thinking Oleg is dead, commits suicide by blowing herself up in Anzor's meth lab. Just as Teresa and Nicky rush outside to investigate, they see Joey crash his car after losing consciousness.

Days later, Teresa and Nicky attend Joey's funeral along with Oleg, who has been adopted by the family. They drive out to a small farmhouse, where Joey emerges, having faked his death to protect himself and his family after being outed as an undercover FBI agent.

Uniquely, the written "plot" starts on the cover, with the phrase "I can blink like an owl." The book continues, encouraging children to sniff like a dog, snap like a turtle, chew like a cow, shake their head like a horse, puff their cheeks like a squirrel, stick out their tongue like a snake, smile like a monkey, scrunch their face like a walrus, and wiggle their nose like a rabbit.

The last page is an image of a flower, which has no associated action or text.

After being left in the bathroom to die, Detective Eric Matthews breaks his foot with a toilet lid to escape his shackle. Six months later, the aftermath of a Jigsaw game is discovered by Officer Daniel Rigg's SWAT team. The victim, Troy, had to rip chains from his body to escape a bomb. Detective Allison Kerry points out that the room's exit was welded shut, breaking Jigsaw's modus operandi of giving his victims a chance to survive. While reviewing the videotape, Kerry is abducted and awakens in a harness hooked into her ribs. She retrieves the key from a beaker of acid as instructed, but the lock does not open and the trap inevitably kills her.

Dr. Lynn Denlon is abducted from the hospital she works at and brought to the bedridden John Kramer. His apprentice, Amanda Young, locks a collar armed with five shotgun shells around Lynn's neck that is connected to John's heart rate monitor and will detonate if she moves out of range or John dies. Lynn is instructed by Amanda to keep him alive until another test subject has completed his game; the victim Jeff, a grief-stricken father consumed with vengeance after the death of his son Dylan in a drunk driving accident, must undergo a series of tests around the abandoned meatpacking plant to confront those involved in the case.

Jeff's first test leads him into a meat freezer where he finds Danica Scott, the only witness to the accident, who refused to testify in court; she is stripped naked and chained inside a metal frame, which begins spraying her with ice-cold water. Jeff retrieves the key after Danica persuades him to help her, but she freezes to death before he can do so. In his next test, Judge Halden, who passed a lenient sentence on the driver who caused Dylan's death, is chained at the neck to the bottom of a vat. Rotting pig carcasses are dropped into a grinder that slowly fill the pit. After Halden reveals that he has a son of his own, Jeff saves him by burning Dylan's memorabilia in an incinerator to retrieve a key. His third test involves Timothy Young, the driver who killed Dylan, who is strapped to a machine that will slowly twist his limbs and then his head. The key is tied to the trigger of an enclosed shotgun that goes off after Jeff retrieves it, accidentally killing Halden. Jeff forgives Timothy, but fails to save him in time; the machine breaks Timothy's neck.

Lynn is forced to perform an improvised surgery to relieve pressure on John's brain. The surgery is successful and Lynn convinces John to order Amanda to remove the collar. However, Amanda refuses and threatens Lynn's life, having become jealous of her interactions with John. John pleads with Amanda, who admits that she no longer believes in his philosophy and had been manipulating her traps to Troy and Kerry. Refusing to listen to John's warnings, Amanda shoots Lynn just as Jeff arrives. Jeff, who is revealed to be Lynn's husband, retaliates by shooting Amanda with a gun provided by John after his tests. As Amanda dies, John reveals that Lynn's test was actually hers: John was aware of her motives and unwilling to allow a murderer to continue his legacy. He then addresses Jeff, offering to call an ambulance for Lynn if he has learned everything from his ordeal, and accept one last test: either killing John or forgiving him. In response, Jeff slashes John's throat with a power saw, activating Lynn's collar as the room is sealed shut. Before dying, John takes out a tape recorder to inform Jeff that his daughter, Corbett was also captured and he must face another test to save her.

The owner of a failing race track seeks to reverse his fortune by holding a series of promotion events where the cars are driven by women. Becky (JodyMarie Spiech) is a waitress who unknowingly puts her life in danger while attempting to save the family farm. She had rediscovered her lost high-school sweetheart, reporter Scoop Hendrickson (Tony Rio), and must decide whether or not to tell him of what ended their romance. To raise money to save the farm, she and three other financially strapped but voluptuous local girls, Su Shi (Jenna Christie), Tammy Lay (Heather Ley) and Jette Black (Lindsay Robertson), sign up for a new Powder-Puff auto racing event at the Barberton Speedway in hopes of winning cold, hard cash. The promotional catch developed by the track owner is that the women must wear bikinis as they race, and must drive the cars backwards.

In late 1941, General Cross of the Special Operations Executive invite three British-trained Czech partisans, Jan Kubiš, Jozef Gabčík and Karel Čurda, dressed in British Army uniforms, to be involved in a military operation described as the most important of the war. By this time, Heydrich had been installed as Reich Protector in Prague for several months, with Cross predicting that he may even be Hitler's successor if the Fuhrer were to die. The men are parachuted into occupied Czechoslovakia and during descent, Gabčík is injured. The third man, Čurda, fell further away and the two shortly realise they are not near to the intended location. They encounter a couple of farmers who offer assistance in getting the men to medical aid by flagging down SS soldiers in a patrol car. The three men regroup at a local doctor, who offers medical assistance to Gabčík.

They continue to Prague where they are offered a hiding place by the Moravcov family. The first attempt to assassinate Heydrich fails, being blocked by a passing train. A new plan is formulated, which involves shooting him as his car drives past during a regular journey. As Heydrich approaches, Gabčík runs in front of his car to shoot, but the gun jams and he runs from the scene, chased by Heydrich's protector. Kubiš throws a grenade at the car, which explodes nearby and injures Heydrich, who is taken to hospital and dies shortly after.

Čurda, who has a wife and child in the Czech Republic, fears for their lives and approaches the Gestapo to testify against the assassins. With this intelligence, the Moravcov family are arrested. When the Germans learn that the paratroopers are hiding in Resslova Street in the Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral, a long fight ensues in an attempt to draw them out, first by gassing then by flooding. The assassins, knowing they cannot escape alive and unwilling to surrender, fatally shoot each other in the flooded crypt.

The game begins two years after ''Spirit of Excalibur'' left off: Britain has been reunited under King Constantine III, who succeeds King Arthur after the Battle of Camlann, and peacefully rules over the realm after killing Mordred's sons and their aunt, Morgan le Fay. During a stormy night a lone knight is admitted into Camelot; while Constantine converses with the stranger, the knight lets in a second figure, who subsequently transforms Constantine into a statue. They then proceed to the treasure room of the castle and steal its contents, including Arthur's mythical sword Excalibur and the recently recovered Holy Grail. The knight is also able to subdue and kidnap Nineve, the court's sorceress, second in magical power only to Merlin. With the treasures of Camelot stolen, plagues and demonic creatures roam the British country-side. Merlin is appointed acting regent of the realm while the Knights of the Round Table are dispatched in small groups to search the medieval western Europe and find a way to stop this mystic assault.

The player controls a group of knights bound for the Iberian peninsula from Portsmouth: a witness to the assault on Camelot reveals that the knight is the rogue warrior Sir Bruce sans Pitie, and that there is evidence that indicates that he may have traveled to Spain, a country torn by the war between the Christian kingdoms of the north and the Muslim caliphates of the south, and plagued by groups of mercenary knights, violent bandits, and clannish Basques. If they manage to negotiate these hazards, the forces of the Round Table must still find and defeat Sir Bruce and his ally, the ''Shadow Master''.

With a ticket, a suitcase, and a heart full of expectation, Violet Karl waits for a Greyhound bus in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. It is September 4, 1964. For a moment she sees herself as a young girl (Young Vi), carefree and singing a folk song ("Water in the Well"), before her face was horribly disfigured in an accident. A local's nosy question breaks Violet's reverie, prompting her to look forward to the healing she expects to receive from a televangelist in Tulsa that will help her transcend her provincial little town ("Surprised"). As the bus departs the station, the passengers muse as to where this journey might lead them ("On My Way").

The passengers pile off the bus to get some food at a rest stop in Kingsport, Tennessee ("M&M's"). In the grill Violet meets two poker-playing soldiers, Flick and Monty. Flick is a black sergeant in his early thirties, Monty a younger white corporal, a paratrooper. Both are bound for Fort Smith, Arkansas. Violet asks to join their game, and as they deal her in, she privately recalls how her father taught her to play ("Luck of the Draw").

Back on the bus, Monty teases Violet about a preacher he obviously has no faith in ("Question 'n' Answer"). He takes a book she carries and plays keep-away with it, which triggers Violet's memory of the day she found the catechism in her father's bedside table. Later, in the Nashville station, Flick wants to know exactly what it is that Violet wants to change. With the help of movie magazines she shows the soldiers the physical features she'd like best ("All to Pieces"), but they offend her when their attention wanders. She sits apart from them as the journey continues, recalling once again her younger self singing the folk song, which turns out to have been the moment just before the accident ("Water in the Well [Reprise]"). Violet daydreams an encounter between herself as Young Vi and the Preacher ("A Healing Touch"). As they are approaching Memphis, Flick seeks Violet out to apologize for offending her earlier. He suggests she can take care of herself without the help of the Preacher ("Let It Sing"). Stopping in Memphis overnight, the trio pass a hooker on the way to a boarding house, where Almeta the landlady resists housing a white woman until Flick slips her some money ("Anyone Would Do"). While a song plays on the radio ("Who'll Be the One [If Not Me]"), Violet dozes, seeing herself as Young Vi trying to dance with her father, then practicing dancing with the old lady from the bus. Monty appears and dances with both women in turn. Monty really has entered Violet's room. He finds her book and starts to read things Violet has written in it. She awakes and confronts him, prompting Monty to explain himself ("You're Different" or "Last Time I Came to Memphis" in the 2014 revival).

Flick enters the room with some drinks to start the night off ("Go to It"). The threesome venture out to a Beale Street music hall, where the sight of Flick dancing with Violet attracts some unfriendly attention ("Lonely Stranger"). When Monty moves in and makes a pass at Violet, Flick leaves the hall. Violet follows him back to the boarding house; the landlady interrupts a tender moment between them. In the middle of the night, Monty stumbles in through Violet's unlocked door. He wakes her, makes love to her, then falls asleep in her lap ("Lay Down Your Head").

The music hall singer, the landlady and the hooker cap the evening with a trio about unfulfilled desire ("Anyone Would Do [Reprise]"). Violet travels with the men to Fort Smith the next morning, on her way to Tulsa. Flick and Violet pledge to write each other, but Flick gets upset about the events of the night before ("Hard to Say Goodbye"). Violet escapes to the bus bathroom, where she rehearses what she will say to spurn Monty, afraid he'll otherwise reject her first. In the front of the bus Monty rehearses his own spiel, at Flick's direction. But when it comes time to part, Monty instead asks Violet to meet him on her return stop at Fort Smith ("Promise Me, Violet"). She promises nothing, cleaving to her plan, and the bus pulls away.

In Tulsa, Violet surprises the Preacher in rehearsal with his choir ("Raise Me Up"). He pawns her off on Virgil, a young assistant, and in her frustration she recovers the memory of being carried in her father's arms after the accident ("Down the Mountain"). Soon she slips away from Virgil and returns to the televangelist's empty chapel. Violet takes out her catechism and empties slips of paper she has covered with Bible quotes onto the altar. When the Preacher discovers her, she pleads with him to help invoke her miracle ("Raise Me Up [Reprise]"). When nothing comes of this desperate attempt, she demands he see her for what she is: scarred and hideous, a prodigy of pain ("Look at Me"). She looks to the heavens for a moment; the Preacher is replaced by her father. They fight, until he apologizes for what he has done ("That's What I Could Do"). Aware that something about herself has changed, Violet assumes it is her scar; she reboards the bus, convinced she has had a miracle ("Surprised [Reprise]").

When she gets out at the Fort Smith station, Monty is there waiting. His efforts at sympathy make plain to her that her face has not changed at all. Crushed, she rejects Monty's invitation to marry him before he ships out to Vietnam. Flick is also at the station and recognizes that Violet has changed, though her scar has not. He entreats her to stay with him ("Promise Me, Violet [Reprise]"). Violet's healing is complete when she takes Flick's hand and commits to a new life with him ("Bring Me to Light").

''Marvel: The Lost Generation'' starred the First Line, a loose confederation of superheroes, which lasted from the years shortly after World War II up to the early 1980s. Members of the First Line included the Yankee Clipper (uses a time traveler's force belt), Oxbow (a super-strong archer), Effigy (a Skrull shapeshifter posing as a super-powered human), Nightingale (a mysterious woman with precognitive and healing powers), Pixie and Major Mercury (both Eternals), Captain Hip and Sunshine (hippie heroes mutated by a government experiment), Kid Justice (the younger brother and former sidekick of the Yankee Clipper who later became Mr. Justice), and the Black Fox (a non-superpowered vigilante), as well as other, less prominent heroes during their "decades-long" adventures. Members of the First Line encountered a number of established Marvel characters, including the Skrulls, Doctor Strange, Diablo, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Thor, the Monster Hunters of Ulysses Bloodstone, and Nick Fury.

During their final mission against a Skrull invasion force, almost all of the entire cast of characters is killed, and this, along with a government conspiracy to cover up the attempted alien invasion, was given as the in-story reason why the First Line and its exploits had gone unmentioned.

The five-part series deals with the initial meetings between Jenny Sparks and her future teammates, the six other members of the original Authority: Apollo and Midnighter, Jack Hawksmoor, the Engineer, the Doctor, and Swift. They are the main focus of each separate mission undertaken by Jenny Sparks during the span of the twentieth century. She encounters notable historical and fictional characters such as Albert Einstein, Adolf Hitler when he was an unemployed artist and again when he had become Führer of Germany, Ernest Hemingway and Rumpole.

''Baywatch'' lifeguards Mitch, Stephanie, C.J., Matt, Caroline and Logan travel to Oahu, Hawaii for a vacation and get caught up in a series of misadventures.

Stephanie teamed up with a local lifeguard. Logan became obsessed with competing in a surfing competition which left no time for his girlfriend and fellow lifeguard Caroline.

C.J. was called back to ''Baywatch'', while Mitch and Matt took a boat trip to a remote part of Kauai where they were stranded after Matt was stung by a poisonous scorpion fish, and then they were captured in a remote village of local Hawaiians who had gone native.

It also serves as David Charvet's last Baywatch appearance, spelling an end to his popular character Matt Brody.

The crossover, which occurred mainly through the monthly ''Superman'' titles, ''Wonder Woman'', and a series of character themed one-shot specials, dealt with the heroes of the DC Universe facing the threat of the cosmic force known as Imperiex, who attacked Earth for the purpose of using the planet as the staging ground for the "hollowing" of the entire universe.

Thanks to the sacrifice of Strange Visitor and General Rock, Earth's forces managed to crack Imperiex's armor, intending that Darkseid would subsequently use boom tube technology to transfer Imperiex's energy back to the galaxies that he had destroyed. However, Brainiac-13 appeared on the battleground with Warworld, and absorbed the Imperiex energies, vowing to use them to rule everything.

In a desperate gambit, Superman dived into the heart of the sun, thus gaining a massive power boost that enhanced his abilities significantly. Rapidly realizing that Warworld could not be destroyed without releasing Imperiex and triggering another Big Bang, Superman and the Martian Manhunter formed a brief telepathic link with the remaining major combatants — including Darkseid, Lex Luthor, Steel and Wonder Woman — to explain their new plan. With Darkseid's powers weakened, they would have to use Tempest, empowered by the faith and strength of the Amazons, focusing the energy through Steel's new 'Entropy Aegis' armor (which was created from a burned-out Imperiex probe), and, with Lex Luthor activating a temporal displacement weapon, Superman would subsequently push Warworld through a temporal boom tube, sending both Imperiex Prime's and Brainiac's consciousness back 14 billion years to the Big Bang, destroying both villains through a combined effort. In his final moments, Imperiex Prime realized, in an ironic twist, that the imperfection he had detected in the universe was himself.

The planet Daxam was involved, temporarily stolen from its rightful orbit.

A series of mysterious volcanic eruptions in Japan impact shipping and aircraft flights. An eruption at Mount Fuji attracts Gamera, whose arrival is witnessed by a young boy named Eiichi. A research team is sent to investigate but are killed by a sonic beam emitted from a cave. A reporter, Okabe, departs to Mt. Fuji to investigate. The Chuo Expressway Corporation's plans for a roadway face challenges when the local villagers refuse to leave. The resistance is a ploy to increase the bid on the land. The foreman, Shiro Tsutsumi, and his crew are turned away by the locals as Okabe sneaks past.

Eiichi finds Okabe in the woods and leads him to a cave where Gamera might be. Okabe abandons Eiichi as the cave collapses and is devoured by a winged creature. Gamera arrives and battles the winged beast to save Eiichi. While interviewed by Dr. Aoki and authorities, Eiichi names the winged monster "Gyaos". Dr. Aoki deduces it was awakened by the volcanic eruptions.

During a meeting, the villagers become divided on whether to sell their land or not due to Gyaos. Shiro's crew, save two, quit because of Gyaos. Despite Eiichi's claims that Gyaos is nocturnal, Gyaos ignores military flares and attacks Nagoya. Gamera appears and battles Gyaos once more, biting off Gyaos' toes in the process. Dr. Aoki discovers that exposure to ultraviolet light causes the toes to shrink. A plan is formed to disorient Gyaos long enough for the sun to rise and kill it, using artificial blood as bait. Gyaos is lured out, but the plan fails when the power station overheats.

The expressway is rerouted due to Gyaos. The villagers blame the headmaster, who ordered them to hold out, for their predicament. The headmaster regales a plan to Shiro, inspired by Eiichi, to start a forest fire to kill Gyaos. Gyaos depletes the fire with a yellow vapor, however, the fire attracts Gamera and engages Gyaos in a final showdown. Gamera kills Gyaos by dragging it into Mt. Fuji's crater. As the authorities celebrate, Shiro affirms that work on the expressway will resume. Eiichi bids farewell to Gamera as he flies away.

When Marge unsuccessfully tries to get the kids to clean up the backyard, Homer runs into the house to exclaim to the family that the carnival is in town. After trying some rides, Bart gets himself into trouble by crashing a display of Hitler's limousine into a tree. To repay the loss, Bart and Homer become carnies.

They meet up with carnies Cooder and his son, Spud. Cooder asks Homer to run his fixed ring toss game, but Homer fails to bribe Chief Wiggum (despite numerous hints), and Cooder's game is shut down. Feeling guilty, Homer invites Cooder and Spud to stay at the Simpson residence, much to Marge's dismay.

To express their gratitude, the Cooders give the Simpsons tickets on a glass-bottom boat ride. When the Simpsons return, they find that the locks have been changed, the windows are all boarded up, and the Simpsons' name is crossed off the mailbox and replaced by "The Cooders". The family is forced to take up residence in Bart's treehouse. After the Simpsons go to the police in order to evict the Cooders from their house, Chief Wiggum refuses to act, still aggrieved over not receiving a bribe.

Homer proposes to Cooder, that if he can throw a hula hoop onto the chimney, they get their house back. If he misses, he will sign the deed over to Cooder. Cooder agrees and steps onto the lawn to watch Homer's attempt. Homer stretches and warms up, as if about to throw, but instead, he and his family suddenly rush into the house, leaving Cooder and Spud dumbfounded, but also impressed that they were "beaten by the best". After Homer initially gloats at them from inside, he begins to feel sorry for them again, and considers bringing them back in. At the urging of a nervous Bart, Marge then distracts Homer by pointing out a special "ass groove" that he sits on the couch in, and the episode ends with his attempt to try and fix it after they had ruined it by sitting on it themselves.

Kim Yu-bin (Sung Yu-ri) is a fun-loving, affable sandwich shop delivery girl who has been harboring a crush on the recipient of her first delivery, Cha Seung-hyun (Kim Nam-jin). Seung-hyun, a well pedigreed and recognized manager of Any Electronics, stands in stark contrast to Choi Gun-hee (Cha Tae-hyun), a spoiled heir skipping out on school in the United States unbeknownst to his father.

Yu-bin wins a trip to a ski resort in Japan and decides to visit her friend Shin Ye-seo (Jennie Lee) who works as a guide there, one of several owned by Gun-hee's father. That weekend, Gun-hee sneaks off to the same resort to celebrate his birthday with friends and latest fling, Lee Hae-mi (Jin Jae-young), an actress and rising star. Gun-hee's father's unexpected visit to Japan forces Gun-hee to jump into Yu-bin's cab without his wallet which leads to a full day together for this already contentious pair.

After an unsuccessful stint as secretary for Seung-hyun, Yu-bin finally gets to work her dream job as a tour guide in Bali, only it's alongside her unwanted acquaintance, Gun-hee. When Seung-hyun and Hae-mi travel there to shoot a commercial for a new Any Electronics product launch, strong feelings of attachment and rivalry surface. Meanwhile, a 30-year-old but unforgotten past between Gun-hee's father and Seung-hyun's mother complicates matters.

The first half of ''Catch the Lightning'' takes place in an alternate Los Angeles on Earth in a time similar to the late 20th century. The main character is Tina Pulivok, a seventeen-year-old Maya girl living in East L.A. She has relocated to Los Angeles and is living on her own while she works as a waitress. The hero, Althor Selei, a cybernetically enhanced Jag fighter pilot, is thrown into the alternate universe when his star fighter malfunctions. Tina meets Althor late at night when she is returning home from work, and he is trying to figure out why he ended up on a planet that bears little resemblance to the Earth he expected. After Althor helps Tina escape an incident of gang violence, the two become fugitives.

Tina is an empath. She is aware she is different but has no name for her abilities and is afraid to tell anyone about what she experiences. Althor is a member of the Ruby Dynasty, and as such he is heir to the throne of an interstellar empire called the Skolian Imperialate. He is also a Rhon psion and can read moods, sometimes even thoughts, from other people. He and Tina share an immediate attraction, in part based on their abilities.

During the night, while Althor stays with Tina, the Air Force discovers his Jag star ship and takes it to a military installation. Specialists there examine it, unaware that a technology-induced telepathic link ties the ship to the Jagernaut mind of its unknown (to them) pilot. As a result, they have no idea their tests are killing Althor.

With the aid of several Caltech students Tina knows, she and Althor infiltrate the military complex and regain the ship. As soon as Althor repairs its damaged systems, he and Tina return to his spacetime. They are almost immediately captured by the group that sabotaged Althor's ship, after which they are sold as slaves to his enemies, in particular an Aristo named Kryx Iquar. Althor is stunned to learn that the person who betrayed him was his close personal friend, Ragnar Bloodmark, an influential Skolian admiral who helped raise him. After being held captive and tortured for several days, Althor and Tina escape with the help of his sentient Jag fighter.

In the end, Tina marries Althor, and together they discover the origin of Althor's ancestors, the Raylicans, who were a displaced group of Maya from Earth, relocated to the planet Raylicon during an earlier era by unknown aliens.

''Spherical Harmonic'' is a first person narrative told from the viewpoint of Dyhianna Selei. Although an elected Assembly governs the Imperialate, in ages past the Ruby Pharaoh ruled as absolute sovereign. Selei is the descendant of the ancient pharaohs, and is considered the titular ruler of modern Skolia. ''Spherical Harmonic'' takes place following the Radiance War, a conflict fought between the Imperialate and the Eubian Concord, an empire ruled by a rigid caste of narcissists called Aristos. The Eubian economy is based on slave trade, which the Aristos seek to expand to the Imperialate.

Just prior to the opening scene of ''Spherical Harmonic'', Dyhianna Selei escapes a Eubian military force by stepping into a Lock, a singularity that defines the boundary between two universes. In mathematical terms, she has entered an alternate dimension defined by the functions known as spherical harmonics. As the book opens, she is "coalescing" on a moon called Opalite. She reforms in partial waves that transfer her from one universe to the other. Some prose in the book is written in the shape of the sinusoidal functions found in the spherical harmonics.

As Selei fades in and out of existence, in danger of disappearing, she slowly recovers her memories about her identity and history. She manages to activate an emergency protocol secretly established on the moon for her protection. As a result she is found by Jon Casestar, an admiral in the Skolian Fleet, and Commander Vaz Majda, an elite fighter pilot who is also her sister-in-law. Once aboard an ISC battle cruiser, Selei strives to reunite the Ruby Dynasty and find out what has happened to her people. The book follows her attempts to resurrect the Skolian military and government.

Selei also struggles to discover what has happened to her son Taquinil and her husband Eldrinson. Her plan to go to Earth and free members of the Ruby Dynasty being held captive there, including Roca, her sister and heir, meets little enthusiasm among her top officers, as it can be seen as an act of war. Unable to trust anyone, Selei ends up seeking to overthrow the elected government of her own empire so she can rebuild it from the ashes of the war.

The film opens by cross-cutting between scenes of a naval ship carrying Admiral Croft, and a carriage carrying Mr. Shepherd and his widowed daughter Mrs. Clay to Kellynch Hall. Shepherd and Clay are accosted by creditors due to the debts owed by the residence's owner, Sir Walter Elliot, while Croft discusses the end of the Napoleonic Wars with fellow men of the navy. Sir Walter, a vain foppish baronet, is faced with financial ruin. Though Sir Walter initially opposes the idea, he eventually agrees temporarily to move to Bath while the Hall is let; the idea came from Shepherd, family friend Lady Russell, and Sir Walter's second daughter, the intelligent Anne Elliot.

Anne is visibly shaken upon learning that the new tenant of Kellynch Hall will be Admiral Croft, who is the brother-in-law of Frederick Wentworth—a naval captain she was persuaded to reject in marriage eight years previously because of his lack of prospects and connections. Wentworth is now wealthy from serving in the Napoleonic Wars and has returned to England, presumably to find a wife. Later, Anne expresses to Lady Russell her unhappiness at her family's current financial predicament, and at her past decision to reject the captain's proposal of marriage. Anne visits her younger sister Mary, a hypochondriac who has married into a local farming family, the Musgroves. Anne patiently listens to the various complaints confided in her by each of the Musgrove family; this includes Mary's husband Charles--who once proposed to Anne--sisters-in-law Louisa and Henrietta, and parents-in-law Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove.

Captain Wentworth comes to dine with the Musgroves, but Anne avoids going, volunteering to nurse Mary's injured son. The following morning at breakfast, Anne and Mary are met briefly by Wentworth, the first time he and Anne have seen each other since she rejected him. Anne later hears that Wentworth thought her so altered that he "would not have known [her] again". Louisa and Henrietta begin to pursue marriage with Wentworth, as the family is unaware of his and Anne's past relationship. Privately hurt by Anne's refusal years before, Wentworth appears to court Louisa, much to Anne's chagrin. Later, Wentworth is told that Anne was similarly persuaded by Lady Russell to refuse Charles' offer of marriage, after which Charles instead proposed to Mary.

Anne, Wentworth, and the younger Musgroves go to Lyme Regis and visit two of Wentworth's old naval friends, Captain Harville and Captain Benwick. While there, Louisa rashly jumps off some high steps in the hopes Wentworth will catch her; he does not, and she sustains a head injury. Afterwards, Anne goes to Bath to stay with her father and sister. Sir Walter and his eldest daughter Elizabeth reveal they have repaired their relationship with a previously disreputable cousin, Mr. Elliot, the heir to the Elliot baronetcy and estate. Anne is introduced to him, and they realise that they briefly saw each other in Lyme. Much to Lady Russell's pleasure, Mr. Elliot begins to court Anne, but she remains uncertain of his true character. Meanwhile, Louisa has recovered and become engaged to Captain Benwick. Wentworth arrives in Bath and encounters Anne on several occasions, though their conversations are brief.

Anne learns from an old friend, Mrs. Smith, that Mr. Elliot is bankrupt and only interested in marrying Anne to help ensure his inheritance from her father. Anne is told that Mr. Elliot wishes to keep the baronet from possibly marrying Mrs. Clay to produce a male heir. Soon after, Wentworth overhears Anne talking with Captain Harville about the constancy of a woman's love, and writes her a letter declaring that he still cares for her. Anne quickly finds him and the two happily walk off down a street, arm in arm. That night at a party, Wentworth announces his intention to marry Anne, much to Mr. Elliot's consternation. The final scene shows Wentworth and Anne on a naval ship, happy to be together.

Robotics scientist Keitaro Jin and his son Keisuke become caught up in a campaign of terror by an evil organization known as "G.O.D.". They are attacked and the professor's technology gets stolen, but before Keitaro dies, he performs surgery on his son, using the last of his robotics technology to transform Keisuke into the “X-Rider.” To avenge his father's death and ensure the safety of the entire world, Keisuke uses this technology as he battles the monstrous minions of G.O.D.’s Japan branch.

Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny notice that someone new has moved into the Donovans' former residence. A little boy named Blanket tells them they moved to South Park to escape city life. They then realize the house is filled with toys and games, and the backyard is a funfair. They meet Blanket's father, Mr. Jefferson, a wealthy, eccentric, effeminate, pale-skinned man-child (obviously Michael Jackson wearing a fake moustache, though everyone remains oblivious).

Kyle begins to notice Mr. Jefferson is neglecting his own son. Stan tells his parents about the Jeffersons and Sharon decides to invite them over to a dinner party they are having. The adults try to talk with Mr. Jefferson later that night at the dinner, but he is more shy around adults than children. Cartman becomes jealous that they are having Mr. Jefferson over without him.

Later that night at Stan's house, Stan is woken by Mr. Jefferson dressed up as Peter Pan who wants to play. Cartman then comes through the window as he does not want Stan to have Mr. Jefferson all to himself. Kyle then shows up at the door with Blanket who he found alone in his backyard. Mr. Jefferson suggests a sleepover between the boys and even though they are hesitant at first glance, they awkwardly agree. The next morning, Stan's parents walk in to see Mr. Jefferson in Stan's bed and scold Mr. Jefferson about how inappropriate it is for a man to sleep in bed with someone else’s children. Mr. Jefferson awkwardly tries explaining that his behaviour is down to him not having a childhood due to working all the time as a boy. He then gives Randy and Sharon $100 each as a way of apology and to drop the matter. After Mr. Jefferson and Blanket leave, Sharon forbids the boys to see Mr. Jefferson anymore; Stan, Kyle and Kenny agree since they think he is weird. Cartman disagrees, however, and flippantly dismisses the idea of keeping away from Mr. Jefferson, telling Sharon that she can suck his “fat, hairy balls”.

Meanwhile at the Park County Police Station, Harrison Yates gets a report about the Jeffersons that says they are wealthy and black, and the whole department sets off to frame him for a crime as they express their disdain for African Americans who are wealthier than they are. They spend that night planting cocaine, pubic hair, and blood in Mr. Jefferson's home and wait for him to come home and then fall asleep. When Mr. Jefferson returns with Blanket from Stan's house, the officers see he is not really black and they abort the operation, sick with themselves that they had almost put an innocent white man in jail.

Mr. Jefferson refuses to let Blanket outside anymore because he thinks everyone is against them. Stan and Kyle start to fear for the safety of Blanket after seeing Mr. Jefferson dangle him from the balcony of his house. They decide to rescue Blanket by sneaking into his room at night and switching him with Kenny, who is uncharacteristically shown without his hooded parka and speaking clearly.

Harrison Yates returns home planning on retiring the force, but his wife tells him that "framing wealthy black people is in his blood", and encourages him to stay on the force. Harrison agrees, and decides to check into the Mr. Jefferson case to see what went wrong.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jefferson, desperately trying to stop his face from falling apart from years of plastic surgery, calls his plastic surgeon in California to see if he can fly out and put his face back together. At the same time, Harrison Yates is calling the Santa Barbara Police Department, Mr. Jefferson's former place of residence. They alert him that they framed a rich black man of molestation who did not look black at all, and he ran away before the trial. Stan and Kyle try to smuggle Blanket out of the house but are confronted by a horribly disfigured Mr. Jefferson who wants them to play. They run to Blanket's room and Mr. Jefferson, upon seeing Kenny dressed up like Blanket, throws him in the air playfully. However, Kenny is thrown too high and is killed when his head smashes through the ceiling. Stan and Kyle scream out their usual lines, which alerts Mr. Jefferson to their presence. Mr. Jefferson chases the other three outside where the police are waiting to arrest him for the molestation charges put in Santa Barbara. A crowd gathers around.

Cartman then jumps to the defense of Mr. Jefferson, saying he is tired of all the "lies" being spread about Mr. Jefferson. He adds that Mr. Jefferson may be different, but it was only because he had to work all the time when he was young and never had a proper childhood of his own, which was why he associated more with children. However, Kyle then yells at Cartman that even if all of the accusations about Mr. Jefferson are not true and the police really do go around framing rich black men, that he has to grow up because he has a child of his own now. Mr. Jefferson then realises the error of his ways and decides to be more of a father to Blanket and give away their wealth to the needy, which no longer gives a reason for the police to arrest him since he is no longer rich, with Yates telling Mr. Jefferson that there was "no point in putting another poor black man in jail".

During World War II, a diverse group of people in war-ravaged London book passage for the United States, but Austrian pianist-turned-soldier in the Résistance Henry Bergner (Paul Henreid) is unable to join them, for want of an exit permit. Searching the streets for him during a German air raid, his wife Ann (Eleanor Parker) witnesses a bomb obliterate a car full of passengers on their way to the docks. She returns to their apartment to find that Henry has turned on the gas to commit suicide. Despite his opposition, she joins him.

Suddenly, the pair find themselves on board a fog-shrouded cruise ship. Ann recognizes the other passengers as those killed in the bombing. The steward, Scrubby (Edmund Gwenn), asks them not to tell the others they are dead; it is better that they come to the realization themselves.

At first, the couple is delighted to be together eternally, but they find their situation unbearable as they become acquainted with the others. Timid Anglican priest Reverend William Duke (Dennis King) yearns to more actively help others, while American merchant sailor Pete Musick (George Tobias) looks forward to seeing his infant child for the first time. A kind-hearted older woman, Mrs. Midget (Sara Allgood), tells Thomas Prior (John Garfield), a newspaperman, that she would be content with a little place of her own.

Prior is the first to learn the truth when he eavesdrops on Henry and Ann, and, spurned by his wealth-seeking actress companion, Maxine Russell (Faye Emerson), in favor of unscrupulous war profiteer Mr. Lingley (George Coulouris), reveals all to the other passengers.

Scrubby reveals that they are to be judged by the Examiner. When the Examiner arrives, he is revealed to be the deceased Reverend Tim Thompson (Sydney Greenstreet), someone Duke knew well in life. Duke is given another opportunity in Heaven, as an Examiner-in-training. One by one, the other passengers are judged and sent ashore to their fates.

Wealthy Mr. Lingley discovers he can neither bribe nor browbeat his way into Heaven and must pay for the suffering he inflicted. Genevieve and Benjamin Cliveden-Banks (Isobel Elsom and Gilbert Emery) are a mismatched couple. She is a shallow, mercenary social climber who married him for his wealth and position and was unfaithful. She is at first delighted to learn that she will reside in a castle, but then the Examiner tells her she will live alone. Her husband suffered his wife's infidelities because he loved her and hoped she would reciprocate, but his love wore out and, when given the choice, he declines to join her. Instead, he is to be reunited with his old chums.

Prior then barges in, followed by Russell. He is defiant, but she regrets her life choices. She leaves with the hope of redemption. Prior tries to gamble his way into Heaven by rigging a deck of cards, but when his sleight of hand is trumped by the Examiner's powers, he demands oblivion. Instead, he is told that the afterlife will be no different from his life, with one exception: he will no longer be able to hide behind his deceptions; he will not be able to delude himself as to who and what he really is. Mrs. Midget offers to accompany Prior, giving up her cottage and garden in Heaven. The Examiner reveals, after Prior leaves the room, that Mrs. Midget is Prior's mother. She gave him up when he was very young so he could have a better chance in America; being reunited with him is her idea of Heaven.

Musick the sailor bemoans not being able to see his family again but is consoled when told he will be reunited with them eventually.

Finally, there is the special case of Henry Bergner. Because he committed suicide, he is doomed to remain on the ship for eternity while Ann goes to Heaven. Ann protests that her suicide was voluntary and that nothing will separate her from Henry. She refuses to go ashore with the Examiner. Scrubby—who is doomed to remain on the ship because he, too, was a suicide—pleads the matter with the Examiner. Returned to their apartment, Henry finds a window shattered by a bomb blast, letting in fresh air and thwarting their suicide attempt. He revives Ann, and they rejoice at being given back the gift of life.

Sisters Christine and Betty (Ann and Vicki Michelle) run away from home to find work as models. They are given a lift to London by Johnny (Keith Buckley), a businessman who is instantly attracted to Betty. Christine successfully auditions for unscrupulous modelling agent Sybil Waite (Patricia Haines) and is offered a weekend's work shooting an advert at a house in the country. Betty goes with her.

The modelling job is actually a ploy to initiate Christine into a coven of white wizards led by Sybil and the owner of the house, Gerald Amberley (Neil Hallett). Christine, who is shown to have psychic ability, willingly undergoes the initiation ritual, during which her virginity is taken by Amberley. Christine's powers create tension between her and Sybil, who practises darker magic and has a predatory sexual interest in her. The conflict escalates when Sybil vows to have Betty initiated into the coven.

Johnny, who has been warned about Sybil's true nature, arrives to take Betty away. However, Christine places him under her control, forcing him to participate in Betty's initiation. During the ritual, Christine wrests control from Sybil by psychically torturing her. Johnny, no longer under Christine's control, takes Betty's virginity. Christine then uses her powers to kill Sybil and take her place as high priestess of the coven.

The action takes place in several locations—primarily in Bamako, Thiès, and Dakar. The map at the beginning shows the locations and suggests that the story is about a whole country and all of its people. There is a large cast of characters associated with each place. Some are featured players—Fa Keita, Tiemoko, Maimouna, Ramatoulaye, Penda, Deune, N'Deye, Dejean, and Bakayoko. The fundamental conflict is captured in two characters: Dejean, the French manager and colonialist, and Bakayoko, the soul and spirit of the strike. In another sense, however, the main characters of the novel are the people as a collective and the railroad itself.

The strike causes an evolution in the self-perception of the strikers themselves, one that is most noticeable in the women of Bamako, Thiès, and Dakar. These women go from merely standing behind the men to walking alongside them and eventually marching ahead of them. When the men are able to work the factory jobs that the railroad provides them, the women are responsible for running the markets, preparing the food, and rearing the children. But the onset of the strike gives the role of bread-winner – or perhaps more precisely, bread scavenger – to the women. Eventually it is the women that march on foot for over four days from Thiès to Dakar. Many of the men originally oppose the women's march, but it is precisely this show of determination from the marching women, who the French had earlier dismissed as "concubines", that makes the strikers' relentlessness clear. The women's march causes the French to understand the nature of the willpower that they are facing, and shortly after the French agree to the demands of the strikers.

The book also highlights the oppression faced by women in the colonial era. They were deprived of their ability to speak on matters including society as a whole. Sembène, however, raises women to a higher spectrum by considering them equally important.

''Green Henry'' details the life of Heinrich Lee from childhood through his first romantic encounters, his fledgling attempts at becoming a painter in Munich, and his eventual installation as a chancery clerk. The story gets its name from the color that Heinrich affected in dress.

Heinrich is a Swiss burgher's son, brought up too tenderly by a widowed mother. After youthful pranks and experiences, and a not altogether justified dismissal from school, he idles away some time in his mother's village. He determines to be a painter, and goes to Munich's artistic Bohemia. From there, he finds his way to a count's mansion, and then he returns home to his dying mother and an all-too-tardy and brief repentance.

The much revised second version has Heinrich abandoning art to enter the civil service. This experience affords occasion for extended political reflections. The tone of the reminiscences makes it clear that Keller would have the reader understand that Heinrich has lived through and risen out of his instability and irresolution and sees life steadily and cheerfully at last.

After the attempted theft of his daughter's (Judi Gibbs) husband's car (Dan Grimaldi), LAPD Captain Gibbs (Hoyt Axton) declares war on master car thief Maindrian Pace (H.B 'Toby' Halicki), whose insurance investigation company provides the perfect front. A South American drug lord pays Pace and his team to steal 48 cars for him, all but one, a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, are in the bag, so they set out on the job while the police frantically try to track him down.Pace is the inadvertent symbol of that symbiosis: both investigator and thief, his heists carefully restricted to vehicles insured by the very companies that then hire him to investigate his own crimes, Pace is not between two worlds (as the ad copy would say) but at the heart of a ceaselessly functioning mechanism. As Pace prepares to rip-off the fastback, codenamed "Eleanor", in Long Beach, he is unaware that his boss (Jerry Daugirda) has tipped off the police after a business dispute. Their efforts pay off when Pace's boss double-crosses him and tips them off on his next job. Police pursue Pace in "Eleanor", Detectives (Butch Stockton and Phil Woods) are waiting and pursue Pace through five cities as he desperately tries to get away. the last of the cars needed to fulfill their contract, through southern California as he tries to get away. Contained the longest car chase in movie history at the time as well as a record stunt jump as part of the finale of a 40 minute car chase. The car chase contained several accidents including one unscripted accident caught on film. When the chase ends Pace simply spots another Eleanor at a car wash, and then Pace pulls into the car wash parking lot and gets out of the stolen Eleanor and the car wash girl asks Pace "Do you want it Spray Wax." Pace says "No just wash it." then Pace walks off the lady at the car wash and says "Is this your car." and the lady says "Yes it is." and "Apparently they have to re wash the car, you just right to the managers office and I'll bring the car back there for you." and then Pace drives off in the stolen Eleanor from the car wash, he quickly switches the plates and drives off into the sunset.

Junkman and movie-maker Harlan B. Hollis (H.B 'Toby' Halicki) struggles to stay alive when a jealous partner (Christopher Stone) in his company hires three goons ( Dave Logue, Tony Ostermeier, Rita Rickard) to kill him. Full of amazing car chases, fantastic crashes, and edge-of-your-seat action.

The series of videos revolved around Dave (sometimes with Becky) in jobs that focus around the vehicles being featured. Dave and Becky always reminded kids that they did not have the respective jobs, but the real workers had agreed for them to pretend for the day so that the viewers could learn about the vehicles and a little more about the jobs they serve. While the most part of the videos focused on showing how the vehicles worked and what they can do, some episodes also featured a trope where Dave would predictably get into trouble (example: accidentally knocking down a building in ''There Goes a Bulldozer'') and deliver his catchphrase, "I shouldn't have done that!". Becky would sometimes get into the same trouble caused by Dave.

In these videos, the hosts talked about how the vehicles worked, the history of the vehicle featured and talked to real people who worked in their fields. At the end of each episode, Dave and/or Becky would encourage the viewers to visit their local library or the place based on the theme's episode to learn more about the vehicles. On other episodes, at the end, Dave and Becky would also remind the viewers about safety (such as "don't play on the railroad tracks" in ''There Goes a Train'' and "don't play with fire" in ''There Goes a Fire Truck''). Other times, the people who worked in the fields of the vehicles would discuss safety to the viewers as well. Some episodes are hosted by Dave Sidoni.

Rachel (Yasmine Bleeth) is a woman looking for a way out of her dead-end existence. Six years after she ran away from her home in Utah, Rachel is living in Las Vegas, where she works as an exotic dancer and an occasional call girl.

Rachel lives in a fantasy world as a way of distancing herself from her bleak surroundings, and she imagines that a Prince Charming will one day rescue her from her fallen world. On the inside she is still a dreamy little girl who believes in fairy tales. She thinks that her prince may have finally arrived when she meets Navy (Richard Grieco), a high-class stud-for-sale who has tired of his humiliating life in the sex industry.

Navy is fond of Rachel, and when he decides to leave male prostitution behind and move to Montana to start a new life, she eagerly joins him. However, along the way she persuades him to make a stop in Utah so that she can check in with her family. Rachel and Navy discover that it's difficult to hide their respective pasts from Rachel's straightlaced family and that they're out of step with life in small town America.

Navy also finds himself attracted to Rachel's gorgeous and "virginal" stepsister, Lilli (Monica Potter), which leads a heartbroken Rachel to run away just as Navy realizes that Rachel is the one for him. Rachels sister Paige runs away looking for her and is taken hostage along with Rachel by drifters. Navy and Billy dramatically rescue them from the psychotic drifters. Later Rachel and Navy move to Montana to start their life together and they have two Sons.

The film opens with black and white and a young female turtle with glasses burying a green box. The scene zooms out to a turtle shaped lake, then we see a picture of it as we hear a fire and someone shouting "Mother! Father!" before it then perishes on Granny Turtle, who wakes from a bad dream, and sighs sadly. The scene then pulls us to Franklin, Beaver and Snail playing pirates, and they were about to go to a tree with an X. Just as they were about head towards there, Bear appears playing the villainous captain and Franklin defeats him. After that, the four went home. Franklin and Snail walk by Franklin's Aunt Lucy's place and notice the door was open. They went inside to see if Aunt Lucy was home, but instead someone in a mask scares them off and they run away. As they run off, the someone in behind the mask reveals to be a female turtle with a pink bonnet on the head. two run, where Franklin's parents and sister Harriet get a message of Lucy, with no post or stamp. When Franklin revels what happened, Mr. Turtle soon gets the answers and they walk around the house, where Lucy appears to be. Lucy was at Granny Turtle's (hers and Mr. Turtle's mother) and promised to invite the turtles over.

When Franklin tells her about the monster at her place, Lucy thinks it's her goddaughter. When the turtles arrive at Granny's place, who is happy to see them here, Lucy is in the backyard, with her goddaughter who reveals to be the turtle with pink bonnet, named Samantha (or "Sam"). The two aren't getting along very and despite trying to be to one and each other, their personality clashes keep getting the best of them. Later the next day, Bear, Beaver, and Snail wait for Franklin to play pirates again, when they see him with a bouquet of flowers. They decide to follow to see what's up. When they arrive, they meet Samantha, who thinks pirate games are for little kids, until Aunt Lucy appears as a pirate. As Sam is still not interested, Lucy decides to show her a map to shows real treasure: Granny's box of memories. Franklin and Sam decided to meet Granny to talk to her about the box. Granny flashes back to when she was just a child, revealing to be the turtle we had seen at the beginning of the film. She lived in Turtle Lake. She spend mornings of fishing with her father and she spend afternoons of picking berries with her mother. She found a secret hiding place and stayed there for hours and hours. Then, she buried her valuables inside a painted tin box in the ground to keep and remember, but she never got the chance to open it again. A few nights after she buried it, her parents let her sleep outside in a tent when a forest fire started and burned her tent and was about to damage her house. She manages to escape on the lake with a boat when the rain started. The next morning, her house was destroyed, the location of the time capsule was obscured, and the fire burned and her parents died. She went to live with her aunt's family and hadn't been back ever since.

Interest by her past, Franklin and Samantha decided to check on memories from Mr. Turtle and Lucy's past. Later, the turtles get a call from Lucy that Granny is sick, and they decided to check up. When Mr. and Mrs. Turtle leave the room, Franklin put his face in the pillow and starts to cry. Harriet saw Franklin cry and comforts him. Thinking that the box may be their only hope, Franklin, Sam, Lucy, Beaver, Bear, and Snail decide to head towards to Granny's old ruined home. During the adventure, Sam pulls a dirty trick by placing a rock in Beaver's backpack, causing her to slow down, until she founds out when she looks inside. She is not impressed and laughable at this joke. Suddenly, a flock of butterflies appears and they follow them, where they meet an old wise turtle, who gives an item, in which Granny also has it was imminently given back. Next day, they meet Little Crow, an orphan bird, who shows them the place with box use to be, revealing to be taken. Later, after placing flowers over Granny's house, they head out where Little Crow takes Snail to where three baby birds are.

Meanwhile, Bear, Beaver and Lucy try look for the two turtles, who went to looking for Snail, and find an arrow Sam left for them to follow. While trying catch up get, Franklin and Sam's personality clashes happen again, until Little Crow, crying because the chicks wouldn't let him play with Snail (or "Pretty Shell" as he would call him), wanting to keep him to themselves. As they climb to reach to Snail, Samantha's hand slips, causing her to fall, but is saved by Franklin. They decided to rest rock that's safer not to fall. While waiting, the two turtles apologize for what they said and did to each other, admitting that their personality clashes had gotten the best of them. They soon reach the top and try to save Snail, but chicks refuse to let them take Snail. Little Crow manages to save Snail, but gets into a fight with the chicks, causing her to throw Snail off the nest. Sam saves her, but they all fall when the mother of the chicks appear and save them from falling to certain death. Lucy, Bear, and Beaver arrive and help them all down. They decided to let Little Crow be with the Mother Hawk, as they set off.

They soon arrive at a chasm, where they hear a voice, and help him out. The voice reveals to be Grizzly and he brings them to his home. Back at Granny's, Mr. and Mrs. Turtle made sure Granny's alive. It later reveals that Grizzly dug Granny's box out when he was digging. They thank him and leave for home, with Grizzly giving them his canoe as shortcut. They soon see Little Crow flying with Mother Hawk, and the wise old turtle. They make it back just in time. They give her the item, her dad's fishing hook, a picture of her house she drew and a sealed picture of her as an infant with her parents. She smiles as she finally recovers. Later that evening, the family has picnic and they enjoy rest of evening together. The two turtles and Harriet dance to Granny's song, and reveal it's back to school and they'll both miss each other, hoping to see each other again real soon. As a reminder of their summer, Franklin gives Sam Granny's map and Samantha promises to never forget this summer as she kisses Franklin. The film ends with Aunt Lucy saying that life is full of surprises.

During the first half of the credits, we see several pictures hung in a room, with it ending with the picture of Granny Turtle as an infant with her parents.

In the game, Spümcø is holding auditions in the "Toon World" for a new skateboarding cartoon called ''Go! Go! Hypergrind''. In the Story Mode, the player choose one of the cartoon star hopefuls and attempt to impress Spümcø and pass the audition.

Ellen Carson (Yasmine Bleeth) is a real estate agent who inadvertently cuts off a delivery truck driver while changing lanes on the freeway to hurry home. The truck driver turns out to be a disturbed man named Eddie Madden (Jere Burns), who proceeds to chase after Ellen in an effort to run her off the road. Ellen in fear calls the 1-800 number on the back of his truck and lodges a complaint, which causes Eddie to lose his job, and he (being a grieving husband and father who earlier lost his family to a car accident) sets out to destroy Ellen's family and soon becomes fixated on Ellen and her teenage stepdaughter Cynthia (Alana Austin) and plots to have them as replacement family, by removing the head of the house, Ellen's husband and Cynthia's father Jim Carson (John Wesley Shipp).

Louis Peyton is a master criminal who spent decades challenging the law, with the police having never managed to gather any direct evidence against him. One August, Albert Cornwell takes him to the Moon to retrieve a cache of extremely valuable "Singing Bells". The Bells are lunar rocks which, when struck by the correct stroker, make an incredibly beautiful sound. Not a dozen people on Earth own a flawless Bell, while the cache contains two dozen, and each can be sold for a hundred thousand dollars minimum (assuming 1955 prices, over a million each in 2022). Cornwell had obtained the map to the cache by killing their discoverer. Once the retrieval is complete, Peyton kills Cornwell, flies back to Earth and hides the Bells. The ship is programmed to lift off automatically and then explodes.

The policeman in charge of the investigation, Inspector Davenport, contacts Wendell Urth to help him prove that Peyton had been on the Moon. Davenport has been trying to pin Peyton down for years, but the man never leaves direct evidence. He has no alibi in the regular sense, but he doesn't need one, either. Every police record shows that Peyton spends each August totally isolated on his Colorado ranch behind a powerful force-field, even having jumped bail once for the purpose. His routine has been no different this year until he entered the estate, and that's where he has been arrested. As such, any court will have to assume Peyton spent his August as usual. However, as far as Davenport is concerned, only Peyton has both the impudence and the contacts for trying to sell smuggled Singing Bells. What he needs is to psycho-probe Peyton to get sufficient evidence for a conviction. However, since a person can only be psycho-probed once-in-a-lifetime, Davenport needs enough evidence to prove the guilt to begin with, if not to the court, then at least to his superiors.

Urth gives Peyton his own flawed, yet still valuable Singing Bell to examine. He then has Peyton throw it back to him. The toss falls short and the Bell is destroyed when it crashes to the floor. Urth has demonstrated that Peyton had been off-planet very recently, despite his claim to the contrary, and had not yet readjusted to Earth's gravity. The killer is taken away to be psycho-probed. Urth requests a perfect bell as his fee and compensation.

The story of Dubliner Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies but came into conflict with members of his gang and attracted attention from the police and the IRA, and whose dealings with the UVF ultimately led to his downfall.

The story begins with two government agents, Matthew Johnson and Melvin Johnson, being captured by the "Dragon Lady" (Stella Stevens). Cleopatra Jones then travels to Hong Kong to rescue the agents. Jones pairs up with Mi Lin-fong ( ) and ends up in the Dragon Lady's casino, which, in actuality, is the headquarters for her underground drug empire. Jones and Mi use their combat skills to battle the Dragon Lady's henchmen and rescues the agents.

For his school assignment, Josh must write an essay on one of the greatest adventure of his life, to which he struggles to think of anything fun or fulfilling he has ever done. Meanwhile Drake is frustrated with his band manager for booking him and his band inappropriate gigs at boring venues, so Josh offers to become his new manager, using this experience to write his essay, which Drake reluctantly accepts. When their parents, Audrey and Walter, leave to go on a ten-day cruise, Drake and Josh drive their sister Megan to the airport to visit her friend Jessica in Denver, Colorado. However, Drake and Josh accidentally put Megan on the wrong flight to Los Angeles, California. Megan asks for a flight to Denver but she is told she cannot because there is a storm in Denver, so she has to wait for the storms to clear up to go to Denver. Megan is angry at the boys for putting her on the wrong flight, but uses Walter's credit card to book a limousine service and a luxurious stay at the Chambroulay Hotel, which she comes to enjoy. When Drake and Josh fly to LA to find Megan and keep an eye on her, Josh meets a music producer in the hotel bathroom while playing one of Drake's songs on his laptop. The producer decides to book Drake an appearance on ''TRL'' for the next day.

However, Josh finds out that his G.O. (an MP3 player) was accidentally replaced on the flight with that of a man named Deegan due to a lady falling on Josh’s lap, containing blueprints for counterfeit money. When Deegan and his companion Brice Granger confront Drake and Josh on the G.O., the boys attempt to escape, driving around LA in a Viper stolen from Tony Hawk. When they think they have lost them, Drake and Josh get pulled over by two men claiming to be FBI agents. In reality, however, they are two more criminals who work with Deegan and Granger. The offenders abduct Drake and Josh and take them to a warehouse, locking them away. Back when Drake and Josh were at the San Diego airport, Josh had watched the news about some crooks who stole a monetary printing press from the U.S. Treasury Department three days before. Josh figures out that the group of criminals who kidnapped them, led by Milo McCreary, stole the printing press to forge counterfeit money. After making $500 million, the offenders plan to drown Drake and Josh escape to Brazil.

Meanwhile, Megan is disappointed at Drake and Josh abandoning her again and initially enjoys her free time in peace, but soon becomes concerned about them when she finds Granger's wallet in her hotel room containing the address to the warehouse. The following morning, she has her limo driver take her to the warehouse, where she finds Drake and Josh tied up. She tries to alert the Los Angeles Police Department, but the phone connection goes out. Therefore, she sneaks into the warehouse and turns on two large fans, which blow around all of the money. In all of the ensuing chaos, Drake and Josh finally escape and battle the crooks in a large fight until the police come and arrest the crooks for counterfeiting money. Megan uses some of the money she acquired from the warehouse to help her get to Denver, giving a portion as a tip to the limo driver. As a reward for capturing the crooks, the police offers to give Drake an escort to Sunset Studios for his ''TRL'' appearance using Tony Hawk's Viper, which Hawk's manager gives them permission to use because Hawk has three more Vipers. Drake and Josh arrive at ''TRL'' in time, where Drake performs his new song, "Hollywood Girl". After his performance, the producer tells Drake he will pull some strings to allow him to audition for Spin City Records in New York City. With success in Drake's hands and Josh finally having something to write about for his greatest adventure, Drake and Josh cruise around and enjoy LA with two girls who have become fans of Drake's music during his ''TRL'' performance.

In the Gay Nineties, on New York's Bowery, saloon owner Chuck Connors (Wallace Beery), finds that his rival, Steve Brodie (George Raft), has thrown a muskmelon at his window. The happy-go-lucky Brodie explains that he threw the melon on a dare. As Connors threatens to fight him, the two learn of a fire in neighboring Chinatown. Both men call upon their volunteer fire brigades, and wager $100 on which will be the first to throw water on the fire.

Although Brodie is first to arrive, he finds Connor's young pal, Swipes McGurk (Jackie Cooper), sitting on a barrel placed over the fire hydrant preventing Brodie from using it first. Connors arrives and the rival fire fighters brawl as the fire reduces the building to a smoldering ruin, presumably incinerating the crowd of Chinese trapped inside who had been screaming for help at the window. Brodie vows revenge on Connors, leading to a $500 bet that a boxer, whom Brodie calls "The Masked Marvel", can beat "Bloody Butch" a prizefighter that Conners manages. Conners accepts, and the "Marvel" knocks out Bloody Butch with one punch. After the fight, the "Marvel" is revealed to be John L. Sullivan (George Walsh).

Connors meets a homeless girl named Lucy Calhoun (Fay Wray) and takes her to his apartment, where he lives with Swipes, and lets her spend the night. In the morning, he is pleasantly surprised (and Swipes annoyed), to find that Lucy has cleaned up the place and cooked breakfast. Swipes later locks Lucy in a closet and, when Connors finds her, spanks him. Humiliated, Swipes packs and leaves. That night, Brodie invites Swipes to move in with him, which he does. Finding out about Lucy, Brodie attempts to seduce her, thinking that she is Connors' mistress. She bites his hand, drawing blood, and after learning her identity, he apologizes and asks if he can call on her. They soon fall in love, and Brodie reveals his ambition to run a saloon bigger than Connors'.

When two brewers offer to sponsor him if he can bring his name into prominence, Brodie decides to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge as a stunt. Connors bets his saloon against a free burial that Brodie won't survive. Scheming to avoid actually jumping, Brodie gets a life-sized dummy made up to look like him and arranges for Swipes to throw it off the bridge at the time of the jump. As a crowd of 100,000 gathers at the bridge, Swipes finds the dummy missing. Swipes observes "They were hip to us so they copped it." Despite Swipes's pleas, and left without any other option, Brodie vows to make the jump anyway, so that no one can say he didn't take a dare. Meanwhile, temperance activist Carrie Nation and her band of women arrive at Connors' saloon to tear it down with axes and hatchets. When he sees Brodie lifted in a parade after making the jump, however, Connors encourages the activists to destroy the saloon, which they do.

Brodie re-opens the refurbished saloon, and when war is declared against Spain, Connors enlists in an effort to get away from the Bowery, where he is no longer a big shot. When he returns to his apartment to pack, he finds that Swipes has returned and reconciles with the boy. Professional rivals of Brodie's then find Connors and deceitfully tell him that Brodie did not actually jump from the bridge, showing him the dummy. Connors demands Brodie give his saloon back. Brodie denies using the dummy, and the two have a long fight on a barge in the East River to settle their differences. After Connors returns victorious, he is arrested for assault and battery with intent to kill. Brodie, however, refuses to implicate him. As Brodie recovers, Connors visits his hospital only to begin another fight, but Swipes stops them and urges them to become friends. After they shake hands, Connors dares Brodie to join him in Cuba. At a parade for departing soldiers, Connors tells Lucy to kiss Brodie goodbye, and after she does, she also kisses Connors. The men lament not being able to say goodbye to Swipes, but they soon see, to their delight, that he is hiding in an artillery box on the supply wagon just ahead of them.

Baron von Frankenstein neglects his duties towards his wife/sister Katrin, as he is obsessed with creating a perfect Serbian race to obey his commands, beginning by assembling a perfect male and female from parts of corpses. The doctor's sublimation of his sexual urges by his powerful urge for domination is shown when he utilizes the surgical wounds of his female creation to satisfy his lust. Frankenstein is dissatisfied with the inadequate reproductive urges of his current male creation and seeks a head donor with a greater libido; he also repeatedly exhibits an intense interest that the creature's "nasum" (nose) have a correctly Serbian shape.

As it turns out, a suitably randy farmhand, Nicholas, leaving a local brothel along with his sexually repressed friend, brought there in an unsuccessful attempt to dissuade him from entering a monastery, are spotted and waylaid by the doctor and his henchman, Otto (Arno Jürging); mistakenly assuming that the prospective monk is also suitable for stud duty, they take his head for use on the male creature. Not knowing these behind-the-scenes details, Nicholas survives and is summoned by Katrin to the castle, where they form an agreement that he will gratify her unsatisfied carnal appetites.

Under the control of Frankenstein, the male and female creatures are seated for dinner with the castle's residents, but the male creature shows no signs of recognition of his friend as he serves the doctor and his family. Nicholas realizes at this point that something is awry, but himself pretends not to recognize his friend's face until he can investigate further. After a falling-out with Katrin, who is merely concerned with her own needs, Nicholas goes snooping in the laboratory and is captured by the doctor. Frankenstein muses about using his new acquisition to replace the head of his creature, who is still showing no signs of libido. Nevertheless, Katrin is rewarded for betraying Nicholas by being granted use of the creature for erotic purposes, but is killed during a bout of overly vigorous copulation.

Meanwhile, Otto repeats the doctor's sexual exploits with the female creature, resulting in her graphic disembowelment. Frankenstein returns and, enraged, does away with Otto. When he attempts to have the male creature eliminate Nicholas, however, the remnants of his friend's personality rebel and the doctor is killed in a gruesome fashion. The creature, believing he is better off dead, then disembowels himself. Frankenstein's children, Erik and Monica, then enter the laboratory, pick up a pair of scalpels and proceed to turn the wheel of the crane that is holding Nicholas in mid-air. It is not clear if the scalpels are there in order to release him, or take over where their father left off.

In the early 1920s, a sickly and dying Count Dracula, who must drink virgin blood to survive, travels from Transylvania to pre-Fascist Italy, following his servant Anton's plan and thinking he will be more likely to find a virgin in a Catholic country. At the same time, all of Dracula's family has vanished because of two reasons: the lack of virgins in their hometown and how the family's reputation prevents any normal family from choosing to bring women to Dracula's castle. Shortly after arriving in Italy, Dracula befriends Il Marchese di Fiore (de Sica), an impecunious Italian landowner who, with a lavish estate falling into decline, is willing to marry off one of his four daughters to the wealthy aristocrat.

Of di Fiore's four daughters, Saphiria and Rubinia regularly enjoy the sexual services of Mario, the estate's handyman, a proud peasant and staunch Marxist who believes that the socialist revolution will happen soon in his country. Esmeralda and Perla (eldest and youngest, respectively) are virgins; Esmeralda thought too plain and past her prime for marriage and Perla only 14 years old (portrayed by 23-year-old Dionisio). Dracula obtains assurances that all the daughters are virgins and drinks the blood of the two who are considered marriageable. However, their "tainted" blood reveals to him the truth and makes him even weaker. Nevertheless, he is able to turn the two girls into his telepathic slaves.

Soon after the Marchese di Fiore travels out of Italy to pay his great debts, Mario discovers that Dracula is a vampire and what he has done to the di Fiore sisters. When he realizes the danger Dracula poses to Perla, the youngest, he uses the excuse of protecting her to rape her. Mario then warns di Fiore's wife, La Marchesa di Fiore, about Dracula's plan. Meanwhile, Dracula has drunk the blood of Esmeralda, turning her into a vampire and regaining strength. La Marchesa confronts, and is stabbed by, Anton, whom she shoots and kills before dying. Mario dismembers Dracula with an axe, killing him and Esmeralda with a stake, and becomes the de facto master and manager of the estate.

Frank Ross is a crusading reporter for a big-city newspaper on the trail of a crooked district attorney, Jesse Hanley, who is running for election as governor of the state. At the Banton Construction Co., Ross sees Hanley and his accomplice Grayce burning books and ledgers to thwart a possible investigation brought about by the paper that Ross works for. His editor Patterson backs Ross in getting Hanley but the D.A. decides to get rid of him, so frames him. Knocked out and covered in whiskey, he is put in a runaway car which collides with another, killing 3 young people and is thrown in prison for one to twenty years on a charge of automotive manslaughter.

He meets a gangster, Stacey, who, as there is no death penalty in that state, is in for 199 years. They work in the twine-making room together and Stacey falls into Ross's debt when Ross doesn't implicate Stacey for a fellow inmate's stabbing that he thinks Stacey committed. Meanwhile, Ross's reporter friends outside are trying to help him win vindication by finding the real culprits but they are having no success. Stacey agrees to help Ross prove that he was framed if Ross helps him escape from a courthouse. They arrange that Stacey be named by Ross as guilty for killing of Limpy, another inmate and hated stool pigeon.

Ross goes along with the plot, including a promise to tell no one about it, but antagonizes Stacey by tipping off his old newspaper, so that the court room is full of reporters. Stacey escapes by leaping from a window but makes no effort to find the real culprits who were responsible for Ross's predicament. Ross, meanwhile, is implicated in the escape and after being beaten up by brutal guards, spends five months in "the hole" refusing to betray Stacey. This is solitary confinement where prisoners are handcuffed to the bars in the dark and fed bread and water once a day. Ross, who has become a bad character, is promised a chance at parole by the warden (Bancroft) if he reforms, but Hanley has become governor and appointed Grayce to head the parole board. Grayce turns Ross down, meaning he must wait another five years before he can try again for parole.

Stacey is shamed by Ross's reporter girlfriend, Joyce, into carrying out his promise. He finds the man who identified Ross and gets from him the name of the man who framed him: "Polecat", who just happens to be a jailhouse informant widely disliked in the same prison. Stacey, impressed with Ross being a "square guy," decides to go back to prison to force Polecat to confess. Stacey instigates a prison breakout as part of his plan and orders the prisoners to bring along Polecat. A vicious prison guard is killed and the warden and some of his men held as hostages, but the National Guard have been sent for and block the escape with machine guns, gas and hand grenades. Freed from the hole as part of the escape, Stacey forces Polecat to confess to framing Ross with the warden and his men as witnesses to vindicate Ross. All of the escaping convicts are killed, including the badly wounded Stacey, who forces Polecat to go with him and be killed so that he cannot recant his confession. Governor Hanley and Grayce are indicted for murder and Ross is freed.

Dying industrial tycoon John Glidden (Richard Bennett) cannot decide what to do with his wealth. He despises his money-hungry relatives and believes none of his employees is capable of running his various companies. Finally, he decides to give a million dollars each to eight people picked at random from a telephone directory ''before'' he passes away, so as to avoid his will being contested. (The first name selected is John D. Rockefeller, which is swiftly rejected.)

China Shop

• Directed by Norman Z. McLeod

Henry Peabody (Charles Ruggles) is unhappy, both at work and at home. A bookkeeper promoted to salesman in a china shop, Henry keeps breaking the merchandise, meaning his "raise" results in his bringing home less money than before, something his nagging wife (Mary Boland) is quick to notice. After Glidden gives him a certified check, Henry shows up late for work and then proceeds to gleefully wreak destruction on the wares.

Violet

• Directed by Stephen Roberts

Barroom prostitute Violet Smith (Wynne Gibson) checks into the most expensive hotel suite she can find, provocatively undresses and nestles into a sumptuous bed, and goes to sleep ... alone.

The Forger

• Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

Eddie Jackson (George Raft) narrowly avoids arrest for trying to cash a forged check. With his prior record, if he were caught, it would mean a life sentence in prison. When Glidden presents him with his check, Eddie is delighted ... at first. However, he does not dare show his face in a bank, and none of his criminal associates believes the check is genuine. Frantic to leave town and desperately needing to sleep, the penniless man gives the check as security for a 10 cent bed in a flophouse. The manager secretly calls the police to take away what he thinks is a lunatic, and uses the check to light his cigar.

Road Hogs

• Directed by Norman Z. McLeod

Ex-vaudeville performer Emily La Rue (Alison Skipworth) is very content with her life, running her tea room with the help of her partner, ex-juggler Rollo (W. C. Fields). Only one thing is lacking to make her satisfaction complete, and it is delivered that very day: a brand new car. However, when they take it out for a drive, it is wrecked when another driver ignores a stop signal. The heartbroken woman returns to her tea room, where Glidden finds her.

She comes up with an inventive way to spend part of her great windfall. She and Rollo purchase eight used cars and hire drivers. They all take to the road in a long procession. When they encounter an inconsiderate road hog, Emily and Rollo immediately set off in pursuit and crash into the offender's automobile. They then switch to one of their spare cars and repeat the process, until they run out of automobiles. At the end of the day, Emily purchases another new car, but it too is destroyed in a collision with a truck. No matter. Emily tells Rollo it has been "a glorious day".

This sequence was one of four written by Joe Mankiewicz,Brian Dauth, ''Joseph L. Mankiewicz: Interviews'', University Press of Mississippi, 2008 p 49 and contains a reference to his hometown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Death Cell

• Directed by James Cruze

Prisoner John Wallace (Gene Raymond) has been condemned to the electric chair for killing someone during a robbery. After a tearful conversation with his wife Mary (Frances Dee), he is visited in his cell by Glidden. John is certain that his new-found wealth will save him, but it is too late. He is executed that same day, despite his protests.

The Clerk

• Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

When clerk Phineas V. Lambert (Charles Laughton) receives his check in the mail, he shows little emotion. He merely leaves his desk, calmly climbs the stairs to the office of first the secretary of the president of the company, then to the office of the private secretary, and finally knocks on the door of the president himself. When he is admitted, Phineas blows a raspberry at his former boss and leaves.

The Three Marines

• Directed by William A. Seiter

Glidden finds U.S. Marine Steve Gallagher (Gary Cooper) and his good buddies Mulligan (Jack Oakie) and O'Brien (Roscoe Karns) in the stockade for striking their sergeant. However, when Glidden gives Gallagher the check, Gallagher notices it is April Fools' Day and assumes it is a joke.

When the three men are released, they immediately head for a nearby lunch stand to see Marie (Joyce Compton), the pretty waitress. They all want to take her to the carnival, but none of them has any money. Then Gallagher remembers his check and that Zeb (Lucien Littlefield), the stand's owner, is illiterate. He tells Zeb that the check is for $10 and gets Zeb to cash it. He and Marie head off to the carnival, but Gallagher cannot shake his pals. Then Mulligan becomes embroiled in a fight, his comrades join in, and the trio end up right back in the stockade. Through the bars, they watch dumbfounded as a fancily dressed Zeb steps out of a limousine, escorting an equally well-garbed Marie.

Grandma

• Directed by Stephen Roberts

The last beneficiary is Mary Walker (May Robson), one of many unhappy elderly women consigned to a rest home run by Mrs. Garvey (an uncredited Blanche Friderici). Mrs. Garvey is a petty tyrant who enforces her rules rigorously, to the displeasure of her charges, especially the spirited, defiant Mary. Mary uses her money to turn the tables. She pays Mrs. Garvey and the rest of the staff just to sit in rocking chairs while she and the other residents have a wonderful time partying and dancing with their gentleman friends.

Mary's spirit even reinvigorates John Glidden. Glidden ignores his doctor and looks forward to spending time with Mary.

In a California city, Lt. Fred Parks interrogates drunken local baker Albert Willis about his possible connection to recent eastside robberies. After repeatedly stating that he is innocent, Willis erupts in anger and punches Parks, who retaliates. Chief Joseph E. Conroy enters just in time to hear Willis threaten revenge but is compelled to release him because he has read that councilman Edgar Goodwin is calling for an investigation of police brutality. Willis returns to his wife Helen but slips out again that night and hours later, Parks is shot.

Joe takes on the case and immediately suspects Willis; however, he has only the fatal bullets as evidence. When the police try to arrest Willis again, he runs away, falling on his head during the chase. He once again swears he is innocent, and after his lawyer, wife, and Goodwin hear about Willis's injuries, pressure is put on Joe to let Willis go. That evening two more officers are killed and Joe goes to arrest Willis himself. When Willis provokes another fight, the altercation is witnessed by a reporter, and Joe is soon fired for brutality. Undaunted, he asks his friend, private detective Matt Matthews, to help tail Willis.

Over the next few days, Willis grows disturbed by the shadows following him and tells Helen that he must leave town to clear his head. He heads to Border City with Joe following close behind. There Willis meets his girlfriend Marianna who sings at a bar. Marianna knows nothing of Willis's other life and accepts his rough treatment. That night, Joe shows Willis's photo around town and is duped by a street hustler who, with two of his friends, stabs, robs, and leaves Joe for dead.

A young local boy named Petey finds Joe in the alley the next morning and, along with his uncle Charlie, minister to him in their apartment. When Marianna, who lives upstairs from Petey, comes by to help them, she pockets Joe's photo of Willis, which is captioned: "Killer or family man?" Later at a party hosted by Willis, she asks him to marry her, but he refuses. Marianna is then horrified to witness Willis throwing waiter over an indoor balcony. She heads for home, followed by Willis, and while Joe watches from the window, Willis grabs her roughly and threatens her. Marianna runs inside where she attempts to extract information about Willis from Joe by flirting with him.

The next morning, Joe readies to go, stopping only to say goodbye to Marianna who quietly talks to him about the big mistakes she has made. Meanwhile, Willis has come to believe Marianna has a lover and jealously storms into her dressing room. When she admits she knows he is married, Willis realizes that she has spoken to Joe and beats her. She runs to Joe's hotel room to warn him and, after seeing her bruises, Joe explains that he must prove Willis guilty in order to clear his own reputation. He shows her a telegram that reveals Willis's participation in a hijacking ring in the States. When Joe and Marianna step outside to deliver the telegram to the police, Willis and his goons ambush them and take them to the bar.

Willis plans with his goons to create a ruckus and kill them incidentally. Meanwhile, Joe learns from Marianna that Willis never attends church and deduces that Willis must have entered church only to hide the gun. Just then, the goons start a fight and the bar erupts in confusion, allowing Joe and Marianna to race out the back door. Willis follows them and, in the back alley, Joe knocks him out and drags him into his car. The goons see the car leaving and report the "kidnapping" to the police.

Joe and Marianna abandon the car and force Willis into the back of a truck. As soon as they arrive in their home town Willis escapes. Knowing he will run to the church, Joe and Marianna follow him but police arrest Joe. Marianna goes to the church where Willis has retrieved his gun and subsequently takes Marianna hostage. When Joe then bursts in with the policemen, Willis drags Marianna onto the rooftop. A chase ensues, during which Willis shoots Marianna and is himself shot by the police and falls to the ground. Joe carries Marianna to the waiting ambulance and then walks away alone into the dark city.

''The Blood of a Poet'' is divided into four sections. In section one, an artist sketches a face and is startled when its mouth starts moving. He rubs out the mouth, only to discover that it has transferred to the palm of his hand. After experimenting with the hand for a while and falling asleep, the artist awakens and places the mouth over the mouth of a female statue.

In section two, the statue speaks to the artist, cajoling him into passing through a mirror. The mirror transports the artist to a hotel, where he peers through several keyholes, witnessing such people as an opium smoker and a hermaphrodite. The artist is handed a gun and a disembodied voice instructs him how to shoot himself in the head. He shoots himself but does not die. The artist cries out that he has seen enough and returns through the mirror. He smashes the statue with a mallet.

In section three, some students are having a snowball fight. An older boy throws a snowball at a younger boy, but the snowball turns out to be a chunk of marble. The young boy dies from the impact.

In the final section, a card shark plays a game with a woman on a table set up over the body of the dead boy. A theatre party looks on. The card shark extracts an Ace of Hearts from the dead boy's breast pocket. The boy's guardian angel appears and absorbs the dead boy. He also removes the Ace of Hearts from the card shark's hand and retreats up a flight of stairs and through a door. Realizing he has lost, the card shark commits suicide as the theatre party applauds. A female player transforms into the formerly smashed statue and walks off through the snow, leaving no footprints. In the film's final moments the statue is shown with an ox, a globe, and a lyre.

Intercut through the film, oneiric images appear, including spinning wire models of a human head and rotating double-sided masks.

Michel, a debt-ridden artist, is interrupted several times while romancing Vanda, a woman whose portrait he is painting: by his roommate, Prosper; by his neighbor and fiancée, Beatrice; and by several of his creditors. As Michel attempts to deal with this situation, Prosper discovers Michel has just won a lottery worth a million Dutch florins. The ticket is in the pocket of a jacket Michel gave to Beatrice to mend, but, when he goes to retrieve it, he learns she has just given the jacket to a charming criminal in order to help him elude the police. She initially does not remember any useful information about the criminal, but Prosper is able to help her recall the man's name: Grandpa Tulip. Armed with this information, Prosper gets Michel to agree to split the prize money if he is the one who recovers the ticket, and he begins his search. When Beatrice remembers Grandpa Tulip's address, Michel sets out as well.

At the junk shop that Grandpa Tulip runs as a front for his criminal activities, Michel finds out an Italian operatic tenor already came by and bought the jacket to use as part of a costume. One of Grandpa Tulip's associates stole a pocket watch from the singer, and he shows it to Michel, in case the man's name is inside. While Michel is inspecting the watch, the police raid the shop and Grandpa Tulip and his men sneak away, leaving Michel to get arrested.

The police think Michel is Grandpa Tulip, so he has them call Prosper to the police station to identify him. While Michel is waiting, the tenor comes in to report the theft of his pocket watch, and Michel hears that the man's name is Ambrosio Sopranelli and he is singing at a local theater, but will soon travel to America. Michel relays this information to Prosper when he arrives, but Prosper responds by acting as though he does not know Michel so Michel will stay imprisoned and Prosper can be the one who recovers the ticket. Eventually, Michel's creditors arrive to identify him, and he heads to the opera house.

Disregarding his feelings of guilt, Prosper passes the time until Sopranelli's performance by visiting Vanda and seducing her with tales of his imminent fortune. He tries and fails to get the ticket from the jacket in Sopranelli's dressing room, and then so does Vanda. Michel asks Beatrice, who is one of the dancers during the performance that evening, to try to get the ticket, but Sopranelli is called to the stage before she can do so. During Sopranelli's first musical number, Michel and Beatrice reconcile.

Grandpa Tulip and his men go to the opera house to find out why Michel was so desperate to regain a threadbare jacket. Beatrice sees him backstage, however, and, to repay her for helping him earlier, he promises to make sure the jacket is returned to her. Meanwhile, Michel and Prosper end up on stage in pursuit of the ticket. When the curtain comes down, they grab the jacket and find themselves pursued by both stage managers and Grandpa Tulip's men. The jacket gets passed around like a football, is accidentally thrown out a window, and lands on top of a passing car.

After the performance, Michel and Beatrice head home in the taxi Michel has been riding in all day while ignoring the driver's demands for payment. Michel discovers this is the car on which the jacket landed and has the driver stop, but, before he can remove the ticket from the pocket, some of Grandpa Tulip's men pull up and force him to give them the jacket.

Dejected, Michel and Beatrice discover his creditors are throwing a lavish party in his apartment, to be paid for out of the lottery winnings. As Michel is about to give everyone the bad news, Grandpa Tulip enters with the jacket. Michel cannot find the ticket inside, but, when it becomes clear to Grandpa Tulip that it is what Beatrice really wanted him to return, he hands the ticket over, having removed it from the jacket before coming over.

Singer Cléo Victoire is having a tarot card reading with a fortune teller, who tells her there is an evil force in Cléo's life, and that she sees a doctor with a hazardous task. She also sees a meeting with a talkative young man in her future. The fortune teller then pulls the hanged man card, meaning that a change to the worse in Cléo's life is about to happen, and asks if she is ill, which Cleo affirms. She then proceeds to pull the death card. Although the fortune teller emphasises that the death card can also simply mean a profound change in the person's life, Cléo believes that she is doomed. She asks the fortune teller to read her palm, who rejects her request.

While distraught from her visit to the fortune teller, Cléo meets her maid, Angèle, at a café and recounts the results of the tarot card reading, claiming that if it's cancer, she'll kill herself. Cléo cries and the owner of the café gives her coffee to calm down. Cléo and Angèle proceed to go hat shopping, where Cléo buys a black fur hat, despite Angèle constantly reminding her that it's summertime. Cléo wants to wear the hat home, but Angèle reminds her that it's Tuesday, and it's bad luck to wear something new on a Tuesday. They have the shopkeeper send the hat to Cléo's home, and Cléo and Angèle take a taxi home in time for Cléo's rehearsal.

On the ride home, one of Cléo's songs plays, and they listen to the radio, hearing current news coverage including the Algerian War. They have a conversation with the female taxi driver as she muses about the dangers of her job. Towards the end of the taxi ride, Cléo grows nauseous and attributes it to her illness. Upon returning home, Cléo cannot breathe, and Angèle tells her to do some exercise. Before Cléo's lover, the man who the fortune teller mentioned earlier, enters the building, Angèle tells Cléo not to tell him that she's ill, because "men hate illness". Her lover, a very busy man, tells her that he only has time to stop by for a kiss and can't even go on a vacation with her, but will try to take her out on Friday. Asking Cléo if she is ill, she replies that she is, but he doesn't take her seriously.

Once Cléo's lover leaves, Bob, a pianist, and Maurice, a writer, arrive at her home for her rehearsal. Bob and Maurice perform a spontaneous comedy routine pretending to be doctors once Angèle tells them that Cléo is ill, because "all women like a good joke." However, Cléo does not find their joke funny. Bob goes to the piano, and they begin to practice some of Cléo's songs. As they practice, Cléo's mood quickly darkens after singing the song "Sans toi." Cléo feels like all people do is exploit her and that it won't be long until she's just a puppet for the music industry. Saying that everyone spoils her but no one loves her, Cléo leaves everyone behind in her home.

On the way to a café, Cléo passes a street performer swallowing frogs and spitting them back out on a huge wave of water. She plays one of her songs at a jukebox in the café and watches if the people around react to it, but no one does. She then goes to a sculpting studio to visit her old friend Dorothée, who is modelling nude for a class of sculptors. After the modelling session is over, Cléo tells Dorothée that she couldn't pose nude because she would feel exposed, while Dorothée claims that her body makes her happy, not proud. Dorothée picks up a package for her friend Raoul who lent her his car to take it to the cinema where he's working. On the way, Cléo tells Dorothée that she is waiting for a test result and afraid of being terminally ill. At the cinema, they watch a silent comedy film from the projection booth, starring Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina. In the film, Karina topples over a hose pipe and dies, leaving behind a grieving Godard, but after he takes off his sunglasses, realising that it was only his dark glasses which made the events appear so gloomily, the scene repeats in a much lighter tone. Leaving the cinema, Cléo accidentally breaks a mirror, which she claims is a bad omen. Together with Dorothée she passes the café that she visited earlier, learning that a man was killed there. They enter a taxi, and Dorothée tells her that the broken mirror was meant for that man, not Cléo.

After having dropped Dorothée off, Cléo has the taxi driver take her to Parc Montsouris. In the park, Antoine, a soldier on leave from the Algerian War, addresses Cléo and tells her that today is the longest day of the year. During their conversation, Cléo tells him that her real name is Florence, and that she's afraid of her illness, while the sensitive Antoine reflects on the war, where people die for nothing, and that this scares him. He asks her to accompany him to the train station to return to the war if he accompanies her to the hospital to get her test results. At the hospital, the doctor whom Cléo had her appointment with for her results has already left. While sitting on a bench outside, the doctor rolls by in his car and tells Cléo that her condition is not too serious and that two months of radiotherapy will help her to get better. Cléo says that her fear seems to be gone, and she seems happy. Antoine says that he hates to leave, and that he would like to be with Cléo. She tells him that he is with her at this moment, and they smile at each other.

The filmdancers and performers struggle to make money from town to town, playing to minimal crowds, while the ageing manager of the company falls in love with a newcomer, to the chagrin of his faithful mistress Melina Amour, played by Fellini's real-life wife, Giulietta Masina. The movie begins with a sold-out vaudeville show in a small Italian town. A young woman, Liliana, played by Carla Del Poggio, sits in the appreciate crowd, enraptured by the performers. That evening, as the troupe boards a train, with two of the performers forced to sit in the train toilet to evade paying the fare, the young woman also boards the train. During the night, she unsuccessfully requests the head of the group, Checco Dal Monte, played by Peppino De Filippo, to join the group. In the morning when the group realizes it does not have enough money to pay for a carriage, Liliana hires the carriage with the last of her money. This saves the group several miles of walking and leads to them accepting her.

At the performance that evening, a sparse and hostile crowd mocks each performer in turn. When the local promoter notices that the crowd responds approvingly to Liliana, he interrupts the performance and directs the group to feature the newcomer. This leads to repeat performances over the next two days to increasingly larger crowds. After the third and final performance, a local wealthy man invites the group to his mansion for dinner. That night Checco realizes he desires Liliana. In the morning, as the group walks towards the train station, Checco abandons his mistress Melina to walk alone with Liliana.

When the group arrives in Rome, Checco leaves it in order to form his own troupe featuring Liliana. Desperate for money, he visits his old troupe and begs Melina for the funds to launch his show. Stricken, she hands him money and orders him to never contact her again. Checco takes the money triumphantly, but as this new group practices, Liliana arrives to tell him she has signed with a competitor. Checco collapses. The movie then follows Liliana in her brilliant debut in a minor role, hinting that she has a bright future ahead of her. The movie ends with Liliana, sporting an expensive fur coat, boarding a first-class train carriage en route to Milan. On the adjoining track, Checco and his old troupe board a train for Foggia.

In the final scene, the two trains leave the station as Checco, reunited with Melina, begins to flirt with a young woman who sits across the aisle from him. This suggests he is about to begin the cycle once again.

Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie who are both scouts on a scouting expedition at Yellowstone National Park with Donald acting as the Scoutmaster. The ducks march along in military style singing "Polly Wolly Doodle." Arriving at their camp site, Donald unsuccessfully tries to teach the boys wilderness skills. He tries to chop down a petrified tree and pitch a tent with bad knots causing the nephews to laugh at his mistakes.

Frustrated at the nephews' lack of gratitude for his efforts, Donald decides to make them sorry by pretending to have been injured, pouring ketchup over himself. The dutiful nephews obviously fall for this, mistaking it for blood and immediately spring into action and quickly bandage Donald from head to toe. Donald is then unable to see and wanders aimlessly, eventually falling into a honey jar.

A large grizzly bear soon arrives having been attracted by the smell of food. Trying to escape the bear, Donald runs off a cliff and falls onto "Old Reliable Geyser" and gets his rear end stuck in the opening of the geyser. The water shoots Donald into the air, bringing him closer to the bear who is still above at the cliff's edge.

The nephews try to save Donald by plugging the geyser with a long log and then with three stones, all of which prove unsuccessful. They finally roll a large boulder over it, but the geyser is only stopped momentarily before bursting again, with the water shooting Donald and the boulder up to the same level of the cliff, allowing the bear to jump on top of the boulder to chase Donald, with the boulder rotating under their feet, perfectly balanced on top of the continuous stream of water from the geyser. By nighttime, the chase is still ongoing, and the nephews, having exhausted their means of rescuing their uncle, bed down in their tent for the night, bidding him good night.

Larry Crain (Peter Cookson), a medical student on a scholarship, learns that all student scholarships, including his, have been cancelled by his school. Desperately short of cash and overdue on paying his rent, Crain goes to the apartment of Professor Stanley (Francis Pierlot), a teacher who has a sideline as a pawnbroker, though Crain is already in debt to him too. Crain pawns his father's watch for a small amount of money, but notes details in the professor's apartment, including the strong box and wall safe where he keeps his money and a heavy fireplace poker.

A bit later at a diner, Crain meets a young woman (Anne Gynne) who doesn't have cash to pay for her coffee. Crain covers her bill, and she promises to pay him back. However, when Crain receives a tuition bill from the school and an ultimatum from his landlady, he returns to the professor's apartment. Managing to be admitted by the professor without anyone else seeing him, including a painter at work in a room, Crain presents a tightly-wrapped object that he claims to be a cigarette case he'd like to pawn. While the professor struggles to unwrap the package and comes to realize that it is only a glass ashtray, Crain grabs a poker with his gloved hands and strikes the professor dead.

Crain nervously tries to open the strongbox, but before he can grab the money, he hears a couple of his school friends at the door, one of whom has an appointment with the professor. When their door knocks are not answered, the two worry that something is wrong and go off to find the janitor. Crain steps out without the money and closes the door, which locks behind him. Hearing his friends and the janitor approaching, he hides in the room that was being painted and finally escapes the building, but with a paint stain on his coat and no money.

A police detective (Nestor Paiva) brings Crain to the police station, where he is questioned by Captain Burke (Warren William) because his watch had been found at the professor's apartment among other pawned items. As Crain leaves the office, the house painter is brought in but states that he's never seen Crain before. Crain burns his stained jacket, but then his luck takes some sudden turns. He receives a check for a thousand dollars from a journal for an article that he wrote, and he meets the young woman again, now working at the diner where they met. Learning that her name is Eileen and with cash in his pocket, Crain begins to go out with her.

Crain, however, is still a police suspect, even though the painter has been taken into custody. The detective seems to be following him everywhere, and he meets with Captain Burke again. Burke is interested in Crain's journal article, where he argued that some lives are less valuable than others and that traditional morality should not apply in such cases. Eileen is also disturbed when discussing Crain's ideas with him. The pressure from the police and Crain's own conscience disorient and haunt him despite his stated philosophy, and he is nearly run down while wandering in a daze on a railroad track. He even confesses to Eileen, but she promises to go elsewhere with him if he does not turn himself in.

Crain goes to Burke's office, but Burke reveals that the painter has confessed to the killing. Even though he doubts the painter's claim, Burke has no other evidence to continue considering Crain a suspect. Relieved, Crain sees Eileen on a busy street corner and runs to meet her only to be struck by a car.

In a final twist, however, Crain is seen lying on his apartment bed, wearing the jacket we had seen him burn, now unstained. He sees his glass ashtray by the bed and hears a knock at the door. Professor Stanley, quite alive, enters, stating he took pity on Crain's situation and handing him one hundred fifty dollars as a loan. The "murder" and its aftermath had all been a dream. Crain's landlady then enters with a telegram that his scholarship has been renewed after all. In the hallway, Crain encounters a new tenant, Eileen, who returns the money he had paid for her coffee—the previous night. The young woman is puzzled that Crain calls her "Eileen" when her name is really Cathy, but takes it as a sign of romantic fate, agreeing to see him and even to let him call her "Eileen."

Jihei works as a paper merchant in the Tenma neighborhood of Osaka. He is married to his cousin, Osan, but is having an affair with a popular courtesan named Koharu. Jihei has promised twenty-nine times to free her from her five-year contract at the Kinokuni brothel, but he lacks the money required: ten kan of silver. Koharu is desperate to stop her work as a prostitute and asks Jihei to kill her. Jihei says if she dies he will kill himself too, and they decide to commit shinjū.

When Koharu returns to the Kinokuni brothel, a rich merchant named Tahei comes in and says he would like to free her from her contract. Koharu accuses Tahei of spreading rumors about Jihei's lack of wealth. Tahei tells Koharu's madam that he will pay any amount to sleep with Koharu, but the madam tells him that Koharu already has a client for the night, a samurai.

When the samurai arrives, Koharu refuses to make eye contact. The samurai asks Koharu what the issue is, and she explains her contract as well as her plans to commit shinjū with Jihei. The samurai discourages her from suicide, and she realizes doing so would leave her widowed mother with no one to care for her. The samurai pledges to help Koharu pay off her contract, and the two head to bed.

Meanwhile, Tahei has gone to a bar and is loudly speaking about Koharu's samurai client. Jihei overhears this and heads to the Kinokuni brothel to confront Koharu. When he gets to the brothel, he overhears Koharu and the samurai's conversation. Furious, he tries to stab the samurai through a window, but is apprehended. The samurai ties Jihei's arm to the window and leaves him there.

Tahei then comes across Jihei tied up and mocks him and calls him a thief, assuming that's the reason he's tied up. The samurai comes out and reprimands Tahei for lying, as Jihei stole nothing. He encourages Jihei to kick Tahei, which Jihei does. A mob then surrounds Tahei and chases him out of town. Back inside the teahouse, Jihei realizes the samurai is his brother, Magoemon, in disguise. Jihei begs for Magoemon's forgiveness and scolds Koharu for cheating on him. Magoemon tells Jihei he is a fool for letting Koharu seduce him, and says that he saw Koharu for a fraud the moment he met her. Magoemon tells Jihei that Osan's father, Gozaemon, is upset with Jihei for his affair with Koharu and plans to take Osan back. Jihei promises he is done with Koharu. Magoemon finds a letter addressed to Koharu from Osan, but doesn't mention it to Jihei.

A few weeks later in Jihei's home and paper shop, Osan's servants, Otama and Sangoro, are late for dinner. They arrive with Jihei's children, Kantaro and Osue, and Otama tells Osan that she saw Magoemon heading toward the shop with Osan's mother. Osan wakes up Jihei who was napping, and he starts pretending to work. When Osan's mother arrives with Magoemon, she tells Jihei that she heard a rumor from a member of her prayer group that a wealthy merchant from Tenma was set to free Koharu in a few days. She assumes that said merchant is Jihei, but Jihei tells her it must be Tahei. Osan's mother is consoled but say that Gozaemon will not be as easily convinced. She asks Jihei for a written oath that he is no longer involved with Koharu, which he obliges, and she leaves.

Later that night, Osan finds Jihei crying. She thinks he is crying because he still loves Koharu, but he insists he doesn't. Osan reveals that she wrote a letter to Koharu and begged her to betray Jihei so he would get over her because she was worried that he would kill himself. Osan says she is afraid Koharu will kill herself now that Jihei has left her. Jihei says they need 150 ryō in order to free Koharu from her contract. Osan takes 80 ryō from a secret stash and gives it to Jihei. She then takes all her clothing and tells Jihei to pawn it for the remaining 70 ryō. As Jihei is about to leave for the pawn shop, Gozaemon arrives and orders Jihei to write a letter of divorce from Osan. When Jihei refuses, Gozaemon drags Osan away from the shop. Osan resists and begs to stay but Jihei remains silent. Once she has left, Jihei breaks into tears and begins tearing apart the shop: throwing papers, pushing over furniture, and even pushing over walls, which collapse with ease.

Jihei finds Koharu back at the Kinokuni brothel, and the two run until they reach a graveyard where they make love. Afterwards, Koharu suggests Jihei kill her where they stand and then go to another location to kill himself. She thinks they shouldn't die together because Jihei is still married to Osan. Jihei cuts off his topknot, which he says makes him a priest, nullifying his marriage to Osan, and therefore he can die with Koharu. Likewise, Koharu then lets her hair down and declares herself a nun. They then hear the Daicho Temple bell, marking dawn. They venture into the wilderness where Jihei kills Koharu, pulls off her obi, and hangs himself with it with the help of kuroko on a lone torii on a hill. The final shot shows Jihei and Koharu laying opposite one another on a mat beneath the bridge as they were at the beginning of the film.

Princess Sophia Frederica is the innocent daughter of a minor East Prussian prince and an ambitious mother. She is brought to Russia by Count Alexei at the behest of Empress Elizabeth to marry her simple-minded nephew Grand Duke Peter. The overbearing Elizabeth renames her Catherine and repeatedly demands that the new bride produce a male heir to the throne, which is impossible because Peter never comes near her after their wedding night. He spends all of his time with his mistress, his toy soldiers or his real soldiers. Alexei pursues Catherine relentlessly but without success. At dinner, he tries to pass a note to Catherine, begging for a few precious seconds with her, but Elizabeth intercepts it. She warns Catherine that Alexei is a womanizing heartbreaker.

That night, Elizabeth sends Catherine down a secret stairway to open the door for a lover, warning her to not let him see her. Catherine sees that the man is Alexei and, shaken and angry, hurls a miniature that he had given her out the window. She enters the garden to retrieve it and is stopped by a handsome lieutenant who is on guard duty for the first time. When Catherine tells him whom she is, he initially does not believe her and begins to flirt with her. She suddenly throws her arms around his neck, they kiss and she surrenders to him. Months later, all of Russia, with the exception of Peter, celebrates as Catherine gives birth to a son. Elizabeth promptly takes charge of the boy's care and sends the exhausted Catherine a magnificent necklace.

Elizabeth is in failing health. Peter plans to remove Catherine from court, perhaps by killing her. However, Catherine has become self-assured, sensual and cynical. She has learned how things work in Russia and plans to remain. The archimandrite is worried by the thought of Peter on the throne and offers Catherine his help, but she demurs, saying that she has "weapons that are far more powerful than any political machine." Catherine is playing blind man's bluff with her ladies in waiting, lavishing kisses on the assembled soldiers, when the bells toll for Elizabeth's passing. Peter taunts Elizabeth's corpse as she lies in state, saying that it is now his turn to rule.

An intertitle reads: "And while his Imperial Majesty Peter the III terrorized Russia, Catherine coolly added the army to her list of conquests." Catherine inspects the officers of Alexei's pet regiment, singling out Lieutenant Dmitri (the man from the garden) by borrowing one of Alexei's decorations to reward him for bravery. Orlov, Dmitri's captain, also attracts her attention. That evening, Catherine, who had refused to see Alexi privately since she admitted him to Elizabeth's quarters, finally permits him to visit her. When they are alone in her bedroom, she toys with him before sending him down the secret stairway to open the door for the man waiting there. He sees Captain Orlov and understands that his chance for a relationship with Catherine has passed.

At dinner, the archimandrite collects alms for the poor. Catherine strips her arm of bracelets, Orlov donates a handful of gems, Alexei gives a purse full of coins, the chancellor adds a single coin and Peter's mistress puts a scrap of food on the plate. Peter slaps the archimandrite's face and then proposes a toast to his mistress, but Catherine refuses to participate. Peter calls her a fool and she leaves with Orlov. Peter dismisses Orlov and places Catherine under house arrest. He issues a public proclamation that she is dying.

In the middle of the night, Orlov sneaks into Catherine's room and wakes her. In uniform, she flees the palace with her loyal troops. Alexei sees her depart and murmurs: "Exit Peter the Third, enter Catherine the Second." She rides through the night, gathering men to her cause. In the cathedral, the archimandrite blesses Catherine and she rings the bell that signals the start of the coup. Peter awakens and opens his door, finding Orlov standing guard. Orlov tells him "There is no emperor. There is only an empress." and kills him. Catherine and her troops ride up the stairs in the palace, thundering into the throne room as pealing bells are joined by the 1812 Overture.

A stylish, attractive young woman, Célestine (Jeanne Moreau), arrives from Paris to become chambermaid for an odd family at their country chateau. The period is mid-1930s, and the populace is astir with extremist politics, right and left. The Monteils' household consists of a childless couple, the frigid wife's elderly, genteel father, and several servants, including Joseph the groom (Georges Géret) who's a rightist, nationalist, anti-Semitic, violent man. The wife (Françoise Lugagne) runs a rigidly tidy house; she would like to please her virile husband physically, but cannot, due to pelvic "pain". M. Monteil (Michel Piccoli) amuses himself by hunting small game and pursuing all the females within range—the previous chambermaid seems to have left pregnant and had to be "bought off".

The wife's father amuses himself with his collection of racy postcards and novels, and a closet full of women's shoes and boots, that he likes his chambermaids to model. Their next-door neighbor (Daniel Ivernel) is a burly, retired Army officer, with a chubby maid/mistress (Gilberte Géniat), and a violent streak of his own—he likes to throw refuse and stones over the fence, to the great annoyance of M. Monteil. To the maid's role, (in this household chiefly determined by sexual proclivities of other characters) Célestine adapts quickly, and through her own insight as well as through convivial gossip from kitchen staff, she begins to employ her own female assets conveniently, a practical behavior providing her some security, in her varied domestic relations or encounters.

The elderly father, M. Rabour (Jean Ozenne), is found dead in bed, disheveled, clutching some boots that Célestine had worn earlier that evening; and Célestine decides to leave the job the next day. Previously, however, she had become motherly and protective of a sweet prepubescent girl named Claire (Dominique Sauvage) who visited the house; after the girl's raped and mutilated body is found in a nearby wood, Célestine decides to stay on at the job, in order to get revenge on the murderer. She quickly finds reason to suspect the groom Joseph. She seduces and promises to marry him and join him to run a café in Cherbourg, so he will confess the crime to her, which he does not. She then contrives and plants evidence to implicate him in the girl's murder. He is arrested, but eventually released for lack of solid evidence, although there is a suggestion that the real reason is his nativist political activism. Meanwhile, Célestine agrees to marry the elderly ex-Army-officer neighbor, and after the marriage, we see him serving her breakfast in bed and obeying her commands. The final scene shows a crowd of nationalistic men marching past the Cherbourg café run by Joseph, who has another woman now and is shouting rightist slogans.

Gertrud, a former opera singer in Stockholm in the early 20th century, is married to the lawyer and politician Gustav Kanning. Gertrud tells her husband that he has become more in love with his career and status than with her. She also tells him that she has met another man who loves her more than anything else, and that she therefore prefers him to her husband and wants a divorce.

Gertrud meets her lover, the promising young pianist Erland Jansson, in a park. The two go to Jansson's house. Gertrud tells him how devoted she is to him. In the evening Gustav goes to pick Gertrud up at the opera where she had said she would be, but can't find her. The next evening the Kannings attend a dinner party at the house of the poet Gabriel Lidman, with whom Gertrud has had a relationship in the past. Gertrud greets her friend Axel Nygren who attends the same party. Gustav confronts Gertrud about the opera, and demands one last night with her before the separation. Lidman tells Gertrud that he had met Jansson at a party where he had bragged about Gertrud as his latest conquest.

When Gertrud meets with Jansson the next day she tells him that she wants to go away with him and leave everything else behind. He tells her that he cannot, because he is expecting a child with another woman. Lidman makes an attempt to persuade Gertrud to leave with him instead, but without success; when Lidman and Gertrud were a couple, just like Kanning, he had valued his career above her. Kanning makes a last attempt to persuade Gertrud to stay with him, even allowing her to keep her lover at the same time. The attempt fails and Gertrud moves alone to Paris to study psychology.

Thirty years later, Gertrud, together with Nygren, looks back at her life. She says that love is the only thing that means anything in life. She is now alone because of her refusal to compromise on that position, but does not regret anything.

When Dr Alice Tanner, who works as a volunteer at the archaeological site of Pic de Soularac, in France, discovers two skeletons in a long-hidden cave in the hillside, she unearths a link with an horrific and brutal past. However, it is not just the sight of the shattered bones that makes her uneasy; there is an overwhelming sense of evil in the tomb that Alice finds hard to shake off, even in the bright French sunshine. Puzzled by the words carved inside the chamber and the representation of a labyrinth, she finds an exact representation of it on the underside of the ring she found in the cave.

Alice has an uneasy feeling that she has disturbed something that was meant to remain hidden. She finds a connection to the nightmares she had been having since childhood and discovers that the cave was related to her past.

Eight hundred years ago, on the night before a brutal civil war ripped apart Languedoc, three books were entrusted to Alaïs, a young herbalist and healer, the daughter of the steward of Carcassona. Although she cannot understand the symbols and diagrams the books contain, Alaïs knows her destiny lies in protecting their secret at all costs. The books contain the secrets to the Holy Grail. Alice later discovers that she is Alaïs's descendant.

Gaspard, a very polite prisoner, is moved to a cell (block 11, cell 6) designed for, and containing, four inmates due to repair works in his block. The cellmates keep busy making cardboard boxes.

Gaspard receives a food parcel from his mistress and has to watch while the guard chops up the sausages and prods the jams, searching for concealed tools.

The four existing cellmates expect long prison sentences, ranging from 10 years to possibly execution by guillotine, and have a pre-existing plan to escape. Gaspard himself is accused of the attempted murder of his wife, and faces a potential 20-year sentence.

Gaspard shares his food parcel with the four and gains their confidence sufficiently for them to reveal their escape plan: digging a hole through the floor to reach the underground passages. The bulk of the film then focuses upon their gradual progress, which results in two men reaching an outer manhole in the public street outside the prison walls. However, the two do not escape, and instead return to the cell to organize the timing of the group escape. Geo decides not to join.

But, just as they are ready to go, Gaspard gets called to a meeting with the governor, and is told his wife has withdrawn the charges; and that he will be released soon. Returning to the cell, Gaspard has to dispel the suspicions of his cellmates, that he had turned them in. However, in the last moments before the four are about to leave through their tunnel, a group of guards appears outside and they realize that they have been betrayed. A fight ensues in the cell and the guards intervene.

As Gaspard is returned to his original cell, the original four have been stripped to their underwear (before going into solitary confinement). But Gaspard too has been cheated, as the governor has a reputation for swapping information for supposed release rumours. Whether or not his wife has dropped the charges the state still wishes to prosecute.

Part 1

A scholarly dissertation on the appearances of demons and witches in primitive and medieval culture, the first segment of the film uses a number of photographs of statuary, paintings, and woodcuts as demonstrative pieces. In addition, several large scale models are employed to demonstrate medieval concepts of the structure of the Solar System and the commonly accepted depiction of Hell.

Part 2

The second segment of the film is a series of vignettes that theatrically demonstrate medieval superstition and beliefs concerning witchcraft, including Satan tempting a sleeping woman away from her husband's bed before terrorizing a group of monks. Also shown is a woman purchasing a love potion from a supposed witch named Karna in order to seduce a monk, and a supposed witch named Apelone dreaming of waking up in a castle, where Satan presents her with coins that she is unable to hold on to and festivities that she is unable to participate in.

Parts 3–5

Set in the Middle Ages, this narrative is used to demonstrate the treatment of suspected witches by the religious authorities of the time. A printer named Jesper dies in bed, and his family consequently accuses an old woman, Maria the weaver, of causing his death through witchcraft. Jesper's wife Anna visits the residence of traveling Inquisition judges, grasping one of their arms in desperation and asking that they try Maria for witchcraft.

Maria is arrested, and after being tortured by inquisitors, admits to involvement in witchcraft. She describes giving birth to children fathered by Satan, being smeared with witch ointment, and attending a Witches' Sabbath, where she claims witches and sorcerers desecrated a cross, feasted with demons, and kissed Satan's buttocks. She "names" other supposed witches, including two of the women in Jesper's household. Eventually, Anna is arrested as a witch when the inquisitor whose arm she grabbed accuses her of bewitching him. She is tricked into what is perceived as a confession, and is sentenced to be burned at the stake. Intertitles claim that over eight million women, men and children were burned as witches.

Parts 6–7

The final segments of the film seek to demonstrate how the superstitions of old have become better understood. Christensen offers the threat of medieval torture methods as an explanation for why many supposed heretics confessed to being involved in witchcraft. Though he does not deny the existence of the Devil, Christensen claims that those accused of witchcraft may have been suffering from what are recognized in modern times as mental or neurological disorders. A nun named Sister Cecilia is depicted as being coerced by Satan into desecrating a consecrated host and stealing a statue of the infant Jesus. Her actions are then contrasted with vignettes about a somnambulist, a pyromaniac, and a kleptomaniac. It is suggested that such behaviors would have been thought of as demonically-influenced in medieval times, whereas modern societies recognize them as psychological ailments (referred to in the film as hysteria).

The film opens with a montage of scenes of daily life in Australia in the 1970s: A rural school in the desert with children playing, the main street of an outback town, a traffic jam in the city, all being affected by unusually adverse weather conditions that suddenly appear. Heavy rainfall followed by unusually large chunks of hail breaking through the windows of the school injuring students, a frog infestations and other anomalies. Only the local Aboriginal people seem to recognize the cosmological significance of these weather phenomena.

During one of these freak rainstorms in Sydney, an altercation occurs among a group of Aboriginal people in a pub which resulted in a mysterious drowning death. At the coroner's inquest, the death is ruled a homicide and four of the Aboriginal men are accused of murder. Through the Australian Legal Aid system, a lawyer named David Burton (Richard Chamberlain) is procured for their defence. Due to internal politics and the eschatological divide between the European settlers and Indigenous people, the circumstances by which he was contacted and retained are unusual in that his law practice is corporate taxation and not criminal defence. He is reluctant at first but is intrigued by the challenge and takes on the case which shortly leads to his professional and personal life beginning to unravel.

Burton starts having bizarre dreams involving running water, drowned corpses, and one of being visited in his home by one of the incarcerated Aboriginals named Chris Lee (David Gulpilil), whom he had never met. When later introduced to the four accused men, he recognizes Lee and begins to sense an otherworldly connection to him and to the increasingly strange weather phenomena besetting the city. His dreams intensify along with his obsession with the murder case and comes to suspect that the murder was an Aboriginal tribal execution in which a curse is put on the victim simply by pointing a bone at him. Lee refuses to admit that he is tribal or reveals anything about the murder but tells Burton that his dreams have meaning because he is "Mulkurul"; descended from a race of spirits who came from the rising sun bringing sacred objects with them. After meeting with the shaman of Lee's tribe and learning more about Aboriginal practices and the concept of Dreamtime as a parallel world of existence, Burton comes to believe that his dreams and the strange heavy rain bodes as signs of a coming apocalypse. After another intense dream, Burton senses danger and persuades his wife to leave the city with their children right before a torrential storm causes a flooding disaster.

In the chaos of the flood, Lee manages to escape from prison to find Burton and take him down through subterranean tunnels under the city which lead to a sacred Aboriginal ritual site. Lee shows him the entrance to another ancient chamber nearby that is strangely familiar to him and sends him off to find the answers that he seeks. In the chamber, Burton sees a painting on the ceiling depicting the arrival of European explorers from South America and a calendrical prophecy of a cataclysmic oceanic disaster. He finds a collection of ancient relics, a decayed corpse of a man wearing middle-age Western garments and a stone mask which after close inspection, bears a face identical to his own. He collects as many relics as he can carry but is suddenly confronted by the tribe's shaman shouting and lunging at him. They struggle and Burton kills the shaman with one of the stone relics. As he tries to find his way back to the surface through the sewer tunnels, he loses the relics along the way. He finally emerges through a drain pipe exhausted, then collapses on the beach and stares entranced at the horizon. He realizes that he can never go back to his old life after what had just happened. Then we see the look of both shock and acceptance on his face as the screen is filled by footage of a surreal towering ocean wave, though it remains unclear whether we are witnessing reality or sharing in Burton's final apocalyptic premonition.

Andula is a working-class young woman living in a fading Czech factory town, where, due to an oversight in central state planning, women outnumber men 16–1. The film opens with an intimate scene between Andula and her fellow shoe-factory-worker friend as they lie in bed in their dormitory discussing the ring given to Andula by her boyfriend Tonda and gossiping about her mildly flirtatious encounter with a forest ranger, which is shown in flashback.

The factory supervisor belatedly realizes that the gender disparity is impairing morale and productivity, so he arranges for an army officer to organize military maneuvers near the town in order for the factory to sponsor a big dance, at which the workers can find male companionship among the soldiery. "They need what we needed when we were young", he explains to a sympathetic officer. Anticipation runs high on both sides, with the girls expecting to meet the young men of their dreams, while the recruits, many of whom are actually middle-aged reservists, out-of-shape and already married, look forward to a night of revelry and seduction. The night of the party is a disappointment for some members of both groups; Andula and her friends are repulsed by the unappealing soldiers, whom they call "old buffers," and a trio of reservists are so nonplussed by the situation that they commit a series of comic faux pas, like sending a bottle of wine to the wrong table and dropping a wedding ring that one of them is trying to hide, only to watch it roll across the floor and land at the feet of the forlorn young women who they had mistakenly sent the bottle too. For these people, the mixer is a huge flop, with the girls retiring to the lavatory to devise a way to escape their pursuers and the aging reservists arguing with each other over expenses (one points out that "you can only get it [sex] free at home") and speculating on the necessity of going to the woods in order to consummate their romantic plans ("Imagine, in this weather!"). For others, however, the dance is a success: the factory supervisor looks on in smug satisfaction as couples throng the crowded dance floor, one girl holds her hands together in a gesture showing her delight and gratitude when she is asked to dance, while an obese, balding soldier capers with a tall, thin brunette, both clearly having the time of their lives.

Andula strikes up a flirtation with Milda, the big-city pianist of the band providing the music. He reads her palm and instructs her in how to rebuff unwanted advances with a kick in the shins. After the party she goes to bed with Milda, although the comic frustrations continue, with Milda fighting a battle with a window shade that won't close, before he feels secure in making love. Afterward, as they lie in bed together, Andula asks what Milda meant when he said she was "angular". He replies that a woman is shaped like a guitar: "And you, you look like a guitar too", he tells her, "but one painted by Picasso."

Although she hears nothing from Milda after their night together, she still expects to reunite with her dream man shortly, so she breaks off with Tonda, who storms the dormitory demanding his ring back. After listening to a speech by the housemother on the virtues of fidelity and commitment, she packs up her suitcase and arrives on Milda's doorstep in the big city, ready to resume their romance. Milda is not home, and she meets his parents, who have never heard of her and don't know what they should do with her. Milda comes home very late, and after an evening of comically painful tension and uncertainty, his parents decide it's only decent to put the girl up for the night on the sofa, requiring Milda to climb into bed with them in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Forman has described this famous scene: "It’s a tight fit. The old man wants to sleep; the son would like to get thrown out so he can join the girl on the couch, but the mother runs the show and won’t tolerate any such filthy ideas under her roof." Andula, kneeling outside the door of their bedroom, overhears the family squabbling, and when it becomes clear to her that she is not valued in the least, she breaks down in tears and, the next morning, returns to her home. She tells her friends about her "wonderful" trip to the capital and how nice Milda's parents were to her, especially his father, and then she returns to work at the factory.

Lee Ki-hoon is an alpha male homicide detective; intelligent and with animal instincts. His wife, classical cellist Han Soo-hyun, is submissive and seemingly perfect. Meanwhile, he is carrying on a passionate affair with his mistress Choi Ga-hee, a sultry jazz singer at a nightclub. Ki-hoon lives a double life by moving back and forth between these two women, who also happen to be schoolmates from high school. One day Ki-hoon goes to a murder scene and there he meets Ji Kyung-hee, a woman accused of murdering her husband.

Philippe Douvier (Robert Webber), a major businessman and secretly the head of the French Connection, is suspected by his New York Mafia drug trading partners of weak leadership and improperly conducting his criminal affairs. To demonstrate otherwise, Douvier's aide Guy Algo (Tony Beckley) suggests a show of force with the murder of the famous Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers).

Unfortunately for Douvier, his first attempt at bombing Clouseau fails, and the subsequent attempt by Chinese martial artist whose name is 'Mr. Chong' (an uncredited appearance by the founder of American Kenpo, Ed Parker) is thwarted when Clouseau successfully fights him off (believing him to be Clouseau's valet Cato (Burt Kwouk), who has orders to keep his employer alert with random attacks).

Douvier tries again by posing as an informant to lure Clouseau into a trap, but the Chief Inspector's car and clothes are stolen by transvestite criminal Claude Russo (Sue Lloyd), who is unknowingly instead killed by Douvier's men.

Subsequently, Douvier and the French public believe that Clouseau is dead; as a result of this assumption, Clouseau's ex-boss, former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), is restored to sanity and is released from the lunatic asylum to perform the investigation (despite having committed several major crimes and then seemingly disintegrated in the previous film).

In Russo's clothes and insisting on his true identity, Clouseau is taken to the asylum himself but escapes into Dreyfus' room, who faints from the shock of seeing Clouseau alive. Clouseau manages to disguise himself as Dreyfus and is driven home by François (André Maranne).

At home, Clouseau finds Cato, who, despite having turned Clouseau's apartment into a Chinese-themed brothel, is relieved to see that he survived and the two plan revenge on the sponsor of Clouseau's assassination. Meanwhile, Dreyfus is assigned to read a eulogy at Clouseau's funeral by the police chief's wife, in pain of his own discharge.

During the eulogy, Dreyfus efforts trying not to laugh hysterically at the untrue words that praise Clouseau's brilliance causing everyone including the chief's wife to think he actually devastated about Clouseau's demise. At the cemetery, Clouseau attends the burial, disguised as a priest, and then surreptitiously reveals himself to Dreyfus, who recognizes him, faints, and falls into the grave. Clouseau escapes.

Meanwhile, due to his unfaithfulness, Douvier's wife threatens him with divorce. Needing her respectability, Douvier tells his secretary and paramour Simone LeGree (Dyan Cannon) that their relationship is over, to which Simone reacts angrily. Fearing that she will reveal his crimes, Douvier gives orders to have Simone killed at her nightclub, but having been told by an informant (Alfie Bass) of the possibility of trouble there, Clouseau and Cato inadvertently manage to save her. At Simone's flat, Clouseau reveals his identity, prompting her to reveal that Douvier ordered Clouseau's assassination. Finally, she tells him of Douvier's plan to meet the New York Mafia godfather Julio Scallini (Paul Stewart) in Hong Kong for the Gannet Transaction - a $50,000,000 heroin sale.

After evading their pursuers, Clouseau, Cato, and Simone follow Douvier to Hong Kong in disguise, unaware that the now suspicious Dreyfus has followed them. There, Clouseau impersonates Scallini while Simone distracts the real one, but the plan goes awry when one of Scallini's men spots Douvier leaving their hotel with a stranger and Clouseau exposes his own disguise during the Gannet Transaction. In the confusion, Dreyfus, intent on killing Clouseau chases him into a firework warehouse, accidentally activating all the fireworks inside.

After the events that occurred in Hong Kong, Douvier and Scallini are arrested. Clouseau is awarded for their arrest by the President of France, and he and Simone spend an evening together.

Captain Jack Harkness is in the TARDIS, when suddenly the console starts bleeping. The Doctor and Rose come running in, and he tells them it is a distress call. The bleeping gets louder, and the Doctor says it's all right, because someone has responded to the signal. Rose wonders who, and Jack admits that he did, which means they are morally obligated to investigate. The Doctor says the signal is from Earth - early twenty-first century.

When the TARDIS lands, they find themselves on a cold, windy, snow-covered cliff top with a ring of standing stones. As they look at it, a helicopter rises to cliff level, and soldiers with rifles start to leap out. The soldiers want to know why the Doctor, Rose and Jack are there, so the Doctor pulls out his psychic paper and says that they have orders to be there too. As they are talking, Colonel Levin gets a message that a body (in very bad condition) has been found in the stone circle.

Levin sends someone down to the village (near the submarine base that was abandoned twenty years ago) to fetch a woman named Sofia Barinska, who is the police officer there. She thinks the body is of a boy named Pavel Vahlen, who disappeared the night before. The girl he was thought to be with is still missing. Jack goes with a soldier named Sergeyev to look for her.

Jack and the soldiers fan out in the woods to search, and Jack almost trips over the missing girl. She alive, but her face has become very old, and she is unresponsive. She is helped up, and then Jack supports her out of the woods and back to the circle. Sofia tells them that he name is Valeria Mamentova. She thinks the cause is Vourdulak, a kind of Russian vampire.

They take Valeria and the body to the research institute. There are four people working there: Igor Klebanov (who was there when the base was all but closed down), Alex Minin (who handles that admin side of things, but is hated because he was previously the political officer), and two students who are there as part of their university training, Boris Brodsky & Catherine Kornilova.

The Doctor asks Rose to check out the village, and see what she can find out, so she rides down with Sofia. The village's power comes from the diesel generators on board the subs, and Nikolai Stresnev keeps them running. After talking to Pavel's parents and checking Sofia's house for messages, she and Rose go to the inn. It is a building that used to be the harbormaster's office, but now functions as an inn, community centre, and town hall.

The Doctor has a sample of one of the standing stones and wants to see what it is made of. He is told by Klebanov to ask Minin, and when he visits, realizes the Minin not only keeps the institute supplied, but finds ways to help the villagers too. He also has all the records for the village, going back for many years, including reports of other deaths. Minin sends the Doctor to see Catherine about a microscope.

Catherine helps the Doctor prepare a slide from the sliver of rock that he brought. When they look at it, it resembles a printed circuit, rather than the granite and quartz stone everyone assumed they were.

The Doctor looks at the sample for a long time, then asks for a different one. As Catherine is removing the sliver with tweezers, it falls and she picks it up with her fingers. It turns her fingertips numb, and makes them wrinkled and old looking. The Doctor drops it on his palm, and it does the same to his hand. His skin recovers almost instantly when the sliver is removed, and he tells her that hers will recover in a day or two. He wonders aloud why the energy absorption is tuned to just one strain of DNA life force (noting that he isn't 'close enough').

Meanwhile, Jack and the soldiers have taken Valeria home, and are now checking the submarine pens for radiation.

At the inn, Rose is told that she should visit Georgi, an old blind man who 'sees things.' He tells Rose that a man with a wolf on his arm will kill him. And then he tells her that there is something in the water, and soldiers on the quay. He 'sees' something with tentacles slither out and kill Nikolai as he goes back to the generator. The lights go out just as Georgi 'sees' Nikolai die.

Rose runs back to the inn to get Sofia, and they both go out to the quay to look for Nikolai. They find him dead, and Jack comes running when he hears her scream. The soldiers try to use their radios, but get nothing but static. One of them says he can fix the generator, and Jack and Sergeyev go with him. Sofia decides that she needs to look at the stone circle again, and Rose comes along.

Jack and the soldiers get the generator repaired, but before they can leave the ship, one of the blue slithery jellyfish creatures comes on board the sub. They are about to climb the ladder and get out, when another shows up. They hide under panels in the floor, and one soldier is found. Jack has Sergeyev hide in a cabin, while he draws the creatures off. He ends up in the torpedo room.

At the stone circle, Sofia says something about systems starting up on their own, which means the stones will always be active, and then she grabs Rose and tries to force her to touch a stone. Rose manages to twist away, and Sofia falls against the stone instead, and becomes very old. Rose runs for the car, and manages to evade Sofia.

Rose drives to the village, and goes to Sofia's home. She finds a chair in the spare bedroom, with pipes and tubes running into the floor and a headpiece above it. She goes back downstairs, following the pipes, and finds a door. She hears Barinska come in, and sees her go to the upstairs spare room, sit on the chair and become young again.

Rose figures out how to open the downstairs door, and finds herself on a set of steps leading down to a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is a hatch leading into a spaceship. There is another hatch on the other side of the huge room, leading to another tunnel that ends at the sea. She sees a shape coming out of the water, and recognises Jack. She gives him her coat, and they go back into the ship. Jack realises it must be where the signal was coming from. In the ship, the bodies underneath the sheets are part human, part animal.

Sofia opens the hatch and enters the ship. Just as she attacks Rose with a knife, Jack shoots her, then twice more before he grabs Rose's hand and takes her out the door toward the ocean. Just outside the door is a flight of steps. At the top is a door that is blocked by boxes. Someone starts moving them while the two of them shove, and the Doctor and Minin are on the other side.

Jack and Rose take the Doctor down to the ship. He says that the pilot was probably killed when it crashed, but auto-repair fixed the ship. But since nothing happened, the ship still thinks there's something wrong, so it's sending out the signal. It should just collect wind and heat and other energy, but someone tampered with it and now it only takes the life force from humans. The system is really going crazy now, because the ship thinks it's about to be rescued. The only way to stop the process is to drain the power down completely.

Barinska surprises them in the ship. Levin and his men also enter the ship, and she is shot several times. The Doctor leaves through the door leading to her house, and she follows. The Doctor is hoping to get a look at the equipment in her house, but she is following too close, so he runs toward the harbour. He hides, but one of the blue creatures appears, and grabs him. Once again, the ship decides he doesn't like him after all and lets go, and so the creature grabs Barinska instead.

The Doctor, Jack, Rose, Levin and the soldiers go to the inn, where the Doctor tells them (and the villagers still there) about what's going on. As they are discussing what to do, Georgi stumbles in, telling them that the blue creatures are coming to get them. The Doctor says that the ship probably uses a psychic wavelength to communicate with the remotes, and that Georgi might be picking up on it. The Doctor thinks that if that is the case, perhaps Georgi can also send different instructions.

Suddenly, the remotes attack the inn. The villagers, Jack, Rose, Levin and the Doctor manage to escape, and Levin orders the soldiers to go door to door, warn as many of the villagers as they can, and have everyone head for the institute. As the Doctor and Rose head up the hill, Georgi tells Rose 'Don't let him kill me' and when she asks who, he says 'The bad wolf.' Once at the institute, the soldiers and the fittest of the villagers start to build a bonfire to block the road.

Jack suddenly realises Valeria, whom he has been insistent upon protecting, is not with the procession. Her father, Mamentov, does not care for her at all and has left her behind. Jack perilously runs back to the house, and narrowly rescues her from the blue 'blob' creatures. On the way, he meets with Sergeyev, who has escaped from the submarine. Despite their mutual dislike from the start, Sergeyev saves Jack, and dies saving him and Valeria.

Klebanov suggest that the Doctor take Georgi to the Clean Room, which is a glass cage in a large bare room. The glass is bullet- and blast-proof, and there is an electronic locking system on both of the double doors. It used to be the room where they worked with contagious bacteria. The Doctor seats him in a chair, talks to him quietly, and then puts his fingers to Georgi's temples and puts him into a trance. Rose volunteers to stay with him, but the Doctor asks Minin to stay instead. He asks for the number, so he can call to give new instructions. None of the other phones are working, but Rose's super phone will.

The pile for the bonfire is quite high, and the Doctor tells them to go ahead and light it. The idea is that Georgi is hacked into the system, and can tell the creatures to head straight for the flames, which won't kill them, but will stop them.

As Rose and the Doctor watch the flames, she sees that some are coming around the sides, and the Doctor says that either Georgi isn't succeeding, or Barinska wasn't alone. The Doctor calls Minin and tells him to stop Georgi.

When the Doctor gets to the room, he finds Minin trying to get in the glass cage, but manages to trap himself in the space between the two doors, with no way back to the Doctor, and unable to get through to Georgi. The Doctor tries to use the sonic screwdriver, but it melts the keypad. They manage to rip it out, but the inner door only opens a few inches and then jams. Minin tries to fire a warning shot, or just wound him, but ends up shooting a canister of deadly gas behind Georgi. The old man is killed, and the gas is seeping towards Minin who is trapped. The father of Pavel Vahlen (the boy who was killed at the start) brings his toolbox and reluctantly helps Minin out of the Clean Room.

Most of the creatures are coming around the flames, so everyone retreats into the building, and then barricades all the doors and windows. The Doctor tells them that Plan B is stop the ship, but when they open the hidden door in the storeroom, a creature is on the other side. So they have to create Plan C.

They go back to Minin's office to look at plans for the building. The Doctor points out that all the offices are around the outside of the building, but there is nothing in the center. It's not a covered courtyard, because there are wires and pipes leading inside. They decide to find a way in, as it might be the best place to defend themselves.

Klebanov says that the space was the main lab, and that it was sealed off in the 1950s because of an accident. But they decide to blow a hole in the wall anyway, since they don't have much chance if they don't. The Doctor tells Rose and Jack that the room is safe, because the air conditioning is still connected, so there was never a toxin or a leak.

They blow a hole in the storeroom wall, which lets them into a corridor. They open the door to the lab, turn on the light, bring everyone in, then barricade the door. Inside are skeletal grey figures in lab coats, that begin to move. And then they realise that Klebanov was also working with Barinska. The Doctor glanced at Jack (to let him know he needed to get working on Plan D), and then keeps Klebanov talking.

As the creatures break down the door, the scientists try to drive the villagers toward them, and Jack and one of the soldiers - Lieutenant Krylek - blew a hole in the wall. The Doctor takes the villagers down to the (formerly) dry dock. However, Valeria is left behind, and Jack shouts for Rose to bring her with them. Jack and the soldiers try to keep the scientists at bay, but bullets don't have much effect - only slow them down. Then they suddenly slip away, leaving the soldiers trapped with the blue blobs. The soldiers blow a hole in another wall and escape.

Most of the village's fuel is at the dry dock. They spread it over the ground, planning to light it as soon as the blob creatures get there.

The scientists plan to detonate missiles left on the subs, in order to power up the ship and make all of them young and healthy again. Rose, who has been tailing the group who have taken Valeria as hostage, follows them down the cliffs, and then into a sub.

The Doctor said he was going for a swim, and then reappeared, telling them to be sure to keep a couple of blue blob creatures alive. He says he has been to the ship, and after the majority of the blobs are burned, he wants Jack to run back to the lab with the remaining blobs following. Jack tells him that the scientists are on one of the subs, but all the missiles have been decommissioned - by Klebanov.

The Doctor goes down to the sub with the scientists and Rose, and opens the secondary hatch. He finds Rose, and tells the pursuing Klebanov that it won't work. Just as they are ready to launch a missile, there is a klaxon and a systems failure. The Doctor tells them that he moved the refueling hose to the seawater intake.

Jack gets the blue blobs up to the lab, where they sensed a larger power source and go after it instead of him. Then he runs back to the docks. He bursts into the sub as the klaxon sounds, just in time to see all the scientists sink and lose all their energy. The ship is caught in a loop, and its power is draining away.

At a fancy dress party in Bromley, a young Roman starts a fight with a caveman.

Meanwhile, on the TARDIS, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack Harkness are setting off to Kegron Pluva. Explaining that it is a "dirty rip engine" that is causing the disturbance, the Doctor pilots the TARDIS to Bromley in the early 21st century.

The TARDIS lands, and the Doctor and Jack attempt to trace the disturbance. Rose goes across the street to a manicure shop and finds out that a fight at a nightclub resulted in a caveman being taken to hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the trio soon realize that the army has closed it off. The Doctor and Rose go into the hospital. Inside, a nurse explains that someone was brought in the night before with the Ebola virus.

After finding the room with the Neanderthal, the Doctor explains that he is Dr Table and that he is an expert in acromegaly. With the help of the patient's nurse Weronika, they get the Neanderthal out of the hospital and into the TARDIS.

The Neanderthal gives his name as Das, and the Doctor asks him how he came to be in this time period. From his explanation, they realize the dirty rip engine is from time travelers visiting in 29,185 BC. As the TARDIS leaves, Das starts to dissolve in a green pool of light. The TARDIS shudders and shrieks, but manages to reverse, and the Doctor says the original time trip has polluted Das's cell structure, and he cannot go home.

The Doctor and Rose go back in time to figure out what's going on. He's rented an apartment for them, gives Jack a psychic credit card, and says they'll be back in a month.

The TARDIS lands on a plain, with forest nearby. They head into the trees. They see a good-looking young man eating lunch, but when they head toward him, he runs off. While tracking him, they suddenly end up in the remains of a large animal, and hear noises from whatever killed it heading their way. Suddenly, loud thumping music screeches out, and the predator runs off.

The noise came from two more time travellers, who are unsurprised to see the Doctor and Rose. The two men are dressed like the man they were tracking, are also very good-looking, and both wearing name badges. Rose realizes that they seem very 'blank' and show very little emotion.

The two men take them Das's squeaky tree, which is a lift that goes to a huge cave containing a wooden city called Osterberg. As they go to meet Chantal, Rose notices that everyone is movie-premiere attractive, except for one man who looks normal and is dressed very eccentrically with a broad brimmed hat and a cape.

Chantal is very tall, and incredibly beautiful. She is talking to the man in the hat, who is called Quilley. He is complaining about the experiment being on day forty-nine when it was only planned for forty. Chantal recommends he use combo 662 to stop worrying, and Quilley says he doesn't want it. The Doctor introduces himself and Rose, and while he stays to talk to Chantal, Rose goes with Quilley to talk about 'zoo-tech.'

Chantal has Lene show the Doctor around Osterberg. The Doctor decides to see if he can break through the universal indifference show by the Osterbergers by asking Lene to pretend that he knows nothing about the city or why they are there. She looks irritated for a moment, then taps the keypad on her badge and is wildly enthusiastic about explaining it all to him. She tells him that Chantal is the boss, and came up with the idea of traveling to the past. Everything that the team does is for her.

The Doctor arrives at Quilley's home, and explains that he's worked it out. The Osterbergers come from a time after AD 436,000, when a massive space battle caused Earth to be hit with an EMP-like wave, knocking out all electronics and stopping progress in its tracks. Humanity was forced to focus on non-electronic fields of science, like chemistry and biology. Eventually, the advances in the two fields allowed humans to fully map out the human body. In essence, doctors will act like mechanics - taking people apart and putting them back together with no ill effects. The Doctor shows Rose one of the badges, and tells her that they use pharmacology to block any 'wrong-feeling.' Quilley is a Refuser, and won't use the popper packs.

The Doctor asks Quilley to show them the time machine that they came in. It runs on steam, and the Doctor wants to check it out thoroughly, so he tells Rose she should investigate the creature they encountered earlier. Quilley tells her that Reddy is going out to visit the Neanderthals, and she could go out with him. She starts to ask if he will care, then realizes he'll just say 'Yeah, fine, whatever' and not ask any questions.

When they enter the Neanderthal camp, Reddy (who is the first man seen by Rose and the Doctor) is greeted by a female named Ka. Rose tells them that Das is OK, which they are relieved and happy to know, but that he won't be coming back. Suddenly, there is a great commotion as a band of human cavemen in skins and blue paint attack the village and takes Rose prisoner.

The Doctor finishes his examination of the engine, and tells Quilley that something is bleeding power off it. They trace the pipe to the 'Grey Door' and go to see what it is. It has a huge locking mechanism, and the Doctor starts to open it with his sonic screwdriver. They hear a voice from the inside, that Quilley identifies as an Osterberger named Tina. The door opens, and at first there is nothing, then a skeleton wearing Tina's name badge is thrown out.

The Doctor starts to shut the door, but a grey six-fingered had emerges and pushes back. A tall creature looking vaguely humanoid wearing a suit jumps out and asks if they are human. The Doctor says of course not, and orders the creature back inside. He manages to intimidate it and relock the door. The Doctor tells Quilley that the creature is a product of genetic engineering, created by someone in Osterberg.

As they walk away, they see Chantal approaching with two other Osterbergers. She tells him the creature is called a Hy-Bractor, and the Doctor calls her its mother. She is holding a remote control, which she uses to make the two people with her attack the Doctor and Quilley. They are clubbed unconscious, and the Doctor awakens in Chantal's lab, drugged with a popper pack.

Rose wakes up to see an old woman and her son. She gives them her name, and tells them she comes from 'nearer the river.' The woman tells Rose that they have decided she's going to join the family and marry her grandson, which would make her a queen. Rose tries to tell them that she doesn't want to marry Tillun, but her objections are brushed off. She finally tells them that she has to go out alone and appease her tribe's god before the wedding, and walks out of camp.

Even though Chantal has given the Doctor twice the normal dosage of chemicals, he manages to fight them off well enough to tie her to a chair and then go to find Quilley. He rips off his and Quilley's popper packs, and goes to look for an antidote. While looking in the supply centre, he realizes that the popper pack refills are almost gone.

Chantal is freed by one of the Osterbergers, who she takes to the Grey Door and feeds to the Hy-Bractor. She then sets all four of them free to eat the rest of the humans, with the exceptions of each other, the Doctor, and herself.

The Doctor hears the screams, and provokes Quilley enough to overcome some of the effect. He tells him to save as many of the Osterbergers as he can. Then the Doctor goes to warn the Neanderthals and other people on the surface, and to find Rose. Quilley does his best to motivate the Osterbergers, but is only able to escape with two other people. They take the lift to the surface while the Hy-Bractors eat everyone else.

Away from the tribe, Rose realizes she has no idea how to find her way back to the Neanderthals. She has been followed by Tillun, who wants to know why she won't marry him. As she tries to explain, they hear hoofbeats and hide. The bushes are parted, and the Doctor is there. He used the psychic paper (which also does pictures) to tame the horse.

The Doctor tries to tell the Family that they must hide deep in the cave, but they won't believe him because he is a man and an outsider. Rose asks if they will believe her if she joins the Family, and is told that they will. So Rose agrees to marry Tillun. As soon as the ceremony finishes, she orders them to hide. Tillun tries to make her stay, but the Doctor knocks him down and they leave on the horse.

The Doctor and Rose find the Neanderthal camp site, but there are only four of them left alive - the rest have been killed by the Hy-Bractors. Chantal walks into the clearing and they are both captured. The Doctor again awakes in Chantal's lab, where she has also brought the TARDIS. She tells the Doctor that it won't open for her, and then threatens Rose if he will not help her get inside. Between the two of them, they manage to capture Chantal and drug her with a double dose from a popper pack.

The Doctor sets to work designing a way to defeat the Hy-Bractors, and runs outside to disperse it into the air. A Hy-Bractor who was still in Osterberg enters the lab and frees Chantal. When it tries to eat Rose, she opens her mouth and breathes fire on it (the same thing happening to other Hy-Bractors on the surface).

Chantal makes her way to the time travel machine, where she is found by the Doctor. He tells her not to enter the beam, but she does and is torn apart by the time winds. The Doctor realizes that the machine is going to blow up, and he and Rose take the TARDIS to the surface. They land near Quilley and the other two Osterbergers, but are then discovered by the remaining Hy-Bractor. The Doctor tells it that Chantal is dead, but that she asked him to tell it to eat anything except humans, and it believes him.

Meanwhile, Jack is helping Das adjust to modern life. By the time the Doctor and Rose return, Das is sufficiently acclimated, has a job, and even finds a girlfriend who suits him. The novel ends with the TARDIS crew jumping forward several weeks to Das's wedding. Back in prehistoric time, Quilley marries Tillun's grandmother, with the remaining Neanderthals and last Hy-Bractor also living with the family.

In their castle, a wealthy couple (Frank Wolff and Erika Remberg) watch an erotic movie with their adult son, played by Paolo Turco. Later that evening, at a local carnival, they spot a woman (Silvana Venturelli) who appears to be one of the performers in the film, and decide to take her home with them. Although a subsequent viewing of the film calls the woman's identity into question, their house guest quickly succeeds in seducing the various members of the family, resulting in the revelation of certain facts, fears and desires.

A respectable looking man appears unannounced and uninvited at an upper crusty wedding at a Park Avenue residence in Manhattan. He asks for the groom, John Willis (Raymond), to be summoned. The sobriety of his appearance, speech, and manner yield acquiescence. After a cordial greeting, Harry Blair, a psychiatrist, recounts in a series of nested flashbacks a tale of Willis’ fiancé and his ex-wife Nancy (Day) being not only a kleptomaniac, inveterate liar, and murderess but unpunished for any of her crimes.

Apparently all her misdeeds trace to being falsely accused of stealing as a child. Blair recounts that Nancy first dates then splits up with an artist, Norman Clyde (Mitchum), who contacts Blair on the eve of the execution of the man convicted for a murder she committed and he helped conceal. Unaware of any of this until told by Clyde shortly into his hasty marriage to Nancy, Blair is skeptical and recommends Clyde seek counseling for his delusions. Instead Clyde plunges himself out a window of Blair’s upper story office.

Blair seeks to put the doubts Clyde sowed behind him, but discovers on his own grounds for questioning Nancy. When, five years in, he finally is faced with the truth of her serial thefts and compulsive deceits she has him fraudulently committed to a mental institution. Some unspecified time after divorcing him she becomes engaged to Willis.

It is left totally opaque whether she recognizes he's the son of the woman who had accused her of thievery, and that her childhood bete noir is set to become her mother-in-law.

In spite of Blair‘s passion recounting the unseemly details of the previous decade, an increasingly unsteady Willis remains determined to see the wedding through. The bridesmaids attend to Nancy as the ceremony nears.

Dressed in her gown and veil, Nancy is gifted a family keepsake passed down over three generations of Willis women - the same heart-shaped golden locket that had once been her downfall, now affectionately clasped around her neck by the very same woman who had tormented her. Overwhelmed, she is beset by hallucinations of her sordid past and collapses physically and mentally during the wedding march. In the turgid aftermath she is to be committed to a mental institution, with her ex-husband counseling her fiance and his mother to show her both patience and compassion.

In a working-class district of Paris, Albert, a penniless street singer, lives in an attic room. He meets a beautiful Romanian girl, Pola, and falls in love with her; but he is not the only one, since his best friend Louis and the gangster Fred are also under her spell. One evening Pola dares not return home because Fred has stolen her key and she does not feel safe. She spends the night with Albert who, reluctantly remaining the gentleman, sleeps on the floor and leaves his bed to Pola. They soon decide to get married, but fate prevents them when Émile, a thief, deposits with Albert a bag full of stolen goods. It is discovered by the police, and Albert is sent to prison. Pola finds consolation with Louis. Later Émile is caught in his turn and admits that Albert was not his accomplice, which earns Albert his freedom. Fred has just got back together with Pola who has fallen out with Louis, and in a jealous fury at Albert's return Fred decides to provoke a knife fight with him. Louis rushes to Albert's rescue and the two comrades are re-united, but their friendship is clouded by the realisation that each of them is in love with Pola. Finally Albert decides to give up Pola to Louis.

After the attempted theft of his daughter's fiance's car, LAPD Captain Gibbs declares war on master car thief Maindrian Pace. Meanwhile, Pace is hired to steal 40 cars, and must do so without being caught.

Pépé le Moko, a criminal on the run from the police in Metropolitan France, lives with his gang in the Casbah quarter of Algiers where he is beyond the reach of the local police. They seek ways to lure him out of his refuge and a plot results in the death of a fellow gangster, but not of Pépé. The wily Inspector Slimane sees his chance when he learns that Pépé, who is fed up with his enforced exile and with his mistress Inès, has been struck by meeting the glamorous French tourist Gaby, mistress of a visiting businessman. When Gaby agrees to an afternoon assignation in Pépé's hideout, Slimane leads her to believe that Pépé has been killed and she reluctantly stays with her lover, who immediately books a passage back to France. When Pépé is informed that Gaby is about to leave Algiers, he leaves the Casbah to find her and is arrested at the harbour by Slimane. As he watches the ship take her away for ever, he commits suicide with a knife.

The action takes place in Sweden from 1958 to 1959. 12-year-old Ingemar gets into all sorts of trouble and adventures with his beloved dog. He and his older brother Erik become too much to handle for their single mother; Ingemar does not know that his mother is in fact terminally ill. In order for their mom to get the rest and recovery she needs, the boys are split up and sent to live with relatives. Ingemar ends up with his maternal uncle Gunnar and his wife Ulla in a small rural town in Småland. Ingemar is not allowed to bring his dog along with him, despite his protestations, and the dog is placed in a kennel. During Ingemar’s stay, he bonds with Gunnar over Povel Ramel's recording of "Far, jag kan inte få upp min kokosnöt".

In the town he encounters a variety of characters. Saga, an assertive tomboy his own age, likes him, and shows it by beating him in a boxing match. Among the more eccentric residents is Fransson, a man who continually fixes the roof of his house, and Mr. Arvidsson, an old man living downstairs who gets Ingemar to read to him from a lingerie catalog.

Later, Ingemar is reunited with his family, but his mother's health soon takes a turn for the worse and she is hospitalized. He and his brother go to stay with their uncle Sandberg in the city, but his wife thinks the boy is mentally disturbed. After his mother passes away, Ingemar is sent back to Småland.

Mr. Arvidsson has died in the interim; Gunnar and Ulla now share the house with a large Greek family. Gunnar welcomes him and consoles him as best he can, but the house is so crowded, he has Ingemar live with Mrs. Arvidsson in another house. Ingemar remains hopeful about being reunited with his dog and continues to ask his uncle if the dog can come stay with him. Meanwhile, Ingemar becomes the object of contention between Saga and another girl. When they start fighting over him, he grabs onto Saga's leg and starts barking like a dog. She becomes upset by his strange behavior and gets him into the boxing ring. During the bout, out of spite, Saga tells Ingemar that his dog (which he had thought was in a kennel) was actually euthanized. This, along with his mother's death, is too much for him and he locks himself inside Gunnar's one-room "summer house" in the backyard. While secluded here, Ingemar reflects on the death of his mother, the loss of his dog and a changing world. Ingemar uses the experiences of others and of his own personal loss to reconcile a life which is sometimes tough.

Throughout the film, Ingemar tells himself over and over that it could have been worse, reciting several examples, such as a man who took a shortcut onto the field during a track meet and was killed by a javelin and the story of the dog Laika several times, the first creature sent into orbit by the Russians (without any way to get her back down).

The film ends with the radio broadcast of a famous heavyweight championship boxing match, between Swede Ingemar Johansson and American Floyd Patterson. When Johansson wins, the whole town erupts with joy, but the now-reconciled Ingemar and Saga are fast asleep together on a couch, holding each other.

After the actress Lena had a sexual relationship with Börje, whose affairs with other women caused her to hate him and question her commitment to Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence, she continues to explore her sexuality and politics. She befriends a woman named Sonja, and they travel to Ströms Vattudal where they enjoy nude swimming and other excursions. While hiking, Lena also looks into a cabin and sees two women having lesbian sex. Lena returns to Stockholm, where she stays with the couple Hans and Bim. Bim notices Lena scratching herself, which Lena attributes to allergies. After Hans and Bim have an argument, Hans visits Lena in her bedroom. Bim enters with a magnifying glass and insists at looking at Lena's hand. She discovers Lena has scabies, disproving Lena's belief her constant itching owed to allergies and mosquito bites.

Lena approaches Börje in the car dealership where he now works, to inform him about the possibility that he also has scabies. He confirms he has been itching and accuses her of giving him the disease, citing her sexual promiscuity. She argues back he is just as promiscuous, resulting in a highly public heated argument. After he loses his job, they both head to the clinic for treatment.

Two young newlyweds from a provincial town, Wanda (Brunella Bovo) and Ivan Cavalli (Leopoldo Trieste), arrive in Rome for their honeymoon. Wanda is obsessed with the "White Sheik" (Alberto Sordi), the Rudolph Valentino-like hero of a soap opera photo strip and sneaks off to find him, leaving her conventional, petit bourgeois husband in a quandary as he tries to hide his wife's disappearance from his strait-laced relatives who are waiting to go with them to visit the Pope.

The story of Rival Schools introduces the player to a Japanese city called Aoharu City, where several local schools are the victims of unknown attacks and kidnappings of students and staff. The various characters in the game set out to find who is responsible for the attacks on their school, with the cut-scenes and fights portraying their interactions with the other schools and among themselves. Eventually, the story reveals that an elite school in the city, Justice High, is responsible for the attacks. The player's team eventually faces off against Raizo Imawano, the principal of the school, and first boss of the game. If certain requirements are met during the fight against Raizo, the story would continue as the player would then head into a true final boss fight against Hyo Imawano, Raizo's nephew and the true mastermind behind the events of the game.

The structure of the single player game of ''Rival Schools'' varied depending on how characters were selected. If two characters from the same school were selected (with a few exceptions), single-player would play in a progressing story with fights predetermined beforehand and each fight preceding and ending with short 2D cut-scenes to explain the story. If two characters from different schools were chosen, the single-player mode would instead play similar to other fighting games, with the player's chosen team fighting against random teams of opponents before facing the boss. In the arcade version, character selection is initially limited to selecting two characters from the same school and free selection of any character is accessed through time; the PlayStation version, which includes all characters unlocked by default, has no such restrictions.

Paris, December 1946. Jenny Lamour (Delair) wants to succeed in the theatre. Her husband and accompanist is Maurice Martineau (Blier), a mild-mannered but jealous man. When he finds out that Jenny has been making eyes at Brignon, a lecherous old businessman, in order to further her career, he loses his temper and threatens Brignon with death. Despite this, Jenny goes to a secret rendezvous at Brignon's apartment. He is murdered the same evening. The criminal investigations are led by Inspector Antoine (Jouvet).

The film tells the story of Domenico, a young man who forgoes the latter part of his education when his family is in need of money. Applying for a job at a big city corporation, he goes through a bizarre series of exams, physical tests and interviews. During a brief respite from the tests, he meets Antonietta, a young girl who has similarly forgone her schooling when in need of money to support herself and her mother. Through the course of this meeting, they have coffee at a local cafe and shyly discuss their ambitions and lives. Domenico is attracted to her, but they are quickly separated when they land jobs in different departments.

Meeting with a superior, he is informed that no clerical positions are available, and subsequently takes a job as a messenger while awaiting a better position. Domenico observes the other employees, at times noting optimistically their kindnesses, and other times the effect of the office gloom on them. Often disappointed in his endeavors to find Antonietta, he sees her one day among two other young men. He does not approach her, but later bumps into her. She invites him to a New Years Eve party held for the workers, which he decides to attend later in the evening.

Arriving at the party alone, and becoming aware of his awkward loneliness and Antonietta's absence, he accepts the invitation of an older couple to sit with them. He observes the other youth, dancing and having fun, while he remains silently in the company of the couple. When an older woman asks him to dance, he begins to drink and eventually feel a part of the revels of the party. The night culminates in a simple and free dance in which all the guests participate.

Returning to work the following day, he is offered a recently vacated desk of an employee since departed (an aspiring writer, presumed to have killed himself). Before being able to settle into the desk, however, the much older staff around him become disquiet, and complain about the number of years that they have waited to sit at the 'prestigious' desk Domenico has found. He learns that he would have to wait 20 years to sit in the first row of the chamber. He is moved to the back in a dimly lit corner, and, as the film ends, Domenico begins his first day in his "job for life".

Giovanni quits his job as a worker in Milan and leaves his fiancée Liliana in order to earn more money as a welder in Sicily.

While visiting her sister in Rome, Mary Forbes, an American housewife, has a month-long affair with Giovanni Doria, an Italian academic.

''The Pornographers'' tells the story of porn filmmaker Mr. Subuyan Ogata, whose business is under threat from thieves, the government, and his own family.

The Yang family, men and women, had served their country (Song Dynasty) loyally for generations. During the war with Western Xia, General Yang Tsung-pao is ambushed and killed. His death leaves his only son, Yang Wen as the only male heir left to the Yang family. His widow, Mu Kuei-ying, the grand matriarch and the entire family set out to avenge his death and defend the country. Due to the interference of a corrupt official, Wang Ching, the Yangs were unable to have the emperor's consent to use the imperial army.

Thus, they set off with whatever volunteer troops they could muster. Knowing of Mu Kuei-ying's reputation as a warrior and tactician, the king of West Hsia and his sons try various ways to stop her to no avail. They are outsmarted at the end as Mu Kuei-ying, the Yang family and Sung soldiers successfully storm their stronghold.

Colonial tea planter John Wiley, visiting England at the end of World War II, weds Ruth and takes her home to Elephant Walk Bungalow, the plantation house built by his father in Ceylon. They are stopped by a bull Indian elephant on their way to the house, which a very angry John frightens away with a few gunshots. Ruth soon discovers John is still dominated by his father, "The Governor", long after the man's death; and that John's mother was never happy at Elephant Walk. In fact, she left John's father shortly after their marriage but returned when she discovered she was expecting a child; and, eventually, she died.

Ruth has a strained relationship with Apphuamy, the principal servant, whose real master continues to be the late "Governor" – to whose tomb, in the garden, Appuhamy regularly speaks, expressing his dislike of the new mistress. A room containing a very stern, larger than life portrait of "The Governor" is kept in his room, which has not been changed since the old man died – and which is always kept locked. Appuhamy gives a sinister overtone to much of the otherwise genteel story.

Ruth learns from John that Elephant Walk is so named because his father, Tom Wiley, deliberately built it across the path of migration used by a herd of elephants to reach a water source. The elephants continue to attempt to use their ancient path to get to the water, but are kept out by the walls and the defensive efforts of the servants. Thus, Ruth's initial delight with the tropical wealth and luxury of her new home is quickly tempered by her isolation as the only European woman in the district; by her husband's occasional imperious arrogance and angry outburst; by Appuhamy's polite but nonetheless insubordinate attitude toward her; by a mutual physical attraction with plantation manager Dick Carver; and by the hovering, ominous menace of the hostile elephants.

The tide of Elephant Walk history turns in Ruth's favour when the district is hit by a cholera epidemic, during which she makes herself indispensable as a relief worker. Appuhamy confesses to "The Governor" that he was wrong about the new mistress, and he hopes that she will stay. But Ruth has made John realise that, as long as they stay at Elephant Walk, he will continue to be dominated by his dead father instead of becoming his own man; that they ''must'' leave. In the end, their decision is made for them when the elephants finally manage to break through the wall and stampede onto the grounds, killing Appuhamy in the process. Elephant Walk Bungalow is smashed and catches fire. The portrait of the Governor is seen burning, symbolising the end of the old regime. John and Ruth manage to escape as the house begins to collapse around them. Dick Carver sees them together in the hills just above the house and realises Ruth will never be his.

As John and Ruth look down upon Elephant Walk burning to the ground, it begins to rain. "I'm sorry", she says. "I'm not", he replies. "Let them have their Elephant Walk. Ruth, we'll build a new place – a home – somewhere else!"

The bull elephant which appeared on the road (near the beginning of the film) raises his trunk, and gives a mighty trumpet call, as the words appear on the screen, "The End."

While on holiday in Paris, American tourist George Stobbart witnesses an assassin dressed as a clown steal an old man's briefcase from inside a café and kill him with a bomb. George then meets and teams up with photo-journalist Nicole Collard; she was supposed to meet the old man, Plantard, and is investigating a string of assassination involving the same person in different costumes. George tracks the assassin to a hotel within the city, thanks to clues they left behind near the café, and recovers an ancient manuscript from the hotel safe that the assassin, known as Khan, had taken from the old man. George smuggles the document around a pair of thugs that are after it as well. George and Nicole discover it to be related to the Knights Templar and housing clues relating to places across Europe and the Middle East.

Discovering a tripod mentioned in the manuscript being housed in a local museum, George visits the site from where it came from at Lochmarne, Ireland. He learns that the archaeologist who found it, Peagram, had disappeared, leaving a package in the care of his assistant. The assistant is abducted by Khan outside a local pub, dropping the package. George tracks it down; it contains a gem mentioned in the manuscript. At the excavation site, he locates a mural pointing him to the Montfauçon in Paris. In Paris, George investigates a hospitalised man named Marquet who wanted the gem, and learns the tripod is to be stolen, moments before Marquet is murdered. George and Nicole thwart the theft, and hold on to the tripod.

George finds a hidden chamber beneath Montfauçon, within the city's sewers. He spies on a group there claiming to be successors of the Templars and plotting their rise, Marquet's killer among them; Marquet (who they say "was a liability"), Peagram and Plantard are revealed as Neo-Templars as well. After they leave, George investigates the chamber, discovers through the gem and tripod another clue pointing to the village of Marib in Syria, and travels there. George discovers a nearby rock formation called the Bull's Head detailed in the manuscript. He uncovers in a hidden cave a glass lens that the Neo-Templars sought, an idol of the being called Baphomet, and a stone map of Britain. Khan, who had been seeking George, arrives and corners him, but George outwits the assassin and escapes.

Back at Nicole's, George learns from her that a friend, André Lobineau, uncovered his next destination: a villa in Spain owned by the De Vasconcellos family. With permission from its sole surviving member, George examines the grounds and the family mausoleum and uncovers the family's chalice, hidden centuries ago. Returning to Paris, George tracks down the tomb of a De Vasconcellos ancestor at the Montfauçon – where also the lens reveals in a stained glass window a burning Templar and the date 1314 – and investigates an excavation site that had uncovered another idol of Baphomet, using the chalice to find another clue depicting a church with a square tower. George investigates the grounds in Spain further and finds a hidden well based on biblical references taken from the tomb. Within, he discovers a mural depicting a river running across a chessboard.

George and Nicole compile their clues with the help of André, and learn that the Neo-Templars are travelling to a site under the ruins of a church in Bannockburn, Scotland. The pair takes the night train to get there, only for the Neo-Templars to abduct Nicole. An old lady from their carriage is revealed as a disguised Khan, who helps George to overcome the kidnappers and rescue Nicole. Before dying from his wounds, Khan, implicated to belong to the Hashshashin sect opposing the Templars, explains that he and George were on the same side. The pair arrives to the church, where they discover the Neo-Templars seek to acquire the power of Baphomet and reforge his sword, the titular Broken Sword. To stop them, George and Nicole destroy the site with explosives acquired from Khan, burying the Neo-Templars and destroying the ruins above. When the explosion is finished, they kiss.

The main character of this story is Fernanda, a psychologist who works in a rehabilitation center for substance abusers. Fernanda has recently suffered a terrible tragedy, the man she was soon to marry was murdered while trying to resist a hold-up. During the assault, her father received a bullet in the spine which left him paralyzed.

At the beginning of the story we realize that Eugenio de la Peña, an evil drug lord, is in love with Fernanda and is willing to go to any extreme to make her his wife. But Fernanda meets the handsome Jose Luis, a writer and a literature teacher who works at a local private high school. Jose Luis is honest and hard working, charming and full of life. However, he carries a dark secret from his past.

When Fernanda and José Luis fall in love, Eugenio gets extremely jealous, but when he decides to eliminate his rival, he discovers that his own daughter Jaqueline, is in love with José Luis. Jaqueline, on the other hand, is being wooed by Manuel, who despite his popularity, cannot call Jaqueline's attention.

One of Jaqueline's friends is Emilia, a romantic but realistic young girl whose dream is to become a dancer. Emilia's boyfriend is Gerardo, whom she adores. Gerardo is the lead singer in a rock band. But soon, a dancer and choreographer called Enrique enters Emilia's life and falls in love with her.

Another of Jaqueline's friends is Lucía, the wealthiest of the dreamers, but also the homeliest. Lucia will fall in love with Gerardo but will be courted by Beto "Roque-feller". The colorful Beto lives in the same projects as Julieta, who becomes Lucia's best friend.

Julieta is ashamed of being poor and is bulimic. She constantly lies to her classmates about being wealthy and often brags about trips to Europe, expensive clothes etc. even though it is false. She will meet Carlos, a rich but second-rate physician. She will try to use him to pull herself out of her poverty, but eventually ends the relationship.

Julieta falls for a new rich student named Ruben Barraisaba. In the beginning, he finds her annoying, but then they begin to date. Ruben begins to falls in love with Julieta, but finds out she's been lying about her "wealth", and makes the assumption that she's only with him for money, and he decides to end the relationship.

Later, Julieta begins to date Beto and they develop a relationship. Meanwhile, with the help of a new student, Ana, Lucia becomes beautiful and makes a vengeful decision to get back at Gerardo for dating her out of pity. In the end, Gerardo finds out that Lucia is Adriana and is infuriated with her. They eventually forgive each other and start dating again.

The sports-themed series follows the on-and off-field antics of the fictional American football team, the California Bulls. The team changed owners throughout the series' history, with the premise that a woman is in charge.

During the first season Diane Barrow (Delta Burke) becomes the owner of her ex-husband's team as part of a divorce settlement, after he has an affair with the team's tight end. She quickly learns the ups and downs of pro football. In one episode, she is forced to coach the team herself after the head coach, Ernie Denardo, is placed in the hospital. She also has constant battles with her General Manager/husband's nephew, who has dealings with the local mob, and fights off advances made by her quarterback (played by Geoffrey Scott).

The second season dealt with two themes: training camp and the playoffs. Barrow was dealing with her players taking recreational drugs during training camp. During this season, O. J. Simpson joined the cast as T.D. Parker, a veteran running back who is forced to make the transition from player to coach. Two real-life football stars made cameo appearances: Marcus Allen portrayed a rookie who was taking over T.D.'s spot on the team, and Vince Ferragamo played "Mainstreet" Manneti, a veteran quarterback. Jason Beghe joined the cast to play Tom Yinessa, a walk-on quarterback who deals with his overnight celebrity.

Delta Burke left the show midway through the third season, after committing herself exclusively to CBS' ''Designing Women'', which she had begun starring on in 1986, and which was renewed. Diane loses control of the Bulls to Teddy Schraeder, her former lover, who manipulates everyone to his own ends. His antics include having T.D. fire Ernie as coach, letting Yinessa practice without a contract, and ignoring steroid use. Legal issues force him to leave the country and turn control over to his daughter, played by Leah Ayres.

Season 4 was briefly renamed '''''1st and Ten: The Bulls Mean Business'''''. Shanna Reed joins the cast as the team's new female president, representing the new owners, the Dodds Corporation. Her attempts to innovate include bringing a female soccer player in to kick, and signing an Olympic sprinter as wide receiver. Joe Namath has a cameo appearance. Shannon Tweed would replace her in Season 5, and remain with the show to the end. The show was renamed '''''1st and Ten: Do it Again''''' for the fifth season. The final season was '''''1st and Ten: In Your Face'''''.

A modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'', the film deals with the struggles of living in Harlem and interracial divides in the 1970s. Two teenagers living in the slums of New York City are deeply in love with each other. Angela is a Puerto Rican girl who lives in Spanish Harlem with her mother. She falls in love with Aaron, a young black basketball player. Their interracial relationship is not approved by either of their parents, and they soon find out that the same prejudice is shared by their friends and neighbors. They rebel by meeting in secret, yet soon find themselves in danger.

Paul Kersey returns to New York City after being banned for a history of vigilante justice to visit his Korean War buddy Charley, who is attacked by a gang in his East New York apartment. The neighbors hear the commotion and call the police. Paul arrives and Charley collapses dead in his arms. The police mistake Paul for the murderer and arrest him. At the police station, Police Chief Richard Shriker recognizes Paul as "Mr. Vigilante". Shriker lays down the law before Paul is taken to a holding cell. In the same cell is Manny Fraker, leader of the gang who killed Charley. After a fight between Paul and him, Manny is released. The police receive daily reports about the increased rate of crime. Shriker offers a deal to Paul: he can kill all the punks he wants, as long as he informs Shriker of any gang activity he hears about so the police can get a bust and make news. Paul moves into Charley's apartment in a gang-turf war zone. The building is populated by elderly tenants terrified of Manny's gang. They include Bennett Cross, a World War II veteran and Charley's buddy; Mr. and Mrs. Kaprov, an elderly Jewish couple; and a young Hispanic couple, Rodriguez and his wife Maria. After a few violent muggings, Paul buys a used car as bait. When two gang members try to break into the car, Paul shoots them with his Colt Cobra. Paul twice protects Maria from the gang, but is unable to save her a third time. She is assaulted and raped, later dying in hospital from her injuries.

Kersey orders a new gun, a Wildey hunting pistol. He spends the afternoon with Bennett handloading ammunition for it. He then tests the gun when the Giggler steals his Nikon camera. Paul is applauded by the neighborhood as Shriker and the police take the credit. Kersey also throws a gang member off a roof. Public defender Kathryn Davis is moving out of the city and Kersey offers to take her to dinner. While waiting in his car, Kathryn is knocked unconscious by Manny and the car is pushed downhill into oncoming traffic. It slams into another car and explodes, killing Kathryn. Shriker places Kersey under protective custody, fearing he is in too deep. After Bennett's taxi shop is blown up, he tries to get even, but his machine gun jams. The gang cripples Bennett. Kersey is taken by Shriker to the hospital, where he escapes after Bennett tells him where to find a second machine gun. Kersey and Rodriguez collect weapons. They proceed to mow down many of the criminals before running out of ammunition. Other neighbors begin fighting back as Manny sends in reinforcements. Shriker decides to help, and Kersey and he take down many of the gang together. Kersey goes back to the apartment to collect more ammunition, but Manny finds him there. Shriker arrives and shoots Manny, but not before getting wounded in the arm. As Kersey calls for an ambulance, Manny (who was secretly wearing a bulletproof vest) rises and turns his gun on the two men. As Shriker distracts him, Kersey uses a mail-ordered M72 LAW rocket launcher to obliterate Manny. The remainder of the gang rushes to the scene and sees Manny's smoldering remains. Surrounded by the angry crowds of neighbors, the gang realizes they've lost and flee the scene. As the neighbors cheer in celebration and with police sirens in the distance, Shriker gives Kersey a head start. Kersey gives a look of appreciation and takes off.

Harlan Banks (Steven Seagal) is a Robin Hood-esque thief who has always picked his own jobs and tried to pull heists that would leave him room to help out others. The work keeps getting riskier, and at the urging of his girlfriend Jada (Mari Morrow), Banks has decided to pull one final job, going in with some men who are planning a $20 million robbery.

After the heist goes bad, Banks heads to Las Vegas, where Jada wants him to get a real job. On the way to town, Banks and Jada passed a children's hospital displaying a going out of business sign. Banks gets a job driving an armored car for a man, Max (Kevin Tighe). The job is not exactly legitimate, and Bruno (Robert Miano), Banks' partner for the job, shoots a security guard, resulting in a chase through the Vegas strip in the armored van.

However, Banks is stopped and sent to prison, where he befriends an inmate known as "Ice Kool" (Treach). With Ice's help, Banks escapes, determined to hunt Max down. Along the way, Banks meets a federal agent named Saunders (Nick Mancuso), and it turns out that Saunders, who is in league with Max, is the man behind the setup. So Banks sets out to take down both Saunders and Max with a job.

Sandy McKenzie (Stewart Granger) sets out on his last hunt with his new partner, the obsessive Charles Gilson (Robert Taylor). While McKenzie has grown tired of buffalo hunting, Gilson derives a pleasure from his "stands" – killing an entire herd of buffalo at one time. When Gilson chases down and kills an Indian raiding party, he takes an Indian woman and her child captive. The presence of the native woman causes tension and Gilson becomes increasingly paranoid and deranged, leading to a stand-off between the two former partners.

In the final scene, McKenzie and the woman emerge from shelter to find that Gilson, though wearing a buffalo hide as protection from the cold, has frozen to death during the night, while waiting to ambush them.

The film is about a group of destitute children and their misfortunes in a Mexico City slum. El Jaibo escapes juvenile jail and reunites with the street gang that he leads. They attempt to rob a blind street musician and, failing at first, later track him down, beat him, and destroy his instruments.

With the help of Pedro, El Jaibo tracks down Julián, the youngster who supposedly sent him to jail. El Jaibo puts his unharmed arm in a sling, hides a rock in it and confronts Julián, who denies that he reported him to the police and refuses to fight El Jaibo because it wouldn't be a fair fight. As Julián starts to walk away, El Jaibo hits him in the back of the head with the rock. He then beats Julián heavily with a stick and takes his money, killing him. El Jaibo warns Pedro not to report the crime and shares Julián's money with Pedro to make him an accomplice.

Pedro's mother resents her son's behavior, and shows that she doesn't love or care for him. Pedro is saddened by this, vows to start behaving better and finds work as apprentice to a blacksmith. One day, El Jaibo comes to talk with him about their secret and, unbeknownst to Pedro, steals a customer's knife from the blacksmith's table. Pedro is accused of the crime and sent to a juvenile rehabilitation program, the "farm school," where he gets into a fight and kills two chickens. The principal tests Pedro by handing Pedro a 50 pesos bill to run errands with. Pedro accepts and leaves with the intention to complete the errands. As soon as he leaves, he encounters El Jaibo, who steals the money. Upset that his attempt to be good was foiled again, Pedro tracks down El Jaibo and fights him. The fight ends in a stalemate, but Pedro announces to the crowd that it was El Jaibo who killed Julián. El Jaibo flees, but the blind man has heard the accusation and tells the police.

Pedro tracks El Jaibo down once again to murder him. El Jaibo kills Pedro. While fleeing, El Jaibo encounters the police and, as he tries to run away, the police shoot and kill him. Meche and her grandfather find Pedro's body in their shed. Not wanting to get involved, they dump his body down a garbage-covered cliff. On their way, they pass Pedro's mother, who, though once unconcerned with her disobedient child, is now searching for him.

A clean-cut drifter ends up in a small town called Brewster. Getting wind of the local public-access television cable TV station, the man decides to host his own show called ''Our Town'', which becomes a focal point for town citizens to call in and voice their problems anonymously. However, things start to get ugly and tensions rise for the show, which begins to elevate the man's signature catchphrase "What's wrong with Brewster?" into an entirely new subject for the people of Brewster, when the town becomes embroiled in a mess it has created, driven by a man whose intentions might be far more sinister than he appears to be.

Scrooge and his nephews go on a quest in outer space to find an island in space to store his money on. They land on a small asteroid occupied by aliens and (normal) birds. Donald accidentally chases the birds away to a nearby planet, and with them, the only source of food for the aliens is gone. The aliens who were friendly at first are now mad at the Ducks. Huey, Dewey and Louie make Scrooge find a solution for the problem they caused. Scrooge sacrifices his fuel to get the aliens to the tropical planet nearby them. This detour results in a fuel stop at the space gas station, which gives Scrooge a high bill.

This story also shows how the emotions Scrooge has can be more important than his money.

Satan (Dark Prince in English as heard in ''Puyo Pop (video game)'') has used special magic to make the Sun bigger on a remote island, hoping to create a paradise where he can relax surrounded by girls in bikinis. (Draco Centauros, in the Easy difficulty, uses this as an opportunity to find a spot to get a tan, but gets a sunburn in the ending.) Arle and Schezo, in the Normal and Hard difficulties respectively, find the weather too extreme. Both of them set out to find Satan and stop his plans, but are repeatedly interrupted by others such as Zoh Daimoh, Draco Centauros after the end of her storyline, Suketoudara, Lagnus the Brave (Ragnus in ''Puyo Puyo Champions''), Rulue, and even each other. The ending depends on the playable character; Arle's ending involves Carbuncle firing a laser at the moon and turning it into a second sun, and Schezo's ending involves him shattering the crystal Satan had used to enlarge the sun and then being beaten up by Satan, with Schezo asking, "What's with this ending!?"

Angel saves a woman from a vampire in an alley; however, thanks to a tracking device, Wolfram & Hart lawyers surround the scene. Angel is admonished because the dead vampire worked for the firm's clients.

At Wolfram & Hart, Fred gets lost en route to her office. Wesley finds her and she tells him that her lab is “giganamous” and she's unsure of the function of most of the machines in it. Her assistant Knox catches up to Fred; Wesley tries to make conversation by asking him how long he's been evil. After Knox leads Fred to her office, Gunn meets up with Wesley, who complains that Fred called her lab assistant “Knoxy”. Gunn admits that though he doesn't belong there, they can turn things around and make them better. Lorne passes by, proving that he's extremely comfortable in this new setting. Meanwhile, Angel's liaison to the Senior Partners introduces herself as Eve; she tosses him an apple to drive home the irony of her name. She points out that if he wants to use Wolfram & Hart's power to do good in L.A., he will have to be prepared to do some bad too, saying, "In order to keep this place running, you have to keep it, well, running." Angel responds with a simple bite of the apple.

In his office, Gunn encounters Eve, who says that things were a lot simpler when he was just hunting vamps on the street with his gang. She wonders if he's ready for “the next step” and he confirms that he is; she hands him a business card and says, “You’ll feel like a new man.”

The next day, Angel is unhappy to learn his new secretary is ditzy vampire Harmony Kendall (last seen on ''Angel'' in "Disharmony" and on ''Buffy'' in "Crush"); she tells him, “I’m strong, I’m quick, I’m incredibly sycophantic - if that means what that guy said - and I type like a superhero…if there was a superhero whose power was typing.” Angel notes that the blood she's brought him tastes good; she tells him that the secret ingredient is otter. Wesley arrives, explaining he picked Harmony from the pool because he thought he would like having someone familiar around. “You turned evil a lot faster than I thought you would,” Angel replies. Harmony's happy to be reunited with the group, especially Cordelia, until Angel breaks the news that Cordelia is in a coma.

Harmony brings in client Corbin Fries, on trial for smuggling in girls for prostitution and cheap labor. He readily admits he's guilty; when Angel says he has no incentive to keep him out of jail, Fries says, “Either you get me off, or I drop the bomb."

In a conference room, Lorne has each employee sing so he can read them for potential evil. In the science lab, Fred explains Lorne's skills to Knox; Knox tells her that if she wants him to, he'll go up and get read so that she can be sure he's not evil. Fred is still unsure that she'll be capable of running the whole lab. In Angel's office, the gang wonders if the bomb Fries threatened is mystical. Harmony says she has the address for a guy named Spanky, a “freelance mystic” whose name has shown up in Fries’ file. Angel heads to the garage, which houses a fleet of expensive corporate cars, and takes one out to pay Spanky a visit. Spanky reveals he built a mystical container which can hold anything, until the container is dissolved by a magic word. Back in the science lab, Fred and Knox look through Fries’ file and discover he is linked to a cult which specializes in “quick-fire disease scenarios.” When Fred tells him that Fries may be messing with a virus, Angel says that he knows where the bomb is: inside Fries’ son's heart.

Meanwhile, Gunn is enduring a stressful procedure at the doctor's office. Back at the firm, Fred tells Wesley that they've had no luck figuring out what virus Fries might be using. Eve pays Angel a visit in his office; she finds it ironic that Angel's dealing with a guy who put a virus in his own son when Angel just lost his son. She reminds him that Connor is happy and he's the only one who remembers him. Angel tells her that he doesn't want her to say Connor's name, and Eve says that if he takes every case this personally, he won't last long. Fred and Knox spend the night looking over files and photos while eating Chinese takeout. Frustrated, Fred accuses her crew of not working hard enough to save people. The next day, Fries’ trial continues; Lorne calls Angel from the trial and says that he thinks they should isolate Matthew (Fries' son); as Agent Hauser listens in, Lorne tells Angel that Fries has no chance of getting off. Hauser tells his agents to go after the kid and anyone within 50 yards of him, and as Angel heads for Matthew's school Harmony tells him that the special ops team are already on their way. However, when the special ops team gases Matthew's classroom, they realize it's empty except for Angel. “So it turns out,” he says, “with this new deal and all, I own a helicopter.”

As Fries’ trial heads into final summations, Gunn arrives in a nice suit and gets Keel to cede to him. Gunn moves for a mistrial and announces that the judge should remove herself from the case because according to the judge's tax records, she holds stock in a company owned by a company owned by Fries’. The judge claims not to know about the connection, but Gunn says ''he'' discovered it in only six hours. As Angel and the agents fight, Hauser calls him a “pathetic little fairy” who lacks the most powerful thing - conviction. Angel replies that there is something more powerful than that - mercy. He causes Hauser to shoot himself, and to a remaining guard's query about what happened to mercy, he replies that they've seen the last of his. Later, Eve explains to the group that Gunn agreed to let the firm “enhance” him with legal knowledge (and Gilbert and Sullivan for elocution). Angel wonders how Gunn knows for sure that nothing else was done; he said that he was in the White Room and is sure. Eve tells the group that they needed a lawyer, and Gunn had “the most unused potential” - and he just saved the day without using violence. Wesley notes that they did disable the vessel and Gunn says that Fries has to lie low until the trial comes up again, and when it does, he can drag it out for a long time. Fred wonders if they're actually going to do good while they're there, and Angel thinks that they are. He opens an envelope he received earlier and the amulet he brought to Buffy in “Chosen” drops out. The amulet activates and a familiar face, Spike materializes in the office.

Spike, still confused, wonders why the group is now working for Wolfram & Hart. Fred notes that Spike is definitely something mystical, but if he were a ghost, they would not be able to see him, because he lacks ectoplasm. Spike is also generating heat rather than absorbing it. Wesley says that Spike's essence must have somehow been absorbed by the amulet when he combusted while closing the Hellmouth. Angel notes that the amulet was supposedly buried in the Hellmouth, and wonders how it got to Wolfram and Hart. Fred suggests that Spike has some higher purpose and was sent by the Powers That Be, to which Spike thinks that he should have just died in the Hellmouth, since he helped save the world, and that the Powers shouldn't have been allowed to bring him back against his will. Spike suddenly starts to fade, then disappears completely. A minute later, he reappears and blames Angel for everything that has happened, since Angel brought the amulet to Sunnydale (see "End of Days" and "Chosen"). Spike suggests that Angel was too weak to use the amulet himself, instead leaving town and abandoning Buffy. Angel argues that Buffy made him leave, and that he had no choice. Spike adds that he doesn't have a choice in what he is now and, despite having a soul, doesn't care about destiny and atonement like Angel does. The others are surprised to learn Spike has a soul, and Wesley asks why Angel didn't mention it. Angel says that it wasn't worth mentioning, causing Spike to suggest Angel doesn't want another souled vampire in the world. Angel responds by saying that Spike isn't even really in the world.

Angel heads towards the lobby and is joined by a materializing Spike. Angel denies that he had anything to do with what happened to Spike. Spike calls him a sell-out, noting that one of his perks is that Angel has Spike"s "ex-tumble, the littlest vampire, fetching coffee" for him. He echoes Angel's realization from "Home" that fighting from inside the belly of the beast might mean the gang is being digested. He says that Angel isn't in control and doesn't know it. He suddenly spots a Grox-lar Beast, which Angel fights; Spike can't fight it because he's non corporeal. Angel breaks the demon's neck, then learns from Harmony that he was supposed to meet with it to negotiate with its clan. Gunn arrives and tells Angel that it might be okay, since Grox-lars respect people who take a "strong opening position." He mentions that when Wolfram & Hart gave him law knowledge in "Conviction," they put in some knowledge of demon laws from other dimensions. Harmony attempts to chat with Spike, but he ignores her and leaves, prompting her to call him a "slayer-loving freak." Angel and Gunn head to Angel's office and discuss the employees Gunn has fired. Spike arrives, noting that the building is huge, and Angel tries to kick him out so he can continue his meeting. Gunn warns that the fired employees are going to fight back, then says that he is going to have to deal with one now. An employee named Novac comes in and asks why Angel shut down the Interment Acquisitions Division (aka grave-robbing). The division is under contract to provide bodies to a necromancer named Magnus Hainsley; Angel tells Novac to get rid of Hainsley as a client.

As Novac leaves, Spike tells him that he doesn't have to take that from Angel. Angel kicks him out and Spike says that he doesn't want to spend his afterlife this way anyway. Later, Angel talks with Wesley, telling him that he could be in Spike's position right now. Wolfram & Hart gave him the amulet, so they must have expected him to use it and wind up where Spike is. Wesley notes that they handed over the firm to him and Angel wonders what the Senior Partners are up to. Spike returns and reveals that he tried to leave but something physically kept him inside L.A. Wesley says that that makes sense, since the amulet is Wolfram & Hart's property and Spike is connected to the amulet. Spike is annoyed that he can't leave and Angel is annoyed that Spike is going to keep haunting him. Harmony tells Angel that Novac is back and two men walk in holding buckets full of Novac's remains. Spike smirks and tells the gang they are doing a great job. That night, Angel tells Harmony that he wants to keep quiet about Novac for a little while. Gunn brings him Hainsley's file, announcing that he's a rich sorcerer with shares in Wolfram & Hart and a lot of connections. Angel determines that he's a necromancer; Wesley clarifies that he has power over the dead, which is why Wolfram & Hart was providing him with bodies. Angel returns to his office, where he tries and fails to kick Spike out of his chair. He decides that he's going to respond to Hainsley's bucket message in person despite Wesley's warnings. Before Angel leaves, Gunn gives him something to really hurt Hainsley.

Angel heads to the garage and gets into a Dodge Viper; Spike is already there, having guessed that Angel would pick that car. Spike is starting to enjoy the possibility of haunting Angel for eternity since he could drive Angel crazy and Angel wouldn't be able to do anything in response. Angel moves to a different car, but Spike is there, too, wanting to go on a road trip with his old buddy Angel. They drive to Hainsley's house, where Angel tells the butler to interrupt whatever Hainsley is doing. Angel and Spike find Hainsley's showroom, where he poses bodies.

Hainsley is in his workshop, chanting over a body as a demon chats nearby. Hainsley puts the demon's essence into the body and is interrupted by the butler, who says that there are men from Wolfram & Hart there to see him. Hainsley tells him to kill them. Back in the showroom, Spike says that the bodies there are lucky, since no one's forced them back into the world against their will. The butler returns with knives ("looks like it's buckets for you," Spike tells Angel), but Angel throws a teaspoon with enough force to bury it in the butler's forehead. Spike is disappointed in Angel's method of killing the butler, despite the fact that it did the job. "I know you can"t help me," Angel says, "but could you maybe not root for the other team?" They start arguing and Spike says that Angel has all this material stuff, but Spike saved the world and doesn't get anything. Angel replies that unlike Spike, he didn't ask for a soul - he had to spend a century coming to terms with what he'd done, while Spike was fine after a few weeks in a basement. Spike disappears before Angel can finish venting.

Angel breaks into Hainsley's workshop; the woman Hainsley put demon essence into tries to leave, but Angel punches her out. He tells Hainsley that he's cutting off his supply of bodies. Hainsley quickly takes control of Angel's body and freezes him. Spike reappears, telling Hainsley to do whatever he wants to Angel. Hainsley tells Angel that he could kill him right now without even using a stake, but he would be insulting the Senior Partners, who seem to have a plan for Angel. Angel calls Gunn and gives him the go-ahead to freeze all of Hainsley's bank accounts and turn over his books to the IRS. Hainsley threatens to sue, but Angel isn't worried. On the way out of the house, Spike taunts Angel for using legal methods to get Hainsley rather than using violence. Spike disappears mid sentence and rematerializes with Hainsley. Hainsley offers to restore Spike to a corporeal body again if Spike does something for him. Spike eagerly asks if the condition is to hurt Angel.

Back at Wolfram & Hart, the group begin to discuss Spike. Spike, unnoticed by all but Harmony, returns in time to hear the conversation. Wesley says that the only way to force him to leave the firm is to exorcise him, and that thinks that doing so would be merciful because Spike only has a half-life. Angel doesn't seem to care about mercy, only wanting the whole situation over. Wesley reveals him that the amulet is protected and normally cannot be destroyed, but the magic won't work on in a church or cemetery. Fred objects to the plan, saying it wouldn't be fair to truly kill Spike. Angel ends the discussion by saying he wants to sleep on the decision.

That night, Spike shows up in Angel's bedroom and reveals that he overheard the group talking about him. He also admits that Hainsley tried to make a deal with him, but he wants Angel to end his life. They head to a cemetery with the amulet and say their goodbyes. Angel picks up an urn and tries to smash the amulet but instead hits himself in the head. Hainsley appears, to which Spike complains that Hainsley almost let Angel destroy him. Hainsley knocks Angel out and states that he will not let anything happen to Spike because he plans on using Spike. Spike protests, but Hainsley assures Spike that he will be in Angel's body soon.

As Angel awakens in Hainsley's workshop, Spike contemplates the things he can do with Angel's body, including Fred. Hainsley starts the essence-entering spell, but is unable to complete it because Spike took over Hainsley's body during the spell. Hainsley realizes what Spike is doing, and that he can no longer control. Angel shoves Hainsley into the table, then Hainsley begins vigorously punching Angel. Angel decapitates Hainsley and Spike reappears, revealing that Hainsley died when he hit the table and Spike was just enjoying hitting Angel.

Back at Wolfram & Hart, Angel tells Wesley that Spike came to Angel with his plan to defeat Hainsley; Wesley says that Spike should have run the plan by everyone first. Angel says that Spike isn't good at sharing. Spike pays Fred a visit in the science lab, saying that she's "the science queen" and might be able to help him. He reveals that he's being pulled to hell when he disappears.

As Fred is working late in the science lab, Spike complains at how he cannot pick things up and scare people as a ghost. Fred argues that he is not a ghost, then notes that the temperature of the heat he radiates has dropped slightly. She promises again that she will not let him stay in the netherworld and will make him corporeal if she can defy some laws of nature. Spike disappears, winding up in the basement, where he hears a chopping sound and goes to investigate. He finds a man with a cut-up face chopping off his own fingers; he does a double take and the man disappears. Elsewhere in the building, Lorne negotiates a deal as he passes Fred. Fred heads to Wesley's office and requests some books. He tells her that he will get them for her if she agrees to have a real dinner, since she has been frequently eating takeout and working late. Eve takes Fred to Angel's office, where they discuss the amount of money Fred's department has been spending. Fred admits that she has to spend a lot to try to make Spike corporeal again; Angel says that he asked her to try to get him out of Wolfram & Hart. She reminds him that they were supposed to take over the firm to do good, but, of course, Angel says that that has nothing to do with Spike. Fred says that Spike is a champion, like Angel, but Angel has tired of the word "champion". She thinks that Spike would fight on their side if he could; Angel disagrees. He adds that the second he can, Spike is going to run off to Buffy. Fred thinks he is jealous and assures him that she is immune to Spike's charms - she just wants to help him. Angel replies that some people cannot be saved.

Spike reappears in the lab and notices a buzzing lamp and a looming shadow. As he heads down a hallway, the lights start going out and he hears a woman crying. He encounters a woman from the 19th century without arms; she disappears like the fingerless man. Upstairs, Spike meets up with Angel, who thinks that Spike is starting to feel how close he is to Hell. Spike says that it cannot be a big deal, since Angel managed to escape, but Angel says that he did not, he just got a reprieve. Spike says that Fred told him about the Shanshu Prophecy, which Angel says is not real because there is no such thing as destiny. He thinks that the evil things they did in the past are the only things that will wind up mattering. Spike asks why they should even bother to try to make good and Angel says they have no other choice. Spike suddenly sees a man hanging from the ceiling and realizes that Angel does not see him. Later, Angel, Spike, Wesley, and Fred meet up in Angel's office, where Spike tries to get the ghosts to go away. Gunn and Eve arrive and announce that, according to the building's "spectral sweeps", there are no ghosts. The ghosts tell Spike that something is coming as Spike begs Fred to do something to get rid of them. He disappears, then reappears, but no one can see him. The gang head off to look for Spike as a ghost tells him that no one can help him now. Spike spots the shadow from the lab again and follows it to the elevator, which starts moving on its own. Wesley, Gunn, and Fred head to Wesley's office, where they wonder if Spike is going crazy. Fred says that he is slipping further into Hell. Gunn and Wesley are not fazed by this and they both agree that that is where he is going. The elevator takes Spike to the basement, where ghosts tell him that the Reaper is coming for him. A woman with glass in her eye takes out a shard and cuts his cheek.

Up in the lab, Fred works on equations and is joined by Spike, who says that Hell is coming for him. He thanks her for trying to help him, despite the fact that she cannot hear him. He tries to touch her to encourage her; she feels a spark and determines that he is there. Angel arrives and Fred tells him that she thinks Spike is there. He replies that the mystics did another sweep of the building and did not find anything. Fred says she does not care and wants to figure out how to contact Spike before he is gone for good. The two of them meet up with Gunn and Wesley in a conference room, where they are joined by Eve and a psychic. The psychic conducts a quick séance, where she senses Spike's presence and says that he is in pain. She says that a "dark soul" is coming and Spike yells that it is the Reaper. The psychic starts choking and Angel thinks that Spike is attacking her. The psychic composes herself and appears to be okay, but then she explodes. Later, Wesley says that Spike would not gain anything from killing someone who was trying to help him; she must have contacted the "dark soul" she said was coming. As Fred showers in the lab, Spike wonders why the Reaper killed the psychic; he decides that it was trying to hide something. He reaches out and manages to touch the glass on the shower. He concentrates, writing something on the glass, and when Fred is done, she sees "REAPER" written on the glass. Suddenly, the glass shatters and Spike is yanked through a wall into the lobby. There, he is harassed by more ghosts and demands to see the Reaper himself. The Reaper - who is British and dressed like Jack the Ripper - appears and says that he is going to torture Spike. Up in Wesley's office, Gunn finds information on the "dark soul", but there are a lot of references to different people (four about Angel, who resents it because he didn't ''have'' a soul when he did them). Fred arrives and tells the others to cross-reference "reaper". Angel comes up with the name Matthias Pavayne, an 18th-century doctor nicknamed the Reaper for performing unnecessary surgery. Rather than praising him for being brutal, Wolfram & Hart killed him and used his blood to de-consecrate the ground of the L.A. branch; the site the seers had determined would work was originally a church, so Pavayne's blood was needed.

Angel notes that Pavayne practiced the dark arts, which is probably why he's not in Hell and can get around the mystics. Angel wonders why there aren't any ghosts in the building, since so many people have died there. Gunn says that Pavayne must be doing something to them, and Fred notes that Spike will probably be his next victim. Down in the science lab, Pavayne is having fun torturing Spike. Fred enters and Pavayne hopes that some day he'll get to deal with her. Spike fails to hit him since he is still non-corporeal. Spike and Pavayne wind up in the basement, where Pavayne brags that he can bend reality, which is why the gang cannot see Spike anymore. Pavayne and the ghosts taunt Spike, who says that Pavayne killed them all. Pavayne says that they died in service to the firm, but Spike says that he sent them to Hell, which means they are not really in the world. In the lab, Fred writes formulas on the whiteboard and then on the windows, and realizes that in order to save Spike, she and the others need a lot of dark energy. Gunn takes Angel to the white room, where Angel expositions that Gunn wants to take something from the conduit between Wolfram & Hart and other dimensions. They hear the panther and Gunn speaks to it calmly, eventually making a deal when it appears. Back in the basement, Pavayne continues torturing Spike and opens a portal to Hell. He says that he is sending Spike there so that he himself can stay in this world. He tells Spike that he is getting what he deserves; Spike agrees that he deserves to go to Hell, but not today. As Spike starts fighting back, he notes that since reality bends to desire, he could touch Fred and write on the glass because he wanted to, and he now wants to fight Pavayne. Spike starts hitting Pavayne, and they wind up in Angel's office; Pavayne fights back, appearing to enjoy himself.

The group meet up in the science lab again and Gunn gives Fred what he took from the panther. Fred does her thing as Spike and Pavayne keep fighting each other. They get distracted by an energy burst and Spike runs away. In the lab, Fred determines that Spike is there and tells him to step into a circle she has drawn so that he can become corporeal again. Pavayne grabs her and starts choking her. The others figure it out and try to fight him, but he knocks them across the room. Pavayne notes that Spike can choose to become corporeal or he can save Fred. Spike appears beside him and knocks him into the circle, where Pavayne becomes corporeal. Angel starts fighting him and Spike, now visible to the gang, tells him not to kill Pavayne; Angel is fine with just beating him up. The next day, Wesley and Gunn help Fred clean up the lab and try to make sure she is okay. Spike appears in Fred's office and she apologizes for being unable to do the ritual again to make him corporeal. He says that he is all right - he made the choice to save her instead and would not change his mind. He is afraid of trying something else and winding up like Pavayne, who cheated death any way he could no matter who it hurt. Fred says what she told everyone else was right - Spike was worth saving. Spike shows off his ability to bend reality to his desire by picking up a coffee mug, reflecting that there are worse things than being a ghost. In the basement, Angel and Eve imprison Pavayne in a device where he cannot move or affect anything around him, but will remain alive for all eternity in Hell, staring at an empty hallway through the window in his door.

As Halloween approaches, Lorne throws a Halloween party for all the firm’s clients and employees and even gets a reluctant Angel to invite a powerful demon lord, named Archduke Sebassis, to the party. During the gathering, Lorne's timely advice to his friends starts happening literally, leading to Fred and Wesley getting drunk after Lorne tells them to loosen up, Gunn to embarrassingly relieve himself to "stake out his territory", Angel and Eve to have sex, and even Spike and Harmony to have fun on the dance floor. The events lead to only more trouble when Lorne's empathic subconscious begins manifesting itself in a hulking demon (resembling a larger Lorne on steroids). The demon appeared as a result of Lorne's sleep deprivation after Lorne had Wolfram and Hart remove his sleep: an empath with long-term sleeplessness can write people's destinies instead of just reading them, and the empath's subconscious can physically manifest. The episode also reveals that Lorne is proud of his organizational skills, as he feels most of his other talents simply do not match up to what his friends can do.

The larger Lorne causes much violence before the gang restores Lorne's sleep, thus neutralizing the monster. The chaos and destruction has a positive side: the rank and file of Wolfram and Hart express the opinion that it greatly improved the party.

On the Mexican Day of the Dead, Angel has a run-in with a masked Wolfram & Hart employee. He is connected to an Aztec warrior demon named Tezcatcatl, who preys on the hearts of heroes. This leads Angel to wrestle with some personal issues when he learns about 'Los Hermanos Numeros', a family of five Mexican luchadores who helped the helpless until one day four were slain by Tezcatcatl. Angel helps the last member 'Number Five', the aforementioned employee, to discover the hero inside, which he lost when his family were killed. Angel, Five and his four brothers, temporarily back from the dead, battle and kill the demon. This leads to the death of Number Five, who is escorted into the afterlife by his brothers.

Meanwhile, Spike researches the Shanshu Prophecy about a vampire becoming human and thinks that he, not Angel, may be the vampire who will become human.

Wesley meets with a man named Emil in a warehouse and is displeased to be talking to a middleman when he had expected to meet with the distributor. Fred appears with a highly specialized rifle that has been custom-made by Wolfram & Hart and details the specs for Emil. Wesley notes that the whole shipment of guns is ready for delivery, but refuses to do any business until he meets the distributor. Emil starts to give him the name of the distributor when the three are attacked. Wesley, leaving Fred unarmed, shoots and kills Emil's bodyguards. As the fight intensifies, Angel arrives and kills Wesley's assailant with a chain. He gets a jolt of electricity, and when he pulls off the guy's mask, he sees a metal plate instead of a face. Wesley realizes that Fred has been injured in the attack, and Angel is angry at Wesley for putting her in danger.

Back at Wolfram and Hart, Angel blasts Wesley for putting Fred in danger as Eve tries to calm him down. Wesley argues that he needed Fred there to explain the weaponry to Emil; he chose her because she wouldn't make Emil suspicious, and she would be able to explain the weapon convincingly. Angel calls this a “reckless decision” and says that Wesley has to clear things like this with Angel. Eve wonders if Angel is really still mad at Wesley for taking Connor. Angel argues that Wesley was trying to do the right thing. “Are you worried about the next time Wesley betrays you trying to do ‘the right thing’?” Eve asks.

With her arm in a sling, Fred reunites with Wesley, explaining that she had been injured by a grappling hook. She tells him that they’re taking the cyborg apart in the lab to learn more about it. Wesley apologizes for getting her hurt, but she blames herself. He says that he should have protected her and she blasts him for being condescending. “Stop trying to be valiant,” she tells him. “You’re coming off like a self-pitying child.” Wesley looks past her and greets his father; she thinks he's being sarcastic, but his father, Roger Wyndam-Pryce, is actually there. Fred meets him, then rushes off, embarrassed at her outburst. Roger tells Wesley that they have to discuss some business - now that the Watchers Council has been destroyed, the other former Watchers, including Roger, want to reform the Council. Roger has come to assess whether Wesley should be invited back. When Wesley says he's not interested, Roger replies that he has the chance to clear the Wyndam-Pryce name. Wesley repeats that has no intention of leaving Wolfram & Hart, which Roger insists is nothing but an evil law firm despite Wesley's protestation that they are serious about doing good work. Lorne passes by, discussing movie business, and meets Roger, who's sarcastic about the effect an entertainment division will have on fighting evil. Gunn arrives to tell Wesley that the lab wants him to come look at the cyborg from the previous night. Wesley reluctantly invites Roger to tag along.

In the lab, Fred tells Angel that the body housing the cyborg may have once been human. As they discuss the blending of man and machine, Spike is interested, noting that sex with robots is more common than people think. Fred wants to access the cyborg's memory base so that they can trace its previous actions and possibly discover its purpose. Wesley introduces his father, who notes that he and Spike had met in Vienna in 1963 as Spike was slaughtering an orphanage. Spike looks uncomfortable and asks how Mr. Pryce has been. Fred asks Wesley to decipher some symbols found on the cyborg, and Roger reveals that Wesley had been Head Boy back at the Academy (noting, however, that the pickings were a bit slim that year), and Spike is delighted at the revelation. As Wesley begins to work, he accidentally activates a bomb. Wesley orders Fred to get as far away from the building as possible, announcing that he'll stay back and try to defuse the bomb. Suddenly, the bomb stops, thanks to Roger, who had more accurately translated the symbols. Angel wants to know what happened, and Spike gleefully reports that Wesley had been Head Boy at the Academy. Fred and Wesley explain the situation to Angel and tell him that Roger defused the bomb. Angel recognizes that Wesley is rattled by Roger's presence and notes how difficult father-son relationships can be. They discuss a report of assassins which might also be cyborgs; Wesley finds it interesting that the robots are fighting evil beings, possibly indicating that they are good guys. Later, after Roger tells Fred stories from Wesley's childhood, Wesley asks for his father's continuing assistance in dealing with the cyborg threat.

Once they're alone, Roger asks about Wesley's feelings for Fred, but he doesn't want to chat about his love life. He mentions that his last girlfriend was murdered and he had to chop her up, at which point his father gives up on the conversation. Wesley shows Roger the special Wolfram & Hart reference books, which Roger thinks are dangerous and could attract evil thieves. Up on the roof, a bunch of cyborgs drop out of a helicopter. Eve gets into an elevator and is joined by Spike, who has noticed her watching him and wants to know why. He thinks that there's more to her than she's letting on, and she accuses him of the same. Spike wonders why Wolfram & Hart is keeping him connected to the amulet that brought him back, since it was intended for Angel. Eve replies that he can't assume it was intended for Angel. The lights suddenly go out and Spike yells that Pavayne will never take him to hell, eliciting a strange look from Eve. Gunn tells Angel that they may have lost contact with security. The cyborgs infiltrate and start fighting. A cyborg heads to Wesley's office, where Wesley keeps his father from fighting it. Roger is upset about this and notes that the cyborg went straight for the books. They gather up the books and head through a secret vault, where Roger allows that Wesley handled the cyborg well. He then knocks Wesley out, steals some kind of wand from one of the vaults, and speaks into a communications device: “Phase one complete. Begin phase two.”

Angel, Gunn, and some others fight cyborgs in the lobby as Wesley regains consciousness in the secret vault. Back in his lobby, he sees that the cyborg he fought earlier is still alive. Fred runs into Roger, who says that Wesley went up to the roof to investigate something and asked him to tell Angel. Fred offers to take him to Angel. In his office, Wesley tortures the cyborg for information, demanding to know what Roger is up to. In the lobby, Angel and Gunn keep fighting and are joined by Spike, who is able to concentrate long enough to hit the cyborg attacking Gunn. Roger and Fred arrive and tell Angel to meet Wesley on the roof; Angel and Roger head up. Once they arrive, Angel realizes that Wesley isn't there. Roger points the wand that he took from Wesley's vaults at Angel, drawing white smoke from Angel's body. Wesley arrives and holds a gun on Roger, concluding that his father is removing Angel's free will so that Angel will be his slave. He accuses Roger of ordering the cyborg attack in order to smuggle in a weapon. Fred comes up to the roof as Roger blasts Wesley for working for Angel when he knows who he is. Wesley taunts his father, insinuating that Roger fears Wesley is better than he is. As a helicopter arrives to extract Roger, he demands the wand, informing Wesley that he will kill him for it if he needs to. Wesley threatens to drop the wand, which will break it and return Angel's will to him. Roger tries to threaten Fred's life by pointing his gun at her, but Wesley immediately shoots Roger without a second's hesitation. Wesley is sickened and horrified by what has just happened, and even more shocked when Roger's body is racked with electrical charges, revealing him to actually be a cyborg.

Later that night, Wesley and Angel discuss the cyborgs and wonder why they were after Angel. Wesley says that they must have crossed someone when they took over Wolfram & Hart. Angel says that others see them as weak, but Wesley corrects him, noting that they see Wesley as weak, which is why they targeted him. Angel says Wesley isn't weak - he does what he has to protect people and do what he knows is right. “You’re the guy who makes all the hard decisions, even if you have to make ‘em alone.” Wesley is disturbed that the Roger cyborg knew him so well. Angel points out that it had access to the Watchers Council files, which would have provided plenty of information. He tries to connect with Wesley by reminding him that when he first became a vampire, he really did kill his father. Wesley says this is a little different. On his way out of Angel's office, Wesley passes Spike, who says that when he first became a vampire, he killed his mother. Wesley, exhausted, wants no more details. He goes to his office and Fred stops by. Wesley asks her to please not tell him about how she killed her parents. She gives him a funny look and reminds him that it's not like he really killed his father - part of him must have known that it wasn't really him. Wesley says that, in fact, he had been positive that it was his father. Fred notes that Wesley did what he had to do when 'Roger' was threatening Wesley's friends. Wesley looks at Fred and tells her that 'Roger' had been threatening her. He tells her that his father pointed a gun at her and so he shot him. Fred and Wesley stare at each other until Knox interrupts, offering to take Fred home. Wesley tells her to go. Once he's alone, he calls his parents in England, just to see how they are. His relationship with his father is unchanged.

Flashbacks to London in 1880 show William (not yet Spike) and Angelus meeting for the first time. They become good friends until William discovers Angelus having sex with Drusilla.

In the present day, Harmony opens a package for Spike from an unknown source, producing a flash of light. Spike finds he is corporeal again and celebrates with Harmony. Eve announces that Spike now qualifies as a champion and because there are two possible candidates for the fulfillment of the Shanshu Prophecy, "the wheel of destiny starts to spin off its axis". According to the prophecy, "The balance will falter until the vampire with a soul drinks from the Cup of Perpetual Torment." Sirk says that the cup is now in a destroyed opera house in Death Valley, Nevada. At the opera house, Spike and Angel battle it out for the cup. Spike emerges victorious, only to find that the cup was a set-up and Sirk has disappeared.

As a little boy watches a TV show called ''Smile Time'', featuring puppets singing songs about learning, one of the puppets, Polo, tells the boy to put his hands on the TV. The boy's mother enters the room, horrified to see that the life has been drained out of the boy and his face is frozen in a rictus smile. In the science lab at Wolfram & Hart, Knox brings Fred files on children who have been hospitalized in the same condition as the little boy. Knox also gives Fred a valentine and tries to get her to discuss their potential relationship, but she gently declines his advances. When Harmony tells Gunn he filed the wrong papers, he tries to hide how worried he is about his mistake. Werewolf Nina arrives for her three nights of the full moon in the firm. She flirts with Angel as he leads her to her cell, and, uncomfortable, Angel leaves. He heads to Wesley's office, saying he is not sure how he feels about their platonic friendship turning into something else. When Angel says that he is worried about turning back into evil, soulless Angelus after achieving pure happiness with Nina, Wesley says most people have to settle for ''acceptable'' happiness, and there is no reason Angel cannot do the same.

Fred arrives with the new case. Angel notes that all of the kids were watching TV when they became ill and Lorne says ''Smile Time'' is on at that time and in "the right demographic". Meanwhile, Fred goes to see Wesley and tells him that she needs a ride home and is clearly hoping he will offer. Unfortunately, Wesley misses the signals, and he instead arranges for a driver to take Fred home. Angel heads to ''Smile Time'''s studio and enters a hidden room where a man with a towel over his head sits under a large egg. The egg opens, forming a glowing smile, and a blast of energy tosses Angel across the room, turning him into a sentient puppet.

When Puppet Angel explains to the group what happened, Fred tells the lab to start recording ''Smile Time'' so she can analyze it. Angel orders Lorne and Gunn to talk to the show's creator, Gregor Framkin, at the studio. Nina arrives, and Puppet Angel ducks under his desk so she will not see him. She tries to ask him if everything is okay, but he abruptly tells her to leave. Spike arrives and is shocked and amused to see that Angel is a puppet man. Puppet Angel gets angry and lunges at Spike. The two fight, crashing through the office doors into the lobby for all to see Angel as a puppet. The fight continues into the elevator, the doors of which close, and when the doors open Puppet Angel has managed to beat Spike.

Gunn and Lorne meet with Framkin at the studio. Gunn tries to tell him the laws he has violated, but he cannot come up with the right statute, and Framkin says he thinks he would be more likely to win than Wolfram & Hart in court. After Gunn and Lorne leave, it turns out that Framkin has a hole in his back and is being controlled by Polo. Framkin collapses as Polo pulls his arm out of a hole in Framkin's back and summons the other puppets - Groofus the dog, Flora, and Ratio Hornblower - with the news that Angel messed with the "nest egg". Flora suggests that they remove the zombifying spell on some of the employees so that they can see future intruders, but Polo announces that since their "system" has now been perfected, they will drain the life from all of their viewers the next day, instead of one kid at a time.

Back at Wolfram & Hart, Nina is preparing for her second werewolf night when Puppet Angel pays her a visit to apologize for the way he treated her earlier, shocking her with his puppet appearance. She tells him that he should not care what people think of him, since he is a hero. Puppet Angel turns away starting to say how hard it has been to be a hero—when Nina suddenly wolfs out and attacks him from her cage. Gunn heads to the medical wing to see Dr. Sparrow, explaining that he is losing his law knowledge. Sparrow tells him that the implant is failing in an "Acute Flowers For Algernon Syndrome"; the Senior Partners gave it to him because they wanted him to have it, and if it is fading, they must have wanted that as well. Gunn is unwilling to go back to the person he was, so Sparrow offers to give him a "permanent upgrade" if Gunn signs a contract to ship something out of customs for him. In the science lab, Fred and Wesley are watching ''Smile Time'', where Knox brings Fred coffee, but she orders him to go home. After he leaves, Fred confesses that she decided Knox was not right for her and tries to tell Wesley that she has developed feelings for him; however, he does not get the message. Suddenly, while the sound of the show is muted, Wesley notices Polo seems to be talking to the audience.

Puppet Angel is trying to sew himself up in his office when Wesley and Fred arrive to tell him the puppets' singing acts as a cloaking device, allowing Polo to address the children directly. Wesley says the "nest egg" holds the life forces of the kids, so if they can break the magic on it, they will save the kids and turn Angel human again. Gunn, who has regained his law knowledge, announces the puppets are running the show - Framkin made a deal with some devils to improve his ratings. Elsewhere in L.A., a little girl watches ''Smile Time'' and gets the message from Polo that all of the kids in the audience should put their hands on the TV.

Puppet Angel and the gang interrupt and the fighting begins, with Gunn decapitating Groofus the dog and subsequently fighting the female puppet Flora while Angel goes puppet-to-puppet with Polo. Fred and Wesley rush to the "Don't" room with the nest egg, where Ratio fights Wesley while Fred reads the spell to break the spell around nest egg, destroying the egg and saving the kids after Wesley defeats Ratio. In the main studio, Gunn defeats Flora and Angel defeats Polo. The next day, Nina wakes up in her cage with fabric around her and fears she ate Puppet Angel, until he comes in to tell her he is okay and will be back to normal in a few days. They agree to have breakfast together.

In Wesley's office, Fred tries to tell him she has been trying to subtly indicate her interest. She grabs him and kisses him; he happily returns the favor as the puppets sing their self-esteem song again.

In a flashback to Texas, Fred's parents are helping her pack for her move to Los Angeles. As she packs her stuffed bunny Feigenbaum, Fred promises her worried parents that she will live a boring life. In the present day, at Wolfram & Hart's science lab, Knox accepts the delivery of a sarcophagus. When Fred touches the lid, a puff of dusty air is released, making her cough. Later, she meets Wesley downstairs and they kiss, thrilled to finally be dating. Lorne starts singing "You Are My Sunshine" to Fred, who picks up the song. Lorne immediately realizes that something is wrong. Fred suddenly coughs up blood and collapses.

When Fred regains consciousness in the medical wing, her friends assure her that she will be okay, even though they do not know what is wrong with her. Gunn goes to the White Room where he meets the conduit. Gunn wants to make a deal for Fred's life and offers to give up his own but the conduit tells him that the Senior Partners already own Gunn's life.

Angel, Spike, and Lorne go to Lindsey's apartment, where they encounter Eve, who denies knowing anything about what is happening to Fred. Eve sings "L.A. Song" and Lorne determines that she is not involved. Eve suggests they look through the oldest scrolls for information on the Deeper Well. In Wesley's office, he tells the group that the demon in question is called Illyria and she is coming back to life by hollowing Fred out. Angel and Spike travel to England where the Deeper Well is guarded.

Wesley takes Fred home so she can rest. In her apartment, Fred asks for Feigenbaum, but cries when she cannot remember who he is. Wesley reads ''A Little Princess'' to comfort her as she deteriorates. Angel and Spike arrive in the Cotswolds and meet Drogyn, the keeper of the Deeper Well. As they head into the Deeper Well, Angel explains to Spike that Drogyn cannot lie.

Gunn and Knox discuss trying to cryogenically preserve Fred. Knox makes a slip of the tongue which Gunn catches, causing Knox to admit he is one of Illyria's acolytes. He tells Gunn that everything was planned millions of years ago and it cannot be stopped. He also reveals that Gunn contributed by unknowingly getting the sarcophagus through US customs by signing the contract to make his law knowledge permanent after finding out it was temporary.

Drogyn leads Angel and Spike into the Deeper Well, explaining that Illyria's sarcophagus disappeared a month before as it was predestined to do but the demon's essence can be drawn back to the well by a champion. However, if Illyria leaves Fred now, she would kill every person between Fred's body in L.A. and the Deeper Well. Angel realizes that he cannot allow that many people to die, even to save Fred.

As Wesley weeps and holds Fred's body in his arms, she begins to convulse, throwing them both to the floor. Fred rises from the floor as Ilyria.

The story begins with a mystery-suspense script that is being written by a man, Harrison (Dean Winters) who is a struggling freelance author of up-and-coming pulp novels. During the middle of Harrison’s day that was going uneasy for him, he becomes the unwilling babysitter of a charming, charismatic, and precocious little six-year-old girl, Jenny (Emily Mae Young), when her mother, Melissa (Lorraine Ansell), one of Harrison's former lovers whom he hasn't seen for several years, asks him to babysit because she needs to be out of town for several weeks.

Harrison is originally unenthusiastic about the arrangement, but soon he develops a tenderness for Jenny after spending time to get to know her. Little Jenny decides to play matchmaker for Harrison and Holly (Yasmine Bleeth), a beautiful woman he admires who frequently visits the same coffee shop as Harrison and Jenny.

Harrison tells stories for Jenny about '''Mr. Dodo'''—her favorite stuffed animal. Jenny secretly records them and gets Holly to transcribe the books, and they submit them to his publisher. Harrison accidentally discovers that he is Jenny's father. Jenny's mother returns early and takes her away. Harrison tries to find a job in order to have financial stability and eligible for custody of Jenny. Harrison tries to get custody of Jenny instead of her uncaring mother. The publisher contacts and contracts him for the Mr. Dodo series, which becomes a publishing success. Despite this, the judge (James Earl Jones) grants custody to Melissa. However, Melissa later realizes that she was wrong and returns Jenny to Harrison.

The episode picks up at the ending of "A Hole in the World" as Wesley realizes that Fred has become Illyria. Wesley attempts to speak to her to see if Fred is still there but Illyria states Fred is just the "shell" she is inhabiting. She then throws him across the room and says that if humans are in charge, she has a lot of work to do. Meanwhile, Angel and Spike fly back home, frustrated and disconsolate. However, Angel believes that since the body houses the soul, there may still be hope for Fred. Meanwhile, Gunn and Harmony have Knox tied up in Angel's office. When Wesley arrives, they tell him that Knox was involved with what happened to Fred. Wesley then announces that Fred is dead.

Angel and Spike return from England and Wesley suggests that Willow could help them, but in the meantime, they have to keep Illyria contained. However, at that moment, Illyria bursts into Angel's office, knocks Harmony out and takes Knox to the lab as he is her Qwa'ha Xahn, her guide in this world. Angel calls Giles to find Willow, but Giles does not trust Wolfram & Hart and hangs up on him. Harmony then arrives and informs the gang of Illyria's presence. They try to stop Illyria and Knox from leaving the building, but she slows down time to escape.

Afterwards, speaking with Spike, Angel vows he will not lose Fred like he did with Cordelia. In the science lab, Wesley smashes the sarcophagus and takes a crystal from it. Harmony finds Knox's cell phone and Wesley discovers that he has three missed calls from Dr. Sparrow, whom Gunn is questioning. Gunn begs Sparrow to take back the legal knowledge in exchange for Fred, but Sparrow explains Fred's soul was destroyed in resurrecting Illyria. Wesley arrives, having overheard their conversation and knocks out Sparrow and stabs Gunn with a scalpel, as punishment for his part in Fred's death.

As Gunn recovers in the hospital, Angel asks Wesley to put aside his feelings to focus on dealing with Illyria. The team discovers that Illyria is trying to open a portal to her temple which is entombed with an army that has been waiting for her return. Knox finishes performing a spell to open the gateway for Illyria, just as Angel, Spike, and Wesley arrive. Knox tells them that they cannot win this battle, but Angel offers to have mercy on him if he surrenders. However, Wesley shoots Knox. The gang fight Illyria, who beats them easily until Angel pulls out the crystal Wesley grabbed from the sarcophagus, which makes him unaffected by Illyria's time-altering powers. The portal opens and Illyria runs to her temple, followed by Wesley. However, her army is dead and her temple has been destroyed. Defeated, she returns with Wesley to the gang.

Back in Angel's office, Angel says that they need to close the portal to make sure that Illyria does not try to raise another army. Spike decides to stay in L.A., since that is what Fred would have wanted. While Wesley packs up Fred's office, Illyria finds him. She explains to Wesley that there are still fragments of Fred inside her. Using Fred's voice, she repeats to him Fred's last words, "Wesley, why can't I stay?", which nearly causes him to break down, and she asks him to stay as she is stuck in this world and needs a guide. Wesley agrees because she looks like Fred but makes her promise not to kill anymore. She asks him if there is anything in this life but grief. Wesley replies by speaking of love and hope. Illyria wonders if that is enough to live on.

In a flashback to Texas, Fred packs up her car, says goodbye to her parents, and heads to L.A.

In 1930s Danville, Virginia, an African-American boy named Wendell Scott impresses a group of white boys with his bike-riding powers. Fifteen years later, Wendell returns to Danville after serving in the Army during World War II. His family welcomes him home with a party and he takes an immediate liking to a guest, Mary Jones. Later, Wendell tells his mother he does not want to work in the cotton mill and plans to use his muster pay to buy a taxicab, eventually open a garage, and be his own boss. As Wendell and Mary begin dating, Wendell tells Mary's family that his real dream is be a champion racecar driver, but they do not take him seriously. Sometime later, Wendell takes Mary to an old racetrack in his new taxicab to propose, and they make love. Soon after, they are married and move into a house, but Wendell struggles to make money. One day, he sees a bootlegger named Slack and asks for a job. On his first night, he discovers his best friend, Peewee, is already working for Slack and they narrowly evade Sheriff Cotton and his men. Although Wendell is thrilled to drive fast for a living, Mary is not happy with Wendell's new profession. He insists that he tried to make money legally and this is the only way he can buy the garage. Five years later, Sheriff Cotton has still been unable to apprehend Wendell, but he captures Slack in a raid. On Easter Sunday, Wendell takes over one of Slack's runs, but soon realizes it is a set-up when he is arrested.

Billy Joe Byrnes, the local automobile racetrack owner, makes Cotton and Wendell a proposition: if Wendell agrees to race at Byrnes' track, twelve of the fifteen charges against him will be dropped, and he will receive probation. All Wendell needs to do is cross the finish line. Byrnes promotes Wendell as the first black stock car driver and on race day, there is a large multiracial crowd. During the contest, the white drivers run Wendell off the track, but he manages to complete the race and secure his freedom. Having discovered his calling, Wendell fixes up his car. At the junkyard, he meets a man named Woodrow, who volunteers to be his mechanic. Mary does not want Wendell to continue racing, but he insists on following his dream. Barred from racing at most tracks, Wendell finally gets a chance, finishes fourth, and is awarded two steak dinners at a "whites-only" restaurant. A white driver named Hutch accompanies him and they become friends. At the next race, Hutch's car will no longer run and he is forced to give up, so he joins Wendell's team as a mechanic. A few years later, in 1955, Wendell faces off with rival Beau Welles at Middle Virginia Speedway. Wendell wins a close race, but Welles is declared the winner. After the crowd has gone, the race officials admit there was an error, but Wendell is enraged because he is denied the trophy and recognition. He encourages Hutch join a bigger team so he can better provide for his family.

As years pass, Wendell joins the Grand National circuit, the highest level of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), competing at tracks in Atlanta, Georgia; Darlington, South Carolina; Riverside, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Talladega, Alabama; and Daytona, Florida. By 1965, Wendell is a local celebrity, and Sheriff Cotton visits the Scott home. Cotton is running for Mayor of Danville and he wants a picture with Wendell and the family as a de facto endorsement. Sometime later, Wendell has a serious crash during a Talladega race and is hospitalized. Mary begs her now forty-two-year-old husband to retire, but he is adamant about racing. Later, Wendell enters an important race, and recruits Woodrow, Peewee, and his family and friends, to help him. Wendell goes to the garage of Beau Welles, hoping to buy a used engine and finds Hutch working there. Inspired by Wendell's determination, Hutch quits to rejoin Wendell's team. Back in Danville, Cotton, now mayor, works to secure Wendell sponsors so he can compete with major teams.

On the day of the big race, Wendell worries that Mary will not come, but she arrives just before it starts. During the race, Wendell makes a pit stop, but rushes his crew and pulls away with three lug nuts missing from one tire. For the remaining twenty laps, Wendell attempts to make up time on the leader, Beau Welles, as his tire wobbles precariously. As Wendell passes Welles with one lap to go he earns his first NASCAR victory and his family and friends surround him in celebration.

Angel and Spike attempt to have a board meeting, but they are the only ones who show up, as the entire office is grief-stricken over Fred's death. They reminisce about Fred and discuss the impending apocalypse. Angel says that the Senior Partners are planning something. He does not want to wait for them to act, so Spike suggests finding a link to them. They head to Eve's apartment, but she refuses to help Angel after letting the Senior Partners take Lindsey. Angel notes that Eve is hiding from the Senior Partners because they will take her if they find out where she is. As the building starts shaking, the protective symbols in the apartment dissolve, and Eve says that she will tell him anything he wants to know if he takes her with him. As a man in a suit (Adam Baldwin) arrives, Angel, Spike and Eve flee to Wolfram & Hart. They ask Gunn if he has jurisdiction to protect Eve. Gunn reveals that Angel, as CEO, can invoke an order to protect Eve.

Angel wants to know what Lindsey knows about the Senior Partners, and Gunn points out that Lindsey is living with a beautiful wife and son in the Senior Partners' idea of Hell: suburbia. Angel, Spike, and Gunn head to the garage and get in a self-driving Camaro. Gunn tells them they have to find the Wrath, which they need to go through to return to Wolfram & Hart.

Lindsey has no memory of his past life and refuses to speak to Angel. Angel removes a necklace from Lindsey, breaking the spell Lindsey is under and causing Lindsey's wife and son to open fire with uzis. Seeing that the Camaro has disappeared, Gunn suggests trying to get out through the basement, which they discover is a torture chamber. Angel finds a flaming furnace and thinks it might be the Wrath. Lindsey notes that "he" is coming, and the men see a demon. Spike and Angel fight the Wrath, but it overpowers them. Gunn puts on Lindsey's necklace, volunteering to take Lindsey's place. Angel realizes that Gunn is attempting to atone for Fred's death. Gunn tells them they must leave before he forgets, as the door will close.

At Wolfram & Hart, the man in the suit breaches security. Harmony tries to break his neck, but he tosses her aside. Lorne begins to warn Angel about the man in the suit, but realizes Gunn has not returned. The man in the suit arrives and pulls out a contract for Eve to sign. He introduces himself as Marcus Hamilton, the new liaison to the Senior Partners. Eve has signed over her immortality and duties to him. Hamilton tells Angel that the Senior Partners are 100% behind him, and welcomes Spike to the team.

In Angel's apartment, Lorne pulls bullets out of Spike as Lindsey and Eve cuddle, happy to be reunited. Angel tells Lindsey he will go into the holding facilities of Wolfram & Hart after he tells Angel and the group what he knows about the Senior Partners' plans. Lindsey talks about Earth being Hell, which is how Wolfram & Hart thrives. Angel says he has already heard that speech. Lindsey tells Angel the apocalypse has been around them even before Angel and his friends came to work at Wolfram & Hart, and Angel has not seen it yet.

Gunn is still trapped in the suburban hell dimension, with no memory of his normal life, and doomed to suffer eternal torment at the hands of a torture demon. Marcus Hamilton, the new liaison to the Senior Partners, shows up and offers to remove Gunn from Hell in exchange for his soul. Gunn refuses to even listen to Hamilton's offer, and resumes his own torture at the hands of the demon.

The main storyline concerns Connor, who is now happily living the life of a normal teenager. Connor's adoptive parents, the Reillys, bring him in to Wolfram & Hart after a van hits him and he emerges unscathed; they are concerned for his welfare, and had heard of the law firm's reputation for solving odd cases. Angel, however, is furious at the idea that Connor might again be exposed to the supernatural, and initially refuses to help. However, when a trio of demons attacks Connor and his parents, Angel accepts the case.

Despite Connor's obliviousness to their connection, Angel enjoys seeing his son as a happy, prosperous kid, but the investigation into the demon attack leads Angel to an elderly and powerful demon sorcerer named Cyvus Vail—the man responsible for creating the new reality in which Connor leads the life of a normal teenager. Vail explains that the demon attack was supposed to fail, and its purpose was merely to attract Connor's attention. Vail reveals that his real motivation is an ancient prophecy that identifies Connor as the only person able to kill Vail's old enemy, the demon warrior Sahjhan (imprisoned in his urn since episode "Forgiving" in Season 3). Vail demands that Connor kill Sahjhan, and in return, he will allow him to resume his normal life.

Meanwhile, Wesley continues to study Illyria and her super abilities with Spike, who serves as Illyria's "punching bag" in an attempt to determine her weaknesses. Wesley explains to Illyria that Angel has earned their loyalty, but Wes begins to change his mind when he grows suspicious of Angel's seemingly odd behavior concerning the Connor Reilly case.

Wesley's investigation leads to Vail, and records indicating that he had been hired by Wolfram & Hart to cast a massive, reality-changing spell on the day that the law firm was taken over by Angel Investigations. Angel aggravates these suspicions by refusing to offer an explanation, and Wesley begins to theorize that Angel's behavior may be a result of guilt; specifically that Angel had sacrificed Fred in exchange for control of Wolfram & Hart, and then paid Vail to erase everyone's memories of the deal.

At Vail's house, Connor and Sahjhan engage in a fight to the death, as a helpless Angel is mystically prevented from aiding his son in the battle. Accompanied by Illyria, Wesley confronts Angel with his theory that Vail's spell is responsible for Fred's death, and impulsively destroys the magical Orlon Window that contains a true copy of previously altered memories. As a result, Connor, Wesley, and Illyria quickly regain their lost memories of the previous reality. Connor, who had been losing his fight with Sahjhan, regains his old fighting skills and manages to kill Sahjhan. However, despite a brief return to his old, defiant personality during the battle, Connor manages to retain the emotional stability created by Vail's reality alteration spell.

Back at the office, Illyria mocks Wesley for accusing Angel of betrayal when in fact, Wesley had betrayed Angel by stealing his son thus causing the chain of events that ultimately compelled Angel to accept Wolfram & Hart's offers and resulted in Fred's death. Wesley is visibly shaken by this revelation but he is resolved to endure the truth. Connor returns to his adoptive family but not before he tells Angel that he learned to protect his family 'from my father', giving Angel a knowing glance.

The film opens with Hervé narrating his observations of an unidentified Asian woman bathing in a hot spring, then stating that his story actually begins earlier, when he returned to his hometown in 19th century France while on leave from the army. He meets Hélène, a teacher, who wants nothing more than a garden and Hervé, who wants nothing more than to marry her.

Local businessman Baldabiou, who runs three silk mills that support the town economy, is at risk from a European-wide silkworm disease. He convinces Hervé‘s father, the mayor, to let Hervé leave the army and marry Hélène, and in 1862 Hervé travels to Egypt to purchase silkworm eggs.

Since the African silkworms are affected too, Baldabiou next sends Hervé to Japan, even though it is dangerously closed to foreigners. The journey takes months, across thousands of miles of Europe and Asia. Once there, Hervé is blindfolded and taken to a Japanese village where he can buy eggs from a local baron, Hara Jubei.

During his stay in the village he becomes obsessed with Jubei's unnamed concubine (the Girl).

Hervé returns home with an ample supply of eggs. His compensation from Baldabiou makes him rich, and he purchases a large house and garden space for Hélène.

On his second journey to Japan, the Girl gives Hervé a note in Japanese, and he has sex with another girl handed to him by her. Having traded more eggs than on his first trip, Hervé delays his departure by two days in the failed hope of seeing the Girl again.

Back home, Hervé seeks out a Japanese brothel owner in Lyon, Madame Blanche, known for giving the small blue flowers that she wears to her clients. He only wants her to translate the note for him, which reads: "Come back or I shall die." Madame Blanche advises Hervé to "forget about her, she won't die, and you know it."

Baldabiou intends to send Hervé to China, since Japan is no longer safe, but Hervé insists on Japan. When he arrives, war has broken out and the village is abandoned. Jubei's servant boy shows Hervé where Jubei and his household have gone. Jubei becomes hostile and tells Hervé to go home, refuses to show him the Girl, and hangs the servant boy. Hervé buys some eggs in Sakata, but his delays result in the eggs hatching, and all the worms dying, before he reaches France. The town’s economy is ruined, though Hervé hires many townspeople to expand Hélène's garden.

Months later, Hervé receives a long letter from the Girl. He again takes the letter to Madame Blanche for translation, who agrees, providing Hervé never comes to see her again. The letter is a deeply moving declaration of love, asking him to be happy in his life, as they will never be together again.

A few years later, Hélène becomes ill, dying, then dies in 1875, in her mid-30s. After her death, Hervé finds a tribute of small, blue flowers on her grave. He seeks out Madame Blanche once more, believing her to have written the letter, but she reveals that Hélène had written the letter and asked Madame Blanche to translate it. Hélène knew that Hervé was in love with a Japanese woman, and wanted him to be happy. Madame Blanche tells Hervé that, more than anything, his wife wanted to be that woman. Hervé finally realizes that it was Hélène who was his true love after all.

Hervé’s narration is revealed to be him recounting his story to Ludovic – the son of a friend, the closest thing to a child that Hervé and Hélène have had through the years. Ludovic, now a young man and Hélène's permanent gardener, has a greater appreciation for the love behind the garden.

When King Uther Pendragon dies leaving no heir to the throne, a sword magically appears in an anvil, itself embedded in a stone, with an inscription proclaiming that whoever removes the sword is the rightful King of England. None succeed in removing the sword, which eventually becomes forgotten, leaving England in the Dark Ages leading to a situation akin to the Wars of the Roses.

Years later, an 11-year-old orphan named Arthur, who is given the nickname Wart, accidentally scares off a deer his older foster brother Sir Kay was hunting, causing Kay to launch his arrow into the forest. While attempting to retrieve the arrow, Arthur meets Merlin, an elderly wizard who lives with his talking pet owl Archimedes. Merlin declares himself Arthur's tutor and returns with him to his home, a castle run by Sir Ector, Arthur's foster father and Kay’s father. Ector's friend, Sir Pellinore, arrives with the news that the winner of the upcoming New Year's Day tournament in London will be crowned king. Ector decides his son Kay will be a contestant, putting him through serious training for the tournament. He also appoints Arthur to be Kay's squire.

To educate Arthur, Merlin transforms himself and the boy into fish and they swim in the castle moat to learn about physics. Arthur is attacked by a pike and nearly eaten, but he is saved by Archimedes. After the lesson, Arthur is sent to the kitchen as punishment after he attempts to relate what happened to a disbelieving Ector and Kay. Merlin enchants the dishes to wash themselves and then takes Arthur out for another lesson, turning them into squirrels to learn about gravity. The pair also get a lesson in male-female relationships when they catch the eye of two amorous female squirrels. They return to human form and go back to the castle again, where Ector accuses Merlin of using black magic on the dishes, which he and Kay discovered and unsuccessfully tried to fight off. Arthur defiantly defends Merlin, but Ector refuses to listen and punishes Arthur by giving Kay another squire, Hobbs, taking away Arthur's chance to visit London.

Resolving to make amends, Merlin plans on educating Arthur full-time. However, Merlin's knowledge of future events, such as trains, planes, and the revelation that Earth is round, confuses the boy, prompting Merlin to appoint Archimedes as Arthur's teacher. Merlin transforms Arthur into a sparrow and Archimedes teaches him how to fly. A hawk chases Arthur and he seeks refuge in what turns out to be the house of Madam Mim, an eccentric, evil witch who is Merlin's nemesis. She decides to destroy Arthur, but Merlin arrives to rescue him. Mim challenges Merlin to a wizards' duel and, despite Mim's cheating, Merlin outsmarts her by transforming into a germ and infecting her, thus illustrating the importance of knowledge over strength.

On Christmas Eve, Kay is knighted. When Hobbs comes down with the mumps, Ector reinstates Arthur as Kay's squire. Arthur's delight at this turn of events causes Merlin to think he cares more about war games than his education. Arthur defends himself, and in his anger Merlin unwittingly transports himself to 20th-century Bermuda.

At the tournament in London, Arthur realizes he has left Kay's sword back at the inn. He finds the doors locked, as everyone is watching the tournament, but Archimedes notices a sword in a nearby churchyard. Arthur, who does not know about the legendary "Sword in the Stone", removes the sword from the anvil almost effortlessly, fulfilling the prophecy. When Arthur returns with the sword, Ector recognizes it and the tournament is halted. Ector places the sword back in its anvil, demanding Arthur prove that he pulled it. Kay attempts to pull the sword himself first, prompting the other knights to insist Arthur be given a fair chance. Arthur pulls it once again, revealing that he is England's rightful king. Ector remorsefully apologizes to Arthur as the knights cheer for him.

Later, the newly crowned King Arthur sits in the throne room with Archimedes, feeling unprepared for the responsibility of ruling. Merlin returns from his vacation in Bermuda and resolves to help Arthur become the great king he has foreseen him to be.

Petty criminal Eddy Cass (Lawson) receives a mysterious box that proves to contain the head of a young woman. This involves Cass in a conspiracy by the British security services to frame him for the crimes of a sadistic serial murderer of prostitutes.

Due to a tragic childhood accident, Emily Gilmore (Yasmine Bleeth) is left scarred both physically and mentally. The large scar on her face is a constant reminder to Emily that her career and love life are suffering. Lonely yet talented, Emily longs for a successful career and romance but is trapped by insecurity and fear.

The handsome Alec Dalton (James Wilder) turns Emily's life around and makes her feel truly happy and secure for the first time in her life. Unfortunately, Alec talks Emily into stealing money from her employer. But the old man that Emily works for comes in during the heist and has a heart attack. Emily stays behind to help him while Alec runs off. He gets away with the money but Emily is sent to prison. She is so in love with Alec she does not say a word about Alec's involvement.

While Emily is in prison she learns that Alec has run away with her own sister, Sheila Gilmore (Chandra West). Devastated, Emily gets in a fight with another inmate and because of the injuries she sustains she has to be seen by Dr. Matthew Sheridan (Richard Beymer). The doctor tells her that he can correct her scars for free with an experimental surgery. It's a great success and Emily is beautiful, almost unrecognizable. After the surgery Emily begins a relationship with the surgeon, who showers her in gifts and love. She is released from prison and the two get engaged, but Emily leaves him when she discovers that Matthew had reconstructed her face to be identical to his dead wife's.

Emily attempts to begin again, changing her name and starting her own business as a fashion designer with her friend from prison Claudia (Robin Givens). She reconnects with a kind man from her past, Paul (Ricky Paull Goldin), and starts a relationship with him (though he does not know her true identity.) But when Emily runs into Alec and he does not recognize her, she decides to take her revenge.

The plot revolves around the everyday lives of three families who move to a newly built housing estate in the Gazdagrét (literally "Rich meadow") neighbourhood of Budapest. The Vágási family consists of a young couple, who move from the apartment of a relative into their own apartment. The Takács family is a pensioner couple, whose detached house had to be demolished because of the construction of the M0 motorway. They move in with their granddaughter, Alma. The Mágenheims consist of a middle-aged couple, a physician husband a cosmetician wife, and their teenage daughter. The series features other people living in the block of flats, as well.

The story takes place in a labyrinthine asylum. One rather confusing feature of that labyrinth is that some sections of it seem to exist in several places at once. So an item dropped in a certain place will also show up in another place of the labyrinth, in a corridor of the same shape (but different orientation), and vice versa.

Danielle Stevens is a beautiful young woman who lives with her mother Kathy in small-town Madison, Northern California. She is insecure, frustrated, and beautiful. To become famous, Danielle joins beauty pageants under the scrutiny of her stage-mom, who aspired to be a beauty queen herself, but was not supported by her family. As a result, she lives her personal dreams through her daughter.

Danielle competes in Miss Madison, a preliminary to Miss All-Star California, where she has to face her nemesis Shauna Langley, an experienced, beautiful, confident contestant. Danielle's insecurities feed Shauna's wit and she enjoys messing with her and other contestants.

Danielle meets Riley Baxter during one of the rehearsal sessions, a wealthy, handsome, and intelligent young man who is the heir to the Baxter fortune inherited from his late father's hardware business. In the end, Danielle and Shauna have to compete both on and off stage because Riley is the ex-boyfriend of Shauna.

The Miss Madison competition is won by Shauna, while Danielle placed second, earning an invitation to compete in the Queen of Strawberries Festival.

After being crowned Miss Madison, Shauna has a string of bizarre accidents, one of which leads to her breaking a leg and losing her title to Danielle, who is surprised. She becomes a local celebrity and wins a brand new car, jewelry, and several appearances on TV as Kathy tries to ride on her daughter’s fame train.

These accidents get the attention of Detectives Wallace and Meyers, who suspect there's something fishy going on.

Carla, Miss Madison's organizer, takes Danielle to world-renowned pageant trainer Bryan Donahue. As a result, Danielle becomes more insecure as a result of his harsh and strict treatment. It's at this point that she begins to question her own mother's coaching and blames her for losing previous competitions.

As the pageant approaches, Danielle's involvement with Riley deepens, and he invites her to dinner at his mansion along with his step-mother Patrice, who accuses her of being a gold-digger. Her intent is to offer Danielle money to walk away (like she did with Shauna), but she fails.

Shauna recovers from the accident and is crowned Miss Bedford, giving her another opportunity to compete in Miss All-Star California.

She meets Riley at his office to tell him she's pregnant. As Shauna remains in the pageant, he offers to take care of the baby and tells Danielle the bad news.

In their investigation of Shauna's accidents, Wallace and Myers uncover that either Kathy or Patrice might be the main suspects. However, Deputy Myers feels this is not the case.

In order to disqualify Shauna from the contest, Kathy suggests that Danielle spread the information that she is pregnant. Shauna is talked to separately by one of the judges after winning the Miss Photogenic award. She says it's just a rumor and if he's looking for proof, then everyone should be tested.

Shauna is instructed to meet Riley after hours in the warehouse wearing her crown, in the hopes of preventing another victory for her. In this place, she is beaten, pushed, and murdered. Riley keeps feeling stupid as an autopsy reveals Shauna was never pregnant.

As it turns out, Danielle wins the Miss All-Star California contest, while Kathy is arrested just as she wins.

The evidence indicates that Kathy murdered Shauna to ensure Danielle won the contest. However, neither detective is able to identify a clear motive. In the course of further investigation, Danielle gives away clues, which alerts the detectives, who realize she is the murderer and has framed her own mother.

The movie ends with Danielle, on the verge of losing her mind, being arrested during a parade. It was the stress of losing yet another pageant, coupled with her love for Riley and dislike for Shauna, that messed with her head. She's then convicted to longlife imprisonment without parole.

''Silent Hill'' opens with Harry Mason's drive to the titular town with his adopted daughter Cheryl for a vacation. At the town's edge, he swerves to avoid hitting a girl in the road, and as a result, he crashes and loses consciousness. Waking up in town, he realizes that Cheryl is missing and sets out to look for her. The town is deserted and foggy, with snow falling out of season, and he begins to experience bouts of unconsciousness and encounters with hostile creatures. During his exploration of the town, he meets Cybil Bennett, a police officer from the neighboring town who is investigating the mysterious occurrences. Dahlia Gillespie, a cultist, gifts him the Flauros, a charm which she claims can counteract the darkness spreading through the town. In the town's hospital, he encounters its director, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, bewildered by the sudden changes in the town, and discovers a frightened, amnesiac nurse, Lisa Garland, hiding in one of the rooms.

Harry can later rescue Kaufmann from a monster, discover evidence of Kaufmann's role in the local drug trafficking, and stumble upon Kaufmann's hidden bottle of aglaophotis, a supernatural liquid that can exorcise demons. Harry comes to believe that a darkness is transforming the town into someone's nightmare, which is why the inhabitants have mostly disappeared. Dahlia urges him to stop "the demon" responsible for it—the girl in the road who appears to him sporadically—or Cheryl will die. Continuing his search, Harry finds himself drawn into a fight with Cybil, who has become the host to a supernatural parasite; the player can choose to save her. The next time Harry sees the girl, the Flauros activates and neutralizes her telekinetic powers. Dahlia then appears and reveals that she manipulated Harry into catching the girl—an apparition of her daughter, Alessa.

Harry then awakens in the hospital again, next to Lisa. Lisa explains that she experienced a sense of deja vu while in the basement, and when he finds her again, she despairs that she is "the same as them". She pleads with Harry to save her, and blood runs down her face; horrified, he flees. Her diary reveals that she nursed Alessa during a secret, forced hospitalization. Alessa's never-healing wounds terrified her, as she fell deeper into a drug addiction fueled by Kaufmann. Finding Dahlia with Alessa's defeated apparition and charred body, Harry demands to know Cheryl's whereabouts: he discovers that seven years earlier Dahlia conducted a ritual to force Alessa to birth the cult's deity; Alessa survived being immolated because her status as vessel rendered her immortal, while her mental resistance to the ritual caused her soul to be bisected, preventing the birth. One half manifested as the infant Cheryl, whom Harry and his wife adopted. Dahlia then casts a spell to lure Cheryl back, while Alessa was imprisoned within the hospital, enduring unceasing agony as a result of her injuries. With Alessa's plan thwarted and her soul rejoined, the deity is revived and possesses her.

Endings

Four different endings are available, dependent on the player's previous actions:

• In the "Bad" ending, the deity merges with Alessa and electrocutes Dahlia before attacking Harry. He defeats it, and Cheryl's voice thanks him for freeing her. Overcome by grief, Harry collapses, and the next scene is that of his corpse in his wrecked car. ** The "Bad +" ending concludes with Harry and Cybil fleeing instead after the deity's demise.
• In the "Good" ending, Kaufmann, now feeling betrayed by Dahlia, demands that she restore the town to normal and uses aglaophotis to exorcise the deity out of Alessa. Harry defeats the deity, and Alessa gives him an infant, the reincarnation of herself and Cheryl. She then helps him escape from her nightmare realm. ** In the "Good +" ending, Harry escapes with Cybil and the baby. In both "Good" endings, a bloody and vengeful Lisa prevents Kaufmann from escaping with Harry. **The "Joke" ending features extraterrestrials abducting Harry.

In an alternate timeline, dinosaurs have managed to survive the KT Extinction Event and now live amongst humans using disguises. Vincent Rubio is a ''Velociraptor'' private investigator along with his partner, Ernie Watson, a ''Triceratops''.

When Ernie's ex-girlfriend's brother is found dead, the incident is dismissed as suicide. However she doesn't believe her brother would kill himself and asks Ernie to investigate ("for free," Vincent observes). When the pair investigate the crime scene, Vincent notices the scent of another dinosaur on the windowsill, concluding it was not a suicide.

At the funeral Vincent talks to a man dressed in a strange suit who belongs to the cult that the deceased had previously joined, "The Voice of Progress." He pretends to be interested in their ideals and gets himself and Ernie invited to a gathering. During the funeral, Vincent detects the same scent from the victim's bedroom, indicating the killer is nearby.

Vincent and Ernie go to the cult meeting where they are told the Voice of Progress' ideals and history: The Voice of Progress is revealed to be both the title of their leader and a collection of dinosaurs who believe that the prolonged use of disguises has robbed the dinosaur community of its unique identity. The cult also believes that humans have caused dinosaurs to see themselves as monsters and humans as normal. While Ernie appears indifferent to the cult's ideals, Vincent is profoundly impacted by the cult's beliefs.

As their investigation continues, Vincent and Ernie come to realize what one man in the cult is planning a dinosaurian revolution by turning cult members into violent, feral dinosaurs and releasing them on the humans. The resulting conflict will force both sides to face each other, and allow dinosaurs to reveal themselves. Though Vincent is somewhat sympathetic to the cult, he disagrees with the idea of a violent revolution (knowing it could end in disaster for both sides), leaving him unsure which side he's on.

A team of SEALs chases a group of terrorists onto the island after destroying a weapons cache and rescuing a hostage special agent. While tracking the terrorists, mutated dinosaurs appear and the mission changes into simple survival. The dinosaurs use their skilled sense of smell and ability to swim to hunt down the SEALs and terrorists.

After losing several men to the raptors and killing some of the terrorists, the SEALs manage to rescue the female agent, Jamie, captured by the terrorists. She and the remaining SEALs discover a crash site of a Chinese airplane. Around the site are broken containers that had contained nuclear waste. The team figures the spilled waste caused the local animals to mutate into dinosaurs. The dinosaurs kill all the terrorists and SEALs except Azir, Jamie and the SEAL's leader. After encountering more mutant raptors, the last three SEALs and Jamie find refuge in a cave, which turns out to be the nest of the dinosaurs. In the end, Azir is killed by a mutated ''Carnotaurus'' and the island is destroyed as a result of volcanic activity. The last scene is of three raptors escaping the carnage, swimming after the rescue helicopter.

''Silent Hill 3'' takes place in the fictional universe of the ''Silent Hill'' series. It opens with Heather's (Heather Morris) nightmare of being trapped in a derelict amusement park and killed by the roller coaster. She awakens in a burger restaurant, but before she can leave the shopping mall and return home to her father Harry Mason, private detective Douglas Cartland (Richard Grosse) confronts her, claiming to have information about her birth. Heather evades him and discovers that the mall is mostly abandoned except for monsters. She then encounters Claudia (Donna Burke), a mysterious woman who hints that Heather will be instrumental in bringing about paradise on earth. Heather soon finds herself in the Otherworld version of the mall—monster-filled, bloodstained, and decaying—and eventually returns to the original shopping mall, where she finds Douglas again. He confesses that Claudia had hired him to find her, though denies prior knowledge of the Otherworld or of any greater agenda of Claudia's. Heather leaves the mall and resolves to take the subway home. When she returns home to her apartment, she discovers that her father was murdered on Claudia's orders. Claudia informs her that Harry's murder was out of revenge and to engender hatred in Heather. Before leaving, Claudia tells her that she will be waiting for her in Silent Hill.

Intent on killing Claudia, Heather resolves to go to Silent Hill and accepts Douglas' offer to drive her there. On the journey there, Heather learns from a journal left Harry that she was the baby left to him at the end of the first ''Silent Hill'' game. Because she is the reincarnation of Alessa, the girl originally intended to birth the cult's god, Claudia intends for her to bring forth the god. Arriving in the seemingly abandoned and fog-shrouded town, Heather sets out to find Leonard in a local hospital. Revealed to be Claudia's abusive father, he intends to dispose of Claudia as cult leader and attacks Heather after learning that she is not a member of the cult. Heather defeats him. She journeys to the local church via a local amusement park, purportedly at Douglas' request. When Heather arrives at the amusement park, she finds him wounded, having tried to stop Claudia. He considers killing Heather to stop the god from being born but decides against it. Heather reaches the church and learns that Claudia, who was Alessa's childhood friend, intends to bring about the god's birth to remake the world into a paradise. Heather confronts her and vomits out the fetal deity, nourished by her hatred, with the aid of a supernatural substance given to her by Harry before his death. Claudia promptly swallows the fetus to Heather's horror and dies after birthing it. Heather then defeats the newly born god.

Three endings appear in the game. The "Normal" ending, which is the only ending available on the first play-through of the game, sees Heather and Douglas survive , while in the "Possessed" ending, Heather kills Douglas. In the "Revenge" ending, which is a joke ending accessible by performing certain in-game actions, Heather reunites with Harry, and Harry orders UFOs to blow up Silent Hill.

The Lost Gold of Juarez was supposedly the ransom for Moctezuma II, held hostage by conquistadors in Tenochtitlan, but it disappeared after the city fell, with some believing it was buried near the town of Juarez. The legend says that Huītzilōpōchtli placed a curse on the gold, causing all who seek it to descend into madness. This madness is known as the Call of Juarez.

Texas, 1884. Seventeen-year-old Billy 'Candle' returns home after two unsuccessful years of searching for the gold. Although excited to see his mother Marisa, he has no desire to see his stepfather Thomas, who used to beat him daily. Billy doesn't know who his real father is, he got his nickname from a medallion with a candle engraved on it, given to him by Marisa. Meanwhile, Reverend Ray McCall is giving a sermon in town. Rumored to have once been a gunslinger, Ray is Thomas's older brother and now the local preacher. Alerted to gunshots at Thomas's farm, Ray arrives to find Thomas and Marisa dead, the words "Call of Juarez" written on the wall in their blood, and Billy standing over the bodies. Billy panics and flees, with Ray assuming he is the killer. Believing that God has assigned him the task, Ray sets out to track Billy down.

Billy stows away on a train heading to San Jose, home of Molly Ferguson, a young woman with whom he had a relationship a year prior. With Ray in close pursuit, Billy reaches the Ferguson ranch and sneaks inside to talk to Molly. Meanwhile, Ray encounters a group of Texas Rangers with a warrant for Billy's arrest. Ray aids them as they storm the ranch, chasing Billy and shooting him, whereupon he falls from a cliff into a river. Ray returns to the ranch and finds out the rangers are actually hired guns, and they have killed everyone except Molly, whom they have taken captive. Thinking Billy dead, Ray questions whether he may have been wrong about the murders, and vows to redeem himself by saving Molly.

Meanwhile, Billy survives his fall but loses his medallion. He is nursed back to health by an Apache Native American named Calm Water, who advises him to accept who he is and embrace his destiny. However, the hired guns arrive, killing Calm Water and taking Billy captive. Meanwhile, Ray learns they are heading to Juarez, prompting him to muse "so, the events have come full circle."

In a cell in Juarez, Billy meets Juan 'Juarez' Mendoza, for whom the hired guns work. He reveals he is Billy's father, explaining that about seventeen years prior, the pregnant Marisa stole the medallion and left him for Thomas. As the medallion is the key to locating the gold, Mendoza has been searching for it ever since. Billy says he lost the medallion in the river, but Mendoza doesn't believe him and sends him out into the desert, threatening to kill Molly if Billy fails to find the gold within an hour. Using his memory of the shape of the medallion and a story Marisa told him as a child, Billy locates the gold, but Mendoza follows and attempts to kill him. Billy flees and is rescued by Ray, who tells him to get to safety as he saves Molly. Ray then reveals his own backstory. He and Thomas both fell in love with Marisa shortly after meeting her, even though she was Mendoza's woman. She chose Thomas over Ray, fleeing to the caverns in which the gold was hidden, but Ray tracked them down. Their younger brother, William, a priest, attempted to intervene, but Ray killed him in a panic over the assumption that he was reaching for a gun, but it was a Bible. On that day, he renounced violence and embraced God. Accepting that the gold is cursed, he, Marisa, and Thomas left it behind and sealed the cavern.

Ray storms the alcazar and fights his way to Molly, but Mendoza traps them inside and sets fire to the cell. Billy returns, puts out the fire, and shoots Mendoza. However, as Ray leaves the cell, Mendoza appears and fatally shoots him, revealing he had been wearing armor. He taunts Billy by saying that all of the men he sent to Hope raped Marisa, and when Billy is dead, Mendoza will do the same to Molly. Mendoza attempts to shoot Billy, but realizes he was out of ammo. The two then fight with their fists, with Billy winning. As Ray lies dying, he prays that his actions will not lead to the deaths of Billy and Molly, and he recovers his strength just as Mendoza is about to stab Billy in the back. As his last act, Ray kills Mendoza before thanking God for the opportunity to redeem himself, reciting the words "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil".

In the end, Billy and Molly bury Ray in a nearby cemetery. There, Billy is determined to take Calm Water's advice: to stop running from his destiny and his true self.

Bonus missions

The story follows an unnamed Texas deputy as he tracks down a murderous gang of rustlers and assumes his role as interim sheriff in the small town of Round Rock, Texas. Following the gang to a farmhouse, he sees them set the house on fire, but is able to douse the flames, rescuing the woman and child locked inside. He catches up to the gang on the edge of a forest and a firefight ensues, with the deputy able to kill several of them, before the others flee. Three days later, he tracks them to an abandoned settlement. He is immediately attacked but is able to eliminate them one by one until only the leader survives. Impressed with the deputy's skills, he suggests they team up, but the deputy refuses. In the subsequent duel, the leader is killed.

The deputy then heads to Round Rock to serve as the interim sheriff. Upon arriving, he finds a letter from the mayor telling him that Vasquez, the notoriously violent leader of a gang of thieves and rustlers, is staying in town with his men. Shortly thereafter, Vasquez's men start shooting up the saloon. In a shootout, the deputy kills all of them, except Vasquez, who he arrests. With Vasquez in custody, County Commissioner Grizzwald sends a four-man team to escort him to El Paso to stand trial. No sooner have they left town, however, when they are attacked by bandits. With the deputy's help, they make it back to town, and the deputy concludes that someone must have tipped the bandits off. Vasquez then tells the deputy that the bandits work for Grizzwald, and that Grizzwald has been taking a cut from Vasquez's earnings for the last five years. Now Grizzwald wants Vasquez out of the picture. An attack is launched against the town, and Vasquez is killed. The deputy manages to kill the bandits, and Grizzwald acknowledges how impressed he is. In a duel, the deputy kills Grizzwald. However, nobody else heard Vasquez tell the deputy that Grizzwald was corrupt, and with no evidence to back up the claim, the deputy realises he will be charged with murder. Instead of heading back to El Paso, he heads to Mexico, where he goes on the run.

Characters

The protagonist and player character of ''Silent Hill 4'' is Henry Townshend, a resident of the South Ashfield Heights Apartments building in the fictitious town of Ashfield. Henry is an "average" man who has been described by Konami as an introvert in his late 20s. For the most part Henry navigates the game's world alone, although he eventually works with his neighbor Eileen Galvin. Henry also deals with the new supporting characters of Cynthia Velasquez, Andrew DeSalvo, Richard Braintree and Jasper Gein.

''Silent Hill 4: The Room'' incorporates two unseen, minor characters from previous installments: investigative journalist Joseph Schreiber and deceased serial killer Walter Sullivan. Joseph was first referenced in ''Silent Hill 3'' with a magazine article he has written condemning the "Hope House" orphanage run by Silent Hill's religious cult, which the game's protagonist, Heather, can discover. In ''Silent Hill 2'', Walter is referenced in a newspaper article detailing his suicide in his jail cell after his murder of two children. Sullivan appears in two forms: an undead adult enemy and a neutral child supporting character. Walter's previous victims play a small role in the game as enemies.

Story

Henry Townshend finds himself locked in his apartment for five days with no means of communication and having recurring nightmares. Shortly afterwards, a hole appears in the wall of his bathroom, through which he enters alternate dimensions. He ends up in an abandoned subway station, where he meets Cynthia Velasquez, a woman convinced she is dreaming and who is soon killed by an unknown man. Awakening in his apartment, he hears confirmation on his radio that she is indeed dead in the real world. Similar events repeat with the next few people Henry finds: Jasper Gein, a man fascinated with the paranormal and the cult of Silent Hill; Andrew DeSalvo, a former employee of an orphanage run by the aforementioned cult; and Richard Braintree, a resident in Henry's apartment complex. All the deaths bear similarities to deceased serial killer Walter Sullivan's modus operandi.

Henry finds diary scraps belonging to journalist Joseph Schreiber - the former inhabitant of his apartment - who was investigating Walter's murder spree. He discovers that Walter is an orphan who has been led to believe his biological mother was in Henry's apartment, where he had been found abandoned after birth. To "purify" the area, Walter, now in an undead state, is attempting to perform a ritual, which requires twenty-one murders to be committed. As Walter prepares to kill his twentieth victim, Eileen Galvin, a child manifestation of himself appears and stops him. Eileen agrees to join Henry in locating Joseph. At the same time, supernatural occurrences begin to manifest in Henry's apartment. The two eventually find Joseph's ghost, who tells them that the only way to escape is to kill Walter, and reveals that Henry is the intended twenty-first victim.

Shortly after Henry acquires Walter's umbilical cord, which they require to kill him, Eileen leaves Henry and returns to his apartment. Henry follows and finds her, possessed and about to walk into a deathtrap, and a fight between Henry and Walter ensues. There are four possible endings, determined by whether or not Eileen survives and the condition of Henry's apartment. The "21 Sacraments" ending sees Walter and his child manifestation in his apartment, while the radio reveals that Henry and Eileen have died, along with several others. In "Eileen's Death," Henry awakens in his apartment, and learns from his radio that Eileen has died, to his sorrow. In "Mother," Henry escapes from his apartment building, and brings flowers to Eileen, who plans to return to the apartment building. His apartment, meanwhile, has become completely possessed. "Escape" begins similarly to the "Mother" ending, but Eileen resolves to find a new place to live, and his apartment is not shown to be possessed.

German ski instructor Christian Diestl is hopeful that Adolf Hitler will bring new prosperity and social mobility to Germany, so when war breaks out he joins the army, becoming a lieutenant. Dissatisfied with police duty in Paris, he requests to be transferred and is assigned to the North African campaign front. While there, he sees what the war has done to his captain and the captain's wife, and he is sickened by their behavior.

Michael Whiteacre and Noah Ackerman befriend each other during their U.S. Army draft physical examination. Michael is in show business and romantically involved with American socialite Margaret Freemantle, who dated ski instructor Christian in 1938 while both were in the Bavarian Alps, where she spent her skiing vacation. Upset by his convictions, she left him on New Year's Eve and returned to Michael.

Noah works as a junior department store clerk, and attends a party that Michael throws, where he meets Hope Plowman. Noah falls in love with Hope, declaring that he wants to marry her. Hope invites Noah to her provincial hometown in Vermont, where she intends introduces him to her father. At the last moment, Hope tells her father that Noah is Jewish. Her father is unprepared for the idea of having a Jewish son-in-law — he has never known a Jew. After speaking with Noah, Hope's father approves of him.

Noah and Michael enter the Army on the same day, and attend basic training together. Their commanding officer and some of the men in their boot camp platoon bully Noah and demonstrate antagonism toward him. Noah gains their respect by standing up to them, even though he's much smaller and is badly hurt in fistfights with some of them. Military authorities, however, discover Noah's put-upon situation and court-martial the officer.

Michael is posted overseas to London.

Christian is conflicted, hating what the war has done to his fellow Germans, but unable to escape from his role in the conflict. He despises what his fellow soldiers have done in the name of the Fatherland, but is determined to fulfill his duty to the end. While visiting his seriously wounded captain in a hospital, he is duped into bringing him a bayonet. He later learns from the captain's wife that he committed suicide with it.

Thanks to his fame, Michael spends most of the war in a safe job in London, nowhere near the fighting. He finally decides to volunteer for combat after Margaret shames him into action. By pulling strings, he rejoins his old outfit at the front, in Germany, in the final days of the war. He reunites with Noah there.

Noah risks his own life during combat by swimming across a canal to save a fellow soldier. The soldier is one of the men who abused him in boot camp. Christian discovers the reality of the Third Reich when he stumbles upon a concentration camp and hears the commander talk about the mass exterminations. Shortly afterwards, the camp is liberated by American forces, which include Michael and Noah. The mayor of a nearby town offers working parties of his constituents to "clean up" the camp before American reporters and photographers arrive. He is roughly rebuffed by Captain Green after an imprisoned rabbi asks Green for permission to hold a religious service and the mayor protests.

Seeing how Noah is affected by the camp, Green instructs him to take a walk and sends Michael with him. Nearby, dazed and tired, Christian screams in rage, breaking apart his machine-pistol on a tree-stump. The noise draws the attention of Michael and Noah, and seeing the German, Michael shoots Christian. They silently watch him die, then quietly walk back to the camp.

After the war, a discharged Noah emerges from a subway station. Hope is at a window in their apartment and notices him coming, and lifts up their baby daughter for him to finally see, and he ascends the stairs quickly to embrace his family.

The film is set in New America in the year 2097, two decades after a nuclear apocalypse. Tex Kennedy, the last survivor of the Kennedy family, two robotic ex-secret service agents, and a female cannibal journey to find the "Threshold of Hell" to gain access to a radio tower to unite the survivors of the apocalypse.

Millionaire hotel mogul Ray Hunter flies to Rome to buy another property, the Regent. He is picked up at the airport by lovely Maria Martelli, who works for the hotel's owner, the Countess Alzani.

Ray is reproached by the Countess for the impersonal way he buys up hotels this way, piling up "ten thousand bedrooms" and replacing employees without a second thought. He sincerely promises not to do so with the staff of the Regent.

During the drive back into central Rome, Maria mocks Ray about his buying of numerous hotels. Instead of rebuking her, Ray appreciates her frankness, causing Maria to apologize and volunteer to be his translator that afternoon during staff introductions. When Maria stops briefly at her home to change, Ray meets the Martelli family, including Papà Vittorio and his other daughters. Maria's youngest sister, 18-year-old Nina, takes an almost immediate liking to Ray.

Maria's current romantic interest is Anton, a poor Polish count who fancies himself a sculptor. Nina, meanwhile, tries to catch Ray's eye, while his private pilot Mike is trying to catch hers.

Nina sees the sights with Ray and wants to marry him, so she asks her father for permission. Papa Martelli forbids it, saying in this family all of the eldest daughters must be married before the youngest can.

Ray tries to speed up that process. He sends for two eligible bachelors from America on the pretense of business. They are quickly introduced to two other sisters of Maria and Nina. But when he makes the mistake of buying Anton's artwork in order to make the poor count feel worthy of proposing to Maria, it backfires. Maria is furious and Ray apologizes with a kiss.

Suddenly realizing he is involved with the wrong sister, Ray is in a fix. At a party, Papa Martelli is rushed into saying Ray is engaged to daughter Nina, which upsets Mike so much that he decides to leave. Ray hurriedly urges Mike to stay and fight for the girl he loves.

It takes some doing, but everything finally works out. Ray finds a job for Anton that involves him traveling to Bombay for a long period of time. Meanwhile, he persuades Maria that he's sincere, and next thing you know, Papa Martelli is planning four weddings.

Now an adult, Phillipe Delambre (Brett Halsey) is determined to vindicate his father by successfully completing the experiment he had worked on. His uncle François (Vincent Price) refuses to help. Phillipe hires Alan Hinds from Delambre Frere and uses his own finances, but the funds run out before the equipment is complete. When Phillipe threatens to sell his half of Delambre Frere, François relents and funds the completion. After some adjustments, they use the transporter to "store" and later re-materialize test animals.

Alan Hinds turns out to be Ronald Holmes, an industrial spy. Holmes tries to sell the secrets to a shadowy cohort named Max. Before Holmes can get away with the papers, a British agent confronts him. Holmes knocks him out and uses the transporter to "store" the body. When rematerialized, the agent has the paws of a guinea pig that had been disintegrated earlier, and the guinea pig has human hands. Holmes kills the rodent and puts the dead agent in his car, which he sends into the Saint Lawrence River.

Phillipe confronts Holmes about all the oddities, with a fight ensuing and Phillipe being knocked out. Holmes hides Phillipe the same way he did the agent, but in a twist of malice he catches a fly and adds it to the transporter with him. François re-materializes Phillipe, but with a giant fly head, arm and leg (whereas the tiny fly has his head, arm and leg). The fly-headed Phillipe runs into the night, tracking down and killing Max. He waits for Holmes to arrive and kills him, too, then returns home, where Inspector Beecham has found and captured the Phillipe-headed fly. Both are placed in the device together and successfully reintegrated, restoring Phillipe to his normal human form.

Mike, Chip and Larry are three lusty, brawling U.S. Cavalry sergeants stationed in Indian Territory in 1870. Mike and Chip are determined to prevent Larry from carrying out his decision to leave the army at the end of his current hitch and marry the beautiful Amelia Parent.

One night, the three friends befriend a trumpet-playing former slave, Jonah Williams, who dreams of someday becoming a trooper. A tribe of fanatical Indians begins terrorizing the area, and the headstrong Chip decides to attempt the capture of their leader. Accompanied by Jonah, he sneaks into the Indians' secret meeting place while they are conducting one of their mysterious rites, but he is discovered and taken prisoner.

Jonah escapes and races back to tell Mike and Larry. When Larry insists upon going to Chip's rescue, Mike makes him sign a reenlistment paper "just to make his help official" and promises to destroy the paper after the mission.

Mike, Larry and Jonah make their way to the Indian stronghold, but they too end up as prisoners. As the Cavalry rides into a trap where a thousand warriors are waiting to ambush them, Jonah blows the regiment's favorite tune on his trumpet as a warning. The ensuing battle ends in victory for the Cavalry; the three sergeants are decorated, and Jonah is made a trooper.

Thinking himself discharged, Larry drives off in a buggy with Amelia, but the crafty Mike shows the post's commanding officer the reenlistment paper that he had promised to destroy. It appears that Larry will be forced to serve another hitch with Mike and Chip.

In a small French town identified as "anywhere", anonymous poison pen letters are sent by somebody signing as "''Le Corbeau''" (the Raven). The letters start by accusing doctor Rémy Germain of having an affair with Laura Vorzet, the pretty young wife of the elderly psychiatrist Dr. Vorzet. Germain is also accused of practising illegal abortions. Letters are then sent to virtually all the population of the town, but keep getting back to the initial victim, Dr. Germain. The situation becomes increasingly serious when a patient of the hospital commits suicide with his straight razor after the Raven writes to him that his cancer is terminal.

Laura Vorzet's sister Marie Corbin, a nurse in the infirmary, becomes a suspect and is arrested, but soon new letters arrive. When one letter is dropped in a church from a gallery, it becomes apparent the Raven must be one of the people seated there at the time. They are gathered to re-write the Raven's letters as dictated by Dr. Vorzet, to compare the handwriting. Germain's lover Denise is suspected when she faints during the dictation, only for Laura to be identified by material found on her blotter. Germain agrees to sign an order committing Laura as insane; he is called away to attend Denise, who has fallen downstairs, but before he leaves Laura protests she wrote the Raven's first letters before Dr. Vorzet began dictating them, making him the true Raven. Just as the ambulance takes Laura away, Germain returns to find Dr. Vorzet dead at his desk, his throat cut by the cancer patient's mother as he was writing the Raven's final, triumphant letter.

The film starts with a travelling kabuki troupe arriving by train at a provincial seaside town. Kihachi Ichikawa (Takeshi Sakamoto), the head of the troupe, is a very popular actor. He takes time off to visit a former mistress Otsune (Chouko Iida), with whom he had a son years before. His son, now a student, does not know that Kihachi is his father, thinking him an uncle. Kihachi and his son, Shinkichi, spend a fruitful afternoon fishing for dace in a nearby river.

When the troupe's performance tour is postponed by the constant downpour around the region, one of the members of the troupe unwittingly reveals a secret: that Kihachi is seeing a woman every day. Otaka (Rieko Yagumo), one of Kihachi’s actresses and his present mistress, decides to pay a visit to Otsune's watering-hole with fellow actress Otoki (Yoshiko Tsubouchi). Kihachi becomes enraged, warns Otaka never to come and harass the mother and son again, and breaks off his relationship with her.

To get back at Otsune and Kihachi, Otaka suggests to Otoki to try to seduce Shinkichi and offers her some money. Otoki waits for Shinkichi at a tree by the road one day and offers to meet after her performance at the same place. Shinkichi agrees to the meeting, and the two start a clandestine love affair.

As time goes by, Otoki realizes she has fallen for Shinkichi. She tells Shinkichi to forget her because she is merely a traveling actress. Kihachi discovers their affair, confronts Otoki and slaps her, demanding to know what she wants. Otoki reveals Otaka's setup, but tells him she now loves Shinkichi and is not doing this for money. Kihachi then beats up Otaka, but realizes he no longer has any control over the affair.

Kihachi decides to disband the troupe, selling all their costumes and props. The kabuki actors have one last night together. Kihachi visits Otsune, and tells her of his troupe's break-up. She invites him to stay with her for good, and they decide to tell Shinkichi of his paternity secret. Shinkichi and Otoki return, but Shinkichi and Kihachi get into a violent quarrel when Kihachi hits Otoki repeatedly.

Otsune now tells Shinkichi that Kihachi is his father, but Shinkichi refuses to acknowledge him for abandoning them. Otsune reasons that Kihachi doesn't want Shinkichi to become a traveling actor like him. Shinkichi leaves for his room in a huff. Kihachi decides to restart another troupe, realizing he cannot stay. Otoki asks to join him, but Kihachi leaves her in Otsune's care and asks Otoki to help his son be a great man.

Shinkichi comes down to look for his father but he has gone on the road. At the railway station, Kihachi meets Otaka who helps light his cigarette with matches. He invites her to start a new traveling troupe with him at Kamisuwa. Otaka goes to buy an extra ticket to accompany him. The film ends with a shot of a train traveling toward Kamisuwa.

The Viceroy of a remote 18th-century Peruvian town has purchased a magnificent golden coach from Europe. The Viceroy hints of his intention to give the coach to his mistress, the Marquise, but has decided to pay for it with public funds, since he plans to use it to overawe the populace and flatter the local nobility, who enthusiastically look forward to taking turns parading in it. By coincidence, the coach arrives on the same ship that carries an Italian ''commedia dell'arte'' troupe composed of men, women and children who perform as singers, actors, acrobats and comics. The troupe is led by Don Antonio, who also portrays the stock character of Pantalone on stage, and features Camilla, who plays the stock role of Columbina.

Once members of the troupe refurbish the town's dilapidated theater, their performances meet with success only after local hero, Ramon, a ''toreador'', becomes smitten with Camilla and starts leading the applause. Similarly, after a command performance at the Viceroy's palace, the gentry withhold their favor until the Viceroy signals his approval and asks to meet the women of the company. He, too, is taken with Camilla, who is the only person who makes him feel comfortable and light-hearted. He gives her a splendid necklace, which enrages her jealous suitor, Felipe, who has been accompanying the troupe on their travels. Felipe attacks Camilla and causes a riotous backstage brawl, after which he runs off to join the army.

The Viceroy has become infatuated with Camilla and announces that he has decided to pay for the coach with his own money, in order to give it to her as a love gift. This outrages the Marquise along with the rest of the nobility, who are already smarting over the Viceroy's demands for money to finance military defenses against an insurgency. Led by the Duc de Castro, they threaten to strip the Viceroy of his post, an action that can only succeed if endorsed by the country's Bishop. When the Viceroy vacillates in the face of this intimidation, Camilla spurns him in disgust.

After watching a triumphant performance by Ramon in the bullring, Camilla impetuously gives him her necklace, which emboldens him to visit her lodging that night and propose that they become a celebrity couple in order to enhance their earning power as performers. There he encounters Felipe, who has returned from extended army service in order to reclaim Camilla and take her away with him to live a simple life among the natives. While the two men fight each other with swords, the Viceroy arrives to tell Camilla that he has defied the nobility and is giving her the coach, which she can claim from him immediately. Upon questioning, he admits to her that he expects the Bishop, who arrives on the morrow, to approve the nobles' plan to depose him. Felipe and Ramon are arrested for dueling in public.

All is resolved the next morning when Camilla gives the coach to the Bishop as a gesture of piety. The Bishop announces his plan to use the coach to transport the sacraments to sick and dying peasants and calls for peace and reconciliation among all the disputing parties. As the curtain falls, Don Antonio reminds Camilla that, as an actress, she is only able to realize her true self when she is performing on the stage.

In Paris in the 1890s, Henri Danglard owns a night club where the star turn is a belly dance by his mistress Lola. Going after the show one night to an old-fashioned dance hall in Montmartre, he sees people doing the cancan together and is struck by the suppleness and charm of a young laundry girl called Nini. He persuades her to take dancing lessons for a new venture he is planning. As his club has failed and Lola has left him, his idea is to open another place with a troupe of glamorous girls performing the cancan. Naming it the Moulin Rouge, its opening night is a thunderous success.

Produced in 1956, and set in 1890 France, ''Elena and Her Men'' tells the story of a young, beautiful, and free-spirited Polish princess in fin de siècle Paris who specializes in granting people good luck. Elena's family has run out of money, and in order to save them, she agrees to marry a wealthy, older family friend. No sooner has she agreed to this engagement, than she meets a handsome stranger during a 14 July celebration, who turns out to be the famous General Rollan's aide, Count de Chevincourt (Mel Ferrer). Sparks fly with the Count, but when he introduces Elena to General Rollan (Jean Marais), the General is quite taken with her as well. By the end of the day, Elena finds her hands full with her engagement and the romantic interests of two new men. To further complicate matters, General Rollan's political advisers see the General's romantic interest in Elena as a way to influence him to take over the French government, and they employ her to grant him the luck he needs to do so.

As the movie progresses, a comical battle of juggling responsibilities develops in each character. Elena feels it is her moral duty to honor her engagement, and to help the General save France, but in her heart she loves the Count. The Count is loyal to his general and country, but is unwilling to concede Elena to the General. The General is in love with Elena but already has a mistress and is preoccupied with his growing political role in France.

When the General is deliberately posted to a remote town by the French government to prevent a coup d'état, Elena follows, trying to help save France. The Count pursues her, trying to win Elena's heart. The film concludes with Elena and the Count kissing in a brothel window, impersonating Elena and the General, providing a decoy so that the General and his mistress are able to escape France disguised as gypsies. The General abandons his political obligations and Elena, and the show of affection between Elena and the fake General sparks their love for each other touching the hearts of the people watching, and causing a wave of true love to pass over the town and mend political tension.

As summer draws to a close, a violent downpour interrupts a beach-side beauty pageant in a provincial town on the Adriatic coast. Sandra Rubini, crowned "Miss Mermaid 1953", suddenly grows upset and faints: rumours fly that she's expecting a baby by inveterate skirt chaser Fausto Moretti. Under pressure from Francesco, his respectable father, Fausto agrees to a shotgun wedding. After the sparsely attended middle-class ceremony, the newlyweds leave town on their honeymoon.

Unemployed and living off their parents, Fausto's twenty-something friends kill time shuffling from empty cafés to seedy pool halls to aimless walks across desolate windswept beaches. During the interim, they perform childish pranks. Taunting honest road workers from the safety of a luxury car they never earned, they're given a sound thrashing when it breaks down.

Moraldo, Sandra's brother and the youngest of the five ''vitelloni'', uncomfortably observes Fausto's womanizing as he ponders his own existence, dreaming of ways to escape to the big city. Riccardo, the baritone, nourishes unrealistic ambitions to sing and act. Alberto, the daydreamer, is supported by his mother and self-reliant sister, Olga. Vulnerable and close to his mother, he's unhappy that Olga is secretly dating a married man. Leopoldo, the aspiring dramatist, writes a play that he discusses with Sergio Natali, an eccentric stage actor he hopes will perform in it.

Back from his honeymoon and settled in with Sandra, Fausto is forced to accept a job as a stockroom assistant in a religious-articles shop owned by Michele Curti (Carlo Romano), a friend of his father-in-law's. Incorrigible, Fausto pursues other women even in his wife's presence.

At the annual masquerade ball, Fausto is bedazzled by the mature beauty of Giulia Curti, his employer's wife. Alberto, in drag and half-drunk, executes a surrealistic dance across the ballroom floor with a goofy carnival head made of papier-mâché. Returning home at dawn, Alberto is devastated to find his sister running off for good with her married lover. Fausto's naive attempt to seduce Giulia results in his being humiliated and then fired by her husband. In revenge, he steals the statue of an angel in gold paint from his former employer, enlisting the loyal Moraldo to help him first attempt to sell it to a convent and then sell it to a monk. Suspicious, both turn down the offers. Fausto ends up leaving the statue with a simple-minded peasant who sets the angel on a mound outside his hovel, caressing it.

One evening after a variety show, Leopoldo agrees to accompany old Sergio for a walk along the seashore to discuss the merits of his play but when the actor propositions him, he takes to his heels in horror. Learning of Fausto's one-night stand with a variety performer, Sandra runs away from home, taking the baby with her. Riccardo, Alberto, Leopoldo, and Moraldo all join in Fausto's desperate search to trace his wife and child. When they find her at the home of Fausto's father, Francesco pulls off his belt in a rage and finally whips his son. Later, and reconciled for the present, Fausto and Sandra walk home happily and with optimism about their life together. Resolved to abandon the provincial monotony of his dead-end town, Moraldo boards the train for anyplace else (Rome), imagining his ''vitelloni'' friends sleeping and dreaming their lives away.

Cyril Annick and his wife Grace have been running Downs Park for many years. Both are universally respected and loved by staff and pupils alike. Unforeseen problems for the school arise when the idiosyncrasies and compulsions of individual members of the staff threaten to upset life at the school. There is Rupert Massinger, the second master, whose womanizing makes victims of both the school secretary and the headmaster's grown-up daughter. Also, with money he has inherited Massinger is planning to take over the school and gently force the Annicks into early retirement. To everyone's surprise, as a strategic move, Massinger and his wife, who also teaches at the school, decide to resign, to ''reculer pour mieux sauter''.

Elspeth Murray, the middle-aged French mistress, has been feeling extremely lonely since her husband's death and has only taken up teaching recently to find some sort of distraction. At first, her irrational sexual attraction to Betty Cope, a pretty young lesbian who assists Grace Annick in her capacity as Matron, causes some eye-rolling. Later, when a series of petty thefts occurs everyone suspects a pupil to be stealing his schoolmates' things. However, Murray turns out to be a kleptomaniac, and when she is caught in the act she thinks she cannot cope any longer and commits suicide in the school swimming pool.

Leo Canning, the young science master whose humble social background and troubled childhood make it difficult for him to adapt to the thoroughly bourgeois atmosphere of the school, falls in love with Penelope Saxton, the headmaster's young widowed daughter, and in the end they get married. However, it takes Penelope a long time until she makes up her mind to spend the rest of her life with Canning. In the meantime, she is courted by the father of the youngest staff member, a baronet called Sir James Pettifer whose aristocratic ways she finds quite alluring.

More trouble appears with the arrival of Norman and Delia Poole, who have come to replace Massinger and his wife. It does not take the staff long to discover that Delia is a hopeless alcoholic whose pathetic attempts at rationalizing her addiction are embarrassing to everyone who happens to witness them. She has to give up her art classes quite soon again and over the following months mainly stays at their home on the school grounds. Finally, although he is a popular teacher, Norman Poole hands in his notice to be able to care for his wife full-time.

Cyril Annick has no intention to retire, let alone hand over to Massinger. However, when his wife suffers a mild stroke he sees it as the last straw and willy-nilly sells out to him. The Annicks move to a flat in nearby Eastbourne, where shortly afterwards Grace has another stroke and dies. Not yet 60, Cyril Annick moves to London to be near his daughter and son-in-law.

Anaïs and her older sister, Elena, are vacationing with their parents on the French seaside. Bored of staying in their vacation home, the two walk into town while discussing relationships and their virginities. Although the conventionally attractive Elena has been promiscuous, she is saving actual intercourse for someone who loves her, while overweight Anaïs thinks it is better to lose one's virginity to a "nobody" just to get it over with.

They meet an Italian law student, Fernando, at a cafe. Later, Fernando sneaks into the girls' bedroom for a liaison with Elena. Anaïs is awake and watches their entire interaction. After a conversation about Fernando's previous relationships with other women, Elena consents to have sex with him but backs out at the last minute. Frustrated, Fernando pressures her through various means, including threatening to sleep with some other woman just to alleviate himself. Finally, Elena is coerced into anal sex as a "proof of love," although it is obviously a painful experience for her.

In the morning, Fernando asks for oral sex from Elena before he leaves, but Anaïs has had enough and tells them to let her sleep in peace. The next day, the girls and Fernando go to the beach. Anaïs sits in the ocean in her new dress and sings to herself while Elena and Fernando go off alone together. Later, as the girls are reminiscing about their childhood together back at the house, Elena reveals Fernando gave her a ring while at the beach. Anaïs openly expresses her suspicions about Fernando's intentions. That night, Elena gives up her virginity to Fernando as Anaïs silently cries on the other side of the room.

Later, Fernando's mother arrives at the vacation house, asking for the ring Fernando gave to Elena back, as it belongs to her and is one of a collection of pieces of jewelry from past lovers that she keeps. On discovering Elena and Fernando's relationship, their mother angrily decides to drive back from Les Mathes to their home in Paris. On the way back, she becomes tired and decides to sleep at a rest stop, where a man smashes the windshield of their car with an axe, kills Elena, and strangles their mother while ripping her clothes. When Anaïs gets out of the car and starts backing away, he takes Anaïs into the woods and rapes her. When the police arrive the next morning, Anaïs, recalling her conversation with Elena about virginity, insists he did not rape her.

Kiroku Nanbu (Hideki Takahashi) is a Catholic teenager attending a military-tooled middle school in 1935 Bizen, Okayama. Living in a boardinghouse, he is infatuated with his landlady's chaste daughter, Michiko (Junko Asano). Unable to express his feelings or quell his libido with masturbation, due to peer pressure, shyness, and Catholic guilt, Nanbu turns to the only outlet left available to him: crazed, brutal violence.

Taken under the wing of Turtle (Yûsuke Kawazu ), Nanbu is taught how to fight through an elaborate training regimen. He then joins a school gang, the OSMS. A conflict between gang leader Takuan (Mitsuo Kataoka) and Turtle ensues concluding with Nanbu's usurpation of OSMS leadership. Setting a more aggressive manifesto of actively breaking all school rules, and avoiding girls entirely, he has a run-in with the school drill sergeant and is suspended. Turtle speaks to the school administration on Nanbu's behalf resulting in both students fleeing Okayama, leaving Michiko behind.

Now living in the Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima with his aunt and uncle Nanbu reenlists in school but is repulsed by his classmates' weakness. He forms a new group and heightened conflicts commence with a local gang. Michiko visits to say goodbye to Nanbu and tell him that she has decided to join a convent as she is unable to bear children. She is later waylaid by marching soldiers. Distraught to new heights, Nanbu spots a poster for (real life) radical, political activist, Ikki Kita (Hiroshi Midorigawa), whom he had met briefly in a tea house, and, reinvigorated, marches on to join in the events of Ni-niroku jiken.

Most of the film is done in a light-hearted, one would even say comic, vein, including sequences of martial arts combat. Innovative editing techniques (unusual "jump-cuts") are employed as well. But the mood shifts in the closing minutes, with the column of marching soldiers callously brushing past Michiko symbolizing the rising mood of militarism as the 1930s move on toward the Japanese atrocities in occupied Chinese territory and World War II itself. When Kiroku and a pal learn of the attempted coup in Tokyo (the February 26 Incident cited previously), they decide to head there to participate. On which side will they fight, the established order or the rebels? Readers of the novel will know, but not moviegoers, as the planned sequel failed to materialize.

Marie (Simone Signoret), a beautiful woman of the demimonde known for her cap of golden hair, is unhappily involved with Roland, a charmless criminal who is a part of a local syndicate headed by Félix Leca. At a dance, Marie is introduced to the handsome young carpenter and ex-convict Georges Manda by his old friend Raymond, who is now also with Leca's gang. Manda and Raymond, having spent time in prison together, have a strong bond of friendship. Instantly, Marie is visibly attracted to Manda, much to Roland's chagrin. After Marie and Manda find themselves locked in an intimate dance, Roland attempts to bully Manda, who then promptly knocks him out cold.

Observing Marie's growing interest in Manda, Roland's jealousy builds. Unbeknownst to Roland, Marie has learned that Manda has a fiancee and she has tried to forget about him, resigning herself to life as a gun moll. However, Manda shows up at a nightclub to take Marie from Roland, who then decides to fight him out back as several syndicate members watch, including Raymond. Leca is present as well, since he has asked Marie to meet him at the club with an answer to his offer to "buy" her from Roland. Outside the club, what begins as an ordinary fistfight is suddenly intensified when Leca deviously elevates the danger by throwing a knife on the ground between the two men. Manda gains control of the knife and stabs Roland, killing him. Manda's fighting skills appear to impress Leca, who offers him the late Roland's now-vacated spot in the gang. Manda declines.

Meanwhile, a man inside the club who has noticed trouble brewing outside has alerted the authorities, and the police arrive at the scene while the syndicate members are attempting to remove Roland's lifeless body. As a result, everyone flees, including Marie, who seeks refuge away from the syndicate at a nearby village. Roland's body is discovered by police, who begin a murder investigation. As it turns out, the man who had tipped off the police of the nightclub killing later turns up dead himself, under mysterious circumstances; the syndicate members quietly celebrate and, at Leca's urging, contribute money towards his funeral.

Manda decides it is best to flee town. He is contacted by Marie and the two meet at her village. The two lovers live an idyllic life together until Leca intervenes by using his connections with a crooked cop to frame Raymond for Roland's killing. Leca believes his plan will force Manda out of hiding to confess in order to save his friend, bringing Marie under his control. When Manda hears the news of Raymond's wrongful arrest for murder, he is unable to remain at peace with Marie. She awakens in the morning to discover that Manda has returned to town to turn himself in to the police. At the police station, Manda writes out a sworn confession explaining that he, not Raymond, killed Roland during a knife fight. Meanwhile, Marie goes to Leca and pleads with him to help Manda escape from police custody, sensing there is no other way out for her lover. Leca leads her on and forces his way onto her; desperate, she allows him to have his way with her.

The police decide to charge Raymond as an accessory to the homicide rather than free him. At the police station, Raymond learns that Leca was behind the frame-up. He later shares this information with Manda while they are being transported between jails, suddenly motivating the two men to pull off a daring escape from police custody, with Marie's help. However, Raymond is mortally wounded by police gunfire during the action.

Later, as Raymond lay dying among Leca's gang at the local tavern, Manda hunts down Leca to avenge his friend's certain death and his now doomed love. At Leca's house, Manda discovers that Marie has recently been in Leca's bed; he realizes Leca has used the situation to have his way with Marie. Enraged, Manda finally locates Leca and chases him down in broad daylight into a police station, whereupon he grabs a pistol from a holster in front of stunned officers, barricading the two men into a side room and firing repeatedly at a trembling Leca, killing him. Finally apprehended by police, Manda's fate is now sealed.

With the two killings on his hands, Manda is sentenced to die by the guillotine. A broken Marie watches in horror from the window of an upstairs flat overlooking a courtyard as her condemned lover is being executed.

Max, a principled middle-aged Parisian gangster, has dinner at Madame Bouche's restaurant, a hangout for criminals, with his longtime-associate Riton, their much younger burlesque-dancer girlfriends, and Max's protege Marco. The group then goes to crime-boss Pierrot's nightclub, where the girls perform and Max gets Marco a job as a drug dealer working for Pierrot. After the show, Max discovers Riton's girlfriend, Josy, making out with Angelo, another gangster, but he does not tell Riton.

On the way back to his apartment, Max notices he is being followed by two of Angelo's men in an ambulance. He gets the drop on them and chases them away, after which he calls Riton and warns him not to go with Angelo, who has just asked Riton to do a job with him. Max takes Riton to an apartment no one knows about and shows Riton that he has been storing the eight gold bars they stole during a recent heist at Orly Airport in the trunk of a car parked in the building's garage. Upstairs, the two friends eat a simple meal, during which Max tells Riton about Josy and Angelo and gets Riton to admit he had hinted to Josy about the big score to impress her. Max surmises Josy told Angelo, who planned to kidnap Max and Riton and beat the location of the gold out of them that night. He reveals he is sick of the criminal lifestyle and plans to retire with the money from the airport heist, and tells Riton to leave Josy to the younger Angelo.

The next morning, Max leaves early to take the gold to his uncle, a fence who tells Max he needs some time to gather enough money to buy the gold. Max returns to his apartment and finds Riton has left, so he calls the Hotel Moderna, at which both Josy and Riton live, and is told by the porter that Riton was there, but was just taken away in an ambulance. Assuming Riton went to see Josy and was caught by Angelo's men, Max considers leaving his friend in the lurch, even going to see Betty, his wealthy (possibly American) girlfriend, when she calls, but, by that night, he has decided to save Riton.

Max gets Marco, and the pair go to the Hotel Moderna, where Max roughly, but unsuccessfully, interrogates Josy and the porter about where Angelo could be hiding Riton, while Marco captures Fifi, one of Angelo's henchmen, who was watching for Max to come by. They take Fifi to the nightclub to get Pierrot's help interrogating him, but Fifi does not seem to know anything useful. Angelo, alerted to Max's location by a henchman staking out the nightclub, telephones and proposes to trade Riton for the gold, and Max agrees. He, Marco, and Pierrot arm themselves, get the gold, and head out in Fifi's car.

On a deserted country road, Riton is returned unharmed, and Max hands over the gold. After Angelo's car drives away, Riton warns Max that Angelo had traveled with a second car, which appears in the distance. Angelo's henchmen blow up Fifi's car with hand grenades, killing Marco, and come to mop up the scene, but Max, Pierrot, and Riton gun them down and take their car to chase Angelo. A shootout ensues, during which Riton is wounded and Angelo's car crashes. Angelo attempts to throw a grenade at Max's group, but he gets shot and the grenade blows him up and sets his car on fire. As a truck approaches, Max is forced to leave the gold in the hotly-burning wreck.

Back at Pierrot's, Riton is patched up by a mob doctor. Riton urges Max to go about his normal routine to avoid suspicion that he was involved in the previous night's carnage, so Max takes Betty to Madame Bouche's for lunch. Everyone is talking about the recovery of the stolen gold from the wreck of Angelo's car, and some other diners ask Max if he believes Angelo was really the thief. Max calls to check on Riton and learns Riton has died. He plays his favorite song on the jukebox and sits down to eat.

The story is very similar to Akira Kurosawa's influential ''Rashomon'', though in an interview Bertolucci denied having seen that film at the time.

The film begins with the brutal image of a prostitute's corpse on the bank of the Tiber in Rome. We then see a series of interrogations of suspects by the police, all of whom are known to have been in a nearby park at the time of the murder. Each suspect recounts his activities during the day and evening, and each narrative serves as a slice of life story. A young man tells the police that he was meeting with priests in order to get a job recommendation, though we see that he and his friends spent the time trying to rob lovers in the park. A gigolo treats both his girlfriends badly. A soldier fails in his attempts at picking up a number of women and falls asleep on a park bench. Two teenage boys share a pleasant afternoon in the company of two teenage girls but end up stealing from a homosexual man in the park.

The final flashback depicts the prostitute's murder by a man in clogs who had been interrogated previously and who is finally apprehended at a dance.

Each narrative is interrupted by a sudden thunderstorm, which in each case leads to an interlude at the prostitute's apartment as she prepares for her evening.

On a Monday of July 1961, at dawn, Vittoria, a young literary translator, breaks off her relationship with Riccardo in his apartment in the EUR residential district of Rome, following a long night of conversation. Riccardo tries to persuade her to stay, but she tells him she no longer loves him and leaves. As she walks the deserted early-morning streets past the EUR water tower, Riccardo catches up and walks with her through a wooded area to her apartment building, where they say their final goodbyes.

Sometime later, Vittoria visits her mother at the frantic Rome Stock Exchange, which is very busy upon Vittoria's entrance. A young stockbroker, Piero, overhears an inside tip, rushes to purchase the stocks, and then sells them at a large profit. He introduces himself to Vittoria; he is her mother's stock broker. Following the announcement of a colleague's fatal heart attack and a moment of silence ''in memoriam'', the room erupts back into frenzied activity. Outside the building, Vittoria and her mother walk to an open market nearby. Vittoria attempts to discuss her own recent breakup, but her mother is preoccupied with her earned profits.

That evening, Vittoria's neighbor Anita (Rosanna Rory) comes to visit and they discuss the former's breakup. Vittoria says she is depressed, disgusted, and confused. Another neighbor, Marta, calls and invites them to her apartment nearby. Marta talks about the farm she and her husband have in Kenya. For a game, Vittoria dresses up as an African dancer with dark makeup, and dances around the apartment. Marta, unamused, asks her to stop. The conversation turns sour as Marta, a colonialist, worries about "monkeys" arming themselves and threatening the minority whites. Vittoria and Anita dismiss such talk. When Marta's dog Zeus gets free of the house, the women take off after him. Vittoria is fascinated by the sound of the fencing in the wind. Back in her apartment, Riccardo calls for her, but she hides and doesn't answer.

The next day, Vittoria and Anita fly to Verona in a small airplane. On the way, Vittoria is fascinated by the clouds. At the airport, she watches the airplanes taking off and landing with childlike wonder. "It's so nice here," she tells Anita. Meanwhile, back at the Rome Stock Exchange, Piero is busy making trades. Vittoria arrives at the Stock Exchange and learns that her mother lost about 10 million lire. Another man lost 50 million. Vittoria follows the man through the crowded streets to a small cafe, where she sees him drawing flowers on a small piece of paper and drinking mineral water before moving on. She meets Piero, and he drives her to her mother's apartment in his Alfa Romeo Giulietta sportscar. She shows him framed family pictures and her room growing up. Piero tries to kiss her, but she avoids his pass. Piero drives back to his office on Via Po near Via Salaria, where he must break the bad news to his investors.

After work outside his office, Piero meets with a call girl he previously arranged to meet, but is disappointed that she recently changed her hair color from blonde to brunette. Deciding not to go with her, Piero drives to Vittoria's apartment and stands outside her window. He hears her typing. After a drunk walks by and notices Vittoria at the window, Piero comes over. While they are talking, the drunk steals Piero's sportscar. The next morning, Piero and Vittoria arrive at the crash site where the drunk drove the car into a lake. Vittoria watches as they pull the car with the body from the water. As they walk away, Vittoria is surprised that Piero is concerned about the dents and the motor rather than the dead man. They enjoy a playful walk through a park. When they reach her building, Vittoria unties a balloon from a carriage and calling to her new friend Marta tells her to shoot the balloon with her rifle (Marta previously having shot rhinoceros and elephants in Kenya), which she does as it ascends into the sky. When they reach her building, he kisses her, but she seems uneasy. Before she leaves, she drops a piece of wood into a barrel of water.

That evening, Vittoria tries to call Piero, but his phone is busy. When she finally reaches him, she does not speak and he, thinking it's a prank call, yells into the phone and slams down the receiver. The next day, while waiting outside near her house, Vittoria looks in the barrel of water and sees the wood is still there. Piero arrives and tells her he bought a new BMW to replace his Alfa Romeo. She asks to go to his place. They walk past a nurse wheeling a young girl in a baby carriage. Piero takes her to his parents' apartment, which is filled with beautiful works of art and sculpture. As they talk, she seems nervous and unwilling to open up to him: "Two people shouldn't know each other too well if they want to fall in love. But then maybe they shouldn't fall in love at all." They converse playfully, kiss each other through a glass window, and then kiss passionately. After he accidentally tears her dress, she goes into a bedroom and looks at the old family pictures. At the window she looks down to the street where she sees two nuns walking, some people talking at a café, a lone soldier standing on a corner waiting. Piero comes to the bedroom and they make love.

Sometime later, Piero and Vittoria are lying on a hill looking up at the sky. He looks around and says "I feel like I'm in a foreign country." She says that's how she feels around him. He gets upset when he doesn't understand what she's feeling. She says "I wish I didn't love you or that I loved you much more." Sometime later at his office, Vittoria and Piero kiss and embrace playfully on the couch, even wrestling on the floor like children. When an alarm goes off, they prepare to part. They embrace and talk of seeing each other every day. They agree to meet that evening at 8 pm at the "usual place" near her apartment. That evening, on Sunday 10 September 1961, neither shows up at the appointed meeting place.

A silver object enters Earth's atmosphere, radiating cosmic energy that creates massive molecular fluctuations and causes deep craters at locations across the Earth. The government approaches Reed Richards to track the movements of the object.

Reed and Susan Storm prepare for their wedding. As the wedding begins, Reed's systems detect the phenomenon approaching New York City. The object destroys the sensors while the Fantastic Four protect the crowd. Johnny Storm pursues the object, finding that it is a humanoid, a "Silver Surfer". He confronts the Surfer, who drags Johnny into the upper atmosphere then drops him back toward Earth. Johnny manages to reactivate his powers and survives the fall, landing in a desert. Later, when Susan tries to check Johnny after he becomes weakened by the Surfer, she touches his forehead and their powers switch—he becomes invisible, and she is set on fire; when they touch again their powers revert. Reed's examination of Johnny reveals that exposure to the Surfer has set Johnny's molecular structure in flux, allowing him to switch powers with his teammates through physical contact.

Tracing the cosmic energy of the Surfer, Reed discovers that a series of planets the Surfer visited previously had all been destroyed eight days after and that he has been creating deep artificial craters around the globe for some unknown purpose. Reed determines that the next crater will appear in London, and the team travels there. They arrive too late to stop the crater, and the Thames drains into it. The Surfer's movements around the globe bring him past Latveria, where the cosmic energy affects Victor Von Doom, freeing him from two years as a metal statue. Doom, able to move again but scarred, traces the Surfer to the Russell Glacier and makes him an offer to join forces. When the Surfer rebuffs him, Doom attacks. The Surfer returns fire, blasting Doom through the ice, though the cosmic energy of the Surfer's blast heals Doom's body instead of killing him.

Doom returns and leverages his experience into a deal with the United States military, who have the Fantastic Four work with Doom reluctantly. Deducing that the Surfer's board is the source of his power, Reed develops a pulse generator that will separate him from it, while Victor works on an unknown remote-like device. In the Black Forest, Susan is confronted by the Surfer, during which he reveals he is merely a servant to the destroyer of worlds and regrets the destruction he causes. The military opens fire on the Surfer, which distracts him and allows the four to fire the pulse, separating the Surfer from his board. The military imprisons the Surfer in Siberia, while they torture him for information. Susan uses her powers to sneak into his cell, where she learns his master is known on his homeworld as Galactus, a cosmic entity which feeds on life-bearing planets to survive, and that the Surfer's board is a homing beacon leading Galactus to Earth.

Doom, pursuing the power in the board, steals it from the compound, using the wrist-pad device he created in secret to gain control of the board and its powers. Doom subdues several soldiers, kills General Hager and escapes to China. The Fantastic Four rescue the Surfer, and pursue Doom in the Fantasticar, confronting him in Shanghai. During the showdown, Susan is impaled in the chest protecting the Surfer from a spear from Doom. With the Surfer powerless, Johnny absorbs the combined powers of the entire team in order to battle the cosmic energy-empowered Doom. Johnny succeeds in breaking Doom's control over the Surfer's board, while Ben Grimm uses a nearby crane to knock Doom into the harbor. Galactus has already arrived however, and Susan dies in Reed's arms. The Surfer regains the control of his board, and his power is restored, which he uses to revive Susan and to defend Earth, flying into Galactus with help from Johnny. The conflict results in a massive blast of energy, engulfing Galactus in a cosmic rift, destroying it, and seemingly the Surfer as well. Johnny's second exposure to the Surfer heals him, and he can no longer switch his powers with his teammates.

Shortly after the events in Shanghai, Reed and Susan get married in Japan, only to be interrupted yet again by an alert that Venice is sinking into the sea; to Reed's delight, Sue has the wedding finish quickly before they race off to save the city.

In a mid-credits scene, a shot of the Silver Surfer shows his seemingly lifeless body floating through space, until his eyes open and his board races back towards him.

Sir Alfred de Carter is a world-famous symphony conductor who returns from a visit to his native England and discovers that his rich and boring brother-in-law, August Henshler, has misunderstood Alfred's casual instruction to watch over his much younger wife Daphne while he was away, having hired a detective named Sweeney to follow her. Alfred is livid, and ineptly attempts to destroy any evidence of the detective's report.

Eventually, despite his efforts, he learns the content of the report directly from Sweeney: while he was gone, his wife was spied late at night going to the hotel room of Alfred's secretary, Anthony Windborn, a man closer in age to her own, where she stayed for thirty-eight minutes.

Distressed by the news, Alfred quarrels with Daphne before proceeding to his concert, where he conducts three distinct pieces of classical music, envisioning revenge scenarios appropriate to each one: a complicated "perfect crime" scenario in which he murders his wife and frames Windborn (to the Overture to Rossini's ''Semiramide''), nobly accepting the situation and giving Daphne a generous check and his blessing (to the Prelude to Wagner's ''Tannhäuser''), and a game of Russian roulette with a blubbering Windborn, that ends in de Carter's suicide (to Tchaikovsky's ''Francesca da Rimini''.)

After the concert, Alfred tries to stage his fantasy of murdering his wife, but is thwarted by his own ineptness, making a mess of their apartment in the process. After Daphne returns home, he realizes that she really loves him, and—without revealing his suspicions—he learns that she is innocent of Sweeney's charges. She had gone to Windborn's room in search of her sister, Barbara, August's wife, who ''was'' having an affair with Windborn; she became trapped there when she saw Sweeney spying on the room. Alfred begs Daphne's forgiveness for his irrational behavior, which she gladly gives, ascribing it to the creative temperament of a great artist.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:51839~T0 Plot synopsis (Allmovie)]

Late one winter night in downtown Livorno, a lonely young man named Mario meets an equally-lonely young woman, Natalia, standing on a bridge. Mario is lonely for social reasons; he is a stranger and a newcomer to town, and is only there because of a recent work transfer. Natalia is lonely because she has always lived in isolation with an overbearing grandmother, even in the heart of the city. Her near-blind grandmother is extremely protective and refuses to allow her out at night, forcing her to sneak out. She fell in love with a dashing foreigner who had rented a room in her house. Though he reciprocated the love, he had to leave suddenly, promising to return in one year. She hasn't seen or heard from him since.

While both try to keep the relationship platonic, Mario rejects obvious offers of romantic attention from other women in the story, holding on to a fruitless obsession. They're soon forced to admit they've fallen in love, especially after Natalia's lover fails to return. Mario thanks the young woman for the moment of happiness she has brought him.

As snow falls, he proposes marriage and she accepts. However, in the midst of their ecstasy, the lover suddenly returns as promised. Overjoyed, Natalia runs to him and leaves a brokenhearted Mario behind. He is back at square one, and has put more energy into pursuing the fantasy of an obsession rather than any prospect of real love. He wanders off into the night, playing with a stray dog he had met earlier.

In an impoverished and burnt out Tokyo ghetto of post-World War II Japan, a band of prostitutes defend their territory, squatting in a bombed-out building. Somehow they eke out a living together. Forming a sort of family in an environment where everyone (American soldiers and Japanese yakuza) is a potential antagonist, the girls cajole each other, and ruthlessly punish any of their group who violate the cardinal rule—no having sex for free. A new girl, Maya (Yumiko Nogawa), joins their group and learns the trade. An ex-soldier, Shintaro Ibuki (Joe Shishido), is shot nearby and holes up with the girls. Each of them starts to crave Ibuki, placing strains on the group. Maya feels it worse, seeing him as replacement for her brother (who died in Borneo). She takes him after a night of drunken revelry, and both are ostracized. Agreeing to run away together, he is shot in a double-cross, and she is left as she was at the beginning of the film—alone and hopeless.

Disappointed by the marriage of her lover to a woman he does not love, prostitute Harumi drifts from the city to a remote Japanese outpost in Manchuria to work in a "comfort house," or brothel, during the Sino-Japanese war. The commanding adjutant there takes an immediate liking to the new girl, but she is at first fascinated, and comes to love Mikami, the officer's aide. At first he is haughty and indifferent to the girl, which enrages her, but they are drawn together eventually. Abused and manipulated by the adjutant, she grows to hate the officer and seeks solace in Mikami's arms. They carry on a clandestine affair, which is a dangerous breach of code for both of them.

Tragedy strikes when the Chinese attack the outpost, and Mikami is severely wounded in a trench. Harumi runs to him and they are both captured by the enemy while he is unconscious. The Chinese dress his wounds, and he is given the opportunity to withdraw with them—but as a Japanese soldier, he is bound by a code not to be captured at all, and only Harumi's intervention prevents him from killing himself. Once again in the custody of the Japanese, Harumi is sent back to the brothel, and Mikami is to be court-martialed and executed in disgrace. During another attack on the outpost, he escapes with Harumi's aid, but instead of fleeing with her, he intends to blow himself up to clear his and his battalion's honor. She leaps on his body and they die together.