In the heyday of vaudeville, on the verge of America's entrance into World War I, two talented performers, Jo Hayden (Judy Garland) and Harry Palmer (Gene Kelly), set their sights on playing the Palace Theatre on Broadway, the epitome of vaudeville success, and marrying immediately after.

Just weeks before their plans are to be realized Harry gets a draft notice. Intending to obtain a short delay before reporting for duty, he intentionally smashes his hand in a trunk. That same day Jo is notified that her brother, who had been studying to be a doctor, has died in the war.

When she realizes what Harry has done, she rejects him and leaves the act. Harry then tries to undo his rash act and enlist, but none of the armed services will take him as his hand has been permanently crippled. Eventually, he resigns himself to participating in the war effort the only way left open to him, entertaining front-line troops for the YMCA.

When he and his partner find themselves dangerously close to the front, Harry heroically sets out to warn off an ambulance convoy heading into an artillery bombardment. He is wounded while destroying an enemy machine-gun emplacement ambushing the convoy and is apparently commended for his bravery.

After the war, during a victory performance at the Palace Theatre, Jo Hayden performs When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again and sees Harry in the audience. She runs to him and the two reunite on stage to sing "For Me and My Gal", the first song they'd ever performed.

''Look at the Harlequins!'' is a fictional autobiography narrated by Vadim Vadimovich N. (VV), a Russian-American writer with uncanny biographical likenesses to the novel's author, Vladimir (Vladimirovich) Nabokov. VV is born in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg and raised by his aunt, who advises him to "look at the harlequins" "Play! Invent the world! Invent reality!". After the revolution, VV moves to Western Europe. Count Nikifor Nikodimovich Starov becomes his patron (is he VV's father?). VV meets Iris Black who becomes his first wife. After her death—she is killed by a Russian émigré—he marries Annette (Anna Ivanovna Blagovo), his long-necked typist. They have a daughter, Isabel, and emigrate to the United States. The marriage fails; and, after Annette's death, VV takes care of the pubescent Isabel, now known as Bel. They travel from motel to motel. To counter ugly rumors, VV marries Louise Adamson while Bel elopes with an American to Soviet Russia. After the third marriage fails, VV marries again, a Bel lookalike (same birthdate, too), referred to as "you", his final love.

VV is an unreliable narrator who gives conflicting information (e.g., on the death of his father) and seems to suffer from some psychological affliction. When making a full turn while walking—mentally, that is—and tracing his steps back, he is unable to execute the reversion of the surrounding vista in his imagination. He also has the notion that he is a double of another Nabokovian persona.

The book begins with the characters Carlos Eduardo da Maia, João da Ega, Afonso da Maia and Vilaça in the family's old house with plans to reconstruct it. The house, nicknamed "Ramalhete" (bouquet), is located in Lisbon. Its name comes from a tiled panel depicting a bouquet of sunflowers set on the place where the stone with the coat of arms should be. As the introductory scene goes on, the story of the Maia family is given, in a flashback style by Afonso.

Afonso da Maia, a well-mannered Portuguese man, is married to Maria Eduarda Runa and their marriage only produces one son – Pedro da Maia. Pedro da Maia, who is given the typical romantic education, becomes a weak, low-spirited and sensitive man. He is very close to his mother and is inconsolable after her death. He only recuperates when he meets a beautiful woman called Maria Monforte with whom he gets married despite his father's objection. The marriage produces a son, Carlos Eduardo, and a daughter, whose name is not revealed until much later. Some time later, Maria Monforte falls in love with Tancredo (an Italian who is staying at their house after being accidentally wounded by Pedro) and runs away to Italy with him, betraying Pedro and taking her daughter along. When Pedro finds out, he is heartbroken and goes with his son to his father's house where he, during the night, commits suicide. Carlos stays at his grandfather's house and is educated by him, receiving the typical British education (as Afonso would have liked to have raised his son).

Back in the present, Carlos is a wealthy, elegant gentleman who is a doctor and opens his own office. Later he meets a gorgeous woman at the Hotel Central during a dinner organized by João da Ega (his friend and accomplice from University who lives with Carlos) in honor of Baron Cohen, the director of the National Bank. After many comical and disastrous adventures he finally discovers the woman's name – Maria Eduarda, and ends up meeting her. The two fall in love and have dozens of nights together, drinking and having sex. However, the two start seeing each other in secret after an incident where a redneck-like man named Dâmaso, Carlo's ex-friend and rival, writes an article in a newspaper, accusing, humiliating, making fun of and revealing the past of Carlos and Maria. Eventually Carlos finds out that Maria lied to him about her past and he starts fearing the worst. Mr. Guimarães, a good friend of Maria's mother and an uncle-like figure to her, talks to Ega and gives him a box meant to be given "to your friend Carlos... or to his sister!". Ega does not understand this statement, because Carlos supposedly never had a sister. Ega is horrified and in a state of shock when he realizes that Maria is Carlos's sister. Ega, in despair, tells everything to Vilaça (the Maia family attorney) who informs Carlos about the incest. Carlos informs his dying grandfather, and Afonso is shocked by this news. However, Carlos cannot forget his love and does not say anything to Maria. Afonso dies because of apoplexy. At last, Carlos informs his newfound sister that they are siblings and that they cannot live like this anymore. Maria says one last goodbye to her former lover and to her friends before going away to an unknown future. Carlos, to forget his tragedies, goes on a trip around the world.

The book ends with a famous scene in Portugal, where Carlos returns to Lisbon 10 years after he left. He meets Ega and has a boys-only night to have fun together. At one point, they agree that there is nothing in the world that is worth running for. Ironically, as soon as they go out to the street, they realize that they missed the last cable car and they start running after it, shouting "We can still catch it, we can still catch it...!", closing the story in a both philosophical and comic way.

Jorge, a successful engineer and employee of a ministry and Luiza, a romantic and dreamy girl, star as the typical bourgeois couple of the Lisbon society of the 19th century.

There is a group of friends who attend the home of Jorge and Luiza: Dona Felicidade, a woman suffering from gas crises and who is in love with the Councillor; Sebastião (''Sebastian''), a close friend of Jorge; Councillor Acácio, good scholar; Ernestinho; and maids Joana - hussy and flirty - and Juliana - an angry, envious, and spiteful woman, responsible for the conflict of the novel.

At the same time cultivating a formal and happy marriage with Jorge, Luiza still maintains friendship with a former colleague, Leopoldina - called "Bread and Cheese" for her continuous betrayal and adultery. Luiza's happiness and safety become endangered when Jorge need to travel to work at Alentejo.

After the departure of her husband, Luiza is bored with nothing to do, in the doldrums and melancholy caused by the absence of her husband, and exactly in this meantime Bazilio comes from abroad. A womanizer and a "bon vivant", he doesn't take long to win the love of Luiza (they had dated before Luiza meet Jorge). Luiza was a person with a strong romantic view of life as she usually read only novels, and Bazilio was the man of her dreams: he was rich and lived in France. The friendly love became an ardent passion and this causes Luiza to practice adultery. Meanwhile, Juliana is just waiting for a chance to blackmail Luiza.

Luiza and Bazilio send love letters to one another, but one of these letters is intercepted by maid Juliana - who starts blackmailing Luiza. Turned from a spoiled lady into a slave, Luiza starts to become sick. The ill-treatment she suffers from Juliana quickly takes her liveliness, undermining her health.

Jorge comes back and is not suspicious, as Luiza satisfies every whim of the maid while looking for all possible solutions until she finds the disinterested help of Sebastian, who sets a trap for Juliana, trying to get her arrested and ends up causing her death. It's a new era for Luzsa, surrounded by the affection of Jorge, Joan and the new maid, Mariana. However, it is too late: weakened by life that had endured under the tyranny of Juliana, Luiza is affected by a violent fever. Luiza does not notice that Bazilio hasn't replied to her letters for months, and when the postman delivers the letter at her home, it grabs Jorge's attention due to it being addressed to Luiza and being sent from France. He reads the letter and discovers the adultery of his wife. The evidence of her betrayal makes him go into despair but nevertheless, he forgives her because of the strong love he feels for Luiza and due to her fragile health. The affection and care of her husband, friends and the doctor are useless: Luiza dies.

After that, Jorge dismisses the maids and moves with Sebastian. Bazilio returns to Lisbon - where he had fled, leaving Luiza without support - and as he learns of Luizas's death, he cynically comments to a friend: "If I had brought Alphonsine before." This part closes the book revealing that Bazilio is a mean person. As they walk down the street, his friend Visconde Reinaldo admonished Bazilio for having an affair with a "bourgeois". He also said he found the relationship "absurd", after all and told that Bazilio had done what he made for "hygiene". Bazilio confirms his suspicions.

In the town of Ipswich, four high school boys – Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Reid Garwin, and Tyler Simms, together known as the Sons of Ipswich – are the descendants of colonial witch families and thus wield magical abilities. Their powers manifest on their 13th birthday and grow stronger until they Ascend at 18. Ascending increases their powers significantly but also ties their powers to their life force. The more an Ascended individual uses their magic the more addicted to it they become, which can lead to premature aging and death.

While attending a bonfire, Caleb meets Sarah Wenham, a transfer student from a public high school in Boston. The Sons also meet Chase Collins, a new student at Spenser Academy. Their meeting is cut short when cops appear to break up the party. The boys escape by using their powers. After a student is found dead near their campus, various paranormal occurrences take place, with Sarah and her roommate Kate Tunney being the focus of it. Upset, Caleb suspects Reid – the most reckless of the warlocks – but he angrily denies the accusation.

Caleb and later Pogue see a "darkling", a dead spirit and a malicious omen. Meanwhile, Caleb and Sarah become romantically involved. During a swim race, Caleb notices Chase displaying magic usage. After researching, Caleb concludes that Chase descends from a fifth family, one believed long extinct. As the Sons discuss this revelation, Pogue learns that his girlfriend Kate was rendered comatose by a spell. Enraged, he hastily challenges Chase, who swiftly hospitalizes him.

Caleb visits Sarah, only to fall into Chase's trap. Chase reveals that he was unaware of his magic's origin, having been adopted. After locating his biological father, he learned of the price for Ascension; but it was too late and he has become addicted to using magic. His biological father then transferred his power to him. Chase wants to force other Ascended witches to transfer their power to him as well, starting with Caleb. Despite Caleb's warning that having more power does not save him from aging to death, Chase ignores him. Before leaving, Chase threatens Caleb's family and friends if he does not get what he wants. Caleb reveals the truth to Sarah and takes her to his father, a 44 year man with a decrepit old body from magic abuse. When Sarah suggests that one of the other three transfer their power to Caleb so he could fight Chase he refuses as it would cost the person offering their life.

On the night of Caleb's 18th birthday, he leaves to face Chase and has Reid and Tyler safeguard Sarah. However, Chase easily kidnaps her. At an old barn, the two confront each other. Chase reveals a spellbound Sarah and gives Caleb an ultimatum of his life for hers. Caleb Ascends but refuses to give his power. The two duel but Caleb is outmatched. Back at home, Evelyn, Caleb's mother, begs her husband to save Caleb. He transfers his power to his son and dies. Once his father's power is infused within him, Caleb hits Chase with a final blow that engulfs him. Sarah, Kate and Pogue are freed from their curses.

Firefighters arrive on the scene and inform them that a third person was not found, suggesting that Chase somehow survived and escaped. The pair get into Caleb's car and he casually uses magic to fix the busted windshield, unsettling Sarah as they drive off.

Matt Helm, code name "Eric" is assigned to stop Emil Taussig, whose goal is to assassinate world leaders and scientists as a prelude to a Russian attack. This book starts with the death of Gail from 'the Silencers'.

Matt Helm is sent to Canada where his assignment is to stop a scheme to bring a Soviet submarine within striking distance of the United States.

Matt Helm, code name "Eric", travels to London, England and eventually to Scotland in order to stop a mad scientist who plans to unleash a new Black Plague upon the world.

During a holiday in Hawaii, Helm finds himself facing an old enemy who plans to accelerate the Vietnam War into a worldwide conflict.

For reasons unknown, flying saucers apparently with United States Air Force markings have begun attacking locations in Mexico. Helm's mission is to transport a witness to one of these attacks to Washington, and to stop her at all costs from being captured by Soviet agents, even if that means killing her.

The book was apparently written after the troubled year of 1968, which saw the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and of Robert F. Kennedy a few weeks later, as well as political turmoil and anti-Vietnam demonstrations in the United States. Mac, the director of Helm's secret government agency, learns that a dangerous enemy operative, Hans Holz, also known as the Woodman, has been contracted, presumably by the Soviets, to kill whichever candidate is elected in the upcoming elections in November 1968. The Woodman, it appears, has also recently been responsible for the death of Michael Kingston, an agent with whom Helm has just worked in an earlier book. Helm, the veteran counter-assassin, is ordered by Mac to get into position to remove the Woodman—permanently. Not to avenge Kingston — Mac's agents are supposed to be able to take care of themselves — but to forestall any more political chaos.

As frequently happens in Hamilton's books, however, Helm is not sent to stalk Holz directly. He is inserted into an operation currently being carried out by a rival government agency, one that is trying to thwart Communist plans to obtain secret information about a major American-Canadian security project called the Northwest Coastal System. A man named Grant Nystrom has been recruited by the Communists to take delivery at five different points of microfilms of the project as he travels through the Northwest and into Alaska playing the role of a dedicated fisherman. Both Nystrom and his trained Labrador dog have recently been murdered, however, and Helm resembles Nystrom enough to enable him to take his place.

A standard plot device in Helm stories is to have a second government agency working either at complete cross-purposes to Mac's agency, or at least at semi-cross-purposes. Helm is recruited to apparently carry out the instructions of the second agency but actually has his own mission to accomplish, regardless of how this may finally thwart the wishes of the other agency. In ''The Interlopers'' this tension runs throughout the book—and is complicated by the fact that a mysterious third party, the so-called interlopers, appears with a Grant Nystrom lookalike of their own, complete with his own black Labrador, in an apparent attempt to accumulate the secret microfilm for their own purposes.

There are, as in all Helm books, at least two beautiful, and somewhat mysterious, women, whose patriotic affiliations are questionable right to the end of the story, and who cause both complications and murderous attacks on Helm. He survives the attacks, however, in the course of which he kills, mostly by guns, but occasionally by knife, at least six or seven enemy operatives of various loyalties. On page 89, in a motel cabin surrounded by dead bodies, he is obliged to set the scene for the forthcoming policemen by leaving behind the small four-inch-bladed knife that has been featured in most of the books since the very first — "it had been given to me by a woman, now dead, who'd once meant a good deal to me — but this was no time for sentimentality."

Other standard features in many of the Helm books play their roles here. Hamilton likes to carry an occasional character from one story to the next. One of the numerous conflicting groups interested in obtaining the secret microfilm is apparently directed by an unseen Chinese agent named Mr. Soo. Although he himself makes no appearance in ''The Interlopers'', he had come to Helm's aid in the previous book, ''The Menacers'', and will show up again in a future book.

Another feature is the last page or so of Hamilton's books, after the action has been completed. A minor (but beautiful) female character unexpectedly reappears, either in need of physical and spiritual recuperation herself or there to offer it to the severely tested Helm. As usual, there is a two- or three-word final paragraph:

:"It was Mac's idea of a safe rest and rehabilitation for both of us — simpler, cheaper, and less obvious than turning the wigpickers loose on us; and more effective if it worked.

:"It worked."

And as in many of the books, Helm also finds time to reflect on the deficiencies of Detroit automakers: "Even commercial vehicles are encumbered with a lot of Mickey Mouse gadgets these days — that big, rugged, powerful truck engine was decorated with a cute little automatic choke, for God's sake! Apparently modern-day truck drivers are considered too stupid and feeble to pull a knob out of a dashboard."

One feature in ''The Interlopers'' that is ''not'' a standard Hamilton plot device occurs on page 175 when, for one of the very few times in the series, the super-competent and super-foresighted Helm falls into an enemy ambush that he had not planned for or anticipated. After waking up bound hand and foot, he reflects "grimly" that "knowing that the critical moment of the mission had to be close at hand, I'd let the frantic howling of a year-old pup send me rushing blindly into an ambush any first-year trainee could have avoided in his sleep."

In spite of this single moment of weakness, however, Helm, with a little help from various female characters as well as his "year-old pup", manages to carry out his mission successfully.

Gavin Brand, a double agent, has escaped from London's Wormwood Scrubs Prison. An American named Joe Bailey, brother to one of Brand's victims, is called on by the CIA to kill Brand through finding his family. The objective, as put by CIA chief Zelfand, is to "find the wife and kids, find the husband." Bailey reluctantly accepts the assignment to kill Brand and finally tracks down Brand's family to a private island near Savonlinna in Finland, where they are watched over by Hilda and Olga, two Soviet minders. Bailey and Brand's wife, Carla, develop a romance as he waits patiently for Brand to show up. After they consummate their love, Brand arrives and attempts to kill both Bailey and Carla, leading to her becoming trapped in a gas-styled sauna. Bailey rescues Carla and, with the help of a Finnish police officer, they try to stop Brand making it to the Finnish-Soviet border on a train with his kidnapped children.

After a novice secret agent (Annette from ''The Menacers'') is murdered—assassin Matt Helm (code name "Eric") is assigned to eliminate her killer, and find out why she was killed in the first place.

This novel is a direct follow-up to ''The Poisoners''. It is also the first book in the Matt Helm series to focus on Helm's superior, Mac, whose full name is revealed for the first time as Arthur McGillivray Borden. The storyline of this book is rather uncharacteristic because, instead of fighting terrorists and enemy names, Helm, known as Eric, and Mac work together to bring down unfriendly elements from within their own government, in particular a man who is threatening Mac's authority.

Fishing in the Gulf of California, Eric is shot at from an island. He races away, surprised at the power of the engine of his boat. Correctly calculating that his assailant had come in another boat from the same marina, he waits for the gunman to try to escape, swamps his boat, and tows it back to shore, leaving the gunman to drown.

At the marina, he is met by Martha Borden, Mac's daughter, who was sent by Mac with a message to call the office. Doing so, he deduces that bureaucratic infighting has resulted in Mac being poorly impersonated and the agency co-opted. Martha tells him she is supposed to accompany him to meet agent Lorna at the ranch near Phoenix.

Eric, Lorna, and Martha meet and discuss the other information that Martha has memorized to pass along: nine other agents, with contact numbers, a list of individuals to be "touched" and a date. Matt is to take his souped-up boat to meet Mac in Florida, stopping in Oklahoma to deal with a situation involving Carl, who will split the list of ten targets with Lorna. Carl is killing local law enforcement officers for personal, understandable reasons.

Eric and Martha arrive in Fort Adams, Oklahoma, and Eric contrives to prevent Carl from killing a third police officer, briefs him on the situation, and gives him his assignment. They continue on to Florida, and along the way, fall into bed together.

In Florida, Eric and Martha meet Congressman Hank Priest. a friend and shore neighbor of Mac's, who arranges for Eric to listen in on a private conversation that evening, at his home a short distance away.

Having observed how naive and idealistic Martha is, as she was distressed by having seen him leave his would-be assassin to drown in the Gulf of California, and his blunt assessment of Carl's actions and motives in Oklahoma, after arriving with her, by car, at the residence, he pretends to be rendered unconscious when she injects him with a hypo of plain water, not the. four-hour knockout drug she saw him use on the Oklahoma officer. He knows she thinks she has negotiated her father's safety in exchange for keeping Eric from interfering with the last part of the enemy plan.

Mac is hiding from the new leader of the federal intelligence service, a previous antagonist named Herbert Leonard who is in collusion with Senator Love, a woman who aspires to the presidency and is using Leonard to blackmail and kill those who stand in her way. Eric let Martha overhear Mac's location and steal the congressman's boat in order to gather the final clues he needs to follow her and take care of his targets.

Category:1972 American novels Category:Matt Helm novels

Despite the internal politics of ''The Intriguers'', Matt Helm (code name Eric) still finds himself with plenty of work to do for his boss, Mac. This time he has a two-part mission: kill an enemy agent and then investigate the disappearances of a number of jet-setters within the Bermuda Triangle.

Category:1974 American novels Category:Matt Helm novels

Beatrice (Sarah Polley) is a young woman working in a television network under a woman known only as The Boss (Helen Mirren). She receives a recording from her fiancé Jim, who has been sent as part of a small production crew to Iceland to investigate a Monster that lives there. Determined to find her fiancé, Beatrice convinces her boss to send her to Iceland, but her plane crashes. She is the only survivor and, in order to walk again, undergoes an extremely painful, radical surgery. As she recovers, she befriends Dr. Anna (Julie Christie), who helps her travel to the remote village where the monster lives.

After cajoling Beatrice into drinking herself into unconsciousness, the villagers strip her and leave her as an offering to the Monster himself (Robert John Burke), a foul-mouthed, alcoholic beast old enough to remember human ancestors crawling from the seas. Beatrice shows him no real fear, although the Monster tells her he has killed her friends and might kill her, too. He tells her that he wants to die, but is indestructible. In an effort to force Beatrice to try to kill him, he proves that he killed Jim and his crew. She shoots him twice and he reacts in obvious pain, but heals almost instantly. He tells her of a mad scientist, Dr. Artaud (Baltasar Kormákur, presumably named for Antonin Artaud), who had discovered a way to kill him, but Dr. Artaud had been "taken away in a strait jacket." Beatrice offers to help him find Dr. Artaud if the Monster comes with her to New York and promises not to kill anyone while he is there.

In New York the Monster becomes a celebrity, with the Boss staging a media frenzy as they search for Dr. Artaud. They find that he is working for the government. While Beatrice revels in the attention, the Monster remains miserable and drunk. The Boss makes a deal with a government scientist to study the Monster and he's rushed away by army guards who mislead him into believing he is going to see Dr. Artaud. Instead, he is subjected to torturous experiments as the scientists try to discover the key to his indestructibility, one of them noting that he can't seem to tolerate new information. One of those experiments involves the Monster being ridiculed and beaten on the street to study his behavior. The Monster holds true to his promise to Beatrice and does not kill anyone.

Meanwhile, Beatrice meets Dr. Artaud by chance. With Margaret (Annika Peterson), a remorseful former coworker of Beatrice's, they hatch a plan to escape back to Iceland with the Monster. They make their escape, but are pursued by the government, who fears the Monster and Artaud might fall into the wrong hands. Artaud builds a machine that will kill the Monster. Beatrice bids the Monster a tearful farewell, and kisses him goodbye. As the machine starts, the army storms their hideout. As the lights flicker on and off and the machine moves the Monster into place (in a process mirroring Beatrice's surgery), the Monster and Beatrice face each other one last time. Her face flickers in his vision for several minutes before the screen blackens.

A longtime friend of Mac, Helm's boss, blames Big Oil for his wife's death aboard their modest yacht; in retaliation, he wants Helm's secretive, and murderous, agency to make trouble for an international oil company. Mac assigns Helm to get to the bottom of this request — and to "take care of" his friend.

Category:1975 American novels Category:Matt Helm novels

One of Helm's fellow operatives is killed by U.S. agents during an assassination run against a Mexican general. Helm finds himself having to complete the mission while being pursued by men who are supposed to be on his side.

Matt Helm finds himself in Canada suffering from amnesia, with only his instincts keeping him alive as the tries to regain his memory while stopping a terrorist organization.

Someone is killing off Matt Helm's friends and past associates. Helm must stop the killing while protecting a journalist who plans to make Helm's secret organization public knowledge.

The film is set in 1894. The picture begins with Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes verbally sparring on the steps outside the Old Bailey, where Moriarty has just been acquitted on a charge of murder owing to lack of evidence. Holmes remarks, "You have a magnificent brain, Moriarty. I admire it. I admire it so much I'd like to present it, pickled in alcohol, to the London Medical Society." "It would make an impressive exhibit," replies Moriarty.

Holmes and Watson are visited at 221B Baker Street by Ann Brandon (Ida Lupino). She tells him that her brother Lloyd has received a strange note: a drawing of a man with an albatross hanging around his neck, identical to one received by her father just before his brutal murder ten years before. Holmes deduces that the note is a warning and rushes to find Lloyd Brandon. He is too late, as Lloyd has been murdered by being strangled and having his skull crushed.

Holmes, disguised as a music-hall entertainer, attends a garden party, where he correctly believes an attempt will be made on Ann's life. Hearing her cries from a nearby park, he captures her assailant, who turns out to be Gabriel Mateo, out for revenge on the Brandons for the murder of his father by Ann's father in a dispute over ownership of their South American mine. His murder weapon was a bolas. Mateo also reveals that it was Moriarty who urged him to seek revenge.

Holmes realises that Moriarty is using the case as a distraction from his real crime, a crime that will stir the British Empire: an attempt to steal the Crown Jewels. Holmes rushes to the Tower of London, where, during a struggle, Moriarty falls, presumably to his death. In the end, Ann is married and Holmes tries to shoo a fly by playing the violin, only to have Watson swat it with his newspaper, remarking, "Elementary, my dear Holmes, elementary."

The story centers around three seamen who conduct shady business on board their vessel, ''Sandy Hook''. The film starts with two of them, Tom Jansen (Helge Jordal) and Sverre (Hans Ola Sørlie), taking tourists on a polar bear safari. During this trip and at a later scene at a pub in Longyearbyen, where Tom's girlfriend, Eva Jelseth (Kjersti Holmen) is introduced, the viewers are briefed on the politics of Svalbard and the large Soviet presence. The third seaman, Lars (Sverre Anker Ousdal), presents plans to freight a bulldozer to the mainland from Sarstangen. They have been instructed to dump the bulldozer underway as part of an insurance fraud scheme, but have instead made arrangements to sell the vehicle on Greenland. While at port, Tom is called to visit Governor Bache (Jon Eikemo), who warns that he will be keeping an eye on them.

After a dramatic but successful delivery of the bulldozer to the purchasers, they return towards Longyearbyen. They report to Isfjord Radio to say they were caught in a storm, but deviate on their route back to avoid returning too early. They get caught in actual bad weather and decide to pull up in a nearby island, Kjerulføya, north of Nordaustlandet. The following day they go ashore to find food but instead find a cable. They follow the cable until they find a Soviet bearing station. While at the station, they are discovered by the Russians. They return fire after being shot at, killing a Russian; Sverre is wounded.

They escape and decide to mix with the fishing fleet to avoid being spotted. However, they are intercepted by a seemingly civilian Russian Aeroflot helicopter, which turns out to be heavily armed and fires at the ship. ''Sandy Hook'' steers into a narrow bay, and the protagonists fire back, eventually destroying the helicopter with a firebomb. They continue to Kapp Dufferin, where they anchor. Tom rows to land to find supplies, but while he is on land, a Soviet helicopter bombs ''Sandy Hook'', killing Lars and Sverre. Tom has to walk across Spitsbergen to reach Longyearbyen. After a long march through the wilderness, he reaches a closed mine and rides an aerial tramway for coal to Longyearbyen.

Tom wakes in hospital in the company of Bache. Tom's story of the ship's sinking is not believed, and he is sent to Oslo for interrogations by a United States colonel (Jon Ausland) and other American military personnel. In a scene at Holmenkollen Park Hotel, the Soviet ambassador and Norwegian minister discuss the consequences of public knowledge of the incident. Tom is offered a new identity and a job on board a foreign trade vessel. On his way to the port, he escapes from the military police by mixing with a carnival parade. Two endings of the film were made. The second one had a longer chase scene involving a rendezvous with Eva, but in both endings, Tom is killed. Whether this is done by Soviet or American intelligence is left as an open question.

Set during the American Civil War, the short begins with a Northern General (James C. Morton) assigning Larry, Moe, and Curly, as Operators 12, 14 and 15, respectively, (but no Operator 13, a reference to a Civil War movie of the previous year) to sneak behind enemy lines and obtain secrets. Disguising themselves as southern officers and taking the names Lieutenant Duck (Larry), Captain Dodge (Moe) and Major Hyde (Curly), they insinuate themselves into the mansion of southern officer, Colonel Butts (Bud Jamison).

During preparations for a dinner party at the mansion, Curly, more interested in the Colonel's daughter, Judith Butts (Phyllis Crane), manages to mistake a quilted potholder for a cake, resulting in a feather-coughing scene. The short concludes with an episode in which Larry and Curly disguise themselves as, respectively, Captain Dodge's father and wife. This leads to a controversial gag in which Major "Bloodhound" Filbert (Ted Lorch) inquires about Captain Dodge's baby. Moe runs off and brings in a swaddled infant, which is revealed to be black, thus giving away the Stooges' charade.

The three of them run for their lives and hide in a "log" — which turns out to be a hidden cannon — which is fired by the Confederates. The Union General wonders aloud where the three spies are. At that moment, the trio promptly land on the General from the sky.

After the murder of a close friend, assassin Matt Helm finds himself back in the fictional country of Costa Verde (setting for the earlier novel, ''The Ambushers'') and in the middle of a revolution.

Assassin Matt Helm is assigned to protect a female spy newly released from prison, who may or may not hold the key to a conspiracy to overthrow the American government.

Matt Helm is assigned to assassinate an expert in explosives who is planning to build his own atomic weapon.

While Mac (Helm's boss) is on a rare solo assignment, elements within Mac's agency try to take power away from him. It's up to Helm to stop this coup in its tracks, while simultaneously dealing with some deadly family-related issues of his own. Meanwhile, in a storyline continued from ''The Annihilators'', Mac finds himself in the middle of yet another revolution in Costa Verde.

The Vanishers, one of the more complicated Matt Helm stories, is unique in several ways. Usually Helm is captured by the enemy in order to complete his mission. Here, for once, Helm’s boss Mac takes an active part in the action and is the one captured in order to deal with a gang of kidnappers. In most of these books the women are either ruthless foreign agents or naïve Americans who discover that however nice Helm may be personally, his profession is not at all nice. The Vanishers features a woman who is neither naïve nor an enemy. As punishment for a previous mistake in judgment, Helm is excluded from the real national security problem and exiled to Sweden, where he is kidnapped by a group who fear he may interfere with their plans. Eventually he escapes, figures out his mission and completes it, and helps the Swedes with their mission. The ending is different from any other Matt Helm book, but is consistent with his character.

After Matt Helm's son is killed by a terrorist bomb, Helm goes on a mission of revenge against those responsible.

Helm is assigned to impersonate a rich oil baron in order to track down a shipment of weapons before it can be used to overthrow the Mexican government.

Matt Helm starts by taking the place of an oil millionaire -- one of the assignments where Mac is helping another agency by loaning out the services of his agent, Matt Helm. As usual, Mac is not doing this from purely altruistic purposes and gives Matt his usual warning - "Don't trust anyone" in the beginning of the novel. Head of the agency borrowing Matt Helm, a man called Somerset, wants Matt to go into Mexico and help trace a shipment of illegal arms, supposedly being smuggled to be supplied to Mexican revolutionaries by the said millionaire Horace Hosmer Cody.

In the beginning of the novel, Cody is arrested by Somerset's people and Helm takes his place with a make up job that he thinks will fool no one and it doesn't. Almost all of the story takes place in Mexico where Matt once again runs into his old ally Ramon Solana-Ruiz of the Mexican security.

The novel has much intrigue and is typical of Matt Helm style action. Most of the characters turn out to be different than from what they are portrayed at the beginning of the story and many of them go through transformation, including some of the dead characters. Matt, of course, succeeds in the mission completing all of the objectives, sometimes with help from others.

Matt Helm (code name Eric) is assigned to kill a drug lord after the villain orders the murder of a journalist. But he doesn't kill the drug lord's dog - which is the centerpiece of moralizing on how the real problem is that there is demand for drugs, so why blame the supplier, since even the drug lord's dog is able to resist such temptations?

The story starts in Santa Fe where Matt is trying to live a normal life with Jo Beckman from the previous novel "The Frighteners". At the beginning of the story Jo has left Matt because of his new hobby of shooting. One of the ladies from a previous novel "The Infiltrators" - Madeleine Ellershaw comes to visit Matt with a complaint that he's having her followed. Matt is being followed by the same kind of people.

Madeleine dies violently soon after her appearance. Matt's new friend Mark, who has introduced Matt to this kind of shooting sport, also dies soon after revealing that he was an author hunted by a South American drug lord for writing a book about the drug business. The drug lord puts up a price of one million dollars on his head.

After Mark's death Matt teams up, unwillingly, with his widow to go hunt up back up copies of Mark's second book. Some computer jargon and concepts are mentioned when the electronic copies of the book are mentioned and surprisingly Hamilton has managed to keep most of his facts accurate. (Other than calling a diskette a three-and-a-half-inch-by-three-and-a-half-inch which it's not). As usual nothing and nobody is as they seem or are expected.

As usual also, Matt undergoes torture and captivity and perils to his life. As usual, he comes up victorious, accomplishing his mission, saving the women and killing the bad guys. Hamilton doesn't deal in the Hollywood-hero-that-can-kill-a-hundred-black-hat-types and Matt is shown to have a better than average amount of brains, professional ruthlessness and courage and sense in balanced amounts.

In this book again Matt runs across fanatic world-savers and drug-crusaders with both gunning for his life. The story opens and ends in New Mexico, but the majority of it takes place in South America.

Matt Helm brings his literary career to a close (for now) with a double assignment: destroy a crime gang run by the son of the villain from ''The Wrecking Crew'', and prevent the atomic destruction of Norfolk, Virginia.

When starting up the game, a short movie is shown. Mickey falls asleep with a book of fairy tales in his lap, later he wakes up in a strange village. A girl (looking like Daisy Duck) comes up to him asking him for help. She says the village's magic crystal' has been stolen by an evil Phantom. As a result, the beautiful happiness in her village has been replaced with sadness. Deciding to help the villagers, Mickey sets out to the North Mountains, to find the Princess who knows how to reach the Phantom's Castle in the Clouds.

The game's story has no direct connections to either its predecessor, ''Castle of Illusion'', or its sequel, ''World of Illusion''.

In the year 2068, Earth can no longer sustain human life with its natural resources depleted beyond repair. Whereas other companies are seeking to colonize the Moon, Calron sets its aim much higher: the planet Oxygen whose potential could save billions of lives. However, since it is 20,000 light-years away, a technology known as DST (or deep-space teleporting) has to be used to get there. A team, led by Randall Cain (played by Sean Patrick Flanery), arrives but soon discover that it is home to a terror in the form of voracious, enormous, prehistoric bears and the planet itself is in an unstable condition. The team soon tries to escape from the planet, but are confronted by many ordeals. By the time the movie is over, the only two left alive is Allison Carlson (played by Reagan Pasternak) and Cain (played by Sean Patrick Flanery), who manage to teleport back to Earth.

Screenshot from Touch Detective

Mackenzie learns that in order to join the ranks of the Great Detective Society, she must solve four cases and submit her investigation report to the Society. Fortunately for her, several cases seem to pop up around town.

;Episode 1 - Robbery. The reality of a fanciful dream: Penelope comes to Mackenzie because she claims her dreams are being stolen. Mackenzie first acquires a special invention from Cromwell so that she can see into Penelope's dreams and understands what happens: a strange creature is seen fleeing from Penelope's just before she wakes up. Mackenzie investigates further and finds a way to enter the Dream World, but finds no one there that can help because the rest of the town is not yet asleep. Finding a way to convince everyone to fall asleep at the same time that Penelope does, she is then able to stop the fleeing figure and reveal it to be the pastry chef in town. The chef admits to the crime, using the crystallized dreams as an ingredient in her Sweet Dream Cake dessert. Fortunately, Penelope and the chef agree that the chef will only take Penelope's dreams once a week.

;Episode 2 - Disappearance. The truth hidden in the cosmos: Penelope goes missing, and upon investigation, it looks like her room was broken into. However, it is revealed that Chloe, trying to find Penelope before Mackenzie, broke in and tried to find evidence. However, regardless of Chloe's bumbling, Mackenzie is led to the planetarium and its strange owner, as well as a little girl named Lynsey who seems to like playing with dolls. After catching the owner buying girls clothes in sizes too large for Lynsey, Mackenzie soon discovers that the planetarium owner lured Penelope and now is keeping her in a secret room under mind control in order for her to be Lynsey's friend. Mackenzie is able to rescue Penelope, have the owner captured, and befriends Lynsey so she won't be lonely again.

;Episode 3 - Stranded. The miracle of an innocent heart: Penelope claims that an ice fairy is stranded at the ice skating rink, the only cold place in town, but Mackenzie cannot see it though she can sense it. The owner of the rink is tired of living in the cold and is looking to shut the rink down, causing the temperature in the rink to rise and threaten the life of the fairy. Chloe comes up with two near-disastrous ideas for saving the fairy, but Mackenzie realizes all they need to do is make it snow so the fairy can be get out from the ice rink and to a more comfortable location. With the help of the local fortune teller Mackenzie helps Chloe in enchanting an "angel summoning spell" (actually a magical girl theme song), which, through the power of Chloe's will, temporarily transforms Penelope into an angel that can make it snow. The fairy returns home after a parting conversation with Chloe, with it being very heavily implied that they share a requited crush.

;Episode 4 - Assault. The tragedy of a past grudge:Penelope claims that a murder happened at the circus in town, though it is only a flea circus, and it's actually an assault. Apparently, the circus used to be a larger attraction, but when it shut down, many of the performers took up residence in town. Mackenzie investigates to find that something did attack the fleas, though initially suspecting a flea as the culprit. However, the supposed culprit flea ends up near-dead himself, in a supposed locked room attack. This leads to an initial speculation of self-inflicted injury, however Mackenize deduces that a human sized culprit could have picked up the box the flea was in and shaken it to cause the injuries. When a large anvil nearly kills all the fleas, the trail leads to Dover, one of the ex-performers. His old circus act, animating tattoos on his back, was ruined due to a flea bite, and has been out of work since, and thus took revenge on the flea circus to try to get back into stardom. Dover tries to kill a flea, however, Mackenzie is able to stop him. Unfortunately, the circus ringleader accidentally kills it anyway.

Following the successful resolution of all four cases, Cromwell informs Mackenzie that she has been accepted into the Great Detective Society. However it transpires that he mistakenly submitted Mackenzie's "Touch List" instead of her investigation report. She is given the official title of "Touch Detective" as a result, to Mackenzie's shame.

Really and Truly have to make a cross-country run in a style that mixes Hanna-Barbera with Josie & the Pussycats and ''On the Road''. However, they have a well-defined mission to deliver a consignment of drugs, and encounter big guns, much stranger passengers (Zhivago and Scuba Trooper) and far more determined, and unusual, pursuers (Nice and Buddah) en route.

''Weight Loss'' is about the strange life (from age 11 to age 37) of a sexual deviant named Bhola, whose attitude to most of the people around him depends on their lust worthiness. Bhola’s tastes are not, to put it mildly, conventional. Sex is a form of depravity for him and he has fetishes about everyone from teachers to roadside sadhus to servants; he progresses from fantasizing about the portly family cook Gopinath to falling “madly in love” with a vegetable vendor and her husband. This last obsession spans the entire length of the book and most of Bhola’s life – he even ends up teaching at a college in an obscure hill-station hundreds of miles from his home because he wants to be near the couple. At various other stages in his life he gets expelled from school for defecating in a teacher’s office, participates in an inexpertly carried out circumcision (one of the book’s many manifestations of the “weight loss” motif).

Lisette Linares (Lauren Velez) is a young mother of three children and married to Chino (Jon Seda), a bicycle messenger. Although he is always reliable as the breadwinner of the family, Chino is having an affair with their lustful neighbor, Magdalena (Lisa Vidal). One summer evening, as a blackout sweeps the neighborhood, Chino gets arrested for looting.

Now faced with the reality of keeping her family together while the main breadwinner is in jail, Lisette, encouraged by her transgender sister Alexis (Jesse Borrego), decides to give her dream of becoming a print model a chance. As she happens to be in the right place at the right time, Lisette lands a job as the personal assistant to a major record label producer, Stephen Price (Griffin Dunne), who is trying to sign a major Latin music group (played by the real-life group the Barrio Boyzz). Chino is then released from prison by Magdalena and her father. She then claims Chino fathered her son, Ritchie. Lisette hits rock bottom as a result of this and moves in with Alexis. At her new job, while having sex with Price, he answers a number of phone calls, frustrating Lisette. The next day, Chino tries to go back to his job, but he is fired due to his criminal record. Lisette then confronts Chino to prove that she had sex with another man to get even with him.

While Chino is taking the kids out for ice cream, his extremely rebellious son, Li'l Chino, asks if he could buy ice cream, but Chino tells him that he needs to work in order to buy things. His son then shows him money so Chino allows him to buy the ice cream; when Minnie, his younger daughter, notices that he is wearing new sneakers and pants, Chino realizes that his son has become a drug dealer. Chino furiously lashes out at his son, pushing him towards a mural with a picture of his uncle Hector (Chino's brother) on it, who was a police officer killed by a drug dealer. He whips his son in front of the whole block while his son's friends laugh at him. Alexis notices the commotion and tries to stop him.

Alexis then points out that his son is just a little boy and pulls him away, but Li'l Chino runs away. The kids are still laughing and continue to insult Lil' Chino as weak. An infuriated Chino then beats a kid from the crowd and whips him. The drug dealer attempts to draw a gun, but Chino manages to disarm him, while fellow neighbors help Chino whip the boy. Li'l Chino is then found sitting in front of Alexis' apartment door. He tells Lisette that he wants to stay with her but she rejects him, believing that he will still be disrespectful toward her. Chino then finds Li'l Chino and takes him home. Back at the apartment, Chino and his friend Angel put his and Lisette's youngest son, Pee-Wee, to bed. When Angel reveals that he is Ritchie's actual father, Chino is angered that Magdalena has played him the whole time. Alexis and Lisette have a discussion about the kids, where Alexis points out that Lisette is just like their own estranged mother. She denies this and Alexis changes and leaves to visit their mother.

When Alexis arrives over there, her mother opens the door and reacts disgustedly to Alexis' appearance. Alexis tries her hardest to make amends with her mother; when her father comes out of his room to check on the noise, he reacts with an aggressive look on his face. Back at Alexis' apartment, Lisette hears the door open and notices that Alexis has returned. When Lisette comes to check on Alexis, she notices her face is injured and asks what happened, but Alexis tells her that she was right about their mother still being unsupportive of Alexis' transgender status.

The next day at work, Price wants to have sex again, but she tries to reject him. He stops when Lisette tells him he's “not a sexual person”, and the two begin to argue, which results in her nearly quitting. They resolve to continue their working relationship. Lisette arrives back at the apartment. She tries to talk to her children and asks for their forgiveness, mostly from Li'l Chino, which he does finally give. Chino arrives later from his new job as a security officer. Both discuss the many flaws in their marriage, hash their infidelities out, and Chino finally tells Lisette the truth about Magdalena's baby daddy. The scene ends with Lisette pointing out to Chino that he never thinks about "the other person”, to which he then replies, “Good night, other person”, despite that it is morning already. Lisette lays on the sofa with a smile on her face.

Crysta is taking care of three baby animals and demonstrating greater control over nature. She and Pips begin a small contest over who can grow the more impressive plant, while Pips expresses a desire to see more of the outside world.

Suddenly, Batty Koda arrives in a panic, warning that human poachers are right behind him. These poachers show up with their dogs and capture the three baby animals. The first rescue attempt while still in Ferngully fails, and results in a huge forest fire, destroying a huge part of the forest and scarring Mother Kangaroo. Pips and the Beetle Boys volunteer to follow the humans to town and rescue the babies, convincing the reluctant Batty to be their guide. They arrive at a town amusement park. They are so fascinated by the rides, they are reminded by Batty to resume their mission.

All this time the fairies have been healing the rainforest and Crysta finds and helps one of the poachers' dogs (she called him Boof) abandoned and caught in a trap. She takes him on a journey to the town. Pips and the Beetle Boys meet a girl named Budgie who is hard at practicing for the clown act. Pips flies over to her and introduces himself and his friends. She gives them shelter in her trailer. Batty has located the poachers' place but the others ignore him too fascinated by modern human utilities. Bark and Batty go to make a rescue attempt, but Batty is caught.

Budgie tells Pips that she has been working on her clown act for years, but she has never been all that good. Pips tells her that she is trying too hard, and she should just do it. Back at where the babies are, the animals are very scared and fear they will never get back home. Batty overcomes his terror of the situation and manages to reassure them. Then the poachers take all the cages and load them onto a big truck. At the fair, Budgie goes to a contest stand and wins a stuffed kangaroo, which reminds Pips of the babies he's supposed to be saving. He tells Budgie about them and she offers to help him out.

They all reach the old warehouse. The poachers drive off, and Budgie jumps off a ledge and lands on the truck. They drive past Budgie's grandfather, and he sees that Budgie is hanging on the truck tarp, and he drives after them. Budgie manages to get inside the car and frees all the birds in the cages. The poachers see Budgie trying to get in the car and are enraged seeing all the birds flying away. One of them climbs out of the truck and tries to get Budgie off. She manages to get away from him, but he unlatches the car she's on and sends her rolling backwards on the road. She ends up with one side of the car dangling off a cliff. When she falls, Batty catches her and manages to lift her all by himself up to the top of the cliff (in spite of her being double his size) allowing Budgie's grandfather to catch them in his net and bring them safely to solid ground.

The group then head by clown car to the ship where the animals are being loaded. Pips undoes the conveyor catch so that the cages land in Budgie's grandfather's car. A struggle for the cages ensues between the poachers and Budgie. Boof and Crysta arrive to help. The other dog turns against his former master. The boat gets away and the fairies use their magic to stop it growing a gigantic tree. Nugget almost drowns as he escapes. Budgie and her grandfather adopt Slasher and Boof while all the animals and fairies return home.

In the church hall yard, Jones is showing off his newly restored butchers' van to the platoon. Mainwaring arrives with some very important news: three battalions of regular troops are to move into the Walmington and Eastgate areas as part of the divisional scheme, and as the signposts have been removed, the platoon have been asked to signpost the route to allow the convoys to pass through safely. While explaining the operation, Mainwaring damages Jones' van, by drawing on its side (ruining the paintwork) and knocking off part of the running board on the driver's side, as well as later damaging the horn.

The operation goes without further hitches until the men are collected and Mainwaring orders Jones to drive them back to the church hall. En route, they find the road blocked by an abandoned steam roller and fairground organ trailer, and a note from its driver reveals that he has gone to get some coal. Rather than wait for him to return, Mainwaring decides to drive around the vehicles. Whilst doing so, Jones's van gets stuck in the mud and before long it is joined by Hodges' van, his motorbike and side-car (driven by the Verger, who is taking Mrs Fox to pick bluebells, much to the chagrin of Jones and the Verger's wife) and a coach carrying the Vicar, the Verger's wife and pensioners on a day trip (who take the opportunity to dance to the organ when Pike, who is trying to move the trailer, accidentally starts it up after unhitching it from the steam roller). With time running out, it falls to Godfrey's Auntie Elsie to save the day and divert the convoy.

Carola (Hoss), a German woman living in Switzerland, is on holiday with her boyfriend in Kenya. She falls in love with Maasai warrior Lemalian (Ido), who is visiting dressed in the clothing of his area. At the airport on the way home she decides to stay. It turns out that Lemalian has gone to his home village in the Samburu District. Carola travels to the area, and stays at the house of another European woman. Lemalian hears about her stay and comes to meet her. Eventually they start living together.

She travels to Switzerland to sell her shop there, promising Lemalian to come back to him. She does, and they marry and have a daughter. Carola buys a car and starts a shop. They lose money on the shop because Lemalian gives too much credit to friends and neighbors, and because they have to pay bribes to the mini-chief. Lemalian argues that this is no problem because she has more money in Switzerland.

The mini-chief demands that Carola hires his teenage nephew as a shop assistant. She has to accept this although she does not need him and he does not work hard. After some time, when he is just drinking beer and not working, she fires him. Later he returns and attacks her. A local judge rules that she has to pay two goats for firing him, but the boy's family has to pay her five goats to compensate for the attack.

Carola is frustrated by the female circumcision being practiced in the village. She wants to stop it, but it is a long tradition that is not easily changed.

When Carola helps a pregnant woman in labour with a breech birth, Lemalian refuses to assist because the woman is supposedly bewitched.

Lemalian does not want Carola to be friendly with other men, even if she is just serving a customer in a friendly way. He is very jealous and suspicious of Carola having a boyfriend. He even wants to kill a man he suspects.

Carola wants to return to Switzerland with her daughter, stating she needs a two-week holiday. After some hesitation, Lemalian signs a form giving Carola consent to take the girl out of Kenya, although he suspects that she will not return.

Miguel de Cervantes and his manservant have been thrown into a dungeon by the Spanish Inquisition for an offense against the Church. In the dungeon, a mock trial is staged, with its intention being that the prisoners rob Cervantes of all of his possessions, including a precious manuscript that he refuses to give up. It is, of course, the yet-to-be-published manuscript of ''Don Quixote de la Mancha'', Cervantes's masterpiece. In defending himself, Cervantes begins to narrate his story of Don Quixote, with Cervantes as the Don Quixote, the role of Sancho enacted by Cervantes' own manservant, and the other characters in the story played by the other prisoners.

The work is not, and does not pretend to be, an accurate rendition of either Cervantes' life or the novel ''Don Quixote'' (for example, Cervantes had no direct contact with the Inquisition at any time in his life), although it draws on both for inspiration and on the latter for characters.

Four retired mobsters Bobby - the straight man leader, Bats - a cantankerous man with a short fuse and a pacemaker, Mouth - a silent ladies man many years past his prime, and Brick - a nice but dimwitted man plan one last crime to save their apartment at a retirement home (the owners are forcing them out with a rent increase so that the apartments can be rented to young, affluent South Beach couples). The four steal a corpse from the mortuary to use as the "victim" in a staged murder scene. Unknown to them, the body was that of Luis Ventanna, the head of a Colombian drug smuggling ring. As a result of the "murder", many of the young renters leave and the four men are given cash and a rent discount by the complex to keep living there. Much of this money is spent on high living and women, which causes a young stripper, Ferris to discover that the four men staged the murder - while spending time with the normally-silent "Mouth," he reveals that his mouth is loosened by intimacy with women.

To keep the woman quiet, the four agree to kill her stepmother, but instead kidnap her and fake her death by setting fire to her mansion. In the process, they accidentally burn down the house of the drug-smuggler's son, who happened to live in a nearby mansion. Believing that someone is trying to usurp his power, the drug lord offers $100,000 to anyone who brings him the head of the man responsible. This results in a confrontation at the apartment, leading to the capture of a female police officer and her partner, one of the wiseguys, the young woman, and the stepmother. The other wiseguys manage to escape this conflict, and track down the men who kidnapped their friend.

They call in all of their still-living former associates from their active years and lay siege to the ship where the drug lord is holding his prisoners. They then turn the ship and the drug smugglers over to the police, along with a shipment of drugs. A truckload of Cuban cigars is taken by the men and used to make their apartment complex into "a retirement home for old wiseguys who are down on their luck."

A sub-plot of the movie involves Bobby's search for his long lost daughter, whom he hasn't seen since he was in his 30s and she was a small child.

''Since the show is live and each one is different, some points of the plot may or may not apply. The show described below is the Australian version.''

The show begins with the elusive silk stocking gang, a criminal duo, escaping from prison and stealing a police motorcycle and side car. Following that, the Proctor (a role that can be performed by a male or female, as with some of the characters in the show) emerges and gives a short monologue about the stunts in the performance, as well as a safety warning.

The strict Captain Harris (typically male) appears to recruit audience members as part of the show, typically recruiting one middle-aged male (usually a father, to facilitate the jokes), one pre-teen boy (to which the Captain sneers "you remind me of my little brother! I hate my little brother..."), a female (jokingly introduced as "six foot six, muscle-bound...") and one company stuntman, a character named "Rodney", typically dressed in a garish ocean-print shirt and hat. Following the recruitment, four green cadets and the commissioner emerge for the morning ceremony and flag raising. This is preceded by a series of car stunts, with the cadets driving a police car, souped-up hot rod and a golf buggy. A few slapstick stunts (falling on the floor etc.) follow.

Cadet Verbinski wishes to pass an urgent letter to the commissioner, but he/she is accidentally pulled up the flag pole wrapped in the flag, then falls on top of the commissioner. The commissioner reads the letter, informing him about the silk stocking gang's intentions. The "recruits" from the audience are then called upon and are positioned around the set. The silk stocking gang then suddenly appears on top of the roof, and a wild gunfight sequence ensues. Rodney is accidentally "shot", and falls from his second floor post onto a disguised cushion. The cadet responsible is then reprimanded for the action. Two other cadets then climb up the scaffolding to reach the silk stocking gang who have successfully robbed the nearby payroll building.

A slapstick confrontation follows, ending in one cadet being kicked off the top of the second floor. He/she lands in a disguised cushioned dumping container, and emerges unscathed later. In the meantime, the commissioner uses a portable toilet, but it is accidentally lifted into the air by a crane and the door falls out, nearly dropping him out with it. The two culprits return to the motorcycle and a wild car chase follows, with Rodney being roughed up quite a bit. The sidecar detaches, but the remaining criminal wields explosives that scare the cadets. He first puts a bomb into an armoured vehicle, which explodes and flips over. He then passes a bomb to one cadet, who almost throws it into the audience but puts the bomb into a trash can in the end.

The commissioner orders the cadets to transport Rodney to a safe place, and they choose the tool shed. The last bomb goes into there, and the explosion blasts open the side panels of the shed and seemingly catapults Rodney (most likely a safety dummy) up onto the roof. One member of the duo will shout to the other to "get the chopper!" setting the scene for the climatic finale. A helicopter with rotors spinning and machine guns firing (though with nobody in the cockpit) emerges from the roof. The cadets, as well as an "injured" Rodney, rush to man the cannons. The first shot is unsuccessful, but the second "hits" the helicopter which spews smoke and descends into the roof slowly.

The aftermath is the show's biggest explosion, a huge rooftop blaze where the audience is actually able to feel the radiating heat. The "pilot" then rushes out of the door, vest blazing. He is extinguished and apprehended by the policemen, and the show ends.

The second form includes two girls who have been kept back from third form and two new girls. The two old girls are Elsie Fanshawe and Anna Johnson. Both are disliked as Elsie is spiteful and Anna is very lazy; however, both are made head of their form, replacing Hilary Wentworth who was head in first form. The second form mistress, Miss Jenks, has doubts about this as Elsie and Anna do not like each other very much, but agrees to let both of them try.

The two new girls are Gladys Hilman and Mirabel Unwin. Gladys Hilman is miserable because her mother is ill in hospital. Gladys Hilman rarely speaks or joins in and this is the reason Gladys Hilman nicknamed "The Misery Girl". It takes Mirabel Unwin to find out what is wrong with her. Mirabel is determined to make the worst of things and ruin class for everyone. She was sent away from home because of her behaviour towards her younger brother and sister. Mirabel's attitude leads her into trouble when Carlotta slaps her in public for ruining a play rehearsal, but Mirabel learns her lesson and forgives Carlotta. Later she admits to Isabel that she is ashamed of her behaviour and wants to be friends with the girls instead. When Elsie attempts to convince the form to perform a series of punishments against Mirabel in retaliation for her attitude in class, Isabel sticks up for her and manages to convince the class that Elsie is not acting in their interest but is just acting out of spite. As a result of this, Mirabel and Isabel become friends. Mirabel initially declares she wants to leave at half term, but ends up staying when Pat and Isabel stand up for her and the girls decide to give her a chance.

Although at first they do not get on well, an unlikely friendship later develops between Gladys and Mirabel, as they help each other cope with their first time in boarding school. Mirabel turns out to be a talented musician and Gladys a gifted actor, and the class manage to use these talents to ease the two girls into the way of things at the school.

The term passes by eventfully, and Anna becomes a surprisingly popular head girl, throwing aside her laziness. When Elsie is stripped of her position, Anna takes to her new position of sole head girl with a new-found enthusiasm and discovers she actually enjoys the sense of responsibility she feels at helping others and setting a good example. When Mrs Theobald refuses to let Mirabel send a telegram home asking for her violin, mistakenly thinking that Mirabel has only stopped misbehaving because she has got tired of it, she confides in Anna, who goes to see the Headmistress and explains to her that Mirabel is in fact ashamed of herself and wants to do better. As a result of Anna's directness, Mirabel is allowed to send the telegram and Anna is admired and respected by all of the other girls for performing such a kindly act.

A concert given by the girls proves a huge success, but Elsie is forbidden to take part as a result of her behaviour towards Anna when the decision was made to strip Elsie of her position as joint head girl. Anna and Carlotta both offer Elsie an olive branch, but Elsie has still not learned her lesson after being left out and sets out to ruin a birthday party given by Carlotta as revenge. However Hilary discovers Elsie's plan, and instead of holding the party the evening of Carlotta's birthday as planned, the girls hold a midnight feast the night before instead. Elsie gets into trouble as a result when her plan to expose the private party backfires. There is also a new drama mistress this year, Miss Quentin. Alison chooses to worship her (she always finds someone each year). However, at the end of the term, Alison is badly let down by Miss Quentin when she finds out that the mistress laughs at her behind her back and chose Gladys over her for the principal role in the play. She is then very cold to Miss Quentin and snubs her.

At term's end, Anna is told she can now go up to the Third Form, who have heard about her success as head girl and want her to return to their year. Elsie is also granted passage into the Third Form after she apologises to Anna and Carlotta for trying to ruin the birthday party, but is told that she is on her last chance and that she must drop her malicious and spiteful attitude if she wants to stay there, and that one mistake will see her expelled from the school.

Flor (also referred to as Florecita) travels from Mexico to USA, with her grandmother Clotilde and her sister Isela, in order for the girls to reunite with their father, Ruben, and two brothers, Rodrigo and Victor, who live in Miami.

During the trip, Clotilde dies in the desert. The girls bury their grandmother in the desert and continue to Miami, only to find out that their father is an alcoholic.

Flor's mother, Gabriela, lives in Miami, although her children believe her to be dead. Gabriela has remarried, and is now a famous television director. One day Florecita and Gabriela meet without recognizing each other.

Flor begins to work right away, selling flowers on the street and cleaning cars. One day, she meets Julio Alberto and his girlfriend Gloria, who are preparing for their wedding. Julio Alberto buys Gloria a flower from Flor.

Gloria dies at the wedding, and Julio Alberto is overwhelmed with grief. After a while, he starts to spend time in the park where he and Gloria walked together and where they used to be so happy. He sometimes sees Flor and starts talking to her.

Julio Alberto's mother, Rebeca, lives with her three children in the house of her twin sister Raquel. The sisters hate each other and Rebeca is silently waiting Raquel's death from cancer.

Raquel plans to leave her fortune to Flor, so that Rebeca doesn't get a penny; when the will is read, Rebeca is furious.

Believing that money is rightfully hers, she makes her son seduce Flor, and comes up with a plan to steal the money from the young girl and throw her out on the streets.

Flor doesn't care about losing her fortune because she was never rich in the first place, but she is disappointed that Julio Alberto lied to her and betrayed her, and she believed in him.

She decides to find a job as a maid, with the Dalmacci family, where Sergio, the trouble-making son, falls in love with Flor, fascinated by the goodness of her heart.

Then Julio Alberto re-enters Flor's life, realizing that he is truly in love with her. He begs Flor to forgive him and return to him. Whom does her heart belong to now? Is it Julio Alberto or Sergio?

Initially appearing in ''Space Sheriff Gavan'', Den Iga is attacked by a monster called Buffalo Doubler, member of the Space Mafia Makuu. Den is seriously injured in the attack when he is found by Gavan, who takes him to Planet Bird for medical assistance. Qom, leader of the , is impressed by Den's courage. Den returns in the final episode of Gavan, saving Gavan himself in his newly acquired form of Space Sheriff Sharivan during Gavan's final battle. After Don Horror is defeated, Sharivan is assigned to Earth and is partnered together with Lily from the planet Bird as he deals with the threat of the Madou Space Crime Syndicate on Earth.

A British and a Soviet ballistic-missile submarine suddenly disappear. James Bond MI6 agent 007 is summoned to investigate. On the way to his briefing, Bond escapes an ambush by a squad of Soviet agents in Austria, killing one during a downhill ski chase and evading the others. The plans for a highly advanced submarine tracking system are being offered in Egypt. There, Bond encounters Major Anya Amasova – KGB agent Triple X – as a rival for the microfilm plans. They travel across Egypt together, encountering Jaws a tall assassin with razor-sharp steel teeth along the way. Bond and Amasova reluctantly join forces after a truce is agreed by their respective British and Soviet superiors. They identify the person responsible for the thefts as the shipping tycoon and scientist Karl Stromberg.

While travelling by train to Stromberg's base in Sardinia, Bond saves Amasova from Jaws, and their cooling rivalry turns to affection. Posing as a marine biologist and his wife, they visit Stromberg's base and discover that he had launched a mysterious new supertanker, the ''Liparus'', nine months previously. As they leave the base, a henchman on a motorcycle featuring a rocket sidecar, Jaws in a car, and Naomi, an assistant/pilot of Stromberg in an attack helicopter, chase them, but Bond and Amasova escape underwater when his car – a Lotus Esprit from Q Branch – converts into a submarine. Jaws survives a car crash, and Naomi is killed when Bond fires a sea-air missile from his car which destroys her helicopter. While examining Stromberg's underwater ''Atlantis'' base, the pair confirms that he is operating the stolen tracking system and evade an attack by a group of Stromberg's minisubs. Back on land, Bond finds out that the ''Liparus'' has never visited any known port or harbour. Amasova discovers that Bond killed her lover Sergei Barsov (as shown at the beginning of the movie), and she vows to kill Bond as soon as their mission is complete.

Bond and Amasova board an American submarine to examine the ''Liparus'', but the submarine is captured by the tanker, which is revealed to be a floating submarine dock. Stromberg sets his plan in motion: the simultaneous launching of nuclear missiles from the captured British and Soviet submarines to obliterate Moscow and New York City. This would trigger a global nuclear war, which Stromberg would survive in ''Atlantis'', and subsequently a new civilization would be established underwater. He leaves for ''Atlantis'' with Amasova, but Bond escapes and frees the captured British, Russian, and American sailors. They battle the ''Liparus'' crew and eventually breach the control room, only to learn from the dying captain of the ''Liparus'' that the commandeered British and Soviet submarines are primed to fire their missiles in only a few minutes. Bond tricks the submarines into firing the nukes at each other, destroying the subs and Stromberg's crews. The victorious submariners escape the sinking ''Liparus'' on the American submarine.

The submarine is ordered by the Pentagon to destroy ''Atlantis'' but Bond insists on rescuing Amasova first. He confronts and kills Stromberg but again encounters Jaws, whom he drops into a shark tank. However, Jaws kills the tiger shark and escapes. Bond and Amasova flee in an escape pod as ''Atlantis'' is sunk by torpedoes. Amasova picks up Bond's gun and points it at him, but then chooses not to kill him and the two embrace. The Royal Navy recovers the pod and the two spies are seen in an intimate embrace through its port window, to the astonishment of their superiors on the ship.

The British information gathering vessel ''St Georges'', which holds the Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator (ATAC), the system used by the Ministry of Defence to co-ordinate the Royal Navy's fleet of Polaris submarines, is sunk after accidentally trawling an old naval mine in the Ionian Sea. A marine archaeologist, Sir Timothy Havelock, is asked by the British to secretly locate the ''St Georges''. However, he and his wife are murdered by a Cuban hitman, Hector Gonzales. His daughter, Melina Havelock, witnesses the murder and vows revenge.

The head of the KGB, General Gogol, has also learned of the fate of the ''St Georges'' and already notified his contact in Greece. MI6 agent James Bond is ordered by the Minister of Defence, Sir Frederick Gray, and MI6 Chief of Staff Bill Tanner to retrieve the ATAC before the Soviets since the transmitter could order attacks by the submarines' Polaris ballistic missiles. Bond goes to Spain to find out who hired Gonzales.

While spying on Gonzales's villa, Bond is captured by his men, but escapes as Gonzales is killed by a crossbow bolt. Outside, he finds the assassin was Melina and the two escape. With the help of Bond, Q uses computerised technology to identify the man Bond saw paying off Gonzales as Emile Leopold Locque, and then goes to Locque's possible base in Cortina, Italy. There Bond meets his contact, Luigi Ferrara, and a well-connected Greek businessman and intelligence informant, Aris Kristatos, who tells Bond that Locque is employed by Milos Columbo, known as "the Dove" in the Greek underworld, Kristatos's former resistance partner during the Second World War. After Bond goes with Kristatos's protégée, figure skater Bibi Dahl, to a biathlon course, a group of three men, which includes East German biathlete Eric Kriegler, chases Bond, trying to kill him. Bond escapes and then goes with Ferrara to bid Bibi farewell in an ice rink, where he fends off another attempt on his life by men in ice hockey gear. Ferrara is killed in Bond's car, with a dove pin in his hand. Bond then travels to Corfu in pursuit of Columbo.

There, at the casino, Bond meets Kristatos and asks how to meet Columbo, not knowing that Columbo's men are secretly recording their conversation. After Columbo and his mistress, Countess Lisl von Schlaf, argue, Bond offers to escort her home with Kristatos's car and driver. The two then spend the night together. In the morning, Lisl and Bond are ambushed by Locque and Lisl is killed. Bond is captured by Columbo's men before Locque can kill him; Columbo then tells Bond that Locque was actually hired by Kristatos, who is working for the KGB to retrieve the ATAC. Bond accompanies Columbo and his crew on a raid on one of Kristatos's opium-processing warehouses in Albania, where Bond uncovers naval mines similar to the one that sank the ''St Georges'', suggesting it was not an accident. After the base is destroyed, Bond chases Locque and kills him.

Afterwards, Bond meets Melina, and they recover the ATAC from the wreckage of the ''St Georges'', but Kristatos is waiting for them when they surface and he takes the ATAC. After the two escape an assassination attempt, they discover Kristatos's rendezvous point when Melina's parrot repeats the phrase "ATAC to St Cyril's". With the help of Columbo and his men, Bond and Melina break into St Cyril's, an abandoned mountaintop monastery. As Columbo confronts Kristatos, Bond kills Kriegler.

Bond retrieves the ATAC system and stops Melina from killing Kristatos after he surrenders. Kristatos tries to kill Bond with a hidden flick knife, but is killed by a knife thrown by Columbo; Gogol arrives by helicopter to collect the ATAC, but Bond throws it off the cliff. Bond and Melina later spend a romantic evening aboard her father's yacht while Melina's parrot fields a call from MI6 and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

John Strangways, the Station Chief of MI6 in Jamaica, is murdered, along with his secretary, by a trio of assassins before his home is ransacked. When news of Strangways' death reaches M, the head of MI6, he assigns intelligence officer James Bond to investigate the matter, and determine if it is related to Strangways' cooperation with the CIA on a case involving the disruption of rocket launches from Cape Canaveral by radio jamming. When Bond arrives in Jamaica, he is accosted by a man claiming to be a chauffeur sent to collect him, but is really an enemy agent sent to kill him. Before Bond can interrogate him, the agent kills himself by biting into a cyanide-laced cigarette. After visiting Strangways' house, Bond confronts a boatman with whom Strangways was acquainted. The boatman, named Quarrel, reveals that he is aiding the CIA and introduces Bond to their agent Felix Leiter, who is also investigating Strangways' death.

Bond learns from Felix that the CIA traced the radio jamming signal to Jamaica, (which was a British Colony until 1962), and that Strangways was helping to pinpoint its exact origin. Quarrel reveals that before Strangways died, the pair collected mineral samples from an island called Crab Key, where people are forbidden to go. Upon finding a receipt from a local geologist, Professor R.J. Dent, Bond makes inquiries with him about the samples and Crab Key, but is suspicious of his answers when he claims the samples checked out as normal. Following the meeting, Dent travels to Crab Key to meet its reclusive owner, for whom he works, to inform him of Bond's visit. Under strict instructions, Dent attempts to have Bond killed with a tarantula. However, Bond kills the spider and sets a trap for Dent. When the geologist arrives, Bond holds him at gunpoint, revealing that he believed Dent was asked to check Strangways' samples to see if they were radioactive, before killing him.

After checking Quarrel's boat with a Geiger counter, Bond determines that Strangways must have suspected that the radio jamming was coming from Crab Key, and so persuades Quarrel to take him out there. The following day, after arriving, Bond meets Honey Ryder, a shell diver. When armed guards arrive in a boat, Bond and Quarrel take Ryder with them and escape into the swamp. At nightfall, the group encounter a flame tank disguised as a dragon to deter locals, which kills Quarrel. Bond and Ryder are captured and taken to a hidden base, whereupon they are swiftly put into decontamination due to the swamp being contaminated with radiation. After being led to private quarters set up for them, they are rendered unconscious with drugged coffee.

Upon awakening, the pair are escorted to dine with the base's owner, Dr. Julius No: a Chinese-German criminal scientist who has prosthetic metal hands due to radiation exposure. Bond learns that No was a former member of a Chinese crime organization tong, until he stole $10 million in gold, and now works for the secret organisation SPECTRE ('''SP'''ecial '''E'''xecutive for '''C'''ounter-intelligence, '''T'''errorism, '''R'''evenge, and '''E'''xtortion). The radio jamming being conducted by No is being planned to disrupt the Project Mercury space launch at Cape Canaveral using a radio beam, which he states will be a demonstration of SPECTRE's power. When Bond refuses to join SPECTRE, No has Ryder taken away and Bond beaten and imprisoned. However, Bond manages to escape his cell through an air vent and disguises himself as a worker, before infiltrating the base's control centre.

Bond discovers that the radio beam being prepared to disrupt the launch is powered by a nuclear pool reactor, and overloads it as the launch commences. Dr. No attempts to stop him, but falls into the reactor pool and is boiled to death. As the base's personnel evacuate, Bond frees Ryder before the two escape the island by boat, moments before the base is destroyed. Felix finds the pair adrift at sea after their boat runs out of fuel, and has them towed to safety by a Royal Navy ship. However, as Ryder passionately kisses him, Bond lets go of the tow rope to embrace her.

Three MI6 agents are killed under mysterious circumstances within 24 hours in the United Nations headquarters in New York City, in New Orleans, and the small Caribbean nation of San Monique, while monitoring the operations of the island's dictator, Dr. Kananga. James Bond, Agent 007, is sent to New York to investigate. Kananga is also in New York, visiting the United Nations. After Bond arrives, his driver is shot dead by Whisper, one of Kananga's men, while taking Bond to Felix Leiter of the CIA. Bond is nearly killed in the ensuing car crash.

The killer's licence plate leads Bond to Harlem where he meets Mr. Big, a mob boss who runs a chain of restaurants throughout the United States, but he and the CIA do not understand why the most powerful black gangster in New York works with an unimportant island's leader. Bond meets Solitaire, a beautiful tarot reader who has the power of the Obeah and can see both the future and remote events in the present. Mr. Big demands that his henchmen kill Bond, but Bond overpowers them and escapes with the help of CIA agent Strutter. Bond flies to San Monique, where he meets Rosie Carver, a local CIA agent. They meet up with Bond's ally, Quarrel Jr., who takes them by boat near Solitaire's home. When Bond suspects Rosie of being a double agent for Kananga, Rosie tries to escape but is killed remotely by Kananga. Bond then uses a stacked deck of tarot cards that show only "The Lovers" to trick Solitaire into thinking that fate is meant for them; Bond then seduces her. Having lost her virginity and thus her ability to foretell the future, Solitaire realizes she would be killed by Kananga, so she agrees to cooperate with Bond.

Bond and Solitaire escape by boat and fly to New Orleans. There, Bond is captured by Mr. Big, who removes his prosthetic face and reveals himself to be Kananga. He has been producing heroin and is protecting the poppy fields by exploiting the San Monique locals' fear of voodoo priest Baron Samedi, as well as the occult. As Mr. Big, Kananga plans to distribute the heroin free of charge at his restaurants, which will increase the number of addicts. He intends to bankrupt other drug dealers with his giveaway, then charge high prices for his heroin later in order to capitalise on the huge drug dependencies he has cultivated.

Angry at her for having sex with Bond and that her ability to read tarot cards is now gone, Kananga turns Solitaire over to Baron Samedi to be sacrificed. Kananga's henchmen, one-armed Tee Hee and tweed-jacketed Adam, leave Bond to be eaten by crocodilians at his farm in the Deep South backwoods. Bond escapes by running along the animals' backs to safety. After setting the drug laboratory on fire, he steals a speedboat and escapes, pursued by Kananga's men under Adam's order, as well as Sheriff J.W. Pepper and the Louisiana State Police. Most pursuers get wrecked or left behind, and Adam is killed in a boat crash by Bond.

Bond travels to San Monique and sets timed explosives throughout the poppy fields. He rescues Solitaire from the voodoo sacrifice and throws Samedi into a coffin of venomous snakes. Bond and Solitaire escape below ground into Kananga's lair. Kananga captures them both and proceeds to lower them into a shark tank. However, Bond escapes and forces Kananga to swallow a compressed-gas pellet used in shark guns, causing his body to inflate and explode.

Leiter puts Bond and Solitaire on a train leaving the country. Tee Hee sneaks aboard and attempts to kill Bond, but Bond cuts the wires of his prosthetic arm and throws him out the window. As the film ends, a laughing Samedi is revealed to be perching at the front of the train.

A Drax Industries Space Shuttle, Moonraker — on loan to the United Kingdom — is hijacked in mid-air while on a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The carrier is destroyed but no wreckage of the Shuttle is found. M, head of MI6, assigns James Bond, Agent 007, to investigate. En route to England, Bond is attacked and pushed out of an aeroplane by the mercenary assassin Jaws (whom he previously met in ''The Spy Who Loved Me''). He survives by stealing a parachute from the pilot, while Jaws lands on a trapeze net within a circus tent.

At the Drax Industries spaceplane-manufacturing complex in California, Bond meets the owner of the company, Hugo Drax, and his henchman Chang. Bond also meets Dr. Holly Goodhead, an astronaut, and survives an assassination attempt while inside a centrifuge chamber. Drax's personal pilot, Corinne Dufour, sleeps with Bond and then helps Bond find blueprints for a glass vial made in Venice; Drax discovers her involvement and has her killed by his vicious pet dogs in the woods during the pheasant-hunting party the next day.

Bond again encounters Goodhead in Venice and observes her snooping around a door near the glass factory. Then he is chased through the canals by Drax's henchmen. He returns to the factory at night to investigate and discovers a secret biological laboratory, and learns that the glass vials are to hold a nerve gas deadly to humans, but harmless to plants and animals. Chang attacks Bond, but Bond hurls him through the stained glass clockface of the Saint Mark's clocktower, killing him; during the fight, Bond finds evidence that Drax is moving his operation to Rio de Janeiro. Rejoining Goodhead, he deduces that she is a CIA agent spying on Drax and sleeps with her. Bond has saved one of the vials he found earlier, as the only evidence of the now-empty laboratory; he gives it to M for analysis, who permits him to go to Rio de Janeiro under the pretense of being on leave.

Bond survives attacks by Jaws, whom Drax has hired as Chang's replacement, during Rio Carnival and on the Sugarloaf Cable Car. After Jaws' cable car crashes, he is rescued from the rubble by Dolly, a young woman, and the two fall in love. Drax's forces capture Goodhead, but Bond escapes; he learns that the toxin comes from a rare orchid indigenous to the Amazon jungle. Bond travels the Amazon River and comes under attack from Drax's forces, before eventually locating his base. Captured by Jaws, Bond is taken to Drax and witnesses four Moonrakers lifting off. Drax explains that he stole back the loaned Shuttle because another in his fleet had developed a fault during assembly. Bond and Goodhead are locked in a meeting room directly under the launch platform, and narrowly escape being burned alive by the exhausts of ''Moonraker 5'', which is carrying Drax, and pose as pilots on ''Moonraker 6''. The shuttles dock with a huge, city-like space station, hidden from radar by a cloaking device.

Bond and Goodhead disable the radar jamming cloaking device; the United States sends a platoon of Marines aboard another shuttle to intercept the now-visible space station. Jaws captures Bond and Goodhead, to whom Drax reveals his plan to destroy human life by launching 50 globes that would disperse the nerve gas into Earth's atmosphere. Drax had transported several dozen genetically perfect young men and women of varying races to the space station in the shuttles. They would live there until Earth was safe again for human life; their descendants would be the seed for a "new master race". Bond persuades Jaws to switch his allegiance by getting Drax to admit that anyone not measuring up to his physical standards, including him and Dolly, would be exterminated. Jaws attacks Drax's guards, and a laser battle ensues between Drax's forces and Bond, Jaws, and the Marines (attacking on MMUs). Drax's forces are defeated as the station is destroyed, while Bond shoots and ejects Drax into space. Bond and Goodhead use Drax's laser-armed ''Moonraker 5'' to destroy the three launched globes and return to Earth. It is revealed that Jaws and Dolly, who ejected themselves in one of Drax's escape pods, after toasting with a bottle of champagne, are being recovered by the Marines. Bond's superiors get a video feed of ''Moonraker 5'' and are bemused to see Bond and Goodhead making love in zero gravity.

Seeking revenge against MI6 agent James Bond for the death of their agent Dr. No in Jamaica, international criminal organisation SPECTRE begins training agents to kill him, before assigning the task to Irish assassin Donald "Red" Grant. To lure Bond into a trap, SPECTRE's chief planner, Czechoslovak chess grandmaster Kronsteen, devises a plan to have Bond attempt to procure a Lektor cryptography device from the Soviets from the Soviet consulate in Istanbul. SPECTRE operative Rosa Klebb, a former SMERSH (Soviet counter-intelligence) colonel, is assigned to oversee the mission and to ensure Grant can carry out Bond's assassination at the right moment. To set the trap, Klebb recruits a cipher clerk at the consulate, Tatiana Romanova, to unwittingly assist in the plan, tricking Romanova into believing Klebb is still working for SMERSH.

In London, Bond is called to a meeting with M and informed that Romanova has requested Bond's help to defect to the West, in exchange for providing British intelligence a Lektor. Exactly as Kronsteen predicted, M suspects a trap but decides to honour Romanova's request. Before departing, Bond is given a special attaché case by Q, containing several defensive gadgets and an ArmaLite AR-7 sniper rifle, to help on his assignment. Upon arriving in Istanbul, Bond works alongside the head of MI6's branch in the city, Ali Kerim Bey, while he awaits word from Romanova. During this time, Kerim is attacked by Soviet agent Krilencu, who causes problems for the men, unaware that Grant is shadowing Bond to protect him until he steals the Lektor. After an attack on the men while they hide out at a gypsy settlement, Kerim assassinates Krilencu with Bond's help before he can flee the city.

Eventually, Romanova meets Bond at his hotel suite, where she agrees to provide plans to the consulate for him to help him steal the Lektor. The pair spend the night together, unaware SPECTRE is filming them as part of Kronsteen's plan. Upon receiving the consulate's floor plans from Romanova, Bond and Kerim make a plan to steal the Lektor, before all three make haste to escape the city aboard the ''Orient Express''. Once aboard, Kerim discovers a Soviet security officer tailed them, forcing Bond to help him subdue the officer. While Kerim remains with the officer to prevent him escaping, Bond returns to Romanova to wait for their rendezvous with one of Kerim's men. However, Grant kills Kerim and the officer, forcing Bond to remain on the train and question Romanova's motive.

When the train arrives in Belgrade, Bond passes on news of Kerim's death to one of his sons waiting for them and receives instructions to travel to Zagreb and rendezvous with a British agent named Nash. However, the man he meets is actually Grant, who has already killed Nash and assumed his identity. After drugging Romanova at dinner, Grant overpowers Bond. He quickly reveals that Romanova was a pawn in SPECTRE's plan and that Grant intends to kill both and stage it as a murder-suicide, leaving behind faked blackmail evidence that will scandalise the British intelligence community. Bond tricks Grant into setting off a booby trap in his attaché case before killing him. Taking the Lektor and the film of their night together, Bond and Romanova leave the train in Istria, Yugoslavia and use Grant's escape plan. They evade helicopter and boat attacks by SPECTRE agents before reaching safety.

Learning of Grant's death and Bond's survival, SPECTRE's enigmatic chairman (Number 1) has Kronsteen executed for his plan's disastrous failure. As the organisation promised to sell back the Lektor to the Russians, Klebb is ordered to recover it and kill Bond. Klebb reaches the pair, while they are resting in a hotel in Venice, and sneaks into their room disguised as a maid. Klebb orders Romanova to leave the room while holding Bond at gunpoint. Romanova then re-enters, tackling Klebb and knocking the pistol to the ground. Klebb and Bond struggle, and Romanova picks up the pistol and kills Klebb. With their mission accomplished, Bond and Romanova spend some time on a romantic boat ride and Bond throws the film into the canal.

Pellar's story provides background information related to the previous title ''Dragon's Kin''. Cristov's story is mostly new material (blue firestone that survives in water) and takes place after the events in Pellar's. The focus of Cristov's story is the problem-laden transition from firestone to the phosphine-bearing rock that is used by later generations of dragons.

Nelida is a story about a beautiful, fragile woman that is based on Marie d'Agoult. When Nelida is young, she is fascinated by a man named Gummerman, who is based on Franz Liszt. Gummerman believes that art is a religion and he is passionate about it. When Nelida grows up, she meets Gummerman again. Gummerman is now a handsome young man who is driven by his passions. Nelida falls for him and they have a passionate kiss. Nelida then finds out that Gummerman is living with another woman. Depressed, Nelida marries whom she was engaged to, Timoleon, only to find out he bedded an Italian marquise. Seeing how heart broken Nelida is, Gummerman lives with her and falls in love with her. They go to different countries to perform. However, Gummerman seeks fame rather than art and in doing so, beds the Italian marquise. Nelida then breaks up with him. Realizing he failed, he dies in pity. Only then does Nelida come back to him.

Jean Berlot (Liska) is a deeply troubled man who has been haunted by violent hallucinations of being stuffed into a straitjacket by two orderlies since the death of his mother, who was committed to a mental institution before she passed on. While arranging his mother's funeral, Jean meets a fellow who claims to be the Marquis de Sade (Triska) and lives as if he is in 18th-century France rather than the 21st-century Czech Republic. Jean strikes up an alliance with the Marquis, though they can hardly be called friends, but is horrified by the Marquis' debauchery, namely the blasphemous orgy that Jean spies through an open window. The Marquis drops dead after choking on a banana the following day, and Jean is ordered at gunpoint to assist the servant Dominik (Nový) in burying the coffin in the family mausoleum. The next morning Jean and Dominik are awakened by a bell, and after opening the stone of the mausoleum, the Marquis reveals it had all been an elaborate prank. His mother had died after being buried alive, and he finds it therapeutic to relive this childhood memory that haunts him.

The Marquis suggests a therapy that could help with Jean's nightmares: voluntarily committing himself to an asylum managed by his friend Dr. Murlloppe (Dusek), who offers "Purgative Therapy" for people who are not mad but could be in the future. Jean falls for a beautiful nurse named Charlota (Geislerova), who claims she is being held at the hospital against her will, and reveals that Murlloppe and the Marquis were previous patients who led a revolt and locked the real asylum employees in the basement. The Marquis tells Jean that Charlota is a "nymphomaniac" and likes to tell complex fabricated stories as a form of foreplay. On the one year anniversary of their revolt, Murlloppe, the Marquis, and Dominik take Charlota with them for a ritual orgy, and Charlota tells Jean it is his only chance to free the staff. Jean finds them tarred and feathered in the basement, and releases the men, who waste no time in beating all the patients and shoving them back into their cells. Dr. Coulmiere thanks Jean for releasing them, and explains his philosophy that corporal punishment is key to treating mental illness by balancing the mind and the body, and that Murlloppe's idea of curing it with "freedom" is absurd. Murlloppe, the Marquis, and Dominik are tracked down and are each given severe punishments. Now that Charlota has been rescued, Jean expects to leave with her and get married, but Dr. Coulmiere will not permit Jean to leave until 8am, per the usual protocol. Jean has trouble sleeping, and seeks out Charlota for comfort, but her room is empty. He finds her in Dr. Coulmiere's room preparing for a night of sexual pleasures. This sets off one of his violent hallucinations, and Dr. Coulmiere eventually has to intervene. He orders the first round of corporal punishment treatment: two orderlies stuff Jean into a straitjacket and carry him away.

Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky (Matthew Perry) is a likable Quebec dentist from Chicago, but is hated by his wife Sophie and mother-in-law. Oz's assistant Jill jokingly asks him to name a price to have Sophie disappear. Oz meets a new neighbor, and realizes he is Jimmy "the Tulip" Tudeski, an infamous Chicago contract killer with a bounty on his head.

Oz reveals Jimmy's identity to Sophie, who is intrigued. Oz befriends Jimmy, and shares his unhappiness: his business partner, Sophie's father, was involved with an underage boy and embezzled from the practice to pay off the boy's family before committing suicide, leaving Oz deeply in debt. Oz returns home, where Sophie has arranged for him to fly to Chicago and share Jimmy's whereabouts with mob boss Janni Gogolak for a reward. Oz is reluctant but complies.

Arriving in Chicago, Oz has no intention of giving Jimmy up. At his hotel, he meets Franklin "Frankie Figs" Figueroa, Janni's enforcer, and denies any knowledge of Jimmy, but is brought to Janni's estate. He meets Cynthia, Jimmy's estranged wife. Janni instructs Frankie to accompany Oz home and keep an eye on Jimmy until Janni and his men can take him out. At the hotel, Oz calls Jimmy to warn him, but is told Jimmy knows what Oz has done. Cynthia arrives and tells Oz that Janni and Jimmy both want each other and Cynthia dead to collect a $10 million trust – "the whole nine yards." Oz and Cynthia drunkenly sleep together, and he vows to protect her.

In Canada, Frankie and Oz meet Jimmy, who reveals he and Frankie are planning to kill Janni and Cynthia. Jimmy explains Sophie tried to hire him to kill Oz, and he plans to lure Janni to Montreal. Jimmy offers to kill Sophie, which Oz declines. At work, Oz tells Jill everything. She reveals that she too is a contract killer, hired by Sophie to kill Oz, Jill liked him too much, however, and cancelled the hit. She demands to meet her hero, Jimmy, who enlists her help. Oz tries to call Cynthia, who is en route with Janni. When Janni's gang arrives at Oz's house, Cynthia warns Oz that Janni will kill him after killing Jimmy. The two watch as the gang walks into the ambush.

Down the street, Sophie meets with another hitman, but when he recognizes Janni and Sophie explains the situation, he heads for the house with a gun, taking the car keys with him. Inside, Janni is distracted by a naked Jill; she, Jimmy and Frankie kill Janni and his men. Oz and Cynthia drive away as Jimmy also shoots Sophie’s hitman, much to Sophie's horror, and discovers he is an undercover Sûreté du Québec detective. As they dispose of the bodies, Oz calls and suggests a deal to benefit everyone. At his office, he alters the dead detective's teeth to match Jimmy's dental records, then sets his and Janni’s bodies on fire in Oz's car. Investigators find the remains and believe Janni and Jimmy are dead, and, while heading to Jimmy’s house with the intent to arrest him, discover a recorder in the detective’s car; Sophie’s conversation about killing Oz sends her and her mother to prison, despite Sophie's claim that Jill is the real killer. Oz is cleared of suspicion, and Cynthia collects the $10 million, transferring it to Jimmy in exchange for her and Oz's lives.

While Cynthia and Jill, who have just met face-to-face, are at the bank, Jimmy and Frankie take Oz onto a yacht. Jill urges Cynthia to split the money with her and run, leaving Oz to be killed by Jimmy, but Cynthia realizes she loves Oz and refuses to betray him, and Jill assures her it was a test; Jimmy wants to give Cynthia and Oz $1 million as a wedding gift.

On the boat, Jimmy confirms that the money has been transferred. He points a gun at Oz, but shoots Frankie instead, explaining that Frankie, believing Jimmy had gone soft, would have killed them both. Oz attributes the softness to Jimmy falling in love. Jill arrives and jumps into Jimmy's arms and, before he and Jill leave, Jimmy tells Oz to say hello to his widow for him. Oz, ignorant of the $1 million, asks Cynthia to marry him and she accepts. Later, the happy couple dances above Niagara Falls.

The story is set in a future world in which violence and crime have been almost entirely eradicated. The main character is a man who is capable of antisocial behavior and who considers himself “the king of the world.” He is allowed to do what he wishes, take what he wants and go where he pleases without reprisal, so long as he does no violence to another human being. The “humane, permissive” society in which he lives has adopted a threefold solution for someone who is, by their standards, insane. The first is excommunication - no one is to interact with him or even acknowledge his existence, other than by the apparent worldwide directive identifying him and calling for this punishment. Secondly, he is thrown into an epileptic seizure whenever he attempts to commit violence against another human. Thirdly, his body and waste give off a highly offensive odor, undetectable by him, to identify him, warn others of his presence and drive them away.

The story ends with a desperate plea from the protagonist for someone, anyone to join him in his rebellion against what he perceives to be a wholly passive society, which has lost any spark of creativity or will to achieve greatness.

The story links violence to artistic expression. The protagonist "invents" drawing and sculpture, only later realizing, from old books, that these things had existed in the past, and notes that all great artists had lived in especially violent times.

Marisela is a rich, beautiful, and intelligent woman who feels a big emptiness in her life that she considers dry and sad. It is then that she meets Fernando, a good and honest man from a great family. When the two fall in love, the two of them face the terrible opposition of their families. On one hand, it's Marisela's father Miguel, who doesn't want Fernando to be part of his family and wants something better for his daughter.

On the other part, it's Fernando's sister Mercedes, who is obsessed with him and doesn't want to see him with anyone other than Paola, Marisela's sister, who becomes infatuated with Fernando and is not willing to let him be with her sister. Marisela, tired of everything and everyone, decides not to listen to anything or anyone and decides to be with the love of her life and has a daughter she names Ana. Terrified of what may come, Marisela asks Fernando to get married as soon as possible and on the day of the wedding, Mercedes goes crazy upon learning about it and takes a gun and murders Marisela and Fernando at the Ocampo family mansion, when they prepare to celebrate their wedding party.

In the middle of the shooting, Marisela's mother Andrea also dies from cardiac arrest. Several years later, Ana (the daughter of the deceased couple), who grew up locked up in a boarding school in the United States, returns to Mexico accompanied by Sandy, her companion in the boarding school and has become her great friend. Ana returns to her grandpa and aunt's house and has grown up into a woman looking physically identical to her mother. This similarity causes Miguel to feel remorse for not having listened to his daughter when she was alive and wants to fix his mistakes by welcoming Ana and giving all of his grandfatherly affection to her.

On the other hand, Paola looks down on her niece with contempt for having the failed love that took her sister. Angel, the adoptive son of Miguel and Andrea, is a deaf-mute man who has been in love with Ana since childhood, but suffers an ordeal in which he can't express his love towards Ana. However, he decides to fight for her love but it is too late. Ana gets engaged to Diego, who only wants to use her to get revenge on his father. Diego's father turns out to be Miguel, because while Miguel was married to Andrea he had an extramarital relationship with Elena in the United States.

This resulted in them having two sons: Diego and Tomas. Diego grew up feeling resentment towards his father, for his brother and mother were "the others" and Miguel never dared to acknowledge them. Diego's resentment was fueled mainly by his ambitious maternal grandmother Ada, who took care of tarnishing Miguel and his legitimate family and used his daughter to blackmail him and to extort money despite opposition from Elena, who was aware of what her place was in Miguel's life and was never interested in demanding something.

Therefore, their children Tomas and Diego turn out to be Marisela's brothers and Ana's uncles. However, in addition to all these obstacles, the real important one to face Ana and Angel's love is Ana's crazed aunt Mercedes, who has escaped from the mental hospital where she had been locked up all these years and only seeks revenge. Upon seeing Ana, Mercedes thinks she's her late mother Marisela and believes she was saved from the attack years ago, so she decides to "put an end" to her once and for all.

The film is told primarily in flashback, as the film first follows a hitman, Critical Jim (Tim Allen), who follows and holds at gunpoint a man he believes is Cletis Tout (Danny Lima) - but who actually is Finch (Christian Slater). Because Critical Jim is so fond of film noir and other classic films (such as ''Casablanca'' and ''Breakfast at Tiffany's''), he's willing to listen to Finch as he tells his story, imagining it as a film in progress. Finch obliges, explaining how he got to be mistaken for Cletis Tout.

Finch happened to be in the same jail with Micah (Richard Dreyfuss), who stole diamonds more than 20 years before, then hid the diamonds and soon landed in prison. With Finch's help, Micah manages to break out, and the two get new identities for themselves, courtesy of a coroner (Billy Connolly) who owes Finch a favor.

The problem is that Finch's new identity is that of Cletis Tout, a photojournalist who managed to film a Mafia figure's son strangling a woman. The head of the Mafia gets his men to kill Tout (which is how the coroner got the identity for Finch), but when Finch goes to Tout's apartment to look for his passport, a neighbor calls the police, who inform the mafia head that Cletis Tout is still alive.

After Micah meets up with his now grown-up daughter, Tess (Portia de Rossi), he's accidentally shot by the men sent to kill Cletis. Just before dying, Micah gets Finch to promise to watch after his daughter, and thus Tess and Finch begin an uneasy relationship as they look for the diamonds. Meanwhile, the Mafia head decides to bring in a professional hit man, so he contacts Critical Jim to finish the job. Critical Jim is more interested in where Finch's story will end - specifically, if he'll be able to reconcile with Tess in the end, giving the story a perfect Hollywood ending.

''Kenny'' is a mockumentary that follows the fictional Kenny through his daily life. His work and his personal relationships are explored as Kenny goes about his day-to-day activities and speaks directly to the camera and his audience. Kenny provides a most basic service to the community, portable toilets.

The audience sees Kenny interviewing potential clients and involved in major public events. It is important to Kenny to know the kind of food and drink to be served at these events as this will determine the level of service he provides. Never ashamed of his job, despite the disparagement of some (including his own family), Kenny regards himself as a professional. Even at the most prestigious events for which he caters, Kenny realises that the most glamorous will need his portable toilets.

He sees life in all of its complexities through the need of his services. Kenny takes his son, Jesse, to visit his father, but is hampered by his ex-wife's obstructiveness and his father's bitterness.

When Kenny travels to Nashville to attend a toilet convention, he is thrilled to travel outside his native Melbourne. His ingenuity, friendship and commitment to his profession opens business opportunities in Japan and the potential for a new relationship with Jackie, a flight attendant, but he must return home prematurely when his father suffers a medical emergency.

In an attempt at bonding, Kenny, his wealthy brother David and their father go camping. After half a day, David leaves in disdain. After Kenny tries to defend David, his father tells Kenny to step out of his brothers shadow and stick up for himself, which prompts Kenny to consider his life. He reveals that his success in Nashville has led to the offer of a promotion, and though his father urges him to accept, Kenny is unsure.

When Kenny's ex-wife unexpectedly leaves him with Jesse on the day of the Melbourne Cup, his busiest day of the year, Kenny finds his son to be an able and cheerful assistant. However, prejudice against his work again appears, with customers complaining that a child should not be made to clean toilets, prompting Kenny to ask Jesse to stay in the office. When he returns to find Jesse gone, Kenny searches the venue in a panic and eventually finds him at the toilets, wanting to help again.

That night, as he is about to drive away in his septic tank truck after a long and exhausting day, Kenny's way is blocked by a luxury car whose driver insensitively brushes off his requests to move. Kenny breaks his longstandng habit of amiability to fill the man's car with human waste, a suggestion that perhaps Kenny has decided to stick up for himself a little bit more. Finally, Kenny declines the opportunity to become an executive and seeks out Jackie to renew their relationship.

Dr. Jim Conrad is visiting the small town of Burly Pines to fish. While out with a friend, they discover a moose that has been stripped clean of meat. They presume hunters left it for scavengers, but then the hunters arrive and say they had shot it two hours earlier and had been tracking it since. A shopkeeper is found in the same condition in his home. The authorities think it may have been a predator, but Jim is unsure. During the autopsy, Jim finds something on the man's body. When he looks at it under a microscope, it is the jaws of a marabunta, a South American ant known for traveling in waves, killing everything in their path. After questioning Sheriff Jeff Croy and his men, Jim figures out that the ants must have arrived on a boat that had crashed a few years ago, leaving logs of South American wood behind. The ants had hibernated in the wood until recent seismic activity had made it warm enough to support them.

Jim teams up with Croy and schoolteacher Karen to try to find a way to stop the ants. Jim and Karen go to the beach where the wood from the ship washed up to kill the queen. The ants attack Jim's friend, who is piloting the helicopter. While trying to fight them off, his actions cause the helicopter to lift off and crash into the mountain. Jim and Karen find themselves surrounded by the ants. They hold them off using a flame thrower and shotgun until they can reach a nearby canoe, which they take downstream until they reach a waterfall and go over it. Having survived the falls, they find an old cabin with a motorcycle. They get it started just as the ants reach them and ride it back to town. They convince Croy to evacuate the town. Croy has local Native American Gray Wolf handle the evacuation and tells his son Chad to go with them. When everyone is out of town, Gray Wolf is to blow up the only road out of town. Chad goes back to his father against his wishes and returns to help while Gray Wolf sets up the dynamite. At the school, Jim and Karen create a mixture that can kill the ants, but the ants attack the school. Chad gets trapped in a school bus while Jim and Karen are chased to the school's top floor. Croy arrives in his truck, and they escape with help from Jim's formula. They make their way out of town, but Gray Wolf is forced to blow the pass early when he sees the ants making their way along it.

After determining the ants' pattern, they decide to blow up the local dam and flood the entire town to kill the ants. Jim and Karen get some dynamite and head to the dam. They leave Chad in Croy's truck parked on top of the dam as a lookout while they dig holes in the earthen side of the dam at intervals and insert the dynamite with different length fuses. While they are working, a rescue helicopter, sent by Gray Wolf, arrives to carry them out of town. Chad gets in, and once they have lit the dynamite, Croy and Karen join him. Jim has trouble lighting his fuse, and an aftershock knocks him down, but he is finally able to get it lit. The pilot flies the helicopter down to where Jim is, and, with Croy's help, he gets aboard just as the dynamite explodes.

The dam is destroyed, and the water floods the entire valley, including the town. The pilot lands the helicopter on a nearby hill, and the group looks at the flooded valley, hoping the ants have drowned. Jim decides to stay for a while to study the area more. He warns the group that they cannot be sure all of the ants died and that any survivors would probably go back underground and into hibernation. As the movie ends, surviving ants, including the queen, are shown walking on some stones near the water's edge, where it is discovered the queen has wings, thus potentially repeating the cycle.

Small-time thieves 29-year-old Trish (Mary Stuart Masterson) and her 6-year-old niece Patsy (Lauren Suzanne Pratt) are at a diner, planning their next heist. Patsy tells her Aunt Trish that it's wrong that they are pick-pocketing people, but Trish believes it's okay in some way, and tells her that they only steal from "those who can afford it", and also mails back the wallets still containing the ID back to the people who she stole them from.

Trish's former beau Mel (David Hewlett) comes to the diner to talk to Trish, being chased by two guys to whom he owes money. Trish and Patsy leave to go to Limbers department store. Patsy puts on a blond wig and begins to pick-pocket Mr. Limber (Lawrence Dane), the owner of the store. They are caught by security guard Bert (Mark Ruffalo).

Trish and Patsy are brought to the office of Limber and threatened with arrest. But since it is almost Christmas, it's late Friday, and Social Services is already closed, Bert is to keep a watch over them at his place, though he protests doing so. After Christmas, on December 26, he is to return them back to the office, when Patsy is to be given to a foster-family who can better look out for her interests and Trish is to face charges.

As the hours go by, Trish and Bert begin to develop an attraction for each other. As Christmas is "ruined" for Trish and Patsy, Bert takes them to Maplewood for his family's holiday dinner, and then to "Santa's Castle" where Patsy confesses her bad deeds to Santa's head elf (Howard Hesseman) and writes Santa a note, asking him to deliver her bicycle to Bert's apartment, where they've been staying.

Very early in the morning on December 26, Bert rushes to Limbers to buy the bicycle, and Patsy is elated to find it delivered later that morn. But then Patsy is kidnapped by Mel, who wants to use her to pick-pocket at Limbers during the after-Christmas crowd's rush to return gifts. He is caught by Bert and everyone ends up back in the office where Social Services officials await them. But with Patsy's wish coming true, they get a second chance. Mel is hauled off to jail. Bert quits his job and proposes to Trish.

Picking up two years onwards from the end of ''Designated Targets'', ''Final Impact'' is the last novel in the ''Axis of Time'' trilogy. The supercarrier ''Hillary Clinton'' has been refurbished with more conventional steam catapults which replaced her less reliable fuel air explosive catapults. Her carrier air group is replenished with A-4 Skyhawk jet-powered attack aircraft, many of which are flown by 'temps, contemporary pilots. Admiral Kolhammer returns to sea at the head of a new Task Force with the Clinton at its core after two years of administering the Special Administrative Zone-California. Many characters have died in the intervening time period, from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, by his own hand to Commander Dan Black, one of the main characters of the story who asks for a return to combat and dies during the re-takeover of Hawaii, when his plane crashed during take-off from Muroc Airfield, California.

D-Day is launched on May 3 of 1944, a month earlier than in the original timeline. The Allies invade the Pas-de-Calais instead of Normandy, relying on a dis-information campaign to obtain surprise. They are able to gain a foothold and slowly push back the Nazi forces. On May 27, the Allies gain a major victory by wiping out several German divisions with massed air strikes. On June 1, the USSR rejoins the Allied side and declares war against the Axis: They launch a huge attack against Germany and advance on a broad front. The Soviets have used the intervening two years to build up their armed forces, and construct fleet of warships at Vladivostok. Meanwhile, Paul Brasch's cover is blown and he is extracted by British commandos. Adolf Hitler has a seizure and suffers permanent brain and muscle damage; with the T4 program in mind, Heinrich Himmler chooses to suffocate him. Before launching an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands, the Soviets drop an atomic bomb on Litzmannstadt (that is, Łódź, Poland).

The Axis powers react as much as they can: Himmler authorizes the use of anthrax in an synthesized form which will persist for months. He also orders the Army to begin transferring divisions from the western front to the east, gradually bringing the Soviet advance to a halt. The USSR takes two more blows when a massive kamikaze strike cripples their Pacific Fleet, and the A-bomb building facility in Kamchatka is destroyed - both hits scored by the Japanese. The United States has secretly completed the Manhattan Project a few months earlier, with the help of thousands of people from the future Multi-National force. They now have a large enough stockpile of bombs to take on Germany, Japan and the USSR at the same time, if necessary. On the orders of President Roosevelt, a trio of B-52 bombers fly out of New Mexico and launch a raid deep into Germany. Berlin is utterly destroyed with three nuclear weapons.

In response to the U.S. blast on Berlin and the Japanese destroying the Soviet Pacific fleet at Kamchatka, the Soviets destroy Tokyo with an atomic bomb, killing the Emperor. The Axis Powers give in to unconditional surrender, ending the war in June 1944, but the damage has been done. The USSR has pushed into Asia securing gains in Persia, Afghanistan, Korea, Indochina and is probably going to share occupation of Japan with U.S. and Australia; in Europe the USSR has gone around Germany and has taken all of Eastern Europe including Greece, plus Northern Italy and chunks of Vichy France and Austria. The Western Allies are at odds with the Soviet Union, and the stage is set for another cold war. With the Axis defeated, most of the main characters move into the private sector and start anew.

"Survival of the fittest" is a universal truth, one that Toma learns the hard way outside of the classroom. Chosen to fight on behalf of the Earth in an interplanetary tournament, Toma realizes that the loser will end up as dead meat - literally. According to the universal plan, there will be "Feeders" and there will be "Food", with the beings of one world feeding on the blood and meat of the others. Only one planet can survive... Who will be on the menu?

The film unfolds during a Semester-at-Sea-type cruise in the Caribbean. The class from Billingsly University are trying to put on a play to win a contest. Sexy and scheming Gerri and stoner Pete are competing for a scholarship. Newmar is trying to have sex with Violet, his Christian girlfriend. Rusty is just trying to have sex with anything he can. The creepy Dante runs around planning all sorts of nefarious schemes. Meanwhile, a priceless stolen jewel is loose on the boat and everyone is after it.

Indefer Jones is the aged squire, between seventy and eighty years of age, of a large manor, Llanfeare, in Carmarthen, Wales. His niece, Isabel Brodrick, has lived with him for years after the remarriage of her father, and endeared herself to everyone. However, according to his strong traditional beliefs, the estate must be passed down to a male heir.

His sole male blood relative is his nephew Henry Jones, a London clerk. Henry has, in the past, incurred debts that the squire had paid off, been "sent away from Oxford", and generally made a poor impression on his occasional visits to Llanfeare. Nevertheless, Henry is told of his uncle's intention to make him his heir and is invited to pay a visit. Isabel rejects her uncle's suggestion that she solve his dilemma by marrying Henry, as she cannot stand her cousin. Indefer Jones finds his nephew to be just as detestable as ever. As a result, he overcomes his prejudice and changes his will one final time, in Isabel's favour. Unfortunately, he dies before he can tell anyone.

Finding the document hidden in a book of sermons by accident, Henry vacillates between keeping silent and revealing its location. He is neither good enough to give up the estate nor evil enough to burn the document, fearing disgrace, a long jail sentence and, not least, eternal damnation. Instead, he comforts himself by reasoning that doing nothing cannot be a crime.

Indefer Jones had had his last will witnessed by two of his tenants, but since the will cannot be found despite a thorough search of the house, Henry inherits the estate. However, suspicions are only strengthened by his guilty manner. Some of the old squire's longtime servants quit. He takes to spending hours in the library, where the will is hidden.

The local newspaper begins to publish accounts of the affair that are insulting and seemingly libelous to Henry. It accuses him of destroying the will and usurping the estate from Isabel, whom everybody knows and respects. The old squire's lawyer, Mr Apjohn, himself suspecting that Henry knows more than he lets on, approaches the new squire about the articles, pressuring the unwilling young man into taking legal action against the editor. Henry finds that this only makes things worse. The prospect of being cross-examined in the witness box fills him with dread.

Mr Apjohn, by clever questioning, gets a good idea about where the will is. Henry knows that time is running out, but still procrastinates. Mr Apjohn and Mr Brodrick, Isabel's father, visit Henry at home and find the document, despite Henry's ineffectual efforts to stop them. Because he did not destroy the will, Henry is permitted to return to his job in London with his reputation intact and £4000, the amount Isabel was bequeathed in the other will.

Part I

Aging and eccentric Emperor Rudolf II, who is obsessed with finding the Golem, refuses to hear out ambassadors and falls into destructive fits. Later he welcomes Magister Edward Kelley at Prague Castle and shows him his alchemist laboratory. All the alchemists are either charlatans or fools. Rudolf wants alchemist Scotta to make him an elixir of youth and pressures him into performing a magic ritual at night. While performing the ritual, they accidentally stumble upon the Golem. However the Golem can't be awakened without a little ball called shem.

Meanwhile, a baker Matěj is confronted with angry mob which demands bread rolls but cannot receive them, because the bread rolls are baked only for the emperor. When the corrupt head of the bakery leaves the building, Matěj distributes the emperor's bread rolls to the poor and is imprisoned in the dungeons for this deed. Kelley reveals his homunculus Sirael, whom the Emperor wishes to teach everything of our world, including love. Rudolf does not know that Sirael is a regular country girl, Kateřina, acting after coercion by Kelley. Kateřina and Matěj communicate through vents between Kelley's room and the dungeons and fall in love through conversation, although they cannot see each other. Alchemist Scotta concocts an elixir of youth for Rudolf (actually a mix of strong alcoholic drinks and morphium). Meanwhile, Matěj escapes the dungeons.

Part II

Rudolf drinks Scotta's concoction and falls asleep. Matěj ends up in the emperor's rooms. Servants of the Emperor find the fugitive Matěj, who bears a remarkable likeness to the Emperor in his young days, hiding in the bath and, believing the rejuvenation has worked, they take him for the emperor and dress him accordingly. After waking up, Rudolf sees Matěj and mistakes him for his younger self in the mirror. Elated by his supposed new vigor, Rudolf and his old loyal servant ride alone in a carriage to the countryside to remind themselves of the sins of their misspent youth.

The emperor's mistress Countess Strada also believes the rejuvenation worked and drinks up the remnants of the concoction. She embarrasses Matěj by her advances and then falls asleep. The horrified and confused Matěj puts her on top of a double-decker bed. Matěj decides that he has to act as Rudolf because it is his best chance to find Kateřina. Matěj as the emperor dismisses Rudolf's astrologer, minimises the extravagant expenses and deals with all the waiting ambassadors. He attempts to rule fairly, all the while searching for Kateřina. He finds a helper in Scotta, who knows his elixir could not have worked, and therefore knows Matěj is not the real emperor.

Meanwhile, intrigue abounds among the emperor's councillors and Kelley. They want to overthrow Rudolf and seize power for themselves. They all want to utilise the Golem and chase after the shem, which is eventually found by Matěj. Kelley then pressures Kateřina into killing the emperor, but Matěj reveals to her that he's not Rudolf. Matěj's identity is also revealed to the councillors. They all try to capture him and Kateřina, while also fighting among themselves. Kelley is killed and Matěj is captured. The Court Astrologer gets a shem from Matěj and awakens the Golem. Lang kills the astrologer and Russworm kills Lang. Then Russworm is killed by the Golem, who only obeys the person who put the shem in its head. The Emperor returns while the Golem is destroying the palace. Eventually, with the help of the townspeople, Matěj succeeds in stopping the Golem and removing the shem. Rudolf is reinstated, after Matěj convinces him to give the Golem to the people rather than use it for his own means. The Golem is installed in the bakery and its power is used to make more bread for everyone.

Jan Dara is a boy growing up in 1930s Siam in a wealthy, dysfunctional family where sex has a huge impact on everyone's lives. Jan is viewed by his father, Khun Luang, as cursed, since his mother died giving birth to him, and he is relegated to doing servant work in the house as a result. The younger sister of Jan's mother, Aunt Waad, is brought in to care for Jan. The sex-addicted Luang has sex with many women in his household, including Waad, which Jan is constantly exposed to. Jan becomes jealous since he has developed feelings for his aunt.

Waad and Luang have a daughter, Kaew. Luang spoils Kaew and raises her to despise her own brother. Waad, meanwhile, resents her daughter's rotten personality and affectionately treats Jan as her own son instead. The teenaged Jan befriends Khen, the son of the family cook, who has begun a secret relationship with Kaew's nanny Saisoi. Khen introduces him to sex by making him lose his virginity to Saisoi. He also falls in love with and pursues Hyacinth, a student he encounters and later escorts to her home daily after she finishes school.

Luang's longtime mistress, the sophisticated nymphomaniac Boonlueang, moves into a guesthouse on the estate. She is surprisingly compassionate to Jan, and she and Jan eventually begin a sexual relationship. However, his affair makes him hesitant to pursue a relationship with Hyacinth and he writes her a farewell letter. A teenaged Kaew, who had become attracted to Saisoi, begins resenting Khen and Saisoi after discovering their relationship; she later accuses Jan of rape when he catches her seducing Khen to set him up as revenge for pursuing Saisoi. Knowing her daughter's deceitful nature, Waad defends Jan, but Luang ultimately banishes Jan and Khen. Jan willingly leaves the house, having finally decided to stand up against his own father. As he packs his things to leave, Waad reveals to him that he was conceived after his mother was gang raped by Waad's then-boyfriend and his friends, making it impossible to know who is his biological father.

After years away from Bangkok investigating about his real father, the adult Jan is brought back to the family estate. Kaew has become pregnant and Jan is forced into a loveless arranged marriage with his sister so that the damage to the family's reputation is smoothed over. Jan agrees to the marriage as long as he is promised the deed to the estate. He also deduces that Luang is the father of Kaew's child, having forced his daughter to have sex with him when she became an adult, and he uses this to finally gain power over Luang and Kaew in exchange for maintaining the secret. Jan rekindles his affair with Boonlueang. Jan learns that Hyacinth has died due to typhoid fever during his time away from Bangkok.

During his wedding to Kaew, Jan impulsively has sex with one of the family's maids in front of the portrait of his mother, with him coming to terms with the fact that he has repeated Luang's promiscuous and abusive ways. Kaew gives birth to her father's child, which has down syndrome. She curses the baby, which leads to his name "Pree." Luang, already crippled from old age and impotent after feeling guilty about getting his daughter pregnant, witnesses Jan have sex with Boonlueang and falls into a catatonic state. After helping Jan raise Pree and seeing that the house has settled, Waad leaves the family to become a nun. Jan discovers Kaew is also having a longtime secret affair with Boonlueang, and he agrees to his wife's proposal to share her. In exchange, he demands that Kaew give him a child since his true love, Hyacinth, has died. He repeatedly rapes his wife, despite her only being attracted to women. When Kaew becomes pregnant with Jan's child, she has the baby aborted instead to his and Boonlueang's horror.

Feeling guilty for tormenting Kaew, Jan eventually becomes impotent as well and could not be aroused with anyone anymore, even with Boonlueang. Kaew continues to maintain a certain authority in the premises, while Luang remains catatonic even when his son/grandson Pree tries to play with him. As Jan looks over as the ruler of the household, he once again ponders about his true father.

The great, main war between the Green and Tan nations has whittled down to skirmishes and recon missions for both sides, leaving the soldiers little new action or unknown combat factors.

This stalemate comes to an abrupt end when a flying saucer-like spaceship from outer space crash lands deep in Tan territory (ironically, directly on top of the Tan Command Bunker). Tan troops mobilize and greet the unknown alien pilots as they exit their downed ship, but General Plastro, recognising the potential of using advanced Alien technology to their advantage, orders his men to stand down and begins discussing terms with them...

Meanwhile, Sarge is on leave from his original team and leading cadets on missions into Tan territory, completely unaware of the events unfolding with the Aliens. Soon, Green Command, finally detecting the massive increase of Tan activity around the shipwreck, send Sarge and a heavily armed commando team to destroy it. Despite countless waves of Tan soldiers, Sarge uses carefully positioned heavy artillery barrages and air support to wipe out the Tan forces, and, upon finding the empty ship, lay explosives to destroy it. Just as the ship goes up in flames, a massive Tan reinforcement battalion arrives, cutting off Sarge and his men and begin shelling his position. As the bombs explode all around them, Sarge receives a garbled transmission from an unknown person, urging them to a specific location near the base to escape, and proposes they join up before the Tan can make an alliance with the Aliens. Sarge and his men flee to the position, find a tunnel, and then escape.

Deep underground, Sarge and his men make contact with a team of intergalactic commandoes, the Galactic Army, led by Tina Tomorrow, who was also the one who sent the message, and saved them from Tan combat vehicles. As they escape through another entrance, they discover the Aliens; giant, orange-colored, black-eyed soldiers, armed with disintegrators, and narrowly escape.

As Sarge and Tina relate their stories to the Green hierarchy, Plastro, having succeeded in winning the Aliens' trust, launches an all out, Alien-reinforced attack on the Green Capital, wiping out the Green Border Units and inflicting heavy casualties with air strikes with ease. Sarge, however, rallies the scattering army units and, after saving trapped civilians from the capital, successfully escapes to a hidden location with the population and delivers them to safety, wiping out massive amounts of Tan along the way, but narrowly winning against the Aliens.

Recognizing they must take the war to the Alien Home world if they have any hope of survival, Sarge and Tina gather their remaining troops and, upon discovering a portal generator to the home world, secure it against Tan and Alien forces and use it to travel into outer space, where Tina and the other Space Rangers are engaged in war with the Aliens.

Sarge and Tina continue the fight against the Aliens, having successfully driven the Tan's new allies from the Earth, the Tan's own normal armies are falling beneath Green counterattack.

During a mission to secure intelligence on the location of the Alien Leader, Tina learns that the location of the Galactic Army HQ on the planet has been discovered, and they narrowly arrive and raise the alarm in time to drive back the attack, though heavy damage is inflicted on the base.

When the location is discovered by Tina, she and Sarge lead one final massive attack on the Aliens' Command Center, wiping out the Overlord's elite guard and killing the Overlord itself with a massive barrage of explosives, gunfire and laser-bursts. All this is witnessed by Plastro, who, along with a handful of soldiers and tanks, is on the run from the victorious Green Armies.

Meanwhile, on the Alien Home world, Sarge and Tina share a romantic night together, and Sarge and his remaining troops say their goodbyes and return to Earth, to continue battling the Tan menace, who they know isn't finished yet.

The game is about the return of a goddess named Malice, who attempts to defeat the evil Dog God with the help of the Metal Guardian; the Keeper of Universe, who needs to find eight Logic Keys to locate the Dog God.

The manga takes place in a world hidden in fog, which is ruled by the goddess of light, Mikage, from the Fuyo Palace, in which she protects the Pillars of the Sun.

The daughter of the goddess of darkness, Ayaka, attacks the Fuyo Palace to destroy the Pillars of the Sun and revive her mother. Instead, she meets Kai, son of Mikage, and instantly falls in love with him. When Kai, who doesn't know who the girl is, speaks about her, calling her a monster, she flees crying. He follows her to the kingdom of Reiki, only to discover that the enemy kingdom is being protected by his mother.

The novel is set in 1878. The story opens with the murder in Paris of Lord Littleby, all seven of his servants and two children of servants. All were poisoned except for Littleby, who was bludgeoned with an ancient Indian artifact, a golden statuette of Shiva, which belonged to Lord Littleby and was stolen from his room, along with an old Indian shawl.

French detective Gustave Gauche, in charge of the investigation, boards the passenger ship ''Leviathan''. Gauche knows that the murderer must be one of the first-class passengers, because one of the special golden badges for the ship's first-class passengers was left in Littleby's room. Among the suspects are a Japanese Army officer, an addled English aristocrat, a married Swiss woman, and a clever young Russian diplomat on his way to his new post in Japan. The diplomat is Erast Fandorin, the master detective, who shoots down each of the ineffectual Gauche's incorrect conclusions, and in the end takes it on himself to find the murderer.

At Kuranose High School in Tokyo, Japan, 17-year-old Makoto Konno discovers a message written on a blackboard and ends up inadvertently falling onto a walnut-shaped object. On her way to the Tokyo National Museum to meet with her aunt, Kazuko Yoshiyama, she is ejected into a railroad crossing when the brakes on her bicycle fail and hit by an oncoming train, but finds herself transported back in time when she was riding her bicycle right before the accident. After telling Kazuko what happened, she helps Makoto realize she now has the power to "time-leap", the ability to literally travel through time. At first, Makoto uses her powers to avoid being late, get perfect grades, avoid mishaps and even relive a single karaoke session for several hours, but soon discovers her actions can adversely affect others.

Consequently, Makoto uses most of her leaps frivolously to prevent undesirable situations from happening, including an awkward love confession from her best friend, Chiaki Mamiya. Makoto realizes she has a numbered tattoo on her arm indicating the limited number of times she can time leap. Using her remaining time leaps, Makoto attempts to make things right for everyone. When Chiaki calls Makoto to ask if she has been time-leaping, she uses her final time-leap to prevent Chiaki's call. In the meantime, Makoto's friend Kōsuke Tsuda and his new girlfriend, Kaho Fujitani, borrow her faulty bike. Makoto attempts to stop them, but as she had just used her final leap, she is unable to rescue them from being hit by the train.

A moment later, Chiaki freezes time. Telling Makoto he is from the future, he explains the walnut-shaped object is his time-traveling device, and used it to time-leap hoping to see a painting that Kazuko is restoring, as it has been destroyed in the future. While walking with Makoto in the frozen city, Chiaki explains why he stayed longer in her time than he originally planned. Consequently, he has used his final leap to prevent Kōsuke and Kaho from the train accident and he has stopped time only to explain to Makoto he is unable to return to his own time period, and having revealed his origins and the nature of the item that allowed Makoto to leap through time, Chiaki must leave. Then Makoto realizes she is in love with him.

True to his words, Chiaki disappears once time resumes. Initially distraught by Chiaki's disappearance, Makoto discovers Chiaki's time-leap inadvertently restored her final time-leap: Chiaki leaped back to the time before Makoto used it. Makoto uses it to safely leap back to the moment right after she originally gained her powers; Chiaki would still have his one remaining time-leap. Recovering the used up time-travel device, she explains her knowledge of everything as she shows it to Chiaki. Makoto vows to ensure the painting's existence so Chiaki can see it in his era. Before Chiaki departs, he tells Makoto he will be waiting for her in the future. When Kōsuke asks her where Chiaki went, she tells him Chiaki went to study abroad. She has made a decision about her own future.

The film opens with Harmony (Basinger) driving down a long, winding road, the music of Elvis playing on the radio. She feels that her life is empty and artificial. She is a traveling cosmetic saleswoman, setting up "Pink Lady" training seminars in the western portion of the United States. When she is asked if she's "one of those Mary Kaye ladies," she replies, "No, we're pink, they're more salmon." While she is popular and successful selling "Pink Lady," there is nothing real or honest in her life.

As Harmony travels around the country, trying to figure out what is missing from her life, Elvis impersonators keep dying in her wake. She is romantically pursued by Miles (Corbett).

On a flatbed lorry driven in the streets of London, a motorcar is under a grey cover with the initials RR. The Rolls-Royce is first purchased by Charles, Marquess of Frinton, as a 10th wedding anniversary present for his French wife, Eloise. Lord Frinton is Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office. The marquess is a longtime horse owner who has his heart set on winning the Ascot Gold Cup. This year his horse, named 10 June (his wedding anniversary date; also the writer Terence Rattigan's birthday), is the favourite and does indeed win. Lord Frinton is presented with the Gold Cup by King George V. However, his elation is blighted when he finds his wife with her lover, his underling John Fane, in the back of the Rolls with the shades drawn. For appearance's sake, Frinton will not divorce his wife, but he instructs the chauffeur to return the car to Hooper. When Lord Frinton is asked why the car is being returned, his answer was, "It displeases me".

''20,023 miles later, Genoa, Italy'' — The Rolls, according to G. Bomba, owner of the Genova Auto Salon was “owned by a Maharajah, who lost his money at the San Remo Casino.” The Rolls is purchased by American gangster Paolo Maltese. He is touring the sights of Italy with his bored fiancée Mae Jenkins and his right-hand man Joey Friedlander. When Maltese returns to Miami to take care of some unsavory business, he leaves Friedlander to chaperone Jenkins. Friedlander turns a blind eye when she falls in love with Stefano, a handsome young street photographer she had met while still with Maltese. Upon finding Jenkins and Stefano in the back of the Rolls with the shades drawn, Friedlander walks away. But he later shows Jenkins an eight-day-old American newspaper headline, ''Bugs O’ Leary Slain—Police Claim Gang Warfare'', that was Maltese's business in the United States. Although in love with Stefano, Jenkins reluctantly leaves him, telling him that it was just a fling, to protect both of them from possible reprisal from her lethal boyfriend Maltese.

''Trieste on the Yugoslav border – the year, 1941'' — The Rolls is in a repair shop. The car exterior is filthy with ''OCCASIONE'' (Bargain, Special Offer) painted on the windscreen. It is bought by Gerda Millett, a powerful and wealthy American widow touring Europe. Just before the Invasion of Yugoslavia by the Nazi Germans, she encounters anti-fascist Davich who commandeers her automobile to sneak into Yugoslavia, hiding in the trunk before reaching the border crossing. Along the way, these two seemingly different people fall in love. At the Ljubljana hotel, she survives a German aerial attack, then insists on driving Davich to a partisan camp in the mountains. She makes several trips to pick up more villagers and deliver them to the camp. She wants to stay and help repel the invaders, but Davich will not permit it, insisting it is not her fight. He asks Gerda to return to America and tell the people what she has witnessed. The car is seen being unloaded from a cargo ship in New York.

Some years later, shown during the closing credits, the Rolls is seen driving along the Henry Hudson Parkway, passing beneath a road sign reading ''95, 1, George Washington Bridge, Bronx, 178 St. – Next Right.''

Set to a mostly instrumental version of the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", the first characters to appear are two rhinoceroses, followed by tribal dancers, drummers and a float featuring Zazu and Rafiki with two giraffes. Zazu and Rafiki introduce the parade as it continues down Main Street, U.S.A.

Next, a herd of gazelle dancers dressed in spandex costumes with hoods precede a float with tribal gazelle designs pushed along by wildebeest dancers. They are followed by a group of tribal crane dancers, the elephant float and two remote-controlled crocodiles. The elephant on the float occasionally shoots a stream of water from its trunk. In the first year of the show, the larger "mother" elephant was preceded by a smaller "baby" elephant whose costume was similar to that of the previously mentioned rhinoceroses, only larger. Two pole dancers dressed in tribal bird costumes walk at the sides.

Leopard dancers dance around the Rain Forest float, which features monkey dancers on swings and Pumbaa on the back. Pumbaa talks to Timon, who follows behind while chasing three remote-controlled bugs including a scorpion and a rhinoceros beetle.

Two tribal-bird pole dancers lead the Drum Dancer float, which features drummers, dancers and percussionists in colourful, vibrant tribal costumes.

The last float - Pride Rock - is led by a group of zebra and cheetah dancers, two tribal elephant dancers and two tribal bird dancers. Simba stands atop Pride Rock while Nala roars and drums out the beat with her paw at the foot of the float. Above them, Mufasa's face is represented in a spinning sun design. The end of the parade is marked by two tribal zebra performers holding a rope.

The parade eventually stops and Mufasa's bass voice is heard telling Simba to take his place in the Circle of Life. The song "Circle of Life" begins to play and the dancers dance and leap around the floats as the drummers drum along to the song. At the end of the song, Simba roars and white doves are released from one of the floats, symbolizing hope and peace.

The book begins when Peter, ''The Snowy Day'''s protagonist, wakes up to the season’s first snowfall. In his bright red snowsuit, he goes outside and makes footprints and trails through the snow. Next, Peter is too young to join a snowball fight with older kids, so he makes a snowman and snow angels and slides down a hill. He then returns home with a snowball stashed in his pocket. Before he goes to bed, Peter is sad to discover the snowball has melted. The book ends when the next day, he wakes up to tons more falling snow. With a friend, he ventures outside again.

Shigeta, a young woman of 24, spends her days working at Tanaka Books and fretting over her love-life; or, more accurately, the lack thereof. The thing is, though, the biggest obstacle between Shigeta and a satisfying relationship seems to be Shigeta herself. When it comes to men, the poor girl has exceedingly poor judgement, exacerbated by her even poorer self-esteem.

'''Volume 1''' Kayoko Shigeta is spotted digging through a love horoscope while working at Tanaka Books. Been convinced that her relationship karma is at its peak, Shigeta develops an immediately crush on a cute guy customer. After getting his number, she calls the guy and immediately sleeps with him. Unfortunately, this guy only wants sex not a girlfriend. Then Shigeta tries to steal the boyfriend of Yuko Tanabe, the new hire at the book store. Being chased out of the bookstore by furious Yuko, Shigeta runs into a car. After being released from the hospital, Fuku, Shigeta's gorgeous roommate, takes her to a club. There, Shigeta falls for the DJ Tokieda. Being self-convinced that Tokieda is in love with her, Shigeta stops showing up for work and eventually loses her job at the bookstore. Even after spotting a naked woman in his bed, Shigeta still believes that she and Toki will get married soon. However, Tokieda prefers free love so she rejects him.

'''Volume 2''' Kayoko starts a new job at a make-up store. Meanwhile, Fuku plans to move-out and to marry her fiancé Matsu. However, this marriage is called-off when Fuku finds out that Matsu is cheating on her with Yumi. Shigeta's mom drags her to a temple to ask for a boyfriend. There she runs into Sakai, her high-school classmate. However, Sakai turns out to be a stalker. Shigeta has to keep on hiding away from him but Sakai won't leave her alone. She starts to receive take-out food she didn't order and calls from guys who find her number in phone booths. Sakai eventually kidnaps her. Takahashi rescues her from Sakai and confesses his love. Just as Shigeta starts to fall for Takahashi, he goes to the U.S. to study. Shigeta is alone again.

'''Volume 3''' Shigeta doesn't like her long-distance relationship with Takahashi. Fuku is planning to marry a new guy Hideki and never comes home. At a ceramics exhibit, Shigeta is attracted to the handsome potter Goro Kishiwada. To seduce him, she quits the make-up shop to become an apprentice at Kishiwada's studio. At the studio, she finds him having sex with Midori, the daughter of the master. Just as Shigeta is thinking of how to sleep with Kishiwada, Takahashi shows up at her front door. Later, Midori and Kishiwada elope together. However, Kishiwada tells Shigeta that he was actually tricked by Midori who used him to be with another man. Kishiwada eventually leaves for China. At the end, Shigeta is alone again.

Jason is a former cop turned security guard for a local museum who is accidentally transported back in time via an amulet. He wins the trust of Celestia and her father after he rescues him from a harpy attack, in the process reminding the village priest of the legend of a prodigal figure referenced in ancient scrolls. Jason is initially dismissive of the villagers' pleas to help them fight the evil wizard Vorian and end his control over the king Castor, as he would rather return home. He tries soliciting help from Vorian, only for this to result in the wizard trying to kill him via the harpies he controls. Jason manages to break free with help from the village warriors.

Jason instructs the villagers on how to create a trebuchet, which they successfully use to invade the castle. While the battle ends with the villagers gaining control over the castle, many die and Celestina is captured by Vorian and taken to his mountain hideout. Vorian issues a threat to Jason: he will kill Celestina unless Jason brings him the amulet, which matches one that Vorian also possesses.

The warriors and Jason invade the mountain, during which time Jason discovers that Vorian has thousands of harpy eggs. He and the others manage to use the trebuchet to seal up the mountain and Jason destroys the eggs by dousing them with gasoline and then setting them on fire. In the ensuing chaos Jason, Vorian, Celestia, and the Queen Harpy are transported to the present day. Jason is able to send Vorian and the harpy back in time, leaving him and Celestia in the present. The film ends with the two exiting the museum as a fellow security guard discovers all of the destruction caused by the final battle.

In 1849 California, Huckleberry Hound rides west on his horse in search of a place to start a country farm. He discovers the small town of Two-Bit, which is being menaced by the outlaw brothers, the Dalton Gang consisting of Dinky, Finky, Pinky, and Stinky. Stinky was apprehended by a hand and sentenced to prison by Judge Tumbleweed Flopner.

The Daltons steal Huck's belongings and coerce him into a game of poker, the stakes being a gold nugget Huck carries for his things. Huck accuses the Daltons of cheating, so they challenge him to a boxing match which Huck wins. Huck goes to Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey's bank to deposit his gold and wins a prize of his choice. He chooses a fountain pen, being partial to its blue ink. The Daltons rob the bank, stealing the nugget and the pen. Mayor Hokey Wolf calls an emergency town meeting and hurriedly appoints Huck as Two-Bit's new sheriff.

Sheriff Huck hunts the Daltons and apprehends and jails them after some struggle. Stinky breaks out of prison with the Bit-2 News and reporter Magilla Gorilla covering the news. Huck receives a letter from Stinky Dalton. Stinky challenges Huck to a gunfight. None of the townsfolk want to help and flee to Tahiti.

Stinky fails to kill Huck, so he breaks his brothers out of jail disguised as their grandmother. Despite his horse trying to rescue him, Huck chases the Daltons until they strap him to a rocket and launch him into the sky, where he is presumably blown up. The Daltons go on to become the richest outlaws in the West, taking over Two-Bit and renaming it "Daltonville". When the townsfolk return, the Daltons kick them out aboard a freight train and the townsfolk blame themselves for Huck's death and the loss of Two-Bit, or so they think.

After a recap of what has happened, it is shown the rocket crashed at a Native American tribal community. Huck survives with amnesia and is found by the chief's daughter Desert Flower. The two fall in love and Huck proposes marriage, but first Huck must undergo a two-part test for the chief's blessing. The first test is a game show which Huck wins despite the chief meddling with his buzzer. For the second test, Huck has to wrestle Chuckling Chipmunk, the tribe's strongest man and Desert Flower's rival suitor. Huck loses, but saves Desert Flower when she falls in a river earning the chief's blessing. Huck is about to undergo the ceremony when his horse returns and restores his memory, reminding him that the Daltons are still at large while also mentioning that his real name is Bob. Huck promises to return for Desert Flower and departs.

Huck finds the townsfolk of Two-Bit working at a circus and urges them to help him take back their town. Recruiting a projectionist and showgirl Rusty Nails, Huck plans to use special effects to pose as a ghost and scare the Daltons away. Rusty shows a film to the Daltons warning that Huck's ghost will arrive in Daltonville on the "midnight ghost train". The Daltons are terrified except for Stinky, who refuses to be intimidated. Huck arrives aboard the train and scares the Daltons, including Stinky, but they refuse to go to jail. The Two-Bit townsfolk chase them into the state prison, disguised as the Daltons' hideout. Huck reveals his ruse and is congratulated for bringing the Daltons to justice.

The narrator revealed what happened to Huck and the townsfolk:

• Snagglepuss back working as a theater actor.
• Quick Draw becomes Two-Bit's new sheriff with Baba Looey as his deputy.
• Hokey Wolf runs a Used Wagon Lot in Two Bit.
• Yogi and Boo-Boo return to Jellystone Park.
• Huck returns to the tribe to marry Desert Flower, starting his farm and raising a family with her.

A beautiful but intoxicated woman, Jennie Jones (Janet Munro), returns to her London apartment late one night and begins to destroy its contents in a rage, throwing her purse, keys and many of her expensive gowns out into the street. Her story is then told in flashback.

As a young girl, Jennie lives in an economically depressed, former mining town in Wales, where she works in her father's shabby general store and dreams of a more glamorous life. The store is doing poorly, and Jennie is horrified to discover that her father wants her to move to Cardiff and live with her elderly aunts as a companion and caregiver.

While walking through Cardiff, Jennie and her friend Violet meet two well-off older men, Andy and Rex. The men take the girls to a fashionable bar and club for drinks and dancing, and Jennie gets drunk and passes out in Andy's car.

She wakes up naked in bed in the men's apartment in London, having lost her virginity while drunk, and estranged herself from her father by staying out all night. She goes to meet Andy at a London pub, but when he fails to show, she is befriended by the kindly barman, Bob Williams (John Stride), to the chagrin of the barmaid Ella who is attracted to Bob.

Not wanting to return to her home, Jennie says to Bob that she is pregnant and accepts his offer of help. Bob moves her into his flat and supports them both on his wages, planning to marry her soon.

However, Jennie quickly becomes bored, and accepts an invitation from Bob's actor neighbour to attend a party in honour of a well-known producer, Karl Denny (Alan Badel). Jennie tells Bob she is attending the party to get work as a model or actress, and convinces him to give her a large sum of money to buy a proper party dress.

Denny notices Jennie at the party and asks her to see him the following night, ostensibly about an acting role. After the party, a drunken Jennie creates a disturbance when she goes home to Bob's apartment. The next night, when Jennie fails to return from her appointment with Denny, Bob goes to Denny's apartment to find her and they argue, with Jennie revealing that she is not pregnant, does not love Bob and does not want to marry him. Heartbroken, Bob leaves and Jennie becomes Denny's mistress.

The flashback ends and the film returns to the scene shown at the start. The morning after Jennie's drunken rampage, she is found dead amidst the wreckage of her apartment (including a smashed framed photograph of Denny), having overdosed on pills. The police find her address book full of men's numbers, suggesting she had been promiscuous. The ambulance carrying Jennie's body almost collides with Bob and Ella, now a happy couple oblivious to Jennie's tragic fate.

''Showboat World'' follows the farcical adventures of Apollon Zamp, owner of the showboat ''Miraldra's Enchantment'', and his troupe of acrobats, magicians and actors. Zamp is invited by the King of Soyvanesse to travel up the river Vissel to the distant city of Mornune, there to participate in a contest. A rich prize awaits the showboat captain who stages the most spectacular performance and succeeds in entertaining the king.

The mysterious, attractive Damsel Blanche-Aster accompanies him up the river for her own reasons. Zamp loses his ship through the machinations of his chief rival, Garth Ashgale, captain of the showboat ''Fironzelle's Golden Conceit''. In order to take part in the competition, Zamp is forced to form an unlikely partnership with staid museum ship owner Throdorus Gassoon. Both men attempt to woo the unimpressed Damsel Blanche-Aster during the perilous journey. Along the way, the travellers encounter cultures and people with weird beliefs and unusual, often violent, customs.

At least one scene was influenced by the Royal Nonesuch acting troupe episode in ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', while ''Showboat World'' itself has strongly influenced ''The Wizard of Karres'' (2004) by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint and Dave Freer. In addition, there are repeated references to Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', which is continuously adapted and readapted to the tastes of varying audiences.

When they finally arrive at Mornune, Damsel Blanche-Aster reveals herself to be the rightful ruler, only to have her claim trumped by the unwitting Gassoon, when he appears in a decrepit costume that confers the throne on him. Gassoon marries the reluctantly acquiescent Blanche-Aster and richly rewards Zamp for his part in his elevation. Gassoon gives Zamp his boat, having no further use for it, and Zamp leaves with the boat and crew. When the costume falls apart, Gassoon flees with a bag of jewels and is able to catch up with the boat, which he reclaims. Both men are now wealthy—Zamp will build a new showboat while Gassoon will resume his role as proprietor of a museum boat.

When a ferocious, wolf-life creature appears in the small town of Bayport on the night of a full moon, the Hardy boys are engaged to clear the name of a young man who has a history of werewolves in his family line is suspected. Joe barely escapes a horrible death as the young detectives solve this exciting and hair-raising mystery.

In Prague, Mr. Pivoňka, an unmarried man, buys some pornography from his local newsagent, Mr. Kula, and returns home. A postwoman, Mrs. Malková gives him a letter which reads "On Sunday" in cut-out letters. In secret, she then rolls pieces of bread into little balls and carries them in her satchel. Pivoňka asks his neighbour, Mrs. Loubalová, to slaughter a chicken for him. Using the leftover feathers and papier-mâché made from the pornography, he constructs a chicken head and fabricates wings made from umbrellas. Meanwhile, police captain Weltinský buys rolling pins and pan lids from the same shop that sells Pivoňka's umbrellas. Using these items, plus stolen pieces of fur and sharp things, Weltinský constructs unusual objects in his workshop. His wife, a newsreader named Anna Weltinská, feels neglected and buys some live carp. She is unaware that Kula is in love with her image and has constructed a machine rigged to stroke and masturbate him when she is on television. Pivoňka and Loubalová construct life-size effigies of each other.

On Sunday, Pivoňka drives to the country with his effigy while Loubalová takes her effigy to an abandoned crypt containing a closet, a chair with candles and a basin of water. Loubalová emerges from the closet and whips her straw effigy which, being animated, reacts. Pivoňka dresses in his chicken outfit and struts around his similarly animated effigy, eventually crushing it with a boulder while Loubalová drowns hers in the basin. At home, Malková shoves an unfeasible number of bread balls in her nose and ears and takes a nap. While Weltinská strokes her carp and feeds them the bread balls Malková later delivers, Beltinský strips naked in his workshop and rubs his objects over his body. When Weltinská reads the news, Kula turns on his machine and climaxes at the same time that she does, stimulated by the carp sucking her toes under her desk.

On his way home, Pivoňka is fascinated by Weltinská's image in a television shop window and stops to buy electronic equipment magazines at Kula's shop. Kula is now covering rolling pins with feathers; Malková looks longingly at a carp in a fishmonger's windows. Pivonka discovers that Loubalová has been killed in her flat by a boulder that has seemingly dropped through her roof; Beltinský is investigating. Entering his own flat, Pivonka sees the chair with candles and the basin of water awaiting him. His closet door slowly opens.

All but abandoned by her family in a London retirement hotel, Mrs Palfrey (Joan Plowright) strikes up a curious friendship with a young writer, Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend). Fate brings them together after she has an accident outside his basement flat. The two newly found friends discover they have a lot more in common with each other than they do with other people their own age. Ludovic inadvertently leads Mrs. Palfrey through her past; Mrs. Palfrey inadvertently leads Ludovic to his future.

Breakfast

A man enters a room, sits down, and brushes the previous diner's leftovers onto the floor. Across from him sits another man with a placard attached to a chain hanging around his neck. The diner stands up and reads the placard one line at a time and follows the instructions. He puts money down the man's throat and pokes him in the eye. The man's shirt unbuttons itself, and a dumbwaiter rises up into where the man's chest should be. The diner takes his food, and punches the man in the chin with his third knuckle for his utensils. When he is done eating, he kicks the man's shin for a napkin. After wiping off his mouth, the diner convulses, and then goes limp. The man now comes to life, stretches, and places the placard on the former diner. He stands and puts another tally mark on the wall. Another diner comes in and the scenario is repeated with him. At the end, we see a line stretching down the hall and around the corner.

Lunch

Two diners, a business man and a vagabond, are unable to get the waiter's attention. They proceed to eat everything in sight: the flowers, their shoes, pants, shirt, underwear, plates, tablecloth, table, and chairs, now leaving both nude behind, The vagabond watches the business man and then eats what he eats. All the while they are eating whatever is on or around them, they try to get the waiter's attention whenever he passes by, but to no avail. In the end with everything else eaten, the business man eats his utensils. The vagabond also eats his. The business man then smiles, pulls his utensils from his mouth, and advances on the vagabond, who recoils in horror.

Dinner

In a luxurious restaurant, a wealthy gourmet sits at a table adding many sauces and spices to his dish, which is hidden by the sheer number of condiments. This continues for a long time, and then he hammers a fork to his wooden left hand. The dish is then revealed to be his missing hand, which he proceeds to cut into. In a series of short and violent scenes, we are then shown an athlete eating his lower leg, a woman eating her breasts, and the last eater, who is about to eat his genitals. As he realises the presence of the camera, the man covers his genitals and shoos the camera away with his hand.

To make up for the loss of the Crown of Genghis Khan, Scrooge McDuck and his nephews looks for its Western equivalent, the Crusader Kings' crown, sent to Cathay on Cristoforo Colombo's expedition in 1492 and still hidden in the Caribbean.

To locate it, they first recover Colombo's logbook in a hut in the Arctic, left there by explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, and read that "''the templar hid the crown''". They visit the International Money Council (from Carl Barks' ''The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone'') in Paris looking for additional clues, and Director Molay reveals to them that the Knights Templar, a crusader order which evolved into Europe's first bank network, ceded to the Kings of Spain and Portugal the crown to be sent to Cathay, in exchange of a share of the future trade, with the proviso that, should the voyage fail to reach its destination, the contract would become null and void by October 13, 1582, and the crown would be returned to the Order. It's also mentioned that the Templars, whose properties were seized by Philip IV of France, managed to spirit away their treasury in several locations, including Scotland.

Molay accompanies the Ducks to Haiti, but purposefully attempts to send them on a wild goose chase. When they nevertheless manage to locate the crown, he claims ownership of it, as the IMC was formerly the Bank of the Templar Order. The Ducks manage to prove that his claim is null and void because of the switch to the Gregorian calendar (executed by skipping ten days), which meant that there never ''was'' an October 13, 1582. Eventually, however, the government of Haiti is recognized as the rightful owner of the crown, and Scrooge is satisfied by keeping the fabric on which the crown was wrapped in, as it's the Clan McDuck tartan, indicating the Knights Templar's vast treasure is located at Castle McDuck.

The story continues in ''The Old Castle's Other Secret or A Letter From Home''.

Two fur traders, Jim Rainbolt (Clint Walker) and Shaun Garrett (Roger Moore), stumble across a big gold strike. With the ruthless bandit McCracken (Gene Evans) and his men in relentless pursuit, they hide the gold behind a giant boulder. Shaun is wounded, but Doc Gates (Chill Wills) shows up out of nowhere and patches him up and is made a full partner. They take refuge at the ranch of Amos Gondora, an old friend of Jim's. There they are introduced to Gondora's so-called "ward", an Indian maiden called Tita (Letícia Román). That night some of McCracken's men stage a stampede and draw Jim and Gondora away. While they are gone, McCracken and some men ride up and take Shaun and Doc captive. He kills Doc because he is unable to tell the hiding place of the gold.

Shaun does not know how to find the hiding place and even under torture cannot lead anyone to the gold. Rainbolt tracks and finds McCracken and his men. After a shootout, McCracken is the only one left of his gang, but he has a gun to Shaun's head and compels Rainbolt to lead him to the gold. When they get there, Rainbolt feigns being unable to move the boulder alone, drawing McCracken in close enough for Rainbolt to roll another boulder onto McCracken's leg, trapping him. Rainbolt and Garrett intend to leave McCracken there to die, but Gondora and his men show up.

Everything seems all right until Gondora puts friendship aside and demands the gold for himself. Jim and Shaun run from them and must cross a rushing river to get away. The bags of gold fall apart and the gold is lost in the river where it came from. After they laugh at this turn of events, Gondora pledges his friendship again and Rainbolt and Garrett set out to return to their fur trapping.

The early levels of the game depict Slater combating enemy gangs. The G-Police suspect "Krakov" corporation is supplying the gangs with weaponry. Krakov's president however is subsequently the subject of an assassination attempt by the gangs. During this attempt, Hiroshi Tachikawa a pilot whom Slater describes as flying his gun-ship "like he was born in it" dies when his gun-ship crashes after mysteriously malfunctioning. In the interests of morale, his death is covered up; Slater notes this incident is reminiscent of Elaine's death.

After numerous terrorist attacks on their personnel and property, Krakov blames a rival corporation, "Nanosoft", and begins openly attacking them with its private army. Lacking evidence for involvement with the criminal gangs, the G-Police protect Nanosoft, ultimately destroying Krakov's military power. The G-Police, however, investigate exactly why Krakov and Nanosoft were fighting. The latter half of the game depicts a conflict between the G-Police and Nanosoft's private forces, which attack G-Police after Krakov's collapse, both out of panic as to the investigation and to tie up loose ends.

In the unfolding plot, the player learns that Tachikawa and Elaine were killed (by the sabotage of their gun-ships) to procure microchips implanted in their brains. These chips can record a pilot's knowledge and combat skills; Nanosoft desired them to power the artificial intelligence in their weapons. The G-Police commander Horton is assassinated by Slater's traitorous wingman Ricardo, also to this end. The game ends with the destruction of a large spacecraft by Slater; the closing sequence reveals that Nanosoft had planned to use this to exert military dominance over other corporations.

Hesther Salomon, a magistrate, asks her platonic friend Martin Dysart, a disillusioned psychiatrist who works with disturbed teenagers at a hospital in Hampshire, England, to treat a 17-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang after he blinded six horses with a sickle. With Alan only singing TV commercial jingles, Martin goes to see the boy's parents, the non-religious Frank Strang and his Christian fundamentalist wife Dora. She had taught her son the basics of sex and that God sees all, but the withdrawn Alan replaced his mother's deity with a god he called Equus, incarnated in horses. Frank discloses to Martin that he witnessed Alan late at night in his room, haltered and flagellating himself, as he chanted a series of names in Biblical genealogy-fashion which culminated in the name Equus as he climaxed.

Martin begins winning the respect and confidence of Alan, who shares his earliest memory of a horse from when he was six and a man approached him on a horse named Trojan. Alan imagined the horse spoke to him, and said his true name was Equus, and this was the name of all horses. The man took Alan up on Trojan, which the boy found thrilling, but his parents reacted negatively and injured him taking him off the horse. Martin also meets the stable manager, who reveals Alan secured his job through another employee, Jill. Devastated at the horses' injuries she indirectly caused, Jill has taken medical leave.

Eventually, Alan admits to Martin that he would secretly take horses away from the stables at night to ride them nude, chanting prayers to Equus until he reached orgasm, after which he caressed them lovingly. Martin envies the boy's passionate paganism, in comparison to his own empty life, where he has ceased intimacies with his wife and is plagued by nightmares of ritualistically slaughtering children in Homer's Greece, wearing the Mask of Agamemnon. Given an aspirin serving as a placebo "truth drug", Alan further reveals that one evening Jill tempted him to go to a Swedish pornographic film at a local cinema, where he was shocked to see his father, who forced him to leave the cinema. After Alan went back with Jill to the stables, she stripped and offered him sex but he was unable to perform and, although she was sympathetic, told her to leave. Naked, and tormented that Equus sees all and is a jealous god, he blinded the horses.

Martin is left troubled by the fact that he can treat Alan to take away his pain but in the process will deprive the boy of his passion, leaving him as emotionally neutered as Martin himself.

Nancy Drew is invited to New York City to stay with Mattie Jensen, a popular soap opera star. Mattie wants Nancy to investigate the death threats that her co-star, Rick Arlen, has been receiving. Throughout the game, Nancy discovers each character has a motive for threatening Rick:

''Millie Strathorn'' who sometimes confuses reality and fiction, believed that everything happening on the show was real. Because she hated Rick's character, she hated him, so she submitted story-lines that killed him off to the show's writers. However, they never included any of her stories in it. ''Mattie Jensen'' used to date Rick, but he dumped her in order to date Lillian. She then went on to date her agent, Dwayne Powers. ''Lillian Weiss'' dated Rick for a short period of time. She felt that he was only using her to advance his career, so she sent some bitter threats to him, including poisoned chocolates and an angry love poem. However, when he started to receive additional threats, she began to investigate. ''William Pappas'' was afraid that Rick leaving the show would cause low ratings and potential cancellation. He was also furious that Rick reneged on his contract. ''Dwayne Powers'' was jealous of Rick's success as an actor and the fact that Mattie still cared for him. ''Rick Arlen'' wanted to move out to Hollywood to pursue work in films, but because of his reputation with the ladies and his disloyalty with his contract, he was causing people to gossip.

''Betrayed'' is an espionage thriller set in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, and revolves mostly around the Dutch resistance movement.

Colonel Pieter Deventer (Clark Gable) is an intelligence agent of the exiled Dutch government, working to liberate his homeland from Nazi occupiers. He divides his time between secret missions in the Netherlands and trips to England to consult his superiors and a British general. Deventer is ordered to keep an eye on singer Fran Seelers (Lana Turner), who's suspected of collaborating with the Germans. Both Deventer and Seelers join the shadowy Dutch underground, making contact with a flamboyant resistance leader known as "The Scarf" (Victor Mature).

As "Carla Van Oven", Seelers is assigned is to use her feminine charms to gain the confidence of Nazi officers and gather information. In one scene, resistance fighters burst into a lavish dinner party where Seelers is singing, and shoot Nazi officers. Within the next few weeks, however, a considerable number of underground operatives are captured and shot while carrying out ambushes and sabotage missions. It begins to look as though Deventer's suspicions about Seelers were correct, which weighs on his heart, because the two have fallen in love.

Ultimately, as Allied troops and the local resistance begin to turn the tide against the Nazis, "The Scarf" is revealed to be the real collaborator, and Deventer executes him. Seelers, who had loyally served the underground and almost been killed, turns up safe with British troops, and the two lovers are reunited.

Placed there by a past rocket ship that crashed, the people of the storied land are within sight of another rocket ship on a distant mountain plateau. The plot follows Sim, the protagonist of this story, and his apparently short life on a planet where people are cursed by radiation to live only eight days.

The people of this planet are also gifted with racial memory (they remember their ancestors' memories). However, they do not attempt to reach the sole remaining rocket ship due to the futility of attempting to reach it in one hour, which is the longest length of time between day and night (both deadly).

Sim is then moved by the memory of his ancestors to find and meet with scientists who make halting progress towards the goal of lengthening the world's decreased life span. Sim, motivated by his dwindling days, makes it his goal to extend his life and reach the distant rocket, despite the protests of his sister and other cave-dwellers.

After an unsuspecting Daxamite hero named Valor frees Eclipso from his palace on Earth's moon, he uses hate as a trigger to possess other beings. Whenever someone who has a black diamond in their possession gets angry, Eclipso can instantly take control of that particular person, even while trapped in his lair on the moon. He then uses an eyeblast to take control of others. He can also create monsters from a person's anger, which happens with characters like Hawkman and James Gordon. Furthermore, there are thousands of black diamonds scattered around the world, through which Eclipso can possess his victims by playing upon their darkest emotions and desires.

It is further established that Eclipso is an extremely cruel and vindictive being, who has only been pretending to be a B-list villain in order to avoid detection by the heroes. In the miniseries, Eclipso has grown weary of his modus operandi and decides to launch an all-out offensive by using his black diamonds to possess the heroes and villains directly, or to manipulate them by possessing their loved ones. During this conflict, Eclipso possesses Batman, Captain Marvel and even Superman on two separate occasions. The story climaxes with a massive confrontation at Eclipso's hideout on the moon, where, despite the presence of many superpowered heroes and heroines, Bruce Gordon, Eclipso's original host, plays a key role in his defeat.

It was also mocked in the ''Ambush Bug Nothing Special'' one-shot.

Crossover titles

• Part 1: ''Eclipso: The Darkness Within'' #1
• Part 2: ''Superman: The Man of Steel Annual'' #1
• Part 3: ''Green Lantern Annual'' (vol. 3) #1
• Part 4: ''Detective Comics Annual'' #5
• Part 5: ''Superman Annual'' (vol. 2) #4
• Part 6: ''Justice League America Annual'' #6
• Part 7: ''Demon Annual'' (vol. 3) #1
• Part 8: ''Flash Annual'' (vol. 2) #5
• Part 9: ''Action Comics Annual'' #4
• Part 10: ''Wonder Woman Annual'' (vol. 2) #3
• Part 11: ''Green Arrow Annual'' (vol. 2) #5
• Part 12: ''Robin Annual'' (vol. 4) #1
• Part 13: ''Hawkworld Annual'' (vol. 2) #3
• Part 14: ''Deathstroke, the Terminator Annual'' #1
• Part 15: ''The New Titans Annual'' #8
• ''Starman'' #42-45
• Part 16: ''Justice League Europe Annual'' #3
• Part 17: ''Batman Annual'' #16
• Part 18: ''L.E.G.I.O.N.'' '92 Annual #3
• Part 19: ''Adventures of Superman Annual'' #4
• Part 20: ''Eclipso: The Darkness Within'' #2
• Aftermath: ''Valor'' #1
• ''Eclipso'' #1-18 and ''Annual'' #1

The story starts in Sacramento in 1867. The Cascabels are a French family of circus artists who plan to return home after several years spent touring the United States. However, their savings are stolen, so the family cannot afford the ship fare. Instead, César Cascabel decides to travel overland, via Alaska and Bering Straits, through Siberia and Central Russia with their horse-drawn carriage, the ''Belle-Roulotte'' (the Fair Rambler). They expect to encounter no dangers along their intended route.

On their way crossing the Alaskan border, with the help of native girl Kayette, they rescue a Russian political fugitive, count Narkine, whom they bring along so that he can see again his father in Russia. Count Narkine adopts Kayette as his daughter. While in Sitka, the group witnesses the transfer of Alaska to the United States.

On their way from Port Clarence the travellers unfortunately end up on a floating iceberg that drifts in Arctic Ocean to the Lyakhovsky Islands. There they are captured by the natives. Other troubles, including political ones, occur but Cascabels manage to get through the Urals to Perm and then, easily, to France.

An animated TV series inspired by the book was produced in 2001 in France.

Image:'César Cascabel' by George Roux 03.jpg|Map of route through Alaska Image:'César Cascabel' by George Roux 39.jpg|Map of route through Russia

Nicholas Dee, a young, anxiety-ridden history professor, lives in an unnamed American city battered by winter storms, plagued by crime, and patrolled by police in choppers and riot gear. Haunted by memories of his brilliant father and by the fear of loss, Nicholas takes shelter in his research: a history of the practice of insurance. One night, after a chance encounter with the police, he is made the guardian of a beautiful teenaged delinquent, Oscar Vega. But the boy is a part of a scheme to ensnare Nicholas, the tool of a mysterious female dwarf named Amelia Weathered, once the lover of Nicholas' father. Made an outlaw, Nicholas flees with Amelia, her young son Francis, and Oscar to the half-drowned country of Holland, where the boundaries between his historical research, his fantasies, and Amelia's schemes all begin to blend together.

Scattered throughout the novel are passages from Nicholas Dee's scholarly writing, chronicle of a seventeenth century Dutch opera-house, which was built in a coastal swamp on the advice of a fortune-teller and housed a single performance before being swept out to sea in a storm. The chronicle is intended by Dee to serve as a case study within his history of insurance. But by the end of the book, a personal narrative has emerged from Dee's impersonal history, the story of a man's friendship with a boy soprano.

Interpenetrating and linking the inner text by Nicholas Dee and the outer one by Matthew Stadler are snatches of music - extracts from the score of ''The Tempest'', Henry Purcell's operatic setting of Shakespeare's play.

Category:1993 American novels Category:Novels by Matthew Stadler

Daniel Lucas has been in prison for armed robbery. On the day he is released, he gets taken hostage by Ned Perry, an incompetent, novice criminal who robs a bank (to get money for treatment for his ill daughter, Meg) at the moment Lucas just happens to be there.

Detective Marvin Dugan assumes they must be in it together and sets about tracking them down. Several chases, an accidental shooting, treatment from a senile vet who thinks Lucas is a dog and other capers follow, all the while Lucas trying to ditch his idiotic companion and prove his own innocence.

Whilst avoiding the law, the two form an unlikely partnership to help cure the silent Meg and make good their escape. They rescue Meg from the care home she is in (with Ned nearly ruining the whole affair with his clumsiness) and flee for Canada, pretending to be a married couple with a son.

Ned later enters a Canadian bank to change some currency only to find himself taken hostage by a different bank robber in the same manner he originally kidnapped Lucas. Because of this unexpected development, Lucas does not need to say goodbye to Meg, with whom he has formed a bond.

All of Todd's novels are set just before or at the beginning of the "Third Pass", about 500 years after human settlement on Pern (500 AL, "After Landing") and 2000 years before the "Ninth Pass" events chronicled in most of Anne McCaffrey's Pern books.

''Dragonsblood'' features an epidemic that strikes fire-lizards, probably first, and dragons (reptiloids). The people of Pern have regressed since its settlement by colonists from Earth and have already lost the knowledge and equipment to handle such a bio-medical crisis.

In ''Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern'' (1983) and ''Nerilka's Story'' (1985), Anne McCaffrey had featured a plague that decimates humans and apparently passes among mammals. That happened 1000 years later in Pern history.

Occasional chapters of ''Dragonsblood'' are set soon after the end of the First Pass of the Red Star, nearly 450 years before most of the action. There (or ''then'') the elderly Wind Blossom, a geneticist and daughter of the legendary Kitti Ping, is bemoaning the gradual loss of manufactured items and the technology to create them. She and her ex-protégé Tieran are startled by two fire-lizards who literally fall from the sky. One, a gold, dies upon arrival. They nurse the other one, a bronze, back to health, using the last of the antibiotics. Not knowing if the fire-lizard's sickness is contagious, they quarantine it until it recovers. Tieran adopts the fire lizard and names him Grenn – the name found on the harness he was wearing. Further investigation of the decorations on Grenn's harness leads to the incredible conclusion that he is from the future. Since fire-lizards provided the genetic basis that Kitti Ping used to build the Thread-fighting dragons (and Wind Blossom used to build the watch-whers), they speculate that this future affliction of fire-lizards might be fatal to dragons, and that is confirmed when a dead gold dragonet appears – one obviously sickened by the same future disease. The dragon's body is destroyed, but Tieran recovers a decorated piece of metal from its harness.

In order to save the dragons of the future, Wind Blossom and Tieran devise a plan to educate someone from the future in genetics and the scientific knowledge to isolate the disease and devise a cure. They create hidden rooms in Benden Weyr and fill them with instructions and equipment to educate that future person. Tieran believes that both the fire-lizard and dragon came from the same woman in the future, since both had similar harness decorations and only women impress gold dragons. He further believes that she has some connection with himself and Wind Blossom – a connection that both dragon and fire lizards followed. He leaves a small souvenir for her in the hidden rooms.

About 400 years later, at the beginning of the 3rd Pass of the Red Star, a talented young sketch artist and amateur healer Lorana is hitching a ride across the ocean to the newly built Half-Circle seahold. In a desperate attempt to save her two fire-lizards Grenn and Garth during a storm at sea, she orders them to leave her and believes they are dead. She is found washed up on the beach by dragonriders from Benden Weyr and recovers just in time to impress Arith, a gold dragon. Meanwhile, dragons and fire-lizards are falling sick to a disease with a 100% mortality rate. Fire-lizards are banned from the Weyrs and many die due to the disease. Lorana, who can hear and speak with any dragon, thus sharing in the death of each dragon, frantically scours records in hopes of finding some sort of clue or help towards fighting the disease. She unearths records of hidden rooms in the Weyr and gets them open. The recorded voice of Wind Blossom invites her and her companions to enter and learn what they need to find a cure. Lorana's dragon Arith goes ''between'' and dies when a combination of the disease and an injection of watch-wher genetic material wreak havoc with her system. Despite the tragedy of losing Arith and the added burden of over a thousand dragon deaths, Lorana successfully learns how to use such items as a microscope and a genetic sampler to find the disease and create a cure. She can only make a single dose which she injects into the pregnant gold Minith, in hopes that the cure will be passed onto future dragon generations. Minith, her irritable rider Tullea and several others are sent ''between'' times to the past to give them time to recover. They return in triumph, with enough cure to save the rest of the dragons. An older and kinder Tullea gives Lorana an ancient locket she had swiped from the first of the hidden rooms. In it are a piece of Arith's harness and pictures of Wind Blossom, Tieran and her fire-lizard Grenn.

In the years before World War I in Byron, Australia, the males of the Hurlingford family hold all the power and money. Those Hurlingford women without a man due to spinsterhood or widowhood lead cramped lives of hard work and little money on scraps of land or in businesses that just barely support them.

Thirty-something spinster Missy Wright leads a narrow existence on the wrong side of the tracks with her widowed mother Drusilla Hurlingford Wright and crippled aunt Octavia when Byron is consumed by two events, the upcoming wedding of Missy's beautiful cousin Alicia Marshall to William Hurlingford and the arrival of rough looking stranger named John Smith.

With limited funds and suffering bouts of ill health, Missy's only consolation are her trips to the lending library where her distant cousin Una Hurlingford works. Una, a society beauty, has returned to Byron after a glamorous life in Sydney. Under Una's tutelage and bolstered by the romantic novels she sneaks home, Missy begins to dream of the world outside Byron and a better life for herself.

Bolstered by a confrontation with her cousin Alicia and a trip to a Sydney doctor, Missy breaks free of her Byron shackles, finds financial independence for her older female Hurlingford relations and ends up the happy bride of the mystery man John Smith.

The story's anonymous narrator has moved from New England to New York City, and greatly regrets it. One night, while wandering through a historic part of Greenwich Village, he happens upon a man dressed in garments from the 18th century. The man offers to show the narrator the secrets of the town.

The man brings the narrator into his home. There, he tells him the story of a squire who bargained with Native Americans for the secrets of their rituals concerning time and space, which were practiced on the land where the squire had recently taken up residence. After learning these secrets, the squire killed the Native Americans by giving them "monstrous bad rum". Within a week all of them were dead, and he alone had their secret knowledge. The man shows the narrator visions of the city's past and future so terrifying that he begins to scream wildly. The screams rouse the spirits of the Native Americans to take vengeance on the man, who is the same squire from 1768.

A rogue comet that strikes Pern leads the Weyrleaders and Holders, contemplating a future where dragonriders are not needed in a Threadless world, to consider the creation of a new Star Craft made of dragonriders. The discovery by dragonriders F'lessan and Tai, later brutally attacked by large felines, of the draconic use of telekinesis, only strengthens their resolve to keep Pern's skies free of danger.

At the same time, disgruntled citizens resisting the ever-growing role of technology in Pernese life band together as Abominators, attacking Crafthalls, and are determined to destroy all the new technology in use. These fanatics are seemingly allied with Toric, the Southern Lord Holder.

The story begins by describing how the modern world has been stripped of imagination and belief in magic. The protagonist is an unnamed man who lives in a dull and ugly city. Every night for many years the man gazes from his window upon the stars, until he comes over time to observe secret vistas unsuspected by normal humanity. One night the gulf between his world and the stars is bridged, and his mind ascends from his body out unto the boundless cosmos.

When British schoolgirl Melanie Hobson wins a trip to Australia in a competition, she is amazed to discover, on arrival at the airport, that she has a double, Minty Sullivan, an Australian soap opera star. Minty who is getting tired of her life as a soap-opera actress, is dressed as Cinderella as part of a prize for a fan of Minty's television program (the winner has won the right to be Minty's partner at an awards ceremony). Melanie and Minty swap identities, and Melanie keeps Minty's appointment as Cinderella.

After this, Minty and Melanie often swap places – with almost nobody suspecting the truth of the situation. Although the two girls seem to be identical in many ways, there are significant differences between the two. For instance, Melanie is good at sport – but Minty is not; Melanie can sing – but Minty can't; Minty can dance – but Melanie can't; Minty is studious – but Melanie is not; Minty knows about wildlife – but Melanie does not (Melanie thinks that whales are fish).

Melanie has parents and a brother – as well as many aunts and uncles in England. However, Minty has no family. The two girls manage to share in each other's lives – both in England and Australia – by continuing to swap identities. In the final episode they finally switch places for good, Melanie starting a singing career while Minty enjoys the chance to have a real family.

While babysitting Stewie, Peter takes him along on an all day golf game and Stewie ends up with a tan all over his body. Stewie decides he likes being tanned and begins frequently to use a tanning bed in his room. He also holds a party for tanned people only. Stewie tells Brian to wake him up after fifteen minutes of tanning but Brian falls asleep and wakes up six and a half hours later. Stewie is extremely sunburned, barely able to move and in great pain. When Stewie eventually begins to peel, Brian spots a mole on Stewie's stomach. Convinced it is skin cancer, Stewie begins to live out his dying wishes with Brian forced to help him since it was partially his fault he caused the cancer in the first place (though Stewie solely blames him). One of Stewie's requests was to visit the Chicago Museum of Art. As his last request he has Brian record his final thoughts. In the end, Stewie hears from Dr. Hartman that he does not have cancer and gives up tanning. Stewie then sees that Brian drew himself being hanged instead of his final thoughts, prompting the baby to quip "Oh, you are just the worst type of person".

Meanwhile, Chris learns that his best customer, Herbert, has made Kyle, a neighbor's son and a bully, his new paper boy. Chris decides to confront them both but ends up getting pushed over by Kyle and laughed at by Kyle's friends subsequently returning home in tears much to Peter and Lois' concern. Peter goes to talk with Kyle who makes fun of him over and over. Unable to control his anger toward Kyle, Peter beats him up aggressively, leaving him bleeding and bruised. Eventually, Lois finds out and they go apologize. Kyle’s mother agrees not to press charges if Peter apologizes to Kyle which he reluctantly does. Kyle easily forgives him, saying he would have done the same and commenting on how good bullying makes you feel, encouraging Peter to become a bully. Peter splashes a pot of boiling water over Lois and makes her punch herself in the face. He also hits Stewie on his sunburned buttocks, knocks Chris out of his chair, and sticks his large butt out at Meg to fart repeatedly in her face following her backwards around the kitchen table until she finally trips and vomits on the floor at which Peter gets mad with her. When Peter also bullies his friends, such as using Joe as a marionette and pulling Cleveland's pants down, Lois points out that he is as bad as his old school bully, Randy Fulcher. Deciding he should bully him instead, Peter finds Randy who is now suffering from multiple sclerosis. Thinking, when Randy says “I have MS,” that he is bragging that he has a monkey’s scrotum, Peter is about to beat up Randy but is stopped by Chris who beats Peter up instead and finally convinces him bullying is wrong. As the event is witnessed by a wrong sounding Kermit the Frog and a wrong sounding Swedish Chef, a wrong sounding Fozzie Bear (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan) asks them if they want to hear a joke as the episode ends.

After being attacked by an octopus at the aquarium, Peter decides to become physically fit, and visits the gym. When former U.S. President Bill Clinton's car breaks down outside their house, Peter attempts to lift it without a jack, which results in him getting a sudden severe hernia and being hospitalized. Depressed at the concept of becoming old, he confides in Bill, who tells him age is a state of mind. When Peter recovers, Bill takes him out to help him realize he can still have fun. They become best friends and spend a lot of time together, but things start to get out of hand when they start smoking marijuana and cause mischief while high on it, including trying to steal a pig.

Believing that Bill is a bad influence on Peter, Lois goes to confront Bill, but ends up having sex with him. Devastated about the incident, Peter leaves Lois and stays at Quagmire's house. Lois is wracked with guilt and visits him, telling him that the only way to mend their relationship is if Peter sleeps with someone else. Though uncertain that it will work, Peter chooses to sleep with Barbara Pewterschmidt, Lois' mother. Barbara turns out to be more than willing, but Peter bails out at the last moment and vows to Lois that he will never sleep with anyone else and they forgive each other. Peter goes to Bill to end their friendship, only to end up having sex with him, inadvertently getting even with Lois.

Meanwhile, Lois is fed up with stepping in Brian's feces on the lawn and forces him through toilet training himself. Brian and Stewie attempt to learn how to use the toilet, but fail. They buy a toilet training video presented by actor Roy Scheider, which nearly traumatizes them. Lois forces Brian to wear Stewie's diapers to prevent him from defecating in the garden. During the end credits, Brian pretends to be using the toilet as not to be told off by Lois, and begins to leave his feces at an unsuspecting Mayor Adam West's house.

After hearing Quagmire brag about his sexual exploits, Peter feels that he has missed out on enjoying the single lifestyle. Death is summoned to The Drunken Clam on a false alarm (thinking that Horace had died), and decides to grant Peter's wish by sending him, along with Brian, back to 1984 for one night. He notices his friend Cleveland, in his '80s look, who high-fives him around the pool. He then sees 18-year-old Lois Pewterschmidt walking around the country club pool, taking her high-heeled shoes off and jumping off the diving board into the pool with "Mr. Night" playing in the background, a reference to ''Caddyshack''. Appearing to others as his 18-year-old self, Peter cancels his scheduled movie date to see ''Zapped!'' with Lois, instead accepting an invitation from Cleveland to go and party at a bar. Peter enjoys the evening, and ends up making out with actress Molly Ringwald before Death appears to return him to the present.

Back in the present day, Peter discovers that his past actions have had drastic effects on the world: he and Molly have been married for 20 years; Judd Nelson crashes at their house once or twice a week; Lois is married to Quagmire; Al Gore is now the President of the United States; Chris, Meg, and Stewie have Quagmire's chin, nose, and mannerisms; and Chevy Chase is the host of ''The Tonight Show''. Brian explains to Peter that by missing out on his date with Lois and making out with Molly, he altered the course of history. Brian also believes that they may have also caused a butterfly effect, as shown with the additional changes to their timeline. Despite Brian's objections about leaving his idea of a "perfect" world (in which there are flying cars that run on vegetable oil and Gore has killed Osama bin Laden by strangling him with his bare hands), Peter wants to go back to the past so he can undo his mistake. This seems to be a challenge because Death can only be summoned if someone dies, and Brian believes Al Gore's universal health care and zero-tolerance gun control laws have led to people living much longer. However, when Jane Jetson suddenly falls on the sidewalk and dies, Death arrives and again grants Peter's wish to return to the past. Brian begs Peter not to go back after Death tells them Dick Cheney shot Antonin Scalia and killed Karl Rove and Tucker Carlson, but Peter does anyway, as he does not know who any of those people are. Back in the past, Peter is determined to accept Lois' invitation but repeatedly blows his opportunity and ends up repeatedly asking Death for a do-over. When Peter finally gets it right, he forgets a few hours later and parties with Cleveland instead of keeping the date. He asks Death for another chance but Death, fed up with Peter's continued blunders, tells him that he will have to fix the problem on his own.

When Peter tries to apologize the next day, Lois is still upset with him for missing their date and has decided to go to the country club dance with Quagmire. Later that night, Peter and Brian sneak into the dance to prevent the kiss that caused Lois to fall in love with Quagmire. They get in by crawling through the air vent, but crash through and accidentally injure one of the guys playing in the band on the stage, so Brian has to play guitar and sing. Peter tries to convince Lois that they belong together but she stubbornly informs Peter that he had his chance and blew it, and therefore she loves Quagmire now. Peter almost gives up. Brian notices Chris, Stewie, and Meg disappearing from a group photo, indicating that they have fallen off the plane of existence. At a distance, but out of earshot, Brian urges Peter to do something that proves to Lois that he loves her. Peter gets up his nerve, punching Quagmire and kissing Lois. He asks her to marry him and she accepts. In honor of this success, Brian and the band play "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. The episode ends with things seemingly back to normal, with the exception of Roger from ''American Dad!'' apparently living with the family.

The power goes out while the Griffins are watching television, and they are left with no other form of entertainment. While they wait for the power to return, Peter decides to retell the story of ''Star Wars'' beginning with "Part IV".

A Rebel ship is captured by a Star Destroyer. On the ship are the droids C-3PO (Quagmire), R2-D2 (Cleveland) and the rebel leader Princess Leia (Lois). While the ship is boarded by stormtroopers, Leia tries to send an MPEG to Obi-Wan Kenobi through R2, but encounters so many complications that R2 offers to deliver the message himself. Leia is captured by Darth Vader (Stewie) while R2 and 3PO flee to Tatooine in an escape pod, where they are captured by Jawas (one of whom is Mort).

The droids are sold to a family of moisture farmers, whose nephew Luke Skywalker (Chris) wishes to join the Rebellion and fight the Empire. While cleaning the droids, Luke stumbles upon Leia's message inside R2, who later decides to leave the farm. Luke and C-3PO pursue him, but are attacked by Sand People. Luke is knocked out by one of them (Opie) and is found by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Herbert), who takes them to his hut. Leia's message explains that R2 contains the plans to the Death Star, which must be sent to her father on her home planet of Alderaan and asks Obi-Wan to help. Obi-Wan tells Luke that he must learn the ways of the Force and accompany him to Alderaan, and gives him his own lightsaber. Realizing that the Empire must be looking for the droids, Luke returns home to discover that his home has been destroyed and his aunt and uncle killed, along with John Williams.

Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids travel to Mos Eisley to find a pilot to take them to Alderaan. At a local cantina, they hire smuggler Han Solo (Peter) and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca (Brian), who agree to take them with their ship, the ''Millennium Falcon''. The group is soon spotted by stormtroopers and they flee into space, evading the pursuing Star Destroyers before jumping into hyperspace. Leia is imprisoned on the Death Star, where commanding officer Grand Moff Tarkin (Adam West) has Alderaan destroyed. The ''Millennium Falcon'' exits hyperspace and is captured by the Death Star's tractor beam and brought into its hangar bay. Disguising themselves as stormtroopers, Han and Luke along with Chewbacca set off to rescue the captive Princess while Obi-Wan goes to shut off the tractor beam and R2 and C3PO stay behind. Han, Luke and Chewie rescue Leia, and the four of them dive into a garbage chute to escape stormtroopers and find a couch in the garbage masher below. As they flee the Death Star, Obi-Wan turns off the tractor beam before being confronted by Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel. Vader strikes Obi-Wan down as the others board the ''Falcon'', taking the couch with them.

The ''Falcon'' journeys to the Rebel base at Yavin IV, where the Rebels analyze the Death Star plans and find a weakness. Luke joins the assault team while Han collects his reward for the rescue and prepares to leave. The Rebel fighters (who also include Simply Red, Helen Reddy, Redd Foxx, Red Buttons, the ''Red October'' and an anthropomorphic pack of Big Red gum) attack the Death Star but suffer heavy losses during the assault. During his run, Luke hears Obi-Wan's voice telling him to use the Force, and he turns off his targeting computer. Vader appears with his own group of fighters, and is about to fire at Luke's starfighter when Han arrives in the ''Falcon'' and attacks Vader and his men, sending Vader's ship off into space. Guided by the Force, Luke fires into the port, destroying the Death Star, and he returns to the Rebel base with his friends to celebrate their victory.

Back at the Griffins' home, Peter wraps up the story as the power comes back on. Everyone thanks Peter for keeping them entertained, although Chris points out that ''Robot Chicken'' already told that story. Peter dismisses and mocks the show, and Chris storms off.

The story begins when the mystical knight Sir Gromer Somer Joure challenges King Arthur to discover what women desire the most, or face dire consequences. This encounter takes place following the stalking of a deer by the king in Inglewood Forest, a setting that in other Middle English Arthurian poems such as ''The Awntyrs off Arthure'' and ''Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle'', is a haunted forest and a place where the Otherworld is near at hand. The king, on his own instructions, becomes separated from the rest of his hunting party, follows the deer, kills it and is then surprised by the arrival of an armed knight, Sir Gromer Somer Joure, whose lands, this knight claims, have been seized from him by Sir Gawain. King Arthur is alone and unarmed and Sir Gromer's arrival poses a real threat to him. Sir Gromer tells the king that he must return in exactly one year's time, alone and dressed as he is now, and give him the answer to a question he will ask. If the king fails to give a satisfactory answer, Sir Gromer will cut off his head. The question is this: what is it that women most desire?

King Arthur returns to Carlisle with his knights and it is not long before Sir Gawain pries from his uncle the reason for his sudden melancholy. King Arthur explains to his nephew what happened to him in the forest and Sir Gawain, optimistically upbeat, suggests that they both ride about the country collecting answers to this tricky question. So they both do this, riding separately about the kingdom and writing down the answers they receive. When they return, they compare notes.

Sir Gawain is still willing, but King Arthur senses the hopelessness of it all and decides to go once more into Inglewood Forest to look for inspiration. In the forest he encounters an ugly hag on a fine horse, a loathly lady who claims to know the king's problem and offers to give him the answer to this question that will save his life, on one condition: that she is allowed to marry Sir Gawain. The king returns to Carlisle and reluctantly confronts Sir Gawain with this dilemma; for he is sure that his nephew will be willing to sacrifice himself in order to save him. Gawain selflessly consents in order to save his uncle. Soon, King Arthur rides alone into the forest to fulfill his promise to Sir Gromer Somer Joure and quickly meets with Dame Ragnelle, who is, in fact, Sir Gromer's sister and who reminds King Arthur of the hopelessness of his task:

:"The kyng had rydden butt a while, :Lytelle more then the space of a myle, :Or he mett Dame Ragnelle. :"Ah, Sir Kyng! Ye arre nowe welcum here. :I wott ye ryde to bere your answere; :That wolle avaylle you no dele."

King Arthur tells her that Sir Gawain accepts her terms and she reveals to him that what women desire most is ''sovereynté'', the ability to make their own decisions. With this answer King Arthur wins Gromer's challenge, and much to his despair, the wedding of Gawain and Ragnelle goes ahead as planned.

Later, the newlyweds retire to their bedroom. After brief hesitation, Gawain assents to treat his new bride as he would if she were desirable, and go to bed with her as a dutiful husband is expected to do. However, when he looks up, he is astonished to see not an ugly hag, but the most beautiful woman he has ever seen standing before him. Ragnelle explains she had been under a spell to look like a hag until a good knight married her; now her looks will be restored, but only half the day. She gives him a choice—would he rather have her beautiful at night, when they are together, or during the day, when they are with others? Instead, he puts the riddle's answer to good practical use by giving her the ''sovereynté'' to make the choice herself. This answer lifts the curse for good, and Ragnelle's beauty returns permanently.

The couple live happily, and the court is overjoyed when they hear Ragnelle's story. Sadly, Ragnelle lives for only five more years, after which Gawain mourns her for the rest of his life. According to the poem, Ragnelle bore Gawain his son Gingalain, who is the hero of his own romance and whose arrival at King Arthur's court and subsequent adventures are related, possibly by Thomas Chestre, in the Middle English version of the story of ''The Fair Unknown'', or ''Lybeaus Desconus'' (although in this and most other versions of the story, Gingalain's mother is a fay who raises him ignorant of his father). The poem concludes with the poet's plea that God will help him get out of jail, leading P.J.C. Field to suggest that the poem may have been written by Sir Thomas Malory.

This novel follows ''Dragonsdawn'' and the short story ''The Dolphin's Bell'' (short story contained in ''The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall'') by discussing the present state (Ninth Pass) of the dolphins that were brought to Pern by the colonists. Set near the end and after the events of ''All the Weyrs of Pern'' it further integrates the science fiction aspects of the origins of the Pern series with the fantastical aspects presented by the original books.

The plot focuses primarily on two young characters and chronicles the birth of the Dolphincrafthall and its first Dolphineer. Readis, the Paradise River Lord Holder's son, is saved by talking dolphins ("shipfish") as a young boy after falling into the sea and subsequently develops a strong fascination with the dolphins. T'lion, the young Eastern Weyr dragonrider of Bronze Gadareth, also develops an interest after being involved in an early dolphin encounter. The two befriend each other due to their shared interest and, in their own ways, defy family, Hold and Weyr to maintain their friendships with dolphins and convince others of the dolphins' intelligence and ability to speak. While familiar characters struggle to end the era of Thread, Readis, T'lion and others struggle to begin a new era in which dolphin and human work together again.

Well-known characters from previous Pern novels are also involved in the plot, including Benden Weyrleaders Lessa and F'lar, and Masterharpers Robinton and Menolly.

While on a mission in Ethiopia, Force Recon sniper Gunnery Sergeant Bob Lee Swagger and his spotter Corporal Donnie Fenn are abandoned by their CIA support team, resulting in Fenn's death. Three years later, Swagger lives in isolation in the mountains of Wyoming. One day he is approached by Isaac Johnson, a retired U.S. Army colonel, and his associates Payne and Dobbler. They appeal to Swagger’s sense of duty and patriotism in an effort to recruit his skills and expertise in hopes of thwarting an attempt on the President's life that intelligence sources were able to uncover.

Swagger agrees, helps them determine that the attempt will be made in Philadelphia as well as how it will likely unfold. On the day, Swagger accompanies Johnson and his men to a room overlooking the site. However, the situation turns out to be a setup: The shot is fired according to Swagger's plan, but it kills the President’s guest, Ethiopian Archbishop Desmond Mutumbo. Swagger is shot twice by a corrupt Philadelphia police officer on Johnson's payroll, and one of his rifles and ammunition are left at the scene to frame him for the assassination. Swagger narrowly escapes, incapacitating rookie FBI Agent Nick Memphis and stealing his bureau vehicle. He is pursued by the police and FBI until his car is disabled and he drives into the Delaware River, where he escapes by hitching a ride on a barge heading downriver.

Swagger manages to stay alive long enough to track down Fenn's widow Sarah and enlists her help treating his wounds. She reluctantly agrees, despite choosing teaching as a career path rather than nursing like Fenn had originally wanted. After recovering, Swagger goes after Johnson and his associates. Agent Memphis, who had been skeptical of Swagger's guilt from the beginning after doing a deep dive on Swagger's background and the circumstances surrounding the shooting, is abducted by Johnson’s men and tortured for information. Before the men can kill Memphis, Swagger kills them, frees Memphis and asks for his help.

The duo drive to Tennessee where they meet with a firearms expert, Mr. Rate, who tells them that it is possible for a bullet to be fired from one rifle but made to look like it came from another, through a technique called paper patching. They deduce that this is how Johnson is framing Swagger, using a round he fired from his rifle at a can of stew a week before the assassination. Meanwhile Dobbler informs Johnson of Swagger's annual correspondence with Sarah and arranges for her kidnapping by Payne to be used as leverage.

Rate also advices them that Bosnian sniper Mikhayo Sczerbiak, known for his brutality in the field, is the only working sniper who could’ve made the shot in Philadelphia. Swagger and Memphis plan to strike against Sczerbiak at his home in rural Virginia. After eliminating the contractors guarding the property, Sczerbiak tells Swagger that the organization Johnson works for is run by U.S. Senator Charles Meachum. It functions as a conglomerate exploiting economic assets in developing countries. The Archbishop was assassinated as he was about to speak about the atrocities committed in Ethiopia by the organization—specifically, when they wiped out an entire village so an oil pipeline could be laid. Swagger discovers he unwittingly provided overwatch to the men who killed the villagers during the mission that killed Fenn. After revealing Sarah's abduction, Sczerbiak commits suicide. The house is then ambushed, with Swagger and Memphis managing to kill the men and escape.

Swagger arranges a meet with Johnson and Meachum in the Senator's home state of Montana, while also tipping off the FBI. The two arrive with Payne holding Sarah at gunpoint. Memphis and Swagger work together, with Memphis acting as a decoy to draw sniper fire from Johnson's shooters, allowing Swagger to eliminate them and free Sarah, who shoots and kills Payne. Swagger then confronts the Senator, replaying the recording of Sczerbiak's confession. However, after Meachum further alludes to how big the corruption is, Swagger elects to burn the evidence proving his innocence, realizing it will not help.

The FBI arrive on scene shortly after the Johnson and Meachum's departure, and take Swagger into custody. Later, he is allowed a private meeting with Attorney General Russert, Johnson, other personnel from the FBI, as well as Memphis. Swagger's rifle left at the scene earlier is brought before them where they confirm it has not been handled since the shooting. He proves to them that the rifle is unable to fire because he swaps all of the firing pins out of his guns whenever he leaves home; the difference in size is unnoticeable to the naked eye, but the gun would fail to fire every time. Though the evidence is sufficient to prove Swagger's innocence, he and Memphis are unable to compel Russert to prosecute Johnson for his crimes because they were perpetrated outside of American jurisdiction.

Russert privately intimates to Swagger that extrajudicial means may be necessary to clean up the corruption. Sometime after the meeting, Johnson is visiting with Meachum in the latter's mountain cabin when it is assaulted by Swagger. He kills everyone inside, destroys the cabin and the Senator's vehicle, then hikes several miles to rendezvous with Sarah where the two drive off.

During a dinner given by a wealthy count (Fritz Kortner), his beautiful wife (Ruth Weyher) and four of her suitors come together at the 19th-century German manor. A magician (Alexander Granach), referred to as "Shadowplayer" in the cast list, rescues the count's marriage by giving all the guests a vision of what might happen if the count cannot restrain his jealousy and the suitors continue to make advances towards his wife. The count challenges the man he perceives as his rival (Gustav von Wangenheim) to a duel. The film has a happy ending as violence is averted and the count and his wife save their marriage. But did the events that occurred at the party really happen, or was it all an illusion conjured up by the magician?

Cheerleader Alison (Betsy Russell) is tormented by nightmares revolving an impending cheerleading competition. She arrives at cheerleader camp to train with her teammates, where she rooms with the mascot, Cory (Lucinda Dickey), who is often ridiculed by the cheerleaders; Alison's boyfriend, Brent (Leif Garrett), immediately begins flirting with a blonde cheerleader named Suzy (Krista Pflanzer). The girls go to the river where they sunbathe, and are spied on by Tim (Travis McKenna), a member of Alison's cheering team. Also watching them is Sheriff Poucher (Jeff Prettyman), who gets interrupted by the camp handyman, Pop (Buck Flower).

The next morning, Alison finds Suzy in her cabin with her wrists cut, dead of an apparent suicide. The next day, Alison goes into the kitchen walk-in refrigerator in search of a drink and discovers Suzy's corpse on a shelf. The police are called, and Miss Tipton (Vickie Benson) explains to Sheriff Poucher that, in order to protect her job, she didn't want to report Suzy's death until the program was finished. The Sheriff assures Tipton that he will take care of the matter, and the deal is sealed by the pair having sex, an act which is caught on video by Tim. As the result of a prank, the sex tape is broadcast the next day instead of a video of the camp's cheer routines.

In the meantime, Brent has begun to flirt with teammate Pam (Teri Weigel), concerning Alison. Alison has a nightmare in which she cheers along with a group of mascots as Brent has sex with Pam. At the river the next day, Brent and Pam leave to have sex. They argue, however, and he leaves Pam in the woods where she is murdered with garden shears by an unseen killer. That evening, Alison has a dream in which she kills Pam. The next day at the competition, Alison worries that she may have hurt Pam in a fit of rage and not remembered it. She mentions this to Cory who assures her that she slept through the night.

On the day of the competition, Pam is nowhere to be found. Cory competes in the mascot dance contest, but the competition is won by Tipton. During the team's improvised routine, Tim falls offstage, knocking Pop to the ground in the process, prompting the handyman to declare, "I hope you die!" During the Camp Queen competition, Theresa (Rebecca Ferratti), who has become increasingly worried about Pam, goes to find her. Cory and Brent follow separately into the woods to look for Pam and Theresa, and Miss Tipton sends Pop to search for her as well. Theresa finds Pam's body in the woods, and is chased down by a van before getting crushed against a tree.

In the meantime, Alison and Bonnie (Lorie Griffin) compete for title of Queen, which Bonnie wins. Tim manages to impress a cheerleader from another team and takes her outside to have sex with her. He returns almost immediately with his hand covered in blood and reveals that he has found Theresa's body. Brent announces at the party that there is a killer on the loose, prompting the cheerleaders to panic and flee in their cars. Miss Tipton stumbles drunkenly into the woods to search for Pam, but she is soon killed. Alison, Cory, Bonnie, Tim, and Brent try to drive away, only to discover that their car has been tampered with, rendering it undriveable.

The four hear gunshots in the woods, causing them to run separate directions; Alison returns to the van followed by Brent, Bonnie, and Cory, who claims someone attacked her in the woods. Brent retrieves Timmy's video camera in the woods, where they watch Timmy being killed on tape. The four set a booby trap using a bear trap in the tool shed, which inadvertently kills the Sheriff. They then encounter Pop, armed with a shotgun; Cory accuses Pop to be the killer and shoots him with a revolver. Back at the camp, Cory and Bonnie go to call the police, leaving Brent alone with Alison. He attempts to have sex with her, but she resists. Cory stumbles in, saying she can't find Bonnie; Brent goes to look for her and Cory tells Alison she thinks Brent may be the killer. Armed with the revolver, Cory sends Alison to shoot Brent. They find him standing over Bonnie's corpse and Alison shoots him. When the police arrive, they charge a distraught Allison with the murders. Cory supports this, claiming that Alison would have done anything to be number one. In the ambulance, Alison insists she only killed Brent, but the detective says that Cory blamed all the murders on her. Alison screams as she is taken away while Cory, dressed in a cheerleading uniform, cheers in front of the camp at dawn.

Tom Dobbs is host of a satirical news program, tapping into public frustrations with divisive, special interest-driven politics. Dobbs laughs off an audience suggestion that he run for president, but following online support, he announces his campaign on air. He gets on the ballot in 13 states and participates in a national debate with the Democratic incumbent, President Kellogg, and Republican candidate Senator Mills.

Eleanor Green works at the Delacroy voting machine company, which will provide machines for the Presidential election. Shortly before the elections, Eleanor notices that the voting system does not work correctly and alerts the head of the company, James Hemmings, via an e-mail that he deletes.

Dobbs takes the campaign a bit too seriously, to the chagrin of his manager, Jack Menken, and his show's producer, Eddie Langston. The night of the presidential debates, fed up with the other candidates' posturing, Dobbs shifts back into comedy, keeping the audience laughing while making serious points. He continues his showman persona on the campaign trail, shaking up the political landscape and surging in the polls, but remains well behind Kellogg and Mills.

On Election Day, early returns show Kellogg beating Mills everywhere, exactly as Eleanor predicted the voting system would report. Dobbs sweeps the 13 states in which he is on the ballot, taking enough electoral votes to be elected president. When Eleanor confronts Hemmings about the Delacroy computer error, senior executive Stewart turns her aside. While Dobbs and his team move from shock to celebration, Eleanor is attacked in her home and given an injection. The next day, she displays erratic behavior and is sent to the hospital, where tests reveal high levels of illegal drugs. Her workmate Danny visits and reveals he has been promoted, which she thinks is an effort to buy him off. He tries to convince her that she has a drug habit and that no one will listen if she goes public, but she decides that Dobbs will believe her.

Traveling to Washington and impersonating an FBI agent, Eleanor explains to Dobbs that she was recently fired by Delecroy, but he is pulled away before she can explain the election results. Dobbs tries to contact Eleanor by calling Delacroy's headquarters, and Hemmings explains Eleanor was fired due to a drug problem.

Eleanor figures out the flaw in Delacroy's system – no matter the actual results, the system declares the winner as the name with double letters, in alphabetical order, so that Do’’bb’’s beats Kello’’gg’’, which beats Mi’’ll’’s. Eleanor calls Dobbs and he whisks her off to a Thanksgiving celebration with his friends. Smitten with her, he says he already knows about her drug problem, which she denies and tells him that the election result was wrong before leaving. Dobbs calls Eleanor, telling her that he will break the news the next day. She calls Danny, who informs Stewart, who preempts Dobbs' public announcement by announcing that Eleanor was caught attempting to manipulate the election for Dobbs but that her efforts had no impact on the polls. Dobbs' team turns against Eleanor, except for Dobbs. Eleanor becomes increasingly concerned for her safety, and sees Delacroy agents break into her motel room and take her computer.

She flees to a crowded mall, but is followed and apprehended by a Delacroy agent. She escapes and calls Dobbs from a pay phone, but another Delacroy agent drives his truck into the phone booth. Dobbs goes to the scene and talks with the injured Eleanor in her ambulance, where she convinces him of the truth.

Dobbs’ friends encourage him to remain president, with polls showing that 60% of the nation wants him in office. That night, invited onto the Weekend Update segment of ''Saturday Night Live'', Dobbs announces that the Delacroy vote system was flawed, that Eleanor told her bosses but they covered it up and silenced her, and that he will not run in the new election that must now take place.

President Kellogg wins a second term, Dobbs returns to hosting his satirical news program, with Eleanor as his producer and later his wife, and the Delacroy executives are arrested. ''TIME'' magazine chooses Dobbs as Person of the Year.

''Happiness!'' centers around Yūma Kohinata, a high school student attending Mizuhosaka Academy's regular section of the school, and his close friends Jun Watarase and Hachisuke Takamizo. The other section of the school, aptly named the magic section, was founded in order to train mages in the art of using magic. The day after Valentine's Day, a gas explosion at the magic section causes all the mages in training to transfer to the normal section for the time being. Two girls from the magic section, Haruhi Kamisaka and Anri Hiiragi, are placed in Yūma's class. Now Haruhi and her friends must adjust to the transfer into the normal section of Mizuhosaka Academy.

Jeff Sanders (Jeff Speakman) leads a double life of sorts: by day, he is a simple, unassuming construction worker, and by night, an expert Kenpo student and master of his craft.

Jeff's background is revealed; after losing his mother as a child, he became an outcast and frequently lashed out at his family and society in an attempt to assuage his anger. His father, Captain Sanders (Beau Starr), gained the idea from a mutual friend, Kim (Mako), to enroll Jeff in a Kenpō school to better manage his rage and feelings. However, he lost his temper with a football player who punched his younger brother, and knocked him out with a powerful kick. Displeased with this event, Jeff's father forced him to move out of their home. Jeff, now estranged from his family and living alone, continued with his courses in Kenpo and eventually adopted Kim as a mentor and father figure.

Jeff decides to return to his old neighborhood to visit Kim. Inside his shop, Kim is having trouble with local Korean mafia families, due to his refusal to pay them off and use his antique store to peddle drugs. Jeff helps out Kim and beats up the henchmen who attacked his store. A mysterious hulking hit-man named Tanaka (Professor Tanaka) appears and kills the lead henchman due to his failure to force Kim to comply by head-butting him. He later kills Kim in the same manner and although Jeff tries to chase him down, Tanaka escapes.

Jeff vows to avenge Kim's death and is determined to find out who ordered Kim's murder. He remembers a boy named Jimmy (Dante Basco) who lived with Kim, and tries to find him to ask if he knows about the murder. However, Jeff's estranged younger brother Adam (John Dye), now a cop, is investigating the case, and warns Jeff against trying to take matters into his own hands. In his hunt, Jeff is approached by a mafia boss named Yung (James Hong) who claims to be Kim's friend and points him to a fellow mafia boss named Sam. However, upon breaking into Sam's residence and attempting to kill him, Jimmy appears and reveals that Sam was one of Kim's closest friends and was the one who took him in for protection. Jimmy also clarifies that Yung is the one responsible for Kim's death, and was merely attempting to use Jeff as a pawn to kill his rival boss Sam.

Jeff now plans to kill Yung, but Jimmy warns him that Yung is always protected by his hit-man Tanaka. In order to eliminate Tanaka, Jeff asks Jimmy to falsely testify to Adam that he witnessed Tanaka murdering Kim. Jeff has plotted to have Adam arrest Tanaka so that Jeff can get Yung alone to kill him. Adam and the police eventually capture Tanaka after a long car chase, but to Jeff's dismay Yung was absent from the car. Tanaka is knocked out with a taser, but later manages to escape from the police, breaking out of the police car and injuring Adam and his colleague in the process.

Jimmy overhears that Yung plans to escape the country by boat, and tells Jeff about Yung's drug factory. Now in a bigger hurry, Jeff sets out to attack Yung's drug factory, using his martial arts skills and various weapons to defeat the guards and employees protecting Yung. He eventually subdues Yung, but is attacked by Tanaka. Although Tanaka gains the upper hand during their fight, Jeff manages to kill Tanaka by setting him aflame using a nearby gas tank. Despite initially wanting to kill Yung, Jeff decides to capture him alive (showing he has learned self-control) and turns Yung in to his father, Captain Sanders.

Later Jeff enters the kenpo dojo to visit his former master and a former fellow student.

The first time Chub gets the impulse to write, he has witnessed a fight between the girl of his dreams, B.J. Peacock, and her boyfriend Del that centers on a man knowing he'll never be able to make his woman happy, but that he'll never be able not to try. Two-Brew is a harsh critic, but feels Chub has the gift—his highest praise for anything Chub has written are four words: "on to the next"—implying that he wants to read more of Chub's work. Two-Brew's father runs Sutton Press in New York, and Chub's first long-awaited visit to New York City is punctuated with the surprise that Two-Brew's father has agreed to publish Chub's first short story.

Chub's writing continues, usually after a collision of an emotional experience in his daily life with a childhood memory, and results in a series of short stories. Over one Christmas break, he visits his mother to surprise her with his published short story, but she sees herself portrayed negatively and explodes. Chub leaves almost as soon as he arrives, and returns to the Oberlin dorm with weeks of Christmas break ahead of him and nothing to do but write. He births a long story about his father's rise, fall and suicide—the best story he's written, Chub thinks—but Two-Brew insists that it's wrong for a short story and should be a novel. Chub's writing continues, but his focus on his studies suffers, and he graduates jobless. He works at a bar the summer after graduation when Two-Brew, now a young executive in his father's publishing house, suggests Chub connect his short stories and pitch them as a book, as a prelude to the novel about his father. Chub agrees immediately, but Two-Brew has already made the pitch. He hands Chub an envelope with two advance checks, and Chub moves to New York to write his novel.

The book of short stories is published as ''Under the Weather'', and is a modest hit. While Chub enjoys the praise, his walkup flat and New York life in general, he simply isn't writing. He is distracted by illness, and the return of B.J. Peacock into his life, now divorced with a young daughter Jesse, and aware that she inspired Chub's first story. They fall in love, marry and Chub is blissfully happy as both husband and father. However, B.J.'s jealousy extends to his relationship with Jesse, and during a Hawaii trip designed to recapture their happiness, Jesse is drowned by a rogue wave while in Chub's care, which leads to divorce, and a long, dark period for Chub. He teaches at his old school and is terrorized by a student he reported for plagiarism.

Years pass. Chub lives in New York doing research for other writers, paralyzed by the incandescent emotion of his father's suicide, Jesse's death and his divorce. At a party for Two-Brew celebrating his ascension to head of the publishing company, he meets Bonita Kraus ("The Bone"), a tall, intense ex-model with aspirations of writing in the genre of Trash. Two wounded people, they share intimacy of a sort, but only when Sandy Smith, a nubile young fan of ''Under the Weather'' shows up at Chub's doorstep and stays does he feel the urge to love and write again. However, she sought him out because another man told her he was "Charley Fuller" the writer of ''Under the Weather''. Sandy falls to her death from his window while Chub is gone, and while the police seem convinced it was suicide, Chub investigates his former student, now an escaped mental patient, then the man posing as Charley Fuller. His efforts to untangle the case make his writer's impulse run even more strongly, and he works up an outline of the story, shows it to Two-Brew and gets the cherished "On to the next" reaction. Finally back on the right path, Chub seeks out The Bone, wanting to move in with her so they both can write and support each other, but upon telling his story, The Bone unconsciously lets slip a detail linking her with Sandy's murder. Chub, terrified, can only repeat to himself that this is excellent material. He just has to live long enough to know how to use it.

Danny (Nick Giannopoulos) is a talentless, yet clumsy, and therefore awkward entertainer who is hired by Marcus (Russell Dykstra) and his motley crew to turn them into the biggest kids' group since The Wiggles, The Hooley Dooleys, Hi-5, Bananas in Pyjamas, Play School, and Barney the Bear (a knock-off of Humphrey B. Bear). But while Danny is training them to become ''The Wannabes'', they're secretly planning to use their new identity as cover to pull off a heist of a diamond necklace from the very rich Aurora Van Dyke (Lena Cruz). Aurora has hosted a party for her grandchild, and booked all the best child entertainers in town to perform, and as The Wannabes prepare for the show, two of the characters steal the necklace.

The burglary doesn't go as planned, so they ditch the necklace and escape the scene without being caught. But after the escapade something totally unexpected happens; they end up becoming the hottest kids' band in the country. They even have ''The Wannabes'' merchandise and posters, etc.; they release an album and even do a performance on the Australian show ''Rove Live''. Their fame continues to build until Aurora Van Dyke discovers they were the people responsible for trying to steal her necklace. After some escapades including abduction and rescuing, The Wannabes discover crime doesn't pay, but kids groups do.

Art Brooks and Kelly Moore are a couple who get married. But Kelly realizes that Art is an alcoholic, and he beats her. She starts a relationship with the lawyer Richard Linsky. Art is then found dead, with Richard being convicted and imprisoned.

Steve (Nick Giannopoulos) is a first-generation Greek Australian. Steve is unemployed, but manages to get by, helping out here and there. His pride and joy is his VF Valiant Pacer. Whilst helping out a compensation-oriented neighbour, Steve has a minor car accident involving the Minister for Employment, vampily played by Geraldine Turner. The net result of this encounter is twofold: Steve gets to meet Celia (Lucy Bell) whom he is instantly attracted to but who initially hates him, and Steve gets outed on national television by Derryn Hinch as the worst dole-bludger in Australia.

Steve manages to turn this around to his advantage, and becomes famous as The Wog Boy, spearheading a campaign to improve the employment status of the country. In the interim, he makes variable progress with Celia.

Memed, a young boy from a village in Anatolia, is abused and beaten by the villainous local landowner, Abdi Ağa. Having endured great cruelty towards himself and his mother, Döne, Memed finally escapes with his beloved, a girl named Hatçe. Abdi Ağa catches up with the young couple, but only manages to capture Hatçe, while Memed is able to avoid his pursuers and runs into the mountains. There he joins a band of brigands and exacts revenge against his old adversary. Hatçe was then imprisoned and eventually dies while Memed tries to protect themselves on a mountain, but not before giving birth to Memed's son, who is also named Memed. When Memed returns to the town, a villager named Hürü Ana tells him he has a "woman's heart" if he surrenders himself. Instead of surrendering and being granted amnesty by the government, he rides into town to find his enemy, on a horse given to him by the townspeople. He finds Abdi Ağa in the south-east corner of his house and shoots him in the chest. The local authorities hear the gunshots, but Memed gets away. He returns to the mountains and gives his son in protection of Iraz, Hatçe's friend from the jailhouse.

Rune lives with her mad scientist grandfather, who is very smart, but has a habit of dressing her up in weird cosplay outfits. Rune was born with a sun-like crest on her wrist (known as the Crest of the Sun), and was told by her grandfather that she was the reincarnated Space Queen. Rune refuses to believe almost anything her grandfather says and tries to live a normal life, despite the fact that she works part-time as a cybernetic superhuman to ward off alien beings that have invaded the earth. Rune's childhood friends, Masaya and Masato Ibayashi, are also cybernetic warriors who bear the Crest of the Sun, but she doesn't know this until later in volume one. It is also revealed that her other close friend, Aina Hazumi, is also a Crest-bearer.

A horde of cybernetic aliens hail from Planet X to dominate the earth, and they ensure that their plans are carried out successfully. Many of them are disguised as humans in order to conceal their identities. These alien forces are under the command of Emperor Gald, the mastermind behind the domination of Earth. In the beginning of the series, Gald is "asleep"—he hasn't been awakened to his full power yet. During this time, the aliens are trying to revive him so that he can lead them to their victory.

There are five certain objects needed in order to destroy the aliens' operation. These are the six Elements of the Sun. Each piece resembles one part of Sun Crest (five points and a central core). Each one must be obtained before the aliens are able to steal them. In the meantime, another trio of aliens arrive on earth from Planet X. It turns out they're actually on a mission to protect Rune and defeat the evil horde of aliens. They disguise themselves as humans and go along with pseudonyms. Rune happens to befriend one of these aliens, but doesn't know that he is undergoing an important mission.

Franz (Bubendorf), a young man from a small provincial town, is sent away from home to work in the Berlin department store of his well-to-do uncle (actually, his mother's cousin), Kurt Dreyer. On the train ride to Berlin, Franz is seated without realising in the same compartment with Dreyer and Dreyer's young wife, Martha, neither of whom Franz had met. He is immediately enchanted by Martha's beauty and, shortly after Franz begins work at the store, the two initiate a secret love affair in his shabby lodgings.

As the novel continues Martha's distaste for her husband grows more pronounced, and with it her physical demands upon Franz, whose health begins to suffer. As a result, Franz gradually loses any will of his own and becomes a numb extension of his lover, whom he is nevertheless beginning to find repugnant. Dreyer, meanwhile, continues to cherish his wife and is only regretful, not suspicious, when she returns his love with frigidity. He is, in any case, a man of great good humour who continues to make love to a number of other women. The family store also claims his attention, in connection with which he funds an inventor's scheme to create mechanical mannequins.

Martha eventually becomes obsessed with making plans to murder her husband, in which she involves Franz. The trouble is that they cannot come up with a foolproof method until Martha remembers that Dreyer cannot swim and decides the safest way to dispose of him is to push him from a rowing boat into the water. As part of her plans, the three vacation together at a Pomeranian resort on the Baltic Sea. At the last moment, however, the plot is suspended by penny-pinching Martha when she learns from Dreyer that he is about to close a very profitable business deal, selling the mannequin scheme to his American associate Mr Ritter.

On their return, Martha falls ill with pneumonia from the rain and the cold on the boat. Dreyer leaves early next day to finalise his deal in Berlin and Franz is too clueless to get Martha medical help in time. Shortly after Dreyer gets back, Martha dies and he is inconsolable. Relieved by her death, however, Franz is later overheard by a hotel guest as he laughs "in a frenzy of young mirth".

A new gas formula that can be used as a deadly weapon invented by a pioneering British scientist draws the interest of a shadowy peace movement, which masks a more sinister intent.

Part I

The novel begins with the protagonist of the novel 'John Hilliard' in a military hospital, recovering from a wound he received; he briefly speaks to Crawford, a doctor, whom he knows from childhood and greatly dislikes. It is when Hilliard returns home that he has trouble sleeping. This is not because of his memories of war, but from being at home, a place which he greatly dislikes.

The opening pages of the novel concern his brief period of sick leave back in England where his sister Beth, mother Constance and father are blind to the horror of the trenches. John finds it hard to adapt to life back in England and is happy to return to the war; especially after the new distance between him and his sister, to whom he was previously close. When Hilliard returns he finds that his batman and many other faces he knew have been killed. The group's Commanding Officer, Colonel Garrett, appears to have aged greatly in the short time Hilliard has been away, due to the stresses of war, and has taken to drinking quantities of whisky.

His old batman is replaced with a new one called Coulter and he is placed in a room with a new Officer called David Barton in a rest camp while they wait to be called up to the front. During this time he becomes great friends with Barton, who is as yet untouched by the war. Throughout this chapter, the new Adjutant, a character called Franklin, appears expressionless and remote from the group.

The chapter ends with Hilliard and Barton witnessing the wreckage of a German plane crash which shocks Barton, who has not seen a dead body yet.

Part II

In Part Two, the group that Hilliard and Barton are in, B Company, is travelling to the front line at Feuvry. There are not enough horses so David walks alongside for the duration of the journey. He writes a letter home describing what a terrible place Feuvry is; the town has few buildings left intact after being shelled and occupied by the Germans in 1914.

When they arrive at their billets the Officers are informed that a soldier called Harris won't come out of the cellar. Harris is a new recruit who has broken down in terror; Barton manages to talk him round and lead him from the cellar. While Barton goes to fetch some rum ration for the still unstable Harris, a shell falls on the billets, killing Harris. Barton blames himself for the soldier's death because he would have been safe if Barton had not talked him out of the cellar.

In another letter home Barton confesses that he has become hardened by his experiences in the war. He also states that John thinks that one of the most difficult experiences is getting used to the new faces as so many soldiers die.

The chapter ends with Barton being chosen to go to the front lines to draw a map of the surrounding area with a runner called Grosse. In the front line he witnesses a shelling and the deaths of several men; he also sees a Private killed by a German sniper. After returning from the front line Barton admits that he feels that the war is changing him because he is unable to feel emotion for every soldier killed due to the sheer numbers killed each day.

Part III

The final chapter of the novel begins with one of Barton's long letters complaining that "we are drones not fighting men". He is concerned that his letter may be censored by the military but he wants to tell those back home the truth.

John gets a letter stating that his sister Beth is to marry the lawyer Henry Partington which causes John to become angry at those back home. Hilliard and Barton are sent on a reconnaissance mission which requires the men to spy on the enemy trenches. They can see little and after a flare exposes their position they are forced to retreat with some casualties. Barton feels guilty that he left Coulter, the batman, to die in No Man's Land.

In another letter home, Barton states that the constant death erodes his courage. Midway through the letter, the C.O. states that he is leaving the platoon after arguing with Generals that reconnaissance missions are a waste of lives.

After this news, a Private called Parkin is worried about the news that they will soon be going over the top. Barton and Hilliard begin to talk about how they will meet after the war before they realise they are assuming that they both will survive.

During the military advance, Barton and Hilliard lose track of each other's positions. Hilliard is injured by a shell and is forced to hide in a hole by several dead bodies. At nightfall he crawls back to his trench. His leg is amputated in France and at first he is too ill to return to England. The inconclusive end of the novel is Hilliard being informed by a letter from Barton's parents that Barton is missing and presumed dead. Hilliard writes to inform Barton's parents that it is extremely unlikely that Barton is alive. Once he gets back to England, he goes and visits Barton's family and friends, and feels he knows the place already from Barton's descriptions.

The game starts with the player forming an adventuring guild in order to explore the mysterious Yggdrasil Labyrinth from the nearby town of Etria. This is encouraged by the Radha and its chieftain, Visil, due to the town's prosperity stemming from exploration of the labyrinth. He uses the experienced ''rōnin'' Ren and the hexer Tlachtga to teach the player how to explore the labyrinth and continue descending into each stratum.

Once the player nears the lowest stratum of the labyrinth, they encounter a humanoid race known as the Forest Folk. The Forest Folk attempt to prevent the player from descending further, citing an ancient pact, but the player finally prevails against their massive guardian bird, the Iwaopeln. Entering the lowest stratum, they discover the ruins of post-apocalyptic Shinjuku, revealing for the first time that the setting of the game is actually a far-future Earth.

At this point, the player is confronted by Ren and Tlachtga, but this time to kill the player. They claim that if the secrets of the labyrinth were discovered, explorers would stop coming to Etria and the town would no longer prosper. The player defeats the two, and confronts Visil deeper in the labyrinth. Visil, who was actually the immortal lead researcher who created the Yggdrasil Project to restore the planet, merges with the core of Yggdrasil, becoming the Etreant in order to protect Yggdrasil. The player defeats him, destroying Yggdrasil.

The film begins with abstract images and sounds in the director's interpretation of schizophrenia. Peter Winter has recently been released from a mental institution and upon his release, must try to experience and understand a world that is all but foreign to him.

Beginning the search for his daughter Nicole (Jennifer MacDonald), Peter's car is hit by a soccer ball. A young girl looks from beyond his windshield at him, and he gets out of the car. No actual images of the girl are shown after Peter exits his car, but the screams of a young girl are heard as if Peter is beating her. He carries a large orange bag into his trunk, and the audience is meant to presume that Peter killed this little girl.

Winter returns home, where sounds invade his very being, and he is never completely at rest. He believes that there is a transmitter beneath the skin on his head and he proceeds to remove it. Peter is also disturbed by mirrors, and typically covers up any mirrors that he can access.

The car that Peter drives becomes encased in newspaper, and he isolates himself from the outside world. Peter comes back home to find his mother Mrs. Winter (Megan Owen) still very disturbed about Peter's schizophrenia. She still treats Peter as a child, and does not want him to find his daughter.

Peter, through his travels, becomes wrapped up in the investigation of the murder of another young girl. Jack McNally (Robert Albert), the detective on the case, is stymied because there is almost no evidence at the scene of the crime. Peter becomes a suspect in the case, but nothing found at the crime scene or in Peter's hotel room can link him to the murder.

That does not stop the detective from following Peter after he kidnaps his daughter from her adoptive mother. Just as Peter begins to reconcile himself with his daughter, McNally shows up, desperate to take Peter in as the murderer. Peter foolishly takes out a gun and aims it at the police officer to try to protect his daughter from McNally. McNally, believing that what he is seeing is the dead body of Peter's daughter, opens fire on Peter, killing him.

He finds the girl to be safe and fires Peter's gun in the air, so that he would not be charged for shooting a man unnecessarily. He then opens the orange bag and finds nothing but newspaper inside.

A ruthless Neapolitan land developer and elected city councilman, Edoardo Nottola (Rod Steiger), manages to use political power to make personal profit in a large-scale suburban real-estate deal. However, after the collapse of a residential building, the communist councilman De Vita (Carlo Fermariello) initiates an inquiry into Nottola's possible connection to the accident.

The play centres on Rosaline, Juliet's cousin and Romeo's ex-flame. Ironically, Rosaline had been in love with Romeo, but was [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/play_hard_to_get playing "hard to get"]. Tortured by the loss of her love, Rosaline has become a sullen, venomous woman. She actively seeks to be elected the 'Princess of Cats' and run the Capulet family.

Meanwhile, the Capulets and Montagues have obeyed Prince Escalus and called a truce. The truce quickly descends into a farce as both sides continue to rage against each other. Amid the turmoil more doomed love springs-between Benvolio Montague and Rosaline. Benvolio is warned by Valentine (Mercutio's twin brother) to stay away from her if he knows what is right.

The climax of the play comes during an election to determine whether or not Rosaline or Petruchio (Tybalt's brother) will succeed Tybalt as the Prince or Princess of Cats. The election fails to have any results and the fate of the truce is left open-ended.

A 2009 youth, stage version of the show featured Valentine as the twin sister of Mercutio; this added an extra storyline where Valentine is in love with Benvolio and is jealous of Rosaline. Benvolio's final scene ends with Valentine running off stage after his rejection.

In 2068, Leave, a powerful android, is created by the Brain Computer and raised by the human scientist Fenrir to be the new root of mankind; the "Goddess", deciding that the previous human beings are no longer useful, wipes them out and creates four "mothers", each one in charge of a different quarter of the world, and a new race of androids, the Selenoids, classified in castes depending on their strength.

Ash Ramy is one of the few human survivors, member of the Revolutional Organization; after killing a high-ranking Selenoid, he escapes with the help of Lemiu Winslet, one of the lower ranking Selenoids, who joins his fight against the new Goddess.

Barzai the Wise, a high priest and prophet greatly learned in the lore of the "gods of earth", or Great Ones, attempts to scale the mountain of Hatheg-Kla in order to look upon their faces, accompanied by his young disciple Atal. Upon reaching the peak, Barzai at first seems overjoyed until he finds that the "gods of the earth" are not there alone, but rather are overseen by the "other gods, the gods of the outer hells that guard the feeble gods of earth!" Atal flees, and Barzai is never seen again.

Two kids from a small town, the new kid, Kyle Barrett (Reiley McClendon), finds himself saving one of his peers at school, Jason McIntyre (Jesse James), from a group of bullies and they quickly become friends. Although they come from different sides of the track, the two set out on an adventure. While playing hookey from school, the pair decide to go to the local airport, where Jason's uncle works, for some excitement. When they find aircraft are left unlocked, they sneak inside for a better look, trying out the controls first on a small light aircraft and then they check out a larger, twin-engined airliner.

The mysterious and silver colored aircraft is in a hangar but suddenly, the hangar doors open and the boys immediately hide with the hope to not get in trouble, thinking that whoever it is will simply fetch or drop something off and then leave again. Slipping into the rear baggage compartment, Jason sneaks a peek at who is coming on board. He is frightened to discover one of the two men in the cockpit has a gun. Before they can make an escape, the aircraft starts up and takes off on a long flight over the Arizona desert.

Jason and Kyle unexpectedly find a bomb in the baggage compartment but when they burst into the cabin to report their discovery, they find that everyone on board had bailed out. Taking the controls, Jason manages to straighten up the plane and tells Kyle to throw the explosive out, before he assumes the seat of the co-pilot and together they manage to land the aircraft themselves- But their troubles are only beginning. Jason and Kyle soon realize that they are embroiled in a criminal effort to steal millions of dollars from the mob. In the process of staying one step ahead of gangsters, they find their courage to come out on top.

Quark receives a shuttle that his cousin Gaila has been promising him for years. For its maiden voyage, he takes his brother Rom and nephew Nog to Earth, where Nog has been accepted to Starfleet Academy. After they leave Deep Space Nine, Rom discovers that Quark intends to make the trip financially profitable by smuggling an illicit load of volatile kemocite.

As the ship nears Earth, Rom finds that they are unable to drop out of warp, possibly due to sabotage by Gaila. However, venting the warp exhaust through the kemocite cargo enables the ship to drop out of warp. Unfortunately, in doing so the ship and crew are thrown back in time to July 1947 and crash land near Roswell, New Mexico. The Ferengi awake on a U.S. military base, where the Americans believe them to be Martians. After Rom repairs their malfunctioning universal translators, Quark begins negotiations with the humans, whom he considers backward and gullible, to sell advanced technology from the future. He brags to Rom and Nog in private that "within a year we'll be running this planet," and dreams of cultivating a vast Ferengi economic empire.

Unknown to the Ferengi, Constable Odo stowed away aboard the shuttle with them to investigate the kemocite smuggling and thus was also thrown back in time. Using his shapeshifting abilities, Odo is able to move about the base locating and repairing their spacecraft. Having disguised himself as a guard dog to gain entry to the room where the Ferengi are being held, he tells Quark that they must try to preserve the timeline and not alter Earth's history. Quark, Rom, and Nog are interrogated by an army officer convinced that they have hostile intentions, but escape from custody with the help of a nurse and her fiancé, a professor who was brought to the base to try to establish dialogue with the aliens.

By harnessing the energy of an atomic bomb test scheduled for that morning in Nevada, Rom is able to use the remaining kemocite to return them to their proper time. After dropping off Nog at Starfleet Academy, Quark has to sell the damaged spacecraft for salvage and he, Odo, and Rom return to Deep Space Nine. As the episode ends, Odo arrests Quark for smuggling contraband.

Doña Louisa Vivar, whom Sharpe befriended in ''Sharpe's Rifles'', visits Sharpe and asks him to search for her husband, Don Blas Vivar, who disappeared while serving as Captain-General of Chile, a Spanish possession threatened by rebels. Sharpe and Harper sail to Chile with Spanish Colonel Ruiz and his regimental officers aboard the frigate ''Espiritu Santo'', commanded by Captain Ardiles. The group decide to stop off at St. Helena to pay a visit to exiled French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon grants an audience and asks Sharpe and Harper to remain for a private conversation. Napoleon persuades Sharpe to take a gift, a portrait of the emperor, to an admirer in Chile for him.

British Consul George Blair welcomes Sharpe and Harper to the Chilean port of Valdivia and informs them that Blas Vivar's body was found and buried three months previously. Sharpe and Harper visit Captain Marquinez to arrange permission to travel to Puerto Crucero, exhume the body and return it to Spain. Back at their lodgings, they interrupt burglars who wound Harper and escape with their possessions, including Napoleon's portrait.

Sharpe and Harper meet with Bautista, who announces that he has caught the thieves, whom he has branded on the spot, and returns all the stolen goods except for the portrait. When Bautista asks if everything is there, Sharpe says nothing is missing. Marquinez provides the required passes and permits and rides out with Sharpe and Harper on the first stage of their journey. Overnighting at the "Celestial Fort", Sharpe suspects that their escort, commanded by Sergeant Dregara, has orders to kill them. He persuades the garrison commander, Captain Morillo, to let them leave very early the next morning; he provides a native guide called Ferdinand to take them safely across the hills.

Sharpe and Harper arrive in Puerto Crucero and are welcomed by Major Suarez, but before they can exhume the body, Sergeant Dregara catches up and arrests them. After five days in prison, they are accused by Bautista of espionage. He reveals that a coded message was found hidden in the back of the portrait. As punishment, the Captain-General has Ferdinand executed, confiscates the riflemen's money and weapons and has them put aboard the ''Espiritu Santo'' for its return trip to Europe.

Lord Cochrane, a highly successful former Royal Navy admiral now in service to the Chilean rebels under Bernardo O'Higgins, uses a ruse, a seemingly disabled American whaler, to get his men aboard the ''Espiritu Santo'' and, with the assistance of Sharpe and Harper, capture it, taking Captain Ardiles prisoner. The ''Espiritu Santo'' is in great danger of sinking, but Cochrane insists on sailing to the Spanish-held port of Valdivia. Fortunately, his flagship, the ''O'Higgins'', finds them. Cochrane loads Major Miller and his marines aboard the crippled ship, and sets sail for a seemingly suicidal attack upon the port of Puerto Crucero (not Valdivia, as the ''Espiritu Santo'' would never make it there).

Cochrane and Miller lead the marines ashore, with Sharpe and Harper in tow, and with supporting fire from the ''O'Higgins'' capture the citadel. Blas Vivar's grave is opened to reveal nothing but a dead dog inside. A captured Spanish soldier informs them that Blas Vivar is being held prisoner in Valdivia, so Sharpe reluctantly agrees to join Cochrane's assault on the city.

Despite being massively outnumbered and outgunned, Cochrane sails to Valdivia, hoping his two disguised ships will be mistaken for transports bringing much-needed artillery and reinforcements from Spain. However, his ruse fails. Sharpe recommends landing on a nearby beach and leads an assault on the outlying forts. To Sharpe's amazement, the demoralized Spanish put up token resistance before either fleeing or surrendering, resulting in little loss of life on the rebel side. Without waiting for reinforcements, Cochrane marches his small forces into the city itself, where Sharpe and Harper kill Dregara. Trapped, Bautista commits suicide.

Realising that Blas Vivar is not a prisoner in Valdivia, Sharpe confronts Cochrane, who admits that he took the Spaniard prisoner. Cochrane is plotting to rescue Napoleon, so the Corsican can create another empire in the New World. The coded message was Napoleon's agreement to Cochrane's scheme. Cochrane met Blas Viva, the Count of Mouromorto, under a flag of truce to try to recruit him, having confused him for his Francophile brother; with the confusion removed, he had no choice but to maroon him and some guards on an island. Cochrane duped Sharpe because he needed his help in liberating Valdivia.

Cochrane releases Blas Vivar, but holds him, Sharpe, and Harper incommunicado until the rescue ship sets sail to free Napolean. When they are released, the three men return to St. Helena, but are stunned to hear that Napoleon has died. Sharpe is immensely relieved that he is in no way responsible for starting another war.

The Wilkinson family become ghosts after they die in a tragic bombing in World War II. Initially, they haunt their home, Resthaven, and they adopt another young ghost, a girl they name Adopta, who has no memory of her past. When the arrival of new owners forces them to leave, they travel to London and reluctantly begin haunting an underwear store, and apply to the Dial-a-Ghost agency for a new home. The Dial-a-Ghost agency finds the perfect home for the Wilkinsons in a ruined abbey, and tells them they can move in on Friday 13th.

Meanwhile, orphan Oliver Smith is surprised to learn he is a descendant of the Snodde-Brittle family, and that he now owns Helton Hall following the death of a cousin. He is taken from the orphanage to Helton Hall by his cousins Fulton and Frieda, who feel they should rightly have inherited the Hall. Learning that Oliver is asthmatic, Fulton hires some terrifying, child-hating ghosts known as the Shriekers, hoping to frighten Oliver to death.

On the day of the move, the two sets of ghosts receive each other's directions by accident. The Wilkinsons arrive at Helton Hall, and, although they initially scare Oliver, they soon become close friends. The Shriekers, however, are exorcised from the ruined abbey after attacking livestock belonging to the nunnery. When the Dial-a-Ghost agency realizes their mistake, they send the Shriekers to Helton Hall and ring the Wilkinsons to apologize. Oliver, however, refuses to let the Wilkinsons leave and also invites their friends from London to move in.

When the Shriekers arrive, they attack Oliver, but are distracted by Adopta - the daughter whose loss drove them to madness. They agree to behave better in future, but are confused as to why they were sent to attack Oliver when he is supposed to have ordered child-hating ghosts. The Wilkinsons realize Fulton is to blame and send Oliver to London to keep him safe. Fulton and Frieda are now in severe debt and, believing Oliver to have been killed by the Shriekers, spend thirty thousand pounds on 'Ectoplasm Eating Bacteria' to clear out the ghosts.

Oliver returns home to the unmoving remains of the ghosts, and is distraught. He attacks Fulton and Frieda, but is distracted by a ghost budgie for long enough to let them escape. As the ghosts wake up, they realise the Ectoplasm Eating Bacteria was a con, and Oliver happily opens up the Hall to any ghosts needing a home, running it as a tourist attraction and a paranormal research institute. He even rebuilds the Wilkinson's home, Resthaven, recreating it exactly as it was before the bombing. Frieda, meanwhile, repents her sins and becomes a nun, but Fulton goes after the con artists. He is killed and asks for a home from the Dial-a-Ghost agency, who send him to the underwear store.

Alice (Virginia Davis) visits the Laugh-O-Gram Studio, where the animators (including Walt Disney) show her various scenes on their drawing boards. A few of them: a cat dancing to a cat band; a mouse poking at a cat until it moves; a couple of mice boxing, while the animators crowd around cheering and acting as corner-men. That night, she dreams of taking a train to cartoon-land, where a red carpet reception awaits. She appears in live action. They have a welcoming parade, with Alice riding on an elephant. The cartoons dance for her, and she dances for them. Meanwhile, lions break out of the zoo. The lions chase her into a hollow tree, then into a cave and down a rabbit hole. Finally, she jumps off a cliff and awakes back in her bed. Alice is woken up by her mother, and Alice tells her mother about her strange dream...

When a ball is accidentally knocked through the window of a neighbourhood haunted house, Alice is the only one brave enough to go inside to retrieve it. While she is in there she falls and bumps her head, sending her to a cartoon dreamworld in which she rescues a cat and battles some spirits in a ghost town. When she awakens, she retrieves the ball, only to find out that police have investigated the scene. The police chase Alice, believing her to be responsible for the scene, and arrest her.

Act 1

Scene 1

The plot begins in the exceedingly luxurious and profligate court of the Chinese Emperor Shisōretsu (思宋烈; actually Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming dynasty), in May 1644. His wife is ready to give birth to their first son and future heir; Ryūkakun (柳歌君), wife of the loyal and sagacious counselor Go Sankei (Wu Sangui), has just given birth so she can be the imperial heir's wet nurse.

The Great King of Tartary (the Manchus) sends Prince Bairoku (梅勒 王) as his emissary to the court. The emissary's demand is that the emperor's wife be sent to him, to become his consort. The minister and General of the Right, Ri Tōten (李蹈天) reveals that the reason that the Great King believes he can make this demand is because, in 1641, Ri Tōten had sought ten million bushels of grain to relieve the famine gripping the land. In exchange, Ri Tōten had given them his promise that later they could ask for anything they wished.

Go Sankei opposes making good on Ri Tōten's promise, pointing out to him the immorality and outright foolishness of sending away the Empress with the heir. The envoy is deeply offended and rises to leave, uttering promises of war, when Ri Tōten takes his dagger and gouges out his left eye and presents it to the prince, who is thereby mollified when he leaves.

Scene 2

The Emperor, favorably impressed by Ri Tōten's sacrifice decides to marry his younger sister, the lovely Princess Sendan (栴檀皇女) to him. She is opposed to any marriage so the Emperor forces her to wager her assent on the outcome of a mock battle between 200 court ladies wielding plum or cherry branches. At the Emperor's previous instruction, the plums lose, dooming Sendan to the marriage.

Alarmed by the commotion of battle, Go Sankei apparels for war and rushes in. When he discovers the "senselessness" of the mock battle, he reproaches the emperor at length for alarming the palace; for setting a bad example; for his extravagances; his dislike of governance; and for being such a careless ruler that he didn't know that Ri Tōten was responsible for the famine by stealing rice from the Imperial storehouses and using his ill-got proceeds to bribe and corrupt people throughout the country; and last (but not least) for not recognizing that Ri Tōten gouging out his eye was a message to the Tartars that they had his complete backing and should invade. (Go Sankei "proves" this through use of yin and yang and analysis of ideographs.)

The Emperor scorns Go Sankei's lecture but immediately an ancient plaque with the dynasty name on it shatters. With a great tumult, the former envoy breaks into the palace at the head of an irresistible enemy host. Go Sankei's forces are hopelessly outnumbered and cannot resist. He instructs Ryūkakun to take the Princess to a certain harbor, named Kaidō (海登). Go Sankei and his men cut a path through the opposing hordes and secure the escape of the Empress and Emperor, Before Go Sankei's forces succeed and he returns, Ri Tōten and his brother, Ri Kaihō (李海方), seize the Emperor and cut off his head. Tōten takes the head to the Great King. Ri Kaihō is left to bring the Empress along into custody. On Go Sankei's return, he wrathfully strikes down Ri Kaihō and sorrowfully removes the imperial appurtenances and imperial regalia from the imperial corpse. With his own son and the Empress, the three escape to the coast at Kaidō.

Scene 3

Unfortunately for the three fugitives, no ships can be found at Kaidō to take them across to safety. They are pursued by musketeers who kill the Empress. Pausing in his haste, Go Sankei realizes that the rightful heir to the throne may yet be salvaged. With his sword, he performs a Caesarean section and removes the still living prince. However, fearing that the enemy forces would realize that the prince lived when they saw the empty womb, Go Sankei kills his infant son and places the corpse in the womb to gain time and fool the enemy.

Go Sankei does not meet up with Ryūkakun and the princess. Ryūkakun ambushes one of Ri Toten's henchmen, seizing his boat and sword. She puts the princess in the boat, pushes it off, trusting in the elements to deliver the princess to an old loyal courtier exiled to Japan, "Ikkan" or "Tei Shiryū Rōikkan" (鄭芝龍老一官; Zheng Zhilong, also known as Iquan).

Ryūkakun remains on the shore and perishes fighting the Tartars; they leave satisfied that everyone (including the prince) is dead, except for Go Sankei — although he does not worry them.

Act 2

Scene 1

Act 2 dawns in a sleepy Japanese fishing village, to which the "Grand Tutor" Tei Shiryū fled after being banished from China so many years ago. There he remarried and had a son, Watōnai (和藤内), whom he raised as a fisherman and who has married a sturdy fisherwoman. He ceaselessly studied all the texts his father brought with him from China, studying with especial ardour the works on military strategy and tactics, and histories of war. Despite his earnest efforts, he never truly grasps military matters until one day walking on the beach he espies a clam and a shrike locked in combat. The shrike's beak has been trapped and it cannot escape; at the same time the clam is vulnerable as it is only safe so long as it holds on. The lesson Watōnai draws from this is "to provoke a quarrel between two adversaries, and then catch both when they least expect it." Watōnai immediately decides to try to apply his newfound insight to the war between China and Tartary.

No sooner has Watōnai's wife Komutsu (小むつ) pried apart the shrike and clam than the two see a small boat drifting towards them. Inside is the Princess Sendan. Neither Watōnai nor Komutsu speak Chinese. Perplexed what to do, they summon Tei Shiryū, who relates to Sendan his exile. Sendan then pours forth her recent history.

Encouraged by a prophecy of victory mentioned by Tei Shiryū's unnamed Japanese wife and by analysis of ideograms and the ''I Ching'', Watōnai resolves to reconquer China for the emperor. Watōnai tries to leave without his Komutsu but, shamed by this, she tries to persuade Watōnai to beat her to death first with his oar. Watōnai refuses. He relents when she is about to hurl herself off the cliff; apparently he had only been testing her to see whether he could entrust the princess to her. She passes, and Watōnai, Tei Shiryū, and his wife set off for China.

Scene 2

In China, Tei Shiryū has a plan of sorts. In his exile, he left behind one daughter named Kinshōjo (錦祥女), who has married a puissant lord and general named Gojōgun Kanki (甘輝). With her aid, hopefully Kanki could be persuaded to rebel and join forces with them and Go Sankei against their foreign overlords.

They decide to split up and take separate routes to avoid suspicion. While passing through the "Bamboo Forest of a Thousand Leagues" (千里ケ竹), Watōnai and his mother encounter a large and fierce tiger driven there by a tiger hunt. Watōnai defeats the tiger and receives its submission. An Taijin (安大人), underling of Ri Toten, rushes up with his officers and soldiers – they had driven the tiger thence, intending to take its head as a present for the Great King.

Watōnai refuses to give over the tiger and speaks rudely to them. They attack, but the tiger intervenes, splintering and shattering all their weaponry. Watōnai seizes An Taijin and hurls him against a rock. His body is shattered and he dies. Threatened, the officers and soldiers avow that they were not particularly enthused by Tartary and its regime, and so would join Watōnai. He gives them all Japanese-style shaved heads and new names like "Luzonbei" or "Siamtarō" or "Jakartabei" or even "Englandbei".

Act 3

Scene 1

At the impregnable Castle of Lions (獅子城), Watōnai is in favor of attacking at once with his newfound soldiers, arguing that his half-sister's failure to ever send a letter to Tei Shiryū amply proves her disloyalty. His mother dissuades him, pointing out that a wife must obey her husband.

Tei Shiryū asks at the gate to be allowed entrance and a private audience with General Kanki. Kanki is not there at that moment, so Tei Shiryū asks to speak to Kanki's wife and mentions that he is recently arrived from Japan. Agitated by his request and foreignness, the guards begin threatening them and preparing for battle; the narrator suggests that Kinshōjo rushes to the gate because she hears the rising tumult the guards make. She instructs the guards to "do nothing rash!" She then inquires into the identities of the visitors. Tei Shiryū reveals himself.

Kinshōjo allows that Tei Shiryū's story of himself is accurate, but she demands proof. He replies that his face should be compared to a portrait he had made of himself and left with her many years ago. This proof conclusively settles the matter, as the image matches and none by Kinshōjo and Tei Shiryū would remember the portrait now as well.

Kinshōjo would let them all in, but the Great King of Tartary has issued orders that no foreigners be allowed into any fortresses. Kinshōjo asks the soldiers to make an exception for her stepmother. They agree only on the condition that she be fettered like a criminal (so if anyone should take them to task for breaking their orders, they would have an excuse).

Before she vanishes into the gate, an agreement is made with Tei Shiryū and Watōnai waiting outside: If the negotiations go well, white dye will be dumped into the cistern, which will shortly flow into the river outside and be very visible. If the negotiations fail, the dye will be red.

Scene 2

While Kinshōjo's maids are occupied trying to find some acceptable fare for the mother to eat, Kanki returns with good news: He has been promoted by the Great King to general of cavalry, commanding 100,000 horsemen. The mother comes in, and Kanki is moved by her hindrances and the love of her stepdaughter that prompted her to travel over the dangerous oceans. She asks him to throw in his lot with Watōnai.

His response is favorable, but he demurs from giving an immediate answer: He wants some time to consider. The mother presses him for the answer. Forced, he says yes, and then attempts to kill Kinshōjo. The mother intervenes and berates Kanki for trying to kill her daughter. Kanki explains that if he didn't kill Kinshōjo before announcing the alliance, he would be shamed before the whole world by gossip claiming that he did not join Watōnai's rebellion out of principle but because he was wholly dominated by his wife and her relations. Kinshōjo accepts Kanki's reasoning and steps forth to his sword. Once again, though cruelly bound, the mother intervenes. She reasons that if she allows her stepdaughter to be killed in front of her the very first time the two met, then "people will say that your Japanese stepmother hated her Chinese stepdaughter so much – though they were separated by three thousand leagues – that she had her put to death before her eyes. Such a report would disgrace not only me but Japan, for people would say, judging the country by my acts, that the Japanese were cruel-hearted."

Kinshōjo is convinced by the mother's speech this time and is reduced to tears. Seeing this, Kanki realizes that he cannot join Watōnai and is now his reluctant enemy. Kinshōjo goes to her bedchamber to deliver the scarlet dye signal. Watōnai bursts in among them regardless of the guards, and comes to loggerheads with Kanki when Kinshōjo comes back in: the scarlet came from no dye but the blood of her fatally cut open belly. Both Kanki and Watōnai are stunned, but now that Kinshōjo is dying and soon to be dead, Kanki can again join forces with Watōnai. Kanki bestows on Watōnai the new name that he will make famous: Coxinga.

Coxinga's mother perceives all this with joy, and true to her earlier words about shame, stabs herself in the throat and cuts through her liver. With her dying words, she exhorts Coxinga to defeat the hordes of Tartary mercilessly and to filially obey Tei Shiryū. She and Kinshōjo expire together.

Coxinga sets out with a will and an army.

Act 4

Scene 1

Back in Japan, Komutsu learns of Coxinga's success in obtaining Kanki as an ally. Joyously, she goes to the Shrine of Sumiyoshi, god of the sea, in Matsura. She prays and begins practicing her swordsmanship with a bokken. Some of her prayers are granted: Her skills have progressed to the point where she can cut off a tree branch at a stroke. Encouraged, she proposes to Princess Sendan that they take passage in a merchantman bound for China. The Princess agrees.

Scene 2

Sendan and Komutsu, at the harbor, ask a young fisher boy wearing an uncannily antique hairstyle to take them part of the way in his fishing boat. He promptly complies and, while speaking to them of geography and islands, poles them all the way to China using his supernatural powers. In a twinkling they are there and the boy explains to them that he is really the "Boy of the Sea from Sumiyoshi".

Scene 3

In this scene, focus shifts to Go Sankei, unseen for so long. For the past two years he had wandered the wilderness and remote regions of China as a fugitive, avoiding the agents of Ri Toten and raising the infant prince; he has grown inured to hardship and is weary. We see him climbing the "Mountain of the Nine Immortals" (九仙山), to its summit, prince in arms.

Pausing, he sees "two old men with shaggy eyebrows and white hair, seemingly in perfect harmony with the pine breeze, as friends who have lived together for years." The two are deeply engrossed in a game of Go. Go Sankei asks the two how they could be so deeply engrossed without the comforts of music, poetry, and wine? They reply that to Go Sankei the game is but a game, however they could see it for what it was: the world itself, yin and yang opposed, with the 361 sections roughly corresponding (to the 360 days of the lunar calendar) to a single day, and the tactics and strategies of the game the same as for war. Through the game, Go Sankei stands spellbound, watching as Coxinga wages his war. Thrilled at Coxinga's successes, Go Sankei makes as if to go to him. The two old men reveal that what he saw so vividly and as so close as the board itself were really hundreds of leagues away and that more than five years have passed since he began watching their game. The two reveal themselves as the founder of the Ming dynasty and his chief counselor, Liu Bowen.

The two vanish and Go Sankei discovers that he has grown a long beard and that the prince is now a seven-year-old of grave voice and mien. He asks leave of the prince to inform Coxinga of the prince's location. But the prince has no chance to reply because Tei Shiryū happens on them with the Princess Sendan in tow. They exchange news and discover that the villainous former envoy, Prince Bairoku and his thousands of men are swarming up the mountainside after them.

They beseech the first Emperor of the Ming and Liu Bowen to aid them. In response, a bridge of clouds to the other side of the valley forms; they escape on it. When Prince Bairoku and his men try to follow, the bridge is blown away by a wind, and he and his men fall to their deaths. The survivors are pelted with rocks and other missiles until they succumb and Prince Bairoku, having managed to climb out of the chasm, has his head bashed in by Go Sankei with the two immortals' go board.

The group then goes to the Castle of Foochow, controlled by Coxinga.

Act 5

Scene 1

Coxinga's forces are drawn up and arrayed before Nanjing – the final battle is near. Coxinga discusses with his war council of Kanki, Go Sankei and Tei Shiryū how to defeat the Great King, Ri Toten, and their forces.

Go Sankei advocates an ingenious stratagem: tubes stuffed with honey and hornets should be prepared, and when Coxinga's forces prepared to retreat, dropped for the Tartar hordes to greedily open; whereupon they would be stung unmercifully and disarrayed. This opening would then become the focus of their true assault. Should they catch on and attempt to burn the tubes ''en masse'', the gunpowder placed in the bottom of the tubes against just such an occasion would explode them to bits.

Kanki proposes that several thousands of baskets of choice provisions be thoroughly poisoned and left behind in another feigned retreat, whereupon they would counterattack.

Coxinga likes both suggestions but decides to simply engage in a straightforward frontal assault, with Komutsu and her Japanese-looking troops in the vanguard.

The Princess Sendan rushes in with a message from Tei Shiryū: He has decided on an honorable suicide by attacking Nanking alone. Coxinga orders the assault launched immediately.

Scene 2

Tei Shiryū arrives at Nanking's main gate and issues his challenge to Ri Toten. The first soldier to respond is easily killed by him. Seeing that Tei Shiryū, Coxinga's father, is come, the Great King orders his capture. Tei Shiryū is surrounded by more than 50 club wielding men and is beaten, captured, bound.

Shortly thereafter, Coxinga's assault begins. Unarmed, he defeats all comers until Ri Toten and the Great King of Tartary ride up; bound to the face of Ri Toten's shield is Tei Shiryū. Coxinga cannot bring himself to attack now that Tei Shiryū is a hostage.

Into this dilemma rush Go Sankei and Kanki. They prostrate themselves, and get close to the Great King, pretending to try to exchange Coxinga's head for their lives. The King is pleased by their offer but not so pleased when they spring up and seize him. Even as they do so, Coxinga pulls Tei Shiryū off the shield and binds Ri Toten to it.

The King is let off with only 500 lashes, but Ri Toten has his head and both arms cut off by Coxinga, Go Sankei, and Kanki, respectively.

The Emperor Eiryaku (Yongli Emperor) is placed on the throne, and all ends well.

Football player turned gymnast Steve Tevere seeks to join the United States Olympic gymnastics team. Gaylord was a member of the gold-medal U.S. men's gymnastics team at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

The "fools" in the play are battling lovers at a run-down Mojave Desert motel. May is staying at the motel when an old flame, Eddie, shows up. Eddie tries to convince May to come back to him and live in a trailer on a farm in Wyoming that Eddie has always wanted to buy and where he has always imagined living with May. May vehemently refuses. She says that she has absolutely no interest in living with Eddie under such circumstances, that she has a job and started a new life and knows that if she goes back to Eddie their relationship will repeat the same destructive cycle it has followed before. Throughout the play the character of the Old Man—apparently the father of both lovers—sits to the side and talks to May and Eddie and offers commentary on each character and about himself. It is revealed that the Old Man had led a double life, abandoning each family for different periods during each child's life. The two became lovers in their high school years and when their parents finally figured out what had occurred, Eddie's mother shot herself. May is afraid that Eddie has begun to emulate his father; taking to drinking and secretly seeing a woman May refers to as the Countess. The play centers around the drama of the confrontation rather than a plot with any rising and falling action. In the end Eddie appears to have left May, just as his father had left his mother, and May has packed her suitcase to go off somewhere unspecified. Eddie and May have not reconciled, the Old Man has begun to drift off in denial that Eddie's mother had been driven to suicide, and May's erstwhile date, Martin, is left on stage bewildered to observe it all.

''Damnation'' tells the story of Karrer (Miklós B. Székely), a depressed man in love with a married torch singer (Vali Kerekes) from a local bar, the ''Titanik''. The singer breaks off their affair, because she dreams of becoming famous. Karrer is offered smuggling work by Willarsky (Gyula Pauer), a local bartender. Karrer offers the job to the singer's husband, Sebestyén (György Cserhalmi). This gets him out of the way, but things do not go as Karrer plans. Betrayals follow. Karrer despairs.

The player, as is the standard in American Laser Games releases, assumes the role of an anonymous individual who takes part in a series of showdowns with several different gunfighters. It is suggested that the protagonist is a lawman. This is confirmed by the three available difficulty levels: deputy, sheriff and marshal. The Old West setting is the scene of up to five showdowns, during which the player must draw his revolver as quickly as possible and shoot the enemies before they manage to shoot the player.

The aim of the game is to defeat all the foes the player is up against; if this is achieved flawlessly, the lawman takes part in a final showdown in which he faces Wes Flowers, "one of the world's fastest quick-drawers", who is not a fictional character, but a real-life Fast Draw champion. If Flowers is also defeated, the player receives the title of Best Deputy, Super Sheriff or Master Marshal, depending on the difficulty level.

''Chromophobia'' takes a look at several people and relationships. Some of these people are very wealthy and have become so obsessed with their wealth and material objects they are very detached from more important things in life. The things they choose to reject in their pursuit for the finer things in life include friendship, their children, love and integrity. At one point or another in the movie, each character begins to realize and then face their problems and in a sense their lives come crashing down. The characters then begin to see if they can get their lives back and carry on with a new look.

Tide Yau is a special agent from a police force known as 2002. He, however, is not an ordinary police officer and has the ability to see ghosts. In the beginning Tide's partner is Sam, however it is Sam's time to reincarnate and so a new partner must be found. The new partner comes in the form of Wind Cheng, who can also see ghosts. Wind (apart from being afraid of ghosts) thinks it is great being the partner of Tide and everything runs smoothly until Wind finds out that the unit only operates as human-ghost partnerships, so in order for the pair to continue working for 2002, one of them must die.

The plot centers on competition between high-school cheerleading squads - and one squad, in particular, the Moline Ducks, is poor. The competition takes place at a camp run by middle-aged Bucky Berkshire aka Dr. Spirit (John Karlen), who this year decides to place a bet with his best instructor Tom Hamilton (Stephen Shellen) that he cannot make the woeful Ducks into a team that can beat the top-rated Falcons. If Berkshire loses, he pays up $10,000, and if Hamilton loses, he has to work another five years at the camp. Bucky Berkshire actually cannot stand Hamilton's antics, or his sexual but successful way of motivating the cheerleaders. However, a visiting group of wealthy Japanese businessmen will not finance Bucky's latest business plan without Hamilton on board to teach the cheerleaders. Thus, there is an ulterior motive behind Bucky's wager. As the teams get ready for their rounds of competition, several dance sequences, various teen pranks, and the usual sexual situations common in teen comedies weave their way through the storyline.

Doctor Tom Jackman (James Nesbitt), a married father of two, has abandoned his family without explanation to live in a heavily fortified basement flat. He hires psychiatric nurse Katherine Reimer (Michelle Ryan) to help him with his unusual case. After explaining a set of elaborate security procedures to Reimer, he straps himself into a secured metal chair and undergoes a psychological transformation.

Reimer observes that Jackman's alter ego exhibits rage, heightened senses, greatly superior strength and speed, and a more playful and flirtatious manner. She assures this persona she will keep his secrets just as she keeps Jackman's, but asks for guarantees he will not harm her. After being informed of the novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'', Jackman's alter ego takes Hyde's name for his own and the two agree to form an uneasy truce. While they share a body, neither remembers what the other did while dominant. They use a micro cassette recorder to leave messages for each other.

Jackman began transforming into the violent, lecherous Hyde recently. Fearing for his family's safety, he chose to isolate himself from them, but he cannot bring himself to cut off all contact, and visits his wife Claire (Gina Bellman). During one such visit, Hyde assumes control and learns about Jackman's family.

Miranda Callendar (Meera Syal), a detective employed by Claire, learns about Hyde and informs Jackman that ''Jekyll and Hyde'' was not fiction, but a fictionalized version of actual events. Callendar shows Jackman a picture of the real Doctor Jekyll who lived in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 19th century. Jackman is startled to see that Jekyll looks exactly like him, and that he died at around Jackman's current age; and Callendar speculates that he is a descendant of the original Doctor Jekyll, except for the fact that Doctor Jekyll had died without children.

Jackman is also being stalked by a private security team led by an American named Benjamin (Paterson Joseph). Unbeknownst to him, the team works for his former employers at the biotechnology firm, Klein and Utterson, and is directed by his friend Peter Syme (Denis Lawson).

When Benjamin's team puts Jackman's children at risk, Hyde asserts himself, killing a lion. At the hospital he is approached by Sophia, an elderly woman who claims to be his mother, but before he can question her she disappears.

Jackman confronts Peter Syme, who attempts to drug him. This provokes Hyde to appear and take Syme and Claire hostage. Claire argues that they need to find a cure for Jackman's condition. Hyde kills Benjamin and Syme insists that Klein and Utterson have had a cure for a long time. Jackman is captured and locked inside a metal coffin.

Reimer and Callendar confront Syme, claiming they know the truth about Jackman. Callendar theorizes that Klein and Utterson have access to cloning technology and that Jackman is Jekyll's clone. Syme denies this and orders them taken away to be killed.

Syme reveals to Claire that the treatment Jackman is undergoing will stabilize into one persona: If it is Hyde, he will be kept for research in order to synthesize the potion that turned the original Jekyll into Hyde; If it is Jackman, she is free to take him home. When the box is opened, Hyde is dominant.

In a flashback triggered by genetic memory, Hyde has a vision of a meeting between Jekyll and Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. Stevenson agrees to write a fictional version of Jekyll's case but reveals that he knows the truth: there is no potion. Instead, Jekyll was transformed into Hyde by his love for Alice, a maid within his household. Flashbacks into Jackman's own life show his Hyde first manifesting fully during a seaside holiday with Claire, after the pair were accosted by hooligans.

Enraged by further threats to Jackman's family, Hyde escapes from Klein and Utterson. Ms. Utterson, a ruthless redheaded American woman at the head of Klein and Utterson, takes Claire and her sons hostage at a private estate, locking the twins in miniature versions of the same coffin used on their father.

Tom's alleged mother, Sophia, appears on the premises and helps Claire escape her locked bedroom. She tells Claire how Klein and Utterson had indeed tried to clone Doctor Jekyll but had been unsuccessful. Claire meets several of the failed attempts in the lowest basement of the building. They are disfigured and in a near-vegetative state. Sophia explains that Jackman is a descendant of Doctor Jekyll, (who died a virgin), through Mr Hyde, and by chance a perfect natural genetic duplicate, "a perfect throwback, a chance in a million". Klein and Utterson had discovered this and had him under surveillance for almost his entire life, from when he was six-months-old. In order to trigger his transformation into Hyde, they created a clone of Alice, the maid whom Jekyll had loved. This clone is Claire herself.

Hyde tries to rescue Jackman's family from Klein and Utterson, killing Syme and many other personnel. In the end there is a stand-off, with Jackman and Claire's sons held hostage and suffocating. The Hyde personality is apparently killed when he is shot with multiple bullets and then manages to avoid 'sharing the damage' by taking the wounds onto himself while allowing Jackman to assume his undamaged, healthy form, leaving Doctor Jackman as the only personality.

Six months later, Jackman has tracked down Sophia, the woman who claimed to be his mother. When he questions her about his father, she reveals that she is the descendant of Hyde, the one through whom he had inherited the family curse from, and that it's "never over". As Jackman watches horrified, the powerless, tired, grey-haired Sophia transforms into her own version of the Hyde persona, the feral, red-headed Ms Utterson.

Pinky Dinky Doo is a girl who lives in Great Big City with her parents, her little brother Tyler, and their house pet Mr. Guinea Pig. When Tyler has a problem, Pinky says, "That gives me an idea." Tyler asks, "Pinky, are you going to make up a story?" and Pinky responds, "Yeserooni positooni!" (which means "Yes, positively!"), dancing to a cardboard box called the Story Box. Using chalk and her imagination, she tells a story. In the second season, whenever the Story Box is unavailable, Pinky uses the Story Pad, a notebook in which she draws pictures for her newer stories.

During the made-up story, Pinky must "Think Big," at which point her head swells and she comes up with an often wacky solution to the problem while singing "If I have a problem, don't know which way to go, I think and think and think and think, and suddenly I know." Some episodes feature different variations of the "Think Big" sequence: In ''Big Blob of Talk'', Pinky listens big instead. In ''Back to School Is Cool'', Pinky's hair swells instead of her entire head due to her having a bad hair day. In ''Tyler to the Rescue'', ''Two Wheel Dreams'', ''Go to Bed Tyler!'', and ''Tyler's Big Idea'', Tyler thinks big instead of Pinky. In ''Shrinky Pinky'', Mr. Guinea Pig thinks big instead of Pinky.

Jefferson Reed (Robert Townsend) is a mild-mannered school teacher in Washington, D.C. His neighborhood is terrorized by a local gang called ''The Golden Lords'', led by Simon Caine (Roy Fegan) and allied with drug lord Anthony Byers (Frank Gorshin). One night, Jeff steps in to rescue a woman from the gang only to end up running from them himself. Hiding in a garbage dumpster, he manages to escape. As he climbs out, he is struck down by a glowing, green meteorite. His spine is crushed and he receives severe burns. A small fragment of the meteor was left over and taken by a vagrant named Marvin (Bill Cosby). Reed awakens several days later in the hospital, but when his bandages are taken off, he is miraculously healed of all injuries.

Jeff soon discovered that the meteorite had left him with spectacular superpowers such as flight, x-ray/laser vision, superhuman strength, speed, and hearing, invulnerability, healing powers, the ability to absorb a book's content by touch, super breath, telepathy with dogs (which he uses to communicate with his own dog Ellington), and telekinesis. Confiding this to his parents Ted (Robert Guillaume) and Maxine (Marla Gibbs), they convince him to use his powers to help the community. His mother designs a costume and as the Meteor Man, he takes on the Golden Lords. He shuts down 15 crack houses, stops 11 robberies, brings peace between the police, the Crips (Cypress Hill), and the Bloods (Naughty by Nature) where they begin to work together to rebuild the community they destroyed, and plants a giant garden in the middle of the ghetto.

The Golden Lords learn Meteor Man's secret identity and his slowly diminishing powers. As the violence gets out of hand and the Golden Lords continue their attacks, the community members plan to make a deal with them, but Jeff instead teaches them about fighting for their beliefs. A now-powerless Jeff fights Simon and is beaten up. Simon points his gun at Jeff, but Jeff's neighbor Earnest Moses (James Earl Jones) throws a record at him, successfully knocking the gun out of Simon's hand. Suddenly, Marvin uses the meteor fragment to strip the Golden Lords of their guns. This enables the locals to stand up to the Golden Lords as they fight them alongside Marvin's dogs. Marvin accidentally drops the meteor and both Jeff and Simon grab the rock from both sides, gaining superpowers, and engage in a brawl.

When Simon is about to throw a dumpster at Jeff, he hears Ellington barking, telling Jeff that he can win, and throws the dumpster at Ellington instead, seriously injuring him. This angers Jeff and he disappears and returns as Meteor Man. They continue with their brawl with Meteor Man winning and draining Simon of his powers by absorbing them. He then defeats the rest of the Golden Lords. The locals all gather around Ellington who is now lying on the street, whimpering in pain. Jeff uses his x-ray vision to see that Ellington's ribs are broken. Before Jeff can do anything, his powers fade away, again. But just then, Marvin comes over and uses the last of his powers from the meteor fragment to heal Ellington's injuries, thus saving Ellington's life. The locals all applaud.

Anthony Byers and his gang then confront Meteor Man, but are out-numbered by the Bloods and the Crips who show up to protect Meteor Man. Anthony Byers and his gang are then arrested by the police after attempting to "take a vacation to the Bahamas".

The story concerns a homeless boy named Ricky, or Ted in the Japanese version. Whilst seeing a movie about Lemuel Gulliver he is discovered to have entered without buying a ticket and he is thrown out onto the street. Ejected and dejected, he is then nearly run over by a truck, but is knocked unconscious when he is thrown against a wall. He awakes to find a talking dog and then the Colonel, a talking clockwork toy soldier who has been discarded in a rubbish bin. The dog suggests the trio amuse themselves at an amusement park that is closed for the night.

The trio enjoy themselves on the rides and in a planetarium but are pursued by three security guards. The boy, his dog and the Colonel escape on fireworks rockets that land them in the countryside. They meet Professor Gulliver himself in a forest. Gulliver is now an elderly, space-traveling scientist who has built a rocket ship. With Dr. Gulliver's assistant Sylvester the crow (named Crow in the Japanese edition), Gulliver and the trio travel the Milky Way to the Planet of Blue Hope. They discover the planet has been taken over by the Queen of the Purple Planet and her evil group of robots, who the inhabitants of the Blue Planet created to make themselves a life of leisure that turned into a nightmare when the robots overthrew the population of the Blue Planet and seized control. Armed with water-pistols and water balloons which melt the villains, Ricky and Gulliver restore the Planet of Blue Hope to its doll-like owners who regain life as human beings.

The boy wakes up in the street. He meets his canine companion who now is an ordinary dog who can not talk and discovers the non-talking non-living Colonel in the rubbish bin. The three walk down the street looking for a new adventure.

When a team of undercover narcotics officers is targeted by a serial killer, the police recruit karate champion Matt Logan to bring the murders to an end. Narcotics Officer Amanda "Mandy" Rust (Jennifer O'Neill) discovers that a traitor within the police ranks is behind the killings.

In the town of Moorehigh in 1957, the patients of Dr. Evan Rendell kept disappearing. The townspeople found out the father and son duo had been ripping out the patients' hearts — in an attempt to bring back the doctor's dead wife. The townspeople stoned Dr. Rendell to death, but his son Evan Jr. disappeared.

Thirty-five years later, the adult Evan Jr. (now nicknamed "Dr. Giggles" for his hideous laugh and insatiable obsession to follow in his father's footsteps) escapes from a mental asylum, killing everyone in his path. In Moorehigh, 19-year-old Jennifer Campbell, her boyfriend Max Anderson, and their friends are planning their summer break. Jennifer, already upset by family trouble, is further distressed from having a heart condition and being forced to wear a heart monitor. Dr. Giggles returns to his childhood home, goes through Evan Sr.'s files, and gathers a list of names. He begins stalking and killing several residents, including Jennifer's friends.

After the party, Jennifer becomes fed up with her heart monitor and dumps it in a fish tank. Jennifer's father finds it and leaves to look for her. Dr. Giggles shows up and kills his girlfriend (Jennifer's prospective stepmother). Jennifer returns to the party and sees Max kissing another girl. Distraught, she runs into the house of mirrors. Dr. Giggles notices Jennifer has the same heart condition as his mother and goes after her. He kills the girl Max was kissing, but Jennifer sees him coming and escapes. Officers Magruder and Reitz find her and take her to the police station.

Officer Magruder explains to Reitz how Evan Jr. escaped. He was on guard duty at the morgue housing the bodies of Dr. Rendell and his wife. Investigating a giggle, he witnessed Evan Jr. cutting his way out of his mother's body with a scalpel. He realized that Rendell had cut open his wife's body, stuffed his son in and sewn it shut. Upon being threatened by Evan Jr., Magruder passed out from shock. When he woke up, Rendell's wife's corpse had been re-sewn, and all traces of the event at the morgue had been wiped clean.

Dr. Giggles makes his way to Jennifer's house and attacks her father. Officer Magruder goes to investigate Jennifer's house and finds her father there, lying in a pool of blood. Dr. Giggles mortally wounds Magruder who, recognizing Evan Jr., shoots and wounds him before dying. Reitz arrives soon after, finding his partner dead and Jennifer's father wounded but alive.

Meanwhile, Dr. Giggles returns to his hideout, performing surgery on himself to remove the bullet. He kidnaps Jennifer and tells her his plan to replace her "broken" heart with one he took from her friends. Reitz and Max arrive. While Reitz distracts Dr. Giggles, Max and Jennifer escape. Dr. Giggles kills Reitz, but his father's house explodes and collapses on him.

At the hospital, Jennifer learns that the events of the evening have damaged her heart, requiring immediate surgery. While she is being prepped, Dr. Giggles reappears and cuts a bloody path through the hospital staff. He chases her to a janitor's closet. Jennifer ambushes and finally kills Dr. Giggles with his own instruments. Dr. Giggles breaks the fourth wall, staring at the camera and weakly asking, "Is...there a...doctor in the house?" before he collapses and dies.

Recovering in the hospital, Jennifer is visited by Max and her father.

Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser), whose name comes from a Bible passage, is a young man who has spent his entire life as a member of an ultraconservative Christian cult. After a violent incident in which the cult is dissolved and Darkly's parents die, a disoriented Darkly wanders into a forest in the Appalachian region of North Carolina. He is rescued from exhaustion by a coffin transporter named Jude (Loren Dean) and his friend Callie (Ashley Judd).

Jude leaves Darkly in Callie's care. As Callie nurses him back to health, Darkly becomes frustrated by the conflict between his religious past and his attraction to his new companion. His frustration intensifies when Clay (Viggo Mortensen), Callie's mute boyfriend, who builds the coffins Jude sells, returns home after being away for a few days. Darkly's inner turmoil further builds after he encounters Clay's mother, Roxy (Grace Zabriskie), who despises the relationship between Clay and Callie. Roxy tells Darkly that she believes that Callie is a witch bent on destroying Roxy's family.

Despite his detached behavior, Darkly becomes good friends with Jude. One day, Darkly discovers a bizarre giant shoe on the river, and when Roxy's dog dies, they place the body in the shoe and set it on fire as a floating funeral pyre.

Jude proposes that he and Darkly move away to live together. Darkly agrees, and Jude leaves with plans to return for Darkly. Overcome with loneliness, Roxy commits suicide. After finding Roxy's body, Darkly hallucinates that his dead parents are telling him to kill Callie.

Now thoroughly unhinged, Darkly wraps himself in barbed wire, paints himself red, and arms himself with one of Clay's chisels. He bursts into Callie and Clay's house, intent on murdering the couple, whom he discovers having sex. During the horrific attack, a fire starts, which quickly burns down the house.

Jude arrives and sees the inferno. Rifle in hand, Jude enters to rescue Callie and Clay. When Callie tells Darkly that she loves him, Darkly hesitates, giving Jude the opportunity to shoot him. "Who will love me now?" are Darkly's last words as he dies in Callie's arms.

The next morning, while Callie, Clay, and Jude view the ruins of the house, a family of circus people arrive. They claim to have lost all their supplies and ask if anyone had seen their giant shoe.

The group decides to go for help together. One of the children gives Callie a shoe which resembles the giant shoe.

Following the death of his father, and later his mother, a long time Irish immigrant to the United States, the teenage and biracial Chad travels from his home in New York to a small Irish island where his mother was brought up, to live with his uncle, a smalltime farmer.

In addition to facing initial prejudices, Chad finds himself the center of a grievance his uncle Tony (Donal McCann) holds against local bar owner Joe Brady (Pierce Brosnan), for his illicit relationship with Chad's mother, which Tony opposed, before she left twenty years before.

Further complications ensue when Chad develops a relationship with Brady's daughter Aislinn (Aislin McGuckin). Her admirer Peter O'Boyce (David Quinn), who works in her father's bar, is jealous and attempts to stop the ensuing romance.

Kor (John Colicos), a revered Klingon warrior, is in Quark's bar telling stories of past battles to his friend Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell). She introduces Kor to her colleague Lieutenant Commander Worf (Michael Dorn). He explains that he is on a quest to find the legendary Sword of Kahless, the founder of the Klingon Empire; he has come into possession of a shroud which he believes once held the Sword. When he returns to his quarters, Kor is attacked by a Lethean who reads his thoughts in order to find out about the Sword. Jadzia verifies the authenticity of the shroud, and the next morning she, Kor, and Worf depart for the Gamma Quadrant to search for the Sword on the planet where the shroud was found.

On the planet, they discover a secret chamber in an underground vault containing the Sword. They are attacked by Toral (Rick Pasqualone), son of Duras, who hired the Lethean and wants the Sword for the prestige of finding it. Kor, Worf and Jadzia fight past Toral and his men and after finding that they cannot transport back to their ship, they head into the adjoining cave system in order to try to escape Toral. As they travel through the caves, the Klingons are affected by the prestige of the Sword: Kor begins to talk about how it would allow him to overthrow Chancellor Gowron and Emperor Kahless II; but Worf believes that he should be the one to lead their people. Suddenly, Kor slips down the side of a cliff but refuses to let go of the Sword. Worf grabs the other end of the Sword, and tries to convince Kor to let go.

Dax helps Worf save Kor, and afterwards takes possession of the Sword because she thinks the two Klingons cannot be trusted with it. The three make camp and Dax tries to sleep, but is awakened by an argument between Kor and Worf. The fight between them stops momentarily when Toral and his men arrive. After Toral is subdued, Kor and Worf again attack each other. Jadzia stuns them both with her phaser and then forces Toral to enable the three to return to their ship. After they depart the planet, Kor and Worf realize that if the Sword divided two men as honorable as they, it would do the same to the Klingon Empire, so they beam it into space, leaving it to drift until the Klingon Empire is ready for it.

Brothers Terry and Ian, who live in South London, were raised by a weak father, Brian, who runs a restaurant, and a strong mother, Dorothy, who taught her sons to look up to their uncle Howard, a successful plastic surgeon and businessman.

The brothers buy a sailboat at an oddly low price, despite its near pristine condition. They name it ''Cassandra's Dream'', after a greyhound that won Terry the money to buy the boat. Knowing nothing of Greek mythology, they are unaware of the ominous antecedents of this name—the ancient prophetess Cassandra, whose prophecies of doom went unheeded by those around her.

While driving home from a day's sailing in a borrowed car, Ian crosses paths with beautiful actress Angela Stark, with whom he becomes infatuated.

Terry has a gambling addiction that sinks him deeper in debt. Ian wishes to invest in hotels in California to finance a new life with Angela. To overcome their financial problems, they ask Howard for help. He agrees to help them, but asks for a favor in return: they must murder someone for him. Howard faces imprisonment for unspecified crimes and his future is threatened by Martin Burns, a former business partner who plans to testify against him. Howard asks his nephews to get rid of Burns, and in return he will reward them financially. After initial reluctance, the brothers agree.

They make two zip guns, untraceable and easily destroyed. Lying in wait in Burns' home, their plan is foiled when Burns arrives with a woman. Their resolve shaken, they leave and agree to commit the murder the next day.

The next day, they succeed in carrying out the murder and later destroy the guns. Ian is content to move on as if nothing happened, but Terry is consumed by guilt and begins abusing alcohol and other drugs. His behavior frightens his fiancée, who tells Ian about the situation and that Terry believes he has killed someone. After Terry confides that he wants to turn himself in to the police, Ian goes to Howard for advice. They agree there is no alternative but to get rid of Terry. Ian plans to poison Terry during an outing on the boat. Ian can't bring himself to kill his own brother, and attacks him in a fit of rage. In the chaos, Terry knocks Ian down the steps into the cabin, killing him.

The boat is later discovered adrift by the police, who deduce that Terry killed Ian and then drowned himself. The last shot is of ''Cassandra's Dream'', still in beautiful condition despite the tragedies it set in motion.

The story is set in 2040 after a disaster happens in Tokyo in 2029. The main character Ken Andoh joins up with a company designated to clean up Tokyo, called DC. After a mysterious robot begins attacking the DC cleanup crews, the organization starts a process of militarization with Ken learning of the secrets it hides.

The player assumes the role of Buck, a hardworking family man, whose wife and children are murdered by a band of outlaws. In search of vengeance, Buck tracks down the various outlaws one by one, earning higher bounties as he progresses. The final foe is the outlaw leader, Landolf.

Luminous Arc takes place in the world of Shtraberl. The land is in a medieval-like era, where the Luminous Church rules over the lands. The Luminous Church which worships their God Zehaal is the only form of government the land has.

According to the scriptures known as The Book of Mena of the Luminous Church, thousands of years ago Witches and Dragons fought all across the world to be the superior race. In the process: ''The air was stale, the earth barren. The seas raged and the sun vanished. The world fell into darkness.'' This disaster was known as Aldheld.

The scriptures go on to continue that the saints prayed upon the barren land and eventually the God Zehaal replied to their prayers in beginning the Advent. Zehaal then defeated both the Dragons and Witches and cleansed the world.

It was then that Zehaal supposedly blessed the world and named it Shtraberl. Afterwards he endowed the saints with knowledge and went into a deep slumber. The saints then went on to create the Luminous Church.

The actual game begins with the Garden Children, a group of people raised as an elite force for the Luminous Church. In the beginning of the game the Garden Children are called to a town to be given their first orders by the Church. They are ordered to hunt for Witches which have been spotted in Canal.

As the game progresses, the Garden Children discover that the Witches are not as evil as they had been taught. They then, through the witches discover that the God of the Luminous Church, Zehaal, is trying to resurrect himself to consume the world.

After joining forces, the garden Children and the witches fight past members of the Luminous Church as well as vassals of Zehaal. They spend the game fighting against the Luminous Church and their sinister attempts to defeat them. Near the end of the game the group goes through a portal to the world's center to confront Zehaal.

They then battle Zehaal and his true form, The Wings Of Doom. After injuring the Wings Of Doom he retreats to lick his wounds, and Lucia the Dawn witch decides to use a powerful yet self-destructive magic to finish him forever. Alph then stays with her to ensure she does not die in the attack, and together they defeat Zehaal once and for all.

In the aftermath of the final battle, Canal is restored to a peaceful state. A stable form of government is formed and the Witches are accepted into society as heroes rather than deviants.

''The Big Red Adventure'' follows the protagonists of ''Nippon Safes Inc.''—Doug, Donna and Dino—as they find themselves in post-Soviet Russia. The villainous Doctor Virago hopes to revive Vladimir Lenin to help him revert Russia from capitalism to communism.

When 27 people are killed at a diplomatic conference being held in Antwerp on Earth, and evidence implicates the Changelings, Captain Sisko travels to Earth to investigate what looks like a bold new offensive by the Dominion that could be a prelude to war. He is accompanied by security officer Odo, a renegade Changeling who opposes the Dominion. Sisko also brings along his son Jake, taking advantage of the opportunity to visit his father, a restaurateur in New Orleans. Due to Sisko's experience dealing with Changelings, Vice-Admiral Leyton puts him in charge of planetary security; together they persuade the President of the Federation to introduce new security measures on Earth, hoping to be prepared if the Changelings attack again. Meanwhile, Jake's friend Nog, a cadet at Starfleet Academy, asks Captain Sisko to help him become a member of the Red Squad, an elite and selective group of cadets.

With the Dominion threat ever looming, paranoia begins to grow, especially after Odo catches a Changeling impersonating Leyton. Even Sisko momentarily suspects his own father of being a Changeling when he is unwilling to submit to a blood test. As matters escalate, all the power on Earth is knocked out, and sabotage is believed to be the cause. Sisko and Leyton decide to prepare Earth for war, and they convince the President to declare a state of emergency on Earth. As the episode ends, Jake and his grandfather witness armed Starfleet security personnel begin patrolling the streets of New Orleans.

With a vague plot many different challenges are available, but the significant part of the game is "''The Pyramid''". Once the five Ghouls are defeated, Téa, controlled by Marik Ishtar, will lead you to the Pyramid. The Pyramid is a five-game gauntlet challenge in which a player who loses must restart from the beginning. The Pyramid is organized into chambers. The first duel is against Téa controlled by Marik; the second and third duels are against 2 of the 5 ghouls at random. The fourth duel is against Joey Wheeler controlled by Marik; in the 5th and final chamber, the opponent is Marik himself. Upon Marik's defeat, the Pyramid is cleared.

Once the Pyramid is beaten, the Ghouls will appear as regular opponents, and ten Card Limitation Duel events will be available. Upon completion, the player will unlock 'Free Mode', receiving the ability to toggle on or off the deck count limit of individual cards (e.g. the trap card ''Mirror Force'' normally is limited to one copy per deck; in Free Mode, up to three copies can be used in a deck, as is the case with most other cards). Side challenges, including "Target Week" and weekend championship tournaments, provide various incentives for players to seek out specific opponents throughout the game.

Odo's regular meeting with Major Kira is interrupted by Quark, who complains that Odo practicing shape-shifting in his quarters (right above Quark's own) causes too much noise.

Later, Shakaar, the First Minister of Bajor, visits Deep Space Nine for a meeting on Bajor's proposed membership in the United Federation of Planets. Odo warns that a threat has been made on Shakaar's life by members of the True Way, a Cardassian extremist group. Odo and Lt. Cmdr. Worf tighten Shakaar's security. At first, Odo and Shakaar get along well. However, Odo soon sees the bond between Kira and Shakaar, and is stricken when Shakaar admits he's falling in love with Kira.

Kira is late for her weekly meeting with Odo after having breakfast with Shakaar. She gives Shakaar a tour of the station, with Odo accompanying them for security. In a turbolift, Odo hears the two talking about plans for the evening. A message in Worf's voice asks to take control of the turbo-lift, and Odo, distracted, grants control without waiting for the code. The turbolift begins plummeting, but Odo changes his arms to solid pylons to stop its descent. Odo later discovers that the request was from a True Way agent using a voice synthesizer. Captain Sisko reprimands him for his lapse in attention.

Shakaar spends the night in Kira's quarters, and in the morning Kira tells Odo that she and Shakaar are now in a relationship, and she is glad Odo is a friend with whom she can talk about her relationships. When he returns to his office, Odo discovers that Worf has found and arrested the True Way operative.

Dismayed at both Kira's romance and Worf doing his job, Odo returns to his quarters and goes into a rage, destroying much of the furniture and decorations inside. Outraged at the noise, Quark confronts Odo but is thrown by how defeated the constable looks. Pretending he is only concerned for his profits from a betting pool rather than friendship for Odo, Quark tells Odo that he has to make a choice: Either tell Kira how he feels or forget her and move on. Later, Odo tells Kira he has to cancel their weekly meetings.

At Quark's bar, Quark thanks Odo for sound-proofing the floor of his quarters; Odo tells Quark that the renovations have nothing to do with him. He sees Kira and Shakaar exiting a holosuite together and continues his rounds.

Newly separated Felix Ungar wanders New York City in a daze with vague ideas of committing suicide.

Divorced sports writer Oscar Madison and his card-playing cronies Murray, Speed, Roy and Vinnie have assembled in Madison's Washington Heights apartment for their Friday night poker game. Murray is concerned because their mutual friend Felix Ungar is unusually late for the game. Murray's wife calls and informs them that Felix is missing. Oscar then calls Felix's wife Frances, who tells him that she and Felix have broken up. Felix arrives not knowing that everyone has already heard that he and his wife have separated. The group attempts to pretend nothing is wrong, but Felix eventually breaks down crying and his friends attempt to console him. After everyone leaves, Oscar suggests that Felix move in with him, since Oscar has lived alone since he split up with his own ex-wife, Blanche, some time earlier. Felix agrees and urges Oscar to not be shy about letting him know if he gets on Oscar's nerves.

Within only a week, the two men discover they are incompatible. Felix runs around the apartment cleaning, picking up after Oscar, and berating him for being so sloppy. Felix refuses to have any fun, spending most of his time thinking about Frances. While at a tavern, Oscar tells Felix about two English sisters he recently met who live in their building: Cecily and Gwendolyn Pigeon. Oscar telephones the girls and arranges a double date for the following evening.

The next night, Oscar tries to get uptight Felix to loosen up by leaving him alone with the two flirtatious sisters while he leaves the room to mix drinks. Instead, Felix talks incessantly about his family, breaks down weeping, and burns the meatloaf. Furious about Felix's ruining the date, Oscar resorts to giving Felix the silent treatment and torturing him by deliberately making the apartment as much of a mess as possible. Eventually, the tension explodes into an argument that results in Oscar demanding that Felix move out. Felix complies, but leaves Oscar feeling guilty for having abandoned his still-in-need friend.

Oscar assembles the poker group to help search the city for Felix. After searching for hours, they return to Oscar's apartment to play poker and soon discover that Felix has moved in with the Pigeon sisters with plans to get a place of his own. Felix and Oscar apologize to each other, realizing that a bit of each has rubbed off on the other, with each being a better person for it. Felix promises that next week he will attend their usual Friday night poker game. After Felix's final exit, the once slovenly Oscar tells his friends to watch their messes as the poker game continues.

In 1492 Spain, Grand Inquisitor Torquemada leads a bloody reign of terror. Opposed to the use of torture by the Church, Maria speaks out during the public execution of a disenfranchised noble family. Torquemada is tempted by Maria's beauty, and atones through self-torture. Confused by these new desires, he accuses Maria of witchcraft and orders that she be tortured until she confesses. During Maria's interrogation, Torquemada cannot stop himself from staring at her naked body; he orders that she be imprisoned. Maria is befriended by fellow prisoner Esmerelda, a confessed witch. Together they struggle to save themselves from the sinister Torquemada. Maria's husband Antonio breaks into the castle to rescue his innocent wife. He fails and is imprisoned for his actions. Torquemada decides to test a new torture device, the Pit and the Pendulum, on Antonio.

''Bleacher Bums'' takes place in the bleachers of Chicago's Wrigley Field. The characters are a bunch of Chicago Cubs fans, watching a game in progress on a summer afternoon. Most of them have been allegedly gathering here for some time and know each other; even if they might not necessarily like or tolerate each other. Beer is being drunk, hot dogs are being eaten, and friendly wagers start to take on increasing importance.

Black art student Perry (Anthony Mackie) is thrown out by his parents for his homosexuality and is further disturbed by a potential romantic entanglement with a white boy in his class. He befriends an elderly homeless man named Bruce Nugent (Roger Robinson), who turns out to have been an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Through recalling his friendships with other important Harlem Renaissance figures Langston Hughes (Daniel Sunjata), Aaron Douglas (Leith M. Burke), Wallace Thurman (Ray Ford) and Zora Neale Hurston (Aunjanue Ellis), Bruce chronicles some of the challenges he faced as a young, black, gay writer in the 1920s. Perry discovers that the challenges of homophobia and racism he faces in the early 21st century closely parallel Bruce's.

Katherine Thatcher (Mia Sara), a young woman trying to learn the identity of her father, is drawn into a Romanian vampire underworld. She is unaware that her father (Perkins) is a vampire. The vampire community is surprised to find that someone has been born from a union between a vampire and a woman and they seek to draw her into their plans.

Looking in his book for Earth creatures and finding the Tasmanian Devil, Marvin the Martian gets the idea of capturing Taz for his zoo. He heads to Earth, beams Taz up into his flying saucer, and takes Taz to his Martian zoo meanwhile Taz escapes. After making his way back to Earth, Taz returns to Mars and visits Marvin's house to find and defeat him in battle. after defeating Marvin, Taz steals a space ship and steers it back to Earth. The game ends when the devil eats a pile of fruit on the way back home and went away spinning all the way.

Manor Farm is mismanaged by its drunken owner, Mr. Jones. Prize pig Old Major encourages the farm animals to oust Jones, and teaches them the revolutionary song "Beasts of England" before suddenly dying. Having not been fed, the animals break into the storehouse and help themselves. They drive Jones away, rename the farm "Animal Farm", and destroy the tools of oppression that had been used against them. They decide against living in the farmhouse, though Berkshire boar Napoleon is interested and begins to secretly raise an abandoned litter of puppies.

The Commandments of Animalism are written on a barn wall, the most important being: "All animals are equal". The farm runs smoothly and food becomes plentiful. The pigs become the leaders and claim special food items "by virtue of their brainwork". Old Major's successor Snowball wants a windmill, while Napoleon opposes it and has his dogs kill Snowball, denouncing him as a traitor and declaring himself leader. He abolishes farm policy meetings, appropriates all decision-making, and advances the windmill plan that he had snubbed when his rival proposed it.

The pigs alter their laws. "No animal shall sleep in a bed" becomes "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets". Napoleon's negotiates with Mr. Whymper to trade the hens' eggs for jellies and jams. The hens revolt by throwing their eggs at the pigs when the pigs attempt to seize the eggs by force. To impose his will through fear, Napoleon holds a show trial where a sheep and a duck are accused as traitors and butchered by the dogs. Their blood is used to append to the commandment "No animal shall kill another animal" the words "without cause". Napoleon bans "Beasts of England", declaring the revolution complete and the dream of Animal Farm realised.

A group of farmers attack Animal Farm and Jones blows up the windmill with himself inside. The animals win the battle at a great cost of lives. Boxer the workhorse, wounded, works to rebuild the windmill until he dies. Napoleon has a van take Boxer away, which Benjamin the donkey recognises as being from Whymper's glue factory. Napoleon's second-in-command Squealer delivers a sham eulogy, claiming Boxer's last words were to glorify Napoleon. The animals see through the propaganda but are driven away by the snarling dogs. The pigs toast Boxer's memory with whisky they bought with his life.

Years pass and Napoleon has expanded the neighbouring farms into an enterprise. The pigs walk upright, carry whips, drink alcohol and wear clothes. The Commandments are reduced to a single phrase: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". Napoleon holds a dinner party for a delegation of outside pigs, who congratulate him on having the hardest-working and lowest-consuming animals in the country. They toast a future where pigs own farms everywhere. Benjamin imagines the pigs have taken on the likeness of Mr. Jones.

Acknowledging their situation is even worse than before the revolution, the animals storm the farmhouse. The guard dogs are too drunk to respond while the animals smash through the house, trample Napoleon and the pigs to death, and reclaim the farm.

It is initially set in Japan following the end of World War II and follows the story of Lustbader's hero Nicholas Linnear, a man raised by Anglo-Chinese parents.

As a youth, Linnear is introduced to the world of ''aikido'', ''kenjutsu'', and ''iai-jutsu'' at a local ''dojo'' of the Itto Ryu also attended by his cruel and violent older cousin Saigō. Linnear is a natural and soon becomes adept, much to the annoyance of Saigō. During a training exercise Nicholas and Saigō duel and Nicholas defeats him. Saigō is enraged and leaves swearing revenge.

When they next meet Saigō is a considerably more skilled martial artist than Linnear and defeats him quickly. Later we learn Saigō has joined a ''Kuji-kiri ryu'' in order to learn black ninjutsu and has become a ''ninja''.

Linnear himself soon becomes introduced to ''Aka i ninjutsu'', or the red, ostensibly "good" side of ninjutsu, through the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu.

The ''ninja'' are introduced not as magical or almost mythical people, but rather as supreme martial artists who have reached the highest level and seek to progress further. It is suggested that by becoming ''ninja'' they strive to advance to an even higher plane, gaining skills such as ''haragei'', or sensing the surrounding world in a different manner. However, we soon learn this is not without a high personal cost.

Many years later, Linnear has moved to America and leads a peaceful academic existence. After quitting his job in advertising, he meets a beautiful, if disturbed, woman called Justine with whom he falls in love. This peace is shattered when a prominent local businessman is murdered in an extremely unusual manner (by a poisoned ''ninja shuriken''). The local police are baffled and consult Nicholas as he is known to be an authority on oriental studies. Linnear quickly realises that a ''ninja'' is the murderer and the next target is his new girlfriend's father, Raphael Tomkin, for whom he begins working as a bodyguard, although not without persuasion. Linnear also befriends Lew Croaker, a local detective.

Linnear's investigations reveal Saigō is the ''ninja'' and this puts him on a deadly collision course with his older cousin.

During an episode of ''The Adventures of Captain Proton'' on the holodeck in a recurring Voyager hologram program in the style of vintage movie serials such as ''Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers'', Ensigns Tom Paris and Harry Kim are forced to leave the program running when spatial distortions trap the ship and disrupt their control over the computer. While the command staff of ''Voyager'' seek to discover a way to free the ship from the spatial distortions, extra-dimensional aliens who exist in a photonic state cross over from their own dimension through a distortion located in the holodeck. There, they are detected and attacked by Dr. Chaotica, who believes them to be from the fifth dimension, and whose holographic (photonic) weaponry — though harmless to humans — is deadly to the aliens.

Eventually, the crew discover the war being waged between Chaotica and the fifth dimension and must defeat him by playing out their roles as the fictional Captain Proton (Tom Paris), his sidekick Buster Kincaid (Harry Kim) the President of Earth (the Doctor, who is himself a photonic being), and Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People - a campy space queen who is destined to be Chaotica's bride. Paris asks Captain Janeway to take on the role of femme fatale Queen Arachnia. Mortified, she refuses such an indignity, but reluctantly agrees in order to help ''Voyager'' out of its predicament.

Inside the program and now in full costume, Janeway/Queen Arachnia uses her charms to try to manipulate Chaotica into lowering the "lightning shield" protecting his fortress under the pretence that her loyal subjects in their "spider ships" can attend their wedding. Chaotica becomes suspicious of Arachnia so she attempts to deactivate the shield herself but Chaotica traps her in his "confinement rings" force field for double crossing him, telling her he will kill her ''after'' their wedding night. Using a vial of her "spider pheromones" to hypnotize Chaotica's guard, Arachnia manipulates him into freeing her. She then deactivates the lightning shield enabling Captain Proton to fire his "destructo beam" at Chaotica and defeat him, thereby freeing ''Voyager'' and allowing ship and crew to continue on their journey home.

Events leading up to the shooting

Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) was due to marry Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite) on 1 March 2001, but found out that she had sex with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) — one of his deadliest enemies. Steve later decided to go ahead with the wedding. Steve's mother Barbara (Sheila Hancock) arrived at the registry office to attend her son's wedding, and took an immediate dislike to Mel. Barbara also took a liking to Phil, further angering Steve. When the wedding guests return to The Queen Victoria public house for the wedding reception, Barbara tells Mel about Steve's first girlfriend who cheated on him at the age of 16. Barbara implied that Mel is that sort of girl.

Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) re-appeared in Albert Square that evening and demanded money from Phil, who had always despised him for leaving him with just £5 when selling his stake in The Queen Vic.

Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) started to question Phil about his fling with Mel (Mel was briefly Ian's wife). Phil told Ian that Mel was good, but not as good as his mother Kathy (Gillian Taylforth), who was once Phil's wife. Phil then left the e20 nightclub and Ian followed him out, taunting him. Ian picked up a metal rod to intimidate Phil, who lost his temper and began to throttle Ian with the rod, and only stopped when Mel shouted at him.

When Phil returned home, he received a hoax phone call from an anonymous caller. Dan was then seen walking away from a nearby telephone box. The scene then returned to Steve's office, where Steve's gun had disappeared from the drawer where it was being kept. As the wedding reception drew to a close, Barbara finally lost her temper with Mel and called her a tart. Before leaving, she stubbed her cigarette out on the wedding cake. Steve and Mel got into Charlie Slater's (Derek Martin) taxi and were ready to depart for the airport to begin their honeymoon, but Steve went back to ensure that Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) was keeping everything under control at e20. The shooting taking place in the time he was gone.

Phil's doorbell rung and he opened the door to find nobody there. As he turned around to re-enter his house, he was shot in the back and fells down the steps.

Phil was found minutes later by Beppe di Marco (Michael Greco). He was rushed to hospital, where doctors performed an emergency operation to remove the bullet. Phil's mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) was told that there was no guarantee that Phil will recover. The police later visited Ian in his fish and chip shop, but they left after he told them to go and question Steve — who was now at Heathrow Airport waiting for a flight to the Caribbean.

Suspects

• Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin) - Phil's ex-girlfriend. She had attacked Phil with a plate earlier in the week, and was appalled with him for his abusive mistreatment towards her. Lisa was later revealed as the shooter.
• Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) - Partner of Lisa. He was resentful towards Phil for his callous treatment of Her
• Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) - Phil's former best-friend and business partner. The pair embarked on a conflict after Phil had conned Dan's share of The Queen Vic, causing Dan to swear revenge on Phil. Prior to the shooting, Dan was seen leaving a telephone box after Phil received a hoax call.
• Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) - Phil's stepson and arch-nemesis. Ian hated Phil for causing him to be subjugated to financial bankruptcy, in which Ian had consequently lost all of his assets as a result. They had also got into a fight just hours before the shooting, in which Ian was found under the bushes shortly after Phil was shot.
• Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) - Phil's love rival. Steve had just found out that Phil had previously had sex with his wife Mel, and a gun that had been hidden in Steve's office went missing just before Phil was shot. His mother had also taken a liking to Phil, much to Steve's disgust.
• Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) - Phil’s one night stand lover and Steve's fiance-turned-wife. On Mel and Steve’s wedding day, Phil decided to tell Steve that he had slept with Mel. She is furious with Phil for this. Mel also dislikes Phil for mistreating her best friend Lisa whilst they were together.

Events following the shooting

Three weeks after Phil's shooting, he was still in hospital recovering from his injuries. Steve and Mel returned from their honeymoon and as soon as they stepped into The Queen Vic, Peggy accused Steve of trying to murder her son. Phil's godson Jamie (Jack Ryder) later tried to attack Steve, but Mark and Lisa dragged him away. Steve was soon arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and admitted to the police that he has never got on with Phil, but did not want to kill him, and insisted that he was away from the Square by the time Phil was shot. Steve suggested that the police should quiz Dan, who was meanwhile visiting Phil in hospital and taunting him. On 5 April 2001 Phil discharged himself from hospital, five weeks after being shot. Returning to the square at night, he went to confront his assailant. Each suspect received a knock on their front door with the audience oblivious as to who's door he was knocking on, the episode ending from the shooter's point of view and Phil saying to the unidentified person 'Guess Who?.' The beginning of the next episode revealed the shooter to be Lisa. A tense and intimidating conversation followed, with Lisa unsure if Phil knew it was her. But he soon made it clear he knew it was her, having spotted her running away after he'd been shot. He became threatening towards her and she admitted to not knowing what she was doing and had shot him in a crazy rage. She took the gun from Steve's office. Wanting the gun, Phil forced Lisa to retrieve it from inside a game of Monopoly, and Phil threatened to kill her with it. Lisa soon confesses that she shot Phil, but insisted that she still loved him. This made Phil understand that he had driven her to it and decided to forgive her. Mark showed up at the house and learned the truth, and the three of them vowed to keep the truth to themselves. Phil cleared the gun of Lisa's fingerprints and left, but letting Lisa know that he was sorry for his treatment of her.

Phil decided to conspire against Dan and Steve in the hope of getting them both out of the picture, wanting Dan convicted of attempted murder and Steve framed as his accomplice, seeing as the gun belonged to Steve. Strangely enough, Dan was already plotting to swindle Phil and was making regular visits to both Phil and Jamie demanding money. Jamie was stunned when Phil told him to pay Dan following one showdown between them. He feared Phil was giving into Dan but Phil was simply playing him. Phil made contact with Dan's former crime boss, Ritchie Stringer, and conspired with him to ensure Dan ended up with the gun that had shot him. Dan was later provided with the gun, not knowing he was being set up and decided on pressure from Stringer that he would kill Phil if he refused him again. Dan met with Phil at the Arches, Phil already having tipped off the police that Dan was planning to kill him. Although both Phil and Jamie were threatened by an armed Dan, Steve having been lured there by Phil watched from the door and quickly left to avoid getting caught up in the confrontation. The police quickly arrived in the Square and arrested Dan on suspicion of attempted murder. He was charged and remanded in custody. Dan went on trial at the end of July, and Steve agreed to back up Phil's plot to frame Dan, but at the same time he taunted Jamie, vowing that Phil would soon be caught for trying to frame Dan. Steve took the witness stand and testified that he heard Dan vowing to 'shoot through' Steve and put Phil out of business. Meanwhile, Steve's mother Barbara died and while he was clearing out her flat, the jury found Dan not guilty of attempted murder.

The week after Dan's release, Steve entered his office at e20 to find the furniture turned over and the safe open, and Mel had disappeared. Steve soon guessed that Mel had been kidnapped by Dan, and persuaded Phil to help him in his quest to get her back. Steve phoned Dan and heard Mel screaming in the background. Dan later phoned back and demanded a £200,000 ransom for Mel's release; exactly £100,000 each from both Steve and Phil. Soon enough, Dan used the kidnapping to tell Mel what Steve was really like and told him about an affair he had with a woman named Karen. Phil soon obtained the £100,000 for Mel's release and also took possession of a gun, intent on finishing Dan off for good. When he arrived at Dan's flat, Phil got the drop on Dan with the gun and was about to shoot him when a bound and gagged Mel suddenly turned off the lights - and Dan knocked Phil out before he could pull the trigger. Dan then turned the gun on Phil, but when he pulled the trigger, Phil discovered Dan had emptied it as Mel had convinced him not to kill him. Dan trapped Phil in the apartment and he and Mel then left the flat after Dan got his £100,000. Mel was then released and Dan offered her a share of the money, which she took. The police were summoned to arrest Dan, but by the time they arrived, Dan was gone. Phil managed to free himself and returned to the square.

Back in Albert Square, Mel lost her temper with Steve and accused him of shooting Phil as well as framing Dan. She also informed him that she knew about his affair with Karen, and later set fire to e20 before throwing her wedding ring at Steve and leaving Albert Square in a taxi. They eventually got back together just two months later; however, on the day of both their first wedding anniversary and Phil's shooting, Steve was killed in a vehicle explosion after a high-speed car chase with Phil during their final confrontation.

Abelard, arguing with his teacher William of Champeaux, sets up a new, dialectic philosophical school of his own, which proves popular and is even fashionable at the royal court of France. One of his followers is Heloise, with whom he also starts a sexual affair, under the guise of private tuition. His school's success worries Bernard of Clairvaux, who feels it is subjecting divine revelation to reason and may thus destroy the Roman Catholic Church and Christianity itself, but for now he merely subjects Abelard to surveillance rather than opposition. Bernard and Abelard do meet, briefly, at the court when Bernard goes there to force the king to give back lands he had seized illegally from a French bishop. Abelard tries to explain that he is not trying to destroy religion but to better understand it through reason using the brain and intellect that God has given him. However, Bernard will not accept this and refuses to accept Abelard's challenge to dispute with him publicly, as Bernard dogmatically feels he is right and Abelard is wrong and so there is nothing to dispute.

Bernard's agents Alberic and Lotholf reveal the affair to Heloise's uncle and surrogate father Fulbert, a canon of Notre Dame, and he is disgusted by it. Abelard offers to marry Heloise to resolve the situation and remove the disgrace, but she refuses, wanting to be his lover rather than conform to the oppressive norm of medieval marriage. She is smuggled out of Paris to Abelard's sister Denise in Brittany, where she gives birth to their child and waits until two years later Abelard arrives. They return to Paris and get married secretly in Fulbert's garden, but he then refuses to accept a secret marriage and they flee together to a nunnery where Heloise was taught as a girl. There they are kept apart in separate rooms, but secretly consummate their marriage on the altar of the monastery chapel. Abelard is then hunted down and castrated by Fulbert's cousins in Fulbert's presence, and both he and Heloise are forced to enter monasteries.

Bernard at last accepts the challenge to publicly dispute with Abelard before the king and bishops of France, but this turns into a show trial when Bernard immediately lists 12 points on which Abelard is heretical and Abelard refuses to answer them, maintaining a complete dignified silence and thus forcing his chief supporter the king to back Bernard and declare Abelard a heretic. Abelard and Bernard meet, and fail to make a reconciliation, and then Heloise attends Abelard on his deathbed. After Abelard's death, Bernard burns all of Abelard's heretical works and thus thinks he has won the struggle with him. He then goes to Heloise to affect a reconciliation, but this also fails. The play then ends abruptly with Heloise anachronistically showing Bernard a 20th-century, Penguin copy of the couple's letters, to prove that he has not erased Abelard and Heloise from history as effectively as he thought.

A year prior to the first scene, Stan Laurel married Oliver Hardy's sister (played by Oliver), and Oliver married Stan's sister (played by Stan) in a double wedding. They all live together and Stan and Ollie work in the same office. After some gags involving telephones, the wives are seen making preparations for a surprise party to celebrate their first anniversary during which a cake lands on Mrs. Laurel's head, causing her to bear an uncanny resemblance to a portrait of Elizabeth I on the dining room wall. Stan and Ollie then arrive but the couples cannot help but squabble throughout the party. In the final scenes, a delivery boy (played by Charlie Hall) arrives with another cake, which is thrown in Mrs. Laurel's face by an acrimonious Mrs. Hardy.

Harry Jones (Secombe) is a clerk in Mr Crab's general mercantile store and an amateur actor in community theatre, where he is currently playing a Scotland Yard inspector, "Batts of the Yard". When the absentminded Professor Osrick Pureheart (Bentine) leaves a secret military formula in the store, mayhem ensues as two suspicious secret agents (actually enemy spies), who have been shadowing the professor, question Harry regarding the professor, none of them realising that Harry now has the formula in his possession.

Convinced by the two spies to follow the professor, Harry goes to an Army post, Camp Warwell, where he is mistakenly enlisted in the Z Men, ostensibly an elite unit guarding atomic secrets but in reality a ragtag group of reservists, retreads, and others of marginal (at best) competence. The spies kidnap an adjutant newly assigned to the camp and one of them then impersonates him to gain entry to Camp Warwell.

The post's commander, Colonel Bloodnok (Sellers), has been assigned for security purposes a supposed "daughter" (Carole Carr) who is actually a female MI5 operative. Harry soon becomes smitten with the "daughter", and they work together to foil an attempt by the secret agents to purloin Pureheart's formula.

Nina Yamada is a seventh grade student who dreams about a prince charming who will always protect her, no matter what. One day, Nina accidentally swallowed a Crystal Pearl that she assumed was candy that came with her cake. But the Crystal Pearl was the goal of a sorcery examination. Nina becomes the new target by many probationer sorcerers and goes on for half a year. During this whole mix up, she meets two wizard boys named Zero and Ichii and comes to a conclusion that they protect her until a potion is made to remove the Crystal Pearl from her. However, this potion will take about six months to complete. Despite how long it took Zero and Ichii decided to protect Nina. Even at school and at home, Zero and Ichii protect Nina where ever she goes. Despite Nina finding it annoying that the two follow her around everywhere, it is for her own good.

Jase (Jason Mason) works as a lagger, one of a gang of labourers considered "too dumb to draft" into the army and thus conscripted into labour on public works. His group has the task of connecting a new nuclear power station to the grid in the Highlands of Scotland, which have become colder and sparsely inhabited due to climate-change. This takes place against the backdrop of a long-running war between China and the West, which started due to an air-rage incident when a Chinese businessman, under stress due to a smoking-ban, got mistaken for a terrorist.

Jase and his fellow laggers encounter a hitchhiker named Ailiss, whom Jase identifies as one of a group of ''New Age Settlers'' (also known as ''crusties'' or ''bandits''), people who foresee the imminent end of modern society and who have retreated to a semi-hidden rural commune. However, their presence worries the authorities, who become concerned about the security of their nuclear-power station.

Believing that they have inadvertently set the settlers up for arrest or worse, three laggers travel to the commune to warn them. Discovering the commune under attack, they accidentally defeat the government forces by allowing their truck to crash into and destroy a helicopter. Jase finds himself acclaimed a hero by the settlers, and decides to join them.

Record-company owner Marty Starr (Rik Mayall) concludes that Marla Dorland, aka Mavis Davis (Jane Horrocks) is a fading star. Meanwhile, he has to meet alimony payments to his ex (Jaclyn Mendoza), while he's forced to promote the untalented son of a mobster, Rathbone (Danny Aiello). To get out from under, Marty decides that the death of Marla/Mavis could jolt record sales by turning her into a legend. He hires hitman Clint (Marc Warren), but eliminating Mavis turns out to be more difficult than they thought.

Suneo shows everyone a fossilized claw of ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' and Nobita is angry that he doesn't get a look. Nobita claims that he will be able to find a living dinosaur. Panicking, Nobita researches dinosaurs and starts digging in a hill. But then, a landlord shouts at him and makes him dig a hole in the ground to dispose of some egg shells. Nobita unearths a rock shaped like an egg. Using the time-wrap, he returns the rock to its former form and plans to hatch the egg. He spends a day and night wrapped tightly in a blanket with it on his futon, despite it being the peak of summer. A plesiosaur ''Futabasaurus'' comes out, and Nobita decides to name the plesiosaur Piisuke. Suneo and Gian come looking for Nobita but because Piisuke is still too small, Nobita doesn't show them the plesiosaur and instead makes a deal with them. If he cannot show them a real dinosaur, he would have to eat spaghetti through his nose. Meanwhile, Nobita and Piisuke form a strong bond between them with Nobita working very hard to make sure the baby plesiosaur is well looked after, feeding it his own dinner of sashimi and playing with it. He grows very attached to Piisuke.

Piisuke grows too big to stay in Nobita's closet and has to be moved to a lake. Nobita continues to visit him every night, bringing him food and playing with him. However, Nobita becomes sick and can't make it one night. Doraemon tries to feed Piisuke instead but comes home saying Piisuke is gone. It turns out though that because Nobita didn't show up Piisuke came looking for him. At first Nobita is angry that Piisuke came into town but doesn't stay angry long. Doraemon takes Piisuke back to the lake once the plesiosaur sees Nobita is ok. However, the next day when Nobita goes to visit him he hears that Piisuke was seen and when he gets to the lake it's flooded with reporters. Nobita is unable to get to Piisuke without being seen and goes home.

When night comes, Nobita goes back to the lake to try to get Piisuke away from the reporters. Doraemon acts as a distraction while Nobita uses the shrink and enlarge torch to shrink Piisuke so that he'd get in a cooler box. He escapes with Piisuke and he and Doraemon use the time machine to take Piisuke back to the Late Cretaceous. On the way there however the time machine is attacked by hunters from the future who intend to capture Piisuke. Nobita, Doraemon and Piisuke manage to escape but the time machine is damaged. They leave Piisuke in prehistoric times and return home with Nobita crying the entire way.

Gian and Suneo show up at Nobita's home and he's forced to eat a giant plate of spaghetti through his nose as he failed to show them a dinosaur. He tries to convince them that he does have a dinosaur but they don't believe him. When he goes to Shizuka's house to complain she doesn't believe him either. Angry, Nobita uses one of Doraemon's gadgets to show his friends Piisuke back in prehistoric times. However, they see Piisuke being bullied by sharp-toothed ''Elasmosaurus''. Doraemon says because they were attacked while on the time machine they've accidentally left Piisuke in Cretaceous America instead of Japan. Nobita immediately drags every-one back to the time machine against Doraemon's advice and they return to Cretaceous America to save Piisuke.

They find Piisuke and Nobita introduces him to his friends, which also results in them apologizing for their previous behaviour towards Nobita. They plan to take Piisuke back to modern times and then to Cretaceous Japan. Doraemon however suggests that there's no hurry and they should have a camp-out; the reason being that the time machine has been badly damaged and Doraemon hopes to fix it before the others notice. However, when they're attacked by a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' and the kids want to go home Doraemon admits that the time machine is broken. At first the kids are scared but Doraemon says they can use the bamboo-copters to go to Cretaceous Japan to take Piisuke back home and they set off on a long journey to do so, exploring the prehistoric world as they go. They then befriend a flock of ''Ornithomimus'' with Doraemon's special dumplings, who give them a ride before dropping them off at a lake. There, the group encounter a herd of ''Alamosaurus'' and are once again attacked by a ''Tyrannosaurus'', but they tame it with the dumplings.

Then, after getting chased by a flock of ''Quetzalcoatlus'', they are cornered by dinosaur hunters from the future, who want to take Piisuke from him. They say they will consider it and during the night, they make clay figures of themselves, put into clay cars controlled by a remote. The next day, their plan is discovered, Shizuka, Gian and Suneo are captured. Doraemon and Nobita rush to save them and all five have to face being eaten by a ferocious ''Tyrannosaurus''. As it nears, they realize that it was one of the tame dinosaurs and chase the hunters with it, as well as defeating the hunter's pet ''Spinosaurus''. The Time Police arrives on scene to discover the hunters in a cage, and the group gone. The five decides to walk to Japan by themselves and encounters the Time Police, who acknowledges their heroic actions with a salute. Piisuke is taken back to where he belongs in Japan and all five of them return home.

Using the time machine, they return to a few days before they went to the prehistoric era. Nobita's mom asks why they all pass by, Nobita says, "We have something to do!"

The story of ''Shiren the Wanderer 2'' is set before the events of the original ''Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer'', and follows Shiren, a ten-year-old boy who travels through the mountains with his weasel friend Koppa. They come across the village of Natane, where they stop to eat. While they are eating, a tribe of demons attacks the village; Shiren decides to build a castle to defend the village and the villagers.

When a stripper (Susanne Loret) becomes disfigured in a car accident, a scientist (Dr. Levin, played by Alberto Lupo) develops a treatment to restore her beauty by injecting her with a special serum. While performing the procedure, however, he falls in love with her. As the treatment begins to fail, he determines to save her appearance, regardless of how many women he must kill for her sake.

Despite the implication of its American title, the film does not feature an actual vampire. The titular Seddok is the brilliant but deranged scientist Dr. Levin, mutated by a chemical formula created using radiation. Dr. Levin studied the effects of radiation on living tissue in post-Hiroshima Japan and made an imperfect and teratogenic serum, "Derma 25", which he later refined into the miraculous healing agent "Derma 28", which he uses to treat the heroine. When his supply of Derma 28 runs out, he realizes he must kill to obtain more, and injects himself with Derma 25 to become monstrous and remorseless, so that he may seek these victims without hesitation.

Because many of the murders take place near the docks where shiploads of Japanese refugees are arriving, and leave behind the victims' bodies with holes in the neck where Dr. Levin has extracted the glands, the refugees claim that a vampire (whom they call "Seddok", though this is not a Japanese name) is responsible for the attacks. During a meeting with police, a restored-to-humanity Dr. Levin speculates that the Hiroshima survivors' tales of a mutated killer are due to psychological strain from the radiation damage to their bodies. However, he also wonders aloud whether the "vampire" these witnesses describe might be a disturbed man wishing to be normal again.

Valuable antique weather vanes are being stolen in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. A Navy employee removes a top secret document from the Pentagon and then goes missing. Fenton Hardy, Frank and Joe's father, is assigned to find the man and the document. The Hardy brothers discover the connection between the two seemingly unrelated cases.

Raju, a courageous and spirited young man, is a caregiver to four young orphans. He is a tourist guide in a picturesque hill station. One of the children is accidentally injured. An ayurvedic guru suggests the only cure for the child's injury - herbs found only on the banks of Lake Manasarovar. Raju goes to the Himalayas to retrieve these powerful herbs. During the same time, a celestial being, Indraja, the daughter of Lord Indra, happens to visit Manasarovar. She accidentally drops her ring there. This ring is her passport to Heaven. Raju finds the ring and starts wearing it, oblivious to its divine power. Indraja is unable to enter Heaven as she lost her ring. Brihaspathi, the Deva-guru, instructs her to go back to Earth to retrieve it before the next Kartik Poornima.

In search of the ring, Indraja finds her way to Raju's hometown. Due to her strange language and lack of emotional and social awareness, she is initially considered insane. Her umpteen confessions about her divinity are subject to laughter. Raju and the children take pity on her and provide her shelter in their home. She becomes close to the children and often ends up in trouble trying to take the ring from Raju.

In the meanwhile, Raju is caught up in a moral squabble with KP, an arrogant millionaire. KP's goons launch a series of attacks on Raju and Indraja. Raju overcomes them, unaware that the ring is helping him. KP gets suspicious about Raju's supernatural power. KP approaches Mahadrashta, a sorcerer who sacrifices women to attain his powers. Mahadrashta discovers that Indraja is a celestial being and wants to sacrifice her to become immortal.

The kids take Indraja on a car ride one day, and the car loses control. Raju averts a major accident and blames and abandons Indraja. The youngest of the orphans is critically injured when Mahadrashta's men bomb the school. When everyone's asleep, Indraja puts on the divine ring and saves the child. Raju realises Indraja's true self and repents for his folly. The two realize that they have fallen in love.

Raju uses the ring's power to scare K. P. and his goons. During this time, Mahadrashta tries to acquire it from one of the kids by hypnotizing her. A monkey grabs the ring and carries it far away, dropping it in the bowl of Kumkuma at the feet of a statue of Hanuman. Raju and the kids search for the ring in vain.

Mahadrashta and his men plant false evidence in Raju's home to fabricate the lie that Indraja is a sorceress. Raju and Indraja are pelted with stones, and Indraja is carried away by Mahadrashta. The kids discover the ring, and Raju sets out to save Indraja. A hypnotized Indraja does not recognize or respond to their calls. Upon coming in contact with the ring, she comes to her senses and destroys K. P. and his men. Raju kills Mahadrashta, refusing to use the ring, as he believes human power is enough to defeat evil.

The very same evening is Kartik Poornima, the final call for Indraja to return to heaven. Her thoughts are flooded with the loving memories of her time with Raju and the kids. She is caught between her love for Raju and her obligation to return to heaven to remain divine and immortal. Indraja throws away her ring and chooses to go back to Raju to lead a mortal life.

The Hardy Boys investigate the disappearance of an eighteen-year-old girl suspected of joining a sinister religious cult. A few days later the boys get an offbeat assignment from a comic book publisher: The real life double of his character, Apeman, is turning up everywhere and causing considerable damage. Frank and Joe tackle both cases and uncover an intricate scheme by a clever gang of crooks.

When five Egyptian statuettes are stolen from a museum, the Hardy Boys travel to Egypt. En route, the boys are asked to safeguard a mysterious mummy and find themselves tangled in a web of international intrigue. On the Nile, the young detectives uncover a secret hiding place with countless stolen treasures.

A painting is stolen, and the Hardy Boys are suspects. Determined to find the artwork, the young detectives fly to Florida, where they disguise themselves and join a group of sinister smugglers. Though the painting fails to appear, an important clue sends the boys on a perilous trek through the Everglades. Threatened at every turn by greedy enemies, the Hardys fight a tricky and powerful battle to expose the truth.

When an ancient stone idol disappears, the Hardy Boys are off on another fast-paced adventure. It's a mystery that takes the boys from a primitive village in the Andes Mountains to Antarctica and finally to Easter Island. By using their fine investigative skills, the Hardy Boys find that the mystery of the stone idol is not what it seems.

Category:The Hardy Boys books Category:1981 American novels Category:1981 children's books

Chet Morton's cousin, Vern, is on his way to California to find a rare and valuable coin mysteriously missing from his uncle's bank vault. When he stops in Bayport, his brand-new car is stolen. The Hardys take on a double mystery – and double danger – as they head for the West Coast to investigate this sinister mystery.

Frank and Joe Hardy receive a special delivery package containing a photo copy of a 200 year old letter supposedly written by the “Outlaw of the Pine Barrens” telling about a lost treasure of silver hidden in the pine forests of New Jersey. This letter arrived at the same time they received a phone call from someone identifying himself as the Outlaw warning them to stay away from the Pine Barrens and forget any ideas of searching for the silver. They determine that the real Outlaw of the Pine Barrens has been dead for two centuries. The Hardys can't pass up this great opportunity for both adventure and mystery and get their gang together of Chet, Biff, and Tony, and head off for a camping trip to New Jersey. In the woods, they soon encounter a criminal gang of smugglers, combined with the “ghost” of the outlaw, and the New Jersey Devil himself, all attempting to thwart their mission. Following a one word clue of “fishhook”, the boys have their father's pilot, Jack Wayne, fly them over the pine barrens in their family plane, the Skyhappy Sal, so they may parachute into the wilderness. This adventure enables them to follow the final clues in order to solve the mystery.

Category:The Hardy Boys books Category:1981 American novels Category:1981 children's books

On a visit to Germany the Hardy brothers investigate the theft of plans for a newly invented submarine and the mysterious disappearance of valuable coins and paintings.

Category:The Hardy Boys books Category:1981 American novels Category:1981 children's books Category:Novels set in Germany

Lydia Aspen, a seemingly shy girl from a wealthy but isolated background, is encouraged by her aunts, her new carers, to discover the delights of growing up. They entrust her education to Mr Richardson, the young apprentice for Evensford's local newspaper, who is sent to their house to "get a story" about the recent death of Lydia's father.

Richardson's access to the Aspens is unusual, as they are rarely seen by anyone from the town and hide behind their stone walls and perimeter of trees; introducing Lydia to the town's inhabitants gives Richardson a great sense of pride. Visiting the Aspen estate also allows Richardson the chance to escape from the great engulfing vacuum of Evensford, with its endless stretch of factory roofs and back alleys.

As Lydia and Richardson spend more time together, he realises that his initial concept of Lydia was wrong, that she is far from being shy, and is often impetuous and demanding and enjoys captivating the young men who become her companions. Richardson soon discovers that his promise to love her, no matter what she does to him, is going to push him beyond the pain and feelings he thinks he is capable of experiencing.

The movie opens with a bakery truck driving down the street, and Beaver and Wally riding together on the latter's bicycle, delivering morning newspapers. Beaver tosses the newspapers wildly into the air with both hands: one of them plops into wet cement, others land on two roofs, one into a dog's mouth, one into a birdbath, one onto a cat, one into a man's leaf-vacuum nozzle, and one onto a painter's head. Then the leaf vacuum explodes and throws dirt through the bakery truck driver's window, causing him to slam on the brakes and have his sticky pies thrown about. Beaver and Wally apologize and ride away.

Beaver has his heart set on a bike in a store window but does not think Ward and June will buy it for him. Eddie Haskell tells him that if he flatters Ward by signing up for football, he will get it on his birthday. Beaver joins the football team and endures the practices, despite his disadvantage of being smaller than his teammates. He even goes so far as to refuse Ward reading him a bedtime story and kissing him goodnight. He looks forward to his first game. Ward is glad he signed up for football, but his first game ends poorly when he is tricked into passing the ball to a kid on the opposing team, whom he remembered as a friend from summer camp. When he celebrates his birthday, he is presented with the new bike, as well as a computer from his great aunt.

On the first day of school, five days later, Ward and June tell Wally to accompany Beaver for a few days while he gets used to riding his new bike to there. He has a kind new teacher named Miss Landers. After school, Eddie asks Wally to come to the soda shop to see him flirt with Karen. Eddie does not want Beaver to follow them, so Wally leaves him alone at the bike rack, telling him he will be back for him. He is polishing his bike when a teenage boy comes over and asks if he can show him some cool bike tricks. He agrees and the boy shows him some tricks before riding off with the bike. At the soda shop, Karen likes Wally and not Eddie. When Wally and Eddie come out and hear that Beaver's bike was stolen, they look for it, but can't find it. During dinner that night, Beaver and Wally try to cover up for the missing bike. When Ward finds out the truth, he is upset with Beaver, but angrier at Wally because he was responsible for watching him. In Beaver and Wally's bedroom, they get into a fight, which sends Beaver's new computer flying out the window. Wally grabs the wire and tries to pull it in, but the wire breaks, and it crashes on the ground and smashes into pieces. This results in Ward completely losing all of his patience and grounding Beaver and Wally.

After the grounding, Beaver skips football practice and studies; and Wally spends time with Karen, who breaks up with him after reuniting with her ex-boyfriend, Kyle. Beaver goes into the city and gets hit by a truck but is unharmed. He encounters the boy who stole his bike. The boy, who is Kyle's younger brother, challenges him, as a way of getting his bike back, to climb up to a gigantic coffee mug atop the local cafe, which Beaver falls into and can't get out of. The fire department and Ward help get him down, Ward realizing he may be under too much pressure. Ward had found out about him skipping football practice and says he can quit the team; but he rejoins it. During the last game, he catches the ball and scores a touchdown, while chasing after his stolen bike. At the Mayfield Festival, he again encounters the boy and chases him. Kyle trips Beaver to help his brother escape, and Wally retaliates by pushing Kyle into a tub of fudge. Karen is also put off by Kyle's bullying and leaves him for Wally. Beaver uses a concession stand to block the boy's way, causing him to fly across a judges' table of pies set up to be judged and into an entire cart of them, resulting in Beaver getting his bike back. At home, Ward sees him polishing it, tells him that it would be safer if it stays in the house, and, at his request, reads him a bedtime story.

After her young son is killed in a bank robbery, the widowed dance-hall hostess Kit Tilden (Maureen O'Hara) is determined to bury him beside his father in Siringo, now deserted and located in Apache territory. Yellowleg (Brian Keith), the ex-army Northern sergeant who accidentally killed her son, decides to help take the body across the desert to be buried, whether Kit wants help or not. He forces the other two bank robbers - Turk, a Confederate deserter; and Billy, a gunslinger - to accompany them.

After Billy attacks Kit, Yellowleg throws him out of their camp. Turk then deserts. Yellowleg and Kit become closer during the journey to Siringo. After arriving at the long abandoned settlement, they discover that Turk and Billy have followed them, leading to a gunfight between the three men.

Paul, Matt and Will, three best friends decide to go on holiday together. Paul (James Dreyfus) brings his lover Ben, but their five-year relationship is unstable owing to Paul's continued moodiness over the death of his brother Mark; Matt brings Owen, with whom he wants a lifelong relationship but whose boisterous personality doesn't suit him; and Will brings Adam, a 20-year-old one-night stand. Mark's lover also comes along for some sense of closure.

Plot summary

Maggie Walsh and her boyfriend Pete Danner are interior decorators from Los Angeles. They are retained by an anonymous British client. Their reluctance to abandon their current client in California is alleviated when that client dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances. Taking advantage of their pre-paid airfare, they travel to England and are immediately involved in a traffic collision with a limousine. The passenger reveals himself as their mysterious benefactor, Jason Mountolive, who invites them to his rambling estate, Ravenhurst.

They arrive to find that Mountolive has also invited the five beneficiaries of his estate, all public figures with notorious reputations. The other guests explain that they have been summoned because Jason is dying, "wasting away" above stairs. Maggie is astonished to hear this because Jason seemed vigorous just minutes earlier.

Jason receives his guests in his bedroom, a sterile chrome and glass environment where he lies connected to a life support system. His bed is shrouded by white curtains that obscure his appearance. He calls Maggie to the bedside, where a monstrous hand reaches out of the curtains and places a signet ring on her finger with the Mountolive family crest upon it. The other guests already wear identical rings. Maggie tries to remove the ring, but it has grafted itself to her finger.

Shortly afterwards, the other guests die by mysterious and gruesome means: Maria, despite being an excellent swimmer, becomes trapped under the surface of Jason's indoor pool and drowns; Clive Jackson gets a chicken bone lodged in his throat during dinner (although he was not eating chicken at the time) and perishes during a botched tracheotomy; Karl Liebnecht is incinerated by a massive burst of flame from a fireplace that leaves the rest of the room untouched. A mirror in Barbara's bedroom explodes, piercing her with glass shards, then restores itself without a crack. Jacques suspects Maggie and Pete of engineering these inexplicable deaths, and makes his way onto the roof with a shotgun. After taking a few shots at Pete, the weapon jams and explodes in his face, knocking him off the roof to his death.

Maggie and Pete find a collection of newspaper clippings. These reveal that each of their fellow guests had been accused of high crimes or implicated in major scandals, yet always escaped punishment or censure thanks to Jason's intervention. Jason's mother was Lady Margaret Walsingham and his father was the Lord of Mountolive; both families included notorious practitioners of black magic and witchcraft. Lady Margaret and her husband were burned at the stake for heresy. Maggie realizes that she is Jason's great-granddaughter, and that the retainer was a ruse to lure her into the midst of Jason's other beneficiaries.

As the last remaining heir to Jason's legacy, Maggie stands to inherit the vast Walsingham-Mountolive financial empire. She confronts Jason. With his last breath, Jason confesses that he sacrificed the other heirs to the devil in order to pass on his sinister powers to her. He instructs her to choose six heirs of her own, who will likewise be sacrificed when the time comes so that the lone survivor will also inherit the powers bestowed by Satan.

Pete forces his way into the room and tries to prevent the transfer of power by sabotaging Jason's life-support system. He is too late; Maggie has accepted her legacy and is now "Lady Margaret". The household staff declare their allegiance to her. Maggie selects Pete as her first beneficiary. She gives him a signet ring which immediately grafts itself to his finger.

Themes

Themes presented in the film include karma, and reincarnation.

Maggie Walsh and her boyfriend Pete Danner are interior decorators from Los Angeles. They are retained by an anonymous British client. Their reluctance to abandon their current client in California is alleviated when that client dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances. Taking advantage of their pre-paid airfare, they travel to England and are immediately involved in a traffic collision with a limousine. The passenger reveals himself as their mysterious benefactor, Jason Mountolive, who invites them to his rambling estate, Ravenhurst.

They arrive to find that Mountolive has also invited the five beneficiaries of his estate, all public figures with notorious reputations. The other guests explain that they have been summoned because Jason is dying, "wasting away" above stairs. Maggie is astonished to hear this because Jason seemed vigorous just minutes earlier.

Jason receives his guests in his bedroom, a sterile chrome and glass environment where he lies connected to a life support system. His bed is shrouded by white curtains that obscure his appearance. He calls Maggie to the bedside, where a monstrous hand reaches out of the curtains and places a signet ring on her finger with the Mountolive family crest upon it. The other guests already wear identical rings. Maggie tries to remove the ring, but it has grafted itself to her finger.

Shortly afterwards, the other guests die by mysterious and gruesome means: Maria, despite being an excellent swimmer, becomes trapped under the surface of Jason's indoor pool and drowns; Clive Jackson gets a chicken bone lodged in his throat during dinner (although he was not eating chicken at the time) and perishes during a botched tracheotomy; Karl Liebnecht is incinerated by a massive burst of flame from a fireplace that leaves the rest of the room untouched. A mirror in Barbara's bedroom explodes, piercing her with glass shards, then restores itself without a crack. Jacques suspects Maggie and Pete of engineering these inexplicable deaths, and makes his way onto the roof with a shotgun. After taking a few shots at Pete, the weapon jams and explodes in his face, knocking him off the roof to his death.

Maggie and Pete find a collection of newspaper clippings. These reveal that each of their fellow guests had been accused of high crimes or implicated in major scandals, yet always escaped punishment or censure thanks to Jason's intervention. Jason's mother was Lady Margaret Walsingham and his father was the Lord of Mountolive; both families included notorious practitioners of black magic and witchcraft. Lady Margaret and her husband were burned at the stake for heresy. Maggie realizes that she is Jason's great-granddaughter, and that the retainer was a ruse to lure her into the midst of Jason's other beneficiaries.

As the last remaining heir to Jason's legacy, Maggie stands to inherit the vast Walsingham-Mountolive financial empire. She confronts Jason. With his last breath, Jason confesses that he sacrificed the other heirs to the devil in order to pass on his sinister powers to her. He instructs her to choose six heirs of her own, who will likewise be sacrificed when the time comes so that the lone survivor will also inherit the powers bestowed by Satan.

Pete forces his way into the room and tries to prevent the transfer of power by sabotaging Jason's life-support system. He is too late; Maggie has accepted her legacy and is now "Lady Margaret". The household staff declare their allegiance to her. Maggie selects Pete as her first beneficiary. She gives him a signet ring which immediately grafts itself to his finger.

A Danish army officer, Michael (Thomsen), is sent to the International Security Assistance Force operation in Afghanistan for three months. His first mission there is to find a young radar technician who had been separated from his squad some days earlier. While on the search, his helicopter is shot down and he is taken as a prisoner of war, but is assumed to have been killed in action and is reported dead to his family. His wife Sarah (Nielsen) and younger brother Jannik (Kaas) both deeply mourn him, and that brings them closer together. They kiss once, but pass it off as grief and do not pursue the relationship.

Meanwhile, both the officer and a young technician are locked up in a warehouse, kept without food or water. After Michael shows them how to arm and disarm an anti-aircraft missile, his captors decide the technician is no longer useful and have Michael bludgeon him to death with a lead pipe in order to save his own life. Eventually he is rescued and brought back to Denmark. The guilt of what he did forces him to lie and provide false hope that the technician may still be alive.

Michael becomes unstable, spiraling down into a pit of guilt and rage, and begins to threaten and abuse his wife and tear the house apart. It finally becomes necessary for the police to intervene. Michael overreacts, pointing a policeman's pistol at the officers. After Michael is taken into custody, Jannik helps Sarah begin the repairs on the house. Later, Sarah visits Michael in prison, where he breaks down and finally admits the truth about what he did in Afghanistan.

Set against the exotic background of the Bahama Islands, it's the saga of wealthy, aristocratic families from the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia who, following the American Revolution, fled the South for the Bahamas, where they remained loyal to England. Abandoning their plantations for the islands, they established new dynasties in the Bahamas, where the Crown rewarded their loyalty with huge grants of land.

"''Wind from the Carolinas'' is fiction and as such certain liberties have been taken but not with the basic facts. Certainly, the settlement of the Bahama Islands was the result of one of the most dramatic of migrations. From the plantation aristocracy of Carolina, Virginia and Georgia came families who were passionately sincere in their loyalty to the British Crown and wanted nothing to do with the American Revolution and its theory of democracy. At the close of the War for Independence they found life all but unendurable. They were hated and reviled as Tories by what they considered to be a disorganized rabble. They were subjected to taunts and violence. At their request transports of the Royal Navy took entire families, their slaves, livestock, furnishings, and in some cases, even the bricks of their manors to the Bahamas. There they attempted to recreate the Colonial magnificence they had known with mansions, slave quarters and vast cotton fields. The failure was tragic and the history of the Out Islands has been one of wealth and poverty in cycles brought about by influences far beyond their shores." - Robert Wilder, Author

The basic plot concerns a school teacher named Ushimatsu Segawa (family name written last) who struggles with a commandment given to him by his late father. He is never to reveal his ''burakumin'' background, which his father had tried so hard to conceal as well. Ushimatsu idolizes Rentarou Inoko, a ''burakumin'' rights' activist and successful writer (particularly considering the social position given to those considered ''burakumin''). Ushimatsu wishes to reveal his background to Rentarou, as his need to hide away part of himself in order to be accepted by society in general leads to his feeling constricted by this superficial identity, and to his desiring to form a more meaningful connection with Rentarou through their common experience.

This novel also touches on the dangerous, destructive nature of gossip, and questions society's inability to accept what is not understood. It attempts to build understanding and empathy for this group of people at a time (the novel's publication's) when a great deal of prejudice still existed towards this group.

Huey's culturally sensitive teacher, Mr. Uberwitz, offers him a chance to direct the school's Christmas play in the hope of seeing an African-American perspective on the holiday. Huey is skeptical at first, thinking that Uberwitz will get fired for making this offer, but accepts on the condition that Uberwitz sign an agreement giving him full creative control. He begins writing a new play that adheres to his unique vision, sets up an office to manage the organizational work, and hires Quincy Jones as music director.

Finding that the students cast in the play are goofing off instead of rehearsing, Huey angrily fires all of them and consults with Jones about bringing in high-profile movie stars to fill the roles. He ignores protests from the Woodcrest PTA over the children's dismissal. When Huey refuses the school principal's demand that Jesus not be portrayed as black, the principal tears up Huey's agreement with Uberwitz. Demoralized and exhausted, Huey turns control over to Uberwitz, asking only to have his name removed from the production.

Uberwitz stages the play exactly as Huey wrote it, but only ten people show up for the performance. It is well-received by the local theater critics who attend, but almost no one else in Woodcrest is there to see it due to the PTA protests. Huey considers the play a success, but he regrets his decision to exclude his classmates and is disappointed that the public did not want to see his artistic vision. Uberwitz loses his job as Huey had predicted, but eventually becomes a college professor specializing in African-American studies.

Meanwhile, Riley feuds with a shopping mall Santa, attacking him first with a folding chair and golf club and later with his airsoft guns. Riley is angry over not getting a set of wheel rims for Christmas in the past. Uncle Ruckus is hired by the mall to provide security for Santa, but proves inept at the job when Riley attacks again. Ruckus eventually becomes the new Santa, causing Jazmine to lose faith in the idea of Santa Claus until Ruckus claims that the real Santa had secretly chosen him to fill in after seeing how dangerous the mall could be. Jazmine accepts this story and attends Huey's play with Riley and Granddad, applauding enthusiastically as they sleep through it.